MY LAST VACATION WEEK
I know a lot of people are back to school… My son is not.
His preschool starts next week, the day after Labor Day.
So I am keeping away from the computer as much as possible until September 2nd…
Until then I will share with you musings or insights or observations…
“The moment a child is born, the mother is also born.
She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never.
A mother is something absolutely new.” ~Rajneesh
WHY AM I TIRED?
We’re home from the beach. We had a great week with PERFECT WEATHER!
This morning my son and I went on a brisk walk(with the jogging stroller),
got school shoes (note to self: NEVER wait til the week before school to go to the area’s best and most popular kid shoe store; you will end up going next door to the toy store and buying your son a toy to play with while you wait),
had lunch, did a little grocery shopping and went to Cabin John Park.
Right now I’m on my 4th load of laundry.
I spent all last week lounging on the beach…
so why am I so tired?
CHECK THIS OUT-
Today I’m over at DC Metro Moms admitting that I’m a Wipe-A-holic.
Check it out… there are worse addictions.
GREAT MOM QUOTE
“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.”
~Marion C. Garretty,
quoted in ‘A Little Spoonful of Chicken Soup for the Mother’s Soul’
LITTLE HAT GIVEAWAY WINNER
Just an update on the Little Hat Giveaway-
Our original winner is located in, drumroll please: NEW ZEALAND !!!!!!!!!!
So she kindly suggested I re-pick a winner. The new winner is Carlee Hoopes!!!
She is receiving a great stroller lid (hat) from The Little Hat Company for her adorable little baby girl!
Thanks again to everyone who entered.
And a big shout-out to New Zealand; I’m really excited to get traffic from across the ocean!
Mom power 
THE GOOD OLD-FASHIONED MARYLAND CRAB FEAST
A few days ago my husband, 4-year-old son and I went to a friend’s home for a crab feast, also known as ‘picking crabs’.
It was such a nice afternoon that it reminded me of how special it has been growing up in Maryland and how psyched I am that my son is growing up here. There is really nothing like a good ol’ Maryland crab feast.
The crab feast is perfect (except if you are REALLY hungry)…
First of all, crab feasts are in the afternoon, so kids can run around, go in the moonbounce that our friend had, or play badminton (that my son tried for the first time). Kids always have fun outside anyway, so the kids are taken care of, because, let’s face it, anybody would be crazy to have a crab feast inside their home.
Now for the adults: you fill up on munchies and appetizers because again let’s face it, ‘are you really going to pick crabs for over an hour or two, just to get full?’
The over-21 set can choose from soda and beer beverages; wine isn’t even an option at a traditional crab feast, at least the ones I’ve been to. Crabs and… wine- ewww! That doesn’t even sound good to me.
But the crab feast was great! Guys naturally gravitate to one table, girls to another.
I sat down with my husband‘s friends’ wives, who I see a few times a year,
and we talked and talked,
about our kids, restaurants and covering up grey hair.
Everyone had a manicure, and everyone was picking their crabs.
It’s so relaxing. It’s cool. And the great secret to picking crabs is that you don’t have to know how to do it well. You just need a mallet, nutcracker, trashcan and paper towels.
I know that some transplanted DC Metro people have said they don’t get it… but that’s the thing-
There’s nothing to get!
It’s not about getting a full belly and having fresh crabs…
It’s about picking crabs, sitting around, taking time to talk and catch up, drinking a beverage and relaxing.
And what is better than relaxing on a humid summer afternoon that DC is famous for?
Yes, the crab feast is just about perfect…
Like I said before: crabs, mallots, nutcrackers (to old-school crab-pickers this is cheating, but it’s so much easier), trashcans, plenty of paper towels, paper plates and great conversation.
The clincher was that I got into my first great conversation about the Redskins’ pre-season…
an extra bonus
An abbreviated version of this can be read on DC Metro Moms Blog.
A GREAT 4-YEAR-OLD QUOTE
“Mommy, I love books… and cars.”
You really can’t ask for much more than that, from a 4-year-old boy.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls… we have a winner! My 4-year-old son was witness to the picking of a random number by Random.org.
Our winner for the Little Hat Giveaway is …
Lyn C., the number 7 comment!
Thanks to all who entered! Thanks to The Little Hat Company for providing a free hat of the winner’s choice!
REMEMBER: It’s now August. Keep those little ones covered with sunscreen and covered in hats !!
MY GOLF MAVEN
It’s hot and humid in the nation’s Capital and golf is in full force all over the area. Golf balls are sailing through the air at area country clubs, golf courses…
and our front yard.
This started as soon as the weather began to get warm a few months ago. My husband got out a couple of his golf clubs and dusted them off. He also got out our son’s plastic golf club set and they started a habit of putting and hitting golf balls around the front yard.
It’s become a casual pre- or post- dinner routine to unwind before our 4-year-old goes to bed.
So, it started out innocently enough… a little father/son time, some rest and relaxation.
But, lots of people walk up and down our street. There are no cross-streets except for walking paths that connect our street to other side streets, so everyone who wants to take a walk with their spouse, or kids or dogs… walks on our street. It makes for a nice place to live; people wave to each other…
and have noticed my husband and 4-year old son playing golf in the front yard.
So now, without even realizing it was happening, my husband is perceived to be a golf maven… a guru, if you will.
Neighbors see ‘my guys’ doing chip shots and putts in the front yard a few times a week. They also see my 4-year old putting with his dad, like Tiger Woods and his father Earl did many years ago (Note to Tiger Woods: Relax. To put it nicely, on closer examination, one can see that golf is not the true calling of my husband, or my son; Tiger and his records, are safe).
My husband is now ‘the golf guy’ of the street. People slow down now and say things like, “your game is looking good!”
My son even scampered in the other day and announced,
“Mommy, Daddy’s chipping the ball great!”
My husband was right behind him and chimed in with, “Yeah, this front yard stuff is really improving my game.”
We got to chuckling about it the other evening. And then laughing. And then we were laughing so hard we couldn’t stop…
Because the truth is, my guy seldomly, actually gets to the golf course. And yet, I told him,
“I think people just assume that you are out there on the course every weekend, shooting in the 70s.”
His reply: “That’s because I’m the Tiger Woods of front-yard golf.”
Yep, kinda like Putt-Putt golf.
Yep, he’s my ‘Golf Maven’.
Post Script: For the record, my husband has broken 100… once.
But he’s also achieved his goal: to be able to play golf well enough to play with his friends, family and co-workers.
So as far as I’m concerned – mission accomplished.
An abbreviated version of this can be read at DC Metro Mom Blog
AIN’T IT THE TRUTH
“A mother is a person who seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people,
promptly announces she never did care for pie.”
~Tenneva Jordan
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