Visiting Washington D.C.

I think I killed my quads yesterday.

We took the two older children to downtown D.C., planning to visit the Lincoln Memorial. If you’ve ever been to D.C., you know that the monuments are deceptive in distance. They’re grouped on the same stretch of land, but I swear, we walked for three miles. My four-year-old daughter started out skipping, excited to see the Washington Monument.

After the first half mile, the skips turned into slow walking. She was more interested in the bottle of Gatorade than the White House.

My son was disappointed that we weren’t planning to go up to the top of the Washington Monument and sulked a little. By the time we reached the new WWII Memorial, both kids were eyeing the fountains as though they wanted to sit down and dangle their feet. If you’ve never been there, it’s really beautiful, with lots of fountains and a circle of pillars with each of the U.S. states written on it. There’s also a wall of gold stars for those who died, and the Memorial is divided into the Pacific and the Atlantic battles. Some of the quotes were wonderful, but my favorite quote was actually from the Korean Memorial which we saw after the Lincoln Monument: “Freedom isn’t free.”

So true.

Later, I took pity on my daughter and carried her for part of the walk. She’s my itty bitty girl, just over 30 pounds. But of course, I had to then let my son have a turn. I opted for a piggyback ride, and let me tell you, I felt every one of his 50 pounds. Holy cow, my leg muscles are still aching. Let’s just say that I carried him for about 100 yards, and I was done. I’m still feeling that one.

There aren’t many options for lunch on the Mall, but behind the IRS building, just behind the Natural History Museum, it leads to the old Post Office which has a Food Court. Definitely worth the walk for the choices. I’m not much on hot dogs from a cart.

We finished off with the Natural History Museum. I’ll confess, one of my favorite exhibits is the gemstones. Who doesn’t love diamonds and emeralds? My daughter picked out her favorite diamond necklace, but my son was far more interested in the mummies. I think it’s my favorite museum because of the diversity of exhibits.

Still on my list of things to see is the inside of the White House. I know it’s getting more difficult, but I’d love to see it one day. How about you? Have you ever been to D.C.? What was your favorite thing to see?

Jesus is in the Closet

The other day, I told my daughter to go upstairs and brush her teeth. She grumbled a little and then later, I found her near the bottom of the stairs.

Me: Did you brush your teeth?
Her: No, I couldn’t. (She sniffles and looks forlorn)
Me: Why couldn’t you brush your teeth?
Her: (starts crying) Because Jesus is upstairs!
Me: (desperately biting my lip) What’s the problem?
Her: (sobbing) I can’t go upstairs because Jesus is watching meeeeeee! (starts howling)
Me: Show me.
Her: (hiccuping) Okay.
She leads me upstairs into the baby’s room and opens the closet door. Then she bursts into tears again and cries, “Jesus is in the closet!”

Sometimes, you never know what they’re going to come up with. I think Sunday school might be taking the whole ‘Jesus is watching over you’ thing a little too far…

Learning to Crawl

Yesterday, I thought it was all over. I was wrong. Nope, NOW it’s all over. He learned to crawl.

My darling eight-and-a-half month old son has figured out how to put it all together, and now, nothing is safe anymore. I first had a feeling it was going to happen when I saw him straining to reach the edge of a small two-step staircase into my mother’s sun room. My brain thought–what if he actually makes it all the way over there? He could fall. I should probably move him out of the way, just in case.

I took a sip of coffee, swear to God, I turned my head for a split second, and then he started launching himself. We caught him before he hit the bottom, but whoa, that was fast. From then on, he was crawling at mach speed. Look out world, here he comes…

Those power cords had better hide, because he thinks they are fabulous for chewing. Oh, and plastic grocery sacks make the best noise in the world. Somehow, children always find the dangerous items, and they do it in a heartbeat. On the bright side, one of his newest favorite toys is an empty 16 oz. plastic gatorade bottle. They spin, roll, and make a wonderful noise on the floor.

So, I now have to keep my eyes upon him at all times. No longer can I write at the kitchen table while letting him play with tupperware. He will be out the door and on the way to McDonald’s, if I do. Look out, world!

I think I need a leash…

No, Mommy, I will NOT take a nap

My 8-month-old son is now discovering that the world around him is far more interesting than napping. Moreover, he’s learning more physical skills, such as pulling up to a standing position. I’ve laid him down in his crib, only to see him sit up again and then grab onto the crib bar to pull himself up. The other day he was laughing his head off because he managed to grab the crib mobile and shake the toys on it. He is just not going to sleep. It’s all over.

I’m trying to snatch writing time when I can (e.g. naps), but getting him on a schedule is tougher than I’d thought. I’m hoping that eventually he’ll settle in. Wouldn’t it be nice if baby formula came equipped with tryptophan, you know that lovely effect after Thanksgiving turkey?

The other new baby trick is screaming. Yes, he’s learned that he can maximize volume. And the best place to practice is church. How do they KNOW the most inappropriate place? Ah well, it’s a phase. At least, this is what I’m telling myself…

Any tricks that helped your kids take naps on a more regular basis?

Last few RWA pictures

Amanda McCabe and Megan Frampton

Blog Buddy Kelly Boyce

Michelle Willingham and Margery Scott

Michelle Willingham and Lucy Gilmour

Michelle Willingham, Nora Roberts, Diane Gaston, Hope Tarr

The Tree that Ate Larissa

Michelle Willingham, Amanda McCabe, Diane Gaston

The Golden Gate Bridge

The bar was decorated with the Golden Gate Bridge, and there were also numerous life-sized trees, kind of like redwoods, only with magnolia leaves.

Harlequin Party Tree (photo courtesy of Melissa McClone)

Brigid (Biddy) Coady, Anna Scamans, Abby Green, Michelle Willingham

Michelle Willingham and Olivia Gates

Michelle Willingham and Larissa Ione

Anyway, we were all dancing and having a great time. My roommate, Larissa was my “date” and she had gone to our table to rest her feet and have drinks and snacks. Remember how I mentioned the Little Black Cloud of Doom that follows her? You know, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc.? Well, I heard a sudden commotion on the side of the room where our table was. I looked over, and one of the decorative trees had crashed. Apparently, someone danced into it or knocked it over (no, it was NOT me! I swear!).

It went down into our table and hit Larissa. Yes, this could only happen to her. Like any good roommate, I asked if she was okay. And then I took pictures.

Larissa and the Tree

I don’t think I realized quite how big the tree was until they carried it off.

Harlequin tree that went down

Somehow, I think she might be scared to come to another event with me.

Anyway, because I was a bad roommate and took pictures, I’m going to redeem myself now by giving her a shout-out on her latest book Pleasure Unbound. It’s a sexy paranormal about a Demon E.R. room. If you like JR Ward’s books, you will absolutely love this one. So go buy it and we’ll all make her feel better about being hit by a tree at the Harlequin party.

More RWA Photos

Here are some more photos from the tea party.

Deb Marlowe, Suzy Clarke, another author, Bronwyn Scott

Here are some photos of friends as we were getting ready to attend the PASIC party:

Michelle Willingham, Lori Pyne, Anna Scamans, Brigid (Biddy) Coady

Trish Wylie and Melissa Blue

Olivia Gates (hiding) and Trish Wylie

Suzanne Brockmann, Shauna Summers, Larissa Ione, Michelle Willingham

Harlequin Historical Tea, Garden Photos

Charlene Sands, Stacey Kayne, and Suzy Clarke

Amanda McCabe, Deb Marlowe, Diane Gason, Terri Brisbin, and Blythe Gifford

Charlene Sands and Stacey Kayne

Ann Letheridge and Bronwyn Scott

Harlequin Historical Breakfast

Deb Marlowe and Margo Maguire

Julia Justiss and Terri Brisbin

Kate Bridges

Michelle Willingham and Amanda McCabe

Sharon Schulze, Blythe Gifford

I know I’m missing some names, so those of you who can help, please do!

Mills and Boon Pizza Party

Jane Porter and other Presents authors

Mills and Boon pizza party with Jane Porter and Jennie Lucas

I enjoyed meeting with many of the Presents authors, particularly Sandra Marton, who is just amazing.
She received her pin for 75 books at last night’s Harlequin party. We also made the poor pizza man get in a photo and he looked aghast at being in a room with twenty-five romance novelists. I know. It would make most men run screaming.

It has been crazy busy, but I have many more pictures to post! If you see some authors whom I haven’t named, please post a comment so I can adjust the captions.