I lost 7 pounds in one day!

Okay, that's an exaggeration, but I found muscles I lost long ago at our Stroller Strides demonstration class last week. Thanks so much to Jenn S. for arranging a great class for us -- and I think she even got a new client or two out of the deal! I felt exhilarated all day after our workout and really enjoyed both the cardio and strength aspects of the session, and I will be back. So for those of you who enjoyed our earlier conversation about fitness with the kids in tow, I would highly recommend Stroller Strides as an option to get (or stay) in shape.

do you blog?

I love blogs. I love posting on my blog and getting comments from my friends and family, and I love sharing my baby's life with those who are far away and don't get to see her. I love reading the blogs of my friends and family near and far, getting a glimpse of their internal lives and the things that are important to them. I love the connection that I feel with people who think and feel (often enough, anyway) the way I do about motherhood, life, sacrifices, joys, trials, and families. I love having been able to share in many of your blogs, too.

Do you love to blog? Do you love to read blogs? Do you know what a blog is?

If you're interested in learning about blogs, starting a blog, or finding ways to keep your blog fresh and new posts coming, we'd love to hear from you. If we have interest, we'd like to put together a blog workshop that will also hopefully have something of worth to the more experienced bloggers among us.

Topics covered will include...
what is a blog?why should i blog?
various blog hosting services
blogs and internet security
what can I/should I/will I post?
blogging tips -- ideas for posts and using the technology

If you'd be interested in participating in something like this, please email shane manning or -- better yet! -- post a comment here and we'll put a workshop together for sometime in late March. And if you're an experienced blogger, please come and contribute your wisdom and experience to the conversation!

MNO

MOMS NIGHT OUT! Anybody have anything they'd like to do with the other moms on our monthly evening out?

Our situation seems to lend itself well to a restaurant setting -- we can sit and visit while partaking of dinner, dessert and/or drinks -- whichever suits you at the moment. But we also want to be open to other ideas.... Would you like to take in a movie at Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse? How about dancing the night away at the Clarendon Ballroom? Please use the comments section below to suggest ideas for the activities committee!

shameless storytime promotion

Thanks to all of you who were able to make it to story time yesterday. We had a great time (says your story-reader, anyway) and sang lots of songs and read some stories about love and Valentines. Hope you all enjoyed yourselves, and we'll look forward to seeing more of you next month!

elliot gives her rapt attention to one of the more serious (apparently) stories:(much gratitude to julie b. for sharing her awesome photos!)

Fire station tour

Many thanks to Debbie P. for organizing a tour of the fire station for us. We had a wonderful morning playing with friends, driving the fire truck, and watching the flashing lights. Each kid got a bag full of fire safety goodies and a fireman's hat!

Thanks to everyone who came for making it a success!

keeping busy; keeping warm

How do you keep your little one busy during the cold weather? We've had a few specific requests to address this topic, so we'd like to throw it out to the group. Here are a few ideas people have contributed -- please use the comments section to add your own! We'll highlight ideas in the next issue of the newsletter.

* The new Harris Teeter in Shirlington has 5 or 6 kid-sized shopping carts. Before about 11am the store is nearly empty, and we have taken advantage of the friendly employees and nearyby location to stretch our legs and restock our YoBaby on a few freezing mornings.

* Barcroft Center offers open play for $3 on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, and they also have some classes for even the littlest kids. Tumbling classes have openings for kids as young as 10 months! See their website or stop in for class listings.

More Holidays in DC

I've had some more great suggestions made to me offline, so I wanted to post them here.

Have more ideas? Interested in forming a group to try something listed here? Post a comment to connect with others and use the listserv or an email to make some plans!

National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse (daily Dec. 6-Jan. 1)

Mount Vernon by Candlelight (Fri, Sat, & Sun only, Nov. 23-Dec. 9)

Parade of Lights Holiday Boat Parade (Sat., Dec. 1, 5:30-6:30pm)

Advent Noonday Noels (Wednesdays, Dec. 5, 12, 19, 12:05pm)

Union Station's Holiday Train (Nov. 20-Jan.6)

Creche Exhibit at the National Cathedral (Nov. 19-Jan.11)

The Nutcracker at The Washington Ballet (Dec. 6-23)

A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theater (Dec. 6-29)

Holidays in DC

In the December inaugural edition of our newsletter, we plan to include some ideas on how our families can celebrate the upcoming holidays. It seems that many of us are away from extended family here in the DC area, so for those of you who won't be traveling, is there something you do locally to celebrate the season? Which holidays will you celebrate this year? Have you created your own traditions, or are you looking to start new traditions with your little one(s)?
And for those in the other camp, do you have any tips for traveling around the holidays with kids? Anything you wouldn't leave behind, or something you would?

Please email your input directly to Shane (boomanning@gmail.com) or post it in the comments below, and look for some of the tips to be highlighted in your upcoming December edition of the Fairlington MOMS Club "Bottom Line!"

And to get the conversation going, here's my input:
Even before Emma joined us, our little family loved to head up to the Mormon temple in Kensington, Maryland, for their "Festival of Lights" and Christmas tree display, along with an international assortment of Nativity sets. They usually have a living Nativity scene as well, and there are music concerts most evenings in their indoor theater, in addition to Christmas-themed films. The whole thing is free, though the seating for the concerts does often fill early. The display begins on December 1st and continues the whole month. You can see photos of past years here, and see a photo essay here.

2003 Festival of Lights