sweet m. is 6!

m. has a little collection of matryoshka dolls (and kokeshi dolls, too) so we thought, "matryoshka doll party!" (you know from this blog's banner that i'm a fan!)
we read about stephmodo's party for her daughter and used her ideas for games: pin the bow on the matryoshka and hide and seek with matryoshka dolls. each little girl got her own little wooden doll to paint, and we read this book. here are some images:

popsicles

(taken through the screen door...i snuck up on them.)

i'm enjoying the summer so far, are you? when m. first got out of school i was worried and stressed, i thought, "how am i going to keep both of them entertained all day long?" but things have worked out quite well. we've had a few craft days, we've been to the zoo, we've gone to park day, the library, and we went to the river to feed the ducks a couple of times. but mostly things have been really laid back. kiddie pools in the backyard, swimsuits all day long, and popsicles. lots and lots of popsicles.

guest post on the exponent

my good friend D'Arcy asked me to do a guest post for her on a blog for mormon women that she contributes to called the exponent. she asked me to write about mormon women and depression and i wrote about my personal experiences with it. i tried to be as honest as possible. if you want to read it, go here.

new (really old) piano

ever since i had a home of my own to put one in, i've wanted a piano. i remember hours upon hours of forced practicing from my own childhood, but also hearing my mom play hymns on sunday morning, learning to play a "famous" piece and feeling so proud of myself, and eventually teaching beginning students myself.
so when we found this oldie at a campus sale, and the price was right, we got our piano. the piano tuner came this week and told us our piano was made in 1907 in new york city. just imagining the different places this piano has been, all the different people who played it and stood around it singing... it made it through the roaring twenties, the great depression, both world wars, and traveled across the united states. that in and of itself makes it worth the money to me.
but the fact that now i have a piano to teach my kids to play on, to play primary songs with them, to re-teach myself some of my old favorites, to have music, our own plunked-out music in my house, now that's just priceless.

yes, those are my son's fingers inside that goat's mouth

the boy has no fear

great new albums

au revoir simone's new album, "still night, still light" is my favorite of theirs yet. if you like soft sweet female vocals mixed with some great electronica beats, you'll like them.


i love grizzly bear's music. they have such a great sound. i love how innovative they are without being too intimidating. and anything that even faintly reminds me of the beach boys is ok in my book!
suggested track: two weeks. (listen for free on their myspace page.)


and now the best of all the game. i've seriously fallen in love with fanfarlo. seriously. i heard about them on npr's all songs considered podcast, on which they played "the walls are coming down" from the new album reservoir. on a hunch i went to itunes and downloaded the entire album (only 5.99 for the entire thing!) and i am so happy i did. every song is amazing. the more i listen the more i love, which to me is the hallmark of a truly great band.

what are you listening to lately? do share!

proust questionnaire

have you heard of the proust questionnaire? if you like "inside the actor's studio" then you're familiar. they also run it in vanity fair. here's the description from vanity fair's website:

Since July 1993, the back page of Vanity Fair has been devoted to the Proust Questionnaire, in which a noteworthy person answers a series of personal questions. The questionnaire has its origins in a parlor game popularized (though not devised) by Marcel Proust (1871–1922), the French essayist and novelist, who believed that, in answering these questions, an individual reveals his or her true nature.

and here are some of my favorite answers that various celebrities have given

-which living person do you most despise?
generally, i tend to despise human behavior rather than human creatures. -sidney poitier
-what do you consider the most overrated virtue?
no real virtue, if such, can be overrated. - umberto eco
-what are your favorite names?
aureolus theophrastus bombastus, and jim. -umberto eco
-what is your greatest fear?
finding a panther in my bathroom. -ellen degeneres
-what is the quality you most like in a man?
uxoriousness. -emma thompson (uxoriousness is defined as having or showing an excessive or submissive fondness for one's wife.)
-how would you like to die?
improved--and loved. -marcel proust
-what is your greatest regret?
not telling my husband I loved him 20 times a day. - katie couric
-how would you like to die?
i would not like to die. -david mamet
-what is your motto?
my motto is “be prepared.” I am told this is also the motto of the boy scouts, but, if so, this only proves that they were acting according to my motto earlier than i. -david mamet
-which historical figure do you most identify with?
columbus—if it’s true that he knew where he was going, got lost, and found a place that was better. -dustin hoffman


and here is the basic questionnaire so you can play along! if you want, leave some of your answers in the comments. i think it's a fascinating way to get to know someone...
1. What is your idea of perfect happiness?
2. What is your greatest fear?
3. What is the trait you most deplore in yourself?
4. What is the trait you most deplore in others?
5. Which living person do you most admire?
6. What is your greatest extravagance?
7. What is your current state of mind?
8. What do you consider the most overrated virtue?
9. On what occasion do you lie?
10. What do you most dislike about your appearance?
11. Which living person do you most despise?
12. What is the quality you most like in a man?
13. What is the quality you most like in a woman?
14. Which words or phrases do you most overuse?
15. What or who is the greatest love of your life?
16. When and where were you happiest?
17. Which talent would you most like to have?
18. If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?
19. What do you consider your greatest achievement?
20. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?
21. Where would you most like to live?
22. What is your most treasured possession?
23. What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
24. What is your favorite occupation?
25. What is your most marked characteristic?
26. What do you most value in your friends?
27. Who are your favorite writers?
28. Who is your hero of fiction?
29. Which historical figure do you most identify with?
30. Who are your heroes in real life?
31. What are your favorite names?
32. What is it that you most dislike?
33. What is your greatest regret?
34. How would you like to die?
35. What is your motto?

hail the conquering graduate!

yesterday was sweet m.'s kinder graduation. both sets of grandparents and one aunt came to celebrate! it was so sweet, a real rite of passage.

somebody apparently told lil' c that he was the entertainment for the evening.

they had them walk in like they were in a wedding, you know "step-together, step-together" but they didn't walk in to "pomp and circumstance." i think it was "start spreading the news..." much more festive. try telling sweet m. that. she looks like she's in church. or prison. don't worry, it gets better...

finally, a smile! hooray, i knew she could do it!


ok, i am a silly mommy, i put up two pictures of the singing gestures, but let me explain. at the christmas concert a few months ago m. was not the most excited performer. she barely moved her lips, looked like she was in physical pain, and wouldn't do any of the hand gestures. so this is major steps forward, my friends!

she got her diploma! and i took a really bad picture of the back of this kid's head with m. in the background!

sweet m. with her teacher, mrs. d. she was such a great teacher.

i think my favorite part of the whole experience was a slideshow that they showed in between the songs and the diplomas. i was really trying to hold back the tears but man, did i bawl like a wee tiny baby! i just kept thinking, i put her on a bus, and she has this whole other life, this whole other world that she's a part of without me. and she's getting so big!