I get a bit speechless when trying to describe what these women mean to me. How do you cram well over a decade of life together into a paragraph on a blog? Yeah. That’s hard to do. Suffice to say, our group began studying the bible together just before I was married (that’s almost 15 years ago for anyone who’s counting) and we supported one another through all the ups and downs of adulthood. Friendship, church life, marriage and all that entails, wanting children and actually having children, moving churches, and finally moving away. It was so great to see Jeff and Julie and their three girls on Saturday. Here’s a little evidence of how our families have grown over the years. (Minus my kiddo who, sadly, sat on the sidelines with a virus over Easter weekend.)
A few friends have inquired why Livia chose to study yeast for her science experiment, because clearly most people don’t ponder the how’s and why’s of yeast. What’s worse is that “yeast” is typically followed by “infection” and that’s pretty gross to the average mind. No, Livia chose the topic based purely on the fact that she could use a balloon in her experiment. Yeast, when fed with sugar and kept warm and moist, produces carbon dioxide as a by-product. To test this fact, you can do what we did: add yeast and sugar to a bottle with a balloon placed over the bottle’s mouth, place bottle in a bowl of warm water, and 20 minutes later the balloon will be inflated. Cool!
In addition to the balloon experiment, our science experiment book gave instructions for bread-making. Again, you give the yeast the right conditions for growth (food, warmth and moisture—Livia could tell you all this) and it’ll produce carbon dioxide. The elastic dough traps the gas, which essentially creates little bubbles, which causes the dough to rise. Again, pretty cool! What gave me a bit of pause was the instructions for making the dough. They were very hands-on, as in, the child mixed and kneaded the ingredients entirely by hand. Perfect for Liv and pretty messy for the kitchen. Have I mentioned Livia likes to eat flour and puff out clouds like a dragon? Who wouldn’t really? Making bread is also a lengthy process. After the dough was kneaded it was left alone to rise. By the time we could make rolls with it, we were off to another activity and I placed the dough bowl in the refrigerator to be dealt with the next day. Perhaps this is why Livia told her first science fair judge, who asked how long the bread took to make, that she really didn’t know—her mommy did that part. The bread was a side experiment, not Livia’s main feature, and I bet our young judge wasn’t aware of the in’s and out’s of bread-making either.
In the end, despite the flour that dominated my kitchen for a brief time, I loved watching Livia in her element. Up to her elbows in ingredients, absorbing new concepts, sharing this learning with others. In the process of literally forcing her to write observations on her display board, I was reminded that for some kids, the experiment will always be the fun part and writing it down isn’t as interesting. Liv came home with a shiny red ribbon for her efforts though. And that’s something to be proud of.
An artist friend once commented to me that photographers typically don’t like the limelight; they enjoy hiding behind their camera to capture others who like to perform. I was quick to tell her I actually like being front and center just fine. Years of theater work confirms this, as does the giant wig featured in these images. And yet, I’ve hesitated in posting the photos here. Why is that? Apparently I’m more self-conscious than I thought I was! So here you are, a little art featuring me and a giant wig that I purchased for a party last night. This is me getting over myself. Enjoy!
A quick aside here… After donning the wig I was told by my child that I looked like one of my favorite singers. Lauryn Hill, she said. I have no idea how Liv knows what Lauryn Hill looks like, but I’ll run with it. Thanks for the high compliment! xoxo from Livia’s White Lauryn Hill Lookalike Mama
Maralee was invited to give positive parenting tips for a television segment sponsored by Nebraska Children and Families Foundation at NET last week. As any friend-tographer would do (am I spelling that word right, Maralee?), I volunteered to come along and document the experience with my camera. The morning began with makeup and hair by the beautiful Emily Lovelace at Tangled Up Salon, and from there we continued on to the NET studio on UNL’s East Campus.
Look for Maralee’s parenting spots on NET in coming weeks. I’ll put out more information on air times as soon as I can.
One of my favorite images from the Bradley family photo shoot.
(Title sung to Bill Nye’s theme music.)
Our school’s science fair is optional, but I long knew the experience would be a great one for Livia. She’s got a natural passion for science. I thought she’d create a presentation on animals and gently tried to nudge her towards learning more about how dogs sense of smell works, but nope. We opened an Usborne book on science experiments, she saw one that used a balloon and she was sold. So yeast it was! If you want to find out how yeast and a balloon work together, you’ll need to ask Livia. She can tell you more than you’d want to know about yeast now.
I wrestled with towing the line between walking Livia through this learning experience and doing too much of it for her. Clearly this optional science fair involves parental guidance and aid—everyone understands a second grader doesn’t know how to find resources or walk through the steps of the scientific method. There was a real balance to be found, and I think we did a good job in the end. As I looked around Livia’s school last night and observed the other students at work, I felt proud of all these parent and children working together to learn something more about science. What a cool thing! It inspired me to consider all the new ideas and experiments Livia and I can do together this summer. Now for the execution part…
Little Ezra is another card-carrying member of the Two-Finger Suckers club. Which basically means he has the power to turn my heart into mush when those fingers go into his mouth. And when he crawls up to sit next to me and cuddle? Or reaches his arms up for me to hold his chunky two-year old self? Well, then I’m all his. Doesn’t matter that I had elbow surgery two months ago, I’ll hold him as long as I can.
I figure that Elsie, the sweetness on the other side of me, loves me because I give her Lucky Charms for a snack. Or because I let her watch copious amount of television when her family stayed at our house in December. Or because I snuggled with her when she had a fever. Whatever the reason is, she and I are now bonded. Buddies. I hope this is a lifelong friendship.
Welcome to Lincoln and to Redeemer, Gordon family! We are thrilled you are here to stay.
**Photo credit to Chris Gordon who helped herself to my camera and thus allowed me to actually be in a photograph.
In early January I met up with the Bradley family to snap pictures of Joel, who is now a big one year old! I love this capturing the Bradleys with my camera. As you can imagine, with four kids ages six and under, there’s always something exciting going on. Happy (belated) birthday, Joel! I love you, little guy.
Don’t let this innocent eight-year-old face fool you. This kid is a killer UNO player. I got rid of my “playing nice” rules and began to play in earnest on this snow day. She has beaten me one too many times! Or really, Livia wins three games to my one. I can’t say playing strategically is helping me all that much. She’s still schooling me.
The snow on Sunday was really quite lovely. I didn’t mind holing up with my family and enjoying a quiet day reading, playing games and napping. The almost white-out conditions outside our home compelled us to stay in and stay quiet. Sometimes that’s really nice.
One afternoon during the December Photo Project Livia grabbed my camera and disappeared for a time. I discovered the following Liv’s Classroom Photos series after downloading the files. I’m pretty tickled at how she set up a seat and a background for photographing her babies and I like to imagine her going back and forth, setting up pupils for their moment in front of the camera. After the babies are a few bonus images. Enjoy!
