a nice thanksgiving holiday celebrated

this thanksgiving we headed on our usual journey to baltimore, although this year it was not by plane, but instead by car. the head colds that we all had made the trip seem like it took for days, but the outcome of the trip was worth it. we spent four days with alan's grandparents in baltimore, along with seeing other family while we were there. they all got their dose of wilhelm love and he enjoyed himself to the fullest. here are a few scenes from our days there.
preparation for the thanksgiving feast starts days before the actual event, but some of the dishes must be executed on the day of. we always help grand po mix his MASSIVE tub of famous dressing. it makes enough dressing for the masses and even neighbors. if you aren't able to tell we use a large rubbermaid tote to do the mixing in. seriously!
for some reason this picture would not allow me to insert it correctly, but you are still able to see how much wilhelm & i enjoyed our task, even if we weren't all the way finished getting ready for the day.same problem with this picture, wacky. this is the whole clan!
we also were around to celebrate grand po's 81st birthday. it is tradition that he gets his cherry cream pie (a family recipe from days past). he also got to wear a cool birthday hat constructed by alan's dad.

it was good times had by all in baltimore this holiday season and we look forward to our next visit.

a first trip to the movie theatre

before thanksgiving i meant to publish this post, but didn't have the chance to so here it is.

this past sunday we took wilhelm to his first real movie in a theater. technically wilhelm has been to a movie in a theater before, but instead of being awake and the movie being for him, he was carried in his baby sling and sleeping soundly & enjoyed a movie of momma & daddy's choice.

the movie was Madagascar 2 and the company was: alan, myself, our friend amy (wilhelm calls her mimi) and amy's niece, caroline. everyone enjoyed themselves, despite the timing falling right on prime nap time. here are a few shots from our day. excuse the quality of the photos since i took them with my cell phone and not with an actual camera.yes, i was the obnoxious mom taking pictures of her child's first movie in the theater. don't worry the movie had not started, it was only the previews.

making a christmas list?

i had to capture this shot. i'm not sure if we are making a christmas list for wilhelm or for daddy?

a family day with the fishes

on sunday afternoon alan got a wild hair and thought the family needed to take a trip to the newport aquarium, near cincinnati, oh. wilhelm and i were on board so we headed, on a VERY cold day, to visit the fishes (i realize that it is fish, but for some reason we like to say fishes at our house. when grammar becomes a little more critical for wilhelm we will halt the fishes deal.).

wilhelm, after a travel nap, woke up to a variety of fish, frogs, sharks, alligators, penguins, and more all around him. the boys and i had lots of laughs, including a run in i had with a sting ray, and found many teachable moments with our little guy. even though the underwater creatures were slightly out of their habitats they still amazed us with their skills and beautiful colors. viewing them was fun and interesting. i'm not sure which one of us enjoyed it the most, but these pictures will show you a few of the moments from our day.impersonating a fish is one of the popular acts at our house, so we thought the boys should try it out with the fishes in newport.
it might be a little blurry, but we did find nemo and hundreds of his look-a-like cousins.if alan and i had one exhibit to choose as our favorite it would have to be the jellyfish room. they had each species of jellyfish displayed behind frames (their tanks that it is), classical music playing, lighting that looked liked the fish for where the room received its namesake, and velvet furniture. for some reason it made us giggle! note to self & others: it is very difficult to photograph a jellyfish, especially if you are a novice. translucent images are a doozy!the penguins cage needed a little cleaning attention!after the aquarium, we took a quick trip to see pappy up the road in cincinnati. we continued the wilhelm fun day by taking him to red robin for a hamburger and french fries. sorry no pictures of this portion of the day.

once home wilhelm insisted on wearing the top portion of his haloween costume and building a makeshift tent with his daddy.wilhelm found himself very funny and scary, since he was in costume and hiding from momma. we played until a little too late, which made for a long night to get him to sleep. oh, well it was a tremendously wonderful day.

an addition to an earlier post

it was brought to my attention by aunt melinda, that a few pictures were unfortunately left out of the massive october post and our time in confluence, pa. in order to show the world what happens when parents are away i thought i'd include these two pics of my son experiencing a new skill.
what a photographic masterpiece! one we will have to share with wilhelm in 20 years or so, when he LEGALLY can make the decision to consume alcohol. thanks aunt melinda for the laugh!

a daddy & momma weekend away

wow, alan and i haven't been away on a trip, alone, with just each other, in 22 months, until this past weekend.

in celebration of our three year wedding anniversary (october 15) we headed for a weekend away together. after dropping wilhelm off at my family's farm to be watched by his uncle & aunt and daddy will & gran, we headed to knoxville, tn. now i know some of you are saying, "knoxville, tn, really?" and to that i say, "yes!" knoxville was the perfect location for just such an occasion.

• it was a good starting point get away before we decide to go somewhere many hours away, (only 3.5 hours from where we dropped off the boy child)
• it is a city we haven't explored much,
• the drive was gorgeous with wonderful, fall colors on the mountains,
  
• and it has a nice hilton hotel, where alan had hilton credit to spend from his work trips.

the weekend was incredibly relaxing and was filled with good food & fun. also, since we were in knoxville we made a point to run into cousin anne marie. it was fantastic to see her and spend some quality time. the highlight of my weekend, aside from the quality time and conversation alan & i had, was sleeping in one of the two days. yeah!

taking pictures wasn't high on my list, but here are a few to share:here is alan & cousin anne marie. she could quite possibly be the biggest tennessee vols fan around. truly everytime i've ever seen her she is wearing orange. it is awesome! on sunday she was cheering for the lady vols basketball team, who spice it up by adding a light blue to the normal orange & white color palette.this is the market square area in downtown knoxville. it is a fun place to shop and grab a bite to eat. we had a delicious dinner on saturday night in the square and walked around on both days.

the weekend itself was well deserved and decided to be a model for weekends away to come. who knows, it may even be weeks in the future! aside from our happiness of celebrating the love a have for each other we did miss our little guy back home. once arriving back at the loft and unpacking wilhelm decided to practice his sailing skills in my suitcase. a great laugh to a great daddy & momma weekend away.

a massive october post

october 2008 has been a busy one for our eargle family. due to the aforesaid, i've not taken the time to sit down and type a blog post for a bit. our month was one filled with family and friends, which was delightful, but lots of travel, not as delightful. here goes our month in a brief synopsis.

wilhelm and i started the month by traveling to bowling green with gran (my mom) and cousins lily grace & hannah kate. my cousin tiffanie & her family were in from Colorado visiting my uncle cyle, aunt peggy, and cousin melissa & her family. they only make it to KY three or so times a year so we attempt to cross paths sometime during those visits. here are a couple of shots from the day:this is all of the younger cousins (with the exception of carlie mae). they look slightly silly and haphazard in this shot, but that mirrors the day.
here is my mom and her brother taking in the days events. enjoying that they are grandparents and not the parents.

our next stop was Columbus, OH, with alan's brothers ben & sam for an Ohio State game weekend. we stayed with alan's stepfather mark's parents, and while there had the opportunity to also visit with the family on that side: aunt melinda & uncle tom, aunt jodie, uncle terry & haley. aside from the glory that is the ohio state university and its football team, btw they thankfully won that game, we celebrated the birthdays of grandpa mccalla & haley. here is grandpa blowing out his candles.confluence, pa, is where the wind blew us on our third trip. it is difficult to describe in words all the purposes of that weekend were. our main intention was celebrating the life of mark, alan's stepfather who was murdered on june 19 of this year.
nearly thirty of mark's friends and family gathered at a bed and breakfast that was located on the river where he learned to kayak. the b & b is one owned by some close friends and they made gracious hosts for the weekend. the weather was absolutely gorgeous and the time everyone had together was priceless, sharing stories and remembering an amazing man. the part of PA that we were in showed the beauty of fall, with the glorious tree colors.
here is a pic of a teachable moment that alan had with wilhelm on how to put on mittens. the weather was so that sweaters, mittens, and hats were required.
wilhelm really did listen, even though the image doesn't back that up.

that weekend yielded a variety of good shots, but this picture truly spoke words. after a small statement by pam, alan's mom, she placed a glass, water drop head marker with mark's name, date of birth & death, and a quote, we all then watched mark become a part of nature as his ashes were placed in the Youghiogheny River. before we left on sunday we went to the marker to say our farewells until we visit again, even wilhelm had a moment with his grandpa mark.
once returning home we hosted a b.y.o.p (bring your own pumpkin) party for wilhelm's friends and their parents. the first picture you see in this post is the master piece my boys created. here is alan & wilhelm in the act of carving.off to baltimore, at the end of the party week, for cousin nicole's wedding. nicole is uncle steve (alan's mom's brother) and aunt jenny's oldest daughter. the wedding was lovely and we truly enjoyed sharing this exciting day and some time with that side of the family. due to our location and our strategic planning we were also able to see alan's grandparents on his dad's side. we stayed with them from friday til sunday. a fabulous weekend but unfortunately no pictures to share.

our month of october was wrapped up, of course, with Halloween. with sound effects and all, our little guy was the perfect little blue monster. he has discovered the world of suckers and can't seem to get enough of his "treats." we dressed up on three occasions beginning wednesday. here is a picture from each event:cousin hannah kate & wilhelm went to hannah's story hour party in shelbyville, ky.
friends kiran & claire and their moms walked with wilhelm and i to a local sorority house for their kids trick or treat night. it came on invitation from kiran's babysitter.
alan and i decided to take wilhelm to the mall for trick or treat night since we really didn't have any homes that we knew and felt safe taking him to. as you can see he quickly started indulging on a sucker, but for good reason.

we ended our month on a bad note. halloween night wilhelm started running a fever and vomiting. for three days he battled his way back to better health and i'm happy to report tonight that he has recovered from a horrible stomach bug.
whew, i know it was a ridiculously long post but i appreciate you sticking with us. hope your october brought bright moments too! until next time, bests to all of you.

a fall day at the park

this past week lexington started seeing some wonderful weather conditions, and great fall weather. of course, we are in kentucky so by the weekend we'll be back into the 80s but wilhelm and i decided we would enjoy it while we could.

yesterday we met some friends at a local park for a picnic and some playground fun. thought i would share some shots from the day.
our family LOVES fall and we are anxious for each day to feel like fall!

a TAG response for julie

this post is open for everyone to read but is particularlly for our friend julie (who currently lives in Oregon) who recently sent me a blog tag. normally, i would honestly just ignore something like this, but i didn't want to be the one of the three people that she tagged that didn't do it and julie is a faithful reader of our blog (sometimes i feel like the only reader! thanks julie for the feedback) so i wanted to return the favor to her.

basically a tag is where the tagger answers specific questions and then tags other bloggers to do the same. here is my attempt at julie's questions:

3 joys:

• unexpected leg hugs from wilhelm clarke
  
• family dinners with my parents, brother's family and my boys
• a walk outside any fall day that it is comfortable to wear a sweatshirt and jeans

3 fears:

• someone kidnapping my child
• my husband or child dying prematurely
  
• close spaces

3 goals:

• find a place to "settle" for longer than one or two years
  
• start my own biz in the next year or so, or go to baking school
  
• raise a wonderfully, well-rounded child while still managing to be a supportive, fun-loving wife

3 obsessions (i think i have lots of these):

• cleaning my house and making sure everything is in its place (slightly OCD)
  
• decorating/project magazines and websites
  
• baking the perfect treat (and trust me it has to be perfect or i develop a complex)

3 random surprises:

• i've never dyed my hair
  
• my dad and i have an ebay biz for antique and vintage goods (we are called repeated history, unfortunately i haven't listed anything all summer because of family drama, but plan on starting back up in the next week or so)
  
• i was engaged for longer than i dated my husband

so there you have it. a few questions answered about me. i'm never really good at these because i always over analyze and try to get something exactly right that really has no right or wrong. anyway, i tried to complete this fast and without thinking too much.

a sea of orange in rocky top tennessee

this past weekend the boys and i took a trip with pappy (alan's dad, jeff) to go and visit "the tennessee eargles." they have been quite an elusive group since i have only met one of the eleven and heard so much about them, but this was an opportunity to meet the family that actually live in the rocky top state and others that travel to knoxville for football games (at least some of them).

QUICK SIDE STORY: Alan's grandfather, Gran Po, had an identical twin brother, Bill, who had eleven children, not to mention that their mom, who is Alan's grandmother's cousin, went through having all of these little darlings, including one set of twins. They grew up in Mississippi and most of them now either reside in the deep south or in Tennessee.

it was a very nice weekend. we experienced knoxville for the first time, having some wonderful sushi on our inaugural night and eating the rest of our weekend at a tailgate hosted by a lovely, die-hard UT fan named Frank, wearing tennessee orange. one of the weekend's running jokes, since i'm a UK grad, another SEC school, was that i would have a hard time switching loyalties for a day but i enjoyed my shopping spree for orange attire and proudly sported my blue nail polish for my alma mater. the game didn't go so smashing for the Vols but we enjoyed meeting family members and spending time together. here are a few shots from the weekend. ok, in my defense it was the end of the game when this shenanigan took place. the score was 30-6 Florida and i was a momma away from her little guy for too many hours, responsibility went out the door.an eargle picture. Eddie, left, Anne Marie, organized the entire weekend and actually lives in Tennessee (and has an extensive orange wardrobe), and Jeff, Alan's dad. i also met John Paul, Michelle, and Andrew. in total i met 45% of the tennessee eargle clan. they were all a delight!

btw, wilhelm had a babysitter the entire time we were at the game and tailgate. he had a smashing time with her, which was assuring for his parents.

so you like the sauce?

today i took on a task presented to me by Real Simple magazine, an experience making homemade tomato sauce. the plan started two days ago.

when i went to visit my parents on tuesday i arrived to find their entry room (aka mud room) filled with tomatoes. my mom is an amazing gardener and normally plants a garden that produces three times more food than my family needs, but some how she manages to store/can/giveaway the crop so hardly anything goes to waste. anyway, as i saw this massive amount of tomatoes i could almost feel my moms pressure to do something with the little red vegetables. since i don't have the ideal living situations right now (sidebar: with our downtown loft we have to carry everything in quite a piece and our counter space is limited so sometimes cooking large portions can be a chore. also, so i don't have to mention it later we have VERY bad lighting in our loft. with no windows we have to rely on artificial so my pictures are a little icky sometimes but maybe i'll learn more about photography and figure it out with lenses or we'll be able to sell our place soon and have a wonderful home with real light.) i didn't jump to her aid in assistance and honestly my mom rocks so i thought she could handle it all.

wow, am i making this a long story!

as i sat down to read my Real Simple magazine i was drawn to a section about cooking with friends, a big batch of tomato sauce. could it be a sign i thought? we'll with that i called my friend radhika to see if she would be interested in helping out with the task. with her on board i loaded up a milk crate of tomatoes and prepared for my sauce day. today was that day!

30 pounds of tomatoes and about six hours or so of work the mission is complete. i wish i could show you a picture of the sauce on some freshly boiled pasta, but wilhelm had swim class tonight so our sauce went into the freezer for future use and i plan on sharing the rest of the batch with my parents and radhika's family. lets cross our fingers that it is edible. if it is i'd be happy to share the recipe, aside from the peeling & seeding of the tomatoes it is an amazingly easy recipe.

bedtime routine

it isn't very fitting for me to say that wilhelm has a bedtime routine because he has to be one of the hardest children to get to sleep at night. so the routine turns into the ordeal really fast! it isn't that he is bad, but it is that he has such an energy reserve that always seems to be activated a few minutes after he gets his pajamas on. legend has it that a young alan had a very similar bedtime experience (thanks genes!).

that aside i really enjoy this time at night because it is a time that my boys have to spend together. the routine almost always includes a few books. reading is one of wilhelm's favorite activities to do. many days i will catch him in his room or on the couch just looking at books am mumbling to himself. hopefully this interest continues in the days and years to come!

here are some images from alan and wilhelm's reading time last night. alan, as you might guess, is a great reader and tries very hard to get wilhelm to repeat words as they go along. I haven't yet figured out how to get a video on the blog for you to hear, but maybe i will work on that. When I'm As Big As Freddy has become a house favorite. it is a great classic book and actual was one of alan's when he was a child. i'm sure it will be in the family library for years to come.

a new day

today is a new day! a new start for our family blog, a new experience for wilhelm, and a new opportunity for momma. lets start at the beginning.

after a variety of apologizes about starting & stopping the blog, and a major summer hiatus due to life events & schedules, we have again arrived on the blogging scene ready for a new fresh start. i'm energized to try to provide more information about our family's life, aside from the wilhelm chronicles, and hope to have regular readers. my goal (goals are good!) is to blog at least once a week. i normally give others lectures on babysteps when they find themselves at a difficult juncture in life of making a decision or trying to find time to do something, so now i must tell myself, "babysteps, once a week is ok if that is all you can find time to blog!" in the coming weeks i plan to add some new features to the blog for your reading pleasure.

the last two new experiences go together.

today was a big day at the eargle household, our little wilhelm clarke went to his first day of school. albeit a parent's day out program for only five hours of the day, one day a week, it is an opportunity for him to seek independence and social skills away from his parents. the hustle and bustle of the first day kept Alan & I from loosing our composure.

here are a few pictures from the start of the day.

i love this last picture. i realize that it is out of focus, but he was so excited to get into class that his movements caused a blur with my novice camera skills. it symbolizes to me just how fast raising a child goes. amazingly they grow-up right before your eyes, and it almost seems unreal or blurry that time can go by so fast.

today is a new for me too, i'm extremely happy for my son to have the opportunity to go to this program but it is one of my first lessons in how someone else can be there for my child besides myself. it is a wonderful way for him to gain his independence and a wonderful way for me to find mine again. i look forward to seeing what this experience brings for us all!