Boxes and Casks

What is it with these kids? They'll happily nap in car seats or strollers, but not in their cribs. Today, they took a lovely snooze in the car as we drove to our lunch date.



We met up with Jill, gamer and catalog editor extraordinaire, for a delightful lunching experience.



On the way out, the twins were very nearly beaked to death by feral geese.



I won't tell you the name of the fancy-schmancy housewares and furniture corporate headquarters where we dined, but I'll give you a hint: their products come in crates, and sometimes barrels.

Pleasingly Sung

Go here to read John von Rhein's review of Sunday's Chicago Chamber Choir concert. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Out Like a Lamb

Out like a 77-degree lamb, that is. Wow, it's warm today. And sunny. And a touch humid. But I'm not complaining. What a great day to get out and play at the park with Kerri and Libby. I think I got a sunburn while we were at it. Why do I always remember to put sunscreen on the kids, but not myself?

Libby gives the baby swings a try.


Evelyn is an old pro at this -- she had to be dragged away, kicking and screaming.


Sophia was more interested in napping in the stroller. Do not disturb.

Let Us Move

[commence shameless plug]

The Chicago Chamber Choir had the first performance of our spring concert series this afternoon. If I do say so myself, it was a mighty fine concert, and the house was packed -- a rare thing for a concert of choral music on a fine spring day. The songs on the program, music of 18th- and 19th-century America, were inspiring and moving, and we in the choir performed them reasonably well, if I may be permitted to proclaim such a thing.

The good news is that y'all have two more chances to see us sing these great tunes. This coming Friday evening, we'll be in Lincoln Park at St. Pauls United Church of Christ. And Sunday, April 15, we'll be singing in the Maddox Theatre at Rockford College, for those of you out westward. I strive to avoid the whole arm-twisting, come-to-my-concerts-or-I'll-cry-forever business, so I'm not trying to guilt trip anyone here. I just want you to know that this is a great concert, and if you miss it, I'll probably cry forever.

Sahara, Here I Come

Like I have time to take on new projects right now.

The fine ladies over at the Sexy Knitters Club are starting up a knit-along (KAL) project, in which lots of people all knit up the same pattern and share questions, ideas, encouragement, and pictures along the way. This time around, the project is Sahara by Stitch Diva Studios, and I love the pattern so much I can't resist. It's been ages since I took on a new knitting project, and I'm just itching to get out my needles and cast on. I ordered my yarn today -- I cannot wait to get started.

So sometime in between taking care of the kids, freelance work, choir, cooking, cleaning, and maybe occasionally showering, I'm going to cram in some knitting time. Wish me luck. And if I ever manage to finish the sweater, I'll be sure to post lots of proud pics here.

Fix Reason Firmly In Her Seat

I saw this quote over at James Randi's Swift for March 23. I liked it so much I thought I'd share it with you.

Shake off all the fears of servile prejudices, under which weak minds are servilely crouched. Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call on her tribunal for every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason than that of blindfolded fear.

--Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

CCC on WFMT

As I mentioned on Monday, the Chicago Chamber Choir will be on WFMT's Impromptu program today between 4:00 and 5:00. We'll be performing (live!) a few pieces from our upcoming concert series. Chicagoans, tune in to 98.7 on your FM dial and give us a listen.

(They say we'll be on between 4:00 and 4:30. However, they said that last time and we didn't sing until closer to 5:00, and thus none of you losers heard my solo. Of course, this time I don't have a solo, which means you'll all be listening, right?)

A Much Better Day

sleepy cutie pie

happy cutie pie

Short nap today, but I'll take it.

In Which I Whine Some More About How Hard My Life Is

So on top of everything else, we had an incident yesterday: Sophia caught the rough side of Pepper's paw. With her eye. Well, her eyelid, actually. But it was a close thing. It was an accident, of course -- Pepper intended to gouge out the eye of a strange dog who was passing by, and Sophia just got caught in the crossfire. Pepper seems to understand that she did something very, very wrong; she's been quite contrite indeed ever since it happened.

What with the late evening trip to the doctor's office, the midnight dose of eye drops, and the normal mayhem that wears these kids out, I have high hopes that we'll get some real naps today. Call me an optimist.

Sophie's injured eye.

Sleepy girls.

Weekend Recap

Yikes. These kids keep us hopping. My weekend, in abbreviated form:

Saturday:
* Physical therapy for the girls.
* Choir rehearsal for me. (Concerts are coming up soon -- order your tickets now!)
* Trip to the vet to pick up antibiotics for Pepper, who has E. coli in her bladder.
* Monthly family trek to Costco -- always fun for the kids AND the wallet.
* Much wrangling of screaming girls.
* Corned beef and cabbage for dinner, in observation of the holiday.

Sunday:
* Visit to the Shedd Aquarium, where Evelyn screamed pretty much non-stop, even when she was getting exactly what she wanted. (She did take a break from the screaming so she and Sophia could sing whale songs at the belugas.)
* No nap whatsoever for an extremely exhausted Evelyn.
* Much wrangling of screaming girls.
* And then Evelyn did a thing I've never seen before. During dinner (leftover corned beef), she went straight from crying to asleep, with no transition. One moment, she was screaming, and the next, her eyes rolled up, her head fell back, and she was fast asleep in her booster chair. Kind of creepy, actually. And now we realize that her scream-fest at the aquarium wasn't just because she was grumpy: this kid is sick. And Sophia is coming down with it, too. So it looks like we're in for another fun week. Blogosphere, remember me with pity, and be glad you're not home alone with toddler twin girls who are giving you fits. (Except you, Shannon -- it is comforting to know you share my pain!)

In case I don't have a chance to mention it later, I'd better tell you now: The Chicago Chamber Choir will be performing live on WFMT's Impromptu program Thursday afternoon, sometime between 4:00 and 5:00. For those of you in Chicagoland, WFMT is 98.7 on your FM dial. And for the rest of you, the good news is that WFMT does have live streaming through its web site. The bad news is that you have to pay $65 (minimum) to access it. So you out-of-towners are off the hook on this one.