The BOYZ of Arlington

So I'm a few days (or weeks) late with this one. But it was too good not to post. Sadly, many of the stereotypes about Arlington are true. We are the town of luxury housing and, yes, there is a Starbucks on every corner (thankfully!). With two properties in the county, though, I'm supremely grateful that the business development efforts have been as successful as they've been. Taxes might be high, but so are property values!

And apparently the latest "thing" in the county is red-shirting. Or shall I say scarlet shirting. Because Arlingtonians are so competitive, they're holding back all children...even those eligible for kindergarten. And here I was worried that with an early November birthday, and at almost 6 when she'll start at the local elementary school, that Lily would be one of the oldest kids in her class. Apparently not.

By the time she reaches middle school, she and her friends will be able to walk themselves down the block for a latte before recess...while wearing their brown flip flops of course.

Super Dad!

Gimme a "D." Gimme an "A." Gimme a "D." What does that spell? SUPER DAD!!

We took these photos a few weeks ago. I happened to pick both girls up from their respective schools AND we were the first ones home. So we quickly cut out the paper and ran to the front lawn. In spite of it being the witching hour and both girls being hungry, we were able to get three successful shots. The last one was taken as Noah pulled in to the driveway; not a second to spare.

Convincing Lily to keep the secret was MUCH harder than executing the project. But she did. Keep the secret. And we surprised Noah on this his 4th Father's Day.

Super big Father's Day wishes our SUPER DAD and to all the other daddies out there!!

Zuzu

Meet my newest cousin on my mom's side....


Zuzu.

My dearest aunt Lois Anne, benefactor of all the gorgeous children's clothes that adorn my girls and teacher of many of the wonderful songs that Lily sings, recently lost her two lovelies, Maxie and Tallulah. Amazingly, Zuzu is a distant dauschund relation to Maxie and Tallu; they all originated from the same breeder in Canada. Even more amazingly, Zuzu was living in Winchester, VA. And she was ready for a new home. On the same weekend we had a family meeting in Charlottesville, VA. Tell me that it wasn't fate...

Lois Anne and Zuzu had a honeymoon from hell at the Greenbrier Resort on their way home to Lexington, KY. But they're home now. And happy now. And that's what counts!

We can't wait to meet her!

Sleeping Beauties

It's the little moments -- the stolen moments -- that are truly special.


Watching your child sleep is nature's remedy for all the frustrating moments you experience during waking hours. They're so peaceful. So innocent. So. very. quiet.

The only thing better than watching them sleep is getting those first morning cuddles. Or, of course, watching your girls snuggle eachother.

Now if I could only train them to sleep just a little bit later in the morning...

Balance -- You Know, That Pretzel Thing

Whether you chose to work or you have to work, there are pros and cons to being a working mother. For me there are many pros. My sense of self. My sense of accomplishment. My source of intellectual stimulation (editorial note: not that you don't get that from other sources -- in fact, I've never been so intellectually challenged as I was during Lily's "why" phase...the quest to come up with answers to twelve. million. questions. was quite the workout for my brain!). Heck, my paycheck is pretty darn nice too. Especially in this economy.

But there are cons as well. Lots of them. I'm tired. All the time. I often do my grocery shopping at 11 p.m., and there's never enough time for anything. For my kids. For my friends. For Noah. For me.

Balance, as one of my favorite "professional" bloggers -- Lisa Belkin from the New York Times' Motherlode blog -- points out, is a misnomer. A joke. A contorted yoga pretzel that others seemingly can do but you can't.



Personally I don't think that there is a perfect answer or a perfect scenario. What do you think?

Black Eyed Blue

This weekend I snuck away for a much needed and LLOONNNNGGGG overdue 21 hour girls getaway with my friend Jamie (All About Abby and Beth). You know, the one who never updates her blog. The one who has yet to convince me that she really has 5 1/2 month old twin girls because I NEVER EV-AH get new photos. Yes, that's the one (here's hoping that a little public humiliation will do the trick!).

While we were off shopping, and spa-ing, in Hershey, PA, my soon-to-be 14 month old took it upon herself to introduce her eye to the corner of the coffee table. Guess who won??

"Oh, Mama, now you'll never leave my side again!" -- Anna

"Even with a black eye, I still look good in pink pearls..."

"And I'm still oh-so yummy!"

"Mmmmaaaaammmmmaaaaa, how could you have left me??"

"Ha, ha! That'll teach you!!"

Here's hoping that bad things do, in fact, only come in threes. You may recall #1 (click HERE) and #2 (click HERE). Fear not, the eye looked MUCH worse by the time she went to bed tonight. Poor Anna. And Poor Noah. I'm not sure who was hurt more by this bonk.

Please Pardon our Dust

Although I promised to post at least once a week when I started this blog -- and for the most part I've done at least that (lesson to my children: set the bar low and it'll be easy to reach....eek!) -- my goal was to post more than that. Much more than that. Those of you, my friends, who have blogs of your own, you know that I appreciate frequent posts from you. Or I nag. And nag. And nag some more.

So it's a tad bit disconcerting that I've been posting as infrequently as I have of late.

Part of that is work. It's, well, work.

Part of that is Facebook. Uugh, what a time suck that site has become!

Part of that is life. And our normally crazy life just got crazier. 2 weeks ago Noah and I signed a contract to (1) tear down our house (2) build a much nicer and BIGGGGER house in its place and (3) be forever in debt. Lots of debt. I think we might owe the contractor a third born; my eyes crossed at that point in the contract though.

So, please pardon the dust on this blog. I hope to keep it to a minimum... And once the real work on the house begins, I'll definitely track the progress through this site. After all, it's a "baby book" for my girls. And since the house will be our new baby, I suppose that it deserves an equal amount of print. At least while it's being built. Which, come to think of it, should take just about as long as normal pregnancy. Here's hoping for "preterm labor" again!!

To distract you for now, though, I bring you the girls. In their own words. Because who can resist a little sugar and spice?!?

Madame Hair Envy --



Madame Pipsqueak --