Barry’s Daily Web News

Confession

Actually, yesterday was not a slow news day. I just did not take the time to write a good post.

Sean received his kindergarten second quarter report card yesterday. He improved in a number of areas, and is showing good progress.

Yesterday was also the coldest day of the season. A frost was predicted, but it did not get that cold. This is good news. A frost, even a short one, would damage many of our landscape plants.

I had to go into work yesterday without a jacket. On Monday, I left the jacket hanging on the hook on the back of my office door, and forget to take it home. Having an office door to hang a jacket on is a new concept for me. At any rate, I did not make that mistake again.

Sean had another good gym class this evening. I was impressed with is ability to watch a demonstration by the instructor, and then repeat the same maneuver. The maneuver in this instance was a dive roll. I noticed an older boy in the class, who was much more skilled than Sean, was not trying very hard. You can’t say that about Sean. He is listening well and giving it everything he has physically. As I said, I’m impressed.

Slow News Day

Not much news too report. Sean went to school today, and also made his gym class.

No School

Today was a school holiday, so we did not have to make the decision whether to send the kids to school. Ethan seems to be recovering, but Sean had another slow day.

I’m working on a major project to change this website. Stay tuned for more details.

A Productive Day

I did not work too hard today, but I took care of many small jobs that I had put off.

Sean and Ethan are doing much better. Sean still has a cough, but he seems to be doing fine otherwise.

Ethan appeared to be fine, but he ran out of gas around dinner time. Actually, he fell asleep right in the middle of dinner. He was clutching a piece of bread in one hand, and had his head resting on that arm. I was afraid Ethan would fall from that position, so I carried him over to the sofa. He stayed asleep, even though he kept clutching that piece of bread!

A Lazy Day

Last week was a busy week, so I just took it easy today. I spent time with Sean and Ethan this morning, so Cortney could take a break.

This afternoon, we took Sean and Ethan to get hair cuts. I was worried we would have to wait awhile, since we could not make an appointment, but we only had to wait a few minutes. Sean and Ethan both look handsome with their neatly trimmed hair.

We went shopping and had dinner after the hair place, then came home early. Sean and Ethan are still recovering from their illnesses, so they were both tired. I hope they sleep well.

Two Sick Kids

Sean woke up with a croup cough this morning, and Ethan still is not over his illness. Both Sean and Ethan stayed home from school, which made for a rough day for Cortney.

Sean and Ethan were a bit wound up when I came home, but after a video and some books, they calmed down enough to go to bed.

Library Night

We have changed our weekly schedule. Starting this evening, library night is now on Thursdays, since Sean has a gym class on Tuesday. Ethan was well enough to go tonight, and both Sean and Ethan had a good time.

Sean, the Gymnast, Part II

Sean had his second class of the beginner boy’s gym this evening. Sean continues to amaze me. He did a couple of things I thought he was not capable of.

Sean started of first with the parallel bars. I though he might be able to hold himself upright with his arms, and it turns out he could. But what I was surprised was the he could jump up and hold himself up. The bars where about shoulder level for Sean, so this was a good distance for Sean bring himself up and then support his weight. I could tell that this was the limit of Sean’s strength. He was supposed to do long swings with his legs, and he could only do short ones without help. Sean’s strength should improve significantly with this class.

The next thing I was surprised at was when he hit the vault trampoline and landed on his feet on a two foot high foam block. That requires technique as well as jumping height.

I was able to talk with Sean’s instructor this evening as well. He confirmed that Sean is in fact ready for the class. I know Sean is excited about the class. He already wants to go tomorrow night (his next class is not until Tuesday).

Cortney took Ethan to the doctor this morning. Ethan has an ear infection in both ears, and a sinus infection. Ethan had the same condition a couple of weeks ago, and the doctor thinks that the antibiotic just wasn’t strong enough to kill it. So, Ethan is back on an antibiotic, a stronger one than before.

Sean the Gymnast

Sean took his first class in beginner boy’s gym this evening. He did better than I expected. He came really close to doing a handstand. Later, he did a high jump on the trampoline, and finished in a forward roll. I think he had the most height of anyone in his class, which is impressive considering Sean is now the smallest in his class. I told Sean how proud I was of him afterwards.

In other news, Ethan is still sick, and he was tired for most of the day.

Ethan’s Sick

Ethan had a croup-like cough this morning, so he missed school. He was pretty much out of it all day today.

Sean was reluctant to go to his gym class, but once he was there, he enjoyed it. Tomorrow, Sean starts the beginner boy’s class.

A Beautiful Day

We had nice weather today — a cloudless sky, no humidity and temperatures in the mid 70’s.

I enjoyed the yard work this morning, and took Sean and Ethan to the park this afternoon. Sean is now much faster on his scooter. He can go faster than I can walk.

We topped the evening off with steaks cooked outdoors on the grill. A great meal for a great day.

More Work on the Garage

I added one more cabinet to the garage, and we are nearing order and harmony in the garage. The next step will be to add a suspended shelf from the ceiling.

We went out to dinner this evening, and we just happened to pick the place at the local mall, so we spent one more evening at the mall. Sean, Ethan, and I spent most of our time at the play area.

We did have one funny moment at the mall. We were passing some teenage boys, who all had long mohawk haircuts that were spiked. Sean told me “They look like rooster heads.”! I said “Yes, you’re right”.

A Change

We did something different tonight. Cortney wanted to go to the Chandler mall this weekend, which is across town. I thought, rather than take up the day tomorrow, let’s go tonight.

Other than hitting rush hour traffic on the other side of town, we had a good time. We stopped off right away at the food court for dinner. Afterwards, Cortney shopped at some stores, while I took Sean and Ethan to the play area. Sean and Ethan both played nicely, particularly Sean, who really is too big for the play area and can plow the smaller kids over if he is not careful. Then we went to some of the kid’s favorite stores, like the toy store, the game store, the pet store, and the book store. We even had a fun ride home.

Sean Checks out the Emissions Testing

I stopped by the emissions place on they way to take Sean to the gym. The minivan needs an emissions inspection for this year’s registration. Sean seemed interested in the inspection, but did not like the loud noise created by revving the engines during the test. He could have stayed in the car the whole time, but he preferred to come in the booth with me during the test.

Sean also had an impromptu lesson about license plates and handicapped parking.

Sean had a good gym class.

Cortney’s Slow Cooker

Not much happened today, except I took Sean to gym class.

I forgot to mention yesterday that Cortney used her slow cooker, which was a Christmas present from me, for the first time last night. I thought the slow cooker would help Cortney make dinner either the previous evening, or while the kids were in school in the morning. The hour before dinner is a stressful time, as the kids are usually wound up by this point, and so is not a good time to prepare dinner.

Cortney cooked a pork rib recipe. It was delicious, and the meat literally fell off the bone, making it easy to eat. I am looking forward to more meals from the slow cooker.