it's official

tomorrow if the first day of school and everyone - yes, all of my kids, will be in a full day of school, utilizing the same bus schedule and in the same school! Whoppee!

I know I won't be one of those moms armed with tissues as I see my youngest one off to Kindergarten, but I promise not to embarrass him by toting a bottle of champagne down to the bus stop, but gosh darn it will be good to stop "treading water" as I have been for the whole summer. Full-time work being juggled with three kids at home has made for a long, hot summer filled with much screaming. It will be good for all of us to get the heck out of the house and concentrate on something other than getting on each other's nerves!

buy, buy, buy....

Tickets will go fast, so don't get caught waiting in the long line to get in and then find out the place is sold out...order your tickets online today.



DCmom scored great stuff last year at this event - awesome brown boots that totally rocked - as did the price - a couple of pashmina scarfs that I intended to give as gifts but kept for myself instead - and last but not least several James Perse tees that I LOVE and LIVE in for cheap!

new awesome blog

Ok ladies of DC, new blog is out there in the blogsphere which is handy to all of us in the greater metro DC area. Joyce of That Mom, Inc. has started a blog where she lets us know about locally recommended services!

You can send in your own recommendations too and maybe you'll see it in print - whee...everyone loves to see themselves in print!

best chairs ever...

Ok, so I don't get out to get a manicure as frequently as I used to...but I recently got a mani/ped in at Nails by Timothy in Rockville. Just walked in and happened to be luck out being one of the first customers to try out their brand-new pedicure massage chairs. Ladies, these are the ones!

First, these recline, second they massage you everywhere, not just that annoying lower back machine grunt the other places have, plus the headrest cradles your head, so away into la la land you go.

Awesome, awesome, awesome and no, they did not up the price for a pedicure - even better.

Nails by Timothy in the Wintergreen Plaza on Rockville Pike, Rockville. Call at 301.309.0329

kids say the sweetest things

returned from a big day out at the pool, minature golf and the mecca - Costco. Everyone collapsed when we arrived home except for my oldest daughter. always the Energizer bunny she nicely asked her younger sister "Do you want to play upstairs with me?" her sister didn't respond so my daughter walked out of the room. my son (the youngest) promptly popped up his head from the couch and yelled after her, "You can ask me!"

Ahhhhh.....

back from vacation

took a quick trip to the beach with hubby and kids...we survived little sunburn, a maniac round of minature golf, a carousel ride, a whirlwind trip on "The Tornado", four days of fever between two kids and enough chicken fingers to croak a horse (as my mother likes to say)...

ah, but I must not forget Pokey, our new pet hermit crab who joined the family for less than 24 hours and then lost most of his legs during the arduous air-conditioned trip home in the car. We googled why this was happening and it is due to stress. Needless to say, Pokey has his own memorial in the backyard now and I scratch my head as to what is so stressful about life as a hermit crab....I must be missing something...

kids say the darndest things

driving along in the car the other day somehow the topic of childbirth, yes, childbirth came up amongst my three in the backseat. Listening slightly to the three of them discuss how gross it is to get your stomach cut open ( I had three c-sections to spawn my favorite little rugrats), one of my three piped up and said, "Mom, did it really hurt?" to which I responded, "At the time, but you forget about it especially when I get to have you guys (I was having a loving moment). " The reply that I got was the following, "Whehh, now I know why you don't like us sitting on your stomach!"

my love affair with Trader Joes continues

Ok, if you read this blog religiously (I do haha) you will quickly realize that I am a Trader Joe's fiend. Well, stopped in there today with my daughters in tow because it had been awhile and we needed some staples. Got to the check out counter and what did my little eye spy but the coolest reusable bags.... they have these fantastic island graphic designs and heavy-duty black handles.

but the best part is when you open up the back, they form this slightly rounded shape, great for groceries, yes, but perfect for a beach tote because it will fit that rolled towel shape perfectly.

I swooned and my daughters grabbed one for each of them. get to your nearest Trader Joe's and check them out..

mommy hair

Met the lovely Jill Hudson Neal the other night at an event for The School of Post Modern Dating - great time. Well, Jill and I chatted over the phone the over day on the long debated topic of "Mommy Hair" and some little thoughts of mine made it to her latest article - check it out at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/05/AR2007070500816.html

mommy gets out

my friend Amy who started The School of Post-Modern Dating had a Makeover Seminar at Urban Chic the other night and what fun it was! With a stylist and fashion consultant providing real examples of what to wear and how to look to "dress for desire" - not hoochy-koochy here, but examples of how to just bring it all up a notch - sex it up without looking ridiculous.



did you know that the most important things a lady should carry in her purse is a bit of pressed powder and lip gloss? That if you are trying to date, the worst thing in the world to wear is diamond studs - why you ask? Because it signals that someone else has already been there, because men buy diamonds for their women...intersting - huh?



sure she'll have another, so I'll be sure to shout it out - YOU HAVE TO GO!!

new mag on the scene

got an offer for a new magazine that is on the scene, buckled down to try the free issue and quickly realized that it is a (gasping sound!) Martha Stewart-empire magazine.... Blueprint is it's name and it is great. I have already used three of the great tips from the magazine...so much more doable then previous Martha "You must be perfect" magazines dictated.

give this one a try...you may be surprised.

kids say the darndest things...

headed downtown this AM to make a quick pass through the National Potrait Gallery as I heard they have opened up their outdoor terrace and to go through the Presidential potraits area with the kids.

while waiting for the Metro train to come in, my oldest watches a small sparrow hop across the train platform and then off the side of the platform down to the tracks. "Mom" she yells, "that bird just killed himself!!!"

I had to explain that he hadn't jumped, only flew down to the tracke level.

crisis adverted.

in the homestretch

School is almost out - Thursday to be exact and then the wee ones are home all the time! Swimming has kicked in and it is kicking our family's schedule butt! These weeks of overlapping activities and end of year parties and parties for kid's whose birthdays are in August,but they have a party in June to have their friends over really are a bewilderment to me....aren't you supposed to celebrate your birthday on your birthday????

Sometimes it saddens me to see that in our overscheduled world that important milestones like birthdays - really important to a kid - are scheduled to make ours and others lives much easier.

What do you think??

summer friday

Well, it is summer officially, but school is still in session and just my son is home full-time but sooooon everyone will be home - lucky mom! Well, at least we're stocked with all of the leftover toys from the American Shopper taping and they are pretty good. The kids especially love the Carpet Slides and the Find It toy is pretty cool - probably a nice thing for the pool when they have to sit out for adult swim/kids rest period (greatest invention ever!)

Keeping the Spa and Science kits in reserve for a rainy summer day or when it is just to hot to move! The Boing Balls are great too - perfect for little hands.

we're going to be on TV!

So, after weeks of anticipation, the camera man and producer of American Shopper which shows on the Fine Living cable channel showed up to film myself, my three kids and a couple of neighborhood kids in a segment on great birthday gifts.

A little photo/video shoot in the house can cause quite a stir amongst a bunch of kids and they were incredibly good considering they were hyped to the ninth degree. But once they got their hands on the toys (a little real-time testing) they quickly became great product respondents.

They just kept begging and begging to keep the Carpet Slides - greatest invention ever in the eyes of a kid of any age.

no cameras????

I returned to my car the other evening which was parked at the Grosvernor Metro stop to find that it had been severaly vandalized and then hit in the rear. Someone out there in this great world had decided to scratch some hieroglyphics into my passenger door and then back out and smash into my bumper.

Well, I waited for Metro police officer to make sure I got an accident report and when I asked him if there were any cameras to give us an idea of how may have done this, I was told that there aren't any cameras in the parking garage, only at the exit booths!

How insane is that!!!! What if I had been mugged or even worse raped while walking to my car??? There wouldn't be any photo of this incident or any way to even start trying to determine a suspect.

Needless to say, I was appalled and outraged - there should be cameras on all levels of Metro station garages or will it take a serious crime to make this come about????

Mother's Day

Hey everyone, especially all the moms out there - Happy Mother's Day!! I truly hope it was great for everyone and in the course of the day you got spend a little bit of time just for you. I was able to fit in an 18 minute run. Yes, 18 mins of peace with my iPod, hey it's longer than 15 mins of fame - right?

Momzillas Rocks

About a month or two ago I was gifted with a pre-launch copy of Jill Kargman's Momzillas book for review. I confess, it has been a bit since I finished a book from front to back, especially if it was any longer in length than this month's Bazaar. Needless to say, I loved it - and finished it!

As a former New Yorker, I have some insider knowledge on how crazy and competitive East Side moms can be, but there are Momzillas everywhere (trust me ladies) and Jill Kargman's witty expose on the inner workings of momzillas is revealed through Hannah who represents the honorable, down-to-earth mom in all of us. You'll giggle and your heart will also break as we follow Hannah's adventures because we all know the pain of wanting to fit in but trying to keep a little bit of "me" there to be proud of.



I'll only give you the clue that Hannah does make it through, but you must pick this one up. Think of it as the top book for your "required summer mommy reading list" as you prepare for next fall and the the next wave of Momzillas!



P.S. I was doubly-lucky to get to meet Jill Kargman at her recent book signing event here in DC and Abby Greenawalt took this cute photo. (I'm the redhead, and Jill's the better-dressed half of the photo!)

working mom

This blog reveals a little bit about me and who is the mom and lady behind DCmom. But, there is a rare (but oh so wonderful!) claim to fame for DCmom as I was quoted in this weekend's Washington Post. I was interviewed by a reporter doing a special article providing insight and guidance to today's college grads as they enter the workplace. And being that I am no longer a free-living single, as you may have guessed, the article focuses on motherhood and careers.

Take a look: Comeback Time: What Will a Family Do to Your Career?

Yup, having kids may halt some areas of your life and career, but in my case, it opened up a whole other world and for that I am eternally grateful to fate.

staying afloat

have you venture yet into Forever 21??? If you haven't, you must.

Recent foray found lots of stuff for both me and my girls, yes, my elementary aged girls. The XXS sizes in the tank tops, if you pick through the styles are long enough to cover your little one's middle but high enough to cover them up a bit. Plus, the various design images are so non-descript you'll win brownie points for being a cool mom and not even have to try very hard.

When checking out, be sure to go through the jewelry, found a little red apple on a long chain that is a small clock. Great as an incentive for learning to tell time or to keep track of time and it was only $4.00!