On April 11, 2010, I had the chance to realize a (small) goal I’d had since high school: Complete the Cherry Blossom Ten Miler in Washington, D.C. I’d read about the race in Runner’s World as a high schooler, and it sounded like one of those races every serious runner must have on her resume. So I resolved to add it to mine at some point.

As luck would have it, my first six years in DC did not allow fulfillment of that goal. April 2004, I ran the Paris Marathon. April 2005, I got married. April 2006, I was 7.5 months pregnant. April 2007, I was in Germany for my Oma’s 80th birthday. April 2008, I ran the Boston Marathon. April 2009, I knew I’d be 3.5 months postpartum and not in prime running shape.

And, as luck would (again) have it, the 2010 race was, for the first time ever, entry by lottery only. . . and I never win ANY random drawing. I figured entering the lottery was almost pointless, but, SURPRISE! My “group”- which included Caleb, our friend Janel, and me- was selected!

Caleb’s friend Mickey was in town for race weekend, so we even had built in childcare (from a brave bachelor!). Caleb and I headed off early on a Sunday morning:

And took in the Mall at sunrise one last time:

And then met up with friends from church who were also running:

Caleb, meanwhile, was VERY bogged down by extreme crowds. The purple wave not only ended up being a catch all for the slowest runners and those without qualifying times, but it also became the “lowest common denominator” for faster runners wishing to run with slower members of their group. He knew from the beginning he’d never be able to break through the masses to run a strong time, so he settled on good company and conversation with another church friend. They finished the race together, smiling despite working to avoid stepping on any toes (or heels) for ten miles:

Many of us regrouped post-race to cool off, and a number of us even dared to show up at church in our sweaty running clothes! (Don’t worry- we sat in the balcony, far away from the showered congregants!!) In our defense, we had to attend as Simona and the other children were singing during the service.

Of course, Mickey did a great job getting the kids dressed and to the church– we had no doubts he’d take naturally to parenting.

To round out the race report, it seems my lottery luck continues. Another running goal of mine is to complete each of the “world marathon majors”- Chicago, Berlin, London, NYC, and Boston. So far, I am 3 of 5.
Entry to the NYC marathon also is gained by winning a random lottery, unless you have entered the drawing unsuccessfully for three consecutive years. Then the race organizers finally take pity and grant you automatic entry for your fourth year. I entered unsuccessfully last year and was already planning on running by default on my fourth try (in 2012). In fact, I even promised Caleb after the Berlin marathon in September 2009 that I would take a break from marathoning for a couple of years. So convinced of my lottery luck was I that I even told him to plan on London in April 2012 and NYC that November. SO, I was shocked to learn in early April that I AGAIN got lucky and got into NYC this year- on only my second try! HOWEVER . . . I will be keeping my word to Caleb and deferring my entry to 2011 (more on that to come).

But in the meantime, I’m headed out to play some Powerball. Don’t even bother to wish me luck– I’m on a roll all on my own.

Today was a good game. The Nationals beat the Dodgers 1-0, with the only run coming in the 1st inning. The rest of the game saw plenty of good defensive plays and some great pitching. Our starter went 7 innings, our set up man pitched a perfect 8th, and our closer made it a bit interesting but got the job done in the 9th.

It was our first game of the season at Nats Park, and it will also be our last of this season. Simona has been excited about this day since October. Seriously. And though the weather forecast was foreboding (hail, severe thunderstorms, etc.), it turned out to be a great day to be at the ballpark. We went with two other families, and, despite the three 3-year-olds and four 1-year olds, we had a fun time.

Going to games has been a special Washington tradition for our family, and leaving the stadium felt like a sad goodbye. We move in nine days.

Now, back to the list: Since we will soon be moving, I am realizing more and more that I take so much for granted here in DC. Here is a smattering of what I love about this city:

*WCF.  Our church, Washington Community Fellowship, has become our extended family here in DC. It is affiliated with the Mennonite church but considers itself “multi-denominational.” That means that folks can join the church but retain their own denominational affiliation, which adds a vibrancy and depth to the various ways we worship. We will miss the

*Sitting out.  Many of DC’s row houses have porches, and neighbors frequently “sit out” on their porches on warm evenings.  It’s been a great way to get to know neighbors and watch the neighborhood, and it’s a particularly refreshing end to those really hot summer days.

*Charlie & Dave. These are the radio announcers for the Washington Nationals, and we LOVE listening to them call games. Charlie has an amazing ability to build suspense and then let loose when the play unfolds, and Dave has a seemingly endless wealth of baseball knowledge. Of course, we’ll miss the Nats (and their beautiful stadium, too), but they’ll be visiting us in Atlanta from time to time.

*Gravelly Point. This is a park in Arlington, VA, is right by DCA- Reagan National Airport. It’s nice to be outdoors along the Potomac, but standing right underneath the path of planes landing and taking off is quite a rush.

*Museums. The Smithsonians provide endless free fun for young and old alike. Our personal kid-friendly favorites are the National Zoo, the Air & Space Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. Where else can you take your kids to see dinosaurs, rockets, or live elephants all for free, and all in the same day?

*Music. The city is the ideal place for free, outdoor summer concerts. The Navy and Army bands regularly play on or around the Mall, and the National Symphony Orchestra often does a free outdoor concert at Carter Barron Amphitheater. It’s hard not to take it for granted!

*The size. DC is large enough that it has all the amenities one could ask for in a big city, but small enough geographically and population-wise that it’s not uncommon to bump into friends or acquaintances fairly regularly. Running into a church friend at Home Depot on a Saturday morning loans a bit of that “small town feel” to urban life.
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Kid Update: Simona is creatively dancing and imaginatively playing all the time. (She has some sweet moves, mostly learned from her father- heh heh.) Andreas is STILL not walking– he’s taken his “first steps” about 20 times, only to decide that he really does prefer crawling. I’m somewhat tired of the laundry and mess created by him being on the ground constantly, but surely he’ll be upright soon enough. . .
Also, our Picasa, which we use to sort & upload pictures, has been acting up lately, so we will update pictures once Picasa has been repaired. Thank you for your patience!

1. Caleb is handy.

2. Caleb is a thoughtful man of God.

3. Caleb is a wonderful father.

4. Caleb was brave enough to come to my bridal shower (in Iowa, since many of the women there were his family’s friends).

5.Caleb can change the oil in our car.

6. Caleb has good aim.

7 & 8. Caleb can soothe a baby with his pinky finger AND can rock an umbrella-hat.

9. Caleb has a great smile.

10. Caleb has that Iowa charm.

11. Caleb takes his job as big brother seriously, never missing a chance to give baby bro a hard time.

12. Caleb is a sports fan and instills the same in his children.

13. Caleb supports me in my marathoning endeavors.

14. Caleb is a good pillow.

15. Caleb plays soccer.

16. Caleb is a bit of a redneck. :-)

17. Caleb looks good with a beard.

18. Caleb got us tickets to the opening game at Nationals Stadium!

19. Caleb is fun (and much better than me at croquet!).

20. Caleb can be a little boring. :-) (Actually, Caleb has the patience to read so many books that our kids can’t keep their eyes open anymore.)

21. Caleb has fully embraced raising our kids as German-speaking and has been learning the language himself. And he doesn’t believe it, but he is doing an amazing job of learning German.

22. Caleb was the only family member besides Mom who made it to Dad’s U.S. citizenship ceremony.

23. Caleb would make an excellent giraffe.

24. Caleb is a good dancer.

25. Caleb is a loyal friend.

26. Caleb loves the outdoors.

27. Caleb boldly lets me cut his hair. . . sometimes a bit too short!

28. Caleb is scholarly.

29. Caleb is a good sport.

30. Caleb is my best friend.

Happy birthday, Caleb! We love you!

We did have a few small “incidences” along the way.  Our flight from DC to Newark was delayed, and we were in danger of missing our connection to Hamburg.  So I was rebooked on a “just in case” itinerary that would have taken us from DC to Newark, Newark to MADRID, and Madrid to Hamburg.  Not only is Madrid NOT AT ALL on the way to Hamburg, but such a route also would have taken an extra 12 hours.  Now, I’ve always wanted to go to Spain, but definitely NOT by myself with two children and with a limited supply of diapers / food / Euros!  Thankfully, all went well and we caught our connection in Newark.  Still haven’t made it to Spain, but someday. . .

And on the way home, we missed our Newark-DC connection but were easily rebooked on the next flight out and made it home without further problems.  Again, the kids were amazing.

Our time in Deutschland was great.  We ate LOTS, trying to (literally) cram in all of our favorites in a limited amount of time.  We spent a few days traveling to Dresden, Leipzig, and Berlin, which were great.  Being there almost exactly 20 years after the fall of wall was great timing; unfortunately, two little kids are not all that interested in exploring the historical significance of these cities.  So, we took in what we could and focused on enjoying time together as a family.  We’d definitely take the chance to return to these cities to see some more, but we also think our next few years of family vacations will emphasize kid-friendly activities over touristy sight-seeing.

The time in Glueckstadt was fun but too short, as always.  It’s been amazing to see our children get to interact with their great grandparents, and we are trying hard to take advantage of that for as long as possible.  Simona got to attend a German preschool for a morning, which she loved.  Andreas sampled his first ice cream, and both of them got spoiled by family.  Caleb and I particularly enjoyed sitting with Nancy’s Dad and Oma in the evenings, telling stories, drinking beer (or water!), and eating Schwarzbrot.

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Other updates:  As mentioned we lost our camera in Germany.  We do have pictures to upload and hope to do that soon.  (These are from my dad’s camera and from our video camera.)  My parents generously gave us their old digital camera, but we need to figure out how to get pics off the camera and onto our computer, so post-Germany pictures may be a while in coming.  We’ll try to stay on top of it!

But all of that is “fluff” for a later post.  This post is dedicated solely to the lessons we have learned while home (or home away from home) in Deutschland.  So, in no particular order:
1.  Patrick Swayze ist tot.  Swayze’s death was quite the news story in Germany.  The day we spent 6 hours in the car, we heard radio updates on his death every twenty minutes or so (along with LOTS of Dirty Dancing music).  Google the above phrase, and you will find YouTube videos commemorating his life, which was apparently VERY important to the Volk of the Vaterland.
2.  Double, triple, extra quadruple check that you have your camera before you get in the car to go somewhere else.  Losing it means losing not only the money spent on it, but also the memories from the pictures that were but not yet downloaded.  Very disappointing.  (However, we can take photos with our video camera, so hopefully some of those will be coming your way soon.)
3. Come to Germany on an empty stomach.  Or, better stated, come to Oma’s on an empty stomach.  She cooked with all her might, ensuring that we sampled each and every of our favorite German recipes at least once.  (And by sample, I mean ate an entire army’s worth of each dish.)

4.  Make sure you know which way the wind is blowing before going on a bike ride along the river.  Riding a bike on the dike into the wind is nearly impossible.  If you should choose to do such a thing for fun, you most assuredly want to ride INTO the wind first and have it at your back on the way home.

5.  It is never too cold, windy, or rainy to hang the laundry on the line.  Nancy knew this lesson, having spent many, many summers in Schleswig Holstein.  Caleb and the kids, however, had some lessons to learn about laundry and what constitutes “nice weather” in this region.

6.  Guidebooks take you to places like the local palace, filled with lore and history, but fail to include the truly important destination:  the playground.  Our independent, unstructured research project has confirmed that kids don’t care what city you’re viewing, how majestic or historically important its sights are, or when a church or castle was built.  They just want to check out the local jungle gym, swing set, or slides.

Finally:

7.   No matter how optimistic you are about recovering from jet lag, be sure to multiply its impact on your kids by at least 17.  A three-year-old and nine-month-old can tag team quite nicely to prevent you from getting much sleep for several days on end.

And since they are, in fact, both asleep at the moment, it is time for us to do the same.

Bis Spaeter!

I, on the other hand, just returned from my own solo drive to Maine with my 2 children, ages 3 and 6 months.  My round trip mileage was about 1,482.  I suddenly have a profound understanding of what a challenge that must have been, and frankly, I have no idea how she survived.  My own trip nearly did me in.

Below are timelines of the drive TO Maine.  I know this may be tedious to read, but believe me- in some ways, that’s the whole point.  And please note, this was the GOOD part of the trip.  Stay tuned for tomorrow’s edition:  The nightmarish trip home.
THURSDAY:

7:30 AM- Depart home precisely on schedule.  Enter Maryland.

8:00 AM- Daughter throws up.  Stop for cleanup and a change of clothes.

8:25 AM- Back on the highway.  Start singing every children’s song you know.  Pass through Delaware and enter New Jersey.
9:15 AM- Run out of children’s songs.  Start telling stories.
10:10 AM-  Make first “short” pit stop to use the bathroom, change a diaper, and nurse the baby.

10:40 AM- Back on the highway.  Resume children’s stories.

11:20 AM- Both children fall asleep.  Rejoice.  Enter New York.
12:45 PM- Both kids are awake.  Stop for lunch, bathroom, nursing, and gas.

1:25 PM- Back on the highway.
2:40 PM-  Enter Connecticut.  Make another “short” stop at the Welcome Center.

3:15 PM- Back on the highway.  Follow GPS through endless turns.  Begin to second guess GPS.

4:07 PM- Wonder how you can be in such a small state for such a long time.

4:25 PM- Stop for another “quick” potty break.

4:42 PM- Back on highway.  Pass through Rhode Island and enter Massachusetts.
5:30 PM- Complete an 8 hour drive in 10 hours.  Congratulate yourself on an amazing trip.  Nurse starving but patient baby.

FRIDAY:

11:15 AM- Depart Plymouth, MA and head for Logan Airport.  Immediately get stuck in traffic jam.

12:45 PM- Pick up Opa at Logan, about 40 minutes later than planned.  Depart for Maine.

12:45 PM- Stop for gas.  Spend the next 20 minutes trying to find a fast food joint for lunch.

1:00 PM- Grab a “quick” lunch at a sit-down Italian restaurant.

2:10 PM- Back on the highway.  Pass through New Hampshire & enter Maine.

2:30 PM- Get stuck in massive traffic jam on the Maine Turnpike.  Count your blessings that Opa is in the car and on “entertainment” duty.
2:42 PM- Think about the fact that Caleb has just recenly boarded a plane to come to Maine.  Wonder if he will beat you to Aunt Nancy’s house.
3:55 PM- Finally pass accident causing traffic jam.

4:42 PM- Stop on the side of the Maine Turnpike for daughter to pee in grass.
5:03 PM- Arrive.  Say a prayer of gratitude.  Nurse starving baby.

5:58 PM- Caleb arrives.  Inwardly slightly resent how fresh and unfazed he seems by his trip to Maine.

Over the past few weeks, her latest game has been to get out ALL the pots, pans, and lids, some utensils, and her play food to “cook.”  I have found myself diligently checking the microwave, oven, toaster oven, and random pots sitting on the stove to make sure they don’t have any plastic food in them before I turn them on.  It creates a bit more work, but she enjoys it, and I enjoy our “picnics” with delicious “food” that I did not have to prepare.

So of course I thought nothing of it last week when she told me she was going to cook some eggs for breakfast.  I thought I’d have about 10 minutes to get a quick shower while she played with the pots, and when she came upstairs to tell me that she had spilled a bit, I still naively thought we were “playing.”  Until I made it downstairs and saw this:

Fortunately for all of us, I was in a good enough mood to laugh rather than scold, and she was in a good enough mood to play (something other than cooking) while I cleaned.  I was actually quite impressed with the three eggs she got into the pot with minimal shell pieces:

Out of 15 eggs in the fridge, we salvaged about 8, ate 3, and cleaned the rest up off the floor.  And the egg sandwiches we had for lunch were delicious.

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Other updates:  January photos are now up.  I’m working on February photos.  Simona is currently on her first vacation without Mama or Papa, as she is spending four days visiting Oma and Opa in Georgia.  (This explains why I have time to update the website.)  She is having a blast, but I miss her and am looking forward to her return on Wednesday!

. . . Mama and Papa drag you to church, the playground, the grocery store, your sibling’s playschool, brunch, playdates, and more in your first month of life.

. . . your breakfast/lunch/dinner/snack is delayed while Mama helps your sibling change / go to the bathroom / climb up / climb down / eat / flll in the blank. . .

. . . all of your diapers have been pre-worn by your sister’s dolls.

. . . you catch your first cold at only four weeks old; and

. . . your parents are too busy to update the website with new photos of you, even though you are a full month old!

(New photos coming very soon– we promise!)