thixotropy

Tillie, Meet Tilly!

2012-01-29T14:39:00.003-05:00

Tillie's grandparents just adopted/rescued a dog that happens to be named Tilly--no kidding! We are all tickled by the coincidence, though oddly enough I ran it by about a dozen dog-loving friends and they were all disturbed by the idea that our family would keep the name. Go figure. Tillie is pleased to know a furry Tilly and Tilly seems relieved that no one is changing her name, so I think the important parties are satisfied. "Tillie with an ie" and "Tilly with a y" finally got to meet each other this weekend. Cuteness and name confusion abounded.

Sneak Neck Punch

2012-01-26T13:22:00.003-05:00

Django's latest ninja move involves puckering his lips to offer me a kiss and then instead punching my neck. So cute. Actually, it was cute--I was so charmed that I now flirtily threaten to pretend to kiss Scott but then sucker punch him in the neck. (Have I actually done it or just threatened to? I'll leave you to parse the ambiguity of that sentence's grammar and decide for yourself.)

So innocent (hah!):

Django Hango

2012-01-25T12:17:00.001-05:00

Super Sweater

2012-01-24T16:01:00.001-05:00

Mini-He

2012-01-23T16:26:00.002-05:00

If you have seen pictures of young boy Scott, this picture of Tillie would kind of freak you out. It did me.

1st Lego Sculpts

2012-01-20T15:17:00.002-05:00

Tillie and Django are big fans of legos. Below are two firsts. On the left is Django's first lego build that he conceived and constructed himself. (The boat was already put together, but he added the second passenger and stacked all the heads.) On the right is Tillie's first free-form conceptual sculpture. It is, of course, a girl with yellow hair in a red skirt. They built these weeks ago, but I secreted them away to my office where I could spend a bit more time gazing at them proudly before either kid got a chance to tear them apart and build something new. I know, that is like a lego crime or something, but I feel no shame in this!

Special

2012-01-19T09:51:00.001-05:00

This is the full-size self portrait Tillie drew for her class's unit on the human body. Tillie will point out to you that it illustrates her bones and the place where she goes pee. Some details are much, much fancier than others!

Et Two, Django!

2012-01-18T10:13:00.002-05:00

Two today! (My baby boy is still a baby no matter what you say--sniff.)

Hat

2012-01-17T16:08:00.001-05:00

Building with Belly

2012-01-13T09:53:00.004-05:00

I'm thinking of opening up a home decor store where all the throw pillows are baby bellies--so soft and warm!
Tummies and Things?
Bed, Bellies, and Beyond?
Gut and Barrel?
Potbelly Barn?

Smoovie

2012-01-12T11:54:00.000-05:00

Use Your Noodle

2012-01-11T10:00:00.000-05:00

Buttons

2012-01-10T17:30:00.000-05:00

Tots They Are a Changin'

2012-01-06T17:59:00.002-05:00

There are two situations that clue a parent into the possibility that a child is up to no good in another room of the house: when it is very loud or when it is very quiet. The other day Scott heard nothing and began to worry. As it turns out, Django was busy giving his stuffed monster a diaper change.

Dance Party

2011-12-29T14:14:00.003-05:00

Tillie shares a cupcake with a special friend:

Django checks his style:

Tillie glams up:

Parents feel like royalty:

Was this a move in Flashdance?

Django digs star balloons:

Scott shows Tillie some of his moves:

Django mixes genres:

That might have been the most fun I've ever had at a party!

Self Reflection

2011-12-28T15:46:00.004-05:00

A rare moment of free time in front of my computer means that I can finally post pictures from thanksgiving. I know, that was over a month ago. I'm also behind in sewing by 7 baby robot quilts, my toenails need cutting, and I have had the same Netflix movie in my home unwatched for 16 months.

Hanukkah Cuties

2011-12-27T23:29:00.002-05:00

Tillie's friend Salim invited us over for a lovely Hanukkah celebration. The traditional braised veggies and latkes ("circle french fries" as Tillie called them) are my new favorite winter dinner delights!

Chicken Scraps

2011-12-26T21:28:00.001-05:00

Hazel, Wolf, and Tillie separate the parts of the greens into different pots. One pot is for the people and the other pot is for the chickens.

Christmas Wakeup Call

2011-12-25T12:52:00.001-05:00

Tortoise Convention

2011-11-08T09:10:00.000-05:00

These two were very interested in one another.

This Is How You Swing

2011-11-07T10:27:00.001-05:00

Tilba

2011-11-04T11:07:00.002-04:00

The kiddos are nearly bilingual due to their going to a Spanish-immersion daycare. I say "nearly" because Tillie seems to understand Spanish fully, but she almost always answers questions in English. My favorite thing though is when she peppers her English with cute little Spanish cognates. For instance, she always talks about the playground with the "tuba" and she is referring to the playground that has a tube slide. As far as I can tell, the Spanish word is actually "tubo" but I'm not correcting any part of it--partly because I already tried and she insisted I was wrong. But also, because it makes me giggle to think of there being a giant sousaphone for kids to play with there.

Dust

2011-11-03T18:01:00.003-04:00

The children were enchanted by dust in the sunbeam. It is enchanting...until you're old and jaded, like me, and you think it is gross.

Robot Wars

2011-11-02T18:12:00.001-04:00

Super Hero-ween

2011-10-31T08:09:00.005-04:00

"Punkin Catch"

2011-10-30T13:43:00.003-04:00

Photo shoot from the autumn collection:

Tillie could feed a llama for hours.

Girls Day Out hay ride:

Many complaints on the ride home about how my driving made her pumpkin friend roll across the seat. "That is why you wear a seat belt," says mom.

Before, During, and After

2011-10-29T21:54:00.003-04:00

Cake Ball Roller Coaster of Shame and Envy

2011-10-10T16:08:00.005-04:00

I was planning a post to bring comfort to all you haters/jealous-types who worry that I am some sort of home-making genius whose skills you cannot match. You see, for Tillie's lego birthday party, I was planning on making darling and delicious cake balls that perfectly resembled the heads of lego figures, according to the directions of this model mom blogger:

Well, anyway, I was a little disappointed in the results of these cake balls. Here's what mine looked like (not lego-yellow, more like dirty white-beige, not lego-shaped, lumpy, poorly applied facial features, greasy tasting, hair-like splinters coming off of pop sticks--some of which stuck through tops of pops, etc.):

But, you see, it turns out that my little friend Hazel was completely delighted by these "failures". So, now you can go back to being jealous of me and my mad cake ball skillz!

Marlboro Man and Chiquitita

2011-10-09T09:46:00.001-04:00

This year's school pictures:

Sappiness Blow Out

2011-10-07T13:50:00.005-04:00

In Ohio, we saw a magnificent rainbow that went from one side of the horizon to the other. I'm a sucker for these simple, gorgeous things. Rainbows are super elusive, so sadly, none of the pictures or video capture it properly. Gentle readers, may you see your own rainbow in person soon.

Okay, I can't stand keeping quiet about this anymore. I'm having some kind of overflow of happiness in my life these days. (I think it might be related to the new addiction I have to exercise. It's a little out of control. If the post-workout endorphins were an illegal drug, you would all have to stage an intervention to save me. I have to take a drag on that pipe, so to speak, every single day, and I might be becoming one of those weird gym people. In the future, if you see me wearing matching rainbow wrist and head sweatbands in public, you have my permission to pretend you don't know me. Anyway, that is beside the point.) So many people I know are having babies or getting married or doing some other exciting life-changing joyous thing. I'm just soaking it all up like a sponge. In the past few weeks, I have been feeling a euphoria as high as any low has ever been low in other times in my life. I kind of walk around with a goofy smile on my face all the time, embarrassed to tell people, because it is 1) uncool to be this happy and 2) mighty enviable, dangerously so. Even my grief and worry and anger at various day-to-day or lingering problems seem to be part of the beauty--just swirled into it like an enhancement. I wish it were possible to bottle up this feeling, process it like brined pickles, and save it for later, or better yet share it with others when they need it.

And, because I can't stop the gushing once I've begun, here is a recording of the beautiful singing sound that my newborn friend makes when he is nursing:

Building

2011-10-06T19:24:00.003-04:00

4! [that's four factorial]

2011-10-04T19:04:00.002-04:00

My girl is four now! Tillie had a lego party this weekend and invited many other 4 year olds.

It was chaos! (the fun kind, of course)

New Friend

2011-09-29T23:35:00.002-04:00

I've spent the last four days falling in love with my new friend Cassius. Newborns are like ambrosia for me--I can live off their essence. This is something I did not know about myself 4 years ago. I'm very happy to know it now. As much as I will miss this little guy, I am ready to come home and snuggle my own babies.

Bowling Team

2011-09-18T14:59:00.003-04:00

Tillie goes bowling with her friend Salim. Check out their bowling forms! And their scores! (Okay, there may have been some gutter bumpers, but that doesn't diminish my pride.)

Porch Pops

2011-09-07T16:16:00.000-04:00

The Book Worked!

2011-09-01T16:46:00.002-04:00

This picture is funny only in ways that very-sad-but-funny-because-it's-true things are funny.

Eyeballs

2011-08-31T17:08:00.001-04:00

Boy with 'Bot

2011-08-30T17:51:00.003-04:00

Axel and his robot quilt

Bonus! making-of footage:

Maria Von Flopp

2011-07-30T21:23:00.002-04:00

Tonight was an epic fail of an attempt to take my daughter to a special sing-along presentation of the Sound of Music with a costume contest at our local historic theater downtown. I didn't have time to complete my Maria Von Trapp costume, but I did manage to get Tillie into her Mini Maria outfit. That part was not a failure, of course. The failure was that they did not accept my free passes for the "special event" and I didn't want to shell out $30 for a movie that Tille was likely going to bail out of after only 30 minutes. Oh well, at least the sympathetic ticket-taker (ticket-rejecter?) appreciated my efforts.

Elevator Up

2011-07-21T09:59:00.001-04:00

Repair Crew

2011-07-20T09:44:00.000-04:00

I guess Poppie needed a tune up.

Curlicues

2011-07-19T10:40:00.004-04:00

Street Performance

2011-07-17T19:52:00.002-04:00

The Meh of July

2011-07-04T20:54:00.000-04:00

Sandy Eggo Wrap Up

2011-06-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

Pointing Zoo

2011-06-25T10:56:00.000-04:00

Park Standoff

2011-06-24T08:42:00.001-04:00

Fountain of Youths

2011-06-23T23:39:00.000-04:00

Toof Brushing

2011-06-22T11:47:00.000-04:00

Still Spinning

2011-06-20T10:47:00.003-04:00

DJD and I got back last night from our trip to San Diego visiting his tia Chovy and cousin Axel. Django learned three new words: hello, bye-bye, and toothbrush. I learned four: more fish tacos please.

More pics to come...

Hard at Work

2011-06-09T12:32:00.000-04:00

Masked

2011-06-08T15:54:00.000-04:00

Many Moods of DJD

2011-06-07T12:54:00.001-04:00

Cutest. Giraffe. Ever.

2011-06-05T11:37:00.002-04:00

I can barely type I am so dizzy with pride:

Quiltpletion...Finally!

2011-06-04T12:58:00.002-04:00

Wedding gift that is 6 years late? Or perfectly timed 6-year-anniversary gift?

More Casitas

2011-06-03T15:58:00.001-04:00

These ones are for pajaros.

Casita

2011-06-02T16:08:00.000-04:00

Tillie helps Mike confirm that Scott's new studio's foundation is square.

Harveybot

2011-06-01T09:51:00.002-04:00

I've lost count.

Auntie Vi

2011-05-08T21:37:00.001-04:00

Sprinkled

2011-05-06T17:54:00.006-04:00

Patient Fly Patient

2011-05-04T13:58:00.000-04:00

Lolli Love

2011-05-03T11:53:00.001-04:00

Phun with Phamily phrum Philly

2011-05-02T17:08:00.002-04:00

We are missing our Philadelphia cousins Writer, Nicholas, and the darling Anais!

Bubble Day

2011-04-29T20:29:00.001-04:00

Django Vortex

2011-04-28T07:35:00.001-04:00

Egg Hunt

2011-04-27T15:02:00.003-04:00

Tillie and Raphie all sugared up after enjoying the loot:

Half-Life

2011-04-18T22:54:00.005-04:00

A half-life passes and half of the memories are gone. Not half of the inventory of memories, but half of each one. As with removing half the pixels in a digital photo, I still will recognize the face. It just gets fuzzier each time. But enough endure to both emit a warm glow and cause a new hurt.

Still remembering you Camile, 1975-2010.

Kiddie Rave

2011-03-30T13:14:00.002-04:00

In case you don't know Tillie very well, she is in absolute heaven here--completely transfixed by all the big kids who know how to do all these dance moves. I love how she is concentrating so hard!

In this one, I love her little hurdle jump move and the fact that she finally picks up on how to do the "A" by the end of the YMCA song! (I guess a mother just can't help but gush about these silly little things...)

Mosquito Bites and Snow Cones

2011-03-29T10:42:00.000-04:00

The 8-month-long Texas summer has begun.

Live Music

2011-03-28T16:35:00.004-04:00

Tillie and Django enjoy Austin, aka the Live Music Capital of the World, aka A Place to Find Cool Sticks on the Ground:

The windshield wipers on the bus go...

I like to think that Django is playing this stick like a guitar:

Interpretive dance with bubbles:

In the middle of the set (during a song, mid-strum), Tillie took off her bracelet and necklace and asked the musician to hold them for her.

Paletas

2011-03-27T23:34:00.007-04:00

We made popsicles the other day. Tillie was dismayed to discover that you have to wait for "paletas" to congeal and cannot enjoy them right away. She obsessively checked the freezer all day asking, "Are they ready yet?" I told her repeatedly that she had to wait until the next day. 6:55 am the next morning, the sun is not even up yet, and she bursts into our room shouting, "I want my paleta!"

She enjoyed a paleta that afternoon with her dear friend Micah.

Transcript: "You can't have my paleta! No me molestas Django!"

Robo Blankie

2011-03-18T15:18:00.002-04:00

Another one complete for my army of snuggle-bots:

Who Is That Masked Man?

2011-03-15T22:53:00.002-04:00

Django wears a knight mask and tilts at windmills.

Just Ducky

2011-03-12T10:17:00.001-05:00

Soothing lullaby or expert sleeper hold--whichever the cause, it led to this duckling taking a wee nap in Tillie's arms.

New Tat

2011-03-11T10:28:00.001-05:00

If Tillie were to go into the tattoo business, this is what Scott would get:

The Chicken Cycle

2011-03-10T12:05:00.002-05:00

My little chicken fed Karin's little chickens who in turn fed my little chicken right back.

Toddling Tall

2011-03-07T16:46:00.001-05:00

He's walking now...just thought I'd warn you in case you planned on putting something breakable on that counter top.

Jumpoline

2011-02-17T10:14:00.001-05:00

Our little neighbor friend got a trampoline for christmas. Tillie calls it a jumpoline. Her joy in this picture is so cute that it transcends focus standards.

Unhappy Valentine's Day?

2011-02-14T15:18:00.006-05:00

As Tillie and I were busily making valentines for the holiday exchange at school, I looked down and noticed that she had drawn sad faces on all 19 construction paper hearts. Of course, I didn't want to tell her that sad faces are "wrong" for valentines, as this is supposed to be her creative effort and her interpretation of an expressive tradition--not a strict directive from The Man to be enforced by a draconian mother with no sense of artistic voice. Plus, she very happily draws mostly sad faces these days, and I have been suspecting that she did not know that her smiles looked like frowns. Thinking that this could be a great teaching moment, I said, "Tillie, are those sad faces or happy faces?" She replied with a maniacal expression, "Some of them are sad and some of them are angry!" Apparently this was a teaching moment, and I was the student. Hence, all 19 of Tillie's beloved schoolmates will receive sad/angry-faced valentines this year.

Time Capsule

2011-02-07T15:29:00.007-05:00

Found these in an old book I was about to throw away until Scott protested:

The latter is a picture of my younger brother during high school - hah look at that baby face! The former is a check my grandma wrote me for my 19th birthday--the last gift she gave me before she died a couple of months later. I'm glad I saved it rather than using it to buy a month's worth of Top Ramen. I wish I could know you now Grandma Winnie.

Balloonicorn

2011-02-06T14:44:00.002-05:00

This is actually just a picture of Tillie's best friend Freddy the Unicorn wearing a beautiful "princess ring" (btw, thank you Eva for the beloved princess jewelry!). However, the previous week she had tied a helium balloon to her horn and dubbed her "Balloonicorn" which made her pun-loving mama very proud.

Dog-o-vision

2011-02-05T09:08:00.001-05:00

Snow Day!

2011-02-04T10:46:00.002-05:00

Tillie finds out how fun snow is until your hands get painfully cold.

1 Year Ago Today...

2011-01-18T10:24:00.002-05:00

...I received the most precious gift anyone has ever given me.

Playful

2011-01-11T11:23:00.001-05:00

Django loves to chase around a wind-up ladybug.

Question

2011-01-06T17:30:00.001-05:00

What if when I met you so long ago, I could see the future us and know that you would someday leave me? Leave me hurting, leave me lonely, leave me frightened, leave me with a clutter of memories whose clarity fades so quickly that I doubt the truth of it, leave me with regrets, leave me feeling that time and resources were wasted, leave me unable to apologize for my offenses, leave me without answers, leave me with cavernous doubts about the balance of nature, the existence of higher powers, the import of meaningful moments, and the possibility of an afterlife—at a time in my life when I thought I had finally sorted out all of these things. Would the young me wisely have walked away in search of a surer bet at complacency and peaceful ignorance?
No.

Stop!

2011-01-04T12:53:00.001-05:00

Note to self: Stop baking and eating cookies. (Especially white-chocolate, cranberry, pistachio cookies--they are impossible to ignore!)

Admiring

2011-01-03T11:09:00.001-05:00

Fairy wings and a purple helium balloon--I wish my happiness formula were as simple as it used to be.

Leafy

2011-01-02T21:08:00.001-05:00

Weee! (Part 3)

2011-01-01T22:23:00.003-05:00

Weee! (Part 2)

2011-01-01T22:23:00.001-05:00

Weee! (Part 1)

2011-01-01T22:22:00.001-05:00

The Tiniest Zookeeper

2010-12-30T15:43:00.005-05:00

Tillie loved this little roadside petting zoo we visited the other day. She got particularly attached to a little bantam chicken named Polly and carried it around for probably half an hour. She cried when we said we had to leave Polly in order to go see Santa. Poor Santa--no wonder he seemed so suspicious.

hedghog

bunny

chinchilla

guinea pig

the lovely Polly

PS. That chinchilla was very soft!

Big Boy

2010-12-28T09:29:00.001-05:00

Django has had a couple of firsts these past couple of weeks:
--first sign in baby sign language ("dog")
--first couple of steps (into Dada's arms at daycare pickup)
--first word ("hola")
He's still got a ways before he can keep up with Tillie, but the gap is closing fast.

Pink Christmas II

2010-12-26T15:04:00.002-05:00

It seems to be a christmas tradition with my kiddos to get pink eye for the holiday break. Last year it was Tillie--this year Django. Yuck!

Even with the contagion, Django still looks killer in his christmas suit:

Present Day

2010-12-25T20:30:00.000-05:00

Tillie directed holiday operations this morning, having placed herself in charge of distribution, handling, unwrapping, and testing of all products from last night's delivery. DJD contributed to product testing and public relations with the 60-and-older demographic.

This is one of two very special hand-me-down dolls that used to belong to my friend Camile. Django thinks the nose is a fun button to press. Thank you Brigitte--our family will cherish them always.

New Construction

2010-12-24T23:11:00.002-05:00

Suspicious Santa

2010-12-23T13:46:00.001-05:00

I thought this guy seemed kind of charming, but Tillie and Django found him to be a little suspicious.

Trim

2010-12-22T09:54:00.005-05:00

Tillie and her grandma decorated the tree a while back. Every once in a while, I'll catch her staring at the tree and she'll say, "It is so pretty."

My favorite part is the over-decorated section that was right in front of Tillie's chair--the only branch she could reach:

Nerdiness Is Contagious

2010-12-21T16:21:00.002-05:00

Children will do what you do. If that means wearing glasses, donning clothes from Target, and hauling around an extra special toolbox that organizes all of your science experiment equipment--then your children will do just that. It has nothing to do with how cool said activity/outfit actually is.