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A clerk no more

Aug 8th, 2008 by

Derek’s officially done with his clerkship. He drove into work today and cleared out his office, bringing back his diploma, pictures, and Tigers memorabilia. In the six weeks before starting at K&E, we have quite the relaxing schedule planned–car trips to Detroit and Denver, company in St Louis and Chicago, and The Move. We’re hoping to enjoy this period of (relative) calm before the storm of Real Life and A Busy Job. Maybe Derek will even take some time from his Life of Leisure to blog himself instead of merely suggesting posts for me to write! Stay tuned…

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this week

Aug 7th, 2008 by

So my computer is down (hence the relative silence this week and lack of pictures today), and Derek’s computer is having trouble getting on the internet, so this will be a short and sweet update. This morning Tommy awakened us at 6 am, probably because we weren’t the ones to put him to bed and he wanted to make sure we were home. Of course, this was the only time all summer that we’d been out ’til 11. Since then, the day has only gotten more interesting. I was swiffering our bedroom when I realized that the living room had gotten quiet–too quiet. I came in to find Tommy sitting on our dining room table, playing with my new cell phone. Apparently the jump from climbing chairs to climbing tables is a quick one. Then I sent him into his room. A minute later, I heard sliding sounds that were suspiciously unlike anything I’d ever heard from his room before. He had pushed his crib into the middle of the room and was pulling at the plastic bins we have under his crib. Apparently he really wanted to try on some of his 6-9 month clothes. I pushed his bins and bed back and went to get a broom for the dust he’d tracked up. When I returned, he was eating The Snowy Day, most appetizing of his books because of its red cover, perhaps? Once I’d fished a chunk of cardboard out of his mouth and explained to him for the 20th time this week that we do not eat books, he settled down in the rocker with Clarence the giraffe, his blanky, and his Bible (one of the few board books left without a bite out of a corner). All this happened before 8 am. It’s going to be a long day.

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30 Years

Aug 4th, 2008 by

Well, for those of you who’ve wondered if I’d dropped off the face of the earth or just had become really rude because I haven’t answered your emails, letters, or phone calls, I can now reveal why!  Yesterday we threw a big surprise party in honor of my parents’ 30th wedding anniversary (which is actually tomorrow, but they’ll be in PEI, so we did it early).

I’ve never been one for deceit, and I’m pretty sure this was the most I have ever deceived my mom.  It was eating me up inside!  We came home to Columbia for the weekend “to take them out for lunch for their anniversary” (which was technically true, because there was lunch served at the party).  Saturday saw me running around frantically to pick up the cake, go to the Farmer’s Market for fruit, chop fruit for a fruit salad for 2 hours, help Brenda (the hostess) finish getting ready, and act like I was really home to see my mom.  Sunday was even crazier–we’d planned to come home from church before Sunday School so that I could run over and decorate the cake before my parents got home.  When my mom decided to come home with us, we dropped her off with Tommy and manufactured a grocery run that suspiciously took 45 minutes.  Then Tommy’s rash, our planned reason to get the fam over to Kellar and Brenda’s for Dr. Kellar to look at, suddenly disappeared Saturday!  Derek and I kept insisting that we just wanted Kellar to check it out before we left town.  I was so sure my parents suspected everything!  Fortunately my fervent prayers were answered, and we got my parents and Tommy into Brenda’s house without wondering at the large number of EFree cars parked up and down the street.  Inside were 35 of their friends!

anniversary party

Besides feasting on brisket, pasta salad, and a pretty fruit salad, Peter and I made little speeches, and John had a video message since he couldn’t leave Annapolis.  Friends wrote memories in a little scrapbook, and we got my mom to share about their eventful first meeting (floorless car, the sound of machine gun fire, and people diving into snowbanks–my dad was (is) quite a character!).

Many thanks to Brenda for opening her home, to Molly for the amazing food, to the Shepherdsfield girls for the scrumptious cake, and to all our friends who came to celebrate with us!

anniversary family

Cammy-Peter-Grandpa-Grandma-Tommy-Derek-Em (and John in spirit)

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More Beloved Children's Books

Aug 2nd, 2008 by

Moving up from the board books, here, in no particular order, are a few of our favorites for the next stage (picture books/starting to read on their own):

 A Bargain for Frances and all the Frances books by Russell and Lillian Hoban.  Okay, so this is probably more of a girls’ series, but I love how true to life Frances is–she has tea parties, runs away from home (to under the kitchen table), learns not to be a picky eater, and has other delightful adventures.

 Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi and Ron Barrett — one of Derek’s favorite silly stories from childhood.

Saint George and the Dragon retold by Margaret Hodges.  Every boy should go through a knights and dragons stage, and I can’t wait to read this one to Tommy.  When I read Spenser’s Fairie Queene for the first time last year, I recognized that this story is a retelling of the Redcrosse Knight’s tale!

A Time to Keep is one of my all-time favorite children’s books, from the amazing Tasha Tudor.  No child could resist the beauty of her illustrations and the wonder of the olden times that she brings to life so vividly.

Cyrus the Unsinkable Sea Serpent is one of many Bill Peet books that we loved as kids.  I think this one was Peter’s favorite.  Bill Peet is a great illustrator, and his stories are delightful!

Stone Soup by Marcia Brown.  This classic story of how three soldiers tricked a selfish town into hospitality belongs in every kid’s library.

Caps for Sale by  Esphyr Slobodkina is hilarious.  What little kid can resist the naughty monkeys who steal the poor peddler’s caps?

Tikki Tikki Tembo by Arlene Mosel.  A little Chinese boy’s ridiculously long name causes much trouble when he falls into a well.  Hilarious! 

The Little Engine That Could by Watty Piper.  Again, every child needs to read “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can!”  The updated versions have far inferior illustrations.  Watty Piper’s is the best.

Frog and Toad Together and the rest of the series by Arnold Lobel.  My favorite scene:  Toad sits down to make a list.  1. Make list.  So true, and absolutely delightful!

Curious George by Margret and H. A. Rey.  Okay, Tommy LOVES these!  Somehow I think naughty little boys can’t resist a naughty little monkey.

What else could I add to this stage of pre-reading?

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We’re Back! (Briefly)

Aug 1st, 2008 by

We’re home again in St Louis after a very full five days of midwestern adventures.  Here are the highlights from our trip:

 firsthappymealTommy’s first McDonalds Happy Meal (Grandma and I were SO excited, but he was unimpressed with the burger, milk, and apple dippers–and the lame toy.  He just wanted to play in the outdoor playplace after being cooped up in the car all across Illinois.)

witherikStaying with Tommy’s Great-Great Aunt Jann and playing with his second-cousin-once-removed, Erik.  (Two and a half weeks apart, but look at the size difference!  They’re the same weight, but I swear Erik is 4 inches taller.)  Getting to know Jann has given me so much more insight into my grandma, even though they were 20 years apart.  It would have tickled Grandma to see her sister and her daughter admiring each other’s grandsons.

bubblesPlaying with bubbles at my cousin’s wedding (we thought either Erik or Tommy could have been a very cute ring bearer, but Adam and Penni wanted their rotweilers to be the Flower Dog and Ring Bearer Dog instead.)  So to keep the boys happy, we pulled out the bubbles while the bride and groom took a quick trip to the local bar between the ceremony and the reception.  Yep.

 kitchenMeeting our Serbian landlords, Stojan and Melena, and looking over our new house (I spent quite a long time enjoying how big my kitchen is going to be come September!  Plenty of room to cook large company meals–hint, hint!)

And Derek and I having a weekend to ourselves in Chicago to celebrate our anniversary early. (No pictures–we never seem to take pictures anymore when Tommy’s not around.) It’s been tough to adjust back to normal life this week!

Posted in Family, Tommy | 2 Comments »

Four Years

Jul 31st, 2008 by

weddingI

It’s July 31, so I’m postponing our trip roundup post for another day.  Four years ago today Derek and I united before God (and 250 friends) in the covenant of marriage.  This is by far our best anniversary yet!  Our first was spent apart–I was driving home across New Mexico alone and Derek was staying at the Ritz Carleton in Phoenix for one for week of Blackstone.  I spent our second anniversary in bed with horrible morning sickness.  Last year we were at least together, but Tommy’s nursing schedule meant we didn’t have too much time for any celebration.  This year I forgot to turn on my alarm and Tommy slept in ’til 6:45 (!), so we had a wonderfully peaceful beginning to our anniversary.

Even though we’ve been given many challenges since our wedding, especially this past year, I can only praise God for the blessing of uniting me for life with this Godly man.  My husband is a man of integrity, the leader of our family, and a servant.  I’m grateful for all the aspects of Derek’s character, but I’m especially thankful for the servanthood I take for granted every evening as he does the dishes or gives Tommy a bath while I rest.  It is truly a beautiful thing to love and submit to a man who loves me sacrificially, as Christ loved the Church.  I pray that, with God’s help, our marriage will continue to be a picture of Christ and His Bride. 

weddingII

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Our new backyard

Jul 29th, 2008 by

View from the master bedroom balcony:

backyard

Yup, that’s all within the Chicago city limits.  More house pictures (and an account of our whole weekend of adventures) tomorrow, hopefully after a full night’s sleep!

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Piko Comes to St. Louis

Jul 23rd, 2008 by

So this is out of order with the previous posts, but Piko was with us all last weekend!  He and Tommy had a grand time together… oh, and we liked having him around, too.  We’ve got a guest room with your name on it in Chicago, Piko!

hands

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Smores with a twist

Jul 22nd, 2008 by

Ingredients:

  • marshmallows
  • chocolate covered digestive biscuits (the British version of a graham cracker cookie–I got mine at a British import store, but I have since seen them in the import section of the cookie aisle at our local grocery store.) 

Directions: 

So I unabashedly stole this idea from Adrielle’s blog…just making a minor modification…
digestivesmoresI No campfire? That’s okay! Just use the hot oven after you take out your dinner!  (In our test kitchen, we let the oven cool for about 15 minutes before roasting the marshmallows.)

digestivesmoresII A couple minutes later–this may take a little longer because you can’t stick your marshmallow right into the fire and burn it to melt it…none of that carcinogenic black stuff here!

digestivesmoresV When your marshmallow is nice and soft (but not too soft–you don’t want to scrape mallow off the floor of your oven), combine and congratulate yourself on a classy-looking treat.

digestivesmoresIII Last step: enjoy your creation! As Adrielle reports, the melted marshmallow is indeed just warm enough to melt the chocolate on your biscuit.  Derek was a big fan…

digestivesmoresIV Mmmmm. Now that’s a smore!

Posted in Recipes | 3 Comments »

New Words

Jul 21st, 2008 by

Homeschooling started early at the Muller home. We’re teaching Tommy body parts and a few baby signs. It seems like he’s learning new words everyday now!

Posted in Homeschooling, Movies, Tommy | Comments Off

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