What Happens When We Visit National Landmarks?

Duh...wrestle mania of course. There's all 3 of 'em gettin' into it. True to form. Oh yah, see the Washington Monument in the background?

This is the photo that John took of me and the kids at the monument. I'm sure I've mentioned his camera skills before.

Okay...getting ready for the big race from the Washington Monument to the WWII memorial. Because we don't just observe and appreciate. We spin headlong into marble objects with a battle cry to shame the ancient Huns.

Nate wanted to "touch the monument". He is literally poking it...like the 'I'm not touching you!' poke you give a sibling.

When we visit historical landmarks, we like to pretend we're airplanes.

And fly and fly and fly.

Thumbs up! Love it!

Sitting pretty for the WWII vets.

If you look closely you can see my kids running helter skelter down the hill. Two seconds after this was taken Nate decided to roll on the grass like a turtle on it's back.

"And now that I am done poking the Washington Monument I will aggravate my sister who was doing nothing but sitting and relaxing."

Museums, Museums, Museums, OR Day 2

On our 2nd day in D.C., we hit the Ntl. Museum of Natural History and saw the dinosaur that inspired scenes from Night at the Museum (the Movies). But being the good parents that we are, we lied and said that the dinosaur on display was THE dinosaur. The real one. The star/celebrity.

After that (photos in no order at all to follow) we hit the museum of American History. We missed the 1st ladies inaugural ball gown exhibit thingy because we spent almost TWO hours in a War exhibit. My really good friend went to that exhibit also last November, but being that she has big girls and not big boys, she said they were through the exhibit in about 45 seconds. We spent nearly 2 hours exploring America's Wars...all of them. Revolutionary, 1812, Spanish/American, Mexican,WWI, II, etc...all the way throught Afghanistan. It was exhausting, but really interesting.

There were also really cool science labs for kids in the American History Museum. Here are my kids showing their good sides.

Maddie liked to have us take her picture while she was doing things, like snapping, zipping her shirt, and dancing.

Nate was really excited to take his picture with "The Little Averham Lincoln".

Jack with a Revolutionary War weapon.

This is either George Washington's sword or Cornwallis' Sword of Surrender. I forget which. Either way, coolest thing ever for a boy to see.

Yes, that is a real unsharpened hatchet from the Revolutionary war.

Emphasis on Unsharpened.

If this ever comes to pass in American Politics, we are all very much in trouble.

Jack really wanted a photo of himself next to this canon on a floating gun boat sunk during Washington's time and then somehow found. Apparently the cold water of whatever River it was in preserved it quite well. It looked like a tetanus nightmare if you ask me.

We were on the lookout for Mr. Garfield the entire trip. President for less than a year and shot by Charlie Gitow (spelling?). Thanks Johnny Cash for the history lesson. "Mr. Garfield been shot down low!"

This is one of the millions of things I wanted to see in D.C. that I actually got to see. John had the camera, so the angle is shoddy. But I saw Dorothy's slippers. There really is no place like home.

This was supposed to teach the kids about centrifugal force or something like that. The boys thought it was a spinning gun thingy.

I don't really need to explain this, do I?

AT the museum of Natural History, there is a kids exploration room. Maddie enjoyed looking at the dead bugs, not so much the live ones in the butterfly atrium.

That's about right.

Using kitchen utensils, you had to make the ball go into the hole. It's all physics. That's why John was in charge.

Jack wanted a photo with this peculiar specimen.

There was a lot of walking that day, but it was so worth it. So fun. And we didn't even put a dent into either museum. Sigh....maybe next time?

DC Ten, Day One

Last week, we took the kids to DC for Spring Break. It was John's sister's idea really, and it was a good one. I'm kinda mad I've never been there before, and that the first time I'm touring my nation's capitol I'm schlepping three kids around, but it worked out.

We drove through the night last Friday, leaving right before 7 p.m. which was later than John really wanted to leave, but I HAD to finish "The Lost Symbol" before we went so that I could see all the Masonic symbols for myself. It was worth it in the end. As was driving for 12 hours during the kids' regular bedtime. We let them watch a movie with some popcorn, stopped right before we hit Indiana, and continued the next 10 hours in silence. Beautiful. We made it into DC just in time to find a McDonald's and change the kiddos out of their travel Jammies into something respectable to wear on the White House Tour. I have no photos of that...cameras, knitting needles, and martial arts weapons are apparently no no's.

Briefly, I'll take you on an out of order photo tour of Day one:

I call this "Flowers on The Wall". It's amazing how silent tourists are here.

This photo pretty much sums up Nate's face the entire trip, because DC is A LOT of walking. A LOT, which is fine, really, unless you're Nate and you'd rather be playing Wii. My mom was afraid we would lose him. That, I assure you was not possible because even though he was always about 8 steps behind us, you could hear his whiny monologue: "Awww, I HATE walking. I HATE memorials" and so on. At the American History Museum, he went so far as to give a thumbs down and blow raspberries at the reenactment of the 1960's civil rights counter eat in protests. Before you get all jumpy and think it's something racial, I assure you it was NOT. There were just a lot of people in his way. And the demonstration reenactment made it so Nate had to walk the long way around an exhibit. "Awwww, I HATE having to walk around people"........
This is pretty much the only photo of me on this trip. Oddly taken at the Vietnam Memorial. John tried to get one at the Washington Monument, but he is no Ansel Adams and so it didn't really turn out so well, but I wanted some sort of proof that I was there too.

The kids were dangerously close to the reflection water. Dangerously. They were probably trying to see all the kites...since our first day there happened to be the Kite Festival which was coinciding with the Cherry Blossom Festival. The Kites were amazing. Truly, truly amazing.

Jack for one, was happy at least.

I have lots of photos with Jack smiling, after saying, "Mom, take one of me doing this....Mom take one of me doing that". You'll see them, I promise.

This is me and the ghosts at the Korean War Memorial. This memorial was spooky, what with the etched marble reflecting the ghostly soldiers in the background. And yes, I know I'm in the photo. That was done on purpose. I call this one, "Me and the Ghosts"

Nate really got into 2 things in DC. One was this etched wall and the army guys in front of it. The other was the Astronaut Suit at Air and Space.

The Korean War Memorial is spooky. There's a handful of these white soldiers, marching through a 'field', and aesthetically, it's a bit disconcerting. Was the artist looking for the ghostly look on purpose because Korea is so easily forgotten? I'm not sure. In the shadows of other, more vastly grand memorials and monuments, this one stays with you, mostly I think because Korea was like a tomato in a WWII/Vietnam Sandwich. But it happened, boys died, and the Memorial is haunting, which is exactly why I liked it so much.

After our bit of sight seeing on day one, we headed back to our hotel, which rocked it. Every night from 5:30-7:30 there was a 'manager's reception' complete with drinks (literally, ANYTHING you wanted, top shelf and all that good stuff) and chips/dips/fries/veggie/snacky bar food. Totally what you needed at the end of a long weary walking day.

Don't even get me started on breakfast: omelettes made to order, bacon, sausage, pancakes, waffles, fruit, juice, cereal, bagels, pastries, donuts, and more. Totally worth it.

Totally.

Blue And Gold

I realized I have been super post negligent when I revved up the camera for my church group meeting last night. Nothing says "Bible Study" like 4 glasses of wine. Anywho, I needed to clear my content and get ready for our travels to D.C. next week. Oh yea, 12 plus hours in a car all night long and waking up to the 11 a.m. White House Tour! Nothing says 'Family Time" like a good long road trip.

Anywho, a few weeks ago we had Jack's blue and gold boyscout dinner function thingy. It was real classy, with a buffet table of hot dogs and pizza.


Here is Jack onstage getting ready to do his bit in the skit. He's a natural in front of others. This was pretty much Nate's expression during the ENTIRE dinner. He has decided he's not doing Boy Scouts. Ever. He even refers to it as "Bunny Scouts" (from Max and Ruby cartoons).

Jack and Maddie had fun sitting next to each other, until another family came to sit with us and then Mads had to sit on my lap. They were people. She doesn't like people.

The boys. Nate's face=nuff said.

Awww look. 2 peas in a pod. Really.

I can't tell if John was more annoyed at my photography skillz, or if he was annoyed at the whole boy scout event. In any case, that's usually the face I get when I make him pose.

As I mentioned before, we are getting ready for our trip to D.C. I have never been there, so I am excited to see some ruby slippers and the Archie Bunker chair. I hear there are Cherry blossoms this time of year, but nuts to that. I wanna see Michelle Obama's inaugural ball gown.

We actually got lucky enough to get tickets to the White House, which I hear are damn near impossible to get. I have been reading various D.C. books to the kids, and Nate thinks he is going to meet Baruh Bamamba. When we told him we couldn't meet him, he was truly disappointed. I think he's wondering what the point of even going to his House is?

Leaving it to Nate to get into the gore of any situation, after our Lent service on Wednesday, I was reading him a book on D.C. There was a picture of the British burning the first White House during the War of 1812. The following is a recap of our rather morbid conversation.

"Mom! Are those the guys who shot and KILLED Jesus?"

"No. Jesus was not shot and killed."

"Well. How did he die then?"

"He was hung on a cross'.

"Yah, so. Then what?"

"Then nothing."

"Well Someone had to shoot and kill him. (pointing to a photo of Abe Lincoln): Maybe this guy did it".

"No Nate, That was Abraham Lincoln."

"Oh. Maybe SHE shot and killed Jesus"

"That's Clara Barton. She founded the American Red Cross. She didn't shoot and kill anybody".

"Well, what, he just hung there?"

At this point I had to give in a little. The morbid factor was not being satisfied on any level.

"Well Nate, a soldier did stick his sword in his side."

"Yeah, and then he bleeded all over".

Okay...time to shut this one down. I read the blurb next to Lincoln's photo about his assassination and got this:

"Mom! If he was shooted in the front of the face instead of the back of the head more people could have seen his blood because it would have been more everywhere."

People ask me what I let my kids watch on t.v. Rest assured we are not watching gruesome shootings and crucifixions, unless they are now showing these things on PBS and they've been imbedded into random episodes of Sponge Bob (which I hate, but it's not bloody and gory. It's just stupid humor). Rather, I think this is how boys are wired. At least my boys.

The grosser it is the better. That's a good motto for life.

I think.

Busted By the Pastor

On Wednesdays during Lent, we (meaning the kids and I) have been regularly attending a lecture series. The kids have their program, I have mine. This Wednesday was about getting your affairs in order, such as a Medical Power of Attorney, Will, etc. Great info. I made John go, because we really should have a will. We just should. And we don't. Which is beside the point.

There is always a dinner served, soup and sandwiches, spaghetti, and the like. Anyone who knows John knows he just does not eat soup. Soup is NOT a meal. He cannot understand why/how people can eat soup and be full, as if soup were a real meal. Because it's not (keep in mind, soup is one of MY favorite meals, so I think he's a little crazy, but whatever. Opposites attract and all that blah de blah).

Well, remember the presentation I gave a couple of weeks ago? My friend Steph and I brought in some food samples-she made stellar brownies using applesauce instead of oil, and I brought in some Vegan grape salad, and some cornbread made with tofu. I have found many uses for tofu lately so we've been eating more and more as I can substitute it for dairy products in some recipes.

Following is an actual conversation between John and my pastor (who keeps trying to get me to run a marathon with him, but I keep saying that not even God can convince me to go that crazy).

Pastor: John, you really should eat something!
John: No, it's okay. I'm good, really.
Pastor: It's soup....the soup is good. The sandwiches are good.
Me: Yah, John's not really a soupy kind of guy.
Pastor: You really should go eat. It's better than tofu anyways.

Seriously? He busted me out. Totally.
And John could not stop laughing. Of course.

My Next Biggest Kick

Well, last week's presentation went very well, if you read between the lines. Tonight, our friend is presenting on the topic, "Now is the time...to get your affairs in order". Very timely, as it regards getting your will and all that other unthinkable stuff in order just in case. It makes me a little queasy to think of it, but I'm making John come to this presentation. It's just that important.

That being said, I'm going to backtrack a bit. This stream of consciousness typing is really too diffiuclt for anyone to follow, including me. But...

While Steph(not my sister) and I presented last week, she pulled up a great website for local CSA's. This stands for "Community Supported Agriculture", and basically the premise is you pay a certain amount of money for a season, get a box of a pre-determined size, and basically own a share of locally produced, oftentimes organic produce for the season you have paid for. We are so doing this this summer. I LOVE Farmer's Market's, but sometimes they are a bit expensive. This way, you get a good deal.

Don't just take my word for it. Check it out:
http://www.localharvest.org/

Discover a CSA near you, and enjoy the benefits of eating local!

Some Lessons Learned

This week I learned a few things. Like, I'm not very organized as I'm cleaning out every room in the house and my palace looks like a bomb dropped.

I also learned that there is some super duper strain of strep going around that is somewhat resistant to antibiotics and my daughters tonisils look like two golf balls stuck in her throat.

I learned how to use power point...sort of. And insert pictures with only the thumbnails to look at so wording on "You Go Girl" signs looks small and innocent.

And most importantly, I learned that when giving a presentation about health and fitness at church, when you're talking about doing a triathlon and how important it is to have a support group and awesome signs, sometimes you should really make those thumbnails bigger.


I also learned my pastors have a GREAT sense of humor. And they thought it was funny.

Pay To Play

Lookie what I made for dinner in the crockpot! Yum! It's not vegan, but that's okay. It was some sort of soy/hoisin/orange chicken. Of course Nate slathered his with ketchup and didn't eat it, and Maddie slathered hers with ranch dressing and didn't it it, but John and Jack devoured it. I've given up accommodating for the younger ones. There have been many a nights one or the both of them goes to bed hungry. On to the Pay to Play. Oh yah, I did so totally go there! I'm really sick of the 5:30 a.m. raps to the forehead asking to play wii. Or Jack waking BEFORE 5 to play the stupid ds. So now, I don't care when they play. They just have to pay me first.

How do they earn money? For every minute of reading for Jack and workbook work for Nate they earn a penny. Every penny equals a minute; you see how this plays out? They can earn extra for doing chores and they can lose minutes for being naughty. So far each boy has accumulated 30 minutes. Maddie wanted in on the gig too, so she just does some stuff and I give her pennies. She doens't play wii, but she may just learn a little about spending, saving, and time being money, that whole thing.

Now, aren't I clever? (For the moment anyway).

All Partied Out

I am finally getting around to writing about Bawentine's Day. I wound up supervising/planning 3 classroom parties, so by the time the BIG DAY arrived I didn't even care. It's a stupid "holiday" anyway. On a plus note, we cooked us up some special crab legs just for the event and the kids ate them all. I mean all three kids ate all MY crab legs.

What can I say, they have good taste.

This is Maddie at her class party. I am most proud of this photo because her face isn't too dirty. Really, I don't even know what she's doing here, but her face is relatively spotless, compared to how it usually looks. Nothing says "3 YEAR OLD PARTY IN SESSION" quite like a sticker project. It's easy. And it's cheap.

Okay, I LOVE this. For Nate's party, one of the moms brought in a karaoke machine. Nate got to do a duet with his friend Vivianna---and they did a rousing rendition of "Jesus Loves Me".

This is Nate "reading" the lyrics to "Jesus loves me". He's so serious, and what? Isn't it like the easiest song ever to learn after the Alphabet song? Pshaw.... Really I was just thinking he needed to audition for American Idol or something. I'm sure he'd tell Simon a thing or two...especially since his favorite phrase is "You STINK!". How do you think that would go over with the at home voters?

Ahhh...the Freeze Dance portion of the party. Always a hit. Always!

Devotion

I gave you life, but cannot live it for you.
I can give you directions, but I cannot be there to lead you.
I can allow you freedom, but I cannot account for it.
I can teach you right from wrong, but I cannot decide for you.
I can offer you advice, but I cannot accept it for you.
I can give you love, but I cannot force it upon you.
I can teach you to share, but I cannot make you unselfish.
I can teach you respect, but I cannot force you to show honor.
I can advise you about friends, but cannot choose them for you.
I can advise you about sex, but I cannot keep you pure.
I can tell you about drink, but I can't say "no" for you.
I can warn you about drugs, but I can't prevent you from using them.
I can tell you about lofty goals, but I can't achieve them for you.
I can teach you about kindness, but I can't force you to be gracious.
I can pray for you, but I cannot make you walk with God.
I can tell you how to live, but I cannot give you eternal life.
~~ Author Unknown

The Inbisobol Guys Strike Again

"Nate, what's that on your belly?"

"Nuffing"

"There's a red marker mark on your belly."

"Yah, must be someone did that."

"Someone?"

"Yah, like those inbisobol peoples or somefing."

Must be somefing in the water.

Olympic Goals

Last night we watched the opening ceremonies. Actually, Jack was the only one who made it all the way thru with me, but we had fun talking about who Wayne Gretzky is. He's kinda getting into hockey now, which is quite awesome.

Anyway, watching the parade of athletes, Nate was not so much interested in their respective sports, or athletic abilities. Instead, he had this bit of wisdom to share:

"Wow. Look at all those guys walking."
"Yup, Nate, they're all in the Olympics."
"Mom, wouldn't it be SO TOTALLY AWESOME if one of them farted RIGHT NOW!"

"Yup. So totally awesome".

So at four if his greatest accomplishments are fart noises and booger jokes, what happens when he's a teenager?

Crying over NonFat NonSpilled Soy Milk

I didn't even give them almond milk this morning. I swear. Apparently, my two favorite young boys decided they did, and as I showered before work this morning, their conversation apparently went a little somethin' like dis:

J- "I hate Almond milk. Why did mom give it to me today? She promised she wouldn't buy it anymore."

N-"Yah, me too. I hate this milk".

J-"Maybe daddy, you and mom can get separate and not live together anymore and we'll come live with you so that we don't have to drink yucky milk anymore".

N-'Good Idea Jack!"

I feel the love, don't you? My own children, turned against me over something I never even did.

Guess it's the price you pay when trying to be uber healthy. Daddy thought this whole conversation was hilarious. Apparently there's going to be a health-food mutiny in this house very soon. If I suddenly disappear, I'm probably tied up somewhere being forcefed soda pop, full fat cows milk, and some form of pork. Send out the rescue squad!

The Pinewood Derby Subtitled: Boy Scouts; My OTHER Part Time Job

Last weekend, Jack had his Boy Scout Pinewood Derby. For those of you who don't know, you are basically given a block of wood, told to carve into a racing vehicle and expected to race to win at a bit "Pack" event. There is a lot involved, apparently, and for a person whose missing anything resembling a creativity gene, it's also very overwhelming.

Thus, Jack was allowed to design the car himself. John had to help him carve it, but we made Jack do everything else "all by himself", sorta. His orginal idea was to design a racing army Tank with the Monopoly Guy driving it. We couldn't find a Monopoly guy, but went ahead with the tank design, even though tanks aren't particularly known for their speed in Taladega.

John cut it, or carved it, or sawed it, or whatever it is. Jack had to sand it and paint it on his own. Here he is heading out to race his tank.

This is an aerial shot. He did all that camo work on his own. Check out the gun on top. Sweet. Side view. He wanted a star on it, so I helped with that. It looks like a glittery blob. How embarrassing.

This is something I wanted him to be proud of. At the race (which by the way lasts ALL day because you have to do several heats, etc) you can certainly tell which cars are kid created, and which kids had a bit more help. And by a bit more I mean some parents pretty much live uber vicariously thru their kids, and that is not how we roll over here. The cars are weighed (it's a BIG deal) and at the last second Jack was hot glue gunning pennies to the underbelly of the tank. There is some sort of serious science and strategy involved that I can not process in my pea brain, so Jack didn't really win anything per se. Their was a design competition, and the only way he's going to win that is if they really vote on if the cars look like they were kid created. Otherwise, we haven't a hope in Hell. There were some really cool designs. I think he was proud, even if he lost. I stressed to him how proud I was that he designed it and created something so cool all on his own. AND in my book you get creativity points for having the idea of a racing tank complete with a gun on top and potentially the Monopoly Guy driving it. Now, I have to run. I have another Boy Scout meeting to attend tonight. And events this weekend, and the following two weekends, Fridays and Saturdays.

Really, busy moms are totally underpaid.