New Hair Cut & Bike

The forecasted weather certainly wasn’t nice enough to motivate me out of bed, but the thought of sleeping the morning away didn’t excite me much either. I took two Advil around 5am after waking with a dull headache. Mindy fetched them for me. I got up for good at 7:45am. Mindy remained sleeping. I was careful not to wake her. I started a pot of coffee, exercised, and then walked Ykraps. The morning weather wasn’t as dismal as I expected. It was partly cloudy and 40 degrees, pretty much on par with every other day this past week. As far as I knew, Mindy & I didn’t have any major plans for the day. I knew the kids would be home sometime later but didn’t know the exact time. I didn’t worry about making the day a productive one. I was happy to have some down time. I sipped coffee and surfed the internet for a good hour. I left for my run around 9:30am and ran along Trabue & Hague. I felt really good and had plenty of energy in the tank. Mindy was up and sitting in front of her laptop when I got back from my run. We haven’t had many quiet Saturday morning’s of late. It was quite nice. Still, we both missed the Cabot boys and worry for their development and well being. Neither one of us give Kelly & Lindsey much, if any, credit for their parenting/homemaking skills. Rightfully so. We chatted for about an hour while sitting on the sofa. Around 11am I headed up and took a shower. Again, we had no solid plans but I wanted to be clean and ready for anything. Mindy talked about grocery shopping but never fully committed to it. I thought that we might even go shopping together. Mindy was already in house cleaning mode when I came down from a shower. She was determined to ‘spring clean’ all three kids’ rooms. I asked when we should expect Jacob & Bella. She said near lunchtime. And sure enough, they were home around noon. Mindy asked if I’d take Jacob to get his haircut. I agreed. I mentioned the idea to Jacob as soon as he came in with his daddy. He adamantly objected and even went as far as to throw a little fit. Geesh, it’s not like he takes care of his hair anyway. I certainly didn’t expect that reaction. He continued his antics for the next 30 minutes or so. Mindy eventually had to have a little come-to-Jesus talk with him. He was much better after. I didn’t say anything to Jacob, but I planned to look at new bikes with him too. That’s what he wants for his 9th birthday, which is roughly two short weeks away. We left the house around 2pm. He was in a far better mood. We went to Great Clips on Hilliard Rome Rd. They got him in right away. Great! I gave the stylist instructions, and also requested extra care be given to his bangs (no bowl lookin’ cuts allowed). She seemed to understand. While Jacob was being groomed, I curled up with Ski magazine. I was surprised to find both Bachelor & Timberline listed in the top 15 late season ski resorts across the country. It’s really hard to beat their snow pack – more than anywhere else in the US. In fact, Timberline never really closes, except for the 2 weeks after Labor for maintenance. It didn’t take long to finish Jacob’s haircut. Looked really good to my eyes. Afterwards, I offered that we walk down to Target to look at bikes. He was excited. It didn’t take Jacob long to find a bike he really liked. He was determined to get a bike similar to the one he already had only bigger. He just isn’t ready for gears and hand brakes. The bike he chose was black in color – my preference too. Mindy was also insistent on a new helmet. To my surprise, he liked the black bike helmet, as well. Now we’re talking! We got an adult-sized helmet (he’s got a big, tall head). I also wanted to get him a new soccer ball, one that looked sportier than his beater ball he currently takes to practice. We found one in shimmery gold that we both liked. I let him ride the bike through the store to the checkout line, but he got a little self conscious and ended up walking it up. Total bill, $101. Not bad for a bike, helmet, and soccer ball. Again, this was his birthday present from Mindy & I. He was quite happy. He asked if he could ride his bike as soon as we got home. I couldn’t see any reason why not. Jacob was on his bike as soon was we pulled it out of the Trooper in the driveway. I went to fetch some cutters to remove the owner’s manual from the handlebars. He was chomping at the bit to ride. Meanwhile, Mindy was happy to see that we returned not only with a haircut but a new bike, too. Jacob was soon off and riding. Mindy wasn’t far behind, walking down to neighbor Crissy’s to settle up on the floral arrangement we collectively bought for The Curran’s a couple of week’s ago. She returned a few minutes later with an invite to stop down later. I was just heading out with Ykraps when Mindy returned. Jacob followed along while riding his bike. Mindy suggested we do dinner out with the kids earlier in the day. Jacob was bent on it being Barley’s. Bella liked the idea too. How could I resist? So, at 6pm we all headed off in the Honda for Barley’s. We sat in a booth. Deanna was our server. I ordered an IPA and Mindy ordered a St Joan’s. Jacob ordered ice water and Bella ordered 7-Up. For dinner, Jacob ordered 10 Gates of Hell wings with a side of cheesy fries. Bella ordered 10 K.C. wings. Mindy ordered the long standing Saturday special, brisket and braised greens. I went with an old-fashioned Barley burger & onion straws. Our dinners were delicious. Both kids ate really well. Before we were through, I ordered another beer, only this time an Avery’s Maharaja DIPA. Mindy picked up our tab. Jacob wanted to ride his bike as soon as we got home. It was about 7:40pm or so. We allowed Jacob to ride the area around our home. After a few short minutes, Mindy & I each grabbed a beer and walked down to Crissy & Kenny’s, who invited us down earlier in the day. Jacob rode his bike over a few minutes later when darkness set in. We had a nice time hanging out. As the evening wore on, all the neighbors stopped over: Dave & Becky, and fireman Mike. We joked with Mike about wheeling Teri down, who’s at home with a broken ankle. Through the night Mindy drank a St Joan’s at Barley’s and then three Expedition Stouts at the neighbor’s. Needless to say, she was feeling no pain. Bella had a melt down as the clock neared 11pm. She was insistent on taking a bath when we got home. Of course, Mindy would have none of that. We walked home and put both kids to bed. Mindy promised Bella a bath first thing in the morning. You might be wondering what the lure was. Well, Bella’s been taking showers since the Cabot boys arrived in part to help speed things up, not to mention the new bath play set she recently got. She’s very excited about the prospect of taking a bath again. Mindy and I headed to bed right after the kids. I turned on the bedroom TV. Mindy insisted on controlling the remote since I have a reputation for falling asleep.