New first day pictures are on flickr.
I've also just now got to upload the pictures from El's birthday party on Jetty Island.
enjoy
A Many Family Blog
9/25/07
New Pictures on Flickr
New first day pictures are on flickr.
I've also just now got to upload the pictures from El's birthday party on Jetty Island.
enjoy
Connections
I grew up in the church. When we lived in Chicago we attended Addison Street Congregational Church and went to Pilgrim Lutheran School. The summer before 6th grade we moved to a suburb of Chicago and attended a Christian Missionary Alliance Church, then we moved to South Lyon, Michigan a year later and started going to to a Southern Baptist Church until we were asked to leave because we adopted a black child (but that's another story). After the Southern Baptist church we went to another Baptist church in Novi, Michigan. All this to say I know a lot of Bible stories and can still sing many, many children's church songs.
As an adult I've struggled with how I want my children to feel about church. I really want it to be something they have ownership over, I want them to want to go. I want them to have friends that they look forward to seeing. August is going through a phase lately where he just doesn't like going to Sunday school so we've suggested that he come sit with us during the service.
The first time he did it we allowed him to draw during the sermon and he did just fine. He's continued to come upstairs with us anytime his teachers aren't teaching because he doesn't like to be in a combined class.
This last Sunday Trey was playing drums during worship so I was happy to have my son next to me. The music started and we all stood up. We don't sing songs from hymnals at this church, we steer more towards the praise songs. August stood up but couldn't see the words projected on the screen so he hopped on the chair next to me. We stood just about head to head and I smiled at my big boy.
August was singing out out loud with a strong, happy voice. He read the words and sang them with passion. I leaned over toward his ear and whispered, "Do you know who you're singing to?" He looked at me wide eyed and said, "GOD!!!"
I loved to sing as a child. I loved knowing the words to every song and belting them out loud. I looked at my son and saw myself in him.
Later during the service the Pastor was talking about epic tales- Moses, Joseph, Chronicles of Narnia (at which point August starts to bounce in his chair), the pastor continues, "I don't know if anyone has ever heard of STAR WARS?" August, out loud announces, "OH, I HAVE!"
The pastor continues with his talk and August, ears open, ready to hear, ready to listen, whispers, "oh, please say something else I know."
I watched my son learn about God.
As an adult I've struggled with how I want my children to feel about church. I really want it to be something they have ownership over, I want them to want to go. I want them to have friends that they look forward to seeing. August is going through a phase lately where he just doesn't like going to Sunday school so we've suggested that he come sit with us during the service.
The first time he did it we allowed him to draw during the sermon and he did just fine. He's continued to come upstairs with us anytime his teachers aren't teaching because he doesn't like to be in a combined class.
This last Sunday Trey was playing drums during worship so I was happy to have my son next to me. The music started and we all stood up. We don't sing songs from hymnals at this church, we steer more towards the praise songs. August stood up but couldn't see the words projected on the screen so he hopped on the chair next to me. We stood just about head to head and I smiled at my big boy.
August was singing out out loud with a strong, happy voice. He read the words and sang them with passion. I leaned over toward his ear and whispered, "Do you know who you're singing to?" He looked at me wide eyed and said, "GOD!!!"
I loved to sing as a child. I loved knowing the words to every song and belting them out loud. I looked at my son and saw myself in him.
Later during the service the Pastor was talking about epic tales- Moses, Joseph, Chronicles of Narnia (at which point August starts to bounce in his chair), the pastor continues, "I don't know if anyone has ever heard of STAR WARS?" August, out loud announces, "OH, I HAVE!"
The pastor continues with his talk and August, ears open, ready to hear, ready to listen, whispers, "oh, please say something else I know."
I watched my son learn about God.
9/18/07
cooking dinner, thinking of friends, getting tattooed, you know...
so i'm cooking the kids favorite dinner tonight. nope, it's not mac-n-cheese, not grilled cheese either...it's lemon pepper salmon with potatoes and asparagus...or as we call it "the yummy food ann makes". yes, ann has gotten my children to eat healthy food. she does it well too. the salmon is always perfect and potatoes are wonderful, i won't even to into how amazed i was at the fact that my children ate a green vegetable!! so i try to make it once a week-ish. it's never as good but it passes and they eat it. so i'm pleased.
cooking this meal always gets me to thinking about ann and tania. there were many family meals spent together. we mastered the burrito and salmon and the pasta with meatballs. the homes were warm and inviting. the children played while the parents enjoyed some yummy wine. sigh.
those days are over. we had a small taste of it when tania came to visit but it was just a tease.
and now on to something a little less nostalgic:
i ventured out to ballard today to get something that i've been wanting for a while now. a tattoo of lily of the valley.
i was prepared for some pretty crazy pain. some have thrown up over tattooing, others have passed out! i was ready. i reminded myself that i had given birth to 2 babies...pushed them out a small hole and survived to tell the tale...surely i could handle a tattoo.
kat joined me in the lobby of the tattoo shop for moral support. it was nice to have her there. she came with me when i got my tongue pierced too...whatta gal!
so while i was waiting this tall thin model looking gal came in with her husband. she wanted to get his named tattooed on her wrist. easy enough. up she went. kat and i waited downstairs and chatted up her wedding and the list of things she had accomplished that day when we both heard the following:
"the most important thing is to relax. you passed out last time because you were holding your breath...you just can't do that."
kat and i looked at each other in shock and i started to re-think this whole 'i'm tough cause i gave birth' thing. i had an epidural after all...i didn't REALLY feel the hole stretching beyond it's natural limits.
it was my turn and i was gonna have to get this over with.
i am telling you the truth.
it did not hurt. it felt like i was over itching one spot. there were moments when i may have closed my eyes due to some minor discomfort but really. it didn't hurt.
as a matter of fact. about half way through, when he took a smoke break, i had already decided that i would surely be getting another one in the future.
smoke break:
all done:
tomorrow i'm off to get a hair cut. think i'll go a bit shorter this time...the color will remain the same...for a while anyway.
cooking this meal always gets me to thinking about ann and tania. there were many family meals spent together. we mastered the burrito and salmon and the pasta with meatballs. the homes were warm and inviting. the children played while the parents enjoyed some yummy wine. sigh.
those days are over. we had a small taste of it when tania came to visit but it was just a tease.
and now on to something a little less nostalgic:
i ventured out to ballard today to get something that i've been wanting for a while now. a tattoo of lily of the valley.
i was prepared for some pretty crazy pain. some have thrown up over tattooing, others have passed out! i was ready. i reminded myself that i had given birth to 2 babies...pushed them out a small hole and survived to tell the tale...surely i could handle a tattoo.
kat joined me in the lobby of the tattoo shop for moral support. it was nice to have her there. she came with me when i got my tongue pierced too...whatta gal!
so while i was waiting this tall thin model looking gal came in with her husband. she wanted to get his named tattooed on her wrist. easy enough. up she went. kat and i waited downstairs and chatted up her wedding and the list of things she had accomplished that day when we both heard the following:
"the most important thing is to relax. you passed out last time because you were holding your breath...you just can't do that."
kat and i looked at each other in shock and i started to re-think this whole 'i'm tough cause i gave birth' thing. i had an epidural after all...i didn't REALLY feel the hole stretching beyond it's natural limits.
it was my turn and i was gonna have to get this over with.
i am telling you the truth.
it did not hurt. it felt like i was over itching one spot. there were moments when i may have closed my eyes due to some minor discomfort but really. it didn't hurt.
as a matter of fact. about half way through, when he took a smoke break, i had already decided that i would surely be getting another one in the future.
smoke break:
all done:
tomorrow i'm off to get a hair cut. think i'll go a bit shorter this time...the color will remain the same...for a while anyway.
9/15/07
9/12/07
Sing, Sing a Song...
hazel is walking around the house singing a song. i'm not paying too much attention to her until i realize that it's time to get ready for gymnastics.
M-"hazel, bring me 2 ponytail holders so we can put your hair up for gymnastics."
H- "ok...(starts singing a song that i can't quite hear)"
hazel returns with the requested holders and stands up straight and tall for the new hair do while she continues to sing,
H- "on a horse in a train in a very ferry truck! I never thought i would be so drunk!"
M-"what? what are you singing?"
H-repeats song
M-"where'd you learn that song haze?"
H- "i just choosed words and sang them together. you can change it around too if you want, you can sing- in a horse on a train on a very ferry truck! i never thought i could be so drunk!"
i look around the house to see who else could laugh at this great song hazel made up...alas it is you...my internet friends...now we're off to gymnastics where i hope beyond all hope she doesn't sing that song out loud!
M-"hazel, bring me 2 ponytail holders so we can put your hair up for gymnastics."
H- "ok...(starts singing a song that i can't quite hear)"
hazel returns with the requested holders and stands up straight and tall for the new hair do while she continues to sing,
H- "on a horse in a train in a very ferry truck! I never thought i would be so drunk!"
M-"what? what are you singing?"
H-repeats song
M-"where'd you learn that song haze?"
H- "i just choosed words and sang them together. you can change it around too if you want, you can sing- in a horse on a train on a very ferry truck! i never thought i could be so drunk!"
i look around the house to see who else could laugh at this great song hazel made up...alas it is you...my internet friends...now we're off to gymnastics where i hope beyond all hope she doesn't sing that song out loud!
9/10/07
Vomit Shot
We drove through LA traffic together, brother and sister, not knowing what we'd actually see. Following driving directions don't come naturally for us but we ended up finding the parking lot we were to wait in while a van weaved it's way to us- The Writer and his sister. A few extras arrived and we all made small talk about the weather and the traffic and call times until the air conditioned van finally arrived.
The set was in someones home. an earlier scene took place inside the home while the scene we were to see would happen in the garage. there was a constant flurry of people talking on headsets, walking to and from black tents and smiling. i noticed that everyone really did seem to be enjoying what they were doing. after a few minutes of chit chat and poking around The Writer knew which scene they were starting and looked into my eyes with a warning, "This is a killing scene- you ready?" The show is Dexter- I would be let down if I came to see a touching family moment, I came to see some BLOOD.
We walked around the house to the garage noticing people exiting with looks of disgust on their faces saying things like, "You sure you wanna bring her in?", "Oh man- it looks too real", "You ready?"
We turned the corner and saw what a fan of the show would expect- a room completely covered in plastic. One light hanging from the ceiling with a table in the middle of the room. Standing next to the table was Dexter and on the table- well, on the table was a body and blood. Lots of blood. I have a picture of the body but it's NSFW...or for most people, but if you really want to see it send me a comment and I'll shoot it your way.
The guy who made the body was carefully examining each section making sure there was enough blood and insides hanging out. Each piece- the foot, the calf, the thigh, the mid-section, the chest, parts of the arms, the head were expertly positioned to look as though they were mangled during a sawing from the rest of the body.
People milled around looking at it from this angle and that. "Well, we have Scott to thank for this scene!" Scott beamed and pulled me towards the monitors so we'd be out of the way during filming. The body looked cool in person but on camera it was eerily real, almost as if the eyes would open at any minute.
Later on we were driven to another location where they filmed a scene in an alley. The area was full of extras trying to stay busy while they waited to be pushed or pulled into the right position.
It was during this scene that the actors called Scott- The Writer- my brother over for a consult. They encircled him and asked him and asked him questions, needing clarification for the scene. It was a great moment.
We left the filming while it was still in full swing. We even found our way back to the parking lot and to a delicious In and Out for a late night dinner. Nothing like a good burger after blood and guts!
The set was in someones home. an earlier scene took place inside the home while the scene we were to see would happen in the garage. there was a constant flurry of people talking on headsets, walking to and from black tents and smiling. i noticed that everyone really did seem to be enjoying what they were doing. after a few minutes of chit chat and poking around The Writer knew which scene they were starting and looked into my eyes with a warning, "This is a killing scene- you ready?" The show is Dexter- I would be let down if I came to see a touching family moment, I came to see some BLOOD.
We walked around the house to the garage noticing people exiting with looks of disgust on their faces saying things like, "You sure you wanna bring her in?", "Oh man- it looks too real", "You ready?"
We turned the corner and saw what a fan of the show would expect- a room completely covered in plastic. One light hanging from the ceiling with a table in the middle of the room. Standing next to the table was Dexter and on the table- well, on the table was a body and blood. Lots of blood. I have a picture of the body but it's NSFW...or for most people, but if you really want to see it send me a comment and I'll shoot it your way.
The guy who made the body was carefully examining each section making sure there was enough blood and insides hanging out. Each piece- the foot, the calf, the thigh, the mid-section, the chest, parts of the arms, the head were expertly positioned to look as though they were mangled during a sawing from the rest of the body.
People milled around looking at it from this angle and that. "Well, we have Scott to thank for this scene!" Scott beamed and pulled me towards the monitors so we'd be out of the way during filming. The body looked cool in person but on camera it was eerily real, almost as if the eyes would open at any minute.
Later on we were driven to another location where they filmed a scene in an alley. The area was full of extras trying to stay busy while they waited to be pushed or pulled into the right position.
It was during this scene that the actors called Scott- The Writer- my brother over for a consult. They encircled him and asked him and asked him questions, needing clarification for the scene. It was a great moment.
We left the filming while it was still in full swing. We even found our way back to the parking lot and to a delicious In and Out for a late night dinner. Nothing like a good burger after blood and guts!
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