March went out like a cross between a lion and lamb. On its last day, it was about 55 and partly sunny. For the month, we had two days that hit 70 degrees and two days that never made it above freezing. Not sure, but that's probably average.
As it was, I chose to rollover and sleep a while longer after my eyes caught the first glimpse of daylight. Sad, though, because at first light the sun was shining, but when I rolled out of bed for good (8:20am) there was nothing but clouds. However, I must’ve needed the rest and why deny myself. Fact was, I could’ve slept even longer but the need to run and get my day moving was a compelling enough reason.
I cracked out my morning calisthenics and then my morning walk with Ykraps in no time flat. Soon, I was basking in the glory of hot Saturday morning coffee and the bliss that only a weekend can offer. I called Mindy shortly after 9:10am at her request. She had already been out for a morning run through her subdivision. Go Mindy! We didn’t talk to long though, I had to get busy with my own run and then get organized for spending the afternoon and night at her house along with my GD, Kaileigh.
My run went well despite the gray skies and much cooler temps. The temperature was hovering close to 50 when I ran. I finished my run around 10:35am and spent the next couple of hours readying for my day away. I IM’d a little with cousin Dodie whom I hadn’t talked with in quite some time. She reported that things were going well for her and husband Randy, and that she was recovering from a recent tummy tuck. Ouch – that has to hurt!
Knowing that I’d be away until mid day Sunday, I took extra care to pack everything I’d need to be comfortable along with a few culinary items Mindy had asked me to bring. We were going to color eggs, make cookies, and dinner. For my entertainment pleasure, I packed my book as well as my guitar. In addition, I packed some casual dress clothes in case we went to church together on Sunday as we had discussed. Soon I was on my way to pick-up Kaileigh. She lives around the corner from my ex-wife, Kelly. She was all ready to go when I got there. After a few minutes we were on our way to Mindy’s.
Once at Mindy’s, the kids immediately began playing and having a really good time. They played a little rough but certainly not as rough as I have seen before, or for that matter, any rougher than I would’ve expected. Mindy, however, had other ideas. More than a couple of times, Mindy corrected their aggressive, loud and rowdy behavior. If you ask me, I think the spring break thing was getting to her a little. She hadn’t had any Mindy time to speak of and instead had given her entire week not only to her own kids, but to my grand kids as well. What she needed was some time in Mexico!
While the kids played, we made cookie dough and began blowing eggs. I had never blown eggs before but found the idea fascinating. I liken it to blowing up party balloons. My mouth was tired and sore by the time I finished. It’s accomplished by poking a hole in each end of a fresh egg – ideally, one hole about as big around as a Q-tip while the other need only be about 1/16th of an inch. Then you blow the guts out into a bowl. To clean the egg, suck warm water from a bowl back into the egg, shake, then blow it back out. After you color and/or decorate the egg, you can save them as keepsakes for years to come. I did eighteen of those babies! We obviously had a shit load of eggs for omelets the following morning!
The egg coloring was organized chaos. For some reason Mindy and I both visualized this process going so much smoother with the three children. It was almost as fun as the Zoo lights at Christmas, but slightly better only because we were warm. Mindy had enough foresight to put a plastic drop cloth under her dining room table and a cheap plastic table cloth on top taped securely underneath. Some of the new techniques and tools available on the market for coloring eggs are cool but none seem to work as well as good old food coloring, vinegar, and hot water. The kids had fun but many of the eggs turned out all the same –a muted purple/pink, but some glitter pens and food coloring filled q-tips helped remedy this. Let’s just say that Mindy had her fill by the time they were finished, and so had I. When you add a three, a five, and a six year old together with 36 eggs, some dye, pens, and glitter, you’re just asking for trouble.
Once we were done, Mindy moved swiftly into dinner mode for the kids. That was easy. Hot dogs, cheese, and snacks. When they were done and before our dinner, Mindy asked if she could be the one to leave and go walk Ykraps. I had sensed that she needed to get away so I happily agreed to stay back with the kids while she escaped for about a one hour reprieve. Never would scooping poop be so delightful! And to add an extra layer of excitement, I foolishly agreed to get them all bathed before her return.
To make it more fun, Mindy agreed to allow them to bathe in her deep whirlpool tub located in the master bedroom. Soon there were three kids in the tub, me standing guard, Mindy off on her much deserved reprieve. I filled the tub about halfway up the jets. Sadly, that was a mistake. The next thing I knew one of the kids jammed their toe in the jet creating a steady stream of shooting water across the entire bathroom soaking the walls and floor. I knew I had to clean that up in a hurry or Mindy might scalp me upon her return. Menawhile, the kids jockeyed for position in the tub and splashed one another incessantly. After scrubbing each of them I dubbed it time to vacate the tub. None were willing. After practically begging, they decided to fight over one of the three towels available for drying. One was pink, the other two were blue. Surprisingly, all three wanted the pink towel. At least now I had my bargaining chip in hand! Jacob was the first to agree to get out with the promise of the pink towel as his reward.(??) That pissed Bella off and she let us all know it by crying profusely. Long story short, they each shared the pink towel somewhere through the drying process. Go figure! And If that wasn’t enough, hold tight!
While getting jammies on each of them, acrobatics broke out on the steps down from the whirlpool tub to the rest of the master bath ( five steps I believe). The game was to leap from the top step all the way to the carpeted master bath, and according to them, Mindy allows this all the time. I envisioned broken bones, blood, and trouble from the outset. And sure enough, just as I begged them to stop to prevent someone from getting hurt, Bella leaped proudly through the air from the fifth step right in the direction of an observing Jacob. And just as I feared, her cheek collided with his oversized head – go figure! The sound was a bit like a bowling ball hitting a pin. Clink! First, their eyes got big, then the onset of tears, and finally screams. Bella was hurt most. Jacob just sat a little stunned rubbing his sore head. Friends, we had achieved full chaos! And of course this is exactly the time we heard the garage door opening and Mindy coming home. Great, I thought! Soon the rush was on to seek their mother’s attention. Luckily, the wounds weren’t as bad as I had worried they might be. Instead, just a couple of minor bumps.
Not long after we attempted to put the kids to bed after watching some Veggie Tales DVD. Jacob and Bella were both more than tired and Jacob looking forward to sharing his bunk bed with Kaileigh. Well, Kaileigh wasn’t so sure suddenly. She stated matter of factly that she wanted to go home and skip spending the night. To calm her fears I told that she could go downstairs on the sofa. That didn’t go over well at all with Jacob and Bella, and in their defense, this had to seem completely unfair. But while Jacob and Bella are accustom to a rather early bedtime, I have never known Kaileigh to be in bed before 10pm. She later told Mindy her bedtime is 9pm. After a long drawn out struggle to get Bella and Jacob to go to bed we were finally successful and the two of us retired downstairs where Kaileigh sat cautiously on the sofa watching some Disney Channel programming. We had hoped to be sharing some quality alone time.
We went ahead and began making our dinner – salad, green bean casserole, and steak. Kaileigh kept insisting that we call her daddy and take her home. Skillfully, we convinced – ugh…bribed - her otherwise. Mindy showed her the Easter basket that she had already planned to give her before leaving since we wouldn’t likely see her again until after Easter. It worked! Kaileigh agreed to spend the night but wanted assurance that I’d sleep on the sofa too, or be at arms length should she need me.
Finally after 10pm sometime Kaileigh fell asleep. And because this was ‘spring forward’ night, it was really 11pm. Sometime around 10:30pm EST, Mindy and I went to bed. We were both totally exhausted!
March went out like a cross between a lion and lamb. On its last day, it was about 55 and partly sunny. For the month, we had two days that hit 70 degrees and two days that never made it above freezing. Not sure, but that's probably average.
As it was, I chose to rollover and sleep a while longer after my eyes caught the first glimpse of daylight. Sad, though, because at first light the sun was shining, but when I rolled out of bed for good (8:20am) there was nothing but clouds. However, I must’ve needed the rest and why deny myself. Fact was, I could’ve slept even longer but the need to run and get my day moving was a compelling enough reason.
I cracked out my morning calisthenics and then my morning walk with Ykraps in no time flat. Soon, I was basking in the glory of hot Saturday morning coffee and the bliss that only a weekend can offer. I called Mindy shortly after 9:10am at her request. She had already been out for a morning run through her subdivision. Go Mindy! We didn’t talk to long though, I had to get busy with my own run and then get organized for spending the afternoon and night at her house along with my GD, Kaileigh.
My run went well despite the gray skies and much cooler temps. The temperature was hovering close to 50 when I ran. I finished my run around 10:35am and spent the next couple of hours readying for my day away. I IM’d a little with cousin Dodie whom I hadn’t talked with in quite some time. She reported that things were going well for her and husband Randy, and that she was recovering from a recent tummy tuck. Ouch – that has to hurt!
Knowing that I’d be away until mid day Sunday, I took extra care to pack everything I’d need to be comfortable along with a few culinary items Mindy had asked me to bring. We were going to color eggs, make cookies, and dinner. For my entertainment pleasure, I packed my book as well as my guitar. In addition, I packed some casual dress clothes in case we went to church together on Sunday as we had discussed. Soon I was on my way to pick-up Kaileigh. She lives around the corner from my ex-wife, Kelly. She was all ready to go when I got there. After a few minutes we were on our way to Mindy’s.
Once at Mindy’s, the kids immediately began playing and having a really good time. They played a little rough but certainly not as rough as I have seen before, or for that matter, any rougher than I would’ve expected. Mindy, however, had other ideas. More than a couple of times, Mindy corrected their aggressive, loud and rowdy behavior. If you ask me, I think the spring break thing was getting to her a little. She hadn’t had any Mindy time to speak of and instead had given her entire week not only to her own kids, but to my grand kids as well. What she needed was some time in Mexico!
While the kids played, we made cookie dough and began blowing eggs. I had never blown eggs before but found the idea fascinating. I liken it to blowing up party balloons. My mouth was tired and sore by the time I finished. It’s accomplished by poking a hole in each end of a fresh egg – ideally, one hole about as big around as a Q-tip while the other need only be about 1/16th of an inch. Then you blow the guts out into a bowl. To clean the egg, suck warm water from a bowl back into the egg, shake, then blow it back out. After you color and/or decorate the egg, you can save them as keepsakes for years to come. I did eighteen of those babies! We obviously had a shit load of eggs for omelets the following morning!
The egg coloring was organized chaos. For some reason Mindy and I both visualized this process going so much smoother with the three children. It was almost as fun as the Zoo lights at Christmas, but slightly better only because we were warm. Mindy had enough foresight to put a plastic drop cloth under her dining room table and a cheap plastic table cloth on top taped securely underneath. Some of the new techniques and tools available on the market for coloring eggs are cool but none seem to work as well as good old food coloring, vinegar, and hot water. The kids had fun but many of the eggs turned out all the same –a muted purple/pink, but some glitter pens and food coloring filled q-tips helped remedy this. Let’s just say that Mindy had her fill by the time they were finished, and so had I. When you add a three, a five, and a six year old together with 36 eggs, some dye, pens, and glitter, you’re just asking for trouble.
Once we were done, Mindy moved swiftly into dinner mode for the kids. That was easy. Hot dogs, cheese, and snacks. When they were done and before our dinner, Mindy asked if she could be the one to leave and go walk Ykraps. I had sensed that she needed to get away so I happily agreed to stay back with the kids while she escaped for about a one hour reprieve. Never would scooping poop be so delightful! And to add an extra layer of excitement, I foolishly agreed to get them all bathed before her return.
To make it more fun, Mindy agreed to allow them to bathe in her deep whirlpool tub located in the master bedroom. Soon there were three kids in the tub, me standing guard, Mindy off on her much deserved reprieve. I filled the tub about halfway up the jets. Sadly, that was a mistake. The next thing I knew one of the kids jammed their toe in the jet creating a steady stream of shooting water across the entire bathroom soaking the walls and floor. I knew I had to clean that up in a hurry or Mindy might scalp me upon her return. Menawhile, the kids jockeyed for position in the tub and splashed one another incessantly. After scrubbing each of them I dubbed it time to vacate the tub. None were willing. After practically begging, they decided to fight over one of the three towels available for drying. One was pink, the other two were blue. Surprisingly, all three wanted the pink towel. At least now I had my bargaining chip in hand! Jacob was the first to agree to get out with the promise of the pink towel as his reward.(??) That pissed Bella off and she let us all know it by crying profusely. Long story short, they each shared the pink towel somewhere through the drying process. Go figure! And If that wasn’t enough, hold tight!
While getting jammies on each of them, acrobatics broke out on the steps down from the whirlpool tub to the rest of the master bath ( five steps I believe). The game was to leap from the top step all the way to the carpeted master bath, and according to them, Mindy allows this all the time. I envisioned broken bones, blood, and trouble from the outset. And sure enough, just as I begged them to stop to prevent someone from getting hurt, Bella leaped proudly through the air from the fifth step right in the direction of an observing Jacob. And just as I feared, her cheek collided with his oversized head – go figure! The sound was a bit like a bowling ball hitting a pin. Clink! First, their eyes got big, then the onset of tears, and finally screams. Bella was hurt most. Jacob just sat a little stunned rubbing his sore head. Friends, we had achieved full chaos! And of course this is exactly the time we heard the garage door opening and Mindy coming home. Great, I thought! Soon the rush was on to seek their mother’s attention. Luckily, the wounds weren’t as bad as I had worried they might be. Instead, just a couple of minor bumps.
Not long after we attempted to put the kids to bed after watching some Veggie Tales DVD. Jacob and Bella were both more than tired and Jacob looking forward to sharing his bunk bed with Kaileigh. Well, Kaileigh wasn’t so sure suddenly. She stated matter of factly that she wanted to go home and skip spending the night. To calm her fears I told that she could go downstairs on the sofa. That didn’t go over well at all with Jacob and Bella, and in their defense, this had to seem completely unfair. But while Jacob and Bella are accustom to a rather early bedtime, I have never known Kaileigh to be in bed before 10pm. She later told Mindy her bedtime is 9pm. After a long drawn out struggle to get Bella and Jacob to go to bed we were finally successful and the two of us retired downstairs where Kaileigh sat cautiously on the sofa watching some Disney Channel programming. We had hoped to be sharing some quality alone time.
We went ahead and began making our dinner – salad, green bean casserole, and steak. Kaileigh kept insisting that we call her daddy and take her home. Skillfully, we convinced – ugh…bribed - her otherwise. Mindy showed her the Easter basket that she had already planned to give her before leaving since we wouldn’t likely see her again until after Easter. It worked! Kaileigh agreed to spend the night but wanted assurance that I’d sleep on the sofa too, or be at arms length should she need me.
Finally after 10pm sometime Kaileigh fell asleep. And because this was ‘spring forward’ night, it was really 11pm. Sometime around 10:30pm EST, Mindy and I went to bed. We were both totally exhausted!
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