My friend Casey got married Saturday out in Waverly, Illinois. Since it was okay for us to take the girls to the reception, Yoli and I thought we might as well make a whole day trip out of it.
We packed up the girls and set out around 8:40 a.m. Saturday for the distant city of Springfield.
I hastily planned the trip the night before. Yoli and I already had a few vague notions about stuff to do. Of course there was the big Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, as well as many Lincoln-related sites in and around Springfield.
But the city also features a few Route 66 attractions, including the Cozy Dog Drive-In, which boasts of the "one and only Cozy Dog. The Cozy Dog is a delicious hot dog on a stick that is found nation-wide at many county and state fairs."
I had heard about this place while watching a documentary called "A Hot Dog Program" on KETC (Channel 9) about hot dogs. Ever since then, I have wanted to visit this and other such eateries. Now I would get my first chance.
After lunch, my plan was to take the girls in strollers to Oak Ridge Cemetery where Lincoln is buried, or at least to a park, and walk them around until they fell asleep and let them get their naps in before heading out to Waverly for the wedding reception.
The journey to Illinois was pretty good, although Jadzia gave us a little bit of trouble when getting her in and out of the carseat, stroller, or potty seat. The problem is that she scraped her knee (twice) last week, and she is afraid of seeing the scabs. She always wants it to be covered. Since she was wearing a dress, her knee would be exposed a little bit when putting on her seat belt, which caused her to start crying.
The Lincoln Museum was pretty fun. I think Jadzia may have been slightly unnerved by the giant non-living figures (like Abe and his family) inside the museum's atrium. There was a man playing period songs on a wide variety of instruments, like steel guitar, which made for a cool atmosphere. We headed first to the section of the museum dedicated to Abe's early years, where you can see a re-creation of Abe reading by a fire inside a one-room log cabin. Jadzia really liked that. There was also a scene later showing Abe in his law office with two of his boys playing wildly, throwing ink wells at each other. Papers and books were strewn across the place. Apparently ole Abe gave his kids pretty free rein.
It was at about this point that we were stopped by a security guard. Apparently there is no video-taping allowed in certain (most) parts of the museum. We had been filming all along, and a guard had even seen the camera earlier when they searched our diaper bag. But nobody ever mentioned "no filming." Anyway, they didn't make us get rid of it the camera or film or anything. We just had to stop, and we happily obliged.
The girls both enjoyed the children's area, which was full of cool toys. Some of them were period toys. But there was also stuff like a kitchen set with the sort of food and utensils you'd find in a log cabin, so you could imagine being in the Lincoln family. There were period dress clothes. And Lincoln logs. Ludi seemed to have the most fun at first. Jadzia was still a bit tentative and weird about her knee. But she played and had fun, too.
Finally it was lunchtime. We drove out of downtown and made our way to the Cozy Dog Inn. Ludi was asleep and Jadzia was rapidly losing consciousness as well. We had to keep calling out to Jadzia to keep her awake, promising her a nice corndog.
We found the place — but it was closed for Memorial Day weekend. Apparently I missed the fine print on their website. I was crushed. I had long wanted to eat cozy dogs in this Route 66 fixture.
Of course, I had no backup plan. And Jadzia was now asleep. I certainly didn't want to settle for a dime-a-dozen chain restaurant. But that left only sit-down restaurants, and that would necessitate waking Jadzia to get her out of her seat. Plus I didn't have any other particular restaraunt in mind. In fact, I had no idea what the choices were.
We ended up driving several circuits of 5th and 6th streets, seeing what was there and trying to figure out a place to park. I went back and forth about whether we should stop and eat or whether I should just go to a drive-thru. Ultimately we chose a place called the "Garden of Eat'n," but we had to find a parking spot. I didn't have any quarters (We had forgotten to visit the bank on our way out of Ferguson, and I spent my last quarters paying for the Abe Lincoln parking garage). But God provided us a nice spot on the street with an hour left on the meter.
At the restaurant we had some hot dogs which were tasty, but weren't cozy dogs. Jadzia finished an entire hot dog by herself.
After that, we decided to head back to the Lincoln complex and check out the Presidential Library. We are a very library-oriented family, after all, what with Yoli working at one and our family's love of books. But there wasn't much there for us... it is a research library after all, and we hadn't prepared ahead of time to do any research. But there was an interesting display of war-era government propaganda posters.
We walked across the street and re-entered the Lincoln Museum to watch two of the theater presentations they had there. While we waited for the first show, we browsed some of the special Lincoln items they had in their gallery … stuff like a leaf from Lincoln's math notebook as a teenager, or a gorgeous heart pendant Abe gave his wife on their anniversary.
After the shows, we took the girls back to the toy area, which they attacked with gusto. Ludi was crawling faster than ever and Jadzia was unusually playful. I guess that's what happens to sleep-deprived girls. Jadzia was playing so well I hesitated to leave, but we needed to get going or they wouldn't have a chance to nap before the reception.
I drove toward Waverly taking back roads, hoping the girls would sleep, and hoping for some nice scenery. Ludi nodded off quickly, but Jadzia resisted for a while. Too bad for her, I guess. She got only 30 minutes of sleep. We ended up parking at the park in the middle of Waverly for 10 minutes to extend their naps before going to the reception.
The reception was a lot of fun. We found a couple of friends there and enjoyed chatting. Jadzia was really into dancing (which consisted of her running laps around the dance floor). I think I know where she gets her dance moves from. But she wasn't too into eating. Her diet consisted of pork steak and a few nibbles of pasta and potatoes. She wouldn't eat anything else, not even cake!
Once the evening drew on, it was time to get back home. We looked at the map and decided to take state highway 111 south to Alton, instead of the interstate. It seemed more direct, and probably more fun. For the most part this was true, but about halfway down Ludi became inconsolable. We had to stop for a half hour or more at a gas station in the middle of nowhere to feed her, change her, nurse her, etc. It was at this time that Jadzia realized she wanted to eat after all, and began asking for food. But it was tough luck for her, she had missed her prime opportunity at the reception.
There was a lot more crying from Ludi as we proceeded down the highway, but eventually both girls fell asleep. Ah, bliss.
All in all, a very memorable and exhausting day.
Daddies are nothing if not problem-solvers. So it was that I faced a dilemma on Friday …
Goal: Mow the yard on Friday afternoon before work, since I won't have another chance to do it until Tuesday.
Problem: Ludi is awake, but Yoli is at work, so I can't leave Ludi alone.
Solution: Mow the lawn with Ludi in the baby carrier!
Keep reading to find out how it went.
First a bit of background. Our lawnmower is self-propelled. But the belt which drives the front wheels broke while I was mowing the lawn last week.
The thing with this self-propelled mower is that it is very difficult to push when it's not doing the work. There is a lot of resistance on the front wheels; for example, it is actually necessary to physically push it when going downhill.
I thought I could fix the mower myself... how hard could it be to replace a belt?
A plastic shield protects this belt from the grass and debris that flies underneath the lawn mower. I removed the mower blade thinking that the shield would then come off. But after I removed the blade, I saw that there was a bracket (or "blade adapter") preventing me from removing the shield. I got as far as removing the engine from the mower housing when I realized that blade adapter could not be removed without a special tool.
So, on Friday, I first had to reassemble the mower before I could use it. Before Yoli left for work, I managed to get the whole thing back together and start weed-whacking. But that's all I had time for. Then it was back inside to watch the girls.
Ludi went off to sleep easily, but Jadzia was hungry. So I had to make her some pasta and then wait for her to eat it... it was taking forever. While she was eating I was scrubbing potatoes and making a few preparations for dinner. Finally she finished and we went through her naptime routine. At last, it was time to mow the lawn.
But then Ludi woke up. I tarried, hoping she might not really be awake. Sometimes babies cry in their sleep and quiet down again. Alas, not this time.
Off we went. I changed her diaper and fed her some apples, all the while debating in my mind what course of action to take. Take her outside and let her play in the grass away from my mowing area? It might work, but she crawls awfully fast. I decided to just strap her to my chest in the carrier and mow.
It worked well at first. But the topography of our backyard is a bit treacherous... it has lots of dips and bumps, which of course were causing her to swing wildly. So I ended up securing her more firmly with one arm and just mowing with the other arm. It's the first time I have successfully mowed the difficult backyard using our mower in non-self-propelling mode and just one arm. It must have been the combination of caffeine from the headache medicine I took earlier and adrenaline.
Anyway, after the backyard, I figured she had enough. I had to go inside and take care of the rest of dinner. Yoli arrived after a while and we ate together quickly. I had 30 minutes… just enough time to get the front yard out of the way and still get in a quick shower.
Mission accomplished. Daddies are nothing if not problem-solvers.
P.S. Yoli reminded me a few days later that this isn't the first time I resorted to a baby carrier as a solution to a baby problem. When Jadzia was a baby, I wanted to play disc golf with my dad and my brothers on a Saturday, but there was nobody to watch her. Thus commenced the first round of disc golf in history played with a baby strapped to the chest of the golfer. My brothers were skeptical I would really do it, but all in all it worked out all right. I had forgotten about this incident, but it's funny to remember it now.
On Saturday, we finally came to possess a substance of awesome power: lard.
Yes, you read that right. Pure lard.
Yoli had been studying up on lard for a while, since she was dissatisfied with some of the nutrition/health aspects of butter. With all the baking she does, we consume a fair amount of butter. (Plus butter and milk are expensive now)
It's hard to fathom, but it turns out that lard is coming back en vogue. I always thought lard was terrible for you. It comes from pigs, after all. Turns out that pure lard has less saturated fat than butter, and more monounsaturated ("good") fat.
Lard's case is also helped by the fact that it is awesome for baking. Flakier crusts, here we come. I understand that it is also the best fat for frying chicken and french fries and the like.
We bought our first 10 pounds of lard from a farmer at the Ferguson Farmer's Market. This is not an item that is typically available there, but farmers will bring it along if you ask. One big advantage of this is that most of these farmers have it rendered naturally, without any hydrogenation or anything.
This morning Yoli made some scones with lard. She asked me if they tasted any different. I thought I detected some subtle flavor, but I wasn't really sure. After a few bites, it didn't matter. The scones were very good, as good as any others she'd ever baked.
She'll really put the lard through it's paces on Tuesday when she bakes an apple pie.
Here's some really good lard articles:
Last weekend, my youngest brother, Jon, got married. I went with Jadzia to San Antonio to attend the wedding. It was a whirlwind trip.
We flew down Sunday morning and arrived around 11 a.m. We hung out at my Nan's house. Jadzia enjoyed playing with Hayden in the yard. It was a beautifully warm day, and the adults were eating outside on the back porch. Jonny seemed at ease.
One of the highlights of the day for me (besides the marriage) was being introduced to the Nintendo Wii. The baseball and bowling games were a lot of fun. Justin, Jon and I played those two games along with my cousin Alan. Justin pretty much dominated.
While Jadzia had her nap, we boys had to head up to the church to get ready for the wedding. Once there, I learned that the nuptials were taking place several hours earlier than I had thought! I was a little worried about Justin's wife Becca having to deal with her two boys plus Jadzia... But it all worked out well.
Yoli had spent two late nights sewing Jadzia's dress. It turned out very well. Jadzia was very happy to wear her "ballet," as she likes to call pretty dresses.
Jadzia was given a little basket with white cloth petals so she could be the flower girl. Hayden had a pillow with a decoy ring (Justin had the real one). Both kids practiced going down the aisle several times.
When it came time for the real wedding, things were going well until Hayden neared the end of the aisle, where the photographer was waiting. He got a little freaked and ran back. Jadzia kept going to her Nanny, who was calling her forward.
The ceremony was simple, short, and lovely. Jonny seemed a bit nervous in the way he spoke and looked. But once the official marriage stuff was all over, he was back to himself again.
The reception afterwards was a lot of fun. My aunt Karen and uncle Oliver cooked the food, which was delicious. There was some music and dancing. Jadzia was one of the primary dancers. At one point, she was dragging Hayden all over the floor, until he finally had enough and took off.
After everything was over, it was time to get home and get some sleep before the 3:30 a.m. wake-up for the return trip home. But I snuck in a little Wii time before hitting the hay.
The part of this plan I had been dreading from the beginning was the voyage back to St. Louis. In concept it had potential for disaster written all over it: spend 17 hours in a little car with a 2-year-old, your parents, no TV and no CDs.
Truth is, it wasn't so bad. Jadzia did get a little bored and stir crazy at times, but we stopped somewhat frequently for bathroom breaks and food breaks.
In fact, I think I set foot in more McDonalds that Monday than I have in any other single day of my life. Most of these stops were for the potty, but we did eat lunch at a McDonalds. Later in the afternoon we stopped at the McDonalds in Vinita which spans I-44; it was once the "world's largest" McDonalds. We had some real ice cream (which delighted Jadzia to no end) cones. This was another opportunity for disaster: Jadzia + melting ice cream cone + nice interior of Dad's car. But there were no problems.
One other noteworthy part of the trip was that we ended up partially disassembling the car seat Jadzia was sitting in. It was a fancy Eddie Bauer model with this extra head pillow at the top. But that pillow was keeping Jadzia's head too far forward and she couldn't fall fully asleep. So, at one of our McDonald's stops, we took the seat out and determined the pillow had only 4 screws holding it on. But we had no phillips-head screwdriver. I asked several plumber/utility-looking fellows inside if they could loan us a screwdriver, but none of them obliged. In the meantime, my dad scared up a little flathead and that was good enough to do the job. Jadzia slept much better after that.
All in all it was a weekend of adventure.
Today was a jam-packed day, leading in to a jam-packed next few days.
I woke up early thinking I had an 8 a.m. appointment for a haircut. Turns out it was 9 a.m. But still, that's pretty early for me. So I went to the barber shop while Yoli and the girls went to Aldi's. After that, we all met up and walked over to the Ferguson Farmer's Market where we ate a corndog, two omelettes, and a biscotti.
Then Yoli went to work and I took care of the girls. I had to do some packing. My brother Jonathan is getting married on Sunday night and Jadzia and I are going to fly down to San Antonio for the wedding. But the girls didn't let me get as much done as I hoped.
Then a coworker called me and asked me to come to work early because she was feeling ill. So I obliged. But I was scheduled for the late shift, so I worked until 12:45 a.m. I still have some packing to do, and I know that my 6:30 a.m. wake-up call ain't gonna be pretty.
Yoli has also had her hands full, trying to make a dress for Jadzia to wear in the wedding. She basically set out to finish the dress in two nights. All I can say is "wow."
I used to be a morning person, back in the old days when my mom worked at the cafeteria of my school. But then came college and working late at newspapers.
So I'm definitely not looking forward to yet another even-earlier wake-up call on Monday morning after the wedding, when we drive home with my folks. It'll probably be 3 or 4 a.m. Yikes.