sunday afternoon, this weekend as a whole. and now

the weekend has past
so has the work week

went in today
won't be going into work until next monday

pretty sweet

this weekend past was an amazing mixture of pleasure and pain
the weekend danced between stir crazy cabin fever
and a perfect indian summer outdoor experience

on friday night I learned that there is only one thing in life better than having kids
that is quite simply not having kids

the boys had a sleep over at my mom's... their grandma's

with the boys gone
the morning we slept late
lisa does not sleep late often
I woke early enough to wake her to go to yoga
but figured that she was enjoying the extra pillow time
so I joined her for some extra pillow time myself

we both woke in time for the second class of the morning, an Ashtanga One class
a fairly basic beginner Ashtanga One class
lisa was not temped by the basic class and walked brutus instead

after a refreshing work out I drove out the the burbs to try and find a superman cape for grantman
a superman phase is having him demand to wear his superman pjs each morning to school
the velcro cape is pretty sweet
but pjs are not street clothes
and if he wants street cred he needs street clothes

found the right cape for the job
grabbed something for dean, a wooden game of connect four
dean was less than excited about the game as it was not apparently as fun as a toy
an opinion that has made a dramatic change after some introduction to the game
even if he does not really get the whole idea of connect four
five year olds get this game differently than fifth graders
on top of that I am pretty good

the day blended into afternoon where we gathered with some neighbors for a trip to chinatown
the trip involved parkour on the sidewalks, some racing on the elevator, climbing around the tube station, and appropriate behavior in the train
the behavior was appropriate everywhere
with limits being tested all around
I ran with the boys on the sidewalk
making sure they moved as a pack
stopping as a group before alleys
keeping on the sidewalk side of the curb
and slowing then stopping at the corner
it was only a few blocks to and from the metro
but with my two boys and our neighbor's eledest son moving about the sidewalk
I was really getting a sense of what they mean when they kid about herding cats

we have become regulars at a restaurant that may very often server tourists

after dinner we went around the corner to watch the old asian man make noodles
then parkour-ed our way down the street
passing our first metro stop option
burning time and pan fried everything as we marched through the city streets to an open park

the streets of chinatown has changed a great deal in my short lifetime
a quiet little china block has become a hustle and bustle urban center
no more chinese than it ever was
but definitely lots of energy and lots of action
people coming out of the theater
people headed to the Wizards game at the MCI center
or whatever it is called these days

the tents of Cirque du Soliel are almost in view from the Chinese wall that arches over H Street
or maybe they are in view
I did not take a second to look as I was trying to corral the three drunken monkeys down the sidewalk
there were pauses for parkour jumps off stairs and stoops
competitions and fights for who gets to lead
people fell down and people ran ahead
they were having a blast
I was stressing out

finally we got from the sidewalk to a park on Penn Avenue
maybe it was Judiciary Square
not sure
the Metro is not really on my radar
the bike usually has me flying past this stuff

the lure of fare cards and metro trains was more powerful in getting the boys to leave than orders or commands

the return home got us inside and back to a normal nightly routine of fighting to get the kids to sleep
again with the reminder of what a joy children can be

the next morning came with no plans
no adults doing yoga
no kids playing soccer
the sun was shinning and it was moderately warm
when dean proposed having some bike races in the alley I agreed
the race request involved the notion of some medals
at the NCVC Ed Sander's cross race there were some left over medals at after the kids race
I happened to be around when they were not sure what to do with the last handful of metals

we went out back and had some races
one neighbor had to leave for church
seemlessly another neighbor filled his place
rather than have them race and compete for the metals I put a medal on each child
having them ride and race with the medals around their necks

it was fun
I was not even riding and it was exhausting
the mass moved inside and soon it turned into lunch time
the day continued along in a classic weekend afternoon fashion
there were bargains for a ride in the car
rides to try and get younger grant to fall asleep for his afternoon nap

5 year old dean was in a mood that demanded some serious attention
refused a movie
refused a call from a friend
had no desire for connect four
but remembered my spiderman puzzle offer from the day prior
we worked on the puzzle
understanding that sometimes the age recommendations are a strong indicator of need for instruction and assistance
after my being overly helpful with the Cacchina indian doll earlier this week I was extra concious in being helpful but not doing everything for him
with assistance dean did well
without assistance 100 pieces looked like a lot of pieces to this five year old boy
so I talked him through some puzzle srategy as we worked together
first flip all the pieces
then focus on edges
then to a part in the middle that will come together clearly
work it together from there

it is monday night
I can not recall the rest of sunday night
I can not remember what we had for dinner
I can not recall if I read the boys a book
it goes like this sometimes
it goes like this most of the time
I can not remember what happened three days ago
unless of course
I check my blog
of course I do not blog about everything
although I would if I had the time