road trippin'

We're heading out bright and early tomorrow morning to explore some new cities. The plan is to spend a couple days in Pittsburgh before heading on to Philly, spending a day at Ringing Rocks State Park, and then ending the trip with 3 days in New York City.

This will be the longest the twins have ever been confined to the car. They've been especially antsy on longer drives lately, so I'm a little worried, but I've got lots of activities planned.

I'm especially excited to introduce the kids to New York. It's my favourite city, and I think it's the most amazing place for kids. I can't wait to see it through their eyes!

Expect a big update with lots of pictures when we return (October 6th ish...)

chatterboxing

Suddenly my children do not stop talking.

Ever.

They are currently in a phase where they notice absolutely everything and feel as if they must share every minute observation with anyone who will listen.

The family at the next table during our dinner tonight now knows intimate details about our lives.

I'm not sure how I feel about that...

Vote For Barack!

happy cakes

This morning on our way to meet our friends for storytime and some fall shopping in preparation for our upcoming trip, the twins and I stopped at yet another bakery to partake in some delicious cupcakes.

As many of you know, I am on a mission to find the best cupcakes in the world. In fact, much of our upcoming road trip will involve tracking down the best cupcakes in each of the cities we'll be visiting.

I've decided that I'm going to keep a running log rating all of the cupcake places we've tried. A star rating of 4 or more is excellent. Thus far, only two places have achieved the elusive 5-star rating. Luckily, I have never had what I would consider a "bad" cupcake.

Here's my list so far (all locations are in the Chicagoland area):

Sweet Mandy B's *****
Bent Fork*****
Molly's Cupcakes****
Dinkels Bakery****
Winston's Market****
Southport Grocery ***
M. Henry***
Alliance Bakery***
Kim's Kitchen***
Swirlz***
Whole Foods***
Bennison's Bakery***
Blind Faith***
Jewel***

also on my list, but haven't tried them yet:
Cupcakes
Sensational Bites
Sweet Occasions
Fox & Obel
Bleeding Heart
Chaos Theory
Bittersweet
Swedish Bakery
A Taste of Heaven
Sweet Honeybee

Also, I just found this website, complete with detailed reviews and pictures!

Yum!

two years

Since I last saw my mother alive.
It still feels strange.
I miss her.
I miss having someone to share all the funny, exciting, sad, silly, and frustrating moments of motherhood with.
I appreciate who she was so much more now that I am a mother myself.
I miss having someone to meet for lunch.
To go shopping with and not ask "do they really need more xyz?" (Husbands do not make the best shopping partners. At least mine does not!)

My sister and I have decided to start a new tradition:

Each week, I am going to copy a photograph of my mother and turn it a into a postcard. On the back, I will write a memory of her. Then I will send these postcards to my sister, who will put them into a photo album.

We need to keep her memory alive.

I am heartened by the fact that my children recognize her in photographs. They know her voice (which remained on the answering machine until just recently). I am brokenhearted that my father refuses to honour her memory because his new "girlfriend" is jealous of my mother.

circus

e: "I see a circus. I see elephant. Elephant wiggled his ears. Elephant runnin'. See a tiger. Tigers jump in the fire. People knocked down fire. People climb up ladders. It's loud!"

i: "People climbin' ladder. People sit down. Elephants dancin'. People dancin'. It's loud! "

Last night we took the twins to their first circus: The UniverSOUL circus. We were especially excited because this circus celebrates the history of Black circus performers from around the world. The show features performers from the USA, South Africa, Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, Jamaica, Colombia, Dominican Republic, China, Cuba, Russia, & Brazil, and acts are set to popular r&b, soul, gospel and pop songs.

The show is totally participatory with lots of dancing in the aisles, hand clapping and call and response. It was very loud, and Elijah was pretty overwhelmed at first. My favourite acts are always the human performances: the child contortionists, the chinese pole acrobats, the silk aerial act, the Caribbean limbo dancers, trapeze artists, etc.

Izzie and Elijah especially loved the tigers and the elephants.

six years

Six years ago, I never could have imagined where our lives would take us.
I couldn't be happier with the life we're building together.
And I can't wait to see what the future brings!

Mad, sad, and completely frustrated.

I just came across this article, which illuminates the undercurrent of racial tension and prejudice in American society. Although the article focuses upon how these attitudes and deep-seeded racist beliefs have the potential to sway the election, I also see how they have the potential to break my children down.

In moments like this, I am very grateful to live in my insulated little bubble, where my family is accepted as is. Where we don't have to contend with hushed voices and people staring a little too long. We don't have to deal with ignorant comments or overt racism. It allows me to forget, if only for a moment, that the way things are in my community are not representative of the way things are across much of America.

I worry about how my kids will be viewed in society as they grow up. My son is probably the most sensitive, empathetic, sweet, loving and (most of the time) genuinely happy child I've ever met. At not even two and a half, he already has an innate sense of fairness, and often chooses to share the things he has in order to make someone else happy. I watch him explore this world and know how privileged I am to bear witness to this amazing child's development.

But at the same time, I am absolutely heartbroken that this world he loves so much will one day turn on him. As a black man in American society, at least some people will be fearful of him, solely on account of his skin colour. I want to protect his innocence. Already I can see the potential minefield that awaits, and I know there will be some big challenges ahead.

All of this just reaffirms in my mind that it's up to each and every one of us to lead actively anti-racist lives. People's opinions can only change with exposure to truth, and as long as we stay silent, we are complicit in the perpetuation of those hurtful and false beliefs that will impact our kids.

overheard

Yesterday as I was getting ready to go to girls' night out:

E: You go bye bye mama?
Me: Yep. I'm going to have fun with my friends
E: No mama! No have fun.
Me: Yes, I get to go out and have fun sometimes. You and Izzie and Daddy-o are going to have fun here.
E: (whimpering) No. I don' like daddy. I go with you.


Tonight at the dinner table (we were eating chili):

E: I don' like oyster crackers. I hate oyster crackers. Yuck.
Me: Okay, then don't eat them.
E: Oh. (then he proceeds to eat them with a huge smile on his face.)

updates

Sorry I haven't updated recently. My heart just isn't in this blogging thing anymore.