Places to Go - Trick or Treating at the White House (Washington DC)

This year the White House offered the girls' school a limited quantity of free tickets for their Halloween celebration. So we entered the raffle and believe it or not, we WON!! (This is sort of a big deal as we never win anything, as in EVER). I, along with most other parents, was over the moon about the whole venture (THE WHITE HOUSE!!). The kids' showed a slightly more muted sense of excitement ("what if we don't get enough candy? are we going to miss out on trick or treating with our friends?"). I swear it's true that childhood is wasted on children. Why couldn't we all just dance around the house celebrating our good fortune? Luckily, F's best friend also won tickets, which raised the happiness level somewhat.

Of course we arrived half an hour early because who wants to be late for the White House? Which meant standing in line for half an hour with an artist, a firefighter, Hermione, and Psy (the Gangnam Style guy) fighting over my iphone. As soon as the clock hit 7 pm (our entry time) everything moved really fast. After going through security, we walked onto a huge back lawn full of people on stilts, a band in skeleton costumes, a fairy in a bubble, decorations everywhere, and seriously TONS of Halloween overload. It was amazing, even without the White House cache.

I tried to take pictures, but it was dark and there was so much to take in. Plus, they kept moving everyone along. Eventually, each child received a goodie bag with dried fruit (I'm guessing this was Michelle's idea), a cookie, and presidential M&Ms (seriously, how cool is that?). I was in dork heaven. But my kids lamented the lack of twix bars (what is wrong with them?). Apparently, had we received tickets for the 4 pm slot, we would have met the president himself, but by 7 pm Barrack had left the party (see how we're on a first name basis now that I've visited his home?). Regardless, it was still one of the coolest Halloweens ever.

After finally making our way home (thank god, for Uber, because cabs were non-existent), we still had time to trick or treat around the neighborhood. Thus assuring my kids reached their maximum level of exhaustion. Exhaustion coupled with gigantic pumpkins full of candy (which Coco proceeded to steal and eat). So goes another All Hallows' Eve.

Things to Do - Cherish This Day & Random Links

Sometimes you simply NEED to spend an hour or so in a room full of mylar balloons (the pics are from Arlington Artisphere's exhibit of Warhol's Silver Clouds, which have since moved on). Now click on over to Cherish the Day to see what everyone else has been up to.

RANDOM LINKS:

* The Kids Euro Festival is currently in full swing. Two months of awesome free events. Click here to see the schedule. And click here to read our review from last year.

* Before they pass away. Gorgeous photos of indigenous tribes. "In 2009, I planned to become a guest of 31 secluded and visually unique tribes. I wanted to witness their time-honoured traditions, join in their rituals and discover how the rest of the world is threatening to change their way of life forever. Most importantly, I wanted to create an ambitious aesthetic photographic document that would stand the test of time. A body of work that would be an irreplaceable ethnographic record of a fast disappearing world."

* The brilliant mind of Kevin van Aelst.

* I'm loving NPR's map of the most famous book set in every state.

* Bruce Wrighton’s Binghamton.

* Photos of Banksy in NYC.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!

Things to Read - 7 Interesting Articles From Around the Web - On Drunk Perfect Moms, Malala's Transformation, Redshirting Kindergartners, Validation, Homework, and Unicorns

* I needed a drink after reading the Atlantic's Alcohol as an Escape from Perfectionism. Sorry, bad humor. A really fascinating (and scary) read. "Alcohol offers a time out from doing it all—‘Take me out of my perfectionism.’ Superwoman is a cliché now, but it is extremely dangerous. I've seen such a perversion of feminism, where everything becomes work: raising children, reading all the books, not listening to their instincts. The main question is: What self are they trying to turn off? These women have climbed so high that when they fall, they crash—and alcohol’s a perfect way to crash.”
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* In the New York Times, Adam B. Ellick tells an ethically complex story of how Malala Yousafzai, the 16 year old Pakistani schoolgirl who the Taliban shot in the face (and runner up for the Nobel Peace Prize), became famous.

"While my original documentary tells the story of Malala’s struggle for education in the face of the Taliban, this back story also raises some sobering and difficult questions. Malala was a brave young girl, advocating for a better future for all girls in her country, but was it fair for her to fight so publicly in such a dangerous environment? Or was she thrust into the limelight by adults captivated by the power of a child staring down the Taliban?

. . . .

Malala’s father may be a progressive educator, but her family is very traditional. As in most families in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, where they lived, her father works and her mother is a homemaker. In the larger region around Swat, only one girl in five attends school. Malala’s own mother is illiterate, and Ziauddin told me she did not interact with men outside the family. I was never able to speak with her, and rarely saw her at all, because, as her husband explained, “she was not habituated to be on camera.”

. . . .

After my documentaries aired, the family’s life changed dramatically. Donations poured in. Awards arrived. Dignitaries visited. The American Embassy sent Zia on a free trip to the United States. In the bombastic Pakistani press, Malala became the de facto voice of Swat.
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* I loved (and empathized with) this piece on how back to school night made the author feel like a bad mom. "Our hunter-gatherer ancestors who carried children on their backs had to protect them from a world full of dangers, such as ravenous lions and monkeys vying for meat. Those who encouraged their children to compete for scarce resources including food and shelter helped their kids survive and reproduce, passing their genes down to succeeding generations. […] We’re the modern recipients, hardwired to want our children to win whatever battles they may face. Whenever our kids meet a competitive danger, our minds and bodies go on high alert. We receive signals of anxiety and alarm, inciting us to push our children forward to compete. Of course, the “threat,” that my sons may fall behind in their musical or athletic skill, is far from dire, my body does not know that."
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* The New Yorker published an interesting argument against "redshirting" (the practice of holding a child back for an extra year before the start of kindergarten). "By the time they get to eighth grade, any disparity has largely evened out—and, by college, younger students repeatedly outperform older ones in any given year. Why would that be the case? It all comes back to that relative difference: if you are always bigger and smarter, you may be more likely to get bored, and to think that everything—learning included—should come easily. You don’t have to strive and overcome obstacles in the form of older, more developed kids. If, on the other hand, you’re on the younger end of the spectrum, you are constantly forced to reach for your limits. And unlike in sports, where physical size often plays an undeniable, difficult-to-circumvent role in your eventual success, in school a physical disadvantage can turn into an academic advantage: children may learn to compete where they can succeed, where their persistence and attention can accomplish what their physical size may not."
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* My Daughter's Homework is Killing Me - I love any article where the author gets high and attempts to do his daughter's homework, especially while trying to figure out why kids need homework at all (a question I find myself asking quite frequently these days) - "If Esmee masters the material covered in her classes, she will emerge as a well-rounded, socially aware citizen, a serious reader with good reasoning capabilities and a decent knowledge of the universe she lives in. What more can I ask of her school? But are these many hours of homework the only way to achieve this metamorphosis of child into virtuous citizen? According to my daughter’s teachers, principals, and administrators, the answer is an emphatic yes. Certainly, they have told me, all the homework does no harm. As I watch my daughter struggle through school days on too little sleep and feel almost guilty if she wants to watch an hour of television instead of advancing a few yards in the trench warfare of her weekly homework routine, I have my doubts. When would she ever have time to, say, read a book for pleasure? Or write a story or paint a picture or play the guitar?"
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* But I Have A Law Degree wrote a wonderful post on women and validation, I loved every word so much I hate to excerpt it, but here goes - "I also believe that a person is not defined by their job or their status. The prestige I felt from my legal career reflected a fake kind of confidence. It's embarrassing to admit now, but I felt an immense sense of pride from my job title alone. But why? Someone's job status doesn't in and of itself make someone interesting. Saying I'm a lawyer at a cocktail party doesn't mean anything. What means something is who I am as a person, and what I have to say. Perhaps what I have to say happens to be about my career, and that's great. But surprisingly, I've learned that I still have plenty to say, notwithstanding my employment status."
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* Finally, this Huff Post piece on Why Generation Y Yuppies are Unhappy was already all over facebook, but it really is a great read (plus, I like unicorns).

"Cal Newport points out that "follow your passion" is a catchphrase that has only gotten going in the last 20 years, according to Google's Ngram viewer, a tool that shows how prominently a given phrase appears in English print over any period of time. The same Ngram viewer shows that the phrase "a secure career" has gone out of style, just as the phrase "a fulfilling career" has gotten hot."

Places to Go - Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament (Hanover, MD)

Within 45 minutes of arrival at Medieval Times, I began crafting an incredibly negative review in my head. In fact, I was so miserable I wanted to leave. But then, against all odds, I ended up sort of loving the place. First of all, the beginning - Medieval Times is located in a mall (a very crowed mall), which resides next to a casino, as well as several chain restaurants. And at 4 pm on a Saturday the parking situation is positively medieval. I've never witnessed anything like it (and hope to never witness anything like it ever again). Who goes to malls anyway? Don't people know about the internet. Anyways, after I dropped Dan and the kids off, it took 40 minutes to find a parking space (and really the fact that I found one at all is sort of a miracle), granted the spot was located on the top floor of a parking garage and was so small that I thought for sure the car next to me would key up the minivan, but at least I could park.

While I searched among about a million cars for one little parking spot, Dan and the kids stood in a 40 minute line in order to pick up our "reserved" tickets (we bought a Living Social Deal, but called two weeks ahead for assured seating). We then reunited to stand in another long line to enter the venue (we arrived at 4 and were seated around 5). The posted start time was 4:30, but due to "full capacity crowds", they delayed the show for thirty extra minutes.

Finally, they decked us out in cheesy paper crowns and managed to seat our family. You know I'm at my limit when Dan needs to keep reassuring me "calm down. we're here now. let's make the best of this." And then . . .

I wanted to hate our waiter. Simply because at this point I wanted to hate everything. But he was so nice and he had to carry such big trays. Then the soup came (tomato bisque) and I wanted to hate it too, but it was actually quite good (there are no utensils so you sip it from the bowl), especially when paired with the garlic bread. And, well, when the arena filled with smoke and glorious white horses came out from behind closed doors, all while my kids waved their flags and screamed "red and yellow" at the top of their lungs - I had to admit I was actually beginning to enjoy myself.

Knights competed. Theatrical lighting and fake fog created an air of mystery and suspense. Flags waved. More food came, more than any one person could really eat (potatoes, chicken, ribs). And it all tasted quite good (I know, crazy right?). Flowers were thrown into the air. Our king confronted a warload (or at least something like that happened, I was too busy eating to pay attention to the details). My kids seemed entranced.

And, yes, I was happy.

Eventually jousting occurred. And the actors did a great job of keeping everything suspenseful and Disney-esqe believable (mood music and dramatic lighting helped). Our knight was the first eliminated (probably because we were at the end of the (incredibly long) line, I've heard those seated first receive a winning knight). But even that didn't spoil the fun. Yes, we had fun. Cheesy family fun. A "wench" brought me wine (for an extra fee). And F loved the dessert pastry so much she asked me to email the establishment for the recipe.

So despite an awful beginning to the night, I recommend Medieval Times. Just don't drive there.

Things to Do - Grateful List (September 2013)

ARTS
* Watching The Beautiful Now
* Reading What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank (the short story)
* Reading Lives of Mothers & Daughters: Growing Up with Alice Munro (a used copy only cost $4 before she won the Nobel, at least I've made one good investment this year).
* Watching Drinking Buddies
* Watching Toy Story outside at Penrose Square
* Attending the Corcoran's War Photography exhibit
* Reading Family Happiness & the Cossacks (Tolstoy)
* Watching The League, Season 1 with Dan at night (so so funny)
* Listening to Grouplove's Betty's a Bombshell & Gregory Isakov's Big Black Car
* Attending Detroit at Wooly Mammoth Theater

FOOD
* Hummus and rice fritters w/tahini salad dressing
* Passata with roasted tomatoes (via Whole Larder Love)
* Gwyneth's quinoa/rice bowls (esp. with eggplant)
* Rasika with Shannon
* Crispin Cider (I can't stop drinking these lately, the taste is much "lighter" than most ciders)

STUFF
* Kyocera ceramic knives (esp. with butternut squash)
* Bumble and Bumble's Surf shampoo and conditioner

PLACES
* Ultrazone laser tag as a family (best start to a Sunday morning)

ETC
* Paras and Dan, hung over, watching My Little Pony with the kids and telling us "this show is hysterical"
* Our first family meeting ("make your own path")
* Our new morning routine (with chores for the kids)
* "There's one rule for our basement - have fun. And I made it up." - P
* P and T playing together all morning on a lazy Saturday
* Laurie, Jon, Jenny, & Paras all in town for the night (and over for dinner), so wonderful to have so many far away friends in one place
* Two nights in a row of neighborhood parties (thank you Melissa and Trina!)
* "Lis called me a nerd. Nerds are really smart and quirky so I like that." - F
* "I'm a yogurtaholic and whoever doesn't know, now they do." - T
* P always patting my shoulder and saying "ya done good mom, ya done good."
* ODESSA THE PUPPY!!
* The return of Natalia
* Coach Emma (UK Petite Soccer), the best preschool coach ever
* P mastering her back hip circle
* T on drawing - "it's not scribble scrabble, it's a racecar going really fast."
* Happy hour with Alison at Lyon Hall
* T - "What's sarcasm?"/ P - "Sarcasm is just adults trying to be funny."
* The puppy and Coco playing for hours in the backyard
* This year's block party and Dan's 1st place win in the BBQ contest for his smoked brisket
* Lots of neighborhood Friday night happy hours (I love this place).

THE KIDS' LISTS:

F - a great first day of school, awesome days, a nice house to live in and food to eat, that we have everything we need actually a little more than we need, laser tag, the puppy, a great week

P - going to birthday parties, Silver Diner, school starting, my birthday coming soon [well, actually not for 2 months], going to Menchies, Halloween, books, Project Runway, my back hip circle, Natalia, our new puppy, playdates, that you let us stay up late to watch all of Toy Story, soccer, drawing

T - my family, daddy coming home after dinner and walking with us, seeing all of my friends, going to school, Coach Emma