Happy Halloween!

Hamslice is very revved up for Halloween this year, especially since we've spent the last two days holed up in the house because of Hurricane Sandy. (The house et al. is fine, BTW)

Yesterday all the businesses were closed but the storm had moved out so we went to the movie "Hotel Transylvania" which is laugh out loud funny. After that we went to the mall, where Hamslice was able to sneak into this unmanned photo booth and we got this pic. You can tell he's in there because I told him to do it. Note the stale smile...

And this morning was his costume parade for school, so he wore his Skylander costume. Neither Hambone nor I know what a Skylander is. We suspect Hamslice doesn't either, but he liked the skeleton look and thinks the mask is pretty awesome. So there you have it. Happy Halloween Hamslice!

Fun pics from Aunt & Uncle

Hamslice got some fun mail from his aunt & uncle -- photos of their great day together this September!

Art Prize Grand Rapids

So a recap of ArtPrize is in order... The boys and I made the trek to Grand Rapids Michigan last weekend to see what all the fuss is about, and we had a really great time.

ArtPrize is a funky mix of "midwest fab" art with some highbrow classically trained art interspersed. I think the contrast and regionalism is what made it special for us. We really felt the event was true the Midwest (and we dearly love the Midwest), and that there is great art (by anyone's standard) taking place all over.

Here are some shots from ArtPrize, so you all can get the flavor...

This exhibit is of a moose with seven or so Wolves attacking it. I consider this "Taxidermy art" and I can't help but say that the taxidermy work was amazing. They all looked pretty alive to me.

Hamslice is standing here next to a tiger made of scrap wood and metal. These were very well done.

Here is an elephant made by the same artist. We really liked this exhbit

And a Rhino made of spare metal objects

This is a dragon .. a little bit of fantasy art here...

Hamslice wasn't scared of the dragon.

Here's Hamslice getting into the Chinese Lantern lighting. See the lanterns behind his head?

Here's Hambone becoming one with the art. We liked this TV frame.

What's not to love about a humungous chopper? See the person in the red jacket standing next to the seat? That's how big it was.

This installation of horses made of driftwood was cool no matter where you're from.

My favorite pieces were the ones where the audience was allowed to write stuff as part of the display. This one says "I told you they all leave, Tristan. Do you believe me now?"  How awesome is that. One of the other slips of paper in this piece said "I love boobies" and had a quick sketch of boobies on it.

Ah. Another huge chopper, this one is being driven by a skeleton

Skeleton chopper from a different angle

This is a huge black bird. Not a Raven, though.

This is a giant statue of President Ford's Head. You will only see this in Michigan, I believe.

Here's a nice robot family made out of spare Harley Davidson motorcycle parts.

This is a calliope made of junkyard stuff. It played a song and everything.

This is a seal sitting on a rock, but the whole thing is made out of one piece of wood. The craftsmanship here was unbelievable. I really thought this should win the $500,000 prize.

Aaaand then here's some tattoo art. Why not.

Pumpkin Carving!

This is the first year Hamslice has been old enough to get interested in actually carving his pumpkin. In earlier years we let him color his pumpkin with markers, but this time he definitely wanted it carved.

We gave him a Sharpie marker and he drew the outline of what he wanted cut out, and then Mom did the honors.

He's so happy with his pumpkin!

MMmmmm Chocolate Lava Cake

This weekend Hamslice discovered the magic of chocolate lava cake. It's chocolate cake with hot chocolate sauce inside the cake for a special surprise. Let's just say he was in hog heaven.

Hamslice's 1st Day of Big Boy School

Today was Hamslice's first day at the Park School of Baltimore. He is pretty excited and doesn't seem all that nervous. He likes the idea of carpooling for the first few days of school because it's more fun to go to school with friends, right?The bus can't run because all the streets are closed for the Grand Prix...

Here he is in the carpool car, about to head for school.

What a big smile!

Happy 5th Birthday, Hamslice

This weekend was Hamslice's fifth birthday! We went to Chincoteague Island VA to celebrate, and we had a marvelous time in spite of ourselves. Some notable experiences:

1. Hamslice was the only one to catch fish this weekend. Mom and Dad kept trying, but Hamslice was the winner.
2. Hamslice showed an UNCANNY ability to win at Crazy 8s this weekend. Seriously, he won 99% of the games, even when we didn't let him win. WHAT!
3. We went to Assateague beach to play in the water, but the waves were so HUGE that we couldn't get past our ankles. There was a rip tide warning as well, so Hamslice wore his life jacket. He was the only kid there with one on. How scary for the other parents!
4. We went for crabs on Hamslice's birthday, just as a humungous storm rolled in. In fact, it rained most of the weekend. But during our crab feast, all the power went out in the restaurant. All the other customers left because of it, but the restaurant stayed open so we finished our crabs. Just before we were done, the lights came back on. Hambone felt sorry for the waitresses and left a $30 tip.
5. Our trip home was during a rainstorm that caused major flooding, so what was normally a 3.5 hour drive turned out to be 9 hours.

Happy Birtday Hamslice!

Schooltime Jitters

Hamslice starts his new "big boy school" in less than two weeks, and we're all jittery (well, everyone but Hambone. He's status quo as always)

We all went to buy paper a few nights ago for Hambone's company, and while we were in the store, Hamslice tugged gently at my pants and said, "I think I need some school supplies." So we decided he could pick out whatever he felt he needed to be ready for school. (Our actual school shopping had taken place a few weeks ago)

After careful consideration and much browsing, he settled on these items to prepare for his big transition:

1 Pencil sharpener that looks like a giant dice
1 Batman folder
1 Pack of crayola markers, 12 colors

I was proud of his careful selections, and continue to be irrationally thrown by him leaving Montessori and going to Real School. I thought we had this covered because he's been in school since he was born, but I guess every transition happens to Mom and kid at the same level. Or maybe it's harder for Mom.

Sigh.

More Fun Letters from AB!

This letter from Aunt Bet has knock knock jokes in it, some puzzles, and one very lonely fish =)

Aunt and Uncle Pen Pals!

Uncle C and Aunt K came to visit last weekend, and we had a terrific time together. Hamslice really enjoyed hamming it up with his uncle, and his aunt FINALLY got to see our house 'post-construction'.

Here's a video of Hamslice reading their thank you letter to him about the visit:

Psychic Hamslice

Last night I had a dream about Hamslice, where he did something amazing (I can't remember exactly what it was, unfortunately). In my dream I was shouting about how proud I was of him. It was a very emotional moment.

At this same moment, Hamslice shouted "What? I can't hear you, Mom" from his bedroom. It was 4am. Hambone said I wasn't actually shouting.

What happened there? Coincidence? I am so freaked out.

Hoodwinking Hamslice

This falls under the category "things Mom comes up with because she's bored" and will probably embarrass Hamslice for eternity, but I can't help it.
We use Hulu for TV instead of cable, and for Hamslice's shows, I set the program to Auto play all of the episodes so we don't need to go back to the remote between programs. However, I told Hamslice that he could conjure up additional episodes using his MIIIND.
I can't believe he believes some of this stuff...

Storms on the Hill

The weather has been really humid and crazy lately, which causes these pop up storms in the evenings. Check this one out:

Pen Pals are the Best

Hamslice and AB's pen pal relationship is still going strong -- Thank you AB!!

Bears!

We went to an auction in West Michigan over the weekend, and Hambone bought two stuffed bears. He put one in his office...

Hamslice Pen Pal

Hamslice has recently become pen pals with AB. He loves getting letters, here's his latest:

This is me reading AB's letter to Hamslice

Fun Stuff Inside the Letter for our little man

Oedipus Comes for Dinner

Last night as I prepared dinner and Hambone sat at the end of the bar reading email, Hamslice started talking in some detail about how he wants the two of us to live in this house when he grows up. He kept referring to just him and me.

I asked "what about Daddy--is he going to live with us too?"

Hamslice, mortified that he was outlining his master plan right in front of his competition, clapped his hand over his mouth and bent over in embarrassment. When he recovered a bit, I asked again, "What happens to Daddy when you grow up?"

Hamslice shrugged and said, "He goes away. We don't need him anymore when I'm grown up."

I looked down the bar to Hambone, who whispered, "AVENGE ME"

How ABOUT that house in Ocean City

A few weeks ago we went to Ocean City Maryland for a quick weekend -- Hambone had a conference there, and Hamslice and I tagged along for some fun in the sun.

Long story short, we had a total blast. Hamslice is old enough now to enjoy beach combing, so we spent several hours looking for seashells and running in and out of the waves. He was able to ride his bike down the boardwalk during an early morning stroll, and we had some awesome fresh seafood.

When we returned to (stinky, trashy) Baltimore we all remarked about how much fun we had. A few days later as I was putting Hamslice down for a nap, he said to me, "Mommy, you can work while I take a nap so you can make money to buy me a beach house in Ocean City."

That boy don't miss a beat.

Hambone and Hamslice do a Duet

My two favorite guys are doing a little "improv" on the keyboard and flute

Stumbling Upon Dragons

This weekend was the kinetic sculptures parade but we accidentally missed that. What a super bummer!!!  But we went to the Federal Hill neighborhood association picnic instead, and on the way back we happened upon Matsuri restaurant's 16th anniversary celebration with real Chinese Dragons.

Hamslice was pretty spooked at first. Always the adventurer, though, he found out that if he pet their tails, the tails would wiggle and pet back. He was squealing and giggling while the person under the dragon costume flipped the tail back and forth like a happy wiggly puppy.

We love city life.

Full Circle

I remember when I was just a little girl, hanging around with Mom. She had a little habit that I don't think either of us really thought much about, but it went like this: if we were sitting quietly for a while, she'd reach out and rub my knee just for just a second to let me know she was thinking about me.

I miss that.

Without knowing it, I've been doing the same thing with Hamslice -- there's just not enough things to talk about all the time, so I just give him that little touch so he knows he's on my mind.

Yesterday he did it back to me. And it was like my Mom was there too; three generations all thinking about each other, just for a moment.

Full circle.

Screwing up Santa

Our little guy was pretty pumped up about Santa this year -- probably more than he'll ever be again, and I may have taken it just a little too far.

Hamslice kept talking about hearing Santa's sleigh bells, and how he was looking forward to Christmas Eve when Santa would come. We made homemade cookies for Santa in the afternoon and left them out with some apples for the reindeer when we put Hamslice to bed.

And then I should have left it at that. But no, I remembered that we actually have a section of sleigh bells in the house, so Hambone muffled those in a blanket and brought them to the third floor, shaking his head and sighing the whole time.

At 5:00 am Christmas morning, I couldn't sleep anymore (unlike the boys) so I took the bells up on the roof and jangled them for all I was worth. And I stomped across the roof deck like a herd of deer. 5  minutes... nothing. 6 minutes... nothing.

I opened the door and called down to Jake that Santa was here, and a sleepy (and surprisingly crabby) little boy appeared at the bottom of the stairs. He said, "Go to bed Mom, I don't believe in Santa."

Not to be miffed right away, I asked if he wanted to open presents now or go back to bed. He opted for bed.

Completely deflated, I also returned to my bed. I would say "maybe next year" but I doubt it will work then either. *sigh*

Merry Christmas

The Great K-9 Switcheroo

As you may recall, we rescued a puppy about a year ago. What you may not know is that Hamslice declared himself a sworn enemy of the puppy fairly early on. It was a very rough and unpleasant ride.

So... last weekend we brought Elwood the (now full grown) dog to an adoption event that was held by the rescue agency where we got him last year. There were many dogs and lots of people, but there was no taker for Elwood. I was a little worried that Hamslice would blow a gasket if we had to go home with his "mortal enemy" so I wandered off with the dog.

When I returned, I told Hamslice (now this was a joke, so remember that) that I'd traded Elwood for this new dog named Pete. For some reason Hamslice believed me.

Since returning from the adoption fair, Hamslice and Pete have been inseparable. They play together, cuddle on the sofa together, and Hamslice keeps telling me how much he loves Pete and how happy we traded Elwood in for such a better dog.

Hambone, meanwhile, is completely unamused.

Catching up... Birthday, Soccer and more

Hamslice's birthday came during a very active hurricane season this year. His original birthday party was cancelled because there was an actual hurricane that day. His new party date also came during a pretty good rain storm, and the rescheduled "opening day" of soccer for his team was the same day. It all worked together to create this party, where Hamslice had a marvelous time even though just three of his friends showed up. Avery, Ava and Olivia. I was so grateful to those parents for getting out of bed to join us on that raw, rainy day.

Note to self: don't pay for such an elaborate outdoor party next year -- hurricane season is every year, after all.

Our next adventure in parenting was Soccer. We put him on the local team, and Hamslice uniformly decided that he hated everything about it. See his teammates in red, whooping it up on the field while our boy just sulks?

We were finally able to get him to play by threatening to put him in bed for the whole day if he didn't get out there. Once he played a bit, he liked it.... but not too much.

We then vowed to get him some exercise through biking or hiking or something. Somehow this boy has to learn to enjoy himself while exercising.

 We took Hamslice to the firemen department's annual "Thrill Show" where everyone gets to ride in fire trucks and do fire stuff. We watched a car fire and saw how the firemen put it out. (Hambone noted the sergeant behind us turning the propane switch on and off, but I didn't believe him)

Hamslice got to sit in the police helicopter, and it really made his day. This is where we went right after soccer (see photo above) so I think we made it a decent day after all.

The next weekend we went hiking. Hamslice was in heaven. He asked us about moss and lichen and plants and birds, such a hunger for learning!

At the end of the hike we were showing him different sized leaves and he said "Right. Grande y pequeño." And that blew our minds, because we haven't been teaching him Spanish. Way to go Montessori!!

Uncle C reads Tacky Penguin to Hamslice

Michiganing

Our little family made a voyage to the wilds of northern Michigan for our summer break. We went up by Traverse City and caught the tail end of the Cherry festival, and then went up the mission peninsula to taste some very sweet wine. Below are photos of some of our other adventures:

This is Hamslice at Cousin Rick's house. We visited with AB and Melite/Muff and Lou and Kristy. It sure was great to see everyone again. We don't get to see that side of the family much anymore... In the family picture, Hamslice is pulling his brand new "funny face"

We also took a detour down to the Dublin General Store in some remote town in Michigan. It's known all over the place for having the largest variety of jerky in the world. I believe it

Hambone is in heaven.

This is also the Dublin store -- we thought it was terrific that they sell booze right next to the guns & ammo. "One stop shopping"

Here are some more shots of Hamslice's new funny faces, learned right there in Michigan.

Here's Hambone's imitation...

Flattery will get you Everywhere, MISTER

Our exceptionally perceptive Hamslice has become a master of Damage Control. He can gauge the mood of whomever he's near, and then push them to whatever end result he wants to see.

Just yesterday, he was pushing me toward a major tizzy. He didn't want to go to school, and he was whining and crying about it, which is not usually a popular move with me.

As I was gearing up for a memorable confrontation, he looks at me and says quietly, "I really like your shirt, Mom."

Other popular phrases used to diffuse Mom:
1) You're the best Mom in the whole wide world
2) I Looove you Mom
3) You look beautiful!

*sigh*

That'll do Hamslice... That'll do.

Ahoy Mateys -- the Pirate Cruise in Baltimore

I got a great deal with Living Social for the Urban Pirate Cruise in Baltimore, so for Memorial Day I gathered up the boys and headed to the Ann street pier. We were all quite excited about the trip, and didn't realize how much the weather would play into the trip.

When we arrived at the pier, it was just over 100 degrees with bright, oppressive sunshine. We went to the cruise masters and loaded up with pirate gear, including a head scarf, eye patch, and then (oh yes they really did this) a heavy pirate coat that was tied shut.

 We took off from the pier, and the pirate mates were engaging the kids, having them sing and dance and stomp their feet, which would have been a lot of fun except for the heat. Within three minutes, one of the kids  passed out from heat exhaustion and split her chin open.

As the boat sped back to the pier, the crew distributed ice cubes, but kept the singing and dancing going at a fever pitch. There was one lady who I believe was over 300 pounds who was dancing with the kids, I had her pegged to be next, but she was surprisingly resilient.

I tried to take Hamslice's pirate coat off, and he got so mad at me. He said, "I'm a pirate and you're trying to turn me back into a little boy!"  so certainly I can't argue with that. Instead I doused him with water and hoped for the best.

One of the activities on the boat was to shoot at other boats with water cannons -- everyone thought that was hilarious. And the mist from the cannons cooled us all off immediately. Such welcome relief!  I stood right in the most misty part, and then realized that the water was salty.. hm. Harbor Water??? Yikes.

But we made it through, and Hamslice had a pretty good time. You can see his hot little face below.

Fed Hill Prep Family Day and Auction

On Saturday we went to the Federal Hill Prep school fundraiser/auction/family day. We are grappling with where to send Hamslice to school in a year or two, and this day served to further confuse us.

For a while we'd decided we were elitist private school people, but then we weren't sure that fit anymore, so we started looking at the local public schools. I have no idea what the right answer is, but we had fun on Saturday anyway...