Bonjour from Paris!

Right now we are resting after our third long day in Paris. Halfway there! Crazy to think that after all of this time waiting to arrive, our trip is already halfway done. But enough thinking about it ending - here's a quick recap of all we have done!

Monday: arrived late to Paris due to plane delay and further runway delay due to de-icing the plane. Finally got to our hotel just after noon on Monday, and were able to check in, shower, change, and head out. We went to the Ile de Citee, just across the Seine from our hotel and saw a few famous sites: Saint Chapelle (although the inside was closed; we were able to see that today) and Notre Dame being the two biggies. Yummy early dinner, and then passed out due to jet lag

Tuesday: explore Paris! We took the Batobus up the Seine to the Eiffel Tower, walked across the Seine to the Trocodero (many photos there!), then up to the Arc de Triomphe, and down the Champs-élysées back to the river. After a leisurely cruise back (during which we got to see the front of Notre Dame, which we had missed the previous day), rest then dinner. Afterwards myself, Evan, and Kathy headed back up to the Trocodero (this time by metro) with our sturdy tripods in hand (hers more so than mine; this thing is done after this trip!) to take night photos of the ET. It was gorgeous. Home late, then Skyped with the kids before heading to bed

Wednesday: up early to catch the train out to Versailles. All I can say is: wow. A huge palace (chateau my ass!) in the country for the king(s) complete with hunting grounds, separate refuge palaces (from the palace which is itself a refuge from the city!), and 250 acres of private gardens, fountains, statues, etc. I don't think I have ever walked so much in one day in my whole life. The rooms were beautiful, the grounds stunning, and it was definitely worth the trip. We returned home to catch entry into the Saint Chapelle before it closed (I think that is the first place I have ever walked into where my jaw dropped upon entry. You will see why soon). After a brief rest we were back out for a delicious dinner and now resting again before we hit the town tomorrow!

In between all or this we've eaten delicious food, of course. We're probably each on about 3 baguettes a day (between bread at breakfast, for sandwiches, and at dinner). We've each only had two crepes so far (need to get that count up, as wow are they delicious!), and probably not eaten nearly enough food during the day for the walking we are doing. But it's all been amazing.

By here at the end of day 3 I have taken 1,068 photos (and that doesn't include the ones I deleted straight off my camera due to blurriness, bad exposure, etc). I've posted a few of the ones I took with my phone, but have not yet begun to cull those from my camera. I have my work cut out for me, but wow are they going to be worth it.

I'm going to miss these kids!

Well, tomorrow we leave for a week in Paris with our very good friends Kathy and Eric. We've been looking forward to this trip for months, and it's finally about to happen! We're scrambling to make sure everything is done before we head to the airport tomorrow evening, and I think we're set, or as set as we can be at this point. The biggest negative is leaving the kids for a week; since this is our anniversary trip there was no way we'd be bringing them, but it's always hard to leave. They are going to have a blast with Grandma Lynn for the week, and I know we're leaving them in fantastic hands. But tonight at bedtime when Natalie broke down telling me how much she was going to miss us, and she didn't want us to go...wow was that hard. So, to make myself feel better about leaving them, check out these great photos I took of them over the past couple of weeks. Every now and again I like to play with light and angles when I'm photographing them, particularly inside, and getting shots when they aren't really paying attention to me (and hence showing a "fake" smile or face) is always fun too. Who wouldn't miss these beautiful faces?!

 During these next two photos, Henry was completely absorbed in the game he was playing on my iPad. Hence the different lighting on his face.

 

At the same time, Natalie was playing some games on Disney Junior's website on my computer. She's so proud of herself for learning how to use the computer! She can't navigate everything yet, as she can't read everything yet, but she's getting there!

 

I've worked damn hard

....and the results are showing! Last fall I posted on Facebook that I finally fit back into the designer jeans I bought at a jeans party in NYC in 2005. What's a jeans party you ask? A random guy brought boxes of (likely stolen) designer jeans to a random girl's apartment (a friend of a friend) and tried them on in her living room (about 50 girls crammed in there) and paid cash for the ones we want. A NYC experience if there ever was one!

I bought a pair each of Seven for All Mankind and Citizens for Humanity. Wore the crap out of those jeans in NYC, and then once I got pregnant with Natalie...that was it. Even afterwards, when I was back to a weight that I felt good at (summer of 2009), I hated how I looked in them. Muffin top galore. But, I couldn't bring myself to get rid of them - I had spent decent money on these designer jeans, and I was holding out hope that one day they would fit again.

After having Henry, I stayed around 150 pounds...I just couldn't drop the weight. I tried once to put the jeans on, and it was laughable. Or cry-able (is that a word?). But again, I kept them (partly through Evan's advice, as he knew I'd regret getting rid of them), but they were relegated to the back of my daughter's closet, where I keep some clothes that I don't wear very often (like fancy dresses).

About a year ago, I started making an actual effort to lose weight. I (almost completely) stopped drinking soda. I started exercising more regularly. I used a calorie-counter app. I actually used my Wii Fit when I couldn't leave the house to exercise. I cut back on how much food I eat. Last fall I hit around 140, so I thought it was time to try the designer jeans again. And what do you know - they fit! I actually felt good in them. Particularly the Citizens, as they had always fit the best; the 7s were still a little snug but good with a loose shirt. Then, I continued to lose some weight; I've lost total about 20 pounds. Not that much for a year, I know, but it gets me down to almost 130 pounds, which I haven't weight since I was about 17 years old. And I noticed that the Citizens were actually a little too big! They don't stay up very well anymore. So, back to the 7s, which I never felt comfortable in. Here's the result today...EIGHT YEARS after I originally purchased these jeans.

I hate how much they cost, but designer jeans do amazing things to your rear.

And now, a shot that I never thought I would take, much less post publicly - the belly. Not a muffin-top to be seen. I'm almost feeling confident enough to wear an actual bikini again this summer (although I do still feel that in my 30s, with the kids hanging on me, a true bikini may not be the best idea, but at least a skimpier tankini!).

The hard work has paid off. Now here's hoping that I don't blow it in Paris next week with all of the amazing pastries and bread I will be eating :)

Harpers Ferry, WV

Two weekends ago we had to get out of the house for a few hours during the open house we held to sell our townhouse (which worked; the next day we had the offer that we ended up accepting!). We wanted to go someplace relatively local (i.e. not drive into DC) where we could also take the dog (so museums were out), and would offer something fun for the kids. I'd heard good things about Harpers Ferry, WV, so we packed everyone up and drove the 30-ish minutes out there. Despite the cold and wind, we had a really great time - I'm looking forward to going back when it's warmer!

The town is adorable, and we were fortunate that so much was open on a Sunday before high season.

We parked at the train station, and then headed down towards the river overlook to watch the trains that came by!

Four trains total came through while we were there; this was the first one and we were fortunate to be near the river when it passed (we saw two others from farther away; the fourth we couldn't see based upon where we were at the time). The kids were so excited to see it!

 

The train trestle was really pretty, and came out from a tunnel through the mountain. Right next to the train track is part of the over 2,000 mile long Appalachian Trail (you can see people walking on it below).

 I took the family up on the trail (despite Evan's worries while we were there!); it was really cold, but very pretty. Even Calla loved it!

 After walking off of the bridge, we headed down to the overlook where the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers come together. I would have loved to stay there a lot longer, but again it was just way too cold.

 To get the cold out of our bones, we hit up a quaint diner in town for a snack and some hot chocolate.

 ...oh yeah, and the kids wanted ice cream. They're crazy :) Natalie was excited when she realize that it was the first full cone of ice cream she'd ever had (normally she has a cup with a spoon).

 

Henry, however, stuck to cup and spoon. I know better than to give that kid a cone!

American Museum of Natural History

About two and a half weeks ago we spent the weekend in NJ. I had two days of visits scheduled in New Brunswick, NJ on Monday and Tuesday, so we decided to spend the weekend together up there before then. Plus, we hadn't seen Evan's parents in a little while and likely won't for a couple more months, so it all worked out quite well!

We had all day Sunday to spend together, and Evan's mom had the idea to go to the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. As we're always up for any reason to go into the city, we were on board! We ended up spending about 4 hours at the museum, and really had an excellent time. I've got a ton of photos to share; many of them were my attempts to capture the various displays (primarily animal exhibits), and I'm going to post many of them on the photography blog soon. Here I will post my couple of favorites, and then just focus on the kids :)

We started in the North American wing; the kids really enjoyed looking at all of the animals. Henry was a bit freaked out by the larger of the animals (such as the bear to the right), but after realizing that everything was behind thick glass he got over his fear and went right up to them.

We all had a lot of fun telling the kids about each of the animals, and seeing the excitement on their faces as they found more animals at each new display. I had a lot of fun/work trying to get good quality photos of these guys behind glass, without much reflection (you can see a tiny bit on the bear's arm, for example), and without bothering the other museum guests. I think on the whole it went well, but it certainly took a lot of work! Not only that, but of course I was trying to save myself some things to carry and left my camera bag in the car, and the batteries in my off-camera flash died after about 30 minutes. So then I was also trying to get good quality photos in dim lighting! Not the easiest, but on the whole I was happy with the results.

After the North America wing we headed to the fossil/dinosaur/prehistoric floor (top floor) to check out the dinosaurs, as we knew that would be a huge hit with the kids. The mammoths were pretty cool

 and Natalie was game for a photo, but a bit nervous to be standing in front of the bones.

I thought this guy was really cool, and I learned something! 

Getting a good quality photo of the kids was difficult, mostly because neither of them really wanted to pose for me so I had to force it a bit. 

In the photo below, they were both touching part of a dinosaur bone.

Then it was time for Henry's favorite - the T Rex!

Then we headed to the African wing. I got a lot of great photos of the animals there, but I really liked this photo of Henry backlit by the warthog exhibit!

Then the Ocean Life hall

 And this kick-ass tiger

Then the planetarium! Unfortunately it was closed, but we still got to walk around it

 (Henry was very excited!)

 And the end of one quick moment of sibling cuteness (Henry was just starting to push Natalie away when I snapped this)

Week recap 3/3-3/10

Well, this week has been pretty crazy, and I've been home! I can't imagine how crazy things would've been if I'd been traveling. But tomorrow starts week 3 in a row of not traveling, and I have to say it's been pretty great. January and February were very busy for me, work-wise (not that it wasn't busy at home too, but when I add the travel in it just goes crazy!), so it's been so nice to be here. Not only because I've been able to have so much quality family time, but also because...we sold our house!

And amazingly, everything has worked out so that we will do a simultaneous close on our current house and new house on April 3. We will get packed up on April 2 (only two days after we get back from Paris!), close on the 3rd, and have them move us in that afternoon once we take possession. It's going to be a crazy couple of weeks, which is why I'm going to thoroughly enjoy being home again this coming week!

With that weight lifted, we then scheduled ourselves like crazy this weekend! Saturday morning Evan went to help bottle some whisky at a local distillery while I took the kids to the library. I then met Evan at a local high school where he picked up Henry and took him home, and I kept Natalie with me while I introduced her to the fabulousness that is winterguard. I've been meaning to go to a local competition for the last few years, as I really do miss it, but this was the first year I've been able to go since Natalie was a baby. She absolutely LOVED watching the guards, and I've got a whole post upcoming about it so I'll keep the details until then!

Last night we got a babysitter and headed to our friends Beth & Jason's house for a game night with friends. As always, it was an absolutely blast (my cheeks hurt from laughing so much), and we really do need to do it more often than the 1-2 times a year we're able to pull it off!

This morning I ran a couple of errands and got a little shopping done, then hung out with the family all afternoon. We spent some time outside and I got some great shots of the new life sprouting outside, and the kids enjoying the beautiful spring weather.

(I think of all of us, Calla is the most excited about the nice weather - she's been on 4 really great walks in the past two days, because all of us are super excited to get outside!)

Crocuses beginning to bloom in our neighborhood 

  Tulips sprouting in our backyard. 

March snow "storm"

If you live near me, you'll know that for the past week there was all sort of hype about this giant snow storm we were going to get last night into today - they even gave it the cute name of "Snowquester" since it was going to affect the DC area. As with every other predicted snow storm in our area this winter (and last one too, if I remember correctly), it nowhere near lived up to the hype. We got hit harder here in Leesburg than in DC, where they barely got any snow (despite the government immediately closing), but even so the most we ever got was about 6-7", and by the time we went outside before lunch it was starting to melt and was about 4-5" (despite the snow continuing to come down). This afternoon it turned to rain, and now everything is slushy and just gross. So much for the 10-14" we were supposed to get!

Despite that, we (meaning the kids) did want to get out into the snow for at least a little bit. I missed the last opportunity I had to take photos in the snow (due to having the flu during the snow that came over Christmas), so I wasn't about to miss this one! I had hoped to be able to really walk around the area and take some scenic photos in the snow, but unfortunately the wind was blowing the snow around so much that I was too worried about my camera and lens getting wet to really do that. So instead I took these pretty cute ones of the kids, then returned the camera to the house and went back out for a snowball fight. It was pretty great.

 

The snow as perfect for one thing - making a snowman! It was that sticky snow that rolls really well.

 Here's Natalie posing with her finished project, assisted by her dad!

 In the field next to our house there's a culvert that runs between the baseball fields and elementary school. Normally it's dry, but with all of this snow it was looking like a good-sized creek today. Henry and I wandered over to take a look (he's fascinated by any and all water), and I know the photo below is somewhat dreary, but I also find it starkly beautiful.