We made it through our first week at Montessori Camp– woohoo! Lira is an old pro, but this is Zana’s first time in a school environment, and we were a little worried about how our wild child would handle it. We’re doing camp for these few weeks before pre-school starts so her sister can show her the ropes, and help get her used to how this whole school thing works.
Of course, we never did anything like this for Lira; but don’t all parents baby their baby? [Read more…]
Sometimes, you see a kid with scrapes and cuts all over their legs and think “wow, that kid must fall a lot… or be really adventurous.”
And then other times, you see a kid with bruises all over their face and body and you think “what the hell is wrong with that kid’s parents?!”
That kid is Zana. And I have no idea what in the hell is wrong with her parents. We can’t seem to keep her injury free for more than a day. Check out the latest “boo boo” on her head. They’re scabs right now… scabs that have been opened and then healed twice already.
My experiment as a mother of three has ended, now that my lovely niece is on her way home. It has been an intense and high-energy week. As one mom remarked, “I thought only boys acted that wild. You sure have your hands full.”
After some trial and error (and a few important lessons), I discovered some perfect places to take kids in DC. These aren’t new in our family rotation, but we rediscovered them this week, and I’m so glad that we did.
1. National Building Museum.
If you’re not a member, become one. Trust me. This place is far less crowded than the free museums nearby. Plus, it caters to younger children. Ever since Lira had a birthday party here a few years back, it has been a family-fave. The great hall is a huge open space where kids can run free. There’s a Lego exhibit where your little ones can build things and make a mess that you don’t have to clean up! And there’s indoor min-golf here through Labor Day.
Tip: Sign up for a spot in The Building Zone (for kids ages 2-6) as soon as you get there; you’ll usually have to wait at least an hour. [Read more…]
If you’ve ever had a kid, other than your own, stay with you for an extended period of time, you know there always comes a moment when they miss their Mommy.
For my visiting niece, that moment came today. I almost missed it, thanks to all the screaming going on at my house full of girls. But when the sobbing lasted more than a minute and wasn’t followed by any finger pointing or tattle-taling, I knew something was wrong.
I picked her up, sat her in my lap and asked what the problem was. “I miss my Mooooooooooommmmm sob sob snort mmmyyyyy!”
After attempting to call her parents, who were both at work, I had to come up with some other way to make her smile.
I thought about what would make me feel better if I were sad… ah ha!
I pulled out the fancy glasses and the red stuff (V8 Splash), and let the girls drink their sorrows away. They clinked glasses, giggled and said things like “this tastes magnificent!” Then they asked for more, and more, and more…
And soon, my niece’s frown turned upside down and the whole day got better. Drinking has worked for me for years now, so why wouldn’t it work for them?! College taught me so much. And these girls are already ahead of the game. What will they possibly have to learn when they get there?!
My niece is visiting from Houston, and she and my girls have been tearing up the house, changing into priness dresses, coloring with Sharpies and fighting about Barbies (even though we have at least 30 of them). After sitting on my couch watching them whirl around me, I decided to quit acting like a tornado victim and leave the house.
The plan was to go visit one of the Smithsonians that stays open late during the summer. Not a big deal, right? Ha! Going from 2 kids to 3 isn’t what I thought it was. I forgot about the fact that they feed off of each other’s energy and get progressively wilder as they multiply.
I also forgot about a few other things:
A Stroller
When I take the metro, I never want to bring a stroller. It’s a pain; when you metro with a stroller, you either have to walk extra blocks to find an elevator or risk your child’s life by taking the stroller up and down the escalators. However, not bringing a stroller is worse.
Zana either sprints from block to block, forcing me to chase her so she doesn’t run into traffic or sits down to pick flowers every few steps. I always end up carrying her, which is especially fun when it’s 90+ degrees out. Then she screams because she wants to get down, and sometimes (on lucky days like today) she throws a fit and smacks me in the face. Then she gets her way because I have to put her down in an effort not to smack her right back (man, that takes a lot of restraint). After a “saw-wee Mommy,” the cycle begins again—sprint, flower picking, scoop her up. [Read more…]