Ice cream party, surprise shower

Busy morning! We had to go to the store before school to get Miss Amy and Miss Janet their thank-you presents. Allen picked out begonia plants. Pink for Miss Janet and orange for Miss Amy. And, of course, we had to get gummy bears, because that's what Allen picked for an ice cream topping. So I dropped him and the flowers and the bears off at 9, ran home to charge the camera, and was back by 10:30 for the ice cream party!

Allen had gummy bears, marshmallows and strawberry syrup. Hmmmm. If you click on the picture, you'll read what I did to that poor ice cream after he picked and scraped all the stuff off. You could tell these kids don't normally eat like this... Everyone went hog wild with toppings and goop, and they kept shoveling it in with a glazed look in their eyes. Ecstasy for 3-year-olds!

Busy afternoon! We had to run out, buy a basket for Miss Veile's shower gift, head home, get Daddy, grab lunch and be at Emilyn's school in time for Miss Veile's surprise bridal shower. We bought her a recipe box, silicone oven mitt and measuring spoons.

I think she really was surprised. She and the kids were off watching the 5th grade's assembly, while Mac's mom and Hannah's mom set the whole thing up in the classroom. They came back pretty late, but Miss Veile still had time to open all her presents.


Then I walked home, with cookie cake for Daddy, grabbed Emilyn off the bus and headed out to give blood. Phew. Giving blood was the first time I'd sat still all day!

To see more pictures from our busy day, click here.

Tiger and Sauce (aka Flicky)

Well, we've welcomed two new members to the family... Emilyn's adopted crawfish, Tiger and Sauce, also known as Flicky. Mmmmm. Tiger Sauce. But Daddy has promised not to eat the little guys. Yet.

Flicky is so named because of his penchant for flicking his tail. Probably to make up for his sad lack of claws.

Tiger is feistier and has pinched AND bitten Emilyn. Swamp kids. They're tough to love.


And here's their home, complete with a log to hide under and elodea, the green plants they need.


Emilyn says: "I just wanted a pet that I could hold. And that does more than just swim." Well, here you go, kiddo. Let's wish Tiger and Flicky a long and happy life here at The Crabbe Trap. If we can just keep Daddy's mind off po'boys...

Allen's caterpillar friend

With spring in high gear, Allen's learning a lot about creatures in the yard... And learning how to be nice to them. He found this Eastern tent caterpillar walking across the street today, and he was very kind to it.

When it was time to let the little guy go, Allen said: "Bye, little caterpillar. Go back to your grass home."

Mother's Day at Laumeier Art Fair

Strawberry picking, my first choice, was out. It's been far too wet, and the farms say it'll be a couple weeks before the berry fields are ready. So, backup plan: Laumeier Sculpture Park, and their annual art fair. Laumeier is kind of like Storm King Art Center, for you New Yorkers out there. In fact, I think Laumeier was based on the Storm King model. My friends, Amy and Brian, got engaged there. Great place!

Anyway, we haven't been there in ages, and the art fair is a great excuse. So many beautiful things we can't afford!

I took some great pictures of my little works of art... For more, click here.

My Mother's Day Eve Eve miracle

Very stormy this morning, but then we settled in to a nice, gentle rain. Perfect for playing outside!

One of us, though, is a little brother, so he has to wear his big sister's hand-me-down rain gear. He doesn't mind! He likes the ladybug coat, purple boots and rainbow umbrella!

And, miracle of miracles, he let me take this picture of us! And, it came out good! I never take a good self-portrait!

For more photos of Allen in his rain gear, actually smiling, click here.

Grampy would be proud

I got to teach my beautiful tots about graduated fuels... And we made an excellent first fire of the season.

For more photos and videos (including Steve and his chainsaw), click here.

Why school is cool, more evidence

When Allen got to school (second to last school day of the year), there was goop! With bugs in it! And potato mashers!

When I went to pick him up, I heard, sadly, that he'd had two major meltdowns... One at cleanup time and one on the playground. Sigh. I think he's realizing that a.) There are kids and rules there and b.) Kids and rules are really annoying. Oh, well. Maybe this will give him a jump on reality when it's time for real preschool in August!

So, the 14th is his last day, and families are invited for an ice cream party. I'm supposed to bring a topping. Allen wants to bring his teachers a flower. Let's hope it's a happy day!

Why did the geese cross the road?

To get to the other side, of course! But it must have been something great, because Manchester Road is no dirt country track. At least, not in this century. I saw two goose families cross. At the intersection, at least, though not necessarily with the light! ;)

In this photo, you can see the second goose family, upper right, waiting patiently to cross! The first gaggle had three babies; the second had five. If you click the picture, it'll take you to DropShots, where you can see more pictures that I snapped while we all waited through a green light and a half to see the parade.

Planting pretty flowers

Allen and Daddy bought some Gerber daisies today.

My boy keeps asking me if my back feels better.

Allen, from the back seat: "Do you feel a little bit better?"
"A little bit, buddy," I reply.
Allen, softly, kinda offhand: "Well, we got some pretty flowers. Sometimes flowers do the trick."

Awwwww!

So, he and Daddy got to work planting five pretty colors of daisies. For more photos from today, click here.

Avis' movie trivia extravaganza

My friend and mentor, Avis Meyer, just finished up a protracted legal battle with my alma mater, Saint Louis University. You may remember this post I wrote about Avis and the case.

Anyway, it's all over now, but Avis and his wife have been left with some pretty hefty legal bills... and all of his friends wanted to do something to help him raise some cash to offset them. Since Avis is the world's most serious movie buff, a trivia contest was a natural.

And wicked-hard it was! The moderator, Joe Holleman, used to be my paper's movie critic, and he'd qualify as the second-most-serious movie buff I know. He got the 100 questions ahead of time and chided Avis because they were too difficult! (One of the rejected questions: "In 'Chinatown,' Popeye Doyle loses a shoe in the gutter. What kind of shoe was it?" If you're dying to know, I've got the answer.)

So, even the dumbed-down version was wicked-hard. My table mates and I correctly answered 79 questions of 100, with 10 points earned in bonus rounds. So we won, with a C-plus! (That's actually typical of Avis' tests in college. Many of his students called him B-vis.)

I had the best minds at my table... Collectively, we were a force. Myself, I would have foundered. Badly!

Anyway, here are 10 of the 100 questions. Some were ones we got wrong, some we got right. (In each of the 10 rounds of 10, we got an average of 8 right. We never got more than 9, and in one category we mustered only a 5.) How will you do?

1. What was the name of the whale that swallowed Pinocchio?


2. In "The Great Escape," the prisoners were digging three tunnels. Name the tunnels.


3. In "The Godfather," what was the name of the race horse that met an untimely end as a head in a bed?


4. In "The Graduate," what kind of car does Dustin Hoffman's character drive?


5. In "LA Confidential," what's the name of Danny DeVito's gossip rag?


6. In "Bridge on the River Kwai," what's the name of the song they whistle?


7. Natalie Wood didn't sing Maria's part in "West Side Story." Who did?


8. Who was the only member of "The Dirty Dozen" to survive the movie?


9. In "African Queen," what are the first names of Bogart and Hepburn's characters?


10. From "Dr. Strangelove," complete the quote: "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here. ---- ---- ---- ---- ----. " (5 words)

Welcome, Sarah Dennise Garbo!

This beautiful little girl was born at 9:51 a.m. on April 30 in Pennsylvania, and is the daughter of my friends Stacy and Terry. You may remember Stacy as the Uber-mom who made her boy Trevor a Thomas cake for his 2nd birthday. Well, now she's an Uber-mom times two! For Terry, this is daughter No. 3. Busy dad!!



Sarah weighed 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and was 18 inches long. She missed sharing a birthday with Betty Lou Critchlow by one day, but that's OK! She'll still be a great Taurus, I'm sure.

Welcome to the world, little Sarah Dennise! Can't wait to meet you!

Update: Emilyn on the big screen!

Thanks so much, Carmen, for capturing this moment! She looks like a star! They all were so great.

Emilyn's big night at the ballpark

What a great night at the ballpark! About 30 degrees warmer than when we went last time. We had seats at the top-top-top of the stands. We were surrounded by friends and families from school. Grandma was there. Allen was good. And the Cards beat the dreaded Cubs 4-3!

But, of course, the best part came at the 7th inning stretch, when the Sorrento Singers took the field.

I'm sorry that this is the best quality video I could get... I wasn't very close, and people kept walking in front of me. But, from my perch, I certainly could see more than our families up in right field... They were directly over the action and couldn't see a thing.

Great job, kiddo! I know it was a lot of stress, but I hope it was worth it.

Emilyn's strings concert

Here's the finale... for the rest of the show, please click here.

The NEW China King!

Our old dive of a Chinese restaurant (where the kids used to eat out of takeout lids) got a fancy new makeover! It's almost too nice for us! Check it out!

Allen's latest "best thing"

Allen would like you all to see what he made in school today... A jellyfish!



He won't even part with it so I can hang it on the wall. Miss Amy said he was oh-so-very proud of it, and I can see why.

Emilyn's spring pictures

Available for order right now... Order forms are due Friday. Let me know which pose and what sizes you want, if any. I just think they're fun to look at, even in proof form!

A little light plumbing

So... Steve went out and bought a *ahem* ballcock and fixed the constantly running toilet. I have to say, I almost miss its soothing sussurrations.


Wrench got to play with real wrenches! (He likes them because they're heavy.) "I'm fixing things!" he says.

Sometimes, you just gotta say "Yes" to crack.

Easter at the ballpark

Take us out to the ballgame! It was 50ish, and windy, but we still had fun at Busch Stadium today. Daddy and I had fun, anyway... A really good game! Allen required a lot of maintenance... and half a bag of peanuts. I, going way off my diet, ended up eating nearly everyone's free hot dog! Emilyn generally did OK but probably would rather have been somewhere else! But to my mind, it was a pretty great day.





For more from today, click here.

The inaugural Asilomar egg hunt

Check out this video I shot this morning... and happy Easter to all!

The thrill of victory

Allen hit the mini-jackpot last night at Incredible Pizza Co. He played a game where a ball bounces into holes on a rotating wheel... Each hole is numbered with a ticket value. It went up to "jackpot" -- 210 tickets. But Allen hit 75, the third-biggest spot on the wheel! He was very proud to be such a big winner! (So big he can barely reach!)

Play ball!

But put on a sweater. Or maybe a parka. Yeah, that's probably a better idea. Temperature: 36. Wind chill: 25. Game time: 3:15. Go Cards! Beat those Bucs!

Sweet 'n Low architecture

We're trying to support all of West County's restaurants by eating out too much, and we've got a lot of time on our hands. Plus, my camera's always in my pocketbook.