New England!! (Friday/Saturday)

Last Friday at around 6:00 Phillip called and told me to pack us up, we were going to New England for the weekend. I was glad I had done a bunch of laundry so it didn't take me long to get us all ready to go. For some reason Phillip and I decided to ignore the fact that it was a 6 hour drive, at least the kids were able to sleep.

We were able to find a decent hotel not far from Boston and after a few hours of sleep I took the kids to breakfast in the lobby while Phillip tried to catch a few more ZZZs. For some reason we ended up with 2 waitresses that served us hand and foot (they even cut up the kids' waffles for them). I didn't realize what a nice hotel we had until later that evening when we went for a swim and I used the exercise room. (it is way easier to workout when you have a t.v. right on the eliptical runner with brand new plastic wrapped headphones)

On Saturday morning we went in to Boston and explored around a bit. After realizing that much of this history would be lost on the kids we decided to take a cruise of the harbor. Phillip and I enjoyed listening to the tourguide and the kids enjoyed the ride. It was really really hot and muggy so after it was over we headed back to the car where the kids fell asleep.

Samuel Adams the Revolutionary

Samuel Adams the beer (behind me)

This was great since Phillip secretly wanted to drive around and explore. We went up to Salem and drove around a bit. We didn't really want to get out with the kids and have to explain the whole witch trial thing so we just satisfied our curiosity from the car and kept on going.

Waiting for the Ferry

Once the kids woke up we found a place to run around and take a few more pictures.

Marble Point
	/>

Last weekend's adventures

Today was hot. Yesterday was hot. The day before was hot ... you get the idea. I don't know why I torture myself by keeping my weather widget set to the central coast but just knowing that it is less than 90 with less than 90% humidity somewhere makes me happy.

This morning we rented a car and tried to get out of town to do some exploring - along with the rest of the city so we after looking at the long freeway full of bumpertobumper traffic, we turned around and went to the Fairmont Water Works down on the Schuykill River.

I don't know why we haven't been down there yet! We live .07mi north of the Philadelphia Art Museum, and this is right below on the opposite side of the building so its close enough to walk. There are bikes to rent, boats to rent and a very long trail alongside the river (the city planners bought as much land on either side of the river that they could to preserve it as a drinking water source which they turned into Fairmont Park, -claimed to be the longest contiguous park in the U.S.). It was just as blazing hot and humid down by the River so after exploring the water works we went home, had lunch and took naps.

Later on in the day ...

Somehow, while the kids were taking their naps, Phillip and I were just over powered by a desire to get out of town but we didn't know where to go or what to see. In our family I usually do a lot of research before I go exploring but Phillip likes to be surprised so it was entirely out of character for me to embrace the idea of just going for the sake of going. I really couldn't help doing a bit of research to make sure we went somewhere fun and here I am at 12:30 am blogging from a very nice hotel in North Wales which is 30min away from Bucks county and the Delaware River. Tomorrow we are going to explore some more before we head back home. I still haven't gotten used to a church where the only church service starts at 5pm, but it is very nice to have a longer weekend. (oh, and Eliot is getting much better :) thanks for the prayers.)



(Update: this post is from a week ago and I never got around to posting it since I knew I needed to add pictures.)

Rain, Rain, Rain

For some reason, whenever I mention the fact that I grew up in the state of Washington everyone tells me about the time they visited Seattle and it rained. They also like to say that it is the rainiest state in the Union --- FALSE! if you take it by city, Washington doesn't contribute one single city to the list of 10 rainiest cities. Also Washintons' average annual precipitation is only 38.15 inches - far less than Hawaii's 70.3 inches and even NY's 47.25. While I do admit that there are most likely more days with clouds and perhaps a couple drops of rain, Washington is neither the rainiest state, nor the wettest ... so there.

Oh, and in order to not be a complete grump this story is for the Grannies ...

This morning as Eliannah was eating she looked up at me and said, "Whufflowuhs?"
"Excuse me" I said, "why dont' you swallow first and try that one again."
"Mommy, where's the flowers Mommy, why aren't the flowers on the table Mommy?"

I guess since we have moved here I'v developed a habbit of going out and cutting fresh roses from our rose bush and keeping some on the table. I didn't know it was such a fixtures to her! I guess she has added that to her list of things we must have at the table. The other thing she can't live without at a meal is a napkin. She not only has to have one at her place, she has to be able to dab at her lips every few bites and she's been like this since she was one and a half. I think it is hilarious that she can be filthy from head to toe but if she even drips one drop of food on the table or on her person she gets really upset until she gets her hands on a nice clean napkin. What a lady!

The air is sweating ...

Today was hot.  Yesterday was hot.  The day before was hot ... you get the idea.  I don't know why I torture myself by keeping my weather widget set to the central coast but just knowing that it is less than 90 with less than 90% humidity somewhere makes me happy.

This morning we rented a car and tried to get out of town to do some exploring - along with the rest of the city so we after looking at the long freeway full of bumpertobumper traffic, we turned around and went to the Fairmont Water Works down on the Schuykill River. 

 I don't know why we haven't been down there yet! We live .07mi north of  the Philadelphia Art Museum, and this is right below on the opposite side of the building so its close enough to walk. There are bikes to rent, boats to rent and a very long trail alongside the river (the city planners bought as much land on either side of the river that they could to preserve it as a drinking water source which they turned into Fairmont Park,  -claimed to be the longest contiguous park in the U.S.). It was just as blazing hot and humid down by the River so after exploring the water works we went home, had lunch and took naps.

Later on in the day ...

Somehow, while the kids were taking their naps, Phillip and I were just over powered by a desire to get out of town but we didn't know where to go or what to see.  In our family I usually do a lot of research before I go exploring but Phillip likes to be surprised so it was entirely out of character for me to embrace the idea of just going for the sake of going. I really couldn't help doing a bit of research to make sure we went somewhere fun and here I am at 12:30 am blogging from a very nice hotel in North Wales which is 30min away from Bucks county and the Delaware River. Tomorrow we are going to explore some more before we head back home. I still haven't gotten used to a church where the only church service starts at 5pm, but it is very nice to have a longer weekend.  (oh, and Eliot is getting much better :) thanks for the prayers.)



(Update: this post is from a week ago and I never got around to posting it since I knew I needed to add pictures, right now we are in Boston)

frowny faced

Poor Eliot! Why does he get the sickest when we get colds? He was in pretty bad shape by the time we found a doctor. Thank goodness we were able to get an appointment for the next day. The good new is - we brought our breathing machine and the breathing machine has helped a lot. The bad news is Eliot is too sick to be able to take inhaled steroids and we have to give him oral Prednisone which does the same thing to a child that it does to an athlete who abuses steroids. It might take a day or so to kick in but Eliot gets very aggressive and I don't know how to deal with it. Please pray that he will get better soon, that I will discipline him in an understanding way and deal with him in love until he gets better. Sigh ... I guess that means we won't be going to Washington DC this weekend as we had planned. Oh well, some other time ...

Our street

Sorry for the overposts but this is for the aged relatives who need more pictures. Also, I'm having fun with this website which is actually for making comic strips out of your digital pictures. I'm still trying to make a photo collage of pictures of various sizes and haven't found the perfect technique yet. I can make a table or a row through blogger but if anyone has a favorite website with adjustable picture sizes let me know! (I know this stuff is out there but haven't found anything that I can use with my Macbook)

Shutterbug

Whenever the kids run out of things to do (not often) I hand one of them a camera and they giggle and snap pictures of anything and everything they come across. So far they have been very careful and responsible with it and these are pictures that Zak took today. If you can't tell we've been home a lot recently (summer colds) and I've had a bunch of free time so if you have any devotional book recommendations let me know! I've recently finished "Around the world in 80 days" , "The case book of Sherlock Holmes", and "Jeeves in the Morning" (I love P.G. Wodehouse - so funny, such a great writing style). All of these are excellent books but I feel like even though I got them from the Classics section of the library I could make better use of my time. Maybe I'll have my mom mail me that stack of books on my bedside table that I've been meaning to read for such a long time. ... mom? ...

The Bus

We are working on patience this summer by using the public transit wherever we go. It is very easy and you can get to anywhere you wish (or at least within a block or so). The downside is unless you can keep a bus timetable in your head you usually have to wait 5-15 min for a bus. This has been a great exercise for us and we have collected a long list of "waiting games". Light saber fights, guessing games and on Saturday Zak pretended to cut off his head and Eliot and Eliannah were chasing him around to put it back on. Don't ask me where they come up with this stuff.

at the park

Yesterday the Eastern State Pennitentary celebrated Bastille day with a re-enactment complete with a real guillotine (they used a watermelon). Since we missed all the fun, got too hot on the walk over and the tours of the pennitentary were for children over the age of 7 we skipped the party and went to the park! I think the park was a more age appropriate activity anyway. Happy Saturday!

You won't believe me

I don't think there is any explaining how strange, funny and beautiful this movie is. It deals with so many issues and takes you on quiet an emotional journey. Is is very compassionate, affectionate, innocent and moving. Oh, I can't say enough about it so just check it out!

Cheese

1
Origami happy face folded in a grin
turn two edges, mountain fold
a frown sits on my chin
2
Smooth that paper
leave it loose
this is how my face folds,
when it's not in use.

Phillip says I have a mean and angry face when I'm not deliberately smiling. I've seen myself in a few too many surreptitiously taken photos to disagree. I'm not a jerk! My heart is still smiling, I just have a lot on my mind usually and whatever I do has my full attention ... really ....


(I was trying to capture my relaxed face when, sensing that a photo was about to be taken, Zak snuck up behind me and popped his head into the picture! That Ham ... I can't imagine where he gets it.)

Wish me luck!

I'm starting my first plarn project. Zak and I spent an hour with a huge pile of shopping bags. I'm not a very good crocheter (ask Charlotte H.) but at least it's a totally free project so if I mess it up it's NBD. We've been mostly using our reusable shopping bags but the times we forget them it seems like the stores go overboard by double bagging and even bagging the milk (unless you ask them not to.) This might take me awhile ....

**** Update ***** crocheting with plarn is very hard on your wrists FYI! I'm pushing through though.

Ugly shirt = Ugly dress

We were loaded down with freebies last week from all the events we went to so I thought I'd be totally ironic and recycle the "Recycle it" tee shirt I got. Here's how

I used one of Eliannah's shirts to give me an idea of what size to make it



Then I cut the middle section out of the lower part leaving me one long strip (no picture, I suck at this)
To make it easier, I should have attatched the lower part to the upper part before sewing the side seams, but I didn't so when I sewed the lower part on I had some excess fabric which meant I had to put in the slit up the back. ( As it turns out this was very necessary since the whole thing shrunk in the wash.)




The front was tricky since I wanted a decorative way to cover up what remained of the logo and picture. I ended up cutting up tiny strips and sewing them in rows onto the front. It covered everything up but I'm not sure that I like it. The top 5 rows will look better once I put it through the wash again. I don't know if you can tell from the picture but the bottom rows look better since I did them first and they have been washed.





(this is what happens when a brother stands behind me and teaches his sister how to pose)

Independence week: Thursday

Today was a little lower key, there were no morning events so we took naps and got ready to head down to Ben Franklin Parkway in the afternoon for a "Fiesta on the Parkway". It was quiet a bit of a walk, very hot and when we got down there I quickly realized this event was not geared toward children under the age of 10. Oh well, we walked around, had some ice cream, saw some Latin artisans selling their crafts. ...

At one point we saw 3 tall ladies (at least 6 ft in the heels they had on) wearing enormous feathered headresses and Vegas style beaded bikini top, beaded skirt and a thong. I was pretty uncomfortable seeing them strut past my little boys but I knew not to make a huge deal of it. I was quiet relieved when I heard Zak lean over to Eliot and say," I think they're going to go play Indians! Look at their feathers!!" He was quiet jealous. We've been playing Indians with a large leaf stuck in our backwards baseball hats! I hope they stay innocent and young for a LONG time!!

Independance week Wednesday

Today a similar event was scheduled for a community center way the heck north of here so I planned my bus trip, got all the route info and hopped on board bus 32. As we passed from the museum district the houses got shabbier and shabbier. Many of the buildings looked ready to topple over at any moment and yet there would be people sitting out on the sagging porches. It made me really sad and at one point I thought about never getting off the bus and just riding it until it turned around. After about 20 min we got to our stop and I made the decision to get out anyway and proceed to the community center.

At the community center we heard another African story teller who was even more lively than the last one and ended up getting almost half of the audience on stage in her story about how every has their own rhythm. There were rhinos that stomped to the beat, monkeys with egg shakers, Zebras that did the Salsa. Throughout the song we all kept singing "Everybody's got their own rhythm, everybody's got their style ..." At the very end of the song she started to tell about the poor giraffe's that couldn't''t feel the rhythm and couldn't dance and felt left out. I swear she was looking directly at me (as we were the only white people in the audience). I tried my hardest not to die laughing!!! The story had a happy ending though as the giraffe learned to dance gracefully to it's own rhythm.

After a bit of a break a bunch of boys and men came out in some traditional costumes and performed with their drums. It was very overpowering and loud and exciting. I'll see if I can upload the little video snippets I took with my camera when the dancers came out but there they were, probably ages 8-12 dancing like crazy in a whirl of color and frenzy and energy. Eliannah turned to me at one point and said excitedly, "It's so loud Mommy!" (check out the strap that's holding his drum)
After several different dancing groups came out a huge masked stilt-walker came out and danced just as ferociously as the women and children had. It was amazing and a little scary. He had a mask over his face and Eliot's eyes just got bigger and bigger until he leaned over and said, "Is that God?" After I assured him that it wasn't he seemed to enjoy it more.


I think after this week of eye opening expiriences I'm going to have to read "American Apartheid" to hopefully understand the great disparity that I'm seeing around me.

Independance week Tuesday

Yes, the ID celebrations here started last Sunday and are ending today. We by no means participated in the 3-5 event per day that went on throughout the city but we did get to a few of them.

As part of the festivities there was a program called "Go fourth and learn" sponsored by the Free Library of Philadelphia. It was educational in nature and at each event they handed out a goodie bag with at least one good story book per kid. On Tuesday we went to the Library and took our seats in the auditorium/movie theater. We got there early so we had time to wave our little flags and get really excited. We watched "What's the Big Idea Ben Franklin?" (great educational movie by the way) and then met Miss Philadelphia. I was beginning to wonder how long this event was going to go on when they brought to the stage a whole bunch of African instruments, an African percussionist and an African story teller.

Now, I have gone to hundreds of "story times" at our local library and I have to say this lady was great! She didn't tell a single story, she sang every single one and had the kids participate by teaching them various refrains, responses and rhythm patterns. She was lively and funny and wonderful. I'm still trying to figure out how I can use what I observed from her methods in my own story times with the kids.

I really enjoyed the coded message songs that we sang about the underground railroad and it was very interesting to me to realize that July 4th is a day when the black community celebrates freedom from slavery (at least around here). It's a perspective I never thought of before but when you think about it, 1776 only meant freedom for the 13 colonies that fought the British, it would have meant no new liberties to their slaves. All in all it was a great day. If Phillip and I had been able to find a babysitter we would have gone and watched "the Shawshank Redemption" that was screened for free at the Eastern State Penitentiary right up the street from us (it looks like a castle and is open for tours - it isn't used as a prison any more). Oh well, you can't have everything ...

Happy 232!

Home made ice cream:

Place 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup light cream (half and half) and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in a quart-size heavy zip top bag and seal.
Place that bag in a gallon size heavy zip-top bag. Layer ice and rock salt in the gallon bag and seal.
Toss the bag back and forth for approximately 10 minutes and voila it's ice cream. Serves two hot kids (or adults).

(Thanks for the recipe Aunt B.!)

Or ... just go out and buy some ... Happy Fourth!

Ms. Personality

"look mommy, I'm a pretty princess" - Eliannah

I guess teaching her that what's on the inside counts has been effective since her dirty face, dirty shirt, droopy drawers and sweaty hair made no difference to her. (check out that black eye - oh the joy of having brothers!)