rock art

In my haste to post pictures from our stay on the north shore, I neglected to post a photo of Papa's impressive rock art.

TA DA! It's a dude with a big nose! Can you see it?



Next year he will be re-creating the Last Supper using giant boulders.

enjoy the sentiment now -- one day he'll be a teenager

photos, photos, and more photos!

Okay, I wasn't planning on posting this many photos. But the Blogger Gods must be smiling on me because I have a super-fast connection. And it's just telling me "Post! Post! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, POST!"

bob's 2008

It's always hard for me to write about events in which too many things happen (hello, early onset Alzheimer's?). As usual our annual trip to the north shore was a really great time. Spending that time in a tiny cabin with its tiny bathroom and lack of stuffed cupboards filled with crap, always makes me want to sell all of our stuff and move into a tiny trailer. There was a lot of rock throwing. Much quoting of Winnie-the-Pooh by the boy. And a lot of stuffing of the face with a new favorite addiction by Mama.

Day 1:
Loaded up on provisions at the Duluth Co-op before making our way to Two Harbors. Declined the expensive vegan marshmallows in favor of the $2 bag at SuperOne. It's not like we ever eat more than four. We end up throwing the rest away after they're as hard as hockey pucks.

Papa makes a delicious dinner of turkey burgers. Afterwards we play a few intense rounds of "Go Fish." Papa delivers an Oscar-worthy performance asking Mama for cards he knows darn well that he-who-cannot-seem-to-hold-five-cards-without-showing-his-opponents has.


Day 2:
We get an early start. What, us? Enjoy a small hike at Gooseberry Falls. We look for Elian's penny he found in the falls then later tossed off a bridge last year. No luck.

What would a trip up north be without a stop at Betty's Pies. The little man and I split a five-layer chocolate. The big Papa eats a ginormous piece of Apple Crunch piece himself. And it was a la mode, people!

Stop by a lame miniature golf course we pass all the time. We're doubtful it's open since it's past Labor Day. Papa goes in to inquire at the hotel while we wait in the car. Exits hotel hiding golf clubs behind his back. Elian spots them. Maniacal, golf-crazed laughter ensues.

Return to Bob's Cabins. Papa and Elian enjoy a game of one-on-one at the hoop. Bill, the owner of Bob's stops by to say hello. Mistake's Elian's name for Elliott (he gets this a lot). Elian decides that his nickname will be Elliott. Not sure he gets the whole nickname thing.

More rock throwing by Elian and Papa. And why wouldn't there be? According to the boy, "There's nothing better than rock throwing."

Hi-Ho Cherrio marathon between Elian and Mama while Papa whips up an awesome chicken salad. After-dinner family game of Sorry. Get the feeling that the little man isn't really sorry when he sends Mama back to start.

While downloading photos to his laptop, Papa discovers he can mooch Internet access off Doris' house. Sorry, Doris. I hear giggling from the next room -- Papa catching up on a few Jon Stewart clips. I scold him for surfing the internet while we are at Bob's.


Day 3:
Lazy breakfast in the cabin. Boy is crabby with a capitol "C" today. We had mentioned the possibility of going bowling on the trip. Today he wakes up with bowling on the brain. I want to go bowling...can we go bowling...we could do that...AFTER WE GO BOWLING??? blah, blah, bowling, bowling. BLAH! We go bowling. Mama forgets she's not wearing socks. Hell, no she's putting her bare foot in a stinky bowling shoe! Buy lovely pair of bowling-themed socks from vending machine. Boy is jealous.

Mediocre to bad lunch at Grandma's Saloon. Boy still crabby.

Go to beach and play at playground. Mama is COLD. Go to car to thaw and to enjoy some solitary crossword puzzle action while boys play on beach.

Trip to Electric Fetus cut short by Elian's wet toots. Hmm, could explain his mood? That doesn't stop us from getting ice cream at our favorite Portland Malt Shoppe. Little E is adamant that he will have no part in sharing a malt. He wants REAL ICE CREAM.

A little rest at the cabin. Elian quietly works on one of the puzzles he got for his birthday.

Light dinner followed by Kettle Korn.



Day 4:

Kick off the day with breakfast and a Candyland marathon. Nobody gets Queen Frostine on the first draw. NOBODY!

Visit Two Harbors lighthouse. Make our ways down the breakwater, throwing rocks along the way. Back to the shore for more rock throwing. The little man skips his FIRST ROCK (two skips). Papa creates breathtaking rock art. Photos to come.

Lunch at our favorite New Scenic Cafe. Can you say warmed figs with walnuts and blue cheese drizzled with pure maple syrup? Yum.

Plans to surprise boy with dinner at pizza place with skeetball we discovered last year but it's closed. Opt for the better pizza of our other "pre-boy" pizza place. Papa picks it up and brings it back to the cabin. The little boy freaks me out with his virtual word-by-word memorization of one of the Winnie-the-Pooh stories on Papa's computer.



Last day. Sniff:

Clean up the cabin -- everything but the bed guard rail that we managed to leave behind*. Breakfast at Judy's Cafe. The little man singlehandedly polishes off a large pancake then sleeps for most of the ride home.


STAY TUNED FOR PHOTOS. TOO MANY TO PICK FAVORITES...


*To be picked up by Kevin and Bridget on their trip to Bob's in a week.

that lemon

hitting the road

We're packing this morning, getting ready to spend a few nights on the shore of Lake Superior. The little man is having trouble deciding which books to bring, which puzzles and how he's going to fit everything into Mama's suitcase. He decided that not only did he need to bring Target, his blanket and his fish pillow but ALSO his ball pillow. After all, he said, and I quote, "I like to switch my head back and forth."

It might be time to buy the kid his own suitcase and institute the Uncle Mike and Aunt Shannon rule: You can bring whatever will fit in your suitcase.

oh, bother

The boy has become quite fond of Winnie the Pooh. For months, he's been listening to the stories every night on CD when he goes to bed. Then, I ordered him this. It arrived on Saturday and he's already watched it about six times.

I remember when I was a child, Sears used to be all about Winnie the Pooh. Pooh was everywhere in the store. I used to like going there just to see the displays. And most of the kids clothes had little Winnie-the-Poohs embroidered on the chest...or perhaps this is just another crazy memory that I make up in my head.

quote of the day

(We were on our way to the bakery to pick up some of Lempi's favorite cardamom coffee cake.)

MAMA: You can pick a donut out if you want, buddy.

ELIAN: Okay, Mama, I guess I'll pick one out...If you REALLY want me to...

this just in

I have not made, nor have I been asked to make, a marble run in the past three or so days.

This is weird.

quote of the day

MAMA: What do you think you want to be for Halloween this year, buddy?

ELIAN: I wanna be...A BUTT!...A CHICKEN BUTT!


(Anyone know where I can get a chicken butt costume? Don't think the sewing skills are quite up to that challenge yet.)

joe cool

Yesterday the little man and I were holding hands walking across the parking lot of Target when he let go of my hand, did a complete spin, grabbed my hand again and said, "It's COOL Elian!"

quote of the day

(This conversation happened today -- just a few weeks after we had an architect over for a brainstorming session and Elian was super-excited to tell him his innovative and fantastic idea for our house: Attaching the garage to it.)

ELIAN: Mama, I wish we had our garage attached to our house.

MAMA: Really, why?

ELIAN: Because a garage attached to a house -- that would be AWESOME!

MAMA: It would?

ELIAN: Who has a garage attached to their house?

MAMA: Well, Grandma and Grandpa do.

ELIAN: Yeah? Who else?

MAMA: Um, I don't know...people who live in the suburbs...

he likes face paint -- and he has a friend!

Today, to celebrate my birthday, Elian took me to the Children's Museum.

About halfway into our stay, we spotted a little boy from his playschool named Demitri. Demitri's mom and I had been in a class together before and he always seemed like a very nice boy. And he seemed so happy to see Elian at the Children's Museum. Elian, on the other hand, was a little foggy at first trying to remember how he knew Demitri -- trying to place his face. But soon after it registered, he acted as if they were long lost friends. "Let's go over here, Demitri...!" "Hey, Demitri, look at this!" "Mama, isn't it nice that DEMITRI is here!?!?"

Soon Demitri and his mom told us they were going to eat lunch. It felt like we had just gotten there, so we did a few more things before sitting down to do the same. Once we did, Elian was all, "Demitri, this, Demitri, that...I LOVE Demitri... I want to go over to Demitri's house...I want to find Demitri after lunch..." Keep in mind, of all the times I've picked Elian up from playschool, he has not once said boo about Demitri.

After lunch, we spotted Demitri and his mom getting ready to leave. Elian so badly wanted to play some more with Demitri. WHO IS THIS CHILD AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH ELIAN?!? They said their good-byes and Elian gave Demitri a big hug. I told Elian he would see him again at playschool.

And as if that wasn't enough of a shock to my maternal system, the boy wanted to get his face painted too. He's never really been one to get messy. Doesn't often want to get wet or dirty. So face painting? Forget about it. I always have to laugh when I see my nieces and nephew because chances are good that they have some sort of face paint on. These kids enjoy a good face painting to put it mildly. Exhibit A.But not my boy. Every time I've asked him if he wanted to paint is face, he looks at me like, "AS IF!" Well, today I'm here to tell you there are snowflakes in hell. The boy did it, albeit in a delicate sparse manner, he painted his face. And just look at how happy it made him.

papa's show and share

Whenever Ed has a presentation for work, we tell Elian that he has a big "Show and Share" coming up. It's actually not too far from the truth but every time we say it, I imagine that Elian is picturing Ed bringing a toy to work and sharing it with all of his coworkers.

The other day Ed had to work late and explained to Elian that he had a show and share. Elian asked what he was going to show and Ed told him that he had to show some food. "That doesn't sound very interesting," Elian responded. So yesterday was part one of the show and share for Ed. Apparently his "food" went over like a lead balloon. He came over a bit displeased about the whole thing and we explained that Papa's show and share didn't go well. Elian seemed very concerned about this. He questioned what went wrong. Why didn't they like it?

Then today Elian had show and share at school. I picked him up and asked him how it went (he brought a toy motorcycle he got from the neighbor kids that I've never even seen him touch). He said it went well and then added, "It went better than Papa's."

goodbye jesse

The other night, Ed and Elian were having a battle of wills at bedtime. Ed was winning. That is, until Elian started sobbing and saying, "Jesse's leaving!!!"

Jesse is Elian's favorite teacher at playschool. He always plays basketball with Elian and had dubbed him "El-Train." They are total buddies.

Ed and I questioned the reality of Jesse's departure. Elian was so tired and this was the first I had heard that Jesse was leaving and I had just gotten the school newsletter the day before. I mentioned it to a friend whose boy goes to school there too. She didn't know but said she'd ask when she went to pick up AJ that afternoon.

According to her, Elian's story was true. Sort of. It seems kids these days working at daycare/pre-schools get this funny ideas about going to college in their heads. Jesse is going back to school and will have classes on the days that Elian is there. This makes me sad. Very sad.

Today was his first Jesse-free day at playschool. And I'm pleased to report he survived. Why, he even played with a few kids today. Fancy that.

polo anyone?

Yesterday I received a delightful birthday surprise from my friend Amy. My little helper asked if he could assist me in the opening of the package. As we made our way through the layers, one-by-one our efforts revealed English muffins, chocolate-chip scones, apple butter, cinnamon honey and crumpets.

I had never experienced a crumpet before. I told Elian what it was and read the packaging which recommended toasting it and spreading it with a topping of choice. Then he said, "I would like one of those trumpets in my snack while I watch something on TV."

While it was toasting, we had our own little Abbott and Costello-esque trumpet vs. crumpet schtick going on. I feigned exasperation and he giggled and continued to call it a trumpet. "Stop saying trumpet!" I pleaded with over-the-top drama. To which he replied, "Okay, I just have to say it one more time." There was a long dramatic pause, then ever-so-slowly he enunciated, "TRUM-PET."

After dinner he had some chocolate-chip scone for dessert. Next thing you know he'll be taking high tea.

mama holiday

I returned yesterday from four glorious nights in Racine and Milwaukee visiting family and friends. As much as I missed my fellas, it was really great to have some time away. Besides, I know Papa enjoys his one-on-one time with the boy and doesn't get enough of it without my big face getting in the middle of it.

My Mega Bus was late getting in Wednesday night, so Grandma and Grandpa Schulz had to stay up way past their bedtimes to pick me up. I slept in the gold room -- the same room I spent most of my later school years in after Karen and Lisa left the nest. I find it comforting to sleep in my old room and I slept like a baby until about 9:30 AM!!! Hooray for sleep!

Grandma and I hit the shops of downtown Racine. I couldn't resist buying a few things for my little man. Okay, maybe it wasn't a few things. Then, we met Grandpa for lunch at a Spanish tapas place. A Spanish tapas place in Racine? Who knew. I learned that like Ed, Grandpa doesn't much like to share his meal. But he made an exception and gave me a few bites of his gazpacho. Yum.

That night, we saw my niece Chloe in a star-studded performance of Honk! (a modernized musical version of the Ugly Duckling). She did an awesome job with her three parts. I totally believed she was a camera woman, a frog and a duck. A truly captivating performance. Afterwards, we celebrated nephew Matt's TWENTY-SIXTH birthday with pizza at Infusino's (don't think I had been there since high school).

Friday, Grandma and I hit Nelson's Dime store. I was happy to see that things hadn't changed a bit since I was last there. It had the same exact smell and the same creaky wood floors. Awesome. Next it was on to Irish Fest in Milwaukee to see niece Izzy dance with the Trinity Irish Dancers. I swung by and picked up my pal Amy first so she too could experience the Irish magic. Izzy did a phenomenal job as did the girl who looked like Izzy who Aunt Lisa kept taking pictures of. It's hard to tell them apart with those ginormous wigs! This is not very good video. But what it lacks in video it makes up for in the music (performed by live musicians!)



Amy and I escaped the Irish festivities and headed downtown. I haven't been downtown in a while and even though I spent a lot of time down there before moving to Madison, I was having trouble recognizing where I was most the time. I'm not sure how much of that is due to how much Milwaukee has changed, or to my bad memory (probably caused by all that time I spent in downtown Milwaukee -- IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!) We met up with Margaret and Mike for a tasty Mexican dinner at Rudy's. Then, Amy and I chit-chatted away into the wee hours at her house.

Saturday, we headed down to the Third Ward district and met my pal Barb for a little window shopping and lunch at the Milwaukee Public Market (new since I lived in Milwaukee). Barb drove us past Manpower International where I used to work as well as the Bayshore Mall which was nothing like it was when I left (good thing). Saturday night Amy and I went out to dinner with my friend Mary at a cute little place called the Gingerbread House which I'd link to but their website does not do it justice. More chit-chat and laughs after dinner at Mary's house. Back to Amy's house for the night.

Wake up for an early Mega-Bus ride home. Amy loads me up on Brach Pick-a-Mix and trashy magazines. The ride home is uneventful. But my arrival is a different story. I rise from my seat and head toward the stairs to climb down from the second deck of the double decker bus only to see a little curly-haired boy holding a sign that says MAMA out the window. My eyes began to tear up and I hurry down the stairs to give my boys a big hug. Mama's home.

quote of the day

(Pointing to the familiar blue wheelchair sign.)

"Is that the candycap parking?"

monkey picnic

Here are some pictures from the picnic with all of Elian's little buddies.

The park was great. They had this awesome zipline. And oh, how I wish the picture of Elian's expression when he first experienced it hadn't been edited out. I may have to go back to the Hernan-dos resident photographer and ask for a special favor (wink, wink).

quote of the day

We had a picnic last night with a bunch of Elian's friends since "baby class". One of the boys, Sylar, had moved away but his family was in town for a visit. When we got home, Elian had this to say about Sylar:

ELIAN: I really liked that boy with the blue shirt.

MAMA: Oh yeah? What did you like about him?

ELIAN: His blue shirt.