When the weeks are long but rushed

Last week just dragged me to the weekend, hitting all the bumps along the way. Having cold days along side hot and humid days didn't make things better.

Hubby freezing at a weekday soccer game.

Attempting to get relief from hot sun and humidity at a weekend soccer game.

We had multiple appointments: doctor, dentist, therapist, audiologist, orthodontist.

It's my fault for being the one to schedule everything in 1 week, but when availability is what it is with most military health care facilities, you take what you can get.

Most things were fine. More follow ups now scheduled. My calendar also had to add ANOTHER orthodontist appointment THIS week since one of the brand new brackets for A's braces popped off a few hours after they put it on. (We also had a speech eval today for N and various appointments and meetings for the WANs lined up for the next 2 weeks!)

There has been a new development! A's doctor thinks he may have a new diagnosis for her, which can explain a lot of the behavior issues we have been dealing with (for years). Hubby and I meet with him soon to go over everything and hopefully make some progress on a plan for what will best help her.

In the midst if all of this going on we also had a big hole in our kitchen ceiling. About 2 weeks ago we noticed a water stain. We immediately contacted our landlords (who are really great btw) and the next day plumbers were here. In the end we could not find the leak but agreed to leave the hole to see if water would leak again. It didn't. They returned this past week to patch and were able to find evidence of the likely location of the water, though it was now dry. If the water stain returns we now know a contractor will need to be called, not a plumber.

It feels like May is this crazy rush to the finish line... but what's the finish line? Why does it feel like we are racing at breakneck speed to complete this month?! What's the point? We just need to take a moment and slow down!

Either that or I need to take a weekend to settle my frazzled brain.

Open Embassies from Around the World

Over the weekend there was a very popular DC even;  DC Passport Around the World Embassy Tour. Several embassies in the city opened their doors to invite guests to see what their country is like. Many offered food or drinks and entertainment.

A had team pictures and a soccer game in the morning. They even WON! It was very exciting.

But, because it was important to be present I didn't head into the city until the afternoon. It took forever to find parking (as it does in DC) so by the time I reached my first embassy there wasn't a lot of time left to explore.

I knew that  Dupont Circle was going to be a mad house since several popular embassies (such as Australia) are located there, so I decided to head in a different direction and went closer to the zoo, near the Van-Ness station.

The first embassy I came to was China. I head the music and drums before I even arrived. There was a dancing dragon out front, still food to sample, and videos and live music to share their culture. The line to actually enter the embassy was super long, and with my truncated time I decided to just pass by after watching some entertainment for a bit.

Just down the street I came to Ethiopia. Now this was a happening place! The music was loud and exuberant. There was dancing and laughter! I had missed the food, but the remains of what I saw and smelled were mouthwatering.

Following Ethiopia, I came into Bangladesh. This turned out to be my favorite stop. Even though I missed the food the people were incredibly friendly, the setting was vibrant, and the energy was contagious. They had henna tattooing available but I didn't have time to wait for it.

Ghana was another friendly stop. I had just missed the music so they were winding down. They were selling food outside, but again, no time to wait in a line. They had really cool things on display to showcase and share things from their country.

My last stop was Pakistan. We have a large Pakistan popular around here, so it was no surprise to find this embassy full of people. Lots of loud music, dancing, and inside had fun little set ups to represent different areas in their country.

Once I finished those tours and looked at my map again I realized with the time I had left there was no point in attempting another location for more embassies. I took a nice leisurely walk back to my car.

Many embassies did not participate, so I just moseyed on by Morocco, Egypt, Malaysia, and several others. This coming weekend the European Union Embassies have their open houses, but I think I might try to experience them next year and hope I can be there for the WHOLE day.

Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum

We had a busy week last week. Not only did W have a field trip to Jamestown, but A also had a field trip with our homeschool group to the Clara Barton Missing Soldiers Office Museum in DC. The group then went to the American Red Cross Building for a tour, but we had to leave early to pick up W after school.


On our stroll to meet up with our group we passed by the U.S. Navy Memorial. As a former Navy Brat, I felt the need to check it out. We didn't have enough time to explore the visitor's center so we only looked at the beautifully made bronze plaques that represent different aspects important to the Navy, enjoyed the look and sound of the fountains, and grabbed a few snapshots next to the sailor statue with his sea bag (The Lone Sailor).

We easily found the Clara Barton place up the next block. So... who was Clara Barton??


She was known as the Angel of the Battlefield for her help in dozens of civil war battles. She then started the missing soldiers office to keep track of the dead and missing during the war and inform families. But I think what she is most well-known for was founding the American Red Cross (hence the second part of the field trip that we didn't get to attend).

The building that houses the museum used to be a jewelry store, offices, and house boarders (of which Clara Barton was one). Sometime in the early 1900's the top 2 floors were essentially closed off so as not to require buildig code updates and were only used for storage. In the 1990's the place was supposed to be torn down, but through some serendipitous experiences a discovery was made that uncovered untouched artifacts unknown for over 100 years. You can now see what the place truly looked like! The original staircase and layouts! It hadn't been changed.

We ended up learning a lot and had a great tour guide! He was very friendly and was wonderful speaking to all our kids. If you are spending some extra time in DC I encourage you to check out this place with it's interesting history.

http://www.clarabartonmuseum.org

Jamestown Field Trip

Even though we are just reaching the middle of the week, I feel like it should be a long weekend now.


Hubby was away for a few days for work. While he was gone, A had a doctor appointment at Walter Reed (again) and W had a field trip with his general education class to Jamestown. The school did not have an aide to accompany him, so I elected to go.


Jamestown was a fun place! They had a very well done museum (that we didn't get to see much of), the Jamestown Fort, replicas of the ships which brought the settlers, and a construction of a Powhatan village. We will have to go as a family at another time so we can more leisurely explore all that is offered.

W did pretty well. He doesn't really talk to his classmates, but a few kids attempt to include him. His favorite part was the blacksmith. His least favorite was the Powhatan village, but that was because there were "dead things" (animals skins, hooves, a skull, and they were butchering a turtle while we were there) and W is generally grossed out by those things.

This week also brought an award ceremony at W's school. He has been working very hard and making improvements with his work AND behavior in class, so he received an award. Poor N had to basically skip her nap so we could be there, but I'm glad we could support him and W was so proud to be recognized.


And as his mama, I felt my heart swell.

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I am still loving all the colorful flowers blooming. Just this week these beauties opened and there are a lot more coming!!!