Missionary Journal

Lately I've been reading a little of Joel's missionary journal when I sit down to eat breakfast or lunch, and it has been such a great experience I wanted to recommend it to all of you. It is really nice to be able to hear about things that happened in such a personal way, and since I know a lot of the stories already, it is nice getting more detail.

So far, I've only encountered one problem, which is when Joel decided to be ambitious and practice his German by writing his entries in German (he served in Austria). As I get farther into his mission, those entries become much more frequent, but I still find quite a few English gems. It has been really fun and I have been able to see Joel in a little bit of a different way.

Portrait Innovations

We finally had our family pictures taken. All in all, they turned out very well and we were very pleased with the experience. Portrait Innovations is a great and inexpensive studio, and the best part is that you get your prints in 15 minutes. Interesting side note: Everett is wearing make-up in these pictures because he had the beginnings of the rash that exploded all over his body on Sunday.

Everett was very fussy and was crying during the whole process, but we took 91 pictures so we did get some really good ones out of it even if there are none with him being his usual happy self. Joel, on the other hand, looks exactly the same in every single picture, and I never like pictures of myself. It was easy to find some good ones of "the boys", though.

A Picture

If a picture says a thousand words, what about this one? Too bad the flash washed out almost all of the color in Everett's face, or this picture would be much more representative of the way things are. If you can't tell, he has a terrible, terrible rash all over his cheeks, forehead, neck, and torso. His entire face is very red and bumpy and he looks very uncomfortable. So yes, if a picture is supposed to say a thousand words, we need to take another one, because this one doesn't do the rash justice.
Poor little guy! I'm assuming this is from the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccination he got 10 days ago. They told us he may develop a rash, but wow. If it is something else, we will find out tomorrow because if it gets worse we're taking him to the doctor.

Maybe he's developed an allergy to my cooking? We'll have to find out and see. Tune in next time, folks, for an update from your friendly eastern bloggers.

I'm Dreaming of a Dry Commute...

In the DC Metro Area:

=

We had our first snowfall of the season on Wednesday. I woke up in the morning and thought, "oh, how beautiful, and peaceful, and serene. I just love the first snowfall". Later, Joel called around 9:45 am to tell me that he was still in the car (he left at 7:30) on his way to work. It took him almost three hours to go 20 miles to downtown DC (to put that into perspective, we could almost be to New York in that amount of time).

I'm just betting that during that time Joel wasn't thinking "oh, how beautiful, and peaceful, and serene"...

Multi-Tasking at its Finest

A few days ago I used my wonderful bread machine to make a loaf of bread, and today I used it again to make pizza dough (that's right, folks, it can do dough only!).

Everett was in the kitchen at my feet, wanting either some attention or to get into anything within his reach (it didn't matter which). After I got the bread together, I was faced with the task of trying to load a dishwasher with a child around who, no matter where he is in the apartment, will scurry as fast as he can to the kitchen if he so much as hears the dishwasher door open. You can see my problem. However, with the push of a button, I was able to completely eliminate this disaster-waiting-to-happen.

. . . Introducing the Breadman® ! The newest thing in toddler distraction, complete with:

• fascinating sounds sure to keep your child's interest
• a clear viewing window at the top so no sound goes unexplained
• sturdy, furniture-cruising toddler support for all his standing needs
• surprise starts and stops: a special sensor detects the moment your child loses interest, and a new sound kicks in
• And, for mom: freshly baked bread for all your eating needs. Go ahead. Eat a slice--you've earned it, considering all the work you accomplished while your toddler was engrossed by the bread-making process.

Oh my darlin' Clementines

Saturday night I went out and bought a five pound box of Clementine oranges (which I had never tasted before) for only a few dollars. I was so excited about this buy, but I knew Joel would want "real" oranges, so I bagged and bought a few of the Sunkist variety for him.

This morning, we only have a handful left of my now favorite oranges. I guess Joel actually did like them better--even though he maintains that they are not "real" oranges, he has yet to give me a solid reason (I think it's because they're smaller).

I just wanted to give a shout-out to this wonderful fruit. I really like oranges, but I really dislike the peel and all the stuff that remains on the wedges after you remove the peel. I spend more time cleaning off the orange than I do eating it, which gives Joel ample time to poke fun at me and jokingly tell me to "get over it".

HOWEVER, this problem is non-existant with Clementine oranges. The peel is thin and is removed extremely easily, and the fruit inside is perfectly sweet. No more meticulous removing-and-cleaning for me!

For those of you out there looking for the perfect way to combat all of the holiday sweets and treats, I would like to suggest you sit yourself down with a big box of Clementines. But don't be surprised if it doesn't last you as long as you thought...

Random Thoughts

Everett has all four molars coming in (a couple have already broken through) and has also had a cold lately. This occurrence manifests itself by snot, boogers, and every other derivative of the mucous membrane of the nose exiting in gushes. All day. Every day. This has resulted in five things happening:

1. I use the nasal aspirator as often as I can be sure that it won't irritate his nose.
2. Everett has gotten so used to the aspirator that he will actually lean forward and hold still as I perform the necessary sucking-and-removing procedures.
3. If I even come close to him with a napkin, kleenex, or even my own finger to remove any boogers, a litany of wails, shrieks, and thrashing ensues to the point that I have nearly dropped him several times.
4. I have wondered why Everett prefers the much more aggressive removal of snot to what I was sure was the kinder, gentler, more humane method. This has led to me being tempted to try the aspirator on myself to see what it feels like.
5. When I communicated this thought to Joel last night, he merely shook his head in resignation and said "Only you, Elise. Only you."

Well. Perhaps.