M&M and C+C

Nice stuff

2012-02-16T10:47:00.000-08:00

- Little boys in matching monkey pj's.

- This dress from Boden. And if I had that dress... I'd need a trip (for two, please) to:

- France. Nice, please.

- Teeth *after* they've cut through. We're in the pre-cut phase right now and it's brutal. Poor babe.

- My first baby. The Black 2000 Honda Civic EX. She quietly passed the 100K mile mark without my noticing sometime in the last few months. She's at 100.8K right now and deserves a post devoted entirely to her alone. Coming soon.

- Downton Abbey. I don't ever want it to end. And I want all of Lady Mary's dresses.

- The aforementioned with an accompanying cup of Yorkshire Tea. At about 2pm. While two little boys are sleeping. Ahhhh.

- Good fabric and good yarn.

- A vocal coaching... the first one in 2+ years. Too long.

- A rippingly good High C. :)

- My yearly Valentine's Day poem. Better than any gift or box of chocolates out there.

- Vegetable garden planning. Easy to do around here with the lack of snow we've had this winter.

The winter that wasn't.

2012-02-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

We made a mad dash to the local children's consignment store late last week in search of rain boots for muddy outdoor play. The combo of next-to-zero snowfall and winter sunshine has created the most boot-sucking, shoe-sole-caking, super-duper-cold mud... it feels like spring! However, spring this is not, and so we picked up a pair of bright yellow fireman rain boots to save the snow boots and the sneakers from doing all the heavy duty mud work. You should have seen Christopher's face when a Real! Live! Fireman! commented on his fireman rain boots at the grocery store last weekend. AMAZING. Worth every second hand penny I paid.

Colin is a drooling, finger-gnawing gigglepants except for when he's fussing because his gums hurt. I can just sense those first chompers will be coming through soon. He's 5 months old now and my favorite parts of the day are when he and Christopher have giggle fits together. They just laugh at each other... it's a cackling-giggling-heart-tickling circle of little boy laughter.

The Things They Say
Recently: "Daddy, turn off the wind." "Mama, make a train appear."
It's good to be regarded with the powers of a super hero.

Checklist

2012-01-14T19:22:00.000-08:00

4" - 6" of white, airy snow -- check.
Head-to-toe snowsuit with boots/hat/mitten combo -- check.
Saucer (extra slick model) -- check.
Energetic and equally excited Daddy -- check.
Small hill to throw one's self down on aforementioned saucer -- check.
Daredevil 2 year old who insists on going alone... face first -- check.
Adorable 4 month old immobilized from layers and a red bunting -- check.
Homemade hot chocolate waiting upon arrival at home -- check.
Long hot bath -- check.
Early bedtime -- check.
Pile of firewood for first fire of the winter -- check.

A truly wonderful weekend day.

Jan 10th

2012-01-10T11:20:00.000-08:00

Can it really be January 10th? This isn't a quickie post about "where has the time gone?" (but really - where has it gone? My baby is 4 months old!), rather a post about the weather.

Ho hum and boring, you say.

No! This is seriously crazy stuff! It's 50 degrees out there today! And tomorrow it will be ever so slightly higher! All of you scared Californians really should come and visit in January, as it turns out. It's a very balmy month. Lovely, in fact.

We had some friends over to play this morning and we really should have been outside at a park, but we just weren't mobile fast enough. Maybe we'll hit the park post-preschool tomorrow...

Provided winter doesn't hang on until Memorial Day, I really am ready for a bit of snow. It'll justify a fire in the fireplace and all of my new wool socks. 50 is fleece vest weather. 20 is North Face parka weather. It's January 10th. Bring it.

Dear Mother Nature: This is not a request for a blizzard.
Respectfully yours,
Megan

Anew and right now

2012-01-03T20:53:00.000-08:00

It's possible that New Year's may very well be my favorite holiday. Or at least a close runner up to Thanksgiving (I do love all that delicious cooking). No gifts... no pretense... and I must say that I do not feel pressure to be at the perfect party in the perfect dress with the perfect kiss at midnight. I've got that last one covered 365 days a year and the previous qualifications just don't matter anymore.

And so... here we are in 2012. It's refreshing to make new plans and even better to remind myself that This Moment is for now - only now. So, we should enjoy to our heart's content before it's over.

On New Year's Eve Day, Mike and Christopher and I sat at the breakfast table while Colin happily hung out in his bouncy chair. We talked about our favorite things from 2011. When we shared them, we realized that our favorites were the same.

Colin's birth came in at #1, not surprisingly. Labor Day 2011 was just magical. We woke up a family of 3 and went to sleep that night as a family of 4, all within our own home's walls. He's healthy and smiley, cooing and wiggling, bright-eyed and loving. We couldn't imagine anything more.

Our #2 favorite was our family vacation in Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Seven straight days of walks and hikes and bike rides and lazy afternoon naps and toe-dipping in the lake. This was the second most precious memory to both Mike and me. One whole week of basking in the warm summer, complete with toddler toes and drippy ice cream cones. Just us. Bliss.

We've got a lot planned for 2012, but for right now I'm trying to remember to use/experience/relish whatever moment I'm in, just like my toddler does. In fact, I think that my baby knows how to do this better than I do, too. Trust me, if you could be on the receiving end of one of his heart-crushing giggles, you'd know what I mean.

Happy New Year to you all!

Yummers.

2011-12-17T12:27:00.000-08:00

We had our first real snowfall last night and woke up to a thin blanket of snow with gorgeous, big fluffy flakes still wafting down from the sky. If that sounds overblown and a bit too romantic... trust me. I'm not exaggerating here - the first snowfall is truly magical.

So! The holiday season is now officially here since this Christmas will be white and will also justify many delicious things to keep fingers and toes and bellies happy and warm. I've burned through most of my mulling spices and have already made several batches of our favorite holiday cookie. This morning I baked the first loaves of a sweet tea bread that is beloved (and so simple!) in my family at this time of year. And there will be more to come!

Here are a few recipes that are keeping us warm and sated as the winter season gets off to a snowy start...

Red Lentil Soup

Chocolate Chip Gingerbread Cookies
*Mods: I rarely have ginger root on hand unless I plan for it, but these are fine without. I also use 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice for a shortcut. And, I think these would be divine with some finely chopped candied ginger.
This could so easily be made vegan since gingerbread often omits eggs! Sub some Earth Balance for the butter, and vegan choc chips (carob, perhaps?) and you're set.

White Chocolate, Almond, and Cranberry Cookies

Basic Chicken Soup
Easiest prep for chicken soup that I've ever seen. Delicious.

Peppermint Bark

Spinach Casserole
*My modifications: saute chopped onion with garlic and spinach before mixing in with rest of ingredients, add whatever leftover grains you may have (I added couscous this week), vary your cheeses (goat cheese, anyone?!), and vary your dairy addition (I used a small scoop of sour cream instead of cottage cheese this week).

Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Halve your sprouts for a faster roasting time.

Scotch Bread
Combine 1/2 stick of butter, 1 box golden raisins, 2 tsp baking soda, 2 C boiling water. Let sit, covered, overnight.

In the morning:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and beat 2 eggs with 1.75 cups of sugar.
Combine creamed eggs and sugar with raisin mixture.

Add 1-2 tsp cinnamon and about 3.5-4 C flour (I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose... I might try some oat flour next time). Add flour slowly. Batter will be stiff, but still workable.

Divide between 2 greased loaf pans or mini loaf pans. Be careful to not fill pans more than 2/3rds of the way or you'll have spillage whilst they bake... Sadly, I speak from many Decembers of experience on this one...

Bake regular loaf pans for 1.25 hours, mini loaf pans for 50-60 minutes.

There are many substitution possibilities. Different sweeteners could be used, different flours, the addition of nuts would be delicious, and some of the fat could probably be subbed out for applesauce.

We have this toasted with butter alongside scrambled eggs on Christmas morning every year. It's also great around 4pm with a cup of smooth black tea.

Puff vs. Puffins

2011-12-08T05:46:00.001-08:00

I introduced Christopher to Peter, Paul and Mary this week by downloading their "Best of" album from iTunes.

He's now asking to listen to "Puff, the Magic Dragon" at all times. I should probably just change the iPod settings and let it run on repeat for a while. Lucky for us, all 4 of us enjoy the wise folk sounds of the legendary trio.

Actually, he asks for "Puffin the Magic Dragon." I guess it's all about your frame of reference...

"Yay, magic dragon song!"

This is fall.

2011-11-17T12:44:00.000-08:00

Nap time for Christopher has gotten shorter, and of course, Colin's needs cut into that time now. Today, however, on our coldest day thus far (low 30s! it's hat weather!), I was able to mix and bake and chop and roast between the end of lunchtime and the end of nap time. I love turning off the heat in the house for a few hours and keeping things warm by turning on the oven.

Pumpkin muffins with chocolate chips, and roasted red potatoes and broccoli. Snacks and the beginning of dinner. Yum. These colors and these smells represent late fall in our family.

I'm looking forward to an extra set of parent hands in the house later next week over the Thanksgiving holiday. Then I can *really* do some damage in the kitchen! A pumpkin pie, stuffing, lots of roasted vegetables, and maybe even some bread baking. Mike is going to barbecue the turkey again this year. Please cross your fingers for him and hope that it doesn't snow!

Hearsay

2011-11-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, October 26 @ 8:30am
Toddler sits in living room with "The Origin of Species" propped open on his lap. He slowly drags his left(!) pointer finger across a page full of 10 point font lettering while narrating:
"Strawberries, apples and coffee. Now I need to cook together the next things..."
I think he was reading a recipe. :)

Saturday, October 29 @ 7:42am
Two adults and toddler at the breakfast table enjoying piping hot pumpkin pancakes. Infant in bouncy chair on floor. Father says to toddler:
"Christopher, I don't want you to put your head in your syrup, please."
Doesn't everyone start off their weekend like that?

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes - please try these.
They combine the best of fall + buttermilk pancake deliciousness.
My mods: instead of fiddling with all of the different spices, I add 2 teaspoons of Pumpkin Pie Spice (Trader Joe's makes a good one). And try to use cake flour. It makes them... well... cakier.

What's your soundtrack?

2011-10-24T13:30:00.000-07:00

Here's what we're listening to these days:

Car rides
Christopher demands "a happy song" every time we get in the car and his two current favorites are Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison (or "the sha-la-la-la song") and Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder (or "the I wonder song").

Hang out time at home
Songs for Wiggleworms (album) - especially "I've Been Working on the Railroad" (or "the railroad song")

Getting dinner ready
My daily opportunity for a dose of adult news while Mike and Christopher tear it up at the park: NPR (WBEZ 91.5 here in Chicagoland). I *heart* NPR.

Friday afternoon/dinnertime
Sara Bareilles (you all know she was in my UCLA a cappella group Awaken, right?!) or Alison Krauss and Union Station usually hit the spot when we're celebrating the end of the week with some playtime and a glass of vino. (Alison Krauss' voice amazes me, by the way. Effortless, agile, emotive, and perfectly on pitch ALL TIMES - just check out her live performances. Someday we'll see her in concert...)

After the toddler is in bed
Glenn Gould's recording of Bach's Goldberg Variations. It makes me feel like my brain gets a realignment and shifts into adult-mode. Ahhh.

Saturday morning pancake hour
Jack Johnson's In Between Dreams (Better Together and Banana Pancakes are two of Mike's favorites).

Sunday morning
While we feast on Saturday's pancakes and get over the disappointment that the end of the weekend really IS approaching, the Garden State Soundtrack, Sigur Ros (this is the song Takk - which means "thank you") and a big cup of Irish Breakfast tea never disappoint.

And then... there were two.

2011-10-04T11:45:00.000-07:00

And truly, if you'd been hanging around here on Labor Day, that's exactly what it would have felt like. In the morning, the three of us went up to the Chicago Botanic Garden and walked around for 1-1/2 hours. It was a beautiful early fall day.

We had planned to go roast s'mores over an open fire with friends that afternoon and at 1pm I was still saying, "I'd really like to get to R&S's house for s'mores at 4pm... let's see how I feel in an hour."

Colin was born at 3:45pm. I clearly, a) had a baby *very* quickly, and b) had a very skewed sense of those little labor pings' trajectory. Ha. I still have not roasted s'mores since Fall started, but I have not given up hope. The marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers are still waiting in the pantry.

Colin is a peanut and a darling. I will update Flickr before the end of the week so that everyone can see more images of his sweetness. He's working on filling out, too. Just the other morning I realized that his face has taken on a delicious roundness that wasn't there at birth (he was 3 weeks early, afterall!). And a double chin is solidly in the works. I love it.

Christopher - since we last posted here - is now a bonafide TWO year old. We celebrated his two-some-ness with a morning fete attended by family and many, many friends. It was warm enough for splashing, cool enough to not melt the guests, and early enough to send all toddlers back home for afternoon naps with chocolate cupcakes in their bellies.

He has started a preschool program that meets 2 days each week for 1-1/2 hours. It is play-based socialization and he loves it. In fact, just last week on the way home, he said with a wistful sigh, "I love preschool." After much deliberation over whether he was too young or just plain not ready - there isn't anything we would have preferred to hear him say. That just about sums it up for all of us. We love preschool. :)

Christopher is also embracing his new role as big brother. He likes to keep him company in his bouncy chair and often forgets himself in his zeal to keep the chair bouncing (why wouldn't he want to bounce higher/faster/bigger?!?!) and frequently asks to hold Colin. He leans over Colin and will say, "Hello Colin. How are you today, Colin?" He gives him pats on the head, lots of kisses, and nearly-bone-crushing hugs. Mike and I constantly perform a watchful, yet beautiful dance as we let them get close but intervene with a split second to spare to explain why Christopher probably shouldn't lean on Colin/poke his eyes/pat so hard/etc etc.

And so, this is why the blog has been silent for so long. First I missed the glory days of summer gardening (the tomatoes alone paid for our garden investments this year, and I believe the amount of swiss chard consumed was solely responsible for my sky-high iron levels during pregnancy - yes!), then I missed writing about Christopher's 2nd birthday, then I didn't update about Colin's spectacular arrival... It seemed like so much time had passed that there was no way to catch up. But several friends from afar have asked about the blog and I need to remember that this blog is a way to share our life with the friends we have near and far. We don't want to miss out on any of you!

And now...

There's a pie pumpkin baking in the oven, which will scent the house with the smell of fall and then be whizzed up into puree for waffles or bread or soup or DINNER. I'll do my best to post more regularly again and bring you all along with us through this next season of Fall.

xo,
M&M and C+C

Pavarotti - Live in concert in Paris 1965

2011-07-26T11:55:00.000-07:00

I don't want to be too blunt, here... but if this doesn't make your heart speed up just a tiny bit, and make you think, "hey, that's kind of gorgeous"... well, then... try replaying it.

30 years old. Trim. Handsome. Abso-freaking-thrilling voice.

(Pavarotti is singing the part of Rodolfo who has just met Mimi, his new neighbor in his rundown tenement building in Paris. She's come to his door asking if he'd light her candle so she can see in her cold, dark apartment upstairs. He accompanies her back up to her place and she drops her key - Rodolfo, the sneaky guy - finds it while they're chatting and hides it in his pocket to prolong their encounter. They're both searching around on the floor in the dark - the candle went out again - and their hands bump into each other.)

Here's the text translation:

What a frozen little hand,
let me warm it for you.
What's the use of looking?
We won't find it in the dark.
But luckily
it's a moonlit night,
and the moon
is near us here.
Wait, mademoiselle,
I will tell you in two words,
who I am, what I do,
and how I live. May I?
Who am I? I am a poet.
What do I do? I write.
And how do I live? I live.

There's much more on YouTube if this has you hooked. Here's one of the entire aria staged (though he wasn't exactly known for his acting abilities or stage movement). The "ah" vowels are enough to make me swoon. 3:45. La speranza, indeed.

At the end, he goes over to ask her to tell him about herself. God help the soprano playing Mimi who had to follow THAT up! The next aria (in which Mimi explains who she is and what she does) is equally fabulous... but, um... yeah...

Garden update

2011-07-11T13:03:00.000-07:00

Above: Lemon Tomato and Cherry Tomato plants, parsley lines the front.

After several weeks of warm to hot temperatures, many trips around the garden with the watering can, and selective weeding... we have food! I can't explain how gratifying it is to have salads on the table each night, comprised entirely of greens from our own garden. We've been eating a lot of chard as that has taken off and seems to practically grow over night. Sauteed with garlic and olive oil, thrown into scrambled eggs with some delicious cheese, and soon to be auditioned in a frittata or quiche... it's good stuff.

I'm still babying my tomato plants (I have what some might deem as "too many" at a total count of, um, 9 plants...). But, I hope that come late August, I'll be sweating over pots of tomato sauce seasoned by our own basil and oregano.

Nasty little green wormy things ate our kale leaves (center row) after our first harvest! They got onto the broccoli leaves, too (left row), but didn't touch the lettuce or the beans. Hmmm.

Lemon verbena and cucumbers in the back left corner; sunflowers growing above everything else with a few corn stalks and copious amounts of swiss chard. In the front left-right: rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil and teeny purple basil in the lower right corner.

Tomato sauce land. L-R: Home Depot Celebrity start, and 6 of my own plants started from seedlings... look who's winning!!!

Squash: yellow summer, Amish Pie pumpkins, Sugar Pie pumpkins. Mmm. Pie from scratch. I can already smell October... squash with a little cinnamon and butter baking in the oven...

Link to some wonderfulness

2011-06-07T17:42:00.000-07:00

I regularly read a blog called Soulemama (soulemama.com). She's just had her fifth(!) child and instead of blogging on a daily basis, she's asked other bloggers to contribute to her writing space for a while.

I read THIS today and *loved* it. The last two paragraphs are the best part.

We've been doing a lot of outdoor play with the sky high temperatures and our garden has taken off. I am amazed at how much those little plants can grow in a single day with the warmth of the sun egging them on. I'm so grateful for my group of mama friends here in Evanston, with whom I gather almost every single day to watch our toddlers play, argue, laugh and stumble. And I'm loving Yard Sale season! Woot! :)

A long weekend

2011-06-02T04:09:00.000-07:00

After two days of crushing thunderstorms, we had a hot, rain-free Memorial Day.

We made a morning trip down to Lincoln Park Zoo where we saw the current favorite: giraffes; and other assorted hot and sleepy animals. I was reminded that summer brings with it its own Toddler Packing List and we have traded gloves, hats, and jackets for a different kind of hat, sunscreen, and a spare t-shirt. In short: Christopher came home with a new neon-green bucket hat.

We played in the yard, dusted off the water toys, dug in the yard, took naps, fired up the barbecue, and proceeded to sweat through dinner because we were just all so thrilled to be outside, outside, outside.

And I think I got my first bug bite of the season which is something of a rite of passage: summer is here.

Earthy.

2011-05-22T13:04:00.001-07:00

Today the sun has been shining and the air is warm. A late afternoon cloud cover and thunderstorms are expected as the sun begins to go down. Wait... maybe a bit earlier - I just heard some thunder off in the distance.

This is perfectly timed as I just finished planting the remainder of my seeds and starts. I left a few sections of empty space in the veg beds in case I'm seized by the need to plant something else irresistible.

I'm hoping to figure out how to link to a document via Blogger so that you can see my planting plans. Here! Click on the photo below to see it a bit bigger!

Oh yes, on one particularly cold, rainy evening in April, I geeked out with the veg plans and drew up a map on Excel outlining spacing and location for each variety I hope to grow this summer. It was actually quite helpful since some things require more/less sun, and I took height and growth rate into consideration. This year will be a big leap from what we tried last year, and I hope that each season will offer many opportunities to learn learn learn.

Mike and I spent the afternoon planting two dwarf apple trees! We're excited to be planting trees in our yard and hope that we'll see a few Cortland and Macintosh apples for munching or baking or canning in a few years from now. At the moment, they're just two cute twigs sticking out of the ground. Our fingers are crossed that they grow up to be big(ish), strong trees that provide a little more shade for the patio and some enjoyment for our tastebuds.

We also staked and fenced in the last few vegetable beds... a necessity if I want to see all of that hard planting work come to fruition! The bunnies around here are cute, but we sing the song "John the Rabbit" with a whole new tone these days. Let's just say that the bunnies and I have had a few encounters in the early evening when they come out to look for little bunny hors d'oeuvres prior to their bunny dinners. Sweet, green seedling leaves seem to be a favorite.

The sheets that were drying in the breeze have been brought inside, and I can still hear families riding by on afternoon bike rides. Christopher is VERY into bike rides, by the way. That and going for runs with Daddy in the mornings in BOB. For both of these actitivies, he can be heard egging on the driver with, "Faster, Mama/Daddy!"

Spring. Truly.

2011-05-12T12:33:00.000-07:00

Last night we woke up at 4am because the thunder outside of our windows was SO LOUD. The rain and lightning were equally impressive. I love a good thunder storm - as long as it doesn't get my basement sopping wet - and it reminds me of the summers I spent playing in Charlottesville.

The season has definitively turned and now we even have humidity to grouse about(!). The last few days have brought us up into the high 70s and 80s and so we've been out for bike rides, picnic lunches, park play, and even a Christopher-Mama date at the zoo. Highlights of our zoo outing included the giraffes, the rhinoceroses, and the seagulls who kept trying to get a nibble of our lunch.

The farmer's market opened up last Saturday with an abundance of plants and mostly root and winter vegetables. Not to worry, it will be spilling over with a huge array in just a few weeks. I bought some grilling cheese made in Wisconsin which looks similar to Halloumi, and a big bag of spinach. There's a new midweek market that will be happening up in our neighborhood this year. I'm looking forward to going to that one via bicycle.

I love seeing naked toddler legs running around the house - and Christopher is thrilled when he's only clad in a diaper. It's hard to argue with that outfit since he's so darn cute AND it provides easy access for kisses on the knees, the arms, the neck and all other edible parts of his cute self.

Upcoming projects for the garden include constructing a compost bin made of pallets from Mike's lab deliveries, building planter boxes for the patio, and finishing the vegetable beds (dirt/markers/seeds and starts!).

My latest thrill: a long, flat-head screwdriver makes the perfect dandelion weeding tool. Thank you, to the internet for that tip. Clearly, I thrill easily. If I had 2 acres, I'd let a whole patch of yard go crazy with dandelions and then hack them back to eat them... but alas, we live in suburbia and our front yard was looking rather... weedy.

And now... since the lawns are mowed and the dandelions are plucked... I'm going to down several glasses of ice water and see if there's a new Modern Family on hulu.com!

Happy day, y'all.

What we're up to these days.

2011-04-17T12:33:00.000-07:00

- Ripping back the plentiful number of perennials in our garden. We need that space for veggies!

- Taking a hacksaw to the trumpet vine. Don't worry... it will be back in another month or two.

- Listening to "Chickens!" and reading about "Chickens!"

- Writing proposals and papers. And more proposals and more papers. And even more proposals and papers.

- Making cabbage soup since we got a head of the stuff in our bin this week. Cabbage outside of St. Patty's Day?!? Turns out, it can be done. And it's pretty tasty.

- Taking a good voice lesson and reworking some cornerstones of the repertoire.

- Organizing social time in the form of playgroups.

- Steaming dainty asparagus and teeny new potatoes for dinner... salivating as we think of the fresh peas to be purchased at the Farmer's Market in 3 weeks' time.

- Walking around the neighborhood to greet passing dogs, "Hi Dog! Bye Dog!"

- Whispering words of encouragement to my brave young seedlings in the basement workroom.

- Fermenting homemade yogurt and baking up batches of granola twinged with ginger (best when served together and topped with fresh strawberries).

Stay in and stay busy.

2011-04-04T17:21:00.000-07:00

As a friend recently pointed out, "Hey! The daily highs are finally out of the 30s! Bring on Spring!" Yes... but we still have chilly wet days and so here's our survival list of how we've weathered (tee hee) the chill of winter and the shoulder seasons.

- Playgroups and playdates! What did moms do without the internet and cellphones to make play arrangements on the fly? It can be a lifesaver knowing that you're headed out to someone else's warm house for a different set of toys and some adult/toddler company.

- The library! This is a year-round destination (heat in the winter and AC in the summer!) and it's a great one. Our main library's first floor is entirely devoted to the children's section and there are several hands on play areas for those that aren't interested in sitting still with a book. The library also offers a variety of story hours and playgroups which are free free free.

- Wagner Farm. While this is cold in the winter, it's still a neat place to go and see the cows, horses, chickens and pigs (pigs only in the summer, though). They have a wonderful interactive museum geared towards toddlers and it's a perfect destination for an hour.

- The Exploratorium. This is in a neighboring city and has a small fee, but is a wonderland of hands on activities from slides, to a huge climbing structure (think a human-sized guinea pig maze), drawing with crayons, dress up and role play, a book corner, train table, water play, and interactive music displays.

- The Family Room. A drop-in style playgroup housed in a cozy building with coffee for the caregivers and rooms full of toys for the kids. It's geared towards toddlers with a room full of manipulatives, another with kitchen/house toys, a gross motor skills room with a slide and balls, a reading room, and an arts room. For the last 20 minutes of the drop-in, there's a "circle time" where we gather and sing a couple of songs, listen to a book, and wind down from the excitement of all the free play.

- Wiggleworms. This is the music class we've been attending for a while now. We both love it and Christopher talks ad nauseum about his wonderful teacher and her amazing guitar in anticipation of each class.

- Gymboree. We signed up for an awesome deal for this through Groupon over the months of January and February. It was a lifesaver. The classes were a bit lackluster, but most days of the week the "gym" was open in the afternoons for free play. It was the perfect well-lit, warm and cozy place to go climb, slide, and play.

There are a variety of other free playgroups in the area, as well as many more options that come with a fee. These are the ones we took advantage of most frequently. And, of course, I become a gym fanatic in the wintertime which means that Christopher can hang out in the kid care for an hour a few mornings each week. The staff know him well, and they have a ton of things to explore that we don't have at home, so he's happy to be there every so often. I'm grateful that he goes there so easily to give us each time to "play" on our own.

Spring related: I planted seeds this weekend! Not in the ground, but in makeshift seedling pots. They're all set up downstairs in the workroom beneath a florescent worklight. I am really hoping that I'll see some growth over the next few weeks. But, if not... we'll be out there before we know it. Yard waste pick up begins this week, so our spring clean up will now begin in earnest... when it's not raining, of course!

Springing

2011-03-13T16:44:00.001-07:00

I'd forgotten where our daffodil bulbs are located in the garden, but their top-secret hiding places are slowly being revealed as small shoots of green are starting to pop up in random areas through the still-frozen-solid dirt.

I also realize that I have a patch of purple irises that must have been multiplying for several seasons now without being divided. There's about a 2' x 2' area that will be covered with green shoots and purple flowers in another month or two. I will definitely divide and share/replant the bulbs later this summer to spread out the color - perhaps put a few in the front yard.

I'll plant some seeds this week as we're 6-8 weeks out from the typical last frost date of May 1st. (I read on one gardening site that May 25 is sometimes the last frost, but that depresses me too much, so I'm going to be optimistic and go with May 1st!)

We're starting to do more long walks outside by the lake and downtown. Park play dates and barbecue-parties-to-come are the general focus of conversation. But we're still keeping busy with all of our winter resources. That's what I'll focus on in my next post: how to stay sane and busy with a toddler in the cold, wintery Midwest.

Well, then.

2011-02-14T13:30:00.000-08:00

It's mid-February in the Chicagoland area. What else is there to say?

Apologies for being so quiet on the blog. After receiving the third email in one week asking if we were doing okay... I figured I'd better cough up some news.

Well, there's snow. We had a blizzard! Did you hear about it? We shoveled a lot, cursed the way the winds had blown and drifted snow against our garage door, and rallied a ton of neighborhood brawn so that we could all get out of our shared alleyway the day after.

But now - we're in the midst of our first spring tease. This weekend it was sunny and warm (high 30s! low 40s!) and later this week it will be in the 50s! This is cause for cautious celebration because we all know that the mercury will plummet again before spring actually arrives.

We're taking lots of walks and getting as much use out of our snow boots, as possible. Especially the smallest member of the household, who was delighted by all of the slushy ice puddles brought on by the warmer weather.

We're listening to Rag Mop (or "mop mop", as Christopher requests it). And we're listening to anything else that we can... when we're allowed.

We're watching words spill out of Christopher's mouth - new ones on a daily basis. Who knew that he knew the names of so many things? Apparently he did, but the rest of us had to wait to actually hear it. It must be a relief to finally say what you mean/want and be understood.

Garden-planning, backyard-afternoons-dreaming, longer-day-yearning, park-swing-missing... that's what February is all about. All of those things will be here before we know it. We just have to keep reminding ourselves!

And lastly, Happy Valentine's Day! I just finished my annual day-of valentine crafting. Whew! Just in the nick of time, as always.

This week's dinner table. Part Two.

2011-01-21T12:51:00.000-08:00

Perhaps this was not the best week to write about dinners since Mike and I will have shared ONE dinner together in the span of Sunday to Sunday... but we both ate, nevertheless.

When I last wrote, we were having White Bean and Chard Soup with Brown Bread. It was good. And that bread made some delicious toast. Especially with homemade blackberry jam. Just ask Christopher!

Wednesday night there were eggs on the dinner table. I have a new scrambling technique thanks to a tip from a friend. Don't laugh - we've all had nasty, dry, brown scrambled eggs before, right? There is a way to make them to absolute perfection. And I intend to try them as indicated on the linked website: piled on top of thick toast smeared with goat cheese. I added a little crumbled queso fresco and a side of greens with broccoli and sunflower seeds.

Thursday night brought leftover soup back to the table with the end of the brown bread (I'll be making that again very soon!) with green salad. It was Thursday. It's all I could muster.

Today is Friday and it's effing cold out there. When we woke up this morning the radio reported a temp of -4... but with the windchill? Oh yeah... it *felt* like -22 out there. The RealFeel vs. ActualTemp thing always amazes me. Why bother with "Actual"??? CRAZY! It didn't change our normal routine, but the furnace sure is getting a workout. The oven has been adding warmth and good smells by baking a few loaves of sandwich bread.

Later tonight for dinner: Broccoli and Cremini Mushroom Casserole (not quite the casserole mama used to make - this is out of The New Moosewood Cookbook), Mashed Potatoes (comfort for the low temps) and Green Salad. We do love salad.

Next week I intend to bring in a little soy protein via a killer tofu lasagna that I've been promised. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Food for a new year

2011-01-17T11:43:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions (I say that with every grain of salt possible) is to try to cook some new things around here. This week, I'm going to write about dinners.

I've also been doing a little meal planning. It makes the grocery shopping more focused, keeps the bottom line down, and helps prevent the 5:30pm glazed-over look on my face as I stare into the refrigerator waiting for dinnertime inspiration to jump out at me.

Hey! Cook me!
It never seems to happen.

Last night: Frittata with swiss chard and goat cheese, green salad with chopped almonds and a sliced, roasted, red beet. The swiss chard was tender without being soggy, and the goat cheese - well, I've never met bad goat cheese. It was damn good.

Tonight: White bean soup with more swiss chard ('tis the season and it's sooo good for you!), Irish Mum's Brown Bread from 101Cookbooks.com, and roasted carrots and broccoli.

This afternoon: well, SOMEONE ate all of the maple pecan granola from TJ's, so I'm left with nothing to do but make some of my own. The smell reminds me of our second apartment in Copenhagen because that's where I first started making my own granola. And the weather outside matches, too. Oh, bittersweet nostalgia.

Standing-ish ovation.

2011-01-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

While changing Christopher's diaper today, I was singing "Twinkle, twinkle, little star." Just as the song ended, he got a huge smile on his face, clapped his little hands together and said, "Yay, Mama!"

Be still my heart. I need to sing to that kid more often.

So, it's been a while since I last updated. I must say that though our holidays were delightfully relaxed (aside from a major insulation installation project which remains 75% completed), it seems that even the most relaxed of holidays still leave a person in a very vulnerable state when the reality of Normal reappears after New Year's. That is to say - last Monday caught us off guard and this past week was a looooong one.

Christopher and I made some killer wheat germ banana bread, started up with our Wiggleworms class again, had a few playdates, and took a very brisk walk one morning to the grocery store in about 8 degree weather. Don't worry about Christopher, he has a sleeping bag-like insert plus a parka plus hat/mittens/blanket and a "weather shield" which makes him look like the Boy in the Bubble. He fell asleep in his pod of coziness and I kept warm by moving quickly. It was actually very nice and a few flurries fell on us just before we got home.

Mike is teaching two courses this quarter and attending numerous dinners for departmental visitors, the president of the university (la dee da!), and recruiting weekends.

Winter is a busy time for Mike's work calendar, so we try to stay equally busy at home. As one of my friends said yesterday, "It's Cat in the Hat weather." Truly. If you don't get out at least once a day - no matter the destination or weather! - you start to feel a little goofy.

Animals are front and center on the Christopher agenda. Most importantly: the sounds they make and the places they live (Big Red Barn is a current favorite). To encourage further exploration of the wonderous farm animal kingdom, I found an awesome recording of Ella Fitzgerald singing Old MacDonald, and Santa's gift of a wooden farm animal puzzle is completed many, many times each day. A winter visit to Wagner Farm is in order for this week... if it doesn't snow too much!

Stay warm and Happy New Year to you all!

Cold weather justified...

2010-12-07T13:26:00.001-08:00

Baking bread at least once a week. We find it to be much tastier than the store bought loaves (though there are a few delicious options on the shelf!), and it makes the BEST toast. This might be due to the fact that it is not presliced... which leads to yummy thick toast with honey or homemade jam. It's just so so good.

My favorite recipe is from the Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer booklet: Honey Oatmeal Bread! Of course, it's never quite the same since I never seem to have enough oatmeal or whole wheat flour or butter or honey... but the results always seem to disappear without much complaint. An excellent recipe that can stand a lot of tweaking.

Yum. Three hours to heaven and with maybe 15 minutes of hands-on time.

Keeping it real.

2010-12-01T12:04:00.000-08:00

I usually only write about the days and the moments that are lovely and loving and challenging-yet-sweet. But, in the interest of keeping it real... today I was That Mom with That Kid. SIGH. At least it was at the library's kiddie story time. (I imagine/hope that 99% of the other parents were silently empathizing.)

One librarian remarked, "Oh! He doesn't want to leave?" And really, I think that in many (but not all) of these instances, he doesn't know What he wants - all he knows is that he wants to choose It in its entirety. Such a bummer when It can't be an option for whatever reason... thereby paving the road to frustration.

Christopher is edging on 16 months old and while he uses as much sign language as he possibly can, he clearly has desires and interests that go way beyond More, All Done, Thank You, Down, and Nurse. And clapping only achieves so much, you know?

So, we went out in a blaze of glory this morning at the library story hour. It was one of those mornings when I thought that it would be good for both of us to get out, see other kids and moms, play a bit, interact... Sometimes this is exactly what we need. Other times it is exactly what we did not need. Sadly, this is never evident beforehand, but only in retrospect.

Apparently, what we did need this morning was a brisk exit from the library and a swift jaunt over to the yarn shop's new location for a little perusing. And then lunch. And a nap/tea. Better.

Cranberries

2010-11-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

Fresh Picks packed a pint of fresh cranberries in our delivery this past Tuesday, giving me no excuse to pick up a can of the jellied stuff at Dominick's. So, on Wednesday night I stood in the kitchen looking at them, remembering all of the different ways Mom had made cranberry sauce over the years (with orange rind, with different spices, etc.) and wondered if I had a recipe on my shelf somewhere. My go-to book, The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters, lacked a cranberry sauce recipe (surprisingly), but sitting next to it was an old worn book that I'd never turned to for actual cooking guidance.

This was a cookbook given to my grandmother by her friends in the Navy just before she left to marry my grandfather on Christmas Eve 1944 after knowing him for 7 weeks (!). (I can still hear the way she would say, "It was wartime!") The inscriptions inside are the best part:

"No scorched biscuits! No scorched pans! And always watch out for those lily white hands!"
"Here's to better toasted cheese sandwiches."
"Don't forget the Baked Alaska! Lots of happiness and Good Luck."

"Don't let this book stand in the way of your happiness - make tea."
"The best of everything to you - you are really swell."

And the cranberry sauce? It was perfect! And, to be honest, the only part of the meal that Christopher was actually interested in (other than the pie filling, but of course)!

Thanks

2010-11-25T13:00:00.000-08:00

The air smells like pumpkin pie right now. I'm cozied up on the couch with my darling (aka. my MacBook :), and I have a cup of black tea with milk at my side. We may see a teeny bit of snow later on. The sky is a wintery gray with lots of spindly, bare tree branches clouding my view. The boys are sleeping because a) that's what the littler one does everyday at this time, and b) the bigger one has the stomach flu.

And so... our Thanksgiving dinner will come tomorrow, and that's okay. I'm grateful that we're not travelling when one of us is feeling so Icky. And relieved that we're not bringing the Ick to someone else's table.

Earlier this month we spent time in California; all of us in Southern California for a big birthday celebration and then C and I in Northern California where Mike was missed (again!). All of the friends and family we visited are fresh in our minds today. Though we miss our friends and family, the wonders of Skype will allow us to say hello and see the faces that we might have chatted with had we flown elsewhere.

This is my most favorite holiday because it centers around people and food. Not stuff. (Just stuffing!) It's a time to think about the little things and the big things. A time to openly proclaim one's gratitude for the comforts of a home, the stability of a job, the rosy cheeks of a baby and the warm arms of a beloved relative. The only material competition might be something along the lines of "whose turkey is the juiciest?" or "to have whipped cream or ice cream or that frozen-marshmallow-stuff with my pie?" These are serious considerations made sweeter when I think of how lucky I am to even be considering them.

On our table (tomorrow night):
- Turkey. Mike is going to BBQ it, Mike Beltran-style. Hey, it's only going to be 31 degrees out there, not like it's single digits or anything. And! This is the first time we will have cooked meat since early August. We're a 99% veggie household these days. It's nice.
- Cornbread stuffing. Let's see... this year it has cornbread (duh), onions, celery, a little Italian sausage (again with the veggie thing flying right out of the window in the name of Thanksgiving), mushrooms, apples, veg broth, parsley, rosemary. Should have added that fennel in the bottom of the fridge. Maybe to beef up the leftovers. Pun intended.
- Cranberry sauce. Details tomorrow.
- Roasted brussels sprouts, carrots, and parsnips. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast. Easy.
- Garlic mashed potatoes. Mike would be very vocal about his disappointment if I didn't make these.
- Pumpkin pie. Williams Sonoma Pie & Tart book recipe (a go-to source given to me by Auntie Jenny at my bridal shower), with a slight mod (but, of course). I added a dash of cardamom (there's your kardemumma, Kate)! Let's see if we even notice. This recipe is a favorite because it is a real custard pie made from cream and eggs with cinnamon, ginger, cloves and freshly ground nutmeg.

Here's the cheesy part: I hope that what is most prevalent on our table is Gratitude and Love. And, why not? That's what the holidays should be about, I think. To wit: my mom recently told me a story about a Thanksgiving dinner we had growing up that sounded straight out of a Chevy Chase National Lampoon movie. My addition to the evening was to tell everyone that we should all be thankful for the dinner we had because there were people out there who didn't have anything to eat for dinner (in so many words, or less). I was what - 8? Despite the irreverence and cynicism for which I am so well-known, it turns out that this very basic level of Gratitude has been there from the beginning.

So, go forth and in between bites of turkey and pie... feel all that Gratitude wash over you. It's pretty awesome.

Happy Thanksgiving from our corner of the world to you and yours!

xo,
MM&C

Rabbit noggin

2010-11-02T13:09:00.000-07:00

Funny how the addition of a third biped in the house can so drastically cut down on my blogging time... and naps are still in transition (regretfully, I understand that the 2-to-1 thing can take months, as it is around here), so my double opportunity for laundry, phone calls, home office stuff, etc. is often narrowed down to the afternoon. But hey! He still naps!

Oh, did I mention we decided to paint the interior of our house? Yes! Out with the severe reds and blues and in with the cooler, subtler puttys and greens. Being unable to resist saving a buck (or a couple thousand), we took on the project ourselves. Christopher is *not* helping, which means a single room is usually a 3-4 night ordeal. From 7:30pm-11:30pm we prep and tape (trim touch ups will come later), the next night we prime (replacing dark colors with light requires extra diligence here), and then we paint (cut in, roll, repeat). We are lucky to have a few built ins and some interesting lines in our main living spaces. As painters, we are not grateful for this.

Halloween was fun with several perfectly young-toddler-appropriate celebrations. On October 23rd, my parents' group - The Parent Circle - threw a party replete with a toilet paper roll station (yep, a whole corner filled with rolls of tp for the unrolling), cupcake decorating, toys, and obnoxious kiddie music. Christopher was interested for about 15 minutes and then decided he'd rather stretch his legs outside, so Mike joined several other dads (of 12-18 month olds!) and their wee ghosts and goblins for an autumnal stroll (chase?) outside. Yay for adult drinks and mama-visiting-time!

Christopher wore his costume to the following week's Wiggleworms class, and then again to our weekly Thursday playgroup, and finally on Halloween itself. Instead of trick-or-treating - he has many years of that ahead of him! - we joined favorite friends Rosie and Scott and their 1-year-old Finn for s'mores and hot chocolate over their little firepit in their backyard. We were home and warmed up again by 5:45pm. Perfect. When was the last time you had a s'more? I recommend Hershey's Dark. It's deeee-licious.

All this to say, we've been so busy that I realized yesterday afternoon as C and I rode out the side gate for a few errands via bike that I still haven't told Mike about the decapitated rabbit head that's on the parking strip alongside our house. Gross, man. I think it's been there for about 5 days now. And I'll bet Mike's been coming in and out of the gate on his way to/from work at such a lightning speed that HE hasn't noticed it, either.

Fall work

2010-10-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we spent most of our time in the front, back and side yards. It felt perfectly fall-ish with the contrast of cool air requiring an extra layer in the shade while warm sun streamed down from above leaving our faces and backs sweaty from the heat and hard work.

All three of us were out there contributing in our own ways and it was wonderful. Christopher's new mode of transport -- walking*, of course, with frequent quasi-sprints to train for speed -- makes yard work (in an enclosed area!) fun and much easier. He's not getting his hands dirty while going from here to there, and he's much more satisfied with exploring on his own as he can carry objects of interest - rocks, leaves, twigs - and re-appropriate them to places he sees fit. It seems we have made a few errors in our placement of various backyard items. Basil plants should be out of their pots and sitting on the lawn, rocks along the house belong in free form piles on the patio, leaves go in the top of the AC unit... and so on.

Mike distributed heavy bags of top soil around the yard while I played with my new gardening tool/workout machine: the Action Hoe. Christopher dragged small handfuls of leaves over to our bigger raked piles and occasionally drove his Radio Flyer through the mounds of crackling, red leaves. We even put him in the yard bin to try and tamp down the leaves to make more room - we thought it was funnier than he did.

We over-seeded and fertilized the lawn by hand, paying attention to spots that had been preyed upon by squirrels and bunnies trying to fatten up for winter and by the harsh heat of July and August. We dug in new soil around the bazillion hostas on the edge of our yard and weeded out the abundant native prairie weeds which had freely and generously reseeded themselves over random areas of the perimeter. We pulled out the sweet potato vines that had grown out of the veggie bed and clear through to the other side of the fence (!) and pulled up 4 beautiful specimens, 5 scrawny ones and many teeny tiny ones. Note To Self: next spring, don't over crowd in your excitement to grow everything that you will put on table, and only plant TWO sweet potato vines at the most!**

Though we were sore and stupid-tired by Sunday night from all of the physical labor, our yard looked, for a day, well-loved and well-kept. Monday morning brought wind and this morning we've had thunderstorms, all of which has sent more leaves and twigs tumbling to the ground. I guess that means we'll have something to keep us busy this upcoming weekend. :)

*C has some new shoes that are the perfect marriage between Robeez and hard soled shoes. I felt it was a little early for hard soles since he's still working out some balance issues (but really, not many - he can stumble and catch himself without falling, which is pretty impressive). They're called Pedipeds and have just the right amount of cushion and insulation for being outside on fall pavement and exploring park grounds but they also have a lot of "give" and allow his foot to roll and his piggies to grip. He loves them so much! If you ask him to go get his shoes and socks and he goes to dig his shoes out of the shoe bin and brings them in a hurry to get them on his feet! and get outside!

**I have several Evanston-mom friends who also enjoy getting dirt under their fingernails in the name of produce, fun, and warm weather. I'm hoping to corral them into a seed & start co-op of sorts. Eg. I'll do the tomato starts from seeds in the workshop, someone else can get a flat of bunny-deterring marigolds, another can get the sweet potato starts which come in packages of 6... and we'll split them all up for more diverse gardens!

Foliage.

2010-10-01T08:09:00.001-07:00

Hello, gorgeous.

Fall leaves

2010-09-30T12:29:00.001-07:00

Turns out that the tree outside of our sunroom is a bonafide Maple. And she has been working hard to impress us with each passing day, turning her leaves from light green to light yellow to gold to deep, rich amber. It's particularly stunning today with the bright sun and clear blue sky helping to define each leaf.

If you've read the blog for the past few years, perhaps you remember how I love to admire fall leaves? From Copenhagen to Cambridge to Evanston, every year I get out the camera and turn the lens up toward the sky to try and soak in the magnificence of Fall Colors.

This year should be no exception - I'll get out there with the Canon within the next day or two before the leaves fall.

Assorted things of note.

2010-09-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

1. I thought that the blowouts created by a 100% breastmilk diet were behind us (pun intended) now that we're all into a nice mix of solids. Apparently not as there are still costume changes required throughout the day. BUMMER. If only I could convince Christopher that a diet including something other than fruit and vegetables might be worth considering.

1a. What will we do when pears are out of season? Let's not even think about it.

2. Christopher and a little almost-1 year old girl kissed at playgroup the other day. What?!?! I know. A younger woman! It was cute and then surprising and then a little shocking as my mind raced forward 14 (13? 12?) years. Wait! Let's not go there.

3. After two weeks of practice, he is now 95% bi-ped. Way too grown up for that crawling thing now that he's 13 months old.

4. I love this blog and THIS POST at Jennifer Rivera's fabulous site. Judging by a 7-degrees-of-separation kind of measurement, I'd say that she and I are about 2 degrees away from knowing each other. Fact is, the entire opera world goes in about 2 degree increments. It's tiny. I love this post because, if she's on *that* side of the glass, then I'm on *this* side of the glass. Does that make sense? It's never easy.

5. Mike's group moved into their lab! The steady path to world domination via ribosomal machinations may now proceed with full steam.

6. We bought gourds at the Farmer's Market this morning and a flat of tomatoes so that I can make some sauce. Mmmm. Our tomato plants in the backyard are going bonkers, too.

7. By the time we left the market, C had crumbles of pumpkin scone lodged all the way down to his bellybutton on the inside of his overalls and only one half sock on his right foot. And he was exceedingly happy with himself.

8. Thursday we had the entire playgroup over for what seemed to be summer's last hurrah. 10 babies between 4-15 months old and their mamas with push toys and a water table. We enjoyed the 89 degree weather and today... it's 55 degrees.

9. Number 9, number 9, number 9... the foam square that is C's favorite.

10. Time for a shower so that I can wake him up from that nap I insisted that he take... ahh, the brink of another napping transition.

To be or what to be...

2010-09-15T08:27:00.001-07:00

The most important question of the month:
What should Christopher be for Halloween???

This is an urgent matter. Please email me if you have an idea that I need to consider.

Thank you.

Worldly palate

2010-09-08T12:06:00.000-07:00

As we came rushing in from our morning outing, I plopped Christopher in his highchair and gave him a few cubes of cheese and a handful of Cheerios to keep his hunger sated while I could pull together something more well-rounded.

I tried offering perfectly-ripe organic nectarines (delicious), freshly cut cantaloupe (also out of this world), and some banana. The whole time he was eying my plate of leftovers.

Well, duh. What comes off of Mama and Daddy's plate is *always* better than what he's been offered (disclosure: 9 times of out 10, we're eating the exact same thing, though slightly less mangled since we have full sets of teeth).

Okay, so last night was the final evening of our Staycation* and we ordered Thai food. Truly decadent by our standards. In fact - why didn't we do this for the whole "Staycation"? Seriously - why was I cooking dinner and lunch and breakfast??? Mom - I now understand. It's not vacation when you're still cooking and cleaning up after dinner...

So I gave him some of my Pad Thai and he proceeded to gobble it up and beg off more from my plate until we had just about shared what was left.

Next time I'm going to pretend to have PB&J and wait until he's asleep so that I don't have to share. Hmph.

*By definition: what 30-somethings do when they've just bought a house and have young children, thereby leaving them without the discretionary funds they once possessed for indulgent trips to explore other continents.

Back to school outfit.

2010-08-29T19:16:00.000-07:00

School started back up this past week, so I thought the blog would get into it with a new outfit for the first Monday back at school.

Last week the weather changed to a gorgeous mid-70s with zippo in the way of humidity and even - believe it - a slight chill in the air in the mornings. I had to wear slippers around the house! That tease of fall weather was perfectly timed with the beginning of school.

We live down the street from a super-dooper elementary school (one of the Top 10 in the state, if we may be so bold as to point out), and the electricity in the air last week was downright palpable. Kids and parents and dogs were out in full force: dropping off, picking up, catching up, waving, hugging, clutching bundles of papers outlining directions and guidelines, laughing (I'm sure a little crying, too!), and just general *living*. It's great.

Christopher and I walked by on our way to the park in the afternoon just after 4pm and the number of kids and strollers and bikes and parents milling around made it look as though the final bell had rung moments before, not a full hour prior. C couldn't take his eyes off of all the big kids. I know he's taking notes and admiring them. They must seem huge and so very mature to him at this point.

So, we're all spruced up here at the blog as a welcome to a new year. I know, I know, it's the academic year, but in case it hasn't become totally clear - Mike and I will be "in school" until we're dead and gone, so September is the month that marks OUR new year. It's going to be a good one... our second in our new city, our second as parents, and our first full one in our new abode.

7 and 7

2010-08-24T07:34:00.000-07:00

Last Monday, Mike and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with a little bike ride up to the Wilmette town center for dinner. It was a cool summer evening and I was reminded of our evenings out in Copenhagen and how it felt to be out at night riding home from fun with friends or fun simply with each other.

We have a loose no-gifts rule for occasions such as anniversaries and holidays like Mother's/Father's Day, Easter, etc... but we usually give each other cards. And Mike does bring me flowers on these days more often than not. Those gorgeous roses are still going strong over a week later! Decadent.

Anyhoo. While writing a little note to him this year, I realized that this year marks not only our 7th wedding anniversary, but also the 14th year that we have known (and been enamored with, dare I say) each other.

Seven and seven.
xxxxxxx
ooooooo

one

2010-08-20T11:51:00.000-07:00

I keep waiting for the right words to come to me so that I can properly commemorate Christopher's first birthday here on ye olde blogge. However, the longer I wait for those wise words to careen over and smack me in the forehead... the more unlikely it seems this will happen.

So, our baby is ONE. There was cake, there were playgroup friends and their parents, there were more than a few presents sent from many different places, and then... he was one!

For those measuring by metrics, he's 31.5 inches tall now (90th percentile) and 22.4 pounds (50th percentile), which means he may very well end up with a physique like that of his tall, svelte dad. He has tired of pulling up and now frequently just STANDS UP from wherever he is on the floor, though he has only once tried to put a foot out in an effort to go anywhere. He claps, he points to his belly when asked where it is (with a sly smile as if to say, "did you think I'd lost it or something?"), converses in a near-constant babble, gives high-fives, and waves bye-bye to anything and everything... even the occasional inanimate object (eg. bye-bye trees!).

For those interested in the qualitative analysis, he's still smooshable and ticklish. And his giggle turns into a cackle if things get funny enough. His baby hair has grown into little curls at the nape of his neck which perfectly match the twinkle in his eye when he realizes that he's engaged you in a Game. His favorite games: peek-a-boo from behind the couch, hide-and-seek (very closely resembling peek-a-boo, also behind the couch), crawling after/dribbling wooden balls throughout the house, slalom tag in the sunroom playhuts and doing laps around the backyard with the Radio Flyer.

He loves peaches and Heart to Heart cereal (mmmm, Kashi), squash from the garden, mom's chocolate cake, toast with strawberry jam (still!), spinach spinach spinach, blueberry pancakes, cheese and mangoes. Much to my relief, he mastered the skill of the sippy cup just as our ridiculous record-breaking heatwave continued into August (45+ days of 85+ degrees with humidity) and now chugs water like mama and dad. He no longer needs the baby tub (he was too long for it!) and now gets into the big bath to splash around.

He plays incredibly well by himself and retreats to his room when he's getting close to naptime to flip through his books and listen to his tunes. He snuggles up for stories and nursing before going to sleep and greets us with a huge grin when he wakes up feeling refreshed and recharged. The book of the month is Hug by Jez Alborough. He's spoiled with 6:30am runs with dad to the swings and around the neighborhood at least 3-4 days a week, rides on the back of mom's bike at least twice a week to the swings or the store and plays with other little ones regularly.

He's inquisitive and cautious, loving and joyful. It's cliche, but we really can't imagine our lives without him. Yay for Christopher! We love you, Bug.

Happy WBW!

2010-08-04T08:07:00.000-07:00

It's World Breastfeeding Week, so we are observing in the best way we know how... enthusiastic participation! :)

Mwah!

2010-07-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

This week Christopher started giving "kisses." It is, without question, the cutest (and sloppiest) thing in the world.

While there's not a noticeable smooch - or even a puckering for that matter - they're definitely kisses and he's doling them out like it's going out of style (I'm not complaining).

If I lay down on the floor and call his name, he'll giggle as he crawls over to plant a few big ones on my forehead or my eyelid or my shoulder - whatever happens to fall within the reach of his gaping little mouth.

Of course, I laugh and match his kisses 10-to-1, so it's something of a game and I hope it continues for a while.

Dude, it's hot.

2010-07-27T11:54:00.000-07:00

Hot enough to make me invent dinners that require no stove or oven use. Why not BBQ? Because sometimes, the idea of standing over hot coals in the aforementioned heat sounds just as icky.

So... I wanted to share last night's main with you in case you're experiencing the same stickiness.

Couscous Salad with stuff from the garden (all measurements approximate, of course)
1C whole wheat couscous - Pour boiling water over couscous from electric kettle (no stove required!) until just covered, cover bowl with plate or plastic wrap and let sit while you...

Halve one pint of grape tomatoes
Cut up one English cucumber into 1/2" pieces (de-seed and peel if you want, or be lazy like me!)
Rinse one can of garbanzo beans

Fluff the couscous with a fork (which is likely done by now) and dump the tomatoes, cucumber and garbanzo beans on top. Fold everything together.

Crumble a good handful of feta on top.

Go outside and pinch off all of the basil tips that are threatening to flower, plus a few of those big old leaves from underneath. Hack off a few sprigs of mint. Wash it up, chop it up, and dump into salad... mix and finally...

Dress lightly with olive oil, red wine vinegar, Salt-N-Pepa. Dance and eat.

Serve with big chunks of cantaloupe or whatever fruit/veg is taking over your refrigerator this week.

For the love of jam.

2010-07-19T08:19:00.000-07:00

The baby loves a little bread with jam. Who doesn't? The Von Trapp kids sang about it ("Ti/Tea, a drink with jam and bread), Frances loved her bread and jam, and when it's homemade with berries from the farmer's market... well. Hard to argue.

However, this love combined with the exploration of gravity leaves me looking like Cinderella on a daily basis. Scrubbing spots of strawberry stickiness from the floor on my hands and knees.

And I thought a rug would be nice under the dining room table. Ha ha ha.

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my own personal Fairy Godmother.

This week...

2010-07-09T07:10:00.000-07:00

A wrap up of what's been going on around here, because I love lists.

listening ::
Mike - The Pursuit, Jamie Cullum
Megan - Declaration of Dependence, Kings of Convenience
Christopher - Here Comes Science, They Might Be Giants
*we are all enjoying the track Cells, in particular... see the video below :)

reading ::
Mike - At the Helm, Kathy Barker
Megan - The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin; MS Living Magazine (July 2010), Mothering Magazine (July - August 2010)
Christopher - Five Little Ladybugs, Melanie Gerth; Trucks, Byron Barton

tasting ::
Mike & Megan & Christopher - fruit smoothies with veggie odds and ends, hummus and pitas, blueberry pie with homemade peach ice cream, grilling cheese and fish with fresh dill, anything and everything that arrives in the Fresh Picks box!

doing ::
Mike - planning experiments, writing proposals, biking to work and jogging with C in the mornings
Megan - devising ways to make dinner without turning on the stove, sewing roman shades, subbing for church jobs
Christopher - dancing (bobbing), experimenting with standing and cruising, training for speed and distance, enjoying his new water table, looking forward to seeing Grandma & Grandpa!!!

Happy Weekend!

Pins and needles

2010-06-29T11:40:00.001-07:00

I was jogging on the treadmill at the gym today while Paraguay and Japan battled for victory in today's World Cup Match.

There were audible gasps and whoops with each passing minute of overtime play, followed by even louder cheers and jeers as each team took their turn in the final shoot out.

As the teams gathered themselves pre-shoot out, I found myself running faster with the excitement of the event. If only a goal-less World Cup match were on each time I went to the gym... I'd be in excellent shape by now! In any case, I thought, "I need to pick someone to root for!" (A spectator should always have a team, don't you think? It adds to the thrill.)

So I picked Paraguay.

Why? Because they are an unbelievably hot team. (Roque Santa Cruz, I'm looking at you.) In the heat of the moment, I needed to pick a team and seeing as how I lacked the proper background on each team and their players... I could go by one thing alone: Hotness Factor.

And Paraguay won! So exciting. The way they shot their penalty kicks was so cool and assured, graceful and spot-on. Almost every shooter seemed to visibly wait for the goalkeeper to make his move before they chose where to direct the ball. And this after 120 minutes of grueling, dedicated play. Very impressive.

Apparently, victory by Hotness Factor is a very viable outcome. Let's call it a theory for now, though. Yes, who is to say which team is hotter than another... but let us revisit this strategic theory on July 11th when the final match is played!

Industry

2010-06-25T06:53:00.000-07:00

1 : diligence in an employment or pursuit; especially : steady or habitual effort

2 a : systematic labor especially for some useful purpose or the creation of something of value b : a department or branch of a craft, art, business, or manufacture; especially : one that employs a large personnel and capital especially in manufacturing c : a distinct group of productive or profit-making enterprises banking industry> d : manufacturing activity as a whole
3 : work devoted to the study of a particular subject or author

I've done several industrious things this week which has me thinking: I need to strive to be more industrious on a regular basis. JS Bach said, "Whoever is equally industrious will succeed... equally well." My new found appreciation for industry isn't about success or achievement of the public recognition variety so much as it is about saving a buck and using what I've got.
(JS Bach also said, "Bring me a bowl of coffee before I turn into a goat." If you catch me at 6:15am on any given morning, I will wholeheartedly agree with that second quote... that Johann was a smart cookie.)

The "systematic labor" going on around here includes staining an old table, containment-sewing (dirty diapers, plastic bags, beach gear), weeding of the garden, putting up/putting by/preserving strawberries in the form of freezer jam (yum!), using the sun's awesome bleaching and de-fragrancing powers, and in times of inactive-industry: reading a book that suddenly appeals and inspires.

Make Do and Mend. The UK Board of Trade started this campaign in the 1940s to encourage people to use what they had in the name of conservation and frugality. I love this. And I love the posters I've found out there... wonder if I could find one somewhere to hang in my house?!

And how can you not love this? It's a bit of guidance for the homemaker who sews from Singer (the maker of sewing machines) ca. 1949. I don't know about you, but I *never* sit down to sew anything before making the beds and cleaning the dishes and putting on a little lipstick.

My first sewing machine was the very one this lady is holding. In fact, I still use it. Love that Singer Featherweight (though featherweight it certainly is not.)!

A list.

2010-06-10T12:45:00.000-07:00

Not as in "The A List" but merely... a list. Because when I'm out with the kiddo thinking of all the fabulous things I want to blog about, I come home and those thoughts have left me and so... here, cobbled together for your enjoyment (in no particular order), I give you...

A list.

1) Graham crackers are GOOD! We were out errand-ing today and needed a quick munchie. When was the last time I had one of these suckers? And can we be honest and call them what they are? Graham COOKIES.
Wonder if I can successfully make any of those graham cracker recipes I see out there online.

2) We are now cloth diapering. It's good for many reasons: I have the time, I have the washer (yeehaw!), it's good for the earth and it's good for my wallet since I'm no longer using quarters for laundry. Yip yip! I tried a few different kinds of pocket diapers, and my favorite brand is FuzziBunz. Mike had a hard time remembering the name for the first week so we heard many variations including FunnyBunnies, FunnyBunz, FuzzyBunnies, etc etc.

3) I miss being walking distance to downtown Evanston. But I love our backyard and our neighborhood. *sigh* Darn car. Maybe we'll hook up the child bike seat this weekend...

4) Christopher crawls like a little bulldozing grizzly bear. A kissable, bulldozing grizzly with sticky banana fingers and cheeks glazed with shreds of pureed spinach and bread crumbs. A 9.5 month old in June is a wonderful thing.

5) We have a baby gate. We'll need to get another one soon. Does this make us old?

6) Fair season and farmer's market season has returned. Excellent!

7) Mike has been jogging with C in BOB a couple of mornings each week. They come back sweaty and happy (there's usually a park-swing break in there, from what I understand), and while they've been out playing with BOB, I've been savoring Joe.

8) Monthly date nights have been initiated in a swap with friends who have a little boy 6 weeks older than Christopher. It's a great set up. Our first evening out was for my birthday last week.. we saw Sex and the City 2. (Hey, it was my birthday, not Mike's.) Mike got major husband points for viewing 2-1/2 hours of Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte in lots of faaaab clothes.

9) Our garden is springing up! The only question is: will it produce anything before the season is over?

10) Hartigan's. It's an 8 minute walk from our front door. Yum.

Mike to WiFi-connected laptop:

2010-05-25T11:02:00.000-07:00

"You complete me."

Me: "I thought you were supposed to say those things to me."

Mike: "I thought so, too. But really, it's the internet that completes me."

Hmm. We had our internet connection in place last night after Three Whole Days without it. How ever did we make it?!

So, we're going on Day 4 in the new house and so far only a few hiccups (fridge door handle snapped off... but, hey! insta-childproofing!) and now we're just ironing out the never-ending details. Like - get some darn curtains up in the bedrooms to save us from the lovely sunlight at 5:30am. And, get that fencepost fixed. And, figure out a better way to ventilate the upstairs, even out the temperature of the main level, and utilize the frigidity of the basement - we must have a span of 50 degrees between our three floors!

In between the have-to's, we're also enjoying the fun parts of having a house. Last night we were out watering the front and back yards after a very warm day. And we discovered that - hey! - we've got a lot of yard. Lots of potential there.

I've done laundry whenever I darn well please and today our sheets are swaying in the breeze on a makeshift line of yellow rope between the back deck and one of our trees. Sayonara to the trek down 3 flights of stairs into the basement only to discover that... a) I forgot quarters, or b) someone else had gotten to the machines first.

Yesterday, Christopher took a nap outside in his stroller (felt very Danish) while I sat under a tree and flipped through a few books I'd just picked up at the local branch library... very Pleasantville. :)

This weekend we'll get out there and get dirty in the yard. In fact, I've already gardened. All of you who know me well can stop laughing - I really did! I tied back the green foliage of the daffodil and tulip bulbs in our sideyard. Although, now that I'm reading up online, perhaps I shouldn't have done that... hmmm. So much to learn!

Trying to be mindful.

2010-05-20T04:56:00.000-07:00

We lucked out two-fold on our transatlantic flight home from Rome.

1) The plane was about 2/3rds full. This meant we swapped around seats with a lovely woman traveling solo and managed to get our own middle row of 3 seats across. This made nursing, sleeping and playing much, much easier.

2) Someone had left behind a Time magazine in our seat pocket! We haven't subscribed to Newsweek in ages, but were happy to have the chance to read while taking turns with the baby or while he slept. Grown up reading! (Not that we don't love "Five Little Ladybugs", but... well, you know.)

Cancer, Cancer Everywhere

I clipped the above article which affirmed my organic choices. Sometimes I start to feel like the organic thing is just an expensive choice, not a necessary one for us. Reading things like this helps boost my resolve!

And the article inspired me to get rid of as much plastic as possible when we land in our new place. I'd like to get a set of glass containers so that I can reheat in the microwave and store leftovers without thinking about the plastic issue... even if they're BPA-free...

I'm thinking of these glass bowls with lids from Crate & Barrel.

Or maybe I should just scoot down to Goodwill and see what they have there?

Nine in, nine out.

2010-05-19T12:32:00.000-07:00

Our baby has now been "out" as long as he was "in" - which is hard to believe considering how big and curious and wonderful he is at a mere 9 months.

He was a trooper as we traveled to Italy for 2 weeks earlier this month. He made friends at every turn and weathered multiple forms of transportation without becoming a holy terror. (He was more resilient than we were on several occasions.) He's now got a stamp in his passport and has ridden in trains, planes, automobiles and funiculars.

Aside from taking in the majesty of Florence's Duomo and the historic sites in Rome (he was there, though I doubt he really "took it in")... he discovered the joys of solid food eating in Italy (doesn't everyone?!)! Gelato, Tuscan bread with olive oil, homemade pasta, pecorino cheese, bufala mozzarella - it all went down the hatch and was quickly followed by a gaping mouth asking for More Please! And his hand-to-mouth accuracy has greatly improved as a result. He's now trying to figure out the capacity of his mouth... how many handfuls can get shoved in there at once?

Exciting times around here.

Oh, and we're moving into our first house this weekend. But that's not nearly as exciting as cinnamon-spiced applesauce and finger foods!

April visitors

2010-04-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

We've had a wonderful month of visitors from all corners of the continent... and globe! We shared meals and playtime (and adult conversation during naptimes) with both friends and family over the course of the last four weeks.

Karen came up from Gainesville, FL to take a break from her grueling PhD program and our highlight of the weekend was a trip to the Field Museum where we saw the brand new Mammoths & Mastadons exhibit. The Pecan Sticky Buns on Easter morning were also noteworthy, if I do say so myself...

Then Mike's parents joined us for a weekend and we went down to the Magnificent Mile for a so-clear-you-could-see-forever view from the Hancock Observatory and a short tour of some shops along the strip.

Earlier this week we welcomed Keith, Kate and Elijah and introduced them to Evanston. The highlight for me was watching the babies interact and have a full blown squawk-fest over lunch with each other. I really think they hit it off. :)

And, we just bid our dear friend Vince (C's godfather) goodbye after a weekend that included a trip to Wrigley Field and Wicker Park for a little architecture exploration on foot and a lot of Evanston-based catching up, beer sipping and baby-adoring.

We loved seeing you, friends! And we miss you already.

Two things

2010-04-08T12:09:00.001-07:00

1) I made yogurt! No really, I made it last night from a quart of lowfat milk and a scoop of Stoneyfield Farms Plain that we had in the fridge. We go through yogurt like crazy, so I thought I'd try it... and it worked! For once, I'm the one playing with bacteria instead of Mike.

First, I scolded the milk (bad Milk!). Ha! No, actually, I scalded it and then I cooled it off and then added the other yogurt and then left it all wrapped up in towels on the back of the stove for a long time so that it could think about WHY I'd scolded it in the first place... and lo, there was yogurt. And it is good!

2) There are spring things out there! Spring means crocuses and there are scads of them blooming right now. Gorgeous.

2a) It is 38 degrees out there right now... but I have toasted homemade bread with honey on it. So everything is OK.

EWG's Shopping Guide

2010-04-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

I'm posting a link to The Environmental Working Group's "The Shopper's Guide to Pesticides" because I'm finding it to be very helpful.

CLICK HERE to download the iPhone app or a printable PDF for your wallet.

I'm trying to plan meals at the beginning of each week in an effort to waste less, to present a more well-rounded diet to the fam, and to make sure I get to cook a little bit of everything as the days fly by (it's cathartic for me... like knitting).

We love good food in this household. From homemade ice cream to roasted Brussels sprouts, from spiced-up black beans with cornbread to a good Thai green curry with tofu (yes, we all like tofu) we'll pretty much devour it all... and I wish we could afford to put an entirely organic spread on the table every night, but Whole Foods (aka Whole Paycheck) is just beyond our means.

However, I'm making a few choices that I hope will impact our family's health and well-being.

1) I buy fruit and veggies weekly through a business called Fresh Picks. It works like a CSA, but I have the option of not buying into an entire season and can order week-to-week. And they deliver it to my front door. (For you lucky folks in CA, visit Local Harvest and hook up with a CSA that can serve you local, organic produce year-round.)

2) The baby eats entirely organic foods. This is pretty easy for now since I make 99% of his solid foods (and 100% of his beverages). I cook down/puree/freeze some of the fruit and veg that come from Fresh Picks and whatever is priced well at Whole Foods. I'd like to continue this through his first year. It feels good to spoon homemade applesauce into his little rosebud mouth and see him enjoy it so much that he bounces in anticipation of the next bite.

3) I'm using the cheat sheet mentioned above so that Mike and I can eat as organically as possible. And, we don't eat much meat which encourages us to look for plant-based sources of iron and protein. This doesn't necessarily mean faux-meat.

4) Farmer's Market! Our local market opens on May 8th. We can't wait. Evanston's Sunday market is great: groups of musicians amongst throngs of eager shoppers, a nice variety of vendors and fair prices on locally grown items.

5) Mix up the options and plan so that I'm not wasting food. While an organic roasting chicken isn't a cheap item, consider the following: one night's roasted chicken becomes the following day's sandwich becomes chicken stock becomes soup or risotto base or a richer liquid for cooking plain old rice! Maybe this point should be: cook like your grandmother. :)

6) Don't get too crazy. We love Lou's pizza around the corner, a Five Guys burger makes me salivate and there's an old style pancake house up the way called Walker's and their German apple pancakes are To Die For. And I don't think they're baking with organic apples.

So! This was supposed to be a short post. I just wanted to share the link to that cheat sheet, but I got carried away talking about one of my favorite subjects. FOOD! Mmm... dig in!

Three more...

2010-03-29T20:30:00.000-07:00

Teeth, that is. In one week our little guy cut his two big front teeth plus one more up top. He's been pretty impressive through all of it with an unwavering sunny disposition (minus one night that took 2 hours to go to sleep, but that seems like ages ago now...).

Every so often I catch him nibbling on his bottom lip with the new pearly whites. And the maple teething ring is getting a workout again. Sophie the Giraffe seems to be left out on this go around. Maybe she'll see more action when the next flurry of teeth arrive?

The students came back from Spring Break yesterday and the sound level outside went up due to more car traffic, skateboards, giggling friends and exuberant one-sided cellphone conversations.

And it feels like spring. The last quarter before summer, the grass is getting greener, crocuses and daffodils are *almost* opening up and the birds are out singing every morning. The sunlight lingers later with each evening and every afternoon seems like a good opportunity for the park. I love spring and fall. I love transitions!

Photo permissions

2010-03-24T11:43:00.001-07:00

In my last post I mentioned that I'd be messing around with permissions for photos and blog entries so that our lives aren't quite so open to the whole world (ie. internet).

I realize that this may be a whole lot of navel-gazing... there really aren't scores and scores of strangers out there waiting impatiently for new blog posts or photos (just the Grandmas, I'm afraid). Just the same, this is my little attempt at privacy while utilizing the easiest way to share news with friends and family.

I've decided that my main concern is the visual portion of all this cyber-sharing. I'll keep posting here on Blogger so that any readers who stop through on an irregular basis can get a verbal account of what's going down around here. My Flickr account will become available only to those who are my Friend/Family contacts. If you'd like to keep seeing our photos over there, just join up, add me as a contact, and I'll confirm so that you can take a peek in on our lives every so often.

Copacetic? Sweet.

Spring Tease

2010-03-20T06:59:00.001-07:00

We headed out to California for 10 days earlier this month and enjoyed temps in the 50s... then we returned to Chicago only to be greeted by delightful spring weather! So, the fact that it's snowing today is kind of a bummer.

While we trudge around in a very light coating of the white stuff, I'll remind myself that I did see crocuses peeking out and that I did leave the down coat behind for almost 2 full weeks. And, that spring will come... eventually. (Actually, it's not bad at all, but for most of our California readers, it seems to be a large topic of conversation, so I may as well play it up - can you hear the violin strings whining in the background?!)

Our August-born babe got his first taste of The Park! and The Swings! while in California and this trend continued this week as we met friends at the park for more Swinging! and Kid Watching! This is all capped and exclamation-pointed because that's what Christopher looks like when he's out there enjoying the motion and the commotion.

Password may be required soon! I'm debating putting all Flickr sets (past and future) on a password-required basis. Same goes for this here blog. I'll let you know when I get things set up by posting with instructions for gaining access to our web content.

February Grandparent Weekend

2010-03-15T07:11:00.001-07:00

IMG_2064_1
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Catching up with some photos here. These are from one month ago when Mike's parents came to visit Christopher (let's be honest about who they were coming to see, shall we?!). :)
I love this photo - a particularly animated Goodnight Moon!

babyGap should be paying me.

2010-02-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Until verrrry recently, the thought of taking the baby to a Kinderphoto or PicturePeople or another of those get-em-in, get-em-out kiddie photo places made my skin crawl. They do a hard sell* of pictures, they ooh and ahh (unconvincingly) about how adorable your kid is in high-pitched voices while trying to get you to frame poster-sized prints for hanging above your fireplace, your parents' fireplaces, and even... the babysitter's fireplace.

My thing is: we have a great camera. It's just as good as the cameras these places use. But, their lighting set up is much better than anything I can do at home. So, I thought I'd give it a try and here's an example of what we got as a result:

Not bad, right? I wish I'd taken a moment to consider the wash-out of a white backdrop behind a baby in a white onesie, but overall, not bad. In fact, I'm thinking of trying to sell this to babyGap. Think they'd go for it? Can't you see it on the inside cover of the next issue of Martha Stewart Living? Surely every parent thinks their kid is the cutest thing on earth, but I think I now have hard evidence of this fact. :)

*I walked out of there about $40 poorer. I thought that was pretty good considering the first "package" they attempted to sell me was upwards of $500. I think I may have snickered when she showed me that... and then politely tried to advise the salesgirl to not waste her time on me. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

Mike rocks the Dean’s Centennial Seminar Series

2010-02-23T14:28:00.000-08:00

Mike and colleague Josh Leonard will be presenting a high-profile lecture next week at Northwestern. If you're unable to make it (!), watch this video to get a layman's glimpse of what Mike is doing at NU.

Food, glorious food!

2010-02-18T11:15:00.001-08:00

IMG_1981
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Christopher's 6 month birthday was yesterday! The past month has been the most eventful of his little life, thus far.

As you can see from the latest photo set, he's now dabbling in the art of eating solid foods, he rolled over, he just recently perfected the art of sitting up, he's using a pincer grip with his thumb and pointer finger (right hand preferred, thank you!), he had RSV (ick!), babbles with lots of intention, grew a little more hair to cover that sweet head of his, and giggles - nay - cackles when tickled!

Happy 1/2 year Birthday, sweet baby.

Snippets

2010-02-10T07:55:00.001-08:00

IMG_1877
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

A peek at life around here in the last few weeks...

A new crib, cooking, playing, and staying warm in the dead of winter.

Though these images show a pretty happy kid, he's got one heck of a cold at the moment. We're doing our best to cheer on his immune system, as well as keep ourselves in operating condition.

A visit from Auntie Molly

2010-01-28T09:00:00.000-08:00

IMG_1742
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Ingredients for the Ultimate Auntie

- She arrives with a suitcase full of off-white clothing (what better to wear when donning spit up?)
- She gets down on the floor and does tummy time with the best of them
- And she's not afraid of a poopy diaper

Thanks for coming out to hang with us Auntie Molly!
We love you!

Oh yes, he did.

2010-01-24T07:57:00.001-08:00

Here he is, just minutes after rolling over this morning for the first time - unassisted and unprompted. It's a blurry photo because I took it on my phone. But do you see the look of glee on that child's face??? Do you see the glimmer of roughishness? (Did I just make up a word?)

So now it's a race... can we outguess what he'll try to grab/touch/pull/poke/kick/lick before he gets there? Perhaps we should just go the safe route: pad the walls and invest in a straight jacket.

And our favorite song these days:

Catching up... Christmas photos

2010-01-20T15:09:00.001-08:00

IMG_1494
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Just upgraded to a "pro" account over at Flickr (yeah, they got me)... so now I have more photos to share.

The latest set is from Christmas. I'm only one month after-the-fact. Not bad! We had a great visit with Grandpa Mike and Grandma Mary. It snowed on cue so that we had a White Christmas and we even got a few blue-sky days in between the snow-globe days.

Click on the photo to see the rest of the set.

More to come soon!

2009 in Photos

2010-01-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

Combine the fun we've had with our new camera and the genius that is iPhoto + iMovie and we present you with a movie showing some of our family's highlights from 2009 (or something that should be titled "I-love-my-MacBook").

The soundtrack is my latest listening binge. We all hear Coldplay's Viva la Vida at least 15 times a day in these parts... and I bought it off iTunes just yesterday. Yes, I've been living under a rock for the last two years.

As you can see, there are only a couple of photos from our pre-baby trips last spring to Europe and around the US. There will be more ancient ruins explored, more gelato tasted and further escapades in the City of Light in years to come. It just seemed like the most wonderful thing about 2009 was Christopher's birth. Enjoy!

In the spirit of holiday bowl games...

2010-01-01T17:50:00.001-08:00

I give you the two cutest Bruins on the planet (in my humble opinion)...

*Thanks to the Panos family for Christopher's UCLA duds!

Moving into Silverman

2009-12-22T09:40:00.001-08:00

IMG_1481
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Mike moved into his office in Silverman Hall yesterday afternoon so Christopher and I went over to check out his new home at Northwestern.

The building is really beautiful with many geeky, sleek touches (ie. tiling in the hallways set to look like mitochondria and chromosomes).

The Jewett Lab is empty and almost ready for its first team of questioning minds to move in and start messing around with fermentors, centrifuges and pipettes. Fun times!

Grandma Mary and Grandpa Mike will arrive later today in the midst of our second significant snowfall. (Not *too* significant - accumulation should only be 1-2 inches.) We're looking forward to their company for our first Christmas in Evanston!

More pics

2009-12-15T07:53:00.001-08:00

IMG_1382
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Hi all!

I've just posted a new set of pictures that are between 2-4 weeks old. Since these were taken, Christopher has had one bottom tooth cut through and we can see the second one ready to pop out any day now...

We're staying warm and looking forward to celebrating Christmas with our little one. There's still a bit more holiday crafting to do, a smidgen of baking and lots of hyggelifying*.

Christopher has his 4 month appointment coming up next Monday (we're currently taking bets for his height/weight) and Mike will move into his new office that afternoon. It's a big day! Look for more photos from us in about a week...

*My own bastardized form of hygge, a Danish word that is something akin to "cozy" or "cosy". :)

Saturday morning in Evanston

2009-12-05T10:02:00.001-08:00

IMG_1447
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

By 7:30am this morning there was a new load of groceries in the fridge, laundry was in the dryer, we had all cleaned up and were enjoying Cup #1 of our morning vice (coffee, black tea, breastmilk...)...

A content baby + good wintery lighting in the front room = playtime with the camera.

I think we'll head out and get a Christmas tree today. It's feeling very holiday-ish with temps in the 20s and a cool gray cast to the world outside. (Feels like Denmark, actually.)

Other signs that December is here:
- Christopher's bathtime songs have migrated towards Christmas carols (that's all Mike's doing as he's the Bath Man)
- the Starbucks holiday cup is everywhere
- every morning I start humming the jingle as I peek out the window looking for my very own Lexus with a big red bow... so far, no dice.

As always, click on the image to see more pics from this morning's fun with the camera.

Thankful...

2009-11-26T07:02:00.000-08:00

for the people we love.
Wishing you all a day of positivity, gratitude and joy.
(And a juicy turkey with all the fixings!)

Photos taken October 17th on the edge of Northwestern University's campus by professional wildlife photographer Jerry Goldner.

California vacation!

2009-11-13T11:18:00.001-08:00

IMG_1063
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We're back from a stay in Northern California where we introduced the baby to extended family and friends and enjoyed celebrations of Halloween, his baptism and Grandma Jewett's birthday!

Christopher proved to be an excellent traveler, befriending his neighbors on the plane and sleeping like a champ during both flights. He's become so much more interactive, talking to anyone/anything who will listen (including inanimate objects) and watching the world around him with a more mature interest.

He's grabbing for objects on occasion and seems quite surprised when they end up in his tight little fists. And everything is tasted and subjected to lots of slobber.

Click on the photo to the right to see more pics from our trip. (In this photo: godparents Liz, Vince and Molly inside Stanford Memorial Church post-baptism.)

Man Cold

2009-10-29T16:30:00.000-07:00

This is just funny. There's nothing else to say about it except... watch and giggle.

Fall and Flickr

2009-10-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

IMG_0961
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We've been taking lots of walks each day to soak up the walkable weather and drink in the colors of fall. Evanston is so pretty with lots of oranges and golds gracing the leaves of its trees right now.

Click on the photo to the right and you will be taken to Flickr, a site where we have posted several new photo sets. Admittedly, most photos focus on Christopher as he's our major project for now (and the next 17 years). Enjoy and have a wonderful Halloween weekend!

Cheeky baby.

2009-10-21T08:08:00.001-07:00

IMG_0924_1
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Yesterday Christopher visited his doctor to commemorate two months of life! The doc commented that he hadn't been missing any meals as he's jumped from the 50th percentile in height and weight to the 75th. As you can see, he carries most of his weight in his cheeks!

The weather has turned cooler in the last week or two making for some gorgeous leaves. I hope to get out and snap a few photos of the colors before we get too much rain and they're all knocked off the trees.

We've been enjoying lots of Nickel Creek and Alison Kraus around the house. It's the perfect soundtrack to making pumpkin waffles, beef stew and roasted squash. Mmm.

Settling into Evanston

2009-10-11T13:02:00.001-07:00

IMG_0828
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Finding our new favorite cafe (Fraiche on Noyes Street!), ironing out the best way to get to the grocery store, filling in the gaps in the apartment, getting Illinois title and registration for the car (ugh)...

All very necessary, yet not jaw-droppingly exciting activities that go along with a move to a new place. We're loving our new town and are still learning what our routine is in our new surroundings. (Or maybe we should throw the word "routine" out the window since we now have a TWO month old!?!?)

Christopher is growing by leaps and bounds, by rolls and dimples, and by coos and giggles. We're so lucky he's here with us.

In this photo: Mike and Christopher along Lake Michigan on Evanston's Clark Street Beachfront Park.

Meet the (Grand)parents - Part Deux

2009-09-27T15:08:00.001-07:00

IMG_0619_1
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Mike's parents came out to Evanston after Labor Day to help us move into our new apartment. They helped us unpack, do a bunch of handyman-type things around the place and, of course, hold Christopher.

We were very appreciative of the help they were able to give us and enjoyed their company as they got to know their first grandson.

Now the three of us are back to life on our own... and we're doing just fine! Mike and I are figuring out the art of parental tag-teaming. It's challenging and wonderful!

Cambridge to Evanston

2009-09-22T15:53:00.001-07:00

IMG_0732
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Just over a week ago we took Christopher on his first road trip moving from Cambridge to Evanston. We took 3 days to drive across Massachusetts, upstate NY, visit Niagara Falls, cut through Canada (he's an international traveller now!), down through Michigan, a teeny portion of Indiana, and into Illinois. Whew!

This photo set includes pics from the Maid of the Mist tourboat at Niagara Falls and our kicking baby happily trying out a variety of hotel beds in Albany, NY, Niagara Falls, and Lansing, Michigan.

The Jewetts met us in Evanston under the guise of helping us move into our new apartment, but we know full well that they just wanted to hang with Christopher. Can't say we blame them!

Meet the (grand)parents - Part One

2009-09-13T11:08:00.001-07:00

IMG_0477
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Christopher met his Grandpa Mike and Grandma Mary during our last two weeks in Cambridge.

Mike and I were so grateful for their help with laundry, dinners (we didn't cook ONCE for two weeks!), baby-rocking and company. They got to snuggle Christopher and we had the joy of watching them fawn over their first grandchild!

First Sponge Bath

2009-08-29T10:42:00.001-07:00

Sponge Bath 0008
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

Maybe we have a water baby on our hands? Christopher thoroughly enjoyed a sponge bath earlier this week and patiently let us keep the stench of sour milk at bay.

He changes so much each day. At just 12 days old, he's a completely different little being than he was just yesterday.

Click on the photo to see the complete set.

IMG_0300

2009-08-23T04:29:00.001-07:00

IMG_0300
Originally uploaded by megbeltran

We intend to share photos through Flickr and thought we'd try to link through the blog. Clicking on the photo below should take you to a set of photos on flickr.com.

More to come once we figure this out (among other things...)!

Introducing Christopher Burke

2009-08-20T16:59:00.001-07:00

Christopher was born on August 17th at 6:47pm.
He weighed 8lbs, 2.5ounces and was 21" long.

Summer doings

2009-07-31T06:21:00.000-07:00

Despite the unseasonably WET summer Boston has been experiencing, we've managed to catch a few good streaks on a few key dates.

The Berkshires in Western Massachusetts

Two weekends ago we went out to Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra located in the Berkshires. We saw two concerts, the first of which was an evening devoted to the movie music of John Williams (conducted by Williams, himself!) and narrated by Frank Langella. We heard suites from Indiana Jones, Harry Potter, Far and Away, ET... and many of the suites were accompanied by video montages which were projected onto screens as we sat under the stars and enjoyed a picnic dinner. The second concert was lead by the BSO's resident conductor, James Levine (Jimmy Levine!!!) and the program was Mozart's final three symphonies which highlighted the BSO's true strengths. It was a fabulous weekend.

Earlier this week we saw a Red Sox game at the historic Fenway Park. That was such fun. It's such a teeny ballpark! And the Sox fans made the evening - they're a dedicated bunch.

Go Sox!

In other summer doings - we've been getting our ducks in a row for the big changes which could happen at any time now... a new baby followed by a new home and new jobs/roles for all of us!

37.5 weeks along...

A zippy little tune.

2009-07-09T05:34:00.000-07:00

Before going any further, turn up your computer speakers and listen to this:
"We Are Bioengineers" (click to open and listen)

We found that ditty last night through a link on the blog Beard Revue. Mike's advisor, George Church, made the "revue" last year.
Beard Revue

Within the review of Dr. Church's facial hair, the writer of the blog cited a podcast created by WNYC Radiolab entitled (So-Called) Life. It's a long - one hour - but very, very interesting and an excellent primer for understanding how the fields of pioneering biological research and engineering are partnering in the relatively new field of Bioengineering.
(So-Called Life)

That crazy little beast: the ribosome.

ALSO! Mike's work is cited in Newsweek (July 13th edition). Search the word ribosome and you'll jump to the portion of the writing that addresses Mike's work within the Church Lab.
Newsweek, July 13th

Fun stuff!

Fireworks over the Charles

2009-07-05T04:37:00.000-07:00

Image from: thebostonguide.planeteye.com

Last night we went down to the banks of the Charles River along with a few of our closest friends (like 750,000 of them) to watch the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular.

It was, indeed, spectacular. I don't think I've ever seen fireworks like that before. We were practically sitting beneath them and could feel each boom shake our innards and the ground we were sitting on. It was thrilling!

This is one of Boston's big events. Mike went to watch the show last year with friends while I was singing in Virginia and I'm so glad that I was able to see it this year before we move. The city of Evanston presents a fireworks show over the lake on the 4th, but somehow I don't think it will compare with what Boston can do!

In tribute

2009-06-26T05:02:00.000-07:00

Most people are not aware of the Jackson 5's reunion in December of 1994. In the suburban town of Burlingame, California, they took their place on the annual talent (?) show stage and thrilled the masses shaking their Afros and their booties, singing "I Want You Back".

The group's band had apparently changed from their Motown days as we can spot Chris Florio and Jason Roberts at the bottom of the image...

(l-r Julia, Heidi, Megan, Catherine, Amber)

We made those Afros, people. I distinctly remember Catherine crowning herself Tito, but I can't remember the others...

Gone so long

2009-06-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Since we last saw each other dear blog readers, Mike and I have been to California, France, Italy, California - Part Deux - Evanston, IL... and are now hunkered down* for the summer in Cambridge.

Here we are in front of Chambord, a gorgeous chateau in the Loire Valley in late May. I'm sporting a croissant-fed (as opposed to corn-fed?!) baby bump.

Recently created: Chocolate Chip Cookies with odds and ends from the cupboard. This means I used whole wheat pastry flour, toasted oatmeal flakes, wheat bran, wheat germ, a little flaxseed and the rest of the usual suspects. They're crunchy but chewy and freaking delicious. I now deign this the summer of adventurous cooking. (Translation: We're moving in September, so I might as well use up the random bits that are lining the pantry shelves.)

Must see: Julie & Julia. (<-- Click that link for the movie site and watch the trailer!) I read this book (based on the author's blog) in the spring and loved it. I'm so excited that it's going to be a movie now! And with Meryl Streep playing Julia Child - does it get any better than that?! Opening August 7th. I'm there.

*"Hunkered down" is actually accurate since it feels like early spring with more than a week of continuous gray skies and rain and temps in the low 60s... or it feels like Copenhagen in June...

Library of Congress - Photochrom Print

2009-04-22T06:11:00.000-07:00

I found a collection of "Photochrom Travel Views" that are being posted on the Library of Congress' website. You can see a set of the prints on Flickr. The images show Europe and the Middle East as they appeared around 1890-1900 starting with images from Scandinavia.

The images can be downloaded as high-res TIFF files (25 MB in size!). I'm thinking that a cluster of 3 or 4 framed prints would look really nice on the wall.

I love this one because the Stork Fountain appears in the lower left corner! This location was a mere 30 seconds from our first apartment (those who visited us might remember this square by Cafe Norden).

Also of note - this time period (1890-1900) is when that first apartment was constructed. Gives a bit of perspective on that tiny, winding staircase and the heavy cast-iron stove!

Flashback

2009-03-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

We never posted about our quickie trip to NYC in February.

Our long-weekend excursion offered the opportunity to re-connect with beloved friends Darin and Nanna from Copenhagen (and meet their baby, Sebastian!). We enjoyed brunch, walks in Central Park, and met their hosts and good friends who welcomed us into their lovely home on the Upper West Side.

Mike and I also took the opportunity to see a couple parts of the city that we'd missed over previous visits: the MoMA (amazing!), Ground Zero (mixed emotions for that one), and we really dug into the area around Union Square.

March has brought less travel outside of Boston (with the exception of maple sugaring!) and busier work weeks which have generously extended themselves into the weekends.

That said, we have enjoyed Boston's Restaurant Week and have taken advantage of the gourmet prix fixe menus littering the city's finest establishments. We've played the role of gastronomic tourist right here in our own city! Both Harvest and Rialto were delicious experiences last week. (Last month we also treated ourselves to a wonderful dinner at the chic Craigie on Main - formerly Craigie Street Bistro - it was definitely memorable.) We hope Chicago has Restaurant Week...!

I'm singing in BLO's Rusalka right now and Mike is prepping for a busy first two weeks in April which will include visits to Virginia and Tennessee. Oh yeah - we'll swing through California later in the month, too.

Wouldn't want to stay still for too long...

March = Maples and Mud

2009-03-15T13:20:00.001-07:00

I recently read that March means mud and the beginning of sugaring season: when maple sap starts to flow freely. With that description, a big stack of pancakes can't be far behind...

Catching sap from maple trees

Today was a gorgeous early spring day in the low 50s so we hit the road with friends Liz and Tom and drove out to Western Massachusetts on Hwy 2 (a particularly beautiful drive in the fall!) to Shelburne.

We landed at Davenport Maple Farm around 11am and, as we'd anticipated, saw groups of hungry patrons standing in the sun waiting for their names to be called for breakfast. So, we put our names in at the family-owned and community-run restaurant and then headed around to the sugar shack where maple sap was busy boiling away. We learned a bit about the process and perused some of the junk - errr, kitsch for sale.

Before long our name was called and inside we went for Finnish pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and good old plain pancakes with delicious Grade A maple syrup! Yum.

Pancaked, syruped and happy.

Our day trip was super touristy and yet very New England - something that we've wanted to do since moving to Cambridge. Now we can check it off the list! Since we won't be running the Boston Marathon in April, I think the next task is to attend a RedSox game...

It's melting!

2009-03-06T15:15:00.000-08:00

Fingers are crossed that this past Monday's snowfall was the last of the season. With temperatures expected in the 60s tomorrow... how can Mother Nature possibly be so cruel as to smack us with more snow at this point? It's MARCH, for crying out loud!

The best part is that the snow pack is melting. Wider walking paths on the sidewalks, less build up of brown/black snow...

Just like the Wicked Witch... it's melting!

In the mornings there are a few brave birdies singing in the trees, and this today I didn't even wear a hat to work! Take that Winter! Spring is just around the corner. (It HAS to be!)

There's even evidence of spring in our home: a small vase of daffodils is sitting on our kitchen table -- sweetly brought over this afternoon by a girlfriend who dropped by for a cup of tea and some yarn-fun.

2009-02-20T15:01:00.000-08:00

Tee hee! Love the Wittmer metronome!!
If only I could let go of the fact that they skip several beats over the metronome...

Here's another one that reminds me of watching the Muppet Show with Dad as a little girl.
The Swedish Chef makes Chocolate Mousse!

"Putting science back in its rightful place"

2009-02-12T17:13:00.000-08:00

How can we answer president Obama's call to put science back in its rightful place? Here is a short post by Steve Quake, a professor at Stanford, that landed in the New York Times. A great article about the challenge of academia.

http://judson.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/10/guest-column-letting-scientists-off-the-leash/

The comments are also worth a read.

February fake-out

2009-02-08T11:49:00.000-08:00

It's over 45 degrees today and it's wonderful. We went for a long morning walk down by the Charles, stopping for a refresher at Peet's in Harvard Square before making our way home. We spent most of the walk exclaiming about the melting snow and how we didn't really need our wool coats! Wow! This is what gets us excited these days. And this IS a fake-out because it'll be back in the 20s tomorrow.

Other than that, we've been enjoying our friends and plugging along with work. When it's wintertime, the company of others seems to ease the doldrums of the season. We spent last weekend in NYC with friends from Copenhagen and toured the MOMA, the MetMuseum, and lower Manhattan. A weekend that left us feeling refreshed and refilled.

We've also had a few dinner parties - winter stews, raclette and fondues! Yum.

I've added a new link to the blog list over on the right. Copenhagen Cycle Chic. I visit it when I'm missing Denmark. Which happens more frequently than people know...

Nary a flake has fallen.

2009-01-27T15:01:00.001-08:00

And yet, most of the region's school districts have already announced that tomorrow will be a Snow Day.
We're supposed to get 6-9 inches of heavy snow tomorrow beginning in the wee, small hours of the morning. At 1pm it turns to "mix" and then rain. Translated, that means sleet and slush.
Sadly, Mike's ribosomes and my promo schedule have not announced a snow day. So, we're hauling out the heavy-duty boots and ski gloves from earlier this month (as well as umbrellas!) and will brave it!

Chalk it up to adventure and leave lots of time for delayed trains... what else can you do???

If you're just checking in...

2009-01-15T14:33:00.001-08:00

we might be frozen solid.

Please check the temp in the sidebar to confirm.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T17:03:00.000-08:00

Welcome 2009! We have a feeling that this year is going to be a good one and hope that you all are geared up for a great year, too!

We spent the holidays in California and completed a SoCal-NorCal tour in just 8 days. We attended "school" under our nieces' instruction in Garden Grove and celebrated Christmas mayhem with them. Then, we hopped up to Burlingame for a huge Open House that drew more than 60 people and followed that with a few days of relaxation and lots of visiting.

Here are a few photos of us with two of our favorite people (sorry for the blurriness... you get the idea, though!).

No dreaming necessary...

2008-12-21T09:46:00.000-08:00

It's going to be a white Christmas here in Cambridge.

This was the scene on our street this morning when I came trudging back from my church job... it's been snowing off and on since Friday afternoon and is still coming down! So gorgeous...

Baby, it's cold outside!

A quick catch-up: I had three trips to NYC for auditions in the span of ONE WEEK earlier this month. Mike came along for the final trip and we did some of our favorite NYC-at-Christmas-time things.

Caroling on the steps of St. Pat's on 5th Avenue
(l-r: Toby, me, Barry, Chuck)

Visit the tree at Rockefeller Center
Have hot chocolate after an afternoon of shopping (or caroling!)
Elbow our way through the Miracle (of consumerism) on 34th Street known as Macy's
Stop by Levain Bakery for a pick-me-up

Levain's Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookie = ooey-gooey love in the palm of your hand

Happy Holidays to all! Stay warm and snuggled up next to those you love!

Vermont hygge

2008-12-11T15:29:00.000-08:00

Without a doubt, the seasons have changed and phrases like "wintery mix" and "freezing rain" have once again become a consideration when leaving the house in the morning. We don't have a covering of snow here in the metro area, but there have been flurries and the temperature has been toying with single digits (Fahrenheit, thank you very much).

Before Mother Nature gave us a proper smack, she started rather lightly by giving the areas north and west of Boston a sweet dusting of snow. This made for the perfect backdrop when visiting family in Northern Vermont... and cutting down our own tree!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-27T12:13:00.001-08:00

8AM: Rise and shine and sling a pumpkin pie in the oven. Have steel cut oats with blueberries from our August haul while watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade and rifling through the newspaper. Are there really places open for business at 4am tomorrow morning?! Yikes!

12PM: Decide that getting dressed would be a good idea.

1PM: We might as well be hosting dinner here -- we've baked pies, made supergarlic mashed potatoes, and roasted a turkey in the last 24 hours. In the spirit of Thanksgiving and sharing the meal with friends and family, everything except for the turkey will be taken to others' homes. The turkey is for our own sandwiches and next week's turkey soup!

3:30PM: Just in from a crisp walk to our favorite neighborhood bakery cafe - HiRise Bakery - I'm going to get cozy under blankets with books (plural) and Mike will snuggle up to the remote so that he can comfortably channel surf the array of football offerings.

Soon enough, we'll be off to our friends' home for dinner and thanks-giving. Tomorrow we'll journey up to Northern Vermont for a much-anticipated visit with cousins.

What a wonderful holiday. We're giving thanks for all of you!
xoxo

Apres-Faure

2008-11-20T17:03:00.000-08:00

November has been really busy for both of us professionally...

I had a concert singing the Pie Jesu in the Faure Requiem earlier this month (the photo below is from that evening) and am looking forward to another concert with orchestra and chorus this Saturday night.
Oh, and I started a new day job. Heh.

Mike has been published (again!), is making headway both here at HMS and in past projects and is currently wowing the masses at the annual AiChe conference in Philadelphia. Something to do with genes and bacteria and the like, I'm sure!

The temperature severely dropped earlier this week and so the winter parkas have been definitively removed from the rafters and hung up for active rotation in the hall closet. Until next year, dear cotton overcoats and nylon windbreakers!

I've added a temperature icon in the sidebar so that you all (especially those in CA!) can live vicariously through us... take special note of the first snow (yay!) and our temperaments in February when we're ready to relocate to the Bahamas (grr!)!

They shall speak en francais.

2008-11-14T11:12:00.000-08:00

Someday... when we have kids... we shall make them speak French.
I suppose this means we'll have to learn. But that's okay!
Why? Because this kid is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Ever.

Once upon a time... from Capucha on Vimeo.