I realize I’ve been remiss in posting lately, so allow me to fill you in on what’s been going on.

“Cheap Mexicans” – on Friday night we met our friends Tony & Kim & Natalie, at our local Los Bravos for some kidtastic dining entertainment.  Let me just tell you that unless you have kids, stay away from Los Bravos between 5pm and 9pm.  Consider yourself warned.  It’s like Chuck E. Cheese’s in there, without the animatronics rodent band and old video games with today’s prices (yeah, like I’m paying 50 cents for Galaga).  If you have kids, however, take em and let em get all over themselves at cheap mexican.  I’m rather partial to their Fish Tacos.

Tomato Sauce Making and Canning – I spent two weekends at the Marietta Farmer’s Market buying fresh vegetables and herbs.  I already posted about the first attempt.  On the second trip, I got up early and let Stephanie sleep in as I took the kids with me.  I didn’t let the twinkles run around on foot since the Market is on the edge of the square and they could easily get into trouble – they were confined to the Chariot.  That actually came in handy as I bought about 15lbs of tomatoes from Craig of Two Mule Farms.  Craig also tossed me an additional couple of pounds of tomatoes with bad spots gratis.  I scored a couple of ounces of just-picked basil and oregano from another vendor.  I say ounces, because I don’t know how much basil is in 3 zip-top sandwich bags, nor do I know how much oregano is in 3 zip-top sandwich bags.  I made two batches this time, one as a standard tomato sauce recipe, and the other as a fantastically spicy version that the kids will not be allowed to taste.  Oh wait a minute.  Never mind then, I suppose they might like it.  So I’ve only a crock-pot’s worth of spicy tomato sauce left to can and I’ll be done for a while.

The Rocker – Saturday night we were childless as we booked Karyn to babysit.  We had dinner at P.F. Chang’s and for some reason we decided not to have the Cool Lettuce Wraps as our entrees.  Mental note for next time: have the Cool Lettuce Wraps as entrees and enjoy.  You can’t beat ‘em.  We finished up the evening with a viewing of Rainn Wilson in The Rocker.  Some folks have compared this to a poor man’s School of Rock, but the storyline is much different, the characters are different, and the plot is different.  Sort of.  It was cute, enjoyable and we had a good time.

We wrapped up Sunday by doing a little canning, getting the dogs’ baths and pedicures, running errands with the kids and just generally taking a little bit of easy.  It was a little crazy as Karyn kept the kids up past bedtime on Saturday, which meant that they awoke quite early on Sunday.  Grrr.  Usually when this happens we have to give Devin an extra long nap in the morning rather than a short one in the afternoon.  While that means that we don’t get any time to do chores while both kids are sleeping, we do get some special two-on-one time with each child.  That’s actually pretty special because it doesn’t happen very often.  In this case, I had a daddy-daughter lunch with Maya, while Stephanie stayed home to do school work (yeah, seems like that never stops) and some father-son wander-around-the-electronics-store time with Devin.  Steph got to have some playtime fun with each as well – but she’ll have to fill in those details as I was busy with other things and didn’t witness it myself.  Then again, with the course load she has this semester I suspect it will be December before you see that post.  Don’t hold your breath…

I have pix to post at some point.  Perhaps tomorrow.

Oh, and one last thing.  Lately Devin has been talking up a storm.  Not all of it intelligible, but he has some good 6-7 word sentences with about 75% of the words being recognizable (at least by us).  Maya surprised me this weekend with a few words I didn’t know she learned: teapot, spacesuit, terrific, and… *ahem* asshole.  Yeah, sooner or later it was bound to happen – and it did.  I was getting her out of the car seat, and removing a toy from her kung-fu grip, and she said, “Hey, stop it, asshole!”  I didn’t bat an eye and continued and then she repeated it.  I just ignored her, but boy was I laughing inside.  Not that I want her to repeat that, but it was certainly worth a chuckle to hear that phrase out of my sweet, sweet treasure.  Let’s hope she doesn’t follow up something worthy of a Kevin Smith script.

I posted previously about the decor changes Stephanie has planned for the kids’ new rooms.  Devin is getting an air travel motif as he is currently obsessed with airplanes.  Maya is getting a nature motif as she is currently afraid of large animals in love with naming things, and flora/fauna scientific nomenclature should prove a challenge for her.  To whit, I present Stephanie’s latest creations: an airplane clock with rotating propeller/second hand and a whimsical flower clock with pendulum.

Just a few placeholder pictures!

Devin enjoys a tableside tickling from his mommy.

I know I am. T-shirts are my absolute favorite method of dress. Think about it, there’s simple comfort, utility and easy wash & wear ability. And, there’s the personal expression that you just don’t get with a regular button-down shirt or polo shirt. There are probably tens of thousands of individual unique T-shirts available on the Internet today.

But, what about personalized T-shirts that have a creative flair, but you can get customized to your liking? Sort of like having your own personal screen printer or heat-press and wide supply of customizable items, without all the hassle of inventory, inks, cleaning screens, creating photo emulsions, electricity and general mess around the house. Believe me, I know. I’ve tried screen printing and it is not the cleanest or most environmentally friendly method of creating customized clothing.

And then there’s the creative process. Let’s face it, every person is not clever, and is not creative. That’s why we have graphic designers, illustrators, typographers, graphic artists, artists and catchy ad-persons.

You are probably thinking, “Yeah, thanks for that Captain Obvious, but we already knew all of that. What’s your point?”

My point is this. Stephanie requires a creative outlet for her well-being. Normally, during the school year, she wastes all her brain power on studying, classes and writing papers. Blech! During the summer, Steph’s obsession (besides Facebook and MySpace) is PersonaliTees. Without further prose, I present:

Just FYI, these are just a few of the designs that Stephanie has available. She is always adding new designs, so check the site occasionally for new stuff. Where is it? Check the link in the upper left of this blog! Also, have any special requests or ideas of what you'd like to see? Let Stephanie know!

Here is the new foam-tastic decor that Stephanie has done for Devin's room.


A pile of clouds and a...um... DC-9?



The DHL 'Copter, a Great Year (2006) blimp, and a few balloons. You might notice Stephanie and myself in the larger balloon.

...a Space Shuttle!


Maya on a hang-glider! This is one of my favorites.


A host of other planes (you've already seen the 728 prop plane piloted by Devin).

A snazzy bi-plane with swish trails.


A close-up of Mom & Dad in the balloon :)

A close-up of Devin in the 728 Prop.

Well, here we are, about 4 days in to Steph's new life as a non-smoker. It hasn't been easy for her or the rest of the family, but we are definitely making strides. I'm quite proud of Steph for making this move so she'll be around longer for her family to enjoy :)

So, if you happen to see her in the next few weeks and it's "different", or you don't hear from her in a while, or you talk to her and it's a bit strange - take heart, you're probably not the reason. It takes a bit of time to settle into these things, and she's got a lot on her plate this time of year what with holidays, finals, and her "music television". (Don't worry if you don't get that last remark - you need to be a fan of Family Guy).

In other news, I found out Maya has a boyfriend at PMO (Parent's Morning Out). Steph and I made a joint trip to pick up the kids on Tuesday with the intent on going out to lunch afterwards (which, by the way, was a complete bust as apparently the PMO people gave the kids each a pound of sugar for lunch). Turns out Maya and this little boy were playing, and the boy's mother was there to pick him up so as the PMO people were brining out Devin, Maya and this boy, they made the remark that Maya and this boy are "special friends". I'm going to have to look out for this one. We got their school pictures back, and Maya is sitting next to this boy. Uh oh. Big time trouble already. Oh, and Maya is getting four new teeth, so she'll have a complete set in the front :)

Oh and we've been testing some new foods. Everybody likes peanut butter and meatloaf, although Maya doesn't care much for the bits of onion in the meatloaf. Come to think of it, I've noticed that she doesn't like "foods within her foods", like little tiny blueberries in her blueberry yogurt, and bits of onion in the meatlof. Separately, she likes them just fine. And she doesn't care very much for freeze-dried peas, whereas Devin can get enough of them or freeze-dried corn. I wonder if he would make a good astronaut :)

I'm going to let the cat out of the ol' bag here...we've already decorated for Christmas. And the kids love the tree. And they know who Santa is.... just FYI.