Addicted to two new TV shows

For Christmas I got the Nook Tablet. I love it so far. I got it as an early Christmas present so that I could take it on my trip to Africa. In Africa, I primarily used it as a reader. I finished The Book Thief which I highly recommend and started to reread the Twilight books. I know, I know...but sometimes you just want a book you can breeze through without thinking, especially on an airplane.

Yesterday, I started playing a little bit more with the Netflix streaming and put a few shows in my instant queue:
Coupling (a British comedy they tried to make in the US but it flopped-it definately was not "the next friends")
My Boys (an American comedy, started in 2006, that didn't do great but I really like it)
Gavin and Stacey (a British comedy that Thotlady turned me on to...really funny...like a cross between Friends and Absolutely Fabulous--not sure if Thotlady would agree)

The other show that I added which I have never watched before is Vampire Diaries. I started with the first episode of season one last night. I am not into Vampires. Sure, I love the Twilight trilogy but that is pretty much the extent of my Vampire show watching. I don't watch movies about Vampires (unless it includes Vampires with the last name of Cullen) or TV shows (no Buffy for me) but I've heard this series was good so I decided to try it.

I'm addicted. But I'm also afraid. Most people who know me from when I was young know that I am a bit of a fraidy cat. I never watched scarey movies with my mom and Heather. Never read scarey books. Sorry Mom, I will never read a Steven King novel. So when I started watching Vampire Diaries last night after the kids went to bed, I watched two episodes and got a little scared and had to turn it off even though I was so tempted to continue. I had to watch Coupling and My Boys to lower my anxiety but I'm still hooked! I'm still a little scared but totally hooked!

At the same time, Aidan and Jason got hooked on a new TV show too. You'll never guess what it is. Wait for it....wait for it...

Finding Bigfoot (on Animal Planet)

They are totally addicted too. I think it might scare Aidan a little but he still wants to watch it. It's like he knows he shouldn't but he can't stop. It is a show about people who search all over the US for Bigfoot. Jason loves Animal Planet so of course he loves it too. I think it's hilarious and they don't like it when I tease them about the existence of Bigfoot, the sounds apparently Bigfoot makes, or the clues that lead people to believe he exists. Ha!

So I wanted to know what you think about Vampires and Bigfoot. Check out the two polls on the right of the blog.

P.S. If you're wondering about Leo, he's not into Bigfoot or Vampires. He loves Wii Go Vacation. He's been snowmobiling, expanding his Villa, skateboarding, snowboarding and exploring.

Success! We have two boys that don't need training wheels

Aidan and Leo both set their minds to learning how to ride their bikes with no training wheels and we had super success!
It started out a little iffy after they first tried it on Thursday. They were whining that it was too hard, that they couldn't do it, and that they were tired. I gave them a pep talk and told them that they had to have a positive attitude, that everything they did the first time was hard and that they have to keep practicing. And once they got it, they wouldn't even have to think about it. That day, I proclaimed that they would be able to ride their bikes without training wheels by the end of the 4th of July holiday weekend!

They didn't prove me a liar! By Friday, Aidan changed his whole attitude. When I said "you guys are going to be able to ride your bikes!" Aidan yelled "yeah!!" and guess what?? they did it! Leo's attitude changed by about Sunday but we went out everyday to practice. Their bikes are a little small for them but they mastered it! And their mother and father high-fived because we achieved another huge hurtle in parenting. It's up their with potty training, reading, and eating with a fork!

The look great on their bikes!

DC United (3) and Columbus Crew (1)

 

Last weekend we went to the DC United home opener. It was the most exciting DC United game we have ever attended. They scored 3 goals...more in one game than the sum of their first 10 games last season. Maybe that is an exageration but not by much. We had seats in the uber-fan area so we ended up moving to the other side of the field so that we could sit down for the second half of the game. Leo was cheering and getting all excited during the game and Aidan was remaining as cool as ever. Leo also kept looking for the cotton candy guy. Jason let us leave about 10 minutes early so that we could avoid the rush and get out of the stadium calmly and without the bum rush of a crowd. It was a fun game.

On the Sunday following, we got up and drove down to the Lincoln Memorial and ate breakfast on the steps between the Lincoln Memorial and the Potomac. We haven't been there in so long! Leo said, "What Mom? Has it been 5 years?" I told him that he remembers coming there so maybe it was about 1 year ago. Time has no meaning when you are five.

After we had breakfast, we took a trip to my new office. We dropped off some books, pictures and tres important papers. I really don't know why I kept some of the things from my old office and then brought them to my new office because I have the feeling I'm not going to use them but whatever...it was fun for the boys and Jason to see my office. The building is enormous. We figured out that you could walk around the building just on one floor and walk 0.6 miles. Lots of people walk at lunch and at the end of the day around the building.

Pants Down Races

Last Thursday, Jason told me a really funny story about the boys so I told him to write it down so I could put it on the blog. So here it is, as told by Jason:

I was in the kitchen making dinner and I could hear the boys running around upstairs and having a good time. After I was done, I went up stairs to see what all the noise was about. Here what I was told:

Jason: "What are you guys doing up here?"
Aidan: "We're having pants down races."

Without wanting to know too much, here's the explaination of a "pants down race." You pull your pants down to your ankles and then race to a stuffed animal.  I didn't ask but I'm hoping at that point the race is over and you pull your pants back up until the next race. Leo was cracking up hysterically playing pants down races.

Now pants down races has become a family game. Just kidding!!

So for those of you checking in, Leo is doing fantastic after his surgery. He is eating, sleeping and behaving as usual. He is in such great spirits. We have to remind him that he can't run, jump, or play too hard. We are still resting a lot and yesterday he took a really long nap and then at night at about 8pm he asked if he could go to bed. I said, "you want to go to bed?" and he said, "yes. it's so dark outside." I can't believe how well and how quickly he has recovered but I couldn't be happier. He is such a big, big boy. Thanks so much for all of the checking in.

Favorite article of clothing

I am getting ready for bed. I undertook my usual ritual of walking in the door after getting home from work, heading upstairs to change out of my work clothes and putting on my comfy clothes, usually my pajamas. So I look into my closet and my go to shirt is an OLD, OLD shirt. It is a nursing shirt from when I had Leo! I know! It is totally OLD. I love it. It is black, loose but not long, light weight, three quarters sleeve and it is the softest cotton I have ever felt. I don't know why I love it more than any other shirt that I own but I wish I could keep it forever. I CAN NOT keep it forever. It is so much better than an old t-shirt. I have never really had a favorite old t-shirt.

What is your favorite article of clothing? The article of clothing that you wish would last forever. That you could wear every day if could?

I'm upstairs sitting on our bed. Leo is sleeping, snoring actually. He feel asleep at about 6:50pm. Jason is downstairs playing Wii FIFA Soccer with Aidan and he is losing. Aidan just ran upstairs saying he beat Daddy.

Living the Good Life

 

It's summer vacation and life doesn't get better than this. Eating popcorn, laying in sleeping bags, and watching Scooby-Doo Marathons on a Monday night no less. 

When did we stop enjoying life like this? Was it when we got a job? Gained a car payment? Took out student loans? Got a credit card? Started to get headaches? Back aches? Had children? Started planning for retirement? How did it happen?

This looks way more fun. Maybe we should all get out our sleeping bags this weekend and eat popcorn and watch old reruns of Family Ties, Facts of Life, Three's Company, Flintstones, Silver Spoons, smurfs? Or perhaps more realistically we should just put the kids to bed early, lay in bed, eat popcorn and watch a movie so we don't wake up with a backache.

New Moon Release

Today is the release of the Twilight New Moon DVD. Yeah!!! Last night they had a midnight release party at borders books so Doris and I decided to go. We thought about it all week. To be perfectly honest, I just didn't think I could stay up until midnight but yesterday at about 4pm we decided to give it a shot. We planned all kinds of activities for ourselves so that we were not sitting around getting tired and wanting so desperately to fall asleep. We left work at about 5:45pm to make the 7pm showing of the movie Remember Me with, of course, Rob Pattinson. Apparently Doris said the movie got a D+ in the reviews so we were feeling a little ambivalent about going but this was not about the movie it was about seeing Edward. We both thought the movie was good. It wasn't great or anything but we thought it deserved more than a D+. It is a really sad story in many ways but it was good.

After the movie, we went to dinner at a trendy Sushi restaurant in Rockville (well it was as trendy as you can get in Rockville). We had this amazing crab and avocado salad and then we both order sushi which came out really pretty and colorful and most importantly delicious! We then had a chocolate molten cake with warm bananas and vanilla ice cream dessert. By this time, it was about 10:35pm and we were feeling pretty good. The restaurant was just getting lively because apparently they bring in a DJ at 11pm and set up the area more like a night club with a little dancing and swanky seating.  We thought we'd better head over the new moon party since it started at 10pm and we didn't want to miss anything exciting and especially the give-aways if there were any.

We got to Borders at about 11pm and we were totally DISAPPOINTED. It was such a buzz kill. There was hardly any one there--maybe 25 people. And of course, as we expected they were all 20 years younger than us except for the moms that brought their tweens. It was Lame with a capital L. We sat around answering trivia and guessing who said what quote. Doris raised her hand to answer one question and the woman running the show said "mom in the back" and Doris looked behind her and of course everyone behind her was 14 or 15 and we started cracking up--Doris was the mom in the back! Finally it was time to get in line to buy the movie and we were standing there and Doris said, "OMG, we are SO lame, Amy!" and the two women (yes women!) in front of us started to crack up and said "we thought we were the only ones." Doris laughed and said she didn't mean to say that out loud. Apparently these two women put their kids to bed and came to the launch party too. In any case, we had a great time last night, we stayed awake until after midnight and I got the New Moon DVD! Yeah!

Amy: Team Edward
Doris: Team Jacob
Heather: Team Edward
Crow: Team Jacob

Which team are you?

Weekend Fun

It's Tuesday and it is shaping up like a crazy week. Last night I left the office at 7pm again. By the time the boys picked me up it was close to 8pm. Leo didn't have a nap (Jason doesn't consider sleeping in the car for 5 minutes a nap-go figure) so when they picked me up he was already asleep. Aidan was awake but it was already time for bed by the time I scarfed down a piece of meatloaf, some mashed potatoes, and a salad. Of course everyone had already eaten.

This week I have decided to bring my little netbook to work and take some time at lunch to eat a place that has free wi-fi (love Starbucks!) and spend some personal time blogging and searching the job announcements. Right now as I type I am at the Potbelly's close to work and using the Starbucks' free wi-fi (Starbucks is right next door to the Potbelly's).

This past Friday I left work early and after we picked up Aidan from school we headed down to Richmond for the night. Once we got down there we met Thotlady and Bogey at a local pizza place for beer and pizza which was really fun. After dinner, Jason and his brother, Bogey, went to the Alice in Chains concert. Jason's Dad is cousins with the father of the drummer so that makes Jason the second cousin to the drummer (I think). In any case, Dennis called his cousin and they got free tickets to the concert. They really wanted to meet their second cousin (the drummer) but it just didn't work it. I can't believe the drummer didn't want to meet Jason and Bogey! The boys and Cindy and I went back to their place and got the boys ready for bed and we all watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. It was a lot of fun.

In the morning Cindy went and got bagels from Einsteins (which we love!) and around lunch time we went Careytown Teas which has some super amazing tea choices. We bought a couple of different kinds (my favorite is vanilla rooibos (an herbal red tea grown in South Africa)). After that we had lunch at a sub shop and then we went for a nice walk downtown along the river. It was a beautiful day. I think we all enjoyed being outside and the boys loved throwing rocks in the river. After that, at about 4:30, we left and headed back up to DC. We had a great time and enjoyed the time away and the wonderful hospitality.

On Sunday, we had an appointment at Target to have Leo's four year pictures taken. If you recall from last year, Leo hates getting his picture taken and we barely managed to get a 3 year photo of him where he is not crying. This year, after a bit of preparation, he was all ready. The photographer managed to get 5 shots of him and that was it. Three shots were great and the other he had his eyes closed or he was on the verge of tears. She took a couple of pictures of him standing up, with his hand in his pocket, he smiled his ever charming smile with dimple, and after that he was done. She asked him to sit on a stool and he started crying. Thus ended the photo shoot.

After the photo shoot picked up a few things for Aidan's room. After a terrible night Saturday night of getting Aidan to sleep we offered to help Aidan redecorate his room to something that he loved. He was complaining and crying Saturday night that he didn't like his room so I calmly offered to help him on Sunday redecorate it. Don't get me wrong, I was not calm during the whole escapade. He wanted to change his desk and dresser around and we got him a small cube of shelves with baskets to store some of his things. He did a great job cleaning and organizing. By 8:30 we had to order him to stop cleaning and when he woke up on Monday morning he jumped out of bed and went straight to organizing his desk. He is so cute!

All in all we had a fun weekend. We hope yours was great too.

We also hope you all have a great week. It is sunny and 60 on our side of the continent.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day Everyone!!

This morning we gave small valentines to the boys. In keeping up Papa's tradition we get the boys the Russell Stover's red heart-shaped boxes of chocolate with the red cellophane wrap. All the special girls in Papa's life used to get them and so we have carried on the tradition in our family by giving them to the boys every year. They especially love the chocolate because they get to have a piece of chocolate in the morning. The only two days that justify chocolate in the morning is Valentines and Easter! We also gave them a small little toy that we found in New York at the Disney Store. Aidan got the Goofy Darth Vader action figure and Leo got the Stitch (from Leo and Stitch) Yoda action figure. They are really cute. They also had Minnie Mouse Princess Leia and a few others.

Last night Furio came over for dinner and we played Wii Resort Sports. Aidan taught him how to play speed slicer, he kicked my butt in canoeing (though, truth be told he is a canoer and if I would have gotten one or two more tries at it, I think I could beat him), I beat him badly in frisbee (I know not the most glamorous sport but still!), and we came out about even in table tennis and he is really fast at the speed slicer. For Leo's birthday we have devised a tournament of champions for the Wii Speed Slicing game. I can't wait. It should be great fun. I will take pictures and post them tomorrow or Tuesday of the tournament and Leo's Birthday Party.

This afternoon, we just finished some last minute birthday party grocery shopping and tonight Doris and I get to go the ballet. We are going to the Mariinsky Ballet's performance of Sleeping Beauty at the Kennedy Center. This was our Christmas present to Doris. This is her first ballet. I hope she loves it. We actually had tickets for Wednesday but the show was canceled due to the snow and they added this show so those ticket holders like us were able to see the show. I am very excited.

Finally, I wanted to note a few things about the blog. Jason finally got to doing his movie reviews: Yeah Jason!! He has his own page dedicated to his movie reviews. You can get to it by clicking "Jason's Movie Reviews" at the top of the page. As he goes to the movies he will keep trying to write reviews. If you are planning to go to a movie check here first to see if he has written a review! I also added a section called "Amy's Beauty Bag" that lists all of my favorite beauty products. I am going to try to update it more and more but I have so many favorites. Also take some time to vote for your favorite Oscar worthy movie. We will keep the voting open until 3pm the day of the Oscars. Last but not least...we love it when you post comments on the blog so keep it up. It gives us encouragement to keep blogging. It takes time to post them so we like to know that people actually read it so keep commenting and BECOME A FOLLOWER. On the left hand bar there is a place to become a follower of our blog: thank you so much to our fab five who have become followers and all of the rest of you...join in and become a follower! We love to know that you are checking in once in a while and reading the blog!!!

Happy Valentine's Day! We love you!
Amy, Jason, Aidan and Leo

Snow Update: Part III

Snowmaggedon 2010. Aidan's school has been cancelled through the remainder of the week and they had a scheduled day off to celebrate President's Day on the upcoming Monday. As you can imagine he was thrilled when they closed school for the rest of the week. He is starting to realize, however that the more school he gets off now the longer he has to stay at the end of the school year so he is excited but I think it is with mixed feelings. We are also off work today though I have been doing some work at home. I have to say that it has allowed me to actually get work done that I wouldn't normally have time to do in the office so in some ways this snow is just what I needed. I think others are thinking the same thing. I have 5 long evaluation reports that I had to read over the last two weeks and I just couldn't find time in the office to do it. I have finished 2.5 and will finish another 1.5 today. It is a huge relief to be honest.

Back to the snow report, Tuesday night we were expecting blizzard like conditions and another 8-12 feet of snow. It started to snow in the early evening around 6pm last night. It was very light and barely covered the car and the street. If it weren't for the 8-10 ft snow banks leftover from the weekend the snow would be nothing too spectacular.

Start of the snow Tuesday, February 9th at 8:55pm

At about 9am on Wednesday, February 10th it is snowing much harder, the wind gust are between 20 and 46 miles per hour depending on where you are and the visibility is down to 1/10 of a mile. Occasionally we can hear these huge gusts of wind and see the snow falling out of the trees and I am talking about huge amounts of snow because it is leftover from the last storm. I'm feeling a little nervous about losing our power but (knock on wood) we still have it.

Snowmaggedon: Wednesday, February 10th at 8:50am

As of this morning our car is covered with about 4-5 inches of snow and the roads are completely covered with snow. Just to give you some idea about road coverage, our parking area was plowed about an hour earlier and you still can not see the road way. They are telling everyone to stay inside. There are McDonald's and Starbucks which are staying closed for the entire day. Right now (at 9:51am) we are getting hit hard with snow.

Entertainment during the Blizzard of 2010. We have computers and Iron Man.

We are trying to figure out ways to entertain ourselves. I am updating the blog, Aidan is playing Wizard101 on the computer, Leo is playing with Iron Man and now Leo and Jason are playing Wii Lego Star Wars. I think I will make some white chicken chili today which sounds nice and warm and hearty (see recipe on the side bar-it's one of my favorites) and maybe we will make some cookies.

Snow Update: Part II

Terracotta Warriors Exhibit, National Geographic Museum

A couple of weeks ago we bought tickets to an exhibit at the National Geographic Museum called Terracotta Warriors. We also bought Jesse a ticket because he was supposed to be here too.

Here is a brief description:
Soldiers. Charioteers. Archers. Musicians. Generals. Acrobats. Nearly 2,000 years ago, thousands of life-size clay figures were buried in massive underground pits to accompany China's first emperor, Qin Shihuangdi, into the afterlife. Their discovery outside the city of Xi'an in 1974 is one of the greatest archaeological finds of the 20 century.

Since we have been couped up inside for a couple of days we thought we should venture out and see the exhibit. If the exhibit staff could get to the museum (OMG did I mention my office was closed today?!?!) certainly we could make it to the museum right? We did have a few obstacles in our way. Obstacle #1: Metro was only running underground. That means the metro closest to us was closed so we had to drive three metro stops toward the city before we could get on. I had heard on the news that Wisconsin Ave was pretty clear but that was SO untrue. The roads were a bit of a mess. They still had at least an inch of snow in many places, there was slush and standing water every where and 15 foot mounds of snow every where too. After jumping puddles and stomping in the slush we made it to the metro. No problem. Down in the metro was Obstacle #2: the metro was only running every 30 minutes. Okay no problem: we are prepared parents with electronics (1 Nintendo DS and 1 Ipod please).

Leo, Terracotta Warrior, and Amy at the National Geographic Museum

We made it to the Museum 30 minutes before our schedule time but they told us no problem because they were letting anyone in that could make it downtown. The exhibit was very interesting and the boys seemed to like it as well. We got 1 audio tour and took turns listening to different areas. Leo was listening to something where they made mention of the "milky way" and was stuck on that and telling everyone who would listen about the "milky way". As many of you know Leo loves space! We also looked at a photograph of the actual site of the Terracotta Warriors where they were excavating and he asked if there was a "rover" on that planet. We told him that it looked like Mars with the waves of land but that it was here, on our planet Earth, in China. Very cute!

Aidan and Leo playing one of the Terracotta Warrior interactive computer games

After the museum we went to Bertucci's in Dupont Circle for lunch. We were the only people in the restaurant for most of the time. On our way home we were interviewed by abc news but unfortunately we didn't make it on. I guess we just were not exciting enough to make it. Cute most definitely, exciting I guess not!

We finally made it home. We stopped at the REI because I could really use some snow boots and they had NOTHING. The boots I have are getting my feet totally wet so I am looking for something warm and waterproof. I may go out in the morning to find something else because, brace yourself here, we are supposed to get 10-15 more inches of snow!!! I know! It is unbelievable. I just don't know where we are going to put it. Our island outside our house has 15 feet of snow piled on it. We have the same amount on the bench to the right of our house. I can not imagine where we are going to put this snow.

Aidan doesn't have school tomorrow and they have just announced that my office is closed tomorrow as well. The snow is supposed to begin around noon tomorrow. We will keep you all up to date on what is going on.

On the down side, I have had WAY too much time to watch QVC. I want to buy everything. Don't worry. I have not bought anything but I can't tell you how tempted I am. I wanted to buy the TSV (Today's Special Value) but I am resisting. Jason thinks I'm insane because I am torturing myself but I just can't help it!

Snow update

Here we have chronicled the snow fall through pictures starting yesterday evening and going through lunch time today. We woke up around 8am and opened our front door to about 18inches of snow. We couldn't even get the door open without shoving snow out of the way. You can see more from the pictures below.

Yesterday, Friday night at 7:34pm

Yesterday, Friday night at 10:17pm

We went to bed very excited in anticipation of the snow. On the news they said it would look very different in the morning compared to what it looked like when we went to bed. They sure were right!

Today, Saturday morning at 7:57am

Today, Saturday afternoon at 12:37pm (after shoveling out our car and part of our sidewalk)

We went outside around 11am this morning to check it all out. The snow is very deep. We have about 22 inches now. We went for a walk around the neighborhood. There are few cars on the road except for the snow plows. Even the busy street outside our house is covered in snow although they have been plowing all morning. We tried to find a good hill to sled on but didn't have a lot of luck. The hill in the back is not such a good sledding hill anymore because there are tree branches down all over the place. We are (and I hate to write this for fear of jinxing it) very lucky in that we still have power. Apparently 90% of the people in our zip code are without power, including Doris.

Today, Saturday afternoon at 12:37pm (our back porch)

During our walk we decided to walk home on the trail that goes under the street (near the pond) but we didn't make it there at all. I got stuck in the snow! I tried to get out of the street to walk towards the trail and fell over face first in the snow. I reached my hands down to push myself up on all fours but the snow went up to my shoulders and my face was planted in the snow! I was cracking up and tried to turn over on my back but still couldn't get up. I had fallen and I couldn't get up! Jason had to come and rescue me but it was even hard for him to reach me because the snow was up to his knees. We decided to stick to the street and walk home which was probably a good idea.

This morning for breakfast we made some sausage and banana chocolate chip muffins. We gave the rest of our muffins to the poor guys who are outside shoveling all the walks in our complex. They work so amazingly hard all day and all night plowing our complex and shoveling our walks.

We are really enjoying the winter storm of 2010!

It's the Big One

Gracie and Leo Bust a Move

This past weekend we did a prep run for the big snow that we are expecting this weekend. Allen, Marcia, Gracie and Sabrina came over to sled, play in the snow, eat cheese, drink hot chocolate, and bust a move. As you can see from the video the kids had a great time dancing around. We were dancing to Bust a Move as sung on the TV show Glee. Cha and Doris love Glee, they got me into it, I got Marcia into it on our trip to Philly, she got Allen into after she got home and I got Jason into it. If you haven't seen it you should download a few episodes from iTunes and believe me you will be hooked.

Sabrina eating cheese

Anyhoo, that was a TV show tangent. We have fun with them. The kids had fun sledding. Gracie cruised down the big hill though I'm pretty sure she was supposed to stop before going down the big hill. Sabrina went down with a neighborhood 2-year old and they seemed to have fun. After they wore themselves out outside, they came in and had chocolate and of course marshmallows. Leo likes to take one bite of the mallow and hand it to me. Can you say "Sticky!" Gracie said about Aidan, "He is bigger than me, but he still let's me play with me." It was very cute.

Gracie Bustin' a Move

Jason and Allen chillin' after a hard day in the snow. I mean really, who doesn't love a Negra Modelo?

So now we are supposed to get a ton of snow dumped on us. This is the announcement that I received from Montgomery Country on the expected snow fall:


-----Original Message-----From: Alert Montgomery [mailto:msg4319@alertmc.info]Sent: Friday, February 05, 2010 10:24 AMTo: Alert Montgomery Users Subject: Alert Montgomery

The National Weather Service has increased the amount of snow predicted for Montgomery County to 20 - 28 inches. To assist the county in clearing streets of snow the Montgomery County Department of Transportation is requesting residents limit on street parking to areas where off street parking is unavailable. Please park in driveways and off street as available. This will facilitate snow removal operations.
Thank You

Of course everyone is going crazy. The stores are packed and people can't get enough Milk, Cheese, and toilet paper. Do people really not have enough tp to get them through the weekend? Doris went to the grocery store three times. Jason went and said that some guy whooped in the store because he finally found ground beef! I think it is slightly bad as well because people are trying to prepare for the superbowl. Here is a picture Jason took with his camera when he was at the grocery store. This is the cheese isle:

Who knew that cheese was a storm staple?

Today I worked at home because of the impending snow storm and because I had a meeting with a contractor that is about 1 mile from my house. They had early release from school and a four hour early release from my work. Of course because I was teleworking I didn't benefit from the extra four hours. Hardly seems fair but I guess that it the whole point right? I think it was the right thing to do. You don't really want a bunch of crazy panicked people exiting the city at dark. That would be quite disaster.

Sadly this amazing storm has meant that Jesse couldn't come visit us. He tried to change his ticket to leave on Thursday but that didn't work out and then he got on an earlier flight on Friday but that just ended up getting cancelled as well. It seems that all flights to DC were cancelled today. We are totally bummed and we know he is too. We just hope that he gets to visit us in nice DC weather when we can take him out to see the sites. Aidan was terribly disappointed. I think he was looking forward to having someone to pound on properly! His old dad is just to fragile :)

We will keep you posted with regular updates on the awesome snow storm.

Pa's Birthday Weekend

Happy Birthday Pa! We hope you have a super great day. Burgers and fries with Crow, H, Ethan, Riley, and the Fosters sounds great. We wish we could celebrate with you but know we are thinking about you.

We don't have much going on this weekend. We had dinner with Doris on Friday night. Doris and I picked up take out from Hamburger Hamlet on our way home from work and we went to our house to eat. We all got really yummy burgers and fries. It was a day off the diet for me but I am back on the wagon.

Yesterday Jason worked in Leesburg and the boys and I hung out at home in the morning and then we went to Tyson's Corner I and II with Doris. Doris was getting her haircut and so we went with her. Jason met us at the mall after work at Tyson's I. The boys used their gift cards at Barnes and Noble (thank you Pa and Crow!). Aidan got a book on UFOs and Aliens and Leo got two books about Space. I also got two books with my gift card. After that, we went to Gordon Biersch for dinner. Aidan had a cheeseburger, Leo had a grilled cheese, I had a seafood Cobb salad, Jason had fish and chips and Doris had Mahi Mahi. It was great especially the locally brewed beer.

Today we went to the Dulles Expo Center for a train exhibit. Leo loved it and Aidan could have done without it but he was a good sport. Jason is at a magic lecture at the magic shop tonight and I am trying a new recipe from cooking light. I have no doubt that the boys are NOT going to like it but I'm trying it anyway. It is called Lombo di Maiale Coi Porri (Pan-Roasted Pork Loin with Leeks). If I like it, I will put it in the recipes section on the left of the blog but if you are interested just click on the link.
I am trying to update the recipes section of the blog and I have also added a few new pictures to the left. They are pictures of places we have been over the years and that I think are extra special. In this case, Jason is probably correct that he took them (except for the Palace picture which I took) but let's be honest any more these days the pictures were taken by me, with my new camera (thanks to Jason!).

We're still waiting for Jason to write his movie review. Let's see how long it takes (wink, wink). I'm also trying to really clean out my closet and get rid of clothes and other stuff that I have not used for a long time or know, deep down, that I am not going to use it or wear it any more. I see this as a long term project with me starting with my closet and extending to every floor of the house. We need to down size. Too much stuff stresses me out. Of course it doesn't help that I just bought a few (okay well maybe more than a few) things from Stampin' Up and CM but this is what I love so how could that stress me out?

Tomorrow is Monday. Now that stresses me out. Aidan has the day off. Lucky Dog!

Dad's Night Off

It's not much but we try to give Jason "time off" as much as possible so that he can have some piece and quite or do something he wants to do. He "works" constantly and rarely gets down time. Most of the time his "time off" usually consists of getting to go to the movies alone. I think he enjoys it because he loves the movies. He gets a "movie night" every couple of weeks or so--it's not enough but we try. Occassionaly he gets a little more, thanks to Doris.

A week ago this past Friday, Aidan, Leo and I spent the night at Doris' house so that Jason could have a night of rest. He gets to do whatever he wants, watch movies in peace, play Fifa Wii, watch TV or go to the movies. The best part of the whole evening is that he gets to sleep (really sleep) for one whole evening.

The boys love Doris' house so it is a lot of fun for them. We played games, had dinner and watched Disney Pixar's "Up" in bed and the next morning we made pancakes. We had a lot of fun and really appreciate Doris being so generous and kind to us.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!! We had a very fun New Year. We rented a cabin in Belle Isle Virginia State Park. The State Parks actually rent cabins! Actually it was called a guest house because it was next to a mansion that could also be rented. The cabin slept 8, well actually, probably 9 but we had 8.5. Barb and Dennis, Thotlady, Bogey and Bramwell (cute dog in the pictures) and us 4. Thotlady found it and it was a bit of a risk because none of us had scene it before but it was fantastic! It has a well stocked kitchen, big family room and big dining room. It had one bedroom with double bed, one with bunks beds with the bottom bunk a double bed and the two couches in the living room folded out into beds (our room). It was right on the water. The back of the house is literally 5-10 feet from the water. Belle Isle is bordered by Deep Creek (where our cabin looked out on to), Mulberry Creek and the Rappahannock River.


As you can see we work up to beautiful views out on the creek and in the distance beyond we could see the enormous Rappahannock River. There were a ton of birds surrounding us and we went for walks every day. The last day, January 2, 2010 was freezing cold, unbearably cold but the other days were cold but great.

We took walks in the State Park which we pretty much owned because there was no one else staying in the park while we were there. We played cards, a little old maid, 31, and phase-10. We had lots of snacks (I love snacks) and ate great meals. We each took a meal time. I made chicken enchiladas and rice on New Years, Thotlady made Monkey muffins (yum-o), Barb made Lasagna and Jason made pancakes in the morning.

The cabin had a DVD player and direct TV so we watched Night at the Museum and started to watch Harry Potter, Half-Blood Prince and to my chagrin but in Crow's honor Sponge Bob.

When I asked Aidan what his favorite part of the cabin was he said the "shells". We found some really pretty oyster shells and other shellfish. We saw lots of birds but not a lot of other wildlife but we did see evidence of their existence including deer droppings, deer tracks, and other four-legged animal tracks.

December 31, 2009. Arrival at the cabin. It was quite foggy the day we arrived but beautiful nonetheless

Jason and Leo on our nature walk

The boys searching for shells

Amy playing solitare

Happy New Year everyone! We wish you a wonderful, peaceful, healthy and happy New Year!

Snow Update

Well it looks like we now have about 20 inches!

Snow, Snow, and More and More and More Snow

Yahowza! It is snowing so much! The snow started at about 9pm last night and has not really let up. It is supposed to continue through tomorrow morning. Right now (on Saturday, at 2:05pm) we have about 15 inches. They say we should get 14-20 inches! They have been talking about this snow storm for the last couple of days. They said, "it's a record breaker!" By "they" I mean the weather people on the news. Now, I love, love, love the snow. It is so beautiful, lights up the sky, and there is nothing more fun than playing in the snow.

Aidan laying in the snow. The boys liked laying in the snow. They also liked to purposefully fall down in the snow.

Last night was our 10th Anniversary. Yes. I said, "10th Anniversary!" (I am getting to the snow story). Oma and Opa are here so Jason and I went out to dinner. We went to the Blue Duck Tavern in the Park Hyatt Hotel. It was a delicious meal and wonderful dining experience. Jason had the braised beef short rib and I had the crab cakes. For dessert, we both had ice cream. Jason had vanilla with homemade caramel sauce and I had the mascarpone fig ice cream. It was superb! Thanks to Cha for the recommendation! Oh and no big deal but the restaurant is also where the Obama's celebrated their anniversary. Back to the snow...in one second. I have the best husband in whole entire world. I couldn't be more happy with our marriage. I feel so lucky that Jason picked me to spend the rest of his life with. Okay SNOW...after dinner around 9pm it started to snow and we decided to go the shopping mall to pick a few last minute things without the boys. We stayed for about an hour and when we left, already the ground and the main roads where covered in snow. The big red car did not do so well in the snow. The tires were spinning and spinning up the hill and we were barely moving. I was a little worried that we would not make it home. But we did, thank you big red car.



Jason is doing the hand measurement on the back of the car.

Today the boys went out in the snow. They must have stayed out there for 1.5 hours. In some places the snow was up to Leo's knees. They threw snowballs at Jason and went sledding. Jason went down with Leo and I went down we Aidan. We laughed the whole way down. The sledding hill was about a 20 degree decline and then had about 75 degree decline between two trees ending in front of the tennis court fence. After the first run Leo declared that he wanted to go by himself. I said, "no" because it's too steep and he could run into a tree or the fence but he kept begging to go so I finally gave in. He and Aidan did it all by themselves! It was hilarious. They can be fearless sometimes.

Snow on the back porch at about 2pm.

Oma and Opa were planning to go back down to Richmond tomorrow. I don't think they will make it. Let's see what Monday looks like!

Yeah...SNOW!!!

Surprise: Aidan and Leo

Hi Aidan and Leo. I have hidden a surprise for you in the house. You have to follow these directions to find your surprise: Good Luck, and Have Fun.

Start: Stand in the middle of the kitchen with your pinky finger on the freezer door handle.
1) Walk to the living room and look under the couch. Not there?
2) Walk down stairs to the basement
3) Go into the bedroom in the basement
4) Stand in front of the mirrors
5) Turn around 3 times
6) Run upstairs to mommy and daddy's room
7) Look in Daddy's dresser to find your surprise

I hope you love it.

I love and miss you so much!

Finally Something to Write About

Our week was pretty quiet. Besides Doris finally coming home from Puerto Rico on Tuesday we haven't really been doing very much. But that all changed on Thursday when Patrick arrived from Seattle. We were so happy for him to get here. He arrived in the early evening so we went out to dinner to Uncle Julio's a Mexican Restaurant. We hadn't been there since Patrick was in DC celebrating his birthday 2 or 3 years ago. The boys had a busy day, they all came in to town to have lunch with me and Doris and Becs and visit my friends and colleagues in the office. When I got home they still seemed to be pretty happy so we decided to go out and they were great at dinner too. By the time we got home, they were exhausted so putting them to bed that night was a piece of cake.

Yesterday (Friday) was also a very important day (VID). Aidan had his open house where he got to meet his new teacher (Mrs. Hornstein - Aidan got the good teacher!), see his new classroom, find his desk, and see what friends are in his class. He wasn't exactly excited about it but I have a feeling that this school year will go really well, especially the first day. There may be some nervousness, an upset stomach and possibly some tears but I'm confident there will be no throwing up! Mrs. Hornstein is great and we are so happy Aidan is in her class! We also went to see Mrs. Stewart his Kindergarten teacher last year-she is fantastic. Afterwards we went out to ice cream and celebrated the start of a great school year. Aidan seemed happy and talkative so I am happy for and proud of him.

Friday night I went out to dinner with some girl friends-we were celebrating a special birthday. We started off at the Russia House in Dupont Circle and then had dinner at Buca di Beppo. We drank great beer at the Russia House (maybe a little too much) and then had good Italian food but all together we had lots of fun. The Russia House is known for its vodka but after reading the reviews I was a little afraid of getting into the vodka so I passed and had some great Russian beer. Becs is my beerfriend. The boys all had Ledo's Pizza for dinner.

Today, Saturday we had bagels for breakfast and then we all went to Mt. Vernon, Washington's Estate. It was a bit hot and humid but great fun because we had not been there for a really long time. It has changed so much. They now have this fantastic museum and education center that was really fun to wander around in. My favorite part of the visit was sitting on the back porch of the house and looking out into the Potomac.

After a couple of hours at Mt. Vernon we all went to Elevation Burger in Arlington (don't be jealous Heid!). It is a great burger place that uses organic, free-range, grass feed cow meat and olive oil for its fries. It is all about the ingrediants they say. The have great milk shakes too! Plus it's nice that they buy their meat from humanely raised cows.

Tonight Jason and Patrick are going to get out of the house and see a movie. I'm not sure if they decided which one to see yet but let's see if I can convince Jason to write a movie review. Don't get your hopes up but I'll try.

One last exciting thing that has been going on over the weekend...BIKES! Jason finally put together Leo's Thomas the Train bike. Leo got his bike from Pa and Crow for christmas but his mom and dad have been slackers and only now put it together. The boys have been riding their bikes like crazy. They rode yesterday afternoon. The rode before we went to Mt. Vernon and they rode after we came home from Elevation Burger. We left Mt.Vernon because the boys were exhausted but in the same breath they asked if they could ride their bikes when we got home. Leo has only been riding for two days but he is already a pro and Aidan has really become much more confident on his bike. He rides fast, wants to ride up the curb, and while he disagrees, I think he is ready to take off the training wheels. I predict it won't be long. They are both super cute on their bikes.