DC Metro Moms

The Good Old-Fashioned Maryland Crab Feast

A few days ago my husband, 4-year-old son and I went to a friend’s home for a crab feast, also known as ‘picking crabs’.

It was such a nice afternoon that it reminded me of how special it has been growing up in Maryland and how psyched I am that my son is growing up here.  There is really nothing like a good ol’ Maryland crab feast.
The crab feast is perfect (except if you are REALLY hungry)…

My Golf Maven

It’s hot and humid in the nation’s Capital and golf is in full force all over the area.  Golf balls are sailing through the air at area country clubs, golf courses…
and our front yard.

This started as soon as the weather began to get warm a few months ago.  My husband got out a couple of his golf clubs and dusted them off.  He also got out our son’s plastic golf club set and they started a habit of putting and hitting golf balls around the front yard.

It’s become a casual pre- or post- dinner routine to unwind before our 4-year-old goes to bed.

So, it started out innocently enough… a little father/son time, some rest and relaxation.

But, lots of people walk up and down our street.  There are no cross-streets except for walking paths that connect our street to other side streets, so everyone who wants to take a walk with their spouse, or kids or dogs… walks on our street.  It makes for a nice place to live; people wave to each other…
and have noticed my husband and 4-year old son playing golf in the front yard.

So now, without even realizing it was happening, my husband is perceived to be a golf maven… a guru, if you will.

Cartoons Don't Make Sense!

It’s summer and most of the time my little guy and I are outside, at the pool, or at the park. But running around outside all day is fairly exhausting to me, so my 4-year-old usually needs some down time in the late afternoon.

The other day we turned on WordWorld, a wonderful show that teaches children how to read, plus it’s pretty clever and cute.

So we’re watching it, leaning back on our couch and it occurred to me that the dog on WordWorld is the only animal that can’t talk; the duck can talk, the bear, even the frog and the ant can talk. An insect can talk but not the poor dog?

And then I thought, “Dogs can never talk on cartoons, they are everybody’s, even other animals’ pets… Why is that?”

Did I just wet myself?

It was a cold December night, 3 weeks before my due date.  My husband thought that I looked huge uncomfortable, so he suggested he sleep in our guest bedroom to let him me get a good night’s sleep.

Call it dad-to-be intuition because at 2 am I awoke to what I thought was me urinating all over myself in my sleep.  I wasn’t that bent out-of-shape about it, I was so native I just thought this it what happened late in pregnancy; I’d just really try to go to the bathroom before I went to sleep the next night (and as every pregnant woman knows, it’s not hard to make oneself go to the bathroom).

I went to the bathroom and ‘peed’ like I had never peed before.  I couldn’t stop.  I yelled for my husband and remarkably, he heard me and stumbled up the steps in moments. 

“I just peed the bed; I’m sorry; will you help me change the sheets?”

As I said that I felt I needed to go again so I stopped myself until I could get back on the toilet.  It wouldn’t stop...

The Safest-est Safety Cap

Before the end of school, my son’s preschool class went on a field trip.  It was a wonderful morning with a nature hike and ended with a fruit snack and water. 

The next day was Saturday and my son and husband were getting ready for their weekend jog (with the jogging stroller- let’s be practical).  My son thought the little water bottle that he brought home from his field trip was cool, so my husband went to refill that little water bottle to take on their jog… and the cap wouldn’t come off.

“Are you kidding me?”  I heard from the kitchen.  My son and I went in to see what Daddy was talking about, only to view Daddy looking incredulously at us.

“Did you fill my water bottle back up, Daddy?”

Daddy looked still disbelievingly at the 8 oz. bottle of spring water with added fluoride with the easy-twist open top and answered,
“No, the cap won’t come off… sorry buddy.”

While I reached up in the cabinet for the BIG NEON-BLUE Blue's Clues cup with a built-in straw (they will be jogging after all), complete with a bust of Blue on top, I looked at my husband again and asked perplexed, “Why won’t it come off?”

Reading off the label he explained… dramatically, that the non-removable cap reduces the risk of choking.

My Little Reminder

Today is my son’s 4 ½ birthday.  We’ve never celebrated a ½ birthday before, even though my son’s birthday is December 18th, and thus in the middle of holiday celebrations galore.  I’ll be honest, we’re celebrating this ½ birthday because my son 'negotiated' with us that he would go to the barbershop to get his hair cut when he was… you guessed it- 4 ½. 

I’ve been cutting his hair since he was born.  This is not a big deal except for the fact that my little guy doesn’t like to get his hair cut because he has LOTS of thick, wavy, curly hair.  And as a result, he sits still for 3 ½ to 5 minutes for his haircuts.  I’ve gotten really good at the quick cuts, out of necessity, but the coaxing and prodding and ‘deciding’ when he wants to sit down for the haircut has grown old.

But I digress…

The Calm... After The Storm

My son and I were on our way home last Wednesday from getting floaties (ironic- no?) when the skies started looking dark.  In a matter of 5 minutes it was raining… then thundering, then pouring, then raining so hard I could barely see.

I was immediately annoyed because the rain wasn’t supposed to hit yet, and I was driving in it.  But in the next moment, as the storm continued to get worse and the street started to flood, I went from annoyed to ‘I have the most precious cargo of my life in his car seat in back’.

Water was everywhere, with nowhere to go.  The street kept filling up, and I grasped the steering wheel.

“You can do it, mommy… You can do it!”  My 4-year-old said.

The storm was so loud beating down on the car, ‘No problem!’ I yelled back to him.

My Ode to DC

I always get a little misty-eyed this time of year, seeing Rolling Thunder around the beltway traffic, coming into town…
and remembering what Memorial Day is all about.

But the thousands of motorcycles (which are very cool, especially to my 4-year-old) that come into town every Memorial Day weekend also make me think of
vehicles,
driving,
… and traffic.

So here it goes –

My Ode to DC and the Traffic,
or rather,

DC– I Love You Even Though:

I love DC even though it isn’t really a grid. Numbered streets run north-south and lettered streets run east-west. This starts at the Capitol building… but there are exceptions. And you have to pay close attention to the endings on street signs- NW, SW, NE, SE or you will not end up where you wanted to be… and everyone that you’ve made late will be annoyed (another long story).

Avenues run at diagonals across the city and are named after states. They are supposed to be fast cross-city short-cuts, but I’ve lived here my whole life and the thought of using Wisconsin Avenue as a ‘short-cut’ is laughable. Have you ever been on an ‘avenue’ with so many lights?

My Close Call with a SUV... On The Sidewalk!

Saturday evening my 4-year-old son and my husband took me out to dinner for Mother’s Day.  We do this because my Mother’s Day is always filled with celebrating my mother who lives close-by and my mother-in-law who lives close-by.  And this is great, and I am happy and thankful that both my husband and myself enjoy having our families close… and we almost always have a babysitter!

We got rock star parking- just a few steps away from Cafe Deluxe in Bethesda, a favorite choice of ours for ‘dining’ with a little one- good food, great service, crayons and a booster seat- what more could you ask for? 

My husband parked and ran down the street to look at some new construction…  Boys never really grow up, do they?

My son was safely and happily playing by a bicycle rack about 3-feet-away from me and away from the curb.  I stood ON THE CURB as I fed the parking meter, with one eye on my son and one eye on the meter.  As I put the last coin in the meter, standing on the small area OF SIDEWALK in front of the parking meter, I saw something coming at me out of the corner of my eye.

In a split second I turned, saw a HUGE Explosion Expedition speedily backing into me,

I CAN DO THAT!

Where do I fit exercising into my day?  I am not a runner, although I will run if I am being chased.

I actually don’t need to lose weight, I just want to tone up a little and be healthy.  I’ve changed the way I cook over the past year for the better, making more vegetables and proteins, less carbohydrates.

So exercising has now made its way up my priority list.  But who has time to exercise?  I just got an email from my sister-in-law that said at the end of it, that she was going down to her basement gym to work out before her kids woke up- her email was sent at 6 am.

God bless her… but I am not that kinda’ gal.  I know I will never wake myself up at 6 am just to exercise.  And then I’m busy with my 4-year-old and the house, and playdates, and laundry, and building forts, and life. 

Can I trick myself into exercising just a little at a time? 
According to the Centers for Disease Control- the answer is,
‘Yes I can’!