Barry’s Daily Web News

Ethan’s 4th Birthday Pictures

I put a few of Ethan’s birthday pictures out on the Gallery page, and the picture of Ethan with his birthday breakfast is my favorite.

A New Washing Machine

Today started off with some rain, and it looked like it would be an awful day, but the sun came out early in the afternoon, and the rest of the day was quite nice.

We made the decision to purchase a new washing machine today. Our current one is only six years old, but is sounds like a garbage disposal, not a washing machine. It appears to work, but it’s hard to tell how well, or how long until it actually breaks. The service calls start out at $150, so even if the broken parts were under warranty, it would still be an expensive fix.

The other reason driving our decision is that we want one of the front-loading washers. When we moved into the house, the front-loading machines had just come out, and were too expensive. In addition to being more energy efficient, we like that the front-loading machines clean clothes better, and the clothes come out drier than the top-loading machines.

Ordering the new washer took up quite a bit of the day. We started our shopping mid-afternoon, then went out to dinner, then looked at a couple more stores, then finally buying the machine at Home Depot.

Ice Cream Social

Tonight was the ice cream social at Sean’s school. This was a fund-raising event sponsored by the PTA. Cortney volunteered her time to help out. Sean and Ethan enjoyed their ice cream, and also had fun playing on the school playground.

I bought Sean and Ethan each a raffle ticket. There were about a dozen baskets you could try to win, and they each picked a different basket. I prepared Sean to let him know the chances of winning were small, but I forgot to say anything to Ethan. Poor Ethan cried when I told him he did not win.

Ethan’s Birthday, the Day After

Both Sean and Ethan were excited about the toys Ethan got for his birthday. It was too much excitement for them to settle down to sleep. And, apparently, to stay asleep as well. They were both up early this morning.

Ethan had fallen asleep by the time I came home from work, so that was good. Sean complained about going to bed, but he did fall asleep at a reasonable time.

The new Star Wars Lego (II) game was definitely the biggest hit. Sean and Ethan just could not get enough of the game.

Ethan is Four!

We celebrated Ethan’s fourth birthday anniversary today. Cortney shaped sweet rolls into a four, and served that for breakfast. This evening, Ethan had a cake shaped like a number “4″, along with Star Wars balloons, napkins and plates. He also received a few Star Wars toys, including some figures, and most importantly, Star Wars Lego games to go with his new Game Boy Advance.

Sean Has a Fun Gym Class

Sean had fun in gym class tonight. He practiced circles (the basic maneuver on the pommel horse) using a bucket suspended from a rope hanging from the ceiling. The first time, he fell out of the bucket, but he kept on trying. At the end of class, Sean worked on the rope climb, climbing about six feet off the ground, which is the best he has done.

Princess Gets Another Training Lesson

Princess, Princess, Princess, Princess. That’s what Cortney thinks I always write about. Well, tonight, it’s true, and other times, it’s because the new dog is the most exciting thing that happens around here.

Princess received her second lesson this evening. We reviewed the commands from last time, and added two more: “down”, and “place”. Princess did fairly well with all of the commands. My favorite was what the instructor called puppy push-ups, where we alternate between the sit and (lie) down commands.

Cortney had her ankle x-rayed today. I’m assuming the lack of a call back from the doctor means that there is nothing serious.

Minor Problems

I took more time than I wanted cleaning the pool today. The algae became too bad to just ignore. I dumped in the pool chemicals last night, and did the scrubbing today.

Princess ate my best pair of boxer shorts. She did not actually swallow the shorts, but ripped them up pretty good. I had just taken Princess into the shower, cleaning myself, Sean, and the dog all at the same time. I left the dog all alone in the room, so that she could dry out. I had left my boxer shorts, just slightly damp from the sweat of my afternoon workout on the bed, and I guess the damp cloth was too much for Princess to resist chewing on.

Sean had a rough day. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, or maybe he just had unrealistic expectations for the day. Either way, he was a handful.

No pictures this weekend, mainly because Cortney is not getting around much with her sore ankle.

A Nice Day

Yesterday’s storms have cleared out, leaving us with nice, cool weather today. I know Princess enjoys the cooler weather, as she can play longer without overheating. Sean, Ethan, Princess, and I had a nice time at the park this evening. We all enjoyed the fresh, cool air.

Cortney seems to have sprained her ankle yesterday. She stepped wrong on the raised part of the garage floor. Her ankle seems to hurt whenever she is not shopping or going to yard sales… Seriously, I hope her ankle heals soon.

Thunder and Lightning

We all woke up early this morning due to a thunderstorm. I thought I was dreaming when I saw the flashes of light, but when I got up and saw the dark clouds and rain, I realized that it was real thunder and lightning.

We took Sean and Ethan to get hair cuts this evening. That took a little longer than we expected, so we encountered a wait when we went out to eat. Cortney and I were hungry, and the kids restless, so it we had a tough time until we were seated. We still had a nice meal, and by the time we made it home it was bedtime for the kids, so now Cortney and I are relaxing.

Another Busy Work Day

Today, I was set to present at three meetings, but one was canceled. At least all of this activity keeps me on my toes.

With no gym class this evening, Sean and I had fun playing Dungeons & Dragons. Ethan was to cranky to play, probably because he is sick again, or more than likely, hasn’t recovered from the last time he was sick. He has another ear infection, and certainly has some chest and sinus congestion to go with it.

Busy Work Day

I had four meetings today, and I had to present at two of them. I was glad when the work day was over. Wednesday evenings are normally hectic, with Sean having a late gym class, but this evening was relatively easy compared to the work day.

In other news, Floppy’s blood work came back okay, so she is just stressed by the dog. She is now on appetite inducing medicine, and it seems to have perked her up a bit.

Floppy Is Not Well

During Floppies normal trip to the vet, we found out that she is not doing well. She has lost a lot of weight, and appears dehydrated. Some of that is not surprising. Floppy fears the dog, and even though she had an unimpeded path to her food and water, I’m sure that she can at least smell the dog.

We are working as hard as we can to train the dog not to chase the cats, but until we solve this problem, Floppy will be in for a rough time.

A Fun Monday Night

Tonight was a fun night for me and the kids. After Sean finished his homework, we had another session of tabletop Dungeons and Dragons. After that, we all went for a walk, including Cortney and Princess.

It’s a shame Sean was a bit cranky, he missed out on a second round of Dungeons and Dragons.

Another Busy Day

Today was a busy day, starting out with yard work. Cortney has already started putting out Halloween stuff, so I want that to be the only scary stuff in the yard, not overgrown bushes and hedges.

The most interesting thing that happened today was that Princess got a shower. I was taking Sean in with me, and on a whim, I took Princess into the shower stall as well. Princess was trembling a bit, so I wonder if she had a previous bad experience with water. Otherwise, the shower was an easy way to clean the dog.