The Washingtonian

What an eventful week!  Snow and more snow and more snow and more snow. It is just crazy.  They never have this much snow.  Outside of a seafood restaurant they built a big snow lobster and spray painted it red.  It's just like building a sand castle...NOT! Wednesday the roads were really nasty.  We decided to stay at a friend's house in Somers after I picked the kids up from school.  We know them through Dave's job.  The wife so graciously took us in and fed us.  We are so blessed to have them.  I was scared to death to ride on these slushy, icy roads. Not to mention these hotel walls were getting to me, so I was happy to have a change of scenery. This is where we got our first lesson in snow shoveling.  I will post a picture of my car buried.  Luckily, the driveway was plowed for us. The snow is so thick, when Maggie walked in it yesterday she lost both of her shoes. They had a 2 hour delay at school that morning. ...

I just brought the girls to school again.  Maggie is still very nervous, forcing her to get sick in my car this morning in car rider line right before the teacher opened the door.  She is not my nervous child.  She is the kid that is so laid back.  Nothing ruffles her feathers. I don't get it.  Believe me, she is entitled.  It's huge to be the new kid.  So we are taking it day by day.  Julia loves it and is not nervous a bit.  We were invited to a birthday party last night. Maggie was in school for one day and received the invite.  She was thrilled to be there. It was at an ice skating rink. The girls surprised me. The were just as good as the locals!  We will definitely go back.  They had so much fun.  I was able to meet the parents and children in her class.  Again, everyone is so nice. I am sorry to complain about the weather again, but this morning it was negative 5 degrees. When I said last week that the cold w...

The low tomorrow is 2 degrees. The cold here is a bitter cold. It is like nothing I've ever experienced.   As long as the windchill is above 15, the children go out to recess at school.   When I grew up in St. Bernard, you could wear shorts most Christmases. So it is quite different. Even in Georgia, Maggie wore a bathing suit under her clothes year 'round. You never know! It is now the weekend. Dave had to be in Atlanta last week for work and has to be there this week coming for the movers so he just decided to stay.  The girls and I are in the hotel going a bit stir crazy.  Don't get me wrong, I have not made a bed or taken out the trash in 2 weeks. I could get used to that! Yesterday was ok (they had a snow day, AGAIN).  That makes 3 snow days in the last 2 weeks.  More than usual for this area. Even the locals have had enough of the snow. The kids played here and I watched tv all day. Partially because I was bored but partially bec...

We woke up this morning to the news of our new school being closed for a snow day. It was actually the ice on the roads that was so dangerous. My Cherokee County friends are familiar with that! I'm really nervous about driving up there. I definitely do not need ice in the mix. Julia was disappointed, needless to say. We will try again tomorrow! We walked to Target today.  We are beginning to have cabin fever!  There was freezing rain and we did not pack an umbrella.  One thing that I am not accustomed to is paying for parking. I disagree with it in certain places...a mall, target, a grocery store. I understand paying for parking at a special event, but everyday errands is a bit much.  I think it is downright crazy. Well, you know what is craziER...walking to Target in the icy rain without an umbrella!  I now know why people pay to park at Target! Lesson learned! Just fyi, we bought umbrellas for the walk back. Now we are ready!

We are at Dave’s office in Stamford, CT. Corporate world, at least for Dave’s company, is awesome. There are tv’s, couches, a kitchen and even a bar! I remember once when I was student teaching, my teacher friend had to eat her salad on a coffee filter because the teacher’s lounge had no plates! Funny how things are different in different fields! The girls think that this is the best!   It might have something to do with the unlimited snack supply! We will hang out here while he works. No one is here today because it is a holiday but he needed to get a few things done. There is a mall connected to the office building so I’ll take the kids for a walk and go to get Julia a few school supplies at a Target nearby. Yesterday we enjoyed the company of some friends. Dave’s co-worker had us over for dinner and to have the kids play.   They have 2 boys. They got along great. They had a blast in the snow. They built forts with tunnels and went sledding down a bunny slope! ...

Today we went down to the city.  We walked from the hotel to the train station.  There started the observations/people watching.  We were sitting waiting for our train and a guy loudly tells the woman next to him "I'm waiting for my friend, he's coming from Grand Central...." and he goes on.  She ignores him and scoots over. He then makes eye contact with me and repeats himself. I am thinking to myself, do I look away now and take that womans lead, respond to him, what should I do? What do I know? I am not from here. So, like a true southerner I smiled and said "that's nice".  Then he got Dave's attention and he went on to tell us about his birthday and where he grew up.  He then gave us a map and told us that he did not have any snacks for the girls but he can show us on the map how to get to the American Girl store because he thinks they will like that.  He circled on the map where we should go. Interesting. Nice guy. We then got...

Today we went up to tour Julia's school. We met with the principal and he showed us around. There are about 800 kids there for just 3rd, 4th and 5th grades. Julia is excited. She has the opportunity to play a string insturment this year. When we got home (or got to the hotel), my phone rang and it was Julia's teacher introducing himself.  He seems very nice.  She is excited to have a male teacher. She's never had one before (besides for specials).  I drove myself today, I made a few wrong turns, but the Garmin got us back on track.  Dave got back from Philly (I spelled it right this time) and we went to dinner at a hibachi restuarant around the corner. It was very good.  Maggie says at dinner "It's so amazing to see their talent" speaking of the hibachi cook as he builds his onion volcano. I hope she is always able to see the good in people.  I think that is a gift she has now as a child. I teared up a little at dinner. I just really miss my home ...