Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Getaway to the Tropics

The closest I'll come to a Spring Break trip South! We visited the Como conservatory this morning for about an hour. What a peaceful, warm and humid place! Perfect for the bit of a cold I feel coming on and for Izzy and Pieta to just walk around and explore. We loved the tall trees with leaves bigger than small children, the mist, peering over the rocks to talk to the fish in the koi pond, and of course, the bright pinks and purples in the Easter flower display. We'll have to come back soon as I think it will be fun to bring a sketchpad and pencils and just sit and draw. Maddie got a new camera for her birthday, so I think she'll enjoy taking pictures too.

On a silly note, we got back to the car and Izzy said, "That was Conserva-boring. There was only hot-ness."

Oh well, I tried.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Planning

Well, I just had a conversation with Ben ab0ut how our life seems so planned into the future...some necessary due to large family gatherings and such, but some just because of our goals or what we value. I already am looking ahead to the summer and how to incorporate physical activity, outings and camping in for the girls and I. We are blessed in the city to have quite a lot to choose from in terms of weekly camps, teams, and other opportunities to fill the time. Now it is a matter of discernment and thought as to the best place for our money and time to go. I more prefer to let it happen, but then sometimes Nothing happens instead! It seems an interesting time in raising girls as they come of age in expressing who they are as unique individuals, and it takes the two of us to notice and encourage their individuality. I am not the best observer or analyst, so it takes me time and lots of conversation, but it is getting better.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Snow Report from the East Coast

Here are a couple of eye-witness reports from the D.C./Baltimore area:

John Ferber:
I'm doing pretty good. I haven't had to shovel since Sat. night, so I'm not too sore. I'll find out in a couple more hours if I have to clear off the car again and head to work today. They issued a blizzard warning from 10 am to 7 pm. Snow isn't coming as fast as the first storm, but winds will be picking up. So even if work is open, I might stay home.

I made it into work easily on Mon and Tuesday. Arterial roads are mostly down to 1 lane each way and very bumpy. Highways were missing a few driving lanes, and had no merge lanes, on Monday. But they got better on Tuesday. The Feds and the kids all stayed home, so traffic wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. Feds are closed again today.

Megan did a lot of house-cleaning yesterday to keep busy. Jared had been planning to fly to MN on Thursday for Trivia Weekend/V-day, but he switched that to yesterday afternoon instead. With the government closed, it's not costing him any more leave than his original plan. I haven't heard from him yet, so I'm assuming he made it out of here fine.

Oh yeah, Megan had been in VA for the weekend. Her Mom and a friend from CA flew in and they met up at the VA house. Megan was out there Fri-Mon. They lost power for 24 hours, but otherwise had a good time.

Theresa Ferber:

I got home on Monday morning and have been resting since then. I hope to get a good sleep tonight and tomorrow because I have to go into work again on Wednesday night. Tonight we got a few more inches of snow and it is supposed to start snowing again in the early morning and last until late afternoon. Hopefully the roads won't be too bad by the time I have to go to work. I will probably have to leave pretty early to make sure I get there on time. I don't think I have ever seen so much snow! Thankfully we did not lose power during the big storm, but a lot of people that we know did. Hopefully our power lines hold up through tonight and tomorrow as well. I have seen 3 or 4 big trees on the ground around Pat's apartment, and there is a huge branch on the ground in our backyard. Well, I should get to bed! I will talk to you soon. Love,
Tee


Ferbers can handle ANYTHING!

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Cast On, Cast Off

Remember "Wax on, wax off"? Anyway...Maddie is cast-free, but not out of the woods. Her bone is healing properly but the muscle is weak, as expected. She has a hard time putting pressure on the foot and wearing shoes seems to hurt it more. She is a trooper though and keeps up with all her homework, and other responsibilities.

Izzy now has a new pretend activity...my leg is broken. She wraps it in a towel and tries to hobble around on the crutches.