Highway 40 swan song

If you're not from around here, you may not have heard...

Highway 40 is closing! For two years! Lock up your children! It's mass hysteria!

Or, it's no big deal. Who can say? Around here, it's been hyped to hell, and everybody's in a panic. It's our main drag, and it'll be tougher, for a while, to get to some places.

Like Yen Ching! My favorite Chinese restaurant, and a place we don't get to very often. So, our Highway 40 swan song included dinner there last night (wonton soup for two, pot stickers, Yen Ching beef... YUM!). Allen had fun playing with the soy sauce and vinegar bottles.

Then, we headed off to Tilles Park, another place right on Highway 40, for another gander at their Christmas lights display. We were there on Thanksgiving, but we thought it'd be good for Allen to get one more dose.

So, now we're ready for the darn thing to close. Close already! (Zero hour is 5:30 a.m. Wednesday.)

I'm published, again

It's the second time in three years! Or so.

I wrote a little piece for our Lifestyle Saturday magazine about... starting a family blog! (The last piece I wrote was about fantasy football. I try not to stray too far from my areas of expertise.)

Anyway, if you'd like to read it, click here.

Happy birthday, Dad

The ol' man would have been 79 today. WOW! He would have never believed the computing power packed into Emilyn's Nintendo DS. Or the sound coming out of Steve's iPod dock. And I bet he would have found a way to mute Allen's leaf blower.

Caurie's birthday is tomorrow (Happy-happy, Caur!), and that means it's officially the end of Christmas. So, enjoy the music and lights for one more day. (It's easy to pack away the holiday trappings on the blog. Not so easy at my house!)

Allen gets a load of Christmas

Our Christmas miracle

Laurie called me this afternoon and asked, again, if we'd gotten Allen's Hess truck. "Well, no," I answered. Then she tracked the package, and it said it had been delivered to the porch on Dec. 20. "Well, OK," I said. "Maybe I took the box downstairs and forgot about it."

Then she looked up the shipping order and noticed she had written 121 Asilomar Court. "Well, for starters," I said, "we live at 122 Asilomar Court. 121 is the old lady across the street, who I think is now in a nursing home."

So, off I go in my pajamas, four days later, to check Mrs. Fischer's front porch. Lo and behold, there's Allen's Hess truck, under the welcome mat. I banged on the door a few times, thinking that if I was going to steal a package off her porch, I ought to at least announce it. No one answered, and I made off with the box. It brightened Allen's sniffly day. The motorcycles light up when you turn the guys' heads, and the truck makes some awesome rumbly sounds. And we got it! It's our Christmas miracle.

Cookies for Santa

Tonight's the big night! But, Allen has a sniffle. Rats. He felt well enough to make cookies for Santa, though.

We made our big dinner, just like Thanksgiving, only minus the bread pudding and plus the huge turkey from Unca Pete. Thanks! For more pictures of cookie-making fun, click here.

Jennie's vacation journal: The wrap-up

Well, I did kind of get busy there... A lot of running around, house cleaning, making a list and checking it twice... that sort of stuff. I did manage to get everything on my list done -- except for going to the movies. I wanted to see "Sweeney Todd" on the day it opened. Or the next day. Or the day after that. Well, didn't happen. But, it'll keep!

On Friday, we had Emilyn's Winter Party at school. I was the official photographer, so I got a lot of shots of all three classes having fun. There was a craft project, a bingo game and ice cream sundaes. Yum! Click here to see photos.

Then, after school, we went to get our tree. After a day of rain, it was a muddy affair. But we got a nice one, and got it up and pretty in time for Allen to wake up from his nap. It was love at first sight. Check out the photos here.

On Saturday, Emilyn and I went to see the Nutcracker at Edison Theater at Washington University. It was a nice, cut-down version of the ballet, with narration for the kids. We enjoyed the Palace of the Sweets dances, especially the Sugar Plum Fairy and her consort, and the Russian candy cane dancers. Beautiful costumes. Lots of happy kids. Emilyn got dressed up fancy and had her hair in a bun. Click here to see some photos.

Sunday was Emilyn's swim lesson, then a trip to Aunt Amy's for gift-giving and merry-making. Plus, Brian took our picture, because we were so fancy. And he's so good at it.

I took some pictures, too. Not as good. You can see them here.

Jennie's vacation journal: Day 3

Got a little bit done today... Went to the post office to mail Stacy some of Emilyn and Allen's artwork. She's starting a kids' gallery on the wall of her house in Germany. Then, Allen and I went to the train store. Santa did a little shopping there while Allen played with trains. We also got some more Christmas cards and gifts... Thanks to Linda, Angela, Ellen, Lisa and Emily!

Later, after nap, we went to get Emilyn at school and headed out to eat and to Ted Drewes to "look at trees." What we actually went there for was to "eat ice cream." I had a butterscotch concrete with Dad's scotch oatmeal cookies. Steve had malt chip. Emilyn had hot fudge. Allen was lucky enough to share all three! Click here to see all of today's pictures.

We saw some nice trees. Surprisingly affordable. If we don't find one we like out here, we may just go back! And eat more concretes!

Jennie's vacation journal: Day 2

So much accomplished today! First, as you can hopefully see and hear, we've dolled up the blog for the holidays... Blinking lights and pretty music. Let me know how it's working for everyone!

Also, I cleaned all the baby clothes out of Allen's closet, and made room for all his toys. Now, the corner is clear for the Christmas tree!

We got a lot of holiday cheer from the mail lady today... Thanks for the cards and gifts from Jeanne, Ellen, Grandma and Grandpa, Linda, Derek and Caroline... The cards are all pinned on the mantel. And here's how you know it's Christmas: The hanging of the bells! My brass bells are now up on the mantel and chiming out their cheer. Allen loves them, as we expected.

After all that good work, we still had time to play outside in the snow. Allen had fun with a little shovel, and Emilyn spent time on her sled. Click here to see more.

Jennie's vacation journal: Day 1

Fueled by some tasty pumpkin waffles (thanks, Daddy), I started off by getting one essential thing done: I saved my photos on CD and cleared off my camera's memory cards. So, I'm ready to capture some holiday happenings!

This afternoon, Emilyn had her swimming lesson... she treaded water! Whoo-hoo! Then we joined her at the pool, and I got some time in the hot tub for my back. Apparently, I wrenched it shoveling yesterday morning. It feels a lot better now.

Then, dinner at Ruby Tuesday, where the table next to us featured a screaming baby. Nice. We realized Allen is very well-behaved!

A snowy night

A wallop of winter hit us last night. This morning, 7 inches on the ground at Asilomar. That's a lot of snow! Last night, it was really pretty, and Emilyn and I took a (short) walk and got a few photos. Click here to see them all.

One chair, one glass. Now that's love.

Here's a sweet little shot of Emilyn and Allen sharing some after-school Oreo sticks.

Christmas card photo shoot

My friend Brian has switched to Blogger, and has been using these cool Picasa slideshows. I just had to try one too! Hope it gets you in the holiday spirit!

A sweet story

Sometimes in the morning, Allen and I like to share a snack. If we're coming in from outside, he often climbs into a "big boy chair" at the table, waiting for his Teddy Grahams or whatever. The other day, he sat across from me, in Daddy's chair, and we nibbled while I worked on a sudoku. I looked up, and he was down to two Teddies. He pushed one across the table with his little arm and said, "Wanna save one for Mommy."
Awww! That's my sweet little man.

Quick update

I've not dropped off the face of the earth... Actually, I've been pretty busy getting ready for Christmas. The Christmas cards are printed and ready to go. Drop us a line if you've changed addresses since last year (I've already heard from some of you, thanks!). I also made my first photo calendar and a photo book on Shutterfly. Waiting to see how those turned out. Emilyn is mastering her multiplication facts up to 12 (earning pieces of a banana split along the way). Allen is currently fascinated by Mommy and Daddy's big bed. He climbs up there and spends hours happily. Steve is ramping up for the big December rush at work. Hope all is well with all of you... After I mail out the Christmas cards, I'll upload the rejected photos. Too cute!

My Number 9 Cutie

If you want to know what Allen's into, here it is. After years have gone by, I want to remember how much he loved this song, and how cute it was to sing it with him... It's his favorite part of the "Sesame Street Number Show." YouTube comes through again!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I hope you spent part of today counting your blessings... Unfortunately, my fantasy football team isn't helping me out too much in that regard. So it's a good thing that I am blessed so fully in every other aspect of life!

We made a wonderful Crabbe feast: Smoked turkey; green beans with onion and bacon; real mashed potatoes, with enough garlic to light up Napoli; stuffing with Emilyn's famous hand-cut mushrooms; and Mommy's newly famous bread pudding a la mode with spiced vanilla sauce! Whew! That's a good meal.



The birdies came to our feeders for their own Thanksgiving feast. We counted a dozen goldfinches (hard to spot in the winter when they're not gold) and a nice downy or hairy woodpecker... After dessert, we headed out to another Christmas light display. To see more, click here.

65 degrees at Santa's Magical Kingdom

Oooh, it's been a balmy two days here in the Gateway City. What better time than to jump headlong into the Christmas spirit!


We got some coupons from SMK today... And who could resist a wagon ride in 65-degree weather... On Nov. 20? Allen loved the lights, and Emilyn really got a warm holiday glow. I think she's going to do her all to help Mommy make this one a magical Christmas. (Thanks in no small part to my 10-day pre-Christmas vacation! Whoo-hoo!)

To see more from our open-air trip through a holiday wonderland, click here.

Sunday laziness and wackiness

It's a rare moment when Allen will snuggle up with us!

Emilyn being goofy is more common.

I support my friend and mentor, Avis Meyer

As you get to be a grown-up (for me, 35), you realize how truly blessed and lucky you are. You realize how the "stars" had to align to get you where you are. And you start to think about who's responsible for guiding your life in the right direction. For me, of course, there was Mom and Dad. And Steve. And then there was Avis.

Without Avis Meyer, my adviser at SLU, I'd have never known how much fun it was to make a newspaper. I'd have never known people got paid (pretty well) to know how to spell. So, I guess you could say that everything I've been blessed with in the last 15 years, including my home and my kids, is due in large part to Avis.

So it was my honor to be in the audience for a panel discussion Thursday about college journalism with him, my other good friends Tom Pettitt and Dick Weiss (former colleagues at the Post) and Ed Bishop, journalism professor at Webster U. The discussion followed a screening of the documentary "The Paper," a film by Aaron Matthews about a year at Penn State's Daily Collegian.

Watching the movie brought about in me such a strange mix of emotions: I recalled so distinctly how much I enjoyed my days at the University News. And I felt so sharply how glad I am that time of my life is over! It was a lot of hard work and aggravation, but it made me fall in love with newspaper production, and, of course, now I can't imagine doing anything else.

So, of course, it irritates me to hear that my alma mater, Saint Louis University, is suing Avis in a ridiculous, personal dispute between him and the president of the college, Father Lawrence Biondi. It's a sordid tale of censorship, too long to recount here. But Avis has made many friends in his 30-plus years as adviser to the U. News, and many are banding together in an online petition calling on Father Biondi to drop his lawsuit. Click here if you'd like to read it.

And if you'd like to hear a radio program featuring Avis, Tom, Ed and the director of "The Paper," click here. (If you have an hour to spare, and you'd like to hear a discussion of the state of college journalism today, that is!)

A trip to the dentist

Emilyn had her semiannual checkup on Thursday... Her teeth are great! I just had to bring my camera, because I realized we had never documented a visit to Dr. Dunagan's office before! It's a great place, where kids feel welcome. Check out more photos and captions here.

Emilyn's an A-plus kid!

We just had our conference with Mrs. Stasen, Emilyn's teacher... She did nothing but gush about our girl. She said if she could clone her and sprinkle her around the classroom, she would! She also lent Emilyn a treasured book from her childhood, "The Boxcar Children." She said she never would have sent that book home with any other kid!

On her report card, Emilyn got an A in reading, writing, math, science and social studies. Here's a little excerpt from Mrs. Stasen's comments:

"Emilyn has had a terrific start to third grade. She is a very hard worker, and it shows in all she does. Emilyn is doing a wonderful job in Writing Workshop. ... Her piece, "Allen Goes to the Zoo," was filled with descriptive language and details. Math is another strength for Emilyn. She is able to fluently compute addition, subtraction and multiplication problems. ... Emilyn has a wonderful smile and is a pleasure to have in class.

(If I can get my hands on a copy of "Allen Goes to the Zoo," I'll be sure to share it here.)

So, she's earned a big trip to Krispy Kreme for all this great work. Can't wait!

Messing around in the leaves

... Well, Allen and I were messing around. Daddy was working hard. Except when he took time out to pose for me, that is.

Allen, as always, had fun in the leaf piles. Mommy did her best to contribute, by hauling the leaves out to the curb. And, of course, documenting the whole thing for all time. Check it all out, including a little video, here.

A lovely self-portrait

Emilyn's camera MUST be for kiddos... It has a "self-portrait" setting. And she makes it work... beautifully!

Emilyn's birthday sleepover-palooza

Emilyn got her big birthday sleepover this week... I had some (deep) reservations about this... I didn't think our little house could handle a bunch of screaming girls. But they were all very good, if a bit rambunctious, and they were in bed, with the lights out, by midnight. I counted that as a major victory. We went out for ice cream... I kept them all happy with Bagel Bites pizzas, BBQ chicken chunks and games of Nick Scene It. And a healthy breakfast in the morning! So, I think it was a success. Lots more pictures on our DropShots, as well as Emilyn's. Happy birthday (again), Weeto!

"It says Halloween!"

This week, when Miss Julie came to give Allen the once-over, we told her that he's started to make the connection between letters (which he already knew) and words. The other day, I was wearing my Gulf Shores sweatshirt. Allen pointed to the words and said, "It says sweatshirt!" So, he not only knows his letters, but he knows that they go together and make words, and that we use words to label things.

Then, I found this weirdly Cyrillic little grouping on the chair Friday, and he said "It says Halloween!" So, now he's a speller, too.

"Issa shiny blue leaf blower!"

This week, Allen got hold of a roll of wrapping paper, still with the plastic on. Instantly, it became his "leaf blower." He pushed it around the house, going, "Bzzzzzz." He stuck the end in a bowl, then said it was his "vacuum cleaner." He pushed that around, going "Bzzzzzz."

We gave him an empty paper towel roll. He looked at the much smaller tube and said, "Issa pretend leaf blower." Then he pointed to his big roll of wrapping paper. "This one's real," he said.

Our big fall walk

It's Allen's first year to really get and enjoy the changing seasons... He's really into leaves. So, we headed out to Castlewood for a nice fall hike... straight up (to the Meramec bluffs).



To see more, click here. And yes, Emilyn did bring her camera. To see what she saw, click here.

Ooooh, I just LOVE multimedia!

Norma discovered the Halloween themes on One True Media... and "spook junkies" like us just couldn't resist! Here's the result of my efforts...

It's done! Before Allen turned 3!

I was worried that I wouldn't get it finished... Took a while to round up the old photos... Hope you enjoy it!

Spooktacular!

Finally! Some great weather for trick-or-treating! I've dragged Emilyn out in the rain, freezing temperatures... you name it. But this was just right. 65, breezy and cloudy... Just like Halloween night should be! The kids were perfectly comfortable in their costumes... Not too hot, not too cold.


Still, there was not a lot of activity in the neighborhood... Lots of people are ready to give out candy, but not a lot of kids stop by. So, Emilyn and Allen got a giant haul of treats, and we still have a bunch left over ourselves.

Allen was on foot for the first half of our haunt 'n' jaunt... But he does flit slowly and randomly, just like any good bumblebee. So, we got the stroller for the second leg, and that went much more quickly.

We made it to Mrs. Lupo's house... That's usually our far point. And we were back by 8:20 or so, with a large load of candy and some tired feet. Click here to see the whole spooky story.

"A cement mixer," and other scary things

Look what Allen made out of his breakfast food! He said it's a cement mixer, and darned if it doesn't look like one!

Also Tuesday, we tricked out the house for treats... I finished my boneyard... Looks suitably creepy, yes? All our other Halloween faves posed for pics... still life, don't you know... Check it all out here.

"White broccoli" and other wonders

Allen had a nice lunch at the Thai place... Daddy introduced him to some magical stuff -- white broccoli! He also had baby corn, which he loves, and "clear soup." And then, when we got home, he stood still and smiled for a picture!!! Yay!



Click here to see more.

It's Emilyn's World, again

So, Emilyn got a fancy pink Kodak digital camera for her birthday, from Grandma... Now's your chance to see the world through her eyes! She loves to play, and create, and crack herself up. She took this thought-provoking photo (above) and many more excellent ones, plus a couple of hilarious videos. So, she deserves her own chunk of the Web to share her vision. It'll always be there, so make a bookmark: www.dropshots.com/emilyn1024. And there's a permanent link on the left of our blog here, too, under "Sites to visit." When you go, please be sure to leave Emilyn a comment on the pictures you like best!

Hartman family hilarity

We all got our cameras fired up today (for example, I think Steve took this classic shot) ... Some fun with pumpkins, some nice family portraits. To see more, click here.

Back to the pumpkin farm

So nice, we had to do it twice! Now that Pete and London and Cecilia were here, we had to head back to Thies Farm for more pumpkin fun. Yes, that means another tractor ride for Allen! Oh, yeah. It doesn't get any better than that. To see the whole story, click here.

Fun at the fall party

Crafts and games and snacks... What more could you ask for from a fall party!? Emilyn had fun Friday with the whole third-grade gang... and Mommy was glad to be there and help out. To see it all, including videos of some of the games, click here.

"Iss a boo five!"

Oh, it's that time of child-rearing again... When Emilyn was this age, her vocabulary was good n' advanced, just right for arguing with Mommy and Daddy. "I'm not being const-a-dict-owy!" she would insist. One of her favorites was, "The sky is not blue!"

With Allen, it's the numbers on the refrigerator. He'll pull off a 2, run over to you with that "Just go ahead and mess with me; I'm 2" look on his face and say, challengingly: "Iss a boo five!" (He knows it's a 2. But he's got it upside-down, and that way, it kind of looks a little like a backwards 5.)

In this situation, there is no right answer. He's 2, and if you tell him he's wrong, he'll just yell louder and win. This must be what toddlers like about this gambit. Because he totally initiates this. It's a pint-sized power trip. So funny. Just wait until he learns his most important lesson: Mommy and Daddy are always right!

Happy birthday, Emilyn!

She's 9, if you can believe it! She's getting to be a very grown-up girl!

We brought Cosmic Brownies to share with her friends at school... You can see photos and video here.

She got some great stuff for her birthday this year (all pretty grown-up, too!)... A digital camera from Grandma; a magnetic calendar from Aunt Ellen; some spending cash from Aunt Jackie and Steve; a "High School Musical" DVD game from Aunt Amy, Brian, Wyatt and Will; a birthday haiku and Borders gift card from Lacey; a bookmark-making kit and stationery from Kathy; and, from Daddy, Mommy and Allen: some books, a Quizmo quiz game, and two decorate-it-yourself tea mugs. (If there's anything I forgot... I'm sorry!)

We had cake with Aunt Amy, Aunt Jackie and Wyatt. Later (Nov. 8) comes a sleepover party for her and some friends.

Happy birthday, Weeto! We hope you had a special day.

Vine wrap-up

It was time, today, to decide that the vine had run its course. So we harvested its questionable bounty, and then ripped it out of the flower bed and threw it in a heap on the driveway.

We got about 20 total of these little green things... Near as we can tell, they're some kind of gourd. Not gnarly like the cool ones you see at the store, but kind of smooth, green and plain.

Anyway, the reign of vine has ended after four months.

Bohemian rhapsody

Nasdar, everybody! Saturday was also the day for kolache and knedlicke! Roast pork and goulash! Oompah and accordions! It was homecoming at the American Czech Educational Center in south St. Louis. We saw a little bit of the band and ate a lot of the knedlicke. Daddy drank some fancy Bohemian beers. Czech it all out here! (At the end, after the photos from Trick or Trunk.)

Oui, oui. Buzz, buzz.

It's Trick or Trunk, Year Two!


Gotta get up nice and early to get ready for Trick or Trunk. Sorrento Springs holds the event every October... The kids get to dress up and parade around the neighborhood, led by our friendly neighborhood police officer in his squad car! This year, Allen got to march... and guess who won a "best costume" prize? Check it all out here.

Smiling faces, blurry bodies

They're blurry because they're moving! Friday was my day to run a Brownies meeting, and Olivia's mom and I did the "Girl Sport" try-it. Try-its are what they do to earn badges. Olivia has cerebral palsy, and she and her mom talked about stretching our muscles and why it's important... Then Emilyn and I showed the girls some different games with balloons and beanbags. We practiced throwing, catching, hitting and kicking. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.