The Kids' First Play

I attended my first play when I was in high school.  I forget which club I belonged to that organized the trip, but we saw The Phantom of the Opera.  I felt so fancy!  

Our homeschool group had discount tickets to The Kennedy Center and one of the shows was a play geared towards kids age 4 - 7, the exact age of mine!  I wanted to give Simone and Max the same joy I experienced when I saw a professional production. 

This show was inspired by the book "The Gift of Nothing," which is about a cat that struggles to identify and search for the perfect gift for his best dog friend who has everything he needs.  The stage set and score were not as spectacular as what I've seen before, but it was very appropriate for the kids!  Simone and Max loved the show!  I asked them after the performance what they thought of the play and Simone revealed that she kept thinking to herself, "I hope this never ends!"  Max too enjoyed it and never once fell asleep nor whispered to me that he was ready to go home, something he often does in movie theaters ... out loud .... and loudly.   With this show, Max's eyes were glued to the stage.  

Another highlight of the show was dressing up for it.  Simone got to wear her new bolero and Max his new blazer.  Here they are showing off their threads.

Max always has to strike a pose.  Vogue!

Fingerless Gloves

When the weather got colder and I still had to do chores outside, I had a burning need for fingerless gloves.  An amazon search came up only with gloves that cost at least $8.  Not a bad price, but something inside me said I could do it myself for cheaper.   Actually - now that I think about it - I think it was Michael who joked to me that he could make me some fingerless gloves with the aid of scissors.  So it wasn't a stretch to do a DIY project when I came across $1 knit gloves at the discount aisle at Joann's!

I knew that I had to do something to keep them from unraveling but I was not in the mood to knit/sew them at the edges.  Michael had just bought a pack of mini superglues from Home Depot, so I grabbed those and unleashed them onto my gloves.

Bad idea.

The gloves looked fine at first but after 12+ hours, the superglue cured and simultaneously hardened and shrunk the opening with its chemical reaction to the fabric.  I couldn't even force my fingers through the holes!  So I cut off the hardened pieces and thought I would have to just knit the suckers after all.

Enter Michael again with his ideas.  He asked what the material was and I told him it was cotton.  They certainly felt like cotton, but I was wrong.  They were some acrylic / polyester blend and thus able to be burned!  I've seen Michael do this on rope that had a plastic-y layer on it.  Well the gloves had enough synthetic goo woven in it to have the same effect!

It worked!  No more unraveling and the gloves are very functional!  One hand is not as protected as the other because of my failed experiment, but it's better than a fully exposed hand!

Thanksgiving 2014

I have cooked something new for Thanksgiving for several years now.  I had the convenience of a stove and oven and running water.  These are things we didn't have when we made reservations this year to attend the Thanksgiving buffet at The Army and Navy Club in DC.  As the holiday approached, however, I did get the hang of our one-burner propane stove and our new grill that works as an outdoor oven.   But I wanted to try something new for Thanksgiving:  not cooking! 

The entrees were glorious!  Slow-roasted duck with cajun rice, Pan-seared salmon with butternut  risotto, shrimp and squash casserole, chicken breast with creamy grits, green beans almondine, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy, a smoked fish tray, shrimp cocktail, turkey and prime rib.  I ate so much of the first things that I never had turkey!  That's ok because I'm not a fan.  

We dress nicely when we go to the club, but we wanted to step it up a notch for the holiday.  Max and Simone had a lot of fun shopping for their outfit and had equal excitement dressing up.  Michael got Max a proper necktie that one has to assemble (i.e. not a clip-on or rubber band tie).  Max was so eager to put it on but Michael was still in the shower by the time the tie was the next step in Max's ensemble.  To pass the time, Max asked me, "Mommy. can you take a picture of me?"  Of course I could!  After I prepped the camera I looked through the peephole and found a very sophisticated son posing for me.

He really knows how to work it!  I don't remember showing him that this is how a man poses.  It must be a natural talent he possesses to look so cool and composed.

Before we started the buffet, I took a quick picture of the kids on the lobby staircase.  Again, Max posed his arms himself without instruction.   This kid is smoooooth!

Simone was very excited to wear her first bolero.  Being in a more frosty city, I wanted Simone to wear a long-sleeved formal dress.  The problem is there are none to be found!  So many dresses are short-sleeved if there is any material at all to cover a little girl's shoulders.  The couple of warmer dresses looked too casual and didn't have the sheer and sparkly fabric that makes a fun holiday dress for a little girl.  We thankfully found a pretty dress that came with a long-sleeved sweater.

Ah ... the travails of fancy garb.  Living in a bus really does complicate upscale vestment.  Michael doesn't have the room to store his uniforms nor his suits in our narrow space.  He has to retrieve them from his office wardrobe or from storage.  For me, I have two dresses I'm just going to recycle every other time we go out.  It's ok because it's not as if I'm being photographed and cataloged for a fashion magazine.  Even if I were, I would start a shocking trend of wearing the clothes I've bought more than once.   Sacre bleu, such audacity!

Michael commented that this was the best Thanksgiving he had ever had.  I'd have to agree with him because when we returned home, he and I took a 2-1/2 hour long nap while the kids quietly played.  It was a gluttonous day for which I am thankful.  

Playing Rough

Max loves to "play rough" and that just entails wrestling with his daddy.  Michael will throw him around in what looks like brutality, but Max loves it and laughs with such glee as he's tumbling around.   

This afternoon, Max asked once again, "Daddy, can we play rough?" 

Michael:  "Yes, but later."
Max: "You mean like tomorrow?"
Michael: "No, I mean later tonight. Why do you like to play rough so much?  Is it because you're a tough boy?"
Max: "No, it's because I need to work on mah skeeelz (my skills)!"

This video was shot a few months ago, back when Max was not as rough as he is now.  I'll have to shoot a more recent video to show the beating Michael goes through to help his son hone his skills.

Winter is Coming

The first time the morning temperature dropped to 40 degrees, I knew I had to get the kids and myself more durable clothing.  But how durable did it have to be?  Would we have to walk around like puffballs in down?  Or do layers make the most sense.  Michael said we didn't have to go overboard because we weren't living that far north.  From our neighbors' descriptions of the winters here, it's considered mild.  A hefty jacket and boots will do for us.

I splurged and got a nice jacket that matches Simone's!  Max chose a poofy jacket, but regrets it.  He doesn't like to feel bulky.  Michael got a nice rugged jacket from American Eagle.  The kids got boots at Tractor Supply.   A woman at our homeschooling coop mentioned getting snow pants and it worried me that we weren't prepared.  Oh well ... we'll see what happens.  If the kids' pants get wet then I'll just have to take an extra trip up to the laundry house.  From what neighbors say, the snow doesn't stick around too long on the ground.

We Can Pee!

For the longest time we had a toilet but it was not hooked up to the drainage.  It was on our list of things to do but it wasn't as important as getting electricity.  Our daytime movements were no problem because we could just head up to the bathrooms and use those.  However, the trek got tiring in the middle of the night when we would have to tinkle.  We started using the kids' training potty and would go just outside our bus, strategically surrounded by the chairs and tables.  Michael then had the bright idea that we use the potty inside at the top of the stairs so we could have privacy and not have to put on shoes to go outside.  Michael never had these problems because he just whizzed out in nature in the cover of darkness.

This past weekend, Michael assembled the drainage for all the sinks & toilets, and our life has become so much more luxurious!!!!!  We have plumbing for some of our plumbing!  Simone was super relieved to not have to walk up the hill to the bathrooms nor to sit on the little potty.  I was relieved too because I didn't have to throw out the contents anymore of said potty!  

I still have to lug in a tub of water so that we can aid the flushing of our liquids, but that is a small price to pay for the convenience of indoor plumbing.  You can see the tub on the bottom left of the picture.  

We don't do #2 yet in our toilet because we have yet to install our bathroom flooring.  It's already going to stink when we have to pull up the toilet to put the vinyl planks down, but it would have stunk to high heaven if we had to deal with poo.

Bus - New Flooring

We had never finished our flooring in the bus, but we lived with the protected plywood just fine.  It was easy to clean and liquid spills were a cinch to wipe up.  Walking around barefoot, however, just did not sound appealing.  Because of all the markings created to help Michael and me identify the chase and metal framing below, the pattern on the floor was jarring.

A recent to trip to Home Depot was meant for buying supplies for a plumbing project that seemed too daunting to plunge into enthusiastically.  Michael and I found ourselves easily distracted by the rolls of carpet that proposed an easy project that could be completed within a day, faster than finishing the plumbing.  At $1.19/sf, how could we exit Home Depot without a roll in our cart!?  We couldn't so one afternoon, we made our home furnishings much more furnished-looking.

Michael initially observed that the installation made the bus feel smaller.  I couldn't explain the phenomenon but I also felt the bus space was less - less in height to be exact.  We did lose 1/4" to the height of the carpet.  But seriously, I think it was an optical illusion.  One great gain was the feel of the carpet underneath our toes!  Now running around barefoot is glorious!

One day we want to replace the carpet with something like rubber.  Soaking up spills are a problem we didn't have before.  For now though this carpet is just the ticket.  

Washing Dishes

Since we started living in the bus, I've been washing dishes outside.  I had been washing dishes at the laundry room's sink, but quickly stopped that when I saw a neighbor use the very same basin for cleaning his cat's litter box.  Let's all say, "Eww!"  During the Summer, the activity was not a bother because the weather was pleasant!  As the warm weather waned, however, I would avoid doing the dishes too late at night and would sometimes leave them overnight to soak.  Then the colder weather really hit and I then had little desire to wash dishes in the morning and would wait till high noon!  There is a bachelor here who saw me washing dishes in the morning and then saw me doing them a few hours later.  He commented, "You are ALWAYS out here washing dishes."  I wanted to spit out that of course I was out here all the time.  Children and husband use utensils and dishware every meal, you idiot!  And I use cookware to make those meals, numbskull.  But I just laughed and said, "Ha ha ... that's how it goes." 

Anyway, grievance over...

So Michael finished the drainpipes for the sinks and life became much warmer!!  I still have to bring in a tub of water to soak and rinse the dishes, but now I can do the chore in the comfort of the cozy bus - without any comments from neighbors without responsibilities!

Ok, whining really over.

Imagine when we get the faucets running!  Then I'll really be living high on the hog!!

Fall Out Boy

Michael got the kids sleeping bags about a month ago.  They were great and the kids loved sleeping in them.  Well ... Simone actually started using it more like a blanket than a bag in which she sleeps.  Max, however, inserts himself in and snoozes all night like a burrito.   Most nights, he does.  

Unfortunately, we have been woken up twice by the sound of Max falling out his bed. 

Combine the satin-y material of the sleeping bag with Max's propensity to kick and turn a lot in his sleep and we have a boy who slips over the mattress edge and thuds onto the carpet floor.  The first time was a miracle because after he fell, he kept on sleeping!  He is one flexible, bouncing boy!  The second time he felt it and cried a little.  That set Michael on a project to keep his boy tucked in and safe at night.

We pulled out the welding supplies from the storage and Michael made a metal bar that Max can lower at night and raise in the morning.  

Here's what Max thought of Michael's solution!

Blast from the Past - Monster Truck Rally

I found other pictures from Michael's phone that brought back memories!  For Max's 4th birthday, Michael took Max to a Monster Truck Rally!  I was so excited for my little boy because I had always wanted to go to one of those events.  I almost tagged along!  But this was really meant to be daddy-and-son time so Simone and I did something else that day - probably tea. 

They had a good time and Max's ears were well-protected.  He still mentions the outing and is constantly playing with is monster trucks, crashing them into each other repeatedly.  

They threw an RV into the mix!

Buddies

Blast from the Past - IHOP

Michael was working on our plumbing and had to pull out the refrigerator for about an hour to get to the drainage space behind it.  This trapped the kids and me in the back of the bus for about an hour.  To spend my time wisely (doing something other than twiddling my thumbs) I set about trying to solve the dilemma of Michael's poorly charging cell phone.  In my quest I found a treasure trove of old pictures!  

September / October, 2012:  Michael had once taken the kids to IHOP and snapped our two progeny at their finest.

Time Outdoors

As the days get colder and cloudier, we appreciate more the sunny days with a high in the 60s.  I also am more cognizant of the value of spending time outdoors, a commodity quickly waning.  Yesterday, I cut our afternoon TV time and suggested to the kids we bike to the playground nearby before the sun set.  They were overjoyed, but I don't know if their excitement necessarily came with the recognition of the shortening of daylight and warmth.

Michael loves to have a campfire at night but I have been less enthused in the past.  My previous excuse was the presence of mosquitoes.  These past few nights, however, have been the perfect time to sit by a fire to mesmerized by its glow.  The cold has shooed away all blood-sucking insects and our winter coats and boots keep us warm when we venture away from the hearth.  

A recent trip to Ikea helped us round out our outdoor living decor with some vintage-looking lanterns.  

Tonight, we ate our dinner outside!  The kids protested at first but were very content once they got the opportunity to assemble the spaghetti.

After dinner, Michael and the kids enjoyed the fire while I cleaned up.  Don't mistake the look of slumber as a sign of food coma - that is a look of annoyance from the striking flash from my phone's camera.  

In two days the temperature will drop significantly again and stay in the 40s / 50s for a while.  As we huddle in the bus next to our heaters, we can look back at this post and fondly remember the outdoors.  

Fall Colors

Leaves change somewhat on the West Coast, but it's not as infamous as the landscape seen on the East.  When we found out we were moving to DC, I was excited to see what Autumn would do to the foliage.

About a month ago CNN published an article about the best places to see "Fall Colors" and one of the highlights was Shenandoah Skyline Drive, less than two hours away!  But as the days past, I looked around and was enchanted by the trees right in our area!

This picture below is the road we use to get to the supermarket!

Kids on Halloween Sugar

During Halloween Day, our neighbors gave the kids lollipops in the shape of a pumpkin.  Here was the result.

Simone on sugar

Simone photobombs the wacky kid!

Happy to receive sugar!

Maximizing Space - Recycle Center

I love to recycle.  It feels terrible to ignore a simple task of sorting (something preschoolers do all day to develop their skills!) and thereby load the landfills with something that can be repurposed.  But a small home doesn't allow for a lot of space for the recycle bins.  

  Our current recycling center has been where my future captain's chair will be.  It looks unsightly and the space above it could be used for more organization needs.  Enter Michael's superior command of space and the painting expertise of his children.

Voila!  Not only do we have a recycle center, but we have a printing station above and shoe storage underneath!

Promoted enthusiastically by Merida

To Vest or Not to Vest

In 2002, I visited Whistler with my cousin and friend Rozan to have an ultimate snowboarding trip.  My one souvenir was a vest with the resort's logo on it.   Throughout the years, I barely wore it.   I either wore an entire jacket or none at all and the vest lay dormant in my closet.  When we left Northern California for Florida, I would have thrown away the clothing if I had been a more thorough packer and found it.  As it turned out, I was in a stack of bags that I barely had time to sort before we loaded it on the rental truck and drove it along with a dozen other (smaller-sized) clothes from my time as a young adult.

Fast forward to Summer 2014 and our living in a bus has made me donate more and more clothes out of a necessity to downsize.  I saw the vest & a rain suit and was about to donate them when I realized that they might be handy for layering.  I remember holding up the vest and thinking, "How does this help anyone?!?  Unless someone has well-insulated fat arms, they're going to want to cover more than just their core with a vest!   What a silly invention!"

Fall arrives and I'm still fine with my Target sweat jacket.  The rain suit turned out to be so poorly made that the vinyl that had made it water-proof was sticking to itself and peeling off.  I didn't even bother donating it to the thrift shop; I walked it straight to the dumpster.  The vest, however, lay in the bathroom (our current supplement closet) still neither proving invaluable nor ineffective.  

The weather turned more chilly than I had ever experienced when the wind speed reached 25 mph.   My cotton sheathing was no match for the raging tempest!  My thoughts ran not yet to the vest but to a giant woolly mammoth of a jacket that I had to buy at whatever cost to protect my frigid bones.  The next day I wanted to search, but our list of activities was too full and I ran out of time to buy something affordable and nearby.  Feeling illness and body aches coming, I put on as many clothes as I could including the now infamous vest.

By golly, that vest was amazing!!  I was able to protect my chest and neck but still wash the dishes on a high-40 degree morning!  A big poofy, jacket would never allow me the mobility!  

I now wear the vest so much that Simone asked why I love it so much.  It's true.  I love it!  It only took 12 years before I removed the shackles of skepticism and saw it's worth.  I guess it took a dire situation to reveal the diamond in the rough, but better late than never!

Mommy Pants

Living in a small space allows the children more time to get into all the nooks and crannies of our bedroom.  One afternoon, they found my pajamas and thought it would be hilarious to wear them.  

Dentist Time

Pediatric dentistry has come a long way since I was a child.  Granted ... I wasn't scared of my visits, but most kids of my generation were.  Looking back at the 2 dentists we used for Simone & Max and at their recent one, I need not be fearful they will cower at the thought of a dental cleaning.

Many offices are provide TV for the kids during their visits and provide prizes for completing the examination and cleaning.  Because of this Max and Simone are excited when 6 months have passed and it's time again to visit the tooth doctor.  

I don't know if all DC dentists are just super-catered to children or if we were just lucky to find one so devoted to making the visits pleasant, but we hit the jackpot with our new dentist Dr. Ta. 

Upon entering the lobby, the children are greeted with a large screen TV playing a Disney movie.  Off to the side is a little play area that has typical toys to occupy the kids while they wait.  What makes this niche stand out are the electronics provided for the older kids!  There are a video game console and  iPads embedded  attached to the walls with games galore!   The kids sounded a little disappointed when their names were called and they had to tear away from the iPads.

The cleaning itself was pleasant enough.  Their doctor is very soft-spoken, which I think makes the kids feel at ease.  The space theme, motion-activated work light, and sunglasses fascinate the kids.

They were due for xrays and neither fretted.  I usually have an awkward time getting those film to stay put in my mouth without slicing my cheek and gums open.  The pediatric film must be more gentle or smaller because the kids don't complain.  

Luckily neither have cavities!  But Simone's new molars have terrible corrosion on them.  It's from when she was given powerful antibiotics when she was little (this was when her fever reached 106!).  We're waiting for all 4 molars to emerge from the gums before the doctor suggests our next plan of action.  They might have to drill a bit, but they will definitely put a cap on them.   Hopefully they will be white and not metal!

Halloween 2014

I was a little concerned that Halloween this year would not be festive because of our housing situation.  I need have been worried because the kids enjoyed the season!  First off, we went to a pumpkin patch and got pumpkins.  Last year, I think we got our pumpkins from Home Depot. 

Second, we decorated the bus with googly eyes.  Simone made a terrifying mouth that included a frightened girl and boy that resembled her and Max. 

Third, I finally carved pumpkins without having the lids fall in!  I got really into this year!  The kids didn't do any carving, but had a chance to decorate extra ones that they got at a homeschool fall festival.

I thought they might not be able to have a costume, but we were able to think of things that didn't require a giant purchase of another bulky costume.  Simone was about to be a vampire princess using fangs and a renaissance-type dress that she had gotten when she was 5 years old.  But as we were sorting through our storage, she found her old Merida dress and decided to be the Scottish princess instead. 

There were not as many kids in the campground as there were earlier in the month so I took Simone and Max to a street on base that had a lot of decorated houses.  I was relieved that they didn't fuss about not having a proper Halloween basket.  I didn't want to buy something so bulky that would just clutter our little living space.  Luckily, our kids are understanding and were quite content with the bags we had lying around.  Simone chose a canvas one lying under the sink and Max chose the biggest and brightest plastic one we had. 

It got cold so quickly that we only went to 10 or so houses.  All in all, we were probably gone 15 minutes.  Max is now recovering from the cold evening by taking a 3 hour nap.  He doesn't have a fever but I think his body feels run down from the extremities, the sugar, and the excitement of Halloween. 

I'm very proud of the kids this year because they greeted everyone with a "trick or treat!"  There was only one house that Max did not approach and it was because of all the frightening props that littered the lawn.  I can't blame the little fellow - Freddie Kruger is pretty gnarly0looking.   Simone wore her wig but did not bring her bow.  "It's only going to get in the way (of getting candy, I assume)."  Max didn't want to wear a mustache again because he felt too self-conscious when he wore one the day before.  I tried to assure him that the darkness would hide his facial hair, but he was not convniced.

When we returned, the kids stayed inside the bus and devoured their loot.  Michael had prepared a campfire while we were gone so I stayed with him and enjoyed the warmth with a little bit of wine. 

Another successful All Hallow's Eve!