Blog Feed: Alice's Adventures Underground

The Dormouse has been on the near-constant hunt for four-leaf clovers since attending a church party back in March where the kids all went outside to find one. > read more

Fernish

Published on 2012-05-20 07:29:00

We've planted all sorts of newish things in our front yard this year, experimenting with stuff that grows in the shade -- because wegottalottathat. > read more

Farenheit 451: 2012 Edition

Published on 2012-05-19 07:06:42

via The KingofHearts gave me one of them there Star Trek books for Mother's Day. > read more

All I can think of when I look at this photo is that scene from Dumb and Dumber. Harry: Where's the booze? Lloyd: I got robbed by a sweet old lady on a motorized cart. I didn't even see it coming. Harry: Oh, no, no. Lloyd: Come on, Harry. Harry: It gets worse. My parakeet, Petey. Lloyd: Yeah? Harry: He's dead. Lloyd: Oh, man, I'm sorry. What happened? Harry: His head fell off. Lloyd: His head fell off? Harry: Yeah. He was pretty old. > read more

Consonent Blends Still a Small Issue

Published on 2012-05-17 11:10:18

"Momma, how do you say sfotted?" "You mean, thought?" "No sfotted. I can't say it right." "Sought?" "No, sfot!" "Fought?" "sFFFFFot. > read more

Fly Away Home

Published on 2012-05-16 05:47:00

Monica's Mother's Day present to me was watching my kids while I played a gig since The KingofHearts was out of town. > read more

Tea-riffic

Published on 2012-05-15 14:52:56

Mother's Day this year shall heretofore go unspoken-of in our house. > read more

If You Please

Published on 2012-05-11 07:30:03

I love it when they sit like this. > read more

Little Purple Flower

Published on 2012-05-10 15:18:29

We get our yard mulch each year from the county recycling center. > read more

If I Could Put Dreams in a Bottle

Published on 2012-05-05 11:50:14

I think my favorite thing about having a kid in school are the projects. Not the homework. > read more

Well, What Do YOU See?

Published on 2012-05-04 12:42:54

"Look what I made with the marbles, momma." "That's a nice pattern." "Doesn't it look like a guy who's sitting on the toilet and he's pooping and yay-ing?" "Yay-ing?" "Uh huh. Saying Yay!" "So you think it looks like a guy who's simultaneously pooping and yay-ing?" "Yes." "I never really thought about it like that." "Well, you should. > read more

Slyvia Plath Goes to Elementary School

Published on 2012-05-03 08:35:01

The Dormouse is learning about the Titanic in social studies this week. > read more

Sew Big

Published on 2012-05-01 20:34:10

> read more

Boy Was Her Face Red

Published on 2012-04-29 19:47:08

Something tells me that when The Shortlings are given the opportunity to paint with watercolors, they might need a tiny bit more adult supervision. > read more

Nature Reclaims its Space

Published on 2012-04-28 19:05:00

We were driving around southern Pennsylvania last week and spotted this wagon by the side of the road. > read more

Stick Pulling

Published on 2012-04-26 12:19:00

At church, they encourage everyone to have a family night once weekly. > read more

Passing on the OCD Trait

Published on 2012-04-25 13:24:11

We were down at one of the Smithsonian museums a couple of weeks ago and The KingofHearts called a time out to go look for a book in one of their ridiculously priced gift shops. > read more

Fancy Ladies

Published on 2012-04-24 13:38:18

These photos have been on my hard drive for a month now, waiting for me to become inspired to write something thoughtful, witty or insightful about them. > read more

Leavings

Published on 2012-04-21 07:35:14

My next door neighbor has a Bradford Pear tree in his front yard. > read more

Orator of the Town*

Published on 2012-04-17 20:33:55

I've mentioned before (but am too lazy to go back and look where) about how my house is one of language. > read more

Smart Alec, but Funny

Published on 2012-04-14 03:21:01

"I need help with my math homework." "What up?" > read more

Preschool Confessions

Published on 2012-04-13 10:53:00

Yesterday, I dropped The Caterpillar off at pre-school and there was a note in her cubby addressed to me. > read more

Fifty, Or Was it Fifteen?

Published on 2012-04-12 14:31:49

Fifteen is...the number of cubits upwards that Noah's ark was borne by the Flood in Genesis the number of tiles in a typical sliding puzzle a triangular number, a hexagonal number, a pentatope number and the 4th Bell number the number of measures in this piece of music the atomic number of phosphorus the number of minutes of fame everyone gets, according to Andy Warhol the number of players on a rugby team the number of days in each of the twenty-four cycles of the Chinese calendar a double f [..] > read more

Happy Easter: Hunger Games Edition

Published on 2012-04-08 15:10:40

Word to the wise: planning ahead for Easter and hiding chocolate bunnies in your car to keep children from finding them before Easter don't mix. > read more

Bewildering Conversations in the Kitchen, vol. iii

Published on 2012-04-05 18:14:06

KoH: "I'm hungry." Caterpillar: "WE CAN MAKE DINNER!" Dormouse: > read more

Mean Mom

Published on 2012-04-03 08:47:31

We spent part of the weekend at Monica's house for a barn deck raising. Inviting a couple of Mormons to a deck raising is just like inviting some Amish to a barn raising - except just one guy shows up with a car trunk full of tools and he expects to be fed immediately before work begins. Also, that deck isn't finished by nightfall... or even within the month... and may not be up to code. Three little maids at play While Monica and The KingofHearts worked outside, I took on the job of avoidin [..] > read more

Bustling Blossoms and Beavers

Published on 2012-04-01 19:44:39

The D.C. Cherry Blossoms are one of the most quintessential Washington events each year. > read more

Vanity Cherry Blossom Photos

Published on 2012-04-01 08:26:55

Through the magic of photography, using creative angling and cropping, one might almost believe that these were taken on a leisurely Spring day where there weren't a thousand clamoring tourists underneath their feet... and that park security wasn't about to chase us down for climbing the trees. © 2012 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Strawberries, That's Where I Had Them

Published on 2012-03-30 06:25:00

We were encouraged by the one small strawberry we grew last year and thought we'd try for two. > read more

Mommy's Little Metro Rider

Published on 2012-03-28 06:08:00

I figure she'd better learn the ins and out of public transportation now, before it's too late. > read more

How to Keep Your Kids Quiet in a Restaurant

Published on 2012-03-13 12:12:55

Tell them they can't put their elbow in their ear and watch them try to prove you wrong. Keeps them busy for a good twenty minutes. They can, however, lick their elbows. So that one doesn't work, FYI. Just sayin'. © 2012 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Immortality

Published on 2012-03-10 19:45:14

These days at church, I work with the teenage girls and we have activities once weekly outside of Sunday. A lot of what we do involve teaching skills and I've focused on some pretty modern-day useful things like budgeting, career planning, investigating colleges, etc. But a few weeks back, a couple of them expressed an interest in learning to crochet. I'm nothing if not inclusive, so I went out, bought a big bag of yarn and hooks for a big time stitch and bitch activity.* I learned to croch [..] > read more

Poetry in Motion

Published on 2012-03-09 15:23:21

Sometimes this weblog is a vehicle for me to communicate. To write and be creative and say my piece and work out what I feel, then declare it to the world. Other times, the purpose is for it to become the archive of my life and I post things here because this is the best way for me to be able to document that they happened so I can find them again. This is one of those times. A poem, by The Dormouse. Life Sometimes life is perfect. Confusing. Relaxing. Different. Fun. Calm. Peaceful. Exc [..] > read more

Extra Element Theorem

Published on 2012-03-08 06:36:01

I always tell people if you want to be entertained, follow The Caterpillar around our house with a tape recorder when she doesn't think you are paying attention to her. This is my super-imaginative child, who is constantly reenacting scenes from shows she's seen and delivering a diatribe of commentary, soliloquies and arias. This morning she tried to tell me about a dream she had; the whole process took forty-five minutes, she said the word "and" at least three hundred times and the gist of the [..] > read more

City of Brotherly Love

Published on 2012-03-07 07:29:00

Had to make a quick overnight trip to Philadelphia last week for work. I've never been extremely fond of that city. It's probably because I've had a few bad experiences there in my directly post-college years and after. But I also never stayed in a hotel that looked out at the City Hall clock before either. Back then, I was young and poor and mostly slept on other people's couches. So this was kind of a treat. As was it to wake up the next morning and see the city in the rain, which is qu [..] > read more

Books R Us

Published on 2012-03-06 07:18:00

The last of my Boston series of pictures, this is a book shop in Salem. I would have gone in, but like the rest of Salem, it was closed for the winter. No wonder there were so much witch activity, there was nothing else to do between the months of November and March.* *I kid, Salem, I kid. © 2012 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Climbing Wall

Published on 2012-03-05 07:14:00

Crocus... es... i?

Published on 2012-03-04 20:08:00

In the late fall, we rake up all the leaves and cover the flower beds with them. This has two benefits, we tell ourselves: One, the plants living in that flower bed get a nice blanket of warmth which protects them as winter sets in; and two, we don't have to rake, bag and deal with the elimination of leaves - especially since our county no longer offers curbside leaf removal. Since we are lazy, lazy, lazy, this is extremely attractive to us and that laziness has a lot more to do with the deci [..] > read more

Because She's So Very Busy

Published on 2012-03-02 16:24:21

We're expecting some friends to bring their kids over for the evening while they go do what married people do when they have a night out: breathe deep, satisfying sighs of relief. This conversation occurred in my living room while preparing. KingofHearts to Dormouse: "You need to change your clothes before your boyfriend gets here." Dormouse: "He's not my boyfriend! OK, well he's my friend and he's a boy, but it's not like THAT!" Caterpillar: "The Dormouse doesn't need a boyfriend." Dormous [..] > read more

Mommy's Little Hobo

Published on 2012-03-01 05:30:03

Here, There Be Witches

Published on 2012-02-29 05:53:00

Salem, Mass., as many know, is the site of the infamous Salem Witch Trials of 1692 and the burial place of many of those who were involved. But you know what you can't do in Salem in February? Learn anything more about it because literally everything museum and center that boasts more information about the event - and the town's economy centers around it - is closed in February. What you can do is walk around town and poke around in the cemetery. So that's what we did. © 2012 - All Rig [..] > read more

My Dentist's Name is James Spalding

Published on 2012-02-28 11:44:19

I work on a multitude of special projects throughout the year, with a gaggle of different people. One such project bears, in part, the name of a certain sporting goods company (no relation) and while it's a really cool project, it sometimes causes undue sleep lost at night, especially for the project director and those of us who work closely on it.Last Spring, I took to yelling "Wiiiillllll-sooooon!" throughout the office whenever something would come up that was particularly vexing. (Or just [..] > read more

Vintage Downtown Salem

Published on 2012-02-25 05:01:01

Here we see the thriving metropolis known as downtown Salem, Massachusetts. I might have vintaged-up the photos for effect, but it's still a very old and quaint looking town. Totally worthy of my vintage filter in Photoshop. "Three rods west of this spot stood, from 1718 until 1785, the Town House. Here Governor Burnet convened the General Court in 1728 and 1729. A town meeting held here in 1765 protested the Stamp Act and another in 1769 denounced the tax on tea." © 2011 - All Righ [..] > read more

Boston Public Parks

Published on 2012-02-24 05:38:01

111 Huntington Avenue

Published on 2012-02-23 05:25:00

I spent forever looking for the name of this building and finally figured out that it just goes by 111 Huntington Avenue. Wait, not Bank One 111 Huntington Avenue? Not FedEx 111 Huntington Avenue? Not M&T 111 Huntington Avenue? That's unique. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

House of Blues

Published on 2012-02-22 05:23:01

Halloweens Past

Published on 2012-02-21 14:45:15

I just found these photos buried on my hard drive and can't bear the thought of not posting them for posterity because as we all know, if they're not posted here, I'll never be able to find them again. Perhaps we can just call them inspiration for next fall because I would love to erect at least three of these things in my front yard. Won't the neighbors be thrilled? © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Church Lane

Published on 2012-02-21 13:21:44

Boston is an old city and therefore full of churches... or at least buildings that appear to be churches, as I learned. "What church is that?" "That's the State House." "What church is that?" "That's a library." "What church is that?" "That's an insurance company." "Hey look, is that Symphony Hall?" "No, that's a church." I can't win for losing. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Fenway Park

Published on 2012-02-19 20:15:30

While in Boston the week before last, I did get out of the hotel room long enough to check out a few parts of the city. It was bitterly cold and early in the morning, so I only just walked around Fenway Park long enough to take in the idea that, dude, this is Fenway Park, this is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium still in use. I would like to have gone inside, but there's not usually much going on at 10:00 in the morning on a Friday in February at most baseball stadiums, so after taking [..] > read more

Sentry

Published on 2012-02-15 09:12:00

"One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four." "What are you doing?" "Guarding the castle." "With a back scratcher and a banana?" "Well, what else would I use?" "Good point. Continue." "One, two, three, four, one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four." © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Tea Party

Published on 2012-02-14 14:02:24

Happy Arizona Statehood Centennial Day! (I've been informed by my husband that Valentine's Day was inconveniently placed this year and has therefore been rescheduled.) The KingofHearts is hilarious about giving gifts in that he's really good at choosing gifts. He's also really good at remembering to get gifts and plans well in advance. But then he simply cannot bear the antici.............pation of waiting until the appropriate day to give said gift. That means if you're a member of The Kingof [..] > read more

Spoonful of Sugar

Published on 2012-02-14 13:59:01

In the grand tradition of giving people ideas for holiday crafts and showing them way too late in order to actually do those crafts for said holiday, here is what my kids carried off to school with them to give out to friends today: I think I am most proud of the fact that these were entirely made with items already in my house. I think I am least proud of the fact that we made these on Saturday but there are still tiny red and white balls and sugar crystals all over my kitchen floor. © [..] > read more

Boston Backalley

Published on 2012-02-13 04:29:00

A taste of what little I was able to see of Boston last week... this was probably taken just before I got really sick and collapsed into a hotel bed, calling down to the hotel front desk every twenty minutes and asking for the concierge to bring me guacamole. Years ago I was at a conference with a colleague and I was sitting in the hotel bar one night, watching him drink to excess to deal with the pressure of hosting a conference for over a thousand people. We had gotten to know the bartender [..] > read more

Long Winter's Nap

Published on 2012-02-12 16:26:33

In the continuing saga of my daphne bush, early this winter we wrapped it in this cocoon of sorts to try and save it from heavy snowfall. I just asked The KingofHearts what this thing was called and he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Ummm.... Bush Protector?" But please don't google that because I think you might get a completely different set of results that have nothing to do with with horticulture. I don't really know if it works because we haven't had any real snow to speak of this year [..] > read more

New Childcare Strategies

Published on 2012-02-11 11:26:35

Santa brought the Shortlings a gift this year that we hadn't quite got around to using until just recently. Our friend Mari came over and helped us out with the christening. First, Daddy helped blow it up. Some of us were more excited about that part than Daddy. Next, we kicked the ball around a little. But most grew weary of that quite quickly. But eventually, everyone grew tired of that and really, one needs to be a part of the action. And the best way to do that is to be one with the ba [..] > read more

Coulrophobia

Published on 2012-02-07 12:09:48

Am currently incubating a supervirus deadly enough to kill even Gary Sinese (though if I got to meet him as a result, it'd be totally worth it). Until I can sit up unassisted again, here's a little teaser about the trip I took last week: Monica: "Let's pull over at this rest stop on the Mass. turnpike. We need to get gas and I have to pee." NG: "Sounds good to me." *car pulls into rest stop* Monica: "Should we get gas first or park first?" Angie: *pointing wildly* "Park! Park! Parkbytheclo [..] > read more

Pattern Recognition

Published on 2012-02-01 15:37:32

At four years old, she can do this completely by herself, but she can't read any of the words yet... or put her shoes on the correct feet. Perhaps we need to even out her skill development in some areas. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Beam Us Up

Published on 2012-01-31 10:38:26

We have had to instigate a rule in the house that The Caterpillar not wake up before 6:30 am. An early riser myself, my tendency is to roll with kids' body clocks and let them wake up when they wake. But the problem with that strategy is The Caterpillar does this thing where if you let her get up fifteen minutes before her wake up time one day, then the next day she'll get up fifteen minutes before that. And then fifteen minutes earlier the next day. And the next day. And the next day. And [..] > read more

I HAVE Seen a Crocus or a Rosebud

Published on 2012-01-30 10:58:21

It's January Twenty-ninth on the East Coast. Mother nature is confused. But then again, if you look down at the feet and see the shorts and flip-flops, you'll notice so is my kid. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Daylily

Published on 2011-07-03 14:50:05

I've been having trouble with my computer machine the last week or two. Still trying to resurrect it like Lazarus after the third day (which might be even more of a miracle) because, well, I know it's weird but I don't want a new computer. I'm fond > read more

Camp Sweatshop, Weekend Edition

Published on 2011-07-02 19:21:37

I thought quite seriously about getting one of those half way disposable, above ground pools this summer. But I hemmed and hawed because I heard pool-setting-up causes divorce if you're not careful and I wasn't looking to spend that kind o > read more

Trav'lin' Along There's a Song That We're Singin'

Published on 2011-06-28 06:09:00

Caterpillar: "Hey, Momma, I got a great idea!" Me: "What's that?" "Why don't we make our car into a band and get all our family in the car and drive around and sing music and we can paint the car?" "Like The Partridge Family?" "Who's that, Momm > read more

Eavesdropping

Published on 2011-06-27 15:08:27

Things I learned from my talkative travel companions this weekend -or- Why I didn't finish reading my book even though I spent eight hours on a bus this weekend Based on the relative decibel level of most people using in-ear earphones to listen to > read more

Camp Sweatshop Retuns, Sort Of

Published on 2011-06-24 15:54:09

My computer has been dying a slow, painful death (or come to think of it, maybe that's just me; my computer probably doesn't care a whit) and it's been hard to find time to write about anything lately. Couple that with several Big Work Things a > read more

Rickshaw Driver in Training

Published on 2011-06-21 18:00:55

Speaking of talents, some of us never quite realize how tough it is to do the Wheelbarrow Hand Walk exercise when a four year old and a seven year old are your exercise partners. Until they try, that is. There was also an attempt to make > read more

DSoapdish

Published on 2011-06-19 15:22:46

Manager: What is your name? Tick: Nick. Manger: Mr. ...? Tick: Wait, no one told me we had to....uhhh...Mr.... Nick... Soap Dish. It's...uh...French. Manager: Really? Sounds... made up... to me. The KingofHe > read more

Everyone's a Critic

Published on 2011-06-18 05:40:43

The other day I was watching a stand-up special with some comedian on the Comedy Central network. I found this lying in the living room a little while later. I can't be certain, but I'm thinking The Dormouse might rather have been watching so > read more

Bookends

Published on 2011-06-14 10:23:38

I'm one of those likes the windows open type people. I hate it when I have to close up the house for the summer... or the winter. It's often a point of contention between The KingofHearts and I because he feels like he sleeps better in th > read more

Talents

Published on 2011-06-13 21:04:17

The Dormouse's school year is winding down. In fact, I'm pretty sure they stopped doing any work about two weeks ago. Today, they had a class talent show. All thirty kids in the class were all asked to show off a talent or special skill and the pa > read more

It's Like We're Underwater

Published on 2011-06-10 13:06:47

Lily Invasion

Published on 2011-06-09 06:15:29

Signatura

Published on 2011-06-03 08:14:00

Advice for a Caterpillar

Published on 2011-06-02 14:07:43

Whooo arrrre yooou? A visitor stopped by my herb garden the other day. The Shortlings were thrilled to see him and spent the better part of a morning watching him like he was the main character on a television program. See? I supp > read more

Cheese Lady

Published on 2011-06-01 09:21:00

We skipped town for Memorial Day weekend, if not Memorial Day itself. I got the chance to break in the grand viola I bought a few months back and played a solo at a friend's church in another state. On the way back, we wanted to stop some > read more

Remembering

Published on 2011-05-31 17:40:22

Arlington Cemetery, Memorial Day 2010 For Memorial Day, I decided the Shortlings were finally big enough to do something I'd wanted to do with them for a long time. So I packed up the brood bright and early in the morning, stopped at the > read more

In Memoriam

Published on 2011-05-30 08:20:00

I posted one of these photos before, but I thought I'd save the entire triptych for the holiday. We love military folk around the Wonderland house and not just because The KingofHearts used to be one of those folk and somehow made it out unscat > read more

At Lincoln's Feet

Published on 2011-05-29 08:11:00

Behind the Trees

Published on 2011-05-28 08:41:01

Photo Purge

Published on 2011-05-27 08:45:00

The Caterpillar enjoying a Spring day at the National Mall. I'm slowly but surely posting all the photos that have been sitting around on my hard drive, mainly because I have nothing else to do with them and my friends have made it clear that t > read more

It's Not Waterboarding!

Published on 2011-05-26 08:35:01

Spray the Children With the Hose From the New Deck is one of the favorite new games around our house. I don't know what's worse, the fact that child protective services would probably have us arrested if they saw us, or that The Ankle Biters ha > read more

Latest Craze

Published on 2011-05-25 08:27:00

The KingofHearts has been looking for a new sport to become obsessed with lately... one that doesn't require years of training, hours of daily practice and the God-given genetics of Michael Phelps. After much consideration, he's settled on Comp > read more

Herb's Garden

Published on 2011-05-24 15:51:59

Once we had deck liftoff, I spent quite a bit of time contemplating what to do with our new, snazzy outdoor deck. We had a deck before, but never used it really, except for stacking crap that was supposed to go to the outdoor shed... which no one eve > read more

Not Sleepy

Published on 2011-05-23 11:53:00

My Dinner with Barry

Published on 2011-05-21 08:32:33

Well, if you're reading this, I guess either the world didn't end or you weren't lucky enough to get raptured. I'm actually a bit disappointed, because I have a big project at work that I'm pretty far behind on and I was hoping for a bit of a reprie > read more

Hats On for Patience

Published on 2011-05-17 16:17:02

Lately we've been having a lot of trouble with patience around our home. The Small One can be an annoying pest, yes, everyone admits that. But The Large One has taken to snapping at her indiscriminately for everything she does or says. She's alway > read more

Bogie Would Be Proud

Published on 2011-05-16 08:29:15

We've been trying to grow strawberries for the last three years now. Each time we'd have big bushy lovely green plants and pretty white blooms, but some animal would come eat all the blooms off the plants before any of the fruit could come to fruiti > read more

Contemplative

Published on 2011-05-15 19:25:09

Miss Information

Published on 2011-05-10 08:02:35

Years before I met The KingofHearts, I was dating a guy who went to school in Baltimore. I spent lots of time there and in the Mount Vernon area in particular. I love the city as much as I love Washington, D.C. but for entirely different > read more

Star Spangled Banner House

Published on 2011-05-09 08:06:00

In our continuing series of tiny places in Baltimore, our next stop is the Pickersgill house. OK, it's actually the Star Spangled Banner Flag House and 1812 Museum, but first, it was Mary Pickersgill's house. I know that if you ask your average man > read more

Communicable

Published on 2011-05-07 06:45:00

My chlamydia clematis (I'm never going to tire of that joke, just so you know) is blooming. I'm still not pleased with the progress of my bush, but at least it has something to show for itself these days. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Westminster, Part Deux

Published on 2011-05-06 06:53:00

Besides it's most famous resident, Westminster is home to a few other prominent Baltimoreans and curiosities I didn't have room to post yesterday. The first Mayor of Baltimore, Francis Scott Key's son, and James McHenry of Fort McHenry fame are > read more

The Other Westminster

Published on 2011-05-05 09:17:38

Westminster has been in the news quite a bit lately for reasons I can't quite understand. (I love how this website looks pretty much like every other engagement/wedding countdown website I've ever seen. You'd think a Prince and Princess would r > read more

Poe at Home

Published on 2011-05-04 13:49:30

Not far from the Babe Ruth House is the house where Edgar Allan Poe lived when he was a young writer in Baltimore. After he washed out of West Point, Poe returned to Baltimore to stay with his Aunt, who had recently moved to the Pigtown area (wasn't > read more

A Fine Rebuttal

Published on 2011-05-03 17:11:55

"Daddy, today, in science class, Johnny said that in the future maybe we could all have robot butlers. And everyone in the class laughed and laughed." "Why would everyone laugh at that?" *rolls eyes* "Because it had the word butt in it.&n > read more

On that Spot

Published on 2011-05-02 06:38:00

On the eighteenth step down from the Lincoln statue at the Lincoln Memorial, there is an engraved stone that was added in 2003: Martin Luther King, Jr's "I Have a Dream" speech is such a big part of the Lincoln Memorial story that the spot on > read more

What Also Floats on Water?

Published on 2011-04-30 06:20:59

This downtown D.C. duck was kind enough to pose for me and every time I look at this picture I have to remind myself that it's a real duck and not a decoy. He's such a perfectly posed specimen and his legs look like they have wires in them that > read more

Striking Out

Published on 2011-04-29 11:28:42

Another little-known historical place in downtown Baltimore is the still-standing house where George Herman Ruth - better known as The Babe - was born in 1895. I've always been a baseball fan, more so than any other sport. But even I ha > read more

Minutiae and the Marital Spat

Published on 2011-04-28 17:42:33

Whenever life gets super stressful for me, the voice in my head shuts off and I have problems coming up with anything to write about on this weblog. This is one of the main reasons why when people tell me I should quit my job and try to be a wr > read more

Looking at Lincoln

Published on 2011-04-27 09:45:25

I've talked before about my inability to take the kind of photo I want of most of the monuments in D.C. I think it's because I've spent so much time looking at amazing photos that with my amateur skillz and equipment, I can never quite reproduce the > read more

At the Wall

Published on 2011-04-26 05:49:50

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial was the first of the D.C. monuments that I can remember being erected in my lifetime. At the time, it was hugely controversial which, I imagine, is not unique in comparison to older monuments on the D.C. Mall, I ju > read more

That Easter Morn

Published on 2011-04-25 17:18:40

Easter was pretty low key this year. The Dormouse has figured out that there's not a real Easter Bunny, but hasn't seemed to extrapolate that knowledge to other fictional figures, like some. "Momma, I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as the Ea > read more

Eggy

Published on 2011-04-22 10:56:00

We made Easter Eggs yesterday and like last year, gave a shot using some natural dyes from found food items around the house we started by boiling stuff. Random stuff. Any stuff: Blueberries Spinach ...and a few other things, spices, wee > read more

Beat of Her Own

Published on 2011-04-21 17:19:08

Fauxhawk

Published on 2011-04-18 04:32:01

The Dormouse asked me to do her hair up all crazy last week since it was Crazy Hair Day in their Anti-Bullying Spirit Week. Their instructions were to "wear your hair crazy to express your individuality - it's OK to be yourself!" We came up wit > read more

By The...

Published on 2011-04-17 14:42:18

Quick question: How much do you think the following part for my car costs? a) $5.15b) $25.22c) $82.99 I think you can guess the answer is C because if it were one of the other options, I probably wouldn't be complaining about it on the i > read more

Bending Heads Toward the Sun

Published on 2011-04-12 15:08:43

Imitating Art

Published on 2011-04-09 06:30:01

I walked into the living room this morning to find The Caterpillar inside an upturned laundry basket, crawling across the floor. "What are you doing, kid?" More to herself than anything else: "Rrri'm a rootcase, Rrri'm a rootcase, Rrri'm a rootcase > read more

My 3 Year Old May Have a Future in Standup

Published on 2011-04-08 06:25:00

He Knew I Had to Be Blogging this Eventually

Published on 2011-04-07 14:54:29

We have some relatives in town and The KingofHearts took a day off to show them around. He decided to spend at least one day at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore. I was working and couldn't go with them, so before they left in the morning, I > read more

Superhero Aspirations

Published on 2011-04-05 07:26:08

Some of us have dreams about falling or being chased, some have dreams about being naked in front of the whole school... ...and some of us have flying dreams. What are you looking at? © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Photogenic

Published on 2011-04-02 08:06:00

The Dormouse tries not to blink when I take her picture: Very hard... The harder she tried not to blink... ...the more difficult the not blinking becomes. So you have to surprise her: For some people, it just comes more naturally: © 2011 - > read more

These Jokes are Getting a Little Morbid

Published on 2011-04-01 05:02:00

In honor of April Fools' Day... I guess. What do you call a cow with no legs? Ground beef. Funny, right? Except when The Caterpillar tries to tell it. "Hey Momma, what do you call a cow with no legs or a dog with no legs and no mouth and no he > read more

Gadgety

Published on 2011-03-31 19:25:00

I've loved taking pictures since I took my first photography class in junior high school. That being said, I'm under no delusions that I'm actually a good photographer. I realize I could improve my skills a whole bunch with the right equi > read more

Say Cheese

Published on 2011-03-31 07:12:59

Kinder Music

Published on 2011-03-28 06:40:44

It's no great secret on this weblog that I'm a big music nerd and have every intention of passing it along to my children. That's okay, because I think knowing that Ludwig von Beethoven wrote his Heilingastad Testament in 1802 around the time h > read more

New Use for Clutter Around the House

Published on 2011-03-27 15:38:41

Looking Down at Spring

Published on 2011-03-25 13:34:59

Hair-larious

Published on 2011-03-24 07:57:13

Some folks at church were sitting in the pew front of us last Sunday. They have a little boy who was going nuts ninja-ing, car racing, and just generally making a lot of noise. "That's the worst things about boys," the mom said, " t > read more

Fun for a Girl and a Boy

Published on 2011-03-22 19:22:07

Whenever I think of lame activities like my Make a Bug craft, the musical soundtrack that runs through my head is this one from the old Ren and Stimpy Show.I've been singing this song a lot this week, because in addition to the Army of Totalitarian G > read more

I Used to Feel Super*

Published on 2011-03-19 20:35:19

Tonight we were treated to a Super Perigee Moon outside our front door. I'm sure my astrology friends will correct me if I'm wrong (and yes, I meant to type astrology instead of astronomy because it bothers them so damn much when I do that and... wel > read more

Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely

Published on 2011-03-19 13:50:01

The Shortlings were driving me nutso the other day so I cut apart an egg carton, threw some pipe cleaners, glue and markers at them and told them to make bugs. It kept them busy for about forty-five minutes. Mission accomplished.Interestingly, thoug > read more

Still in a Row

Published on 2011-03-18 14:40:34

May the Road Rise to Meet You

Published on 2011-03-17 15:19:18

My first pen pal was an invisible leprechaun. My first grade teacher was Mrs. Spade and she was very Irish. Though I honestly don't remember, I'm guessing she was first generation American and her parents has immigrated from Ireland. There are a l > read more

First of the Daphne Blooms

Published on 2011-03-16 14:37:12

I'm still trying to nurse it along. The KingofHearts cut off all the dead and/or dying portions after the snow this year and last year tried to kill it. Despite the fact that I had no knowledge of his plans and this happened while not in my presenc > read more

Instilling Fear Early; It's Our Only Hope

Published on 2011-03-14 06:27:36

Have you seen the Red Robin commercial where the dad walks into the teenage girl's bedroom while she's lying on the bed writing and says, "How about we go to Red Robin and get a burger when you're done studying?" Then a teenage boy hiding behind the > read more

In My Daughters Eyes I Am... Well, Odd

Published on 2011-03-13 13:32:30

The Dormouse brought home a school assignment this weekend wherein she had to interview someone and then write a biography about them. Some of the questions were provided by the teacher and some were to be created by the students themselves. Since > read more

The Whole Truth

Published on 2011-03-12 09:02:08

Thirteen things The Caterpillar has said recently that there's probably a bigger story behind, but honestly, I don't want to know."Momma, I wish I wanted to make pancakes for you.""I don't eat bugs.""I like that doctor. He's a good doctor." Me: "W > read more

Pavane for a Dead Princess

Published on 2011-03-11 15:37:30

Soooo busy. Sooo overwhelmed. Time for a minutiae post.blahblahblahblahblahblahblahblah"What's that smell?""What smell, momma?""It smells like body odor and feet.""??""It smells like something died in here, but before it died, it did a three hours > read more

Tripod?

Published on 2011-03-10 07:51:25

"Momma, what do you call a cow with three legs?""Um.... I don't know, honey, what do you call a cow with three legs?""A dead horse."Well, at least her sense of humor is on it's way to becoming something we will one day share. © 2011 - All Rights > read more

Meanwhile on the Mall...

Published on 2011-03-06 05:36:01

About four or five times a year I have to explain to someone that here in D.C. when we say, "let's go to the mall" we don't mean, I need a pair of shoes, a $22 uneven haircut and an unnaturally covered pretzel. The National Mall is a rare area of d > read more

I Haven't Seen a Crocus or a Rosebud...

Published on 2011-03-05 04:32:00

Croci are just about my favorite of the early spring flowers. And not just because I always sing that song in my head whenever I see one, but that's probably a big part of it. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Deck Accomplished!

Published on 2011-03-04 04:10:01

So, apparently, your dad does know how to build a deck.Notice how all these photo views are systematically chosen to avoid showing the massive piles of trash that are in our yard? © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Duh. Skiing!

Published on 2011-03-03 13:24:57

*Thanks to Charlie Sheen for the best post title ever.A few weeks back Monica reminded me of her New Year's resolution to learn to ski."Why?" I asked.I don't think she ever provided me with an acceptable answer, but like most of Monica's schemes, I a > read more

Commas Matter

Published on 2011-03-01 05:26:13

Laced

Published on 2011-02-27 08:01:09

Did You Get a Haircut or Are You Just Taking Altoids?

Published on 2011-02-25 15:47:27

I bought a small tin of Altoids the other day to keep in the car. This ordinarily wouldn't be blog worthy material, except for the fact that when I opened the tin, I was reminded of a completely different little blue pill.The best part was that even > read more

If I Die Mysteriously, Here's Your Evidence

Published on 2011-02-24 11:22:02

Hey, did I ever tell you about the time my children tried to murder me?It was about a week ago and I let them make cookies made cookies for them while they dumped flour on the floor. Then when the cookies were baked, I pulled the hot cookie sheets o > read more

Reminders

Published on 2011-02-23 17:49:39

Dormouse: "My friend Sally in my class at school says she is nine years old and she'll be ten on her next birthday."Me: "Well, you're both in second grade, plus we were at her last birthday party. Your friend Sally says a lot of things. Not all o > read more

The Sound and the Flurry

Published on 2011-02-21 18:44:04

Both my children have always been highly verbal. The Dormouse began talking quite early and pretty much hasn't stopped since. It didn't really matter if she knew what the words meant or not. A steady stream of lexemes just began falling out of her > read more

Hors d'oeurves

Published on 2011-02-20 06:19:59

If you've read this weblog for any length of time, you'll know that I do not claim to be a cook. I also maintain that it's not that I can't cook; I'm actually quite a good cook. I just don't enjoy doing it. So what's the point when most of the peo > read more

Reliving Her Childhood

Published on 2011-02-18 15:47:01

All in a Row

Published on 2011-02-17 06:59:00

Mondegreen-arena

Published on 2011-02-16 06:41:00

KoH: "I have that song stuck in my head and it's annoying."Me: "What song?""That Macarena song.""Ugh.""Yeah, and the most annoying thing about it is I don't know any of the words. I just know the 'heeeeeey maacarena' part. So I just keep singing 'h > read more

Construction Twister

Published on 2011-02-15 11:39:45

They claim they're building a new deck. If you ask me, it looks like some kind of new-fangled sex game I don't want to know about because YOUR DAD DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO BUILD A DECK! © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Valiumtimes

Published on 2011-02-14 15:22:26

A friend came over this weekend to make cupcakes with The Dormouse and The Caterpillar and let me just say that if this person had been around back when The Caterpillar was having her language issues, I don't think we'd have worried one jot or tittle > read more

From the If Walls Could Talk File

Published on 2011-02-08 11:34:29

I took this picture of the floor of the Washington Monument several weeks ago. I know you're all, "The FLOOR?" and I'm all, "I KNOW!" and then we're all "sigh."Excuse me, lapsed into 80s-teen-speak there for a bit. This might be a good time to apol > read more

SleepyTired

Published on 2011-02-05 13:17:00

Ever been so tired, you feel asleep with your dinner in your hand and your elbow in your bowl?In a related story: I might need to teach her some table manners. © 2011 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

Cookies

Published on 2011-02-04 13:13:01

Drinking the Bathwater

Published on 2011-02-03 13:08:19

Meet Bumbles.He's been a part of our family since he joined us, along with his friend Rudolph, on New Year's Eve, a gift from a friend to the girls. Rudolph, sadly, is no longer with us thanks to a bizarre kitchen sink accident The Caterpillar tried > read more

Elipitcal

Published on 2011-02-01 06:20:32

I had forgotten about this photo I snapped from atop the Washington Monument a few weeks ago and just found it on my hard drive. You're looking north through the city at The Elipse (the National Christmas Tree is that little green triangle at it's t > read more

Neighborly

Published on 2011-01-31 06:50:56

That's The KingofHearts clearing snow off my neighbor's car before he heads off to work. He always does that. He leaves ridiculously early in the morning and instead of just getting in his car, turning on the heater and speeding off, he starts with > read more

Light Blind

Published on 2011-01-30 02:43:01

I tend to not take photos of other people's kids when I'm out and about for reason that I'm sure will be obvious. But this little boy playing with the lights when we were at the Washington Monument a couple of weeks ago was too much of a temptation. > read more

Mate Dulce

Published on 2011-01-29 05:28:08

The other day, after we made this guy,the Large One and the Small One were cold and began begging for hot chocolate. A recent email from an old friend (hi old friend!) had me thinking about the time I spent in South America many years ago. I was fe > read more

She Finally Loves the Snow

Published on 2011-01-28 20:21:00

A short photo essay to prove my kids can actually go into the snow. We finally had the kind of snow that is useful for using that Build a Snowman kit. So The Caterpillar got dressed up like Ralphie's brother in her new snow pants handed down from Mo > read more

Sno More

Published on 2011-01-27 09:14:18

I've been having some trouble coming up with relevant topics to write about here for the past week. I suppose you could argue that nothing on this site is really relevant and I should work a little harder to actually write here and stop using this s > read more

Perplexing Question of the Day

Published on 2011-01-25 15:38:12

A Shoe By Any Other Name...

Published on 2011-01-23 13:54:59

Nursery Rhymes Gone Wrong

Published on 2011-01-23 04:47:05

Alternate title: Inappropriate Songs to Let Your Three Year Old Sing in PublicWe've had our problems with songs The Dormouse was taught in preschool in the past. Thanks to this blog, I can distinctly remember Baa Baa Black Sheep being one of those p > read more

Insider's View

Published on 2011-01-21 16:05:19

Another couple of photos that I was merely satisfied with from my Washington Monument set. I like this inside view of the structure because it reminds me exactly how much the monument resembles a very large Lego project.I'm also fascinated by the ee > read more

Making Do

Published on 2011-01-19 14:22:36

The Small One has been sick on and off for... oh about six weeks now. In fact, the whole house pretty much has had the plague and been passing it around for all to enjoy. We've each been through one, if not more, courses of antibiotics to try and w > read more

Button Up Your Overcoat

Published on 2011-01-18 08:54:06

If you haven't figured it out from the numerous school closings and half an inch of white stuff on the ground, it's winter 'round these here parts. A downright snowpocalypse that has closed the schools for the day (because snow that stopped falling > read more

America's Superior Wang

Published on 2011-01-17 16:08:42

For as long as I've been living here, I've tried to take a decent picture of the Washington Monument. I would seem a easy enough subject. It always stands as still as a statue. It doesn't blink when you use the flash. Never turns its head to look > read more

Holey Haberdashery, Batman

Published on 2011-01-15 14:16:14

My maternal grandmother was very particular about clothing. It's not that she was overly fussy or uppity; she came an old dirt farming community and lived during the depression so she knew about frugality and making every penny stretch. But she was > read more

The Holiday of Driving Enjoyment

Published on 2011-01-14 16:20:13

The Dormouse: "Don't forget. I'm off school this Monday AND next Monday too."The KingofHearts: "WHY??!?"DM: "Well this Monday is Martin Luther King Day and next Monday is some other holiday that starts with an F, I forgot which."KoH: "Flag Day?" > read more

Bumbles Bounce

Published on 2011-01-13 06:56:34

The Caterpillar singing:"Mary had a little lamb,little lamb, little lamb.Mary had a little lamb.The beast was white as snow."I'm about ninety percent positive that she thinks she's singing about this guy: © 2010 - All Rights Reserved. > read more

What He Said

Published on 2011-01-11 11:31:29

Few Words, Little Substance, But It's a Post

Published on 2011-01-11 09:54:33

Between the events of last weekend and an incident at my daughter's school that is still being argued over, I've lost a little bit of my faith in humanity and had to go on a self-imposed exile from the internet for a couple of days. Let's get back i > read more

Tender Moments are Fleeting

Published on 2011-01-06 09:36:59

Scene: family is sitting around dinner table and The Caterpillar is actually eating her food for a change instead of arguing about it because she thinks she might have seen something that could be classified as "healthy" on her plate. (Incidentally, > read more

Music History Class

Published on 2011-01-04 06:50:53

We went into one of those "50s themed diners that plays music from pretty much any decade BUT the 50s because the staff is so young they think music recorded in the 70s is the same thing" the other day. You know what I mean, right? The ones with juk > read more

My Favorite Comic Strip of All Time

Published on 2011-01-03 05:24:36

Some Acquaintances Should Be Forgot

Published on 2011-01-01 07:04:56

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