It's Tuesday Night ...

Sorry, it just seems to be the theme at the moment. I am exhausted and have pretty much been that way all day. DS#3 has a cold combined with some of the allergies everyone has had and has been waking up during the night. Last night was pretty rough. He survived the day okay, and took a decent nap, but he didn't have a great evening. I am hoping he'll be doing better tomorrow. My wife will be on-call tomorrow night but she doesn't need to go into work until about 3:00 PM so we'd like to get together with some friends and(or) go to SeaWorld for a few hours or something like that.

Today we had lunch with a young friend of mine that used to come over with a group to play Dungeons and Dragons on Sundays. That group was broken up over time due to a number of moves (both military and non-military guys) and I really haven't had time to build another group to play with due to all of the kids' activities. Anyway, we met him at the mall so the kids could all have whatever it was they wanted to eat and he and I could spend a bit of time talking. It was nice to see him again during his visit home. He just finished school at MIT and is in the entire job hunting process. He has always been a great kid, mature and polite and it has really been a joy to see him "grow up."

Yesterday I took a lot of pictures of various silly goings-on outside. Most of them involved the "leaf fighting" that DS#1 got going with DD and some of her friends. Basically, I shot a lot of pictures in hopes of getting a few good ones. You know, someone needs them for, um, something or other. Anyway, that someone has one of the photos already scrapped and up on her blog but here is one of DS#1 and DD in the leaf fight and another of DS#3 marching about with his toy lawnmower during the battles. DS#2 was playing at a friends house. Hey, let's face it, if he was outside he would simply have run away from the camera like he did when I tried to snap pictures today. Keep in mind, my lovely wife edits pictures as she uploads them to the computer so these have already been touched up a bit.

It's Monday Night ...

Yeah, still nothing. I suppose I could say "Are you ready for some football??!!" but seeing as I am not watching the Monday night game right now it wouldn't really seem to fit. Do they still use that tagline?

Today was beautiful. It warmed up to the high 60's with sunshine and (mostly) blue skies. We did get a trip to the gym in, and a trip to the library. DS#3 took his nap early (he fell asleep on the way home from the gym) because I know he didn't sleep well last night. He has a nasty cough and seems to have a bit of a cold along with the allergies that seem to be hitting the rest of the family. Anyway, DS#3 was a bit off today. I am hoping a good night's sleep will bring more smiles tomorrow.

DD and DS#2 played with their friends again today. DD's friend came here and and DS#2 went to her house to play with her brother. DS#3 followed the girls around quite a bit and was generally a little fussy. DS#1 was a big help with him this afternoon so I actually got some work done.

I took a number of pictures of the kids playing outside. Yes, with a scrapbooking wife sometimes one HAS to take pictures. I am hoping one or two turned out. Maybe I can upload one sometime tomorrow, we haven't transferred them to the computer yet. Then again, I haven't finished making another short video yet have I?

It's Sunday Night ...

and, well, "I got nuttin." Yup, no lyrical tie-ins. Then again, I don't remember lyrics that well so if someone else can come up with something let me know and I'll use it next week.

This morning my folks left on their drive back home and I took my sister to the airport at around 11:30. DD is totally in love with my sister and really only realized that she wouldn't see her aunt for a while again after her friend M left at about 1:00 PM. This afternoon DD told me that she really likes her aunt and wants to know when she can go to Boston to see her. It was great to see my sister because we simply don't get to see her often enough. Combine the distance between us to the various busy schedules and it is easy to see how difficult it can be.

I think I mentioned in another post that I am what is called an "ABC" fan. Anyone But the Cowboys. Well, this afternoon's football game between the Cowboys and the Eagles was, um, enjoyable. NORMALLY I turn off a game when it becomes a blowout. This time, well, I kept it on and enjoyed it. Yes, I am mean like that sometimes. Since DS#2 was born I haven't really watched as much of any professional sports as I once did. I enjoy watching basketball games once in a while, and I like to see a good football game. I love watching a good soccer game too (not so easy here). With kids, well, the time to watch games dwindles and then you start to lose track of who the players are. Once you don't know who the players are interest in games starts to evaporate. When it comes to football, I have a number of friends that have encouraged me to get into fantasy football because they say that you watch and pay attention to games in a completely different way. I guess I am just enjoying the fact that I can watch some football between soccer seasons ;). I take what I can get.

On a completely different note. DD and DS#2 have been, well, tired. They were sent to bed at 7:00 PM, this is BEFORE I put DS#3 put into bed. When I checked on them at about 7:45 I heard nothing but snoring. I am hoping that a good night of sleep will put them in a better state tomorrow. I hope so, they have already planned to play with their friends more tomorrow. My wife goes back to work tomorrow morning and is on "late" or back-up call. This means that she'll probably be working until about 6:00 in the evening (or later) and can be called back in if they need someone to come back in. Honestly, not that big of a deal, but it does leave me as the only person to try to keep track of various entries and exits of children throughout the day as well as keeping track of DS#3. The kids do seem to get a bit disappointed when she isn't home at dinner time though. I think I'll probably try to push a later dinner so we can have dinner together.

No, I still don't have any video to post. Hmm, maybe Monday will be video day.

It's Saturday Night!

Well, it is. I mean, what else is there to say? I suppose I could say that it is alright for fighting, but that would be, well, silly. Particularly because the kids are in bed now and aren't fighting. Perhaps, Saturday night is just alright alright.

I guess I skipped the planned Friday post so, that'll just plain have to wait until next year. Considering how silly this started, several of you are probably relieved.

I could have posted this afternoon but I was actually getting a little "work" done while my lovely wife took my mom, sister, DD and DS#3 out to the La Cantera Mall (an outdoor mall-the weather was beautiful today). DS#2 played at a friend's house and DS#1 hung out at home, first playing outside with the soccer ball and then inside on the PS3. Oh, and my dad and I talked about digital cameras a bit, along with the fact that the new digital frame my sister (in Albuquerque) got them for Christmas. To make a long story slightly shorter, my mom knows what she'll be getting as a birthday gift. Yes, I get my romantic side from somewhere.

The biggest news (okay, perhaps not biggest for most people) is that my lovely wife made my favorite dessert last night. I took a picture of it, she is sending it to my laptop now. She just said, "It isn't a very good picture." I replied, "I don't need it to be a GOOD picture, this is my blog, not yours." Yes, it was all in fun. Anyway, here is a not "very good picture" of her dark chocolate souffle cake. A dessert that my dad described like this, "Each bite is like having a chocolate truffle." Yes, it is that good. The jalapeno cheesecake by KT is incredible, but the dark chocolate souffle cake is, well, a slice of chocolate heaven. It is, indeed, my favorite dessert. Oh, I suppose I could include the fact that I did grill some steaks last night, they were pretty good, but the high point was the dessert.

This evening we went to El Marisol, what I consider one of the best Mexican restaurants in town. Seeing as we live in San Antonio, home to hundreds of Mexican restaurants, I think this says something. We had to eat outside because the restaurant was full. Fortunately, the covered eating area was closed in a bit an they had some heaters to help keep it warm. With 9 (8 plus DS#3 in a high chair) we had a big enough party that they had to move tables around to seat us. We realized that with a large party on a Saturday night (even though it was right after Christmas and only a little after 6:00) we probably ought to have a reservation. Of course, with a family of 6 any addition to our usual number is going to be a "large party."

Yes, Christmas is all about food. The kids get presents, the rest of us eat. New Year's Day is when we all suddenly realize that maybe, just maybe, the holidays shouldn't be all about food. Okay, maybe it is the day AFTER New Year's Day...

Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone is having a great Christmas! We have had a wonderful and (slightly) relaxing day. I am exhausted, something to do with DD wandering around the house at 4 AM.
Pictures say more than words, but SOME pictures need to be explained. A little while ago we were at a Half-Price Books and I was ready to buy the kids calendars, DS#2 and DD picked out calendars easily but DS#1 was clearly looking for something. I asked and he told me he was trying to find the Sports Illustrated swimsuit calendar. I laughed and told him that (1) he wasn't going to find those at Half-Price and (2) he would need to convince his mother that he should get that calendar.

Let's just say my lovely wife told my mother that he wanted the SI calendar and that it was okay to give it to him. Really, honest. In any case, that boy has quite the grin doesn't he?

DS#2 was pleased with his gifts as well. He is a big fan of remote control, well, anything, and received a number of remote controlled toys.

DD was thrilled that she got the electric scooter she asked for as well as a number of other fun and exciting gifts. Let's face it, she is the only one of the kids actually excited by clothing as a gift.

DS#3, well, he needed help unwrapping gifts because he got easily distracted by some of the presents. He mostly received things with wheels and/or balls. This pretty much made his day.

Well, that is all for now. I am working on a few short videos with the hope of getting them up sometime soon. The electric toys are being charged and tomorrow might be a nice afternoon so I might have to add to the video mix somehow. I hope everyone has had a wonderful holiday.

Whoops, skipped a day

Oh well, missed a day in there didn't I? The past two days have been a bit chilly here. This pretty much means that the kids have been playing inside. The exception to the rule is DS#2. He has been happy to run around outside collecting friends to come over to our house and play here. The most entertaining part of this is the fact that apparently he called his friend A this morning and the two boys decided that A and his sister M would come over to play. The boys neglected to inform or consult their parents until afterwards. A's dad seemed a bit embarrassed. DS#2 walked over to their house to get A and this is when A's dad learned of their plans. He drove the kids over and checked to make sure this was okay and to remind me that it was "about time (DS#2 and DD) come over to our house." I suppose they'll probably go over there for a bit tomorrow.

I guess I just don't mind having other kids (good kids) come over to our house. Then I know where my kids are and what they are up to. DS#3 loves having extra kids around to play with. The older kids seem to enjoy him as well (most of the time). More importantly, the kids that come over are generally very good about keeping things calm and quiet when DS#3 is napping. I suppose it is partly the over-protective parent in me that likes to keep track of who the kids' friends are and what they are up to. I like to think that this is a good thing.

Last night we had friends over for chili. Yes, it was chilly so I made chili. The chili went over well, I guess it was a good thing that the younger kids didn't want the chili and had hot dogs instead. We only had about one serving left. When I announced, laughingly, that this meant that those of us that ate chili had about half a pound of meat each my wife pointed out that DS#1 ate LOTS of chili and undoubtedly brought the average up for the rest of us. One of the greatest parts of the night was dessert. Our friend KT made jalapeno cheesecake, yeah, sounds very strange but it is absolutely amazing. Truly one of the top 5 desserts you could ever have. Sorry KT, my #1 is still the dark chocolate souffle cake that my lovely wife makes. Wow, was that a hint or what?

The truth is, I enjoy making chili and I enjoy grilling and experimenting (on the grill) a bit. Other than that, I am simply not much of a cook, particularly with the time constraints we normally have. I am happy to pop things in and out of the oven (hooray for Costco!), or to pop things into the crockpot, but generally more complicated cooking is left to my wife. Unfortunately for me, I am usually the only one that really appreciates the special dishes she makes. The kids have turned their noses up at enough meals to really discourage her from cooking. Tomorrow it is supposed to be much nicer (have to love the weather in Texas) so I will probably be out grilling again.

Sometime tomorrow I'll also upload a few more pictures and maybe even another video just to keep CB on her toes ;).

A sleep-over???

Okay, let's face it, when your child has someone come to "sleep-over" shouldn't we just call it what it really is? We all know that it is really a "wake-over." Between playing yesterday, staying up late, being awakened early (aren't younger siblings great?), and staying busy all day long, DS#1 was more than willing to go to bed early tonight. DS#2 has kept busy running around the neighborhood and playing too. DD was exhausted this evening as well. Isn't the Christmas break a wonderful thing? I mean, think of all the rest these kids are going to get ;).

It is nice to see the kids playing with their friends and having a good time. It is also scary to see how much DS#1 and DS#2 have grown. I decided to take DS#1, the friend that slept over, and another friend from the neighborhood out to Schlotzkey's (a sandwich shop for those that don't know of it) for lunch before taking DS#1's buddy to meet his parents. Let's just say that the boys ate a frightening amount of food. The first person complaining about hunger this evening? Yup, DS#1. He not only finished a full rack of ribs but he actually ate most of the sides (we tease him that he only eats meat and 'encourage' the eating of other food as well). If this wasn't frightening enough, DS#2 was snacking and eating all day long. It seemed like every time I turned around he was having another snack. I already make at least one trip a week to Costco for simple things like milk and DS#2 hasn't even started his major growth spurt yet!

Today hit the mid-upper 70's but a cold front is coming through tonight. Tomorrow evening it is supposed to be colder than when we get up in the morning. We are having some friends over for dinner, and my folks will be coming to stay with us through Christmas, so I decided to make chili tomorrow. I make some "Texas-style" chili that pretty much consists of meat, tomatoes, peppers, spices, and, well, meat. During graduate school my good friend Jim Bone and I held Super Bowl parties where he and I basically spent the day making chili (okay, and drinking beer) until the game started. I haven't held a Super Bowl party for years now, but everyone always seems happy to have me make chili. My wife has been hoping I would make some again soon so I guess tomorrow is the day. Oh, on a quick added note, you have to know that one of the reasons I don't make chili often is that the only way I know how to make is in a really large batch. The way the older boys have started eating lately, hmm, soon that will become the standard size batch for everything.

Not Just any Friday

Well, today is a Friday that the kids particularly love. This is because they don't have any more school until NEXT YEAR! This sounds better when you don't think about the fact that "next year" isn't really that far away. DS#2 and DD had parties today at school. I delivered fruit trays for both classes and hung out to take pictures. DD loved having us there but I think that DS#2 was slightly embarrassed (but I know he still appreciated the fact we were there). I think his embarrassment was based on the fact that girls in his class started talking about how cute his baby brother is. He doesn't like girls (or at least says so) right now so that sort of attention seemed to embarrass him. DS#3 did pretty well considering he was still napless at that point and had a busy morning. He fell asleep on the way home so I plopped him in the crib and he napped for a while.

My wife came home early (she wasn't feeling well) and was resting in bed when I got home with DS#3 so we let her rest. DD and DS#2 had friends come home with them on the bus and the kids played for several hours before they were picked up. DS#1 has a friend overnight tonight. We are letting the kids play like crazy, it is, after all, vacation.

After a gourmet dinner (Papa John's pizza) they big boys ran off to "kick around the soccer ball" (ie. hang out a bit and talk about girls or video games) with one of DS#1's friends here in the neighborhood. Actually, they probably kicked around a soccer ball while talking about girls and video games. In fact, while typing this he just called to let me know they are on their way back home. At the moment DD is practicing her piano, DS#3 is playing with his car ornament on the sofa (I will even try to get a video up), DS#2 is playing outside (in the dark), and DS#1 and his friend just walked in the door.

The weather turned very warm and humid today, but at least the fog has cleared up. I suppose warm and humid is better than a foot of snow ;). My mom and dad didn't come to see us today because they knew the kids would be busy and their appointment with the realtor in the afternoon pretty much meant they'd have to come here in heavy traffic and go back when it was dark. They'll be calling tomorrow to let us know their plans.

Just so everyone is warned, I am thinking about starting "Papa Fridays" next Friday. Papa Fridays will have stories about some of my stay-at-home dad experiences over the past decade. Now, the rest of you might be bored out of your skulls but I am sure that *I* will be entertained :).

They're Here! (sort of ...)

Well, my parents got to San Antonio today. They are staying in the New Braunfels area at a hotel right now because they want to look at houses up in that area and basically look around that area. We are encouraging them to look around at houses as much as they want and love the idea of them moving closer to us so the kids can see them more often. Unfortunately, the weather here was, well, bleak. Bleak as in foggy, overcast, dreary, and simply depressing. Fortunately, I have 4 beautiful, wonderful animals, um, children, to cheer us up. (Hey, CB, you'll have to scroll down)

Anyway, they did get to spend some time with DS#3 and with DD and DS#2 when they got home. They had to leave after DS#1 got home (he doesn't get home until about 4:00). DD and I were already gone at her piano lesson. The fog was very bad when I left to take her to piano and certain to get worse. It took a very long time to get home due to traffic. They are going to be looking at houses tomorrow and if the weather is nice enough we should be able to get together.

I posted yesterday about the Salvation Army coming to pick some things up. Well, I guess part of the reason I posted is that I was VERY suspicious. In the past they have always called the day before to confirm. They didn't call yesterday, and, you guessed it, didn't come today. It is their loss because I got DS#1 to help me load some things into the van--I mean, hey, the kid is probably bigger than I was when I started college--so I guess it is a run to the Goodwill tomorrow. I want to find time to sort through some toys and get them, um, "donated" before Christmas hits. I am in the living room right now looking at the presents under the tree and thinking that Santa's gifts aren't even down there yet. Yeesh, these kids are spoiled. They're still good kids though, really, good enough that we could even move to Lake Wobegon. (Keep going CB, scroll down further :) )

Tomorrow is the last day of school this year! This calendar year anyway. DS#2 and DD have parties tomorrow. I will be bringing in some fruit trays for both and hanging out to get some pictures and maybe some video (gotta keep my wife happy ;) ). DS#3 is probably going to love it. After school DS#2 and DD will have friends coming home with them. These are friends from the neighborhood that they have both known for years. It is nice to have a brothers and sisters of the right ages that are friends together. This means they can both have friends over and not be pestering the other when a friend is over. Okay, okay, it means that it will be nice for DS#2 to have a friend over and not have DD follow them everywhere and pester them. It is also nice for DS#1 who is having a friend over too. This is one of his best friends from the school the kids were in last year and will sleep over tomorrow night. Anyway, it means the older boys can do things in peace too.

Of course, DS#3 might have something to say about everyone's peace and quiet. He was napless again today and is almost certain to be napless tomorrow due to the parties. We'll see how that works out. I have been watching him develop lately and it is very fun in a strange proud-papa sort-of way. He now waves to random people saying "bye" and sometimes even "hi" before "bye." He is interacting with other people more, particularly with other kids at the Gymboree playtime we go to. His vocabulary is expanding and he is more interactive with "Dora" and "Go Diego Go" when he watches them--I am sure in part due to his brothers and sisters encouragement. I was also thrilled by the fact that he hugged his Grandma and Grandpa right away. (HEY! CB, wake up! Keep scrolling down-just don't forget to read while you do ;) )

I WOULD have taken pictures of him with his Grandma and Grandpa at lunch, but for some reason the small camera wasn't in the backpack/diaper bag--was it honey? ;). I have heard that I need to have some pictures in this blog (CB this is just for you) so here are some pictures of DS#1 comparing his height with Grandpa and DS#3 joining in because, well, he just likes to ham it up for the camera. Oh, for those of you that don't already know, grandpa is taller than me. Yes, I did put them at the end of this overly long post didn't I? Maybe, just maybe, I will put a few pictures up earlier in my posts, but you'll never know for sure until you get to the end...

They're Here! (sort of ...)

Odd, this is clearly some anomaly in the whole posting thing. I must have hit a button or hotkey or something and posted a blank message. Scary how I felt the need to put some text here.

The Birthday Girl

Well, today is my lovely wife's birthday. We celebrated with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. I am afraid we don't really do much on the gift end for each other's birthdays. She asked about getting something a week or two ago and I told her I didn't know exactly which camera lens she wanted (she wants another lens) so she was supposed to email me some information. I guess she hasn't decided exactly what lens she wants though so no email came through. Yes, that is how romantic we are about gifts, "Hey, email me what you want ..." I guess that works out okay for us. Let's face it, the other things I have heard her talk about all fall into the kitchen pot/pan/appliance realm and I will NOT buy anything like that for her as a gift.

Sometime I will do a nice write-up about her first birthday after we got married. I had a wonderful little surprise planned and let's just say, it didn't work out well. No more surprises like that for the Birthday Girl, yeah, that's how well it worked out. I would write it up now, but I suppose I should hold off and tell her that my NOT telling about it is her birthday present for this year.

Yesterday DS#3 completely refused to nap. He is hitting the age when DD decided to give up naps too. Unfortunately, just like DD, he NEEDS a nap if he is going to be able to cope in the evenings. After yesterday I knew that he would positively have to nap today in order for us to enjoy dinner. This morning he was already acting a bit tired before we ran off to the gym, then to Target, and on to Chick-Fil-Et for lunch before going to Gymboree for playtime. We got back a little after noon and yes, he did take a nap today, a nice long nap. He still woke up very cranky though. He made it through dinner so the nap was a good thing. Now that I think about it, I probably needed a nap too.

My folks are coming to SA tomorrow sometime. They plan to spend a few days in the New Braunfels (a little ways northeast) to look at houses around that area and get an idea of what living around there might be like. They are getting very serious about moving here to SA and we are loving the idea. It will be great for the kids to see their grandparents more often. I guess they'll be staying here at the house with us starting Sunday or so. One of my sisters will be coming here from Boston to spend the holiday here too. She'll be arriving on Christmas Eve. We are all looking forward to it. DD is going to be all over her aunt, she just worships her.

The Salvation Army is going to come tomorrow afternoon to pick up some old furniture and a few other things that I have set aside. I definitely need to get some things cleared out so we have more space in the house. They were supposed to come last week but supposedly the truck broke down and they had to change the schedule. At least they called me to re-schedule so I didn't have to hang around the house. They give such a broad time window that there really are only a few days a week that I can try to have them come. I guess if they don't make it tomorrow I am just going to have DS#1 help me load things into the van and drive them up to the Goodwill.

The next thing we need to do is gather up the kids old toys and take them off to the children's shelter. I have proposed simply taking a full 1/3-1/2 of the toys at random but that didn't go over well with anyone, including my wife. I should probably keep the plan of simply shoveling things out of the game room into garbage bags to myself. Something pretty draconian is going to have to happen sometime after Christmas. Like all children these days, the kids have far more toys and games than they actually use so we are going to have to do something about the clutter.

I am getting ready to start a list of the things I want to do with the house/yard for next year. It will be easy, first, I will start with the list of things from this year that I still haven't gotten done yet ... Anyway, the top of the list is going to be getting some painting done inside and new carpet for the upstairs. This year I had the exterior of the house repainted, had some repairs done inside the garage, had new wood floors put in much of the downstairs, got a nice new TV, new entertainment center, new patio/deck furniture, and pretty much did my best to single-handedly keep the economy rolling. We'll have to see what next year brings.

A good dinner means ...

Well, this evening we had some spinach and cheese ravioli for dinner. This is something the kids all like. In fact, they like it enough that I guess there wasn't really quite enough. This caused DS#2 to say, "Can we have this again when (DS#1) isn't home?"

Yes, we all got a really good laugh out of it. Then again, we have all agreed that the two things most likely to come out of DS#1's mouth are, (1) "I'm Hungry!" and (2) "Are you going to eat that?"

The other notable event of the day was a small Christmas gymnastics show put on by Natalie's gymnastics class. It was very cute and fun to watch and I was able to get some nice videos of her doing some gymnastics. I'll need to get those into the computer soon and have them ready to show Grandma and Grandpa in a few days. Well, back to watching some TV with the family.

Sundays are for ...

Sundays are for relaxing. I would have to say we don't seem to get that much relaxation in on Sundays. Today has been pretty good though. I got up to run out and buy donuts (a Sunday morning tradition), we went to church, came home, changed and played around a bit, went out to Pei Wei for lunch, had some ice cream at Brindles (a local ice cream shop, some of the best ice cream anywhere), looked around at Half-Price Books and then came home. I put DS#3 down for a nap while my lovely wife and DD went out to shop for a bit.

Once DS#3 was asleep I started wrapping presents. Of course, he woke up after a short time so I needed DS#1 and #2 to help watch him so I could finish the gift wrapping. It took quite a while because there were a few presents that were oddly shaped and therefore difficult to wrap. DD and M were home before I finally finished. Afterward I went outside with DS#3 for a little while, called Grandma and Grandpa and talked to them a bit, and tried to relax a little. It was in the 70's and sunny today, I believe it is supposed to stay in the 50's tomorrow so I tried to enjoy the weather

Right now I am actually watching the Sunday Night Football game. I am what one of my neighbors calls an ABC fan. Anyone But the Cowboys. The game tonight is the NY Giants vs the Cowboys so you can guess I would like the Giants to win. I am going to get back to watching the game while feeling good about actually posting for a second day in a row ;).

Let's Debate ...

Well, here it is late Saturday evening after some very full days. DS#1 started his very first debate competition last night and made into the quarterfinals. Way to Go!!! Of course, that meant getting up early this morning and getting him back to the site of the competition by a little after 8:00 so he would be ready for his 8:30 debate. Like most of these things, it started a bit late, and he came up against one of the strongest opponents. While he lost that debate, it was fairly close and the judges (all high school students) did a very good job of telling both he and his opponent what they could improve on. DS#1 also participated in the "impromptu speaking" portion of the competition today. I thought he did very well, though I am simply a proud papa that doesn't really know how these things are graded/scored, etc. We don't know the results yet because we left right after his final round.

We are very proud of him, he chose to do this contest on his own and this is his first time participating in a contest like this. I know that he was nervous about it, but he went ahead and challenged himself without his parents trying to push him in any way. I have never been to a debate contest, I didn't do debate or theater or anything like that in high school (or middle school) and I have to say that I think something like this is valuable for anyone. No matter what a child might be interested in as a career, the ability to think quickly and speak in front of people is valuable.

On to a few other bits of news. DD did not want to do her dance recital today. She was sick for dance class on Wednesday and was very hesitant about going. We aren't certain she is fully 100% anyway and going through the battle to get her there was simply going to be more than we could handle. I did go by and talk to the dance instructor and tell her why DD wasn't there. She understood, of course, as she is only 6. I guess it was really supposed to be just an informal thing for the girls to dance for their parents and then have a nice little party afterwards.

We left DS#1's competition after his final round in impromptu speaking in order to get home so the family could get ready to go to "Santa's Railroad Wonderland" at the Texas Transportation Museum. We figured DS#3 would be thrilled, and, well, let's just say he was pretty much in a speechless daze as he stared at the various model trains and when we rode on the train that they have there. The lights were merely bonus for him. DS#2, as is typical for him sometimes, didn't want to go, but after we were there, he seemed most hesitant to leave.

Well, tomorrow is another day (which, technically, starts in about a half hour) so I better get a bit of sleep before the Sunday morning donut run, followed by church, followed by, WAIT, hold on, a free afternoon... Wow, you just know something's going to happen with that don't you?

So it Begins

Well, I have been planning to set up a second blog for all of the family news and tales of the kids' exploits but didn't get to it until now. Before, I mixed in bits about the kids with news on the small electronic publishing company I have been (slowly) setting up. This means that now I have to try to keep track of posting on two blogs, which, in turn, means that I probably won't post all that often. I will certainly make an effort to keep up to date though. I am sure my lovely wife will insist on it ;).

Right now we are gearing up for Christmas. My lovely wife has already taken care of virtually all of the gifts and this evening I finished up the few gifts I needed to get. Now, this doesn't include "teacher gifts." We always try to give something to all of the children's teachers to let them know we appreciate their hard work. Of course, with 3 in school right now, this adds up to a lot of little gifts so I guess it is a good thing we have all of the other gifts out of the way. I suppose we'll take care of that after getting the Christmas cards in the mail. The "Christmas Letter" is basically done, probably one more final look tomorrow and then it is time to print the letter out and start stuffing envelopes. Everything should be ready for the Post Office by this coming Monday.

DS#1 is going to a Debate/Speech contest this weekend. He starts tomorrow (Friday) afternoon/evening and it continues on Saturday. If he does well (and we hope he does) it will make for a busy weekend.

Adding to the weekend, Saturday DD has a Dance Recital at 2:00 PM. She was sick yesterday and missed the last class before the recital. Honestly, she went to school today and was sent home sick at lunch time. This evening she was not feeling well either. I am hoping she feels better tomorrow. She already told her mama that she has to be better tomorrow because she has GT (Gifted-Talented). Based on tonight though, she might be home tomorrow.

DS#3 doesn't know it, but he is hoping his sister is better tomorrow too. I take him to Gymboree play on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Well, he missed yesterday because his sister was sick, and if she is home tomorrow he'll miss that class too. I love seeing him play in these classes. He really enjoys running around on all of the various pieces of equipment and lately he has started participating more with the songs and other play. He has also actually started playing WITH other children rather than just next to them. He is actually hitting an age where young children play together instead of just side by side and it is very fun to watch the changes that are going on.

DS#2 is going to end up wanting to play outside most of the weekend. He was already asking me if he could head to the "forest" (a greenbelt area in the neighborhood) to play after school tomorrow. He will actually be at our neighbor's house immediately after school until my wife gets home from work as I will be taking DS#1 to the debate contest. I told him he could wait until his mother gets home and then run off to play. He has been wanting to take guitar lessons but I have been having a problem finding a teacher that takes younger kids with time/space for him. I suppose if just go through ads somewhere I could find someone, but I want to find a teacher that has a reputation for being good with kids as well as being a good instructor. It would make MY holiday if I could find that for him.

Well, this is it for the first post. I'll do my best to make further posts more informative, and entertaining, but hey folks, give me some time...