We're all decked out in red-white-and-blue today, and Ethan posted our "I voted" stickers on the door. It's hard to believe that when the presidential candidates tossed their hats in the ring, we didn't yet have a date to travel to meet Kola!!
I'll leave this non-partisan, since we have dear friends favoring different sides, but I had to throw in this voting story: I went to the polls with Kola in tow. Always wanting to know what's happening next, I told Kola to bring his Thomas book, we're going to vote and we might be in line for a little while. "Boat!!! What boat??" he repeated loudly as we were entering the polls. I explained, no, there's no boat, we're getting a piece of paper with names on them and we have to vote for people to do certain jobs. This was completely tuned out as he tried to flush out more info. on the boat. "Will it be a long line? Where's the water? What boat?" Luckily, there were cookies at the polls, so he wasn't completely disappointed. On the way back to the car he said, "no boat. vote. vote?" yes, vote.
;) b/s/e/k
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tricks and Treats!
The anti-vampire with friends
Dive in!
A smile and a treat from Shelley
An extra treat to have grandma and grandpa along
Pop rocks, straight up
Anyone see a tall frog and a short giraffe, with heavy bags in tow? Who could have asked for a better day of looting the neighborhood, with spectacular weather and grandma and grandpa along for the festivities? As if the day wasn't exciting enough, to have star celebs G&G come for T-or-T, bringing goody bags, hugs and smiles was like chocolate on chocolate. When Kola heard G&G were coming he shrieked, "I hope they bring their (trick-or-treat) bags!" Grandpa did manage to snatch a couple handfuls out of our bowl on the way out, but unlike my childhood experience, grandpa left the the kids' bags unraided. But a few hours later when the kids were asleep, I felt the need to uphold family tradition by making their bags a few ounces lighter...(oh how much can a few milk duds weigh?) Heard by our 7-year-old neighbor waving past our house at end of her T-or-T run, "Merry Christmas!" That summed it up and after a about an hour of tossing in their beds with visions of sugarplums and veins of sucrose, the boyz finally succumbed to sleep.
The next morning was like christmas with the rustling of wrappers and snapping of pop rocks in modified shot glasses. The kids assessed their haul, the squirrels munched on the pumpkins they'd knocked over, and Kola asked, "Can we do it again today??" and kept referring to T-or-T'ing as "the block party." The candy has prompted a new game, a variation of P.P. Petunia and monster, called M&M mice. I place a single M&M on the sectional, bookcase, ottoman or rug in our living room. The boys stalk it from the staircase and I hide in the kitchen, ready to pounce on them as they sneak down the stairs to steal the M&M. I'm thinking the energy we all expend in this game will help the M&M's follow the "zero calorie" celery diet (where the calories it has and the calories spent eating it are a wash.) The candy had also been a great incentive - Kola gets it for napping and for a dry night diaper. All of a sudden, he's napping religiously and dry every morning! As E's french teacher would say, "C'est bon." I say, c'est bon bon.
more soon, xoxo b/s/e/k
Dive in!
A smile and a treat from Shelley
An extra treat to have grandma and grandpa along
Pop rocks, straight up
Anyone see a tall frog and a short giraffe, with heavy bags in tow? Who could have asked for a better day of looting the neighborhood, with spectacular weather and grandma and grandpa along for the festivities? As if the day wasn't exciting enough, to have star celebs G&G come for T-or-T, bringing goody bags, hugs and smiles was like chocolate on chocolate. When Kola heard G&G were coming he shrieked, "I hope they bring their (trick-or-treat) bags!" Grandpa did manage to snatch a couple handfuls out of our bowl on the way out, but unlike my childhood experience, grandpa left the the kids' bags unraided. But a few hours later when the kids were asleep, I felt the need to uphold family tradition by making their bags a few ounces lighter...(oh how much can a few milk duds weigh?) Heard by our 7-year-old neighbor waving past our house at end of her T-or-T run, "Merry Christmas!" That summed it up and after a about an hour of tossing in their beds with visions of sugarplums and veins of sucrose, the boyz finally succumbed to sleep.
The next morning was like christmas with the rustling of wrappers and snapping of pop rocks in modified shot glasses. The kids assessed their haul, the squirrels munched on the pumpkins they'd knocked over, and Kola asked, "Can we do it again today??" and kept referring to T-or-T'ing as "the block party." The candy has prompted a new game, a variation of P.P. Petunia and monster, called M&M mice. I place a single M&M on the sectional, bookcase, ottoman or rug in our living room. The boys stalk it from the staircase and I hide in the kitchen, ready to pounce on them as they sneak down the stairs to steal the M&M. I'm thinking the energy we all expend in this game will help the M&M's follow the "zero calorie" celery diet (where the calories it has and the calories spent eating it are a wash.) The candy had also been a great incentive - Kola gets it for napping and for a dry night diaper. All of a sudden, he's napping religiously and dry every morning! As E's french teacher would say, "C'est bon." I say, c'est bon bon.
more soon, xoxo b/s/e/k
Sunday, October 5, 2008
water music
Noah!
.jpg)
making the best of a soggy weekend
.jpg)
the concert headliners
.jpg)
later participants in an all-out jam session
.jpg)
a small but enthusiastic audience
.jpg)
The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often considered as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered in the summer of 1717 (July 17, 1717) when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians playing on a barge close to the royal barge from which the King listened with some close friends (including the Duchess of of Bolton, the Duchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin, Madam Kilmarnock, and the Earl of Orkney). Sounds very similar to the events of our last few weekends.
The first movement was a three-day rainstorm that left our basement and many others in the area a soggy mess. Ours only reached two inches deep, which was our great fortune because nothing in our file cabinets or on our storage racks got wet. But it did mean we had to continually sweep water from the floor into our sump pit. Aside from a few blisters and soaked coloring books, there was no real loss for us, but we drove past many homes after that weekend with wet mushy piles mounded on their parkway for garbage day. I've now made another round of postings on craigslist;) to minimize our collection.
The boyz got tired of the lockdown by day 2. Our area was pretty gridlocked, some places and streets were closed, and with the sweeping and keeping an eye on the fort, field trips were out of the question. By day 3, when the rain stopped, the boyz were happy to suit up and ring the block looking for juicy puddles.
An unrelated fundraiser concert followed. While not rivaling the attendance of Live Aid, about as much fun was had - especially by the headliners and guest musicians. Ethan got the idea during a recent Grandma and Grandpa pick-up at the airport. One afternoon, we took the popular excursion to the airport to ride the tram, admire the baggage carosel, and see some planes come and go. Ethan found the 'street' musicians there fascinating - especially since the one he really paid attention to had no particular musical talent and a decent-sized tray of dollars and coins he'd earned. Kola was especially interested in the street person who'd found his way into the men's room, passed out on the toilet, and fallen asleep across the floor of a few stalls. Luckily, Kola performed no re-enactments.
The weekend after the airport visit, rich with ideas, Ethan set up a concert using a variety of instruments from our house. He asked for a box, set up chairs out front in neat rows, short to tall, made signs, and waited on the porch with an empty box. The street was atypically quiet, so he raised a few coins inside the house. With that tapped out, he asked me why people weren't coming. So, after fine tuning the art of concert promotion (and discussing the O'Hare ped traffic vs. that of our street at that time,) he started knocking on doors to set a concert time and remind people to 'bring their money.' I was surprised by the initiative and that he only needed a little encouragement to gather the guests. He'd originally written a sign and taped it on a 3.5' cabinet door which was cleared out from our recent clean-up, so he lugged the door from house to house as a visual aid for the show. And thanks to our fun-loving, generous neighbors, the concert was a success. Kola acted as manager by handing a coin to each guest musician but Ethan took the biggest cut. The next day he packed a few quarters in his pocket knowing we'd be somewhere with a vending machine and confidently bought a pack of starburst.
The kids are coming up with new ideas at an exponential rate - other clues they're in school and learning from life: Kola encourged us to settle down for books at bedtime with: "sit on your tushy-toosh if you want to read a book." and has an obsessive and not always appropriate use of the word "weird." When Kola interrupts, Ethan replies with "zip it lock it put it in your pocket." And Ethan's teacher has nicknamed him "her little investigator," with his steady stream of questions. No wonder they're both pooped and in bed a little earlier every nite;)
More soon! xo b/s/e/k
.jpg)
making the best of a soggy weekend
.jpg)
the concert headliners
.jpg)
later participants in an all-out jam session
.jpg)
a small but enthusiastic audience
.jpg)
The Water Music is a collection of orchestral movements, often considered as three suites, composed by George Frideric Handel. It premiered in the summer of 1717 (July 17, 1717) when King George I requested a concert on the River Thames. The concert was performed by 50 musicians playing on a barge close to the royal barge from which the King listened with some close friends (including the Duchess of of Bolton, the Duchess of Newcastle, the Countess of Godolphin, Madam Kilmarnock, and the Earl of Orkney). Sounds very similar to the events of our last few weekends.
The first movement was a three-day rainstorm that left our basement and many others in the area a soggy mess. Ours only reached two inches deep, which was our great fortune because nothing in our file cabinets or on our storage racks got wet. But it did mean we had to continually sweep water from the floor into our sump pit. Aside from a few blisters and soaked coloring books, there was no real loss for us, but we drove past many homes after that weekend with wet mushy piles mounded on their parkway for garbage day. I've now made another round of postings on craigslist;) to minimize our collection.
The boyz got tired of the lockdown by day 2. Our area was pretty gridlocked, some places and streets were closed, and with the sweeping and keeping an eye on the fort, field trips were out of the question. By day 3, when the rain stopped, the boyz were happy to suit up and ring the block looking for juicy puddles.
An unrelated fundraiser concert followed. While not rivaling the attendance of Live Aid, about as much fun was had - especially by the headliners and guest musicians. Ethan got the idea during a recent Grandma and Grandpa pick-up at the airport. One afternoon, we took the popular excursion to the airport to ride the tram, admire the baggage carosel, and see some planes come and go. Ethan found the 'street' musicians there fascinating - especially since the one he really paid attention to had no particular musical talent and a decent-sized tray of dollars and coins he'd earned. Kola was especially interested in the street person who'd found his way into the men's room, passed out on the toilet, and fallen asleep across the floor of a few stalls. Luckily, Kola performed no re-enactments.
The weekend after the airport visit, rich with ideas, Ethan set up a concert using a variety of instruments from our house. He asked for a box, set up chairs out front in neat rows, short to tall, made signs, and waited on the porch with an empty box. The street was atypically quiet, so he raised a few coins inside the house. With that tapped out, he asked me why people weren't coming. So, after fine tuning the art of concert promotion (and discussing the O'Hare ped traffic vs. that of our street at that time,) he started knocking on doors to set a concert time and remind people to 'bring their money.' I was surprised by the initiative and that he only needed a little encouragement to gather the guests. He'd originally written a sign and taped it on a 3.5' cabinet door which was cleared out from our recent clean-up, so he lugged the door from house to house as a visual aid for the show. And thanks to our fun-loving, generous neighbors, the concert was a success. Kola acted as manager by handing a coin to each guest musician but Ethan took the biggest cut. The next day he packed a few quarters in his pocket knowing we'd be somewhere with a vending machine and confidently bought a pack of starburst.
The kids are coming up with new ideas at an exponential rate - other clues they're in school and learning from life: Kola encourged us to settle down for books at bedtime with: "sit on your tushy-toosh if you want to read a book." and has an obsessive and not always appropriate use of the word "weird." When Kola interrupts, Ethan replies with "zip it lock it put it in your pocket." And Ethan's teacher has nicknamed him "her little investigator," with his steady stream of questions. No wonder they're both pooped and in bed a little earlier every nite;)
More soon! xo b/s/e/k
Friday, September 12, 2008
Kola's Turn!
Ta Da! I am Ready!!!
Flip side...Tigger;)
Quiet time in his classroom's reading loft
Making new friends at "the office"
Although Kola's backpack is a hand-me-down from cousin Andrew that I've had in the basement storage for a few years, and something I hadn't used for Ethan - that it was waiting there was no coincidence. If I had to shop hours for the perfect backpack for Kola, this would be it. He is such a Tigger, and even happens to have it on his toothbrush (such a tiny character - or is it my refusal to get bifocals - I didn't notice until I unwrapped it.) He's always full of bouncy trouncy funfunfunfunfun. The wonderful thing about Tiggers is he's the only one.
Kola was all smiles on his first day of school. He's attending the same preschool with the same wonderful teacher Ethan had for two years. She's been a part of our family and Kola's history and we're lucky to have her this year. All last year, Kola sprinted into the preschool as we dropped off Ethan and picked him up. He'd blow through the electronic doors like the wind - one parent called him Beth's early detection system, since he always arrived at the classroom a minute or two ahead of me. But on his first day, he Walked(!) in along side me, calmly strolled into this classroom, hung his backpack on its hook, and entered his first day as a legit member of the preschool class. A huge change from when he used to try to break or sneak in and play with the trucks - often ending with me pulling him from the room in protest. Because I was so confident I knew his answer, at the end of the first day I asked, "so are you ready to come back to your school next week?" "No," a composed Kola replied. "not this school. A different school." "Oh, really?? Which one?" Well Kola informed me that he'll go to Ethan's school instead. When people ask him how old he is, he used to answer 5 because then he figured he'd get to go to Ethan's elementary school. Since that didn't work, and I informed him he needed to know his alphabet and be able to write his name, he's been diligently working on both. Yesterday, one of the kindergarten moms asked Kola how old he was - "I'm 10." I guess he figured 5 wasn't high enough for him to transfer... But no doubt both kids love their schools and teachers. Last weekend, both were bummed to hear they'd have to wait a few days before heading back. They both like to do homework in the afternoons, and if they don't have any they're happy with made-up assignments. And the beauty of this blog journal is that five years from now I'll probably read this for a good laugh;) But it's great to have them like school and I hope that lasts for a very long time...Thanks for checking. More soon! xo b/s/e/k
Flip side...Tigger;)
Quiet time in his classroom's reading loft
Making new friends at "the office"
Although Kola's backpack is a hand-me-down from cousin Andrew that I've had in the basement storage for a few years, and something I hadn't used for Ethan - that it was waiting there was no coincidence. If I had to shop hours for the perfect backpack for Kola, this would be it. He is such a Tigger, and even happens to have it on his toothbrush (such a tiny character - or is it my refusal to get bifocals - I didn't notice until I unwrapped it.) He's always full of bouncy trouncy funfunfunfunfun. The wonderful thing about Tiggers is he's the only one.
Kola was all smiles on his first day of school. He's attending the same preschool with the same wonderful teacher Ethan had for two years. She's been a part of our family and Kola's history and we're lucky to have her this year. All last year, Kola sprinted into the preschool as we dropped off Ethan and picked him up. He'd blow through the electronic doors like the wind - one parent called him Beth's early detection system, since he always arrived at the classroom a minute or two ahead of me. But on his first day, he Walked(!) in along side me, calmly strolled into this classroom, hung his backpack on its hook, and entered his first day as a legit member of the preschool class. A huge change from when he used to try to break or sneak in and play with the trucks - often ending with me pulling him from the room in protest. Because I was so confident I knew his answer, at the end of the first day I asked, "so are you ready to come back to your school next week?" "No," a composed Kola replied. "not this school. A different school." "Oh, really?? Which one?" Well Kola informed me that he'll go to Ethan's school instead. When people ask him how old he is, he used to answer 5 because then he figured he'd get to go to Ethan's elementary school. Since that didn't work, and I informed him he needed to know his alphabet and be able to write his name, he's been diligently working on both. Yesterday, one of the kindergarten moms asked Kola how old he was - "I'm 10." I guess he figured 5 wasn't high enough for him to transfer... But no doubt both kids love their schools and teachers. Last weekend, both were bummed to hear they'd have to wait a few days before heading back. They both like to do homework in the afternoons, and if they don't have any they're happy with made-up assignments. And the beauty of this blog journal is that five years from now I'll probably read this for a good laugh;) But it's great to have them like school and I hope that lasts for a very long time...Thanks for checking. More soon! xo b/s/e/k
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
From zzzzzzzzero to 60
friends for how many years?!?
faster, faster! racing a freighter in IN
Although time rushes by, we were able to make it stand stiller for a weekend in Indiana with BFFs. Ethan and I took a road trip to spend time with four of my friends, and five of their kids. Lots of laughs, reminiscing, food, and beach time was had by all. It was so great to catch up for a couple of days and share ideas, and the kids all really enjoyed each other and some end-of-summer fun. The past few weekends we've spent with friends have reminded us about what's important, how lucky we are, and how much fun can be had in the slow lane;)
A day and a half later, Ethan was still a little groggy from the late night hide-and-go seek, literally falling out of bed at the beach house, and sugar buzzes that postponed sleep. We had to rack him out of the loft bed or he would have dozed through his first day of kindergarten. We woke him a little later than we should, only because sig and i were racing around getting ourselves ready so we could be 'pit crew'. Aside from an early meeting or appt. about once every six months, we NeveR set our alarm (I know, lucky us) but at 6:45 we started our drill. Ethan was summoned at 7:15 for a 7:40 departure. Just enough time to fill him up with a donut and sausage (power breakfast!) - he was chewing as I buttoned his shirt. He laid on the couch while I strapped on his shoes, but he was very excited to be a part of the mix, after watching so many others on our block go before him. It was a glorious morning and Ethan was beaming like he was going to his first day at Harvard. So many neighbors and kids and sibs migrated up our street that it felt more like trick or treating.
walking with friends to his new school
kola leads the parade, hauling the supply kit
next to patrick, in front of his teacher, and 7 small steps away from kindergarten!
faster, faster! racing a freighter in IN
Although time rushes by, we were able to make it stand stiller for a weekend in Indiana with BFFs. Ethan and I took a road trip to spend time with four of my friends, and five of their kids. Lots of laughs, reminiscing, food, and beach time was had by all. It was so great to catch up for a couple of days and share ideas, and the kids all really enjoyed each other and some end-of-summer fun. The past few weekends we've spent with friends have reminded us about what's important, how lucky we are, and how much fun can be had in the slow lane;)
A day and a half later, Ethan was still a little groggy from the late night hide-and-go seek, literally falling out of bed at the beach house, and sugar buzzes that postponed sleep. We had to rack him out of the loft bed or he would have dozed through his first day of kindergarten. We woke him a little later than we should, only because sig and i were racing around getting ourselves ready so we could be 'pit crew'. Aside from an early meeting or appt. about once every six months, we NeveR set our alarm (I know, lucky us) but at 6:45 we started our drill. Ethan was summoned at 7:15 for a 7:40 departure. Just enough time to fill him up with a donut and sausage (power breakfast!) - he was chewing as I buttoned his shirt. He laid on the couch while I strapped on his shoes, but he was very excited to be a part of the mix, after watching so many others on our block go before him. It was a glorious morning and Ethan was beaming like he was going to his first day at Harvard. So many neighbors and kids and sibs migrated up our street that it felt more like trick or treating.
walking with friends to his new school
kola leads the parade, hauling the supply kit
next to patrick, in front of his teacher, and 7 small steps away from kindergarten!
Sunday, August 3, 2008
carnivals!
go speed racer, go!
skipper and gilligan
"after the log ride hill, you should downshift..."
to the moon!
lollapalooza by day
shari, me, radiohead, and 75,000 of our closest friends
this could quite possibly be the only blog that tries to compare and contrast kiddieland and lollapalooza. let's compare: someone threw up at the park, there was a lot of walking back and forth and going in circles, it was loud and hot, it seems expensive to get in, and a good time was had by all...but kiddieland had far better bathrooms, lollapalooza had far better food and beverages, and no one tried to bum a cigarette off me at kiddieland.
skipper and gilligan
"after the log ride hill, you should downshift..."
to the moon!
lollapalooza by day
shari, me, radiohead, and 75,000 of our closest friends
this could quite possibly be the only blog that tries to compare and contrast kiddieland and lollapalooza. let's compare: someone threw up at the park, there was a lot of walking back and forth and going in circles, it was loud and hot, it seems expensive to get in, and a good time was had by all...but kiddieland had far better bathrooms, lollapalooza had far better food and beverages, and no one tried to bum a cigarette off me at kiddieland.
Monday, July 14, 2008
this old house
dan the man
his side kick R2D2
ain't no ladder high enough
there are so many wonderful qualities to living in an old (1880's) home on a tree- and porch-lined street. anyone who knows us has heard (ad nauseum?) how much we love our block friends. we also love our mature gardens and front-facing porches which host conversations, happy hours, and casual shout-outs to dog walkers and trike riders.
well any commentary on our life here over the past year would be incomplete without a four squirt-gun salute to dan, the man who removes all the wallpaper and duct tape that holds our house together. he replaces the licorice-like wiring, and adds insulation where no insulation has ever gone before. all with the patience (for the house and us) of a saint. he answers so many of the boys' questions, "dan, what are you doing? what's that? can i do it?" as you may be able to tell, dan is working in our dining room. and as you can see, especially through the eyes of a 3-5 year old boy, there's lots of fun stuff in there! so the house rule is no kids on the white tarp. the boys are really building up their calf muscles tiptoeing along the edge to get as close as they can to the action without teetering into the white zone. sig likes to come home from work to see what happened in the dining room that day, too, but we let him go on the tarp.
dan is a foodie, too, so it's fun to be able to feed someone during the day, who doesn't complain about trying new things:) we've been dipping into my beef jerky stash from MI, sipping sun tea, and dan will even eat an occasional PEZ if the boyz offer.
with all the old houses on the street (and such the nice and talented guy he is,) Dan's white station wagon practically has an honorary spot on our street. he's regularly invited to our block party and last year, his car was on our street every work day from new year's to christmas (and no, you can't have his number;)
thanks for everything dan - for making all of us and our home very happy!
xo b/s/e/k
his side kick R2D2
ain't no ladder high enough
there are so many wonderful qualities to living in an old (1880's) home on a tree- and porch-lined street. anyone who knows us has heard (ad nauseum?) how much we love our block friends. we also love our mature gardens and front-facing porches which host conversations, happy hours, and casual shout-outs to dog walkers and trike riders.
well any commentary on our life here over the past year would be incomplete without a four squirt-gun salute to dan, the man who removes all the wallpaper and duct tape that holds our house together. he replaces the licorice-like wiring, and adds insulation where no insulation has ever gone before. all with the patience (for the house and us) of a saint. he answers so many of the boys' questions, "dan, what are you doing? what's that? can i do it?" as you may be able to tell, dan is working in our dining room. and as you can see, especially through the eyes of a 3-5 year old boy, there's lots of fun stuff in there! so the house rule is no kids on the white tarp. the boys are really building up their calf muscles tiptoeing along the edge to get as close as they can to the action without teetering into the white zone. sig likes to come home from work to see what happened in the dining room that day, too, but we let him go on the tarp.
dan is a foodie, too, so it's fun to be able to feed someone during the day, who doesn't complain about trying new things:) we've been dipping into my beef jerky stash from MI, sipping sun tea, and dan will even eat an occasional PEZ if the boyz offer.
with all the old houses on the street (and such the nice and talented guy he is,) Dan's white station wagon practically has an honorary spot on our street. he's regularly invited to our block party and last year, his car was on our street every work day from new year's to christmas (and no, you can't have his number;)
thanks for everything dan - for making all of us and our home very happy!
xo b/s/e/k
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)