Jen and Nate got married. The next week, they started their first-ever farm share. This is the nerdy story of their marriage and their vegetables. With a focus mostly on the vegetables.
Jen commented that she referenced last year's blog entries and came to the conclusion that it hasn't rained any more this year than last year. Then they reported in the news that this past June was the wettest in recorded history. However, I don't know how scientific that study was as they didn't reference reading our blog at all.
I'll wait for more information before I make any judgments.
Father's Day was fairly forgiving as far as the rain went and we were able to spend a pretty nice day outside, grilling, and having a good time.
Jen's mum made me some lemon curd which I wasn't able to enjoy until the following week after spending most of the week working in the city. However, I was able to settle down and enjoy it one afternoon while the boys slept during a brief dry period on the deck.
We began our most recent farm share as well, splitting it with Auntie Lauren and Uncle Doug, and I was able to throw together a summer vegetable stew which was pretty tasty, flavored with herbs from our garden.
Jen's birthday followed on the heels of Father's Day and we were able to get to the Morton Arboretum for the second year in a row to watch the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This year they were performing music from a series of movies about heroes. So we got to listen to the soundtrack from Star Wars, Airplane!, Batman, and Austin Powers among others. It was pretty rad.
Two days later we celebrated Jen's birthday dinner with a family dinner inside thanks to rain.
There were a few brief periods of rainlessness which the boys took advantage of by challenging Uncle Doug to sword fights.
This was a challenge they were quick to regret.
The following day Martin came home from day care with his eye looking a little swollen from a mosquito bite. A few weeks back his ankle had done the same thing.
Then, much like his ankle, the next day we gasped upon seeing him in the morning. He was a little scared at first but then quickly snapped out of it. Elliott, for unknown reasons, had a meltdown (maybe instead of his brother) while Martin calmly ate breakfast.
After picking him up from daycare his teachers told us that he was proudly bragging about his eye to anyone and everyone that would listen.
Then he had me help him climb a tree while he regaled me with tales of his swollen eye.
Yesterday we celebrated Canada Day with some grilled salmon burgers and some homemade poutine.
Now I have a couple of days off and we're trying to cram in all the Fourth of July festivities we can before I have to return to work on the fourth. Typically there are four hundred events in this area around July Fourth for all the people who don't have jobs that require them to work on weekends and holidays.
In the past three weeks we may have had two days where it did not rain. There have, however, been plenty of brief periods where we've been able to get the boys outside to tire them out before nap or bed.
One day, while sheltering from the rain we heard a loud noise bang against the window. We couldn't figure out what it was until I went outside the next day and found this poor little guy in the mulch beneath the window. I quickly discarded of the evidence before the boys could start asking questions. Strangely, they still talk about the noise that hit the window. At this age they are captivated by the strangest most inconsequential events.
Ice cream has become a near daily ritual after eating dinner. It may sometimes be a battle to get them to eat their dinner but the prospect of a full cone or bowl of ice cream generally motivates them to make good choices and enjoy the sweet, sweet reward.
One one extremely hot day we set up the sprinkler for them. Last year I did the same but both of them were borderline offended by the action. They hated everything about it and cried. This year had quite a different result and, basically, they look for the opportunity every day. One day they even ran into the sprinkler fully clothed while Jen attempted to water the garden.
We haven't put the sprinkler on in weeks since the ground is saturated to the point that we have giant puddles in the grass.
A couple of weeks ago we were going to go to the annual Cavalcade of Planes. We went last year and had a blast.
Unfortunately we found out about ten minutes before we were about to leave that it had been canceled. Apparently they posted something on their Facebook page about canceling it a few months ago but even after having lunch there several times a month for the past six months we never saw any notification about it.
After dealing with Martin's breakdown and telling him about the "nasty men" who "took the planes away" we made different plans and went to the zoo and had lunch in the park.
Grandad's friend, Michel, was also visiting again so Martin got a chance to do a fun dance with him.
They've also become obsessed with knights and swords so we've been trying to find any sorts of activities we can that feature such things. They've become big fans of the movie "Justin and the Knights of Valour" and quote it liberally while they fence with their rapiers and cutlasses.
It also rained on our anniversary so I grilled in the rain and we had a nice dinner with the boys inside.
They have packed down tremendous amounts of watermelon in the hours leading up to dinner in the past weeks, a holdover from last year when I had to feed them watermelon just to keep them calm on the late walk home from daycare. Now that Jen works from home things are much more relaxed and she actually has a chance to see them for more than thirty minutes a day during the week.
I also installed a new hammock and the boys had a great time lounging around in it after filling their bellies with watermelon.
We busted out some squirt guns for the boys and Evelyn and though we've convinced them all that they have varying favorite colors Martin has still been somewhat of a hoarder.
A continued tradition is that anytime Auntie comes over we get ice cream. They usually have ice cream when she doesn't come over too but they just get a lot more when she's around.
The first strawberries in our strawberry patch have begun coming in and the boys have had a blast picking them and then yelling at the bugs whenever they find one that has been compromised.
We went for a hike at a nearby trail where they warned of wild coyotes.
Parts of the trail were flooded and the most dangerous creatures we came across were the crawfish scurrying by. They boys both had a cautious fascination with them and now do crawfish impersonations any chance they get. It looks a lot more like a Richard Nixon impression though. They're like adorable little impeached presidents.
We've begun showing the boys The Mysterious Cities of Gold, one of my favorite childhood cartoons. I didn't know if they'd care for it but they are fascinated and sit quietly on the floor watching the entire episode without a peep. Martin was a little afraid of the costume that Tao wears in one of the earlier episodes and has had some bad dreams about it but after I convinced him that Tao was a nice boy and not scary he seems to be doing a little better.
I gave Martin his first guitar lesson last night, practicing playing a single note, and he took to it quickly. He woke up this morning and picked up the guitar and rehashed the lesson right away. I have no idea how to teach a two-year-old (or any age person) how to play guitar, but if he continues to remain interested I suppose I can keep showing him a few things until he needs a real teacher.
Before bed the highlight has been snuggling baby Josephine before saying goodnight. The lowlight is Martin yelling, "I have to pee and poop!" the second the lights are turned off then Elliott following suit. They don't actually have to use the bathroom. This actually translates as, "I wish to stall the bedtime process at any cost!"
After this is done Martin has taken to saying, "Daddy, I have to tell you something!"
When I say, "What's that, Buddy?" He says, "Ummm. Ummm. Ummm."
This lasts about five or ten minutes until he finally gives up.
All in all bedtime has gotten much, much better lately. They've been much more agreeable. There's rarely been any crying. The only thing has been that sometimes they are a bit hyper and wild, and they try all sorts of stalling tactics.
I'm so glad that phase is coming to a close. Life has been infinitely better with this change.
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.
The last few weeks have been fun. Not particularly relaxing, but quite fun. Tomorrow I return to work full time and the true reality of having three children will slowly start to sink in. Actually, it will probably sink in rather rapidly, particularly for Jen as she is tasked with somehow balancing baby feedings with getting the Bubses ready for school.
Thankfully my parents are staying one more week as a nice buffer and that will give us a little time to get our act together.
We had a fun Daddy/Son morning where Jen took the baby for a doctor's appointment and I led an expedition with the boys to rid the yard of all potentially dangerous monsters.
The mission extended out into the street where we ran the length of our small court and made sure that no offending creatures threatened any of our defenseless neighbors.
The toy situation had gotten completely out of hand. We finally got time to go to IKEA and get some shelving to organize their toys into activity centers, just like they have at school.
This worked far better than I could have possibly hoped. Things have been much neater and easier to find. A bonus is that the boys were incredibly excited that they now had centers at home.
Before Nana and Grandpa came we took the kids out for ice cream.
They made a horrific mess of themselves and showed their subtle differences in eating styles. Martin just inhales whatever treat he is given and makes a huge mess while Elliott is much neater and carefully savors every bite. This backfires on him, however, as Martin expects him to share with him when he has finished his dessert.
Elliott's climbing prowess has been on display since he discovered the rock wall at the park and scaled it completely unassisted.
Nana and Grandpa arrived during nap time and got a chance to each snuggle the baby briefly before the Bubses awoke and spread disaster with their chaos.
Nana tended to the boys after they woke up by showing them how to paint with watercolors.
Grandpa took on the taxing job of watching Josephine.
Grandad showed them a thing or two about rocking out on the guitar.
Lately they've taken to climbing the "safety rails" on their beds and it became evident that they would both probably end up breaking a leg as they insanely climbed up and bounced along on their beds. The safety features were now more of a liability.
So we took off the rails, another milestone in their growing up. I'm happy to report there have been no cracked skulls or legs as a result.
Another milestone is that they are now both happy with taking a shower at night rather than a bath. This technically saves me a lot of time, however, I'm already looking a little forward to being able to reclaim that small amount of alone time I get each day.
Every day we walk home from school the boys are fascinated with a small black owl who lives in one of our neighbor's back yards, perched upon a small yellow slide. Unfortunately our neighbor recently built a fence. We knew it was coming and prepared them for it. One day the fence finally appeared.
Now the daily ritual of greeting the owl has been replaced by angrily yelling at the fence and demanding that it give us our owl back.
Mother's Day saw us hosting a brunch. They boys enjoyed this immensely because it meant they got to wear their pajamas until about 3:00 in the afternoon.
After brunch Grandad took the opportunity to rock out with the boys and how them a thing or two about how to play their 3/4 scale guitars.
Then we posed all the mothers and children and tried to take a halfway decent photo of them. This is the best one I got, which is pretty pitiful.
After dinner the kids all got their swords and launched a vicious offensive against Grandpa. He was able to hold them off and, despite it being a wildly inappropriate activity right before an already late bedtime, the evening closed with little incident.
I was able to get quite a bit done in my time off. Most of all we were able to replace a lot of rotted boards on our deck in the preparation to wash it and get some weatherproof paint on it so that hopefully it will last a few more years before we have to sink some money into a replacement.
The immense satisfaction that comes with fixing or building something with your own hands will be short lived as I return to work tomorrow and any chance at free time disappears with that transition.
At least I'll always have time to relax when I shower.
