Update on stuff and more stuff

Windows: yeah, we got stinkin' windows (on order). We've got no stinkin' money left. Sigh. I'll post some photos as the process gets underway (probably September).

VBS: we start this Monday. Wish us luck. We've got 20 people signed up so far. I will be glad when it is all done.

Webelos:  William completed his Bear badge over the summer (Yeah!) and I've got a schedule for the den. Next up: schedule the family meeting to introduce it to everyone.

Coupons: haven't seend much that I have gotten excited about lately. I've been shopping to get what I need when I need it. I went to Trader Joe's today to buy produce and French cheese pizza. They weren't even on sale (that's my point).

Work: so busy I could scream right now. My job is turn this (see photo) into a story on the consumer mobile marketplace.  Yup. Me. A conference room. 56 decks of research. I am either a freaking genius or insane.

Robot-cat: The AWESOME video

It really is amazing the stuff we can do....

Suburbia has been quiet lately. I apologize.

It's been rather insane here. I'm sure it's been the same at your house, too. Getting back from vacation, I felt sure I'd ready to dive into coupon land and blogging with gusto. But a couple of activities has been stealing the wind from my sails:

Webelos
I volunteered to be the Webelos den leader for my son's den. Their current leader was moving and no one stepped in. I have zero experience with Cub Scouts and have been heavily relying on my friend Anne, Webelo leader extraordinaire, for the tips and tricks of all of this. The prospect of setting up den meetings and activities to attain badges, pins, pins that are called badged, belt loops which are also called badges but aren't, Arrows of Light and Super Scout commendations have bowled me over. Planning the invasion of Normandy was a piece of cake compared to this. I have three different handbooks, each over 200 pages long, to read. I've been trained online (twice). I can lead a troop, err, den, of 8 little boys. How did I get to be a grown up? According to Anne, who DOES NOT CAMP, I have to take this den camping in October. When it is cold. To a campsite without heat (but with running toilets). Did you all catch my last camping experience?


VBS: Very Barely Sane
Well, technically, Vacation Bible School. That's the second huge time consumer I volunteered to run this summer. It snuck up on me, really. And then it hit like a snowball.  I bought the Egypt: Joseph's Journey from Prison to Palace kit from Group Publishing. I thought it would be pretty easy to. It was VERY cool. Look at this preview. See how happy everyone is?

Then I realized I hadn't bought their EASY VBS. I no longer wanted to link hands and sing dressed like Cleopatra. It turns out the kit I bought made the filming of the Ten Commandments like a 6th birthday party. This kit required ACTORS. SETS. CAMELS (I am not joking!). I've been running all over creation begging and borrowing crafts and sets and miscellaneous supplies for our church's VBS. I've wrangled volunteers (which is pretty hard for me as I'm not a super people person). I think my skill set in all this is that I am RESOURCEFUL. I found churches and people who had extra stuff to donate. I am making do with little money. My VBS starts in less than 3 weeks and we have THREE people registered to attend.

Windows
Without going into the gory details, suffice it to say you could sent a kid to Notre Dame for FOUR years for what I am paying. Kind took the steam out of free pasta sauce. Then again, that's all I might be eating for a long time.

So forgive me dear readers! I forgot to tell you about the Edy's ice cream for 50 cents a container (I bought 6). I'm drowning my sorrows in Sundae Cone Crunch.  I deserve it!

Not to be outdone, brilliant Catherine 'splains the Library of Congress fountains

So tell us about that optical illusion sculpture, William

My genius child explains the concept to us mere mortals. (Nice camerawork there, mommy!) From the National Sculpture Gardens. Work by Roy Lichtenstein.

Highlights from our DC trip

A little bling from the museum of Natural History. You know, something lying around in Granny's jewelry box that the kids didn't need.

Riding the Metra was a daily occurance for us since our hotel was right across from the King street Metra stop (Old Town Alexandra, VA). The kids loved it but it made me motion sick. I get sick easily on buses, trains, cars...watching the screen as I type this makes me a bit woozy actually.

Mount Vernon was fun and interesting, and am very thankful my MIL suggested we cab it instead of trying to take the Metra AND a bus. It would have killed me.

The US Capital at the painful hour of 8am. We'd snagged a Library of Congress tour for 8:30 and the Capital tour for 11am. 

Here we are inside the Library of Congress. Catherine's lament was that we could not check out any books. Seriously, we almost lost her in there.

 We trekked out to the National Zoo on the hottest day of our trip. This panda was taking a snooze, but there was another one indoors that happily played for the tourists. It was fun to see them, but it was seriously hot.

Just to mark a milestone that I have officially made it into a family vacation photo. Thanks Daddy.

If you trek through the Metra, you will come to know this Metra ticket machine. The epitome of Washington politics; it was designed by committee. Toggle switches, digital readouts, buttons. It is designed to make tourists crazy. Don't even think of using it if you speak another language because it only comes in English. Once you think you've figured it out, be sure to note the little paper signs taped on them telling you the fares you just bought are wrong. Please add 10 cents.

It won't matter, really, since the turnstiles will eat your tickets by mistake. Apparently the entire system runs on cryptic notes scrawled in pen on tickets by gate attendants telling other gate attendants at the end of the line it's OK to let you out.

We were so glad to have reservations to visit the National Archives as the walk up line was two hours long. Be prepared to be disappointed by the Declaration of Independence. Not only is it faded beyond recognition, there isn't a map on the back after all.

From the National Sculpture Garden. Looky there!

 This giant tree was made of aluminum. Catherine loves Modern Art. This place was like a candy store for her.

This is the Museum of American History.

Archie and Edith's chairs. My kids had no idea who they were.

This is the famous viola di amore with its double sets of strings. It isn't American but it was donated by an American. I guess that counts?

We tried this photo 27 times. I gave up.

More from inside the Library of Congress.

It pays to reserve spots ahead of time. This is the tour line for the US Capital. I'd arranged with my Congresswoman a tour in January. I had no wait. Those poor people waited for hours only to be told the tours were full.

Inside the Capital. The people in that fresco are 8 feet tall.

The kids are wearing stickers that let us into the House and Senate chambers. William began to doze off in the Senate chambers and the guard told us to wake him up. Important business here. For 8 year olds, not so much.

We swung by the Museum of Natural History for a little behind the scenes tour since my FIL worked there 49 years ago. This is the great hall.

Me want gum gum.

The Hope Diamond. Just like my engagement ring. Not!

Bugs!

A "fun" moment from the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.  Madagascar hissing cockroaches were available to play with in the Giant Insect exhibit.

The exhibit was sponsored by Orkin.

I kid you not.

There is a giant cockroach on my baby's arm. And she's LAUGHING.