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Read the Toumi Times to see what we are up to!

Sunday, February 12, 2012

First Toumi Slumber Party

After throwing all rational thought out the window, we threw a birthday slumber party. It was expensive, exhausting, and the best thing we've done since summer. One girl had not ever been invited to a peer birthday party. Several had not spent the night. One was so shy it was almost painful. I mediated a resolution to a miscommunication between two factions. I witnessed enough female behavior to write a dissertation; it could be titled Power Sharing Until the Queen Gets the Flu. I witnessed small glimpses of these girls' lives. The deceased mother, the dad kept me and remarried, the high pressure family, the so relaxed that I feel insecure... What are we? The mom works full time dad does not family? I know this, I'm grateful to live in a time and place that we can be ourselves and have the space to watch our children grow. Eight is going to be great!!!


Saturday, January 22, 2011

Saturday Night I've Dreamed Of

All three kids were finally ready to come home from Grandma's - right when it was time to sit down and eat our beautiful, romantic steak dinner with my amazing salad and roasted potatoes. I went to retrieve the children before eating. I missed them. Once home, the big 2 chased each other around the circle in our house while I ate half of my steak. (Come on, you know the other half is going into J and I have a big butt anyways.) They eventually joined us at the table, where the kids sat and ate the rest of my steak and literally a pound of potatoes - guess that Italian Cook Book is finally starting to pay for itself! Table? All 5 of us! J was so pleasant and C even sat on my lap and hung out. We finished dinner and somehow all made it upstairs. All 5 of us! Then the party really got started:

C broke out in a rash with a couple of hives and her hair was a "super fund clean up site" so she won first place in the bath line up. A little conditioner and Benedryl cream later and she was out the door. Little RJT was next - he loves bubbles in the tub now! What a total blast! Then J let me scrub his head with my super powerful homeopathic anti-dandruff treatment before RJT and I escaped the bathroom (J uses man soap that is a knock off of AXE. P. U.!) Some hair braiding and one story later... ahhh. They are asleep! Then free Will Ferrel movie on CBS?!? Icing on that cake. Laughing so hard with your husband that it hurts? Priceless ending to a day. Hope your night is dreamy. - Recent photo from West Campus KU is pretty close to what I'm thinking:

Friday, January 21, 2011

These three kids

Sure, our kids are really different ages, but they read to each other - useful? Yes. Cute? Absolutely!
Now, if I could just get them to clean together instead of pillow & tickle fight I'd really have something!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

New Additions to the Family

What a great Saturday morning. A dog walk to the river, then a kid walk to my Mom's... who just got two baby kittens. They sure snuggled right in with Jaered & Charlotte!

http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=melinda+toumi&init=quick#/album.php?aid=2367062&id=16833954&ref=mf

Pretty cute.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Egg - Cheese Pie


I wish I had more time to cook during the week. A few weekends ago I made these 2 beautiful quiches, aka egg-cheese pie. There was bacon & broccoli in there. Mmmmazing! It took me almost 3 hours from start to finish. That crust is butter flour salt and water, btw. And, Charlotte helped.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

What makes a good match?

How do you know if a couple is going to make it? What makes a match truly a match? Is equality a necessary component? Should education levels always be matched? What about careers and whose is the priority? Should that be equal?

Well, who the heck knows for sure - but these scrabble games I play with my husband are amazing. I am very very slow, but I can play! And he waits for me to take my turn. I beat him in a surprise move last week - see below:
This prompted him to challenge me to a late-night rematch. Well, I lost. I am honored to be married to a man that treats me as his intellectual equal - and doesn't hold back. He won, fair and square.

Final score: 400 to 361. Who gets a 400 in Scrabble?? Well, that's why I married him.