welcome back, guys

As my children would say (an amusing result of watching too many cooking shows)

We've been away a while. not physically, but we (meaning me) have needed some emotional distance from the whole blogging business. Well, that, and the fact that facebook keeps me in touch with so many people, I tend to forget that some of you aren't there. (And why not?)

Anyway, here's the latest on the (not so) littles:

Both have been completely potty trained (days and nights) for a while now. (Yay!)

Elijah's favourite favourite thing is still his train set. He plays with it every single day, creating elaborate tracks and roller coasters. He can also tell you just about everything there is to know about different trains. He understands the difference between train types and their functions, and can tell you where each line of the Chicago El train goes. The kid is obsessed.

Izzie is proving to be a musical virtuoso. We got the twins a kid-sized guitar for their birthday, and Iz will "play" all the songs she knows and even compose originals. She frequently breaks out in song, and knows the full lyrics to a whole lot of different tunes.

They both love to cook. When I don't let them help me in the kitchen, they're playing with their own kitchen, concocting all sorts of, ahem, interesting recipes. They particularly like to pretend that they're hosting a cooking show, telling you exactly what steps you must take in order to prepare their latest masterpiece.

They can count to ten in five languages (english, amharic, spanish, french and german).

They are fully immersed in the "why" stage. Both of the twins are chatterboxes, and they will often try to talk over one another.

Elijah often speaks with a British accent (as the result of watching their favourite (and only) show: Charlie and Lola). He often uses words like "quite", and "actually" and "dirigible"

Izzie's "hate list" now includes dolphins, birds and something totally random that I can't remember at the moment. Oh yeah: garages. She's an odd duck. Oh wait, that's a bird... Never mind.

They love to play "ice cream shop". They take turns with the cash register, and serve up giant cones of Blue Moon ice cream (Elijah's favourite) for "32 pounds" (I'm not sure whether they mean British currency or the amount of weight that would attach itself to my behind if I were to actually eat that amount of ice cream).

Elijah is still the sweetest, most sensitive, adorable little guy I've ever met. He's so incredibly empathetic, and is always the first to console anyone who's hurt, sad, or upset in any way. I still worry that this world is going to handle him too roughly. He's also got a hilarious sense of humour, and wicked taste in music. His favourite songs are "Skinny Love" by Bon Iver, and "A Book Like This" by Angus & Julia Stone. He's outgoing, gregarious, and very, very silly.

Izzie is all sass and spunk. She's 3 going on 16, extremely independent, adorable, mischevious, tentative in new situations, but quick to warm up, super smart, introspective, and a compete and total daddy's girl. She absolutely adores Jon, and talks about him from the moment she wakes up until he arrives home at night. She loves music, and her favourite songs are "Sky" by Joshua Radin, "Peach, Plum, Pear" by Joanna Newsom, and "Trouble Is A Friend" by Lenka.

For the past few months, we've been taking the twins on individual dates every other weekend, so that they get some one on one attention. We switch off who goes with whom, and spend a few hours totally focused on them. It's been really nice for all of us. Recently Izzie asked if she could go on a date with both Jon and I, and we could leave Elijah at home. She got her wish one day when we went to Ikea, and Elijah decided to go to their playroom without her.

I often wonder whether they need more one on one time, or two on one time, but when they're apart, they ask about one another constantly, and when they reunite, it's like one of those old movie scenes with the boy and the girl running across the field of daisies toward one another. Cue sappy music. They really, truly love each other.

We've been talking about Ethiopia a lot recently. We watched their lifebook video a few weeks ago, and have been looking at pictures of them and our family in Ethiopia. They're starting to ask questions and notice similarities and differences. I hope they always feel comfortable asking questions, and know that we will always do our best to support them in their search for answers.

That's about all I can think of for now. Hope everyone's doing well, and I promise that I have no intentions of disappearing for so long again!

summer

berries berries everywhere

On Sunday, we drove about 2 hours to Michigan so that we could spend the morning picking plump, juicy, delicious blueberries. I'd only been berry picking once before, and the previous place paled in comparison to what we experienced here.

We each got buckets with ropes attached so that we could hang them around our necks. In the car on the way there, we had taken bets as to whom would be the best harvester.

Izzie was a great blueberry picker. Unfortunately, most of the berries that she picked ended up in her mouth.

Elijah started the day off strong, but tripped over a bramble and lost most of his berries. After that, he was crestfallen, and never really regained his enthusiasm.

Jon did pretty well, filling his bucket in about an hour and a half of picking (including bathroom and water breaks).

I was a berry picking rockstar, with a bucket and a half filled by the end of the day.

We left with about 15 pounds of berries (not including the ones we ate fresh off the bushes, which, at least in Isabel's case, easily could have added a couple more pounds to the total...)

What does one do with so many berries?

We gave a bunch of them away.
We froze a bunch of them.
We are eating tons of fresh berries at every meal.
I made a Blueberry Crumble which we ate with vanilla bean ice cream. Mmm!
Today we made our very first ever batch of Blueberry Jam. (I loved hearing the lids on the jars *pop* as they sealed!)

*notice that both kids stick their tongues out as they work!

Tomorrow morning we'll be having blueberry stuffed french toast for breakfast.

There are still a bunch of berries left over. I may make muffins or scones, I'll probably try out a smoothie recipe or two, and I'm thinking about tossing some into a salad with some slivered almonds and goat cheese. Does anybody else have thoughts on how to use fresh berries?

haves and have nots

Lately I've been thinking quite a bit about the social and political structures (among other things) that have allowed me to lead the extremely privileged life I do. I tend to get caught up on issues of fairness and equality because I truly believe that everyone on this planet deserves a fair and equal chance to be the best possible person they can be. But the reality is that we live in an unfair world where wealth and resources are not distributed according to need.

I profit from the current system. Even in these current times of economic hardship for so many, I have remained relatively unaffected. Not to mention the fact that my children came to me, in large part, because their first family didn't have access to the resources that they needed.

Every day, people all around the world are suffering. Making difficult decisions that I, from my privileged vantage point, can scarcely fathom. Decisions like "which child gets to eat today?"

On September 1-3, there will be an International Hunger Strike in honour of three girls who were kidnapped from their mothers in Guatemala. I will be joining in these efforts, not only for them, but with respect to all the people around the world who are forced to go without.

In addition, every Monday leading up to September 1st, I will be fasting, eating only limited portions of foods that can be grown. Nothing processed. Nothing that requires refrigeration or preservation or fancy preparation. I will use these days to reflect on how I can use what I have to make this world a better place for someone else.