Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

We live about 30 miles away from Washington, DC. But, of course, because its there - we rarely go in to take in the sights. This week, we did. An online friend of mine was coming in town with her family, and initially needed some folks to join her party to have enough for a White House tour. We ended up taking a tour of the Capitol, a tour of the White House, and visited the National Archives. I've been wanting to go into town for a while and this was just the motivation to get me moving.

The Capitol tour was pretty neat. We met up at the office of her Senator - their office arranged the tour. She took us to the Capitol by way of the 3 Senate Office buildings, to show how far you can go without ever going outside. She also showed us how the architecture varied as the age of the buildings changed. And while walking the underground corridors, I actually saw OUR Senator, Senator Warner, headed to the Capitol. He looked so feeble - he's been sick recently.

When we arrived in the Capitol we saw many hallways and special chambers, such as the former committee room for the Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, on the way to the rotunda. They were exquisitely adorned with beautiful colors and designs throughout. Then finally we reached the rotunda. I had seen the rotunda when I went to the viewing for President Reagan in 2004, but this was an opportunity to actually look at it. There is a freize around the upper portion of the rotunda and it tells the story of the formation of the United States: starting with the Native Americans and the landing of Columbus, all the way through the birth of aviation with the first flight of the Wright Brothers. Its so expertly woven together that you don't see a gap in the pictures - it looks like one long picture - and cannot even tell that it was actually completed by 3 different artists over many years.


Underneath the frieze are some large pictures depicting specific events in the history of the United States, such as the baptism of Pocahontas, the Signing of the Declaration of Independence, Cornwalis' surrender to Washington at Yorktown and Washington's resignation as General of the Army.

At the apex of the rotunda is a beautiful painting of angels - and the father of our country - George Washington.





We also spent some time in the sculpture room. Each state has sculptures of two famous people displayed in the Capitol - with many in this room. This room is also significant because it had held committee meetings for the House of Representatives in the past. There were placards on the floor showing where the desks of some famous representatives sat - including Abraham Lincoln and John Quincy Adams.







On the way back to the Senate office building, we saw the marker indicating the exact center of the city of Washington, DC - the center of Capitol Hill! And then we got on a small train that runs between the office buidings and the Capitol that is used by visitors, guests, and even the Senators as they need to go to the floor for debates and votes.















On Friday, we headed in to go on a tour of the White House and the National Archives. The White House tour was set up by a friend of my friend's husband - he works in the White House. A tour is difficult to get these days so this was especially nice. Mike took the day off and went with us. They are also very restrictive on what you can bring in - certainly no cameras. They usually don't allow purses but I was allowed to take mine due to having medical supplies in it. But they didn't like it. We were able to see several of the rooms in the East Wing of the White House - the Blue Room, Red Room, Vermiel Room, the East Room and the State Dining Room. It wasn't a long tour but it was really neat to see.

You will also notice the kids are in pants - in 90 degree weather. Because we were with an employee, we had to adhere to a "higher" dress code, so we all needed to be in pants. I would have ensured my kids looked "presentable" regardless, but I wish that all of these types of tours had dress codes to prevent the short-shorts and strapless "tube tops" that I saw at several of these locations.









After heading back to the car to retrieve the stuff we wanted to have with us but couldn't at the White House, we got some lunch and then headed over to the National Archives. After a short wait outside, we went through our 3rd or 4th or metal detector of the day, watched a short movie about the purpose of the archives, and then got in another line to see the main reason for the visit - the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The Declaration of Independence was hardly visible anymore but the other documents were in pretty good shape - considering their age.

We also saw a pretty neat exhibit which show how different documents and other items that have been kept in the archives show the history of our country, from old maps of the colonies, the new states being formed, patents for many of the inventions made in this country, important photos and video, as those mediums were developed. The only disappointment is that they have an area where educators and parents can see how to use documents and books to teach history - and it was closed. I really wanted to see how they were presenting it.

Anyway, it was nice that it took a visit of a friend from Florida in order to get us into a city that is only 30 miles away - but we saw some things we hadn't seen before and I'll try to make a better effort to take advantage of all the wonderful things that D.C. has to offer.

There and Back Again (and again)

Last year I posted about some baby birds that had taken up residence in a nest in the rose bush at the back of our house. You can read about it here: Birds Nest

Well, I looked at the nest about 6 weeks ago, because it stayed in the rose bush all winter, and again we had baby birds. I snapped this photo from the porch because when I tried to get close enough on the ground, Mama flew away and then started yelling at me from the nearby tree.











We have another nest in the front of the house, in our crepe myrtle tree. Its really high up, so its difficult to see, but I saw a baby beak poking out the other day. Later in the afternoon, we found that baby bird flying around in our garage and we had to scoot her out.


And today, when I checked out the nest in the back, it seems to be round two - there are at least 2 blue robin's eggs in the nest - just waiting until its time to hatch!

One person's trash...

You know the saying.

Well, I firmly believe that this is the mantra of both Freecycle and Craigslist.

And I have been availing myself of both of these great resources a lot in the past couple of days (with a few eBay items thrown in for good measure)

We have a lot of stuff in this house that we don't need, don't use, or doesn't fit anymore. Its just sitting around, getting rearranged as I am constantly trying to declutter all the stuff in the house

So I've been getting rid of it - via Craigslist and Freecycle. I have put a little cash in my pocket and gotten rid of a lot of other things.

Mike, who also reads the Freecycle postings, emailed me today while he was at work asking if there was anything left in our house. I told him I was heading to his closet next!

As requested

I have had a request to share some photos of Samantha with her bright pink cast. I have been meaning to for a while, so here they are!

Here is Samantha the day she got her cast on - with a friend from our homeschool group who ALSO suffered an injury the same weekend and ALSO chose a bright pink cast for her injury! This photo is nice too because you see it BEFORE it becomes covered in signatures - a right of passage when you have a cast!
























Samantha received some beautiful flowers from Granny and Granddaddy and they have lasted a long time - some of the lillies have just opened up. Here they are. And then a closer up one so that you can see her cast well.

Heartbreaking Loss

Michael's baseball team had their last game of the season tonight. They lost in the 2nd round of the playoffs. They played the #1 team in their league and until the 5th inning, they held them to only 2 runs, while scoring 9 themselves. They were playing well and hitting ok.

And then the 5th inning came. Michael's team has an uncanny ability to fall apart in the 5th and 6th innings. And today was no different.

They tried hard. Michael got hit in the gut with a ball pitched to him and was more frustrated that he couldn't make the play with the ball than the fact that he got hit.

With 2 outs and 2 strikes on a player, the boy hits a blooper into the outfied. And then the next player with 2 strikes hits a long ball.

And we lose 11-10.

I think everyone was heartbroken.

Its been a long time!

I've been remiss in posting in quite a while.

I'm sure my mother knows why - Our May schedule is about to be the death of us.

Here's a short synopsis of the past month:

• Michael earned his next belt in Tae Kwon Do; he's now a Green Stripe
• Both kids finished up their soccer season
• Samantha broke her wrist in her final soccer game and is in a bright pink cast until the end of June!
• Samantha's soccer team played in a tournament this past weekend and finished as "co-champions" in their division. Samantha watched from the sidelines :(. The final two teams were definitely evenly matched, but they decided NOT to go to extra time to determine the winner, as each team had already played a previous game that day and the temperature was in excess of 95 degrees!
• Michael's baseball team finished the season in 4th place and won their first playoff game - the next one is tonight (let's hope for the scheduled thunderstorms to come through and postpone the game and cool down the temperature)
• We spent Memorial Day weekend at the lake with my parents - photos to follow
• Emma had her quarterly checkup with her endocrinologist and her average blood glucose level came down a LOT! We're thrilled
• We participated in our 2nd JDRF Walk on June 1st. Together Mike and I raised over $4100!
• We had baby birds frequent our nest for the 2nd year in a row, and last week we had two ducks waddling through the front yard in the morning while a bunny rabbit was eating leaves off the flowers near the mailbox!

We have sprouts!

Granny and Granddaddy gave Michael an Aerogarden for this birthday. He's quite excited about it and looking forward to growing stuff. He chose to grow salad greens for his first plant.

So Saturday afternoon, Mike and Michael got the aerogarden all set up. He has been watching it often, thinking perhaps he might actually see it grow! It does say that first sprouts will come in 1-3 days - and they were right.

Its been just over 48 hours and we have sprouts. Before long, I think I'll be able to harvest our dinner salad right before dinner!

Dance Competition

After the piano recital this past Fri night, Samantha and I headed South - 5 hours South - to Fayetteville, NC for her dance competition.

This is the first year her teacher chose to attend a convention that had dance workshops in the morning and then competition in the afternoon / evening. The classes were great and I think Samantha learned a lot, but it made for another long night, as all of the competition dances weren't completed and the awards given until well after midnight!









Samantha performed in 5 dances:
Stomp - Funk Tap dance based on the Broadway show with trashcans and buckets!
Beautiful People - Jazz
Paquita - Ballet
Love and War - Lyrical Ballet
Step in Time - Tap



Lyrical Ballet: Love and War


Left - Jazz: Beautiful People. Right - Ballet: Paquita

My favorite, by far, was Step in Time. It is based on the dance in Mary Poppins. It was a large group of girls - about 18 of them. They even had some of the signature chimney sweep kicks like Dick Van Dyke in the movie. I loved it.

That said, they actually performed quite well in all of the dances. Its clear they have been working hard. They were scored by professional dancers using a professional scale - and did very well. In addition to great marks, they earned a 3rd place award for Small Groups for their Stomp tap and 2nd place award for Line Groups for Step in Time. Quite impressive.

Left: Step in Time. Right: Stomp

Piano Recital

We had our annual piano recital this past Friday. It was nice - and short. In comparison with previous years, that have seen 3hours or longer recital, this recital was just over an hour.

Samantha and Michael did great. They had difficult pieces for their level, so I found myself gritting my teeth and holding my breath, hoping that they didn't mess up. Not that I cared if they messed up, but they often lose their focus if they mess up and then can't get back into gear.

After the recital, their piano teacher presented some awards. Samantha and Michael were 2 of only 5 kids in this recital that completed the 200 club - practicing 200 minutes each week since January. That is often a difficult task to accomplish, but we did it. Samantha also passed 7 books this year, 2nd place for all of her students in number of books passed. Miss Turner then gave out some special awards, and Michael earned the "Highest Achievement" award and Samantha the "Most Advanced" award. There weren't many awards given, so I was quite pleased that they earned these. Finally I feel like all my nagging has paid off!

Anyway, I have included some videos of their songs at the recital. Lighting isn't great but you can hear their songs clearly.

Samantha - "Whispering Hope"


Samantha - Spinning Song


Samantha and Michael's duet - O Store Gud


Michael - Rock of Ages


Michael - Solfeggietto

Lots to report on

I have a lot to report on, just not yet.

We have been super busy, which has given me a lot to update on but not a lot of time to do it.

We've had:
- our final drama production
- our Spring piano recital
- Samantha's dance competition

I'll update you on all of it soon - as soon as I feel better from this cold that I think started on Fri morning but was full-force Sat evening and made for a BRUTAL drive home from Fayetteville, NC on Sunday!

And they marched in "two by two"

In stark contrast to the drought of 2007, where we barely received any rain from May - December, this year is stacking up to be the year of the flood.

I'm pretty certain this morning that I saw some giraffes and elephants marching by the house - two by two - with their rain gear on.

It has rained so much that the ground is just saturated, making it tough for soccer games and baseball games, and anything outside. It has rained 2-3 days each week for quite a few weeks now.

But the grass is green and the trees are blooming and the bushes are large and bushy.

$200 closer

I have had a pretty good fundraising week - and so has Mike.

I received a couple of big donations this week, quite a few small ones and then today, I set up a table at the local grocery store to collect donations.

I was reminded how much I hate to fund raise. Ick. Just hate it. I can speak to congressmen and legislative aides and ask them to support legislation, but I'm really uncomfortable when it comes to asking everyday people to part with their money.

But I came away $200 closer to my goal. And much of that was at $1 and $2 increments, so it was a lot of people giving a little for JDRF.

If you want to see how my fundraising is going, check out my walk page at the link above.

Changes

After a long time with the same template, I'm going to upgrade. Blogger has added a lot of new features I haven't been taking advantage of because I had such a customized template.

So, if you come in and parts are missing or incomplete, its because its in process and hopefully will be completed soon.

Not broken!

I guess it was just a matter of time. We've made it all these years with no serious injuries from sports. We have quite a few years left to go, so I'm prepared for the injuries to come.

Michael hurt his big toe at Tae Kwon Do yesterday. He "stubbed" it on the mat while they were playing soccer at the end of class. Mike picked him up and took him to soccer, so I didn't see it until later.

When I looked at it this morning, I was convinced it was broken. It had all the teltale signs of a break - two dark purple lines across the toe that looked like break points, and swelling and bruising spreading into his foot from his toe.

But, the x-ray that was taken today showed no breaks. So, its just jammed, sprained, or dislocated. But he can't run, and he walks with a limp.

Luckily, he doesn't have a soccer game tomorrow, as that is a lot of running. He will probably have to sit and watch his baseball game tomorrow since he can't run.

But, it was just a matter of time before we started dealing with the injuries.

More pitching

Well, it appears that Michael is one of the strongest pitchers on his team. He pitched again earlier this week - in their 3rd game (so he has pitched in their 1st and 3rd games).

It was COLD that day - one of those days you wonder why you aren't sitting inside drinking hot chocolate, its so cold. Michael had forgotten to put his sleeves on under his jersey, so he was COLD! When I found out he was going to pitch, I made him put on a sweatshirt - but it was Samantha's. He didn't want to have anything to do with that! His coach came out to find out what was wrong and I told him he was mad a ME. When I told him why, his coach also told him that he has to have a warm arm so he doesn't get any injuries.

But, Michael went out there and did ok. He would have done better, I'm sure, if he weren't so cold. But, the father of the coach was there - he has coached for years in another little league that has been very successful with multiple trips to state finals - and he said that he had great control for a child his age.

So, I guess this is his destiny - and we'll do our best to nurture that and protect his arm so we aren't dealing with rotator cuff injuries by the time he is 10!

Practice pedaling

Emma had one thing she wanted to ask Santa Claus for Christmas - a Dora tricycle. So, that's what she got from Santa Claus, including a Dora helmet. She pedaled it around the house for the most of the winter time, getting stronger and stronger. By the time the weather warmed up, she was ready to "practice pedaling" outside. So, we walk the tricycle down the driveway for her and get her helmet on, and off she goes. She's a real pro now, although she still tips over from time-to-time if she tries to turn around too quickly.

She asks to "practice pedaling" a lot!

Soccer season has begun

This past weekend, we had our first soccer games of the season. It gets pretty crazy with both of them in soccer and Michael in baseball, but for this day, we were all able to see both games. Oma and Opa were even in town and able to see the games.

So, I thought I'd share a few photos of the kids at their best

I guess this was inevitable too

I guess if you have a relatively talented, left-handed boy who likes baseball, and is pretty good at it, that he'll end up being a pitcher.

Baseball season started Saturday with our first game. The Pirates vs. the Orioles. He's in the Single-A division, which plays 2 innings with a "pitching machine", 2 innings of "player pitch" and then 2 more innings with a "pitching machine".

At Michael's age, they don't really "focus" on one position; instead they rotate the kids around to a variety of positions throughout the season (and actually throughout the game). He played third base, left field, 1st base and pitcher in Saturday's game. He was pitcher during an inning where they actually PITCHED.

Mike had come home from practice a week or so ago and said Michael had thrown some at practice and had done pretty well. He can actually throw the ball pretty hard for a 7-year-old. And while it isn't exactly accurate yet, he still gets it near the plate.

So, we get into the 4th inning and the coach called his name to pitch. Michael goes on the mound and takes a few practice pitches. The coach helps him with his stride (he basically can't pitch a full windup yet, just from the stride) and then the batters come up. He faced 5-6 batters (I didn't keep exact count) and in the end, got all 3 outs of the inning with strike outs!! (See, I was building up the suspense to the great ending!)

So, I guess he'll be pitching some more this season!

The Many Faces of Emma

I posted these on a scrapbooking message board I read, and I thought they were cute, so I thought I'd share (one is pretty blurry but you can see her expression and its great, so I wanted to share it too)

A very important Easter tradition!

Egg Salad!

I enjoyed my first egg salad sandwich of the Easter season today. I completely forgot yesterday that we even HAD eggs to make egg salad.

But today I mixed it up and spread it on my sandwich.

It was quite yummy - and an important part of the Easter tradition!

Inevitable

I guess it was inevitable, considering the natural eyesight of Mike and me, that our kids will need glasses.

The time has come for Samantha. Her 11-year-old checkup with the doctor showed that she was having trouble reading the eye chart. So, she had an appointment with the eye doctor today and these are the glasses she chose.

Easter Fineries

Just a few quick photos of the kids in their Easter Fineries. Not too bad considering we have a 7-year-old who doesn't know how to smile without teeth and a 3-year-old who was being, well, 3.


























And here are some photos of each of them alone.

Green Belt

Michael had his belt graduation this past Friday. He is now a Green Belt. We are quite proud. In addition to his earning this new belt level, he is now considered an "advanced level". They group "low belts" and "high belts" together in classes. Which means, unfortunately, that his class schedule changes.

Michael has been going almost every day recently. The program we enrolled him in has "unlimited" classes, so we have been taking that to heart, and he has been going usually 4-5 days a week. I knew that would change come baseball and soccer season anyway.

I liked his old schedule, it integrated well into the rest of our activities. One of the changes is actually better, the class is earlier in the day (3:30 instead of 4:20). The other day, however, its later and starts running into baseball and soccer, so he often won't be going that day.



But, back to the point at hand. He did a great job at his belt test. His form (which is a sequence of steps, kicks, and punches) was done with precision and authority. The picture of his sparring is classic. It shows him blocking a kick by his opponent. He didn't enjoy the sparring though - I haven't figured out if it was because he was sparring with a girl, or with a grown-up girl. I think it was the "grown-up" part. But, he held his own and then the instructor switched out partners.

I like his instructor. He is great with the kids. I had to chuckle at him at the belt test. He asked Michael if he was allowed to "make contact" with his sparring partner, which he wasn't because his partner wasn't wearing pads. He then asked the boy beside Michael if he was allowed to make "hard contact" with his partner. The boy said "um, no?". The instructor said, "Do you know why?" and the boy didn't, at which point the instructor said "Because she's a girl and you always respect women" :)

Drama Production

A couple of weeks ago, our homeschool group put on its most recent productions. Samantha was in two of the plays: "Much Ado about Ants" in which she was a vacuum cleaner saleswoman, and "Old Man River", in which she was one of the girls in the family.

We had a great time getting the costume and hair together for "Old Man River". It was set in the late 1940s. So, wearing an old poodle skirt of mine with the poodle removed, a white blouse, and flat shoes, Samantha was fixed for a costume. But then there was her hair. She has straight, long, fine hair - nothing like it was worn in the late 1940s. So, after a few experiments with rollers, we were able to get some curls in her hair. She slept in curlers and we pinned in the curls when we took out the curlers, and pulled the pins just before her play. Assisted with a lot of hair spray, I think her hair kept pretty well.

Unfortunately, the camera batteries died after about the 2nd picture that I took. So, I had to depend on the generosity of others who had photos that included Samantha. I don't have any from "Much Ado about Ants" yet, but I do have a few to share from "Old Man River".

One Year Ago

One year ago today, our lives changed. What had been a normal existence for the first 25 months of her life was shaken when Emma was admitted to the hospital with a diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. We knew nothing about what this would mean to our family.

There were days and hours that we wondered if we would make it through. There are days that feel “almost normal” – at least our new normal, and there are days that are downright exhausting.

My husband and I are completely sleep deprived. That’s what happens when you have to get up 1, 2, 3, and sometimes even 4 times a night to make sure your child isn’t at risk of a seizure from low blood sugar, or suffering from high blood sugars. The delicate balance we try to achieve in our lives, and in her body, is often elusive. There is no end in sight to this aspect of the disease – as the finger stick is THE way to definitely know what is going on in her little body.

But Emma’s a trooper. In the past year, she has had her finger stuck approximately 4000 times. 4000 times we’ve had to stick her finger and test her blood to see whether her blood sugar levels are in range or not. In the first 6 months with this disease, she endured more than 1000 insulin injections before moving to an insulin pump – the most wonderful technological invention that has reduced her injections to once every other day and enabled us to achieve a much tighter level of control.

So we are now one year into this disease. One year ago, I never expected to be where I am now. But we made it through – sometimes day by day and often hour-by-hour, but we made it through.

I’d thought I’d share where I was one year ago this evening:

















And here's Emma now!



For our second year, we will be walking as a family in the JDRF Walk for the Cure to raise funds for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. I encourage you to check out our walk page and see how our fundraising is going. If you are local to the DC area and would like to join our team and help us raise funds for JDRF, feel free to email me.

2008 JDRF Walk Page - Emma's Strollers

End of an era!

Today we moved our youngest and last child from a crib into a toddler bed.

We delayed it this long because she had not once tried to climb out of the crib. Emma, like Samantha, much preferred to yell at the top of her lungs for us to come get her out!!

But she also wouldn't / couldn't climb in. We tried and tried to teach her but no luck.

She is fully potty trained during the day and we leave her in diapers / pull ups overnight for now but figured that we needed her to be able to more easily get out of her bed if she needs to.

I have already started getting some individual pieces for her ultimate bedroom set but for now, she is using the same toddler bed that Samantha and Michael used, that we purchased used for a good price when Samantha was 2 1/2 - so we have definitely gotten our money's worth!

She loves her new Big Girl bed!!

Roomba update

A friend asked in a previous comment for an update on the Roomba

I love it.

I now have a schedule built so that it can run in the master bedroom and family room two times a week, and each of the kids rooms, the living/dining room, and the upstairs hallway once a week. And all that time I can be doing something else (especially since the family room will run overnight while we are sleeping!)

Upward Basketball

Yesterday was Michael's last basketball game of the season. This is his second season playing Upward Basketball at a church not too far from Mike's office.

Michael has really improved this year. His coach was surprised that as a lefty, that he continously went to the right side of the court when he dribbled down the court. But by the end of the season, he was going to both sides a bit more. He still thinks that when he's done dribbling, its time to shoot and doesn't think about passing. But, he's getting better. And he is pretty great at defense. He can really guard his man and really prevents him from getting towards the basket or often even getting the ball in the first place.

And he had a great coach this season and we were really fortunate to have him as coach!