Holden at 5 months

Here are my attempts to get a picture of Holden with Puffalump for his monthly shot.  He is a baby on the move, so Puff suffered quite a bit during this photo shoot.  You can see we have quite a happy, pudgy baby on our hands.  He is starting to roll and scooch himself all over, too- very fun, unless you are trying to take a picture!

Some scenes from the past week:

We went "camping" (we stayed in cabins) at Meramec State Park last weekend.  It was a gorgeous weekend, with lots of friends, beautiful weather, and the chance to hike, fish, and play. 

 Mariel got to bring her class mascot, Truman, along.  He is also the official mascot of our state university, known around here as Mizzou (which at least helps to explain the football uniform).  Each night he gets sent home with a student and the family gets to document Truman's adventures.  He kept up well and had fun with all of the crafts!

 Holden took it all in a stride.  He had fun being spoiled by assorted friends, and Patrick and I enjoyed being spoiled by not having to hold him all of the time!

The activities for the weekend included Beatrice's fifth birthday, complete with a pinata and a borrowed bounce house.  Linda organized a relay race for the families with little kids (three families), and we all got our own team colors.  Here is Noella with her bandana, Truman, and medal around her neck.   

 In other news, we have started to give Holden a few tastes of cereal.  He is in the grabby phase, trying to snatch everything off of the table, plates, and out of our hands.  He is a bit uncertain about actually swallowing the cereal, but seems to be interested in the idea of it. 

 And, since today starts the next round of baseball, here is an obligatory post-season father and son photo op.  Go Cards!

Just call her "Cakes"...

We have been having fun with nicknames lately, with the girls getting to decide what nickname they would like for the day.  Holden, of course, is sort of stuck with "Cutie Pie."  Noella has a strong preference for "Buddy."  Mariel likes a bit of variety, but has tended towards "Baby cakes," which her Babci calls her.  She has decided that "Baby cakes" is a bit too juvenille for a girl of her stature (in elementary school and all) so has asked us to shorten it.  So some days she now goes by "Cakes."

Scenes from apple picking last weekend:

Apple sauce is for the wild and daring
It has recently come to my attention that I am viewed by my students and potentially others as "sweet."  Even more damning, "midwestern." I regularly get comments on student evaluations such as "Dr. Flaherty is a really sweet lady." and similar.  Last week the projector refused to work at an inopportune time during one of my lectures.  As I cursed under my breath, one of the students heard and gasped.  "Dr. Flaherty!" he said. "I do swear." I told him, with a smile.  "I'm a grown up." "I know," he replied, "But you are just a sweet midwestern mom!"
This lead to a little bit of self-reflection. Lets see... Woman in her thirties with three kids and two dogs. Clean house.  Drives a minivan.  Obsesses over sleeping schedules.  Does laundry every night.  Likes to cook.  Has "date nights" with her husband in which they do things like make pickles and watch old television shows on DVDs.
GASP.  Is this what I have become?  Where is my edge? My mystery?  My ability to surprise people with all of my interesting juxtapositions and uniqueness? Instead, I have become a very traditional and yes, very midwestern, wife and mother.  There is little trace of someone who once skinny dipped and hitchhiked and could still cook a damn fine dinner if she made it back in time before heading to the bar.
How do I get that edginess back and persuade my students that I am not as boring and definitely not as sweet as I appear?    Should I start wearing black leather to classes and spit on the students?
Is this what happens when one becomes an adult (and yes, I realize that I have probably made that transition too, but I can only handle one crisis at a time)?
Patrick and I discussed this today.  He seems to feel that even if we move to a different region of the country, I will continue to be wholesome, sweet, and perhaps less midwestern, but still a wife and mother.  Of course, my quest to be wild, dark and dangerous is hampered by the fact that we spent the morning picking apples and I am now canning apple sauce and apple butter.  I fear that food preserving, even with the presence of boiling water, is extremely midwestern, very sweet, and probably wholesome. Gosh darn it, whats next?  Oh wait, I still have buttons to sew back on to Mariel's coat.  And then I will go to bed early....