The Tao of Scrapbooking
Tao: a way, path, route, doctrine, principle, philosophy
I’ve never… scrapbooked. There, I said it.
I have lots of photo albums filled with pictures of my son. I even have them organized into ‘just my son’s life’ albums and general family photo albums…
So now I’m going to further document my son’s life with scrapbooks-
nursery school programs, a little artwork, the lock of hair from his first haircut, leftover pictures that I have in a box…
and then it hit me as I was going through all this stuff-
My Scrapbook is a Book of Scrap… or it will be– because I haven’t done it yet…
Or will it?
Click here to continue reading at DC Metro Moms…
DC Metro Moms Party with ‘Top Chef’ Spike at his ‘Good Stuff Eatery’
What do you get when you cross-
Good Food,
Beer,
MILKSHAKES,
A Bravo Top Chef,
and those wild and crazy DC Metro Mom Contributors?
Well, a FANTASTIC time, of course!
The place? Good Stuff Eatery on Capitol Hill! Good Stuff? Are you kidding me?
I love this place- look up at my blog title… I love ‘good stuff’ !!
‘Bravo Top Chef’ contestant Spike Mendelsohn showed off his culinary skills last night for DC Metro Mom contributors. This is his new restaurant, specializing in burgers and fries and salads and other comfort food. I love that there are delicious milkshakes on the menu and
I especially love that I got carded when I ordered a beer!!
There’s Spike with some of our lovely DC Metro Mom Contributors…
He’s super nice, and talented- I loved my salad!
Everyone had fun; we always do when we get together…
Most of the seating is upstairs, I like this layout…
And there’s the infamous famous Jessica (A Parent In Silver Spring) holding her beer…
What a fabulous time: good food, good friends.
Spike’s new restaurant serves really good food and is reasonably priced…
AND he is working right now on opening a ‘pizza joint’ next door- SUPER COOL!
Thank you to Quaker Oats for appreciating Moms!
When My Husband Didn’t Propose…
I was reading a terrific blogger buddy of mine the other day who also writes for one of DC Metro Moms sister sites, Philly Moms, and lol laughed out loud. She was talking about telling her husband exactly what to get her for her birthday, and if he didn’t have time to get it, she would get it- just let her know. I do the same thing. I never say, ‘surprise me’…
But maybe I come by this honestly… since that fateful birthday I thought I was getting a ring… and got a corner cabinet instead.
Yeah, you heard me right. Not that the cabinet wasn’t nice, but what began as an honest, nice, birthday evening planned by now-husband, got caught up and tangled in miscommunication and misinterpreted cues and then misled expectations.
It all started when he said he had a special surprise planned for my birthday, and that it was something that I had really been wanting… Oh, and that he had to go by my parents’ house before he could give it to me…
Click Here to Continue Reading the debacle at DC Metro Moms… it’s worth it…
My No-Bias Boy
My 5-year-old son LOVES cars… and trucks, and SUVs, and crossovers, and hybrids. He loves buses too, any type of vehicle, really.
He knows all the different brand logos and names and points them out to me in traffic. I honestly think this helped him learn to read.
“Look Mom, there’s a Honda.”
“Mom, there’s a Chevy!”
And his favorite,
“Mom! It’s a Toyota!”
Both of his grandmothers have Toyotas, thus, it IS his favorite type of car. And the topper this year: his preschool teacher drives a Toyota too- he’s over the moon! Yes, 5-year-old boys care about this kind of stuff.
I’ve made a point to not talk about car prices with my son. I don’t want to convey, even subconsciously, that when something is more expensive, it’s better. Because, especially us moms know, that is just not true.
He makes no judgment on how cool a car is in relation to its price.
It’s so fun to look at the world through his eyes- with no bias; if a car has a cool trunk, or headlights, or door handle, he points it out and he thinks it’s cool. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a Honda or a Hyundai, a Volkswagen or a Volvo, a Fiat or a Ferrari.
But it really hit home the other day.
I took my car in to be serviced at the dealership and we had to wait for a few minutes until it was done.
I looked across the street and said, “I’m going to show you a car you’ve never seen up close before.”
We walked across the small street to the (very small) Bentley dealership. The door was locked, but was opened for us. I asked if we could look at the 3 Bentleys they had in the small showroom. The guy at the desk said, ‘sure’ and continued his phone conversation. We were the only ones in there. There’s a slowdown in the economy right now, but frankly, I don’t think the Bentley showroom is ever mobbed.
We looked at the cars… he especially liked the tires on one of the models.
We looked them all over, they are beautiful cars. And as we walked to the front of the showroom with all glass facing the street, my Little Guy exclaimed,
“Look Mom, a Toyota!”
My son saw a Toyota drive by and was thrilled. The guy at the desk almost laughed, and gave me a look like, “Are you kidding me?”
But I got it-
No one he knows has a Bentley. No one he loves drives a Bentley.
He appreciates ALL CARS; My son realizes that all cars are created equal and merely help people in their journey for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
But, cars that mean the most to him are cars that belong to people he cares about.
Thanks for the reminder, my Little One…
So here’s to cars, big and small, fast and slow, bright and dull.
Here’s to little eyes who see their value for what they are,
A convenience, a help, and that is all.
By the way, if you are looking to buy a Bentley, first of all- good for you, congrats,
Click here for the Bethesda Bentley website; after a Google search, I believe it is the ONLY Bentley dealership in the DC area.
An abbreviated version of this can be read at DC Metro Moms.
School Starts at 8am ?!
Yesterday, filled with excitement and joy, I went to the open house at the school my son will be attending next year. It’s a wonderful school and a great community and I am really looking forward to being a part of it for the next 9 years, from Kindergarten through 8th grade.
The principal talked to us ‘new parents’ about curriculum and special projects and hot lunch, the usual… And then she went through a typical day for kindergartners-
“Children can start arriving at 7:45am… and we officially start our day at 8am.”
I had seen the 8am on the sheet that was handed out, and hoped it had been a misprint…
Click here to continue reading this post at DC Metro Moms…
I’m a ‘DC Metro Mommy’ Now
A Happy ‘The-Snow-is-Melting’ Day to everyone!
Just want to let DC area people know about a new website for moms in this area… DC Metro Mommy!
This website is a great resource- with a calendar and events, a book club and… a Blog Village, to which I am now a contributor.
This is not to be confused with DC Metro Moms, that great blog that I’m proud to say I’m a founding member of 
Releasing Apron Strings Over At DC Metro Moms
My son is calling me mom, not mommy; he’s picking out his clothes-
all of this because, according to him,
“I’m 5 now.”
It’s wonderful to see my little man growing up, but it’s a little hard too…
Click here to read my whole blog over at DC Metro Moms.
YESTERDAY, I ‘WORKED’…
YESTERDAY, I got up at 5:45am. I did not shower, is as my routine, primped and headed downtown to help out with a wonderful student conference for Young American Broadcasters- a foundation set up to mentor young people interested in broadcasting. In my ‘former life’ I was Director of this organization.
The conference went on without a hitch. I got home at 5:45pm.
It felt good to put on heels and be in the work-force… for a day…
I had laid out clothes for my son, packed his lunch and wrote a reminder to pick out something for Show-and-Tell. ‘My guys’ got out the door and got to school on time. I called ‘Little Guy’s’ preschool during the morning to confirm that my dad would pick him up. My dad watched my son til my husband got home and pizza delivery was on its way by the time I got home; it didn’t even occur to me to ask my husband to prepare dinner- that would be too much. And frankly, it would be too much on me to come home after a long day and fix dinner myself.
I know you see where I’m going-
‘Working Mom’ is redundant, we all know that. But I just want to do a ‘shout-out’ to moms who work outside the home because they work inside the home too.
Plus, I missed my Little Guy. I missed the conversation, “Mommy, guess what we had for snack?”, etc. Life is great, but it’s just a-little-bit-better-sometimes seeing it through a 4-year-old’s eyes.
Moms, Bloggers and Giant Food!
Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon sponsored by
Giant Food. I got to enjoy a wonderful lunch, cool fellow DC Metro Mom Bloggers, and great tips on food and shopping from Giant.
Robin Michel, Executive Vice President of Giant, and a MOM, spoke to us, but more importantly, LISTENED to us about likes, and dislikes, and what would make our lives easier.
Giant is continuing to make their stores more ‘mom friendly’. Just look at the gift baskets they will be selling in all of their stores soon!
Aren’t they beautiful? And these will be reasonably priced. This translates to me= great, no-sweat gift to just pick up for a party/ housewarming/ pick-me-up for a friend!
The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of this luncheon was not that the food was delicious, (it was),
not that the company was great, (it was),
not that the information was helpful, (it was),
BUT that Giant food, is speaking 1-on-1 with mothers, their shoppers. Giant food is also recognizing the power of mom bloggers. I read just online yesterday that ‘mommy bloggers’ are taking over the world. And anyone who was at BlogHer DC in October can’t forget Leslie Stahl announcing that ‘blogging and the online community’- is the future.
Yes, we’re taking over the world, life is good, but like all mothers-
I must juggle world-domination with figuring out ‘what’s for dinner’. So, as Thanksgiving creeps closer, here are some helpful hints, courtesy of Giant:
* Purchase ‘anytime’ items now (frozen food, canned food, beverages, decorations).
* Buy your turkey in advance and freeze it (just remember that a frozen turkey can take 2 to 4 days to defrost in your refrigerator)
* Use a meat thermometer to cook your turkey – to take the guess-work out!
AND PS- Giant is offering pre-made Thanksgiving dinners, if you don’t want to cook. AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, I may take advantage of this next one- pre-made/made-to-order SIDE DISHES for Thanksgiving…
I have a little secret– I ordered stuffing from the Giant deli YEARS AGO for Thanksgiving… and my father-in-law still raves about it (I hope he’s not doing a lot of online reading today, he still thinks it was homemade).
DC Metro Moms: The UN-ELECTION PARTY
What do you get when you bring together SUPER COOL MOMS,
a plethora of great food and drink,
no kids,
and even a ride home?
You get the DC METRO MOMS BLOG UN-ELECTION PARTY!
…of course.
What I love about being a DC Metro Mom contributor is exactly why I loved this party-
all us women are totally different,
have different takes on everything,
but yet, we are all concerned mothers, trying our best to do what is right,
learning every day how to be a better mom, while not scarring our children in the process
Our party was at Clyde’s of Tyson’s Corner.
We had fantastic appetizers, great entrees of pasta dishes and cheeses and a delectable dessert selection toward the end of the evening.
The people at Clyde’s couldn’t have been nicer and made the planning of this party…easy.
What was even easier was working with Chevy, the sponsor of this party.
Chevy picked up DC Metro Moms for the party and then ALSO drove us all back to our cars and homes in Chevy Traverses.
I think the candidates and their political parties should…THROW A PARTY, get some wine mixed in,
and see what happens.
I think the result would be wonderful!
Cool moms, cool place, cool transportation, cool conversation:
I can’t wait until the next cool event for DC Metro Moms Blog!
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I Was In The 2012 Show !
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Nicole’s Book
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