Oh what a beautiful day

Things we did today:

• Started our day at the Falls Church City Urgent Care to get Keegen checked out for what I was certain to be another ear infection. And it was. Thank goodness for amoxicillin and Tylenol! And thank goodness for my dear sis who came by and picked up Bode and took him to the park with her girls (and yea! that I hardly waited at the urgent care, too!)


• Ate lunch at Pie-tanza in Arlington. Very kid friendly and oh-so-yummy.


• Got a pedicure. Erin gave me quite the treat by taking my kids to her house whilst I snuck to the nail salon. She put Keegen down for his nap and Bode and Fiona played and played and played. It was the best pedi I've had in forever (I don't get them very often so really appreciate it when they get down through all my dead skin to the fresh stuff...).


• Not only did she take my kids for my pedicure, but said I should go ahead and go shopping, too. I didn't give her a chance to change her mind. Off I went to Tysons and got new clothes for Bode (and a couple things for Keegs even though he's got more hand-me-downs than i know what to do with). And I discovered a great store called Lucy. Comfy clothes that aren't too sloppy? Perfect. You all must think that I live to shop, but if you lived where the shopping is as pathetic as I do, you'd understand!


• Met the kids at an UNBELIEVABLE playground where we only scratched the surface. It's called Clemyjontri. Sweaty, stinky, worn out kids. Wonderful. If you're ever in the NoVa area and your kids need some fun, it's worth checking out. As Bode would say, "I very wish" i had my camera cord so I could post my pics, but that will have to wait.

A Day with Rae

I had a really hard time getting going this morning. Instead I flipped on Noggin and sat with the boys for close to an hour until I finally willed myself to MOVE.

We drove out and spent the day with Rae. She is my dearest friend from high school. We were so different then that I sometimes wonder how we became friends! I was so type-A and she was so not. We've managed to balance each other out over the years. Well, I'll speak for myself. I learned a lot from her about not being in such a rush, among other things.

Jake, Cole, Keegs, Brett, Bode (AKA The Motley Crue)

It's so easy being with Rae. We have this very fluid friendship. It's just easy and comfortable. We can lose touch for awhile and very easily get back into our groove with each other. I hadn't seen her or her boys since we moved 18 months ago, and when I walked into the house and saw 3 boys on the couch, honestly, I didn't recognize her older two. How they've grown! She has such good kids. I always ask her how she does it...Anyway, Bode and Keegen were in heaven. All those boys, all those toys. They had a blast. We stayed ALL day long. The kids played hard and Rae and I managed to catch up.

What? are they doing? you ask? Whatever keeps these boys busy. At this moment they were having enough fun filling up their bins, spraying each other, sitting in the water, dumping their bins on each other. Use your imagination. They sure did...

Lake Date

You know, it was so good meeting up with everyone at Lake Elkhorn. Truly a treat. It's so interesting to me that I didn't get to know some of you better while i lived in Columbia. What a FANTASTIC group of women you are! I am so glad I've gotten to know you all better over the blogosphere!

Lake Elkhorn is one of my favorite places in Columbia. Where our house was situated made it an easy walk to the lake and back. And Bode was such an outdoors kid that we walked around the lake, stopping to play at the playground, on nearly a daily basis. I remember when we decided to move to Colorado and I was walking around the lake taking mental pictures of all the things i loved about it. The people we passed, the many dogs, the flowers people planted, the heron and many other birds we sighted, the incredible diversity, the dogwoods and cherry trees in full bloom, the little exercise stations where Bode had to stop and play, the ducks and geese to feed, the playground of course, the Asian couple who did their tai chi every morning while Bode dug endlessly in the sandbox. It was a lovely place to have in my own backyard and I'm so glad that we took advantage of it!

So I was thrilled to be able to meet these wonderful women and their kids at a place so dear to my heart. To see Bode play with everyone made me so happy! It was fun to introduce Keegen to this place. He was thrilled by the geese, to say the least (until one got a little close and trembly and I was certain it was ready to peck!).It was so fun to see everyone and catch up. Our kids are growing up so fast--it's fun to catch a glimpse of you and yours along the way!

Under the Bed and Dreaming

Bode has been badgering me about going to Noni's since I decided to tell him about our trip here. Weeks of, "Mommy! Let's go to Noni's!" "Mommy! I want to go to the beach with Noni!" Even a few breakdowns. He just could not take the wait. Anticipation.

FINALLY, yesterday, he got to see Noni. No, Noni is not a grandma. Noni is his cousin Fiona, just 6 weeks older. And they adore each other. We met at their house for appetizers and playtime just before going to church for Fi's baby sister, Chloe's, baptism. So for about 2 solid hours Bode and Fiona played. Just like old times. Picked right up where they left off. Zero gaps. Love it. At one point I caught them upstairs in Fiona's room jumping from twin bed to twin bed (as the beds moved with each jump, too, on the hardwood floors). They settled for hiding under the beds in the end. I think my sister, Erin, and I have done a good job of keeping their relationship alive when they're apart by talking about the other a lot.

We headed off to St James for the baptism. Chloe was a doll in her gorgeous dress. The kids did not behave one ioda in the church and I marched them out twice (Bode spit his water out all over the floor. The child won't spit out his toothpaste, yet he spits on the floor in a church?). Too close to nap/rest time. Too much to ask for a 3-year old to sit quietly for that long. Ah well. It was a nice day. Bode was sooo disappointed when he realized we were not going back to Noni's house afterwards, as Fiona still actually naps and he does not.
But luckily we met at Don Pablo's after naps to celebrate Drew's birthday and enjoyed our time there, too.

Today we were up and out of the house early to beat the heat and humidity. Bode scootered and I pushed Keegen down to the tot lot behind my parents' house. We sat on a bunch of big rocks at the pond and watched the fountain. Keegen was desperate to go IN the pond, but I managed to nip that in the bud. We had a fun lunch with Grandma at The Cheesecake Factory and I stole a few minutes while the kids played at the Pink-Eye Pit, errr, I mean the mall play area, to look at some things at H&M. But there was so much there I wanted to try on that I will have to make another trip on my own. We went home for K to nap and B to rest. K crashed immediately. B and I went upstairs where I fell asleep for maybe 5 minutes and woke to realize B was not in the room anymore. I went around the house and no one had seen him. Drew started to help me look for him. I finally went outside wondering if he'd wandered to the tot lot. I finally started to get a little panicked, picturing him in the pond or some other terrible fate, when I heard Drew yelling that he had him. Turns out Drew found him under the bed we'd been in. I assume he'd fallen asleep there. I thanked Drew for "thinking like a 3-year old" and was very relieved. Bode kept saying, "I wasn't lost. I was under the bed." When I asked him if he was playing or sleeping he said he was sleeping. Anywho. Enough drama for me.

This afternoon we went to the pool with Erin, Fiona and Chloe. I put the boys in their PJs after the pool and they went straight to bed when we got home. Wiped out.

Our flight to BWI had to be the loudest flight I've ever been on--filled with numerous extremely unhappy children. And, thankfully, none of those miserable, obnoxious children were my own! I can't believe how well that flight went. Southwest gave Doug a gate pass--meaning he was able to escort me all the way through security and to the gate which was a huge help. We got to preboard (since Southwest doesn't pre-assign seats we went ahead and did it. Usually we are the last ones to board so the boys aren't confined that much longer). The mistake I did make was that when we boarded, I was so frazzled grappling with two children, 3 carry-ons and one large carseat, that I failed to notice that the row of seats I chose didn't really have a window (Dur!). Bode whined about it a couple times during the flight, but for the most part he dealt well with it. I had my bag-o-tricks, filled with gift-wrapped toys, food and the bless-ed DVD player. We did a puzzle, opened some Playmobil knights, watched Little Einsteins, read some books. Keegen fell asleep for the last 45 minutes or so of the flight, which was perfect. I can't believe the chaos he slept through directly behind and beside us. Amazing. When the pilot announced our descent into Baltimore, I was pleasantly surprised. For once, not wearing a watch on a flight had not bothered me!

It took them about 20 minutes to find our stroller and when we finally got to baggage claim, the flight's bags still weren't out. In the end, we found a sky cap who loaded everything and got us to the bus that took us to the rental car. This was the hardest part. I now had 2 children, 3 carry-ons, one stroller, one carseat, 2 large duffel bags and one small one (with Bode's scooter inside!). I unloaded everything and everyone and was on my own. Bode, bless his heart, ended up being an enormous help by pushing Keegen in the stroller into the rental building (that child has always loved to push my buttons and anything with wheels). So I put him in charge of that as I dragged everything else in stages. We finally got things squared away with the car and the carseats, and two hours after landing, we were on our way. I couldn't believe when I saw the time that it had taken that long.

We headed out and got into the flow of I-95. Do you know that we just don't have 4-lane freeways in Colorado? The trees were huge and lush and looming. The humidity absolutely sticky. And it felt good to be back.

We got to Emma's around 4:30 where the boys ran wild with each other. Louis and Bode seemed to just pick up where they left off. Bode was in heaven at their Thomas the Tank Engine dedicated home! Theo and Keegen got reacquainted, too. Emma made a perfect and comforting meal of homemade macaroni and cheese, bacon, fresh sweet corn on the cob and salad. I enjoyed every bite, and every bite my much-too-distracted children failed to eat.

After dinner we drove the hour to my folks'. We drove through a couple of good rainstorms that slowed us down, but for the most part we sailed through. It took us awhile to get settled in and down, but the boys were finally to bed by 9. So good to see my parents and my brother, Drew, is home after graduating from BYU. He's on his way to start a new job and new chapter in his life in Dallas with a consulting firm there. So, the gang's all here and it's wonderful to catch up in the evenings when my two crazies are in bed!

I forgot to bring my camera cord to download photos so I'll be adding those later.

I'm On My Wa-a-a-y, Home Sweet Home

Now, for the past many years, "home sweet home" has been home with Doug and more recently with Doug and our boys. I don't think of my parents' house as "home" since really, home is where my immediate family is. But lately, I really really miss the DC area. For all the reasons we wanted to move--the hustle-bustle of it all. It certainly is, as my dad says, the "center of the universe." We wanted to move because it was too expensive, too fast-paced, too rude, too crowded; etc., etc.

I miss the shopping. I miss the museums. I miss the trees. I miss my friends and family. I miss diversity.

We got the kids to bed early tonight (Keegen at 5:30! and Bode at 6:30) since bright and early tomorrow we will be on our way. Doug will meet us in a week. I don't care for flying alone with the kids. Don't care for flying in general. My anxiety meter is rising. And I'm overthinking what I've packed, what I've missed and what could go wrong. So I'm trying to think of all the wonderful things that can go right (My children will be well-behaved, quiet, entertained. We will enjoy many snacks and time together. Keegen will love sitting in his carseat for 3 1/2 straight hours. They will refrain from pooping in-flight. We will create memories to last a lifetime...).

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Memory Lane

While I should really be using my time more wisely and getting ready to go out of town, I think I'll sit and blog for a minute. Why start a new habit now?

I got my haircut tonight and on my way there I noticed a sign for "Carver Park." I thought that it must be close to the elementary school that I went to growing up so on my way home, I checked it out.

So interesting how memories come flooding back. Granted, as I've mentioned before, I have a tendency to remember a lot of things--too bad it's not more useful info that I can retain so well! Doug says I should go on Jeopardy, but I think i'd only excel in the high school level competition...

I found the school just behind the park and was amazed at how close it was to what I remember. Sometimes I wonder if I remember things in an altered sense because I was no more than 10 when we lived here (i.e. are things really smaller and I remember them being so vast?; etc.). The actual school building was smaller than my memory, but the playground and fields were as big if not bigger than I remembered. I decided to park my car and do a quick walk around the building and seeing things just brought back so many specific experiences. I remembered playing jacks with a pal on a certain spot. I remembered how competitive I was during the end-of-the-year field day races. The tetherball poles. Jumping rope on the opposite side of the playground ("Miss Susie had a steamboat, the steamboat had a bell,..."). The tornado sirens going off. Watching the Blue Angels and one of the space shuttles go overhead. Our class picture on the blacktop with Pikes Peak behind us. My teachers' names (2nd: Mrs. Frech, 3rd: Mrs. Breen, 4th: Mrs. Attebury). Whacking a kid with my metal "Disco Fever" lunchbox for "cutting" when I was supposed to be line leader. There was a lot of new/modern playground equipment, but I was surprised at how much of the old stuff (swing sets, a wobbly beam and a metal slide--Youch!) remained.

I actually remember a lot of these kids' names! Why??!! Can you find me?

Anyway, it's been fun and interesting living here again and seeing things from my past. As I walked around the playground it was hard for me to believe that it's been a lifetime ago that I was a student at G.W. Carver Elementary School! I was a 2nd grader there 25 years ago. Wow.