Happy Birthday Lily!!

Today was Lily's first birthday! YAY Lily!! We went to Applebees for supper, and Lily got her first hamburger. (Okay, she got some of the beef and bun off of my hamburger, but who's counting....) We also went shopping and picked up Lily's present -- a swimming pool and a little bathing suit. Pictures coming soon....

And a "Mommy Thought" for today: You know you're a Mommy when your Shakespearean edition of Magnetic Poetry loses its place on the refrigerator to plastic magnetic numbers and letters.

Reviving my Costuming Skills

It''s May -- time for the Renaissance Festival!! Jimmy wanted to go in costume this year, so I pulled out my sewing machine and we went pattern and fabric shopping. I had a few late nights, but I was pleased with how his costume turned out. The doublet has detachable sleeves, but I haven't made them yet. (I'll finish them, but I didn't have time to get them done before the faire.) I didn't make a costume for Lily of a new one for myself; perhaps in the next year or two. We went to the festival on Saturday and had a lot of fun. We picked up a hat for Jimmy there, and that really completed his costume.

Cash or Charge?

Lily has recently discovered the joys of credit cards....

Not Quite a Jack-in-the-Box....

There's something in the box, but it isn't Jack!! Lily and Tucker have a new favorite game....

Submarine!!

Today we toured one of the local attractions: the USS Batfish. The USS Batfish is a WWII submarine that has it's current home nearby and is open for tours. I wasn't particularly surprised by the size of the vessel or anything like that (I've seen enough WWII movies to be somewhat familiar with the inside of a submarine), but I just couldn't imagine being stuck inside of something like that with a crew of about 80 other people and being submerged under water for days or weeks at a time. While I have great respect and admiration for the men who served on that vessel, I'm sure glad that being in a submarine isn't part of my job description.

The End is in Sight....

The end of the semester, that is.... The classes that I've been teaching this semester are over, and now it's merely a matter of grading final projects and final exams and submitting grades. While I'm certainly looking forward to summer break, I don't really know where the past semester has gone....

My New Favorite Lily Picture

Okay, nothing substantial to write today, but I just wanted to share one of my new favorite Lily pictures. (And honestly, who doesn't like to see pictures of a cute baby!)

Recycling and Earth Day

Lily and I made a trip to the local recycling center today. We generally drop things off once or twice a month, but I decided that we'd make and extra trip today since it's Earth Day. I don't think Lily understands the whole concept of recycling yet, but she sure enjoys playing with that big basket of papers that Mommy keeps under the desk.

Fast Fat Food

I was reading around on the internet and came across an interesting article: "The Worst Drive-Thru Foods in America (And What to Eat Instead". Here's the winner. I don't know whether to say YUCK! or WOW!

THE WORST DRIVE-THRU MEAL IN AMERICA
Carl's Jr. Double Six Dollar Burger
with Medium Natural cut Fries and 32 oz Coke
2,618 Calories
144 g fat (51.5 g saturated fat)
2892 mg sodium

Of all the gut-growing, heart-stopping, life-threatening burgers in the fast food world, there is none whose damage to your general well-being is as catastrophic as this. Consider these heart-stopping comparisons: This meal has the caloric equivalent of 13 Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Donuts; the saturated fat equivalent of 52 strips of bacon; and the salt equivalent of seven and a half large orders of McDonald's French fries!

Strawberries!!

I'm beginning to introduce Lily to a variety of new foods. She seems to be doing pretty well with just about everything that I've given her. She likes green beans, tortillas, strawberries, cooked apples, sweet potatoes, and pineapple. So far the only thing that she really refuses to eat is bananas. (Strange child, I know!) The problem that we're currently having is that she doesn't particularly want to eat baby food, but she doesn't have enough teeth to really bite or chew anything. (So far she only has her two bottom teeth; we're still waiting for more to arrive.) The picture shows her first encounter with strawberries; the spoon and bowl are more of photo props than anything else as she doesn't do too well with the spoon and the bowl just ended up on the floor. Nonetheless, I think this is one of my favorite mealtime pictures; Lily looks so cute, and her eyes look so, so blue!

Edward Albee

Edward Albee, perhaps my favorite 20th Century American playwrite, spoke in Tulsa this evening, and I made the trip in for the event. ("The Zoo Story," "The American Dream," and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" are three of my absolute favorite plays. They're a little nuts, but they're brilliant.) I enjoyed the evening, but was a little disappointed with the overall content of the presentation. Albee talked about his life and his plays (which was expected and certainly very interesting), but then he spent quite a bit of the evening talking about politics (which wasn't quite expected and wasn't quite so interesting). While I'm certainly glad I went this evening, I now find that I have just a little less admiration for one of the contemporary writers that I had admired most.

Happy Easter!!

Happy Easter!! I thought I would put up a quick picture of Lily in her Easter dress with one of her baskets. (This one is from Grandma Rita. She gave Lily all sorts of sweet things...most of which Mommy probably won't let her eat.) Anyway, it was a long, busy Easter, but Lily's been a trooper through it all....

Azalea Festival

'Tis the season for the annual azalea festival. While we haven't taken part in any of the city-wide festivities, we have been enjoying the azaleas in our front year. They're so pretty and pink!! Lily and I did some pictures with the flowers, and they all turned out pretty well. I think this one's my favorite....

Poetry Reading

Tonight Lily went to her first major literary event -- a poetry reading by Billy Collins, former Poet Laureate of the United States. The reading was wonderful. I'd heard Collins read before, but it was still a very enjoyable event. We arrived early in order to get the coveted Mommy-and-baby seat: the one in the back row closest to the door. Lily behaved wonderfully; she was generally quiet and she lasted for about 45 minutes before she decided that she needed to get off of Mommy's lap and crawl around. Luckily there was a walkway behind our row of seats so Lily could play in the isle without disturbing anyone. At the end of the reading we bought a book and had Collins autograph it. Lily now has her first book that is inscribed to her by the author....

"Lily-Tucker, No!!"

It has begun; I've started to confuse the children.... I was in a bit of a rush as I was leaving for work this morning, and Tucker was trying to empty my water bottle all over the kitchen counter. I caught him just before the water spilled, and I exclaimed, "Lily-Tucker, No!!" Jimmy made fun of me for confusing the children....