Memorial Day 2012

On Memorial Day, we pause to show respect and to remember all those who have given the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, at home and abroad.

Thank you for giving me the freedom to enjoy my family.

Today, and everyday.

Have a great week,

May God Bless America,

Busy-Dad-E

Dad-E in Training

The other morning, Mom-E walked into Bab-E Brother's room to find him talking away to all of his animal friends.

He had each one snuggled up warmly with their own burp towel.

Unfortunately for Barney, he was being slightly suffocated by his blanket.

Fortunately, Bab-E Brother has plenty of time to continue honing his Dad-E skills, but he's off to a great start.

Have a good weekend,

Busy-Dad-E

School's Out

School's out, school's out,
Teacher let the monkeys out...

Unfortunately, the monkeys are now at our house.  All.  Day.  Long.  Swinging from the ceiling.

Big Brother and Little Brother are officially done with school.

And while, Mom-E and I are basking in the glory of fewer lunches to pack, the absence of homework and AR (the latter deserving it's own "Amen!"), and more relaxed schedule overall, Big Brother had a very eventful last day of school.

Mom-E was at the gym, when she heard that their had been an armed robbery at a pharmacy about 1/2 mile from Big Brother's school.

Despite the fact that the suspect got away, Big Brother's school was placed on "soft lockdown" and parents were not notified, which surprised both Mom-E and I.

Mom-E and I decided that we'd both feel more comfortable if Mom-E picked up Big Brother (I think they were pretty much playing Nintendo all week). 

And being the last day of school, with all kinds of programs for parents (the place was crawling), soft lock-down consisted of the PE teachers hanging out in front of the school?

Mom-E felt like the staff looked at her ask if she was from Mars, but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.

Fortunately, Big Brother was quite happy about this.  His class had a pizza party that afternoon (still can't get the boy to eat pizza), but Big Brother was more excited about getting to open his end of the year prize.

Needless to say, an eventful last day of first grade.

Fortunately, the suspect was apprehended later in the day.

See you on Fatherhood Friday,
Busy-Dad-E

Garden: Week 10

On the downside, we've been battling some pesky Japanese beetles, who have a penchant for corn.

The cucumbers are also not playing very nice with the other vegetables, literally trying to strangle their neighbors in an attempt to usurp more garden space.

But on the upside, we've started to harvest a teeny little bit.  Some squash, green onions, and cilantro.

If I could upload the smell of fresh cilantro for you I would.  So pungent and so appetizing.  Knocks the socks off the stuff in the store.

Makes me want to go have a (Crystal Light) Margarita.

Have a good week,
Busy-Dad-E

Beach SwingBall

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

The boys and I have invented a new game, called Beach SwingBall".

Lately, we've been spending some time after dinner outside on the swing set.

Similar to the picture below, we have three swings, so that the boys can all swing simultaneously.

Big Brother has a "regular" swing, and the other two boys have a "bucket"/child's swing.

You can imagine the fun and chaos of trying to assist 3 boys simultaneously in such an endeavor.

It feels like one of those jugglers who spins plates on tall poles.  "Dad-E, can you push me?  From the back.  No, the front.  Dad-E, I want to go higher?  Can I pretend to kick you when I swing?  Can you fall over on the ground when I pretend to kick you?  Higher, Dad-E.  Higher!  Dad-E, push me!"

Bab-E Brother in particular has his idiosyncrasies while swinging.

For several days, he kept saying, "I want to go higher."

It seemed like no matter what Mom-E or I would do - push his swing in front, in back, stop the swing, etc, etc - nothing would suit, and he'd just continue to scream, "I want to go higher."

Turned out that "go higher" mean grab ahold of the swing, pull him up in the air (like you're about to set a pendulum in motion), and let go.  All smiles and giggles with that.  Only problem is he asks you to "go higher again" about every 27 seconds.

The boys are also obsessed with a large plastic beach ball that currently inhabits our back yard near the swings.

One day, probably out of frustration from trying to assist 3 crabby swingers and their whims, "Dad-E, can I hold the beach ball while I swing?" I threw the ball in their direction.

The timing was just right, and one of them managed to kick the ball - pretty hard - in mid-air while swinging, and it sailed over my head.

Thus, the sport of Beach SwingBall was born.

It's a pretty simple game, although quite a cardiovascular workout for the accompanying adult.

How to Play:

1.  Allow all players on swings to "go higher" to suitable height.  (You'll have to do this repeatedly throughout the match.)

2.  The Pitcher (adult) throws the ball to each Batter/Kicker, one at a time, timing the pitch so they have a chance to kick the beachball in mid-air.

3.  When the ball is kicked, if the pitcher catches the ball before it touches the ground, the batter scores 0 points and the Pitcher scores 1 point.

4.  Points are scored by Batters as follows:

-Kick the ball and it goes forward and is NOT  caught by the pitcher = 1 point

-Kick the ball over the pitcher's head = 2 points

-Kick the ball to another batter, and that 2nd batter kicks the ball after it touches the ground, and it is not caught by the pitcher = 2 points

-Kick the ball to another batter, and that 2nd batter kicks the ball without it touching the ground, and it is not caught by the pitcher = 3 points

-Kick the ball to another batter, and that 2nd batter kicks the ball without it touching the ground, and it goes over the pitcher's head = 4 points

5.  Winner is the first player to score 10 points.

(Disclaimer: Not my boys.)

Have a good weekend,

Go out and play!

Busy-Dad-E

Garden: Week 9

It's nature unleashed!  (Methinks we planted stuff a little too close together.)

So after another round of fertilizer last week, the garden has mutated into a green monster that is starting to take over.

In particular, it's "Revenge of the Cucumbers", as they've shot out these lasso-like things that will pretty much jump out of the garden and grab you if you walk by.

Okay, maybe not, but the cucumbers are starting to vine out everywhere, threatening the existence of peaceful green pepper plants from Alderaan.

Elsewhere in the garden, it's "A New Silk".  Just in the past week, we've see the emergence of corn tassels, and some corn silk, where the stalks are starting to widen.

Mom-E decided that the tassels should be called "pre-corn", which I really liked and prefer over tassel.

Say it with me now "... Mmm ... corn!"

And then below the surface of those giant leaves that are bigger than my head, we have "Attack of the Squash", which appear to be creating a clone army of yellowy goodness (I promise we did not use growth enhancers to speed up the maturation process).

See you on Fatherhood Friday,

May the Garden Be With You!

Busy-Dad-E

Mother's Day 2012

Dear Mom-E,

Happy Mother’s Day 2012!

It’s amazing to think that we’ve been married for almost 9 years.  The time has truly zipped by.  Over the past 7 years as parents, and especially in recent months, we have truly grown in the sacrament of marriage. 

Amidst all of the joyful chaos and frenetic pace of life, it’s critical to take time to pause and reflect.

And while I try to tell you that I love you and how wonderful you are on a daily basis, this Mother’s Day I wanted to write down some of my sentiments, as a true present from the heart.

First of all, know that you are a truly special and wonderful lady.  With God’s grace, you can accomplish anything you set your mind to (and probably more).  A-n-y-t-h-i-n-g.  Slow down and let that sink in for a moment.

…

I thank you for your constant example of faithfulness to our boys.  Thanks for all you do to raise the boys in the faith.  This is particularly meaningful to me, as it was somewhat lacking in my early childhood.  I can now see clearly how critical this time period is for the formation of faith, and how important it is that we show the boys this path.

You are a fine example of fidelity and womanhood, as wife and mother.  This will no doubt have a long-lasting influence on the women that our boys will marry.

I thank you for your constant example of faithfulness to me.  Your example inspires me (and others) to live an even holier life.  I think we are both starting to see new fruits of that call to holiness.  Your example of love has led me to more deeply understand the love of God the Father.

At your surprise 30^th birthday party, I said in my toast that you are epitomized by the quote, “The secret of success is constancy of purpose.”  And this still rings true.  In your life, your priorities are your dedication to your family, friends, and faith.  You live out this mission daily, unwaivering, expecting no recognition or material reward. 

You are truly generous with your time and talents.  How are those wooden boxes coming?  What hand-made item will you sew next for the boys?  Yet another superhero costume or jammies?  A tent?

Thank you for your patience with the boys.  Sure we both feel empty on patience sometimes, but you still have oodles of it.  Your love for them makes my heart smile.

At the end of a long, tiring day of mess cleaning, meal fixing, bey blading, mess cleaning, dispute mediating, small men chauffeuring, mess cleaning, dog whining, back door opening/closing, mess cleaning, story reading, pre-nap rocking, mess cleaning, diaper changing, dish washing, mess cleaning, child yelling, toddler tantruming, mess cleaning, laundry washing (and drying and folding), lunch packing, mess cleaning, my favorite 5 minutes are when we sit down or lie in bed together and laugh about all of the day’s antics, only to wake up (exhausted), and spend another 5 minutes in the bathroom laughing about all of the antics to soon follow when three boys are awake before 7 a.m. 

I truly cherish our uncontrolled laughter during those times.  It keeps me going despite the stress of the wonderful circus that we direct.  That, and caffeine.  Lots and lots of caffeine.  But still, when we are old and decrepit, I hope we can still laugh like that.

Lastly, I also want to share with you some biblical wisdom about motherhood from the book of Proverbs that I hope will continue to feed and nourish you as a mother:

 “A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.  Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value.  She brings him good, not harm, all the days of her life.”  Proverbs 31:10-12.

“So be happy with your wife, and find joy with the woman you married.” Proverbs 5:18

“A gracious woman is respected.” Proverbs 11:16

“Homes are made by the wisdom of women.” Proverbs 14:1

“Find a wife and you find a good thing, it shows the Lord is good to you.”  Proverbs 18:22

And so, on Mother’s Day (and always), know that I am happy and full of joy, that you are respected and wise, and that the Lord has truly been good to me.

I love you,

Dad-E

P.S.  And while I hope that my words are inspiring, I also recognize that with three boys age 7, 4, and 2, caffeine helps is very necessary, and so we also have a little Starbucks gift card for you!