kindergarten concert

Last night marked another milestone for Dylan and more proof that they grow up way too fast. The kindergarten classes at Dylan's school performed a concert. They sang songs welcoming the incoming kindergarteners, and at the end, the Principal promoted them to first grade. It was just adorable, as they sang their little hearts out with gusto to a jam packed auditorium filled with proud teary parents, grandparents, siblings and friends.

Hopefully our video footage came out much better than these pictures I got. Its abundantly clear from these the time has come to shop for a new digital camera, as were were only about two rows back and they still came out pretty poorly. My little flash just couldn't handle the job. I'll try to figure out how to upload some video clips this weekend (or shall I say, Andrew will probably head that one up). Meanwhile, here are a couple of stills from the evenings events. I wish we had taken a family shot since Grandma and Grandpa drove out for the occasion too.

Dylan and his buddy Matthew before the show:

I'm ready for the show!

Dylan is to the far left, 2nd row up.



Second row from the top, far left.

We're so proud of you, buddy!

9 years

Nine years, two kids and countless adventures later, I love you more than ever.

Someday, we'll get back here again. The place we began making our dreams come true.

Happy Anniversary.

field trip tales

Today we awoke to pouring rain, just in time for me to chaperone Dylan's school trip to Lisner Auditorium at GW University in DC. We sat on the school bus in bumper to bumper traffic, squealing into DC just in time for the play If You Give a Pig a Pancake to start. Very cute, very clever. The other children's books featured in the play are: Diary of a Worm, Fluffy the Classroom Guinea Pig, Horace and Morris but Mostly Dolores, Lily's Big Day, and one of our favorites around here, How I Became a Pirate.

Then it was back to the bus for bag lunch time, since the ground was too soggy for the planned picnic. Oh well, still lots of fun. We rode back to VA, munching our Sun Chips and listening to a bus load of giggling six year olds.

Some observations of a kindergarten field trip:

• So cute how Dylan's feet, adorned in red Converse sneakers, still dangle in the air since his legs aren't long enough for his feet to touch the floor of the bus yet.
• Remember how the windows of the school bus get all steamed up when its raining out? And the humidity on the bus is a good 120%?
• Nothing like sitting in rush hour traffic, miles from our destination, with a bursting bladder and knowing the bathroom is a good 45 minutes away.
• Little girls on the school bus sit quietly and draw, and practice their sweet little songs for the school concert. Boys, however, turn every bodily appendage into some sort of weaponry and spend the entire trek finding new ways to poke said appendages through the seats in front of them shooting each other.
• Ditto for during the performance. Girls sit and watch. Boys squeak their folding seats, wiggle, turn and twist around, and do not sit still for more than 2 minute stretches.

I have to say, though, I was proud of Dylan. He sat still, paid attention and gave me about a hundred kisses during the bus trip and the play. And sitting next to him on the bus, with his head resting on my shoulder the whole way home, I sort of didn't want the trip to end.

hello, summer

Fantastic Memorial Day weekend weather led to many, many bbq's, a concert, a Wii Guitar Hero party, two trips to the pool, and some gardening. Despite some less than desirable behavior out of Mr. Logan a few times over the long weekend, we got in some fun and smiles with friends.

Dylan is right in front of the singer of Black Sheep:

The kids, chillin' like rock stars:

Fun Dip!

Our first sprout of broccoli. We'll have fresh stir fry someday!

long weekend

Last year, we spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake house, soaking up the sun, licking popsicles and tubing behind the boat. Look how little Logan was! Wow, you don't realize how much they grow until you look at old photos. This year, we're staying home but have a full agenda line-up:

• Black Sheep at Friday Night Live
• no soccer at 8:15 a.m. on Saturday - hooray we can sleep in (Logan, do you hear that?)
• planting some new things in the garden including Silver Queen corn, cucumbers and zuchinni
• shopping for flowers for out front
• two different BBQ's where the kids can run amok, getting dirty and playing with friends, and we can enjoy some adult beverages, conversation and tasty treats
• neighborhood pool opening
• perhaps taking in some great fireworks at the neighborhood summer kick off party

Hope you have a great holiday weekend!

Potty Training Update

Question: Just how is potty training going?

Answer: It's not.

Just. Does. Not. Get. It.

Am I beating my head against the wall? Do I just need to wait until he shows more signs of being ready? Should I just strip him naked for the entire three day weekend ahead and resign myself to lots of carpet and couch scrubbing? Should I just call up preschool now and give up his spot for fall?

Sigh. This child will go to preschool in September, even if I have to hide a Pull Up inside his underwear and pray for no poop during two three-hour sessions a week.

proud and teary

Next Thursday night, Dylan's kindergarten class is putting on a program for the incoming kindergartners as well as their parents. They'll be singing several songs they've been practicing. And really, its a ceremony representing them passing from kindergarten to becoming 1st graders next year. My eyes are already welling up just typing this. I can't wait to see him up there on stage with all of the kindergarteners. Today, the other room mom and I tye died all of the shirts for the kids to wear. They'll look so cute!

So today I asked him to practice singing his songs for me. One of the songs is "Make New Friends, But Keep The Old", and his little voice is so sweet singing it. Tonight he quietly told me, "Mom, sometimes when I hear that song, it just makes me cry a little. Its just so beautiful."

And my heart just about exploded right then and there.

hats off to Grandma

We're looking forward to a nice, long, sunny summer full of pool lounging (yea, okay, well at least pool splashing), picnics, bbq's, days at the lake house, fishing, and a trip to the beach. So how ideal for my very creative and talented stepmom to have made the boys these hats that just arrived today! She embroidered surfboards and skateboards, and of course, their names. They're lined with terrycloth for maximum sweat-soaking, and they're big and floppy.

Thanks Grandma Bobbie!

a pain in the eye

Dylan's six year well check-up was a couple of weeks ago. I mentioned to the pediatrician he's been periodically complaining of headaches. They usually seem to occur after school into the evening...not every day, but frequently enough that I felt we should delve into it a little bit. She referred us to a pediatric opthamologist. Less than perfect vision runs on both side of our families, and I just wanted to jump on this early before the next school year brings full days of reading and focusing.

So this morning, we got up bright and early and off we went. The opthamologist was very thorough (an hour and half worth!) and did a number of different types of exams. They still do the same exam where you wear the 3-D glasses and make you look at illustrations of a fly and pinch its wings. They dilated his pupils and looked inside his eyes, too. Result - he is slightly far-sighted in his left eye. But just slightly. Doc said most kids at this age are slightly far-sighted in one eye or the other. The slight degree for Dylan doesn't equate to any need for glasses or give us a solid reason for his headaches. They want to re-examine him in a year and its likely this will have corrected itself, so we'll see.

In the meantime, we'll be looking for other reasons for the headaches. Maybe he's a little dehydrated somedays, or maybe he isn't eating enough. Or maybe he has a two year old brother who likes to scream a lot.

how does your garden grow?

When we were house hunting over six years ago, we were having a heck of a time. The market was red hot back then, and you almost had to hear of a lead before it went on the market because by the time you got there, you'd have to beat out ten other offers. Such was the case with our house. We probably looked at 25 houses in a variety of locations, and we were growing frustrated. Either they weren't in the school district we wanted, or they didn't have a finished basement like we wanted, or the yard sucked, or they needed way more work than we could put in with having a one year old in tow...the list went on and on and we searched for months.


When our realtor called and told us to drive by this house one night after work, I knew we had to see it. The first thing I noticed was the front porch and envisioned rocking chairs and tall glasses of iced tea, watching the kids play in the hose. Then I saw a glimpse of the big, flat fenced-in backyard and saw Dylan running and playing throughout his childhood (back then there was just Dylan, no Logan). The icing on the cake was the screen porch on the back of the house. Its an extension of our family room and we've spent many an afternoon, evening and family gathering out there sharing drinks and stories. It fell within a fantastic school district, and was within walking distance to the local library and pool. We quickly put forth our best offer, beating out all the other offers already on the table.

Six years later, we still love it here. Great neighbors, great community, great schools and a house we'll never grow out of.

Our yard is big enough for a nice big playset the boys enjoy everyday:

And we recently landed a free trampoline, thus adding another level to the backyard recreational fun:

But perhaps the most exciting addition to our backyard is the garden Andrew put in this spring. I've had nothing to do it, its been his baby, and we're all excited to see how it does. He followed the Square Foot Method (as recommended by many of our experienced gardening friends), and he's created both a homemade composter and rainbarrel. We're excited about being green at our house these days, and we hope to be enjoying the gardens' bounty all summer and fall. Getting the kids to try some of these veggies will prove challenging, I'm sure, but maybe some good motivation to earn Wii points.

Here are some photos of Andrew's totally-from-scratch labor of love:

The upside down buckets contain different types of tomatoes: cherry's, Mr. Stripey heirloom, and cascading grape tomatoes. In the top of buckets are various herbs. The bottom part of this garden patch contains cabbage (red and white), eggplant, peppers, arugula, and yellow pear tomatoes.

In this bed, he planted broccoli, cauliflower, hot and sweet peppers.

In this middle bed, he has collard greens, sugar snap peas, wild onions, stevia and sunflowers.

Logan helping the sunflowers along...

This last plot contains green beans, cantaloupe, roma tomatoes and more sunflowers. In the background you can see Andrew's homemade rain barrel, which has been getting a work out with all our rain lately.

We may decide to change some veggies and fruits out throughout the summer depending on what's doing well and what isn't. I think its a great learning experience for the kids on so many levels, and I know Andrew is really enjoying learning a whole new hobby.

short list

Potty Training Update
Logan had only two pee accidents today. Not bad at all. We're going to keep going with this, I can't turn back now! He has only told me on his own a couple of times that he has to go. Most of the time its me coaxing him into the bathroom with some sort of bribe. Oh well, the idea will come to him eventually, right?

Reason # 276 This Job Should Pay Six Figures
After returning from a playdate this afternoon, Dylan proceeded to use half a roll of toilet paper in the toilet, thus causing massive bathroom flooding in our powder room. As Logan is, of course, melting down because he's hungry and wants me to make their dinner. As the phone is ringing, the magazine sales guy (a.k.a. recovering crack addict) is knocking on my door for the second time this week causing Bella to go absolutely beserk.

A Shout Out...
....to our neighbors and friends Paige and John. John randomly fell on Sunday and broke his hip, thus requiring surgery at 11 p.m. Sunday night. He's been in the hospital since (John, I hope they're giving you the good drugs!) and will probably be at home and in physical therapy for quite some time recuperating. Here's hoping for a speedy recovery. There is much driveway drinking to be done this summer!

#4

Today was Grandparents Day at Dylan's school. My Mom joined Dylan in his class, and the kids performed some songs they've been practicing for the occasion. Then the grandparents joined the kids for a snack, and a professional photographer was on hand to photograph grandparents and grandchildren.

And as if the day wasn't exciting enough already, Dylan lost his second front upper tooth in the middle of it all (so, tooth #4 total)!

The bottom two have already grown in partially but with the top two missing, we might have to start calling him Big Gap. Then again, one of his dear friends has lost all FOUR across the top front in the last month so I think that name goes to her!

weekend bliss

We had a lovely, busy weekend and Mother Nature really came through with some excellent weather finally.

On Saturday, we attended Aunt Jessica's grad school graduation party at my Mom's. Got to see lots of old friends, and visit with family and of course eat a ton of great food. Almost all of my brother's friends now have babies of their own and there were cute, sweet babies all over the place. Dylan and Cousin Josh enjoyed playing some doctor on the screen porch (Josh was sporting his Elton John sunglasses):

Dylan and Logan played in the yard:

And serving some tea to Grandpa Robby:

Sadly I didn't get a single picture of the Grad Girl herself (sorry Jess, but its always about the kids anyway, right??).

Mother's Day yesterday was heaven on a stick. We spent our entire day in our yard gardening, weeding, mowing and playing with the kids. Logan wore himself out midafternoon and passed out on our screen porch, and I read half of a book. Heaven!

Andrew made me a spectacular meal, of which I savored every bite. Then we made s'mores over the firepit with the boys. A perfect day.

Coconut Fruit Dip

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day! And to celebrate, I wanted to share this incredibly delicious and easy summer recipe. Its seriously so good, you'll want to stick your entire face in the bowl and lick it up.

Coconut Fruit Dip

1 entire can of cream of coconut (I use the Coco Lopez brand, you can find it in the alcohol drink aisle with all the drink mixers)
1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese, SOFTENEND ( you can use Lite)

1 “regular” size container Cool Whip (you can use Lite)

Mix the Cream of Coconut and the Cream Cheese and blend very well. Fold in the Cool Whip. Chill. Makes a lot, so its great for a potluck or bbq.

Serve with sliced fresh pineapple, strawberries, bananas, kiwi, blackberries...

Its a bowl of fluffy, summery tropical goodness. Thanks to my friend Heidi for sharing this recipe with me. She also makes a great Kahlua Dip!

big boy world

Logan's language is just catapulting at an insane rate these days. Its not only the words, its the more abstract ideas he's stringing together on his own. Its really amazing to watch. Some examples lately have been him asking us "you happy, Mom? Dylan happy, Mom? Daddy happy, Mom? I happy, Mom." And today he said "I school, you miss me, Mom?" (when I'm at school do you miss, me?). To think just a few months ago he had only a handful of two and three word phrases.

Speech therapy is going swimmingly. He loves his teacher, and she him. In fact, on Wednesday she told me he is the light of her day when she sees him. He can be a charmer when he wants to be. He loves 'school' and gets so excited when its a school day. Although he only stays for 30 minutes each time, he comes home with a great new game or craft he and his teacher made together and he's just so proud of his work.

I've decided to dangle the promise of big boy preschool next fall to see if I can motivate him a bit more about potty training, since the language is really coming together. He has to be fully potty trained by Sept 1 or he can't go to preschool. We're giving big boy underwear a go today and if he does well, we'll try all weekend. Cousin Maya is wearing big girl underwear these days, and when I told Logan today, he insisted he was a big boy, too, and needed underwear. We'll see how it goes. I'm going to put a Pull Up on over the underwear when he goes to speech therapy today just in case. I guess we're entering the time of carrying lots of spare changes of clothes with us everywhere, and many, many hours spent in the bathroom as a group effort. I remember these days with Dylan, although it seems in my mind that it took three days to potty train Dylan and he was done. He was so early and so easy, and even fully potty trained thru the night before he turned three. Logan will get there, we just have to find the right motivation for him. I'm not above offering him whatever it takes!

***Potty Training Update

It is now 6 p.m. and the day has seen three pee accidents and one poop. However, he has gone in the potty every time I've asked him to, which is a change from a month or so ago. Then I'd suggest he go and he'd look at me defiantly and respond "NO!". At least today he's been cooperative in going when I ask him to. We're continuing with the Pull Ups over the big boy underwear. I was totally anti-Pull-Ups for Dylan but this time I have to have a different strategy since 1) I don't want to be washing the couch every 30 minutes and 2) our crazy life/schedule just does not allow us to stay home all day long like we did when I potty trained Dylan. If he pees, his undies still get wet (desired outcome), but the Pull Ups keep me from having to take the car seat apart and wash it a million times which I just don't have time to do. We'll see how this weekend goes with this all. Its such a pain asking him every 30-45 minutes to go potty, and I feel like I've been in the bathroom all day with him. But I'll go through any amount of pain if the end result is a diaper-free day. So, we'll see how this goes.

May

Oh, May. May, May, May.

You're killing me. You've given us exactly one hour of sunshine in your first seven days, May. What the heck is up with that? We've been waiting for you. Waiting patiently through all the rain and freezing weather April brought us. Waiting for your warm, breezy, sunny days with blue skies. We thought you'd bring better days, May. The shame, the shame.

May, have you ever been locked in a house with two little boys for seven straight days in a row? I'm losing my friggin' mind, May. I expect this out of January, but not you, May.

C'mon now. Help a mama out. I'm waiting.

the balance

I recently started subscribing to a fairly new magazine, Parenting - School Years, and I'm really enjoying it. I find each issue really, truly has articles that apply to my life as a mom, as a wife and as a woman. I've even gotten some good recipes.

I was reading the most recent issue yesterday while waiting for Logan's speech therapy class to end, and came across an article regarding the importance of giving ourselves a break from parenting from time to time.

The article went on to talk about making the same labor laws applicable for stay home moms. For every eight hours you work, you're entitled to a half hour lunch (yea, right) and two 20 minute breaks (um, yea okay). If you're a stay at home mom with no help, you work 16 hours a a day with few very thank you's or kudos. That means you have 14 hours of "you time" a week coming to you. Now I don't think 14 hours is realistic every week around my house every week. But I do think its so important to give yourself a break from parenting, in order to be a better parent. I know when I even spend a couple of hours by myself running errands or reading a book or walking, I free up some mental space so I can come back more focused and patient.

The same article said its particularly hard for some working moms to decide to spend time apart from their kids, when they're away from them so much already. But working doesn't give you all you need to feel human, and working brings home the bacon which is another form of caring for children. Working moms (and dads) still need to do lots for themselves outside our their job, and outside of being a parent. The trick, of course, is fitting it all in. There are houses to clean, lawns that need mowed, cars that need oil changes, empty refrigerators that need filled, meals that need cooked, pets that need cared for, social and family functions to attend, birthday presents to buy, doctors appointments and piles of laundry.

It isn't always easy finding a balance when somedays it seems like everyone elses' needs come before our own. Its something you have to constantly work on, and set time for. I have struggled with this since becoming a mom and its something I hope I can continue to improve. I have to remind myself, I can be a better mom if sometimes, I can just remember to put myself first.

light and fruity...

...is how I like my drinks. I'm not much of a beer girl. I prefer a nice girly cocktail, a glass of white wine or the occassional champagne. But the calories can add up, and let's face it, its not always easy or convenient to whip up a cosmo or a margarita. Last summer, we discovered these delicious little refreshments from Michelob Ultra. 107 calories, and only 6 grams of carbs. You can have a couple and not feel too guilty, right? Is it a beer? Is it a wine spritzer? I don't know, but the Tuscan Orange Grapefruit is particularly scrumptious and refreshing.

2U

Last night was the first summer concert of the season, and we took the boys to Friday Night Live on the Herndon Town Green. Its one of our favorite things to do throughtout the summer, and we've seen some good bands through the years. We've been going since Dylan was just months old. If the weather is nice and we're in town, chances are you'll find us at Friday Night Live on Friday evenings throughout the summer. We love music, and since we've had kids, we don't get many chances to see live music much other than these summer concerts. I miss my music. The only times I get to listen to what I want to hear is either when I walk, or when I'm in the car alone (not often!).

Last nights' concert was a band called 2U and they're a U2 Tribute Band out of NY. Check out their video, and tell me if they do not sound like U2. And boy, did they rock! The music and the lyrics, even the way the guy moved and was dressed, it was like we were seeing U2 front row. Awesome! People were video taping them, and taking their pictures like they were the real deal. They were really good, and they totally rocked the house. I would totally go see them again, but it looks like they mostly play gigs north of here up in the NE.

U2 has been around pretty much since I can remember loving music, when I started high school. I had the priviledge of seeing them on The Joshua Tree tour at RFK Stadium when I was in late high high school (back when a decent concert ticket didn't cost $300). I can't think of any other band that began during my lifetime that has played such a huge role in music and is still going strong. I can't wait to check out their new CD, I've heard its great.

friday list

Over the past few weeks, Dylan has seen the commericial for this, and he's become absolutely convinced we have to have one. So much so, he mentions it a couple of times a day. "Mom, when are we buying that toothpaste thing?" And following Dylan's lead, Logan will chime in when the commerical comes on "ook mom, brush teeth!". The kids don't even watch that much TV. But I swear the second you turn it on lately, this commercial comes on immediately. Or, its the Oxy Clean guy, with Dylan asking me "Mom, why is he yelling like that?" Well honey, I guess he just REALLY gets excited about clean clothes.

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We're still suffering through Logan giving up naps. The child desperately still needs a nap, at least a short one, each afternoon. And maybe once a week he'll pass out on the couch at some point, resulting in a much more pleasant evening for us all. However, he's made up his mind that napping is for babies and he's too big of a boy. So in what's become typical lately, yesterday he bypassed the nap and went straight to pants on fire meltdown mode by about 5:30 pm. After numerous time outs, and struggling to get him eat some sort of dinner, he finally passed out on the couch by 7 p.m. So we put him to bed early, thinking he'd be up at the crack of dawn today. I didn't hear him until about 7:30 this morning, and I was so impressed that he slept in to normal time. Except then I came downstairs to find his toybox completely emptied all over the family room. That's fine if he wants to get up at sunrise, but we need to teach him to make better use of his time and cook us some breakfast.

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My Grandma fell and broke her wrist last week. We thought she'd be long home by now, but it turns out some other complications have presented themselves and she's still in the hospital in Columbus, OH. We're hoping for her good health to return soon so she can go home and be comfortable. I hate the thought of her laying in a hospital, especially with this flu pandemic on the horizon.