Happy Halloween!

We celebrated Halloween today by carving our pumpkin and going to a party this evening. Denis was Thomas the Tank this year (thanks, Granny!) and was much more excited about Halloween than he was last year. He loved the trick-or-treating, the Garfield Halloween movie, and most of the costumes of the other kids - except for the one that brought him to tears. Poor D!

All in all, it was a happy Halloween. But Denis definitely needed extra hugs and a prolonged tuck-in at bedtime tonight. I can see how a three-year-old would find this night a bit frightening. Here's hoping for a restful sleep!

Here are some shots of Halloween 2010.

Denis has changed so much in the last twelve months. Take a look at Halloween 2009 here. Sorry, no cute little video this year!

Go Tigers!

Today we had a school-wide assembly in order to welcome volleyball teams from China, Korea, and Japan that are gathering at CA for an APAC tournament. Each elementary class in the school was 'assigned' a team to root for for the duration of the tournament. Denis's class was assigned the Tigers from Western Academy of Beijing. After school, Denis and I had a brief conversation about the day's events:

Me: "Wasn't that a nice ceremony this morning? There were so many teams there! Did your class go back to the gym later to watch a volleyball game?"

Denis: "Yeah. We went to the big gym. But do you know what?"

Me: "What?"

Denis: "Tigers weren't playing volleyball. People were!"

How wonderful it must be to be three, when anything is still possible.

Here We Go Again

Jon and I are starting the adoption process again. We recently decided it was time - time for Denis to have a sibling, time to add another member to this family. We're working with the same agency - FTIA - and plan to adopt from Russia again. If it all works out the way we hope, we'd like to adopt another child from Kaliningrad. We completed our home study visit this weekend, and are currently gathering documents for our first dossier. There won't be much news to report for a while, but we'll be sure to keep everyone posted.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Well, no, not really. But do I think I can chaperone a dance trip to Beijing? Oh yes! That I know I can do. How does a librarian in Japan get herself invited to a dance competition in China, you might be wondering. She does so like this: She sits down at her desk on a regular Thursday morning and opens up her laptop in preparation for the day. She reads an email from the school's Activities Director that begins, "Would you fancy chaperoning our APAC Dance trip to Beijing?" And she thinks, "Yes, I would fancy that."

Our school's dance team will be participating in the Asia Pacific Athletic Conference in mid-November, and since the dance instructor isn't a CA teacher, the school has kindly asked me to go along as an extra chaperone. Lucky me!

It's these perks (and many other things) that make working at an international school so enjoyable. I'm really looking forward to this trip. It'll be nice to have a change of pace and scenery for a few days, and I should be able to catch up with some friends from our Peru days who now teach in Beijing. Oh, and then there's the visit to the Great Wall. Lucky me! Or did I already say that?

I wonder which view I'll get in mid-November? Doesn't matter. They're both spectacular!

Rainy Day Project

It's been a while since I've sewn, or done anything crafty at all, and I must say I miss having a project on the go. Today's forecast for an all-day rain provides the perfect excuse for whiling away the hours with a stack of fabrics I recently purchased. A while ago I decided that this transient family needed a set of double-sided Christmas stockings. Since it seems we'll have a 'typical' Christmas some years and a beach holiday other years, I wanted a little something we could easily bring with us wherever we happen to be for the holidays. Non-breakable, easy-to-pack stockings seemed the answer. So, one side of each stocking will show a typical Christmas and/or winter scene, and the other side will be of a warm beach scene.

I'm starting with my stocking today. For the typical Christmas scene, I'm using a fabric called Ginger Delights. It's a cute print of gingerbread cookies (my holiday treat of choice), ornaments, candy canes, etc. When I ordered the fabric, I wasn't sure about the brown background. But I've decided I love it. It has such a warm feel to it and I can almost smell the cookies baking! For the beach scene, I'm using a fabric called Fruit Ladies. Don't you just love their bottoms?! Guess which one Denis said looked like Mama? On second thought, let's not go there... Anyway, what a fun piece of fabric! And let's face it, we're all a bit fruit-shaped in one way or another. The two sides of my stocking will look something like this:

I don't have a pattern to follow, so I'm hoping I can figure this out as I go. Wish you were here to help, Mom! More on this project later.

For Your Listening Pleasure

What you're about to witness below is a common scene in our house these days. Only the instrument of choice changes. The scenes could be titled Denis Plays the Flute... Denis Plays the Drums... Denis Plays the Shakers... Tonight it happened to be Denis Plays the Violin. Please try to ignore the fact that tonight's performance could also have been titled Denis Nearly Gouges Out His Eye With a Couple of Errant Strokes of the Bow. The bow being a random stick, and what exactly is that he's using for a violin?

Track 1: The Littlest Birds by The Be Good Tanyas

Track 2: Fruit Salad by Denis

Froggy Denis Learns to Swim

Bubble, bubble, toot, toot, chicken, airplane, soldier! Denis is learning to swim! We've signed up for swimming lessons this semester, and so far Denis has had two classes. He loves getting in the pool, splashing about, and following his instructor's every move. While you certainly can't call what he's doing swimming, he is going through some very important motions - like learning to get his face wet. "Someday," I tell him, "you'll be able to swim like Froggy."

Denis is on the far right during the stretching session.

Tell me, all you other Froggy Learns to Swim readers out there, what does bubble, bubble, toot, toot, chicken, airplane, soldier actually mean? Is it just froggy-gibberish, Jonathan London-gibberish, or is there some hidden magic in that phrase that instantly turns kids into swimmers?

While Denis works on perfecting his swimming techniques, I've decided I'm going to focus on perfecting my pool-side, fruit-inspired appearance. You can be sure I'll be taking cues from the ever stylish, ever fashionable Mrs. Froggy.

Handsome Much?

Is it just me, or is this kid handsome?! Suddenly I'm seeing flashes of a 16-yr-old Denis asking for the keys to the car so he can take his date to the movies. Ay yi yi.

Let's get back to the 3-yr-old version of Denis where he's still singing about fruit salad and spotting koalas in the clouds. Yes, let's stay there a while longer...a long while longer. I mentioned earlier (ahem, a month ago!) how much Denis loves his BBP class. What I forgot to mention is how much we love watching him change and grow into this more fascinating - and fascinated - little person that he's becoming. Each day he comes home with a new song, a new skill, and a new curiosity or two. The other day he asked us, "What do you think is in that wall to make it stand up?"

And then there's the little light bulb that's always going off in his head. "Oh, I have a good idea..." he's forever saying. Mind you, some ideas of his are better than others! But the other day he really did have a good idea. He was helping me make dinner and his job was to prepare the green beans. Since he was having a hard time snapping off the ends, I showed him - very carefully, I might add, and with a dull knife! - how to trim the ends with his knife. He got the hang of it quite quickly, but sighed oh so audibly when he saw the big mound of beans in front of him. A few beans later, he said, "Oh, I have a good idea." "You do? What's that?" "I could pile some beans together and cut them all at the same time." And sure enough, he made a small pile of beans and cut off several stems in one go. I was impressed.

I could go on and on, and I probably should. There are so many things I want to remember about this age. It's a great age and he's a great kid. Oh, I have a good idea. Why don't I blog a bit more often?

One of These Days...

Yes, we're still alive! One of these days I'll get motivated and update the blog. I'll blame it on The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and the other two books in that series - all I want to do is read! I can't get enough of Lisbeth Salander and Sweden's unscrupulous side...

We had a great summer (I'm still sorting through photos - a few of which are coming soon) and now we're back in our work/school routines. Denis started BBP the other day and loves it. BBP is CA-speak for Building Blocks Program, which is a very fancy name for pre-school for three-year-olds. More soon.

Dad in Dublin

My Dad's first night in Dublin... behind the bar already! Everyone arrived safely and we've been exploring Dublin on foot an by double-decker bus (Denis's favorite!). We head south to Kilkenny tomorrow.

Father's Day

A Father's Day spent at a pub in Dublin makes for a happy father, indeed! We love you, Papa!

We arrived in Dublin last night and spent today wandering around Grafton Street, Stephen's Green, and the Temple Bar area. My parents and my sister and her boyfriend all arrive tomorrow morning. Can't wait to see everyone!

Summer Line-Up

Mysteries, memoirs, short stories, and sketches... my summer line-up of books! I can hardly wait to crack open the first story of summer on the plane tomorrow.

Hasta Luego, Marilyn!

A little someone around here is going to miss his good friend Marilyn...and he isn't the only one. Thanks for all the cookies, the hugs, and the good times in the back yard, Marilyn! We've so enjoyed having you here these last 6 months. It's only 'hasta luego' as we'll be sure to see you again.

And just when did that little someone get so big?!

My Very Own Rocker

For as long as I can remember, I've wanted a rocking chair. I'm not exactly sure where this obsession desire came from. It certainly couldn't have come from all the hours spent exiled to the Red Rocker of my childhood - the "time-out" chair, if you will - that my cousin Lisa and I knew all too well. No, I don't have many fond memories of that chair. A shame, really, as I'm sure it was a comfy one with its soft red upholstery - just the kind of chair you might want to sink into and while away the hours, unless of course, you were in trouble. No. It must have been the beautiful black and brown wooden rocker that my sister received when she was (how old, Mon?) and I was (how old, Mon?). Her very own rocking chair! Oh, how I coveted that chair...

Well, I'm now the proud owner of this beautiful rocking chair. It's a little rough around the edges, but has a well-loved look to it. It's low to the ground, which is good for my short legs(!), and it's as sturdy as they come. And did I mention that it's mine? All mine. My very own rocker. (Terie, please notice the prime real estate which your lovely quilt now occupies!)

Last Day of School = Root Beer Floats

The last day of school is always a strange day for me. The ever-building anticipation of summer holidays and the hectic rush to get everything done, somehow, without fail, come crashing to an anti-climactic halt for the first few hours of freedom. I tend to walk out of school with all this energy, not quite knowing what to do or how best to kick-start the summer. So, today I decided that we needed a new tradition for the last day of school. Something to mark the occasion. From here on out, the Root Beer Float - that quintessential treat of summer - will be how we'll celebrate our last day of school. When I told Denis that I used to love root beer floats when I was a little girl, he said, "Me too. When I was a Mama, I loved root beer floats." "Really? You did? What's in a root beer float?" "Um, I don't remember." Ha! His response after his very first float? "Mmmm, it's sour!"

11, 11, Evolution: A Web of Books

Ever find yourself in a web of books? That's where I've found myself this week. Pleasantly caught in the middle of a web of books - books related to one another by one silky thread or another. The first book to lure me in was The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. It's the story of 11-yr-old Flavia de Luce, a spunky girl with a passion for poison and a mind for crime detection. After a dead bird with a postage stamp stuck to its bill turned up on her doorstep and a murdered body was discovered in her family's garden, Flavia de Luce - much to the chagrin of the head inspector - starts asking questions of her own.

My fascination with 11-yr-old Flavia led me to another book with another 11-yr-old protagonist, The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Set in Texas in 1899, this is the story of Callie Vee - a young budding naturalist trying to survive the oppressive heat of summer, the torment of her six brothers, and the societal pressures placed on girls at the end of the nineteenth century. Finding inspiration in the controversial Darwin and refuge in her mysterious grandfather, she begins to explore the natural world around her and makes discoveries of her own. Discoveries that would make Darwin proud! (Thanks for the recommendation, K!)

Inspired by young naturalist Callie Vee, I decided to pick up a book about another such youth - Raff Cody of Anthill by E.O. Wilson. I have yet to start this one, but I know I'm going to like it. Here's what a review in The New York Times says: "A southern Alabama boy comes of age in the thrall of ants, nature and solitude, determined to save what he loves from destruction. His protagonist, Raff Cody, inhabits working-class Clayville and all its mysteries, which extend beyond the complex codes of social ambition on his mother’s side and his father’s simpler rules of manhood into the wild edges of Nokobee County. There he prowls the pine woodlands, catching spiders and frogs for close scrutiny... The twinkle in this tale lies in its irony, as the reader absorbs the premise that we are the equal of ants... Anthill presents Raff as a mid-20th-century Huck Finn, complete with a stolen river skiff and 600-pound alligator in the opening scene..."

The references to Charles Darwin, his theory of evolution, and On the Origin of Species in the last two books made me realize how little I know of Darwin. So, I checked out the biography Charles and Emma by Deborah Heiligman the other day, and plan to read it soon. It's a YA (young adult) book - as is Calpurnia Tate - but it's won several awards for its genre. It's the story of the scientifically-minded Charles and his religious wife Emma, and how the two made a marriage work despite being on opposite ends of a very controversial spectrum.