Hot air balloons
Our preschool, LANK, has a wonderful art summer camp called Gallery LANK. This year’s theme was Art in Motion. Penny, our docent, greeted us at the door and led us on a tour as she highlighted her work.
Our Everyday
Sharing our stories, big and small.
Posts from the “childhood” Category
This was our first year fully participating on the Pinecrest swim team with Lucas swimming in the 8 and under group and Penny and Oliver swimming in the Pee Wees program. We started the season unsure if Lucas could even swim a full 25 meters and ended with him learning all strokes and even winning a heat! The best win was having one child fully independent in the swimming pool.
The Lollipop Meet is a non-competitive swim meet dedicated to just the 8 and unders, including the Pee Wees. Every swimmer receives a lollipop after each event.
Penny did free stroke, back stroke and kickboard relay.
The formula of parenthood is:
T = CPV
C = child’s reaction to sibling snatching or sibling teasing, non-serious injury, or not getting the right color plate or whatever it is he/she must have at that exact moment
P = your mood
V = a variable to capture all variables such as the weather, traffic, the passive aggressive remark your neighbor, boss, or mother-in-law said that morning
T = your tantrum. You will start with words, maybe even some profanity because honestly the child will not comprehend anything you are saying, that will be spoken with increasing volume which will devolve into hand gestures, vein popping, foot stamping and door slamming. You will blame all external factors (V) that has led to this moment, blame your husband and his role in raising this hell-spawn child, attempt to comprehend why a child cannot comprehend, curse your child because at this point he/she is no longer a child but an adult with purposeful intentions, then berate yourself for cursing your child and being a terrible parent.
Strength and severity of T will vary. Who says math is an exact science?
Left
She was only three months old and we decided to do a stay-cation at The W Hotel in Washington, DC. We rushed to the hotel to get there in time for her feeding but our room wasn’t ready. The hotel staff set me up in a conference room so I could nurse in private, Lucas loved spinning in the chairs. Pushing around the heaviest double stroller we explored the American History Museum and Natural History Museum and lunched at KAZ Sushi Bistro. After a long day Lucas enjoyed a bomb pop while we raced back to the hotel in the pouring rain.
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To celebrate the 4th we decided to do a stay-cation at The W Hotel. No strollers this time around and everything we needed fit nicely into one bag including three blankets, pink doggy and turtle. We weaved in and out of under trees attempting to avoid the rain while we made our way to BLT Steak for dinner. On the 4th we watched the parade and explored the Folklife Festival. Our day didn’t end until 11pm after the fireworks were finished.
Sydney celebrated her 5th birthday with an adorable spa party, complete with pink bathrobes and cucumbers! Each of the girls experienced the ultimate in pampering with manicures, pedicures and facials. And in between their treatments they relaxed with chicken nuggets and belting out Frozen songs, they are five after all.
To celebrate Penny’s fifth birthday she requested a “Frozen” party. Her expectations consisted of Frozen invitations, Frozen goody bags and a moon bounce. I decided to surprise her with a few extra treats…
A “Frozen” themed treat table complete with Olaf cake pops
Guilt. It’s a never ending well that is easily available to all who want. No one limits our consumption as does no one lead us there. We willfully walk, trudge there and by the time we’ve arrived find our thirst unquenchable.
Laying asleep with her delicate locks strewn haplessly across her face, a tangle of legs and blankets and the steady slight snore of her breathing filling the room she was beyond the clatter and noise of the household. In her realm of reality mixed with impossibilities, at times providing fantastical experiences and at others delivering great terror, she drifted delicately. On this night she landed somewhere in between. No wicked witches chasing her nor did the skies rain candy. She was merely re-enacting an ordinary moment from the day but with different faces in similar places. It was during this night, in this most ordinary of dreams that something life changing happened. Through the crack in the window, the gods drifted in on the air and whispered the most humorous of jokes into her ear. When she awoke she would not recall the joke, only the humor and she’d carry a grin on her face that entire morning. When asked by her parents the meaning behind her grin she could not explain herself.
In the years ahead this humor will reside deep within her and in times of stress or anxiety provide great comfort. The warmth that contentment brings will radiate from her and affect those around her. She will grow up to be known as the girl with the infectious smile. But it’s more than just that. Much more must exist far beneath to create what we see on the surface. The humor left by the gods will affect her life, each long, full day.
September 14, 2011 was Penny’s first day at Lake Anne Nursery and Kindergarten (LANK). Within the first two months I received two calls of her biting her classmates. Apparently a third incident warrants some sort of “disciplinary action.” Luckily there was never a third. She befriended her lifelong LANK friends, Maddy and Kellen, and navigated the tough seas of strong personalities. Over the three years she learned her colors, shapes, letters, sorting, patterns and rhymes. She went from writing her name backwards to forwards and has added many more words to her writing vocabulary. She learned to share, to use her words and matured into a contributing participant in her class. After three nurturing years in a wonderfully supportive school this girl is ready for Kindergarten.
Our Everyday 