The Day the World Became More Hopeful

It’s been shown that people often vote for candidates with whom they identify most. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that both Beni and I, being biracial, identified with the junior senator from Illinois early on. Fortunately for us, his worldview is quite simpatico with ours.

And so it brought us great hope—yes, hope—that this country we love so dearly and its citizens accomplished this most historic feat. To borrow liberally (pun intended) from our friends on the right (Palin and the plumber included), we put our country first, and along the way, created a first for our country.

Political party: Obamaniacs at an Obama-rama

Gift of for the Maggie

The circle that Olivia runs with at school is actually a triangle: there’s our child, Tianna, and Maggie. Their teacher calls them “The Three Musketeers.” Tianna can be real hot and cold—one day telling Olivia that she’s her best friend, the next day relaying that they’re no longer friends. Maggie, on the other hand, doesn’t seem to engage in such games. And so that explains why one of them got a card and the other one didn’t.

Some close-ups:

She’s No Princess Leia, But…

…you can call her Obi-Worn Kimono. Here she is with Darth Vader, aka Aiden. The duo rang doorbells around his galaxy this Halloween night.

Turning Japanese

Our daughter is going as a Japanese princess this Halloween. Her school put on their Halloween party today, which was highlighted by the costume parade. Here’s the group before they went a marchin’.

Heard a Penned Drop

Olivia’s given songwriting a go. She’s given us the timely song of “Happy Halloween Drops,” which is to be sung to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot.” It’s definitely an earworm—a song that takes residence in your brain once it burrows its way in.

Orange You Glad…

…that the color orange figures so prominently in the autumnal season? I know that Olivia thinks that I am. She insists, against reality, that orange is my favorite color. (For the record, blue is my fave hue.) She probably believes this because I own several pieces of orange clothing, or because I consume an ungodly amount of mangoes.

Either way, I was pleased to see that Olivia helped deck the halls with items of my “favorite” color.

Water Blogged

We’ve continued to outsource swim instruction to the experts. Olivia’s moved on from beginners swim lessons to group ones. She’s now expected to hold her breath underwater, float on her back, dive in from a seated position, and jump in from the edge of the pool.

Grandma Moose, here this week to help care for Beni, was along for the ride poolside.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

…draw a lemonade stand. Those orange-ish, inchoate objects floating directly above the girl selling lemonade? They are hearts, and according to our illustrious illustrator, they represent the love she has for everyone in the world…and for lemonade.

On a related note, it’s fun for me to see how far Olivia’s artistic abilities have come in a relatively short amount of time. Here’s something she created six months ago.

(Notice how the birds that G added to this picture have migrated to Olivia’s recent works.)

Playing the Grace Card

There is one bright spot of Beni’s ongoing battle with hyperemesis gravidarum: being able to witness the collective grace, love, and charity of our friends and family. We cannot thank enough all of those who have helped out in one way or another. I credit our loved ones for getting my sickly wife from a state of bedroom semi-permanence to an occasional sofa sitting. So to all of you, muchas gracias for your grace, and merci beaucoup for your mercy.

Olivia, for her part, has turned to the healing power of cards and drawings: every time we’re in a store that carries greeting cards, she insists that we pick one up to pick up one’s spirits; during free time at school, she creates pictures upon pictures of her mom—I think she believes that she can will Beni back to health with each successive pen- and brushstroke.

Decoration of Independence

Our child thinks she’s old enough to take on the world. She insists on doing most everything by 'self, including swimming (Dana Torres she ain’t), bathing, and voting for the president of the United States of America. We hate to squelch her youthful exuberance, and so we try to let her do as much as she wants or is able to within the boundaries of law, time, and safety. With these parameters in mind, we nixed her request to carve the family pumpkin by herself but encouraged her to decorate her little gourds with markers.

Home Run

Olivia put on her mom’s iPod before setting out for her run around the house.

Out on Bale

Olivia popped a squat on a hay bale during our trip to the nursery, but of greater significance, Beni emerged from the sick ward for her first extended trip out in over a month. In her brief public appearance, she helped us select our family pumpkin and other seasonal items.

Here’s that rare Beni sighting:

A mom among mums