Worth Taking Time Out of My Busy Summer to Blog About

I'm seeing a trend here: short, infrequent posts. Apparently that's what summer does to my blog.

But as long as I'm on here, I ought to mention that Jane was baptized today and my heart is so full. Seeing my little girl go down into the water with her daddy made the lifetime highlights short list for sure. I love the ordinance of baptism, so full of symbolism, so beautiful, yet also so simple.

Moving on to photos. . .

Baptizee and baptizer, ready to get wet, in their sweet polyester jumpsuits:

Peter, a life-long master, is training Jane in the art of pulling faces for the camera:

She's showing real aptitude:

Twin cousins Molly and Jane. Born 5 days apart, the best of friends, and baptized on the same day.

The dress was made to Jane's design specifications, right down to the orange ribbon. Even before I played Maria in The Sound of Music, I always wanted to have "girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes," but Jane had been scheduled to wear a white dress with an orange sash in a wedding that wound up being cancelled, and she wasn't ready to give up on that dream. I didn't indulge her request for orange piping, though. Deep down I'm still holding out for that blue satin sash.

I'm putting in this picture of my my niece Hazel and my sister Lili just because they're so darn cute:

Speaking of darn cute, I give you Molly's family:

(Can you guess which of these people is my sibling?)

In addition to being darn cute, they are masters of the art of pulling faces:

Jane's family tried to get some family pictures as well:

I could have chosen one where Ellen didn't have her finger in her nose, but where's the fun in that?

I'll tell you where. It's in the dopey smile on my face in this one:

I love the way it creates mystery: "On drugs? Or just a half-wit?"

I want you always to remember me this way.

Please don't leave my blog today without noting how completely Peter rocks a suit and tie. Be still my heart.

All jokes aside, it was a joyful, beautiful day.

Sarcasm Far Beyond Her Eight Years

Me: Jane, please don't pull on that curtain rod. It could come off and pull the screws out of the wall and leave holes and we'd have no way to put it back up.
Jane: Hey mom, ever heard of duct tape?

Quiz: Guess My Least Favorite Sewing Task

There's a circle of hell where the punishment is to gather big, full skirts onto tiny bodices for eternity. And every time you're almost done pulling up the gathers, the thread snags and breaks.

Menu Tactics

I'm making tabbouleh for dinner, but I've decided to strategically call it "parsley salad" and to have the kids bring me parsley and mint from the garden to put in it. (I'll be supplementing with grocery store parsley, however, because they keep eating the parsley out there faster than it can grow.) We'll see how that goes.

What are your favorite schemes for making kids want to eat things that are good for them?

Can We Please Be Done Now?

Attention, all infectious microbes:

LEAVE US ALONE! Get out of my life! You are not welcome here!

Thank you. That is all.

(Do you think they heard?)

These two sickos are pretty cute, though. Ellen climbed up in the bed where Peter was watching Wimbledon highlights and requested, "Stah Bers." She shares Adam's love of Star Wars clips on YouTube.

They've been sick since Monday -- the latest installment in a series of what seems like way more than our share of infections since mid-winter. This one is probably swine flu, though we didn't have them tested. I think this might be the first time one of my children has had a high fever on five consecutive days. Peter has lost ten pounds. Apparently that can happen when you don't feel like eating anything but popsicles for a week. This is not a diet tip.

The truth is, I've loved having Peter home from work, but next time he takes a week off, I hope it's for something nicer than sick leave.

Jane's Harry Potter Party III Recap

First was a field trip to Ollivander's,

where everyone chose a wand

and decorated it.

Next was potions class. We had started a vat of homemade "butterbeer" carbonating with some dry ice for effect.

Potion class props. The fancier labels were borrowed from this Flickr user.

I demonstrated how to concoct Morgana's Magical Floating Orb Potion from Enchanted Spring Water, Essence of Murtlap, and Dragon Saliva (distilled water, dishwashing liquid, and glycerin). Don't you hate how photographs can make you look so much fatter than in real life? Ahem.

We let everyone play with the orb potion for a while. The tool we borrowed from Peter's mom for making giant orbs was a hit.

Next, Peter demonstrated how to make a magical geyser by dropping Moonstones into Extract of Wormwood (Mentos and Diet Coke).



After Potions Class, we held Quidditch team tryouts.

Peter explained the rules of the game,

and then the kids tried their luck at hitting the bludger with the bat. It was a bit tricky trying to whack the enchanted bludger that moved up and down of its own accord. (I should clarify that this was a special, oversized party bludger full of candy and designed to be broken open.)

Then Jane opened a mountain of presents. The former appalling lack of Hannah Montana, High School Musical, and Camp Rock paraphernalia in our home has been rectified.

Lastly, we retired to the Great Hall for dessert: a gloppy, lopsided cake that Jane fortunately adored. Eight-year-olds are the best.

Did you know that the ceiling of the Great Hall is enchanted to look just like the sky outside?

Early on, Peter gave Ellen a little sip of the root beer, so she spent the rest of the time saying, "More juice." We kept the little sips coming -- with as much space in between as we could get away with -- and she accommodated us by happily watching all the action from her high chair throughout the party. What a kid.


I'm glad Jane loved her birthday party. I'm really glad it's over.

Today's Examples of What Happens When I Undertake a Project

I had just finished filling the pans with batter for Jane's birthday cake when Adam decided to try out the latch on the springform pan -- you know, the latch that releases the bottom of the pan from the sides.

BONUS!: At the same time this was happening, Ellen was coloring on the leather ottoman with a green marker.

Two modern inventions to love: silicone spatulas (I was able to salvage almost all of the batter for a second attempt) and Crayola washable markers (all of the green came off).

Kitchen Table Magic Wand Factory

Jane wants a Harry Potter theme party again (third year straight), so we made some wands last night that the kids can decorate at her party. We followed these instructions that I found, which were pretty slick. Oh Google, whatever would I do without you?

"This house has 1 rule," posted by Jane in January 2009:

We haven't even let her watch any of the movies except the first one, but she loves to watch the trailers on YouTube, and she adores Potter Puppet Pals, to my chagrin. I'm not even going to link to it. If you don't know, just be glad.

Jane in her natural habitat:

Not Particularly Helpful

I can't locate one of the books that the library says we still have checked out. I asked Adam, "Do you know what it looks like?"

He said, "Yeah. It looks . . . like a rectangle."

You Have to Admire the Wholeheartedness of a Three Year Old

Sometimes when Adam says "No," he likes to follow it up, for emphasis, with "Never," spoken in a drawn out, dramatic whisper. This can be especially comical when he changes his mind, as happened this morning.

Me: Would you like milk on your oatmeal?
Adam: No! Never! . . . I mean, um, yeah, I do want milk on my oatmeal.

One Of These Things is not Like the Others

The latch I finally found for the fridge was $3.00 very well spent, but there's still the challenge of training everyone to remember to use it. Here's the smaller, cuter consequence of someone forgetting to latch it today:

I couldn't resist buying the flip flops this morning when Ellen kept holding them out to me and saying, "Uh ahn leppers [want slippers], Mama." And apparently, she couldn't resist putting them in the fridge for safekeeping after we got home.

I won't go into too much detail about the other, less cute consequence, but I will say that what had been on the shelf before the flip flops was a bag of dried apricots, and that Ellen ate most of what was left of them, and that there followed later the steaming of carpets and the soaking of soiled clothes, and a few baths, and a bath "incident" necessitating the bleaching of bath toys -- and I think I've now gone into too much detail.

I Don't Know Why I Continue to be Surprised by the Extent of the Obsession

Adam just set aside his imaginary lightsaber to unexpectedly climb into my lap, put his arms around me, and say, "Mother" in the most affectionate of tones. 

Me:  Aw, thanks for the hug.  I sure love you.

Adam:  I love you too, Padme.

Adam's Own Personal Rorschach Test

Adam, pointing to blot of milk he spilled on the table: Mom, look! This looks just like Mr. Incredible punching someone!

Two Circa 1940 Photographs by Helen Levitt

I'd never heard of photographer Helen Levitt until today's post from the smaller blog. All of her shots in this set are great, but I loved these two images in particular too much not to share them. (No, I have no legal rights to display them on my blog.)



Living with little children, there are innumerable delightful moments that happen and then are gone forever. I take a lot of pictures in a feeble attempt to capture some of it, but my pictures rarely do real justice to the moment. Maybe that's why it makes me so happy to see these perfectly evocative, beautiful images of childhood moments from nearly 70 years ago.

Abducted by a Sofa: One Victim's Story

Last Friday, I couldn't find Adam. Not upstairs. Not downstairs. Not in the backyard. Not at the neighbors' houses where he usually plays. Nowhere to be seen as I searched around the cul-de-sac (or "colder sack," as Zuzu likes to say).

OK. Keep calm. He must be here somewhere. Look downstairs again . . .

walk past the couch on the way to check the backyard again . . .

But wait. Is that a bit of blanket? . . .

Well! I should have thought to look for him asleep, face down, covered with a blanket, smashed behind a couch cushion in the first place, really.

One More Door to Keep Closed

I'm told that some children aren't climbers, but I've never given birth to one of those.

When Life Gives You Lemons (and Limes, and Cilantro), Let Someone Else Make the Lemonade (and the Pico de Gallo)

Friday, Cafe Rio-type salads were sounding good for dinner. So I: seasoned/cooked/shredded the chicken cooked the rice and beans minced the garlic washed/chopped the tomatoes/peppers/onions/jalapenos/cilantro squeezed the lemons/limes blended/bottled the dressing washed/shredded the lettuce mashed the avocados cooked the tortillas assembled the salads set the table

and sat down to dinner, thinking about what a terrific value restaurant food can be.

We finished eating and I: cleared the table loaded the dishwasher packaged the leftovers washed the slow cooker/salad spinner/knives/cutting board/saucepans/blender/electric skillet ran the disposer swept the floor wiped the counters refilled the water pitcher

and went to return it to the fridge, thinking about how my feet hurt and how glad I was to be about to leave the kitchen . . .

and found this magnet of unknown origin* staring back at me.  As if to taunt me.

*Yes, its origin is clear, but it was new to our fridge door. Most likely suspect: Zuzu, pocketer of all things free.

(re)Fridgeraider

While there's food in the fridge, she will not go hungry.

This Post is For You Naysayers Who Don't Think Star Wars Clips on YouTube Count as Educational Media

Adam, to my visiting neighbor: Red and blue make purple.
Neighbor: That's right! You're so smart. How did you know that?
Adam: Darth Vader and Obi-Wan.
Me: Umm . . you know red and blue make purple because of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan?
Adam: Darth Vader's lightsaber is red, and Obi-Wan's is blue, and when they hit . . .

Tulip Festival (If You're Into That Kind of Thing)

Don't bother going out to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point. Not unless you like stuff like masses of flowers
blooming in a riot of color,

wide open spaces in which to frolic,

grassy slopes perfect for rolling down,

pools and fountains,

idyllic backgrounds for photographing your favorite subjects,

or toddlers who run with their tongues hanging out. (That might have been a one-night-only attraction.)


There's also dappled sunlight, meandering streams, and waterfalls. If you like that sort of thing.