Plan (Five Minute Friday)

I totally missed writing 2 weeks ago. And am squeaking in for last week with about an hour to spare.

Considering how well I plan other stuff, this is a habitual epic fail in how I plan to spend my time. We are in the midst of a big (to us) plan right now! In 8 days we leave for Spring Break. This year we are doing a 2-part road trip to visit some family friends in a few different cities. We will go to Blacksburg. There are some dear, dear college friends of mine. They have 3 children, the middle one who is the same age as A. We will get into some mischief, catch up on happenings and hang out with all our littles. I hope to explore the area in which they live from the perspective of the kiddos, so that way we all learn and no one is overwhelmed with too much stress. Late nights chatting over a cup of tea. (and one night of a fantasy baseball draft. Because spring break is very close to the start of baseball season.) I wonder what they will think as I mumble under my breath for the 2 hour draft with my Nats-friends league. I guess we will soon find out.

Part 2 is the trek to Nashville. There my girls will get to see Vanderbilt for the very first time. Including a baseball game (YEAH!) where we can see the updated stadium (I have not been to a game since I graduated. Way too long) and maybe we can see the National Championship trophy and we can all cheer for my the VandyBoys. We will meet new friends (hello twitter buddies). We will be staying with one of my best friends and her family. They have 2 girls, a bit younger than mine, but we will get to hang out and explore the zoo and maybe the science center. The girls will also get to see my friend in her dance recital, which seems to be the greatest anticipation for them.

Bonus: we have a new (to us) car with a free trial of XM radio, so between the books on tape from our local library and the channels available, we will not have to encounter the radio purgatory that used to plague me on my drives from NJ to Nashville when I was a student. JACKPOT!

With a week to go until we depart, now we are just planning our packing lists and then we will be out the door. (and all the girls cheer YEAH!)

Stop.

Linking with Kate and all the FMF friends.

Visit (Five Minute Friday)

Squeaking in with an hour left. Because it's been a week of snow and snow days and crazy. (Well I guess it is always crazy. That's OK).

This week the word is VISIT and I am super excited. Tomorrow I get to visit with one of my best friends. She lives in Nashville with her 2 darling daughters and her very cool husband. I don't get to see them nearly enough. And now we will get 2 visits in 3 weeks! She's up here in DC for a work trip - and has a few hours tomorrow between the end of her meeting and her flight. It's a daddy weekend for my kiddos, so I am hightailing it into the city to meet her at the airport. We are gonna snack at Legal Seafood or something and just catch up. WOO! I haven't seen her since August.

And then she will fly home (because the snow FINALLY stopped and the airports will be clear both here AND in Nashville by tomorrow night) and hug her girls. And in 2 weeks, for spring break we are taking a road trip. First stop: Blacksburg to visit some dear friends. My first time to see them since I visited them in Dublin a few years ago. It has been way too long. And the first time my girls will meet their kiddos.  And then on to Nashville, to see my girlfriend and her family. And take in a Vanderbilt baseball game, hopefully! I haven't been to a game since I graduated. The girls have never even been to campus. (mom fail).  And then at the end of that delightful visit, we will road trip back home.

Just in time for OPENING DAY. Which quite frankly can't get here soon enough. Spring training games started today, which helps, but my kiddos and I are all ready to be back at our home away from home. Nats Park we miss you!

Stop.

Linking up with Kate and the gang for Five Minute Friday.

Also, a few pictures from our snow day. We have 7 new inches on top of what didn't melt from the foot the last time, but it is not excellent snowman snow. So we settled for snow stumps. Or snow gnomes, depending on how you look at them.

Nats Park Neighborhood Eateries: Park Tavern

36 days until OPENING DAY! Folks in Natstown are clamoring for some baseball. Thankfully the team has reported, spring training is underway, and we get actual spring training games this week. (While we sit at home. in more snow.)  Time to think about summer. Ballpark food - and before / after game hangouts.  So, without further delay, here is the next installment of Nats Park Neighborhood Eateries, brought to you by Beth.

Park Tavern

200 M St. SE

Opened: April, 2013

Sigh. Oh, Park Tavern. This one is hard to write. We had such high hopes. The location is fantastic. The design is beautiful. The patio is lovely. But that’s about where the good things stop with Park Tavern.

We almost never go -- even when there weren’t many more options around. You can just tell this place lacks strong leadership. Service is usually painfully slow, the food has been inconsistent. (I will concede it’s possible this has changed recently, it’s been so long since we’ve been there for a meal and we’ve seen folks around lately because of the ice skating rink). My favorite anecdote that encapsulates Park Tavern is one time we dropped by after a game and inquired if there were any game day specials, “No” we were told. Only a “limited menu if we’re slammed.” When we looked at said menu, several prices were crossed out, in pen, with new, higher prices written in. As I said, it just doesn’t seem as if they’re making much of an effort.

Their space is a decent place for a group (it’s where I first met a lot of Nats Twitter in real life so I’ll always have that happy memory) and I remember their calamari being pretty good.

Go if you’re looking for:

• A huge space for your large group
• A selfie with a MASN personality and you’ve already struck out at Justin’s

Stop somewhere else if:

• Slow service drives you crazy
• You can find a table at basically any other restaurant in the neighborhood

When (Five Minute Friday)

WHEN

It’s been coming all winter. The kids ask nearly every day. “Mama. WHEN will we get baseball again?” They ask daily. I think about it more than that. And as I write this today, I can finally answer the question with the best answer. TODAY, my little darlings! TODAY pitchers and catchers report. And we can stop counting down to when is baseball?  And now we can start counting to opening day. (46 days).

For me, the when even started last week. Vanderbilt started their quest for a repeat National Championship. With a new (to me) mobile app  that allows me to listen to all the games online. For free. YIPPEE! Happy Jen.  Baseball is back and my world is a better place.

Today I sit inside while it is single digit temperatures (winter, you may finish now. Baseball is here and that means SPRING). And I follow all the news – the little stories (lizards in shoes and new moustaches) and the big stories (our starting rotation!) – and no longer have to ask when.  WHEN has arrived.

Linking with Kate and the Five Minute Friday Crowd. Come write with us!

Keep (Five Minute Friday)

I hope this even posts. Blogging on an iPad is a challenge. But need to get some words out. Because I love the word keep. The first thing I always think,of when I hear the word keep is my dad.

My maiden name is Kamin (pronounced like the Cayman Islands). Dad used to be an elected official. And after the first campaign he won, every election after that the slogan was "Keep Kamin". Pretty catchy, very simple. Great on yard signs. In fact a friend in high school used to call me "Keep" as a fun nickname.

A few years ago my mom & dad's house flooded in Hurricane Irene. We had to clean out everything. One of the treasures we found in the garage was a stack of old campaign signs. My kids were born long after dad's days in elected office were finished. My oldest saw the sign while we were cleaning and said "who's keep?" So we explained. She loved the alliteration. "Mom! The K and the K match! That was smart!"

And now whenever we go visit she remembers. "Mom. Remember when we had that big dumpster in Nana's driveway and we saw Grampy's fun sign? Maybe we could put one in our yard mom"

So, to whomever came up,with the slogan 35 years ago, thank you. Because we're very glad  that we get to Keep Kamin even though his public service has ended.


PS when get access I'll upload a picture of the kids and the sign

Linking with Kate at the Five Minute Friday.

Wait (Five Minute Friday)

I'm really late this week. And I clearly waited too long, as my computer at home crashed and now I am posting this on my lunch break from the library.

But wanted to get this out there before I am a whole week behind.
So, join the friends over at Kate's place. Give us your 5 minutes on wait. And leave a comment for someone else who was brave enough to write about waiting.  (and remember, typos are allowed - just write).


GO.
Wait is my One Word 365 this year. And I was hoping that it would not really be a stretch word. Even though I *knew* it would be. The word always is. I feel like all I do is wait these days. Waiting for the townhouse to sell (no I am not actually moving - HOORAY!). Waiting for paperwork for taxes. Waiting to replace things that need fixing - waiting for answers to tough questions. Waiting for plans to be approved and travel dates to fall into place.

And yet, in the waiting, I am learning a lot. Learning to sit. Read with the girls in the time I have rather than waiting for the end of the evening when they are in bed and I can relax. Waiting for baseball season to start (14 days until pitchers and catchers ... HOORAY) but in the gap, the girls and I have had a chance to talk about some stuff and try some new things.

Waiting to see where some relationships go - but for now, finding comfort in the way things are; enjoying the time we have. The visits are few and far between, but rather than "just waiting" until the next one, I have some time to think. To pray. To creaaatively work on things and ideas for the next time.

And in the quiet evnings, while the season hasn't started, I have made time to read. I love, love, love reading. And have been known on occasion (or many occasions) to stay up late and finish. But in the offseason while I wait for baseball to fill my evenings, I have been able to read quite a few books. And not stay up all night to do it. And... I discovered that I am no longer waiting for my oldest to be "old enough" to read some of what I am reading. She's there. (HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?!).

So our new adventure is Mommy reading a book that I remember, or a new one that looks good - and then putting it on her bed for her to add to her reading pile. The first one is a big hit. She said to me this morning "Mom, I can't wait for our reading time tonight so I can do the next chapter. I'm HOOKED. What comes next?"

STOP.

Share (Five Minute Friday)

Welcome to Friday (on Tuesday). Where we write 5 minutes of whatever pops into our fingers about the prompt (no edits. typos allowed!) , link up with all the lovelies at Kate's place, and then leave a little encouragement for your FMF neighbor. Join us?

SHARE
I didn't really know what to write about when I saw the prompt in the wee hours of Thursday / Friday. So I decided I would come back later. Later turned into Tuesday - but the words came on Saturday. I went to a birthday party with my girls - for the 6 yo's friend. It was a tea party. The moms were "banished" to elsewhere at the house, which was fine with me. And we got to talking about dealing with crazy things with the kids (like head lice - UGH.) Did you know: head lice is a single mom's worst nightmare>! it is. Because while you can check your kids ... WHO is going to check your hair? A super good friend. That you bribe with pizza or dessert. Or your mom. If you can manage to be in the same place as your mom.
All that to say, one of the moms who was there said ... excuse me, did you say you are a single mom?

I confirmed.

SHe asked how long.

me: 6 years.

her: WOW. That is a long time. I am just now entering the world of single motherhood and it is SO HARD. How do you do it? How is it now? Can I ask these things?

I replied. I had the chance to share my journey. How there are ugly dark terrible days, but there are glorious wonderful days. How there are terrible nights of insomnia. How so many years later, the nighs like that are fewer. How there were days where if I managed to get kids into bed and take a shower the same day, THAT was a win. How excited I was when I didn't go through a hole box of Kleenex in a week once the tears slowed.
How so many years later, the Lord - my faith - carried me through the worst. How y friends nearby supported me, and how my family encouraged from afar. Because no one lived close.
How now there are more good days than bad - that there is life in the new reality. not just surviving but thriving. No longer clinging to just make it through the next minute, but eagerly anticipating the new day.
***My timer stopped here. But I want to add this:

This week, with the prompt of share, I am thankful that I was able to share my story - and that it was able to bring a small smile - a tiny bit of encouragement to this woman who is only beginning the process. I by no means think that my divorce happened just so that I could show someone else it CAN be done, but I am thankful that our paths crossed, and that the dreaded head lice discussion happened, to allow an opportunity to make someone's heart a smidgen lighter in the midst of despair.

JOIN THE LINK UP HERE.