DS Ignatz
DS2 Nello
DD1 Arley
DD2 Carvel

Anonymous wrote:Ds1 Michael
DS2 Nate
Ds3 Gabriel

Suburban as hell. Lots of sports practices and dirty clothes.

Redouane
Rayane
Leila
First two twin boys

Elizabeth and Claire

Anonymous wrote:Kira
Siena

You don't live in the DC area. You actually live in Southern California, but you are oddly hooked on DCUM and can't seem to stop yourself from daily lurking and occasional commenting. Your girls are both red heads which has always attracted a lot of attention, but now that Kira is starting to wear a bra and struggling with her changing body, it is starting to become uncomfortable for them and for you, too. Kira is creative, quiet, and becoming quite a popular babysitter in your neighborhood. Siena is the fiery one with a quick temper, but an equally quick wit. She has lots of friends and seems to spend most weekends away at sleep-overs. It actually feels weird, but nice to have so many Saturday nights alone with your husband. You've created a nice little tradition of ordering Thai food, watching a movie and quickie sex while waiting up for Kira to come home from her babysitting gig. You favor tight clothes, brightly painted nails, and flip flops. Your husband loves your long hair and would be crushed if you ever cut it short. You love your cookie cutter neighborhood, especially Friday nights around the community pool when you catch up on all of the latest gossip. You occasionally host Bunco parties, lingerie/sex toy parties, but never Pampered Chef parties (you really hate those). You drive a small SUV and would never be caught dead driving a mini-van.

Anonymous wrote:Andrew, Matthew, Madeline and Lauren

Andrew is your step-son who has been a part of your life since he was two and he proudly calls you "Mom". Matthew and Madeline were the twins you eagerly welcomed after thinking you might never have kids of your own. And Lauren was the surprising result of a spontaneous weekend trip to Luray one snowy, winter weekend. Your house is a happy, chaotic, noisy place and you like it that way. The calendar is color coded and packed with notes and logistics. Thank goodness Andrew is now driving and is able to help with the transports that are needed to chauffer everyone to the soccer/gymnastics/piano/fencing lessons. Your husband frequently makes longing comments about retirement and finally having an empty house, but you know that when those days finally do arrive, he will be sad about it. He's a big push-over when it comes to the kids and you do the heavy task of behavior control. Luckily all of the kids are generally well-behaved (well, except for that biting stage that Lauren went through....three different preschools and lots of nasty phone calls from potentially litigious parents). Your annual family camping trip is something you both dread and adore. You hate all of the work that goes into preparing, but once you get the camp site set up, you love sitting around the campfire, laughing with your kids, and eating s'mores. You occasionally contemplate doing a cruise, because so many of your friends rave about them as the ideal way form of family travel, but you just can't wrap your mind around being smashed into tight spaces, eating meals with nosey strangers, or the amount of money that it would require for a family of six "to cruise".

Andrew's mother, your husband's crazy ex, has really played a minimal role in his life, until recently...now that she's finally sober, she's attempting to repair her relationship with Andrew. It is heartbreaking to watch and it has created some awkward moments for all of you. You wonder what will happen when Andrew goes away to college next year. Your husband's big fear is that he may have inherited his mother's alcoholic genes. You reassure him that Andrew is going to be fine, but you also secretly worry about him, too. In addition to worrying about your kids, you clip coupons, you get monthly pedicures, and you read a lot of mysteries. You also love to watch British mystery series and you have found yourself mildly obsessed with the upcoming royal birth. Rather than spending money on a cruise, you would really love to take the whole family to London.

Kira
Siena

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll play-
Molly
Maggie
Packy
Thomas
Seamus

These are your dogs. You do not have children. Actually...you do! Your fur babies!

I am guessing they are actually dwarf rabbits with some cute names.

Anonymous wrote:I'll play-
Molly
Maggie
Packy
Thomas
Seamus

These are your dogs. You do not have children. Actually...you do! Your fur babies!

I'll play-
Molly
Maggie
Packy
Thomas
Seamus

Andrew, Matthew, Madeline and Lauren

Anonymous wrote:Gabriela

You chose "Gabriela" to honor your Spanish heritage. In fact, you met your American husband during his college senior year spring semester abroad in Spain. Things got hot & heavy quickly, and your courting days were filled with feeding each other delicious tapas in bed. These days, however, your husband prefers to BE your "midnight-tapas" (or as he refers to it "his spicy chorizo sausage," and wants a blow job EVERY single night. You typically give in, but really wish he would return the favor, just once in a while! back to little "Ela" as you refer to darling toddler....She is already quite chunky, BUT, the way you figure it, "well, there is just more of her to love!" In the Fall, she is going to a Spanish immersion Montessori school, and you are very excited to have a little "me-time" again. You are even thinking of digging out of your lingerie drawer, the romance novel you began to write before Ela's birth. Nobody knows about your erotic literary aspirations, and you think they would be shocked. Your goal is to see if you can get it published by Kindle or Nook. You have another little secret, too. You are an occasional shoplifter. The last thing you stole was that cute tank top in neon lime green from Lululemon. You can afford it (your husband brings in a very good income, BUT, there is just something about the adrenaline rush you get when you are stealing. You have a drawer filled with your (as you refer to it)..."impulse items." The contents include sparkly bubblegum-color lip gloss from Sephora, a rhinestone hair clip from Nordstrom's, even Christmas cookie cutters from William Sonoma. For some reason, you do not feel guilty about your shoplifting, but know that if the other mommies in your playdate group found out, then you would have to drop out, because you would be MORTIFIED! In the meantime, life is good, and you feel grateful for the life you have...

Gabriela

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Eric

Eric is your grown son who still lives with you despite being thirty-three and being fully capable of living on his own. Your friends all think you are crazy for continuing to support him and his endless attempts to design a product that will be sold on QVC or at least get him on Shark Tank. But ever since your husband's unexpected death, fifteen years ago you have been gripped with fear about losing Eric, too. During his college years you made weekly trips to his dorm loaded down with meals packed into tupperware containers and a trunk full of freshly washed laundry. You just couldn't bear the thought of him letting him live on Ramen noodles or having to wait for a free washer in the basement of the dorm. After college, he moved home temporarily to search for a job and just never left. He does some minimal help around the house with much nagging and begging, but reassure yourself that having a man in the house is a good thing for security since your neighborhood seems to be getting a little rougher and darker around the edges. You head to the YMCA each day to swim laps or take a water aerobics class and you help your elderly neighbor with her weekly shopping trips. You adore your two cats, Minnie and Maude, and you excel at crossword puzzles. You wish Eric would find a nice girl, get a real job, settle down, and give you some grandbabies but are now starting to fear that will never happen. One day you will eventually get fed up with Eric and end up moving to Florida to live with your sister in a lovely retirement community. He will be shocked and feel abandoned.

OMG, are you f... psychic? I'm kicking him out now...at 12!

Anonymous wrote:Two kiddos- Chloe and Clara

You are a Foreign Service family who are temporarily living in Fairfax while undergoing language/culture training in preparation for your next destination: Sofia, Bulgaria. Your husband and the girls love the overseas assignments, while you love the times when you are back in the land of Target, Trader Joe's, and reliable public plumbing. Currently, most of your belongings are in storage, but when you unpack and start to settle in Bulgaria, your home will be a mixture of Pottery Barn accents and mulit-colored acquisitions from previous assignments and traveling adventures: Mexico City, Bangkok, and Tokyo. It cracks you up to listen to the girls speaking with other foreign service kids on the playground of the apartment complex building where so many other families are in similar states of transition. Little kids exchanging blase accounts of life in Africa, Europe, and South America or setting up imaginary market stalls that include strange and foreign delicacies..."Fresh Durian!".

It's a such a different childhood than your own. You grew up in suburban Dallas and never really left Texas until you went away to college at LSU. Your parents had never left the country until your first assignment in Thailand and they made the big trip to celebrate Clara's first Christmas. They still live in the same house you grew up in and they still play bridge with the same couple from down the street. Most of your high school friends are still living in the area and they are always shocked to hear about your lifestyle. Before first grade, both girls had already filled their passports with a multitude of countries. They have never lived in one house longer than three years and they are masters at making friends on the fly. They have a hard time answering the question: "Where are you from?" and they are fairly adventurous eaters. You are proud of them, but occasionally worry about the lack of significant roots. You are trying to encourage your husband to considering buying a house in Northern Virginia so the girls have a place that they can start to think of as home, even though they will only get a chance to live there every few years.

You have made a few friends with other foreign service wives, but in general they aren't really your cup of tea. There seem to be two major groups: those who fully embrace the culture of their current assignment. They are the ones who ardently study the native language, take cooking classes, and focus on making friends with the locals. And then there are those who attempt to create a faux American experience...rarely venturing out unless with their husbands or with an organized culture group from the Embassy, these women host Pampered Chef parties, spend a lot of time on-line shopping and frequently complain about the lack of decent shopping options and shipping issues. You don't fit firmly into either of these groups and usually feel pretty lonely until you meet one or two other wives, sometimes from other Embassies and form your own little group that does ladies lunch outings and late afternoon park outings with the kids.

You picked the names Chloe and Clara because you just plain liked them and you don't care that they occasionally make an appearance on monogramed Pottery Barn or Lands End Kids products. Your girls are unique, third culture kids and they will have much better stories to share at future parties than most of their boring peers.