Life with the Bunk

HOOAH!

2008-10-06T14:08:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, Jen, Tammy, Trace Ann and I ran the Army 10 miler. This was my personal goal that I had set for myself and I have to see I'm proud of all four us - we kicked butt! This was by far the biggest race in distance and participation that I have run in to date - 26,000 partcipants ran in this race - so many that the start was in 2 waves. While I know my time was not fast enough to win any prizes (it was 2 hours and 9 minutes or 13 minutes a mile - includes a quick potty break after mile 6), I finished it and never stopped running!

There's so many things to share about this experience - the course was great for the most part - we ran by most all of the DC monuments, landmarks and the Capitol - with lots of water stops along the way to keep hydration. The many Army soldiers and other supporters along the course throwing out their support with "Way to Gos" and "You are Almost There". The Golden Knights and Canadien Army parachuting in before we sang the National Anthem. The 4 Blackhawk helicopters flying low and close to the Pentagon as we sang the National Anthem. The sheer number of runners from all over the US, many wearing tshirts with messages of love for those soldiers they were running for - some alive serving in Iraq or Afghanastan and some who have been killed in action. The soldiers running this race who have lost limbs in combat, but have the amazing fortitude to run a 10 mile race and serve as a reminder of what our soldiers give for our freedom everyday. It's something that I will remember for years.

I think the best part for me was turning that corner at the very end of the race, seeing the finish line and being able to sprint to the finish with Trace Ann. Personal accomplishment aside - it was great to share this with my girlfriends - we've pushed each other and supported each other to get to this race so I would not have wanted to experience this without them.

A tradition of sorts

2008-09-06T14:38:00.002-04:00

Today, we are hunkered down waiting for Tropical Storm Hanna to move on out of the area. She's dumping buckets of rain over the entire Washington DC area. While Hanna has not done much damage other than getting everything a little wet, everyone is looking ahead to Hurricane Ike which has become a Category 3 and is projected to hit Cuba and South Florida by Monday. It seems to be a tradition of sorts for the "I" named hurricane to hit on or around Andrew's birthday. The year he was born (2003), Hurricane Isabel hit and came up the Atlantic coast, knocking out power for days in our area (which is not usually threatened by a Hurricane). Fortunately for us, we were all in the hospital with our new little bundle. The next year, Hurricane Ivan hit the west side of Florida around Destin leaving Colin's mom and her husband stranded in Destin and unable to come up to Virginia to celebrate Andrew's first birthday. We've been lucky since then - Irene in 2005 came in August headed up the Atlantic coast but moved out to sea before hitting any part of the US, Issac formed on September 18 (ironic huh?) in 2006 but did not hit any land. Last year, Tropical Storm Ingrid hit the Florida panhandle right around Andrew's birthday. So now here comes Ike and I'm wondering how he's going to help us celebrate this year's birthday?

Day with Daddy

2008-07-07T23:42:00.000-04:00

Andrew and Colin had a "day with daddy" today. I think it was a great thing for the two of them to spend the day together doing "boy things" - they went to the golf course and hit golf balls, saw a movie, washed the car, ran around town together. However the food choices for the day were the thing that made me (and the things that Andrew pointed out to me when the returned). Here is the menu of food selections that were made during the day with Daddy.

BREAKFAST - Bowl of Golden Grahams and juice (I fed him breakfast before the two of them left)
LUNCH/SNACK - Smoothie from Robeks; kids meal from movie theatre (includes popcorn, skittles and soda); large root beer while they were hitting golf balls at the golf range; chocolate ice cream after the movie
DINNER - chicken tenders, french fries and root beer at Mimi's Cafe

Can we just say that tomorrow will be a day of detox for my little guy? Colin will probably need it too.

Cherries

2008-07-05T19:38:00.000-04:00

Who knew Andrew would love cherries - pitting them and eating them??? The kitchen, Colin and Andrew were covered in cherry juice when Andrew finished pitting this basketful.

Happy 4th of July

2008-07-04T23:48:00.004-04:00

We spent the early part of the 4th trying to finish up Andrew's birthday - we're trying to make it more of a big boy bathrooom which means red and blue with baseball theme versus the cute yellow with frogs and dragonflies that have been in the bathroom since he was born. Tonight we went to a friend's house for a party..wow, what a house! She and her husband have a beautiful house with an incredible backyard. We hit the door and Andrew could not put his bathing suit on fast enough and came out of their pool only two times - when it was time to have dinner and when he and Alexa went upstairs to play on the indoor swing set.

Last night night we went to the Sterling Golf Course "Night before the 4th" fireworks show. It's great fun for the adults and the kids. You bring blankets, chairs, coolers and stuff to entertain the kids and set it up on one of the fairways and then let the kids go play. Once it's dark enough, they set off a great fireworks show. Of course, the kids are at the age where there is always drama - someone's feelings were always getting hurt, but they were told to work it out and sometimes that involved a bit of "alone time" for each of them. They each had at least one incident, but I only managed to capture Olivia during her moment. And even though she was having a moment - this is just too cute of a picture not to share

But they all got over their moments and we had a great time - relaxing, enjoying our friends, and the great fireworks show.

Daddy's Little Helper

2008-05-18T16:01:00.000-04:00

We've outgrown the lawn mower popper that Andrew (and every other child who has been at our house) has pushed around since he's turned one. So, Andrew has decided to go straight for the real thing when it comes to mowing the lawn - he now helps Daddy. I think this is only going to be fun until it becomes his chore and then, he will be so over mowing the lawn.

And yes, he wears this shirt frequently. Ever since we kept Palmer for Jen and Brandon, Andrew LOVES all dogs and dog related apparel - not necessarily a good thiing since we only have about 3 things total that have a dog on it....cars and baseball will do, but dogs are definitely a favorite.

Same tree, New year

2008-05-17T08:23:00.000-04:00

Andrew is definitely bigger this year and he's slowly becoming more daring. Newest daring trick - climbing higher in the tree in our front yard. It's not too terribly high - I can still get my hand on him to keep him from falling out of the tree, but its alot higher than last year. I'm dreading to find out what his next daring feat will be.

9 minute and 46 second mile

2008-05-10T16:22:00.003-04:00

Trace Ann and I ran a 5k today at Claude Moore park. Since we are training to be able to finish the Army 10 miler in October, my original plan was to run this race as fast as I could. Then came the rain. For the last two days it has been pouring buckets of rain and this 5k was a trail run through Claude Moore Park. We had lots of puddles to run through and mud to worry about slipping on, so I thought our time was going to be bad, bad, bad. Imagine my surprise when we come down the stretch and the time clock reads 29 minutes!?!?! We crossed the finish line at a little over 30 minutes. Of course, we both looked like we had run through a sprinkler filled with mud and my shoes were completely soaked and DIRTY! But I'm so impressed that we ran that race so fast - my best time up to now has been 31 minutes and that was over a year ago. This running thing will always be a challenge for me, but I'm getting faster and stronger so my times are getting better and that's all I can hope for.

And as a side note, I'm also impressed that I managed to keep myself in line around a Redskins player. Former Redskin Eddie Mason was a special guest at the race (he ran it and then cheered everyone on as they crossed the finish line). And I managed not to make an idiot of myself acting that an insane Redskins fan..thank goodness for small miracles!

Update - check out my disgusting shoes - after this picture these shoes went right into the wash along with all my other clothes from this run.

Andrew's preferred mode of transportation

2008-05-03T07:49:00.003-04:00

Colin has been talking about putting the car seat in the Corvette and driving Andrew around for months. It takes a little work because we have to disconnect the airbag fuse, but we both know Andrew will completely go nuts because he loves cars so much. So, today after his Curiousity Zone class, Andrew and Colin washed the corvette, put in the car seat and took out the top since it was so nice. Andrew was totally wild with excitement and I think Colin was excited too - they were gone for over an hour (and made us late for Ashley's birthday party!) I think this is going to be Andrew's preferred mode of transportation this summer.

Creativity is back

2008-05-02T16:34:00.003-04:00

I've been in a creative funk for a month. And it's not for lack of projects - I've got a million projects that I want to do or I've started and just cannot managed to get myself motivated to complete - might have had something to do with tax season just ending in the middle of April and it's always insane in my house around that time of year?

Anyways, the creative urge struck again finally and I made a cute little craft storage box for my friend Carolyn's little girl Emma. She turned 3 at the end of February and we missed the birthday celebration because we were away in Florida. Check it out

5k to do again

2008-04-27T20:18:00.003-04:00

This morning, Jen and I ran the George Washington Parkway Classic 5k in Alexandria (we'll shoot for the 10 miler next year if we don't die running the Army 10 miler in the fall!). It was a very early morning - Jen was at my house by 6:15 and we were on the road soon there after. Normally, we have someone there to take pictures and give us moral support, but since it was such a hike and it so early, we left the boys and the kids comfortably sleeping in bed. So no pictures to document today's race, but we do have official times (Jen was incognito today as Trace Ann Green).
http://www.gwparkwayclassic.com/RaceResults/08GWPkwy5K.htm
It was a beautiful run - starting off on the George Washington Parkway, running through some of the most pretty parts of Old Town Alexandria ending up down near the Potomac on Canal Street. It reminds me of what I miss most living in the suburbs - the ease of "city" life. Living within walking distance of a variety of things to do any time of day. While, I totally love our house and our life in the 'burbs, I do think we'll be making a road trip down to Alexandria for a visit soon. And I'll definitely put this race on my list of runs to do again.

The talented one in my family

2008-04-24T06:41:00.002-04:00

I'm incredibly lucky to have a little sister - Holly. Growing up in a military family, we moved ALOT and the one constant for us was each other. No matter where we moved, I always knew I had someone who would play Barbies with me. She's been living in Boston for the past 12 years and has my active little niece to keep up with which makes getting together tough. This month, she moved back to Virginia. I'm super excited that she is going to be closer to me...I get to spend more face to face time with her AND I get to see my niece.

In additional to moving her entire house from Boston to Virginia this month, she also found time to start a site on Etsy. Check out her site!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5817650

She is truly an amazing artist. My house is filled with "Holly originals" and I've asked her to paint chairs, boxes, picture frames for birthday, baby shower, or wedding gifts. She's currently only got one rocking chair up there right now, but check back often, I'm sure more creations will start to appear as she gets settled in her new digs!

After a long break - I'm back!

2008-04-24T05:03:00.000-04:00

Well, after a bit of a break for tax season, I'm back. It was a busy season this year which is both a good and a bad thing. I've got 2 months of adventures that I need to catch everyone up on...so check back often for catch up posts!

A new dog in our future?

2008-04-14T08:50:00.003-04:00

Last weekend, we dog-sat Palmer for Jen, Brandon and Alexa while they were at Disney. Andrew talked of nothing else for 2 weeks straight - Palmer was going to sleep in his bed, he was going to walk Palmer and play with Palmer. And we had to go to the pet store on Thursday to pick out a new toy and a bone for Palmer.

Friday, I picked Andrew up from Creme early and we went to go pick up Palmer to bring him to our house. In the car on the way home, Andrew decided that we should take Palmer on a long walk - good idea, right? We get home, get all of Palmer's gear settled in and get ready to go for a walk. Andrew is holding Palmer's leash when I open the garage door. Palmer takes off down the stairs, pulling Andrew who drops his leash (UGH!) - so now Palmer is loose and he's FAST! Fortunately, Palmer stops to investigate some smell in our yard, so I can capture his leash quickly. But man, what a way to start off this adventure!

After our rocky start, things settled down (as much as they can with a dog full of energy and a 4 1/2 year old boy). Andrew and Palmer played ALL DAY Saturday and Sunday except for when Andrew went to his Curiosity Zone class Saturday morning and even then Andrew did not want to go to the class since Palmer could not go with him.

I think Palmer might have been excited to go home on Sunday. He certainly had tons of attention over the weekend from Andrew - but that little guy probably needed a rest at some point and Andrew just did not give him a break! Later, Jen told me that Palmer slept all day Monday - a weekend with Andrew totally wore him out!

Now, is the Wood house going to increase by one with the addition of a puppy? Even though I think Andrew would like the concept of a dog. I don't think the Wood family is ready for a dog - there's a lot of work and attention involved and the current chaos of our household does not lend well to adding a new member - even if they are incredibly cute. However, Palmer can come for a sleepover anytime!

Stamping

2008-02-15T22:53:00.000-05:00

I took today off to prepare for my first trip to Get Croppin's Cropbowl http://www.getcroppin.com/. It's a weekend of women gathering at the Dulles Expo to work on their scrapbook projects, take classes from fabulous teachers, hang out with your friends and meet new ones. The event starts on Friday night and runs through Sunday afternoon. My girlfriend, Trace Ann, went last year and invited us all to celebrate her birthday (Saturday), by attending this event all day Saturday.

I had to pack up all my tools, paper and class supplies that I would need for the day along with snacks and soda to help me last the day. Andrew was trying to "help" me get ready tonight and it was really not working so I thought I would try and distract him with some stamps. So I brought out all the cute litte ministampers I bought and the yellow ink (he's a sucker for anything yellow!) He bought it for at least a half an hour...all I needed to finish up and get ready for the big day tomorrow!

Eat your heart out Williams-Sonoma

2008-02-13T22:55:00.000-05:00

My girlfriends and I took a cookie and cupcake decoration class at the local Williams Sonoma store last year. By all accounts, the techniques "taught" in the class were definitely made for people who have ALOT of time on their hands. For example, the instructor showed us how to "frame" the cookie with a outline of icing and then "color" the inside of the cookie. The catch here is that you have to wait 4-6 hours between the framing and coloring...who the heck has 4-6 hours to wait to frost cookies?

Fast forward to February...Andrew's class has a Valentines' Day party 2 days in a row and I signed up to bring cookies on Day 1. I totally fast tracked the whole outlining and coloring into 1 1/2 totalwith the help of a 4-year old. Check out how we did! The kids were definitely on a sugar high when I picked Andrew on Wednesday afternoon.

Icy wonderland

2008-02-13T08:05:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we got another round of "wintery mix" and in Northern VA, wintery mix equals traffic nightmare. True to form, the road crews did not pretreat the roads and the commute home was a complete mess. It took Colin almost 4 hours to get home from DC. Dulles Toll Road had to be completely shut down so the road crews to get around to treating the roads so you could actually stay on the road.

It did make for a pretty picture of my tree in the front yard though..

Bryce

2008-02-10T07:38:00.002-05:00

Last night we went to have dinner at a friend's house. I worked with Andy at a small consulting firm before Andrew was born and we have kept in touch since we both left the company and moved on to other roles. Colin and I love hanging out with Caroline and Andy - we have such a great time and we definitely do not see them enough.

Caroline and Andy have 2 kids - Anna who is 7 going on 17 and Bryce who is almost a year younger than Andrew. We got to Caroline and Andy's house and Andrew sat in Colin's lap for about 2 hot seconds - until Caroline announced that there was a MOONBOUNCE IN THE BASEMENT. Well, that was it...Andrew jumped up and said "Come on, let's go downstairs to the moonbounce" After that, we did not see/hear those two boys unless the came up stairs on their way outside to the trampoline or the little drivable jeep. At 11:00 pm we had to pry Andrew away from playing with Bryce and take him home. The entire way home all he talked about his new friend Bryce and asked when he could play with him again.

Captain Curiosity

2008-02-10T01:35:00.000-05:00

This morning Andrew started a class at Curiosity Zone http://www.curiosityzone.com/. Curiosity Zone is a store/science lab for kids and Andrew attended a birthday party there in December. I was totally impressed with what the "teachers" at the birthday party were able to do with 15-20 wild 4 and 5 year olds, so I was interested to see how Andrew would react to a class there. He LOVED it. The theme of this session's class is called Captain Curiosity and it's all about help the armadillo (Captain Curiosity) find a good place for his home. Today, they learned about ants and if the colony would be a good place for Captain Curiosity to build a home. They made ant hats with feelers so they could learn how ants communicate by rubbing their feelers against each other and carried food through tunnels like ants do. Andrew brought home a little book that they will fill up with pages during the class and he will NOT let it go. I cannot wait to see what they do next weekend.

Andrew's version of breakfast

2008-02-01T07:55:00.000-05:00

This is what happens when Mommy is all wrapped up in getting organized for a weekend away. Andrew makes himself his own breakfast - pretzels and goldfish. Nutritious way to start the day!

Mommy looks good....

2008-01-27T16:13:00.000-05:00

Conversation between Andrew and I after I had showered and gotten dressed today....

A - Wow Mommy, you look very beautiful.

Me - Thank you Andrew

A - I really like your shirt Mommy - you look nice. Now, let me see your tongue.

I guess my tongue did not look as good as the rest of my "look" today.

Finished Project - well almost

2008-01-06T22:56:00.000-05:00

I'm proud to announce that we FINALLY finished our dining room walls over the Christmas/New Year's vacation. It took forever, but with the holidays, a job search and a 4 year old, I guess now is better than never, right?

This is the before shot - I hated the blandness of the color and I hated that it was wallpaper!

Now check out our walls!

Next weekend we're hanging curtains and then hanging everything back on the walls. We'll just have to find a rug to finish it off. Now, what to do next......

Happy Birthday Havalynn!

2008-01-04T23:55:00.000-05:00

Sick Day

2008-01-03T14:40:00.000-05:00

My poor little guy started 2008 off feeling a little under the weather. So I kept him home from school on Wednesday. Maybe he just needed a "mental health" day since he spent the day curled up in his pjs watching movies. Whatever it was, he was fine and back to school on Thursday!

Inspiration

2008-01-02T23:01:00.000-05:00

I'm a creature of habit - my intial gut reaction is to do things the same way I've been doing them for years. While I think that makes me very good at my job - it is what I strive to change in my personal life. I believe that I will not grow as an individual if I do continue to push myself to learn and try new things. Fortunately, I have a great network of girlfriends who are always trying new things and encouraging me to try it with them.

Check out what they encouraged me to try or improve in 2007:

Pole dancing as a workout
Running a 10k in 1 hour and 6 minutes - this year I want to run it FASTER
Starting to create scrapbook pages for myself - not just as gifts
Blogging
Taking better pictures
Enjoying life - taking time to enjoy my girlfriends

I know there are many other things that they have encouraged me to try or improve through invitations, words or simply being there for me. I'm thankful that I have such a wonderful group of girlfriends who encourage me, support me, challenge me and inspire me. Wonder what they will inspire me to do in 2008?

Let it Go

2008-01-01T17:42:00.000-05:00

Every year I make a resolution and every year it lasts about a month - tops. Last year, a friend of mine picked a phrase that was her mantra of sorts for 2007. I thought it was an interesting alternative to a New Year's resolution and she was able to refer back to it throughout the year while dealing with all the of issues that were thrown at her in 2007.
So for 2008 I've decided I will follow her lead (albeit, a year behind her) and pick a phrase to be my mantra. I've been thinking about it for about 2 weeks now and decided that my phrase for 2008 will be - "Let it Go". For me, I think these words will be good words to live by and refer back to for 2008 - professionally and personally. Here's to letting it go!

Need I say more?

2007-12-30T20:00:00.000-05:00

Don't think anything else needs to be said - except maybe - GO SKINS!

www.redskins.com/gameday/default.jsp?gameId=91

This picture best depicts the last month

2007-12-30T14:50:00.000-05:00

EXHAUSTING!

So much to post and catch up on...

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season.

The road to Christmas - Week 1

2007-12-30T06:20:00.000-05:00

Last year was the first year that Andrew really understood Christmas and all the activities that lead up to the big day. So, this year we planned a flurry of activities beginning the weekend after Thanksgiving and leading right up to Christmas Eve. Of course, I forgot to factor in time for Mommy to get ready for Christmas! Guess that's my lesson learned for next year! Here's a quick look at the holiday fun we had:

The first weekend in December was filled with alot of activities. Saturday morning Andrew and I did a Candy Cane Hunt and Lunch with Santa with TAG and Olivia.

Andrew did not find many candy canes, but Olivia was nice enough to share several of the "winning" candy canes with Andrew so he could get a holiday tatoo and a little gift.

We headed home to decorate our gingerbread train. We've been decorating a train since Andrew was 2 and this year Andrew added a bit of his own decoration - several GI Joe figures were seated in the train with all the frosting and candy!

Saturday afternoon we headed over to Pump It Up in Leesburg to celebrate Hannah's birthday. Everyone had such a great time - kids and adults - someone mentioned that adults should rent out the place for adults only. I think that would be a great parent's night out!

After Hannah's birthday party, we headed into downtown Leesburg for the Christmas parade. We watched the parade last year and the kids loved it, so we made it an annual event. This year we had a special reason for going. Andrew, Olivia, Alexa and Samuel's teacher, Ms Katelyn, was in the parade with her dance troupe. So the kids had fun watching for Ms Katelyn and gathering up the candy that was thrown from the floats.

Sunday we were supposed to attend the annual Wolf Trap Christmas sing along with the Green's and the Satterpellaton's, but it was cold and rainy/sleety so we all opted for staying home - inside with a fire. We put up the Christmas tree and put the lights on it. I love putting up the Christmas tree, but HATE putting the lights on...next year we'll be purchasing an artificial tree WITH lights already on it!

Kindergarten insanity

2007-11-08T07:14:00.000-05:00

I'm adding this to my list of things to blackmail Andrew with later in life. Andrew turns 5 next September which makes him eligible for kindergarten in Loudoun County - just barely (by 12 days!). While I do believe that Andrew will go to public school when he enters 1st grade, I feel like he needs to go to a private kindergarten. Loudoun County only does half day kindergarten, which means that Andrew would go to school for 2.5 hours per day and then be bussed over to Creme for after school care where I would still pay the same price for after school care as i do for him to go full time to kindergarten at Creme. And Andrew is terrible with change, so I don't want to send him to a new school for one year and then move him again when he goes to public school.
So, today is Creme's registration for 2008 kindergarten (beginning September 2008) and it's based on FIRST COME, FIRST SERVE. Bear in mind that there are 54 kids in the 4 year old program now and at least 12 transitional kindergarten kids (kids who turned 5 after 9/30/2007), so the competition to get on of the 24 spots in the kindergarten class is tight. Last year parents showed up to stand in line at 4 am and the 2 classes were filled by noon. Olivia and Alexa are also eligible for and need to be at Creme kindergarten next year. As soon as the papers came out, TAG, Jen and I had e-mails flying around trying to plan for times to start camping out in order to ensure our kids get one of the coveted positions. We initially had planned that we would break the night into 2 shifts - the guys would handle midnight to 3 and then the girls would relieve them at 3 and remain until the kids were registered. Then, Jen realized that she was on travel - which meant that poor Brandon would have to pull both shifts.
Here's what ended up happening - Colin drove by Creme at 8 pm and 10 pm to see if anyone was waiting. Dan got in line at midnight and called Brandon and Colin each hour to give them the status on number of folks showing up. By the time the phone rang for the 2nd time at 2 am, I was awake and decided to head over to keep Dan company. By the time I got all the cold weather gear loaded into the car (it was 26 degrees here this morning!) and got to Creme building it was close to 3 am. I think Dan was very happy for some company. He was the first one to arrive and there was one other parent there before I arrived. Shortly after 3 am the parents started pouring into the parking lot with armloads of blankets, candy, donuts, coffee and chairs. Someone brought a radio and there were a couple of bathroom/coffee runs to 7-11 and Starbucks. TAG brought her camera and took pictures of all of us in our wintery weather gear. We were all very orderly - someone even created a list of everyone who was signing up in the order they arrived. By 5 am, there were 24 parents waiting patiently for Creme to open their doors at 6:30 and begin registration. I'm so thankful that is over...although the director of curriculum made a comment as i was registering about the letter that I would receive from the executive director that makes me nervous again. I guess I won't feel better until that stinking letter arrives next week!

Happy Birthday to Colin

2007-11-05T20:01:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my husband, Colin - better known in our social circle as Boot Camp Colin.
I love you honey!

Another busy weekend

2007-11-05T02:32:00.000-05:00

So, November has started with bang....we had a weekend chocked full of activities.

Friday night, we headed out to the see the "Bee Movie" with a bunch of friends (both ours and Andrew's) and then headed over to a local pizza joint for a little dinner. Now, bear in mind, there were 15 of us total - and 6 of us were under the age of 7. So, there was alot of ruckus when we entered the restarant and tried to get seated and served. I think my friend, Stephanie, captured the incident at the pizza place perfectly in her blog, so I've added it here -

"Last night we took the kids to see the Bee Movie with several of our friends and their children-- 15 of us to be exact-- 9 adults and 6 children. The kids were very good at the movies, they sat there side by side, intently staring at the screen. Every now and then, Hannah and Ashley would cruise down to check on Lex, Olivia, and Andrew two rows down.After the movie was over, we were hungry, so we headed next door for pizza. As we entered the smallish dining area, the staff scrambled to put the few remaining tables together for us. I glanced around apologetically to the "childless" patrons. It was late for a group of mostly 4 year olds and they were all on the verge of a break down. The first hurdle was determining where everyone would sit. After a game of musical chairs, we arranged ourselves with the kids at the end of the table closest to the back of the restaurant, the women in the middle, and the men at the other end.The ordering process was uneventful, other than the quick shower of tears when Ashley thought she wasn't going to get a Sprite. Andrew and Olivia squared off next over a napkin. Samuel hit his head on the table and there were more tears. All the ladies ended up making several trips to the bathroom with the kids-- I think I probably had the prize for the most trips-- but then again I was the one with 2 kids-- everyone else was paired with only 1. Somehow we made it through dinner with few outbursts. I couldn't help glancing around every now and again to see if I could catch any stares or eye-rolling from the other tables. Our table was definitely the loudest, but I think the kids behavior was pretty darn good.So fast forward to the check. The server brought us our check and explained that the man sitting at the table next to us when we first came in had bought our first round of drinks and pizzas. We all sat there in complete shock and amazement. Why? Did he feel sorry for us? Was he writing a book on "when good parenting goes bad"? Surely he wasn't impressed by our well-behaved children and exceptional parenting skills :) The server explained that he simply said that he liked what we were doing. Try as I may, I couldn't remember what the gentleman looked like. Marc and Havalynn said they remembered him and that they had exchanged glances... but didn't think anything of it. We all sat pondering, in dumbfounded appreciation, trying to figure out why in the mad chaos of everyday life someone-- anyone would notice and make such a kind gesture. With no answers, we gave the server a big tip and took our tired little ones home.Hannah and Ashley fell asleep before we got out of the parking lot. Still Marc and I thought back to the restaurant and continued speculating as to why he would pay for our meal. This is definitely something that doesn't just happen everyday. I felt bad because I couldn't remember him-- I should have at least noticed. I wanted somehow to thank him-- but how? I decided that the only way I could was to tell the story here. I'm hoping that if you made it this far, you are smiling and thinking that there are still some good people in the world. And to the kind and generous gentleman who crossed our path last night, thank you."

Bright and early Saturday, Trace Ann and Dan were brave enough to host a playgroup were we decorated pottery for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas gifts (specifically - plates) by painting the kids hands and feet. While all that painting was going on, our amazingly talented friend, Stephanie, was doing photo sessions of the kids for holiday photos. Check out her fabulous pictures on her website http://www.thehipstudio.com/
Andrew is normally an extremely happy child and loves Ms Stephanie - at least until she whips out her camera. In the past, when that camera comes out, he becomes little shy guy and refuses to cooperate with any direction. If we're lucky, Stephanie is able to get 3-4 shots of Andrew that are great. Well, I'm happy to report that he was Stephanie's star pupil of the day - she was able to get a ton of good shots. The four she sent me this morning as a preview were definite keepers!

We left playgroup around noon, swumg by and picked up Colin and headed out to Nana and Oz's condo so we could hang out with them for a few hours...Nana had bread to feed the ducks and the fish at the pond near her condo, so we headed down to to feed them. After we had exhausted the bread supply, we headed back home and settled in for the evening with dinner and an exhausted little guy.

Sunday morning, I met my friend, Tammy, at 8 am for a run. The deal was that we were going to run until we felt like we need to stop. Well we ended up running 7 (yes, SEVEN) miles...now, I'm not a runner by nature. I really started seriously running after Andrew was born and just ran my first 5K last December with Jen. This was truly a testament to running with a partner - Talking with Tammy definitely helped the time and the distance go by really quickly. We had no idea that we had run so far or for so long. I guess I'm ready for my first 10K on Thanksgiving day. When I got home, Colin and I switched out the light fixtures over the kitchen table and the dining room table - the light fixtures that were replaced were probably the ones that had been there since the house had been built - so these new fixtures were a welcome change.
Sunday night Nana and Oz came over to the house to babysit for a few hours while Colin and I went to Tuscarora Mill in Leesburg for dinner (tomorrow is Colin's birthday). After a very nice grownup dinner (the rainbow trout was DELICIOUS), we headed back home for a little birthday cake with the family. So, it's back to the grind for me tomorrow. Colin is taking the day off tomorrow for his birthday and he and Andrew are going to hang out and play.

Happy Birthday Jen!

2007-11-01T02:30:00.000-04:00

October 31 is not only Halloween, but it's one of my closest girlfriends' birthday. Happy Birthday Jen!

Happy Halloween!

2007-11-01T01:35:00.000-04:00

Today was quite a hectic day. We started the day with a Halloween parade at Andrew's school. I was not too sure about how he was going to act - in years past, as soon as he sees me, he starts crying and want to go home. When I dropped him off, all signs pointed to another year like the past - he was pouting and saying that he did not want to be a pirate (ARGH - after all that searching, right?). I'm happy to report, he stayed with his class and marched through the entire parade and then posed for pictures with his friends and teachers.

Once the parade was over, I changed Andrew out of his pirate outfit..I'm so glad I did, when I picked him up later, he had remnants of the Halloween party treats ALL over his shirt. Then, off to his class he went - he was the line leader so he could have cared less that I was not with them. My little guy is growing up! Later in the day, his class had their Halloween party - where they totally got hyped up on cupcakes, cookies and candy - it was a complete madhouse of kids on a sugar high when I arrived to pick up Andrew and Lex at 5 pm. We headed out to Jen's house for pizza and trick or treating with Lex (Belle) and Olivia (Alice in Wonderland). We have trick or treated with Andrew's buddy, Matthew, in the past and when those two boys are together, they are not afraid of anything scary...they'll walk through it all to get to CANDY. So, I was interested to see how Andrew would do as the one little guy with the two little ladies. Well, I had nothing to worry about...he hit every house that we went to - scary decorations or not. Could it be that he could not see anything?

Olivia was right there with him. It took Lex a little while to warm up to the idea, but by the end of the night, she was hitting all the houses without scary decorations with Andrew and Olivia. Of course, there were a few crying episodes and a couple of freakouts - but I think that comes with 3 4 year olds who had an extremely busy day with alot of sugar. By 8:45, the kids were done, so we headed back to Jen's house and the kids checked out their loot, "rested" with Colin and tormented Brandon.

Andrew was so worn out, he asked to be put to bed when we got home! That's a sign of a GREAT day! Happy Halloween!

Cute as a panda cub

2007-10-29T20:43:00.000-04:00

My niece, Nora Jane, is a panda bear this year for Halloween. My sister sent me these pictures last night and I could not resist sharing. One, because Nora Jane is just too stinking cute and two, because my sister knitted the panda bear outfit!

Football and Nana's new house

2007-10-19T07:14:00.001-04:00

The last Saturday in September, we went to see Andrew's cousins, Chase and Anthony, play football. It's pretty interesting to watch the kids play at this age (they are 10/11). The 11 year olds play 1st quarter and 3rd quarter, and the 10 year olds play 2nd quarter. 4th quarter is a mix of 10 and 11 years olds. And, they play iron man football which means they are out there the whole quarter. It was a good way to introduce Andrew to the concept of attending a football game (we are planning a trip to JMU in November to watch the Dukes play a game). He LOVED it...we sat down near the field and each one of the boys came over to talk to Andrew a bit. We showed Andrew their numbers on each of their uniforms (17 and 87) so he could find them on the field. I'm hoping this is a sign that Andrew will enjoy football as much as Colin and I do - we'll see in November!

On Sunday, we headed out to Nana and Oz's new condo in Gainesville. Nana and Oz have a Gator bike for Andrew to ride when he visits and we have been keeping it while they are in transition to their new digs. Now, that they are in their new place, we wanted to get the bike over to their place (and out of our garage!) and check out their place now that it is officially "theirs". Andrew rode his bike all around the parking lot and checked out every nook and cranny of the new condo. Then we headed over to 5 Guys for burgers - a total score for Andrew because they have peanuts which entertains him while we wait for the food! He was totally worn out after all the excitement of the weekend. As soon as we got in the car to come home he was out.

Slacking on the posts

2007-10-19T06:43:00.000-04:00

I've been a big slacker on the posting as of late. The middle of September brought Andrew's 4th birthday and in my typical "Martha Stewart wannabe" fashion, I went all out for his pirate treasure hunt party - complete with a treasure hunt for pirate garb and 2 cakes - pirate face and treasure chest. I know it's alot of work to host a birthday party at our house, but I just know Andrew had such a good time and loved that all his friends came over to his house for his pirate party.

We followed that up with a 4th birthday party celebration at his school where I learned that black frosted pirate cupcakes might be a great idea in theory but boy, are they messy with a bunch of 3-4 year olds!

And it has not stopped since then. It's that time of year where there is some type of fall activity to do each weekend and we have been taking full advantage of those activities - keeping a little blonde child busy so he will just collapse at night from sheer exhaustion!

Future star of "So, You think You can Dance" or "American Idol"

2007-10-19T06:23:00.001-04:00

In the past month, Andrew has discovered the fun of my iPod Shuffle - mind you, it's neon pink so seeing Andrew carrying around a neon pink iPod is completely hilarious!

He has figured out how to put the ear buds in, turn it on, adjust the volume and find the song that he wants. Now, I use my Shuffle for my daily runs, so it's a random mixture of songs that will keep me going when I totally want to stop running and walk home. His current favorites are "Barbie Girl" by Aqua and "Girlfriend" by Avril Lavigne. He dances around the kitchen singing to these songs. It's the funniest thing to hear Andrew's little voice singing "hey, you, I don't like your girlfriend, no way, think you need a new one" or "i'm a barbie girl, in a barbie world" and all the randoms ooh-oohs that he throws in! We've captured it on video so I suppose we will have to save it for blackmail purposes when he is a teenager!

Gotta love 34 - 3

2007-10-08T19:20:00.000-04:00

Ok, I'm the first to admit, I'm a HUGE Redskins fan http://www.redskins.com/ ...so much so, I have suffered through the countless seasons of possibility only to be disappointed in the end and been known to chase after certain players in the local shopping center to chat with them (of course, I never have my camera or anything they can sign!) Since 1993 when Joe Gibbs retired, we have had 6 head coaches - Richie Petitbon, Norv Turner, Terry Robiskie, Marty Schottenheimer, Steve Spurrier and then Joe Gibbs again in 2004. When Daniel Snyder managed to pull Joe Gibbs out of retirement to come back and coach the Redskins for a 2nd time, we had a party.

Now, Joe Gibbs football will give you a stress attack on a weekly basis...the games are ALWAYS close and they come down to the last minutes of the game. I don't ever get my nails done during football season, because I bite them all off watching the game each week. So imagine my delight to get in the car Sunday afternoon and hear the score 14-0 - Redskins ahead. And they managed to keep the lead - even though many of the starters were out with injuries - and won, not a nailbiter, but a good solid thumping of the Detriot Lions with the final score 34-3 (who by the way, are supposed to have an incredible offense!) What a great way to close out the weekend!

Sterlingfest

2007-10-08T02:45:00.000-04:00

Sterlingfest is an annual event that showcases the Sterling Volunteer Fire Department. Our family has a special place in our heart for the Sterling Area Fire Department since one of their crew responded to the daycare when Andrew had his seizure two years ago. But the event a little boy's dream - there are firetrucks are parked everywhere, a helicopter lands and they demonstrate the Jaws of Life. We met Andrew's buddy, Matthew, there and they wore each other out playing on the playground at the rec center next to the Fire Station, dancing to the bands, and playing in the three different moon bounces. He was EXHAUSTED when I finally loaded him into the car at 4 pm - he and Matthew closed the place down!

We ARRRGH Pirates

2007-10-06T19:52:00.000-04:00

Our house has been overtaken by pirates.....Andrew is completely obsessed with pirates and treasure since his birthday party.

Busy weekend ahead

2007-10-06T08:52:00.000-04:00

We are up and moving early this morning - actually I should rephrase...I am up and moving early this morning. This weekend is packed - I'll be registering for the 2008 ScrapBowl this morning at 11 am http://www.getcroppin.com/feb_class.cfm . I'm super excited to go - I'm really beginning to enjoy putting together pages that document the fun times Colin, Andrew and I have with our family and friends. Then Andrew and I will be heading out to catch the end of the Columbus Day Parade and Sterlingfest with Andrew's buddy Matthew.

Colin's dad and younger brother, Tom, arrive at 2 pm today so he's going to be getting the house somewhat organized for them. Tonight I'm heading out to Alexandria to go to the Mount Vernon Wine Festival with some friends. This is an annual event that we hit every year and we normally discover some new Virginia winery that has GREAT wine and buy a bunch of wine to enjoy over the next few months. http://www.mountvernon.org/calendar/index.cfm/fuseaction/event/calID/72/

Tomorrow, some of my friends and I are going to a Williams Sonoma class on decorating cookies and cupcakes and following it up with a girls day brunch. It's also game day - the Redskins play the Lions at 1 pm. One of my favorite Redskins players, Gary Clark, is being inducted into the Redskins Hall of Fame. He was an amazing receiver for the team during some of their better years and it does not hurt that he went to my alma mater - James Madison University! So, I'll be cheering the team on in spirit during our girl's brunch...I'm going to spare my girlfriends and not wear my jersey to the class or brunch even though that breaks the Wood family game day rule! More to follow.....

What happens when you leave a 4 year old alone for 5 minutes

2007-10-04T07:28:00.000-04:00

I ran upstairs to get a few items together for our crazy Wednesday (we fit work, daycare, soccer and tennis lessons into the day all before 5 pm). And Andrew managed to himself stuck in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle dress up belt he just got for his birthday.

I just don't even want to know what was going through his head when he got himself stuck that way!

We have a costume!

2007-10-02T07:29:00.000-04:00

Since Andrew's birthday falls about a month and a half before Halloween, we seem to be continuing the birthday party theme into the

Halloween costume. Last year, he had a "Cars" themed birthday party and then he wanted to be something from "Cars" for Halloween - we ended up with the pit crew costume because he just could not be bothered with the big bulky costume they created to be "Lightening McQueen". This year, he announced that he wanted to be a pirate (go figure, he had a pirate party for his birthday!). Gymboree had an absolutely adorable pirate outfit, but it sold out quickly online and it was almost $50 for the whole costume. So Andrew and I hit every other store that might carry a pirate costume to see if we could find something that he might like. Who knew 4 years olds had such particular tastes and opinions! He hated every other pirate costume in every other store.... On a whim, we hit the mall late last week to see if the Disney store might have a costume that would suit Andrew's tastes. I peaked in the Gymboree store on our way to the Disney store and guess what? They had the cute pirate costume AND it was on sale AND Andrew LOVES it! Whew, pirate disaster avoided!!!!

Happy Birthday Nora Jane!

2007-09-25T07:12:00.000-04:00

Andrew's cousin, Nora Jane had her first birthday on Monday. Happy birthday angel! We love you.

Why I should never be responsible for the camera at any non-child event

2007-09-24T19:59:00.001-04:00

When it comes to Andrew and all his activities, I'm a serious shutterbug. I swear, I snap 30-50 pictures a week of our little guy. But when it comes to capturing non- Andrew events, I have determined, I should NEVER be in charge of the camera.
For example, on our long "parents-only" event in New York at the end of August, I lugged my camera around NYC with the girls for the whole day, but did not take one solitary picture - nada. just the fact that we were enjoying NYC with some of our closest friends should have been incentive enough, but, it's NYC and there is some really amazing architecture in the city. Thank God we had so much fun, we're thinking of making it an annual event.
So, fast forward to yesterday. We have had Redskins season tickets in the Wood family since 1995 (I think - been a while!). I am a huge Redskins fan and have been known to be a crazy fan when certain ex-players pass us in public. Colin and I used to go to the home opener every year - before Andrew. So the past couple of years, we have been absent at the home games - it's much easier to negotiate with Andrew from the comfort of the Wing Factory or the couch in our basement while the game is on. Well, one of my girlfriends, Jen, actually happens to be a sports fan and so yesterday we ventured out to the game by ourselves. Of course, typical type A moms that we are, we had tons of food, beer, soda and water, chairs to tailgate and a camera (I brought that one) - everything for a perfect tailgate and day at the game. And how many pictures did I take? ONE...and it was not even of the two of us - it was of the pumpkin beer sitting on my bumper that we drank before we went into the game.
Jen - I had a GREAT time...and you were so sweet not to gloat about the wheels falling off the Redskins wagon in the 2nd half. If you want to go to next years NY/Redskins game, we obviously know who should be in charge of the camera!

The last 4th birthday celebration

2007-09-20T17:29:00.000-04:00

Today was the last birthday celebration for Andrew's 4th birthday. He's had three birthday celebrations: a pirate treasure hunt party on Saturday, a birthday dinner on Tuesday and today, he had cupcakes at daycare. Andrew was so excited to see me in his classroom with chocolate pirate cupcakes. His teacher had his class sing happy birthday and then those kids chowed down on those cupcakes - which were covered in black frosting thus the black mustaches and tongues. Happy 4th birthday little guy!

Gifts from Nana's cruise

2007-09-19T17:17:00.000-04:00

Nana and Oz have been on a cruise (August 24th through September 10th) that started in England and went to many of the Scandanavian countries, Russia and then Estonia. They came over Tuesday night to go to Andrew's new favorite restarant - Logan's Roadhouse (who knew peanuts in a galvanized bucket and a jukebox would entertain a 4 year old for HOURS!)- and fill us in on their trip. They loved England and the Scandanavian countries - all the men especially loved the beautiful blonde women and took a million pictures of them. They said Russia was a bit creepy and the tour guides emphasized not leaving the group for fear of being left in Russia - overall a very depressing country

Of course, they brought souvenirs from their trip for the whole family. I think the gift Andrew loved the most was a replica of the Russia military's hat. He puts it on and tries to salute whenever he sees it. Funny what things interest 4 year olds!

The day our world changed forever

2007-09-18T06:56:00.000-04:00

Four years ago today, our life changed forever - in a good way. Andrew made his way into the world at 5:32 am - obviously an early bird like me. Actually he was a week and a half LATE, so he had to be encouraged by the doctor and the remnants of Hurricane Isabel.
He has grown in so many ways since then.. his first steps, his first words, his first day at daycare (sniff), his first boo-boo. I could go on and on with all of Andrew's "firsts".
For fun, we did height and weight yesterday. He's 42 inches tall and 42 pounds. He's had a growth spurt AGAIN. On average, he's grown about 4-5 inches each year...if he keeps this up I'm going to have a linebacker in my house in a few years!

Very far behind

2007-09-17T06:52:00.000-04:00

I've been slacking over the last week, with no posts since last Monday. I got completely caught up in the preparation for Andrew's big Pirate Party treasure hunt on Saturday for his 4th birthday. Great news though, it was a success - more to follow soon!

Very busy weekend

2007-09-10T14:20:00.000-04:00

I had planned to for this past weekend to be a very laid back weekend....Andrew requested that his 4th birthday party (next weekend) be a pirate celebration - complete with a treasure hunt. So, I had planned to spend the weekend getting all the supplies for the party and the treasure hunt. Well, guess plans are made to be broken, right? I think we now have all the party supplies purchased (some are just not here and will be arriving this week via FedEx and UPS).

Friday night, the whole family went to Cole Brothers circus with Trace Ann, Dan, Olivia, Tammy, Maegen, Syndney, Samuel and Tom. We went to this same circus last year and I totally forgot that the "big top" is not air conditioned. It was definitely a bit warm in the tent which I think made for one irritable husband (mine). But the kids all loved the circus - Andrew was fascinated by the motorcycles and the performer on the trampoline. All the kids loved the pony rides that they did at intermession...I swear I thought Andrew was going to want a pony for his birthday. So far - it has not made the list - THANK GOODNESS!

Saturday, we ran all around - dropping off Colin's corvette to get work done, doing the weekly errands, and getting birthday party supplies. Andrew is currently trying to break his nap schedule so naps have been somewhat all over the map recently. Saturday, he did not nap until almost 4 pm and then was extremely grumpy very the remainder of the evening....nice way to cap off the evening!

Sunday morning we had playgroup at the Dinosaur Park in Ashburn. Andrew had such a great time with all his friends. I think he was moving nonstop for the entire two hours that we were at the park.

Then we rushed over to Leesburg to drop off Colin's Hyundai for work and then back home...it was opening day for the Redskins and our house ALWAYS watches the Redskins. Do not call our house during the game unless you want to discuss the current game or there is an emergency involving a bleeding child. With Joe Gibbs at the helm, games are always nailbitters - case in point, yesterdays OT win over the Miami Dolphins with a field goal - and the Redskins are always considered underdogs. There's alot of yelling and screaming - we normally watch with my brother in law and his wife who are also huge Redskins fans. But it's alot of fun with our family and it's a great tradition for Andrew to grow up with.

So, today, it's back to the grind. I think Andrew was glad to go back to school today so he could "rest" ;-)

Andrew's current birthday wish list

2007-09-09T15:19:00.000-04:00

Today's birthday wish list (because it changes daily)

A skateboard
A Spiderman car

Wonder what it will be tomorrow?????

Swimming Lessons have started

2007-09-06T03:27:00.000-04:00

The flurry of fall activities have started. Suddenly Andrew wants to participate in a bunch of activities - tennis, swimming and soccer. Fortunately, his daycare offers a soccer program during the day, so I've just signed him up to start on September 17th.

This week, Andrew started back to swim lessons at Potomac Swim School http://potomacswimschool.com/. He's been in swim lessons since last January, but since he's turning 4 in little over a week, he's moved out of the "toddler" class and into the 4-5's which means a new teacher and CHANGES (and we know how Andrew feels about that!). But, I was hopeful that it might not be too bad since his friends Alexa and Olivia were going to be in the class with him. When I picked Andrew up from daycare, he was completely spun up about his swim lessons and when he got to Potomac Swim School and saw Alexa and Olivia, he could not contain his excitement. We had a little issue during the actual class when Coach Patty took Andrew into the water for the first time. He had her in his "death grip" and she had to work really hard to get him to release. But, I'm happy to report, by the end of the class, he was jumping

into the pool (and going under the water), blowing bubbles, and "swimming" to the side. I even had to get after him to get out of the pool so the others could "show skills" at the end of class. I guess there's something to be said for a little peer pressure (Thanks to Alexa and Olivia!)

Changes

2007-09-05T15:44:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows Andrew knows he is TERRIBLE with change. He is fearless when it comes to trying anything physical (obviously - see all his battle scars from running into bushes and falling off sofas!), but screw with the order in his world and he loses his mind.
With the new school year starting, the entire daycare that Andrew attends, changes their schedule. So, I used to drop him off in his class when they had gym time. This allowed his teacher to engage him one on one - normally resulting in Andrew saying "Miss Lily, you can't catch me!" and Miss Lily chasing him. As of Tuesday, the kids are in computer class when I drop him off....bad, very bad. Miss Lily can give him attention, but it's not like when he goes into the gym. She tried very hard today to get him to engage on the computer, but Andrew was having no part of that. He clung to my leg and when I tried to detach him, he crawled under a table. Poor little guy...he going to get used to the new schedule and then he's going to transition to a new class (the 4 year old class) in 3 weeks. I feel terrible, but I know that 5 minutes after I leave, he's a completely different child - playing and laughing with all his friends (I've checked in the video screens his day care has in the reception) I guess that's the down side of Andrew being such a momma's boy. :-(

First Day of School

2007-09-04T10:20:00.000-04:00

Today is the first day of school for Loudoun County. When the big yellow bus pulled up this morning, I realized that this time next year, Andrew will be getting on the bus. Time has really flown....

Busy holiday weekend

2007-09-03T22:24:00.000-04:00

After our whirlwind trip to NYC last weekend, the plans were to relax this weekend. When we made those plans, we definitely did not factor the very active 31/2 year old into the plans. So, all plans for relaxation were out the window - at least until he crashed each day for a quick recharge!

Friday night we decided to make home-made chocolate chip cookies and hot chocolate for movie night (yes, hot chocolate in August!).

Saturday, Andrew and Daddy washed Daddy's corvette.

Sunday morning, the whole family played tennis - or should I say - Andrew played tennis for about 20 minutes and then rode his bike around the tennis courts while Colin and I played tennis for an hour. We took a LONG bike ride (for Andrew) and walk for us in hopes of wearing out some of that excess energy Andrew had. Thank goodness for Jen and Brandon - they brought Alexa over to play with Andrew Sunday night. They played until close to midnight Sunday night so we actually got a chance to sit, drink yummy mojitos and chat with Jen and Bran

Today, we went to Algokian Golf Course and hit golf balls. Andrew's getting pretty good at hitting them (some of his golf balls went further than mine!). We're thinking about taking him out to Sterling Golf Course in late October.

Not a very relaxing weekend, but fun none the less....

Andrew is doing a little gardening

2007-08-30T10:30:00.000-04:00

My mom must have done some gardening while she was at our house last weekend with Andrew. Last night, Andrew was playing in the back yard while we were getting ready for dinner. When I walked over to ask him a question, I saw a flash of yellow and green flying through the air in the general vicinity of my zinnias and marigolds. Let's just say Andrew's form of gardening is not quite what my mom was probably doing this weekend. Every zinnia and marigold that was in one planter had been pulled up and moved to the other planter (which had poppies at one point - not sure if Andrew "gardened" those too!). When I asked him what he was doing, he replied: "Well, Mommy, I'm just doing a little gardening over here."

Here are the results of Andrew's

gardening - all the flowers in the planter on the right used to be in the now empty planter on the left. I'm thinking a career in landscaping is not a possibility at this point.

Daddy's new chair

2007-08-29T11:04:00.000-04:00

When Colin's mom moved out of her house earlier this month, one of the things we "inherited" was a really, really nice Lazy Boy recliner. Currently, we have it upstairs in what used to be Andrew's nursery and has now become Colin's "man room". I can't bring myself to paint the room yet, because my sister painted the mural for Andrew. But it obviously needs it...pastel jungle theme does not really go with the manly look Colin wants for this room. But now that recliner is in the room, it's Andrew's new favorite place to hang out...

Two month countdown....

2007-08-28T19:48:00.000-04:00

It's official - Jen, TAG and I have signed up to do another 5k October 27th. We're hoping that we can peer pressure Steph and Hav to sign up too. The race is 2 months away and I've been slacking on the running track...I was supposed to run a 10k in May and never really put my full effort into getting into good shape to run it. So, tomorrow starts the get back on track to run a 5k training. I'd like to beat the 31 minute time that Jen and I ran in December (the Reindeer Romp 5k) - talking the entire way!

My little tennis star

2007-08-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

I signed Andrew up for tennis lessons which started last week. We had a rough start - Andrew would not let go of my leg at all. However, the second day was MUCH better - perhaps the new yellow tennis racket I bought him? Matter of fact, when we drove up to the tennis courts today, he jumped out of the car and ran up to the instructors - ready to play. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that he gets to hit a ball with a racquet....now if he would just stop swing it like a baseball bat!

Child Free weekend

2007-08-27T12:22:00.000-04:00

This weekend we (Dan, Trace Ann, Colin, Jen, Brandon and I) had a child free weekend in New York. Colin and I have not done this since Andrew was really little - I think he was 18 months. We had such a blast.

We left at noon on Friday and Dan was sweet enough to drive up (and back) to New York in their CX-9. It has a DVD player which was Colin's saving grace on the way up. He sat in the back with the girls and after about an hour of girl talk (he told me later that he had no idea how much time women spent talking about their hair), he put the headphones on and watched "300"

Colin has never been to New York before, so the guys went to Ground Zero and looked at the Statue of Liberty from across the river before taking in a Mets/Dodgers game. The girls headed out for day of shopping. We had so much fun, we forgot to take many pictures (34 between the 3 of us!) which is huge since we are all major shutterbugs! Both night we ate a great restaurants - although I think Butter was our favorite by far. Overall, it was a great trip - I was relaxed and ready to go back to work...at least until I opened my inbox and there were 200+ e-mail waiting for me!

Meanwhile, Andrew had a busy weekend with Grandma and Grandpa - they all looked exhausted when we got home Sunday. Andrew had taken no nap all weekend and stayed awake until 10 pm each night...think they were all glad to see us.

Andrew's new best friend

2007-08-17T07:12:00.000-04:00

When I picked Andrew up from school yesterday, he informed me that he has a new "best" friend. This is a bit surprising since Andrew's best buddy for as long as can probably remember is Matthew. Those two have been together since they were 8 weeks old. They are the cutest pair because Andrew is the gentle giant and Matthew is about 4 inches shorter but will take on anyone and everyone who challenges him.

So, who might Andrew's new best friend be?

Olivia! (pronounced by Andrew as Olibia). I guess I should have seen something like that coming. When I drop him off at school in the morning, his backpack MUST be next to Olivia's. Hmm, is this a preview of things to come???

Wiki Tiki

2007-08-16T14:15:00.000-04:00

Andrew LOVES Scooby Doo - particularly the newer Scooby Doos that were done in the 1990's. We must have 10 DVDs of the new Scooby Doos in our house and we have seen them all at least 5 times each! Andrew's current favorite is "Aloha Scooby-Doo" which has the special guest voice talents of Mario Lopez and Adam West - corny, right?

Here's the synopsis on the back of the box:

Shaggy, Scooby -Doo and the Mystery, Inc. gang hit the bodacious beaches of Hawaii for the Big Kahun of Hanahun Surfing contest - only to discover that there's a terribly real monster about to show all the true meaning of wipeout.

The name of the "terribly real monster" is Wiki Tiki and Andrew thinks it's hysterical to run around the house acting like the monster, who runs around saying "wiki tiki, wiki tiki" with a tee shirt on his head (the Wiki Tiki has crazy hair).

Yesterday, I caught Andrew in his Wiki Tiki character

See a trend?

2007-08-14T09:56:00.000-04:00

I came home Monday night to discover this -

Andrew has another head wound....although this one did not bleed as much or leave a goose egg. According to Colin, Andrew was turning on the sprinkler and bumped into a branch from our shrubs that left a big long scratch on his right cheek. Nice, huh?

Thank goodness for friends

2007-08-10T17:18:00.001-04:00

Last week, Colin had to travel to Plano, Texas on business. This was payback in a way since I went to Texas for three days in April. He left first thing Tuesday morning and was not due back until Friday evening - my assumption was late Friday night because the flight from Dallas/Fort Worth to Dulles is ALWAYS late. So, I was presented with the challenge of being a single parent for 4 days...definitely a bit daunting. I have always had a great respect for single parents - and after his trip last week, I completely appreciate Colin's willingness to step in and help with Andrew in our evening routines.
Fortunately, I have some really great girlfriends. Tuesday night, we had to go over to Nana's house and make sure that the items that we wanted to be moved on Friday were marked appropriately. While Oz and I made sure everything was ready to go, Nana entertained Andrew and made us dinner. Then Andrew must have rode his bicycle up and down their driveway 20 times. He was exhausted by the time we left for home.
Wednesday night, Andrew and I met up with my friend Havalynn and her son Samuel. Samuel showed off his jumping skills - jumping into the pool to Havalynn at least twenty times. Andrew was not as adventurous, but loved climbing the snake and whale floats that are anchored in the pool.
Thursday night I had planned to take Andrew to see Ratatouille, but we ended up going to dinner with Dan, Trace Ann and Olivia. Olivia and Andrew had so much fun throwing coins into the fountain in the restaurant. And when we stopped giving them coins, they started throwing other things into the fountain - specifically the dough they had gotten from one of the guys who worked at the restaurant. What a mess! Dan was nice enough to pick it all out of the fountain as we were leaving.
By the time we hit Friday, Andrew and I were perfectly happy to pick up a pizza (so Colin would have dinner when he finally came home) and watch a movie. Thank goodness Colin's flight was not cancelled...I was exhausted!

Nana and Oz are moving

2007-08-09T07:41:00.000-04:00

Last week, my mother-in-law called to inform us that they had a buyer for their house in Oakton - they are downsizing to a condo in Gainesville. They have a split foyer home built in the 1980's that sits off a pipestem and backs to parkland. It's been completely remodeled on the inside, but I still think it takes just the right kind of buyer to want an older house like that. And in the current real estate market where there are a TON of houses on the market, I feel like this is nothing short of a small miracle.
The buyer wants to go to closing on August 17th (next Friday) which means there is a flurry of activity to pack up the house and handle all the items on the buyer punch out list in the next week and half. And since they are downsizing, they have to get rid of some of the things in their house.
Tuesday night, Andrew and I headed over for dinner and to mark the items we want to be moved into our house. When we pulled up to my inlaws house, I noticed that there was a backhoe in the front yard. The house has a septic field which has to be inspected and emptied before the house can be released to the new buyer and Fairfax County had been over on Tuesday digging up the grass and such to inspect. Andrew apparently noticed the backhoe too, because from the back seat came: "Nana is SO cool - she has a BULLDOZER!"

My latest accomplishment

2007-08-07T07:09:00.000-04:00

Since last September, I've been taking pole dancing classes at Diva Fit in Ashburn

http://www.divafitonline.com/

When I first started taking the class, I thought it would just be a way to have some girl time - Jen and TAG took the first session and TAG and I have continued on- and get an extra light workout in during the week. Boy, was I wrong. It is a totally great workout. I have a completely new appreciation for the arm/core strength required to complete those spins around that little metal pole and the calf strength to do an entire workout in "stripper" heels. I know that if I miss my run on Monday, I will totally get a workout in Monday night at class.

In Level I and Level II, all the spins that we learned kept us vertical to the pole (and right side up). In our last session (Level III) , we learned a spin called the corkscrew which threw the vertical position spins out the window. Basically the corkscrew is a spin where you spin around the pole horizontally in a crunch position. That was tough - I got the hang of it on one side, but I am still totally struggling going the other direction (my right arm is WAY stronger than my left!)

Two weeks ago we started Level IV session. In the first class, the instructor demos all the spins that you will learn in your session. Lisa, our instructor, started showing us all the spins - the sundial - spinning around the pole vertically with your feet out behind you (toes touching and knees out); the flying body spiral - hold on to the pole with one hand while throwing your body out in front of the pole, then at the last possible second, arch your back, grab the pole with your second hand (which is behind your boday at this point) and swing around the pole vertically and backwards until your knees hit the floor; and the most daunting- going inverted on the pole. This means you have to pull your legs up onto the pole, wrap them around the pole and hang upside down with your legs holding you up on the pole. Then slide down the pole to the ground.

The first 2 sessions we learned the sundial and the flying body spiral. Last night was our first night to go inverted. I was completely perplexed in how I was going to get my big butt over my head and my legs wrapped around the pole and make it look a little diva-ish. Well. I'm happy to report that I managed to get myself inverted on the pole. I don't know how diva-ish it looked, but I got there. Major accomplishment! I'll work on looking good later!

It's not a party until someone gets hurt

2007-08-06T11:23:00.000-04:00

All last week I was looking forward to Friday night. Four of my girlfriends and I had planned a night of girl time at TAG's house - complete with working on scrapbooking projects, wine, snacks and girl talk. Now, while we were all at TAG's house, three of the dad's were at my house for a little playgroup of sorts. The deal was that the guys were going to play cards on the porch while the kids watched movies and played in the family room - ha, ha - plans are made to be screwed up!

About an hour and a half into my girl's night, we get a phone call. Apparently, while showing off for Olivia and Alexa, Andrew has fallen off the couch and hit his head on the coffee table - and he's bleeding badly. The boys are divided on whether to take him to the ER but by some small miracle, they get the bleeding stopped and distract Andrew (and the girls) with an ice cream sundae. So, we spared Andrew a trip to the ER (poor little guy spent so many hours there as a baby with his earaches) - he just has a big ugly scrape on his head (and a goose egg) and a new appreciation of "no jumping on the couch"

Thanks Dan and Bran for helping Colin with the injured child and cleanup.

Definitely becoming a little boy

2007-07-28T09:05:00.000-04:00

We have a beautiful Japanese maple in the front yard that is the perfect size for little boys to learn to climb trees. Andrew has expressed interest in climbing the tree a few times, but not without significant help and a lot of crying when he got into the tree.

Last week we were playing in the front yard while we waited for Colin to arrive home from golf and Andrew decided that he would like to climb the tree. Well, he has definitely grown since the last time we tried to climb a tree. He needed a little help - where to put his hands and feet to get up into the tree - but he actually did most of the climbing on his own. He really is becoming a little boy...

Nana is busted....

2007-07-28T09:02:00.000-04:00

Last Friday night, Andrew was having cookies with milk as an after dinner treat. When I asked him if he wanted milk with his cookies he responded with: "Of course, when I drink my milk, Nana gives me six cookies."

Nana, you have been busted....you are encouraging that Wood family sweet tooth! But I guess that is what grandparents are for, right?

Turning older

2007-07-28T08:47:00.000-04:00

Last Saturday night, four of my wonderful girlfriends hosted a "surprise party" for my birthday. I put surprise in quotes since I kind of figured something might be going on. Havalynn's husband, Tom, made a comment in passing about seeing us on Saturday night. Hav covered it quite well by saying that he had a bad habit of skimming e-mail and not catching the correct dates. Then Trace Ann told me that she and her husband were going to dinner on Saturday night (night of the party) with some people that Dan works with. And my sweet husband, Colin, told me that we were going to drop Andrew off at Trace Ann and Dan's (who were sweet enough to host the event) so we could go to dinner. Each of those incidents on there own would not have tipped me off in any way, but together, I definitely was wondering.

Even though I might have been slightly clued in on the surprise, I could not think of a better way to celebrate my birthday - with such fabulous friends and alot of help on blowing out my candles (definitely needed at my age)

Ladies, I love you all - thank you , thank you, thank you.

My son is a genius (or his parents are idiots)

2007-07-19T15:17:00.000-04:00

Last weekend, Colin bought a timer for the sprinkler in the front yard. The theory he had was that it would save us the hassle of climbing around behind bushes first thing in the morning or late in the evening. But the darn thing would not work - it would never turn on at the time Colin had programmed it. In fact, it just would not turn on, so we were still climbing behind the bushes with the bugs and the spiderwebs - ick!
So, Tuesday night, Colin decides to send Andrew behind the bushes to press the manual start button on the timer. Andrew was back there a few minutes and Colin was barking directions from the flower bed. Well, the sprinkler turned on then and to our surprise it turned on again 12 hours later and then again later that night and this morning again...Andrew figured out how to program the flippin' thing. We're either complete idiots or he's alot smarter (or lucky) than I have ever given him credit for. Thanks to Andrew, were on our way to greener grass and less hassle behind the bushes!

FINALLY - A finished project

2007-07-19T10:58:00.000-04:00

Last year, some of my girlfriends introduced my to the world of scrapbooking. I never thought of myself as the creative type - my sister is the artistic one. She creates these beautiful works of art - paintings, picture frames, rocking chairs - you name it, she'll personalize it for you.

But I have discovered I do have a creative side. I love watching as the pieces and pictures come together into my own little work of art. Unfortunately, I have alot of ideas for projects without alot of time to finish those projects....I think I have about 6 projects that I have started, but not finished as of yet. Well, last night I was finally able to finish 1 project - wooden letters to hang in Andrew's new big boy room (new as of Feb/Mar of this year). I cannot wait to get these on the wall tonight!

1 down and 5 to go!

New Tricks

2007-07-19T10:49:00.000-04:00

Andrew has discovered that trees are for climbing.....

Day on the Farm

2007-06-24T10:02:00.000-04:00

We've had alot of family in town over the past few weekends, so we've had a flurry of activity in our house. This weekend my parents came up to go see the Celtic Women at Wolf Trap and we always try to plan an event with for the whole family to do at least one of the two days they are here. For this visit, we planned to go blueberry picking at one of the local pick your own farms - Great Country Farms.

http://www.greatcountryfarms.com/

It took us about 45 minutes to get out to the farm, but it was well worth the trip. For $5, there was U pick blueberries and blackberries (additional $s for what you pick), multiple petting zoos, mazes, tires mountains to climb, big slides, tractors to race (tricycles styled to look like tractors).

Andrew lasted about 15 minutes in the blueberry field and then announced he only needed one more and then he was done.

So he and Colin walked back to the general store to rest up for the cow train and hay ride, singing "Old MacDonald" all the way. Check out Andrew's idea of "resting"

All in all, I'd call the day a success...we got enough blueberries to last us at least two weeks, Andrew had a blast feeding the goats and pigs, driving the tractors, riding the cow train and even made 2 new friends with a little grey kitten and a piglet named Wilbur. Definitely a place we will visit again!

A new tradition started

2007-06-22T11:36:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows my husband, knows that he LOVES golf and is looking forward to Andrew getting old enough to play a round of golf with him. Matter of fact, Andrew has owned a golf club since he was about 18 months and has been hitting wiffle balls around the back yard. Last year we attempted to take Andrew to "practice" putt at Sterling Golf Club...no luck. Andrew wanted to hit the ball with a full force golf swing instead of putting. We left with a screaming child about 10 minutes after we arrived. Friday afternoon, we decided to try the whole process again. This time we went to Algonkian Park Golf Course and to our surprise, our child was a perfect angel - putting and chipping as his father directed him to do. He liked it so much that he asked Colin to take him again last night before dinner...Colin is just over the moon that his son wants to hit the golf ball. Looks like I will have to brush up on my golf skills (have not played since I was pregnant with Andrew) or become a golf widow.

Bath Time conversations

2007-06-18T20:53:00.001-04:00

Sounds from the bathroom tonight during bath time

Daddy: Andrew, it's time to wash your dirty head

Andrew: No, No, No, No, No, No

Daddy: Yes, yes,yes, yes, yes

Andrew: No, No, No, No, No, No

Daddy: Yes, yes,yes, yes, yes

Andrew: OK (big sigh like its soo much trouble). But Daddy, not hot, not cold, only WAAARRRRMMMM.

Father's Day Gift

2007-06-12T11:57:00.000-04:00

Conversation with the Bunk regarding Grandpa's Father's Day gift:

Mommy: What should we get Grandpa for Father's Day?
Andrew: Grandpa needs a surprise
Mommy: What kind of surprise?
Andrew: Grandpa needs a yellow present. Grandpa needs a bulldozer. Grandpa needs a bulldozer just like Matthew.

Hmm...hope Grandpa likes bulldozers or needs some earth moved because it seems he's getting a bulldozer.

Inaugural Post

2007-06-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

I'm caving to the peer pressure... Some of closest girlfriends have been after me to get a blog set up. With all our family spread up and down the East Coast, it does make sense. So, here we go.....