Bump bump

Slumber party

2012-02-02T22:32:00.001-05:00

Derek is out of town for two nights, so we are having a girl party (plus Uni). I'm all snuggled in with the kids, ready to go to sleep two hours earlier than normal. This is just what I needed to kick a cold I've been working on. This is the picture I sent Derek when he called tonight.

The Hat

2012-02-01T20:45:00.001-05:00

Nola has been going to school an hour early this year to participate in the Young Scholars program. For the last month they've been writing scripts for, and then rehearsing a play based on a Frog and Toad story. Nola is Frog. The teacher who has been leading this program retired this week and the program is ending. I have to admit that we will all enjoy getting some extra sleep on the morning.

Sports Team Shirt Day

2012-01-27T20:15:00.001-05:00

Today Nola actually asked to wear her old Saints shirt to school. Last year I practically had to force her to wear it. Although we're sad the Saints won't be in the Super Bowl, Derek's team is in it, as is our local team with a New Orleans boy.

The backdrop for this photo is Derek's childhood sleeping bag. Pretty awesome.

Little turkeys

2012-01-15T20:56:00.002-05:00

P1050124, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

We've had a good first two weeks of the year. It goes by so quickly! There have been some fun visits (including time with Ralph, Mary Ann, Justin and Dylan before the new year) and some good home projects.

A couple of months ago Nola decided that she needed to be sophisticated and hang all of her clothes up. This happened while I wasn't at home, so I returned to a homemade "closet" built out of sticks and propped up on a shelf in a corner of the kids' room. Later the set-up was refined with chairs stacked on top of each other to make shelves for boxes with shoes. A doll bed was turned on its side to house boxes with the remaining folded clothes. I love Nola's spatial sensibility and the fact that she knows exactly what she wants. It definitely reminds me of myself as a kid, making side tables out of boxes and re-imagining my closet as a loft space. However, this set-up was making me crazy (especially when it would fall apart) and there were never enough chairs when other kids came over. So we finally found the perfect solution at Ikea and recreated Nola's dream closet in her actual closet. I'm sure it will get some tweaks, but everyone is substantially happier.

This week was a big deal for Siri on the clothing front as well. After months of refusing to wear anything but the same three dresses over and over again, she actually decided to wear something different! For three consecutive days! And she wore shirts with skirts, and even pants! Of course, today she went back to her favorite (dirty) dress. (I just went through the photos I have posted to flickr and saw that Siri is wearing this same hot pink summer dress with a large blue flower on it in about 75% of the photos from the last month.) But we went through all of her clothes today and she only picked out one thing that she said she wouldn't wear, so I'm hopeful for a little more variety in her wardrobe. Of course I'm jinxing myself by writing this.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T22:49:00.003-05:00

P1040991, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

The holiday season kicked my butt this year! I'm glad to have the next two days to basically do nothing. Here's a little list of what we've been up to:

: : Not long after I last wrote, Nola lost her third tooth. I basically plucked out the first tooth that she lost, and the second one came out at school, so it was quite traumatic to me that we had to spend a good 15 minutes twisting and turning the third tooth to get it all the way out. I'm sure the faces I was making didn't make it easier for Nola.

: : Most of the time over the last three weeks has been spent making ornaments and baking cookies. Some of these ended up at a gift sale we held at Nola's school.

: : I also finally made a tree skirt. The stocking that I've wanted to make for many years still didn't get made. Maybe I'll make it before I put away all of the Christmas items.

: : Siri and Nola each had performances at their schools, and they both went off quite well. Ralph was able to come in for Siri's performance.

: : We've had a nice Christmas weekend with Dru in town and Christmas Eve dinner with Cary and her family. Today was really great. The kids were both very appreciative of their gifts, which always shocks me. We had a nice dinner with linen and glasses from Granny, a gravy boat and flatware from Grandma, a silver ladle from Derek's grandmother, and a crystal bowl from Derek's dad. All sides of the family represented and thought of.

Things I want to remember

2011-12-04T00:45:00.004-05:00

DSC_0331, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

I was in love with these ginkgo trees over the last few weeks. I think the vibrant yellow really boosts the mood. Of course, it's not like it's been a cold and dreary fall that needs boosting--it's been ridiculously warm.
We bought a new car! The old one, which we got right after we were married, was driving too rough and had a warning light permanently on. We wanted something wider, so we could fit a fifth person, but we settled for more length and height rather than width. It's pretty sweet. We donated the old one to a charity and it was towed away today. I let it go without a good-bye, which is unusually unsentimental for me.
We had a lovely Thanksgiving with Dru and Ellie's whole family. It's so nice to get the cousins together. Nola especially adores Lindsay. We also celebrated Dru's 70th birthday. We visited with Ralph and the rest of his family one day, where we had a fried dough extravaganza.
As long as Siri has been able to talk, she has always reported that she doesn't want to get big. She's little. Recently she elaborated by saying that when you get big, you get old. That's a pretty heavy insight for a girl who didn't even turn 40 this year.
A couple of weeks ago I saw the new 9/11 memorial. I'm not a big fan. It feels very slick and impersonal. There are fountains set into the ground at the locations of the two towers. They seem to create a sucking motion, as if the buildings are perpetually falling down. I liked seeing the columns from the towers inside of the new guest center, though.
I also got a sneak peak at a new building and open space on a pier on the East River recently. The space didn't open up on schedule, so when my co-workers and I showed up to see it, we talked our way in using our DOT credentials. It kind of felt like having a mini High Line in Lower Manhattan.

A flurry

2011-11-15T01:39:00.004-05:00

P1040641, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

I better catch up on over a week's worth of activities, which were many. Last weekend saw all sorts of fun, but no photos. This included planting spring bulbs at Nola's school and a birthday party for one of Siri's classmates at the Prospect Park Zoo. And then there was the marathon. Once again it was inspiring, but I was glad that the one person I knew running it is a fast runner, so we were able to see him early and then go off to the playground and enjoy ourselves. Derek, however, went out the next day and bought a new pair of running shoes, and has embarked on a new regime. Luckily, this regime also involves me going to a yoga class on the weekend, so we both benefit.

It's a good thing we both started exercising, because we also had our annual 15 hour bake sale for Nola's school on Election Day, and I'll say right now that a large portion of our profits came from our family's consumption. In addition to having Election Day and Veteran's Day off last week, I also took a half day off to attend Siri's Cultural Day at school. This involved us creating a mobile representing our culture and bringing in a muffaletta to share at the party. Siri and her classmates put on a great show with singing, dancing and speeches as well.

One of my days at work was partially consumed by a press conference at Grand Army Plaza. It was fun to get to talk to the head of my agency and see elected officials hanging out. Luckily, the weather was perfect, too.

Over the weekend we got to celebrate Bea's birthday at a gymnastics party. Both girls really enjoyed themselves and impressed me with their ability and daring. Unfortunately, Siri started getting sick, and by Sunday night she woke up with croup. That forced me to stay home with her today, giving us a little more downtime. However, a trip to the doctor turned into an all day outing, as I realized that Siri was feeling perfectly fine. We ended up checking in at my latest project, where the crew was entertained seeing me inspect the site with a 3-year-old in tow. Then we enjoyed the continuing good weather and amazing display of fall leaves at the playground.

Whew! Let's see what this week will bring.

Halloween craziness

2011-11-05T07:41:00.002-04:00

P1040304, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Even though the Fort Greene Park Halloween festival was cancelled, we started our holiday a little early with a Halloween kiddie cruise on a river boat. There was face painting, karoke, puppet shows, games, and a costume contest. We even got to see the Statue of Liberty. The boat was kind of disgusting (probably used as a bar at night) but the kids had a good time. Siri was more into it than Nola, and more than once she provided the encouragement that Nola needed to get into the activities. Siri even got on the stage and sang Mary Had a Little Lamb!

Halloween day was once again a crazy swirl of events. Nola was as happy as could be, and Siri got more into it than last year. Once again, the activities started with the Literacy Parade at Nola's school and moved to trick-or-treating and a party at Siri's school. Then we started the neighborhood trick-or-treating and watched the big show on Clinton Avenue. This year Derek helped out with a haunted house to benefit Nola's school. In addition to constructing a large spider, he spent most of the night inside a jail that they constructed (unfortunately, the photos didn't come out). This was possibly the most effective part of the haunted house--maybe even too effective. When Siri saw him she started crying, and wouldn't stop crying for the rest of our trick-or-treating, until we went back and sprung him loose. Nola and another kid from school took his place, which was even more hysterical.

What the what?

2011-10-29T15:27:00.005-04:00

P1040187, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Yesterday I received an email that signed off with "Have a nice (snowy?) weekend." I thought it was a joke. Then I figured some flurries could be possible. I did not expect to see hour upon hour of heavy snow. This is crazy! I've never seen snow this early. I remember seeing a beautiful flurry that looked liked diamonds falling the day before Thanksgiving in Chicago in 1989. I really do think that's the earliest I've ever seen snow. It's Halloween weekend for goodness sake! There's still green grass on the ground, leaves on the trees, and flowers blooming! Last year at this time Nola was throwing game balls at the Fort Greene park Halloween festival. This year she's throwing snow balls and the festival was cancelled. Let's hope it clears up enough for trick-or-treating in two days.

The season

2011-10-23T20:57:00.002-04:00

P1040150, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

We might be entering the season when I seem to take less photos. Because of this, this is the only one I can find that Siri and Nola (or at least her representation) are both in. You also can get a sneak peek at Siri's Halloween costume in this picture. Can you guess what she's going to be? Here's a peak at Nola's costume, in progress. We've been to a lot of birthday parties lately, as is our way in the fall. For some reason I get the worst photos at birthday parties.

Siri is heading into month three of being an impossible dresser. She wears pajamas whenever possible and often wears so little clothing that I'm convinced that someone on the street will take her away. Today she wore a bathing suit coverup. She has requested to wear the same dress in her class picture tomorrow, so maybe you'll be receiving evidence of her crazy attire one day soon.

Some changes

2011-10-10T22:49:00.002-04:00

P1030844, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Today we went to check out the recently opened carousel at Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was installed over the last year in the portion of the park where we spent many days with good friends during Nola's first few years. I was surprised at how shocking it was for me to see our favorite picnic spot under a tree completely transformed. At least the tree is still there, which is more than can be said about every other tree from the old park. It's sad that our old friends aren't around either. Interestingly, Nola also spent some time remembering old times. Of course, new memories were made as well.

Another recent change is that we are now the proud renters of our very own patch of concrete on which we can park our car! It's really nice to get home and be able to go directly to a parking spot, rather than scanning up and down the street. Unfortunately, our spot is directly under a tree with a large flock of poopy birds.

There she is!

2011-09-29T21:15:00.001-04:00

DSC_0365, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

I feel like I haven't taken many pictures of Siri lately. She's either been asleep in the stroller, or there's been "something" in her mouth making her un-photogenic. But a few weeks have passed since she started her new class, and we buckled back down to work on getting rid of her binky. Good grief.

Last weekend we enjoyed the new season with a trip to a farm. So much fun! I wish it felt more like fall around here, though. It has be humid and rainy for weeks now. I'm putting away all of my summer clothes this weekend whether or not the weather cooperates.

Horizon

2011-09-16T00:15:00.004-04:00

P1030458, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Today it rained and suddenly turned cold. On my way home I looked up at an apartment building that was glowing and realized that there must a pretty amazing sunset peaking out from under the clouds. I wish I had taken this picture from a little further to the left. The horrible new building that mars our view is blocking the new Freedom tower that is getting pretting tall.

We moved to this building after 9/11/01, which I guess I'm glad for. The thought of watching the towers fall from home is too much. One of our neighbors, who had worked for many years in the towers before retiring, watched as they fell--taking with them everyone she had worked with.

We didn't do anything related to 9/11 last weekend. Instead we enjoyed the lives we have, with friends, face painting and trips to parks. Derek also had his birthday, with very little fanfare I'm sad to report. Poor man.

Back

2011-09-08T21:47:00.001-04:00

P1030343, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Things are almost back to normal around here. Nola happily went off to first grade today. School was a little bit chaotic, with everyone getting their teacher assignments. We got a surprise teacher that we didn't know about, but she seems good. Nola was the only one in her class not in her uniform. Doh!

End of summer

2011-09-07T23:30:00.002-04:00

P1030337, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

We had an enjoyable Labor Day weekend, with a beach trip, a pool trip, and a wacky hot slog to a playground in Manhattan (why?) in between. Our beach trip accidentally brought us to Staten Island. We were on our way to Jacob Riis when we suddenly found ourselves on the Verrazano Bridge. Once we paid the toll, we decided we'd better make the most of it. It was great, with Nola working on a sand castle for about an hour while Derek and Siri stood in the surf. Siri loved the water! I enjoyed just sitting quietly, taking it all in. Many shells were collected.

Nola spent a lot of time at my office over the past week, since Derek returned to school before she did. Finally we're at the big day. Wish us luck!

Transition week

2011-09-03T19:53:00.002-04:00

P1020943, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Between boarding our flight back to NYC only hours after hurricane Irene blew through the city, and the lack of sleep from taking a red-eye, our return home from our trip was pretty stressful. Our first week back wasn't much better. We've all been jet lagged all week. Our first night back, the kids went to sleep at midnight. The second night they went to sleep at 11pm. You get the picture. Derek and I weren't adjusting much better, getting to sleep after 1am.

The thing is, it was also Siri's "transition week" at school, where she started going to her new class for a few hours each day. We had to be at school no later than 9:30 so she could go to the new class together with all of the students from her old class. That meant that we all had to get up on time, even though we had gone to sleep so late. This didn't settle too well with Siri, and she protested by refusing to get dressed. One day she went to school in her pajamas, and stayed in them all day. The next day she went to school bottomless. Luckily, she didn't stay that way all day. On Friday we had a good-bye party with her old class, and I was misty-eyed the whole time. She had a really great class last year, including the kids (whom she'll be with again this year) and her three teachers. It was Ms. Michelle's first year at the school, and she did a great job as the head teacher. Ms. Ella, on the left, will be transitioning to the new class as well, which will provide some continuity. We will greatly miss how Ms. Alva, on the right, made our daily transition into class much easier than any other teacher we've ever encountered. Of course, we can still stop and say hi on our way to the new classroom everyday. And when we do, we'll see cousin Lily there, taking over the reins in room 5.

Pacific Northwest

2011-09-02T20:11:00.003-04:00

P1030098, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

So, our epic adventure.... Usually I say that I'm going to Vancouver, even if there are some other stops. But this time we went to Seattle, Victoria, Mayne Island *and* Vancouver, so I really don't feel right calling it a trip to Vancouver. We managed to make most of our trips between locations by ferry. The weather was perfect the entire time, except when it rained on my birthday. Everyone kept complaining about the heat, but to me and Derek it felt like a perfect day in the spring. We enjoyed trips to beaches, lots of cousin time, visits with the aunties, a folk festival and a botanical garden. The highlight for Nola was staying in her older cousin's room with Justin Bieber posters plastered all over the wall.

So, yes, I turned 40 (ha, I accidentally just typed 20). My main thought about being 40 is that I now understand why older women tend to cover themselves up with their clothing. The time that I spent in the sun at my project site this summer made my chest look leathery. I'm all about hats and summer-weight high-necked shirts with long sleeves now. Hanging out at a construction site all summer also caused me to stop wearing jewelry and make-up. In the lead up to my birthday I made a conscious effort to take a little more interest in my appearance. I even bought turquoise eye liner. I could tell that I had had a real break from work when getting ready for my first day back, I reached for a big, glitzy ring to wear.

Toothy

2011-09-01T00:37:00.001-04:00

P1030095, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

We're back from our vacation (although still on west coast time, two days later). I have to report right away that Nola finally lost her first tooth after a month of it being loose. In the end, it was so ready that I just plucked it out. The hole in her mug is endlessly entertaining to me, and I think she's happy that this finally happened before she returned to school.

Space for thought

2011-08-19T08:00:00.001-04:00

P1020924, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

I meant to post some deep thoughts this week, ahead of our trip to Vancouver, where I will turn 40. But you have been spared! I have run out of time. We'll see, maybe there will be some deep thoughts upon our return.

Birthday monkey

2011-08-12T00:10:00.002-04:00

P1020831, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

So we had a joint party with Eve a week ago, then a joint party with Pappy over the weekend, a dinner with the cousins last night, and a school party today. This girl has been feted. Siri has officially become a stubborn but affectionate three-year-old. She started the day by refusing to wear a party dress and emptying the contents of her drawer in search of tights to wear with her loose-fitting tank top. Yes, we are running a clown school over here.

Getting there

2011-08-09T23:19:00.002-04:00

P1020672, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Last Friday I took a ferry to get Nola at the coast guard boat her summer camp was touring at pier 7. Then we hopped a bus to pick up Siri. From there we took a subway to Grand Central, where we took a train to meet Derek. Then we drove to Grammie and Pappy's cottage. All together, it took about five hours.

We had a similar adventure the previous Friday, but that time the kids and I started out together at Siri's school picnic, and we had a fun stop before the car ride to visit Aiko's family at their new house.

This weekend we finally made it back to the Sussex County Fair, which we hadn't been to in over 10 years. I love a county fair! My camera battery died just after we arrived, so there was no documentation. While it rained most of the time we were there, we were able to find shelter in the animal and craft display sheds. We even watched part of a woodsman (and woman!) competition. Love it! Unfortunately, the pig races were not in the cards for us, what with the rain.

By the way, I've been neglecting to share the fact that Nola has her first loose tooth. It made itself known two weeks ago, but I don't think Nola is as enthusiastic a wiggler as I was when I was a kid, so it hasn't budged.

Birthday girls

2011-08-07T23:55:00.002-04:00

P1020580, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

This week we we had a visit from the Louisiana Kaufmans, and were were lucky to be able to spend the day with Eve on her actual birthday. We met up with old friends, including Mila, and visited our favorite old hang-out on the Hudson River. Eve and Siri were comfortable with each other from the get-go, which was nice. Nola and Siri both adored Clyde, and Siri surprised me by asking to hold him. What a nice way to start Siri's birthday season.

Pushing the limits

2011-07-25T10:02:00.002-04:00

P1020393, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

On Saturday Siri's fever had broken, but she had broken out in a rash. Roseola. We figured she was good enough that we could go on the tour of Brooklyn's Chinatown that we had signed up for months ago. Never mind that it was almost 100 degrees. It was a quick tour that included trying a variety of fruit (Nola's is seen here tasting the queen of fruit, but I can't remember what it's called).

Well, by Sunday afternoon we realized that Nola had a high fever. I'm home with both kids again today. Let's hope we can all go back to our normal activities tomorrow.

Home sick

2011-07-22T21:26:00.003-04:00

P1020389, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

I've stayed home the past two days with Siri and Nola. Siri has been sick with fever and some vomiting, and Nola has just been along for the ride. I figured that since the temperature was around 100 degrees both days, it was better for Nola to stay home than to go walking all over town with her day camp. But then I took them walking all over town. Well, one mile to Target and one mile back, to be exact. A little crazy. When we returned home with new Hello Kitty lip gloss rings in hand, Nola spent some time adding them to the tableau that she has set up on her headboard and adjacent shelf. I love that she likes to set her stuff up like this--it reminds me of the ideas I had for art in college.

Making the most of the summer

2011-07-21T16:50:00.002-04:00

P1020302, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Last week Nola and Siri spent a couple of nights away at their Grammy and Pappy's. This allowed me and Derek to get out and see the extension of the High Line, which has some interesting new elements. It also happened to be the second night of Manhattanhenge, when the sun sets right down the center of the Manhattan cross streets. It was fun to get out and do what we want (of course we also got ice cream), without worrying about getting kids fed, bathed and into bed.

With the kids back home on Thursday, Nicole came for a visit over the weekend. At the last minute I had to visit my project site Saturday morning (at 7:00am!), so I took her along to see the show. With four crews working simultaneously, it didn't disappoint. I let her wear a reflective vest and everything.

After picking up worms for Derek's belated Father's Day gift, the whole gang headed over to Governor's Island. We didn't make it there last summer and I hadn't seen the newly opened food stand at Pier 6 on the way, so it was a fun (although hot) adventure.

100 thrill points

2011-07-14T08:14:00.002-04:00

P1020157, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Nola spent most of this week with her Grammy and Pappy, but I stayed home with her on Monday. I wanted to take her to see Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer, which we've been reading, and the only place it's still showing is in Times Square. What a great excuse for an adventure! We got there and checked out the 100's of "TVs" on the buildings. Nola thought that was pretty great. Of course, I had to tell her all about the plaza spaces that my office had created. After checking out a TV promo set-up for Phineas and Ferb (see the purple blimp in the photo?), we made our way to Toys-R-Us, where Nola was awed by the Ferris wheel, a Statue of Liberty made out of Legos, and a moving/roaring dinosaur. After the movie, our final stop was at the Hello Kitty store, for a souvenir. The tired girl slept on my lap on our subway ride home.

Forced march

2011-07-10T18:03:00.003-04:00

P1020141, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Derek and I spent the early days of our courtship going on what we called forced marches. I was an art school girl from the south who spent my childhood hiding from heat and humidity, and he was an outdoorsy type from a place with hills and fall foliage. He had been a rock climbing instructor and loved cross country skiing! Well, he tried his best in those first months in Chicago to make me an active person, forcing me to go on long walks. This continued in San Diego, where we would drive out to nature and go on long hikes. By the time we got to Los Angeles I had basically won out, though. Forced marches are no longer a part of our regular weekend activities.

But this weekend we found ourselves first without a car, and then with very limited transit options. I had committed to going to Grand Army Plaza for work, and Siri was excited to go too, so we ended up on a forced march to get there and back. In the end, everyone was happy. Derek enjoyed seeing the project I'm working on, and Nola and Siri enjoyed the ice cream we got on our way back. I enjoyed the fact that I didn't get any more burned than I had while at the job site earlier in the week.

For good measure, we took an epic walking and subway trip to Central Park today to join Avery and Lily at a big sprinkler park there. Too bad we've eaten enough ice cream this weekend to counter all of our good exercise.

The 4th

2011-07-07T22:39:00.002-04:00

P1020063, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

We spent our 4th of July weekend with Nima and her family--practically in our country's capitol, but without actually seeing it. It was a great trip, with fun times visiting Nima's nieces, watching Anoosh dance, and swimming in the pool in Nima's complex. I realized during the trip that Siri has a hard time being outside of her element. Much of her time was spent arguing with me about what she would wear. Luckily Nima saved the day with a gift of a dress that Siri found more acceptable than the three outfits I had brought, and she ended up wearing it all three days. My favorite picture from the weekend is one that Karthik took, capturing the delight that Nima and Anoosh share with each other.

Lemmie the Cream*

2011-07-01T23:36:00.002-04:00

P1020039, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Siri is not a big fan of performing. She and the other girls in her class tend to stand around while the boys all get into it.

This week Siri said good-bye to her crib. We suddenly found ourselves with a bed to match Nola's (thanks Ko!), and Derek came up with this idea to put them toe-to-toe, making what feels like the world's largest day bed. At night the whole family piles on to read books, which is luxurious. Now if only Siri would stop moving around the whole bed as she sleeps, winding up on Nola's side or on the floor having fallen out of the middle section.

*How Siri says Lightning McQueen. Took me about a month to figure that one out.

Summer, here we come!

2011-06-28T23:35:00.003-04:00

P1020006, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Okay, people, I had almost given up. Believe it or not, I've attempted to post at least three times in the past month only to be thwarted by one glitch or another. There have been some good times. I had a solo trip to New Orleans, where I got to see all of my NOLA girls. There was Father's Day and a slew of end of year school activities. Derek and I had a field trip to see Philip Johnson's Glass House...in the pouring rain. Well, I started to think that I should give this blog up and save myself the headache, but I think I would miss it and I would miss being able to look back at different events in words, not just pictures on flickr. For instance, how else could I document the fact that Derek and I are basically living on watermelon these days?

Break out the champagne

2011-06-08T23:11:00.002-04:00

IMG_4983, a photo by tnishee on Flickr.

Today Nola turned six and the big project I've been working on for two years finally broke ground. The project had been put on hold a week before it was supposed to start last year, so this was a very exciting day.

Gone fishin'

2011-06-01T21:39:00.002-04:00

IMG_4795, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We had a glorious Memorial Day weekend at the cottage. Uncle Dylan was there and he spent time teaching the girls how to fish. They each had their own time with him going out in the row boat, and the each caught a fish! We have fond memories of cousin Lindsay going out with Dylan and catching a fish ten years ago, so this is definitely a family tradition. My personal favorite time of the weekend was having time with each of the girls to float around in a tube. Very relaxing.

Rain, rain

2011-05-25T22:52:00.002-04:00

IMG_4721, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We've only had two sunny days in the past week and a half. Luckily, we made the most of those two days. Saturday we had a Spring Fling at Nola's school, complete with bouncy houses. Last year we had to miss the Spring Fling because Nola had a fever. This year Siri had a fever the night before, but she recovered in time and we all had a blast.

Today I ended up joining Siri's class on their field trip to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Siri started out in a horrible mood, and that, combined with the heat, made our first hour pretty miserable. But then she perked up and started having fun with her best school friend. It was fun to see them in action together. We even got to see some ducklings!

What's up?

2011-05-17T21:58:00.003-04:00

IMG_4667, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Hee hee. See what I did there? Here's what we've been up to lately:

-The Brooklyn PTA 5K (okay, we actually made it through less than 1K)
-A sunny day at Brooklyn Bridge Park, where we bumped into a friend from San Diego who we hadn't seen in 14 years
-A Mother's Day trip to the Cloisters (my first time!), which was beautiful
-A plant sale for Nola's school
-Weeks on end of allergies/colds
-Some beautiful blooming trees (see allergies above)
-Less binky time for Siri by her own choice
-Less crib time for Siri by her own choice
-Lots of time thinking about the summer ahead!

Technical difficulties

2011-05-13T22:13:00.001-04:00

IMG_4635, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We've been having computer/internet problems around here lately, but rest assured that there have been plenty of fun times.

Ragamuffins

2011-04-25T23:33:00.002-04:00

DSC_0223, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We were pleasantly surprised by the arrival of sun and warm weather for Easter. I instantly had a dream of cute girls in dresses in the beautiful setting of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden with blossoms bursting all around. A mother can dream. I was lucky to get Nola into a nice dress, and I doubt that anyone but me could detect the blue of her shorts showing through the sheer silk. Luckily her one-size-too small sandals didn't seem to hurt her. Siri selected an eclectic collection of finery that somehow worked together if not too closely inspected. Too bad the binky could not be removed. Too bad also that Nola spent the day either avoiding pictures or making faces in order to ruin them. At least Derek was a willing subject. Despite my photographic failure, the Botanic Garden was enjoyed by all. We arrived just as we were all getting hungry, but the kids couldn't help but to be drawn in. And my reward for the endeavor? A sunburn.

A quick tour

2011-04-18T22:42:00.002-04:00

IMG_4491, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We had a great couple of days touring NYC (and Hoboken) together with Lindsay and Ellie--including the Highline on a windy day and Brooklyn Bridge Park. There seemed to be a food theme: pizza and cupcakes. We were first in line at Grimaldi's but decided to skip the four hour line at the Cake Boss bakery Carlo's. A trip to see the Orchard Show had been planned, but we discovered that it, along with every museum in the city, is closed on Mondays.

Lindsay & Ellie

2011-04-16T23:06:00.001-04:00

IMG_4429, originally uploaded by tnishee.

In the house!

Getting my craft on

2011-03-27T23:53:00.002-04:00

IMG_4300, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I've been thinking about a lot of projects I want to do lately, and I finally started one today. It's going quickly, so I might actually finish something soon. Maybe it was the shock of seeing me sitting at the table in the middle of the day crafting, but Nola and Siri started clamoring to do some crafting of their own. Siri immediately sat down with some watercolors. Nola was inspired by a stencil I had sitting out from my copy of Alabama Studio Style, so she made a stencil and then we used it to paint one of her shirts. Very cool.

My crafting obsession this week brought me to the American Folk Art Museum, where we saw a bunch of very old quilts. Of course my favorite was the simplest, most blocky quilt, but I enjoyed looking at the many techniques and styles. I also ended up at the Brooklyn General Store, practically the only crafting store in Brooklyn (how can this be??), where I picked up some supplies and a book I had been thinking about lately--Built By Wendy: Dresses. Yes, I have big plans.

Spring refreshing

2011-03-20T21:36:00.002-04:00

IMG_4275, originally uploaded by tnishee.

What better way to spend one's 12th wedding anniversary and the first day of spring than to paint the bathroom? We bought this apartment eight years ago this Friday, and the wear and tear on it is beginning to show. I had started thinking that what we really needed was to move (this might have something to do with the fact that I have never before lived in the same home for eight years), but then a few weeks ago I found myself tagging along with someone else who was looking at apartments.

The apartments were "luxury" in that they had all of the trendy finishes, but I was shocked at how small the rooms were and how unappealing the neighborhood was. I suddenly felt really, really good about my apartment. That's when I decided that all I really needed to do was to paint the bathroom! Ahh, what a simple, cheap fix. It took three weeks of me staring at blue paint chips and looking at photos on Houzz, but we finally committed to a color yesterday and went for it. I'm not sure it's perfect (the bathroom is very dark now), but it was a step in the right direction. Next is the entryway, and perhaps the living room and hall.

Divide and conquer

2011-03-16T21:45:00.002-04:00

IMG_4180, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Lately our family has been spending much of our weekend time divided into two units. Siri recently started going to daycare full time, causing us to move her music class from Wednesday to Saturday. Because the class is at 11:00, the girls basically have to go their separate ways for morning activities. This past weekend Nola went to a birthday party at a bounce house play space, so everyone was happy.

On Sunday Nola had one last round of ice skating. Because open skating is only a couple of hours, and starts before Siri's nap, Siri and I had our own adventure: a couple of rides on a whale, some pizza, and a haircut for Siri. Once again, everyone was happy.

Cover

2011-03-13T23:45:00.002-04:00

IMG_4107, originally uploaded by tnishee.

A while back Granny sent me a bunch of fabric that she had from Guatemala. When Derek pointed out that a bench in Nola's classroom was in dire need of a new cushion cover, I knew this fabric would be perfect--sturdy and colorful. I really wish I had a photo of the cushion before I covered it. Think splitting vinyl with foam coming out and old duct tape patches. When I brought the cover in, Nola's teacher was very pleased. She said now she can't let us leave her class for first grade. Sweet. The kids were into it too.

Potty girl

2011-03-07T23:33:00.002-05:00

IMG_4070, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Out of nowhere, or maybe due to the fact that she recently started going to daycare full time, Siri started using the potty. Of course, this is without any encouragement from us. We are far too lazy to encourage such things.

As you can see, there was some fun with music this weekend. In addition to the keyboard and mic (complete with an amp), we've been rocking out with a new guitar lately. Tonight we had a Mardi Gras music dance party.

Another popular pastime for Nola lately has been swooning over and cuddling with Uni. The feeling is mutual. Tonight she announced that she will never love another cat. We both got a little teary eyed.

Mid-winter break

2011-03-01T22:52:00.002-05:00

IMG_3978, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I realized tonight how long it's been since I posted here, or even downloaded my photos. Last week we survived mid-winter break. On Monday we were all together, but every single museum in town seems to be closed on Mondays. We ended up at Two Boots for lunch, which necessitated the removal of snow from the car. Already that snow seems like a distant memory. On Tuesday Nola had a short day at work with me, which she adored. She did a bunch of drawings that were given to my boss as our "next plans," but her detailed portrait of her bear really impressed everyone. The rest of the week was play dates and then a birthday party, where Nola got to climb a rock wall. Not a bad week.

By the way, going back even further, I got a better video of the song that Nola's class sang at the reprise of the assembly, where Derek, Siri and I joined Nola on stage to all get awards. The song is pretty entertaining.

Harriet Tubman

2011-02-16T23:35:00.003-05:00

MVI_3941
Originally uploaded by tnishee

I could kick myself--I stopped the video moments before Nola tipped her conductor's hat.

School week

2011-02-15T23:03:00.002-05:00

IMG_3936, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This week Derek and I are finding that one or both of us is spending around an hour per day at Nola's school. Yesterday I went to a breakfast with the principal, meaning that Siri and I were there even though Nola was sick at home. Today we showed up to find that it was the 100th day of school and Nola's teacher had planned a reading celebration. Parents had been invited to the party, but since I NEVER look at Nola's homework sheet, I had no idea. Well, Siri and I stuck around long enough to see Nola read a book and to escort the class to the bathroom. Siri had the best time acting as the class mascot--she loves being with her big sister. Tomorrow night is a Brotherhood dinner, where Nola will read a passage about Harriet Tubman, and then Friday morning we will attend the ceremony where Nola will be awarded student of the month for her class. One of us will join her on stage to receive a Very Involved Parent certificate as well. I think we deserve it!

PS 20 is Amazing

2011-02-13T22:18:00.000-05:00

I took no pictures this week, so it's a good thing I have this beautiful video about Nola's school to share with you instead. After spending only two nights out of the last ten at home, sick Derek is currently sleeping on the floor in sick Nola's room. It looks like Siri will be able to avoid this bug and attend pajama day at school tomorrow.

For reals

2011-02-08T21:59:00.001-05:00

IMG_3910, originally uploaded by tnishee.

:: There was more freezing rain, then finally a thaw, and now we're back to more snow.
:: Derek has gone on two trips in the past week: to teach in Vermont and to attend his grandmother's funeral. She died just shy of her 99th birthday this month.
:: Nola has pronounced that she likes me (despite her father's absence). She likes that I know how to find new shows to stream on Netflix.
:: Siri will only eat the cheese off of the top of pizza. Nola will only eat the crust of a pizza, after removing the cheese.
:: My friends are one by one turning 40.
:: I keep forgetting to mention that as of New Year's Eve, Derek and I have lived in NYC for 10 years.

Resolutions update

2011-01-30T22:07:00.002-05:00

DSC_0214, originally uploaded by tnishee.

As January comes to a close I can report that I've done fairly well on my new year's resolutions. I've started doing yoga once or twice a week and I successfully avoided sugar completely until yesterday, when I had a bite of chocolate, a spoonful of ice cream and one cookie. That was my version of going on a bender, after coming to the realization that I could be sugar free for a month and introduce moderate exercise and not lose ONE SINGLE POUND. Fairly disheartening. But what I realized is that I should allow myself to have sugar, just keep it in true moderation, and I should probably do yoga nightly. Oh, and I need to eat a whole lot less bread.

As you can see here I also kept my resolution to sew more. I finished my second calendar quilt, this one for Starla. This was another simple and yet epic project, as most of mine are. I really love the back, which I made out of the colors for the months for Starla and her daughter Liza's birthdays. I made two mistakes with the binding that I tend to make every time, probably because I don't do it frequently enough to learn from my mistakes. But if I don't mentioned the flaws no one will know, right? I've also done well on the flip side of that resolution--I've stopped spending so much time reading sewing blogs. Now, instead, I watch a lot more TV. Success!

Official snow day

2011-01-27T15:57:00.002-05:00

IMG_3894, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Today is Nola's first snow day off from school. Siri's too. For a minute even my office was closed (which has never happened before in the 10 years we've lived in NYC), but then that decision was reversed. Regardless, I stayed home and we had a lovely time making a snow castle in the two feet of snow outside our building.

2011-01-22T14:11:00.002-05:00

IMG_3878, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This week we mixed it up a bit with freezing rain on Tuesday and then went back to plain ol' snow on Friday. Pushing a stroller a mile through slushy ice or powdery snow to Siri's daycare each morning has become tiresome. Looks like we're going to get another storm next week that will probably result in schools being closed, so that will take care of the stroller issue. It's interesting to me that the weather makes such an impact on us as it's happening, but I often have a hard time remembering the weather once it's gone. In fact I had already forgotten about the freezing rain from this until I saw the photo. Yea for photos. Today I'm home with Siri, who is sick, and Nola and Derek are off ice skating. There will be no photos of the day.

There has been some snow

2011-01-15T16:48:00.002-05:00

IMG_3857, originally uploaded by tnishee.

There was still a lot of snow left from Christmas when we got back from the south, and then we got a little more. Then we got a lot more. Finally we made the most of the long stretch of snow and went sledding. It was the most sledding I have ever been involved with, and it was surprisingly fun. Mostly, I think, because I finally have warm boots and I didn't get cold at all.

A new kind of new year's eve

2011-01-01T23:02:00.002-05:00

IMG_3820, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Our New Year's Eve was spent in our car listening to dance music on the way from the airport to our apartment. I have to say, I was perfectly happy and didn't miss the champagne or anything else. We were on Washington Ave heading to Lafayette Ave, just three blocks from home, when the clock struck midnight. Nola was delighted to be up until midnight, although I don't think she really understands the idea of years yet.

So here are my resolutions for 2011. They are not original.

-Cut out sugar completely for the months of January and February, and try to go further. I will get a little help from my friends who are also cutting out sugar.
-Try to do yoga on a weekly basis, either at home or a weekly class.
-Start sewing instead of reading sewing blogs.

Kickin' it in MS

2011-01-01T22:11:00.003-05:00

IMG_3797, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Our time with Granny in Mississippi was shortened, but very relaxing. The kids really felt at home and took over the place. We did get out to eat a few po' boys and see the newly opened George Ohr museum, designed by Frank Gehry. But most of the time was spent drawing, constructing elaborate games, and watching TV. Just like a day at home, but in a nicer setting.

N'awlins, y'all

2011-01-01T21:44:00.002-05:00

IMG_3771, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This is my favorite photo that I took on our trip to New Orleans. I wish I had gotten some better ones of all of the children that were together, but getting them all in one photo is like herding cats. Or herding small children. But the reason I really like this photo is that it is a moment of pure delight (of course, she's eating a beignet!) after a morning that brought us both to tears. Traveling is hard. Staying in strange houses, going without routine, and getting reacquainted with other kids is hard. But it was worth it. Oh, and even though it was chilly for most of our time in New Orleans, at least we weren't snowed in in NYC!

Happy holidays!

2010-12-24T23:59:00.002-05:00

DSC_0232, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Tomorrow we are heading down to New Orleans and Mississippi for the week, so we had our Christmas today. As is called for by tradition, Derek and I were up until 2:00 AM last night wrapping the heap that went under the tree. The kids seemed satisfied today. It felt like there were so many presents for them to take in that they couldn't really focus on anything. In fact, my favorite moment of the day was when Nola was playing with jacks and Siri was playing with wipes. How nice and low-tech.

We wish everyone good health and lots of joy in the new year.

Red dresses

2010-12-18T00:46:00.003-05:00

IMG_3628, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This week we found ourselves busy three nights in a row, and I have the cold to show for it. Tuesday night was the final vote on the issue that we've been fighting related to Nola's school, and it did not go our way. Despite being demoralized, we tried to redouble our school spirit the next night at Nola's school holiday concert. It was very cute and Nola had a great time singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. We also sold a ton of the tote bags that Derek and I designed and had made for the school. I don't have a picture of the bag, but it's the same design as the sign that we made for the front of the school.

As if that wasn't enough excitement, on Thursday night I had my office party. This year we decided to go to a Russian restaurant in Brighton Beach. We had the restaurant all to ourselves and really made the most of it--singing loudly, breaking glasses, standing on chairs. In honor of my Russian co-worker who organize the evening, I wore a red dress that she had given me this summer. I guess I also drank all of that vodka in her honor as well.

Siri's first recital

2010-12-12T21:18:00.004-05:00

MVI_3617
Originally uploaded by tnishee

On Friday Siri's preschool held a holiday performance and everyone from the newborns to the Kindergartners either danced, played music or sang. Well, okay, the newborns and one-year-olds didn't do much but look cute and cry when they saw their parents. But the two-year-olds, including Siri, danced in tutus as Sugar Plum Fairies and did pretty well! I'm sorry I didn't catch the opening on video, when they all pretended to be asleep. It was fun getting to see Sidney, Bea and Avery perform as well.

Other holiday festivities this weekend included decorating cookies with Bea, watching a dry run of the calliope on the Pratt campus, and listening to Christmas music on Pandora while putting up our Christmas tree. It would seem that the purpose of Christmas is to get me to clean my apartment so there's room to put out all of the decorations.

Hello!

2010-12-09T00:22:00.002-05:00

IMG_3612, originally uploaded by tnishee.

It's rare for me to make an appearance on here, especially by myself. It suddenly started feeling like winter around here late last week, and so I busted out the coat that I made Ann leave for me when she moved back to New Orleans. When I told her about my inaugural outing in the coat, she asked to see a picture, so I made Nola take one for me. Pretty good picture, right? Well, she is five and a half today, so of course she takes good pictures.

Tonight was spent at a public hearing at Nola's school, where the kids and I sold school t-shirts and Derek made a rousing speech that scored the highest on the clap-o-meter. Too bad I was outside of the auditorium when he gave it. This saga is likely coming to an end next week, allowing us to refocus our energy on improving the school rather than keeping it from being plundered.

Christmas is coming

2010-12-04T21:44:00.002-05:00

Nola with Santa, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Last night we had a Winter Wonderland party at Nola's school. We hadn't been as organized as we would have liked about putting it together, so I was a little bit nervous, but it was a smash hit. There were tons of kids there having a great time and lots of parents helped out. Our world is becoming more and more focused around Nola's school, and nights like last night make it worth it. The greatest thing was both of our kids were totally game to be there and had no problem staying until the last piece of popcorn was swept off of the floor. They were very excited when I told them that it was too late for them to take baths.

Today Nola and I waited for Siri to take a nap, and then we snuck out to see Santa. It was Nola's first time having the Santa experience, and she was totally ready for it. She marched right in and sat on his (well, actually her) lap and they had a five minute conversation. Very nice. I knew the time wasn't right yet for Siri to have this experience, so I didn't want to push it, but Nola and I had a very nice time together.

Siri has grown a beard

2010-11-27T22:48:00.002-05:00

IMG_3541, originally uploaded by tnishee.

And a huge love of chocolate. She is like her daddy, whereas Nola and I do not prefer chocolate.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving in Connecticut with Derek's dad and family. On the way there on Thanksgiving morning we passed by the block-long line of people waiting to pick up their deep fried turkeys at Jive Turkey.

Mary Ann and Ralph gave us the special treat of an afternoon and evening out the day after Thanksgiving. We got some culture at the Yale Art Gallery (where both Derek and I swore more than we have in a long time--feeling punchy I think), then had a brisk walk to see a movie. Afterward we got some Ethiopian food and, as happens every rare occasion that we eat out alone, there were young children at the adjacent tables. The wine helped me ignore them.

Head case

2010-11-22T00:22:00.002-05:00

DSC_0152 1, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Bah. There have been things to write about--fun things like birthdays and outings. But I'm a curmudgeon and I just don't feel like it.

This week was the week of the leaf. There were pretty leaves on trees one day and then the next day, after a heavy rain, there were leaves all over the sidewalks.

This weekend was the weekend of the head. Friday was silly hat day at Nola's school, and surprisingly she decided to go with a bonnet (is that what that is?) from her dress-up box rather than a crown. Later I found out that Ellie wore this bonnet when she was in 2nd grade for some school event. Cool. Nola wanted to wear a dress rather than her school uniform for the occasion, and I talked her into a dress that Ellie made for Lindsay. An Ellie kind of day.

But see how Nola's hair has been chopped off? Siri, Nola and I all got our hair cut yesterday. Nola was great as ever. Siri was petrified and had to sit on my lap. Later I became obsessed with the fact that Siri still has cradle cap, so I oiled her head up before her bath. Despite spending half an hour scraping away at it, there's still a significant amount left today. Aren't you glad I suddenly feel like sharing?

All consumed

2010-11-09T20:23:00.004-05:00

IMG_3455, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We had a second bake sale for Nola's school this Sunday at the NYC marathon. It was cold and I had to take breaks with the kids to get warm inside the church we were set up in front of, but it was lots of fun. At this point, Nola's school and our PTA activities are basically all that Derek and I think and talk about. I haven't really written about it here yet because it's something of a sticky subject and it has made us feel somewhat isolated. Nola goes to her local school. This happened more by default than by choice, but now that we're there we have signed on 100% to support the school. In the meantime, most of our gentrified neighborhood has decided to not only turn its back on the school, but to also set in motion changes that have the potential to harm our school. You can read more about it here and here (but keep in mind that they don't always get the quotes right). I've been doing less blog posts lately mainly because I didn't really want to delve into this topic, but it's all that I think about. So here it is.

At the polls

2010-11-02T21:55:00.002-04:00

IMG_3431, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Today we held an all day bake sale at Nola's school, which is a polling place. Nola and I got there at 7am and had so much fun that we stayed until 11am. Nola was a terrific sales person, as well as an enthusiastic costumer. She even decorated bags for the goods to go into. When I checked in at 2pm, when the day was only half over, it was clear that more baked goods were needed, so Nola and I spent the afternoon baking more cookies. Then she escorted me to our polling place (in our lobby) where I voted with the new fill-in-the-bubble/scantron system, which seems good. I've noticed that Nola's homework already includes the fill-in-the-bubble system--getting kids ready for many years of test taking, and now voting.

Zen and the art of Halloween costuming

2010-10-31T21:34:00.002-04:00

IMG_3429, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Trick-or-treating is alive and well in Clinton Hill! In fact, none other than Mary Louise Parker was handing out candy from the top of a particularly crowded stoop two doors down from where this picture was taken. Moments later Keri Russell strolled by. But I digress.

Today I spent a couple of hours finally sewing a trick-or-treating bag embellished with an apple to go with Nola's Snow White costume. She took one look at it, said it was very nice and maybe she would use it next year. No problem little girl! I'm not going to say I didn't put in some time trying to guilt-trip her, but mostly I went with the flow. I told her I would carry it myself and show it off to everyone. We were all happy.

And then there's Siri. I had, count them, three costumes waiting in the wings for her: fairy, farmer and Little Red Riding Hood. Make that 3.5--a tutu can make any outfit festive. The closest I could come to getting her into a costume was to put her in a Saints shirt (Who dat?). Oh well. She never left her stroller and I realized that children really aren't ready for the craziness of Halloween until they're three. Just go with the flow.

Mirror, mirror

2010-10-30T23:26:00.002-04:00

DSC_0100, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Today was a somewhat successful outing to the Fort Greene Park Halloween Festival. Moments before leaving the house, Siri suddenly took her costume off. At first I thought she wanted to stay home altogether, but in the end she came and observed the activities from the comfort of the stroller. Nola, on the other hand, was more game for the event than she's ever been before, and she and I ended up staying long after Derek and Siri decided they couldn't take it anymore. My favorite part was seeing a bat skeleton at the park rangers' display table. So tiny and delicate.

Halloween kick-off

2010-10-29T22:12:00.002-04:00

IMG_3383, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Right now I should be sewing a trick-or-treating bag for Nola to go with her costume, but I wanted to get pictures from today up before I take another round tomorrow...and the next day. Halloween is a biiiiig deal in this neighborhood, and it tends to get celebrated over many days. Today both Nola and Siri had parades at their schools. Nola's class dressed up like the Little Engine that Could, complete with train whistles. Unfortunately, it was pretty chilly and windy (unlike yesterday when it was balmy and warm), which made wearing costume hats kind of difficult and made Nola pretty cranky.

Nola perked up, however, when I told her I would bring her to Siri's parade and class party. Siri's parade was actually trick-or-treating through the building where her daycare is, and a lot of time spent cramming into small elevators. Nola loved it and even put her costume back on for the occasion. Siri was less sure of it and kept asking to leave. It was fun being able to experience it with all of the cousins (except Lily).

Now, on to that bag!

Hello there

2010-10-25T23:39:00.002-04:00

IMG_3306, originally uploaded by tnishee.

There have been various happenings around here, from mundane to enjoyable to a little bit crazy. To catch you up:

-Birthdays, birthdays and more birthdays
-A new soccer ball
-A trip to see Grandma
-More pumpkins and some goats

On our trip to Connecticut, I was glad to be able to fit in a visit to see a show by possibly the most successful quilter of today. I first read about Denyse Schmidt in a Martha Stewart Living around 1998, and she totally inspired me. It was nice to see her work in person, and the girls really enjoyed the completely empty gallery.

It's the crazy things that I don't have pictures of. Last week Derek went to PTA meetings three nights in a row. The upside is, while Derek was in the belly of the beast, I got to have some special extra time with my girls. The first night they were both hysterically crying for Daddy in the bathtub, but by the third night there was a lot less sniveling.

Fall tradition

2010-10-10T22:03:00.003-04:00

IMG_3146, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Here in NYC, when fall arrives, it's time to round up the children, drive an hour north or west, and pick apples. We were actually on the late side of the season today, and most of the apples were already off of the trees. But honestly, we don't need that many apples. We also got a pumpkin, and Siri finally got to wear the overalls that Rae painted for her for Christmas. Siri was really into the farm, especially the tractors, and I'm thinking she might need to be a farmer for Halloween.

Bits and pieces (of cake)

2010-10-03T22:17:00.003-04:00

IMG_3105, originally uploaded by tnishee.

There was much celebrating this weekend in honor of Mr. Avery. I've been enjoying a little too much cake and ice cream lately, as is confirmed by my waist band. Other than that, we didn't leave our property. After going out to our playground this morning, none of us felt like heading out into the newly crisp fall air again.

Siri and Nola are sleeping together in Nola's bed right now. This is a slight twist on an new trend: falling asleep together and then moving Siri to her crib. I'm just too afraid that Siri will wake up to move her, so we will wait for Derek to get home.

Siri has really tuned into both Nola and Derek in the past couple of weeks. She's started repeating everything that Nola says. I first noticed this when I was giving her a bath and Nola was in the living room talking to Derek. I barely noticed that I could hear Nola talking until Siri started repeating her. She's always observing and listening to her sister.

I think Siri's new attachment to Derek started after I stopped having extra time with her taking her to and from Manhattan. However, this also happened with Nola around the same age, so maybe it's more about her age. Anyway, she has started asking for him more, and sometimes she gets in a mood where only he can comfort her. She has actually pushed me a way from her crib when I've gone in to get her. It's okay, though, she hasn't cut me out completely yet. And, in the meantime, Nola seems to be getting more attached to me. Although tonight she cried for her daddy at bed time so loudly and for so long that you would think that I was a stranger. She got over it though, and we had a little dog pile and giggles to make amends.

Sucka!

2010-09-28T23:39:00.002-04:00

IMG_2957, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This summer Nola picked a new lunch box out of a catalog, but it was back-ordered, so it took an extra month or so to get to us. When it arrived on Friday it did not match her memory of it, and there was no persuading her that it wasn't as horrible as she thought it was. We went online initially to try to show her that the one we received was in fact the same one she had picked. But along the way we stumbled across this new, very exciting, VERY EXPENSIVE lunch box that she decided she simply had to have instead. Well, I know it's easier to give in to a whiny kid than not, but I'm not usually such a push over. The thing was, she was really excited about it, and it had her thinking about food possibilities. Any time Nola's shows interest in food, I kinda have to run with it. Okay, and I'll admit, I had been seeing this lunch box on a blog that I read that has gotten me thinking about food possibilities (for Nola). Yeah, this lunch box has inspired two non-foodies to think about food. So off we went on a three hour hike to another neighborhood, past street fairs with bouncy houses, with a pit-stop for rest and nourishment, and we got it. And it was a lovely day for the two of us. And Nola has agreed that we won't buy her anything, ANYTHING, until we get her Halloween costume. But damn, the thing weighs about three pounds when it's empty. This morning on the way to school, a classmate's father commented that with both the lunch box and her backpack strapped to her, she looked like she was outfitted for the army.

Adapting

2010-09-25T22:18:00.002-04:00

IMG_2935, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This week Siri had her first regular week with our new shared nanny for two days and daycare for two days. It went very well at both places, but there are definitely some changes for her to get used to. The daycare doesn't allow binkies, bottles or sippy cups (what?). We started using a "binky box" at our door a couple of weeks ago. Now, whenever we leave the house, she leaves the binky behind. This is going fairly well, but she is generally more cranky whenever we're out and about, and it sometimes sends us rushing home. In addition to daycare not allowing bottles, I went to my dentist this week, and she gave me a good talking to about getting Siri off of the bottle. So we have started the weaning process, and Siri is NOT a fan! It's hard that we're doing all of this at the same time that she's dealing with adapting to new caregivers, but we will all take baby steps and get there slowly but surely. It's a good thing that Derek and I have outside forces pushing us to make these changes, because we hate taking on the challenge almost more than our kids do!

Mommy at school

2010-09-18T22:26:00.003-04:00

IMG_2863, originally uploaded by tnishee.

On Friday Nola's teacher invited me to stay and read a book to the class. Last year there were "Families as Reading Partners" days about once a month, but because they always happened on a day that Derek worked and I had Siri, neither of us ever did it. This is true again this year, but on this one day, Derek had off and was already taking Siri to school. Initially I told the teacher that I had to get to work, but by the time I got half way down the block I realized that I was missing an opportunity to do something that Nola would appreciate and that would help me connect to her new teacher. After an interactive reading of "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" I finished with "Mommies at Work." There was even a mommy who built bridges with blueprints. Okay, I don't do that, but kinda close. Anyway Nola's teacher thought it was hysterical that I picked that book and she took lots of pictures of me holding it. I took pictures of the class sitting at my feet, but I had a little run of horrible photography and they came out so blurry that I can't bring myself to post them.

Quite a week

2010-09-16T22:42:00.004-04:00

IMG_2852, originally uploaded by tnishee.

So...this week:

-Nola started school for real as well as her after-school program. It's all working out just dandy, although it means that PTA work has also started, which is practically a full time job.

-Siri had her last day with Mila. So sad!

-Siri had her first full day at daycare. The report at the end of the day was that she has a strong personality. Yikes.

-Derek had a big birthday! We didn't do much to celebrate, but plans are in the works. I had bought him a cake and then forgot it at my office. We ended up eating cupcakes that tasted like stale fridge air.

-A storm hit our neighborhood, taking down many tree limbs along the way. Our bedroom windows were open and somehow our pillows, on the opposite wall, got soaked--as did nearly everything else in the room.

I guess there's still another day left in the week, so who knows what else will come up. Actually, I'm pretty sure I'm getting sick.

From the other side

2010-09-11T23:28:00.002-04:00

IMG_2823, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Now for a photo from Brooklyn Bridge Park looking at my office building. We were waiting for a ferry to Governor's Island (not understanding that we were at the wrong ferry landing) when Nola put her hand up and said she wanted me to take a picture of her pushing my office building. Silly little monkey.

After giving up on Governor's Island, we happened upon a swimming race in the East River. It was a completely awesome sight first to see all of the little heads bobbing in the water, waiting to go, and then to see the rush of water and people when they took off. That and the weather made my day. It was another perfect blue sky today, just like on 9/11/01.

I see you

2010-09-10T00:11:00.001-04:00

IMG_2822, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Nola started Kindergarten yesterday. She got the teacher she wanted and was completely delighted to be back at school. It was a half day, and then school was closed today and tomorrow for Rosh Hashanah. Talk about a soft start. Derek also kept Siri home from her first full day of preschool today because she has been sick this week, so the three of them had the day together. They called me from Brooklyn Bridge Park, where they could see my office building. I spent five minutes on the phone with them trying to figure out where they were standing. Kind of a neat way to make a connection with my family in the middle of a work day. If you click on the photo, you can see a note showing where they're standing.

Aboojabooja

2010-09-05T22:42:00.003-04:00

IMG_2814, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This is a term of endearment around our place.

Siri started preschool this week! There was much screaming at drop off, but at this point Derek and I are very familiar with this kind of situation, and know that she will be completely happy within ten minutes of our departure. She hasn't taken a nap there yet, so we still need to get over that hurtle. Of course, having been exposed to a bunch of new kids, today she is starting to show signs of a cold. Or maybe she has allergies like Derek. We celebrated her new big-girlness by giving her her first manicure at the Myrtle Avenue street fair today!

Nola is also showing new signs of big-girlness. Tonight was her third night in a row taking a shower, and this one included washing her hair. She loves it, and it's so much quicker than a bath. I remember the first time I successfully took a shower, and I was at least a couple of years older. Go Nola!

Eve's quilt

2010-08-28T21:53:00.002-04:00

IMG_2726, originally uploaded by tnishee.

My trip to New Orleans finally forced me to finish Eve's quilt. This quilt was started over a year ago, and the topper was finished in time for Eve's first birthday. Then it was set aside for a loooong time while I finished up quilts for newborns who might actually lie down on them. Because I thought of this quilt as more of a sentimental keepsake of Eve and Siri's two years together than a functional blanket, I didn't rush myself. And then all of a sudden Eve's second birthday was upon us, as was their departure to New Orleans. But those two deadlines came and went, forcing me to finally commit to getting it done in time for my trip. This meant that I once again machine sewed the binding, but I'm okay with that.

So the quilt. It's a jumble of prints that don't relate at all, but I think they hang together alright. In it I included fabrics representing both New York and New Orleans; lions because she's a leo; mice because she was born in the year of the rat; Obama because she was born in the year of the election; some elephants, alligators and lady bugs for her mama; and some sweet fabric with two little girls together. This fabric was sent to me by my granny's neighbor, a quilter in Mississippi, and it reminded me of Ann when we were young because of the slightly Holly Hobby quality, so I also used it for the backing and binding as well. My intention is to make one using most of the same fabrics for Siri. It's good to have intentions.

Here now

2010-08-27T22:21:00.002-04:00

IMG_2736, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I'm back from my trip to New Orleans. It was a good trip and I got to see and eat a lot. Derek is having a hard time accepting the fact that I had a po' boy. I'm having a hard time understanding his surprise--I was in New Orleans after all! My birthday was spent doing lots of things with my girlfriends--pedicures, snow balls, a movie, my favorite Mexican restaurant. I was surprised at how much I missed my family, though. I think that when I'm with my friends and in New Orleans, I expect life to return to what it was 20 years ago, and it doesn't. We all have added responsibilities now, and we tend to go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than we used to. The two moments that made me feel like a teenager again were when I had to kill a three-inch roach at Ann's apartment on both my first and last nights there. There's nothing like screaming at the top of your lungs while everyone runs in a different direction and then doubles over laughing.

Memory

2010-08-19T23:37:00.001-04:00

IMG_2669, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Just another quick story about last night. I was walking home from the playground with the kids after I got home from work when Nola looked at my skirt (which I've worn almost every week for the last three months) and commented that it looked just like her dress. At first my mind went blank and then all of a sudden it clicked and I knew that she was talking about the dress that Paige gave her which I absolutely adore and which Nola has rejected each and every time I've pulled it out of the closet. So the child has seen it a handful of times for no more than 15 seconds each time, and not for at least two months now, but she somehow remembered that the print on her dress is EXACTLY like the print on my skirt. Stunning. And by the way, the reason she won't wear the dress? The flowers are too sloppy.

Out on the balcony

2010-08-18T23:10:00.002-04:00

IMG_2660, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Tonight Derek is out enjoying (hopefully) his late Father's Day gift--a Cyclones baseball game. It was a little bit rainy today, so it's a good thing it was umbrella giveaway day at the game. Siri, Nola and I enjoyed each other's company as well as a pretty sunset. I don't remember seeing one in a long time. You can also see in this photo Derek's amazing pepper plant and some of his tomatoes. I was looking at the girls' faces in this photo close up and realized that their bone structure and noses are exactly alike. The only thing about them that is really different are their mouths, and their mouths completely define them. Their eyes are pretty different too.

It was nice getting to spend some time alone with them tonight since I am off to New Orleans on my own for almost a week on Friday. I feel horrible leaving everyone behind, but I think they will have fun together at Grammie and Pappy's.

Take me to the park

2010-08-15T23:26:00.002-04:00

IMG_2648, originally uploaded by tnishee.

We had lots of fun this weekend, including trips to Brooklyn Bridge Park and Prospect Park. We hadn't been to the Long Meadow at Prospect Park to simply hang out in the grass since...the day before Siri was born? Unfortunately, with this summer being incredibly dry, the grass was pretty much all dead. The thought of spending time in un-programed park space confused us at first, but then we realized we could bring various balls with us. Nola surprised us by being enthusiastic and adept at both tennis and kick-ball. We had gotten the impression that she had been sitting out whenever they did sports at summer camp, but maybe she hadn't.

Two!

2010-08-11T23:29:00.001-04:00

IMG_2576, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Foodies

2010-08-08T23:17:00.002-04:00

IMG_2496, originally uploaded by tnishee.

The biggest revelation from this weekend (other than the fact that I won't go to sleep before 2am if left to my own devices) was that Nola and I love the Food Network. Yes Nola, who practically refuses to eat, and I, the master of boxed macaroni and cheese, love to watch people cook. The best part, though, is that Nola eats almost continuously while watching it. Tonight we watched a competition where four bakers made cakes shaped like Dora. The girl was in heaven.

Derek returned with some farm grown tomatoes from the country. Maybe we'll watch him make something out of them.

Magic

2010-08-07T00:59:00.001-04:00

IMG_2493, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Earlier this week Nola was sick. Luckily she was staying home with Mila already, so it didn't eat into her camp time. I was home with both kids on Wednesday, and this is what Nola looked like until about 10:30am. And then she was magically done with it. Maybe it was her cat's comforting that did the trick.

Derek is away for a couple of nights. I didn't know what to expect of tonight, considering that Nola became a puddle of tears last night when we made her use her own doll blanket rather than Siri's. Well, tonight she was a perfect angel from start to finish. The night was capped with a "slumber party." Nola still falls asleep in our room to avoid disturbing Siri during the bedtime process, which takes over an hour. I've been wanting to find a way to consolidate their bedtime process (books and getting them down), and tonight seemed like the perfect opportunity. We all got on Nola's bed for books, and that turned out great. I didn't know how Nola would take to reading baby books, and I knew Siri wouldn't stand for more advanced books, but I ended up getting Nola to "read" some of the words (mostly color words written in the appropriate color), and she also seemed to enjoy revisiting books that she used to read all the time, but that she hasn't seen in a couple of years. Then we all got into our beds, including me in the one that Nola had constructed for me out of pillows. At first there was some talking and Siri couldn't get a handle on what was going on, but finally we all fell asleep. So, two sleeping kids, two hour nap for me (oops!), and all is well in the world.

Beach!

2010-08-04T23:19:00.002-04:00

IMG_2481, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Durn, I just realized that when I let Siri play with my camera she must have changed the ISO to 400. All of my photos are grainy. But I won't let bad photos spoil my recounting of our beach outing. We basically hadn't had a real beach day in three years. In fact, we returned to the last beach we had gone to, Jacob Riis. Siri wore the swim suit Nola had worn at the same age that day three years earlier (although we never took off Nola's clothes three years ago because it was too cold). Well, we picked the perfect day--overcast and warm with no crowds--and everyone had a grand time. Digging was the main activity. Everyone tried to get me involved, but I patiently explained that moms are meant to rest quietly on the beach. Later Siri ran to the water and once again made it clear that she loves it.

When a rain cloud started coming closer we packed it in and headed to Jordan's Lobster Shack, where we last ate exactly five years ago! I know this is some kind of weird maritime stroll down memory road. Half of the old restaurant had been transformed into a Coldstone Creamery, but Derek still enjoyed his seafood and I still found some fun signage to document the outing by.

July=visitors+camp

2010-08-03T21:47:00.002-04:00

IMG_2429, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I have some catching up to do. Last week was filled with more visits. While Cheryl was still here, we saw Nell, Jane, and Granny. Nicole and Zach came by on Saturday and we took them to experience the joys of food from the Flea.

Last week I also took off a day from work to hang out with Siri, and we ended up joining Nola's summer camp for a concert, lunch and playtime in our nearby playground. Nola and her two buddies were really sweet with Siri while we were all together. Nola had successfully resisted going to camp earlier in the week, so having us there helped to ease her back into it. I know she loves her camp and the director is probably the best teacher she's had in all of her daycare/school experiences, so I'm not sure why she resists going. By the end of the day she doesn't want to come home!

Another July Good-bye

2010-07-28T23:43:00.002-04:00

IMG_2424, originally uploaded by tnishee.

It's happening once again: A very good friend is moving away from NYC in July. The Louisiana Kaufmans have packed up and are heading back to, well, Louisiana. Monday was Siri's last day with Eve, and we had a party. It was part birthday party for the two girls, part going away party for the Kaufmans, and part thank-you party for Mila. They will truly be missed. Even if Ann and I didn't get to hang out together as much as we might have liked, it was nice having a quick check-in on most mornings, if only to see what we were each wearing! Luckily for us, Mila will be with us for at least a couple of days a week for a while yet, so I only have to weather one emotional departure for now.

Staycation days 6, 7 and 8 - whew!

2010-07-25T14:02:00.003-04:00

IMG_2331, originally uploaded by tnishee.

My brain is no longer working well enough to put together an interesting post, but I'll do my best. On day 6 we experienced the full sun at Brooklyn Bridge Park's Pier 6 playground and later at Fort Greene Park. In between, we happened upon a restaurant/kid space that gave us all the perfect break.

On day 7 there was the threat of rain, so we drove to the Transit Museum. Scott circled around looking for a place to park the entire hour that we were there. We considered going to Grimaldi's for lunch, but there was still a line despite some pretty hard rain, so off we went to Two Boots. Since we were near Prospect Park, we headed over to the carousel and then checked out the Lefferts House museum. Old fashioned stilt walking was enjoyed.

Day 8 was the big finale--a trip to Coney Island. Unfortunately it was the hottest day of the week (month? summer?), and there was very little shade to be found. After an hour of rides we were all wilted.

This morning I dropped the Andersons off and now I'm catching up on housework and physical and mental rest.

Staycation days 4 and 5

2010-07-22T14:11:00.002-04:00

IMG_2213, originally uploaded by tnishee.

More sprinklers! Audra Rox at Madison Square Park! Dressing up! Laura's cupcakes! And Cheryl joined us!

Staycation days 2 and 3

2010-07-19T22:37:00.002-04:00

IMG_2190, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This is turning into a tour of NYC sprinkler playgrounds. With the weather in the 90's, who can blame us. Yesterday we went to the largest water playground in Central Park--Heckscher playground. It has an unusual design that mostly involves walking around in narrow rivers of water. Of course, it being in Central Park, there was also a massive rock to climb. I will probably hold it against the Central Park administration that I had to walk around 3/4ths of the playground perimeter before finding an entrance to it, though, making it unlikely that we will go back. After a relaxing subway ride home, we reconvened for dinner at Habana Outpost, which was a total scene with loud music and stylish people, making it unlikely that we will go back.

Today was supposed to be the Statue of Liberty day. As we stood in the lobby getting ready to venture out, we were met with torrential rain. Luckily, in the time it took us to evaluate our different options, the rain stopped and we headed off to Manhattan. After dropping Siri off, we ended up walking all the way down to Castle Clinton, making a stop at the graveyard at Trinity Church. I was a little apprehensive about doing this since death is a nightly topic with Nola, but it was a very beautiful space. Once we got to Castle Clinton and saw the line for tickets to Liberty Island, we decided to take the Staten Island ferry past it instead. On the way to the ferry we stopped by a sprinkler area and let the kids cool off while the adults took a rest. This helped to rejuvenate us for the ferry, which was something of a madhouse. The kids were disappointed by how close the ferry got (or didn't get) to the Statue of Liberty, but it didn't involve an hour long line and it was free! By the time we got back to Manhattan, we were all clearly a ragged mess, but I decided to march everyone up to the Elevated Acre at my office building. We only spent about 20 minutes there, but it was possibly the most relaxing 20 minutes of the whole day. There were very few people there and the kids had a grand time doing somersault after somersault. That is, until we realized that we had better get on the subway before the rush hour crowds started.

Staycation day 1

2010-07-17T22:23:00.002-04:00

IMG_2076, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Today was the first day of my week long staycation with the visiting Anderson crew. I'm keeping Nola home with me all week so we can do all sorts of fun touristy things. We started things off slowly today with a trip to Fairway and then some afternoon playground action.

Grandma's calendar quilt

2010-07-16T22:15:00.002-04:00

IMG_1347, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I can't remember how old I was, but some time around the age of 8, I was visiting my grandparents and I noticed that my grandmother was only wearing pink clothes. I asked her why she only wore pink and she responded that she didn't only wear pink, but it was June, and she only wore pink in June. From then on, whenever I visited my grandparents, I spent the bulk of my time mining the four or five closets where she kept her extensive clothing collection divided into color coded months (click on the picture and read the notes if you can't figure out the colors or months). Mind you, this collection, while extensive, consisted mostly of 1970's double knit polyester suits. But I always came away with something I wanted (usually the rare cotton item), and she always obliged me.

During college, while I was taking a lot of fiber arts classes, I got the idea that I would like to make art for my aunts out of my grandmother's clothes. I let Grandma know that I would like to inherit her clothes, and about eight years later she obliged me once again. So for the past decade I've had boxes of double knit polyester stashed in dark corners of my house, but not a whole lot has happened with it. A drawing for a quilt was done at some point, and squares might have even been cut out, but nothing more. Just over a year ago I started working on a quilt in ernest for my aunt Karlene's birthday. The quilt was simple and went fast until the binding tripped me up. So the birthday came and went with no quilt. Well, the quilt finally made it to its destination for this year's birthday, and now (spoiler alert!) two more will be made for Starla and Cheryl. That is, if I stop blogging about quilts and start working on them.

Two things stand out for me with this quilt. I can't look at it without seeing a cross. This is very appropriate since my grandmother was a very devout Christian. Secondly, I am soooo in love with the combination of the red block with the purple binding. I think I want to make a queen size quilt for myself out of those two colors. Yes, out of double knit polyester.

Forever blowing bubbles

2010-07-11T22:45:00.003-04:00

IMG_2002, originally uploaded by tnishee.

This weekend we had a whirlwind trip to Connecticut. Some fun outdoor water play was had, as well as corn shucking and a game of croquet. It made me fantasize about getting a place with a yard.

Our lives have been such a whirlwind lately that it took us three days last week to get around to buying some much needed toilet paper. It doesn't look like it's going to get easier anytime soon. Derek starts teaching his summer class tomorrow, which means commuting an hour and a half every day. I'm not sure that groceries will be purchased in the month of July.

The country

2010-07-05T22:56:00.003-04:00

IMG_1973, originally uploaded by tnishee.

A trip to the real country was made this weekend to visit Grammie, Pappy, Dylan and Nana. It's great letting the girls have some time engaging with the great outdoors directly from the door of the house. Water play--and even time approximating swimming-- was very popular, with digging in the sand a close runner up. Actually, it felt like most of our time was spent going in and out of the many (four) doors that connect the house with the deck. There was much sliding of screen doors. As beautiful and pleasant as it was, it was exhausting managing Siri on the stairs and near the water. Even by next year, when Siri will be more solid with stairs, our time there will hopefully be truly relaxing.

Crazy girls

2010-06-29T22:19:00.002-04:00

IMG_1954, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Do you see how crazy these girls are? Siri had to wear pants, socks and a jacket--with the hood up--along with her dress on a day that got into the mid-90's! It was already in the mid-80's when I took the picture. And then there's Nola, who celebrated her last day of school by wearing summer camp attire. Of course, they both have various bags.

Last weekend was kind of a whirlwind. Nima was in town, visiting before Ann's upcoming departure from NYC. In the middle of our girls' night out, I realized my stomach was not right. I had to bail on our plans to spend the next morning at a water park, but by the afternoon I felt okay enough to go to Ann's for some dress-up time. This was one of my favorite activities with Ann as a child, but now she has some slightly more fancy dress-up duds than the sheets we usually used when we were young. I wish I had a scanner to share with you some shots of said sheet attire and our great Flock of Seagulls haircuts.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that Siri got a haircut from Jana, who was visiting Ann last week. Jana tried to give me tips on how to cut hair, and I still need to do a little more clean-up work on it. Siri was not very happy with the event, but the outcome is pretty cute. Too bad I didn't seem to get a single good shot of it this weekend!

Dance to the music

2010-06-19T23:53:00.002-04:00

IMG_1825, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Today was Nola's dance recital. Grammie and Pappy (Happy according to Siri) came for occasion. We were enjoying ourselves so much catching up and eating lunch that they were almost late for the first show. I stayed home with Siri and planned to see the second show. As I was waiting for them to get home, it suddenly dawned on me that Nola might not be able keep her energy up for the second show. Sure enough, when they returned home half an hour before we were to head back out for the second show, Nola said flat out she didn't want to go back. An hour and a roller coaster of emotions later, Nola and I emerged from the dressing room just as her group was heading to the stage. I entered the theater just as the curtain opened on her number. I thought we would leave immediately after, but Nola wanted to stay and watch the show and she ended up wanting to get back on the stage for the finale, shown above. By the time we got home it felt like an extra day had gone by. But Nola was already practicing ballerina moves from other numbers we had seen and had taken on Siri has her student.

Little Norwegian

2010-06-18T23:07:00.002-04:00

IMG_1795, originally uploaded by tnishee.

I picked up Siri early today, and since Derek and Nola were at Nola's dress rehearsal, Siri and I had a leisurely adventure home. Mila had put adorable knots in her hair and this, in combination with her adorable outfit, necessitated an extensive photo shoot. We started with some water play at a fountain outside of Ann's. After our subway ride, we spent about an hour at Pratt, looking for squirrels, climbing and sitting on different things, and generally being relaxed and happy. Although I'm alone with Siri everyday during our commute, I don't get much time one-on-one with her just hanging out and playing. She is a delight.

Tonight Siri was spending some time hanging out on the potty and she actually peed in it! It was accidental and it totally freaked her out, but we'll take it!

Good times

2010-06-15T22:52:00.002-04:00

IMG_1718, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Over the weekend we visited Dru in "the country," where Nola desperately wants to move. Excepting one lunch time meltdown, both girls were very happy and engaged the whole time. So engaged on the drive there, in fact, that they babbled and sang the whole way and Siri didn't fall asleep until we came to our exit. Nola received her first Barbie from Dru, and she immediately set about drawing her an elaborate, to scale swimming pool and deck with furniture...complete with a paper cup toilet.

Inspired by our civilized, TV free weekend with family meals at the table, we initiated Sunday night family meal at our house. Nola balked at first, but then came around. Then Derek had successful family meal night number two last night while I worked late.

Tonight while I was reading books to Siri at bedtime, she leaned over to me and started whispering in my ear. This led to ten minutes of whispering in my ear, to her book, to my nose, to her nose (via her finger), and so on. Pretty great times.

Nola Museum Art

2010-06-11T21:53:00.002-04:00

IMG_1596, originally uploaded by tnishee.

Welcome to the Nola Museum Art. Some spectacular things have been hung recently. In fact, the Museum can't keep up with the output of spectacular work, so not all is represented here. But really, a cross section of a plant growing in a pot and a portrait of a pharaoh? How spectacular is that?? Her drawings have become more dense, detailed and colorful lately. They often remind me of quilts. She comes up with surprising subject matter and executes without hesitation. I hope this continues for a long time.