Martin's Blog: The Wrap-Up

Catching a falling star -- a helium balloon, actually -- while kayaking over Memorial Day weekend.

Here I am at the end of my month of blogging on Julie and Martin.

I have to admit there were some days I didn't feel like writing or that there is anything to write about. Julie set the standard high in the weeks leading up to May. She posts four to six times a week.

So how did I do it?

Martin's Blog: Flashback Friday and Memorial Day

From Memorial Day weekend 2008

I drove Julie all the way to work in downtown DC today because she forgot her Metro card at all. Normally, this would have been a nightmare but it was actually very nice because the roads were clear of traffic. Apparently everyone had already left for the holiday weekend and what is normally an hour's drive was really only 35 minutes.

On the way home, I realized I was driving in the midst of hundreds of motorcycles. I was reminded that once again Rolling Thunder is in DC to honor Memorial Day this weekend. 

Martin's Blog: The Cut

 

Monday is my shopping day. New sales are up and new coupons came in the Sunday paper. The morning was business as usual. We were all on the straight and narrow to a really good day.

After dropping off Julie at the Metro, Lola decided she wanted to take a bath. Jaz was ready to take a nap, so I welcomed the suggestion to get her in the tub while I was tending to the clothes that have been waiting to be folded all weekend. With both kids in a place where they can't do anything silly, I got done with the laundry rather quick. 

Once I was done Lola was ready to get out of the bathtub, which she usually only does under protest. We went on with blow drying and brushing her hair at Julie's makeup table. Lucky for me, Lola just got  her summer haircut -- a trim to her shoulders with long bangs -- and combing her hair was not as painful as it usually is. 

Martin's Blog: Flashback Friday and Wildlife

It is Friday again already. I had to ask Julie twice this morning if it was really Friday because the week has just flown by and we have been really busy.

As you may know, we here at Julie and Martin do a "flashback" every Friday where we share something from the archives from the past ten years of this blog.

Martin's Blog: Are You Dad Enough?

This cover would probably be ignored and not sell very much.

Maybe you have heard about the magazine cover featuring a mom nursing her three-year-old?

I first heard about it on Facebook. Then Julie told me about it. And then we saw things about it on the news and on Saturday Night Live. Apparently, the article was about breastfeeding children beyond the first year and there was also talk of attachment parenting. (We do not read the magazine, so I am only going off what I have seen online about it.) Attachment parenting is something I didn't even learn about until my wife and I attended the BlogHer '11 conference last summer for her presentation, and we were asked about it.

I had to Google it once I got some Internet access.

Martin's Blog: Just Keep Running

For the first time in eight years, I did not make breakfast for Julie for Mother's Day. Back in 2004, it all started that I would make Julie crepes and bacon and eggs, but this year, she asked me not to since the breakfast is so heavy and full of sugar, and she already had it a few weeks ago for her birthday.

So she got to start the day with oatmeal. And Miss C presented her with a poem.

Then, we went for a morning bike ride.

Martin's Blog: Flashback Friday for Mother's Day



Julie and Miss C during Take Your Child to Work Day in 2007.*

 It is going to be Mother's Day this weekend. This post is going to be about the mother in our family. It is also Friday, which means a flashback look into our archives.

Recently, Julie was interviewed by psychologist Suzanne B. Phillips Psy.D, ABPP, who is a regular blogger for PsychCentral.com, and has appeared on television and in the media for her articles on mental health and family issues. As she lives in the New York City area, she works with a lot of 9/11 families, as well as military veterans and their families in her area. Since it is Mother's Day, Dr. Phillips wanted to speak with military moms and write how they handled being a mom and being deployed. So she talked with Julie.

Martin's Blog: Where A Big Kid Can Be A Big Kid

Miss C and me in February 2009

I think I've made it clear that I am not like Julie when it comes to blogging. Ever since taking on the challenge of blogging for a whole month of May, I am realizing that what Julie has been doing consistently for the last ten years is really amazing.

I still have not realized how her brain operates though. I do not know how she comes up with such good ideas to write about all the time.

Fortunately, we had a fun weekend and it only took me three days to write about it.

We went to Chuck E. Cheese.

Martin's Blog: Flashback Friday

It is amazing to see Jaz speed crawl from one side of the room to the other. His sisters are right there keeping up with him. It must be so great being young and having all that energy.

Unfortunately for Julie and me, we are not that young and energetic. From working all day in DC, Julie is pretty exhausted by the time she comes home. Me chasing after three kids while trying to keep the house in order and getting all chores done doesn't leave much energy left over either.

The bad thing about the lack of energy is the lack of exercise that goes along with it.

Yes, I have to admit I don't look the same as I did 10 years ago when I met Julie. I need to change this.

Martin's Blog: Family Volkssport

I know Julie sometimes wishes we still lived in Germany instead of the States. She really liked the lifestyle there. I miss some things about life over there, too. We miss the bakeries, the movie theaters with the big seats. 

Julie misses the old churches and villages. 

I miss the Autobahn.

But there is something we don't have to miss about the German lifestyle.