Santa Claus Is Comin To Town

Mimi has been  feverishly decking the halls. We have been making snowflakes and white paper roses, and we displayed paper dolls , we call Kai and Gerta (inspired by several readings of the Snow Queen)for the tree and fireplace. Mimi also completed her traditional gingerbread house.

The excitement of the holiday is building as she counts down the days with her advent calendar.
Mimi also made a list, the list is volumes long and reveals a lot about Mimi,

1. blonde wig
2.A homework book
3.silver and gold jewelry
4.A good joke book(please for the love of God)
5.Pirates Go To School
6.two race cars
7.Barbie dream house
8. a small car(one she can really drive)
9.a house she can fit in(I guess the one she lives in doesn't count)
10.Twister mania for x box
11.a box full of Legos
12.fake seeing glasses
13. camera
14.Trampoline
15.Hexi bugs
16.Paper jam microphone
17. drawing book(teaching you how to draw)
18.boxing gear
19.Just Dance kids 2
20. clip on earrings
21. sparkly shoes.

After I read the list I knew I had to give Mimi the speech about giving and receiving. We talked about Santa , the spirit of giving and I showed her several websites where we can be like Santa and give to families who really are in need. Jiejie thought I was being a drag, but Mimi got the message.The list has been pared down.

You Spin Me Round

Kolotoč / Merry-go-round MAKING OF from sgnlr on Vimeo.

More Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings

Last night , JieJie's room mate Salam conducted a photo shoot of the girls for me.

She composed and photographed in the cold , and my girls were cold and a vision of lovliness. I am thankful for all of the beauty,creativity and talent I have in my life.

My Little Christmas Tree

Yes, the house decorating has begun,.
With that comes, snow flake cutting, paper chain stapling, and Jesus House.
Mimi has a Nativity scene that I bought for her as a baby. JieJie has an infamous mismatched Nativity scene that she purchased from the "Lambs Tail" when she was a little girl.
Mimi puts both of these houses together and makes for hours of play involving the two houses of Jesus.

Just a note: one of the wise men looks a bit like our friend Gabe.

Nutcracker Suite

In my next installment of Holiday festivities, I bring you "The Nutcracker"
Loved by many, despised by probably the same amount.
The story of Clara(or sometimes Marie) and her creepy Uncle Drosselmeyer has been a holiday staple for my family for years.
My mom had taken my sisters and I to The Ford theater to see it as a tradition and I have taken my girls.
This year my dear friend Missy snagged second row seats at the Opera Theater.
The orchestra was in our laps and the children's choir sang ethereally  in the pit with a seasoned group of musicians.
The girls were in their usual mode of entitlement, been there done that.

I was in my ultimate Christmas and ballet dream, soaking in the beautiful sets, theater,costumes, effects and of course the dance.
We were greeted by reindeer at the front door, we then progressed into the gorgeous venue. Everyone was dressed to the nines in their glitter and velvet. The whole city was filled with Holiday regalia.
We were seated and I was curiously put in front of Rachel Zoe's hair and makeup man and resident boyfriend. I knew his face because I am a frequent Bravo, Real Housewives, reality show watcher.(Guilty)

Beautiful dancers in the sugar plum parade

what faces?

Matching dresses courtesy of Gwen Stefani

Curtain call

Those perfect musicians

I was not so thrilled to find out that giggling would be taking place(from him) through most of the solos of the principal performers.
I then attempted to take a photo of the girls and he hid his face from my camera phone, which led me to believe he thought he was in the ranks of Madonna or Cher.
After the performance, we participated in the Sugar Plum parade, we strolled through the backstage, we saw the beautiful dancers in their costumes and in an instant, we saw Santa Claus, making a beeline for the parade to greet the dancers. The whole afternoon was very magical.

The charmed clock that bewitches at midnight

Although, I think we may sit in the bleachers next year.

Pretty Girls

Happily, we have been spending a lot of time downtown this season. Last weekend we took an impromptu trip to the ice rink with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Greg. We didn't skate, but there was a little festival going on with arts and crafts, rides, carnival foods and gift shops. It was sooo lovely

Loving the Fur on Aunt Cindy and Mimi

Lafayette Coney Island

The glamorous Aunt Cindy

Mimi and Uncle Greg watching the skaters

We then took our regular trip to Lafayette for coney islands.

I'm Your Puppet

Friday morning we went to the glorious Detroit Institute of Arts. The museum had Holiday events for the whole family.

A scene from Pinocchio

 Sleeping Beauty

Peter Pan

Sleeping Beauty

We went to a puppet making workshop and then on to an amazing marionette performance of Pinocchio.

Peter Pan

Happy Days

Getting Elijah to let go of the wall

Mike enthralled with Terry's puppet making

The puppet called Sugar Plum, best friend to  Terry's puppet Ginger Bread

Mike wondering when it will all end?

I have to admit, I have a strange preoccupation with puppetry(I think from when I was little and I saw "The Lonely Goatherd in the Sound Of Music") and this show was spell binding. The children were entranced by the story. The puppets were so intricate and expressive. The story was presented by the amazing National Marionette Company and they gave a lecture on the art and the puppets after the show.

I was so thrilled with the performance that when Pinocchio was turned into a real boy by the glorious Blue Fairy, I started to cry.
The audience gave them huge applause and loud cheers.
The puppeteers live in Vermont and have a family business of crafting wooden marionettes,  and scenery and then performing with these beautiful pieces across the U.S.

After the gorgeous puppet show, we went on to Campus Martius for a little ice skating. It was Elijah's first  time on skates so Mimi was giving him some pointers. We got him to take a few steps. The afternoon was the best.

I Can't Give You Anything But Love

We are in the midst of our Thanksgiving whirlwind weekend. The past few days have been hectic,joyful and strange. Fortunately, today I have some time alone to recharge and refuel.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Bobby and Michael arrived with their duffles and backpacks. They settled in and began their ritual of reconnecting with everyone they have ever met in their life.

Paulina, Michael and Bobby participate in the biggest bar night of the year, and it is amazing watching the process they go through to get ready for the evening.
I don't think I have seen such a fuss since their proms.

There is much preening and texting making sure that they are at the exact location where they will get the most exposure. We live a stones throw from Royal Oak so they can safely walk, or if they are lucky they have a loyal friend who will be the designated driver.
I really don't sleep on this night because I worry about flat tires, lost wallets and I guess...jail. This year I was wandering about  the house and I had heard the boys voices,chatting and catching up on the past months events.


This year  Terry Mimi and I were up at 5:00 to prepare for the Turkey Trot. It is now an annual tradition for us and we all love it.As much as we see Detroit get knocked around in the media, being downtown for the race is something to see. There were over 21,000 runners this year and the city was beautifully lit.
Our neighbors usually meet us downtown to join in the festive beginnings of the Holiday season.
We ran the mashed potato mile this year and Mimi was like a little rabbit scurrying past everyone. Terry did his best to keep up, I altered between walking and a slow trot.

Mimi received a gold medal, ate some cookies and candy and ice cream(a true runners diet). As we left the city to get home for further holiday happenings, we watched all of the Macy's parade goers wander into the city to wait for Santa to receive his key to Detroit.
We then stopped at New York Bagel, where Mimi received praise and admiration by lines of people waiting for their bagels.

Then we went home for a bagel buffet with Bloody Marys and champagne, it was really delightful.

I'd Like You For Christmas

Sing Sing Sing

A lot has been said about Woody Allen. I  choose to seperate the artist from the art.
If you were to glance into Jiejie and my movie collections they both are heavily weighed with Woody's work. I had the extreme pleasure of touching toes with Woody Allen's cashmere sock clad loafer while he played the clarinet at "Michaels Pub". (partied with his band too but that is for another blog).
When Jiej was six weeks old(she was an amazing baby), I took her to see "Crimes and Misdemeanors".
Last week she came to Sipes Manor with a bad cold, "What Can I Do To Help Boo?" I asked.
Her needs were few, snuggling in bed, chicken noodle soup and a dose of "Manhattan".
Tomorrow night and Monday night PBS is siring American Masters "Woody Allen". Can't wait.

Cool

About a week ago, I told Mimi the story of how Terry and JieJie first met.
Terry came over for dinner, and at the dinner table he and Jiejie began conversing using oven mitts as puppets. This was their bonding point and I was definitely left out of the conversation. Terry was the first and reigning member of the Cool Club.

I was so thrilled that they got along so well that being humiliated by oven mitts was ok with me.

Mimi still talks about this story and took it to a new and more exclusive level.
We have recently made the basement a little more habitable so Mimi has decided to start the Cool Kids Club.
The club involves Terry, Mimi and Zelda, who all got immediate unquestioned membership.
I had to fill out an application, explaining my skills in cooking,singing and the ultimate question"Am I Cool enough?"
With much deliberation, it was decided that I would be allowed into the Cool Club and I was awarded a membership card with all of its perks.
At first I was a little taken aback, then I took the Groucho Marx opinion of not wanting to be a member of a club that had me as a member.  I quickly came to my senses and took my card, descended the stairs to the basement and embraced being a Cool Kid.

Be Yourself

At the beginning of the school year Mimi was asked to do a self portrait. I absolutely loved her illustration.
Since then, she has started doing more illustrations based on this original idea. The characters have different hair colors and the jewelry changes, but they all have a very beestung mouth and the eyes all have a wonderful almond shape.

Now she has requests from her classmates to draw these characters for them to take home!

I am encouraging her to write a little story and incorporate these wonderful ladies. I have a teeny Picasso on my hands. Her style is so unique.