Another Morning

We are a quiet trickle
marching gently
There is bacon in my teeth
We flow from side streets
falling into line
bunched in twos and threes

Familiar good mornings to
the dad with the always-bundled baby
the mom with the screen in her stroller-boy's face
the tall woman clutching her NPR travel mug,
awkward next to the young man in kitchen pants
leaning on the bus stop sign
The 552 is late

It's kisses, it's there's egg on your lip, it's clip your gloves together, it's mommy did you take your medicine

Airplanes weave patterns in the wide blue
Holly bushes shine silver dollars of sunshine
back to me
The bacon is gone from my teeth

That old New Jersey jeep hiccups,
warming
White puffs disappear behind it
The steering wheel shakes
like always

Garbage trucks beep and clang and
slow motion drop this week's scraps inside

carpet installers
hoist a tight roll on their shoulders
aiming at an open door
nodding good morning

I smile into my vest, thinking of mornings
and family and cities and
open the door
to my full coffee pot

T-ball

I've written a bunch of times on the blog about how much I love baseball and how much a part of my life it has always been. It's so fun to see the way that baseball has continued to be a part of my life with my own kids.

The boys have now completed three seasons (two spring, one fall) of t-ball (and Blastball-- which is pre-t-ball, and I wrote about it here and here.) and are gearing up for the coming fall season. We've had such a fun time with t-ball. We've gotten to know some great families and have already made some wonderful memories. Brian is a great coach and he loves coaching. The kids adore him and have all learned so much about baseball. Both the Red Wings and Blue Wahoos improved a bunch each season. In fact, the other coaches voted Brian the t-ball coach of the year for Reston Little League this spring! I'm pretty proud.

I've met some great parents through it all-- and many are parents I'll most likely know for years because they live close and some of them have kids who go to the same elementary school the boys will start going to in (23 days) the fall.

We found a summer baseball camp that took place just down the street from our house, and we signed them up for one week-- Monday through Thursday, five hours a day. It seemed like a LOT of time for them to be away, but the first week went well and they loved it. We signed them up again a few weeks later, and though they were the youngest two kids, they did great, loved it, and the older kids were supportive and encouraging of them. I have a hunch that the snow cone truck that visited daily might have been their favorite part, but the home run derbies into the tennis courts were a close second.

On the professional baseball front, we of course still follow our beloved Nationals, who are in first place as I write this. We all went to a Nats game recently. Teddy wasn't even afraid of the wild, screaming fans, especially when the Nats put up 5 runs in the first inning. He looked around at everyone and started clapping his hands too!

Bottom line: baseball is the greatest sport ever. And here are some pictures.

First game ever! Blastball 2013

During fall ball last year the boy had
 ALL 4 GRANDPARENTS at a game!

First game this spring- The Blue Wahoos!

Cal and Clark's littlest fan- boldly sporting
his poopy onesie.

Cal the catcher

Teddy at the t-ball exhibition game when Brian won coach of the year.

Cal fields a ground ball at baseball camp,
while Clark holds back the competition.

Clark fields at camp.

Five hours of baseball makes them tired...for about an hour
and then they're ready to rock and roll again.

Walking home from camp

Teddy goes CLAP CLAP CLAP!

Little fan gets to go into the dugout and meet a player!

Teddy meets the infamous Teddy Roosevelt
of the Nationals' Racing Presidents

It's the Silver Line!

For years we've heard that the metro will for sure be coming to Reston on its way from DC out to Dulles Airport. We had that in mind when we bought our condo six years ago near one of the two planned Reston stops. Many political and economical and financial discussions and plan-changes have been going on for so many years it has been hard to keep track (pun intended) of the latest metro news. Well, last Saturday it finally happened! The grand opening of the Silver Line! For those of you who drive, it might be intrusive and annoying to have a metro stop by you, and all the businesses and people that come with it. But for your friendly, non-driving, epileptic momma, this is awesome!

Before, I could walk five minutes to a transit station to catch a bus to transfer to the metro to catch a train to get downtown. BUT. Now I can either walk 15 minutes to the station, catch a train and be downtown in 25 minutes or less, or, to make it even faster, I can catch a bus outside my door that goes directly to the station, be there in two minutes, catch a train, and be downtown even faster. It is so much easier, and direct, and exciting!

Today I took the boys on our first Silver Line adventure. Though the parking garage is still incomplete, the station is open and sparkly new. Maybe I got a few goosebumps walking over the toll road.

There doesn't have to be a silver lining, anymore...there's a silver line. (Badda-bing. Sorry, I just had to work it in somehow.)

Look out, Silver Line, weirdos boarding.

We got on the front car and watched all the new route and new stops.

Finally Cool with the Pool

The last couple summers the boys have been terrified of the pool. I wrote about their escapades here. They screamed at even the idea of us taking them to the pool. It was ridiculous and the only way I could cope with it without going crazy was to write about it and then laugh at what I wrote. Finally last fall I forced them to take a swim class at the community center. They screamed the entire first lesson, including the 20 minutes before class, since we were accidentally early. The old ladies in the early morning water aerobics class were mostly sympathetic... but probably also annoyed by the shrieks echoing off the sterile white walls. The second class was only a little better. I summed up their hatred and tiny tolerance for the water here.

The boys, terrified of a half-full wading pool when they were two...
even when I was in with them.

But since then they've had another round of swim classes this spring and will start another round this summer. They've made strides. I wouldn't call them giant strides, but they're still much better than the days of the Pool Wars.

One of the cool things about living in Reston is that there are 16 public swimming pools in town! It seems that they each have cool features- one even has a covered sandbox area. We've met some fabulous new friends through Blastball who are big fans of the pools. Jackson is about six months older than Cal and Clark and they are in love with him. Jackson's mom Carey is actually due to have her baby any day now too, so we take our combined three boys, ourselves, our ginormous bellies, and our bulging swim bags of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and squirt guns to the pool. We get looks. One guy said to us, "Did you two come here to deliver?" Which isn't a bad idea, actually...water births are totally in right now... ha.

Yes, we're here to deliver.

Now that they have Jackson to go to the pool with and are more comfortable around water, the boys love to go to the pool. We also have a pool at our condo clubhouse that they love to go to. Cal especially is into it. He'll even jump off the sides, as long as someone catches him and his head doesn't quite go underwater. He'll plug his nose and go under with help, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't at all understand the concept of holding his breath, so hopefully his swim teacher will help with that soon. Today at the pool the boys were racing around the kids' pool as if the four corners were bases and they were diving headfirst into each base. It was great. They got their heads wet more than they ever have, all in the name of baseball.

The pool is also a great place for me, being a pregnant whale at the moment. I can sit motionless on a chair while the boys play in the kiddie pools, and I'm virtually weightless in the water where I can hold the boys up right to my face, which I can't do out of the water right now. I can cool off instantly. I don't have to wear real clothes. It is glorious. I'm so happy that the boys are finally excited about the pool! Maybe I should root for Peapod to take his time so I can enjoy a few more weeks at the pool. Nah. I need this child out of me.

Pool hunks

Discovering goggles

Fountains in the kiddie area at one pool!

Pizza break!

Vapiano Pizza-Makin' for Kids

A few weeks ago a friend of mine happened to be walking by Vapiano (pizza and pasta restaurant) on a Saturday morning and noticed that they had a little pizza class going on for kids. She stopped in, there was room in the class for her son, and so they spent the next hour or so making mini pizzas. It turns out that Vapiano at Reston Town Center does these free pizza-making classes every other Saturday morning! I signed the boys up and last weekend we had a wonderful time with the manager in charge of the class, the other employees who helped, the kids, and the boys' little friend Sonja.

Rene is the manager and he has this whole experience down. From the moment you walk in the door, you are welcomed, the kids are given (real, cloth) aprons, a paper chef hat, crayons, drinks, and parents are also given complementary drinks. The tour starts with a well-advised trip to the restrooms for the kids to wash their hands before they get to squish down the pizza dough. After the pizzas are all put together and baking, Renee brought out dough for the kids to practice tossing into the air. That was probably Cal's favorite part.

Without further text, here are the pictures. I highly recommend this fun morning (allow a good hour and a half or two hours) for anyone in the area. I'd say ideal ages are probably 3-6. Call ahead to reserve a space in the class, but it's all free! (Reston Town Center location: 571-281-2893)

The marketing worked on us...I'm sure we'll go eat dinner there at some point soon because they were so great to deal with- and the pizza was delicious!

Sonja and the boys get set for baking!

Everyone meets the manager and introduces themselves.

Clean hands are ready to press the dough!

How does my hat look?

Smashing the dough down

Decorating...

While the pizzas are baking...let's throw dough!

Chef Cal catches good air!

And the dough catches the floor a few times...

Everyone gets turns.

Cal does it again...

Yum, Batman: A bunny pizza and a normal little pizza for each kid

Thank you, Rene! 

Losing Our Bookstore

Today I wrote about losing our local bookstore on Reston Patch. Here it is.

The Santa Post

Last Christmas I wrote a post about Santa and our decision to not play Santa with the boys, and got some good, thoughtful responses that were helpful for me and others. I thought I'd repost it today and hopefully get some more comments.

 

The boys had a chance to meet Santa when we went to Jingle on Lake Anne last Saturday, but both freaked out and didn't want to see him. The gingerbread man decorating, ornament making, and petting zoo were plenty to keep them very happy. The weather was beautiful and Santa floating in on a pontoon boat to crowds of swooning children somehow felt sort of normal.

 

Here is the link to my Santa post.

 

Decorating gingerbread cookies



One eye, one button...

Yum.

Delicious leg

Cutest donkey I've ever seen. He loved Cal brushing him.

Santa post

November Playseum Giveaway!

I am happy to announce that my newest blog sponsor is The Playseum! My boys and I have been there twice and both times we've had a blast. Their themed play rooms, called CityShops, provide scenerios and material for creative and imaginative play. There is a Bethesday location, but the place we've been is the DC site. It is located a few blocks from the Eastern Market metro station, making it a fun outing if your kids love riding the metro like mine do. Here is the review I wrote about it.

This week I'm going a giveaway for four tickets to The Playseum. Just leave a comment below and give the Whispers & Shouts Facebook page a like. I'll have the boys pick a name on Friday and you can have your tickets in plenty of time to take the kids while school is out around Thanksgiving. Good luck!

Claim them before Cal eats them.

Ms. Sandra

Our area was prepared to be hit by Hurricane Sandy, and we were. There were some power outages and some flooding, but overall, from where I’m sitting, we weren’t affected as much as many thought we would be. Schools and a lot of businesses shut down. Public transportation shut down. The government shut down. Everyone hunkered. (I found it comforting to hear the word hunkered so often yesterday.)

Compared to all the coastal towns and New York City, we have very minor damage. I can only imagine what it would be like to live in one of the washed-away towns. It was an odd day. A bit of a boring day for me (thankfully). I was anxious and couldn't focus on the million productive things I could be doing with my time. We were trapped inside with the TV on, flashing images and speculations and measurements and important people jabbering on prettily.

We had moved everything from our balcony inside, including the Jack O’ Lantern, painted pumpkins, the slimy bubble toys still lingering from summer, and to my chagrin, several stink bugs. Outside the wind chime sang. Inside, our fridge and freezer sat full of ice and water. Our bread and non-perishables waited at attention outside the fridge. Brian worked on his latest computer project and I considered folding the laundry. The boys raced and tumbled, too often on my feet. I tried a craft with them that occupied them for awhile. I did a reading lesson with them, which, thinking back on it, was the best thing I did all day. We looked at their trick or treat candy and they both picked out identical lollipops to eat. I think I saw a white shoe fly past the dining room window.

When all was said and done, the boys went to bed and Brian and I lay on the couch watching, you guessed it, more pictures of the hurricane as the trees scratched and the wind yelled outside. One time the lights flickered. I woke up on the couch at 2am after having a dream about a large squirrel, and scuttled to bed to do some more hunkering down.

Today we went out a bit—for a walk to survey our surroundings and sip hot chocolate, and then to run some errands. Turns out the best time to go to Costco is the day after a hurricane. Not only were the customers few, but Costco employees had food samples out! Good ones too, not the diet energy drinks or cardboard chocolate bars. Of course there was still That Guy who ate like 47 pizza samples while mumbling about getting some for his daughter.

So, not much new to report.

Painting egg carton caterpillars

Made some carameled apples

Assessing damage

Hot chocolate sippin'



Cup lickin'

How to Make Space Shuttle and Astronaut Costumes

My grandma used to make Halloween costumes for me and all my cousins when I was little. I’m talking homemade, beautifully sewn, clever costumes that most of us probably still own. When she and my grandpa were out here this spring we took them to the Air and Space Museum where she bought Cal and Clark little astronaut flight suits. They were in heaven.

I thought it would be special to use those costumes that Grandma Bev bought for the boys this year. I used some balloons to make paper mache helmets and wrapped their rain boots in gauze. They also used the cereal box astronaut backpacks from their birthday party to complete the ensemble. Aunt Bean then went all out and made herself into a space shuttle! That’s right. So I responded in a less dramatic and simpler costume as space. She and I decorated a wagon as a moon rover for when we took them trick or treating yesterday at a super cool event that Reston Town Center does. It was safe, it was fun, and it didn't involve big kids in scary costumes competing for candy.

Here’s what we did for the costumes.

The boys ripped newspaper into strips for paper mache helmets.

 

We stirred water into a pile of flour until it was a good, gloppy consistency.

I wrapped the gloppy strips around the balloons and tried to
fight them out of the goop.

They hardened for a few days, and then we popped the balloons.

 

I cut them to fit their heads and painted them with white latex interior paint.

I poked holes for faces with a Dremmel tool and then stuck scissors
in to cut them out. (You could use anything sharp to start the holes.)

The edges were kind of jagged so I put athletic tape around them.

 

I wrapped rain boots in gauze and packing tape. This picture was
taken after their travels...the boots looked better before.

 

Printed two NASA symbols and a flag from the internet for the sides and back.
Hot glued them on.

Ready for blastoff!

Our first costumed experience was Gammy's office party. 

Aunt Bean used styrofoam cups with streamers taped inside for the
bottoms of the rocket boosters on her space shuttle.

 

Styrofoam cones for the tops of the rolled-up posterboard rockets.

The fuel tank is also rolled up posterboard, with a balloon on top.
The body of the shuttle is posterboard outlined in electrical tape.

She also printed out symbols and put sticky velcro to attach it to her white shirt.

 

I glued yellow construction paper on a black shirt in the shape of the
Big Dipper, Little Dipper, and Orion to complete the scene.

The satellite on the wagon is folded posterboard covered in foil with pipe cleaners.
The solar panel (on the far side) is folded foam board.
I put squares of foil on the wheels and on the side.

Ready to find some candy!

The crew

We had to pose by the constellation sculpture.

Trick or treating in a wine shop? I think yes!



Met up with twin friends Christian and Luke, aka. Dinosaur and Shark



Jackpot vendor of the day: Red Velvet Cupcakery with warm chocolate cupcakes.
Best. Idea. Ever.