Boastful - or - What a Full Day

I'm going to indulge myself and be boastful today. That was one really long day. We got up early, and I walked the kids down to the school. We spent the morning with the cub scouts, walking all over the neighborhood putting flyers on doors announcing our intention to have a food drive (we'll walk around picking up the food next week). Now, I think that alone should have been enough. Surely I could have come home and relaxed.

But, no, I don't seem destined for relaxation. After the morning of walking with multiple kids (each kid expands the energy draining affect by 2. In affect, the energy leaves you body exponentially by a factor of how many kids you have with you. The amount of adults you have along does nothing to aleave this. Kids are draining, and that's all there is to it). Let's see, where was I, before my tirade? Oh, right...

After the morning of walking with multiple kids all over the neighborhood, I took my kids plus one neighbor kid to the library, for the Tech-Fair. We attended storytimes, talked with librarians, learned about databases and had a good time. Tiring time as well. Any event that involves kids is tiring, no matter how interesting. Still, the two boys earned credits toward a cub scout badge.

Done yet? No, of course not. It was only 1:00 by then. I took the kids and my wife to McDonalds and then back to my house, where the kids had a play date. (For the uninitiated, a play date consists of kids playing, arguing, having fun, arguing, making a mess and, of course, arguing. Yet, despite all the arguing, they confess to having a great time and hate to see it end. Once again, this is a massive draw on my energy (because, of course, it's all about me).

So once the play date is over, can I finally relax? Are you kidding? Now it's time to get my weekend chores started. Plumbing comes first. This is always true because you have to get the plumbing done before the hardware store closes. It is always a mistake to be working on plumbing when every place that sells parts is closed. You can work on a car and leave it until tomorrow. You can rewire a lamp and leave it until next week. But you have to have plumbing.
So, once I had reassembled the sink, you would think I would be done, eh? HA! I'll say it again... HA!

Don't get me wrong. The sink is fixed (except that I noticed some parts starting to fail, so I need to remember to buy them this week so I can fix that problem next weekend before it becomes a real problem. A house is never really finished, is it?). Where was I, again? Dang, I tend to wander, don't I?

Okay, so I walked the kids around the neighborhood, took them to a program, let them have a play date and then did some plumbing. What was next? Well, it was dinner time, so I had to cook. I admit, food is my downfall, my obsession. That's not to say that I enjoy cooking. I hate cooking. I really enjoy eating. So I cook so that I can eat. This time I decided to have a breakfast for dinner. Homemade waffles, bacon and eggs. Oooooo, life is good.

Done? Please, don't make me laugh. Tonight is daylight savings time and I don't dare leave it for tomorrow. I hate waking up, having a leisurely breakfast and suddenly finding out I'm later than I thought I was. So I went around the house systematically changing every clock in the house. (This did have the added benefit of making the kids think it was later than it really was. That on top of all the fresh air they got today helped them fall asleep earlier than normal). Then, of course, you have to change all the batteries in the smoke detectors and Carbon Monoxide detector.

Finally done? No?

Almost. The kids had homework and Awana homework to do. Then there's the nightly reading (which has evolved. I don't just read to them each night now. I read one book, they each read one book, and then I read a chapter from a chapter book). This is followed by chasing kids around the house (which is really conducive to helping a kid fall asleep) getting them to brush their teeth, clean up toys and get ready for bed.

Then, I get to rest. HA! Fooled you. One more task to do.

This is midterms week. I needed to write up my final draft for my mid-term essay exam. Eight stinking pages that make up a quarter of my grade. But, by 11:00, that is finally finished and proof read and then uploaded to the instructor.

Done.

What a day. Then I decided to write about it. Guess I hope to remember it, some day in the future, when I'm retired and board. Then again, I'll probably be walking my grandkids around the neighborhood delivering flyers. And doing plumbing. Sigh.

But I'm done for now.

Finally rest.


I just need to take the dog outside for her last potty-break, feed the cat, get ready for bed and get everything ready for church tomorrow.
Um, rest?

Growing Up

Last night, my son carved his own pumpkin. Guess old dad is on his way out, as being useful. When I get home, he no longer runs into the room yelling "Daddy". He walks through the room, real slow, points a finger and says, "Hey Dad" real low and slow. He's growing up.

It won't be long and he'll be independent. Driving. Working. Knowing everything.

But, eventually, he'll get his own house and then he'll have questions again. And I will suddenly become knowledgable again.

Guess I better start studying.

Disneyland

What a trip.

Oops, I mean,
"What a vacation".
Disneyland was great. But, boy am I tired.

Day 1.

We took the kids on a plane for the first time. Just getting them through security and the airport was an adventure in itself. And then on the plane. When it roared and we were pushed back in the our seats, and we felt the sudden lift, the kids looked at me with a mixture of excitement and fear.



I sat with the kids on the way to Disneyland, and my wife sat with them on the way back. But we were smart. We brought sticker books and a DVD player. They stayed happily entertained the entire way. But my daughter wailed as we landed. The cold in her sinuses made the pressure changes unbearable, but she wouldn't believe me that chewing gum would help. I mean, really, what does dad know?


The driver that took us to Disneyland was a maniac. I'm pretty sure I met his brother, a cab driver in London (I have two cousins who will know what I'm talking about). And I really didn't want to die. Not on the way to Disneyland. After would have been fine, but not before.


We finally reached Disneyland at about 5:00. As is traditional, we rode the train around the park first, to give the kids an orientation of the park. Then we entered. In just that first evening, we rode Bus Lightyear's Astro-blasters (excellent), Snow White's Scary Adventure (actually startled me), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (one of my favorites), Pirates of the Caribbean (my favorite) and I can't remember what else. We slept really well that night.







The next days were amazing.



After a hearty breakfast (never get one of those wimpy continental breakfasts. Stay at a hotel with sausage, hash brown, eggs and biscuits and gravy) each morning, we entered the park early. I really like mornings in Disneyland. (And afternoons). Oh, um, and nights. I really like nights at Disneyland too. But mornings are nice too. (Have I made the point yet)? The bright morning light, the smaller crowd, the fresh clean feel and the cooler weather. Nobody's tired or grumpy yet. (Maybe Dopey or Sleepy, but not Grumpy). Everyone is smiling and dancing. Kids are happy (trust me, even at Disneyland, kids get tired and grumpily. Um. So do parents).



As the day went on, we would rush from ride to ride. After the second day, I got smart and brought the gameboy so the kids could play it while waiting in line. I even surprised them with two new Disney games (well, okay, two used Disney games, but new to them). We went from land to land. Adventureland (where the characters dress like me), Fantasyland (filled with characters that don't dress like me), Tomorrowland (filled with characters dressed as Jedi, how I wish I dressed), New Orleans Square with the music and the pirates, Frontierland (with characters that, yes, do dress like me), Toon town (with, well, places the kids liked) and Main street, a magical place.



California Adventure wasn't quite as much fun. The rides were still fun, but somehow the magic was missing. In Disneyland, even the walk between rides can be magical. In California Adventure, it's nothing really special. Most of it, anyway. Some of the rides are really incredible, though. Grizzly Rapids are amazing, if you don't mind getting soaked. Soaring over California was worth it, and Tower of Terror was so much fun, I laughed out loud. (Outbursts of happiness is not my normal mode). Monsters Inc was cute and the kids really liked it. And who can resist talking to Crush? (Both of my kids were called on by him). But my favorite was the Toy Story Ride. Not the Astro-blasters, but the 3-D shooting game. Guess I'm just competitive by nature. Gotta get that high score. Some rides were boring. But I went on every little kid ride, because my daughter was too short to go on alone. The boring rides. The rides that made me sick. Even the long-line boring rides. Sometimes you just gotta be a dad and do it.



One place C.A. does better than Disneyland is food. At least there is one area with a variety of food, some for kids and some for adults, near each other. Disney's foods are spread out around the park. If kids want hot dogs and parents want hamburgers, you're looking at a walk half way around the park to get each.



Ah, night is magical. The lights, the crowd, the music. Night is almost as much fun as morning. And many of the rides are more open. What is more fun then complete exhaustion, walking slowly (because you can't walk fast) and taking in the sights and sounds? Even the dark rides seemed darker, mistier. More dusk like. And walking Main street, with the lights, the entertainers, the window displays.



And the last night. Sad, but still happy. Looking at each sight for the last time. Greedily soaking in every image, every sound. And looking at the glowing castle, one last time. Melancholy. Walking slowly. Resisting leaving, even while so tired, long past midnight, carrying a sleeping child. You can't stay. But you sure want to. Like the end of an incredible meal. Too full to eat any more, fully satisfied. Remembering the flavours. Not ready to be done.



And then you pass through the exit. Into the night, the late-night crowds moving along with you, just as you have done each of the five nights. But tonight is different. You aren't going back the other way the next morning. You won't be walking this wonderful road again.



Maybe we won't wait 10 years next time. Maybe five.



Maybe I would rather move in.



Happiest place on earth.

Is it really only September?

I'm tired of working. I'm tired of school. I'm tired of fixing the house and the cars. I'm tired of volunteering. I'm tired of kids' parties. I'm tired of the cat peeing anywhere she wants to. I'm tired.

Okay, I got the rant done. What's the other part of the old saying. Let's see. "To rant and rave."

Um, how do you "rave"? Isn't raving, like, saying good things about someone? But, then again, there is such a thing as a "raving lunatic", Isn't there? Oh. So what I'm going right now is raving, right?

Or maybe rambling.

Well, time for work. Gotta hurry home after. I have a lot of homework tonight. I have my first mid-term this Thursday, and I'm still a week behind on my studies.

Oooo, am I raving yet?

Some Weeks

Some weeks are just more eventful than others. Here was this week...

1. Took the kids to visited Grandma out of town.
2. The kids started school this week. We also started a committement to walk to school more often. I've done a lot of walking this week.
3. I had a job interview. AND I got the job. (Woo-hoo and all that).
4. The dog got sick and started throwing up everywhere.
5. The kids found on of the vomit piles and covered it with... scoops of coffee, scoops of sugar, scoops of salt, syrup, Pam, cooking oil, other substances I can only imagine. (Experienced parents, tell me, what goes through kids" minds)?
6. In response to punishment for the above action, one child got angry and kicked the bedroom window, smashing glass and cutting his foot.
7. I learned how to replace a window pane.
8. Had a good day at church.

So the week started off great and ended great. Think I could have avoided a couple of the parts in the middle.

Gotta go buy some glass now.