Mom in DCity

Subscribe and never miss a thing!

Princess Abuse in the Name of Birthday Fun

by 3 Comments

“Look– a Flynn Rider piñata! That would be perfect for your Rapunzel birthday party!” Yes, Lira and I are pouring over the internet, discussing the logistics of her December birthday. Don’t all moms start planning 4 months in advance?

“Do you think you could find a Rapunzel piñata instead?” Lira asked.

“You and your friends don’t want to line up and smack Rapunzel in the head, do you?” (For some reason, smacking Flynn in the head seemed ok. Maybe because he’s pretty douchey for most of the movie.)

“What about if we line up to smack her in the face?”

I suppose we could beat Rapunzel senseless if it means we’ll be showered in candy.

“Ok, we’ll look for a Rapunzel piñata.”

She wears this dress everywhere

And so it begins… [Read more…]

First Week at School: Who’s Crying Now

by 4 Comments

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.

Ready for School!

Of course, we never did anything like this for Lira; but don’t all parents baby their baby? [Read more…]

The Girl With the Gashes on Her Head

by 12 Comments

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.

bumps and bruises
There are more of those under her hair
 And these aren’t the first ones. [Read more…]

How to Raise an Olympian

by 5 Comments

The start of the Olympic Games always makes me feel nostalgic.  When I was young, I had big dreams of becoming a synchronized swimmer. I’d spend hours in the pool (by myself) practicing (in the shallow end, so my toes could touch), and then call my mom into the backyard to watch. She was so encouraging– never once telling me what “synchronized” meant or that I was supposed to be doing those moves without touching the bottom of the pool.

This got me thinking about my girls’ future. Will they ever be Olympians? They need to be at least athletic enough for a college scholarship, because I’m certainly not paying for it—unless they go to the University of Texas; I’d make an exception for the best school in America.

What would Lira and Zana compete in? I think they have a few good options, based on their current activities, which are:

  • Fighting. They’re both really good at this, so I’m thinking Wrestling might be a good event for one or both of them. They might get disqualified for scratching or hair-pulling, but I think it’s worth a shot. This picture kind of reminds me of them:

    Courtesy Ed Wray / Associated Press
  • Scaring the crap out of me. This is Zana’s specialty. She jumps, flips, balances on things and has absolutely no fear… kind of like the Olympic gymnasts and divers. Also, she doesn’t eat, a critical part of the Karolyi training plan. [Read more…]

My Life is a Math Problem, Help Me Solve It

by 6 Comments

When two parents work in different parts of town and have two kids who go to different schools in different parts of town, it’s time to take out the calculator.

Warning: this is not interesting. If you want to be entertained, stop reading now. If you want to fix my problem, read faster please.

School starts in a month, and I was so excited when I learned that Zana got a space in a pre-school. On the Hill, applying for childcare is harder than trying to get into the Ivy League. She’s been on multiple waiting lists since March, and is still nowhere near the top of any of them. Finally, two weeks ago, a school in Virginia (between my home and office) called with a space for her. I was so relieved that it didn’t dawn on me, until today, that we had created a new problem: pick up times and aftercare.

Mo’ Cuteness, Mo’ Problems

Here are the important pieces of the puzzle:

  • Zana’s school gets out at 3pm.
  • Lira’s school (about 20-30 minutes away at that time of day) gets out at 3:15 pm.
  • Aftercare costs about $300/month per child. (My calculator tells me that’s $600).

Dave and I both currently have arrangements with our jobs allowing us to leave early a couple of days a week to pick up the girls. We make up the time by working in the evenings, which has become pretty stressful because of our lack of chill time. Even so, we’ve been making it work Tim Gunn-style. But now that the girls are across town from each other, everything changes.

Lightbulb! I have the solution: we hire a college student to pick up the girls (Zana 15 minutes early each day), and take them home until we get there (around 4:30).

More important pieces of the puzzle:

  • We’d need this college student to work 10 hours a week.
  • We’d probably have to pay about $15 an hour.

My calculator tells me we’re talking about $600-$700 a month… not any cheaper than the first option, but at least they’d be together and at home.

Dave (always the party pooper) nixed that idea, reminding me that we don’t have an extra $600-$700 a month lying around… especially if I want that new car I’ve been talking about. Why does he always have to be so practical and logical, and all that other annoying stuff?

I asked him for a better idea, and here’s what he came up with:

  • He will start waking up 2 hours earlier in order to be at work by 7:30 each morning (Note: he hasn’t woken up before 7am since his days in the Marine Corps). Then he could leave work at 2:45pm to pick up Lira.
  • Meanwhile, I would take my lunch break every day at 2:30, go pick up Zana, and then wait with her while Dave drives across town with Lira to get Zana… at which time I’m supposed to go back to work and finish the day.

This is a bad idea because:

  1. Dave came up with it
  2. Taking Lira on a round-trip journey in traffic, across the 14th Street bridge, every day  to pick up her sister will make her hate us all.
  3. If I leave work and drive halfway home, I’m not going back.
  4. Even if Dave does manage to wake up before noon, I’d be solo with the girls in the morning trying to get them to school on time (which terrifies me).

So, my wonderful MomInDCity readers, what should I do??? I’m accepting pity, suggestions, and donations.