Interviewing the kids

A little thing I got from my friend Camille. I loved her daughter's answers so I just had to do it with the boys...

Teddy age 10 1/2

1. What is something mom always says to you?
"You're being rude"

2. What makes mom happy?
Me being polite

3. What makes mom sad?
Me being rude

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
Tickles me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I don't know

6. How old is your mom?
42

7. How tall is your mom?
um... 4'9" or 4'10" (after he measured himself against me and then added some)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
being made to laugh by me

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
Stuff - I don't know, I'm not around to see it.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
mothering

11. What is your mom really good at?
tickling

12. What is your mom not very good at?
shooting laser beams out of her eyes (he was very concerned that I quoted him exactly)

13. What does your mom do for a job?
No idea... something at the pressure washer company??

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
mashed potatoes (not so much)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I never said I was proud of my mom

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Goofy

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Stuff

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We have identical eyes

19. How are you and your mom different?
Well, she has a drivers license which I totally want

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
instinct

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I don't know, I'm not there when they're talking lovey dovey

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Somewhere where she can spend times with her kids like the pottery shop (I haven't been to a pottery shop in several years.... Hmmmm)


Jackson age 8 years and 2 months

1. What is something mom always says to you?
DUDE!!!

2. What makes mom happy?
nicely behaved children

3. What makes mom sad?
When her back is out

4. How does your mom make you laugh?
tickles me

5. What was your mom like as a child?
I really don't know

6. How old is your mom?
42

7. How tall is your mom?
four something

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
Boss around her children

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
I don't know - it's impossible for me to know because I'm not around

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
singing

11. What is your mom really good at?
singing and painting

12. What is your mom not very good at?
running and hopping

13. What does your mom do for a job?
work

14.What is your mom's favorite food?
eel - (he is so right!)

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
I don't really know

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Cary (ok not a cartoon) she's the mom on the Suite Life of Zach and Cody - but you'd be really good as her cuz she's bossy and cares about manners and takes away all their equipment (I'm sensing a pattern here)

17. What do you and your mom do together?
Read

18. How are you and your mom the same?
We both have good handwriting

19. How are you and your mom different?
She's a girl

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
She's my mom

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
I don't know, neither of them are me

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
I don't know

my boys are growing up... sometimes

I came downstairs one morning recently on my way out the door for work. I was running around like normal and figured Teddy would still be asleep as Brad was and thought I'd probably find Jackson watching cartoons as he often is while the rest of the house is asleep.

As I descended the stairs I was surprised to not hear the TV going and wondered if Jackson might be coming down with a cold. I got to the bottom of the stairs and got the biggest shock of my life (maybe a slight overstatement, but really not that big of one). My two lovelies were locked together in a chess match - an actual chess match. It was so stunning I had to capture it on film. It completely made my day.

Meeting some new old friends

A couple of weeks ago, we packed up the kids and headed down to DC to play in the Smithsonian and meet up with some friends of mine, who until then I'd only known online. Danielle and her family came down from PA, not too far away from Hershey while Suz and her daughter were up from FL visiting her husband who was attached to Hilary Clinton during the weeks leading up to the inauguration.

We had a great time and all the kids got along beautifully. Faith, Suz's daughter was in high demand. At 9 she fit in right between Teddy and Jackson and shared an intellectual curiosity with Teddy and a joyful goofiness with Jackson. And then there were Danielle's daughters who shared the whole 'girl' thing with her - it was absolutely wonderful how well all the kids meshed – it was almost like they too were old friends getting back together.

L-R Sabrina, Danielle, Teddy, Jackson, Camela, Layla, Suz, Faith

Our husbands were off to the side taking the pictures. I swear they were really there.

Teddy in the main lobby of the Natural History Museum.

We got to watch the feeding of a tarantula named Ramona. They are only fed once every 2 weeks, and let me tell you... it was worth it.


The boys in front of the capital. You can't see it too clearly, but as the picture was taken 5 days after Obama's inauguration, lots of the staging for it was still up around the capital.

This last thing is the video of Ramona the tarantula getting fed. As it happens only once every 2 weeks, consider yourselves lucky.