Week In Repose

I think this last week might have been a first for us- we had an entire week together at home, with no work obligations whatever. We had nowhere to be, nothing to do. So, being an almost-agoraphobe, that's what we did: go nowhere, do nothing. Mostly.

(I'm still red. Update: The public is divided. Studies show that 22% of people think I'm inappropriate, 36% don't care, and 56% of people think I'm rad.)

{My half-up 'do looks a little swirly from above.}

One day we melted down old crayons and poured them into candy molds to make rainbow crayons in various shapes. I've wanted to do this forever, and I don't know why it took this long to do.

Saturday was our big family date. (Timm finally got a paycheck in the mail yesterday that we had been waiting for, so we treated ourselves to a day of debauchery.) 

First up: IHOP. I had New York cheesecake pancakes. Seriously. Cheesecake chunks in the pancakes, with whipped cream, strawberries, and strawberry syrup.

{Overhead florescent lighting: Universally flattering.}

Afterwards we walked next door to a new (to me) used bookstore I had never seen. Molly and I had previously gone down to an area called Plaza Midwood to go to the used bookstore/cat adoption center, but I loved this one! The setup was awesome, and the kids were entertained the whole time. We could have gone there for the whole date and they would have been happy.

Bella entertained Fiona with puppet shows in their theater while we shopped.

Timm was dismayed that I was photographing him sitting in a child's school desk.

Okay. Here's where it gets good. Earlier in the week, Timm had attended the premier of Harry Potter 7 Part 2. For the occasion, he made himself a new wand. (Because of course he already had an old wand that he made-) He also made one for Hayden, Blake, and their cousin Paul, with more on order. He is like a kid with a new toy- he brings his wand everywhere. Everywhere. He holsters it in his pocket and requested that maybe I sew a compartment within his pocket that is deeper to accomodate the length of the wand. I had to shame him into leaving it in the car, and not bringing it into IHOP or our next destination.

He drove with his wand readied at all times. Obviously. As we rode he brandished it casting various spells on passersby and other cars. He prounounced 'Avada Kedavra!' on Scar in the Lion King, causing his ultimate demise. When fires ravaged the plains of the same movie, Timm was ready with 'Aguamenti!', dousing the fires with life-saving water. Coming up behind a pedestrian on the side of the road he waved his wand and shouted 'Expelliarmus!', disarming the thug before he could do anyone harm. He made sure that Bella knew he had just disarmed this potential threat. Along the way he made up several of his own spells to suit his needs at the time.

So I made him leave it in the car when we went bowling.

And holy crap! Bowling's expensive! Nearly $50 for the whole family. Sheesh.

I think we might have bowled together once when Bella was younger. I had no real recollection of the experience, so when Timm took his turn, his highly stylized professional form took me by surprise. It looked so polished and practiced. Then when the ball started to veer sharply to the right, heading straight for the gutter, I snorted audibly. He threw the ball with such confidence and panache that when it started to sail straight for failure I couldn't restrain myself. But then something amazing happened: As it rolled along the edge, straddling the bumper and the lane, it took an abrupt turn as though he willed it to do so (even though he left his wand in the car) and spun in the other direction to knock down a bunch of pins. The next time he did it again to get a spare, and several times he got a strike. I was astounded and humbled for laughing at him. He was giddy that after 8 years of marriage he still had secrets.

This series shows his form, but not the incredibly veering ball.

I have to say, I was suitably impressed. Especially since he did in unaided by magic.

{Helping Bella}

This picture is so blurry but I love the expression of glee as she runs back from her bowl. She insisted on doing it all herself- she would heave the ball onto the lane where it landed with an impressive and solid thud, then roll, impossibly slowly, down the lane. It inched so painfully slowly to the end of the lane, it's all you could do not to audibly groan. When it finally reached its target, even the pins seemed to fall in slow motion as her ball tapped them over. She was thrilled.

Fiona made her own fun.

This impish look and tilt of the head, right here, is what wins you over every time from Fiona. This is evidence of the skillfully crafted charm she has honed to manipulate you. She has wiles that make you endure, even cheerfully, her antics and demands and rulings. She really has a knack.

Those bowling shoes were so cute on little feet and those skinny and chubby legs respectively.

So that was Saturday.

Over the week I was also commissioned by my children to draw Dobby several times. I really love to draw, and used to do it constantly as a child. I used to say I was going to go to art school. I need to find ways to practice this lost love in my life.

Before church on Sunday I put a Coke (Zero, of course) in the freezer to quickly chill. This is what I was greeted with upon my return from church:

I forgot about it, obviously.

One of my very favorite things. And Fiona's. Probably due in large part to many prayers, Bella loves to read. She reads all the time, anywhere and Fiona is a happy audience most of the time. I. Love. It.

Timm starts his new job tomorrow, so we will be sad to lose him during the day, but will happily accept his new paycheck.

A Teacher's Fate

Associated Press 

photo taken in St. George, Utah- April 2011

"I think these turned out okay, honey", she says as she closely inspects a dish from the dishwasher, putting it away. Conscientious homemaker? Maybe. These days the dishes need a closer look since they're washed without dishwasher detergent. "I just put the dishwasher on the sanitize anti-bacterial setting and hope for the best!" says Jessie Tanner, 30 of North Carolina. They've recently hit a rough patch, but nothing they haven't seen before. "Well, we're on our last 2 rolls of toilet paper, we don't have any dishwasher detergent, I think we might have one more load of laundry soap, and I've got about 25 baby wipes left.What else? Yesterday the last cup of milk we had froze so I poured ice chips over my cereal and waited for it to melt a little. Oh, and we used our last pocket change to buy a small bag of cat litter, cause you can't really get by without that!"

What has landed the Tanners in this financial blight? Are they among the 9% of unemployed Americans in this country? Hardly. Timm Tanner, 32, has worked at least 2 jobs for the last 10 years. One of which used to be a high school teacher, and not just any teacher but 'Teacher of the Year'. A very talented teacher, one that has been recognized by his students, his peers, and his superiors. So what happened? When the Tanners moved to North Carolina 4 years ago they knew what they were in for. Teacher's salary schedules are public information, and shows you your entire career in a table projecting the next 30 years. There are no secrets, and the future doesn't look exceptionally bright for teachers in America. Worse still if there is a salary freeze, which has been in effect since Timm's first year teaching. At year 4 he is still making the same salary he did when he started, with no end in sight. There is no telling when the freeze will be lifted, and he will never resume the same year's salary that he is entitled based on the schedule he was hired on. The Tanners have one car, their two daughters Bella, 6, and Fiona, 2, qualify for Medicaid and Jessie hasn't had health coverage in 4 years. At times they've even qualified for food stamps, though they haven't used them since moving to North Carolina, despite Timm working as many as 17 hours a day. Such is the plight of teachers in America. Even for 'Teachers of the Year'.

"I told her just to enjoy this last time we'll have to go through this. Right now we have less than a dollar in our bank account, our credit cards are overdrawn and our gas tank is on empty. But this is the last time!" explains Timm. "I just took a job with Carolina's Healthcare and start next week." Timm has left teaching high school and instead will be training physicians in technology applications- a major loss to public education, and doubtless a disappointment for his returning students in the fall. "I have to take care of my family, number one, and I can't continue to do that this way." Timm explains.

This isn't the first time a teacher has left education for (literally) greener pastures, and it won't be the last. There is little incentive for talented teachers to enter the teaching field, and even less for them to stay. Until this country changes it's priorities and pays teachers a salary commensurate with their worth and their abilities, it will continue to happen in increasing numbers. Timm's new job is a perfect example. With Carolina's Healthcare, he will start at a salary 50% more than his two jobs combined, working one job with hours that will leave him with time for his family, and the money to take care of them. 

"We're really excited to move onto this next phase in our lives. And to go grocery shopping!" Jessie exults.

*No details in this article have been exaggerated 

Halloween, On Delay.

I'm seems I'm behind in most of my duties and projects lately, and blogging is no exception.

Sigh.

Let's stop wasting more time and move on already.

Fiona was everyone's favorite burlesque ladybug, which has made appearances on Bella and Mia in years past. The racy features are much cuter and more prominent when she is not wearing a turtleneck, but since Halloween fell in late October this year we tried to keep her warm. You'll have to use your imagination.

Gasp-the same costume! How embarrassing. 

Bella was the 'BellaBot 2010', as designed by Timm and I. I'm pleased she was excited about the robot, since I devised the plan last year. Her friend Naomi below, was mystified when she rattled off the list of Bella's possible costumes, none of which were correct. I think she went through princess, fairy, and mermaid before she was out of ideas as if to say, what else is there for a 5-year old girl? Certainly not a robot.

Not just any robot- We went to the typical box of hard drives, motherboards and electrical parts that everyone keeps in the garage and got to work. A little hot glue and we're set, complete with knobs that really turn. Her arms were effectively immobilised encased in the dryer hose, so we cut a door into the front of the box. We inserted a key dangling from it, and affixed a pillowcase to the interior where people would drop her candy. She adopted a speech she promptly delivered at every candy donor: "Trick or Treat. Please put the candy in my door. Thank you." People kept saying "Her arms aren't really in there, are they?" which made me wonder where they thought her hands were coming from. In their defense, the arms are hanging at a very unnatural angle.

It was a big hit, what can I say?

County Fair

Saturday night, a photographic review:

It was fun. And awful.

Okay, it's been exactly a month today since I have blogged. Blame it on summer:vacation, visiting family, visiting Timm on his business trip, and now preparing to send Bella to school next week! Ack! But every one of those is a post in itself, so in an attempt to catch up I am just starting where I am. Little by little, I'll catch up. With everything.

On Friday night we drove up to Durham to get Timm at Duke where he was teaching a training course for 2 weeks. We are down to one car (another post) so we had to drop him off and pick him up. We decided to go a day early, stay the night at the hotel and take some detours on the way home. We stopped at a fabric store for me, the Woodworker's Supply for Timm, and the zoo for the kids. I had seen signs for the 'North Carolina Zoological Park' before and wondered what that was. Maybe I'm just slow, but it didn't occur to me that it was just a zoo.

But to be fair, does this look like the typical setting of a zoo? I think not. After seeing this I realized why they call it a 'zoological park' rather than just a 'zoo'. In total, it is 5 miles of trails, which they recommend setting aside about 5 hours to peruse. You walk along paved trails through the woods and boardwalks over marshlands, making it feel very much like a park with animal habitats interspersed between.

I loved these elephant statues that greet you as you enter the park.

Okay, seriously? A record length of 19 feet?! That scares me and fascinates me at the same time. Can you even fathom meeting up with a 19 foot long alligator?

Thanks for the view, Bella.

 Seals and Sea Lions, those perennial entertainers did not let us down. You could watch them for hours!

This sea lion had a great gimmick down pat. He loved to soar around a corner where he was invisible to onlookers, and would pop into view, surprising you every time. He would appear inches from Fiona's face and every time she would shriek and exclaim with joy and surprise. That made the trip worth it. The memory of her face and squeals would be necessary to sustain us shortly afterward...

Both girls were delighted with their turn on the carousel and Fiona threw one of her charming crowd- attracting, stare-inducing tantrums when I literally had to pry her off and carry her away kicking and screaming. That's my girl.

Not too long afterward however, she was placated to ride on Timm's shoulders, acting out various arm motions such as the airplane motion shown above.

Fiona was delighted by the elephants, demonstrated by her trumpeting as we approached the enclosure.

Things had started to unravel by this point, so it is nothing short of miraculous to have captured this shot. Fights about who got to sit in the front, accompanied by tantrums over being pried from the statue...Did I mention it was 5 miles of trails? And I have a (very wimpy) 5-year old and a not-yet 2 year old? Are you aware that I live in North Carolina, which during the summer can approximate jungle-like conditions? Right.

About halfway through we were plotting our most efficient course, which exhibits we could bypass, how we could distract Bella from the heat, her foot forming a blister, the miles of trails, our lack of ice cream or Icee stein that everyone else seemed to be enjoying...

We got to the end Tram stop which would mercifully take us back to the beginning, through all 5 miles, where we could exit the albeit beautiful, but tiresome park. We got in line, and waited among the throngs of people for almost an hour. It was a long hour, punctuated by the complaints of everyone around us, wondering about the location of the trams and their efficiency. I tried to stay positive by listing all of the ways it could be worse, but Timm was not amused. Among them, I was glad I wasn't pregnant (that makes everything worse and is often a present fear in the forefront of my mind), that I didn't have a prosthetic leg, that I wasn't on crutches because your armpits would really hurt, that I wasn't morbidly obese, that I didn't have more children to manage, or that I was not the Mexican mother who let her child wander into the road, causing a park employee to hold said child up in the air to be claimed for over a minute before the mother came ambling forward from the back of the line, apparently unconcerned and unaware of the location of her toddler.

While we were in line Timm speculated that this would be a great activity when our kids were at least 10, and that perhaps we were trying to do too much too soon with our kids. I replied that other parents did this all the time, and that I saw a mother carrying a newborn with a bottle. His reply was a genuinely mystified, 'But, why??' I don't know. I tried to determine whether Bella would think on the experience as tiresome and torturesome, or fun on the whole.

So, like I said, it was fun.And awful.