Blackberries

We went blackberry picking this morning.

It was hazy and humid and sunny after 3 days of rain.

It's this cool guy's birthday today!

Blackberries for all!

And of course, singing into the fan is the perfect way to end a fun morning.

July Favorites

Five things I have loved about July

1. Summer storms

2. Baby tomato plants

3. Imaginations

{Rapunzel's hair cascading down Maia's bed}

4. Aleks' legs

5. Swimming

Accomplishment

The past couple of weeks have marked big accomplishments for the Sternfeld-Dunns.

Let's start with the littlest member of the family.

We've been potty training Ruby this summer and she's doing a really great job. 

It's been so much easier than Maia, except for pooping in the potty. 

Ruby just won't do it.

The night I had a concert, Aleks headed to Kansas City to see our friend Richard Kriehn play in A Prairie Home Companion and we had a new babysitter.

Ruby had to poop, but was refusing to go before I left. As I got the girls ready for bed, I went to reach for a pull-up and,
dun dun dun,
came out empty handed. 

 We had to make do with a swim diaper.

I kept asking Ruby if she wanted to try to go before I left and she assured me that she was going to wait for our sitter.

So the sitter got here and I laid out extra sheets in case Ruby went all over the place and God bless our sitter, she took it all in stride, assuring me she has dealt with much worse.

Fast forward an hour and I get this text while I'm in the dressing room waiting to go on stage:

Best. Babysitter. Ever.

Unfortunately, Ruby hasn't had a repeat success yet, but we're still working on it.

----------------------------------------

Every summer I hear moms say how excited they are for summer and the pool.
And every summer I inwardly groan, because when you have two littles, pool time means chasing them around the pool because they can't swim and older kids aren't looking out for the little ones and your kids are soooo cute in their tiny, ruffled swim suits that everyone is watching you chase after them in your not so cute mom suit and so you vacillate between feeling self conscious and then terrified as your kid runs into the deep end while looking over their shoulder at you and disaster is narrowly avoided and you wonder how anyone has stayed alive this long.

Note how she almost walks into the pool halfway through.

About a month ago, Maia learned to go underwater.

I get it now.

The pool is super fun when you're not constantly worried your kid is going to die.

-----------------------------

Several weeks ago we found out that one of Aleks' compositions "Fireworks" had won the American Prize, which is kind of a big deal for us.

Last week the local newspaper ran an article on his prize.
It was a great article; you can read it here.

Our favorite quote is "Robert is a very technical player; he can do a lot of flashy and then really fast up."
Ha ha ha hahahahaha.

For those of you who aren't musicians, that's not a real thing, "fast up."
Haha! 

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2013/07/20/2896020/award-a-chance-for-wsu-professor.html#storylink=cpy

The day after the article came out, Aleks went to the bike store for supplies, you know, since he's a triathlete. 
While he was there, one of the employees looked at Aleks closely and said, "are you a composer?"


It's been fun to see Aleks get his five seconds of local celebrity this week!

------------------------------

And I'm dreaming big and staying open, ready to accept whatever adventure/gift/challenge/opportunity is headed my way.

How is it you sing anything?

"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."

-Thoreau

Last night I got to dress up and apply lots of makeup and spray my hair with hairspray and put on my jewels and wear clothes that are so fancy you can't sit in them because they'll instantly wrinkle.

The best part of it all was that I got to stand in front of an auditorium full of people and sing while an orchestra played behind me.

This is the stuff singers dream of.

I even got a leading man out of the deal.

But hairspray doesn't hold forever and I returned to my normal, straight-haired self when my precious girls came to wake me up at 5:30 this morning.

And in my groggy state I was aware of a nagging, uninvited insecurity: was I good enough? were people wowed? were my friends being honest or just nice in their congratulations?

(When I'm being rational, I'm almost positive the answers to those questions are yes, probably some, and honest.)

"The woods would be very silent if no birds sang except those that sang best."

Those words have been floating around my head since I saw them pop up in my Facebook feed early in the week.

As I get older it gets easier and easier to see myself accurately, without the veil of whatever baggage I've picked up in my life.

Why is it that we always feel the need to be the best or most or greatest?

What is "best" anyway?

Especially when it comes to something as objective as art.

There is still value in the mere act of singing and offering something of oneself.

To only sing or paint or write or dance or act with the aspirations of being the best is certainly a hallow, unsatisfying journey.

So I will continue to strive to find contentment as I sing with the green finches and linnets birds and ring doves and robinets of this world and maybe along the way stumble upon some greatness.

I'll be sure to share it with you when I do.

The Chatter: Vegetarian

This conversation, that occurred earlier this week, made us laugh...

Me: Ruby, do you want some red bell pepper with your dinner?

Ruby: Yes

Maia: I don't like bell pepper. Have I ever had pepper before? Did I have bell pepper when I was a baby?

Me: You've never had bell pepper.

Maia: Well, I don't like it.

Aleks: You've never even tried it! You don't know if you like it or not.

Maia: Well, I'm a vegetarian. Tonight after dinner I'm going to become a vegetarian right now.

Me: Maia, where did you hear that word?

Maia: From Arthur, on your iPad.

Me: What does it mean?

Maia: It means that you give up something. Like crackers or cheese or peppers.

Me: Not exactly, it means you don't eat meat. So, no bacon or chicken or hamburgers. Only fruits and vegetables and grains and dairy.

Maia: *thinks* Well, I'm going to be a vegetable vegetarian. I'm going to give up vegetables.

Me: That's what Daddy is!

Aleks: Hey, I eat plenty of vegetables.

Happy Friday everyone!

The Chatter: The Ocean

It's our second full day back in Wichita.

I miss the ocean.

The smell of salt water.

The sand that gets everywhere.

Coming back this time was hard.

Is hard.

But, I'll buck up and get through.

Besides there are fun things coming up!

Anyway, inspired by my longing for the sun and surf, today's Chatter is about the ocean.

RUBY
Ruby, did you go to the beach last week?
*nods*

You did? Tell me about the beach.
Um, I go in the waves and I run.

You were running? Where were you running?
In the waves.

Oh, you were running away from the waves. Do you like the sand?
Mm hm.

What did you do in the sand?
Build a sandcastle.

How do you build a sandcastle?
Like this. With my shovel.

And what do you wear to the beach?
My swimsuit!

Is it sunny or cloudy at the beach?
Um, sunny.

What's your favorite thing to do at the beach?
PLAY!

What does the ocean sound like?
Shhhew.

--------------------------------------

MAIA
Hey Maia, where did we go last week?
San Diego

And what's in San Diego?
The beach!

Yes! Do you love the beach?
Yes

Can you tell me about the beach?
There's ocean and sand.

And what did you do at the beach?
I played int he water and I played in the sand.

Is the water cold or warm?
It's cold.

What does it taste like?
Salt.

Salt! Is it kind of gross?
Yes

And what did you do in the sand?
I played with my toys.

What do you mean? What toys?
Like shovels and buckets.

What did you do with your shovels and buckets?
Made a saaandcas- I mean, tried to make a sandcastle.

Is it hard or easy to make a sandcastle?
Hard.

Why is it hard?
Cause you need to use lots of wet sand.

Is it hard to find wet sand?
Yes

Did you decorate your castles?
Yes

What did you use to decorate them?
Rocks and other stuff.

Is there anything, like any animals on the beach?
Just seagulls and birds.

I don't think that's true. I remember there was something you dug up out of the sand... an animal...
A bird

No. Remember when the waves went away and there were little bubbles in the sand and you dug, what did you get?
A crab!

A sandcrab! What did you do with them?
I put them in my bucket! I grabbed them out of Lizzie's and your hands and put them in my bucket.

What's your favorite part of the beach?
The ocean.

4th of July 2013

This year we got to spend the 4th of July with Aleks' family in Escondido.

Each year Aleks' uncle opens up his gorgeous home, which sits on an orange grove, to his sisters and brother and their families.

It was a full house, bursting at the seams with lots of Aleks' extended family whom we don't get to see enough.

Our girls, who are typically early risers, woke up even earlier on the morning of the 4th due to the time change.

So we crept out of the house in search of a restaurant open at 6 am on a holiday.

Somehow Teddy ended up sneaking into the car with us.

When we got back to the house, the rooster was crowing and we had to check out the rest of the chickens.

Back at home the girls picked oranges off trees in the backyard, eating them with second cousins and decorating for the party.

The party really got started around 3 and there was lots of game playing, BBQ eating, and pranking.

The girls LOVED their second cousin who is 11.

They followed her around like little ducklings.

I spend some quality time playing pool with the boys and talking about BMX biking, long boards, and being wild.

At times like these I'm thankful for my brother who exposed me to his BMX biking and other extreme activities.

As the sun started to set, the adult boys headed out to set up the rockets.

The goal is to send them up so they come down in the same place.

However, I think a large part of the fun is in the chasing and retrieving of wayward rockets.

My girls spent most of the time with fingers in their ears.

Until Ruby thought she'd like to try sending up a rocket.

Her bravery lasted about 30 seconds and she left Daddy holding the remote alone.

 I don't think he minded.

As the girls went to bed, I was thankful for a break from reading yet another princess story.

It was a wonderful 4th.

The Chatter: 4th of July

So, I'm a day late with this week's Chatter because we've been having so much fun it's been hard to get to the computer.

Yesterday we made the move from Aleks' uncle's gorgeous house in Escondido to a beach house in Ocean City.

We took the girls down to the beach for a short visit before bed and all I can think is: we're living in the wrong state.

My girls embraced the sand and water with their whole being.

Oh it's wonderful here.

Now, on to the topic du jour.

RUBY
Ruby, what did you do for the 4th of July?
I don't know.

You don't?
I played with Anni!

And what did you wear for the 4th of July?
My 4th of July dress?

What does it look like?
It's like a star.

What color is it?
Um, blue.

What did you eat on the 4th of July?
Cake!

What kind of cake?
Um, chocolake.

And where are we for 4th of July? Are we in Kansas?
Yes

We are?
Yeah

No we're not! Where are we?
I don't know.

San...
Diego!

Yeah! Do you like the 4th of July?
Yeah.

Me too.

--------------------------------

MAIA
What did you do for the 4th of July?
I played with Anni.

What did you guys play?
Um, I don't, we-we hanged up decorations.

Which was like playing?
Uh huh.

Did you pick oranges?
Yes

Tell me about that. How did you do that?
I twisted them and pulled them.

What did you wear for the 4th of July?
My 4th of July dress.

And what does it look like?
It's red with white stripes and red with white stripes bow on it.

What did you eat for the 4th of July?
Cake

Did you see any fireworks?
No

What did you see?
Rocket ships.

Rocket ships? What did they do?
They blasted off in the air.

And then what?
And then the big kids went to catch them. Why did you say no?

I didn't want you going into the street or the forest.
Why?

Because I wanted you to be safe.
Ok, one last question.
What's your favorite thing about the 4th of July?
Um, eating cake!

My love/hate relationship with fireworks

About 4 years ago my relationship with fireworks changed.

Growing up in California, we never bought or lit fireworks of our own, but some of my favorite childhood memories involve 4th of July festivities.

Fireworks were something we enjoyed while sitting at the park, wrapped in blankets to shield us from the cold Bay Area air.

Then I got married and moved to Washington, where you could more easily buy fireworks.

And Aleks and I did and had a few experiences lighting them off in deserted parking lots with friends.

The pops and booms throughout the nights leading up to the fourth of July were just a mild annoyance.

In 2009 it all changed.

I had a colicky, 3 month old baby who never slept and if she was roused from slumber, it took hours of work to get her back to sleep.

I remember lying in bed, 2 nights before the 4th of July, (severely sleep deprived) and my heart raced with each explosion as our neighbors lit off what must have been hundreds of dollars of fireworks in our cul-de-sac. 

We looked up the curfew laws and counted down the minutes until we could ask them to stop (of course, they stopped before they had to).

Last night the celebrations here began in ernest. 

I had just come upstairs to read in bed for awhile and the booms and ka-bangs were getting louder.

No sooner had I opened up my iPad, than I heard a little voice next to my bed say "there's loud noises outside. I want to be with you."

Little Ruby, half asleep, climbed into bed, and curled up into my side.

Ruby sleeps in our bed quite often and many times it's a nuisance.

But in this moment, the heaviness of her head on my shoulder and the featherlight drape of her arm across my ribs, caused me to send up a quick prayer: "May she always feel safe with me."

This fourth of July we're headed to San Diego to celebrate with Aleks' extended family. It's been a long time since we've seen some of these people and it will be good to reconnect.

Our plan is to let the girls stay up and see the fireworks. 

However, they'll still be on central time, so it could quite possibly turn into tantrums and/or early bed.

We shall see.

At any rate, memory making is just a day away.

I told the girls that while we are in San Diego we are going to spend as much time outside as possible.

It looks like the average temps are in the mid-70's all week.

I can feel the tension already draining away.

Throwback to July 4th 2011

I hope your 4th is filled with family, fun, fireworks, AND good rest.

It is possible right?!