Saturday, May 11, 2013
Shabbat sweetness
At Ella and Dash's school, the children and teachers gather together every Friday to sing songs and do blessings and share Challah before going home for the week. Once a month, families are invited to join the children, and this Friday I went to what I realized was the last Family Shabbat with Ella before she moves on to elementary school. As the gathering was ending, I saw Ella standing behind Dash, with her arms sweetly around him, as everyone was bustling around them. Something about them standing still in such a sweet way made me feel very happy (so glad for this loving community and for their love for each other) and also very sad (I wish they were going to be in the same school for another year).
Hatman
Dash takes a very active interest in what he wears. He loves to wear hats and his choices are usually pretty funny. Here are a few of his recent looks.
Pool time already
I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that summer is here, or at least summer activities have started. We're in the final countdown of school (2 weeks left) and our pool opened last weekend.
The first few days after the pool opened were cold and rainy and just not at all reasonable days for swimming. But by late this week, the temperatures had hit 80 and the sun was shining and it was time to take the plunge.
I pulled out the pool bag from last summer, cleverly stored away with all of the swim toys tucked inside just ready to be put into action again this year. I did not count on the goldfish crackers at the bottom growing impressive amounts of mold that spread to all of said toys, nor the three bleach cycles of laundry it would take to get everything clean again. But nevertheless, after work on Thursday, I got us all packed up and ready to swim [An aside: this is what I pack every time I go to the pool. 3 towels, goggles, swim toys, a bag of swim diapers and regular diapers, sunscreen, 3 swimsuits, 3 rash guards, 3 changes of clothes, 3 water bottles, 3 snacks. A few things can live in the bag all summer but most have to get added and replaced each time we swim. There has to be a better way].
This first pool day was probably ill-fated from the beginning since I took the kids after my Pilates lesson which runs from 4-5. This meant that by the time we actually got on our bathing suits and got into the pool, it was 5:20 which is the approximate time we start getting ready to eat dinner on a normal night. All 3 of us ended up grumpy and hungry before long and we headed home by 6:00. I had completely blocked out the emotional stress I feel at the pool with two little kids who love the water but can't really swim, and how I spend the entire time being constantly aware of where each kid is and what their drowning potential at any given moment might be. So all in all, I came away from day 1 of the swim season feeling pretty deflated. When we got home and Josh excitedly asked if we all had fun, I gave him a grouchy, miserable look and mouthed "Not fun at all" which I immediately felt bad about because the kids clearly did have fun.
We tried again the next day, arriving right at 4 pm, well-napped and well-snacked. And somehow everything was different. It certainly helped that every time the pool door opened, another set of our friends showed up. And I started to remember how to keep an eye on both kids while managing to breathe every now and then. And when the lifeguards called for the hourly 10-minute pool break, we piled onto chairs with all of our pals and someone had the bright idea to run inside and buy a freshly-baked Challah for everyone to enjoy (a perk of belonging to the pool at the Jewish Community Center). Watching all of our friends tearing into Challah, joking around together, and standing over all of it with my girlfriends, I remembered that the pool is really fun. So here's to a great summer of fun, friends, and water. And here's to always swimming on Fridays when the Challah comes out.
The first few days after the pool opened were cold and rainy and just not at all reasonable days for swimming. But by late this week, the temperatures had hit 80 and the sun was shining and it was time to take the plunge.
I pulled out the pool bag from last summer, cleverly stored away with all of the swim toys tucked inside just ready to be put into action again this year. I did not count on the goldfish crackers at the bottom growing impressive amounts of mold that spread to all of said toys, nor the three bleach cycles of laundry it would take to get everything clean again. But nevertheless, after work on Thursday, I got us all packed up and ready to swim [An aside: this is what I pack every time I go to the pool. 3 towels, goggles, swim toys, a bag of swim diapers and regular diapers, sunscreen, 3 swimsuits, 3 rash guards, 3 changes of clothes, 3 water bottles, 3 snacks. A few things can live in the bag all summer but most have to get added and replaced each time we swim. There has to be a better way].
This first pool day was probably ill-fated from the beginning since I took the kids after my Pilates lesson which runs from 4-5. This meant that by the time we actually got on our bathing suits and got into the pool, it was 5:20 which is the approximate time we start getting ready to eat dinner on a normal night. All 3 of us ended up grumpy and hungry before long and we headed home by 6:00. I had completely blocked out the emotional stress I feel at the pool with two little kids who love the water but can't really swim, and how I spend the entire time being constantly aware of where each kid is and what their drowning potential at any given moment might be. So all in all, I came away from day 1 of the swim season feeling pretty deflated. When we got home and Josh excitedly asked if we all had fun, I gave him a grouchy, miserable look and mouthed "Not fun at all" which I immediately felt bad about because the kids clearly did have fun.
We tried again the next day, arriving right at 4 pm, well-napped and well-snacked. And somehow everything was different. It certainly helped that every time the pool door opened, another set of our friends showed up. And I started to remember how to keep an eye on both kids while managing to breathe every now and then. And when the lifeguards called for the hourly 10-minute pool break, we piled onto chairs with all of our pals and someone had the bright idea to run inside and buy a freshly-baked Challah for everyone to enjoy (a perk of belonging to the pool at the Jewish Community Center). Watching all of our friends tearing into Challah, joking around together, and standing over all of it with my girlfriends, I remembered that the pool is really fun. So here's to a great summer of fun, friends, and water. And here's to always swimming on Fridays when the Challah comes out.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Family vacation to Washington, DC
Since we are now two and a half weeks away from our first summer beach trip of the year, it seems high time to post pictures from our winter trip to DC (complete with snow!).
We decided to take a long weekend and drive up to Washington, DC, early this spring. We knew Ella would love the experience of museums and the Metro and eating in new restaurants. It was less clear how much Dash would enjoy it (and really, how big of a pain he might be) but I am proud to say they were both excellent travelers and tourists, and I can foresee many many trips to Washington in our future.
Hotel choice was a big one since we have learned (the hard way) that it's no vacation for us unless we stay in two rooms or a suite. It only takes one evening of putting the kids to bed and then being forced to read a book on a hard hotel bathroom floor so as not to keep them up to make it clear, to us at least, that any extra cost of more rooms is well worth it. On this trip we also wanted to be walking distance to the Mall, and free breakfast was a nice bonus (Ella's favorite trip food = colored Cheerios, i.e. Fruit Loops). Thanks to a friend who works for our preferred hotel brand, we found everything we were looking for and had a huge, top floor suite with a view of the Capitol Dome and the Washington Monument. We also had a view of a massive construction site just across the street and this proved to be worth the price of the rooms alone.
We decided to take a long weekend and drive up to Washington, DC, early this spring. We knew Ella would love the experience of museums and the Metro and eating in new restaurants. It was less clear how much Dash would enjoy it (and really, how big of a pain he might be) but I am proud to say they were both excellent travelers and tourists, and I can foresee many many trips to Washington in our future.
Hotel choice was a big one since we have learned (the hard way) that it's no vacation for us unless we stay in two rooms or a suite. It only takes one evening of putting the kids to bed and then being forced to read a book on a hard hotel bathroom floor so as not to keep them up to make it clear, to us at least, that any extra cost of more rooms is well worth it. On this trip we also wanted to be walking distance to the Mall, and free breakfast was a nice bonus (Ella's favorite trip food = colored Cheerios, i.e. Fruit Loops). Thanks to a friend who works for our preferred hotel brand, we found everything we were looking for and had a huge, top floor suite with a view of the Capitol Dome and the Washington Monument. We also had a view of a massive construction site just across the street and this proved to be worth the price of the rooms alone.
Watching the construction below. Seriously, this was a major highlight. When we got home, Ella told everyone about how much fun she and Dash had watching the construction.
My mom had brought over some old pictures of my sister and me from various trips to Washington when we were little girls, and Ella was enchanted by the idea of recreating some of the scenes, especially the ones in the outdoor Hirshhorn sculpture gallery. I was pleasantly surprised by how much both kids enjoyed the outdoor sculptures. I wouldn't have put that on my Top 10 list for small kids but, who knew, my kids like modern art.
Art imitates life imitates art.
Red, red, and red.
After the sculpture garden, our energy reserves had run out (it was 9:45 am after all and Fruit Loops only keep you going so long) so we sat on a bench and ate a snack and then had some time to run on the National Mall. Since Josh and I got engaged on the carousel on the Mall, we had to ride on that, too.
Please note Ella's fine photography work in the middle picture. There might be a lot of dirt in the foreground but she got all of our heads and most of the carousel!
We spent about an hour in the museum of Natural History which was just the right amount of time to see the dinosaur bones, check out the hall of mammals (to see Dash's favorite animal, the Beezra), and head out before things got too crowded. And no guilt at spending a short time there when the museum is free!
We have also learned that even when traveling, sticking to our usual routine of naps and rest in the early afternoon is good for everyone. After that busy morning, we collapsed into burritos and guacamole at a favorite Mexican restaurant from our DC-dwelling days, and then headed to the hotel for rest time. Unfortunately, Dash decided to sing and play for the entire two hours of 'rest time.' Our afternoon activity was to ride the Metro out to Bethesda (fun for the kids) to visit Georgetown Cupcake (fun for everyone). Both kids loved the Metro ride, but poor tired Dash fell asleep in the stroller - pretty much unheard of for him - just as we arrived at the cupcake shop and he missed the whole thing. No problem, more for me and Ella.
For dinner, we invited two of our best friends from college and their families into the city to have dinner with us. With 6 kids under 4, we quickly remembered why we usually get together at someone's house, where there are toys and space to roam and there is just generally much less guilt about the amount of food that goes on the floor. Despite the chaos, we had a really fun dinner together, and I can only laugh at this picture which pretty much sums it all up - it was a daze and only the dads are left at the table.
That was a busy day!!
Day Two, we decided to visit the National Zoo which was always one of our favorite places when we lived in DC because of the winding paths and lovely location. We invited our friend R to join us and despite the cold cold cold (seriously, it was cold!), we had loads of fun with the animals. Hands down, best part was the O line which is the suspended cable system that the orangutans use to swing out of their cages and over the people below. We were lucky enough to see them put on quite a show! We all liked the new elephant house where Ella was enthralled with the exhibit showing how much an elephant poops in one day (a lot!) and Dash couldn't stop talking about seeing the elephant pee. I will admit that it was like watching a fire hose get turned on. Pretty impressive. And we saw more Beezras! Everybody won at the zoo.
After the zoo, we were hungry for lunch and we discovered that Lebanese Taverna, one of our favorite restaurants in the Zoo neighborhood, was super child-friendly as well as just as delicious as we remembered. It feels like a big score on vacations to be able to eat in restaurants that we love with the kids along. They may have eaten only brown foods for lunch that day (pita, hummus, chicken) but I still think it's better than Happy Meals.
Zoo day ended with more successful naps and then take-out from Ella's Pizza Kitchen (thrilling to our Ella of course) in our suite with some visiting friends while we watched Carolina basketball and waited for the snow to start falling.
We did indeed wake up to snow on Day Three of our vacation and boy did the kids love watching it fall from our hotel window. We headed over to the National Building Museum, a space that Josh loves, and that has a fun kid's play area with blocks and sand and playhouses. After that excursion, we headed back home to NC. I am looking forward to another DC visit soon with my small travelers!
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