Did Rodin's Mother Find Things Like This?

It's not exactly "The Thinker," but Amelia definitely has some leanings toward sculpture. Her creations are almost always 3-D and require a lot of scotch tape. (Scotch tape, like chapstick and decent pens, is a scarcety in our home. Alan, I just gave you excellent ideas for stuffing my stocking.)

Last night on the back of a chair I found two washcloths scotch-taped together. Sometimes lines of scotch tape just show up by themselves on the steps, books, or furniture. Let's see where this artsy tendency takes her...

Speaking of art, tonight I went to the Messiah Sing-along with the Baltimore Choral Arts Society, where I reveled in being surrounded by an entire auditorium of people who think it is FUN to tote their own scores and plow shamelessly through 2/3 of that work of musical mastery. I felt like a bona fide music nerd. I loved it (except for those two unintentional solos I took, coming in a couple bars early here and there.)

Tomorrow I will take the girls to their Concert for Kids. The girls have gone to a few "real" concerts (including my parents' church's concerts, which are always lovely), but this will be their first official kids' concert. Can't wait!

Patterson Park

The day after Thanksgiving, we ended our Zippy Tour at this spot, and I was reminded how beautiful this park is. So, upon arriving home I scooped up the girls and headed back. They rolled down this hill a million times, played on the awesome playground, and I watched the sun set.

We've got to go back here on a Sunday--that cool, Victorian-era Japanese pagoda is open and free to the public every Sunday from 1-6 pm! (And it is NOT leaning like the Tower of Pisa. That is due to the angle at which I held the camera.)

Picture Night

The annual Bisset Cousin Christmas Photos at The Picture People (who have moved to White Marsh Mall...silly me. I showed up at the wrong mall. Fortunately, they were running behind and we made it.)

Look at those matching outfits. Look at Mom holding court on the spinning stools. Look at those adorably-PJ-clad kids. Look at those lollipops. Mom always manages to have on them hand at the most opportune times.

My how time flies. It doesn't seem that long ago that three of these four were in diapers and crying their eyes out while we tried to keep...them...still....long...enough...to...snap...a...picture. (Not a stellar year for the Christmas pics, 2006!)

It will not be long until they will be too old to change into matching PJs during the picture sessions. I think I am going to cry.

A Historical Thanksgiving

While I regret not having more Thanksgiving pictures, I proudly blame it on "living in the moment!" A group of family and friends met to play football and Jon & Courtney's in the morning and it was SO FUN. (It was so fun that my entire body was unable to forget it for days. But of course I'd do it again.)

Then we all headed to Mom and Dad's--our family, Jon & Courtney's, Shelley, Stacey & Brad, Brad's brother Derek, and the wonderful addition of my in-laws. I really love when our kids can gather with both sets of grandparents. It was so generous of them to drive up from VA Beach.

Being together is just GOOD. I've always been a sucker for family gatherings, and while my love lapsed when the girls were small and all of life felt so much more exhausting, I've come full circle again. We played games and visited, and I only regret not having a group of us storm the kitchen and insist on helping Mom clean up. Mom and I are taking notes for next time. Thank you, Mom, for all the work you did hosting so well!

On Friday we did something I've never done before--my in-laws, parents, and I took a customized historical tour of Baltimore via Zippy of Zippy Tours. She is 79 and I dare you to keep up with her. (Zippy is short for Zappora.) She knows her stuff, too. She took our varied interests (Civil War, old Baltimore neighborhoods & architecture, Wallis Warfield Simpson, and Betsy Patterson Bonaparte--choose only a few interests unless you want to spend an entire day with Zippy, which would probably leave the most fit marathon runner lolling on the floor with his eyes glazed over) and wove them into 2 1/2 hours of fascinating lecture through the streets of our city and in some of its most interesting (and not on the typical tour route!) places. I would definitely do it again!

Thankfulness.

"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in Him, rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness." (Col.2:6-7)

Overflowing with thankfulness. Thanksgiving weekend was a good start to that.

Celebrating Casey

Our nephew, Casey, is three weeks younger than Evelyn. (I've always loved that Alan and his twin sister, Becky, had their

first

kids only
three weeks apart! The twin thing is pretty cool.)

Becky had the party at one of those bounce-places--and it was glow in the dark! All the kids wore glow-necklaces and the place was lit only with black light. It was hilarious--and great for social anxiety, I might add. I think the next time I'm asked to host a mixer, I'll do it by black light!

Afterward we had cupcakes and sang a version of the happy birthday song I've never heard before--I'll have to have Casey dictate it to me so I can write it down. His whole group of friends knew it--had one of those "I'm a grown-up and totally out of the loop" moments!

We followed him home and hung out a little--well, Casey's neighbor got a lot of that "hanging out." Abby is about Evelyn's age and the girls have mixed well every time they've been together, and have always graciously let our girls come over and play. And between the neighbors' gracious play-date and the party in the dark, I have regrettably few pictures of the birthday boy himself!

Happy birthday, Casey! It's so fun watching you grow up!

Celebrating Esther

It's been a fabulous string of parties around here! On Nov. 4th we kicked off Esther's Nov. 5th b-day at our house with a game night. She gathered an array of current and former roommates (and a few of their friends) for Apples to Apples and a crazy round of The Name Game, which is her absolute favorite--and one of mine, too!

I totally stole the apple-slices-and-mini-marshmallow snack off the blog of my friend Holly (she & I were on a mission trip together as teenagers...we haven't seen each other since, but cyberspace has reunited us!)

Evelyn's "sassy attitude" pose makes me shudder.

And one of the evening's highlights was when all of us were standing in the kitchen scrolling through each of our various "random texts from Esther." You just can't make this stuff up.

Happy birthday, Esther! You've been one of my "big kids" for over 12 years now! You know how to add a lot of fun to life!

Celebrating Lisa

When Lisa turned 40 last year, I asked her what she wanted for her birthday (I love having a list!) and she told me she wanted to meet Tracey from ShineFM's morning team.

Well, the three of us enjoyed dinner on the Avenue in White Marsh last year, and Lisa and Tracey have continued their friendship. We met again last week, belatedly celebrating Lisa's 41st b-day, dining at Red Brick Station and desserting at Starbucks. WAY fun.

Tracey gave Lisa that adorable hat (among other pretty things!), and Lisa gave Tracey a hand massage--her adapted way of "washing feet." It was a really touching evening, and I felt blessed to be a part of it! The video is Tracey getting the thrill of driving Lisa's electric wheelchair. She did it with astounding deftness--the first time I tried that ultra-sensitive joystick, I nearly took myself out at the shins!) Happy belated birthday, dear Lisa. And thank you, Tracey, for being exactly like you sound.

The Zoo is Different...

...when you're not there with your own kids! Our Scottish cousin, Alice, was visiting with her daughter Ruth and granddaughter Alice Emma (who live in the Shetland Islands! Ruth is a renowned artist. Check her out here.) I met a crew of cousins at the zoo while my own kids were in school, and I just loved taking Eva and Alice Emma to brush the goats with cousin Kate's Aunt Debbie (familial confusion, anyone?)

It wasn't that long ago that I had my own two and three year olds brushing goats at the zoo. How nice to shepherd my cousins' girls on this little visit.

And I had to post the video of Eva. While the picture of her on the saddle looks pensive, she's actually very enthusiastic. I love when she says "gee-ee-yup." And I must say, those two with their heads of blond curls were magazine-worthy (although it would probably be challenging to dictate to them during a photo shoot!)

Out of Uniform

A few weeks ago Evelyn's class won the boxtop-collection contest at school and earned an out-of-dress-code day. What did she choose to wear? A Christmas dress, complete with sparkly shoes. When I asked her sensitively if she thought anyone might tease her for wearing a Christmas dress in October, she replied confidently, "No!" Then, holding up her sleeve, she continued, "I'll just let them feel my fur!"

Then I took pictures of both girls heading out the door to school. These are days to cherish and remember!

The Trick-or-Treating Princesses

Evelyn's home-made costume was almost a bust. The hat would not stay on the right place on her head, and it took a while to figure out how to keep the sides of her dress (made from an old sheet) from flapping open (especially since I had no safety pins.)

It didn't help that we made the whole outfit just minutes before heading out the door. (Thank you, Mom, for your help!!)

Eventually, I ended up wearing the hat, and all was well. Amelia repeated last year's eat-the-poison-apple-and-die-on-the-porch performances at as many houses as would watch, and Mom and I were basically trotting after them as they ran from lit house to lit house.

I enjoy Halloween. It's fun walking around the neighborhood in the chill of fall, seeing neighbors and doing something so odd (when you stop to think about it.) I enjoyed it as a kid, and it's been fun to do it all over again with our children, often with Mom along, too!

We might be growing out the bangs.

But it will all depend on whether or not they can keep the clips/barrettes/headbands in their hair all day at school. Evelyn had to go to the nurse the other day "because my bangs were in my eyes." I think we may be heading to the Hair Cuttery.

So much has happened in two weeks! Deep Creek...a girls'weekend away w/Jen in upstate NY visiting friends Mindy & Raleigh (they nicknamed me Rip Van Winkle because I slept until 10:15 two mornings in a row!) and lots of goings-on for work.

Tonight is Halloween! Evelyn will be a "Swooning Princess" and Amelia wants to be Snow White again so she can bite an apple and "die" on everyone's porch like last year. Seems there'll be no lack of drama tonight!

If you have a Mac Laptop...

...you can make some extra cash setting up photo booths at street fairs & events. Last month when the girls and I went to a friend's neighborhood festival, a young woman had a backdrop, a few props/costume items, a printer & some photo paper, and voila--a line of people ready to shove cash in her jar to have adorable pictures like this taken.

Amelia and I had so much fun.

On another note, we came home from Deep Creek today--29 of us in our 26th year of gathering each fall to reconnect, hike, fish, eat, play games, watch baseball, and stay up way too late discussing all sorts of things (i.e. the effects of Facebook on our social culture and how to talk about sex with your children. Good stuff. Very good stuff.)

As of Sunday--she is seven!

It is SO hard to believe. It seems so recent that she was piling toilet paper in the bathroom for fun--and yet it was just this past Sunday that she was eating her birthday breakfast of waffles wearing the sparkly headband Great Aunt Betty sent her.

She loves school. She's never had a moment's hesitation about going. In most social situations, she dives in effortlessly and with her big personality leaping and flapping all over the place. She will give you enthusiasm and excitement, and if you are homeless she will want to give you everything she has. (She spots homeless people from a mile away, and always wants to know what money or food we have in the car to give them. And now she is able to read their signs. And it always breaks her heart.)

I'm not sure I've ever heard her talk about someone she doesn't like.

We had a little party here a week before her birthday--a few friends & Grandma & Opa for cake & ice cream, then we all walked up to a local school that shows outdoor movies every Friday in the fall. The movie was "Up," so we asked all the guests to bring balloons instead of gifts, and we took this big bunch up to the movie and gave them out afterwards--it was a lot of fun. Then Anna and Aidan spent the night, which is ALWAYS fun. The hardest part is always keeping the level of enthusiasm from exploding into something beyond my ability to control.

We love you, Evelyn Grace. Happy birthday!

Where Function Meets Form

Our kitchen, where breakfast bar stools become showpieces of the latest in shoe-and-dollhouse-doll art.

Metaphor for Life

Yesterday morning I was packing the girls' lunches as they ate breakfast.

"We don't like bananas, Mommy," they said.

"Really?"

"Yeah. We EAT them, but we don't LIKE them." Well, don't they just do me proud!!

Life in nutshell, said Alan later. You always gotta do things you don't want to do.

Then there are days like today. I'm supposed to be teaching. But yesterday I started getting VERTIGO. It's just the wackiest thing. I feel like I'm on The Zipper all over again. Not fun. I could count on 2 hands the number of times I've called in sick in 20 years. So it's a weird day. It's fun to be sitting here blogging, but not fun that my world is spinning. Who knows who they got to sub for me...my poor Friday classes will end up having my music classes only twice in all of October since schools are closed for students next week. Oh well. My mom gets vertigo, and it's good to finally know what she goes through--my heart goes out to you, Mom!

Sometimes, I guess, your world just spins out of control and you just hang on and hope you don't spill too much of your coffee!

More Art

Each month kindergarteners in Amelia's class have to decorate a paper shape. I didn't even get a chance to read the directions to Amelia before she was telling me she was going to do this all by herself.

Scotch tape

Mr. Potato Head faces

Dora Band-aids

Refrigerator magnets

Well, good thing the directions said, "Be creative!"

Shopping Stories

(Yes, I got the itch to switch the blog's look--still trying to decide if I like it. I may switch around some more before deciding. Feel free to weigh in.)

In my recent mad dash for Ravens shirts, I'd originally planned to go to the mall (before I decided to go with my Emergency Shopping Contact List.) So after making our purchases at Target, we headed over--they love riding the escalators, throwing coins in the fountain, and the newest thing was discovering "the little room" at the entrance to the Hollister store.

We strolled the mall, looking at storefronts and commenting. "That store sells clothes. That one sells computers, and that one sells jewelry." Etc. As we moved past Victoria's Secret, I said nonchalantly, "That store sells pretty underwear."

Amelia stared at the large ads along the store's frontage and then added blandly, "They sell boobies, too."

If only.

Emergency Shopping Contact List

I am an Olympian procrastinator. I'd known for weeks that last Friday was the girls' first "Purple Friday" at school, but come Thursday evening, there was no purple in the house.

It's a good thing I have an Em

ergency Shopping Contact List. There are Courtney and Diana, whom I could call for what to wear with what for an occasion and where to buy it. There's my mom, who's totally in her own category & can be tas

ked with buying bulk items at Sam's Club, finding the most specific gift (Evelyn requested "A white dress--a beautiful dress--like a wedding dress--the most beautiful dress you've ever seen--with a big rose on it" for Christmas last year, and Mom came through 100%) or finding the most obscure and delightful treasures at yard sales (Whirlypops, toys that give birth, and lace curtains she made into veils for when the girls play "brides.")

But last Thursday night called for Darcy. I texted: "HELP! If you needed kids' Ravens gear tomorrow, where would you shop tonight??" My phone rang. "Target," she said matter-of-factly, "has good prices and it still looks nice. Wal-mart might be cheaper, but it's, well, Wal-mart-y. Old Navy has one girls' Ravens jersey...but I think it's only available online." When I bashed myself for procrastinating and wondered aloud how many other parents had left this job for the night before, she said, "They all have, Tina."

Sure enough, we found the shirts at Target, and sure enough, one of Evelyn's classmates was there, too, shopping with her dad! Darcy: 2 for 2.

Creative Vision

The girls' school has a new art teacher, and I like her already. I'm spoiled when it comes to art teachers. The one at the school where I teach is amazing--pottery, weaving (with wool the students card, dye, & spin themselves!), and more types of sculpture & multi-dimensional work than you could imagine. And she does all this with severely physically, cognitively, and behaviorally challenged kids.

So when Amelia came home with art that had required more than just drawing or coloring, I felt a huge sense of hope!

Of course, as the art teacher at my school tells me, my girls could get plenty of art experience at HOME. Right! So here are a few examples over this past year...all kid-driven, I might add. I can take no credit for inspiring ANY of this (unless I get to count giving birth to the artists.)

Still Climbing Walls

Funny how I never have to say, "Hey kids! Look at this! I'll bet you could climb this wall!" They found this one at the school we can walk to from our house.

Tonight on our way to AWANA, the girls were lamenting that we don't have room in our car to bring friends with us. I said maybe we should pray for a bigger car, and Evelyn said, "Yeah! Like a van!"

And Amelia said, "Or a limousine."

Can't you see it? Pulling up to AWANA Tuesday night in a limo and un-buckling fourteen five to seven year olds from their booster seats...

Happy Birthday, Jon!

Mom and Dad had us over today to celebrate my little brother's birthday. Mom made steamed shrimp and the kids were hyper and crazy even before the cake and ice cream. They just get so energized by being together! Me, too.

On a more solemn note, Jon's wife Courtney lost her dad this week. His battle with Alzheimer's had been long and slow, but the end is still hard. How good to listen to Courtney's experiences and to rejoice and mourn together.

Our love goes out to you, Jon and Courtney!

Personalities

One of Evelyn's classmates invited us to her street fair near the Farmers' Market--it is the same street cousin Kate & Jay used to live on--and it was AWESOME. There were lots of fun things to do for free, and the atmosphere was so family friendly. (Keep in mind it is the city version of family friendly, which means you see mothers nursing babies without coverups, parents with tattoos and dreadlocks, and children dressed in 100% organic clothing.) The girls had a blast.

And I love how the face paintings they chose belie their personalities: the shy daughter as the fierce tiger and the out-going daughter with the dainty vine of flowers on her cheek.