Sorry, we don't serve lunch

I'm working at my telecommuting job this morning, when the bell on the front desk dings. The dinger is one of the guests still in the breakfast room. (They technically arrived ten minutes after we stopped serving breakfast, but we went ahead and cooked something for them anyway.) These guests, like most of our guests this weekend, are up for a bike race.

Guest: I have a favor to ask you. We need to eat something light before the race. Like chicken soup. Could you cook it for us? We'll pay you.

I'm sure he thought I wasn't very accommodating when I explained that we only serve breakfast and that I don't have any chicken soup on hand.

Here's the kicker--these guests are staying in the apartment with a full kitchen. They have nicer countertops and appliances than I do!

Maybe it's a cultural thing. They have the same native language as a set of guests last year (also staying in the apartment) who came in one evening and asked if I could make them some hamburgers.

Breakfast, folks. We serve breakfast.

First day of school

Gotta love the nonchalant sixth-grader pose.

Growing like a weed

Michael measured EM today. He has grown 2 and 3/8 inches since the middle of April. I guess it's nice to know all the food he's been eating hasn't gone to waste. Three more inches and he'll be as tall as I am.

Fall Reading List

As I've been wrapping up my summer reading, I've been thinking of what I want to read this fall. I'm currently looking at reading the following between now and the beginning of Advent:

• Finn: A Novel by Jon Clinch. Michael read it this summer and had nothing but good things to say about it. I believe he knows the author slightly through an online community and met him at a book signing in our area. (But I might be confusing this author with someone else.)
• The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. I've been meaning to read this book for years. It comes highly recommended from many sources and I finally bought a copy with some Christmas money this year. Now is finally the time to read it. I started it today, in fact.
• Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. Michael's parents gave me this book when they were visiting last week. I'm intrigued.
• The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels. Another book that, like The Sparrow, has been sitting on my shelves for quite a while. I see from my bookmark that I read the first half at one point, but I will need to start over. This will be my Sunday reading. I noticed that Amazon's book has more pages than mine and a different copyright, so I'm wondering if I have the latest version . . .
• Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science by Atul Gawande. This was recommended by someone on a message board I frequent when I asked for good nonfiction suggestions.
• Becoming Jane Austen by Jon Spence. I saw the movie with Michael's parents and I'm intrigued about the evidence behind the story.
• The Rebels of Ireland by Edward Rutherfurd. A continuation of the Dublin Saga.

I'd also really like to read these:

• Austenland: A Novel by Shannon Hale.
• How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill.

But I'm worried that eight books is too many to commit to reading. How sad is that?

A Tale of Two Cities

EM and I finished reading A Tale of Two Cities today. Yes, finally. You'd never guess, from how long it took us to make our way to the end, how much I enjoyed reading it. I'm actually thinking of picking up another Dickens book just for my own enjoyment. I don't think I'll read this one aloud, though.

A Darkness More Than Night

I spent almost the entire day* reading A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly. I started reading it on the plane home from France, but in the chaos of unpacking and getting back to normal life, I misplaced the book. By the time I found it, I had lost my place and forgotten so much that I had to start at the beginning again.

I enjoyed it. It's not every police thriller that ties in a Northern Renaissance painter. I wasn't so interested that I will search out another book by Connelly, but next time I'm looking for a book in an airport, I'll definitely pick up a book by him over most other authors.

* This is why I don't read as much fiction as I used to. If the book is good, I have a really hard time putting it down, and if I spend a day or two doing nothing but reading, I end up feeling slightly sick. It will do me good to get back to work tomorrow.

At least he asks...

LW, like his brothers, has a very large head.* A very large, hard head. And he likes to bonk heads. You'll be sitting on the couch, talking to him or singing a song with him, and next thing you know, he's pulled back and smashed his forehead into yours. Not my favorite sign of affection.

Today, while sitting on the couch, we had the following conversation.

LW (pointing to my head): Mommy head?
Me: Yes, that's Mommy's head.
LW (pointing to his head): Me, head?
Me: Yes, that's your head.
LW (hopefully): Bonk?

* IM, in contrast, has a normal-size head. When she and NB were babies, she looked almost microcephalic in comparison. I was relieved when I saw her with other children and realized that yes, her head is normal. Her brothers just have really big heads.