Quickie

Yep, that's right. I got to take a solo flight out to San Francisco to meet up with Chris for a long weekend. We were set to go house hunting with a realtor. We are really trying to find something to buy. It would be great to stop moving around so much. I'm not sure yet if it will work out.

Thankfully we were able to have Chris's parents fly out to our house and watch the kids. It felt so strange to be wandering the airport all alone.

Our first evening was pretty uneventful except for the fact that we heard Grace was really sick. She ended up being really sick for the majority of my time away. Poor Grandma and Grandpa had to deal with it on their own.

Unfortunately I got really sick too. Here was our big opportunity to eat out at nice places and enjoy some kid free time. I couldn't eat anything. It was really terrible. I ended up drinking sprite and broth for most of the weekend. We were able to at least check out one little bayside park. It felt great to be in the sun and the wind.  

We saw tons of houses over the course of the weekend. We even made an offer on one of them. Too bad the market is crazy right now. Homes are getting multiple offers and going for well over list price. We didn't end up getting the house. Now we have to wait and hope something else will come up. It's crazy stressful. A big thanks to my in-laws for helping out! I'm glad that I at least got to see the area ahead of time.

Easter Fun

Easter is always a fun time. Plenty of eggs to dye, baskets to set out, and lots of candy to eat. This year was pretty low key. Chris had to fly out for the new job in the afternoon. He had just enough time to help with the morning chaos and sugar binging. 

Spring Break Fun

With all of our upcoming craziness we opted to keep things simple for spring break. 

I worked my last shift on Monday. It seemed strange to leave the place. I hadn't been there very long. I guess that made it easier to walk away from. Now I'm on to full time organizing/planning. It's a lot of work!
On Tuesday I decided to take the kids to the rec center for some fun swimming time. We had the kiddie pool to ourselves for about 30 minutes before we were surrounded by camps of kids. We didn't last too long after that. 

Wednesday was April 1st and Chris's birthday. The kids and I spent the day running around shopping and decorating for daddy. We set up streamers and balloons in the kitchen. When he got home we all went to dinner at Sweetwater Tavern. We celebrated with donuts and played Agricola until late. It was a good day.

Thursday was a gorgeous day! I decided to be brave and took the kids to the National Zoo on my own. The drive there was stressful and long! The zoo is literally in the middle of DC. It's nuts! The traffic and parking was a nightmare, but we made it. The zoo itself was really great. Unfortunately, my camera died soon into the trip, but I managed a few shots.

We had a blast exploring the zoo! Loved the lions and baby bears the most. It was great to see so many animals outside playing in the sun. It was the most playful I've ever seen zoo animals. I wish my battery had lasted. Our drive home was just as terrible. I'm glad we did it, but I'm also glad we won't be doing it again. I'd recommend taking the metro if you want to go. 

Today it rained all day. We spent the day at home. Grace had a playdate and Neil went to his speech appointment. Claire had batting practice. Nothing exciting. Hopefully our weekend weather will improve. 

Today was also Chris's last day. He starts on Monday at Netflix. Crazy!! Our roller coaster continues...

Curve balls

I just have to say that I'm so proud of Claire. She is so brave! Here she is at her first ever batting practice for spring softball. She was unsure of where to go, what to do, and generally what was going on. She took it like a champ! I'm hoping that with a little more practice she will feel more confident and have a great first season.

Not only is she handling learning a new sport so well, but she is also digesting the news of our upcoming move with a great amount of courage. For those of you who haven't heard, our lives apparently weren't complicated enough. Our stay on the east coast is coming to an end. Chris accepted a job with Netflix in the bay area of California. He starts in a week and a half!! The kids and I will be staying here until school is out. I feel some deja vu as I type this. Thankfully, he will be flying back every 2 weeks to be with us. 

I am at the moment a giant ball of mixed emotions. On one hand I'm so excited for this great opportunity and for the chance to get back to the west coast. It's so much closer to our families. I love that we'll be able to hop in the van and drive to see them whenever. (only a 10.5 hr drive). On the other hand, moving sucks and I've come to really like the things that we have here. I'm sad for the kids who will be leaving good friends. 

I know that it will all work out though. Already it is going smoother than last time. At least I know what to expect. That really helps. Now I just need to keep my sanity as I try to single parent on and off until June. With two kids in different sports, I'm not quite sure how it will all happen. In the meantime I will be taking notes from Claire. She's so brave and I hope that I can at least come off that way some of the time. :)

Jet Planes

On Saturday we decide to check out Gravelly Point Park. It is located just across the river from DC and just happens to be a popular place to watch airplanes up close. I have to admit that I'm sort of a jet plane junkie. I've watched tons of youtube videos of interesting landings and places to "plane spot". I've heard that there's a beach in St. Maarten where you can stand just a few feet under jumbo jets as they land. Maybe someday I will get to that beach, but in the meantime this park was plenty awesome. It's just north of the main runway for DCA, so the traffic was crazy. There were planes landing and taking off every couple of minutes like clockwork. It was super cool! I loved it!

We stayed for maybe close to an hour just watching planes, playing catch, kicking a soccer ball, and climbing trees. The noise was pretty intense so an hour was plenty. It was so neat to watch the different approaches and speeds of the planes. I really liked being right underneath them. Tough angle to get a picture, but so fun to experience. Now, I want to go to that beach even more.

                           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlTNj6IWey4

Green Day

Happy Green Day! I mean St. Patrick's Day! Neil absolutely loves the color green, so today was fantastic for him! He couldn't believe all the cool green things that were going on. Someday I will tell him about being Irish and about how we actually took him to Ireland. But for now, we'll stick with the "green day".

This morning started off very Irish with a traditional breakfast of Lucky Charms. What!?!! Oh, the blasphemy. Sorry Mom. We don't like blood pudding with tomatoes. Anyhoo...those were magically delicious. The kids were really excited to dress in all their new swag from Grandma's package. Neil loved his shirt with the "green creeper". They all went off to school with special treats to share with their classes.

Then, Chris and I went out for breakfast. It was so nice to get out sans kids for a meal. After running errands, swim lessons, and shopping the kids were all home from school. Our weather was gorgeous today so we had to go play the afternoon away. It was really great to be outside and soak up the sunshine. We have to take it when we can because guess what? We have snow in the forecast again! Grr! I'm really ready for spring to take over for good.

We played outside for a long time, then came in to make our green dinner. This year it wasn't very exciting, or Irish. We had green pesto noodles with peas. It was tasty and green at least. And who doesn't love a green bath? It was a good day! Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

                                      

Hodgepodge

The last couple weeks have been all about snow. It seemed like everyday we were getting another storm. The kids had pretty much the whole week off last week. It was pretty crazy. They sure love playing in it, but I am getting a little tired of the mess.

This weekend it finally started to warm up. About 45-55 degrees with some sun. Our big snow piles are starting to melt into oblivion. Hallelujah! Bring on the sun!

One night we decided to make our own dessert. We picked up some Flake bars and headed to McD's for soft serve. Our "99's" were delicious!

For our weekend fun we headed up to Baltimore to visit the Children's Museum. We had a tasty lunch at Shake Shack and then we played for several hours. The kids had a great time running through their 3 story climbing structure and playing restaurant. They also learned how to wash windows in the water play area. I think I will be putting these skills to use in the next few weeks.

We all had a good day, although we were exhausted by the time we got home. Everyone slept well that night. 

Yesterday I chaperoned on Neil's field trip to the Planetarium at a local high school. We learned all about the planets, seasons, the sun, and the stars. It was pretty interesting and the kids had a great time.

When the kids came home from school this bird was sitting on our deck. It scared me at first. I'm not sure what exactly it is, but it sure was pretty. It had big ol talons and a hooked beak. We watched it for a long time and it just stared right back at us. It liked to stand on just one leg. I wonder if he was keeping his other toes warm? I did see the other leg, so I know he wasn't injured or anything.