Old Friends

When in the basement cleaning up Martin came across Jen's old "yoga map" that she was going to discard. Martin would have none of it and immediately commandeered it.


He then showed us a number of yoga poses that Aunt Lauren had taught him including the popular move, "down dog."


When Auntie Caolan, Uncle Paul, and Jane came to visit, Martin wasted no time opening his studio and giving Jane a quick crash course.


We also took a trip downtown to the library, river walk, and eventually had lunch before returning home to nap.


We have a pretty strict practice of not starting Christmas music, movies, or decorating until after Thanksgiving. However, this year was special with friends visiting and a sudden cold snap. We decided to have our first fire of the season and play Elf for the kids. Even though it was a little premature it was nice to spend a portion of the forced holiday with old friends.


Uncle Paul entertained with many read books which all the kids enjoyed immensely.


When the kids were napping Paul finally got around to putting down a bass track to a song we initially recorded in 1998. Our band, Spruce Avenue Jam was known as "the earliest band in rock" because the only studio time we could get was at 6:00 AM. However, our struggle to complete this album has taken the better part of twenty years. Now we are one step closer to getting this one in the bag.

Look for it available for free download sometime in 2020.


Martin and Elliott were both battling ear infections leading up to the visit. Elliott had mostly kicked his and had almost finished his antibiotics before Martin developed a fever and screamed himself to sleep one night. We took him to the doctor where we had to wait 45 minutes alone in the room waiting for the doctor. The boys could not have been better behaved. Martin played with toys and Elliott read a book the entire time. I think they dealt with the wait more maturely than Jen and I did.


After a few days off Caolan, Paul, and Jane returned and Josie had a reprise of some sweet Uncle Paul snuggles which she really enjoyed during the visit.


We took the kids to the newly reopened children's museum where they had a blast and Caolan played with Josie in the baby area. We took turns trying to manage three easily-distracted toddlers throughout the establishment.


Sadly, after and on-and-off week, it had to come to an end and we had to say goodbye. While we used to see each other all the time our visits these days are few and far between. Usually they are also short so it was great to be able to spend numerous days with some great friends. We're really looking forward to the next time we can do this again.


The boys have been agitating for more reading time at night so Jen cleverly rigged up these Christmas lights on their beds so they could read by them. This has bought us a little more sanity at night for bedtime and you cannot put a cost on that.


Josephine continues to try new foods. The other day she tried her first carrots.


She did not like them.


After her first bite she began to search out an exit route.


The other day I took Martin Christmas shopping for Elliott and Josephine, a concept that was sort of lost on him. It was his first time in a toy store and he handled it better than I'd expected, but still ended up just giving the mask he'd picked out for Elliott as soon as he got home.

Jen had better luck with Elliott but he still blurted out what he'd gotten Martin for Christmas the second he walked in the door.


The boys agreed to help me, once again, hang the Christmas lights. With the biggest November snowstorm to hit Chicago in 120 years we had to act fast. I foolishly hung lights across the top of the house and set up Santa and Frosty which Elliott alternately hugged and proclaimed his love for and dismembered.

Toddlers have a tough time expressing love.


Jen made a huge batch of dumplings. Martin talked a lot about how they were just meatballs in a wrapper as his toddler brain tried to process what this new food was.


During the messy snowstorm we took the kids to the mall for a harrowing photo shoot. We were reminded why we haven't done this in a while. The kids were great and well behaved but they reached their limit quickly and the photo shoot lasted far longer than we'd hoped so we ended up racing home to try to have a late dinner with three children who were at the end of their rope and one baby who didn't really care either way.

Each year the photo shoot gets easier. This year we had two 3-year-olds, a 2-year-old, and a 7-month-old. Next year it will be two 4-year-olds, a 3-year-old, an 18-month-old, and a 11-month-old.

It doesn't sound it but that should be easier.

Deck the Fall

September began with a long-delayed home improvement project. Carbon dating has been unable to determine how old our deck is. We have only been able to go on an oral history delivered to us by those who have lived in our neighborhood for some time. By cobbling together various tales and legends we have been able to determine only this: our deck is quite old.


After we replaced many rotten boards earlier this spring, I began by power washing the deck then scrubbing it with some sort of deadly concoction to kill algae that may be living in the wood. This is something that hadn't occurred to me could possibly happen until researching this project.


Then I applied the first coat of the thickest, sludgiest, deck paint I could.


While coat number one dried Josie had her four month checkup and is doing great. She got a few shots which she didn't seem to mind then slept them off the rest of the day.


After her checkup I applied a second coat of paint and was done for now. The result is probably going to get us a few extra years out of the deck, though I have not found the time to paint the unfinished trim which may potentially be a project for next year or later this fall.


Our farm had a bounty of tomatoes this year and sold them for the inexpensive price of $2 per pound in surplus. We purchased 22 pounds then peeled, and chopped them for the freezer as we did last year. Our garden's yield has been good but nothing compared to the quantity and quality we experienced last year.


My deck painting supplies were immediately commandeered by the bubses who turned paint stirrers into swords and the cardboard covered the walkway into a bridge, the scene of an epic showdown between good and evil.


Jen took many opportunities to make popsicles with the boys this summer. This usually resulted in irrecoverably stained clothes and giant raspberry stains on our freshly painted deck. However, can you put a price on your children's happiness?


Meanwhile our pumpkin vines have taken up much of our yard. There is now an uninhabitable pumpkin zone which cannot be entered. The grass grows long under the pumpkin patch for it cannot be simply be mowed by moral homeowners.


Nana and Grandpa stopped in on the prelude to their cross country tour. This meant many hours of Storybots.


It also meant a celebratory dinner for Grandparents' Day, something that no grandparents were aware of. Few have Jen's committment to tracking such things. The only picture we were able to capture that was halfway decent was this one. The rest were either missing children or had them running toward the camera. By children, of course, I am referring to Martin and Elliott. Evelyn and Josephine were perfectly well behaved the entire time.


Before work one day we took them to Naper Settlement, were lied to about the origins of Naperville by an employee, and watched a blacksmith making iron roses.


But there was to be no work, instead I got a stomach bug. Jen had previously suffered from it several days earlier and I was defeated by my own hubris, assuming I had beat the wretched bug.


Several days later, after recovering, Jen was away on a work trip and we took the children to the Arboretum.


Their favorite part, strangely, was while we were waiting for it to open they found a hay bale and spent about twenty minutes picking out staws of hay and pretending to be horses.


Then another child showed them that they could wade in a section of the water. Unfortunately they were in jeans which meant they spent the rest of the afternoon completely soaked from bellybutton to toe. Martin also spent the entire time singing "Five Little Speckled Frogs" which is a song I had previously been unaware of. If parenthood has taught me nothing else it has taught me that I am ignorant of a huge number of children's songs.



The next day Nana and Grandpa had to leave on the second leg of their countrywide tour. We spent twenty minutes trying to coax the boys into saying goodbye and taking a picture with them. They refused and finally they just had to leave. Then, of course, as soon as they pulled out of the driveway both boys started screaming and crying that they hadn't gotten to say goodbye.

So typical.


I am not a violent person. I would never wish violence on any human or animal. But when an unwanted animal comes into my home I will seek to murder it without regret. When we first moved in that was in the form of mice which we vanquished. Now our home is under attach by woodpeckers. They've pecked giant holes into our siding. Now I am researching forms of woodpecker murder and will explore all options at any cost. Perhaps simply purchasing a BB gun would be the best answer, though I doubt my aim is precise enough to inflict the proper damage.

If anyone knows of any ways to kill woodpeckers, please drop me a line. Be aware that I'm not interested in merely scaring them away. I want them to be dead. Preferably as painfully as possible. I'm not interested in humane removal of these woodpeckers. If they'd like to peck at trees in the neighborhood I'm fine with that. If they insist on our home then they must die as slowly and painfully as possible.


After Nana and Grandpa left Elliott put together this dinosaur puzzle from start to finish with no help. I'm not sure what the average age for being able to grasp this is but it was pretty impressive. Martin doesn't have the attention span for such activities. Elliott seems to be able to focus indefinitely on projects like puzzles. Martin will put together a few pieces then need to get up and play guitar or swordfight.


Martin continues to show his love to his sister mostly in the form of manhandling her. However, there are times when he sweety reads to her or handles her with the amount of care a baby deserves.


The ramp up to fall has been a good one. Now we await the return of Nana and Grandpa and follow their escapades as they travel across the nation. Someday, when the children have moved out and we are retired, perhaps Jen and I will do the same.

Or, if we are foolish enough we will attempt it with the kids.

It's possible. Sometimes we can be pretty dumb.

Meat with Bones

Ah, June, a month many associate with summer fun, grilling, and sunny weather. This June, as most, starts with temperatures in the forties and is ushered in by soaking rain. We were married, seven years ago, in early June and it was 59 degrees two days before our wedding. Of course it was 96 on the day of our wedding, but the 59 degree was more typical.


As my paternity leave wrapped up we took the kids to a brand new park which they have dubbed the "jumping park" because of its cushy, springy ground made out of recycled tires. It also features an extremely dangerous rock-climbing wall which means I have to scale it behind the kids to make sure they don't fall and bounce their skulls on the soft rubber ground.


We had chicken legs one night on the grill and Martin became obsessed. When we went out to eat the next night he asked our server if they had chicken legs. Chicken wings were an adequate substitute. Also, he and Elliott were obsessed with the fact that there was a mosquito in Grandpa's water and asked to see it no fewer than twenty times over the course of the meal.


Elliott went on a special Mummy-Son shopping trip and found a new obsession as well: stripey cheese.


The last few mornings with Nana and Grandpa were filled with pajamas, Storybots, and puzzles with Grandpa.


Elliott helped Grandpa weed an enormous swath of garden, a task which has been the back burner so long I was pretty much ready to give up and allow the Creeping Charlie to take over our entire yard and maybe just sell our house and move.


I made a batch of homemade crumpets to try to satiate the boys' crumpet obsession. They liked them okay, but even though they were ten times more delicious than storebought I think they still prefer the ones out of a package.


Jen lost her mind and brought out all sorts of booze for our rainy Memorial Day barbecue including some Aperitruffe, a liqueur we'd purchased at a market in Dieulefit, France. We've been slowly tricking dinner guests into taking small sips of it over the years and our fathers were the latest victims. Jen thought I was crazy for purchasing this seven years ago but it has easily earned its worth through conversation and grimaces since then.


The next night we had all the leftovers and were able to enjoy a bit more of the weather outside.


Sadly, Nana and Grandpa had to leave but they will be back soon enough for the upcoming birthday bonanza that is the three cousins' birthdays.


The nightly showering ritual has become a bare-assed nightmare with the boys running like insane lunatics around the entire second floor of our house. It's a miracle we are able to get through it each night. Well, most nights. Some nights we don't survive.


The other night, Jen left the door to the basement open and the boys' quickly picked up on this and took over my studio, trying to break the guitars of mine that they haven't yet broken. Martin desperately wanted to play a bass and Elliott quickly figured out how to equal his father in skill on the recorder.


Our friends from New York came to visit on Sunday morning and meet the baby. We had a quick brunch before they had to leave and I had to go to work.


It was a very cold day so we had to stay inside and Martin and Elliott got to attack them with their swords. Not only do the swords work as a monster deterrent but they also work as a helpful aid in greeting friends.

I love a tool with multiple uses.