Wordless Wednesday Playground Shenanigans

Running this May

So I have two 5Ks coming up in May. The first is The Race for Hope, which I have been doing for the last 4 years, this will be my 5th.  I've had the joy of running with my husband and two of my besties. Last year I ran with PC(in utero) and this year, I will run with PC in stroller! I run in memory of my dad who passed away in 1997 from a brain tumor.  I wish PC would be able to know her grandfather, but hopefully she'll see some of him in me!

3 years ago 2012 with my girls and my hubs

Race for hope 2013- baby in utero 4 months 

I hope the third bestie will come back and run it again with us next year and with her newest edition too!

So, this weekend was perfect running weather.  I took Pepe out on Saturday for a 3 mile run and had to drag the pup along at several points.  Apparently I'm more in shape than he is. HA!

Then on Sunday, the hubs, PC and I went for a run.  Clear skies! Slight breeze.....Purrrrfection! We also christened her jogging stroller that PC's grandparents bought for her.  It rides soo smooth.

We love the trail that is right by our house....a fun discovery when we moved!
It does start off a little bumpy though ---------> Yay for the shocks on the BOB!

The trail runs along the Anacostia river.....not the cleanest river, but at least it is scenic and there isn't the hustle and bustle of the city.

I have to say that I was way proud of myself because I was able to keep up with the hubs! Maybe it's because he was just getting used to running with the stroller, or that he was being nice, but I like to think I've gotten better.

The only problem is, she's such a petite little thing that when she fell asleep her little head just lolled off to the side, soooo we need to remedy that. Guess it looks like I'm going to have to roll blankets and put them on either side of her head.
<------ She woke up, somehow she knows when we get home. She always wakes up when we get home in the car or in the stroller. It's like her 6th sense!
 Does anyone else have that problem?If so, what do you do?

The second 5K that I am running is the Girls on the Run 5K. I am running with our girls running club, Sole Sisters. Unfortunately GOTR was not part of the spring season in our county, but I hope that it will return....if not, we will continue with our Sole Sister running club.  I will be running with 20 wonderful young girls. We have some wonderful runners, some better than me! Ha, that doesn't say much does it? We are really trying to work on pacing with the girls because they do really well sprinting off in the beginning, but then end up walking, then sprinting off again.

If anyone has some good tips for teaching young girls how to pace, I'm all ears!!

Will post later about how we all did! 

Did y'all run this weekend? How far did you go?

Spring means flowers!

Spring is definitely in full bloom here in DC.  

We spent the day cleaning out our garden of dead plants and weeds.  We had a couple of plants that just couldn't handle the polar vortex this winter so those bad boys had to come out. It's ok, I didn't really like any of them anyway, but felt bad getting rid of perfectly healthy plants.  It's like the winter knew!

We walked over to the outdoor market that's a block away in the parking lot of RFK.  We bought a bunch of plants there last year and they did pretty well.  We decided that vine dwelling veggies were not such a great idea so we purchased, tomatoes, red peppers and banana peppers.  We also purchased some herbs, basil, peppermint, rosemary and cilantro. I never really used to be a huge fan of cilantro, but I think that it's grown on me, much like asparagus and brussel sprouts.

Flower wise for the front garden we bought gerbera daisies, zinnias, salvia portulaca and a knockout rosebush.  The knockouts are apparently very hardy and disease resistant.  The front garden gets a lot of sun and so we needed plants that didn't mind heat or lack of water. I decided the the front garden this year would be mainly yellows and reds/oranges.

I also bought marigolds for the front porch, as well as the herbs. I am also hoping to buy a citronella plant and catnip.  I hear that all three of those plants are natural mosquito deterrents. Mosquitos tend to be awful here, but there are also just "pocket" areas. I'm really hoping because of our crazy winter that there are sooo many less. We love being outback or on our porch, but not with the skeets!

For the back garden we purchased more marigolds and erysimum(those are the tall yellow plants) . If marigolds work my gardens will be full of them. Even though they aren't my favorite I dislike mosquitos even more! The back gardens already have some flowering bushes, knockout roses, the daisies are growing back, as is the hydrangea I like perennials.

We also got another stepping stone.  I know, one! But last year we purchased 4 and I thought we needed one more so that I didn't have to "leap" from one to the next (call me crazy).  I mean they aren't that close together....5 is perf!

We also bought some extensions for our drain so it didn't wash out and flood the one garden and we bought some garden edger.  The mulch will wait until the next trip! Our goal was to spend no more than 100 and we came in at $99.45! Pretty proud of us! Can't wait to drink some mojitos and moscato on the front porch! 

PC didn't help much, just sat on the front porch and looked cute while I blogged, she mostly napped during our working outside times.

Wordless Wednesday....SUP!!

Our First Easter

So another PC first, Easter, Easter Bunny, Easter eggs, I think you get it!

Just a happy go lucky lil girl

Friday morning PC and I kicked off a nice long 4 mile walk around DC, followed by a nap and then a trip to the doctor for her 8 month appointment(except it was really supposed to be her 9 month appointment, hubs got it a month early). Any who, poor lil girl was a trooper and took her 3 shots in her thighs like a champ.  The doctor even complimented her on how well she did and how calm she was throughout the appointment, a nice change compared to the wailing and screaming coming from the other rooms.

And....baby girl has shredded the mat

After the appointment we headed home to meet Auntie Jess who was coming for the weekend from NJ.

Saturday consisted of a walk up to Eastern Market with all three pups, our two and Aunt Jess' pup, Leroy.  Charlotte was enjoying her walk, Aunt Jess even let her hold Leroy's leash for a little while.
Ohhhh also, notice the two rings under PC's arm, there were two other links attached earlier with her raspberry teether. Apparently we lost them at some point along the walk.  I was kinda distraught over this, I mean it isn't expensive, but I don't like losing her things. However, love living here! Some assumedly, parent good Samaritan saw them, picked them up and hung them on a sign right where we dropped them. Yay! Found and cleaned very well. WIN!






Our church, NCC, was also doing an Eggstravaganza at Lincoln Park, before the chaos of hundreds of little ones rushing to collect as many eggs as possible, we got a few pictures in. PC was slightly interested. I'm still loving this non-moving stage!

The Easter Bunny before he gets run down by the hoard of children 5 and under(and their parents).

PC is a little unsure of what's about to happen. She's just taking it all in....wait till next year baby girl!

I almost think that there were more parents than children....also.....I was actually surprised that more children didn't get lost. We did see one kiddo, screaming "Daddy! Daddy!" Don't worry, he was reunited with his father.

After the chaos, we headed home for PC's nap.... this is how she started on the walk home. Happy and bouncy......

 And... this is how she ended up--so trusting...feeling safe in her daddy's arms....

PC took a good long nap and then we headed to Cava Mezze(one of my favorite Greek restaurants) for dinner.

Aunt Jess got to spend some more time with PC

 Loving me some pita! I am a bread lover- I take after my dad!

 Um....Auntie Jess isn't from the city, she left her GPS displayed in her car and ON!!!! She's one lucky girl, or.....we have a super awesome neighborhood(she's lucky!)

Hanging out with Aunt Jess after we've both had our shower/bath. So fresh and so clean clean!
Thanks for coming Aunt Jess! Please come back and hold me again soon! :-)

Happy Easter All!!!

Springbreak Adventures in PA

So for part of Spring Break I headed up to my mother's house in PA for 3 days.  PC hasn't seen her Granna since Christmas, which was months ago(obviously). Actually she hasn't seen either grandparent since then.  It's hard with people working.....hopefully everyone will come and visit this spring! Hint Hint!

I'm not a fan of driving, but the hubs let me use his nice new Ford Escape, more room for all the "stuff" and safer/better gas mileage.

PC had a little bit of a rough go sleeping there.  She was in the pack n play and it just wasn't "home." I can totally relate to that too!  She looks a little perturbed that she had to wake up. Like the emo hair?!

Mommy and PC inside the conservatory

We ended up going to Longwood Gardens on Monday, it was warm and sunny. Unfortunately, Spring hasn't officially come to PA yet, it's crazy, we are only two hours apart and yet our trees are blooming and flowers are bursting out, PA is a little behind. So....Longwood will explode in a few weeks, but isn't quite there yet.

PC did sooo well. She is quite a trooper.  So content to ride in the car(most of the time) and enjoyed being pushed around, taken out of her stroller and plopped on the ground for photographs. I mean, who could resist this face? At this point PC is not on the go, so having her just sit for pictures works out pretty well. Hopefully she doesn't become mobile for a little bit longer. I have lots of places around DC that I want to take pics.

The flowers were in bloom in doors! Yay!

Later that day PC experienced her first ride in a shopping cart.  She looks very unimpressed. She just slung that leg up. (Ooops bad parent moment, she wasn't buckled, but we weren't racing around the store)

 PC tried on her new bathing suit and hat for Granna. She can't wait to try this out at the pool this summer!

 Tuesday, we went to the mall, I had to try this weird little hat on her. I don't know if it was supposed to resemble an old swimming cap? I don't think that she was a fan.

 We also saw the Easter Bunny, doesn't he look wise with his glasses? Again, my unimpressed daughter, but at least she wasn't screaming her head off like some little ones!

Went to lunch at a "fancy" place. They brought out a whole little dish of cut up avocado for PC. She sat at the table like a big girl, well until mommy's lunch came.

 PC was a happy little girl on the way home, with her new bunny! Somebunny is happy;-)

 Heading home to DC, Can't wait to see Daddy!

Photo Shoot of Panda Cub

So, I love to take pictures of PC.  I use our nicer camera a lot, but often don't load the pictures up on the computer due to time, or forgetfulness.  So, on the last rainy day we had(and I mean it rained ALL day, and then snowed/sleeted what have you), I decided to finally load up and edit some pictures. When I say "some," I literally mean some.  Ha! Don't worry, I will work on more later. But here are just a few.

When I say Photo Shoot, there was no professional photographer, just me and my camera and my beautiful PC!

I took these window pictures during our last snow day, I think it was St. Patrick's Day. I propped PC up in the window and started snapping some shots. Thankfully you can't see the birds nest on the back of her head, it's basically dreads!

Here's her "Hey Mom, what's up?!" I'm cute face.

Here's her pensive contemplating life face.

Here are a few from my pinterest inspired Christmas photos. It looks dangerous right? The long strands of plugged in lights with our daughter gnawing on them like a little rodent.  Thankfully she didn't have any teeth at that point! The lights do make for good photos!

Here's the, "Someday I will be a dancer" pose. Look at those awesome leg warmers and her toe touch is almost there!

Springtime in DC

Well, Spring is in full bloom here in the district! 

The Cherry Blossoms have officially blossomed! And....with the blossoms and spring, come the many, many, many tourists.  Don't get me wrong, it's great for our city, but it's also very chaotic! WARNING! If you are planning on coming to DC this spring, walk everywhere, or take the metro, driving is a nightmare. 

Actually, the metro by the National Mall was CRAZY Packed! Like a crowd/line that I have never seen before! I mean there were A LOT of activities going on today. The Japanese Festival, The Cherry Blossom Parade, some other parades/marches, I don't even know! 

So, we fought the wicked crowds and hoards of tourists, school groups, you name it, so that we could take PC's first pictures in front of the infamous cherry blossoms.  

The apple of mommy's eye! Heart of my Heart!

Gary wouldn't let me take pictures at every monument today, which makes sense because we live here and hopefully the crowds will dissipate after the next few weeks and hopefully the DC "Summer" will stay away for a little, not ready for the heat and humidity! 

Isn't she photogenic?

Do you think I could enter her in a cutest baby contest? Would y'all vote for her??

What I ate Wednesday

Have I mentioned that I love my crockpot?! Well, I do! I mean add all the ingredients, push the button, leave, come back and presto! 

So I made a pot roast. Put it together the other night and then Gary started it in the morning.  I added carrots, onions and potatoes. Will you believe that those were actually little white new potatoes? They are now saturated with the goodness of the gravy.  

I am not a fan of dry meat, I am hoping that most of you would agree with me.  So....enter the gravy.  I added 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup, one packet of french onion soup mix and 1 1/2 cups of beef broth.  This bad boy cooked on low for 10 hours! Let me tell you, the house smelled delish! If I could bottle of the essence for you I would, or if I could have a scratch n' sniff blog page I totally would! 

I'm usually not a fan of cooked carrots, but these carrots ended up so soft and flavorful that I didn't mind eating them.  The meat was fall apart delish! There was plenty of gravy, I almost thought there was too much, but then I poured some on the potatoes too.

I did not cook the brussel sprouts in the crockpot, I roasted them in the oven, but first tossed them with, EVOO, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper and freshly chopped garlic. I love when the outer leaves fall off and get super crispy. 

What did you eat today?

Things that I never experienced before I became a teacher...

Usually I post about PC, or about running(sort of), mainly PC.

But, did you know?! I am a teacher! It's true. I'm in my 9th year and have mainly taught first grade.  When I was little, I never thought I would be a teacher. Both of my parents were teachers and I swore I would not do the same. HA! Apples don't fall too far from the trees.  My dad was a high school physics teacher and my mother was an elementary art teacher turned college professor.  I can't say that it was in the genes since I was adopted, but I guess I saw the importance of education? 

I teach outside DC in a low-income, high need elementary school.  That being said, I grew up in a completely different situation, both living and schooling.  The school where I teach is quite diverse, where I was 1 of the few minorities in my school growing up.  

So a few "firsts" that I have experienced since teaching here:

1) My first cockroach- crazily enough all my students know what they are and often I can yell out "Who wants to kill it?!" and many a student responds!

• The song, La Cucaracha- why would you write a song about them? They are NOT cute!!!!

2) My first experience with students with head lice (I remember being screened in elementary school, but never knew anyone with them)- let's just say that when a child gets them my head immediately starts itching and you better believe that my hair goes up in a ponytail!

3) First view of a bed bug- You know the saying, "Sleep tight, don't let the bed bugs bite." Supposed to be this cute little saying that I remember hearing when I was little.  I guess I didn't realize that bed bugs were real things. Not so cute anymore!

4) First Ringworm- I remember the wrestling guys in high school would get it, but I never saw it, not until the other day. The nurses response, "That's a big one!" Awesome! (Again I immediately started feeling itchy and washed my hands and arms and then Cloroxed everything!)

These are just a few of the fun things I've experienced as a teacher thus far. I suppose almost everything is a "first."  These were just some of my "fun" ones!

I thought about posting pictures, but they would be kind of disgusting(my opinion), so if you are interested in what they look like(in case you haven't actually seen them, feel free to google them :-) )
Have you had any firsts in your work environment?

Thankful Thursday-Furry Edition

Today's Thankful Thursday post is dedicated to our furry babies.

I have to be honest, I'm not always thankful for them.  They shed a whole heck of a lot and my vacuum and mop get a whole lot of use. They can also be costly, vet bills, food, upkeep.  Bark unnecessarily and wake PC. This doesn't sound very thankful does it?

Ok, so here's the thankful part: They are cute! They can be cuddly. Pepe loves climbing in my lap, it's something I used to let him do a lot when he was a puppy, so now whenever I sit on the floor he wants to be in my lap. This is a little rough especially when I have a little one in my lap.

They are comforting when Gary isn't home, kind of like an extra alarm system, although in reality Belle would run away and Pepe would probably jump up and demand to be petted.

They are great to hug. I like that Belle/Pepe will lay outside the bedroom door.

I can't believe lil Pepe will be 2 years old this July.  Belle will be something like 8.  Not quite sure of her real age because we adopted her from a rescue. 

Now that PC has come along the pups don't have as many pictures taken of them.  Now it is all Miss PC, I mean who can blame me, she's quite a cutie! Pepe still loves to lay on anybody's feet. It's like his comfort and it's super sweet.

I know, I have acknowledged our other furry friend, Sebastian, our cat. I will dedicate another post to him one of these days. That crazy cat!