Breakfast served all day

Allen has reached that 2-year-old culinary milestone... He always wants something else to eat. Something else, as in, anything other than what you just gave him. I guess you could call it "meal ADD."

Breakfast is now, at least, a three-bowl affair. You give him what he asked for, usually cereal, in a bowl. He takes two bites and tells you he didn't want milk on it. That's the end of that bowl. So, then you give him some of another kind of cereal, this time dry. Then he comes up with the third thing that he wanted all along... a Pop-Tart.

So, I've adopted the "tapas" principle for Allen's meals. I give him three bites of something. That's about all that will hold his attention anyway. Sometimes I'll give him three different things, three bites each. And it's best not to let him decide. I just tell him that it's time for breakfast and put him in front of his tiny selections for the day.

He must like breakfast, because he wants it all day. Whenever he's hungry, he'll stroll into the kitchen and announce, "I want some breakfast, please." Luckily, we're like Denny's and will serve it all day.

Allen is getting very picky about a lot of things. Here are some current gems from his lexicon...

• "You don't want to say any words about..." Whenever he doesn't want to hear what you have to say, he'll admonish you with this. Also, "You don't want to say that." Like when you say he can't go outside, he'll tell you, shrilly, "You don't want to say that!"
• "Grape juice, warmer." Currently, his favorite drink. He doesn't want it straight from the fridge. Too cold. He wants you to mix it with warm water. And don't even get me started about the cups... you just better hope that you pick the one he wants right this second. And don't dawdle, because it could change, in a blink!

Choo-choo heaven

All aboard! Every good boyhood needs at least one stop at the Museum of Transportation, where Allen got the chance yesterday to see some big trains!


We rode on a trolley, rode on a small train and climbed into the biggest steam locomotive ever. Emilyn and Grandma scavenged for things beginning with each letter of the alphabet, and Daddy heard the siren song of the car building. To see it all, click here.

Zing! went the strings of our hearts

Emilyn's arts week culminated last night with the third-grade Suzuki strings concert.

Everyone in third grade at Sorrento Springs gets the opportunity to study the violin with Mrs. Chow. Well, they must have studied hard, because their performance was amazing! It's clear that the curriculum is designed to get them excited and let them succeed, with beautiful results. (Tear-jerking results, for some of us in the audience...)

I captured the whole thing on video... in segments. So, watch the video below to get a taste, then click here to go to DropShots and see and hear the rest.

Hip-hop sensation

Wow! Emilyn and her friends from hip-hop dancing class did a great job yesterday at their end-of-class recital. Emilyn showed us the "turtle spin" technique. She got the "big sister" award, for helping and encouraging all her classmates. And she and Rachel and Jake struck a "fly" pose for the camera. (I am so hip!) The video of the full performance is below. To see more, click here.

Shake, rattle and...

Yes, we felt it.

We had a magnitude 5.2 earthquake this morning at 4:37, centered in eastern Illinois, near the Indiana border. We had a pretty hefty aftershock at 10:15, with a magnitude of 4.6.

Here's what the big quake looked like on the Evansville, Ind., morning newscast:



I woke up when I heard everything on the dresser shaking, plus the windows... I thought it was thunder, or maybe a big truck, but of course it lasted a lot longer than either of those would have. In the morning, Emilyn asked: "Did you hear the thunder last night?" I didn't know for sure yet that we'd had an earthquake, and I didn't want to worry her... (She now knows we had a couple of small quakes.)

A few hours later, Allen and I were in the living room for the big aftershock... The fireplace grate started rattling, and I went into the kitchen to note the time. (The little guy didn't notice a thing.) I panicked for a second, because I had Allen to worry about, but it was over quickly. I knew the newscast at 11 would tell me if it was a real aftershock, and it was... a pretty big one, they said. They said the aftershocks would come at decreasing intensity for as many as three weeks!

All of this came not on the famous New Madrid fault, but its lesser cousin, the Wabash fault. In eastern Illinois, there was damage to some buildings, and some old brick homes here had cracks. But the roads and bridges all checked out OK.

I lost 4 pounds!

OK, usually I don't get excited about things like this... But I think upping my exercise to five days a week, vs. three, is really working this time. Thanks to my New Balance shoes!

Plus, I'd also like to thank South Beach Diet 100 Calorie Snack Bars. These things are packed with fiber and protein and really keep me from feeling hungry after work. And, they're peanut butter-chocolate chip, so, there you go.

My breakfast solution is Fiber One Caramel Crunch. I used to skip breakfast to cut calories. Then, of course, by lunch I was starving. I started buying this cereal while we were at the beach, and it's really yummy.

So, fiber, protein and more exercise. These are my recommendations. We'll see how I do in two weeks, when I have Weigh Day again.

Some random keystrokes from Allen

x65556u
555555554555555555555
cxz
uyyyyy55555
555555555555yyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
5555555555555555

The Weatherbird

I don't talk a lot about work here... It's pretty much unethical, and I sure don't want any trouble. But, spreading the love for the paper and STLtoday.com, our website, is A-OK, I think.

The Weatherbird is the Post-Dispatch's page one cartoon. He's been on the front page of the paper for over 100 years. One of the singular duties of the copy desk is to come up with the "birdline," the bird's comment on the headlines of the day. It's a fun, free-association, bad-pun session that keeps our minds sharp.

Anyway, a lot of people at work are spreading the word about our online products, and coming up with some cool new toys in the process. My friend Erica is leading the way on Facebook, and she came up with this cool "widget" (that's what they call a Web tool that you can paste into your website or blog) that features the Weatherbird from days past, plus the birdline. I've posted it here on The Crabbe Trap, in the left-hand column about halfway down. If you click on the birdline, it'll take you to that day's Weatherbird on STLtoday.com.

Just gives you another chance to see what it is that I do all night.

Didn't want to miss it

Spring has a fleeting quality in St. Louis. Last year, we had two springs, about six weeks apart. But I think this one will be it. (Of course, it's snowing right now in Kansas, so maybe I speak too soon.) Anyway, I wanted to capture it while it's here. Enjoy the slideshow.

The I's (almost) have it!

A breakthrough in the last week or so... Allen is using his "I's"! Now, he uses "I" almost more than he does "you." We're pretty proud of the little guy! Of course, his little toddler pleadings seemed cuter when they started out "You want a..."

He's sick right now. Bad fever last night and this morning. But he's feeling better this afternoon. Even playing and talking and running almost like normal. This morning when I picked him up out of the crib, he felt fresh out of the oven. And he has one red ear. Just the outside rim. It's red and hot. Well, it was red and hot. Now it's pink and warm. We're keeping an eye on it.

7 1/2 D

I've added two days of walking a week to my three days of biking. Trying to get somewhere, anywhere with this last 10 pounds I'm trying to lose!

So, my old sneakers were pretty much shot, and walking three miles in the pouring rain pretty much was the end of them. So, I did my standard thing: Picked up another $10 pair at Wal-Mart. 8 1/2 wide. The size I always buy.

Then, Steve heads to the New Balance store (as he does every few years) and buys his $125 fancy sneakers. Because he has some oddly shaped feet. No big deal. He needs 'em.

So, on my second walking day, it's raining. Again. I head out in my new $10 tennies. Well, I stayed dry... But my feet slid and wiggled and jammed and pulled and you name it in those shoes. It was a three-mile, soaking wet nightmare.

Now, I start to think: I could use some fancy New Balance walking shoes. Fit by a professional. And, because I paid a pretty disposable price for the poorly fitting Wal-Mart shoes, I figured I wasn't being extravagant buying another pair just 5 days later.

So, Michael at Brown's New Balance in Creve Coeur measures my foot. 7 1/2. D width. Are you kidding me!? I can't remember the last time I bought a shoe smaller than an 8. I even have 9's in my closet! (He made a funny remark about most women who come in there insisting their feet are smaller than he says. And there I am insisting mine are bigger.)

So, I strap on the $99 New Balance shoe, size 7 1/2 D. It feels pretty snug, but pretty good! When I'm walking, all I want is a shoe that fits, something my foot doesn't move around in. I figure I've been buying big shoes all this time just to get the width I need. Makes sense, I guess. And a dress shoe doesn't need to fit like a walking shoe. You aren't going to put any stress on it.

Anyway, I'm a 7 1/2 D. And I can't wait until my next walking day!

$1.07

A while back, Daddy decreed that Allen could no longer play with his tiny box of precision screwdrivers. And a young boy's world was shattered.

Then Mommy remembered they had packs of tiny screwdrivers just like that one at the dollar store. Well, never has $1.07 made someone so happy. (And he actually has more screwdrivers in his pack than Daddy does!)

Which leads to more wisdom from Allen: He was dawdling over his breakfast yesterday, and playing with his new prize. "You gonna eat that Pop-Tart?" I asked. He replied: "No. You'll get your screwdrivers all sticky."

Typical conversation with Allen

(Please remember, the boy still doesn't totally understand pronouns.)

Allen is busy scribbling two big blobs with his purple marker. "Look at these things you drew!" he says.

"What are you drawing, buddy?" Mommy asks.

"You're drawing these things!"

"Yes, but what are those things?" Mommy asks.

"They're things that you drew!"

Ahhhh. OK.

Sprouting... with a vengeance!

Spring is, well, rather aggressive this year. This bulb came right up through a leaf!

Something cool

My friend Norma and her family just got back from vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Anyway, this cool critter was a resident of their resort... An albino peacock! Click on the picture to read Norma's blog and see more about her trip to Mexico. (Dolphins, pirates and... shark urinals?)

Emilyn's chemical experience

One story I forgot to share... Emilyn had her last baby tooth pulled on Tuesday.

Well, "pulled" is a strong term. It was more like "plucked," actually. It was one of those cases where her big tooth had come in behind the baby one, and the baby one just kept riding up and up and up on her gum. It was down to almost nothing, but it never got loose enough to fall out on its own.

So, we went to see Dr. Dunagan, and she gave us two options, depending on the level of cooperation that Emilyn was prepared to put forth: Have an oral surgeon put her out and take it out. Or have a little sweet air in the nose and have Dr. Dunagan take it out.

Seemed simple enough to get it taken care of right then and there. Well, Emilyn was very nervous, and wasn't too keen on the feelings she was feeling, and she yanked the "strawberry air" nozzle off her nose once. When she got relaxed a bit, Dr. Dunagan numbed up her gum with novacaine. Then, Emilyn sort of twisted a bit in the chair... I thought she was convulsing, but Dr. Dunagan said it was normal for kids to get a bit jerky while on the gas. Emilyn got very still, and Dr. Dunagan reached in and plucked the tooth out. The actual extraction took the time it would take you to pick lint off your jacket. Seemed to Mommy like a lot of chemicals for the trouble, but what do I know?

The best part is the tales Emilyn told once the oxygen started flowing into her nose, and she came back to us. (Again, it's important to remember that she was still for about 20 seconds.) She got very chattery, as you do sometimes coming off anesthesia. "Was I asleep? Man! I fell asleep! I was dreaming! I dreamed I was on a ferris wheel and went up and down and up and down, and then I dreamed I was a baby, and somebody was trying to put me in a food dish..." And on and on.

I guess she handles her chemicals about as well as Mommy does. But finds the experience as fascinating as Daddy does. A deadly combination!

(Here's a great link on pediatric nitrous oxide... Emilyn had the strawberry one!)

'50s flashback

Tonight's the night for the much-delayed Daddy Daughter Dance, for all the Sorrento Springs Girl Scouts. This year's theme is "sock hop." It's normally a Valentine's type thing, but it got snowed out last month.


Look how cute they are! (I'll get a review of the festivities later.) To see more, click here.

Really!

Mom and Dad's house has sold. Really. Bill got the check. Really. It's real. We've got our money. And it took just under two years. Whew.

Tiny Waddells

Ashley and Tyler discover that Easter at Grandma Laurie's is always fun! (Though I'm not sure she had egg salad...)

Head over to Laurie's DropShots if you'd like to see more!

Happy Easter!

The bunny got snowed on here this morning. March 23. Give me a break!

After waffles, we got right down to business coloring Easter eggs... Daddy is the master!

Allen has his own special technique...



For more Easter and earring fun, click here.