Top o' the Mornin'!

Top o' the Mornin' to y'all! (That's my Irish-southern drawl-brogue coming out.) I thought I'd share a few pictures from our first annual St. Patty's Day Dinner. Between the shamrock jello, green Irish soda bread, and tinted green hair, it was an experience we won't forget. While Brooklyn had fun decorating her own head, and Jason had a blast painting Talia's, I was a bit relieved when the green paint came out of the girls' hair. As a pre-teen, I unintentionally dyed my hair green by spending too much time in the swimming pool. Our family moved at the same time, forcing me to start junior high at a new school with garbage-green hair. Needless to say, it was rather traumatic... If only it'd been St. Patty's Day!

What's Wrong With This Picture?

The other night we bathed both of the girls, then got Talia out and put her in her snuggly jammies. Shortly thereafter, Jason and I looked around and said, "where'd Talia go?" When we found her, we figured out that she wasn't done with bathtime yet. She may not talk yet, but she sure communicates!

Welcome to the family, Zoë!

I am long overdue in welcoming Zoë, the newest extended member of our family. Aunt Callie adopted her baby last July, adding yet another girl to our mix. Brooklyn and Talia are super excited to have a cousin to play with, and Grandma and Grandpa are thrilled to have yet another excuse to use the baby gates.

From the photos, you’ll probably notice the loving bond between Talia and Zoë. Talia made quick friends with her pug cous’ by willingly sharing her food. This wouldn’t be that bad except that she’d often finish it off after Zoë took a lick or too! We quickly discovered that the two have lots in common—such as drooling, chewing on everything, and eating scraps off the floor. They even like to go for rides in the same luggage carrier.

As for Brooklyn, once she got past her concern that Zoë was going to eat her, she discovered that a pug can be tons of fun to drag around the house on a leash. Fortunately, Zoë was very accommodating. At any rate, welcome to the family!

Sharing and Caring

About 2:30 am last night, a three year-old bundle quietly slipped into our bed, hoping to go unnoticed. I groaned, rolled over, and started to explain how this was Mommy and Daddy's bed. All of a sudden Brooklyn started to sob uncontrollably. Between cries she said, "But Mom, we have to share!" Even in the midst of my grogginess, I couldn't help but grin and roll my eyes at her logic. If anyone has any suggestions on how to explain the difference to a three year-old, please share (no pun intended).

Happy Birthday to ... Me! (And You Too.)

This semester I am having a fabulous time teaching an intermediate reading course at the University of Illinois's Intensive English Institute. While I have students from Peru, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, and Japan, the majority of my students are Korean. Yesterday, in celebration of the lunar New Year, my Korean students fixed dinner for their teachers and classmates.

I watched in fascination as my students worked together to prepare duk guk, a traditional Korean rice cake soup. While I certainly enjoyed it, Talia LOVED it and spooned up every last drop. She finally got impatient and picked up the bowl to lap up the rest! I read online that Koreans prepare duk guk because it is so easy to eat and can be enjoyed by young and old. Talia's certainly proven that to be true.

It wasn't until after I finished my meal that my students explained duk guk's role in the New Year's celebration. Apparently everyone turns a year older after eating this traditional soup. So without realizing it, I became thirty in a moment!

In many ways, this was a pretty painless way to reach the black milestone of three decades. Instead of fretting for the next six months about my impending loss of youth in September, I got it over with early. No procrastination for me!

So here's the question...if I had eaten two bowls of soup, would I be thirty-one? And since Talia devoured three bowls, is she already four? I know kids grow up fast, but wowzers....time flies. :)

Laughable Love at Home

Over the past few weeks, our church choir has been practicing “Love at Home.” During rehearsal today, the lyrics struck me as rather ironic.

There is beauty all around, when there’s love at home.

As I thought back on our day, I wondered what could be considered more beautiful—Brooklyn’s bright orange drawing on the carpet, or Talia’s chocolate-colored poop smeared on the white canvas of her Daddy’s Sunday shirt.

There is joy in every sound, when there’s love at home.

I wonder which sounds those refer to—the percussive rhythm of Cheerios crunching on the floor (Talia dumped out the entire bag over breakfast this morning), or the lyrical moans of Brooklyn whining terribly about how much it hurts before the brush even makes contact with her scalp.

Peace and plenty here abide,

Peace… peace… Well, we have plenty of peas scattered among the Cheerios, along with a random puzzle piece, but peace seems elusive, particularly at mealtime... and playtime… and bathtime… and diaper-changing time…

Smiling sweet on every side

Let’s just say that with half of the family on antibiotics, we do more sniffling than smiling lately.

Obviously, whoever composed these lyrics must not have had small children at home. I don’t know about your family, but roses definitely don’t bloom beneath our feet! Still, one thing is very true--the time really does glide, even if it isn’t as softly and sweetly as the song suggests. I suppose the best we can do for the moment is still love each other, despite the raw imperfections of reality, and allow for the rose-colored glasses of memory to take care of the rest.

Second Life, Get a Life!

These last couple of weeks I've been introduced to the "virtual world" of Second Life as part of a course that I'm taking on Computer-Mediated Communication for Language Learning.

For neophytes like me who were clueless as to the existence of this 3-D virtual continent, Second Life allows you to create and design an avatar that looks, sounds, and acts any darn way you like. Even more, you can purchase property and design businesses, parks, buildings, amusement parks--anything your heart desires. What's really mind boggling is that Second Life actually has its own economy where you can buy and sell these creations for "lindens," which can subsequently be cashed in for U.S. Dollars. Enterprising computer geeks have made a virtual fortune, becoming millionaires in the process.

Sounds pretty nifty, huh.

Not.

Despite the adrenaline rush of entering this high-tech world where I can fly and flirt with ripped men in muscle shirts (who are almost as good-looking as my husband), I hated the experience.

I stand ethically opposed to all of the time and resources that are being spent on the expansion of this virtual world when there is so much need for improvement in our real one. While I was plummetting hundreds of feet in my virtual world and bouncing up without a scratch, my daughter fell two feet from her chair and ended up in a sea of tears with a bloody mouth to boot.

Our world cannot prosper off of a virtual economy where the only creations are found on a flat screen. What's happened to the pride that we used to have in getting our hands dirty making things that you can touch, smell, taste, experience?

For Jason, architecture school has been a bit of a disappointment because so much of the design work has been replaced by computer modelling. There seems to be a great disconnect in the way that many of today's architecture students can't even draw--taking the art out of architecture. Designs are influenced, if not controlled, by what the computer is able to render, making you wonder whether the technology or the profession is really in charge.

I wonder what my Zimbabwean friends and family would think if they knew that people were investing all of these funds into Second Life when they don't have enough to eat in their first one? Can they make sadza out of virtual corn? As Americans, don't we feel a twinge of guilt investing in Lindens when the U.S. dollar is tottering dangerously?

Let's face it, at it's core, virtual is rather fake. I find it ironic that I have to spend ten times as much time choosing my outfit and altering my appearance online than I do in reality. When I asked a Second Life expert why I should even care, I was basically told that if you look like a Newbie in this virtual world, nobody will talk to you. That seems pretty backward for a world where you're supposedly free to express your true inner self and have people accept you.

Personally, I think it's time that people stopped trying to create a better second life for themselves, and focus on the real one they're actually living instead. If you want to meet new people, try knocking on the door of the stranger who lives next door. In this virtual world of global connectedness, we've neglected the closest relationships that could nourish our minds and souls in a very real way. So Second Life, you can get a life. I've already got one.