Ahhh...finally a break

{B using the ramp}
{Big Man giving High Fives}

{K trying it freehand}

Work has been NUTS! And because it wasn't enough, we had a conference in town last week. Nothing like 15,000 of your members to get your adrenalin pumping. Bottom line - I survived. I think the kids thought I had lost it. I worked a bunch of late and early hours (including SATURDAY!!!) So DH and I decided to dedicate Sunday to them.

First, we went to a theater to see "Sesame Street - Dinosaurs". Its a cute video that features Abbey Caddaby (the girls current favorite) and Elmo (Big Man's favorite). The theater had a great deal - cheap tix, cheap popcorn and lemonade, and followed the movie with story time (a book also about dinosaurs), sesame coloring pages, and free pizza! Great deal!

Then we went to a local mall (it was raining) and let the kids play in the play-area for a while. After lunch and naps, we headed to a local bowling alley. The kids had never been bowling, and man, did we have fun. They really loved it. The alley was great, and not only had bumper guards, but even these little metal ramps the kids could use to push the ball down.

We followed it up with dinner at the local chili joint. A great day - and very relaxing.

Maybe one of these days I'll clean my house.

Splish Splash!

A few weeks ago K was invited to a birthday part at a splash park. It was in Chillum, Maryland. Being a VA girl, I don't know MD at all. I know Bethesda, a little of Kensington, and a tiny bit of Baltimore. But other than that - I'm lost. All I could figure was Chillum was F-A-R away, since I had never heard of it. We were running late, but got in the car and turned on the GPS. Turns out Chillum is right next to DC - just across the border. Really close - about 20 minutes from our house, and it was a GREAT place.

A really cute indoor water park - a bunch of slides (probably almost 10!)..splash pools, etc. It was really clean too. We went on a rainy, cold Sunday and it was mostly empty! I have no idea how much it costs, cuz we were at a birthday party - but it given its a public park, I imagine its pretty cheap. Anyway, if you are local - I highly recommend! It's called Rollingcrest-Chillum Splash Park. Great place to get away with the kids!

They Say the City Lights are Bright

My B is sick today. But normally she has a very sparkling personality. I knew this - but usually she has been somewhat shy around other people. Until recently. She has now figured out that an audience is golden.

It started out a month or so ago. We were at the final class of K and B's gymnastics. The teachers were giving out ribbons. The kids could walk up on the "stage" get their ribbon and bow, curtsy, or wave to the crowd. Of the 22 kids - 21 got their ribbon and shyly waved. B was the last kid called up. She shyly went up, took her ribbon, then turned to the crowd and did a perfect curtsy. It was sooo precious. I can't believe I didn't have my camera.

Then a few weeks ago we started swimming lessons. We found a time where all 3 kids go to class at the same time at the same place. Perfect! DH goes with Big Man into the kiddie class, K goes to Swim 3, and B to Swim 2. Mom stands ready with towels. So, DH and Big Man get done and head to the showers. I grab B and head for the girls' showers. K's class goes 10 minutes longer, so she stays in the pool. I get B in the locker room and push her into the communal shower. She was the only one in there. After a minute or two I tell her I want to go check on her sister in the pool. We run through our normal security drill (Me - so, if someone comes in and says, "little girl, there's a pony outside - want to go for a ride?" what do you say?? B - NOO! YOU ARE NOT MY FAMILY!) OK, check. So I pop outside the locker room to check on K. As I come back in, I hear very loud singing. I walk over to the shower, and there is B...dancing and singing at the top of her lungs, up and down the length of the shower. She has a group of toddlers and moms watching her from the locker room, and she is having a BLAST! It was so funny. I had never seen her like this around strangers. I would have taken video, but it was probably child porn, since she was naked.

Anyway, this is her routine every week at swimming now. This week as we were getting her bathing suit off, she said "time for my show!", and off she went.

Broadway...here she comes!

Weird Inside the Beltway Things

So I have been thinking about life "inside the beltway" as we call things DC-centric here. There are a few things that I think would be very weird to those outside. First, is Line Standing. This is an actual occupation here in the DC area. Companies provide individuals to stand in line for Congressional hearings, which are often held in tiny rooms that fill up so you cannot get in. These companies charge upwards of $40/hour for line standing. Some employee college students (I would think would be the perfect candidates) but often, they are adults.

The other thing is slugging. Wikipedia tells me there are other cities that do this, but I have never heard of it outside of DC. The practice of slugging is used when there are many HOV traffic lanes during rush hour, and people need carpoolers. "Slugs" wait by designated stops near the entrance to the highway and get picked up as a way to speed up everyone's commute. I think it is such a cool idea. I don't know if I would ever do it (although I know people who have), out of fear of getting in a stranger's car. But in the DC area there have been no cases of slugging abuse ever documented. There is even a cool website that gives the appropriate etiquette for slugs and places where slug-lines are commonly found.

What is a unique thing in your area?

Food and Drink Pairings

Now I know I had a recent post about wine, but don't go thinking I'm getting all foodie on you. I had to share this sign I saw at a recent stop at Burger King. Seriously. Burger King. I prefer the Sprite with the Tendercrust. You?

You Must Be Out of Your Freakin' Mind

We had Big Man's evaluation for speech therapy last week. Actually, they evaluate you for all development - motor skills, speech, emotion, cognitive, etc. The ladies who came to do it were great, and it was fascinating finding out what they read into my son's actions. Basically they played with him for 45- 1hour and then wrote up some basic findings. When they were done they went through them with me. At one point one of the ladies was playing catch with Sam. Then Sam turned and threw the ball to the other lady. They were happy to say this demonstrated "initiative play". Okey dokey. He scored at or above age level for all the motor skills and cognitive skills, emotional, relationship, etc. Basically, he just doesn't seem to want to speak English. So he qualifies for once a week speech therapy. Yay! Now I am working with insurance and the like to work out all the pay-fors.

But the funniest thing that came out of the session was when one of the women asked if I had started him on potty training. I started laughing and pointed out that we don't even let him in the bathroom because he drinks from the toilet. She did not laugh and said she thinks he is ready (based on WHAT??) and we should start working on that. She even put it in the formal written report.

Is she high? Seriously. He is 21 months (ok, 22 now). I easily potty-trained each of my girls at 2 1/2. You expect me to start earlier for my caveman-like son? It still cracks me up every time I think about it.

Tastes Like Summer

So one of my friends introduced me to Vinho Verde. Oh my goodness - it is the lightest, crispest, summery wine you will ever try. It is on the dry side, but has a bit of effervescence - soooooooo good. I highly recommend it. It comes from Portugal, and sometimes you can find it at Trader Joe's. Extra benefit - its cheap! I've seen it as low as $6! Enjoy!