Flying Shoes and Falling Down

Today was a rough day. I broke the cardinal rule of out-of-town husband on a no-camp week: I had no plans for day. Why you ask would this be a problem? Well, it just makes for a long cluster of a day. And indeed it was that.

We hit the Herndon Farmer's Market this morning where I ran into a fellow DC Metro Mom blogger. That was fun. My son was relentless about seeing the nearby red caboose. I promised to hook him up just as soon as I picked up a few more veggies. We'd only clocked about 10 minutes there so I didn't feel it was too much of a burden to walk around and look at food. They even got samples! But while inspecting some tomato candidates for take home, my son--who was not giving up--pull my arm in such a way that he actually pulled me down almost on top of him. I tripped and had to catch myself before smooshing Alex. As a result, I twisted my ankle. We promptly left.

Then not less than an hour later, I was directly on the side of my face with a Croc. My kids have taken a liking to throwing their lightweight, or sometimes not so lightweight shoes, from the back seat. I can't tell you how many times I've told them this is not safe. But today, it hit me right in the eye. So now the Crocs have been taken away. It's a shame because they do make the pool easier.

Of course our whole day has been complicated by the fact that I am still sick. The only thing more fun than sick mom, no hubby and no camp/school, would be sick kids. I'm sure that's coming up soon. I'd be hard for me to believe a week of snotty tissues around the house didn't make someone sick. Oooooo.....fun.

Being Savvy in DC with Little Ones

When you live in a large area like the DC area, it can be overwhelming to find the right things to do with your children. Living in Alexandria is a whole world away from Silver Spring. Living in Reston means never having to drive into the District or down to Springfield. When wanting to get out of your normal area, it's important to get information on museums, parks, playgrounds, etc. before making the trip across town.

I love this new site Being Savvy: Washington DC. It's part blog, part local resource for things to do with with small kids. As a bonus, the site links to other cities, which is just perfect for vacationing with toddlers/preschoolers. So if you're visiting Atlanta this summer and need things to do with kids or moving to Austin, you have a wealth of information in one location. As a bonus, I'm featured today on the DC site since my friend Tech Savvy Mama is the editor for this site.

In addition, the site offers preschool information for almost any major area in the country, including registration deadlines, tuition prices and reviews (you have an opportunity to review as well). I wished I'd known about this while I was doing preschool research.

What I Learned from Kung Fu Panda

So even after a VERY long morning of setting up for the neighborhood yard sale, I somehow mustered up the energy to drive into DC for a DC Metro Moms event to promote the new movie Kung Fu Panda. Now let me preface this by saying, I probably never would have gone to this had Andrew been in town. No WAY would he have agreed to this. But since we were on our own and I was beat from the yard sale, I thought this would be an easy activity. Also note, that when I RSVPed I thought they would actually be showing the movie.

There were two goals with this outing 1) to meet up with some of my DC Metro Moms blogger friends 2) give us something 'different' to do. So, I guess since those two goals were achieved the outing was a success.

However, the event was not really my bag--driving 45 minutes (both ways) and paying $16 to park for some free food, silly goody bags and video games is kind of a waste for me.

But some good things came from it and I learned a few lessons about me and my kids from Kung Fu Panda. Thanks Panda!

1. I'm learning to navigate the DC roads much better. I don't need entire silence in the car when I'm driving the silly one-way streets.

2. My kids are so easily amused by anything that I don't need to drive 45 minutes for activities. While they had great crafts and games at the event, all my kids were interested in was the TV and the food. We have both of those at home. Ok, they did enjoy the face painter, too.

3. My kids learned how to play "I spy" on the way home.

4. The kids enjoy outside more than inside. We stopped at the Theodore Roosevelt Island part on the way home and let them throw rocks in the water.

5. My kids use the potty as an attention ploy. The minute I would start talking to a DC Metro Mom, someone had to go to the bathroom. How can you push them off when they have to potty? The minute one didn't get their way at Roosevelt Island, they had to go potty. We had to pee by the tree. And the minute Alex did something Anna didn't want to do, she had to poo. We had to go home.

6. My kids will not be seeing this movie until they are older. Even though the lady there told me it was meant for little kids, I'm not so sure they need to see a movie about Kung Fu fighting. They already fight too much.

Despite everything, it was fun to catch up in person with the moms and 'do something different,' as Alex says.

First Giveaway: Mommy Needs a Cocktail

As I was standing at the playground on Monday, I looked over and saw a mom wearing a shirt that says "Mommy Needs a Cocktail." I smile and tell her I have the same shirt. We talked for a bit on how the shirts were hysterical and great quality. Turns out, the day before, I met the woman who makes these shirts. Woo hoo, I felt famous for a brief moment. I must admit to already "knowing her" from DC Metro Moms. Yes, she's another fellow mommy blogger.

So here's the scoop on these shirts. Every mom should own one. Even if you don't like cocktails she has some that include Mommy Needs a Beer, Mommy Needs a Latte, Mommy Needs a Glass of Wine, Mommy Needs a Vacation, Mommy Needs Some Chocolate. So you really have all your bases covered. And if that's not enough, you must see the baby/kid shirts with sayings like "So, when do I get the pony?" or "My Mom Doesn't Want Your Advice."

Kristen of Baby Brewing actually makes these shirts herself. That's right ladies read her bio on her Website and she has managed a screen printing machine into her basement. I give her props right there!

Here's how the giveaway works. Leave a comment on the site before Saturday, May 31, with your best 'Mommy Needs a Cocktail' story. (See mine below.) We have all 'em every day. It's one of those moments when you just need really need drink in hand to ease the moment, but know you can't because it will just slow you down and make things worse. If you don't have a story, then just leave a post saying 'hi' and tell me how great the shirts are. Please make sure you include your email somehow when you reply or I can't get in touch with you if you win. I will randomly pick a winner on Sunday for a free shirt, courtsey of Baby Brewing.

My Mommy Needs a Cocktails story: Today, I'm trying to make a dinner for a neighbor who had surgery. The kids want to be outside, but I need to cook. I just got yet another book rejection. I believe we're up to about 10 now. No one wants to buy our book because we're no-name moms who apparently don't know about having kids less than two years apart. I have a neighborhood yard sale I'm planning and need to finish gathering items AND pricing them all. I'm hosting a playdate this afternoon in my rather messy house and right before nap both my kids managed to assault the neighbor's son--with a bite (Anna) and a swat from a stick (Alex). Oh, and my husband's out of the country with no phone access. I need a cocktail.