Julia's first President

I was thinking more about the historic nature of Barack Obama's election, and something not just amazing, but profoundly moving, occurred to me.

I was born in 1970. The first president I have any real memory of is Gerald Ford.

Julia was born in 2004. The first president she will have any memory of is Barack Obama. A black man as president will be standard for her, where it is historic for all of us. I hope that in her lifetime she sees other "first" presidents, beginning with the first woman.

This is truly a moment in history.

An adventurous Halloween

It was a beautiful fall day today, and full of adventure.

In the morning, the Dinosaur preschool class went to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore.



Tonight, Princess Julia went trick or treating.

From October 2008

And here's how it all began:


Making Spanky, the jack o'lantern (2008) from Heidi Moon on Vimeo.

How to Spend a Fall Afternoon

Julia and Ken picking apples at Homestead Farm on Sunday, Oct. 5.

Awesome

"You know what?" I say to Julia.

"Yes," she replies.

"What?" I ask.

"You love me," she answers.

"You know what else?"

"Yes."

"What?"

"I'm awesome."

Yes, you are, my super girl, yes, you are.

Step Right Up!

Dodged ominous dark clouds at the Montgomery County Fair this afternoon and experienced the following:

* 1 bag cotton candy
* $13 in ride tickets, apportioned to Julia thusly -- 1 fun house with Daddy, 1 firetruck up and down ride with Daddy, 1 Dizzy Dragons ride with Mommy, 1 boat ride alone, 1 playhouse and giant slide alone
* 1 gigantic Pepsi
* 1 bouncy house
* 1 pig race
* Numerous cows, pigs, sheep and bunnies
* 1 skinned knee, followed by 1 trip to the First Aid building for a large bandaid
* 1 impressive magician
* Approximately 852 unfortunate tattoos, body piercings and/or T-shirts with slogans, not all of them on the carnival ride operators
* 1 drowsy drive home

Mission accomplished!

Beautiful Sunday

Absolutely stunning outside. On our way downtown for lunch and Muppet movie at AFI.

New bed for a big girl

Through serendipitous circumstances, we wound up selling the glider chair that has been sitting unused in the corner of Julia's room for 3 years. With more space in her room, we decided it was time to graduate to a big girl bed.

So on Saturday we rushed out the door at 9:30 to beat the impending heat (96 degrees! ugh!) and journeyed to IKEA. Julia picked out the Kritter bed, entirely -- I suspect -- because the showroom model had the Himmelsk bed tent attached. Of course we had to get that, too.

With an impatient little shopper at my side, we moved fairly quickly through the process, picking up bed frame, slatted base, mattress, quilt, pillow, and quilt/pillowcase set. We got the bed in white, with little sheeps in the headrest!

Then we went home, where mommy did battle with the do-it-yourself bed assembly, wielding a hex wrench, power screwdriver and socket wrench. It's really very cute when put together.

In our speed, I didn't pause to realize that the bed was not a true twin size, but rather somewhere between a toddler and twin bed. This means that we can only get bedding at IKEA, or have to wrap twin sheets under the smaller mattress. But it's probably for the best because a bigger bed would make her room seem smaller. With this one, we have room to put a rug down and actually have some play space.

Now, with the new bed and bedding, tent and rug, and her trunk and book shelf rearranged, it's like a mini makeover. Julia is very pleased with her "new" room.

The Disney trip travelogue

You could say our trip started in February when Ken first bought the plane tickets and made the travel arrangements. Once Julia knew we were going to Disney World, she began preparations. At various times over the next months, she packed and repacked her Hello Kitty backpack and heart purse with toys and items carefully chosen for the trip. Frequently, she placed them by the door so they would be ready to go. In March, Ken helped her write a letter to Mickey Mouse which they put in an envelope, addressed and attached a 2-cent stamp. Julia put it in the mail slot and happily left for school, and the magic mailman picked it up. A few days later, we returned home to find another envelope addressed to her, with a picture of Mickey Mouse printed on the front and a message inside saying how pleased he was to hear from her and recommending she ride It's a Small World when she came to visit. Perhaps Mickey got some help writing his letter from Daddy, too? In April, Julia's birthday present from Mommy and Daddy was a Sleeping Beauty sleeping bag, and we took it with us to Orlando for her very own bed in the hotel.

Day 1: May 1
Let the other slackers sleep in. Team Moon got up early in order to beat the crowds to the parking lot at the Magic Kingdom, and eat breakfast in our hotel. We also wanted to be there the minute the park opened since, in an attempt to preserve our sanity, and escape the afternoon heat -- and underscored by advice from The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World -- we knew we would be returning to the hotel after lunch to cool down and sleep. And when you're taking a 4-year-old to Disney for her first time, you don't get to sleep in anyway!

As a result, we parked so close we could walk to the front gate. Woo hoo! we said. And then we realized we had to wait 45 minutes until the park opened. Hmmm. No matter; Julia was excited just to be in the proximity of Mickey and friends. Finally, 9 a.m. arrived and we ran to the monorail for the short ride to the front gate. Using one of the guidebook's Touring Plans as an easy list of rides to follow in a general order, our first day was all about Fantasyland and Frontierland. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the crowds were relatively light. We headed first to Dumbo the Flying Elephant where Julia wanted to keep our elephant at the highest level through the whole ride. We got FastPasses (what a wonderful innovation those are, let me tell you) for Winnie the Pooh -- which also spit out Surprise FastPasses for Mickey's PhilharMagic -- and in the interim explored Pooh's Playful Spot and rode It's a Small World when we discovered it had no line at all. The FastPasses came in especially handy when we returned to Pooh and found they were having mechanical difficulties. Since we had a full hour to use them, we were free to leave, go through the 20-minute line at Peter Pan, and come back to Pooh when it was up and running again. Julia loved all of these attractions, and we had lunch in the Pinocchio Village Haus overlooking Small World. Next it was on to Frontierland for a popsicle and exploration of Tom Sawyer Island, one of the grownups' favorites as well.

By 2 p.m., we were done with the island, the mid-80s heat and the park and trundled wearily back to the parking lot, Julia riding on Ken's shoulders all the way with a monorail ride (in the front with the driver!) in between. She would frequently opt for this mode of transportation which gave him an odd cowlick on his forehead where she gripped his hair, and sore shoulders. The duty of a Daddy! A nap and air conditioning was just what the doctor ordered.

Stopping at McDonald's first for a quick and inexpensive dinner, we returned around 5:30 and this time rode the ferry boat across the Seven Seas Lagoon. We stopped on Main Street for two quintessentially Disney items: an ears hat for Julia (Tinkerbell) variety, and cut silhouettes of everyone by a nice young man from Lyons, France. Next we revisited Fantasyland, where Julia rode the Carrousel, then attempted to return to Tom Sawyer Island, only to discover that it closed at dusk. So we went to the Country Bear Jamboree and then Mommy had fun at the shootin' range while Daddy and Julia played checkers. At 8:30, we found spots in Liberty Square to sit and await the SpectroMagic night-time parade which started at 9. As Julia's special gift for the day, she chose a blinking light-up necklace to wear during the parade. After it was over, we headed over to Cinderella's Castle for the big finish of a fireworks show, complete with Peter Pan flying down from the castle.

Inexplicable roadwork by the Florida Department of Transportation on the only road out of Disney World meant our 10-minute drive back to the hotel crawled along and took over half an hour, finally putting everyone in their jammies and in bed by 11 p.m.

Day 2: May 2
After our marathon first day, we decided to slack off ourselves and turned off the alarm. This time, we parked a little farther away and got there just in time for park opening. This was our day for Tomorrowland and Adventureland. We headed straight for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, hoping to beat the crowds, only to discover there was no line at all. Whee! So we rode that one twice in a row. Julia made the car spin and Ken and Heidi manned the laser cannons. Other attractions we enjoyed in Tomorrowland were the Transit Authority and the Astro Orbiter, then Ken and Julia got freeze-dried ice cream in one of the gift shops, truly a snack of the future.

Now it was time for Adventureland, one of our favorite areas in the park. We climbed the very tall Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, then headed for Pirates of the Caribbean where there was yet another line-free entry. We old-timers were amused by the addition of Jack Sparrow to the ride, and Heidi even confessed some disappointment since the ride she remembered in her head was the Disneyland version which starts and ends in a bayou, has 2 drops instead of 1, and lasts twice as long. Yaarrrgh. We happened upon the "real" Jack Sparrow giving pirate lessons, then it was time for the Jungle Cruise, corny as ever, though Ken will point out that the boat pilots used to have guns to shoot the alligators.

After a lunch break at El Pirata y el Piraco of not-inedible Mexican food, we realized that the mercifully short lines had allowed us to complete our day's itinerary in record time and we were free to explore at will. Julia wanted to see Mickey's PhilHarmagic again, so we returned there. It was just before 1 and the line for Peter Pan was long, so we got FastPasses. Clearly it was popular that day, as they weren't good until 3:30! That's when we realized it was time to speed back to the hotel for a quick nap so we could be back in time to use the passes before they expired at 4:30. We also had little time to waste since the park closed at 7 that day instead of 11, even though it was a Friday. Disney, ever the marketing geniuses, was holding a "Pirates & Princesses Party" from 7 to midnight. And of course it cost an extra $48 (!) per person, on top of your $71 (!) day pass to get in.

We were back by 4 for our last hurrah. We went straight to Peter Pan, rode It's a Small World one more time, had a photo op with Pooh, then did the Mad Tea Party. That left time for the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor, an ingenious show in which animated characters had live improv interactions with the audience, and one last ride with Buzz Lightyear. And then we rode the ferry boat into the sunset.

Julia's already planning a return trip.

Back from Disney World!

Here are some pix from our 4-day getaway to Disney World for Julia's first visit there. More details to come soon ...

Julia on a sunny day

In our back yard.

Julia at Starbucks

In the big green chair, eating a cookie

Rock and Romp

Had a playdate on Saturday with Julia's friend from the Butterfly preschool room, Ryan, and his mom, Rebecca. We went to the Rock n Romp downtown at McGinty's. It's a party for parents and young children with crafts and rock bands in the background. Julia particularly enjoyed the fact that there was face painting. I love the idea and we mostly had fun, but the kids were ready to go halfway through.

In fact, that's one of my only complaints about it -- they run from 1 to 3, which is smack during naptime. I'd prefer noon to 2, or 3:30 to 5:30. The other problem was that they advertised the music as being at a low level, but on this afternoon at least, it was so loud you had to yell -- Julia put her hands over her ears at first. Needless to say, a 3-year-old can't talk loudly enough at those kind of noise levels to be heard, either. So, start sooner and turn down the amps and we're there!

Wii!

Yesterday, I drove to Annapolis with Julia to meet my mom and Jim at the mall. First, we stopped at the Toys R Us nearby to use a gift card we'd received for Christmas. Julia somehow managed to find both a Dora Mega Blox and Dora Play-Doh set. On the way to the checkout, I asked an employee, "You don't happen to have any Wiis, do you?" To which he replied, "Actually, we do. We just got a shipment in yesterday." Woo hoo! Needless to say, I rushed over to the electronics/games department and now we are the proud owners of a still-hard-to-find Nintendo Wii.

It was a bit daunting when I first opened the box and saw all the cables, etc. And then Karim mentioned something about connecting it to our WiFi network which I didn't even know you could do. So I enlisted his tech support help, only to figure it out by myself anyway. So much the better for him, because then all he had to do when he came over was watch Julia and I bowl. I made Miis for all of us, and we've played several hours already. Whee!

Weekend getaway to Massanutten

 

 

We took a 4-day weekend from Jan. 18 to the 21st to travel to Massanutten, VA, where Ken's longtime friend, John Fowler, had rented a condo just a short drive down the mountain from the ski area. It was a relaxing mini-vacation filled with good cooking (the boys were the masters of the kitchen, whipping up steaks, caesar salad, french dip sandwiches, chili, omelets and more — but not all at once!) and fun. On Saturday, we went to the ski resort and rented equipment for everyone. Ken and I took turns with Julia, who quickly got the hang of a true skier's crouch while being pulled along by a ski pole. We went home for a nap, then Ken and John returned to use their lift tickets for the rest of the afternoon.

On Sunday, it was bitterly cold, with highs only in the '20s, so Team Moon headed for the Massanutten Water Park where we escaped the winter inside a huge, new facility with lots of glass to let the light in, splashing everywhere, and a long, lazy river which was Julia's favorite. We spent a long morning there, then again took the short drive back to the condo for lunch and a nap, returning in the late afternoon to enjoy some more swimming, and a few games in the arcade.

On Monday, we packed up and departed, taking a southern detour to visit Monticello, since we were only an hour away. We took the tour, but didn't stay terribly long because it was too cold to stroll the grounds, and lunch at a nearby Waffle House was beckoning! We drove through Charlottesville to see the U.Va. campus, then meandered our way home on Route 29 until we made it home at last by dinnertime.

Back to the future

2008. It sounds like a year from the future. When I was graduating from high school in the '80s, it seemed so far away. But 20 years later, the future has arrived and while much has changed, a lot remains remarkably the same. The micro level is where change is most noticeable: parenthood, gray hairs, changing perspectives. But at the macro, as author Tom Robbins says, the situation remains "desperate, as usual." And we still aren't flying with individual jet packs.

I rang in this new year with a belly full of tapas at Jaleo in Bethesda with my Auxiliary Geek (that would be Karim, for those of you keeping track at home) since he is the one capable of staying up past 10 p.m. The food was delicious, the crowd festive, and the DJ played an odd mix of Spanish and Latin music, and '70s funk (Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Commodores) that veered toward Wedding Reception when we heard KC & the Sunshine Band. But it was a lovely, grown-up evening.

My Primary Geek, never a fan of New Year's Eve, happily stayed home and went to bed not long after Julia did. In fact, my two Moons had a little slumber party, building a bed on the floor of Julia's room with foam sleeping bag mats and a comforter. I found them snoring there when I came home.

Christmas, meanwhile, was wonderfully exhausting. Julia sprang out of bed at 7:30 and we kept her occupied with Santa's gifts (Dora bike!) until Nana and Papa Jim arrived at 8:30. There were plenty of presents to open throughout the morning and they left at 11:30, which gave us about an hour break before Dr. Moon arrived, followed by Kevin. We exchanged our presents, then left for Virginia for the final shift of the day at cousin Wonje's house with the extended Korean family, all 25 or so of them. We finally got home (whew!) at 9 p.m.

On Saturday the 29th, we had a Group Geek Outing in Silver Spring. We met Karim, Lisa and Alycia at Ray's the Classics for dinner, then joined Kevin and Liz (in town for the week) across the street at the AFI Silver for a screening of "Monty Python & the Holy Grail." Needless to say, there was much simultaneous recitation of dialogue. Ni!

I was lucky that my office was closed from the 24th through today, but alas, my final hours of freedom are coming to an end. Back to the factory I go ...

Merry Christmas

 

Here I am with my lady after her preschool's holiday sing-along on Dec. 19. (Yes, my hairdryer broke that morning, hence the "natural" look.)


Merry Christmas, everyone!

I don't wanna feed the alien

Sigh. So my 3 weeks off of work have come to an end. And now I have to feed the alien* again.

The first week, of course, I had surgery and began recovery. I was the most uncomfortable, but the most purely unproductive. Nothing but magazines, sleeping and TV.

The second week was supposed to be more of the same, and it started that way, with a pedicure and movie watching. Then on Monday, at 3, the preschool called to say Julia had lice. Oh joy. Tuesday I had to stay home with her, since the policy is not to come back for at least 24 hours. What they neglected to clarify was that the policy is also to return 100% nit free. So we washed her hair with Rid, and I took her back on Wednesday, only to have to go back home again since she still had nits. Thus we spent the entire morning on the couch, me picking every last tiny egg out of her hair with my fingernails while she watched TV. Good times.

That weekend, I was feeling more mobile and Ken had to go down to St. Mary's County to work for his dad, so I thought Julia and I would come with him so she could see her Pop Pop. They had a good visit, but I possibly overdid it, because I came home Saturday night with a sore throat, and I woke up Sunday with a full blown head cold. Spent the day sleeping and taking Dayquil.

This past week, I thought maybe I would start easing back into work, so I checked some email on Monday and planned to go in for a few hours Tuesday and Wednesday. On Tuesday, I started into work, and stopped at the nail salon to get a manicure. As I was sitting there with wet nails, my cell phone rang. It was Brink's calling because our alarm was going off. So they called the police and I headed back home, waving my nails in the air. As it turned out, no-one had broken in. Instead, we had surprisingly left the back door unlocked, hadn't gotten around to putting the storm door insert in instead of the screen, and the wind had blown the door open, setting off the alarm. Felt stupid, but glad the house was safe. Then as I walked the police officers through the house to make sure nothing was stolen, I realized how absolutely cluttered the place was and spent part of the day cleaning. Good times. Wednesday, I finally headed into the office, only for a variety of chaotic and negative events to take place including, regrettably, the decision to let an employee go. Really not the day I was planning to have.

But my final days ended on a bright note. I drove Ken and Julia to the airport on Thursday to go to North Carolina for 4 days to visit his mom, aunt and grandmom for an early Christmas celebration. I then had my surgical followup appointment in the afternoon where I got my official clean bill of health, so to speak. Having sent my Primary Geek away, I then engaged my Auxiliary Backup Geek, Karim, to keep me company. On Friday, I got my hair cut, then we watched "Superbad," I put some Christmas decorations up in his semi-sterile bachelor pad and we cooked dinner from "The Working Stiff" cookbook (which I highly recommend) in an attempt to get a single male to eat more than just microwave and takeout. :) On Saturday, I slept in later than I have in I don't know when (9:45!), then we met for brunch at the Tastee Diner in Silver Spring, went to the National Gallery of Art to see the Turner and Hopper exhibits, went to see the National Christmas Tree and drink hot cocoa, and had dinner at DC Coast. I missed my sweet lady girl, but it sure was nice to do nothing but adult things for a weekend!

Today was my final morning to sleep in, and drink coffee and read the paper in bed. Then I picked up the rest of Team Moon at BWI. Julia had a great visit and a wonderful time and everyone was so happy to see her. I could swear she's even bigger than when I dropped her off.

And now I have to go back to work tomorrow to begin my projects again and to pick up some of the pieces from Wednesday's events. I feel 100%, but it sure is going to be an adjustment. At least Christmas break is just around the corner ...

* Quote from Dark Star, by way of my Primary Geek.

Where did September go?

So this is one of those catch-all, catch-up posts.

More concert-going with Karim, this time at the fabled 930 Club: Editors on the 4th and Metric on the 20th. Editors were good, but the sameness of their songs became more obvious when heard live. Only "Munich" really got the crowd going. Metric was much more dynamic, and played more of their loud rock stuff, although I actually prefer their more melodic, thoughtful side.

This weekend, Julia got to go to a friend's Dora-themed birthday party *and* the Renaissance Festival. And mommy saw "Once," a fantastic movie with music so great, I had to immediately buy the soundtrack. Afterwards, Lynn, Karim and I closed down Jaleo, trading war stories of the glory days of the Interweb.

And it looks like car shopping is in our future, now that Ken's car has died on him 3 times in the past week, including once on the Beltway Saturday morning. Goodbye, domestic cars, hello, Toyota!

(Also, on the 18th, he officially stopped having birthdays.)

Beach Girls

Julia and I just got back from a 4-day-weekend away, of which 2 days were spent in Bethany Beach with my stepsister, Andrea, and her family, including Julia's cousin Sarah. Here are Sarah and Julia together on the beach.

Dog Days, Part 1

Various summertime activities of Team Moon:



* Took advantage of unseasonably cool weather last weekend to visit the Smithsonian Folklife Festival on the Mall and not suffer through oppressive heat.
* Enjoyed continued not-very-hot temperatures on the Fourth of July to watch the always entertaining Takoma Park parade. Only in the "People's Republic" of TP do you see marchers from the attachment parenting and Peace Department groups. But it also has a friendly, small-town atmosphere and there's no jostling for a good spot up front.
* Took Julia to her very first fireworks that evening at Takoma Park Middle School. She was dismayed by the noise, but enthralled by the lights, and started asking the very next day when we could see some more.
* July sizzle returned this weekend, so this afternoon we went to the splash park at the Wheaton-Glenmont community pool. Julia wasn't so sure about the splashing part, but came around eventually -- just in time to go home. But she'll get another chance to be aquatic on Wednesday when she has a play date with Rosa for a picnic dinner at their neighborhood pool.

Julia and Sarah, reunited

We went to my mom's house this weekend to celebrate her birthday. Jim's daughter, Andrea, and her family came over from Delaware on Saturday afternoon for cake and a visit. Julia was therefore much overjoyed to discover that her cousin Sarah, who has been the subject of nonstop adulation since Julia first met her last summer at the beach, had arrived. Julia followed her around like a little shadow all afternoon. It was very sweet to observe.