family / out and about

The Capitol: fancy clothes and sundae bars

We're moving along at about half-strength around here. One by one the girls are dropping to the same cold as it moves through each of them. This morning, Mary was the victim. Unfortunately hers is a mix of a migraine and the cold. So I'm chained to the sofa while we work through the worst of the migraine. (I've briefly talked about Mary's migraines here, and there is some great information from people in the comments....)

The Capitol

But despite the general dragging around here, we were miraculously blessed with a window of health on Tuesday so that our whole family could have a once-in-a-lifetime tour of The Capitol in Washington, DC. 

The Capitol

My mother has become good friends with a sweet and spunky 72 year old woman who is the wife of a former, now deceased Congressman. Her name is Ruth and she is the darling of The Capitol. 

The Capitol

With Ruth as our guide we were taken on a special behind-the-scenes tour where guards waved us past "authorized personnel only" barriers with a smile.

communion in the chapel

We took communion in the Capitol chapel. Walked out onto the floor of the Congress. Stood on the private balcony of the Speaker of the House. Bumped shoulders with Mitch McConnell (almost literally). Rode a tram underground to the senate cafeteria (cafeteria is by far the wrong terminology in this case) and lunched on Senate Bean Soup and Bread Pudding to get the full experience (per Ruth's advice). 

Speaker's private balcony

Though I had my moment of almost-meltdown holding a wailing Birdy who was well beyond tired and unwilling to put up with more touring. Standing in the hallway shushing and bouncing, with the stares and the "there's never a BABY in here" looks, feeling so far removed from these classy, important, put-together people…eventually we both recovered. 

Let's just say there weren't many babies in here

The day was forever memorable. The city, beautiful. And Mary was inspired to become a Congresswoman–primarily for the fancy clothes you get to wear each day and the sundae bar in the cafeteria. 

That's my girl. 

We're moving along at about half-strength around here. One by one the girls are dropping to the same cold as it moves through each of them. This morning, Mary was the victim. Unfortunately hers is a mix of a migraine and the cold. So I'm chained to the sofa while we work through the worst of the migraine. (I've briefly talked about Mary's migraines here, and there is some great information from people in the comments....)

The Capitol

But despite the general dragging around here, we were miraculously blessed with a window of health on Tuesday so that our whole family could have a once-in-a-lifetime tour of The Capitol in Washington, DC. 

The Capitol

My mother has become good friends with a sweet and spunky 72 year old woman who is the wife of a former, now deceased Congressman. Her name is Ruth and she is the darling of The Capitol. 

The Capitol

With Ruth as our guide we were taken on a special behind-the-scenes tour where guards waved us past "authorized personnel only" barriers with a smile.

communion in the chapel

We took communion in the Capitol chapel. Walked out onto the floor of the Congress. Stood on the private balcony of the Speaker of the House. Bumped shoulders with Mitch McConnell (almost literally). Rode a tram underground to the senate cafeteria (cafeteria is by far the wrong terminology in this case) and lunched on Senate Bean Soup and Bread Pudding to get the full experience (per Ruth's advice). 

Speaker's private balcony

Though I had my moment of almost-meltdown holding a wailing Birdy who was well beyond tired and unwilling to put up with more touring. Standing in the hallway shushing and bouncing, with the stares and the "there's never a BABY in here" looks, feeling so far removed from these classy, important, put-together people…eventually we both recovered. 

Let's just say there weren't many babies in here

The day was forever memorable. The city, beautiful. And Mary was inspired to become a Congresswoman–primarily for the fancy clothes you get to wear each day and the sundae bar in the cafeteria. 

That's my girl. 

13 comments on “The Capitol: fancy clothes and sundae bars”

  1. Always wonderful when everyone is healthy. My migraines started when I was 5. I have vivid memories of them. They were terrible, and unfortunately got worse with puberty. I still have them, live with them and they still make up a huge part of my life. It is a huge burden to carry, but somehow I do or should I say, “we” do now that I am married and have children.

    I have found that a major component of my migraines are food triggers. Changing my diet has kept me out of the ER almost entirely. (I used to go at least 6x’s a year with an untreatable migraine) Now, I have eliminated the major foods that cause me to get migraine as well as the stress triggers.

    The most helpful and easy to use book I have found so far is called “Heal your Headache” The 123 Program by David Buchholz. This is not a children’s book but a book mainly about eliminating foods from your diet to figure out what is causing them.

    I hope this helps but with kids its even tougher. Malted Barley Flour is the worst for me!!! I avoid it at all costs!!!

    Regular sleep times, lots of regular fluid. No chocolate, No aged cheese, only fresh cheeses. No aged meats only fresh. No sulfates, sulfites or preservatives. No processed soy products. no citrus. BUT there IS a lot you CAN eat!!! fresh veggies, fresh fruits, caramel, white chocolate is ok~ any fruity candy is fine~ you just have to be creative~

    Check out the book its cheap on Amazon and I’ve used it almost every day for a few years now for reference~

    Good luck, it makes me so sad to know that another little girls is suffering like I did~ If you feel that the Advil and rest is not working and she is throwing up~ ask your Doctor for an anti-nausea medication….it is the least you can do for her, and its not a pain medicine.

  2. the capital is amazing – and the library of congress. we did that trip with our kids last year – amazing!

  3. How special!I do understand the far removed feeling, but here is an encouragement to say you are SO important to your family. How wonderful the world would be with more Mamas like you:)

  4. What fun! We have attempted to get tour tickets at the Capitol and at the White House when we’ve been in town visiting, but it has never worked out. I’m sure we’d have baby meltdowns, too. 🙂

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