Evans Family Dispatches

Day 1

2009-05-10T22:21:00.000-07:00

Today was our first full day without my honey around to take care of us. It was a bit of a bummer since it's Mother's Day, but I'm happy he gets to be with his mom today.

Thomas made up for all of yesterday's orneriness by waking up at 5:30am, quietly waking his brother at 6am, retrieving the Mom's Day presents hidden in their closet, then letting me sleep till 7am. They did a bang up job surprising me and showering me with love. After church we went to my mom's house so we could shower her with love too, along with my dad.

Here's my domestic score card today:

I got everyone up, fed, and dressed and to the church meetings. I cleaned two pans and loaded the dishwasher. I fed the kitties twice. And I prepped the boy's lunches and snacks for tomorrow. WOOT!

But we were 20 minutes late to church, causing us to miss both taking the Sacrament and sitting in the soft pews. I had to call Andre twice to locate items in our kitchen. (In my defense, he puts things way high in the cupboards that only he can reach.) I'm also up an hour later than I intended due to some trouble making hard boiled eggs for Thomas' lunch. (Yes, I know eggs are simple, but the first batch was runny in the middle.) BZZT!

But all in all, it was a lovely Mother's Day. I got to watch Drew Barrymore's amazing performance in the HBO's Grey Gardens while hanging out with my mom. We had yummy food and the kids had fun loving on me.

Tomorrow is the big test. We all have to get up for school.

Day 0

2009-05-09T23:03:00.000-07:00

Andre has kindly flown to Arizona to help his mom get a house ready to rent. So for 7 days it's just me and the boys. While I'm not exactly "domesticated", I think we can hold it together. Let's see how I did today.

I cleaned the stovetop, washed a few dishes, unloaded the dishwasher, AND changed a lightbulb. WOOT (the happy supportive horn blowing you hear at sporting events)!

But I also let the boys stay up till 10:30pm watching Mythbusters and eating snacks in my bed while I put away new clothes, even though we have church at 9am tomorrow. BZZT (that's the wrong answer buzzer)!

While Noah is remaining calm about the situation, Thomas started to act out this evening. I had to carry him to the car like a toddler to get him home from my parents house. He created all kinds of bathtime drama. Anything that isn't quite right causes a (fake) teary fit of sobbing. I asked him if he is planning to be silly like this the whole time Daddy is away. He said, with a marked look of orneriness in his eye, "Well, Daddy scolds me more than you do." So is he requesting scolding? Is this like Bill Cosby's children who couldn't sleep at night unless they had a good beating from their mom? I have the vague feeling Thomas is having some fun testing me. Hopefully keeping him on a routine this week will eliminate his need to push me too far. Or it will be a looong week.

Changes ahead for the Evans Family

2009-03-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

We’re going back to school! I, Sarah, have been accepted to a PhD program at the University of Washington. Starting this coming fall, I will be a full-time doctoral student in the Learning Sciences program, part of Educational Psychology in the College of Education.

As many of you know, I have always had the goal of pursuing doctoral studies and earning a PhD (doctor of philosophy or patiently hoping for degree, depending on your interpretation). I became more serious about this goal while I was finishing my master’s degree, but planned to wait for 5 or 10 years to start. But early last November, I felt like I’d been bitten by a bug. I was strongly impressed to start applying to doctoral programs now. About two weeks after that, it was announced that the school I work for would likely be closed at the end of this school year. This felt like another push in the right direction as I couldn’t imagine another middle school that I would care about so much!

It was a bit late in the game, but with the help of my dear mentors and friends, I pulled things together and applied to two programs at the UW. The more I thought about it, the more I was feeling like Learning Sciences would be the best fit. Fortunately they thought so too and I was accepted. I’m so looking forward to learning how to do research and uncovering the complex processes of learning, particularly around reading and writing.

I was starting to feel a bit of sorrow that I’d have to give up my identity as a librarian. I have to say, being a librarian is major high on the cool list and I worked really hard to become an official professional one. Fortunately I’ve been serving as the volunteer librarian at my sons’ school and they’d be happy for me to take a more active role. Between that and staying active in ALA and other library organizations, I feel like I can keep my skills sharp and “stay in the game”. Plus, in all the learning I will be doing and research I will be pursuing, the impact of libraries and librarians will never be far from my mind and heart.

Andre and I will be doing a lot of praying and searching for options in the coming months. We want to find housing as close as possible to campus and Andre will be seeking a change in employment. If you have any information or ideas for us on either of those fronts, we’d love to hear about it! When we shared the news with the boys, Noah said “oh, the university, okay, sounds nice”. I think he envisions the UW as a place of pretty buildings, cafeteria food, and a pool hall and bowling alley. Thomas, well, he’ll probably believe it when he sees it actually all happening. He’s still disbelieving that he won’t be able to go to the middle school where Mama’s working.

This will be a big change for us since we’ve been basically in the same or similar living and work situations for 10 years. But we’re taking every step together in faith and with joy for our many blessings.

Babysitting Fun

2008-07-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

We have the pleasure of babysitting our 3 month old niece, Lucy, and 2 year old nephew, Jared for two days and three nights. The boys love this and find ways to be engaged and helpful.

Noah tried carrying Lucy in two devices (sling and baby bjorn), but she was unhappy. So he settled for feeding her a bottle. Of course I found this adorable and started snapping pictures. Noah sighed and politely asked me to stop taking pictures of him.

Thomas is totally into cooing at Lucy and loves to make up little songs for her. He's actually quite good at calming her down.

Both boys enjoy playing with Jared. Thomas likes to instruct him and explain what things are. Noah is protective and explains the whys of things. Noah was so protective he suggested we not go out to dinner tonight. He was concerned about keeping everyone safe. We survived our trip to Ivar's just fine.

A mad dash to the finish

2008-07-05T12:49:00.000-07:00

Thursday was our last day in NYC and we packed it full of memorable experiences.

My conference ended that day and left me brimming with ideas about the reading life. The thing I love most about the Reading and Writing Project is that it doesn't prescribe as much as guide you to discover yourself as a reader and then share that knowledge and passion with the kids. The Reading Institute is a rich experience and I recommend it to anyone who coaches kids as readers.

In the morning I caught breakfast at Tom's Restaurant, the model for Seinfeld and friend's Monk's Cafe. Only the exterior looks like it does on the TV show, but they have signed photos of the cast inside. And the food's good too.

After my conference sessions ended, I made a mad dash through the city to finish some sightseeing. I went back to Chinatown and had lunch at the Hong Kong Station, where you pick your noodles and other ingredients and they make your soup. I also revisited the delicious Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, then headed back to Central Park. I hadn't had a chance to walk around a bit, so I strolled and went the Dairy and Visitor's Center, which literally was once the source of safe, fresh milk for the city's children. It was a pleasant way to end my visit.

Andre and the boys took the trek to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. The long line to get on the boat wound through Battery Park, but the boys were patient. Andre said he wished they had more time, especially at Ellis Island, where he was caught up in the architecture and the history of its restoration. The little boys weren't as impressed, but we haven't talked much about the history or significance of these sites. Hopefully when they do study it later, they will have memories of this visit to make the immigrant's stories more clear and meaningful.

Andre and the boys were running late from their adventures, so we met at the hotel and dashed off the JFK. Being an hour behind schedule got more complicated when there were problems with our carry-on bags. The boys got searched for the six inch piece of metal each had packed. This was actually a miniature replica of a Revolutionary War rifle, so they were allowed to pass. But I had to run back and check the bag with a snow globe, an item I didn't know was not allowed. (I guess the water could be nitroglycerin?) But even with all that, we made it on time to the plane. Our 8pm departure NYC time was delayed an hour, but we still arrived around midnight Seattle time. We were all exhausted, but a kind worker offered us a ride on the airport cart down to baggage claim. Then my parents picked us up and we were on our way home.

Stuffed in three different ways

2008-07-04T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, Andre and the boys went back to explore some of the attractions on the south end of Central Park. They visited the Central Park Zoo, which looked nothing like it did in the movie Madagascar. (I think all three boys secretly hoped those penguins were up to a naughty mission.) Then they enjoyed a summertime favorite, the children’s amusement park at Victoria Gardens. Next they rented remote control sailboats to pilot on the Conservatory Waters. Andre was surprised that these were not motorized but that you simply control the rudder and sail. The boys definitely liked trying their hand at this. They also revisited Belvedere Castle, this time admiring the inside as well. Andre commented how in Central Park you can feel isolated in a beautiful natural setting, until you look up and see the historic buildings looming above.

I continued my international lunch theme and tried Cuban food for the first time at the Havana Central. This used to be the site of the West End Café, a haunt for Kerouac and Ginsberg. I immensely enjoyed the flavors of the meal (mango!) and hope to find a local Cuban place.

We all met up at the American Museum of Natural History for a short tour. Again, this is a place we could spend a week exploring and reading all the details of the displays. I found the stuffed animals sad, but the mineral and gem collection made up for it. (Pretty and sparkly and mesmerizing…) Yes, I have a weakness for such things, so Andre steered me clear of Tiffany’s during our stay.

Next we visited with the much happier stuffed animals at FAO Schwartz. I knew it was supposed to be a good toy store, but I didn’t know quite how fun it would be. It’s broken up by themed sections that contain giant displays: stuffed animals, Hogwarts, Ugly Dolls, Playmobil, Lego and more. Each boy only bought one small thing because of luggage issues, but we had a great time exploring.

Being a librarian, I had to make a stop by the main branch of the New York Public Library, now the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library. Unfortunately, although all their signage and the website said that it was open until 7:30 pm, the guards started hustling everyone out and keeping visitors out at 7:15pm. (My library supervisors always taught me that you keep your doors open until the posted time and then pay the staff to stay later and clear the building. Obviously these guards wouldn’t agree.) But we did have enough time to admire the lobby and a reading room. It was so cool just to be there for a few minutes!! (Yes, I’m a library geek.) And the kids got to climb those famous lions.

I knew we had to eat at least once in Chinatown, so we headed off to the recommended Great N.Y. Noodletown. Andre got a bit nervous looking at the exterior, but people had advised us that the more it looks like a hole-in-the-wall the better a restaurant is in this neighborhood. Another good sign was the brisk business going on. The place was packed with people eating in plus lots coming and going for take-out. And 80% of the customers were of Asian descent, most not speaking English, another sign that this wasn’t westernized food. Indeed, it was delightfully tasty and at great prices. I loved my lo mein with ginger sauce and Andre had a spicy chicken curry. I was proud of the boys, our usually picky eaters, for jumping in, and even liking, a Chinese chicken noodle soup.

Though our tummies were pretty full, ice cream sounded like the perfect compliment. We happily stumbled upon The Original Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, just around the corner on Bayard. They had a bunch of standard flavors as well as the more “exotic” (their label) like green tea, red bean, black sesame, ginger, and lychee. We could have gone back every night to enjoy a new flavor. Their tangerine sorbet was the best I’ve ever had. Now we were as stuffed as the animals we’d seen, real and toy.

Even though it was late, we wanted to catch a view of the harbor at night, so we took a round trip on the Staten Island Ferry. I think it’s cool they offer such a gorgeous ride completely free. (Okay, I’m sure they make it up through taxes, but we didn’t have to pay a passenger fare.) This was my big chance to admire the Statue of Liberty and I found it just as inspirational as I imagined it to be for those finishing a long journey to America.

We finished up with a long subway ride on the number 1, back to the Upper West Side and our beds.

Another famous form of transportation in NYC

2008-07-01T19:33:00.000-07:00

Well, we'd done the subway, the taxi cab, and the limo. So today we added an open horse-drawn carriage to the list! This evening I wanted to get a chance to see Central Park and since everyone is feeling a bit tired (low on sleep) we opted to splurge on a special ride. The weather was perfect this late afternoon and evening, less muggy and comfortably in the 70's. Our driver was charming and informative, pointing out famous landmarks and places where movie scenes were featured. He also let Noah take over the reins. Thomas politely opted out on this treat as well as feeding the horse. He seemed quiet on the ride and I get the impression he is more at ease with machine driven vehicles. Since our time in the city is quickly running out it was nice to get a brief overview. The park is incredible and I feel like we could spend a week just enjoying its nooks and crannies.

I think I'd like to visit again one day and spend time getting to know more of this place. I feel very comfortable here, which is a delightful surprise. I was secretly always intimidated by the idea of NYC, perhaps feed by my steady media diet. I mean, New York doesn't look like a warm and fuzzy place in most movies. And while New Yorkers are brusque speakers (sometimes it seems the service workers might lose money if they speak too many words), they are polite in ways that matter, such as allowing you back in line when you had to step out or making sure you know how to get where you need. I asked Noah and he said he'd enjoy visiting again, though he keeps asking when it's time to go home. I also know he finds it quiet shocking that NYC pedestrians cross against the light with no hesitation.

During the day, Andre and the boys took the Staten Island Ferry to enjoy the view and check out the activities at Snug Harbor. They have a children's museum, cultural center, Chinese garden (the boys wanted to live in the Chinese "castle") and more. I don't know much about Staten Island, but Andre said they seemed to be working on this particular area and it had some great features.

We're storing up some fun memories. The boys are being troopers, even though they go through ups and downs of exhaustion. They don't quite believe us when we point it they are only super tired when A) they need nourishment or B) they've lost interest in our present activity. Silly parents, what do we know!

The best ride ever!!

2008-06-30T21:38:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun today and the boys' favorite part was the very end. But let's start at the beginning.

I went off to another great day of the conference. I love having the chance to think deeply about intellectual things and especially the act of reading. I had lunch at an Ethiopian restaurant, a new flavor for me, but delightful.

Andre and the boys went to Central Park and saw the Shakespeare Garden and Belvedere Castle. They also enjoyed a trip to a local laundromat.

We got together in the afternoon to take the subway to Times Square.This is where I really felt like we were in New York. Lots of people going every direction, almost like an ant colony as Andre observed. Brightly lit, enormous signs advertising all kinds of things.

We got sucked into Toys-R-Us at Time Square because they actually have a ferris wheel inside the store. There's lot of other fun things to see there too. (I know, we should go to FAO Schwartz if we're in NYC, but I wanted to go on the ride!)

We took a little cab ride down to Grand Central Station. It's soooo beautiful, more so than I imagined. Many beautiful details to examine. We saw a group of art students sitting with an instructor making observations and sketches. Here we went to a little gift shop and museum for the Metro Transit Authority. Definitely my favorite gift shop so far because it had the most unique and interesting gifts. It was a short stop, but I'd love to go back and spend more time, perhaps at the nice restaurant we saw on the upper level, looking over the center of the station.

We tried to eat at a diner that included a real train car, but it also featured a singing wait staff, with a stereo system jacked up too loud. Plus Andre noticed that only two tables seemed to have food. Perhaps the cooking staff was too busy singing and dancing too? We ended up eating dinner at Mars 2112, a dramatic themed restaurant. Think Chuck E. Cheese, except with an alien theme. Plus there is a weird spaceship simulation ride at first (I got motion sickness!). The food was eh, but we were starved by then. It is a great place for birthday parties, as evidenced by the number occurring around us.

Then we made our way to the Empire State Building. At that point, the little guys were asking us us to go back to the hotel, but I really wanted to fit in this landmark. It didn't help that there was lots of waiting in line, but though I suspect it was less than usual since it was late evening. But the view was worth it, "so awesome" as Thomas said. Noah hates heights, so we mostly stayed inside, away from the observation deck. Little tip though, there is a sorta junky gift shop on the 2nd floor, but a fabulous gift shop on the 80th floor, with a wide, wide variety of New York memorabilia.

We came down satisfied, but tired. About to hail a cab, a guy walked up to Andre and said "you want to ride in a limo, I'll make you a deal." I guess his fares were slow tonight, cause it was only $40 for a ride back uptown. The little boys were thrilled out of their minds and loved their first ride in a stretch limousine. They say I looked about ready to faint when I saw all the colored "mood lighting" in the vehicle. Not sure about that, just happy and sleepy. Andre cranked up the radio and Thomas started rockin' out. Both boys said this was one of the very best things we'd done in NYC.

Good night!

"New York smells like sweat and socks"

2008-06-29T19:47:00.000-07:00

At least according to my darling almost 9 year old, Noah. I don't think it smells weird, but it is humid. Actually, when I was walking around the Columbia University area, the thought occurred to me that it felt like Seattle, just with taller, older buildings and bigger sidewalks. Well, at least that neighborhood did or "nabe" as it's called in one the magazines I was reading.

We all went down to breakfast at the Nice Matin which was lovely. Then we had our first subway ride! We caught the #1 line at 79th and bought Metro cards. The transit worker kindly offered to help us get our cards and actually punched the buttons for us (unnecessary but nice). He also advised us that paying for the subway is by height, not age, so he advised us to have the kids just duck under the bar. He says as soon as they're too tall to do that, then kids have to pay. Hmm, I know a lot of flexible people, but we'll just roll with it.

We got off at 116th where my conference started and the boys went off to have adventures. I think they tackled a bit of the American Museum of Natural History, but these Seattle kids are having a hard time with the long walks between subway stops and desired location. Now they are begging for cab rides to destinations.

My conference is wonderful and inspiring, as I knew it would be. Lots of great thoughts about the amazing human capacity for writing and reading. It's fun during lunch to check out places to eat. I found a quiet and very tasty Indian place on Amsterdam called Ajanta.

The boys met me back at Columbia and we checked out the college book store and gift shop. Then we walked a couple blocks to take a picture outside the restaurant that inspired Seinfeld's Monk Diner. We went back to the hotel to regroup and then decided to hit Little Italy for dinner!

The subway only got us to Canal Street and then we walked through a bit of Soho, oohing and awing over the buildings. Noah observed we must be getting close to Little Italy since many of the buildings looked like they had Italian style architecture. Since he studied the Italian Renaissance this year and not me, I can neither confirm nor deny, but there were some lovely columns and detailing.

When we got to Mulberry Street, the main part of Little Italy, and were surprised to find the street closed to cars and full of lots of pedestrians strolling under lamp posts decorated with Italy's colors. We chose to dine at Angelo's, an atmospheric joint recommended in our favorite guide book. All the staff spoke rapid Italian and I watched the owner kiss several guests on both cheeks (he seemed to know them, really). I presume it was very authentic since I couldn't pronounce or recognize most of the menu, but the taste was delightful. I asked one of the workers what the party in the street was for and he shrugged, saying "Every weekend in Little Italy is a party." After dinner, we strolled the streets and picked up some souvenirs from the tourist traps. We finished it off with homemade gelato from a street vendor and a cab ride back along the Hudson River. Thomas fell asleep in the cab with the wind blowing through his curls, though he later claimed to just be "resting".

Now they are watching a movie and I'm doing homework for my session tomorrow. Ciao for now!

The Evans Family has hit the Big Apple

2008-06-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

We landed in NYC around 4pm Eastern time. If you haven't heard, I have the very special honor of attending a Reading Institute at the Teachers College at Columbia University. Since this is a unique opportunity for Seattle kids to see the other coast, I convinced Andre and the Boys to come too. The three of them will get to take the city by storm during the morning and afternoon while I attend the Institute, which I don't mind since I looooove learning more about the Reader's and Writer's Workshop program.

Everything in the airports and the plane ride went pretty darn well. The Boys were complimented by a fellow passenger on how well they handled the 5 hour flight. There were only a little loud when we first got into the air out of sheer excitement. As Thomas said "It feels like a roller coaster!" Also, being the transportation guy he is and this being his first flight, exclaimed "This is the best day of my life!!" Noah didn't even ask to have Benadryl, which he had previously said would be necessary if we expected him to fly. (He has a thing about heights.) Most of the time the Boys doodled in these awesome books Andre found or played with Nintendo DS (thanks Nana for lending yours!).

I had also picked up a couple journals for them and when we arrived at JFK, Noah pulled his out right away to draw a picture representing the flight. On our way to the taxi queue, we were approached by three different guys offering us "better" rides in their cars. I got the impression these guys are unofficial, like ticket scalpers or something. Anyway, we wanted to have our first ride in an official New York cab, so we declined.

Unfortunately, airplane rides give me killer sinus headaches, so I was really just concentrating on not screaming or puking during the cab (actually a mini-van) ride. The cool thing is that on the back of the driver's seat, the taxi had a little screen we could watch with a GPS map that showed exactly where we were at the time. I thought that was groovy. It didn't really "feel" like NYC until we drove through Central Park.

We're on the Upper West Side in a historic hotel (isn't everything historic here, especially compared to Seattle?) that seems nice, though the elevators are the narrowest I've ever seen. I felt awful and needed some food to take medicine before any adventures. Noah wanted to try room service, so he and I hung out and had a fancy dinner while watching cable. Andre and Thomas ventured up the street and found an authentic joint (read hole-in-the-wall) for pizza and a meatball sandwich.

We're settling in the for the night so we can get up on NY time. If I can get Thomas off that crazy DS!

Welcome to Our Blog!

2007-08-15T20:36:00.000-07:00

I've been wanting to set up a private blog to capture family memories for some time. So here it is!! I hope to put on quick posts every once in a while with funny things that the boys say or do. And occasional pictures. (Though I'm working on loading all our family pics onto Flickr.)

I don't know how frequently I will post, but if you have an RSS reader, you could subscribe to this feed and get notification when I post something new. Only people I invite can view this blog, so let me know if you think there's some family member or friend who should absolutely be a party to this fabulous document. :-)

Sarah