Verbal explosion

Buddy may be okay after all.

We were pretty worried about his vocal development. As of a couple weeks ago he still had very few words. His receptive language is great, but he wouldn't say much. But it seems like in the last couple of weeks, he's really blossomed. Now he's still not all that easy to understand on a lot of words, and it definitely seems to be an effort to form some words, but he's improved a lot.

It's tough for us to know, because both Faith and Mari were so abnormally advanced verbally at their age, AND twins are prone to verbal development delays as well. So all that added up (plus the fact that Hannah can spout off a veritable Gettysburg Address in her own babbling 'Hannish') had started us worrying. But I feel a lot better about it now, and I think that Bud seems happier too.

In other news...

We're into the grind at school - no more off days till spring break, and then no more off days through the end of the year. Right now it's nice, we've had too many snow days so a little routine actually feels good at this point. Check back with me in a few weeks and we'll see how I feel.

Steph is making a renewed commitment to consistently working out on the treadmill. Any of you who talk to her may feel free to give her extra encouragement and support. I am toying with the idea of training to run a 5k. I'm certainly not ready yet, but if the weather gets warmer and I can start running outside, I'm pretty sure that I could do it...Right now I can consistently 'jog' for a full half-hour each morning which gives me just over 2 miles on the treadmill. I am able to go longer than that but am limited on time. I know that treadmill running is not the same as outdoor running so I'm working to increase that a little each day, and then start ramping up the incline as well. Hopefully by Spring Break I will be close to 3 miles at about 2% incline...and then I can start running outside. Scary to think about. Anyway, I'm not worried about speed right now. One thing at a time. Anyone with running experience who'd like to comment or advise, your input is welcome.

That's all for now - maybe post some snow pics soon.

Matt

Dance Party and Staycation

Two things. First - a selection of video from a few days ago - it's a long one - but watch it all to get the full effect. The degeneration and weirdness in the family is nearly disturbing...

(Had some problems with the video - hoping to edit and repost soon - sorry!)

Secondly, Steph and I have been having a wonderful staycation. The twins are with my parents. The big girls are rotating through Steph's family. And what are we doing with all this free time? We are so adults now. Check out what we've been doing:

Friday I was off, so I rode into work with Steph for the morning. After her work, we were up in West Chester so we went to IKEA to get our second DVD tower. Wandered around a little bit looking at couches.

Then we got lunch at Pappadeaux - oh so good. Love the crawfish etouffee...and oh that dirty rice...

Then up to Jungle Jim's to get a bunch of ingredients for our homemade Indian Feast. Wandered around up there too looking for cool stuff.

Then went to Macy's to get me some clothes that fit. I can now officially fit comfortably in 38s and SOME Large size shirts.

Came home and hung out. Started making our paneer. Didn't end up needing to eat dinner at all - watched Olympic opening ceremonies.

Saturday, got up and went to Gravy for breakfast.

On the way home, stopped at Kohl's and Kroger for a few extra things we needed.

Got home, and started frying things. We fried our paneer - went well. We attempted to fry our Indian Frybread from this summer - didn't work so well. Ended up with gooey doughballs. But really, how bad can fried bread be? Cooked up some meat samosa filling. DeLISH!!! Finally, Steph made a stellar chocolate dessert.

I worked out then did some prep work in the kitchen. Steph came up and we started reorganizing the kitchen - long overdue.

Then the cooking began for real. We fried the samosas. We made saag panner and chicken makhani. We threw in some jasmine rice. And the result:


Now, I know what you're thinking - all this food for 2 people? Well, yeah. We froze some, we will eat some more today. Deal with it. It's our staycation.

Man, this was good stuff. The saag wasn't QUITE right...a little too bitter, that one will need work...and too spicy for saag. The makhani was outstanding - honestly better than at our local place. The samosas tasted like the real thing, except for the wonton wrappers. Anyone know where to get premade samosa wrappers? Just fabulous. Steph's dessert was great as well.

Finished organizing the kitchen (including me bringing 7 huge bins of stuff up from the garage) and by that time it was time for bed.

Today, we are making bananas foster for BREAKFAST - how cool is that? I have a concert this afternoon, and we're going to the Green Plantain for dinner. What a way to spend a weekend.

This was originally supposed to be a weekend at Paw Paw's Landing down in Central Kentucky - our traditional winter getaway. Financially it just wasn't feasible this time around. Then we found a pretty inexpensive place in Gatlinburg...but then we realized that we really couldn't afford that either. So we decided to just stay home. And it's been wonderful. We've had every bit as good a time here as we would have out and about...but for a fraction of the cost. Hooray for home!

Matt

Hello from the kids!

Haven't posted in a while - finally got the video camera out again. Everyone still fits in this chair.

Bella Bee, Baby

We had Mari's conference with her preschool teacher today. First off, let's just say that Mari is doing a fabulous job and has come such a long way in so many areas. Still has some issues to work through, but she's on the right road. And she is on the right road, in no small part, thanks to her preschool teachers.

So let's get it out in the open. Any of you reading this in the Anderson Township area, or anywhere on the east side of Cincinnati, who are shopping for a preschool...

Bella Bee Academy

There. I just made your job a lot easier. In fact, you're done.

Because you may be able to find a place in a nicer building, or a place with a big famous recognizable name...but you flat out will NOT find any other preschool with teachers who care as much about their students and who are willing to go the extra mile to help them become who they need to be.

Mari is a better human being thanks to the amount of belief her teacher has in her as a person, and I do not exaggerate when I say that she has inspired me to be a better parent to her and to view her in a new light.

Mari is an amazingly unique and special child and her teacher recognizes that in a real and urgent way that I never realized. Just listening to her talk about what she thinks of Mari made me want to run home and hug her. And I am sure that they feel that strongly about every child in there.

So listen. Bella Bee may not look like much. But there is some incredibly special stuff going on inside that place. You owe it to yourself and your kid to check it out. You won't regret it.

Matt

OMEA part 2 - addendum

Went back and re-read what I wrote this morning - didn't like it, wasn't firm enough.

Let's do it this way:

I make no apologies for who I am or how my life has turned out. I am a work in progress but I am confident and firm in the direction of that progress. My life is filled with "there but for the grace of God go I" moments when I realize how close I've been to walking a road that I would NOT be proud of. It is for that reason that I pray to God every day and THANK Him for all I've been given, and ask for a continued strength to make the right choices and do the hard and slow work of self-improvement. I ask God to help me find and use the wisdom, strength and sense of rightness in MYSELF. I make the most of my life and am constantly in awe of the wonder around me, even in things that seem mundane at first glance.

I have come a long way. I have a long way to go. Here's to the journey.

Matt

OMEA part 2

I should also mention the awkwardness when bumping into the few people I DO know.

Some people seem not sure what to say to me - I guess from the standards of my profession I haven't achieved much. I'm not winning awards and I'm not in a 'destination' position...I guess people think I've washed up.

Oh well.

I decided a long time ago that the 'glory train' that so many of my colleagues are on isn't for me. I like my job, but at this point in my career, I am highly mediocre at it. I am slowly but steadily improving myself. I put a lot more energy into my family and my home life than I do into work. Which certainly is not to say that I don't care about my job. But I leave it at work.

I certainly am not saying that I am a stellar father either. I am messing up right and left and doing things that I regret almost daily. But I also don't think that's abnormal either. I will leave it at this: I may be making tons of mistakes, but I have no doubt that all my kids know how much I love them.

I'm rambling a bit here, but it's 6:30 Monday morning - organized thought hasn't come to visit me yet this morning.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it's a fine line I'm walking now. I am, as I said, slowly improving myself as a teacher. My own history coming into my current position is a complicated one which, when boiled down, amounts to "I really have no idea how to do this the right way". By the end of my career, I think I'll be doing a pretty good job at this. I am grateful that the administration at my school is willing to be patient with my learning process...and confident enough in my current performance to allow it to grow slowly.

I am (perhaps naively) thinking that my energy demand at home will, in a number of years, decrease to the point of me being able to devote more of myself to my teaching work. For right now, it's baby steps.

But anyone out there who happens to meet me and wonder at what I've become...don't tiptoe around me. I've got no shame about my situation, my life, my job, or anything. I am blessed to have all I have and would not trade it for anyone else's life, job, family, reality, whatever. This is me, and I chose it...and it's the truest representation of myself I could possibly give...and I'm enjoying the ride immensely.

Thanks all for continuing to check in.

Matt

OMEA

So I've had a relatively uneventful couple of days at OMEA. Always a surreal experience for me. I already find the phenomenon of specialization fascinating, and when you pile thousands of people from a specialized field into one building and give them freedom to talk about their own specialization, wow can you learn a lot about them.

Anyway, as is often the case, many people seem to be here just to socialize and network. Well...yeah...if you know me, you know that aint happenin'. Aside from the obvious fact that I'm asocial, I actually know very few people here any more. My college friends are either out of the business or out of the state, and anyone I know from my working life is either still in the band world (whose paths literally do not cross with the general music crowd at these things) or from an uncomfortable time in my life which makes conversation tricky. Believe me, because I actually tried it this time. Yeah. Not worth it.

But some of us actually come here to get ideas. I am one of them. It's always hit or miss, knowing that high-energy dances or happy puppets are never something I will be able to pull off. I've learned one thing in teaching - I can do anything as long as at the core of it, I'm still being me. I can adjust my personality to fit the needs of the kids or of the school, but I can't run counter to every fiber of my being. Sorry, John Jacobson...I won't be doing "Dancing Shoes" with my kids in this lifetime.

Anyway, there have been some good sessions and some bad ones. A few more this morning and then I'll be home for the rest of the weekend to help out the recovering ear infections. A lot of amoxicillin at our house.

Later all.
Matt

Dinner troubles

The twins are being difficult at dinnertime these days. I mean, even before the fevers. They've become quite picky, and of course, they don't like the same stuff. Hannah prefers to scream at her food rather than eating it. Robby enjoys deliberately and carefully dumping his milk all over himself. And they both have somehow gotten the idea that the food is only good if you take it down from the table and walk around with it. Seriously, a couple nights ago, Hannah was crying and screaming in her booster seat, so we got frustrated and said, "Do you want to get down?"...she made her "yes" sound so we started getting her out, at which point she grabbed two of the chicken nuggets she'd been screaming at to take with her. When we took them away and put them on the table she screamed and leaned over to get them. So we put her back in. At which point she refused to eat the nuggets. The process repeated then several times. Where did THAT come from?

That's all for now. Keep checking in.

Matt

Fever

At any given point in the house right now, up to 3 kids have temperatures over 100. Kind of a rough couple of days. So far I've managed to escape it - not sure how, but here's hoping it continues.

Actually, given the way the season started, we thought it was going to be a lot worse, but the kids have stayed largely healthy until now. I credit a lot of that to Steph and her drill-sergeant command of the hand gel routine.

Steph is developing a minor addiction to Mario Kart - so cute!

See you later, all...

Respectable effort on my part

We scored the double overnight - twins with Grandma D, big girls with AS&UG. Which meant that the wild and crazy Specters actually went to 2 social events in one night - unHEARD of.

And then...the next morning, we were able to sleep in until 8:45 or so. No stinking way. Amazing. This helps make up for being awakened 3 times by Faith the night before telling us that she saw scary things with her eyes closed, AND with her eyes opened. Which prompted me to ask her exactly what we were supposed to tell her at that point.

Not to sound callous, it's an ongoing issue. Steph is very good at being comforting yet firm in those situations (and of course they always go to HER side of the bed...) but after the 3rd one I had had enough.

I will be making my yearly awkward and uncomfortable jaunt to OMEA this week - at least it's in town this time around. I will be sure to file a report about how I'm the creepy-looking guy in the general music sessions. No one wants to sit next to me. Well guess what - that's fine by me. I'll be digging out the dark dark music for the iPod to wash off the happy stink. [shudder]

Plans are coming together for the summer - more on that later. We're also starting to think about throwing a decent-sized party for our anniversary this June - being the 10th and all. Even toyed with the idea of trying to get our wedding parties back together. Hmmm...that would require me bringing in people from Cleveland, Las Vegas, the Oklahoma Panhandle...and ironically, the dude who I might have the hardest time finding and convincing to come is the guy who lives here in town. Anyone with contact info for Vic Gaskins...please give me a call.

Thanks all,
Matt