Cold Spaghetti

— Flying direct is ALWAYS preferred.
— No matter how many toys you bring, playing with the fold-up tray is more fun.
— People who are not handicapped or traveling with children SHOULD NOT SIT IN BULKHEAD SEATING. This means you, annoying woman with the Soap Opera Digest and WWJD bracelet. I’m just guessing here, but I’d venture that Jesus wouldn’t plop down in bulkhead while 3 older women in wheelchairs and 2 families with small children shuffle into the back aisles.
— Southwest is a good airline for family travel: priority open seating, kids’ activity books, willing to fill zippy cups early in the flight before beverage service, give drinks with lids and straws to all members of the family (for when that rouge toddler kick knocks everything off your tray).
— Raleigh Durham airport gets a big thumbs down. There is no gas station within 5 miles of the car rental return. We had to drive far away (in morning traffic) and search for a place to fill-up. (Thank goodness we were early.) Then, the rental agency van drop-off is 50 meters from the terminal — separated by a landscaped divider with STAIRS. Big stroller, 6 bags, 2 kids… couldn’t we have been dropped off closer?? Then the Smart Cart dispenser ate our $2 without giving us a cart. I called the 800 number to “request a refund” — not in my best moment, I described the “b” in my name (for which I usually say “b as in boy”) as “b as in bullshit”.
— Flying with kids is really nothing to be scared about. It’s just more of a pain to pack for flight (versus throwing a ton of stuff in the car) and get from each point in a timely fashion when you’ve got kids to worry about.
— Having an extra bedroom and kitchenette in a hotel makes a TON of difference. Free high speed internet (for streaming WWOZ when you need some New Orleans in your day) is a big plus.
— Kids can’t handle long car trips without plenty of stops and exercise. Maybe this is just my kids, but they really can’t be held down too long without all of us suffering.
— We really love minivans.

We think that Brayden is going to adore his older cousin, Will. After just two days, Brayden developed Will’s well-established affinity for hardware.
Sunday afternoon, we took the kids to make a surprise for Nana. I’m posting two pictures that Paul took — Nana knows this much about her surprise so we’re not spoiling anything major. The remarkable thing is that Will wasn’t the one to spill the beans about our secret errand… Paul was!


Will is GREAT with babies and it was no different with Brayden. He loved giving him zerbers, playing peek-a-boo with Brayden’s feet, and tickling him… Brayden laughed and laughed at his silly cousin!


I’m already worried about when they are teenagers and ask for the keys to the car to go out together.

Then a walk to the lake, where I messed around with the camera and took pictures of all the “monsters” Will found.

Nana read Thump Thump Thump and In a Dark, Dark Wood about 47 times. This is not an exaggeration.
The kids played — rolling on the air mattresses, laughing, sharing binkies (Brayden is a master binky-stealer; Kate taunts him to try for it), and reading stories.

A few details…
— Paul’s b-day is May 5th, Kate’s (first!) is May 9th. We had an early birthday for them in a fun cafe in New Bern.
— But first we explored.
— Horses and carriages… churches…playgrounds…old fashion hardware stores…artsy-fartsy galore. Loved it.
— Kids had a great time in the party room at the Funky Cow — complete with a cow-themed farm in the back as a play area.













I got a bit artsy. The black-and-white seemed to work a bit more here. I think that a black and white filter would help the contrast a bit more…? But I like these.


Will loved the minivan. He told us the birthday was for him, too — and that he was now SIXTEEN and could drive.

A few details…
— Brayden is 3 months younger than Kate… but outweighs her by a good 3-4 pounds and has an inch or more on her. He rolls, moves on his stomach, and pounds out intense beats with his feet, which are always moving, or his fist and feet in unison. I am completely in love with him.
— Nana Nancy’s new house has a great playground in the backyard with swing (see below) and sandbox. Will worked very hard to “fix” it so that it was safe for the babies to use.
— One picture, three smiling children? Not in my world. But it was fun to try.

What surprise it has been to find myself at a point in my life where the sight of a new minivan can make my heart skip a few beats.

For this trip, we had Some Serious Stuff (including the mega stroller) so we pushed the limits of Paul’s per diem and splurged an extra few bucks on a minivan. It was a basic Dodge Caravan, no extended “Grand” cabin, no power gear, nothing but the basics… and it was pretty nice.

We tested the ‘van on the open road Friday afternoon, driving down to New Bern, NC. The drive took us about 9 hours — traffic around DC, slow backroads, and frequent stops to let the kids run around — but we made it! Amy, Kevin, and Brayden were already there — I spent the rest of the weekend as paparazzi.

Thursday morning was just one of those rough days. Bathroom accidents. Falling down. Diaper leaks. Upset tummies. Just one of those rough days. And so that was our morning.

Shortly before lunchtime, we headed out to Burke to see Wyatt, Eli & Wylie, who were visiting Wyatt’s family for the week while Eli was in the area for work. (They moved to LA last summer so this was a big deal!) Will continued to have a bit of a tough afternoon, but enjoyed playing pirates with Wyatt in the neighborhood playground. It was great to catch up with them; I always love talking to Eli. Wylie is as sweet as can be — huge beautiful blue eyes, pleasant demeanor, and just a happy little guy. He was adorable being pushed in a swing in the park… and when I took out my camera to take it all in, found that I’d not brought a CF card along. (This is a chronic problem for me. One that drives Paul crazy; much like my penchant for leaving shoes all over the house.) So check Eli’s blog for potential pictures… *sigh*

BUT — I did take out the camera when Randy, Katherine, and Murray came by for a late night snack. The kids were fresh out of the tub and were in great moods (i.e.: overtired and pumped up on adrenaline). We were thrilled that they made such a tremendous effort to see us, despite having heavy work and travel schedules.

Will shared ice cream dibs, sang songs, and loved on Murray.

45 – minutes to park for the Metro ride
45 – minutes to find the car when we returned and I realized I didn’t remember on which of the 6 levels we were parked on

“Mommy, where’s our car?”
“I don’t know, Will. We’re going to keep looking until we find it.”
“Oh. Why don’t we just walk instead?”

The Metro delivered us to Farragut West and the three of us strolled down 18th to the World Bank. It was fantastic to roll into the Bank’s Visitor Entrance with my double all-terrain monster and two beautiful toe-headed firecrackers. Will ran in controlled circles in the corner while I nursed Kate — right there inside the doors on the waiting benches. Robin (my tri-athlete superwoman friend and beloved DDer) appeared like a ball of bright energy — she swooped up Kate, our stroller, and Will one-handed and lead us into the inner sanctum of the The Bank. (If you are unconvinced of Robin’s talents, check this out.)

Calling the eating area of the World Bank a cafeteria is sort of like calling the Ritz-Carlton a motel. It just doesn’t do the experience justice. Choices abound, all of it delicious and very affordable. It was a great lunch. So good that we forgot to visit the Bank gift shop afterward. Will was a champ and remembered to use the potty (rather than have an accident) and was thoughtful enough to even turn out the lights when he was done “because there was no one else in here.” That’s my guy, helping Wolfowitz save on the lighting bill.After our lovely lunch, we went out to enjoy the event we’d been talking about for WEEKS. We went to see THE DINOSAURS. On the way, we walked across the Mall, where I’d hoped to point out all the beauty of our Nation’s museums and buildings of importance.
The pictures below sort of sum up my childrens’ reactions.



Then we got to Natural History. Oye. Apparently, American History is closed for awhile. So allll the school kids go to Natural History. All 12 bus loads of them.
After scoping out the front and sides in detail and not finding the handicapped entrance (it’s on Constitution, I would find out later) — I sucked it up and hauled the kids and the stroller up the front stairs, parting those teenyboppers like the Red Sea. The kids remained asleep — I was delighted thinking about how cool it was going to be to wake up Will and have him open his eyes to see DINOSAURS right in front of him.
That is exactly what I did. And was he excited?? Not in the least. Exciting? Well, apparently exciting is the window displays with the plastic protozoa.
After awhile, he warmed up to the bones. It dawned on me that he probably has no concept of “extinct” and “bones” and likely believes that seeing a dinosaur was going to be like going to the Zoo. I’m surprised that this didn’t occur to me earlier. Actually, I think the enormous skeletal shapes freaked him out a bit.
Kate rolled with it all with usual style.
We stopped in the gift shop for tee-shirts before making it out the less-bumpy handicapped entrance onto Constitution. Rather than walk back to the Mall, we went up 12th to Federal Triangle… directly across from the building I worked in so many years ago.
Will was a little more excited about the Metro train on our ride back.