Oh Crap.

Jacob broke the toilet this evening. See that big hole in the toilet tank lid. That would be the result of Jacob taking off the lid to look inside and then accidentally dropping it. I already learned that reminding him every night that the bathroom is NOT a playroom went in one ear and out the other. So what to do...

Right now he's getting off easy. Four days of cleaning the playroom or basement by himself. If he argues or complains; another day.

Meanwhile its off to ebay in search of a toilet lid to replace this 1995 model.

Swim Class - Steady Progress

Our Happy Family

Before going to synagogue this morning we took a family photo in front of our cherry tree. Its a little light on the flowers this year which I think may be a result of the drought this past summer. At least that's what the gardening newspaper columns have been talking about.

You can see last year's version of the photo (almost to the day), though I was too lazy to take out the tripod then.

Old Griddle, New Griddle

Old Griddle.


New Griddle. Actually its the same griddle just after being re-teflon coated by The Frypan Man. I made Jacob and a cheese omelet on it today and it was great! Good as new.

This is NOT a paid endorsement.

Out and About

Reuben and Faith out and about. Jacob missing some of this fun while he's at his afternoon pre-school.

Opening Day - T-Ball Practice

One Job nearly complete... 207 to go!

Well the job of fixing the crawl space door is just about done. Just need to nail the wood boards acting as my retaining wall into the ground. This task has been on my to do list since early Fall. I did expand the scope of the job with the stone entrance, but that really isn't an excuse. I'm glad I'm down one item on the list.

After finishing the door it was time to get some T-ball practice practice. The boys have their first practice this afternoon, so I wanted to get them some practice for the practice. Pretty good swings all around.


Faith open your eyes!!

Pretty Blossoms

Spring has sprung, though it is still a bit chilly. But like clockwork our magnolia has blossomed and it looks like this year the blossoms may not get ruined by an untimely frost.
We worked a lot in the yard today. Karen and the kids were clearing an area of lamb's ears for a vegetable garden, while I was fixing the door to our crawl space, the area in front of it, and the side gate to the yard. Lot of digging too, as the dirt always builds up around the gate and door, so much so that they can't be open. I also laid some stone in front of the crawl space door, but now it is like a well in front of the door with 3 inch dirt side walls. I think I need to dig some more out and line with bricks to make a mini-retaining wall. Maybe tomorrow...

Happy Purim

Happy Purim. Purim was Thursday night and it was pretty crazy. The pat few years we have been on vacation during Purim and missed the festivities. This year we got together with several families for dinner and then we all headed out to the synagogue for a Beatles themed Megilla reading. Purim is a strange Jewish holiday in that it is a lot of fun ;-) It kind of has a touch of a Mardi Gras to it.
Dinner with friends. Purim has an element of masquerade party for all, but especially for kids. Supposedly, that aspect is a relatively recent addition, maybe 500 years old or so. At the table we have a fire dog, spiderman, Queen Esther #1, Reuben in PJ's waiting to put on his lion costume, Queen Esther #2 (with Blue's ears), and Queen Esther #3.
At the synagogue it was pretty much a free for all. The Beatles theme really became a 60s bleeding into the 70s hippie them. Someone even came as a marijuana cultivator!
The next day they repeated the same thing at their pre-school Purim Party.
Kids were beat!!! And then last night we hosted a shabbot dinner at our house with another family. We all had a very nice time, though Jacob had to go bed early (actually normal bed time) because he was so tired. To make up for all the late nights Reuben and Faith today took a >4 hour naps.

Dumb and Dumber

Illinois-Shaped Corn Flake Up for Auction

I'm not sure what is dumber: the fact that this news story was picked up by the Associated Press or the fact that someone is offering $500 for the flake (no pun intended... well maybe)!

Some Fun Outside

On Friday we stopped by our favorite hobby shop for a glider and a couple of balsa wood planes. Lot of fun, though it is still tough to compete with dirt and dump trucks.







And a couple of random ones while shopping for glasses.

The Four Eyes Club Welcomes Reuben

Well Reuben got glasses today! But first there was breakfast. Silver Diner has now become the favorite of the kids. Karen and the boys get this Ultimate French Toast loaded with fresh strawberries. They love it; I hate it. Breakfast now costs a fortune ;-)
Jacob ate most of his as well, though not quite as fast as Reuben. Then it was onto glasses. Reuben was pretty excited about getting glasses. Karen and I have building up the excitement over the last few days with how he's going to be just like Mommy and Daddy. In fact Jacob and Faith also really wanted glasses. He quickly picked out frames that for anyone who knows him could have easily picked them for him. They're blue.
Doesn't he look great.

Weekend Routine

Pretty normal weekend routine. Saturday was a bit messy so we stayed indoors most of the time. It was good for me as a final day of resting was good for my cold. We did venture out to Tysons Corner Mall for a couple of errands. That turned out to be a mistake. It took us close to 30 minutes to find a parking space; felt like the Saturday before Christmas. Don't people know we're in the middle of a recession ;-)

While there Faith got a haircut at Cartoon Cuts. While waiting Jacob was playing some Nintendo game that I couldn't help him figure out. But Jacob was absorbed hitting lots of buttons and moving the joystick around. I was pretty sure he didn't know what he was doing, but it was confirmed when Reuben came over. Jacob told him that he was controlling the blue guy, when he really was controlling a Mario looking guy. Anyway, he liked it enough to put up a battle while leaving and thus lost ice cream. Reuben, not one to learn when Mom and Dad are pulling a tight leash, lost ice cream just a few feet away from the parlor. Faith and Karen enjoyed some soft serve , while I kept the weepy boys company.

Today was back at swimming with everyone doing really well. Faith even let me take her in the deep end and swim around with her for 1/2 hour during the boys class. She is now real comfortable in the water. Later the boys had a birthday party, so it was me and Faith spending some afternoon time together. I like those alone times with Faith, because they are so few and far between...

Still Recovering...

My cold finally blossomed yesterday and I wound up staying home and resting most of the day in bed. Over the last week I've been on the edge of cold and not really up for much activity. Meanwhile Reuben is obsessed with his Lego's and he's been dying for me to help build his yellow Lego fire truck.

I guess he finally got so impatient that he built it 100% by himself. I was shocked when I saw it and had to ask Karen if she helped him (which she didn't). Pretty impressive piece of work. I doubt its exactly what the instructions laid out, but it certainly is pretty close.

Recovery Continues

Karen's feeling a little better. Kids are pretty much fine. Good enough for swim class this morning. The boys are really swimming now, especially Jacob. He just needs to remember to breathe; always a good idea.


After class we had lunch at Silver Diner and then naps all around. That is naps for the adults, playtime in their rooms for the kids. Before dinner we played Monopoly Jr. and it turned out to pretty fun. while its definitely shorter than the real game, it can go for awhile, so we didn't get to finish before dinner. Though Karen was almost out with $6 left to Jacob's $24, Reuben's $26, and Daddy/Faith's $26.




Also, this evening Reuben made some interesting artwork:
A person and his dog.


A penguin.

Daddy Day Care

Mr. Mom took over today. Karen is still sick and went to the doctor this morning to confirm Bronchitis. So now that I'm back from Seattle and I'm the healthiest adult in the household, it's Daddy daycare time. We started with breakfast. I am proud to say that I have finally mastered the omelet. My missing piece of insight was using too many eggs or not having a big enough pan (surface area-wise). No more than two eggs in a 8-9 inch frying pan. Anymore eggs and you really can't get the inside cooked well enough without overdoing the outer side. I made Jacob and I some first rate omelets. Then it was on to the electric trains which I promised them yesterday that I would setup. The trains are a lot of fun and we haven't used them in a long while. It is very obvious that there patience has really increased since we last used them (about a year ago). Their control of the speed of the trains also was much improved.
After the trains it was time for a bath. Daddy's baths are known for the depth of the water. I give deep baths. I also throw them all in together, which they love.
Jacob's head got a separate bath ;-)
After bath time it was lunch and food shopping. It was already a little late, about 12:30, and the kids were hungry. We went to Subway, where we had a great lunch together. They all downed their 6” inch subs. It was so nice, that even an older woman came by to tell me that I was having a wonderful lunch with my children. I almost told her that I hardly recognized these kids ;-) After a week of sickness, the fridge was looking pretty barren. We spent a long time shopping, mostly stocking up on fruits and vegetable. Jacob picked out some asparagus and remembered that it made your pee smell, which he almost told to a lady next to us. We finally got home and the kids took a good rest. Faith and Reuben slept to 5pm, while Jacob played very nicely in his room building his Lego fire raft.
I then made dinner using some of the fresh veggies, asparagus, carrots, and broccoli to make a beef stir fry. Karen cooked up some brown rice. The meal came out very nice.But, you notice who's missing? Faith wouldn't eat anything of it. Wait to you see what she missed... Reuben and Jacob woofed it down and really liked it. Jacob came up to Karen and I after dinner and told us, “nice dinner.” Sometimes the kid really surprises you how considerate he can be. So what did Faith miss by not trying dinner – ice cream bars fresh from the supermarket.