A swinging family

One of the biggest times when I still feel like a kid is when I'm on a swing set. It's. So. Much. Fun. Why am I talking about it? Because a family that swings together, stays at the park together. Or something like that.

Now some pictures.

You won't be scared if you don't look down!

"Mother, I'm shocked, just shocked that you placed me in this."

Believe it or not, but there are 3 people in this shot, even if you can't see anyone's face.

Some changes

It's funny how quickly things change. For the first child you boil and double steralize things. Maybe do it 3 times to be sure. For the second child you use the steralizer as a cake container. 

Not Where have I been, but with whom

I've been documenting where I've been - latest is #5. Partly this is out of habit, partly because my memory is crappy and this blog is an easy way to remember. Partly because my grandma always was so proud of all the places they had gone to. Collecting countries seemed pretty important.

I've been thinking about it. Even though it is wonderful to travel to new countries and meet new people and all the fun / troubles / memory building that goes with it, that's not the important part. The important part is who you are traveling with. Whether it's half way around the world or to the corner store. The who is what makes the memories, what makes that trip important.

So here's a picture of my favorite travelers on a adventure in the exotic B'ack Yar'de.

Notice the traditional clothes of their tribe while they perform an intricate Dance of The DoodleBop

Post retirement, Year 4

Well, it's been 4 years since Laura hosted a party with a "Happy Retirement" banner. So far, so good with Freedom 30. I don't get out to play shuffle board as much as I thought that I would, but with the weather these days, who would want to?

Happy Retirement to Me

What is important to do when retired is to keep active and continue to learn. I no longer read as much programming books as I did pre-retirement, but I read a lot more in general. I read for fun, for learning how to be a better photographer, father, etc. I read the news, I make up fictional events and post them to the internet (which is a lot like some news organizations...)

One good thing is that the kids make sure that I get out of the house. It's important once you are retired to get air. Some times I don't have a lot of strength so Alice pushes me around to help out.

FSM willing, I'll be around for many more years of my retirement.

Sitting around to enjoy the outside. But not in the sun because it burns us so.

Alice helping me by pushing me around in my assistive technology

Should we stay or should we go?

It's the most talked about thing on our home right now. Should we stay in our current house or move? Should we stay and reno? Should we buy and reno? What's best for the kids? What's best for us? We change our "this is what we are going to do" plan hourly, if not more. 

I honestly have no idea what the right decision is, or if there is even a wrong one. 

Only history will tell what our decision was. 

Big plates, not little dishes

Well, it all comes around I guess. I once talked about how I thought that dishes full of prepreped dishes were stupid but I guess that things come full circle. I'm making a stir fry tonight and I preped the various ingredients onto easy to clean dinner plates. All lined up nicely. I guess 5 years later things change. Funny that.

Classic simple pleasures

There are many pleasures that I enjoy. With food, complex ones like tiramisu, creme brulee, and others. I've newly discovered (or rediscovered?) a classic: peaches and cream. Fresh peaches being key here. How did this happen? Like many great discoveries, via a mistake. Table cream was purchased instead of whipping cream. I even tried to whip it but no luck.

Fresh, never frozen, local food is so good compared to anything else. After going through food shipped from half way around the world for 6 months of the year, every year, I forget this. Maybe one year we'll actually do that "pay a local farmer for a year" for fresh food. Who knows.

From the Book of Santa

I picture Alice starting her own religion with Santa as not just a saint, but the Main Guy. I'm sure that this phase will pass, as most things do, but it's funny none the less.

From the Book of Santa, Chapter 14, verse 8

And lo, he looked upon the newly driven snow and the moonlight gave a luster of midday to object below. For there he drove his tiny reindeer to complete their task. When they met with an obstacle, like leaves before the wild hurricane fly, they took to the sky. And Santa looked upon this and it was good.

Another good day

Today was another good day. Cooler weather but still really good. Nothing particular exciting happened. We played outside, had lunch, went to the farm and played around, drove home with stopping for coffee and a pie for home along the way. Nothing "wow". But this is what my time off has been. Each day a special day of fun and being a family. I love it. I know that one day it might not be all rainbows, so I want to document these. The good, simple days. The days that I'm grateful and lucky.

Everything is awesome. 

Now I've got to stop typing into my phone before I burn the burgers and corn on the BBQ. 

Happy.  

First day of (pre) 'tool

It was Alice's first day of preschool today. She did EXCELLENT. I on the other hand had a bit of trouble. Our baby is slowly growing up. Some days it feels too fast, other days too slow. She doesn't want me to read her stories anymore because she's memorized them and wants to read them by herself. But what of my cuddle time you ask? I know! That's my issue too.

*sigh*

At this point she's going to grow up to be a bright, engaging woman that loves stories, silliness, and snacks. And I love her with all my heart. 

So proud to be going in to 'tool

A chill little dude

Maybe it's something about being the second child, or maybe it's just his natural temperament. Either way, our little dude is pretty chill. He still startles and things like that, but he doesn't usually cry when he does. 

The biggest challenge seems to be to try to give enough attention to him without neglecting the first born. Not giving enough attention to the preschooler of course results in jealous attention speaking behavior. Which isn't fun, not one bit. I'm sure that we are the first parents to go through this. 

*sigh*

James and the Quite Large Peach

Isaac is big. And cuddly. Like his sister at this age, he doesn't have too much hair, just a fuzz. If he gets close while lying in bed he might snuggle in. It's like being attacked by a huge firm peach as he wiggles his head to try and get it in his desired placement. It's not how I pictured being attacked by giant fruit, but much more desirable. 

Walking distance

While talking to a friend today, she described something as "walking distance" away. I honestly have no idea what that would be. 200m? 3km? 10km? Our shortest walks pre children were about 3km. Medium ones 5-8km. That's not even talking about long walks which were much fewer. 

I have to admit that I describe things in time + mode of transportation. e.g. 10 minute walk, 20 minute bike ride, 4 hour drive. I'm sure that's really strange to other people. Meh. ;-)

Puppetry of the Daddy

Okay, I love playing with puppets. Or children that I use as puppets. It wasn't always this way. I've found this love later in life. I enjoy pretending for our kids using toys, puppets (hey, if you got it, use it), or just about anything that I can get my hands on. Chip clips, old leaves, etc.

Why is this so fun? Because it gives me a chance to explore, to entertain, but mostly I use it to distract. Alice might be crying for whatever reason, but if a stuffed toy strikes up a conversation about the injustice of polka dots, that gives her pause and pretty soon has forgotten why she was crying in the first place. 

How the hell do other parents deal with these issues? I have no idea. All I know is what I've been taught by Mr Bunny, Eugine F. K. Leaf, and The Great Zucchini.