Napoleonic Nala

I think Diana handed down this book of make believe and costumes, and we're at the perfect age of inspiration for it.

However, as hard as I try, I can't get either of the girls to agree to be the headless person for Halloween. I think it's an outrageous costume, & doesn't really work for someone of adult height. They just keep picking the princess and fairy costumes--what's with that?!?

The pages on making hats inspired the paper topper Nala sported last week.

And the first two days of school were cancelled due to power outages resulting from Hurricane Irene. How nice to have two more unexpected mornings at summer's pace!

Girls' Night Out w/Aunt Lisa!

Just one night before the start of our week of disasters ("disasters?!?" I think I've been affected by a little too much local news. My apoloiges), the girls and I went to the mall with Lisa. We had dinner together and the girls rode the in-house carousel. (Evelyn was disappointed that I didn't get Aunt Lisa out of her chair and hold her on my lap for a ride--Lisa and I decided if we'd had one more adult, we'd have given it a try!) We strolled around, supported a couple of missionaries who were making balloon shapes for donations in front of Chick-fil-A, and popped in to check out a glow-in-the-dark putt putt course (who knew black light would make such a comeback??)

It's good to spend time with Lisa. No, it's GREAT to spend time with Lisa. I'm always impressed with her grace toward a world and people who don't always consider what it might be like to be in a crowded mall or restaurant in a wheelchair. How grateful I am for life's many relationships, and how the Lord uses each one to show me Himself. Thank you, Lisa!

How do you prepare for a hurricane?

Why, you, your mom & your cousin go to a local winery for a tasting, brick-oven pizza, and an outdoor movie! (Your husband will enjoy the wine and pizza part but will skip the feel-good "Blind Side." I love the Ravens even more now.)

Later today we'll see how well this prepared us. :)

(No slight intended toward those who have to work hard to board windows, send boats out to sea, and stock food and water for life-threatening shortages. You all need the wine, pizza, and relaxing outdoor movie afterward.)

Taking Evelyn's picture...

...is sometimes a challenge. I don't even remember now why I was trying to take it, but I had some fun during the chase.

How Tomatoes Kept Our Kitchen from Going Up in Flames

OR.."How to strong-arm your parents into helping with your overdue spring cleaning."

OR..."How to become cynical about cheery, traditional Christmas poetry."

It was Saturday morning at 6:15 a.m. I put the kettle on to boil and went outside to weed in the garden. While weeding, I noticed some very ripe tomatoes ready to fall off the vine, and decided to pick these along with some basil to make some bruschetta.

When I walked in the back door with my harvest, there was black smoke from the ceiling down to my neck and the most poisonous, putrid smell. I ran into the kitchen, where foot-high flames were consuming what was left of one of those heavy, plastic lids you use to cover plates of food in the microwave. I'd turned on the wrong burner. I blew out the flames, then ran around the first floor opening windows and turning on fans--all with my face buried in a dish towel so I could breathe.

I went on auto-pilot and just started scrubbing. The undersides of the cupboards and the microwave were black and had fine, sticky black strings hanging in clumps like mini stalactites. As I scrubbed, I just kept noticing more black strings...then black smears...then black particles...billions of them...all over the counter, the floor...and then it struck me. "It's everywhere!" And when Evelyn came downstairs saying, "What's that weird smell," I looked at her feet and knees: black. "What were you just doing?" I asked. "We were playing dollhouse upstairs." Upstairs! Yup. All the way to the third floor.

Thus began The Great Blackman Scrub-Out of 2011. I called my parents, sadly cancelling what I'd really WANTED to do that day--help Mom rearrange her living room--and they promptly and generously came over with buckets, rags, swiffers, and cleaning products. We all scrubbed, dusted, and vacuumed for hours. All the curtains & picture frames came down, the rugs went out, and the kitchen was taken apart and washed. Mom and Dad took the girls out to lunch while Alan and I continued. The worst of it was handled by Sunday evening, and right now everything looks back to normal--but, well, cleaner. :)

Alan joked it was the Spring cleaning we never did. The soot beautifully highlighted all the dust, dirt, and cobwebs that had taken up long residence. It has left an ever-so-slightly-tacky feeling on almost everything in our house, in spite of the scrub-out.

It's funny what you think about when you're doing manual labor for hours. I thought about Aunt Barbara and Uncle Diego, whose entire house burned when she was 9 months pregnant with Lindsy. My parents took us down to D.C. to help, and I was shocked at the damage fire and smoke do. I thought about people who go through disasters and lose everything, and about my father-in-law, who is on his church's disaster relief team and has seen that first hand.

I also thought about Clement C. Moore. You know, the author of "A Visit By Saint Nicholas," better known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas." He writes so airily about Santa coming down the chimney "all tarnished with ashes and soot," and makes it sound so cute and adorable. I'm afraid I judged Mr. Moore while scrubbing my kitchen on Saturday. I doubted he had ever actually scrubbed soot, but had left that job 100% to Mrs. Moore. Otherwise he would have written that part differently. I'll bet our friend Tim could come up with some funny, adapted couplets. And I'd venture to say Tim HAS cleaned soot before. He's just that kind of guy.

Alan asked me if I'd learned any lessons from this experience. My first answers made him roll his eyes, "Don't keep anything on the stove top? Actually put new batteries in the smoke detectors? Always bring the ripe food into the house before you weed the garden?"

"Hmm...how about don't turn the stove on and LEAVE THE HOUSE." Ah. Right.

So today Alan saw an online news article about Baltimore City giving away--and installing--free smoke detectors. So we have two new ones to go with the ones Esther gave us a couple of years ago for Christmas (which will be getting new batteries ASAP.)

And that was the latest catastrophe around here...until today's earthquake. :)

VA Beach!

Check out that giant chair! It's one of the many things we enjoyed at Portsmouth, VA's awesome children's museum last week when we visited my in-laws for a few precious days of R&R. The girls LOVED this place, and once my father-in-law discovered the wall where you can push your impression through from the other side, we were all in stitches entertaining one another.

This is a VERY rare picture of Evelyn. She is ASLEEP. In the CAR. During the DAY. I think building the Greek Parthenon out of blocks at the museum pretty much sucked the life out of her. (It couldn't have been playing on the playground afterwards or walking the 18th century neighborhoods of Portsmouth while Alan and I drooled over architecture...)

The next day was BEACH DAY! Alan played 9 holes, the girls jumped waves until they were shivering and blue-lipped, and I was SO proud of myself for re-applying sun-screen on the girls AND me!

My in-laws joined us for dinner al fresco overlooking the ocean (and eating hush-puppies, one of our favorite beach delicacies), after which we toodled around the boardwalk in this very environmentally-friendly, sassy little cycling number, topping it all off with some kiddie rides. (You'd think Evelyn would have fallen asleep in the car after beach day. But no.)

And a visit to my in-laws' is never complete without an evening of cards and ridiculous laughter, which I am happy to report we succeeded in enjoying. How is it that we can all KNOW my father-in-law is GOING to try to "run 'em" in hearts, but he still manages to get away with it? Uncanny. And very entertaining.

Finally, the girls have found something new to love about Grandma and Grandpa Blackman's house--it is located in a quiet, flat neighborhood where lots of people walk their dogs. It is PERFECT if you are five or six and you love to ride your scooter, pet dogs, and make conversation with strangers. It's the South, and everyone is very friendly. :)

Thank you, Mom and Dad Blackman, for a lovely time together!

Alike but Different

Yesterday in the car the girls rubbed their heads with their blankets, with wicked effect. The short haircuts they got a month ago lent themselves perfectly to it. (The short cuts, when not teased into 1960's bouffants, remind me of pictures of my grandmothers from their 1920's childhoods. It's adorable, and Amelia LOVES that it requires less brushing.)

So check out these pink dresses. We went to the thrift store so I could buy some "beachy" clothes for our beach-themed VBS last week. Evelyn found this lacy satin number and could hardly contain herself. "Oh MAMA!! Look!!! It's BEAUTIFUL!! Oh, MAMA!!! Can I have it?? REALLY?!?!? Oh THANK YOU, Mama, THANK YOU!!"

In the name of equity, I searched for a similar dress for Amelia. Finding the striped frock, I took it to the end of the aisle where she was picking through toys. I held it up and asked if she wanted a pink dress, too. Amelia stood at the other end of the aisle and stared at it, then stated in a loud, flat tone, "Love it."

I love when their personalities are so juxtaposed. Like yesterday when they picked snacks at the convenience store. Evelyn chose a bag of Doritos (she calls them "Fire Chips" because they come in that red bag.) Amelia chose gum.

Or when they do things that surprise me, as when they were choosing pictures to hang on their newly-painted pink bedroom walls. Amelia chose a painting of trees & flowers, and Evelyn chose a wooden carving of a conquistador on a horse rearing in aggressive attack-mode over an unfortunate infidel. I'll have to post pictures.