avablog

Why does my child eat better when she’s watching TV? It’s like she’s on autopilot, munching away while she watches Ms. Honey lead her class through alphabet exercises. It’s weird.

[Read more →]

It was an absolutely gorgeous day in Madison today. We walked to a little patisserie near Kevin and Rachel’s house for breakfast. There were some really cool bike racks outside the place: After a nice snack, we hoofed it the two miles or so over to the farmer’s market at Hilldale Mall. We stopped for […]

[Read more →]

I’m at home with Ava again today, as she’s still a bit under the weather and not cleared to go back to daycare. We’ve been keeping busy. This morning we sliced up some veggies to throw into our crockpot along with a pork loin roast for supper. It’s percolating away as I type. Then, we […]

[Read more →]

The kid’s got a bug that’s keeping her out of daycare today, so I’m home with her. We went to the doctor’s office this morning to get her checked out, and there’s no ear infection and no strep. Before we left, I made Ava some pancakes: Leah’s been hounding me for quite a while to […]

[Read more →]

This past Saturday we attended the long-awaited Ralph’s World concert at Englert Theater here in Iowa City. It was a lot of fun. In the middle of the first tune, Ava declared she wanted to go back to the car. Leah and I were a bit taken aback, but by the third song, all the […]

[Read more →]

Things weren’t looking up for my birthday this year when my first snail mail card arrived postage due yesterday. But I knew the WWW wouldn’t let me down, and this morning I received an e-card that included the image below, which makes everything all right. Ava made me a gorgeous card, too, which I’ll get […]

[Read more →]

I originally thought that I would be able to get away with just posting a couple pictures of the pizza we had at Simone’s Plain and Simple on Saturday evening, but since I’m still reliving the meal in my mind this morning, I figure that’s a sign that I ought to provide a bit more […]

[Read more →]

[Read more →]

“They say” 24 ounces of coffee daily (everything in moderation) is good for you, so I’ve been trying to have a cup most days. As you loyal readers probably know, Leah tries to get to the coffee shop every day before work and on the weekend, too, but that gets expensive (skinny decaf latte, one […]

[Read more →]

One nice thing about having a blog is that I can disseminate information to a broad audience in one fell swoop, and everyone gets the same information, so there’s never any, “Oh, you didn’t tell me that!” nonsense. Our trip to Dubuque was nice. Weather was gorgeous, the inn was very nice, the spa was […]

[Read more →]

Oh, Oprah. Bless your heart. She’s taken time from her busy schedule to propound on the 11 things a man should eat every day to stay healthy. They are: Fruits and vegetables Fiber Foods rich in folate (spinach, for example) Tomatoes Walnuts and almonds Aspirin (low dose) Fish (tilapia, salmon, flounder, cod and mahi-mahi) 64 […]

[Read more →]

I’m looking forward to next month. There’s a lot going on. I’ve always looked forward to September, as it’s my birth month (go Virgo, it’s your birthday). But over the last couple years I’ve managed to heighten September’s importance through sheer determination and shrewd strategic planning. First was the wedding: September 6th. Then the baby: […]

[Read more →]

“Wait staff who don’t write down my order.” Clue for said wait staff: Any admiration you might engender in me with your ability to “remember” my order at the table is totally trumped by my having to eat a cajun shrimp po’ boy instead of the Cuban pork sandwich I ordered. Save the showmanship for […]

[Read more →]

What a day.  We headed down to Navy Pier this morning to take Ava to the Chicago Children’s Museum.  What a zoo.  Congestion aside, it’s a nice museum.  The mark of excellence for these kinds of places is the quality of the arts stuff they have on site, and this one had really nice arts […]

[Read more →]

On Saturday I smoked five pork shoulder roasts for a picnic we had yesterday at City Park. Before I started, I tried to remind myself: “Take before and after pics of the roasts.” Well, I got neither. A before shot would’ve been cool, because I had those roasts packed as tightly as could be on […]

[Read more →]

Leah was generous enough to let me come back early from Decorah this past weekend to participate in the annual Tour de Brew, which is put on by Millstream Brewing Company. The weather was gorgeous this year. A bit breezy, but it beats the 97 degrees we had last year. I think a good time […]

[Read more →]

I don’t ever really talk with other parents about how they resolve issues like whether their kids will grow up eating juicy hamburgers or dry hamburgers. I made turkey burgers last week (and again last night, because all I can think to do on a 95-degree day is stand over a hot grill), and Leah […]

[Read more →]

It’s going to be quite a weekend.  Leah’s whole family is in town to watch Ava while Leah and I pack. I’m cooking three chickens tomorrow for dinner.  I’ll smoke two with apple wood and throw the third one on the grill with some “five star” bbq sauce I picked up last week.  Rachel has […]

[Read more →]

I almost hate to write about the evenings we spend at Simone’s Plain and Simple. It’s nearly impossible to relate even the smallest detail of our meals there without coming off like a braggart, but there’s hardly anything I can do about it; there’s always at least one dish in any of her offerings that […]

[Read more →]

when you close your eyes and see an image of a nice, greasy cheeseburger floating in front of you?  Methinks these carrots and hummus aren’t cutting it today.  Thank God it’s pizza night. Leah and I order pizza from three different places:  Pagliai’s, Wig and Pen East, and Happy Joe’s.  The only thing we ever […]

[Read more →]