Batman vs The Parrots

Ryan starts his "Lunch bunch" today. The preschool holds a program for kids at lunch time to help them transition to Kindergarten next year. He is SOOO excited. He got a cool Batman lunchbox with a thermos for soup. (he never eats soup, but one can dream, no?) When I got home last night, he was bouncing like a ball, and told me all about it. There is nothing like having kids. Not only does he get excited about these things, but it's great to hear about his view of the world.

Anyway... this is coupled with Connor going to preschool. Connor, has a speech delay and will be attending the Public school after his 3rd birthday. He has gone for evaluations at the school, so he should be fine. As for Lise and I, we are a little nervous. Connor is a brave soul and usually is up for anything, so we know he'll be fine. He's just younger than his brother was when he went to school, and it's 5 days a week. Lise will miss her companion, and we're wondering if Connor will too. On Fridays, Connor will take the bus and I have to admit, we are both a bit worried... it's nerve-wracking stupid parental anxiety, most likely unwarranted, but real to us.

I forgot to mention the other day that we spent the early part of Sunday night at the “Parrot place” This is a typical Chinese restaurant that is more expensive than the one Lise and I like to eat at, but the kids like the glasses which look like parrots. I’m not a huge fan of the food (it's not bad though), I think the local place by us does it better, but the service is friendly, they dote on the kids, and provide us with quick meals. During our last visit the kids got different glasses than we did (they got Hula dancers), and Ryan was a little disappointed (not enough to skip eating or drinking his ginger ale), so I’m hoping we broke the “curse of the parrots”. Although I have to admit, I felt a little nervous as I left, as if someone was watching me... knowing we'd be back soon, for a quick visit and Chicken Lo Mein.

Feeling all powerful?

Ever feel like you would have to be a superhero to get everything done? This morning I had that feeling. Part of it was self inflicted, part of it was divine influence. :) Ryan and Connor both have head colds, but Ryan woke up barking like a seal and we determined visit to the doctor was in order. Meanwhile, Connor pretty much hasn't fallen asleep before 9pm (unless he hasn't had a nap) in about a week. Both are super overtired... but sleep is enemy and must be resisted at all costs. :)
So now I have two overtired, sick kids, and we have a meeting with Connor's speech people to see if he qualifies for additional services (post 3 yrs old), a Dr's visit to fit in and on top of everything, I forgot my power supply for my laptop for work (oops, there's the self infliction) and all needs to be taken care of between 9:30am and noon. ANYWAY... Lise and I are about to run out the door in different directions to take care of our errands and we find out that Marie fell, and broke her glasses (and her unit is locked down due to an outbreak of the norwalk virus -- eek-- it's enough to make your head explode). Seriously, I know... it's just how life is, and other folks have it much worse than I, but this blog is about my self indulgent blatherings (see the title), so deal... So it all got done and no one was seriously sick, injured, or excluded from services or fired, but in the midst of it all, as I barreled down the highway at 65MPH, on my way to the Pharmacy with Batman and Robin in tow, I thought... "If I was the Flash, I'd be done by now.", and then I thought "If I WAS the Flash... I'd have other problems... better count my blessings."

-SuperMike

Dinner With Marie

Tomorrow I go back to work and so to celebrate the occasion, we took Marie out to Dinner at a new Restaurant. It had all you can eat ribs tonight, so I figured we'd stuff the boys and Marie and then send all to bed... Like all good plans, this one SOUNDED good when we left but Marie didn't feel all that great when we got there, and overtired children don't seem to eat anything that's not junk-food. Like any other night, we arrived as batman and batman...

Ryan eventually had to relocate to calm down a bit after a long year of crime fighting had finally taken it's toll, and he just couldn't sit. Connor Stayed with Mommy and spent the rest of his time trying to keep her attention... he was marginally successful.

I only got one picture of Marie tonight, as she is a world renown photo-phobic. Ryan of course, hammed it up to the point of asking for pictures on the ride home in the car. I took this one over my shoulder while waiting for Lise to take her Mom back to her room.
Well, it's 9:12 and suddenly, it's a work night. I'm not looking forward to going back to work.. There is SO much that has to be done there, and what feels like very little time to get it all done. I hope I'm able to keep up and start posting here regularly. I see soo many blogs with no posts in them... I don't want to become a statistic. :)

Hope your year is great.

-Mike


PS - I found a great site from a photographer that posts one picture every day. (http://onepicaday.blogspot.com/) I'd really like to see what I could do to do the same. What a great way to increase my photo-chops. I might make a lame attempt this year. I'd love to commit to something so lofty, but work takes it's toll. That's something a single artist can better attempt. :)

Happy New Year!

Good riddance to 2007.

It wasn't such a bad year, but for us, it was a year of transformation. Our home, jobs, kids, etc etc changed. I like new stuff, but I'm ready for a little stability this year. I wont go into the highs and the lows, but let's just say that I'm ready for a happier year.

Last night was tons of fun and we thought it would be over by 8pm and ended up pulling in the driveway at close to 11PM last night. :) We took our friends to a local Hibachi grill. Connor and Ryan loved it and our friends kids LOVED it. (except the little one, who was afraid of the fire from the volcano) Like every place we go... the boys were dressed like batman, of course. Ryan especially liked it when the cook took out a little squeeze toy filled with water that had "peed" on everyone. I thought he might pee in his pants too. Connor kept clapping every time the cook did anything. Lise and I both had a few drinks and enjoyed the show too. I was the only one to catch a piece of zucchini that he was flipping to each of us ... Ryan came close too. :)

Afterwards, we stopped by a neighbor's house for "just a minute to say Happy New Years". We had too much to drink, met neighbors, and Connor charmed the adults, while Ryan hung out and played "guitar hero" on wii with the teenagers. I think they adopted him quickly... being batman and all. He eventually ditched the outfit, when one of the girls told him he was "cute". He then carried a torch around for her the rest of the night. He is VERY heterosexual. Anyway it was lots of fun and was really needed. We keep meeting cool neighbors and this place is starting to shape up.

As for 2007 projects, Ryan's room is WAY DONE. (Thank the saints!) Now I only have two small rooms to go, and after that I have three bathrooms to rehab. The closet in Ryan's room was a bear. I got out of square as I entered the closet. I am pretty sure it wasn't me, but it was the closet ... that's my story and I'm sticking to it. What a pain... in the end, I had to dry fit the ENTIRE thing and then use the wonder-bar to tighten things up. What a pain in the butt... I would have had the whole closet done in 30 minutes, and it took me almost 2 hours, with the cutting and re-cutting. In the end, it looks OK, but I'm not happy with it. It's not as tight as the other parts of the room, and I notice it. Lise was very happy, and didn't notice it, so I guess that's a plus. :)

Anyway, it's 9am and we're going to go out to the Coffee Break (aka: "the Flamingo Place") and get some breakfast.

Christmas break musings.

We're almost finished with Christmas. It's like the holiday that never ends. I like it because I get to see family and friends that I don't normally get an opportunity to see, however, I get so exhausted in the process that I feel happy to be back at home for a day or two after the visitation is over. :)

Here are the pictures so far....




Today we have some more friends stopping by and tomorrow I am going to start installing hardwood floors in Ryan's room if this cold I have brewing doesn't overcome me in the morning.

This year, I completed a kitchen renovation that took about 5 days of time, and with the help of my family, we completely gutted and replaced my kitchen. It was hard work, but I loved the results:

Kitchen Renovation

I have since installed new flooring into my bedroom and my brother-in-law helped me install some recessed lighting in our living room. Next will be Ryan's and Connor's rooms along with gutting the three bathrooms. (eek) Lise and I are excited about the transformation, but we have to get some trim work completed and a few weekend projects done before we can get our teeth into the baths. Who knows, maybe I'll changes jobs and work as a carpenter like my grandfather.

Ok.. back to more house cleaning and getting Connor to go to sleep. If anyone knows anything I leagally do to make an overtired 3 year old take a nap, I'd be interested.