RABBIT RABBIT!!

This post was intended to get back at my brother-n-law who texts me every month with this message (to supposedly "steal" ones luck for the next month if you are the first to say it on the first day the month). Being an ER doc, he is often on duty during the wee-hours of the new month (when I am usually sleeping) and is able to get me before I can get him. However, just over 2 weeks ago he, his wife and 1.5 kids moved to Africa ....

I figured that being the first to do it in January would give me all his luck for the new year!

Apparently, someone beat me to getting him, because I just got word that he has Malaria!

Now, I feel a little guilty ... and slightly worried that because I attempted to get him when he was "suffering" the Rabbit Rabbit is going to back-fire on me and he will end up with all my luck for the new year after all.

I just can't win ... but at least I don't have malaria!

The Tooth Fairy is Not the One that is Sick!

Apparently, Seth decided to catch up to Toby's money haul in one fell swoop....

The SECRET note (this is of course private and none of us have any knowledge of it) was a "request" for, and I quote; "I wont for my tooth 100 one dollar bils".

The Tooth Fairy's nice apology for missing last night was removed by the Tooth Fairy's Boss and replaced by a less nice explanation that it is the Tooth Fairy's job to take lost teeth and that any money left in its place was a token GIFT, therefore not subject to negotiation.

The Tooth Fairy is Sick

So, Seth FINALLY nursed his first loose tooth (bottom left center) out yesterday, much to his surprise I think. I believe he has been anxiously awaiting the day that the Tooth Fairy would finally visit him.

... For clarity, it is important to know that Toby "lost" his first tooth while visiting PopPop and GiGi who pointed out that the Tooth Fairy pays extra when you are with grandparents. He then managed to "lose" his next tooth while they were visiting as well. Long story short, some people make their fortune selling their blood; he has gotten rich "losing" teeth.

Apparently Seth has witnessed Toby's prosperity enough for it to be fact that lost teeth and riches go hand in ... mouth, because there was no fanfare about what to do. However, there was a moment of great wailing and gnashing of teeth when I caught him quickly stuffing something under his pillow -- assuming it was some sort of contraband to be played with after he was supposed to be asleep. After he got his mother involved, it was discovered that in fact it was just a SECRET note to the Tooth Fairy that we were not allowed to see. Disaster (momentarily) averted.

All seemed well until this morning when it was discovered that after all that trouble the Stupid Tooth Fairy did not show up!

I'm pretty sure the Tooth Fairy is leaving an apology tonight for being sick and unable to fulfill its duties previously ... along with some extra cash Apparently, grandparents aren't the only way to make more off of lost teeth!

Birthday Revisited

Though 41 was "not all that special," 41 years and 2 days wasn't all that bad.

PopPop and GiGi showed up about 20 minutes after Ben's nap and took us to lunch. That was followed by indulgent birthday gifts including; "crap cakes," Cracklin' OatBran, cupcakes with sport rings on top (think those might have been intended for someone who's birthday it was not--either way, they have all be confiscated!), a coconut cake, and gift cards to some of my favorite places. After picking the big boys up from school, PopPop "big boy" sat and GiGi took me grocery shopping. This was followed by ordering in pizza from Papa John's (where else?). All-in-all, the "un-birthday" was much better than the real one.

41 years and 3 days ... sucked ... literally. The garage and basement leaked, soaking Charity's grandfathers homemade desk and bookcase in the garage as well as several yet unpacked boxes and a rolled up rug (like 12X8). So I spent a significant amount of time--at least far more than I had wanted to--trying to suck up water, quickly unpack disintegrating boxes and raising wet furniture. On a positive note, apparently the previous renters left a dehumidifier in the basement. But as luck would have it, I did not notice that it was devoid of a basin plug--so all collected water immediately drained back onto the floor! 41 years and 3 days made 41.0 look like a dream day!

41 years and 4 days has been a little bit of a roller-coaster however. For starters, it's Friday. But, no rain, sunny and about 69 degrees all day. Having remembered past frustrations with getting the house clean then bring home 2 more kids, I opted to do laundry instead of clean floors. Good deal, cause I don't like doing floors. Don't like bathrooms either, but with Ben asleep and Charity at work I was able to use REAL cleaners on I hit the bathrooms hard. They fought back, and the "master" tub won. I bleach sprayed and Ajax-ed the think and it still looks like ... well at least it smells clean! While going beyond the 'call of duty' and putting away some of the kids clothes, I heard a thud and Ben start to cry. This is not an unusual occurrence and it look like he had just trip over his own feet, again, so I was in no rush to "baby" him. Then I noticed his unusually red mouth. After having him take several drinks of water I asked him to stick out his tongue for me--which he did without my showing him what I wanted. I had never asked him to do this before and had never seen him do it, so I was shocked when he did it immediately. That shock was quickly surpassed by the shock of seeing a good 1/2 inch puncture hole in his tongue. However, by this time there was no crying so I just went on with the day without fussing over what is really a pretty gnarly self inflicted wound and I have absolutely no idea how he did it! After a good little nap, Ben and I hit the Christian bookstore at the mall and picked up the new Max Lucado book Out Live Your Life and the new Jimmy Needham CD, thanks to a gift card from my little sister that arrived via P&G on 41.2. Lucado has been discussing his book on KLOVE radio during September and they have had his chapters up each day on the website. I was excited about getting to read it for free, but never really got around to doing each day. When I finally did, I realized they don't leave them up forever and got chapter one but couldn't get 2-4. I was hooked and was excited that thanks to my baby sis, I could still get it for "free"--kind of. Jimmy Needham is one of my new favorites. He is the Christian alternative to Jason Mraz, same voice and style, different lyrics. 41.4 is about a 7 out of 10.

Here's hoping 41....gets better with age.

Birthday Review

In the profound words of one birthday well-wisher; "41 is not all that special!"

After over sleeping, my birthday began like a king ... on the throne! (I'm assuming you do not want any details other than that)

With everyone running late, I opted for a breakfast of cold cereal, only to discover we had about 1/2 a cup of milk in the house. So, plan "B" was a quick pot of Cream of Wheat ... wouldn't thicken, turned out more like ... the water in the sink after doing dishes.

Rush the kids off to school ... hold it, they had to go back in to retrieve some crucial piece of paper or something. Unload with 2 minutes to spare as wife text me that she forgot to bring a hat for "Hat Day" and asking if I could bring one from the front closet. Return to the house, leaving toddler in running vehicle as I dash in to find a hat. All hats in front closet are ski caps--if I'm bringing a hat for Hat Day, it's going to be a COOL hat--so quick hunt for one of my two storage containers of unique hats, but how to choose one--grab 5. Back to the school, line up several great options to choose from and wife picks ... plain-ish ski cap.

Back at the house I unload 5 unchosen supremely cool, unique hats and toddler to find front door left open from the retrieval of the useless piece of paper earlier. (Ye, you are wanting to blame me for the open front door, however I entered through the garage to save time when retrieving ultra sweet head gear!)

You might assume (you know what that does right?) this is the point--having gotten wife and two of the three kids off to school--that I begin to enjoy my birthday. If you know anything about me, that would be a good guess because you know that my ultimate birthday would be spent in solitude. However, if that is what you are assuming, you clearly forgot that I still had a toddler with me! I couldn't even get some privacy on a return trip to the throne room! (You are pretty happy right about now that I haven't yet find the battery charger to my camera, aren't you?!?)

To this point in My Day I had not had a shower, time for devotions, a full meal and had received only one solid birthday wish--a text message from youth in Florida. In fairness, my wife did mumble in passing about halfway through the bustle of the morning; "I guess I should say 'Happy Birthday.'" My two oldest sons, my own flesh and blood refused to sing "Happy Birthday" to me when it was suggest by my wife ask she fled from the house! My only gifts were the 2 my youngest son ... made for me (OH to have that camera charger so I could share that 'joy'!). Come to think about it, maybe it was "Happy Birthday" he was 'singing' for over an hour as I was trying to put him to sleep!

Not to dis my youngest sons 'presents,' but the best gift I got may have been the hot shower I was finally able to take at 11:45 AM. Peace and quiet were too shortly lived as my special Joe's Corral lunch was interrupted when the baby woke up early and insisted that he have my immediate and undivided attention. Tranquility was only shoved further into the galaxy when the older two got home with cartoon-level energy that had been pent up for 8 hours.

I know what you are thinking and I would have "gone to the garden and eaten worms," but it was raining!

In honest hindsight, it wasn't all terrible. I did receive a card with a generous gift from my mother-n-law of all people. Ditched my wife with all 3 kids and took myself out to eat. Got the yearly call from my best friend, talked the whole drive home and hung up 2 minutes before Chuck started. The baby "called" my wife to bed about 11:20 PM and I was able to spend the last 30 minutes of my 41 year like I was secretly hoping to spend the whole day -- ALONE!

As Willy Shakespeare would say ... All's Well that Ends Well

You Spin Me 'Round and 'Round

I realize that most kids like to be spun 'round and 'round, my youngest particularly prefers his spinning to be done upside down. He also like anything that spins. Yesterday it was two old style wooden tops, with the pull string that must be wound around it each time. Though he has figured out how the whole thing works, he has not quite developed the coordination to put it all together nor the speed and strength to "rip" the cord in a way that will actually cause the top to spin. So of course, he brings all the parts to me and says; "Unh!" (translation: Put this all together and make it work...NOW!). The two tops we have work actually quite well, except for the fact that spinning tops are just too cool to leave spinning and apparently must be touched in full spin. Cute at first, but it really wears out after the first half-hour!

Today it was his other favorite spinning device...the Salad Spinner. My wife has kindly left it in a cabinet easily accessible to his little hands. So whenever he gets bord, out it comes. He can't really spin it himself, but he loves it still. He doesn't want you to touch it while he is "spinning" it, not even to hold the lid on or help him get it going. I am not sure what is so exciting about it, especially considering it has a solid lid so the only thing you see spin is the little turn knobby on the top, but he loves it. Hours of free entertainment ... OK, at least several minutes!

I Guess It's Time for a Haircut...

I was at a wedding Sunday and making small talk with the conference Youth director. After politely asking how things were going for me, he said; "Wow, 2 boys and a girl, huh?" If only he had seen the pretty pink purse that my "little girl" insisted on carrying--properly placed on his shoulder--to pick-up his big brothers from school yesterday, yes he proudly carried it though the whole school!

* again, my deepest apologies for having "mis-packed" the camera battery charger causing these post to be text-only!

If Ever I'm President...

I have long asserted that if I were ever to be elected President of the United States of America, that the first law I would enact is to make it illegal for television stations to run commericals simultaneous with any other station. I believe that this law would be strongly supported by 99% of heterosexual males and a vast majority of the remaining constituents. To gain further support of wives and mothers I would attach a rider that would forbid any type of "commercial product" advertising during children's programming. In addition, I might even consider mandating the use of telemarketers in a government experiment to determine the benefits of capital punishment.

My second law would be to make it unlawful for parents of children under school age* to be employed outside the home more than part-time. This might at first seem financially impossible (unless you truly believe that our children are our most valuable asset and priceless), but let me explain. As part of this law, stay-at-home parents would be required to be employed as care-givers/teachers, a kind of "combat pay." You may ask, "Who pays them?" Two options. (1) Government funding. We do away with all federal and state assistance to the so called "pre-schools" (glorified day care, so named to make parents fell less guilt for leaving their kids with strangers), and use these current funds in this new capacity. Additional support can come as a tax credit (pay) for parents staying home with their young children. (2) Spousal pay. You could call it a glorified adult allowance--if you really want to demean your spouse--but I call it "(combat) pay." It would be required of any spouse choosing to work full-time outside of the home and/or their employer. I have often said (even prior to taking on the position myself) that "Mother" is the most difficult, least appreciated and under rewarded profession in the world. It is way past time that "they" start receiving remuneration (employment) for all their "free" work.

Now you know my platform. It is up to you how you will vote.

* Cognitively, developmentally, and socially ready to be in school, generally this is not before the chronological age of 7.

Night Owl, Jr.

Headed off again this weekend for time with family. This time to send off the Drs. Netteburg to preparatory time in France for their 6-year Mission Service to Chad, Africa (French is the nation language of Chad). * You will soon be able to follow their adventure -- and learn how to make donations -- @ http://www.missionarydoctors.blogspot.com/ (I suggested several much more "creative" names but apparently they thought this would be more appropriate!).

After dropping Olen, Danea and Lyol (with 3 full, exactly 50 lbs. checked bags and 7 carry-ons) at Dulles Airport, Kerm, Charity, Ben and I headed to Staunton having left Toby & Seth with Ronnee to make sure all got on the plane -- Charity had received 2 tickets to see Garrison Keiller and had invited Kerm to go with her, so we needed to get Ben and I home, them the tickets from the house and on their way. Gamma and the big brothers arrived about 15 minutes later, had some supper and headed to bed where Gamma had promised to read them a story, which left me 40 minutes to get Ben to sleep before the Sunday Night Football game between the Cowboys and Redskins. Ye--40 minutes later, Ben and I sit down on the couch to watch the game! After several more failed attempts to get the kid to go to sleep, I started thinking that his mother would probably be home soon and waiting on her might be the best solution. That was until I received a text from my father-n-law at 9:00 PM that they were just at intermission of the "concert" that had started at 7:00 PM and was 45 minutes away. 2.5 hours later my 1.5 year-old was still chirping around, happy and awake as could be--as long as no one was trying to get him to sleep. Praise God for Gammas who feel stronger about grand kids sleeping than enduring the blood-curdling screams of a very stubborn child that doesn't want to go to bed. After 17 long excruciating minutes, Gamma re-emerged victorious, though the pathetic sounds of a now sleeping child still rang of disrupted breathing patterns as he tried to recover from the hyperventilating scream-fest. Mom walked in the door 30 minutes later.

Of course, he was up before the sun!

If you are wondering how he "re-charged," it was with the grand total of 2 baby spoon bits of baby mush, 5/6th of a banana, a football shaped Oreo (from his brother's uneaten lunch) and about 2-tablespoons of ice cream!

Pushy Pitton

38 years ago I was an expert at interpreting the incoherent babylings of one particular toddler. This skill served me well. As the story goes, I was able to "interpret" for the young thing in a way that often resulted in the young one receiving something they "wanted" and coincidently I did too. Oh what I wouldn't give to be able to re-aquire the ability to understand what toddler grunts, churps and screams actually mean. Apparently, I am not the only one that wishes I was "bi-lingual"!

Much like his eldest aunty (when she was his age), my 21-month-old son does not yet use words--at least ones that are noticeable as English. However, I am hoping that unlike with his aunty, I am able to understand what he is trying to say before his 3rd birthday.

(Total aside--He just brought me a tube of toothpaste. I think he wanted it opened so he could eat it!)

In an effort to help us understand his "needs," Ben has resorted to "physical" communication. In it's most passive form he simulates a "jump" with his arms up in the air to indicate that he needs picked up to get something out of his reach. Other than that he employs a much more "hands-on" approach, pushing, pulling, even turning you to do, get or be what he wants (skills I believe learned from time spent with his younger cousin).

*Hippy Wife Warning* (If you are not accustom to my wife's hippy practices, you might want to skip this paragraph as to not taint any high regard you might have for her--or me!) On a recent road trip (see previous blog entry) we went into a fast food restuarant to ... be pro-active about the need for future stops. While waiting in line to order, Ben decided he was ready to "eat" right then and there (if you know my wife, you know this has never been a problem for her). My dear wife tried to put him off, at least until we got back into the van, but he wanted what he wanted when he wanted it! So, standing in front of her he pushed until she was close to a chair. Then he went around to her side, grabbed her pant leg and turned her to line up with the seat. Finally, he went back in front of her, pushed her down into the chair, climbed onto her lap and assumed the proper position to get what he wanted! I am not sure if I should be proud or disturbed! Maybe a little of both.

First Week of School in Quote

• "I forgot to tell you, 'I can't read.'" -- T.L.P.

This quote was uttered to the teacher on the third or fourth day of school. The teacher's response was; "You know all of those papers I have been giving you with instructions on them? You have been 'reading' them and doing what they say to do. That's reading." Apparently, being able to pick up any sports page and determine who played who, who won, who lost, who had a sacrifice, home run or walk, and what city each team is from does not count as 'reading'. In which case...I may not be able to read either!

• "When do we do Crafts?" -- S.E.P.

This quote was uttered daily beginning at least a week before school started and was ultimately finally asked of the teacher on about the third day of school...and a few days since, I believe. The most difficult transition for this child has undoubtedly been the realization that "real" school is neither VBS nor home school--ie. largely consisting of endless craft activities.

• "The Devil must be either 4- or 5-years-old!" -- anonymous

OK, I made that one up. However, it is quite a change to be teaching 15, four to six year olds, face-to-face, EVERY moment from 8 AM thru 3:30 PM (if the parents pick them up on time) versus high schoolers via the internet with just weekly video conferencing sessions, despite the transition period of homeschooling your own two precious little perfect angels. Though every day comes with a "story," each ends with numerous Thanks to God in Heaven for the much needed and infinite blessing of Casey in the classroom. Casey is the single mother of 5 (ages 6-13ish) that was hired as a teachers aid for the Early Childhood classroom. When perspective parents questioned the ability of these two women to handle 15 kids, they just pointed out that it would be like as if each of their own children brought home a friend.

• "Why did I ever preach that sermon, 'Mom: The Toughest Job in the World'?" -- J.P.P.

Ye, that one really doesn't need much explanation from "Mr. Mom" ... if only I could be fired from this job ... paid for it!

• "Soy milk is meat!" -- 5 year-old student

I don't drink soy milk either, I just don't like the taste. Maybe if I knew what this kid apparently does, it would be more appealing to me. Though no one has a clue what this kid was talking about, we all agree that this is the most interesting thing learned during the first week of school.

* Due to disorganized packing practices and incomplete un-packing, NO pictures of the first day of school are available as we have been unable to find the digital camera battery charger.

Road Warrior!

Have I ever mentioned that I HATE road trips?

Let's start about 6 weeks back....

Somewhere around the first week of July, after packing all of our earthly belongings and spending 4 nights on the floor of our empty house, we loaded 3 boys (all ours), 2 suitcases, an over-night bag and over a dozen guppies into the van, left SW Florida and "moved" to West-Central Virginia.

930 miles -- 2 days (please adjust for having to travel with 3 kids under 9 and 18 fish in saran wrap covered tank)

Side note: After 4 nights on the floor of our empty house in Florida and two days on the road, we arrived at our new house, without keys and discovered the moving van had broken down and would not be able to deliver our stuff (beds) for at least another day. * Praise God for "Angel Ms. Mel" who upon learning of this immediately booked us in the Hampton Inn for the next 3 nights--on the Conference's tab (we ended up only staying one night). Add a night on the floor of our new house.

To celebrate our first week in Virginia, I took the big boys to Camden Yards to see the Orioles lose to the Tampa Bay Rays (Toby's favorite team).

203 miles one-way, with a sleepover at PopPop and GiGi's house (real highlight of the trip!).

Few more days in Staunton, VA and we head back to Maryland to visit family for the weekend.

181 miles -- 3+ hours (Friday rush-hour traffic on the beltway)

2 days in Maryland and then we headed to New York so Charity could take a week-long class.

236 miles -- about 8 hours (missed exit with "short cut" thru New York)

The "reward" for this trip was 12 hour days with 3 young boys in a motel room! Actually, one day was spent WALKING to Subway for lunch and than exploring every other shop along the way back. Another day was spend visiting a mini-golf/go-cart/arcade/lazer-tag place ... about additional 80 miles -- 1.5 hours round trip. A third day was spent at a local mega-mall and the last full day was spent at a zoo, in a state park. In addition to the roughly 60 mile round trip drive, we all hiked down a narrow, rocking path (think, most "fun" parts of the Billy Goat Trail) from the zoo, across a water-way, up the other side, around the ruins of Fort Montgomery and back--a more than 1.5 mile hike each way ... and Toby did it all carrying Ben's stroller (I got to carry Ben!). Though extremely exhausting, this was a great day and I would highly recommend it to anyone within an hour drive of Bear Mountain in New York. Besides the zoo, there was a (I believe spring/river fed) large swimming pool, carousel, the "fort" (you could skip that--or at least drive to it instead of walking), an outdoor ice skating rink (not operational in July), and several "museums" in revolutionary period buildings.

New York to Wilbraham, MA to visit our favorite cousins ... and Lyol, before they move to Chad--Africa!

146 miles -- longer than it should have taken!

This visit served the duel purpose of helping to transport some things from MA to MD that will not be going to Africa, but should remain "in the family." All was well and good, until I allowed Olen "bigger is better" Netteburg to go to U-haul unsupervised and he returned with a 12-foot trailer. It should be clarified here that I had borrowed my father's 12 year-old Yukon with over 230,000 miles--while he was out-of-the-country--with the "slight" implication that we might pull a trailer back, but that we wanted to use it because we could get more IN it! Anyway, much like Field of Dreams--If you build it, they will come, if you have a 12-foot trailer, it WILL get filled! Couch, Love seat, Kawasaki Ninja (big heavy motorcycle), rod-iron arch way, dishes, pictures, winter clothes (not too useful in Africa), popcorn (?), roller-blades, parachute, rocking chair, and boxes of Who-Knows-What! An important side note here is that the phenomenal packing job took so long that we ended up staying an extra night which meant we would need to get from MA to MD, unload, turn in the the U-haul and get to VA in one day--with 3 kids, in tow (FIGURATIVELY, of course!) so that Charity could report for New Teacher Orientation.

MA to MD, 449 miles (we opted for the longer route to avoid NY with the trailer) -- 6 hours and 19 minutes according to the GPS ... 9 and a half hours according to Murphy's Law of Reality!

It was 9 PM by the time we (with the help of the other sister & brother-in-law) had unloaded the trailer onto the front lawn and then into my in-laws house (what a wonderful surprise when they return next week from 3 months on the other coast!). Being late and everyone being tired, my thoughtful and caring wife made the decision to have us crash at the house and she would get up at 5 AM and drive her mother's hybrid down to the training in the morning, letting us sleep in. After loading the car with as much of her brothers stuff she could take, she headed to bed. In a moment of uncharacteristic insight, I thought to go make sure the electric car that hadn't been driven in over 2 months would actually start...Surprise...it wouldn't! So around 10 PM I started trying to figure out how to charge and start it. By 11 PM I gave up after trying at least 3 different solutions and made the decision to unload everything in the car into the Yukon--which we would then have to drive to my parents house to unload it into our van before for heading to VA in time for Charity to make her meeting the next morning. As we were removing the last couple of things from the trunk, I noticed that the trunk light seemed to be brighter than before. With much hope I tried to start the car one more time...IT STARTED. Now the question if I should leave it running all night to make sure I don't get awoken at 5 AM to drive my wife to VA! We quickly repacked everything and I "took a drive." To my amazement, I could literally see the battery charge as I drove around and it restarted after turning it off. Praise God, it apparently started in the morning as well, because I was awaken by my 1 year-old at 6 AM instead of my wife at 5 AM (truth be told...I got up at 5 AM while Charity was in the shower and made sure it would start).

After returning the trailer (a whole other story that I will spare you at this time), returning the Yukon, unloading the Yukon, loading the van and cleaning PopPop's Yukon (I thought that my van looked like it did because we never clean it...apparently, judging from the hours it took me to attempt to return PopPop's Yukon to the pre-kid state at which I had borrowed it, my kids can totally "trash" a vehicle much less time than I had previously thought possible!) we headed back to VA.

193+ miles -- 6 hours!

Not done yet! Aunt Bekki was planning on drive a U-haul with various family heirlooms from Nanny with cousins Lindsey and Jonathan to Southern University and asked if I would be able to come down to drive it to MD to unload the remainder of the contents at my mother-in-laws. Being ignorant, I agreed than found out that the day she was hoping for me to pick-up the U-haul and trailer was the first day of school for Charity and the big boys. Additionally, I discovered that Collegedale, TN is really not a whole lot closer to Staunton, VA than it is to Silver Spring, MD ... as I had thought it was. My mother-in-law and loving wife suggested that I could drop Benjamin off at the school as soon is the first day was officially over--drive to Collegedale, TN--pick-up the U-haul and trailer--drive back to Staunton, VA and be back just in time to take Benjamin back as Charity and the big boys headed off to their second day of school! I "lucked out" and the U-haul was going to be ready for me to pick-up late afternoon on Sunday (no sports on the couch for me!). Conveniently, my mother-in-laws hybrid was still sitting in front of our house, so I climbed in around 9 AM, stocked with; GPS, I-Pod (along with broken adapter I would later discover), couple of books on CD, soda, water, jerky and pine nuts. I pulled into town about 3:45 PM. Those little hybrids don't seem to like to do over about 93 mph! Some various things with getting the U-haul ready to leave town and it was just after 6 PM that I climbed in the the cab to head back to VA, with the "encouraging" announcement from Aunt Bekki that it doesn't like to go much over 55 mph -- on that flats (route 81 back to VA is continual up and down!). Long drive shortened, I pulled-up in front of our house a little after 1 AM. But instead of going straight to bed, I begin my new job of "Mom" by making lunches for all those starting school in a few hours. Really not that compassionate of me--I couldn't sleep after all the caffeine I had in my system!

856 miles (round trip) -- roughly 16 hours.

Still had to get a desk, bookcase, shelve system Grampa had built and Charity wanted (to accompany the 4 other desk and 7 book shelves we already have) unloaded before getting everything else to MD. I was "too tired" Monday, it rained all-day Tuesday. Charity suggested that I head up after school, so I wouldn't have to take Benjamin ... but I think Ben, really wanted to drive the U-haul. So, Ben and I unloaded the 10 ft. book shelve thing along with the other pieces and (ignorantly) climbed into the cab of the U-haul and headed to MD. This was (initially) a huge thrill for Ben, he has never before be facing forward in his car seat, much less able to see out the front window while driving! However, we both quickly learned that it is much harder to sleep in a straight back, forward facing car seat that in a reclining rear facing one! We made it without to much trouble, but then quickly learned that Ben doesn't like to play in the house alone and though he can not pick up a single box, he feels the need to "help." So, what probably could have been a less than 30 minute unload took a "good" hour. Thankfully, PopPop and GiGi showed up (with lunch) and played with Ben while I finished cleaning out the U-haul. By this time however, it was near 3 PM (guess I'm not going to get the boys picked up from school like I had hoped!) and I still needed to return the U-haul, a "short" 6 miles down New Hampshire Ave. (30 minute drive at that time, plus a 15 minute stop to fill up the U-haul at what has to be the worlds slowest gas pump--Never get gas at the gas station on the corner of New Hampshire Ave. and Lockwood Dr. in Silver Spring, MD!). Those of you familiar with the greater DC area will recognize the situation that I now find my self (and my 19 month old son, who thankfully fell asleep during this) in trying to "get out of town" from Takoma Park, MD at just after 4 PM. Another long story made shorter and lesson learned, Ben and I pulled up to the house at just after 7:45 PM.

346 miles -- 9 hours 15 minutes.

Thursday night, I aborted our previous plans of driving to MD for the weekend and stayed home!

... Stay tuned for the most interesting thing learned during the first week of school

Preturbed with the New Peleton!

With Charity out of town and one of my biking buddies still hurting from running over a full grown pit-bull on our ride last week, I needed to find a new peleton to ride with today. I chose poorly, out of necessity.

I got a taste today of what those triathletes that I have ridden with a couple of times must have felt like riding with me. Seth has been asking to go for a bike ride, and talking trash about being able to ride for "a whole hour." So I thought, "It's Sunday and I need the exercise, let's go." Both boys promptly (I only say that because it is so incredibly unusual) got their "biking jerseys" on, filled up water bottles and they Seth asked if I was going to ride my red bike (I only have one bike) to which I instinctively replied, "No, I'm going to ride my purple bike." "You don't have a purple bike!" "Then what bike should I ride?" "Your red bike." I dropped it at that point, without having been able to make my point!

It was like trying to stay with the tortoise and the hare (who only has 3 feet) while in a F-16. I dropped to my lowest gear and still could hardly keep moving enough to stay up. About 3/4 of a mile through the neighborhood, Seth announced that we should ride to Mr. Anthony's house (about 5 miles away). It seemed unlikely, but actually do-able and we had no on-coming traffic when we got to the one major road we had to cross, so we headed that direction.

At this point I need to tell you that on the last bike ride I took with these two, they got 3 miles from the house and decided that they were tired and couldn't go any further--that only took an hour, assisted by 2-3 "pee-stops" and 14000 "water breaks."

Remembering that I had them unload bladders before setting off and we were moving at a "reasonable" pace. As I waited up for "turtle-boy" and tried to keep his enthusiastic younger brother in sight, I glanced at the odometer and noticed that we had made 3.5 miles in about 25 minutes (about 8 mph average). We were making good time ... until Toby asked, "What time is it?" Without thinking I told him that it was about 1:15....Sunday!

For those of you that may not understand what MAJOR mistake I made, let me try to explain. Sunday is sports TV day and one o'clock is the one time during the week that there is almost always something on that his mother is willing to allow him to watch!

Well, his response was, "I think we should turn around and go back now!" Surprisingly, his brother agreed. As is often the case with biking, when we turned around there was a mighty fine head wind, but Toby was not to be deterred and off he went as Seth decided that his legs were tired and he couldn't bike any more.

To make a long and painful story a little shorter, we made it home safely covering 7.75 miles in 1 hour 4 minutes (of actually biking--it was about 1.5 hours with all the water breaks!) and averaged 7.2 mph. Not quite the average I am used to, but about twice the workout!

ABC Sabbath School

With Charity and Ben out of town and two meetings with the house church/church plant scheduled for the afternoon we decided to skip traditional Sabbath School and take a nature hike at a nearby neighborhood "bird sanctuary" (we saw exactly one bird the whole time!). When we arrived, I informed the boys that for Sabbath School we were going to try and find 26 things on our walk that reminded us of God--one beginning with each letter of the alphabet. To be honest, I wasn't sure they would do it. However I was surprised at some of their answers ... even considering that about half of Toby's responses had some reference to Satan in them! Here are the ones I can remember ...

• A - Ants, "Black ones are like God, they don't bit. The red ones are like Satan because they are bad and bit you."
• B - Branch, "Broken branch is like Satan trying to seperate us from God."
• C - Canal
• D - Dark, "God called the darkness 'night'/Dark is Satan and God is light coming through"
• E - (I can't remember what this one was)
• F - Flock of Ferns, "Some parts look like they are pointy but they aren't and that is like Satan trying to trick us."
• G - God
• H - House/Hole, "God provides a safe house/home for us and for the animals to live and protects us."
• I - Ice, "The river looks like ice. Ice can be thin but look thick and that is like Satan trying to trick you so that you fall in."
• J - John or Jesus
• K - (Not Kevin) Camp Kulaqua, "It always seems to have something to do with God."
• L - Light, "God is light."
• M - Main Trail, "God is trying to get us to go on the main trail."
• N - Nature
• O - Oak Tree, "It is big and strong like God"
• P - Path, "We have to Pick the right Path. God is trying to get us to pick the right path."
• Q - Quick, "Get away from the swamp quick so they don't bit you."
• R - River, "Rivers can look safe, but sometimes there are dangerous animals in there."
• S - Swamp, "It's like Satan trying to pull you down and God is trying to pull you up."
• T - Tremendous Tree, "God is tall and they point up to God."
• U - Ugly, "Like Satan."
• V - Vine, "The vine of thorns that they made the crown and put on Jesus head before they killed Him."
• W - Waves. "Like Satan trying to crash over you and the current is like God trying to pull you away from Satan."
• X - (we may have skipped this one, Seth really wanted "eXit")
• Y - Yank (your guess is as good as mine!)
• Z - Zank, "God 'zanking' us away from Satan and Satan trying to 'zank' us away from God."

When they finally climbed into bed last night (@ 10 PM!) both of them thanked God for being able to have Sabbath School outside!

Chip Off the Old Freeze Burn Block

This is my one-year-old, in late March, after 10 PM! (notice the flavor on the container and the time on the clock)

Oh how proud Grampa must be!!!

"New" Couch

On my mother-n-law's last visit she left us two things; a "new" couch and the promise to pay for my wife to take upholstry classes!

Kitchen Help!

Ketchup Time, Buckle Up!

The BIG happening (in prep to compete with our younger cousin), first week of March.



(OK, go to the YouTube page for videos from now on, that took like 1.5 hours to upload here!)

"First" Hair Cut, ... technically, the first hair cut was just his bangs back in January. However, the mullet with its cute curled up ends offically went, Sunday April 11. This was VERY difficult for me. Since his eldest brother beat him by a full year to his first official hair cut and his middle brother got his first "buzz" more than 6 months earlier, this simi-surfer thing had become his thing. It was hard to do because it was like ending who he had always been, and because he has such a little bubble head on a pencil thin neck and hardly any hairline in the back. Luckly, his mother thinks that the new look suits him.

She is not as sure about dad's new dew! After more then 9 months without a hair cut -- having shaved my head bald last summer -- and growing it, along with the full beard to provide warmth in Colorado and "the look" (which turned out to be a cross between the Gaithers and BeeGees) for 3 Easter plays, it all had to go. I could no longer stand it, despite the retired ladies at church loving it and beginning to hit on me. It was getting to be kind of cool curled around a baseball cap, but mid-80 degrees in March calls for something less work! To be honest, I miss it! Ben just starred, he has never seen me without a beard.

Breakfast of Champions! The week after Easter (my wife asked for one thing from me for Easter ... to promise to buy absolutely NOTHING for the boys! Thanks to GiGi there was no need to worry!) Charity was in the van with the boys and they were asking about how you get chocolate on strawberries, when Seth pointed out that if we had salad and put chocolate on strawberries, we could have that for breakfast, because we have to have fruit. What cute little six-year-old logic. Imagine my surprise when my "hippy-health-nut" wife announced to me that we were indead having FONDUE for breakfast the next morning!

(Notice the "Wild-Child, Surfer Hair")

Events and Updates

So, it's been awhile. Since we last blogged .... (OK, actually in the last 2 days)

• Ben has pushed through his first moler. (Sorry, no pic...but have no fear, Gamma arrives on Wed.)


• Benj has taken a huge and strange liking to chewing ice cubes. Ye, chomp right into a regular sized-half moon shaped ice cube with his front 6.5 teeth (ones half in) and contently chews on it til it drools...water falls out his mouth.


• BenZ has developed the skill to SHOT water out his mouth like a fountain--he readily uses this still to his own great delight.


• BZ has learned the "sign" for more...and uses it for "I WANT...NOW!" Unfortunately, he has not learned to communicate what exactly it is that he wants. Initially it was a drink from his sippy cup, which is what we used to try and teach him the sign. That quickly morphed into I want a drink of what my brother is having -- from his cup. Which quickly seemed to turn into, "NO, I WANT TO HOLD THE CUP (of really cool looking purple liquid) MYSELF!" Now it can be anything on the table, in the room or from his recent memory!


• Benny finally learned the "sign" for 'Pick-up'. This gets used constantly. Infact, if you are not standing correctly according to him, you are likely to get the sign again while you are holding him -- I have no clue what this means!


• I'm trying out all the possible nicknames I could call this kid (you notice that one has been left out!). I realized this week, when I heard #2 son call his younger brother "Bubba" that I have been referring to #3 by that "affectionate" name. However, that name has already been allocated to someone in the extended family by my dear mother. So, let me know which you like.


• Finally...Gamma comes next Wednesday, Six days from now. Seth, has devised an ingenious way to keep track of how many more days til Gamma arrives....He put on six shirts today (I would like to remind you that we live in Florida, where it is 80 degrees in January!) and will take one off each day until she gets here, that way he will be able to know how many more days ... til he melts to death!