Barry’s Daily Web News

The Pool is Now Open

Yesterday, I took it easy and relaxed. Today, I did not. I started out with some yard work. I took a break from that to work out on the exercise bike, then went and cleaned the pool. That took me up until dinner time, when I cooked the dinner. I was pretty tired after that.

The biggest chore was cleaning the pool. We had heavy winds while I was gone, and the pool was full of leaf debris. It was so heavy that the pump inlet filter would clog up with just one trip of the vacuum cleaner around the pool. After scooping out leaves and emptying the filter repeatedly, I finally was able to get the pool clean. Sean even helped by going in and diving for leaves for me. After he became too cold to swim any more, I jumped in to get a few more.

The pool water would not have been too bad, except it was a windy day, which made it really cold. If we get some warmer weather, Sean and I might be using the pool more.

Scented Markers

When I came home on Friday, the kids were coloring with markers. They told me the markers were scented, but I didn’t think anything of it. Until this morning, at least. Ethan had stuck the business end of a couple of the markers up his nose so he could better smell it. Both Sean and Ethan had marker marks all over their hands and arms. I drew the line when Ethan colored Princess. By the time I found out, Princess had a purple mark about an inch long and a half inch wide on the top of her head.

Friday Fun Night

My plane was late flying in from Seattle, but I still arrived in time to go to the fund raiser event at Sean’s school. Sean had lots of fun, but Ethan was upset that he did not win the cake walk. I enjoyed the seasonably cool weather, and knowing that I will be spending the weekend at home.

Kirkland

This evening, we had seafood in a restaurant right on Lake Washington in downtown Kirkland. The seafood was quite tasty, and it was a good way to end our work in Redmond.

Milt’s

Today, we had dinner at Milt’s barbecue. We were able to meet Milt, as he was the sole employee. The barbecue wasn’t bad, but the best was the entertainment value. One of my colleagues complained to Milt the the barbecue sauce wasn’t hot enough. Milt went back and pulled out a special bottle of sauce, then watched the fireworks as my colleague tasted the sauce. He was complaining about how hot it was the entire next day.

Bellevue

Not much news to update today. It was chilly and it rained today, but the weather is supposed to be much nicer for the next three days. After a full day of work, I had dinner with two other colleagues in downtown Bellevue this evening.

On the Road Again.

I’m writing this post in a hotel yet once again. This time, I am in Redmond, Washington. I was supposed to be traveling to Tucson this week, but I was redirected at the last minute to deal with a troubled program in Redmond.

At least the travel was routine today. The plane landed on time, and I traveled with a fellow colleague, so we were able to share a car and drive in the HOV lane to beat the Seattle rush-hour traffic.

Cortney tells me that Ethan went to his first gym class this evening. Unfortunately, he was in a class of six, and he was a bit overwhelmed with his first experience. It sounded like Sean had trouble just sitting and watching. He’ll get his turn on Wednesday, though.

Happy Easter

Despite yesterday’s plans, Sean and Ethan woke up early. We had an early egg hunt. We went out for brunch later in the morning, and Cortney and I ate enough for two full meals. It seemed like Sean and Ethan were hungry all afternoon, but I guess that is typical for boys.

Since I fixed the sprinkler timer yesterday, I thought today would be a good day to repair the damage from last year. I reseeded the bare spots in the lawn. I used the same process as over-seeding in the winter, including adding starter fertilizer and top cover, so I’m hoping the new grass will grow in without any problems

Easter Eggs

Today’s big task was to replace the timer for the drip irrigation system. The old unit kept resetting itself, wiping out the programming, meaning the yard wasn’t getting watered. A professional probably could have replaced the unit in less than a half hour, but it took me a couple of hours. I had to remove the old unit, reconnect the A/C wiring, mount the unit to the wall, and then reconnect the valve wires. And then go back and fix the wiring and remount the unit again. The good news is the new unit has a larger, easier to read display, and is much easier to program.

Today, being the day before Easter, means we died Easter eggs. I cooked the eggs and set up the die cups, then let the kids have at it. Sean and Ethan still haven’t quite learned that the best looking eggs have to sit in the die for a while. At least they had fun with the eggs.

I gave Sean and Ethan strict instructions not to wake up too early, lest they scare off the Easter bunny before he drops of all of the candy. It will be interesting to see if that trick works. It just might, as Sean asked to be told when it was late enough that he could leave the bedroom.

A Day Off

I had the day off from work today. I decided to spend the day and get my taxes done. I finished both my state and federal return, and filed the federal return. I owe money on the state taxes so I will wait until the 17th to file that return.

Ethan went to preschool this morning, but Sean had the day off from school. It’s a bit hot and muggy here now, so we spent most of the day indoors. Sean spent a good part of the day playing video games. Both Sean and Ethan are starting to get excited about Easter. I hope it cools off a little before then. Even if it doesn’t cool off, it should at least be pleasant in the morning.

The Kids are Getting Better

Sean stayed home from school again today, but he is feeling much better today. He is recovering just in time for the three day weekend. Ethan is doing much better as well. He seems to have just a little congestion, but he has plenty of energy.

I took Princess to training class this evening. We haven’t been in a while. It was a little warm out, and the instructor had the dogs sitting still and the owners running around. Princess actually needs this type of training, as she has a hard time holding her “sit”. Most of the owners complained about the activity, but I didn’t mind.

A Rough Start to the Day

Cortney and I went to Sean’s school for his Individual Education Plan (IEP) meeting. Sean has progressed well since the last meeting, achieving nearly all of his goals. The only major weakness he has left is in his reading skills, particularly reading comprehension. Sean will continue to get speech therapy and occupational therapy (fine motor skills) as well as the reading.

We had to take Sean with us today, as he was sick. He has been running a fever for the since yesterday and has been complaining of a stomach ache. We had him sit on the sofa in the meeting room, and Sean was visibly tired and sick, so at least no one was questioning our decision to keep him out of school today.

I drove Cortney over to the school meeting this morning. Just before leaving, I put everything in my car, including the keys. My plan was to drive Cortney (and Sean) back, then hop in my car and go. The only trouble was my car was locked when I tried to get in! I guess I must have hit the door knob with my elbow on the way out.

I had a meeting I really needed to attend, and I was stuck. I could have called in from home, but my laptop was in the car as well. To cut a long story short, a call to AAA and an hour later, I had my car keys.

I was able to reschedule the meeting, so there were no consequences to being late into work today.

Wrong Time

I went to take Ethan for his first gym class, but we showed up at the wrong time. I thought the class started at 6:00 PM, but it actually started at 5:00 PM. It’s just as well, Ethan fell asleep during the car ride over to the gym.

Attack of the Bougainvilleas

Today, I removed all of the dead branches from the bougainvillea plants in the front yard. This was quite a challenge, as the branches were all intertwined in the bushes. It might have been fun, like solving a three-dimensional puzzle, if it wasn’t for all of the thorns. I have quite a few cuts on my forearms. After stacking the branches and raking up the debris, the front yard actually looks nice now, if a bit barren.

Sean had worked on his April Fool’s jokes today, but at least he did not get carried away like he did earlier in the week.

Ethan acted like he felt better today, until late this afternoon. I could tell he was tired when he refused to help clean up the family room. When he started crying, I put him into his bed hoping he would either calm down or get a nap. He came out of his room twenty minutes later, and started down the steps to go down stairs. And he never made it. He fell asleep on the step just below the top of the stairs! I let him sleep there until it was his normal bedtime. After a bath and a bite to eat, he went back to his proper bed for the night.