CHRISTMAS 2009

It's over, almost, and it was a great one. A Wii for the girls, a bike for the Tornado, oak and magnolia trees in the yard for me and the CEO, with some other fun games or nice things along the way. Of course the best part was getting to spend a truly nice day with the family. GMA and GPA, aunts, uncles and OMA all spent the day here, playing games eating and sharing. I even got my sister a few nice laughs between watching The Hangover and a little practical joke by rewrapping the Sarah Palin book for her.

The kids all played nicely together, and of course that's always nice to see and be around. We went to mass at 4 yesterday, and two of my former players from the school basketball team were alter servers. The older one, a boy, is in 10th grade now, and has to be 3-4 inches taller that me. It's always nice to see the kids I've coached around town, at church, participating in life.

But yesterday at mass also made me reflect on Christmas from two years ago. Mass last Christmas was tough, but that was the first one since the Katrina Christmas. I knew that one would be difficult to enjoy fully. I thought this one would go a little more smoothly. As I sat in my chair at mass yesterday, holding a sleeping Tornado, I thought about Katrina. I thought about how hard her life has been the past two years. The feeling of letting her down is still in me, and while it comes to the surface less frequently, it hurts quite a bit.

But it also allows me to think of really how blessed I am to have such a wonderful wife and terrific kids. None of us are perfect, but we try to do the best we can, to do things and make decisions that reflect the love we have for each other. I hope Katrina finds that family someday soon.

Then, as I was thinking about Katrina during mass, my mind floated to Morgan. After 15 Christmas' with him, this is our first without. Cooper has taken Morgan's spot in the family picture, but he hasn't yet filled his shoes. Of course, The CEO says to me all the time he doesn't have to fill Morgan's shoes, Cooper has his own shoes, and those are perfectly fine. She's probably right :)

So as the clock ticks down on Christmas #20 with the CEO, #11 with kids, and #1 with Cooper, I thank God for those who are with me today, those who have been with me in Christmas' past, and the lessons I've learned about life along the way.

MOVE OVER DIANA TAURASI

Well, maybe not just yet. But Big O had an excellent debut for her Lady Falcons! Sure, we lost to St. Michaels 36-8, but that's missing the trees and only seeing the forest.

We've got 15 girls on the team, and half of them have never played any basketball at all. Opening the season against the best team in the league is a tough way to start, but after trailing 22-1, we played them pretty doggone even.

But the real story, at least in this household, was O's career debut. As evidenced by the score, we were having a tough time just getting shots up, so I instructed O to start shooting, to try to loosen everyone up. Boy did she! After putting up about 5 shots on 5 trips down the floor, I had to reign her in a little. But she hit a nice bank shot from about 10 feet, and got fouled twice in the act of shooting, making one of four. She scored 3, and the only other kids on the team that scored were the two best players from last year who tallied 3 and two respectively. As my good buddy put it, not many players lead their team in scoring in their debut.

Despite the loss, she had fun, and after coaching other kids for the past 5 years at SFX, it was quite enjoyable to watch her out there, giving it her best, and having a good time.

We are 0-1 on the season, but that game was nothing but a giant win to me!

A LIGHT BULB MOMENT

Patience. It seems so simple, so easy. Yet, it's the most difficult thing to remember as a parent I think. Pressure from teachers, pediatricians, other parents that your kid should be accomplishing this, or achieving that...it'll drive you nuts. Anyone who knows me knows that I'm not very patient. But I think I've done pretty well as a Dad at being patient. About finding a decent balance between pushing them to reach their potential and letting them be little.

There has been one issue that has been hanging over the house for literally over 4 years. The Bear is so darn particular about her clothes, but her socks and shoes, it's really borderline OCD. While most kids were learning to tie their shoes in pre-k or K, The Bear just refused. She would get to school and take her shoes off if they weren't tied to her liking. I have had a talk with every teacher from pre-k to 2nd grade about her shoes, and crying, getting to school late because she wouldn't get in the car. They all told me it was no big deal, it's not about shoes, it's about control, or about separation anxiety, or anything but the shoes really.

At the beginning of this school year I said to the Bear "when Thanksgiving break is over, you are tying your own shoes". I had gotten tired of the early morning battles that dragged everyone down at the start of the day. Thanksgiving crept closer and closer, and Bear had made no effort to practice tying. Then, a week before the deadline, she asked if I would help. But each day went by and she never got her shoes out.

So the day finally came, and she did it! I picked her up at school and she said they stayed tied all day, as tight as she likes them (which is cut the blood off tight). The next day, the next day, the next day all came and went with no complaints. The Friday of her first week, she looks up, after tying her shoes and says,"I wish I would have known how easy it was to tie my own shoes, it's not a problem at all." After 4 years of battle, the light bulb came on for her.

And I couldn't be happier for all of us, but mostly the Bear. Hopefully she finds a lesson in there somewhere :)

BAHAMAS MON

The family travelled back to Atlantis on Paradise Island, Bahamas for the third time a couple weeks ago. We had been twice before (3 times if you count the day trip from the cruise), but each other time we had other family in tow.

This was really the first time that the five of us have taken an extended vacation without other family.

It was great! Sure we had some tough moments, that's part of being on vacation as a family I'm pretty certain. The Tornado has been sleeping, well, not much. So that made everyone (particularly me) grumpy one day.

Other than that though, we had a lot of fun together and made a lot of nice memories. We rode slides, saw some movies, played some games, drank some Pina Colada's - you know, all the good stuff. :)

We were able to let the kids enjoy a little independence as they could ride the slides and not have us hanging right with them the whole time.

I always (almost) enjoy my time with the whole family, they really are a lot of fun. As the kids get older, the relationships are changing and its hard but fun all at the same time. I look forward to watching them, and our relationships grow.

BALLER

I've always been a big basketball fan, I enjoy watching it, playing it, and now coaching it. I've been coaching youth basketball since I was 16 years old (holy cow - I've been coaching for 23 years!). I've coached everything from 4 year olds to 15 year olds, girls teams, boys teams, travel teams and school teams. I've been coaching at St. Francis for the past 5 years, and it's been a ton of fun. Sure there have been some unhappy parents, maybe a few frustrated kids, but the majority seem to have had a wonderful time.

But this season is going to be different. The Big O tried out for the team. We prepared extensively for the tryout, as she made over 1500 layups and 1500 jumpshots in the 4 months leading up to the tryout. HOLY COW O!!

The tryout came, and Mr. L, the athletic director said to me how excellent she looked. He commented on her progress since his camp in the summer. It was a great lesson for O about how how work and dedication can turn into results.

We've got 15 girls on the team, 6 of them from O's class. As any season, I'm sure there will be ups and downs, but it will be exciting to get to coach O and her friends as part of the school team.

First practice is today!

FLY EAGLES FLY

Today was a big day in Philly sports. The Iggles played the Giants at home in the early afternoon, with the Phillies hosting the Yankees in the evening. The Phillies are defending champs, but are heavy underdogs to the Yanks. The Iggles were also underdogs, so it was shaping up to be a long day.

Making it more fun is that Uncle Rob roots for the Giants and Yankees. We talk all the time on the phone, texting, and via email. We've done a few baseball trips together, we've know each other for over 20 years now, and both really value our friendship. That's what makes the ribbing about the sports teams so much fun.

The Eagles went out and pounded the daylights out of the Giants, winning 40-17. The last time they scored that many against the Giants at home was 1959!! As I am writing this the Phils are losing 4-3 in the 8th of game 4, and are down 2-1 in the series. Safe to say a loss here and the Phils have Mt. Everest to climb to win their 2nd straight title.

It looks like Uncle Rob and I are going to get a split in our NY vs Philly matchup, which is probably for the best as that gives us both something that we can change the subject to if the sledding gets to tough.

CUZ I AM SMARET

Grades came out about a week ago. The Bear grabbed 3rd grade honors, the only level of honors awarded in 3rd grade. Nice job Bear!

The Big O, she tallied the Franciscan Honors, given to those students in 4th-8th with grades in all classes being 95 or higher. She is the only student in the school who has received this honor more than once in the past year. Three students total have won it - the Big O, and two other girls.

So yeah, Daddy is pretty proud of his little girls.

The title of this post comes from a homework assignment in first grade. She was asked to solve a math word problem, then give the explanation of how she knew the answer. She wrote down the answer to the math problem, then wrote "cuz I am smaret" as her explanation - how great is that?! We saved that paper of course, and showed it to her in 4th grade when we were going through some old stuff. She laughed, which was great as she is pretty good for a 10 year old at being able to chuckle at herself now and then.

Keep up the good work ladies!

MS. COOL

The Bear is very particular about her clothes. VERY particular! One of the things she is most particular about is her socks. They absoultely, no questions asked, without exception, must be pulled up as high as they possibly can. Big O has teased her over the years a little about wearing her socks like a retired man, but that didn't seem to bother her much. However, recently a boy in school has teased her, saying she looks wierd. So that kind of does bother her. I racked my brain to think of someone famous who wears his or her socks high. I settled on one of the coolest dudes ever to play hoops (which The Bear also enjoys). Sure Doctor J was less than a stellar father, but as far as having a flair on the basketball court, he was second to none. That night, after Bear had gone to bed, I was watching some hoops and they actually showed a clip of him playing, with socks pulled all the way up. I taped it to show the Bear in the morning.

She woke up, and I told her that she could tell this boy that Dr. J wore his socks this way, and nobody was cooler than Dr. J, so he should check his facts a little. She got out a little notebook she keeps, and wrote down "Julius Erving = Dr. J", and gave me her famous smile. It was as if she was saying "thanks Dad for having my back". It's those hugs and smiles that make being a Dad so great!

IT MUST BE FALL

Another October is upon us, and another lousy effort by the Eagles against a team they were almost three touchdown favorites to beat. I feel like Al Pacino in Godfather III "Everytime I think I'm out, they keep pulling me back in!" This loss will be followed by a month long malaise, maybe with some wins mixed in, but mostly poor play. The team will then get hot, and either lose the last week of the season to miss the playoffs, or get in, look unbeatable, then drop a stinker against an inferior team. Frustration, with the team, and myself for allowing me to get frustrated over a stupid football game will follow.

There was something different about yesterday's game though. It was frustrating right from the get go. So there was tension in the air. I'm used to Morgan pacing around, scratching the floor in the bathroom or getting into the shower and scratching in there, ears pinned back, lying under the coffee table. Anything but sitting on the sofa or floor next to me. But there Cooper was, sound asleep, right with me. What the heck is wrong with this dog???!!!! Seriously though, he just laid there, as I tossed a pillow at the other half of the sofa, as I paced around, he did open his eyes when I used a couple choice words (kids and CEO were not around during the game), but then closed them right back. It's like he's oblivious to the stress.

The only thing I can figure is that the football was the only real stress in Morgan's life when he was a pup. Now, with the kids running around all the time, even the stress of an Eagles loss to the Raiders seems like a break compared to the normal day to day - is that possible?

Anyway, I was thinking of you yesterday during the game Morgan - hope you were up there in the big kennel in the sky, lying on a comfy dog bed relaxing, looking down on me and chuckling.

JUKE BOX HERO

We went to church today, Saturday, as we have some plans for Sunday morning. Usually there is no intrumentals or choir on Saturday afternoon, only a singer. But today, Mr. Paul was there, the drummer. We sit over by the "band", and the last couple years the Tornado has gotten Mr. Paul's attention. After mass he goes over and Mr. Paul lets him play the drums for a couple minutes. Today was the same, except Mr. Paul kept some rythym with the foot pedal for the Tornado to play the drums with, and he enjoyed that. I think he kind of felt like he was playing a real song.

But that isn't what I wanted to write about really. After mass, Mr. Paul and his wife were talking with us, about their family and how their parents are coming near the end as they reach their mid 90's. Then, out of the blue, maybe reflecting on his family and times gone by, Mr. Paul says,"You have the most beautiful family - we talk about you guys all the time." I said thank you very much, we continued to talk for a few more minutes about other things, and we headed home.

The strange thing about him saying such a nice thing is that I have been told almost that exact same sentence three times in the past few weeks. Another woman in church said she hadn't seen such a beautiful family in a long time, while the cashier at the grocery store said the same thing.

Maybe other people get told that all the time - and we are just getting our first dose of it, who knows. But like I mentioned in my last post, I think maybe there is something that people can see, or sense. We hug a lot in public, we smile a lot, we say I love you a lot, and it's all sincere and genuine. It's not perfect of course, very rarely is anything perfect. But I think our family projects happy, content, and love - and I think others can feel that when they see us, and that's what they are talking about?

Or maybe they are commenting on just how darn good looking we all are? :)

(goes to put ice on shoulder for patting himself on back too hard)

SUPERSTAR!

The CEO and I watched one of the shows we like last night, Modern Family. Towards the end of the show, the teenage daughter's boyfriend gave a little monologue about what he liked about her. He said that she has a confidence that comes only from being part of a good family, that supports you, believes in you, talks about things with you, etc.

I was thinking how true that is, how the strength that you draw from your family gives you a level of comfort, with yourself and around others. Of course it's not true for everyone, but it's a good rule of thumb.

So I went upstairs to go to bed, and checked in on all the kids. I went into the Big O's room, and pulled the covers up on her. I saw her 5th grade book sitting on her desk, and decided to flip through it. This book has dozens of questions about her year in 5th grade that she can fill out as the year goes by.

What struck me, and why I mentioned the TV show, was her answers to some of the questions. One question is who are your teachers, then "first impressions". Of course that means your impressions of them, But O answered "they love me!".

Under the class profile section, funniest - "Me" along with two others. Smartest? "Me", and two others. Best girl athlete? "Me", and three others. Cutest girl? "Me". Best Singer? "Me" and one other.

One of the things I had hoped when I left my job was that by being at home I would be able to help my kids develop a strong feeling of self worth, without being arrogant. That they would have a quiet confidence about them, that they know they can do anything they set their minds to, yet are respectful of both others and the challenges they might face.

Looks like mission accomplished with O!!

BIRTHDAY BASH - PART 2

Saturday morning we asked the Tornado what he wished for on his birthday and he said he wanted to go to the beach. With the Big O away for a sleepover, the rest of us decided we would go over around sunset.

We stopped at 5 Guys Burgers and Fries on the way to the beach and had a little picnic on the beach. Dinner was tasty, and we had a wonderful time on the beach. The sunset was beautiful, we were the only ones on our little section on the beach, and we had a real special time together.

We also saw a cool shadow in the clouds as the sun was going down. Once in a while you have one of those special nights, where everything goes just perfect and everyone just has a truly good time. Tonight was one of those nights. The sun finally set, we packed up the buckets, the frisbee, and a the dead starfish that the Bear found, and headed home. Birthday wish fulfilled. :)

Sunday came, and with it came the "real" party. We had the Tornado's best friend over, along with the rest of their family. They have kids in each of our kids grades, and we get along with the parents great too. Grandma, Grandpa and Oma all came over as well, for a cookout, some football, cake and presents. The Tornado never came to tears as the birthday boys and girls often do. He had a fun day with his friends, played like crazy, enjoyed his presents and sprayed everyone with his silly string.

As everyone settled down for the night, laying in their beds, I went in to give the Tornado a hug and a kiss goodnight. He told me he loved me after the hug and kiss, and as I walked from the room, he said aloud, but as if he was saying it to no one in particular, "That was the best birthday ever", and rolled over and drifted to sleep.

Happy #4 big guy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TORNADO

The Tornado turned 4 on October 2nd, man, that's tough to believe. We had a 4 day celebration that started with our last Rays game of the season. The Rays lost, which was a bummer. But everyone got a baseball at the game, which was pretty neat. There were nachos, candy, cotton candy, and subs throughout the game. That's not normal, but hey, it's his birthday right? On the way out, riding down the escalator, he asked his mommy to carry him. So she did, and he gently lay his cheek on her shoulder. It was beautiful. Until....all those nachos, candy, cotton candy and subs came roaring back! After a clean up job, for Mommy and the Tornado, we got back in the car and arrived home at midnight.

The next day Grandma and Grandpa brought his new drum set over for him to play with. He LOVES it - and so does Cooper. They are quite a pair now, Tornado playing and Cooper "harmonizing". We watched a movie as a family after dinner, and then to bed, with the birthday celebration to continue the next day...

BACK TO WORK

Friday, for the 1st time in over 8 years, I went to work. Well, I went to work and got paid for it. I was the PE substitute at the kids school, and it was wonderful. I got to work at a little after 7, and didn't have my first class until 8:55. I got to teach the k3, k4, K, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th grades. One of the reasons I am excited about the possibility of becoming the PE teacher is that I'll get to interact with kids of all ages. I got to see many of the kids I've coached over the years, and I got to meet a lot of kids I haven't seen before. The younger kids loved talking to someone new, telling me how everything is supposed to be done. Of course the older kids were quick to tell me what they would like to do, even if that conflicted with what I was told they could do. When the day concluded at 3, I was happy to have been able to go in. I talked to the principal for a while about how much I enjoyed it, and she mentioned she would like to get me in for math and science. I told her that would be great, so I think I am moving forward towards being ready and able to take a position when one opens up.

But as fun as it was, I "was missing" the Tornado all day. I thought about him often. This isn't the first day I've spent without him at home, but it is the first one I've spent without him while I was at work. I know it isn't going to last forever, in fact it's going to end in just 8 months before he has to go to school. I've missed being able to run with him as the jog stroller is just too small for him. So as the day was almost over, I thought about him doing his "homework" earlier in the week, and how he's just about ready for school. It's almost time to let him go on with the next step, and for me too. We are both about ready I think, but that doesn't make it any easier. The good news is I'll still see him everyday at school if I can get in there, the girls too. So hopefully it'll be the best of both worlds!

THE HEART OF THE BEAR

The Bear has a heart as big as anyone I have ever met. She's only 8, yet she's always thinking of others. Most kids are in their own world, they rarely think about how their actions affect others. Bear isn't like that. She's always thinking of ways to make others happy.

Last week she heard me talking to Grandpop about how much I liked Ichiro, how much I enjoyed watching him play. Well, about an hour later, she comes down from her room and hands me something. It's an Ichiro baseball card that she had. She says,"I heard you say how much you liked him and figured you might like this card...I can always get another one."

Two days ago she finished her homework, yet kept working on something. After dinner I saw a card laying on the kitchen counter. She had written a letter to her Godfather who lives about 1500 miles away. The letter said how much she missed him and his little girls. I asked her why she wrote it and she answered that she thought he would enjoy getting a letter.

She's always making little cards and crafts for me and her mother. She just always has others on her mind. But it's not always purely without alterior motives.

This week her and O were really lax with leaving doors open, lights on, things like that. In fact, O changed the thermostat after being told not to do it, because she felt it was too hot. So I explained to both of them that things such as electricity are expensive, and we need to do our best to conserve them. The more we save on those things, the more we have for things we like to do. Later in the week, she had an assignment in school to write three things she wishes for. She got in the car after school and told me about the assignment. Then she explained that her first wish was for "lower house insurance". I started laughing, because that wasn't one of the things I discussed as being expensive, however The CEO and I have been discussing it quite a bit lately as our renewal is due soon. So when I asked why she wrote that she responded that she knew it was expensive and it would help us if it was less. Then she added "plus, I'd like to go to 7-11 once in a while". :)

WHO'S IN CHARGE HERE??

The Bear and the Tornado love being together. They now sleep in the same room, she helps him take his showers, they are with each other whenever one goes upstairs to change or get something. But like any two people who spend LOTS of time together, they get on each other's nerves. Often. For the first two plus years of the Tornado's life, this was completely acceptable. The last year though? Less acceptable. Yesterday they were playing on Webkinz, and Bear was giving some instructions to the Tornado. He finally snaps, and says "You think you a parent??!!! You a stinky little parent!" Laughter ensues, he gets even more frustrated...tension building...then more laughter.

Of course when I got back from a run the day before, O told me that Bear wasn't listening to her regarding being in charge. I guess everyone wants a little control, huh? Not that it matters much, Gramma declared herself the Big Dog last week, so we are all just part of the pack I guess.

The picture was taken after basketball practice with O yesterday too. It was REAL hot, and the kids decided they would pour some ice water on each others heads. O went first, then Bear, then the Tornado. They had fun, and I had fun watching them all enjoy themselves together.

WHOOPS!

O gets in the car yesterday as I am picking her up from school. I ask her how her day was, and she tells me that it was "fine, I guess". That's not the typical answer, so I press a little and she starts to get upset. She tells me that during class she sneezed, and as she sneezed she let out a loud fart!! How am I not supposed to laugh at that??!! Well, I do my best, and ask if anyone heard, if anyone made fun of her, things along that line. She said yes, everyone heard, but that no one made fun of her. HOLY COW, that was a close one!.

Later that afternoon, the CEO pulls into the driveway while O and I are playing hoops. O tells the CEO what happened, and as I knew would happen, she absolutely cracks up. Loses it. O starts crying, or at least trying to cry, then recovers and starts to laugh too.

Good stuff.

Hold you me!

That's what the Tornado always says when he wants you to pick him up. He's got tons of other great ways of saying things, like "Please you..." whenever he wants you to do something for him. All of his drawings are "his masterpieces". He lives in "Flordida". My favorite is "You my best friend." "I get it, I get it" with the hand held out at you, eyes closed and head nodding. When Cooper needs to go out, he announces "DOG AT DOOR!!!" "You don't turn the light off on the people" when he's in the closet picking out a tshirt. "That's an accident" after doing something to agitate his sisters.

There are many more that I can't recall at the moment - but as O called him when he was just a year old, he's "The Happy Machine". He brings joy to many people, and for that I am thankful.

IS SANTA REAL??

The question finally came 10 days ago. It was after basketball, and O was getting ready for bed. She had been asking about getting a cell phone, and I had been telling her no. I asked her "if Santa doesn't bring you a cell phone, what would you like for Christmas?" She responded, "I know it's you and Mom." I tried to act like I didn't know what she was talking about, then she added "it's OK Daddy, I've know for a while". I asked her how she knew and she mentioned some time about me saying how much it would cost to replace a present that Santa had brought.

She started to tear up, and then so did I. We talked about growing up, about how some of the magical things in life suddenly don't seem as magical anymore. Like Santa Claus, like the Tooth Fairy, like having a baby. We talked about Morgan dying and how that was a "grown up" thing to deal with. I told her that she'll be facing some disappointments as she gets older, like finding out about Santa, but there are other things that will be magical in a more grown up way. As she was crying, I told her that it's still fun to enjoy Christmas, and believe in the idea of Santa, and the Tooth Fairy. It's fun to imagine that magical things can happen, because sometimes they do.

We talked about not trying to grow up too fast, to enjoy the now. Of course it's natural to be looking forward, to driving, to boys, to high school, whatever. But enjoy being 10, feeling free to be silly. She is the serious one of the kids, and I just don't want her to rush herself through a lot of good times.

It'll be a great Christmas, as we talked about watching The Tornado and Bear still believe, and seeing Christmas from a different vantage point. So yes O, Santa is real, and he loves you very much!

RAYS PARTY!

So Sunday we headed back up to St. Pete for a Rays game against the Blue Jays. The Rays are hanging on the fringes of the playoff race, about 4 games out of the Wild Card, and need every win they can get. With two outs in the bottom of the 8th, tied at 1, Maddon sends up Greg Zaun to pinch hit. After working the count full, Zaun launches a fastball deep to right, two rows deep for a grand slam!! FEEL THE HEAT RAYS!! The Rays went on to the 5-2 victory, and kept hopes alive for another day.

After the game, the kids got to hit wiffle balls out in left field for the first time, as usually they decide to run the bases. Then we headed to Ybor City in Tampa for the season ticket holders party at GameWorks.

WOW! What a great night. 14 of the players came to the party: Matt Garza, James Shields, David Price, Jeff Niemann, Scott Kazmir, Ben Zobrist, Jason Bartlett, BJ Upton, Gabe Gross, Gabe Kapler, JP Howell, Lance Cormier, Grant Balfour and Dioner Navarro. We had been expecting a couple to show, but it was cool to see so many of them make it. The kids got lots of autographs, and pictures with about 10 of the players (David Price shown above). The food was great, the kids loved the chocolate fountain, they all got to play some games too. The Bear got a "big head" picture done of herself (a caricature), which she is something she has always wanted...who knew?? They also had a green screen picture thing that allowed us all to be put into a shot of a home plate celebration after a Longoria walk off homer against the Red Sox. The picture is pretty funny.

But the definite highlight was the kids getting to meet the players. Most of the players were very easy to walk up to and ask for a picture, or talk with them for a bit. For the most part they seemed very down to earth and genuinely friendly, which was great to see. It makes them so much more likeable and easy to root for. Scott Kazmir and Ben Zobrist were my favorites, as they seemed very humble, and interested in being there with the fans. We were able to get some really great shots with the players and kids together, a nice memory for them down the road. BJ Upton was someone the girls really wanted to get a pic with, but he was just swamped by people. He moved from one part of the room to the other with a swarm of people moving with his every step. The girls tried to get into the swarm and get an autograph, but the adults were pushing and shoving, and the Bear got jostled pretty good. He left, and the Bear was pretty disappointed, but got over it.

It was a great night all around, and a wonderful job by the Rays and the players to do something nice for their biggest supporters. Go Rays!

First Day of School

Monday was the first day of school for O and Bear.

O is entering 5th grade and Bear the 3rd grade. Bear has the same teacher O had last year, and O has her religion teacher from 3rd grade. The introductory meeting with the teacher for O was pretty interesting as she seems very stern. O came home on Monday and said "I think I'm gonna like her a lot, she's very organized." That's my O!

The Bear also liked her teacher. Bear is much different than O, she needs to be treated with kid gloves. O likes the more firm disciplinarian, while the Bear likes the softer, gentler leader. So Bear says,"I like her, she says things like schtuff". Bear is too funny, she likes that she can laugh with the teacher.

So the first couple days have gone well. Bear moved up to neon orange in AR, she's cruising right along. O, I don't know if she even has a color anymore. She's such a wonderful reader, and enjoys it so much she just cruises through her assignments. Hopefully they will both continue to do well, I'm sure they will.

Tornado, quite a shock how he's responded to not having his sisters around. I figured he would miss them terribly, but he really hasn't. Seems as though he's more than happy to have his Daddy time back. We've been building marble towers, reading, playing on the computer and playing in the yard. I just want to make sure I enjoy as much of this last year with him as possible.

Let Them Be Little

Thursday was a life changing day for The Big O. She's a little late to the "tooth fairy isn't real" party, OK really late. As far as we know, she still believes in Santa too. That's one of the great things about O, she allows herself to believe the unbelievable, to dream about the unimaginable. She's always been that way, she thinks about how things can happen, most of us think about why things can't or won't happen. I absolutely love that about her.

But she just learned that the tooth fairy doesn't really exist. To understand how much this devastated her, you have to understand that the Tooth Fairy was her pen pal for almost 3 years. She told the TF things she wouldn't tell Mom and Dad. She shared school stories, "crushes", feelings of joy and disappointment. To find out that this being didn't exist, well, I think it's going to be less upsetting when she soon finds out about Santa. This was a friend who wasn't there anymore.

But The CEO discussed it with her, told her how we saved all of her letters, and our responses, and she was pretty excited by this. in fact, she told The Bear she could now be pen pals with the TF as O was almost out of teeth. Then she asked if she could help writing the letters to Bear and Tornado. Of course we said sure.

After this talk, the CEO sensed an opportunity. The Birds and the Bees. It was time. So they discussed it, and O's response was "so Daddy had to do that to you?? Disgusting." In the morning I mentioned it in passing, and she said she didn't want to talk about it with me really. Which is fine. So now she's a little more informed, and a little less a little girl, a little more young lady.

I decided to write this blog because I thought this might be a year of changes. This wasn't one of the ones I had in mind. Sure, I knew it was coming, probably like O sensed the Tooth Fairy and Santa weren't real. But when it hits you, when the reality is staring you in the face, it's pretty jarring. Wasn't it just yesterday we were learning to ride a bike? Heck, learning to walk? Laying in the bed at Gateway with Oreo cookie all over her face laughing so hard the bed shook?

I see her getting older and it makes me so sad and happy and excited all at once. I think about what was, what is, and what will be. Whatever the time, I'll love her all the same.

Settling Back In

We've been back for a week and a half now, and O arrived last night. So the summer vacations are all over, and it's back to the regular schedule.

We had a nice week getting back into the routine at home, as the Bear and Tornado spent some time playing on the computer and playing outside. The CEO was giving Tornado some grief about how to do something two nights ago. He throws his hand up, as if he's telling her to stop and says "I get it Mom, I get it". Pretty good stuff.

They both had their basketball practices, and he is really enjoying those. He started crying the day after his practice because he thought his "game was this day", which it wasn't. Bear keeps getting better, she's so quick when she wants to be. It'll be fun watching her improve as she gets older.

We went up to a couple Rays games on Sunday and Monday. James Shields lost a no hitter in the 8th on Sunday. I've never seen a no-no before, and that was the longest I've ever see one go in person. In the bottom of the 7th, I look over at the CEO and say "are you aware of what is going on here?" She glances over at me, gives an eye roll and says no. I look towards the scoreboard, she looks at it and says OOOOOHHHH. Unfortunately, he gave up a hit to the leadoff guy and the magic was over. They went on to lose the game 4-1, ugh.

Bear, Tornado and I went back up to see Kazmir vs Greinke on Monday. The Rays went bananas and pounded the Royals for a nice win. After the game we were talking to Mrs. Martha, another season ticket holder who has fallen for Tornado. Her husband asked the Bear when O was coming home and Bear told him Tuesday. Then he asked if she was excited, and she said "Yes" emphatically. He said "Really?" She smiled and said yes again. She loves her sister, and boy did she miss her.

So now O is back, we were back out on the driveway working on the hoops games Tuesday. We went to get O's school shoes, and hopped over to Sports Authority for some athletic shoes for the Bear. She informed me as she was whining "I don't like shoe shopping", and I replied "Guess how much I love it!!". After a while of back and forth on a pair of shoes that most definitely fit, she informs me that "they fit great but they aren't comfortable." Oh boy. Well, we got them anyway, and headed out of the store. I'm sure there will be some good times ahead with these shoes :)

We'rrrreeeee Baaaaaack

The family arrived back in town on Sat. the 25th. 3000 miles of driving up and back the east coast always makes for big fun. We spent a little over a week in the Poconos, and the trip is detailed below. ENJOY!


July 14th - Tornado, Big O, Cooper and I hit the streets about 9am. It's Cooper's first road trip, so it takes him a couple hours to settle in. Overall, the day goes great and we arrive in Pooler Georgia around 4:30. We check into the hotel, take the dog for a walk, then head to the pool. After some splashing around in the pool, we grabbed some pizza at Lovezzolla's next door. This was the night of the all-star game, so we all tuned in to watch. During President Obama's appearance in the broadcast booth during a lengthy half inning, Big O says "Is this a talk show or the All-Star Game?" The girl loves her baseball! About mid-game everyone had fallen asleep getting ready for a long day ahead. All in all it was a pretty relaxing day 1...the next day...not so much.


July 15th - Ugh. We had planned on getting to my sister's house in Silver Spring Maryland around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. That would have required us to get on the road by 7 or so. Well, between taking forever to get the dog to go to the bathroom, making waffles in the breakfast area, getting gas, loading the dog crate, etc. etc, we didn't get on the road until well after 8. As I looked for a place to stop for lunch, the Tornado announces he has to go to the bathroom. Traffic had started to back up on 95, and in the middle of NC, there isn't an exit every other mile, so I knew we were in trouble. I finally find an exit and rush into the Wendy's parking lot, jump out of the car and whip open the door next to the Tornado's seat. Unfortunately, I was too late. The seat was soaked, as were his pants and shirt (the bottom half). I take him out of the car and instruct O to walk Cooper around the grass surrounding the parking lot. The Tornado gets his clothes off and decides he still needs to go! So BOOM! Here he is in the Wendy's parking lot, totally naked, holding himself and peeing!

Everyone, including me, decides that Wendy's isn't where we want to eat for lunch and head back onto 95. As soon as we get back on, the traffic comes to a halt. We pull off at the next exit and decide that we'll get chik fil a for lunch. Sadly, it turns out the chik fil a is almost 5 miles from the exit ("only 3 lights from 95"!!) We get our lunch and head back out. "I need to go poooooooooopies". AAAAAAAAARRGGGGGGGHHHHHH! We stop once again in the general Raleigh area at one of the strangest places I've ever seen. It was a multi-stall co-ed bathroom! O was mortified by this development, as there was another man in the room while we were there. She decided to wait. Meanwhile, Tornado is again taking his clothes off since he can't sit on the toilet with his pants on for some reason. Another 20 minutes down the tubes so to speak, and off we go.

But not too fast as the traffic is still ridiculous. 3 hours and 30 miles later we finally escape the Raleigh area. We manage to drive a couple more hours before entering the Gates of Hell, otherwise known as the Northern Virginia/DC corridor of 95. I call my sister and tell her we are "close" but probably still far away. We pull up to my sister's place around 7:30 - and filled with excitement Cooper starts to relieve himself in the car. Luckily I had blankets and towels all over the car so there was no damage to the car. The kids smell, the car smells, the dog smells, I smell, but at least we are there. I'm amazed at how well the kids did in the car. O liked watching the movies, but Tornado just likes "looking at the cars and trucks go by". No whining, no arguing..rather helping each other, some laughs along the way. One more day to go.


July 16th - We all got up at my sisters house had some breakfast and headed down to Sligo Creek. The kids love going down to the creek and playing in the water and on the rocks. It's some good ol' fashioned fun. We went back to the house had some lunch and we were on our way. Four and a half hours later we are in the Poconos, and everyone is excited! The long trip was over and it was time for fun.


July 17th - Not much happened this day, I was exhausted and just wanted to hang out in the house. I flipped back and forth from one side to the other on the couch, watching the British Open. The kids went outside and pretended they were riding horses in the woods, played horseshoes, went to the pool, just kind of a lazy day. Big day tomorrow.



July 18th - The CEO is due in town around noon, me and the kids are going to Allentown to pick her up. We grab her and head to the suburbs of the Big Apple to see some close friends. They have 3 kids, all a little younger than ours, but 2 girls and a boy. Driving through the NYC was brutal, and we arrived a little late. But once there, all the kids were playing together and having fun. It's always great to see how kids, who really don't know each other at all, can just jump in and play together without any hang ups. One of the many beautiful aspects of children. The visit gives my buddy and I some time to plan our baseball trip this fall, hammer out a roto baseball trade (I got killed as it turns out), and play with the kids. We take off around 9 and get back to the Poconos exhausted about 11 and hit the sack. Great day.

July 19th - Sunday was going to be a day for the CEO to rest a little, I was going to watch Tom Watson at age 59 try to win the British Open and the kids were going to play around the house. We lounged around in the morning, as Watson missed a putt on 18 that cost him the title. He went on to lose in a playoff, and we went on to see the new Harry Potter movie at Split Rock. Yikes - was that bad. The girls seemed to enjoy it, but man, I fell asleep once, went for more popcorn once, tried checking baseball scores on the phone (no service), basically anything but watch the movie as there was next to nothing to hold your attention. With HP mercifully over, it was back to the house for some horseshoes (Bear and I beat O and CEO). Then we settled down for the night with a couple games of chinese checkers and Yahtzee!

July 20th - Monday the wife and I drove to the Lehigh Valley Gorge for a bike ride then to Jim Thorpe for lunch. The bike ride was wonderful, it was a spectacular day - and what's better than a day with my wife! (answer - nothing). We rode about 7 miles, not a long ride, but we took it slow. Then we walked over to the cave that is by the river, which is really cool. The CEO had not seen it before, she thought it was neat too. We drove the couple miles to Jim Thorpe to walk around and have some lunch. We had lunch at the Molly Maguire restaurant. Pretty decent, we ate outside on a 2nd story deck, it was nice. Unfortunately many of the shops were closed, so there weren't as many places to visit as we expected. But like I said above, I got to spend the whole day with my wife, so it was a wonderful day all around.

July 21st - Honestly, I forget what the heck we did this day. I'm sure it was fun. I do know we roasted marshmellows outside and made s'mores at night - hmmmmm s'mores. Oh wait - I just remembered - we went to Boulder Field. This awesome collection of giant boulders that we visit every time we come up. It is larger, much larger than a football field, of nothing but boulders. It takes about 30 minutes to cross with the kids, and this time with Cooper. There are blueberry bushes at the other end that the kids like to pick. Unfortunately this day the blueberries hadn't ripened yet, so there was no loot to haul out. But the kids and parents still enjoyed it, and Cooper was shot by the end of the morning.

July 22nd - Wednesday was Knoebels day. This is an old fashioned type amusement park that is about an hour from Grandma and Grandpa's house. We head out there in the afternoon and let the kids loose. Tornado went absolutely nuts. He ran from ride to ride, huge smile on his face, exclaiming "I wanna do that one!" over and over. O likes doing the larger rides, and I went on one of the old style wooden coasters they have. You get the feeling your life is about to end because of the noise the wooden coasters make, but it is a fantastic ride. She did many other of the bigger rides, mostly on her own. She rode one thing over and over, spinning fast, bouncing up and down, I could barely watch it. The Bear likes the calmer rides, but she seemed a little preoccupied for some reason, until the Ferris Wheel.

This was the last ride of the day, and was the only ride the five of us went on together. As we were going up the first time Bear says "I've never been on a ferris wheel before" with an ear to ear smile. She liked this one. As the workers are loading people at the bottom, and we are near the top, Tornado announces he "needs to go paaaaaaattttteeeeeee" and starts bouncing in his seat. We try to convince him he can hold it, but he thinks otherwise. The CEO makes a decision that he can go in the extra shirt we were holding for him in case he got cold instead of going in his pants. She tells him to take his pants off, on the ferris wheel, and to go into the shirt. Being three, and not yet a great shot, he does it as best he can, but it starts spraying all over the cart we were in. The girls found this to be beyond hilarious and were laughing hysterically, which in turn caused him to begin laughing, which caused his already questionable aim to deteriorate even further. We all got a good belly laugh, and when we departed the cart (we wiped it up) I had to laugh as he was leaving footprints on the exit ramp.

July 23rd - Our last day in the Poconos, and I decided that we should go to Bushkill Falls for a hike. we had not been there before, heard my Uncle had proposed to my aunt there 50+ years ago, and heard it was a nice place for a day outdoors. we took Cooper, and GMA decided to come too. Once there we decided on the long route - which was about 2 and a half miles. Midway through we found out that we went in the more difficult direction causing us to have to do more climbing. It was fantastic though! The falls were beautiful and the hike was great. All the kids were fantastic, Cooper climbed without problems, and GMA held up well too, was proud of her.

It took us about 3 hours to make it all the way around, and a great 3 hours it was. The kids even got to "mine for gems" and came away with some goodies there.

July 24th - Today we hit the road and leave O behind with GMA and GPA. We took off at about 7:15 in the morning. Oh, I forget to mention that the A/C in the car stopped working the day before, so were heading back without it. No problems making our way through PA and the northern part of Maryland. You know it's coming though. You can't avoid it. You pray it won't be there but it is...the ramp onto 95 in Northern Virginia. Words cannot describe how awful this part of any drive is. I cannot ever remember driving through this 15 miles stretch without cursing everyone and everything in sight. This time was no different. There we sat, barely moving, passing a sign that reads "Speed Limit 65", and I laughed out loud. The windows are down, exhaust fumes from the large trucks filling the car, dog panting, it's reading 94 on the car thermometer, good times. If only we knew just how good. A few minutes later, Tornado gets a "my belly hurts" out just in time to say he let us know before he vomited all over himself. Out of wipes? Check. Out of trash bags? Check. Out of towels or napkins even? Check. The CEO hops in the back to clean him up the best she can before we get to a stopping place. But alas, with us going less than 5 miles an hour, and a flashing sign reading "expect delays...next 14 miles", who knows when we will get there. Finally we find an exit with a gas station about an hour later, get some water and stuff to clean him up, then back onto the parking lot that is 95.

The plan was to head to UR and have lunch on campus. The 2-3 delay had us wavering, but I decided i was not going to let the miserable part of the trip ruing the good part. So we stopped at the Ukrops down the street from campus and got some more cleanup supplies and lunch and made our way to UR. As always campus was beautiful. Lots of construction going on, building the new football stadium and more residence halls/academic buildings. We ate lunch and walked a round a little. I went and checked out Freeman Hall where I spent 3 wonderful years. It was locked and thus couldn't get in to see the old rooms - kinda bummed out by that, but oh well. We walked down to the commons, showed the Bear the bench where the CEO and I discussed gettin' serious, and Boatwright Beach where I lazied many a day away. A stop at the bookstore for some goodies, a chat with a prospective and her Mom, and we were back in the car and on our way.

We found our resting point in Fayetteville, NC. Finally. Got some chow at the Cracker Barrel next door to the hotel and of to sleep. What a day.

July 25th - ON the road by 7:30, staring down a 12 hour drive with no A/C. But wait! The travel gods were with us as the A/C started working sporadically, which was enough to be able to keep the windows shut and keep the fumes out. Today was much less eventful, no vomit, no traffic, all good. We make it home just before 8, and the trip is officially over. It was another great trip to the Northeast, even if there were some pitfalls, but those are to be expected. We made it up and back safely, had lots of laughs while we were there. One of the things I like the most about the road trips is that we all really get to spend some time together. Life is so hectic, everyone so busy that we rarely get to share time together, all enjoying the same thing. We are blessed to be able to have that time together, and for that I am very thankful. I've got some ideas for a road trip for next summer, but those plans are for another time...

Here Come The Rays!!

The Big O, The Tornado and I went to the Rays game yesterday. We had fun, as usual, and the Rays won a tight 3-2 contest. The lights partially went out, which was a little crazy, particularly since there were about 20,000 kids there on Parks and Rec day, and they all started screaming and shrieking. Once they threw the Bugs Bunny cartoon on the scoreboard though, everyone settled down.

The big fun from yesterday though was The Big O learning how to keep score. We've been to quite a few games over the past few years, and The Big O has gotten more and more into the games. Watching her write down the plays, asking what the proper notation on a deflection by the pitcher, it just made me feel good. Growing up going to games with my Dad was really special, learning how to keep score from him, it's really special. Thanks O, for letting me share in your fun.

We head back up tonight with a couple of The Big O's friends for the game and the Smashmouth concert. Should be a great time! Let's Go Rays!

A STAR IS BORN...

The Tornado had his first ever team practice last night. It's a 3 and 4 year old basketball team with a start-up youth sports organization. So actually, right now it's just him and two other youngsters. The organizer is expecting the league to grow over the summer, we'll see. But it's a nice initiation for The Tornado into the world of sharing with other people.

The coach did a nice job getting the boys to do some dribbling, some passing, of course they all wanted to shoot alot. The Tornado really enjoyed making a little runner, falling to the ground, and sprinting to the water fountain to stay hydrated.

Of course he was awesome, dribbling around cones with his right, with his left, knocking shots down from all over the floor. Here's a short video of one of his buckets...

Afterwards he said he "has a good team" and had fun, so it was a great night. Look out Stevie Nash!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY...

to the US of A. We woke up yesterday morning, gathered the troops together and headed out to pick up OMA and The Bear before heading to Sanibel Island's 4th of July parade. It's a small parade, very Anytown USA feel to it. It's cars and floats, police on motorcycles, and some folks riding Segways down the main street on Sanibel. The kids love this parade because it's like Halloween in July...the people in the parade throw candy out as they drive/walk by, or they throw beach balls, or hand out balloons. All of the kids walk away with a giant bag full of candy each year, so much that they are even willing to share!!

And speaking of balloons, often times the people (usually kids) on the floats will squirt the crowd with powerful water guns. Since it's so stinkin' hot most people really enjoy that. As I was video taping the parade and the family, a water balloon is launched from one of the floats and hits another Dad smack in the face! Of course the CEO, standing right behind the guy, loses it and has to turn away. She's real sympathetic like that :) He checks around, yells out "Who threw that?" eyes up The Big O as if maybe she was the culprit, then fixes his eyes on the float from where it came. It was pretty doggone funny. Even funnier was the dude going over a little later to fan off his wife and getting yelled at to "Get away from me!" Poor Alfie, he didn't have the happiest 4th of the July.

After the parade we headed over to the Boy Scout party, where they have water slides, bounce house, hot dogs and snow cones. It's a lot of fun for the kids, and adds to the small town feel of the day.

We all came home and had a crazy cookout at night - the kids were so wound up from all the candy and activities of the day. Cooper (our dog) was freaked out by all the fireworks since it was his first 4th of July, and that added to the craziness of the night. He got to sleep in our room for the first time, and The CEO said it went well, so he might have been freed from the nightly crate ritual for good.

And with that another 4th of July has come and gone, and the Summer of '09 is halfway through.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!

Well, the CEO and I celebrated our 16th anniversary last night. We decided that our favorite moments of the past year came when our family took a weekend trip for a sprint triathlon to Lake Worth. The waves were big, the smiles were bigger, and The Bear even managed to get crushed by a wave and come up laughing! And I came in 2nd place in my division for the first time ever!

We also had a wonderful time on our trip with the WE family to the Bahamas and we've got the pictures to prove it.

Last night we ate at a new place for us called Brew Babies. The food was excellent, from the grilled scallops appetizer to the peach and blueberry cobbler for dessert. They have some music, and a nice courtyard area to eat outside. Of course the best part of the meal was the company!

So Happy Anniversary to my awesome wife - the best friend a guy could ask for!

Let's get this party started!!!

Why not write a blog? Are you keeping a journal? Can we go to McDonalds? These questions are just a sample of the many I've been asked over and over in my 8 years as a stay-at-home Dad.

So why am I starting today? First, I've been transferring old videos to DVD over the past few weeks and am getting all nostalgic. Christmas programs, climbing the stairs for the first time, the first soccer game. Lots of laughs and a few tears have pushed me to try to keep better notes of what is happening in the lives of our gang. Secondly, this may be my last year as a SAHD, as my youngest will be entering school in the fall of 2010. More on that later...but I wanted to have something better than the journal work I've done over the past decade, which has been spotty at best. Hopefully knowing that others may be seeing this will spur me to action. Finally, if this is my last year at home full time, I wanted to have a record of it for all to enjoy.

I intend for this blog not to focus on me, rather I'll be the fly on the wall reporting on the ups and downs, the trials and tribulations, the successes and attempts that didn't work out the way we hoped. I hope my family enjoys reading this, as well as any others that may stumble on it. Hopefully it will be a little entertaining along the way too.

OFF WE GO!