This post is a day late thanks to a lot of Birthday excitement. And by “excitement”, I mean things going wrong left and right. The plan for B’s birthday was to drop the kids off at her parents’ house and then go out to eat. B had even decided that we would go to a nice Japanese steakhouse for her birthday meal.
Then the excitement arrived and our plans went out the window.
While I go off to work, my wife gets to stay home with the boys. While this means that she gets to have fun with them more than I do, it also means that she gets to be there during the "challenging moments." She needs to deal with these moments alone over nine hours a day, five days a week. It is easy to see how one could get burned out. So I like taking the boys out every now and then for "Guy Time." Sunday was one of those days. (B did laundry then, but at least she didn’t need to take a break from the laundry to break up a fight or send NHL to his room.)
First up was the grocery store. We needed some food for the coming week and so I had made a list all ready. Unfortunately, I forgot that list at home. No problem, though. Text messaging to the rescue. B texted me the list and I checked my phone from time to time to get everything we needed.
After the grocery store, we quickly stopped back home just to drop off the groceries. Then it was back out. This time, the boys and I went to the playground so they could let off some steam. The minute we got out of the car, they took off towards the slides and didn’t stop until we left. I’m going to miss playgrounds when the snow falls.
Like I said, they first went down the slides.
Next. we went to some tunnels they had.
Once they were done crawling through the tunnels, JSL rode in a plane while NHL sat atop a dinosaur. Eventually, NHL joined JSL in the plane.
Then a quick trip to another set of slides.
And next, it was swing time.
At one point, I got on the swings myself and decided to shoot video… a rather nausea inducing video. Watch at your own risk.
[flv]/2009/12/P1220297.flv|424|240[/flv]
After the swings, we went on the spinner and got a bit dizzy.
Then, after a failed trip to the "big slides" (failed because they were too wet to slide down), the boys climbed a tower. Ok, NHL climbed a tower. JSL flew up to the top (with a little dad-assist).
Finally, it was back to the original slides for some more sliding fun.
Reluctantly, they bid farewell to the playground and followed me back to our car to head home. How I love Boys Day Outs!
Yes, I know that Wordless Wednesday posts are supposed to be, well, wordless, but I felt that this one needed some words. After all, this is not only my "Wordless Wednesday" post, but also my "What I’m Thankful For" post. Therefore, in no particular order:
My Wife
I’m thankful every day that B has been in my life. She’s such a wonderful and caring person and I love everything about her. She’ll deny it left and right, but she’s also incredibly sexy. (Yes, you are B!) I’m even more attracted to her today than I was the first moment I laid eyes on her. (And trust me, I thought she was very attractive then also!) I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life. So thank you, B for being such a great wife and friend to me and such a great mother to our boys. Speaking of our boys….
My Boys
I couldn’t have asked for two better kids. Ok, there are times when they’re getting into trouble when I might think I could have 
, but still they are good kids. NHL rarely gets into trouble at school and loves learning. He enjoys spending time with me, B or just playing with JSL. JSL loves helping people out. He’ll actually get upset and shout "I help Dada!" if I don’t need his help. He adores his older brother and loves spending time with him. The little copycat looks to his brother constantly for cues on how to act and what to say. (This does lead to us telling NHL to stop doing something and then immediately having to tell JSL to stop also…. cute though it may be!) I’m so glad that they love each other and us so much. Every day when I go to work, I wish that I could spend more time with them and every day when I’m packing up to leave, I look forward to seeing them soon.
My Mother
First off, I’m also thankful for my father, sister and other friends and relatives, but this year I’m particularly thankful for my mother. Last week, she had a little accident. And by little, I mean she almost died. She was in her attic cleaning things up and fell.
Now, their attic isn’t exactly safe. You get to it via a fold down ladder in the garage. That staircase is about as old as I am (i.e. over 30 years old). Once you get into the attic, you can’t just walk around. The floor of the attic is thin enough that it can’t stand the weight of a person. You need to balance on support beams which run all along the attic. Years back, my father actually fell through the attic floor and got wedged in the hole he made. His legs were dangling down in the garage, a sight which was scary then but funny in hindsight.
Anyway, my mother was up there cleaning near the ladder. The details are a bit sketchy, but best I can make out, her foot somehow went through the thin flooring and she lost her balance. She fell headfirst towards the ladder. She hit her head on the ladder and skidded across the concrete garage floor. Luckily, she wasn’t home alone. A family friend was with her and called 911.
It could have been a lot worse. She fell a total distance of about 9 feet (maybe more) onto a concrete floor. She could easily have been dead. Plus, she hit the ladder with her head so she could have snapped her neck and been paralyzed for the rest of her life. In the end, she had a concussion (blacked out as she was headed for the ladder and came to on the ground), a couple of broken fingers, a torn up ear and scratches all over her face. She’s very, *VERY* lucky!
She’s recovering slowly, but surely. She’s still dizzy at times and needs to take it easy for awhile. However, the doctors’ don’t think that any permanent damage was done. I’m very thankful that my mother is alive and (relatively) well.
I hope everyone has a happy and healthy Thanksgiving!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know that H1N1 seems to be spreading all too quickly and that the vaccine is in short supply. Our doctor told us today that we are on a four page list of people waiting for the vaccine. We also found out that 66 of the 270 children in NHL’s school were out today. That’s nearly 25% of the kids out!
After picking up NHL, B told me that he was complaining of having a headache. That sparked a memory of him complaining of having a headache this morning. That, combined with B not being sure if he had a fever and the obvious rampant infection rate in his school, leads us to worry about NHL having H1N1. B, JSL and NHL are off as I type this to get NHL some Tamiflu to have onhand in case he really has influenza. Meanwhile, I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that he’s just feeling tired and run down and not H1N1-sick.
In related news, I checked out the CDC’s FluView website. The map intrigued me and I wanted to see how H1N1 has been progressing. I managed to locate all of the archival maps (except for week 16) and strung them into a Flash animation:
[flv]/2009/10/usmap.flv|566|395[/flv]
Note how the brown "widespread" states multiply starting the first week of September, aka When School Starts. I have a bad feeling that NHL’s school in particular and schools in general are going to see worse infection rates before things improve.
Here’s hoping that everyone out there stays healthy!
NHL has been getting swim lessons, but unfortunately things haven’t been going too “swimmingly.” During the first swim lesson, during which B accompanied him, NHL didn’t get into the pool until the very end. So this time we went prepared. B’s parents took NHL and I went along with them. Under my clothes, I had my bathing suit on so I’d be ready to jump into the pool.
Things started out well enough. We got to the pool early and walked around for a bit. Then we got NHL changed (easily done since his swimsuit was on under his pants). After a short wait, it was pool time. NHL went with his teacher while B and I followed the other parents into the “parents’ viewing room.” This room was right next to the pool room and had a nice big window so all of the parents could see what was going on. Every single parent there could see exactly what was happening in the pool. Remember that.
All of the kids sat down by the pool while the teacher got into the water. They had these little stands in the pool so that the water wouldn’t be too deep for the children to stand in. One by one the children got into the water. Well, one by one minus one: NHL. He didn’t get in. We couldn’t hear what his teacher was saying to him, but I could see that she was using every trick in her book to convince him to get in the water. When dealing with NHL, though, you can have an encyclopedia and it won’t be enough. He refused and eventually, we could see that the lesson was continuing without him.
Now, we didn’t pay for “sit by the pool” lessons, so we knew it was time to act. I went in (with B behind me) and tried my best to get him into the pool. When that didn’t work, I took NHL over to B and she tried. No go. We decided it was time for me to jump into the situation, literally.
I got changed in a nearby locker room. (Side note: Does it show how geeky I am that I felt like a superhero, pulling off my clothes to reveal my suit underneath? ) Then, I went back to the pool with NHL while B went back to the parents’ room. You know, the one with the big glass window. You haven’t forgotten that, have you? Just checking.
At first, I just put my feet in the water and tried to get NHL to go in first. When it became obvious that he wasn’t budging, I sighed and jumped into the water. Then I grabbed NHL and pulled him in. That’s when things got “fun.” He completely freaked out. Instead of just standing on the platform, he grabbed my shirt (I wasn’t going topless in front of all of those parents). His legs wrapped around my suit and pushed down. He had a death grip on me and was screaming at the top of his lungs.
Now my suit stays on just fine usually, but it doesn’t tie tight at all. The force of his legs pushing on my suit was enough that I could feel the suit slipping down. If I didn’t take action, I’d be showing much too much TechyDad to the parents!!! I let go of NHL (his deathgrip was more than enough to keep him on me and not in the water) and fixed my suit. After that, I managed to push NHL onto the platform. Crisis #1 averted!
After awhile, he was calm enough to watch the other kids and not grip onto me. Still, I had to be behind him holding him or he’s start to freak out again. And anytime water splashed near or in his eyes, he’d get upset. He also wouldn’t participate in the floating or kicking practices. So we were now paying for “stand in the pool” lessons. 
Finally, it was “wind down” time and the teacher took him out of the pool. Of course, I was still in the pool. I decided that I should get out too so I looked for an exit. One problem: NHL’s isn’t the only class. In fact, there are so many classes going on that the pool becomes packed with kids and teachers. It was all I could do to not interrupt another lesson, forget about actually getting out. So there I stood in the pool feeling like a fool with all of the parents watching through the glass.
At last, his teacher got out of the pool too and I saw an opening. I got out and took NHL to the locker room to get changed. This is where I encountered the next embarrassing item. (And this one is all my fault.) I have a few pairs of underwear that B and I purchased for laughs. Joe Boxer type boxers with funny sayings on them. The only reason that I feel comfortable wearing them is that I know that B is the only one who will see me in them.
Unfortunately, that day I wasn’t wearing “plain white” boxers, but was wearing a pair that said “horny devil” (complete with cartoon devils all over them). When I got changed at home to get ready for the pool, guess which boxers got put into my clothes bag? You got it. So there I am in the small lockerroom in front of lots of other parents. I’m the only parent changing back into his clothes… and I’m putting on “horny devil” underpants on. I tried to do it as discretely as possible, using the towel as a shield, but of course towels shift and jeans don’t go on as quickly as you’d like in situations like this. Mental note: Next time be sure to wear plain white boxers on pool day!
All in all pool day was a ton of fun that I just can’t wait to repeat. (Note the sarcasm dripping more than a bathing suit fresh from a pool.)
