Category Archives: Family

A note from the teacher

Family

Abigail brought a note home from her teacher on Friday. Her teacher wants to talk about Abigail’s behavior and performance in the classroom. I was so excited! I am certain that she is such an example to the other children that the teacher can’t wait to commend us on our parenting and ask us how she can train the other children to be such shining examples and model students!

I mean, with a face like that, who could doubt that she is anything but an angel in class?

Just in case that is not what the teacher has in mind, I suppose I will approach the situation with a humble demeanor. Abigail’s mom, (my first wife, Emily) was a gem in school and seemed to be in constant trouble. Actually, she was mostly good in school but was awful at home. Apparently, she told her parents that she could only be good so long, and they could decide when she would be good…at home or at school.

Anyhow, we are planning to attend the conference with Abigail’s teacher (tomorrow at 6:30 am) to see just what exactly is going on and to offer our services as parenting coaches

Was he ever angelic?

Family, Fun,

We visited my parents a few weeks ago and had a chance to look through some old pictures and talk about stuff. We found one picture of my Dad and some of his friends (sometime in the mid-1950s) as they were dressed to perform their duties as alter boys at the Episcopal church in their hometown.

A few things caught my attention. I don’t know if you do this, but I always get this silly picture in my head of people in little kid bodies, but with their adult heads. I guess it almost is bobble-head-ish, but I always have a hard time imagining people as they were “back then”. So, I see this picture of my Dad and it sort of makes me remember that he is human (though sometimes I wonder…) and that he was a kid once, probably a knucklehead like I was/am and also like my son sometimes is now. He probably even played with toys and had childhood romances and collected boogers like Isaac does now (not really). Isn’t it weird though, how it’s hard to imagine your parents as people (smile) let alone as kids?

Anyhow, my Dad was in the back row, far right near the old man with funny glasses.  That brings me to the other thing that caught my attention.  There is a huge variety of style captured in that one picture.  It’s sort of funny how many different hair-dos there are…from flat tops to greasers to duck’s tails.  It sort of cracks me up but is a neat look back in time…ancient history in fact.  Although, many of those hair styles can still be seen today!

Wound up, dressed up, wound up

Family

Easter came to our house this weekend and was a lot of fun for all of us.  Saturday night, the Easter Bunny came to visit and made a mess of things, spilling 2 boxes of Nerds candy all over the table near the Easter baskets.  I hated the idea of the poor bunny cleaning up such a mess all on his own, so I pitched in and helped him by eating every last bit of the evidence I could find!  Needless to say, I was a bit wound up!  Some people scorn the power of nerds but they are one of my favorite candies (the Easter Bunny is so smart!) and always make me feel like a kid (moreso than usual!)  I was up waaaay too late, but I felt great!

The kids actually slept in on Sunday and didn’t come downstairs until 7:30. They had colored eggs the day before with their grandparents, but Isaac and Abigail were very interested in their other baskets!  

Their baskets from the Easter Bunny were incredibly full of sugary goodness and kid fuel (he didn’t spill all of the candy)!  Buried in each basket was a new game for their Nintendo DSs.  Normally, that is enough for them not to care about anything else, but they spied eggs hiddn throughout the living room and started another “feeding”  frenzy. High and low they looked until they had cleared out the place!

Emily’s folks had gotten the kids some new Easter clothes so we all got gussied up and headed to church.  We were terribly pretty as usual and looked so springy!  I felt not unlike a cadbury egg, myself (having ingested 8 in a 24 hour period) as I let out a “cluck” or two.

We ate lunch at Emily’s aunt and uncle’s place where we had a heaping pile of food (protein was good as we desperately needed to counteract the sugar in me, mainly, but also the kids).  For dessert, we had carrot cake which, at first, didn’t make sense to me until I thought about what bunnies eat…carrots!  Ah…I get carrot cake now!  Anyhow, we played croquet and hid more eggs and had a great time messing around in the beautiful sun!

Cheating

Family, Fun,

Abigail is a talker.  She talks all the time and several of her girl friends in kindergarten are the same way.  Her teacher has fussed at her many times and she has been in time out, had notes sent home and been moved all around the classroom.  She just can’t help herself.  Now, believe it or not, I am not a talker.  I typically don’t say a lot to people face to face.  It’s just not me.  So…that leaves Emily as a talker.  I figure talking of Abigail’s caliber must be genetic and she must have gotten it from Emily’s line!

She didn’t understand why it was such a big deal whether she talked during a test or when the teacher was teaching.  “I was done with the test” or “I already knew that stuff” was the usual response we got.  We finally told her that it might be like cheating…her teacher might think she is telling someone else the answer or that she was getting the asnwer from someone else.

I guess that the cheating talk must have sunken in a little.  This Sunday, Abigail came home from church with this paper.  I am not sure what else to say!

Six!

Family, Fun,

When Isaac was born, it was wholly unlike the typical birth of a child.  He came 2 months early and we hadn’t even been through birthing classes.  We didn’t get a chance to do much baby shopping and it was so scary.  Don’t get me wrong, on this side of his birth, I wouldn’t change a single thing…not one bit.


(2 years old)


(4 years old)

But I did sort of want to have that typical “birth experience”…you know, where we wake in the middle of the night and scurry around.  I throw the suitcases in the trunk while my wife makes her way to the car.  Three years after Isaac was born, we had that very experience with Abigail.  Emily woke around midnight, her water had just broken.  She grabbed a quick shower as I gathered up her suitcase.  This part diverges from my vision a bit – she decided to run the vacuum over the entire house.  Anyhow, after that, we called someone to watch Isaac and at 1am or so, we headed to Baptist Hospital in Nashville.  Of course, on the way, I had to stop and get a Mountain Dew.  After running the vacuum, I figured we had no worries.  We could stop at Waffle House (except I didn’t have my gun), grab a bite to eat, maybe watch a few infomercials on how to pay for this baby.  But oh, no.  We had to get to the hospital yesterday when it was a stops I wanted to make.


(almost 6 years old)


(almost 6 years old)

Anyhow, we made it to the hospital and the folks there promptly told Emily she had just peed the bed.  Emily, knowing better put her foot down and demanded a recount…no pregnant chads for this chick.  Sure enough, when they did a pH test, uh…”in there”, they discovered that she had not peed the bed.  Regular labor soon followed.  At 5:53 am, Abigail was born, 6 years ago today.


(almost 6 years old)

It’s pretty hard to believe that my little girl is already 6.  It seems like just yesterday that my little black haired baby (Emily had some questions to answer there) was laid in my arms for the first time.  And just yesterday, I swear she was saying her first words and taking her first steps.  Can it be that she is already 6?  I guess so.  But I am truly not sad.  She is a delight and grows more interesting and fun by the day.  She can read, she has a mean soccer kick and an infectious laugh.  I love my little 6 years old!


(almost 6 years old)

There is a funny story to tell…Last night as Emily and I were tucking her in, we said, “This is your last night as a 5 year old.”  We kissed her on the head and walked away as usual.  Fifteen minutes later, she came downstairs, crying.  “I am so sad…I am going to miss being a 5 year old!”  Fortunately, all was well this morning.  She is more mature now after all!


(6 years old today!)

She’s ear-resistable

Family

Emily and I were married a long time ago…back when she was young.  She had good teeth, clear eyes, and a shiny coat….I checked her out pretty well before signing on the line.  As she approaches middle age however, stuff appears to be failing.  The week she turned 36, she went to the doctor complaining of being unable to hear out of one ear.  The doctor did various tests and discovered that she has otosclerosis .  The Cliff-notes version of otosclerosis is that the bones of her middle ear are calcifying and fusing. So far, it is only occurring in one ear but has left her with only 50% of her hearing in that ear.

So the doctor diagnosed her and, trying to reassure her, said, "It’s most commonly diagnosed in middle aged white women who have had children." Oops…not a smart move.  Doctors before this one have made the mistake of tangling with this woman.  "Excuse me?", she said.  That poor man is still stammering…

Anyhow, she was not a candidate for hearing aids since she is losing her hearing so quickly.  She had to visit a surgeon to evaluate the possibility of a stapedectomy which is what we are doing today.  Basically, if all goes well, Emily will be having a prosthetic middle ear installed today…she’s gonna be bionic!  She’ll be ear-resistable!

UPDATE #1 :  12:00 pm – we are in the room and Emily is all buck naked except for the gown they gave her.  We have the only room with a window.  Unfortunately, the room looks right onto Chapman’s Mortuary…that doesn’t seem too great to Emily.

UPDATE #2 4:45 pm – Emily is back in the room.  She went back to the "holding pen" at 1:30 and they did the magic they do back there I guess…I suspect they must have run her through a car wash, just to de-coot-ify her.  She made it into the OR at 2:35 and the surgery actually started at 3:00.  Around 4:15 the doctor reported to me that all went well and that she has a plastic and nickel piston installed in place of her stapes – a bone of the middle ear.  The best thing is that I get a warranty card for her bionics!  Anyhow, she is awake and aware and doing fine!  She reports that she can in fact hear better already!

So, anyhow, here is a video of what this surgery looks like if you are interested:

If seeing surgery isn’t your thing, check out these dancing monkeys:

If dancing monkeys aren’t your thing, check out this guy dancing:

You really gotta check out this video…seriously!

In the 70s

Family

Today is Way-back Whens-day so it’s time to look back through the old archives.  I found a number of pictures of me as a baby…


The first picture of me!


Time to go home!


Nap time!


Supper time!


The Family – phase 1!


Grandpa and me – back when everyone wore ties?


My First Birthday!

It’s so strange to see my parents and grandparents as…well…young people.  The thing that scares me is that someday my kids will have the same feeling!  My poor wife, she is aging!  All the years with me are taking their toll…joking…I am just joking!

Way Back Home

Family

I am fortunate.  I grew up a mere mile from my maternal grandparents.  They were ever present in my childhood and a huge influence in my life.  These pics are somewhat about my grandparents and somewhat about their place.  Their house was nothing special compared to others but it surely means a lot to me.

We didn’t have lots when we were growing up but my Mom and Grandma made these halloween costumes for my brother and me out of paper bags.  I remember going to Jamesway (a local precursor to Wal Mart) the next town over to get bags that would fit.  I remember walking around to find paints and my mom and grandma working to get our costumes ready for Halloween.  We always colored Easter eggs together…I can even still smell my Grandma’s kitchen as she canned pickles.

You can see in the background the 1960s set of encyclopedias that my brother and I studied and studied.  It was our outlet to the world.  Every time we visited, we pulled out one of the volumes and just started reading…we went to the moon and under the sea and around the world in those books.  It was our ticket to everywhere!


I only vaguely remember my great-Grandma Gardner but I am pictured with her here.  Across the road from my Grandparents’ house was the tastee-freeze.  On every visit, she would slowly walk back to her room at my Grandparents’ house to get a dollar for me and my brother to get ice cream.  It was the best ice cream on Earth (trust me…I loooked it up in the encyclopedias!)


I grew up in NW PA where the snow comes off Lake Erie by the bushel.  When I was younger, everyone had snowmobiles.  My Grandparents, like everyone, had snowmobiles.  I don’t honestly know if I ever rode their machines, but I remember the wonderful stories of their riding on the land behind them.  I remember walking in the woods with my Dad and Grandpa and seeing birds and trees and magnificent piles of deer poop.  Nature was everywhere in these woods.

There’s almost nothing as good as looking at pictures of “back home”.  With the current uncertainty in the world today, I am certainly glad to have so many wonderful memories to hold on to.  Welcome to my “back home”.

disclaimer:  I am under the weather so I am actively participating in my own recovery plan.  Any resemblance between these stories and real life people or events is merely a coincidence

Back before color was invented

Family, Fun,

My mom scanned this picture of my Grandpa (back row, left, ca. 1935) and his family. I love old pictures like this where everyone looks so happy to be together. The funny thing is, my Grandpa is full of joy! He’s is all about hilarious…

Every time he sees strawberries, he gets a smile on his face. 70+ years ago, my aunt was made in a strawberry patch.  I didn’t know that color was invented back then let alone “time in the strawberry patch”.  Way to go Grandpa (and Grandma)!  From the story…I think they liked strawberries quite a bit!

 

Much later (I saw this in real life), one of his neighbors had a rooster which annoyed everyone nearby.  The neighbor eventually moved on but Grandpa didn’t want to let it end…he had a recording of the rooster and continued to play it each morning for folks nearby.  The funny thing is, one of them was a taxidermist so returned the favor…he stuffed a groundhog and set him upright in my Grandpa’s garden.  Grandpa shot it over and over before he finally walked over to check on the obviously deaf groundhog that didn’t hear his misses.

I knew several of the original family and they were all wild, to say the least.  I don’ t know why they all looked so sour as I have never known a more smiley bunch.  All I can figure is that this picture was made before they invented color…or maybe it was right before they invented strawberries.

Anyhow, in related news, I have an order in for 50 strawberry plants for this spring…I’m just sayin’

Blowhard

Family, Fun,

We had a storm blow through last night around 6pm which took out our power. When I was a kid, I lived in the woods so our power went out all the time (along with our well water) and often for days. I figured it would be a temporary glitch here as it usually is, but after an hour, the kids were pretty freaked out. Our house was still basically warm and we still had water but as of this morning, we still don’t have power. Apparently there are 15,000 or so residents in the county (and many in surrounding counties) without power.

Isaac still had to do his homework! Poor kid. The cool thing about it was that he was writing about Benjamin Franklin. He got a quick education in one aspect of life a couple hundred years ago!


This morning, the radio reported 70 mph winds which would not surprise me at all. One of my beehives was blown apart and into the field behind our house. Lots of limbs were down and there was junk everywhere…sort of like the first hard rain in the spring when all of the stuff people throw over the creek bed washes down to the river. Anyhow, I took some pics of our fun last night…

Us eating

Us Singing

Us dancing

There is only one thing that lights out is good for….

Sleeping! What did you think I was going to say? Anyhow, we held out until 9:30 or so and then went to bed!