Finally another post

THIS POST AND THOSE PRECEDING THIS DATE WERE PART OF ANOTHER BLOG THAT I ATTEMPTED TO KEEP FOR GRANDPARENTS AND OTHER RELATIVES WHO LIVE FAR AWAY. I DIDN'T KEEP UP WITH IT VERY WELL AND THEY'RE KIND OF A MESS WITH ALL THE PHOTOS EVERYWHERE, BUT I DON'T WANT TO LOSE THE POSTS SO I IMPORTED THEM INTO THIS BLOG AS-IS. THE ONE ABOUT THE LIME/AVOCADO ("FORE!") STILL MAKES ME LAUGH...

Ugh. I had planned to be so much better about this blog. Oh well. I'll keep trying.

Things have settled down here a bit over the past couple weeks. Between last May and this November I was swamped at work with two big (for us) exhibitions. Scott and I had to keep spotting each other time at work--he'd take Liam to school one morning so I could go in to work early, then I'd have to watch Liam on the weekend so he could make up the time. Yuck. That's precisely the lifestyle we've consciously tried to avoid. We're in a bit of a lull now, but after the holidays we'll have to go into high gear one more time until March, when my next big show opens. After that our schedule slows down quite a bit, thanks to Mr. Economy. I must confess--I'm quite relieved in a secret, selfish corner of my mind.

Rather than try to catch up on the past several months, I'll just make a few notes about recent events. Halloween was absolutely fantastic from Liam's perspective. He dressed up as Diego the Animal Rescuer, from the Go! Diego, Go! tv show. Of course I was secretly hoping he'd choose something non-licensed, but he was glowing with joy as Diego, so I was too. After looking online for ready-made costumes, I decided they were all lousy and over-priced, so we got a vest like Diego's on sale from Woolrich, and a Diego "rescue pack" from some internet store, and then used Liam's regular clothes and Dad's watch for the rest of the costume. I also made Diego's official "animal rescuer" patch for the vest, which seemed to clarify things a bit. I bought a dark wig for him from K-mart too, since Liam doesn't exactly look like a native Spanish-speaking boy, but my ever-practical boy (clearly his father's genetic contribution--certainly not mine) declined the plastic hair and went au natural. Perhaps Liam could be Diego's melanin-challenged distant cousin... It was a thrill for all of us that so many people recognized the costume right away--whew. I was a little worried since so much of it was normal clothing. Trick-or-treating was such a success that Liam opted to "take a little break" on a neighbor's lawn, as the candy was quite a load to carry.

We also did the annual pumpkin-picking trip the weekend before Halloween. Liam, of course, felt best dressed in cammo and bearing two light sabers. For a fairly non-violent kid, he sure has an appreciation for the style of combat. He also took a photo of Scott and me brandishing the light sabers in the pumpkin patch, which turned out quite well. I absolutely love this age and all its magic and fantasy. Lately, Scott's old motorcycle helmet has been doubling as a clone trooper (Star Wars) helmet, which is fantastic. It's so big and heavy that Liam can hardly hold his head straight when he's wearing it. Small price to pay for glory.

Liam and I also drove to Ohio in October to attend my cousin Sara's wedding. We shared a hotel room with Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Ed, and we even ordered room service for breakfast. Liam got pancakes, of course. It was great to see family members who I haven't seen in a long time, including my Grandma Singleton (right, age 90) and her sister Helene (left, age 93). I hope their longevity genes have made it down to me somehow. Liam looked just dandy in red suspenders and a Spiderman ring, and he danced the night away with various family members (and others ?), including Grandma Maggie, my cousin Mo, Grandma Singleton, and my uncle Jim.
It was a lot of driving in three days, but definitely worth the trip. Family members live so far apart that it was a rare opportunity to see so many in the same room.

Other big news is that Liam has started to show an interest in coloring and/or drawing--mostly if it has a practical end, such as completing a maze or a puzzle, but STILL--it's exciting to see him with a crayon in hand. I got him several activity books--he couldn't care less about coloring in the pictures, but he zooms through the puzzles. Again, not my genes. He also surprised us by suddenly reading all the books in the little beginning-reader set we've had for months. I was prepared to wait patiently and indefinitely until he showed some interest in reading, when all of a sudden he blew through all of them before bed one night last week. Turns out his pre-school has the same books and he's been working on them since September. What a nice surprise! He's so proud of himself too, which is the best part.
Time for bed. I hope this makes up for the long hiatus. I'll keep trying...

Back in the saddle

You would think I could manage a blog posting between April and August. Ugh. My part-time job has become a super-charged part-time job, which has siphoned off all of my extra energy and time. Usually I end up choosing to spend whatever spare time I have with Liam and/or Scott. Still, it's frustrating to have to postpone everything else month after month. But that's enough about that. Liam and I are going out for a run before his bedtime (I will, of course, be settling in for more work after he's asleep, ugh). Just wanted to post something. Here are some photos of Scott and Liam from June.

April Showers

Not much to report really. It's been rainy and chilly all week. Not as cold as winter, obviously, but it's the kind of damp cold that gets into your bones and leaves you with a chill for the whole day. Our flowers are coming up though. Today some tulips opened in the front "yard"--red and yellow--and we have pink and purple hyacinths nearby. Our back yard has daffodils by the gate and garden box. Purple, white, and yellow crocuses came up next to our "river," and tulips and hyacinths are still coming in other places. I planted all these bulbs in the fall and forgot what I put where, so it's been fun to watch them come up. Mom--here's a picture of the winter onions you and Liam planted last fall--they're doing great! Scott and I continue to work hard, both at our jobs and at home. Liam continues be "fast," as he likes to point out daily. I'll write more later when there's news. In the mean time, here's one of my favorite poems mentioning spring. You probably already know it, but I'm posting it anyway because I like it. It may seem depressing at first, and I suppose it sort of is. But precious things wouldn't be so precious if you could have them at will, would they? So in a way it's a gift...

Nothing Gold Can Stay
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.
-- Robert Frost

Catching Up

I apologize (especially to you, Grandma Rainy) for letting nearly two months go by without an entry. We were so busy in March, and when you get out of the habit it's hard to get back into it.
I've had some time today to pull together some photos, so I'll try to summarize the past several weeks. Get ready for a long one--you may want to grab a snack so you don't starve to death before you get to the end...
The most exciting thing we did in March was to travel home to Wisconsin for Aunt Jen and Uncle Bryan's wedding, which was just beautiful. The trip started out a bit rough, with our flight out of Philadelphia being canceled due to snow in Milwaukee. Liam was very disappointed, but he and Buster-the-stuffed-dog shook it off like a couple of champs (eventually) and we flew out the next day in much better weather. (See above photo of L in flying attire and hot accessories.)
We hadn't been home during the winter in so many years, and it was a REAL Wisconsin winter this time to be sure. Liam loved the snow, especially since we never got more than about 2 inches at a time in Del. this year. He got to play outside a lot, trying cardboard "snowshoes", climbing on snow piles, and sledding at Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Ed's house. Scott and I, on the other hand, enjoyed the great indoors with a warm fire, rocking chairs, and a friendly cat. On the whole, "real" winter was rather nice, especially since we could just fly the hell out of it after 10 days and land in a much greener place where daffodils were already starting to bloom. You can't beat a winter sunset at home though--that's one thing I do miss (but not that much).
After a few days at the Marks house, Liam, Scott, and I got in the car and drove two hours north-ish to Grandma Rainy and Grandpa Tom's house. Everyone was very excited for Jen and Bryan's wedding on March 15, but L was, for the moment, even MORE excited for his 4th birthday on March 14! Grandma Rainy and Grandpa Tom threw the best 4th birthday party ever, complete with decorations, hats, balloons, and great food. Liam, Grandma, and I made a fantastic birthday cake, which Aunt Jen decorated just for Liam with the decorations he had picked out at the cake store near our house. Somehow she managed to work misc bowling items, 4 fish, a stoplight, and a truck into a cohesive cake-narrative. Well done! Uncle Don, Aunt Nicole, Adrian, and Brennan (and baby #3) also came to the party, and so did Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Ed. Grandpa Ed was the life of the party! (Sorry Dad.) Liam even had a special birthday hat that didn't really fit, but he was willing to wear it for a picture anyway. All in all it was a wonderful time, and a huge treat to celebrate Liam's birthday with our family. Thanks so much everyone.

That night was also Jen and Bryan's wedding rehearsal, followed by a very tasty dinner at Rhinelander's world famous (or at least it should be) Pizza Haven. Bryan's family was great--we really enjoyed meeting them and hope we get to see them again someday. We were also just delighted to hear about Father Dean's colonoscopy during dinner. (Really lovely man, so glad he's healthy, but boy...) After dinner we made our way to the hotel where the wedding reception would be held, and Liam and Daddy had fun in the pool while Mom helped everyone decorate for the next day's wedding celebration. That night we noticed a rash, which had started on L's cheeks, was visible on his arms and trunk. I, of course, inspected and analyzed it thoroughly every five minutes all evening, and we finally decided it may have been from the chlorine in the pool.
On March 15, the big wedding day, Liam woke up with a light rash all over his body. He didn't have a fever though, so we just went about our business and kept an eye on it, still thinking it was probably from the pool. The wedding was a wonderful success. Scott and Don walked their beautiful mom down the aisle. (If you look closely, you'll see Don's eyes glowing--the demon son.) Scott walked with Liam down the aisle as Liam carried the ring-pillow--L did a great job putting it in just the right place near the altar. Then Grandpa Tom (quite handsome) and Jen walked down the aisle--what a gorgeous bride! As soon as Liam was done, he crawled into my lap and slept snoringly through the entire ceremony. For once I felt fortunate, however,as poor Don and Nicole dealt with two very awake little guys behind us, while trying to video tape the ceremony and perform readings. They did great--when's that third one due? Thanks, Jen and Bryan, for having such a good sense of humor...
Fun was had by all at the reception, especially the happy couple and Liam, the lone dancer for quite some time. The dj even asked me if Liam had any favorite songs. Scott did join his son for a little get-on-down at one point, until the authorities came and asked him to please sit down again.

Our trip concluded back at Grandma Maggie and Grandpa Ed's house, where Liam's rash grew too-red-and-everywhere to ignore. Grandma, Liam, and I headed into urgent care where they confirmed it was Fifth Disease, a common childhood illness that had been going around L's preschool before we left (it has a 2 week incubation period--perfect timing). By the time the rash breaks out, kids are no longer contagious, which is good I guess. If nothing else, it feels better to label the unknown.
From the Marks's house we left in the freezing rain to catch our flight out of Milwaukee. Whew. Everything went smoothly after that, but we were pretty tired and very glad to see our house that night. Thanks to everyone for making it such a nice trip, and congratulations again to Jen and Bryan!
Since we got home, things have settled back into a routine. The Easter Bunny came and hid Liam's Easter basket behind the potty, which L thought was VERY funny. Liam got to start "going to Spanish" at preschool--apparently you get to do that when you turn four--so he feels like a man now. He also went to his 4-yr dr check-up and did great. He's 41 lbs, 41 3/4" tall, and his sight and hearing are excellent. He handled the shots so well that the nurse gave him THREE stickers and TWO Bugs Bunny bandaids, which he didn't want Dad to take a picture of.
Well I don't know about all of you, but I'm exhausted and ready for some TV. It's good to be all caught up though. More (shorter) entries soon... I promise. (I guess that could be a vow or a threat. Read it however it makes sense to you.)

Hot & Spicy

I forgot to mention that when Scott and Liam went to that jungle gym place last weekend, Scott and Matt (Scott's friend) both "won" pillows for their sons--from one of those games where you press buttons to position the metal "claw" over whatever stuffed item you want, and then the claw drops and, if you're lucky, which you never are, it picks the item up and you win it. There was an entire Spongebob Squarepants episode about it, for those of you in the know.

SO, Matt won a little 8"x8" pillow for his son, and the pillow said something like "Here Comes Trouble." Appropriate, more or less. Scott also won a pillow for Liam, except Liam's says "Hot & Spicy." Inappropriate, but L can't read yet so we're just letting it go. He loves the pillow and used it instead of a regular pillow for a few nights. Now it has been relegated to his stuffed animals' shoebox "crib," as shown here. Frankly, I'm just impressed that anyone won anything. The only person I've EVER seen win something out of those machines is my aunt Joan, and she won every time.

Other than that, there's not much news. It's still February here. It snowed, rained, and sleeted today, which was interesting for a little while. Scott and I plan to watch the primary election returns this evening, go to bed later than we mean to, and then wake up exhausted tomorrow morning. It's such a good plan that we follow it every evening.

Scott was just having a "fight up" with L to tire him out in hopes that he (L) will fall asleep at a decent time tonight (see photo at left). Scott is very good at this and it comes in handy this time of year, when the evenings are cold and dark and we can't go to a park with neighborhood dog owners to give the boy a nice "run." Liam loves running with the dogs almost more than his Hot & Spicy pillow--he laughs and laughs, and so does everyone else.

Fyi: Liam and I are going to plant tomato and pepper seeds tomorrow because we're confident that spring will come in 6-10 weeks, just like the seed packages say it will.

Sounds like Scott and Liam's game of Cootie is over, so I'm on pajama duty now. HAPPY BIRTHDAY UNCLE DONNY! Your card is in the mail--for real. And for the record, I picked it out, which you'll never believe because it's Scott-humor. You'll know what I mean when you see it. There are butts.

Feblahary

Sorry it's been so long since the last post. I have no excuse to offer but apathy, and perhaps a lack of news. The past weeks have been up and down--sometimes funny, sometimes yucky, often tedious, but overall I'm pretty sure we'll still glad to wake up in the morning even though it's February.
Liam and I have been enjoying sleeping in our hats. I look like a pale British man in this photo, but I think we've all gotten past that at this point so I'm posting it anyway.
Moving on... Last Monday was warm, so Liam and I took a loooong walk in the woods near our house. It was made especially long by my decision to tempt adventure and try a new trail. I thought for sure it would curve around in a loop and, eventually, it did. Eventually. It took us an hour and 20 minutes to get back to the car, which might not sound like a long time, but it was. L was a trooper--I only had to carry him for 10 minutes (up the big hill). Still, it was fun. We saw deer tracks and deer sign (or "poop" as we simply called it), uprooted trees, raccoon prints by the river, decaying logs, three bridges, and all sorts of "circle of life" things.
Tuesday was our primary election--another adventure. Liam and I walked to our polling place (the nearby elementary school)—I was feeling very worthwhile sharing America with my young son, etc. There were quite a few people there, which was good to see. Liam came into the little booth with me and I barely managed to select my candidate before L started reaching for buttons (despite numerous preceding conversations about NOT reaching for buttons). Mostly out of reflex, I hit the green “vote” button before he could get to it. Simultaneously all the change fell out of my wallet and rolled for miles all over the floor. I was bending over to pick it up when more fell out, some of it into the hood of Liam’s coat. With me distracted, my darling boy immediately darted back inside the booth and went for the buttons again. About four very old men with artificial hips (election volunteers) lurched for the booth making “eh, uh, oop, hey, hey” noises, thinking Liam was going to mess up my vote. I yelled out “no no, I’m done” (done on so many levels, let me tell you), and finished picking up the coins and got the hell out of there as fast as I could. So much for a civics lesson with a pre-schooler. Oh well. When Liam inquired, I told him that the President is like the “line leader” (one of the “jobs” in his preschool class) for the whole United States. Wouldn’t that be funny? He’d go around yelling “no I’M the line leader” and cutting first in line and pushing everyone else out of the way. Hmmm. Perhaps that’s a little too close to the truth these days…
Wednesday Liam and I went to the pet store after preschool/work and got a little 1-gallon aquarium and a betta fish. This is my kind of fish--minimal feeding, minimal tank cleaning. It's quite pretty, in spite of the way this photo turned out. Liam picked out the castle--Swimmy seems to like it.
That night, however, I was out for dinner with a friend, and when I got home Scott was changing the sheets and blankets on Liam's bed and Liam was sitting in the rocking chair making monkey noises. You guessed it! He'd thrown up all over the place and was now feeling pretty good, unlike poor Scott who had just undertaken the bath and laundry routine all by himself. It turned out to be a really mild bug though, because other than a fever that night and the next morning, he wasn't really sick again. Whew. I'll take it. But Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.
Liam stayed home the rest of the week and Scott and I took turns watching him and going to work. Scott and his friend Matt took Liam and Matt's son to an indoor climb/crawling/jumping place about an hr away. Apparently they loved it. I'm glad Scott likes taking Liam to this sort of this--I'll stick to the woods. It's probably good for Liam to have a bit of both though...
In the evening Liam and I played out in the yard--it was a really nice evening. I raked some leaves and checked the bulbs I planted in fall (one is poking up), while L worked hard in the sandbox. We came in at five and it was still light out! Poor Scott went in to work for a few hrs Saturday evening--he's working on a huge project right now. He's taking it in stride, but it's still hard to have work hanging over your head all the time
But by this morning (Sunday) we were all going a little nuts. I set up trains for Liam, which he didn't feel like playing with
when I'd finished:
Scott did on more work,
this time at home:
And Liam took a nap:








After his nap, we tried on his suit for
Aunt Jenny's wedding, and I think
"we" like it a lot:




















Especially the shoes:


















And that is it for today. Now we are going to have a "February Party" before bed. I have no idea what a "February Party"--it is one of my many inventions designed to get through the day. I think we will have a little ice cream, but who knows? We're wild...

Snow!

We finally had some snow here today, however briefly. It was great snowman-snow though, so Liam and I built "the leaning snowman of Newark" in our back yard. He (snowman) was ok at first, then he slowly started to tilt. On the far-left you will see the snowman as of a few minutes ago--it has started raining so he's really starting to lean and we had to prop him up with the water/sand table. Liam was very excited about the whole snow experience, so we were outside for quite a while. Then we came inside and built a fire in the fireplace and watched The Snowman. This all probably sounds ridiculous to you in Wisconsin--celebrating an inch of snow so lavishly. It's only our second inch of the year though, and it will probably be gone by tomorrow afternoon, so we have to may hay while the sun shines, as they say. Mom--think "All Summer in a Day"-Ray Bradbury, except it's all winter in a day, or two.
Other humorous items to note: a few nights ago I was telling Liam a bedtime story about an "animal talent show" (his request--it's from a little tv program he likes to watch). We were going through all his stuffed animals and deciding what their talents are (crawling, hopping, climbing, etc.). I asked Liam what his talent is and he said jumping. Then I asked if I have a talent and he said "No, you don't have one. And neither does Daddy." I said that I thought I was pretty good at making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, but he said "nope." There you have it: just as we always thought our parents had no talents, so we have arrived at the same fate. Talentless and tired. But wiser! Now I know how parents become this way...
Yesterday Liam insisted on making dinner for me. He got out his little wooden vegetables and breads (the "pre-sliced" ones that are held together with velcro so kids can practice knife skills without the loss of an appendage), a play wooden knife, and play cutting board. He got down all our bowls from the shelf, cut all the vegetable and bread, and placed each type of "food" in a separate bowl. I was told, rather forcefully, to sit at the dining room table and wait for him to bring my supper out to me. Finally he brought it out and we "ate" it together, very seriously, and it was just delicious. I complimented the chef heartily on his creation, then I got up to make him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (but probably not a very good one, for reasons stated previously). Here are some action shots, before I was told to "stop taking pictures and sit down at the table."
And I think that's about all I have for now. For all Scott Fans (you know who you are) here he is after dinner last night (talentless and tired, exhibit A):

Ok. Time to go. I hope all these photos and stories help Grandparents and far away family and friends feel a little more in touch. It will be great to see everyone in March! Hope you're feeling better Grandpa Tom!