I have so many little matters to tell you of, that I cannot wait any longer before I begin to put them down.
Apr 4th, 2009 by ECM
Police cars at 3 am have nothing on the excitement in front of our house yesterday morning–Tommy was awakened to the sounds of trucks outside! He pretty much spent the whole morning watching the Chicago water district people digging up our neighbor’s driveway…fascinating!
Apr 3rd, 2009 by ECM
It happens at some point in every family, I’m sure…
This morning, Tommy and I were playing with his toys in his play corner of the living room, the opposite end of our (large) house from the bathroom, when I asked him to go grab me a kleenex to wipe his nose. Instead of going for the kleenex box in the living room, he padded down the hall into the bathroom, where we have another box of kleenex. But maybe he got confused, because instead of bringing me a kleenex, he brought me the toilet paper. Yep, he’d unrolled the entire roll, and it just reached behind the couch to our play area. Needless to say, Tommy was quite pleased with himself! I really couldn’t be mad–he was trying to obey, and fortunately after the last time he pulled a stunt like this, I started putting cheap toilet paper in the main floor bathroom, so it wasn’t a big deal. It took me about 5 minutes to re-roll the entire length of the toilet paper, though, which killed the spelling lesson we were having with his alphabet puzzle. I remember reading somewhere about hints to keep kids from pulling off entire tubes of TP…smashing them with your foot, etc…any other parents have any tips that have actually worked in your home? I’d like to avoid TP-ing the house again for awhile!
Apr 2nd, 2009 by ECM
Here are the contents of our first week’s farm share! It’s hard to see from the picture, but we have a full 3/4 bushel of kale, cabbage, parsnips, onions, carrots, red potatoes, and beets…
On the menu for this week: Zuppa Toscana (who knew that the Olive Garden classic contained kale?! I always thought it was lettuce until I investigated recipes with kale last fall!), Ham with mashed potatoes and parsnips, Egg rolls (with cabbage, carrots, and ham), Beet Bundt Cake (I know it sounds gross, but I’ve seen recipes for chocolate cake with beets in so many places that I really have to try it), and Pork Goulash (a recipe with parsnips that I’ve been waiting to try). None of these things are normal fare in the Muller household–for veggies, I usually stick to beans, peas, and broccoli–so we’re very excited for this coming week. If anything is particularly good, I’ll post the recipe here!
Apr 1st, 2009 by DTM
After two months at a trial defending a corporation against the scientific allegations of the Government, you might think that I would be a bit, shall we say, cynical of the scientific positions of those in Washington, D.C. In reality, however, I’ve reached a slightly different conclusion: if there are two political groups fighting over scientific evidence–one side saying X is safe, one side saying X is dangerous–the “safe” side is probably right. (Yes, the “safe” side might be deep in the pockets of some corporation, in theory. But, in reality, it’s much easier for a politician to talk about dying children, and, therefore, that a product is “dangerous,” than to insist over contrary cries that it is “safe.”)
Em and I, as early-21st century parents, have been bombarded with junk science. (This has forced me to dredge up whatever I learned in Symbolic Logic and whatever I can vaguely recall from high school chemistry and biology.) We know that there is no link between autism and the MMR vaccine. We know that Congress’s attempt to regulate lead in children’s toys has had far-reaching implications to unaffected children’s toys and books.
So it shouldn’t be a big surprise that all of the fear over phthalates was also overhyped. Take a listen to this NPR piece on the subject.
Next on the list? BPA, but given that it’s just about impossible to find anything with BPA nowadays (even though both the FDA and the CPSC say BPA products are safe), this one’s a moot point.
In short: there’s lots to worry about kids. But most of this stuff isn’t really worth worrying about.
(Image via Flickr.)
Apr 1st, 2009 by ECM
Lately it seems like Tommy has regressed in all areas. First of all, he fell off the big boy bed at G&G Mullers’ and gave himself a lovely black eye (as you can see above). Then he climbed out of his bed, took off his diaper, and pooped on the floor. He’s staying in the crib for the forseeable future. Then he lost all interest in the potty chair in the past two weeks. So much for potty training before the baby comes! And his sleep has been messed up, though I now know that a new tooth is responsible for some of that…it’s just about to pop through… After some time away from home and Mommy’s strict diet, he’s refusing many everyday foods (bananas? cheerios? meat?) and whining for forbidden ones more. He starts chanting, “Titin Nugnet!” whenever we drive by a McDonalds. (Seriously. He’s had chicken nuggets twice in the past two months–both times on car trips–why does he think he gets them whenever we see the Golden Arches?) And after so much fun play time with grandparents and babysitters (an average of two a week due to my doctor/PT visits), he expects me to play with him all the time. “Help peese!” really means “Come play with me right now or I will start to cry!”
Fortunately, now that Derek is home, we’re spending the week getting over our colds and getting back into the old routines! Hopefully we’ll start approaching normal again soon!
Mar 31st, 2009 by ECM
Tommy had a fun time with Grandma and Grandpa Muller a couple weeks back, even though I was spending the week mourning the loss of our computer…here are some pictures at last!
“Ba-Pa Tar Driving!”
“Payin’ [in the] bat-yard”
Parking the “mon-mower”
Mar 30th, 2009 by ECM
Well, it was our last fun weekend out…now that I’m 35 weeks, my doctor wants me to stay put in Chicago!
On Saturday morning, we drove up to Michigan. Two of my delightful students from my Jane Austen class were in a production of “The Sound of Music” in Charlotte, MI. We arrived just in time to see the show (which was very well done!), meet them face to face afterwards (funny after being together in class for 26 weeks!), and chat briefly before hurrying on to Lansing.
We arrived at the ball just as it was starting, so we rushed to get dressed (I’d done my hair in the car using the tiny mirror in the shade…) and join in the festivities. Fortunately, empire waist styles work even in late pregnancy! Since this was our third year, we recognized a lot of the people and knew most of the dances already. English Country Dancing is such fun when you know what you’re doing! I had a lovely time, and though it’s not Derek’s thing, I was really glad he had escorted me. (Next year I’ll let him stay home and bring my dad instead…)
We ended the weekend by hanging out with my Great-Aunt Jann and Grandpa Elsesser. Jann’s grandson Erik is exactly Tommy’s age, so they got to play together on Saturday afternoon. Since we’ll probably still have to wait a bit before Tommy gets a first cousin, we are so glad that he has a relationship with his second cousin twice removed! Grandpa took Tommy for a ride on his four-wheeler, which is pretty much the most exciting thing imaginable to a two year old obsessed with cars and trucks and tractors, so it was a great visit all-around!
Mar 27th, 2009 by ECM
How much can one housewife get done in 12 hours (when her parents have taken her little dude for the weekend)? Maybe if I type it out, it will seem like a lot:
–took the car in for oil change (2 hrs 45 min)
–finished rereading novel to teach on next week (2 hrs)
–studed Greek vocab (15 min–I was trying not to pay attention to the soap opera playing in the waiting room at the oil change place, but somehow it still distracted me from my flashcards!)
–walked through of Babies R Us to look at safety locks (20 min)
–Walmart for the things I forgot on Monday (40 min–why does Walmart always take so stinking long?)
–Best Buy to pick up the dead hard drive (30 min–I never want to go in that store again)
–Put gas in the car for our trip to Lansing (5 min)
–Whole Foods to pick up special hypoallergenic detergent for Dad M so that I can wash our guest sheets and have them ready for him when the baby comes (25 min–I’ve never bought detergent at Whole Foods before, and I walked around the store multiple times before finding it)
[At this point I was going to go vacuum out the car while Tommy’s carseat is out of it, but after being awakened by the police at 3 am (long story…) and running all those errands, I came home and crashed instead.]
On the list for tonight before Derek gets home:
–Pack for the regency ball
–Vacuum out the car
–Go to the bank (because I literally spent my last dollar in my wallet today…)
–Finish washing/drying/stuffing Tommy’s diapers
–Wash the guest sheets
–Clean the guest bathroom while Tommy’s gone for the weekend
–Finish going over my Greek flashcards so that I don’t disappoint Hannah again when she comes to do Greek with me on Monday
–Review Psalm 119 so I don’t disappoint Laura again when she calls to keep me accountable on my memorization on Sunday
–Find vitamins and Airborne for Derek to take to counteract germs of woman who was sick beside him on his flight today
And now that I’ve bored my blog readers but compiled a list of things to do (now that’s some multi-tasking), I’m off to try to be productive for three and a half more hours until my sweet husband is home to STAY!!!!
Mar 26th, 2009 by ECM
I’m working on my last lecture about regency culture for my Jane Austen’s England class. Just thought my readers would appreciate these fun facts about regency medicine:
Gout is actually just arthritis, but it is exacerbated by heavy drinking (though often alcohol is recommended to sufferers).
Someone who is extremely fat and short of breath is “pursy.”
A physician is the most prestigious kind of doctor (higher than a surgeon, who deals with physical injuries). He won’t ever do a physical exam, but he’ll talk to you and prescribe medicine accordingly.
Common regency medications include blue pills (made from glycerine, honey, and mercury), calomel (chlorine and mercury), and laudanum (opium dissolved in alcohol–a common medication for Jane Austen’s mother).
I for one am glad to be living in the 21st century, with all the benefits of modern medicine!
Mar 25th, 2009 by ECM
Since I don’t have the ability to share any pictures of my own right now, here’s Tommy with his little friend Reagan. They love each other so much that they knock each other down with their hugs! Tommy played with Reagan a couple weeks back while Derek and I toured the hospital where I’ll be delivering, and Reagan’s mommy sent me some great pictures of these affectionate little friends…
