Go to a Museum… Without going downtown
Want to drive to a museum that has plenty of parking and isn’t very crowded? Go to the College Park Aviation Museum! We just got home from this destination and it was definitely fun! It’s not enormous, but it has lots of hands-on activities for little ones and my 5-year-old was engrossed!
It’s $4 for adults and $2 for kids; kids under 2 are free. Another FANTASTIC aspect of this museum is that it is adjacent to the College Park Airport (I didn’t even know there was a College Park airport). This is free to look at (obviously) and was almost as good as the museum inside (according to my 5-year-old).
We saw a plane take off when we were leaving !!!!!!!!
Did you now that The Wright Brothers worked on their planes in College Park right after they were at Kitty Hawk?!
While you are there you can have lunch at the 94th Aero Squadron Restaurant which is around the corner from the museum, but no food or drink is allowed inside.
** While you are in College Park, fill up your tank; Regular gas is $1.55 per gallon ! **
Thinking of something to do… Go Bowling!
I love this upcoming week, the end-of-the-year, play-with-toys week. It’s lazy and fun and always a good time to do something new and a little special with your kids.
I just found a great destination to take your kids for a few hours –
My son, who turned 5 just over a week ago, had never been bowling, I hadn’t been since I was a kid.
But we went to try something new, and had a great time!
I had forgotten the nice thing about bowling: it’s not that hard 
Strike! in Bethesda has ramps to help little ones roll their bowling balls, and puts up rails on lanes that have kids bowling in them so – NO GUTTER BALLS! Isn’t that brilliant?!
Like I said, we had a great time bowling and even had lunch there. They have tons of choices, good food and great prices.
And bowling a game is only $6.25.
Not a bad way to spend an afternoon, especially when it’s cold outside.
PS- does anyone know of a good duckpin bowling alley in the DC Metro area?
Yes, I had a stove growing up….
It started out innocently enough, we were going to Build-A-Bear yesterday and my son asked me,
‘Did you ever go to Build-A-Bear with Nanny when you were a little girl?’ (‘Nanny’ is my mom.)
‘No, we didn’t have Build-A-Bear.’
Then I blew his cell-phone-obsessed mind-
‘We didn’t have cell phones either.’
‘Did you have home phones?’
‘Yes.’
‘But you know what we didn’t have? We didn’t have microwaves when I was a little girl.’
Wow… silence… more silence… absorbing this all…
and then the most logical question:
‘Did you have Kitchens?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you have a stove?’
‘Yes.’
‘Did you have a refrigerator?’
‘Yes, we had everything that is in our kitchen right now, except the microwave.’
‘… (with an expression now like he’s not sure to believe me)… REALLY?’
Just Another Reason Why I Love Mr. Rogers
(Do you think this looks like Mr. Rogers? Yeah, I’m thinking this doesn’t look like him either, but it was one of the pictures that came up when I entered- ‘sweater’ into Microsoft Free Clip Art and I thought the blue v-neck reminded me of Mr. Rogers… so go with me this time: that this is a picture of Mr. Rogers.)
To be serious, I just read the following quote from Fred Rogers about how important it is to nurture babies, and indirectly, how important mothers are:
“I believe that infants and babies whose mothers give them loving comfort whenever and however they can are truly the fortunate ones. I think they’re more likely to find life’s times of trouble manageable,
and I think they may also turn out to be the adults most able to pass loving concern along to the generations that follow after them.”
-Mr. Rogers
We’re doing the world’s most important work here ladies… and gents.
2 Birthday Parties… I’m Recovering
On Thursday I had 22 children in my home for my son’s birthday party; We had games, a magician and a pinata. Thursday evening we had both sides of our family over for a family birthday party. Friday morning we put up our Christmas tree, but my son didn’t want to decorate because he wanted to play with his birthday presents. He then went to my parents for a sleep-over…
So last night my husband and I canceled our dinner reservations, stayed home, decorated our tree…
and relaxed,
and loved it.
And most of all, our son had a great birthday.
Note to self: next year I have our Little Guy’s birthday party somewhere besides our home
Q & A with the Famed Mom Blogger and Sports-Fan-Extraordinaire: Sarah and The Goon Squad
Sarah of ‘Sarah and the Goon Squad’ is a mom to twins, a great writer and mom blogger, and a sports fan/expert. Getting frustrated watching the Redskins recently, I emailed her about the possibility of a football Q & A…
1) Any reasons you see that the Redskins aren’t doing better after such an amazing start?
They have had a lot of injuries this season. Even though most of the stars are back in the starting lineup, it is tough to for a team that is lining 2nd or 3rd string guys up against starters.
That, and crappy luck.
2) Were you always a big sports fan or did you decide if you can’t beat them, join them?
It happened in college. A lot of my friends were guys. I remember sitting around watching a football game in about 1992 and having somebody explain downs to me. I think a lot of people don’t like football because it is so complicated. Once you understand the game, it is fabulous.
Also, I went to college in Orlando in the early 90’s. The Magic were great back then and so they were fun to follow.
Just after college I had a roommate who was a figure skater. She was very into Ice Hockey, and I’ve been a fan ever since.
I also really love going to sporting events. You can’t beat the vibe at a really great home game.
3) What joy do you get from sports… what are non-sport moms missing out on?
I like the excitement of sports. Sporting events are family friendly. They are something people of all ages can enjoy. As a bonus, they can improve math skills.
4) Sometimes I get really frustrated watching football because it seems that some players lack motivation,
or determination,
or the resolve, that frankly, moms use every day…
What do you think NFL players can learn from moms?
I think if they can learn to work hard, finish school and be respectful they are ahead of most of the other NFL players. Sure you have stand up guys like John Lynch, but you also have a lot of guys that don’t know about the real world. They make a ton of money and get away with murder. If they get hurt young they won’t have any source of income. Their parents have to teach them how to be successful even without sports.
5) Anything else you’d like to add?
Call me if you have an extra ticket!
Enjoy the rest of the season and a huge ‘Thank You’ to Sarah !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Not Busy Enough? Throw a Birthday Party!
Christmas is the 25th, Kwanzaa always starts on the 26th and Hanukkah starts the evening of the 21st this year. So no matter who you are, we’re all basically on the same schedule this year…
except for those of us who as a result of:
poor planning,
or a lack of planning,
missed due dates,
early births,
or just ‘seeing what would happen’… now have a child born this time of year.
I would not trade my son or the day he was born (December 18th) for anything in the world. It is a great honor and pleasure to be his mother….
Now, with that said: candles, candy canes, wreaths, Santa… Plus: balloons, confetti, birthday cakes, ice cream. It’s a lot.
This is a busy time of year for everyone, needless to say. But the hard part for moms with holiday birthdays to plan isn’t the organization part; moms are good at the ‘whole organization thing’.
It’s the COORDINATION and TIME part that makes this hard-
Coordinating when we are celebrating what, when to emphasize what, when we are decorating, when we have the kids party, when we have the family party…
Last year my son came up with the awesome tradition (I thought) of celebrating his birthday, on his birthday (December 18th), and THEN decorating for Christmas AFTER his birthday. We went out the morning of the 19th, got our tree, decorated and had a whole week to get excited for Christmas.
I blogged about this last year on DC Metro Moms and WAS PSYCHED.
Perfect I thought, we’ll always have a sweet, unique Christmas tradition that no decorations go up until the 19th and who cares, because it will be a great reminder of our wondrous Christmas when we brought home our Little Man.
And this is the unique way our family celebrates this season…
There’s just one problem that I’ve just been reminded of:
4-year-olds change their minds… a lot.
My son just asked me a couple of days ago when our tree will be going up. I told him we’ve been over this a bunch of times- the 19th, the morning after his birthday.
And here it comes: He wants to decorate before his birthday this year, he decided.
The only problem – I have at least 20 4-and-5-year-olds coming to our home for a birthday party on the afternoon of the 18th, and both sides of our family coming over for an evening birthday party on the 18th too-
I can’t fit a Christmas tree and all the decorations with an extra 20+ children, plus adults, plus a magician in my house.
I explained this to my Little Man and he’s fine with it. But I’m kicking myself for being almost too concerned about ‘making his birthday special’ that I’m not giving Christmas enough of a build-up.
Solution: next year we’ll have my Little Guy’s birthday party somewhere besides our home (although I love home birthday parties) and we’ll decorate for Christmas BEFORE his birthday…
unless he changes his mind again.
Post Script: I think I need to take this whole birthday thing year by year. And relax. I’m making my son’s birthday special, and that’s what’s important.
At least I’m used to this: my dad’s birthday occasionally falls on Easter, my mom’s birthday sometimes falls on Thanksgiving, my brother’s birthday is the day after Halloween and my mother-in-law’s birthday sometimes is on Mother’s Day.
Enjoy the Holidays and birthdays you are celebrating right now
An abbreviated version of this can be read over at DC Metro Moms Blog.
Plum Pudding Has No Plums… Discuss
I had a music channel on TV, as I typically do. I usually listen to the ‘light classical’ channel but now have switched to the ‘sounds of the season’ channel since it is holiday time. Our Verizon Fios music channels feature factoids on the screen relevant to the music playing…
well, kinda relevant, for instance, this just came up:
‘The Traditional Holiday Dish of Plum Pudding has no plums in it. ‘
Really? Are you kidding me? This hit me as a bit absurd…
So I investigated.
Plum pudding is made from milk, soft bread crumbs, shortening, molasses, raisins, flour, finely chopped candied citron, ground cinnamon, baking soda, salt, allspice and cloves.
And it’s not really pudding, it’s more like a cake.
So why is it called ‘Plum Pudding’?
In the 17th century, plums referred to raisins or other fruits.
And there you have it! Get a good night’s sleep tonight, no need to toss and turn over the plum pudding question anymore,
Thank me later.
‘Kids Eat Free’ Nights!
Busy running around? No, me neither.
Take a break and go for dinner with your kids and your hubby to Austin Grill.
We went to Austin Grill last night for dinner. It’s quick, but not too quick, and the food is good.
BUT THE BEST PART is that ‘Kids eat free’ EVERY TUESDAY at Austin Grill,
at every location in Maryland, DC and Virginia.
Also right now at Cafe Deluxe, Kids get a FREE SUNDAE for dessert on TUESDAYS… at all 3 of their locations.
Our family loves going to Cafe Deluxe because the food is great, the service is wonderful and like Austin Grill, Cafe Deluxe is very kid-friendly.
Both restaurants have great kids menus and neither restaurant rushes you, yet keeps dinner moving so your child won’t get restless.
Enjoy!
And also a big thank you to A Parent In Silver Spring for first telling me about ‘Kids Eat Free’ Tuesdays at Austin Grill!
A Festivus Miracle… At the Post Office!
Ahhh, the post office at holiday time- it’s crowded, cold and s…l…o…w.
Yesterday afternoon my Little Man and I went to the post office to send out our Christmas cards. They were all addressed and done, but 1 Christmas card we send out goes to our friends in England, so we needed to wait in line for extra postage for that 1 card…
We waited in line which stretched the whole length of the post office. I heard an older man behind me mutter, “Can you believe they only have 2 people working right now?!” Another lady in back of me looked like if you locked eyes with her, she might haul off and hit you. Everyone was ‘busy’ and ‘in a hurry’.
There were no other children in the post office. People were taking time from work or shopping or cookie-baking or whatever else you do at 3:00 in the afternoon. And no one was pleased that the line wasn’t moving very quickly.
Then my Little Man started to mosey around the post office and broke into song,
‘Sleigh bells ring, are ya listenin’?
In the lane, snow is glistenin,
A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight,
Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland.’
I looked around and everyone was a little calmer. My soon-to-be 5-year-old glanced around and continued…
‘In the meadow we can build a snow man…’
And the crotchety old lady a few people in front of me started to sway.
‘And pretend that he is Parson Brown…’
And a few people started to smile.
And the line started to move a little faster. And then it was our turn. We paid the extra postage and turned around and everyone looked at my Little Man and smiled. He then, as he is so prone to do, said good-bye to everyone in line and waved…
And then he locked eyes with that fierce-looking woman behind me. ‘Watch out’, I thought. And she smiled at him.
We walked out to our car and my son exclaimed, “Well, that was fun.”
And I thought I heard, as we drove out of sight,
‘Don’t get stressed, Have some fun,
Remember preschool- and you just might’.
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
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