Tucker LOVES the monster truck video we checked out of the library. He still has a relatively high fever (thankfully it topped out at 103.5 yesterday, so not scary high), which means that the little guy is tired and a bit cranky and needs some entertaining.
Toddlers aren't super good at lying down and resting when they're sick, so we let Tucker watch lots of videos when he's not up to snuff.
Unfortunately, the only video he will let us play for him is the same monster truck video, over and over again. Yesterday he watched it at least three times, and today he's working on his third time right now. I think I've memorized Monster Truck Driver Dave and Monster Truck Driver Becky's lines.
He shows no signs of getting bored of it. He is sitting over there smiling, with just rapt attention. I, on the other hand....
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
More wedding pics
This gives a bit more of the flavor of the day.
In other news, we are now safely back in Virginia. It feels good to be home... but at dinnertime Tucker felt pretty warm: 102.3 fever. Argh! Probably just adjusting to the hot weather??? Riiight.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Vacation
Here's the only picture that has emerged thus far of the wedding (and Tucker having finished his ring mission)... I'm sure more will follow, but as you can tell it was a gorgeous setting.
Tucker has been involved in lots of very important pursuits since the wedding at GoGo's house, like learning how to make his stuffed monkey sing "If you're happy and you know it" and stuffing his pacifier in the monkey's mouth (which opens and closes to the song).
He also has been telling us all about what his little friend in Charlottesville is doing. John hung out with us a few times in the past couple weeks, and according to Tucker he is accompanying us on this trip. We hear each day that John is sleeping, that John has a truck, and more.
Other than that, Tucker has been enjoying being the center of attention. My dad's family was around until yesterday, and Tucker really liked having about 10 people to order around, who for the most part listened to him. (His parents don't think his commands are quite as cute!)
There is an enormous amount of junk food around, and I think he manages to go whole days on vacation without eating much real food. It will be a tough transition to go home tomorrow!
I know, there's been a disappointing lack of pictures on this blog lately... hopefully we will get a working camera soon!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Wedding highlights
Tucker made it down the aisle.
It's risky to have a ring bearer who is not quite 2, but Tucker was a champ and willingly rolled down the aisle at my brother's wedding this weekend, and successfully delivered the (real) rings. He even willingly wore his tuxedo for almost four hours. Wow.
I was too busy making sure we made it to the ceremony in one piece to keep track of a camera, but I know other people took pics of him, so we'll eventually have the evidence.
Of course, the real highlight was that Mike and Kat got married--but I wasn't in nearly as much suspense about whether that would happen as I was about the ring bearer's performance. :)
The weather did throw them some curves, like raining so hard there was a foot of standing water on the road the afternoon of the rehearsal dinner. But the rain held off for the three hours before the ceremony, and the skies didn't let loose until the bride and groom had recessed (I think the rest of the wedding party got a little wet...).
Other adversity included my cousin Steve's almost 40-hour saga getting to the wedding. A family member had bought his plane ticket, so the credit card name was not in his own name--and he got flagged for potential fraud. But the ticket counters were so backed up, and he had to wait in three different lines that by the time his ticket was striaghtened out the door to his flight had closed. No rehearsal dinner for Steve.
But the story gets even worse. It was a red eye flight, so his only option was to go home and come back in 6 hours for the first flight out in the morning. That went off without a hitch, and he got to Dulles with plenty of time for his connection to Burlington. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs in Burlington so the flight there was delayed an hour. They finally boarded, only to be informed when the flight's doors were closed that Burlington's runways were still closed and they just had to wait. The flight to Burlington is only about an hour... they held Steve's flight on the ground in Dulles for THREE hours, before giving up and letting them disembark. By this time, two flights to Burlington had been cancelled and there were 120 Burlington passengers in line at the ticket counter with one representative.
Steve spent two hours in line before confirming that no flights were available to either Burlington or Albany in the next day, at which time he took a taxi to the Amtrak station and had about an hour to kill before a 3 am train ride to Albany. Of course, his connection in NY was delayed and then due to track flooding the train slowed to a top speed of 20 mph for a chunk of the journey.
He did make it to the wedding, though. :)
It's risky to have a ring bearer who is not quite 2, but Tucker was a champ and willingly rolled down the aisle at my brother's wedding this weekend, and successfully delivered the (real) rings. He even willingly wore his tuxedo for almost four hours. Wow.
I was too busy making sure we made it to the ceremony in one piece to keep track of a camera, but I know other people took pics of him, so we'll eventually have the evidence.
Of course, the real highlight was that Mike and Kat got married--but I wasn't in nearly as much suspense about whether that would happen as I was about the ring bearer's performance. :)
The weather did throw them some curves, like raining so hard there was a foot of standing water on the road the afternoon of the rehearsal dinner. But the rain held off for the three hours before the ceremony, and the skies didn't let loose until the bride and groom had recessed (I think the rest of the wedding party got a little wet...).
Other adversity included my cousin Steve's almost 40-hour saga getting to the wedding. A family member had bought his plane ticket, so the credit card name was not in his own name--and he got flagged for potential fraud. But the ticket counters were so backed up, and he had to wait in three different lines that by the time his ticket was striaghtened out the door to his flight had closed. No rehearsal dinner for Steve.
But the story gets even worse. It was a red eye flight, so his only option was to go home and come back in 6 hours for the first flight out in the morning. That went off without a hitch, and he got to Dulles with plenty of time for his connection to Burlington. Of course, it was raining cats and dogs in Burlington so the flight there was delayed an hour. They finally boarded, only to be informed when the flight's doors were closed that Burlington's runways were still closed and they just had to wait. The flight to Burlington is only about an hour... they held Steve's flight on the ground in Dulles for THREE hours, before giving up and letting them disembark. By this time, two flights to Burlington had been cancelled and there were 120 Burlington passengers in line at the ticket counter with one representative.
Steve spent two hours in line before confirming that no flights were available to either Burlington or Albany in the next day, at which time he took a taxi to the Amtrak station and had about an hour to kill before a 3 am train ride to Albany. Of course, his connection in NY was delayed and then due to track flooding the train slowed to a top speed of 20 mph for a chunk of the journey.
He did make it to the wedding, though. :)
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Austin is a busy guy
According to Tucker, Austin drives:
...every ambulance we see
...every bus we see
...every tractor
...every tractor trailer, and
...every pickup truck.
It all started last week when Austin was away for a couple of nights at a conference, and I checked a book out of the library entitled "Drive." The book is about Daddy who goes to work really early in the morning to drive his tractor trailer. It shows a sleeping boy when Daddy leaves, and then Daddy comes home and they play baseball together. Well, Tucker identified with the book. Each time we read it, he points to the little blonde haired boy and says "Tucker" and each page he points to the man and says "Dada" (well, that or "hat" because he loves hats and the man wears one...).
It's like the mystery has been solved for Tucker about what Dada does all day: drive big trucks. So now that he knows that, he spends his time in the car showing me all the vehicles that Austin is driving.
In other Tucker news, Tucker has taken recently to wearing Ducky on his head. I'm not sure how it started, but now he really enjoys wearing Ducky like a hat and it's a minor tragedy each time Ducky falls off.
Yesterday was an exciting day because the UPS truck brought Tucker a package. He is going to be good at opening birthday presents this year, because he couldn't wait to get inside to find a pair of crocs from Henny and PaPa. Austin has a pair of crocs, so Tucker was beside himself to have the same type of shoes. And the box they came in were cool, and Ducky spent a lot of time going into and out of the box.
We are leaving on Thursday for my brother's wedding in Vermont, and Tucker informs us every day that we're going to go on an airplane to see GoGo. He is REALLY excited about the whole thing.
...every ambulance we see
...every bus we see
...every tractor
...every tractor trailer, and
...every pickup truck.
It all started last week when Austin was away for a couple of nights at a conference, and I checked a book out of the library entitled "Drive." The book is about Daddy who goes to work really early in the morning to drive his tractor trailer. It shows a sleeping boy when Daddy leaves, and then Daddy comes home and they play baseball together. Well, Tucker identified with the book. Each time we read it, he points to the little blonde haired boy and says "Tucker" and each page he points to the man and says "Dada" (well, that or "hat" because he loves hats and the man wears one...).
It's like the mystery has been solved for Tucker about what Dada does all day: drive big trucks. So now that he knows that, he spends his time in the car showing me all the vehicles that Austin is driving.
In other Tucker news, Tucker has taken recently to wearing Ducky on his head. I'm not sure how it started, but now he really enjoys wearing Ducky like a hat and it's a minor tragedy each time Ducky falls off.
Yesterday was an exciting day because the UPS truck brought Tucker a package. He is going to be good at opening birthday presents this year, because he couldn't wait to get inside to find a pair of crocs from Henny and PaPa. Austin has a pair of crocs, so Tucker was beside himself to have the same type of shoes. And the box they came in were cool, and Ducky spent a lot of time going into and out of the box.
We are leaving on Thursday for my brother's wedding in Vermont, and Tucker informs us every day that we're going to go on an airplane to see GoGo. He is REALLY excited about the whole thing.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
(Mis)Communication
Austin and I do pretty well with communication, but occasionally one of us really misses something. Here's a case in point.
A month or more ago Austin set up a mini-reunion with some college friends in DC for tomorrow. He wasn't sure if families were invited, but I said that Tucker and I might come along anyway and just hang out in DC that day while he was busy.
A couple weeks later I told him that we probably wouldn't accompany him to DC. I was thinking: it doesn't make sense for T. and I to go to DC just to hang out by ourselves that day. He heard: I don't want to go to DC even if families are invited.
Fast forward till this afternoon when it emerges that 1) families ARE invited and 2) he doesn't think I want to go and 3) has tried not to bring it up and pressure me and 4) I have totally missed the invite and would love to go.
The only obstacle to all this is that now I've scheduled three appointments for Sunday afternoon.
All are rescheduled now, so all's well that ends well. But it does make me wonder how much gets missed in day to day conversation....
A month or more ago Austin set up a mini-reunion with some college friends in DC for tomorrow. He wasn't sure if families were invited, but I said that Tucker and I might come along anyway and just hang out in DC that day while he was busy.
A couple weeks later I told him that we probably wouldn't accompany him to DC. I was thinking: it doesn't make sense for T. and I to go to DC just to hang out by ourselves that day. He heard: I don't want to go to DC even if families are invited.
Fast forward till this afternoon when it emerges that 1) families ARE invited and 2) he doesn't think I want to go and 3) has tried not to bring it up and pressure me and 4) I have totally missed the invite and would love to go.
The only obstacle to all this is that now I've scheduled three appointments for Sunday afternoon.
All are rescheduled now, so all's well that ends well. But it does make me wonder how much gets missed in day to day conversation....
Friday, August 14, 2009
The dog ate the gutter... really
We had some of the gutters on our house replaced today in the hopes of actually being able to keep the water out of our basement, and out of the wall in our bedroom. (They even found and patched a hole in the roof that was so big they could stick their finger through it!)
So, it was one of those necessary but not fun projects. Until Ben decided to have some fun.
Apparently one of the guys was on the roof, and the other guy was holding a downspout when they heard the gutter machine turn on in reverse and start chewing up some of the gutter material they had brought. They turned around and a very surprised Ben was turning tail and running from the machine. It turns out he managed to turn on the gutter machine with his nose! It was not a completely simple switch, so this is quite the accomplishment. The workmen were shocked... in all their years on the job the worst havoc a dog has wreaked (till now) was running away with their hammer.
Thankfully, Ben's antics only ripped up 3' of gutter, and they were able to finish the job today with inches to spare.
So, it was one of those necessary but not fun projects. Until Ben decided to have some fun.
Apparently one of the guys was on the roof, and the other guy was holding a downspout when they heard the gutter machine turn on in reverse and start chewing up some of the gutter material they had brought. They turned around and a very surprised Ben was turning tail and running from the machine. It turns out he managed to turn on the gutter machine with his nose! It was not a completely simple switch, so this is quite the accomplishment. The workmen were shocked... in all their years on the job the worst havoc a dog has wreaked (till now) was running away with their hammer.
Thankfully, Ben's antics only ripped up 3' of gutter, and they were able to finish the job today with inches to spare.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
You know you need to clean the car when...
...Your son continually asks for the half-eaten muffin on the floor of the car that he threw there several days ago.
I actually did clean the car yesterday, but apparently the muffin had hung around long enough in the car that now whenever we go anywhere Tucker points to where it was and asks for "muff."
Dear son, muffins aren't supposed to live in cars. Love, Mom
I actually did clean the car yesterday, but apparently the muffin had hung around long enough in the car that now whenever we go anywhere Tucker points to where it was and asks for "muff."
Dear son, muffins aren't supposed to live in cars. Love, Mom
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
New Talents
Tucker took a nap at Henny and PaPa's yesterday. During naptime over there, he often falls asleep with one of them in the room, either napping on the adjacent bed or working on the computer.
Yesterday, Helen watched while Tucker attempted to suspend two Duckies by their tags, pinched between his big toe and next toe, one Duck for each foot. I don't think he quite was able to do one duck per foot before he fell asleep, though I'm impressed with his ambitions.
He's in his crib now, supposedly napping but still making noise... I think I know what he's doing instead of sleeping. :)
In other Ducky news, he has taken to giving Ducky to us to help us... like this weekend on our hike, Austin was going up a steep hill and told Tucker it was hard, so Tucker gave him Ducky to hold while he climbed it. Such a sensitive little guy.
Yesterday, Helen watched while Tucker attempted to suspend two Duckies by their tags, pinched between his big toe and next toe, one Duck for each foot. I don't think he quite was able to do one duck per foot before he fell asleep, though I'm impressed with his ambitions.
He's in his crib now, supposedly napping but still making noise... I think I know what he's doing instead of sleeping. :)
In other Ducky news, he has taken to giving Ducky to us to help us... like this weekend on our hike, Austin was going up a steep hill and told Tucker it was hard, so Tucker gave him Ducky to hold while he climbed it. Such a sensitive little guy.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Baking soda subsitutions
Today I decided to make a big batch of waffles so we could have frozen waffles in our fridge all week, in addition to a great Sunday breakfast. The only problem was that we were running low on baking supplies, so I had to scramble a bit to substitute for whole wheat flour (ground up oats to make oat flour), and we were also completely out of baking powder. Having a vague recollection that baking soda isn't as strong as baking powder, I decided to wing the substitution and put in a heaping tablespoon of baking soda for every 3 teaspoons of baking powder the recipe called for. Problem solved.
Until I tried the first waffle and found that it was inedible, with that baking soda-salt taste. Yuck. Keep in mind I tripled the recipe and was not about to let all that go to waste (as well as our breakfast).
So what's a gal to do? Basically I just added more of everything, especially the things that could mask the taste (sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin, banana)... and then added more of everything again, until the waffles were fine (though if you looked for it, you could notice the baking soda aftertaste).
If you start with a tripled recipe, and then add more of everything to make it edible, what do you get? A LOT of waffles. To be exact, we fed four people this morning and still have 21 waffles in our freezer.
P.S. Even the salty trial waffles got put to good use as frozen dog treats....
Until I tried the first waffle and found that it was inedible, with that baking soda-salt taste. Yuck. Keep in mind I tripled the recipe and was not about to let all that go to waste (as well as our breakfast).
So what's a gal to do? Basically I just added more of everything, especially the things that could mask the taste (sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, pumpkin, banana)... and then added more of everything again, until the waffles were fine (though if you looked for it, you could notice the baking soda aftertaste).
If you start with a tripled recipe, and then add more of everything to make it edible, what do you get? A LOT of waffles. To be exact, we fed four people this morning and still have 21 waffles in our freezer.
P.S. Even the salty trial waffles got put to good use as frozen dog treats....
Saturday, August 8, 2009
What lies beneath...
I think I've mentioned that our house is constantly full of surprises. Let me tell you about this weekend's two newest surprises:
1) Mystery smell. We have a mystery smell that Austin claims started earlier this week, but I didn't smell until yesterday. Austin says it started outside, but I first smelled it on the loveseat in the sunroom, and then near the refrigerator. No, I'm not talking about a good smell. I think we have a dead animal somewhere. But the funny this is the smell is diffuse and wafts here and there and we can't quite pin it down. Austin asked "how long could a dead animal smell? A week?" Let's hope so....
2) Bees, wasps, and hornets, oh my! Austin is in the process of scraping the side of our house that is most in need of a fresh coat of paint. It also happens to be the side of our house with a lot of wasps, and bees, and who knows what other stinging insects. Austin makes me very nervous on a tall ladder, scraping paint, with all these stinging insects around (one of them got in his shoe the other night while he was on the ladder). Yes, we're trying to kill them, but they have nested in the actual siding of our house, and it's difficult to get wasp spray up into siding at the right angle to kill a wasp. Today the situation got even worse when Austin took a break from the scraping to begin repairing the laundry room window which involved removing the casing to actually take the window out, only to find that the wasps were living inside the wall there and started flying into the house. The vacuum is currently sitting in the laundry room, waiting to suck up the errant wasps still wandering through.....
That's it for news around Midway Farm tonight... I'm not sure I can take too much more excitement like this!
1) Mystery smell. We have a mystery smell that Austin claims started earlier this week, but I didn't smell until yesterday. Austin says it started outside, but I first smelled it on the loveseat in the sunroom, and then near the refrigerator. No, I'm not talking about a good smell. I think we have a dead animal somewhere. But the funny this is the smell is diffuse and wafts here and there and we can't quite pin it down. Austin asked "how long could a dead animal smell? A week?" Let's hope so....
2) Bees, wasps, and hornets, oh my! Austin is in the process of scraping the side of our house that is most in need of a fresh coat of paint. It also happens to be the side of our house with a lot of wasps, and bees, and who knows what other stinging insects. Austin makes me very nervous on a tall ladder, scraping paint, with all these stinging insects around (one of them got in his shoe the other night while he was on the ladder). Yes, we're trying to kill them, but they have nested in the actual siding of our house, and it's difficult to get wasp spray up into siding at the right angle to kill a wasp. Today the situation got even worse when Austin took a break from the scraping to begin repairing the laundry room window which involved removing the casing to actually take the window out, only to find that the wasps were living inside the wall there and started flying into the house. The vacuum is currently sitting in the laundry room, waiting to suck up the errant wasps still wandering through.....
That's it for news around Midway Farm tonight... I'm not sure I can take too much more excitement like this!
White Rock Falls Trail
We haven't been hiking very much this year, partly out of concern with how long Tucker would be willing to ride in the backpack now that he prefers to walk. This weekend we decided it was time, so we found a great hike off the Blue Ridge Parkway starting at Slacks Overlook (which actually didn't have a view). It was a great time, though if it had been a half mile shorter it would've been even better. :)
Tucker turned out to be an enthusiastic hiker today, though our plan to tire him out before putting him in the backpack didn't work very well. We hadn't thought through that Tucker's coordination would be no match for a rocky trail with lots of roots. Poor guy has a scraped up nose from a succession of falls that abbreviated his walking attempt and landed him in the backpack for the duration.
The highlight of the trail was when it went into a natural ampitheater with a small waterfall that fell at least 10 feet over the rocks. Other highlights of our trip included when Tucker saw Ben eating grass and leaned down to pretend to eat a fern. Tucker got very excited about finding each blaze on the tree (and touching it) and soon ducky and pacifier were also enjoying the game. We also passed a bunch of blueberry bushes with some ripe fruit on it (yummy!).
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Coming into the 21st century
I workout at the local YMCA, and am always careful to lock everything up and not leave things around. It's a friendly place, but I remember that one time as a kid that my mom's keys got stolen at our YMCA in Vermont.
Anyway, I like to jog on the treadmill and then lift weights, but it means I have a great music player hanging around while I lift, and it's a pain to have to move it every time I move stations (there are three separate, connecting rooms that make up the weight room). I usually end up carrying it, and leave nothing to chance.
When I say "music player," I actually mean a Sony sports walkman. Yes, a walkman. One that plays cassette tapes. It still looks shiny and yellow and black and REALLY nice. I think of it as really nice, as a really desirable object to steal, if stealing was your thing.
It dawned on me the other day what an anachronism that walkman is. If it was stolen, who could it possibly be resold to? Realistically, it is probably one of those things a thief would laugh at (that, or wonder what it was).
In other news from the YMCA, I had a bizarre interaction with a nice elderly lady in the locker room. This woman goes regularly to "Happy Ducks" the senior aquatics class that meets at just the time I always end up working out. We have a nice routine of smiling at each other and saying "have a nice day." Well, out of the blue she came up to me and asked if I liked jokes. I said that I did. And then she proceeded to tell me the dirtiest joke I've heard in several years. I would share it, just to express how bizarre the whole thing was, but the joke is really not fit to be repeated. I'm still not sure what I make of it, except that I think she wanted to impress or befriend me????
Anyway, I like to jog on the treadmill and then lift weights, but it means I have a great music player hanging around while I lift, and it's a pain to have to move it every time I move stations (there are three separate, connecting rooms that make up the weight room). I usually end up carrying it, and leave nothing to chance.
When I say "music player," I actually mean a Sony sports walkman. Yes, a walkman. One that plays cassette tapes. It still looks shiny and yellow and black and REALLY nice. I think of it as really nice, as a really desirable object to steal, if stealing was your thing.
It dawned on me the other day what an anachronism that walkman is. If it was stolen, who could it possibly be resold to? Realistically, it is probably one of those things a thief would laugh at (that, or wonder what it was).
In other news from the YMCA, I had a bizarre interaction with a nice elderly lady in the locker room. This woman goes regularly to "Happy Ducks" the senior aquatics class that meets at just the time I always end up working out. We have a nice routine of smiling at each other and saying "have a nice day." Well, out of the blue she came up to me and asked if I liked jokes. I said that I did. And then she proceeded to tell me the dirtiest joke I've heard in several years. I would share it, just to express how bizarre the whole thing was, but the joke is really not fit to be repeated. I'm still not sure what I make of it, except that I think she wanted to impress or befriend me????
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Betrayed, again, by the squash
It is time for our squash to die. It is WAAAY past time for them to die, actually. What summer squash is still looking chipper into August in Virginia? I've been telling myself that it is dying, but the problem is that when I go into the garden it is still there, and it seems so wasteful not to harvest what's there.
There were 11 squash sitting on my counter from a few days ago until today when I gave a bunch to the chickens (that had gotten past their prime from their counter-sitting), and shredded the rest (14 cups worth) for muffins and more frozen squash.
But then, I went to the garden, and what was there? Nine more summer squash. Argh!!!
I refuse to freeze any more squash, absolutely refuse. Austin refuses to take the squash with him to a men's group meeting tomorrow morning at church (he claims no one will want them... I'm not sure I care). I think the only option now is a box at the end of our road and a "FREE SQUASH" sign.
There were 11 squash sitting on my counter from a few days ago until today when I gave a bunch to the chickens (that had gotten past their prime from their counter-sitting), and shredded the rest (14 cups worth) for muffins and more frozen squash.
But then, I went to the garden, and what was there? Nine more summer squash. Argh!!!
I refuse to freeze any more squash, absolutely refuse. Austin refuses to take the squash with him to a men's group meeting tomorrow morning at church (he claims no one will want them... I'm not sure I care). I think the only option now is a box at the end of our road and a "FREE SQUASH" sign.
KKKKrrrrruuuuccck
That is the proper pronunciation of "truck," according to Tucker. It is a very guttural word, often exclaimed at top volume. He is also very into repeating my name and Austin's name ad nauseum: mamamamamamamama... it seems like he just likes noise to narrate his day (and get our attention, of course).
In other news, we went on a family stroll after dinner and Tucker introduced Austin to his favorite planting at the end of our neighbors' driveway. I'm not sure what the aesthetic appeal is, but the little guy squeals with delight when he sees this particular group of shrubs and small trees with some mulch in between. He runs as fast as he can around the planting about five times, and shakes one of the very small tree trunks with all his might.
In other news, we went on a family stroll after dinner and Tucker introduced Austin to his favorite planting at the end of our neighbors' driveway. I'm not sure what the aesthetic appeal is, but the little guy squeals with delight when he sees this particular group of shrubs and small trees with some mulch in between. He runs as fast as he can around the planting about five times, and shakes one of the very small tree trunks with all his might.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
You win some, you lose some
I'm not complaining about my son's big-picture napping habits, but once in awhile we run into a very bad day. This week I've gotten spoiled with a succession of really nice almost 3 hour naps. But then out of the blue will pop up a no-nap day, and the result is not pretty.
No-nap days happen in one of two ways. The first way is if he falls asleep in the car on the way home from a morning excursion. Even if he's out for only 5 minutes, that may kill any afternoon nap. He wakes up and acts like a wild man until I wrestle him into his crib at 2 pm, and then he sings and reads and plays with trucks until I let him out at least an hour and a half later. I go to extreme lengths to prevent him falling asleep in the car. Today I kept opening the sunroof of my car on the interstate and even waved his toys in the wind through the roof to keep him awake.
The second kind of no-nap day is worse; it comes when I find him sprawled out lying on the kitchen floor with his duck and his pacifier around lunchtime, and put him in his crib without even a struggle. And then for no reason at all he just doesn't sleep. He talks, and talks, and talks... there is nothing like the sinking feeling of realizing that his nap is just not occurring. I go up every 45 minutes to make sure a dirty diaper isn't keeping him awake, but after about an hour and a half or even two hours, what's there to do but get the boy up? It is a sad day when I pick him up at 2 pm, no nap, and face at least four hours till bedtime.
All of this is to say that I think I have an irrational sense of entitlement to naptime.
No-nap days happen in one of two ways. The first way is if he falls asleep in the car on the way home from a morning excursion. Even if he's out for only 5 minutes, that may kill any afternoon nap. He wakes up and acts like a wild man until I wrestle him into his crib at 2 pm, and then he sings and reads and plays with trucks until I let him out at least an hour and a half later. I go to extreme lengths to prevent him falling asleep in the car. Today I kept opening the sunroof of my car on the interstate and even waved his toys in the wind through the roof to keep him awake.
The second kind of no-nap day is worse; it comes when I find him sprawled out lying on the kitchen floor with his duck and his pacifier around lunchtime, and put him in his crib without even a struggle. And then for no reason at all he just doesn't sleep. He talks, and talks, and talks... there is nothing like the sinking feeling of realizing that his nap is just not occurring. I go up every 45 minutes to make sure a dirty diaper isn't keeping him awake, but after about an hour and a half or even two hours, what's there to do but get the boy up? It is a sad day when I pick him up at 2 pm, no nap, and face at least four hours till bedtime.
All of this is to say that I think I have an irrational sense of entitlement to naptime.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Sunday night dinner
Austin and I have settled into a fabulous routine for Sunday night dinner: we each pick our favorite throw-together meal that the other person hates.
Austin has salmon cakes made from that ridiculously gross canned salmon (you know, the kind that has the bones in it that are supposedly edible).
I have macaroni and cheese, though not the real stuff. Mine is a modified kind that involves mostly cottage cheese and egg and is highlighted by a little cheddar and parmesan. It also takes about five minutes to make, not counting the time to boil the pasta.
The smell of either of our dinners is enough to make the other person have to hold their nose just walking into the kitchen. It is quite a trial being married to someone who won't eat cheese or anything creamy, and I'm afraid Austin thinks the same thing about me and fish.
The only problem with our dinners is that Tucker can't eat either meal. (No fish until age three, and a milk/egg allergy). I'm hoping that he'll be declared milk/egg allergy free soon and will turn into my little mac and cheese buddy.
Austin has salmon cakes made from that ridiculously gross canned salmon (you know, the kind that has the bones in it that are supposedly edible).
I have macaroni and cheese, though not the real stuff. Mine is a modified kind that involves mostly cottage cheese and egg and is highlighted by a little cheddar and parmesan. It also takes about five minutes to make, not counting the time to boil the pasta.
The smell of either of our dinners is enough to make the other person have to hold their nose just walking into the kitchen. It is quite a trial being married to someone who won't eat cheese or anything creamy, and I'm afraid Austin thinks the same thing about me and fish.
The only problem with our dinners is that Tucker can't eat either meal. (No fish until age three, and a milk/egg allergy). I'm hoping that he'll be declared milk/egg allergy free soon and will turn into my little mac and cheese buddy.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Pumpkin the poodle
In April, Tucker had a run-in with a miniature poodle that was overly enthusiastic about getting to know him. For at least six weeks he was petrified of all dogs other than Ben.
Today, we were in the same store again, and the same poodle came out to greet Tucker with its very bouncy, enthusiastic yap. It was terrifying (to him). Tucker was clinging to me like a little monkey with his legs scissor pinching my waist so that it would not be humanly possible to put him down.
He was not interested in me making friends with the poodle, so we went to a different part of the store and he was fine. On the way out, the poodle was curled up on a chair and I decided to try overcoming-poodle-fears again. I started talking to Tucker about the poodle, but his interest didn't really pick up until I told him the poodle's name was Pumpkin. He loves pumpkins right now. He points them out to me in the garden, and on the front steps. He started pointing at the dog and saying "Pumpkin!" and then bent down and pet him (okay, it was more like trying to poke Pumpkin's nose). I was amazed.
Today, we were in the same store again, and the same poodle came out to greet Tucker with its very bouncy, enthusiastic yap. It was terrifying (to him). Tucker was clinging to me like a little monkey with his legs scissor pinching my waist so that it would not be humanly possible to put him down.
He was not interested in me making friends with the poodle, so we went to a different part of the store and he was fine. On the way out, the poodle was curled up on a chair and I decided to try overcoming-poodle-fears again. I started talking to Tucker about the poodle, but his interest didn't really pick up until I told him the poodle's name was Pumpkin. He loves pumpkins right now. He points them out to me in the garden, and on the front steps. He started pointing at the dog and saying "Pumpkin!" and then bent down and pet him (okay, it was more like trying to poke Pumpkin's nose). I was amazed.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Tucker has ESP
Seriously. Tucker is in this routine of sleeping in a bit, but it is impossible to walk out of our bedroom in the morning without waking him up. We open the door completely silently, and 10 seconds later without fail he is awake. Let me repeat: we make no noise.
I think he has some sort of ESP that fixates on when his parents move in the morning which immediately wakes him up.
In other news, Austin watched a show about blue crabs last night on PBS and is now spending half his daylight hours thinking about how to procure steamed crabs. Apparently he's found a place in Richmond where you can buy them and is contemplating driving all the way there and back for them, as long as they don't go bad in the hour and a half long ride home. Also, he has officially started his Christmas list: a crab knife.
He kept asking me during the show if I wasn't dying for crabs; the show had the opposite effect on me. I much prefer to eat things on land than things in the sea. When I do eat things in the sea, I don't want to have to viscerally interact with it, like tearing it apart. It reminds me of the time in high school when we dissected lobsters, but our teacher was too cheap to BUY lobsters. Instead, he went to the fish market and collected the ones too old to sell, and so we dissected rotting lobsters. I gagged just now, just thinking about it.
I think he has some sort of ESP that fixates on when his parents move in the morning which immediately wakes him up.
In other news, Austin watched a show about blue crabs last night on PBS and is now spending half his daylight hours thinking about how to procure steamed crabs. Apparently he's found a place in Richmond where you can buy them and is contemplating driving all the way there and back for them, as long as they don't go bad in the hour and a half long ride home. Also, he has officially started his Christmas list: a crab knife.
He kept asking me during the show if I wasn't dying for crabs; the show had the opposite effect on me. I much prefer to eat things on land than things in the sea. When I do eat things in the sea, I don't want to have to viscerally interact with it, like tearing it apart. It reminds me of the time in high school when we dissected lobsters, but our teacher was too cheap to BUY lobsters. Instead, he went to the fish market and collected the ones too old to sell, and so we dissected rotting lobsters. I gagged just now, just thinking about it.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Ice cube trays
Ice cube trays are the solution to all my food storage dilemmas. We have a delightful chest freezer, but defrosting blocks of frozen tupperware is not a highpoint of my day. First, it takes forever (have I mentioned patience is not my strong suit?). Second, we don't microwave plastic because plastics leach into the food, so not only does it take forever, but I also have to figure out a way to pry the frozen stuff out. The end result? A big mess.
Well, ice cube trays are the way forward. Simply freeze whatever leftovers you have into the trays and then after they're frozen put them into labeled freezer bags. When you want some, you can conveniently select however much you need, AND it heats up super quickly in the microwave.
Also, there are some things we can never eat a whole package of before they go bad: pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, baked beans, coconut milk. It's pretty fun to have all of that perpetually at your fingertips without the responsibility for finishing off a whole container.
I just finished boiling two more (big) pumpkins from our garden, and freezing them into (lots) of ice cube trays. Actually, I ran out of ice cube trays so I resorted to putting dollops of pumpkin on cookie sheets to freeze in individual portions. I think I might've just taken care of all our pumpkin needs for the year. (Incidentally, pumpkin is really good in yogurt, and in chocolate cake....)
Well, ice cube trays are the way forward. Simply freeze whatever leftovers you have into the trays and then after they're frozen put them into labeled freezer bags. When you want some, you can conveniently select however much you need, AND it heats up super quickly in the microwave.
Also, there are some things we can never eat a whole package of before they go bad: pesto, pizza sauce, hummus, baked beans, coconut milk. It's pretty fun to have all of that perpetually at your fingertips without the responsibility for finishing off a whole container.
I just finished boiling two more (big) pumpkins from our garden, and freezing them into (lots) of ice cube trays. Actually, I ran out of ice cube trays so I resorted to putting dollops of pumpkin on cookie sheets to freeze in individual portions. I think I might've just taken care of all our pumpkin needs for the year. (Incidentally, pumpkin is really good in yogurt, and in chocolate cake....)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Things that are fun...
...Chasing butterflies (Tucker cannot get enough of them!)
...Touching the ceiling on the way down the stairs
...Turning the light switch on and off three times (the maximum we allow!)
...Collecting pairs of things and exclaiming "two!!!"
...Pretending to blow his nose with a Kleenex and then putting the Kleenex back in the box (he just learned how to blow his nose and he thinks it's awesome)
...Pointing out pumpkins to me
...Stealing Austin's tea ball to put in a little plastic play cup he has and run around yelling "tea" and "sipping" it.
...Touching the ceiling on the way down the stairs
...Turning the light switch on and off three times (the maximum we allow!)
...Collecting pairs of things and exclaiming "two!!!"
...Pretending to blow his nose with a Kleenex and then putting the Kleenex back in the box (he just learned how to blow his nose and he thinks it's awesome)
...Pointing out pumpkins to me
...Stealing Austin's tea ball to put in a little plastic play cup he has and run around yelling "tea" and "sipping" it.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Tucker's Daddy Withdrawal
Tucker loves his daddy. But there are some days when Tucker is so into Austin that he is incapable of leaving him alone. Today featured Tucker draping himself on top of Austin at every opportunity, bouncing on Austin's stomach, even coloring with markers on paper he placed on Austin's chest.
This was all cute, of course, except for the fact that Austin has the flu and has had a temperature of up to 102 all day. I was reading yesterday that one tactic to prevent the spread of the flu is to maintain a six foot distance between sick people and others. Six feet is a bit extreme, but SOME distance seems prudent... but apparently not to Tucker. Tucker even tried to get Austin to share his pacifier with him. It will be amazing if he doesn't get sick.
Incidentally, we're wondering if Austin has the swine flu. Apparently it's widespread in our region right now, and what other flu goes around in July? If it is the swine flu, it's not been worse for Austin than the regular flu (they're both miserable!). If Austin still has a fever tomorrow he might go to the doc and get to find out which strain he has!
This was all cute, of course, except for the fact that Austin has the flu and has had a temperature of up to 102 all day. I was reading yesterday that one tactic to prevent the spread of the flu is to maintain a six foot distance between sick people and others. Six feet is a bit extreme, but SOME distance seems prudent... but apparently not to Tucker. Tucker even tried to get Austin to share his pacifier with him. It will be amazing if he doesn't get sick.
Incidentally, we're wondering if Austin has the swine flu. Apparently it's widespread in our region right now, and what other flu goes around in July? If it is the swine flu, it's not been worse for Austin than the regular flu (they're both miserable!). If Austin still has a fever tomorrow he might go to the doc and get to find out which strain he has!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Volunteerism
We have three volunteer pumpkin plants that randomly sprouted in different parts of our garden. I think they're from seeds from our pumpkin last year that didn't compost thoroughly. Our planned pumpkins have just gotten in the ground, but our volunteers are almost ripe (the one in the pic is the first one we picked). Not sure it feels like pumpkin weather to me, but I appreciate their enthusiasm.
In other gardening news, I am really sick of summer squash. This past week I took six grated squash (14 cups!) and sauteed them with garlic and onion and olive oil and herbs, white beans, and then pureed it and added some sausage. It was decent; a good use for squash, but not so good that it all got eaten up before it needed to be frozen. That is on top of the five or so I pawned off on Helen and David for a Michigan BBQ, and another 6+ that I brought to church (and left, before I could see if they were all claimed).
Saturday, July 25, 2009
The County Fair
We went to the best county fair today, in a rural county near where we live. There was no midway or rides, just an old-time fair with lots of animals and exhibits and 4H kids and lots and lots of tractors. We had an amazing time.
Some highlights:
*Tucker loved watching the kids show their pigs, and clapped for the riders as they jumped their horses.
*There was GREAT BBQ... the best fair food I've ever had
*A huge line of tractors on the way in, for Tucker to sit in
*Watching the frisbee dog competition... it made Austin ask Ben "do you ever think about how athletic other dogs can be?" (Ben didn't acknowledge such a derogatory question)
*A big petting zoo with alpacas, ducks, Wiggles the sleeping pig, chickens, calves (including a week old calf!), goats, and more.
*A sandbox filled with feed corn
*The police did a demonstration with a K9 unit, and had the dog take down a guy dressed in protective clothing. (Tucker was wide-eyed on that one.)
...and much more!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Pray! More!
No, I'm not quoting a Bible verse, I'm quoting Tucker. He is really into giving commands right now. Like ordering us "Down!" to play on the floor with him, showing us where he wants us to stand, what we're supposed to be doing, etc.
He also likes to tell us to pray, and then when we're done, he'll say "More!" His enthusiasm is pretty cute, though I wonder if he just says it because he likes to tell us what to do?
The other night during our dinner prayer, Austin looked at Tucker halfway through the prayer to see what he was doing. Tucker saw that Austin was looking at him and dropped the food he was eating and put his hands together. A guilt complex already.
On an unrelated note, today my mom and I went shopping to find her a dress for my brother's wedding; on our trip, Tucker discovered that Talbots is the perfect place to play trucks. The store is divided into a couple sections by a ramp on one side and stairs on the other, which is the perfect combination for doing loops. Ramps are also fun in their own right because they slant, and today he discovered pushing the trucks down the ramp. Tucker would've stayed in Talbots all morning and we could've skipped the park altogether.
He also likes to tell us to pray, and then when we're done, he'll say "More!" His enthusiasm is pretty cute, though I wonder if he just says it because he likes to tell us what to do?
The other night during our dinner prayer, Austin looked at Tucker halfway through the prayer to see what he was doing. Tucker saw that Austin was looking at him and dropped the food he was eating and put his hands together. A guilt complex already.
On an unrelated note, today my mom and I went shopping to find her a dress for my brother's wedding; on our trip, Tucker discovered that Talbots is the perfect place to play trucks. The store is divided into a couple sections by a ramp on one side and stairs on the other, which is the perfect combination for doing loops. Ramps are also fun in their own right because they slant, and today he discovered pushing the trucks down the ramp. Tucker would've stayed in Talbots all morning and we could've skipped the park altogether.
A surprise
I had forgotten that hosta can flower because the deer nibble our hosta to the ground. Maybe the deer are being nice to me this year, or maybe their quality control is going down, but they forgot to decimate one of the hostas this year, and even let it flower.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Zoomba
I stumbled into the wrong exercise class at the Y this morning. I'm into their spinning and weights classes, but instead I found myself smack in the middle of a Zoomba/Step class. Before I figured out what a big mistake I'd made, the music came on and there was no graceful way to bow out.
I've never done any sort of cardio aerobics class like that before, ever. It's a lot like dancing, requiring rhythm, some grace, and (gasp) coordination. There's a reason I'm a swimmer.
Apparently, not only did I stumble into a Zoomba/step class, I stumbled into an ADVANCED Zoomba/step class. About five minutes into it, I gave up almost entirely on trying to copy what they were doing with my arms, because my legs were so hopelessly behind.
The class would have been a lot better if there hadn't been one of those wrap-around mirrors in the room that reminded me of how ridiculous I looked in my fifteen year-old soccer shorts and two left feet. I felt like a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine doing their dance routines.
I did get a great workout, I met two new people, and I had a very good laugh at myself, though I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to ever go back. I have a lot of respect for people who do aerobics classes now.
I've never done any sort of cardio aerobics class like that before, ever. It's a lot like dancing, requiring rhythm, some grace, and (gasp) coordination. There's a reason I'm a swimmer.
Apparently, not only did I stumble into a Zoomba/step class, I stumbled into an ADVANCED Zoomba/step class. About five minutes into it, I gave up almost entirely on trying to copy what they were doing with my arms, because my legs were so hopelessly behind.
The class would have been a lot better if there hadn't been one of those wrap-around mirrors in the room that reminded me of how ridiculous I looked in my fifteen year-old soccer shorts and two left feet. I felt like a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Little Miss Sunshine doing their dance routines.
I did get a great workout, I met two new people, and I had a very good laugh at myself, though I'm not sure if I'm brave enough to ever go back. I have a lot of respect for people who do aerobics classes now.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Ducky goes swimming
Now that I'm a master with the video, here are two more of Tucker's adventures captured for posterity. The first one is Tucker's new game of having Ducky go swimming. There are several problems with this activity: first, he likes to collect all the Duckies he can find and suddenly they're all wet (and not suitable snuggling-during-naptime material), second, he has taken to using Ben's dog bowl inside as a personal Ducky swimming pool. I've also caught him lately trying to feed Ducky, which I think is hopelessly cute, but not something to encourage (it seems hard to believe that Ducky could get dirtier more quickly than he already does... but eating ketchup would definitely do that).
The second video is of some serious lawn mowing in a puddle from yesterday. He also later on methodically drowned his car and all the balls in the back of his car.
The second video is of some serious lawn mowing in a puddle from yesterday. He also later on methodically drowned his car and all the balls in the back of his car.
Austin on tractor video
I tried to upload this video the other day, but I hadn't exported it from the video program I use, so it was just too large to upload. Now that I've conquered this technology, uploading videos will be no match for me! Or in other words, thanks for your help, Mike. What are big brothers for?
Bye Bye Birdie...
...hello dinner.
We are down to five chickens. But this last dead chicken was intentional: it was time for the rooster to go. The rooster woke us up with his crowing for the second or third morning in a row before 6 am. The bigger problem is that the chicken coop is equidistant to our neighbor's house, and I hear quiet chickens make good neighbors.
It was time to silence the bird.
Don't we want a rooster, you ask? The short answer: no.
You don't need a rooster for eggs (just for baby chicks). Given our current chicken predation problems, what we really need is some electric poultry fencing to keep predators away. Until we get an adequate set-up like that, we really don't want to bring more baby chicks into our coop. Plus, roosters are rough on hens... you tend to only want one rooster for every 10-20 hens, or the hens start getting beaten up. The first chickens we got came to us in rough shape because the rooster they had been living with (affectionately dubbed "Agent Orange") had defoliated them so badly.
But what do we want, then? Chicken dinner.
By the time Tucker and I got downstairs (still before 7 am), the rooster was headless and plucked and getting ready for a nice ice bath.
Austin got lots of points today for not making me kill the chicken. :)
Monday, July 20, 2009
Oral Allergy Syndrome
Austin has always claimed that certain foods make his mouth itch. This isn't any kind of harbinger of anaphylaxis that would accompany him eating a peanut. Instead, it's an annoying mouth itch that is strong enough to dissuade him from wanting to eat a food, but has little other consequences.
Anyway, not that many years ago when he was in grad school he figured out that his weird mouth-itching thing actually had a name and was a documented occurrence called oral allergy syndrome.
This is from Wikipedia:
"Oral allergy syndrome or OAS is a type of food allergy typified by a cluster of allergic reactions in the mouth in response to eating certain (usually fresh) fruits, nuts, and vegetables that typically develops in adult hay fever sufferers.[1] Another term used for this syndrome is '"Pollen-Food Allergy."' In adults up to 60% of all food allergic reactions are due to cross-reactions between foods and inhalative allergens.[2]
In OAS, the immune system produces antibodies that are capable of binding to both pollen proteins and structurally similar food proteins. Consequently, the same immune system response can trigger allergy symptoms in two different situations: hay fever (in the presence of pollen) and food allergy (in the presence of certain foods). Histamine releases from mast cells located in the oropharynx, gut and skin when IgE binds to the molecule causing local inflammation - itching, swelling, pain, and so on."
So, basically, something about a lot of uncooked fruits and vegetables is similar to some seasonal allergen Austin's allergic to, and so he gets seasonal allergies of the mouth when he eats them. Bizarre.
Tomatoes, cut cucumbers, lettuce... all those are fine, but I start getting into lots of trouble if I add green peppers or carrots to our salads. Any peeled fruit doesn't bother Austin, but the last thing he'd want to do is bite into a crisp apple in the fall. It makes apple picking with him funny, because the whole point of the expedition is to eat apples, right?
Anyway, not that many years ago when he was in grad school he figured out that his weird mouth-itching thing actually had a name and was a documented occurrence called oral allergy syndrome.
This is from Wikipedia:
"Oral allergy syndrome or OAS is a type of food allergy typified by a cluster of allergic reactions in the mouth in response to eating certain (usually fresh) fruits, nuts, and vegetables that typically develops in adult hay fever sufferers.[1] Another term used for this syndrome is '"Pollen-Food Allergy."' In adults up to 60% of all food allergic reactions are due to cross-reactions between foods and inhalative allergens.[2]
In OAS, the immune system produces antibodies that are capable of binding to both pollen proteins and structurally similar food proteins. Consequently, the same immune system response can trigger allergy symptoms in two different situations: hay fever (in the presence of pollen) and food allergy (in the presence of certain foods). Histamine releases from mast cells located in the oropharynx, gut and skin when IgE binds to the molecule causing local inflammation - itching, swelling, pain, and so on."
So, basically, something about a lot of uncooked fruits and vegetables is similar to some seasonal allergen Austin's allergic to, and so he gets seasonal allergies of the mouth when he eats them. Bizarre.
Tomatoes, cut cucumbers, lettuce... all those are fine, but I start getting into lots of trouble if I add green peppers or carrots to our salads. Any peeled fruit doesn't bother Austin, but the last thing he'd want to do is bite into a crisp apple in the fall. It makes apple picking with him funny, because the whole point of the expedition is to eat apples, right?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Peach syrup
We ran out of real maple syrup this week. Obviously, this is a catastrophic occurrence on any date, but even worse when we realize it the night before we're having a brunch featuring malted waffles.
What is a Vermonter stranded in the deep South to do? (Just kidding, central Virginia is a lot more Mid-Atlantic than anything else, despite the Southern drawl Austin is convinced he will one day have.)
What saved the day was Austin's work. On Friday he had come home from a site visit loaded down with two big bags of peaches and nectarines from an appreciative farmer. Because they make Austin's mouth itch when he eats them uncooked (this is actually a fascinating phenomenon called oral allergy syndrome that deserves its own post), that is A LOT of fruit to us to go through in the next few days.
So what's the solution? Peach syrup. I thought it was so fantastic that I'm thinking of canning a bunch for the rest of the year.
Here's the recipe:
5 c peaches (pureed)
2 c sugar
2 T lemon juice
Bring to a boil
Add 2 tsp vanilla [we were out of vanilla so I added maple extract, which was great]
What is a Vermonter stranded in the deep South to do? (Just kidding, central Virginia is a lot more Mid-Atlantic than anything else, despite the Southern drawl Austin is convinced he will one day have.)
What saved the day was Austin's work. On Friday he had come home from a site visit loaded down with two big bags of peaches and nectarines from an appreciative farmer. Because they make Austin's mouth itch when he eats them uncooked (this is actually a fascinating phenomenon called oral allergy syndrome that deserves its own post), that is A LOT of fruit to us to go through in the next few days.
So what's the solution? Peach syrup. I thought it was so fantastic that I'm thinking of canning a bunch for the rest of the year.
Here's the recipe:
5 c peaches (pureed)
2 c sugar
2 T lemon juice
Bring to a boil
Add 2 tsp vanilla [we were out of vanilla so I added maple extract, which was great]
Wisdom of a Three Year-Old
"I don't need to wash my hands [for dinner]. I had a bath last night."
[Our friend's daughter said this last night at a picnic we were having.]
[Our friend's daughter said this last night at a picnic we were having.]
Friday, July 17, 2009
How to Upload Videos for Dummies
I need help. I have spent all day trying to get a video to upload on this blog. The file is really big--about 40 MB (is this a normal size for a 30 second video clip?).
Is there a way to reduce the file size of videos? Is there a reason that my videos are so large?
Any other hints for uploading a video in less than four hours?
I'm sure someone out there is more technologically oriented than I am.
Is there a way to reduce the file size of videos? Is there a reason that my videos are so large?
Any other hints for uploading a video in less than four hours?
I'm sure someone out there is more technologically oriented than I am.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
My tractor men
Austin rented a tractor this week to plant a native grass meadow in our floodplain. This is exactly what he does for work, so it's neat to have a demonstration site in our own backyard. The cost of the planting is covered with our enrollment in the Conservation Reserve Program which is trying to take marginal floodplain land out of production and restore it for wildlife habitat and to protect water quality.
Maybe you're wondering what grasses are considered native and why it's so desireable to plant them. The types of grasses we planted include gamma grass, indian grass, little bluestem, big bluestem, and switchgrass. They're good for wildlife habitat because they form clumps, so birds like quail can easily run around between plants while protected. They also have extraordinarily deep root systems so they're especially helpful for stabilizing erosion-prone areas.
Because I have the inside scoop on these things (ie I'm married to the contractor), I know that you can also slip in wildflower seeds into the grass mix. So not only are we going to have native grasses, but we'll also have a sprinkling in of everything from coreopsis and black eyed susans to gallardia, false indigo and partridge pea.
Here's a video of Tucker enjoying the tractor... I took one of Austin doing our field, but it is refusing to load up.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Beach stomping
It turns out that some family members REALLY like videos, so I'll try to be patient with these uploads and put more up. Here's one from vacation of Tucker and Austin stomping on the sand.
Bad hospitality
First I made zucchini muffins for my Book Group. But then, my hospitality sunk even lower, as I begged and pleaded with everyone to take some squash home with them.
I managed to pawn off 15 summer squash on friends last night, not counting what I slipped in the muffins.
It was a great night.
I managed to pawn off 15 summer squash on friends last night, not counting what I slipped in the muffins.
It was a great night.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Lions, Tigers... Snakes, Oh My?
I just want to say that I accept that there will be the occasional mouse in our house. I accept that we live in a 200 year old farm house that is never going to be as tightly sealed as what can be built today.
But I absolutely positively DO NOT ACCEPT having a snake in the house. Not even a little one. Not even a black snake (the "good" kind).
I don't like mice, but I positively hate snakes. The mice seem to have been making inroads into our house during our vacation, so I started up the post-vacation battle tonight; with mouse trap in hand I opened the door to the downstairs closet in the dim light and realized that that squiggly black thing on the floor was too thick to be a shoelace.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
But I absolutely positively DO NOT ACCEPT having a snake in the house. Not even a little one. Not even a black snake (the "good" kind).
I don't like mice, but I positively hate snakes. The mice seem to have been making inroads into our house during our vacation, so I started up the post-vacation battle tonight; with mouse trap in hand I opened the door to the downstairs closet in the dim light and realized that that squiggly black thing on the floor was too thick to be a shoelace.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Tucker preaching
This is a video of Tucker preaching to us. Sometimes he lifts his hands over his head to emphasize a point, but we weren't able to capture that.
Back from vacation
The better a vacation is, the harder it is to come back! Here are some of our last pics taken from our video cam (those darn videos take way too long to post, but I'll put some up soon!).
Ah-choo
I have been having the worst allergies lately. I'm allergic to dust, but it feels more these days like I'm allergic to breathing.
I usually am able to maintain a stable truce with my dust allergy... don't bother me, and I don't bother you. I know I'm in for it if I clean, or organize, or wear clothes that have sat in my closet unworn and unwashed for too long. I basically ignore constant congestion and periodic sneezing fits. Antihistamines are my friend.
But somehow the equilibrium has been seriously thrown off. Antihistamines are barely taking the edge off of my problems. We gutted our bedroom several weeks ago and did about 10 loads of laundry washing every part of our bedding and room that could be dismantled. I even used a rug cleaner on our rug. And still... misery.
Vacation was a wonderful respite (for the most part) from this sneezing plague, but about 5 minutes after we walked through the door of our house, it began again.
So, the good news: I'm not allergic to the dog, or to outdoor allergens. The bad news: I'm allergic to our house!!!!
I have been turning the house upside down today trying to de-dust as much as possible. Here's a sampling of my crazy dust-elimination strategy:
*Roll up the area rug in our bedroom, remove our dust ruffle and curtains
*Steam clean all area rugs in the house
*Move all furniture and vacuum and mop behind all pieces of furniture
*Wash all overheads fans and A/C vents
*Use the AC continually to reduce the humidity to discourage dust mite growth
*Take off our mattress topper because it can't be easily cleaned
*Put out three air purifiers that we hadn't been using because we always have our windows open
*Spray this allergen-neutralizer on all upholsered furniture
*Have a dust mask available at all times if I get into a room that really bothers me
*Start taking probiotics (which some studies have shown reduce allergic symptoms)
That's only about half of the items on my allergy to do list. Hopefully something will work SOON!!!
I usually am able to maintain a stable truce with my dust allergy... don't bother me, and I don't bother you. I know I'm in for it if I clean, or organize, or wear clothes that have sat in my closet unworn and unwashed for too long. I basically ignore constant congestion and periodic sneezing fits. Antihistamines are my friend.
But somehow the equilibrium has been seriously thrown off. Antihistamines are barely taking the edge off of my problems. We gutted our bedroom several weeks ago and did about 10 loads of laundry washing every part of our bedding and room that could be dismantled. I even used a rug cleaner on our rug. And still... misery.
Vacation was a wonderful respite (for the most part) from this sneezing plague, but about 5 minutes after we walked through the door of our house, it began again.
So, the good news: I'm not allergic to the dog, or to outdoor allergens. The bad news: I'm allergic to our house!!!!
I have been turning the house upside down today trying to de-dust as much as possible. Here's a sampling of my crazy dust-elimination strategy:
*Roll up the area rug in our bedroom, remove our dust ruffle and curtains
*Steam clean all area rugs in the house
*Move all furniture and vacuum and mop behind all pieces of furniture
*Wash all overheads fans and A/C vents
*Use the AC continually to reduce the humidity to discourage dust mite growth
*Take off our mattress topper because it can't be easily cleaned
*Put out three air purifiers that we hadn't been using because we always have our windows open
*Spray this allergen-neutralizer on all upholsered furniture
*Have a dust mask available at all times if I get into a room that really bothers me
*Start taking probiotics (which some studies have shown reduce allergic symptoms)
That's only about half of the items on my allergy to do list. Hopefully something will work SOON!!!
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The Epic Quest for a Malt... and its Consequences
Austin's sister Liz and her husband Matt took their vacation last week. In the course of their wanderings they happened upon a couple really great malted milk shakes. Since then, malt has been on our brains. Austin googled it before we left to figure out what exactly is malt in the first place (I'll let him explain that one!), and of course, like any food item, thinking and talking about it just made it seem more and more attractive.
The first morning we were in Annapolis, we ate breakfast at the famous Chick and Ruth's diner where we noticed malted shakes on the menu. Unfortunately, it was only 9 am so we skipped actually having one. What a missed opportunity! Malted milk shakes apparently are NOT so readily available in Virginia Beach. It has been my goal this week to have one, and I've been reduced to calling any place in the yellow pages under "diner" or "ice cream parlor."
Last night we set out after an early supper with the names of three ice cream places in the area that have malted milk shakes. Sounds easy enough? I thought so.
Until we got stuck in traffic. And more traffic. And got swept away in left turn only lanes. And have you ever noticed how it's impossible to find an address when you're on vacation? Also, those little free maps that are everywhere make things look a LOT closer than they actually are.
More than an hour into our trip, we finally stopped for directions and successfully found one of the places. But it turned out Austin couldn't eat the ice cream there (they used peanut butter and Austin couldn't be sure the ice cream and scooping utensils and blender wouldn't be cross-contaminated).
After having a personal crisis (do I get a malt when my husband can't???), Austin persuaded me to get one and we would go on to the next place to see if he could eat one there. I would tell you how good the malt was but since Austin will read this, it's not really fair... because of course the next place was closed.
But I get ahead of myself, because it was there at the first place that we noticed the funny smell emanating from Tucker's rear parts that suggested a powerful explosion had occurred. Because it was supposed to be such a quick after-dinner ice cream trip, I hadn't thought about bringing a diaper or wipes....
To make a long story short, three napkins and no diaper got Tucker home, after a quick visit to the next (closed) ice cream store and a dirty park. We did stop and get Austin ice cream at the grocery store where the clerk thought I was asking if they had malt liquor.
The whole adventure took a bit more than two and a half hours. To get ice cream. Technical note: we could've almost driven back home in that same amount of time.
Needless to say, Tucker was in bed woefully late and wound up enough that he didn't actually fall asleep till after 9 pm. It was one of the few nights where it crossed Austin's mind that he might be asleep before the little man.
If two and a half hours in suburban traffic last night wasn't bad enough, today was an exercise in damage control with an over-tired toddler. Tucker was down for his morning nap before 11 am, and in bed for the night by 5:30 pm. In the meantime... well, we just endured.
P.S. I managed to lose my camera today. I carefully placed it on the top of Austin's toolbox in his truck while buckling Tucker up, and then promptly forgot about it as we drove away. Unfortunately, that means no pictures of crazy man playing miniature golf at Pirate Land (he was very good at chasing our balls, picking them up and putting them in the hole), grabbing Austin's ears on our bald cypress hike, and generally being amusing. Thankfully, I haven't lost our flip video... yet.
The first morning we were in Annapolis, we ate breakfast at the famous Chick and Ruth's diner where we noticed malted shakes on the menu. Unfortunately, it was only 9 am so we skipped actually having one. What a missed opportunity! Malted milk shakes apparently are NOT so readily available in Virginia Beach. It has been my goal this week to have one, and I've been reduced to calling any place in the yellow pages under "diner" or "ice cream parlor."
Last night we set out after an early supper with the names of three ice cream places in the area that have malted milk shakes. Sounds easy enough? I thought so.
Until we got stuck in traffic. And more traffic. And got swept away in left turn only lanes. And have you ever noticed how it's impossible to find an address when you're on vacation? Also, those little free maps that are everywhere make things look a LOT closer than they actually are.
More than an hour into our trip, we finally stopped for directions and successfully found one of the places. But it turned out Austin couldn't eat the ice cream there (they used peanut butter and Austin couldn't be sure the ice cream and scooping utensils and blender wouldn't be cross-contaminated).
After having a personal crisis (do I get a malt when my husband can't???), Austin persuaded me to get one and we would go on to the next place to see if he could eat one there. I would tell you how good the malt was but since Austin will read this, it's not really fair... because of course the next place was closed.
But I get ahead of myself, because it was there at the first place that we noticed the funny smell emanating from Tucker's rear parts that suggested a powerful explosion had occurred. Because it was supposed to be such a quick after-dinner ice cream trip, I hadn't thought about bringing a diaper or wipes....
To make a long story short, three napkins and no diaper got Tucker home, after a quick visit to the next (closed) ice cream store and a dirty park. We did stop and get Austin ice cream at the grocery store where the clerk thought I was asking if they had malt liquor.
The whole adventure took a bit more than two and a half hours. To get ice cream. Technical note: we could've almost driven back home in that same amount of time.
Needless to say, Tucker was in bed woefully late and wound up enough that he didn't actually fall asleep till after 9 pm. It was one of the few nights where it crossed Austin's mind that he might be asleep before the little man.
If two and a half hours in suburban traffic last night wasn't bad enough, today was an exercise in damage control with an over-tired toddler. Tucker was down for his morning nap before 11 am, and in bed for the night by 5:30 pm. In the meantime... well, we just endured.
P.S. I managed to lose my camera today. I carefully placed it on the top of Austin's toolbox in his truck while buckling Tucker up, and then promptly forgot about it as we drove away. Unfortunately, that means no pictures of crazy man playing miniature golf at Pirate Land (he was very good at chasing our balls, picking them up and putting them in the hole), grabbing Austin's ears on our bald cypress hike, and generally being amusing. Thankfully, I haven't lost our flip video... yet.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Day 2 at the beach pics
Tucker outdid himself this morning at the beach being cute. He loved the sunglasses and hat I picked up for him at the Dollar Store, and has already gotten used to the waves. The water is so much warmer than at Rehoboth last year--it is positively delightful to swim in.
Day 1 at the Beach
We drove through the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel on our way from Annapolis to Virginia Beach. I'd driven over the CBBT once in college, but the second time around was just as impressive. Tucker didn't know what to think about the tunnel part of it, and was enthusiastic about the bridge part of it. I was trying to figure out 1) why do they have a tunnel in some places and not others 2) if the tunnel is under the bay floor or on top of it and 3) how do they build a tunnel so it's not flooded with water? I'm not an engineer so all that boggles my mind.
We're staying at one of the cabins at First Landing State Park. I can't imagine us not returning here again. Our cabin is a cozy two bedroom with living room, kitchen, grill, screened in porch and deck. It's surrounded by vegetation and the only people we can see from our site are our neighbors across the street. The park has 18 miles of trails all walking distance out our front door, great playground, lots of kids programs, allows dogs (even on the beach!), and has a great beach. The beach is technically on the Bay, not the Atlantic, and isn't quite as wide as the beach along the boardwalk, but the water is a lot warmer and the waves are just as good. And all of this is at state park prices!!
Of course, there are a few downsides: no TV, no internet/phone, and no cozy living room furniture that you can really sprawl out on. Plus, the aesthetic here is pretty bare compared to a hotel (ie cinder block walls, tile floor instead of carpet). But I just look at the people camping and I realize how luxurious it is. :) Actually, I think the no internet thing is good for me... it is amazing how much time I can spend on the computer!
It was a cool, overcast day today with drizzle in the morning. We explored the park of the state park that's on back bay. Tucker loved the calm, warm water and ran through it until he was soaked from head to toe. The first time he fell in, he got up and smacked his lips for about a minute, tasting the saltiness. After we all had long afternoon naps (did I mention I love vacation?), we went to the boardwalk, looking for a merry-go-round ride for the little man. The boardwalk doesn't actually have much commercial on it, and the one dinky place on the strip a block away from the beach that had rides charged $5 a person for a ride... that amounts to highway robbery in my opinion. But we did go into an arcade next door, which Tucker loved. He pretended he was doing Dance-Dance Revolution, then loved sitting in the car/motorcycle racing game stations. I tried to wait him out and whisk him away when he got tired of it, but finally had to carry him out screaming. It's hard when you don't get your way. :)
Tucker didn't even make it up till 7 pm which is surprising because he had a long nap. He was carrying around his duck and pacifier and whining by 6:15, and by 6:45 was just lying on the deck on top of his duck, while Austin grilled. When I picked him up, he was just totally limp as I carried him to bed. Vacation is hard work.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Pics from the Fourth
We went to Tucker's first parade last night, a classic small-town parade complete with lots of fire trucks, several bands, and lots of people running for political office. We came away with two strands of Mardi Gras beads, multiple stickers and buttons, a bag of potato chips, four Lance-Armstrong type bracelets, and a whole bag full of candy (this was without us trying to collect anything!). It must've been Tucker that attracted all the loot, but it was pretty ridiculous.
We are about to take off for Virginia Beach where we won't have good internet access, but here are the rest of our Fourth pics, courtesy of David:
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