3 Reasons Why You Should Come to SB in January

#1





















#2



























#3 La Super Rica
Julia Childs favorite Taco Stand:






















#4 This is the REAL reason to come is the Butterfly Preserve--one of the largest in North America and it is walking distance from our place. Here is a current pic with a non-iphone cam-->Butterflies

New Season of Idol

So all I can think about is the economy.

Instead I will focus on this season of AI.

Sorry if you don't watch it.

The good...
I love how Utah was all about how everyone was shiny happy people and the million "thank yous" they received.
I love the good singing, really I do.
The autistic folk who come out--like the lumberjack guy. I love the oblivious. Ditsy, no gracias. But totally oblivious people? Hilarious. Like this:

Simon: Where do you see yourself in 11 years? Like in your wildest dreams?
Oblivious guy: Oooh, wildest dreams? Well, I would like to live in a small house with marble floors.

Simon: Have you sung for other people before? Yes? Your friends? What do they do?
Oblivious guy: Oh mainly outdoor stuff, hiking....

The bad...
Too many judges.
Not enough emphasis on the good singing--I think they are holding out for later on this and just showing the gimmicks--I don't like people dressing up in bunnies and such, even if they do resemble Michael Moore.

The Ugly...
Kara's clothing choices. She seems to embrace the whole wardrobe malfunction as a required part of her garb.
When the judges are really mean. Like "Does your mom think you are good? Really? Really? Lets bring her in here." And then "Come on mom, you really think she has got it?" Wow. Harsh.
The fact that if you are really pretty and wear a short skirt, you have to actually be a BAD singer to not get to Hollywood. The level of sexism here is really and truly low.

Yet I continue to be enthralled with this show? Why is that? Why do I just love watching singing? I am addicted to karaoke in real life as well, as long as I am not the one on the mike. For the obvious reason that my song choices are just not appropriate.

Ay Brijit.

Last night I went to a meeting for prospective kinder parents. For Gillian you know.

Anyway I didn't have to go because I have had these same nazi teachers with Bridget and loved it but I hardly wanted to hear an hour-long thing on what to expect in the kinder class, but the principal asked if I would be there to answer questions from these new parents, etc.

So I think in my mind, fun, super fun, I can just bring Meg, we can listen and she can smile at people in the audience, and my kids can go to the kids room/childcare room and have fun playing while I can recruit some new parents for our board.

After one hour of listening to the teachers share the minutia of their classroom procedures in two languages (twice as long, yo) I see Bridget running up the ramp and the following dialogue ensues:

B: We are soooo bored!
Me: Yeah me too, tell the other two that we will leave in FIVE minutes, k?
B: K. Seriously, five minutes tho.
Me: K.

The meeting finally ends after 1 hour and 25 minutes of total torture (don't ask if I played with my phone because I had a baby who was getting really bored on my hands) and I of course cannot stay to answer questions now which has defeated the purpose of staying.

I go to collect my kids from the childcare and it takes TEN minutes for them to leave because the two teachers aides who are in the room won't let the kids leave until they can actually see the faces and hear some kind of identifying detail about each of the kids and the parents are lined up at the door, pushing to try to free their children. Let me remind you that I have a kid in the FOURTH grade who does not need this kind of watchful care, especially when the lady watching them has known him and our family for three years now.

Anywho, they finally all three pile out the door and they are all crying except for Bridget. I ask what is going on and they start screaming

IT was like JAIL
It was the worst place EVER

Prospective kinder parents everywhere are turning and rejoicing that this might not be their top choice.

Let me say that normally my kids are not dramatic like this and it must have been really bad for two of them to be crying in public, so when I finally calm them down (offering ice cream as a truce for what must have been really superly annoying) it turns out that they were only allowed to color for the entire 1 hour 45--they couldn't read any books in the room and they couldn't touch any toys, etc. and most of the kids were crying. The kids were not allowed to leave the room for that whole time and the childcare ladies don't speak a lick of English which freaks out the little ones who don't speak Spanish (including my youngest child in the room). Total torture.

Bridget turns to the other two and says why are you crying it wasn't THAT bad. Then she turns to me and says well I escaped when I came to see you. I asked her what the ladies said when she came back into the room.

"Ay, Brijit."

I laughed but told her that sometimes it was important to follow the rules and she responded with "Yeah it is not always important to break the rules."

25 Weirdo Things About Me

Okay so like a decade ago I got tagged to post five random facts and I didn't do it, and then I just got tagged on FB to do 25 random things so I better do it now before it turns into 50 from someone else.

The problem with these things is that I am not sure if they are random or normal. So instead of tagging friends to do the same post, I am going to ask you to post something random about yourself here in the comment section (after you comment on the post itself if you so wish).

If I were really brave I would just ask you to post random facts about me, but I am afraid of landeelu and memzy since they knowed me for muchos años now.

Okay here goes it:

1. Any clothes that don't smell like detergent or fabric softener get washed, even if they are not dirty.

2. I can't remember if I have seen a movie more than 2 months after I have seen it, even when the movie is over. Steve has to say "we saw that together already, remember?" and I never do.

3. I can memorize 150 student names in four days but can't recall the names of people who I meet one at a time.

4. I would replace my dishes every two years if I could.

5. I love washing dishes but hate emptying the drainer or sink.

6. I feel bored without music on after 20 seconds.

7. I love to talk but live in constant fear that I am boring people.

8. I have read Watership Down over 6 times and cry every time Elarairah comes to recruit for his Owsla.

9. I prefer reading fiction but would rather talk about non-fiction.

10. I make up stats 97% of the time. They are based in actual studies but I can never remember the correct number.

11. My biggest fear is that my children will resent me.

12. I perform poorly on standardized tests. Either that or I think that I am smarter than I really am.

13. I love serving food to people.

14. I have loved every job I have ever had. But especially the one I have right now.

15. My ideal job would be getting other people jobs.

16. I still see a lot of people from my mission on a regular basis after 12 years of being home.

17. I feel guilty that I am happy I was released from teaching primary.

18. My favorite movie is X-men 2.

19. My favorite TV show after the Office is American Idol.

20. I listen to a BBC radio show called Just a Minute every Friday night.

21. The N and S keys on my keyboard are worn down on my current computer as well as the last three I have had.

22. I have fit 17 people around my table with both leaves in.

23. I have had a work-provided laptop for the last 8 years in a row.

24. I don't have cable but love tv.

25. I outlived all grandparents by age 30 and my parents by age 33.

Family Harmony (in Three Parts)

Part I: Marykay Makeover:

My friend came over Thursday to provide a facial since she thought the girls would enjoy it--we just did the soft skin business, you know, no makeup or anything. Here we are:




















When she was finished, the girls were like "Hey lady what about the makeup?" She kind of hesitated out of respect for me in case I didn't want them in makeup but it was a loooost cause. The girls saw her baggy full of samples and it was all over.

Here is what they came up with. I love Gill's face on this one:


















Next up Pinewood Derby:

Steve is actually the Cub Scout leader so ironically, Casey was the only one without a car on the day they were tricking them out (injecting with graphite or some such thing) so they ended up actually carving one out of wood. How old school is that?

So here is Casey's car (pics from derby all compliments of Bridget):



















Isn't it so originale?

And here is the man himself:



















You can see his car was doing extremely well:


















The wheel came off and rolled down the track by itself. Apparently Casey thought that was really cool which is wonderful since it apparently compensated for not finishing in the top half of his heat with the kids whose grandpas were also pinewood derby champs.

That stuff is serious business.


Lastly, a cupcake party. Steve took the Meg on his Home Teaching appointment so I could have time to do the cupcake stuff and a few minutes of sanity again. (I was kind of overwhelmed today since she was up until 10:30 last night and I was feeling like I don't have any alone time anymore. Kids don't wait until your youngest is 4 to have another baby, k?)

Here are the kiddos with the final row of cupcakes:



















We did leetle doggies from an awesome cupcake book called Hello Cupcake that Jen gave me for postpartum reading. We tried doing one when Meggers was only 3 weeks old but I think we are getting better now:



















I had a buncha frosting leftover so I made a plate for my awesome friend Katie (who I still love even though I didn't win her giveaway) to eliminate the ongoing requests for frosting licking, an action I find utterly and totally disgusting. I just sat at the table by myself using up the frosting from my new pampered chef frosting distributors--four stars for SURE if you ever do frosting stuff. Anyway, if you were my neighbor you might get one of these:

Big Thankies

If you are a parent you probably understand the following statement:

Every time I think I have it figured out, they go through a new phase.

My chilluns that is. They are beautiful, smart, wonderful individuals who bring me more and more joy as they get older. Now with four children we really are officially centered in family (meaning there isn't time for much else) and I love them more with each passing moment.

However.

The fighting had been pretty bad there for awhile as I mentioned awhile back and a HUGE thank you to two people:

1. Angela for recommending "Siblings Without Rivalry." Honestly I thought this book would not apply because I didn't seem my kids as being jealous of each other per se, but we employed the strategy of having them work things out and voilá it was already better. The cartoons help a lot for lazy people like me.

2. Memsy/Jespy who pointed out that in the Esplin household they just have to work things out before they are allowed to do the next stuff.

The book reinforces this principle but also points out you shouldn't typecast your kids which I sadly have done ALL their lives. It isn't too late to change tho, right??

Sample improvements:

Scenario 1:

Gillian yelling that Bridget won't let her play. Mom steps in:

Gillian, don't tell me, tell Bridget-look at her, k, now tell her how you feel.

You won't let me play!
Bridget:"I didn't say you couldn't play I just said I was going to?"
Can I play too?
Bridget: I don't care, whatever, we can both play.
Yay!!

PROBLEMA SOLVED!!!! and it was seriously that simple.

Scenario numero dos:

Casey is going to the weigh-in for the pinewood derby tonight and Steve asks if the girls want to go too and they get all excited and start putting on shoes, etc.

Casey starts in...
I don't want them to go!!

Weeping and gnashing of teeth from girls.

Mom (remembering book) Hey buddy, was this something special you wanted to do with daddy, just the two of you?
Yeah.
K, well afterwards, what if daddy drops the girls off and then the two of you can go do something special, like get a treat or something?
Okay!!! Come on Gillian, put your shoes on quick!!!

That simple!!! So I totally am excited. Now if only someone could stop this baby from grabbing on the cords that have been hanging off my computer desk for the last 2.5 years unmolested.

My Apologies

I wish I could help myself, but I simply must share a few things about owning this phone. If you have seen me in person you know I am simply giddy about it and I am trying, I mean TRYING to tone it down.

I promise this is the only post I will do specific to my phone so please be patient while I share. This is not a commercial. Just total coolness.

So here is what my phone can do for me:

1. Check my email
2. Sync with my address book and calendar (wayyyy useful when people ask when I am free later)
3. Operate as a light saber

Up until now you are thinking, okay, so what? My blackberry can do that, right? But can your blackberry do THIS:

• Find your car for you using the built-in GPS device (app: Take me to my car)
• Control your Itunes?
• Act as a flashlight for you (app: flashlight)
• Find any restaurant, of any kind, for any price in your immediate surroundings (app:urbanspoon)
• Keep track of your grocery needs and assign them by aisle of your local grocery store (app: Grocery IQ thanks to landeelu for that one)
• Help you determine what you want to make for dinner (app: allrecipes)
• Keep track of how much you have spent in each of your budget areas? (app:Spend Lite)
• Determine the name of the song and take you to a youtube video or itunes link to buy the song by a 15 second listen?

So yeah. Oh it has a cam. The pics don't come out so well at first:



























But then you realize, oh, free app to help with this. So you take ten seconds to go the app store and pick up darkroom and then you get this:




























It doesn't have an app to actually clean my house or anything but I am anticipating one in the near future (though my philosophy is to only buy one app per month and even then only if it is recommended).
I have to say I am loving this phone. And my monthly fee is EXACTLY the same as it was before. The same.

Just saying.

It's the American Way

So what would you do if your economic future were uncertain?

Buy a gadget.

Plan B

So things at work are rocky. You know, after the layoffs apparently we are having some technical difficulties that will not go away.

I am optimistic because things always work out, BUT there is a possibility that I need a plan B. I feel responsible for these problems because lately I have felt a real crunch for time to be loyal to both my employer and my family. I feel like because I have prayed to find that balance my entire organizational health is threatened so I can be taught to value my family over money. And things like an iphone.

So here are my plan B options:

1. Go on welfare and WIC. I have four kids for crying out loud that should get me something.

2. See 1.

New Prez.

Since I consider my blog my journal, I can't help but feel like I ought to blog about today as a truly historical event is taking place as I write this.

A school that I work with in Durham is sending a group of 50 students and 10 teachers to DC for the event today and I have to admit that it seems exciting for a number of reasons.

Regardless of political affiliation, one must admit that having the first Black presidente is a pretty big deal. People can call it tokenism or whatever, but as I have grown up I have realized that a good deal of racism exists in the United States. A lot of that reflects classism as we have such a large portion of minorities in the poverty class but many people cannot separate class from color and therefore we have this racism that occurs on several levels.

An example:

A comedian/writer who I consider to be really funny is David Sedaris. His recent book didn't grab me but a truly hilarious read (if you are a bit edgy) is Me Talk Pretty One Day. He also has a funny bit about Christmas entitled 6 to 8 Black Men which is about the various ways people celebrate Christmas in different cultures. The guy is really, really funny and if you have about 15 minutes you can enjoy his humor. I digress. The point is that I was thinking of recommending this to a teacher who happens to be black and I thought perhaps I should refrain.

While I still find David Sedaris hilarious, my friendship with colleagues of color makes me really think through the nuances of my own culture and whether or not I really have a handle on how Black Americans are treated on a large scale.

The fact that Obama represents a beacon of hope to so many people can go a long way in making a difference in the way we view race. I was told by someone that 24 having a black president paved the way for Obama. I find that disturbing somehow and prefer to give credit to Obama for being at the very least the most well-spoken presidential candidate we have had in ages.

I don't know about you but I am actually looking forward to hearing this speech and watching Americans fall all over themselves in excitement. Hopefully people won't be too disappointed when they don't get a windfall of $$ or find their homes suddenly still have no value.

EDIT!!!
Okay I actually cried during the speech! Is that weirdo?

How Babies Earn their Keep

In case anyone was wondering "How did Meg do on the flight across country?" I thought I would give some tips on traveling with a baby:

1. Don't take any stimulants prior to flying. I could feel my heart rate escalating each time she made even the smallest peep and had I had a speck of a stimulant in my body I would have had a heart attack.

2. Try not to sit next to a college-age male. Almost any other demographic is easier to sit next to then some attractive 20-year old while trying to maintain modesty of nursing your baby in small quarters. Also having a cute baby kick your seat companion's leg is easier if the person has either children, grandchildren, or likes to babysit.

3. Don't carry wipes. I have decided it is just another waste of space. In the event that your baby has to be changed, you have to go to the bathroom anyway and wet paper towels work just as well. Do what you want but I am telling you this piece can go. The only thing you need is a solitary change of clothing and three diapers.

4. Put a cute bow on your baby's head. I had a seat companion say "I am so glad you have that baby in a bow because it is so frustrating when you don't know the gender." Apparently this has caused him trauma in the past.

5. Try to plan for your baby to sleep on the plane so that she will instead sleep in the airport. If this happens, sit next to power somewhere so you can charge your laptop and ipod while waiting for her to wake up.

6. Make friends with the flight attendants. If you end up standing up in the back of the plane, it is easier if they are nice to you. On the way out to NC I had a meanie who said I was kind of in the way. On the way back I got a grandmotherly Spanish-speaker type who was totally enamored with Meg. Perfect.

In spite of the challenge of traveling with a baby and working insane hours PLUS staying up late/getting up several times a night, it was totally worth it. Here are some pics I took of her at the Las Vegas aeropuerto when we were on a layover. This is about 5 minutes before she fell asleep btw:

Tips from a Reformer

Or is it reformist? I have used several different explanations for what I do for a living and most of it includes the word "reform." My newest description includes the word "redesign" but then people think I mean the actual school building (which is sort of part of my job description since you have to plan for using the space correctly but doesn't get to the heart of what I do.)

The more I do this work the more I know that it is essential to the development of our country and I want to encourage everyone to more grassroots movement of reform in their own city. Below are a list of questions that every parent should ask the principal of the school--perhaps even superintendent or school board. You might ask the teacher but frequently they are limited by school administration because they control the teacher's ability to be free in the classroom to do proper instruction.

Question #1: What are the learning outcomes for the school?

Every high school has to have a set of learning outcomes in order to get accreditation for college--elementary schools SHOULD go through the accreditation process but many skip it. If the person cannot tell you what the learning outcomes are for the school, Houston, we have a problem. If they do have a list you should look for something about critical thinking or problem solving, something about citizenship or being a part of the community, some schools use the term work ethic for those things but that is really a different issue. Other key learning outcomes typically cover communication (oral or written or both) and some type of numeracy. Numeracy is a made up word but it refers to math literacy. Finally look for something that measures collaboration or group work. Many schools are now realizing that technology literacy is important for kids, but I would argue that our children already have tech literacy and we should be measuring their ability to use it appropriately in a classroom setting (ie, using it as a tool besides just using it to replace traditional assignments like online tests and some worksheets).

Question #2: How are the learning outcomes being measured?

People can say "oh we have 8 learning outcomes and they are about blah blah" but if it is a true learning outcome, it should be measured. If the teacher gradebooks all have categories of tests, quizzes, and homework, the only skills they are measuring are testing skills and work ethic. Think about it--do you want your child to be measured solely based on their ability to take a test? Or do you want them to also develop thinking skills, collaborative abilities, communication skills, etc.

Question #3: How is the school developing critical thinking and problem solving/how is creativity and innovation rewarded?

Anyone who is anyone knows that the US suffered in the 80s from low math and science scores internationally. What most people don't think about it is how America has managed to stay on top in innovation and creativity in spite of these test scores. We MUST have content literacy, don't get me wrong--but students have to be encouraged to create new products, come up with new ideas, etc. The time has passed in which people can graduate from high school and get a job as a robot in a factory. If kids are only regurgitating information, they are not encouraged to really bloom and be creative.

Question #4: How does the school use data to inform practices?

They will like this because everyone asks about the data--but they just ask what it IS. How many teachers are told to "raise test scores" without analyzing the current group of kids. Most teachers look at the year prior and try to address the low areas with NEW kids. This sounds psycho people, but it is exactly what happens in schools. So if I am a parent and my kids test scores are low, I do NOT care how the teacher addressed it last year or the group of kids that went through last year. I want to know how is my specific child increasing achievement and if they only measure the school has is test scores (proved by a lack of learning outcomes in other areas) then I need to know how they are using that to specialize an education for my chillins.

Question #5: How does the school support struggling teachers?

If I am willing to perform an "experiment" in letting a first year teacher, or even worse, a student teacher, use my children to become a good teacher, I need to believe that a principal or other support coach is working with them on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. I want to see discussions around curriculum. If someone says "oh we have BTSA or some other new teacher support", I want to know what % of the time with that mentor is actually spent with curriculum. Most of the time is just dealing with classroom management strategies, or paper pushing. Classroom management (ie discipline) is important obviously, but if a new teacher can really get a handle on engaging and powerful teaching, at least a child who is trying can get access to the curriculum.

Question #6: What are some examples of "real world" scenarios in which my children are engaged?

The key word here is applied curriculum. Who cares if they can add and subtract negative numbers if that math has no purpose? All I am asking is that the teacher say something like "when you only have ten dollars, how can you possible subtract 16 dollars?" and then have them come up with stuff like "well your mom could loan you 6 dollars and then you would have -6, right? Then if you borrowed 10 the next time it would be -10 plus -6. If you get 20 from grandma, then you have 4. Etc." If the kids are learning math for the sake of math, the only thing they learn is how to take a test. Same goes for all subject areas. If they are learning about the history of the state but don't apply any lessons to current events, es no bueno. Ideally the teacher creates a problem or scenario and the kids are asked to solve it in a project or problem based environment, but I know schools are light years behind that.

Question #7: How is my child being taught to work with other students?

This is especially important if your child is one of the top students in the class. Collaboration is consistently the number one skill employers demand of their employees yet state that very few people are prepared to come to the table and work well with others. Kids who are super smart learn that they do better on their own (due to the perceived stupidity of others) and begin to develop a sense that isolated geniuses are better on their own. If the school encourages (forces) kids to consistently work with other kids, the children see much earlier on their role as a person who can either push others to succeed (ie become their future bosses) or work alone and not recognize that everyone has contributions in this world (picture your sweet little kid 10 years from now working with some idiota and deciding immediately that the person has nothing to offer. When that idiota gets promoted due to nepotism or some other unique circumstance (like it turns out the person is actually a whiz with programming, etc.) what is your kiddo's future? Now flip-flop the situation and pretend like your child helped push the person to be better and always provided support no matter how tough it was? The idiota gets promoted (or better yet, your child gets promoted because the boss noticed how well he helped created harmony in the company) and then who is better off now? So many parents worry that group work will "drag my kid down" and we continue to see people entering the work force ill-prepared to collaborate.

Question #8: What can I do to help support the school as we move forward to make these changes?

It takes a village, duh. And if you want your child to get this kind of education, you have to fight for it, against the winds of your community often times. If you doubt what I am saying, read The World is Flat. Read Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Read any studies by the US Dept of Labor for the last 20 years. Check out the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and tell me that this stuff is not important. Don't worry about risks, your smarty smart pants kids will get educated since the number one correlating factor to literacy is parent education level (and according to Freakanomics the sheer number of books in your home). Nothing that the school does is going to mess up your kid if you are actively working at home to read and think with them so don't be afraid to push them. In case you didn't know, only 25% of Americans have a BA or higher, so if you are one of them, your kids are likely in the top 25% of the nation in achievement (probably reflected in their test scores). What will we do if America does not prepare our kids? No doomsday, just further sinking of our european travel opportunities, that is it.

You can thank me later.

What A Classroom Should Look Like in the 21st Century

Well with Macs instead of PCs.

Work Life, Home Life

So I am back home trying to transition back into the details of the day to day jobs that comprise the life of a pseudo at-home mom and I realized that it would have been awesome to be an American man in the 1950s. How do I know? I lived a life similar to that (plus some mom duties) the last few weeks and it seemed sooo easy. This was my schedule:

Get up and get ready. Packed my lunch from a variety of great choices that someone else made or purchased including homemade bread, granola, and home-dehydrated fruit and fruit rolls. Had I asked I know that someone would have made my lunch for me.

Go to work and focus on work all day--when I called to checked in on Meg everything was going fine with her, she was happy, etc.

Come home around dinner time and was told that I couldn't possible offer to make dinner as I worked all day and no I shouldn't do the dishes either.

Watched movies and caught up on some work in the evening and had someone constantly saying "do you want me to take the baby?" including once in the middle of the night.

I did my own laundry, but I know if I had asked that would have been done for me too.

It was a bit tougher for me as a mom because I actually was up several times a night with la bebé who seemed to wake up and want to eat all the time (the second we got home she went back to a longer sleeping schedule so that is a relief).

BUT it was weird to have someone think that I had actually done my work because I worked all day. No guilt over coming home a little late (which I did twice) and no having to work to make dinner. It was like, amazing. Coming home to all the household duties PLUS my regular workload (which I will return to in just five minutes, I promise) and a stack of bills I gotta pay makes me want to put on a man's suit and borrow Uncle Rico's time machine and set it back to 1952.

If I had someone telling me that I had worked all day and therefore had done my duty, I would either be an exercise fanatic, or have cable tv.

Meg's First Live Music

Congratulations to Tara for winning the prizeola !!! I will be back in town next week to send her items!! She is going to get a sample from this little group I am featuring today!

So in case you di'int not know, I am in North Carolina for work for 10 days. I brought Meg with me and Jenny (pseudo sis) is watching her for me! Jen and I usually go out for music über late and she has introduced me to a bunch of stuff--we saw Ingrid Michaelson and Josh Ritter when I was around 30 weeks prego, and prior to that we saw a few local bands, and then I rarely (kfine once) will tell her when a group I like is coming to the Raleigh area like Belleville Outfit so she can go check them out too...

Due to having a leetle one along, we decided to go during normal human hours to a local coffee shop and it was Meg's FIRST time ever listening to live música.

The band, called Perkasie (I think they were named after their home town) was amazing!!! I think they are my new favorite band.

There are four adorable little college boys with harmonious singing voices, fantastic percussion and bass with a simply marvelous keyboarder/ist? Kate is the only female voice with a hauntingly beautiful voice and their sound is very unique--they have this great harmony that lasts the ENTIRE song, not just the opening or ending like some songs. The keyboard guy I think writes most of the music and he is just a little bit genius as the music is unique and so enjoyable-- some of the riffs catchy as well. Some of the lyrics are whack and non-mainstream which is appropriate considering that the sign identified them as "Perkasie: an Indie band" and I think that the sound is better live than on the album (which indicates that they actually have so much talent it cannot be captured).

Here is a picture of the group--if I were a rich patroness I would give them a gazillion dollars so they could live off the fat of the land and just play music full-time instead of floating around on their winter break. Wait don't drop out of college kids, even if you make it big!



















Jen is standing fashionably in her shiny vest but on the right are the musicians. It turns out they are all college students in Pennsylvania and they are all studying music or business or both and they were the friendliest people ever (if I had time I would dedicate an entire post to the people of Penn. who I have found to be the nicest people of any state in the US thus far).

They dedicated a song to her ("this song is dedicated to that cute baby") which, sadly, is not available on their CD nor their website--one of the key lines was something like "lets do like bees and pollinate" or something along those lines.

So check out their myspace and give a listen to my favorite song called "Ginger Sobs" with the very clever and catchy chorus "I can hear my mother crying, she just sobs in perfect time."

BTW I did get a SIGNED copy of one of their CDs in which one of the band members wrote "tell your baby hi." Very cute.

Oh here is one more so I can enjoy the fun again: