DC Metro Mom

This past week the Washington Nationals had their home opener. They’ve started their season off with a bang and have baseball commentators speculating that this year if they stay healthy, the Nats will probably be able to be the most competitive that they’ve ever been and a real contender in the playoffs. I’m a big baseball fan and love the fact that we are so close to a pro team here in Washington. But so far this year it is even more exciting that we have a team with a record of nine wins and three losses that is in first place in the NL East!

My husband and I love baseball and we’re teaching our twin boys to do the same. We headed out to the park Friday night to see the first night game. It was a perfect night for baseball—not hot and only toward the very end did it get a little chilly. One of our boys is content to just sit and take everything in—he loves all sports, but especially baseball. He’s not even three yet and he has a favorite player! The other one spent considerable time making friends while dancing in the aisles and sliding peanuts down the seats. We had awesome seats along the right field line, which is a treat for us. We usually just get cheap seats farther up, but my husband got these seats as a birthday gift for me. We were just a few rows from the field. The game was a pitching duel. Both pitchers were right on, and it went into extra innings. Our boys were well behaved and entertained, but after the 13^th inning when it was 11pm, we headed out. The Nats won in the 14^th inning and we heard it on the radio as we drove home with sleeping kids.

My husband came home Friday exhausted and went to take a nap while one of our twin boys was still asleep. I heard his phone vibrate up on the shelf in our entryway but I didn’t pick it up. After it stopped, my phone immediately began ringing and I answered. It was my mother-in-law and she had two Washington Capitals tickets for that night’s game that a coworker was trying to give away. It was 5:00pm and the game started at 7:00pm.

I didn’t know what to expect when my friend said, “Let’s go to the farm museum!” What’s that? A farm with placards? Taxidermy cows and chickens? I had no idea. Is there manure involved? She described it as kind of a mini children’s museum. Today we went to the Heritage Farm Museum in Sterling, and I was pleasantly surprised. It’s like one big display room of a normal, adult museum that has quite a few hands-on elements for kids. It’s the perfect blend of children’s and adults’ museums. For DC moms, it’s about 40 minute drive, and of course less for most NOVA moms. We spent over an hour and a half inside and about 15 minutes on the big tractors out front with our almost-three year-olds. Here’s the lowdown:

Barn: Inside the barn, kids can not only milk a pretend cow (water comes out) and gather wooden eggs in baskets from a plastic hen house, but they can also dress the part. There are overalls and bonnets and such for children who want to look the part.

Your child can discover his inner musician at the Washington Conservatory of Music. At the Washington Conservatory of Music students of all ages and levels can study without audition under the guidance of an international artist-faculty. The WCM offers lessons on piano, guitar, all strings, voice, harp, all brass, jazz piano, improvisation, drums, percussion, conducting, and all woodwind instruments. The Washington Conservatory of Music even offers various summer music camps for children and teens.

Image Credit: Examiner.com

Rockville Town Square is hosting its 4^th Annual Kids Night this summer. Kids Night provides free, fun, and educational entertainment that the whole family can enjoy. This event occurs every Tuesday from June 21^st to August 23^rd.

By - Amy

If you haven't visited Baltimore lately, now is perfect time to take your children to visit Port Discovery. Ranked 4^th among the Top 10 Children's Museums by Child Magazine,  Port Discovery Children's Museum continues to grow as one of the leading family destinations in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In 2011, Port Discovery's newest permanent exhibit, Tot Trails, opened as an exciting and whimsical soft playspace designed exclusively for infants and toddlers up to 3 years old.  While exploring the landscapes of Maryland, babies can wiggle and roll in mirrored "tidal pools" and crawl through the "dune walk."  Toddlers can dig for fossils, climb through Mountain Trail and Paw Paw Tunnel.  There are also puppets to play with and daily programs led by museum educators such as Mother Goose on the Loose story time and Jingle Jangle Music Time.

I think I am in love!  I recently got my latest Lucky Magazine and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a Lucky Magazine for Kids!

Smucker's Stars On Ice 25^th Celebrates Its 25^th Anniversary in Washington

There is nothing like a late January snowfall to remind us that winter is far from over!  And while the charm of the snow can be enchanting, the reality is the cold weather can catch up with the young and old alike and make for a less than comfortable family-friendly day.  After you have built your snowman, spent hours sledding and have thrown a few snowballs, it might be time to find some more climate friendly activities for your crew.

So this weekend was pretty nuts. Fun - but exhausting! Twice a year I participate in this big consignment sale, where I buy the vast majority of the kids clothes, and sell some old ones too. It was Friday night. DH was away this weekend, so I left work at 4pm, picked up all three kids and got home in time to meet the babysitter. Then my friend Holly and I drove out to the sale. We got there right at 6pm when it opened - and almost were able to skip the massive line. We were there for about 3 hours - which I know seems crazy - but there is all kinds of stuff, and you need to pick it out and sort through it then stand in the line from hell to checkout. It was great though - I got TONS of leggings for K (as requested), a few things for B, and LOTS of adorable Elmo stuff for Big Man. I also got dress up clothes for all three for a wedding we are going to in 2 weeks.

Meanwhile, my BF from college drove down from PA with her 2 kids and relieved my babysitter about 8:30pm. I got home and crashed! The next morning we all got up and went to the Fairfax City Festival. It was really pretty great. For $5 each the kids had free run of all the rides. They really enjoyed it. And my favorite 80s cover band was the lunchtime entertainment - even better! We met various friends there over the course of the day (we were there from 11am - 4:30pm!) and finally headed home.

At 6pm, said friends came over and we had dinner for 12 kids and 8 adults. One friend provided spaghetti and meatballs (already cooked!) and dessert for the kids. I made a quick chicken and pasta dish for adults.

This is too fun! Watson Adventures has been hosting scavenger hunts in the DC Metro area for nearly a decade. If you have out-of-town guests, check out the "The Secrets of Georgetown Tour". See the best of Georgetown while uncovering amazing tales and nooks. One of the best things about the G-town hunt is its variety, covering parts of the neighborhood with three distinct personalities. Highlights include a 19th-century canal, chic shops in historic buildings on M Street, JFK's first Washington home and the neighbor honored by reporters for providing coffee in the cold, the birthplace of the computer, a former prison that Lincoln visited, the Old Stone House and its tranquil garden, "sunken" houses, magnificent mansions, movie locations, hidden alleys, a tavern where Founding Fathers tippled, and a bar that was the birthplace of a famous cheesy song.

Want something for the whole family, drop in for The American Museum Madness Family Scavenger Hunt for ages 7 and up. Go on a crazy romp through the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery. Kids and adults work together to find presidents, the real Pocahontas, a map made of TVs, a crazy dollhouse, wacky whirlybirds and much more. Kids must be accompanied by adults and vice versa. Ticket prices vary. For more scavenger hunts and ticket information click here. Information courtesy of Watson Adventures.

So our kids are spoiled. They had never been to a baseball game that wasn't played in a professional stadium. Well, Saturday night we joined some friends at a summer college league game. It was in a beautiful brick baseball park, but still our girls were like, "where is the stadium?" It was kind of sad, really. But we all ended up having a great time. The food prices were actually survivable ($1.50 for popcorn vs $6.50 or so at the big park)! And we were sitting about 15 feet behind home plate (as opposed to our season tickets in the nose-bleeds!).

The best part though was that the girls were picked to announce the start of the game. Someone came through and asked one of our little friends, who said no. She then turned to K and asked her, and she was like "YEAH!" and of course, B had to go with her. I had Big Man on my lap at the time and was sitting 2 rows behind talking to a friend. I didn't even know what had gone on. At one point, I was like, where are the girls. But I noticed DH was gone, so figured they were all off somewhere.

They do the introductions of the teams and stuff, and then you hear over the loud speaker "And now we have 4-year old B her 6-year old sister K to begin the game!" and they YELL - "LET'S PLAY BALL!!!!!!" They were SOOOOO excited. They really loved it. We had to call Grampa after we left to tell him all about it. It totally made the night for them!

K pointed out that they were unlikely to get the chance to do that at "our" park, because "we sit too far away - they probably pick kids from the front". I told her she was probably right, and that she wasn't likely to yell "Play Ball" before a Nats game, but you never know!

Cross posted on http://www.threetimemommy.blogspot.com/.

So since we now have a porch and a nice big deck, I bought the kids this great book for birdwatching. It is called "Bird Songs: 250 North American Birds in Song" and has full color pictures of birds along with a device to play their calls. It is a little pricey, but oh so cool.

A few weeks ago, after a brief rain storm, a bunch of birds were in the back yard pulling up all the worms the rain had brought out. Most of them were Mourning Doves, but there was a Robin and a Cardinal as well. K had a great time tormenting the Robin by playing his call over and over. The bird kept looking up and trying to find the other Robin. He finally flew over and landed on the roof just over our heads.

I like it because it gets the kids interested in the outdoors. And its fun to mark how many birds we have been able to identify.

Cross posted on http://www.threetimemommy.blogspot.com/.