Elizabeth is already an expert in accessories, and this is what she decided she needed for a trip to Walmart…
Note that the “cell phone” is a poison control magnet in the shape of a phone. It’s her current favorite “hi”.
My Purse, My Cup, and My Cell Phone
Mar 25th, 2011 by ECM
Butcher Paper
Mar 24th, 2011 by ECM
One of my “big” purchases over the weekend was an Ikea roll of butcher paper for the kids. They’re loving it!
Pulling Out the Sunglasses
Mar 23rd, 2011 by ECM
The sunshine is coming…
Orange Kids
Mar 22nd, 2011 by ECM
In honor of Grandma Willett’s birthday today, a little photo shoot. (Yes, the kids picked out the clothes themselves…Daddy’s preferences must be rubbing off…)
3 years of blogging
Mar 21st, 2011 by DTM
Em probably won’t draw attention to herself, but today marks three years since her first post on this blog.
Three years, and over 850 posts (almost all of them hers).
And if you do the math, that comes out to roughly a post every single weekday for three years. When you note that we frequently spend a week on the road visiting family in Detroit or Columbia, or taking a long trip to Italy or a short trip to Malibu, that’s remarkable consistency.
Now, as a diligent husband who has a dozen half-finished books on my nightstand, half-finished article ideas in My Documents, half-finished e-mail drafts in my Gmail, and half-finished project proposals floating around cyberspace, it’s an extraordinary feat to observe! For all you mommy bloggers (and other bloggers!) out there, I’m sure many of you have burnt out, given up, dramatically cut back posts, turned blogging into a once-a-month photo dump, or whatever else.
And when you’re raising two kiddos, bustling to doctor’s appointments, keeping house, undergoing physical therapy, and moving from St. Louis to Chicago, and Chicago to State College, and preparing to move from State College to Malibu… well, she has a great deal on her plate. Oh, and her felt food shop. Adding photos or video on a daily basis, with a summary of family life events, is remarkable. But as we have friends and family in five states (where we’ve lived) and many others beside, I think, in the 21st century, it’s a great investment.
So, here’s to Em, whose lamp does not go out at night!
Mom's Weekend Away
Mar 20th, 2011 by ECM
This weekend Derek was a single dad for two whole days while three of my small group girlfriends and I did a mom’s weekend away. Our thoughtful hubbies took care of the kids while we drove down to Baltimore and stayed in a hotel, ate out at nice restaurants at abnormal times (at our own pace, without cutting up food for kiddos or rushing to get the check and leave before meltdowns started), shopped (ironically, most all of our purchases were for our husbands and kids!), and talked a ton. It was such a fun time of fellowship before Lauren moves to Arkansas and I have the baby. My hero even went above and beyond here at home–he ran errands at Walmart and completely cleaned the kitchen and living room so I could keep relaxing even after getting home! I’m feeling so refreshed and excited about hanging out with the kids this week…I highly recommend a mom’s weekend away to anyone who can swing it!
Derek's Favorite Meatloaf
Mar 18th, 2011 by ECM
We’re at a point where Tommy will hardly eat anything without a lot of dinnertime unpleasantness, but one thing that he mysteriously loves is Derek’s mom’s meatloaf. It’s not mysterious that anyone would like it–it’s a great recipe–it’s just mysterious that Tommy won’t eat beef in other forms, yet this somehow is so acceptable that he asked for fourths the other day. Here in PA, it’s still comfort food weather, though we’re having glimpses of spring, so I haven’t minded making this dish frequently of late!
Mom Muller’s Meatloaf
1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef (Mom Muller usually uses 1 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb ground pork; I’m usually not that organized)
1 cup tomato juice
3/4 cup uncooked oatmeal (quick or old fashioned)
1 egg or 2 egg whites, slightly beaten
1/4 cup chopped onion (I’ve used dry minced onion in a pinch and it’s still okay)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all ingredients; mix lightly but thoroughly. Press into 8 x 4 inch loaf pan; bake 1 hour or until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear. Drain; let stand 5 minutes before serving.
I forgot to take a picture until things were dished up, so this isn’t exactly artsy, but meatloaf isn’t really an artsy food, anyway, right? Per Tommy’s request, I served it with pumpkin biscuits and peas. As I mentioned, Tommy had fourths (or fifths?), and Elizabeth had thirds.
New Spring Clothes
Mar 17th, 2011 by ECM
Up until now, Elizabeth has been blessed with a fully-stocked closet of hand-me-downs from our neighbors in Chicago. But this spring, for the first time, I’m having to actually buy my daughter clothes! It’s still mostly cold out, but my nesting instincts are telling me that I need to have some warm weather clothes in hand before the baby comes. The local consignment sales where I found Tommy’s winter clothes are scheduled right around my duedate, so while I’ll go if I’m still pregnant, I didn’t want to depend on them for all of Elizabeth’s summer wardrobe. Recently I joined thredup, a website where parents can trade gently used clothing and “shop” by size, season, brand names, etc. I traded some outgrown clothes that we won’t be needing in CA, and with my credit, I got a box of 24 mo/2T summer clothes for Elizabeth for just over $5:
Both kids were super excited about the new clothes! Elizabeth wanted to try them all on right away, and fortunately, there was one long-sleeved shirt in the box that she can wear now though she has to wait for warm weather to wear the others.
And here she is in her new shirt, watching Tommy build a block airport…
Next up: trying my hand at sewing some sundresses…stay tuned!
an unexpected blessing
Mar 16th, 2011 by ECM
This weekend I was so unexpectedly blessed by my friends at church who threw a baby shower for me! Sorry, no pictures, but we had a sweet time of fellowship, amazing food, a break from the kids (!), games, and really thoughtful gifts. When my small group girls asked me last month about a shower, I was totally surprised–no one in Chicago had even suggested one for Elizabeth, and really, we hadn’t expected it! We had several amazing showers when Tommy was born, and we pretty much have the baby stuff we need, especially now that we have boy and girl things. But my friends persisted–just because this baby is #3 doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate! So they put their heads together and had a shower that was all about celebrating this new life and pampering me as a worn out mommy and mommy-to-be.
A couple people brought freezer meals; there were fun things like cute new non-maternity lounge pants, chocolates, nursing tea (very useful), McDonalds gift cards and rubber punching bags for the car (for a day when I’m losing my mind running errands and need to occupy the kids for one more stop–given by a veteran mom of 3!), and a gift certificate to our favorite pizza place (with a convenient take-out menu included); and several people including our favorite babysitter gave me an afternoon of taking the big kids down to the playground for a couple hours this summer while I nap with the new baby! And if that wasn’t enough, many contributed towards hiring a cleaning service to come clean my house from top to bottom when the grandmas have left and I realize that I haven’t cleaned the toilet or anything but baby bottoms in seven weeks (not that anything like that has ever happened to me before with a new baby…nope, I wouldn’t know anything about that…). Basically, I was totally overwhelmed by the generosity and love of my State College E Free church family! At the end of the shower, I got choked up just telling everyone how very, very much it had meant to me that they were all excited about this baby of mine.
It’s so easy to get excited about your first child because you have so many fewer distractions, but I’m finding that I’m so busy with my daily mom duty that I don’t think and pray nearly as much about my subsequent pregnancies. What a blessing to get to slow down and celebrate this baby! Thanks, Janell, Brea, Dayna, Lauren, and Heidi, for planning a truly special evening for me!
Elizabeth at 22 months
Mar 15th, 2011 by ECM
The biggest development I’ve seen in the past month is in Elizabeth’s vocabulary. Though she still prefers to call her brother Buddy, she can say Tommy at last! We can’t catch all her babble, but yesterday morning I understood “I want to eat yogurt and bananas”! She likes to color (“ollow”) with Buddy, ride bikes with him and our neighbor Zach (well, get pushed along while they race), and play cars or trains or kitchen (especially making tea) with him. She sings herself little songs all day long, and she never, ever, ever grows tired of being read The County Fair or Pumpkin Moonshine. (A more diehard Tasha Tudor fan you could not find…) Anything with numbers on it (especially a remote control) becomes a “hi” (cellphone), but she doesn’t actually talk on the phone very much to the grandparents. She’s very determined about getting her shoes on herself, though they often end up on the wrong foot. And her style sensibilities continue to astound us!
