O-H-I-O

It was a successful (if short) visit to the state of Ohio this past weekend.

We were Tollway Warriors, as we took the Illinois Skyway/Indiana Toll Road/Ohio Toll Road all the way from Chicago to Cleveland.  We were frequent visitors to the tollway plazas, that is for sure!

Andrew sleeping in the toll plaza - as he did the whole trip!

We traveled for the wedding of Kate Mariner, an old friend from our time in Chengdu.  It was a lovely wedding but an unusually late night for us, considering we drove in that day.  The reception was located in a renovated factory on the Cuyahoga River.  Apparently Rachel participated in an ASB (Alternative Spring Break) service trip a few blocks away.  It was a nice place - lots of character. 

Oops - we forgot to pack Andrew's tux!

Rachel and Kate

Rachel and Elaine - another Chengdu coworker

The following day, we traveled an hour south to the Akron/Canton area to see my Aunt Betty.  We had a nice time with the family - and they enjoyed meeting Andrew.

We had a lovely lunch at Belgrade's - chicken and hot sauce, yum!  Then we had a brief tour of Barberton: my grandparent's house, my mom's schools, the church my parents are at, the "lake" my aunt swam in downtown, and the other sights and sounds of downtown Barberton.

Thanks for having us!  And congratulations Kate and Ryan!

 

Next post - kitchen remodeling!

-alan

Hot pot! In America! At home!

On Tuesday, after returning from Michigan, we invited the Weddles over to our house for hot pot.

This uniquely Sichuan meal (yes, many other places have hot pot, but none compare to the experience of the oft-replicated, chili-oil-laden Sichuanese hot pot) was a favorite of ours from China, and we knew that the local Chinese grocers stocked items for home cooking.  So we invested in a table-top gas burner, bought the necessary broth base, and diced meat and veggies up in preparation.

The verdict?  SPICY!  It might have been the particular batch we cooked up, or the time spent eating non-spicy American food over the last year.  Either way, everyone was running for extra drinks and trying as much as possible to hide their red, swollen eyes. 

Good thing they are good friends - a lesser acquaintance would be scared off by that kind of experience!  And overall, all claimed to enjoy the meal.

There was no residual effect on the Allmen adults, but the little one was noticeably cranky for the days following.  I cannot comment on whether this was a causation or correlation, but considering the labor involved, it seems that this will not be a regular meal.

We will be taking this sleeping beauty with us on our longest trip yet - to Cleveland, OH, where our old China friend, Kate, will be getting married.  Should be fun!

-alan

Daddy doppelganger

I certainly missed some fun events this week.  My son met his Daddy's Doppelganger for the first time - and reportedly was confused for a good bit at the outset.

He's bigger - the baby fat is definitely coming in.

Tonight, I head to my 10 year high school reunion.  Not sure how many classmates will actually be there, but it should be fun.

-alan

Santa Fe!

Today we had the afternoon off - there were several trips planned.  Instead of traveling with the group, I went in my coworker's rented car to Santa Fe. 

Knowing nothing about the town other than the fact that it has a lot of artists and that terrible song in the musical Rent, I spent most of the time tagging along with whatever they wanted to do.

We spent our time in the downtown shopping district, which has a central plaza that probably contains the only piece of decent looking grass in the state.

I shouldn't joke.  There are tons of wildfires around, and the locals say there has not been a drop of rain here in a year.  Yikes.  I am definitely taking quick showers.

There are endless streets of art galleries, souvenir shops, and knick-knackeries.  We weaved our way in and out of store after store.  My coworkers wanted to find me something for Rachel.  I did earnestly look - but every decoration or piece of pottery or picture or artwork that looked nice was WAY too expensive.  Any artwork I saw that was bigger than 5x7 was in the 4 digits.  Cool photography can in the hundreds...unframed!  And most everything has a southwestern theme, which I just do not know if it fits in our house.

I spent a little extra time in the local cathedral.  There I met a docent who attended Northwestern in 50s.  He was from New Mexico and hated the winter in Chicago.  I don't blame him.

Part of the cathedral dates back to 1714.  Pretty old, eh?  Well, maybe not European old, but not much in America has that kind of age. 

The stained glass inside was recently restored - it is French leaded glass that was first installed in the 1880s.  Looks beautiful now.  Here is St. Andrew, in honor of my boy:

Had I come here again, I would go to one of the museums - the history museum, probably - but oh well.  It was a decent time.  All the walking made the margarita at dinner taste extra rewarding.

So I am getting along fine in camp.  There are enough nice people here to pass the time, though it is certainly more fun to spend vacations with my wife.  I can't say I mind going to bed and sleeping when I want, but I still look forward to going home at the end of it all.

In terms of work, it has been a productive couple days of thinking ahead towards my future IB class.  I am getting to put together all those big picture items that will be needed down the line.  In all, this has been a worthwhile conference.

Time for bed!

-alan

Teacher summer camp

Dear Mom Rachel,

Thank you for sending me to teacher summer camp this year.  The things we are doing here are very fun.  The castle is very very big and super cool.  There is a big tower and you can see the mountains.  Tonight I will listen to a man play guitar.  Tomorrow I will go to Taos to see the pueblo.  And there is a dance party on Thursday!

Oh, and the man told us there are some bears nearby, so I should not go outside by myself.  And skunks.  Ewww!

Here are some pictures around camp.

-alan

New rule in home improvement?

Summer has officially begun!  (Well, sort of.)

We had a first days of 90+ degree heat.  I got the AC all cleaned out, and our house stayed reasonably cool.  My classroom has its own HVAC system, so it was probably the coolest room in the school all week.  It may only be in the 60s now, but I am sure this will pass.

Friday was the last day of school.  Everybody watched movies in the morning as the teachers got their work done; the students left at 11:30.  I will not be back in the building until August, as there will be more work done renovating as the high school adds another grade.

But work is not quite over, as I have a week in New Mexico for an IB conference.  Tomorrow morning will be a flurry of packing as we get everything together, because Rachel will be staying with Mom for the week.  Hopefully we will not forget the baby or something important like that.

Afterwards, the summer brings home improvement season.  There is a lot of planning to be done, and I am excited but Rachel is feeling the stress of planning.  But that brings up an interesting development that may have a bearing on future projects...

A couple days ago, I wanted to check on the gutters, because I noticed during some torrential rain last week that there must be a clog or two.  I pulled out the ladder and realized that it was at least 3 feet too short to access the roof from below.  I then proceeded to climb on the roof to survey things - from the second floor window, when Rachel caught me.  Her explicit instructions: "WWPD." 

She demanded that I remember the phrase, "What would Phil do?"  Unlike the previous decade's WWJD bracelet fad, however, she wants me to think about what he would do in the same situation, and do the opposite.  Apparently she has little faith in my brother's judgment when it comes to safety.  It can't be that bad, right?  I mean, he hasn't been to the emergency room THAT many times!

A little befuddled by her command but desiring to adhere to the spirit of her wishes, I climbed back in the house.  I guess I need to buy a bigger ladder.

And remember WWPD.

-alan

Baby Dedication!

As I neglected earlier in the weekend, this post will provide more pictures.

This morning was our baby dedication at church.  We came to front, and I spoke about how great a blessing it has been that God has given us this child to take care of.  Rachel and I read a prayer of commitment to do what we can to have a positive influence on Andrew.

Then Luke, the pastor (pictured on the left, below) prayed a prayer of blessing on our family.  We were also happy to have Sarah and Dave come, in a representation of how important other family members will be on him as he gets older.

Above is a shot of us during the dedication ceremony.  Below are some posed shots after the service.

The sermon today was on relationships - and the importance of face-to-face relationships in the Christian life.  I agree, and see this as confirmation of how important it is for us to find a more geographically local church to attend.  We certainly have reason to be sad in leaving our church, for it has been a home and extended family to us since we were married in 2005.  Yet, it will be very hard to maintain those kind of face-to-face relationships now that we live on the Northwest side.  We do not want to be "Sunday Christians."  We need to invest in new relationships in our new neighborhood. 

And some other miscellaneous pictures!

This is Andrew's one month picture.  Most of them are of Andrew crying.  I know Zack likes those, but I thought this face was a little more interesting.

Rachel's unusual camera angle focuses in on Aunt Sarah, holding Andrew at her "Minute to Win It" themed birthday party.  The Allmens did not finish last, but had a poor showing.  My fault, actually.  Though I still think that going first with the double-sided tape provided a distinct advantage!

And finally a video!  See those cute faces?

This week is finals.  I love finals week.  The kids leave early.  I do not have to prepare lessons (my exams are already written).  I can sit back and watch them sweat / get some of my own work done.  It will fly by - and then summer begins.

I just got an itinerary for my conference in New Mexico.  Seems the schedule includes time for field trips and an excursion to Santa Fe.  Sweet!!

-alan

House update

While everyone just wants to see pictures of the baby - I can understand that - this is one post that just will not deliver the goods. 

A common question is, "have you finished unpacking?"  In every way, the answer is no.  We have a basement, and so the boxes are out of the way of our daily life, but they remain down there like a dark cloud hanging over our heads.  I have been patient with it, because work has been busy as I have prepared for the end of the year and caught up on things that I let slide during the birthing and moving process.  But really, unpacking the rest will not begin in earnest until after I return to Chicago from my conference in New Mexico later this month.

But that preoccupation has not been enough to keep Rachel and I from beginning to plan our potential summer remodels.  Task #1 - the kitchen.  The lack of counter space and lack of dishwasher are clearly headaches that will bother us everyday until something is done.  So, the kitchen has catapulted from the bottom of the list to the very top.  The problem is deciding the scale of what we want.  We could simply upgrade the functionality by adding a set of cabinets and a dishwasher; however, anything we added would not be able to perfectly match what is already in there.  And what is there (cheap pre-fab cabinets and green laminate countertop) do not look terrible, but we would certainly choose different materials and styles to upgrade the appearance along with function.  So I am leaning now towards a full remodel - new floor, new cabinets, new countertop, new sink. 

And with every house project, each investigation brings new developments.  As I was looking at the plumbing, I noticed some leaking - so the plan to replace our steel pipes with copper might take place this summer instead of a couple years down the road.  As I was looking for water in the basement, I noticed new leaking from the foundation following the torrential rains we had.  Which means tearing out the paneling in the basement and having someone come in to fill the foundation cracks.  And in thinking about rain, I noticed the gutters leaking during the storm today.  Not to mention the leaky tile in the shower that I already patched - temporarily.  It seems this will be a busy summer  year lifetime of home ownership.

For some time, I was really looking forward to moving because of some specific things I was dissatisfied with at our old apartment.  So I thought it would be good to  cheer myself with some of the things I really like about being here.

1) Moderate temperatures.  I have not cleaned out the AC unit yet, but we have been fine with windows and fans for a couple of 90 degree days.  And when we moved in, we still had the heat running the first week because temps were in the 40s and 50s - and we could set the thermostat to a lower temperature and still feel comfortable.
2) Garage.  Not having to circle for parking or clean debris off the car is great.
3) Front yards.  Did not really exist in Bridgeport, but we have a nice little one here.  Earlier this week, 6 houses in a row on our block all mowed their lawns the same day.  It looked great!
4) The Space.  We have a real living and dining room, instead of that little multipurpose room.  I like working at the table, or moving to the couch, or going to the bedroom in a place that has much more flow to it.  The storage is great, too.
5) Personalization.  While there are no decorations on the wall, simply being able to paint the walls something other than cream is satisfying.

This place will absorb all our expendable income and time, but at least we can wow our friends with our new pillars of adulthood - we are parents, and we are homeowners.  And proud of both!

-alan

Reflections on one month of parenthood

Earlier this week, Andrew turned one month old.  I have a lot of mixed emotions.  On one hand I feel an overwhelming sense of pride.  We made it (all 3 of us)!  We survived sleep deprivation, open air accidents, the icky umbilical cord stump, and our first out of state trip to Michigan.  Andrew is quickly gaining weight (10lb. 3oz. yesterday) and growing an inch each time we go to the doctor.  This all affirms that the endless feedings are paying off!

The above was written by Rachel, who has gotten sidetracked by...well....sleep.  The opportunities are fewer these days so there is less time for blogging.

To continue her sentiment, she was sharing with me the other day about how an endless sea of responsibility still lies ahead.  Learning to change a diaper is one thing, but teaching him about life, about love, about God is entirely another job - a far more important job, and likely a far more difficult one than we have faced in our little newborn thus far.

Tomorrow (Sunday) will be the baby dedication ceremony at our church.  It will only be a few minutes - a commitment on our part to raise our child as best we can to know God, and a prayer of blessing on our family. 

-alan (on behalf of Rachel)