BAMBINOS
(artistic credits, photo above: Owen wrote the words, Meera decorated it)
Our second 4th of July on Harbor Island. A spectacularly gorgeous day for a golf cart parade, the beach, the pool, and dinner with sparklers on the back porch! Nothing could be finer than 4th of July in South Carolina!
Happy 4th of July!
Something about the beach house inspires me to not just cook, but to post Food Fridays! Pretty often I get emails from longtime blog readers telling me how much they miss my weekly, consistent, dependable Food Friday posts. They tell me how much they miss the food dimension on this blog. It is still there (sort of), but you kinda have to read between the lines to get it. For those who miss the weekly (Friday) food posts, I just want to tell you: I’m right there with you — I miss them too! There is something about living in a dorm, trying to cook in a tiny galley kitchen, and not having good natural light in which to photograph, that is… well… pretty much an uninspiring downer where all-things-food-blogging are concerned.
And then, bam!, we’re transported to the beach house! And the South Carolina Lowcountry is a food mecca! And there is creative inspiration everywhere! And we’re hungry from days of sand and salt and adventurous exploration! And the kitchen is flooded with gorgeous natural light! And…. bam! Food Fridays!
In the past five days of being at the beach house I’ve cooked more scrumptious stuff than I typically cook in a month back home at the dorm apartment. Today, for Food Friday, I simply want to remind you of 3 awesome and easy and special posts from last summer. In the past five days I’ve made all three of these. If you haven’t tried these yet, folks, really, I urge you, try them ASAP!
1. Beach House Blueberry Muffins (click for link). Photo above. These originated last summer with me trying to make a quick, easy, ‘cheater’ muffin that would satisfy my muffin-loving-son Kyle. I now buy two boxes of the mix, and make 24 muffins at a time, because Owen and Meera have — as a result of these muffins, and these muffins alone — developed a muffin-love too. But Owen and Meera love chocolate (Kyle does not like chocolate), so I make one box exactly per my recipe (link above), but I substitute chocolate chips for blueberries when making the 2nd box (and, I will admit: I’ve somehow managed to wind up with two chocolate snobs, and they have a specific preference for Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips over all others, and I am a self-confessed foodie-enabler, so I use those). I made these Tuesday morning and they were gone by Wednesday afternoon.
2. Shrimp Scampi. Despite the fact that I made this at least once a week last summer, I never did a Food Friday post about it, but I did post a picture and mention it (click). However, I have posted this recipe to the blog way back — you can find it here (click). Braydon is a shrimp connoisseur, and he swears (and I agree) that the Lowcountry shrimp are the sweetest most tender shrimp in the world. I totally agree with him. We are so spoiled by this shrimp — on the way home from the beach we can just swing by Gay Fish Company and buy shrimp that was caught that day, from shrimpers working shrimp boats right off the shore — within eyesight — of where we swam on the beach. Seriously, it does not get any better than that. But back home I make this same recipe using store-bought, frozen shrimp. Better in South Carolina, but so good either way!!
3. Carolina Marsh Tacky (click). Oh my goodness. This is such an unusual and magnificent cocktail. So spicy, so refreshing, so perfect for the end of a summer day! We’ve graduated this year to some extremely good ginger beer, and some extremely good bourbon (photo below), which just takes these up another notch. Amazing! Give it a whirl and see what I’m talking about!
We have spent our fair share of time on beautiful beaches. We love the beach. Most any beach! But we have a definite preference for the no-boardwalk, no neon, no crowd, as natural-and-walkable-and-remote-as-possible beach. In the category of Able-To-Get-To-Without-Getting-On-An-Airplane, Hunting Island wins for us as all-around favorite beach.
In fact, we chose the beach house we did for its proximity to Hunting Island State Park (click here and click here). The park entrance is 5 minutes down the road from the house we’re renting. Hunting Island is stunning in it’s rare, protected, natural beauty. The park is expansive in possibilities for adventure. We spend lots of time there, and I always feel like we can’t even scrape the surface of it. But the beach itself is a prime attraction.
The drive to the beach, alone, is worth the trip. (I took all of these photos with my iPhone yesterday — the photo below is taken from the driver’s seat, through the dashboard window). Check this out! For those of us from other parts of the country, this sort of lush, tropical, palmetto-rich landscape is almost surreal ~
The only “boardwalk” you’ll find is actual boardwalk paths, zig-zagging through the woods, to get from the parking spaces to the beachfront. The woods and dunes are all protected, so the boardwalk paths provide the only beach access. It feels like we’re in an entirely different world as we make the walk to the beach ~
Then, there it is. Hunting Island beach in all it’s glory. Apparently this is the most-visited state park in South Carolina, but the beach is never crowded. Even this week — 4th of July week (the busiest week of the summer season) — there are amazingly few people there. There is so much to do on the beach there — not the least of which are searching for sand dollars and shark’s teeth (on Monday we found 35 shark’s teeth on Hunting Island beach! We have yet to find a dead sand dollar, so we have yet to take one off the beach with us.). But for the bambinos, the best part is that the water is so warm, and the waves are so perfect for boogie boarding and body surfing ~
(Meera has suddenly got the hang of boogie boarding and body surfing this year! She’s quite the 6-year-old pro at it!)
Seriously, if you’re ever in the area, Hunting Island is a must-do!
We’ve been letting Owen drive the golf cart a little bit. It is totally against the rules of Harbor Island (you are supposed to have a valid driver’s license). But sometimes rules are meant to be broken, right? Especially in summer, right? He absolutely loves it (and is a much better driver than his mom is). Hopefully we won’t get caught anytime soon.
Braydon is taking two days off as we begin our stay in the Lowcountry. Yesterday I packed us a nice lunch for the beach, with some fine cheeses, bread, and fruit. I had packed special treats to drink — ginger ale & root beer for K & O, lemonade for M, and white wine for Braydon and me. The kids got such a kick out of the fact that we were drinking wine on the beach. I got such a kick out of the fact that Kyle kept referring to our picnic as a “First Class Lunch.”
Friday afternoon (once swimming camp and baseball camp were done for the week), we hit the road south. This will be the centerpiece of our summer: a month-long stint — July 2014 — in South Carolina.
We made what felt like, for us, a huge decision (since we try to never go to the same place twice) — we decided to go back to the same place, even renting the same exact house, as last summer.
It felt like summer would really begin once we began the road trip south. This is now four years in a row that we’ve made the trip deep down to the Lowcountry of South Carolina. It is a two-day drive with an overnight at a hotel somewhere in Virginia.
There is lots of iPod’ing and iPad’ing in the backseat ~
And always an audio book in the front seat. Since this is Dash’s first summer with us, this was his first trip to South Carolina. He was conked out most of the time, and handled the long drive like a champ! He seemed to know, like we do, that the pay-off would be huge ~
A stop at Taco Bell has — for whatever reason — become a ‘Must Do’ part of this road trip. It is the one and only time each year that we eat at Taco Bell. It is funny how these little rituals develop. I wonder if the bambinos will remember stuff like this when they are older — ‘Oh, yeah, and my family used to do this crazy 16-hour drive to South Carolina, and we’d always stop at Taco Bell…” ~
There was a long section of the drive — somewhere way south in North Carolina, or maybe it was way north in South Carolina — where I sat in the backseat with Kyle and Meera, while Owen rode shotgun. My backseat portion of the road trip began in order for me to oblige Kyle’s request to watch a video with him that neither his brother or sister would watch unless forced entirely against their will — a documentary about the history of immigration, coal mining, and labor union development in the United States. He thought it was fascinating. I thought it was boring as heck. Meera and Owen were just relieved they didn’t have to watch it.
Readers of this blog know that I post hundreds of photos every year. You may or may not have noticed that I rarely post photos of myself, and have — maybe never? — posted a selfie. Well, this is what happens when mama is in the backseat for a few hours — boredom sets in, people get silly and giddy, and strange requests are made, like, “Mom, come on! Let’s take a selfie!?!” And mama rolls with it and might even post it to the blog.
We know we are very deep, deep, down, down in The South when we finally spot a highway sign for “Hot Krispy Kremes! Drive Through! Next Exit!” We’ve been on the lookout for one of those signs for a long, long time and some of us (one in particular) is a very enthusiastic lover of the hot Krispy Kreme!
We had bought a new travel game for this trip, and we can now highly recommend it — Auto Bingo. This entertained four of us (and the driver) for a couple of hours during the especially dicey last leg of the drive.
But then we arrive. The beach house was just how we remember it — actually even better. The view from the porch was, somehow, a quick reminder of why we did this, and an affirmation that we had made the right decision in coming back. I snapped this with my phone within minutes of our arrival ~
And just minutes after that — yes, the pay off. Feet in the sand, bodies under the waves. Warm water, salty breeze. Miles of protected coastline, in an incredibly natural state. There is no boardwalk or beach bar or buzz. In fact, there is not much of anything, except just us five, left to our own devices, away from the intensity of our “regular life” up North. That is a great life we have up there… we wouldn’t trade it for the world. But, we really benefit from the balance of the slow-paced southern summer too. I’m not sure that our current “regular life” would be sustainable without our July retreat. Harbor Island beach ~
Dash was right. It is so worth it! ~
This week Meera was in Swimming Camp until noon each day. She’s had a blast in Swimming Camp, which was held at the place she’s been taking swimming lessons for the past two springs. I was worried about how she’s do being plopped into a camp where she didn’t know a single person… but that did not seem to phase her at all. And the afternoons have been awesome. She’s really enjoyed a few lunches out with Mommy (while running errands), and some much needed downtime (while Mommy works). It has been a great week for our girl.
Kyle and Owen’s 2nd week of the summer was dominated entirely by baseball. Baseball camp by day, and Little League All Stars practices/games by night.
In 2010, Kyle went to Lehigh’s Baseball Camp for the first time (by himself! yes, that was interesting! click here). Both Kyle and Owen have gone every year since, so this was Year 5. They
For the past two weeks K & O (and thus, all five of us) have been deep in the thick of post-post-season-Little-League. The South Side Bandits had done well enough this season that most of the boys were picked for the district’s All Star Team (they brought in a few boys from other teams, but they even wore the Bandits uniform). This team played their hearts out, but finally lost on Tuesday night — ending the season for them (THANK GOD! We were all soooo ready for baseball to end!).
As a result, the five of us enjoyed a leisurely dinner, at home, at a normal dinner hour (hallelujah!), on Wednesday night. Nothing makes you appreciate a leisurely-weeknight-dinner-at-home-at-a-normal-hour more than a very long Little League season!
It was a great baseball season for the South Side Bandits. Here are just a few pics from All Star season ~
We have been living on campus at Lehigh University for two years now. Lehigh is not historically a campus that has had a Faculty in Residence Program, so kids have not traditionally lived on this campus. Owen, Kyle, and Meera have made a big splash as the first “Faculty Family Kids” (that is how they refer to themselves). They are, I’m pretty sure, the most popular people on this campus! Lots of people are interested in their perspectives on campus life. I sat down with each of them and asked 10 Questions. Here are their unedited, unfiltered, direct-quote answers. In a few places I’ve clarified things by putting my own words [in brackets].
* * * * *
What is your favorite dining hall on campus?
O: The Faculty Dining Hall. The food that Jesus makes is like a graceful party in your mouth! I hope he reads this. Jesus is the best chef on the campus. [The “Faculty Dining Room” = the Asa Packer Dining Room, 3rd floor of the UC.]
K: The Faculty Dining Hall, definitely. And they lie when they say it’s the same food as the student dining halls. At the Faculty Dining Hall they make a little sauce that’s different, or something like that. There is something different. And it is better!
M: Rathbone. Because I like the spaghetti there. It is so yummy!
What is your favorite thing to get to eat at a student dining hall?
O: Penne with alfredo at Rathbone pasta bar.
K: Definitely crepes at Cort.
M: Ice Cream!
What’s the best pizza on campus?
O: Pandini’s, definitely.
K: Pandini’s!
M: Cheese pizza.
What’s the best pizza delivery to campus?
O: Dominoes.
K: Definitely Dominoes.
M: Dominoes.
What do you think is the best place to hang out on campus?
O: Below the UC, the lawn of the UC. [“UC” = University Center] You can walk down from the UC too, and play in the area where the food truck usually is. [He’s talking about the outdoor open space between Maginnes and the Fairchild-Martindale Library.] These are good areas to hang out because I get to see a lot of my friends there. A lot of students are walking there and hanging out there so we get to see our friends there.
K: That’s hard. Because there are a lot of good places to hang out. But I’d say Campus Square, definitely. You can get to have ice cream, you can play around there. There’s the fountains there. You can have fun outside there.
M: Around the students, that’s the best place. I hang out around the students at home. At Sayre.
What do you get at The Cup? [“The Cup” is the campus ice cream shop.]
O: I get mint chocolate chip and chocolate chip mixed together in a milkshake.
K: Black raspberry milkshake.
M: Party cake, in a cone, with rainbow sprinkles.
What’s your favorite thing to do on campus?
O: Going to football games. Going to the gym to play basketball with the students. Riding the bus! Have babysitters and go to The Cup!
K: Bike riding in the woods. Going to football games. Going to baseball games. Going to basketball games. Going to big huge crazy student parties where they have a bunch of Cokes and I get to sneak some.
M: Go get ice cream at The Cup then ride the bus back up to Sayre.
If you had to choose just one thing that is the best part of living on campus, what would it be?
O: We are surrounded by college students, and when they can, they can play with us. We get to do things that other kids wouldn’t be able to do. We know a lot of people, so sometimes we can get to do all sorts of cool stuff.
K: Having college students around all the time and going to their sports games.
M: Be around students, making friends with students, they’re very nice. I like to color with students.
If you had to choose just one thing that is the worst part of living on campus, what would it be?
O: When there are racism problems. Like this year, at Lehigh, we had some racism problems and I hate that. Oh, and I HATE Quiet Hours! [Notes: This year was a difficult one at Lehigh — you can read about some of what Owen is referring to by clicking here. Also, re: Quiet Hours — in the residential areas of campus “Quiet Hours” are observed from 10pm-10am.]
K: The worse part is that they don’t allow trampolines. Because students would get all crazy and do crazy tricks and get dangerous on the trampolines. So, we can’t have a trampoline. I miss our trampoline. A lot. I really miss it. And Quiet Hours. Sometimes when it is our bedtime they aren’t quiet, but then when they are sleeping ‘till ten, or sleeping ‘till noon, we have to be all quiet for them!
M: Nothing. There is no worst part.
If you had one piece of advice for other kids who might live on a college campus someday, what would it be?
O: During Quiet Hours, you cannot make too much noise, because if someone complains to the right person, you’re out!
K: Alright, this one’s tricky. Let me see. Ok. Unless you have a friend in a sorority or fraternity, never go near them because they are just going to kick you out and they’ll just say, “Leave! What are you doing here?”
M: It’s wonderful living here. To make friends with students, you ask them: “What’s your name?” And when you live on campus you can spend more time with your mommy. It is just awesome here. I love it. It is awesome living here. I love it here so much!
We built the Fairy Forest for Meera’s 5th Birthday. I truly never imagined that one year later it would be as beautiful as ever. The truth is, I think the Fairy Forest is even more amazing a year in — it shows the wear and tear of the seasons, and it feels like it has really settled into itself. The fairies seem to have really moved in permanently to this forest! It is still such a joy for Meera to play there, and it still feels like a most magical place. Here are some photos from Spring 2014, one year after it was first built ~
It is unbelievable how often I get emails from blog readers asking about the Fairy Forest! (This is the Fairy Forest we built for Meera’s 5th Birthday. You can see the original post on that by clicking here.) Mostly people want to know how it is holding up. I’ve tried to take pictures of our Fairy Forest through the seasons of the past year, but I’ve been bad about posting them to the blog (and the photos are mostly with my iPhone; sorry about the poor quality!). I did a post a few months back with photos of the Fairy Forest in Fall (click here). Here are some photos of the Fairy Forest with our first dusting of snow this past winter~
Little did we know that first snowfall would be just the start of what became a very long, snowy, icy winter. We had by far the most snow that Braydon and I have seen since we’ve lived in Pennsylvania. And often it was very heavy snow, with lots and lots of thick ice too. Through the winter I often wondered how our little Fairy Forest would hold up. Here are some photos of the Fairy Forest during our record-breaking heavy-snow winter ~
Amazingly, the Fairy Forest held up extraordinarily well through the winter of 2014. Click here for The Fairy Forest in Spring!
This past weekend was the J-M’s 8th annual trip to our “Haiti Reunion.” This is a gathering of Pennsylvania-area Haitian Adoptive Families. This group has been gathering every summer for the past 11 years, and it has become a life-source and anchor for many of us.
Our first trip to the Haiti Reunion, Kyle and Owen had just turned three (post is here). I can remember feeling like the “newbies” to the group, but more so feeling something newly awesome for us as a Haitian Adoptive Family: we were 2.5 years into being a family, and for the first time ever we felt complete, 100% unconditional acceptance. These people instantaneously knew us, understood us, “got it,” and loved us for it. And vice-versa: we felt an incredible open-armed embracing love for each and every one of these families. It was an amazing, indescribable, feeling, and we knew — that very first year — that we’d do everything humanly possible to prioritize this trip, and to make it each and every year following. We have (see posts here).
The days leading up to the reunion, the excitement builds. For our kids, this is almost like the lead-up to Christmas, or to a major vacation. They are bursting at the seams with excitement. But unlike other major holidays or trips, there is a calm centeredness at the core of them in anticipation of this one. Emotions are running high, stuff is bubbling up to the surface, but it is somehow felt differently. There is a knowing anticipation that we’ll be met with a soft safety net upon our arrival.
It is a little tradition in our family that I always give them new “Haiti t-shirts” the morning of the reunion. Even Meera, who generally refuses to wear something as rudimentary as a basic t-shirt, gets excited to wear it. These three — truly — could not be more happy that, after 12 months of waiting since the last one, this year’s Haiti Reunion has finally come.
Arriving at the reunion is like walking into the warmest, most understanding, most accepting, most knowing, most unconditionally loving, hug imaginable. I’m sure this is virtually impossible for people external to this to understand, but really, it is like that. We see each other once a year (maybe twice at the most some years), but there is no hesitation going into it, and from the look and feel of it you would think we just saw each other yesterday. There is a powerful, unspoken, knowing, understanding that is indescribably awesome to experience.
The kids pick up just wherever they last left off. They interact with ease, in a way that is unlike any other interaction I’ve ever observed between children. They’ve known each other for most of their lives (some of them for their entire lives). And their parents savor every minute of the time spent in this easy place that is the Haiti Reunion. The parents, too, interact in a way I’ve never witnessed or experienced outside of this special time each year. There is something about being around others who are just like you in the most fundamental way: the way your family was created, who your family is, your make-up, your character, your identity… there is something about being around others who are just like you in that way that is truly profoundly special — especially when, for just about all of the other 364 days of the year, you are the only one like you anywhere around. Suddenly, we are “normalized”; suddenly, we are the majority; suddenly nobody is trying to figure us out — because everyone knows us, like really, really knows us, in the most important way of all, they’ve got us all figured out. There is something spectacular about being amongst kindred spirits when typically you are marginal. It is amazing! When you’re so deprived of feeling at ease and truly comfortable, then feeling at ease and truly comfortable feels dreamy-splendidly-warm-and-fuzzily-good.
For Kyle and Owen, the Haiti Reunion is like a little slice of heaven. I can only imagine what it is like to feel what they feel on that day. But I believe that it is a profoundly important feeling for a Haitian-American Adoptee to be able to feel. To be 100% comfortable in your own skin; to be around others who are just like you; to not have to tell your story (unless you want to, and even then, only to people who intuitively understand your story as well as you do— if not better). I believe it is soul-strengthening for them. And I see the results: I see that their soul heals a little bit at the Haiti Reunion, and braces itself for the year to come. I can see them soak it up, re-charge, and rejuvenate. It is a beautiful thing to see.
Bonus for K & O: every single one of the Haitian boys (and most of the girls too), with zero exception, regardless of age, is uber-over-the-top-ridiculously-athletically gifted. So, they get to run, and play, and climb, and kick, and be athletically superior — with other athletically superior kids — all day long, without reserve. They don’t have to hold back, or worry about perception, or consider the implications. They can just be. That — the chance to just be — just as you are — with all of your gifts and all of your challenges right at the surface — that, alone, is well worth the trip. Double bonus: they can talk about Haiti, and adoption, and anything/everything else related to it, if and when they want to (or not talk about it too, as is often the case)… with other kids who fully understand where they are coming from. Suddenly, if even for a day, being Haitian, having been adopted, having a birthmother, having white parents, having once lived in an orphanage… those things are suddenly the complete normative experience. Imagine!
You’d sort of expect that our boys would have the time-of-their-lives at this reunion. After all, they are the original Haitians in our family; they are the adoptees. But what might be surprising is how absolutely critically pillar-like this experience is for Meera each year too. In the beginning I thought we were going for Kyle and Owen, but over time I’ve come to realize that we are going for us all. Meera, just as fundamentally as her brothers do, loves and needs this reunion each year. She needs to see that she is not alone, that her family is not the only one, that her brothers are not the only brothers like them, that she is loved and adored by these families just as much as her Haitian-born-brothers are. She needs to see — through seeing others, and being seen by others — that this is a whole-family thing. And it is critical for her to experience the feeling of “normalcy” — just as much as for her brothers — because she is, after all, marginal almost all the time too. At the Haiti Reunion she is immersed in an environment where everyone “gets it” without her having to explain it. I have to say: Meera is just as into this annual event as Kyle and Owen are. She is all in, 100%, and her soul is fed by it in a profoundly important way. Meera loves the Haiti Reunion.
This year there was a pond at the campground where the Haiti Reunion was held. Many of the kids spent much of the day catching tadpoles, and frogs, and all sorts of creatures. One of the beautiful things about this reunion is the abundance of purely unstructured time for the kids. There is really no agenda, and that is such a wonderful thing for them all to experience together. Owen was just one of lots of kids who got really excited about the critter-catching.
You know, there is just so much I could write about the Haiti Reunion. And there is so much I’ve already written about it in years past. This year, one thing that really struck me was how much our kids are growing up, how many of them are now full-fledged teenagers (kids who were 6 the first year we went, are now 14!), and how — despite how special and unusual they are — in so many ways, they are also “typical American teenagers.” I was struck this year by how much the use of technology was at play. Just like so many kids their age, this group of kids are now taking photos with their phones, playing with their gadgets, and experimenting with all-things-digital. This just layers in another way for them to connect. And I hope that over time this evolving technology will allow for them to stay connected beyond the annual reunion. I had always wondered what would happen to the reunion (and at the reunion) as these kids grew into teenager-hood… well, now we are beginning to see.
Of course, even the little ones are “connected” much more than they were when we started going 8 years ago! ~
But regardless of whatever we do at the reunion, and how it may (or may not) shift and evolve over time, it remains above all a time of fellowship — real fellowship — and it always includes sharing food together. Something about eating together is always key to good fellowship. Something about eating Haitian food together at the Haiti Reunion just takes that good fellowship up a few notches!
Haiti… always in our hearts.
We J-M’s love, and need, this Haiti Reunion each year. This morning I wrote a ‘thank you’ email to Monica, the incredible woman who spear-heads and organizes this event for us each year. In that note I wrote the following, and I want to put it here too because it is so true, and because I hope that someday Kyle and Owen and Meera will read this and understand this:
The Haiti Reunion is not just a highlight of our year, but it is an anchor in the awesome-but-stormy journey of life as a Haiti-adoptive-family. There is just nothing like having a day to be completely at ease around people who all “get it” and know what we’ve been through, what we’re going through, and what is lying down the road for us. There is so much joy and good in our family, and there is also so much struggle and pain in it. It is impossible for me to articulate how much it means to us all —all five of us— to be around others who truly deeply understand that, and still accept us unconditionally and fully.
To our Haiti Family: we love you so dearly and so fully and so unconditionally. We’d never even know you if it weren’t for our special and unusual forever-families, but because of that, we are unusually-and-forever-bonded. We’ve got your back forever and ever and ever. Hugs — until we see you again — love, Heather (for the J-Ms)
Our friend Rhonda Wampler always takes beautiful photos at the Haiti Reunion each year. She’s a talented professional photographer. This year she agreed to let me post some of her photos from this past weekend here. I love how she takes photos of the same experience, but with a different angle (and with so much more skill!). I think these photos are exquisite! Visit her Facebook page — Images by Rhonda — by clicking here.
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