Thomas rocks out!

Here is Thomas waiting in the rehearsal room before the concert began. He looks completely at ease, and he is. He is never the least bit nervous before performing--I really don't understand it at all. I remember that before my piano recitals I was so nervous I couldn't feel my hands. I had to consciously think about pressing the keys but couldn't feel them as I did so. Thomas is one cool customer.
And here is everyone on stage. This was the last song ("Guantanamera") of Thomas's penultimate concert for this season. Because I was running out of tape time and battery (the usual story) I didn't include the conductor's conversation before the song, but she did welcome the audience to dance and told the musicians to "get in the mood." Thomas obviously decided that he would. I tried to get the horn section "doing the wave" with their instruments but you can't quite see them nor can you see the cellos plucking their instruments like guitars. Thomas, sentimental fool that he is, was distraught when the concert was over because they will never play any of those songs again.

Sibling Rivalry

I suppose the content of sibling rivalry is always stupid but Thomas's and Frederick's contests of will always seem (to me, anyway) extra ridiculous. Normally Emily picks up Frederick while I pick up Thomas from school but yesterday I had to pick up both. Once home, I tried to shovel food into their mouths as fast as I could. Recite "I'm starving!" over and over while looking at pictures of baby bird mouths agape and you get the idea. [Frederick ate: 1/2 pound steamed green beans, 6 slices of cheddar cheese, 1 string cheese stick, 1/2 pound strawberries, 4 slices of bread (homemade gluten free, crust-free and slightly warmed), a bowl of raisins, a small bowl peanuts AND a bowl of dry rice chex cereal. Thomas ate: 1 enormous bowl of cereal, 6 slices of cinnamon toast, 2 cups of milk, a granola bar and a bowl of ice cream.] As I was prepping all this food I heard an argument break out in the dining room and (as all parents do everywhere) added my shouts, "What's the matter in there!?!" Thomas said, "He's taking the New Yorker and I haven't finished reading it yet!" (Meanwhile Frederick and Thomas intensify their tug of war with Simon's latest New Yorker.) I told Thomas to just let Frederick have it but he wouldn't give in. In Thomas's world, "Frederick ALWAYS gets the New Yorker first"--but not THAT day! So, to flex a bit of muscle, Thomas v...e...r...y s...l...o...w...l...y finished reading the cartoon and then gave the magazine to Frederick, who settled on the couch for a read. "Michelle Obama!" (who was featured on the cover) Frederick said with approval, as he settled in.

O'Frederick

Frederick's class had a St. Patrick's Day party and we were encouraged to send him to school wearing green. I know they had green snacks (WHAT they were, we were not told) and he came home with this hat. I wonder if the girls in his class got little beards, too?

Thomas Home, Safe and Sound

The itinerary predicted them arriving home at 7:30, so off I trotted to be 5 minutes early. (I had images of arriving and seeing Thomas there alone, all the other kids having been picked up earlier by more dutiful parents.) There were a dozen or so other parents waiting and a car or two arrived every few minutes for the next 15 minutes. Finally about 7:45 the bus pulled in and we all jumped out of our cars to meet it at the loading zone near the building. First the bleary-eyed adult chaperones stumbled out, followed by kids, each of whom was schlepping bags and bags of stuff (and several were wearing brand new Chicago t-shirts).
Finally, Thomas stepped out, looking like he hasn't slept in three weeks. I couldn't even make sense of what he was saying at first, he was so exhausted. I got him home, we filled him up with food, got him in the bath and then pajamas and he went right to bed. Learning about the trip was like pulling teeth. Our questions of "What did you do then?" "And then what?" were answered with, "I'm not sure," or "I can't remember." He DID manage to tell us that one highlight of the trip was swimming at the hotel. (Question: "So did yo have a good time?" Answer: "We didn't get to swim enough.") And what about the other kids? Did he have fun with them? ("Russell talks ALL THE TIME." and "I don't think Marshall brushed his teeth ONCE!")

Surprisingly Sunny Weekend

After a ridiculously cold Friday morning, it warmed up to a ridiculously warm day and has been since. So bursting forth from our house we set to work and play in the back yard. (Look! No coats!) Here we see Frederick and Simon resting on the trampoline after a tough bounce session.
Frederick was slightly concerned when no Thomas appeared Friday morning to get ready for school but quickly recovered and has since been enjoying being the only child.

To help control Frederick's allergic reaction to leaf mildew, we set to work raking up the remaining leaves left over from last year. These are the leaves that refuse to drop with the others and only fall when the freezing rains of winter set in. Those in the shaded parts of our yard are still stuck in 5 or 6" of ice and so will have to sit another several weeks. But here at last are the undeniable signs of Spring.

We filled and emptied the wheelbarrow (or, as some would say, wheelbarrel) ten times so far this weekend and there is still much to do.

Meanwhile, we wait for the return of Thomas. Will he have had the best or the worst time of his life this weekend? Only time will tell.

Thomas Goes to Chicago!

This whole past week we have been getting ready for Thomas's trip to Chicago with the Flint Institute of Music Philharmonia. Thursday night he had his final rehearsal from 6:30 until 8:30, and then he and his percussion teacher, Alyssa, spent 30 minutes packing up all the percussion instruments that had to be taken. (I had no idea it was such a palaver to pack up drums--cases within cases, all packed with sticks, pads, cymbols, drums, towels and bits of rug. All very mysterious, time consuming and heavy.) Finally, we left for home--to pack up his clothes (3 sets of casual clothes, two performance outfits and another set of finery for the Chicago Symphony performance), a slap-dash alteration on his performance slacks, then a quick bath for Thomas and right to bed...to wake up but a few minutes later at 5 a.m. (!) to dress, eat, load up the car and drive to the FIM...to wait for the bus that hadn't arrived. We pulled up in the parking lot exactly on time (a fairly rare occurance for us and downright astonishing at that hour of the morning) and found several dozen cars in the parking lot, all with their occupants huddled inside. It turned out that the bus driver was under the impression that she was to show up at 6:15, not 5:15 am. Calls were made and the driver promised to arrive asap. So we waited, and waited, and waited and (because it was only 15 degrees out) we got colder and colder and colder. At one point (and this was with us in the car with the heat running full blast) Thomas and I were shivering so hard we couldn't talk. Finally the bus showed up and everyone cheered! And then set to the task of loading up two basses, eight cellos, all the percussion instruments, three dozen other instruments and everyone's suitcases and backpacks. Here is Thomas, excited (and a bit anxious) to go. (He was sleepy, but not asleep. I just caught him off guard because I didn't know what I was doing with my new camera.)
Here is everyone waiting while the instruments were loaded on. I can't believe all these kids got up at this unglodly hour.
Here is Thomas getting on the bus. He said he was very anxious about going--until he saw the inside of the bus. Each seat was huge, upholstered, and had a wide variety of hookups for any number of electronic gizmos. (They were told to bring dvds for the busride because each could watch a movie in their seats?!?) He picked a seat and within minutes all the boys had settled in right around him and were animatedly sharing DS data.
And there they go.
I've been thinking about him constantly since he left. I have a copy of their itinerary and keep checking it to see what he is doing. Right now he is sitting in the audience of a Chicago Symphony performance of Beethoven. (But will it sound as good as their Egmont which they performed earlier today in the Field Museum of Natual History? I doubt it.) They leave for home tomorrow at 1 pm and should be back at the FIM by 7:30 pm. I am guessing he'll be tired.

Still Damn Cold

It was only 12 degrees out this morning as I went in to work. My hair was still damp and froze as I walked from the parking structure to my office. It didn't break off, though I was testing it out, just out of curiosity. Here is Thomas, loading the last of the wood from the garage onto the porch for easy access. He was bored out of his gourd (we all are these days) and itching for a new pokemon DS game due out soon so Simon promised him $10 if he would do the job. It took Thomas about an hour to work and he did it without complaint indeed, even hummed to himself as he went back and forth with his loads. It was weird to see.