Barry’s Daily Web News

The Tooth Fairy

Sean lost his first baby teeth today. The two bottom front teeth were having a hard time coming out, as the permanent teeth were coming in behind them, not under them. So, we had the teeth removed at the dentist. Sean did really well with the extractions. The dentist was clever enough to shine the light in Sean’s eyes, so that the never saw the big Novocaine needle. Once the Novocaine was in, Sean didn’t mind the pulling at all.

Sean is expecting a visit from the tooth fairy tonight. He brought his teeth home with him, of course, and placed them under his pillow. He even went to bed early, with thoughts of what he might receive under his pillow.

Sean Has a Rough Evening

I had a tough time with Sean this evening. He was tired and fussy, and he ended up missing his gym class. The good news about Sean is that after one of these events, he is a whole new person the next day.

Sean’s Sick Again

Sean was sick again this morning, with diarrhea and vomiting. This time, I suspect germs from the zoo, rather than a virus. At any rate, Sean is doing much better this evening, and everyone else is healthy.

Zoo Day

We all went to the zoo this afternoon. Today was the grand opening of Stingray Bay. The new attraction was crowded when we first arrived, but it wasn’t too bad later in the afternoon.

We asked the kids what they enjoyed the most about the zoo. Ethan enjoyed the popcorn. Cortney bought some kettle corn right after we walked into the zoo. Sean and Ethan munched on the popcorn while we walked around and saw the animals. Sean enjoyed the stingrays the most.

The stingray exhibit allows you to put your hands in the water and touch the stingrays. The stingrays have had their barbs removed, so they aren’t dangerous. And while we were in the exhibit, they passed out food to feed the stingrays. Sean and Ethan both dropped the food (fish parts and shrimp) into the water, but I was able to actually feed one of the stingrays. I have to say they are really slimy. Sean was at least able to touch the stingrays, but he did not mind the slime.

Here are some pictures of the stingrays. The first picture has my hand in the lower right corner getting ready to feed one of the stingrays. The second is Sean attempting to touch one of the stingrays.

Family Shopping Day

We spent quite a bit of the day shopping. This morning, we went to the nearby outlet mall, and after dinner we had a couple more stores. We also stopped by the pet store to pick up some chew toys for Princess.

Dinner out was interesting. We sat in a booth with our own television. We watched the cartoon channel of a satellite feed. That was enough to occupy Sean and Ethan, so that Cortney and I could enjoy our dinner.

Friday Night with the Boys

Sean had the day off from school, so Cortney did not get any free time to herself today. So, I gave her some, by taking Sean and Ethan to McDonald’s. I brought my laptop, and got some work done while Sean and Ethan played, so it worked out well.

Lost Internet Connection

I did not post yesterday because we did not have an internet connection. The internet connection has been down since Tuesday. The TV signal was out as well, so we had to have the cable company come out.

The problem turned out to be a failed amplifier in the guest bedroom. I wasn’t even aware there was one in the room. I believe the last cable guy to come out put one in when we had to have our phone service repaired. He checked all of the TV’s in the house to make sure we were getting a good signal.

Nothing much else happened yesterday; the lost TV and internet was the news of the note.

Tonight was training night for Princess. She is doing really well. Next week, Princess will learn the “heel” command. The trainer will also be bringing out some dogs to so how Princess does around other dogs. If she can handle other dogs, she will graduate to the group classes.

A Busy Day

Our internet service was down, so this prevented me from posting this in a timely manner.

Today was a long day today. I got up early to vote before work. Despite my best intentions, I arrived well over an hour after the polls opened. I think this was actually a good thing, as there was no line at all, and I was in and out after just a few minutes.

I came home early to watch the kids so that Cortney could vote, then I took Sean to the gym for his class. The high temperature actually hit 90 degrees today, so I had to drive with the air conditioning on. There was no air conditioning at the gym, so Sean worked up a good sweat.

Zip, our younger cat, got quite a scare this evening. Princess, our dog, has really been behaving well, so I have been letting her follow me around the house. I was upstairs in the loft working on the computer, when out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flash of fur heading down the stairs, followed by Princess, just as fast. Rather than chase after the dog, I grabbed the control for the remote collar. I don’t know how close Princess came to catching Zip, but she was quickly looking for a place to hide after I hit the command for the remote collar (set to the highest level). Princess spent the next hour or so in the crate for her troubles. Zip found refuge in the closet under the stairs, shaken, but unharmed.

Cool Nights

I had to work a bit later today, but I still had time to take Sean and Ethan to the park. Even though the high today was close to 90 degrees, it cooled off enough after sunset that I was comfortable wearing my work clothes to the park. We didn’t stay very long, Sean forgot to go to the bathroom before we left. For what time we did spend there, the kids had as much fun playing with Princess as they did playing on the playground equipment.

Playing With the New Cellphone

I finally got a card reader for the memory card in my phone, so I was able to pull the pictures off the phone. Most of the pictures did not come out well. Unless the light is good and the phone (and subjects) are steady, the phone does take good pictures. Here’s my best effort so far.

Saturday Morning Fun

Saturday mornings are my time to spend with Sean and Ethan. I get up when they do, letting Cortney sleep in.

This morning, I decide to make the most of my time with the kids. After breakfast, we played Dungeons & Dragons. Sean was real excited when we were battling a tough dragon, and he scored a critical hit to finish off the dragon.

After the tabletop game, we went to the park. I used Princess’ training to have her go to her “place”, and sit on the park bench while I pushed Ethan. Her training is going better than expected, as I noticed the battery on the remote collar died, yet Princess was still obeying her commands.

I relaxed this afternoon, and we went out to dinner this evening, followed by some shopping to wrap up the day.

TGIF

Stephanie and Ryan made it home safely today. Sean already is asking when he can see Ryan again.

I took off half a day from work just to relax a bit. I have to burn off my vacation days by the end of the year, or else I loose them, so today seemed as good a day as any.

I had to spend some time today repairing the drip irrigation system. Princess did me the favor of chewing up some of the stakes and irrigation lines, then did the added bonus of throwing it up once she was inside. No more unsupervised time outside for her.

Princess Gets More Training

We were finally able to get another training session for Princess. The trainer canceled on us twice, and we had to cancel once when we were all sick. Princess did quite well, despite a couple of weeks off from the training.

Stephanie watched Sean and Ethan, so Cortney and I were able to go out to dinner together. It was nice for us to focus on each other and have some adult conversation.

Relapse

Ethan was sick again today, and had to be taken out of preschool. He now joins Sean and I in having a relapse since the original illness. I feel like I am over the virus, and judging by how Sean did in gym class, he is doing just fine too.