Snakes, Grapes and the Super Models

Working from home has certain advantages, a moment of privacy is very much welcome in the environment that I come into on a daily basis. As I have posted before I share my office with 3 other full time residence, and 3 or 4 other folks who float through. It's a great place but you do miss a quiet moment to think, and the room has been deemed "an ADD sensory overload cell" by some folks.

Today, besides my work, I found out he following things. First off, one of my workmates asked me if I was drinking cranberry juice. I said yes, and then asked if I was drinking real cranberry or the "ocean spray stuff" and I just assumed... it said "100% Juice - Cranberry". On the back it said "a cranberry cocktail with grape juice". Just what the doctor specifically DIDNT order. I was told low to no sugar... I checked: 31Grams for every 8 oz... *gads... it may be natural sugar, but it's as bad as a Coke!! My poor kidney. So I added real cranberry juice to my shopping list. (Thanks Susan)

Lise and Ryan came home from dropping Connor off at school, and since Ryan's had Connor needs it, as he is coming down with Ryan's cough. Ryan needs it because he has been evil and the devil fears rested children. :) After good naps, Connor painted some eggs Lise had for Easter-like emergencies and Ryan his helicopter and a truck he had made earlier. I must say... still very proud of his creation. It's good to see my old boy back and having some fun. There are some glimmers of his old self mixed with flashes of his rotten self, but good is winning over evil, so we count our blessings.

At the end of a good day, I needed to go pick up my cranberry juice and some other things, so I left after putting Connor to bed. Lise called me at the store, and asked me to come back asap because Ryan wouldn't let her leave his sight. He has been telling me there is a snake in his room, and so tonight it took me from 7:45-9PM to get him to feel confident enough to go to sleep. I know it has something to do with his mental development,as well as age and his recent behavior. I know that this will pass and something will fill the void, but I hope it passes quickly. Lise and I will be doing some fun activities in his room during the day to help him get past it, and I hope tonight I gave him some skills to handle being frightened in bed.

"Did you say inflection or infection?"

Yup ... Kidney infection. I'm classic.(apparently) My Dr is less worried about how I got this than my pediatrician, and she seems to think that if I get more than 2 in my lifetime, that I should track down the cause. After getting some insight into what the tests are like... I'll pass for now. If I get another infection, or this one is tricky to get rid of, then I'll jump in both feet. When I asked how this could have happened, she said it wasn't common, but there are a few cases every year. So I'm OK
Then why the bear, you might ask... he's early. Today, Ryan was much improved. I think the amount of sleep he had, had a lot to do with it. But when we got to the end of the day, he was nice and asked me to go out for dinner. Lise looked soo tired, it was an easy decision to makeWe tried the "Killingworth Cafe" partly due to location, and partly because Lise had been there and thought they might have good Ribs. It was my first time and driven by Rib curiosity, I went. They ran out of Ribs that night (of course). That's OK, though... I had Spiderman and a Blue Power Ranger to join me for a 1/2 rack of lamb chops (was good.. not great) and a Lobster Bisque. I liked the townie-pubbiness of the place, but the food was kinda bland. A few other families came in, and there was very little to tell you. When I came out, there was a wooden bear that had been carved and I thought it made an interesting subject. It reminded me of a certain bear I gave my mom after coming home from California.. I wonder where she buried that one. :)

Did a Twister hit?

I got home today and.... the garbage was gone, the bulkhead was painted, the kids had a play date, and so much was done, and Lise and the boys were sane... Holy cow. I DO wonder sometimes how she does it. Lise always amazes me.

It was a generally uninspiring day, but I am getting pent up for a good photo day. I'll make some time this week for something unique.

L.A.W. -Day 3

Saturday was a busy day that was topped with brownies and ice cream. After breakfast at the flamingo place, Lise took off with Brenda to run a few errands in Mystic. I took the boys out to get some supplies and when we got back, I got out my tools and tore down the swing set. It was one of the metal jobs with cement booties on the end of each pole. Once I got rid of the cross beams, it came down pretty easy. 10 years of rust was no match for my trusty impact wrench, and within an hour, it was a pile of scrap. I told the boys that a new play scape was coming soon, so they were excited to see the old one go. Lise was very happy to see it was down when she got home, and although we cant get it taken away for a few days, she was surprised how quickly it was dispatched.



The boys were overtired, so naps came easily and after they woke up, Brenda and Doug came back with the kids to celebrate Lise's birthday. We had a nice pork loin and green beans followed by brownies and ice cream. The kids totally hit the wall after some chocolate brownies, chocolate ice cream and chocolate syrup. (I did too, actually). It was great fun and the boys passed out after dragging their overtired bodies off to bed.

Birthday Dinner

After a full day of work, out we went to dinner at Scoozzi in New Haven. Another place was recommended but we thought we'd venture out with only Zagats as our guide. The restaurant looks like it is built to serve mostly outdoor clients in the summer months. Summer or Winter it would be a bit loud,and trendy, but still very good food. Lise and I found the front door after a little wandering through a coffee shop/book store off the main drag. It was fun to hang out with the college kids for a bit. Lise and I especially got a kick out of a few kids talking about how they were pissed that their landlord was keeping the deposit on the account of a "few broken windows". I mean really... you gotta expect things like that to happen... Ummm sure... right.I forget what it's like to be a young adult sometimes now. I guess there was a day where that wasn't over the top... After exploring Chapel street a bit, we finally got to the front door which looked like a little red booth with an elevator.
Lise and I both enjoyed our dinners thoroughly and split a 1/2 a bottle of Chianti. It reminded me of so many places I'd been to in NY city. It was a little crowded, noisy and busy, but we enjoyed every minute of time to ourselves. I don't get to spend time where we are not worrying about a child or a calamity, so it was nice to just sit and talk.
After Dinner, we shared some cannoli and a cup of coffee before we headed back to reality.

Lise appreciation day 2 and she's already asked for mercy. Tonight Lise told me that she didn't want anymore surprises... I am not certain I can oblige... but we'll see. :)

Grease lightenin'

I have decided that if I were to drive a garbage truck for a living, this would be the one I'd choose. Not that it's an aspiration of mine, but if given the option, I'd trick out my garbage truck and challenge cars to races at red lights. :) At least, that is what I told Ryan I'd do if I could choose. He told me that he'd drive the bat mobile garbage truck. After I put Connor to bed Ryan began speaking... and speaking and speaking... He was still talking as he was falling asleep. It was amazing.

Tomorrow is Lise's birthday. I have a few surprises for her, and since she reads this, I can't tell you what they are. :) Be sure to wish her a happy birthday!!! If you want to get her a gift, she is partial to flowers, nights out, cruises, large sums of cash, wine, expensive jewels and homes. :) All joking aside, I love her very much and hope the day is fun. Tomorrow marks the beginning of Lise appreciation week. I wonder what is in store for her over the next 7 days? :) We already have reservations for Friday night at Scoozzi in New Haven... Doug and Brenda visit on Saturday... and who knows what's next! Oh wait... I do. :)

White Trash

So I don't have a dead muscle car in the driveway, but for a while I had a toilet on my back porch, and a pile of dead trees still litters the front of my yard. I'm waiting for someone to set fire to the big pile out there. Until they do, I'll keep cutting down 3 or 4 a week. I hope to have that one done this week as well.

We got the bathroom tiled and grouted. I didn't expect to have to wait 24 hours to seal it, or I would have the toilet back in there this evening. I'll be hoisting it in there tomorrow night for certain, but until then, I've Spackled, and next we'll paint. Lise and Ryan have both been nauseous off and on all day, but no one lost it, which is great considering how sick they have been. Ryan was in very good shape off and on today. I hope that tomorrow, Lise is feeling better and Ryan is ready to go to school. For Lise and me, it will be a long day... waiting for me to come home to scape and paint.

Yuck 3.0

Yuck 3.0 is different than Yuck 2.0. First and foremost, it attacks girls. That's something new in our house... Yuck has been very attached to boys, and being attached to the only girl in the house is particularly bad, when that girl is your wife, and she cant go into the bathroom when you're trying to take the toilet out, due to the septic smell. The other thing about Yuck 3.0, is that it's not the pukes, just the constant threat of treating your neighbor to a roman shower. Nevertheless it was Yuck 2.0 that made it's presence most felt when Ryan decided that he wanted to revisit his lunch this afternoon. All this while I was pulling out the last of the demolition debris and getting ready to tile.

The morning had started out rough for Ryan. First thing this morning, he decided that he was feeling good enough to test Dad. He was outside of Connor's room at 6am being very loud. I told him to be quiet and not wake his brother. The then told me "I'll wake him up if I like and I'm going to wake up Mommy too." This he says naked from the waist down, to a man that's been up since 4am with Connor. (SMACK) One red hiney... way to start the day right... with a shiny butt. I know you might have strong feeling about this, but today makes exactly one time that I have hit him. He was stunned, and didn't even cry for at least 2 minutes. I don't like doing this, but he's trying to figure out who runs things around here for a few weeks now and conversation and long talks aren't sinking in. I know that this kind of thing has limited effect, and I hope it's the last time I have to flex any muscle with him, that doesn't involving lots of tickling. To get over the trauma, we went to the Flamingo place for breakfast. He had a muffin, and was telling me that the had "pooped out the monster in (his) belly". I told him, that that was great, but not the best conversation for the table, let alone a restaurant. He told me he felt great and was happy as a clam when the clocks in the restaurant all tolled 8am and the Coo Coo clock's resident popped in over Connor's head.

Getting back to the power room. For a project that had so many things competing with it's priority, we got alot done. It was completely demo'd by noon, and we had finished tiling by 7. It took us some extra time to get into the swing of things, measure 1/2 the thinset we needed, hold pales for puking kids and have me return a drum sander that I shouldn't have rented. All in all, it is starting to look like a powder room again, and it will have grout going in tomorrow at noon, and the next day, we'll have a toilet again... depending on how long the grout sealer takes to dry. Worst case, by mid-week, we'll have our bathroom back and water will once again be spilled all over it from kids washing their hands like squeegee men in NY, wringing their hands and shaking filth on the walls and vanity. Why am I doing this again?

Rehab and the Coo coo's nest

I got home and apparently, I had started another project. :) Lise is getting full swing into spring fever, and has begun a few projects at once. Today, she killed trees until Connor begged her to go back inside, (he so hates being colder than 55 degrees) and when they came in, they started prying up tile off the bathroom floor. Now I do plan to rehab the bathroom this weekend, so it's not a crazy dismantling of the bathroom in any sense of the word, however; the enormity of the project kinda hit when I got home and saw the first three tiles pulled out and Lise asked me to show her how to use my pneumatic chisel. The last time I came home to a question like that, I installed a new kitchen the next weekend. :)

Work is a nuthouse, but that isn't new. I read my friend Carla's blog and it simply assures me that I'm not going crazy on my own, I'm taking a bunch of nice people with me. I wonder when this express train to the sanitarium stops and sometimes I ponder if I'm driving it when asked what an "IPT lead" is, and I know the answer, and what it stands for. Either way I'm on for the duration, until someone asks me to get off the train, or run it into a wall. At least I have a scary project at home looming in the distance to distract me from work on nights and weekend.

Toot toot.. next stop "Bedlam"!!!

Cut em down to size

The Great tree destroyer visited Clinton today. Lise had her eye on cutting back some of the overgrown front yard for almost 2 years now, and she's ready for action. Today the carnage started after our weekly visit to the flamingo place. After the customary breakfast, we sped back home and gunned up the chainsaw. Like at our house in Amston, Lise decided to clear the font yard with clippers first and made a good run at it. I took down the trees and we have about 40% of the yard cleared. The big trees will stay along with some of the larger saplings. We are taking one tree down that is sick, but the others will stay... I'll probably take the big one tomorrow... It's not the cutting that's so bad, it's the hauling.

After a good morning of hard work, we showered and took naps. At three we woke up the crew and went on an Easter egg hunt. Our neighbor up the street has an annual event, when they hide (in plain sight) over 300 Easter eggs with candy and get the neighbors to stop by and hunt for them.
The kids loved it and played until close to 5pm, where we decided to go to dinner. This time at the parrot place. I figure that tomorrow I will be working all day on the trees (weather permitting), so what the heck.




Connor has had a great day and can't get himself to quiet down. Ryan is still awake, but being quiet... I guess all said and done, it's been a great day, and I look forward to a great weekend.

Back to the grind... kinda

I went back to work today and all was about as well as it gets when I got struck down with intense nausea. It never went further than that, but it took about 1 hour in bed to clear the cobwebs out of my head. I went back on my diet today, and I think it was a lack of food after so many days of binging in NJ. Phew. I totally thought I was going to lose it.

After the waves passed, I was pretty tired, but I snapped a few pictures to show you the new chandelier in the office. I hung it on Sunday and got a picture of it and the rug tonight. Now, when you see these pictures, I want to flash back to my old apartment in NY. I had a black rug, and entertainment center ...and couch in my stark white little room 2 floors above the main street in Hartsdale. Lise teased me all the time about my black and white house.... and then she chooses a black and white carpet, dark lamp with my dark desk. I have to admit I was stunned. When I brought it up to her, she acknowledged it "fit" and that the room was green which is better than my stark builder's white den with my clothes strewn about. :) The theme continued when Lise suggested we hang the relief I got from Cambodia in 1999. It was nice to see it hung up again, this time over the bed. I assume this room would be different if she had to spend every day in there, but I'm not complaining. Now this room is done except for the baseboards....
I brought back 3 of these images and this is the one I kept. I got the one I gave Lise back when I married. Good deal with or without the picture. :)

Lazy night

Ahhh... a Lazy night. When I got home last night I helped get the kids to bed, and then jumped in myself and watched bad television. Lise was on the couch and I watched 3 episodes of "curb your enthusiasm", while not thinking of work, kids, or life in general. As our hero, Larry David was discovering his therapist on the beach in a thong, I was snugged up, sipping tea.
All in all yesterday was an odd day. I got an email from my friend Mike with just a link to a funny picture... It didn't need explanation. I love inside jokes, especially ones from friends you no longer see on a regular occasion. It's like having a connection with the outside world that persists outside of yourself. I also got an odd email from my boss at my consulting company. He sends out a monthly newsletter to the folks that are on my team and asked me to send him something for his "Fun" section. I chose a blog entry I did in January titled "Food (the enemy)" with some edits to make it topical and not just seem out of place. I thought it was awesome to be able to use some of my blogging materials too. I don't have any writing aspirations, but I do hope they don't like it too much and ask me for a regular fun entry. It was nice to be able to use something I thought was somewhat witty at the time... it would suck to try to be witty most of the time. :)
Sunrise was fantastic today. The impending rain made the sky light up as the sun rose. I went to take a few snaps, but needed to get a workout in. I only got one that turned out half bad, and so I cropped the hell out of it. (yes, the damn bird again) I'll do another picture tonight.. I am still looking for inspiration or a theme of some sort. One the preferably that doesn't require "finger-topless gloves" and involves me staying warmer than the other day on the beach, but at this rate... I could do a sunrise a the beach if I know it's going to be a nice one.

Silent Night

It's been a good day, and a good night so far. The last week we tried putting the boys down late to no avail, but tonight, they went down early. They were both in bed by around 6:30. Connor and Ryan went right to sleep with no repeat calls to come up and re-tuck in bears, monkeys or blah blah puppets. Lise and I to a chance to veg out in front of the TV and just enjoy each others company.

We watched a stupid movie and just had a night without being wiped out and tired. It was nice to enjoy a cup of tea and I thumbed through a cookbook to look up a recipe that i wanted to try. Still in the back of my mind, there is a room that needs it's floor, and a bunch of things that need to be done at work, but with the little break, I get a chance to look at things from a different angle.

Almost Done...

I worked on the hardwood floors in the office today, and the kids and Lise had a great time on the slopes. Ryan loved zooming down the back yard hill. Connor, wasn't so sure. It's funny; Ryan must have the Canadian blood in him. He loves the winter and everything to do with it. Connor hates to be cold, have his nose run, and getting wet at all, and so... he lays in the snow and whines.
I spent the day getting the office/ guest room floor in. This was once again delayed, but I got more done than yesterday. By noon I had a good start, and by the end of the day, I got most of the room done (about 60%) and can probably complete the rest by noon next Saturday. Of course, if there are naps, kids stuff to attend to and the occasional surprise, well.. then it's only one full days worth of work. If you want to see the progression, click on my face and it will run you through the change... I'll repost the link when it's done so you can get the full experience. Until then, I'll just pretend I completed it and feel fulfilled with the knowledge that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's gleaming on shiny hardwood floors.

The Crusted Crusaider

Last night was a long night. Maybe epic. Connor spent the most of the evening making noises as he slept. Apparently Ryan kept taking toys from him in his sleep, and kept saying stuff like "Ryyyaaannnn.... NO NO NO!" UGH. After a fitful night Connor, thinking of having a full blown pre-K inspired cold, looked like death warmed over. This morning, as he donned his Robin outfit, I thought he looked like a 42nd street bum. He looked like he’d been drinking all morning, and after getting Rachael off to the highway, we came home and napped. Well… Lise, Ryan and Connor napped… I got Connor to sleep (took 50 min), and then laid down myself. Lise had fallen asleep with Ryan and came in after an hour… I cuddled up to Lise and about 5 minutes later, Ryan, aka: “the Gestapo”, kicked the door down to see if we were asleep. I tried for 10 minutes to go back to sleep, but my adrenal glands had me on high alert, so I came back downstairs. There is this not-so-good parent in me that wants to kick in Ryan’s door at 3 am and ask him for a glass of water. The thought of it is enough to satiate the need…. But my vindictive nature has definitely been tested.

Connor came down after a long nap, looking ghostly, but better than before, and after a banana and a movie looked about ready for bed. He and Ryan played nicely except for the usual brotherly pounding, and then ate a pretty good dinner. Lise and Ryan shared some time reading magazines while Connor and I watch another movie (yes, this was a down day, so we numbed out) and then we got the boys showered up.

Grand Day Out

This morning we had an early morning banana and headed out to the flamingo place. Connor got his usual "bunny pancake" and we all unwound from a crazy week. Connor didn't sleep well last night and I was up a few times checking on him. While he did sleep... he was noisy and kept me and Lise up on a hourly call. After our customary Rabbit breakfast, Ryan and I headed out to visit Karate places. I think I found one I like, but I should look at least three places first (I've only visited the two closest).

After naps Rachael and Greivin came up and after a cup of tea and a full physical examination by Dr. Greivin and Ryan, we decided to head out to the park. As we walked outside, we were met by some of the horses from down the street, and the kids were able to give them a pet before we packed in the car and went on our merry way. We had a great time and made a new friend there. I love how this town is so friendly.

We got back and had dinner... the kids were exhausted... it's still early and it will be interesting to see how tonight goes. Rachael tells me that Greivin has been sleeping with her alot, so we'll see if popping him in Ryan's room will be a cure, or a problem. :) Always an adventure to be had here.

OK... Time for Bed. These superheros are superbeat!

Valentines Day & More

I missed blogging these last two days. It's been a busy week for us and I'll do my best to cove the big stuff... On Thursday, we celebrated Valentines day by getting the kids to bed and (sadly I admit) watching Lost. Lise is intrigued by the plot and where it's headed. We kept things light and enjoyed time together without kids.

Friday was another story. I worked from home this Friday to collect Connor from the bus. Ryan is done with school about 15 minutes before Connor arrives home via the bus, so it's basically impossible for Lise to pick up Ryan and get home. I waited at the end of the driveway for about 10 minutes and Lise came from one direction as the bus pulled around the corner from the other direction. I guess I'll be collecting Connor on Fridays for the rest of the year. :) So Lise got to be there and get Connor off the bus. Connor seemed more tired than anything and all was well. During a failed attempt to nap, our lawyer arrived and we refinanced the house. It was a comedy of errors with misspelled names, and wrong rates, that required faxing, remote computer access, coffee and banana bread. Our paperwork completed, we sent our law-man back to the office to fix the rest of the papers and I headed out for an astrology reading. (yes, me... Lise set it up) It was an interesting experience, and reminded me of a therapy session. Regardless of your opinion on that kind of stuff, it was a fun experience and I'm glad I did it.

After I returned from that, Lise and I fed the kids and headed out for dinner ourselves. We ALMOST saw a movie last night, but the combination of being exhausted and getting out of dinner at about 7:30, and every movie starting at 7:20 or 9:40, we went home to watch a movie at home... and pretty much fell asleep. :) Oh well... the death of romance? I don’t think it's dead yet, just in need of some sleep and less preschool. :)

I'll post again tonight... This evening, my cousin Rachael and her son Greivin (pronounced Grey-bean) will be stopping by and spending the night before continuing South to New Jersey to visit my Parent's and Sister's houses. I haven't seen her in several months, and it should be interesting to see how much Greivin has grown.