Hesitantly, I return

I'm back. I'm exhausted. I'm glad to be home. It's crazy how much I missed my little ragamuffins. B has been quite difficult since I've been back. I keep telling myself to be understanding, and just hold him more and give him more attention like he wants, but it is very wearing on me. Hope and Jack came over today, and we made some cards. I was actually amazed that we were able to get anything done at all, with the pumping, putting grumpy B down for naps, eating the lovely meals A served us, giving Jackson a bottle, etc.

"Holy fast weeks Batman!" / "On the contrary Boy Wonder, it was only five nights."

Well, it has been a good run. Mommy gets back tomorrow and The Daddy Solo Experiment is about to end. No major injuries, no appointments missed, sanity well intact, house still standing, and I'm still interested in Operation Early Retirement/stay-at-home-dad status.

The only thing we didn't get done this week was to get over to Maher/Klukow Estates so that A&B could play with the 3 Kings. Sounds like a good thing though. Illness has stricken the royal family. Get better soon little Henry.

We also have a seasoned TV personality in the family. A's gymnastics class was featured on Channel 11 today at 4 p.m. Some fluff piece on fighting summer boredom with your kids. Check out the replay online at www.kare11.com/onlive. Click on the "Kid Boredom Buster" picture in the middle of the screen in the video window. A has a cameo doing a perfectly executed forward roll. There is a few other random A sightings too if you pay close enough attention, but I'm sure to the typical observer it just looks like controlled chaos and all the kids look the same. If you pay extra attention you can even see yours truly and B milling around the observation lobby. I'm still kicking myself for not getting it on TiVo though. Silly daddy.

I've enjoyed the week in blogoshpere, especially reading everyone else's blogs. I'll have to make that a more regular practice since apparently no one keeps up with each other's current events via the spoken word anymore. It's blogtastic!

Stay cool in blogland everyone. As for me, it's back to being a lazy, softball addicted, inattentive, stereotypical dad who gets the luxury of leaving the house every day for the heaven of corporate life.

In closing, I'd like to thank the academy and the coutless individuals who helped me throughout the week. Team Enslin/Kenney - couldn't have done it without you. Teacher Lisa - A raves about Fun In The Sun. G&G Jacques - the overnight with the kids on Tuesday was critical to the flawless execution of The Daddy Solo Experiment. All you other bloggers out there - you know who you are - you were my window to the outside world. Anheuser Busch - how could I almost forget you. You are the best. Kate - thank you for believing in me and giving me this wonderful opportunity. And Marquette - your continued financial support is the straw that stirs the drink. Thanks again everyone. I love you all.

This is Bloggy Bloggerson blogging out.

I Love Them Redheads

Dumped the kids off in Prior Lake with G&G and it was off to the mall to buy a shiny shirt and tight jeans, stop at home to shower and fluff the chest hair, dig out the gold chains, and splash on some Brut. What a night at the clubs! As the great Alicia Bridges once sang, "I love the night life. I got to Boogie."

Seriously, do/did people do that? I loved Saturday Night Fever and Tony Manero as much as the next guy, but....

Actually, it was a good night. To whom it may concern, there was a UMM alumni event at the St. Paul Saints baseball game tonight and I was there, thanks to the chauffeuring efforts of Team Enslin/Kenney. First Saints game for me since the Summer of '99. Not much better than bad baseball, cold beer, perfect MN summer evening weather, and old friends. Made me remember fondly our days at UMM. For those enlightened few, ergo the "Dazed and Confused" reference for this blog post. I don't know how many times we watched that movie. Not by coincidence, I'm sure the UMM alumni association also mandated that the beers at the game be poured in clear plastic glasses and sold for a price of $4. However, I think they forgot to tell the concessions people that UMM alums could walk up to the keg for refills whenever they wanted one. Imagine my shock when they expected me to pay $4 every time. TJ and Skippy would have had much smaller crowds on Thursday nights if they ran that type of operation.

We can't wait for mommy to come home. Study hard and refresh that medical memory for the upcoming board exam. Then I can implement Phase 2 of my diabolical plan - Operation Early Retirement. Mommy works, kids go to school, daddy stays home to: 1) play fastpitch and 2) practice for the next World Series of Pop Culture. For those readers of Milk & O's not in the know, the World Series of Pop Culture is on VH1 and is the greatest game show of all time. I need a team of 3. Assuming myself and a certain someone currently residing in Houston are in, I need a 3rd. Preferrably someone who knows music post-1998. I can't take what the kids listen to these days.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No ...... It's Superdad

25+ hours since the matriarch of our family left for P.A.-apalooza in suburban Chicago and we are somehow still surviving. Of course the house is in utter chaos, we are eating M&M's with a side of ice cream at every meal, and there is not a vegetable in sight, but what else can be expected from a stay-at-home dad. Chipotle is on speed dial, the fridge is stocked with beer, the kids have been running around the backyard without clothes or sunscreen, and tonight we are all going to daddy's softball game to play in the dirt. This of course will be followed by going to the bar, running around while dad drinks beer and plays pull-tabs, and staying up until at least midnight. Just like that Parenting 101 class suggested.


Seriously, things have been going great. A had "Fun in the Sun" with the incomparable Teacher Lisa today and painted a Jackson Pollock-like masterpiece. Meanwhile B and Daddy went to the DMV and the bank before going home to nap, scratch ourselves, mow the lawn, and do other man things. Maybe on Wednesday when A has "Fun in the Sun" Day #2 B and I will try scotch, cigars, and picking up chicks at the park.


Yes, we did go out for lunch, but what is a dad gonna do? Today it was Schlotzsky's by Southdale where we unexpectedly ran into little Tommy Larsen's daddy. We proceeded to have what must have looked like the perfect Norman Rockwell alternative lifestyle lunch. Two men - two kids. Except my non-showered/shorts/t-shirt look was probably our saving grace. Mr. Larsen was dressed much better than I, and I clearly would not have been an acceptable partner.


That is our day so far. Silly mommy for thinking I would not blog while she was gone. Isn't that part of the job?


We miss you mommy. Hopefully Uncle G is keeping you in line while you are away. See you Friday night and/or Saturday morning.

Signing off (for now)

Tomorrow, I am headed to Chicago (Schaumburg, actually) for a week-long recertification exam review, which is VERY, VERY necessary for me to pass my board exam September 5th. Right now however, it feels like I'm heading off to prison. This will be the longest either Mike or I have been away from the children ever. It's going to be a very long time, and they'll grow up so much while I'm gone. B will for sure start walking, and Mike won't be in a hurry to grab the video camera either. I know that Mike will have a wonderful time being home, and the kids will have lots of fun too (and probably lots of Chipotle). I might try to post an entry from the hotel at night, but Mike said he'd keep up the blogging from the homefront (I'm not holding my breath).

Pop Up Camper Trial

Overall, we had a really good experience with the pop up camper. The kids slept really well all three nights, although they were more restless the first night because it was so cold. I ended up snuggling with B all night to keep both of us warm. Preston, MN is a nice little town, and the softball tournament was run really well. Mike's dad and brother, and old teammates got back together for this tournament, and I think they had a good time playing together again. We stayed at the Fillmore County Fairgrounds campground on Friday and Saturday nights, and it was nothing more than a mowed lawn with a fire pit and electric hook-up. The bathrooms were GROSS! Sunday after the tournament, we met Mike's aunt and uncle who live in Rochester, for lunch at Roscoe's (really good bbq), and then went exploring for where we'd set up camp for the night. We ended up at Nerstand Big Woods State Park, and it was beautiful- a night and day comparison to the fairgrounds. We made hobos (hamburger, potatoes, carrots, cheese, and onion in tinfoil) on the fire, and toasted marshmallows for s'mores (after B was asleep- sorry B).

After dropping the camper off at the rental place Monday morning, our week proceeded as usual. A, B, and I stayed over night at Grandma J's (Grandpa was out of town), and went to Mall of America the next day for Toddler Tuesday. Wednesday we stayed cool by taking a Target trip to buy clay. Thursday was a busy, fun day. A had a great time at gymnastics (she jumped three times across the balance beam!), and afterwards we went to Danielle and Mark's for a playdate with Charlie, George, Henry, Hope, Hailey, and Jackson. All of the kids played really well together, and had a blast. Then we headed home for dinner with my parents, Steve, Bridget, and Maren. They came to town for a wedding up at Steve's cabin, but came early so Bridget could interview with some labs at the U of M for her post-doc.

Photos

Mmmm, Bing Cherries!

A practicing her Gene Simmons tongue

Catch of the day!! (Note the pants-less fishing ensemble)

B running for the hills

No Time for Flowery Prose

Hey, this post is pure utility. My husband has had a week full of extracurriculars- by tonight I needed to get away. We went out for a pizza, and I drove separately. I then went to my friend Heather's for an ete purse party. It was nice to sip a glass of vino verhde, somewhere other than my home sweet home. My family got new cell phones on Tuesday, so I spent last night reading the manual and setting mine up how I like it, while Mike was at softball. Tomorrow during Book Buddies, B and I are going to Pottery Barn for a concert. Then.....
We are renting a pop up trailer, and camping at Mike's softball tournament this weekend in Preston, MN!!! I have been wanting to get a pop up for quite some time; I think it would be a nice way to combine an interest of Mike's (fastpitch) with an interest of mine (camping), and save on hotel costs during travel league. This weekend will be a nice trial run to see if it is a good fit for our family.
I realized yesterday that I have only 1 picture of myself with both kids, and very few pictures of me and B. Mike is going to try extra hard to fill that empty spot in our photo albums- so look for some mother/son/daughter pics in future posts.