I woke Saturday morning feeling anxious and edgy. Sometimes when I have my day planned out as I do today, I wake feeling this way. Too, it might have something to do with Bella waking us several times through the night beckoning Mindy’s attention.
Staying at my house must be frightening to a three year old, especially waking in the middle of the night. At least once, she requested to go home, another time a visit to our bed, and yet another request for cream on her sore leg – a tactic she employs fairly regularly! :) Somewhere close to 4am Mindy relinquished and allowed her into our room where she tossed and turned so much that it woke me up. It disturbed me so much that I was tempted to go to the guest room for some sound sleep. But after few minutes in her mother’s arms, she willing went back to sleep in her new room. After that we both got some unabated sleep.
Given my druthers, I would’ve felt much better off getting up around 6:30am to get a jump on all I wanted to accomplish prior to boating. Boating always goes better when we are there before 11:30am – at least at Alum Creek. But as it was, I didn’t get up until just before 8am. Part of me needed and enjoyed the extra sleep, but too it only served to help usher in the angst.
After making the morning’s coffee and whipping out my exercises, Ykraps and I were out the door for our Saturday morning stroll. The weather was just lovely – warm, sunny, clear blue skies abound. Mindy was up milling about when I got back and so was Jacob. Bella was still sleeping. Mindy reported having a monster headache and took four Advil to try and remedy it. The headache, she assumed, was due in part to her menstrual cycle which was in full swing.
As we often do, we moved to the deck to enjoy our coffee as the sun rises over the roof tops. I took my guitar out there too. The birds, bunnies, and ducks were all playing in harmony. And since adding Mindy’s allotment of bird feeders, my yard has become a magnet for birds. There must have been fifty or more birds scattered amongst the trees – blue jays, sparrows, robins, and yellow finch. After a cup of coffee and some guitar, I began watering my backyard flowers. Jacob being out there in his boxers asked if I would spray him with the hose. Are you kidding? Absolutely! I sprayed him while I finished watering all the flowers. Bella soon joined us outside after waking from her slumber. We hung out for another fifteen minutes before I readied and left for my morning run.
I returned somewhere between 10 - 10:30am. Mindy reported feeling even worse and asked if she could go lay down. I was still feeling anxious but not because of Mindy’s need to nap, I just had a number of things on my mind, including trying to get a handle on things at the office from my laptop and Blackberry. While Mindy rested, we hung out in the family room. The kids played while I worked. Suddenly, the geese invaded our yard and Bella and Jacob, without being prodded to, bolted out the door to scare them off. They’ve been trained well!
While they scattered them, I loaded my bb gun with more bb’s. They almost mock the kids and moved further in about my yard. This was only about half the usual flock (about 12). I soon followed with my bb gun. I shot at them a few times before finally hitting one. He freaked and did the swim in circles thing. It must have hurt because he let out a god awful shriek that scared me off! His buddies circled back to tend to him. But as before, he eventually recovered and swam away. My goal is simply to make my yard an uncomfortable place for them to be. They have literally rendered the back 75-100’ of my yard unusable.
Not 20 minutes later Mindy rejoined us with her headache dulled significantly. I assured her that we didn’t need to go boating if she didn’t feel up to it. She insisted that we go. So, she began prepping some goodies while Jacob and I went to retrieve the boat. I wanted to bring the boat home so I could adjust the alternate belt again. It works itself loose then squeals to beat hell if left alone. In the past it has even snapped while boating rendering us helpless and adrift. Avoiding such a crisis is paramount.
Retrieving the boat went without incident. We stopped for ice at the corner market before returning to home. When we returned, I went ahead and began working on the boat right away. Lindsey and lil’ Rocky arrived shortly after. After tightening the belt I started the boat just to make sure we were good to go. It started and ran fine.
Once back inside we began loading everything up that we needed for a day on the lake. This time I remembered to take my tools. We had the cooler, food, drink, and snacks. We had towels, camera, and life vests. Additionally, I had my personal communication devices onboard to enable contact with the office as necessary. We left the house just after 12noon Alum Creek bound.
When we arrived we could tell immediately that the lake was packed. There very few trailer slots left in the parking lot. Luckily, the line to put-in was only about two deep. However, while prepping the boat for launch, six or seven other boats apparently ready for launch passed me by in line making the wait long. But this is what I figured would happen so I wasn’t upset or surprised.
Putting the boat in the water is stressful enough. I took my time. The kids (Jacob & Bella) stayed on board the boat while putting in. Lindsey and Rocky hung out on dock. Mindy guided the boat off the trailer and held it at bay while I stowed the vehicle and trailer. Our launch went without incident although a bit stressful.
Soon we were enjoying the freedom that cruising on the lake fosters.
We didn’t cruise too long before we took refuge in the southern boat/swim area back in a cove by the sailboat club (not the marina). We anchored towards the very back and swam and rested for the better part of the afternoon. It turns out it wasn’t as sunny as predicted. Judging form the forecast, I half expected a cloudless day. Instead, the sun spent more time behind clouds than it did out shining brightly. The kids played, fussed, and ate about the boat while Mindy and I sought to enjoy ourselves. Lil’ Rocky and Bella weren’t too keen on swimming and subsequently spent a lot of time on the boat. Add in the fact that I wasn’t my usual happy go-lucky self, and I think you’ll get an idea of what my boating afternoon was like. It’s a far cry from the bliss and solitude when just Mindy and I go. Even though I wasn’t foolish enough to expect different, I was still full of angst after dealing with three small children in such close proximity all afternoon. And to be air, none of them were bad or misbehaved, instead, they were loud and needy. Jacob, I must say, was extremely well behaved and enjoyed himself way more than the other two. He spent at least half his time in the water.
About 3:45pm we pulled out of the cove and did some laps around the lake. Still, there was quite a crowd out and about and the water choppy. The kids love riding in the open bow taking on the bumps and occasional water from the waves. After two good runs around the lake we called it a day and headed for the marina dock. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. I won’t go into all the details but let’s just agree that it was stressful enough to test our meddle. We were out of the lake prepping for home by 5:15pm. By then the sky had almost completely cleared. But still, we were eager to get home at a reasonable hour, get the kids some dinner, and then enjoy the remainder of the evening.
By the time we got back to the Westside, put the boat back in storage, and pulled up at home, it was after 6:30pm. Lindsey and lil’ Rocky left almost immediately. I took Ykraps on a much needed walk even before carrying everything into the house. When Ykraps and I returned we then finished carrying everything in and Mindy began feeding the kids. It was 7:30pm when Mindy began readying the kids for bed by seeing that they had a bath and in fresh pajamas. After a bedtime story they both went to sleep without any resistance.
After kids were in bed, I filled the tiki torches deck side and fired up the grill. To knock off the edge, I blended us up some tasty pin coladas with a mix of coconut rum, plain rum, mix, and fresh pineapple. We had two steaks and some shrimp to cook. By 8:40pm we were enjoying our rib eye’s and shrimp on the deck. We finished our dinner just after 9pm, and then spent the rest of the evening talking and relaxing as we finished off the pitcher of pina coladas. We considered getting in the hot tub but didn’t. Instead, we went right to bed.
I woke Saturday morning feeling anxious and edgy. Sometimes when I have my day planned out as I do today, I wake feeling this way. Too, it might have something to do with Bella waking us several times through the night beckoning Mindy’s attention.
Staying at my house must be frightening to a three year old, especially waking in the middle of the night. At least once, she requested to go home, another time a visit to our bed, and yet another request for cream on her sore leg – a tactic she employs fairly regularly! :) Somewhere close to 4am Mindy relinquished and allowed her into our room where she tossed and turned so much that it woke me up. It disturbed me so much that I was tempted to go to the guest room for some sound sleep. But after few minutes in her mother’s arms, she willing went back to sleep in her new room. After that we both got some unabated sleep.
Given my druthers, I would’ve felt much better off getting up around 6:30am to get a jump on all I wanted to accomplish prior to boating. Boating always goes better when we are there before 11:30am – at least at Alum Creek. But as it was, I didn’t get up until just before 8am. Part of me needed and enjoyed the extra sleep, but too it only served to help usher in the angst.
After making the morning’s coffee and whipping out my exercises, Ykraps and I were out the door for our Saturday morning stroll. The weather was just lovely – warm, sunny, clear blue skies abound. Mindy was up milling about when I got back and so was Jacob. Bella was still sleeping. Mindy reported having a monster headache and took four Advil to try and remedy it. The headache, she assumed, was due in part to her menstrual cycle which was in full swing.
As we often do, we moved to the deck to enjoy our coffee as the sun rises over the roof tops. I took my guitar out there too. The birds, bunnies, and ducks were all playing in harmony. And since adding Mindy’s allotment of bird feeders, my yard has become a magnet for birds. There must have been fifty or more birds scattered amongst the trees – blue jays, sparrows, robins, and yellow finch. After a cup of coffee and some guitar, I began watering my backyard flowers. Jacob being out there in his boxers asked if I would spray him with the hose. Are you kidding? Absolutely! I sprayed him while I finished watering all the flowers. Bella soon joined us outside after waking from her slumber. We hung out for another fifteen minutes before I readied and left for my morning run.
I returned somewhere between 10 - 10:30am. Mindy reported feeling even worse and asked if she could go lay down. I was still feeling anxious but not because of Mindy’s need to nap, I just had a number of things on my mind, including trying to get a handle on things at the office from my laptop and Blackberry. While Mindy rested, we hung out in the family room. The kids played while I worked. Suddenly, the geese invaded our yard and Bella and Jacob, without being prodded to, bolted out the door to scare them off. They’ve been trained well!
While they scattered them, I loaded my bb gun with more bb’s. They almost mock the kids and moved further in about my yard. This was only about half the usual flock (about 12). I soon followed with my bb gun. I shot at them a few times before finally hitting one. He freaked and did the swim in circles thing. It must have hurt because he let out a god awful shriek that scared me off! His buddies circled back to tend to him. But as before, he eventually recovered and swam away. My goal is simply to make my yard an uncomfortable place for them to be. They have literally rendered the back 75-100’ of my yard unusable.
Not 20 minutes later Mindy rejoined us with her headache dulled significantly. I assured her that we didn’t need to go boating if she didn’t feel up to it. She insisted that we go. So, she began prepping some goodies while Jacob and I went to retrieve the boat. I wanted to bring the boat home so I could adjust the alternate belt again. It works itself loose then squeals to beat hell if left alone. In the past it has even snapped while boating rendering us helpless and adrift. Avoiding such a crisis is paramount.
Retrieving the boat went without incident. We stopped for ice at the corner market before returning to home. When we returned, I went ahead and began working on the boat right away. Lindsey and lil’ Rocky arrived shortly after. After tightening the belt I started the boat just to make sure we were good to go. It started and ran fine.
Once back inside we began loading everything up that we needed for a day on the lake. This time I remembered to take my tools. We had the cooler, food, drink, and snacks. We had towels, camera, and life vests. Additionally, I had my personal communication devices onboard to enable contact with the office as necessary. We left the house just after 12noon Alum Creek bound.
When we arrived we could tell immediately that the lake was packed. There very few trailer slots left in the parking lot. Luckily, the line to put-in was only about two deep. However, while prepping the boat for launch, six or seven other boats apparently ready for launch passed me by in line making the wait long. But this is what I figured would happen so I wasn’t upset or surprised.
Putting the boat in the water is stressful enough. I took my time. The kids (Jacob & Bella) stayed on board the boat while putting in. Lindsey and Rocky hung out on dock. Mindy guided the boat off the trailer and held it at bay while I stowed the vehicle and trailer. Our launch went without incident although a bit stressful.
Soon we were enjoying the freedom that cruising on the lake fosters.
We didn’t cruise too long before we took refuge in the southern boat/swim area back in a cove by the sailboat club (not the marina). We anchored towards the very back and swam and rested for the better part of the afternoon. It turns out it wasn’t as sunny as predicted. Judging form the forecast, I half expected a cloudless day. Instead, the sun spent more time behind clouds than it did out shining brightly. The kids played, fussed, and ate about the boat while Mindy and I sought to enjoy ourselves. Lil’ Rocky and Bella weren’t too keen on swimming and subsequently spent a lot of time on the boat. Add in the fact that I wasn’t my usual happy go-lucky self, and I think you’ll get an idea of what my boating afternoon was like. It’s a far cry from the bliss and solitude when just Mindy and I go. Even though I wasn’t foolish enough to expect different, I was still full of angst after dealing with three small children in such close proximity all afternoon. And to be air, none of them were bad or misbehaved, instead, they were loud and needy. Jacob, I must say, was extremely well behaved and enjoyed himself way more than the other two. He spent at least half his time in the water.
About 3:45pm we pulled out of the cove and did some laps around the lake. Still, there was quite a crowd out and about and the water choppy. The kids love riding in the open bow taking on the bumps and occasional water from the waves. After two good runs around the lake we called it a day and headed for the marina dock. Unfortunately, so did everyone else. I won’t go into all the details but let’s just agree that it was stressful enough to test our meddle. We were out of the lake prepping for home by 5:15pm. By then the sky had almost completely cleared. But still, we were eager to get home at a reasonable hour, get the kids some dinner, and then enjoy the remainder of the evening.
By the time we got back to the Westside, put the boat back in storage, and pulled up at home, it was after 6:30pm. Lindsey and lil’ Rocky left almost immediately. I took Ykraps on a much needed walk even before carrying everything into the house. When Ykraps and I returned we then finished carrying everything in and Mindy began feeding the kids. It was 7:30pm when Mindy began readying the kids for bed by seeing that they had a bath and in fresh pajamas. After a bedtime story they both went to sleep without any resistance.
After kids were in bed, I filled the tiki torches deck side and fired up the grill. To knock off the edge, I blended us up some tasty pin coladas with a mix of coconut rum, plain rum, mix, and fresh pineapple. We had two steaks and some shrimp to cook. By 8:40pm we were enjoying our rib eye’s and shrimp on the deck. We finished our dinner just after 9pm, and then spent the rest of the evening talking and relaxing as we finished off the pitcher of pina coladas. We considered getting in the hot tub but didn’t. Instead, we went right to bed.
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