Making Sense of Haiti

I volunteered to be the homeroom parent who donated recycled jars for the "Pennies for Haiti" campaign that is being sponsored by Linden's school. Here was my attempt, over dinner, to explain to the kids what had happened in Haiti, and why we should help.

Me: "There's an island far away, called Haiti. There was an earthquake there. The ground shook and many of the buildings fell down. It's hard for the people there to get food now, and other things they need."

Jacob: "That boy I saw on the cover of the magazine, was he from Haiti?"

Me: "Yes."

Jacob: "Did he die?"

Me: "No, he didn't die, but a lot of other people died, people that he knew, people he was close to."

Casey: "Are we going to go to the quake earth?

Me: "No, we're sending money to help the people there."

Casey: "If the quake earth comes here, I can stop it. I can stop it with my sword!"

Jacob: "No you can't!!!! You can't stop and earthquake with a sword!!!"

Casey: "Yes I can! I would stab the earth with my sword, to make it be still."

Me: "That's an interesting idea, Casey. I'm glad that earthquakes don't come to Pittsburgh very often."

Jacob: "How many pennies should we send, mom?"

Me: "As many as we can spare."

Jacob turned six yesterday, and the reality of it hasn't really hit me yet. As Jacob told us on the way to the bowling alley, "I don't feel six yet. I still feel five." Six just sounds so....old!

The day started with two episodes of Thundercats while mom and dad tried to recover from a late night of Settler of Catan the night before. Then we all got up together and mom made some eggs and cheese for the kids while Jacob opened his presents. He was, needless to say, very excited when he opened the Wii. I can't wait to read the BOB books to Jacob, but I might have to fight Casey form them (see picture below). Jacob also got some Cash from Cool Cousin Cody, some stickers from Ivana, and some more toys for the Wii from mom and dad.

Josh took the kids to Pamela's and then to Supercuts where Jacob got his haircut and the kids both got balloons. After Casey woke up from her nap we geared up for Jacob's bowling party. We had already picked up a cake from our favorite French bakery and we got pizza from Pizza Perfecta delivered. (I thought to try to make the cake myself this year, but Josh insisted on getting the bakery cake. He rightly has little faith in my cake making abilities---even with his mom's recipe.)

The bowling party was 2 blocks away at Forward Lanes. It was ridiculously reasonably priced; we had two hours of unlimited bowling and a nice party space all to ourselves for well under $100.00. Also, each of the kids was entitled to a free drink at the concession stand. At the party the kids bowled non-stop when they weren't eating, and the parents were able to relax and talk. There were 10 kids total, including a few from Cyert, and a few from Linden. At the end of the party Jacob and I gave out gift bags that we had made ourselves in the shape of bowling bags.

When we got home Jacob played the Wii nonstop until he went to bed. Mom and Dad fell into bed, exhausted, and watched the Saints beat the Vikings, and then fell into a deep and restful sleep. Happy Birthday, Jacob!

Oh, Lovely Mud!

Seven years ago, before I had children, my mom sent me an email with pictures of what happens "when men babysit." The picture that really stands out in my memory was a picture of a two year old sitting next to a six month old baby in one of those little bouncy chairs. The baby's face had been colored with black circles and lines made with a marker pen, and the two year old was holding the marker pen up in with one hand, pumping the air, victorious. What made the picture so funny was that the baby looked oddly blissful. You can see some of the pics for yourself, here: http://sofinesjoyfulmoments.com/humor/MenShouldntBBsit.htm

This photo series was called to mind on a recent Martin Luther King, Junior day when Josh had the kids for the afternoon. He had the bathroom and the children pretty well cleaned up by the time I got home, but these pictures will give you a sense of what he was doing before that. He had purchased some clay for a project he wanted to do, and when it was too hard for the kids to work with, he put them in the bath with the red-brown clay. "When men babysit," you can be sure, at the very least, that the kids have a blast.

Serious Weather

I don't read a lot of blogs, but one of my favorites is Lindsay Ferrier's Suburban Turmoil. She recently wrote about the hype that the news industry provides when it "snows" in Nashville, and by "snow" she means, a light dusting that looks a bit like the first hard frost of the year that we used to get in Seattle when I was growing up. Yes, Nashvillians don't know how to drive in it, and yes, sometimes the ice, especially if it's black ice, is quite dangerous, but the hype is well, mostly just hype. You can read her hilarious post here: http://suburbanturmoil.blogspot.com/2010/01/omgsnow.html.

Here in Pittsburgh, however, it's safe to say that we have been having some serious weather. We returned home on January 6th to 20 degree temps and 6 inches of snow on the ground, and for almost two weeks the temps stayed below freezing, and from the 6th through the 11th it snowed a few inches every day.

The most dramatic effect of all of this weather has been the icicles. I've tried to capture that drama in these photographs, but they don't quite cut it.

In this picture above is the view out our kitchen window, looking towards the back of the house.

Here's the giant sword shaped icicle that hung out of our kitchen window. It joined with other icicles, like a creature in a horror movie, and then got longer!

Here's another view of that monster icicle. Josh eventually broke it off and brandished it about the house!

Last Saturday I took the kids out in the snow at the high school next to our house. It was the perfect temperature---about 30 degrees, and the sun was just starting to set. Here's Casey. You can't see her new white snow boots because they are buried in the snow!

Before Christmas a friend made fun of my very expensive (even 70% off!) black fake-fur lined Uggs that I bought in 2008. But who is laughing now?

Here's Jacob!

Here's the snow angel Jacob made in our driveway!

Travel Update: Detroit Airport Play Area

You might remember that after a Thanksgiving trip to Alabama I was saddened by the number of mean stares I received from fellow travelers (http://jacoblawrencenewman.blogspot.com/2009/12/good-bad-and-mean.html ). On our trip from Seattle through Detroit back to Pittsburgh on January 6th, fellow travelers were mostly more laid back. It wasn't a peak holiday travel day, so that helped.

The Detroit airport has two long terminals, and it was only by sheer luck that we were just a few gates away from their play area. It was an empty gate with two large plastic play houses, a kid's table kid's chairs. Josh foraged for hot dog fare, and the kids played and ate. We had a relaxing 90 minute layover, and the kids got to burn off steam without any non-parents having to get burned in the process! It seems to me, as some of you suggested, that a few of these plastic playhouses, strewn throughout the terminals, would be a great solution for a travelers with and without kids alike. Everyone's happy.

I will say that right before the flight Casey took a colossal crap in her pull-up, and, in my surprisingly amateur attempt to clean her up (how long have I been changing diapers now, six years?) I got globs of poo all over my clothes. This did put a bit of a damper on my mood; I basically laundered the dress I was wearing in the airport bathroom sink and put it back on, wet. Gross. Oh well; Casey is almost 100% potty trained now, so maybe our next plane trip will involve NO DIAPER CHANGING.

A Few Little Things I Want to Remember

One thumb down, one thumb up

Over the holidays Jacob invented his own rating system. When telling us whether or not he liked something, he made one fist a "thumbs down" and one fist a "thumbs up." He then made one or the other knock the other one out of the ring. He did this while we were listening to an album of kids music that Casey got for Christmas. When a song about how to clean up your room came on the fist with the thumbs down won. When a song about cookie baking came on the thumbs up was the winner!

Getting grumbled

Casey likes for Josh to make a cocoon out of blankets on the bed, to get in that cocoon, and then for Josh to make that cocoon almost fall off the bed with her in it. She calls this "getting grumbled." We really don't know where this came from!

The "wipey" pants

Casey doesn't like the navy blue 4T snow jumper she inherited from Jacob (and gosh only knows where we got it from before that). It's made of nylon, and it's hard for her to walk in because her legs become so bulky. She complains that it's too "wipey."

Something borrowed, something blue

I showed Casey a jewelry box yesterday that had the blue garter belt in it that my mother wore when she first got married in 1965. I remember looking at that garter belt in my mother's dresser when I was a little girl, and thinking about what it meant. Then, when I got married, I wore the blue garter belt.

These days, at 45 years old and counting, it's definitely looking a bit stiff, old, and worn. Casey asked me what it was, and I told her she could wear it when she got married. Today, when I got the box out again, she said, "Mom, when I get married, I want to marry you and Jacob and Daddy." It reminded me that the other day I asked her if she wanted to have babies when she grew up. She replied, "No, I'm just going to have a dog."

It's Hard to Keep a Straight Face

When Casey, age 2.5, after I tell her that the toy she is playing with is not a shoe, says, "I'm going to kick your butt and hurt your feelings." I know I should have been mad, but all I could do was crack up.

Granted, it's not her typical behavior. 12 hours of travel yesterday minus 3 lost hours (to time difference) plus long day at school. She perked up after dinner, and then went to bed. The book she chose at bedtime was Teeth are Not for Biting. Hopefully she will neither bite me nor kick my butt nor hurt my feelings tomorrow. Today, she just made me laugh.