Hot weekend...and Mind-Blowing Nostalgia

Coney Island went well. MAN it was hot. Cincinnati hasn't had as many hot and humid days as usual so far this year, but this weekend was certainly miserable. Anyway, we went to Sunlite Pool first (Steph makes fun of me for calling it that - I'm not a Cincy native so there are still some subtleties I don't get...but it technically really is called Sunlite Pool). Anyway again...For the non-Cincinnati folks, it's the world's largest recirculating swimming pool. Look for it on Google Earth - very cool. Steph managed to get us a spot under a nice shady tree, and we managed to keep the girls amused in the shallow end for over 2 hours in the hot sun. Hauled back to the picnic area for our lunch and then did rides. Both girls got on a Tilt-a-Whirl for the first time - and they both loved it. Since Steph gets sick on round-and-round rides, it'll be nice to have someone to go on them with me. Made it back home before dinner hot and exhausted.
We would be remiss if we didn't give a big thank you to AS for the tickets. We don't have the resources to do little things like a day at Coney any more...you helped the girls have a wonderful memory they wouldn't otherwise have had. Thanks! Keep that blog going, and let me know about the fried oranges.

Today, we had our church's young families picnic up at Woodland Mound Park, part of the Hamilton County Park District. Set up the picnic, got rained on. Finished the picinc, found out that the wet playground was NOT going to reopen after the brief rainstorm...all the employees had vanished. Not surprised. I used to work for the park district back in my college days. No one wants to work Breezy Point. SO....we played on the playground instead. Another hot, humid day, another set of tired daughters.

In other news, Grandma S is back from Kenya. We'll get the details tomorrow but we'd assume at this point that things went well.

And so, thoughts slowly start turning towards the upcoming trip to Tennessee. Smokies and Chattanooga. This summer's "big trip" and the last hurrah before it's time to settle back down and get ready for school to start up again.

But what's really on my mind now is this:

This was our last trip to the Smokies, in Spring of 2005.
Wow.
Just look at that. One kid. Faith is barely a year old. No Mari. Twins? Don't make us laugh. Simpler times.
In a little over a week, we will gather again, in what I think is a pretty common tradition for a lot of people - another family photo at that National Park sign. Grandma or Zayde will snap another picture. At the end of that day, I'll upload both pics so we can look at them side-by-side. And I will stop and think...

What will the next picture we take here look like?

[contemplative silence]

We hope you'll all still be around to find out.

That's all for now...
Matt

Busy week

Whew - the girls went to King's Island on Thursday with Zayde, we're going to Coney Island today, we have the church young families group picnic at Woodland Mound Park tomorrow, Grandma S gets back from Kenya tomorrow night, and we leave for Tennessee in just over a week.

A lot going on. Posting might be tough the next few days, but I'll try to get a few things up when I find a spare moment.

Matt

A plethora of new videos

All Louisville videos are now done!

The first one here is from Incredible Dave's - Bowling, Arcades, and Inflatables. I know my hoop skills display is bad, but I did win 100 tickets about an hour after the attempt you see here...



This is video from hanging out in the hotel...an important and enjoyable part of any vacation with 4 kids 4 and under. No one writes better music for lazing around than Norah Jones.



Videos from playgrounds, parks, and other outside fun. I had originally planned this music for Incredible Dave's, but it fits much better here. I must get more stuff by Ulrich Schnauss.



Okay, funny story about this last one. As I've said, usually I have the idea for the background music of a video as I'm doing it. I like to sync up the transitions with the phrasing of the music if possible and so on. Makes it flow better. Well, this video I was doing was like the 4th one of the day (I had some time to myself while Steph had the girls). And it was the last Louisville video. And I knew it was going to be really short. And I had to leave in like an hour. And I'm starting a lot of sentences with And.

ANYWAY,

The point is, I was on a roll and in a hurry. I wanted to get it done. So I did something I never do. I just started plopping in video and pictures before I had even thought about the music. Oh, I had some idea that I would use some rather generic piano/guitar nature-y music, but nothing specific in mind. So, I got done, and saw that the total time was like 2:42 or something like that. Then I brought up my iTunes to scroll through my music library. I then noticed for the first time that in addition to being able to sort the library by artist, album, song, genre, etc...you can also sort by TIME...totally useless feature, but I thought, why not? So I clicked on the Time tab and scrolled down to the songs that were around 2:42 in length. And I saw the absolutely PERFECT music for the video. Couldn't have been more different from what I had originally intended, but I think you'll agree that this fits the mood much better than any cheesy piano/guitar garbage. =)

Oh, and get a load of Faith saying "Literally" at the end...


Enjoy!
Matt

Tucumcari, NM Part 2 (Main post below)

Here's Day 21 (I think) of the 2007 Road Trip. Us driving from Santa Fe, NM to Amarillo, TX. Contains great audio of Steph and me having stupid arguments about nothing and generally being immature.

The "DISASTER AWAITS" title references that this is just before the RV broke down at a Stuckey's truck stop in Adrian, TX.

I am posting this video now because it contains several shots of Tucumcari billboards along I-40.

Enjoy:

Tucumcari, NM

Hey, everyone!

First, an explanation of Mari's nickname. Her "real" name is Marisol ([mah'-ree-sohl] a Spanish name -- "el mar" is "sea" and "el sol" is "sun" -- "sea and sun" -- perfect for our beachloving selves)... We are a family big on nicknames. We have millions of them for just about everyone. SO, when Mari was born, Matt recalled the name of a town in a book that he loves (a road trip book, of course) -- the town being "Tucumcari, NM". He started calling her "Mari Tucumcari" -- that evolved (devolved?) in to Mari Tucums and then just Mari Tooks and eventually it came to what it is today -- "just" Tooks or Tooky. In fact, Z took her to a once a week gym class for toddlers. Every week when the kids had to tell the group their name, she would say "Tooky". Not Mari. Sheesh. We knew when we named her Marisol that it would be rough -- people in good ole' Cincinnati aren't exactly well-versed in Spanish pronunciation. But now she calls herself Tooks or Tooky. Oh well. Oh and Matt found out eventually that "Tucumcari" is actually pronounced "too-cum-carey" -- oh well again! What will we do at preschool in the fall when she calls herself Tooky?

So another productive day. The babies slept through the night again last night (did Matt already say that?). They got showers and so did Matt and I. We played downstairs. We ate lunch. I finally took Faith and got to the library to get a library card (we moved here in March [I was 32 wks pregnant w/ twins] and moved from a different county). Let her pick out 3 books for herself and 2 for Tooks. Got 3 for myself (a HUGE laugh -- if I DO find time to read for pleasure, I inevitably fall asleep -- as I did this afternoon). Eventually, my mom came over, we had dinner and AM came over. Mom and AM watched and played w/ the kids while Matt and I began to tackle the garage. My great aunt (whose house this was) moved out about a year ago at which time we started de-cluttering our condo to put it on the market. The de-cluttering went to the garage here. Now we are trying to get through at least some of these boxes. We made a pretty good dent, actually. Got a good hour and a half done on it. AND, the girls got really worn out by AM!!! AND, my awesome mom did our dishes and cleaned up our kitchen. Pretty good.

I went to pokeno last night. First time in like 4 months I think. My sister originally invited me to this group -- it's all "her" friends although I consider them mine too, now! Anyway, we take turns hosting once a month. The host makes dinner (always AWEsome -- those women can sure cook) and buys the prizes. We eat, play, tell stories & give updates on our lives, eat some more, get the prizes and go home. It's a generally great time and we laugh quite a bit!

OK. It's time for babies to eat and go to bed -- Matt says his leg is falling off from bouncing Robby, so I better relieve him!
Steph

GUMPTION

We did a pretty good job today! We finally got our books out of storage and onto our bookshelves (only took us almost 4 months), played an actual board game with our kids, made a cake with Faith's Easy-Bake Oven, and I got a new video done.

Here's the footage of our trip to Huber Farm in Indiana from the Louisville trip a few weeks ago (seems like ages ago now). This one fell right into place. Looks and feels very appropriate, I think I captured it well.



All in all, not a bad day. Mari was great, Faith is still being very challenging, but she ended her day well.

OH, and how could we have forgotten to tell you this - 2 nights in a row, Robby and Hannah have slept through the night. Very nice.

Thanks for checking in, everyone.

Matt

Back Home (part 2 - more pics)

First post is below, here are some more pictures:

Faith, Zayde, and Mari (can't see her) on the Little Dipper

Tooks finally got on a roller coaster! This kiddie coaster at Memphis Kiddie Park is actually the oldest Steel Roller Coaster in North America - who knew? Anyway, this was Tookie's first roller coaster and she LOVED it! When she rode with me the first time, when we got to the top of the hill she said "Are you ready for the fast part?" So cute! And Steph was watching and said she had the biggest smile on her face the whole time. Faith rode in a seat all by herself this time. Hard picture to take.

This picture is so cute and perfect it's almost sickening - it either belongs on a greeting card or a commerical for some kind of antidepressant:


Long story:

Basically, I exiled myself to keep the kids amused so the other adults could converse in peace. They had already exhausted all the possibilities of hide and seek, ring around the rosie, and even done a pretend concert. All there was left was a bag of paper cups.


You know your daughter's bangs are out of control when they get full of ice cream:


Summing up the trip in a single picture:

Back home

Sorry about the odd post - it looks like the Fairfield internet connection had some kind of block on the word "girl". Anyway, should be fixed now.

To sum up the rest of the trip - it got a lot better. Everyone finally decided to behave themselves. The dinner event went smoothly, the girls were good, even adorable at times, we had a wonderful breakfast at Jack's Deli this morning, and are now back at home with a pound of corned beef and a half a loaf of good rye bread.

Aside: Anyone reading this who knows of a good Kosher or Kosher-style deli in Cincinnati, please let me know. We literally have to drive 4-5 hours to get corned beef. And don't say Izzy's. No offense to the good people there, but saying Izzy's serves good corned beef is like saying Taco Bell is authentic Mexican. Anyway...

So we're back home now in that post-drive daze, just trying to get ourselves to bedtime. Our BIG summer trip to the Smokies and Chattanooga is in a couple weeks.

Here (and in the next post) are a few of the best pics:

Artificial bliss:

Now, I feel the need to clarify. I am not a big fan of the in-car DVD player. I want my kids to look at their surroundings and actually have the getting there be an active part of the trip. That said, the drive from Cincinnati to Cleveland is genuinely boring. There is nothing to look at. So this time, I didn't mind. The girls know that when we go to Tennessee, there will be lots of times when they are not allowed to watch a movie.


For a Cincinnati family, this is a weird sight:


Took 'driving':

This is funny too - when Faith first went on 'car rides' like this, she was super serious and we're pretty sure she thought she actually had to steer. Mari on the other hand doesn't even try to pretend. Just free-wheelin' it.

After government cuts, this is all that's left of the space program:


Just before the skies opened up and we all got soaked:


more pics soon!

Greetings from Cleveland

Okay, so if it's possible, things have gotten worse. And no, not because we're in Cleveland. Forget what you've been told, it's actually a pretty nice town.

Anyway, I'm in the Fairfield "business library" on a public internet connection, so not a lot I can do right now. The highlights:

* Both girls eating 2 lunches yesterday and still whining that they are hungry.

* Both girls eating 2 breakfasts today and still whining that they are hungry.

* Mari continues to demonstrate that she is the poster child for being 2. One day, perhaps I'll look back on her balling up her fists, shaking her arms, and literally trembling in anger as she screams at us...and find it cute. Now it's just scary.

* A new pinnacle of parental embarrassment when Faith decided that she didn't like her burger, but still wanted the brownies she'd get if she finished it...and started letting half-chewed burger bits fall out of her mouth onto the floor of our wonderful hosts. Randy and Paula, I am so sorry.

* Literally running out of privileges to take away from the girls.

* And today, getting caught in a torrential downpour at the Memphis Kiddie Park.

And I'm sure there's more, but that is all I can stomach for now. Pray for us.

Matt

P.S. Congrats, SID - you deserve it!

I NEED A DRINK!!!

In the name of all that is good and decent, what a freegoan CRAZY NUTSO day!

We both need to go vaccuum now because all the hair we both pulled out today is all over the STINKING floor!

Okay. Let's walk through, shall we?

Twins had their 2 month checkup today. But Steph also had a dental appointment today at the same time. Which meant that I had to load all the kids into the car, take the big girls to B&K's so they could play with J&M while I took the twins to the doctor.

No big deal, everyone was good (more on the checkup later) but it made for a wild morning, and of course trying to explain what's happening to Mari who has a memory like a food processor (as in, you put in nice fresh pieces of information and she mashes them up into goo or paste) is always trying.

So the first sign of the disasters to come was when I attempted to carry the twins into the doctor's office, with the diaper bag on my shoulder. Of course the diaper bag slipped off and, oh, sort of landed on Robby's head. No big deal, little scratch. Didn't even cry. Maybe he was stunned.

They both were great at the appointment, but at the 2 month checkup, the babies are pincushions. 4 shots each, and an oral rotovirus vaccination. And the doctor was out of the infant's Tylenol he usually gives us to help them with the pain and soreness. No biggie, I'll just dose them up when we get home. So they scream bloody murder during the shots then get sleepy, as Faith and Mari always did too. No big deal, I come home.

Get home, give the babies their medicine to help them feel better, throw together lunch for the girls, and before long, I hear the van pull up and the sound of Mari in pure meltdown mode. She comes stumbling up to the door, Steph gives me that "Yep" look and says "She lost her milk privilege."

Now, this may sound strange to some. But one of our challenges with Mari has always been finding something she values enough to get her attention by the threat of losing it. Most things she just doesn't show enough interest in to make that kind of thing effective. And yes, I know we should try to do more positive reinforcement, but any parent knows that in the heat of the moment stuff flies out of your mouth and you sometimes talk yourself into a corner. So every so often, we end up having to take away her milk. She loves her milk. Always has. Would probably drink a gallon a day if she could. Long after she was done with bottles, we still had to give her a sippy cup of milk every night before bed. So of course, Mari was a mess at lunch.

At any rate, the story was, Mari started whining and crying as soon as Steph got to B&K's because she didn't want to leave yet. Steph gave her more chances than she would normally get to get herself under control on the way home, and so...NO MILK FOR YOU!!!

Okay. Next item. Steph starts asking about the appointment, looks at the vaccination records and says, "Didn't they get the rotovirus vaccination?" And my jaw drops. Our wonderful pediatrician (seriously, he's great - we go to the office farther away so he can be the kids' primary) forgot to order it, and I (being the dumb dad) forgot about it while holding my children down for their 8 other shots. So we call the doctor's office and they're great, they'll get us into the office closer to us at 1:30.

Fine, except that I DESPERATELY need to mow the lawn. It's been like 2 weeks at least, it's embarassing and we're pretty sure that the reason the dogs have been going in the house a lot more lately is that the grass is literally too tall for them to go out there. So I'm gonna need to mow while the girls are inside, hopefully sleeping. No problem with Mari, but Faith likes to come out 5 times with this that and the other problem just because she doesn't want to sleep.

So I explain to Faith that I'll be mowing the lawn and if there are any small problems she can take care of it herself...if she has to go potty, wipe herself and go back to bed, etc, etc...And that if there is a real, serious problem, she should come find me...but if she comes to get me and there is not a really serious problem, she's going to be in big trouble, blah blah blah.

I start the lawn. Get the back done. Start on the front. Suddenly, there's Faith in the doorway. I take a deep breath, turn off the mower and go find out what's wrong. Faith has 'leaked' in the bed. And long story short (because this kind of thing has happened before) she did it on purpose so she could come out and tell me that something was wrong.

So I go in, probably yell more than I should (but at the same time there's a line here that Faith needs to know about even if she can't quite understand it yet) strip the sheets off our bed (she naps in our room since Mari won't nap unless she's by herself) change Faith, and send her into her room where Mari isn't sleeping anyway.

Steph comes home, I explain the situation then go finish the lawn. Come back in, and as God is my witness, I decide to tell Faith the story of the Boy Who Cried Wolf...which is just too ironic since we've been making a million 'wolf' jokes since the Great Wolf Lodge. Have no idea if Faith got it but I made the effort.

ANYWAY, Steph then tells me that at the doctor's office, Hannah basically spit up most of her vaccine and that the carseat cover is now pretty wet from it. Nice. Meanwhile, it's become quite clear that the twins are extremely uncomfortable and in pain from the shots. Hannah is crazy crying and can't calm down.

Soon after, we realized that we had an errand to run which required us printing out a couple of pages of information. No paper. Scrounged around, found two kind of crumply pieces of paper, good enough. Print one out. Printer out of ink.

Long story short, needed to deliver the papers to Grandma D's house anyway, so I threw everyone into the car, and left Steph to start packing unmolested. On the way there, Mari falls asleep. Then, about 10 minutes later, I see Faith in the rearview mirror messing with Mari's face. Now please understand. If Mari wakes up from a nap before she's ready, she is absolutely inconsolable for about 20 minutes. She can not stop herself from the hysterics. So, once again, probably more than I should (but this time out of sheer incredulousness) I start in on Faith.

Faith's response is to say "I will scream all the way home because you are being nasty to me" and then scream rhythmically every 2 seconds. We work through that and get her calmed down.

Run the errand, Faith falls asleep too. Normally, this would be bad, because it's now about 6pm and if they sleep this late they might not sleep at night. Just this once, I genuinely DO NOT CARE. Accident on the I-275 bridge. Thank God they're sleeping.

Grab dinner and head home. Mari and Faith are both a wreck from their interrupted nap. Mari between howling cries tells us she can't decide whether to eat her burger or her apples first. They didn't give me the dressing for my Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad. To heck with them (this is a family blog so I can't say what I really want to say there - use your imagination). Hannah and Robby are crazy crying in the other room.

Honestly up to this point, neither of us have really had time to realize what a crazy day this has been. Steph and I go in the other room and end up having a really nasty stupid fight about nothing at all. Then I (thinking it will be good therapy and help lighten things up) tell her we should each just tell the other one what's ticking us off most about them. She says something I didn't expect and I get all offended. What a jerk I am.

We go get the girls ready for bed. It is SO bedtime. Somehow while reading books, Steph and I manage to get in another dumb argument. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to us, Robby silently and without fussing, spits up all over himself in the other room...in his carrier...on the couch. Steph soon discovers that it has leaked through, and frantically tries to clean up the couch.

I finish reading to the girls (forgetting of course that Faith was not supposed to have books since she decided to leave her mark on our bed) and go call dad to tell him that we can't set the carseats up in the Suburban tonight, because we have to wash both the covers.

OH FOR CRY YI.

It's still just 9:30 - what else could go wrong tonight? Or is this all a preview of tomorrow - a 4 1/2 hour drive to Cleveland, crammed into a big red Suburban, with Zayde, who will probably have some new excuse for not wearing his hearing aids?

Keep us in your prayers. Pass the salt.

Matt

P.S. Robby is 13lb 1oz and Hannah is 11lb 15oz