SoccerFest 2010

MAC Soccerfest is a big 4 v 4 tournament played on a big old farm (yes, a farm) in Maryland every year in June. This year we took both a boys U-7 team, and a boys U-9 team. Both teams were made up of players from a few different teams that Tom has coached over the past year or two. Both teams had a fantastic time, and the little boys' team even won 2nd in their bracket (they got medals and were very pleased with themselves)! We are so proud of all three of our boys and all of the rest of the kids that came out to play, and are really glad that everyone had a good time!

Ian and Sam lined up for a game (look for the red socks)

Max's game (he's on the far right going after a ball out of frame)

U-7 Parents and U-9 kids (in white jerseys) watching the U-7 team play

Sam taking a break between games

Diana helping Lucy to apply her "bows"

Lucy had fun too!

U-7 Piranhas

U-9 Revolution

Ian's Medal

DC Traffic Woes

In case you ever wonder how bad traffic really is in DC, or if we are just a bunch of complainers (well, about traffic at least), here's the picture from Tom's trip home a few weeks back. It wasn't just a little congested, but a LOT congested. Funny thing is, it looks like this on any given weekday evening: All I can say is thank goodness that Tom doesn't drive through that (he sneaks to work via a different, less congested route), and REALLY thank goodness that I'm not in it at all. I think I'd go postal if I had to sit in that kind of traffic. Give me long stretches of open road any day over a traffic jam!

Lucy's June

In June, we:

(had lunch with our big brother Sam at school)

(cheered on our school's staff basketball team)

(Watched our big brothers Max, Ian, and Sam play soccer)

(watched our big brothers in their gymnastics show)

(bounced in a bouncy house)

(and ate cupcakes.)

All in all a great June. And now we rest.

My new friend

Actually, it's a new member of the family, but it doesn't make as big of a mess as any of the other members of the family. I am the proud new owner of a coffee maker. Yes, me who doesn't drink caffeinated anything, owns the slick, cool, Keurig Elite Coffeemaker.

It's actually a birthday present, but I was tired of paying Starbucks prices, or going out of my way to duck into the local Bloom to grab coffee, so I bought this for myself as an early present (two months early and Tom keeps reminding me tat I skipped right over two OTHER birthdays in the house when I did this). Anyway, if you are ever over here, I can now serve you a cup of non-instant, actually brewed coffee! I have not only my beloved decaf flavors, but also a few different kinds of fully loaded coffee, and can make a cup in all of 2 minutes. It's not exactly the coolest thing since sliced bread (it's just a coffeemaker and doesn't do laundry) but of all the coffeemakers that I've seen it's the easiest and fastest, and it makes darn good coffee!

WAKA WAKA!

No, it's not Fozzie Bear like I know you are thinking (that's what I thought of first). It's WORLD CUP!!!! I have been watching loads of soccer and have, for the first time in my adult life, thoroughly enjoyed the games that I've watched. Not so happy with all of the outcomes, but the games are certainly fun to watch.

Back to the WAKA WAKA. Well, a friend of mine popped me a note with this link: http://www.youtube.com/shakirawakawaka (you really should click through on the link - it's short but it explains it all). Being a big Shakira fan, I was excited right off the bat. Then I saw what Shakira was doing with this project - spreading the word about access to education (a lack of it to be precise), so I signed on right away to help get this dance danced and this video made. Alice, a brilliant mind, knew that this type of activity was the perfect fit for our school, and boy was she right. So, in the span of three days, we pulled it off, and the fantastic result is here:

Our kids can dance with the best of 'em! Thanks Alice for bringing some WAKA WAKA to Bailey's!

My kids are "Good" Criminals - NOT.

After losing electronics privileges for some random act of silliness, the boys decided that they were going to be criminals. But they weren't going to be good criminals, as Tom calls them, just criminals. They snuck the electronics out of the cabinet in our bedroom, put them under their pillows, and played them until the wee hours of the night. They were sleep deprived the next day and because I was under the weather (and had been for about a week and a half at that point) I missed it completely. Mo Mom radar was off, and they actually snuck one by me. So me, the level headed generous in spirit Mom, threw down the royal punishment. No electronics until the summer. Clearly they haven't yet learned not to mess with Mom. Now, they had been "good criminals," then htey might have had a decent story or even snuck the things back to play another day, but no. They left the handhelds right under their pillows. So the first night that I was back up and giving bedtime hugs, which involved me feeling under their pillows to see what is stashed there, I found the DS's So between violating the rules and then the poor criminal activity follow up, these kids got the big-time punishment. The punishment fit the crime, and they are still without electronics as we still have a week of school left. It's been two weeks now, and they are slightly more polite, play outside more, and don't talk back as much, so maybe this whole no electronics thing is good. And maybe they'll look at me funny tomorrow and lose another week. ;) Poor kids, no idea who they are dealing with.

Backyard Football - Phipps Style

Even though it's not football season officially yet (but soon it will be!) we are raring to go here:

It's ME!!!

Aside from my desperately needing a haircut and

to get the pink back in - here I am!

Brian Gaynor - Fireflies

I absolutely adore this guy:

Fire @ Yahoo! Video

His musicality is off the charts!

11 Reasons Why We’re Smurfing Out Over The New Smurfs Movie | The Frisky

SMURFS!!! Can't believe that they are actually making a movie about my favorite blue furry critters, but they are! Who knew that the 80's would be so popular!

11 Reasons Why We’re Smurfing Out Over The New Smurfs Movie | The Frisky

It's pool season!

Everyone knows that Memorial Day marks the start of "Pool Season." But for us, this is the first year that we've actually joined a pool here in DC. Before now it seemed a bit silly - we have a pool at our gym that we swim at year round, and then last year Lucy was a wee one. But this year we ventured out into the sun for the first time, and it was a huge success. The water was frigid (it is Northern Virginia after all, and the average high this time of year is only 75 degrees, but the boys jumped right in. Lucy (thankfully) had second thoughts about the cold water, but she was sporting her Minnie Mouse swimsuit, and she headed off to the kiddie pool and the little kids' play area. Kept me out of the water, so I was fine with that. Then, as our pool time was sandwiched in between nap time and bed time, we ate dinner at the pool too. Chilly little men and a little girl that was reconsidering getting in the big pool, but everyone settled and ate and enjoyed their time at the pool. All in all a good first swim at "our pool."

I am a Free Range Mom

May 29, 2010

I am a Free Range Mom

A friend of mine recently started a group on Facebook that is called Free-Range Parent Society. While the group is new, the concept is not (but boy am I glad that she gave it a name!). I am a Free Range Mom, and have been since the birth of my first son. I encourage my kids to dig in the dirt, wander the yard, play in the sand, and explore their surroundings. I allow them the flexibility to learn as we go.

While this often delays us, my kids know that stopping and smelling the flowers, but also touching them, and sometimes even tasting them, is not only acceptable, but encouraged. I teach my kids to be independent, to make their own choices, and understand the consequences of those choices. I empower them to explore their world – it’s their world too after all. If that means that they are a little more dirty, come home a little late, or have to sit a little longer with a friend or sibling to work things out, then so be it.

Too often we are caught up in the day to day things to realize that our kids are growing up quickly, and that they need time to be kids, but also to explore and learn to be independent. I send my kids outside to play regularly, by themselves, and have done so since they were all pretty small. They need the freedom to explore without my watching their every step. They need to learn confidence in their choices, and know that getting dirty is part of being a kid. Being outside, away from me, helps them develop all kinds of great skills (not to mention the benefits alone of playing outside). My kids don’t need a security details when they roam. They are free to ride bikes, play soccer, visit friends, you name it. Don’t get me wrong – I’m very safety conscious. My kids wear helmets, are all in car seats, and taught basic safety as well as stranger danger rules. But I also encourage them to roam the world with their eyes open – knowing that they might encounter something unique or interesting. Instead of looking to me for support, they are examining their surroundings and stumbling on incredible things. They have learned to negotiate treaties, build bridges (literally and figuratively), deal with strangers, and deal with boredom. My children are independent, free thinkers who often wander off the path.

It was hard to take that first step towards being a Free Range Mom. I knew early on that I wasn’t a helicopter parent – far from one as a matter of fact. But I also knew that there had to be a balance between letting my kids roam free, and safety. So, I taught them what I could, empowered them to make good choices, then set them free. As they reach certain milestones, I let them do more and more on their own. Learning what your kids are capable of is part of this though – you need to maintain the safety and at the same time let them walk their own path. This particular path has led me to three well behaved, forward thinking, independent children (and a fourth that’s well on her way) that make their own choices, deal with their own consequences, but most of all are allowed to be who they want to be. Dirt, sand, rocks, adventures, friends, and sometimes tears all have a place in our house, and I hope they do in yours too.

This is an original DC Metro Moms post. Suzie also blogs at Confessions of a Not So Well Behaved Woman and shares the stories of the adventures that her kids take her on.

Phipps Family - Spring 2010

Our adventures this Spring in 30 seconds:

Phipps Family - Spring 2010

More pictures to come soon!

Our brain is a powerful thing

Check this out - Bobby McFerrin is my hero!

World Science Festival 2009: Bobby McFerrin Demonstrates the Power of the Pentatonic Scale from World Science Festival on Vimeo.

The Napmeister

This boy is the MASTER of the quick nap. If there was an award to be won, Ian would win it. We drive 30 seconds away from school and he's out. We hit the road for a soccer game, and he's out. We head out for gymnastics, and he's out. His napping skills simply can't be beat. And he's not sleeping because he's totally exhausted - he gets a decent amount of sleep at night - he just needs more. He would do well if he could take an afternoon nap every day, but unfortunately school doesn't allow that to happen. Up until he was in school he took regular naps. Not regular like his older brother Max did - Max would sleep for two hours every day until he hit kindergarten. But Ian took (and still takes) cat naps. For some kids this would cause trouble a night, but he's also pretty quick to go to bed then too. Ian takes a 20-30 minute nap (and sometimes shorter), then wakes up and hops right out of the car and goes on his way. He goes from dead asleep to gymnastics in two minutes. He goes from slumped over to soccer in 90 seconds. Pretty impressive if you ask me. Nothing wrong with him - he just needs MORE sleep than other folks, and if I had his napping skills I'd be taking full advantage of them too!

How to train your kids

Every parent's dream is to have children that pick up after themselves, do chores around the house to help out, and are generally responsible. Well, my friends, if this is your dream too, do I have a secret to share with you. If you start them young enough, and keep your expectations high, they WILL do chores, clean up after them selves, and help around the house. Ands by start early, I mean at the ripe old age of ONE. Lucy is actually almost 2 now (22 months to be precise), and she recently started helping her brothers out with their chores. She'll actually unload the dishwasher for anyone who will let her (and you know they are always telling her when it's their chore). She does a pretty decent job of it too. You tell her it's time to do the dishes and she scurries into the kitchen (actually it's closer to a full out run but she's little so it's still a scurry). She unloads what she can, puts them mostly into the right spots, and as long as someone else is grabbing the stuff she can't reach all is well. If you don't grab that stuff then you end up with dishes in weird places or silverware all in one drawer. Regardless, we started early with the boys and to this day they do chores pretty much every night. Each kiddo has three chores every night, and minus a few complaints here and there and a bit of micromanaging for a few specific chores that they've become slackers at, they do a pretty decent job. I wouldn't eat off the floor after the clean it, but hey, it's one less thing that I have to do, and they contribute to the household! So, yes, we start 'em young here. And yes, it works, and we have the track record to prove it.

BOA - You need to work on your signs

The local BOA sign is being taken over by leaves:

on the inside!

In Honor of my Mom on Mother's Day ;)

I'm a chiropractic convert

For years I've had lower back pain and have been treated by a variety of folks, but mainly surgeons and PT's. I feel pain, go to the surgeon, he gives me a shot, then I get PT and then go about my life for a while. Then, a year, maybe two, or even three passes, and I feel pain again, go to the surgeon, get a shot, and you get the drift. Well, this time, the first time since we've moved to DC I have been referred to a chiropractor. While my mom went to one when I was younger, the thought never really crossed my mind. The surgeon always gave me my shot, the PT showed me new exercises and stretches, and the pain slowly went away. The problem with that approach was that nothing was ever fixed, and the pain would come and go in between and I had no remedy other than Advil and bed rest. Well, like I said, I'm a chiropractic convert. If I could bring my chiropractor home and feed him I would (he's already got a home and I assume he's well fed). If I could give him my firstborn I would (he's already got kids I believe). But this man relieves my pain. And the best part is that he does so whenever it hurts, without any Cortisone shots in my back (sounds worse when I put it that way, doesn't it). Now, the original problem with my back is a congenital defect and will never go away, but now when that little pain creeps up, I'm not laid out for a week writhing in pain and popping pills. It's a manageable pain. And the best part is that so far, whenever those little pains creep up, I can walk in, get an adjustment, and walk out pain free. There are times when the pain is more significant or I have to wait a day or three due to my schedule, but no more chronic pain that knocks me off my game, and no more heavy meds or shots to control the pain. Since I started going to the chiropractor seven month or so ago, I've taken Advil exactly ONCE for lower back pain. Considering I used to put the Advil executives' kids through college, that's a significant improvement. So yes, I'm a chiropractic convert and will now shout that from the rooftops to anyone that will listen.

Thinking of Mom

I've run across an old friend, been helping to organize a blood drive, and have watched the kids do some new and cool things this week and it's making me think of my mom. So, I'm sharing a few pictures from the last time the boys saw her in July of 2006, shortly before she passed away.

Mimi & Max

Mimi & Sam

Mimi & Ian

We miss you and we love you!

Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque'

Now this is truly putting the internet to good use. A feat like this pre-internet would have meant a handful of these folks coming together to sing. No way that all 150+ of them could have made it, and no way it would have sounded so impressive - so very impressive.

TAFC 00 Spring 2010 Soccer

Max's Soccer Team:

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

Sharing Some Zoo Love!

The National Zoo's Guppy Gala is coming up in mid-May and I have some tickets to give way! You can read more and enter to win your tickets HERE. Hope to see you at the zoo soon!

Spring Soccer is upon us!

Once again it's time to break our the cleats, don the shin guards, and play some soccer. Well, for me it's all about lounging comfortably and not getting sunburned. But these boys really leave it all on the field! Here are a few pics from the first weekend of Spring outdoor soccer:

Cheeky Octopus

Revenge of the Octopus

by Mike Krumboltz

21 hours ago

A few days ago, an ornery octopus stole a diver's video camera off the coast of New Zealand. What followed was a harrowing and hilarious adventure that resulted in some incredibly awesome video.

We first spotted the story at Very Short List. The video, which you can watch below, begins innocently enough. Local diver Victor Huang is shooting video with his new underwater camera. (Cue the "Jaws" music.)

Suddenly, a mischievous octopus appears out of nowhere, and clings to the $700 camera. Mr. Huang holds on for as long as he can, but the mighty mollusk wins the tug of war and swims off with Huang's new toy.

Most folks would chalk this up to incredibly bad luck and let the octopus win, but Mr. Huang pursued the creature. After a five minute chase, he managed to wrestle his camera back, with the help of his spear gun. Huang used the gun to wedge the camera away from the eight-armed thief.

But it wasn't over yet. The octopus liked playing with the spear gun and refused to let go. According an article from New Zealand Stuff, "Mr. Huang then swam around with the octopus on his speargun, saying the tentacled sea creature seemed to enjoy the ride."

Amazingly, the robbery, chase, and recovery were all captured on video. Mr. Huang never got a chance to turn off his gadget before the octopus "borrowed it." And Huang holds no grudge. He feels the octopus never intended to hurt him. "I honestly believe that it saw the bright blue digital camera and went ‘oh I need that’, you know?"

Huang posted the three minute clip on the Web and the video has quickly gone viral. In just a few days, the clip has garnered close to a million views on YouTube. It's easy to see why. The struggle, vivid colors, and knowledge that it all turned out OK (even the camera survived), make this a must-see.

From: http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/93590

Playing with Filters

I've had this desire to mess with filters for digital images for a while now, but never really sat down to do it. Well, I downloaded an app for my iPhone and now I have access to about eight cool filters. Check these out:

Easy and pretty darn cool if you ask me. Now to figure out how to do this with my computer and loads more images!

The wings of my little angel

Well, like most kids, she's not always an angel (ask Tom about their trip to Chick Fil A on Wednesday). But she is precious, and here's proof:

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Wednesday from us!

White House Easter Egg Roll 2010

bout a billion years ago I became interested in politics. Then about four years ago we moved just about as close as we could stomach to the Nation's Capital. Not bad if you ask me. But I've never actually been to the White House. Never. Not once. Guess I'm not as much of a wonk as I thought.

The White House Easter Egg Roll never really crossed my radar because we would have had to wait in line a la FSU Football tickets when we were students, and that's just not something I was interested in doing. Some friends did wait in line in years past, but it wasn't for me. Last year I even blogged thanking the President for the opportunity to get tickets - one which we really didn't have up until then. I think that someone must have read that note - this year we got tickets. But instead of jumping up and down with joy and telling the kids, I thought I'd torture them a bit. Well, it turned out that it was more torture for me than it was for them (who knew that keeping this secret would be so hard???!!!). But they figured out that we were doing something special on April 5, that it was after school, we were taking the Metro into town, and then it took them 20 Questions plus a bunch of folks walking past with bags clearly labelled White House Easter Egg Roll before they figured it out. That's when I started to get excited. First, we had snacks on the lawn:

Then we waited in line, in almost 90 degree weather. It felt like it was forever, and it felt like the worst heat ever. Our blood has really thickened some since we moved here and we were sweating.

But the line eventually started moving, we were scanned, greeted, banded, given cold drinks, and shuffled back into a second line. And when that line started moving I found myself on the grounds of the White House's South lawn - a truly magical place. There were bunnies, people with water, eggs, more people with water, some Sesame Street folks on stage, even more people with water, and of course, people. Loads of people squeezed into what was seemingly a tight space, then spread out and while we waited in a short line here or there, they were all short. We were busy dying eggs, hunting for eggs, playing soccer, and planting seeds that we missed DJ Lance from Yo Gabba Gabba. Lucy still caught a glimpse and I was happy - he's one of her favorites.

We did also get to hear (and see) Justin Beiber, but no one in my family cared. The boys eventually ran off to play football and Lucy and I wandered through the forest of costumes characters. Duck from Word World, Dora the Explorer, Clifford the Big Red Dog, June from Little Einsteins, and then this big dog. Now, Lucy saw Dora and June, recognized them both, but tried to LEAP out of her stroller to hug the big dog. It turned out that it was Spot. (Guess he's almost as old as I am now!). Then we moved on to the actual Egg Roll.

Problem was, it was close to closing time, the volunteers were tired, and they were trying to get everyone through before they closed. One volunteer snapped at us for taking pictures and holding up the line (for a split second - how often do you get THAT close to the White House anyway?).

A second volunteer left Ian standing by himself while his brothers rolled their eggs. He didn't seem to mind but my perfect photo op was gone. And then there's the whole issue of the Egg Roll. I guess after seeing it on TV and fantasizing about what it would be, well, it wasn't quite what I imagined. Those little girls in their little Easter dresses must be SOOO much smaller and more delicate than my boys. Ian launched his egg prematurely and had to run after it once they got going. Max nearly nailed a volunteer in the eye with his egg, and Sam, well, Sam had fun too.

But for me, the best part of the day was when we were walking out, four hours after we started our grand adventure that led us literally to the back door of the White House, and Max asked "Mom, can we come back next year?"

Enjoy the rest of the pics:

Make your own free digital photo album

Farewell Texas Stadium!

It was the home to America's Team for most of my life. It was where the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders got their start, and where Tom Landry made his mark. And now, it's a big pile of rubble. But oh, it looked cool from the inside as it came down.

Definitely check this video out. And on the same note, can't wait to take the kids to a Cowboys game in their new, super sweet stadium. ;)

Texas Stadium 360 degree Implosion from the inside: http://www.dallascowboys.com/farewell/Texas_Stadium_Implosion.cfm

Oh happy day. Not.

I'm not generally one to judge other people who hang out at the grocery store at the odd hours that I do, but tonight I just can't keep this to myself. I was at the local grocery store, walking out at about 11pm. I noticed that there was a lady in the car next to me just sitting there waiting. As I unloaded my oodles of bags from my cart, two girls that appeared to be her daughters walked up to the car. The older one was high school aged - younger, but probably around 14 or 15 or so. The younger one was about 4 or 5 tops. I had seen them in the store enjoying themselves and picking out their groceries. But what I saw outside the store really made me wonder - why the heck was this woman at the store at this hour, and why wasn't she minding her kids? First off, she yelled at the older girl for taking so long in the store. She SAT IN THE CAR while the girl took her preschool aged sister into the grocery at 10:30 at night. Then, she hollered at the older girl and the younger girl started crying that they forgot something. Now, whining and fussing, not tolerable in my book, but hey, it's 10:30 at night and she was 4, so we'll give her a pass on that. But what the mom did nest was incomprehensible. She told the older girl to go back in and grab the one thing that they were missing so that the little girl would be quiet. The older girl complained that she was tired, that they really didn't need whatever it was that the mom was about to send her back in for, etc. She sat there while the mom called her all kinds of rude names - right to her daughter. And then, she told the older girl to take the younger girl out of the car, crying, and back into the store so she could pick out what it was that she wanted. I was stunned. Here it was, 11pm, and she was sending this little girl, clearly exhausted, back into the store while she sat there in the car.

So, while I don't normally judge folks I meet at the store at the odd hours that I go, I am judging this woman and she'll never win the Mother of the Year award. What is so critical (that a 15 year old can buy) that you have to drag your kids to the store crying at 11pm to buy? And why on earth would the mom send the girls in by themselves to do the shopping? Granted the older one is pretty independent, but still, 11pm at night, crying 4 year old, mom sitting in the car - this just doesn't sit right with me.