Biting the Bullet

So much has been happening that there has hardly been time to write a blog post about it. So, here's there elevator pitch of the past couple of weeks:

- Managed to finally see Avatar. Visually mind-blowing, but it was hard to keep from laughing at the story.

- Took Alya and Marcus to Great America for the first time. Alya and Marcus rode the Whizzer. Alya loved it and rode another kid-sized coaster seven times.

- Loaded the kids up in a bike trailer and went for a ride. They like the little journeys even if Daddy maintains the bad habit of pushing himself too hard initially.

- Determined that an appetizer is mandatory with Calderone Club pizza, and french fried eggplant fits the bill very well. Marcus likes the pizza crust more than anything else.

- Video gaming has been falling off, until Super Street Fighter IV arrived. Sounds dorky, but is great fun.

- Still haven't hooked up that old Atari 2600.

- Took the kids to Six Flags Great America again. Alya and Marcus rode the Whizzer again. Marcus loved the Scrambler/Hometown Fun Machine. Alya rode the Whizzer three more times. Then Alya rode the Demon four times. She is a coaster fiend.

- My little sister and her husband had their baby boy, Asher Cohen, and we're so happy for them. Congrats to them and to my Mom for her third grandchild.

- The Roos family had their baby boy and we're so happy for them. Congrats guys! The adventure begins again.

- Sasha's been on a working spree that has led to a lot of late nights and a little bit of travel. Single parents, you are so strong.

- Tried to get the kids to relax with Star Wars. Marcus fell asleep, Alya fought to stay awake. They later watched most of the first Clone Wars cartoon. They will like Star Wars, this I give them.

- Replaced our digital camera that died with a new Panasonic camera. It's not bad, but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. Sorely disappointed with a new Sony model and had to return it.

- Went to a cook out with my work team and had a great time. The kids got to play with other little ones around the same age and really loved it. Thanks Patrick.

- I really need to get into the shower. Not because I'm smelly, but because I need to get ready for work and get the kids out the door and pack a lunch and... and... and...

Yeah. Time to stop blogging.

Jon

PS - Was singing "Home" by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros to the kids in the car yesterday on the way to school. (great song if you haven't heard it yet) And while singing, I made up my own words for the speaking segment of the song about the kids and what we were going to be doing that day. It was very emotional for me, but the kids are a big part of my "home".

Just Past Midnight

That's it. All done. My 40th birthday proper has ended.

I am now 40.003 years old.

And I'm good with that.

Today was more marvelous than I could ever ask for. And nearly all of it is due to the hard work of my wife of nearly 10 years, Sasha.

She and the kids made me breakfast, cut flowers for the party, made a birthday cake from scratch (lemon bundt), cooked up 25 lbs of barbecue ribs. Plus a salad, potatoes, chips and guacamole, shrimp cocktail. Just crazy stuff, that was delicious and a delight.

Then family and a couple of friends who are family came over to deal with the food. It was on both sides and that meant a lot to me. We sat outside (fantastic weather) and talked and laughed and ate. One cannot ask for more, but I got it.

Alya squeezing a glass of fresh orange juice just for me. Marcus playing "Happy birthday" on the kazoo. Being able to play the role of guest of honor instead of host. Pure fantastic.

And on Facebook, I had tons of people wishing me a happy birthday. Friends from long ago, family that live outside of Milwaukee, co-workers, and friends that I see on a frequent basis. This is the kind of thing that makes Facebook great. (Although I hear "Farmville" is pretty cool.)

Alas, 40 also wears on the bones and the brain. Sleep calls and while I don't want to pick up the phone, I really don't have much choice in the matter.

Good night folks!

Jon

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!

Fun Fair and Parents and Memory

Today's big adventure was the Brown Deer Grade School Fun Fair. It was held in the middle school which is only three minutes away, so Sasha thought it would be great to take the kids - and I agreed.

The only Fun Fair I remember is one that was held at St. Robert's over in Shorewood. And I remember thinking it was the coolest thing ever. It was like State Fair, but without all the creepy guys! Well even my 30+ year old memory couldn't stack up to what they did at the Brown Deer event.

They had three different rooms of games, each aimed at a slightly different age range. It helped the little ones keep from getting trampled by the big kids, which was very wise. Alya really enjoyed the Duck Pond game, while Marcus got a kick out of the fishing game in the smallest kids room. While the library had bowling setup in the shelves and a football toss as well. And the gym had a bounce castle, bake sale, and quarter-a-ticket raffle.

In fact, the quarter was the over arching theme. Twenty-five cents got a play at any of the games, a ticket for the raffle, and two snagged a bag of popcorn. Cheap fun that all went toward helping the school raise money for lots of extra activities.

In addition, Alya completely chomped down on cotton candy - we'll have to watch out for that in the future. Alya's exact words after Sasha took a small piece were, "Actually, I'm going to eat the rest of this." Lots of sugar lead to a big nap for the squirrel when the crash came, which would have been better if Marcus napped as well. But our little man just couldn't settle down. I suspect the cat nap he took on my shoulder at the Fun Fair was just enough to keep him from completely going down.

Looking forward to next year, as this was a way cool event!

***

One thing that came to mind tonight while doing dishes (and which also led to this posting) was my relationship with my friend's parents.

It's odd because as a kid you think it's nice and easy to call your friend's parents "Mom" and "Dad". Although, I will admit that I preferred not to use any name at all, because I didn't get that comfortable with most parent. But then there the exceptions.

An early memory is sitting at the kitchen table at Eric Lenz's house on Newhall eating pizza. Eric's Mom had set us up for lunch and it was a simple meal, but it was so cool. This was an event that happened frequently, but that house was in some ways a larger constant than my own. Oh, did I mention that I was either six or seven at the time?

But at any rate, Eric's Mom, Barbara, took me in probably more often than I can remember, but that is probably part of the reason why I could call her Mom, although I probably didn't do it very often.

Heh. I still remember the Ziggy cartoon that was taped up in the kitchen. Ziggy was walking his pet duck and a construction worker was yelling, "Duck!" to which Ziggy replied, "Don't worry, he's friendly." Naturally, he didn't see the wrecking ball headed straight toward him.

***

The other friend's mom that was on that same level was David C's Mom. Now this jumps from First Grade to Junior Year of high school, but she was a parent that was not only there for all of David's friends, but just was the awesome of mom-hood.

While sleepovers were a thing of the past by the time I met Beverly C, she was "Mom" pretty much out the gate. Admittedly, part of this came from the fact that in high school we travelled in packs and I was late to joining this group, but while I wasn't spending the night, there were several dinners at David's house and it often was the meeting point where activites would begin.

Meals were a little more formal in high school, but that kitchen will always be remembered as a place where I was welcome as more than just one of Dack's friends. And Beverly really made it another home for me.

***

"But, Jon," you might ask, "Were there any extra Dad's in your childhood?"

The closest would be Peter Santi's father, Joseph. I really didn't spend a lot of time with him, but the one trip I took to EAA fly-in in Oshkosh just sticks in my head. I just felt a part of this family trip - although it was very much like a fishing trip with the guys, but without the beer - and the invite was very welcome.

And it kind of helps that the only other time I had been to the EAA fly-in was with my own father.

***

Alya and Marcus already have had sleepovers at several family member's houses without us, but family parents are not the same as friend's parents. I don't know if I would ever be referred to as "Dad", although I'm sure Sasha will be called "Mom" by some of the kids' friends. Whether it happens or not, I'll be fine with it.

But I had best figure out something, becuase "Mr. BSer" doesn't quite have the ring I'm looking for.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Kicking the Diaper Habit

It's really funny, we've got Marcus on the potty training route, but both he and Alya still use sippy cups. It's like we're scared of letting them put milk or juice on the carpet, but pee and poo? No problem!

For those of you who do not see the kids, they have moved from cute little ones, to cute, active, often defiant, not-quite-so-little ones. Alya is nearly at the height where she is not supposed to play at the Bayshore kids area anymore. Mind, we were there tonight and saw an 8 year old (at least) hanging out with his little brother on the equipment. Such is life in America.

Anyway, the two of them are getting really good at not listening/following directions these days. Marcus prefers straight up defiance, "I don't like that!" while Alya attempts to make a deal or deflect what you asked her to do.

"Alya, go potty before bed."

"But you told me to pick out pj's."

"And you did that, now go potty before putting them on."

"But you told me to pick out pj's." [different, slightly whiny-er inflection]

[sigh]

But it's amazing how funny they can be as well.

Tonight we ate at Potbelly, and neither of them liked their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - because they were too messy. As soon as I wrapped them up in a napkin for holding purposes, they were okay. But we were going through napkins like crazy. So when I handed one to Alya for her messy hands, she took it and draped it over her head! No good reason, just left it there as we all laughed. She is a goof.

Meanwhile, I had the "crazed parent" moment of the night. Marcus ate a quarter of his half a sandwich before a lump of peanut butter derailed his interest. Since Potbelly does sundaes, they have bananas right there in the store. So I took them both up to the counter to get one for them. Well, it was just one guy back there - manager or shift lead - and the other two where outta sight, so we were waiting. And waiting. And the kids were getting antsy. So when I could grab his attention, I just said, "I need a banana for the kids." and held out my card. (Yeah, I'm one of those no-cash-having kind of guys.) He said it was 53 cents and minimum was a dollar. So I stated I had no cash (like a North Shore jerk) and started walking away. He called out, just take one on me. So I did.

Three minutes later, once Marcus was eating said banana.
([crack! Peel-peel-peel. pass to Marcus] "I want to peel it!" [mentally curse for forgetting he peels his own and attempt to fool him that I resealed it] [succeed in fooling 2-year-old son])
I realized we had been carrying Marcus's Spider-man lunch box with us. The one that was filled will all the coins from a mini-change jar. Probably only three or four bucks in there, but that's plenty for a 53 cent banana.

So we went back to the guy, thanked him for the free banana, and then had Marcus pay for it since his lunchbox held the cash after all.

Anyway, I'm off to play a little video games before bed.

Be seeing you,

Jon

Should old blogs be forgot....

End of the year. A time for resolutions to make the next one all the better. The western hemisphere way to state, "Time to start the next chapter." And a moment to reflect on the previous 365 days.

But a blogger has their history laid out behind them, so it should be easy. Except for the blogger who forgot how to blog on a consistent basis.

"Hello, my name is Jon. I'm a lapsed blogger."

What's crazy, looking back I can see that I've put up a heck of a lot of posts this year, but fell off the wagon after Alya's birthday. You know, when pictures and things are happening at a rapid pace I stopped letting everyone know what's going on.

So the first thing to not do is make a resolution to post to the blog every week.

I took a look at my first post of 2009 ("Happy New Year"!) and it was going to be a retrospective. It never got past January.

Instead the better resolution is to write.

It's a bigger concept than just a simple "blog more" and encompasses more than this family life blog. And it will make a general improvement on my communication skills as a whole. And perhaps it will reduce some of that late night game playing, because I'll be writing instead.

[Jon waits for the laughter to die down.]

Okay, I had to put a funny in there some place.

***

Speaking of writing, that's one of Alya's big things of the past months. She can write her name fairly well, knows all the letters in lower and upper case, and seems just a half step away from reading. My squirrel's verbal skills are growing and her reasoning is going even faster. "Do you remember when you flushed the toilet when I was supposed to do it?" or any other item of remembering past events. It's so cool to see her grow like that.

Marcus is busy doing his own thing. He is quite the instigator and often starts stuff up with a quiet action that would serve to get his sister in trouble if we were not nearly as observant. Favorite lines include, "I don't like that!" and "More [batteries, suckers, screwdrivers, etc]." But then he says, "Please." in the voice of an angel, so it's hard to say no.

Sasha and I are doing well. Work continues for both of us with driving intensity. Sasha's load has been increasing in her department and will continue a steady climb. This is good for Manpower as her department (NASA) takes orders for national accounts. So more work equals more money.

My department will reach a fever pitch this year. Already I have had to pull weekend hours, but now the big roll out is about to happen and that will not be a cake walk.

On the personal side, we've not made major changes. Alya and Marcus have both taken their first class at the zoo and are already signed up for another this spring. Alya begins gymnastics next month, while Marcus has a return to swimming lessons.

Both kids had an excellent Christmas with far too many gifts, but lots of extended family time to show both sides of the holiday. Pictures may go up someday.

***

Anyway, it's time for me to roll. We've got a New Year's Eve ahead that will have the kids doing all sorts of fun things with their cousins while the adults get to have a little normal conversation with cousins as well.

Best of health for 2010 and may fortune smile upon each and every one of you.

Signing off for 2009!

Jon

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.