Dobrindts dot com...again

Years ago when we first moved to Massachusetts I joined the Somerville Elks. It closed down and I moved to the Medford Elks where I stayed a member even though I moved to the south side of town. Every year the Elks has a Christmas party for kids of members where they give every child 9 years and younger a present and they have Santa, his elves, food, games and all that stuff.

I didn't take the kids last year but since the older two could appreciate it (4 and 2 years old), I signed all of them up, Sunday, December 3rd. I made a big deal out of it to get the kids excited about seeing Santa and getting a gift and running around having fun with other kids. This morning Patti even took them out to buy the boys matching shirts in festive colors and to get Emily tights that had a winter pattern on them. We got the kids dressed up and off we went, to the Christmas party. The kids weren't singing Christmas songs in the back seat but it was close.

I got the time wrong. I thought it was from 1-3, but it was from 11-1. We walked in at 1:10 and the place looked like, well, it looked like 80 kids hopped up on juice boxes and cake just got through. There were empty boxes and spent wrapping paper and all sorts of candy canes and holiday stuff all over the place. In fact, just as we walked in they were thanking everyone for participating in the raffle and for making it another successful year.

$#&%@#. &%#%$. $@%&@!!!!!!!!!

Damn IT!! I blew it. We were able to get the kids a gift to open but they didn't see santa, didn't get any food and had a quick juice box. It was awful. I felt about 2 inches tall. Patti tried to make things better but I felt terrible. She was much better than I would have been if the she had got the time wrong.

Ethan didn't care, he had a box with toy trucks for the ride home. And Emerson is 10 months old so he was clueless. But Emily pretty much cried the entire way home. I tried to tell her I made a mistake and got the time wrong, but that doesn't help a 4 year old who didn't get to play at the party, didn't get to see Santa and didn't get to have a candy cane. I'm usually pretty strict with the kids about not complaining when things don't go their way, but this time I couldn't be hard on her.

By the time we got home she was feeling better but I could tell she was still upset. But by the time I took her to swimming later in the day she was fine. She even told the waitress at dinner later in the night that she went to a party and didn't look over at me with squinted and sarcastic eyes. She understood, we all make mistakes.

So next I think I'll burn down the Christmas tree and try to run over the Easter bunny.

Posted by David at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I am deeply ashamed to admit this, trust me, but the Wiggles have become a big part of my life over the last 4 years. For those of you who have older children or no kids, the Wiggles are a disturbing group of 4 men, from their 30s to, someone told me the Asian guy is in his 50s but I have not verified it, who formed in the early 90s and are the hugest thing in kids entertainment and were last year's highest earning entertainer in Australia (they are from Australia), over Nicole Kidman and AC/DC. They sing and dance and play with other imaginary creatures and even have their own amusement park. They tour the world and kids hold up lighters at the end of their concert so they will come out and play more songs filled with ridiculous lyrics that adults of small kids find themselves humming while sitting in traffic. The four guys wear very basic outfits and each one is color coded - Greg in yellow, a handsome man in his thirties is sort of the leader of this band, Murray in red who my wife calls Ken Garee, a friend of mine, Murray is also fairly young I think and is kind of the timid one, Jeff in purple, the Asian guy who someone told me is like 50 and his shtick on the show is that he is always sleeping, something that is a reality in my life but more because Patti and I are up every night with one of three kids being the reason, and finally Anthony in blue, a step child sort of guy who has no real place in the group other than a fill in. It's all very sad.

So I have come to know and loathe this wacky troop of mischief because my kids, and millions of other kids, love them. Their show has pirates with feather swords and a talking octopus and a big dog and a convertible and a boat and all of that crap. Kids go nuts over them.

Well, things are coming to an end. Greg, the leader I mentioned, is leaving the group. It's actually pretty sad because he is dropping out for health reasons. I'm not sure of the details but he has some kind of rare disorder that has made it impossible for him to continue. He did not go on their last tour and his understudy, yes, they each have an understudy, is going to fill in. Kind of like the Beatles without Lennon or the Stones without Jagger, the group is centered in Greg. He sings most of their songs and leads most of the skits. Now, others have faired well with a new leader. The AC/DC group I mentioned had to get a new lead singer after their very successful one past on and they continue to be very successful. But more times than not the new front man is just filling in until the group or TV show or whatever entertainment act just dies a slow death.

I make fun of this group but they have to be given their due respect. Their show hits on the right things for kids I guess, simple lyrics and the right message and funny songs and ugh, just thinking about it makes me want to throw up. Four adults doing this is strange, no matter how much kids love them. As an adult with normal interests (global economics, politics, sports, movies, James Taylor, ideas for a nicer kitchen) I want to drill holes in my skull when the show is on. It bugs me and I find it slow and lacking depth. There are some kid’s shows that I don'tt mind but this is not one of them.

But getting back to the respect thing. So they did the right thing and built an empire out of the very true fact that parents will spend an insane amount of money to make a 3 year old happy when that three year old will never ever remember what their parents did for them. Sure, they will remember by exhibiting traits that we all want in our kids, happiness and respect for others and discipline and being well adjusted, but the truth is we, as parents, spend the money so that we sleep better at night because basic human nature allows people to get satisfaction when others are made happy by our actions and that is multiplied by a thousand times when its your own kids. So the Wiggles did this and built a very successful business. The other more serious side is that this guy might have an ailment so very bad that he is risking the future of his empire by dropping out because of it. That is no joking matter and I hope that everything works out for him. As much as I might not like the Wiggles, Greg Page is married with two little children of his own and a life changing health issue is something that affects not just him but all those affected by him. I hope it works out well.

So my guess is reruns will play more on TV and kids will have no idea that a new leader is fronting the band. The premise of the group will stay the same and unlike adults who might not like the new Bewitched husband or daughter in Roseanne or doctor in Northern Exposure, kids will just care about laughing and dancing.

Posted by David at 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We have a cat named Finley. His name comes from a watering hole we lived near when we were in Huntington, NY called Finley's of Greene Street. It was a great bar in Huntington Village and kind of fit for a cat.

We got the cat about a year and a half ago because we wanted a dog but with three little kids and a small house, a cat was more manageable. He's a charcoal color, shaggy kind of hair that is not totally short even after we have him shaved (75 dollars) for the summer, and he is evil. Evil as Beelzebub. Here is why.

When there is no other animal in the house, Finley is a typical cat. Arrogant, aloof, non committal...

When there is no other animal in the house, Finley is a typical cat. Arrogant, aloof, non committal, kind of cold and distant. He appears every now and then when he feels like it, might approach someone, lay down for a second, and off he goes again to sleep quietly in some warm and dark corner of an open closet. The kids can pull on his tail and ears all day long and he doesn't scratch them, he just gets up and struts away like some movie star who can't be bothered by local fans. Overall, I don't like the cat because there is no interaction and no loyalty. It seems like he could be at any home, with any family and it wouldn't phase him. In fact, I bet if in some alter-world event another family of 5 came home from dinner, it would take him months to realize if at all. Now that I think about it, that stupid cat thinks we, I, exist to serve him and clean out his freakin cat litter box every week. And what's the freakin point, we got a cat so the kids could have a pet and what kind of pet is he?? Huh?? Seriously, what kind of pet is a cat that doesn't play, doesn't sleep on a bed at least when someone else is there, doesn't seem to really LIKE any of us and trust me, we are not mean to that stupid cat. At least Patti and the kids aren't. Why even get a cat, at least the kid's stuffed animals can be used at night to get them to sleep. Why not just stick one of Ethan's stuffed monkeys in the back of the closet and take it out once day to remind us it's still there, it would save on cat food and no more smelly box of cat sh*t in the basement. And that's another thing, every chance he gets, Finley runs out the door and I have to freakin chase him around the house like some merry go round to coax him back into the house. I started just letting him stay out there until someone else opens the door and he begs to come in. Rain, snow, cold, sleet, firey balls of hail coming down from the sky, I don't care, if Lord Finley wants to roam the yard like a bull out to stud then let him.

So anyway, a family that we are friends with had to go to the hospital (the wife was having a baby, their third) and we got to watch their dog Gloucester. He's a 70 pound yellow lab with a great personality, kind of like Puumba, our Rottweiler we had before Emily was born. Large dog but great with kids and people.

The problem with Gloucester (for those not from here, it's pronounced Glahster), is when he gets into our house he loses any sense of being a large male dog. The stupid cat immediately gets in his face and for just about every minute torments him. Finley stares at him and just when Gloucester puts his guard down, the cat pounces and bats at him. Last night at like 2 in the morning the cat attacked the dog and made both of them yelp or whatever sound a dog makes when it's attacked and whatever sound a cat makes when its attacking. It scared the living crap out of me, I thought there was a fight in a chicken pen or something, in my bedroom right at the foot of my bed. I almost got up and kicked the cat through the window but Patti would not have been happy we don't kick animals in our house she told me.

So the poor dog is by my side every second, and when I go out, he goes with me. He interacts with us. He sleeps on the bed with some part of him always touching me. He rests his head on my knee when I am sitting down. He is obedient and trained and reacts to me when I tell him something. When the cat is clawing on the couch that I AM SITTING ON and I yell at him to stop he doesn't even give me the courtesy to look at me when he ignores me. It takes a thrown pillow to get him to stop. When Gloucester is running along the brook the runs near our property, all it takes is a grunt and he comes back to my side.

So for the next three days I need to protect my temporary yellow lab. The cat is on him every second and the poor dog is going to leave his stay a broken animal, shaking and jumpy, eyes deep in his socket and black from lack of sleep, shoulders slumped from constant bullying, probably a twitch in his eye. Freakin cat, thinks he owns this house.

And we're getting a second cat in about 4 weeks. A calico, our neighbor’s cat had 4 kittens and we are told cats should be raised in pairs. Why do I agree to this type of stuff.

Posted by David at 11:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Halloween this year was fun and the kids got dressed up and all of that stuff. I'll post some pictures in a few days, all three of our kiddies looked good as did the other little kids from the neighborhood we went around with. The weather was upper 60s so great night for walking around begging for food.

The problem I had this year was the choice of "treats" that Patti bought to give out to the kids. Instead of candy, like chocolate or gum or licorice or something, she got pretzels. Halloween themed bags of pretzels. Yep, when kids came to my door I had the pleasure of handing out bags of pretzels. I usually did with an apology and request not to egg my house, that I was just a participant and not the decision maker.

Next year we are going to give out toothpaste, notepads or advice.

Posted by David at 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For some strange reason Patti's parents offered to take Emily (4) and Ethan (2) for a few days. Not sure if they were drunk when they called, but we quickly jumped on the opportunity. Patti drove the kids down to the ferry in New London on Thursday and Patti's mother and Patti's brother took the ferry from Orient Point to get them. We tried to get them to take Emerson (9 months) but they were able to out run Patti.

So Thursday night, all day Friday, all day Saturday and then Sunday morning we will be living as if we only have one child. The funny thing is when we first had Emily, we couldn't believe how difficult it was to do things with a child. If we wanted to run errands, go shopping, do stuff around the house, it was a pain. But now we can handle one while standing on our heads. It's a piece of cake. It's amazing how much freedom we have with just the one. We are going to go shopping, out to dinner, might see a movie, you name it, we are like two 15 year olds whose parents left them alone for the weekend. It's a three day party.

So right now, around 5:45 PM on a Friday, we would normally be in the dinner food fight, talking about the day, getting them to finish with threats of NO TV, followed by Waterworld bathtime then staggering bed times so Ethan doesn't beat up on Emily too much. Ethan will probably end up following asleep after destroying his room while Emily falls asleep in our room. The whole time Emerson will get as much attention as possible. Then around 8 Patti and I will have some wine or a beer, zombie like make and eat dinner, than crawl up the stairs around 10PM and fall asleep only to be waken a few times in the night be one, two or three of our little angels.

But not tonight baby. Right now Patti is doing some crazy aerobics video, Emerson is taking a quick nap, I am typing this stupid note, and we are going to head out, with the baby, to an Indian restaurant. The baby will be great during dinner and probably fall asleep. Tomorrow morning we'll watch the news in bed instead of freakin Dragon Tales and have a slow, leisurely breakfast while reading the paper instead of crunching Cheerios on the kitchen floor while ducking thrown sippy cups of juice.

Meanwhile, down in NY, Emily and Ethan are having a ball with Patti's brother Drew and her parents. Ethan, the only one we were worried about, isn't missing us at all oh that wonderful little kid. The old monster loves being with any of her grandparents and will probably forget what to call us by the time she returns.

This type of thing can have a wonderful effect on a marriage that consists of one parent with a demanding job, another parent with the tremendous responsibility of being a stay-at-home mother, and three kids who act like three kids who are all under the age of 5. Patti and I are almost giddy from the quiet house that stays picked up for more than 20 minutes and we kind of look like Martini from One Flew Over The Cookoos nest with his perpectual smile.

I love my kids and miss them terribly. Now excuse me while I have a martini and read the paper from cover to cover without guilt or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory playing in the background.

Posted by David at 04:20 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Yesterday morning Patti ran the Bay State Half Marathon in Lowell, Ma. She did it within her desired time and more importantly, finished after having a baby 9 months ago. I watched the kids and we played along the route while Patti ran. It was a great day for running with typical New England fall weather and she completed her longest run ever.

Posted by David at 04:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

14 family members rented a beach house in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a week in September. We drove down from Boston, my sister flew in from Phoenix (Lori, Craig, Megan and Jacob), my parents drove from Atlanta (Larry and Donna) and Patti's parents drove from New York (Jim and Pat). My other sister (Dora) lives near DC and drove from Northern Virginia. We had good weather and a great time.

Here are some pictures. There are a couple of ways to view the pictures so play around with the other buttons (i.e. by clicking on the icon in the bottom left you leave the book view and get a more traditional page with multiple pictures, you can click on the image in the book for a larger picture, etc).

Click Here

Posted by David at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

14 family members rented a beach house in Virginia Beach, Virginia for a week in September. We drove down from Boston, my sister flew in from Phoenix (Lori, Craig, Megan and Jacob), my parents drove from Atlanta (Larry and Donna) and Patti's parents drove from New York (Jim and Pat). My other sister (Dora) lives near DC and drove from Northern Virginia. We had good weather and a great time.

Here are some pictures. There are a couple of ways to view the pictures so play around with the other buttons (i.e. by clicking on the icon in the bottom left you leave the book view and get a more traditional page with multiple pictures, you can click on the image in the book for a larger picture, etc).

Click Here

Posted by David at 04:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Every Monday night Patti teaches yoga and if I am not traveling I watch the kids. It is right around bedtime so Patti puts the baby to sleep before she leaves and I take care of the older two. The following took place earlier tonight.

Ethan (2 years old) was in his room. I let Emily (4 years old) fall asleep in our room because she had a very good day and it is kind of a treat. Around 7:45 I was downstairs in the living room doing something and Emily was upstairs in our room.

From the top of the stairs I hear Emily say something. I had the TV on so all I could make out was "bead" and "stuck".

I put the TV on mute and walked to the bottom of the steps.

Me: What?

Emily: I was playing with my bead and I got it stuck up my nose.

Me: (I heard her fine but was hoping I heard it wrong) What did you say?

Emily: I was playing with the green bead in bed and it got stuck up my nose.

Earlier in the day Emily and Patti's mom were making jewelry with this toy jewelry kit she got over the weekend at a party, the kind that has beads and string so you can make your own necklaces and bracelets.

I walked up the stairs and looked at her. I took her out of the hallway and into the bathroom where the light was better. I kneeled down in front on her.

I was hoping she was joking or that it got stuck in her hair or something.

Me: Show me where it is.

Emily points to the outside of her nose, about the point that a small 4 year old finger could push something.

Me: You got a bead stuck up your nose?!?!

Emily: (laughs). Yeah.

I was in a pickle. I had heard of things like this before. Cheerios, marbles, beads, things that require an embarrassing trip to the emergency room. Patti left about 30 minutes earlier and here I am, the other adult, in charge of the three kids, and I might have to take Emily to the hospital to have the doctors remove a plastic object from her nose. Wonderful.

So I tilted her head back and looked up. I'll spare you the a-parent-can-only-relate-to-how-gross-this-is details, but I could not see past the natural nose substance.

So in a moment of glory, a moment of clarity that only one dreams of, a miniscule and forgotten thread of genius that a man can only hope to realize once in a life, I said:

"Blow your nose like with a tissue."

She did.

The green bead came out like a poison dart shot from a blowgun. It rolled on the bathroom floor. In slow motion it came to a stop. We looked at each other and both laughed. We high-fived. Emily took a tissue and wiped her nose, I threw the bead in the garbage and washed my hands, and off to bed she went.

I never did get around asking her why she put a bead up her nose.

Posted by David at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I feel like I am swimming under water and just surfaced to catch my breath. The past 5 weeks seem like a blur. We have been away every weekend since the middle of August and I am generally on the road during the week. The weekend trips have all been around vacation so they are fun. Work for me has been busy - good and bad.

I need to catch up on a few things. Quick update and more detail to follow.

- Weekend trip to NY to visit the in laws. Another great trip. Another battle with Dune Road.

- Weekend trip over Labor Day to Atlanta to visit my parents. All five of us on a flight. No trouble. Emily played flight attendant.

- Beach house in Virginia Beach with 14 family members. Great time.

- Red Sox dropping faster than John Edwards' political career.

- September is here and we are back to a routine. Something only a parent can appreciate.

- Patti started teaching yoga again.

- My marathon training took a hit.

- Air travel with an overnight bag is still a hassle. One suggestion.

I'll write more when I have a minute. Plus post some pictures from the beach house.

David out.

Posted by David at 04:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I got home tonight from a day trip to NY and gave the older kids a bath. While we were in Patti and my bedroom, me, Ethan and Emily, watching TV after the bath, just relaxing before bed, probably one of my favorite times of day with the kids, I heard a cat screaming outside. There are a couple street cats in the neighborhood so I hear loud cat screams now and again, not a very nice sound.

Emily: What's that dad?

Me: Some poor cat is on the losing end of a fight.

So this went on for a few minutes until I decided to look at what cat was getting his ass handed to him and I took a gander out of our second story window. There, in our neighbors yard, on the other side of a chain link fence, under a large Rhododendron, I saw Finley, our house cat, backed up against the fence screeching, paws up protecting his face, eyes closed, mouth piece hanging out of the side, trying to get away, while something that I couldn't see was beating the tar out of him. Yep, our cat was getting his ass handed to him.

I assume the winner in this boxing match was another cat, but since my ferocious lion was the only one making a sound, I couldn't tell.

Now, as much as I hate to admit this, my first thought was "good for him, now he gets to see how really green the grass is". You see, Finley tries to escape all the time. He is fixed but whenever a door is open, he shoots out like a torpedo. So I kind of fell back on "if yoiu want to run with the big dogs, you have to get off the porch." After all, if Finley fancies himself a street cat, then he's going to have to learn how to fight like a street cat. Running through a cat door to get away from a bunch of 2 year olds is nothing compared to the mean feline streets of Milton.

But looking down on our charcoal colored cat, I knew I had to rescue him. So I lept down the stairs two at a time, ran out our front door in my tshirt and boxers, said hello to a guy up the street, Steve, who I know, and got Finley out of the combat zone.

Finley will push around our friend's 70 pound yellow lab when he's in our house, but I guess he is not ready for the proud southie cats that have made their way to our neighborhood. Finley, little friend, stick with your own kind.

Posted by David at 04:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Warning. This post offers no value. None. It has no meaningful insight at the end, no hidden moral, it's not funny, it's not exciting. It offers nothing of significance other than it lets me write about a very long week and fun weekend I had. It's pretty much just filling space. Like lettuce or unbuttered toast. Or John Kerry. Nothing of value.

Last week, with the Big Dig mess still...

Last week, with the Big Dig mess still going on, I had to go to the airport 6 days in a row.

Sunday I picked up a friend.

Monday I had to go to NY, got to the airport early in the morning, and 3 of the first 4 Shuttles were canceled. By the time I could make it out, I would have missed my meeting so I set up a web conference instead.

Tuesday I went to NY.

Wednesday I went to NJ where I saw Carmela Soprano.

Thursday I went to the airport for a 5:30PM flight to Indianapolis, through Atlanta. If my flight left on time, I would have had about one hour to make my connecting flight. Due to bad weather up and down the east coast, it was delayed. They never pulled away from the gate so they let us get on and off. They said they wouldn’t even have an update until 7PM, at which point even if we took off I would have missed my connecting flight. So I decided to take a 5AM flight out Friday morning and got back in a cab to head home.

Friday morning I got up at 3AM and went back to the airport. No issues getting to Indianapolis. Had a good day there and flew from Indianapolis, through Cinci in a first class seat, to LaGuardia in NY to meet up with my family who had left mid week to stay with my wife’s parents in the Hamptons, NY for a long weekend. Great time of year to be on the east end of Long Island.

Quick side bar. My meeting in Indianapolis ran over so I was very late getting to the airport for my flight to NY. I got to the ticket counter and was not able to check in using the kiosk. The ticket agent told me that I would miss my flight so I had to call to reschedule.

“You don’t know me. Give me the ticket, I’ll make it.”

I kind of felt like Jimmy Chitwood at the end of Hoosiers.

So with 7 minutes until my flight left, I got my ticket, made it through security and got on my flight damnit. Hey ticket agent, how do you like them apples?

I got into NY around 9:30, hopped into a Hertz rental and drove like a maniac out to the Hamptons. Driving on NY freeways is much different than Mass roads. They both have their good points and bad points, but the one big difference I found is that in NY people drive slow in the left lane a lot. In Mass, for the most part, slower drivers stay out of the left lane, or if they are passed by someone in the middle, they look guilty, like they were caught there by mistake. In NY, people doing the actual speed limit in the left lane are just coasting along, not a care in the world, as cars zip by them in the two right lanes. It’s kind of annoying.

So I got in late Friday night and met up with my in-laws and my wife. My father-in-law is at the end of a two year renovation project on his house and he is putting in some of the finishing touches. Looks good. Funny thing about late Friday night, as I approached being awake for 21 hours, I didn’t really feel tired.

Saturday we got up to a perfect weather day. Sunny, warm, slightly humid, soft breeze. The sun as bright as a Mensa child. We were heading to a birthday party that is put on by my friend Pete, the best man at my wedding, for his two kids. Pete is a very successful business owner and is wealthy. Very wealthy. His summer parties are notorious. You name it, he has it. Petting zoo, horse rides, two story water slide, performers, face painting, cotton candy, trackless train, catered food with wait staff, bartender, lifeguard, they even brought in Build a Bear for all the kids. It’s crazy. But for me I get the added bonus of seeing some friends I don’t get to see that much from living in Boston.

So Saturday morning I returned the rental car and we ran some errands. We got ready and then headed in land from the east end to where my friend lives. We had a great time at the party and headed back in the evening.

Saturday night nothing special happened. Hung out with my in-laws and got some sleep.

Sunday morning I decided that since 1) the day was suppose to be really hot and humid and 2) I hadn’t had anything to eat and 3) I had a beer or two the day before so was dehydrated, that I would go for my long run as part of my marathon training schedule. In the Hamptons there is Dune Road, one of the wealthiest roads in the country. It’s basically a strip of land that has the bay on one side and the Atlantic ocean on the other. It has multi million dollar homes along it. The kind of homes that cost crazy money.

So armed with nothing but my iPod Nano, I set off. First, I got lost. I thought I knew the way but after running about 3 miles I missed the turn that I was suppose to make. So instead of running about 6 miles to get to a bridge to take me to Dune Road, I ran about 10 miles. By the time I hit the bridge, I was done. It was about 10 in the morning, the sun was blazing, it was humid as hell, I had taken my shirt off and I was dying. I needed water and more importantly, I was feeling the affect of heat illness. Definitely not something serious but I knew that I couldn’t do the entire 16 miles that I had planned.

I got over the bridge and made it to a resident-only beach house. For those who live on Long Island, these places are popular, like Jones Beach or TOBAY. It’s a field house that has bathrooms, a concession stand, outdoor showers and parking. I figured I’d call Patti on her cell, tell her to bring the kids and some water, and we would just stay at the beach. Our plan was to take the kids to the beach anyway, so since I was there, life was easy.

Well, let me tell you a couple of things with trying to use a pay phone without money. First, you cannot call collect to a cell phone. You cannot charge a call to a home number if someone at that home number is not there to accept. So far I was sunk. I only knew Patti’s cell phone, I didn’t know her parent’s number, and since we were in NY, there was obviously no one to accept the charges on our home number. I even told the operator, who was a total jerk, all 4 of them I ended up talking to after they kept disconnecting me, that the home owner was ME, that I was ON THE PHONE with them, that I WOULD accept the charges, but no luck.

So I thought I’d call information to get Patti’s parents number. It requires 50 cents. I didn’t have it. I thought about begging for 50 cents from one of the people who recently got out of their Hummer or Porsche SUV, but I was dripping in sweat, had no shirt on, a Boston Red Sox cap and was starting to get sunburned. They might call the cops.

So I went to some pimply faced teen-ager working the concession stand and asked if I could use a phone. I explained my predicament. This kid handed me 50 cents to make a local call. GREAT. I would get Patti’s parents local number and call them collect. This kid saved me.

I dropped the 50 cents in the phone, which was rusted because it is at the beach and exposed to the elements, gave the operator the exact address which I knew, and Patti’s father’s name. The operator confirmed everything and said “One moment please”.

I then got a pre-recorded message. “At the account’s request, the number is not available.”

CRAP. AND they kept my 50 cents.

My other option was to ask someone walking by to borrow a cell phone. But if I feared asking for 50 cents, no freakin way I was asking for a cell phone.

The only option left was to forge on and finish the run. I had stopped now for about 10 minutes and caught my breath. There was fresh water in the outdoor shower so I took a long drink, wiped down, and decided to move on. For a brief second I thought about heading on to the beach and laying there for an hour or so, to try to think of an option, but if there was no plan C at the time, an hour of sunbathing would not get me there.

I got back on Dune Road and started to run. About 2 miles later I knew I would never make it. I had about 9 miles to go and I was sunk. Now it was closer to 11AM and really hot. I needed water. And I needed someone to come get me. Even walking home would not be an option. It would take forever.

I spotted another smaller town beach facility. It had a guard house to collect money for cars entering the parking lot. From a distance it looked like the other one, with a concession stand and other facilities. I walked up to it. I needed water bad so I immediately went to the outdoor shower. I let the water run for a minute to get it cold, made my hands into a shape of a bowl, filled it up with water, and took a long gulp.

It was sea water. Splaaatttt. I immediately spit it out like I just drank lighter fluid. I had just taken a long drink of salt water. Crap.

I went to the bathroom but big signs everywhere “Water Not For Drinking”.

No payphone, although I have no idea what else I would have done if I found one. No concession stand either.

Drastic times call for drastic measures. I went to the gate house collecting fees and approached a teenage girls collecting money. I quickly had a vision of a scene from Clockwork Orange where the bad guy says that his friend is in the road bleeding and he needs to use a phone.

“Hey, I’m visiting my in-laws and got turned around. Is there a phone I could borrow to call someone local? Please”

It was weak but I didn’t have the energy to come up with a lie. She said there was not a phone, but looked at me and must have felt bad. Covered in sweat. Face red. She pointed me to the inside of the house.

Two other people were in there, another girl and a guy. I looked at the guy and told him basically the same thing. He handed me his cell phone. YES. Savior. I called Patti’s cell phone.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring.

Uh oh. I didn’t think of what would happen if she didn’t answer. No use calling my own cell phone. Miles from a house that I didn’t own, no one to call, no money, no ID. I was a gonner.

She picked up.

Me: “Hey, can you come and get me. I got lost and ran 10 miles before even getting to Dune Road. I am about halfway between the Hamptons and Quogue.”

Patti: “Sure, are you ok?”

At this point I felt pretty stupid . I just realized that I ran too far without the proper preparation, I left with no way to communicate with anyone, not even writing down a local number, and had to beg to use some kid’s cell phone.

I had hit rock bottom. At least runner’s rock bottom.

So I told Patti I would be walking on the road. I was not going to just sit there damnit, even if it killed me.

So I started walking by these 10 million dollar homes and about 20 minutes later Patti pull up with all three kids in the car.

Tail, get between legs. And start going by the name “mary”. Start the walk of shame. Get in the car and don’t make eye contact. Ashamed is too light of a word to describe me. I will speak of this to no one, ever, for as long as I live.

We ended up later going to the beach, which on Long Island, are some of the nicest beaches in the world. Soft sand, no rocks, beautiful. Patti’s brother, his girlfriend and her 4 year old son met us.

Later that night we had a birthday party for Ethan. His birthday is August 5 but Patti’s family was not going to be there for a small party we are having, so we had a barbeque while in NY. It was kind of fun because to be honest, Ethan gets the short end of the stick. Emily is so far advanced that she often gets a lot of the attention. At least she has the ability to make herself the center of the attention. Emerson is only 6 months old so we have to focus on him, primal needs and all that. And poor Ethan, he often gets overlooked. So it was fun with him being able to blow out the candles and open gifts and stuff. Really nice evening. He’s a sweet kid. All kids went to bed late but after an exciting day.

Monday morning I worked out of Patti’s parents house and we headed back to Boston, via the cross sound ferry, later that day. While on the ferry, I saw a submarine moving up the channel while approaching the New London dock. The ferry passes the Groton submarine place and this was the first time I have ever seen one running in the water. It was really cool. Coast Guard gun boats all around it, officers on the tower waving to the ferry, huge black cylinder gliding in the water. Impressive.

We got back to our house around 6:30, all 5 of us sunburned, tired, fairly relaxed. Going to NY is always a nice time.

So there it is. A few days of my life, explained in short paragraphs. And like I told you, totally meaningless. And if you were wondering, Patti’s parents went shopping while we were at the beach and bought me a running pack with water bottles. The last thing they want is for their son-in-law to leave this world while on their watch. Thoughtful and appreciated.

Posted by David at 04:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I know I bring this up a lot, but a conversation with a three year old is an amazing thing.

Emily: How do fish breathe?

Patti: There are tiny traces of oxygen in water. When fish swim, the water passes through their gills and blood vessels within the gill membranes absorb the oxygen into their blood stream.

Emily: Oh….how do fish sleep?

Me: They shut their eyes when their parents tell them to.

And in a sign that we really need to watch what we play on the radio while driving in the car, the other day she started singing…

“Don’t you wish your girlfriend was hot like me?�

I didn't even know that was a song. And Patti swears she doesnot play that kind of music. Right.

From now on it’s talk radio. Preferably sports, but political talk will do.

Posted by David at 02:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So far in Emily’s 3 years she has taken dance lessons and gymnastics. Gymnastics is more like a play session with gymnastic-type activities. Not sure about dance but I have a feeling it is more like a playgroup as well. For the most part 3-year olds can only handle so much structured learning. Both Patti and I want to have all of our kids try different things and one staple is swimming, so yesterday was day one of Emily’s 10-week indoor swimming lesson.

To start, Emily has been around the water since she was born. We belong to a pool during the summers plus she has been in the ocean, lakes and private pools. She is comfortable with the water and this past year we started to teach her how to float and hold her breath under water. So we looked around and found a program at Boston College that has multiple levels. Armed with her pink backpack with a towel and change of clothes, we set out on Sunday for her first lesson.

Overall it went very well. There are three different classes going on at the same time plus an open swim for adults. There were 5 kids in her class, all kids around the same age and skill level. They don’t like the parents being pool side so they have us site in the balcony spectator area. After about 5 minutes Emily looked around, saw me, and yelled “Hi daddy!�

The class is only 30 minutes which I think is about the attention span of most little kids. Emily kept looking over at the colorful floatation devices they use for other classes and kept asking the instructor if she could have one. It was actually pretty cute. The person who taught the class looked like a college age woman and she was helped out by the pool-side college age women who ran the program. Both were great with the little kids.

The class was pretty basic. She taught the kids to stick their face in the water, to float, and to kick the proper way. At one point near the end of the class the kids found out that the large pool area had a good echo and started to scream. I had to come down from the balcony and gave Emily the familiar vertical index finger in front of the lips signal to be quiet at which point she stopped yelling. Again, more cute than anything else. The only snag during the class was the end. The teacher let the kids jump from the edge of the pool into her arms and she let them do this twice. Emily wanted to do it more and got upset when I told her she could not. The frustrations of being a kid.

I wasn’t sure where I was going to change her out of her bathing suit because I didn’t really want to take her into the men’s changing room, but they have a family changing room so all anxiety was for nothing.

The class ends around dinner time so I was thinking of taking her to dinner after class next week. Maybe turn it into a little father-daughter activity.

So far week 1 of swimming lessons was a success.

Thought I’d share.

Posted by David at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emily looks at me holding a bottle of water.

Emily: (mumbles, pointing at the water) Water.

Me: How do you ask?

Emily: (mumbles) Can I please have some water?

Me: Say it clearly.

Emily: (mumbles) Clearly, can I please have some water?

Posted by David at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We went apple picking this past Saturday. Apple picking and the whole experience is about as New England as you can get.

Situation:

Patti, the kids and I drove into the country on Saturday morning and spent a few hours picking apples and pears. The place we went to has a staging area where you board a train that winds through a brick covered path under grape vines and takes you deep into acres and acres of apple and pear trees. It has a petting zoo and a large children’s play area among the rolling hills and fields of trees.

It is the perfect way to spend a crisp cool autumn New England day. We strolled along under a cloudless azure sky letting Emily choose fruit she wanted to add to our increasingly large bag of nature’s candy. We stopped and let the children pet sheep, goats and look at lamas, reindeer and pigs. We frolicked through a maze of hay and climbed through a large tree house. We left with 5 kinds of apples and 2 kinds of pears, a gallon of apple cider and with Emily clutching the ingredients to make caramel apples as soon as we got home.

We also spent 50 bucks for 10 dollars worth of apples.

Happiness does have a price.

Posted by David at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Click here for pictures of Labor Day weekend 2005 in the Hamptons. Patti's parents were nice enough to put us up for the long weekend. We had perfect weather.

Or cut and paste the following URL into your browser.

http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/pictures/LaborDay2005/index.htm

Posted by David at 05:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Telephone conversations heard from one end.

Me: (phone rings, I pick up) Hello?

Other Person: (says something but you can’t hear)

Me: Hey, how’s it going? Long time no talk.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: I’m good. Doing the same old stuff. Work, kids, catching up on the house. How are you doing?

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Ha, so you heard about baby number three. Yeah, it’s pretty crazy.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Yep, we found out a couple of weeks ago. Want to guess, I’ll give you one shot.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: You got it right out of the box. Good call.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: February 4th. Not sure about names yet though. Any suggestions.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Nah, too common.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Nope, too trendy.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Thought of that, it’s on our short list.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Hmm, never thought of that. Is that a boy’s name or girl’s name.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Oh, so it wouldn’t work.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Yeah, we can use clothes we already have for the new baby. That should save us some money.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Yeah, we’ll just double up that room when the time is right. No need to repaint or redecorate.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Ha, true. 3 against 2.

Other Person: (talking)

Me: Ok, sounds good. Thanks for calling, see you on Friday.

Posted by David at 02:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I ran another road race yesterday. Two weeks ago I ran the Susan Komen 5K breast cancer “race for the cure� road race. It is a huge event in Boston every year with (I think) around 5 thousand runners and walkers. I ended up running it in a time that amounted to an 8 minute 11 second mile. I thought I actually ran faster and I am not sure if the computer chip takes into account the fact that it took me a couple of minutes to get past the starting line. Patti ended up walking it and pushed the kids in the stroller. It was a huge event and for a cause that is near to my heart right now.

This past Sunday I ran a 10K race called the Marine Corp Honor Run. This one was really close to my house and the course was in a really pretty wooded area. Patti pushed the kids in the a 5K shorter version. I ran 10K, about 6.4 miles, in around 52 minutes which is an 8 minute 22 second mile. Not bad considering the last 2 miles was up hill.

Couple of things.

- I should have run these things when I was 21 and in the best shape of my life. While I am up to about 8 miles for my normal jog, it is never a piece of cake. I remember when I played sports in high school and carried lacrosse to college, I could run forever and barely breath heavy.

- Races like these are a blast and the best part, other than the charity that the money goes to, is the free stuff at the end. If they provided free beer I would do two a weekend.

- The Komen race was kind of sad because of the topic. Breast cancer is no joke and while it celebrates the survivors just as much as the victims, it’s heartbreaking still the same.

- I thought the Marine Corp race would be a blast and, while it was fun, I forgot to realize that a large portion of the runners would be military men in their late teens or early twenties in the best shape that almost anyone could every been in. Add to that ex-military people and law enforcement runners who are generally fit, and I went from being fairly fast to being behind the pack. The race the week before I came in around the top 25%. This race I think I was more like 50%. And while the mood was somber at the Komen race, it was the exact opposite at the Marine Corp race. A lot of testosterone. And a lot of crew cuts.

- My father was in the Marine Corp in the 50s and other than his three charming and talented kids, and their offspring, I think being a Marine is the thing he is most proud of. I thought of that while running the Marine Corp Honor run. No amount of words can express the kind of respect that I have for all military people. While soldiers usually get something back like a skill or trade, they give more than they get back. I come from a long line of proud military folks (I even have a WW2 Congressional Metal of Honor winner in my extended family) and the single greatest regret I have in life (so far) is not working harder to get into a military academy. Like the military or not, it’s something to be proud of.

Even though I have been running for years, this is the first year that I am really focusing on it and getting serious about it. This is in large part because of Uncle Tim, and his multiple marathons. I think in a way it has changed his life and I am not talking about losing some weight. My goal for the rest of this year is to get to a half marathon, with a full marathon within the next 12 months. We’ll see how it goes after child number 3 is born in February.

Posted by David at 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

For the past few years my immediate family and I have been holding an annual get-together, or some might say, a family reunion. It started when the grandkids started coming and has become an annual thing. First year it was Phoenix and Atlanta in the same year, then Virginia, then back to Phoenix, and this year it was at our place in Milton. One sister from Arizona, with her husband and two kids came out, my sister from Virginia, my parents from Atlanta and an aunt from Albany came. My parents came in on Friday night so they could be there all day Saturday to help with getting the house ready and to watch our kids. Then on Sunday everyone started arriving. First it was my aunt, so while I dropped my parents off and they waited at the bus station for her, I went to the airport and got sister number 2. Then later that night my other sister and her family arrived.

Monday, the first full day, we went into Boston and did a Trolley Tour. Always a good time to get a quick fix of Boston sites.

Tuesday, day number two, my parents and my aunt had to head back to their homes. So the day was a couple of drop-offs and some errands while the rest of my family hung out at the house.

Wednesday was the first day with just the siblings. It was another really nice day so we ended up going to the beach later in the day.

Thursday everyone left and by 6 at night all was quiet. The week was great and I got to touch up on my Tripoly skills. Tripoly is a great card/board game that I grew up playing. My sister’s and my kids got along well and no fights (adults or kids) made for a really nice week.

Next year we talked about renting a beach house, maybe in Virginia or North Carolina, so that no one had to host it at their own house. Spending time with my family, and Patti’s family as well, is becoming increasingly important so that my kids grow up knowing their relatives, just like I did. It was great seeing my sisters, my parents and my aunt and hopefully next time they visit I’ll have a house big enough to actually keep everyone.

Posted by David at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Well, I might as well say it out loud. It was confirmed on Friday. Patti, my wife, is pregnant with our third child. Our oldest, Emily, is 2 years and 3 months older than our (current) youngest, Ethan. When number three is born, Ethan (then middle) and the youngest will be 18 months apart. Patti is entering her 5th month.

This was definitely not planned. We had been discussing IF we wanted a third child, and IF we did, we were going to try when Ethan (current youngest) was around 2. But “plans� and “life� are two different things.

When Patti was feeling ill she took an EPT which turned up negative. During a normal doctor’s visit a couple of days later, they took a blood test and it came back positive. When she called me she said, “I’m pregnant.�

I said, “Who is this?�

After the initial shock wore off, about 2 months, it started to set in. Three kids, all under 4. Three kids, all in high school together. Three kids, all (God willing) in college at the same time. Two kids in diapers. Three kids, three bedroom house. Three kids, one and a half baths. Three car seats in one car, and all being used. Three kids on a plane and only two of us. Three kids at a restaurant. Braces. Bicycles. Toys. Sports. Activities. Temper tantrums three times over. Three Dobrindt children to make me realize that life is not all about me. I’ll sacrifice, Patti will sacrifice, we’ll make do. Having Emily changed me forever. Ethan added to it. One more can only be more fulfilling. If we have to fly less to visit family, so be it. They can come to us. If money is tight because we have dance lessons, hockey lessons and piano lessons, I’ll do without a new sports coat. Life goes on, and we have kids.

Send money!!

- Dave

P.S. Baby is due on February 5. Exactly 18 months after Ethan. We will have had a child in 2002, 2004, and 2006. And my parent’s 40th wedding anniversary is February 4th, so maybe he/she will be born on that day.

One other thing. Patti is about 19 weeks pregnant and we had an ultrasound yesterday. We found out the sex of the baby. To keep things interesting, we are not telling anyone the sex or the name. It’s a mystery until February.

Posted by David at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I took Emily to the movies last weekend for the first time. We went to see Apocalypse Now, the Coppola classic staring Marlon Brando and Charlie Sheen. She was fine with it but has had nightmares every since.

Just joking, we went to see a claymation movie called Valiant. It’s kind of a Wallace and Gromit/Chicken Run type of movie about a bunch of British messenger pigeons during World War 2. Ewan McGregor is the voice of ‘Valiant’, the pint size pigeon with a gallon size heart. The movie was ok, nowhere near as good as Chicken Run, but to be honest, the movie was sort of secondary to the event. This was the first time I was taking Emily to the movies. I was more excited than she was. Since Ethan is way too young, Patti stayed home with him while I went with Emily on a Saturday afternoon. Emily likes to watch TV, like 100% of normal kids, and she loves movies so she was really excited. Here is how the day went.

- We walked in and the first shock back to reality was the price. Patti and I used to go to the movies all the time but we also had much more disposable income back then. We went to a matinee so the tickets were reduced, but there is no child price so we paid 7 bucks a piece. Since we hardly ever go, not a big deal, just a surprise.

- The theater we went to is really nice. For Emily, I think it was a little like walking into a magical world of candy and carpet. Besides the video signs pointing people to the right theater for one of the 14 movies, there were huge stands where you could buy candy by the pound as well as the normal concession stand. There were velvet ropes to form lines and a lot of activity. Wonder if she thought the lobby was the attraction.

- My first mistake was letting her pick out a snack. I, thinking like an adult, proposed popcorn. I pointed at the large bin of freshly made popcorn and asked her if she would like some. Since this was her first time, I told her she could pick out whatever she wanted, but suggested the popcorn. Of course she went right to the display of bars and bags of candy, and wanted some kind of gummy worm thing that is made with liquid sugar. So that is what I got. And then instead of soda which she doesn’t really like, I got a watermelon/strawberry fruit type thing which probably has twice as much sugar as Coke.

- Then it was time for her to go to the bathroom. Always an awkward moment when I walk my daughter, a girl, into the men’s room. I know that a lot of men’s rooms are disgusting and men generally don’t expect to see a little girl in there. But since it was an early afternoon, the place was empty and all went fine.

- Then we went into the theater. It was stadium seating and we were 30 minutes early so we got to sit pretty much anywhere we wanted. The lights were on but it was still dim. I think Emily was impressed at the small red lights that were on the stairs to help people see. Keeping with the theme of the day, I asked her where she wanted to sit. Thinking that the seats in the first row, about 5 feet from the screen, or the seats in the last row, about a mile from the screen, might not work, I urged her to pick again and we sat in the middle.

- I mentioned before that we were 30 minutes early. Big mistake. Especially when 1) you are holding a bag of candy a 3 year old picked out, 2) there are ads and stupid trivia things flashing across the screen and you have to explain that those things are not in fact the movie. But I was able to ration the candy and drink, and keep her occupied by letting her look around and stuff.

- As we all know, there are coming attractions before most movies. These coming attractions might not be claymation cartoons with pigeons and thus will require a parent to explain that the coming attractions are not the movie so no need to panic. Just wanted to throw that out there in case you are ever in the same situation.

- During the movie she was fine. She sat for a while, stood for a while, sat on my lap, sat next to me on the other side, but for the most part the movie kept her attention.

- Before the movie I explained that she needed to be very quiet and if she needed something, to pull my shirt sleeve. She did not remember this the first 10 times she needed something. She kept asking me loudly enough to be heard over the very loud soundtrack if she could have some more candy, or to hold the drink, or if she could stand on her seat. But after a while she pulled my shirt before yelling.

- It bugs me that I teach Emily to be respectful of others and to not throw her garbage on the floor and she has to listen to other kids talk freely during a movie and throw garbage over the seat in front of them without their parents making them go pick it up. Different values, different upbringing I guess.

- The movie had some scary parts where she clung to my neck. But never to the point where she wanted to leave.

- I don’t think a movie about World War 2 Britain and Germany going at it was great for a 3 year old. It wasn’t terrible, but I think something “softer� would have been better.

All in all a fun time. I think the next movie will be a full-out cartoon like a Disney or Nickelodeon one. But Emily had a good time and I got to do something special with her, which I rarely have the opportunity to do.

Posted by David at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hello there. I know most of my posts are rants and complaints, I’m sorry. I do not post enough updates on the family or provide pictures so I have decided to make a concerted effort to add more “slice of life� pieces here on my silly little blog.

Ok, so here goes with a meaningless update that will be of interest to about 4 people, one of which will be my wife Patti.

Me and Patti

Things are good for both of us. I have some interesting news but have not brought myself to share it yet, so you’ll have to wait. Around January of this year I decided to get back into shape and started lifting weights and running. Patti did as well but has since tapered off for a very valid reason. I have kicked it up a bit over the past couple of months and am now running (jogging, not sure what the difference is) 5 to 6 days a week. I have been in NY City for the past three months so I run the outer loop at Central Park (6.1 miles) or when I am home I have scouted out two routes, one at 6.4 miles and the other at 7.4. I pretty much do the 7 mile run because I want to be able to do a half marathon in the fall. Who knows? During the entire thing I have lost about 25 pounds.

Patti is doing very well. She is working...

Patti is doing very well. She is working as a stay at home mom and teaches a couple of yoga classes, one on Monday night and the other on Saturday mornings. She has temporarily stopped the Saturday morning but will hopefully continue after the summer. She is having a nice, albeit challenging, time running the house with a one year old and a 3 and a ½ year old. But she belongs to the pool and Emily has gone to a couple of different camps so she got a break.

I have been traveling a lot this summer for work, mostly to NY City, but can’t complain because I had a stretch of a couple of months with very little travel. Otherwise work is fine. I show up, they pay me in nickels and sacks of potatoes. I bill a lot of hours.

The Kids

I’ll start with the first born, Emily. She turned 3 in May but is the size of most 5 year olds. She is tall but, at least in my eyes, a beautiful and engaging little kid. She has her moments when she is a terror, a lot of moments now that I think about it, an ungodly amount of moments that little brat, but is sweet and fun. It’s funny, having her is more fulfilling than I ever thought. It’s almost like I was born to be her father. It’s hard to explain if you are not a parent, but it just feels…right. She is a very sweet and bright child and I (mostly) love being with her. But then again, I don’t have her from morning to night like Patti. She is going to pre-school in the fall three full days a week and is healthy, happy and bratty.

Ethan is a true terror. But as almost everyone has told me, he is just being a boy. He is mischievous and strong willed, has a bit of a temper, constantly on the go, rough and tumble, and competitive. If Emily has something, he needs to be involved. If she builds a block house, he needs to tear it down. He is into everything and apparently has no fear of climbing up onto anything. He turned one year this past week on August 5 and we had a small party for him the Sunday after. I know I am suppose to do this, but he is behind Emily is almost every category of development. No big deal really because he is right in line normal child development. While Emily is tall and lean, he is more solid. He is a tall kid for his age but is not lean at all. He has bright blond hair, which I had as well when I was his age, so hopefully it will turn darker as he gets older. I kind of want a little version of me. He is a good baby when it comes to being out in public and doesn’t cry much other than when he is hungry/tired/etc.

No big vacations planned this summer. We were going to have a family reunion at our house this past June but my mother couldn’t make it so we decided to do it in September. My sisters and their families will be coming in for a few days. Can’t wait, we always have fun.

We went to NY this past weekend for a friend’s party and got to stay with and spend time with Patti’s parents and her brother. It was a nice time and Jim, Patti’s father, is making significant progress on the remodeling of his house. Pat, Patti’s mother, has a beautiful new kitchen with appliances that are top of the line. She is a great cook.

Not sure if I ever mentioned this but my mother has been battling breast cancer. Terrible disease, cancer in general, and unfortunately the treatment is no picnic either. She had stage 3 cancer and is just finishing up her second chemo treatment. She had the usual side efforts like losing her hair, but my father has been taking care of her and it helps that he went through his own battle with cancer a few years ago and they are using some of the same doctors. I am doing the Susan Komen run for breast cancer in September so let me know if you want to join. It’s a huge event in Boston and raises a ton of money for research.

My parents came up for a visit in June and it was their first trip since my mother started treatment in the spring. It was a fun visit and we had great weather so spent the day outside just hanging out. The kids were happy to see them.

My sister Dora came up for a visit last month as well. She came up for a 4 day weekend and played the role of spoiling aunt. While I worked and was on the road she spent time with Patti doing the usual stuff like going to the pool and parks and stuff. Both of my sisters are doing well.

Well, that is about it for now. The house is fine. I am doing my usual projects. We are having a busy summer with parties and barbeques and the usual social events. I wish I had more time to spend with the family and to do more stuff around the house, but I do what I can.

Talk to you soon.

Posted by David at 04:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

A couple of weeks ago we got a kitten. It was kind of a hard decision because neither Patti nor I are cat people, we are more dog people. In fact, I had a bumper sticker on my car through college that said “I Hate Cats.� Both of us grew up with dogs and not cats, and we had a dog up until a couple of years ago. But we just can’t deal with a dog right now and wanted to get some kind of pet for the kiddies. So we got an 8 week old gray cat at the pound and have since called him Finley. It’s a long story where we came up with the name, but Emily still calls him Kitty-Kitty. The boy just goes after him and screeches whenever he sees him. The cat dodges the kids as much as possible but they catch him often, pick him up and basically make his life miserable. He is a hit when other little brats come to visit, all try very hard to catch and torment him.

Now, I have never had a cat, and I know it’s early, but a couple of things.

- They teach kittens to use cat litter at the pound so from the first moment we took him home he was house trained. Instant pet.

- The first day found the cat hiding and a little scared. But as with all kittens, it started to warm up because it wanted to play in the giant playground that is our house. Now it has to be by our side all the time. When I am in the kitchen, it is at my feet. When I am in my home office, it is under the desk. When Patti is giving the kids a bath, it lays on the floor. Strange.

- Cats are fairly maintenance free. We have to clean the litter box, but nowhere near as much trouble as maintaining a dog.

- It might change, but not as fulfilling as owning a dog.

- For some reason the kitten likes me. It constantly comes up to me, starts purring, and wants to hang out. Not sure but maybe because the kids torment it and I don’t.

- It’s cute. It’s soft. It purrs really loud whenever you pet it. It likes to hang out on our bed at night and sleep while touching one of us. It likes to play. It is patient with the tormenting by the kids.

Overall, having the kitten is nice so far. I make fun but it is a huge hit with the kids and both treat it as a pet and not as a toy. I put in a cat door so that we can move the litter box and food into the basement and it can come up and down the basement steps whenever it wants. Cats are known for being less personable than dogs, and for being standoffish, and Finley might get there but so far it is very friendly. I like having another living thing in the house that is not a spouse, child or fish. It won’t play like a dog or give unconditional and constant love like a dog, but it’s soft and much less of an impact on the house and yard.

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes. And put up some pictures.

Posted by David at 08:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patti called me today and said that Ethan took like 5 steps a couple of times today. It was his first official day of walking. He has sort of staggered for a step or two and fell toward whoever was there, but never really walked. Emily started walking around 10 months and Ethan is 11 and a half, so I was worried.

I miss all the good stuff.

Posted by David at 04:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Hi there. Nothing to exciting with this post. Nothing insightful and no meaningful wrap up. Just quick update on what we did over the weekend.

Had a BBQ on Saturday with kind of a Jamaica theme. We cooked up Jamaican jerk pork on the grill and had Red Stripe. It was in the 80s, really hot, so the beer was unbelievable, I had it (and the other kinds) in a big cooler with ice. Had about 20 or so people with little kids running around. I probably drank too much but what the heck, it was the weekend, I have been good lately and everyone was in a festive mood. It was the first really nice weekend this year and the first time we got some hot weather. We had a really rough winter and wet and cold May, so everyone was itching to get out. I have this image of a BBQ where the men sit on lawn chairs lined up in a row, drinking beer, telling stories, while the women tend to the ch’ren. Nope, not the case. Especially since most of us have two kids.

Sunday we went to the Aids Walk/Run along the Charles. I ran the 5K and Patti walked it. She was not feeling great but wanted to do it anyway. Patti’s mom drove up the night before to watch the kids while we did the event. After the race we hung out around the festivities. Strange mix of sponsors, tents and people. With the Aids charity you get a lot of flamboyant gay men and “earthy� products. Large charity events like this always have free food, balloons, music, etc so it’s fun to hang out after. It was in the 90s so by the time we made it back to the house we were wiped. I think at one point about an hour after getting home we had 4 out of 5 people in the house napping. Emily was the only one awake but colored and watched TV while Patti and her mom slept on the couches in the living room. I love hot, humid weather. The hotter the better. I like nothing than to put on a tshirt, pair of shorts and not worry about being cold. I didn’t place in the race but kept my time respectable, considering it was 10 in the morning, 90 degrees and I had a hangover.

So overall very eventful weekend. I am finding that the older Emily gets, the more fun it is to do things with her. We try to do one thing outside the house each weekend. Beach trips, parks, restaurant, etc. Emily is old enough now to really have fun and interact. Ethan obviously still needs constant attention but he is really good. He just hangs out, smiles, likes to be in the stroller, likes the swing, doesn’t really fuss much. The exact opposite of me, he is much more like Patti.

I like weekends like that. It’s a little exhausting but makes me feel like I am an active member of society. Contributing. Building my inventory of warm memories. And sharing time with family and friends, something I don’t have enough time to do. And I got to drink a lot of beer.

Posted by David at 05:21 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Before Patti and I had children we used to run about 6 or 8 road races a year. They were either for charity or just for fun. We usually ran 5K races and occasionally did a 10K one with no real hope of coming anywhere near the front of the pack. I guess we could have been competitive if 1) we didn’t go out and drink so much, 2) trained like an Olympian or 3) cared. For us it was a good way to build our cheap T-shirt collection and get free bananas and key chains. But with having two kids we kind of dropped out of the habit.

This past year we made a commitment to run at least 6 races this year. We have some that we are doing for personal reasons (charity) and others that we are doing in the town we live just for fun. Today was race number 1, town of Milton fun race.

We had been training, sort of, so we had no real apprehension with the 5K race. Patti’s mother drove up to watch the kids while Patti and I did the race. We packed up in the car and went to Cunningham Park for this very popular annual race. There were two starting lines, one for the 5K and one for the 10K. Usually the races we run have an equal amount of 5K and 10K participants, but as we kept running into friends and neighbors, we realized that most of the people were running the 10K. The thought briefly crossed our minds to get in line with the 10K nuts, but we have been training mostly on a treadmill and had no idea if a little over 6 miles of running would leave us in stable condition.

So with 5K of course ahead of us, we started off on the race. Since I have a longer stride, but am certainly not in better shape, I usually run faster than Patti. I took off and hit the first mile marker in a little under 8 minutes. I kept the same pace and at the second mile marker was under 16 minutes. The great thing about races like this are that people in the community come out and sit along the course cheering runners on, handing out water, clapping and supporting the event. It’s a blast. For a small, very small, time I feel like a true competitor. I know it’s silly but when police officers stop traffic to let me run a race, it’s kind of a rush. Patti was only a short space behind me and finished the first mile marker at 9:25.

The course was through...

The course was through tree lined streets and had some mild hills. Nothing crazy. At 24:45 I crossed the finish line to a crowd of cheering fans. For Milton, this race is a big event and the finish area was filled with vendors giving out free stuff, families, little kids and a general festive environment. I hooked up with Patti’s mom, the kids, our neighbor who is a Fire Department volunteer and had one of the FD trucks, and other people I know. I waited for Patti to finish, who crossed at a little over 30 minutes, and then we all hung out, eating free yogurt and vitamin water, giving the kids balloons and ice cream and doing what only a few years ago I would have made fun of.

After the 10K runners started coming in, the event coordinator started announcing winners. With events like this they usually have awards for the top three finishers in major categories, like over 65 men, 20-29 women, etc. Since I have as much chance of placing as being elected President, I usually don’t pay attention. But as I was standing in a crowd, playing with the kids, talking to my neighbor, I heard the following…

“In the 30-39 year old category, finishing third among the men…David Dobrindt.�

My head abruptly turned toward the general area of the award platform like they just said Mitt Romney arrived naked on horseback. I must not have heard them right. They announced me. I turned to Patti who was standing with a bunch of other people about 50 feet away and they were all looking at me like it must be a joke. Surely I paid someone to make the announcement. I had placed third. At least in my category. Forget for a moment that there were probably only 3 people total in my category, I placed third.

So after a few seconds of total shock, followed by some good natured ribbing, I went up to get my award. I walked up to the table and told them they called my name. They took a metal on a ribbon and placed it over my head. It was hysterical. I almost expected them to put a laurel wreath on my head, kiss both cheeks and salute my flag.

I asked how many people were in my category and they didn’t know. When I was running I noticed a lot of teenaged girls, old men, a lot of women and pretty much no other 30-something year old men. Well, there were at least 2 others and they finished before me.

I immediately took the ribbon off and made my way back to my group. I got a very sincere hug and congrats from Patti, a few jokes from my neighbor and a bunch of “atta-boy�s from my friends. Later when we were home I put the ribbon on and told Patti I was going to join the circuit to try to make some money running races. She said that I might want to start running the kids races so that I would at least place first.

I know if I ran the 10K race I would have been in the bottom 3. But for the first time since I started running these races, I had something other than a tight XL t-shirt and meaningless coupons from local merchants to show for it.

Posted by David at 04:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If you don't want to hear a story about little kids, then turn away. Otherwise, read on.

I went to Emily’s school today. The school had a “pancake breakfast with your grandparents� day. The pre-school has fund raisers and things like this that I have to fight by cynical dark side and say nice things about. For this event, the kid could bring someone else if a grandparent could not make it. Considering the kids are 3 or so, a lot of grandparents are still in the workforce and probably could not take off. Or like us, both of our parents live very far away. So I went.

I’ll admit it started out a little shaky. I was the first non-child there. Out of 8 kids, 4 ended up having grandparents. I was the only non-grandparent. But for the first 5 minutes or so it was me, my daughter, and 3 other little kids in a room with miniature furniture and thousands of play items. In a room with bright colors, names on cut-out buses on the wall, cubby holes with flowers and a tank with painted snails. The other little kids looked at me, the two people who work there are women, like David Duke at a Black Panther rally. Like Mark Witaker at the GOP fund raiser. Wide-eyed kids starred at me while I tried to pick up plastic fish with a tiny fishing pole and stay within the stencil lines. But two other grandmothers and one set of grandparents made me feel more auspicious about the morning.

Then came what seemed like a very long period of random alone play time, a period where the kids could do whatever they want, which, at least to me, is contrary to the whole “school� thing of learning and education. I was worried that this structured setting was nothing but a prolonged playtime. But one of the teachers then had a session which seemed like it was a normal thing. She had a little lesson and read a couple of books and did things in sign language. It was nice.

Then we went on to the pancakes. It was in the gym of the church and was set up on two tables. The grandparents, and me, sat next to their little ones. I think for some of the other kids pancakes are a rare thing, and at least for one kid something they have never had. For Emily, Patti’s famous pancakes are on the table a couple of times a week. Emily LOVES pancakes and goes through them like me drinking beer on a Saturday afternoon in August. She ate 4 and all the other kids, grandparents and teachers were very impressed. That’s my girl. Eat like a lineman and don’t apologize.

I had a very nice conversation with the complete grandparent set. The guy was a venture capitalist in the tech field and him and his wife both lived in a pretty nice section of Boston. The teachers made coffee for the adults and I got to have a couple of Aunt Jemima’s best.

During bed time Emily and I were talking. When I put her to bed I usually have her tell me about her day and what she did/what made her happy/how she feels. She said something about the pancakes. Testing her I said she had 2 pancakes and held up two fingers. She yelled out she had 4 pancakes and held up 10 fingers. Young kids can be the ultimate test in patience and really push the limit on what a person can take, but the other 10% of the time they are really fun.

Posted by David at 04:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I got home kind of late on Tuesday night. Emily went to bed a little late so she was still awake when I got home. Usually when she is awake but in bed and she hears me come in, she calls from her room for me to come up and see her. So I went up and sat down in a chair next to the bed.

Me: Hi honey, how was your day?

Emily: Good. I missed you.

Me: I missed you too. How are you feeling? (she had been sick)

Emily: Good. Can you read me a story?

Me: Not tonight sweetie, you need your sleep and I have to pack a bag.

Emily: Are you going on an airplane?

Me: Yes, I am going on a business trip.

Emily: To see grandpa and grandma?

Me: No, I am going to see clients.

Emily: I like monkeys.

Now, at this point I could have made some joke about monkeys and clients, but she wouldn’t have gotten it. This is one of the reasons I love talking to her. The conversation can go in any direction at any point and I don’t have to really think to hard when I talk to her. Now that I think about it, very much like work.

Posted by David at 04:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

What I failed to mention the other day was my miraculous efforts to save Dennis. After watching him struggle I administered CPR and gave him some medicinal beer. I then talked him through any issues he is having and by the next morning he was swimming around like a Red Sox fan walking home from Virgies after game 7 of the ALCS last year. He was swimming in and out of the submerged palm tree in the tank and has been healthy and active ever since.

Dennis the fourth lives on.

Posted by David at 09:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dennis the 3rd is going out fast. Patti and the kids are away and I noticed today that he was hanging out near the surface of the fish tank, upside down, gasping for air. I tapped the tank and that kicked him back to life. Later that day he was more upside down, if you can believe that, and he had a look of death in his eyes. I swear if he could talk through his fish mouth he would say that death was at his door with a black robe and sickle. Crap, I am going to have to get another stupid goldfish tomorrow at the Pet Rodeo. Both Emily and Ethan are into the fish now, even though Emily is showing less of an interest and Ethan looks like he wants to eat them. I need to run an investigation and find out what the cause of death was. Dennis held his own against Sally so it must have been something else, not sure what, maybe murder. I am going to find out, and if Sally was behind this, her ass is down the main-floor half-bath toilet. Believe it.

Not sure why this stupid lineage of fish has to die when I am home alone. I sometime wonder if I replaced the live fish with two plastic toy fish from the bath would anyone notice. Patti included. At least we wouldn’t have to buy goldfish flake food.

Stayed tuned for an update. Dennis is alive right now but fading fast. He lasted the longest so my heart is with him, the little scale-covered tike.

Posted by David at 04:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Click here for pictures of our trip to Minnesota in March for Patti's cousin Kara's wedding to Anand. Great trip.

Or cut and paste the URL below.

http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/pictures/GuptaWedding/index.htm

Posted by David at 09:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dennis update. Patti went to the pet store this morning while Emily was at pre-school. She got another goldfish that looks like Dennis II and Dennis I. We had a close call last night when Emily heard the water in the tank and wanted to see it, but she was upstairs right before bed so we enforced the ?go-to-bed-right-now-you-little-brat? rule. She didn?t bother to look this morning, and even if she did, I would have said that Dennis was taking a walk to get some exercise and she would have believed me because she is not even three and she believes whatever I say to her, one of the great things about having a little kid.

When Patti was talking to the goldfish expert at the Pet Rodeo, he said that the larger goldfish was probably pecking at the smaller one because goldfish, and this is a little hard to believe, can sense when another goldfish is weaker and they pick on it. Now, that sounds like something that happens in the harsh and violent world of, I don?t know, wolves or sharks or something, maybe piranha if you are sticking to small fish, but goldfish. Anyway, this ?expert? said that Dennis II probably let himself die, JUST LIKE I SAID yesterday. Sally drove Dennis so nutty that death was better than living with her, a common problem when dealing with the female side of a species.

So I?ll post in another couple of weeks to introduce Dennis IV.

Posted by David at 04:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This morning as I was about to walk out the kitchen door, Emily yelled at me to wait. She came running in from the other room, made me bend down, gave me a kiss on the cheek and told me she was going to miss me.

Sometimes the things that bring the greatest joy in my life happen without any planning.

Posted by David at 09:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Dennis II has died. He has been sharing a tank with another, more aggressive and very ugly goldfish, Sally. I think Dennis committed suicide because Sally was driving him nuts. I think Dennis wanted to die to get away from the other stupid goldfish. Sally was constantly swimming like crazy, eating all the food as soon as we dumped it in, complaining to Dennis about his sloppiness and generally driving Dennis up the wall. I think Dennis let himself pass into the afterlife as a way to ease the pain of sharing water with Sally. That?s what I think.

Posted by David at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If by chance you are interested in a motorcycle, let me know. My father in law is selling his Kawasaki. You can access it here

http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/pictures/Motorcyle/Vulcan-1-web.jpg

Posted by David at 09:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I forgot to say congrats to Patti's brother Drew and his fiance Christine on getting engaged. It happened last week in Minnesota. Can't wait for the wedding.

Posted by David at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Northwest Airlines, you are my new enemy. Delta is like a fairy godmother compared to how I feel about you. NWA stands not for Northwest Airlines but for ?Not My Problem.?

Here is why.

On Tuesday, March 8, myself, my wife, my 7 month old son and my 2, soon to be 3, year old daughter were scheduled to fly from Minneapolis to Boston at 1:30 PM after spending a week on vacation visiting my wife?s family and attending a cousin?s wedding. We drove 3 hours from where we were staying to get to the airport 2 hours before our flight. Earlier that morning I checked the weather in Boston and there was a winter weather advisory for 6PM, about 45 minutes before we were supposed to land. Ruh-roh. Could be trouble.

As we boarded the plane, we heard that the 3:30 flight to Boston was cancelled so they were trying to put some of those passengers on the 1:30. No problem. Let?s get everyone home as quickly as we can. We got on the plane, got the kids situated, got Emily all set with her juice and something to eat, and waited. About 10 minutes before departure, the captain came on and said that the gate agent was going to board the plane with an announcement. The pilot said he thought they were going to cancel the flight due to air traffic control issues with weather in the northeast. Sure enough, the lady came on and said the flight was cancelled and we should see a ticket agent to rebook. So we got all of our crap together and got off the plane.

Little side note. We gate-checked a stroller which means...

Continue reading "Northwest Airlines" »

Posted by David at 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We got back yesterday from our Minnesota trip. We flew out a week ago Wednesday for cousin Kara?s wedding to Anand. Kara is a manager for the Gap and Anand is a pilot, both live in Duluth, about a 3 hour drive north of the Twin Cities.

We had an uneventful flight out last...

Continue reading "Minnesota Trip" »

Posted by David at 02:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Next Wednesday we are heading to Duluth, Minnesota, for Patti?s cousin Kara?s wedding. Duluth is about 3 hours north of the cities and on the Wisconsin border. We have been looking forward to this trip since we found out she was getting married. Our trips to Minnesota are always nice and it?s great to see Patti?s side, something we have not done since Kara?s brother got married almost two years ago. This brother, Andy, had a son a couple of weeks ago so it will be a pretty eventful trip.

This will be Ethan?s first airplane trip and the first time all 4 of us have traveled on an airplane together (I took Emily to Atlanta last December but Ethan and Patti did not go). Emily has averaged about 3 airplane-length trips a year so she is pretty good with flying. Ethan is easy going and still young so we don?t anticipate much of an issue. The trip takes about 2 hours so not too long confined to a metal tube. STILL, with young kids, anything can be an adventure.

Patti called me today and the following conversation took place?

Patti: ?I just talked to my parents and since they are flying Northwest as well, they wanted to see if the airline would let you switch Emily?s seat and they would take her out with them from New York.?

Me: Stunned silence. Not sure I heard Patti right. Speechless.

Patti: ?You there??

Me: I made some kind of gurgle sound.

Patti: ?They are going out Monday so they would pick her up at the ferry (Long Island Ferry, a great halfway point between us and Patti?s parents) on Sunday and watch her until we get there.?

Me: ?Is something wrong with them??

Patti: ?Stop it?

Me: ?Drugs??

Patti: ?No?

Me: ?Are they drinking a lot??

Patti: ?That?s enough.?

Me: ?They?ve met Emily, right??

Patti: ?What is wrong with you??

Patti?s parents are really good like that and we appreciated the offer. I did call the airline but because our tickets are out of a different airport they wouldn?t do it without a large fee, a tongue lashing from the supervisor, purchase of an additional ticket, naming rights to our next child, a written promise to not fly them again and the deed to the house. It was a very nice idea though. All joking aside, I can see the draw. Little kids are fun and add an element of surprise to any travel experience. Plus she is cute and Jim would get a lot of attention from some of the ladies in the airport.

Posted by David at 02:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emily has a pet goldfish named Dennis. Well...had. Dennis lives in a fish bowl about the size of a bowling ball (not round, just about that tall). Here is how the conversation went the morning Patti and the kids were going on their trip and I was getting ready for work.

<u>Patti</u>: You are going to have to change the water in the fish?s bowl. Do you know how?

<u>Me</u>: I?ll figure it out.

<u>Patti</u>: Fish are very sensitive to a change in water temperature, you have to do it right.

(Patti then explained how I am supposed to do it).

<u>Patti</u>: Did you get that?

<u>Me</u>: Not really, I wasn?t paying attention; can you go through it again?

(Patti patiently explains it again)

<u>Patti</u>: Ok?

<u>Me</u>: I?ll figure it out.

<u>Patti</u>: Dave, if Dennis dies while we are away, you?re gonna have to replace him with a goldfish that looks just like him.

Later in the day Patti called and said she changed the water so I didn?t have to do it. Great, I thought, Dennis will live another week. When I got home that night, I realized Dennis wasn?t moving. And he was at the bottom of the bowl. On his side. With rigor mortis setting in. Despite my best efforts to revive him, Dennis passed.

I stood at attention, took my hat off and placed it across my heart, lowered my head and recited a line from the famous W.H. Auden poem.

?Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message He Is Dead,
Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves?

Technically I had nothing to do with Dennis? death, after all I didn?t feed him, change the water or even look at him. But since it happened on my watch, I have to replace him. I?ll go to the fish store tomorrow and get another goldfish. Maybe I?ll pick up two since boredom and loneliness probably killed the first one.

Dennis, we hardly knew ye. Be well my old friend, our world is less orange.

Posted by David at 05:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Congrats to my sister Lori and her husband Craig for the birth of their second child, Jacob Lawrence Schmitt. He is the younger brother of Megan. 4 grandkids and counting.

Posted by David at 08:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Right now Emily, who is 3 and a ½, loves to be with Patti and me. She loves going places with us and being around us all the time. For the most part it’s fun. She also likes to pretend to help out with domestic tasks like folding clothes, sweeping and cleaning up. People tell us this will all end, especially the part about her wanting to be with us, when she is about to become a teenager. So I decided to videotape her promising certain things so I can play it back some day. It went something like this.

Me: Emily, come here and sit on the couch. Your mother and I want to ask you some things.

Emily: Ok daddy, coming.

(Emily leaps off the kitchen chair where she was drawing and comes running into the living room)

Me: Go ahead and have a seat on the couch…no, not there…sit right in the middle…nice and straight…look forward.

(Emily starts to smile and over does it a little, thinks she is making us proud by doing exactly as she is told. She is sly like that, sly like a fox. Sometimes she will not listen to a word we say, the other 10% of the time she is as obedient as a trained horse)

Me: I am going to turn the video camera on and your mother and I would like to ask you some questions. Ok?

Emily: Can I watch Lazy Town?

Me: No.

Emily: Can I watch Charlie and Lola?

Patti: No. We are going to ask you some questions.

Emily: Can I watch Cinderella?

Me: Stop asking, no.

Emily: Can I see the video camera?

Me: No.

(I sit down in a chair a few feet in front of the couch Emily is sitting in and turn on the video camera. It’s the kind that burns right to a mini-DVD disc. It’s great)

Me: Ok, let’s start with some basic questions. What is your name?

Emily: Emily Dobrindt.

Me: Where do you live?

Emily: In Milton Massachusetts.

Me: How old are you?

Emily: Three and a half.

Me: What is your social security number?

Emily: I don’t know!

Me: Ok, so we’ve established the basics. I am going to ask you some questions and want you to answer truthfully and honestly.

Emily: I made a duck today at school.

Me: We’ll talk about that later. Ok, when you are a teenager, will you still want to spend time with us, your parents?

Emily: YES!

Me: When you are a teenager, will you still want to be seen in public with us, your parents?

Emily: YES?

Me: When you are a teenager, will you still do your chores without problem?

Emily: YES?

Me: Do you know what “chores� are?

Emily: NO!

Me: Ok, when you get older, will you still clean up around the house, put your clothes away and keep your room clean?

Emily: YES!

Me: How old will you be when you leave home?

Emily: 7:30!

Me: No, at what age will you be when you leave us?

Emily: 8!

Me: We hope it’s more like 30, but close enough.

Emily: 30!

Me: Great. One more thing, will you also be nice to your siblings?

Emily: What’s siblings?

Me: Your brother. Will you always be nice to your brother? And sister? Or brothers. Whichever it may be.

Emily: Sometimes he takes my toys or knocks down my lego tower I built. That makes me frustrated. And he sometimes has a stinky butt. But he is just a baby.

Me: I’ll take that as a yes.

Emily: YES!

Me: Ok Emily, you have been a good participant and we will bring this video out in about 10 or 12 years. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Just thought I’d share.

Posted by David at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I had a really hard time sleeping last night. Finally, at about 3:30 or 4, when I knew sleep was not coming back, I got up with Ethan instead of Patti getting up with him, which she does every other night. I think he had already but up once or twice, but at 3:30 he was definitely not looking to eat and fall back asleep. It was like he just woke up in the middle of the day. He was smiling and giggling and just wanted to play. I stayed with him in his room for a while and turned the TV on. Aside from the 4AM thing, it was actually kind of nice. Just him and I playing, I got to watch some news, and the rest of the world slept. There is something kind of comforting about doing an activity in the middle of the night. Something, I don?t know, relaxing. It?s hard to explain. I am not sure when he will start sleeping through the night but hopefully soon. Emily started sleeping through the night at 2 months and aside from periods when her teeth were coming in or she was sick, has always slept well. We started giving him rice cereal hoping that he will not be hungry, but so far he is still waking up to feed. Except when I got up with him, he was not hungry and just wanted some attention. Emily came into our room during the night at some point so at one time, I think around 5, we were all up. Patti ended up taking Ethan up back to bed later in the morning but at that point Emily was up. Then later while Ethan was sleeping Patti and I tried to get some sleep but Emily would have none of it. She played on the bed and watched TV but not quietly enough to allow us to sleep. I finally got up and shoveled about 4 inches of snow that fell last night, cleaned the cars off, showered, dressed and went to work. It was a crazy night but nothing too out of the ordinary. Having kids is wonderful.

Posted by David at 11:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The Life of Dennis.

Emily went to a ?Finding Nemo? themed birthday party on Sunday and one of the party favors was a softball-sized fishbowl with a small goldfish. She was pretty excited about the fish and named it Dennis. Patti and Emily had breakfast this morning by the time I came down and the fishbowl and fish were right in the middle of the kitchen table, so I assume they all had breakfast together.

Never having fish before, and really never that interested in it, I did not have fish food. So I went to the pet store today and bought a bigger fish bowl, some food, colored rocks to make the bowl look a little better, and a net to scoop the fish out when it dies?I mean when we have to change the water. At first I thought this thing would be a good exercise to teach Emily how to take care of something but 1) it?s only a fish so there is not much needed and 2) she is not even three yet. How much do I expect a kid under three to learn about taking care of another living thing when she is not old enough to blow her own nose? But anyway, I think it will be fun to try to take care of. The fish is the first non-human living thing we have had since Pumbaa died in 2001. Not counting a squirrel who found its way into our three season porch or a mouse that lives in the woodpile out back. It?s a good way to ease into something bigger and more interactive. And more dry.

I have no idea how long the fish will live but my goal is 30 days. No reason I chose 30 days other than I have no idea how hard it is to take care of a fish. Patti said goldfish can live up to 10 years. I hope that is not the case, for the sake of the fish. When I was a kid I had hamsters and you couldn?t kill those things if you poisoned them. But I heard fish are sensitive to a change in water temperature and the light and what is on TV so who knows. Another thing it might die of is pure boredom. No other fish, no toys or stuff in the bowl, and nothing to really do. But hey, it?s a fish so maybe it has a creative imagination to keep itself company.

I?ll let you know how it goes. Wish me luck. Thus starts the life of Dennis.

Posted by David at 08:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I put some pictures from 2004. <a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/pictures/MGC-20041221/index.htm" target=_blank>Click here </a>to access them or cut and paste the following URL.

http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/pictures/MGC-20041221/index.htm

Posted by David at 09:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today was my last day of freedom. After 11 straight days off ? 5 vacation days, 4 weekend days and 2 holidays ? I have to go back to work tomorrow. It kind of feels like the first day of elementary school in September after a long and successful summer vacation.

We went to the <a href="http://www.bostonkids.org/" target=_blank>Children?s Museum in Boston </a>today with the kids. Great place for active kids. What made it even greater was that there was no one there. Today was the first day back at school for kids and we got there right when it opened at 10 and it was dead. By the time we made it to this one area that is like Mecca for kids under 3, it was kind of crowded but that is ok. The Museum has a bunch of different themed sections for kids to play in. It was perfect with only a few other kids, and at times no other kids, but I can?t image the chaos when it is packed. After all, there is only so much kids will share dress up clothes and things that shoot out air and make noise and slides for golf balls and crap. It would be like an indoor Lord of the Flies with a bunch of kids. In the Mecca section I sat down with Ethan while Patti and Emily played and there were like 20 or 30 kids in there with a woman singing songs in the corner. It was really cool watching how kids interact with each other, how parents interact with their own and other kids, and how parents who are strangers interact with each other. The parents are so polite and the kids try but it?s not in their nature and they struggle.

I accidentally took out a little girl about Emily?s age. I was squatting down with Emily when she got up and ran around something. Not being used to a bunch of little kids around me, I turned the other direction to go after her and bumped into this little girl. She fell over but pretty softly and I picked her up and apologized to her and her dad, but the shock had set in. She screamed. The father was like me and was really nice about it and it was the type of thing that Emily would not even have cried but every kid is different and this little girl really cried. We were on to the next section and I went back to see if she was ok. Her mom was really nice and said she was tired and hungry and her crying had nothing to do with me trying to kill her but I knew she said that to make me feel better. I felt bad but like all things that happen to kids under 3 she will remember nothing of this time in her life when she is older which is kind of sad because for parents this time in their lives are extremely special and I wish Emily could remember but I know she won?t. That is part of the reason I keep this blog. I normally would not write in a journal but since it is online and digital and a cool website is wrapped around it I feel much better and am more diligent with writing things down.

When we were driving in the city Emily pointed at a big building and said ?what?s that? so I said ?it?s an office building? and she said ?I love office buildings, I love playing with toys?. Emily of course will not remember saying that but I will.

Tomorrow it is back to the land of adults and deadlines.

Posted by David at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

10:20 PM Christmas Eve? We are about to go to bed. Jim and Pat, Patti?s parents, drove up from NY and got in around 6. For the past month or so, Patti and I have been building up Christmas so that by now Emily is looking like Ted Kennedy at an open bar. We explained how the Santa process works, you know, comes down the chimney, eats cookies and milk, leaves gifts, head up the chimney, gets on sleigh pulled by animals, goes to next house. We tried to explain the religious significance but it went right over her 39 inch head.

So after we had dinner with Jim and Pat, we cleaned up and put out all of the gifts that were hidden in the three season porch. I took some pictures so you can get a true sense, but it?s unbelievable. Presents everywhere. We exchange with some very close friends and family and there are a lot of little gifts for the kids. Patti and Emily made cookies so on the end table near the tree is a plate with crumbs of two chocolate chips and an empty glass of milk.

Emily went to bed knowing that ?Santa? was going to come so we are planned for a super-hyper-anxious morning. We have everything set and will try to keep her upstairs until at least 7 so we can get a little bit of sleep. Ethan is in our room tonight because the in-laws are in the guest room, which is his room, so I imagine I will end up sleeping on the couch because I can?t sleep when the little ones are in bed with us for fear of rolling on them and if he was in his crib I would sleep very lightly thinking he would wake up soon.

Patti wanted to start a tradition, actually a few traditions, but one where we would get new pajamas each Christmas and wear them in the morning. I sleep in sweat pants and a t-shirt so I voted for new sweats and a new T, but Patti chose something a little more coordinated and festive.

So tomorrow should be fun. I am more excited about this Christmas than the past few years because Emily is old enough to start getting into the spirit. Her and I went to pick out a Christmas tree together and she had to bring the tree skirt into the actual yard where the trees were. She was afraid of Santa in person but talks about him like he is some magical and mysterious red-clothed bearded man who flies in the sky on a square boat pulled by next week?s dinner.

Anyway, I will post an update tomorrow to let you know how it goes. Merry Christmas and all of our best to each of you.

- David

Posted by David at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Friday morning I flew to Atlanta with Emily to visit my parents. I had two tickets on Delta that were going to expire at the end of this year so I decided to take a weekend trip/adventure with my 2 and ? year old and see my folks. This is how the trip went.

- The flight was at 9AM on Friday morning so we decided to leave the house at 7. With traffic and forecasted rain, we thought about 45 minutes to an hour to drive the 12 miles to the airport with plenty of time get checked and through security. Well, picture this ? Friday morning, it?s cold, dark and raining outside, Ethan and Patti are sleeping soundly in the bed in Ethan?s room, I am fast asleep after coming off three weeks of a very tough assignment, Emily is snoring away and dreaming of coloring on freshly painted walls, and it?s 6:35. Patti woke up and started the fire drill. But I showered and dressed, Patti got ready and got Emily and Ethan dressed, fed, and we got our stuff and were in the car by 7:15. Very little traffic and we were at the gate by 10 minutes to 8.

- My parents picked us up and Emily could not have been more excited. Emily really really loves spending time with both sets of grandparents. We got lunch and got back to the house around 3PM. I was taking a nap 20 minutes later. It was amazing.

- My parents have a house that is almost perfect for little kids. Large ranch, big rooms, long hallways, and almost all of it carpeted. Emily pretty much was able to get a running start on one end and pick up enough speed to really do some damage. When I woke up from my nap she was wearing her underwear, an adult t-shirt with a fabric belt, and stockings, running around the house. My parents brought out a bunch of toys and it was romper room.

- We spent Saturday shopping. Actually, I tried to get Red Sox tickets online in the morning with no luck and my father and Emily spent the morning outside causing trouble, but we spent the afternoon shopping. Nothing crazy. The mall, Barnes and Noble, a flee market, then home. And then another glorious nap. 90 minutes of lying in bed while my father watched Emily. Wonderful time. Sleeping. And not feeling guilty or worrying about things. Wonderful.

- Oh, the airplane ride on Friday, I forgot. It was the first time I took her on a plane by myself. For the most part not a big deal. She was not in a car seat because she is now riding in a booster seat and they do not work on planes, but she did ok. A couple of times she really wanted to get out and I had to come up with some pretty creative ways to keep her in, and when we were set in the landing pattern and could not get out of our seats she HAD to go to the bathroom right then and cried which kind of sucked, but what can you do. I covered her mouth and tried to get her to stop. If she offended someone, too (expletive deleted) bad, she was good for 2 hours of a 2 hour and 10 minute flight.

- Back on Sunday, flight was good, got a Christmas tree, had some family time, then back to work on Sunday.

Posted by David at 09:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

We are spending Thanksgiving with Patti?s parents and brother at their home in the Hamptons, NY. We came down last weekend for Ethan?s Christening and I had to be in NY City on Mon and Tue for work. So Patti stayed at her parent?s house while I was in NY, I took the Long Island Rail Road out on Tuesday night and we are staying until Saturday.

Jim (Patti?s father) is doing a fairly large renovation project on his house and their current kitchen consists of a table, a microwave on the table, a coffee maker on the table, a fridge, and nothing else. Meals get cooked on the grill or microwave and dishes are either thrown out (paper, plastic) or cleaned in the bathtub. For Thanksgiving, Jim is going to barbeque a turkey, something that I am actually really looking forward to.

Have a good one and see everybody on Friday.

- Dave

Posted by David at 06:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week Patti and I made the final leap (or final death throw) into our new life ? we bought a min van. We really had no choice because the car we were using, which served a great purpose for many many years, was too beat up and small to sustain safe delivery of our little family. To the Neon, we will miss you and we hardly knew ye. It was fun while it lasted?I can?t really say that. It was not fun. The car was fairly reliable but was a piece of crap. The only redeeming quality was that no one wanted to steal it. That, and it was so small it got around the small Boston streets just fine.

A couple of things about buying a mini van.

- No matter how you spin it ? it only has 4 miles, it is a cool metallic black color, the tires are shinny, it is clean ? it?s still a mini van.

- It might be functional, and even driving it I feel ok, but seeing other people in them makes me cringe. I think ?do I look like that old woman???

?I?m not old. And I?m not a woman?. Sorry, Monty Python reference.

- I have never purchased a new car. In fact, I have only been to a dealer three or four times in my life. Once to test drive an expensive sports car to get the salesman to sign a form so I could get a free Time Life coffee table book. The second time was when Patti and I were looking for a new car years before Emily came along, a horrible experience because it was like we were playing a game of ?answer the wrong question? with the saleman. We would give him certain parameters and he would pull up something that was not even close to what we just talked about. It was weird. It would be like asking someone how old they are and having them answer ?Six feet, two inches?.

The third time at a dealer we bought the mini van. Overall a good experience because I did not feel pressured or swindled and the sales guy seemed direct and forward. For example, I gave him my criteria and when we were filling out the paper (after we decided to buy the thing) I asked him why he was not trying to sell me the undercoating and he said because I did not say I wanted it.

- It is nice having a warranty. With the other car, and even my truck, I have to worry about how much it will cost if something big breaks.

- While we bought a brand new Caravan, actually, the ?Grand? Caravan, we would have much preferred some giant SUV that could sit like 10 and took up two lanes on the road. But a used one, with considerable miles, with no warranty, is still big bucks. At least not as much as I wanted to spend. You see, I have a fundamental problem partying with my money. I don?t like to do it unless I absolutely have to. Which I was with the car.

Anyway, no big deal. I am well past the stage of trying to impress people with my car. Ha, to be honest, if you saw any of my old cars, you would know I was never like that. My first car was a very much appreciated hand-me-down from my parents ? a 1978 Ford Fiesta. In hind site, a great great car. A rack and pinion steering hatch back 4 speed that I took my road test in. Great car. My second car was my first car I bought, a 1977 Chevy Nova that I put some minor work into, put nice rims on, and was ok. My third and final car before this mini van nonsense was a 1995 Monte Carlo Super Sport. Great looking car, was fast, sounded tough, but it was not me. I never really liked the car even though it looked great. The Neon was Patti?s car before we started dating so I just sort of inherited it, or at least the use of it. Maybe one day I will be able to buy a sporty BMW or an expensive Merceds sedan, or a rough and tumble SUV to take into the woods. But for now, I need space to put my kids, all of the bags and crap that go along with a family, and safely get from point A to point B.

Posted by David at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

My son?s Christening is this weekend in NY. He is about 3 and ? months old and we are having him Baptized in the same church that Emily was baptized in, that Patti and I got married in, that I grew up going to and that my mom sang in the choir and played the bells for. My sister Dora got married in the same church as well.

We are heading to NY today, visiting family and friends, having the thing on Sunday and then I have to by in NY City for work on Monday and Tuesday. I am looking forward to it because it will be nice to see family and friends.

Just thought I?d share.

Posted by David at 10:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I put some more pictures of Ethan and Emily up. <a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/Ethan/Gallery-2/index.htm" target=_blank>Click here </a>or cut and paste the following URL into your browser.

http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/Ethan/Gallery-2/index.htm

Posted by David at 08:32 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<b>Emily</b>

Emily is 2 years 5 months old but going on 3 years 4 months. Other than normal 2 year old monster-like behavior, she is doing great. We have her fully off the diapers and so far so good. We started potty training her when she was about 18 months and after initially being into it, she lost interest. Since she was not that old, we kind of let it slide. But after Ethan came along in August, we said enough with two kids in diapers. For a while we had her wear only underwear during the day and a diaper at night, but then we realized she was waking up with a dry diaper. So last week we started with underwear at night as well. It is not totally without our involvement since we need to help her out and stuff, but it really does beat changing diapers all the time. She likes the fact that she can wear underwear and so far the daytime accidents are very rare. There are times at night when she wakes us up to go, but that is a good thing for now.

When we knew we were having another kid, we were wondering how she would react to a little baby around. So far it is far better than what we expected. She is very sweet to Ethan and the only fault is in the fact that she wants to kiss him, hug him, hold him, pat is back, etc. all the time. She still gets plenty of our attention, especially with me since I ?own? Emily most of the time while I am home, so I think the attention seeking thing was less impactful then we anticipated.

The rest of Emily?s development is about where a normal 3 or 4 year old would be. She is pretty tall and looks much older than her true age so it is not surprising. Her language skills are good, motor skills, athleticism, all good. She loves being active outside so the winter should be interesting, but hopefully as she matures a little she will get used to sitting and playing for long stretches.

She is not without fault since she is pretty bratty and acts like a little monster. It can be frustrating but we keep telling ourselves that if we stick to our true beliefs, try to instill our principles and morals in her, she will grow out of it. Or we could beat her. Or lock her in a closet. Or beat her and then the closet. But for now we use the penalty of losing privileges (no TV, no books read to her before bed, etc).

Overall, she is doing great. She is bratty at times, a lot of times, but is also very sweet and considerate. She loves being around other people and other kids and likes laughing so hopefully will grow up with that same attitude.

<b>Ethan</b>

Ethan was born on August 5 so he is about 6 weeks old. He makes this kind of grunting sound a lot unless he is in a deep sleep so sometimes it is hard to figure out if he is fussing or not. But he seems to be growing out of that and is much easier to handle then Emily when she was an infant. It might be the fact that we know what to expect and are more relaxed, or he might just be a calmer baby, but it really is much easier the second time around.

He sleeps for about 3 or 4 hours at a time and one night last week slept from 12:30 to 6, so we think he is getting close to sleeping through the night. It takes a while for a new born to adjust to regular hours and Emily slept through the night at 7 weeks, so hopefully it will be the same. Patti is getting up with him now because he is not really into bottles yet.

He is about 14 pounds and is starting to lose that ugly newborn look. His complexion is clearing up, his face is starting to form a normal shape, his head is starting to form a more round shape and he is starting to interact a little. He smiles every now and then for Patti or if Emily is singing to him, but not yet for me. Understandable.

Overall, things are going well. He is of course a newborn so needs constant attention, eats, sleeps, cries and poops with very little fun for me or Patti, but this time is a necessary step. When he is asleep on my chest while lying on the couch, not sure if there is really a better feeling.

That is it for an update on both kids. It is challenging at times and can be very frustrating, but alcohol and hope get us through those times. Overall is it very rewarding and I look forward more good times.

Posted by David at 02:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I finally put together some pictures of Ethan. <a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/Ethan/Gallery-1/Ethan-1.1.htm" target=_blank>Click here for pictures. </a>

<div align="center"> <a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/Ethan/Gallery-1/Ethan-1.1.htm"><img src=" http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/Ethan/Gallery-1/Ethan-Firstw.jpg" title="Ethan" name="Ethan" alt="Ethan" name="Ethan" width="200" height="250" border="1</a>

Posted by David at 09:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

On Thursday morning we had our second child, Ethan David Dobrindt. A couple of quick things.

- I am going to work on posting some pictures tomorrow. If you are really curious, just log onto any site with new born pictures and that is him. Swollen, odd shape, angry looking, puffy eyes. Wait, I just described myself. I do have some great pictures I will post soon but he looks like almost every other baby.

- Picking out his name was very very difficult. As you can imagine, I wanted to call him David Jr. My friends Peter, Billy and Joe Didio all had boys as their second child and named them after themselves. I liked David Jr. But my wife, my sisters and my parents all expressed their opinions, God bless them, and David Junior died on the vine. So then we went with the cool names. Spencer, Cooper, Pierce. None of those worked. Then we went with the classics. Thomas, William, James. Nope. So then we tried a combo of our fathers? names. Lawrence (after my father) James (after Patti?s) for Lawrence James Dobrindt, or LJ. But nope. Then one day Patti said she liked Ethan David and I went along. So now he is Ethan David Dobrindt.

- For those who had a tough time with their first child (like we did with Emily, 36 hours of labor, bad stuff happening that required doctors to rush in, Emily not getting the feeding thing), the second go-around is a million times easier. It?s kind of like building something. You cut your teeth the first time, the second time is much easier.

- My parents were able to fly up the morning he was born and Patti?s folks came up to help the first full day we were home. Both provided invaluable help and we could not have done it without them.

- Our friends Chuck and Danielle Slate, who have two little girls, took Emily the night we went into the hospital and our friends Claire and Mark, who have two little boys, watched her the morning we had Ethan until my parents got here. We owe both a ton of gratitude.

- The night Ethan was born, 17 other babies were born too. One of the risks of using a highly regarded city hospital is that a lot of other people do the same. But because so many were born, a bunch of moms had to double up on rooms. So for the first night Patti had to share a room with another mom. It was not a huge deal except that as you know, Patti has been through this before, and the other mom was a first timer. The other mom had a tough time with the newborn and required much more attention. Patti just wanted to be left alone and people were constantly coming in and out of the room to help the other mom. But the second night and last two days we had a great private room with a really nice view. Another strange thing. The other mom and her own mother who was there were both German decent but were from Zimbabwe. The father was American but the other two spoke with German accents and were white folks from Africa, just like me. That is not the strange thing. The strange thing is that the family were all ?Jews for Jesus?, or as I like to call them, Christians. They prayed a lot which was kind of nice because I just assume Patti and Junior got some of the prayer overflow.

- Now we are home and things are going well so far. Of course I have not gone back to work and we have had friends and family helping out. I am taking off this entire week and hopefully Patti will be more rested and physically feeling better by the time I go back to work. We?ll see.

That is about it. I will post some pictures when I get them web-enabled and you can see how handsome our boy is.

Posted by David at 08:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patti?s Uncle Tim ran the well known <a href="http://www.grandmasmarathon.com/" target=_blank>Grandma?s Marathon </a> last weekend in <a href="http://www.visitduluth.com/" target=_blank>Duluth, </a> <a href="http://www.duluth.com/" target=_blank>Minnesota. </a> Here is a snippet of a conversation.

<u>Tim</u>: I finished the race yesterday.

<u>Me</u>: Congrats. How did you do?

<u>Tim</u>: I came in 9th in of the 65 and older group.

<u>Me</u>: Aren't you 44?

Posted by David at 08:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Monday night at midnight I was on an empty Hertz courtesy bus going from Orlando airport to pick up my rental car to drive ? hour to a hotel. I pretty much spent the day, Memorial Day, in transit. I started the day in the Hamptons NY where I was driven to Orient Point where I took a Ferry to New London where I took Amrak to Boston where I drove to my house where I packed a bag and then drove to Logan where I flew, at 8:30PM, to Orlando.

As I was staring out the window of the Hertz bus, thinking about being in the Hamptons, my thoughts kept turning to how perfect the day started. I spent the first half hour of the day in bed with my wife and daughter watching cartoons. Without a care in the world. Except for this crazy cartoon dragon and these two little Spanish kids. There is nothing that could have made a better start to the day.

Posted by David at 10:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Last week we (myself, Patti and Emily) took a short vacation to Estes Park, Colorado. Patti?s grandmother lives there year round (I say year round because over 3M visitors come each year with roughly 3,500 permanent residents) and we went out for a 3 day trip. I am going to write about the trip in another, soon to be written post.

Anyway, Denver is roughly 5,000 feet above sea level and Estes Park is about 7,500 feet. Rocky Mountain National Park is anywhere from 8,000 to 14,000 feet above sea level, a place we spent two mornings exploring. At one point, we were at two miles, or 10,500 feet above sea level. Living most of my life at sea level in NY and Boston, there are small things about being that high.

For one, I was slightly out of breath at times. At sea level I blame this on being fat and out of shape, but in Estes Park I was able to blame it on the air.

Another is that matches, and I guess fire in general, burn faster. How do I know this?. I had a cigar one night and realized the matches went pretty quickly. So did the cigar.

The other thing I attribute to the thin air is that the gas stations sell 85, 87 and 89 octane gas. In NY and Boston, usually varieties are 87, 89 and 91 with an occasional 93. I just thought it was interesting.

My discerning and observant behavior is fascinating, I know.

Thought I?d share.

Posted by David at 10:26 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Had a nice birthday party for Patti yesterday. Originally we were going to do a quiet dinner with just the three of us, but we asked a couple of friends to have dinner with us. So after getting up at 4AM, flying from Orlando to Boston, working all day, picking up my sister, who is in Boston for training at Harvard, driving around Boston in the pouring rain and flooded streets, picking up flowers and gourmet dinner which is my version of I?ll-cook-dinner-on-your-birthday, I walked into a house of chaos.

For dinner and the ?party?, there was me, a man, and 9 females ? 4 adults and 5 kids. 4 of the kids are 2 or under and the 5th is 4. And if you have ever seen my insanely overpriced house in a nice neighborhood, you know that 4 people on the first floor is tight ? and 10 is like an English soccer riot waiting room.

But it was a good time and our friends Diedre and Danielle, with their girls Olivia and Julia (Diedre) and Jackie and Gabrielle (Danielle) were a ton of fun. Their husbands were traveling and at school, respectively, so that is how I had the luck of being in a house full of babes.

Thought I?d share.

Posted by David at 11:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/videos/Emily/Emily022804/video.htm" target=_blank>Click here </a>for the latest emily video

UPDATE: there seems to be some kind of technical problem with the video. If it stops playing in the beginning, then try again another day. I am going to work on it. - DD, March 2.

Posted by David at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/videos/Emily/video.htm" TARGET=_blank>Click here</a> to access a movie I made about Emily. It's about 3 minutes long. The movie is pretty basic because I am still new to the program I use to create the movie.

Turn up your volume because it has music.

If you don't have Flash player, it will automatically prompt you to download it and you will have to reboot.

Plus, not sure how this will work over dial up.

David

<u>Update:</u> <a href="http://www.moveyourasana.com/David/videos/PattiandDavid/Intro/video.htm" Target=_blank>Click here </a>to access another movie of Patti and I. This one is about 5 minutes long.

Posted by David at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Weekend with Emily

Patti is going away this weekend with some girlfriends to New York City. For the first time ever, I am left alone with Emily, our 20 month old daughter, for more than a day. In fact, I have never been alone with her for more than 12 hours. I?ve watched her all day, watched her in the evening where I fed her, bathed and put her to bed, and do normal stuff, but just never had her for three consecutive days without Patti. It?s not that I mind, it just never happened. So this weekend, from Friday at 9AM until Sunday after she goes to bed, I will have her. This is going to be my running log of how it?s going and how it went.

<u>10:10 AM Friday:</u> Patti left about 55 minutes ago. No problem so far. Dropped Emily off at a neighbor?s house about 10 minutes ago to take a work call. Will pick her up at 11. So far so good.

<u>10:24 AM Friday:</u> Still ok. Of course she is not here, but no calls from friend who is watching her until 11.

<u>12:20 Noon Fri:</u> She WILL NOT take a nap. I put her down, walk out of the room and here ?thump thump thump thump? and she comes booking out of the room. And I KNOW she is tired. But she just wants to play and run around like a banshee.

<u>1:35 PM Fri:</u> Gave up trying on the nap thing. Had lunch, tried the nap thing, gave up, and just decided to let her do her thing. She is watching a movie in our bedroom and I am hoping, nay, praying, she falls asleep. Otherwise its going to be a long afternoon. We?ll find something to do.

<u>2:30 PM Fri:</u> Just watched Barney for the past hour. I would put a dart in my head if I had to watch that show all day long. But it?s good for kids because 1) they sing slowly, 2) they say nice things like ?I love you?, ?thank you? and ?you won?t get beat up in public school if you are on this show? and 3) the main ?adult? character is made up and in a big colorful get-up so nothing strange like four grown men playing with kids (i.e. The Wiggles). Only 4 and a half more hours until it's her bedtime.

<u>7:30 PM Fri:</u> The little monster is finally asleep. And what the h**l does Patti do with her all day. I had a tea party with invisible water, scattered plastic animals all over the house, made an army of odd shaped people who all had to fit in a 2 foot tall home, and watched almost all of our Disney videos. If the weather was nice, I would have spent the day outside but since it is zero degrees, not joking, without the wind chill, I thought it wise to stay indoors. So we went from first floor to second floor to relieve the boredom. But we had a nice dinner, pain-free bath, and some down time that consisted of her taking cardboard wrapping paper rolls and banging them on my head while laughing right before she conked out. But she is down, it?s 7:40, and I have the night to find some serious drugs to get me through the weekend.

<u>7:50 AM Sat:</u> Kind of a rough night. Up a few times, the longest being from 2 to 4. The good thing is that when she is up, she sleeps late. She would usually be up by now but is still sleeping, giving me time to write this silly note.

<u>11:45 AM Sat:</u> The kids show Caillou has to be the very worst kids show on television ever. This wining, bratty complaining kid is the centerpiece of the stupid show. ?I don?t wanna eat?, ?I don?t wanna draw?, ?I want a chocolate bar?, ?I?m hungry?. That is basically all he says. And he does it in a nasally tone that makes the hair on my deck stand up. If I were one of the writers of that show, I would change the parents from being weak, cave-in wimps to stern, disciplinarians. I would definitely take it to the other extreme. The first thing they would say when Caillou complained would be ?You?re in MY world now, brat?.

As for Emily, things are fine. I braved the 1 degree temperature and took her with me to run errands. Nothing special. Coffee, library, supermarket. It was fine.

<u>7:00 PM Sat:</u> Not a bad afternoon. Again, no nap, but not too bad since she hung out in her room really quietly for an hour. I tried to put her down but I guess she just needed some down time. Other than that, the afternoon was just hanging out and playing. So far, our friend Diedre has called to offer help and see how I was doing, my friend Chuck called to see if I wanted to go to the mall with him and his girl and my friend Mark called to see if I wanted to come over with Emily to play with his boy while we watched football. Everyone knows I am alone this weekend and is offering help. Not sure what that says about my reputation as a care giver, but nice still the same. Now it?s off to dinner and football at the Dobrindt Tap and Grill.

<u>8:15 AM Sun:</u> Great night. Really great night. She slept from 7 last night until 8 this morning. She NEVER does that. Oh, glorious sleep, uninterrupted sleep, nights rest.

<u>12:30 AM Sun:</u> Just got back from a baby shower. Will not do that again. Nothing against baby showers, but they are not for me. I brought Emily and I think it was no kids allowed so that makes it even worse. But I was only there for one hour and Emily was kind of ok. Anyway, back to the baby shower. Not going to do it again.

<u>8:15PM Sun:</u> The weekend is over. Patti got back about 4 this afternoon and everything is fine. Actually, I had a good time. Once I figured out what to do for those long stretches of time in the morning and afternoon, since it was too cold to do anything outside, I was fine. Now it?s back to normal.

Posted by David at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I met Patti when she was living in Butcher Holler, Kentucky where her father worked the coal mines. Butcher Holler was a rural town of poorly built houses nestled in the hills of Kentucky. I was the highest bidder at a once-a-year auction where young ladies in town would auction off pies they baked to the young men in town. The highest bidder, me for Patti's chocolate pie, would get the pie and a date with the girl who baked it. I had just returned from service in World War Two and knew her before I left. She lived in small house in the hills with her folks and many younger brothers and sisters.

Wait! That was Loretta Lynn in The Coal Miners Daughter. Not me and Patti. I need to stop watching that <i>every </i>time it's on TV.

Posted by David at 02:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I updated some pictures. For now, most are of Emily but in the next day or so I will have some from other family events. See link to 'pictures' on the side navigation for updated pictures.

Posted by David at 05:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

This is New England. We get snow, and usually a lot of it. But this past weekend we really got socked. In the area I live in, we ended getting around 30 or so inches. Here is how Saturday progressed.

<u><b>7:00 AM:</b></u> Woke up to Emily crying. Typical so nothing alarming. About 5 inches on the ground.

<u><b>7:05AM:</b></u> Emily not acting her usual self.

<u><b>7:10 AM:</b></u> Patti takes her temperature. Rectal thermometer. She is not happy. Temperature of 102.3

<u><b>7:30 AM:</b></u> Call her pediatricians office. I head outside to shovel. See my neighbors and chat about how this sucks but deep down inside it is kind of fun because all the guys are out and starting to fire up their snow blowers. It?s the weekend so no one has to go to work.

<u><b>9:00 AM:</b></u> Decide to head to the store to get food and beer for the afternoon plus some over the counter medicine for Emily. Doctor tells us to stay put since the storm is supposed to become a blizzard during the day.

<u><b>10:30 AM:</b></u> Parking lot of North Quincy Stop and Shop. I put the groceries in the passenger side and hit the unlock button to walk around to get in. When loading the groceries, I reached in and started the truck to give it some time to warm up. Since I was driving and not spending much time outside, I had a light jacket on with gloves and hat in the truck. What I didn?t realize was that I hit the ?lock? button, not the unlock.

<u><b>10:31 AM:</b></u> Try to open the driver?s side door. It?s locked. Quick and painful bolt of fear rips through me. I calmly walk back to the passenger side door. Try it. Curse really loudly but since the snow is blowing sideways at 100 miles per hour no one hears me.

<u><b>10:32 AM:</b></u> After standing, frozen by indecision and confusion at what to do, plus freezing blizzard, I call Patti to ask her to get in the other car and come get me with fever child.

<u><b>10:33 AM:</b></u> Realize I have the only two sets of keys to the other car. In the truck. Locked. We agree to call our friend and neighbor to come and bring me a spare set of truck keys.

<u><b>10:45 AM:</b></u> I am doing ok. I don?t want to leave the truck since it is running and all the stuff is inside so I decided to stay next to it. I am starting to get a little cold but doing ok.

<u><b>11:00 AM:</b></u> No friend and neighbor yet. Not a problem. My back is to the wind and sometimes I crouch down behind the truck to get out of the wind. People sometimes look at me for standing in the cold. But that?s ok, I probably look funny.

<u><b>11:10 AM:</b></u> These stupid plow guys drive by every freakin? minute to clear the lanes in the parking lot. Can?t one of them offer some help. At least see if I need help. Jerks.

<u><b>11:25 AM:</b></u> Can?t feel my feet. Teeth are chattering slightly but overall I am doing ok. I found one of those covered booths that people put their shopping carts in. I am now standing in there. I am soaking wet but out of the wind.

<u><b>11:35 AM:</b></u> Have to leave the shopping cart house because people look at me with disgust (they probably think I am looking for some money) or fear (they probably think I am looking for a victim). I go back to the truck. This Go***mn blizzard is killing me. I am really cold, my hands won?t open, I can?t remember what day it is.

<u><b>11:45 AM:</b></u> Over an hour here. Frozen through. Soaked. Can?t recall my social security number. Think I just saw a Moped sitting in the back of a blue Chevy that went by with an albino midget in a Santa suit driving. Wonder if Riverdance will come back to Boston. Would like to see it.

<u><b>11:50 AM:</b></u> Can?t move and hate the bags of groceries in the truck because they are laughing at me while warm and listening to the radio and they could unlock the door if they wanted to but hate me so they won?t but I will get them for mocking me standing here and DON?T LOOK AT ME YOU PERSON IN THE RED JEEP because I lied about not having lunch money in the 1st grade so I could buy ice cream for dessert but fessed up before buying the ice cream so I am forgiven of my sins HA HA HA.

<u><b>12:00 Noon:</b></u> Friend and neighbor pulls up. Gives me the keys. I open the car and it?s as warm as Jamaica on my honeymoon in the middle of a summer. I take off my wet jacket and slip in the comfort of the warmth and cry. Thank the good Lord for heaters and dry seats.

<u><b>12:30 PM:</b></u> Emily?s temperature is up to around 103.5. We have given her Motrin and Tylenol but they don?t work.

<u><b>1:00 PM:</b></u> Our doctor tells us to give her a warm bath to try to break the fever. She cries hysterically during the bath. We take her out, dress her and she falls asleep while in our arms.

<u><b>1:15 PM:</b></u> I shovel again. I have an electric snow blower that works if the snow is less than 6 inches. It works fine for my purposes.

<u><b>3:00 PM:</b></u> Emily wakes up but is on fire. Temperature is 104. Doctor says to give her some more Tylenol and keep giving her juice.

<u><b>3:10 PM:</b></u> Patti and Emily are happily lying in bed watching TV, drinking juice and eating crackers.

<u><b>4:00 PM:</b></u> Temperature down to 103.2. We feel a little better. The doctor tells us to check it every hour because the Tylenol should have dropped it more than that. Or the Motrin. One of them should have dropped it more.

<u><b>4:15 PM:</b></u> I shovel again. Weather channel is predicting worst of the storm to come in around 7 or 8. Would have been a great day except for worrying about Emily.

<u><b>6:00 PM:</b></u> Emily?s temperature steady but medicine will be wearing off soon.

<u><b>7:00 PM:</b></u> Take her temperature and is at 104.3. Decide to take her to Children?s Hospital ER in Boston. The nurse at our doctor?s call number says Mass General also has pediatrician ER capabilities. We discuss calling an ambulance or the fire department to help us through the snow and stuff.

<u><b>7:10 PM:</b></u> Decide to drive ourselves. Patti gets Emily ready while I shovel the driveway and get the truck ready.

<u><b>7:20 PM:</b></u> Three of us in the truck. It?s warm. I will never lock the keys in it again. We head out.

<u><b>7:30 PM:</b></u> Cross the line from Milton into the city of Boston. Roads in Milton are awful and we get through but it?s tough. City of Boston roads, at least the heavily traveled ones that we will take to the hospital, are plowed to the pavement. Great condition but its slow going. Roads are fine. Mayor wants to get re-elected.

<u><b>7:45 PM:</b></u> Pull into ER bay at hospital about 8 miles from our house. Let Emily and Patti out. Suddenly I am overcome with sadness. All day I knew she was sick but it was just a cold or flu or just a fever. I just thought it would pass like any other time she has been slightly sick. But taking her out of the truck with her so lethargic and an expression of worry on Patti?s face makes me a little emotional. This is my daughter going into the emergency room during the worst December storm in Massachusetts history, at the height of the storm, and there was nothing I could do about it. I am sure she will be fine but she obviously feels like shit and keeps looking at us to make her feel better. As I drive away from the ER bay to find parking, I say a silent prayer for her safety. My first child and if she were our fourth I am sure we would be much more relaxed, but she is not our fourth and we are worried.

<u><b>7:55 PM:</b></u> Walk into the ER to find Patti and Emily sitting in the waiting area. Find it kind of funny that the waiting room has a big fish tank with some Goldfish but a couple of cool tropical fish too and one that looks like the leader in the fish tank from Finding Nemo. Want to tell the goldfish that all drains DO NOT lead to the ocean and that they will probably die in that tank, but bring Emily and Patti to the receptionist instead.

<u><b>7:56 PM:</b></u> Receptionist person takes Emily?s information.

<u><b>7:58 PM:</b></u> Emily?s temperature has been taken (104.5), her heart rate and blood oxygen level taken and she has been given some Motrin. All under 5 minutes of walking up to the receptionist. Feel 100% better and 1000% sure we did the right thing by brining her here. For nothing else, peace of mind. Or in my case, piece of mind.

<u><b>8:10 PM:</b></u> Admin finishes processing us. Emily is playing in the kid friendly waiting area. Other sick kids and worried parents there. All look like some kind of flu or virus problems. No bones sticking out of shins or nails through fingers. All kids basically lying down on the benches looking freakin? miserable. Parents, siblings and nannies sitting next to them looking bored and tired, cold and anxious.

<u><b>8:20 PM:</b></u> Called into an examination room. During the next hour and 40 minutes they will check her, examine her, take urine and send to lab. Nurses and a doctor will check her ears, eyes, mouth and everything else to rule out anything serious and rule in that she is just sick with a bad fever and will get better. Emily is extremely good when strangers poke and prod her and only cries when they put a catheter in to get a urine sample. We take her temperature with a rectal thermometer which she DOES NOT like so she probably thinks we are going to do that. But she settles down right away.

<u><b>10:15 PM:</b></u> We leave the hospital. Her temp is down to around 101.5 and she should be fine.

<u><b>10:20 PM:</b></u> On the road and not much fun. But since there are no other nuts out driving the roads are clear.

<u><b>10:40 PM:</b></u> Let Emily and Patti out and get them into the house. Have to shovel now because there is 20 inches on the ground and it?s supposed to snow all night. See friend and neighbor Bill outside and he tells me how they, they being him, his wife and their eldest daughter who is 4, went to see Cat in the Hat but left early because it was kind of scary and the theater gave them an option to refund the tickets or give them vouchers for future use. They chose future use.

<u><b>11:30 PM:</b></u> Come inside to finally have some dinner. Try to watch Saturday Night Live because Al Sharpton is the host and Pink is the musical guest but they have a Best of Steve Martin special on instead. Later learn that some stations would not show it because Sharpton is running for president and there is a law that says stations have to give all political candidates equal airtime and local NBC affiliate, I guess, wasn?t sure if they wanted to give Wesley Clark and Howard Dean an hour and a half to host a comedy show too.

Posted by David at 12:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emily is 18 months old. Over the weekend we were driving in our truck with me in the driver's seat, Patti in the passenger seat and Emily in a car seat in the middle of the back. Our truck has an extended cab so she is able to sit back there. Here is how a simple exchange went between her and us from her point of view.

Situation: Emily had a cup with some juice in it in her hand. On the space in the front seat between myself and Patti was a bag with stuff for Emily.

(Emily thinking: This juice is good. Look at that pretty car. This music is good, better than sports talk radio he usually puts on. Ooh, there?s some crackers up there.)

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: Chatcher.

<u><b>Patti</b></u>: What sweetie?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: Chatcher. Please.

<u><b>Patti (looking back at Emily): </b></u>What do you want hon?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: Please. Chatcher.

<u><b>Patti </b></u>(looking around): You want more juice?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: no no no. A cracker. I would like a cracker). Chatcher.

<u><b>Patti</b></u>: You want some raisins??

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: what is going on here? Why can?t she just give me some delicious cheddar cheese flavored Cheese Nip crackers? They?re right there!) PLEASE! CHATCHER!

<u><b>Me</b></u>: What is it boo-boo? What do you need?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: Oh great, now he is doing it?) Chatcher.

<u><b>Patti</b></u>: I?m sorry hon, but I don?t know what you want?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: I want one of those crackers that are sitting in that ziplock bag on top of my stuff. They?re right there, right in front of you. RIGHT THERE!! What is wrong with you people? Why can?t you just give me a cracker. JUST ONE.) chatcher. Please. Chatcher. (Emil thinking: I am pointing right at them).

<u><b>Patti</b></u>: Sweetie, you?re pointing at the steering wheel, do you want to drive?

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: What?? Drive?? Are you crazy?? I. Just. Want. A. Cracker). Chatcher. Chatcher. Chatcher.

<u><b>Patti</b></u>: Oh, a cracker. You want a cracker. (hands her a couple of crackers).

<u><b>Emily</b></u>: (Emily thinking: Finally. Some crackers. Thank you). Shank Few.

Posted by David at 01:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emily was 18 months old on November 2. About 3 weeks ago, our morning started normally. Emily usually gets up between 6 and 7, the same time I start to get ready for work, and she?ll stay in her crib for a few minutes before she makes a sound indicating she is ready to come lay in bed with us (or Patti) and watch the Today show (or Sesame Street). Emily had a little cold for the past few days and her sleeping was a little off. We would give her Benadryl or something before bed and usually once again sometime in the middle of the night. Other times she would wake up coughing but eventually fall back asleep.

There we were, waiting for her to end her self-play and make a sound, when we realized she was unusually quiet. For anyone who has been in our house, our bedroom is very close to hers. Actually, all of our bedrooms are close together, it?s kind of a small house.

So Patti jumped out of bed, looked out of our room and down the hall, and there was Emily standing in the doorway. At 2 weeks shy of 18 months, she learned how to get out of the crib. I got up and saw a bed sheet tied to the top of the crib with little knots tied in it. I hope her prison break is not a sign of other things to come. Joking. No bed sheet. She figured out how to get out and hang from the crib and make the small jump to the ground.

About a week later Patti was out on a Saturday and I had Emily all to myself. While she was taking a nap during the afternoon, I was doing stuff around the house, constantly checking up on her. I heard her stirring so I gave it a minute and went upstairs to get her. As I walked in, I noticed the crib empty and Emily sitting on the glider with a devilish smile on her face. The floodgates are open.

The question now is do we make it safer (and easier) for her to get out (I have images of lying in bed and hearing a loud ?thump? following by ear shattering cries) or do we, well, I am not sure what to do. The crib bed is at its lowest point and shy of putting a net or something on top, I am not sure what to do.

Oh well, I guess we?ll figure out something.

On a side note, Emily?s recent phase (she does strange things for a while then stops) is walking around saying ?Apple? and pointing at everything. But in her sweet toddler voice it comes out like ?Ah-puh? like she is substituting the ?L?s for ?W?s.

I have some pictures of Halloween I am going to post soon too.

Posted by David at 08:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

After following the Jets for years, I?ve decided Emily is going to take after Patti?s side and root for the Minnesota Vikings. She is ready for the rest of this season thanks to an outfit from Vikings central, also known as Uncle Tim and Aunt Debbie. You can also see how excited she was <a href=" http://www.dobrindts.com/pics/Emily/Emily101903/EmVikings-101903-03.jpg" TARGET=_blank>while getting ready to watch the game</a>, a picture of her <a href=" http://www.dobrindts.com/pics/Emily/Emily101903/EmVikings-101903-01.jpg" TARGET=_blank> a little sad coming home</a>, and Emily and I heading to a friend's house to watch <a href=" http://www.dobrindts.com/pics/Emily/Emily101903/EmVikings-101903-02.jpg" TARGET=_blank>the game</a>.

Thanks to the folks in Minnesota for the outfit, all the kids in the neighborhood are jealous (at the outfit and the record of the Vikings). <div align="center"> <a href=" http://www.dobrindts.com/pics/Emily/Emily101903/EmVikings-101903-04.jpg" TARGET=_blank><img src=" http://www.dobrindts.com/pics/Emily/Emily101903/EmVikings-101903-04.jpg" title="Little Vikings Fan" name="Small Vikings Fan" alt="Tiny Vikings Fan" name="Miniature Vikings Fan" width="100" height="140" border="1</a>

Posted by David at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Chip A Hoy cookies are not a suitable breakfast for a 17 month old.

This is the story: The other morning Patti was getting ready for the day and since I was dressed and ready, I went downstairs with Emily first. We were in the kitchen, me getting my stuff together, scanning the paper, when Emily spotted a bag of cookies on the kitchen table. She started pointing at the bag and started saying "cookie, cookie" in that sweet, mumbled way 17 month old kids do.

So I, like most logical, rational men would, said "Hey booboo, you want a cookie? Is that what you're saying? Cookie? OK!" And I went to get a cookie out of the bag. No problem, right? Why not? She doesn't have to worry about weight problems, she is pretty lean for a little kid. I know she would eat it because, well, it's a cookie and cookies taste good.

So just as I was about to take the cookie out, Patti walked in and said "What are you doing?"

Not sure if it was a trick question, I replied "Giving Em breakfast."

Nuh uh. Not the right answer. Patti, very nicely I might add, reminded me that 'cookies' were not suitable for a child's breakfast.

They will be 'suitable' when I give Emily breakfast and Patti's not around.

Posted by David at 08:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Never, ever give a 17-month old 3 juice boxes 2 hours before bed time. And don't try to blame it on your friend's 4 year old kid when pressed by your wife when fore mentioned 17-month old is up 2 hours past her bedtime.

Posted by David at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Excuse me for a minute while I bore you to death with some random notes.

<a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/100-0033_IMG.jpg" TARGET=_blank>Here</a> we have a nice picture of Emily getting ready to play softball for the West Hampton Beach Under-2 Softball Team. This was while we were vacationing on the east end of Long Island during and the week after July 4th.

Moving away from Emily for a second, you can see my <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/100-0048_IMG.jpg" TARGET=_blank>beautiful wife</a> at one of the many wineries we went to on the east end of Long Island. We left Emily with a dish of water, papers on the floor and some food suspended from the counter for the afternoon and went to some vineyards. It was our 4 year anniversary.

Emily had a great time at a quiet <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Beach-070503-05.jpg" TARGET=_blank>stretch of beach</a> off of Dune Road in the Hamptons. When she was at the beach she was content with sitting in the sand and playing. Everywhere else, it?s like watching a goat rodeo.

Another shot of Emily at the <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Beach-070503-12.jpg" TARGET=_blank>beach</a> having a good time.

<b><u>Warning: </u>If you are getting sick of pictures and stories of Emily, stop now because it only gets worse. </b>

You can see pictures of Emily <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Emily-062203-03.jpg" TARGET=_blank>here </a> and <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindtobrindt/Emily/Emily-062503-06.jpg" TARGET=_blank>here</a>.

I tried to teach Emily how to use a <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Emily-070403-02.jpg" TARGET=_blank>lawnmower</a>. She?s afraid of the real thing though.

Here we have a shot of <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Emily-070603-04.jpg" TARGET=_blank>Emily </a> waiting for blueberries to grow.

On July 4th we went to the Southampton parade, a pretty big parade on the east end of Long Island. <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/EmParade-070403-03.jpg" TARGET=_blank>Emily </a> got pretty excited.

Here?s just a <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/GiaEm-070503-01.jpg" TARGET=_blank>cute shot</a> of Emily.

During the very long and colorful parade, I was so captivated by this <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Parade4th-070403-09.jpg" TARGET=_blank>screaming group</a> of kids that I almost missed this <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Parade4th-070403-10.jpg" TARGET=_blank>black van</a>. Good times.

Jim had a part in the parade. He rode this <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/ParadeJim-070401-02.jpg" TARGET=_blank>Hog</a> around to keep people in line.

A friend of Patti?s mom bought Emily a small pool. We filled it up with ice cold water from the hose and <a href=" http://home.comcast.net/~dobrindt/Emily/Pool-070403-03.jpg" TARGET=_blank>Emily went right in</a>, clothes and all. We had to take her out after her lips started turning blue and she started to shiver.

Posted by David at 06:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Patti and I were in Minnesota the weekend of June 7 for a wedding. On Sunday it started to rain so a bunch of us sat around the dining room table playing games. During a break, Patti?s <a href="http://www.dobrindts.com/MNindex.htm#Cast">Uncle Tim</a>, the father of the groom, told a bunch of us about something called the ?Hair Fights?. Now, if it was anyone else, I would be intrigued. But Uncle Tim is a practical joker, so immediately warning bells started going off. I decided to see what the ?Hair Fights? were about anyway.

He pulled a strand of hair from one person then pulled a strand of hair from someone else. He said that something in hair makes it look like they are fighting when put together. At this point, warning bells weren?t just going off, lights and a siren were blaring. He proceeded to put the two pieces of hair on the table. He said for it to work, water had to be added to the hair. He then took a cup of water and slowly poured it around the pieces of hair, forming a large puddle. Forget warning bells, lights and sirens. Something was up. Knowing Tim fairly well, I got up from the table and took a couple of steps back. He was up to no good.

He then said to the two other unwitting participants that they had to look real close. Get down right next to the puddle of water with the fighting hairs he said. Closer. Closer still. Look real close. Can you see it?

WHAM!!

Just as they were about an inch from the water, he slapped the puddle, spraying water all over whoever was close.

Yep, that?s Uncle Tim.

Posted by David at 02:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today is Tuesday, May 27, 2003. The Memorial Day weekend just ended and now it is back to work. We had three days of rain, heavy rain, Noah's Ark rain, over the weekend. The best part was being forced to stay inside and do stuff that new home owners do.

One other thing. We used our fireplace for the first time this weekend. Since it is the unofficial start of summer, no place had wood to sell. So we ended up burning old pieces of wood that we had in the garage and basement. We didn't get down to the studs and support beams - we burned old useless pieces of wood.

That's about it. Nothing exciting. I have to post some new pictures, comment on golf and Iran, but that's for another time.

-Dave

Posted by David at 11:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

<a href="http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dobrindt/">Click here </a>for videos of Emily or go to http://mywebpages.comcast.net/dobrindt/

Posted by David at 01:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I can?t believe it?s been over two weeks since I?ve posted something and even longer since I?ve posted something meaningful. I am sorry. For the three people who actually view this site, I am truly sorry. Believe me, I have plenty to say. And if I could post my thoughts on this site via telepathy, I would probably put something up every hour. But I can?t, and that is why I haven?t posted in a long long time.

Let me first update you on Emily. She is doing very well. Walking, talking a lot, saying ?daddy? much more, and being very sweet. The house is coming along. There are a ton of things to do and only so many hours in the day. It is a little overwhelming, but hey, I signed up for this. Now that it?s stopped snowing and the temperature has risen above 50, I am starting to do much more in the yard. Overall, it?s going well.

Work is?.umm, ahh?..it?s?things?.(my eyes shifting from side to side, me looking uncomfortable)?work is fine. Nuff said.

I will be back soon.

Posted by David at 09:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

If anyone is interested in working in the exciting field of management consulting, here is how the last week went. It is fairly typical, even on the easier end, of a consulting week.

- Worked Wed night until 9:30
- Drove to Conn at noon on Thu
- Drove back from Conn at 3, straight to airport
- Flew to Atlanta, got to hotel at midnight
- Worked until 2am
- Spent Fri with client
- Flew home Fri night, got in at 10
- Worked until midnight
- Worked parts of Sat and Sunday
- Mon morning, flew to Philadelphia
- Spent Mon and Tue with client
- Tues night, flew back to Boston
- In the office early Wed morning

But hey, if it?s so bad, I could always quit, right?

Posted by David at 11:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Quick update. Emily is coming up on 10 months old and is standing on her own for a few seconds. She isn't going anywhere, but at least she is standing. She is making sounds much more and is equating certain sounds, ones that resemble 'mom' and 'dad', to each of us. We started giving her Cherrios to snack on in addition to her regular food. She crawls all around the first floor and is able to make her way up the stairs. When she is on something, like the couch or bed, she knows to go down feet first.

That's about it. - Dave

Posted by David at 08:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Emily is doing well. She is almost standing on her own, but no where near walking. She has 4 upper teeth and two lower teeth completely in. The move disrupted her sleep a little, but she seems to be back on track. I have a bunch of pictures going back to the beginning of October I have to put up.

Continue reading "Emily update" »

Posted by David at 10:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The other night I sat on the floor in our apartment after finishing up a final cleaning and after getting the rest of our odds and ends. The apartment was completely empty, except for one single lamp, for the first time since it was built post WW2. The father of the current owner bought the house after he came back from the war, raised his kid on the first floor (our apartment), then his son lived there with his wife and kids for a period before buying their own house. Then we moved in.

So there I was, sitting on the floor against the wall, having a beer and thinking about the five years we spent there. Then it dawned on me: the four walls and a roof had shifted from a ?home?, to an apartment. Patti and I spent 5 years in that place. 5 important, growing, wonderful years. We moved there not married, then came home from our honeymoon to that apartment. We conceived, and brought home, Emily in that apartment. It was the first home she ever knew. We argued and played in there. We cared for Pumbaa, our dog, after we found out he had cancer, and came back to that apartment after putting him to sleep. Albeit a much emptier apartment. We had friends and relatives stay on the couch and in the spare bedroom. We hid from creditors calling us, and high-fived each other when we were debt free (well, almost debt free) in that apartment. We had countless burgers in the backyard, countless nights of sitting out there with our neighbors and friends, drinking beer and listening to the Red Sox on the radio.

We took taxis to and from there, were woken up by the crowded streets on late Friday and Saturday nights, and sat on the front porch for more nights than I can remember. We got to know our neighbors and would not have loved the areas were it not for them. Patti and I watched countless movies in the living room, had fun times cooking dinner, and walked through the threshold of the front door thousands of times.

The bathroom is tiny, you have to hold the handle for 15 seconds to get it to flush, the toilet runs and the ceiling is falling down. The wall paper is peeling, the radiators sound like someone is banging a pipe with a baseball bat, and the heat often goes out. But we will miss that place. We will miss the cement ground in the backyard, the tiny plot of dirt we call a front yard, and trying to find parking on our street. We will miss our neighbors who brought over food when we came home with Emily and who helped us out more times than we can recall.

Our old place is changing from a home to an apartment while our new place does the reverse. As we unpack, figure out the intricacies of a house that is almost 50 years old and get to know the neighborhood, we will always remember, and miss, the apartment. The house is bigger, it?s nicer, it?s ours, sure. But sometimes an old, worn t-shirt just feels better than a bright new one. At least until it gets worn in.

Posted by David at 12:28 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)