Jumpers

In my last post, I put up a bunch of pictures of the kids we took when we went down to NJ. It was a great time and I was so happy to see all the kids, littlest to biggest playing together and having a great time. When we were at the beach I told Ryan I wanted to get a picture of him jumping... and that turned into getting pictures of everyone jumping. :) Seeing I had a camera with my yesterday when we went to our local playscape, Ryan insisted in continuing the trend in stop action jump pictures. Without my trusty SLR, it's difficult to get good focus on these... but it was fun to do and Ryan loved the pictures. Another boy met up with Ryan and they had a good time terrorizing the other kids on the playground together.

I remember when Ryan was little, taking him to the local playground and watching the older boys running around and how much Ryan wanted to be like them. Now he is bigger and focused on still bigger kids and being like them. When your almost 5 and the size of a second grader, this can cause problems. I know I'll be pulling him out of difficult situations because of his height in the future, but until then.... we jump.

Connor was very interested in what the kids were doing as well. He went on the slide a dozen times watching Ryan's every move and every trick. Ryan moved on to another part of the playground, and I followed for a bit to make sure he was going to be OK.... when I turned around... there was Connor... mid-air.

(End Scene)

Mike and Amy stayed the night and we actually slept! :) Nora and Ryan slept in his room and Abby and Connor slept in their own room. wha-hoo. Anyway, the next day was full of running around the house. Mike played "monster" with the kids upstairs when it was raining. It was a fun day, but exhausting and I slept like the dead Sunday night.

I think the best part of the day, besides the game of monster and the company of good friends, was the non-stop eating festival. Tacos, Cheeze-its and home made pizzas. (BUURRRRP)



The one break I had in the day was nap time. I spent my "nap time" on the road to see my cousin Greg. He has had such a rough road over the last couple of weeks. A few years ago, he developed an angiofibroma in his nasal cavity, and had it removed. This week, I found out he had a new one and had it removed. They had to have his jaw cut open and give him a tracheotomy. I certainly see this differently now that I'm a parent. I empathise with his family and him. It's a tough struggle, and he's doing a fantastic job of finding a way through. They say he will be out this week, and I'll stop by if I can before he goes.

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. :)

"Take my kidney... please."

Another day in the paradise I call home. I worked from home today heeding my RN's advice and "taking it easy". It was weird not being in the office today, but I think they survived without me. It was good, because much to my physician's chagrin, Ryan kept Lise and I up ALL freaking night last night. (-8 hours.. yes) At first it was coughing and then it turned into being afraid, and then he just couldn't sleep. Both Lise and I are pretty much at our wits end with him on this. Ryan is coming in to his own and he wants to test everything... I don't think the car will hit me if I am in the road, and I 'm not sure I believe Dad when he says I'll feel worse if I stay up all night, but it is scary, so I'll wake up the house. Needless to say, I have moments of great anger + restraint + guilt + frustration + no sleep = crabby boy+ crabby kidney = bad daddy. I finally told him last night, that we are going to hang up a sign when we have been in there one time, and we're not going to come back after that one call... so he'd better be 100% certain that he "needs" us. Now for the fitting punishment... I was thinking dunk tank, or having to clean up a fraternity house in Hartford, but Lise suggested something like putting a toy away for a week. Man... she's nice.

Anyway... we're dealing with it. I called the Dr. and set up an appointment tomorrow for a follow up. Seems these Kidney infections need some attention, so we'll give it a little session tomorrow and see what I brewed up over the weekend. At this house, we just love a good medical drama. Last year it was my liver... this year kidneys... the possibilities are endless!!

Amidst being a complete grump from lack of sleep, we also found out, that Ryan has a loose tooth.... at 4 1/2? Well, considering he is acting like a misplaced 3rd grader and is built like one, it only seems to make sense. Now we wiggle it for everyone. He showed me and I told him that Grandpa would tie a string around it and the other side to a door... and when your Mom came home, he'd slam the door.... Ryan made a face like I dipped his hot fudge in an oil can. Then told me "people DON'T DO THAT" and went the store with Lise. When they got back Lise had a glint in her eye, and Ryan looked like he'd seen a ghost. Apparently, he walked up to some stranger in the store and said "I got a loose tooth" to which the man replied.... "When I was your age, my Dad would tie a string to one end of my tooth and another to a doorknob..."

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. :)

The Artist formally known as Ryan

Ryan fancies himself as quite the artist. Pretty much every day, I come home to a new picture or painting. If I don't actually see one, I get a story about one that was made at school. Mr. Ryan informed me tonight that he would be "featured" in an art show at school soon. Of course, all the kids get "featured" in the art show... but I believe we're getting a bit of an artist's attitude. :) Next month

On another note, Lise and I broke open a new bottle of wine that my friend Joe acquired for me. It has been quite
beneficial working with Glenn and Joe in our little office. They not only help me to make light of difficult times but they also entice me into spending money on wine and gadgets. When Joe had realized that I needed to buy an SD card, he had about 30 deals in my inbox within the hour. :) It's been alot of fun and I'm lucky to have this kind of company on a daily basis, however; I occasionally have to restrain myself. I don't have the disposable income they do... but I'm looking forward to it. Until then, I'll drink the wine I get at bargain basement prices and squint my eyes to imagine how my house will look when it's all done.

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?

The Yuck stands alone

So I worked from home today. When Connor's bus came I ended up watching Ryan while Lise collected him. I had to keep working and keep a 4-yr old occupied... So I gave him my camera. I am now the proud owner of about 37 shots of my front yard. :) What I did get was this cool, but unexpected shot of me working (and looking like a trash bag) at my desk. It's strangely out of focus, as Ryan cant actually stop moving (he might start to feeeel tired... then the world would end). What I especially found amusing was all the stuff he wanted to take pictures of usually involved taking pictures of himself. Ryan "G"... 10% water, 80% ham, 10% little boy.

ON the upside, he's feeling worlds better and even is starting to look the part. Tonight he stuffed down some Chinese food and then laid down on the couch to ward off any motion sickness that may darken his door. He felt better after only 10 minutes, but we went to bed early and hopefully he'll be 100% tomorrow. What good would a Saturday without a visit to the flamingo place. Tomorrow we pick up the drum sander at the crack of dawn and then I grind the mastic off the floors. It will be a crazy day. If I do things right, I should have the bathroom stripped and ready for tile on Sunday. I expect to have a toilet in there by Monday, and then we install the fixtures. I will also be taking down an old mirror, so I figure I have a 50/50 chance of doing a little drywall and a bit of electrical. The light fixture is hung on the drywall with nothing behind it, which is a disaster waiting to happen... hmmm make that a 90% chance of doing some drywall.

(Pause)

Ok, so the puking kinda stopped. Connor is feeling fine, but joined Ryan on the couch tonight. Ryan had bland food all day and is feeling better. We had one "dry heave" episode and now is feeling better and laying in bed. I hope we all get some good sleep tomorrow and banish this stomach bug for good.

It's not a late night for us tonight, but I plan to prep for the impending bathroom overhaul. I have to do my materials list and take care of a bunch of last minute details... Until then, wish me luck.

Yuck 2.0 (this time they mean business)

Yes, it's back and this time our contestant is a four and half year old with little to no vomit coping skills. This means we have a high maintenance puker on our hands. Will wonders ever cease?!? It's been a crazy two days and Ryan's illness seems to be the topper to my little cake of non-stop running about. He had a heck of a time going to bed tonight... every 2 minutes he sat up and said "I just know I'm goin' to puke THIS time!!" Grabbed a bucket and did nothing (not even a little heave) and laid back down and told me he was lucky... Lise and I think this is going to be a LONG night. ick.

Yesterday after work, I picked up the horrifyingly heavy playscape we bought two weeks ago. It fit nicely in the car, but I have to admit that I was nervous because I didn't have any bungees and had to tie the back door closed. The whole ride home I had these nightmare visions of lumber spilling on the highway causing cars and insurance rates to soar. I made it home without incident, but it took me a bit to get over my paranoia. Getting it out of the car took my mind right off my worries about accidents, and had me thinking more about the permanent hump back I could get if I lifted this sucker wrong...

This morning I was back in my old car, and off to the races with meetings until noon and then out to meet with my friend Paul, who I haven't seen in over a year. He seemed to be doing well, and our old company seems to have remained the same since I left there. In fact, from the sounds of it.... it's EXACTLY the same, and while I miss a few folks, it made me happy I had made the right decision to leave. We had salads and coffee, which does break from our old eating habits when I worked there, and although it had been a while, it was good to see Paul.

After that I headed back to work, (after chasing down an AWOL employee... I'll leave that for another time) where, out my window I saw a seal on the rocks below my office building. He was very happy staying right where he was and flapped his sealy tail off the rock after a good 2 or so hours of fish digestion. After work, I drove through the Fort Trumbull neighborhood next to my office. It has inspired me to bring my whole camera kit down there and take some pictures... It's not inviting, but it has this kinda ghost town feel to it... and I like it. A few snaps before they blow it up and use it to become a super-high-rise-condo-hotel-uber-complex that caters to people that don't live in New London. I am envisioning Reston town center or Tyson corners in Va. but I expect it will be more like a bad hotel and sundry shop, in the end... poor new London.

Easter

I cant describe the whole day.. it was fun and it started with a little confusion. It seems that when we came down stairs, there was string everywhere. It took us all a few minutes to figure out what it was the Easter bunny wanted us to do. You can click here on this video to see what happened next!


After finding Power Ranger Gold, Mom got the cooking going while Dad foraged at the local store for some eggs and we prepped the house for Gigi, Nee nee and Louise and Bob. The boys were thrilled to see them and let them know all about the Easter bunny's arrival. After some amazing food, we ran off the extra pounds by kite flying.

I have to say, Louise and Denise started things off, and the boys followed her lead. Soon the both of them were flying their own kites, without assistance from any adults. It was a treat to watch them have so much fun while burning out on the front lawn. Both of them so exhausted, that first Connor and then Ryan asked to come back inside to rest. I think it was the best idea for the adults too. :)

We all had a great day together, and enjoyed the time thoroughly. Even though Marie was a little checked out, she told me that she needs these kinds of days to "stay young". I couldn't agree more.

Brenda's Birthday

Today was our friend Brenda's birthday. Brenda is only 3 months older than me, but she thinks she looks 10 years younger and is 10 years smarter... and then again, who am I to dispute her. :) Ryan and Conner helped mommy make her cake this afternoon, and besides beginning at the end of her rope, with kids that wont take naps without assistance, who have been sick and puking, and a long list of other Mom-like stresses, the cake came out wonderful. I even had a bite. Ryan and Connor had theirs before me, but when you help, you get the spoils. :)

After a yummy plate of ribs and a pile of cake in the kids, I revved them up and told Ryan and Ally, that it was acceptable to tickle Brenda today, because it was a birthday tradition. Connor and Sean got into the act and totally chased her down the hall and around the room. :)







It's been a fun but stressful day and I think the weekend might be the same, I'm going to see how much sleep I can get tonight, with the kids going to bed late, it should be a late morning. I have a haircut tomorrow and then a party in the evening. (Late st. pats), so if I don't blog early, it will have to be on Sunday.

I promise I'll take my picture.

Tonight I took a horrible picture with my new camera of the moon, After I played with it a while, I got it looking kinda spooky-blown-up-filmy-blotchy. It's got a sixties rock poster appeal. :)

The Fourth Horse sleeps in the basement

We got these little, old fashioned horse toys that Ryan uses as his trusted steed when he dresses up as a knight. It recently has shown it's true purpose as the 4th horse of the Apocalypse. It used to make a running sound when you pushed his ear... now he does it alllllll the time. It's new job in life is to make anyone near it crazy. After a full day of galloping to nowhere, Lise banished him to the basement, where he is tear-assing to oblivion as I type this. Connor keeps going to the basement door and saying "Horse Mama!!! Horse!".

Meanwhile, Ryan is concocting a plan to keep himself awake at all costs this week. He began this morning at 6am, and napless he started to fail at 6:30pm. It horrible to watch him degenerate into a weeping puddle. Everything is dramatic, until we're in bed, and then... well.... he NEEDS to TALK, like he's had 30 cups of coffee... then, he falls deeply asleep. Earlier when he was holding thingstogether, he was all about showing me his bunny he made from a milk jug and cut out paper ears at school. :)

Tonight his main focus was that he was going to bed when it was still light out. That and that he was totally creeped out when the Easter bunny showed up at his preschool today and his face never moved! When directly asked if that was a man in a rabbit costume. I told him that it could have been one of the Easter Bunny's helpers. I got a bad feeling that this whole lying thing about the Easter bunny ain't gonna make it past the age of 5. CRAP! I want him to enjoy this.