Bath night

One thing you can count on when daddy is in charge of bath night is bubbles, and lots of 'em. Ari is not a big fan of the bubbles on the head, but Emilie doesn't seem to mind. In fact, I'm not sure if she even realizes they are there.

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Bath nights are fun. The kids love the water. Recently, Emilie learned how to splash, much to Ari's dismay. All the splashing interferes with him doing his job, which consists of him drawing on the grout lines with his bath crayons. I have to admit, though, the kid does good work.

The beat goes on

Here is the progress I have made on my quilt so far. With Eva away, I am going to have to go it alone for awhile. I have sewn together the four columns of t-shirt material and now I am ready to cut the long strips I will need to sew the columns together. For some reason, this new challenge seems daunting. I keep looking at the fabric I am using to sew the shirts together and I don't know how I am going to cut such long even strips. I am sure I will find a solution though. I just need to do it. Anybody have any advice for this quilting novice?

An Ari Lullaby

When I mentioned singing Fall on Me to Ari before bed, I got the idea to post about some of the other songs we sing. This is one of the first bedtime songs that I sang to him. It is called Swan Swan H, and it is from R.E.M's 1986 album Lifes Rich Pageant, same as Fall on Me.

I honestly can't say why I started singing this song to him. It really wasn't one of my favorite songs, or one that I would really consider a typical bedtime type song. It seems to be R.E.M.'s attempt at a folk ballad, bringing about a lot of imagery from the Civil War era of the American South. Yeah, I know, not really bedtime song material at all. It is a beautiful song, and Ari can pretty much sing it word for word.

Also, on a side note, this song contains the lyric in which I chose to use as my e-mail address.

Bunny Guts

Easter, 2007, Ari had just finished rummaging through his Easter basket and held a white plastic bunny in his hands.

"Is it?" He said to me, wondering what the object was.

"It's a bunny," I told him as I pulled away the clear plastic that encompassed the toy, "let's see what's inside."

I slowly pulled the bunny apart to reveal a bright orange blob of Play-Doh and I said, "Ewww, bunny guts."

Ari laughed and I showed him some of the things he could do with Play-Doh. I was the first time he had seen anything like it and he really enjoyed playing with it.

The next day, he said to me, "Daddy, I want to play with bunny guts." I didn't know what he was talking about, and then it hit me...Play-Doh. I laughed and got the bunny out so he could play with it some more.

Loving the fact that he called Play-Doh "bunny guts", we decided not to correct him. Besides, we didn't care what it's called. It was fun to see the reaction of family and friends when they hear Ari talk about playing with bunny guts. They are all used to it now, and some of them also refer to it as bunny guts, too.

He knows now that it is also called Play-Doh, but he still refers to it as bunny guts, and so do we, and hopefully always will.

Where's Waldo... and why did I stop caring?

I was watching an old episode of the Simpson's and Homer made a remark about Where's Waldo and I thought to myself, "Where is Waldo?" For so long during the early 90's he provided me with so much entertainment; then, as quickly as he came into my life, he was as quickly gone. What made me decide to just throw this beloved character to the curb; and where is Waldo now?

Well, as it turns out, he has his own website, and you can visit him at http://www.findwaldo.com/. You can even play the Where's Waldo game and relive those cherished memories of searching through a sea of people in search of the man with the funny glasses in a sock hat.

After about 30 seconds of trying to find him, I realized why I stopped trying to find him in the first place. I wasn't having very much fun and I started to get a headache. Maybe the search lost something in the transition to the Internet. Oh, well. Part of me is glad that my search did not renew the Waldo-mania I had in the 90's. The thrill of the hunt is over, for now...

Mario, Luigi, Lightning McQueen, The King, and Ari...best pals.

The boy sure does love his Cars and Mario Bros. toys. Who can blame him? He got his love for Mario and Luigi from me. I am a bona fide Nintendo fan; and I haven't met a Super Mario game I didn't like. I remember being 5 years old and playing Super Mario Bros. on the NES. Those were the days.

Ari has been playing some of the old Mario games we have downloaded from the virtual console on our Wii. We just completed Super Mario World together and he is working on the original Super Mario Bros. right now. So far, he has been able to beat world 1-1 all by himself. He's getting better and I think he is doing pretty good for just turning 3.

It's fun watching him play these games for the first time. I have played them so many times, I still have all the secret exits and warp zones etched in my brain. Scary...

Go away

I like winter just fine, but enough is enough. I'm ready for at least some 50 degree weather, and not the kind that comes with 25 mph winds and rain.

I shouldn't complain. I will do my best to find and appreciate the beauty of the season.

Fall On Me - Embryonic

Fall On Me is one of my favorite R.E.M. songs. I might go as far to say that it is my favorite song. The melodies, music, and lyrics are so powerful and inspiring, I get chills every time I hear it. It has also become a favorite bedtime song for Ari. I sing it to him almost every night when I put him to bed. We have a rotation of about 10 bedtime songs, and he gets to choose two songs for me to sing each night. Just about every night, to my delight, one of the songs he wants me to sing is Fall on Me.

The song was first introduced during the Reconstruction Tour in 1985. It went through a massive transformation by the time it was released on Lifes Rich Pageant in August of 1986.

This video from 1985 also includes the song Green Grow the Rushes. Enjoy!



Here is the album version for the sake of comparison.

And so it begins...

I recently became inspired to start quilting. My dad still has a quilt his grandmother made him when he was young. The back side is made entirely from his old blue jeans. It is a wonderful quilt and he cherishes it. The memories that must exist within the fabric and the love and care that went into making the quilt are evident every time he wraps himself up in it's warm embrace. So, I thought that I must have a quilt of my very own!

I decided to make my quilt out of my old R.E.M. shirts. I have many memories of those shirts, and I wore most of them quite often; especially when I was around 16. I can remember where I bought most of them, which one's were given to me as gifts and by whom.

Alas, over the years, I have outgrown all but two of the shirts. They sat, neatly folded, on my closet shelf for about 10 years, only to be disturbed a couple of times so my wife could were them as maternity shirts. I wanted to give them a new life, so that they could be loved again.

I developed a pattern the size of a queen size comforter by laying out the shirts so they would all fit. After I had the layout, it was time to cut the fabric. The hardest part was that first cut. It seemed wrong to cut all of my shirts, but I knew it was for a greater good. Now, I have all the blocks cut out, and I have now started sewing the blocks together. I will give more updates and pictures as I make more progress.

I am not doing all this alone, I have had a great deal of help from Eva and Katie; I really couldn't have gotten this far without them. Katie has quilting experience and I like to bounce my ideas off of them. So far, they haven't steered me wrong. We get together every week and work on our quilts and other creative projects. It's really a lot of fun, and I know these wonderful memories will last forever within my quilt.

Mirepoix

Visually, what a thing of beauty. Even better, though, is what this aromatic heavenly combo can do to the soul when indulging in a dish graced by it's presence. I have been making many soups and stews this winter, and have used my fair share of these three ingredients in the process. I was so inspired by them on night, I decided to take a picture.

So, what are you waiting for? Dice up some onion, carrots, and celery; and make yourself some soup. It's easy, and your body and soul will thank you!

This message brought to you be the National Mirepoix Counsel.