Good Times

Christmas 2009 - New Year's Day 2010

2010-04-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

I'm so far behind, I'll never catch up. And, admit it, you only want to see pictures of the kids anyway. ;) Look for more posts like this in the near future!

November

2010-01-16T21:14:00.000-08:00

In November we went to the zoo & a few other fun places around town.

But the best part of November was Turkey Day! We had a great time at Rob & Kim's house.
Playing games...
Lily was fascinated by cousin Sarah's headband.
But the best part was Chris proposed to Tereasa after dinner! It was a complete surprise to most of us, but we couldn't be happier!

August - October

2010-01-16T19:33:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...its been a long time since I posted anything but we've been busy. Here goes...

August & September:

Lily turned 6 months old in August. She doesn't seem to want to crawl but is scooting around on her bum. Sometimes she tries to use the furniture with funny results. She knows how to get where she wants to go so that's all that matters. She really likes sweet potatoes & carrots.
Max is enjoying school. He has made a lot of new friends & we've gone on a few playdates so far. At home (if we're not outside) Max has really been into building elaborate structures with his blocks.
October:
The sunflowers Max & Pop-pop planted in July grew tall & Max had a great time checking on their progress every day.
I got to play with my camera a bit more.The kids & I took a trip to NW Arkansas to see the newest member of the family. Maggie was born to my cousin Brad & his lovely wife Christal. We got to see lots of family & had a great time catching up!
Max had a great time playing with his cousins.
Lily isn't quite sure what to make of Maggie.Max & Pop-pop even carved a jack o'lantern!

The kindergarten Classes teamed up to put on a music program. All the kids had a great time singing Mary Had a Little Lamb in various styles. Max got to play an instrument called a boom whacker & did a really good job! It rained a lot during the month of Oct & on the 30th we went from having a nice area to watch tv & play to having a small lake in our basement. After working all day with the wetvac, we decided that the carpet needed to go. So Ian & our friend Craig ripped it all out. What a soggy nasty mess!
Halloween was great! Lily was a dragon & Max was Optimus Prime. After finding very few of our neighbors giving out treats, we headed to Aunt Debbie & Uncle Scott's neighborhood. Max raked in the loot while Lily & I hung out with Debbie.

Stay tuned...

2009-12-20T20:40:00.000-08:00

Sometime in the next 4 weeks I will update my blog, complete with pictures & a list of the many things that have been occupying my time.

First Day of Kindergarten Update

2009-08-18T07:23:00.000-07:00

Today, at 8:20 am, Max officially started Kindergarten. He has been so excited about this day for weeks. Last night he picked out his clothes & really thought about his choices. (Everything matched!) Even though he was tired-couldn't sleep from excitement-he jumped out of bed this morning to get ready. He insisted on putting on his backpack immediately & wanted to hold his lunchbox during breakfast.

Time for breakfast

Here we go!

The school was a madhouse with all the kids & parents waiting outside. Finally, everyone lined up by grade, the kindergarteners (and their parents) marched into the building.
Getting ready to line up. Max refused to smile, just gave me his "tough guy" look instead.

Once we got into the classroom & found Max's chair, he dismissed us. Literally. "Mom & Dad, you can go now. But first will you open my play-dough?" Getting a goodbye kiss was like pulling teeth & after that, forget any sort of communication. He was in the "Kindergarten Zone".

So now, Lily & I get to figure out what to do with ourselves until 3:00pm. I'm sure we can find something...

* Max's first day went wonderfully! He came home chattering about his day & some of the new things he did. In response to a few of my questions, I received the proberbial "nothing" or "I don't know". I thought that didn't start until they were just a little bit older?

Between then and now...

2009-08-15T20:56:00.000-07:00

So yes...it has been a really long time since I posted anything. But I know you will forgive me. We have been crazy busy since the last post!

*Note on the pictures at the end

I started a new job at the end of May & am much happier! I get to work at home about 95% of the time & the kids get to go to the office with me when I go in to pick up my work. Max loves it since the guys in the office always stop what they're doing & play with him for a bit. I am so thankful to have this opportunity!

We went to Arkansas in June to see family & friends & be generally wild & crazy. We had a great time seeing everyone & Max had such a good time playing with his second cousins. And the cousins got to have a little grownup time thanks to some fantastic grandparents & great-aunts & -uncles! We missed those that couldn't make it but next year I hope we can ALL get together!

Lily had her first taste of cereal which she ate enthusiastically &wore herself out.

She has since had carrots (delish!) & yellow squash (NOT a fan). We're going to try butternut squash tomorrow! She is also rolling over & sitting up & babbling non stop! Not to mention learning how much fun hamming for the camera can be. She loves to blow raspberries & is starting to play peekaboo with her blankets.

Max turned 5 at the end of July & had a Spongebob Squarepants party. We had a lot of friends & family over to celebrate & everyone had a great time.

I made the cake. Really, I have proof! See...

Somewhere a pinata-maker is laughing hysterically!

Aunt Becky & cousin Lizzie came to STL so that gave us yet another excuse to get together for good food!

While Mum-mum & Pop-pop were here we visited the Science Center, went fishing & just ran around being generally crazy!

And, surprise...we had another BBQ!

Max starts Kindergarten on August 18th & we have been getting up early everyday this week & walking to his school in preparation. He is so excited & so am I! Stay tuned!

*It drives me crazy when Blogger won't let you arrange the pictures the way you want them! I really didn't want everyone to wear out their index fingers scrolling but...

Good Family Reunion

2009-06-16T23:37:00.000-07:00

The Four Good Brothers

Al & John in front with Steve & Andy in back

Memorial Day weekend brought the Goods to St. Louis in droves! The festivities began with a BBQ at John's as people began arriving Friday. The grown ups played lots of games of "Pass the Baby" while the food cooked to perfection.

Sara, Angela, Al, John, Linda, & Lily

Kim, Andy, Scott, Debbie, Lynn, Uncle Steve & Cousin Steve

Max was in heaven. Why, you ask? This was the first time he met his second cousin Eli & to say they hit it off would be an understatement. They had a great time...

sword fighting...
shooting bubble guns...

climbing giant bug sculptures...

Petting sting rays...

You heard me, petting sting rays. The zoo has a great new exhibit that runs through the end of September. You can read more about it here.

Both boys thought it was totally cool, if a bit slimey.

Alas, that is where my pictures end (until I can find the darn cd the others are on) but the stories continue. After a crazy Saturday with some at the zoo, some at the art museum, others playing golf & one poor sap who had to work (wonder who that was?), the whole family gathered at local restaurant for more together time. Its funny how even after you grow up, you still get put at the kid's table.
Sunday, the majority of the family went to church then to a brunch. (Is it really brunch if its after 12pm?) Max was having a hard time listening & Ian sat him down to have a conversation. To make sure Max was concentrating on what he was saying, Ian asked if he was wearing his "listening ears". Max promptly replied, "No Dad, they're recharging! At which point everyone dissolved in a fit of laughter & Max learned a very valuable lesson.
Sunday evening, the festivities continued at Rob & Kim's house with an indoor picnic, more baby passing, some movie watching & lots of catching up.

What do you mean its over?!?

What a great way to spend a weekend! And we can't wait til next Memorial Day weekend!

2009-05-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

Whew! I know its been a while but we've been busy! I found a part time job but its not a good fit (a nice way of saying I HATE IT!) so I am looking at a few other options that seem to have fallen into my lap. We shall see what happens! I registered for the fall semester. Ian has been traveling. Max & Lily are growing so fast!

Our good friend Leslie watches the kids alot when Ian travels & I go sell office supplies. The other day her mom, Pat & stepdad, lovingly known as Fireman Ron, came to play for a little while too. Fireman Ron brought one of his toys & made Max's day! We are so lucky to have them in our lives! We love you Les, Pat & Ron!

Max loves to build things & lately he's been watching Warriors on the History Channel with Ian. Its hosted by Terry Schappert (former Special Forces) & Max likes to pretend to be Terry & go on all the adventures. He's learning a lot of history in the process. For instance, he has informed me all about the Seige of Malta, King Kamehameha (sp?), the traitor Armineus & other various battles throughout history. (The kid's memory is amazing!) A few days ago Max built these two men out of his brick blocks. They were cool so we took a picture & I went back upstairs to cook dinner.

The next thing I know, he's built his own little army!

Max & Lily reading

Lily is growing so fast I don't know where to start! She hasn't rolled over again; I think it was just a fluke, but she's still trying. She really wants to sit up & see the world, but isn't quite there yet. She is reaching for her toys & can grab them & sometimes even get them in her mouth. Her little personality is really starting to develop. Where Max is a "do-er", Lily is an observer. She loves to watch everything. She is also a momma's girl, which has made going back to work interesting, even if it is just part time.

Put 'em up!

The happiest baby ever!

may 3rd post

2009-05-07T21:25:00.000-07:00

Anyone having trouble viewing the video on the 5/3 post?

I told you so!

2009-05-05T21:33:00.000-07:00

Lily rolled over Monday morning! Where was the camera? In the basement!

Meet The Machines, Kindergaten & Smiles

2009-05-03T13:13:00.000-07:00

Last year Max & Ian went to an event called Meet the Machines put on by CAT & Budrovich. This year Lily & I got to go too. Each kid got a real hard hat at the entrance & got to decorate it with stickers. This year they had even more machines for the kids to climb on & they could even go up in a crane. (The line for that was literally 1/2 a mile long!) Max had a great time on all the different machines & by the end of the day we were all pooped!

Yes, he really is operating heavy equipment!
He could have stayed right there all day!

Video

We also went to Kindergarten Orientation at Max's school. He is so excited to be a Hudson Elementary Hawk! He met his teachers, made a hat & colored, all while having fun with his new classmates. According to the school counselor, when Max was finished, he stood up and announced, "I just did my first assignment!"

Max's Hawk pose

Lily has also started smiling & reserves most of them for her big brother. I can make funny faces all day long but Max just has to walk in the room. She is also trying to roll over but hasn't quite made it. I'm sure it will happen as soon as the camera is no where within reach.

I think this is one of the best pics ever! I did get a little bit of the photography gene!

2009-04-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

The other day while I was fixing lunch, Max went into the guest bedroom & turned on the TV. (He is really taking advantage of my hearing loss, little booger!) When I called to him to let him know we were ready to eat this is the response I got. (I tried to copy it exactly & I typed words he emphasized in bold.)

Mommy, did you know there was a blender on TV & it could turn a whole apple into juice & its not 1, not 2, not 5 but it is for free because there was an X on the numbers & that means its for free & you just go to a store that doesn't get paid any money & get it for free because that's what the X's mean & you also can put anything in it but if its big you have to cut it up just put it in the top & push it down with a thing & put a cup under it & you get juice & you don't even have to wash it because if you did you'd have to wash stuff all day & with the Jack Lalanne Power Juicer you never ever have to wash it because its a power juicer it can make juice out of anything even vegetables & pineapples & carrots & it was on TV!

And now that you've picked yourself up off the floor & contained your giggles, here are a couple new pics!Lily with her serious face & me with a new haircut

attempt at photo of cute panda outfit on an even cuter (though wiggly) baby

about 2 seconds before Lily started screaming

Max with his new race car in an outfit of his own design.
(love the backwards shorts!)

2009-03-22T13:02:00.000-07:00

Even though we're seeing signs of Spring...

...we're still taking care of the remnants of Fall.

COWABUNGA!

Joy is a ... leaf pile

"I don't need my rake! Its much faster to do it this way, Mom!"

Thanks for the Bumgenius, Aunt Vicki! I like 'em cause they're o' so stylish! Mom likes them cause they soak up everything I put in 'em!

I will lift my head! How else am I going to know whats going on!?!

Lookin' o' so cute!

I'm getting a little sleepy during all these photo sessions!

I know there are not nearly enough new pics to satisfy you all but have patience, I will post more! As soon as I can manage to take some that aren't blurry! For every 50 pictures there is one that turns out nicely. Stay tuned!

2009-03-08T19:19:00.000-07:00

Ian is already exposing Lily to work drama!

Snoozin'

These pictures are in no particular order. I just picked the cute ones as I came across them.

Proud big brother

Max insisted that Lily wanted to listen to the story too & wanted her to sit on his lap.

Happily taking her 2nd bath (No, she's not that modest! The washcloth is nice & warm!)

After bath

Max & Pop-pop taking a break at the zoo.

dreaming of future mischief

Does anyone remember this cabinet? A long time ago it was in my room, then Mark's room, & for the last few years, relegated to our basement. Why? Mom had painted it that bright 70's orange when I was little. Yeah, THAT orange. Two years ago, Ian had it stripped as a birthday present for me & it sat in our guest room for months until we were given the perfect use for it. So Ian & I stained it & it now holds most of Lily's clothes. Why go through all that trouble for a cabinet? My grandfather made it for Mom when she was born (I'll let you figure out the year!) & she used it for me & now Lily gets to use it.

Alexandra holding Lily (I remember when Alexandra was this little!)

Happy Aunt Marlo

Leslie & Lily

Stop taking my______ picture!

just an update

2009-03-05T13:33:00.000-08:00

For those of you who haven't heard, Lily was admitted to the hospital Monday morning with a fever. This is standard procedure for babies under 6 weeks but it didn't make it any less scary. All her tests & cultures came back clean (= virus, not bacterial) but we had to remain in the hospital for 48 hours while we waited (and get IV antibiotics), just in case. We are now home & feeling much better. And I promise to post some new pics tomorrow!

Presenting Lilian Sophia ...

2009-02-15T18:26:00.000-08:00

I know you guys really just want to see pictures so I won't bore you with the details. And I promise to post more pics just as soon as we get them all downloaded from the 3 cameras that have been going nonstop since 4:29pm on 2/6/09! We had to wrestle Mom to the ground just to get some of these!

She already has him wrapped around her little finger & she's only 30 minutes old.

Max meeting Lily for the first time & giving her Eskimo kisses

Hanging out, just waiting to go home

"My outfit's too big, Mommy!"

Home at last!

My favorite pic of Max & Lily (so far)

Hanging out on the couch-Day 2

The scoop & a funny

2009-02-02T18:21:00.000-08:00

OK, no baby yet but we are almost there! My doc & I have made the decision that if I haven't gone into labor by this Friday, we are going to kick start the process. Now that we have made this decision & made the necessary arrangements, one of three things will happen. Either I will go into labor tonight or tomorrow OR when they call me to come to the hospital to start the process I will tell them that the kid decided to start a couple hours early (cause that's just how my luck seems to run!) OR I will go in on Friday as planned. Regardless, Cashew will be here by FRIDAY!!!!!!

Keep your eyes peeled (or just watch for) an email complete with pics

Max has been going back & forth on what sex he thinks this baby will be. For the past week, he has maintained that its a boy, no doubt about it! Out of the blue Saturday we had the following conversation.

Max: Mommy, Amira doesn't like to play cars with me very much.
Sara: That's OK. You guys like to play other games, like tag, right?
M: (after a period of silence) Isabella never wants to play cars with me either.
S: Well, no. Isabella likes dolls & playing princess more than playing with cars and that's
OK, huh? Everybody likes different things.
M: (more silence) Mommy, I think I'm gonna have a baby sister.
S: OK, but we'll just have to wait and see.
M: (more silence) I want a baby sister. Sisters don't like to play with cars & swords & stuff so
I won't have to share my toys as much.
S: Hmmmmm...

Come on baby!

2009-01-21T18:58:00.000-08:00

The countdown is on & I am ready. Well, physically anyway. I have reached the point where I want this kid out! I'm not that uncomfortable anymore since Cashew has dropped. The heartburn has lessened, I can breath properly again. But this having to use the bathroom at least every 2 hours (often times more) is just a tad annoying. (sarcasm alert) It also puts a strain on the effectiveness of any discipline Max might need since invariably I have to pee in the middle of our discussion. You try putting a kid in timeout from the bathroom! Then there are the contractions. Don't get excited! They are not regular or particularly strong although they are stronger than last week. Yesterday I had a total of 2. Today I had quite a few more & I even thought today might be the day. Alas, after having them every 30 mins for an hour & a half, they just quit! Humph! I keep reminding myself that Cashew will show up when s/he is ready but I am not at my most patient at the moment. We'll see how the next few days go & hopefully we'll all get our wish by the end of next week!

Out of the mouths of babes...

2009-01-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Well, one babe in particular.

Sometimes grownups forget that kids are around, especially if they're not sitting right in front of them. Kids, on the other hand, are always listening, even if we think they aren't.

Max was in the car with his Aunt Becky & Uncle Bill & Ian a couple weeks ago. Bill was telling a story that happened to have the work f***er in it & forgot to censor himself. Oops! All the adults look at Max, who seems to be oblivious, so they continue on their way after a reminder about appropriate language from Becky. As they pull up to their destination & Uncle Scott comes out to greet them, Max leaps from the car & runs up to Uncle Scott yelling, Hi F***er!
Guess he was listening.

On Tuesday, Ian, Max, Rob, Becky & I were having dinner with Ian's dad at his house. It was the usual banter around the table when Max took advantage of a lull to put in his two cents. As the adults grow quiet, some of us to put more food in our mouths, Max pipes up with "Uncle Robbie, you're a jerk!" He had the biggest smile on his face so you could tell that he had no idea what the word meant. He must have thought he was giving Rob a compliment. He soon figured out that it was not a good word when he looked around the table & saw our faces & heard all three of his names from Ian & I in stereo. His little face just crumpled, poor kid! He & Ian had a conversation about why you shouldn't use words if you don't know what they mean. I can't wait to see what word he comes home with next.

Today, I promised that if he was good during our shopping expedition, we would go to lunch & actually eat at the restaurant instead of getting it to go. He made good on his promise & was even really chatty with the stylist as he was getting his hair cut. That should have been my first clue that something interesting would happen at lunch. When we got to his chosen fast food joint, our first stop was the potty, where he proceeded to chat with the woman in the stall next to us. Luckily she thought he was hilarious. We proceeded to get our food & sit down without incident. As we were calmly eating our lunch, two guys from a local carpet cleaning place sat down at a table next to us. Max kept eating & dancing in his seat while surreptitiously looking over at them. Suddenly, in his not so quiet 4 year old voice, he asked, "Who are those guys? What are they talking about? ARE THEY ON A DATE?" As half the restaurant turns to look at Max & the guys in question, I vacillated between sinking into the floor & laughing hysterically. Luckily one of the poor guys had a sense of humor & replied "No, are you on a date?", with a smile that said he had a niece or nephew that age. To bad the other one didn't quite see the humor in the situation.

Mom

2009-01-13T19:21:00.000-08:00

It is with a heavy heart that I inform you that Sunday, January 11th, my mom, Norma Farrar Good, passed away.

After a three year battle with cancer, God has called her home.

Her most recent battle was a stay in the hospital that lasted over 90 days. After winning that battle, she was able to come home the Monday before Christmas and was able to have her entire family (kids, their spouses, and all of her grand kids) surround her with their love as we celebrated the holiday.

At the begining of the January, my mom and dad went for a doctors visit where they were informed that the cancer has been winning and that they should start to think about Quality of life vs. Quantity of life, so with many tears and prayers, they decided to call in Hospice on Monday, January 5th.

After that, the Norma spirit that we all know her for was back, and her demeanor was much happier and engaging. Then Sunday morning, God decided it was time for no more pain and suffering and that he wanted her with him, so he called her home to be with him.

Although she left us without her physical presence, her love, and spirit will forever inhabit this world with all the grace and love that she spread to those she was around.

Peace be with you all,

Ian C. Good

Funny!

2009-01-04T19:58:00.000-08:00

While you guys are waiting for the Christmas post here's a funny Max story to tide you over.

Max has decided that his favorite Christmas song is Driedle, Driedle, Driedle. Yes, I know, not a Christmas song but its on the Barenaked Ladies holiday cd so it must be suitable for either holiday. That is a 4 year old's logic anyway. He sings it constantly, sometimes changing the words to fit whatever he's doing at the time. For instance, a couple days ago, he was playing with his tools so he was singing, "Hammer, Hammer, Hammer, I made it out of clay..." Over & over & over. Finally, I asked him to sing something (anything) else for a little while. He looked me straight in the eyes & proceeded to sing Driedle, Driedle, Driedle, I made it out of clay... Ian laughed; I had to leave the room.

Christmas post

2009-01-04T19:38:00.000-08:00

Ian w/ Santa in a kilt

We had a ton of things going on this Christmas! Ian's nonprofit Scots for Tots had an event called Christmas in the Kitchen with Mitzi MacDonald & her band Keltic Reign. They had a packed house & managed to get 6 huge boxes of toys for the MO Baptist Children's Home.

Look at the size of those boxes!

At the children's home

Then it was time for Christmas at our house. Max was thrilled the Santa brought him Wall*E! The movie, PJs & a bath towel! How cool!

After opening everything under the tree, Ian went down to the basement & discovered one last present that Santa had set up. Max was absolutely amazed by his new train set & spent at least the next 45 minutes playing with it.

Joy upon discovery (please ignore the whale in the background)

happily ignoring the call of pancakes

Later that day it was off to Mimi & Grandpa's for more Christmas celebrations & a yummy feast! Prime rib & yorkshire pudding! I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. Wait a minute! I'm always hungry!

Mimi w/ 3 of the kids (Becky came the next day!)

You asked for it!

2008-12-26T12:25:00.000-08:00

I must admit, even though I said I'd be better this time, I have been bad about taking belly pics. But since a few of you have prodded me, here are a couple. Isn't it weird how you never think you're as big as you are til you see a picture of your self?

Holy Cow! Look at that belly!

By the way, I hate Liz Lange (Target) maternity jeans! I feel like they fall down constantly!

48 Days

2008-12-17T10:00:00.000-08:00

That's how many days left until my due date! Amazing, huh? Some days I have trouble believing that Cashew is actually coming at all, that this is just a dream & I'm going to wake at any moment. Then I feel a swift kick or a punch & know my kid is already practicing kick-boxing. S/He is going to give big brother a run for his money. I can't wait!

I have a 10+ page paper due in...

2008-12-04T20:01:00.000-08:00

6 days! Why, oh why do I feel the need to get on the blog? Its a compulsion, really it is. Ian says I have OCD. With all the other weird habits I have, I think he may be right!

Because I agree with him!

2008-11-19T14:42:00.000-08:00

'Wowie, wow, wow': Words too important to be banned
By Sylvester Brown Jr.
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/16/2008

If not for Moses, Noah, Jughead Jones, Spider-Man and Richard Wright, I may have turned down Sarah Beaman-Jones' invitation.Beaman-Jones heads up LIFT: Missouri's Literacy Resource Center. She recently sent me an e-mail asking if I would be a "guest reader" for her group's "Celebrating Readers' Rights" Dec. 8 event. The reading was organized to bring attention to issues such as "intellectual freedom," censorship and banned books in the United States."Censorship?" What is this, Saudi Arabia? I thought banning books in this country went out with burning witches at the stake.Apparently, I'm wrong. Each year the American Library Association releases a list of "Top 100 Banned/Challenged Books." The list includes high-profile adult and children's book authors like J.K. Rowling, Mark Twain, Toni Morrison, Richard Wright, Kurt Vonnegut, Lois Lowry and Judy Blume.
Some libraries and schools use this list when stocking shelves or compiling curricula.Beaman-Jones' organization opposes book censorship. It's a "violation of intellectual freedom," her letter explained. As literacy educators and advocates, she added, we must affirm the "importance of free speech and education as a human right."Ditto! Count me in, I wrote back.I'm not the sharpest crayon in the box but, thank God, I fell in love with reading at an early age. Whatever success I enjoy today, is directly correlated with my fascination with the printed word.When I was a child, Mama forced Bible stories on her 11 kids. My imagination was sparked by tales of prophets parting the sea, slaying giants, hanging out unscathed in lion's dens and feeding masses with unending quantities of magical fish and bread.The love affair continued when I was introduced to comic books. Back in the day, 10 cents brought fabulous and funny adventures into my poverty-filled world. In my mind, I could leap tall buildings in a single bound, "Flame on," "Hulk out" or hang out with Archie, Betty and Veronica at Riverdale High.For me as a young man, desperately ignorant of his own history, Alex Haley's "Autobiography of Malcolm X," Richard Wright's "Native Son" and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man" helped fill the void of the complicated but rich "black experience" I knew little about. The audacious idea to write for a living was inspired by these gifted black authors.Richard Wright's book "Black Boy" is on the banned book list, as well as Mark Twain's "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and Harper Lee's "To Kill A Mockingbird."Maggie Dyer, the literacy coordinator with LIFT, explained why:"The top three reasons books make the list are because some find them sexually explicit, or they have offensive language or they're unsuitable for young readers." Most people who challenge books "have good intentions," Dyer said."They're concerned with protecting children. That's good, but where does it stop?" Dyer asked. "When a book is challenged or removed from a library, that's a voice that may not be heard." The ALA puts out the list based on the number of letters challenging books it receives. The organization analyzes, reviews and judges the merits of the complaints. Dyer takes exception to what some deem "unsuitable." For instance, she said, the graphic nature of "Black Boy" may indeed turn off a group or an individual but for someone who may have shared my life experience, the book could be the key to literary advancement."Schools may choose books for students that have to do with curriculum but one way to become a better reader is being able to choose a book that may not be rosy, but messy — something that mirrors their life experience."Throughout our history, people have tried to suppress intellectual freedom. We support the belief that ideas should be allowed to be written about, read and discussed — with criticism — but without restrictions." Libraries I visit have sections marked "adults," "young adults" and "young readers." Why isn't this enough to stop kids from getting their hands on books that aren't age-appropriate? I asked Dyer.It is, in most cases, she explained. The ALA publishes the list but leaves the decision to stock or not stock books up to individual libraries and educational institutions. Some abide by the list, others don't. The ALA does not advocate banning challenged books.That's a good thing. Several of the banned or "challenged" books are my daughters' favorites. Lexi, 13, has read the Harry Potter series and "The Giver" by Lois Lowry and other books on the list. I'm not sure who likes Barbara Park's Junie B. Jones series more, my little one, Kyra, who is 7, or her parents. Imagine my surprise when I saw Park's name on the list. Dyer said people say Park's character encourages "disobedience," uses words like "stupid" and "dumb" and takes liberties with traditional spelling. Maybe so, but in the words of Junie B., "Wowie, wow, wow," does Kyra really enjoy those books.Which gets back to my point about the power of reading. To be honest, Lexi has gotten her hands on a book or two that raised age-appropriateness questions. But the spark in her eye when she discusses books with her parents or her unquenchable appetite for more literature minimized my fears. I'm not saying we should stack libraries with any old book and let kids go willy-nilly. I'm saying that parental guidance, trained librarians and books separated by age-appropriateness in schools and libraries should override banishment.Other regional groups such as the Literacy Roundtable and Literacy for Social Justice Teacher Research Group are involved with the readers' rights event next month. The event is necessary, Dyer said, because there are people like me, who aren't aware that books are still banned in this country.The e-mail asking that I become a "guest reader" said I'll be among librarians, "literary educators" and advocates ready to educate the community, take a stand for "free speech" and fight "censorship."There's a noble, heroic resonance to those words. Helping to part the waters of misunderstanding, tackle the giant of censorship, helping people sail up, up and away from narrow-minded restrictions ... Reminds me of something I read in a book.

We love Fall!

2008-11-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

The weather has been perfect for playing football outside!

And for taking a rest in the leaves!

Then its time for some tree climbing!

Later that night, Trick or Treating! And playing with glow sticks!

After coming down from last night's sugar high, its off to enjoy some time with Mimi!

Look at those two in their shades! Are they cool or what!

Am I nuts because I want to use these?

2008-10-28T13:40:00.000-07:00

http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?cPath=98&products_id=1279

Ian seems to think so. He can't get over the "ick" factor.

Why do I want to use them? Lets see...

$$$$$$ - They cost less in the long run! I would save about $4000 on diapers during the span of Cashew's pre-pottyhood.

Environmentally conscious - most disposable diapers aren't biodegradable & the ones that are cost 2X as much.

Our mothers used them & we turned out OK! (And cloth diapers weren't this cool back then! I asked!)

Less diaper rash - according to the random people I have accosted while changing their babies in public places; have you noticed I'm not shy?

Do I agree that there is an "ick" factor? Well, DUH! Its poop, for goodness sake! But is it something I can live with to keep a little more green in my pocket while I help the environment at the same time? Yes! I've never been squeamish about that sort of thing. Growing up as the only girl with a brother & 3 male cousins, I couldn't afford to be. Not to mention that we had cows, pigs, chickens & geese on our ranch. (Now that's a lot of poop!)

This is why I needed a vacation...

2008-10-28T12:40:00.000-07:00

random moments

2008-10-21T20:09:00.000-07:00

Max & Uncle Scott in Central Realty's "new" Betty

I love cardboard boxes. We get so many different shapes & sizes in at work that I can't resist bringing them home every couple weeks at least. With the Holidays approaching, we've gotten in some pretty big ones containing whole displays. One was about 4 ft long & 2 1/2 ft wide, shoebox style & had extra cardbord inside for stabilizing the display. And it fit in the back of the CRV perfectly! Max saw it & immediatly got out the crayons & with a little help from our friend Beth, made a very cool pirate ship. Two days later it was a tank. Then it was a bulldozer. I wonder what it will be next?

On Tuesday, Max got some new Halloween stickers (Thanks Aunt Becky!) & put one on my tummy. When I said thank you, he replied, "Its for the baby, Mom! You don't get a sticker."

I took Max to my Dr appt on Friday so he could hear the baby's heartbeat. He was so excited, it was all he could talk about for days. When the day finally came, we went over the rules (no being loud, crazy, etc) for the dr's office & away we went. While Ian went to visit his Mom in the main part of the hospital, Max & I headed the the Doctor's Building. The wait was a little difficult since I forgot to bring coloring materials & of course that was all he wanted to do. But then Becky (wonderful nurse) opened the door & called us in. Max marched right up and said, "Hi, my name is Maxwell Harris Good & I want to hear my baby's heart!" But first we had to do all the usual tests. Ever try explaining why Mommies have to pee in a cup each visit? The "just to make sure everything's OK" answer just doesn't cut it! Becky was a trooper & tried to answer all his questions & listened intently as he described each & every boo-boo he had received over the past week. She even supplied a few band aids to add to the collection on his leg. When Dr. S came in & asked Max if he was ready to hear the baby's heart, I thought he was going to jump out of his skin he was so excited! He sat very still in his chair & I wish I could have taken a picture. The look on his face was pure amazement! It just made having a new baby all the more real for him.

2008-09-25T20:40:00.000-07:00

I was naughty.
I ate ice cream.
It was delicious.
I will pay for it later.

We're having a perfect little...

2008-09-19T19:05:00.000-07:00

BABY!

That's right! Instead of fooling us completely like big brother, Cashew is refusing to play the game at all. I've had 2 ultrasounds in the past 2 weeks & this kid was not about to show his/her stuff. Mom/Mary seems to think that this definitely means its a girl because she's stubborn, just like me. (Me? Stubborn? I really have no idea what she's talking about.) Max has decided that he really wants a brother but keeps reminding me that "We don't get to pick, Mom. Only God gets to pick!"

Only 20 more weeks til we find out!

Isn't that just the cutest little foot!?!

I'M HUNGRY!!!!

2008-09-17T11:04:00.000-07:00

During pregnancy, you're supposed to eat. Not literally for two, but enough to keep that precious cargo healthy & growing. So why does this baby seem so intent on not letting me eat anything I like!?! It started off with chicken & turkey & I was OK with that. I eat a lot of veggie based meals anyway, supplement that with an occasional steak, no problem. I can still get prenty of protein. Then came dairy. I can't eat cheese! I love cheese! I've been drinking soy milk & putting it on my cereal but I would love a hunk of chedder right now! Lactaid only works for very small amounts of dairy (think half a Hershey bar) & most brands of soy cheese are not tasty! Even my die hard vegatarian friends refuse to take the almost full package off my hands. So, while I love dairy, I can deal with not eating it for a few months. Its for a good cause! There's still pasta with lots of veggies & red sauce, right? Ha! Cashew has other ideas! No tomatos. No lemonade. No more acidic foods for me! Do you know how many recipes call for at least one of the above ingredients? Which brings me to the real reason for this post. I need recipes! I have exhausted my standby cookbooks & would rather not deal with any of the overly fancy ones. So if anyone has some good ones, feel free to send them to me. Cuz I'm hungry & tired of eating pasta, baked potatos & bean burritos.

PS- For some reason, Cashew like spicy, so if you have any that you think I might be able to handle, send them on! I love spicy!

Baby Excitment & International Fun

2008-09-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

Max is cracking me up with his big brother excitedness. He wants Cashew to be here so badly that he is doing everything he can think of to get ready. On stay home days, Max will usually crawl into bed with me for a little bit of snuggle time before breakfast. A couple days ago, it was 8am & since he hadn't come into our room, I was wondering if he was still asleep & if not, why it was so quiet. I got out of bed went to his room to check things out. When I cracked the door just a bit I saw him standing in the middle of his room looking thoughtful. He had raised the blinds on one of the windows so he could see. After watching him turn this way and that for a minute or two, I opened the door fully & asked him what he was doing. "I'm figuring where the baby will sleep, Mom." So we sat & thought of different places to put the crib.

Whenever it gets too quiet, I usually find him in the storage room upstairs, looking at baby paraphernalia, or moving some of it into his room, or as in case of the bibs, spreading them all out on the dining room table. He was quite irritated that I wouldn't let him bring the highchair downstairs until I explained to him that the baby wouldn't need that right away. He replied by smacking himself on the forehead, saying "Babies drink from your boobs, Mom!" (Like it was my idea to bring the highchair down in the first place!)

On 8/23, Max & I took our friend Leslie to the Festival of Nations in Tower Grove Park where we celebrated a couple of firsts.

1) Max got to hold a claymore (HUGE sword-taller than me!) when we visited the SSAS booth where Ian's friend Chris was working. If you notice, Max is holding the sword all by himself, Chris is just steadying it to prevent Max from chopping me off at the knees. Max was on cloud 9! Now he wants one.

2) Leslie got to hold the sword too! Watch out Lucas!

3) Max tried falafel for the first time & didn't care for it. He did eat all the veggies & the pita that came with it though. Mmmm, more falafel for me! He did, however, really like the Bosnian version of apple strudel. I don't think Les got to eat very much of hers.

Best Laid Plans

2008-08-22T18:14:00.000-07:00

So we were going to wait just a little while longer to tell Max that he's going to be a big brother. We had lots of good reasons. We wanted the wait between telling him & actually bringing the baby home to be just a little shorter cuz its hard enough to wait for Santa, much less a sibling. We wanted to have some ultrasound pics that actually looked like a baby rather than an alien. We are still a little nervous considering everything we went through to have Max.

My plans were steady until my friend Anna R. said to me, "OMG, you look pregnant! I mean you looked pregnant on Wednesday, and its only Thursday, but you really look pregnant today." (Good thing I like her a lot!) Then one of Max's former teachers from the baby room did a triple take & felt comfortable enough to ask The Question. Last straw? When I walked into Max's school today to pick him up, his friend Amira came running up to me. While Max (obliviously) played with some other kids, Amira stood in front of me with her hands on her hips. Then she said (loudly), "Max's Mommy? Do you have a baby in your tummy, cuz I think you have a baby in there cuz your belly is getting FAT!" So much for the plan!

(I don't know why I was so surprised by this. I have popped out.)

After a quick recovery, I conned Max into leaving & we went straight home where we sat down to have a conversation. We talked about how I had been sick, & that I was feeling better & how I couldn't eat some foods & how that was OK because "I can eat all the pizza myself, Mommy." Then I told him the reason for all that was because I had a baby in my tummy & he was going to be a big brother. His reply? "A baby?(puzzled) A baby.(comprehending) I'm so excited!(in his trademark squeal) He has already started making plans for the new baby's arrival. He's even excited (for now) about sharing his room.

Max's Birthday

2008-08-13T09:28:00.000-07:00

Where did the time go? My little boy is 4! We had Max's party at a nearby park on 8/3. It was his first real party with friends from school & he had the best time. All the kids are into superheroes so, of course, that had to be the theme. But first, the playground!

Max & Matthew B. hangin' out

How cool is this playground!

Instead of party games, we got crafty! The first step on the way to becoming a superhero? The perfect mask! You can't have the villians discovering your true identity!

Next step? Why, capes, of course! Every superhero needs a cape!

Sadie, Finn, Mattias & Max, trying out their new superhero gear.

Max & Amira being silly

CAKE!

We love visitors!

2008-08-13T08:34:00.000-07:00

Toward the end of July Aunt Myrtle & Uncle Dave stayed with us for a few days & we had a great time. Max even conned Uncle Dave into going down the slide repeatedly!

While the were here we got to see lots of neat stuff. First was a special exhibit on Grant & Lee at the MO History Museum as well as the newly redone exhibit on the 1904 World's Fair. Very cool! We went to Third Degree Glass Factory in hopes that we'd get to see some glass blowing but alas, it was too hot outside & none of the artists wanted to work that day. We did get to see lots of finished works, some that were absolutely amazing! I (of course) forgot to take my camera but Aunt Myrtle took some great pics that I bet she'll share. After 3rd Degree, we decided to take the brewery tour at Anheuser-Busch before InBev decides to screw it up & start charging for it. Or worse, for for the free beer at the end of the tour! All in all, it was a great visit & we can't wait for them to come back!

Canada Post is done!

2008-07-28T10:40:00.000-07:00

And posted right before Cashew! Its a long one!

Surprise!

2008-07-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd better post these pics with out further delay even though I have yet to finish the massive post on our trip to Canada. This is so much more fun!

And for those of you who want a little clearer pic, here is the 4D image.

You guessed it! Baby Cashew will be joining us around February 3, 2009!

No, we are not crazy (or celebrities) and will not be naming the kid Cashew. One of my nicknames for Max is Buster Peanut and since we're all a bunch of nuts, I thought Cashew had a nice ring.

We have not told Max yet, although he knows somethings up since I am just as sick this time as I was with him. We are going to wait a few months, until I really start to show, since 6 months is just too long to make him wait for his longed for sibling.

So even though this was a little sooner than we had planned, we are absolutely ecstatic and could hardly wait this long to tell all of you!

O Canada!

2008-07-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

Our flight left for Ottawa, Ontario, Canada on 6/30 at the bright shiney time of 7:35am. Which meant that we needed to be at the airport at 5:30. Which also meant that I had to get a 3 yr old & a 34 yr old up & ready to go by 4:45. Guess which one was easier!

Max loved running in & out under the banner.

The North American Gathering for Clan MacLeod didn't start til 7/2 so we had a couple days to see some of the sights on our own. And what a city! We were staying at the University of Ottawa and it is perfectly situated for walking all over the city. Not to mention the fabulous weather! 75 degrees F & no humidity! If you've ever been in STL in the summer, you know why that is so amazing. View of Rideau Canal from our room.

View of the clock tower on Parliment Hill from our other window.

July 1st is Canada Day so we walked to Parliment Hill in the morning to watch the parade & then we planned to continue on to Major's Hill Park where lots of kid's activities were being held. There were so many street performers out that we kept getting distracted & never made it that far.

Parade

Just 2 of the acts performing around the city

After watching the street performers we wandered into Byward Market which was wonderful! It is a farmer's market that goes on for blocks. Seriously, it is about 8 blocks long & at least 3 blocks wide. There were so many vendors selling so many wonderful things. You could smell the strawberries, blackberries, blueberries & raspberries. One of the vendors let me have a little taste & it was amazing. The raspberries actually tasted like raspberries. I wanted to buy some of everything but since the dorm we were in only had a communal kitchenette I settled for a blackberry smoothie instead. Delicious!

Notre Dame, one of the oldest churches in Ottawa

Outside the Museum of Civilization with Parliment Hill in the background

The Gladish Family + Max

Max & his buddy Aiden G. at the Museum of Nature

Why are boys so fascinated by poop?

Pilot Max at the Canadian War Museum (Google it! Amazing Museum!)

Changing of the Guard at Parliment Hill

Top of the Canadian War Memorial

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the War Memorial

The next few pics are of a really neat peice of public art called Strathcona's Folly located in Strathcona Park. It was made using pieces of architectural history from the area and has all sorts of nook & crannies with surprises for the kids. Max climbed all over it looking for the little bronze animals.

Tiny bronze animals

Waiting for the banquet to begin at the Museum of Civilization

Ian & Weeden Nichols, Regional VP for the Clan MacLeod Society, USA

We had a great time in Canada & can't wait to go back! Anybody want to join us?

Food, glorious food!

2008-06-29T13:23:00.000-07:00

Remember the Sears Wish Book? When we were little, Mark & I would go through it & circle everything we wanted for Christmas. What was the one thing that I circled virtually every year? An Easy Bake Oven. There was something about cooking in your very own oven, even if it was with a light blub. I never got one. Until July 28, 2004. A few hours before going to the hospital to have Max, my mom finally gave me an Easy Bake Oven. Unfortunatly, it promptly went into a closet for the next few years, because, who has time to cook with a light bulb when you have a newborn/toddler? A few weeks ago, Max discovered it. So off we went to Target to get some mixes & he tried it out. The first project was a chocolate cake, swiftly followed by a yello cake. Delicious!

Eating the chocolate masterpiece

Cleaning up

Since the weather did not cooperate with my garden plans, Max & I decided to buy a couple of tomato plants & put them in containers. Max wanted to take pictures of them to show everyone just how big his tomatos were. And, yes, he did take these pictures himself.

Arkansas Traveler tomato

Husky Cherry tomato

Now I'm off to finish packing for Canada since our flight leaves at the crack of dawn tomorrow!

Sir Max the Brave

2008-06-08T20:16:00.000-07:00

The forecast for the 1st of June was supposed to be sunny & warm (read HOT!). Since I had the day off, we decided to go the the Greater STL Renaissance Fair. We talked about it for a week and Max was excited. He couldn't wait to go see the knights and soldiers and princesses and all the other characters that promised to be there. We even made a deal that if he did all his chores for the week the Renaissance Fairy might bring him a surprise. He was determined & managed to get everything done. Max woke up the morning of and found his surprise.

Sir Max

Sir Max with his loyal Squire, Scottish Ian

Our friend Marlo went with us and our friend Craig met us there. There were lots of things to see. A harpist played a Scottish song & a storyteller told the tale of the MacLeod (Ian's clan) Fairy Flag. We watched Landsknechts demonstrate the cross bow & preform pike drills. We stopped by the blacksmith to watch him make horse shoes. We saw the sword-swallower do what she does best. We kept seeing the belly dancers roaming around the fair but never got to watch the show. Sir Max even got to slay some dragons and won a pretty bracelet for me. After lunch we sat down on a table to watch the joust. They started out aiming for rings and ended with aiming for each other. Max was totally enthralled. At the end of the joust, his favorite knight was answering questions and Max wanted to pet his horse. Of course being chivalrous, he said Max could pet him all he wanted.

Max's favorite knight

Joust

Finally we made our way toward the car and present day. Max kept chattering about the knight & the horse & swords & the horse & lances & the horse & how cool everything was. Then I saw it. The pony rides. Sudden flashback to me at 3, riding Mariah with Daddy & how much fun it was. I asked Max if he wanted to ride & I thought he was going to fall over himself trying to get to the pony. The look on his face as he rode around the trail made it all worth it!

I think this might have been his favorite part!

Now it's summer!

2008-06-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

We had a beautiful day last week! Lots of sun and warm enough to get out the pool. Max had a great time!

Is it just me or does Max look just like Uncle Mark in this pic?

Right down to the toothpick (straw)!

Dinoroarus!

2008-05-21T14:35:00.000-07:00

Sitting on the cool beetle sculpture outside the insectarium

No, that's not a misspelling! The STL Zoo has a nifty exhibit featuring 16 lifesize anamatronic dinosaurs & of course we had to go. I managed to keep it a secret from Max until right before we walked into the section of the zoo where it was located. Max saw the sign with dinos on it & got excited, asking what it said. When I told him the zoo had some dinos just like the Science Center, it was all I could do to keep him from running headlong down the trail. (Since it was about halfway through the River's Edge section, it would have been a long run!) Here are some of his favorites.

Dilophosaurus - this one spits water at you!

The real one spit poison! Yuck!

Dimetrodon

T-Rex

As soon as we walked out of the exhibit, Max decided he wanted to look "just for one more minute". Since this is a special (=$$) exhibit I told him he would have to pay for us to get back in. Then he saw a dinosaur mask & he said he would rather spend his money on that & we could see the dinosaurs again on another day.

Max pretending to be a T-Rex & eating his favorite cobra statue.

Welcome to the world, Jorn & Jack!

2008-05-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

Remember the post about Max naming a friend's twins Jorn & Jack in utero? Well, they're here! Max insists that their names are still Jorn & Jack but admits that "Auntie Jenn calls them something else." He was a little ticked that he couldn't hold the babies all by himself but is satisfied with the promise that we will visit "his babies" as soon as they go home from the hospital. I promise to post pics when that happens!

Matthew Kristopher aka Jack

Rachel Barbara aka Jorn

An excited Auntie Sara, a happy Jenn & two darling babies

WHAT?!?!?

2008-05-15T18:48:00.000-07:00

I was at work today when my friend Andrew stopped by on his way to work. As we stood in one of the aisles having a long overdue chat a customer walked up to ask a question. The conversation went like this:

Me: What can I help you with today?
Guy: I was looking at this book & I decided I didn't want it but I forgot where I picked it up & I don't want to put it back in the wrong place but I can't remember where I got it.
Me: No problem. I can take care of it.
Guy: Oh, OK. I don't know why I can't... I used to have a pornographic memory... (walks off)
Me & Andrew: WHAT?!?

So that's how they get in there!

2008-05-05T18:40:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, Max & I decided to have some fun before all the schools let out & all the cool places are overrun with other kids. He really wanted to go to the zoo but alas, it was raining. Again. Instead we picked up Leslie and off we went to the art museum to see the knights (armor + a few paintings), plus a couple pieces that I like. When we got there, we discovered that they were having an event & some of the galleries were closed. They just happened to be the ones with the paintings of knights. So we spent the day looking at and discussing the religious art, a few modern pieces and of course the gallery of Arms & Armor. Max was very curious about the religious art and had lots of questions about who was in the paintings and what they were doing. Lots of questions about Jesus. We wandered around the museum until it was time for lunch then decided that it was a good day for pancakes. (We do like our breakfast!) Afterwards on our way back to Leslie's, we were chatting and Max was looking out the window when all of a sudden we hear:

Jesus!...(exasperated sigh)...Why do you keep putting boogies in my nose!?!

Machines: X-ray & construction (luckily not on the same day!)

2008-04-29T19:05:00.000-07:00

Max got his first X-ray today. He's fine, nothing's broken, (just wanted to get that part out up front). He fell off some of the playground equipment at school Monday and tough little guy that he is, didn't mention it! Monday evening, we had just started our evening walk, when Max started limping and asking to be carried. That's when he told us he fell out of the spiderweb (picture a cat's cradle big enough to climb in) & hurt his foot. It didn't feel better this morning so off to the doctor we went. Max thought the X-ray camera was really cool & he did really well, followed all the tech's directions perfectly. But, even though there are no broken bones (yippee), he has a bit of soft tissue damage that will just have to heal on its own. Which means Max has to slow down. I know, I gave the doctor a funny look when he told me to make sure Max takes it easy.

On another note, Max & Ian went to an event called Meet the Machines last Saturday. The kids were allowed to climb on all kinds of different construction equipment, watch demonstrations and see some antique equipment as well. The were even letting kids go up in a cherry picker with a parent. Max was in Heaven!

Not sure what this is

Max w/ an antique bulldozer

Max in the Bobcat

And In the cab of something really big

Earthquake in Indiana

2008-04-18T08:45:00.000-07:00

We were awakened at about 4:30 this morning when our bed started shaking and a very loud sound that I am having trouble finding the right word to describe. It was kind of a booming, cracking sound, but that's not even quite right. Even though the whole house was shaking nothing fell off the walls or bookcases. It was all very surreal. After it stopped, we turned on the news to find out that we had just experienced an 5.2 earthquake. Aftershocks are sitting at about 4.5. I keep hearing them but am not feeling them as much. The epicenter was near Evansville, IN so we didn't have it to badly but I will be spending some time checking the foundation tomorrow. So far everyone we know is OK but we have friends with family in Evansville so send out good thoughts for them.

What was Max doing during all the excitement, you ask?

Sleeping peacefully.

My son, the rock star! or Why I run errands while Max is at school.

2008-04-16T19:07:00.000-07:00

Max has a new favorite song. He sings it all the time, but mostly while we are in public. At the top of his lungs.

I was going to Kentucky
I was going to the fair
To see a sen nor etta (maxspeak for senorita)
With flowers in her hair
So shake it baby, shake it
Shake it if you can
Shake it like a milkshake
And put it in your pants

He also does covers of Willie Nelson's On the Road Again & anything by Johnny Cash. These he tends to save for the car or at home.

Less than 3 weeks til the end of the semester...

2008-04-11T08:19:00.000-07:00

and I am in Paper Hell! Over the next 19 days, I have to write one 2-page paper (almost done), two 5+ page papers (due the same bleepin' week) and a 10 minute speech, plus study for a final. So the blog will not get updated for a bit. Unless Max does something incredibly funny or Ian gets a moment away from planning his Scots for Tots event. Here's a pic of Max being Max to tide you over!

Thank you for my AWESOME sword Aunt Vicki!

Who-cakes & veggie drama

2008-04-02T08:06:00.000-07:00

We took Max to see "Horton Hears a Who" last Saturday and he loved it! Our friends Leslie & Lucas went with us & afterwards we all went to IHOP where Max got special "Who-cakes" for dinner. Picture a graduated stack of yummy pancakes, boysenberry and blueberry glaze flowing down the sides instead of syrup, sprinkles and topped off with a pink lollipop. Max thought it was delicious. Leslie & I were feeling a little adventurous & each tried a bite. If your over the age of 5, stick with regular menu.

I had big plans this year to put in a couple of raised beds for veggies since Max & I love them so much. I had visions of tomatoes & corn, okra & lettuce, zucchini & yellow squash, even some brussel sprouts for Max. (Yes, thanks to Pop-pop, Max loves brussel sprouts.) Unfortunately, my days off have been spent inside cleaning & sorting through about12 years worth of junk that has accumulated. I found a couple boxes that I'm pretty sure I haven't opened since we moved out of the condo. Why have I been cleaning? Because it rains on my days off! While I'm at work I can see the bright sunshine through the big windows at the front of the store. "Beautiful", I think, "I'm off tomorrow. I'll put in the garden beds." Wrong! Here comes the rain. I'm going to have to get creative!

Yo, God? Could you lay off the water for a bit? Please?

2008-03-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Weird weather update!

Rain! Lots & lots of rain! It started raining Monday night and we got so much rain on Tuesday that St. Louis City started getting out the flood walls and people in Valley Park were getting pretty nervous. And this is why:

Meremac river overflowed and (luckily) poured into a quarry. The link below is a video of the break.
http://www.ksdk.com/video/default.aspx?aid=71596&sid=142578&bw=hi&cat=2

This is a storm drain near Hwys 44 & 141. Yes, you are correct. There is so much water flowing into the drain that the volume has lifted the manhole cover & the water is coming right back out!

We are about 20 minutes away from the rivers and are OK. At this point, everyone we know in the affected areas have been able to remain in their homes but send out good thoughts for all the people who have been evacuated.

Wish you were here!

2008-03-10T20:20:00.001-07:00

On Saturday about half of the Harris clan descended on my parents house to have a visit with Christal & Jackson & Max & I. We all had the best time! It was the first time I had actually gotten to meet Christal since retail hell keeps me in St. Louis most holidays and that is, of course, when most families get together. Then there was the small problem of distance. Brad & Christal have lived in Australia since they got married & I always seemed to miss them when they came to the States

Mark, Sara, Christal & Jackson

Once Max & I finally arrived (I am sooo ready for Spring! I can't take any more $#&$@ snow!) it was time to eat.

Food & Family
More Food & More Family!

Darling Boys!

I found an Easter egg!

I found chocolate!!!

Max & Jackson got along wonderfully! They had a great time running around, playing, blowing bubbles & hunting for Easter eggs. Once they figured out there was candy (thank you, Mum-mum) in the eggs, things really got interesting!

Peeps? What Peeps? We haven't seen any Peeps?

No more pictures! We're plotting to take over the world!

Max: So how do you like Peeps? They're a delicacy here in America.
Jackson: Very much! In fact, I think I'd like another. Where's Aunt Mary? I know she'll give me more!
Max: Definitely, but don't tell our Moms! They're sure to hide all the good stuff!

Sugar Giggles

Blowing bubbles with Bob

Love those kisses!

All in all, it was a great day! Everyone had a great time, kids & adults. There were a few people who would have made the day even better but I guess we'll have to wait a little while longer to get the whole family together.

We miss you Ian, Brad, Matt, Sharon & Family, Allen, Angie & Family!

Remember when I said we were having crazy weather?

2008-03-06T18:59:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, March 2, we had beautiful weather. It was 75 degrees, sunny, absolutely gorgeous! I seriously debated calling in sick but somehow I knew my boss would suspect something. We had the widows open all day & only closed them when it started to rain around 3 am. Monday was rainy & cooler but still in the high 50's. We woke up Tuesday to colder temperatures and a dusting of snow on the ground. As I was waking Max up for school we got the call saying that school would be closed for the day. Hmmm... By 9am it was falling fast & the forecast was for 3-6 inches. By around 12pm we had this:

This is how far I could open my screen door at 1pm:

Here's a picture of Max "helping" me shovel the front walk

And a fun little video:

I tried to post a video but the stinkin' system kept giving me an error message so I'll add it

when I figure out what the problem is.

(sorry it's a little jumpy)

Max had the best time running & diving face first into the snow. It took the promise of hot chocolate, marshmallows and that the snow wouldn't melt before he got to play in it again. How much snow did we end up with? At least 10 inches.

If they're in there, why don't they crunch?

2008-02-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

Max: Mommy, I gots bugs in my mouth.
Sara: What?!?
Max: I gots bugs in my mouth, I told you!
Sara: No, there are no bugs in your mouth.
Max: Yes there are! Ms. Betsy said I had bugs in my mouth! On my tongue! They are taste bugs! They taste my food!
Sara: Taste BUDS, Buddy! She said taste BUDS! (LOL)

I'm procrastinating again!

2008-02-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

On my paper, that is. Just a few updates, then back to work!

We've had lots of snow and ice lately. This pic is from a couple weeks ago when we got about 9 or 10 inches over 2 days. Needless to say, Max was in heaven! Unfortunately our weather has been so weird that the snow only lasted for about 36 hours after it stopped falling. Then it was up to 70 degrees then it dropped steadily back to freezing. Now we're having a yucky yo-yo effect. Last weekend, nice. Cold but nice. Temp went into the 50s then crashed to the teens. Ice by Thursday. Not snow! ICE! Not good snowman weather! Which leads me to a funny Max story...

I had to be at work by 7am on Thursday so we went about our normal routine but left a little earlier since it had sleeted a bit overnight. Max & I get to daycare & he's excited because his friend Aleecia is already there & they get to play. So off I go to work. I'm there a whole 15 minutes and the phone starts to ring. Employees calling out or just letting me know they'll be late because of the ice. I go to the front & Yikes! It's falling really fast now! About 8am, daycare calls. They're closing & I have to go get Max. The store opens at 9am. No problem, I can get there & back before the store has to open since I'm the only manager. And I did with 20 minutes to spare. (My boss was due in at 9 but she wasn't able to get there til 10:30.) Max hung out while I finished getting ready to open because, wouldn't you know it, there are already people waiting outside the door for their morning coffee fix. Then he and I went & sat at the cash registers (since that was the easiest place for him to color & stay out of mischief. One of my coworkers, Siri, decides to teach Max what to say when people are ready to check out. Max couldn't wait. About 10 minutes went by before he got his chance. and it went like this...

M: (sitting on a stool, not immediately noticeable) Hi! How are you?

C: (surprised) Well, fine. How are you today?

M: Are those your books?

C: Why yes, I'd like to buy them.

M: Do you have any money? Cause you can't steal them!

And the next 2 hours continued along the same lines!

On the following Saturday, Ian was finally home from his emergency trip to Denver & he & Max came to the store to eat dinner with me. Afterwards, since he had eaten every last bite of his dinner, we went to the cafe for a chocolate chip cookie. As the cafe server was pulling the very last cookie out of the case for him, Max turned to the woman in line behind us and said, "You can't have a chocolate chip cookie. I gots the last one." To which she replied, "That's OK, I didn't want a chocolate chip cookie." Max gave her an extremely skeptical look and said, "Yes...you did. (with that smart alecky little pause that teens are known for)

Where do they get this stuff!?!

(Christal- I promise I won't let Max teach Jackson too many bad habits!)

And now back to my paper!

Want a mini Max moment?

2008-02-19T20:34:00.000-08:00

Click on the link to the right for "Oh, Now I Remember Me".
Max hung out with my friend Leslie while I was at school & has decided to become a rock star. Or may be a photographer. You be the judge.

A serious thanks to Les! We LOVE you!

Max promises to be a little less crazy next week! (But only a little!)

We are still here! I promise!

2008-02-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Just a quick update to let you guys know we are still alive! I really haven't forgotten about the blog, school is kickin' my butt this semester! I think both my proffs got together & figured out that if they made papers due the same week (every week!) that I might crack. Well, I'll show them! Seriously, I like my classes but there is a ton of reading in one & writing in the other. I'm working on 4 papers simultainiously, 3 for one class! I promise I'll put up something a little more interesting by the end of next week!

Out of the mouths of babes!

2008-01-11T11:09:00.000-08:00

Why do zits never go away? The bane of all teenage existence follows us doggedly into adulthood. Poor Ian has one right in the crease between his nose & upper lip. Those are the painfully annoying kind & he started to absentmindedly rub it while we were at the dinner table. Max (who has heard this phrase repeatedly directed at himself ) told Ian that "We don't pick our nose, Dad! That's yucky!" & the following conversation ensued:

I: I'm not picking my nose, buddy. Its a zit.
M: What's a zit?
I: Its another name for a pimple. Sometimes you get them because its time to wash your face.
M: Whats a pimp?

30 minutes later I have picked myself up off the floor & stopped laughing long enough to get on the blog!

On another note, When we watch movies, I usually skip all the previews/ads & head straight for the main menu so we can start watching the movie right away. Ian, on the other hand, just pops in the dvd & lets it run. Max really likes the THX ad in Pixar films. Evidently, every time the THX breaks down & the little robot comes flying out to fix it, Max says "He said dammit, Daddy. We don't say dammit". Every time! He knows he's not supposed to say that word but he seems to be under the impression that if he uses it while tattling, its OK.

Christmas Week

2008-01-11T08:54:00.000-08:00

Christmas was so much fun this year! Mum-mum & Pop-pop came up from Arkansas for a whole week. We really missed Uncle Mark but he had to work at his new job. We spent christmas morning opening presents. The two biggest hits were the rubber farm boots (just like pop-pop's) & the shark tent followed closely by the basketball goal.

Taking a break from opening presents

I gots farm boots!!!

Max & Pop-pop in the shark

He shoots! He scores!

Later that day we all piled into the car & headed to Florissant for dinner with Ian's parents, his sister Deb & her family. Dinner (prime rib & yorkshire pudding, YUM!) was wonderful & it was nice to have both families together again. Max was treated to another round of presents but I think he had the most fun playing with his cousin Sarah.

Mimi, Grandpa & Ian

Sarah, Max, Sara, Mum-mum & Aunt Debbie

Max & Sarah playing (imaginary) baseball.

Ian & Uncle Scott looking snazzy in their new chef gear

We left Florissant arount 9:30pm & Max still seemed pretty wound up. Imagine my suprise when I looked in the back seat about 15 minutes later & saw this:

What a pair!

Later that week our friends Misty & Michael came over & had lunch with us. Their kids were in Arkansas for a few days so Max had them all to himself. I was just happy to see my bestest friend!

Misty & Michael

After all the excitment, Max decided he needed a nice relaxing bath that night. What better time to try out his new razor & shaving cream.

And the party just kept going! Marlo came over for a couple hours later in the week & managed to distract Max for an hour or so. I think he might have even conned her into going to Arkansas with us in March.

Sara, Max, Marlo & Pop-pop

Naming Rights

2007-12-12T11:20:00.000-08:00

Max & I have been talking a lot about babies lately. It seems everyone we know is expecting & they are all due in either January or June. Makes for some interesting conversations. Anyway, the other day, Max & I went to visit our good friends Jenn & Kris who are expecting twins. Max gets (kind of) the concept that a woman can have a baby in her tummy & that when it gets big enough it will come out since quite a few of his classmates have recently become big brothers or sisters. When we told him that Jenn had 2 babies in there, he was understandably full of questions. "How do they fit? What do they do in there all day? Do they have toys? Do they hafta share? How do they look at books?" Then he asked what their names were and the conversation went something like this:

Jenn: So far, we've picked Rachel for a girl & Matthew for a boy.

Max: No no no no, Auntie Jenn! That's not their names!

Jenn: Do you know their names, Max?

Max: They is Jorn & Jack. Can you say that? JORN... And JACK! (emphatically)

Its been a couple weeks & he is still insisting that the babies will be called Jorn & Jack. We'll have to wait & see it the parents to be take his advice

On a related note, no, I am not drinking the same water as all of my friends but may take a sip or two next July. So patience all you antsy people! (And you know who you are!)

Turkey Day!

2007-12-05T13:04:00.000-08:00

This year we went to our nephew Cristopher's new house for Thanksgiving. This was his first year to host & he did a great job! Chris recently moved in with 3 roommates, a cat & now 2 puppies. His dog, Pika, is a black Australian Shepard mix & Inuyasha, a cute little mutt that looks very beagle-ish, belongs to one of the other guys in the house. Needless to say, as soon as Max discovered the dogs we had a hard time getting him to pay attention to anything else.

Max & Pika

Inuyasha taking a rest from playing

We sat down to dinner & all was well. The turkeys were perfect, sweet potatos tasty, stuffing yummy & all the other dishes were quickly devoured as well. Max provided the entertainment by asking Chris's friend Daily why he had long hair & so many piercings. When Daily answered that he had them because "a pretty girl liked them" you could see the wheels turning in Max's little head. Uh-oh...

After dinner, we went downstairs to play a little Guitar Hero. Max had a great time playing against his cousin Sarah & kept us in stitches the entire time. He had such a serious expression & would jump around, playing like a rock star. He really wanted to take the guitars home & was only consoled by a promise to get out Daddy's guitar in the morning.

Firetrucks & Halloween

2007-12-05T11:12:00.000-08:00

Its been awhile, I know! But now the computer is fixed & I should be able to get back on track. Keeping in mind that Holiday is in full swing for us poor retail saps, I have a final coming up & my habit of taking on more projects than I really should.

In July, the Monarch Fire Department celebrated their 100th (I think) anniversary with a huge party. Ian & Max met our friend Leslie there to help celebrate. Her stepdad, Ron, is a firefighter with the department & showed Max all around the fire station, including inside the firetrucks & ambulance, the previous Halloween. Max was very excited to see his firemen friends again & the possibility of seeing a helicopter up close didn't hurt either! Max got to see all kinds of different demonstrations & came home wanting to be a firefighter (or a horse) when he grows up.

Who wouldn't want to play on this firetruck?

Firefighter Max is on his way!

Take that, naughty fire!

Watching the firemen

This Halloween fell on a Wednesday which just happens to be a class night for me. And not just any class night. It was the night I had to give a presentation worth 25% of my grade so there was no getting out of it! Max's reply when I told him Leslie would be taking him Trick or Treating? "Yeah, I get to play with Bara". As an added treat, she also brought Lucas! So off I went to class!

Max insisted that he wear his costume backwards because it was more comfortable that way. Max, Lucas & Bara the Wonder Dog!

Backwards Buzz

Backwards Buzz showing us his laser

Max listening intently to Lucas explaining how to eat a lollipop.

Max & Lucas sharing the spoils.

Thank you to Leslie who took all these cute pics while hanging out with Max! You rock!

2007-11-14T10:51:00.000-08:00

I know its been awhile since my last post but its been a little crazy here. We're gearing up for Holiday at work, my final is swiftly approaching at school & Ian has been traveling way to much. Top that all off with a busted desktop computer & you get a whole lotta nothin' on the blog. It is now on the road to recovery & hopefully by the end of the week I will post more pics of Max than you will know what to do with. Seriously, be prepared for multiple posts!

I recently discovered this comic strip & the past week has been drawn from reader emails. Since I write the schedules in my store, the 11/14/2007 strip is particularly rlevant. Read a few & take a peek into my work (*shudder*) life.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/retail.asp

And now I will close my laptop & read my psych chapter like I was going to do 3 hours ago!

of naps & neighbors

2007-10-17T09:50:00.001-07:00

Exhausted boy

Max has been having a lot of trouble sleeping lately. Not at night, just during the day. When its time for a nap at school, he does everything possible to keep himself awake. He lies on his cot with one leg in the air until he physically can't hold it up any longer & he lets it drop only to raise the other leg and start all over again. He sings to himself (which, in a 3 yr old's voice, is not always to himself), tosses & turns & makes enough noise that the kids around him have a hard time sleeping too. At first his teachers would give him a book & let him read or he could go to the drawing table or the puzzle table as long as he let his friends rest. The problem is that he really needs that nap. When I would arrive around 4pm to pick him up, he would be exhausted (but still fighting sleep every step of the way). Only when I strapped him into his car seat would his fingers make their way to his mouth & invariably he would be out within 5 minutes. This would have been OK if it was just a little car nap but no, he was so tired he would sleep all the way home, continue to sleep on the couch while I made dinner, wake up to eat, then ASK to go to bed! At 6:30pm! So in order to get him to take a nap, one of his teachers helps Max wrap himself in his blanket (he thinks being a Max burrito is hysterical) and sits next to him & pats his back or if he's having a really hard time, she holds him & rocks. A couple of days ago, Max seemed to be having an extra hard time & started crying. When Heather explained that it was rest time & his actions were telling her he needed help falling asleep, he replied "You're turning me off & I don't like being turned off!" But he took a nap! For 2 hours!

Max loves to play in the dirt & our neighbor, Karolyn likes to garden. Her youngest is 24 so she likes to spend time with Max when she needs a little kid fix. A couple of weeks ago, Karolyn & Max made a friendship garden next to our mailbox. He had so much fun digging the holes for the plants and laying rocks for the border. Its so nice to have friendly neighbors!

Max digging holes for the new plants

Max & Karolyn loading rocks in to his wagon for the border

Almost done

Just a few more finishing touches

2007-09-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

Max loves pirates! He loves to tell you about Blackbeard & Henry Morgan, Ann Bonny & Mary Read. He even thinks privateers like Sir Francis Drake are pretty neat. (Can you tell Mommy's a history nerd?) So when I noticed a poster in the grocery store describing the STL Pirate Festival I knew we'd have to go. And Ian was home, so he got to go too!
Right off the bat, we had to stop & dig for buried treasure! Ian got to do most of the digging since Max was distracted by all the pirates roaming around. Next stop, the belly dancers! I don't have to tell you why he liked them.

After lunch, we headed to the Sword & Roses show which consisted of singing, sword fighting sisters who were followed by a sword swallower/fire eater. Max thought they were great. At one point, we could see the sword moving in time to her heartbeat. He kept asking how they did it & why the sword swallower had so many tattoos & why didn't I have more.

And so our next stop was the face painting booth, to get Max a tattoo, just like a proper pirate. I think that was the longest I've ever seen him sit still.

We roamed all over the fair, meeting a few of his favorite pirates. Some of them even gave him gold doubloons which he promptly pocketed. We evn saw some pirates who had been thown in jail for being wild & crazy! We listened to a harpist who played a Scottish tune for us then a pirate drinking song which Max thought was really nifty. We peeked into shops along the way to see what they had to offer. There were costumes & jewelry, knives & swords, lots of arts & crafts. Max decided on a wooden toy boat since everyone knows all pirates have to have their own boat and a wooden sword. Max tested out quite a few swords before he found one just his size. I think he may have been a pirate in another life since he tested the weight, length & how well it moved before he decided on the perfect one. After he asked the lady pirate how much it cost, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a couple of the gold doubloons & tried to pay with those. When that didn't work, I handed him the money. Then it was time to go.

As we started down the highway, Max chattered about how neat it was to meet all the pirates & how "(big yawn) I'm not tired, Mom. (bigger yawn)" About 5 minutes later, I looked back & saw him sleeping peacfully, sword in hand & pirates sailing through his dreams.

Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

2007-09-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

What do you do in St. Louis when the temp drops to the mid 80s & the humidity is virtually non existent? What if all the schools in the area are in session while your child's has a professional development day? You go to the Zoo! Not only do the kids have a great time looking at all the animals, but the mommies get to chat & have a little exercise at the same time.

Max peeking at the elephant peeking at Max

We started our trip in the River's Edge part of the zoo which is home to the elephants, hippos, cheetahs and hyenas among others. Max always likes to visit the new baby elephant but alas, he was nowhere to be seen. Most of the elephants were playing hide 'n seek but a few of them just couldn't resist a peek at us.

Connor & Kristi looking at the elephant.

The Hippo habitat is really cool. The viewing area is a cross section of the pool so you can see the entire animal as its lounging in the water, not just its snout. But since the hippos decided to take their rest in a corner with their backs to the crowd, people felt the need to jam the available viewing space to watch them do nothing. Max found a nifty spot that had no hippos but lots of fish to watch.

Max in front of the Hippo habitat.

The River's Edge is set up to look more like the animals natural habitat than traditional zoos so around every corner is an exhibit worked into the surrounding foliage like a nest of newly hatched snakes in a hollow log or giant nest in the trees. The kids really like the log because it just big enough for them to run through but Max's favorite is the female cobra with her eggs.

Next it was off to the Big cats where everyone was asleep except for the jaguar. He must have been having an awful bout of insomnia since he was pacing furiously. I couldn't get a decent picture of him & the kids (they're kind of wiggly too) so I settled for getting both kids in the shot.

Max & Connor watching the jaguar pace.

We saw quite a few more animals but there was no way to get more pictures. Kristi was pushing Connor in Max's stroller, I was pushing Chase in her stroller with Max riding on my shoulders. (I told you I got some exercise!) The we passed the mist fan. The zoo has big fans that blow a nice cool mist set up at various points to combat the nasty St. Louis summers. The boys had a great time running back and forth in front of it. By the time they were done, their hair was soaked.How cool is that fan!

Did I mention that the zoo is free? Yup!
Bring a picnic lunch (and park at the Art Museum) & you don't have to spend a dime. Unless, of course, you get sucked into one of the many gift shops scattered around.

Best sprinkler ever!

2007-08-21T18:42:00.000-07:00

I found this great sprinkler at Target & I thought the kids might like to run through it at Max's birthday party. I did not foresee the awesome power exerted by the Spiderman pool which caused everything else to go unnoticed. (At least until it was time for cake.) So it sat unused & lonely in a corner of the back yard. Until now.
It has been so hot in St. Louis that we haven't gotten too much outdoor playtime & for Max's energy level (and my sanity), that is not a good thing! 107 degrees is just to hot for him to be running around all wild & crazy. So after it had cooled off to about 100 one evening we decided to take advantage of the brief period before the mosquitoes really get stirred up to go out & play in the sprinkler. It can be used as either a stationary sprinkler by filling the reservoir in the bottom with water or can be rolled around all over the yard thanks to a nifty hose attachment. At first Max just ran around it, getting soaked & stopping for a drink now and then.
Then he discovered that it would roll. And roll it he did! Back & forth across the yard. Then he noticed that he could roll back toward the front porch. Where we were sitting. Sneaky little munchie!
When he finally got tired, Max decided he would just sit down on it, take a little rest & still keep cool. But the sprinkler had other ideas. Max would ease back & try to put his full weight on it just like a beanbag, but the sprinkler would just roll him right off.
After a few bumps he figured out a position that worked. For a little while, anyway. He just kept wanting to put his feet up.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end & with dusk falling fast, the mosquitoes took care of the outside play. Max didn't want to go in, insisting that he didn't have any blood for the mosquitoes to drink & only cooperated when we turned the sprinkler off.

Vacation (of a sort)

2007-08-08T15:09:00.000-07:00

Lots has been happening in our little corner of St. Louis & most of it in our back yard! Mom & Dad came up for Max's birthday & stayed for a week. Max had a great time hanging out with Mum-mum & Pop-pop. Every morning Max would charge downstairs with strict instructions not to follow, he would wake up Mum-mum all by himself. He & Pop-pop would walk to the store to get a newspaper & look at all the cars & trucks & play in the gazebo in the park for awhile.

Later he would play outside with Mum-mum.
Followed by nice cold watermelon from their farm.

But it wasn't all fun and games! Ian & Dad were hard at work fixing our deck. I say fixing, it was more like rebuilding. We had replaced boards here & there since we bought the house 2 years ago but the people who built it never sealed it & replacing the whole floor was inevitable. I was pretty nervous walking across it. Then we discovered the posts needed to be replaced as well. And parts of the rail. And I wanted steps on the east side of the deck since Max's swing set is on that end of the house & the only steps were on the west side. So after Max's party, we got to work. Yes, I did say we. While Ian & Dad were pulling up boards & I got the fun task of helping move them to the ever growing pile of rotten planks. ( And boy, were they rotten!) Then I followed behind them, yanking nails & screws out of the joists. Luckily none of those needed to be replaced! Dad & Ian worked their tails off & got it most of it done by the time Mom & Dad had to leave on Sunday. Ian finished up a few remaining items & next week it will get a nice coat of water seal! Too bad its too hot to enjoy it! 105 degrees! Yikes!

Posts replaced, rail removed for steps & floor demolition in progress!

Look at that nice new floor! No body's gonna fall through that!

Look at those steps! Three cheers for Dad & Ian!

Now that the deck is finished I can finally start planning for spring planting! I know its early but I have some interesting plans for flowers & veggies!

And now you know why I posted everything at once!

Max is 3!

2007-08-07T09:28:00.001-07:00

Mommy said that since I'm a big boy I could tell everyone about my party. My friends Connor & Kassie came & played in my new pool! It was so much fun going underwater & then jumping up to splash my friends.

Diver Max

Boo!

The frosting tasted so good, I didn't want any cake! Mommy had other ideas!

We had cupcakes with spiderwebs & lots of snacks for all my friends! My Mimi & Grandpa were there with all my St. Louis aunts & uncles. Mum-mum & Pop-pop & Uncle Mark came all the way from Arkansas. I was so glad everyone got to come play!

I almost forgot! Here's a picture of my friend Finn showing us his angry face! He's guarding his cupcake because he thought the frosting was the best part too! Go away, Cupcake Snatchers!

What will I be today?

2007-08-07T08:36:00.000-07:00

Max loves to dress up & pretend so here a a few of his favorites.

Pirate Max- "Arrrgh! Where did I bury my treasure?"

Diver Max (Those are Dad/Bill's fins & snorkel!)

Farmer Max- "I'll plant watermelons, I think!"

Spiderman Max

This is a Spidey swim set that my dad found for him. He hasn't tried it in the water yet but can't wait!

Gardener Max who all of a sudden turns into...

Artist Max

We also have Workerman Max (Construction worker in Max speak), Fireman Max & Policeman Max to name a few. What an imagination! No two days are alike!

A Lazy Sunday with Ms. Jones

2007-07-20T08:56:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday was a lazy day for us. I didn't have to work, Ian didn't have to travel & so we did a whole lotta nothin' all day. One of the (semi) productive things I did was read the paper while Max watched his weekly allotment of cartoons. As I finished a section I'd put it on the floor in a nice neat little pile. After awhile I realized that he was being quiet, too quiet. Max is very active & even watching cartoons is a non sedentary activity for him. He likes to talk to the characters or if he's watching Handy Manny (his fav), he likes to pretend he's hammering & sawing right along with the show. So anytime we're all home & it gets quiet, I get nervous. I looked over at Max & saw this:

Max is very involved in reading the current issue of Parade magazine that comes in our Sunday paper. On closer inspection you'll notice that Catherine Zeta-Jones is on the cover & just guess which article he was so absorbed in? When I asked him what he was reading,

he replied with a grin, "I'm looking at the sexy lady, Mom."
And that is how we spent last Sunday.
Just a little lazy family time with Ms. Jones tagging along.

Girl Trip!!!

2007-06-29T12:49:00.000-07:00

Every now & then you just need to get away. This time I really got away. No husband, no kid. For 5 days & 4 nights. Just me, my friend Marlo, and (for the first night at least) my sis-in-law Becky, niece Lizzie & her friend Kim. At the BEACH!!!! We went to Gulf Shores & had a great time. I've never been overly fond of going to the beach in the summer for the obvious reasons. They tend to be too crowded, littered with all kinds of nasty stuff & I have no desire to see lots of people in bikinis that really shouldn't be. But this beach was awesome! Not too crowded, lots of shells, no seaweed so you could actually swim. Nothing to do except read my books & ask Mar to pass me another beer every now and then.

The view from our condo

Every morning we'd wake up & have breakfast on the balcony, watching the boats go by. The pelicans were always up early catching their breakfast & the crane hopped from the docks to the boats, strutting like some of the owners. We only spent one day actually inside the condo because it rained, the majority of the time we were on the balcony if we weren't at the beach. It was a great place to people watch. One evening as we were eating dinner we saw a pair of dolphins playing in the waterway. Why are there no pictures, you ask? Because the camera batteries I had charged fully the night before we left decided at that precise moment to die! So I got to watch the dolphins play & hope that they might repeat the performance sometime before we left. Unfortunately they must have had a previous engagement.

The beach

Max's pirate sailboat

Crafty pelican

Crane/heron (At that distance, how do you tell which it is?)

It was hard being away from Max but it was nice actually getting to read a book that wasn't for school & didn't have more pictures than words. I finally got to read 3 books that have been sitting on my shelf for a long time. Hypocrite in a Poofy White Dress was hysterical, Best American Non Required Reading 2003 (yes, I got it as an advance in 2003) was thought provoking & Virgin Blue would have been much better if I had not been reading an uncorrected proof & the pages had all been there. Ah, the hazards of being a bookseller.

All in all, it was a great vacation & I think we will have to repeat it with the whole family, but there's no place like home.

of high fives & potty drama

2007-06-22T17:51:00.003-07:00

Not classic literature, just a Chinese takeout menu we got in the mail

So Max was sitting on the potty having convinced me he needed to poop. (I say convinced because sometimes I think he is just teasing me since absolutely nothing happens!) Anyway he has developed a need for privacy & will sit on the toilet for what seems like hours with me hovering just outside the door. Not because I want to hover mind you, but because at random moments he will call out, "Mommy, I need to hug you" & who could resist that? So this time, after a few minutes of nothing happening, I ran into the living room & popped in the first cd in the stack. If I was going to hang out, I might as well have good tunes, right? As the first song on the Miles Davis cd ended, Max hollered from his spot on the throne, "Mommy, you got soul!"
Incidently, after I finished laughing and the second song had ended, we had poop!

Always the rebel

Little kids love high fives! We do high fives for everything. Getting dressed. Eating all our veggies. Eating any of our veggies for that matter. (Thank goodness for broccali!) Just for the heck of it. Asking for a high five is the sure way to get Max out of a shy mood in those rare instances that one strikes him. But now we have taken it to a whole new level. Max has learned the "Gimme five, On the side, In the hole, Too slow" game that we all played at some point or another. And he likes it. A lot! He laughs that full bodied little kid laugh that incapacitates him just long enough for me to think about getting the camera but then we have to start another round. I'm just glad I was able to convince him that the game should only be used for major accomplishments, like going potty.

Summertime

2007-06-15T19:05:00.000-07:00

Max after his 100th slide in a row

Summertime is here & its so nice to be outside! Its even more fun when you can spend time with good friends. Last week, my friend Kristi brought her kids Kassie, Connor & Chase over to play & we got a little time for grown up conversation. The weather was beautiful, the kids were all over the swingset, while we sat in the shade drinking iced tea. Well, Kristi was drinking her tea. Being the klutz that I am, I took two sips & promtly spilled mine. Thank goodness for the NeatSheet! (Do they still make those?)

Max & Connor getting a push from Kristi

Max & Ian playing football

Speaking of being outside, as long as he could play sports, I don't think Max would ever come in. He is all boy! When he's not playing football, its baseball or soccer or golf. He wants a basketball goal but I'm not sure where we'd put it. If he has to be inside, his tool bench is where he'll be or maybe he'll draw, but only if he's tired from running around all day.

Max with his new soccer ball

Max is trying really hard to do some of the tricks he's seen the older kids do, like bouncing the soccer ball on his knees. He started out dropping it from a few inches above his knee then moved to throwing it high in the air & trying to bounce it off his knee that way. Sometimes it works, sometimes not, but he keeps trying til he decides its time for a popcicle

Perfect day for a first baseball game

2007-06-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

Max during National Anthem

During Memorial Day weekend, Ian's Aunts & Uncles came for a mini family reunion & it turned out to be a great time to take Max to his first major league baseball game. He loves sports of all kinds but baseball is his favorite. His favorite players are Albert Pujols & Jim Edmonds & had everyone cracking up whenever they came up to bat, saying "Hit that ball, Jimmy!" or "Come on, Albert! You're my buddy! I need a home run!" When the Cards were in the field he loved to yell, "Good catch!" or "Nice throw!"

He also got to experience baseball food for the first time.

Hot dogs & pretzels, nachos & sno-cones.

Thank goodness he missed the cotton candy vendors!

No, really! I'm giving Ian a hug! Ian, me, Max, Aunt Allie, Uncle Andy & Uncle Steve Max & Ian watching the Cards win!

One more way Max is just like Ian

2007-06-07T17:49:00.000-07:00

Max hates to get up in the morning. Hates it! But since I have to be at work by 7am most mornings, he gets up early a lot. So this morning we were running late, which is pretty standard when Ian's out of town, and I started the countdown at about 5 min til 6am . The conversation went something like this...

S: 5 more minutes & its time to get up.
M: Grunt
S: 2 minutes & its time to get up.
M: Grumble, grumble. Something unintelligible in a whiny voice.
S: Its 6, Buddy, time to get your clothes on.
M: I can't! (pulls covers over head)
S: Come on, Buddy! If you want your chocolate milk you better hustle! (whips covers off)
M: I can't, I told you! My covers are tackling me! (pulls covers over head again)

Funny kid!

First of many...

2007-05-30T11:02:00.000-07:00

(Sara & Max, Easter 2007)

I heard you! All the (not so) subtle hints worked!

I have finally gotten a little time to create a blog to help everyone keep up with our little family. I'll try to update it once a week or so & since I'm not taking any classes this summer I

should (in theory) be able to keep up.

(Ian & Max)

This is Max right before he figured out how to open the elephant shaped Easter egg filled with little energy bombs commonly known as chocolate eggs.

(Is it bad that I filled it with candy from the basket he got at school? Sneaky Mommy!)

This is Max at Mimi & Grandpa Good's house after his Aunt Debbie added to the suger rush started by the chocolate eggs. Max thinks Mimi's gargoyles are really cool & spent the evening being one.