A Tourist in Our Own Town

We are lucky to live in a very picturesque, historic area that is ripe for tourists. But, like many, we tend to ignore all the feature available to us. So thanks to Groupon and Living Social, in the last few weeks we have acted like tourists.

We took the Old Town Trolley (tour bus) around town, seeing all the sites. We only got off at a few stops, but had a great time. We stopped at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw lots and lots of money! The kids thought it was very cool. Then we walked down to the Jefferson Memorial and hopped back on the trolley. We took it past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, etc. Then we hopped on the other trolley and took it up Embassy Row to National Cathedral. It was a random Friday when the girls didn't have school, so the Cathedral was not crowded at all. We took the elevator to the top and enjoyed the view. We stopped by and saw some of the amazing stained glass (including the cool moon rock space window), and then played hide-and-seek in the Bishop's garden. Then we took the trolley back through Georgetown to our car.

This weekend we went to Mount Vernon (with a family friend). It is less than 20 miles from our house and I don't think I'd been there in 15-20 years!!! It was a lovely day and we had a great visit. They even provide a kind of scavenger hunt map for kids!! The house itself is very impressive, and we learned some fun things. (Did you know George Washington wanted to make the house out of stones, but it was too expensive, so he did it in wood planks, had them cut to look like stone blocks, and mixed the wet paint with sand to make it feel like stone?) The new museum and visitor's center were very impressive. The kids all loved the cool holographic head of George, who seemed to follow you around the room.
So playing tourist in our town is what works for me! For more works for me, visit Works for Me Wednesdays!

Totally Rad

We went to see the Legwarmers again on Saturday night. It was really great. I had found some awesome 80s fashions at Goodwill last week, and so was all decked out. I made a Flashdance sweatshirt and wore it with a bright blue tanktop, had dozens and dozens of metal bangles, a bright yellow bow in my hair, the world's smallest black flared miniskirt, black lycra leggings with lace, pink legwarmers and lovely white pumps. The music was great (it was scary how many of the songs our kids sing in RockBand), and we danced for hours. Here are some pics.

Alive and Kicking

I am still here. I have not died or fallen off the face of the earth. I had a crazy business trip last week, then came down with an annoying cold that took away my will to do much. I still have the cold, but am on the mend. Anyway....

Great thing to recommend - Mama Mia, the movie SING-A-LONG version. I went last Monday with some girlfriends. I can't say I would recommend the film without the sing-a-long part. But with it - it was awesome. SO MUCH FUN. We went to this great local theater that has tables and chairs and full menus (including bar) instead of regular theater seating. It was really a blast. The place was packed and everyone was singing (they put the words on the screen below the movie) and getting into it. A great girls night out - I highly recommend!

Our Crazy Fun Weekend

So this weekend was a little nuts. Saturday morning K and I get up and go to her first ballet class. It was really good, despite being only 30 minutes when it was advertised for 45. Then back home, after stopping at Goodwill so I could get a super short spandex miniskirt for my 80s outfit later. K also found a cute shirt and we got a ton of great books - all for like $12. Gotta love it. The girls then played their new Viva Pinata for a while. Its actually pretty cool - you build a garden which attracts all these animals and you have to make it work.

Then a quick lunch for everyone, and naps for the younger two. Then K and I went to her first soccer game. I will have to post some pictures later, but she really rocked. Given she couldn't name even one rule of soccer on the way to the game, I was somewhat concerned. But she did SOOOO good! She was ready to jump in there and try and get that ball. I was so happy for her.

Then back home (after the mandatory stop at the ice cream man), where I finally painted the hallway I had taped 4-5 days ago. Got the first coat up before I had to shower and change into my 80s clothes (oversized paisley blouse, black micro mini, black capri tights with lace on the bottom, white lace socks, saddle shoes, and big poofy hair with bow). I ran out to get money and chicken nuggets (we had a McD coupon), and back to find our friends and their 2 kids waiting. The babysitter was there and the four of us headed out. (BTW - my babysitter is awesome and nuts! For all five kids we usually pay her $25/hr..she sent an email last week saying that was too high and we should only pay her $20!!!) We went to dinner at a restaurant near the theater where the show was going to be. We were a few hours before the show so we got a few looks from diners at our outfits. By the time we left the place was full of 80s fanatics! Bon Jovi wigs, off the shoulder shirts, lace gloves with fingers cut out, pegged pants, etc! We headed to the Legwarmers show, which was totally awesome! We stayed until they finished - about 1:30!! WAAAAYYY past my bedtime.

We got home, and the kids were all sleeping! Hit the hay for a few hours, then dealt with 5 awake, slightly hyper, hungry kids. Got them fed and the 4 oldest to Sunday school. I went grocery shopping while they were there, then picked up my 2 (our friends picked up their kids from there). Home for a little bit, then off to the Nationals game. It was such a beautiful day for baseball. Kids got their cool free backpacks, and we stayed to let the kids run the bases.

By the time we got home we were all crashing. Quick dinner (turkey quesadillas - K had to sit there for 90 minutes to eat hers!), baths, and bed. I ran to Target to get new crocs for B (her current pair actually had a hole in the bottom of the shoe!), and some groceries we had missed. Home around 8:45, watched the Emmys until 10:30...then crashed.

A long weekend, but lots of fun! And now, back to my crazy overscheduled Monday!!

Dancing Like its 1999

So I LOVE 80s music. Its my favorite kind. Last weekend DH and I went with 5 friends to see a local 80s cover band. Oh my gosh it was so fun. We were all dancing like crazy. I haven't done that since I don't know when. And the other people there - I would say about 70% of the women (and 30% of the men) were dressed in 80s gear - off the shoulder tops, leggings with lace on the bottom, headbands, lots of bangles, etc. It was awesome. I can't wait to go see them again - I am already searching Ebay for my perfect look!