Week whatever

So this week is starting out well. A storm tore through the area yesterday and knocked out power around 3:30 pm, and we didn't get it back until Monday midnight. There were water restrictions because a pumping station was without power, and 2/3 of the county's traffic lights were out. And more than 2/3 of the county's drivers have NO IDEA what to do when they encounter an intersection with dead traffic lights. They're expecting to get the power back up in a few days--a lot of people still don't have power. We had to throw out everything in the fridge and freezer--a grand opportunity to give the fridge a through cleaning.

But the hardest part of it all? Telling a 2 year old why the light switches don't work and why he can't watch The Muppets. What seemed to work was telling him that very bad rain took away our lights and TV, and that very nice men are working on getting it back.

On Saturday we took him for his first professional haircut. In keeping with my latest motto that if you keep expectations low you'll be pleasantly surprised, he did great! We talked it up before he went. He didn't want to sit on the booster seat, so he sat on Daddy's lap. He got to pick a lollipop. And then the hairdresser turned on a kid's video for him. He totally chilled out and let her snip, snip, snip. Now he doesn't look like such a ragamuffin (though he was a rather cute ragamuffin).



The other Friday afternoon we went over to friends' house in Bethesda and spent the evening at their neighborhood pool. We swam for awhile, then had a lovely picnic lunch. Zack jumped right up on the bench and started eating everything we put in front of him--sausage, pasta salad, pita and hummous, fruit. We swam for a little while more before going back to our friends' house for dessert. Their kids are all out of college, but they've kept some toys. They presented Zack with a whole drawer-full of random and assorted trucks and cars. He was in HEAVEN. As we were, since he happily pulled out all the vehicles while we sat around and had some lovely non-interupted conversation. It was a great evening!

And in other news, Zack is now the proud owner of his first self-propelled vehicle. He'd been trying to climb on any tricycle he saw in the neighborhood, so we figured it was time. Investing in the push handle was a good move, as he hasn't really figured out the pedals yet. Rob and I have realized how tough it must be to learn things like that. I'm sure it won't be long before he's pedaling away on his own.

He had to get right in there and help Dad adjust the seat.