Longwood Gardens...AGAIN!

While B was in San Fran last week, I took Michael to the Longwood Gardens on Tuesday, June 8th. We dropped the car off to get it's 60K service, got our terrible suzuki rental, and headed to the Longwood Gardens to take advantage of the weather.

Michael was hilarious. He wanted me to take a picture of him. Then he wanted to take a picture of me. So we did this with the iphone. And here are the results:

Lovely gorgeous flowering arches with Michael:
Ok, so it didn't start with Michael and the iphone until after this. I liked these flowers. Need to bump up the exposure in photoshop a bit but don't care to because it was taken from my phone anyways:

Then, we found this gorgeous flowering garden we hadn't seen yet:

Don't ask me why I decided to pose like a retard for Michael:

Michael really liked this fountain and asked for a picture with it:

Then, my turn. I really liked the composition of the one Michael took. The pathway stones were an interesting pattern that I didn't notice before:

Then, we did our normal walkthrough of the children's garden where Michael got super wet! Good thing I had a change of clothes! I ran into a field trip of 2nd graders from the school I want to send Michael to from K-? grades. Chatted up with some of the chaperoning parents and got some great feedback of the principal, Kindergarten teacher, and involvement of the parents/parish/etc. So I'm feeling really great about it! And the kids were very well behaved on the field trip so that made me feel good too.

After this, we stuck around to see the 5 minute fountain display at noon:

As you can see, we were pretty far away and it still looked huge!

More strolling after this and we found this nice gazebo:

Had a great time as always! Michael asked for pizza afterwards so we went and did that. Can you see we just did whatever while Brian was gone?!?! :) Afterwards, Target/Trader Joe's and then home.

I think this is a bargain for this seat if it includes Michael with it:

Met my neighbor 2 doors down...they are another mixed couple (Chinese guy, American mom)! So it was great to hear about the chinatown in Philly. Turns out she teaches 7th or 8th grade at the school I want to send Michael to eventually!! She loves it there, her kids go there and they are super sweet! So yea God for sending me some confirmation, direction, and hope for Michael's schooling.

Michael met a girl. We'll call her A. She is about 3 years older than him and lives 2 doors down (the family I just was talking about right up there). They have taken a liking to one another and ask about each other.

So I asked Michael,

"hey, Michael, do you like hanging out with A?"
"Yes! She is really fast. And she is nice to me."

"That's great! Do you think she likes you?"
"Yes, she likes me because I am funny."

LOL. SO true. Made me think of all the times Michael does his silly Michael stuff like throwing himself on the ground and running around in circles...and inevitably...there is some girl around that thinks he is funny. Well, I married his dad because he is funny...so I guess it's a great way to win a girl right?

We piddled around a lot of the week. We always hang out at the mall if I have to get Brian from the airport because it's only 30 minutes from there instead of nearly an hour from our place. Less car time.

So we were at Anthropologie just piddling around. I turn around and say, "Michael, where are you?" And I see this:

HILRAIOUS. Of course, I had to get my pic taken too. With a book about Paris bistros:

Michael's always great when I'm shopping. He went around trying out all the couches/chairs. Then, he found this display of towel hooks that were letters. So he brought them to me one by one and told me, "Hey Mom! A letter R!" "Hey Mom, A Letter T!" It was adorable.

Next up...farm pics and a giant strawberry slide. But I need to go get my camera to get the pics and that's 2 floors above the computer. SIGH.

Memorial Day Con't

Memorial Day, The Whole Story. Brace yourselves. There are a LOT of pictures. All of them taken by Brian's mom who did a fantastic job! Yea for vacationing with other photographers!

We arrived Thursday evening without event. A little over an hour and a half door to door. Pretty sweet. This excludes our delicious stopover to Red,Hot, Blue. Mmmm....barbeque...

Friday morning, we took a walk to the Eastern Market, which had gorgeous fruit. I was in awe of Brian's bearded prowess:

Michael started the walk off a bit lazily:

We had an awesome breakfast there! Delicious french toast, pancakes, bacon, and the arugula in my omelette was SO tasty!! I say this because it is unusual for produce to actually taste like what it's supposed to taste like here in the American supermarkets. But that's a soap box that I'm sure you're tired of me getting on.

Afterwards, a walk to the Library of Congress. Here are happy grandparents on the lawn:

There was a gorgeous view of the capital from the Library of Congress:

I liked these steps:

And The Mom got a great picture of the grandeur of the place! I couldn't get this all in my 50mm lens...

We took a tour and it was very informative! We got to see the main room where they filmed National Treasure 2. And saw one of the bibles first printed from the Gutenberg press. Amazing!

They had a cute reading room for kids open that day. This is one of my favorite pictures with Michael. I love the lighting and the colors. Gonna frame this one for me!

Afterwards, back outside for our family picture in the heat:

Then a walk for gouter at a cute cafe. Family picture outside of it:

We loved walking everywhere!! We miss it so much after moving to America!

Enough of that though! We jumped in the car and went to the Smithsonian. There was a garden there that was serious camera candy. I can't wait to go back with the tripod and get some family pictures.

Michael fell in love with this fountain. I took TONS of pics of him with it:

I carried around wet clothes for the rest of that trip in a Smithsonian gift shop bag that I begged for and the lady was all-not-too-happy to give me.

After getting soaked in the fountain, he got 2 very fast rides on the carousel outside the Smithsonian. Probably the fastest carousel I've ever seen, and we've seen A MILLION. But I LOVE this picture: the lighting, the happy subjects, and the patriotic flags in the background:

Great family picture outside the Smithsonian:

Word of advice: When you need someone to take a picture of your family....find an Asian person...make sure they have a fat camera...THAT is who you ask. Not some clueless person with a point and shoot. No offense if you have a point and shoot.

I think we then went to REI after this. But I can't remember if that was Saturday or Sunday.

We then had 10:00pm all you can eat Korean barbeque and Michael was the most overtired I have seen in 1.5 years. He cried through the whole meal and all the way home. That is what we call a "low point" on the trip.

YES. It is true. ALL of that was done in one day.

Next day! Sunday! We all went to our churches and then lazily headed out to Mount Vernon!

We strolled through the gardens: This is the picture you get from us when the photographer yells, "BE ROMANTIC!"

NICE. CLASSY. NOT.

We had fun walking down to the Potomac and exploring the farm grounds. It was great fun!

Then, everyone but Team Besancon PA biked from Mt. Vernon to Olde Town Alexandria where we had a great dinner and strolled along the sidewalks! Michael saw some lights hung up in the tree after dark and made us all stop and said, "Look! Those lights are so pretty!"

Another moment to stow away in my "Parenting Heart."

Went home and spent an even lazier Memorial Day Monday. Had a late breakfast. Here is a family full of labeled aprons for pancake breakfasts:

Then tried to make it to Great Falls...only to make it just to the mall to get Michael some shoes for Great Falls. That we didn't end up going to! :) Couldn't go to Great Falls because there was a HUGE line to go. Had a delicious lunch at The Four Sisters Vietnamese lunch by Bill/AK's place.

So the weekend ended with everyone doing what they wanted. Michael played Wii. Besancon family played pinochle. And AK was so nice and came with me to the Asian supermarket down their street.

It was great fun. And a great dose of "city life" for me. I really needed that! I forget how nice it is to have everything so conveniently close by!! And it was a great break from our spiders.

Been slow about blogging because I've been weeding this flower bed I'm trying to get ready for dirt/compost. Next up should be an entry about strawberry/cherry/raspberry picking we did. And then a visit to the Longwood Gardens (I know...again) while Brian was gone in San Francisco.

AND! More plans coming up. I am lovin' living on the East Coast. I think if we had gone straight back to Texas...it would have been a bit slow for me. At least here, we can satisfy our need to travel and see new things! We just jump in the car and GOOO!!!

Memorial Day in Our Nation's Capital

Washington D.C. is easily my favorite city in all the world. That I've seen. So far. Which isn't really that many. But of the cities I have seen, Washington D.C is AMAZING!

We spent the weekend there with Brian's parents and visited with Aunt AK/Uncle Bill. It was great fun!

This isn't a blog post to recap the weekend because apparently, I only took pictures of "stuff." Not many with people in it. That's definitely outside my comfort zone...but I felt like it I guess!

So here's a smidgen of the happenings of the weekend. When I get the pictures from Bill/AK and The Parents...I'll have more to post. Until then, here's a taste:

Saw the Library of Congress. G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S:
Michael loved this water fountain. At first, I did not like the blues that the camera picked up. But after looking at it for a bit, I think I DO like it like this SOOC (straight out of the camera):

I guess I did take some pics of Michael (of course). I love-love-love this mischevious look on his face:

He did that to get a gummy bear. I think. Or some other sweet treat. I bribe from time to time. So sue me.

Saw Mt. Vernon. Apparently, I felt it was more important to get a picture of Brian and his soccer ball than to get the entirety of Mt. Vernon in my pic:

I just thought this pic is funny. Hairy Brian playing soccer at a major historical sight. RIGHT.

The first time I saw Mt. Vernon, I was in high school. And my big memory was of these green rocking chairs. I love them. They are beautiful. Comfortable. Cool in the shade. And with an unforgettable view of the Potomac River.

And here's a practice shot with lens flare. Definitely not awesome by any means. The gorgeous magnolia flower isn't as magnificent as it was in real life. Not sure the exposure is so good there. But I do like the flare I got there. And it's real. Not put in by photoshop. (Kim...that's a jab at you... :o)) But then again, if I had done it in photoshop, I wouldn't have gotten that stupid bright pink/purple spot at the bottom of the pic.

Between the 3 couples, we had probably $4K of camera equipment between the 3 of us:

SO I know the other 2 got tons more pictures and lots of pictures with people in them. I think it was just too hot for me to bother with taking pictures. And my purse weighed like 3 tons. Excuses, I know...but it's enough to distract me!

More later on the trip! This depends on when I can get the pictures everyone else took!

Off to bed,
P

Trip to the Longwood Gardens!

On May 20, we took advantage of the gorgeous weather and visited the Longwood Gardens. It is quickly becoming my favorite place in these parts. We got a yearly membership! It's a garden so it always changes with the season, and I can't wait to see what the year will bring!

For now, here's a quick 1.17 minute slideshow of some of my favorite pics!

Don't make fun of my song choice. Strawberry Swing is my song of choice for gorgeous sunny days. It puts me in a fantastic mood and that is what I felt the day we went to the gardens!

Ignore the slighly fuzzy pics...don't understand why they did not download very well into my movie! The originals are great!

Love to all,

P

Strawberry Rhubarb Sundaes

Photo courtesy of marthastewart.com

So easy and so simple. If you don't like rhubarb, don't worry...you barely taste it what with the strawberries and sugar and all!

Ingredients
1 pound strawberries, hulled and quartered
2 rhubarb stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2 cups)
1/2 cup sugar
2 pints vanilla ice cream
Shortbread Wedges, or store-bought shortbread cookies, for serving (optional)

Directions
1. In a large saucepan, place strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, and 1/4 cup water; bring to a simmer over high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until rhubarb begins to break down, 6 to 8 minutes.

2. Refrigerate until cool, at least 1 hour and up to 1 week. Spoon strawberry-rhubarb sauce over scoops of ice cream; serve with shortbread, if desired.

Voila! Easy summer dessert. Thank you Kirsten for introducing me to this!

I am lovin' my farmer's co-op that I joined. They gave me the rhubarb in my weekly box. My weekly box of organic locally grown fresh picked vegetables is definitely overpriced, but I have loved everything I have gotten and it tastes so much better than anything I get at the grocery store. Seriously.

That's it. FOR NOW. I am working on a slideshow of our trip to the Longwood Gardens. Who would have thought that my life in the States would be as fun as my life in France. Not going to say what's going on next week, but I am SUPER excited about it too. Can't wait to post about it! Now...if I can only get confit de canard here...and the rest of French cuisine here too...what I would do for a blanquette de veau right now...

HOORAY!

In an attempt to see what Michael thinks about attractions between men and women...I asked him:

"Michael, do boys like boys? Or do boys like girls?"

Please refrain from judgement about me asking this kind of question to a 3.5 yr old. I am not sure what I expected and I obviously was not thinking right...but to show me that I was asking a stupid question for anyone at any age, he replied:

"Boys like Mommies!"

Aww...and this Mommy finally got some pictures with her little guy:

Longwood Gardens


At the Cheesecake Factory

Us being silly...

What a lucky Mommy I am!

Scottish Games!

Last Saturday, May 15, Brian organized a day out at the Scottish Games that were being held at the Fair Hill grounds!

Men in plaid skirts competing in Feats of Strength...deep fried food...bagpipes...great weather...is it any wonder we had a fantastic time?

Michael had his first carnival turkey leg. Lots of carnival food firsts in America lately:

And what Scottish games would be complete without some of these?

Father and son had a great time. I am so happy for Michael to have such a great dad:

And my mom and dad LOVED it at the festival:

We took tons of pictures but no video. So I bring you a photo compilation of the Caber Toss. In this game, the contestant must pick up a pretty dang heavy and tall tree...and then throw it in the air. The tree must flip 180 degrees, land on its end, and then fall onto its side. You are judged by 1)being able to complete this flip, and 2)when the tree finally lands, the closer the tree is to a noon position, the better.

Here is the world's 8th strongest man doing it. Made it look like child's play:

VOILA. I tried to find some scottish music to set it too but then got lazy about it!

Next up...pictures from our visit to the Longwood Gardens!

Date Night - SHAZZAM!

Ok, that Shazzam was ridiculous but I felt like it.

Last Friday, May 14...Brian and I had our first date night since December and it was AWESOME.

I'm not sure about all the other married couples with kids out there...but we have some date nights and they are fun. We enjoy our time out. And we are so glad we are out!

But then we have the date nights that are REALLY great and remind us of exactly what it was like before Michael. And we had one of those this past Friday!

I picked up Brian at work and we headed to Media, PA to try out a French restaurant there. Just a last minute thing Brian looked up at the end of the day so we decided, "Hey, WHY NOT?"

Off we went, in the middle of the rain...had a great dinner and got in the car.

It was only 9:00pm so we looked at each other and said, "Now what?" "I dunno." "I guess we could stick to our original plan and see Robin Hood." "But it's Late." "SO what...I think we can catch the 10:00 show"

And so off we went. Like 2 kids without a care in the world without the rest of our family waiting at home for us.

Like 2 kids BEFORE we had Michael.

So off we went to see Robin Hood and we had a fantastic time.

And THAT was why this was such an incredible date night. Because for 6 hours, we felt like carefree kids (even though I did call home because there was a SEVERE thunderstorm ripping through our house that uprooted 3 trees...but I focused on my date!)! It's not something you feel like after you have a kid...you're busy worrying!

SO Thanks to my parents for giving us a night out. We REALLY needed it badly! And we enjoyed ourselves immensely!
P

Trader Joe's

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Trader Joe's. Great food, good ingredients (none of that processed fructose corn syrup or partially hydrogenated stuff) and good for you!

Well, my parents found my latest obsession there at the store:

(picture courtesy of glutenfreeislife.wordpress.com)

Red Pepper spread with Eggplant and Garlic. Skeptical? So was I. And I LIKE all those things in that title.

But I LOVE it. I have been putting it on all my sandwiches, pita wraps, etc. It's DELICIOUS and so good for you. (Per tbspn serving: 15 cal, 0.5 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 1 g sugar).

So my parents came up with this lunch item that I love. It's not for those who are big fans of meat burgers and generally delicious rich items. It's definitely for those who really LIKE eating healthy and love the taste of vegetables. So it's not for everyone...but I love it!

1. Stir fry thinly sliced carrots, cabbage, celery with either onion or garlic (or both). Salt/Pepper to taste. Add a splash of fish sauce if you like a bit of asian flare. Be careful with that fish sauce.

2. Warm up a whole wheat Trader joe's pita in the microwave for 15 seconds.

3. Spread this pita with 1-2 tbspn of the Eggplant/Red Pepper dip (use as much or little as you like).

4. Add the stir fried vegetables to the pita - voila.

Easy healthy lunch that is filling and low in calories.

If you want stir fry directions, e-mail me. It's basically sauteeing vegetables.

Anyways, just wanted to share something healthy that my parents came up with and that is surprisingly delicious. For the vegetable lovers out there at least.

Brent sent me a youtube clip that I have been enjoying for about a day now! If you are not a fan of the SNL guys who do "I'm on a Boat," etc...do not click on this link:



And I don't understand why this video does not fit? Maybe it's because I have a column there to the right, but I am too lazy to figure out how to fix this.

Our First Guests! Our Family!

Brian's parents flew in on April 30th to spend the weekend with us...and also to give us motivation to get our house TOGETHER.

Michael woke up at 6:30am both mornings because he was so excited they were there! Every weekend with Grammy and Grandpa begins with pancakes...this time with aprons to remind them of their rank in the family:
Grammy made Michael a cross stitched blanket that was very similar to one that Brian has from when he was little:

Then, we jumped in the car, drove an hour and met up with Thomas the Tank for the day:

Michael also got to see his Aunt AK and Uncle Bill:

And Grandpa took Michael to the only kind of tattoo parlor that he would willingly take his grandson: a temporary oneMeet Thomas the Tank was held at the B&O Railroad. Who knew it existed outside of the Monopoly board?? Don't answer that.

Here we are on the platform to get our ride on Thomas the Tank. It was a bit anticlimactic as it went about 2mph with tons of kids on it.

Michael LOVED it though! Here he is looking out the window:

And father and son with Thomas in the background:

Overall, Michael was a bit overwhelmed at Thomas the Tank. He definitely enjoyed himself there! But I was surprised that after only 2.5 hours, he was done!

That was F-I-N-E by us because we took a quick detour to Ft. McHenry thanks to The Mom's suggestion!

Here is why Ft. McHenry is important according to Wikipedia:

"Ft. McHenry is a star shaped fort best known for its role in the War of 1812 when it successfully defended Baltimore Harbor from an attack by the British navy in the Chesapeake Bay. It was during this bombardment of the fort that Francis Scott Key was inspired to write "The Star-Spangled Banner," the poem that would eventually be set to the tune of the The Anacreontic Song, to become the national anthem of the United States."

Much better than what I could have said!

Brian was a good sport while I made him stand against this red brick wall and between the green shutters that makes the green man on his shirt stand out:

And this is straight out of the camera...I just loved the greens/oranges and the way the light hit this and the black scrolly thing.
And we stayed to see the changing of the flag. The flag with the 13 stars come down and was replaced by our current one.
On Sunday, we went to church and hung around the house! Michael put together his blue adirondack chair and went mowing with Dad. It was a relaxing Sunday after our full Saturday, and we loved every minute of our fun weekend!

I leave you with this picture. It was way too dark, so I lightened it up in photoshop and it's still bizarre with the blownout areas, but I just like the way it looks. Kind of futuristic like from Iron Man or something...