September came and went in a blink

We are probably crazy.

There is nothing like fall to really emphasize just how crazy we are.

It's a juggling act. Three kids in three different schools. Two kids in soccer with games and practices in two different locations at the same time. Two kids in dance. One kid taking piano lessons, choir, and chimes. And in between all this we have a birthday boy and some very welcomed guests.

I'll start with the piano. The excitement level in our house upon learning that we were finally (after years of talking about it) getting a piano so that Clara could start lessons was beyond high. She is taking lessons from the music director at her church and he is very impressed with her progress, she is breezing through the early sections of her lesson book... a quick study.

Soccer has begun. And we suddenly have a soccer star in our house. Lucas loves the sport, looking forward to practices and games. He's even scored goals in the last two games! Our kitchen has become his personal practice spot, which can be fun. Clara has a lot of fun playing, but I don't think she loves the sport. Though last weekend, she got to play goalie for the first time and I think she truly loved that! She seemed to fit that position very well, she just needs to work on getting the ball back into play quicker. For the last three weeks, Jason has put together a parents vs. kids game which is a lot of fun, too. Not too many parents have joined into the fun yet... but hopefully it'll catch on.

School is in session... first day of school pictures!
Amid all the hustle and bustle Eli turned 3. Jason came up with the idea to make Eli a DC United soccer cake as he does love our home team. So I came up with this plan for Eli's cake in my head and was pleasantly surprised when the outcome matched nearly perfectly the picture that I'd been carrying around in my head for weeks. Eli loved loved loved his cake. He also loved his balloons and his presents. It's so much less pressure when it's just a small family party.

The following week, my Dad & Stepmom came up for a visit from Florida. Dad hadn't been here since last November, while Sharon hadn't been here since the summer of 2008... too long!! What a wonderful week having them here. They helped so much with getting the kids to and from school. Dad worked some sort of miracle with our ice maker/water dispenser in our refrigerator, not only fixing the ice maker that has been broken since early spring, but improving the flow rate of water so that it isn't just a trickle anymore! Dad also re-screened some panels in our porch that Eli had pushed out long ago. They also watched the kids so that Jason and I could go out to dinner to celebrate our 11th anniversary. And Dad helped Jason to replace the battery in our car when it expectantly died. I wasn't ready for them to leave. Luckily for me, after they spend a week in CT visiting my uncle they'll be back for a day or two. They have to hurry home, though, because Sharon got some exciting news while on vacation... she got a great job and starts next Monday! Congratulations, again!!

While most of September has been a great new adventure as we all enter these new phases in our lives. Lucas fits Kindergarten perfectly... he is so happy and has settled into the routine effortlessly. Eli loves preschool so much that he wishes it were every day and not just 3 days each week. Tuesday and Thursday are so hard for him... crying as he sends his siblings off to school. He just runs into the classroom without even looking back and saying goodbye. It's nice that he's adjusting so well. Clara really loves her new school/class/teacher. However, the workload and the pace of the class is causing her to struggle. The teacher called me regarding some behavior issues that have emerged along with the incomplete work. So it's been a tough transition for her and there is a sense that she's feeling frustrated. The actual work comes easy for her, but she tends to "overwork" everything so that it leaves little time to accomplish everything. This week has been her catch-up week, which has been painful as I see her spend every spare moment doing homework. There will be a meeting with her teacher soon, but aside from that, my fingers are crossed that we can alleviate some of the stresses by having her keep up with assignments at home and finding her a friend so that she has somebody to 'help' her socially.

Summer 2010, Part II

There is something satisfying about writing this entry about our summer as September slips away. Not the part about it taking me a month to get around to finishing out my summertime blog post... just the part about reflecting on what a great summer we had. Part II really just focuses on August, but we packed a lot into one month. In addition to the activities/trips that are included below, we also spent quite a bit of time getting caught up on all of the kid's doctor and dental visits, doing a bit of back-to-school shopping, buying a new piano for Clara to begin lessons, and soccer practices began. I have to admit that I was looking forward to school starting... so that I'd have a bit of time to relax!

7/28: Lollipop Swim - Every summer all the local junior swim teams come together for their own swim meet, the Lollipop Meet. Prior to this meet Clara had been working really hard to swim the entire length of the pool (25 meters) and she finally did it! She was so proud of herself.

7/31-8/7: Atwood Family Visit - Finally, Kelly and company made it out to see us! What fun it was hosting good friends. Although they stayed pretty busy during their visit, it was so wonderful getting to spend time with them. We accompanied them to a couple of the stops: Rock Creek Park, the US Botanic Gardens, and the Beach. Rock Creek Park is this beautiful gargantuan national park nestled right into downtown DC. We explored some of the hiking trails, had a picnic, and let the kids throw rocks under Boulder Bridge. Our visiting friends got the opportunity to meet our local friends at a BBQ. It was actually very comfortable and I really loved seeing all the mingling of the kids. The Botanical Gardens are beautiful, too. The kids loved walking along the paths pointing out each and every different type of plant/flower. It was a great place to play with my camera and get some interesting flower shots. Although, I bet Clara would claim that the best part of the day was our lunch in the cafeteria at the American Indian Museum. It was the most interesting cafeteria... divided up into the different categories of American Indian (i.e. Northwest Coast, Plains, Southwest, etc). All the food served was inspired by actual food that would have been native to each specific area. We had so much fun just picking a bunch of different dishes and trying them all. So... who wants to come out for a visit next... I would love to go back there! And then the beach... well, the beach is the beach. We all had a great time getting sandy and whipped around in the waves. It's going to be fun planning for the next time they come out!!
8/14-8/16: Shenandoah National Park - This weekend marked our second camping trip of the summer and our second trip to Shenandoah. The drive up looked ominous with heavy dark clouds hovering over the very area that we were planning to camp and sure enough, once there the cloud cover was so thick that often we couldn't see anything at the overlooks and a light drizzle kept our tents nice and damp, but the temperatures were incredibly pleasant and overall the weekend turned out to be magnificent. After setting up camp on Day 1, we headed out for a short easy hike along the Limberlost Trail. Then upon waking on Day 2 headed directly out to conquer the Bearfence Mountail Trail before breakfast. That was the best hike! The trail wasn't so much a trail as a rock scramble and both the kids and adults came away covered in dirt and sure that we would all do that again next year. In the afternoon, we hit the Stony Man trail and Little Stony Man Cliffs for some outstanding views (in between the drifting clouds). Day 3 had us walking around Big Meadows in the morning and the Lewis Spring Falls Trail as our last hike of the weekend. Our weekend ended on a high note with some handmade blackberry ice cream (thanks to another family we met on the trail for telling us about it). We always enjoy our camping trips, but it seems like each time they just get better.

8/19 - U.S. Capitol Tour - A big huge thank you to our good friend, David, for getting us scheduled for a tour through the Capitol Building. This was something I've always wanted to do. Our red coat tour guide took us through the Rotunda, the Statuary, the Crypt, and the old Supreme Court. However, it was the private tour, led by David himself, that was truly the highlight of the afternoon. He took us down the decorated halls of the House wing to his offices where we got to go out onto the balcony! The kids loved this part of the tour, not to mention that they all got to pretend to be committee members sitting at the table talking into the microphones... which they could have easily done for much longer than we let them. This guided tour made me realize how much the kids have grown and are now capable of being well-behaved which makes me optimistic for future tours.

Oh... and that whole having some time to relax once the kids were in school is a huge myth! It seems that now that all the fall activities are in full swing, things are busier than ever. But I think I'll save all that for a future post.

Summer 2010, Part I

We have really been enjoying an event-filled summer this year. So many summers have flown by leaving us regretting the fact that we did not take more advantage of the time while we had it. Fall is filled with soccer and Nutcracker practices. Winter is too cold to do anything outside, plus all the holidays and travel. Spring is taken up with soccer, baseball, end of school-year festivities, and recitals. Summer is supposed to be that time when our weekends are more our own to do all those things we always said we wanted to do. Unfortunately, it takes a lot of planning to seemingly be spontaneous. Last winter (in anticipation of not wasting another summer), we sat down and made of list of all the things that we wanted to do this summer... then, being the organized nerds that we are... we put together a spreadsheet to match each activity to a weekend, so that all our summer weekends were filled. It could have been so easy to not stick to our plan, but we have... or at least used it for a guide. It's been fantastic! A short run down of our summer so far.

June:

Great Falls: I'd only learned that we had such a gorgeous National Park right in our own backyard just this past year. We spent the afternoon just admiring the falls from three different overlooks and taking a short hike to some canal remnants. We even sat and watched some kayakers struggling with the current. It was a wonderful afternoon (even though we had to initially sit in our car and wait for the downpour to subside). The kids love the outdoors so much. Clara wants to stop and record in journal about all the plants and insect life that she sees. Lucas wants to lead the way and be the first to discover each hidden treasure. Eli just loves the freedom of being outside and running.
Blueberry Picking and Luray Caverns: The blueberry field was actually on our way to the caverns, so it was a nice diversion. The caverns were something that I had always wanted to see. They were spectacular, much more so than even I had imagined. And of course, the beauty and massiveness of it doesn't come through in the pictures. And luckily for me... I really got my money's worth, getting to go through the caverns three separate times thanks to Eli needing to hit the bathrooms halfway through.

Baseball Game DC Nationals v. KC Royals: Ball games are always a hit with the older kids... the whole atmosphere of being there in the stands, eating the peanuts right from the shell and pitching the shells right onto the ground. It always seems like the game is secondary, but it's a fun family outing no matter. This time, however, proved interested with Eli in the midst of toilet training. He kept using the bathroom as a way to get out of uncomfortable situations, like when the fireworks went off or when the crowd got rowdy or when it started raining. So it was a LOT of up and down the stairs with him (and it was a lot of stairs as were were nearly at the top).

Dance Recitals: The culmination of a whole year of hard work in dance class! A day we look forward to each year... and they did absolutely great! I posted the videos on YouTube, in case you haven't checked them out yet.
July:

Camping at Peaks of Otter (Blue Ridge Parkway) and Natural Bridge: This was our first camping trip of the year. We were all very excited. I was especially excited as Eli was a year older and I was looking forward to him being a bit less of a handful than last summer... he wasn't. He was so desperate to be one of the older kids and do what they do that it made it more work for me to constantly be on guard. We all loved it and had a great time though, despite all the whining, the falls and scrapes. Our first day, we drove down the Blue Ridge Parkway and stopped at some overlooks and a few short hikes. I think the favorite part from this day was the rocks that the kids climbed all over. Jason took Clara and Lucas on a night hike, which was another highlight from that day. The second day was spent just exploring the Peaks of Otter recreation area. We did three 2-mile hikes (one took us down to a waterfall, one took us up to a homestead farm, and one was just a nature loop). We took some time out to head down to Bedford, VA for some ice cream and a look around the visitor center. Our third day was spent at Natural Bridge.
National Air and Space Museum: We've lived here now for over 4 years and this was our first visit to the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum. Let me just say WOW! Of course, the first thing that strikes you is the size of these aircraft... and then when you realize that these aren't replica's or models... they are the real thing... it's kind of awe inspiring. Especially the Space Shuttle Enterprise! The kids ran through the museum pretending to be little airplanes. Clara's favorite was the Concorde.

More Blueberry Picking and DC United Soccer Game: More blueberry picking? I know, but we were out after our last outing and there is this particular farm that we love going to, so it only made sense... especially since the rain resulted in a much longer picking season. We ended up coming home with over 9 pounds of berries... not too bad! That was Saturday. On Sunday, we went to our very first major-league soccer game. The World Cup literally brought soccer into this house. Clara and Lucas both play soccer, but it just isn't the same as seeing it played by professionals. Lucas was obsessed with the World Cup... wanting to watch every match and literally crying when we were out and he missed one. The humorous part is that the only channel that we have that broadcast World Cup matches was Univision... so we were watching nearly all the matches in Espanol! (There were a few Saturday games that were aired on ABC.) Nearly every day, Lucas and Clara were playing soccer in the kitchen pretending to be players from team USA (Clara would be Landon Donovan and Lucas would be Tim Howard). When we heard that Donovan's team the LA Galaxy was playing our home team DC United, we knew we had to go and to top it off, the kid's tickets were free through their summer reading program. What an experience!! Soccer games are the best... so exciting, so action-packed. We will definitely be going to another one next summer... or sooner.
In addition to all this F-U-N we're having... Eli's completely toilet trained, Clara and Lucas are making big strides in the Little Vikings swim team, and we had an very welcomed unexpected guest for a week. It seems like it's been a busy summer so far, but I don't feel overwhelmed. I'm really enjoying it and looking forward to Part II.

No More Babies Here

I've been told that it's not good to wish the time away, that once the kids are big, you'll wish they were small again. I can't say that's been true for me. From the time that Eli was born, I kept looking forward to that next milestone: when he would be done nursing, when he would walk, when he.... you can easily fill in the blank. Don't misunderstand, I have enjoyed every moment (well, maybe not EVERY moment) of watching him grow and develop into each new phase, but I have been looking forward to this new particular phase for about 2 1/2 years. As he enters into each new phase, I've been doing major purging of baby stuff in our house. It's been wonderful! But nothing will compare to this: getting rid of the crib and changing table!! That's right! Eli has been sleeping in his big-kid bed since Saturday night and is doing great. He stays in bed all night, after only having to place him back into the bed once or twice at bedtime. That's way better than it was with Lucas! The only real con is that we've had to say goodbye to scheduled nap time. He just won't stay in the bed, no matter how many times I put him back in. Now I get to enjoy the unscheduled naps in the car, in front of the TV, at the dinner table... but I'm so very OK with it. Farewell, crib! It's been a great 7+ years with you, but it's time for you to move on to the next family.

It's not enough for me to be doing the bye-bye crib dance... I am also getting to do the bye-bye diapers dance! We are currently in the midst of a hard-core toilet training session and I've been seeing real progress, especially today. So with the absence of a crib and diapers... I think it's pretty safe to say that there are no more babies in this house.

The Birthday Boy

Aack! I started this post right after Lucas' birthday party and then left it... until now. Seems like eons ago, but I would feel horrid if I didn't dedicate one post to Lucas turning 5.

We celebrated his birthday on the Saturday preceding with a huge party here at the house. Most of his friends came, there were 18 kids total (that includes my 3). As they came in, we directed them into the dining room to make their own paper airplane (we supplied crayons and stickers for them to decorate). Then they got to see how well their planes flew! That was a cacophony!! All those kids so excited and running around flying their planes.

Then we directed them to go sit in the library for a puppet show. The guy who did the puppet show was fantastic (he was the same one that we hired for Clara's 5th birthday). The kids just laughed and laughed. It doesn't matter that the puppets are showing their age or that the guy is well past retirement age or that he uses the word "butt" too much... he is well worth the price!

After the puppet show, it was time for cake and ice cream. I made him a rocket cake with outer space cupcakes that turned out pretty cute. But, the look on Lucas' face as everybody sang "Happy Birthday" to him was completely priceless... he was in his happy place for sure! I really think that he loved all the attention... that everything was focused on him.

After cake and ice cream, the kids played a few rounds of Duck, Duck, Goose and Musical Chairs. Such simple games, such a wealth of entertainment!

Lucas loved his party, but the festivities didn't end there. On his actual birthday, Monday, they celebrated at school and I brought in L-U-C-A-S cookies for him to share with his class. Then that evening, we took him to the restaurant of his choice, Austin Grill, then back home for family presents.
Happy 5th Birthday, Lucas!

Good, Bad, Weird, and Just Plain Busy

After a couple of lull months regarding activities, I thought it was the perfect time to fit in some much overdue doctor's visits. What was supposed to be a routine set of check-ups turned into months of tests, stress and worry (at least for me) over what ended up being nothing. A huge relief... in fact, I don't think I've ever been so relieved at being told "it's nothing." However, I was diagnosed with the early stages of Glaucoma, and for someone of my age with no family history, it is statistically unlikely... lucky me. Although I've already developed a blind spot in my right eye, since it was caught early and with proper maintenance (which right now is simply eye drops), I will likely not lose any significant vision. But... that's enough about me!

While on the topic of doctor visits, both Eli and Lucas had their check-ups during this time period. I've got two very healthy boys. While the youngest rockets up the growth chart, the other stays steadily on the bottom curve. Eli at 2 1/2 years weighed 30lbs (which is between the 50-75th %ile) and Lucas at 5 years weighed in at 35 lbs (which is the 10th %ile). Years of worry about Lucas' weight doesn't just go away, but it does feel good knowing that the doctor is not concerned. Lucas' vision and hearing tests both came back with negative results. The hearing test can most likely be attributed to allergies (from our experience last year), but after everything with Clara, I wonder if it would be a good idea to have his eyes checked by an actual eye doctor. My worries with Eli were very few (the main one being that he didn't seem to be recognizing his colors), which proved to be a non-issue now that he know them all!

Before I move on to the Just Plain Busy part, I want to mention the Weird, which could also be classified as the Highly Unnerving. Early Saturday morning (April 17), about 3:30am, Jason woke to the sound of a car alarm going off nearby. When he looked out the window, he noticed our carport light on and immediately went to check things out. He discovered our car with the driver's door wide open, the passenger door closed not latched, the glove box, console, and ashtray all open and our GPS gone! He ran upstairs to wake me up and then called the police. We live in a quiet, safe, trusting neighborhood. We've lived here over 4 years and never locked our car doors (even been told by our neighbors that they don't either). Long story shortened... it was a high school kid and his friends just stirring up trouble and we got our GPS back. Although, I'm glad to know that it was just teenage mischief and that we don't suddenly live in a crime-ridden area... I am left feeling vulnerable and violated. Our car... we leave it locked now and bring our GPS in at night. On a lighter note... I am so glad they didn't steal my Glee CD!!

Our California house also caused us a bit of strife during these past few months. Our really great tenant (the one who always pays on time and keeps the house up well) moved out. It was heartbreaking to have to go through the process of finding a new tenant again. We are so extremely lucky to have our friend there who acts as our property manager working on our behalf. Surprisingly, it only took a month to find a new tenant. We were told that most of the people who were interested in the house were moving because they had to not because they wanted to. That doesn't makes for the most desirable of candidates, but I'm optimistic that our new tenants will work out.

And now that spring is in full gear, we have been hopping busy with Clara and Lucas and in both T-Ball, soccer and dance. Now just to be clear, we weren't going to sign her up for T-Ball, but she wanted to play... very badly and didn't want to give up soccer either. With this being our first experience with the Little League scene, we were unprepared for the commitment. Initially, as I was writing all the practices and games into our calendar I was upset about all the conflicts. I hated the idea that she wouldn't be able to participate in all the activities that we signed her up for. However, it was brought to my attention that maybe if there weren't so many conflicts and she actually could participate in everything, then she may get burned out on all the activities... especially if that left her no time for homework. Everything (I didn't even mention Clara's involvement in the church chimers group and choir) is keeping us very busy, but the kids are really enjoying everything.

Clara Turns 7!

For the past month, my stress level has been elevated as I try to plan for Clara's 7th birthday amid two major snowstorms and a girl who keeps adding to the "what my party should be" list. Yet, here I sit surrounded by the aftermath of what I can only hope was a good party for Clara and her friends. She is 7! How did that happen?

On her birthday, I took the boys to her school and we ate lunch with her. I made apple bread (at her request) for her to share with her class. Then that evening, we took her out for dinner where she received a complimentary piece of birthday cake... her choice: Strawberry Angel Food Cake. She opened the gifts from us and loved them more than I expected she would. By far her favorite gift was a "sapphire-blue hiking pole". She is all ready to go hiking this spring and summer!On Saturday, we celebrated her birthday with a party... a flower party to be exact. We decorated the house with flower garlands. Her un-cake was a little flower garden... it was actually a pan of brownies frosted with marshmallow fluff colored green then iced flower-shaped sugar cookies all around the sides. Clara was very adamant about not wanting a cake for her birthday. She invited 13 friends and only 1 wasn't able to come. She had a hand in helping to plan it almost every step of the way. We decided to pick three crafts to do with her friends: flower name tags, tissue paper flower pens, and flower headbands. I think the girls enjoyed the crafts even though a lot of the girls had some trouble with the crafts and others would have rather played games. In fact, we did have to improvise a little and allow for some "game-time" with some of the girls playing Duck, Duck, Goose and the others playing Fairies. Of course, I think that one of the best parts of the party was the brownie sundaes... loads of sugar... what little girl doesn't like loads of sugar?

Happy Birthday, Clara!

Snow, Snow and more Snow!

January 30; 6 inches. It started snowing in the morning, but we chanced it and drove into DC to look around the National Museum of Natural History... one of the places that I've been wanting to go since we moved here. We found a parking place right in front of the building and walked in right as they opened... the place was nearly empty. It was so nice to be able to walk through and leisurely look at the displays. Such a change from when we were there on July 4th two summers ago and the people were crowded in there like sardines! We didn't see everything we wanted to, so we will definitely be going back. Jason shovelled the driveway Sunday morning and the kids didn't have school Monday, since it was a teacher work day. I was sad that the library book sale was cancelled, but that was just the beginning.

February 2; 4-5 inches. After being back in school Tuesday, school was cancelled Wednesday. Lucas missed school on Tuesday... home sick. He had been having cold symptoms since Sunday and didn't seem to be improving at all, so he saw the doctor on Thursday morning. An ear infection in both ears! Poor guy had to stay home Thursday, too. He was so excited about going back to school on Friday. Until....

February 5-6; 23 inches! School cancelled again on Friday! So, aside from Lucas who missed the entire week, the kids were in school all of 2 days this week. After such a huge accumulation of snow, most of the area was still digging themselves out on Monday... so school was cancelled again. And again Tuesday... and again Wednesday! And upon digging ourselves out Sunday, Jason discovered our car with a dead battery. Due to an interfering seat belt buckle, Clara had not closed her door completely the last time she was in the car... Thursday night! Thank goodness for our neighbors, who loaned us a battery charger. The kids did get out and play in the snow, but the biggest kid in our house had the most fun... Jason created two tunnels in the snow long after all the little ones were warm and snug back in the house. In fact, the kids are completely done with playing in the snow! I tried to encourage them to get out and play and was met with total resistance... they don't want to get out in the snow anymore.

February 10; 7 inches of snow on top of a thin layer of freezing rain. The blizzard was incredible to watch and I am so glad that we didn't lose power at all. The winds were really blowing the trees and snow around, and power outages were a huge fear (according to the news), but it looks like we made it through. School has been cancelled for the remainder of the week though! I'm starting to feel like they won't ever be going back to school. And of course this hits right before all their Valentine's parties (for which we've already bought and filled out all the cards). Lucas keeps looking at his school's calendar of events and expressing disappointment at all the activities that are being missed. Clara doesn't seem disappointed at all that school's been cancelled, which actually surprises me, considering how much she loves school.

Now that the winds have stopped and the snow looks like it’s tapering quite a bit, I feel like I can relax a little. I’ve been so high strung through these storms worried about all the possible (negative) outcomes that it feels like a relief to have come through them fairly unscathed. The thought that keeps my stomach in knots is what this 'brave new world' will be like once everyone is back in their normal routines. With most roads down to just one lane, the drop off/pick up at the school will be an utter nightmare, not to mention just the regular going about town.

Clara was chosen as the Citizen of the Month for the month of February for her school, which is quite an honor. It'll be a surprise for her, so I'm excited to see her reaction at the assembly where she will be awarded her certificate. Unfortunately, that assembly keeps getting postponed. I'm ready for things to go back to normal... I'm tired of all this snow!

December?

How did posting once a week suddenly become posting once every two months?! December is long gone and here we sit amid a brand new year. Happy (belated) New Year.

Ok... so highlights from the month of December:

• Parent observation day at the dance studio, so that we could watch Clara and Lucas' progress,
  
  

• Enjoyed sharing the last night of Hannukah with good friends,
• A huge snowstorm that left 16+ inches of snow in our area, cancelling school for the three days prior to winter break,
• Clara's handbell concert was a treat and Lucas joined her in the Christmas Eve performance at the church,
• We truly enjoyed our first Christmas at home (with our very first Christmas tree ever!),
• Our trip to Missouri after Christmas was far too eventful (thanks to Eli), but it was nice seeing a few sights along the way, family and great old friends.

January has almost slipped away unnoticed. Amid trying to get life back in order after all the holidays and travel, we are starting to plan for Clara's birthday party next month, and just recently we are dealing with car troubles. Although we are still waiting to hear from the mechanic regarding what is actually wrong with the car, he has indicated that it may be time for us to start shopping around for a new car... sigh. I have been fantasizing about a new car for almost a year (we said we would keep our car for 10 years and it was 10 years April 2009), but it was just that: a fantasy. I am not ready to give up our car that's been with us for almost 11 years! I am definitely not ready for a car payment that comes with a new car. How about I just take a step back, take a deep breath and wait until I hear from the mechanic... no reason to worry until then... right?