How Do You Like Them Apples?

Heidi was getting the kids ready for bed. Merry was teasing David about a a book she gave him weeks ago that he keeps under his pillow.
Merry says "David I am going to sneak into your room when you fall asleep and take that book from under your pillow. How do you like them apples!"
David "I don't like them apples at all!"
Thomas hearing the talk of apples comes running into the bathroom and yells "I want an apple I LOVE apples."
Thats my story and I am sticking to it.

Song in a Bag

Meredith was wandering around the house yesterday afternoon singing and carrying a sandwich sized ziplock bag. When I asked her what she was up to she replied she was saving music. She handed me the bag asked me to sing in it and zip it up quick. She did not want one note of Daddy's song to escape.
I am not sure what happened when she went to listen back to all the music she captured. I do know that she filled that bag with some beautiful music.

Domino's

The living room is the domain of the children. The big tv is in there and that is the only tv that gets their channels. At the end of the day the living room is where they watch Max and Ruby, Dora and Diego before bed. I sit in the kitchen and watch the news and Heidi works.

Last night there was a commotion, things were happening around the corner, I got up went into the living room and discovered a new twist on an old game. The room was destroyed and when I say destroyed I mean that the the couch was stripped of its cushions, it looks worse than it really is. The couch getting stripped of its cushions happens all the time, how else would you build a fort?

To my surprise a fort was not being constructed, what I found when I came around the corner was the three children, lined up, each holding a cushion. Merry looked up, sensing my presence, and announced "Daddy look at us we have a new game, Dominoes!" and with that she fell into her brother, who fell into his brother, who landed on a strategically placed cushion. Everyone erupted into laughter and when I got to work I posted a story on the blog, which hasn't happened in a long time.

See ya soon.

Close to a Month

It has been close to a month since my last post and it is not for a lack of experiences. The saddest, hardest week of my extended families intertwined lives happened the week before Thanksgiving. A talented, beautiful, shining star was extinguished on a Brooklyn Street.

My cousin Emily was 24 years young, a graduate of Williams College, she was just getting settled in the big city after a tour of the world. Then she stepped into the street and was hit by a car.

We are a large, devoted family that had not experienced tragedy until now. It was a tough week that will remain with me forever. The importance of taking each day and making the most of it has never been more evident to me. It has also reminded me to let my siblings know that I love them every chance I get, even when I don't like them that much.

Life is fragile, please try not to take it for granted.

Summer '07 So Far

Father's Day Weekend

The weather was beautiful and we took advantage. When I go swimming with the kids it takes me right back to an age of innocence and fun. The worries of adulthood rinse off with the first plunge into the brisk water.

Merry is perfecting her "pencil jump" hands pinned to her side, toes pointed, eyes scrunched up. Before take off you wave to the spectators stand at attention and then proceed with the jump. Upon resurfacing one hand should be raised above your head in a fist that exclaims victory.

I am proud to report that she almost has it mastered, along with the butterfly jump and the ballerina jump she is developing a very impressive resume of tricks. It makes me very proud.

My son Thomas wants to and thinks that, he can fly. He jumps off the side of the pool into and under the water. I pull him up to the surface slowly and he smiles and yells, Again, Again, Again! He learned that from his sister. Sometimes I hold him in my arms, we run down the hill and leap into the pool. He likes it almost as much as I do.

David is far more reserved. Saturday he barely got wet,opting instead to watch and assist his Grandfather in digging a trench. Sunday he swam, but he does not enter the pool with the same abandon as his father and siblings. David makes sure his bubble is secure and lowers himself down the stairs with caution. He doggy paddles around in circles for hours happily swimming in a world of his own, only occasionally asking for the world to "look at me!"

The next ten or twelve years are going to be great fun. I love playing with my kids and I think that they like playing with me.

Here is to sunshine and summertime!

What is Happening?

Thanks for asking, not a hell of a lot. Thomas is talking in paragraphs that only his mother understands. The kid goes on and on and on. If you can't actually here him you might think what he was saying made sense. It does not, his cadence is on but his pronunciation is terrible. All of his gestures and facial expressions let the listener know that the kid has conviction, he just doesn't make any sense. He is a lot of fun to talk to.

When David isn't crying he is singing about superheroes. He comes up with all types of lyrics about his favorite crime fighters, and when he comes across a phrase he likes he repeats it over and over and over.

Meredith has learned another important lesson at pre-school. She is now an expert teaser. "Na na nana na, you can't have it" has become her mantra and she is teaching it to her brother's. It is one of Thomas' most understandable phrases.

Me, I am heading to N.H. on Thursday night and then Friday morning Tuckerman's Ravine. Should be one heck of an adventure, I am bringing the camera and will post some photo's.

The jogging has been going well. I stopped keeping track of the time because , "My name is Peter and I am a ten minute miler" that felt good. At this stage in my life it is not about how fast I go but how long. Thirty-five minutes of jogging is about all I can take and some days, like yesterday, it is more.

I picked up Jackson's ashes at the vet's the other day and it feels good having him back in the living room. He is in a discreet little wooden box that looks fine on the book shelf. Maxwell is hanging with me now. We run or walk almost everyday and he comes to the office with me. We are partners.

BROS!

Easter Pics

With Thomas,

And With Out

As close as we could get.

Popcorn

Kids love popcorn and mine are no exception. One of the many benefits of Grampy's house is the never ending bags of microwave popcorn. A few months ago we actually had some in the pantry of the Old Blue house.

Merry, David and Thomas were in the other room chomping away, the children were very happy. We do not have microwave popcorn around all that often, not for any other reason than we forget to buy it. It was a treat and they were treating it as such.

I was in the kitchen, reading the paper, washing dishes, or drinking beer, I do not remember which when Merry and David marched in. I assumed they were there to get another bag of the good and buttery stuff. I was wrong.

Merry looked up at me and said "Daddy, I have a popcorn seed stuck up my nose."

I went and got my flashlight, lifted her up onto the kitchen counter and peaked in. She was right, she did have a popcorn seed up her nose. I asked her how it got there and she told me that she put it there. Go figure.

What is the solution when presented with a kernel of popcorn stuck in your little ones nose? I saw two options, the first was a trip to the hospital and a wait at the emergency room. This did not seem like the best answer. The second, was to get it out myself. This one I liked, but how?

As I considered ways to remove the foreign object from my princesses button nose, Thomas walked in sipping milk through the straw of his sippy cup. Ha Hah! Urecka! and all that. I went to the cabinet, got a straw from the straw box, laid a very calm, cool and collected four year old out on the kitchen counter, inserted the straw and applied suction.

Out of her nose came the kernel, into the microwave went the next bag of popcorn and life proceeded as usual at The Old Blue House.

The Trap

I find myself getting caught in the same trap over and over. My children set this trap by simply being. Mostly it is Merry and David, I am sure Thomas will be an accomplice when he learns to talk. When they can talk they simply become another member of the pack. They are still individuals, but my expectations of behavior change, my expectations are for everyone to be as good as the best. It doesn't happen.

I get complacent, I forget that the children are different ages and I expect them all to behave as six or seven year olds. Merry is five, David is three, I get fooled into thinking that because they can talk they should behave as adults.

Merry is very good, as is David, however, David is still prone to a temper tantrum every now and again. It is difficult to handle David's temper tantrums when the expectation is for him to act like a big kid.

A deep breath, a big hug and some reassuring words always win the day. The hard part is remembering the deep breath and not getting sucked into the negative energy of a three year olds tantrum.

Handling Loss

We sat down for dinner Monday night, after grace I told Merry and David that tonight is the last night Jackson will be with us because tomorrow morning he is going to doggie Heaven.

David immediately stated that it was OK because Jackson would come home after that. I informed him that he would not be coming back from Dog Heaven and David began to weep. He said he would miss him and that he loved him. At this point Heidi and I were weeping as well.

Merry's response was very different, she looked around the table at all of the sad faces and declared "We should watch tv, watching tv makes me happy." Merry did not shed a tear, she did not acknowledge the loss. Merry got in trouble at pre-school this week for the first time ever. Her teacher reported that Merry was not acting as herself and that she was being terribly bossy. I think her sadness manifested itself in her poor behavior at school.

The children have moved on, life has returned to normal at The Old Blue House. The adults are keeping it together and as long as we do not bring the children down I think we have suffered threw the worst of this sadness.

Here's to happier days.

Dance Recital

There was a large audience on hand for the recital.Primaballerina Merry had the largest gallery consisting of Grampy, Thomas, Dad and David.
The show started with some long stepping.
Thomas could not contain himself, he had to get involved.
Next they performed some excellent skipping.
Finished off with a perfect first position.

David aka Wrongside

David has been exercising different expressions of control and manipulation. These exercises never end the way David hopes. They also make life very uncomfortable for Mom, his sister and his little brother.

His favorite game is the "I do not want too!" game. If you try to force the issue you get a temper tantrum. Now that he has achieved a level of comfort with the teachers at pre-school they get to play as well.

When Heidi walks into the class to pick him up she carries with her a bit of uneasiness. She wonders if David tormented his teachers the way he torments her. Most days he is good, some, he is not.

Yesterday after dropping Merry off at pre-school Heidi brought Thomas and David to the birth to three center. The birth to three center is a place to play, David and Thomas have a great time playing there, there are other kids and toys, what is not to like?

Yesterday, David decided that he did not want to go. Heidi left him in the foyer of the building while Thomas had fun. David did not fold until nearly 45 minutes into the stay when he decided playing may be better than sitting in the hall.

Heidi and David's teachers have developed a plan of action to break David of his manipulative ways. If David decides he is not going to go along with the program, David is going to lose a right or privilege that David likes. Heidi brought this idea home last night and so far it is working.

Last night I asked Merry and David whose turn it was to go to school today. Merry answered Davids and David immediately announced that he did not want to go to school. Heidi, hearing this exchange jumped in with these words for young David. "You will go to school and you will behave yourself. Your teachers will report to me whether you behaved or not and if they tell me you did not behave you will not see your skis for five days." This got Davids attention "OK, OK I will go to school and I will be good Mommy". We shall see.

Dad and His Boys

What Kids?

Tuesday morning I was up and out of the house before any of the little ones awoke. I went directly to a meeting after work and did not get home until everyone was asleep.

I got up early Wednesday, jogged and left for work before any of the children awoke. I went to a meeting after work and did not get home until they were all asleep.

Today, I was home when they got up and it was really nice. Good morning's and hugs for everyone. Dear Thomas gets so excited to see me, he does a little dance, with his hands over his head. I can not help but smile.

Merry talked through breakfast about all that has been happening and even David seemed glad to see me. As I sit here typing I am smiling, these kids make me feel Great. I am proud to be their Dad.

What Kids? My Kids!

Spinning

Thomas has learned a new trick, a trick his sister Merry perfected at about his age. This is a game that David has avoided, this game is spinning until you fall over. Getting dizzy, to the point where you have trouble focusing your eyes, forget standing up.

Merry was drawn to the spins at a very early age. We had a jumpy seat that hung from a beam in our house. Instead of jumping up and down Merry perfected revolutions. She could spin it like a top. When her brain was good and scrambled she would giggle until the effects wore off. Thomas is enjoying the same brain scrambling fun. He spins around in circles to the point that all of the adults get nervous he his going to bang his head. Then he falls over giggling. If Merry catches him she joins in. David, mostly just watches.

I can remember loving to get dizzy, lying on the ground and watching the sky spin by. I wonder if it is a sign of bad things to come for these two, it certainly shows an affinity for jumbling brain cells which is unhealthy. The two that enjoy it are the two I worry about least. David is the sad and sensitive one, David is the child I envision as the brooding teen. David does not find getting dizzy to be the rush Merry and Thomas do.

These kids are all different and a couple of them love to get fall down dizzy, just like their Dad.

Princess

Friday, following her morning obligations the princess will head to the Salon to have her hair, toes and fingers attended to. Her "Knight in Shining Armour" will pick her up and whisk her off to the city.

They will tour the Museum of Science and then head to the The Ritz for the evening. They will sit for a formal dinner and then rest. Saturday will be a very busy day.

After brunch, they will search for an appropriate dress for a princess to wear to the The Nutcracker. There are many fine clothiers on Newbury Street in Boston and I am sure the highest levels of service will be provided.

After the show its back to The Ritz for dinner and an evening with Dora The Explorer. Sunday, after brunch they will head back up to the North Shore and retrieve the princesses not so special little brother.

Little Lord Fauntleroy and his Princess sister will have an audience with Old St. Nick himself. Enjoy a dinner at The Club, and then get dropped off at home to once again be reunited with their parents, littlest brother, dogs, and the avalanche of "No's" that come when the world is no longer your play ground.

You Better Be Good

The Holiday season has officially begun at The Old Blue House. The Christmas trees are up, that is right, plural, we got a Charlie Brown tree for the kids and another for the Mom. The kids have taken over Mom's tree too.

All of the boxes were dragged from their resting place in the attic, their contents are displayed around the home and it is good. I love to bitch and moan but the finished product is great. The Carollers, Santa's and Angel's are all happy to be back on display.

I got the fireplace set up for another season of fires, and I started splitting and stacking the wood. Even had a fire, the first of the season. Burning firewood heats you up three times. First, when you split it, second, when you stack and third, when you burn it.

I jogged Sunday morning further than I have jogged in 15 years. I went all of four miles, 25% further than I have been jogging. It just about killed me, that one extra mile felt like ten.

The Patriots beat Detroit by the hair on their chiny, chin, chins. Heidi brought the Tutus to a home show in town. Merry, David and I watched Micheal Baryshnikov(?) dance the Nutcracker on PBS. Merry loved it and David was entertained watching Merry copy the dancers moves. Bedtime was a breeze.

Then sitting in my chair, watching Sunday night Football on NBC, in front of a blazing fire, I was overtaken by a terrible chill. It rocked me right to my core, the kind of chill that has terrible illness associated with it.

I staggered upstairs, put on my sweats, brushed my teeth and along with my daily vitamins took a "Get Well Soon" pill. I was under the covers by 8:30 pm. It was an uncomfortable night, alternating between sweats and chills. When the alarm went off this morning I felt fine, catastrophe avoided. Thank you, Arbonne. I sort of wonder what is in those pills, sort of.

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