Speed Bump

It's always so fun to see all the kids dressed up at school. They could wear costumes or pj's to school today. Charlie had pj's on under his costume so he was doubly prepared. I'm always amazed that everyone has a completely different costume. There was one lion and one tiger and that was as close to a repeat as they came. C-Rex was definitely a hit with his friends. Charlie kept telling me to please tell his friends to be gentle with his tail so it wouldn't come off. Perhaps I've warned him too much about not destroying his costume.   By the time I made it back over to Izzy's classroom they had stripped them down to paint some pumpkins. Talk about messy fun! After awhile, Iz was more interested in painting her legs (and the wall) purple. I think our last minute, hand-made dinosaur bone for her hair turned out pretty well. Thanks for leaving it in long enough for a picture Iz! We're trick-or-treating at c

We were craving sushi Saturday night. We had just left a Halloween party at Union Station's Science City so the kids were in their costumes. Why not? This was one of those nights when we had a really pleasant dinner out, just the four of us. Both kids ate really well and behaved, though Izzy did start yelling a bit. She just likes to hear the sound of her own voice sometimes - and she can get loud! Watching Charlie enthusiastically eat edamame, tempura sweet potatoes, rice and miso soup (he wanted more of the miso soup once it was gone), I am reminded that kids can be taught to like and enjoy a variety of flavors and tastes. At home it seems like he prefers PB&J to anything else I fix and it gets frustrating. But out to dinner at a sushi restaurant, he basically didn't turn anything down and even wanted to try some of Ryan's sashimi (we told him he wouldn't like it, but we probably should have let him try it).  So what gives? We were all eating out together,

Charlie was very excited to carve a pumpkin this year. This activity is Ryan's domain. After the very first time Ryan and I carved pumpkins together back when we were dating, I've left this creative endeavor to him. My pumpkin was far from scary, laughable at best. My job is roasting the seeds and that works fine for everyone. Charlie's job was cleaning out the inside of the pumpkin. He thought this sounded great at first... But then he thought it was pretty yucky. Iz was not very interested in the pumpkin carving. I think she was standing on this table to keep her cracker away from Roxie. Success!

I wouldn't say that Charlie's cast has slowed him down much at all. They cover it in plastic wrap at school and he paints left handed. He throws and eats with his left without a complaint. Maybe breaking your wrist is actually easiest when you are 3. Habits are less engrained and kids so readily adapt. I could definitely learn a lesson from my son. Charlie's Halloween costume came in the mail this week (Shocked that I didn't make something? Me, too.) and he has wanted to wear it every minute since. His reaction to the costume was so amazing to see - pure, and barely contained delight! To be a kid is to enjoy each minute and activity to the fullest, to maximize joy! I think Halloween is going to become Charlie's favorite holiday. Being a T-Rex for a day was the greatest thing ever. Ever. He was laughing out loud at the way his tail stuck out of the swing. He kept looking behind him to see it -  laughing and smiling and kicking his feet. Joy. I have now seen

The last few weeks have been a blur. I knew the travel, presentations and deadlines would take their toll, but I couldn't predict the unpredictable (pink eye and a broken wrist) and know how hard things were going to get. I had an emotional couple days in Chicago worrying about Charlie and feeling inadequate at work and home all at once. But it's over and things will calm down - at least back to the frenetic pace we've become accustomed to of late. Kids are amazingly resilient and Charlie's arm hasn't slowed him down a bit. I think he had one day of some pain and low energy, and now he is totally fine. He has trouble doing some things for himself with only one arm and gets frustrated, as anyone would. We get a new cast tomorrow and word is, he wants pink! We took advantage of the beautiful fall day today and took some photos around the neighborhood. We got some really good ones, I'm saving my favorites for later, but here are a few... Char

I want to be home. I'm finishing up 8 days of work travel in the last 14 days, and all I want to do is be home with my babies - make pumpkin bread, carve pumpkins, catch falling leaves, and snuggle. I spent 11 hours today reviewing grants in a hotel conference room in Chicago. A room full of brilliant scientists, judging the work of other brilliant scientists. I'm not sure how I got here. I'm not sure I can ever get another grant funded. We made decisions today about which research projects are worth millions of dollars of government money - my money, and your money - and I'm not sure how I'm qualified to make those decisions. The whole process makes me feel small and not very smart. I spent the whole day trying to keep my emotions in check, to not think about Charlie and how he just wants his mommy. It was torture, really. His first broken bone, and I wasn't there to dry the tears, to hold him and hug the pain away. I think this is really what wears wo

This is Zip, my new Fitbit. Tragically, I lost my Fitbit Ultra a few weeks ago, and after going for several aimless, lost weeks without a tracker, I purchased the Zip. This is a new tracker from Fitbit that sells for almost half the price of the Ultra. It has a few less features than the Ultra that I already miss (no stop watch, no cheeky messages when you pick it up, no personal greetings) and has a replaceable watch battery instead of a USB charger. It comes in snappy colors and the clip comes on and off (I think I would really be likely to lose it without the clip).  I will report back after a few weeks to let you know how I like the Zip. The lower price is a great option for someone wanting to try out a tracker. Which everyone should! And...more info on the harms of sitting all day. Are you still sitting? One of the easiest and best things you can do for your health today, right now, is to stop sitting. Read about it here .

Dwell did a two part series on the modern family home here  and here . Love the ladder for the kids!

Wondering what is happening with our new house? So are we. We are in a big stall right now. Waiting for the subcontract bids to come in, waiting for the bank to approve our construction loan, waiting for the BZA to approve the building plans...waiting, waiting, waiting. Unlike the design phase, this phase is no fun at all. And of course, the original plan did not come in under budget so we're having to make some adjustments. It's times like these you wish you had an unlimited budget and money wasn't an object. We don't want an extravagant house, but we do want quality materials and good design to be the foundation of our family home. Sigh. We're hoping we can make small changes here and there and still keep the heart of the design we love in the original plans. I didn't realize those fun weekly meetings of dreaming and planning would come to an end so fast. The only consolation will be that we get this thing rolling soon and start taking down walls come

Check out what rolled into Union Station this past weekend....a real, live steam engine! This train was massive and immaculate, polished to a shine. It was only here for a few days so we went to check it out yesterday afternoon after I got home from my trip. I wasn't sure we could get very close to it, so I didn't bring my real camera - wish I had! The steam train pulled out of town early this morning - but not before blowing the whistle quite a few times. It was a very startling way to wake up and scared Charlie. I'm glad to be home, 5 days felt like a long time. Feeling pretty tired, but hoping a few days at home will help me gather steam for the next trip later this week.

Charlie's class has been learning about apples. For the last several weeks they've been reading books about apples, talking and reading about Johnny Appleseed, peeling apples, baking apples, you name it. They collected a variety of different apples over the past week and today they had a big apple tasting! Everyone had a chance to try all the different apples and the teachers wrote down the apple critiques on a big piece of paper. I'm just amazed at the activities they come up with in his class. We are so lucky to have such a wonderful learning environment for our kids!

Pink eye, of course. Of course! I'm heading out of town this week, gearing up for the two busiest weeks of work and travel of my entire year, and Charlie gets pink eye. If I were a betting woman, oh what I would do with my winnings. I hve a conference this week, grant reviews next week. Why is it always everything at once?? When am I going to find time to take care of all the really important things in life - Halloween costumes and pumpkin patches, planning a bachelorette party, carving the pumpkins Charlie keeps asking about...?? I have to focus on work right now and put all that aside. It's a big week for me, a big week for my lab and all that we work towards on a daily basis. We're heading to a small scientific conference that is jam-packed with the best work being done in our field right now. Small, as in 500 people or so, but big on impact. This meeting is only held every 4 years and as a result, there is a lot of time and energy spent making it as good as it can be.

We attended the Farm Table Dinner put on by Green Dirt Farm last Saturday night - something we've been looking forward to all summer! This is the fourth season of the Farm Table Dinners , and they are now so popular that the entire summer slate of dinners sells out in minutes once the online reservations open. To get our 6 tickets, we selected our top 3 choices and logged on simultaneously with three different laptops at the Roasterie on a Sunday morning back in April. It was well worth it. 30 guests sit around one long table inside a covered (but open) barn. Each dinner has a different guest chef - with the only stipulations being to use lamb and sheep's milk cheeses from Green Dirt Farm in the meal. Produce is all seasonal and sourced from local farms. Our chef was Michael Beard from 715, one of our favorite spots in Lawrence. I just love hearing a chef explain the thought and planning that goes into each dish.  It was amazing food and the perfect early fall evening out o