Easter!

 

Yes, it's that time of year, and I thought I'd share a few highlights from the BSer hosted Easter this year.

The picture above is the bunny cake that Sasha and Alya made for everyone. No cake molds were involved. No pre-layout forms. Just Sasha's technique with a little inspiration from Alya. And the cake not only looked great, but tasted fantastic.

However, it was up against a raspberry trifle and chocolate dipped apricots, orange peels and strawberries. So the only winner was the folk who make stretch pants. Quite the yummy desserts.

 

While Marcus slept through the Easter Egg Hunt, the girls (L to R: Bella, Alya and Raven) had a field day gathering eggs. With such brilliantly warm weather, it made the kite flying and all the other outdoor stuff all the better. If only all Easters could be this nice.

 

In then end, everyone left having a good time - some better than others - and there was enough happenings to make a Ron Howard television series on BSer holidays alone. Including the fact that both of our kids ended up with buckets on their head. Such weirdoes.

Must be from Sasha's side, because I'm never weird*.

Happy Easter!

Jon

* Who am I trying to kid? It's all me!

Run, Runner!!!!

"Run, Daddy! Run!"
"Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!"
"Rawr!!!!"
"Ieeeeee!!!"

Just another evening at the Casa de BSer.

It is kind of strange to have your kids telling you to run. But when your a geek like me and had previously told your kids how to quote the 70s science fiction movie Logan's Run (see the title of this blog post) then it's bound to come back at you.

In the basement, Alya and Marcus were both chasing me with their little foam guns that shot Nerf-like arrows and telling me to run while chanting "Shoot!" Funny, but a little disturbing.

So the best thing to do was to quickly duck behind the couch and roar right back as soon as they rounded the corner. Seems fair to me. The squeals and laughter was worth it.

And the reward? Two very tired and relaxed children, ready for bed after a dose of the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse - currently in progress.

---

However, as geeky as I am, I did not dress the kids up as anything bizarre. Instead, we went a very basic route - Zebra and Turtle.



They had a fantastic Halloween. As you might be able to tell in the picture, it was really cold here during the day. Heavy coats and bundling up in the wagon was mandatory.

We took a first trip around a neighborhood here in Brown Deer with the Roos family. Their daughter, Kaede, was dressed up as a witch and got to join in on the wagon fun as well.



Lots of giggles to be had there.

Then we had a second round that evening, with a Halloween party in Germantown, where the people really go all out. Lots of decorations, including a house that was actually a little scary for adults as well as a mini-bar with jello shots. Good times for all.

Anyway, a quick update before bedtime for the little ones.

Alya's Birthday Extravaganza!

Here's a whole stack of pictures from Alya's birthday weekend. Two parties, multiple cakes and a bunch of Disney Princess dresses.

Enjoy!

Take a good hard look, 'cause we're sailin' on a boat!

Ah, Labor Day.

Since we do not have kids in school proper yet, it is merely the end of a season and an extended weekend. But we made the most of it, that's for certain.

The picture above, was taken Sunday morning on a lake near East Troy, WI. Sasha's Aunt Debi and Uncle Neal have a house there that they opened up to the entire Fuller family for Labor Day weekend. So we scheduled a time (the Fuller family is that big) and got ready to go.

But that's not the beginning of the story.

---

Sometimes life gets a little funny. Not funny "ha-ha", but funny "strange". I saw some new friends leave the immediate part of my life, and saw a bunch of old friends that I haven't seen in quite a while. This wasn't an "Out with the new, in with the old" plan - I didn't have much say beyond attending events, but it was weird.

The Battiste's (Ben and Jen) left Milwaukee this past Tuesday for Germany, as Ben was just posted there by the US Army. They've been a part of my gaming life for the past year, and have come over for get togethers as well. They had an hasta la vista (my term, not theirs) dinner on Thursday, but with Alya still under the weather, BSer representation was limited to me and Marcus walking into California Pizza Kitchen to say "Farewell" and wave a bag of burgers from Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Very brief, which is a bummer but thanks to the internet, contact need not be lost.

But in with the old! In this case, it was a Friday wedding for a co-worker friend of Sasha and I. It was a nifty ceremony, and a nice dinner, but the highlights for us were.... Conversations with Peter and Ann Marie, a couple that we used to get together with during my previous stint at Manpower. They had since moved out to Colorado and we had not really kept in touch beyond Facebook.

Then throw in a bunch of dancing (the wedding trifecta - Electric Slide, Cha-Cha Slide and the Cupid Shuffle - back to back to back) and it being a date night as my Mom watched the kids all added up to a fantastic evening.

And that lead to the next day and a lake house party!

---



This is what vacation living is all about.

Now I know I kind of lead up to this being the meat of the post. A Saturday through Sunday stay at one of the nicest homes I've ever stayed in, but the events were so laid back that in some ways there's not much to tell.

We all were able to chill out and enjoy the day. Alya and Marcus loved running around on the grass and hanging out on the pier watching the lake. We've been told our children are very mellow, and they certainly know how to take it easy.

Saturday's antics included, a big group bath for all the little (read under 5 years old) cousins in a large, whirlpool tub. Highlights include little cousin Devon (18 mo.) standing up to show how he can pee in the water. -Bath reset!- And the "swim off" between Alya and cousin Jack (4). Each of them were trying to out do the other. Very fun for all that were involved.

This bath time was followed up with a nice outside fire with around ten family that had lots of sparks and some roasting of marshmallows, which then became smores. Alya and Marcus shared a rocking bench for a brief stint until it was impossible to ignore bedtime any longer.

And both of them slept solidly through the night. Which was good because Alya took the top bunk in a room with two of her second cousins who were probably worried they would have middle of the night wakes ups. Instead, they were serenaded by Alya's morning song, which is a quite gentle way to be woken up.

Once we were all moving (and none too hurriedly, mind) the BSers and the Ratajczyks (Jenni and her two sons Jack and Devon) went out on the pontoon boat for a slow ride around the lake. A somewhat calm cruise - kids fine, water skiers a little less calm - that let us see the sailboats get out for the weekly race - probably the last of the season. We even tried to feed the fish, but they weren't that interested in tortilla chips.

Then we came back to shore - had a little lunch - and then the kids ended up taking a 3 hour nap! That's the kind of chillin' I'm talkin' about. Heck, I even grabbed 20 minutes for myself.

By the time we got home, the sun had set, our bodies were tired, and our day wasn't over.

Yep, Holly came by to watch the kids while Sasha and I went out for a second wedding of the weekend.

---

Wai-ken married Maggie this past weekend in a small ceremony at the Hotel Metro in downtown Milwaukee. Sasha and I managed to show up late to the reception thanks to a bonus trip up and down in the hotel elevators.

Anyway, I've know Wai since the fifth grade and we've been trying to get together a few times a year at minimum - plus lunches at El Farol. But also at the reception was two friends from high school (Chris and Mike) and one from the first grade! (Hey Eric!)

Since we were coming in at the tail end of a long day for everyone, we only got to chat a little bit, but it was good to actually talk with these guys that I hadn't seen in several years.

But one of the odd things that I came away with was that we all have changed. But sometimes it's hard to shake the memory of how things were, compared to where we're at now. I am fairly certain that I'm a different person now, and so are they. It's both interesting and a little sad that we don't know the changes we've all gone through.

But that is the nature of life, unless you keep your friends to a minimum, it is impossible to keep up with everyone. Lives change, we cross paths or journey together only to part at some point. And one can hope to meet up again and have things return to that level of comfort you once had.

A funny thing about meeting these friends again, I could find a parallel for each one in my current batch of "newer" friends. Maybe it's a gamer thing (and all of them were/are gamers) but it's like a group cannot abide with two people of the same personality type - but we're drawn to people who share a type of personality we've known in the past. Very strange.

---


Morning... BSer style

After all the crazy events, Monday was the calm we all needed.

Sasha, which help from the kids, put together a really nice breakfast. Then she mowed the lawn while I did house clean up and kid watching.

This was followed by another long nap by the kids and Sasha, which I did not partake in.

Then the evening was a gathering with Peter and Ann Marie (remember them?) and some of their friends, including my old boss from Manpower. It was a great, relaxing evening. Peter took the role of Grill Master to heart and whipped up some good sources of protein. Ann Marie took care of the logistics behind the scenes and we and another couple with their nearly-two-year-old waxed and relaxed.

It was a fine way to wrap up the weekend and a time of nostalgia, remembering days when we were in the same city and could visit more often. I guess we have a very good reason to see Colorado now.

---

Now if I was better at this kind of stuff, I'd re-read the post tomorrow before putting it up, but I'm not that kind of guy. It's late, I'm rambling, and I'm missing some of my friends.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Jedi Masters of July 4th

 

Yes, those are the BSer kids. And yes, those are lightsabers. Oh yes, they are swinging them in the house. But it looks so cool!

I never know from day to day what geek habits or traits my children will gain from me. Marcus taking to the lightsaber is no suprise, but I didn't know how Alya would handle it. The answer is: Quite well. They both make me so proud.

Actually, Alya has two Star Wars books that are in bedtime reading rotation. And both of them have a few Star Wars action figures, as well as having seen most of Empire Strikes Back and a few episodes of Clone Wars. So their education in the ways of the force continue quite well.

---

As for the 4th of July, we were brave souls and took them both down to the lakefront to watch the fireworks go off on the third - which is Milwaukee's biggest show.

Not only were they well behaved, but they also really enjoyed the fireworks. The only downside was that the show was over an hour long, and the kids got bored after a certain point. Explosions are great, but even a Michael Bay movie knows that there needs some pacing.

But since these fireworks just didn't know when to quit - both kids laid down and took a small nap by the end of the show. Yes, that's right - Alya and Marcus slept through the 3rd of July firework finale. Amazing.

---


On the 4th proper, we went to Sasha's Aunt Jan & Uncle Tom's house for their yearly picnic. Tons of fun for all, as they always throw a great party. Lots of family to catch up with and see how all the former little ones have grown over time.

Plus, with four dogs running around, it help in the continuing program to get Alya not quite so scared of dogs. Initially there was a lot of screaming as Cloe came up to say "Hello!" right off the bat. But by midday, Alya was pretty calm and by the end of the day, she didn't really seem frightened by them at all. More exposure is good.

Unfortunately, Marcus was not feeling so well. He was really under the weather all day long. And if you see in the picture above that Sasha is wet, well so is Marcus and that's all my fault.

On of the traditions of the 4th of July picnic is the water balloon toss. So, Sasha and I were throwing a small water balloon back and forth as the distance kept growing between all the contestants. Well the kids certainly didn't want to be left out, so Marcus was hanging onto the front of Sasha's legs.

When I made that last toss, I knew there would be trouble as I had accidentally put a bunch of spin on the balloon - which is a bad thing.

And my aim was true - which made it worse.

So when the water balloon arrived at it's final destination, it was in Sasha hands right in front of her chin. And when it burst, it went straight down on top of Marcus's head.

Yes, the scream from that boy's mouth was quite loud. But we couldn't help but laugh the scene. The poor guy.



Anyway, just a few pictures and memories to share from a very nice weekend.

Be seeing you,

Jon


---

Mother's Day and Fried Rice

It's Mother's day, and I will see if Sasha wants to do a guest blog today, but before that, I will sing her praises and how the day was special.

First off, it was a busy day that started off with a bath first thing for Alya. Her potty training usually gets her through the night, but last night was not one of them. So, I woke up with her and got her washed up right away and let Sasha sleep as long as possible.

Unfortunately, Marcus woke up soon afterward and they were both in quite a state. It's the kind of situation where one parent can handle them - but not in a quiet manner. Soon Sasha was out of bed and we all trooped downstairs for breakfast and a little viewing of Tinkerbell.

First Mother's Day moment, Alya and I came upstairs. I had her decorate Sasha's card, while I prepared coffee and cereal. Then we brought that all down for the enjoyment of Mommy. Yes, a very simple breakfast, but that's because....

We went to take a walk over to the park. This isn't a habit for us, but one that should start. It's a slight hike with the strollers, but the kid's playground at Brown Deer Park is a lot of fun and we don't go there enough. Plus, being there at 9 AM on a Sunday guarantees we have the place to ourselves.

The next thing was that we were meeting my Mom out for brunch at the Crocus Polish restaurant. We arrived at 11:30, with both kids having fallen asleep 10 minutes before arrival - early for nap time, but the park had tuckered them out. This is enough to make any parent nervous.

The food, while heavy and coated in lots of butter, was super delicious. Potato Pancakes that were slightly crispy and loaded with butter. Perogis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierogi) with various savory fillings and served with a little applesauce. A breaded pork chop that took a little to grow on me, but brought memories of weinerschnitchel. And a stuffed cabbage roll that was filled to the brim like a Polish egg roll. Wow was the food good.

The kids clung onto all three of us at one time or another throughout the meal. My Mom enjoyed having her grandchildren hanging on her - as all good grandmas do. I did my best to keep Sasha relatively child free, so she could enjoy her meal and Johnny Walker on the rocks. That's what Mother's Day is about, right? And I would say that our fears of misbehaving kids were for naught. And I'm good with that.

We came home and three of us crashed out to sleep. In order it was, Marcus, Alya (after some coaxing, as she said she didn't need a nap) and then Sasha. This happened between 1:30 and 2 PM.

Since we had a TV producer scout our front yard for shooting the remake of Little House on the Prairie, I decided that this would be the best time to get that done as well as clean up some of the weeds floating around.

(Although I had to buy off of iTunes the Incredibad CD - if you watched Saturday Night Live last night, you'd have an idea of the why. Look for the Digital Short for Mother's Day. Incredibly wrong, but incredibly funny.)

By the time I finished all that, I came inside fully expecting to find some family members awake. After all, it was 4:15 PM, time to get up. But not this day. All three were still snoozing.

5:00 PM - I was starting the prep work for dinner - beef fried rice - and Sasha woke up to say hi, followed shortly by Marcus. Alya really stretched things out.

(Interlude - "What's the theme of your 3rd birthday? Princesses?" "No, cake." - Sasha and Alya just now during Alya's bedtime routine. Franpa - you better be ready to dress up like a princess since that will be expected of you.)

Recently, I've been on a Chinese food kick - making, not buying - and it's been pretty fun. I made a dish that turned out a little poorly, but then I made pork fried rice and that went well. Tonight, I made beef fried rice, and it was really good - for fried rice. Once more and that recipe will fall into the locked position - I will be able to make it fairly easily.

The best part about fried rice to me, it's a leftovers meal. The trick is having leftover rice, but everything else is supposed to be stuff that is hanging around in the fridge. Fun, flavorful, and economical!

While I thought it was good, the judges really had to decide on the quality of my work. Sasha thought it was great. Marcus was reluctant at first, but soon started chowing down big time. Alya.... Well, Alya said she didn't like it right off the bat. So it never passed her lips and she had Kraft mac & cheese instead. Such is life.

Favorite quote "Alya, put on your underwear and come to dinner." BSers in action.

That's it for now. But I'll get some pictures up soon.

Be seeing you,

Jon

The Hunt Is On!

Yes, one of the best parts of Easter was the Easter Egg Hunt.

The participants were the younger cousins. Alya and Marcus were joined by their cousins, Jordan, Jaymin, Raven and Isabella, for the event of the day.

Cameron and I put 54 plastic eggs all over the yard, many filled with candy, more filled with toys, and a select few held money. Top prize, a golden egg with a ten dollar bill.

The kids were chomping at the bit to get out there, so we got everyone jacketed up and sent them kids out on the hunt. And each child had their own style.


Here we have Jordon and Jaymin going off-road right off the bat, leaving their sister Raven to fend for herself.


Alya took the careful and steady approach - just in case the egg would decide to bolt.


And Marcus... Well, he decided that digging for eggs would be his best bet.


Raven found the prized golden egg - that held a ten dollar bill. Although I believe she would have rather had the candy.


And that's what Raven and Isabella did when all done. In fact, all the kids cracked open their eggs and started eating. Good thing we did this all before serving Easter dinner!

Jon

Rockin' the Easter away

So this Easter I was a little sneak and I left out my Rock Band instruments.

Okay, left out is not the right phrase - more like, put fresh batteries in the guitar and left all the instruments out in plain sight to encourage people to play.

And the result - three generations of women playing a music video game.


Sasha, Susan and Alya playing Rock Band

Those are some cool women. And they were playing "Shining Star" by Earth, Wind and Fire - an excellent choice.

My personal fav in the funk - James Brown's "Get up (I feel like being a...)" Great song to jam out to.

Be seeing you,

Jon

The Easter Series - Part One

Hey all,

It's been far too long since my last blog post, so I'm starting a little photo series around Easter this week. Look for a picture or two each day with a little blurb to go with it.

This first picture is Marcus playing with his new shovel and dump truck that the Easter Bunny brought him. Sasha took the kids to the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center last Friday and both of them got a real kick out of playing in the dirt with shovels and rakes.

Later that day, Marcus was found making a zen garden in the sandbox.

Farewell to the bottle

Well it's been a quiet day here at Casa Del BSers. Yesterday was a small party at Sasha's Dad and Step-mom's to celebrate the holidays. So we piled the kids and their necessities into the car and drove for nearly two hours into Chicagoland for a good holiday evening.

The day and night was filled with good food, homemade smoked salmon with a wasabi dressing as one of the appetizers. The rich flavors of the salmon was tempered by the dressing which had just the lightest kick courtesy of the wasabi. This was then joined by tons of pizza from Lou Malinotti's. While I am not a fan of their pan style, the thin, corn meal crust makes every bite a joy.

Alya and Marcus were not fans of the pizza as much, but they were enjoying the family quite a lot. Since there are no pets there, Alya didn't have to over come any doggie anxiety and Marcus enjoyed roaming around holding his Uncle Scott's hands.

Unfortunately, too much fun comes with a price. Neither child was really willing to fall asleep.

See, we were planning on staying the evening and driving back on Sunday. However, both kids are party animals. The sounds of people having fun downstairs kept them from wanting to sleep. Alya just kept talking up a storm, while Marcus just kept fussing shortly after being put into the pack & play. Part of this also stems from a recent change in the bed time routine.

Just last week we had Marcus and Alya "kick the bottle". No more bottle drinking for either of them. Alya was certainly getting on the old side - although she only drank from them first thing in the morning and as part of bedtime. Marcus wasn't drinking from the bottle at school, but he did have it as the primary milk delivery system at home.

So taking that standard part of sleep time did not facilitate sleeping away from home Saturday evening.

Naturally, they both crashed out immediately upon being loaded into the car and driving away. Those little turkeys. [smile]

How does this all lead to the quiet day? Well, Alya took a four hour nap today, while Marcus had a 2 hour and a 3 hour nap. Quiet times for the adults. Every so often that's a good thing.

***

On a musical note, we have been listening to Peter Gabriel's album So this evening. I believe it to be one of my favorite albums of all time. Certainly it is his best complete work.

I have all of his releases since So, and a few of the prior albums and none of them have the timeless quality across all the tracks like I hear in this one.

You've got the evergreen "In Your Eyes" which works so nicely as a romantic piece. "Red Rain" kicks the album off with a strong beat and some vocals that carry such strong emotion that I just want to belt it out with Mr. Gabriel.

"Don't Give Up" blends Gabriel's rough vocal style with the beautiful lilt of Kate Bush. "Big Time" is just silly and feels like a musical powerhouse.

Good stuff. Give it a listen if you haven't in a while.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Holidays and Blogging....

Howdy,

Just firing off a quick post since it's been over a week and I have been remiss in making any updates.

First off, the holidays are crazy, the days leading up are crazy, and the freakin' snow that we have had cover our city is insane!

However the fun part was bring Alya outside to stomp around on top of piles well over her head in high. That little squirrel is going to be a snow girl. I can't wait for when Sasha takes her skiing for the first time. I just know Alya is going to love it.

Meanwhile, Marcus is living the world of molars - and it doesn't agree with him. Alya's teeth just flew in, but Marcus is creeping along one molar at a time. Poor guy is doing wakes ups thanks to pain, which has not been fun for us as well.

Plus, he's still holding out on the walking thing. Or at least was until last night. We had dinner over at Rob and Mayumi's last night, and while My Neighbor Totoro was on for Alya and Kaede, Marcus made the move. He took a couple of steps from the television to the coffee table to grab the remote. Marcus most certainly has a y-chromosome.

Okay, that's all for now, but the goal will be pictures and another post before Christmas. Wish me luck!

Be seeing you,

Jon

So, what's been going on?

That's a good question, isn't it?

A week has gone by since my last post, so one would think that something must be going on right now. But really, it has been regular life that's been playing with not putting out updates. So this one is going to be a little on the short side.

- Christmas Time is here -

Last Wednesday was the next step in decorating for Christmas - the house interior!

We've got tinsel on the basement ceiling. There is a nativity scene in the front room. Snowmen all over the place. Oodles of Santas floating around, including "Jazzy Santa" who's black and plays "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" on the sax when you press his button.

Multiple wreaths. A few light-up snowflakes for the front windows. Quite a few noise-making Christmas stuffed animals. A snow globe for each of the kid's rooms. And our miniature sleigh with two snowmen and a Cthulhu riding inside.

The best thing about all these decorations is when Alya woke up the next morning and went running from item to item checking it all out. That is what it's all about.

Oh, and we told her that the elves did the decorating overnight. Gotta start the myth somewhere.

Tomorrow may be the start of the tree. Lights will not be on the same, totally insane scale as last year (over 2000 bulbs) but it will be pretty.

- Alya and dogs -

So this past Sunday, we took the kids over to my Grandmother's a post-Thanksgiving gathering. The bad news first - I drank a soda on the way there that triggered something lying dormant in my intestines. The short of it - I ate none of the good food that was prepared and was very uncomfortable for the duration.

However the food was fantastic as leftovers. My Aunt Dolly made some fantastic barbecue ribs. There was Sasha's cornbread stuffing, again which is could eat again and again. Some really good macaroni and cheese, joined by some of the best flaky biscuits around. Fortunately for me, they all reheated nicely the next day.

Also at the house was Ruby the dog. I don't know exactly the breed Ruby is beyond "puntable" but even at that small scale, Alya was terrified. But unlike Thanksgiving, she eventually was able to deal with Ruby being around, eventually evening laughing at the puppy. It's good to know that she'll be able to deal with this fear of dogs.

In fact while shopping on Friday, Alya asked Sasha if she could get a puppy. Sasha's response, "No way in hell." And that's something we're both solidly on the same page with each other.

Be seeing you,

Jon