Remember back when you first found out whether or not it was a boy or a girl? You probably immediately had visions of throwing footballs, going to baseball games and in-your-face-shouting-matches over the car keys (if it was a boy) or ballet recitals, two-for-one pedicures and in-your-face-shouting-matches over knee-length vs. barely-there (if it was a girl).
Me? Not so much. I was an English major in college, an unofficial minor in women's studies and bona fide grrrrrrila girl. When I found out my son was, in fact, a boy, my major hang up was how to make his room as neutral as I could, while still staying in the society-dictated (and daddy-to-be-preferred) blue palette. Enter shades of marine blue, pale blue and green, boats and birds. I stayed away from the football-emblazoned sleepers and wouldn't have bought a onesie that said "Daddy's Li'l Rookie" if you'd paid me to take it out of the store. Every once in a while as he got older I'd succumb to a shirt with a dump truck in his favorite color (orange) on it, but I made sure to balance that out with a pale heathered lavendar shirt that picked out "LOVE" on the front. (For the record: he looked beautiful in both.) Likewise no gender specific toys really, yet move the clock forward to his second birthday - the child knew cars, trucks, buses, boats, planes, trains and the occasional starfighter. Now, at almost 5, he plays Transformers and Star Wars with a furrow of concentration between his eyebrows and a huge grin. It must be in the genes.
So when it came time for baby #2 to make her gender known, I'd already somewhat given up my rigid stance, at least in my subconscious. And Daddy took the reins and ran with them. Her wall colors? Purple and purple. Her bedding set? Shades of purple with flowers and butterflies. Gone was the pretty green, ivory and light red dragonfly set I'd mentioned - this was a room for a tiny princess. Except that she wasn't a princess, dammit (I thought to myself). She was a little girl. MY little girl. A little girl who, as she grew, developed a penchant for talking, telephones, jewelry and all things sparkly, shiny and PINK. This is ironic because, in a conversation in the late-pregnancy days, I remember saying "She won't wear pink. I just won't buy it. She won't know any different. Khaki is good, and blue and green. It'll be fine." This is also ironic because I wear dresses on my anniversary, at weddings and funerals. That's about it. My daughter puts on a dress, looks down at herself, smiles, swishes her hips and says, "pretty!" And she is.
Today's purchases: Skechers Twinkletoes. Hot pink coat with pink and purple plaid lining. Pajamas with castles on them. Put them all together with a pearl bead necklace and suddenly, it's Princess, enter stage right.
Mama, exit stage left and head straight to the dressing room for your steaming plate of crow. Tastes like chicken.
And for the joy on her face, I'd eat every bit and ask for more.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
$1 Movies at Regal Cinemas Manassas
Having two children who were born in Woodbridge, I was a ginormous fan of AMC's Summer Movie Camp. What's not to love? You go the week before, you buy your tickets, you show up day of, no line, you buy popcorn, you sit down, you watch, you laugh, you leave. Excellent.
However, given that AMC decided to cancel their summer program for the 2011 season (sad!) and coupled with the fact that my family and I moved out to Bristow in the spring, I'm now in the market for a new dollar-kids-movie-on-the-weekday venue.
Enter Regal Cinemas Manassas. Remember all that stuff I said earlier about what's to love about AMC? Yep, after reading this you'll be missing it as much as I do - even if you'd never been to an AMC before in your life.
The past Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The perfect day for the pool, except we were all a little tired of the pool. Great day, thought Mom, for a movie. Let's go see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
I drove up to the theater at 9:31 and was greeted by the sight of a line of parents, children, and (what I assume to be) various daycare and church groups snaking from the front doors halfway down the building. This did not bode well for my littlest, who at two is not fond of standing still in lines. As it got closer to 10:00, the line moved along and we bought our tickets right around 10:07 (yep, almost 10 minutes after the movie started, and we got there almost half an hour early). After having bought a kid's pack (small drink, small popcorn and bag of fruit snacks, $5.75) and taken a fast restroom break, we made our way into the theater, only to find...no available seats. Not one. Not even that lone, one-third-of-the-way-across-the-fourth-row-from-the-top no-mans-land seat.
Trekked out of the pitch black theater juggling a two year old, four year old and a tray of food, to find a manager. The one I found was having his ear chewed by another mother annoyed that it had taken so long to get through the line that she and her kids had missed the beginning of the movie (can't blame her for that, I was less than ecstatic myself). After she had her say, it was my turn. I suggested to the manager that they allow pre-show ticketing (his response: corporate does not allow this, nor are they allowed to open the doors any earlier than 30 minutes prior to showtime) and then asked what to do about the no-seat-in-our-movie situation. He informed me that theater 9 was showing the same movie and I should go there - please note: there was *no* signage to this effect anywhere.
Cue trekking to the other theater, which was pleasantly not crowded - perhaps because they were showing a movie with a younger target market (VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything). Luckily I hadn't mentioned that we were supposed to be seeing "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"!
The trip after that was fine. The movie quality was great, the patrons were great, my kids were well-behaved and enthralled by the antics of the VeggieTales crew, and my stress level went down considerably.
So.
Pros: Inexpensive for tickets (can't beat $1 a seat). Movie quality excellent.
Cons: You may not get to see the movie you originally planned on seeing. You may have to stand in line a good long while for tickets (or if -as I do - you have a small, impatient child, partner up and get one partner to stand in line while the other amuses the kids elsewhere until showtime). You may need (or choose) to forgo concession in favor of a seat. (And that's another thing - it's not like you can leave your kids in the theater - if they're small - to go get food, and if you get up to grab some popcorn you'll lose your seat! But I digress.) Pee fast.
Overall review: OK. I love movies, and even though it was a lot of hassle and stress, my kids loved it.
However, given that AMC decided to cancel their summer program for the 2011 season (sad!) and coupled with the fact that my family and I moved out to Bristow in the spring, I'm now in the market for a new dollar-kids-movie-on-the-weekday venue.
Enter Regal Cinemas Manassas. Remember all that stuff I said earlier about what's to love about AMC? Yep, after reading this you'll be missing it as much as I do - even if you'd never been to an AMC before in your life.
The past Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny. The perfect day for the pool, except we were all a little tired of the pool. Great day, thought Mom, for a movie. Let's go see "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs".
I drove up to the theater at 9:31 and was greeted by the sight of a line of parents, children, and (what I assume to be) various daycare and church groups snaking from the front doors halfway down the building. This did not bode well for my littlest, who at two is not fond of standing still in lines. As it got closer to 10:00, the line moved along and we bought our tickets right around 10:07 (yep, almost 10 minutes after the movie started, and we got there almost half an hour early). After having bought a kid's pack (small drink, small popcorn and bag of fruit snacks, $5.75) and taken a fast restroom break, we made our way into the theater, only to find...no available seats. Not one. Not even that lone, one-third-of-the-way-across-the-fourth-row-from-the-top no-mans-land seat.
Trekked out of the pitch black theater juggling a two year old, four year old and a tray of food, to find a manager. The one I found was having his ear chewed by another mother annoyed that it had taken so long to get through the line that she and her kids had missed the beginning of the movie (can't blame her for that, I was less than ecstatic myself). After she had her say, it was my turn. I suggested to the manager that they allow pre-show ticketing (his response: corporate does not allow this, nor are they allowed to open the doors any earlier than 30 minutes prior to showtime) and then asked what to do about the no-seat-in-our-movie situation. He informed me that theater 9 was showing the same movie and I should go there - please note: there was *no* signage to this effect anywhere.
Cue trekking to the other theater, which was pleasantly not crowded - perhaps because they were showing a movie with a younger target market (VeggieTales: The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything). Luckily I hadn't mentioned that we were supposed to be seeing "Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs"!
The trip after that was fine. The movie quality was great, the patrons were great, my kids were well-behaved and enthralled by the antics of the VeggieTales crew, and my stress level went down considerably.
So.
Pros: Inexpensive for tickets (can't beat $1 a seat). Movie quality excellent.
Cons: You may not get to see the movie you originally planned on seeing. You may have to stand in line a good long while for tickets (or if -as I do - you have a small, impatient child, partner up and get one partner to stand in line while the other amuses the kids elsewhere until showtime). You may need (or choose) to forgo concession in favor of a seat. (And that's another thing - it's not like you can leave your kids in the theater - if they're small - to go get food, and if you get up to grab some popcorn you'll lose your seat! But I digress.) Pee fast.
Overall review: OK. I love movies, and even though it was a lot of hassle and stress, my kids loved it.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Our Bucket List
My dear friend (who runs http://pwcmoms.blogspot.com/) is running a fabulous giveaway and asked for bucket lists (and progress made on them). My first thought was, how can it be almost a month into summer? I guess getting settled and fixing up a beautiful foreclosure answers that, but summer doesn't last forever and I need to get a move on accomplishing some FUN stuff for a change! (Thanks for the reminder, most awesome friend K!) That said, this is the bucket list that my family came up with. It's sort of jumbled by who asked for what, but it's pretty comprehensive!
Go to the beach - The VA Marine Science Museum has a stingray pool, and you can actually touch the stingrays! I love it there. And we could stay at Great Wolf Lodge on the way down - that would be awesome!
Go to the park - I think Ian was talking about Kids Dominion, so that one may have to wait until school starts as we're not Montclair residents, although I'm also very interested in checking out Clemyjontri in Mclean.
Go to Pepere's house - DONE. We were there in June!
Make smores - I have no idea where this one came from, but it sounds yummy to me!
See a movie with the kids - Jason took Ian to see Cars 2 (and I was appalled at what I heard about it, so I may be glad I wasn't there even though I love Pixar like mad), and I have plans to take them to see one or two movies at Regal's Dollar Days in August (I'm not impressed with their selection's appropriateness).
Sign up for the summer reading program - DONE!
Go to the pool - DONE, pretty much every day!
Find a farmer's market - I miss the Dale City market so much, there must be an equivalent here in B'stow?
Plant a small garden - This one will have to wait until next year, unless my dying fruit bushes and tiny cherry tomato plant count! LOL
Go to a PYO fruit place and pick our own - This one pretty much speaks for itself. Want to do it, never been - maybe in the fall when it's cooler?
Go to Burke Lake Park - yep, we've lived in NoVa for YEARS and never been (but we've heard fabulous things about the carousel!).
Go to House of Bounce - this is a new addition. Since moving out to Bristow, Ian has felt the lack of Kids in Motion keenly - plus, I made the mistake of telling him we were getting tickets at the library last week (not knowing the libraries gave out different coupons - whoops, my bad). Needless to say, I've heard of little else since then!
Head to the National Aquarium in DC - Very interested in their toddler-specific area, and along the same lines...
Head south to Children's Museum of Richmond - Yep. Lived here for years. Never been. You'd think we never get out, but I swear we do. :)
The National Zoo in DC and the Baltimore Aquarium are on the list as well, but with the heat they'll probably be "Fall Bucket List" items as well.
Go to the beach - The VA Marine Science Museum has a stingray pool, and you can actually touch the stingrays! I love it there. And we could stay at Great Wolf Lodge on the way down - that would be awesome!
Go to the park - I think Ian was talking about Kids Dominion, so that one may have to wait until school starts as we're not Montclair residents, although I'm also very interested in checking out Clemyjontri in Mclean.
Go to Pepere's house - DONE. We were there in June!
Make smores - I have no idea where this one came from, but it sounds yummy to me!
See a movie with the kids - Jason took Ian to see Cars 2 (and I was appalled at what I heard about it, so I may be glad I wasn't there even though I love Pixar like mad), and I have plans to take them to see one or two movies at Regal's Dollar Days in August (I'm not impressed with their selection's appropriateness).
Sign up for the summer reading program - DONE!
Go to the pool - DONE, pretty much every day!
Find a farmer's market - I miss the Dale City market so much, there must be an equivalent here in B'stow?
Plant a small garden - This one will have to wait until next year, unless my dying fruit bushes and tiny cherry tomato plant count! LOL
Go to a PYO fruit place and pick our own - This one pretty much speaks for itself. Want to do it, never been - maybe in the fall when it's cooler?
Go to Burke Lake Park - yep, we've lived in NoVa for YEARS and never been (but we've heard fabulous things about the carousel!).
Go to House of Bounce - this is a new addition. Since moving out to Bristow, Ian has felt the lack of Kids in Motion keenly - plus, I made the mistake of telling him we were getting tickets at the library last week (not knowing the libraries gave out different coupons - whoops, my bad). Needless to say, I've heard of little else since then!
Head to the National Aquarium in DC - Very interested in their toddler-specific area, and along the same lines...
Head south to Children's Museum of Richmond - Yep. Lived here for years. Never been. You'd think we never get out, but I swear we do. :)
The National Zoo in DC and the Baltimore Aquarium are on the list as well, but with the heat they'll probably be "Fall Bucket List" items as well.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Tina Fey's Prayer For Her Daughter
First, Lord: No tattoos. May neither Chinese symbol for truth nor Winnie-the-Pooh holding the FSU logo stain her tender haunches.
May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.
May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.
Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short - a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day - And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.
O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.
And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.
And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me.
And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.
Amen.
May she be Beautiful but not Damaged, for it’s the Damage that draws the creepy soccer coach’s eye, not the Beauty.
When the Crystal Meth is offered, May she remember the parents who cut her grapes in half And stick with Beer.
Guide her, protect her When crossing the street, stepping onto boats, swimming in the ocean, swimming in pools, walking near pools, standing on the subway platform, crossing 86th Street, stepping off of boats, using mall restrooms, getting on and off escalators, driving on country roads while arguing, leaning on large windows, walking in parking lots, riding Ferris wheels, roller-coasters, log flumes, or anything called “Hell Drop,” “Tower of Torture,” or “The Death Spiral Rock ‘N Zero G Roll featuring Aerosmith,” and standing on any kind of balcony ever, anywhere, at any age.
Lead her away from Acting but not all the way to Finance. Something where she can make her own hours but still feel intellectually fulfilled and get outside sometimes And not have to wear high heels.What would that be, Lord? Architecture? Midwifery? Golf course design? I’m asking You, because if I knew, I’d be doing it, Youdammit.
May she play the Drums to the fiery rhythm of her Own Heart with the sinewy strength of her Own Arms, so she need Not Lie With Drummers.
Grant her a Rough Patch from twelve to seventeen. Let her draw horses and be interested in Barbies for much too long, For childhood is short - a Tiger Flower blooming Magenta for one day - And adulthood is long and dry-humping in cars will wait.
O Lord, break the Internet forever, That she may be spared the misspelled invective of her peers And the online marketing campaign for Rape Hostel V: Girls Just Wanna Get Stabbed.
And when she one day turns on me and calls me a Bitch in front of Hollister, Give me the strength, Lord, to yank her directly into a cab in front of her friends, For I will not have that Shit. I will not have it.
And should she choose to be a Mother one day, be my eyes, Lord, that I may see her, lying on a blanket on the floor at 4:50 A.M., all-at-once exhausted, bored, and in love with the little creature whose poop is leaking up its back.“My mother did this for me once,” she will realize as she cleans feces off her baby’s neck. “My mother did this for me.” And the delayed gratitude will wash over her as it does each generation and she will make a Mental Note to call me.
And she will forget. But I’ll know, because I peeped it with Your God eyes.
Amen.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Attack plan for the house
Week 1 (April 4-10) Week 2 (April 11-17) Week 3 (April 18-24) Upper floor: Megan's room, Ian's room, linen closet, hall bath, master bath, master bedroom Main floor: Kitchen, dining room, living room Lower floor: Rec room, under the stairs, utility room, bathroom
Friday, April 1, 2011
2011 - The Year of the ACK
The roller coaster...it just keeps on rollin' on. We have a ratified contract on our house, with a settlement date of end of April. Ack. We have bid on a house, but haven't heard anything yet. ACK. Nerves. Stress. Stress. Nerves. And yet. And yet I find myself planning for this still-up-in-the-air, everything-could-still-fall-apart house. I love it. It's got everything we said we wanted (except a fridge, and that's a detail that's easy to add - money + Best Buy = nice cold food). It's got great schools. It is in walking distance to the elementary school (bonus!). It's a better commute. It's got a yard, not just a postage stamp in the front and a deck surrounded by a ruffle of uneven flagstones in the back. It has hardwood floors on the middle level. It has an extra room. It has a two car garage (this is less imprtant to me, but more important to my better half). And for the plans! The house is painted in neutrals right now, which is great for the vast majority of the house but less great for the bedrooms. Megan's room is purple right now, but I'm leaning green in the new house (Disney, Pooh Corner and Christopher Robins Swing). Ian's room will most likely stay blue, although maybe moving toward two ice-blue (Behr 580A-1/2, Icy Bay and Rainsong) walls with one royal blue (Behr, SG570, Sapphire Lace) and one red (Behr, SG170, Licorice Stick) wall. I'm also thinking about trying to do a racing stripe around the room.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Her first ponytail
She looks so much older than not-quite-two. I can see her with a shorter cut, too - though not for a while. I need to keep her my baby.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Not much of a blog post
More of a to-do list, but hey - it has to go somewhere, and in case anyone's interested in why I'm not on FB, this is what I'm doing. :)
- touch up paint in kitchen
- clean and install cabinet hardware
- clear counters
- clean off Donkey Kong
- paint wall behind J's desk
- paint wall beside laundry room door
- take tape off ceiling behind my desk, touch up if necessary
- finish baseboards upstairs
- clean bathrooms
- get scrap stuff out of bedroom closet
- pack up books in bedroom
- clear floor and vac
- touch up paint in J's bathroom
- paint hallway
- paint bedroom wall
- call G&S (Wed, 2/9)
- call MP (Mon, 2/14)
- call Derek (Tues, 2/8)
- touch up paint in kitchen
- clean and install cabinet hardware
- clear counters
- clean off Donkey Kong
- paint wall behind J's desk
- paint wall beside laundry room door
- take tape off ceiling behind my desk, touch up if necessary
- finish baseboards upstairs
- clean bathrooms
- get scrap stuff out of bedroom closet
- pack up books in bedroom
- clear floor and vac
- touch up paint in J's bathroom
- paint hallway
- paint bedroom wall
- call G&S (Wed, 2/9)
- call MP (Mon, 2/14)
- call Derek (Tues, 2/8)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)