St. Patrick's Day

So, we had a pretty busy day today. Rachel had tee ball practice in the morning, her second practice so far, and LOVED IT. "I love tee-ball! I love tee-ball! I can't stop saying that I love tee-ball!" she exclaimed in the car on the way to gymnastics. "Does that annoy you?" she asked anxiously.

"Of course not, sweetie," I said. She then told me that, like yesterday, some of the boys in tee-ball were a bit clueless as to whether they should stay on base, or run. Rachel and her friend Libby are the only girls in tee-ball, and they, of course, were exemplary players.

The more I realize what girls are capable of, the more I wonder why boys end up running things.

It was at gymnastics that I realized that we missed the start of spring sign-up, and so of course the gymnastics and swimming offerings are all closed. I told Drew we need to get Rachel in private swim lessons anyway, since she is making virtually no progress in group lessons and I am determined to have her comfortable in the water by this summer, so that when we visit PopPop and Mammaw and use the pool at Grandma and Grandpa's place, she'll have a reasonable shot at not drowning.

Drew got home from running errands and then we all piled on the Metro to head to the National Zoo, because it was such a nice day (upper 60s), sunny and we are expected to get SNOW again on Monday and Tuesday (insert multiple expletives here). Parking at the Metro station is free, so it was a pleasant ride in, and then we wandered around the zoo for a while. We saw a cheetah asleep in the sun, an elephant or two and an oryx. Most of the indoor exhibits closed at 4:30, so we saw mostly birds at the end, but they ROCKED. Multiple flamingoes, whooping cranes, screeching birds -- it was really awesome and Rachel said, "this is the best family outing EVER!"

(I had insisted on taking a family outing because I'd spent the last two weekends working and I was determined not to repeat that this weekend!).

Afterward on the way to the Metro station we stopped at a little French/Italian restaurant that was absolutely charming. Rachel ordered pizza, Drew ordered mushroom-filled ravioli, and I had a bunch of appetizers -- French onion soup, arugula salad and mussels. We all split a crepe and dark chocolate mousse for dessert (YUM) and then got on the Metro to head back home.

It was St. Patrick's Day, of course, so on our way home we were treated to a bunch of loutish overgrown former frat boys and their dates. The boys tried to climb on the railings that people hold onto when the train is crowded and they have to stand. The rest of the time they kept up a steady stream of cursing and exclaiming out loud how drunk they were. Luckily they weren't mean drunks, just good-natured, and Rachel kept giggling at how ridiculous they were (at one point they started speaking drunk-laced Spanish). I kept laughing because Drew and I were so not like that when we were in our 20s. In fact, we joked with Rachel that we'd put her to bed and then we'd got out to a bar and drink beer and Irish coffee.

"That's not going to happen," she said calmly. "First, Mommy doesn't like coffee. Second, it's against the law for you to leave me alone."

Well, yes. Just when we couldn't stand it anymore, we reached the East Falls Church Metro station and got off, to a bunch of loud girls yelling. Drew announced that it was the most obnoxious train ride he's ever been on, including the years he's lived in Chicago, and I had to agree, although I was proud of him for not starting a fight. And, hey, it was good for Rachel's education. We both secured multiple promises from her that she would NEVER act that way when she grows up.