Still here...

Just saying we're still here!

Things that have happened since August:

• Natalie tuned 6 on August 3rd
  
• We took a two-week vacation to New England in lat August
  
• DH got a new job (!!!) in September on Capitol Hill
  
• Natalie started 1st Grade
• Nicholas started with the 4 year-old group in pre-school (in November) and turned 4 on December 13th. He's 43" tall and 44 pounds.
  

I'll fill in more in the next couple of days. :-)

Happenings

To say things have been hectic would be an understatement.

We have been making our way through summer camp time, which has been a logistics "challenge" for me. I have been doing my best to keep up with Natalie's schoolwork during the summer, but there is so much more that I wanted to have done by now. Anyway, we've been trying. Thankfully she's been going to some great field trips, so I know she's being exposed to "good stuff". We have been trying to add in some things on weekends as well. As an example, yesterday we finished up preparations for Natalie's birthday party next weekend. We calculated how many things we would need to get, what size birthday cake we would need for her guests, etc. We went to the bakery and ordered her cake and we "did math" without talking about it as "doing math". :-) We're just trying to make it a part of daily living.

On the medical front, Dad did well with his hip replacement surgery (on July 24), as an update for all those that have asked about him. He's at the rehab place now and should be back home sometime next week. Natalie did well at her doctor's appointment the following day, and her vision is "perfect". The "scanning problem" identified at her school is therefore not a vision issue.

This morning we went to Clemyjontri Park in McLean for the first time -- and I have to say, kudos to all those that worked on such a delightful playground! I took some pictures -- I hope you enjoy them!

Kids time!

Long time, no hear -- I know, I know. :-)

Yesterday was an in-service day at Natalie's summer camp and Nicholas' preschool. So I took the day off from work :-) and we all went to Baltimore's Inner Harbor. "The plan" for lots of touring quickly got scrapped because we decided to go the the Science Center first. Five hours later (!) we were still there, so our plans to go back to Port Discovery weren't met. We went to Velleggia's for dinner -- yummy food and excellent service, which was most welcomed by me as I was alone with the two kids at a white tablecloth restaurant. :-) We brought back leftover pizza for DH. I wanted to stop at Vaccaro's on the way home, but the kids were really worn out. So that will have to wait for the next visit. (And since we got a family membership to the Science Center, we'll be back soon!)

Today I took the kids to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Five hours on the Mall with yummy food and lots of fun! Of course we had a carousel ride and a stop at the Museum of Natural History, too.

More later!

Yes, I'm still here.

I know. My bad. I haven't posted in close to two months. It's just been BUSY. I will post more next week.

Catching Up -- again!

Yikes, it's been BUSY!

Last week was Spring Break -- we all had such a great time! Monday we had our day seeing the cherry blossoms, complete with 1 pm reservation for the paddle boats at the Tidal Basin. We also went to see the Thomas Jefferson Memorial of course. We had a picnic on the mall plus yummy ice cream thanks to temps being in the 80s (woohoo!).

Tuesday was a visit to the Cub Run RECenter leisure pool -- it was so much fun and the kids just had a blast! We were "in the water" for 5 hours!

Wednesday was a "rest day". We went to the Fair Oaks Mall for some playtime at their indoor playground (temps in the 40s -- what happened to the great weather?) and we picked up some new toys for fun.

Thursday was a visit to the National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall -- complete with lunch at the best cafe at any Smithsonian Museum. Then we went to Union Station as well as the National Postal Museum, where we made greeting cards and postcards, and sent them in the mail to people we love (including school teachers!).

Friday was a "rest day" because Nicholas took a four-hour afternoon nap (!!!) so we did movie night a little early.

Saturday it snowed (!!!) but the neighborhood egg hunt still went on! The kids had fun although it was COLD!

Sunday we all went to church and had Easter dinner at home.

Monday was back to work day for me -- and I was the most relaxed I've been in months. :-) I need to take more breaks like last week!

Tuesday I went to my first meeting of the new "gifted and talented" advisory committee I'm serving on for the county. They are really at the end of their work product, so my attendance was more to get a lay of the land. Unfortunately it was at the same time as the school PTA meeting, so I had to miss that.

Wednesday night we watched Daisuke Matsuzaka pitch against Felix Hernandez. Wow, that was an interesting night for DiceK!

Tonight was Science Fair night -- the tadpoles were ready and so was Natalie. Natalie was so totally in her element -- complete with her bright pink dress, pink tights, and "high-heeled" white shoes. :-) Then she wanted to buy some raffle tickets to win some "flowers" -- well, the "flowers" were actually a Norfolk Pine tree sapling -- and of course she WON the raffle! So she is tending her tree daily and we have to pick a place to plant it, wait for the last frost, get the spot ready, etc. She said tonight, "This is without a doubt the happiest Ive ever been!" Nicholas had a ball, too, playing with Lego blocks at one of the "exhibits". What I really liked was the turnout -- it was amazing! SO MANY people came to see the students' work. It was wonderful!

Prayers are appreciated for DH -- he's still job hunting, and he had two interviews last week and another interview tomorrow. Something has to break soon...

Angry Hour

More quotes that sustain you when a child wakes you at 3 a.m. to crawl into your bed because "I can't sleep by myself":

Natalie is reading everything everywhere -- so while we were having lunch at a restaurant today, she saw a sign that said HAPPY HOUR. She asked what Happy Hour meant and I said it is the hour after people leave work. Nicholas piped in, "So when is Angry Hour?"

At the restaurant, there was a little baby with her family. One of the family members brought her over to our table to say hi to the kids. So Natalie and Nicholas were "a-ga-ga" over the little girl during lunch. The baby ended up falling asleep, and she was leaning on the shoulder of a family member in "burp position", and she went out. Like a light. Arms limp and all. I said, "She was being burped and she fell asleep." Natalie looked over at her and said, "How cute!" Nicholas looked over and said, "Is she broken?"

Spring Break

We made it to Spring Break -- WOOHOO!!!

Due to DH's unemployment, we canceled our reservations in Williamsburg. We still are going to the circus today, and we still have dance/swim/gymnastics classes today. DH has an interview on Tuesday so the kids and I will do the museums. We will also go to the Cherry Blossom Festival activities that are going on throughout the week.

Did you know you can reserve a Tidal Basin paddle boat online? Very cool!

We will also work on Natalie's Science Fair poster over the break. She's really having fun with her "tadpole to frog" project. This from a girl that generates an ear-piercing scream if there is a single moth in the house. :-)

Nicholas is getting ready to transition to his new multi-age preschool classroom. Looks like that will happen the week of April 23rd (the same week as my birthday/our wedding anniversary). He's very excited!

The Weekend

Wow, it's been a wild weekend!

First off we had St. Patrick's Day -- which included Natalie's dance class (9 am), a visit to the Air & Space Museum for Family Day (10:15 am - 1:45 pm), and a birthday party for one of Natalie's Kindergarten classmates (6 - 8 pm).

On Sunday it was church and I had to work (at home) since our association's Annual Meeting is going on this week. So much of Sunday was spent on the computer.

And the added distraction of March Madness, of course. I've picked Georgetown to win the National Championship. That means the Hoyas are now doomed. ;-)