Dawkins v. Collins

Yesterday and today on Fresh Air, Terry Gross interviewed Richard Dawkins and Francis Collins about whether science and religion are compatible. Because I'm currently halfway through both of these men's recent books, I found it to be particularly interesting. If you're interested in such discussions, go to the Fresh Air site and listen to these interviews. (Grandpa Paul, I particularly thought of you while listening.)

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.

Mama's Place Is In the Kitchen

I cannot stand the Berenstain Bears, and not just because whenever I see the name "Berenstain," I always automatically focus on the "stain" part. The Berenstain Bears are altogether too wholesome for my tastes, too filled to the brim with the worst sort of family values. Heaven forbid Brother Bear ever comes out of the closet -- I just don't know what Mama and Papa will do!

We have none of their books. I usually turn off Sprout the minute they show up, but somehow they managed to stay on for longer than usual a few nights ago. The episode (probably based on this book) was all about how Mama Bear (who has no name other than Mama) has decided to open a quilt shop -- gasp! The family is in disarray! Mama Bear wants to work outside the home! Sister Bear declares without hesitation that she doesn't like it, and that she's opposed to change. Who will feed her and launder her clothes and wipe her nose? Mama patiently and kindly explains that sometimes Mamas have jobs, just like Papas, and that this means the rest of the family will have to chip in around the house.

Let me share with you the reasons I'm offended by this (as if I need to):

1. I can't believe they think they need to even address the idea of mothers working outside the home as a shocking and controversial topic. Is this not the 21st century? Are the Berenstain Bears wholly unaware of the feminist movement?

2. The rest of the family should be chipping in with the housework anyway. As I've learned over the last 21 months, stay-at-home moms have their hands full. Maintaining the household is the job of everyone who lives in the house.

I confess: I did not see the end of the episode, so I don't know how things fared for Mama Bear's foray into the work world. I imagine the quilt shop was a terrible disaster and Mama realized the error of her ways -- Mamas should stay home, cook dinner, wash clothes, care for the cubs, and maybe mix Papa the occasional martini. Silly Mama! But I can't tell you that for sure.

I can tell you that we won't be watching any more Berenstain Bears.

New World Order update: Our rough week stretches into a rough fortnight. (Which perhaps explains why I'm feeling so curmudgeonly.) The girls have decided to start napping again, but only after much daily struggle, and only for about a quarter as long as they used to. They are still extremely grumpy for most of the day. Good times, good times.

The New World Order

Because Airan and I are incredibly mean and like to see our children suffer, we decided that it was time for Evelyn and Sophia to give up their pacifiers this week. In addition to the occasional lectures from their therapists about how the pacifiers will need to go away, the sooner the better, we were both getting uncomfortable with just how attached the girls were to their precious binkies. And just to make things even more miserable for all parties, we decided it was also time to give up bedtime bottles, at the suggestion of medical professionals. And of course we had to do all this on the same day as the Daylight Savings Time switch because we are gluttons for punishment.

So you'll be shocked to hear that we're having a rough week around here. The girls have decided that naps are no longer necessary (a theory they'd been working on before the New World Order took effect, actually). All day long, they're awake and crabby, with nothing to comfort them. Sophia has transferred her binky obsession to her favorite puppy dog, which gives her some solace, but she's still pretty grouchy in general. Evelyn hasn't settled on a replacement for her binky, but she is focusing a lot of energy on learning to count in Spanish -- as you can imagine, the allure lasts only so long. My favorite fall-back distraction, Sprout, hasn't been effective lately, not even the girls' beloved Teletubbies.

Honestly, it's only a matter of time before Mommy becomes totally psychotic. If these girls don't start napping again, and soon, I don't know what I'm going to do! Freelance work becomes impossible, and blogging turns into a guilty pleasure I just can't afford. Send some sleepy vibes our way, stat!

Kelly's Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I'm extremely sad to report that I did not meet Alton Brown today. He was giving a free knife demo followed by a signing at the downtown Chicago Crate and Barrel. Foolish, foolish us -- we arrived at 12:56 for 1:00 demonstration and were denied entry because there was no more room. I got close enough to take this picture before I was shooed away:


We came back after the demonstration hoping to at least get in the autograph line. Yes, I already have a super-cool AB autograph, but I was hoping to finally be able to thank him for it. And I'd brought along my copy of I'm Just Here for More Food, just in case he wanted to sign that for me, too. Sadly, the autograph line was crazy long, and the girls were not at all, how do you say, patient. So we abandoned ship, but not until Airan snapped this shot of AB giving autographs for someone else:


All in all, a day filled with great sadness. But the weather was lovely, and we did have a nice stroll downtown. Here are a few more pictures from our bleak, sad, miserable day:

You might recognize this handsome fellow from a recent click post.


Sophia browses the stuffed-animal selection at Borders.


Sophia tries to jab sleepy Evelyn into wakefulness so she can join in the fun of book browsing.


Airan with two sleepy, sleepy girls.


Naptime.

Bon Voyage, Jo!

The twins and I had lunch today with most of the Game Day gang: Joanna, Julie, Kerri (and Libby), and Mary Beth (and Nora and Owen). Jill, you were missed! We took up a wide swath at our local Corner Bakery. A good time was had by all, with the possible exception of the kids, and perhaps the people at nearby tables who had to listen to Sophie and Evie melt down when they'd had enough already. Evie and Sophie wanted to run rampant through the establishment, while Nora and Owen were more interested in investigating the underside of our table. Miss Libby was the only one of the 2-and-under set who was perfectly satisfied with her lot -- and here Kerri claims she'd been crabby earlier in the day. Who does Kerri think she's fooling? We all know Libby is a perfect angel. (Of course, she's the one kid I didn't get a picture of today. I should never be trusted with photo duty.)

We got together today because it was our last chance to have lunch with Jo before she leaves the country for an undetermined amount of time. She and Tom are adopting the adorable Alejandro, and Jo will be serving as Alejandro's foster mother until the adoption is final and they can both come home -- we all hope that day will come soon!

We're all going to miss you so much, Jo! Hurry home, and give Alejandro lots of kisses for us. We can't wait to meet him!

Cajun Chili: Kid Tested

Here's the latest of the new recipes I've been trying out lately: Rachael Ray's Cajun Chili from 30-Minute Meals. I made a few alterations to the recipe (chipotle Tobasco sauce for the cayenne pepper sauce, heavy on the cumin, and a whole bottle of beer instead of half, to name a few of my changes), and the whole fam was pleased with the results.


Cajun Chili

1-1/2 lbs lean ground pork
1 T Mexican chili powder
1 T ground cumin
4 shakes cayenne pepper sauce
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 bottle of beer
1 can (14 oz) crushed tomatoes
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro, optional
Kosher salt, to taste

Green onion corn cakes:
1 package Jiffy corn bread mix
2 green onions, chopped

Follow directions on box for corn cakes, not corn bread. When batter is prepared, stir in chopped green onions.

Heat a pot over high heat and a skillet or griddle with a nonstick surface over medium-high heat.

Dump the ground pork into the pot. Season with chili powder, cumin, and cayenne sauce and brown for 5 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and bell peppers and cook, giving the pan a shake now and then, for another 3 or 4 minutes.

While the chili is cooking, rub the griddle with a little butter and wipe off excess with paper towel. Make up to 4-inch corn and green-onion cakes and keep finished cakes on a plate in a warm oven until chili is done.

Back to the chili. Add beer and stir up the bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil and season with salt, to taste.

Serve the chili up in bowls and top with green onion corn cakes -- with extra cakes on the side.


Like Rug's Bug, I think it's important to feed our kids the same meals we eat. Lucky for me, the twins are adventuresome eaters, most of the time.

Both sides of the story?

I've been having a good time checking out entries over at Conservapedia, which, according to Wikipedia, "originated from a project by homeschooled children, with many of its entries created by teenagers as part of a school assignment." Conservapedia calls itself "a much-needed alternative to Wikipedia, which is increasingly anti-Christian and anti-American."

For a good time, try comparing Wikipedia entries to Conservapedia entries. Here are a few of my favorites:

"Dinosaur" at Wikipedia vs. "Dinosaur" at Conservapedia
"Evolution" at Wikipedia vs. "Theory of Evolution" at Conservapedia
"Critical thinking" at Wikipedia vs. "Critical thinking" at Conservapedia
"Homosexuality" at Wikipedia vs. "Homosexuality" at Conservapedia

And perhaps my favorite of all:

• "Democratic Party" at Wikipedia: "In recent decades, the party advocates civil liberties, social freedoms, equal rights, equal opportunity, fiscal responsibility, and a free enterprise system tempered by government intervention (what economists call a mixed-economy)."
• "Democrat" at Conservapedia: "Conservative critics claim, however, that the national leadership of the Democratic Party tends to be soft on terrorism, insufficiently patriotic, supportive of abortion on demand, and hostile to America's founding principles such as freedom of religion."

Mind you, I'm not criticizing the high school students who put many of these entries together. Their parents, maybe...

Important: This Is Not a Sales or Marketing Message!

My latest pet-peeve: automated telemarketing calls. We've been getting more and more of these calls lately -- the caller ID says something like "Toll-Free Call" or "Unknown Number," and I answer the phone solely to tell the schmuck on the other end that we're on the Do Not Call list and that they need to stop calling us. Much to my dismay, I'm greeted by an anonymous prerecorded voice who tells me things like "This is not a sales or marketing call!" and "It is very important that you contact us immediately about this opportunity!"

Seriously. Who falls for that? I've had credit card companies call me about suspected (and actual) security breeches on my accounts, and those calls are very different. Usually an actual person calls, and they're very clear about who they are and why they're calling. These vague callers don't give a name or a company and can't give me details about exactly why I need to call them at their 800-number -- just how stupid do they think I am?

According to the FCC, autodialers can legally be used only within limited parameters. "All artificial or prerecorded telephone messages must state, at the beginning, the identity of the business, individual, or other entity that is responsible for initiating the call." Also, "If you have caller ID, a telemarketer is required to transmit or display its telephone number and, if available, its name or the name and phone number of the company for which it is selling products." So at least two FCC rules are being violated by the autodialers who have been filling up my phone line.

The good news: "Some states permit you to file law suits against violators; you may be awarded $500 in damages or actual monetary loss, whichever is greater. This amount may be tripled if you are able to show that the caller willfully and knowingly violated do-not-call requirements."

I'm going to be doing some research into just how to get my hands on a cool $500 for my pain and mental anguish.

Just Call Her Sophia Pollock

Life with toddlers is full of firsts: first words, first steps, first F-bomb (we haven't hit that milestone yet, I'm happy to report).

Today was a new first. I haven't quite decided how to label this one. First mural? First graffiti? First real reason to paddle someone's richly deserving behind for ignoring me several times when I repeated in an increasingly screechy voice, "Sophia! Crayons are for paper only! Don't you dare color on that wall! Sophia, are you listening to me? Sophia Mae!! Get over here!" (Don't worry, you non-violent types. No blows were exchanged. I'm too big a softie for that sort of thing.)

Reasons this is a bad sign of things to come:

1) Evelyn thought her sister had a fine idea indeed and is ready and waiting to try her hand at wall art the next time I allow them to touch the crayons (probably right before they leave for college).

2) Both girls seem to think it's hilarious when I tell them "no." I've always known that I don't exactly command respect or give off an air of authority, but it's just a touch irritating to have two toddlers laugh in your face while you very sternly and seriously say, "No!"

3) How lame is it that I'm reluctant to wash the wall? It is a lovely bit of toddler art. The colors, the line, the form -- delightful! Who am I to squash Sophia's inner artist?

That pathetic sentiment aside, who can give me some good advice on how to get washable Crayola crayons off water-based paint? I'm fresh out of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers.

Deep Thoughts

My favorite line from last night's Lost: "Let's look death in the face and say, 'Whatever, man!'"