mad dash

It is already Wednesday? Are you kidding?

This week has raced by so far. It's been full of visiting teaching, preschool,

(Allen is wearing his "body" suit and "brain" headband. They made these in preschool and he's been talking a lot about his muscles and lungs lately.)

. . . Halloween costume preparations, news about my littlest sister buying a house (yay for Ashley and Kelland!), organizing my new art supply cabinet,

(Ross is putting together my cabinet and Allen, "the fix-it man" is helping with his tool belt and hat. He had to run downstairs to get his "tool stuff.")

. . . shopping, getting my annual flu shot, and cleaning (because I've got company coming tomorrow). Allen and Abby are so excited to see Aunt Amy!

Now that my iPod is charged I'm off to run around and get more done while the kids are in bed... BYE!

my logbook for today

• Went to church and helped with the singing time in the nursery. (Just helping out, no calling yet...)
• During Sacrament we heard that a few more families were being added to our ward (McLean 2nd) from the Vienna Ward (our previous ward which is also another stake).
• Allen went home-teaching with Ross. Ross's companion works for the State Department and is on assignment to Pakistan for the next 7 weeks. Looks like Allen will keep being Ross's companion for awhile.
• Wrote in three journals
• Went to a concert at the Washington D.C. Temple Visitor Center to hear the Mormon Orchestra of D.C. and soloist Jenny Oaks Baker. (The kids like Elder Oaks so they were excited when I told them they were going to hear his daughter play the violin). We lasted about 30 minutes and then we took our Sunday stroll up to the temple so the kids could touch the building.

scripture power

This morning I took Allen to his primary activity. They learned a cool dance to the song Scripture Power, and then broke up into groups and went to four different stations, each focusing on a different standard work. Everyone had a lot of fun!

Station #1: Book of Mormon --Learned about Captain Moroni / Title of Liberty and drew something about their family on a square of fabric (will be compiled into a primary banner).

Station #2: New Testatment -- Listened to the story of the miracle five loaves and two fishes. Had a relay race involving dress-up, running with a fish on a spoon, making a basket and coming back with bread (roll) on your head.

Station #3: Old Testament -- Creation station. Each child was given clay and could create whatever they wanted.

Station #4: Doctrine and Covenants -- Talked about Joseph Smith and the First Vision. Did a stick pull and a treasure hunt.

Ben Folds + National Symphony Orchestra = Awesome!

Ross and I had a great view in the Concert Hall at the Kennedy Center. My favorite Ben Folds song is Landed (it has such a cool piano part) and it was rockin' with an orchestra behind him. I actually have the sheet music, (it's fun to play it with Ross singing along), but I can't play it quite like Ben Folds.

school day

Today Allen AND Abby went to preschool. (Abby's playgroup started this morning). They were so excited to go.

Before we left Allen was very concerned about leaving his grocery store. I told him that we should put a "closed" sign on it until he got back. I wrote it for him (we sounded it out together), he wanted some tape and he went down and put it on. When I came home I went into the basement to get something out of the freezer and I saw Allen's closed store. So precious!

The "closed" sign is that white piece of paper taped to the wall.

******************

On a different note, Ross and I are going on a date. I will meet him tonight at the Kennedy Center for a concert: National Symphony Orchestra and Ben Folds. We are excited!!

pirate park picnic party

Some fun things that happened today:

• Playing in the basement and "reading" books. I read long versions of Snow White and Aladdin (Allen's request)... I can't believe Abby's attention span.
• Our ward's playgroup met at a park in McLean, (Allen calls it the pirate park because it has binoculars on the playground equipment), for a free concert. The kids played on the toys, and we ate a picnic lunch on a blanket while listening to Rocknoceros, a really cool D.C. band for kids.
• We went around the neighborhood: Allen rode his bike and I pushed Abby in the stroller. We had to stop at every fire hydrant and manhole cover (sewer). We pretended that the fire hydrants were "stores" and we ordered lemonades (I loved doing that as a kid with my mom!) and the manhole covers or "bouncers" are special places to jump because it can make a cool echo. Using our imaginations made for an interesting walk.
• Talking to my sister (who's coming to visit next weekend) and giving her our info for White House tickets.
• Playdough at the table while I made dinner (pizza bubble)
• Bath time with sponges
• Bedtime stories, songs (Now the Day is Over)... and no tv again. There just isn't enough time for tv :)

"I'm Mr. Grocer"

Today was a stay-at-home, shop at Allen's grocery store, vacuum three levels of the house, mop two levels of the house, clean the kitchen, do four loads of laundry, teach a piano lesson, walk around the block (while Abby and Allen pushed a baby stroller/rode a bike), listen to each other's nasty coughs, read oodles of stories, sing lots of songs, talk on the phone, eat quesadillas for lunch, make sandwiches for dinner, and put the kids to bed (solo) by 7pm. I'd say I was pretty productive :)

And, in my opinion, my biggest accomplishment: I never turned the TV on once. We haven't watched anything in 3 days now.... boy, will they love the movie party this week! (It's not like they ask for it, they are too busy "reading" their books or playing.) It's amazing how much your kid can learn hands-on instead of watching a screen. Of course, it makes tasks a little more time consuming because you have little hands to help you.

Too bad these pictures aren't attached with the precious dialogue that I heard. Abby was a good shopper (with her purse and basket) and Allen called himself "Mr. Grocer" and always wished her well ("have a nice time at home") as she left with her groceries and went "home."

Music Mondays

I started a music group in the ward and today was our first meeting. It brought back memories of music groups I went to when I lived in Chicago... but this time kids arrived by car instead of stroller. There were 6 kids and 3 adults.

We talked about the season of fall, apples, and leaves and we sang these songs: Bumpity Yellow Bus, Wheels on the Bus, sang a scale using our body parts, Head Shoulders Knees and Toes, I'm a Little Appleseed, Johnny Appleseed's The Lord is Good to Me (Allen's request), Whirly Twirly (Abby's request), Tommy Thumbs (fingerplay), rocketship, Grand Old Duke of York, closing song... (did I forget any?)

Then the singing time was followed by play in the basement. My kids had a blast. They are excited to have music group at our house every week. Next week we'll do more seasonal songs.

whirlwind day

*5 mile jog *lawn mowed *Craigslist post *yearly family pictures at Target *shopping at Walmart *Mike McCoy estimate *quick lunch and quick quiet time *birthday party *Potomac River Running Store * dinner at Jason's Deli (free ice cream!) *sitting on I-495 *Washington D.C. Temple trip (since the kids had colds we all went and Ross & I took turns going in) *Super Mario World!!

Good thing tomorrow will be a day of rest.

living room

Our living room has furniture!This is the view from the front door. (If you look in the bottom left corner, you can see the edge of the piano. And you can see one of the new ceiling fans... The baker's rack is going into the breakfast room.)

This is taken from the other corner.

We did some rearranging last night (moved the piano to a different wall and moved a bookcase), but now I think we're set. As much as I have enjoyed the newly two-toned painted walls, I think I'm ready to hang some pictures.

ready for school

Allen went to preschool today. He loved it, I loved it (I had extra time to conquer tasks), and Abby loved it (because she got one-on-one time with mom). I must be a heartless mom because I was overjoyed for Allen to start school (instead of wiping my eyes like I see/hear people do). I'm happy to see that my child is confident, eager to learn, that he doesn't shy away from a new house or new people, that he is on better behavior with strangers than with his mother, and that he has good self-esteem. I really don't think the last 4 years have flown by (as many mothers will say when it comes to their child growing up). Rather, they have been jam-packed with activities, fieldtrips, playing, teaching, singing, snuggling, learning, stories... and they have been a good, full four years.

Right now our co-op preschool meets three days a week, 3 hours each day. Next year he will be in full day Kindergarten, 500 feet from our door, and he is already talking about that.

Sunday stroll

Every Sunday we go on a walk. I love this tradition. There wasn't a cloud in the sky today.

When we got home we played a game of Twister before dinner. (Allen is wearing his Dr. Seuss felt hat, if you were curious.)

In case you wanted to know Ross is THE Twister master. He is also really good at Street Fighter 2 on the Super Nintendo. He found his old set when he was cleaning old his old bedroom (the last time we visited his parents)... and last night was the first time we tried it. I went to bed with a very sore left thumb.

stake conference

Today we had Stake Conference. Ross told me while we were sitting there, (we arrived 15 minutes early), to be on the look-out for people we knew. For some reason the last few times we've gone to stake conference we see someone we know (besides the members in our ward).

I saw Bob Bennett walking up the aisle with his wife. Ross isn't as familiar with what the Utah senator looks like, but he had his Blackberry so he looked up his profile online. Yep, it was Bob Bennett. He blended right in, only one person seemed to talk to him.... a senior sister missionary... who turned out to be my principal in elementary school. Anyone out there reading this remember Mrs. Keller from Crestview Elementary??

As far as the conference, I barely heard what they said, but my kids behaved well, according to the sister behind us. She was impressed. I'm glad they didn't disturb anyone else.

I did like this poem... "There was an owl in an old oak, The more he saw the less he spoke, The less he spoke the more he heard, Why can't we be more like that wise old bird?"

children's party

Ross was officially sworn into the D.C. Bar on September 11th. Congratulations, Ross! Now he'll get new business cards that say he is licensed to practice in Virginia and the District of Columbia.

On Saturday morning Ross had to complete a Bar class so we met him in the afternoon at the Kennedy Center. They were having a free open house fall festival with a plethora of performances inside and outside the building. We saw a pianist on wheels, clowns, puppeteers, mimes, jugglers, jump-ropers, acrobats, a flea circus, a woman on a unicycle... it was cool!

The kids love puppet shows and this piano would move all over as the man played. You never knew which direction we was going to go. That curved building in the distance is the Watergate Hotel. We also enjoyed the "box city" area. You could build your own towers, forts and castles. It's easy to lose people in that place and it's hard to fight the temptation to knock down others' creations :)The highlight for me was learning how to juggle (one of the jugglers was teaching groups). The lowlight for me was running out of insulin (in my pump), realizing I forgot my meter (which is full of my supplies), being sure to not eat anything (just drink water), and arriving home still over 400+. (Note: a normal person runs between 80-120 mg/dl.).

We rode home on a filled train due to the many protestors (thousands that day) who were still leaving the city and holding their signs...

eyes closed

I love when I hear the kids giggling and playing nicely in the mornings. After checking my email I popped my head in one morning (because it was a little quiet) and they were both on Allen's bed "sleeping." But they couldn't keep their eyes closed too long and when I entered the room I heard plenty more giggles. Allen and Abby are so cute. I'm lucky to be a mom and be their mom.

zookies

... are animal crackers from the zoo. (Abby earned her bag by climbed up into one of the stroller rentals, which made the zoo sweeper smile, and he reached into the information booth to grab a bag for her.)

Today was the first day of school here in Virginia so I took the kids to the zoo because I knew we would have the place ALL to ourselves. The day was cool and cloudy and we had a great time!

Here is Abby eating her zookies. The kids love climbing on the pizza. ("What does a pizza have to do with the zoo?" you must be wondering...) There is a farm area and the pizza exhibit breaks down the ingredients and shows that they all come from a farm. Allen stacked up the mushrooms so he can climb on the big tomato.

I learned from a zoo worker that male cheetahs like companionship. In this photo shows three brothers from the same liter. In the next caged area is a female who lives isolated. Apparently the females like to be alone... doesn't that sound a little opposite of our culture? I was explaining what the word male and female meant. I said, "Abby, you're a female." She quickly responded, "No, I Abby Sue Tucker."

This orangutan just sat in front of the glass loving all the attention. Abby must of gotten scared seeing something so big and hairy in front of her. After we left she said, "I don't like the ape house."

Allen took this photo of us.

Ever seen a panda sitting in a tree? If you look close you can see the panda behind Abby in about the center of the photo.

Abby thought the elephants were cool... mostly because they had their own "swimming pool."

a holiday

Before celebrations began, the whole house was straighten, vacuumed and mopped. (I love a clean house -- thanks for your help Ross!)

Then, to satisfy our hunger we picked up Arby's sandwiches and had a picnic lunch at the pool. It was a cloudy day, (and school starts tomorrow), so we had the pool to ourselves. After swimming, splashing each other, and playing with the toys, we dried off, came home, and had a movie party (since Ross always misses our weekly ones). We watched Robin Hood and ate popcorn. After the movie we played, read books, had some visitors from the ward stop by, and made hamburgers for dinner.

I love holidays! It's nice having an extra day thrown into the mix every now and then.

Oo-de-lally oo-de-lally, golly what a day!

shop around

The most amazing thing ever happened on Saturday morning...

WE SLEPT IN!!

The last time I slept until 10 a.m. was before I had kids. And it wasn't just ME, everyone in our house was quiet until 10. This is something that I never thought would happen until I had teenagers. (We've had late-nights before, but my children don't sleep in. They get up about the same time and are grumpy all the next day.) So I guess an 8-hour outing, such as a baseball game, with train transportation, is a great way to gear young children up for sleeping in the next morning, in case you wanted to know :)

For the rest of the day, (which felt slightly shorter), Ross mowed the lawn, we looked through 5 furniture stores, popped into the Nature Center (to give the kids a break between shopping), bought Slurpees, purchased a living room set, shot some hoops at the school, and played on the playground.

hey batter, batter!

On Friday night our family went to a Nationals baseball game!

Arriving early was key to meeting Teddy and George... We sat in a box suite (complimentary tickets from Skadden!)...

and enjoyed the water, peanuts, and popcorn.

I showed the kids how to put their hands over their hearts for the Star-Spangled Banner... We could have been inside the suite, but we sat outside in the seats instead. Allen liked his chair. The kids learned when to clap, when to dance, and when to yell CHARGE!

We saw a home run, three triples, a few broken bats, one bunt, and plenty of foul balls. During one of the breaks they had the Presidents Race...

We stayed the WHOLE game (the Nats lost 9-6) and saw the fireworks after. (Allen and Abby still remind me about the firework party from the 4th of July so I thought it would be cool to see some more...) Notice they are playing Beatles music during the show...

Abby stopped crying about 15 seconds after they started and watched (still tense on my lap). She did better this time... and she was very happy when it was all done. Allen slept through it all until the finale cannons.

Now onto the train with the rest of the crowd...

We took the green line (completely stuffed) and had to transfer onto the orange. We barely missed an orange train so we had to wait about 20 minutes in an empty station. But, that's okay. You can have lots of fun in an empty train station at midnight after a LONG baseball game, right?

That's Abby's face on the stroller's mesh pocket (if you were wondering) and Allen was ready to wave at the next train.

This guy (the next train that came by that wasn't ours) waved and pulled faces at the kids. I had to take a picture of his hair...

When the train stopped at Rosslyn (the first stop in VA), I took a picture when the doors opened. I've seen this sign when I've rode but was never quick enough to take the picture.

Who is the biggest night owl in our house?

Well, if you watch the video you see that Ross is trying to sleep (can't blame him because he was up before 6 a.m. for work) and Allen's sleepy eyes are rolling... and Abby is giddy as all get-out while I am happily documenting it all.

At one point the boys were out while Abby and I were wide awake. With about 5 more stops to go, I called my mom and we chatted while I tickled Abby's feet. We didn't get home until almost 1 a.m.. We had a great night!

Cheese meets Mr. Spoon

It's pretty funny to watch Allen and Abby, still sitting at the table after lunch, put on a "play" with dialogue and a plot using a small square of cheese and a spoon. First, cheese and spoon played hide-and-seek, then spoon watched cheese making circles around the table, and then cheese jumped into the "water" (the floor). And they were good about taking turns, too. "Abby, it's my turn to be Mr. Spoon." "Okay!" Today was cheese and spoon. The day before yesterday they used olives. Since we watch minimal TV, I wonder if the extra play time is spiking their creativity to produce more entertainment. Hmmmm... it's funny, regardless. It gives me something to smile at as I clean up the kitchen.

that darn bead

Remember that post a few weeks ago about the bead up Abby's nose? (Click here if you need a refresher.) Yesterday we got a bill... I guess they consider pulling a bead out of a person's nose (which took 3 seconds), not only a co-pay visit, but "surgery - respiratory" which includes an additional fee. (It's interesting because the doctor said it would be billed as a sick visit.)

I laughed and laughed as Ross showed me the bill. He told me very dead-pan, "Andrea, a bead up the nose is no laughing matter."

picture walk

We've been preoccupied the last few days ...

• using our coupon book from the summer reading program (which included a free donut and free ice cream cone)
• watching our carrot top grow (and talking about Johnny Appleseed)
• getting ourselves dressed

• tap dancing out on our deck (I tied washers to the bottom of their shoes -- thanks for the idea, Jedda!)

• reading Donut Chef which inspired our fieldtrip to Krispie Kreme. (Watching two kids, who were SO excited to be in a REAL donut shop, happily eat their glazed donuts (frosting remaining around their mouth), while wearing their "chef hats" was priceless. (Of course, they HAD to have glazed because that's what a character in the book requests (Debbie Sue, who is 2) and Abby thinks it's even cooler that her name is so similar and she is 2. ("I 2, too).

• dressing up like princesses, grass monsters, a donut chef, making silly/scary faces

• visiting with company (Kyle, Kirsten, Kenny and Brooklyn stayed a night. The kids were so excited to play with their second cousin).

• going to the "barber shop"
• swimming at the pool (sometimes by ourselves because of the cooler weather)

• playing in the sand, rice, beans...
• helping in the kitchen (rice dish, jello, Texas sheet cake)
• vacuuming, mopping, laundry and shopping
• a new piano student, plane tickets, chatting on the phone, reading (VA plants/flowers and lefties), and singing "Down By the Station" repeatedly. (This is Abby's favorite song.)
• getting excited about tomorrow's baseball game (I drew a baseball on the calendar -- I draw lots of random icons so the kids can keep track what day we are on).