Barry’s Daily Web News

Tax Day

I made the mistake of taking the direct route home from work, which passed directly by the post office. The lights before and after the post office were creating gridlock, and it took me ten minutes longer to get home. I had to call Cortney on the cell phone to tell her to get everything ready, just so I could get Sean to swim lessons on time.

We made it to swim lessons with about a minute to spare. We stuck with our normal routine, which is me taking Sean and Ethan to Burger King right after swim lessons. This occupies the time until Sean and Ethan go to bed, at which time I can unwind and relax.

More Hot Weather

Today is the second consecutive day with temperatures over 90 degrees. Those temperatures only seem bad because we haven’t turned on the air conditioning yet. The good news is that the hotter weather seems to have driven away the pollen, so I am no longer suffering from allergy problems like I have been for the past few weeks.

Even though I’m feeling better, it appears that Ethan has the croup. Other than losing some sleep and looking tired, he doesn’t seem to be the worse for wear. I did notice that Ethan’s appetite is down.

Sean had fun playing Uno, and he enjoyed his gym class.

Cortney and I enjoyed a take-out dinner together. Sean and Ethan had the opportunity to join us, but they weren’t too serious about eating when we were.

And so ends today’s rambling discussion.

A Short Trip to the Park

We went to the park this evening. It was a bit warm out, but it won’t be too much longer before it will be just plain hot. It took us a while to get going. Ethan did not want to eat his dinner for some reason, and it took him a long time to finish. After Ethan was done eating, Sean did not cooperate with putting his shoes on, so we wasted even more time.

We weren’t at the park long before Sean needed to go potty, so it was back home again. At least Sean and Ethan had some time on the swings and the slide. It was too late to go back to the park after Sean was done, so that was it for our trip to the park.

A Puppet Show

We had a special treat today at the library — a puppet show. Sean and Ethan were both fascinated by the show. They encouraged dancing during the puppet show, which was enough to satisfy Ethan’s need to not sit still for a full 30 minutes. The show wasn’t bad considering it was given by the library staff.

Ethan Likes His Naps

Cortney and I were having trouble getting Ethan to take a nap everyday. If he didn’t get his nap, he would be tired and cranky for the rest of the day.

We finally learned that if we put a toy and a book or two in his crib, he will quietly play until he falls asleep. This works for everyone involved, as Cortney gets an afternoon break (and me too on weekends), and Ethan is well rested througout the day.

A Relaxing Yard Work Day

Today was a light yard work day. The weeds are finally under control, and I am starting to see the fruits of my labor. The winter lawn is blending in nicely with the summer lawn growth, the rose bushes have an impressive display of flowers, and the orange tree is starting to grow fruit. Of the new plants I’ve planted this year, only one has died, and I still might have time to replace it and get it going before the triple digit temperatures arrive.

We had a nice barbecue dinner this evening, topped off with a delicious dessert made by Cortney.

Sean and Ethan had fun playing both outside and inside today. Sean played quite a few games of Uno, some with me, some with Cortney, and some with both of us. Both Sean and Ethan were eager to go to bed, so I guess it was a good day for them.

Cortney Does Yet Another Garage Sale

Today was actually the garage sale day for our neighborhood, but Cortney wanted to have the help a friend, so she went over to another neighborhood. That left Sean, Ethan and me to ourselves.

We spent part of the morning working on a Lego project, then spent time at the park. In contrast to the hot weather we had previously, it was cool and breezy today. We stayed at the park long enough for some fresh air and exercise, then went home for lunch.

Ethan and I took a nap for the afternoon, then we all went out for a nice dinner, the a little shopping before Sean and Ethan went to bed.

Spring Fling

Most of the members of Cortneys MOMS club are not in our immediate neighborhood. So when they all participated at another school’s Spring celebration, we decided to go to.

It turned out to be fun. They had two jumpies, and Sean and Ethan both had a blast. Ethan held his own against seven and eight year olds in the jumpy. Sean even won some cupcakes in a cake walk, which appears to be some type of blend of musical chairs and a raffle. We enjoyed the cup cakes for dessert after we came home.

A Hot Day

We had the hottest day of the year so far, with a high of 96 degrees. That’s nowhere near the record high for today, 104 degrees. I was fairly comfortable coming home from work in a long sleeve shirt, but I noticed it was still around 90 degrees when I came home from Sean’s gym class.

An Early Trip to Burger King

We have other plans for Friday night, so we went to Burger King this evening instead. Cortney joined us, even though she left after eating for a shopping trip.

I felt sorry for Sean. He asked two different kids to play with them, only to see them leave after eating. Sean and Ethan actually played with each other nicely before a girl Sean’s age joined the fun. We had to leave early to get in some shopping before bedtime.

We almost had 90 degree weather, just a degree shy of that mark. Fortunately, it still cools off after sunset, and cools off enough at night that we don’t need the air conditioning. It should be hotter tomorrow, then cool off in time for the weekend.

Library Night

We made it to the Library this evening, something we haven’t accomplished in a while. Sean and Ethan spent the time up until story time playing with the train tables. Ethan had an annoying habit of screaming whenever anyone touched his train cars, but other than that, they both played well with the other kids.

Ethan is now much better at sitting through the stories, and of course, Sean has no such problem. We finished up with a neat cartoon movie that even I enjoyed. So, all in all, it was a good night.

Sean and Ethan, the Twin Terrors

For some reason, our two angelic boys just decided not to behave today. Cortney had already called and warned me, but I was still surprised to see them throwing toys down the stairs when I came home from work.

After dinner, I caught Sean and Ethan trying to throw toy blocks onto the top windowsill in the living room, which is ten feet high. I don’t know how they expected to get away with this, as the missed blocks were crashing into the blinds of the window below. Maybe they were just looking for attention. If so, they got it.

Sean and Ethan eventually calmed down, and Sean was able to get in a few games of Uno before his gym class.

Spring Yard Work

Today was a big yard work day for me, made a bit more challenging by the fact that Cortney went for a second day for her garage sale. I started the morning by taking Sean and Ethan out in the backyard, doing what work I could in the backyard while still keeping an eye on them.

After lunch, I put Ethan down for a nap, and then continued the rest of the yard work. I trust Sean to behave himself, and he actually came out with me for some of the work. I ended up with a respectable pile of tree and bush cuttings, and two bags of loose yard debris. I even made repairs to the drip sprinkler, and cleaned the pool, all in time to finish before Cortney came home.

Unfortunately, I was a bit sore from the yard work to do much else for the rest of the day. I did manage to get in some games of Uno with Sean, and I taught Sean how to hold the cards in his hand. Previously, he would put all of his cards face up on the table, which made it too easy to win, or to let Sean win.

On the Road to Recovery

Sean, Ethan and I are feeling much better today. In fact, we had a fun day. Cortney spent most of the day selling her stuff at a garage sale, so I stayed home with Sean and Ethan.

I worked on two Lego projects today. I built an excavator, and a Lego mosaic kit that we bought when we were at LegoLand. The mosaic is a portrait of Sean. Sean loved the excavator, and it was sturdy enough to last through some light play.

Sean and I were able to get in some Uno play today as well. I did not have any time to play with him all week, so I’m sure Sean enjoyed the game more than he usually would.

It was a nice day today, so I also took Sean and Ethan to the park. It felt good to spend time outside, and we were all able to get some exercise as well.

This evening, we had some unwelcome host guests. A bee swarm apparently decided to take residence in the bathroom exhaust fan duct. We had bees swarming all over the bathroom. I made a trip to Home Depot to pick up some bug spray to take care of the problem. I wanted to get the most deadly spray available, but it was for use outdoors only, so I also picked up a spray can to use indoors.

I was impressed by the effectiveness of the sprays. The outdoor spray left a toxic clump of foam that will surely prevent any new bees from entering from the outside. The indoor spray quickly took care of the indoor bees. After a couple of hours, the vacuum cleaner took care of the last of our unwanted guests.

Time to Rest

Sean, Ethan and I are still sick, but I worked a full day, then took Sean and Ethan to Sean’s swim lesson and then Burger King afterwards. Now that the day, and the week, are over, it is time to rest for all of us.