I'd Write a Post for You, if You Were as Cool as Drew

Drew was right (in yesterday's comments): I absolutely should have capitalized on the Stumpy/stump connection. He is a wise man, that Drew. In honor of him and his general brilliance, we semi-roused Stumpy from his hibernation so we could make Drew's dreams come true:

(Not to inflate your ego even more, Mr. Sogn, but you should know that more than one loyal reader of this blog has commented on the high entertainment value of your comments! Thanks for helping me keep the peeps entertained, dude.)

On the Stump

Since the crew hasn't come back to grind up the tree stump yet, we decided to do a little photo shoot in honor of uncle Geoff's favorite President, James K. Polk, aka "Napoleon of the Stump":

What We're Doing This Morning

We're having a tree cut down in the backyard, which is PRIME entertainment for the B-man. The dangling chainsaw is making me a bit nervous, however: (okay, so is the fact that I'm letting you see our dirty windows!)

I guess we shouldn't hang out in the room that would be demolished if something were to go terribly wrong. MAN! There's nothing worse than entertainment you can't enjoy!

Cleaning Up

B and I didn't leave the house yesterday-- it was rainy, gloomy, and just generally yucky. I spent the entire day cleaning up the mess that was our upstairs so I didn't even take any pictures. But speaking of cleaning...


Lindsey got some great shots of the twins in their shared bath Wednesday night!!

There Just Are NO Words...

...for this monstrosity. (Don't be blinded by the "diamonds"):

I am not in any way trying to minimize the achievement of winning a State Championship, but this ring cracks me up. I doubt it will ever actually be worn by the big guy who lives here but the legendary head coach (who is retiring) offered to pay for a good chunk of each coach's ring so there it is. Perhaps it can be the start of a career collection of championship rings?

Here are a few other shots, mostly for the benefit of B's grandfathers, whom I imagine will be most interested in this particular piece of bling. As you can see, it's personalized:

The other side has the school name, a picture of the state, the classification, and the team record:

Just so you get the full effect of the size-- behold a comparison:

Mr. Brooks On The Landing With the Turtle

He's breaking hearts already:


I've really been digging the "independent play" B has been into lately-- lets me have a moment or two to breathe. Unfortunately, our little explorer occasionally explores his way right into some trouble. The heart dish pictured above has been our catch-all by the front door the entire time we've lived here. It was a wedding present and, while it deserved to be displayed somewhere more prominently, I didn't know where that place was so at least it could perform a function instead! Because of the split-foyer layout of our house, B was directly above said dish when he decided to "play" with some assorted stone creatures hanging out under the side table.

So, to recap for you Clue-lovers...

The location:

The weapon:

And the perpetrator:


(Any suggestions for the appropriate glue for putting the pieces back together? I figure even I can do it since it broke into only 2 big chunks. The dish is painted stoneware of some kind.)

Brooksie, Brooksie, What Do You See?

"I see some workers trimming a tree!"

I am so glad that we decided to add a glass storm door a few years ago-- B sometimes wanders down there and watches all the action for minutes on end! (Minutes = hours in toddler time) Thank you to the county for sending a work truck to our street for quite awhile yesterday morning!

RIP Red Shoes

Not much to report about the weekend--it was fairly dull. Seth was gone all evening Friday and most of the day Saturday at the county science fair, and then yesterday, B woke up with a yucky runny nose kinda out of nowhere so the boys stayed home while I went about the normal Sunday routine of church, etc. I will give a huge shout-out to Helen for being my pedicure partner-in-crime yesterday afternoon, though! My tootsies thank you for inviting me to come along.

And speaking of tootsies: they are still mourning the loss of some very fun friends...

This post has been months in coming. I've just been waiting for the right moment and I sense that the moment is now. Hopefully there will be no tears when I tell you that my closet is a little bit of a darker place now that THESE are gone:

Yes, my friends. In my efforts to get the house ready for the big birthday bash back in January, I donated bags and bags of stuff. I tried to follow the Emily version of the "if you haven't worn it in 6 months, get rid of it, " which, of course, is more like, "if you haven't worn it in 6 years, it's probably okay to consider parting with it." And alas, the best red shoes ever got the, um, boot.

I still remember driving to Hillsboro to do a little shopping during finals in the spring semester of 1999, and finding these beauties at the Nike Outlet for something like $20. How could I pass them up? As I, almost 10 years later, try to research their history in my life through photographs, I realize that they seemed to have made the most appearances when I was out of town. Apparently I really had a thing for putting my best foot forward when I was away from home!

The first piece of evidence comes from the summer of 1999 when I traveled to England to visit Geoff who was in grad school. Knowing that I would be blogging about this 10 years later, I thoughtfully labeled the Polaroid picture so that we can all see that I was posing with Ronnie the Rhino from the Leeds Rugby League:


Then in the summer of 2000, I returned to the far side of the pond for a study abroad experience in London, before which we traveled to Sweden and Denmark. Again, my forward-thinking self labeled this picture as "Outside City Hall, before the boat ride-- Stockholm": (Baylor roomies? check! Red shoes? check!)

Then it was off to some campsite in Central Texas for our Zeta retreat later that year: (What's that? No, don't be silly! It was COOL to be a senior in college and play with tongue depressors decorated like bunny rabbits!)

By the spring of 2001, it appears I'd moved on to the gray New Balance running shoes that were quite the trend at that point and the red sneakers are missing from photographs from then on. But I'd still put them on every once in awhile, just to show people that, even as I aged and thickened, I still had QUITE the sense of style!!

Oh, and don't worry! I found other ways to show my love for berry tones:

Return of Halloween (colors)

Breaking news--Black and Orange are making a comeback.

Q: What is this?

A: Coach's new colors!! Seth has accepted a Varsity Defensive Coordinator position at a high school about 8 miles from where he works currently. Go Rams! While this is a HUGE opportunity for him, I am rather dismayed that we're returning to the colors I was SO happy to leave behind in Smithville, TX (yes, home of Hope Floats). I've really enjoyed the last 6 years of soothing blue and white after the garish Halloween-ness that was Seth's first 3 years of teaching and coaching. Oh well-- I'm sure I'll get over it eventually!!

Since things up here are run quite differently than in the Lone Star State, it's very likely that Seth will remain in the classroom at his current school and then travel to the other school for football. Schools are not insulated from economic woes and science teacher openings are scarce within the county, which is one of the nation's largest school districts with 25 high schools!

While it would never be his preference to split loyalties by teaching one place and coaching another, it would prevent him from having to give up adventures like the one pictured below. Brooks and I drove over to a burger place near his school for a fundraiser last evening for the Science Fair, and B got to have dinner with his pappy:

Since I gained 15 lbs during the course of the meal from my cheeseburger, fries, onion rings, Dr. Pepper, and coffee oreo milkshake, I can post only a picture taken at Brenna and Amedeo's playgroup gathering BEFORE dinner:


Happy Friday!

Who Needs Clothes to Have Fun?

While we did actually leave the house several times yesterday, the B-man had some good adventures playing in his almost-altogether, as well. For anyone who has doubted that he is loooooong and lean, perhaps you will be convinced by this pic:

The $3 laptop I picked up at a neighborhood church sale last year has been a HIT! It's totally for school-age children since it's all about phonics and math, but the buttons keep him amused for now:

And I can't resist making a Blair Witch Project comparison here, although I'm completely a poser since I never even saw the movie!! But I'm down with the popular culture, yo! (um, that would be the popular culture of the mid-to-late '90s!):


As you can see, we've had plenty of fun so far this week, but our hearts and minds have been in Dallas with my family. My brother, who had flown to Texas so he could spend some time with our grandmother, called me on Monday evening to say that my dad had suffered a stroke. I am happy to report that the doctor is "ecstatic" about his recovery so far, but it's certainly been a difficult time. (Although apparently he helped the hospital set a new North Texas record in how quickly the "clot buster" was administered upon his arrival at the hospital. Go Opa G!)

He will be moving to a rehab facility at Baylor Hospital in the next day or so to begin therapy. From the beginning, however, he's apparently been cracking jokes so we know that he'll be back lighting up this blog's comment boxes very soon! We love him SO much and know that many of you do, too. I am so thankful that Geoff was able to stay in town and be with our mumsie, and I know that any thoughts or prayers of healing would be much appreciated by us all.

"Oh, Daddy? Yeah, I'll Eat for HIM!"

(It makes me so happy to see B having so much fun (and eating!) with the big guy. What does not make me happy is having technical difficulties: I intended to trim the first 10 seconds off this video so as not to bore you, but alas, Picasa and YouTube are conspiring against me. Grrr!)

May I Take Your Coat? I'll Hang It Right by the Nutmeg.

Many moons ago, I mentioned in these pages that someday I'd tell you all about my love affair with Penzey's spices. That day is now. Try to contain your excitement.

Several years ago, before I was the, ahem, casual blog reader that I am today, I used to fulfill my internet addiction by trolling around on the Cooking Light bulletin board. I soon realized that many of the users were constantly talking about a family-owned spice business in Wisconsin with a fabulous catalog so I surfed on over and ordered one to be sent to my house. A new obsession was born! They sell an insane variety of herbs/spices/blends/mixes and often for cheaper than the stuff on the grocery store shelves! I was beyond thrilled, obviously, when a store then opened up not too far from me and have not only made several pilgrimages there myself, but taken several different friends whom I do believe enjoyed the Penzey's experience! (Dallas denizens, your store is at Preston and LBJ in the strip with Terry Costa.) In the store, there is an apothecary jar full of each spice so you can smell your way through the room. They get rid of their inventory after a very short time period so it is always fresh-- and did I mention that it's just as cheap, if not cheaper, than the brands in the supermarket? If you don't live near a store, I encourage you to get a catalog and place an order-- they often throw in an extra jar of something you didn't order so you get a free sample of something fun!

And I'm not the only one who loves them. The little guy finds them to be fabulous play things...

"Ooohh-- the closet door has opened and what do I see?? Little canisters with fun colored stuff inside? SCORE!":

"Hmmm....should I play with the Hungarian Sweet Paprika or the China Cassia Cinnamon? The paprika is awfully pretty but the cinnamon is bigger...":

"Ha! I'm taking both of them and running!":

So this is my stash, and yes, it is really in the coat closet. You're not supposed to keep spices near heat or moisture, but of course most of us put them above the stove or the sink because that's the cabinet that makes sense. I still have all my old stuff in the cabinet above the sink, but am super excited about growing my collection of Penzey's goods that I keep in the closet. Seth thinks it's weird that I alphabetized from bottom to top (note that he doesn't think it's weird that I alphabetized, just that I went from the bottom up), but I think it's because he doesn't understand the plight of short people. My eye level is closer to the bottom so it made sense somehow to start there. I don't know.

They also sell their stuff in various sizes of plastic bags, so I have some of those for the spices we use most often (chili powder and cumin), as well as the varieties that you might use a lot at one time when you need them (sesame seeds, minced onion):

(For reference, I just paid $2.45 for that bag of Mexican oregano, which is not to be confused with Turkish oregano, which was also an option. And, just FYI, there are also FOUR kinds of cinnamon available!)

GO FORTH AND BUY FRESH AND FUN SPICES!!!!!

Can You Get Stuck in a Book?

Brooksie had quite the adventure on Saturday night, as you can see from the above piece of evidence! He had his first away-from-parentals overnight visit at the finest hotel around: L'hotel de Fake Auntie and Uncle. (AAA awarded it 5 diamonds!) We don't know what we'd do without the friendship of Christy and Eric, and their keeping B overnight is just the latest in a long line of fabulous things.

So...our attendance was required at the (belated) Victory Party to celebrate the state championship football title back in December. (I guess it takes several months to put together an evening for 22 involving a decked-out party bus and a fabulous dinner!) ANYWAY-- while we were dining on cream of crab soup and filet mignon, the B-man was having all kinds of fun. Well, except that apparently he was a wee bit fearful to climb the stairs-- he was probably afraid Chisty would make him get dirty or something:

"Oh, thank goodness! No dirt-- just maracas! I think I'll pretend to be blind":

Then the boys fought over who had the biggest mouth:

And finally, B got a manicure. (This is the real reason I take him over to Auntie Chisty's-- she's really good at all the maintenance!):

Brooks asked me to help him compose a letter to the Hotel Association singing the praises of his accomodations-- guess he had a great time! I don't want to keep him from enjoying the good life-- how does next weekend look for a return visit??!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LINDSAY!!!

We've come a long way!! (Thank goodness!)

WELCOME TO 30!!!!!!!!!! We love you!

The Time, It is A-Changing

Hmmm. Apparently the little street urchin who lives with us doesn't like going to bed when it's still light outside:


And on a totally different subject--

In case you've ever wondered how exactly I come up with something to write about every day, well-- I just wrote about a clock and yesterday was a chicken. This isn't great literature. But I love to try to figure out on any given day what will make up the post for the next day, and often it's a total come-out-of-nowhere experience. There was a fleeting moment yesterday when I thought today's post could BLOW YOUR MIND....but then it didn't happen. Check this out anyway, though:

I got a message yesterday from Anne (in Seattle) saying that she had on one of "our matching garments." (Just so you know, I have never received a message like this from her before.) I looked down at the shirt I was wearing and the excitement of a melded-mind experience almost knocked me over because I was wearing the one shirt that I knew we both had. (See last bullet point here.) I immediately grabbed my camera, took a self-portrait, and sent her the pic to see if we were in fact twinsies across the miles. Then I waited. And waited. It's like she has a JOB or something. Sigh.

When I finally heard back, it turns out that she had pulled an Emily and was actually wearing a sweater from a few years ago-- and yes, of course I still wear it, too. It just resides in a bin under my bed and I'm often too lazy to deal with that mess! ANYWAY-- how COOL would it have been if we'd both put on the same shirt yesterday? Come on! That's COOL!! :-)

I'll save for another time the story of how we always chose one day each spring (all 4 years of high school) where we picked 2 colors and would wear those colors in opposite ways: if the colors were blue and cream, for instance, one of us wore jeans and a cream-colored shirt and the other wore stone khakis and a blue shirt.

Yeah, we were in band, too. ;-)

Words of Encouragement...

...for those of you who have yet to roast a whole chicken: YOU CAN DO IT!!

I have been curious about the process for years but just found it so intimidating for some reason. A couple of months ago, however, whole roasting chickens were on sale for 49 cents/pound and I figured that was my sign. I'll spare you the pictures I took of the preparations for that particular chicken (on which I used a paste of butter, dijon mustard, and fresh thyme and tarragon-- see below for link to recipe) since I can think of at least one loyal reader who would NOT want to see pictures of hands inside a raw chicken!

Anyway, the birds were back down in price again this week so I embarked on chicken #2. This time, I used the leftovers of a dry spice mix that I had made awhile ago for a pork recipe (I think it was mainly paprika...??) and added olive oil to make the paste. I'm telling you people: IT IS SOOOOO EASY!!! Stop buying rotisserie chickens for $6 or $7!!! Buy yourself a chicken, pull out those giblets with pride, and rub some tasty stuff under its skin!! Don't you want to eat this?

Of course I didn't take notes on the size and price before I threw away the wrapper, but I'm thinking the bird above was maybe 4 lbs? It was definitely under $3. I've used the same "technique" both times: after loosening the skin on all sides and rubbing the seasonings onto the meat under the skin, tie the legs together (I used unflavored dental floss), place on some sort of rack breast-side down and bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes. Then flip over and cook another 40 minutes, or until thigh meat registers 165 degrees. (I used this recipe the first time, and then again for reference.) This week, I poured some chicken broth into the roasting pan under the rack because I read that in a different recipe and thought it sounded like a good trick. No idea if it did anything because the chicken has been really moist both times.

The best part about cooking your own chicken? After a dinner of yummy meat and appropriate side dishes, you can have THIS for dinner the second night! YUM! (You probably will have enough after even that meal to whip up some chicken salad for lunch, too!)

A Boy and His Chair

Remember how I mentioned the other day that I spent some serious time in the frozen food section of the grocery store? Well, just to make my shopping experience even better, some store elves had constructed a large display of plastic mini Adirondack chairs right at the end of those aisles. They were just so cute! I actually got B out of the cart and put him on the floor near them to see if he seemed interested. He didn't exactly know what to DO there on the grocery store floor, but he looked sufficiently intrigued (and I am sucker for sales), so I picked one out to take home.

Yesterday, we were both in the kitchen when B scampered off to his room. I figured I'd find him in there going through his books per usual, but when I peeked in, I found this sight:

After I pulled his legs out of the side hole and put him in the chair properly, he quickly slid out...and then did this:

Which quite swiftly led to this:

(Please note that the chair is neither green NOR blue!!!)

In other news--

Bolstered by support of fellow potential competitors, ROSEMOND has won the caption contest!! I am devising a proper prize now. Ro, watch your mailbox. I expect that, when said prize arrives, you will capture the moment and broadcast it publicly so that my other loyal readers will GET EXCITED and enter the next competition, whatever it may be! But for now-- cheers to you!

UPDATE: Thank you, loyal reader Diana, for reminding me to give the actual story. It was----absolutely nothing interesting! (I know; I know.) B was just getting hungry or tired and seemed to be frustrated that the door leading out of the room was closed. I just decided to take advantage of the way the boys were framed to make it look like Ethan was picking on poor little Brooksie! (btw, "Drew" in the comments is Ethan's pappy and I knew he'd relish the opportunity for a caption contest--even at his son's expense! :-)

What (Might Have) Just Happened?

There just may be a prize in it for the most entertaining description of what could have gone down immediately before this pic of Brooks and Ethan was snapped yesterday:

More Than You Bargained For

My friend (and loyal reader), Suzi, wrote on her blog recently about her frustrations at mealtimes with her 18-month old daughter. As I said in the comment I left for her, I could've written the very same post. After weeks and weeks of trying to be creative in my food-offering, I finally found myself in the grocery store on Friday spending more time in the frozen food section than I ever have before. I actually ended up buying what may have been my first frozen pizza ever (CPK Rising Crust Barbecue Chicken--quite tasty!), but only after spending serious time in front of the chicken nuggets and the fish sticks. Yes, my friends, I gave in and bought nuggets and sticks. I'm still somewhat disappointed/repulsed by it, but the sheer excitement I felt at watching B eat chicken on Friday more than made up for it. (Plus, the packages of fish were BOGO, so I got a bag o' Beer-Battered tenders for Seth so at least those wouldn't go to waste!) Anyway, it shouldn't be surprising to me that B didn't touch a nugget at dinner either Saturday or Sunday. That'll teach me to get excited. Have I mentioned how much I want my child to enjoy all foods? (except olives. I'd be okay with him despising those.)

As frustrated as I get watching B refuse to open his mouth for so many kinds of foods--and it's really out of a fear that he's not getting enough more than anything--I have to realize that we are insanely blessed by this little guy. I always secretly (and vainly, I suppose) hoped that I would recognize at least a part of myself in my child, and I get a real kick out of seeing his grins and taking advantage of his snuggability. He may be in a frustrating phase of culinary discontent (and PLEASE let it be just a phase!), but the amount of joy he brings into our lives far exceeds the worries and anxieties.

It's so easy, however, to become caught up in the worry and the anxiety-- and to spend too much time focused on what seems hopeless in the moment rather than all the wonders in our lives. I was doing some reading and preparation for a Lenten Bible Study the other day, and my Bible fell open to the one page where there are some extra papers inserted. More than 7 years ago, we chose to have read at our wedding Romans 12: 9-18. This scriptural passage was on a list of "suitable wedding readings" provided by our minister, and as soon as I read it, I knew it was exactly right for the occasion. I prefer the version from The Revised English Bible, which is certainly a lesser-known translation but one that I'm thankful my Anglophile father had on his shelf since there's just something I really like about the way the verses read. At some point, I wrote down the passage in its entirety (on a little slip of paper with "Emily Moore" printed at the top) and stuck in my Bible on the appropriate page, and it seems like I always "happen" upon it when I need to hear it. I may be breaking all kinds of rules by copying it as if it were one speech rather than a collection of verses, but this is one rule I'm fine with breaking:

Love in all sincerity, loathing evil and holding fast to the good. Let love of the Christian community show itself in mutual affection. Esteem others more highly than yourself. With unflagging zeal, aglow with the Spirit, serve the Lord. Let hope keep you joyful; in trouble, stand firm; persist in prayer. Contribute to the needs of God's peoples and practice hospitality. Call down blessings on your persecutors-- blessings, not curses. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in agreement with one another. Do not be proud, but be ready to mix with humble people. Do not keep thinking how wise you are. Never pay back evil for evil. Let your aims be such as all count honorable. If possible, so far as it lies with you, live at peace with all.

I always forget, until I find this little slip of "Emily Moore" paper, that it's not the only thing tucked into the page of Romans. There's also a little notecard from my Grandmother Duncan dated January 2001--six months before our wedding. In the note, she mentioned that she'd recently studied Romans 12 and found verses 9-18 to be "a good recipe for daily living." I honestly can not remember when I made the connection between her note's suggestion and the selection of a wedding scripture from the minister's list, but I'm pretty sure it was after my name was no longer Emily Moore. What a treasured memento it is: wise words from a grandmother at a time where I wasn't quite ready to do anything with them, but mean so much after the fact.

We recently found out that my grandmother is battling lung cancer and somehow, without her even having yet a sense that something is amiss physically, it has already become advanced. This kind of news makes toddler food battles seems like the most inconsequential of worries. We don't know what the coming days will bring on on any front--but I choose to let hope keep [me] joyful, and to love in all sincerity all the days that I can.

PS-- He might be a picky eater, but he sure loved being outside in our 70+ degree weather this weekend:

Well, He's Fully (and Correctly) Dressed...

...but WHADDYA MEAN I might have an obsession with blue and green??!!

"Aw, MAN!"

"Why is it that you guys either put NO pants on me...":

"...OR you make me wear a giant skirt?!":

"Look how scared my buddy Jack is!!!"

("Thanks to his mom for capturing this latter example of my indignity. I owe my own maternal unit for the glory of my chicken legs in the former one. To be clear: I don't owe her for the chicken legs themselves-- just for making me pose!")

The Boy Loves Snow

I hear tell that it'll be in the 60s this weekend, but we're not there yet! Since we made it only into the low 30s yesterday, there was still plenty of snow for exploring:


And, most fascinating of all, the neighbor's gutter! (ooohh, aahhhh):


It's the little things in life, you know?