Weekend Fundays

Packed, fun-filled weekend for Matthew and gang, starting with a birthday party on Saturday for Matthew's friend Quinn who turns 1 on August 4th.

Present time!

This Minnie Mouse shopping cart was Matthew's gift for Quinn.  You can't even begin to imagine the tears that were shed when I pulled it out of the target bag and then had to take it from him to put it in the birthday gift bag.  As you can see, he waited with anticipation for HIS cart to be given back to him.  Thankfully, this was one of the last gifts opened so he was getting the hang of the gifts not being for him.

And then the kids were over the presents and Quinn received her first kiss.

And Matthew booked it outside.  Did I mention that he can now open doors?  Uh, yeah.  And when I quickly ran up and down a flight of stairs to give Mike the camera for our monitor, I came back to find 1) Matthew was no longer in the house 2) He had climbed (with no shoes, just socks) monkey bar-like stairs to the top of a tree house (that had one side of rails missing) and 3) He was ready to go down the slide.  Someone should really be watching him from time to time, cause this kiddo does things with purpose.

They also had a bouncy basketball court/slide which Matthew had a blast on with several other kids.  He now loves playing with other kids (rather than just near them).

On Sunday, Matthew not only had Sunday School where he played with other kids, but we had a play date with a co-worker of Mike's.  They have a 27 month old son and a baby girl who is about a week younger than Thea.  Jackson and Matthew struggled to share at times but really  took to each other.  They played golf, trains, kitchen, and of course read books.

Jackson pointing out and naming the animals in the book

The play date ended with them hugging each other!  Both of them extended their arms and squeezed.  It was really cute.  Matthew doesn't do that all the time so it was especially fun to see. Never mind that Matthew forgot to let go so it kind of turned into a choke hold turn body slam.  

And we had a short conversation with Rahm Emanuel on our walk back to the car.  No big deal.

Weeks One: Looks Familiar

A Fun Friday

A couple weeks back I had a day that started off with me thinking, "now what am I gonna do to fill the day?"  It was one of those presently surprising days that are filled with nothing extraordinary, but are really enjoyable.

After getting my car emissions tested (yey environment), I went to my parents house where Matthew gardened with my mom, Thea slept, and I worked on some things for our new apartment.

The night continued on with my parents with fun at Hackney's, a family favorite restaurant.

After having two helpings of onion strings, some fries, applesauce, soda, milk, and a mini burger, Matthew dove into my sandwich.  A reuben.  And then he had chocolate ice cream and his first of many (find them at the doctor's office) vanilla wafer cookies.

Tonight Went Well

1. I took M outside to play at 5:00.  It was still 91.  We came back inside at 5:04.

2. T woke up from her nap crying.  She kept crying.  YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE THE GOOD BABY STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT NOW.

3. E made a pot roast to eat tonight or this weekend.  We decided this weekend.  Going out would be fun!

4. We almost ran out of gas.

5. Google Maps brought us to a Shell when we looked up gas.  Shell, LLP.  We did not need legal advice.

6. Google Maps could not find our restaurant.  We picked a new one 200 feet from the real gas station.

7. Google Maps couldn't find that one, either.  We drove two miles in circles before arriving at Jimmy's Restaurant, Beer Garden & Sports Pub.

8. Jimmy's Restaurant, Beer Garden & Sports Pub can, at best, be loosely defined as a restaurant.  There is no f*$%ing way that thing is a Beer Garden and/or Sports Pub.

9. The only thing that we were served that was not below YMCA grade was M's pancakes (soft and delicious!) and sausage (crispy and delicious!)

10. M refused to take a single bite of his soft and delicious pancakes.  Ditto the crispy and delicious sausage.

11. My Hobo's Skillet with over easy eggs, country potatoes, onions and green peppers, came with over hard eggs, country potatoes, onions and hash browns.  Nothing compliments potatoes better than more potatoes.

12. I couldn't find a single chuck of hobo in my Hobo's Skillet.

13. The fresh baked store bought bread came in a basket lined with a silk napkin a cloth napkin a paper napkin field greens 150 individually wrapped saltines.  This should have been #9 but I just thought of it now and refuse to renumber.

14. T cried the whole way home, including as we passed the Baker's Square 75 yards from our house.  They do not serve Potato Lover's Hobo Skillets at Baker's Square.

15. T cried throughout her bath.

16. T cried throughout M's bath.

17. M pooped in his bath.

Matthew's Bath Toys Are In The Sink

That's where you disinfect them after he unloads his colon in tub.

Hero

I forgot we had a blog.

Thea turns three months tomorrow.  That makes tonight a terrific time to discuss how inspirational I am as a father.  And man.

1. When Thea was a few weeks old, we went to the mall so E could go clothes shopping.  I followed M as he ran around and Mobi-wrapped Thea.

That is the best picture Babies-R-Us could come up with, apparently.

All was going well, aside from the horrible 10-year old on the mall jungle gym slash playhouse who kept shoving M out of his way while his mother made love to her iPhone and completely ignored the monster she spawned, until we went to J. Crew, where M deemed it appropriate to sprint out of the store and into the mall.  I followed until I slipped.  And went airborne.  Somewhere, Coach Harrington beamed with pride as I perfectly football tucked T's head, assuring that she was neither hurt, nor awoken, when I slammed into the wood floor.  I then got up and corralled M.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

2. A few weeks later, I was rocking T to sleep.  After 45 minutes of gentle oscillation, I triumphantly carried my achievement sleeping daughter to her crib.  Along the way, the sole of my foot went full force into the sharp wooden couch leg.  I continued walking.  I put T down in the crib.  I returned to the family room.  I tended to the flowing blood while checking to make sure the chunk of flesh didn't need to be stitched back.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

3. I didn't need stitches but a year earlier, I shattered a falling glass with my ring finger but successfully prevented the glass from hitting M.  Sliced the finger, severed the nerve and needed five stitches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

4. Finger is still numb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

5. About a month ago, M was sitting in one of these things

when he decided to turn around and say hi to Daddy, who was in a recliner.  M's chair began to fall over.  Daddy dove.  M's face gently nestled in Daddy's palm mere inches from the hardwood floor.  Daddy helped M to his feet.  Daddy noticed his ankle got caught in the metal springs of the recliner.  There is now a scar there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

6. Game Six, Hawks-Bruins.  T has twice already been put down in the crib only to wake up crying.  I was rocking her for a third time.  Hawks tie it at 2-2.  Seventeen seconds later, the Hawks take the lead.  Fifty-eight seconds later, the Hawks win the Cup.  T keeps rocking.  She is asleep for good in the crib five minutes later.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

7. On Saturday, I am carrying M out of the mall, a playing field I championed once before.  Suddenly, my back went out.  I dropped to my knees.  I did not drop M.  A woman asked me if I needed help.  I said "no".  No strange woman needs to help me in front of my son.  E then arrived and helped M in the car and I spent the day laying on/in the floor, couch and bath tub.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IA3ZvCkRkQ

Replace "we" with "I"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdCrZfTkG1c