The Next Food Network Star?

Lil' Eleven's Uncle Frank wants to be the next Food Network Star. Check out his video and give him a "thumbs up" if you'd like to see him on the Food Network. Auntie BSU gets to go to NYC with him if he wins.

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=14475417

Firsts: S'More

This was a few weeks ago, courtesy of Miss A., Mr. J. & their parents.

Firsts: Best Friends

Boo's first best friends.

Strider's Kids

Strider's Boys

The List

"Grow tomatoes" has been on the list of things I would like to do in my life for years. I also put it on my list of things to do during my leave. Of course, both of those lists are unreasonably long. But, yesterday, I planted 5 kinds of tomatoes:

• Brandywine
• Oregon Grape
• Sweet Olive
• Cherokee Purple
• Snow White

I also replanted my flowerboxes outside my kitchen, which have been dormant for over a year. While I was doing that, I realized it was time to get rid of the damaged garden mushrooms from Oosje. It was just a little less than half my mushroom "crop". I guess the Oregon rain doesn't agree with mushroom glazes. This was especially hard to do since Oosje has recently gotten out of the mushroom business, so my supply is no longer unlimited. But, I still do have some good ones left.

We have roll!

R2 rolled from tummy to back twice this morning. He got really mad when I tried to make him do it a third time.

2 Month Statistics

11 lbs, 7 oz (50th percentile)

24 1/2 inches (90th percentile)

Smiling & beginning to babble

By comparison, Boo has always been in the 8th percentile for weight and the 50th for height.

It's Here!

I consolidated the photos I sent last night. I had hoped that the picture quality would be a little better, but you get the idea.

9:41 - R2 on his way


9:42 - Powells City of Books. The worlds largest new and used bookstore.

10:02 - An invitation

10:03 - Another Baby Gryffindor (not R2, I was jealous of the costime!)
10:03 - Platform 9 3/4 at the rear entrance

10:06 - The crowd. The sign said "We're here for Harry"

10:53 - Fawkes the Phoenix

10:54 - Wizards & Witches on stilts
10:57 - Harry and Hedwig
10:59 - Professor Quirrel

11:02 p.m. - Professor McGonagal
11:07 - Professor Trelawny

11:11 - Professor Dumbledore

11:22 - Professor Dumbledore & Hagrid

11:35 - Dobby

11:48 - Draco
11:52 - Voldemort
11:58 - Ginny Weasley
12:01 - Powells opens, the first purchaser emerges and does a victory dance that I didn't get. The line starts moving!!!

12:06 - Grandmother Longbottom

12:12 - Professor Sprout

12:12 - Oh No! Dark Lord has won! (Fred's brother saw spots for a long time after he picked up R2, since dozens of cameras suddenly pointed his direction)

12:16 - The Dark Mark


12:48 - The door is in sight
12:57 - At last!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! To Fred for being the best babysitter ever. My kitchen is cleaner than it has been since Oosje left.

Thanks also to L.T., T.U. & Fred's Brother for coming along with us, and to the folks we met in line. We had a great time!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Here we go

R2's Turn

July 16, 2005

Boo at the release party for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

We will be arriving at Powells around 9 pm. I'll post at least a few highlights from the party for Fred and anyone else to follow along.

Mr. Blue Eyes

Mama's doctor has said that he thinks R2's eyes will remain blue. I told him that the readers of my blog would be very interested in his medical opinion on the subject.

Birthday Boy in his Birthday Suit (For Oosje)

I couldn't keep him from licking the blanket. I know how that makes you (Oosje) wiggy :)

Little Rock Star

Mama's friends came to visit and meet R2 on Sunday. While the grown ups were talking, Boo found the make-up in B's purse. B was kind enough to let her play.

Carpet

1 big sister

+

1 little brother

+

1 large dog

+

2 parents

+

Rainy City

=

Invest in a steam cleaner

So, once the investment happened, I wondered... does the expensive goop they make to put in it really make a difference? What about the settings that use more or less of the expensive goop? One night during a 3 am snack, I realized that I had both the time and the carpet to put those questions to the test. Frankly, I was pretty giddy about it. The results are below. From left to right, there are tests of "light clean", "normal clean", "heavy traffic", and ammonia. Expensive carpet goop passed the test, providing far superior results to ammonia. "Heavy traffic", however, proved to provide negligible results for the additional cost.

Now the entire living room has been cleaned (expensive goop on "normal clean") and I can't wait to get to the rest of the house. Yech!

All Clean

I've decided that showering with R2 is a much easier task than bathing him. He seems to like it. He scrunches up his face and wiggles around when the water first hits him, but then completely relaxes.

Daddy/Daughter Dates

Daddy and Boo have started a Saturday morning tradition, allowing Mama and R2 to sleep in. We tagged along last week and had fun.

Stop #1: Coffee, hot chocolate & 2 donuts


Consult the paper for estate sales

Browse. Boo likes going in the houses, up and down the stairs. Daddy likes looking at people's stuff. He bought a chessboard for his office. Boo gets to pick somthing out, too.