Doing the "tourist" thing (warning TONS of pictures)

Bruce and I say it all of the time...for 2 people who have lived outside of the DC metro area all of our lives, it's a shame we don't go downtown more often! Bruce's dad is a retired DC Detective, and because of that (I think, at least!) Bruce is the BEST at driving in the city (DC and NY) and can get you anywhere you need to go. The funny thing? He is HORRIBLE at normal driving...you know, where you have to pay attention to speed limits, stay in your lane, etc. He will be the first to agree with that statement :o)

After a community yard sale on Saturday AM, we showered and took the kids for a ride down to DC to go something different. We ended up at the Tidal Basin, where after 2 loops around the parking lot, we were able to score a parking spot! The place was hopping! It was such a gorgeous day outside...the perfect temperature...fairly warm, but around the basin there are plenty of trees to break up the sun, so you were able to stay cool enough. We had such a good time feeding the ducks, walking around the Tidal Basin and watching Tiff and Frannie do paddle-boats, and then we went down to the Seafood Market at the wharf (THAT WAS CRAZY!) to pick up some fresh seafood for dinner and THE BEST crabcake sandwiches ever for lunch...they were so nice and were handing out samples of cake, so the kids were in heaven.

The whole time, I think Bruce and I had goofy grins on our faces because we had such a great time, and we were just happy to see the kids enjoy themselves so much.

Chase feeding the ducks crackers
Chase is appalled that Addy is actually eating the cracker she was supposed to throw to the duck...haha
me and the kiddos

Addy wandering around in front of one of the monuments...we NEVER let them out of the stroller but it was fairly calm there and they loved it

she is so silly
Chase was busy being a big brother and pushing the stroller around

I love this picture
My cool guys hanging out on the steps...Chase refused to sit in between Bruce's legs to take a picture, he kept getting up and moving to sit beside him...funny kid!
Last picture of the group...Chase and Bruce were trailing behind, Chase was walking around like he owned the place, and he decided to you know, just sit down and chill for a bit, and finish his crackers...because, you know, he hangs out in DC all the time ;o)

The Mulch Saga...part Tres

OK, a few things, I just realized that you can upload more than one picture at a time, and if you do it first, before you type in your text, you don't have to drag them all over the place to put them where you want them. I feel better now...that drove me crazy! You guys probably already knew that! :o)

We've been taking a bucket and shovel over to the park for Addy and it does seem to help with the eating of the mulch problem



OK, a little bit at least! I LOVE this picture of Addy, she looks so pissed and annoyed b/c her hair is flying all over the place...makes me smile.
I had to throw in one of Chase, of course
Ta-da!

Need a reccomendation for a double jogging stroller!

OK, I know I posted a while back about working towards my weight loss goal...I'm doing OK...nothing fantastic yet, work has been crazy, so I keep bailing on my kickboxing lunchtime routine.

BUT! Things are looking up! I am so excited to be starting up bootcamp again after work with Michael Thrash (his brother is James Thrash, the Redskin) who is WONDERFUL...he puts together a totally challenging workout combining running (which I hate but got pretty good last year), a ton of pliometric excercises, weight training and other conditioning stuff...it is awesome, and I had a blast doing it all last spring/summer with my SIL Erica and a few of her friends. The best part? Michael is now doing his class co-ed, so Bruce gets to finally do it with me! Yay! He will love it and it will kick his butt! It's 3 days a week, M/Tu/Th from 6-6:45 over in River Creek, which is way more convenient for me this time around...it used to be over in the Broadlands community, which is in the opposite direction of where we live.

So excited...we start 5/5...can't wait!

THE REASON behind this post...Bruce and I took the kids for a long walk last night and I tried to run with the kids (in their normal side-by-side double stroller) on the flat portions of the trail...and it really bothered my ankle that I sprained over the winter. I've been jumping up and down on it just fine since then, but I guess the impact and motion of running isn't as kind to my ankle. Anyway, I need to run more, and Bruce is a good runner, I hate it, so I think I need to look into getting a double jogging stroller so that we can take the kids for runs on our off nights from bootcamp...he will push me and the kids loved the little sprints I did in their normal stroller :o)

Ladies, please let me know your reccomendations on a jogging stroller...I think you are all fans of the BOB strollers? I am going to get one on Craigslist (no way am I going to get a new one, since I don't know how much I'll use it!), so please let me know what I should look for.

Thanks!

Thursday Night TV

OK, I am SO HAPPY that my shows are back on...LOST and Gray's Anatomy...BUT, who decided to put them on the same night? I can handle one show a night, now, Gray's comes on at 9 and then LOST comes on at 10...that is enough to kill me!

Chase didn't fall asleep until about 9:15 last night so I half-heartedly watched Gray's...I'll have to catch up and watch it online next week before the next episode!

Addy can EAT!

I should totally have a picture for this post, I'll have to dig around to see if I can find one that fits.





Addy is REALLY petite...she'll be 15 months the first week of May and she is still in an infant carrier. At her last Dr's appt she was 18lbs...you have to be 20 to face forward in a car seat. This is KILLING her...she turns her head around all the time to be able to watch the overhead DVD player with Chase when we are in the car.





I think she is trying really hard to put on some weight...this AM she ate a whole pancake, lifted up her plate and said "more" and then ate a half of a banana! She would have kept eating if I would have let her...when I took her out of her high-chair, she didn't even have any random pieces of her meal leftover in her seat...that is so not normal!

MORE FOOD MOM!!! This is what she does, she tries to shovel the last pieces in by lifting up her plate!

She's just now wearing 12-month tops and still has to wear 6/9 month bottoms...she is so not my kid! Wish her some luck for her checkup...she can't wait to pick out a new pink car seat! :o)

Writers Block

Ok, I've been in a writing "funk"...Megan just left me a message wondering what in the heck I have been up to since I haven't been writing...thanks for checking on me Megan!

Actually, I typically love coming in to work on Monday AM's and writing a little post about the weekend...it just seems that there will be one BAD thing that happens and washes out the whole weekend of good stuff that went on.

For example, 2 weekends ago, we FINALLY got Addy Dedicated at church...which is a cause for celebration, EXCEPT for the fact that Chase wasn't having it going into the nursery during service, and Bruce and I ended up hanging out in the lobby the whole time with both kids, while the rest of our family and Chase & Addy's godparents enjoyed the service. By the time that ordeal was over, neither Bruce or I was in the mood to go out to lunch with everyone, so we just went home, put Addy down for a nap and did I don't know what for the rest of the day.

This past weekend, Friday and Saturday were AWESOME...my parents had the kids, so Bruce and I got to enjoy some adult time on Friday night, went out for dinner and drinks, were back home and in bed by 9:30 when we had planned on hitting the movies afterwards...we were both just exhausted though...that was fine by both of us. Saturday AM I slept in until 8am (good times...) and then went and met a family friend that will be needing my help getting her condo prepared to go on the market...she is in her 80's and my grandmother's long time business partner, who has smoked inside her condo for the last 10 years or so (so did my grandmother, and she has the exact same unit, which I gutted and rehabbed and sold for her last year while she was sick in the hospital). Anyhoo...this is getting long-winded. Bruce and I headed to DC last minute to catch the 1pm game 5 of the Caps Play Offs...we scored AWESOME tickets scalping since we were running so late it was right when the game was starting...and had a blast. Afterwards we headed back and picked up the kids from my parents house...they had a great time playing outside for 2 days straight...I'm talking 9:30-7 each day, minus naps and meals. That makes me sooo happy! Sunday was a horrible day, filled with drama that I can't talk about here. The highlight of the day was when Chase fell asleep while in the car with Bruce, I carried him in and sat in the dark with him asleep on my chest for the good part of an hour...that was a HUGE win in my book since he will wake right up from a car nap if you carry him inside and try to lay him in his bed.

So, by the time Monday comes around, I'm just blah! While I have been typing up my little rant, I have thought of 2 "good" things to write about, so I'll fire them off now. Hope everyone is enjoying the spring weather, now that it has stopped raining!

Dammit

I changed my layout and lost all of my blog links...gah! I'll get them back up ASAP

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Carol

As most of you know, my sister, Carol, is stationed in Bagdad in the Army. Yesterday was her 23rd birthday. She sent us all an email this weekend showing the picnic that her unit and another group threw to celebrate her birthday. At least they are trying to make the best of it, you know? Here are a few of the pictures she sent...almost looks tropical she said in her email that they "had a birthday party/picnic by a biohazard lake with dead fish in it, and non American flies swarming everywhere. Absolute heaven" nice...

I sent her birthday cake in Mason Jars...pretty neat, you just bake the cakes in jars, and boil the lids, as soon as you take the cakes out of the oven, you seal them off by screwing the lid on...as it cools the jars seal, and it will stay fresh for at least 2 weeks. I sent her our family favorite, Lemon Pound Cake...just a little something, and when she called to thank me, I knew I had scored points...the little things amuse her the most, I think!

Anyway, Happy Birthday, Little Llama...can't wait to see you in JUNE. Keep your chin up and your head and your "Richardson ass" down ;o)

Love, Big Sis

wall art

Check out this website I found...

I love some of these quote thingies!!!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=10687757

Chris Cooley's Blog

I haven't written much in the past week or so, I've taken tons of pictures...will post shorty.

Just a little public service announcement:

Chris Cooley is blogging now, and besides being extremely HOT, he's a funny writer. True story...I saw him in KOHL's once with his fiancee, buying bedding and towels. He was very nice to everyone trying to talk to him...and he was HOT.

Anyhoo...here's a link to his blog.

http://chriscooley47.blogspot.com/

Hail to the Redskins!