5 Years, 11 Months

On Friday it rained all day with the threat of floods. Knowing the routine I moved both of our cars to higher ground and we went to bed hoping for the best.


By the morning, when we went to take the guys to swim class, the rain had stopped but the brook was nearly ready to flood. Just another dodged bullet as we foolishly prepare to renew our lease for another year.

Apparently we're just not content with the amount of time we've spent evacuated and the amount of money in storm-related losses since moving into this place four years ago.


Saturday was the Wombats' eleventh month birthday. Elliott has been indicating that he would be crawling any day now. We woke up in the morning with him being unable to crawl but at some point after lunch something clicked and he suddenly realized how to crawl. This meant that he was able to repeatedly escape the living room and go to the hallway where he looked as if he'd discovered the lost city of gold.


In addition to being the Wombats' eleven-month birthday it also happened to be our five year wedding anniversary. We took advantage of this by getting a babysitter for the first time ever and going to Bedford Post Inn.

It was a great meal. If you don't want to be bored with what we ate, please skip ahead to the next section.



We started off with the citrus cured sardines on toast and the mixed crostinis of the day.



That was followed up with the pappardelle, rabbit sausage, fava beans, and leaves (not sure what that means) and the fagotelli, parmigiano fonduta, and chopped truffles.



I had the New York Strip steak special with broccoli and shiitake mushrooms and Jen had the half grilled lobster with herb butter.



As an accompaniment we ordered the marble potatoes with garlic and lemon and sugar snap peas with wild cucumber, feta, and mint. I don't actually think there were cucumbers or mint in the latter but that was fine with me.


For dessert with had the maple mousse with caramelized banana and brown butter ice cream which was outstanding.


And, to top it all off, our waitress looked just like Deputy Jo Lupo from Eureka!

That truly made it an evening to remember.

And, speaking of television cops, we saw a real cop on our way home from Bedford which just happens to be one of the richest places we've ever been. The cop had pulled someone over in a giant police SUV. We couldn't see the car that had been pulled over until we passed and this is what we saw.


Okay this isn't exactly what we saw. I found this on some antique car website but the car and the people in it are almost identical to who had been pulled over by the police. It was a perfect way to leave this ritzy town and return to the poorest corner of our pretty ritzy town.


The next morning we woke up early and decided to walk to the beach with the guys. They were doing some rebuilding from the storm and we were able to take this picture with the babies standing next to a digger before being chased away by the beach police.


We had a nice little time sitting in the park by the beach and all enjoying a refreshing beverage as the late morning sun was starting to make things quite warm.


We even stopped by a yard sale on the walk home where we contemplated buying a great number of things that we didn't need but ended up settling for some measuring spoons and cups so that the boys could play with them instead of using the ones we actually use for cooking.


Minutes before arriving at home both guys fell asleep just in time to be woken up for lunch.


When they were awake I made them their first omelet with only egg yolks and cheddar. This was only after Jen and I arguing about whether of not they should have egg whites as well. This is the source of our only real parenting disagreement. Jen feels that they should wait until they are a year old to have whites because the most common allergic reaction to eggs is from the protein in the whites. I argue that they've had eggs in any number of baked items they've had in the past but that argument doesn't get me anywhere.

If we can make this marriage work despite these differences I think there's hope out there for everyone.



The first omelet went over pretty well despite the fact that Martin treated it like he treats every new food. That is to say he reacts as if he's just licked a lemon.



The same was true of the watermelon they snacked on later in the afternoon. They really only napped for a matter of minutes despite the two hour walk we took to the beach. The main purpose of the walk, of course, was to let them nap.

By the time I left for work at 5:00 PM they had just settled in for their first nap of the day. I felt a pretty intense wave of guilt come over me as I left Jen alone for what promised to be a challenging evening.

Working until 4:00 AM in the morning while nursing a pretty bad sunburn was the easy way out. It's been eleven years together, five of them married. Eleven years from now we should have it a bit easier.

We just need to figure out who takes the guys to karate practice.

Babies and Leftovers

We purchased a ton of blueberries and other assorted ingredients for our barbecue last Sunday. In general, when guests come over, we tend to get ahead ourselves with the menu and usually have enough to make three or four meals instead of the one planned. So it was later in the week that we had to start using some of those ingredients up.


We started off by serving up the blueberries with honey, mascarpone, and angel food cake for a nice, summery dessert despite the cold, rainy weather.


Elliott's new game is fussing in the night and sneaking into bed with us. Okay, that's actually his old game. The new twist on it is that rather than going straight to sleep he likes to kick and punch for most of the light until we can't take it any more. In fact, this morning, he hit me so hard directly on my eyeball that I thought I'd be walking around with a shiner for the rest of the day. Thankfully there doesn't appear to be any long term damage to my face or optic nerve.



I was excited to finally get in my Spiegelau IPA glasses that I ordered back in March. I didn't really believe any of the hype surounding them. While I am surprisingly excited about appropriate glassware for beer I don't know if I actually buy too much into the affect it has on the flavor. That was, until, I read this article about the new vessel for IPAs written by my friend Gina, and talking to her about the taste test she'd done.

I was sold. Now I even had a better justification for buying yet another set of beer glasses. At least a personal justification. No justification will ever curb Jen's displeasure with my growing collection.


The maiden voyage for the new glass was this 2013 Hoptimum from Sierra Nevada. This was a very heavy double IPA so maybe not the best first beer to try for the glass. However, there is something to be said about actually making the beer the focus and not the glassware.

I'm still learning that.


After day care yesterday Elliott continued to practice his crawling while Martin sat and observed. He observed quietly instead of his normal non-stop whining that he has been engaging in lately.


Jen worked late and I wrangled the babies into baths and finally to bed. Martin, of course, fought it much more than his younger brother and decided to stay up and read a book for a while before finally kicking the book to the floor and going to sleep with a few more sips of his bottle.


After he went to sleep I was able to enjoy the beer I'd poured forty minutes earlier, this Saison from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company. It was a far more sour saison than I had been expecting but it was quite refreshing. The average temperature for this first week in June has probably been somewhere around 63 degrees so, while technically seasonally appropriate, I haven't been feeling the need for too many refreshing beers these days.


With precious little to work with in the fridge I made dinner almost entirely out of leftover food we'd made for the Wombats. I made a broccoli and cheddar soup with potato and bacon.


Today was particularly cold, dreary, and rainy. There were also threats of a flood which tend to get us a little nervous these days. I decided to have this Every Day IPA from Founders Brewing Co. even though it was not a very good match for the current weather. It was, however, nice and refreshing as I fed the babies their dinner.



After feeding them I was a bit shocked to find that the floor was cleaner than after any feeding I can remember. It barely required any clean up. I am optimistic that this is the sign of times to come. Perhaps they'll even start sweeping themselves.


Our dinner was even sadder than the previous night's with ingredients in the house dwindling at an alarming rate. All I could muster up was this rice and beans with garlic, onion, bacon, chorizo, and chicken, most of which was taken from the freezer.


To top off the evening I had this Old Antonia, brewed by Birra del Borgo in collaboration with Dogfish Head. This was the last of the beers Jen got me for Valentine's Day this year and it was quite enjoyable. The beer is barrel aged in calvados barrels and it certainly comes across with a very distinct apple flavor and coloring from the wood.

I am starting to believe that ABV listings are completely bogus. This was 11.2 ounces of 11.2% beer and I felt completely fine after drinking it. Recently I had 8.4 ounces of 11.5% beer and felt as though I'd been hit by a truck.

I'm wondering if the missing factor is sleep deprivation. I was a bit more rested before having this beer so perhaps the babies' sleep schedule is the missing factor.

Hear that, all you college-age kids? Stop trying to do shots in your eye or putting alcohol in your butt to get drunk faster. These are really trends, look it up! You should just have babies! You'll get messed up, dude!

The more you know.

Parenting 101

AS we welcome in the month of June the Wombats enter the final month they have yet to experience. In its first three days they experienced chilly temperatures, uncomfortable heat and humidity, and their first real thunderstorm. We should witness a bit more of this summer though there will be less viewings of the Olympics at 3:00 AM.

At least I hope.



On Saturday we took the guys to yet another swim class. The class is almost over but it has been a smashing success. The guys can't wait to get in the pool and often throw themselves over the side into the water as we catch them. The class has been successful in that it has completely eliminated any fear of water.

However, it completely eliminated any fear of water. I'm not so sure that's a good thing.



After swim class Jen made them their first scrambled eggs which, despite the comical picture of Elliott, went over quite well.


Then, after a particularly busy morning, Martin actually fell asleep in his high chair, something that has never happened before.

After a brief nap we took them to day care where they were doing a graduation ceremony for all the bigger kids.



They also got to have cupcakes. I tried to take a picture of Elliott with his cupcake but it didn't go exactly as I'd planned.


I worked late on Saturday and Jen had to get the guys ready for bed. I found this picture on her phone which seems to show Elliott making a break for it while Martin applauds him.


I got home around midnight and decided to have a beer before bed. I figured I'd have this Lower De Boom Barleywine from 21st Amendment Brewery since it was only 8.4 ounces. However, at 11.5% ABV those 8.4 ounces packed a surprising punch. This was a nice barleywine if you're into that sort of thing.


Sunday morning we got a visit from our friends Danielle and Eliyanna and their twin sons: Hugo and Leo.


After meeting them at the train and taking them all to the farmer's market they were tired and we put them down for a nap. Not wanting to upset the delicate nap we let Elliott sleep with his hat on and a giant, soggy Mum-Mum crumb on his shirt. That's just Parenting 101 right there.


We had a late lunch/early dinner barbecue once we got some sort of temporary balance with the babies.


I grilled up a nice fat chunk of haloumi and drizzled it with lemon juice and honey.


I also grilled marinated steak and chicken, made coleslaw, potato salad, and avocado salad with lime, red onion, salt, and pepper.



As everyone took shifts holding babies and eating it caused for some twin mixups in the high chairs. This didn't seem to faze Hugo or Leo but Martin and Elliott seemed a little confused as to why the baby in the other high chair was suddenly different.


We gave the Wombats their first ever taste of lamb which went over far better than I would have anticipated.


Also better than I anticipated: this Beast Bitter from Middle Ages Brewing Company in Syracuse, NY. It reminded me of something I'd see on Blog of Holding if Paul did beer reviews.


We had an elaborate plan to walk to the Tiki Bar after our guests headed out for the day. However, since this is an hour round trip to walk we elected to drive instead since we were putting off our parental duties of cleaning and getting the Wombats ready for day care in the morning.


The guys had an amazing time at the Tiki Bar, mostly just yelling, banging on the table, and being amused by things that are not inherently funny.

Jen had a margarita and I ordered a Captain Lawrence IPA. Whatever they brought me was most certainly not the Captain Lawrence IPA or any IPA for that matter. It was, however, beer, so I enjoyed it. I wished I'd kept the menu so I could have tried to figure out what I actually got.


We also took them to the pier to view the damage done by Hurricane Sandy last October.


They hadn't been there since a month before the hurricane in September of 2012 when we pushed them to their very limits in an attempt to get some good family pictures. The end result was some good family pictures with two very displeased babies.


When we got home we gave the guys their first grapes. The only thing they didn't like about grapes is that they had to wait their entire lives to eat them. You can really measure the success of a new food based on how much of it you have to clean up off the floor. There were very few grape pieces that needed to be swept up.

They seemed to look at us as if to ask why we waited so long to introduce them to the best food ever.


Martin absolutely refused to go to sleep. As a special "reward" for him staying up late I brushed his teeth for the first time. All four of them.

A couple of months ago the doctor told us we should start wiping their teeth off at night with a wet towel. Being the great parents we are we did nothing for the next two months and only just started to actually brush their teeth.

The thing is that the thing that usually gets them to bed is giving them a small bottle. The last thing you want to do, after a bedtime wrestling match, is wake them up by sticking a toothbrush in their mouth.

I think we have made the decision that our children's tooth decay is an acceptable price to pay for getting them to sleep.

Again, Parenting 101.