On the status of life.

Well, I'm back from the holidays, and a bit sad to see them go. Why? It marks a new year and I'm going back to work. Not full-time or even enough to be part-time, (it's every two weeks on the weekend) and yes, I'm still operating my business out of my home. It's the principle that with the state of everything, and we're all feeling it somehow, we need a bit more money coming in.

So that's gonna complicate things a bit. Hey, what would life be without loads of everyday tasks to muddle your progress and make you feel unable to read a book, talk to yourself(uninterrupted), see your wife, talk to your wife (when there's time, energy, and something besides the logistics and/or strategies of parenting), have sex(this is a joke, if I can't talk to my wife how the hell will this occur), and think. It's amazing to me how I can stare off into space(or at a car, tree, the wall) and be completely entertained by my thoughts or the complete lack thereof.

(I just stared at the computer screen and nothing, yes nothing, went on in my head.)

Child update.

Dylan is watching a movie at Auntie JJ's. He's learning how to argue a point. Last night after he was informed that he wouldn't be taking a bath because Zachary was too sleepy to join him, he responded by stating this fact. Before we had our baby, I used to take baths by myself. Good point, I said, but you're still not getting a bath. At some point, because I said so, isn't going to work anymore.

Zachary is sleeping. He is crawling, munching on graham crackers, and standing while holding onto semi-stationary objects. He gets very upset when the objects move or when he tries to free-stand. Until recently, he was averaging one dead man fall per day, but those seem to be lessening due to his increasing coordination.

Everything you wanted to know about effluent.....and more

Dylan has been relatively persistent with the question, "Where does peepee and poop go?". So, we took a virtual tour via the Madison Metropolitan Sewer district's website. (http://www.madsewer.org/) It's quite informative and way to wordy for a 3 year old....it takes me back to my dates as a Water Chemistry Student, of which I don't' remember much. It's waste water management at it's finest complete with biological organisms that help breakdown the peepee or poop (sludge) depicted by green looking pacmen in there cross-section drawings.

I'm writing more as an FYI - so when Dylan starts spouting off information about waste water treatments finer points, you'll know where it came from which is how we got into this situation to begin with.

If you're interested in attending a tour of the facility, we would be "very" excited to join you.

concerning time

Both napping, pizza dough in the machine and really nothing better to do. I didn't say nothing to do.....I said nothing better to do. I could be cleaning, folding, straightening, marketing Wegoshop.com but I'm not going to because this is my time and it may only last a few minutes. Fortunately for me, when both children nap, I can choose what to do. (To all those simpathetic with the matriarc of the family, of which I am one, we'll have to work something into the schedule) To make matters worse, Tricia is sick with a stuffing, aching, not-so-much-of-a-fever but with plenty of kleenx for a nose that really could use some medicine but she would rather not drug the baby sort of situation. So again, she's my hero. I'm the biggest baby in the world, including Zachary, if anything doesn't feel quite right. I'd like to thank you for my health.

An update:

Zachary has developed a method of locomotion. We can it squiggling. It's a combination leg thrust/up on his forearm/driving his head into the floor kind of motion. It's effective and gets him where he wants to go. Most notably but not limited to - small magnet letters, cat hair, balloons, dylan's hair, shoes, the wheels on grandma and grandpa's walkers, the edges of rugs, and his own puke.

Dylan has made an evil friend. Candy.

Me - I'm perfect.

Tricia - See her last post or her next one. I had no idea she was actually going to blog. I'm excited and alittle frightened.

Mommy Time

Zachary is now 5 months old. He is a wonderfully, smiley, little baby. But, he still demands all of my attention from the minute I get home to the minute I leave for work again. But how can I get frustrated when he smiles at me like that?

Dylan is such a big boy. He loves his little brother and is a very good big brother to him. However, Dylan has learned from Zachary, that the only way to get any Mommy time, he has to cry for it. So, when Zach is monopolizing Mommy's time, Dylan will cry. At which point Mommy hands Zach to Daddy and Dylan gets Mommy for about 5 minutes until Zach realizes he's been had.

So this morning Dylan wakes up mere minutes before my alarm goes off (5.27am) crying for me. He has had a bad dream. So I tuck him into bed with Daddy & Zach and head off for the shower. After my morning bathroom ritual, I sneak downstairs (well aware that Dylan is still awake) for a quiet cup of coffee. It is now 5.50am. I barely get a coffee cup down when I hear two crying baby's. Upstairs I head because I know Joel doesn't do well being woken up like this.

So much for my quiet cup of coffee by myself. Both kids are up and now that I've been spotted, both are vying for Mommy Time.

I think Joel has become used to not getting any Mommy Time. He's adapted well. I however, have not. I know that as they get older, the kids will want nothing to do with us and I will have all the time in the world to be by myself. But will I live to see it? Right now I'm sitting at my desk with my head pounding because I can't remember the last time I had any down time.

On taking a nap

Dylan, or should I say No Napping Nate, has developed a number of tactics to prevent naps. Quite frankly I've had about enough. He will do any one of the following and most of the time results in a winning combination. (Thus, I don't get anytime to myself.) Zachary is currently sleeping, and during this part of the day is my favorite by a large margin say....from here to the moon.

It starts with a request for toys in bed. A reminder that I didn't turn on the music. He wants his fan on. Needs to be tucked in again. I have to go potty(peepee). I return each time asking him to lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. I'm taking the toy away. I check again and he's laying on his belly reading a book (in his bed), I can't get too angry or frustrated with this. So, I let him finish the book and then take it away...and every time, trying very hard to remain calm, I repeat lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. Next, it's I have to go poopy. (Which entails going downstairs with a book in hand and sitting on the potty for a ridiculously long time. 50% of the time he doesn't go but uses it as another opportunity to look at a book.) We return to his bedroom and I repeat my mantra. Lay down, close your eyes and go to sleep. By this time, I'm starting to get sleepy from saying this damn phrase so often. Finally, and usually after I'm convinced that he's either never going to take a nap or I've just chosen to ignore his movements, he either falls asleep or I have to enact the stay-in-your-room until Zachary wakes up command. And if I'm lucky this will last for 15 minutes.... giving me enough time to go to the bathroom, alone.

Me-mornings are great. afternoons can be trying. night time is exhausting.

Tricia - work is an escape but challenging. home is demanding. sleep is intermittent.

Dylan - Breakfast before Sid the Science kid is a bad policy. Pre-school is fun and naps are unnecessary. I want my mommy.

Zachary - I'm Happy! Mommy, Mommy! Every thing's too far away and I want my MOMMY!

If you've got so much time.....write your own blog

Whenever it takes me a few days (this time it was 10days) to post new pictures to the blog, I get a few (two to three this time) messages from friends and family about the need for new pictures. I have a suggestion. Take your own pictures and write your own commentary. I have a hard enough time finding clean cloths and remembering if I spend anytime in a shower on any given day.

Updates-
Dylan is finding naptime increasingly inconvenient. I view his attitude towards naps as very inconvenient. So what gives? He usually falls asleep later in the afternoon and 1 out of the last three times he slept from 4ish until the next morning. Last night he woke up 7ish, drank some juice and went to bed. (he went peepee before going to bed) At 3am I woke up with him next to me (I don't remember when he got in bed) soaked in pee. So, we got up washed him up. He slept in his bed. I slept on the floor. I hardly think this is fair. But I'd be more delusional than I am if I expected raising children to be fair. It's amazing, exhausting, and not fair.

Zachary loves to smile. At everyone. Including but not limited to me, Tricia, jj, Dylan, strange homeless people named Kevin that won't stop talking to us while we eat our lunch, Megan, Sandy, and anyone he's never seen before but looks in his general direction.

Me - My shoulder hurts from sleeping on the floor next to Dylan's bed. I'm sure it could have been worse. But I have to complain about something. Zach's crying to be held. Hope to read your blogs soon.

What's Next?

I have a solution to our government buying out/loaning companies money. Sell our companies to China. They're interested in our debt why not our "real" companies. Hell, they can take our whole economy.

If that doesn't work. Let's just give ourselves a loan and let our children pay it off. Oh, wait a minute that's what we've done.

Can we get some freaking fiscal responsibility? If someone knows where we could buy it; it would be our wisest investment.

Since when does deficit spending make sense. How many companies are engaging in this practice. And how many more need to be managed/bought out/loaned money so that our stock market might rebound in the near future?

I'm dumbfounded and completely annoyed.

Some answers from either one of the potential presidents would be nice. But I'm old enough to know that novel concept won't happen. Instead we'll hear about who's or what's wearing lipstick, whether or not comments are sexiest or racist and see how far the facts can be stretched in political advertising.

Utterly ridiculous.

For Zachary? He's continuing to screech, eat, sleep, laugh. He's begun to giggle when I tickle him. He's rolled over from front to back and back to front but not when he wants to, which is quite frustrating. He's still pooping once a week and that is still Tricia's problem.

For Dylan? He's starting preschool tomorrow. Yes, he's very excited!

For me? My wife. I got to talk with my wife. Even for a two hour period at the Malt House (on Milwaukee street) and thanks Jennifer for watching the kids! I got pants that fit and gave away the ones that didn't. I found my butt...I'm not sure where it went but I have a theory about men over 35 or maybe it was men with children but anyway.....it's that your butt leaves and reappears on the front porch or beer guttial region.

I can't speak for Tricia but I would think the best thing is new clothes!!!!