Avoiding the Bite

My consciousness is being invaded by a coven of vampires. You all know what I'm talking about. There are ads all over the subway. Billboards wherever I look. Newspaper articles with compelling titles. I cannot ignore them, as much as I try. Two summers ago, my sister brought Twilight with her when she came to visit after Simon was born. I read half of it, got annoyed by Edward's inhuman good looks (inhuman my eye, Bella obviously never met Micah), shut the book, and promised myself I wouldn't get sucked in. So here we are a year and a half later. I've had conversations with several friends about the story, the execution, the editing (or lack thereof), etc. and I always remind myself that I'm not going to get sucked in. I don't care to. I don't need to. My time is better spent with my family. Now, with Edward and Bella ambushing me at every corner, I just repeat to myself:

"There's no vampire like Micah."

"There's no vampire like Micah."
"There's no vampire like Micah."

One Month

My last day of class is Dec. 10. Yesterday I turned in my last major writing assignment aside from final projects. On Monday I took the only mid-term test of my grad school career. I'm feeling good. I'm feeling like I am going to make it. It has been harder than I thought it would be on some days and in some ways, but things have always turned out better than I expected.

This morning I was talking with some friends and I realized that starting next month I can make plans without worrying and wondering how I'm going to fit them around my classes, my homework, or Micah's schedule. I can just do things. Simon and I can go the library, the park, the store on a whim, without having to hurry because I need to be back to get ready for class. Micah and I will have every evening to spend together. We won't say our hellos and goodbyes of the day as we swap Simon on the train platform. We can spend our time helping others rather than always being the people who need help.

I know I still have a few weeks left, a few assignments to do, a lot of books/articles/texts to read, but I feel so free already.

Simon the Fish

Sorry this is a bit late, but, as can be seen in our last post, Simon really likes to play with our camera. The moment he hears it turn on he runs straight for it and ruins any shot we were about to take. Due to this and poor lighting, we didn't get any good pictures of his costume during the Halloween festivities. Luckily for us, however, today was a beautiful day for a photo shoot and his costume still fit. So, without further delay, here is what we did with all of our free time proceeding the 31st.In case you were wondering, we made it out of an old moving blanket which we dyed (for the darker fins and eyes) and cut up. The felt was great because it didn't require any hemming and gave it a nice, almost japanese paperish look. We then used some pajamas from Goodwill as the "frame" which we sewed everything onto. It turned out pretty well. The only problem was that the hood wouldn't stay up, but it almost looked better down, anyway.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Child

A Gallery Showing

The Hint of Red Pajamas

Red, Black, White


Kitchen Floor No. 1

Kitchen Floor No. 2

Spinning in the Kitchen

When Dad Comes Home

My Mother is Crazy No. 1

About the Artisit: Simon Heiselt is a child living in Brooklyn, New York. He enjoys buttons, bananas, scribbling, peanut butter and jam sandwiches, and dogs. His favorite words are "uh-oh," "go," and "shoe." He is currently going through his "naturale" phase. He likes to experiment with photography, computers, and helping his mother with her homework (which may have contributed to her above-mentioned condition). He has an eye for anything related to the New York City Subway and an ear for airplanes and dogs. He likes his dad best and asks where he is all day everyday.

We (check) Voted

But we didn't get stickers, even though we got up early to do it and had to take the train to our old neighborhood because we didn't change our address on our voter registration and then we stood in line (for not nearly as long as some of you) and got cut in front of twice by women who insisted they had been there before (riiiight) and then we were faced with the most archaic voting contraption known to man and when we stepped out of the booth we breathed sighs of relief that it didn't turn to dust when we pulled the lever. And that we are one step closer to ending this interminable election cycle.

It was the first time I've voted for President because 4 years ago I had some sort of issue with getting to the correct polling location and I was a crazy engaged girl with all sorts of time-management issues and emotional crises to deal with. I think I probably cried that I didn't get to vote that year.

Not this time. This time I was practically crying that I did have to go vote. Okay, I didn't really cry about it, but I will say that trying to decide which evil to endorse was pretty painful for us at the Heiselt home. I'm glad we made the effort to make our voices heard and do our civic duty and whyever else we're supposed to vote. However, I'm skeptical that our voices were actually heard because the ladies who cut in line didn't hear us say, "Excuse me," and the ladies who were monitoring our booth didn't hear us when we said we were Independent voters and decided we were Democrats even though we both clearly enunciated the word "Independent." I kind of think the only thing anybody heard from our family when we went to the polls were the many "Uh-ohs" Simon said throughout the morning. Which I think expresses my feelings about this election quite well, actually.

We carved a pumpkin and everything

Micah won the company costume contest and we now have a $75 gift certificate to Old Navy. Way better prize than the marathon.

Simon was a really, really cute fish. Micah made the costume and it is awesome. You'll have to wait for pictures though because we didn't get any on our camera.

I was the fishing pole and I caught the Simonfish several times, as well as the Grinch, Cindy-Lou Who, and Max the Dog.

We had a delicious meal of pumpkin soup, meal-in-a-pumpkin, and pumpkin cheesecake with some of our wonderful friends.

Simon learned how to trick-or-treat. Sort of. He was confused whenever we had to leave somebody's door, but he was always excited about going to the next one. I think he likes to meet new people.

Birthday Candles

Not to brag about what a neglectful wife I am, but Micah had to wait until Friday for me to bake his birthday cake. And then because I wanted Simon to be there when we sang Happy Birthday and blew out candles and the silly boy had gone to bed by the time the cake was actually ready, he had to wait until Saturday to blow out his candles. And don't you worry, because the store was out of stock of the gift I wanted to give him, I had to order it online and it's not getting here until Tuesday. Yep. I was really on top of things this year. Sorry Micah.

And in case you are wondering if there is a slice taken out of the cake in that picture, you are correct. Micah and I didn't wait for Simon before we tasted it to make sure it was okay. It was pretty darn good, if I do say so myself.

15 Minutes of eFame

So, I just got an email from my friend and classmate Rachel, who runs Black Eiffel and has been indulgent enough to let me be a guest blogger this week. Apparently my toy box has been picked up by another blog. This is getting fun and also a bit trippy.

Birthday Week Continues

Simon actually started to hint at his birthday gift a few days ago when I was putting his shoes on and he said, "Ju." And I thought, "Did he just say 'shoe'?" And it is sounding like "ju" is indeed "shoe." However, it is also "juice." He used it in both contexts today and thought it was the funniest thing. We're used to having to distinguish words from context because some of his signs look very much the same. Train or banana? Diaper or bird? Airplane or juice? It's a fun game. Last night he clearly pointed at Micah and said, "Da!" and this morning he was kind enough to imitate me saying, "No no no." Which he also got quite the kick out of. So happy birthday, Micah, your son can speak.

Also, if anybody is interested, Micah is guest blogging this week at Black Eiffel, a design blog run by one of his college friends.

Today is a big day

After all, it's not every day you turn 30. Right Micah? The celebration will continue all week long because NYU didn't get the memo that today is way more important than Columbus Day, so I had most of last week off and I'm making up for it this week. But what better way to celebrate such a big event than to stretch it over an entire week?