Tuesday, November 11, 2014

Days 5 - 11

Wow!  Last week was so crazy, what with Sydney and Ford under the weather, and then parent-teacher conferences at the end of the week.  Sydney did not go to school Monday or Tuesday.  She was well enough to go back to school Wednesday, but Lorelei doesn't have school on Wednesdays, and then no one went to school Thursday or Friday due to conferences.  This has potential to be the longest post ever, so my goal is to tell you I was thankful for each day, as well as update you on what we've been up to.

Wednesday, November 5th: I am thankful for Ford, also known (or better known) as Bubby.  He turned 10-months old on the 5th, and all of a sudden he is like a little boy.  He has four teeth, and two more should come through any day, and he started crawling a couple of days before his 10-month birthday.  I used to think he was super laid back, but now that he is mobile, his dormant I-need-to-get-into-everything and I-suddenly-have-tons-of-energy personas have been unleashed.  I also feel like he's gotten chubbier lately, but Chet's not too sure.  All I know for sure is that he's the best.  Pictures to follow.

Thursday, November 6th: I am ridiculously thankful for washing machines and dryers that allow to us deal efficiently with piles like these (those are clean clothes, I promise):

I used to do one load of laundry a day, but lately I've been doing several loads in a single day (no day in particular, just whenever it needs to get done).  Our laundry room is in the basement, and the guest bed in the basement ends up looking like this as clean loads get dumped onto it and (slowly) get folded and stowed away.  Can you imagine having to carry clothes to the river and scrub them against rocks? And then, did they carry the wet clothes back home before hanging them to dry?  Because that would be super heavy.  Granted, people had less extensive wardrobes then, but I try not to complain about laundry, because we've got it good this day in age.

Friday, November 7th: I am so thankful for my husband, Saint Chester, who kept our three children by himself with nary a complaint or beady-eyed look as I sashayed off to New York City to visit my friend Lindsay.

Saturday, November 8th: I am thankful for this great country, where people from so many different cultures/walks of life and with amazing talents live in perfect harmony (okay, now I'm being facetious, but we live much more harmoniously than most countries).   New York City is such a microcosm of the American melting pot, and I love that I got to spend the weekend exploring the city with a "native" New Yorker (she's not really a native, but she lives there now and knows much more about it than any person I've ever been to NYC with before).  By the way, your eyes are not deceiving you: I spent the weekend in New York City, sans children.  Lindsay came to visit us in D.C. in June, and we've been planning on me visiting her in the fall.  I'm so glad we were able to make it happen, and that Chet is super dad and willing and able to let me go.

So what did Lindsay and I do in the city all weekend?  Her husband was tied up with a work project, so we girls painted the town red, which means that we drank lots of coffee and bellinis, ate amazing food at every single meal (mostly French food, for no particular reason), and shopped 'til we dropped (although we didn't buy much -- honestly!).  We didn't do anything remotely touristy (not that I'm opposed to that), and the break from herding children was exactly what I needed.  I really hope I can visit Lindsay again before we leave D.C. (by the way, I took an Amtrak train from Union Station to Penn Station -- it was such a straightforward means of travel, and I loved it!).
Chocolate chip pumpkin French toast (with pumpkin on top) for breakfast
Bellinis
A Birchbox store, for those of you familiar with Birchbox
Central Park, with Lindsay's English bulldog, Tango
This is all the photographic evidence (hardly any) of my visit to NYC.  So sad.

Monday, November 10th: Even though I loved visiting NYC, I would not like to live there, especially not with small children.  I didn't realize how much "green" space there is in the D.C. area until I got away from it.  Alexandria in particular feels like living in the country compared to New York, and I now have a greater appreciation for our yard and for the numerous parks just a short distance away.

While I was gone, Chet took advantage of that green space.  He took the kids to our neighbor's soccer game on Saturday morning, and to the park on Sunday:



He also proved that he is a braver and more tolerant person than I am by letting three extra neighborhood kids play at the house:

The man deserves a medal.

Tuesday, November 11th: I think it's safe to say we're all thankful for our Veterans today.  Those who have served, and are currently serving.  Chet and I took Bubby to Starbucks this morning, where we enjoyed our free coffee:

2 comments:

Casey said...

Glad your trip to NY was great! I remember talking about it. Even though I only had Levi on my trip to see you, it was a huge relief to only chase after one, so I can imagine your "awe" of having no kids! Wasn't it weird? I can't even remember life before kids!! We need to treat ourselves to no kid get-a-ways more often. Lets us breath, and lets our hubby's know what live as a mom feels like :) Laundry: Do you like doing more loads all at once? I love it, one day designated to Laundry and don't have to think about it until a week later. (I'm guilty though - sometimes the last load stays in the dryer until the next week....usually towels or misc blankets)

Chet and Ashley said...

I do kind of like doing a lot of laundry at once, but I still slip back into my one-load-a-day habit. It's different for me though, because I'm mostly at home, whereas you work outside of the home! So one load a day is fine, but it feels like more of an accomplishment when a lot gets done at once ;-)