Thankful for 12/23/15

Stop and smell the roses or...save the Earthworms!

Because when you clear your schedule of all obligations you can take the time stop and save the Earthworms from the treacherous sidewalks on a rainy day!

This year Christmas falls on a Friday. My girls have been out of school since last Friday. That is a whole week of non scheduled nothingness. For this gift of time, I am thankful. I enjoyed December 23, 2015 more than any other year. Gifts are wrapped, the house is clean and the laundry is folded and put away. That left me with nothing but time to spend with my kids.

That leaves us with time to try our hand at homemade Iced Sugar Christmas Cookie for the first time.

 That leaves us time to sit and listen to Reese read a chapter book while the cookies are in the oven (not pictured).

That leaves us time to get out the watercolors and learn new techniques for painting Christmas trees. Painting below by BOO.

 That leaves us time to sit around together and enjoy screen time.

And, yes, that leaves us time to walk in the sprinkling rain to Chick-Fil-A to hear a neighbor sing, but stop and save the Earthworms!

I soaked in these sweet faces on December 23, 2015 and for that I am a happier, more fulfilled person. 

I am guilty of over scheduling myself. But yesterday reminded me that more isn't always better. So I hope to empty my schedule a little so that I can save Earthworms again soon. 

PS- all that may even energize you to allow them to be free of rules the following morning (even if it creates quite the load of laundry).

That's Why We have Kids...

No, this isn't going to be some soupy post about how great motherhood is, but motherhood is my everything. This is about getting to experience something new to me by joining my child on her preschool field trip.


St. Mary's County, Maryland has a large Amish community. We regularly pass horse and buggies on the main roads when we are driving west. I always am so thrilled to witness such a different culture right in my own county. So, when Elli's preschool asked for chaperones to the Amish Farm, you best believe I was first to volunteer.

The first part of our farm tour included the kids getting to each throw a fist full of chicken feed into the pen.

 This inspired Elli to start dancing like a chicken!

Next stop, the barn. There were cows, calves, goats and HUGE work horses. While the kids  observed the farm animals, I couldn't help but watch the beautiful Amish children as they shadow their daddy. I heard (but can't be held to) that often Amish children don't learn English until about 6 years old. 

 I don't know what kind of horse this is but it is easily the largest horse I have ever seen. The cows next to it were half its size. I would say its hind legs alone were six feet tall.

Next stop, horse drawn hay ride. Elli was one of the first to hop on and was very eager. I love that her hair and the horse tail and indistinguishable. 

 I stayed behind with a child that was too nervous to ride, so I witnessed the horses getting stuck in the mud from afar. All adults had to get off to lighten the load and they gave the horses a little extra push from behind.

There was pumpkin selection and snack, which inherently lead to Elli needing to use the restroom. Yes, this Amish farm has no electricity and running water. Yes, Elli got to use the outhouse. She wanted to know where her pee pee disappeared to. I was surprised how much nicer the out house was than a port-a-potty. 

 As we were wrapping things up, the Amish mother and her three children were off to run errands. I had to snap these next two pictures (even though I probably shouldn't have). The young (most likely one year old) girl was in a five point harness carseat installed into the carriage.

 But then the older two kids (likely 4 and 6) were free to move around in the back.

I could have stayed all day on the farm, observing and learning. I love having kids so that I can keep learning with them. 

DC in 1.5

We headed to the DC for the weekend to see our good friends that recently moved there. We had 1.5 days to fulfill a few requests: see our friends (Reese's request), go to the air and space museum at Dulles (Karl's request), see the Lincoln Memorial (Brady's request). My request of Ikea did not make it on the itinerary, boo!


First stop was the air and space museum. There was a observation tower for Dulles that played the air traffic controls radio. Karl tried showing them the mountains and the runways...

 but they were interested in finding our van!

 Another exciting part of the museum is seeing the Discovery Space Shuttle. The girls' fact they took away... the women were allowed small makeup bags!

 I was personally amazed by the heat proof exterior.

 For the afternoon we meet up with our friends at the local splash pad. You know that made these little ones happy.

 Then for the evening a dinner gone wrong (diet restrictions are not easy) and a sleepover that included milkshakes and the movie Frozen. Again, happy, but tired little ones.

The next morning time to ride the Metro into the city. Remember getting there is half the battle fun!

 Reese did also request to meet the president. Unfortunately, we had to cancel on him because we were too busy.

 Comparing feathers, now that is what we came to DC for. Really! It isn't what she is doing but who she is doing it with.

 I said after we hiked the length of the reflecting pool "Girls, turn around and look back at the Washington Monument". Not a one cared or even heard me... What was I thinking... There were baby ducks!

 Why look at that view behind us, when there is baby ducks in front of us?

 I will follow this wonderful lady anywhere she moves...no, really, I will. In less than a year, for the third time I will move into the same state as her. We have done Florida together, Virginia together and soon be in Maryland (maybe) together.

 Brady got to see her much requested statue. At the end of the trip home she proclaimed "My dream came true! I got to see the Lincoln Memorial!" That alone made the madness of the trip worth it. She actually appreciated the trip.

 DC trip isn't complete without a food truck stop!

The Official SNIP SNIP

Yep, that's right...

ELLI GOT HER FIRST HAIRCUT!

Originally I was going to bring her to one of those fun places with the car seats and DVDs playing. Ya know, the whole nine yards! Also it was going to be when she was like TEN. This is my baby girl, I am not suppose to let her grow up, right?

Well, when Reese had her appt, I got talking to my 'regular girl' that did Reese's awesome hair back in December.  I constantly have people asking me about my or Reese's hair. I think I have sent her at least 5 new clients. SHE IS AWESOME!

So why would I send Elli to some chain just to get a cute picture, when I could get a QUALITY cut. So, on a whim we put Elli in the chair and I snapped my photos with my iphone. 

 Every single day since, I have gotten a compliment on her curls. I guess removing those tattered split ends really made her hair spring up.

So while the process may not have been fancy, it was done right.

2013 Bucket List COMPLETED

This post is a few months behind, but I can proudly say we kicked the bucket...list in the behind! We had it completed in late October.

I orginially made this list right after our move to get us excited about the new possibilities in this new town. Remember this list was created over a year ago.

Here it is:

-go on a rocketship (Reese)

We visited the Virginia Air and Space Center in Hampton, VA in September. We explored all sorts of air vehicles including rocketship. We also got to see a rocket take off from our front porch one night! We kept the girls up so they could witness this extraodrinary event.

-go swimming (Reese)

-Perform an Ariel show with my doll (Reese)

This is not the Ariel show pictured... but we get 'shows' on a daily basis. No really, EVERY day. Sound of Music is the most recent theme of most shows.

-go for a hike (Brady)

No hills in our hikes, but we do enjoy the mile walk through our neighborhood (base). 

-go to the zoo (Brady)

-go to where Felicity lived (Brady)

The older two girls were treated to a couple trips to Colonial Williamsburg last year. They enjoyed learning about the differences in life and culture, including tea and curtsy lessons.

-go to the Botanical Gardens (Christy)

Among our multiple trips to the Botanical Gardens to play in the World of Wonder kids' garden. We also explored the Christmas light display during the Polar Express event. The girls also got their first taste of hot cocoa.

-go to the Great Wolf Lodge (Christy)

-go to DC and watch the Giants play (Karl)....

This one wasn't completed in its original form...instead Karl go to see the Giants play in San Diego, even better right!?!?!

-go see Kaddie's (now better known as Pop Pop) fish (Christy)

-go to the Children's musuem (Reese)

-go to the Aquarium (Brady)

-eat Cheesecake Factory cheesecake (Karl)

You know he ate this too fast for me to grab a picture of it!

We did so much last year, much of which is not even listed on here. Glad that we were able to kick the bucket...list!

Stay tuned for the post previewing this year's to do list.