11-25-15 Thanksgiving Eve

It's quiet in the house right now. Tim is putting the big kids to bed and Baby E is still asleep in his car seat. It is rare for us to all be together on a weeknight and I am enjoying the feeling of having my family all under the roof at once. I am also grateful for the break in bedtime duties! 

I thought I'd take a few minutes to list what I'm thankful for this year. (I considered leaving it for tomorrow, but feared the turkey hangover will get the best of me!)

- My husband. Tim and I are going on eight years of marriage in just a few days. We've been together for ten years.

- My kids. They bring adventure to each of my days.

- My parents. Tomorrow they will celebrate their 38th wedding anniversary!

- My house. This time last year we were shivering through the cold nights at the farm house.

- My job. I work with some pretty talented and wonderful people! 

- Tim's job. It may be a long commute, but he enjoys the work.

- My sister. My partner in crime since we were kids.

- Tim's family. I love the big support network that comes with a large family. Having built in friendships is a lovely thing indeed! 

- The people who watch our kids. We have an amazing team of people that watch our children. We feel confident that they are loved and protected in our absence,

- Our church. We belong to an amazing body of believers. There are literally hundreds of people in our community that come together and meet regularly, encouraging one another.

- My God. Without whom nothing above would exist. 

11-24-15 Grandparents' Day

Today was Grandparents' Day at C's school. Since last week's parents' day was a such a dud, and none of C's grandparents could make it today, Tim, Rebecca and I decided to go. And let me tell you, it was so much better than parents'day! They pulled out all the stops! 

We overheard that they were expecting 600+ guests over the course of the day! We made our way to C's class where there were multiple stations set up. We were allowed to work at each station with our kid. They did coloring, made a hat, decorated cookies, etc. It was fun to see C in her classroom and interacting with her friends.

Their art show was this really cool winter scene they had set up in one of the teaching trailers. 

This was C's contribution to the village.

11-23-15 I had coffee at 7 p.m.

Last night was a rough evening with the kids. They basically did the opposite of everything that I asked them to do. By the time it was ready for bedtime, I was done... I grabbed Baby E and told the big kids to follow me upstairs. To my surprise, Big E was right behind me on the stairs. However, C was sitting at the kitchen table coloring... and making absolutely no effort to move. I sternly told her she needed to follow me and she said she was finishing her picture. As I headed upstairs, she had a total meltdown and begged me to carry her. When I refused, she started screaming and whining and claiming it was just too difficult for her to climb the stairs. I let her scream and wail, and finally she mustered up the strength to get to the top. 

Once upstairs, there were more insurmountable obstacles like brushing teeth and using the bathroom. I didn't even attempt pjs. Less steps to bedtime the better. I hate to admit, I wasn't very patient with them, but I finally got all three down. Shortly thereafter, I was in bed too... 

When I got up this morning and came downstairs to make C's lunch I found this on the table...

That's what she had been working on when I unceremoniously yelled at her to go upstairs. I had a good dose of mommy guilt on this one. While I was yelling at her, she was writing "For Mommy." She had been making me a gift and I had been berating her for taking too long. 

I started thinking about why I was so impatient last night. I know the kids were tired, and I had spent the majority of the day away from them. But I was tired too, very tired, and I think that was the key. Kids are kids,and while disobedience is not ok, I sometimes forget to look for the root of the disobedience. A lot of times, it is poor decision making on the part of my kids, but there are definitely times when their behavior is a direct reaction to my own. I was crabby last night, and they were pushing back. 

Staring at my picture, I decided that tonight would be different. Problem is when I left work I got caught in horrible traffic, and the closer I got to home, the more tired I was getting. I knew I was going to be a little late and my kids would be hungry and tired. How could I prevent another four way meltdown? 

If only I was not so very tired.

Coffee! Yes, coffee would help. So I drove through Dunkin Donuts and got an iced coffee to get me through the evening.

And guess what? It worked like a charm! We had an absolutely awesome evening! We made dinner together, we played on the floor, and talked about our day. When it was time to go upstairs, I didn't get any arguments. The kids did well getting ready for bed and I even put on a silly little visual story time show (the neighbors probably thought I was nuts, if they happened to glance up at our house and see me in the window) but we had a blast! I loved hearing the laughing and giggling. 

When it was finally time for sleep, I put Baby E in his crib and then crawled into bed with C. We cuddled for awhile and then I moved over to Big E's bed for even more cuddles. It was a wonderful way to end our evening!

However, when I closed their door, I came face to face with the stark reality of my choice... I'm not tired. Well, I am tired...but my body is currently coursing with caffeine and sugar, so laying down is next to impossible. So I cooked breakfast for the next few days, did multiple loads of laundry, scrubbed down my kitchen, and did all my dishes. Seriously, this was one productive evening! 

And while I am totally going to regret the way I am going to feel in the morning, I will not regret hearing the sounds of my children squeal in delight as I chased them around, or the smile on Big E's face when we raced cars along the kitchen floor, or the laughter as I pranced and darted through their room telling them a ridiculous story I made up as I went!

I'll admit, I am overwhelmed with the amount of papers and 'artwork' I've been presented with since C has been in school. Seriously, so much, and we can't keep it all. I've decided to start photographing ones that I really enjoy so at least we can have a digital copy.

I love that this is C's first sentence. I keep finding it everywhere. What a sweetie!

C drew Batman. Looks exactly like him. 

This evening I let them make their own pizzas again. C wanted to eat hers right away, but I reminded her again that it needs to cook. As it was in the oven she asked if she could eat some pepperonis. I said sure. The next thing I know, she is placing pepperonis on top of graham crackers!! She thought it was delicious and gobbled it down, but not before offering me some. I politely declined! Kids are great!!

11-22-15 Peas and Shadow Puppets

There are many nights when I have great aspirations about what I am going to get accomplished, but more often than I would like to admit, those evenings tend to devolve into scrounging up the easiest, quickest thing to eat and starting the bedtime routine early, but ultimately having it end much later than I wish. 

Tonight was one of those nights.

C had waffles, Big E had a pbj, and Baby E had peas. 

I had to cut him off after he had eaten more than half a bag of steamed peas. I'm pretty sure he would have finished it off, but I was a little concerned he'd be having some tummy troubles! 

After dinner, C amused us with shadow puppets.

I'm looking forward to our short week. C only has two days of school this week and then we get to start celebrating Thanksgiving! 

11-21-15 Autumn

11-21-15 The Shops

The first shop... 

This is the first shop that I remember. I was about 3 years old when my parents were working out of this one. Their bay was halfway down this hill. It seemed much bigger when I was little. 

Memories from this shop- 
1- My sister and I used to fill buckets up with water and sprinkle water on the ground wherever we thought my dad might possibly walk. We thought it would be funny if he slipped and fell. Apparently we watched too much slapstick. 

2- I accidentally left my absolutely favorite Raggedy Ann and Andy blankie there one day and my dad used it as a rag. I found it in a 5 gallon drum of stain a few days later. I thought my world was ending. 

3- At one point my dad attached a swing to the rafters. This was the most awesome thing ever!

4- I'm pretty sure that this is the shop wherein my parents decided to get a shop cat to help control the vermin population. We got a kitten and my dad named him Ditzler (after a paint company.) He stayed at the shop until his first vet visit. After that, we got so attached to him that we begged to keep him home. Ditzy died two weeks after I moved to NYC for college.
5- There was a business a few shops up that had a lobster tank in their office (I have no idea why. That doesn't even make sense!) Sometimes my mom would walk us up there so that we could watch the lobsters. (I wonder if it was a fish tank and in my kid head it was lobsters. I will have to ask her.)  

The shop with the dumpster

This shop has had a facelift since we were there. 

Memories from this shop- 

1- There used to be more to the loading dock and there was a large green dumpster out front. We played on, around, and in that thing for hours.

2- We would race around the building. From my kid eyes, this place was huge. It took a lot of courage to go around by myself. I ran as fast as my little legs would carry me. 

The shop with the yard

This shop was one of our favorites because it actually had a yard. 

Memories from this shop-

1- My dad finally got his shop cat. He was a huge massive Tabby cat named Higgins. Higgins lived at the shop, and each morning when they opened the door he would shoot out across the yard and climb one of those trees. Moments later he would come back down and go inside. One night he got into a fight with something out back and got infected with something. He came to live at home with us for a bit but he never quite recovered. He got put down not long after that. 

2- Behind the garage door there was a ramp into the shop. My sister and I would each get on a dolly at the top of the ramp and when the door was open we would race as quickly as we could down the hill and into the parking lot. That game entertained us for hours. 

3- This shop was the first one to have a forklift. My sister would climb to the top of it and read for hours and hours. That always made me sad because then I had to entertain myself. 

4- This shop was within walking distance of a McDonalds and we went there often. Back then McDonalds served pizza for a time.

5- One day when I was eight, we were pulling into the parking lot as my dad was coming out the shop door. He seemed very upset. That was day I learned that my grandmother had passed away. 

6- My mom took us to a local pet store and let me pick out a rabbit. I named him Pepper. One day he was running around our kitchen and apparently got under the counter where there was rat poison that we didn't know about. He died shortly thereafter. 

7- My parents had a secretary that worked there. Sometimes she would babysit us at her house. It was incredibly boring, though she did have a small organ and an extensive collection of nutcrackers. 

8- My dad drove a Lincoln Mark iii. This is where he did his own custom paint job on the car. It looked awesome. Unfortunately a few weeks after it was finished he hit a herd of deer. Yes, a whole herd. 

9- There was a restaurant nearby that my parents often went to. It was called Domino. (Not the pizza shop.) From what I understand, it was destroyed by the tornado that ripped through College Park years later. 

Domino Restaurant

The shop that was shared

My parents rented a portion of this building from a larger woodworking company. 

Memories from this shop-

1- The office was in the basement and was kind of cramped. 

2- The secretary from the other company brought her yippy dog to work with her and he would hide under her desk. 

3- This was not a 'friendly' area so we were never allowed to play outside. 

4- My parents weren't here long. 

The shop I remember the most

This was the last shop my parents had before they moved out of state. Their bay was down the hill to the left in the corner. They were at this shop the longest, and most of my shop memories are from here. 

Memories from this shop- 

1- They rented out a small portion of their shop to an older greek gentleman that never wore a shirt. He made me mildly uncomfortable because of his thick accent and, well, lack of shirt. He grew fig trees out back, so every once in a while we would get to eat fresh figs right off the tree. 

2- My sister found a kitten in the parking lot and brought her home. She named her Pie. Eventually Pie went to live with a family from our church who renamed her 'Cuddles,' I think. Cuddles passed away a few years ago. 

3- I started earning money working at this shop. I did sanding, cleaning, and answering phones. 

4- I read a ton of Boxcar Children books in the office. 

5- My dad had an autographed photo of G. Gordon Liddy on the office window. I have no idea why I remember that. 

6. The business right next to them was a carpet company. They would roll out carpets in the parking lot, making it impossible to get in and out. 

7. This shop had a little kitchen, which also had a shower in it. During the Great Ice Storm of '94, the shop got power back before the house, so we would drive up to the shop to shower and be warm. 

8. Toward the end, my parents had expanded into several more bays in this building. The shop was huge!

9. My parents left this shop in 2003. I miss it. 

After doing this little exercise, I was really fascinated by what I was able to remember of each place. It is funny how your mind can store up seemingly unnecessary information (note G. Gordon Liddy), but how those inconsequential memories work to populate a place you once knew. 

11-20-15 Pizza Night

I stopped by the store this evening and picked up ingredients so that the kids and I could make pizzas this evening. I've never done this with them before, but I figured they would enjoy the hands on activity! 

I was right. It was a huge hit! And the best part was that they actually ate most of it. In fact C nearly finished hers! This is huge, as she has become pretty picky as of late.

Step one was spreading the oil on the crust. I told them to paint their crusts until they were completely shiny.

Step two was adding the sauce. 

C asked to lick the spoon afterwards. I let her, but she didn't enjoy that at all. I assured her it would taste better on her pizza than off a spoon! 

Step three was adding the toppings. I bought dairy free mozzarella style cheese for the first time. I gotta say, I think it must be an acquired taste. 

Big E was pretty liberal with his mini pepperonis! 

She wanted to start eating it immediately, but I reminded her that we should cook it first! 

Fresh out of the oven!

Like I said, they loved it. I'm glad I bought two packs of crust because we will probably be doing that for lunch tomorrow! 

Even Baby E wanted in on the action, he decided earlier this week that he isn't a huge fan of baby food anymore. He will begrudgingly eat it, but he makes it quite clear he would rather sample from your plate. He gobbled down nearly an entire slice of Big E's pizza (minus the pepperoni.) 

I think this activity cut into their squabbling time, so it was actually a pretty quiet evening. :) 

I snuck in on Baby E sleeping this morning. Sleeping babies are adorable! 

11-20-15 The Wonder Bread Truck

When we were kids, my parents owned an older, retired Wonder Bread/Hostess delivery truck that they used for the shop. All that remained of its former calling was a sticker that adorned the inside wall.

The truck was all white on the outside. Inside there was a driver's seat... and nothing else. My parents would use this truck for business deliveries, and at times... it was the vehicle of choice for family trips. Remember it was the early-mid eighties and seatbelt laws were in their infancy. We would grab our sleeping bags and pillows, and load in the truck for the six hour drive to visit family in Pennsylvania. We spent the drive either perched on the wheel wells, or sprawled on the floor, listening to the echoing road noise and wind from outside.

My memories of these adventures are few, so I'm not sure that we did it often, but I have distinct images of my father in the driver's seat and my mom standing next to him as we drove along the turnpike.

We must have been quite the sight at rest stops and gas stations, as we piled down the stairs and out the side door of our 'family' vehicle!

This looks similar to the truck, though I think ours might have been flat in the front. There was no driver's side door, only a sliding door on the 'passenger' side. All the markings had been removed from the outside of the truck. It was painted white. 

There's the sliding door. There were metal steps that led inside. 

This is very similar looking to the back of our truck.

When we were a little older, we tried 'camping' out in the truck in the driveway. Dad brought out a small grill and cooked us dinner. We had our sleeping bags on the floor and we laid there in the quiet. It was going well until the neighborhood dogs started barking, and our imaginations went wild in the  belly of that truck. My guess is we lasted about 15 minutes before high tailing it back into the safety of our home!

As I've mentioned before, we spent a lot of time at the shop growing up. The one treat was when we would go out for lunch. My parents' had several 'go-to' spots, and one of our favorites was the Hot Shoppe's Cafeteria in Landover Mall. It was a cafeteria style restaurant. You stood in line and got a lunch tray and placed it on the metal counter. You slid your tray along the display of foods and helped yourself to desserts, salads, and breads. We would pick out jell-o first. (The bigger dollop of whip cream on the top, the better!) Hot Shoppes had the best large, buttery, warm rolls and the most incredible fried chicken. (I remember when I was eleven, sitting in one of the booths trying to convince my parents to let me take a trip by myself out to California. They werent going for it and I thought they were being incredibly unfair! Ha!) If there was extra time after eating, my parents would walk us around the mall, probably to expend any extra energy we might have been harboring!  

Landover mall closed years ago, and was subsequently torn down. A Sears remained for awhile, the last vestige of that neighborhood's prosperity, but eventually it was deserted as well. The sign still exists, and can be seen from the Beltway. It's broken and over grown and hidden amongst some trees. I never pass it without thinking about Hot Shoppes and the wonderful memories our family made there. 

Is its day, it was happening place to go, but towards the end, the patrons became more sparse, and the storefronts began to empty. The lights weren't always replaced and the fountain wasn't always turned on. I remember that brown and white tiled floor. 

The mall was closed in 2002. The malls doors were sealed shut with cinder blocks. Ultimately it was demolished in 2006. 

The lonely Sears. In 2014, the company decided not to renew its lease. The last I read, the mall's location was one of the possible options for the new FBI Headquarters.  

11-19-15 Selfies with Big E