davidandmarta.blogspot.com

itsy bitsy spider

2012-02-13T19:51:00.000-06:00

this video really speaks for itself.

all grown up

2012-02-13T12:01:00.003-06:00

ramona prides herself on being a big girl these days. and she should, because she is. this weekend, she put her own shoes on and tried so so so hard to get those pesky little buckles fastened.

while ramona chooses her own clothing and dresses herself, sweet baby james' interest in clothing is limited to attempted consumption of swaddle blankets and all shirts with collars. he's a simple guy, and still the happiest little thing i've ever met.

the new face of precious-ness

2012-02-08T20:50:00.001-06:00

hand-me-down fan

2012-02-04T12:25:00.002-06:00

james's aunt went to college at miami of ohio, and his uncle went to marquette university. they also happened to save their kids' baby clothes, and generously gave them to us. so now james has very sporty sweatshirts from his aunt and uncle's alma maters.
you know what he doesn't have? clothes from his own parents' alma maters. no badger clothes. nothing from northern michigan university. our tiny wisconsinite doesn't even have packers clothes. we're bad fans. poor little neglecterino.

lately

2012-02-01T16:37:00.005-06:00

the end of january is a busy, busy time.

doctor's visits (with the requisite fashionable baby blue polyester gown),

daddy-daughter crib construction,

snowflake window decoration,

lazy tummy time,

and sneaking chocolate chips from the cookie dough.

we also had the year's first family ice skating adventure at tenney park (only one of us in skates hardly counts, but still...)

and there's always time for playing dress up.

old dog, new trick

2012-01-29T19:40:00.002-06:00

david learns a new and very useful popcorn trick.

more birthday

2012-01-27T19:31:00.001-06:00

the birthday good-times just keep on rolling with dinner and dessert at ella's deli.

book club

2012-01-27T14:26:00.004-06:00

i am in a book club, but i should probably call it a "book club." we are a group of friends that dine together once a month. we used to read the same book each month, and then discuss it over a delicious multiple course meal with a side of too much wine at one of our homes. now we go out to restaurants to talk about diapers and sleep training and the terrible twos and teething and blah blah blah. it's really great. really.

we used to look like this. careless, child free, avid readers.

but now we look like this (you might recognize this picture from a blog post about ramona's birthday party). we are moms with very little free time to read, cook, shower.

"book club" is one of my favorite activities. but you know what would make it even better? pythons. check out what is happening at a madison book club across town.
you can read the whole thing here. maybe we should have book club next month at the zoo?

make a wish!

2012-01-25T11:02:00.008-06:00

lunchtime birthday dessert instructions:

1. formulate wish

2. make wish and blow/spit at candle

3. inspect properly extinguished flame

4. celebrate a job well done with gleeful shrieking

5. dig in

downtown abbey

2012-01-24T23:08:00.000-06:00

do you watch downton abbey? you don't? you should. anyway, we've been watching it lately and decided to take the downton abbey personality quiz.marta's quiz result? bates. they are both loyal and hard working. but who wants to be bates, when there are so many better, more interesting characters?marta retook the quiz, perhaps more honestly the second time, and matched with lady sybil. natch. heart-of-gold nurses!david? lord grantham. boo yah!anyway, it's a pretty good show. and it's downton abbey not downtown abbey.

happy birthday ramona!

2012-01-24T14:47:00.005-06:00

our sweet happy funny ray
was born two years ago today.
but, oh!, how time flies!
she's quadrupled in size!
we love her more than we can say.

two years ago today, naked, new, and a little...opinionated.

one year ago today, covered in cake and pleased as pie.

today, happy, silly and 2.

cupcakes and meatballs

2012-01-23T19:55:00.003-06:00

party time at the staple house has changed over the years. parties are now special events, in honor of children, and both begin and end before the sun goes down. ramona's birthday party was no exception; we celebrated her 2nd birthday and her friend lucy's 1st birthday on saturday, in the early afternoon, with sober adults, wild toddlers, and happy babies. there was more food (chili, meatballs, vegetables, cupcakes) consumed than alcohol. oh, how times have changed.

our sweet birthday girl was a little timid immediately after her nap.

temporary 2-year-old shyness is nothing that a good cupcake can't fix.

the birthday girls, and their birthday cupcakes.

an aerial view of the dining room, where mothers chaperone children eating cupcakes. i swear we did more than just eat cupcakes at this party, but the pictures would suggest otherwise.

ramona and her friends. it's been a busy 2 years.

party preparation

2012-01-23T14:19:00.004-06:00

this weekend marked the beginning of ramona's 2nd birthday celebrations. we had a little party for ramona and her friend lucy at our house (more on that later). the party preparations proved to be equally entertaining for the little birthday girl. grocery shopping with your own cart totally rocks.
and bringing home more balloons that you can physically control also totally rocks.

changing room

2012-01-20T20:02:00.002-06:00

what do you do in the fitting rooms at the gap? (or, you know, wherever you shop.) the staples use the same fitting room, employ the bench as a diaper changing table, and take pictures of it.

oh, and nothing i tried on fit correctly. it was too soon. too soon.

sledding!

2012-01-17T16:05:00.005-06:00

ramona took several exciting trips down our local sledding hill this weekend. fresh snow, a fast sled, and securely placed mittens = a super fun winter morning.

before sledding we suited up, and mittens were locked on with duct tape. that was the first time we ever used duct tape, but most definitely will not be the last. it really keeps those mittens on. when ramona saw david unfurling the tape, she said "oh no, what's this?" seriously. smart kid.

the snowy hill.

all bundled up, and sizing up the run.

down the hill,

and back up. over and over and over.

and what sledding trip is complete without a visit to a playground,

and toddler-supervised mommy-snow-angel making? certainly not ours.

weekend recap

2012-01-11T10:47:00.005-06:00

hey, madison! have you been to the winter farmer's market at capitol center? holy smokes, that gourmet breakfast is an absolute scene. we went this weekend intending to get some mid-morning breakfast, cooked up by one of our local gourmands from their rotating chef line-up, but when we saw the long line, the long wait and the crowd, we knew the toddler and the infant probably couldn't manage it. but then...oh, then we saw the food. it looked so good. we stood with mouths watering, watched the hippies and hipsters eating, and plotted our return next weekend. then we shopped for veggies, hit up the overture center kids' event, ate some lox and bagels at the old fashioned, and took the bus home.

thanks to our poor timing, there were no seats left at the overture center to watch the yo-yo guy. we were stuck peering down at the show through a hole in the floor. ramona didn't seem to mind, and made herself right at home on the floor.

these 2 are pretty serious bus riders. hold on tight, guys.

later, ramona got her first pedicure. i've never seen her sit so still, act so excited and curious. (except, of course, when i'm combing her hair. then, same thing. she loves it. she's so my kid.)
(also, sorry to people who don't want to see pictures of my feet. i guess that group includes me, because...yuck.)

lest you think it's all hair and nail time for the staples, ramona also got bundled up in her best moth-eaten packers stocking cap and did some dangerous ice-covered-boulder scrambling down at the only-sort-of frozen lakefront. this was obviously daddy-daughter time.

there was also some sibling time, including a little steam rolling on the floor,

and story time on the couch.

pump procedure

2012-01-07T14:35:00.002-06:00

"in the event that the oxygen level in the main cabin becomes unstable, oxygen masks or breast pumps will drop in front of every passenger. passengers are to take them, secure them to their heads using the elastic band and breathe through the masks or breast pumps normally.
passengers are instructed to make sure their masks or breast pumps are on first before assisting other passengers or children or pets."

nonsense

2012-01-07T13:59:00.003-06:00

one of ramona's favorite books right now is "the owl and the pussycat" with text from 1871 by Edward Lear, and illustrations from 1991 by Jan Brett. it really is a lovely little book about a love affair, sea adventure, and wedding of an owl and a pussycat.

how cute are these two? when ramona sees this picture, she points and says "happy." true, little lady. very true.
but here's what gets me. these lines:

they dined on mince
and slices of quince
which they ate with a runcible spoon.

there are a few things here that...ummm....well, what is mince, exactly? and i've never eaten a quince, so really, what is that? where does it grow? and a runcible spoon? what is going on, mr. lear? just 19th century british hoo ha?

well, google has cleared up the details of mince, and provided me with some nice images of quince. but the big surprise? runcible is a made-up nonsense word, coined first for this very poem. i love nonsense words (see:lewis carroll's "the jabberwocky").

well done, mr. lear. how very runcible of you. i'm working that word in everywhere these days.

warming trend

2012-01-05T16:27:00.005-06:00

50 and sunny in january? whaaaaaa?

it is BEEEEEEautiful outside, and weather.com agrees. check this out!
ramona and james hit up the beach at tenney park today. despite the ice and frozen sand, it was a pretty good time in the sunshine.

heading down to the water, straight into the snow fence.

ramona played lifeguard atop the look out chair.

we played with the cool ice balls that formed around individual pieces of grass along the waterfront. weird.

with weather like this, maybe tomorrow we'll get the garden started.

guy smiley

2012-01-04T14:50:00.005-06:00

not this guy smiley;

this one.
(no doubt smiling here because he just discovered how totally awesome that horse blanket is. it was awesome when i got it as a little kid 30 years ago, and its still awesome today, but i digress...)

james is one smiley guy. since 4 weeks of age, he has been rewarding us with big smiles every day. we love it!

4 weeks old:

5 weeks old:

6 weeks old:

7 weeks old:

peace and friendship

2012-01-03T16:10:00.002-06:00

i wish i could say that having 2 kids is easy street. it's not.
i wish i could say that ramona really really truly adored her brother all the time. she doesn't.
i wish i could say that it's nothing but love, giggles, and smiles around here. it isn't.

however, there are moments where tear-inducing, euphoria-creating things happen. i call that hope for the future.

these 2 will be buddies, some day. i just know it!

happy new year

2011-12-31T16:48:00.005-06:00

ringing in the new year with homemade hats for the whole family!

hats, chaos, squirming. good times.

second try, flash on, smiling toddler. crying baby. oh well.

may 2012 be a happy and healthy year for all!

queen of the thrift shop

2011-12-31T10:36:00.001-06:00

atop her trusty steed.

duplo flags

2011-12-29T20:36:00.003-06:00

merry christmas!

2011-12-28T08:30:00.009-06:00

we had a wonderful christmas. we were lucky enough to spend the holiday with our families. everyone was home at the scott house in plymouth, and all the staples were together in chicago. our time in plymouth was wild with toddler filled joy (and other toddler related events, such as nap resistance and frequent toy-territory squabbles) and cheery with good food, generous gifts, and loving company.

a small snow fall made for a beautiful christmas eve day with lots of sledding (for everyone) and snow-eating (for ramona).

james took a little bath in the same green salad bowl that i was bathed in as a child. who keeps a tupperware brand pistachio-green salad bowl that long? impressive work, mom.

all dressed and ready for christmas eve church.

ramona gives a little tutorial in the use of hand-held candles for the candlelit singing of hymns just prior to the christmas eve service. little did we know that in a few short minutes after this picture was taken, ramona would have a show-stopping face-slamming fall in the front of the church during the children's message. poor kid.

christmas morning brought lots and lots of gifts from santa, which was sort of overwhelming to our little christmas present newbie, and ramona responded by opening one gift, playing with that gift, and refusing to open or look at anything else. that which is exciting can also be painfully overwhelming to a 23 month old kid. ramona ultimately found comfort in exploring a light in the window with her cousin byron.

james spent the gift session totally oblivious and underwhelmed, just hanging out in his bouncy seat.

our time in chicago was equally nice but little more relaxing, complete with good food, great gifts, and a wonderful birthday celebration for libby.

staple cousin time included snuggling on the sofa,

and art projects in the kitchen.

of course, the time with family is too short, but the time away from home feels too long. coming home to stockings filled by santa and quiet time together was as much a gift as all the family time was.

it was a wonderful holiday!

moni pony

2011-12-27T14:00:00.003-06:00

ramona has been very very interested in pony tails (the hair style, not the animal body part) for a while. unfortunately, she doesn't really have enough hair to wear a pony tail (or "pony" as she calls it). but we tried the other day, and this is what we came up with.

it lasted for short time, and while it did, she was very pleased. she kept saying "moni pony!" (she refers to herself as moni) and looking at it in the mirror. i couldn't help thinking of "toni pony," the voluminous pony tail extender as seen on the teevee.

maybe i should get her one.

tummy time

2011-12-20T14:52:00.003-06:00

building neck strength one day at a time.
laying next to the christmas tree is a nice bonus during rigorous infant calisthenics.

winter gardens

2011-12-19T15:12:00.004-06:00

olbrich gardens is a lovely place to spend a day, even in the snowy, chilly december wind.

the thai pavilion, all shiny in it's gold leaf detail, may look its best against a white backdrop of fresh snow and blue backdrop of clear winter sky.

the struggle to keep mittens on ramona is endless. endless. here we are, engaged in mitten maintenance.

cold fingers drove us indoors for warm cider and big, fat, fresh peanut butter cookies. yum!

snow

2011-12-17T13:49:00.003-06:00

snow! finally, snow! just a little bit of snow fell last night while we slept. enough snow to be exciting, enough snow to look like winter, enough snow to play with, but not enough snow to paralyze a city and cause a ruckus.

big snowball? the start of a snowman?

my little angel's first snow angel.

welcome to madison, pretty white winter. we're so happy to see you!

gift ideas

2011-12-16T14:36:00.004-06:00

christmas is coming, and 'tis the season to give. but what do you give a toddler whose greatest pleasure is smooshing old dry play doh with a plastic spoon, and a newborn whose greatest pleasure is....sleeping? well, wired.com came up with a pretty awesome list of the 5 best gifts for kids ever. the list?

1. stick
2. box
3. string
4. cardboard tube
5. dirt

you should read the product reviews on the list. they're very thorough, well researched, and entertaining. and i can say from first hand experience that the author of the list is totally right. ramona loves all those things, they are affordable and abundant, but never tiresome. she's already got a cardboard tube, and it's great for peering at and shouting at daddy.

we have a garage full of sticks and dirt, courtesy of ramona, and just yesterday she spent some quality play time in a box.
but string? it never occurred to me to give my children string. it seemed a bit hazardous, but maybe this is the year that string is introduced to the growing list of household playthings. 'tis the season!

cookies with a toddler

2011-12-14T14:25:00.003-06:00

gingerbread cookie cutouts are less precise, less perfect, less well shaped when cut out by a toddler. but they are more charismatic, more playful, more invested with fun and love, and, i daresay, more tasty.

our little baker dons her apron, dusts her cookie cutters, and gets busy with a rolling pin.

and there's little james, just chillin' in his bouncy seat, snoozing through the cookie-making-chaos like only a second born can.

all growed up

2011-12-14T13:57:00.004-06:00

we turned 18. we got married. we adopted some rescue cats. we re home owners. we raise chickens. we have 2 children. we have satisfying careers. you could say that we are definitely adults.

but this is the most grown up feeling thing we've done. only grown ups have bricks with their names on them. well, i guess we've finally grown up. it feels a little...weird.

behold, a tiny little brick in an out-of-the-way corner of the new tenney park pavilion!

silly girl

2011-12-06T13:11:00.002-06:00

the other night, ramona insisted that she be scrubbed with a spatula. from the kitchen. by daddy. during bath time. being total pushovers, we were like "ok! i'll get the camera!". so there you have it.
also, i caught her licking her plate clean after eating pumpkin pie. good idea, kid.

sushi-stravaganza

2011-12-05T13:08:00.003-06:00

not being pregnant is pretty awesome after 40 weeks of being pregnant. there are so many things you shouldn't do while pregnant, so i've been celebrating by doing those things now that i'm not pregnant.

how does one celebrate?

1. gaze lovingly and adoringly at the new person cuddled in your arms.
2. eat tons of sushi.
3. drink alcoholic beverages, in moderation of course.

to wit, the scene last friday night in my living room:
warm baby snuggled in my arms,

sushi and delicious japanese beer (a belgian style white ale called "hitachino nest" from the kiuchi brewery) on the table.

i've also done these other things to celebrate:

4. ate cold cut sandwich meat
5. sat in a hot tub
6. used a LOT of bleu cheese on my salads
7. reclaimed closet space by packing up (most) maternity clothes
8. scooped the kitty litter bins. this, however, did not feel celebratory. not even a little bit.

but my favorite way to celebrate remains #1 on the list. holding that baby in my arms beats holding him in my abdomen. big time.

popular little guy

2011-12-05T12:29:00.006-06:00

another weekend, another introduction. with each weekend of life, james meets more family members. he is a pretty popular little guy. we love the visits and time to reconnect with family and friends. this weekend, james met his cousins caleb and byron. much joy and toddler insanity was had.

when ramona (yep, she's wearing christmas pajamas in the afternoon. it's a shame she's not wearing the matching hat in this picture) and caleb were done with dishes,

caleb wrestled with his brother byron,

and aunt julia snuggled her new nephew james.

a snap shot of family time. chaos. love. shirts pulled up (caleb, and probably me, too). coffee tables chewed upon (byron). a step stool used as a walker (ramona). good times.

and, at the end of the visit, we scrambled for a few organized photos. this time, it actually worked fairly well. behold: toddlers holding babies, posing for a photo. ramona looks a little worried and a little tired, caleb seems to be lost in thought, and byron is working on a wet willy, but it works.

then it was mormor's turn for posing. she really cashed in on her beloved grandmother status and got some kisses.

and even our little family of 4 got a piece of the posed photo action. we look....tired. unshowered. this really captures life in our house for the last 2 weeks.

but then there's little james. tiny perfection.

holiday weekend

2011-11-29T13:07:00.005-06:00

a 4 day weekend is a nice way to start maternity leave. good timing james! the holiday weekend meant lots of daddy time for ramona (while i nursed and burped and changed diapers. repeat. endlessly.). we also had david's parents here for the weekend, which meant lots of nana and papa time for ramona. in fact, whoever said that the first born would be jealous of the attention and gifts for the second born didn't anticipate ramona's ability to draw all attention in a room to her. this kid is not lacking attention. i'm just sayin.'

here's what we did. we had turkey and gravy and stuffing and potatoes and pie and brandy old fashioneds at our favorite local supper club, the avenue. (ramona ate a grilled cheese sandwich and stared vacantly at the tv. proud parenting moment). don't know what a supper club is? its one of the best restaurant genres, and a uniquely wisconsin experience. even the new york times agrees.

we colored some turkeys, and experimented with flesh as a coloring surface.

outdoor christmas lights were hung. these are fancy solar-powered LED lights from my friend stacy's employer, Environmental Lights, in san diego. they work well, and we highly recommend.

let's get a close up on david and his trendy baby-wearing style.

also, david trimmed his beard this weekend (hooray!) but i don't have any photos of it. trust me, it looks nice(r).

nana and papa snuggled with their youngest grandchildren,
and ramona whipped up a pecan pie.

later, we explored tenney park and the beaver bite marks on the local trees. our beaver hunt was fruitless, unless you consider a toddler running around the park shouting "beaver! beaver house! tree!" at the top her lungs success, because then...well, success.

and trip to the pool at nana and papa's hotel capped off a great weekend.

train song

2011-11-29T12:58:00.002-06:00

i dig this song. it's leslie feist and ben gibbard (of death cab for cutie) covering a 1966 single from vashti bunyan.

who, you ask? a woman who had a 30 year gap in her musical career, and is now the "godmother of freak folk." thanks, wikipedia!

siblings, part 2

2011-11-28T19:58:00.001-06:00

the sibling fun continues with a rest on the couch, followed by some brother/sister puzzles.

siblings

2011-11-28T12:12:00.005-06:00

ramona and james are figuring out what it means to be siblings. like all new roommates, there is an adjustment period. so far, ramona seems to love and enjoy her brother more often than not. sure, she pretends to be a baby herself every once in a while these days, and gets a little upset if he cries, but she does not seem unhappy with his presence in the house. i think they'll be good roommates.

i mean, what's not to like? he is very doll-like,

and he is very compliant. here he is being a good sport about wearing a stuff sack on his head, courtesy of big sister. the blur in the photo is ramona; having just completed removing james's hat and placing a sack on his head, she is off to comb the cats with the kitchen basting brush.

she's a crazy 22 month old, and he's a sweet even keeled one-and-a-half week old, and we think they're both just perfect.

chestnuts roasting

2011-11-26T19:52:00.001-06:00

blue bear and benjamin franklin enjoy the warmth of a fire on a cold november evening.

happy thanksgiving

2011-11-24T10:04:00.004-06:00

our thanksgiving table may look different than most this year, but it is no less joyful.

in fact, we're thankful that the avenue bar serves up a delicious traditional meal, because that's where we're going to get our turkey on. the table in our dining room will continue to feature markers and play doh (and maybe a little delivery chinese and pizza) for the rest of the weekend.

first!

2011-11-23T11:52:00.003-06:00

james entered the world while his mama soaked in a warm and deep bathtub, and it was no accident. my labor and delivery happened to be meriter hospital's first official water birth. meriter, madison's community hospital and my dear employer, just became the first hospital in madison to offer water birth to uncomplicated laboring moms, and no one had done it by november 17.

enter the staple family.

david and i spent 2 1/2 long and booooring days hanging out in the hospital waiting for labor to kick in after my water broke. had we not been so anxious to start labor, meet the baby, get home and see ramona, it would have been a pretty fancy vacation. we did manage to enjoy a few full nights' sleep (ramona's never really let us taste an uninterrupted 8-9 hours since january, 2010, god bless her fussy little heart), some pretty sweet room service hospital food, and some serious tv watching and music listening. finally finally finally, after a bit of gentle nudging toward labor, i started to have hard contractions. after an hour of contractions, i slipped into a deep and warm tub of water and floated around. the pain of the contractions did not go away, but the water took the edge off. the energy needed to reposition for contractions was minimal, and i was able to sleep a bit between contractions in the water, allowing good rest and recovery. within 30 minutes, i was pushing. 10 minutes later, james was born quietly and peacefully (no lie) underwater (no lie), and was soon sweetly looking around for the first time while resting in my arms.

it. was. amazing.

maybe it was so amazing because ramona's birth was beyond traumatic and medical. maybe it was amazing just because i seriously love taking a bath anyway. maybe it was amazing because of the super wonderful people in the room supporting me at the time of birth. maybe it was amazing because, as a former labor and delivery nurse and a current women's health care provider, i know just how beautiful and how terrible birth can be. regardless of the reason, it was amazing.

first photo after delivery, just soaking up the joy, soaking in the tub.

for more information on the safety and function of waterbirth, check this site).

and, of course, james is amazing, and we're all in love with this quiet, peaceful, easy baby. even ramona digs the little guy.

and now we're a family of 4. weird.

we have so so so much to be thankful for, not only this thanksgiving, but every day.

feeding the baby

2011-11-22T20:38:00.002-06:00

good latch. good suck.
now if james could just find the milk, he'll be all set.

puerto rican manhole cover

2011-11-21T10:56:00.001-06:00

this cover was photographed by our roving reporter on the high seas.

what a difference one week can make

2011-11-20T20:20:00.001-06:00

last week:

this week:

james scott staple

2011-11-17T22:10:00.001-06:00

7 lbs, 12 ounces of infant perfection.

due date

2011-11-16T16:57:00.005-06:00

today is the day that alabama is calculated as most likely to arrive. it looks like he's not going to show up today, even though today is the most likely day for arrival. so much for our 1:3 1/2 odds for a due date delivery.

doesn't this graph make it seem SO likely to happen on the due date? what gives, baby?

This data was taken from Pregnancy, Birth, and Family Planning, Alan Frank Guttmacher, Penguin Books, New York, NY, 1986.

come on, little guy. it's time to meet face to face!

looking for an apartment?

2011-11-14T21:39:00.001-06:00

I hear the Saxony has apartments available.

blue bear

2011-11-13T12:47:00.003-06:00

this little blue bear is everywhere these days. ramona has developed a strong attachment to this crusty, old toy. i wonder if she knows that blue bear is 33 years old, and was one of the first gifts that david received upon his birth. it's pretty sweet, really.

blue bear has lunch with us,
goes on daily outings,
and shares naptime and bedtime with ramona.

is this not the look of total love and adoration?
he's a well traveled old guy.

in other news, ramona also now calls us by our first names. great.

11.11.11.

2011-11-11T14:46:00.002-06:00

today is veteran's day, and we are thankful to all those who have served and are serving our country.
today is also veteran's day in 2011, making the date a palindrome.
and to celebrate the awesomeness of this date, here is nigel, explaining why 11 is better.

too soon?

2011-11-08T12:48:00.006-06:00

there are a few non-negotiables in the staple house. for example: the kitty litter bins have to get scooped every day. no throwing food.
more to the point: there will be a christmas tree every year.
we are expecting the arrival of a fourth family member (or a 9th family member, if you count the cats and chickens as family members, which....well, is negotiable) any day now. and by "any day now" we mean "some time in the next 4 weeks." the other thing we would do in the next 4 weeks is cut down and decorate a christmas tree. a newborn may prevent such a family outing, so we decided to head out to the only tree farm open in the area--hann's tree farm in oregon--and buy a tree a tad on the early side.

a snippet of conversation between david and the hann's tree farm guy last saturday:
david: how many trees have you sold today?
tree farm guy: just the one. actually, that's the first tree we've sold this season. actually, that's the first tree we've sold this year.

it's good to be number one. let's just hope the tree survives until christmas.

all those frasier firs, just waiting for their first shopper.
our brave tree hunter and cutter, carrying a rusty old saw and a tender little toddler. this guy does it all!
mid-tree-hunt diaper change. good timing, ramona.
me, ramona, and the baby discuss the fairness of the tree price. consensus: over priced, but whatever.
let the cutting begin! with the cutting comes the supervising. ramona squats, points, and shouts "daddy. cut. tree. cut." which is helpful.
all loaded up. (just for comparison's sake, the last time we visited hann's tree farm a few years ago, this field/parking lot was packed, there were people directing traffic and wearing orange pinnies, mr and mrs claus were merrily strolling about the property, and the line to pay for your tree was a looooong and trying wait. this time? easy street.)
later that evening, aretha got all tangled up in the lights,
and the new tree got all festive.
the next morning, ramona hung her own new ornament, marveled at the glowing tree, and heard "don't touch that!" and "those balls are for looking only!" and "no!!" from her parents all morning long. it's going to be a good holiday season.

strangely familiar

2011-11-06T20:56:00.003-06:00

we did some seriously early christmas tree hunting this weekend (more on that later). during the hunt, a wild animal emerged from between the trees.

her loping gate, disheveled hair, and desire to be alone among the trees seemed strangely familiar. i couldn't place it, but snapped the above photo. it wasn't until we got home and i could look at the photo again that it occurred to me: i've seen this posture before.

is this a bigfoot? wisconin's new hodag?

or just my wild daughter, unwilling to be caught and running amok all alone in a magically uncrowded tree farm?

wishbone wishing

2011-11-03T15:51:00.002-05:00

i know i'm wishing for a happy and healthy baby to come when he's ready
(read: any day now, little one).

i wonder what ramona's wishing for.
if it has to do with the new baby coming, i may not want to know what it is.

trick or treat

2011-11-01T14:30:00.005-05:00

ramona's first trick or treating event happened on her second halloween, and we loved it. she had a warm-up round at daycare, during which she wore her lion costume, rode around the hospital (the site of her daycare) in a wagon with her buddies, and visited parents' work sites. when she arrived at my clinic, she was hot, scared, tired, and hungry. (no photos available).

fortunately, the warm up round looked nothing like game time. she was excited about re-applying her face paint,

couldn't stop showing off her fancy trick-or-treat bag from daycare,

did a little roaring on the front steps

engaged in some serious jack-o-lantern investigation,

and even bravely approached a few houses.

i heard her say "happy halloween" after a LOT of prompting, and with lots of begging she said "trick or treat" once. but what did she say at every house, every time she got candy, without prompting? "thank you." yes, i'm bragging, but it's my blog.

and because she's just a toddler and we're good parents, we promptly ate all of her candy (10 pieces total) after she went to bed. happy halloween!

concealed carry

2011-11-01T09:24:00.001-05:00

wisconsin's concealed carry law goes into effect today. consider this a public notice, until i finish cross-stitching a more permanent sign, that you may not bring your concealed weapon into my house or onto my property.

neighborhood man

2011-10-31T20:25:00.001-05:00

the city is considering converting our major traffic artery streets (johnson street, gorham street) from fast-paced commuter-favorite one-ways into sleepy little slow-paced 2 way streets.

i'm all for the switch, but the debate is getting heated in the 'hood. david staple, neighborhood man and my own personal hero, volunteered to talk to a "reporter" for an "article" in a local "paper" and he is heavily quoted. i'm just so proud.

Which Way Will Win? The debate over Johnson and Gorham

roar!

2011-10-29T21:11:00.003-05:00

ferocious lion though she may be,
ramona still takes time to chat on the phone.
even as a busy piglet, she has time for her afternoon snack. good pig.

beer, bikes, burgers, badgers!

2011-10-29T21:05:00.002-05:00

if you haven't read this, you should. new york times travel blogger seth kugel visited madison on a budget, and confirmed the fact that it is a great place to be.

arboretum crazy time

2011-10-25T12:58:00.004-05:00

a sunny saturday morning visit to madison's arboretum has always been a favorite activity, no matter what season. winter is our favorite because the cross country skiing is so peaceful and serene, the snow so white and deep. it's just you, the trails, and the deer. spring is green and exciting, and you can listen to the happy sounds of returning birds. summer is a nice time for a stroll around the gardens and through the shaded woods. fall is gorgeous, always, for the leaves and the crisp air and the busy squirrels. leaves crunch beneath your feet, and you feel lucky for just one more day of warm sunshine before the weather turns too cold. these memories of the arboretum all share one common factor: peace, silence.

peaceful silent strolls in the arboretum may now be a thing of the past, as we learned this weekend. we took ramona to the arboretum, and at 20 months she is less inclined to passively rest in her backpack as we hike, and is more inclined to wildly rush about, babbling in rapid-fire toddler word-salad, and try to find animals. i wonder how many other peaceful silent strolls through the arboretum were disrupted by my spirited child this weekend.

things started on a very peaceful note: ramona was happy and snug in her backpack, and we had an opportunity to marvel at fall's beautiful leaves and cattails.

then she needed a snack, so cheerios it was. when the inevitable cheerio spill happened, she worried about how to pick them all up, who would eat them, where we should put the garbage, and whether some woodland animals might like them. which lead to a hunt for animals that mostly involved ramona calling out "animal! animal!" into the trees.

surprisingly, none came to the call. we had to get low, peeking through the trees, to see what could be making those distinctly animal noises in the leaves and underbrush.

then, pine cones. lots of pine cones. shouting about pine cones.

the visit included a little trail running. ramona suddenly got into her starting position and asked for a "mark, set, go" countdown, and began a long series of trail sprints with her father.

i'd love to capture just a fraction of her exuberance, enthusiasm, and energy and use it myself. but i cannot. what i can do is try very hard to remember always these perfect, and perfectly crazy, moments.

pumpkin magic

2011-10-23T23:01:00.001-05:00

ramona has been pumpkin obsessed this october. every afternoon we take a walk up and down our street to look at the pumpkins on display. for a while, she had the words "pumpkin" and "tomato" confused. it was pretty cute, but she's over that. now it's all pumpkin, all the time. in light of ramona's pumpkin fascination, it was a no-brainer that we would procure and carve pumpkins. this afternoon we made it happen.

here is marta explaining the finer points of gutting a pumpkin. ramona listens with rapt attention.

ramona and david finish up their carving.

spooky pumpkin magic.

after the carving and lighting of pumpkins was done, i performed my annual task of sorting out every last pumpkin seed, over-cooking them, and throwing the inedibly burnt seeds away. a good time was had by all.

delicious autumn

2011-10-18T13:01:00.003-05:00

"delicious autumn! my very soul is wedded to it, and if i were a bird i would fly about the earth seeking successive autumns."
--george eliot

baby boot camp

2011-10-16T20:12:00.003-05:00

with a baby due to arrive in one month from today, we thought we'd brush the dust off of our baby care skills with a visit to a petting zoo.

david became reacquainted with bottle feeding stubborn, hungry and adorably small creatures.

i worked on my loving maternal gaze with a kitten,

and ramona studied gentle holding.

i think this exercise was well worth it, if only for the caramel apples.

harvest fest

2011-10-14T13:01:00.005-05:00

early thanksgiving tradition continues in the staple family, with everyone coming together for what we call harvest fest in early october. it is everything that thanksgiving is, plus the warmth of the early october sun. it's one of our favorite weekends of the year!

undaunted by early snow fences on the beach, ramona took her nana down to the state park for a walk in the sand.
the next day, ramona did some pants-less wading in a chilly lake michigan,
bird watching on the pier,
and rock climbing on the beach.

when everyone gathered together, a relatively painless and successful family photo occurred.

we celebrated life's abundant blessings by gathering around a well-prepared table,

and digging into 2 birds (a deep fried turkey and roasted orange-glazed goose. yum.), carved with care by the staple men.

after dinner, the beautiful cousins celebrated their fall birthdays. ramona got a piece of the action, too.

art prize

2011-10-11T13:51:00.004-05:00

we finally attended art prize last weekend. art prize is grand rapids, michigan's 2 week long art festival and contest. throughout the city, hundreds of installations of every type of art you can think of are on display in public, for the public, by the public. the viewing public casts one vote per person for the best piece of art. we had a chance to see most of the top 10 finalists and the big winner.

plus, we got to spend a gloriously warm and sunny fall day in grand rapids, walking around, toddler-free, with one of our favorite people in the world (libby, david's sister). we never spend time in grand rapids, now that david's parents no longer live there, and last weekend we realized that we've been missing out on a great and revitalized downtown.

bugs

tempur pedic blossoms

a cast iron midwest (in as cast iron country)

my favorite installation: chainsaw carved grizzlies catching salmon in the fountain outside the ford museum. i am a simple person, and i like animals. i'm not ashamed.

ford, contemplating ford, all inside a very distracting glass box. the box was a bummer, because we heard this was a pretty cool piece, but inside the box it was just sort of ...meh.
taking a break on the big button (not part of art prize, but arguably art).
and the $250,000 winner is: jesus.

autummmmmmmn

2011-10-10T21:48:00.003-05:00

scenes from a warm fall morning walk last week

interestingly, that boat anchored in the tiny inlet is a small mad river canoe with an attached outrigger and a sail mast. that is a serious canoe conversion. i was impressed, and a bit confused.

rug shopping

2011-10-10T21:36:00.004-05:00

outfitting a new room for a new family member invariably means another trip to ikea. sigh. i kind of hate it there, but kind of not.

but ramona? she totally loves it. every last bit of it. meatballs? yep. play area? yep. pretend napping in the kids' bedrooms area? yep.

piles of rugs in the warehouse? nothing better.

another cousin weekend

2011-10-06T13:24:00.006-05:00

caleb and byron came to visit ramona this past weekend, and it was great fun (minus the hitting and hair pulling on ramona's part). caleb and ramona stood around looking adorable,
byron, caleb, and ramona had story time/uw alumni magazine time with mormor and morfar,
and the ladies got their nails did.
later, ramona peered into the lagoon with her daddy,
then donned her best beret for a sprint through the park.

pumpkin time

2011-10-03T20:06:00.002-05:00

it's fall, so you know what that means. time for the obligatory pumpkin patch visit and photo shoot!

t-rex

2011-09-29T12:51:00.001-05:00

tyrannosaurus rex loves to eat crackers.

peppers

2011-09-27T08:25:00.001-05:00

we've got a freezer full of frozen bell peppers. bring it on, winter.

big rig gig

2011-09-20T13:28:00.003-05:00

trucks trucks trucks! ramona, like all other toddlers, is obsessed with big trucks, buses, tractors, and loud machines. (why she is afraid of the vacuum cleaner is anyone's guess). thanks to the city of madison, big trucks were parked for the sole purpose of child exploration this weekend at the city's first "big rig gig." it was great. garbage trucks, fire trucks, police cars, a city bus, a snow plow, tractors, back hoes....you name it, it was there.

ramona and her nana take a pretend wagon ride.
big wheel, little person.
nice shovel.
ramona and david get into the cab of a snow plow and salting truck.

seriously good idea, madison. maybe this is a great place to live, after all. (see here, and here, and here. oh, and this seems like a good thing, too).

seriously considering it...

2011-09-19T19:55:00.001-05:00

i just found this add on my local craigslist. i'm seriously considering adding oreo and splash to the staple family menagerie. $400 for two tiny horses seems like a steal to me.

Mini Horses for Sale - $250 (DeForest/Madison)

Date: 2011-09-14, 2:50PM CDT

We have to whittle down our herd, so unfortunately the minis have to find new homes. There is a mare and gelding. Both about 7-9 years old,very playful and sweet. Mare is not registered, gelding is. The mare is Oreo and the gelding is Splash. Splash was in parades years ago. They are $250 each OBO or, if you take both, $400.They are great friends so it would be nice if they could stay together. They are used to dogs, cats, chickens, machinery and full-sized horses. They are easy keepers and are fed straight grassy hay. They are about 36 inches. Please email for more info. NO SCAMS! Thanks!

candy and iron

2011-09-18T17:21:00.003-05:00

various sources on the internet suggest that the sixth wedding anniversary should be celebrated with gifts of candy and iron. if they're right, then we're all set. yesterday, our sixth wedding anniversary, was sweet like candy and strong like iron. we had a toddler-free 20 hours, complete with a visit to the terrace, the willy street fair, and a fancy pants dinner. it was awesome.

oh, and we also took a little breather on the steps of the university club.
it felt familiar, but a little less formal than 2005.

jackie and brian got hitched

2011-09-16T12:48:00.003-05:00

on the eve of my own wedding anniversary, i'm thinking very fondly of my dear friend jackie's recent wedding in the mountains above santa cruz. it was beautiful, and sincere, and perfect. it was also a total blast.

we had a little bachelorette wine tour with a wonderful group of amazing women, some of whom are my closest friends in the world, and some of whom are new friends.

jackie and brian chose a quiet retreat center nestled in the redwoods of the santa cruz mountains. it was breathtaking. the rehearsal...
the vows....
the beautiful bride....
her awesome boots....
and dancing the night away.
ramona loved everything about the party, including the dance floor.

congratulations jackie and brian! we wish you a lifetime of happiness!

once an angel

2011-09-16T11:43:00.000-05:00

you'd probably think that there isn't a song all about 6th wedding anniversaries, but you'd be wrong. while i was drivng this morning, this one leapt right out at me:

it's been six years now
since my ring
slipped on your finger
and those years have made
a better man out of me.

once an angel
always an angel
you're as close to heaven
as I'll ever be.

--neil young

since tomorrow is the 6th anniversary of the day that marta and entered into holy matrimony, i thought I would share that with you all.

happy anniversary, my dear marta.

santa cruz

2011-09-13T19:30:00.003-05:00

our visit to santa cruz was so very nice and nostalgic. we did so much more than just visit the beach. those cold, foggy mornings require some other activities (most of which necessitate rain gear).

just like when we lived there, we watched some big wave surfers,

wandered the railroad tracks like the (homeless) locals,

did some point-blank bird watching,

and spent some time pondering the noisy sea lions below the wharf.

the sun always eventually comes out, and sunny waterfront frolicking eventually happens.

beach time

2011-09-09T14:21:00.004-05:00

our favorite santa cruz beach is seabright, and we spent a lot of time there last week.

it can be sunny, so a good hat is recommended.
beach games played include: leap frog,
running into the (thankfully small) waves,
burying the baby,
and a little sand boogie boarding.

it turns out, pushing a stroller across the beach is real pain. we did it exactly once. it also feels really nerdy to have strollers on the beach.
seabright beach is across the street from a huge grey whale sculpture. ramona is still talking about that whale.
after all that beach time, a good outdoor shower is pretty sweet. ours got a lot of action from ramona, who was tall enough to turn it on and smart enough to know that the longer a warm shower, the better.

california family

2011-09-08T15:13:00.003-05:00

we started our vacation visiting my sister in san rafael. it's beautiful in san rafael, nestled at the base of mount tamalpais, and well protected from the san francisco bay fog. it's warm and sunny, and we had a perfect visit.

well, almost perfect. thanks to the time zone change, a child who naturally wakes at 6:30 am central time naturally wakes at 4:30 am pacific time. it took ramona 2 days to adjust to the new time zone, which means that david and i had 2 very early mornings. david, being the super dad and husband he is, took ramona for a walk both mornings so i could sleep a bit longer. they discovered which coffee shops open early, which parks are best to avoid prior to sunrise, and they found the most improbable business: cat boarding. can you imagine boarding your cat with a bunch of other cats? i can't. but apparently people do it; here is ramona peeking below the blinds, very early in the morning, to investigate this mysterious "cat boarding" practice.
once the sun came up and everyone else got out of bed, ramona and lila played all day. ramona used lila's blanket as a super hero cape,
then returned to lila's bed for a pretend nap.
we saw pelicans and cormorants being fed at a nearby wildlife rescue,
and ramona hung out in the swing in the sun.

manhole?

2011-09-07T22:38:00.004-05:00

it may not be an official manhole cover, but david did photograph a decorative ground plate. i figure that it's close enough to a manhole cover to qualify as blog material. so, here it is. the commemorative plaque at the giant dipper, santa cruz's old wooden roller coaster, at the boardwalk amusement park. we didn't ride it this time, but we wanted to. it's a good roller coaster--no inversions, no shoulder harness, no record-breaking heights. just a lot of up and down while sitting on your butt on a plastic seat with a questionable metal bar loosely positioned somewhere above your lap, while you zip around on 100 year old wooden tracks on a roller coaster built on the sand. good times.
we took an early walk through the boardwalk on a chilly, foggy morning. the park was closed, and the rides were eerily silent and beautiful.

the top of the giant dipper
swings

vacay!

2011-09-06T14:13:00.005-05:00

a 10 day vacation to one of the world's most beautiful places make the staple family very happy. we had 10 wonderful days visiting family in marin county (just across the golden gate bridge from san francisco), playing on the beach in santa cruz, and being part of a beautiful wedding in the redwood forest of the santa cruz mountains. we are a happy, tan, and relaxed bunch. we also have about a zillion photos to sift through, and will be posting many of them at regular intervals this week. posted below are a few favorites.

dj ramona on the airplane

watching the fog roll into the san francisco bay from atop the east peal of mount tam.

watching the surfers at steamer's lane in santa cruz.

hamming it up on the beach

a bird? a plane?

strolling

2011-08-27T13:44:00.001-05:00

family photos

2011-08-23T14:34:00.003-05:00

an attempt at a posed family photo with 3 toddlers and one baby at lunch time/nap time is guaranteed to be thwarted by said toddlers. the baby was a perfect little guy, and the grandparents were patient and calm. the toddlers' moms were flustered and frustrated. nonetheless, we went forward with it.

behold, the scott family chaos.

yep. ramona brought a volleyball into the picture. whatevs.

giraffe dinner time

2011-08-16T12:05:00.003-05:00

thanks to our generous friends, ramona and i were able to participate in a behind-the-scenes giraffe feeding at madison's vilas zoo. those guys are tall, beautiful, and hungry. every time i handed a cracker up to a giraffe, a long purple tongue would snake out of the giraffe's mouth, wrap around my fingers, and grab the cracker.

erik and lucy feed a giraffe.

madison's junior zookeepers
ramona was fascinated until she tried to feed a giraffe herself. as the giraffe got close to her, she dropped the cracker, buried her face in my neck, and did some scooby-doo-style running in place in my arms. that was sort of the end of giraffe magic for her.

noticed the red-faced fear. poor ramona.

but she seems to recall it fondly. yesterday, upon seeing a picture of giraffe, she lit up and said "crackie!" (which is her word for cracker). crackie, indeed, little buddy.

rough night?

2011-08-16T10:08:00.002-05:00

these poor bloated fish look like they had a hard night.
certainly not the nicest thing to find during a morning walk.

uscg

2011-08-09T12:20:00.003-05:00

grand haven, michigan, is home to a coast guard unit, and is the official "coast guard city usa." given the scale of their coast guard festival every summer, i'd say they've earned the title. we went to grand haven to visit the staple family this weekend, and ramona got her first taste of the festival. well, not literally her first taste; although they looked tempting, we passed on the corn dogs and elephant ears sold at the festival.

the mackinaw, a big ice cutter ship from cheboygan, michigan, was docked downtown and was open for tours. i wonder if people from cheboygan are aware that their city name is spelled wrong.
we happened upon the coast guard memorial service, complete with bagpipes, drums, boy scouts, and many service people sweating it out in their dress blues. all in front of the backdrop of several magnificent ships.
back at the house, ramona hammed it up with her cousins,
and made time for some pillow talk with a new friend.
we also had the rare opportunity to head to the north shore of grand haven, and get a peek at the pier from a different vantage point. it turns out, we like grand haven from all directions!

surf school

2011-08-07T19:49:00.003-05:00

boogie board practice
boogie board action
boogie board fail
(and where is a responsible parent, you might ask? why, sitting on the beach snapping photos, of course!) (but, seriously, david was 2 feet away for the whole thing, so there isn't anything to worry about). (seriously).

middle children rule!

2011-08-04T11:34:00.003-05:00

as a middle child, i've always been sure that the negative stereotypes of middle children (resentful, alone, negative, lost) were wrong. i've always been happy to be the middle, and now i've got two authors and their book filled with science (!) to support my claim that we're better off than the world thinks.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

thanks, today show, for validating my self-esteem.

r.i.p. bubba smith

2011-08-04T07:17:00.002-05:00

a.k.a sergeant moses hightower

fondy pontoon

2011-08-02T10:21:00.003-05:00

our very generous friends hosted a super nice pontoon-boat-and-picnic sort of day in picturesque fond du lac, wisconsin (fondly, "fondy"). a perfect late july activity with good friends, to be sure.

the only trouble we encountered that day was ramona's first pfd fitting. full blown temper tantrum ensued. of course, a temper tantrum is a much safer operation, particularly on a cement side walk, when a properly fitted pfd is being worn.
she quickly got over her pfd anger and became a pontoon natural with her buddy sam.
a mid-lake sand bar made a very nice spot to stop and take a dip.
later, sam and ramona tried their hand at a game of bean bags. ray, you're doing it wrong. i'm just sayin.'

last week

2011-07-31T19:58:00.003-05:00

what did we do last week?

we broke some house rules with daddy (rule: no babies on top of the fridge).

we thought about potty training, but then decided that potty chairs make better step stools.

we discovered, mid-meal, that strawberries might have something to say if you listen closely.

we hit up a bounce house at the atwood summer fest. twice. it sort of looks like david might have enjoyed that trip through the bounce house a little more than ramona.

pool party

2011-07-27T19:38:00.003-05:00

a joyous baby shower for our good friend molly b (of smoothdavehamm.blogspot fame) brought together some more good friends this weekend. the pool was filled, water was splashed about, and an adorable and scrappy bunch of kids played in the sun. it was lovely.
egr's class of 1996 makes some very cute kids, no?

the fairest of the fair

2011-07-26T11:01:00.004-05:00

the dane county fair--a hot, sticky festival of craft projects, animals, fried food, weird entertainment, and questionable quality carnival rides--came to town last weekend. as a girl from wisconsin's fabled sheboygan county, i have always loved a fair. so many kids at my school had animals in the fair that school would close on the friday of the fair weekend. david, on the other hand, has shown some genuine newbie county fair enthusiasm, but the guy had never even heard of teeny weeny donuts until sunday. but ramona! well, this kid loves the fair. the sheep! the chickens! the horses! the lights! the corndogs! the rides! there is so much potential for over-stimulation, and she soaked up every minute of it.

ramona helped polish off an ear of sweet corn,
while david managed a giant turkey leg all by himself.

oink, moo, cluck

thanks to the fair, we were able to re-create the scene at ramona's birth. we couldn't think of a better way to celebrate her big 18 month birthday ourselves! thanks, county fair.

ramona and sam confer about sheep. there was a lot of "baa baa" from both sheep and toddlers.

ramona was awe-struck by the horses in the arena.

and the flying wallendas, trapeze and high-wire-heros, entertained us with their antics. (that's grandpa wallenda doing the hand-stand on the stick. crazy.)

everyone's a winner when they stand in the winner's circle!

laundry day

2011-07-25T19:47:00.003-05:00

laundry day in the staple house never arrives on time. last week, ramona had only rain boots to wear.
at least she's learning to do laundry, which is nice.

cousin play time

2011-07-21T19:10:00.003-05:00

ramona's cousins caleb and byron came to visit this weekend. they brought their parents julia and dana, but very little photographic evidence of the presence of adults exists from the weekend. those kids are just too cute, and too photograph-worthy, to spend time taking pictures of anything else.

i mean, come on!

caleb is also an ace chauffeur, and ramona is a lady of leisure and prefers to be chauffered. this worked out well for all concerned parties this weekend.

even the chickens got in on cousin play time.

and look at this guy! 6 months old, and all smiles.

one of these things is not like the other

2011-07-19T08:09:00.002-05:00

i made it to work before noticing.

summer summer summertime

2011-07-17T12:34:00.004-05:00

mmmmm, summer. so hot. so full of bugs. so much fun! how we love thee.

there's so much to do, but it should always include a healthy dose of playground slides,
backyard pool time,
ice cream cones at neighborhood festivals,
fireworks in the driveway (and terrifying sparklers on the front steps!),
and beach time (get off the phone, david!).

thanks, fresh prince and dj jazzy jeff.

happy germanium, marta

2011-07-17T09:50:00.003-05:00

today is marta's germanium (atomic number 32) birthday.

i could say that, like germanium, marta is starting to display some grayish-white color (ha ha ha), but i think the greater similarity between marta and germanium is their lustrous appearance. that, and the fact that dmitri mendeleev predicted their existence and properties based on their position in the periodic table.

happy birthday, marta!

davidandmarta.blogspot.com

2011-07-12T15:06:00.000-05:00

at some point in the near future, you will no longer be able to access this site via davidandmarta.com. instead, you will have to enter the slightly more cumbersome davidandmarta.blogspot.com. maybe you already do that. anyway, we decided to stop paying for the domain name, and are just going with the freebie now.

tenney triathlon

2011-07-09T11:46:00.001-05:00

marta suggested in a previous post that there would be more information coming about the triathlon i took part it last weekend. i thought that meant she was going to blog about it, but alas, she has not. so, i am left to personally regale you of my recent athletic feats.

anyway, it turns out that the tenney-lapham neighborhood has a small, informal triathlon every fourth of july. due to peer pressure from my neighbor, the triathlon's organizer, i decided to take part. i haven't ever done a triathlon before, and probably haven't swum more than one length of a pool in 15 years, but it's a pretty laid back event so i decided to give it a try.

here are all the competitors, wading into lake mendota, at the tenney park beach. there were only eight of us, but i believe this was the biggest turnout in the events four year history.

and we're off! we swam southwest from tenney beach along the shore for about 300 meters (or so i'm told). the turnaround point was someone's floating trampoline. we each had to climb the trampoline and jump off before heading back to the beach.

here i am on my return trip. luckily, i could touch the whole way, so i could periodically put a foot down and catch my breath a bit.

after the swim we took off by bicycle destined for the mendota mental health facility, via maple bluff (around 9 miles round trip).

upon returning to tenney beach, we then set off by foot along the yahara river. we had to touch lake monona and then return to tenney beach to finish (about 2 miles).

technically, i won. however, the two competitors who were handily ahead of me for the entire race, stopped at several locations, during the run, in search of donuts. this set them back quite a while. although i did cross the finish line first, it may have to go in the record books with an asterisk. here are the finishers with their medals proudly donned.

it was a super event that i will definitely do again the next time i'm in madison for the fourth.

can you hear me, major tom?

2011-07-08T12:14:00.003-05:00

today was the launch of the last shuttle in NASA's shuttle program. it's weird to know that the space program as we know it will change dramatically after today. it's strange to think that some day i'll explain to my children (with nostalgia and wisdom, no doubt) about the drama and suspense of shuttle launches from my childhood and young adulthood, and they won't really understand what i'm talking about.

weird.

adios, shuttle atlantis.
from NASA's home page:

Space shuttle Atlantis lifted off July 8 on the final flight of the shuttle program, STS-135, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station. Atlantis carries a crew of four and the Raffaello multipurpose logistics module containing supplies and spare parts for the space station. The STS-135 astronauts are: Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim.

from youtube: