Eaton Canyon

Eaton Canyon, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Tutu took the four of us up to the Eaton Canyon Nature Area for a
picnic lunch and a splash in the arroyo today. We didn't find any
rattlesnakes or poison oak.

Cool Quote from Persuasion

"and soon words enough had passed between them to decide their direction towards the comparatively quiet and retired gravel-walk, where the power of conversation would make the present hour a blessing indeed; and prepare for it all the immortality which the happiest recollections of their own future lives could bestow."

Sounds a lot like my life so far with Amy. I really loved this novel.

Cold

Cold, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

A view of the park from our bathroom window. 9 degrees. Windchill -14.

Chapel Hill

I guess now is as good a time as any to say that we are moving to North Carolina next summer. A year too late to attend the Merge Records 20th anniversary show, but just in time to take advantage of a sweet associate professor position (with permanent tenure) at UNC. So after seven years in South Bend we are making the move south to sunny Chapel Hill, the southern edge of heaven.

So if you know of anyone who wants to buy a really cute house in South Bend, send them our way.

First Snow

Today we are enjoying our first snow of the year. The first snow of our last winter in South Bend.

Say No More

Say No More, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Brussels Scout

These things are more fun to play with than to eat.

Spectacular

Mom's spectacular flour mishap.

Cups and Cakes

Surely this is the perfect cupcake. That's the only reason I can think of for taking five pictures of it.

Question

So, you are driving a really crabby two-and-a-half year old downtown and he has been whining all morning, from the minute he woke up, saying things like "No milk!" when you put a cup of milk down for breakfast, then you take the milk away and he says "Milk milk milk!" and then you give it back to him and then he says "No milk!", and that kind of thing. And now he's sitting in the back seat of the car trying to hit you in the back of the head and although he doesn't know where he's going he has been promised beignets but he is still just really crabby, still pretending to hit you in the back of the head even though he usually loves rides in the car and always loves beignets. So my question is: Is it really bad to smile, just a kind of a half smile, when you think about where you are going (before getting beignets) and where you are going is the doctor to have a flu shot?

"Everybody Say HOLLAAAAAAA!"

Open Letter to the Rodents

Dear Squirrels and Mice,

Kindly cease to use our garage for acorn storage.

Thank you,

Amagomundi

Wordle for 2006

I try to teach myself something new about techmology at least once a year. So, having read about Wordle I thought I'd see what our year in Spain would look like. I clicked on 2006 in our blog archive, then selected all the text, and put it into the fine Wordle word cloud creator. This is what I got: Our sabbatical blogs translated into words arranged graphically.

Then, I did another word cloud for 2008. This is pretty damned sweet:

Fall Break in the Bend

Fall Break in the Bend, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Looking back at the third green from the fourth tee at Notre Dame's
Warren GC.

Autumn in the Bend

Autumn in the Bend, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Found while enjoying a brilliant day at Potawatomi Park with my boys.
Now, who's ready for some soul food?

sensitive man contemplates the infinite

Cool Quote on the Value of Language and Literature

“Without language there is no communication, speculative thought, or community; without literature, there is no in-depth understanding of narratives that lead to the discovery of other cultures in their specificities and diversity and to the understanding of other human beings in their similarities and differences.”

From the MLA's Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature.

Patchinka

Introducing Patchinka!

Celia y el astronauta

Hay más que Amish en Nappanee...

Best Picture Ever

A recent nap, starring Momma and Baby J.

Good day in Chicago

Good day in Chicago, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

We haven't even left the parking lot...

Had a lovely day with Sindo, Tutu, Loli, and Celia at the Shedd
Aquarium and the Field Museum.

Why I Love My Wife

Why I Love My Wife, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

This doll head was floating in my oatmeal pan this morning. Ms A is a
funny lady.

Joaquin's First Flight

Joaquin's First Flight, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Off to Chapel Hill!

Brothers

Brothers, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Joaquin doesn't appear to be quite as in to this as his brother is.

Denoument

Denoument, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Sorry, Ms. A. At least it was a quick demise...

Lact Cave or Bat Cave?

That's the question we've been asking ourselves tonight, having just dispatched our second bat. Well, that's not entirely true: our first bat, which appeared almost exactly two years ago with the birth of our fist son, lived on. Where, we do not know. Flash forward two years: Now, as Ms. A is sitting here feeding baby number two, there appears yet another bat, this one flying between the living room and the dining room.

Action: Whisk baby upstairs and put him in the bassinet, close Benny's bedroom door (now both babies are crying), Mr. S goes to the basement to get the tennis rackets, and Ms. A comes back downstairs to help him track it down. Where is it? In the kitchen? Did it go upstairs? Is it attached to Ms. A's back? No! It's hiding behind the monkey plate hanging on the wall in the dining room, of course!

So Mr. S comes up with a plan: let's tape a trash bag around the plate, bat and all. That didn't work: Bat figured it out, flew out the other side. Now the bat is flying again, making his/her sonar sound. Mr. S takes a swipe with his tennis racket. No dice. So now it's go time: Ms. A takes aim, and here it comes around the china cabinet!

WHACK.

And that's it for The Bat. Ms. A immediately feels bad for the little rodent, while Mr. S is exultant having witnessed his wife's rodent-whacking prowess! He uses the tennis rackets to scoop up the bat, transfer it to out-of-doors. Ms. A hopes the bat is either mercifully dead or just stunned, not injured and dying. She still feels bad for little guy.

Mr. S is proud that she saved him and the babies from certain rabies and probable nocturnal blood sucking.

Now everything is back to normal. Our house is just a lact cave.

9:00 Nap

9:00 Nap, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Unposed Photos, Seriously

So I step out of the kitchen for a moment to get a clean wash cloth and I come back in and Benny is reading the South Bend Tribune very intently over breakfast.

He even pauses his contemplation of his favorite news-worthy world leader to take a bite of his bagel with cream cheese.

He likes Obama.

And this is just a gratuitous, very cute, picture of his brother.

José Jones Turns Two

We've been spending an awful lot of time on Joaquín-related posts and I'm starting to feel guilty. The old baby turned two and we had a really nice time celebrating him and his accomplishments over a groovy chocolate cake that his Nana made him. We made the cake last all week so we could share with Fat Daddy when he arrived from Buffalo. Here's the cake and the baby, too.

Looking Good

Looking Good, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Little Joaquin is home and eating like a champ. His belly button is
shaping up too.

One-handed baby blog

One-handed baby blog, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Ms. A is napping, recovering nicely, and I'm here with Joaquin in my
arms, the late morning sun streaming through the window. I'm in love
with this family I have.

Joaquin Miguel

Joaquin Miguel arrived (finally) yesterday at 7:08 p.m. He weighed 8.5 pounds and measured 20.5 inches. He is in every way exceptional. (Para nuestros fieles lectores españoles, Joaquín pesó 3.855 kilos.)

Ms. A is doing well, resting and breast feeding.

S/he Is Looking Good

S/he Is Looking Good, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

We think we can expect this baby today or tomorrow.

Please God Let This Be the Last OB Appointment

Please God Let This Be the Last OB Appointment, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

A Sign from above?

A Sign from above?, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

This cloud formation suggests that perhaps today is the day...

Honest to God: We saw this cloud formation as we rounded the corner
down the street just now.

Ms A as She Begins Labor?

Ms A as She Begins Labor?, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

Stuff We Did Last Week and Stuff that Happened to Me Last Week

On Wednesday Bridget and Tom and Mateo came over with a delicious lasagna. We had a really nice time. Mateo and I practiced our fake smiles.

Perhaps most worthy of note was the head-long spill I took off the back of my stroller on Thursday. Here I am at the emergency room, waiting to get my five stitches:

That's my fake smile, by the way.

We had to wait a long time for the doctor to show. Two hours of waiting inspired me to take a nap.

When the doctor finally arrived, my mom had to hold my legs, my dad held my head, and the nurses swaddled my arms with a sheet while the doctor put five sutures in my forehead. That sucked.
This is what I looked like when I got home and got changed into clean clothes.

But soon I was okay. We went to Lowe's on Friday and practiced our tongue rolling. We also bought a lot of building materials for the big home project: replacing four windows on the south side of the house.

Gary and Dad worked very hard on demolition and installation of the windows, even while it rained:



That's Gary under the tarp, cutting trim with his laser sighted miter saw.

Guess Who is Who?

Guess Who is Who?, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

We took a nice walk through the neighborhood last night and paused for
a shadow photo.

Momma and her sisters

Momma and her sisters, originally uploaded by AmagoMundi.

I love having lots of gourds around the house.

Practicing Our Fake Smile

Today, quite by accident, we learned how to do the fake smile.


This is our first attempt.

Second attempt.

Third attempt.


Fourth attempt. Looking better...


Perfect! Now we are ready for our grandmas!