Much of Phoenix has come to admire Georganne Bryant, the owner of two treasured little boutiques, and there’s more to love than just the stuff she sells at Frances and Smeeks.

Consider the post yesterday on her blog, in honor of her 50th birthday. Now, this is a woman who repeatedly tells me she can’t write. Don’t believe it for a second. How awesome is this?

my jubilee birthday

today is my 50th b-day!!

what am i going to do in my jubilee year!?!

paint my living room the color of my eyes!!

read like a fiend!!

spend as much time with the love of my life as i can!!

garden!!

age gracefully and naturally!!

live in the moment!!

cherish every moment with my parents!!

workworkwork!!!

which I lovelovelove!!!

jubilee

the completion of 50 years of existence, season of rejoicing

It was a little thing, really.

Sophie missed Brownies last Friday, and the troop leader had each kid take a scrap of paper and write what she likes about Sophie. I don’t believe the girls were supposed to sign their names. The whole lot arrived at our house today, sealed in a white envelope decorated with Sophie’s name.

It was a big thing, really.

Truly lovely. My favorite: “Sophie you are smirt,” written in purple crayon.

Today Annabelle asked me, “What is your favorite smell?”

I gave the standard-issue mom reply: “The smell of you and Sophie.”

Then I asked her.

“Books,” she said. “I love the smell of books.”

This also led to a discussion about the fact that, in her mind, fourth grade has a smell (it smells like “learning”) and third grade had a smell and kindergarten had a smell, but first and second didn’t. This sort of blew my mind. I’ll have to think about it some more.

But when I noticed tonight that my favorite bookstore posted a link to this super stop-gap video about rearranged books, I had to bring the whole thing full circle and share.

Borders filed for bankruptcy this week and announced it’s closing a lot of stores (including all its stores anywhere close to me) and every day, someone else I know falls prey to the Kindle or the Nook, but books will still be around for a good, long time — if Annabelle has anything to say about it.

It was one of those what-have-you-done-with-my-sister moments.

“I’ve started calling this weekend ‘Jennypalooza,’” I told Jenny, as the umpteenth preparations were made and remade and finessed a little more, in honor of her Birthday Weekend.

“Good!” she replied.

GOOD?! Jenny, the little sister who shirks from attention? Who was too embarrassed to take the flowers I held out to her at her eighth grade graduation? Who never wants bright toenail polish, let alone a party? The most subtle (but tasteful!) accessorizer ever?

Turns out, she didn’t want the party. And she chose gray polish when we got pedicures on Saturday. But we did have a bit of a palooza, in honor of her 40th this weekend. It’s easy to be festive when you are surrounded by kids, and we were — three of hers and two of mine. And it helps when all the kids are in love. There were loud sobs on both ends when we finally peeled the cousins away from one another tonight. I was sad, too. I always am when she heads back to Denver.

We weren’t always the best of friends, not at all like Annabelle and Sophie. Those two have a game they call Sister Foot Love, while the closest Jenny and I ever came to even touching was a good, old-fashioned Foot Fight on the couch. (She always won.)

Offspring brought us together and they’ve kept us that way, even though we live in different cities and are very different people. And yet I’m pretty sure we smell alike. (I’m not certain, as I’m not one to lean in for a deep whiff.)

She started the family tradition of making lists of things we love about someone celebrating a milestone. I look at my list of 40 Things We Love About Aunt Amy all the time — it’s tucked into my windowsill at work, right above the phone.

Finally, it was time for our family to sit down and create a list for Jenny. We could have gone on and on.

Happy Birthday, Jenny! You are the best mother, sister and friend ever, even if mom did tell me that sounded too much like a eulogy to engrave on the inside of a bracelet.

40 Things We Love About Aunt Jenny
1. Aunt Jenny watched Sesame Street til she was 11.
2. Aunt Jenny has a huge smile.
3. Aunt Jenny used to hate bananas but now she likes them.
4. Aunt Jenny used to hate pedicures but now she likes them.
5. Aunt Jenny did Outward Bound.
6. Aunt Jenny ate Mommy’s chocolate Easter egg.
7. Aunt Jenny and Mommy are happy together.
8. Aunt Jenny is special to Mommy because she’s her sister.
9. Aunt Jenny is not afraid to work in a hospital.
10. Aunt Jenny likes clogs AND cowboy boots.
11. Aunt Jenny makes piles.
12. Aunt Jenny is cute.
13. Aunt Jenny and Annabelle have the same handwriting.
14. Aunt Jenny always packs snacks.
15. Aunt Jenny runs a lot.
16. Aunt Jenny wants glasses but doesn’t need them.
17. Aunt Jenny got lost on her way to the bathroom when she was 3.
18. Aunt Jenny spent a lot of time in the bathroom in college.
19. Aunt Jenny has naturally wavy hair.
20. Aunt Jenny once put her hair in curlers and cut them out. She was 3.
21. Aunt Jenny likes ice cream with stuff in it.
22. Aunt Jenny likes Uncle Jonathan.
23. Aunt Jenny likes James Taylor, Neil Diamond and Dan Zanes.
24. Aunt Jenny ‘s a sweetie pie.
25. Aunt Jenny always comes to the rescue.
26. Aunt Jenny used to suck her finger and hold her ear.
27. Aunt Jenny doesn’t mind a messy car.
28. Aunt Jenny is handsome.
29. Aunt Jenny is pretty.
30. Aunt Jenny likes Diet Coke.
31. Aunt Jenny is brave.
32. Aunt Jenny had a lot of fun when she lived in New Orleans.
33. Aunt Jenny had a lot of fun when she went to Europe.
34. Aunt Jenny is the best mom ever.
35. Aunt Jenny does not care for fish.
36. Aunt Jenny walks just like Papa.
37. Aunt Jenny enjoys an occasional cocktail.
38. Aunt Jenny has the best-stocked pantry we’ve ever seen.
39. Aunt Jenny has ridden on a float in at least one parade.
40. Aunt Jenny makes good kids.

Yesterday a piece I did about Sophie and her BFF (aka “B”) Sarah aired on our local NPR station. I had meant it for Valentine’s Day, but Arizona statehood day happens to fall on February 14, so the BFFs were bumped for a few days.

Here they are.

I knew Sophie would not be disappointed to learn she needed glasses. But I was a little surprised when Annabelle asked, plaintively, “Can I have some glasses, too?”

She’s not having trouble seeing. She’s just a slave to her own particular brand of fashion — inspired in part, she acknowledged, by Harriet the Spy. Turns out she’s not alone; Claire’s (the accessory store of choice for the tween and pre-tween set) actually stocks non-prescription glasses. Since we have not had luck yet, finding Sophie the real thing, we headed to the mall tonight. The girls picked out matching pairs.

Both are thrilled. “I can see better!” Sophie announced at dinner. I don’t know about that, but I’m hoping this $7.50 investment will help teach her over the next few days how to take care of glasses, which you can’t toss around like, say, an iPad.

I’m on a quest to find just the right glasses, after a multi-pronged disaster at Lenscrafters. Cate suggested the glasses made just for kids with Down syndrome. I’m thinking about it, but the selection is so narrow. Not much personality. I suppose fit trumps fashion in this case, but still. I have to admit that I hate for Sophie to look like all the other kids with Down syndrome in their standard-issue glasses. (And standard-issue haircut, which she also has. At least you seldom see anyone — particularly a person with Down syndrome — sporting a purple sundress with white duct tape polka dots stuck on in February.)

Annabelle eyed the turkey sandwich on her plate and asked, “Can I have just a tomato sandwich in my lunch sometime, like Harriet?”

Absolutely. That is the kind of nerdiness I can embrace.

Yeah, old chum, I know. The line is really “life is a cabaret.” Not in this house. In this house it’s a carousel. An “Olivia the Pig” carousel, to be exact. And all that spinning made me a little nauseous this weekend.

Valentines for 2 dozen kids (times 2) plus 2 science fair projects = 1 mom who completely forgot to pick up the 200-plus boxes of Girl Scout cookies.

Thank goodness we learned long ago to divide and conquer in our house, when it comes to science. Ray and Annabelle worked on her zoetrope project (another post on that later — it’s super cool, thanks in large part to Maya and her dad!) while Sophie and I took on the carousel.

Actually, Sophie and I had a little help. OK, a lot of help, beginning with some awesome recommendations on Facebook. But hardly ending there. I won’t tell you about that — I’ll let Sophie tell you. Here is the report she wrote, to go along with her carousel (above) and picture board presentation (below). And yes, okay, she had a little help with it, from me. But really, for the most part, these are Sophie’s words. We are both proud.

How does a carousel work?

First, I looked at pictures of carousels on the computer. I love them.

Raimie came over to my house and showed how the gears work. And you spin it and you can press the pedal and you can go to Disneyland and go on the carousel.

I drew a carousel. Here’s the picture: (We pasted the picture in.)

Then Mommy and I went on the double decker carousel. It’s fun. And it’s cute to do it. I like to do it a lot because I like to do it a lot. I went on the carousel six times. My favorite animal was the eagle.

The lady at the carousel wrote down some facts for us about the double decker carousel at Superstition Springs Mall. Here they are:

1. The carousel goes around 9 and a half times.

2. The carousel is modeled after a Victorian carousel.

3. The carousel is operated by a pedal.

Next, my whole family went to the Renaissance Festival and my sister and I tried to go on the carousel. Annabelle was too tall. I’m perfect. First I rode in the pink butterfly. The ladies made it work by pushing the wheel. They made it go forwards and backwards.

And we love to go to Disneyland and the Candy Cane Inn, we stay there for two days and come back on Sunday. And that’s the end.

Thank You Page

I want to thank Sarah, my best friend (“B”), because I can be her valentine.

I want to thank Mommy because I love her a lot and she’s cute and you’re always going on your computer. Mommy put the Olivias on the carousel after I decorate them.

And I want to thank Raimie because she showed me how the gears work. (Our friend Raimie has a lot of experience teaching fourth grade science; she masterminded the gears and built the parts of the carousel we later assembled. I owe her a cocktail!)

I want to thank Courtney, my friend. She helped me with the carousel by drawing the Olivias. She helped me build it.

I want to thank Daddy for bringing us to the carnival.

I want to thank my sister Annabelle. I love her and she’s cute and sometimes she’s sweet.

That’s the end!

It’s not the end — not quite. The projects are on display in the school gym all week. There’s a celebration Thursday night, and we’ll get the results then.