Dancing in the Rain

Well, I never thought when I put that quote about Dancing in the Rain on the top of my blog how it would literally play out right in front of me at Ryan's birthday party. Today was his big day, and we looked forward to meeting lots of our friends at the pool for one last summer splash and to celebrate the birthday boy's big event. The problem was, it's 65 degrees and raining. Oh yes, a great day for the pool! We checked the weather report constantly the last few days... only a 30% chance... a few scattered showers... no problem, I'm sure we'll be fine! Rescheduling? Not an option, the pools are closing this weekend. Move the party to the house?? I don't want 19 muddy-footed children running around here thank you very much! So this morning when it was constant drizzle and thick heavy cloud cover, we tried to prepare Ryan for a lot of cancellations and no-shows. He was sure it would be fine. The rain will stop, don't worry! Good grief is he optomistic!

We pulled up, shocking all the lifeguards who were sitting around the office in their sweats. Stepping out of the car I saw a little friend standing there in his trunks holding an umbrella I wondered how big of a disaster I was in for. But he and Ryan stormed into the pool splashing, screaming and grinning ear to ear. And as we unloaded the van, more and more and more friends showed up. You really find out who your friends are when you have a pool party in the rain and people still come!!

Purple-lipped and shivering, the kids never had so much fun! Tim earned major dad of the year points staying in the water the whole time tossing the kids around and playing games. The kids ran back and forth from the pool to a hot steaming shower in the locker room. At one point there were about 6 kids crammed into a shower stall together warming up. All the moms stuck together under the overhang in the "dry section." We had so much to talk about because we had just come from Kindergarten Open House and met our new teachers.

So today, we really did learn to dance in the rain! My sense of optimism has been renewed, my appreciation and faith in good friends has deepened, and my baby boy is 6 years old.

Our Olympic Diving Event

Ryan's President Cake

Warming up in a hot steamy shower!

Calling all Musicians!

The Fairfax Symphony Orchestra has toured through our area all summer, and we've been going to all the performances in an effort to envoke some interest in musical instruments. First the brass ensemble played, and Ryan fell in love with the tuba, but it's probably really heavy so he's going to settle for the trumpet. When the string quartet performed I just loved the violin, but there were no takers... maybe I'll save that for Claire. This week we saw the woodwinds and Katie decided she's going to play the flute. And the bassoon. And the oboe. Maybe she liked the woodwinds so much because she got such a close look at them when she was up on the stage conducting them!! That's right, she was chosen to come on stage and be the guest conductor! I don't think she expected to be picked when she raised her hand, she was standing up there looking a little shocked. But she loved it so much, after the concert she wanted to call Daddy right away and tell him all about it.

6 Years of Motherhood

Well, this is the day my life was forever changed. I had no idea it was coming, I was sitting in a meeting, my brain scrambling to figure out how I was going to decorate my classroom and get all my ducks in a row so I could take maternity leave in a month. I was standing on a stool to hang a giant poster of Miss Frizzle in my science center.

There were the friendly hello's and "Wow, you look great!" from coworkers I hadn't seen all summer. C'mon people, I'd gained 70 pounds and was nearly unrecognizable! After inservice meetings all day I was meeting Tim at the doctor's for a check-up. An appointment he was originally going to miss because I had just asked him the day before to take off since we were having a ceiling fan installed and I hate being home alone when workers are in the house. So as a compromise I told him he could skip the doctors' appointment the following day... it was just a routine 5 minute tummy check after all.... and he works over an hour away so leaving for a 5 minute appointment requires taking practically the entire day off! But he hadn't skipped a baby appointment yet and didn't want to, so he surprised me and met me at the doctor's office.


The next thing I knew, Tim and I were rushing to the hospital to have a baby!! Things were a bit of a blur after that, and tada!!! Just shy of 5 pounds, Ryan entered our world and changed our lives forever!
Now how did this...

Turn into THIS!?!?

The Birthday party evolution of Ryan:

Katie's Evolution

My little girl is all grown up!
It's so fun to see how different she looks from one year to the next.

The Perfect Princess Tea

Katie turned 5 today, at 10:20 this morning actually, but the party was at high noon, a tea party with a few of her friends. It was so funny to listen to them chatting together at the table. The conversation was all over the place- school, the beach, Disney World, princesses, the Olympics, summer vacations, grandparents- they were all such little ladies discussing the current events in their worlds.

We dressed up in all kinds of gowns and princess dresses and had fashion shows, we designed little magnetic frames and printed out some photos to take home, we played musical chairs, but the stress of not finding a chair forced us to end the game early so no one would "lose" the game. Poor little dears with so much to worry about! They decorated cookies and we made the cutest little sandwiches with turkey, cheese and bread cut into butterflies, hearts, flowers, and stars. And then of course there was the tea... my mom lent us her collection of tea cups and saucers to use for the party and the girls looked adorable sipping from these little dainty cups that were for them like drinking out of a mixing bowl! The "tea" was really pink lemonade since as Katie informed me, "only grownups drink tea!"

Getting all dressed up for tea!
The little ladies at lunch! Can you tell Katie's favorite color is pink?!

Keeping Claire from ripping this table apart was a huge

challenge the morning of the party!

Katie was so giddy at her party, it was just a perfect afternoon for her.

5 candles!! Make a wish!

Don't even get me started on this cake... Tim and I were up to our eyeballs in a fondant nightmare the night before. With renewed hope and a good night's rest, we tried again in the morning and it turned out just as I pictured! Although this was probably my first and LAST attempt at the fondant icing... let's just say I won't be interviewing at Charm City Cakes any time soon!

And now I have 2 five year olds... for this week at least. Ryan will teach Katie everything she needs to know about being 5 and when he's done teaching her, he will turn 6. And the world will just keep on spinning.

The Cheese Wagon

Today was the day Ryan has been waiting for his whole life. One of the first things he said as a baby when he started talking was "I ride bus." Ever since he first laid his eyes on a bright orange cheese wagon cruising through our neighborhood he's been longing to get on a school bus like a big kid. Oh, no, is HE one of the big kids now?? He was just born for heaven's sake! I am so not ready for this!

The bus came to our library so all the rising Kindergarteners could see what it's like getting on and sitting in those big bench seats that swallow them up so the driver can't see if a huge 5th grade bully is saying something obnoxious to them... did I mention I am SO not ready for this?


We ran into a few of our preschool buddies and had a nice little class reunion at McDonalds afterwards so that took my mind off of things, but I think on the first day of school I'll be needing more than an iced coffee to take the edge off!

An interesting collection...

Some little boys collect bugs. Ryan has never been interested in those. (thankfully!) Some little boys collect rocks, and maybe that's coming down the pike, but for now Ryan has decided on a collection he is going to start... presidential memorabilia! What 5 year old doesn't want that? We met a little old man downtown selling old campaign buttons and right away Ryan spotted an old LBJ button and just had to have it. So now his little collection has begun. We also picked up a pin from JFK's inauguration.
It's so strange what having kids will do to you... I never gave a rat's patootie about history or was the least bit curious about the presidents, yet now I find myself strangely drawn to learning about them.

Our New Van!!

The kids gave our van a goodbye hug after our last trip; it was time for a replacement. I always get a little sad driving away from the dealership leaving our old car behind. I try not to get sentimental about nonhuman objects, but I always reflect on the memories it brought us... like bringing babies home from the hospital and all time we logged in those comfy bucket seats on long vacations to Canada, Emerald Isle, and Disney World. Ahh, good times! Thank you for being a safe van for so many years!


We were really hoping to get a slightly used van- let someone else pay for all that depreciation- but it turns out that only families buy vans and guess what? They drive the heck out of them, and don't tend to trade them in after one year! So luckily for us, Tim's brother works for Toyota and we got a superb employee deal on a new one.


The best thing about our new car is that Claire is now facing forward and is happy as a clam to look out the front window at this whole new world she has never seen! No more staring at the upholstery anymore~there are trees, cars, and clouds oh my!





So after our summer of roadtrips to NY and NC twice I'd think we'd be ready to stay still for a while, but we're scheming up some trips so we can enjoy our new ride!

Ryan loves the Presidents

Ryan really loves learning about the presidents. You just never know when that trivia might come in handy. Once he even knew some answers to some Jeopardy questions. He has plans to redecorate his bedroom as the oval office... he's so disappointed we won't knock down those straight walls! And in case you were wondering, Ryan will be eligible to run for President in the 2040 election, but he thinks it might be too much work to be in charge of the whole country, so he might just be mayor instead.

There is a neat little park in Williamsburg called President Park,
of course we had to go! Ryan in the Oval Office
We toured Air Force One
The kids posing with "their" president, George W. Bush.

Katie really liked seeing all the statues and pointing out the designs on all their ties. Some had stripes, polka dots, paisley, and some of the presidents had bow ties. A few of the earlier ones even wore hair bows- Katie thought that was hilarious!

Needing a Vacation from my Vacation

There's my answer to the '6-word memoir ala Hemingway' challenge inspired by my friend Kristen at nosmallthing- I might be able to come up with more later, but for now, I'm too exhausted, because, like I said, I am desperately needing a vacation from my vacation and let me tell you why.


Have you ever taken a trip and just planned too many activities in each day to enjoy everything? This trip has been the exact opposite. We're in the outer banks- the place you go to escape the hussle and bussle, right? So the Schedule-Nazi (and I've earned that title) has put away her lists and calendar and we've just been going with the flow- moseying here and there with no rhyme or reason. But our days have been just as busy-trekking all over the North Carolina coast- lighthouse visiting, ferry riding, go-karting, bumper boating, ice cream dropping, seagull feeding, marshmallow roasting, penny smushing, and of course a few hours at the beach each day. Ryan worked on his surfing technique a bit more, and the kids became Junior Rangers for the Cape Hatteras Seashore which involved us tracking down a couple different kids programs so they could earn their patches. Whew! We've had the most fun week! Not to mention that we've stayed up until almost midnight every day and our room faces the sunrise with no blinds on our sliding glass door so guess what time we've been getting up all week!


The energy level of the group we're with is amazing! Every morning our "mom" for the week Lin is up at the crack of dawn making a delicious breakfast for 16, and cooking up something yummy for lunch so it can cool and be packed up for a picnic. She's gone all out for dinners each evening (who has time to make homemade bbq sauce while on vacation?!) If she weren't in med school, I'd say she should be a caterer. We've also celebrated all the summer birthdays with cakes for dessert every day, except the day we built a bonfire on the beach and made s'mores. How thoughtful and sweet of them to give the kids birthday gifts too! New Webkinz pets of course! What a fabulous vacation!!

Claire's Top 10 Things to do at a Beach House ~ OR ~ 10 Reasons Claire Shouldn't be Allowed Anywhere Near a Beach House

We had the pleasure of spending a week in the Outer Banks with a huge group -none of whom have babies. So... there were laptops, IPODS, cell phones and cameras strewn about, open drinks and bottles of sunblock and bug spray left everywhere, and lots of board games with many little pieces laying on the floor. Needless to say, it was a busy week of distraction and redirection. Luckily, everyone was super helpful and doted all over little baby Claire. Here are a few of her favorite things from our week at the beach:.

10. Wow, NONE of these cabinets are locked!!

9. The oven knobs just slip right off this stove!

8. I'm going to put all the UNO cards in the Taboo box, that will really mess up the game!

7. Mmmmmm, Dr. Pepper!!

6. I'm going to show these people a thing or two about dancing! Especially after my stolen sips of Dr. Pepper!

5. Well, what do you know, these kitchen chairs are the same size as mine at home! Just right for climbing.

4. I'll make my poutiest face, and maybe someone else will offer me a sip of their pina colada.

3. I'm going to wake up and scream every 2 hours at night. There's no way mommy will let me disturb everyone in the whole house. I'll get to cuddle and eat all I want!

2. It might be midnight but yeah, I'm ready for another round of Scattergories.

and my favorite thing to do at the beach house...

1. I know I prefer SPF 50, but I just can't decide which is yummier, Coppertone or Banana Boat.

Tie Dye Party

We do a lot of activities with our moms group, but the Tie Dye Party has been my favorite. Ryan and Katie loved making their shirts, and Ryan has worn his shirt at least 5 days in the week since the party.