Ariel in her grotto.

The Maryland Science Center has this great room for young kids that includes an "underwater" section. One of Amelia's favorite spots is what she and Evelyn call "The Ariel Cave," where glow-in-the-dark sea creatures are illuminated by black light (along with all the toothpaste you dripped on your shirt that morning.)

The girls and I celebrated my first Monday of summer with an afternoon at the Science Center. I was enjoying an "underwater ride" with Evelyn when I heard a little voice singing. Lo and behold! It's not her best rendition (Alan said it was cruel of me to post it), but something about it is just adorable to me. :)

Random Texts

Texting can be an efficient, fast way to communicate. It can also provide a good deal of entertainment. Take my friend Esther, for example. Esther is my personal source for entertaining, random texts.

Now, there are lots of texts that, if taken out of context, would seem ridiculously random. I'm not talking about those. I'm talking about out-of-the-blue messages that pop up on my phone unexpectedly and are not in response to any prior conversation. Below is a top ten list of my favorite, random text messages from Esther.

10. "trying the hot cocoa diet again...its gross but works great! u buy 80 cal nestle hot cocoa and every time u want to binge on candy u drink a cup." (1/4/11 Esther--always good for random New Year's resolution dieting tips)

9. "removed bike rack...car feels naked" (2/18/11 I hate when that happens.)

8. "how worthless is it that i kinda want a grad degree in print journalism?" (2/23/11 Totally, utterly random, and not entirely worthless.)

7. "so i got dragged 2 anthr zumba class lol...idk y i dont like it :( choreography is hard to pick up. im gonna stick to just dancing at the club." (1/13/11 Again, utterly random; one could have fun w/this.)

6. "the ladder rungs on playhouse could use reinforcement" (4/30/11 I think she was babysitting for us and was outside w/the girls. She's good at alerting us to potential hazards. I could not find any texts about recalled toys or our desperate need to replace smoke detector batteries. I think those must be e-mails.)

5. "omg the second day up early is a killer" (5/11/11 Esther is a self-employed personal assistant/pet sitter/house sitter/dog walker/babysitter, so there could be any number of reasons she had to be up early two days in a row.)

4. "u have any food?" (1/16/11 See #5 for Esther's job description. This helps explain a random plea for food.)

3. "if something happened 2 me and someone called and left u a msg to inform you how long would it take for you to be aware of the message and hear it?" (4/6/11 Sometimes I am guilty of not checking phone messages as often as modern society deems necessary to be in the "general courtesy" category.)

2. "i need some bite release strategies...client bit me and all i remembered was 2 scold her and not pull away" (4/30/11 Since Esther is employed both by pet owners and parents of special needs children, this one gave me a particularly good chuckle. And I DO know a good bite-release strategy.)


1. "ur ok right? i had a bad dream u died" (3/23/11 This is hands-down #1. It caused me to laugh out loud in a work meeting. I ended up reading it aloud and providing a welcomed, lighthearted distraction to all. Then I texted her back right away, so as not to cruelly leave her hanging.)


The crazy thing is, I could have done a top twenty list...the texts from Applebee's Tuesday Night Trivia Matches are good ("who was the 26th president?"), as are the observations from her psych courses, the personal lives of her friends, and the reminders that I'm supposed to be keeping tabs on the relational status of a certain single guy friend. But alas, it's late and I must go to bed. I wonder what kind of text I'm going to get once she reads this? :) Thank you, Esther, for your faithful friendship and your voluminous flow of entertaining, random texts! It's a good thing Alan and I switched to that unlimited plan.

Parental Advice

When your barely-five-year-old decides to follow the big girls up a paved hill to descend with them on her scooter, DO NOT run up the hill after her and, as she begins to pick up downhill speed, make eye contact with her and yell, with a look of horror & anxiety on your face, "Amelia!!!!! Be careful!!!!"

You will seal her scabby fate.

Aloha Kindergarten!

Evelyn's farewell to Kindergarten was Hawaiian-themed, well-ordered, and very touching. The kids all processed seriously, two-by-two to that Hawaiian singer, "Izzy's" version of "Over the Rainbow." (In other words, I had a lump in my throat from the get-go.) Each class performed, everyone was well-behaved (well, except for parents who could NOT stay in their seats or "hold all applause until all the names have been called." In their defense, it's pretty hard to hold one's enthusiasm for an enthusiastic five or six year old!) and they put together a slide show of photos from the whole year. Then they sent each family home with a DVD of it! Amazing.

Congratulations, Evelyn. You made it through kindergarten. When you met your teacher last August you told her that your dream would be "to learn to read books." Your dream has come true. You can read. You can write. You have shown qualities of concern for others and a willingness to be everyone's friend. You have loved school (especially dance class), and are ready for 1st grade (except that you heard they don't get "choice time" at the end of their day.) Good job! Or, as you would write in one of your many cards, "Good jod!"

Daddy is so creative!

Some of the best little rituals and traditions our family has have not been pre-meditated, and many of them have been inspired by Alan. (Maybe it's an improvisational jazz musician thing.)

Here is the latest inspiration--"Cheese Letters" (or "Letter Cheese?" I can't remember which they call it)--and it is, of course, a huge lunchtime hit.

Melt my heart...

Evelyn was sick w/a fever Sunday, so we kept her back from school yesterday to recuperate. When putting her to bed last night, she asked if she thought she'd be well enough to go to school today. I told her she'd probably be well enough.

"Well, even if I can't go to school, Colette could sing my part in the program," she said nonchalantly.

"Your part?" I asked. She'd come home with the lyrics of the Annie song, Tomorrow, typed on a piece of paper last week, and I figured the class was singing it for the little music program during Arts Week this week. "Are you singing that song by yourself?"

Sure enough, she had a solo. The camera ran out of memory, but you'll get a little taste--I was so proud of her! Even though her music teacher did a few rhythms differently than the soundtrack (which we've been listening to for a good two years now), she just kept going and suddenly...there were tears in my eyes. Seems my girls are making me cry a lot lately, tears of wonder and joy.

The strong willed child...in writing.

First, let me thank everyone for praying for Alan's hernia surgery and recovery. It was a week yesterday and he's doing a bit of driving, has logged two long days running the board for a recording session at another studio, and is slowly healing. He is still uncomfortable, not sleeping well, and stiff from staying in limited positions, but he is already so much better than a week ago. Thank you also for praying that I would be a better nurse...more on that later. It's been a good week in my own heart and my love for my husband.

On another note, Evelyn's been writing a lot lately: letters to friends & family (and sometimes e-mails), stories, books, and has enjoyed putting random thoughts onto sticky notes.

A week or so ago, she and I were having a mildly heated discussion about a sandwich I wanted her to finish. I was weighing how far to take it (not wanting to make a mountain out of a molehill, yet still wanting her to know that food is a resource we have to use wisely), when she stormed off her kitchen stool and into the dining room.

I let her go, and turned to do some dishes. A minute later she stomped back into the kitchen, marched over to me, and said in a firm, angry voice, "Here! Read THAT!" as she stuck this sticky note on my shirt:






















I would like to say I have no idea where she gets this, but the good laugh my parents got out of this story says otherwise. I'll have to ask my in-laws how much blame the Blackmans get. :)