Tonight we grilled my mustard chicken and I made popovers that somehow came out perfectly even though there is definitely something wrong with our oven that we have been nagging the property-management company about for some time now.
I was pretty hungry, and during dinner I mentioned that I hadn't had lunch today. "MOM!" Rachel chided me. "I didn't have time," I explained.
"That's five times this week you didn't have lunch," Rachel said. (Not really, but I have skipped it now and then when my days get crowded and I'm not working at night as an editor at The Post.)
And then the killer line of the evening: "I may have to invent a pin that says 'Give lunch a chance'!"
I tell you, she cracks us up.
Friday, July 31, 2015
Thursday, July 30, 2015
A bit out of sorts today...
...because it took me 90 minutes instead of 20 minutes to get home on the Metro last night, and I got a poor night's sleep and was cranky and irritable today. I tried very hard not to take it out on Rachel, though.
Her swim lesson was cancelled today, so I picked her up and we came right home. She is sniffling, so I told her we had to sit on the couch and cuddle. We ended up falling asleep! Drew had come home by then and made burgers on the grill. We had just enough time to eat and race to Toby's to get ice cream before they closed.
Then I read a magazine while Rachel read a book in bed, and then we cuddled, and THEN she wanted to read the Miffy books to me, and that's when I put my foot down that it was TIME FOR BED. She got pouty and difficult, so I came down here to write. Drew is at the gym, and Rachel just brought the Miffy books to me and said, "For tomorrow night," because I promised she could read them to me while we cuddled in the glider we moved into the study a couple of months ago.
As soon as I finish writing this, I need to finish up some freelance fact-checking, pay some bills (if I have the energy) and go to sleep. Then tomorrow: gardening in the early-morning hours before the heat gets unbearable (pulling weeds from the front of the house), showering, attending a presentation on Rachel's last day of Summer Laureates; swimming, more work, a manicure/pedicure/brow wax, then dinner (and bills if I don't get to them tonight).
I could use a vacation. Thankfully, we have one coming up.
Her swim lesson was cancelled today, so I picked her up and we came right home. She is sniffling, so I told her we had to sit on the couch and cuddle. We ended up falling asleep! Drew had come home by then and made burgers on the grill. We had just enough time to eat and race to Toby's to get ice cream before they closed.
Then I read a magazine while Rachel read a book in bed, and then we cuddled, and THEN she wanted to read the Miffy books to me, and that's when I put my foot down that it was TIME FOR BED. She got pouty and difficult, so I came down here to write. Drew is at the gym, and Rachel just brought the Miffy books to me and said, "For tomorrow night," because I promised she could read them to me while we cuddled in the glider we moved into the study a couple of months ago.
As soon as I finish writing this, I need to finish up some freelance fact-checking, pay some bills (if I have the energy) and go to sleep. Then tomorrow: gardening in the early-morning hours before the heat gets unbearable (pulling weeds from the front of the house), showering, attending a presentation on Rachel's last day of Summer Laureates; swimming, more work, a manicure/pedicure/brow wax, then dinner (and bills if I don't get to them tonight).
I could use a vacation. Thankfully, we have one coming up.
Summer laureates dance
Last night (Wednesday), I had to work, so Drew attended a party for Rachel's summer laureates buddies. There was a talent show, a potluck (he brought the chocolate-chip cake I put in the freezer after we decided to not attend the block party the day of Rachel's birthday party) and dancing with a real deejay.
There is nothing funnier than having a 7-year-old, as Rachel did, say to us earnestly, a few days before the dance: "Mrs. Van Hook said we're going to boogie the night away."
Sydney's mom Nicole graciously sent me photos that Sydney had taken of Rachel. They were pretty good, and I told Nicole to tell Sydney that. Perhaps that's why Sydney was friendly to me when I picked Rachel up from extended day today. I had asked Nicole if we could take Sydney out to dinner tomorrow (pizza and gelato) to celebrate the end of their three-week camp, because Nicole had invited Rachel to accompany Sydney on a "pirate cruise" around the Potomac (which Rachel couldn't go to because it was last weekend, when we were at Monticello), but Sydney and her dad are going to Kentucky for a few days.
So, I'm grilling chicken and making popovers and, hopefully, there will be enough time to get ICE CREAM afterward.
There is nothing funnier than having a 7-year-old, as Rachel did, say to us earnestly, a few days before the dance: "Mrs. Van Hook said we're going to boogie the night away."
Sydney's mom Nicole graciously sent me photos that Sydney had taken of Rachel. They were pretty good, and I told Nicole to tell Sydney that. Perhaps that's why Sydney was friendly to me when I picked Rachel up from extended day today. I had asked Nicole if we could take Sydney out to dinner tomorrow (pizza and gelato) to celebrate the end of their three-week camp, because Nicole had invited Rachel to accompany Sydney on a "pirate cruise" around the Potomac (which Rachel couldn't go to because it was last weekend, when we were at Monticello), but Sydney and her dad are going to Kentucky for a few days.
So, I'm grilling chicken and making popovers and, hopefully, there will be enough time to get ICE CREAM afterward.
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Dinner-table discussions
Tonight's dinner-table discussion (I had the night off, so I made basil, spaghetti and cherry tomatoes) went something like this:
--Rachel showed me the routine she made up called, "President Cheesebama, who is president of the Mozzarella States." She eats her spaghetti with mozzarella cheese and the routine (which she made up herself and Drew thinks is HILARIOUS, and he's right) starts with her placing three pieces of cheese at the top of her plate above the pile of spaghetti. The spaghetti, apparently, signifies a crowd. The two pieces of cheese at either end are Obama's security detail.
Then the crowd says something and one of the security guards starts to answer, and she stabs the cheese with her fork and puts it in her mouth. After it's in her tummy she says something along the lines of, "Hey! What's going on?" Then she does the same with the next security guard. And then it's Obama's turn. When they're all in her tummy, they start talking to each other. Really, you have to be there to see it.
--Then we started talking about "Downton Abbey" for some reason, and she made me explain most of the plot line of the series, which has been going for a couple of years now, so I had to talk about all the characters -- upstairs and downstairs -- and I could tell she was really following it. We talked about how it exemplifies a family in the midst of great historical change and how they handle it -- wars, the Great Depression, social structures falling apart, etc. "Everything was crumbling," I said, and that led us to...
--The Great Depression (she knew all about the stock market, although she laughed at herself for at first calling it the "Sock Market") and how people's lives were ruined. We told her that because of it, banks are better regulated and so her money is protected (earlier in the evening she had said that she doesn't buy things with her money that she just "wants," she buys them if she really, really wants or needs them. We praised her for her sound judgment). "So the Great Depression was a little bit good, in a way," she said. "Because inspired things came out of it, like better banks."
I held off on explaining the Glass-Steagall and Dodd-Frank acts. As Drew said: "I bet that most kids don't have these conversations with their parents." Indeed not.
--Rachel showed me the routine she made up called, "President Cheesebama, who is president of the Mozzarella States." She eats her spaghetti with mozzarella cheese and the routine (which she made up herself and Drew thinks is HILARIOUS, and he's right) starts with her placing three pieces of cheese at the top of her plate above the pile of spaghetti. The spaghetti, apparently, signifies a crowd. The two pieces of cheese at either end are Obama's security detail.
Then the crowd says something and one of the security guards starts to answer, and she stabs the cheese with her fork and puts it in her mouth. After it's in her tummy she says something along the lines of, "Hey! What's going on?" Then she does the same with the next security guard. And then it's Obama's turn. When they're all in her tummy, they start talking to each other. Really, you have to be there to see it.
--Then we started talking about "Downton Abbey" for some reason, and she made me explain most of the plot line of the series, which has been going for a couple of years now, so I had to talk about all the characters -- upstairs and downstairs -- and I could tell she was really following it. We talked about how it exemplifies a family in the midst of great historical change and how they handle it -- wars, the Great Depression, social structures falling apart, etc. "Everything was crumbling," I said, and that led us to...
--The Great Depression (she knew all about the stock market, although she laughed at herself for at first calling it the "Sock Market") and how people's lives were ruined. We told her that because of it, banks are better regulated and so her money is protected (earlier in the evening she had said that she doesn't buy things with her money that she just "wants," she buys them if she really, really wants or needs them. We praised her for her sound judgment). "So the Great Depression was a little bit good, in a way," she said. "Because inspired things came out of it, like better banks."
I held off on explaining the Glass-Steagall and Dodd-Frank acts. As Drew said: "I bet that most kids don't have these conversations with their parents." Indeed not.
University of Virginia
On Sunday, we had just enough time to walk around the U.-Va. campus before we had to head back to D.C. The rotunda at the northern end of Thomas Jefferson's "academical village" was under construction and is expected to reopen in 2016 (Mom and Dad, a great time for you to visit so we can take you to Monticello, too!). The campus was practically deserted, but we got to look at some interesting signs, including one that talked about James Madison and another mentioning that Edgar Allen Poe had briefly been a student there -- who knew? We also saw a section of the Berlin Wall and read about how it got there.
It seems to be a lovely campus, and we hope that Rachel applies there in a decade or so. Or maybe she'll do some summer academic program there? In any case, we all enjoyed our self-guided tour!
It seems to be a lovely campus, and we hope that Rachel applies there in a decade or so. Or maybe she'll do some summer academic program there? In any case, we all enjoyed our self-guided tour!
Monticello
I'm on a tear this summer trying to cram as many activities into the weekend as possible before Rachel starts Hebrew School again Sept. 27 and our family time is severely restricted because I work on Sundays from 3:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. The idea is to visit historical sites/do outdoor things like camping, boating, hiking, etc. before the summer is over (and before Rachel gets old enough to say that she really doesn't like being around us that much, although she insists she loves "family time," and, indeed, she seems to realize it's important).
So, last weekend was...Monticello! Rachel has been urging us to take her to see "Thomas Jefferson's Library," so off we went. Our tickets for the "family-friendly" house tour were at 11 a.m., meaning that we had to leave Arlington at 8 a.m. (at my insistence). We left at 8:15 and got there at 10:45, a half-hour later than Drew had assumed we'd arrived, because of traffic, a snack break and summer construction.
The tour, 40 minutes, really WAS family-friendly, with other smart kids chiming the answers to the tour guide's questions so much that she seemed a little nonplussed. Rachel's favorite room, of course, was Jefferson's "book room," which once held 5,000 volumes (he donated most of them to the Library of Congress) but she liked the "alcove bed" in his bedroom, too. Afterward she tried her hand at writing her name with a quill pen, then we took a shuttle bus to the cafe for a pretty good lunch. Then back to the house, where Rachel did more writing while Drew stayed with her and I took the "gardens and grounds" tour for 40 minutes, learning a lot about trees and flowers on the property and Jefferson's approach to agriculture. (Afterward I had Rachel look at the "sensitive plant" -- really, that is its name -- near the house; it looks like a miniature fern, and when you run your finger along the fronds, they close up; she was delighted.)
Then we all took the "slavery tour," and what an eye-opener it was: thoughtful, anguished, bringing out the real contradictions in Jefferson's character. At the end, the tour guide was telling us about Peter Fossett, the last remaining enslaved person at Monticello who died in 1900. Then the guide said that five years ago, a man in a tour group spoke up. "He was my great-uncle," he said. The guide for his group took a picture, which our tour guide showed us, and he said the guy had urged him, "Keep the stories alive." Whereupon a woman from Brazil in our tour group burst into tears because she was so overcome. I almost did so myself.
We decided to walk the mile back down to the visitor's center and stopped at Jefferson's grave. He has about 3,000 descendants, and the family maintains the grave (and any family member can be buried there; we saw a tombstone that listed the year of death as 1997). Sure wish one of us was eligible to be buried there!
Afterward we drove into Charlottesville and had a nice dinner at a restaurant along a pedestrian plaza, then ice cream a few doors down. Then back to our very modest hotel room, where we collapsed into bed at 10:30 and didn't get up the next morning until 9. Whew, what a day! So, so worth it.
So, last weekend was...Monticello! Rachel has been urging us to take her to see "Thomas Jefferson's Library," so off we went. Our tickets for the "family-friendly" house tour were at 11 a.m., meaning that we had to leave Arlington at 8 a.m. (at my insistence). We left at 8:15 and got there at 10:45, a half-hour later than Drew had assumed we'd arrived, because of traffic, a snack break and summer construction.
The tour, 40 minutes, really WAS family-friendly, with other smart kids chiming the answers to the tour guide's questions so much that she seemed a little nonplussed. Rachel's favorite room, of course, was Jefferson's "book room," which once held 5,000 volumes (he donated most of them to the Library of Congress) but she liked the "alcove bed" in his bedroom, too. Afterward she tried her hand at writing her name with a quill pen, then we took a shuttle bus to the cafe for a pretty good lunch. Then back to the house, where Rachel did more writing while Drew stayed with her and I took the "gardens and grounds" tour for 40 minutes, learning a lot about trees and flowers on the property and Jefferson's approach to agriculture. (Afterward I had Rachel look at the "sensitive plant" -- really, that is its name -- near the house; it looks like a miniature fern, and when you run your finger along the fronds, they close up; she was delighted.)
Then we all took the "slavery tour," and what an eye-opener it was: thoughtful, anguished, bringing out the real contradictions in Jefferson's character. At the end, the tour guide was telling us about Peter Fossett, the last remaining enslaved person at Monticello who died in 1900. Then the guide said that five years ago, a man in a tour group spoke up. "He was my great-uncle," he said. The guide for his group took a picture, which our tour guide showed us, and he said the guy had urged him, "Keep the stories alive." Whereupon a woman from Brazil in our tour group burst into tears because she was so overcome. I almost did so myself.
We decided to walk the mile back down to the visitor's center and stopped at Jefferson's grave. He has about 3,000 descendants, and the family maintains the grave (and any family member can be buried there; we saw a tombstone that listed the year of death as 1997). Sure wish one of us was eligible to be buried there!
Afterward we drove into Charlottesville and had a nice dinner at a restaurant along a pedestrian plaza, then ice cream a few doors down. Then back to our very modest hotel room, where we collapsed into bed at 10:30 and didn't get up the next morning until 9. Whew, what a day! So, so worth it.
Friday, July 24, 2015
American Girl Movie Night
Earlier this week, Rachel was invited to watch "Grace," the latest installment of the American Girl Doll movies, at her friend Madeline's house (Madeline came to her birthday party last weekend). Madeline lives very close to McKinley Elementary. The party was from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and the girls got popcorn and dessert. I immediately made a reservation at a restaurant Drew and I love about three Metro stops from our house. It has been so long since we've been to a nice restaurant, I was really looking forward to tonight.
I picked Rachel up at camp, we raced home and I heated up some egg noodles for her and we had a quick Shabbat dinner -- candles, prayers and all -- and she got me on quite a tear remembering my past. "Tell me who all your boyfriends were and why you broke up with them," she said.
"Um, how far back?" I said.
"All of them," she replied.
So, I began with my first kiss, with Tommy Martinek in 5th grade in the laundry room of the Whitehall, and ended up with Mike Selinker, my last serious boyfriend before Drew (and later tonight I realized I had skipped one or two). She's so curious about my past, Rachel is, and then she asked me to tell her about when she was a baby (she LOVES those stories, especially the one I told her tonight, about how Drew and I used to put glasses on her and lift her up and say, "Intellectual Baby!" for our own amusement, and she would have this tolerant little smile on her face as if she knew what we were up to).
I dropped her off at Madeline's with some homemade strawberry bread, then headed to the Metro. Ran into a colleague of mine from work and had a brief, nice chat and a pledge to get together for lunch soon. Then it was on to the restaurant...
Where we saw the most ADORABLE BABY, 8-week old William. His parents apologized for parking him next to us and we assured them that we have a child, too, and we're not so far removed form the baby days. Drew and I had a nice dinner, and then he left to pick up Rachel while I ordered dessert. William's parents graciously let me hold him and it was THE SWEETEST FEELING EVER, especially when he relaxed in my arms when I moved him from side to side, patted and then rubbed his back. Eventually he even fell asleep! In my arms, his little hand curled around my tricep, just like Rachel used to do! And it lasted until a @#! fire engine roared by and woke him up, but he still wasn't cranky. I had put him in his baby seat by then and he just looked at his dad while he (William) clutched his burp rag. Then I tore myself away and headed home.
I GOT A BABY TO FALL ASLEEP IN MY ARMS! Yeeeahhhh, I've still got it.
I picked Rachel up at camp, we raced home and I heated up some egg noodles for her and we had a quick Shabbat dinner -- candles, prayers and all -- and she got me on quite a tear remembering my past. "Tell me who all your boyfriends were and why you broke up with them," she said.
"Um, how far back?" I said.
"All of them," she replied.
So, I began with my first kiss, with Tommy Martinek in 5th grade in the laundry room of the Whitehall, and ended up with Mike Selinker, my last serious boyfriend before Drew (and later tonight I realized I had skipped one or two). She's so curious about my past, Rachel is, and then she asked me to tell her about when she was a baby (she LOVES those stories, especially the one I told her tonight, about how Drew and I used to put glasses on her and lift her up and say, "Intellectual Baby!" for our own amusement, and she would have this tolerant little smile on her face as if she knew what we were up to).
I dropped her off at Madeline's with some homemade strawberry bread, then headed to the Metro. Ran into a colleague of mine from work and had a brief, nice chat and a pledge to get together for lunch soon. Then it was on to the restaurant...
Where we saw the most ADORABLE BABY, 8-week old William. His parents apologized for parking him next to us and we assured them that we have a child, too, and we're not so far removed form the baby days. Drew and I had a nice dinner, and then he left to pick up Rachel while I ordered dessert. William's parents graciously let me hold him and it was THE SWEETEST FEELING EVER, especially when he relaxed in my arms when I moved him from side to side, patted and then rubbed his back. Eventually he even fell asleep! In my arms, his little hand curled around my tricep, just like Rachel used to do! And it lasted until a @#! fire engine roared by and woke him up, but he still wasn't cranky. I had put him in his baby seat by then and he just looked at his dad while he (William) clutched his burp rag. Then I tore myself away and headed home.
I GOT A BABY TO FALL ASLEEP IN MY ARMS! Yeeeahhhh, I've still got it.
Cruiser of the Week
At the extended-day portion of Summer Laureates, the kids are doing "travel camp." Each week they "visit" a certain place -- this week it was Africa (and an African drummer came to visit!), next week it's the Caribbean. They go on a "cruise" of different parts of the world
Each week the teachers give out a "Cruiser of the Week" award, kind of like "camper of the week" for Y camp. Rachel was hoping she'd receive the award...and this week, she did!
The certificate says, "This certificate is presented to: Rachel DeSilver In recognition of outstanding character, behavior, and participation."
That definitely describes our girl. I congratulated her several times and said how proud of her I am. Drew did, too.
Each week the teachers give out a "Cruiser of the Week" award, kind of like "camper of the week" for Y camp. Rachel was hoping she'd receive the award...and this week, she did!
The certificate says, "This certificate is presented to: Rachel DeSilver In recognition of outstanding character, behavior, and participation."
That definitely describes our girl. I congratulated her several times and said how proud of her I am. Drew did, too.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Swim lessons
I had last Thursday and this Thursday off work (and I'll have next Thursday, too), so I offered to pick Rachel up from camp, take her to dinner and then zip her over to swim lessons, take her home and put her to bed so Drew can get some time in at the gym, which he really needs and appreciates when he's able to go.
Last week Rachel and I went to Elevation Burger, her favorite burger place, and she wasn't in the greatest of moods. Today was much better; she was cheerful when I picked her up from extended day (although a fleeting look of annoyance crossed her face because she was deep in the middle of a book) and we headed to the burger place. We had a nice talk about her old preschool in Portland, and I talked about the first time I ever took her to day care, when she fixed her eyes on me as I said goodbye and gave me a long, long, stare, like "It'll be a long time before I forgive you for this," and then I started crying, and the day-care ladies said all the moms do that, and when I picked Rachel up at the end of the day she was fine. Perhaps we will pay a visit there when we head to Oregon in two (!!) weeks.
Then we went to swim lessons -- Rachel has a lovely backstroke and is very comfortable in the water; she loves jumping in -- and things were going great until Taylor, her teacher, told her she had to practice putting her head underwater. She put her goggles on and did it, but she kept swallowing water and dipping her head in and out instead of really trying to swim at length beneath the water. She was getting more and more upset, and Taylor and I kept encouraging her, but it was clear she wasn't happy. When she got out and I put a towel around her, she refused to talk to me. "Do you know how much water I swallowed and got up my nose before I learned how to swim?" I asked her.
We walked to the car in silence, she buckled herself in and pointed to her book, which I had put in the front seat. "No," I said sternly. "I'm not giving you this book until you ask for it, using words, not like a little baby."
Then she burst into tears. "What are you upset about, sweetie?" I asked. "I CAN'T DO IT!!" she said. "I'M TERRIBLE!"
"You mean swimming?" I asked. She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"Rachel, you are NOT terrible," I said. "I'm not just saying that. Not everything is easy; you're not going to just quit, are you?" She shook her head.
I explained that things may come easy at first, but then you hit the hard part and you just have to push through it. Reading is easy now; soon it'll be hard -- not the words, but the concepts she'll be studying. And addition, subtraction and division and multiplication may come easily, but that math will get harder too, "and the people who really succeed in life are the ones who keep trying and push through the hard part until they understand it." I said. "I know you can learn to swim, Rachel. You just have to keep at it. I've never lied to you about anything, and I'm not lying to you about this."
Someday, I added, she'll be swimming under the water so easily that she won't even remember a time when it was hard or scary. And I intend to remind her of this day when that day comes.
Last week Rachel and I went to Elevation Burger, her favorite burger place, and she wasn't in the greatest of moods. Today was much better; she was cheerful when I picked her up from extended day (although a fleeting look of annoyance crossed her face because she was deep in the middle of a book) and we headed to the burger place. We had a nice talk about her old preschool in Portland, and I talked about the first time I ever took her to day care, when she fixed her eyes on me as I said goodbye and gave me a long, long, stare, like "It'll be a long time before I forgive you for this," and then I started crying, and the day-care ladies said all the moms do that, and when I picked Rachel up at the end of the day she was fine. Perhaps we will pay a visit there when we head to Oregon in two (!!) weeks.
Then we went to swim lessons -- Rachel has a lovely backstroke and is very comfortable in the water; she loves jumping in -- and things were going great until Taylor, her teacher, told her she had to practice putting her head underwater. She put her goggles on and did it, but she kept swallowing water and dipping her head in and out instead of really trying to swim at length beneath the water. She was getting more and more upset, and Taylor and I kept encouraging her, but it was clear she wasn't happy. When she got out and I put a towel around her, she refused to talk to me. "Do you know how much water I swallowed and got up my nose before I learned how to swim?" I asked her.
We walked to the car in silence, she buckled herself in and pointed to her book, which I had put in the front seat. "No," I said sternly. "I'm not giving you this book until you ask for it, using words, not like a little baby."
Then she burst into tears. "What are you upset about, sweetie?" I asked. "I CAN'T DO IT!!" she said. "I'M TERRIBLE!"
"You mean swimming?" I asked. She nodded, tears streaming down her face.
"Rachel, you are NOT terrible," I said. "I'm not just saying that. Not everything is easy; you're not going to just quit, are you?" She shook her head.
I explained that things may come easy at first, but then you hit the hard part and you just have to push through it. Reading is easy now; soon it'll be hard -- not the words, but the concepts she'll be studying. And addition, subtraction and division and multiplication may come easily, but that math will get harder too, "and the people who really succeed in life are the ones who keep trying and push through the hard part until they understand it." I said. "I know you can learn to swim, Rachel. You just have to keep at it. I've never lied to you about anything, and I'm not lying to you about this."
Someday, I added, she'll be swimming under the water so easily that she won't even remember a time when it was hard or scary. And I intend to remind her of this day when that day comes.
Rachel Comment of the Day
This morning, Rachel started telling me about "Helen" as in, "Helen of Troy." She is reading about her as part of this "Goddess Girls" series for kids, about all the Greek goddesses. (I'm trying not to get annoyed that the assumption is that the only way kids can care about Greek myths is to dumb them down and give them sex appeal, but...harumpphhh.)
"Would you like me to read to you tonight about the Trojan War?" I asked, and Rachel's eyes lit up. "Yes!!!" she said.
So tonight, after we got home from her swim lesson (more on that later), she remarked that she misses me reading to her. I had thought that she preferred reading on her own, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that she still wants Mommy to read aloud. We snuggled in together, and I picked up Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths and began reading the prologue, all about Paris, whose unwise wish was to have the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, etc. Rachel did a great job following along, keeping up with all the twists and turns and characters. Hamilton's version of myths is denser that I remembered; we're not even close to being toward the end of the war, but I did read some battle scenes tonight, which led to this immortal comment from Rachel:
"I don't mean to sound like a boy, but I LOVE the middle of wars! It's so exciting!"
"Would you like me to read to you tonight about the Trojan War?" I asked, and Rachel's eyes lit up. "Yes!!!" she said.
So tonight, after we got home from her swim lesson (more on that later), she remarked that she misses me reading to her. I had thought that she preferred reading on her own, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear that she still wants Mommy to read aloud. We snuggled in together, and I picked up Edith Hamilton's Greek Myths and began reading the prologue, all about Paris, whose unwise wish was to have the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen, etc. Rachel did a great job following along, keeping up with all the twists and turns and characters. Hamilton's version of myths is denser that I remembered; we're not even close to being toward the end of the war, but I did read some battle scenes tonight, which led to this immortal comment from Rachel:
"I don't mean to sound like a boy, but I LOVE the middle of wars! It's so exciting!"
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
The things Rachel says, Part 2
Tonight Drew and I went to a show at the Kennedy Center -- the first time we've been there, and it was WAY impressive -- and to make it happen I had to pick Rachel up early from camp, feed her, get myself dressed after the babysitter, her swim teacher Taylor, came at 6 so I could meet Drew at the Kennedy Center in time for the 7:30 p.m. curtain.
Everything went quite smoothly. I took Rachel for pizza at The Italian Store, and we sat outside in the extreme heat (but under an umbrella) to eat it. We got to talking about American Girl dolls, and other toys, and I mentioned that she was lucky because I didn't have that cool stuff when I was growing up.
"I feel sorry for when you were little," she replied. "You didn't have American Girl. I don't know how I'd LIVE without American Girl."
(Dad, this is your revenge for me asking you more than once whether they had invented Oreos when you were a kid. Or whether you had to take the SATs. Sorry, again).
Everything went quite smoothly. I took Rachel for pizza at The Italian Store, and we sat outside in the extreme heat (but under an umbrella) to eat it. We got to talking about American Girl dolls, and other toys, and I mentioned that she was lucky because I didn't have that cool stuff when I was growing up.
"I feel sorry for when you were little," she replied. "You didn't have American Girl. I don't know how I'd LIVE without American Girl."
(Dad, this is your revenge for me asking you more than once whether they had invented Oreos when you were a kid. Or whether you had to take the SATs. Sorry, again).
The things Rachel notices...
While we were getting our Mommy-daughter mani/pedis on Saturday, Rachel turned to me suddenly and said, "I'm glad you don't competition with me."
"Do you mean, you're glad I don't compete with you?"
"Yes," she said, "like some kids do with their moms."
"Really?" I asked, stunned.
"Yeah," she said. "That mom was asking her daughter, "Are you SURE you want your hands AND your feet?"
It was a very sophisticated comment about something that clearly was not about competition, but I was astonished, nevertheless, because she has no idea how pervasive that issue really is. And the fact that she notices I don't compete with her -- and hopefully will keep that feeling when she's into her teens and the first blush of her beauty while I will be entering old age -- made my weekend.
"Do you mean, you're glad I don't compete with you?"
"Yes," she said, "like some kids do with their moms."
"Really?" I asked, stunned.
"Yeah," she said. "That mom was asking her daughter, "Are you SURE you want your hands AND your feet?"
It was a very sophisticated comment about something that clearly was not about competition, but I was astonished, nevertheless, because she has no idea how pervasive that issue really is. And the fact that she notices I don't compete with her -- and hopefully will keep that feeling when she's into her teens and the first blush of her beauty while I will be entering old age -- made my weekend.
Washington Nationals game
Drew's Father's Day gift from me, like last year, was a pair of tickets for him and Rachel to attend a Nationals baseball game. They both got their hats on, sprayed sunscreen all over, and headed out Sunday morning while I labored to write my first story for The Post's Food section.
About 3:20 p.m. I got a call from the Nationals folks. They had Rachel -- she and Drew had gotten separated and she was at Guest Services. They couldn't reach Drew on his cellphone (he had left it at work Friday) and neither I nor Rachel knows his work phone by heart since he doesn't have it for personal use, although he was carrying it Sunday. The Nats woman was very nice and put Rachel on the phone, who sounded very self-possessed. She was fine, she was in an air-conditioned office and she charmed the staff into giving her a Taylor Swift bracelet left over from the concert at Nats Park the previous week.
I started my shift and tried not to worry.
About a half-hour later, Drew called. Turns out that he accompanied Rachel to the bathroom and told her he'd wait outside. There are two entrances/exits, and she left on the side opposite from the one where he was waiting. Realizing she couldn't find him, Rachel remained calm, walked up to a security guard and said, "I think I've lost my dad," and he took her to Guest Services, where she was able to give them Drew's and my phone numbers. Drew and I both told her repeatedly how proud we were of her for not panicking and that she did the exact right thing by finding a security guard to help her find her dad.
I think she's just about ready to travel through Europe. Solo.
About 3:20 p.m. I got a call from the Nationals folks. They had Rachel -- she and Drew had gotten separated and she was at Guest Services. They couldn't reach Drew on his cellphone (he had left it at work Friday) and neither I nor Rachel knows his work phone by heart since he doesn't have it for personal use, although he was carrying it Sunday. The Nats woman was very nice and put Rachel on the phone, who sounded very self-possessed. She was fine, she was in an air-conditioned office and she charmed the staff into giving her a Taylor Swift bracelet left over from the concert at Nats Park the previous week.
I started my shift and tried not to worry.
About a half-hour later, Drew called. Turns out that he accompanied Rachel to the bathroom and told her he'd wait outside. There are two entrances/exits, and she left on the side opposite from the one where he was waiting. Realizing she couldn't find him, Rachel remained calm, walked up to a security guard and said, "I think I've lost my dad," and he took her to Guest Services, where she was able to give them Drew's and my phone numbers. Drew and I both told her repeatedly how proud we were of her for not panicking and that she did the exact right thing by finding a security guard to help her find her dad.
I think she's just about ready to travel through Europe. Solo.
Birthday weekend, Part 2
We had a delightful weekend -- and a busy one -- celebrating Rachel again ("I like this idea of extended birthdays," Drew said. Me, too.) On Saturday, we did the following:
--Got Mommy-and-Rachel pedicures at the nail place I usually go to, then took Rachel to get a donut at Dunkin' Donuts. We ran into one of her friends there, Sammy, and her mom. They were about to go buy Rachel's present before her party. Rachel and I had a really lovely time together -- she kept saying, "I love you, Mom." She's really happy when we're just...together.
--Got home to find that Drew had done a bunch of errands that morning instead of going to the gym, which was very generous of him, even though I had encouraged him to exercise. We all piled into his car and headed to Uncle Dan's. (Dan asked me to bring him some scones from Village Sweet, a bakery near our house whose scones I brought by the last time we visited.)
--Had a lovely two-hour visit with Dan, who is back in his apartment and seemed in fine spirits. He gave Rachel a stuffed turtle, which she immediately named Ella after throwing her arms around Dan and thanking him profusely. She spent most of the visit reading while Dan, Drew and I caught up.
--From Dan's, we headed straight to the American Girl Doll store at Tyson's Corner. The party was a meal with cake and ice cream for dessert and the idea was for the girls to explore the store afterward with their moms. All the girls had brought their dolls, and the dolls had their own mini seats at the table (and got mini cups and saucers). The food was quite good -- each girl had her choice of appetizer and main course, plus drinks (and everyone decided to order smoothies, which cost extra, but as Drew said -- what the heck, it's just money, right? Actually the whole thing turned out to be less expensive than last year's jungle-themed party at a local community center).
Rachel got a crown, and she insisted on sitting between Mommy and Daddy. I sat next to her friend, Dani, from synagogue. Dani started off quite shy because she didn't know anyone (the other 5 girls were all from McKinley), but then we got into a nice conversation aided by the conversation cue cards the American Girl Doll folks had cleverly put at each table: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be? Etc.
The sour note, of course, was Sidney. When she got her smoothie, which was strawberry, she took her straw and blew it straight at Drew's chest, splotching his shirt with smoothie. He took the smoothie away and put it on a neighboring table, saying, "Okay, you're done." She pouted for five to 10 minutes. He said, "If I give it back to you, are you going to spit it at me or anyone else again?" She said "no," sulkily, then Drew gave it back to her. She decided she didn't like it, gave it to Simone, another little girl, who promptly drank it all.
We had encouraged all the parents to drop off their kids, and one parent looked at me and said, "You're so brave! This is so nice of you to do all of this!" (Being able to order a cocktail of champagne and peach flavoring helped -- those American Girl Doll folks are not stupid by allowing parents to order alcohol to cope with being surrounded by squealing little girls.) Sidney's mom and dad, who are divorced, both showed up -- Sidney's mom to give her her backpack and her dad to take her off to do something else. And Sidney threw A FIT. She clearly didn't want to leave, since Rachel and I and Sammy and Sammy's mom were planning to explore the store, and Sidney desperately wanted to join with HER mommy, but it was her dad's day to have her and he had other plans. Rachel gave me an embarrassed look when Sidney had her meltdown, but none of us could do anything except leave the scene.
Sammy, Rachel, Sammy's mom and I explored the store, and I had a nice talk with Sammy's mom, whom I didn't know very well, while Drew brought all the presents and leftover cake to the car. Finally we all left at around 7. "This is my best birthday EVER!" Rachel said, walking from the car to the house.
We had planned to attend the block party up the street that had begun at 3, but none of us really had the energy. Drew seized the last bit of daylight to open the lawn while I supervised Rachel opening her presents ("I'm embarrassed to ask you if I can do something," she said. "What?" I asked. "I'm afraid you'll think I'm greedy," she said. "What is it?" I said again. "I want to open my presents," Rachel said. "SURE!" I replied).
By the time we cleaned up the wrapping and put everything away it was time for bed. We wished Rachel a very very happy birthday again, and then Drew and I decamped for the basement to watch "House of Cards." All in all, a great day!
--Got Mommy-and-Rachel pedicures at the nail place I usually go to, then took Rachel to get a donut at Dunkin' Donuts. We ran into one of her friends there, Sammy, and her mom. They were about to go buy Rachel's present before her party. Rachel and I had a really lovely time together -- she kept saying, "I love you, Mom." She's really happy when we're just...together.
--Got home to find that Drew had done a bunch of errands that morning instead of going to the gym, which was very generous of him, even though I had encouraged him to exercise. We all piled into his car and headed to Uncle Dan's. (Dan asked me to bring him some scones from Village Sweet, a bakery near our house whose scones I brought by the last time we visited.)
--Had a lovely two-hour visit with Dan, who is back in his apartment and seemed in fine spirits. He gave Rachel a stuffed turtle, which she immediately named Ella after throwing her arms around Dan and thanking him profusely. She spent most of the visit reading while Dan, Drew and I caught up.
--From Dan's, we headed straight to the American Girl Doll store at Tyson's Corner. The party was a meal with cake and ice cream for dessert and the idea was for the girls to explore the store afterward with their moms. All the girls had brought their dolls, and the dolls had their own mini seats at the table (and got mini cups and saucers). The food was quite good -- each girl had her choice of appetizer and main course, plus drinks (and everyone decided to order smoothies, which cost extra, but as Drew said -- what the heck, it's just money, right? Actually the whole thing turned out to be less expensive than last year's jungle-themed party at a local community center).
Rachel got a crown, and she insisted on sitting between Mommy and Daddy. I sat next to her friend, Dani, from synagogue. Dani started off quite shy because she didn't know anyone (the other 5 girls were all from McKinley), but then we got into a nice conversation aided by the conversation cue cards the American Girl Doll folks had cleverly put at each table: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be? Etc.
The sour note, of course, was Sidney. When she got her smoothie, which was strawberry, she took her straw and blew it straight at Drew's chest, splotching his shirt with smoothie. He took the smoothie away and put it on a neighboring table, saying, "Okay, you're done." She pouted for five to 10 minutes. He said, "If I give it back to you, are you going to spit it at me or anyone else again?" She said "no," sulkily, then Drew gave it back to her. She decided she didn't like it, gave it to Simone, another little girl, who promptly drank it all.
We had encouraged all the parents to drop off their kids, and one parent looked at me and said, "You're so brave! This is so nice of you to do all of this!" (Being able to order a cocktail of champagne and peach flavoring helped -- those American Girl Doll folks are not stupid by allowing parents to order alcohol to cope with being surrounded by squealing little girls.) Sidney's mom and dad, who are divorced, both showed up -- Sidney's mom to give her her backpack and her dad to take her off to do something else. And Sidney threw A FIT. She clearly didn't want to leave, since Rachel and I and Sammy and Sammy's mom were planning to explore the store, and Sidney desperately wanted to join with HER mommy, but it was her dad's day to have her and he had other plans. Rachel gave me an embarrassed look when Sidney had her meltdown, but none of us could do anything except leave the scene.
Sammy, Rachel, Sammy's mom and I explored the store, and I had a nice talk with Sammy's mom, whom I didn't know very well, while Drew brought all the presents and leftover cake to the car. Finally we all left at around 7. "This is my best birthday EVER!" Rachel said, walking from the car to the house.
We had planned to attend the block party up the street that had begun at 3, but none of us really had the energy. Drew seized the last bit of daylight to open the lawn while I supervised Rachel opening her presents ("I'm embarrassed to ask you if I can do something," she said. "What?" I asked. "I'm afraid you'll think I'm greedy," she said. "What is it?" I said again. "I want to open my presents," Rachel said. "SURE!" I replied).
By the time we cleaned up the wrapping and put everything away it was time for bed. We wished Rachel a very very happy birthday again, and then Drew and I decamped for the basement to watch "House of Cards." All in all, a great day!
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Mommy and Rachel evening
I had tonight off work, and suggested to Drew that he actually take some time for himself and go work out while I picked Rachel up from Summer Laureates, take her to dinner and to her swim lesson, and then come home and put her to bed. He thanked me profusely and stayed at work extra late to finish a project, then came home, grabbed his bags and headed to the gym.
Meanwhile, I picked up Rachel at extended day. We ran into Sidney and Nicole, her mom, and Sidney was having a bit of a tantrum at having to leave for her swim lesson at 6:30. As Rachel and I were walking outside, she said, "I think Sidney's jealous of the parents I have."
"What do you mean?" I asked, astonished.
"Because you're nice to me," she said. "Her parents aren't very nice to her."
I reminded her in the car that Sidney had told her just a few weeks ago that she didn't like us because we were strict and insisted on manners. Rachel couldn't really reconcile that thought in her head, so she just ignored it.
We went to Elevation Burger for dinner and she kept wanting to crawl into my lap and cuddle. I had to remind her several times to to finish her dinner, which she ate very little of. After we got to the parking lot of Marymount University and were walking toward the pool, she grabbed me again, let out a sob and said, "Mama!" and added, "I miss you."
"I'm right here, sweetie," I replied. What's the matter sweetie? Please tell me what's the matter."
Then I thought of something.
"Are you upset that we're out of our routine?" I said. "That you're getting used to having Mommy home a lot?"
She nodded and said, again, that she wished I didn't have to work.
"Mommy and Daddy both have to work," I reminded her. Then we tabled the conversation.
She's doing quite well in swim lessons -- her backstroke looks terrific, her freestyle is really coming along and when Taylor, her swim instructor, asked her to tread water for 1 1/2 minutes, Rachel said, "How about TWO?" "Um, okay!" Taylor said, surprised, and darned if Rachel didn't do it. (Sidney watched the whole time -- she was still there when we arrived, and Nicole let her stay to watch Rachel swim for a bit.) As we were coming out, we saw the security guards playing a game of horseshoes. I suggested we watch for a bit, and they were kind enough to let her participate.
Afterward I took her to get frozen yogurt at the place she and Drew usually go -- she knows the owner's name by now and he was quite friendly to her -- and then found out that Toby's, the ice-cream place near our house, was still open. But as we approached it we saw that the Italian Store, which has gelato, was open, too. "Get gelato, Mommy," Rachel suggested. "We can go to Toby's anytime!"
I did get the gelato -- hazelnut and pistachio -- and it was delicious.
Meanwhile, I picked up Rachel at extended day. We ran into Sidney and Nicole, her mom, and Sidney was having a bit of a tantrum at having to leave for her swim lesson at 6:30. As Rachel and I were walking outside, she said, "I think Sidney's jealous of the parents I have."
"What do you mean?" I asked, astonished.
"Because you're nice to me," she said. "Her parents aren't very nice to her."
I reminded her in the car that Sidney had told her just a few weeks ago that she didn't like us because we were strict and insisted on manners. Rachel couldn't really reconcile that thought in her head, so she just ignored it.
We went to Elevation Burger for dinner and she kept wanting to crawl into my lap and cuddle. I had to remind her several times to to finish her dinner, which she ate very little of. After we got to the parking lot of Marymount University and were walking toward the pool, she grabbed me again, let out a sob and said, "Mama!" and added, "I miss you."
"I'm right here, sweetie," I replied. What's the matter sweetie? Please tell me what's the matter."
Then I thought of something.
"Are you upset that we're out of our routine?" I said. "That you're getting used to having Mommy home a lot?"
She nodded and said, again, that she wished I didn't have to work.
"Mommy and Daddy both have to work," I reminded her. Then we tabled the conversation.
She's doing quite well in swim lessons -- her backstroke looks terrific, her freestyle is really coming along and when Taylor, her swim instructor, asked her to tread water for 1 1/2 minutes, Rachel said, "How about TWO?" "Um, okay!" Taylor said, surprised, and darned if Rachel didn't do it. (Sidney watched the whole time -- she was still there when we arrived, and Nicole let her stay to watch Rachel swim for a bit.) As we were coming out, we saw the security guards playing a game of horseshoes. I suggested we watch for a bit, and they were kind enough to let her participate.
Afterward I took her to get frozen yogurt at the place she and Drew usually go -- she knows the owner's name by now and he was quite friendly to her -- and then found out that Toby's, the ice-cream place near our house, was still open. But as we approached it we saw that the Italian Store, which has gelato, was open, too. "Get gelato, Mommy," Rachel suggested. "We can go to Toby's anytime!"
I did get the gelato -- hazelnut and pistachio -- and it was delicious.
Wednesday, July 15, 2015
Troublesome Benjamin
Remember in preschool when we had Ben the Biter? (Rachel reminded me of him this morning when she told me about ANOTHER bad Benjamin.) Now we have Ben the obnoxious kid in the extended day portion of Summer Laureates. On Tuesday, he kicked Rachel in the legs. Today, on the playground, he grabbed her around the neck and almost choked her, and then he stepped on her foot, on purpose. He was wearing sneakers, and so it hurt.
He also attacked Sidney, who (regretfully on our part) is in Rachel's Summer Laureates class, along with Rachel's bestie, Kira (yay! But Kira and Sidney don't like each other, so, Rachel says, they generally try to avoid interacting.)
After Ben's little torture session today, Rachel told us she did what Drew had suggested and talked to a staff member, who made him walk at the head of the line next to the grownups. Drew is going to talk to the staff tomorrow morning, which will involve a detour there (Rachel takes the bus.) In the meantime, he suggested tonight that if Ben bothers them again, Sidney should just sit on him (she's slightly bigger and stronger than Rachel), and then Rachel should tickle him into submission. Not sure that's the best solution, but at least Drew plans to say something.
He also attacked Sidney, who (regretfully on our part) is in Rachel's Summer Laureates class, along with Rachel's bestie, Kira (yay! But Kira and Sidney don't like each other, so, Rachel says, they generally try to avoid interacting.)
After Ben's little torture session today, Rachel told us she did what Drew had suggested and talked to a staff member, who made him walk at the head of the line next to the grownups. Drew is going to talk to the staff tomorrow morning, which will involve a detour there (Rachel takes the bus.) In the meantime, he suggested tonight that if Ben bothers them again, Sidney should just sit on him (she's slightly bigger and stronger than Rachel), and then Rachel should tickle him into submission. Not sure that's the best solution, but at least Drew plans to say something.
Summer laureates -- DAVID LEDNICER ALERT!
Rachel is, for the second summer, in an academic enrichment program called Summer Laureates. The kids learn academic concepts in a relaxed, camp-like setting. The topic this year? Flight.
Today she informed us that she had learned the concepts of lift, thrust, drag and weight. The kids made models of flying things -- Rachel's involved a drink straw and paper -- and she asked me when I picked her up, "Which would fly the farthest, Mommy -- the one with the smaller roll of paper in front, or the larger?" I guessed smaller, thinking of the nose of an airplane, and she told me I was correct. As for the rest of it, David, feel free to take over when we visit next month!
Also today, Rachel got a lovely birthday present from Aunt Anne and Uncle David -- a set of pastel oils, and upon receiving it she she jumped up and down and yelled, "I've ALWAYS wanted pastel oils!" (Who knew?) Thanks, Uncle David and Auntie Anne!
Today she informed us that she had learned the concepts of lift, thrust, drag and weight. The kids made models of flying things -- Rachel's involved a drink straw and paper -- and she asked me when I picked her up, "Which would fly the farthest, Mommy -- the one with the smaller roll of paper in front, or the larger?" I guessed smaller, thinking of the nose of an airplane, and she told me I was correct. As for the rest of it, David, feel free to take over when we visit next month!
Also today, Rachel got a lovely birthday present from Aunt Anne and Uncle David -- a set of pastel oils, and upon receiving it she she jumped up and down and yelled, "I've ALWAYS wanted pastel oils!" (Who knew?) Thanks, Uncle David and Auntie Anne!
Museum day!
On Sunday, we all had breakfast together -- actually, Drew made breakfast while I showered and dressed -- and then we all went to the American History museum together. Drew and his dad caught an exhibit of the history of American inventions, which I am eager to see because it sounds so interesting, but I agreed to take Rachel to "anything about the Revolution." The closest we got was a section about the military. She was most fascinated by an exhibit that featured voices of people involved or affected by the Revolution, including the first recipient of what later became known as the Purple Heart. She even remembered the guy's name -- Churchill -- when she told Drew and PopPop about it later.
At 3:30 I went in to work my usual shift, and Drew, PopPop and Rachel went to the Lost Dog Cafe near our house. They had a fine time, I heard.
At 3:30 I went in to work my usual shift, and Drew, PopPop and Rachel went to the Lost Dog Cafe near our house. They had a fine time, I heard.
Tuesday, July 14, 2015
Rachel's birthday continues
On Saturday, we all decided to explore Luray Caverns, an extensive series of underground rooms in the Shenandoah Valley. Walking through them takes an hour, and admission includes a visit to a rope-climbing course where you get harnessed in, a garden maze, and there's a toy museum and a car-and-carriage museum. Pretty cool all around, even if it is a tourist trap -- we'd been told the caverns were a good day trip.
Took us about 2 hours to get there, and it was definitely worth the trip! The caverns are really incredible -- rooms and rooms of impressive stalactites and stalagmites, and weddings take place there. There's also a pipe organ, and when it's played the echoes are eerie but beautiful. I've never seen anyplace like it, not in all the traveling I've done. The closest thing to it is New Zealand's glowworm caves that Drew and I admired while we were there on our delayed honeymoon.
Afterward, we went through the garden maze, which was pretty but unexpectedly difficult. PopPop left to go to one of the museums on site, and Drew and I finished the course -- much to Rachel's chagrin, who tearfully asked Drew to take her to the final two "goals" (there are four "goals" throughout the maze; you get a ticket and each goal has a stamp, and when you stamp your ticket four times you get 15 percent off the merchandise at the maze store. Rachel found the first two easily but was stumped by the last two, and Drew had to help her).
THEN we all went through the rope course, similar to a zipline that Rachel, Drew and I went to in the foothills of the Alleghenies back in 2013, just after we'd moved here. She was so matter-of-fact about the rope course; just used her harness to walk back and forth on the shaky tightropes and walkways that scared the bejesus out of me, and so I finally worked up the courage to walk on the tightrope part, which was really scary, and when I finished Rachel announced, "I'm going to do it 10 times." And, bless her heart, she did. The whole experience was a lot of fun.
We took a quick spin through the toy museum -- long enough for me to note that American Girl dolls were first manufactured in 1986 -- and then tried to eat dinner in Luray but were stymied. So we went to Front Royal and found a great little burger and frozen custard place called Spelunker's. By then we were starving so I wasn't going to be picky about finding a nice place to eat for Rachel's actual birthday. We had burgers and frozen custard in waffle cones -- the custard is better than the one at FDB, a restaurant in Arlington we discovered a few weeks ago -- and were fairly close to home at that point (only 90 minutes), so it was a good stop and a great end to Rachel's birthday excursion. She's 7. SEVEN! How did that happen?!?!?!
Took us about 2 hours to get there, and it was definitely worth the trip! The caverns are really incredible -- rooms and rooms of impressive stalactites and stalagmites, and weddings take place there. There's also a pipe organ, and when it's played the echoes are eerie but beautiful. I've never seen anyplace like it, not in all the traveling I've done. The closest thing to it is New Zealand's glowworm caves that Drew and I admired while we were there on our delayed honeymoon.
Afterward, we went through the garden maze, which was pretty but unexpectedly difficult. PopPop left to go to one of the museums on site, and Drew and I finished the course -- much to Rachel's chagrin, who tearfully asked Drew to take her to the final two "goals" (there are four "goals" throughout the maze; you get a ticket and each goal has a stamp, and when you stamp your ticket four times you get 15 percent off the merchandise at the maze store. Rachel found the first two easily but was stumped by the last two, and Drew had to help her).
THEN we all went through the rope course, similar to a zipline that Rachel, Drew and I went to in the foothills of the Alleghenies back in 2013, just after we'd moved here. She was so matter-of-fact about the rope course; just used her harness to walk back and forth on the shaky tightropes and walkways that scared the bejesus out of me, and so I finally worked up the courage to walk on the tightrope part, which was really scary, and when I finished Rachel announced, "I'm going to do it 10 times." And, bless her heart, she did. The whole experience was a lot of fun.
We took a quick spin through the toy museum -- long enough for me to note that American Girl dolls were first manufactured in 1986 -- and then tried to eat dinner in Luray but were stymied. So we went to Front Royal and found a great little burger and frozen custard place called Spelunker's. By then we were starving so I wasn't going to be picky about finding a nice place to eat for Rachel's actual birthday. We had burgers and frozen custard in waffle cones -- the custard is better than the one at FDB, a restaurant in Arlington we discovered a few weeks ago -- and were fairly close to home at that point (only 90 minutes), so it was a good stop and a great end to Rachel's birthday excursion. She's 7. SEVEN! How did that happen?!?!?!
What's my motto?? Beats me.
Rachel and Drew had a discussion about mottos Wednesday morning, which they re-told to me and to PopPop over dinner I made when he arrived.
Drew's motto: "There is no such thing as too many books; just not enough bookshelves."
Rachel's motto: "Never save a cookie for tomorrow when you can eat it today."
PopPop's motto (delivered as he was eating homemade chocolate-chip cake): "Don't waste any time while eating chocolate cake."
I don't have a motto yet. Suggestions are welcome.
PopPop, Part 2
So on Friday, Rachel's birthday, I zipped into the city to see the rest of the Newseum, then took the Metro home to prepare the cake I was making -- chocolate cake with homemade strawberry frosting inside and chocolate frosting on top. I got creative with gumdrops and icing, spelling out "Rachel," and the look in her eyes when I lit the candles and brought it into the dining room was priceless. She gasped, squealed and threw her arms around me, saying, "THANK YOU! THANK YOU!"
These moments of mommyhood are ones I will always remember.
We had baked chicken and shells and Rachel opened half her presents. She jumped up and down when she heard she was getting a new bike (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!) and hugged PopPop tight when she opened the books he and Mammaw gave her -- and was VERY pleased to receive a $100 bill! (thanks again, PopPop and Mammaw!) She immediately said she would put it in her savings account, which she and Drew did on Saturday morning before the day's activities. My girl knows how to manage her money!
These moments of mommyhood are ones I will always remember.
We had baked chicken and shells and Rachel opened half her presents. She jumped up and down when she heard she was getting a new bike (thank you, Grandma and Grandpa!) and hugged PopPop tight when she opened the books he and Mammaw gave her -- and was VERY pleased to receive a $100 bill! (thanks again, PopPop and Mammaw!) She immediately said she would put it in her savings account, which she and Drew did on Saturday morning before the day's activities. My girl knows how to manage her money!
PopPop!!
We were lucky enough to have Richard come to town for Rachel's birthday -- he arrived last Wednesday (July 8) and left Monday (July 13). We had a such a great time! Rachel adores him and jumped into his arms for a hug as soon as he came inside the house. And since I didn't have to work for most of last week, I could play tourist and spend time with Richard going to museums -- which is exactly what I did.
On Thursday, we decided that we'd all take Rachel to camp, then ride in to the District together. Drew got off at his normal stop and Richard and I went to the Newseum, which I had been wanting to see for quite a while but never got around to. We wandered through for a while, and then stopped at 1 to meet Drew for lunch at the Sculpture Garden's Pavilion Cafe for lunch a block away. It was beastly hot but we found a nice table with an umbrella and had a lovely meal. Then Drew headed back to work, Richard to the museum and I to another part of town for an interview for the story I'm working on for The Post's Food section.
When my interview ended, I realized that I had a lot of time to kill before the event I had committed to attending in Dupont Circle -- a cocktail party given by a woman I plan to write about for a magazine story -- and so I walked about a mile to the Basilica, a beautiful church in Northeast D.C. I cooled off inside and spent some time looking around -- it was stunning, with gold and silver and tiles and candles everywhere -- then changed my clothes, got on the train just as it began to pour, and then went to the cocktail party (the rain had stopped by then).
I left after an hour, grabbed an appetizer at a restaurant nearby (all I was hungry for), and took the train home, arriving at 11. Drew picked me up, we talked a bit, and then I headed to bed. A full day!
On Thursday, we decided that we'd all take Rachel to camp, then ride in to the District together. Drew got off at his normal stop and Richard and I went to the Newseum, which I had been wanting to see for quite a while but never got around to. We wandered through for a while, and then stopped at 1 to meet Drew for lunch at the Sculpture Garden's Pavilion Cafe for lunch a block away. It was beastly hot but we found a nice table with an umbrella and had a lovely meal. Then Drew headed back to work, Richard to the museum and I to another part of town for an interview for the story I'm working on for The Post's Food section.
When my interview ended, I realized that I had a lot of time to kill before the event I had committed to attending in Dupont Circle -- a cocktail party given by a woman I plan to write about for a magazine story -- and so I walked about a mile to the Basilica, a beautiful church in Northeast D.C. I cooled off inside and spent some time looking around -- it was stunning, with gold and silver and tiles and candles everywhere -- then changed my clothes, got on the train just as it began to pour, and then went to the cocktail party (the rain had stopped by then).
I left after an hour, grabbed an appetizer at a restaurant nearby (all I was hungry for), and took the train home, arriving at 11. Drew picked me up, we talked a bit, and then I headed to bed. A full day!
Map of the house
Rachel, on her own, decided to make a map of the house for, you know, the hundreds of guests we get every year. She placed it on top of the dresser in the guest room.
The cover reads: "for gouts only
map of house
Please put back were
found
Inside is a map outlining the living room, kitchen, dining room and upstairs. So if visitors are ever confused, they have a guide. As long as they remember to return it to its proper place. Because if you don't, as Rachel might say, "There will be consequences. And they involve lots of tickles."
The cover reads: "for gouts only
map of house
Please put back were
found
Inside is a map outlining the living room, kitchen, dining room and upstairs. So if visitors are ever confused, they have a guide. As long as they remember to return it to its proper place. Because if you don't, as Rachel might say, "There will be consequences. And they involve lots of tickles."
Fourth of July, Part 2
So after dinner, the girls went downstairs to Rachel's playroom to re-set-up the castle with approximately 98,302 and a half pieces that we got Rachel for her 6th birthday and she played with for, oh, 3 months, and then when Drew was carrying it downstairs it snagged on something hanging from a hook and it fell all over the place and he was so mad that he stashed it in a corner of Rachel's playroom and REFUSED TO GET RID OF IT because, dammit, he had bought it for her birthday and he was not going to give/throw it away until he was good and ready. (Some issues you fight about in a marriage, others you let slide. This one I let slide.)
Anyway...the girls decided they wanted to try to put it back together. Drew set up the air mattress in Rachel's room and we put the sheets on, and called the girls upstairs for bed. Of course they had to read first, and I snapped a photo of them intently absorbed in their books, BOTH sleeping on the air mattress (of course). They had strict instructions to be quiet the next morning. Drew and I headed downstairs to watch "House of Cards," then went to bed and actually got a good night's sleep because, true to their word, the girls were quiet. So, thanks, Daniella and Darryl. We'll be happy to host Valerie again anytime!
The next morning Drew made pancakes after bringing fresh fruit back from the farmer's market. I showered and put on makeup because I had to go to work late that afternoon and had to meet a friend from Willamette's law school at a breakfast place downtown around 11 a.m. Said a quick goodbye to everyone and headed out -- much to my sadness. It was way too short a trip! Come back soon!
Anyway...the girls decided they wanted to try to put it back together. Drew set up the air mattress in Rachel's room and we put the sheets on, and called the girls upstairs for bed. Of course they had to read first, and I snapped a photo of them intently absorbed in their books, BOTH sleeping on the air mattress (of course). They had strict instructions to be quiet the next morning. Drew and I headed downstairs to watch "House of Cards," then went to bed and actually got a good night's sleep because, true to their word, the girls were quiet. So, thanks, Daniella and Darryl. We'll be happy to host Valerie again anytime!
The next morning Drew made pancakes after bringing fresh fruit back from the farmer's market. I showered and put on makeup because I had to go to work late that afternoon and had to meet a friend from Willamette's law school at a breakfast place downtown around 11 a.m. Said a quick goodbye to everyone and headed out -- much to my sadness. It was way too short a trip! Come back soon!
Happy Fourth of July!
Well, despite approximately 398 changes of plans in a couple of hours, we had a wonderful Independence Day celebration with Tia Daniella, Darryl and Valerie (evidently we are no longer allowed to call her "Duckie" anymore -- sigh, they're growing up so fast!). They showed up in pouring rain around 11 a.m., and the girls immediately went off to Rachel's room to play while the adults had coffee (and I finished breakfast), and talked. We had planned to go to the fireworks in D.C., and kept waiting for the rain to decide what the hell it was going to do -- stop? Keep going?
Finally we decided to take the girls to a park when they started getting restless. Darryl and I had a nice talk about after-school activities while Drew and Daniella went to the local Harris Teeter to get food for the fireworks (they had all persuaded me that my plan to make fried chicken, popovers and chocolate-chip cake was too elaborate. I did end up making the cake, but they bought everything else, and we were all set to go.)
Near the park where Rachel and Valerie were playing was a cute little lending library in front of a house (Portland is filled with these), so I got to introduce Rachel to the concept. Just before we headed over there, we heard a huge crack -- and a TREE had fallen over from all the rain and wind (we've had an exceptionally rainy summer so far). And then the skies opened up again, and we decided just to bag it and head home. Daniella and Drew, ever prudent, went back to Harris Teeter to return as much of the food as they could and Darryl, the girls and I went back home.
We had sort of formulated a plan: The girls would see Inside Out (the hot new kids' movie that apparently is great for grown-ups, too) and I would fry up the chicken, make the popovers, etc. It was either everyone except me would go, or Daniella would stay and keep me company -- and Daniella stayed. We had a great conversation before she headed to the couch and just crashed, while I got dinner together. Of course, that was the time that the rain decided to stop, and I wondered briefly if we were doing the right thing, but as Daniella said -- we saw the fireworks last year, we all plan to see them together next year, so missing this one time because of weather that would make us miserable standing the rain or sitting on the wet ground was sensible. And she was right. I kind of messed up the popovers, but the chicken was great and everyone loved the chocolate-chip cake. So, it was a relaxed and funky Fourth of July, one that I'm sure we'll all remember.
Finally we decided to take the girls to a park when they started getting restless. Darryl and I had a nice talk about after-school activities while Drew and Daniella went to the local Harris Teeter to get food for the fireworks (they had all persuaded me that my plan to make fried chicken, popovers and chocolate-chip cake was too elaborate. I did end up making the cake, but they bought everything else, and we were all set to go.)
Near the park where Rachel and Valerie were playing was a cute little lending library in front of a house (Portland is filled with these), so I got to introduce Rachel to the concept. Just before we headed over there, we heard a huge crack -- and a TREE had fallen over from all the rain and wind (we've had an exceptionally rainy summer so far). And then the skies opened up again, and we decided just to bag it and head home. Daniella and Drew, ever prudent, went back to Harris Teeter to return as much of the food as they could and Darryl, the girls and I went back home.
We had sort of formulated a plan: The girls would see Inside Out (the hot new kids' movie that apparently is great for grown-ups, too) and I would fry up the chicken, make the popovers, etc. It was either everyone except me would go, or Daniella would stay and keep me company -- and Daniella stayed. We had a great conversation before she headed to the couch and just crashed, while I got dinner together. Of course, that was the time that the rain decided to stop, and I wondered briefly if we were doing the right thing, but as Daniella said -- we saw the fireworks last year, we all plan to see them together next year, so missing this one time because of weather that would make us miserable standing the rain or sitting on the wet ground was sensible. And she was right. I kind of messed up the popovers, but the chicken was great and everyone loved the chocolate-chip cake. So, it was a relaxed and funky Fourth of July, one that I'm sure we'll all remember.
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