The Weekend

After the sleepover, this weekend turned out to be kind of a bust. I was supposed to be at band rehearsal from 9-6 on Saturday but I woke up with *such* a bad migraine, the kind I rarely get, that I simply couldn't go. My migraine medicine wasn't really even touching it. So, obviously, I couldn't play in the concert today, which I feel *bad* about but it's just as well because as usually happens with my stupid migraines, I woke up with another one today. Not as bad, and good thing because I had to be the religious education associate at church today, so I had to drag out of bed and go. And then I pretty much spent the rest of the day asleep. So I feel like I didn't get a weekend, poor Jamie had to do everything household related (the boy makes a mean taco salad, btw) and I didn't really get to spend any time with the kids or Jamie. >:(

Saturday night Jordan watched the Kid's Choice Awards. She dressed up for it and asked Jamie to watch it with her so he put on a suit and tie. Here they are dancing with Bo during a commercial.

Stuff Lately

Wow, it's been so long since I blogged, I don't remember what all I've told all y'all! Anyway, hi! We're super crazy busy lately but in a pretty good way.

Highlights are, Jamie got his study materials for his next test so he's going to start working on that by this weekend. He's also going to meetings because he's involved in the mediation process for our church (we're pro-keeping the minister).

I changed my work schedule to be home Monday/Wednesday/Friday afternoons when the kids get home through the end of this school year. It's working out pretty well. I'm also, very unexpectedly, playing in a concert this Sunday. It's a big regional thing and for some reason, our band has been very short on clarinets lately. Not just me (I decided to sit this one out because I knew I wouldn't have time for rehearsals and practicing) so they asked me to show up. I haven't even seen the music yet, so this should be interesting. Also, I'm organizing our church for the Pride Parade this year. I am *super* excited about it!

Our other big thing right now is Sammy's having a birthday party sleepover this Friday night and so far we have, including Sam and Jordan, nine girls coming. What do I have done for the party so far? Nothing! Well, that's not true. I did design and send some invitations and make a bunch of phone calls. We'll pull it off and Sammy will be happy. My friend Jennifer pointed out to me recently that I never start on a party until the last minute and since I've known her for ten years, I have to concede that she's probably right about that.

Here are Sammy and Jordan on their way to a murder mystery birthday party last Friday. They were assigned roles and asked to wear costumes.

Sammy's supposed to be a brainiac who loves Star Trek (she has a Star Trek communicator on her jacket) and Jordan's supposed to be a tough girl (we went with a Vespa Logo instead of Harley Davidson for a pin).

Stuff Lately

This is Jamie making my birthday cake. Sweet, no? He's using a mix, which, fine, it was delicious. I, however, rarely, if ever use a mix. So when we were gettting ready for bed he mentioned that earlier Claudia told him it was the best cake she had ever eaten. >:(


This is the delicious cake. Jamie made homemade chocolate cream cheese icing.

This is Claudia and her band getting ready to perform for the contest judges. They were AWESOME! and they won a Gold!

Claudia had a great time at her youth convention in Dayton. It was super foggy round trip so that was kind of sucky and tiring, but it was worth it listening to how much fun she had when she got back home.


Sammy was in her stepsister's wedding this weekend and we went to that on Saturday afternoon.


Yesterday the Leprechaun left everyone chocolate coins and the girlies wore green so there was no pinching reported.

And Sunday afternoon Jamie and I went to the Indianapolis Opera's performance of Tosca and that was an interesting experience. And by interesting, I mean boring. We're going to try another opera sometime--probably Madame Butterfly or La Boheme. We had excellent seats, though, so that was nice.

Last night Claudia's band performed and they sounded awesome as usual. Here's Claudia in the bleachers waiting for another band to warm up.



Tonight Sammy and I made tortillas. Here's Sammy on flipping duty, learning what they look like when they're ready to turn.


The next two weeks are going to be kind of crazy (but crazy good!). We have my dad's birthday, my friend Jana's birthday, my birthday, Sammy's birthday, Easter, Claudia has a band contest and a youth convention in (glamorous!) Dayton, Ohio and while she's there, Jamie and I got tickets to the Opera (Tosca) and I guess I should find a sitter for that, shouldn't I?

My mom and dad primaried and caucused in Texas on Tuesday night. The littles were asking how a caucus works so we had a mock one at our house. Obama won (Bobo was persuaded to go over the the side with the little girls--it's possible they promised him treats). Obama won at the place where my parents caucused, too.

The Weekend

Pretty ok weekend. On Friday night, Claudia went to a going away party for her friend, K. who moved to California this weekend. The littles and Claudia got haircuts on Saturday and I took all three to the mall and that was actually pretty fun.

Jamie studied all weekend but took a few breaks to eat, get a haircut, pick the littles up at church so I could take Claudia to an ice skating thing with her sunday school class, play backgammon with Sammy, rent a movie for us to watch with Claudia tomorrow night after Jordan's in bed (Sam's at her mom's tomorrow night) and teach Jordan some blues guitar.

Developing a new love for covers

How much do I love John Coltrane's Greensleeves? Like, a lot, lot!

You can take a listen here.

Christmas Concert

My band played a Christmas concert at the Indiana Historical Society tonight. It was a lot of fun, there was a bagpipe, a narrator, and I was able to retrieve my ligature, I think pretty gracefully, after it went flying during the first song because apparently, it's broken. Here are photos of before, during and after. I'm sure you'll see some of these of the girlies coming your way in a Christmas card very soon.

Monday

Jordan's been complaining of various cold-like symptoms recently, including a sore throat, which we assumed was just related to all the other stuff. But the complaints lasted for several days, so Jamie took her to the pediatrician today and that's right, strep throat.

Tomorrow night's my Christmas concert at the Indiana Historical Society. I was hoping the littles could wear their new dresses to it, but we haven't managed to find shoes to match. I don't know if you can tell, but the dresses are both brown, so there's an extra level of difficulty to this.

Jazz Band Photo

Here's a photo of Jamie's band. I think they look so adorable and cool!

Time Warp

Jamie's concert Thursday night was so awesome! They sounded, oh, my God, so good! Jamie is very talented, but he had to practice his ass off to get up to speed playing this type of music. So I really loved seeing him on stage, which is something he's wanted to do for a long time.

The day of the concert, I asked my friend, Brenda, via email, "Should I throw my enormous white undies at Jamie while he's on stage? Isn't that what ladies do at music concerts?" and she responded, "Why yes, you absolutely have to throw some granny panties at him. It's expected and offense will be taken if you don't. And remember the proper throwing etiquette: you must first twirl them high in the air on the end of your upthrust index finger while yelling "YOOHOO! YO, JAMIE!" until you've gained everyone's attention and possibly a spotlight, before throwing them onstage. Removing your shirt is optional and sometimes inappropriate."

Anyway, I was too busy talking to people to do the underwear thing. Actually, I talked a little too much because I missed one of Jamie's songs. Other nice things, I got asked to dance and lots of strangers complimented me on what I was wearing. Oh, and I was asked for my ID (they ID'd everyone, but whatever!! That never happens to me anymore even though I look Really Young!!).

This is the best photo of the band I managed to get. Jamie's on the right behind the bass player.



The girls spent the evening with a family we're friends with and had a great time.

Oh! And *major* thanks to my fabulous friend, Jana, who got me un-lost all the way from Louisiana!

Guitar Lessons

Jamie's been giving Jordan guitar lessons and she can now play a three-chord song!

Musical Few Days

Jazz Band Concert

Thursday night we went to a jazz concert in the park. It's the band Jamie's joined but he joined too late to participate that night. They were awesome and we had a really great time.





Bedtime Theatah

Last night we were privileged to have original music performed for us in our very own living room!

Jamie and I were relegated to the love seat while Claudia was seated in the VIP section with the sock monkeys and blankey. But still, we had nice seats.



Sammy and Jordan performed songs and dramatic readings about a squashed fly. Then there was a question and answer period followed by them asking us to rate the show and the ratings were recorded in a book.

Such a great week!

We've had such a great week. We're so happy to have all the girlies home!

Claudia's all registered for school and that went really well. It's nice to be settled in to a school already. She doesn't have PE this year because she's taking Spanish and she's over the moon about that. As much as I hated PE when I was in school, and oh, did I, I can't help but be happy for her, too. Sorry, miserable PE experiences aren't inherently character building--mostly they just suck. I signed us up to volunteer with the PTA again this year, but we went with organizing the school carnival because they meet once a month, so it's a good opportunity to meet other parents. Here's hoping they're not all a bunch of bores.

Jason and Leah spent Wednesday and Thursday nights with us. We love having them here. I've probably said this before, but they're the kind of people you would choose to hang out with even if they weren't your family. They worked a physics booth at the State Fair on Thursday and they brought the kids back some cool sciencey stuff.

Last night and tonight my band played outdoors at Connor Prairie before the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra went on. We did a New Orleans street band thing and it was pretty fun. We got comp tickets for family, so last night Jamie and the girls met me there. I'm not a big fan of symphony commercialism, although I can see why it's necessary, but the atmosphere at these things can be very I-seem-to-be-at-a-minor-league-baseball-game, but that aside, wow. I mean, first of all, the ISO is awesome. It wasn't too hot and we sat under trees on the grass on blankets and when it got dark the stage was lit really beautifully. There were stars and a nice breeze and it's not every day that you can hear that class of music with a child on your lap and a child with her head resting on your shoulder with fireflies flying around. The theme was Mardi Gras (in August?) and they played Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Irving Berlin, and a bunch of other stuff in that vein. Byron Stripling was the guest musician and he was amazing and funny, too. They did an Armstrong melody that started off with the trumpet riff from the beginning of West End Blues. Squeee!!!!




Jamie took Claudia and Jordan (Sam's at her mom's) to Ft. Wayne today because Andy's there visiting this weekend.

Last night while we were at Connor Prairie, a cicada fell on Claudia's head (lucky!) so of course, she played with it the entire time and then brought it home and left it in an organizer that wasn't completely closed next to her bed. She figured it would be there the next morning because it's pretty big, as far as bugs go, and no wings. Well, it moulted in the night and after they molt, they have wings so where the bug had been there was only a creepy shell left behind. Gah!! But happy ending/sad ending, she found it in her room, took it to Ft. Wayne with her where it made its final escape while they were having lunch in the back yard.

Wednesday

Well, Claudia's back home safe and sound and she says she had a fabulous two weeks in Memphis and Texas. Thanks to my wonderful Aunt Sandy who she stayed with and palled around with in Memphis and my parents for all the cool things they did with her, including toting her 1000 miles and Rafe and Christine for having her over for a week and doing so many cool things while she was there. Claudia stole Jamie's rubber chicken and took photos of him all along the route to Texas. I'll post those pretty soon--they're very funny. The chicken had some serious adventures!

Jason and Leah are arriving this evening to stay with us for a couple of days. We're so excited! We all love having those two around.

And school is now looming. Looming! First day is next Wednesday and tomorrow is Claudia's registration where she'll get her class schedule, locker assignment, gym clothes, and school photos. Sammy and Jordan have a meet the teacher thing next Monday and then they all have curriculum nights on the 23rd. Wheeee!!!

Friday and Saturday night my band is playing at Connor Prairie before the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra plays and I got tickets for Jamie and the girlies to stay and see them perform (I get to stay because of the band thing). It's supposed to be New Orleans themed so probably fun for the kids.

Week of goodness

Mucho awesomeness to report from the past week.

On Thursday Susanne played her first live concert with the Pride of Indy Band and Color Guard at Garfield Park. It was a great show. I particularly liked the long medley of Civil War era music. The concert drew a crowd of a hundred or so people, and at the end the band had them all clapping in time and cheering loudly to Stars and Stripes Forever. It was very cool and fun. And I forgot to get pictures!! Ack!!

(Next time I will get pictures. The band has a pretty active schedule, opening for the ISO at two Connor Prairie concerts in August, then a Halloween concert, then a Christmas concert.)

Friday the Littles came home from Girl Scout camp, and by all reports they had a great time. Sam scored it a “nine.” (Not a ten, because she missed people.) Activities for the week included swimming in the lake, horseback riding, crafts, building a tent in the woods from natural materials, canoeing, and dance-partying. We’re super proud of them. Hopefully we’ll have pictures soon.

Saturday I met Sam’s mom and step-dad at the RCA Tennis Semi-Finals where she was being recognized for a good sportsmanship award from the National Junior Tennis League of Indy. (One boy and one girl are nominated by each participating park or club.) There was a very tight window in which the TV people would allow the kids to all be rushed out onto the court for a picture, depending on when the Quorrey Blake match ended. It almost didn’t happen, so we had to watch carefully what the nervous organizer lady was doing and pay attention to her cues. (She was very nice.) Luckily it was a go, so Sam and about forty other kids got to be recognized on the court while we watched from various places in the stands. I got some pictures, but they all turned out blurry because of some technical problems about me being a lousy lousy photographer. Hopefully we’ll see the official picture at some point.

All in all, a pretty good week. Yay for us! And yay to have kids back! And a shout out to Claudia, who should be in New Braunfels right now having a great time with her friend Cutter. Have an awesome time Claudia! We miss you and love you, and we’ll see you in a week!