Daily Goon

Moved. Again.

2009-10-20T19:37:00.002-04:00

Hopefully, this one will stick.

http://gwyneth.butera.org.

See you there.

entertaining corn

2009-10-12T12:34:00.000-04:00

entertaining corn on my new blog

strangest artichoke i've ever seen

2009-10-10T21:36:00.002-04:00

visit my new blog http://gwyneth.butera.org/?p=528 to read more.

GTT (Gone to Texas)

2009-10-05T15:04:00.005-04:00

Last Wednesday (was it really almost a week ago?), I spent the morning working. Then packing. Packing for our trip to Texas. To visit family. Or maybe really to go to the Austin City Limits Festival, since both my mom and sister were in other cities.

Packing has gotten to be quite easy. The girls still do forget one thing or another each time, but overall it is a smooth process. And we are bringing less and less each time. We ended up with one small suitcase, a cooler and three backpacks ... sure makes it easier to stop at a hotel for the night.

I decided that even though we can make the trip in one day, we'd break up the trip so I could work mornings and drive afternoons. We took our time, stopping at random places like the Target in Oxford, AL to pick up new water bottles. And at the Texas Welcome Center to take a photo. And, of course, we stopped at Chloe's favorite gas station and took a photo of her favorite sink.

The girls spent the trip working on their homeschooling, reading and playing a little bit on their DSes. We also listened a bit to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Nothing too remarkable about the trip, apart from seeing the trailer full of sweet potatoes. Took us a while to figure that one out!

Happy Birthday, Camille!

2009-10-03T10:09:00.003-04:00

Yikes! A week has gone by without my updating the blog....I guess I've been preoccupied with other things, like getting us to Austin and working.

Last Saturday, Camille turned 11! To celebrate, we tried to get her a new passport, but that plan was quickly scratched. Instead, we went out for brunch at Thumbs Up. Chloe hadn't wanted to go since she wasn't sure if the cafe had whipped cream for her waffle, so we first stopped at Kroger and bought a can of whipped cream and brought it in with us. Chloe didn't want me to -- she thought people would laugh at her. I reassured her that people would think that she had the best parents in the world...

In the evening, Claire and her dad came over to help us celebrate with Camille's choice for dinner, an ice cream cake and some gifts. Camille was pretty thrilled with it all, but can't wait for her BIG gift -- a trip to the Myrtle Beach MagiQuest in January with two friends.

Photo Friday: The Face

2009-10-02T22:26:00.001-04:00

The Photo Friday challenge for last week was "The Face."

From Photo Friday

This week's challenge is "Fast Food."

Photo Friday: Plants

2009-09-25T16:18:00.001-04:00

The Photo Friday challenge for last week was "Plants."

From Photo Friday

This week's challenge is "The Face."

What I Learned Today

2009-09-22T23:53:00.003-04:00

Flood:

Language Arts:

Cursive may be a fading skill, but so what?
Camille is learning cursive, but I won't make her use it. (I don't use it.)
The Case of the Missing “G”
This local McDonalds is advertising a burger that would make even the most dedicated McD patron think twice.

Seattle? Atlantis? Where are we?

2009-09-22T13:48:00.003-04:00

What's that bright orb up there in the sky? For a while there, we felt that we had been transplanted to Seattle. Day after day of gray, rainy skies. And then the torrential storms came...the ground was already saturated, so with no place for the water to go, it headed to the creeks and rivers. Those had as much as they could hold, so they flooded.

Pine Lake and Snapfinger creek both swelled and merged into one great big river. Many of our neighbors' houses were flooded by this major flood. The berm appears to potentially be in danger of collapse. If that happens, the lake will drain out Snapfinger Creek until we can get it repaired. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.

What I Learned Today

2009-09-18T23:01:00.000-04:00

books:

From my neighbor Allison's shared book blog:
BBAW Day #5 - Giveaway!: This time for a copy of The Associate by John Grisham

homeschooling:

Ken Robinson says schools kill creativity

What I Learned Today

2009-09-17T23:37:00.004-04:00

books:

From my neighbor Allison's shared book blog:
BBAW Day #4 - Giveaway!: This time for a copy of Testimony by Anita Shreve.
Dan Brown book selling better on Kindle than hardcover?
Don't, and never have, lived in Philly, but this is good news, nonetheless Nutter: "Plan C is Terminated"
Plan C included closing the doors to all public libraries in Philly

homeschooling:

Using the Internet to Motivate Writing
I'm wondering if Camille will enjoy some of these online writing resources. She's been writing a lot on her blog (Gazoo Girl), but this might be more satisfying for her.

work:

Logan’s Run
I truly can't believe that this segment about IBM is true. Or have I been bluewashed?

music:

My Austin City Limits Festival schedule
This is a WIP; let me know if there's an awesome band playing that I should not miss!

travel:

What to do when everyone else is back in school
Perks of homeschooling -- this article makes me ready to hit the road again -- we're still two weeks away from heading to Austin City Limits. Too soon to take a trip beforehand and yet too long!

What I Learned Today

2009-09-16T23:44:00.001-04:00

books:

From my neighbor Allison: BBAW Day #2 Giveaway: Simon Bloom: The Gravity Keeper and Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect by Michael Reisman Camille and I both enjoyed the first Simon Bloom book, so if you like to read what Camille likes to read, you'd enjoy it.

Camping at last

2009-09-16T19:01:00.003-04:00

I have a fond memory of camping as a kid. Sleeping in the tent, drinking hot tang and playing in the "woods" around the site.

In fact, Rob and I registered for a tent, sleeping pads, a camp stove, etc. for our wedding and took it all with us to go camping at Cinnamon Bay National Park on St. John, USVI. We went camping a bit in Maryland, but then once we had Camille, we rarely went anymore. In fact, I think our last camping trip was BEFORE Chloe was born. What happened?

This past weekend, Rob took the kids to Florida and I went camping (5 miles from home, but still camping) with my book club. We cooked over the camp stove, sat around the campfire, and slept in tents. In fact, I slept in my 20 year old LLBean (has the "old" LL Bean label) sleeping bag, with no pillow and no sleeping pad. And it was FUN!

This was good practice for me. I'm taking the girls camping in a few weeks. I believe that we will have some local friends with us -- we are heading to LEAF, and I am very much looking forward to it.

What I Learned Today

2009-09-15T23:00:00.002-04:00

pets:

Gazoo, our kitty, loves to help me feed the turtle (Dumbledore) twice a day. Turtle food is her absolute favorite treat. Cat nip does nothing for her, but the turtle food? Makes her go nuts.

What I Learned Today

2009-09-14T23:44:00.010-04:00

books:

From my neighbor Allison: BBAW Day #1 Giveaway: Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
(I don't read mysteries, but maybe you do ...)
AND another: BBAW Day #1 - Another Giveaway! The giveaway books are The Chocolate Lovers' Club by Carole Matthews and Mating Rituals of the North American WASP by Lauren Lipton.

travel:

The Urge to Preserve: British Banter, Holy Bones, and Inspired Globe-Jotting podcast from Rick Steves. From this, I plan on buying (library doesn't have it) the book Globejotting: How to Write Extraordinary Travel Journals (and still have time to enjoy your trip!) by Dave Fox

work/life balance:

The Autumn of the Multitaskers
Neuroscience is confirming what we all suspect: Multitasking is dumbing us down and driving us crazy. One man’s odyssey through the nightmare of infinite connectivity

radio/podcasts:

This American Life Episode 389: Frenemies (For me, not as interesting as the Rest Stop episode.)
Malcolm Gladwell on Cultivating High Performance
Should the educational system identify the gifted children and give them separate, enhanced educational programs?
Free song from Dan Zanes and Friends "The Fine Friends Are Here"
recent reviews of "kindie" music (TMBG, Peter Himmelman and more)

words and phrases:

Lexical Gap
Y'All versus Youse Guys verus You (plural)
Tactile Learning
I hadn't seen this one before: WIIFM (What's in it for me/)

pets:

Though I don't understand where she learned it, I do appreciate that our kitty Gazoo wipes her feet before entering the house. If only everyone would do that!

social networking:

Email notifications of new Blogger features because Blogger is ten... As an aside, Google's birthday (Sept 27, 1998) is memorable for us, because Camille was born the day before. Camille is therefore of the pre-Google generation.

What I Learned Today

2009-09-13T23:11:00.006-04:00

books:

The Amazon Kindle iPhone app has greatly improved. I bought a book at 2am last night while camping and read it on my phone. Awesome! (But I'm not yet loving the book club book: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem!)

music/radio:

This American Life Episode 388: Rest Stop

pets:

Tame geese move TOWARDS the flashlight, not away from it, at 3:30am.

crafts:

I think I'm ready to be done with this 3 year scarf (in time for Steamboat?) and move onto something a bit more challenging.

random:

I can still sleep on the ground in a sleeping bag, with no pillow and no sleeping pad.

What I Learned Today

2009-09-12T20:41:00.010-04:00

music:

Cool "meta" video from They Might Be Giants: The Making of Electric Car
Mr. Stinky Feet gives back

social networking:

Are you ready for Twitpocalypse Redux?
Wow... Shutterfly is different from the last time I went ... neat looking "blogs"!
Love how I can take a Word file emailed to my gmail acct, open it in google docs and download it as a pdf file. Don't have MS Office, so Google Docs Rocks!

pine lake life:

At Stone Mt. this weekend, the Yellow Daisy Festival.

photos:

My Photo Friday: Urban Landscape

computers:

telnet on a Mac: Applications > Utilities > Terminal -- but I command-c didn't provide me with Ctrl-c, so I couldn't escape a telnet to a machine for which I had no user/pwd

food:

Morningstar Farms Italian Sausages are too crumbly compared to those from Boca, but I can't find the Boca ones anymore
Is TANG still sold? Are mimosas made with TANG acceptable while camping?

pets:

Why is Dumbledore (our turtle) trying so hard to escape her cage?

Photo Friday: Urban Landscape

2009-09-11T19:39:00.000-04:00

The Photo Friday challenge for last week was "Urban Landscape."

From Photo Friday

This week's challenge is "Fear."

What I Learned Today

2009-09-11T19:12:00.005-04:00

social networking:

Google owns a microblogging service called Jaiku. My "handle" is gbkgwyneth.
I shouldn't say bacon when I mea meatless breakfast strips (aka "fake bacon").
We're paying too much for our webhoster. We have the basic plan, but the silver plan costs what we are currently paying and offers more benefits, like mySQL.

work life:

A former co-worker (and twitter friend) has joined Gurobi, a company started by former ILOGgers, one of who was my PhD thesis advisor.

pine lake life:

Neighbors can be very kind - mine cut my grass for me today and refused payment.

random:

All three strands of fiesta lights still work, even though untangling was a course in knot theory.

Social Networking for Work

2009-09-09T15:33:00.002-04:00

Today at work, I attended a virtual meeting regarding choosing the right social networking tool. When I first had access to the IBM network while our company was being integrated, I was surprised, and overwhelmed, at the various social networking choices that were available within IBM.

I've heard all the reasons that people don't like social networking, but my experience with the various "Web 2.0" tools have been positive ones. Working from home and homeschooling can be quite isolating. The social interactions, when not allowed to take over my day, help reduce the feeling of being stranded.

However, that's not the power of social networking, especially when considering it as an integral part of my "ideal work environment." Having a potentially large network of people who can offer advice and solutions is quite powerful. One person at today's meeting said something akin to "Knowledge kep secret is not powerful; knowledge shared is."

I hope that I will find ways to share my knowledge and encourage others to do the same. And I hope that the tools that would make this sharing easy and useful will be there to support me.

Sun and Surf

2009-09-06T14:07:00.002-04:00

As happy as I was to get home and stay home for more than a couple days, after two weeks I knew that I needed to get away. The drudgery of being at home was getting to me. Even if I can't get away from the homeschooling and work, a change of scenery always helps for me. Especially if we can change our scene to a beach one. Being late in the season, I was able to book us a room at the hotel we had stayed at in Myrtle Beach twice already this year. In fact, when we got there, it seemed that we were the only people on the floor -- all the other rooms had their doors open and we could see that there was no one else around.

I love having an ocean front (as opposed to ocean view) room. The bedroom in the suite has sliding doors on two walls, and even the shower has an ocean front window. It is so refreshing to be able to see and hear the ocean while working and homeschooling.

It was early enough that the waterpark pool was open, and the girls loved the slides. Chloe took to the playing in the waves for the first time and declared that the "Ocean is awesome!"

Quidditch, Stormtroopers and the Mario Bros.

2009-09-05T17:52:00.003-04:00

Every year, the streets of Atlanta are stormed by fairies, darth vaders and everything in between. Even though we've been living here for 10 years, I had never managed to make it to the annual Dragon*Con parade. This year I vowed to finally make it there to witness the Stormtroopers marching down Peachtree.

What an experience! So many people out there having fun in their own ways!!

Photo Friday: Seaside

2009-09-04T09:25:00.002-04:00

The Photo Friday challenge for last week was "Seaside." I didn't submit an entry, but here's my favorite seaside photo from the week.

From Myrtle Beach - Aug/Sept 2009

This week's challenge is "Urban Landscape."

Photo Friday: School

2009-08-28T17:11:00.001-04:00

The Photo Friday challenge for last week was "School." I didn't submit an entry, but here's my favorite school photo from the week. Not artistic, but does show one part of "school" here at our house:

From Photo Friday

This week's challenge is "Seaside." As my idea is to not go through my old photos, but to submit something from the current week, this would be a bigger challenge if we weren't headed to the beach in a couple days!

Homeschooling Again

2009-08-26T15:33:00.004-04:00

That was a long break away from this blog!! In the meantime, we have posted Episode #6 of gbkZoo, interviewed Princess katie and Racer Steve for our "Giving Back Kids: KindieCares" segment on our radio blog Gooney Bird Kids, and cleaned/rearranged many rooms in the house.

Now we are settling into a homeschooling routine again. It is nice to have long days with nothing on the schedule; what a change from last year!

Chloe is having a bit of a difficult time adjusting to more formal schooling. Some days she gets right to work. Some days she fights against even the easiest assignments. I hope that we get more of the first type of days as the time goes by.

Having been home for a contiguous three weeks now, I decided it was rime for a trip. The girls and I will head to Myrtle Beach while Rob goes to Minneapolis.

From Daily Photo 2009

Making Lists

2009-08-04T16:36:00.004-04:00

As our year of having an apartment in DC is coming to a close, I'm working on my list of the things I WON'T miss. Then maybe I won't feel so sad about no having a place in DC.

I won't miss:

the desk lamp that is masquerading as a bedside lamp and which burns me every time I try to turn it off

the lack of a real cooking pot (why didn't I just buy one last August?)

closet doors that come off the track every time I open or close them

being a single parent for a majority of the time

spending a whole lot of money on commuting and parking, even though I work from home

But my "will miss" list is just as long. I know what I'd do differently if a similar opportunity arises in the future. I'll save that for a different post.

Peter Himmelman in the Rumpus Room

2009-08-03T16:35:00.000-04:00

Our year in DC is coming to a close. While I doubt that it was our last Rumpus Room Concert (we had been to 3 or 4 before this year), it is our last for a while. And what fun it was! A nice crowd came out to see Peter Himmelman. I wasn't sure if the show was going to be Peter solo or not, and it turned out that a nice band had been cobbled together -- I think Peter said that they had only rehearsed once, earlier in the day.

The show was incredibly fun (and funny). Little Rhett stole the show with his antics. Hey, if your mom is the boss and your dad is in the band, you kind of get a little crazy, huh? The kids in the audience had great fun, making large dancing circles. Even the babies got into it; two babies did a little call and response screeching.

While we love Peter's CDs, I wasn't sure what to expect from a live show. It was wonderful! He has a wry sense of humor, played just right. One kid told Peter it was his birthday, and Peter made up a song right there on the spot, as well as freestyling verses into other songs. Wonderful and fun!

We're so happy that we got this chance to see Peter Himmelman perform live!

Endless Green

Imagination

My Trampoline

Candy

A Dozen Roses

King Ferdinand

The Main Dish

My Feet

James is 6

My Green Kite

I Don't Like to Share

Milkshake at Jammin' Java

2009-08-01T16:26:00.001-04:00

Less than a week after our last journey there, we headed back to Jammin' Java, this time to go to the CD release party for Milkshake. Unfortunately, the UPS guy couldn't find Lisa's house yesterday and there were no new CDs available. Instead, Lisa gave a price break on the DVD and gave away posters for free. Bummer, but not really the reason we went.

There was quite a large crowd, including a birthday party for a two year-old. Chloe, in typical Chloe fashion, wanted to go up to the mosh pit, but didn't want to go alone. So I gave up my nice chair and sat on the hard floor up front -- have you ever seen the floor at Jammin' Java? Free prize if you post in the comments what it resembles....

All in all, it was a great show, a nice mix of old favorites and songs form the new CD. As usual, the kids went nuts (in a good way) for the big beach ball baseballs and for the bottle of sunshine. I loved watching all the littles (and my Chloe) jump and sing. Lisa comes out into the audience fairly often, which the kids just love. The lighting was a little bizzare, but ....

After the show, we chatted with Lisa for a while, wishing her well and asking her to come to Atlanta soon ...

Bluebird

We've Got A Band

Birthday

Happy Song

Shake it Out

Fingers and Toes

When I'm Old

Play Ball!

Superheroes

Best Friend

Bottle of Sunshine

You Did It!

Milkshake Rock-n-Roll

Boom Boom

Anything is Possible Today

Robbie Schaefer, Chloe's BFF

2009-07-26T19:08:00.003-04:00

With Robbie's big news this week, we knew we had to get to the Robbie Schaefer kids' show at Jammin' Java this morning and wish his safe travels. Robbie is heading to Uganda this evening for a wonderful kids' music exchange. To read more, visit Robbie's blog.

The show at Jammin' Java, though a Sunday morning one, was well attended and full of kids and parents having a GREAT time! We love the way Robbie works with the audience and his wonderful songs. His new "Water" song really is wonderful -- it reminds us of the stylings of Justin Roberts that really get us in a good mood. But it is Robbie, all Robbie. And we all love him.

Chloe claims that Robbie is her BFF and is ready to tell him everything that is on her mind (poor Robbie).

There's A Carp in the Tub

No! No! No!

Water

Chicken Lips

Twinkle, Twinkle

Sally can I Walk You Home

A Donkey and A Mouse

Look At That!

Silly Old McDonald

Pooh Corner

There's a Hole in the Bucket

Cowboy Named Bob

Down By The Riverside

Banjo to Beatbox at Wolf Trap

2009-07-25T18:11:00.000-04:00

Thanks to Facebook, I realized that Cathy and Marcy would be at Wolf Trap today, performing in their "Banjo to Beatbox" series (I think all day I wrote it backwards -- apologies!). We arranged to meet there with a French coworker of mine whom we never met up with while in Nice last week. I'd never been to Wolf Trap and looked forward to visiting. At first, we saw a stage with a bright, sunny, HOT lawn and worried, but after buying tickets, we were directed to a WONDERFUL theater in the woods, aptly named "Theater in the Woods."

Unfortunately, photos and videos were outlawed by the park rangers, so I was unable to take any nice photos, but I did manage to take a few without ending up in federal jail ...

The show was fantastic! We've only ever seen Cathy and Marcy perform a couple songs at a Bill Harley concert, but they are so well known that I knew about what to expect. And I've listened to their brand new CD Banjo to Beatbox a few times, but I was not prepared for how amazing Christylez Bacon would be and how well the trio would interact in the show.

We greatly enjoyed the spoon playing contest, the banjos and the setting. And the little boy Jessie?, who got up on stage to play washboard and then banjo, really was fantastic!!! Closing with "This Land Is Your Land," while not unexpected, really lets us finish on a high note. We enjoyed meeting Chistylez Bacon after the show, too.

Lunch Money in the Rumpus Room

2009-07-24T18:19:00.001-04:00

Today we were thrilled to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC after over a month and see Lunch Money perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We always love to hear Lunch Money live, and while we heard a couple of the new ones in NY, we heard another couple of new songs and think they rock! We cannot wait for the next CD!

We had a fabulous time in the Rumpus Room. The KPL "minion" Ali does a great job keeping everyone entertained and organized. Mindy and various family members were there for the show.

For various reasons, the band was not planning on playing their KPL hit "It Only Takes One Night To Make a Balloon Your Friend," but a kid requested it. Then there were some technical difficulties, so the band played it, not for airing, but as filler while the connections/wires were being fixed. At the end of the show, someone gave Molly (I think) a red mylar balloon, and guess what happened?? It flew away! Red ones go to Paris, don't they?

Go check out the Lunch Money concert schedule and get out to see them live if you can!

Hope We're Ready to Rock

I Want A Dog

Tricycle

Rollercoaster

Ate Too Much of My Favorite Food

Yes, We Have Rhythm

Stop and Go

Dizzy!

It Only Takes One Night To Make A Balloon Your Friend

I Like To Push Buttons

Spicy Kids

Come Over To My Dollhouse

Tiny Dinosaurs

I Love My Library

Cookie As Big As My Head

And Home Again

2009-07-20T23:45:00.000-04:00

Barbara woke early to repack. The girls got up a little after that, and we all headed down to breakfast. Our last in France. Not great, but not terrible. Chloe got a boiled egg, but it was part of the English breakfast and therefore soft-boiled. Blech. Barbara left for her flight; the girls and I headed down to the pool for a while. We finished up packing and got to the airport three hours ahead of time. We stood in line for over three hours and just made it to the gate. What an uncivilized to travel!

The flight was uneventful. Chloe sat next to a "stranger" and did just fine. Immigration, customs and security moved smoothly and Rob was waiting for us by baggage claim. The bag took a while to come, but that might have been because the bags came on a belt other than the one that was reported.

Linda was waiting in Pine Lake to bring us dinner. I enjoyed it, but it was so late, all I could do was eat a few bites and fall into bed. Rob and the girls stayed up a little later to play games.

Vorey to Roissy

2009-07-19T23:59:00.000-04:00

I woke early from being too cold! I could tell that we were in the mountains! The light was fantastic, too. Everyone else slept a bit later, so I read for a while. There were not many people in the restaurant for breakfast, so it was quite relaxing. We did run out of coffee and also the milk wasn't good, so we were pests. After breakfast, we headed over to the open air market. Though it took quite a long time for Chloe to choose (what else is new), both girls managed to choose new crocs.

We checked out and started to drive towards Paris, but the fumes from the crocs were so toxic that three of us started to feel really sick. So we stopped to store them in the trunk. The trip to the autoroute was pretty, but the autoroute was boring. And Chloe got bored and made it hard for everyone. We stopped at a rest area with a bouncy tent, which the girls enjoyed. As we got close to Paris, our gas started to get low, and the service station on the highway had no diesel. Fortunately, traffic in Paris was not too bad, and we made it to the airport gas station. The car return went well, and we found the hotel bus. The bus driver didn't help us load the bags, which was hard with my bad knee and after a long day of driving.

We checked in at the hotel and walked into the village of Roissy en France (not really much to see). When we got back, the girls and I went down to the pool. I couldn't get Orange to accept my credit card, so I used Rob's Boingo account instead. We ordered room service for dinner and watched Harry Potter in French.

NIce to Vorey

2009-07-18T23:51:00.001-04:00

Barbara and Suze got up very early to get to the airport. When Barbara returned, I got up and worked on packing and helping to clean up. We were ready to leave at about 9:30, but didnÕt know how to "check out." Barbara made some calls, then walked to the car park to get the car so we could load it. We loaded quickly and then headed out of town. After having done it a few times and learning the roads, it was finally fairly easy....

The autoroute was a mess. Traffic moved very slowly quite often. We stopped for lunch at an "aire," where we made sandwiches from our leftover food. It was very windy and things get blowing over. After too many traffic jams, we left the autoroute and headed west towards the mountains. We left the heavy traffic, and instead entered into beautiful mountains as we crossed over from the Rhone-Alps into the Loire valley. The views were spectacular as we went along. We stopped at a gas station (full service!) and bought bread and nougat (the specialty of Montelimar).

We finally came to the hotel that I had booked in Vorey. It was a nice little village and a nice hotel. We had a large family room that even had an alcove for Barbara to haver her own room. We got wifi to work, after some misunderstanding over handwriting and French keyboards. Barbara took the girls out for a walk and then for some dessert in the hotel restaurant.

Harry Potter in Nice

2009-07-17T23:44:00.000-04:00

Barbara and Suze decided to take the bus to the Matisse and Chagall museums. The girls and I went out to "go shopping." I am a terrible shopper and donÕt much enjoy it, but Chloe loved it. She even managed to buy herself a dress and some Littlest Pet Shop toys. Neither Camille nor I found anything that we really felt was worth buying. After we all reconverged at the apartment, I spent some time looking up options for going to see Harry Potter. I finally found a theater less than a mile away that was going to be showing the new movie with subtitles in French, instead of dubbed. The girls and I took off for the theater without having had lunch.

Much to our surprise, the snack choices were from a small vending machine, and I had no change with me. We all enjoyed the movie, but by the time it was over at 4:30, we were ready for lunch! We stopped at a cafe and had pizza before returning to the apartment. Suze and Barbara went out for dinner. The girls and I wandered out to Old Town a bit later and got ice cream. Chloe didnÕt like her choice, so I ate it and let her make another choice.

Back at the apartment, the girls watched tv while waiting for Barbara and Suze to return so we could have a little birthday celebration for Susannah.

Lunch in Eze

2009-07-16T23:28:00.002-04:00

Debating between going to St. Paul de Vence and Eze, we decided Eze would be more picturesque and figured out which bus would get us there. Because I wanted to get seats on the bus this time, I though we should leave early. We found the right bus bay and waited. And waited. And waited. Finally, a bus pulled in, but the driver got out and locked the bus, saying that he was done(!) and that another driver would come shortly. As it goes, not only did another driver come, but he came in another bus, and parked in the neighboring bay. So all the people behind us in line got on the bus first! We did get seats, just not together.

The ride was a pretty one, up to Eze. We walked from the bus stop up, up, up to the village, which has narrow alleys and stairs everywhere -- no cars allowed! We wandered around a bit, then found a nice cafe for lunch. Chloe ordered pesto pasta, which I shared with her. Barbara and the girls stayed at the cafe to order dessert while Suze and I went to explore the exotic garden just above. It was very, very hot up there.

We walked down to the bus stop, then headed back to Nice. In Nice, we relaxed a bit. Suze and Chloe went down to the beach. Camille and I joined them a bit later. We had a bit of dinner at the apartment, then went out to the Old Town. The shops were mostly closed. Chloe was cranky, so I took her back to the apartment while Suze, Camille and Barbara had a snack at a cafe.

Off to St. Tropez

2009-07-15T23:46:00.002-04:00

We got going late in the morning. After a little breakfast, we headed to the car to drive to St. Tropez so Suze could see it. It took a couple of hours to get there by the highway. We found a nice parking lot in the center of town and got out to walk around. It was hot, hot and my leg was aching. We went down to the harbor where there were lots of great big yachts. A crowd was gathering for one big one that was docking. Some people there said it was the yacht of a famous designer that throws "products" to the crowds when he disembarks. We kept moving on, but it was hot, and there were more cars there than could fit. Some super fancy and others delivery and garbage trucks.

We walked back to the car to get the beach stuff and trekked down to the beach. We walked through the front door of a very opulent beach club, out onto the beach and then down to the beach to a sandy beach where the kids could play. We had some sodas at the little cafe (they were done serving lunch) and then the kids went swimming. Barbara walked back to the car and moved it to the cafe from town, but the traffic was miserable. And it took us a very long time to get to Frejus, where we stopped at a quick for dinner.

From there, the drive was quite beautiful and there was very little traffic on the way. We went through the Esterel, Cannes and finally into Nice. At the apartment, we showered and fell into bed as it was quite late.

Bastille Day in Nice

2009-07-14T23:37:00.000-04:00

While the rest of us slept in, Barbara went for a walk and geocached. Suze fed the girls breakfast when they woke. When Barbara got back and the apartment was cleaned up, Barbara, Suze and the girls went to the beach. I stayed behind to catch up on the photos and blogging and have some more of the quiet time that I haven't had much of this year. After swimming for a while, they came back to the apartment. Camille, Suze and Barbara went up to the waterfall on the top of the hill. It was 6pm, so Chloe and I headed out for the parade and met them along the way. The parade was very military and not very exciting, though the boats and planes were kind of cool.

We walked back to the apartment after the parade and had some dinner. We headed back down to the beach to go to the fireworks, which were pretty cool!

Day in Monaco

2009-07-13T23:33:00.003-04:00

Barbara and Chloe went out to get some bread. While out, they stopped at the playground. After breakfast, while Suze and I were getting ready to go out for the day, Barbara took the girls out to the toy store across the street. We then all quickly headed to the bus station and jumped on a very full bus to Monaco. We mostly had to stand the whole way, but it only cost us four euros.

We walked up the hill to the palace, but my leg was really hurting. The girls bickered over their Orangina, which put me in a very foul mood. Things got better when we found a playground and Suze found the tourist train. We took the little sightseeing train ride around Monaco, then went to a nice restaurant for lunch. We took our time and relaxed. Camille decided to get some ice cream, but Chloe preferred to hold off for ice cream until we got back to Nice. We found the return bus stop, but the first bus that came filled up before we could get on. We managed to get on the next one, but again, we had to stand for much of the trip.

Suze, Chloe and Barbara headed out to get groceries when we got back. After snacks and drinks, Barbara, Suze and the girls headed out to explore and found some cool marzipan creations and lots of other fun things. I enjoyed sitting back and reading.

Market and Beach

2009-07-12T07:22:00.002-04:00

After we got up and had some breakfast and figured out the problem with the wifi, we headed out to explore the area. As we walked down to the beach, Chloe spotted some ice cream cones that she could not wait to try! We also found the big daily market that had flowers, fruits, veggies and more! Just across the way was the beach, which we couldn’t wait to get back to. On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at the open air market and bought olives, fruit, veggies and flowers. After lunch and a rest at the apartment, we went back down to the beach. The beach is not sandy -- it is smoothed pebbles, which are nice to sit on, but not very nice to walk on.

Barbara and the girls had lots of fun swimming, then it was time to head back to the apartment so we could go get the car and head to the airport. On the walk up, the girls got viollete ice cream in colored cones! Suze’s plane was a little late, and then I managed to get us on the highway going the wrong way, but soon enough we were back at the apartment. After some dinner, we took Suze down to the beach and along the promenade and then back home.

Arrival in Nice

2009-07-11T23:10:00.001-04:00

We woke a little earlier this morning and headed right to Nimes over a road that looked just like central Texas. We parked the car and found a cafe for some breakfast before walking over to the Arena, which looks like a small Coliseum. We walked around it, Chloe got a pen like the one Camille had gotten at Orange, and then we went back to the car.

In Arles, we ended up in the middle of a huge market. It was very slow going. Just about every other person told us that the license plate was hanging sideways (one screw had come out). It was surprising how many people told us -- I wonder what the problem is? As soon as we got out of the craziness of the market, Barbara pulled over and we tried to fix the plate with floss, but it wouldn't hold. A man from the garage that we were in front of came out to his car and Barbara asked him for help. He went in the garage, go the right tool and fixed it in no time flat.

We bailed on Arles and got back on the autoroute with all the other vacationers. The traffic was backed up for the toll booth and then again for rubbernecking an accident going the other way. We got off the highway in Nice and ended up on a street that was moving super slowly. We finally got in the parking garage, unloaded our bags and found out how the parking pass would work. We walked the half mile to the apartment -- one bag broke and then I read the wrong street number. We got in the huge apartment, but the man letting us in managed to lock himself out of his apartment.

We dropped our bags and then headed out to the grocery store for lots of food and drinks. We had a quiet evening at the apartment, getting unpacked, having dinner and relaxing.

Romans in the South

2009-07-10T23:50:00.001-04:00

I woke early, then went back to sleep and got up later than I had wanted. We packed fast and left the hotel. We stopped in town to have breakfast, then drove south through Grenoble and then back west again. We stopped in Orange to see the Roman Theater. Chloe ran up and down the steps. After we left the theater, we were all tired and hungry and couldnÕt figure out where to eat. We found our way back to the car and drove to Pont du Gard, where we had a late lunch in the cafe there. From there, Barbara called a few hotels nearby and found us two rooms for the night.

The bridge was awesome. We walked across, and the girls went down to the little beach to put their feet in the water while I walked the other way to catch the good light. We drove to the hotel, got our keys, unloaded our luggage and got ready to go to the pool! The kids got right in and swam. Barbara came down and we ordered some wine, then the girls were cold and hungry, so we ordered hot chocolate, French fries and more wine! We went to our rooms and reorganized and tried to go to bed early.

Paris to Chambery

2009-07-09T23:55:00.001-04:00

Most of the clothes were dry, but not all, so Barbara worked on ironing them to speed along the process. We worked on final packing and on cleaning up the apartment. The person from the management company came, and we hauled our bags down the stairs since the elevator was not working. Instead of taking the metro, we walked to Place d'Italie, which wasnÕt too bad except for one hill.

I thought the rental car was going to be more difficult than it was, but it went smoothly. Barbara drove us out of the city, past the street market crowding. There was no backup in traffic, but big highway tolls as we went. The service areas were generally nice, with playgrounds galore, including a mushroom themed one. We had some fries and a sandwich for lunch at one service area, too.

Along the way, we started to see lots of fields of wheat and corn, and then sunflowers. As the sun dropped, the flowers were a wonderfully brilliant yellow. We stopped in Vezelay, a hilltown famous for its basilica. There, Barbara bought a bottle of Laurent's family's wine.

We headed on east towards Geneva, but stayed in Chambery. We spent some time searching for a place to stay and finally found a small hotel with rooms available. After getting two rooms at a nice place, we went back into town and had some dinner, Back at the hotel, Chloe and I took one room; Barbara and Camille took the other. We cleaned up and went to bed as it was about midnight already.

Sailing in Paris

2009-07-08T23:07:00.001-04:00

The girls slept in late. I got up as Barbara left for her meeting, and I worked on some photos and blogs. The day started out rainy, so I didnÕt want to head to Les Halles. Instead we went out to a street market then took the train to near Notre Dame, where we went to Musee Cluny, the museum of the middle ages. Both girls really seemed to enjoy themselves there. We then walked up Rue St. Michel to Jardin du Luxembourg, where the girls rented sailboats for half an hour. It started to rain just as their time was up, but the rain was brief, and we were able to walk up to the Patheon and down Rue Mouffetard towards the apartment.

Barbara was at the apartment packing her things. After a little lunch, Barbara took the girls to the Museum of Natural History across the street.

Off the Beaten Track

2009-07-07T23:48:00.003-04:00

Chloe's birthday! She opened one present in the morning when she woke, then we headed out to the Jardin d'Acclimation. It wasn't obvious of it was going to rain or not, so we kept our fingers crossed. We bought a book of tickets and headed in, along with busloads of kids. Our first stop was the Enchanted River, where we took a nice boat ride around a river. From there, we ended up in the carnival area and the girls rode two rollercoasters. Chloe wanted to try the bumper cars, but didn't figure out how to make her car go until the time was just about up, so she went a second time and had a blast!

We walked through the little zoo, then went to the water play area, but it was really too cold out to make it very fun. We had paninis at the little restaurant, then the girls went to jump on the trampoline. Chloe got to jump for 7 minutes on trampoline #7 on 7/7, her 7th birthday! The girls decided to use their final tickets on the dragon rollercoaster, then we headed back to the metro.

It was drizzling at the Grande Arche when we arrived and was pouring by the time we got to the top. We wandered around the computer museum while waiting for the rain to stop. We went out and looked at the view, but the wind was strong and chilly. After descending, we took the metro to Les Halles, but the children's garden was closed because of the rain. We walked to Pompidou, then by Hotel de Ville where there was a neat exhibit about gardening. out front. We passed Notre Dame, and Chloe soon fell asleep. We wound our way home, stopping at a grocery store.

Barbara hadn't left for her dinner yet, so we had a little birthday party for Chloe. I worked on photos and other things during the evening.

Disneyland

2009-07-06T23:34:00.000-04:00

We got up earlier than the other days, but still didn't get out of the apartment until 8:30 or so. We walked to Gare de Lyon, which was a bit of a walk, but the easiest way I could figure out to get there. We found the right track with little problem, but then things went downhill. I don't know how I managed to do it, but I slipped getting on the train and ended up on lying on the platform with my leg dangling between the train and the platform. I got up quickly and we got on the train, but I was really sore and could tell that a huge bruise was forming on my thigh.

We got to Disney and got in the slowest line imaginable. When we finally got to the cashier to buy our tickets, she told me that my Paris Visite pass, that I bought because of the Disney discount (among other reasons) was expired. She refused to give me the discount. I got very angry and told hr it was not expired and that I had used it for the train to get there. She still refused. I asked to see the manager, who finally came and told me that because I bought the pass before April, I couldn't use it. I countered that I had bought it on Thursday when I arrived at CDG! I think the problem was that the date printed by the machine was 7/2/2009. I had to talk to yet another person who wanted me to pay. I then explained that the Disney tickets in his hand were ones I had paid for (without the discount); I was NOT going to pay again! So we had to go back to the original cashier, who then "discussed" with the manager for another 15 minutes, and then finally I had my tickets. What a royal pain that was. I thought Disney would be better than that, even in France.

Then the day started to get better, and we had a wonderful time. We first went on the Peter Pan ride, then the spinning teacups and through Alice's Maze. The lines weren't too bad, even though the park was very crowded. We then went on Star Tours, had lunch and then went on the Buzz Lightyear ride. Chloe was too short for Space Mountain. We headed on over to Adventureland where we went on the Pirates of the Caribbean. On Main Street, we had some Ben and Jerry's and then waited for the parade. After the parade, we went on Thunder Mountain. Chloe likes the French one better than the Japanese one.

We had a snack, then waited for the big Fantillusion Parade and fireworks, which were awesome! The train ride back was hard -- I had to stand and my leg started to ache. At Gare de Lyon, I got us a taxi since it was so late and we were so tired.

During the day, it was interesting to se the mix of cultures. The Germans picked up trash that other people dropped. The only people to really react to the lady who passed out in line were the Italians, who yelled for help and ran to find an employee. The Chinese people on the train were very alarmed by the African-French young adults that got on th train and were a bit rough in their horseplay. The French kids and teens made it a point to push past people in line.

Walking in Paris

2009-07-05T23:13:00.000-04:00

We didn't get started until late, since we had stayed up so late. We decided to walk up to Rue Mouffetard and see the shops there. We then headed through the nice plaza and down some stairs to the Arena Lacepte, an ancient Roman arena where people play soccer on sunny weekend afternoons. The girls wanted to go to the catacombs, so we took the train down there, but the line was huge. We found a nice creperie and had some lunch, but the line was still way too long. We decided not to stay and went home for a nap before going to the zoo across the street. From the zoo, Barbara headed out for her walking tour. The girls and I headed back home, so we could get lots of sleep before our big day!

Playing in Paris

2009-07-04T23:55:00.000-04:00

In the morning, Barbara went out to her meeting. The girls and spent some time getting ready, then headed out to La Villette. We wandered over to the canal and were disappointed to see that the Dragon Slide was closed off. The geode in front of the museum really impressed Chloe! We crossed the canal and the kids went on the carousel. They chose to ride in the rocket ship, but it didn't move up and down like they thought it would, which was sad. We then went to see the big playground! It was so hot out and the sun was beating down, so we didn't stay too long, but the kids got to use the zip line, bounce and more. After that, it was time for an Italian ice! We wandered around La Villette a bit, but it seemed that all the other playgrounds were closed. We got on the metro, but had too switch lines becuas the train was just too HOT!

We ended up at the Louvre, and from there we walked through the Tuileries. The kids played in the playground and then on the trampolines. It was midafternoon at that point, so we decided to have lunch at a restaurant in the park. Barbara and her friends decided to join us there. From there, Barbara, the girls and I walked to the Eiffel Tower and then took the train home. We had a nice dinner in the apartment, but the girls and I stayed up way too late.

Off to France Miniature

2009-07-03T23:19:00.000-04:00

Barbara woke early. I woke a little later and started looking at my photos from the previous day. Barbara went down the block and bought a baguette for the morning. I had coffee and bread while working on my photos from yesterday. I got the girls up and we picked up around the apartment. When Barbara returned from her meeting, we headed to Gare Montparnasse, where we got a snack and took a train out to La Vierre, way past Versailles! We hoped on a bus and finally managed to arrive at France Miniature.

The park is in an approximate shape of France and a walking path leads through different regions of France where there are models of famous and typical buildings of the locale. We managed to see the all the highlights of France in just a few hours!

The girls got to play at the adventure area for a while. The girls went on the super slide, but didn't like it because the French kids were pushy plus one kid had just puke. They liked the slide, but didn't want to go again. We went over to the zip line chair; like the slide, there was no attendant. The kids there were trying to line themselves up, but were not "behind the line." I fought with some "line cutters" but then a boy got knocked out when the zip line hit him. I was worried that he was unconscious and tried to find another adult (parent or French) to help) and it was slow. Finally, he got up, found his parents and the line games continued.

We continued with the French countryside, then headed to the snack bar. From there we went to the mini-cars area. Camille and Chloe both got cars and drove around for a very long time. We walked the path to the bus stop, waited, and took the bus. At the station, we jumped on the train, but it was an RER that was not on my map! I then looked and saw the map was from 1993....

We managed to make our way to Porte d'Italie via RER, tram, RER, Tram and walking. We were very surprised to see that the Hotel Campanile in Porte d'Italie was completely remodeled.... ILOG in Gentillly was at lest still proudly displaying "ILOG" instead of "IBM." We met up with Kathleen and went to our favorite Italian restaurant, Barbara had to leave for her dinner, but we finished ours and lft Kathleen there. Back at the apartment we tried to rest. Barbara came home from her dinner, but Chloe could not sleep. Barbara woke early. I woke a little later and started looking at my photos from the previous day. Barbara went down the block and bought a baguette for the morning. I had coffee and bread while working on my photos from yesterday. I got the girls up and we picked up around the apartment. When Barbara returned from her meeting, we headed to Gare Montparnasse, where we got a snack and took a train out to La Vierre, way past Versailles! We hoped on a bus and finally managed to arrive at France Miniature.

And we're in Paris

2009-07-02T23:38:00.000-04:00

After having been in the air for just a couple of hours, it is already a new day! The movie is still playing and yesterday's dinner is still on its way. Thankfully, it was not Good Friday, and there was plenty of pasta left when it was our turn to choose. The attendant handed me two red wines -- do I look that that careworn, or is Chloe old enough to merit her own bottle of wine? Chloe woke for dinner, eating only a small pat of it as usual. At least she was willing to give up the half-eaten meal. On the way to Japan, she insisted on keeping her tray for hours.

Chloe was excited to see that we were over Canada as we were finishing dinner. The next movie warned it would be violent (as I wrote, no July SKY Magazine means no knowledge of what movies would play), but it was "Race to Witch Mountain." Violent yes, but not moreso that Star Wars. Definitely not the Witch Mountain movie I remember. The girls concur.

It is now 1:15 am (France time) and still light out. I hope the girls will nap after this movie is over. The people in front of us were the flight bartenders, so more often than not, there were people standing in the aisle blocking our view of the non-individual TV screen.

It is now 8:15am. The girls and I did sleep for a few hours. The landing was unremarkable; the stroller waiting for us as we got off the plane. The stroller gave us the advantage of jumping to the very front of the immigration line; however, we then had to wait a very long time for the bag to come. Waiting for the bag in chairs was more comfortable than waiting in line, at least.

We walked over the the train station and bought our 5 day passes. A little expensive, but gives us free RER/Metro/bus and also discounts at places like the Arc de Triomphe and France Miniature. We are now sitting in the "train station" waiting for Barbara to arrive. The girls played and read for the 3.5 hours that we waited.

Once Barbara arrived, we got on the RER B that was at the station, and luckily enough, it was an express to Gare du Nord. We had a bit of an adventure getting to the metro from there. The metro was hot (Paris is HOT today). We found our way to the apartment where we were met by someone from the management company. Happily, there is a lift (carry the bags up 5 flights of stairs would have not been fun). The apartment is nice, has a balcony, and overlooks the Natural History Museum at the Jardin des Plantes. It has internet, but no wi-fi, so my Air can't connect. Not too big of a problem really; I can keep up with email via Barbara's computer.

The girls were exhausted and crashed in front of the TV for an hour. While the girls were napping, a large crowd started to gather outside our apartment. We learned from the flyers and the news that it was a rally/memorial service for the victims of the Comoran airliner crash. President Sarkozy was going to arrive soon. So we packed up and headed down into the thick of the crowd. The women had brightly colored wraps; the men all had on the same style caps. The police opened up the road in front of the mosque and we fell in with the made rush. After a bit, it was too dense, so we fought our way out and around to another, empty street and got to see Sarkozy drive by! The girls got some ice cream, we waited for a while, then left.

After a brief walk through the Jadin des Plantes, we went to a small store and got a few provisions and had a snack in the apartment before heading out again. We walked down to the Seine, intending to get a bus to the Eiffel Tower, but instead chose to walk along the river. There we found huge gatherings of picnickers and dancers out. The girls played in a playground that has been upgraded since the last time we had been there.

Walking back to the apartment, the girls got crepes from a sidewalk to-go place. Back at the apartment, we went to bed, but Chloe could not get to sleep.

And We're Off

2009-07-02T11:09:00.001-04:00

I got the girls up very early to try to adjust them a little bit. I drove Rob to the train station, then worked during the morning. The girls and I finished packing and headed to the Apple Store and then the airport. Our gate was T01.

We passed the time in the airport at Starbucks, where the kids ate some yogurt and grapes and carrots and cheese. I wanted something iced (hot day!) and not caffeinated (need to sleep on the plane as we arrive at 6am), but there was only ONE choice! The girls wanted to play checkers on the checkerboard tables, but they didn't have checkers. And there were no vegetarian sandwiches of salads. But, we had a nice place to sit and there was a convenient outlet for me.

Our first disappointment on boarding was the lack of individual tvs! Chloe was so distraught that she fell asleep even before we pushed back from the gate. Also, though it is July, there were only June Sky magazines available. Since we've flown three times in June already, this was a bummer - no new crossword, no new sudoku.

A bit of turbulence is making the flight uncomfortable; hopefully the air will get smoother as we move along. Camille is watching the movie, one choice only, "17 Again." I just hope that the movie selection stays "family friendly," though I have no way of telling without a JULY issue of the SKY magazine...

5pm time for snack. Why can't we just skip to dinner, since it is already 11pm in France -- seems like a reasonable time for dinner, n'est pas?

What Happened??

2009-06-30T20:30:00.003-04:00

Over two weeks have gone by and I haven't blogged. Here, there or anywhere. Yikes!

I came down with the flu a couple weeks ago while in DC. And it knocked me out. I felt better, flew home, and then got the second stage, which I'm just now finally recovering from. I was exhausted. Just wiped out. It took all my energy just to get my "real" work done. That's all I could manage. Luckily, the girls were in summer camp down at the beach house in the village, so I had quiet days and they had tons of fun doing something really neat with other kids.

It wasn't all relaxing, unfortunately. There was the vet visit for the cat. Then the one for the turtle where I learned I'd have to donate lots more time to her, including giving shots to her every other day, letting her outside for daily sun and more. I struggled to catch up on what I had missed doing while in DC; what a pile of CDs had collected and the paperwork, ugh.

Today was even more fun with two cavities and an abscessed tooth split between the girls. Then water dripping from the ceiling.

Today was also my last day doing a job that I've done for ten years. I'm still working with the same people, just giving up a responsibility that has become second nature to me.

So, tomorrow begins our 2.5 week VACATION in Paris and Nice, and I am so looking forward it. I will try to relax and have fun.

Brady Rymer at XM - 12 Jun 2009

2009-06-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC and see Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen them a couple times before, once in Georgia, and love his enthusiasm, music and smile. And even cooler, Barbara came with us too!

We spent a bit of time in the upstairs waiting area. The kids were asked if they would like to make some recordings for possible use on the station, and they all loved it -- they had to say "Sirius/XM Kids Place Live!" Camille ran around chasing one very fast little toddler who feels right at home at XM, wandering down this way and that.

We finally got to head into the performance theater. Brady in the band wandered in before Mindy got to play her "joke" on them. Brady jumped right into playing, starting off with the logical choice "Here Comes Brady Rymer and the Little Band That Could." The band members at this show were Brady on lead, Seth Farber on keybaords, Liz Queler on mandolin and vocals and then Chris Roselli stuck over in the drum box.

The concert was fantastic. Great energy, great selection of songs (though I would have loved to hear 15 more, of course). The audience really got into "I Found It!" Brady played older songs along with songs from the latest CD and even a couple new tunes, which we can't wait to hear on his next CD! He finished up on a high note with the popular "Road Trip." What fun!

We had a great time hanging out for a long time after the show. I can't believe that we won't get to go back to XM for at least a month! A whole month! How will we make it that long?

First Free-Range Children Fear

2009-06-11T07:38:00.004-04:00

One of my fears of giving Camille more independence is that she doesn't "pay attention." And yesterday that led us to a scary, difficult situation. In the end, all turned out fine, but it did highlight that she (and I) need to practice more.

If we are to go separate ways, it is not enough for me to tell her where to meet me. I must insist that she repeat it back. At want point do so many "preparations" take away from the independence that we are working towards?

Even then, I don't know that I can yet trust her to "pay attention" to what is going on around her. No matter how many times I've said it, explained it to her, shown her, when her brain goes somewhere else, she forgets to "Pay attention." I was hoping yesterday's scare would be enough to "snap her out of it," but it wasn't.

I'm awfully frustrated.

Free Range Kids - Part II

2009-06-08T07:06:00.002-04:00

When we returned home from DC, my amazon package was waiting. I had to finish Percy Jackson before I dove into the Free Range Kids book that I discussed earlier. Camille read it and remarked that the parents in it were just nuts. That should have been a good warning sign that I wasn't going to love the book.

Why did Camille feel that the parents were nuts? Because of how extremely over-protective they were. Not only did I feel that I don't worry about many of the things that the author said people shouldn't worry about, some times I felt as though she worried more than I do about some things. She addressed some fears and concerns that parents have about letting their kids have some independence, but none were mine.

I was hoping that the book would open my eyes to how I could help my kids have more independence. How to insist to "authorities" that their independence is a part of growing up and not neglect on my part. I was hoping she would give me ideas on areas in which I could give my kids more chances at having more independence. I was hoping that she would help me to identify any fears that may be holding me back and how to address them.

She discussed how to have the kids do more around the house. I now think most people would be shocked at what my kids have to do. Granted, Camille is not out there running the lawn mower, but they do so much. Of course they pick up their rooms. They do the laundry. They take out the trash. They empty and load the dishwasher. They pick up, and not just their own things. They cook. Chloe chops. Camille boils and bakes (though I do draw the line at her taking food out of the oven while she is on skates). I don't let them cook or chop or skate when I'm not home. Camille is so easily distracted into a book or game that I'm nervous (there's one of my fears).

Since the author didn't help me much, I am left in an uncomfortable place. I have to do explore what Free Range means on my own, without a guide! Can I send Camille two blocks down the street to the DC library on her own? Seems like something a 10 year old should be able to do. What do I fear? She knows how to cross the ONE street with the light. She knows how to behave in a library. I think my fear here is that she won't be able to handle someone questioning why she is on her own!!!

I was disappointed to see that I am going to be required to sign my kids in and out of camp this week. I really thought that I'd try sending them together the 2.5 blocks in our sleepy little village each morning. I would be able to work; they'd build their sense of independence. Maybe I will talk with the camp director (a good friend of mine)...

Ah well, I'm going to keep working on this, for sure.

e-Mealz

2009-06-07T12:55:00.003-04:00

While I was frenetically scheduling our lives on Thursday, I decided that whenever I tried to explore my cookbooks, make up weekly menus and create shopping lists, I could only do this for a few weeks before something threw me off. I thought it would be so cool if I could find weekly menus with grocery lists made up so I'd just have to print them out and head to the store.

And, I found such a site! That even offers vegetarian menus! e-Mealz.com. I've made a few meals from this week's menu already; we had lettuce wrapped burgers and cucumber salad one night and spicy tacos on pita another night. I'm happy that the shopping lists are well organized and don't call for exotic ingredients. As for the meal plan itself, I'm sensing that there it relies on "fake meat" a bit more than I'd like and doesn't use as many veggies as I'd like. I think that I can improvise a bit here and there to make it fit my liking.

In any case, I think it will take a huge pressure off me of trying to decide each day what to have. If the kids don't like the meal, then it isn't my fault -- I didn't choose it!

Out of Control

2009-06-04T16:30:00.003-04:00

Every so often, I get this feeling that things are out-of-control. I get the daily things done, but I am making no progress towards my long term goals. I know what needs to be done, but I get so lost in the minutiae that I never get to the big picture things.

There are so many different things that I want to do. I go through cycles of creating great schedules, sticking to them for a while, then throwing them out the window. Today I'm back to making great schedules and plans. I wish I knew what I needed to do to make them stick.

Weekend on the Boardwalk

2009-06-02T08:07:00.002-04:00

After we had so much fun in Myrtle Beach earlier this month, we were ready to return to the beach! Since my husband Rob is living in Washington, DC, this year, we decided to take advantage of his location and explore a Maryland beach, Ocean City! The girls have never really been to a boardwalk beach, except for a grey Sunday morning in Coney Island, so we were looking forward to this new experience.

We had PERFECT weather, except for the blinding rain and fog on the drive out to the shore. The kids had a wonderful time doing the boardwalk thing - candy, fries, popcorn, arcades, tacky souvenir shops, amusement park rides and all the rest. Camille rode the waves for HOURS. Chloe loved the pool, the sand, and the playgrounds on the beach. I enjoyed some quiet time, but not the sunburn I ended up with.

Night At The Museum

2009-06-01T10:55:00.005-04:00

On Thursday, after we left XM following the Randy Kaplan concert, the girls and I returned to the National Museum of Natural History. Each time we go, we find something, new to look at. This trip, we stumbled on a hidden hallway with butterfly specimens!

Our main reason for going to NMNH, however, was to go see Night at the Museum: Battle for the Smithsonian on the IMAX there! It was such a blast to see the movie there at the Smithsonian (though if I had to do it again, I think I'd go see it at the Air and Space Museum since many of the action scenes were from there). We all had a blast!

Randy Kaplan at XM

2009-05-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we were excited to get back to the Rumpus Room at XM in DC for our third time in May! It was so great to see Randy Kaplan perform live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio! We've seen him a couple times before, but never for a full show, and it was great! We love his sense of humor and way of blending song and outrageous stories.

While we waited in the lobby for Mindy to come get us and bring us upstairs, weren't we surpised to see Robbie come down. And then Mindy. And then Kenny and Jinx walked in too! Wow! I don't think I've ever seen all four of them in one place! After we went up to the waiting area outside the performane studio, Mindy sat down to rad a story. And Robbie sat on the floor right in front of her. And Kenny sat in his lap. What a silly crew they are!!!

Chloe was thrilled that he did "Shampoo Me" and I was so happy that he played the "Grape Juice Hesitation Blues." He got the audience interacting on songs that they had never heard before. Everyone had a blast, but the loyal KPL listeners were quite anxious for him to get to the two songs that KPL has been playing (over and over) lately. After the show, he hung out with the fans until he had to run to catch his train. Camille and I found it amusing that Randy had the "Ladybug Without Spots" verse order taped to the guitar.

Good Morning Blues

Grape Juice Hesitation Blues

Mosquito Song

The Fire Engine

Shampoo Me

The Lady Bug without Spots

Michael Finnegan

You Can't Always Get What You Want

Loquat Rooftop

Roaches

Over the Rainbow

No Nothin'

Tomorrow

Gotta Get Gone

Travel Goon Blog

2009-05-28T08:51:00.003-04:00

I do like to start them, don't I? This new one is a lot of fun for me. I love to be learning about and heading to new places. And I love to bring the kids along for the ride.

Travel Goon

Arts in the Park

2009-05-25T12:19:00.003-04:00

Yesterday, we headed into Blue Ridge for the Arts in the Park Festival. I remembered to bring our soda mug for $1 refills. The girls enjoy looking at the art, but Chloe especially liked looking at all the DOGS! Big ones, little ones, all of them.

I got a new broom. If I have to sweep so much, it might as well be with a nice broom! Rob and the girls got two kinds of soda and some boiled peanuts. Camille loved checking out the library book sale while Chloe played on the playground and then got her face painted.

Barbara bought an Appalachian One String Plucking Stick. It was a bit muggy, but we were so glad that it did not rain!

Memorial Day, Pine Lake Version

2009-05-24T18:20:00.003-04:00

Pine Lake celebrated Memorial Day in its traditional manner yesterday. Around 11:30am, we gathered at the clubhouse to decorate our bikes, our scooters, our wagons and ourselves in red, white and blue. At noon (or maybe noon PL time), the mayor gave a little speech to honor our soldiers and police officers, then raised the flag. The parade got off to a slow start, as the cars couldn't get through the people, but then we all joined the parade dow to the beach house. Once everyone arrived at the beach, the mayor cut the ribbon and declared the beach to be OPEN!

We had a fabulous cookout and ice cream social there at the beach, while the kids enjoyed swimming and playing in the sand. Thankfully, the rain stayed away until after the ice cream social.... It is now officially summer in Pine Lake!!!

Europe in one day

2009-05-22T09:02:00.003-04:00

A few weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to travel to Latvia, Spain, Germany, France, and Luxembourg ... thanks to the third annual European Union Open House Day. We started out one block from our apartment, at the EU Delegation offices. I had always wanted to go inside, and was happy for the chance! A music blogger friend, Jeff from Out With the Kids, and his family came along as well.

Spain was WAY too crowded so we hoped on a bus to the ultra-organized and sprawling German Embassy. There the kids got lots of swag, went in a bouncy house and had big pretzels. France was a bit more formal and Luxembourg tiny and quirky. Except for the rude American tourist I encountered in Germany, it was a very nice day in Europe.

Germany:

French art:

Ceiling of the dining room in Luxembourg:

Art Lessons

2009-05-21T10:14:00.004-04:00

By the time Camille was "this many," she knew her impressionists. She could tell a van Gogh from a Monet. She had been to Giverny and stood on Monet's bridge. Chloe suffers from second child syndrome. We have not exposed her nearly enough to our favorite art, poor thing.

A couple of weeks ago when we were in DC, the girls and I walked the few blocks up to the Phillips Collection. It had been a very long time since I had gone, and I couldn't remember what to expect. I didn't know if the girls would enjoy it or not. I was pleasantly surprised.

First, kids 18 and under don't need a ticket, so it was, I believe, only $12 for the three of us to enter. Photos are allowed (no flash). PLUS, they have a nice "scavenger hunt" booklet for kids to help them discover the art. The book not only has them looking for certain pieces of art, but also helps them to examine the art and think about what they are seeing and feeling as they do. Awesome.

Chloe really got into it and worked on writing down her thoughts. She spent long chunks of time looking at the various pieces and going back to look again. We sat for a long time looking at Renoir's Boating Party.

Last night, we watched a short film on French Impressionists in preparation for our trip to France. When the Boating Party came up, Chloe went nuts! She was so excited to see something that she recognized. I think I need to make more of an effort to get her to the various art museums as we travel.

Subway versus Metro

2009-05-20T09:17:00.008-04:00

As I wrote a couple times before, we took the train from DC to NYC for the weekend earlier this month. Riding the subway, metro and Amtrak all on the same day was quite the experience.

As we rode the metro (DC) from Union Station back to the apartment, it quickly filled with a huge crowd of sports enthusiasts; clearly some event had just let out. People were joking and talking and one lady saw that Chloe and I had become separated and moved a little, making some friendly comment about how packed the train was. I remarked back that at least it was clean and I felt safe, unlike on the subway in NYC earlier that day. Then a guy two seats away remarked "Well, at least you can take the subway early in the morning and late at night." And on the friendly exchange went. And it got me thinking.

Hours:
Here's the one place that the NYC subway beats the DC metro. We had a 5am train from Union Station on Saturday morning, and metro wasn't running yet. I don't see hours listed on the metro website, but from what I have seen, metro doesn't start running until 7am on the weekends. That's ridiculous.

Cleanliness:
Hands down, metro wins. The subway is disgusting. The stations are filthy. The trains are a bit better, but the stations? Yuck. Metro stations and trains have some litter (pick up after yourselves, people!) but are nowhere near as grungy as the subway stations.

Safety:
I have never felt unsafe on metro. Not even at the NY Ave stop at 10pm a night. Sometimes there are people asking for money, but I have never been worried. (Maybe I should?) But the subway...it does not bode well when the ticket agent is screaming into the speakers for 10 minutes for NYPD to come to her aid.

Tickets:
We weren't in NYC long enough to really get a feel for this, but both girls had trouble swiping the paper cards at the turnstiles, as opposed to feeding paper cards to the readers in DC. Now that we have the "tap" cards in DC, it is a breeze.

Stroller friendliness:
On our last day in NYC, the stroller was completely laden down with our swag. In DC, careful maneuvering can get the stroller though without folding. In NYC, nope, no way. Stroller had to be folded to get through. In DC I can always find an elevator. Not true in NYC. Plus, Metro has escalators -- no stairs. I don't know if we saw a single escalator in NYC.

Getting from A to B:
Sure, NYC's system is much farther reaching than DC's. But when I look at a map, figure out what transfers I need to make to which letter train, I expect that train to go where it is marked to go. In DC, I have never been taken off to unknown places. In NYC, we got on the F train, but it went off on the C route instead of the F one. Huh? And I have now heard that this is quite common.

I'm sure I'll think of more.

Natural Historian

2009-05-19T20:46:00.005-04:00

Earlier this month, we were in Brooklyn for a weekend. On Monday, we checked out of our hotel and (finally!?!) found a good bagel place. The weather was grey and rainy, so we really were not in the mood to explore places by foot outdoors, especially while carrying all our conference swag, our clothes and electronics. Luckily for us, one of the best places to go with kids in NYC has its own subway stop! And, to top it off, it is one of the nicest subway stations in the city: American Museum of Natural History Subway Station.

The station is only the tip of the inverted iceberg. As we ascended through the museum (via elevator, given our stroller loaded down with CDs and more), we were so happy to meet up with so many of our old friends. The girls have been to AMNH enough times now that they remember their favorite spots and can't wait to get to them (like the giant armadillo). We wanted to go to the gem room, but it has extremely reduced hours these days due to budgetary issues.

The one BIG development in this trip was Chloe's reading ability. She can now read so much to herself that she doesn't need much help to read the signs. And she wanted to read each and every display. I found myself a nice spot to sit with the stroller and let her take her own sweet time in each room. I felt no need to keep an eye on her the whole time (a la Free Range Kids). She knew where I was, knew how far she could go and was happy to explore on her own or with her sister to guide her.

Kingston Plantation, Myrtle Beach

2009-05-18T08:30:00.002-04:00

A couple of months ago, I had the irresistible urge to get to the ocean. This seems to happen every year in the winter. I must get to a place where I can see the sun rise over the horizon, hear the waves and feel the sand. It doesn't matter if the ocean temperature is freezing and the wind is cutting.

A friend of mine had just returned from Myrtle Beach, SC, and having never been before, I thought that sounded like a place for us to try. Last year, we ventured to Jekyll Island in order to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. While I really enjoyed it, Jekyll was way too isolated for us. We had no kitchen in the hotel, the hotel *gasp* didn't have wi-fi, and no vegetarian friendly restaurants were open. I was reduced to making instant mac and cheese in the coffee machine. Really.

So, when my friend describe the Embassy Suites in Myrtle Beach, I was excited to try something new. We had a blast. So much so that we returned for three nights this week.

Our foray to Myrtle Beach proper in February did not leave me with lots of love for the "strip;" I saw too many low riding pickups for my taste. But the Embassy Suites is separated from the strip, in the "Kingston Plantation." Moreover, one of the amenities that had us wanting to head back to that particular hotel complex was the "waterpark" that was not open in February.

The two downsides of the hotel for me are that the wi-fi was not very strong in our room and the indoor pool is on the other side of the complex, necessitating a car or bus ride or a long walk.

Other than that, we were so thrilled with the hotel itself and the staff too. Where do I start?

I love the "east facing" oceanfront room (each floor has two oceanfront rooms -- all rooms are ocean view). On my reservation I requested the "east" room and they had that noted and complied with my request. The suites are fabulous for a family -- an oceanview living room with sleeper couch and dining room with fridge/micro/sink separated from the oceanfront bedroom by a door, with a wraparound deck connecting the two as well. The kids could watch Disney in one room while I read in another.

The complimentary breakfast buffet is nothing fancy, but really the same as what we had at the Doubletree in Philly, except for less attention to presentation details. There is a hot bar with scrambled eggs, meat products, pancakes alternated with French toast, potatoes, etc. Juice, coffee, cereal, yogurt, fresh fruit, toast, mufffins, etc. They will also make omelets and waffles to order, but that was too slow to make it worth it.

The Manager's Happy Hour was also fun, even, or especially, with kids. The bartenders know how to make nice drinks for kids (the girls loved the suggested Blue Smurfs), snacks are kid friendly. Moreover, the karaoke lady was happy to let the girls pick out a song and sing.

Room service brought us fabulous grilled cheese sandwiches and fries -- pizza and other things for kids are available on the menu as well.

BUT, the main reason we returned to the hotel was the waterpark, SPLASH! It wasn't open in February (too cold, obviously), but it was scheduled to be open certain days in May. Trued to the website promise, it was. The waterpark has a big pool with a huge play structure with two long water slides and other fun water fun. There is also a "Lazy River" which is a heated loop that you can float around in a circle.

The girls LOVED it! As the kids go in, they are given a color-coded bracelet. Orange for kids three and under (adult at all times). A yellow for kids that are under 40in tall at the shoulder. They can swim in the pool without an adult in the pool, but need an adult in the Lazy River. A blue band is for kids over 40" at the shoulder. These kids can be without an adult, though supervision is recommended. There are lifeguards at the waterpark pool. Towels are available for guests.

The pool area, which also leads to the beach, also includes a snack bar, drinks bar, activities for kids and multiple pools and hot tubs. The beach has lifeguards and ocean conditions are flagged. Chairs are available to rent; we brought our own. Shell collecting is pretty good; shark teeth are plentiful. There was very little seaweed and no jellyfish.

As we were there during the week in May, the pool and beach were not crowded at all, but I expect that during prime season, they might be fairly crowded.

We did not leave the hotel/pool the whole time, except for a quick trip on our first night to the Kroger that is about a mile away to pick up food for lunch, dinner and snacks.

Overall, I highly recommend this hotel as a great place for a beach escape with kids.

Free Range Kids

2009-05-17T08:56:00.005-04:00

I haven't (yet) read the book Free-Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry by Lenore Skenazy, but it is intruiging...the idea that kids should be given a lot more freedom to wander than they are. Much of the time, I don't give my kids as much freedom as I'd like, not because I'm worried for their safety, but because I'm worried what others will think. (Not always, but much of the time.)

I tried to get Camille to go to CVS in DC last week. It is NEXT door to the apartment, in the same building as the Ritz-Carlton. She was too scared. Scared of what? Of doing something on her own? Of getting lost? It was daylight. There is a police station and secret service agents nearby (usually). I hope that on the next trip she will. I've taught my kids so much about how to travel; I would think that she could take the metro to The Mall and go to the museum on her own fairly soon!

A couple of weeks ago we went "camping" in Fort Mountain. (I promised to write about it, but never did.) A bunch of families that we knew were there in cottages all around. The kids came and went as they pleased from house to house and then around the circle on wheels (mostly scooters). They know that wheels mean helmets; they needed no adults to tell them what to do and where to go. It was a boon for all. The only time I really felt I needed to keep an eye on them was when they were in the water where there was no lifeguard. I wish that our little town had more kids Camille's age. I would love the chance to let her have the freedom to roam.

But, now I need to find the book. Library doesn't have it. No Kindle version either. Maybe the DC library has it. Maybe I'll send Camille to go get it for me.

Where in the World?

2009-05-16T14:20:00.002-04:00

Wow, I haven't done much here in the past couple of weeks. Lots of deadlines at work plus lots of travel have left me scurrying to catch up on all of my various projects.

In the past couple of weeks we have been to NYC, DC, Spain, Germany, France, Luxembourg (in fact, just the EU Embassy Open Houses for the EU nations), Georgia, Myrtle Beach and back home. We have a full week at home this week, so I hope to catch up on everything, then get ahead again, as we have two more trips to DC and a trip to France (the actual country this time) coming up in the next couple of months.

gbkZoo Epizode #4

2009-05-12T20:24:00.001-04:00

Be sure to check the gbkZoo blog for all the latest news!

Billy Jonas Live at XM

2009-05-11T15:01:00.000-04:00

Last Friday (how have I gotten so far behind??), we were lucky enough to be able to get to see Billy Jonas live in the XM LiVE Performance Studio (aka Rumpus Room).

Along with getting to go to an awesome live concert, we also met up with new and old friends. Everyone was so nice, and so happy to be there for the concert. I "re"met someone from past Rumpus Room shows (Kit, thank you for being was SO nice and friendly) and chatted a bit with the mom of Scrap Metal creator Danny - Chloe was fascinated with Danny, but too shy to say anything to him. We also enjoyed being with a fellow kids' music blogger, OWTK Jeff and his family. And, of course, Chloe loved being with her BFF + .5, Mindy. I felt so lucky to be a part of the Kids Place Live family!

On top of all that, we were thrilled to be a part of the audience at the Billy Jonas show. Billy entertained us all and happily described the "reclaimed" instruments that he used in his bangin' and sangin'. He sang some of our favorites but also made up a new song on the spot, called "Ducks and Racecars." The kids really got into the call and response parts and the fireworks applause, too.

We look forward to hearing this show on the radio some day soon!

gbkZoo videocast Episode #3

2009-05-06T14:11:00.000-04:00

Be sure to check the gbkZoo blog for all the latest news!

Rainy Day in Brooklyn

2009-05-04T07:22:00.003-04:00

I woke up early on Sunday and tried to catch up on all the videos and photos I had taken on Saturday. But by 11am, the kids were still asleep and I was more than ready to get out of the hotel and do something. Unfortunately, the drizzle turned to rain...we found breakfast (the girls really wanted donuts, so I had to put off my bagel for a day). Camille looked in the tour book for something to do. I checked her list and realized that the NY Transit Museum really was not all that far away! Not far away, but by the time we got there I was soaked...

Just as we walked in, a craft project was starting up and we decided to check it out. The kids made some pretty fun horse and carts! Chloe worked so hard on hers that she was the last kid to finish. Upstairs, which was really downstairs, one level below ground, were 15 different kinds of working tunrstiles, two different buses and so much more. Everything is quite hands-on, useable and fun for the kids.

Then downstairs, in a subway station were so many subway cars that I lost count. We went in and out of them, tested the seats, noting how the cars have changed through the years. The girls had so much fun playing in a subway station!

On out way back to the hotel, we stopped in a cool kindie bookstore and bought a new game that we played while eating pizza at a real pizzeria. I'm so glad we didn't slog into Manhattan, because Brooklyn was so much fun!

Kindie Brooklyn

2009-05-03T10:02:00.007-04:00

For the third year in a row (2007 and 2008), we headed to Brooklyn to the gathering of the "kindie" music scene, now called now called kindiefest.

What fun it was to see so many of our favorite musicians and our online friends all gathered in one spot! The girls got the chance to participate in a songwriting workshop and perform on stage with the lead singers from Lunch Money and The Jimmies. We caught up with Ralph, Tom and Michael (Ralph's World). Chloe hung out with her "BFF and a half" (Absolutely Mindy). I sat on the floor next to Dan Zanes.

What a blast! The panels were enlightening, the music was fabulous and the people were wonderfully kind and seem so eager to make the genre as a whole be such a positive, supportive one.

The Sippy Cups at the Rumpus Room

2009-05-01T23:41:00.002-04:00

Tonight we went to one of my favorite places to be - XM Radio. We saw a great band The Sippy Cups perform in the Rumpus Room ... where else can you catch juggling, sumo wrestling, unicycle riding, and plate spinning live on the radio??

Chloe and Camille sang everyone waiting for the show; I hadn't even heard one of the songs, since they wrote them just last night. Chloe did her best to get as close to her BFF-and-a-half, Mindy.

Photos by Gazoo

2009-04-29T09:04:00.001-04:00

The girls read about a pet collar cam a while back, and I promised them to look into it. I found only one, offered on various sites, and the reviews were quite mixed. I bought it knowing that it could break on first wearing -- it is not waterproof.

It arrived in our mailbox (no thanks to online sites that require a street address and then ship US Mail) yesterday. After a couple hours of charging, it was ready to go. Gazoo was not so ready to go. But she put up with it and went out to wander. As we watched her the whole time, there were really no surprises, but the results were fun nonetheless.

gbkZoo videocast Episode #2

2009-04-28T12:55:00.002-04:00

Be sure to check the gbkZoo blog for all the latest news!

Geocache mission

2009-04-26T18:11:00.007-04:00

Fort Mountain was our address this weekend. The "Trading Post" had wifi, but in the so-called "cottages" I could barely squeak an Edge connection on my phone. More on our weekend later this week....

As we were leaving, my parents pulled up to the cottage with a plan. Not quite fully formed, but a plan. We headed out (in three cars -- which I think we could have reduced by at least one of maybe even two for some of the trip) to a really remote lake, Peeple's Lake.

The mission was to find a geocache, but not just that, the mission of the cache was to pick up a couple bags of trash. As we parked -- not so easy amongst the trailers for the ATVs -- we spotted way more poison ivy than trash. As we walked towards the trash, we left the poison ivy (which I am now a pro at spotting) and found lots of dwarf iris plants, though not the orange and purple ones we saw at Fort Mountain.

The geocache was found by my dad who can spot them a mile away. The girls found treasures. I took photos. I got SO close to a snake and didn't realize it until Camille was a foot away from it, then I panicked. I thought it was a water moccasin; my dad said it wasn't. We continued on, seeing less innocuous forms of wildlife, until I found a big tick on Chloe's cheek.

Argh! If I show my kids that nature terrifies me, how are they not going to be nervous?? Chloe is such a naturalist, I don't think I've scared her from venturing out.... Here's my dad with the trash that we carted out ...!

Every Day is Earth Day

2009-04-23T09:09:00.003-04:00

right?

I was not too surprised at some of the backlash that I saw to Earth Day. No, these are not people that hate the earth, these are the ones that love it and think that *every day* should be Earth Day, so they don't want to do anything special.

There's a little more to it than that, in my mind. Yes, asking people and business to conserve on one special day is quite silly. Everyone should do their part to conserve every day.

However, I believe that everyone who cares about the environment should participate in Earth Day in one way or another. With so many outlets discussing and celebrating Earth Day, it should be exploited as a wonderful day to evangelize. More people can be reached and new ideas can form. If just a few people make a vow to change one or two things about how they live, then the spark will flow.

Our family works at finding new ways to be more green, and "Earth Day" is a great time to teach us something new. Canvas bags are the norm -- I am forever saying "I don't need a bag." I've been doing this for 9(?) years now, and more and more people are catching on to how easy it is to make this change. Recycling - we were the first on our block in the old house to buy a recycling bin. Now every house has one. How exciting is that? Composting - not sure how well this is picking up, but we've been doing it for 8 years or so now. Buckets in the showers collect water for watering the plants....so easy to do, but maybe overlooked until pointed out. But I know there are more ideas, and with all the buzz on Earth Day, each of us can resolve to find more ways to conserve that we will not just use once on Earth Day, but every day!

Listen to Your Buds

2009-04-21T06:27:00.001-04:00

On two of my other websites Kids Place Live Fans and Gooney Birds Kids, I recently posted a semi-PSA about a campaign called Listen to Your Buds.

This got me thinking. How many kids do listen to their music and too loud, and why? I don't know, I'm curious.

For me, the rule has been that generally the kids DON'T use headphones -- and I mean headphones, not buds. There are exceptions to that rule, as a matter of course. When we are on the airplane and we need to respect the other passengers, the girls use headphones to watch a movie (if an appropriate one is playing) or for their DSes. Another time that headphones are used is if there is a time change that is difficult for a kid to adjust too. Then said child can use headphones to listen to a book on the iPod.

Otherwise, we all listen to the same thing. One thing we have going for us is that I do listen to and enjoy kids' music (obviously). And the kids are willing to put up with the music that I listen to (generally folk/singer/songwriter genres). I hope that we can continue on this path, all of us sharing our "listening pleasures" together, instead of tuning ourselves out.

Now, back to hearing loss. I am very guilty of setting my kids down right in front of the stage at concerts sans earplugs. I always find it ironic that the kids' stage at Austin City Limits is the one that is easy to get close to and is where the kids are. Getting their ears blown out -- earplugs have been available, but had run out by the time we considered them a necessity (School of Rock Allstars).

gbkZoo videocast

2009-04-20T07:59:00.002-04:00

The girls and I have been talking about a new project for some time now (like I need another project), and yesterday we progressed on it. They love the idea of having a webshow (though technically a videocast since it isn't live).

We have posted the first episode, started a blog and, of course, created a twitter feed.

The segments of the first episode include "Cooking Fun," "Kindie Buzz," "Random Dance Scene," and "Fan Mail." Won't you send us some fan mail to gbkzoo@gmail.com?

DC Concerts

2009-04-19T14:27:00.003-04:00

DC was hopping this week for kids' music. We just couldn't fit it all in!

We went to Jammin' Java in Vienna TWICE, once to see Secret Agent 23 Skidoo and then again for Rocknoceros's big PINK! CD relesae party.

We went to the most awesome of venues, the White House, where we took in both a SteveSongs and an Imagination Movers concert. We skipped the Fergie show, choosing to roll eggs instead, as that's why we were really there.

We went to see Bill Harley out in Bethesda in a high school auditorium. Even better, Cathy Fink and Marcy Marxer joined him on stage for a few songs.

We also met up with Mr. Stink Feet, aka Jim Cosgrove and his family at the zoo. I'm sad that we didn't get to one of his area shows, but they just didn't fit our schedule. Also disappointing was that we couldn't get out to Baltimore to see Eric Herman.

On Thursday night, we saw The Brian Horton Quartet perform at National Geographic Live. Not music directed at kids, but some great jazz that could be enjoyed by adults and kids alike.

It will be hard to top that!

DC LIke A Local

2009-04-17T08:18:00.000-04:00

Okay, I'm no DC local. And I have not seen nearly all that DC has to offer. But I have found a blog called, obviously enough, DC Like A Local. Not only have I agreed with a lot of the advice provided, but I have also found useful tidbits of information from the posts.

Things like where to eat on The Mall (my advice - avoid Air and Space, go to the Sculpture Garden Cafe), how to ride Metro (stand to the the right on the escalators, please), and more.

One piece of advice we got when we first came was to NOT GET OFF at the Zoo metro stop -- go one further to the Cleveland Park stop. And DC Like a Local says the same. You'll appreciate that advice, I promise. There's enough of a hill IN the zoo. No need to deal with it on your way to the zoo.

So, if you are thinking of a trip to DC, ask me my advice. I'll be happy to share. But you really should visit the DC Like A Local blog. You'll be happy you did.

Around DC

2009-04-16T08:14:00.004-04:00

Besides going to the White House Easter Egg Roll and taking the bus to Vienna to see a kids' show (more on that coming soon), we've also taken in a few more of the sites of DC. I'm in the midst of a documentation release and the weather has been not so nice, so we haven't gotten out as much as I would have liked, but ...

On Saturday evening, just after we arrived at the apartment, we all headed out to the south side of the Mall to go see the Cherry Blossom Festival Fireworks. We joined thousands of people walking down the street towards the waterfront and stopped where they did. Surprise for all of us was that when the fireworks began, we couldn't see them! The show was being blocked by a building. So we, and everyone else, started rapidly walking further down to where we would actually be able to see the show. And are we glad we did! It was spectacular. Chloe ooohed and aaahed and was just so thrilled with it all!

On Sunday, after we returned from our journey to suburban Virginia, we decided to take a boat tour on the Potomac. Just 45-minutes, cruising from Georgetown down to the airport and back. We went just before sunset and the lighting on the buildings of Washington was fantastic!

Yesterday, the girls and I braved the rain (and the crowds!) to go to the Air and Space Museum. We've been there many times, but Chloe had it in her mind that she really wanted to go there. We decided to go to a planetarium show while we were there.

White House Easter Egg Roll

2009-04-13T14:48:00.007-04:00

Not long after the sun rose, we started down Pennsylvania Ave towards the White House, stopping for coffee and muffins along the way. We joined the throngs of families and headed towards the entrance gate and security check. It looked exactly like entering the Austin City Limits Festival, except that we had to go through metal detectors. We then waited a bit for the gates between the Ellipse and White House South Lawn to open for a few minutes before we were let in, and how exciting it was to be in!!

Once inside, we explored a little while. Amazing sculptures made out of candy, lots of activities, and how close to the White House could we get? Awesome! SteveSongs performed on the music stage. I sure wish the crowd there had been larger, but I think folks all ran to get in line for activities. I'm quite sure that Steve recognized us there in the audience. Chloe was unhappy because her feet were cold; it was cold and the lawn was wet. So I held her and Rob held her. Camille and I danced. After Steve was done, we went over to the egg dyeing area. Camille and Chloe both made eggs, but neither one wanted to take theirs with them, so we left them. The Imagination Movers were performing to a crowd; we watched for some of the show, but then headed off to see more of what was there.

We explored the various activities, then joined the line for the Egg Roll. Rob and Camille went off and got supplies for making jump ropes and brought them back. We watched costumed character after character come by, as well as many past "First Ladies." The line moved fast enough and the girls got to roll the eggs on the lawn! Chloe's egg cracked, but Camille's didn't and she decided to keep it.

We explored more areas, then Camille jumped rope a bit. We hoped that the Obamas would come out, but I guess they came out when Group B was there, not during Group A.

Too soon, it was time to go. The process for leaving was the least efficient of all (well, except for getting the tickets). But, if I were lucky enough to get tickets again next year, I'd do it again.

Pine Lake Easter Egg Hunt

2009-04-12T08:41:00.003-04:00

While planning our trips to DC, the girls were insistent that we not head to DC until we had participated in the Pine Lake Easter Egg Hunt. So we booked plane tickets to head up to DC in the afternoon AFTER the hunt.

Even though we had stayed up to after midnight the night before because of the tornado warnings, the girls were up and ready to go down quite early! We had a little breakfast at the beach house, then it was time for the hunt! The turnout was a little low, but not nearly as low as I had expected it to be. The toddlers scoured the beach to find all their eggs. Thankfully, it wasn't bitter cold and everyone had a blast!

The bigger kids had a huge area to cover and not so many of them turned out, so they all collected 75+ plus eggs. Eggs in pockets, hoods, bags, hands. Fun!

Camille's Ring

2009-04-09T17:56:00.003-04:00

When Camille was 5.5 and Chloe 1, we went to Ireland for a friend's wedding. We stayed in Salthill, near the beach. Between us and Galway was Claddagh. Camille really wanted a Claddagh ring, and we, amazingly enough, found one small enough for her little finger. The ring came along with a little book that told the story of the ring; unfortunately, the ring itself wasn't very high quality and turned brown. Camille kept wearing it, up until it broke.

Two years after we bought the original, we were driving over the Mackinaw bridge in Michigan and stopped at a souvenir shop, only because they had a cool pirate ship playground. In the store, amazingly enough, they were selling small sized Claddagh rings, complete with a small gem-like stone. The stone fell out after about two weeks, but Camille kept wearing the ring. And wearing it. And wearing it. Until it could not come off.

Today we tried various tricks to remove it, but none worked. So we headed to the mall and had it cut off. Her finger should heal soon....

Tootie's in the House

2009-04-06T17:29:00.004-04:00

One of the things that the girls love to do when Rob's home for the weekend is to get him to take them skating at the nearby rink. Apparently, neither one has really been able to skate unassisted, until now. On Sunday, Rob took the girls and one of their friends. Chloe refused to let Rob help her this time. She had such a great time that she convinced Rob to buy her skates at Target afterwards.

Chloe has not removed the skates since, except to go to bed. She is skating in circles around the house. She doesn't glide very well, but I think with time, she'll get some time of skating stroke down.

She reminds me of Tootie from The Fact of Life, that old sitcom from when I was a kid. That show was always fun for us as it was supposed to take place in my hometown, Peekskill. The mascot of PHS in the show was the Pirates, and I always thought that was much cooler than our real mascot, the Devils. Especially given that the mascot of one of our rivals, Hen Hud, was the sailors (get it?).

Wildflowers

2009-04-02T15:30:00.003-04:00

On Tuesday, after we dropped Jim and Marty off at the airport, Barbara, the girls and I headed off to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. While the wildflowers weren't as numerous as I remembered in the past, it was such a nice place to be! We wandered around the gardens, then the woods and finally the open fields. The girls mostly enjoyed it; Chloe sans stroller started to complain about walking.

I liked the last ten minutes when I got to sit still while Barbara and the girls went into the gift shop. It was so pleasant to sit still and listen to the water gurgle. I need more of that time to sit still and not be working or catching up on various things.

Capital 10K

2009-04-01T15:48:00.000-04:00

On Sunday, we woke early and headed down to Austin. Barbara, Phil, Jim and Marty were planning to walk, Suze and Luis to run, the girls and I to drink coffee and cheer them all on. (In the end, Jim chose to run.) It was FREEZING early, so as the race started, I ended with everyone's coats to return to the car.

After the runners/walkers went on their way, we stopped at the car to drop off the shedded garments and then used the iPhone to find a nearby coffeeshop. We ended up at Dominican Joe's, which was a really great place. The girls got a flavored milk (they exclaimed over how creamy it was) and a muffin to share. I got a nice large coffee and then acted like a fool as I couldn't tell if the coin was a quarter or nickel. Am I a tourist? Do I use my credit card too much?

We then walked to the finish line -- not so far from the start, of course -- and waited for people to finish. I remarked to the girls that every year we managed to fins everyone in our group, even without the use of a cell phone, and a man next to me said that he said the same thing to his wife. I guess 16K people really aren't that many people?

After everyone was done and had gathered their swag, we headed back to the cars and over to Hula Hut, which has been a tradition now for years. We waited for our table of 14, finding ways to entertain ourselves at the bar.

Happy Birthday, Grandma!

2009-03-29T20:30:00.005-04:00

On Saturday, the girls and I got up early and headed to the airport in the rain for our 8:40 flight. The weather was bad, but not bad enough to delay the flight. The plane was tiny, so Camille had to sit in the row ahead of Chloe and me. There was a medical emergency on the flight (my second in 3 months), but the closest airport was Austin, so we were not diverted.

Once we were able to get off the plane (after EMS took the patient off the plane), we met up with Phil, Barbara and Jim and drove home where Marty was waiting. We had a quiet afternoon at the house, after some soup for lunch and a little puppet show by Chloe.

In the evening, Suze and Luis and Duncan came over for dinner. We set up a huge table in the living room and ordered Johnny Carino's for dinner. After dinner, we celebrated Earth Hour by heading out for a walk while Phil did dished by candlelight. When we got back, it was time for cake and presents.

What a day!

Easter Egg Roll

2009-03-26T19:42:00.005-04:00

We are so excited! I spent most of the day reloading a web page. That's not exciting. But that obsessive task led to the acquisition of four tickets to the White House Easter Egg Roll.

We get to go to the White House! And hear music! And participate in fun events! But mostly, we are so excited to get to be a part of this special event!

How happy am I that the tickets were distributed today, a day that we aren't flying somewhere...

National Building Museum

2009-03-25T07:41:00.003-04:00

A new day, a new DC museum! Today we headed out to the National Building Museum. I'd been a long time ago and heard that kids enjoy it, so we decided to give it a try. As we entered, we were greeted with the pandemonium of the preparation for a big gala, the March dinner of the NRCC (National Republican Concressional Committee).

We visited the various exhibits. One was on new ideas for greener communitities, which was really interesting for us all. Another described the development of DC over the years, which the girls also really enjoyed. We had a really nice lunch from the cafe (fruit, egg salad sandwiches, Orangina), and then went to an exhibit about highway side overlooks/rest stops in Denmark, before going in to the play area. The girls loved building with all the various construction toys that were there. There was also a really cool playhouse that the girls set up as their own. As they played, they also cleaned up and organized the messes that everyone else left behind. That's my girls!

(Forgot my Compact Flash card -- so it's iPhone photos only today.)

Please Touch!

2009-03-24T10:10:00.003-04:00

After we left Independence National Historic Park on Sunday, we walked west along Market street. It's a busy street of stores and indoor malls, not as appealing as the streets we walked on the day before. However, we stopped in at the Reading Terminal Market, which was a really cool market.

We left there, heading towards the Please Touch Museum. Apparently, I hadn't been paying much attention, because as Rob looked at the travel book, he pointed out that the listing said that the museum "would be moving." And sure enough, it was nowhere near us. To get there as fast as possible, the girls and I jumped in a taxi and Rob walked back to the hotel to get the rental car and drive over there to meet us.

The museum is a great place for little kids. Chloe is probably at the upper end of the age range, but she had a good time. At first, she was not happy because she lacks assertiveness and would prefer to let a kid push her out of the way than stand up for herself. But then she relaxed and found her own things to do that didn't involve line jumpers, and she had fun. The water room was neat as was the room for making foam gliders. The cityscape and grocery store were fun, but a bit on the chaotic side. I wish the museum had been just a bit bigger, personally. But the girls had a good time, and we're happy we went and experienced it.

Independence

2009-03-23T14:41:00.004-04:00

After swimming, packing, breakfast and checking out, we walked over to Independence National Historic Park. We first went into the area around Independence Hall. We didn't have tickets to go into the hall itself, but we went into one of the other halls where we saw some information about the various documents that had been signed there. I helped Chloe to remember the famous documents that we had seen at the National Archives a few months ago.

We then headed across the street to see the Liberty Bell. It is in a brand new building, not like I remembered at all. There was a lot of information about the history and significance of the bell that we read as we approached it.

From there, we walked a couple of blocks to Franklin Court where we were first greeted by Ben's toilet (well, his septic tank, I guess). We walked down. down, down into the museum where we saw some of Ben's furniture and an armonica. The movie about his life was quite interesting as well.

When we got back up to the light, we went to a printing press demonstration which was quite interesting. The girls enjoyed seeing how pages were printed on the cool looking press.

The Franklin Institute

2009-03-22T23:20:00.004-04:00

After attending the midday concert at World Cafe Live, we headed out to walk to The Franklin Institute. It was a nice walk, and fun to see the Phill train station from outside for a change (we've been through it on a train many times).

The Institute was full of great rooms of wonderfully fun and educational exhibits. We started out in a science demonstration that Chloe loved! She was right there, shouting out answers to the presenter's questions. She loved the dry ice, tornado and thunder demonstrations.

From there, we headed to the sports lab, which was wildly chaotic. We moved on to a "physics" lab that had experiments with pulleys and more. From there, we went to the heat exhibit, where the girls got to walk through a giant heart. I sat down for a few minutes while Rob led them through the exhibit, and kept hearing little bits of music that really sounded like They Might Be Giants. When I finally investigated, I saw that a movie was running that featured their "Bloodmobile" song. Whew.

Then it was onto experiments with electricity, like making Chloe's hair stand on end with a Van der Graaf generator. Next was the "Airshow" where various properties of airflow and flight were demonstrated. Finally, we got down to the basement, where there was a great room for the littles to experiment with reflections, water and so much more!

Unfortunately, the Franklin exhibit was closed, so we didn't get to see much of his inventions.

We walked back to the hotel, via a fun plaza full of giant game pieces, the City Hall arcades and a great Italian restaurant.

Rockin' Out With Uncle Rock

2009-03-21T21:38:00.000-04:00

Last night we headed out of the heart of DC, straight into the heart of Philly. The hotel is wonderfully located, so we left the car there and walked over to World Cafe Live after swimming and breakfast.

WCL hosts a fantastic series of kids' show called "Peanut Butter and Jams" and it seems everybody who is anybody has played their. On the bill today was one of our god friends, Uncle Rock!

The concert was great fun; the room was open and airy and wonderful for a kids' concert (though I guess the concerts are normally elsewhere in the building). A big buffet is available (but we had already eaten). We got there early and had a great table up front.

Both girls enjoyed the concert, featuring Uncle Rock, a friend of his and also his son, in their own way. Chloe rocked out, bouncing and banging her head. Camille sat quietly, taking it all in. Uncle Rock played Chloe's request, "Sugar Talkin'" as well as our favorite, "Rock n Roll Babysitter."

It was great to see Uncle Rock again, and we hope we will another chance to see him very soon!

Play Ball!

2009-03-20T17:03:00.002-04:00

On this the first day of spring, the girls and I headed out to see what signs we could spot. The weather could not decide if it was still winter or time to be spring. One minute the sun was shining and the wind was quiet, then the clouds would blow over and the wind blow cold.

We spotted a few trees with blossoms and quite a number of daffodils, but spring was not in the air much. The girls played with their inflatable Milkshake ball near the Reflecting Pool. I was worried that the wind would pick up the ball and blow it into the fountain. We found another grassy area nearby where the girls played for a long time before we headed back home.

St. Patrick's Day

2009-03-19T14:55:00.005-04:00

As the "religious conservatives" that I know don't celebrate Halloween, the "pagans" don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day. At our house, we take any excuse to have a little party. St. Patrick's Day for us is not about casting the "snakes" from Ireland, but instead a celebration of Ireland, pagan roots and all.

Last Friday, we had a "St. Patrick's Day" themed potluck at our house. I made "Green" foods and scalloped potatoes. I also provided Guiness and Irish Creme. Using the Wii, I created an Irish slideshow with photos from Ireland and Celtic music. Unfortunately, the Wii couldn't read the jpegs created by scanning photos, so my best photos were not in the slideshow.

This week, we had green eggs and hash browns for breakfast. I know it isn't an Irish breakfast, really, but it was what I had handy.

How we long to return to Ireland, after all this celebration of Ireland!