They say that this is the snowiest February on record in NYC history. Something about almost 40 inches falling this month alone. I think that’s enough snow now, don’t you? And please no snow storms in March (or god forbid, April. Yes, it’s happened). Then we’ll really get pissed off.

You play Chutes & Ladders. You play with the new mega-sized Play Doh set that your kid got for her birthday. You cut and fold little cards so both your kids can hand draw valentine’s day notes for all their classmates (yes, including 22 for the kindergarten class - that Mia is ambitious, what can I say?). You clean the house and do laundry like nobody’s business. You clean out the fridge (about time). You watch Charlie & Lola. You make all the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches that you can eat because you normally can’t bring them to school. You go outside and make the biggest snowball you’ve ever made in your life because the snow is THE best snowball making snow you’ve ever seen. You make your first giant snowman with the snowballs. You walk over to the kid’s favorite sushi restaurant where they give you free mochi ice cream because it’s her birthday (but sadly, no crazy candle this year).

Pretty good day, huh?

…and we’re snowed in. For once the blizzard warnings were true - they even decided to close NYC public schools the day before. We have no idea how much snow is on the ground, but after a small break, the stuff is coming down in thick flakes again, flying up, down and sideways. Mark is like the mailman though, making deliveries in this weather…

OK…I never really thought to go fruit picking before we had kids. Sure, I spent a month picking blueberries in Maine one summer during college, but that was hard work for money and the chance to experience something different than my upbringing in an urban environment. But for fun? No. We did really well with various U-Pick activities this year though: strawberries, peaches, lavender, and now apples and raspberries. The kids really dig raspberry picking: “5 berries for me and one for the basket”, “No! I’m not picking for the basket, I’m picking for the eating”. Ok, Miss C. Whatever gets anything fresh and healthy into your stomach is fine with me.

Who knew there were lavender fields on Long Island? But I guess if the North Fork is wine country it makes sense. This is my first time on a lavender field and the smell is intoxicating! The minute we stepped out of the car the fragrance enveloped us and the girls were both in flower heaven. After a summer of “don’t pick those flowers!” whenever we are in the city, they can finally pick all the flowers they want. Highly recommended if you’re out in the North Fork. I don’t know how crowded it gets, but we went on a weekday and had the field all to ourselves.

Some of you have asked where we’re staying. We’re at the North Fork of Long Island this week in a town called New Suffolk and it’s beach, farm and wine country around here. Since the early 70s, vineyards have been popping up all around the east end of Long Island and now there are over 50. It’s definitely a slower pace out here and the beaches aren’t crowded unlike some of the other public beaches in central Long Island where every little bit of sand seems occupied, but it’s also more rocky, with more seaweed, shells and marine life. Surpisingly, Claudine has not minded and she is loving every minute in the water.

The North Fork is also farm country and late August is blackberry, corn and peach season. Like any fruit picking trip, we ended up with waaaaay too many peaches. We’ve already made ice cream. Maybe we’ll make a pie. So has this trip been relaxing? Can’t really say with 2 kids. There’s still a lot of fighting and whining. It’s also making me rethink that maybe we should save our trip to Paris for when the kids are a little bit older. I don’t know, I’m still undecided.

I thought bedtimes were going to totally kick us in the ass, being as the kids were sleeping in a new environment and in bunk beds for the first time. We know what happens when they sleep together on the same mattress at my parent’s house, but surprisingly, they’ve gone to bed all 3 nights without a fuss or a peep. This bodes well for when we transition to bunk beds at home.

As hot as it was during these past few days, the beach cools down after 5 and remains my favorite time of day to go swimming. The light softens, the breeze picks up and the sky transforms into a show of colors as the sun goes down.

Claudine used to proclaim, with hands over her ears, that the ocean waves were “too loud for me”. After convincing her that the waves were really fun, she finally came around to joining Mia in the water. It took almost an hour of her holding on to one of our fingers like a death grip as she jumped around and splashed in the ocean, but she eventually let go and didn’t even cry when she got completely wiped out by a large wave. It was her first taste of salty, sandy ocean water. It was also fun to see her experience for the first time, the pull of the tide as the water rushed back out to sea with feet sinking deeper in the sand, making it feel like the whole beach was rushing past you. It’s a neat feeling. Must be confusing but exhilarating for a 2 year old. The girls had fun, and there was not a trace of any sensory issues Claudine had with sand, grass, and other new textures from last year. Looks like it will be a nice vacation when we rent our beach house for the week next month.