Mother's Day 2010

In my opinion, every Sunday is "Mother's Day" around here because that is my day to sleep in. In reality, James wakes at 6am (or earlier), pounds down to our room, climbs in our bed, and snuggles (which consists of him squirming all around and saying "want to go downstairs yet?" every five minutes). So, by the time Brian takes him downstairs, I am up. I choose to spend my sleep-in day reading, working, or updating this blog.

Weeks ago, Brian took it upon himself to bring me coffee while I was "sleeping in" and now he can't stop. So, that's how Mother's Day started. Loved it.

We went out to lunch, and then we were off to my favorite DC museum, the Hirshorn. It's all kinds of modern art and quiet people - perfect location to take our hoodlums....

Here they are being on their "best behavior" for Mother's Day....

James did have one calm moment:

but most of the trip was him doing this and us shout-whispering, "stop running!"

OK, one nice pic before leaving...

Happy Mother's Day to me.

Happy Birthday to ME!

Well, I've turned the corner (Mom, sit down before you read this) - I am now closer to 40 than 30. eek! We celebrated my birthday by driving down to Raleigh to spend it with our besties, the Bruces. Here I am in their front yard with a birthday gift from my friend Rachel. Somehow, she always knows EXACTLY what I need and I have used this "basket" EVERY DAY since April 30 - thanks Rach!

Emily made a HUGE feast of my favorite things - appetizers. I'm a snacker.
Here's my Baskin Robbins ice cream cake...

And then we ventured out to the new North Carolina Museum of Art and posed by a big metal tree. It seemed mandatory at the time...

Molly really dug all the art...

Playing in the Rodin sculpture garden....

Thanks for a GREAT birthday weekend!

Last Visit with Katie...

... before she went all tropical. Katie left today for the Peace Corps Fiji. The two year stint will entail teaching sustainability to locals and youth, promoting conservation of reefs, mangroves, terrestrial habitats, and surveying local ecosystems. Apparently, she's going to be too busy to notice that her host home has no electricity, she has to shower in a bucket, and (gasp!) she'll have to wear a skirt.

Here are some pics from her last visit here:

Godspeed Katie.

Charity Event

Our neighbor and friend, Peter, is on the Board of a homeless shelter called Carpenter House. A couple of weekends ago, he invited us to their annual fundraiser - A Taste of Alexandria. There were a dozen of Alexandria's BEST restaurants serving all-you-can-eat dishes. There was also a kids' area for face painting, make your own shopping bag and.... balloon animals. More on that in a minute. There was also a professional photographer there who kept snapping pics of Molly who was center stage with beads and her shopping bag - dancing to the band.

The photographer took this one of us:

This one of Molly:

and, ummmm, this one of James:

That's all I'm going to say about that.