Ouch!

Well, the plumbers did come last night and we have a large hole in DS#1's ceiling. They'll be coming back this afternoon to tear out tile in the upstairs bathroom. The good thing is they found the leak. The bad thing is that even the plumber told me that it would probably cost more to repair the damage they do getting to it then to pay for the actual repair. The leak itself is pin-hole leak in one of the water lines leading to the upstairs tub (kid's bathroom). Basically, this is not a good thing.

This will significantly alter my plans for next week as I will have to get estimates and then pick someone to do the repairs. There is no way I can do it myself with DS#3 home with me and I won't mess with the ceiling anyway.

I just had to share ;). I'll try to post again this evening with a photo or two.

Immediate Gratification

This picture shows DS#3 on Wednesday right before lunch. As you can see, he wants lunch immediately and can't understand why the pizza is taking so long to cook. The truth is, he didn't suddenly get this hungry until he saw me take the pizza out of the package and put it in the oven. I shot a number of pictures to try to get a shot showing his distraught expression reflected in the oven, I have to admit the reflection of the bowl in his hand is just a bonus.

In other news, there is a slow drip through the ceiling in DS#1's room. We have NO idea of the source and I have a plumber coming tonight to look at it. He'll have to sleep upstairs tonight. When I called this afternoon I got the impression that they would be here around 4-5:00, but I guess after 4:00 can mean pretty late. The serviceman called me at a little after 7:00 to let me know that they hadn't forgotten me but were stuck on a job and could still come out tonight. I decided to go ahead and have them come because it doesn't make a difference in what they'll charge and tomorrow is going to be a day that I don't want to be stuck at home waiting for someone to come.

Ack! High School!!!

Since WHEN is DS#1 old enough to go to High School!!!! PANIC!

Tonight I pulled him out of soccer practice a half hour early so we could go to the presentation for the DATA magnet high school. Essentially, these are schools "within a school." DATA and STEM (the other school he is interested in) are the equivalent of small, specialized private college prep schools at a "public school price." They are both impressive schools with very challenging curriculum and, frankly, DS#1 needs that sort of challenge to keep him interested. The magnet schools are all associated with a major public school, they either have their own wing or building on a public high school campus, and offer the full selection of electives and extra-curricular activities of the "host school." The extras that these schools offer are particularly impressive.

There is a downside though. These are public schools and to avoid any bias applicants are accepted in a lottery system. Basically, this means that acceptance is not based on qualifications, it is based on random numbers. OUCH! Well, it sounds like we'll know the outcome of the applications by next Friday evening. I have heard that the schools call the applicants that are accepted on Friday evening (Feb 6). If we don't get a phone call, well, it doesn't look good. I won't give up on it though. I know that DS#1 is very interested in going to one of these schools so I will do what I can to get him there. Administrators from both schools made it clear that there is a lot of "movement" and the waiting list(s) aren't necessarily lottery based.

The scariest thing is realizing that he'll be in high school next year.

Oh, Mom, if something is a different color like DATA or STEM in the post above, it is a "hyperlink" and if you click on it you will go to a different website.

C'mon CB, I posted *8* pictures last night... I will get more pictures up soon, honest.

Disney Pictures

I admit it, I DID go to El Mirasol AND had two glorious margaritas with my wonderful meal immediately after coming home from Disney World. I believe this means that I owe my dear friend G.O. 3 margaritas (no, not 2, three!) just for rubbing salt in the wound.



When it comes to the trip to Disney, let's face it, I won't be able to match my lovely wife's blogging about Disney so I think it is time to simply put a few pictures up and then surrender...


First, let's just say we all had a great time at Disney.









Raise your hand if you liked Disney!











Raise your hand if you are a teen-ager!


















Hey little brother, wake up, this is the really cool part ...



















Cars, explosions and
















lots of noise and fire!













No, really, um, nevermind.












Let's face it, we all had a wonderful time at Disney and posting more about it would involve me desperately trying to be different from M's blog and that would just be futile. I guarantee that she'll be posting more pictures and stories from our trip so I will just let everyone see those pictures there. I might grab a photo or two that she missed once in a while but I'll try to keep up with the ongoing news.

We're Back ...

Okay, I alive, and yes, we are back. If you have seen my lovely wife's blog, well, you already knew we were back. Hey, recovering from vacation takes time. No pictures right now (they are on the other computer and SOMEONE is on that right now) but I am hoping that I can (somehow) create time tomorrow to get a video of some sort up.

Vacation

We are heading out for vacation in mere hours. I still have tons of things to do.

We won't be posting anything while we are gone (we are going "internet free") so look for more pictures and news after we get back.

Almost Time

Almost time for vacation, this means, well, it means LOTS of work for me. It will all get done though, because *I* am really looking forward to Disney World. It is also time for a few more pictures, okay, more than a few. Let's face it, you get pictures now because I won't be posting to the blog (okay, there is a tiny chance) while on vacation.
Okay, this first one is DS#3 while watching Dora in the morning so I can go ahead and get dressed. I thought it was cute. The best part was how he ignored me when I got out the camera and took the picture.
My lovely wife needs to figure out how to get the flash to work on command so she can tell me how to do it... I took a bunch of pictures of DD and DS#2 playing in the playhouse in the backyard but the sun and shadows made things difficult. I am still not sure if I hit something "right" or just got lucky to have the flash go off and get this picture.
Has anyone ever mentioned how much DS#2 hates to have his picture taken? Well, American Idol is something he'll sit still for. Threaten him with not being able to watch and he'll begrudgingly let you take a picture (or five).
Let him take a goofy picture that looks like his big brother's foot is coming out of his head and he'll even smile!








HUT!











Yes, they like watching American Idol. Even DD isn't tired (uh, right, sure).

Movietime

Okay, I have wasted, well, hours and hours playing with iMovie and some of the video that I have taken. You can find part of this video in the post showing my lovely wife playing with one of the boys' prize presents. Sometimes I really enjoy learning while I "play" with things like this. I am hoping I'll get a bit better with the video editing over time.

My sister sent DS#1 and DS#2 a cool gift that suspends small balls on a cushion of air for them to shoot at with nerf darts. These videos were taken on Christmas Day (my wife's was taken much later in the afternoon). Right now the target is in a bookcase in DS#2's room. He rearranged the shelves (with DS#1's help) so that they could set it up in the bookcase and allow it enough space so they could basically use that as their target range.

PS. I'll try to have some more pictures up tomorrow.

Picture Time

Okay, wow, you people and all this desire for more pictures. I mean, really the pressure. Even my mom is wants more pictures! I am playing with blogger a bit while I do this so we'll have to see how it turns out ... I see multiple edits in my future.







This first series of three pictures shows DD playing with DS#3. She is putting this cute little "lamb blanket" (that she actually received from her godmother when she was a baby) over her head and DS#3 is pulling it off. They were having a BLAST! In my new phase of simply shooting lots of pictures, I believe I took close to a dozen of them playing like this.










Now this should have a title. If it did, it would probably be something like, "Shhh, I am helping Mama with her Blog."




DS#3 has started to fall in love with trains. We find it humorous because DS#1 was totally into trains and cars were an afterthought (but still fun). DS#2 on the other hand, well, he was totally into cars and balls and trains were nice to play with too. DS#3 just plain loves them all. Lately he has become particularly attached to Mavis and James (if you know older Thomas the Tank Engine characters you'll understand). Here he is looking over his new pajamas while playing with his favorite trains. I took about 5-6 pictures to get this one, it might not actually be the best, but I love his expression so I picked it.



This last picture is something I had to take. I don't foresee a "scrapbook place" for it, but tonight I found it very funny. Every night (and many mornings and afternoons) I spend time picking up and "parking" various cars and vehicles. Well, I didn't think much about "missing" vehicles after doing some picking up this evening until I suddenly found it very difficult to open the door to the laundry room. Yup, looks like the laundry room is a new parking garage. I mean, it isn't like we store a bunch of stuff in there anyway is it?

Get Outdoors ...

Well, this morning I dragged the family off to Mission San Jose -part of the "San Antonio Missions" for the "Get Outdoors, It's Yours" event that I mentioned in my last post. Well, the internet news (and radio ads that we only noticed while leaving) really didn't provide much information. It ended up being very crowded so we didn't stay long. I actually expected to have more in the way of actual live animals there and people to tell the kids about the animals, etc. We didn't want to wait in the long lines and, let's be honest, the kids weren't all that excited about it. We did walk around a bit because it is a very nice area and the old mission church is very nice too.


We avoided a complete bust by taking the kids to the RiverCenter Mall at the River Walk for lunch. DS#3 enjoyed looking at the water and watching boats go under the little bridge the boys stood on together. We really only ate at the food court area because we knew that DS#2 wanted to get home to play with some of his friends in the green belt.


As we got ready to leave my wife picked up a pretzel (or two??) with DD and DS#2 while I picked up some cookies for DS#1, DS#3 and myself. DS#3 does like cookies.

Next week I have to get everything ready for us to go to Disney. This means letters to the schools and teachers, stopping the newspaper, holding the mail, getting the laundry done .... eh, you get the idea. This said, I am REALLY looking forward to Disney World this year. I am just a bit scared by how fast it the trip is coming.

Missed a day

Well, yesterday was busy enough that I was actively planning to post about, well, how busy it was. Alas, I got busy enough that I didn't get a chance to post.
Let's just say I was awakened several times the night before and DS#3 decided it wasn't a nap day. I did make a new meal for dinner (my lovely wife posted about that already). I have been willing to grill, um, "cook" more lately because, well, I am just plain sick of eating out and even *I* can't eat pizza or sandwiches every night. I also got a new vacuum cleaner and got rid of the 3 old ones (long story and I am not even going there).

Today was a fairly decent day. I didn't get much sleep last night either. DS#3 was having bad dreams or something, anyway, he had a rough night and his mama has had a nasty cough so between the two I NEEDED nap time today. It was a beautiful day today so after getting back from the gym DS#3 and I played outside until he was finally ready for his nap. I was originally going to call a friend this afternoon for some help with a few questions on my publishing venture but I knew I was going to be wiped and wasn't sure I'd be at the computer so that we could go through things together. Hmmm, next time I guess.

This Saturday I am thinking about taking the kids to the "Get Outdoors, It's Yours!" event at the San Antonio Missions. Notice that I said "thinking about." If I actively PLAN to do this the weather will be horrible. As it is, I think it is supposed to "get cold" for San Antonio so we'll see what happens. This looks like it will be an interesting thing to do and I think the kids would enjoy it.

Well, back to watching the BCS championship game and trying to get some work done.

Gymboree Day (with pictures!)

Well, today is Gymboree Day, okay, the official day we signed up for-with our program you can go to pretty much any number of Gymboree Play sessions each week. DS#3 loves Gymboree Play, but then again, he loves activity and music so it is pretty much a perfect place for him. Today I "stepped up" and took a bunch of pictures, fortunately a few turned out pretty well (thanks to my lovely wife's editing). My wife has been having a rough week at work so I am doing my best to alleviate the stress at home. I am thinking she needs to get that camera lens she has been talking about as an early Valentine's Day present. Right Dear?

Without further ado, here are a few pictures from today.

The bright colors are a clear sign that this is a fun place. To balance, slide, or fall.







Let's face it, it is just a fun place to "hang out."



















Okay, okay, he isn't even 2 yet and he has watched more soccer games than most Americans see in their entire lives ...

Back to School

Well, the big kids were back in school today. Of course, this means that DS#3, who has gotten used to having constant attention, got a bit lonely. The fact that it was pretty much a grey, cold, damp day that kept us inside wasn't much help either.

We made a trip to the gym, followed by a trip to Costco where we got lunch and got a several days' supply of milk and various other items. If our fridge could hold more milk I could buy more in a single trip and not have to buy milk as often. Alas, I have to hold myself to 5-6 gallons per trip. With the older kids back in school I probably won't need to buy milk again until Friday. We went through LOTS of milk during Christmas break.

The gym we belong to is a Lifetime Fitness. My information is based on the 2 locations here in SA but I have to say that they run a clean, well-kept establishment. The child-care areas at both locations here are very clean and well-maintained and the women (and men) working there are very good with the kids. DS#3 has been dragged there since he was about 3 months old. According to the scale, he needs to go a lot more often. In any case, he likes it there, he now has some favorite toys including some trucks that are basically larger versions of toys he likes to play with here at home. So... on an ugly day like this I get a workout in and DS#3 gets to run around and play.

DD is back on her schedule this week. Gymnastics today, Dance Wednesday, and Piano Thursday. DS#1 doesn't start soccer practice again until next week. Yes, he had an entire 5 weeks off. DS#2 doesn't actually start his practices again until February, which is probably just about the right timing for him. He needs a bit more of a break. What this all boils down to is that we get to "build" back into the hectic schedule we had throughout the fall. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not, but we'll enjoy the little bit of extra relaxation time while we can.

"Your wife ...

Okay, I have been needing to relate this story to the entire internet world for quite some time.

As a stay-at-home-dad I take the kids to most of their activities. Last spring DD was taking swimming lessons and this pretty much meant that I had all 4 kids with me where she took lessons after school. Now, this picture that my wife took today doesn't show DS#2 or DS#3 smiling the way they really can. When they smile, they can light up a room.

Anyway, I had the boys with me in the lobby while DD had her lessons in the pool room (it is an indoor pool) and one of the mom's there was watching DS#2 and #3 playing together and knew that DD and DS#1 were mine too. She said, "Your children are so beautiful, your wife must be GORGEOUS!" (yes, the "gorgeous" was heavily emphasized)

I smiled, laughed, and said, "Thank you, I certainly think so."

Then, it suddenly dawned on her that maybe that wasn't such a compliment to, well, me, and she said, "Oh, I mean, you are good looking too..." (and sort of trailed off) "Is your wife Asian? The children look like they are mixed." Hehe, swift change of subject.

Yes, my kids are lucky as hell they have such a beautiful mother. Come to think of it, I am too. I have noticed other people making similar comments since, but the look on this woman's face when she realized that she wasn't really complimenting me was priceless. I think the children do benefit from having a mixed race background but I like to think that their true beauty lies within--even when they do refuse to smile for their picture.

Saturday, Saturday

Yeah, I already did something like this. I admit it. The past few days have been a bit busy so I haven't posted at all. I did get one short video ready to post but even though I had internet access for a bit at my sister-in-law's house yesterday, I was busy working on other things. Truth is, I am about to get back to work on the website update for my company so it is time to post the video.
Now, I want all of you to remember that my lovely wife is quite the sharpshooter. If I end up dead in an ally with a foam dart in the back of my head, you know who did it.

Oh, just so you know, I seem to lose a bit of the picture to each side when I make a video for uploading. The camera is an HD video camera (yes, it is one of my latest new toys) and does have a wider frame than this.

In any case, this is one of the toys the boys received. I have video of the boys shooting as well. I was trying to set a combined video to music but that didn't come out. It did waste LOTS of time though.

It's Thursday Morning ...

Yup, missed Wednesday night didn't I?

Happy New Year!

We are leaving for Houston sometime today. After my lovely wife gets home from work we'll start packing and get everything in the van for the drive. I am expecting the kids to sleep on the way. I am probably going to try to force the issue by saying, "No games, no reading, no movie, close your eyes and sleep!" DD got up close to her usual time even though I let her stay up late enough that she decided to go to bed on her own. DS#3 has been having the icky gunky coughs and sinus problems so he went to bed at about 8:00 PM last night. DS#1 and DS#2 went to bed a little after 11:00 after watching the ball drop in New York. They weren't interested in any of the other New Year's Eve TV programs and were tired so they went to bed. I wanted DS#2 to go anyway and he didn't argue about it.

Yesterday we went to SeaWorld for a few hours to pretty much walk around and let the kids play a bit. We did see the Viva! show which is one that DD and DS#3 seem to enjoy. I shot a little more video of the kids (or tried to). I have a lot of video clips that need to be tossed. I just haven't had the heart to do it yet.

I have been very busy getting some things going on the business side so I really haven't had a chance to put up any more video clips. I really will have to get something done with those soon.