Adventures in Living!

The Best Mother's Day ever!!

Seriously, today was probably the best Mother's Day I have ever had in nearly eleven years of parenting. What a great day and a superb weekend!

Saturday, we did our weekly farmer's market run, picked up our CSA allotment of veggies, got some sinful cinnamon rolls and whoopie pies, and then checked out a new market in the area that I hopefully will be selling my glass at. We made a stop at the pediatrician's office to find out if Noah had an ear infection (he doesn't), and then back home for lunch and naptime. During the kids' nap, I knocked out about 19 of the daisy beads I have to make for a custom order, and roasted in the heat and humidity. Wren got to go over and play at the Elkins' house for a while, and when Noah woke up, we joined her there for dinner.

After dinner, playing, and bundling the kids off to bed, Travis and I watched Prince Caspian. I was surprised how good of a movie that was. Now I have to read the Chronicles of Narnia again. It's probably been a good twenty years or more since I read it.

Sunday, all I wanted for Mother's Day was breakfast at my favorite buffet, Joe's Inn in Bon Air. It's so popular that even when it's not a holiday, it's best to get there a few minutes before they open. It was yummy and worth the wait. I always get a plate of fruit and Belgian waffles covered in real butter and whipped cream. MMmmmmmm!  The weather was so fantastic that just going home after breakfast would have been a waste of a day. We went to Maymont Park to let the kids run themselves silly.

Maymont is a Gilded Age mansion and 100 -acre grounds in Richmond. It's beautiful, and HUGE. There's a Children's Barn with lots of animals, some wildlife that is being rehabilitated, and bears! We always have a good time there.

We started at the Children's Barn.

Wren got acquainted with a goat.

Noah learned about goats, too.

Then we found a large expanse of grass and we RAN!

"Look! There's Daddy!"

On our way back to the car, I checked out Maymont's vegetable garden, and got ideas I plan to steal for next year's garden.

Home in the afternoon for naps, then, and I decided to take myself out for a walk. The James River is high these days, what with all the rain we've been getting, and I really wanted to walk down by the rapids at Pony Pasture.  It was beautiful, sunny, breezy and not at all humid. The trails there are wide and flat, and there are a bunch of spur trails that make for fun exploring. I am definitely bringing my mountain bike back there this week to ride.

I didn't take my camera, so no pictures, but take my word for it, it was amazing.  The river was actually closed to general activities because it was high, so no swimming. I walked the 2.5 mile trail, and then found a seat on a huge rock with a good view of the upper rapids and just relaxed in the breeze.

We ended the day with huge cheeseburgers and milkshakes from Cheeburger Cheeburger, and a road trip on the scenic route to pick up Kira. The kids watched movies and Travis and I looked at all the gorgeous farms along the way.

Now the kids are all in bed, and I am headed there myself, soon. I'm happy to have had such a great day. I love my family so much!

Happy Day

Yesterday, I celebrated the last birthday I will have that starts with the word 'thirty'.

Yikes.

It was a truly fantastic day, filled with sunshine and good stuff, and my three kids. After I dropped everybody off at their respective schools, I had to go into work for an hour or so to go to a meeting (boo!). Of course I wore a cute summer skirt because I thought it was going to be much warmer than it actually was....wardrobe fail! No matter, there were jeans for after work.

This week is Historic Garden Week in Virginia, and Wednesday was the open house tour for an area of historic homes near where we live. It's called Bon Air, was once a resort town, and it has many, many surviving examples of Victorian-era architecture and decoration. Most of the people who live in the old homes do a great job of restoring them, and making gardens with a nod to period practices. There is this one house that I drive by nearly every day, the Hazen House, that I adore. 

(Photo from the Midlothian Exchange)

It's huge, and Travis and I actually saw the inside of it with a realtor about seven years ago. Oh I loved that house! But at the time, it was a crumbling wreck, needed extensive restoration and was basically unliveable. Also it cost a quarter of a million dollars. Out of our price range on all fronts.

Anyway, I saw in the paper earlier in the week that the Hazen House was going to be open for tours. I decided that would be a present to myself, so after work, I rushed over there and got tickets for that house and for the Withers House, another one fo my favorites. I didn't have near as much time as I wanted to wander around because I had to pick up the little ones from school, but I managed to see both houses and still had a little time left over. The houses were spectacular! The period details and the restoration and decorating were phenomenal! I wish I had interior pictures, but no photography was allowed. Bummer.

I'm just glad I got to see that house on the inside. I remember what it looked like as a wreck, and now it is just so beautiful...oh, I hope I have as beautiful a house someday.

The rest of my birthday was pretty darn good, too. I actually took all three kids out by myself for dinner at Red Robin. This is a major undertaking, as sometimes both Travis and I together have a hard time handling just two of the kids in a restaurant. I sweated the decision a little bit, but ultimately I stuck by the tried and true dining out with kids rules....

1. Go early.
2. Know what you want to order before you get there.
3. Lower your expectations just a hair.
4. Bring sippy cups and something for the kids to fiddle with at the table.

Done! I am proud to say that I successfully accomplished dinner out with my kids! Yay! They were all well-behaved, and we managed to get home in time for us all to have cake.
MMmmmmm...black and white cake fromUkrop's......

You have to have cake on your birthday!

We even got wild and took a group shot. I love the self-timer on my camera, it make it fun to try and get in the pictures once in a while.

After four or five attempts, we got this shot, that my kitchen sink took.

Just look at those guys! Aren't they just the best!? I love their smiles.

It was really a great birthday. Kira and I finished the evening on the couch, with more cake, and a new episode of Mythbusters, our regular Wednesday-night show.

The only thing that was lacking was that I didn't have my friend and soulmate to celebrate with me. He'll be back on Friday and I can't wait. I think we have something of  a celebration planned for next weekend, when my mom can come down to babysit.

This week has been just incredibly looooooong. I am so very tired. (but happy!)

Getting Away...

I have a question for all you in internet land.

This week, my husband is taking a week-long training course in Northern Virginia. I keep thinking about how fantastic it would be to be able to watch whatever I want on TV, eat whatever I want, come and go without having to consider three little people, and....oh....sleep as long as I want (EEEEEE!!!!!).

I can't imagine Travis isn't enjoying it all just a little bit. I mean, I know he misses us and wishes he was home, but really, how could he not take a least a little enjoyment in only having to take care of himself for a change? At least for a little while.

I've been thinking about taking my own little trip. Just a short one, just a night or so, over a weekend. I can't really go too far, because I can't really afford to fly (and I hate to). Probably a max 4 or 5 hours drive would be as far as I could manage, otherwise, for a weekend, it wouldn't be worth it.

So, the big question: Where should I go?

I've thought about going to a weekend art or jewelry or glass workshop, or maybe planning to visit a museum or historic site....but I don't know what would be the most fun. I'm not especially good at solo travel., and I really haven't been on a vacation in a long time.

Anybody got any ideas?

Spring Break, Part 3 -- Freezing in the Garden

Ok, so this is Virginia, land of unpredictable spring weather. True to that form, it was fuh-reeeezing the other day. Of course, that was the day my oldest had gone to spend the day with her best friend, and I had planned to take the little kids to Maymont Park to look at the animals and run like a bunch of crazy people. Maymont is beautiful, extremely hilly, and possessing of wiiide-open spaces for full-tilt preschooler running. I had high hopes for wearing the both of them completely out.

Well, first mistake was that it was sunny and fairly warm on my side of town. The kids were wearing light shirts and light jackets. On the Maymont side, it was cloudy, 45 degrees and WINDY. We we totally underdressed. BUT, we pressed on, thinking that the Barn would be sheltered and tolerable.

Riiight.

The Maymont Foundation had a whole bunch of spring break activities going on (that weren't free, a consideration for this outing), so their outdoor and barn animals were all occupied, doing other things besides being really available like they usually are. Well, some were available, so we checked out the goats and the donkey.

Then we decided it was too cold (Mommy decided that), and so we went to play on the bronze statue of kids before we left.
It looks like the dog is licking Wren's pants! I love it!

We went home right away and made some yummy hot chocolate and some peanut butter sandwiches. Not a total waste of a day, but definitely NOT the outing I had planned. I did get to check out how Maymont works their vegetable garden, so that was good.

Oh, and in case anyone was wondering, it is not a good idea to let your 16 month old son anywhere near the toaster, even if it is unplugged and cool. Here is what befell my oven knobs...
Noah pulled a chair to the counter, climbed up, and 'toasted' the knobs. I didn't know they were in the toaster slot when I made Kira's bagel...and wondered what the heck that nasty smell was...

Sigh. Adventures in Parenting. Everyday, an adventure. It's like a motto for raising children.

Stay tuned for more spring break fun! Egg dying, fabric dying, and all kinds of other stuff!

Touristy again

So, today Travis went down to Hampton for a fight practice, so I had the girls all to myself for the day. It was absolutely beautiful here, and although I could have easily spent all day doing laundry and cleaning the house and beating back the mountains of crap that seem to accumulate around here, I had to get outside with the kids.

Since Kira has recently mastered the art of riding a two-wheeler, I wanted her to have as much bike-riding time as she could stand. We hiked up to the office park near our house with Wren in the new frame backpack carrier I bought, and Kira rode and rode and rode all over the empty parking lot. It was great! She is awesome! I am so proud of her!

Wren was pretty happy to hang out in the backpack. They were both all smiles when we stopped for a rest:

We hiked back home and Wren napped. The, we took off for a quick trek at Pony Pasture right next to the James. The mosquitos were pretty awful, but the view was nice. Some asshole drove up behind me and Kira and the baby while we were on the trail next to the road and honked the horn and drove off. It startled me and Kira, but Wren was not bothered. What a jerk he was.  Anyway, here's a nice view of the rivah:

And my beauty, Kira, next to the rapids (no, Kira, you cannot go in the water):

We were only there a short time, because I hated to deal with the mosquitos, and Kira was tired. But, it was fun, and Kira said she really enjoyed it. I let her handle the digital camera and take this snap of Wren and I right before we got in the car:

All are in bed now, and Travis safely returned from fight practice. I should head to bed myself, since tomorrow is Monday (ick!).

I haven't updated in a few days....mostly because I haven't got anything much to say, really.

Friday afternoon, Wren came home from day care with these:

Saturday was our 3rd anniversary, and after much deliberation and debate, and a few domestic chores, we did actually settle on a plan for the evening. Friends Bart and Sara offered to keep Wren for the evening so we could go out. I wanted to spend part of the day out in the terrific weather. We ended up doing a bit of our usual Saturday domesticity routine: shopping for needed items, running various errands, things of that nature.

We ended up down in Shockoe Slip, and had lunch at Cha-Cha's Cantina. Then we took Wren over to Sara's and went to see Pirates of the Carribean. That was so awesome! I can't wait for the third one. After the movie, dinner was at Athens Tavern in the Fan for more Greek food than I thought I could eat in one evening. It was wonderful, as usual, and the waitress even remembered us from our last visit about three months ago. I'll be bringing my leftover salmon stuffed with crabmeat to work for lunch tomorrow. Yum! Mmmm....dolmades....tzatziki....kalamata olives....flaming cheese.... It was all so good, and the atmosphere is perfect there. After dinner, we went for a drive, enjoying the beautiful weather. We talked, we enjoyed each other's company. All in all, a nice evening. Just what I wanted for my anniversary. Thank you, Travis.

The rest of the weekend was engulfed in baby-wrangling (table food is not agreeing with her as well as previously thought), and more domestic chores. The pool is being drained, I planted some fall mums and asters, and we defrosted the chest freezer. Ah, domestic bliss.

Wren's ahving some difficulty getting comfortable and going to sleep, so I guess I should go take care of her, poor thing. Have a great week, everyone.

Tourist in my own town II

I'm a little late posting this, but last weekend, when Kira was home, I took her and her best friend, Bethanna, to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens to look at the flowers and play in the new Children's Garden.
After you enter the gate, the first thing you see is this cool fountain with frogs:
(note the girls posing artfully in the background)

Beyond that, is the signature building, the Conservatory, modeled after Victorian greenhouses.

The dome is most impressive, rising 63 feet, and the entire building is glass and 11,000 square feet. Beautiful. It's nice and warm in there in the wintertime, when we go to see the Christmas light display in the gardens.

Here is the top of the dome, from the inside:

We followed the path from the Conservatory to the Children's Garden, with the newly-built Treehouse....it was realy really cool! Here's a great view of it from across the small pond:

The gardens, vegetable and flower, were just wonderful and so fragrant (I love the smell of fresh basil and tomatoes and lettuce!). This was a terrific view:

And the girls loved to play in the tiny model houses in the International Village, too....

Stay tuned for more from Lewis Ginter. More to come....

Tourist in my own town

Ok, so Coronation really is only three hours away....still have to think about the logistics and whether or not I want to tent camp with a baby. There is going to be a huge glassworker convergence and I want to play, too! BUT, I don't guess glass and babies go very well together, so I still haven't made up my mind how I will make it there. I don't have a project to show, and very few remaining weekends to make one in so....I don't know. We'll see.

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So this Saturday, I was really hankering to do something besides spend another Saturday running errands, wrangling the baby, and puttering around the house.  We ventured out to downtown Richmond to go to the farmer's market (kinda disappointing), and ended up walking around Belle Isle and the Civil War museum. Here's the Main Street train station that you see from I-95 as you go through the city:
I love this building, it's one of my favorites in the city.
After the farmer's market, we drove down toward Brown's Island and Belle Isle . There is a long footbridge across the James River that is suspended underneath the Lee Bridge, and the breeze (not to mention the view!) was fantastic as we walked over to Belle Isle. This photo was taken about a third of the way across the bridge, looking back at the city.

Once on the island, there is a mile-long walking trail that skirts the perimeter. You can access the river from this trail, and a number of people were basking in the sun and swimming. The river is very dangerous here when the water is high. Many people drown here, because this is the location of some class IV rapids. I especially liked the view of Hollywood Cemetery  from the bank. I really want to go exploring in this cemetery. Travis promised we would go -- there are so many historically significant people buried there, and it is apparently really beautiful. There are (as you can see in this photo) a number of monuments adorning the graves.

Wren was hungry, and we stopped in the shade so she could have a bottle. Isn't she just gorgeous in the summer light?

Smiling at her daddy.....

We saw several old buildings and ruined structures on the island. One of them was the remains of a hydroelectric dam that Virginia Power used until the early 1960's. Very cool. The water isn't anywhere near the thing now.

And the ruins of a building where iron was made into horseshoe nails and such.....

It was a really pleasant walk, and there were a lot of interesting things to see along the way. I want to bring Kira and our bicycles sometime and go for a ride. Wren seemed to enjoy herself, too, although I am looking on eBay for a frame backpack carrier for her. The stroller went fine, but a pack would be simpler.

After Belle Isle, we stopped at the Civil War Museum, which is a National Park Service Visitor Center. I got a ton of maps and guidebooks, and also took a quick look at the artifacts and Civil War-era photos. I'm planning our next trip downtown already. Maybe next weekend, when Kira is home. There are canal boat rides, which I know she would love.

All in all, a fun day. I even got some sun on my fish-belly-white shoulders. We did some pool time afterward, and Wren was much happier playing in the pool water that was 84 degrees.

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One last cute Wren picture.....