Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

Peter Gabriel, " Come Talk to Me " Poi Dog Pondering, " Postcard From a Dream (Toast and Jelly) " The Pogues, " If I Should Fall From Grace with God " Sarah McLachlin, " Ice Cream " Toad the Wet Sprocket, " Walk On the Ocean " Townes Van Zandt, " Pancho and Lefty "

Lisa's mom writes: Wednesday was a nice day - the first this year. It has been snowing the last two days. Roy built the airplanes.......... He only crashed 50%... Glad we got pictures. Love, Mom

Lori writes: The sweetest part of welcoming another child into our home and our hearts is seeing the excitement and love expressed by Evelyn's older siblings. It started the moment we told Cameron and Ava, and has been growing exponentially every since. Immediately they wanted to run down the street (literally) and tell all their friends they were getting a little sister. Their caring and protective instincts have surfaced. They keep running to me, "Mom, Evelyn needs a high chair! ...Mom, we have to put up Evelyn's crib! Where is she going to sleep?" I was in the van with Cameron a couple of days ago and he suddenly shouted, "Mom! Evelyn needs a car seat! We're going to the store, let's look for a car seat." I thought that was nice of Cameron considering we were on our way to get him a Bakugan he'd been saving for. We looked at the car seats. I was leaning towards the tan/black neutral colored seats, Cameron said, "No, she's a little gir...

Johnny Clegg and Savuka, " Dela (I Think I Know Why the Dog Howls at the Moon) " Juan Luis Guerra, " Ojala Que Llueva Cafe " Kirsty MacColl & The Pogues, " Miss Otis Regrets / Just One of Those Things " Lone Justice, " After the Flood " Lyle Lovett, " Don't Touch My Hat " Maria McKee, EVERYTHING. I'll listen to all of it, over and over.

Tom writes (under duress -- he wants to go to bed and Lisa is making him stay up and post this): Around 10 or 10:30 a.m. these folks were trying to get into the last available spots on the Mall. Everyone was in a good mood. There was a sense of excitement, though some people were coming to the realization that they weren't going to see anything and that they could have done better in their living room watching events on TV. 12th and Independence SW, facing west: This had been one of the entrances to the Mall and it had just closed when I got there. The soldier was saying, "If you go down to the next entrance, you still may be able to get in, but you gotta go now because it's closing soon." 12th and Constitution SW facing east: Same scene, facing the opposite direction. This is the line with hoards of people streaming in. Going west down the street, there were several barricades that you had to get through. People were compressed into much smaller space. It was at that...

Lisa writes: Aretha has started something in D.C. Go here to get your own hat, and scroll down to see some even better hats. I'm partial to these:

Tom writes, from the National Mall: 9:23 a.m. Dear Lisa, People have been streaming out of buses all morning. I think I will go join them now...after I finish bundling up. Love, Tom 2:50 p.m. Dear Lisa, I am finally warming up in the building, and found my other two workmates waiting here. I thought you might like this picture. Love, Tom (Click to enlarge the improvised seating)

Lisa writes: I ran my cell phone through the washing machine. It did not survive. I suppose I could run it through the dryer. (Tom dried off the SIM card and put it in his old phone, so I'm back in business. Arcane and archaic business, but business.)

Lori writes: Dear Family and Friends, Please forgive us if you’re hearing this by email first. We just didn’t want anyone to be "out of the loop." We are happy to tell you we are adopting a little girl from China! She’s almost 15 months old now and "loves to giggle, be snuggled by her nannies, and a good baby" according to the information we received. She was also born with cleft lip and cleft palate but otherwise healthy. We can’t wait to bring her home and get to know her better. We’re so in love! The kids (Cameron and Ava) were thrilled to hear the news --Benjamin is still a little clueless. They were also excited to hear that they get to come with us to China to get their sister (we’re bringing all three kids). We think we’ll be traveling the end of March or first week of April. It’s about a two-week trip. My youngest sister, Debbie, has graciously and enthusiastically agreed to travel with us and help move the herd. Should be exciting! We’ve picked...

Sandra Boynton, " Faraway Cookies " Sandra Boynton (sung by Eric Stoltz), " Snuggle Puppy " Innocence Mission, " There " And then a mind-blowingly cute version of the same song by an elementary school choir.

My mom always saved the scraps from pie crusts and baked them on a cookie sheet with cinnamon and sugar. This is very close to the same effect, but oaty and without the sugar. I made these a week ago and left them unguarded to cool on the countertop for about an hour in the evening. When I went to put them away, they were gone. Tom had eaten them ALL. That's Tom's ultimate seal of approval. I didn't use any bowls: I mixed everything up in the food processor. Next time I try it, I'm going to use olive oil instead of butter. I'll let you now how they turn out, if Tom leaves me any. Peppered Rosemary Oat Crackers (lifted wholesale from foodnetwork.com ) Ingredients 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons salt (I used 1/2 teaspoon & salted butter) 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (I'd recommend less if you're planning to feed these to kids) 1/2 teaspoon chopped rosemary leaves (I used dried rosemary.) 3...

Lisa writes: The worst things to hear at midnight: 1. "Honey, I need bail." 2. Howling foxes just outside the bedroom window . 3. "Do you hear running water?" Last night was #3. The bottom of the water heater rusted out and disgorged its contents onto the basement floor. Luckily, we were home. Luckier still, Tom heard the noise. And luckiest of all, Tom refused to believe me when I said it was probably just the heater kicking on and he should go back to sleep. So, there we were at might, barefoot and in pajamas, standing in two inches of cold water, scooping water with dustpans and wringing it out of towel after towel. More luckiness: the water stayed in the unfinished part of the basement, didn't hit anything electric, didn't touch the food storage, and actually did no damage whatsoever. Tom made some phone calls this morning and we should have a new heater by tomorrow. Until then, you'll find us showering at the gym. UPDATE: It's 2 p.m. and we have...

Lori writes: Remember this ? We weren't smart enough to keep Benjamin from breaking eggs a SECOND time. At least he kept them all in the kitchen and off the carpet this time.

Lisa's mom writes: "I was just sent pictures from "my moment of fame" in January when I won the drawing for the signed Colorado College Hockey jersey from our Oral Surgeon's party. It was my first college Hockey game held at the World Arena. Referring doctors and staff were the guests. Karen, Roy and I had a fun time.

Lori writes: Note the similar expressions. They're obviously related. Benjamin, 3, and Ava, 7.

Lisa writes: Tom gave me an iPod Nano for Christmas three years ago. I played with it a lot at first, then discovered I'm just not the kind of girl who walks around with white ear buds in all day long. For one thing, I live in the suburbs. We don't walk. We drive. And cars have radios, which are basically just great, big iPods with gas tanks. But I found the iPod again a couple of days ago and have been playing it in the car. (Not with the ear buds; I have an adaptor-thing for the radio.) It's been so long since I dug out any of my CDs that it was one little fresh thrill of delight after another to rediscover the music that I loved enough to buy in the first place. Songs that delight me: Luka Bloom, " You Couldn't Have Come at a Better Time " Til Tuesday, " Coming Up Close " Utah Phillips, mixed by Ani DiFranco, " Heroes " Barenaked Ladies, " If I Had $1,000,000 " The Beautiful South, " Dream a Little Dream " Belly, ...

Lisa writes: It was the 12th day of Christmas, Epiphany, Three Kings Day, Feast of the Theophany -- whatever you call it, Christmas was officially over yesterday and the tree came down. But not without a fight. First there was the search for hidden, tree-colored ornaments; then spilling slimy tree water onto the wood floor; and then dragging the 5-foot-wide tree out through our 4-foot-wide doors. If I were a tree, you know what I'd do? I'd take revenge. I'd drop as many needles as possible all over the house in retaliation for the indignity of being left out with the recycling at the curb. That's what I'd do. I think maybe I was a tree in another life, because that's exactly what this tree did. Our poor little vacuum cleaner didn't have a chance, that much was obvious, but I am resourceful. And I have power tools. It was too bad, really. Tom left for tai chi class and there was nobody else home to see me sucking my way through the living room with the Black ...

Lisa writes: How was your day? A little rough? Really? Gosh, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Lisa writes: Few things in this life are quite as attractive as a man who can install a bathroom extractor fan. Rrrraowr! (Hole in the ceiling? What hole in the ceiling? I don't see any hole in the ceiling. Neither do you. Look! Something shiny!)