Maymont

Chopper has lived in this area since he was ten and I spent a few years here in college and it is amazing to me what we have not seen. We've been really exploring and this past weekend went to a "park" in Richmond called Maymont that was a really neat place.

Maymont is actually an estate that was left as a park when the owners died since they had no children. The mansion was gorgeous and decked out in gilded age furniture and decor. The owners were of course wealthy Richmond socialites and nearly everything in the house is what they bought and furnished instead of reproductions or borrowed items.
They wouldn't allow pictures of the inside but they have some on their website www.maymont.org. It is worth looking at!
On the other end of the park was a Children's Farm with buffalo (in Virginia!) bear, birds of prey and of course your obligatory petting farm goats. Megan laughed when he licked her feet and then decided goat spit wasn't so fun after all!



They have beautiful Italian and Japanese gardens with a waterfall and a grotto and a small lake (pond I guess) and it was just a gorgeous day. If you're ever down there for the day, you might have to check it out.

Scooter Girl

I forgot I took this video of her bum scoot. Everyone who sees it thinks its adorable but I have a time keeping the backs of her legs from surface burns, especially when she scoots outside on the cement. After all, who wants to stay on the grass mom? I've also had several people say "I've read about that -- so that's what it looks like!" Yes, this is what it looks like. WHen she gets really excited about something, it gets a lot more bouncy.

I love my husband

It's not every man out there who will take the kids for the day when you're sick and have a head the size of Texas. He's much more considerate of me than I am of him I think.

Anyway, we've been spending all this time together since he's in full-fledged recovery mode and we've had gorgeous summer days. We've been going to Mary Wash and hanging out -- there's not many people around with summer break so we play in the fountain and Megan cries when we leave and then we play in ball circle. She loves being outdoors.

This video is her identifying her body parts. The girl can't walk but her other skills are hopping along so I can't complain I guess. Except that apparently with daddy home all the time, she's becoming confused about the parental roles in our house!

Playdating

I now know why they call it that -- because it's too much like real dating only instead of looking for a spouse, you're looking for people to trust your kids with and that's practically the same thing! Seriously, you spend time getting to know parents and children to make sure that it's ok for your kids to spend time with them.

I think I've found a good one.

I've been going to Mother Goose time at the library and met a girl (woman? -- she's my age but honestly, when do you start thinking of yourself as a woman) who has a daughter just a month younger than Megan (who walks -- oh yeah, they all walk) and it's her first as well which is kind've a bonus because we're in the same boat. As I've talked to her over several weeks there I've discovered she also grew up in Winchester (graduated from Handley High -- pretty bit rivals), her husband was in the Air Force, she taught school (elementary, it still counts) and it took them several years to get pregnant as well. And she's Christian which is a bonus (good values) and we really get along! I'm very very excited because it not only means a friend for Megan but a friend for me!

So we had a playdate today at our apartment complex pool which is really nice. No pool pictures because it was Megan's first time and I didn't know if she's freak out if I walked away to get the camera but I did take one of the swimsuit before we left. I think this is the only age where it's cute to have fat rolls hanging out of of the swimsuit and yet so many people do . . .

Ok that was kind've rude. Megan is also starting to crawl conventionally (I think I win because she is now 17 months -- do you know how many people tell me their child FINALLY started crawling and then when I ask -- oh, 10 months -- come on people!) and she is such a girl. She puts on her own headbands (and throws amazing tantrums when she can't get it right - she is SOOO my daughter), applies chapstick (I'm not kidding), hugs and kisses and feeds her stuffed animals, and brushes the hair out of my face when we've been playing. I don't even need a boy to see the differences! But one would be nice eventually.

Good News, Bad News

OK maybe that should be reversed. Bad news is that Chopper injured himself again in training. Sigh. He will not be going to Georgia for the next 3 months like we thought. I guess that's kind've the good news though is that he'll be here all summer. Literally. Right now he's focused on recovery and he may or may not stay with the Capitol Police and he may or may not be reassigned to another job within the CP or just the government or where ever! We have a year to figure this all out -- and we may or may not survive the uncertainty -- ok that's just me and I know we'll survive I'm just sick of uncertainty . . . and possibly moving . . . and all that ickiness. But I get to keep my husband! That's a good thing.

My new role

I just got a kid at my door trying to sell me magazine subscriptions so he can earn points towards some kind of amazing vacation. Who are these kids? We had one in Montana too and it's apparently some sort of race because there are teams and they're always out of breath. It's supposed to be a "leadership opportunity" or something. I always wonder how legit these things are . . .

But anyway, part of his speal (spiel?) was to ask if I have an amazing job -- which I said yes, stay-at-home mom and he replied, cool, a domestic housegoddess. Then he promptly asked what my husband does and the reply police officer flustered him up badly enough that he didn't persist in his sales pitch, which was nice.

I like the sound of "domestic housegoddess". Even if I do feel terribly un-goddess-like sitting here in my pajamas with humidity hair and tired from Megan having cranky fits all afternoon (I know, the pictures only show the angel, but it's true!). And I would like to wave a magic wand and clean the floor and the dishes rather than getting on my hands and knees to wipe up spilled food 3 times daily. Plus, can anyone tell me the magic word to get a 16-month old to eat vegetables? Any vegetables? By the way, I need to apologize to anyone and everyone I ever thought ill of because their children did not eat the way I thought they should -- unless that involved Spaghetti-O's -- there have to be limits somewhere!

But then there is something magical in hugs and kisses and that wonderful little laugh and the way she talks to herself all the time (too much like her Mommy on that one) or wants to hold on to you and have you all to herself.

I love being a domestic housegoddess.

Cutie Patootie

I just wanted to post these because they're darn cute. I took pictures the other day of Chopper and Megan to update her "Daddy Book" before he goes to training.