Eli has been talking up a storm lately, often quite clearly. This great improvement in speech means we have to say goodbye to some cute words.
No more canpakes (pancakes), Gammy (Grammy), or pedos (torpedos, the kind you throw in the pool).
Elijah has also decided we get to say goodbye to diapers except at naptime & overnight. That's a pretty awesome goodbye.
Well, last night we used the drier for the second time this summer. Heading back to school means that we have to have full days worth of diapers to send to daycare. That means that often we don't have the flexibility of waiting for diapers to dry on the line. Clothes can still spend time on the line.
Also I filled up the Vibe today and after doing the math the tank did a hair over 35mpg. About 100 of the ~380 miles on the tank was with a canoe on the car.
Dean pointed out to me the new VW diesels are coming out soon. A month or so ago that was my car obsession for the week. Awesome mileage, good space, rack for canoes and gobs of torque. I want one to run B99 through.
And after reading this post at Edmunds maybe that Lotus Elise might be the next car.
Last week we wandered down to Depot Town for the cruise. It is always fun to see what cars are there. There are the usuals, but then there are some new wheels. Earlier this year there were a pair of Lotus, an Elise and a Exige. This time we saw some more Euro-power. There was a Ferrari 308 and a Porsche Speedster (it may have been a kit car). There was also a nice guy from Ohio who let Eli sit in his Corvair.
I have been getting nervous about not fitting into the Vibe anymore and have been excited by mulling various cars over in my head. Canoe carrying is key, if I can't put a roof rack on a car that is an instant write off. Canoes also make it necessary to fit paddles (long) and PFDs (big and bulky) which is fine when that is all we are doing. On a road trip with 2 kids now that will get hairy, so I am looking at maybe getting a roof box.
Here are some of the cars that I like or at least think I will like:
GM Lambda Platform
This platform is a year or so old. I am really looking at the upcoming Chevy Traverse. It will be the first to get a Direct Ignition engine which boosts power and fuel economy. It should also be the cheapest of the platform. Seats 7 or8, gets decent mileage, good cargo capacity. So far there isn't a Lambda that has a good roof rack solution, sure I could tow, but that is a whole other hassle.
Cadillac CTS Wagon
This car is so hot it hurts. Might be a little pricy, but it looks amazing. The best part: rear or all wheel drive and a manual transmission.
Pontiac G8
A rebadged Holden from down under this car is amazing. I have been wanting to test drive one, but afraid to because I might not be able to sleep again. A RWD, big sedan. The only thing that would be better would be the wagon version, which GM has stupidly decided not to bring to the US. It has a big back seat and plenty of room for the kids. So far no roof rack option. The good news is that this car rocks. It apparently drives like, and can compete with a BMW 5 series.
Chevy Malibu
Good car, cheap. Good fuel economy with the new 4banger- 6 speed auto option. Everyone says it is a good car.
Saturn Astra
A rebadged Opel Astra. This is a great looking car. I don't think it will fit us, but my mom should get one, or it might make a good Vibe replacement.
Bridgit has mentioned a few times that she would like to blog about food, so tonight we are launching the Cook Family Food Blog.
So Bridgit has mentioned to me a few times that she want's a blog dedicated to food. I like food, so I am indulging her.
I think that we are going to basically blog about the food we eat and the food we want to eat. Maybe even some food we don't want to eat.
Is it just me or is it hard to find one candidate who best represents all of my values. The thing that I can never really get is single issue voters. If something is so important to be the sole reason for voting (or not voting) for someone it had better be pretty damn big.
The main single issue block I have issues with is “pro-life” who for the most part really mean “anti-abortion.” I was taught that to be pro-life means just that. Sure abortion is included in there; but so is death penalty, IVF, stem cells, conception, caring for those in need (ie elderly, poor, rich), and some even try to throw same sex marriage in there (apparently gay people loving each other kills people. Kinda like when you masturbate a puppy dies.) I am not going to vote for the anti-abortion candidate who also really likes to kill those already born and make the world a worse place just because they aren't pro-abort.
Nobody likes abortions. People don't get pregnant so that they can have an abortion. Abortions are just indicative of other problems. I feel that the most import way is to prevent the need for abortions. Prevention is much more difficult though.
My personal beliefs vary in there as much as the part lines that support oppose them. I feel that it is my duty to balance all the issues and select the best candidate. Who is a pro-gun, anti-death penalty, pro-gay marriage, anti-abortion, pro-stem cell, pro-socialized medicine, anti-poverty, pro-civil rights, anti-affirmative action, anti-iraq war, pro-education, wanting to stop global warming, pro-family (of all forms), small government loving, fiscal conservative, mostly social liberal, thinks social security needs to be fixed kinda guy supposed to vote for?
Anyone else pissed at the olympic coverage? We only have basic, basic cable so we only get the NBC coverage and not supplemental coverage on the other NBC channels like MSNBC. Even though when the Beijing games started I looked at the schedules of all the events that I wanted to see and almost none of them were being carried on anything. No shooting, fencing, and only one mention of canoe/kayak finals (on USA channel). I watched the first night to see if I could see a recap of the US Women sweeping all three medals in Sabre and scoring the first Gold for the US of the games, but no. Instead we got to see Michael Phelps swim, followed by a few replays. On Wed. this week I tried to watch some in the morning and caught some Taekwondo (on the CBC of course) and then watched mens hurdles. What did they show in primtime that same night. The very same hurdles. The best part is they can take a race that lasts a matter of seconds and replay it over and over since it is so short.
The US Women win the gold in soccer, but Telemundo carries it. What does NBC have? beach volleyball.
At least here we have the option to watch CBC, for some better coverage. Too bad they lost the rights i Canada. For the 2010 winter games and 2012 Bejing games the contract went elsewhere.
GGGGGRRRRRR!!!!!!
Mon, Aug 4, 2008 (Reuters) — Kid's meals at popular fast-food restaurants deliver more than a quick lunch or dinner — 90 percent of them have far more than a meal's worth of calories and many are loaded with fat and salt too, according to a report released on Monday.
“People may not get a heart attack until their 50s or 60s, but arteries begin to clog in childhood,” said CSPI nutrition policy director Margo Wootan. “Most of these kids' meals appear to be designed to put America's children on the fast track to obesity, disability, heart attack, or diabetes.”
Oh wait. Not so shocking.
People keep asking how Eli is doing with “Meee-a” (that's what Elijah calls Amelia: he rarely says the 1st syllable of a 3 syllable word and he can't say l's yet, so she is “Mia” to him). Mostly he thinks she is the “bees knees.” So much so that he wants carry her places (yipes!) and give her lots of smushing hugs and kisses. Gentle is not a term most 2 year olds can carry out: they try but with little success.
Amelia is doing well. eating lots and sleeping well.
Here's a picture of Eli covering a sleeping Amelia. Later he decided he wanted to take a nap with her, so the blanket was spread with a “sleeping” child at each end. Sooooo cute.
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Also, Elijah is a construction master. We asked him to put away the cooking stuff he had gotten out. We walked into the kitchen and found this. Maybe he'll work for Ikea.
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