Americana

On Sunday, we went into the District to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit at the Museum of American Art. We met our old friend, Red Hawk (think politics, not nature), who lives in DC, but whom we see much to little of, at the museum.

We weren't allowed to take any photos in the exhibit, but I was not all that wowed. They had a lot of famous pieces by Rockwell, but few of them portrayed family, which is what I think of most when I think of him. It was still a nice exhibit, but I preferred the bits of the National Portrait Gallery that we saw. There are apparently two other floors of portraits, so I guess it's good that we live only half an hour away. I really love free museums!

Afterward, we went to get a cup of tea, and Wiggle had a mango lassi, which he wouldn't share with either his dad or me.

Wiggle doesn't trust him for a minute.

Red Hawk entertained him with the light saber app on his Iphone. The boy figured it out right away and was hooked. Next he'll be giving him Star Trek toys.

Today we did the First Haircut. I had debated going to a place called Cartoon Cuts in the mall, but a surprising number of reviews on yelp mentioned kids' ears getting cut, so they exited the running fairly early in the game. I decided instead to go to an old-time barber shop that a woman in our playgroup recommended. I think it was definitely the right choice. They had birds and an aquarium with fish to look at while we were waiting.

Wiggle had to sit on two booster seats so that he would be tall enough. When we propped him up on the seat, he was upset that his feet wouldn't reach the footrest at the bottom of the chair. They also had a big tv and put on cartoons for him during the cut.

The Shaggy Boy

The woman who cut his hair was very nice and quite good with him, but she did take a long time, which I was prepared for because the woman from our playgroup had mentioned it.

Getting started

The first cut

Resting on Daddy's arm and taking some M&M's to make it through

The Haircut

Checking the results

Afterward, C got a haircut too, and both my boys went from chic to geek - that is until we tousled them up a bit and realized that they were still my chic boys. I'm still mourning Wiggle's long locks a little, but he does look pretty grown up with his big boy hair now.

After some other errands, I was scheduled to go to the gym, but was dragging my feet about it. I managed to change into my gym clothes, but was hanging around talking to C as he was giving Wiggle a bath, when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. My first thought? "Damn! I look good!" Yes, I actually thought "Damn!" and two exclamation points. It's only been a week of my ramped up exercise and healthy eating plan, and I could see a difference. I look a little sleeker, well, let's be honest, maybe not sleek, but less lumpy to be sure! I hightailed it to the gym and had my best run yet. Plus, I made a plan with Red Hawk to run a 10k in April, and I'm getting a used jogging stroller tomorrow, so I have both motivation and an extra tool to get me to my goal. 

Tonight, I could have watched TV again, but I didn't. So far, I still really like it without it. I feel less anxious about what I have to do. I don't even think I'm getting that much more done, but I'm more aware of what's on my plate, so I feel more like I have a handle on it. Change is good; I like change, when I initiate it, especially. Another week of the eating changes, and I will get to re-evaluate to see if I want to stick with this, or go a different route. 

Oh yeah - we are already Christmas tree crazy at our house. Wiggle would spend hours in the tree aisle at Target if we let him. I haven't gotten him one for his room yet, but will as soon as they have the small ones in stock again. And he wants colored lights to C's great dismay. I prefer white lights too, but I totally see the appeal from his point of view. After all, he doesn't even know about ornaments yet. 

I did get this awesome advent calendar though. Someday I will make one that has special significance for us, but in the meantime, this one for $2.50 will do. I think it's really cute, don't you?