12/31/15

Things to Watch - NYE's with Netflix

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HAPPY NEW YEAR'S EVE EVERYONE!! We're trying something new this year, a 4 family progressive dinner/drinking party. The Mathesons (i.e. us) have the final shift - from 11:15 until whenever, we're not sure how many people will make it that long, but Dan's cooking up a huge array of desserts for those who can hang for six hours of fun.

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If your kids are too young and/or tired to stay up until midnight, this year Netflix has an array of countdowns, so kids can pick their favorite character toring in the new year again and again.

How cool is that?

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12/30/15

Things to Do - Interview the Kids (December 2015)

Every six months . . .

kids (3 of 4)

P (AGE 9)

FAVORITE COLOR - Turquoise and neon green
FAVORITE BOOK - The Sisters Grimm series
FAVORITE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL (3rd grade) - reading and art
FAVORITE SONG - All Star
FAVORITE FOOD - Tacos with Dad's venison
FAVORITE MOVIE - Goosebumps
FAVORITE TV SHOW - Once Upon a Time; Parks and Recreation; Liv and Maddie; Jessie
FAVORITE TOY - My wii
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR XMAS? - Ipod touch
FAVORITE FAMOUS PERSON - Taylor Swift & Katie Perry
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? - Interior designer; author
BEST FRIEND - Laney
FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A FAMILY - Watch movies & go places
FAVORITE PLACE TO GO AS A FAMILY - Paris; NYC; San Sebastian, Spain
FAVORITE THING TO DO AFTER SCHOOL - Playdates and sleepovers
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH F - Soccer
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH T - Read to him
DREAM VACATION - Hawaii
FAVORITE MUSEUM - The Spy Museum
FAVORITE SEASON - Fall
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS WINTER? - Have a nice Christmas with family
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER/FALL - Going to Europe; Eurodisney; playing with Laney

kids (1 of 4)

T (AGE 6)

FAVORITE COLOR - Blue
FAVORITE BOOK - Fly Guy
FAVORITE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL (1st grade) - Play outside by myself and build forts
FAVORITE SONG - Jingle Bells; Shut Up and Dance
FAVORITE FOOD - Yogurt; hot dogs; hamburgers; ketchup
FAVORITE MOVIE - I don't know, maybe Pixels
FAVORITE TV SHOW - Once Upon a Time; Liv and Maddie
FAVORITE TOY - Coco the dog [note from Darcy - who is not a toy!!!]
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR XMAS? - A Star Wars set, can you add that to my list?
FAVORITE FAMOUS PERSON - Walk the Moon
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? - I'm still figuring it out, which should take at least 10 years
BEST FRIEND - Graham, Ian, Cole, and Mateo
FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A FAMILY - Have people massage my feet and watch me do my butt dance [note from Darcy - neither of these things has ever happened. ever]
FAVORITE PLACE TO GO AS A FAMILY - I don't know
FAVORITE THING TO DO AFTER SCHOOL - Build a fort
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH P - I think "P needs to get off the phone" should be a game
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH F - I think "F needs to stop reading her books" should be a game
DREAM VACATION - Taking a private jet to outer space.
FAVORITE MUSEUM - The Museum of Crime and Punishment [note from Darcy - which I think is closed now].
FAVORITE SEASON - June/summer, because of my birthday
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS WINTER? - Have a six day fort building sleepover with my friends.
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER/FALL - I don't remember, maybe Europe.

kids (2 of 4)

F (AGE 10)

FAVORITE COLOR - Blue
FAVORITE BOOK - Almost Home; Out of My Mind; Fish In a Tree
FAVORITE SUBJECT AT SCHOOL (4th grade) - Reading
FAVORITE SONG - Bad Blood; Uptown Funk
FAVORITE FOOD - Steak, this answer will never change for me
FAVORITE MOVIE - Big Hero 6
FAVORITE TV SHOW - Anything on the Disney channel; Once Upon a Time; Parks & Recreation
FAVORITE TOY - Do books count?
WHAT DO YOU WANT FOR XMAS? - Chemistry set; basketball hoop for my bedroom door; books
FAVORITE FAMOUS PERSON - Taylor Swift & Malala
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP? - Engineer; author; scientist; poet
BEST FRIEND - Mika
FAVORITE THING TO DO AS A FAMILY - Play boardgames; play with the dogs; watch movies
FAVORITE PLACE TO GO AS A FAMILY - Spain; NYC
FAVORITE THING TO DO AFTER SCHOOL - Read
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH T - Read him books
FAVORITE GAME TO PLAY WITH P - Try not to hit each other, which isn't really a game
DREAM VACATION - Travel the world
FAVORITE MUSEUM - MOMA
FAVORITE SEASON - fall
WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO THIS WINTER? - Is it ever going to snow? I want to go sledding.
FAVORITE MEMORY FROM THIS SUMMER/FALL - I loved Europe and Smith Mountain Lake. I liked my birthday party and the summer solstice party.

kids (4 of 4)

12/25/15

Things to Do - MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! - Random Links & Cherish This Day

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Merry Christmas everyone (which seems somewhat bizarre to say as it is 71 degrees today)! Earlier this week, we took a quick vacation to NYC and I fell in love with this little statue at the Met. I'll have more photos of the trip up in the next few weeks, but in the meantime, have a fantastic holiday weekend!

RANDOM LINKS:

* I LOVE this gallery wall!!!

* The lists keep coming - (1) The Atlantic's 5 books we missed in 2015; (2) Vulture's the 10 best podcasts of 2015; (3) The New Yorker's best books of 2015; (4) The New Yorker's favorite portraits of 2015; (5) NPR's favorite songs of 2015.

* 8 winter activities to enjoy in Europe. I WANT TO GO!!

* Brooke Collier photography continues to amaze me.

* 34 long articles to read over the holidays (link via Miss Moss).

* 46 Christmas cookie recipes from around the world. These all look awesome!

* Aren't these buildings so colorful and beautiful?

* New York Time's the year in pictures and how they made the cut; "The process always reminds me of how crucial a sense of voice, a sense of authorship is in making pictures. We are often looking at many different visual interpretations of the same event, and so it gives me a heightened appreciation for what any individual photographer brings to a story. You aren’t just documenting what’s happening in front of you. There’s a huge amount of decision-making that goes into the kind of picture that you as a photographer are going to make, as opposed to someone who could be standing a foot away from you."

12/23/15

Things to Do - The BEST party game ever

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A few weeks ago we hosted a game night (the idea, borrowed from Shannon, being that you invite 5-7 couples who don't know each other, drink, play board games and bond). It's a great way to have fun and mix up your friends. Anyways, Dan and I racked our brains for the perfect party games (besides Cards Against Humanity), and came up blank (Settlers of Catan, sadly, doesn't exactly work for big groups, or, really, parties). Luckily, a friend recommended Celebrity, which we loved because we didn't have to buy anything and we ended up having a crazy fun time (I've also heard the game called "Fishbowl").

Here's how to play:

1. Everyone writes down three famous people (anyone from Jesus to Madonna), just try to make sure it's a name that everyone in the group would know (as we learned on Friday, Jimmy the Superfly Snuka is not a name we all recognize, though nice try Hector). Throw all the names in a big bowl and divide into two teams.

2. ROUND 1 - The first player draws a name from the fish bowl and can give as many oral or movement based clues as necessary to get her/his team to guess the name. Each player has 1 minute to go through as many names as possible. This round ends when all the names are drawn.

3. ROUND 2 - Now all the names are thrown back in the bowl, this round each player can only say ONE WORD to try and get his/her team to guess the names on the paper. Same 1 minute turns. Play until all the names are drawn.

4. ROUND 3 - All the names are thrown back in the bowl again, but this round each player cannot talk, HE/SHE CAN ONLY GESTURE to get his/her team to guess.

I know it sounds like a super easy, not-that-original game, but since each round changes the rules you'll find yourself laughing like crazy. Really. Perfect for all this holiday down-time.

12/21/15

Things to Do - Around the House (November/December 2015)

I haven't posted photos of our ordinary days in quite awhile; so here goes, our "wild and precious" life . . .

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You don't actually need to rent a bicycle from Capital Bikeshare to have fun on one.

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Even though Halloween is long gone, T insists on carrying the cane everywhere.

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Ipad sibling bonding.

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P cannot stop reading The Sisters Grimm series.

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I love when I go to download photos from my iphone and I find selfies from my favorite toddler.

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The last days of soccer practice.

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Laurie Keller came to the kids' school and now they're all obsessed with Arnie the Doughnut.

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Rainbows are pretty awesome.

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But don't forget to dance in the rain.

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Our friends returned from six months in Pakistan with the Foreign Service and bought the kids coolio souvenirs.

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We spent Thanksgiving in Richmond with Dan's family, playing Trivial Pursuit and eating tons of yummy food.

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In Richmond, we took a walk around the beautiful Belle Isla. (Basically no coats were worn in November).

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And street lamps were climbed (of course).

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We also climbed in playgrounds (for variety).

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The girls learned how difficult it can be to convince a toddler to nap.

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The boys created a new clubhouse on the side of our house. I think the neighbors might be a tad bit annoyed.

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Sometimes siblings help with homework.

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And sometimes friends "help".

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!

12/18/15

Things to Do - Grateful List (November 2015) & Cherish This Day

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Happy Friday everyone, don't forget to check out this week's awesome on Cherish This Day.

ARTS
* Reading Americanah
* Reading Some Luck
* Watching What Happened Miss Simone?
* Watching Project Runway, Season 14 (Ashely and Kelly!)
* Watching Master of None (esp. episode 9)
* Watching Girls Season 4 (esp. episode 5)
* Listening to Angus and Julia Stone
* Listening to Spotify's discover weekly playlists
* Attending the play Sorry [Apple Family Circus] at Studio Theater for date night
* P binge-reading the Sisters Grimm series
* T's excitement about meeting Laurie Keller and the Arnie the Doughnut series

PLACES
* Hiking/walking Belle Isla (Richmond, VA) the day after Thanksgiving

FOOD
* Rose's Luxury for Shannon's birthday (possibly the best dinner I've ever eaten)
* Best Bun's monkey bread
* Steak with chimichuri sauce, brussels sprouts with bacon, and roasted red potatoes with thyme

ETC.
* 70 degree days
* F winning her election for school historian
* Rainy, lazy Saturdays
* Making it through two weekends in a row of sleepover birthday parties
* Neighborhood glow in the dark kickball
* Mini-law school reunion dinner at our house with Jim, Val, and Melissa
* T's cardboard box/fort/dungeon/battleship
* The Thanksgiving kids' spa
* Family Trivial Pursuit on Thanksgiving
* 9 family photo shoots (all with awesome families!)

THE KIDS' LISTS:

F - Mysterious Benedict Society, Garfield comics, Happy & Coco, T's reading, books, P's birthday, snow, hot chocolate, sledding [note - we haven't had any of these yet], Thanksgiving

P - candy, cupcakes, ponies, Sisters Grimm, my birthday, Veterans Day, books, school, playdates, sleepovers, my imagination, my popple from Netflix, my Minion, Thanksgiving with my cousins, snuggles, hugs, reading the Magician's Nephew

T - P's birthday, kickball, that we went to the zoo, Veteran's Day, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, watching Once Upon a Time, an amazing family, building my box fort with P, Thanksgiving with my cousins and grandparents

12/17/15

Things to Read - On the Bookshelf (December 2015)

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Recent reads . . . as always, my favorites are starred.

1. The Mare - Mary Gaitskill's novel, Veronica is one of the most haunting books I've ever read. It's also amazing. So I expected some sort of tragic sadness from her newest book, The Mare. But instead, the novel starts off somewhat sappily sweet when a tween girl from an inner-city neighborhood goes to stay with a childless couple in the country for the summer (via a charity called the Fresh Air fund). The book alternates perspectives, mainly between the girl, Velvet, and Ginger, the "country" wife (for lack of a better adjective). Velvet eventually becomes a realistic character, full of teenage desires, as she tried to balance the two radically different worlds in which she's found herself. But throughout the novel Ginger remained somewhat of an empty shell, who never came to life for me.

***2. Some Luck - This is the first book in a trilogy involving 100 years in the life of a midwestern farm family. The beginning was a little cheesy as it is told through a young baby than toddler's perspective. But eventually Smiley finds her pace and I could not put this book down. I ended up falling in love with every character, from the selfish oldest son to the animal loving middle child. A great read.

3. Mislaid - I've written about Nell Zink before (click here) and I'm still not sure what to make of her. In this novel, a lesbian mom, while escaping her gay husband, kidnaps her daughter and lives in poverty for a series of years, while pretending to be black (because she stole a dead child's birth certificate). It's sort of funny, it's sort of uncomfortable. It's a farce, maybe. I don't know. But it's worth reading.

***4. Life After Life - Everyone told me I'd love this book and they were all right. The writing is crazy good. And the idea that the smallest changes in a day/week/month could effect your entire life is (as always) fascinating.

5. My Documents - These short stories by Chilean writer, Alejandro Zambra, occur during the Pinochet years. Some are better than others, but they all focus on people unsure of the present and scared to question the past. The best (if you ask me) is Memories of a Personal Computer, where the story of a relationship is told through how the couple uses (and disuses) technology.

***6. Americanah - I'm a little obsessed with Adichie after reading her book/pamphlet We Should All Be Feminists. And I LOVED this novel. We live in a neighborhood with a lot of families from different countries and I always want to ask, "What do you think? Are you happy here? Did America fulfill your expectations?" But I can never find a non-cheesy way to have this conversation. This novel was, for me, the conversation I've been wanting to have. The story involves a Nigerian woman's experiences in America, but it's so much more than that. It's a love story. And it's about race. And nationality. And travel. And being poor. And later, not being poor. After I finished it, I felt like my best friend had just left. I didn't want to let her go.

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