a little dc action

you learn through trial and error, right?

we decided to take our crew for a long weekend to the nation's capital

washington, dc.

it seemed like a great idea!

the kids were thrilled.

in retrospect, it was a really good time.

but in the moment,

seriously,

what were we thinking.

three kids, six and under, walking miles and miles and miles.

yes, i had a check list.

yes, we saw it all.

yes, at least one kid was being strollered

while another kid was being carried

while another kid, with the flu, was forced to walk/scooter,

mile upon mile

through smithsonians,

the washington monument,

the white house,

the lincoln memorial,

among many other monuments

all the way to foggy bottom.

and we did not stop there.

we did georgetown too.

and old town alexandria.

it was awesome really.

but did i mention that two of our kids came down with the flu the day we left?

and at least two of our kids were up half the night each night with

fevers, or throw ups?

such a bummer.

poor littles.

i am so super glad we did it.

and i will NOT do it again for at least five years!

 courtesy of elias

 ada was very interested in amelia airhart.

 awesome elias.

 sick sleeping boy.  tired tired mommy.

 scootering barefoot amongst the crowd.

 taking pictures of people.

 one of many giant fights over the coveted scooter.

 old town, alexandria

 ice cream

 metro riding

the end.

a saturday of saturdays.

i am not much for "ordinary".

i used to find it pretty boring.

but remember when i said it was really the little moments that matter?

well, i have been trying to live by that a little more.

i remind myself that we don't HAVE to go out of town every weekend.

we can just enjoy, well, just us.
it is hard for me.
seriously hard.
i like the excitement of beach trips and being super busy.

but,

this weekend we had the saturday of saturdays.

in chapel hill.

we didn't go anywhere.

not really, at least.

which means...

we had soccer game after soccer game.

little trips to pick out pumpkins 

and play at local farms

we decorated for fall

and had movie night which really means

the big kids plop in front of a movie

and reza, hanna and i have a dinner date with take out.

not too shabby, i believe.
it was pretty wonderful.

and to clear up any rumors.

i am far from a soccer mom.

my son does not even chase the ball,

he simple speeds around the field for an hour pretending he is a super hero

and growling at opponents.

loudly.

loudly enough to get the attention of the entire audience.

he loves it.

my oldest may run off the field in tears after she is asked to be an extra player for the opponents team.

and may sob as she begs the coach to "change her team!"

but she also may prove us all wrong and steal the ball and dribble all the way down the field 

on her own.

she loves it.

and a certain one year old tends to strip her clothes off

and run onto the field mid-game

and a certain mother tends to forget water bottles

or snacks

or extra diapers.

only sometimes.

beware of super heroes on the field

 number 3.  that's my boy. performing for the crowd.

 phillips farm and corn maze

 i do not recommend doing a difficult corn maze with small children.  by  the end the kids were screaming "get me outta here!" and hanna was fast asleep due to boredom.

doesn't reza look excited?

my little soccer girl.  she absolutely loves it and tries so hard the whole time!

i hope your saturday was as kind as mine!

adventures in pretzel making

i am not a chef.

and i certainly have never worked with yeast before.

but after being given several days of rain,

the littles and i decided to try our hands  at pretzel making.

seriously,

it was easy,

and time consuming,

and 

DELICIOUS.

 we followed a recipe

found here:

http://cookingoncloverlane.blogspot.com/2011/09/soft-pretzels.html

then we waited.

and waited

and watched the recycling truck

and went for a nature walk

barefoot

in the mud.

when we came back,

the yeast had working it's magic.

we made dough-snakes.

and

VIOLA!

it was a success!
(and it was lunch along with a little applesauce.)
yum.

little critter

tomorrow my hanna will be 21 months old.

as in, in just three more months she will be two.

2.

as in, you don't count months anymore.

she is truly my little critter.

she is fabulously funny,

silly,

clever,

agile,

bossy,

and

critter-like.

the best part is that she thinks she is the funniest kid on the planet.

she laughs at herself all day long.

i can honestly say that if i could bottle up a feeling,

i would bottle up the feeling she fills me with everyday.

she is happiness.

and 

she is growing  up.

happy 21 months my hannie.

xoxo

today i popped open an old ikea tent for her, threw in a few books- about dinos (her personal fav)- and she was entertained for an hour!  the only problem was that she wanted me to read with her, in the tiny tent, for the entire hour.  but she sure was happy.