Uh-Oh!

Saying that David likes cars and trains would be an understatement. Given the choice they're practically the only thing he plays with. He also is fairly addicted to watching Thomas and Friends and whenever the trains on TV crash he'll gleefully exclaim "UhOh!" I try to limit the amount of TV I let him watch but it's not always easy. He'll point to the TV and scream "Choo-Choo, Choo-Choo" which will of course quickly progress to a full blown tantrum if his demands are not met. Obviously I don't need to give into every tantrum but he's unfortunately gotten smart and stubborn enough not to be distracted by another toy or game when he wants something.

Usually I try to spend a good share of each day away from home to avoid these struggles but yesterday I had paperwork so I gave in and let him watch Thomas and Elmo for the better part of the morning. I'd planned to hit the park in the afternoon after his nap, but by that time it was raining so we did the children's museum instead. David had fun playing in the fire engine and other exhibits but he insisted on carrying a couple wooden train cars around everywhere he went so he could still crash them together and yell, "Uh-Oh!"

Before he was born I had such lofty goals of no TV before age 2 and then only on a very limited basis. In theory I'm the perfect parent, but in practice... well hopefully he'll survive.

Summer Salads

Salads are obviously pretty healthy but a lot of dressings are anything but. Not only do they tend to have lots of fat, but preservatives and chemicals as well that I'd rather avoid. Here's a dressing option that's quick, easy, and good for you. I used it on this spinach blueberry salad (I also included sliced apples but didn't feel like cutting up another one for the picture.) This recipe was kind of thrown together so I don't remember the amounts I used but it's very, very flexible.

Yogurt Citrus Dressing

Plain yogurt

Honey

Lime juice

Lemon juice

Orange Zest*

Cinnamon

Measure out the desired amount of yogurt and add other ingredients to taste. For a sweeter dressing add more honey and add more lemon/lime for more tartness.

*I actually use a couple drops of orange essential oil instead of orange zest which gives the same flavor but is much easier. You can get it at natural food stores. Be careful though as it is pretty potent. It only takes about 4 drops to equal the equivalent of the zest of 1 orange.

Comings and Goings

A lot's happened since my last post. Unfortunately my grandpa, George Davis passed away last week. He was very sick and his quality of life wasn't great near the end. I am relieved to know that he's no longer suffering, yet sad to think that David will never really know or remember him. Thanks to everyone who has sent their condolences.

On the brighter side however we've been able to reconnect with some of our out-of-town family this month. Derek's mom and Jim came to visit around the first of the month and David loved having his grandma here to spoil him. We went to the children's museum, the swimming pool, and even the toy store as grandma felt David needed some new toys to add to his collection.

David reads Mother Goose to Jim (sort of)

Then my sister and her boys were in town this past weekend for the funeral. I would have liked to see them under happier circumstances but I'm glad they made it and our boys had some fun together.

Thomas and Friends has 3 devoted fans

Brian was so eager to push David on the swings, hold him, or help him out and David LOVED the attention from his big-kid cousin! Matthew was more interested in teaching David his place in the pecking order, and the fact that their teddy bears look very similar made for a few interesting scenes. Each time one glimpsed the other cuddling his bear he was just sure his best friend had been swiped and screaming ensued. Nonetheless David adored the chance to play with his older cousins

More fun at the park

The Forbidden Fruit

Conversation my brother and I shared as kids:
ME: "Hey Mike, What would you do if Dad got you your own computer for your birthday?"
MIKE: "I'd LOVE him!"
ME: "Oh yeah? Even if it was a CADO CAT?" (That's the first computer I ever remember my dad working on. I'm not even sure it could run DOS and it used gigantic floppies.)
MIKE: "Well I'd still love him, but not because of that."
ME: "Or what if it was a brand new, top-of-the-line Mac?"
MIKE: "Then I would HATE him and never speak to him again!"

At that point my dad chimes in by explaining that he would never even do that to his worst enemies (if he had any that is) and that voluntarily using any Apple computer was grounds for automatic expulsion from the family. That exact exchanged occurred over 15 years ago, but my dad and brother are still pretty fervently attached to their PCs. And I fully expect to be disowned tomorrow (pause for significant eye-rolling) when my new Macbook Pro laptop is scheduled to arrive.

Here's the deal. Our current laptop has crashed 3 times this year requiring us to box it up and send it back to the manufacturer for repairs. It could be a faulty computer or a glitch in Windows Vista, but either way I'm ready for a change. When talking to people who actually use Macs, everyone loves them. I'm sure that there are some disgruntled Apple customers out there, but I've never personally encountered one. True, there's still a bigger variety of programs that run on PCs but I really only edit photos, surf the net, and type an occasional document on my computer so that's not really an issue for me.

Here's the pros to a Mac that I get. As far as aesthetic design Macs win hands down. They are the Louboutins of computers, but I don't own designer clothes and wouldn't shell out extra cash just so my computer can look pretty (though it is a nice perk). People also rave about an operating system that isn't as easily bogged down, rarely crashes, and is less susceptible to viruses. And I'm not overlooking the fact that all the hardware is designed to work together which is rarely the case in a PC.

I'm a lot more intrigued by what I don't get though. People will list all of the above reasons when I ask why they prefer their Mac, but what it really seems to boil down to is some mystical quality they can't describe. Something to do with convenience and a better overall feel which I admit I don't really understand. I'll let you know whether I decide it can live up to the hype. See you on the dark side.

Photo Shoot

This past weekend I took some family photos for a friend of mine and am pretty happy with the results. There are definitely things I would do differently but I think I did alright for my first stab of formal portraits. Well technically it's my second. I tried one right after I got my camera a couple years ago which didn't go so well. It helped a lot that her family is so cute to work with in the first place. Hopefully they'll be happy with them.






Hmm. Somehow the right side's being cropped a little too much but I don't know how to fix that.

Self-Reliance

I foolishly left a bag of bread too close to the counter edge so David opted to prepare his own breakfast this morning. Hungry anyone?

I solemnly swear

to stop putting disclaimers before all my pictures expressing my disappointment in them. Or to not post any pictures at all because I don't have any I really like. Yes, my photography skills are far from perfect (though slowly improving) but the point of this blog isn't to dwell on that. So here are some pictures from the last month or so that I've been reluctant to share.

Swinging on Swings

Riding in WagonsVisiting the Aquarium

Sliding Down Slides

Exploring the Garden

Playing With Cousins

Driving a Train