Fun weekend: nice weather, great new playground

(Photo by Washington Post)

We spent both days this weekend outside, discovering a great new playground and revisiting a favorite that we’ve been to before. On Saturday, we took the children to Clemyjontri Park, a multi-million dollar playground that opened last fall. It was our first visit to the “Clemy Park,” which we heard about from parents at our neighborhood playground. This park is amazing. It was designed to be accessible to children with disabilities as well as able-bodied children. Because most of the equipment is low to the ground to accommodate kids in wheelchairs, it is also easy to climb for little kids, making the park very popular with the preschool crowd. The playground portion of the park covers about 2 acres, with four different play zones surrounding a centerpiece carousel. Our 3 y.o. was so excited when we first arrived that he didn’t linger long enough to play on any one piece of equipment–he was too excited to see what else there was. Finally, he settled down to play on a few favorites: the race car game, the drag strip foot race area, and the huge jungle gym. He also took two turns on the carousel, once with daddy and once with mommy. Our 4 month old even got in on the action as she had her first ride on a tot swing.The park will continue to expand with additional trails, a gazebo, and more parking. Lack of parking was the only complaint I had–the very small lot does not begin to accommodate the large crowds that Clemy is drawing. They have smartly come up with some overflow parking down the street, but it requires a 10-15 minute hike back to the playground. Since I’m still recovering from the broken toe, my husband dropped off me and our 3 y.o., parked the car, and then walked back with the baby. A little inconvenient, but not a deal-breaker. While not near enough to go every weekend, this playground was such a hit with our family that I expect we’ll be back a few more times this summer.

Taking advantage of the great spring weather this weekend, we were out again on Sunday for a family picnic at Fort Ward Park. Our son packed up a favorite blanket, a frisbee, and a little musical toy to provide entertainment for all of us. We discovered that he throws the frisbee like his mom, but I trust he’ll soon be better with practice.

All in all, a very nice weekend.

The balancing act, and remembering one’s priorities

As I begin this record, my son is three and a half years old, and daughter is four and half months old. With the addition of our daughter to the family, we are juggling a bit with the practical details involved in managing a family of four. I returned to my full-time job 4 weeks ago so much of the logistics now focus on 1) transportation issues–getting everyone where they need to be each day; 2) morning and evening routines–i.e. which parent tends to or plays with each child at any given moment, while getting done everything we need to do in a short amount of time; and 3) division of labor: sorting out the household chores–from cleaning to finances to laundry and cooking–in a way that makes sense for all of us.

Add to that trying to figure out a way to build in a bit of personal time for each parent so we don’t totally feel like we’ve lost all of our former selves. For me, that means time to read, knit, and occasionally get together with friends. For my husband, (I think) the list is similar, except for the knitting. His wish list would probably include uninterrupted time with the paper each morning, some quiet time now and then, lots of reading, and time to spend on his music collection. I would say that neither of us is fully getting our needs met in this area right now, but that’s probably to be expected with an infant in the house. I trust it will get a little easier as the children get older, and as we continue to figure out more efficient ways of doing things to free up a bit of time.

Equally important is trying to find a way to carve out some couple time so we don’t jeopardize the relationship that got us here in the first place. Because our daughter is still so young, leaving the kids with a babysitter so we can have a date night, while not impossible, still seems a bit daunting to me. I also cringe at the expense of a night out when you factor this area’s $12-15/hour cost of a babysitter for two kids. Add that to the price of dinner and/or a movie and it makes me want to stay home. Perhaps a better option right now would be to plan some time one night after the kids go to bed for a nice, quiet dinner together. Or time to play a game of Scrabble or cribbage. Or just talk about things other than househould/children issues. Not that those aren’t important topics, but what did we talk about before we had kids? Before we got married? Current events? Goals in life? Philosophical leanings? Oh, we do talk a little bit now about current events and political stuff, but I barely have the time to follow the news these days, much less have an intelligent conversation about it.

Yet even though I sometimes get caught up in the perceived “stressfulness” of it all, when I take a moment to reflect, I realize that this is the happiest time of my life. Two wonderful children, a husband that I love very much, a decent job, good health, a safe place to live. I am truly blessed.

Good time waster

Just discovered View from the Cube, a series of essays on life in the office. Pretty entertaining.

Buhbaya Sanjaya!

Finally, America has come to its senses as Sanjaya Malakar is voted off the island. Notice how everyone in the audience cheered when the announcement was made?

He seemed like a nice-enough kid at first, and he *is* only 17, so that explains a lot, but still. It was his increasingly cocky attitude each week that began to annoy me more than his blatant lack of talent and creepy Michael Jackson-esque persona, though those irritated me plenty too.

Who says the IRS has no heart?

Taxpayers affected by yesterday’s nor’easter have two additional days to file 2006 tax returns.

4/19/07 Update: The IRS is also allowing extensions for those affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech, and those who couldn’t e-file because TurboTax’s server crashed with the last minute crush. While I’m still far from loving the IRS, they made some good decisions this week.

Would you have stopped?

The cover story of this week’s Washington Post Magazine intrigued me: take a world-renowned violinist and his multi-million dollar Stradivarius, have him play for change at a DC Metro station during morning rush-hour, and see if anyone notices.

My immediate thought was no, of course I would not stop, for a couple reasons. First, I oppose the idea of street musicians being allowed to play in the Metro. The transit authority is considering ending its historical ban in order to welcome buskers, but only those who would be vetted by some sort of arts commission. That may weed out the worst of the worst, but since musical preference is so personal, chances are that many commuters will not enjoy the performances on any given day. Better that your iPod play whatever racket you like to hear, mine can play Johnny Cash, Billy Bragg, or Barry White, and we’ll all be happier for it.

Aside from my opposition to buskers in principle, there is a second, and more personally bothersome reason, that I likely would not have stopped to listen to Joshua Bell play his violin: I wouldn’t have recognized his greatness. Actually, that’s not completely accurate. When I watched the video clips that accompany the article online, I could hear that the music was indeed quite beautiful. However, to my ears, a classical music sampler CD from the bargin bin at Target would probably sound just as good. I don’t have an ear for whatever it is that people hear and recognize as superior sound. Whether I am tone deaf (likely), musically uneducated (certainly), or both–I just can’t hear the difference. So not recognizing the unique opportunity being offered to me, I probably would have walked on by.

Debunking the wage gap myth

From the Washington Post:

Carrie Lukas, of the Independent Women’s Forum, explains the faulty reasoning behind the oft-cited statistic that women make just 77 cents for every dollar that men make. The career decisions that women make–not systemic discrimination–account for the earnings differential.

Surveys have shown for years that women tend to place a higher priority on flexibility and personal fulfillment than do men, who focus more on pay. Women tend to avoid jobs that require travel or relocation, and they take more time off and spend fewer hours in the office than men do. Men disproportionately take on the dirtiest, most dangerous and depressing jobs.

When these kinds of differences are taken into account and the comparison is truly between men and women in equivalent roles, the wage gap shrinks.

I will allow that some of the discrepancy may be that women are not comfortable with negotiating for higher pay in the way that men have traditionally done. But again, that points to a controllable (by women) factor, not some sort of sex discrimination. I just am not convinced that a boss looks at two workers, one male and one female, and decides to pay one more than the other based solely on their sex.

AI Results: Are you kidding me?

I know American Idol has been blogged to death, but I just have to say, I was really surprised last night. Not that Gina would have ultimately won, but she is certainly a better performer than freak-show Sanjaya, nasally Chris, and creepy Phil.

C’mon, America!!

Misguided attempt at efficiency = broken toe + mommy guilt

So I’ve been back at work for two weeks now and in the morning rush to get out the door, I fell down on the stairs while carrying the baby. Fortunately she was buckled into her carseat and wasn’t hurt, but I ended up breaking my big toe. And of course, since I am nursing, I can’t take any real pain meds, just ibuprofen.

The doctor tells me I should stay off it, and keep it elevated for a week. Um, I just came off maternity leave so I have no sick leave to use…not to mention that I have a 3 y.o. and a 4 m.o. baby–stay off my feet? How’s that supposed to work? But if I don’t, and the fracture spreads to the joint, I could end up needing surgery.

In retrospect, I’m so frustrated and angry at myself because I was trying to carry too much stuff down the stairs, causing me to lose my balance. I was tired, frazzled, rushing out the door, and not thinking clearly. Thank God the baby wasn’t hurt. I’m struggling with the guilt that she might have been and it would have been my fault. That hurts more than the toe.

Will This House of Cards Come Tumblin’ Down?

Upon my return to work last month following the birth of our second child, my husband and I created a somewhat complex arrangement to get everyone to and from work and daycare each day. With four people going four different places and one car among us, it took a bit of creative thinking to come up with our daily commuting routine. Key to making this work is that I be able to walk my daughter home from daycare in the stroller, a trek that is just a little more than a mile long.

We may have a problem. I fell on the steps this morning and now my toe is throbbing and turning purple.

Realizing how much easier life would be, we had already discussed purchasing a second car. Maybe we’ll want to do that sooner rather than later.