Rehoboth Beach - August 2013

For our second week at the beach this summer, we needed some new space planning. Marcela joined us which meant there would no longer be room for the bikes inside the van. Scott was very proud of his balancing skills with all our stuff.

 Since we're pretty settled there now, we're able to drop our stuff and hit the beach pretty quickly.

 Funland was an entirely new experience this year. Sophie just met the height requirement for several new rides, and she was ready to go. She started out super excited about the Freefall.

 Once it got started, she wasn't so sure. Mia and Zoe spent the ride watching out for her and offering to hold her hand. By the time she got off, they were all happy.

We took a little break on the mini-farriswheel which I wasn't sure I could fold my body up in to and fit.

Then, Zoe and Mia were off to challenge themselves on the Sea Dragon. It wasn't enough that they went on it, they needed to be in the last row. If you look, really really closely, you can see them on opposite sides.

Sophie recovered quickly from the Freefall and went on the fast cars, while Scott and I watched with our jaws on the floor.

Bike riding was on the menu as usual. It's way easier now that they're all riding so well.

Zoe

Mia with Zoe up ahead

Sophie

A few rounds of miniature golf...

Jungle Jim's water park is way fun, and with Marcela there, Scott and I got to go on water slides together for once!

Smore's - yum! Joining us for wine and smore's were some friends from work and their kids who happened to be vacationing nearby.

This year, everyone had enough energy to walk to dinner a few times and also to the nearby farmer's market (that has the best rice pudding in the universe.)

Hours of digging 

Our regular early morning ride. The kids' legs will need to grow a lot by next year so they can help peddle.

Waiting for a wave

Boogie boarding 

Lots of sand dancing

Waiting for story time at the local bookstore. 

Restaurant is mediocre but we love eating on the beach

This spontaneous reunion with a friend from school was the ultimate synchronicity. We bumped in to her after the last day of school at the ice cream shop, and then here at the beach on the last weekend of the summer before school started.

Late night light sticks on the beach - a big surprise treat

Exhausted

Before leaving, we had to stop by the boardwalk one last time to say goodbye and stare in awe and fear at Zotar, the freakish mechanical fortune teller that completely mesmerizes the kids. Until next summer...

Gene Visit

We are very lucky that one of Grandpa Ed's closest friends, Gene, lives in our area. We went for a late summer swim with him. Even though the air was a little cold and you had to re-take your swim tests for the lifeguards, you had a great time. Sophie spent most of her time floating on pool noodles, and Zoe and Mia spent their time chasing toys in the deep end. Gene and Zoe also swam a few laps together before we headed inside for ice cream. 

First Family Baseball Game

We had our first family baseball game at Nationals Stadium. The kids absolutely loved it and were inspired to play. Sophie kept thinking that the action on the Jumbotron was real and that the players had huge heads. They all loved the snacks. 

Swimming and Diving

Zoe has been swimming and going off the diving board for some time. This summer, Sophie started taking a few strokes on her own and jumping off the diving board. Mia is very comfortable swimming and going off the diving board too.

Sophie on her own

Sophie taking a leap

Mia working on her dive

Arlington County Fair

For the past few years at the county fair, Zoe and Mia have really wanted to go on one particular ride.  Well, I don't know that it's even a ride. They are large plastic balls that get pumped up with air after the kid gets in it, and then the kids try to get around in them in a pool of water. It's kind of a mess, but apparently a very fun mess.

This year, you saved up your allowance so that you could participate. Other than getting a little muddy on the way out, and Zoe's ball needing a bit of an air fill mid-turn, you really loved it.

We loved watching you laugh and flail about inside. (Zoe's in the pink and Mia's in blue.)

Claude Moore Colonial Farm

We spent a fun morning at this living history museum of a farm. It is a functioning farm as one would have been in 1771 before the Revolutionary War. We saw them preparing for the tobacco harvest which was used as currency. We walked through the gardens and orchards to see the pigs and cows, and we saw the farmers/actors preparing meals.

The kids had the most fun however with the geese and turkeys. There were three geese and three turkeys that kept roaming around the property. The turkeys were especially friendly and would approach us. Zoe said: "They are following us because they know we're vegetarian and won't eat them."  Hmmm .... not sure if turkeys are that smart, but it's a cute thought process.

Responsibility

I'm not one who's ever needed much prompting to be responsible. I am likely to take on home tasks, work tasks, and generally anything that comes up without much hesitation. I tend to be really organized, know my limits and have good boundaries. When I was 17, in some ways I was closer to 47. Responsibility comes naturally to me.

This past month has soured me on responsibility.

I can no longer tease Scott about being months behind on reading his weekly magazines; I'm weeks behind myself.

Just this past week, our refrigerator broke, our oven broke, our newly power washed and sealed deck caused damage to both side doors requiring repair work, and we needed an electrician to come out (followed by several others) to address some electrical issues. All kids have moved in to new bedrooms and my office has been moved. Our basement looks like hoarders live there because it's piled high with stuff waiting to go to GoodWill and elsewhere. Work demands are intense. My personal needs such as physical therapy for my back are higher again. An au pair moved in to our home this week and we've created a new room for her and all the other necessary handbooks, schedules, orientation time, etc. Each of these activities requires calls and follow up and scheduling and coordination not to mention some clear thinking and rational decision making.

I wake up motivated to tackle the pile and be the best parent I can be. By midnight, I'm ready to consider closing up shop and going to live in a hut somewhere in a far away country. My brain is mush. My eyes are strained. My back is angry.  Now would be a good time to either give up on responsibility or double down. The later may actually be the better choice since we do seem to be turning a corner and getting out from under the mountain. I guess my responsibility voice wins again.

This makes sense to me though because as much as I feel (this week) like a skeet shooting disc that keeps getting tossed up in the air and shot at, I also think that with responsibility comes great freedom. I know that my life is full and that I have a lot of choices about how I manage it. I know that because I'm responsible, I trust myself to focus on the higher priority things and that I will put off areas that aren't urgent or are less important. I have resources, flexibility, and friends that also increase my freedom. And so it seems that hopefulness wins out over hopelessness today.

Marcela

You were all excited to head off to the train station to meet our first au pair, Marcela. She had been working with a family in Pennsylvania for the last year, and is originally from Columbia. You were in love with the idea of someone living with us.

This was a tough decision for dad and I to make, but ultimately, we felt that an au pair would be the right fit for our family. It helps that she loves music and animals and outdoor activities. We're looking forward to the year ahead.

Homestead Farms

Homestead Farms has been one of our favorites for apple picking. This year was no different. We always pick way too much and then I get to pull out all my apple-related recipes and go to town before the apples go bad.

This year, my favorite part of the visit was just watching you all walk together and have a fun afternoon.

Upton Pool

 We don't go to Upton Pool nearly as much as we used to now that we have a membership for a pool practically around the corner from our house. Upton is special for you though because they have a spray ground area and a couple of large water slides. This trip you also liked playing on the massively oversized lounge chair. (Zoe's in blue and Mia's in pink.)

Farewell to Ruth

After nearly seven years, our nanny Ruth had her last day with us on August 2nd. It was bittersweet because I always imagined that her departure would be more mutual. I had hoped that she'd stay with us until Sophie started Kindergarten in three years. I imagined that I'd write her one of the glowing endorsements I often see on the mom list serves when it was time to help her find her next job.

That didn't happen. I had been helping Ruth find babysitting jobs because she wanted to make some extra money. About four weeks prior, Ruth had asked me to confirm for her that we would keep her employed in the Fall, and she assured me that any extra babysitting wouldn't interfere with her work with us or her desire to work with us in to the future. A family with a new infant daughter had invited Ruth to babysit on a few occasions. And after making a connection with her, they quickly offered her a full-time job with Friday's off and any other concessions Ruth wanted. With Sophie starting school this year and Ruth really wanting Friday's off, she accepted.

While we understood her need to take care of herself and that she made the best choice, in her opinion, for her family and her job security, and while she was very generous to give us four weeks notice, Scott and I were still pretty sour about her leaving since she had just asked us to re-commit to her and our employment relationship for next year. But mostly, we felt really alone. Ruth is our safety net in many ways. We felt betrayed.

By the time we arrived at her last day, however, I was ready to write her a meaningful letter summarizing our overall feeling of gratitude towards her. Zoe, Mia and Sophie also put together a beautiful card which included a list of the things they like about Ruth. Scott wrote her a lovely note too. We gave her a framed picture of her and her daughter Aimee with the girls, and I gave her one of my favorite mugs which is also hers and which she's been using every day for the past few years. Then we shared a cake that we had made for her.

The girls were each pretty sad. Mia was acting a little aloof at one point. She sulked over to the table where Ruth was coloring and snatched a piece of paper. She quickly wrote down "I love you Ruth", handed it to Ruth, and walked away. Sophie had a tear streaming down her face when they hugged goodbye. Zoe would go to the other end of the room to cry a little and then rejoin us. Later, when Ruth was gone, we all suited up and went to the pool for a happy distraction. Zoe and I were walking alone on the way there, and she asked, "Can we stop talking about Ruth for a while so we can stop being sad? As soon as we forget about her we can talk about her again." And in a flash I was reminded about the brilliance of childhood. The way that kids self-regulate in most things. They don't demonstrate constant grief to prove that they're having a tough time or that a significant sad event took place. They let their feelings come and go so that they can handle them. Brilliant. "Yes Zoe, we can stop talking about Ruth for a while."

I hope this is the beginning of a new chapter that will soon feel right to all of us.

Thanks to Ruth for nearly seven very loyal years of kindness and patience with my kids. I hope we'll all be better people in part because of her involvement in our lives.

End of Camp Recital

For the first time at Brooksfield, we were enrolled for the last few weeks of their summer camp season. This means that Zoe and Mia were there to participate in all the end of year carnivals and activities including the big recital on the last day of camp.

I was not a fan of this recital. For weeks the girls would come home singing songs from the movie Grease which was the theme. That may sound cute, but go listen to the songs from Grease. It is a creepy feeling to hear your seven year old belt out "I've got chills, they're multiplying, and I'm losing control, because the power you're supplying, it's electrifying!" Even worse... "You better shape up, because I need a man" (insert Mia's echo chorus) "I need a man..."

I have been restraining my feminist Hercules for weeks. I have managed a few bland comments about how odd it is to hear them sing those words. I've wondered aloud if they should mention that to their counselors. I might have said a few other benign things like "you need a man?! what are you singing?!" (I didn't actually say that one but I did scream it in my head once or twice.)

At the end of the day though, the performance was actually really nice. Each age group performed a song or two, and by the time they performed, the counselors (who turned out to be very smart) had changed most of the lyrics so they were appropriate, e.g, "I need a friend" instead of "I need a man." Mia's class also sang "I'm walking on sunshine" which was especially sweet in their children's voices.

Afterwards, they had popsicles and played on the playground. It was a good ending to a great camp experience.