The Chefs' Special.

1. Find a pot of dirt.



2. Mix well (no need for fancy kitchen utensils)



3. Make use of a sous chef. They are invaluable to your success.



4. Enjoy the process. Become one with the dirt, er...terre.



5. Sample your creation.
No, no, no sous chef!



6. Chaos, our Chef is sampling as well.



7. Our sous chef leads the way toward maintaining a sanitary kitchen (never mind the paint peeling off the wall - doesn't some of the best food come from some of the "greasy spoon" locations?




8. Soon to follow, our intrepid Chef.



9. She's thinking "maybe I'm not cut out for this".
Haute cuisine, perhaps not. Mess hall? Maybe.



10. Hey this cleanup is just as much fun as the cooking...And maybe we get mud pie out of the deal.

At least we got a bath before the bath. It didn't occur to me until the next morning that they are going to be going for the dirt everytime they go outside. Oh boy. What the hey.

Some video:

Dining Office Bedroom

Um, excuse me Mom. I'm new to the English language and all but I don't think that's a legitimate room description.

After some discussion about remodeling, adding on or doing nothing your Dad took action.



Our "3rd bedroom" (reallly?!) is now the Dining Office Bedroom. Mostly the Dining room but it can easily act as an office (table=desk) or bedroom (fold down that table and haul up the twin bed)...



We can eat together, which is awesome.
We can listen to tunes together. Ding Ding.



Roman and Dad can compare notes on what happened that day.
Note: the "curtain" is just the fabric that I am going to learn to make into a valance. With all my free time.






Zoe can just grin.

The French may not be the best mothers, but they are happy...

A preview of the next days posts...
Or the shape of things to come as we dive right into toddler-hood.

I was listening to NPR while scrambling to make dinner tonight. I was half in and out of the kitchen, half listening. A story came on about motherhood in France. I didn't hear enough to comment, but as I was making my final round through the kitchen I heard the title of this post. I had to laugh.

"a French philosopher warns French mothers — don’t try to be American-style super-moms " link to full episode

No, they're not professional models.

(but that's what makes it so fun)

Daddy made pumpkin pancakes

More Please!



After the first bowlful of pancakes both Zoe and Roman finished at the same time and extended their bowls out for more. The above photo was a bit later (when I had the camera ready!)

Okay...Now we're on facebook

Or at least Mary is. If you're there and want to find me as a friend I've got these blogger posts going there too. I'm likely to have more Mary type stuff there...But the plan is to maintain the blogger blog (ChezDuex.blogspot.com) too. I resisted MyFace ;) for so long, so I can't abandon blogger.

Someone got his first haircut...

Just in time for Easter dress-up time next weekend.

Before:






During:

Roman got the royal treatment. Lollipop, a movie playing on a screen right in front of him (Madagascar)...

After (after dinner, with Sloppy Joes living up to their name):

Spring fever isn't hard to get around this time of year.

Thankfully we've had a few days that have allowed us to get outside and enjoy the SUN. A glorious time, to feel the heat after a long winter indoors. And to squint mercilessly. If you’re me that it. My ancestors gave me nearly translucent skin and along with that goes the squinty eye. I am blind without sunglasses. Actually I think that has more to do with building up a sensitivity to the sun. Maybe I’m part vampire, that would be quite trendy (yes, dear kids, we’re in the midst of yet another “hot” time for the vampire…Neither your dad or have been bitten but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. We’re parents now, we don’t have time for trends. The Twilight books/movies, some other show on tv. It’s all out there. Seems like this happens every 10 or 12 years. Anne Rice novels (and movie) were big not all that long ago. And I seem to recall going to see a movie when I was a kid called Love At First Bite. With George HamilTAN. I digress.



At any rate, here we are out on the trail at Elm Creek.
I had to stop and take a picture (imagine that!)
Did you want to look at the camera?
No.



Aah, there we are – but now Dad isn’t looking. One of my favorite pictures is from last Father’s Day. Your dad is in the middle, with Zoe and Roman flanking him in their umbrella strollers. That was one of those beautiful days that called for a walk (at the same park even). What I like is that you’re all looking in the camera (woo hoo!), smiling even. And you were SO little. Pudgy little legs hanging down (shoeless!)




Back to Elm Creek. Needless to save we thought we’d let you get out of your stroller and actually walk around. Yeah, it’s nice in theory.
And actually pretty cute, although your Dad kind of looks like a drill sergeant here.



The main problem is that this is a path shared by bicyclists and though they weren’t out in full force yet there were enough of them to keep us all on our toes. Not that you two cared (more people to say “Hi” to!). The total randomness of movement on your part is what makes this interesting. There is no sense of “your space” and “my space”, it’s all up for grabs.



You two were having fun. There wasn’t too much you could grab that would get you in trouble (although Roman found a little reminder that animals walk this path as well). Thank you Roman.



Zigging and Zagging. Left. Right. If you’ve seen the movie “Up” the phrase “squirrel” might mean something to you. Anything that draws your attention makes you head straight for it.

So when it was time to get back in that stroller we had to bribe a little bit.
Fish.

Goldfish crackers. Mmm good. That worked. And a few sips from a juice box.

Your Great Grandma Mary

Apologies to Annie - who provided this way back last fall. I got busy, I got distracted....But here it is..

Your great grandmother loved Arizona and moved to Fountain Hills in the fall of 1989. The pictures below are a collage of those years.


Mary and Annie Christmas 1990



E. Mary, Barb & Ashley at McCormick Railroad Park in Scottsdale
Ashley's a bit taller now!


GG E Mary and Harry in beloved Arizona (Note from your mom: your dad has a fondness for Arizona because of GGEM...And when we spent some time in there in 2004 I gained an appreciation for it as well, except maybe not the creepy crawlies that lurk about).



Mary’s first Christmas in Ft. Hills 1989


Mary at Saguaro Lake 1996
Mary loved to go to Saguaro lake and she and Harry went often. It is eight miles from Ft. Hills.


Annie, Pat B. and E. Mary at Pavilions
Pat B is a cousin to E. Mary on her Dad’s side. I am a cousin on her Mother Verna’s side.

Annie’s Personal Tribute to Mary

As the minister suggested at Mary’s services, that we each take a trait of hers we especially admired and try to incorporate into our life as an honor to her; what first came to my mind were the words: “No Complaints!”

When Mary was about forty-eight years old, she was stricken with Guillaine Barre’ syndrome while the family was vacationing in Florida. Barb was about eight years old and the boys, just teenagers.

If you know about this disease, you know it is a paralyzing disease (though, thankfully, a temporary paralysis and when one recovers, there is no residual). However, as the virus ascends the spinal cord, one first loses sensation and use in the feet and finally in the hands and arms. If the respiratory center is reached, there is No Recovery! It recedes in the reverse order.

Mary was first hospitalized after diagnosis in Florida for at least two or three months, then flown home to continue her recovery at a hospital in Park Forest for the better part of a year. As you can imagine, this was a very trying time for the entire family, but Mary (as she told me later) made a promise to God, that if He would ‘let her walk again’ she would never complain about anything in the future!

She didn’t, even in the final two years as disease slowly overtook her body despite all efforts (which were many) undertaken. I remember the day she asked my help, so sick, to meet her at the emergency room, to the day following in her hospital room where she said, “You’d better sit down, annie, the news isn’t good.” Yet, I must tell you that she joked with the young men who came when I was there to take her to her first (of many) radiation treatments. I also recall going to the oncologist’s office and joining her in the room with others receiving chemo. By the time I joined her, Mary knew them all and of course, they all Loved her. That was Mary!

When I start to complain (and I do, I must confess), I am reminded of her vow and how faithfully she held to it over the years between age 48 and age 77 and I am humbled anew to try and do better the next time.

But, most of all, my memories are a kaleidoscope of joys shared over the years from my first memory of Mary to my last and I can say with her:

Life has been good!

A tisket, a tasket

A Little Red Basket.


This red Target basket had been up high for little hands to not admire until about a week ago. It was filled with two Bullseye Dogs. Those are now safely tucked away again. Your honorary aunt Kitty (Hi Kitty!) gave you these when you were born (or maybe even before). She was able to procure them thru her dealings with the MN retail behemoth.



What I found funny was how Zoe was carrying it around like it was meant to be carried around. She just looked like a little girl. I've noticed she'll sometimes sling my purse over arm if it's sitting next to her in the shopping cart as well.
Tweetie-pie!



But one has to take a break from carrying around a basket and enjoy some milk.







Isn't she purty?



And the hair is coming in!



Not quite like brother Roman's wispy blondish locks (sometimes I wonder where the heck that came from and then I remember the Grandpas - blonds).



And sometimes, and that truly is just sometimes, one must share with the brother.



Extreme fighting: Toddler edition. This includes a fair amount of shrieking, screaming, and sometimes a little pushing/shoving/get outta here buster and a little crying. Ah, the fun ahead of us. It shouldn't be funny, but sometimes when one of you gets so adamant that the object of contention is yours it just seems rather humorous. So indignant. I mean where did you learn that?

Great Grandparents

The first picture below is of your Great Grandparents Morrie and E. Mary B B taken in Cuba (IL!)in 1948

Great Grandmother Mary (dad's side)

(much procrastinated post by your mother! From Annie...)
Dear Roman and Zoe,
October 21, 2009

It was never intended to be such a long gap between ‘Christmas Nostalgia’ and this continuing history of your Great Grandmother E. Mary B. However,‘event’s intervened but now, let us continue:

The last entry had a photo of E. Mary and myself dressed nicely for Christmas. Remember it for comparison with the first one below!

Please remember that when you look at this next photo of us taken when we were trying to scrub and clean the front porch of the house on Pleasant Row in Cuba!

Cinderella’s at work




Cinderella to Princess

The second picture of your beautiful Great Grandmother E. Mary was taken as she came to Cuba to be a bridesmaid for her good friend (all of her life) Betty Q.
E. Mary had married Morrie and was then living and working in Chicago. This was approximately 1948.