Date Night

The kids had a tough time getting out of bed this morning. They were all out way too late on dates last night. Dates that involved romantic dinners, dancing until their feet hurt, and running around in the dark. In the words of Little One to a very impressed friend at church this morning, "We were not even home when it was supposed to be bed time!" Can you even imagine!?

Last night was the annual Daddy-Daughter Dance put on by the local Catholic Church. Daddy and Second-Grader have now gone three times together. Little One went for the first time last year and was less than impressed. (Here is the link to last year's dance.) This year she was a bit more excited because she remembered she could have as many little bags of potato chips as she wanted while at the dance. They had a wonderful time getting all dressed up, dancing, and being silly (and eating chips. Daddy wisely cut her off at three bags). It was raining this year, so no pretty outside photos before the dance. But Daddy did figure out how to use the burst setting on his phone, so I got to see some of the action via photo flip book when they got home.

Daddy-Daughter Dance, Saturday, March 16.

While Daddy and the girls were out on the town, The Oldest and I had our own date night. We double dated with one of The Oldest's best friends and his mom. Here they are when they were just little buckaroos.

The Oldest and his buddy- Wednesday, November 3, 2004.

Same buckaroos, just a whole lot bigger.

The Oldest and his buddy- Saturday, November 11, 1012.

Instead of dancing until the wee hours of the morning, we went out for dinner and then played laser tag. Up until this point, I have successfully avoided having to ever play laser tag, and I have been thankful. Some of our friends turned 40 and 45 this past year and held a laser tag birthday party. I managed to snag little kid watching duty to avoid having to actually play a round of laser tag. And I was really, really good with that. But when The Oldest and I were busy planning our date night, each and every one of his ideas continued to somehow lead into a round of laser tag, and I caved. I roped in my best of friends, who was also daddy and daughter-less due to the dance, and our fearsome foursome arrived at the local laserdome ready for action (well mostly). I sat through the informational video wondering what would happen if I just snuck out the back door. It was really dark in there and I was pretty sure no one would notice over the blaring music and flashing strobe lights. I was about to try it when I noticed how brightly the whites of everyone's eyes were glowing under the black lights and figured I would surely be spotted. As I quickly thought about trying to escape with my eyes closed, the referee asked if anybody had any questions and excitedly yelled "Game time!" And just like that I was being swept into the inner bowels of the arena and fitted with a glowing vest. As I looked at all the buttons and numbers and flashing lights, I realized I probably should have purposed to pay much closer attention to the instructional video. My planned escape had totally backfired. Not only was I not safely tucked away in little kid play land, I was now getting charged up for a game I had no idea how to play. Thankfully there was a little man in my vest who kept yelling, "HOLD DOWN THE BUTTONS BEFORE PULLING THE TRIGGER!" and "YOU HAVE SENSORS ON YOUR GUN AND VEST THAT CAN BE HIT BY THE OTHER TEAM!"

I ran in circles panicking for a few moments and then suddenly remembered the scene in the movie Gettysburg where Chamberlain and his men are desperately trying to hold the high ground on Little Round Top. I lifted my eyes to the hills and noticed that the third and upper level of the course was totally unmanned. It was then that I made my move. I took the high ground and went crazy knocking out blue vests left and right. Two different times a snarky teenager tried to oust me from my spot of glory, but I remembered Chamberlain and determined I would not loose my position. I pointed my red laser at the guy and gave my best fake-army snarl and he ran away with his tail between his legs. When the loudspeaker announced the round was over, all of my sensors lit up and the little man inside my vest began shouting, "OVERALL HIGH SCORE! OVERALL HIGH SCORE!" I had gone from terrified first time soldier to receiving the laser tag medal of honor in a span of ten minutes. I was thrilled and satisfied, and ready to hit the snack bar.

But then the little man in my vest began shouting, "START OF ROUND TWO!" What?! Nobody told me I had to do this more than once. I managed to make it through the next two rounds, somehow achieving top score on my team in round three. But by the time round four started, I parked myself in the middle of the floor and didn't really care who knew I was there. In a last ditch effort to avoid totally embarrassing The Oldest, I did find a great hiding place on the first floor where I could sniper-style repeatedly take out one girl on the blue team. I ended round four last place on my team and second to last overall. On our way out, The Oldest's friend kept shaking his head and saying, "I've never lost laser tag before. I've just never lost."

Sorry boys. My glory was short lived. Next time I'll be sure to invite people who have kids under seven who actually enjoy playing laser tag so I can can get stuck watching their children while you work to rebuild your laser tag honor.

First place glory in green. Last place disgrace in gold- Saturday, March 16.

Five Today

My baby turned five today. I can now fully agree with all of the wise and experienced parents who have so many times told me to purpose to enjoy every moment of time with my little ones. For, as they all promised, time has a way of speeding by without my noticing. And then all of a sudden I stop to see that I have a smart, funny, cuddly, wonderful five-year-old who is already dreaming about life when she is all grown up. I have no problem waiting for that day. I am sure it will be here before I know it.

 

Little One. Gotcha day- Monday, May 5, 2008.

Little One- Wednesday, May 7, 2008.

 Birthday party- Saturday, January 12.

 Dr. Little One- Tuesday, January 15.

Birthday flowers from Daddy- Tuesday, January 15.

"Children are a gift from the Lord.
    They are a reward from him."

-Psalm 127:3

The Wisdom of Solomon

From the other side of the girls' bedroom door last night:

Little One: No, that's mine, sissy.

Second Grader: I just want to use it tonight.

Little One: You can't. It's mine.

Second Grader: It was just sitting on the floor.

Little One: It's mine and you can't use it because you don't have special hair. Only I have special hair.

Second Grader: Everyone has special hair.

Enter Daddy.

Daddy: Girls, what are you fighting about? (though we already knew and had been laughing in the bathroom)

(Both at the same time, though I can't type it that way)

Little One: Her is trying to wear my sleeping cap but her doesn't have special hair. Only I have special hair.

Second Grader: She is getting all mad because I was going to wear her sleeping cap, but it was just laying there on the floor and she didn't even care about it.

Daddy: Second Grader, that is not the way to handle things with your sister. Waiting until it is dark, trying to sneak down from your bed and snag something behind her back. If you want to use her sleeping cap, you should have asked her.

Second Grader: But she wasn't even thinking about it until I snuck down to get it and she would have said no.

Daddy: Little One, why can't sissy wear your sleeping cap? It was on the floor and you weren't even thinking about it before Sissy tried to use it (practically quoting Second Grader's response because we all knew what she said was true).

Little One: It's my sleeping cap and she doesn't have special hair. Only I have special hair.

Daddy: Little One, when is the last time you wore your sleeping cap to bed?

Little One: Last summer. (brief pause) But it's mine...

Daddy exits with the sleeping cap. Quiet arguments continue from the other side of the door.

After a few minutes Daddy re-enters wearing the sleeping cap (though he doesn't have special hair) and carrying a pair of scissors.

Little One (Laughing out loud at the sight of Daddy in her purple silk sleeping cap): That's mine, Daddy. You don't have special hair.

Daddy: Yeah, yeah, we know all about the special hair. Look, I am going to cut this sleeping cap in half so you both can have a part of it.

Second Grader: Okay.

Little One: Then it won't fit on my hair and I have special hair...

Original argument between the girls picks up again and Daddy exits the room with both the scissors and the sleeping cap.

We shrug, feeling content in our attempt to parent with Solomonesque wisdom, and continue to chuckle as we listen to the girls argue themselves to sleep.

Wisdom?- Wednesday, January 9. 

And I was Running...

Hello. Long time no see. But here I am. Not quite sure what drew me in today, but I'm here and glad to be so. I updated this space with some pictures I took from Skyline Drive. Though I hadn't blogged in over five months at the point of that trip, I took the picture of my boots with the purpose of putting it at the top of my blog. Silly me. But I like it, just like I thought I would when I was imagining the day I would feel pulled back into this adventure of capturing my thoughts, my life in a blog.

I don't have a plan or a goal for how often I will visit. But I'm here today on our first full day back to "real life" after an extended holiday break. When I told the girls they needed to eat breakfast at 8:10 this morning, they grudgingly tromped up the steps asking, "why so early?" But after a very full day, girls in the tub as I type, I think we are all secretly glad to be back to our routine. And that may be a big reason why I find myself here. Blogging was a great part of winter last year and I think I was remembering how much I enjoyed that slice of each of my days.

So, today I can tell you I went running for the first time in a long time. To be honest, it was much more walking than running. Couch to 5K, here I come! But none the less, it was great to be outside, listening to my audio book, convincing myself that I will be able to run more than a few minutes at a time if I keep this up. I am sure I was slightly inspired by the annual feeling of invincibility and impossible dreams come true that settles on each of us come January, but my biggest motivation to go out walk-running today was my new hat. It's a running hat that even has a hole for my little ponytail. It is my new favorite thing!

Me in my new hat- Monday, January 7.

So hopefully I will see you here more often than not over the season that has us all tucked away. And hopefully I'll be able to report I've been running. We'll see if the magic of the new hat lasts longer than my New Year's optimism usually does. 

You can Like two Teams, but only one can be your Favorite

I was born and raised a Phillies fan. And after yesterday, I know that will never change. You see, we took my parents (who are the die hard fans who instilled the love for the Phighin' Phils in me) to a game in Baltimore. It was their Christmas present. We chose that game for a couple of reasons. The first being Baltimore is a quick drive down the road from our house and we really like going to Camden Yards. It is a great stadium. And comparably speaking, I would know. I am married to a guy who not only loves baseball, but also loves baseball stadiums. We've been to lots of stadiums and in my humble opinion Camden Yards is still one of the best.

I'll spare you by showing you just two of the artsy pictures I took while at the game. You're welcome- Saturday, June 9.

The second reason for our trip to Baltimore is because of number twenty five, Mr. Jim Thome. For those of you who don't follow baseball, Jim Thome played a stint with the Phillies in the early 2000s. At that point in time, as The Oldest was just coming into his appreciation of baseball, Jim Thome became his first favorite player ever. Here is a picture of The Oldest posing with a giant poster of Jim Thome at his first Phillies game just a few days after he had turned one.

 Daddy, The Oldest, and Jim Thome- Saturday, July 19, 2003.

After several years in the AL, Jim Thome is now back with Philadelphia. The only problem is that playing baseball for 20 years has caught up to him and he really can't do much more than bat. So when we found out the Phillies would be playing in Baltimore during inter-league play this year, we jumped at the chance to see Jim Thome in action as the DH. 

The fans waiting to cheer on Jim Thome- Saturday, June 9.

 Same fans waiting to cheer on Jim Thome nine years ago- Saturday, July 19, 2003.

The Oldest enjoying the game- Saturday, June 9.

The Oldest enjoying the game nine years earlier- Saturday, July 19, 2003.

It was a good game, went twelve innings. It's always a bonus when you get extra innings at the ball park. Jim Thome didn't disappoint. He hit his first home run since returning to the Phillies. The whole stadium (which was estimated on a Phillies thread on Twitter to be about 108% Phillies fans by an apparently very reliable source on estimating) was on its feet when he came up to bat. It was a great moment.

 The pause and point before pulling the bat back- Saturday, June 9.

Crossing home plate after rounding the bases. Go Jim Thome!- Saturday, June 9.

Amid the sea of red in the stands you could pick out a few O's fans if you squinted really hard. Our entire section was sporting red and blue except for one lady in the front row and me. I had come to the game in an Orioles shirt; one, because I really liked the shirt and two, because I have come to really like the Orioles since moving to our MD line community. They have been terrible for as long as we have lived here and share a division with the Yankees and Red Sox, so in my mind they are the ultimate underdogs, and who doesn't love to root for the underdog? This year they actually started out doing really well, which made it even more fun to like the Orioles.

I had officially decided to adopt the Orioles as my favorite AL team and so I bought an O's shirt with a really great bird on it. When it came time to go to the game, I wasn't torn about what to wear at all. I put the O's t-shirt on and packed my Phillies jersey in my pack. I didn't really have a game plan, whether I would cheer for whoever was batting, switch out the jersey when the home team was in the field, I just figured I would roll with it once I got there. Well, it didn't take long before I knew the jersey wasn't going to be coming out of the bag. Not because I suddenly realized I loved the Orioles more than the Phillies, but because it was really hot. No, top of the first inning I was on my feet yelling and cheering for the visitors. It wasn't a choice. First love triumphed and I spent the game cheering like crazy for the Phillies in my really cute Orioles shirt.

The Orioles ended up winning the game. Not the outcome I was hoping for, but also not the let down it would usually be. At least if the Phillies had to loose it was to my second favorite team (who happens to have a way cuter t-shirt).

This is the only picture I took of myself at the game, so I can't even show you my cute shirt. I'll show you my cute husband instead- Saturday, June 9.

It was Really Neat

My Husband and I went on a hot air balloon ride on Friday evening. You would think I would have gobs of beautiful, descriptive words to share with you regarding our time in the air, but the best I can give you is that the whole thing was really neat. I think it is something you just have to experience for yourself (or look at the million and one pictures I am posting today and try to live vicariously through our experience).

 The basket.

 Starting to fill the balloon at a little local carnival.

 Ferris wheel still poking out in the background.

 My Husband kept being chosen to help with the set up. "Hey, you're nice and tall, come hold these ropes..."

 We sailed with another balloon. Ours is on the right.

 My Husband trying to avoid being burned up.

 Standing up.

 Our take off.

 Take off of our companion balloon.

 Flying over the carnival.

 Companion balloon.

 A startled bird, not at all used to looking up at humans from his treetop perch.

 My favorite picture.

 Watching our shadow.

 Firing up our balloon.

 Both balloons.

 The cows we visited were not too happy about the loud, fire-belching ufo flying over their fields. This herd actually stopped mid-stampede to take a quick look before they continued their desperate run to the barns.

 Our companion balloon firing up.

 We landed in a farmer's field. The whole family came racing to meet us on four wheelers. I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw there were cameras and not guns in their hands.

 And just like that the balloon is deflated and stuffed in a bag, awaiting its next chance to soar.

We were treated to the most amazing sunset upon our landing. It is hot air balloon tradition to toast with the homeowners where you land (if in fact they come out with cameras instead of guns) after each successful balloon ride. So we gathered with the patriarch of the multi-generation farming family, who came out in his slippers, and told us stories about growing up and farming the land. It was such a sweet way to end our day. Pretty neat- Friday, June 8.