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.

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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.

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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


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Blogging like no one reads it...

The title is exactly what I've been doing with this blog for the past month plus - not doing anything. The problem being that lots of people who I care about read this blog, so I've been doing them a disservice. And for that I apologize.

Now - on with the show!


What's missing from this picture?

Lots of things have been going on lately in the BSer world, but I'm going to start with the life changing event.

We pulled the plug.

Or more accurately, we pulled the pacifiers from Marcus and Alya. (Those of you who follow us on Facebook most likely already know this.)

It has been about two full weeks plug free and the two children handled it quite differently.

The first thing that happened was on a Friday, Sasha had the kids pack the plugs up in a box to "Send to the children that needed them." Drove to the post office, and mailed it off.

Gone baby, gone.

Then Sasha took them to Toys R' Us and bought them a bicycle (Alya) and tricycle (Marcus) for doing such a good deed. Bribery works, right?

At nap time, Marcus went down with not too much of a fight.

Alya screamed bloody murder.

Sasha called me on the phone to share the joys of my daughter's plight. It was not pretty to hear.

Eventually, Alya asked for her woobie, a blanket, milk, and to be put in her car seat. There she managed to calm herself down. Although she had woken Marcus up and eventually it was a long car ride for both kids, and Momma, to get to an even keel.

That was 14 days ago.

The dust has settled for the most part. The biggest problem right now is that both kids have lost their primary means of settling down for sleep. Alya has rolled with it for the most part. Fine at daycare, but at home she now falls asleep in our bed and then gets carried into her own.

I think we kind of "broke" Marcus.


That boy used fall asleep at night so fast your head would spin. Two stories, maybe four, and then a little rocking and he could be laid down with his eyes open. Then he would be sawing logs like a the little man he is.

Post-plug-pull Marcus does not like to lay down in his bed. He doesn't even like rocking in his room. Currently, the only solution we have is to read stories in his room, then bring him out to the main room to rock in the recliner for 10-15 minutes. Our easy sleeping boy no longer owns that name.

In hindsight, we probably could have had Alya drop the plug and let Marcus keep it for a few more months. He was kind of moving away from it anyway. Instead, we pulled the plug, took a side off of his crib, and had him change rooms at daycare within a week's span.

So it's been rough, but the benefit is wonderful.

Plugs discourage kids from talking, and can inhibit some speech growth. Now both of them talk a heck of a lot more, and are telling stories and really using their voice.

Music to Sasha's and my ears.

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I've got a whole bunch of things to talk about, but I'll leave you with this for now.

I finally figured out why I can eat at Qdoba (fast food-ish burritos) so much. Quick access to rice and beans. My Grandma Celia used to make rice and beans back in the day and I loved it. I could fill and entire plate with rice, cover that with beans, mix it all together and nearly eat the whole thing. A perfect "comfort" food.

Qdoba gives me that base of rice and beans, which doesn't taste as good as my Grandma's, but I enjoy the flavor all the same. It's probably a good thing the kids aren't fond of "burritos" right now. We'd probably go out to eat every "Daddy night".

Although, my track record really isn't that good at this point anyway....

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

Black Leather and Blue Jeans

Yeah, it's been quite a while since the last update, but I hope that people enjoyed the pictures that went up over the week after Easter.

Some news from the BSer family, we no longer have a mini-van. Yep, the Honda Odyssey has returned to the dealership. We are now proud owners of a Honda CR-V. Black exterior with a tan leather interior, it's been a fun vehicle to return to the garage.

While Marcus isn't that impressed, Alya loves "her" new car. I don't know quite when it became her car, but the CR-V is Alya's car and the Accord is Momma's car. Kind of leaves me as the chauffeur, but I can deal with that.

But that brings me to the subject of this evening's blog. Clothes can make the man, or at the very least influence the attitude. Pius had a no jeans policy when I went to high school and that did have some impact on attitude.

When I work from home, I am not the kind of guy who can sit in his sweat pants and be all grubby. Clean, perhaps even a shave, just to keep the attitude in the right place when I get working.

So when I throw on my black leather jacket and a pair of blue jeans the attitude is slightly shifter. A touch more arrogant. A little more sass.

This feeling had been amplified each time I climbed into the Accord to head off somewhere on my own. Low to the ground, with a feeling of imaginary power (only 4-cylinders) Jon is feeling the "driving way".

Something that the Odyssey never generated, and the new CR-V doesn't provide either. However, the previous CR-V (which was technically my car) did grant that sensation.

There is no real answer as to where this feeling came from. I've always enjoyed driving, and have occasionally thought that I could be a good race driver. While not a NASCAR fan in any shape, I do love a good racing video game.

This does raise a little concern, as 40 is rapidly approaching and will I start looking at a sporty little fun vehicle.... Nah, who am I kidding.

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On a different note, if you're on Facebook, check out the video Sasha posted a few days ago. Marcus got into finger painting this past Sunday. However, I don't think that paper is his favorite medium.



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.