Eating everyday is overrated

Last night was the first night this week I had dinner with my family. This has been just an insane week due to both work and home schedules. Obviously, a little recap is on order.
Monday was occupied with swimming, or so we thought. Lauren started her swim lessons last Saturday and I feel it's important that she practices what she learns at least once between each lesson. So, off we went to the YMCA. Since the open swim time is 7-8, my night was basically show up at home, grab Lauren, head back out. No dinner for me. We get to the Y, tell the desk attendant we're there for open swim. She hands us a lock for the Family locker room and off we go. We change into our swimsuits, take a quick shower and head out to the pool. The lifeguard, who knows us because she's there at the swim lesson time too, seemed shocked. Turns out, there is no open swim on Monday Night. In fact, the only open swim on a week night is Tuesday 7-8. GAH!!! There's Lauren, wrapped in her towel all excited to go swimming when I have to break her little heart and tell her we can't. Poor thing just stood there not saying a word, wearing a slight pout on her face. I explained that the pool wasn't open for practicing swimming, only for people in class and that we would have to come back the next night. I also said it was alright to be sad or disappointed because I was too, but we still had to leave. She understood and we went back to the locker room to dry off and change into our clothes. She took this so calmly, I decided a little reward was in order. I told her that because she was so good when I said we had to leave without swimming, we were going to get an ice cream. That seemed to lift her spirits and she began talking again. You gotta love phrases like "I a little disappointed, but it's okay" coming from the mouth of a 3 year old. After a quick call home to explain what as going on, it was off to Colonial Cafe for a little sundae. In lieu of dinner, a Peanut Butter Fudge Chipper Sundae shared with Lauren was a nice substitute.
Tuesday brought actual swimming. Again, it was a get home, grab Lauren, head back out. Again ... no dinner for me. Why diet when you can just not eat? Lauren loved swimming, jumping into the pool, practicing her sit dives, and kicking off the wall. After swimming was over, Lauren asked if we could get another ice cream. How do you tell a child that we could go get an ice cream, but only if she never wanted to see daddy again. Because mommy would kill him.
Wednesday brought tutoring math at the local library. I did manage to scarf down some KFC, so that's 1 for 3 on actually having dinner. this particular session had to be the most stressful of all the ones I've done. There were NINE kids!!!! NINE!!! There were 2 tutors. Because I'm better at switching gears between the different subjects (trigonometry, geometry, algebra, geography, and basic math), I took 5 kids while the other tutor focused his efforts on the 2 kids who needed close supervision. It worked, but I was exhausted after 2 hours.
Last night, while I get dinner with the family, it wasn't be at home. The PTL at Lauren's preschool is held a family picnic night. KFC was on the menu again. Nothing like variety in one's diet to make skipping dinner seem not so bad. :P They had little signs marking the spots for each class. I managed to forget plates and silverware while at KFC, but the parents there were extremely helpful. One ran into the school's kitchen to get us some plastic ware. I think we're going to like it here. The best part of the evening was watching Lauren run around with the other kids. We don't often get to see her interact in this way, but it was quite enjoyable. She joined up with about 5 kids and they began running around in a line. Starting at the fence, going to the trees, around the soccer goal, and back. Eric loved running too. It's always hard to judge your own childrens development, but several parents seemed quite impressed with Eric's running, considering he's only 17 months old. I'm sure I can guess Lauren's favorite part. The giant dessert table filled with cookies and brownies and cake. It's always a nice excuse to make several visits to the dessert table under the guise of "getting stuff for your family". "Why of course Eric likes Lofthouse cookies! That's why I picked up 4." Maybe this not eating dinner thing is a way to gorge myself on those days I do eat dinner. Hmm ... have to study this one further.

The Deal Hunter Strikes Again

Score one for the internet!!

4 tickets to Baltimore, 1 rental car for 4 days: $695.

Not bad. I do, however, wish the trip were for a better reason.

Name That Relation

Weddings are a joyous occasion, especially in my family. The blessed events do tend to cause interesting situations thanks to my unique family tree. My sister’s wedding this weekend was no exception. Thanks to my father’s 4 marriages, my mother (wife #1) got to introduce Denise (wife #3) to Fina (wife #4) at the wedding of the daughter of wife #2. With 4 of my dad’s 5 sisters attending with their respective families, and Fina’s rather large Italian family, the afternoon was a wonderful game of “Name that Relation”. There really needed to be some flash cards.
The wedding was beautiful and specifically designed for the benefit of the audience. Procession to 1st kiss, the ceremony lasted about 15 minutes. With all the children, it was a perfect time span. Just long enough that by the time they thought about getting fidgety, the ceremony had ended. Even the ring bearer and flower girl (my nephew, Ryan, and niece, Catie) didn’t have time to get restless.
The reception was great, and the kids loved running around and dancing to the DJ. I think the best part was when Eric fell asleep in my dad’s arms. Since Mr. Antisocial (a name we use in love, of course) likes to sit in a corner, Debbie and I got to mingle without either rugrat in tow, since Lauren was doing her best whirling dervish impression on the dance floor. Towards the end of the party, I got to teach Lauren the Chicken Dance! How cool is that!

End of the Journey Approaches

We are quickly approaching the end of our journey and I think the word that best describes our travels is: Survived. Actually, the past 2 weeks have gone surprisingly well, even with a few hiccups along the way. Lauren just loves the ocean and has gone in every day this week. Eric even managed to make a few trips to Camp Potter-Brown-McGuire on the beach. You laugh, but I think camp may be a bit of an understatement. There was the tent, 4 umbrellas, and 6 beach chairs. I've seen entire offices move with less crap than we carried to the beach each day. But, my folks need the shade less they be mistaken for lobsters. We've even decided to add a new item to our beach arsenal: a Sherpa. I think I can find one, but if not, a cart will do just as well. That's right, we carried all that stuff plus towels, snacks, and Lauren's sand toys (soon to be Lauren and Eric's sand toys). My favorite part was when we would just reach the beach, I carrying 30 pounds of equipment, and Lauren would plead with me to carry her because the sand was too hot. Yup ... always loved that part. Of course I carried her because I'm a sucker, but still.
As always, you can expect a lot of pictures to be forthcoming. Our 1 gig card is starting to buckle under the strain, so it may be good that we're leaving tomorrow. Then, it's back to our regular schedule come Monday. I don't know if Lauren is ready for that yet, but we'll see. I think her friends are going to be a little shocked at how tan she is. Great ... my daughter is blond haired, blue eyed, and tans well. Eric better be linebacker sized to keep all the would-be suiters at bay. Even with Lauren wearing the 1930s swimsuit that covers the ankles and wrists.

What would you like to see at the zoo?

With the gorgeous weather, Debbie and I decided it was not the type of day to stay at home. Going to the park just didn't cut the mustard. Instead, we took a family trip to Brookfield Zoo. To accompany us on this little venture, my parents are in town for the week so they came along as well. On the way there, my mom asks Lauren what she would like to see. Lauren's response: "Dolphins!" My poor mother, thinking Lauren had lost her mind a little bit, seemed shocked. That was until I explained that, yes, Brookfield Zoo does have dolphins. When we got there, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the Zoo was having a little promotion. All children got a free Independence Bear Beanie baby from Ty. So, while my dad put money in a vending machine to get a soda (not realizing until too late the bottles were $3.75), we headed over to the tent to get the bears. Lauren got to pick the bears for both herself and Eric. They look almost the same, but there are some minute differences. If you want to know what they are, you'll have to come visit us and see :)
Even with spending 5-6 hours at the zoo, Lauren was incredibly well behaved. And, by "well-behaved", I mean she only had about 3 or 4 tantrums. We also signed up as members there, mainly because it was an obvious cheaper way to go. With Eric and Lauren, we knew seeing all of the zoo was just not going to happen. So, why not pay just a little extra and come back for free. As it was, we almost spent what the cost of the membership was, so I think we made a good choice.
On this particular trip, we got to see the bears, some big cats, the dolphins, pinnipeds, pachyderms, and camels. Ok ... now you can go and google pinnipeds. I'll wait.

You back? Good. I know what you're thinking. How could you not see the monkeys?!?!?! I wish I could say. That's just one of the drawbacks of having a 2 month old who insists on eating every few hours. On the way to the zoo, we had a talk and I tried to tell him he needed to go 6 hours without eating. I guess my lecture just fell on deaf ears. Cute, little, deaf ears, but deaf ears none-the-less. Lauren loved the dolphin show, but I think she really enjoyed them before the show started. That's when the dolphins are just roaming the pool and would occasionally do a jump or two. The squeals of delight were a treasure. She didn't squeal much when the show started, but it did captivate her. My favorite part of the trip was when we heard the lion roar. This was just as we were about to leave. Eric was getting his last feeding before heading home. There was this great area where Debbie could sit on a bench, shaded by trees, about 20 feet from the main walk. While not private, it did feel secluded enough to be comfortable. So, we're sitting there and Lauren is spinning this "Wheel of Survival" thing the zoo has, when we hear this enormous barking like sound. Lauren and I rush over to see the lion giving the ole vocal chords a workout. It was quite a sight, and Lauren squealed each time he let loose with a roar.
Overall, it was a great day (though my knees and back might beg to differ) The weather was really great with a light breeze making for a very comfortable time. Now, we just have to figure out when to go back so we can get our money's worth. Oh, and maybe we'll get Lauren to stop by the Sting Ray Bay and get her to put a sting ray. Wouldn't that be neat!

The Brown Family just got 33% bigger

Ladies and Gentlemen -

The management would like to announce the following:

Now appearing on the main stage of Plant Earth, in a debut performance:

Mr Eric William Brown. Weighing in at 8 lbs, 10 oz; measuring 21.5 inches; this dyanmo is ready to meet the new world (as soon as he finishes his nap). Mommy and baby are doing just fine.

The family is excited to have this new addition and look forward to the special talents he can bring to the table.