Natural History Museum

Saturday morning we headed downtown to the Natural History Museum. This is one of our favorites and it had been awhile. Elsa loves animals so we thought she would really enjoy the mammal exhibit but I think it freaked her out. I'm not sure if it was our close proximity to the animals, or the fact that they were real but not moving. But she had fun running around and enjoyed all the other exhibits. Amelia really liked the geology, gems, and minerals exhibit as well as the insect zoo.

Laparoscopic Appendectomies and other delights

After my lovely Friday afternoon date in D.C. with Ben last week, I got a stomach ache that came and went throughout the afternoon. By the evening, I was pretty much in the fetal position on my bed. I could feel a strong pain in one particular area and I knew something wasn't right. The kids were in bed so we called a friend to come over and Ben and I were able to continue our date in the E.R.

After examining me and suspecting appendicitis, the doctor had me get a CT scan. I had to drink 5 glasses of a pink contrast liquid and wait an hour to do the scan. The most painful part of the entire stay in the hospital was getting my IV in. Nurses always have a hard time finding my veins and getting the needle in but this E.R. nurse was particularly terrible. After attempting to "prep" my arm, she finally stuck the needle in and moved it around for what seemed like forever and then finally gave up, took it out, and left the room (to give herself a pep talk? not sure). Usually they try my other arm, which is never any better. But she returned and tried again in the same arm and after poking around for a bit longer, she finally got it in. Ben doesn't do well with needles so his eyes were focused sharply on the TV while I was squeezing the life out of his hand.

Around midnight, diagnosis appendicitis. I was in the early stages so they decided to do the surgery in the morning. Ben headed home and I was admitted to the hospital. After I was injected with some pain meds, I attempted to sleep amidst all those lovely hospital sounds and the constant flow of people coming in and out of the room to check me or my mystery roommate on the other side of the curtain.

Surgery was delayed in the morning because they had an emergency patient before me. It was actually nice just to relax in the hospital, although I had not eaten since noon the previous day and was not allowed to eat or drink. Ben was able to come back for my surgery (thanks to some wonderful friends who watched our kids) and they brought me down to the operating room waiting area around 11 a.m. We waited for another hour while they got everything ready and explained the procedure to us multiple times. They told me they were going to give me something that would make me really relaxed before they actually put me under and that it would cause me to not remember anything. Sure enough, just moments after they brought me into the operating room everything got fuzzy and I was suddenly waking up in the recovery area. They brought me back to my room, loaded me up with pain medication, and then I slept. I was finally offered some ice chips and eventually got a clear liquid diet for dinner. I spent Saturday night there and came home Sunday morning. I was pretty sore the first few days and was pretty much stuck laying down. Monday was a holiday so Ben was home and then he was able to take some more time off to help me and the kids. We also had wonderful friends that brought meals and also helped with the kids. I'm getting around fine now, although still sore and not moving really quickly.

I came home to a fun Welcome Home sign and a spotless house.



Amelia took such good care of me. She followed me around the house with my hospital-issue water pitcher making sure that I had it everywhere I went. She always brought me blankets and stuffed animals and made sure I was comfortable. She was also a really big help with Elsa.



Ben was amazing. One morning he did all the laundry, cleaned both bathrooms, straightened the house, vacuumed, did dishes, and entertained the kids. And brought me flowers.



It has actually been nice to slow down a bit. The first few days home, I really enjoyed just having time to observe my kids and spend quiet time with them. Even when things like this happened:



I loved watching Amelia and Elsa interact. They really love each other and it was nice to slow down for a week and just enjoy them.



And then the medical bills started showing up. And with my appendix went all my dreams of getting a new digital SLR camera.

But now I no longer have to wonder "is it my appendix?"

Restaurant Week. And the last known photos of me with an appendix.

Ben had Friday off so we went out to lunch for Restaurant Week in D.C. We tried a newer restaurant called Ris which was just opened by chef Ris Lacoste who was formerly the executive chef at 1789 in Georgetown, and also an Iron Chef contestant. It was DELICIOUS. And a great deal for a three-course meal. There is something really lovely about afternoon dates. Especially when the weather is so nice.

Appetizers:


Bowl of Mussels in a broth of tomato, chorizo, garlic and herbs with crusty bread...I don't usually go for mussels, but these were really good.


Gnudi (ricotta dumplings on tomato and eggplant fondue with spinach and crisp prosciutto)...soooo yummy...and look at those big flakes of parmesan!

Main course:


Braised Lamb Shank on chick peas, with yogurt, pita, pomegranate, mint and pine nuts (bad photo, but really yummy dish)


Mushroom Pappardelle with butternut squash, roasted chestnuts, Brussels sprouts and Parmesan (more giant shavings of parmesan!!) (It was only recently that I realized they are called brussels sprouts, not brussel sprouts)

Dessert:


German Chocolate Mousse Cake in a roasted banana sauce


mmmm...


Butterscotch Pudding with cocoa crisps and chantilly cream
(A note about this pudding. When Ben took his first bite, he literally went limp in his chair. He couldn't even breathe. Ben loves butterscotch pudding. And this was the world's best butterscotch pudding.)

(Little did I know this would be my last meal for a few days...)

After our phenomenal lunch, we enjoyed a stroll around the Jefferson Memorial to enjoy the fabulous weather. I brought my new Diana Mini along for some photo fun. More photos to come when I get them developed...








This squirrel was so suspicious. And so fat.



After we picked up the girls, we took them to get their second dose of the H1N1 vaccine and Ben and I joined in on the action. After that fun family outing, we needed to enjoy the weather a bit more so we headed to Lake Accotink for a little stroll.

Exploring Space

We needed to escape the house Saturday afternoon so we decided to check out the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Like many places around here, it was free. Unlike many places around here, nobody was there. Amelia and Elsa were the only kids and loved exploring the exhibits. They spent most of their time in the play area that had books, puzzles, and dress-up clothes. Space-related of course. When we drove away, Amelia said "I want to be an astronaut when I get big."

Camping. The winter version.

Last week we were really feeling the gloominess of January. We needed something fun to do and it couldn't involve being outside due to the complete lack of tolerable winter weather. We decided a camping trip in the living room was in order. When I announced this to Amelia, her reaction was over-the-top excitement. Screaming. Jumping up and down. "Can we use our sleeping bags?!!?" "Is it tonight!?!?" "How many days until we go camping!?!?" "Can we go now?!?" I love how excited kids can get over the simplest things. We had successfully eliminated the January funk.

So Friday night we set up Amelia's tent in the living room and got out all of our sleeping bags. We made tinfoil dinners and cooked them in the oven. We had a flashlight dance party in the dark. We watched a movie from the comfort of our sleeping bags. (Okay, not really true to camping, but it was fun.) We made s'mores over the stove. We had a big pancake breakfast in the morning. It was perfect.

Top 100 Tutorials

Time to get busy. The Top 100 Tutorials of 2009 is out. Now to narrow the selection...

The New Year

We went to a fun New Year's Eve party where they celebrated the New Year earlier in the evening for the kids, complete with a balloon drop. After putting the kids to bed at home, Ben and I counted down the actual New Year without too much fanfare. At some point in the weekend, we were able to go out and see Avatar, which we enjoyed.

We started off New Year's Day with our traditional breakfast of chocolate croissants and hot chocolate. It was actually a relatively warm day (not below freezing) so we decided to go hiking. When my family lived in Arizona, we would always go on a hike on New Year's Day. I thought it was a fun tradition (although the weather was more cooperative there) and was glad we could do it this year. We went to Turkey Run Park where they have some nice hiking trails right along the Potomac River. Amelia LOVED the hike and was so proud of herself for doing it on her own. We found a great little sandwich shop in Arlington (Earl's) and enjoyed lunch after the hike.










The trail crossed right over this little river at two separate points.





We are trying to adjust to regular life again. Ben was home for 2 full weeks during Christmas and it was fantastic. Except the part where I threw up every 20 minutes all night long and then passed the bug on to Elsa. But at least Ben was home to take care of us. Now Amelia has come down with something and it's bitterly cold outside. Delightful January.

Homemade Pendants

A few years ago, Ben gave me some wooden tile pendants that he got on Etsy and I have loved them. I finally decided to try and make some as gifts for Christmas this year. You can order all the supplies you need on Etsy (I did some glass and some with scrabble tiles) or you can get some things at the craft store. There are already a lot of tutorials online for making these...you can find one here.



I made little personalized tins to hold each set of pendants: