November in a Nutshell

After Halloween, as normal, came my birthday. It sneaks up on everyone, including me. Unfortunately a case of food poisoning also snuck up on Jen so it wasn't quite as joyful as we would have hoped. Other than that it was pretty much the perfect birthday.


Except for which one it was.



My dad and I spent a lot of time refinishing the basement after our basement flood almost two years ago. Not only are the rusty carpet tacks no longer poking out of the floor but it's actually extremely comfortable down there and the kids can go play without me being worried about stepping on a rusty nail or smashing their head on cold concrete.



A much simpler project, though just as gratifying, was removing the final baby gate. This simple change provides an obvious aesthetic improvement but the most satisfying bit is how luxurious and wide our staircase feels now. Added bonus: carrying laundry or other items up the stairs is no longer fraught with peril.


Elliott spent much of my birthday party writing "COME ON" on pieces of paper and handing it to Jen. At the end of the night he spelled it out in Halloween glow sticks and called me in.

Jen has made a huge tactical error in sharing how much she hates it when they say this to her so, obviously, they have doubled their efforts. While this isn't unusual for kids it is amplified by the DNA coming specifically from her side of the family tree. Once Jen and her sisters learned how much her mother hated monkeys they have never stopped getting her monkey-themed cards, wines, pictures, or anything else they can get their hands on.

Payback is coming hard for Jen.


The following week Jen and I headed downtown for her to be sworn in as an American citizen. Personally, I think she's making a huge mistake. That being said, she is very excited to get to vote out of pure anger and rage.


We had to bid a sad farewell to our neighbors Mr. Tim and Ms. Anita. They have been absolutely the most perfect neighbors anyone could hope for and we will miss them dearly.


Elliott drew a card of his favorite memory with Mr. Tim. Of course that memory was of the day Tim came over with a giant box of their son's old toys and gave them to the boys. Elliott still gets choked up when he thinks about it but mostly because he knows it will never happen again.


One night when Jen was out we had the inaugural movie night in the basement. The boys actually requested Return of the Jedi. I was more than happy to oblige.


The following day we surprised the kids by bringing them to a live show of the Wild Kratts. The kids were blown away by the show and spent the next few days reenacting scenes and dressing up in their costumes. I've got to say it was a pretty incredible show. I'm not really sure how those guys keep up their enthusiasm levels for ten minutes let alone for an entire live show. They definitely had complete control over the audience. It was like watching a band at the peak of their popularity play a stadium. The kids in the room were in awe.



I also finally got to work on my charcuterie board project, something that is slow going. My complete lack of woodworking skill is certainly contributing to the pace of the project but my hopes are that it will still turn out okay.


This year marks the first time my work schedule has allowed me to go to the Thanksgiving feast at day care. Josie had a really fun time with us there and against all odds did not freak out when we didn't take her home with us after it was over.


We also did our fifth year at the Illuminations at Morton Arboretum. We discovered the secret to doing this after five long, hard years at this event: have children that are five or older.


The boys did great. There was a brief period where they were unhappy about how hot their hot chocolate was but they walked the whole way, were up for viewing the entire display, and in very good spirits. Josephine, on the other hand, melted down about halfway through. It was better than the freezing cold year, and far better than the year it rained on us, but still not quite ideal for the under five set. Cousins Evelyn and Oliver were similarly cranky and it was understandable. It's a tough thing for a kid. When the final cousin is five years old it's going to be an amazing Illuminations experience.


Illuminations 2021 is going to be lit. Literally. Literally. Literally lit.


We also did a family photo shoot. The kids did great but after a solid hour of pictures were pretty done but we rewarded them with lunch downtown. Cousins were sick so they weren't fully into it.


The sickness spread and Josie came down with hand, foot, and mouth for the second time. Third time? I don't know but with the kids we've gone through it about ten times now. Each time gets easier. Each time is still profoundly crappy.


Jen flew out for work and Josie spent a day with daddy decorating our new advent calendar tree which she is obsessed with. Also, we watched Frozen four times before the boys got home from school. Then one more time with them for good measure.

The cold never bothered me anyway.

The Frenzied Crescendo

Easter came early this year in late March. As Easter likes to bebop all around the calendar I've already plotted out that Josephine's fourth and fifteenth birthdays will fall on the day itself. She's the only member of our family lucky enough to even have this as a possibility.


Easter weekend began with a neighborhood egg hunt and warmup for the real thing. Seeing as the warmup consisted of about one hundred kids in a field they would likely be in very good shape for Sunday's hunt.


They had a good time playing at the park, feasting on Dunkin' Donuts Munchkins, and doing their best not to get knocked over by the older kids.


A late March trip to IKEA got us these great baskets to sort their stuffed animals. After setting them up it was only a matter of moments before they put them over their heads and became human lightsabers. It's amazing what kind of lightsaber ingenuity this generation has innately in them. The most I can ever remember doing was peeing in the toilet simultaneously with my cousin and pretending our pee streams were lightsabers.

It's like comparing hockey games now to games from the 1950s before they even knew you could lift a puck off the ice. There's just no comparison.


The Sunday egg hunt was a big hit. Elliott insisted on dressing like a ninja, an Easter tradition as old as time itself.


After a long hunt and brunch we all settled onto the couch to rest and presumably watch a movie of some sort. Probably that Easter classic Return of the Jedi.



Easter dinner was delicious but a smaller holiday crown than we're used to.


After our first picture of all five cousins proved to be such crazy -- yet realistic -- portrayal we decided to get a picture of all five that was of a slightly higher quality. This is the best we could do after about seventy attempts.

I have no idea how parents did this when film was still a thing. Maybe that's why there is a grand total of one photo of me with all twelve (at the time) of my cousins that was ever taken.


Aborted Easter eggs were donated to us and I made a huge batch of egg salad, the first I can ever remember making, that I made into sandwiches with avocado, bacon, and feta. This transformed Jen (a notorious egg hater) into a fan of egg salad. I still have mixed feelings about it but this batch turned out pretty tasty.


In the still destroyed half of our basement the kids held the first rehearsals for the family band.


Later they broke off into Martin and Elliott's folk duo who performed one of their classics, the theme song for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.


One night Jen and I even made it out for dinner, a rare occasion. We got to a restaurant that we'd tried once before with no luck but it turned out on a Thursday night at 5:30 we were able to get right in. Years ago this may have been deemed "not worth it" but since we are the parents of three children this kept our dinner right on schedule. We were even able to stop by a brewery on the way home, sample a variety of beers brewed with Girl Scout Cookies, watch a band plan, and still be home by 9:00.


I was excited when The Force Awakens came out on digital download. I was also reminded by watching it again that it's probably a little too old for the boys.


They're going to be really pissed one day when they realize their sister saw it before them.


A friend from Woonsocket, Rhode Island sent me a care package of rolls from Dupras Bakery. These dynamite rolls are only really available in Woonsocket, RI, and are necessary to make the staple dish of Woonsocket: the dynamite.


I broke with tradition of using $0.95 per pound ground beef and canned tomato and made mine with grass fed ground beef with frozen tomatoes from last summer in the garden.


The result was delicious and the boys went crazy for them. Much like their sister's love of Italian food, it's in their DNA.


Jen was a way for a few days visiting a friend in South Carolina. This left me alone with the kids. Lucky for me Josephine was able to entertain the boys for most of the time just by losing her mind and blowing raspberries at them.


I took them all to the park with their aunt and cousins where they packed a lunch and Elliott rode his tricycle the entire way, even hooking it up on the bike rack when we got there.


Later on I dug out my Wii games from the basement, got a borrowed Wii from grandma, and set the boys up to play boxing which they loved. Previously I'd set up Mike Tyson's Puchout and watched as Martin defeated Glass Joe on his first attempt without taking a single punch. This is much better than I did playing this game for the first time as a ten-year-old.


Nana and Grandpa rolled into town the next day along with the beautiful weather. We were able to enjoy barbecue on the deck to welcome them to town.


The boys quickly whisked my parents away to help them do puzzles . . .


. . . read stories . . .


. . . and inspect the furniture they'd brought with them.


They also brought the gift of Rhode Island beer.


Jen, returning from South Carolina, graced me beer from the state she visited.


The next night we made hamburgers and Josie put down a tremendous amount of cheeseburger.


The following night was grilled vegetable pasta. Living in New York for ten years has still not left us and we never pass up an opportunity for outdoor dining.


While visiting Nana taught Josie how to clap which was a big hit.


Josie also had her one year check up where she proved to be very healthy, very full of sass, and very cute.

These are the doctor's diagnoses, not mine. This is merely based on medical fact.


On Josephine's birthday morning Jen brought up a huge amount of toys from the basement and Josephine, along with her brothers, had a blast in a veritable child's playland on our living room floor.


The next night we grilled ribeye steaks, continuing to take advantage of the weather ahead of the prediction of thunderstorms.


The boys brought in cupcakes for Josie and we sang Happy Birthday, baffling her.


One thing that she was not baffled by: what to do with her cupcake.


Auntie Pat and Auntie Debbie came in with Uncle Dave. The Aunties read stories to the boys for bed which they loved. This consisted of many Elephant and Piggie books after Auntie Pat got the boys a dozen or so for Christmas.


Dave, on the other hand, took advantage of the new V-Drums in the studio. I'll be surprised if he hasn't ordered himself a set yet.


On the weekend we had Josie's party, a tea party, with many little tea sandwiches and desserts.


Josie had a blast, though she was a bit suspicious of the helium filled balloons, using her newfound pointing finger to point out where they were at all times and making sure we kept them clear of her.


Josie had fun with everyone over though her brothers were ecstatic.


They had fun testing the weight limits of our new hammock.


They had fun opening all of her gifts.


They had fun admiring her cake from afar.


They had fun admiring her cake from close up.


And Josie had fun eating it.


Maybe not as much fun she had playing with Water Bugs, her new bath toy. They boys even played with it in their room before bed.

Tonight Jen is away at a work function. The boys were beyond wild. They were running around, destroying the house. While getting their sister ready for bed I left them alone for less than thirty seconds and returned to find Martin using his toothbrush to "brush" his brother's butt. After explaining why that was not advisable things became crazy with all manner of screaming, peeing, crying, and Josie thrashing around wildly in every direction.

After a few minutes everything reached a frenzied crescendo where everyone screamed all together then suddenly Josie slumped in my arms and shut her eyes and the boys quieted completely. A wild day rounded out everyone was silent all together.

It was like the orchestral finale to A Day in the Life reaching a climax then ending with the chord that lasts forever.

Sadly, the silence of all three children asleep will last considerably shorter than forever.