Rain, Cranky Baby and Unfinished Business

Daily Picture: Little Man



Today was a rainy day which is making the yard even more soupy.  After giving the dogs baths last night I really had no desire to repeat that.  So they went out, I watched them and then they came in.  No playing, wrestling or mud running allowed.  this rain also had a negative effect on 4yo since he is not a fan of storms.  Fortunately a neighbor and the mom of one of his little friends was heading out to a jump house place they frequent and invited him.  He had a blast jumping around for nearly 2 hours.  While he was away I had a cranky baby.  His afternoon nap time was actually over lunch today which made things more interesting.  In that time period I needed to feed 4yo and get him ready for his adventure and then feed myself.  I got 4yo ready and out then made my lunch only to have the baby wake up as I took my first bits of food.

Headbutt to the Face

Well cranky little man was laying on me while we watched a little TV.  He all of a sudden lifted his head which by the way is 100% in circumference and then lost control onto the edge of my eye socket.  Not once, but twice! OUCH!!

General Grevious Paid the Price

The rule here for our VAST collection of Legos is the are to be played with in the finished basement only.  This way we keep them away from the baby and the puppy.  Well lately 4yo refuses to go down the 6 stairs (Split Level) to the basement level without company.  I said I would, but he would have to play in the back room since I would have the puppy with me.  He refused to move his Lego Star Was guys and left some parts on the ground.  Well General Grevious apparently lost a battle and an arm which the puppy found and bit before I could stop him.  All mangled... I have a bunch of parts I need to replace due to the 4yo and the puppy so once I get the list together along with the instructions I will order the parts.

Unfinished Business

I had hoped to attack the house work monster today, but every time I tried the baby would want 100% attention.  I was able to put 6 baskets of laundry away today, but the bathrooms and kitchen will have to wait until tomorrow.  I will not be able to do house work this weekend since I will be painting our office/Den.

The 5

1. Rain - With the already soaked soil the rain is making a mess of everything.


2. Missed Chance - I should have put my van outside this afternoon when the rain came down hard.  I missed the free car wash!


3. No Desire to Cook - Tonight after a long day with a cranky baby I really did not want to cook.  Made some quick things and called it a night.


4. New Recipes - I will be working on trying a few new things in the coming weeks.  I have all these cook books, thousands of recipes and hardly use any of them


5. Spring Fever - I so much want the weather to change so I can get outside with the kids, the dogs and of course my bicycle.

Take It One Day At A Time!

Snow, 60 Degrees, Mud & Dogs...YUCK!

Late last week and over the weekend we had some snow come in.  Today the temps went into the 60's and all the snow melted and the ground was nice and soft.  The older boys went outside to play after 8yo got his homework done.  The dogs went out as well and made a major mess of themselves.  I had to give both baths and the Puppy was by far the worst.  The older guy Frodo a whopping 16 pounds was easy enough to tend to in the was tub, but the "Puppy" (Read Full Grow Body, Puppy Mind) Gandalf the Border Collie was tough in the tub.  He behavied really well, but had so much dirt and sand I had to rise and drain 3 times just to get the sand off.  Now we have to very clean dogs and a very worn out me.  I can't wait until summer when I can use the hose on them.

The Baby

The baby is still suffering from a cold/teething and had a miserable day.  He had some good times, but his afternoon nap was a struggle.  He was overtired and did not want to settle.  Hopefully he will feel better soon.

The Bike

Rode the bike again today.  I was able to make it to 20 minutes again, but at 16 minutes I was a little uncomfortable.  It will take some time to get used to being on the saddle again.  A little at a time.

Channeling Laurie Berkner

The baby really likes her songs and after borrowing a couple CD's form the library I have been singing even more songs to him.  "Under the Shady Tree You and Me"  I have to say I like he so much better then the Wiggles and Barney.

Ready To Paint

I have been getting things ready so I can paint my office this weekend.  I really like the end results, but painting walls is just such a blah chore.  I plan to take some before and after pictures.  Hopefully the new colors will look nice.

The 5

1. Spring is Almost Here - With another warm day melting all the snow again we are one step closer to spring.  Oh the joys of Mud!


2. Job Help - The wife helped her younger brother tonight apply for jobs online.  He has a colorful history and tends to not focus when applying.  She kept him in line.


3. Madagascar 2 - Arrived at the Library today while I was there.  So the boys will be watching that tomorrow I suspect.  I will have to make sure I watch as well.


4. Daily Show - Makes me Laugh!


5. TV in General - Rather boring lately.

Take It One Day At A Time

Tuesday,Teething and a Baby Cold...

Ouch!

The 1yo (13 months actually) has gotten a bit of a double whammy.  He has a bit of a cold which he has had for a day or too as well as getting stuffy and sore from getting another BACK tooth in.  For teething and having a cold he has actually done really well.  He is extra cuddly and extra cranky.  The reason I know it is more then just teething is because he has slept really well today.  When he is sick he sleeps, when he teethes he does NOT sleep.

Behavior Issues

4yo and 8yo had a long sit down talk tonight about their behavior.  Both have gone on a downward spiral causing the wife and I to be extra frustrated.  Hopefully the talks tonight along with some appropriate punishment will help put them back on track.  The wife told the 4yo she was going to sell him to the Gypsies tomorrow and he said "You can't sell me tomorrow I have preschool"  LOL...

Back in the Saddle!

I have the new tube in my tire for my bicycle, it is up on the trainer and I rode 20 minutes today.  I need to ease back into the saddle per my Doctors.  It was so nice to be on the bike again.  I can not wait for the weather to get better so I can take the boys out in the trailer behind my bike.

The 5

1. Unemployment - I have officially been unemployed for 24 days.  I have so contacts out there now as well as a probable return to my old company if some of the housing stuff comes under control.  I just can not take any employment since we could not afford daycare.


2. City of Ember - 4yo and I watched that today.  It was just OK, nothing too exciting and a rather rehashed story.  A few things made 4yo get excited.  He enjoyed the giant Mole and Moth.


3. Heroes Fall - Well each week I keep asking myself why I still watch Heroes.  Not sure at this point.  Hmmm


4. Crazy Puppy - Well Gandalf the Puppy hates the vacuum cleaner so when I clean he hides out.  Well today while riding my trainer in the finished basement he sat at the top of the short staircase looking down at me not sure weather he should run away or attack the bike.   In the end he had a worried look, cocked his head and watched me for 20 minutes not moving from the op of the stairs.


5. Audio books - Right now I have two playing, just finished one and 3 on tap.  I really enjoy audio books.  I get to listen to stories I would otherwise have no time to read.  Awesome!

Parking Spot Stalkers

Well yesterday I had to do some major store hoping from Costco to Meijer.  I arrived at Costco right at open and was able to get an OK parking spot.  Since I did not have the kids with me I was able to take my time in the store as well as over fill my cart.  I was actually doing a little more stocking then normal since my extra freezer had finally a month ago held its last bag of frozen milk for the baby.  Three shelves had been dedicated to double freezer bagged breast milk so I was unable to stock up much for almost a full year.   Now was the chance and made one of those trips to Costco that made my wallet cringe.  Costco according to my wife has the $10.00 rule.  Every item put in the cart will average out to $10.00.  You know that is rather accurate.  Well since I spent a bit of time in the store when I finally made it out into the rather cold morning air I had a group of vehicles following me down the isle.  I felt like I was being tailed or stalked.  I was just glad one of them was not an unmarked cargo van waiting to whisk me away.  Of course I find it extremely funny that someone would follow me down the isle, wait while I packed the car and left when my spot was only about 5 spots closer then a bunch of open spots.  Go Figure...  Well after getting the Costco stuff put away I headed off to Meijer to fill an allergy prescription and get milk, cheese, fruit and veggies that I really did not need mass quantities of.  I do not need nor can I go through 20 pounds of cheese.  Again as I walked out of the store this time in the cold afternoon air I was followed down the isle only to get a person following me disappointed when I was one of the furthest vehicles parked in the lot.

Dinner With Grandpa

Well 4yo has been asking to see my dad all week.  We had talked about going and visiting over the weekend while 8yo was at the swim meet, but the snow prevented us from taking that trip.  Instead we all went out on Sunday night and enjoyed our favorite Chinese take out while the boys enjoyed the golden arches.  4yo loved it as well as my dad.  Since my mom passed in December the boys have asked to see grandpa more and he seems to be focused on all the grankids more.  The 1yo enjoyed the take out as well, stole some fries from his brothers and then had apple sauce and last but not least ICE CREAM.  My dad love to give the boys sweets.  Luckily for us all the boys are really skinny so the occasional sweet feast is not the end of the world.

Back in the Saddle Again, Almost.

Well I brought my bike inside over the weekend hoping to get it on my trainer and start riding again.  Now that I am 100% healed after my hernia repair I wanted to get back and ride.  I wanted to change my tire to my old one since my trainer is not kind to the tread.  While changing the tire this afternoon I noticed the tube was leaking.  I checked the tube to find out it was leaking at the valve stem and I could not fix it.  The tube was two years old no big deal.  I went to the garage to grab a spare and realized I did not have one. DOH!  the local shop was closing at 4:30 and the baby was napping so I will have to wait until tomorrow morning to get the tube.  Will be fine since I will have the shop mount the tire and tub as well as pick up a couple spares.  Once riding season happens I do not want to be without a spare or three.

The 5

1. Swimming is over - Well the winter season of my 8yo's swim team ended on Saturday.  It was nice not to have to rush to practice tonight.  I do not if he will continue this summer or not, but he has a little time to decide.


2. Bicycle Riding - I can not wait to be riding again.  Last year with the baby being so little and the hernia I was not able to ride much.  As soon as the weather turns I will be out with the boys in the trailer and when 8yo is home he can ride along side us.  There is nothing like pulling two kids in a trailer for an hour to burn calories and build endurance.


3. Century Training - Well with the trailer and my normal rides I will be working to finally do 100 miles in one day this summer.  I will have to look into a later summer ride with a group or get a few of the friends to train as well.  Exciting!


4. House Work List - Two weeks down with doing most of the house work during the week.  Hopefully this week I will be able to continue the trend so we open up the weekend more for us.  Finding the right times for things is not always simple.


5. Baby Cold -1yo has a bit of a cold so he is all sniffily.  I just hope he can sleep through the night.

Still trying to "Take It One Day At A Time."

One of Those Days

Daily Picture: Little Man, Big Table



I guess it has to happen a little more often then not with 3 boys.  There are going to be days when you have a difficult time maintaining composure or even lose it a little.  Today was one of those days that I wish we could have skipped over.  From the moment we got up this morning 4yo was in a mood.  Lately he has had no patience, no volume control and a bit over dramatic.  By 10:00am this morning 4yo had been so relentless with his impatience and dramatic behavior I was ready to jump out my office window.  Granted the ground is level with the window so normal people would not get hurt.  Me I would have probably slipped on my desk, broke my laptop and then broke a bone of some kind.  To make things even more pleasant 8yo came home from school over tired and cranky and then the puppy apparently ate poop again and it did not agree with him (Imagine that) and he puked on one of only a few area rugs on the wood floor.  Why can't he puke on the wood!!!  The smell was so bad I am sure it would have gagged a maggot.

Great Eye Doctors Appointment

Took 8yo to his eye specialist yesterday which was a wonder hour plus there and hour plus back.  He has a lazy eye and has had a patch on his glasses for a while.  It basically makes the one lens foggy.  He showed dramatic improvement and in a couple months should be done with the treatment and in good shape!!!

The 5

1. Burn Notice - The USA TV show is a fun ride.  I borrowed the 11 season one episodes from the library.  TV on DVD is awesome!


2. Snow & Ice - We got more of that garbage last night.  The little kids and I stayed home all day while mom was at work and 8yo was at school.  Did not feel a need to drive on super slick roads.


3. House Cleaning Marathon - Well since I have a little more time on my hands I have taken on 95% of the house work.  Since we were not going anywhere today I got the majority of the cleaning done.  The baby (1yo) loves the vacuum, but the puppy hates it and runs like a chicken.  The 1yo yells and giggles as he crawls away from it.


4. Tired of TV - I have a bunch of Tivo'ed TV, but I find myself really not interested anymore.  Only a handful of shows I care about.  Hmmm  Maybe it is a sign that the networks have too much garbage on.


5. Tired - The kids have not been sleeping well.  The baby keeps waking in the middle of the night and 4yo gets up too early.  UGH!

Take It One Day At A Time!

More Time, Less Blogging.

Daily Picture: Shorelands Gandalf the Black.



My puppy is not much of a puppy anymore.  Still a stinker and troublemaker, but in a bigger more coordinated body.

I have more time, but it seems more and more difficult to find the time to blog anything.  Maybe it has to do with the amount of housework or the messed up sleep patterns of my kids.  Who knows, but I had plans to blog a whole bunch lately, but ended up not finding the time.

Well 1yo is getting closer and closer to wanting to walk.  He has been cruising for a while now, but losses his nerve when he lets go.  He will stand there for a while, then the pull of gravity on his diaper is too much and he fall onto his rear.  Everyday however he finds out new things and I am sure he will be my earliest talker.  The older boys waited a long time to talk, but when they did they never stopped.  What will it mean if the youngest starts now.  He is also by far our best eater.  He will try just about anything and gets really excited to try.  Today it was Raviolis at lunch and meatloaf at dinner.

4yo is really starting to push his limits.  He has all of a sudden lost all patients and can not even to save his life stop talking for more then 10 seconds.  I know from my oldest that until kindergarten it will be an up hill climb with attitude and emotions.

8yo is almost done with swimming.  One more practice and one more meet.  I think we are all ready for it to be over since the winter season was so long.  We all need a bit of a break from the 2 to 3 day a week commitments.  It will be nice to have a few months of no major commitments.  I think he has truly started to burn out.

Soap Box Derby!

From time to time I will probably find myself standing on a soapbox and complaining about people and the way they see the world.

"Octo-Mom" - The octuplet mom has really made my skin crawl.  Understand I have nothing against big families or single moms, but this women is an idiot expecting the world to pay for her.  If I was a California Tax Payer I would have a few things to say to her.  She has no job, wants to go to school, get a new career yet she has 14 kids!  I think she even wants to take over Jon and Kate Plus 8...  And now I do not think she deserves anything, but at the same time the kids can't be punished for a idiot mother.

Tot Attacked by Families 18 foot Python - I have nothing against exotic pet owner's, but to have a large snake with little kids is just plain stupid.  My dog views the kids as part of the family, the snake views the family as a possible meal."Oh look honey the snake like our kid, look how tight he hugs him."  UGH!

The 5

1. Hancock - The wife and I watched that the other day.  Not too bad and not completely what I expected.  It was an enjoyable free watch from the library.


2. Facebook - Is it for real or just another trend?  I am on and have actually made contact with a bunch of people I have lost touch with.  It is a cool tool, but how long before it gets old or causes tons of trouble.  Yes I know it has already caused its share of issues, but how long before it hits the masses that way.


3. Paint Job - Well it looks like in a couple weeks I will be painting the office.  From a yellowish textured look to a two tone gray look.  I like the new colors and can not wait to see what they look like on the walls with all the furniture.


4. Own My Van - We paid off the van the other day.  Nice to have ownership of my Ody!  It has 52K miles and I will probably have it for another 10 years!  Yeah for Paid off cars!


5. Dune - Up next on my audio book list is DUNE!  I just started Brisingr the 3rd Eragon book.  I am hoping that "The Stand" will become an unabridged audio book soon.  Many of Kings books have be done on audio book lately.

My New Mantra...

"Take It One Day At A Time"

A Little More Time On My Hands

A Little More Time On My Hands

Well the past few weeks have been a roller coaster and on my 4 Year Anniversary for my job I was Laid Off.  Oh Joy.  The company is on the mend as the markets improve, but the cash flow was terrible.  So I am now unemployed looking at no longer being the "Work at Home Dad" and actually being the "At Home Dad."  I doubt this will actually last very long for me since I am looking at some contracting work and my old company is keeping in touch with me on a regular basis in hopes of getting me back on payroll.  The lay off was not a surprise and I am not actually upset about it since I know the situation and am close with the people I have worked with for 3 years.  So in the mean time I will be able to focus a little more on the kids and house.  The "Honey Do List is going DOWN!"

A Great Meeting With 8yo's Teacher.

We have had some concerns with our 8yo lately with his school work and forgetfulness.  Actually his work is still extremely good, but he would forget his head if it was not attached.  So last night we met with his teacher and she had some ideas to help him organize his rats nest of a desk and make sure he does not forget things at school. He has a few checklists for his work and things to bring home as well as a crate with hanging folders for his work so he does not just shove it in his desk.  So after the meeting we have a positive direction to go to hopefully help him forget a little less.  Now if we could only get him to SLOW DOWN...

I Need to Check My Man Card...

Since I have a little more time and the baby actually napped this afternoon I had my iPod on and did a bunch of housework including fighting the laundry monster and cleaning the kitchen.  This would not be so bad if I were not also listening to "Breaking Dawn" on audio book.  So I was listening to a Chick book while doing housework which gave the wife a much needed laugh.

The 5

1. Death Race - Watched the new version of the Corman film and actually enjoyed it.  It was over the top and had a ton of over the top violence, but if you go into it as what it is a silly violent movie you might find some enjoyment.  A few good nods to the original as well as amazing driving stunts.


2. Twilight - Well I finished the Twilight Series of books this week on audio book.  The stories were fine and a good friend calls the books "Chick Porn" and she loves the series.  I would have to agree with that, but the overall stories had some fun ideas towards Vampires and Shape shifters.


3. A Lack Of Tv- Honestly I have not really cared about too much that has been on TV lately.  I think 90% of it is rehashed trash.  I still watch some favorites, but do not feel a supreme need to watch them right away.  Tivo rocks.


4. Bicycling - I am so looking forward to riding my bicycle again.  I am going to put it up on my trainer soon so I can ride inside until the weather gets better.  I just wish I had the funds for my TRIKE!


5. New Outlook- Well I think my current work situation is actually going to have a positive effect on my outlook.  I think I need a little more time to focus, but at the same time I do not want to make the wife feel bad about being the SOLE source of income.  That is just too much stress.  So hopefully I will get back at it soon enough with a fresh outlook on everything.

Full Week Of The Flu!

Well our wonderful paridise was struck with a major Plague starting last Tuesday.  After 8yo had his dentist appointment he was acting a little more off then normal.  By bedtime he was feverish and feeling terrible.  His main symptoms lasted all the way until Saturday and really was not back to normal until Monday.  4yo was at Preschool on Friday when I got a call to come pick him up.  He had puked at school.  I had just walked in the door a few minutes before from dropping him off so the baby and I had to run right back.  He spent a good portion of the day puking and I am truly thankful for our wood floors.  Even today 4yo is still off which has me a bit concerned.  If he is still off tomorrow we will have to run to the Doctor.  On Saturday 8yo had a swim meet so I went off with him and spent the day around a very crowded high school pool.  On our way home I started feeling green.  We arrived home shortly after 7:00 and by 10:00 I had a fever and was so cold a down comforter wrapped around could not warm me up.  As of today I am still off and have had a little rice.  Sunday night the wife was a little off, but was not hit hard until Monday morning at work.  I was miserable on Monday wishing she was home since I was sick as well as 4yo.  Well I got my wish before lunch when she walked in looking more pale then normal and a little green.  Bam! she had it too.  Luckily as of now the baby has avoided it, but 4yo and I have been hi the hardest which is made even worse since we are both terrible sick people.

So here is to the Stomach Flu... BLAH!!!