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!

We've Lost the Vacation in Summer Vacation

Sometimes I think I've become a curmugeon already. I've forgotten that life should just be fun at times. Each year I seem to get a little more uptight and anxious. I'm so worried about doing the right thing, the right way, that I forget to just let loose and have a little fun. Point in fact, it's the 12th day of summer vacation, yet I'm so worried about having summer activities and not just wasting the summer away that we haven't had a chance to relax yet.

I finally squeezed in one measely 10 minute nap in the last 12 days.

In the name of summer laziness. That's just not right!!!

So here's to relaxing and re-discovering my funny bone. I'm pretty sure it's hiding with my lazy bones.

Home Tours

"Shut the back door. We don't want to air condition the neighborhood!!"

Anyone ever utter those words at your house?

We now have an even better reason to close the back door. This morning a chipmunk decided to drop in for a quick tour. While the boys and I walked around on our tip toes hoping to scare the chipmunk back outside with our added height, our fearless protector, Wink, laid on the front rug. Finally, when he got up to see why we were all walking in circles, on tip toes no less. He noticed our visitor and quickly escorted him back into the yard.

Learning to Dance

"Would you like to dance?" asked my sweet Birdie.

I couldn't jump up fast enough. My daughter led me to the front hall, cued the jazz music (Christmas jazz that is) and put her hand in mine. Somewhere during her 8 years she has picked up the box step. It goes with the jazz. We spent a precious few songs dancing like I was 8 again pretending to be on Solid Gold Dancers with my girlfriends.

I wouldn't trade these summer days home with my children for anything.