Busy, busy, busy!

It must be this time of year, because when I look at all my friends' blogs, no one else is posting either. Busy-ness abounds!

I know the Davises have been really busy and will be for the next few weeks, it seems.

Here are a few things that have been happening in our lives that I didn't have a chance to record before now.

1. While I was away in Atlanta with Clair, Lester and the boys were hanging buddies.

They went to see a "Goodnight Moon" play! And met the actors!

They look bewildered.

 They rode on the famous Dentzel Carousel in Glen Echo Park.

They went to the National Building Museum in Washington D.C., and visited the "Play, Work, Build" exhibit.

And they capped off the weekend by watching some of the Sunday football game at Nana's and Granddad's house!

Busy, right? In between all that, Lester also took the kids to "Make Your Own Pizza" at Uno's and did the grocery shopping. I'm tired just thinking about all that stuff.

2. I got back from Atlanta and really needed a nap. But my work-life has been crazy, and this past week, personally, was also a whirlwind week for me.

I had my staff retreat in Potomac and a staff happy hour at a nearby restaurant/bar (also in Glen Echo, coincidentally).

That's me in the pink, giving a presentation!

After the happy hour, guess who came to hang out and eat and drink (some more) with me? Beth!! Laura C. was supposed to come, too, but got busy trying to make that paper, yo! (You better werk, Laura C.!) and we also invited my love, Angel C., but she was busy making a human being.

I don't have any photos of Beth and me gabbing it up, but rest assured, we looked fabulous and we had a blast. LOVE my blog friends turned IRL-friends!!

3. Then, at the end of the week, my lovely, wonderful, super-amazing friend Shreya had her annual dinner party for all her girlfriends. This is the one where her chef-husband (who is an attorney by day) makes a 4-course gourmet meal and serves it to all of us. And the food is always out of this world. This year, the theme was "NOLA" and the gumbo, shrimp 'n grits, po' boys and bananas Foster were all so good, seriously, I am still drooling.

My friend Jen and my friend Kelly. I had a photo of me and my friend Renee, but I look like a cow in it, especially next to Renee, who looks amazing in a dress she MADE, so I decided not to post that picture. I know that goes against all the "Show Me the Mommy" empowerment jazz, but whatevs. Get over it.

Also, this year, Shreya really put her husband to the test by having 43 women at the dinner. FORTY-THREE!

That's Shreya at the head of one of the 3 long tables of ladies. She's saying wonderful things about all of us individually while her husband, at the sink, is getting the first course prepared. I can't say enough about Shreya's Girls' Dinner.

We always talk about how awesome Shreya is for treating her girlfriends to this kind of pampering and love, but for real for real?? Her husband Jason gets the gold star!

4. And finally, this weekend, my sister watched all three of my children so I could take Lester on his French-themed birthday getaway!

We stayed in a hotel, where we played French music and had other French-themed fun. I won't go into details. Ahem.

We had a sublime dinner at this French country restaurant in Ellicott City. Top-notch. I highly recommend.

Sunday brunch. Continuing in the French theme: French-press coffee!

This was my first time ever leaving all three kids; I admit that I was more than a little bit nervous. But the kids did GREAT; they went to Russy's football game and ran around like crazy people, having a blast. Then came back to my Mom's and conked out!

Matty and Clair, the pacifier twins.

Deanie and Clairzee - without Mommy or Daddy and doing just fine!! Who would've thunk it?

Why is Cary in the stroller? No one knows.

 I was so surprised! Tahira and my mom said that Clair hardly cried the whole time. and the boys were well-behaved.

And when we came back to get them Sunday afternoon, Cary and Dean took one look at us and said, "We missed you, mother and father! Hooray, you're back!!"

HA!!! No, what they actually said -- with sour faces -- was: "Noooooo! We want to stay here!!" And then refused to give us kisses or hugs. Oh well!

Now we know we can leave them with family and they'll be just fine. I predict more outings for Lester and me from here on out!

But first, after all this busy-ness, I need a NAP.

Congratulations to the Baltimore Ravens!

In case you didn't know, the Baltimore Ravens won the Superbowl last night! It really is a great feeling. Not because Lester and I are such huge Ravens' fans (Redskins forever!) -- and I'm not even a big football fan, to be honest -- but because the collective mood in this city right now cannot be beat.

Yeah, this is pretty much the entire city of Baltimore today. Like confetti is falling from the sky all day long.

If any city needs a shot in the arm such as the kind that comes from a Super Bowl win, it's Baltimore. Believe me.

Lester and I watched the game and the post-game and then tackled the normal Sunday evening chores. By the time I finished cleaning up all the pizza and hot wings off our basement floor (thanks kids!) blending up lunch for Clair in the food processor, packing snack bags, making my lunch, washing the dishes, and writing notes for Michelle, it was 1:30 -- a full three and a half hours after the time I like to be in the bed. And wouldn't you know Clair Davis decided to wake up -- for a bottle, no less -- at 3?

Needless to say, I am pooped!

But on my way in to work, people were still honking their car horns driving down the street, purple flags waving in the air. My neighbors stepped out of their homes in purple shirts, purple shoes, purple hair. The crossing guard at the boys' school was fairly dancing the children across the street. My boss is in a grand mood, and he made the coffee I'm chugging just perfectly.

Thanks, Baltimore Ravens!

My take on the "news" and pop culture

As a former reporter, I follow the news with a certain insider's bemusement and jadedness. And also, of course, affection for the work of real journalists. But mostly, since leaving the field in 2008, I have been able to just follow it as a reader/layperson. And that's pretty cool.

Like, I can totally laugh at the fact that Beyonce-gate has become "news."

When I worked in the Features department, I probably would've had to write about this "shocking controversy" instead of just laughing at it, and solicit "experts" and whatnot for comment. Whatev.
Despite all the earnest coverage of this "fraudulent affair, "my favorite Beyonce Inauguration lip-synching quote belongs to Stephen Colbert: "It is now official. Jay-Z officially has 100 problems."
HA! That cracked me up.

Also, what is the deal with this dude Manti Te'o? I understand why the story is titillating and gossip-worthy, but I'm not sure I get why it's "news."

Speaking of football players, the Baltimore Ravens are in the Superbowl this year! This is actually pretty exciting, even for me, someone who is not a football enthusiast, and even for Lester, who is a diehard Redskins' fan for life. (HTTR!!) Living in Baltimore, you can't help but get caught up in the entire city's excitement, and purple everywhere, and admiration for Ray Lewis, who has had quite a career.

And also, there's the built-in storyline of this year's Superbowl: two brothers coaching opposing teams for the Superbowl championship title. Can you imagine being those boys' mother?? Who do you root for? Ugh! The stress.

My boss, a total Ravens fan, found an old picture of the two coaches, the Harbaughs. Lester and I looked at it last night and Lester laughed so hard at how the boys' adult personalities are totally evident even in this childhood photograph.

Ravens coach on the left -- the nice one! Blah-blah-blah other coach on the right -- evil, scowling, destined to lose the Superbowl one.

It made us wonder about what childhood traits of Cary and Dean's we will recognize in adulthood. And we thought a lot -- again -- about how people just are who they are, despite what parents think about how we are "shaping" kids into adults. Obviously, we have some influence -- and God knows bad parenting can screw folks up for life!! -- but for the most part, we're just here to help them be the best people they were already programmed to be. That's actually kind of freeing. Takes the pressure off a bit, no?

But on the other hand, that also reminds me of a fascinating New York magazine story that ran this week with the headline, "Why You Never Truly Leave High School."  The article spends a lot of time talking about how we are all shaped so much by our high school/adolescent experiences and emotions.

"Maybe, perversely, we should be grateful that high school prepares us for this life," the article says near the end. "The isolation, the shame, the aggression from those years—all of it readies us to cope. But one also has to wonder whether high school is to blame; whether the worst of adult America looks like high school because it’s populated by people who went to high school in America. We’re recapitulating the ugly folkways of this institution, and reacting with the same reflexes, because that’s where we were trapped, and shaped, and misshaped, during some of our most vulnerable years."

Isn't that interesting? I actually had a fairly normal high school experience, not too high on the shame or aggression or isolation, nor too high on the popularity or the partying either. It was just normal. Which, I guess, according to this article, might be a clue as to why my adult  life is somewhat normal (comparatively speaking).  I dunno. But it is an interesting thing to contemplate. And also one more thing for me to think about when raising children. You know how I have been all about the synapse-building because of the whole birth-to-3 theory?? Well, dang. Now I gotta make sure these kids have a normal high school experience, too! The pressure!

(I joke, people. I joke. Sorta.)

Anyway, one last pop culture thing to mention here. Have I ever shared my undying love for Justin Timberlake? Oh yes, JT is so my boo! :-) He's been busy making movies and getting married to Jessica Biel (blech!) and whatnot, so he hasn't released any music pretty much since he brought sexy back in 2006.

But now, he has REALLY brought the sexy back, with his new single "Suit and Tie."

I love this song and the lyric video! It totally makes me think of my early days of dating Lester, and how he made me feel. I'm a sucker for a gentleman in a nice suit and tie, and Lester is amazingly good-looking when he dons one. And plus, the song makes me want to go out in a dress and heels, get a fabulous cocktail (or two) and dance. I haven't felt like that since before I got pregnant with Clair.

All pressed up in black and white
And you're dressed in that dress I like
Love is swinging in the air tonight
Let me show you a few things
Let me show you a few things
Show you a few things about love
While we’re in the swing of love
Let me show you a few things
Show you a few things about love...

Lester totally did that for me. He showed me "a few things" -- and then some -- about real love.

I pray Cary, Dean and Clair find that kind of heady and long-lasting feeling with someone worthy of them one day.

Little baby Davises, I hope you read this some day. That right there is news you can use.