Memorial Day

Things I'm thankful for today ...

1. Since it's Memorial Day, all who have served and are serving to ensure our freedom
2. Being alone in the house with my husband, even though we were doing different things. It was reminiscent of our first couple years of marriage... seeing no need to be right next to each other, but having the comfort in knowing he's there. Plus no background noise of screaming kids!
3. Songs that trigger memories (on this particular day it was 702's Steelo and and Big Pun's Still Not a Player, yay junior year high school)
4. Picking up freshly washed, happy children after they spent the afternoon with their grandparents.

Sunday

Went to church in the morning and watched the kids play happily in the nursery/playroom. It was packed - bulilit was her usual social self while belly preferred playing by herself. i really need to get this girl into daycare or preschool.

Today was also the official start to the summer grill season! E broke out the grill my parents gave him for christmas and cooked up short ribs, steaks and portobello mushrooms. I put together a quick potato salad and baked my favorite chocolate chip cookies (recipes below).

After our late lunch, we put the girls in their swimsuits and slathered on the sunscreen. They have been graced with their father's genes, meaning they tan beautifully, while I burn, then tan. It also means that I will always be the whitest person in the family.

We had fun at the pool, with belly jumping in and learning to use a kickboard, and bulilit getting out of the 2' deep kiddie pool, olympic swimmer style, just to get back in. When we got home, E grilled hot dogs for dinner and we topped off the day with ice cream! Great start to summer!

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad (adapted from Betty Crocker)
3 medium potatoes, peeled
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 tsp white vinegar
3 tsp spicy brown mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash of pepper
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 small celery stalk, chopped
3 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

Place potatoes in enough water to cover and boil. Cook 20 to 25 minutes or until tender; drain. Cool.

Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in large bowl. Add potatoes, celery and onion; toss. Stir in eggs. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours until chilled.


Darrell's "Forget-the-Cookies-just-give-me-the-Batter" Chocolate Chip Cookies (adapted from Kids Cooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual)

1 stick of butter, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. white sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/8 c. flour
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
1 bag (6 oz.) chocolate chips

Cream together the softened butter and both sugars. (Butter needs to be very soft. I recommend leaving it out for at least 12-18 hours.) Add the egg and mix well, then add the vanilla. Stir.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda and salt. Add into wet mixture in portions, incorporating well between portions. Add chocolate chips.

Stir everything until it's all mixed up well and put the bowl in the refrigerator to cool for at least an hour. (I usually cool overnight.)

When ready to bake, line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into walnut-sized balls, put them on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

DON'T OVERCOOK! You want your cookies to be moist and chewy.

Take them off the cookie sheet carefully with your spatula and let them cool.

1st day of a long weekend

today, i'm thankful for dunkin' donuts iced coffee and its caffeine content. that's all.

baking as therapy

just finished baking up a storm. the kitchen is seriously my solace. being able to escape the grinding daily routine to find comfort in the simple measuring, mixing and watching the product of your labor turn from batter to baked goodness... it's perfection. (not to mention eating the batter that didn't make it into the cupcake tin!)

i think i wanted to bake tonight to combat some of the emotions of the day, particularly anger and sadness. anger at a situation that i have no control over, but one that i can see is hurting a lot of people i care about. sadness about a relationship that has changed so much that you don't feel comfortable expressing your views anymore.

one of my favorite things of the day though... bear was visiting the girls and when he was getting ready to leave, bulilit toddles over to him, he says bye and gives her a kiss on the cheek and she giggles. adorable. so then she started giving him kisses on his shirt (only place she could reach!) and of course belly got jealous that we were "ooh-ing" and "ahh-ing" over bulilit and bear, so she got into the act too, giving bear kisses!

i'm a fatty

thankful for ...

• leftover chinese food
• crackers and chocolate
• fruit and dip
• homemade pita pizzas

love being in the office, hate sitting in traffic

i went into the office today for the first time in over 2 months. one of my good friends from work (who telecommutes from charlottesville most days) was going to be in the office so i made plans to meet up. it was fabulous working and not hearing the squeals and screams of toddlers. i actually got to get dressed up, put on heels (ok, maybe they were super cute ballet flats instead) and feel like a grown-up for once.

and while we're on the subject of grown-up clothes, i am totally in love with this dress:

now if only i could figure out what occasion i could wear it for...

mommy club

bear's mommy is one of my most favorite people in the world. i always thought she was pretty cool, but after we got pregnant around the same time, and especially since the babies have been born, we've gotten a lot closer and i'm totally thankful for our friendship. things are a little nuts right now, so we hung out for a bit (ahem, 5+ hours) tonight. it was nice - e called to say he'd be late coming home so bear's mommy helped with the girls in their bath. she caught up on the vampire diaries while we put the kids to bed, then we chatted some more. i wish only good things for her because she is one of the most good-hearted people i know!

also, i've only ever really been into 2 or so seasons of dancing with the stars. but i totally loved this dance tonight:

ahhh sleep

about time! was exhausted after the crazy busy weekend and when i put belly down for her nap, i totally passed out with her. for three hours. it was awesome. remember when you were a kid and napped every day? i had a homemade care bear blanket that my mom sewed, which accompanied me on the cots in kindergarten. i think we need to institute naps for adults!

welcome to the fam, sis2be

sis2be's bridal shower day! thankfully, the rain let up (just as i was about to unload my car, which was packed to the gills with bridal shower things!) and we got to enjoy a beautiful day outside. the winery was beyond beautiful and i think everyone had a really good time. (at least, i hope so!)

less than 2 months until the wedding!!

old friends, sunny days and time alone with e

here's a story i forgot to write about. the other night, we were eating dinner. bulilit, being her usual self -- there's a reason she's nicknamed "destroyer") -- got herself into trouble with daddy. e threatened her, "no. stop doing that. do you want to go to the corner?" and wouldn't you know it, she starts walking herself right to corner. she sits down and looks at e, and you could practically feel her eyes rolling. it was hilarious.

anyways, today was the couples shower for one of my college friends. it was a beautiful day and the shower was very nice - small but it seemed like everyone there really cared about the couple. to my surprise, another friend from college (and grad school) showed up. i hadn't seen her in literally 6 years, so it was nice to catch up.

after it was over, e and i took advantage of my parents watching the kids and ran a few errands. it's so nice to be able to have some quiet, alone time with my husband, giving us the opportunity to reconnect.

popsicles and kool-aid aren't just for summer days...

story of my life... belly was up from 11pm - 2am throwing up. poor baby was literally throwing up every 10-15 minutes, couldn't keep anything down. i was thisclose to calling the doctor. at one point, we were sitting on the floor of the bathroom, her eyelids drooping every few seconds but then she got sick again. she finally fell asleep at 2. the following day, she kept asking for "papaskulls" which were the only things she ate (while drinking pedialyte and kool-aid) until 6pm that evening. ugh.

oh, and i'm famous!! i submitted a story to one of my favorite blogs ever and they published it. :) i'm such a dork. haha.

questionable influence

thought for today... is it wrong that one of my child's favorite songs is ludacris's 'how low can you go?' she requested we listen to that as she went to sleep tonight. i hope the lyrics don't stick with her and she starts randomly repeating it one day, someplace completely inappropriate. but with my luck, that's exactly how it will happen. fml.

i don't like change

so had to do a target run yesterday and thought i'd be in and out in 20 minutes. silly girl, you *never get out of target in 20 minutes! i had a list of items i needed to get both for the house and for the shower i'm hosting this weekend for my sis2be. (this is the part where i admit my anal-retentiveness / OCD.) so my list is organized by store sections, in the order of how i plan to get them (i like to go in, turn right and then make my way around the store). i walk into target, wondering at the "we're open during our remodel" sign that i noticed outside. i make it all the way to the far right of the store to pick up diapers and - no. no diapers there now. so i think, hmm, ok, let me grab some seasonal stuff and head up the aisle to find ... not what i'm looking for. ANYWAYS, to make a long story short, it took me 40 minutes running around from one end of the store to another to get all the things i needed. thank goodness for my mom, who met us there and kept belly occupied in the toy section.

today, the kids played outside for a good part of the afternoon because it's finally nice again. i felt all 1950s-ish because e was mowing the lawn while i had the kids playing in the playground, with a bunch of the neighborhood kids out too. on our way in, i stopped to talk to our neighbor. just add the white picket fence and i'm a cliche. but i secretly love it.

remembering back when i loved basketball

poor e. bulilit has thrown up on him 3 times in the past week, twice tonight. no fever, no other symptoms. these phantom illnesses really get me because all i can do is rub her back, give her some pedialyte and hope that she can sleep through the night without incident.

of course, this happens in the 4th quarter of the eastern conference finals, game 2. it's been so long since i've cared about basketball but i caught cleveland losing to boston last week (great way to cap off my birthday night!) and i'm watching orlando on the verge of losing game 2 to boston. vince carter, you are soooo not the guy you were when i loved basketball. when the raptors actually threatened to send the knicks home in the early rounds. when i could be found in front of the tv anytime my out-of-market knicks were on. and even after my beloved allan houston left the knicks, i shifted allegiances and started to root for my hometown team. e and i would go to at least 3 or 4 games a year -- our ritual included chicken fingers and fries -- and definitely at least one if not multiple playoff games. because the wizards were good. i lived for the buzz of the verizon center during the playoffs. the street fair prior to the game, rally towels, the smell of anticipation and excitement in the air. even at 8 months pregnant with belly, i was screaming my head off at a playoff game. i kind of miss it.

totally random but a blog post i came across today that is SO ME. "I have small kids, don't call me" ... happy reading!

rainy days and mondays (to the tune of the carpenters)

monday
fml. 2 ipod touches dead in the span of 7 months. both from water damage. apparently, nanny found my touch in the sink today. belly first blamed the nanny then said she did it. but how much do i trust the words of an almost 3 year old?

also, it was raining today. which pretty much guarantees that it's going to be *that kind of day. so i can't really think of much to be thankful for, other than e deciding to work from home today. i told him, even when we're not talking to each other, just sitting in the same room working, or taking a break to have lunch together, or - and especially this - having his help as soon as nanny leaves for the day... it's just the best.

oh, and these beautiful roses (sent from my cousin-slash-ballerina's mom for my birthday) which have finally opened up to excessively large blooms. just gorgeous.

sunday
since we spent the weekend at my parents' house, i got to take a couple naps and catch up on some much needed sleep. plus, as i was laying in bed, got to take some time for myself to catch up on some blogs via my super fun phone, which i'm finally learning to love.

kids win, mommy fails

crazy day. we decided to go to church this afternoon so we could look forward to a lazy sunday with nothing to do. i dress the girls up in their flowy maxi sundresses (and i of course wore my maxi dress as well) and we're in the (usual) mad rush to get the kids in the car and to church on time. e's hunting down bulilit's other shoe and i'm hunting a sippy cup. belly is, surprisingly, waiting patiently outside by herself while bulilit watches me running around the living room like a chicken with its head cut off. finally, in utter desperation, i look to bulilit and say, "where's your juice? where did you leave your juice?"

she looks at me and points to the living room with a grunt. i say, "i just looked in there, i can't find it." she gets the most determined look on her face and starts toddling toward the living room, pointed finger up and not moving as she walks. "bulilit, i've looked in there three different times, i can't find it." (and yes, i'm fully aware i'm trying to reason with a 15 month old.)

she looks at me like i'm totally blind and continues walking, pointing now at the fireplace rather than the general direction of the living room. and that's when i see it, sitting on top of one of her toys, colors blending right in like a chameleon. she looks to me as if to say, "see? stop looking with your mouth and start looking with your eyes." then promptly drops the pointing finger, turns around and toddles determinedly back to the front door.

bulilit, 1. mommy, 0.

mom fail part 2 happened at the restaurant we were having dinner at, with e's brother, sister-in-law, sis-in-law's parents and my parents. (WARNING, the next part is seriously TMI about body fluids so skip on down to friday if you're uncomfortable!) belly is sitting at one end of the table with her grandparents while e and i sit with bulilit at the other end. grandparents start to look concerned as belly stands up in her high chair, holding up her dress, complaining she is wet. grandpa says, "her chair is all wet! i can't find anything that spilled!" that's right, belly wet herself because mommy & daddy were too distracted to change her (apparently already full) diaper. i guess this should prepare us for potty training?

belated birthday dinner

at the end of my workday, i frantically ran around the house packing an overnight bag so my parents could watch the girls and e and i could go out to celebrate my birthday, just the two of us. there was a forecast of thunderstorms, so i wanted to be in the car before it started. as we pulled up to the end of our neighborhood, i see the first heavy, massive drops of rain begin to fall on the windshield. i smile to myself thinking, ha, i beat the rain! that should teach me to scoff at the weather. as we pulled onto the parkway which was moving at a snail's pace, the hail storm begins. at first, the clinking against the car seems mild. "see, girls? that's called hail." i attempt to give them a weather lesson. then the hail gets bigger and ping pong sized chunks of ice are assaulting the car. belly screams from the back, "mommy it's too loud!" and i almost don't hear her because it really is too. loud. i can't decide if the 3 mph pace we're keeping is making it better or worse. after about 10 minutes, it finally lets up and belly removes her hands from her ears.

i'm thankful for alone time with e while at dinner, eating yummy japanese food. also thankful for bento boxes, even though i can never finish the entire thing. i'm thankful for the little things, as always, like when we get back to my parents' house and the 4 of us sit on the stairs, just chatting.

how i celebrated my birthday

soooo.... the post on my birthday was a cop out, or so e claims. i was, however, very thankful for another year, and being able to celebrate my 31st birthday with my family. (hmm, i wonder if i should've spent the 10th anniversary of my 21st birthday getting smashed with shots at bennigan's ... i digress.)

i enjoyed the day off: walking around the mall, sans kids who were at the play area with e and the nanny; free makeover at clinique and a non-pushy sales lady; happy hour @ starbucks (but did not enjoy the crazy caffeine high from my java chip frappuccino); and a yummy dinner @ bonefish grill with my hilarious kids, thoughtful parents and amazing husband.

Happy birthday to me!

The Bull - Taurus
April 21 to May 21
Taken from http://www.astrology-online.com/taurus.htm

Traditional Taurus Traits
Patient and reliable
Warmhearted and loving
Persistent and determined
Placid and security loving

On the dark side
Jealous and possessive
Resentful and inflexible
Self-indulgent and greedy


About your sign
They can flourish in many different trades and professions: banking, architecture, building, almost any form of bureaucracy, auctioneering, farming, medicine, chemistry, industry. Taurus make good managers and foremen surveying, insurance, education and, perhaps surprisingly, music and sculpture. They make an ideal trustee or guardian, and can attain eminence as a chef. Some Taurus are gifted enough in singing to become opera stars or to excel in more popular types of music.

They are more than averagely amorous and sensually self-conscious, but sexually straightforward and not given to experiment. They make constant, faithful, home loving spouses and thoughtful, kindly parents, demanding too much of neither their spouses nor children. They can be over possessive and may sometimes play the game of engineering family roles for the pleasure of making up the quarrel. If anyone offends their amour proper they can be a determined enemy, though magnanimous in forgiveness if their opponent makes an effort to meet them halfway.

No other sign in the zodiac is closer to earth then Taurus. The main objective in leading a Taurean life is primarily (though not entirely) to maintain stability and physical concerns. Your inner spiritual sense longs for earthly harmony and wholesomeness. When you fully understand this, and work toward this end, you will no longer need to blindly reassure yourself with external possessions and comforts. A realization that finding this inner peace will cause all of the above mentioned positive things will overtake you and your life will be very full.

Ultimately the Taurean needs to discover their truest, deepest and highest values. When they know what is truly valuable, they are no longer chained to people and to things that have to do with lesser values. The greatest indication of value to a Taurean is beauty, which cannot be owned, only appreciated.


LIKES
Stability
Being Attracted
Things Natural
Time to Ponder
Comfort and Pleasure

DISLIKES
Disruption
Being pushed too hard
Synthetic or "man made" things
Being rushed
Being indoors


About Your Sign
The characteristics of taurus are solidity, practicality, extreme determination and strength of will - no one will ever drive them, but they will willingly and loyally follow a leader they trust. They are stable, balanced, conservative good, law-abiding citizens and lovers of peace, possessing all the best qualities of the bourgeoisie. As they have a sense of material values and physical possessions, respect for property and a horror of falling into debt, they will do everything in their power to maintain the security of the status quo and be somewhat hostile to change.

Mentally, the caracteristics of taurus are keen-witted and practical more often than intellectual, but apt to become fixed in their opinions through their preference for following accepted and reliable patterns of experience. Taurus character is generally dependable, steadfast, prudent, just, firm and unshaken in the face of difficulties. Their vices arise from their virtues, going to extremes on occasion,such as sometimes being too slavish to the conventions they admire.

On rare occasions a Taurus may be obstinately and exasperatingly self-righteous, unoriginal, rigid, ultraconservative, argumentative, querulous bores, stuck in a self-centered rut. They may develop a brooding resentment through nursing a series of injuries received and, whether their characters are positive or negative, they need someone to stroke their egos with a frequent, "Well Done!" Most Taurus people are not this extreme though.

They are faithful and generous friends with a great capacity for affection, but rarely make friends with anyone outside their social rank, to which they are ordinarily excessively faithful. In the main, they are gentle, even tempered, good natured, modest and slow to anger, disliking quarreling and avoiding ill-feeling. If they are provoked, however, they can explode into violent outbursts of ferocious anger in which they seem to lose all self-control. Equally unexpected are their occasional sallies into humor and exhibitions of fun.

Although their physical appearance may belie it, they have a strong aesthetic taste, enjoying art, for which they may have a talent, beauty (recoiling from anything sordid or ugly) and music. They may have a strong, sometimes unconventional, religious faith. Allied to their taste for all things beautiful is a love for the good things of life: pleasure, comfort, luxury and good food and wine and they may have to resist the temptation to over indulgence, leading to drunkenness, gross sensuality, and covetousness.

In their work, Taurus are industrious and good craftspeople, and are not afraid of getting their hands dirty. They are reliable, practical, methodical and ambitious, within a framework of obedience to superiors. They are at their best in routine positions of trust and responsibility, where there is little need of urgency and even less risk of change, and a pension at the end. Yet they are creative and good founders of enterprises where the rewards of their productiveness come from their own work and not that of others.

last day as a 30 year old

tomorrow's my birthday. because we did the big 3-0 celebration last year, e has agreed not to make a big deal out of this year's. i am content to spend it with my family - plus some personal me time, courtesy of e who will stay home with my clingy daughters so i can be kid-free for awhile.

apparently i share my birthday with some pretty famous people ... a far cry from the 'famous people' that shared my birthday when i was younger. i remember being in high school and disappointed that the coolest people to share my birthday were stevie wonder and dennis rodman. didn't realize then that stephen colbert shares my birthday too (though, in '97, was he even popular yet? i vaguely remember jon stewart in college...). but now, i've got two celebrity youngin's sharing my birthday - candice accola [the adorable caroline on the vampire diaries!!] and, dun dun dun, robert pattinson [ahh, edward!]. hilarious! does that make me cool now?

so. tired.

what's this? a post on a consecutive day? WOW!

I discovered a new blog over the weekend: Samster Mommy, written by the wife of the Kaneshow host on Hot 99.5. Read a few posts on mommy clothing and a few recipes and I like it so far!

Last night, we attempted all four of us in the bed. Bulilit woke up around 2am and - completley unlike her - played quietly in the bed. My indecisive child kept going from mommy's belly to daddy's belly, deciding which one was more comfortable to snuggle against. Eventually, daddy got annoyed and took her down to the lovesac. Of course, I ended up awake until 4. So i guess it's not much of a surprise that today was a rough day. On top of the overall tired feeling, belly was extra clingy today and I literally couldn't turn around for most of the day without bumping into her. Maybe it was the gloomy weather (which certainly made me feel all out of sorts and wanting to bury myself in the bed covers). I keep reminding myself that this too shall pass and there will come a day when she wants nothing to do with me. But that seems sooo far away.

Anyway, the gloomy, cold weather (in the middle of May!!! seriously, I had to turn the heat back on because it's so cold) means I'm back in sweatshirts and pajama pants and I think I'm going to go do what I wanted to do earlier... crawl into bed, watch some mindless television and be thankful for passing out before midnight!!

blog fail.

Monday, May 10
Wow. Has it really been a week? Oops. I don't think the frequency will get any better -- in fact, it will likely become worse as summer really kicks off and we have a truckload of different events coming up (you should see our family google calendar).

Anyways... thankful today for drama-free bath time, e coming home early. Also, you know I can never resist sharing a baby story ... tonight, after reading books, belly asks me, 'what do you want for your birthday?' and then when i said all i wanted was a big kiss from her and her sister, she said, 'how about i get you a dora toy?'


Sunday, May 9
Happy Mother's Day!!! Still at the beach, windy and cold today so no sitting on the sand before we leave. Of course, I'm thankful for my mama. Duh. And for waking up to my husband and daughter handing me a card and giving me a kiss. (As I get kicked in the back/ribs/face by younger daughter who takes up the entire bed. Her way of telling me she loves me!)


Saturday, May 8
Drove up to the beach last night to spend the weekend in the sun, sand and surf. Kids woke up early, per usual, and we headed out at 9am. The sun was warm, the water was freezing. But that didn't deter bulilit from walking as fast as her little legs could take her right into said freezing water. belly seemed much more happy sitting (ahem, squatting, ahem) in the sand, building sand castles.

Thankful for my parents taking the kids while we were at the outlets, so that e and i could walk around together in a vain attempt for him to buy me a birthday present. mission=fail. i seem to enjoy buying things for the kids moreso than for myself. (Can you blame me? How much cuter are little girl clothes than clothes in sizes I don't want to admit I wear?!)


Friday, May 7
On the way to ballet this morning, this is what I heard.
Conversations between 2 years olds, part 1
Ballerina (b2): What's that, Belly?
Belly (b1): A book.
b2: where'd you get it?
b1: from ami. from ami's house. i will get you one too.
b2: no, you're a silly bird.

Conversations between 2 years olds, part 2
b2: hey! belly has sunglasses! i don't have sunglasses.
me: maybe you can ask your mommy to get you some for your birthday.
b1: i will get you sunglasses, ballerina.

Conversations between 2 years olds, part 3
me: belly, share your snack with ballerina
b1: here, ballerina.
b2: thanks, belly.
b1: sure.
b2: belly, can i have some more?
b1: sure. (hands ballerina the cup of froot loops.) can i have it back please?
(Quiet, chewing)
b1: oh no! there are no more blues!!
b2: i see one!
b1: where?
b2: there!
b1: where?!
b2: there!!
b1: where? i don't see it!
b2: on the side? THERE!
b1: oh.

Thursday, May 6
Yay! Laptop is fixed!

Today, I was thankful for dinner at red robin - courtesy of my parents who are back from vacation - and the start of all the free food that comes along with my birthday and being part of a million mailing lists. looking forward to maggie moos next!


Wednesday, May 5
Happy cinco de mayo! too bad i don't celebrate. I'm writing this post like 5 days later so...
Thankful for a short nap and sunshine. Not thankful for the virus that I somehow got on my laptop.


Tuesday, May 4
peace and quiet. there.

lions and tigers and bears, oh my! oh, and pigs too

monday, may 3
belly and i read books almost every night - usually some rotation of goodnight moon, my world, yo gabba gabba books, sandra boynton books and olivia. then i read about We Give Books, a charitable organization set up by Penguin Group and the Pearson Foundation that encourages childhood reading by offering electronic books to read on the computer. every time you read a book, they will donate a book to a cause of your choice, like books across america and volunteer usa. best part is, it's totally free. so a few nights last week, and tonight, belly and i read llama llama red pajama, a couple spot books and a max & ruby book. and we ended up donating a few books to books for asia. love it.


sunday, may 2
after a very tiring day yesterday, e and i were looking forward to a lazy sunday at home before running to the grocery store and a birthday dinner for lola. belly, bulilit and i picked up some dunkin donuts for breakfast then we sat around and played inside for a few hours. i got to take a 20 minute nap while belly and bulilit were sleeping -- felt so good! after the grocery store, we went out to mark's duck house to enjoy a very yummy chinese dinner for e's mom.

saturday, may 1
bear's mommy and i had been planning for-e-ver to take the kids to the zoo. we figured they are finally at an age where they would appreciate it, and bulilit could just come along for the ride. ;-) so with the promise of a warm and sunny day, we packed up extra clothes, cameras and snacks and headed downtown. we braved the metro with our fancy BOB revolution duallie (double stroller) and a beco - belly and bulilit's first time on the 'choo choo train' - and then walked from cleveland park to the national zoo. (we'll just pretend that we didn't start walking in the wrong direction because i thought i knew where i was going and e finally stopped some random person to ask which way the zoo was. oops.)

anyway, almost 2 hours after we left our house, we were finally at the zoo. we slathered on the sunscreen (because, gosh darn it, my kids are ALREADY darker than i am) and ate a quick lunch before making our way to the zebra. there wasn't much action in the front of the park so we went by the panda and got to see her (him?) inside, where she (he?) was eating. i told e, see, it's too hot for even the ANIMALS to be outside. belly told me that she saw the panda dancing (e said it was shaking its shoulders).

from there, we went in search of "raffes" and elephants. we found 3 elephants but apparently there are no giraffes at the national zoo. what?? we did see a beautiful toucan, an owl and a whole flock of flamingos in the bird house, before we headed to the ape house. bulilit had fallen asleep in the beco, and as soon as we walked in the ape house, the smell was overwhelming. so i took bulilit outside to buy lemonades for the group, while belly and bear looked at the gorillas, monkeys and whatever else was inside the house. (e told me later there was a baby monkey? that was clinging to its mommy while she swung around. kinda sad i missed that, but totally not worth walking around the musty ape house. i know, i'm a wimp.) there were some outdoor monkeys that we watched for a bit too - orangutans i think - and i heard that bear and belly were like, 'spider monkey!' (to which my fellow twi-mom, aka bear's mommy and i laughed out loud.)

after monkeys, we went to see the lions and tigers. the tiger was passed out in the shade but the lions were a lot more active. we ended up spending the most time watching the lions, whom we called mustafa and nala. because seriously, there was a male lion just laying there, watching all the people with no interest, and the female lioness, who kept growling at the zookeeper's door. she definitely seemed more aggressive than the male! after watching the lions for a while, both bear and belly were 'rawr' -ing, imitating the lions. it was absolutely adorable.

definitely a fun trip, despite the amount of time it took to get there and get home, and the 90 degree heat. we'll have to go again when the weather's not as sweltering, but we're driving next time.

friday, april 30
bulilit made a rare appearance at her sister's ballet class today. after class, all 3 of us joined my aunt, ballerina and her sister for brunch at ihop. when the hostess asked how many i said, "Six. Four high chairs and 2 regular chairs please." a little scary when you're totally outnumbered by little people under 3. the girls all did well, relatively speaking, and i certainly enjoyed getting out for a bit.