Washington DC for Toddlers

Our darling almost 2 year old niece came to visit last week. She was smart and brought her beautiful mom with her. She spent a lot of time doing this.

And this...

She wasn't a morning person and certainly didn't want any early morning close-ups.

She also spent a lot of time following around her big cousin Birdie. She called her, "Dos." She also spent a fair amount of time saying, "Here, Dos. Here, Dos."

Of course, we took her downtown to see all the patriotic sites. She particularly liked any that involved water.

Shortly after this adorable picture we attempted to broaden her horizons by showing her more great works of art. She was less than enthusiastic. In fact, as she loudly let us know exactly what she thought of art when compared to playing in the water, we were asked to immediately exit the National Gallery of Art. The security guard referred to her squeals of protest as, "That is just totally unacceptable." We nodded in agreement as we darted for the exit.

Luckily, we found a few more water features at the Botanical Gardens. We didn't let her climb in there either.

She was quite impressive as she fought off the older kids so she could carry the watering can. She might have learned the word flag that day, but mostly we'll remember her joy of playing in the water.

Best, Most Awesome Summer Smoothies

Doesn't that frosty goodness look absolutely delicious?

Trust me and 5 kids on a 90 degree day. It was spectacular.

It makes me question why it's only taken Birdie 2 months to convince me to try making smoothies. Even though I bought the frozen fruit for them 6 weeks ago, I'll admit it. I was scared. What if I didn't like them? There's plain yogurt in smoothies. What if it actually tasted nutricious? What if only my kids liked them and not me?

Yeah, I know. I'm still not up for mother of the year.

Healthy or not, I'm considering making another round.

I'll let you other non-smoothie drinkers in on a little secret. It tasted surprisingly similar to a strawberry adult drink I enjoyed while the kids were at camp last week. I'm even considering buying some of that health conscious protein powder to add to them for breakfast. Do you suppose I might be able to get a little protein into my carb-a-holic 13 year old with these frosty delights? Whoo-hoo!

If you too are new to the smoothie idea, here's how we made them.

Berry Delicious Smoothies

• 2 cups frozen strawberries, blackberries, blueberries
• 1/2 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup 1% milk
• A few splashes of cranberry-apple juice

Place all ingredients into blender and puree until smooth.

ENJOY WITH A SMILE!

Seeing the Benefits in a Dreaded Shot

Fred hates shots. As in truly believes they will actually kill him. Even though he's not died from a shot yet, he's convinced the next one could do it, but only after extensive pain. From age 7 until age 10 he obsessed about getting a tetanus booster shot. When the day finally came I thought they'd have to knock him and me out before it was all over. While he has come leaps and bounds from the days when we had to administer Valium before the shot (him not me), every doctor's visit is prefaced with, "I don't need a shot, do I?"

A few weeks ago I took all three kids in for a check up. The Dude was due the 11 year old shot. Fred was in the clear. Until the doctor started talking about a meningitis inoculation. Fred instantly picked up that he'd need one also. Hyperventilation was quickly looking like a good option to him. In the end, he decided that he'd rather go ahead and take the pain that day instead of freaking out about the shot until he finally got it.

Fast forward to all three kids came home from camp with sore throats and generally feeling yucky. I asked questions about how they felt and we wondered whether it was a virus or maybe strep, Fred announced, "At least we know we don't have gingivitis!"

As I stared dumbly at him and wondered how many times he actually used his toothbrush at camp...I realized he meant meningitis. And yes, yes, we could rule out gingivitis and probably meningitis while we were at it.

A Temporary Interruption to the Blogging Hiatus

So I guess it's pretty obvious that I took quite the blogging hiatus. I wish it was because we were frolicking across several continents, but alas it wasn't.

In truth, I had concerns about continuing to blog...probably still have. I keep up with several blogs that I dearly love, but I just don't have the desire to be that public with my life. And yet what is a blog, if not public. I think I actually like looking in on someone else's life, which made me finally realize that having a blog wasn't as much about writing as giving someone a glimpse into my life. Yikes!!

A blogger I really admire commented that blogging is building a community, and if you're not interested in building a blogging community by reading and commenting on other blogs you might as well just journal in a notebook. Let me just tell you that kind of pressure just about made me hit the delete button on my blog.

Any reader is hereafter warned. All content of this blog is only suitable for a wide ruled spiral bound notebook.

I read a few other blogs that often seem like a listing of their accomplishments to prove how and why they are a great mother and/or Christian. Let me also state that I am not Michael Phelps. I crumble in the face of competition. If you want to be the best at something so badly, go for it. You can win. I make myself crazy enough without comparing my lack of accomplishments to another's alphabetized list. I will fail in my own eyes everytime, let alone being judged by others. I'm still working on me and my motherhood techniques, and I have lots to learn about God and all other aspects of life.

So why on earth did I ever log back into Blogger?

For me. I like to keep a journal. And I like this format. Lately, I've noticed the kids telling stories with details I no longer remember. I was once such a crazy detail remember-er. Here's my place to remember and think things out. If no one ever reads it, it's okay with me. If someone drops by and comments. Excellent.

Oh, there's more self-induced and busy life angst behind my little blogging hiatus, but luckily it appears that I'm going to recover from my summer of lists, lists, and more lists to be accomplished. So if finally looks like I'll have time to pencil blogging back onto my daily list.