DC Metro Moms

Yards and yards of tiny yards

I'll never forget the weekend my husband and I spent house-hunting in the DC metro area.  We were coming from southeastern Virginia due to my husband's new job, and wanted to trade up from our two-bedroom townhouse to something with a little bit more space inside and out. 

Our realtor must have suppressed a big old laugh when we told him our prerequisites.  He definitely couldn't restrain himself when we gave him our price range.  (Yes, we were very naive and very new to the DC housing market.)  We wanted, get this: a single-family home, preferably new construction, in close proximity to our new workplaces (mine downtown and J's in the suburbs).  I know, hahahahahaha!!!  And we really wanted a real yard.  We'd had a tiny bit of grass in our Virginia townhouse courtyard, and we were ready for the challenge of a bigger green space.

People, traffic, and blossoms (oh my!)

This weekend promises to be a perfect storm of traffic and congestion in DC.  (Or, if you're more of a crowd-lover than I am, you're probably excited that there will be so much to do here this weekend!)

Until I read this article on WTOP yesterday, I hadn't realized that this weekend is the National Marathon AND the kickoff of the Cherry Blossom festival AND the Smithsonian Kite Festival AND the Nationals' Opening Day at their new stadium.  Plus you've got the Ringling Brothers/Barnum and Bailey Circus at Verizon Center.  WOW -- that's a lot of stuff going on in just a few short days.

Whether you're an avoider like me (I'll be sticking to the suburbs, thanks) or you want to be in the thick of things by hitting one or more events, I've compiled some of the info you need to get started.

What's the taste of DC?

One of the reasons I love living in the DC metro area is the true diversity of food that one can find here.  Perhaps because DC has a large percentage of non-natives (people who were not born or raised here), we all enjoy the tastes that are brought into the region by transplants such as myself.

Consider the grocery stores, for example.  When I have a hankering for some of the Southern specialty foods I used to find while in graduate school at Carolina, I can just head to the closest Harris Teeter.  And I no longer have to take a long road trip to my home state of New York to visit a Wegmans: salt potatoes, Spiedie sauce, and Dinosaur BBQ products are just a short drive away!

Humiliation, with a side of decaf

Last Thursday was one of those stressful days that couldn't be over soon enough.  Between our intake visit with a developmental pediatrician (who was 15 minutes late starting and ran 15 minutes over our allotted time -- gah!), me taking a wrong exit trying to rush back to the office to pick up my daughter Rosie (dammit, no U-turn there either?  gah!!), and forgetting the chocolate milk that I usually ply Rosie with before her speech therapy visit (GAH!!!), I was a mess by the time I dropped Rosie off at therapy. 

Then on the way to get older daughter Mimi from her after school program (after a harrowing near-miss with an ambulance, gah!!!) I got a phone call from my husband.  "I have to warn you -- the school just called, and Mimi cut off a big chunk of her hair this afternoon.  It was in her way."  (GAH! Are barrettes not good enough?!!)

Alterna-birthday ideas?

January brings a major milestone in my family: my oldest daughter's birthday.  January 26th is Mimi's sixth birthday, and since she's been the recipient of several birthday party invitations from classmates and neighbors, she's been SO excited about having a party of her own.

The only issue?  We (my husband J and I) aren't big fans of the birthday party.

Mea culpa, DC

Murphy (he of Murphy's Law) and I are on a first-name basis.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  I brag to a coworker about how my kids have hardly been sick at all in the last 2 months, and BAM -- within 2 days they both have a case of the stomach flu.  Or I think to myself how much I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep, and that's the evening that the neighbor's dog decides to bark at an errant squirrel every few minutes.

So with that introduction, I feel I should apologize to all you DC area residents for some recent incidents that are probably due to my shaky relationship with Mr. Murphy:

Go west, young kid!

Today my husband and I loaded the kids in the car and headed out west for an animal adventure.  We certainly weren't sure what to expect when we were first invited to a birthday party at Leesburg Animal Park, but it turned out to be an excellent way to celebrate.

My almost-three-year-old, Rosie (who shares a birthday with the party girl) practically leaped out of the car when we arrived at the Park.  We'd been talking about the animals on the long ride out to Leesburg,
and she couldn't wait to see "the ammals."  Older sister Mimi was pretty excited too.  "I'm going to ride a PONY today!" she announced proudly to me, my husband, and probably the first 10 or 15 people she saw at the park.  So yeah -- expectations were already pretty high before we even set foot in the gate.

What I did the last week of summer vacation: Preview Edition

I can hardly believe it's the last week of August already.  On the one hand, it seems like AGES since our family beach trip at the beginning of June -- on the other hand, how did the summer fly by so quickly?

Even though I don't truly experience the "summer vacation" -- I spend my days working 9 to 5 for the gov'ment and the hours before and after commuting with the rest of the stuffed shirts -- I do feel some pangs of regret that summer is truly winding down.  I'm suddenly realizing that I have just a few more short days to do some of the things I've been meaning to do since the end of May, but that I've not yet gotten around to.

DC Drivers: fine or fanatical?

I had certainly formed some opinions about Washington DC drivers before I even moved to this area.

In graduate school, I would drive twice a year or so between my hometown in central NY and Chapel Hill, NC.  My parents would warn me to "be extra careful and alert" on the Beltway.  (Their apprehension rubbed off on me: I white-knuckled it the whole way through the DC metro area.)

Years later, when I was settled in southeastern Virginia for my first full-time job, I'd travel up to DC occasionally for work.  Although we had our own kind of special hell traveling on I-64 in Hampton Roads -- the bridges! the tunnels! the crazy drivers! -- I was amazed to witness truly reckless behavior on the roads heading into and out of DC.  I vowed I'd never add my own little car to that mix, at least not permanently.  (You all can see how that worked out.)

These days I brave the roads regularly -- mostly as a passenger during rush hour, but occasionally as a driver too.  And now that I’m pretty much used to the high rate of speed in which traffic here moves, I think most DC drivers are OK.  Or maybe I’m just jaded.

I still witness my share of jerks behind the wheel, however.  Like yesterday after work.  I was headed west on I-66 just inside the Beltway.  It was evening rush hour, but the HOV restrictions didn't concern me since I was driving our Prius hybrid.  Just before the first airport road exit, there was a massive enforcement effort underway: about 10 police cars, with officers in orange vests flagging down cars.  I cheered mightily as I watched a couple of violators in front of me get busted.  The violator behind me, however, ducked onto the airport road at the last minute to escape a ticket.

"What a loser," I thought to myself. "Well, at least he'll have a long commute since he's got to go all the way to the airport."

How naive of me.  Because Violator Boy just cruised on down the airport road, pulled onto the shoulder just past the next airport road on-ramp, and proceeded to BACK HIS CAR 200 feet or so down the ramp to get back to the toll road.  He was not the least bit concerned with the cars trying to legally exit on the airport road, or the heavy rush hour traffic he's got to merge with.  I’m just assuming he was in a big hurry to get home and help his wife to care for their 7 children, all under the age of 4, and his ailing mother.  That must have been his excuse.      

I'm sure I'm not the only one with DC traffic horror stories.  Want to commiserate?

Lots of OOO and a little bit of XXX

Dear District of Columbia (or might I be so forward as to call you "DC"),

I think I'm in love.  Or at least serious lust.  I believe that I've found my perfect parenting partner in you.  Sure, I've had some moments of disillusion: making the long trek from the Woodley Park metro to the zoo with a little one in tow, getting tagged by one of those revenue-happy red light camera, being startled by that "person-of-no-fixed-address" who banged on my car window when I was lost in Northeast with my 3 month old daughter.  Those were rough times. 

But overall, DC, I'm thrilled with what you have to offer me and my little ones.  We can enjoy all the pleasures of the four seasons: cherry blossoms in the spring, fireworks and festivals in the summer, gorgeous fall weather, and even a little bit of snow (but not too much!) in the winter months.  Perhaps even some sledding.   

You're well educated -- your credentials include Georgetown and American, Fairfax and Montgomery -- and that's just the tip of the iceberg.  You've got culture -- a storied venue for the performing arts, several one-of-a-kind museums.  You've got several places of historical and political significance.  You have breathtakingly beautiful monuments.  Brains AND beauty: a classic combination.

You don't skimp on the fun, though.  I love that you're the only metropolitan area in the U.S. which offers all of the major league sports.  And we don't just have to watch: your parks, playgrounds, and recreational areas are plentiful.  When we're not playing with one another (err... you know what I mean), you sure know how to wine and dine a gal.  And since we're living in a material world, and I am a material girl, I adore all of the wonderful places to shop.  Even if we're just browsing, I know the whole family can hang out and have a good time together. 

So that's what I've been thinking about, DC.  We've been together for 8 years, and welcomed our first kid almost 6 years ago, but our love remains fresh and strong.  I look forward to many more years together.

p.s.: Is that the Washington Monument or am I just turning you on?