Friday, January 30, 2009

New York, New York



















We just returned from NYC, and it was great! What an incredible place! Of course we encountered blurps we did not forsee -- like losing Emmeline's sling on the first leg of the trip. Ultimately we carried her everywhere and she was as happy as could be. See? Sleeping in momma's arms, and living the high life in the apartment we rented.


Our older children were such troopers on this trip; we are so proud of them! We took in Ellis Island, the Liberty Science Center (which was spectacular), the Statue of Liberty, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum and Natural History, Shrek the Musical and The Lion King. Needless to say we were exhausted on our trip back ... which took almost nine hours start to finish.


We are caught up on laundry finally, and are back to our regular routine. Emmeline seems to have grown by leaps and bounds since before we left -- she is really engaging and giggly. We are trying to treasure her babyness as it disappears before our very eyes!




Sunday, January 18, 2009

Golden Key

Our neighborhood k-8 public school is great. Not just fine or adequate but really, really incredible. We have art, music, Spanish, and a plethora of before and after school classes. In the lower grades there are two classes, each with 13-16 students. Chloe's class had 16 students until seventh grade, with a total of 32 students in the entire grade. Now her 8th grade hovers at about 36.

One of my favorite teachers at our school is the art teacher. She is a dynamo woman with grown children of her own. Her classroom is removed from the other buildings, and is overflowing with clay, color, messy tables and smiling children. She is solely responsible for making my kids feel they are even the tiniest bit artistic.

Thursday night Tom and Chloe, pictured above on the left, went to an art awards ceremony where Chloe was acknowledged for winning two "gold key" awards for two paintings. She won a certificate, was called up to speak, and was given a free art class at a nearby art college. Wow!The great thing about being 14 is being still young enough to get uninhibitedly excited -- and it was rewarding to see her so proud of herself. Go, Chloe! Go, public schools!

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Introduction... drum roll please!

Well, hi everyone! Time for official introductions! Cast of characters:

Elizabeth -- Mama. Mu-therrr. The Boss. Whatever the name, I'm it! Before our children were born I was a public school teacher -- 7th grade. Now I use my energies to raise our five children and one infant.

Tom -- All important husband and dad. Superstar Lawyer, all around insanely wonderful man.

Chloe -- 14 year old daughter. 8th grader.

Megan -- 11 year old daughter. 6th grader.

Brian -- 11 year old son. 6th grader. Approximately 28 minutes younger than Megan.

Suzanna -- 10 year old daughter. 4th grader.

Nolan -- Eight year old son. 2nd grader.

Emmeline -- baby girl, born in October 2008.

Location -- our 1942 era home in the gorgeous Pacific Northwest