Washington DC Mommy blogger

Deep Creek Lake 2012 – A True Maryland Gem

September 10, 2012

For the last three years in a row over Labor Day, we’ve headed up to Maryland’s Deep Creek Lake to celebrate the end of summer with three other couples and all the kids. In total, it is a group of 16, eight of whom are girls from preschool to third grade. It’s become the annual not-to-miss tradition among our group and we can never believe how quickly time flies over the weekend.

What I’ve learned is this – much like a wine that improves with age, so does our trip. With every year we go up, we figure out how to keep making it better, just when it seems like it can’t get any better.

Oudoor Bliss at Life is Good in Deep Creek

This year, it started with the home rental. We broke from our old habits and instead worked with Railey Mountain Lake Vacations this spring to locate the perfect house. Railey Mountain Lake Vacations has the largest inventory of rentals around Deep Creek and I quickly discovered an extremely knowledgeable and attentive staff to help us determine the right property for our group. Instead of doing it all online, I actually picked up the phone to call their offices, which honestly, I recommend anyone do who is considering a rental in Deep Creek – it’s just a more efficient way to learn about various properties. What I appreciated about working with Railey, beyond the variety of homes in both size and price, was that each of their staff members have personally visited all the homes and can speak from experience about the features in the home. We knew we wanted several master suites because try as we might, we can’t seem to get the kids out of our rooms at night, and we wanted outdoor space that was slightly removed from the house (because we act like Frat boys at night. C’est vrai. Even moi). The Railey team helped us hone in on Life is Good, which aside from having 5 large rooms, each with their own private bathroom, had a three level deck with the largest deck space removed away from the back of the house so we could be as loud and raucous as we wanted at night without worrying about waking the kids.

Not only did Life is Good have amazing deck space, it had this beautiful outdoor fireplace and larger hot tub, with a view of the moon glistening off the lake.

#PureBliss

Each Labor Day, minutes after getting out of the car, it always comes rushing back to me why I love heading up there so much. The mountain air is fresher, the stars shine brighter (or rather, you can actually even see the stars), the moon sparkles off the lake at night and the tall pine trees make you feel like you’ve been transported to the Pacific Northwest in only a three-hour drive from home. Do you recall how humid it was over Labor Day in DC?

Right – in Deep Creek, we were wearing sweatshirts by our outdoor fire-place while toasting marshmellows with the kids.

#Bliss

But back to finding the perfect house – which frankly is one of the top questions I get from people who seem paralyzed and end up not going to Deep Creek. So many want to head up to Deep Creek because of its close proximity to DC but seem not to fully know how to find the right rental. My time with Railey didn’t end once I signed the contract on the house. It was almost like they were reading our minds. Literally 10 days before our trip, the emails started flying among the sister wives wondering what we needed to bring, did we need sheets, what kind of kitchen supplies and boom – in my email inbox lands an email from Railey updating me on the house, what we needed to bring, and a reminder to use their services for extra discounts on boat rentals around the lake during our stay, and to download their new app loaded with information on Deep Creek and ideas for rainy days.

#Brilliant

Impeccable timing on their part. I was grateful for the email because it saved me the time of searching my inbox to find the contract from months before.

#Lazy

If you’re wondering how far out you need to rent a place – I think it probably depends on time of year you are going. Obviously Deep Creek is a year-round destination with the lake, the mountains, the state parks. For our Labor Day trip, we usually try to reserve a place by March or April. I’ve gone up in October and found a rental weeks in advance and last December, we went on December 26 and we rented our place by early October. Again, these are better questions for the Railey team but I’ve never had trouble finding a great house no matter the time of year.

So what were our other discoveries to make this year’s trip even better than last year, you might be wondering?

Kids gearing up for some super fun tubing

First – for anyone paying attention – unlike last year when we almost sank the pontoon boat (and seized our electronic devices before our children), we managed to stay afloat this year and dressed up our boat adventure with the addition of a tube rental. We also got an earlier start on the day by reserving our boat the day before. This year, we headed out on a coffee cruise because the husbands went to pick up our rental by 8am versus last year when we scored the last boat by arriving around 10am that morning. I have to admit, heading onto the boat with coffee was a relaxing and refreshing way to start a Saturday morning. The tube rental added another $55 to the bill (bringing it to about $160 per couple for the boat and tube) but pulling the kids and adults behind the boat all day was worth every penny. Not to mention a refreshing swim in the middle of the lake with your friends and kids – is there a better way to end the summer? I think not. And look, moi doesn’t particularly like swimming where she can’t see what’s swimming along side of her, but I make an exception for the annual Deep Creek Lake swim. This should speak volumes for how rejuvenating and fun it is.

#Spoiled

Sister Wives loving the annual tradition of the Deep Creek dip. Safety first, kids

The only complaint out of the kids and adults was our boat couldn’t go as fast as we wanted it to when being pulled on the tube.

#WeLoveSpeed

#AndFlipCup

What else made our fine wine trip even better, you ask?

The discovery of the Mountain State Brewery – a delightful local brewery tucked at the side of Wisp mountain with delicious beer, an excellent blues band playing on Sunday afternoon and outdoor space for the kids to run, play, and pick wild flowers so adults can chat (and drink) without ~~as much~~ interruption. The food was also delicious – most of us selected the flat bread pizza much to our delight. We spent a few hours at this local watering hole and couldn’t believe it had taken us so many years to discover it. I absolutely wouldn’t go up there again without making a point to hit this brewery.

And finally, did we use that outdoor space, you might be wondering, especially because it did rain some

Outdoor play area at Mountain State Brewery...be sure to bring the Manny's

over Labor Day?

Mais oui! When you are hanging with a group who specializes in Flip Cup Foreplay…it begins with a sofa filled with half sleeping adults…then transitions to one or two adults migrating towards the kitchen bar….then suddenly someone turns up the music just a bit….then a few start dancing in their seats….then the music gets turned up just a bit more….then a few more stumble half asleep from the sofa to the kitchen….then someone quietly slips the Flip Cup cups onto the kitchen counter…then before you know it, the music is blaring, the beers are flowing and the minute the rain stops the game transitions to the outdoor deck.

It might have happened.

I might recommend it.

Especially because the women win every time which means we get to blare Belinda Carlisle instead of Alice In Chains.

#HeavenIsAPlaceOnEarth

So…summer’s over….you’re not likely to head up and swim in the lake…but I’d urge you to consider making a weekend out of a trip up there, whether it be this fall to enjoy the beautiful leaves (which noteworthy were already starting to change of the Labor Day weekend) and hike Swallow Falls State Park or this winter to ski and snow tube down Wisp Mountain…or make a plan for next summer…either way it’s seriously a mistake to miss this great weekend get-away spot so close to our area. Moi – I’m wondering if it’s Labor Day 2013 yet?

For more on Flip Cup Foreplay and other great ideas, be sure to “Like” the Wired Momma Facebook page.

Disclosure: Railey Realty offered me a discount on our rental home. My opinions here are all my own.

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Deep Creek Lake

Family Pictures

September 7, 2012

So now that it’s September, it’s not unreasonable for true paper lovers like moi to start thinking about their holiday cards.

Seriously – I am.

Is it really so unreasonable for moi to start thinking about holiday cards in September if my kids begin obsessing over Halloween costumes in late August when those damn magazines start arriving in the mail slot? And really magazine people – do we really need Halloween costume catalogues in August? Try as I might to intercept the mail before they see, their grubby hands still manage to score a magazine or two before I can discard the evidence. And please, tell me, who are the people who buy enough of the $89 Marie Antoinette costumes that they keep making them year after year? Reveal yourselves…..

But back to holiday cards – I love a good holiday card and I start obsessing over mine as soon as we turn the calendar to September. I would start sooner if I didn’t think that might classify me as somewhat psycho. And we all know very little makes a good holiday card better than a good family picture or two.

But then I start to sweat.

Think about trying to stage that family picture. It’s like herding kittens. Someone is always pouting, a shoe randomly comes off, the hair might have been washed the night before but mysteriously there is blue and purple paint coating one side of their coiffed style which goes undetected until everyone is posed and attempting to look at the camera, inevitably there is a crusty nose to go along with the pout and then an adult keeps closing their eyes. It’s mayhem. Yet we try. Chez moi, we typically head off to the pumpkin patches decked out in our autumn best, imagining the day rich with photo opportunities, discounting the inevitable October heat and the children’s chronic need for snacks though they just ate 3 minutes prior. We have our bags packed with bribes, candy, juice, whatever it takes to capture that perfect moment. Yet that perfect photo-op rarely ever materializes. It happens to the best of us.

C’est vrai.

But not me. Not this year. It is not my first rodeo and when an enterprising and creative local photographer named Maggie Winters reached out to me about advertising on my site, I knew this would be the route we would take this year. (Full disclosure – I also am lucky enough to have a sister who is an amazing professional photographer and pretty much takes all our family pictures every year but she lives in Brooklyn and just had a baby – so the time was right to try out Maggie.)

Maggie had me with her slogan, which is Photography for Awesome People – because it is the year of I Am Awesome here on Wired Momma. Then she had me with her pink hair because moi loves pink. She also had my girls with that pink hair and they still are debating which colors to dye their hair for Halloween.

We met Maggie at Brookside Gardens one Sunday morning a few weeks ago. Her web site offers great tips on how to dress, how to come prepared and she emailed me in advance with some pretty creative ideas and suggestions to help capture the kids naturally. She encouraged we come with the youngest Wired Momma’ette’s assortment of superhero costumes and she also suggested we bring a kite. I appreciated her emailing me with questions about my kids and suggestions for what to bring to make the shoot flowed smoothly and effortlessly. Her advance planning and attention to details showed me that she really does cultivate photo shoots that are natural, which is my preference. Sure, I want a staged family picture, but I also want it to look natural and I want images of my girls that reflect their real personalities.

Between her totally fun hair and free-spirited, lack back personality, my girls immediately took to Maggie, were unusually cooperative and happily posed around the beautiful grounds of Brookside Gardens, playing, looking at turtles, twirling and whirling at Maggie’s encouragement and basically having a great time. You can see more of her beautiful images here.

It was the most drama free, cooperative family photo shoot to date. I think, in part, it is because with every year they age, the easier it actually does get to take a picture with the kids, and Maggie’s suggestion that we go early – meet at 9:30am – was spot on. They kids were well rested, fed, and eager to play and explore.

Love the colors, the lighting, the natural shot. Photo Credit: Maggie Winters

She blocked off two hours for our photo shoot but after an hour, we knew she’d captured plenty of amazing pictures and it seemed sufficient. The entire time we were there, she never stopped click click clicking away. To give you another example, I also love the more whimsical pictures and having worn the worst shoes possible to walk around Brookside Gardens, I went barefoot and quickly found the elder Wired Momma cruising around like this:

Love it. Photo credit: Maggie Winters

Bottom line – I can’t recommend Maggie enough if you’re looking for family pictures, newborn pictures, pregnancy pictures, engagement pictures (check these out – I love how creative this couple’s shoot was with Maggie – how fun to do something similar with kids)…and I also love using local small female run businesses. Her easy-going demeanor definitely worked well with my kids and helped all of us relax. I was also impressed with how quickly she turned around the image gallery. She emailed it to me by 2:30pm on the day we’d taken our pictures. The fully edited version came the next day. Very quick work!

So…if you’re thinking of doing family pictures – here are the nuts and bolts details about Maggie in terms of pricing and booking the shoot:

Photo shoots start at $250, average price is around $500
Maggie’s new “friends & family” package offers two families, two deluxe sessions (with digital negatives) for $700 (weekday or weekend). This is a $150 discount on what a Deluxe session would run one family on a weekend, and she would love to do more of them!

She usually books up about 3-5 weeks in advance for weekends, but weekdays 2-3 weeks. For holiday photos, book soon since the calendar is filling up quickly!

Another important thing to note – Maggie has started the Pause Project. She is accepting nominations for 12 local families going through tough times to enjoy a free photo shoot with her. Each month one family will win a free photo session and a DVD of all the images – so please spread the word and nominate a deserving family!

Disclosure: In exchange for advertising on Wired Momma, Maggie gifted us the photo session. I am purchasing the lovely pictures from our shoot and my opinions here are all my own.

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Holidays

Uncensored Guide to the ABCs

September 6, 2012

What do Vehicular manslaughter, Nunchucks and the Greek classic Antigone have to do with the ABCs? Read on….because they do.

Today’s post is for anyone who has to send something to school with their preschooler that starts with a letter from the alphabet…today’s post is for anyone with adult siblings who make doldrum school assignments wildly inappropriate and hilarious…..today’s post is to make sure your kid’s teacher is paying attention. Today’s post is for anyone who wondered how Quaaludes and Yanni seem like reasonable suggestions for a preschool alphabet list. In fact, today isn’t just a regular post, it’s the beginning of a 26 week series brought to you by my hilarious 3 sisters….you’re welcome.

First: some background. Somehow three years have passed since my oldest was in the 4s class in preschool and back then, I used to email my sisters the letter of the week and they would chime in with totally ridiculous suggestions for what she should bring in the next day. I’ve always regretted not documenting what they suggested, so now I have a second chance because again – somehow – three years have passed and now the youngest Wired Momma’ette is in the 4s class in preschool. The first day of school is finally here (HORRAY) and beginning on Friday, she has to bring in something to correspond with the letter of the week, which is, you got it, A.

Without further a due, the Gallagher sisters started off somewhat innocuous in their suggestions……for the letter A:

Aladdin
Altoid
Ark

aardvark
Alaska

As their brains started to warm up, it slowly started to get more interesting:

Animal (from the muppets)
Alligator
Anteater
Alien
Albatross

Alabaster
Argyle
Ariel

Awesome Aunt Annie....Agile as Ever

Aunt Annie….ain’t she pretty??

Suddenly another sister started weighing in with more useful suggestions:

Antipasta
Almond Milk
A cheese grater

Then it started getting really good:

Amoeba
Alcohol
Anti-bacterial Spray
Anti-fungal creme
ABBA
Antigone the classic greek drama..about a daughter born of an incestuous marriage seems appropriate
As the World Turns DVD box set

An Awesome Aunt driving an AUTOMOBILE

Quickly the suggestion of ALCOHOL derailed the entire subject matter into a themed list around the preschool appropriate A word of ARRESTED. Suddenly I had in my inbox an A-Z guide to Arrested theme words. Warning – oddly some of these are actually appropriate for the toddler set:

A – Arrested
B- (how to) Break and Enter
C- Chains
D- Dog (as in K9 Unit)
E- Emily (cause I be gansta)
F- Felony or a Forty in a bag
G- Actual Gangsta
H- handcuffs

I – Indecent Exposure (I don’t know about you but my 4-year-old has this one covered)

J – Jungle Juice (in open container….probably speaking from experience)

K – Killer

L – Liar (again, appropriate for a toddler)

M – Mace or Mugshot

Nunchucks...just what every preschooler needs for the letter N day

N – Nunchucks

O – Opium

P – Pot

Q – Quaalude

R – Rat (this one fits the older sibling, aka the Dream Crusher)

S – Stink Bomb (again, appropriate for ~~happy-to-fart-anytime-anywhere~~ toddlers)

T – Taser (this one I’ve wished for on dark days for my own sanity)

U – Uni Bomber

V – Vehicular Manslaughter

W- Wasted on crack

X – Xtasy the drug

Y – Yanni the musician

Why wouldnt Yanni make his way onto a list for the letter A day?

Z – Zebra Stripe Avoidance (aka Jay Walking)

Do you sorta want to come to our Thanksgiving because you can see how one conversation very quickly derails into the absurdity? Do you think we had a really good time on this list? Do you wonder why Yanni made the cut?

“Like” the Wired Momma Facebook page for more Gallagher Sister Uncensored Guides and to keep up with this series for the next 26 weeks…you never know which direction it will head….we welcome any suggestions….and something here is bound to spark your interest and help make sure your kid’s teacher is paying attention.

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Humor, Preschool

Fall 2012 TV Season: My Favorite Moms on TV

September 4, 2012

Last February, I originally posted this piece awarding my favorite moms on TV the exclusive WM Oscars. I love to give out awards, in case you haven’t noticed. Let’s first get some truths out there – first, I am not ashamed to admit I watch TV. Second – I might be a TV addict. And for what it’s worth, my favorite comedy is hands down Happy Endings…which I really hope others are watching because it is ridiculously funny. I’ve noticed repeats running on ABC on Thursday nights and my husband and I are always in stitches through the entire 30 minutes. So, I can’t wait for the new season.

Previously my fav comedy was Modern Family but overall I was disappointed in last year’s season. I felt like it usually missed the mark, and Clarie and Phil were pretty ridiculous. The one episode that really stuck with me was the one where Cam was refusing to say “No” to Lilly and Clarie was biting her tongue because we know that’s the world’s lamest technique with toddlers. I hope this new Fall season is better than last year.

And so, in honor of the new season kicking off in a few weeks, let’s focus on MOI and what I am declaring award-winning work for women in TV (yes, I know, not movies.). The WM Academy of Mothers in TV is a highly sought after award. So without further delay, my two favorite Moms on TV are….drumroll please….Erika Christensen as Julia Braverman-Graham in Parenthood and Madeleine Stowe as Victoria Grayson in Revenge.

Yes, I watch Revenge. And I am highly addicted to Revenge. I absolutely cannot wait for the next season to kick off. You already know I have no shame if I’m admitting I’m addicted to TV, so is it really any surprise that I love a show about rich white women totally trashing each other and destroying their lives as they do nothing productive but fake-care about charities on the Hampton’s all summer long?

But let’s start with Parenthood (remember…I wrote the below last February before the season finales)

Fabulous TV Family

Truth be told, most of the adult characters in this show annoy me endlessly. I find them preachy, self-righteous and often times, totally self-consumed. Yet through my own issues with their on-screen personalities, I continue to watch the show because I commend the writers for covering so many real and important topics and challenges that parents face every day. Also, hailing from a big family myself (ahem, I have three sisters), I think the writers nail the dynamics between siblings from large families. So, that really gives me a soft spot for the show – just watching the very realistic adult sibling dynamics. Hands down, my favorite Mom on TV this season is Erika Christensen in this show. In particular, I think she’s really come into her own this season as she’s portrayed the struggles a woman faces with infertility and her path to adoption. Her entire relationship with Zoe, the woman whose child she is supposed to be adopting, is fraught with stress as she tries to balance supporting her with keeping her distance. I can totally relate to her very Type A, somewhat anal, personality and how difficult it must be for her to have very little control over the outcome of this adoption. Also, her eagerness for the delivery day and to hold that baby is just palpable. Admittedly, I also really like her because her husband is super hot and stays home, she has a beautiful home and seems to realistically manage her demanding career with her family. A few weeks ago, we saw her trying to field conference calls and a sudden deadline while heading on a family road trip for her grandmother’s birthday. She is so real and so honest in her portrayal of a young mom – so I award her with the first ever WM Oscar for Totally Awesome Hip Young Mom on TV.

Now let’s talk about why I love Madeleine Stowe on Revenge. True, you could easily make the case that she is a horrible, disgusting, vapid mother who cares only about her image. I would struggle to argue with you if you did make that case. You could also point out that she’s easily addicted to Botox and not-eating, therefore sets a terrible example for her vulnerable teenage daughter, who also pretty much hates her.

True.

So again, why am I awarding her with the WM Oscar for the Best Mom You Should Probably Never Mimic in Real Life?

Because I love her steely smile and her poise. It’s that simple. I am willing to suspend judgment of her long history of dubious decisions and thoughtless destroying of others’ lives, c’est vrai. I love that in the face of any crisis, whether it be an evil plot, for which she was part of, to destroy a man’s life almost being exposed (by her “best friend” of all people), or her daughter learning very publicly that she never really wanted her to begin with, or her nasty divorce to an equally despicable man becoming even more contentious, she never falters in her poise. She brilliantly stays calm and just pastes on her steely smile, to let everyone else know around her that she will always remain in control.

How can you not admire that in a woman? Even if it is a heavily botoxed smile?

If only I could give my tantrum throwing, dinosaur pirate loving, crazed three-year-old daughter that glance when she’s screaming “I DO IT MYSELF” about securing herself into her car seat, forcing me to stand in the pouring rain and patiently wait.

What do you think? Who are your fav TV moms? Which shows are you most excited to see kicked off?? I have to admit, I loved the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy.

For more TV talk, celeb gossip, and other shenanigans, be sure to “Like” the WM FB page – otherwise you’re totally missing out!

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Moms on TV, Uncategorized