Ricks Siblings, East and West

Random Roadtrip September 29, 2008

I have reached new levels of bravery- or perhaps insanity.  Motivated by the fact that I was not going to see Marc for five days since he was on a nasty OBGYN night rotation I decided at around 9:30 on Thursday morning (September 18th) that I wanted to go see my family in Ohio.  I packed everything up and we left shortly before noon.  That’s right- I drove 8 hours (9 with two rest stops) by myself with the boys.  We stayed for a week and had a great time with my family. My dad had knee surgery so the boys and I were able to help take care of him for a couple of days while he recovered.  I got to see some old friends and we went swimming at the YMCA where my brother, Joe, works.  On the trip back to Baltimore we caused a little excitement when an elderly woman spotted me with the twins in the parking lot of a Wendy’s where we had stopped for lunch.  I was in the process of changing the boys in the trunk of the Camry since there had been no changing facilities inside.  The woman freaked out, thinking that I was loading the boys in the trunk and intending to let them ride back there.  Luckily I was able to explain myself before she called the cops.  I’ve included some pictures of the boys playing at Grandma’s house as well as one of Marc and the boys watching football together- something they all love.  The last picture is from last night when Gabe found a lotion container that he could get into.  He put a large quantity in his mouth but luckily it was non-toxic.

Gabriel and Elijah update extravaganza September 11, 2008

I know its only been a couple of weeks since my last post but it seems like the boys have changed so much in just that short period of time.  Here are some headliners from the Gabrielijah Gazette:

Kold Klobbers Kiddies:

Fussiness and Runny Noses Abound

I think this was the boy’s first real cold.  I think I should have bought stock in tissues.  I just ran around for days picking up crying babies and wiping noses.

Twins Tickle Ivories at Jewish Engagement Party

Gina’s father is a wedding singer (and yes that is his favorite movie).  The boys LOVED all the instruments and the impromptu jam session that developed at the party.  They especially loved banging on the piano and singing along.

Elijah Stunning in New Swimwear

My mom purchased these “18 month” swim trunks for next summer.  I don’t know if they’ll fit then, but they sure looked cute on our boys at the pool party we had at Gina’s apartment.

Baby Boys BFFs Boasts Baltimore Broad

It has been a delight to watch them interact more and more with each other.  I hear them on the baby monitor talking and laughing together when they are supposed to be going to sleep, or first thing in the morning.  One day, I walked into the nursery to find them sitting like this and playing together.  They even, occassionally, share toys and hand them back and forth.  It is pretty adorable.

Mini Munchers Give Solids 5-Star Rating

Gabriel loves to eat finger foods but he is a Ricks- picky and OCD.  First, he must sort through his food and eat all of one thing before he can eat something else.  His favorite is cheerios.  If there are cheerios in sight, nothing else will get eaten.  Next, he must grasp the food in a perfect pincer grasp.  I have seen him pick up and drop a piece of food over and over until he is holding it exactly right.  Finally, he places the food daintily in his mouth.

Elijah also loves solids- but he has a different approach.  He scoops everything up in huge handfuls and shoves it into his mouth with both hands.  He can consume the same amount of food as Gabriel in one tenth the time.

Dynamic Duo’s Dastardly Deeds Deterred:

Parents Beef up Home Security

I set up this pack and play in the basement as a safe repository for babies if, heaven forbid, I should need to use the bathroom or something.  Gabe loves these Pooh and friends stuffed animals who also live in the pack and play.  Uncle Matt acquired them for the babies as an early birthday present.

The house has undergone some extreme baby-proofing measures.  The coffee table was cleaned out and all the games and puzzles put in baby-safe containers.  We now keep baby toys in the coffee table which they think is a blast.  I have also been creating skirts for our bookshelves so that tasty literary morsels on the bottom shelves are hidden from view.  We’ve also been busy hiding and rerouting electrical cords and creating barriers to the computers, etc. with beanbags and laundry baskets.  So far our measures have been successful with the exceptions of a card game, tape and one lamp which have been destroyed.

Escape from Art Scape August 1, 2008

In July, we went with some of Marc’s friends to Art Scape- one of the nation’s largest art festivals. The boys loved all of the colors, costumes, music and the taste of strawberry smoothie that we gave them. We had a great time and decided to walk back to our friend’s apartment to feed the boys before going home. On our way, we saw a huge crowd of people cheering. We assumed this was yet another Art Scape spectacle and moved in to see what was so exciting. It turned out not to be part of Art Scape at all, but a vicious street fight between two men. When we realized what was happening, we tried to move but it was difficult with the stroller. Marc was able to get the stroller through a brief parting in the crowd but I got separated from them and found myself in the middle of the action. The fighters charged towards me, one falling down in front of me and the other grabbing me and almost pulling me to the ground. I was able to stay upright but I was still caught between the two guys. Luckily our friend Sahel, 6’8″, saw what was happening and yelled at the fighters to get away from me. He was able to drag me out of the center and we found Marc and the babies. I was definitely shaken but okay. I now just add this experience to the list of “only in Baltimore” things that have happened since we moved here. Anyway, the rest of our evening was great and I even almost beat Marc at Mario Cart on our friend’s Wii. Here are some pics from Art Scape (sorry- no pics of the fighting action):

Our favorite part was the Art Cars like the Lobstermobile (seen here with Marc and Finn and the babies)

the wooden truck

the phone car- which can really be driven on the highway

and our very favorite- the singing fish car. All of the fish on this car have moving mouths and tails and they all move differently and in time with the song being sung. It was really amazing.

See the guy in the right corner with the blue Yale shirt? That’s Sahel, my rescuer.

There were also many people on stilts and in outrageous costumes.

As a result, the Elders who were volunteering with the Baltimore Recycling group were asked if they were “really Mormons” or if they were just “Catholics or something dressed up to make fun of Mormons”. Marc vouched for the Elders and our friends who are both Catholic got a kick out of the question too. “Yes,” they said, “we Catholics are sneaky like that.”

The kids section had a lot of cut outs to take pictures in. We chose this one because there’s nothing that says Baltimore like giant rats.

I love you Baltimore June 9, 2008

As the residency application deadline approaches I have come to realize that this may well be our last year in Baltimore. I’ve been writing some memoirs of our time here entitled “Livin’ in da ‘Hood: a guide to urban Baltimore”. I’ve been including some of our stories with the N&B but I thought I’d also post them here in case some people (like us) no longer have an N&B subscription. So here are the first two sections- maybe Jonathan and Tine shouldn’t read these, I think they are applying at Hopkins.

Crime in da ‘Hood: For most people, it is the fear of crime that keeps them from living in Baltimore city. During our stay here we have only had two incidents. So here is what we have learned:

– 1990s Dodge minivans will be stolen by groups of local teenage boys because they are notoriously easy to hot wire. However, those teenagers will be easily caught by the police when the cops notice a 1990s Dodge minivan driving erratically with smoke pouring out from under the hood. Apparently, teenage boys just don’t have the same finesse that my (Sarah’s) brother does for junker vehicles. The van was returned with little damage other than the fact that my brother had to start it with a screwdriver from that point forward. We all bought clubs (devices which immobilize the steering wheel unless unlocked with a key) for our vehicles to prevent future theft.

– Teenage boys in Baltimore apparently carry around bolt cutters just for fun. It has nothing to do with the fact that they are standing outside your garage doors that are secured only with padlocks and they certainly weren’t the cause of those suspicious noises you heard coming from just outside the garage. If you follow these boys home and tell their mamas what they’ve been doing, the boys will call you a snitch and their mamas will call them names that can’t be written in a publication such as this.

Shopping in da ‘Hood: There are many ways to obtain goods unique to our Baltimore neighborhood. Here are a few examples:

– If you want ice cream, say no more, you’ve come to the right place. Our neighborhood ice cream truck runs 9 months out of the year beginning in March and lasting until November. The ice cream truck drives down our street at least 5 times daily and has been known to park on our street corner. Sometimes for over an hour. With the music on. There is nothing more pleasant than hearing nursery rhymes played at loud volume right under your open window. Indeed, whoever drives this truck seems to be quite the go getter. This truck may be heard as early as 7 am and as late as 10 pm. However, in the evening and late night hours the music changes to a rap beat complete with record scratches. We are not sure what the truck sells when playing this music, but we suspect that it is not ice cream.

– Also unique to our ‘hood is a man we have deemed “the yard sale man”. The yard sale man is to be seen standing in his small corner yard amid a cloud of cigarette smoke selling his wares every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, weather permitting. He throws wide the doors of his little shed and proudly displays an array of objects of questionable origin. Sometimes his merchandise is new, sometimes it is used but it always thematic. Where does it all come from? We don’t know, but past themes have included: grills (all shapes sizes and conditions), window ac units, patio furniture, mirrors, bedside tables, plastic plates, cups and utensils. In a pinch, we once purchased plastic plates and cups from him. He seemed very nice and even held his cigarette behind his back for me (Sarah), he said, since I was pregnant at the time. He gave us a very good price and the transaction seemed innocent enough, but we always feel a little guilty when we reflect on our purchase. Were we, in fact, supporting a black market trade in picnic ware? We may never know.

– Our house was built in the 1930s and the basement used to be a neighborhood grocery, or so we are told. The current neighborhood grocery is a couple of blocks down and has a huge sign touting “We sell beer on Sunday.” However, we choose to use the larger, but still authentic, grocery store several blocks away named “Food Depot”. Food Depot carries most items that you would expect from a large grocery store and has fantastic prices but it is also unique in several ways. Firstly, it is perhaps the only grocery store in which someone yelling out “Hey look everybody, there’s a white girl in the black market!” would cause everyone in the produce section to whip around and gawk at me (Sarah) selecting cucumbers. One might also notice that while it is difficult to find the romaine lettuce, huge bins of collard greens and kale take pride of place. Music playing in the store may include rap, gospel or oldies. Persons inside the store may bring in their own table and sell their products such as “Black Soap: soap for Black skin”, t-shirts bearing gospel messages (my favorite is one with the McDonalds golden arches that says, “My Jesus, I’m Lovin’ Him”) or the names of R&B artists, a vast array of perfumes and handbags, CDs of the music being played in the store, etc. Also inside the store you will find specialty departments such as the Pharmacy Depot and Liquor Depot. We actually love our special grocery store. My only complaint is that the employees are less than helpful if you can’t locate an item. When asked about the location of yeast one employee responded, “Yeast? What’s a yeast? I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout no yeast!” No, apparently you don’t.