Five Years

Five years ago today, Tucker and I met for the first time.
04.07

I had flown down to DC from Boston on a whim to visit my friend Christy. She and her then boyfriend (now husband) Matt were living in an apartment in Cleveland Park and I was staying with them. Matt was getting a little tired of our girly squeals and laughing fits and decided to meet up with his friend Tucker to watch some basketball and get out of the house.

After a few hours at the bar, the boys came back to the apartment. Tucker walked in and the theme song to "Dallas" started playing in my head. Kidding! I do remember, however, that he leaned down on the counter and looked right at me in a way that gave me goose bumps. I was pretty taken by his voice, too.
04.07

Later that night, the four of us went out to Adams Morgan and wound up dancing at the Ghana Cafe. Matt and Christy headed home and Tucker and I stayed and decided to plot out our future together. We broke quite a few rules (like talking about how many kids we wanted to have) though clearly, it didn't matter.

Here we are, 5 years, 1 house, 1 baby, 1 cat later. We've told the story of our meeting so many times and I imagine it may be one of those things that Margot gets sick of hearing. At least she'll know that she's got two parents who love each other deeply and dreamed of her existence from the night they met on March 31, 2007.

Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice

We've recently had friends in Texas and New York welcome little girls into the world. Margot can't wait to meet her new pals!

On March 12, our friends Sara and Lucas welcomed Colette Elizabeth into their family in Glens Falls, NY. We think Colette and Margot are destined to be great copines!

Just this past Friday, our friends Jake and Callie welcomed their daughter Piper into the world in San Antonio, TX. We can't wait to meet Piper and love her already.

Hooray for baby girls!

Blue Eyes

Do you think she takes after her Daddy?

Big. Girl.

Margot is getting so big....

but she's still our little baby.

Yankee Aunties

The term Yankee was something I never really thought twice about until I met Tucker. I just thought it referred to people from the north; end of story. After meeting Tucker, I realized that Yankee also refers to a whole culture that's unique to the northeast part of the US, and it's not always meant to be nice. I guess we're a little more liberal, we can be a little outspoken with our opinions, and we're pretty proud of where we come from, where we're educated and the way we go about life. While we may not be the friendliest at first, give us some time, and we'll be your loyal friends for life.

I am proud to say that Margot will have some strong yankee women to look up to as she grows up. This weekend, three of these women came to visit us.

On Saturday morning, Katina came over for brunch and we had the McDonald house specialty: Texas waffles. (They're just so good!) Katina is a Lowell, MA native and lives in Jamaica Plain (in Boston) now. She lived in DC for many years and met Tucker on the campaign trail in New Hampshire back in 2003. She comes back to DC for work and to visit her mom often so we're lucky to see her during these trips.

When she and Tucker get together, the political lingo comes out which loses me every time. Maybe someday Katina can share all her political/campaign wisdom with little M.

On Saturday afternoon, two of my close girlfriends, Jen and Kara, flew down from Manchester, NH to stay with us for the night. They both live in Newburyport, MA now which is one of the most adorable, quaint, and historical New England towns you'll ever see. We had a fun afternoon hanging with Margot and then shopping and having dinner at Redwood in Bethesda.

These two are like sisters to me. We lived in Boston at the same time and went through many growing pains (or they wittnessed my growing pains) in our 20s together.

Not only am I thankful for their friendships and the fact that Margot will grow up knowing them, but my hope is that Margot will know friendship of the sort I have with these girls. It's these friendships that sustain me through the good and the bad, remind me of where (and how far) I've come, and make me thankful for all I have.

This trip, Jen and Kara reminded me that I have all I ever wanted. And, they're right.

Happy Hour

Margot brings new meaning to the term "happy hour". My pals from my old job at the Forum came over on Friday for drinks and nibbles and a chance to coo over Miss Margot. It was a fun way to start the weekend.

Margot snuggled right up to Elizabeth. I think she could tell she'd found an experienced mama.

Margot showed Danielle her wiggly moves.

Margot and her mama!

HAPPY FRIDAY!

The Little House That Could

Our house has been a work-in-progress since we moved in. We've put a lot of TLC into this place and have (what feels like) an endless amount more work to do.

Last spring, we spent weekend after weekend cleaning up our backyard that was overgrown with ivy and about million volunteer bushes and shrubs. We took down two very old dying trees and a rusted fence and planted about 15 new shrubs. This year's work will be much less, which is good considering our "free time" is not so free anymore, (and we're fine with that)!

Here are our rhododendron bushes. You can see the arborvitaes we planted along the back fence last spring.

Amongst the forget-me-nots you can see our peony bush poking through. I transplanted it from my mother's garden last year, though it didn't bloom. Fingers crossed for this year!

Back To Work

I've been anticipating this day for months, (or 13 weeks and 3 days, to be exact). Today, I returned to work. I have fewer pictures and more words to share today.

One of my favorite students, Boris, gave this to me at 7:45 this morning. He walked straight into my office without any warning and I assumed that he must have been looking for my subsitute, Ms. Thompson. He quietly sat down and wordlessly (as usual) opened his binder and handed this to me with a smile.

Boris is a straight A student with a paralyzing stutter that he's learning to overcome. I've worked with his family to make sure he receives speech and language services at White Oak. They speak French (from Benin in Africa) and moved to the US a year ago. Realizing that Boris actually noticed I was gone for three months meant so much! THIS brought tears to my eyes.

***
Backing up a few steps, the day began very early in the McDonald household. Maria arrived at 6:50am (bless her heart) and Tucker and I were both out the door by 7am.

Arriving at school felt easy, surprisingly. I received a bunch of incredibly sweet and supportive texts and emails which made me smile all morning. The kids were so welcoming and happy about my return that it was hard to be sad about anything. I got a chance to pop in to most classrooms and had lunch in the cafeteria so I could catch up with my students and hear about everything I missed.

Rather than focusing on what I'm missing at home, I'm focusing on what I have. I have a beautiful daughter who's in good hands with someone who's sensitive, sweet, and knows all about babies. I have a husband who's my partner in taking care of this little person; he's a father who loves his daughter fiercely. I also have a job I love that makes me a better person. Feeling connected to my community (and the world around me) fulfills me, and at the end of the day, I think I'll be a better mother for it.

No tears have been shed yet. I'm sad that the era of Margot and I being at home is over, because there were so many blissfull moments. Yet, I'm so thankful that I have a job that afforded me the benefit of taking that time with her. It's a job that values me for what I do and respects my life with my family. I am blessed.

Three Months

Friday, March 16th marks 3 months for little Margot! Look how much she's grown already...

One month

Two months

Three months (we're beginning to accessorize...)

Spring In The 'Hood

It was in the 80s here today and we loved it. We forgot about the fact that it's too soon for this weather and enjoyed the sunshine. It was nice to wear flip flops and leave our coats in the closet, too! When Tucker got home from work, we took a stroll through the neighborhood and of course, I had to snap some pics.

We planted a row of rhododendrons last spring and I'm happy to see they're alive and well and blooming!

Our neighbors' redbud

Hyacinths make me think of Easter. Love them!

Our little hydrangea bush is blooming!

Family Photo

It took a while for us to do this, but with Katrina and her fancy camera in town, we finally got some family pics.

Thanks Kat!

Spring Chickadee

Margot will be 3 months old on Friday and her little personality is blossoming. She's babbling, laughing (and imitating her daddy), smiling, holding up her head, rolling over, batting/grabbing things with her hands, kicking her legs, following us with her eyes and generally being absolutely adorable. Also, her hair is looking more and more red! (Thanks for the outfit Gerald and Beverly.)

Auntie Katrina

Last Thursday, Tucker's sister Katrina flew in from Austin to stay with us through the weekend. She left the boys at home, (her husband Ryan and son Chance) and showered her new niece with attention. She was such a help around the house and with Margot. We loved having her here!

On Friday, Katrina, Margot and I embarked on a little meet-and-greet tour. We first headed to my school, White Oak Middle School, where Margot wooed my co-workers and some of my students with her sweet smile. Only 5 days until I return to work! Unfortunately, we forgot to take pictures...

After a quick stop at home, we headed into the city to pay a visit to Tucker's office. As soon as we stepped off the elevator at the 8th floor, we crossed paths with the President of the union, Fred Rolando. He took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to hold our sweet girl. You could tell he's an experienced dad since he didn't even flinch at the opportunity to hold our girl.

A family pic...we have so few of these!

Ernie and Cortenia

Later that night, Katrina volunteered to be our babysitter so we could get out for a "date", sans bebe. I was inspired to check out the restaurant of a French pastry maker that comes to the Silver Spring farmer's market each weekend. We were a little surprised to find that this quaint little bistro was actually situated in a strip mall (right between Karate Kicks and Edible Arrangements) in Bethesda. Not quite the romantic setting we had envisioned...oh well! The food was delicious and it was great to get out.
Tucker had his favorite: mussels!

Grilled shrimp with goat cheese ravioli...mmm!

On Saturday night, we met up with a good friend of Tucker's who was in town for a law conference. Dustin and Tucker grew up in Lubbock together and Dustin is now teaching at Texas Tech Law School. Here's Professor Benham, endorsing the Hefeweizen at the Biergarten on H Street.

Dustin, Katrina, Tucker

Holly and Lock (who is also a former Lubbockite) joined us too!

Katrina and Holly

On Sunday, we had a fun brunch at Eric and Amy's and got to see Holly and Lock again, too. On the menu were baked eggs, asparagus wrapped in prosciutto, Texas waffles (yes, I schlepped the waffle maker over because I love them so much!), and mimosas.

Amy made an incredible dessert, too. The last time I'd had a clafouti was in Muret, France when my host mother made it with cherries. Here's Amy's beautiful blueberry clafouti.

While we watched the UNC game (Lock's alma mater,) we cheered on Margot to show off her new trick: rolling over. Alas, I think all the pressure got to her. She showed us her superman moves instead.

Eric and Abner watching the game.

It was a great weekend with Katrina and we can't wait to see her (and the boys!) again in May.