Maine Bullets

• Quynh The Climber delighted in crawling all over the rocky shore and in and out of stinky tide pools for about an hour one evening. Braver than her brother, she'd reach right into the tide pool and pluck out periwinkles with those chubby little fists of hers.

• Speaking of periwinkles, Tai only picked up the empty periwinkle shells, sitting on the dry rocks. When it was time for dinner (lobster shack on the water's edge) he handed them to me and I shoved them in my pocket. Hours later, back at the hotel, I tossed them on the desk and realized that they were NOT empty shells and NOT even dead. We watched them crawl around the desk a bit and then "sent them home" via the toilet.

• For Tai, "vacation" means juice with every meal. It's even better than chocolate milk, apparently. At each meal he'd ask the wait staff to list the juice options and it seemed like he picked a different one every time. We got to one place and all they had was cranberry juice. He gave the waitress a look like, 'Well, if that's all you've got, I guess I'll take it."

• We learned many things while in Maine, including the fact that a single order of mussels in white wine and butter sauce satisfies both our kids, but only if Minh and I don't expect to eat any.

• Tai became much more outgoing around strangers during this trip. Not sure why, but we're thankful. One night in a very empty restaurant Minh and I were able to finish our meal while Tai went and drank cranberry juice at the bar, chatting with the staff and patrons alike. Of course, when I joined him 10 minutes later, I caught him admitting to liking the Yankees as well as the Red Sox--very dangerous thing to say in Maine, even for a 3-year-old.

• Tai's newfound independence made a trip to the Portland Children's Museum both easier and harder. Minh was working, so I had to keep track of both kids myself. Luckily, I could drop Q in the fenced-in "toddler area" and stand nearby while Tai visited each exhibit on his own. It was so great to have a break from "Mama, look! Mama, come here! Mama, come play with me!" He was so bold, however, that I lost track of him a couple times.

• Quynh can now do spot-on impressions of a fog horn and a train whistle.

• Each night in Maine, we put the kids to bed at the same time (7:30 -- late for Q and early for Tai). We'd turn off the lights and Minh and I would lay down and pretend to sleep too. Once the kids were snoring, we'd sneak out of bed and stay up a couple more hours. Except that one night when we both feel soundly asleep. At 7:30pm. Vacation=exhausting.