Tag Archives: Family

MANKs no more

Adventure, Family, Fun, , ,

For three days we have been MANKs – Married Adults, No Kids.  School starts Friday (why on Earth would anyone make the first day of school on a Friday?) and the kids’ summer camp closes the week before school.  As we both work, that left us in a bind.  Fortunately my parents are retired (mostly anyhow) so were willing to watch the kids for this week before school.  The good and the bad thing about that is that they are 350 or so miles away.

We headed to PA last weekend to deliver the kids.  Sunday afternoon rolled around and we headed back to WV.  It was the strangest thing…no movies were playing in the back seat, no one was kicking my seat, there was no complaining or fighting.  It was very odd.  Emily and I stopped at an outlet mall and I heard not one whiny, “Are we ever gonna leave?  I am sooo bored!”  I didn’t have to take anyone to the public restroom lecturing them not to touch ANYTHING!  Travel was so very weird.  I just wasn’t sure how to go about my trip.

Anyhow, once we got home, we “organized” the kids’ stuff some too.  Some things were put away properly and many things were filed in the plastic container out back.  You see, without the kids around, we get stuff done!

I miss my kids.  They are great and I love them tons.  Still, a few days as a MANK is a welcome change for us and for them…and I think my parents had fun too.  After all, they got some good child labor out of the deal!

Feet

Family, Fun, ,

I have pretty normal  feet…actually, my feet are nearly perfect, but that’s another story.  My kids have feet too and that’s what I am here to talk about today.

So, Isaac’s feet.  Isaac is 10.  He wears a size 10 1/2 shoe.  That’s an adult 10 1/2 by the way.  I only wear a 10 and I am done growing (up at least).  Isaac’s maternal line sports gunboats way back so it’s in his genes to have big feet but I expected a little time to save up for the process.  I am terrified of the cost of buying 2 foot long shoes for that boy when he reaches 17 (or 13!).  To put it all in perspective, I took a picture of Isaac’s feet alongside the feet of his two best friends this weekend when we went ice skating.  I suspect you will pick out the one that is different…

Of course, to grow a foot like that, a boy needs to eat…a lot!  I started gardening for the healthy, outdoorsy nature of it, but now we are forced to garden just to feed the bottomless pit!  Alas, a parent’s work is never done!

Now…about Abigail’s feet.  She has normal petite little 7 year-old feet.  We were at the WV Power (our farm team) game the other night and the wolf from a local radio station spied her tootsies.  I think they must have looked tasty though the wolf was clearly disabled.  Typically a wolf has a good sense of smell but this one was apparently unable to sniff very well.  He untied her shoes and retied her shoes and generally tried to get her riled up and (to my surprise) she let him do it!  We’ve had foot-happenings this week and that’s a little weird for me.

You see, feet usually disturb me.  I won’t force mine upon you, but let’s just say my “no-longer-the-biggest-feet-in-the-house” are doing just fine and will remain properly covered as all feet should be!  I am hoping next week we move onto something more tolerable like ear wax or something…no more feet!

I got me a nephew!

Family

I have been busy the last few weeks and have been pretty lame as far as posting stuff on here but I have an excuse…at least for yesterday.  Apart from that…just lame.  Anyhow, I am no longer a virgin uncle!  My nephew L was born yesterday (his date of birth is 8/9/10…how cool is that?!).  Until now, my kids have been the only grandkids on either side of the family.  They loved that for sure, but Abigail was SOOOOO excited to relinquish her title as the youngest kid in the family.

I have no idea what my role will be in this kid’s life, but I am super excited to do everything I can to keep his parents busy.  I am so excited to walk into their house and find it a disaster zone like ours always is.  I hope to teach him how to slide a frog into his mom and grandmothers’ pockets.  He’ll need to learn the proper way to shoot a spit ball and how to pick the gravel out of his elbows.  I also want him to have Isaac and me as allies apart from his parents.

Kids are truly a lot of fun.  Mine are great and I am so excited to see L grow up around my kids and for them to be pals.  I am excited to have someone I can help spoil (though I think he won’t need to much help from me!)  A growing family is always a great thing!

Covering one’s hind-end

Family, Fun, Thoughts, ,

Last Christmas, Isaac was given a membership to study Taekwondo under Grandmaster S.H. Kang.  He’s done really well and enjoys fighting and learning his forms (routines practitioners do to increase balance, focus, etc).  I have seen him split a number of boards and he is learning how to defend himself very well.

It occurred to me that his teenage years are coming up.  That time is, of course, always full of moody, brooding, hormonal fun.  I suppose many parents lose touch with their kids when they become teenagers.  TKD seems like an easy place where Isaac and I can find common ground so I started taking classes with him a couple of weeks ago.  I figure the exercise will be good and Isaac and I get a chance to talk on the way to and from the training studio.  If we ever find ourselves in a moody teenage fit or a dark alley, I also will have skills to…uh…calm the situation.  Plus, this is really a great chance for each of us (esp as he gets bigger) to be all manly and tough and express frustration in a controlled way.

So, I started taking lessons and I am here to tell you, TKD is a serious cardio workout.  I am not in bad shape but the free-fighting very nearly kills me each night.  It’s just constant exertion and challenging balance maneuvers.  I am certain that those movie scenes where people fight each other for several minutes is bogus (as if we needed evidence!)  Unless you are in great shape, a real fight doesn’t last long without oxygen tanks nearby!

Anyhow, I am learning my stuff and trying to get more flexible.  Isaac insists that I will have to bow to him when he becomes a black belt.  He probably will beat me there since he has 8 months head start, but I remind him that another TKD rule is that kids essentially bow to their parents…this part is going to be interesting!  Anyhow, I am here to tell you that even the stuff I thought looked simple is anything but…but at least I am covering my hind-end defense-wise and getting in better cardio shape so my Emily and the kids can enjoy me even longer!

A visit…

Family

Awhile back we went to visit my family in PA.  I grew up in the area just past the boonies.  I like going back because it gives the kids a chance to be surrounded by nature and to be free from the usual stuff in the city.  We took a bunch of pics of the kids doing what kids do when they are free to play!

So…there it is…our trip!

16 to life

Awesome, Family

Sixteen years ago Emily and I were married.  I joke and say that it seems like much longer than that.  I know that sounds bad and that’s the joke part of it, but in another way, it’s a good thing too.  We were married right out of college (only weeks after graduation).  We actually met the first day of classes in our freshman year and started dating 6 months later so we’ve been together for a long time…in fact, we’ve been together longer than we haven’t.

Anyhow, the other part of it seeming like we have been together for a long time is that we grew up together in a way.  We were still kids and had no idea about anything.  We shared so many of the really cool things about transitioning into adulthood (we shared the crappy things too of course).  I guess sharing all that makes us just feel timeless…like we’ve always been together.  That’s just super comforting (now that we’re all growed up and such).

I have done my share of really stupid stuff (that also seems timeless…it just never stops) but Emily seems to ride through the storms without too many frying-pan-against-Warren’s-head moments.  I wasn’t sure at first, but I am sure now that I want the maximum…16 years to life!

I am part mermaid

Adventure, Awesome, Family, Fun, , ,

I think I was born to live on the beach.  I have been to the mountains and the cities and foreign lands (like New Jersey), but I think I relax and enjoy my time at the beach more than anywhere else.  If I could live at (or near) the beach, I wouldn’t hesitate.

I keep trying to do my best Percy Jackson routine under water…you know, where he holds his breath for 8 minutes because he is a demi-god- son-of-Poseidon (if you have no clue what I am talking about, check out the movie and books!)  I never seem to make it much past 45 seconds or so which must mean I am not a demi-god.

I guess that must mean I am part mermaid.  In fact, I tried on a seashell bikini top and it looked magnificent…they did throw me out of Red Lobster though.

Anyhow, we went to the beach last week so I felt like I had returned to my homelands.  We had tons of fun boogie boarding and body surfing and skim boarding and falling asleep under the tent and chasing crabs and watching for sting rays and reading mindless books.  Abigail finally discovered that she can ride the waves so the beach turned into a lot of adventure for everyone!

We usually sit around and read all evening but this year we added bocce to our evening fun list.  We all had a bunch of fun playing although Isaac was a little overzealous in his throwing of the bocce balls.  He and I did our victory dance several times which pretty well cleared the beach…so it was perfect!

The local wildlife was interesting though we found one that had stayed out in the sun a bit too long (which we didn’t realize at first…talk about funny as we tried to sneak up on him to get a picture!)  Anyhow, we saw sting rays and little fish and “diggers” and pelicans.  The shrimp boats were always nearby too…and we enjoyed the fresh shrimp indeed!

By the end of the week, things had started to get a bit silly…which meant it was the funnest time!  I don’t know who taught these kids to act this way…probably their mother…

Box wine and culture

Family, Fun, WV, ,

Last Sunday we attended Symphony Sunday, a day of showcasing local orchestras, ensembles, etc culminating in a performance by the WV Symphony.  The University of Charleston opens its beautiful lawn to the crowd of several thousand people to enjoy the performances.

Boats always anchor near the lawn to hear the music
but they have to dodge the gigantic coal barges that pass by...
One of the views from our seats...the WV Capitol

It rained in the morning so we didn’t even think of attending many of the events, but by the early evening, all was clear so we packed up our lawn chairs and headed to Kanawha City (the part of the city where the University is located).  We tend to sit towards the back of the group as our kids need room to fully appreciate the event.  Many people with kids hang out there and it usually works out pretty well.

The Symphony chose a “Wizard of Oz” theme for their performances and played many numbers that were in or referenced the movie.  It was pretty cool aside from the fact that there were quiet parts of several songs which were inaudible from the back.  As my father-in-law says in reference to the violins, “they need to do more sawing and less plucking.”  If they added one more row of speakers, I bet we could hear the plucking too!

The WV Symphony...we were waaay back
The Capitol was beautiful at night though I think they need to check on it...it seems to be leaning a bit

Anyhow, most of the performance was cool except for the pockets of white trash who decided to break out their boxes of wine and drink out of plastic dixie cups.  Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with box wine, but many of the folks put on airs of culture and high living.  As you might guess, they were as tacky and ridiculous as can be.  In my mind, I am thinking, “this ain’t high living…you fools are ignoring the music, drinking wine from a box and sitting on the wet grass in heels.  By the way, nice big wet spot on your butt…bring a chair next year.”    Folks came decked out in their Sunday best and did their very best to go on and on about their lives and generally make it hard to hear the music and even harder to ignore their inanity.

Ok, sorry…that all sounds like I didn’t have fun…I definitely did have fun.  We played some and we ate good ice cream and had a great time all together.  The WV Symphony is awesome and a great thing for the state.  The show always finishes with fireworks and that show was the highlight for most people there (based on the cheers).  It was a pretty cool show…a river barge floats into place on the river adjacent to the University’s lawn and we all get to see the show up close…

(Maybe the fireworks were my favorite part too…)

Garden…finally!

Family, Garden,

We always start the garden in early March by planting seeds…especially for tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli and peppers.  By the time May 10 (our somewhat official last frost date) rolls around, we have pretty good looking plants ready to go into the ground.  We plant by the signs too so we are particular about getting stuff planted at the right time.  We got our seeds planted at the right time and then we also go the plants stuck in the ground at the right time.  This year, we are participating in a test of “planting by the signs” sponsored by Blind Pig & the Acorn.  Basically we planted some squash seeds on the “right” date and some on the “wrong” date.  Lots of people are participating so it should be interesting to see what happens.

Anyhow, we got lots of stuff in the ground early in May but some stuff we have had to work on for timing reasons.  Two weekends ago we finally got the last of the garden planted.  Abigail was a huge help in getting our dry beans and pumpkins planted.  She marked our rows, planted some seeds, covered some seeds and laughed a lot.  It was a blast being all barefoot in the garden with my smelly little girl!

We checked the garden this weekend after a good rain and everything was up and looking good.  Emily’s Grandpa swears he went down in the morning one day before the rain and nothing was up.  A few hours later after the rain, everything had come up!  That would be cool to see!

So, we are planted and are mostly still weed-free!  Typically we stay ahead of the weeds pretty well so I think our time in the garden is about to increase like crazy!  No more clean fingernails or soft feet in our household!

Sometimes it sucks

Family

Sometimes I dislike being a parent.  I like being friends with people (well, sort of…I don’t really like people all that much honestly, but friends are usually good I have heard).  It’s easy to get along with most people.  I guess a big part of that is because I don’t have a gigantic vested interest in the details of their lives.  Surely I care about my friends, but they are all adults and make their own decisions.

I want to teach/allow my kids to make their own decisions, but sometimes that just doesn’t work.  It seems like Isaac and I have been fighting lately about homework (mostly).  He doesn’t really care if things are done or turned in, so long as he “gets it”.  Well, I “get that”, but there comes a time when one has to just do what is required.  Honestly, I think homework and the idea of proving one knows the material is a good thing.  So, we just clash.  You know, I think I hate to clash with the kids more than just about anything else in the world.  Some folks might think I am an antagonist (and maybe I am), but I always try to be patient, even in the face of smart-aleck  responses.  I am torn between teaching my kids to respect authority and allowing them the freedom to express their emotions however they see fit.  It’s difficult and I often wonder if I am doing anything right in this mess called parenting.  Sometimes, it just sucks.

Of course, it is worth it, doing the best I can for the kids…I just wish they came with instruction manuals!