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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
SICK
Russ was sick all week. He had Monday off for MLK day, but that evening, decided the couch was the best spot for
himself. He didn't venture far from that location all week long.
Friday morning, we lounged around. Russ said he was finally feeling better, but still couldn't find the energy
to do much. I figured it be good to get the boys out of the house.
I got a call from the JF Taylor recuiter. I GOT THE JOB! I'll be doing more Configuration Management, but
will also be working with the Man Flight Simulator teams to establish better processes and version control methods.
It'll be challenging, but it's a good company, and that is what I was looking for the most.
Just before lunchtime, I took the boys to McDonalds for a special treat. Then we went to a place called "The Jumpyard."
It's one of those places with gigantic inflatable moonbounces and slides.
Being that it was Friday, there were only a couple other kids there. Liam and Jax had a great time... and I did
too. We killed a couple hours there before returning home. It did us good.
Saturday it was the dogs turn for an outing. I took them to the dog park. They really enjoyed themselves
and there were a couple other dogs there including a beautiful Great Pyranees.
Liam had been working all week on the little wooden car that Aunt Dawn sent him for Christmas. He finally got it
done and it turned out really nice!!! He is SO proud of it, and the project was a lot of fun.
Saturday afternoon, I got the boys to clean up the basement area a bit. It was easy because I told them we had
to clean up before going to Baby Ashton's Birthday Party.
Around 4:00 Liam and Jax and I went over to my friend, Lisa's house. Her son, Eric, is the same age as Liam, and
they played football together. Her second son, William, is a bit older than Jax, and her baby, Ashton, just turned one,
so she threw a little party. We had a nice time, and it was fun watching Ashton grab into the cute littel Pooh cake
Lisa had made him. The kids all payed together, and I got to meet a couple other moms.
Russ, understandably, stayed home, but was really beginning to feel better aside from an unproductive cough. I
told him to get some Mucinex.
Sunday morning Russ felt well enough to treat us all to breakfast (sort of celebrating my new job) at Bob Evans.
It was so good and I was glad to see Russ's appetite returning.
Then we went to get a few groceries at the grocery store.
Once home, we were still pretty full from breakfast, so I postponed lunch. The boys were getting irritable, so
I got them down for a nap (or "rest time" as Liam prefers to call it) while I started cleaning and making preparations for
the little Usborne Book Party I was hosting at 3:00.
As expected, only my friend Lisa, and her friend, Tara (who I met the evening before at the birthday party) showed up.
I did get two other online orders though, so it wasn't too bad. I still earned about $45 in free books, so that was
cool. It was a lot of fun just chatting and eating chips and dip. The boys were up and having fun playing with
Eric. Jax was enchanted with Tara's little girl, Mikayla who just turned 1 as well. He just kept calling her "baby."
So the evening wrapped up with a simple dinner of crabs and sushi that we'd gotten earlier at the grocery store.
Luckily both boys like fish sticks too, so that was easy, but I think all of us were pretty full of party snacks.
It was a relaxed weekend. We hoped to have our friend, Mr. Rick, over for dinner, but with Russ being so sick,
we postponed it until next weekend.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Laid back weekend
Finally! Nothing to do. No where to go! Been a long time since I could say that. I met the kids and Erin at CiCi's Pizza
after work on Friday. Liam was excited since we had not been there in a while. They have raised there prices. We ran into
my boss Mark and his wife and daughter as well as Janet and Liam and Jaxson's "girlfrien" Rosalia. There was a birthday party
going on.
On Saturday morning we started to watch Star Wars again. Liam is at the height of a Star Wars phase right now. His Mom
sewed him a Ninja costume that has now become quickly a Luke Skywalker outfit. Light Sabre battles broke out all weekend including
minibattles with Mom and Dad. Erin darned some of our claothes we got at Chjristmas for my short legs. Erin was nice enough
to go grocery shopping while I stayed home and watched the kids.
Saturday night we watched How It's Made with the boys. We all enjoy that show. After bed time Erin and I watched a documentary
about Tommy Chong from Cheech and Chong fame. It was interesting. It seems a certain DA who became famous during 9/11 went
on a crusade to put him in jail. He was illegally selling pipes in states that disallowed that.
On Sunday Erin made omelates and we all played in the morning. Erin then went out and worked quite hard in the back cleaning
up from the many small downed trees she has done in the back. It is her solitude that back yard. I worked on the computer
and then played a little on it. Erin came in and got cleaned up and cuddled up on the couch to her ridgerinners book she is
enjoying. Every once in a while she illicits an audible chuckle.
The boys and decided to bake another cake this time make it smurfy blue. I enjoy doing that with them and Liam almost
has the ingredients memorizeed to bake one himself LOL. I was having a hard time with the icing but I discovered with Erin's
help I had the wrong frosting utensil. Liam then M&M'ed it and Jaxson added teh sprinkes to their colorful creation.
I watched a great playoff game as the Cardinals outlasted the Eagles to go to the Super Bowl for the first time. We then
grilled some tasty T-Bones Erin picked out and she made a mess of good Aparagus. I have to agree with my Mom that Erin has
become a really good cook.
In the evening Erin watched a little of the Ravens Steelers game with me. The Steelers were just to strong.
On Monday Erin had to work and I was off. I was surprised that we ALL slept until nine. We then ate breakfast together
and the boys played while I tackled the master bathroom head to toe. It had not had a good scrubbing since early December.
We then got my debit card from Mommy as she was at Asahi Japanese Steakhouse as her boss was treating all of his employees
to lunch.
The boys and I ate at McDonalds and then went tp the playground for a while while Dad cleaned up and repaired the TOwn
Creek Cache. I am now going to cut the last of our wood and clean another bathroom while they nap.
Next weekend we are having Mr. Rick over for a dinner we all look forward to. also we are making another wood run thanks
to the graciousness of Erin's co worker Greg.
We were going to rent his house for a really good deal in June near the Virginia/ North Carolina border but then he is
putting it on the market. I gave Erin the idea and some links to try the Shenandoah Vally again. We stayed in a renovated
barn a couple of years in a row in teh late 1990's and had a lot of fun. So Erin found a place and we will have a great family vacation, including our doggies. The price was comparable since we are taking the dogs and
saving on petsitting fees. It even has a 6 foot fence. Erin is taking the boys to a waterpark one day and I am taking them
to a dinosaure Museum. That way Erin and I both get a day to relax used the hot tub and read and veg. We will all then go
to Luray Caverns which Liam is very excited about.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
So the Holidays are over. Whew!! I suppose it is understandable just how much I looked forward to a Friday off
just to ourselves. The kids went to daycare, and we dropped off the Jeep at Tires Plus for some service. We just need to keep
the old thing on the route to and from work, these days, but it's really a blessing not to have an additional vehicle payment.
After we left there, we went to a daycare center that is right around the corner from our house. For years we've
been toying with the idea of sending the boys there, but its just really expensive. Still, the benefit of having daycare in
our school district makes the price a little easier to bear. The place nearly never closes, and even when the schools close
for snow, they are dropped off at the center. They follow the Pax River Base schedule, so that's really convenient for us.
Enrolling both boys now would be tough because space is always limited. Therefore, we figured, we'd put down a deposit early,
to reserve spots this summer. That way, Liam would be all set up when HE STARTS SCHOOL!!! Jax could use the structure too.
Creative Beginnings is a typical daycare center. There are rooms full of children, much like your average elementary school. There are two facilitators
in every classroom. As we took the tour, I saw prime examples of Center-Based learning. The noise level was acceptable, and
all the kids were actively engaged in a variety of self-led learning centers. They get lots of outside time, and every month
has a theme. It's a nice place, and we didn't have much difficulty in signing them up. After we left though, we went through
a bit of sticker shock, since the price will be double what we're paying for daycare now. It'll go down a bit when Liam starts
school, but we'll have to pinch pennies for a little bit. I think some of our income tax refund will go towards tuition too.
That'll help.
So after we realized that we'd not be in the poor house, we decided to go to Cheeseburger in Paradise for lunch. It just opened for the day, so there was no long line to wait in for a table. It was really nice to just sit there
and relax over a good meal and a couple of drinks.
After our early lunch, we just went home to relax. It was nice just having the house to ourselves for an afternoon.
We watched a movie together before going out to pick up the kids from daycare. Once home, we chopped up the wood from the
tree that fell across our driveway on New Year's Eve. It was dry, so we were able to use it right away in the fireplace. That
evening we just ordered a couple of pizzas for dinner.
Saturday morning, I had a good incentive for the boys to help me clean up the basement. I told them that if they
cleaned up their toys, they'd be able to go to Rosalia's house for dinner. Bill and Janet had invited us all over for dinner
and a night of playing the Wii. We always have fun with them, so we were happy to accept their invitation. So it was quite
a job, but Jax and Liam really did help clean up the toys. While we cleaned, I sorted out a lot of toys that neither of them
play with anymore. I put them all in a BIG BIG box, and covered them with a sheet. When it comes time for the Leprechaun Lilly's consignment sale, I'll tag and sell them. It was a little sad to see some of the favorites go. We're letting all the Boo Bahs
go. Both boys had so much fun with them, but now they just collect dust. There were a couple other large toys that we decided
to let go too, and that freed up a lot of play space, and I think they liked that the most.
During naptime, I went out to get a few things to take to Bill and Janet's for dinner. I made some Tastefully Simple
Beer Bread, and some Spinach dip. We headed over there around 5:30 and just had our usual great time. Janet made some wonderful
Chicken Marsala, and while it was cooking, the kids, Bill, and us all had a grand time opening a coconut. A couple days ago,
Liam asked me, "Why don't we drink coconut juice?" I have no idea where he comes up with these questions, but I told him,
that when I went to the store, I'd get one, and we'd try it. I had a feeling Bill and Janet would know what to do with one,
and I was right. The kids were fascinated, and even us adults had a good time figuring out what alcohol to mix with the juice....
duh... RUM!
After dinner and dessert, we let the kids stay up a little bit, but then got them settled in their sleeping bags
up in Rosalia's room. Surprisingly, they all went to sleep fairly fast! That let us adults have a fun time playing all sorts
of Wii Games. We tried out the Summer Sports game that Russ got me for Christmas, as well as a Star Wars game that Bill had, and - of course - a few songs on Guitar Hero.
 
Around midnight we decided we'd better gather up our sleepy children and head home. Fortunately, our drive home
was all of about 3 minutes.
I made us all some breakfast on Sunday morning. We all slept in and it did us good. Liam was still having a fever
on and off all weekend, and was battling a hacking cough. Then, as expected, Jax started hacking too. So, we knew that we'd
have to take them to the doctor AGAIN on Monday. Liam still kept complaining about his stomach too, so we thought it best
to have that looked into as well.
After breakfast, we all bundled up to go hide a new Geocache that Russ made called, "Town Creek So-Duh." It's a
soda themed cache with various key chains and carbonated beverage trinkets. We didn't venture far from home, but did take
a reasonable hike through the woods to find a good hiding spot. It was a nice day to be outside, and I think that it did the
kids good to get some fresh air even if they were a tad under the weather.
We were back in time for lunch, and since Liam and Jax had had quite the outdoor adventure that morning, it didn't
take much to persuade them to snuggle in for a nap. Russ and I let them sleep all afternoon. While the kids were napping,
Russ and I watched the playoff game between the Eagles and the Giants. I knew the Eagles would win, and they did. I'm tired
of the Giants going to the superbowl.
Russ offered to buy crabs for dinner if I went out to get them, so I did, but the place that I went to that had
them on sale... didn't have a seafood department! So, we nixed that and got burgers from 5 Guys instead.... YUM and a lot
cheaper!!! During dinner, we watched about half of Return of the Jedi. Liam just LOVES Star Wars now... and I'm loving seeing
them again with him.
It was a nice weekend pretty much at home. The boys are battling colds and we'll have to see about Liam's stomach,
but I'm not too worried about that. Russ and I are perpetually tired, but happy, so that's gotta be good.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Happy New Years!
On New Years Eve Erin and I went to work. Around noon Mom called while she was watching the boys. The power had gone
out. I called Smeco to report the outage and called Mom back. She also said a tree was laying across our driveway and a fence
was down. I was able to figure out it was the neighbor's little fence and that a tree must have dropped from their yard. I
went on home to get it cleaned up before dark. I took the chainsaw to the dead tree. Our neighbors were most greatful
and split the wood with us.
Erin came home later and we all decided to go out to eat since it was dark. We shopped at Target for Noah's birthday.
We went to the New York Buffet up in Wildwood and enjoyed many Chinese delicacies and I, of course, enjoyed the crab legs.
Before dinner we looked around in Sassafras Hill which is a knick knack shop my Mom enjoyed.
Upon arriving home the lights were still out so Erin went to get ice and a couple of more flashlights we needed. I started
a fire for heat and called SMECO again. This time I said something popped which was true but only 9 hours earlier. Lo and
behold, the trucks were in the neighborhood 15 minutes later and the power was restored by 8 PM.
I started my status report for work and worked on it for an hour before I lost interest. Mom and Erin played rummy as
I worked on pictures to put on Mom's digital frame she got for Christmas. Erin then played her new Summer Sports Wii game, while
I searched for my GPS. Luckily I found it behind my desk. Mom scratched off her last Maryland Lottery tickets and won
5 bucks. I ordered some products for my next Geocache hide.
Around 11:45 I popped the champagne for the midnight toasts that snuck up on us. 2008 saw some sadness, some tough times,
and now we have hopes that 2009 will turn to brighter times for all. As a family, we had some bumps and bruises but we have
all learned from them.
New Years Morning I got up and cooked breakfast for Mom and I. Erin was already up and packing the truck. Everything
fit well including the chair I bought Mom a few weeks before. We were on the road by noon and stopped by Erin's boss's house
to get her paycheck. I bought the boys a bus and car to start a new toy box at Mom's new place. The trip was uneventful except
that Liam started a fever on the way up. When we arrived we got the truck unpacked and the boys to bed. Mom and I went out
to get groceries for her apartment. Mom and I tried to watch "Darjeeling Limited" but the movie was boring so we looked at
pictures together. The trip down did my Mom and I good. We learned to bite our tongue sometimes and respect each others opinions
better.
Friday was Noah's 19th birthday. It was fortunate that we could be up there that day and be with him. The Motrin had
Liam's temperature in check. We thought that maybe he had just passed through a 24 hour bug.
Mom did her bills and made phone calls for a ride to a Doctor Appointment. We offered to take her but she said she had
the ride all settled. Unfortunately, as we later found out, they stood her up and she had to reschedule.
We left to get Noah at his house. We decided to go to Peddlers Village (a fun little shopping area in Lahaska) near Mom's
place in case Liam got sick again. It was so fun to watch Jaxson's reaction this time. He said "It's Noah!! Noah got present's!"
It was good to see Noah. He looked good and said life was going well. He goes for his drivers test on January 10th. We
decided to exchange presents in the van when we got to Peddlers Village. The boys got Liam a shirt and hoody for his birthday.
We gave him cash and a key ring with a scorpion in it that glowed for his future car. Noah got the boys presents
for Christmas.
Jaxson got a Fisher Price Constructiuon vehicle. We had to get on Jaxson becuase he blurted out "Dat's a BABY TOY!".
Guess he was competing with Liam a little. Liam got a cool Spider man game he can play on the TV that has 5 games in one.
We decided to go into Gigglebury Fair to ride the Carousel. This opened when Noah was a little boy around Liam's age.
He reminded me and told Erin he was in the paper as a little boy as one of the first kids to ride the rebuilt turn of the
20th centry carousel. I got on and rode with the boys. Liam rode a gray horse and Jax picked a Lion. At the end of the ride
Jaxson put his arms up and said "Hooray!". He then pet the lion on the head and said "Good Lion!".
We then all played games with the kids and had fun watching them get excited over the little rides.
We left there and Erin found some more decorative mail box covers in a toy store of all places. I wanted to go to the
Peddlers Pub for their great roast beef but they are only open on the weekends. We went on in to Harts Tavern on the second
floor for lunch. I whispered to the waitress that we had a birthday boy on hand. The boys all behaved and we enjoyed a nice
birthday lunch and got to catch up on Noah's life. At the end of dinner we embarrassed and serenaded Noah for his birthday.
The cake was quite delicious and compliments of the restaurant.
  The snow had begun to fall and Liam was looking like he wasn't felling as well. We stopped in a few more stores including
a book store that Liam got a book about Star Wars. Jaxson got a book about a school bus written by a local School Bus driver.
We felt we should get Liam down for a nap so we cut the afternoon a lot shorter than we wished on Noah's birthday, but he
had to go to work too. It was great seeing him. The boys get so excited when they are around him. They both really look up
to him literally and figutarively.
On Friday night Erin, Liam, and I were very excited to see Liam's Aunt Kate in the Media Theatre production of Oliver!. Aunt Kate was playing Mrs. Sowerberry and Old Sally. We were so worried about Liam's temperature we thought he would not
make it. Alas, right before we left he perked up and wanted to go. We made it with only a few minutes to spare after I played chicken with a trolley and backed down State Street in Media.
We met Kate's husband, Rich, in the lobby and were able to make a quick swap of seats so we could all sit together. We all
enjoyed the play very much and Liam enjoyed seeing his Aunt on stage singing and acting. The lead who played Oliver was an
actor named Tovi Wayne who was an extra in the movie, "Milk," with Sean Penn.
After the play Aunt Kate introduced us to the actors who played the Artful Dodger, Mr Bumble, and even Oliver. Tovi was
very sweet to Liam and got down on his knees and talked to Liam for a minute. I am sure if the boys take an interest in theatre
their Aunt Kate will be a positive and guiding influence.
Afterwards we went for an afterglow at a nearby restaurant up the street named Quotation's where all the tables had famous
quotes on them. We enjoyed catching up with each other and could have stayed longer except Liam was really starting to crash.
It was a memorable evening for all of us and we are very proud of Kate and admire her talent.
On Saturday morning we were to go caching with Sue and Perry. We always have a great time caching with them. This time
we left Liam and Jaxson to rest a bit before the long ride home. We all left in Perry's SUV for a brief caching trip in the
New Hope area and lunch at Giuseppe's. We found 5 out of 7 caches searched for. The highlight was the first cache. It was
a micro in a small park next to a posted "Private Drive". A pickup truck pulled right up and a gentleman asked us if we were
looking for something.
He explained that the park was also his Private Property though a historic landmark. We told him about geocaching
and what we were doing. He actually then got enthusiatic about our hobby. We had a great coversation and may have got
him interested in the hobby since he owned a landscaping business. We thought it might be a great hobby for him and so did
he.
Alas at 1:30 we pulled the plug on the quick day of caching and Sue and Perry stopped up to say hello to Mom while Erin
and I gathered up everything.
The ride home was uneventful but extremetly tiring as Erin and my adrenalin waned. We did good until eating dinner at
the Double T diner in Annapolis. Liam's fever spiked quickly to 103.2. I was worried enough to drive up the road to Arundel
Hospital but we decided to see if the medicine caught up with it over the ext half hour. We would pass a hospital we were
more familiar with and if it was still high we would stop. We called Mom Day for information and advice. Luckily the fever
went down and we got home and got the boys to bed.
Sunday was a QUIET day. Erin went out and got Jax a potty seat and a more comfortable booster seat for Liam for long
trips we do quite often. His legs were hurting in the old booster and he had no place to lay his head on for sleeping. I watched
the playoffs, and Sunday night we had pizza. Then Erin and I watched "Shaun of the Dead" again. It meant a lot more now that
we have watched a bunch of recent British Sitcoms that have these characters in them.
On Monday I stayed home with the boys and took them to Doctor Sheth. Jax passed for his ears now and is healthy but Liam's
persistant fever turned out to be yet another case of Strep throat. He had it in September so we now have medicine again.
Next weekend we do not have a lot planned beyond servicing the Jeep for winter and cleaning up the yard. We also may
meet to talk about daycare for later in 2009 in our neighborhood.
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