Friday, February 26, 2010

Dance, dance, dance

Dance? :)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Nice week with Gramma and Grampa (aka my mom and dad)




Gramma and Grampa have been around this week. They showed up on Monday night and have spent an eventful week with us so far. On Tuesday morning, Gramma accompanied my daughter to her Splatter Sisters concert at her pre-school (and got a little gramma-granddaughter time with lunch afterwards). We also had a nice dinner on the grill - Grampa brought t-bones that I grilled and my kids absolutely devoured :) (Okay, I liked mine, too.) Wednesday continued the fun, as both kids went to swimming lessons in the morning (with me, gramma and grampa in tow). Since it was Ash Wednesday, we were planning on doing fish out after my son's after-school chess class. Almost on demand, we got a call telling us my son's after-school class was cancelled, so we had a nice relaxing meal out and then went to a nice Ash Wednesday mass at church. Everyone was tired, so bedtime couldn't come soon enough. Today (thursday) has brought a fairly quiet morning ... except that my son had to show his grandparents how he skates - so out to the rink on the field out back. We had a nice lunch, and pre-school/kindergarten for the kids in the afternoon. Tonight we'll have a nice lasagna and see if daddy (me) can still play a little basketball, as I help the Park Center staff take on the students in our Hoops For Heart game. The sun is shining and today is a good day! :)

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Come on Jimmy, enough with the snow!

We had a bunch of snow come through the cities over the last 48 hours and hopefully it is done. The good news was that it seemed to be pretty light and fluffly ... unless of course it's the stuff that the snowplow deposits at the end of the driveway after the snow has been in the street for eight hours or so.

The snow piles are roughly up to my chest right now, so backing out of the driveway would be an adventure in a sedan - good thing we have a minivan and a mid-sized/small SUV :)

Word is that we shouldn't expect too much more snow (thank goodness!). But it actually hasn't been too bad. At least we haven't had to travel too far. I'm thinking that Mother Nature is giving us the last winter weeks in a furry so that when spring comes early (like Jimmy the Groundhog predicted), we'll really be ready to enjoy it :)

Friday, February 5, 2010

I'd love to say I'm perfect ... but ...

I'm not. I can say this because my wife has been out of town for 10 of the last 14 days. Now, before anyone gets any ideas, I say I'm not perfect because I yell at my kids. They yell first most of the time, but hey, we all have a little Italian blood in us, so we have a little spirit :)

The kids run this house. I may act like I do, but, for the most part, they don't understand that they can't always have what they want. Mostly my daughter just asks for something from me every five minutes, or waits until I'm on the phone or in the middle of doing three things at once before she asks me a really polite question ... and then asks it again ... and again ... and again until she's basically yelling at me :) No, really.

My son, on the other hand, has a really nice case of the "poor me"s. Yes, if he doesn't get what he wants, he whines or stomps away or says, "There's nothing to do!" or "I never get what I want." Which all really makes me laugh ... most of the time. Every once in a while I lose my temper and they get yelled at to go to their rooms. Mostly because the first three times I try to get them to behave by a) talking nicely with them, b) offering GREAT options for alternatives, and c) bribing them; they do nothing but continue to whine. So, I have to ask them to go to their rooms. Then I TELL them to go to their rooms. Then I YELL and SCARE them into going to their rooms. Which always gets my son to calm down (or at leat most of the time). And usually gets my daughter to ask for some water and then ask if she can get out of her room 5 minutes later :)

No, really, they love me. Honest they do. And I don't yell that much. But at least three times in the last two weeks. Thank heavens my wife is coming home. Yes, I need the break at night when she puts them to bed. Yes, I need to not have to do dishes EVERY night after dinner. Yes, I need to be able to have time off. This stay-at-home-dad thing is a gem. I love doing it. But ... I need help. Thankfully, I have a wonderful, loving wife ... and she's coming home tonight.

Those two wonderful faces you see below. Yeah, those are my kids back when each of them was less than one year old. And I love 'em to death. I should mention that they behaved perfectly at the swim and dive meet the other night. And that they have done a great job the last three nights of going to bed without arguing. And that they are doing really well in kindergarten and pre-school. And that they swim. And that my son is doing after school chess and after school lego club. And that they really are two little blessings.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day ...

... and most people around the US don't even know where the "Groundhog Capital of the World" is. Phil may get the most exposure, but the legitimate groundhog prognosticator resides in southern Wisconsin.

Jimmy is ready to make his prediction and I'm thinking we might just have a LONGER winter this year. (Not that that is what I want!)

Sun Prairie, Wisconsin is truly the only Groundhog Capital of the World recognized by this BadgerCub. Sun Prairie has records dating to Colonel Angell back in 1889, siting his use of "Old B" the groundhog to "take for granted that winter is not half over." Even congressional records show men of high standing arguing about the legitimacy of other "whistle pigs." In 1952, Sun Prairie proclaimed itself "Groundhog Capital of the World" and to this day, I think nothing less than that. I hope Jimmy (VIII) the Groundhog stays warm Tuesday morning and I truly hope the sun does NOT shine, but whether the sun shines or not ...

HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY, EVERYONE!

by the way, in case you're wondering, http://www.groundhogsday.com/groundhogcentral.php displays just about every groundhog in North America ... and next to Jimmy's link it says ...

"Jimmy the Groundhog (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, the true Groundhog Capital of the World."