Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Yard Update

These photos are of the latest yard improvements we have made on our ever eternal quest at beautifying the ugly. Our goal is to have a low maintenance landscaped yard that will increase our property value.


This is our most recent addition. This corner has been the eye sore of the front yard since we moved in. First we had mud, then city construction in the street ruined any hope of growing something here, and then there was a failed attempt at this without the wall and using mulch that was a horrible failure. So, I excavated this down to where it was level, built the retaining wall, and filled it in with rock. In addition to the soil damage, this spot gets direct sun all day and falls outside the reach of my sprinkler. So this is an abandonment of any hope of growing something, and the rock over plastic on clay will hopefully keep out any weeds. Although there will be something I'm sure.


This side of the garage is done until Spring. I removed the window from the garage, reframed it and boarded it in with 3/4 inch plywood. The lattuce work will support a climbing vine we plan to plant early next Spring, and we are open to suggestions there so comment if you have one. The day lillies and wild grasses planted along the side are thin due to 14 straight days of rain and late planting. There is also a small bush on the left which flowers in the winter.

This photo is another reason why I am pissed we have had 4 straight weeks of upper 90 degree weather followed by 14 straight days of rain!

Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Don't Make a Mess Dad

It is custom in our house that I am the first one up. I shower, get dressed, and then go get my son ready while my wife is preparing herself for the day. She then takes him to school.

This morning I was not alone in my morning ritual. My suspicions first came when I thought I heard little footsteps as I was getting my coffee. Then confirmation came when I was shaving and spotted two bright eyes peering at me out of the darkness of the hallway.

After exchanging morning pleasantness my son agreed to only join me in the bathroom if it was understood he would not be taking a shower too. Contract in hand the Energizer Bunny hopped into my day, handed me his diaper - which he had been carrying with him from a previous adventure, and proceeded with his customary assault of questions relating to whatever you are doing at the time.

We finally agreed that it was time for Daddy's shower and that Jackson would watch from the toilet seat where he would remain standing. I mention this purely for the understanding that in order for us to maintain our dialogue, and Jackson his toddler security, one of the two shower door panels must be left open while you are showering. (oh what fun!)

And as might be expected, as I was soaping down my girth some bubbles flung forth from the lufa and landed on the floor. This instantly became a moment of opportunity for my son who leapt down onto the floor - looked at the "bubbles," looked at me, and then looked back at the floor.

"You spilled bubbles Dad. You spilled bubbles on the floor Dad. You made a mess. Messes on the floor are bad. You shouldn't make messes on the floor Dad. You shouldn't spill bubbles on the floor Dad. You made a mess."

Oh well you know, so I just played along. "Yes son, you're right. Dad made a mess and that was bad."

Johnny on the spot Jackson then grabs the toilet bowl brush and says, "I'll clean it up for you this time Dad, but no spill bubbles on the floor okay. Okay Dad!" (Where does he hear this stuff?)

"Yes Jackson."

Jackson then proceeded to make sure the floor was bubble free. After which he turned to me in the shower and gave me his best smile saying,"Doesn't that feel better now Dad. Doesn't it feel better?"

Saturday, August 27, 2005

The Greatest Show on Earth

Last night we took Jackson to the Circus. Ringling Bros / Barnum & Bailey is in town at Kemper Arena through the weekend and Michelle got us some great seats through Block. (http://www.ringling.com) We were 7 rows off the show floor right on the aisle.

I hadn't been to the circus in 15 years and Michelle couldn't remember when she last went. But I have to tell you they are right when they say it is the greatest show on earth. It would be pretty hard to dispute that, and if there is something better, I would like to see it.

Jackson loved the animals and boy were their a lot of them. Elephants, horses, lions, cows, pigs, goats, lamas, sheep dogs, shetland ponies, and more. The elephants were, of course, Jackson's favorite. The Lions were kind of a dud, and they listened to the lion tamer about as well as my wife listens to me.

I think I am safe in saying that Michelle's favorite part of the show was the high wire guys. Specifically though, an act I don't know the name of. The act is based on the principal of counter balance. A man runs around in a circle that is attached to a frame the shape of an exclamation point with a weight on the other end. Then by his own weight affecting the balance of the frame, the frame spun in a circle itself. The guy ran around inside the circle, outside the circle (no net at all and while the frame was moving!), jumped rope on the outside, and did flips over himself to stay even with the increasing speed of the rotating frame. It was a sight.

My favorite bit was a clown show that took place entirely upside down from the roof. A wood floor was suspend from the ariel lattice work above the show. The tent the clowns came out of was upside down, the table their stuff was on was upside down, and they were upside down. They bounced balls off the floor, played catch, juggled, and more. The magical part of it all was that the only time objects appeared to be subject to the laws of gravity were when they were passed between the 2 clowns. Everything stayed on the table just fine or in place just fine. The illusion was complete.

We all had a wonderful time, and Jackson was terribly well behaved. Jackson even had a A+ pottie report. He ate popcorn and drank bottled water at the show. Twice during the show he told me he had to go to the bathroom. We got up, walked out to the men's room, and he handled it like a champion going all by himself at the junior urinal. We were very proud of him.

Friday, August 26, 2005

Quiz

Think you're pretty smart? See how many of these you get correct:

These are not trick questions. They are straight questions with
straight answers.

Questions
1. Name the one sport in which neither the spectators nor the
participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends.

2. What famous North American landmark is constantly moving
backward?

3. Of all vegetables, only two can live to produce on their own
for several growing seasons. All other v egetables must be
replanted every year. What are the only two perennial
vegetables?

4. Name the only sport in which the ball is always in possession
of the team on defense, and the offensive team can score without
touching the ball?

5. What fruit has its seeds on the outside?

6. In many liquor stores, you can buy pear brandy, with a real
pear inside the bottle. The pear is whole and ripe, and the bottle
is genuine; it hasn't been cut in any way. How did the pear get
inside the bottle?

7. Only three words in standard English begin with the letters
"dw" and they are all common words. Name two of them.

8. There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar. Can you
name at least half of them?

9. Where are the lakes that are referred to in the Los Angeles
Lakers?

10. There are 7 ways a baseball player can legally reach first base
without getting a hit. Taking a base on balls (a wal! k ) is one way.
Name the other 6.

11. Name the only vegetable or fruit that is never sold frozen,
canned, processed, cooked, or in any other form except fresh.

12. Name 6 or more things that you can wear on your feet
beginning with the letter "S."

------------------------------------------------------------------


Answers To Quiz:
1. The one sport in which neither the spectators nor the
participants know the score or the leader until the contest ends . .
. boxing

2. North American landmark constantly moving backward . . .
Niagara Falls (The rim is worn down about two and a half feet
each year because of the millions of gallons of water that rush
over it every minute.)

3. Only two vegetables that can live to produce on their own for
several growing seasons . . . asparagus and rhubarb.
4. The only sport in which the ball is always in possession of the
team on defense, and the offensive te! am can score wit hout
touching the ball . . . baseball.

5. The fruit with its seeds on the outside . . strawberry.

6. How did the pear get inside the brandy bottle? It grew inside
the bottle. (The bottles are placed over pear buds when they are
small, and are wired in place on the tree. The bottle is left in
place for the entire growing season. When the pears are ripe,
they are snipped off at the stems.)
7. Three English words beginning with dw . dwarf, dwell and
dwindle.

8. Fourteen punctuation marks in English grammar . . . period,
comma, colon, semicolon, dash, hyphen, apostrophe, question
mark, exclamation point, quotation marks, brackets, parenthesis,
braces, and ellipses.

9. The original lakes referred to in Lakers . . . in Minnesota.
(The team was originally known as the Minneapolis Lakers, and
kept the name when they moved west.)

10. Seven ways a baseball player can legally reach fi! rst base without getting a hit . . . taking a base on balls (a walk) . . .
batter hit by a pitch, passed ball, catcher interference, catcher
drops third strike, fielder's choice, and being designated as a
pinch-runner.

11. The only vegetable or fruit never sold frozen, canned,
processed, cooked, or in any other form but fresh . lettuce.

12. Six or more things you can wear on your feet beginning with
"s" . . . shoes, socks, sandals, sneakers, slippers, skis, skates,
snowshoes, stockings, stilts.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Swiss Flag Bearer



Last week we received a letter in the mail which stated the following:

Dear Swiss Flag Bearer,

While driving north on Holmes Road yesterday I saw the Swiss flag flying from what seemed to be the back entrance of your residence. As an officer of The Kansas City Swiss Society I was interested to know your connection to Switzerland and to know if you have been a member of our group or would be interested in learning more? I checked our membership roster and did not find your address.

If you are interested you might call or write and I would be happy to tell you about our organization of Swiss and Swiss related people. By the way, our website is http://www.kcswiss.org.

Sincerely,

The Kansas City Swiss Society

So we are going to check these folks out on October 9th. The society owns 9 acres in eastern Kansas City. They have what they call their "chalet" on this property which is also where they have their gatherings? From talking to them on the phone it sounds like they are a social club which strives to maintain a cultural awareness.

If nothing else, this stands as an example of what being a geek in public can get you.

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Another One Bites the Dust

FI515 came to an end last night with the final exam. As Michelle keeps happily reminding me - just 4 more classes left and I am finished with my MBA program. April 2006 here we come!

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Sleepy Head

Well, there are many firsts in both a child's and parent's life and this morning I heard another one. I walked upstairs to get Jackson dressed, turned on the light, and a groggy voice from beneath the sheets uttered, "No, Dadda. I no want to go school today."

Sunday, August 21, 2005

Chief's Fan

Saturday night week took Jackson to his first NFL Football game. Michelle was given some tickets as a thank you by a fellow employee that won them at the company picnic. We would never have been eligible for these because of her position, and a friend of her wanted to thank Michelle for all she had done for her in the past. So this woman gave up her tickets so we could go.

Section 135 is about at the 35 yard line, and Row 41 is the last field level seat available. Anything in Arrowhead on field level gives you an excellent view. Actually, just about every seat in Arrowhead gives you an excellent view. I felt this was important because in taking a child to a sporting event the first time you want them to be able to see it without effort. This is important because if they can't see it - they won't maintain interest - and at that point its a lost cause on several fronts and you sink into a parental hell.

So when Michelle told me we had these seats, I started pushing the idea of taking Jackson and making this a family thing. As it turns out, this was a great idea. Jackson had a wonderful time and was the hit of the seating section. We had bought him a Chiefs jersey a few weeks before and he wore it to the game. The excitement of the game got him wound up. He cheered, danced, and especially loved telling everyone when the team got a first down. He is a natural tomahawk chopper and Jackson also made several high five friends. I think his favorite part was the kicking though; field goals, punts, or extra points - just seeing the ball get kicked through the air. It also helped that the goal posts were yellow (Jackson's favorite color).

Just grasped just about every major part of the event except the teams name. Some how he got it in his head that we were going to Jesus. Chiefs / Jesus? I guess they kind of sound the same? Anyway, he kept asking me throughout the game which player was Jesus. I would tell him that Jesus was up in the sky and he would get a little fluster because we were under the overhang and couldn't see straight up. I kept explaining to him that it was the Chiefs we came to see, but bless his soul he was determined to see Jesus.

We left at half-time, which was also Jackson's bed time. On the way home we stopped for ice cream and treated our young football fan. Jackson obviously carried the luck of the team with him. When we left is was 10-0 Chiefs. When we got home the game had turned around and the Chiefs were loosing 24-10. Oh well. We had a great first half and so did Jackson.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Mustard

Taking Jackson to school today we stopped at an intersection for a red light which was 1/2 a block from a McDonald's. Not surprising, Jackson immediately told me that he wanted to go to McDonald's.

Being a father who harbors no love of the fast food giant on any level I have come to loathe my son's familiarity with the place. In this vein, I turned to him and calmly asked why would we want to go to McDonald's when we have the fruit roll up and Cheerios we had brought with us to eat for breakfast.

My son was quite for just a moment. Then he turned his head to the side and watching me out of the corner of his eye said, "We need to get some Mustard." As I froze in surprise to this response he sat there shaking his head up and down giving me this look which implied You obviously didn't think of that one Dad so we better go.

No...No I didn't.

Thursday, August 18, 2005

Royal Disappointment

Have you heard the news? Kansas City is looking to acquire a Major League Baseball team. Because sadly, we haven't seen major league baseball in this town for some time.

One of the key reasons people enjoy living in large cities, despite all of the headaches that go along with it, is the access they get to such things as professional sports teams. So when you have a situation such as we are experiencing here in KC, it really turns peoples stomachs on several levels. And worse yet, Kansas City is anguishing like Chicago once did with a blanket of shame over all of the city's sports teams. The Jayhawks got laughed out of the NCAA tournament and have had soap opera like problems in the off season, the Tigers graduated their only excuse for serious talent to the NBA, our minor league teams in all sports are in a revolving door, the Chiefs barely have the promise of being a 500 team and regularly threaten to move the team, and the Royals are the laughing stock of Major League Baseball. Wahoo!

So if you haven't heard, the Kansas City Royals are having a record breaking year. As of today, they have the longest loosing streak in team history at 18 games. They only need to loose 3 more to tie the American League record set by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles. What is worse is that the loosing streak isn't what most people consider the most disappointing aspect of the season. That distinction gets reserved for the embarrassment given to the 20 year celebration event of the 1985 team held this year. The 1985 World Series Champion Royals are the flagship team of the sports pride of this city. They are what draws all fans, segregated with whatever logic chosen, together in one smile of joy. It could not have been any worse.

Now being a Big Ten child in Big 12 country, some of this suffering gives me a small amount of joy. But not when it comes to baseball. Baseball was the sport I played as a child and understand very well. My wife plays Softball throughout the summer. Its our game in some ways regardless of who is playing or what records are on the line. Furthermore, Baseball is one of those sports that really should be appreciated live. The experience of the park, the American past time, the aspects of the game, and Summer time fun all make baseball worth seeing at the ballpark.

But not this year, even the ball park experience isn't any fun. When you can't go to a game with the expectation that either team can win, you really have a different situation. Its kind of like the Roman Forum. No one really expected the Christians to eat the lions did they, and no one really expects the Royals to win.

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Save Ferris

So, my son was sick yesterday right? That's what I thought too. Sick days, in my mind, paint a picture of a young boy at home resting, maybe watching a little TV, eating well, and just generally taking it easy to let the body heal.

Also my wife - the diligent mother: bringing work home the night before, taking one for the team, does what she can from the home computer while Jackson sips his soup on the couch helping Dora the Explorer find the missing whatnot. "Are you sure," I pushed, "I would be happy to do half the day." "Don't worry," she says finally," we will be fine."

And is that what happened - Hell no!

"Jackson needs to get out of the house," she says, "being all cooped up is not helping him get better." So the two them get in the car and go run errands for her job. Jackson goes on the tour de Block and gets to meet all of Mommies friends, run around the buildings, and be awe struck by the fountain. Then we go to McDonald's for lunch.

After lunch they went to the Zoo! When the Sea Lion show was over they called Dad to check in on him (a.k.a rub it in). It was about that time I sensed the con was in play and started seeing playback of Ferris Beuhler's Day Off running through my head. Because Jackson also watched the reptile show, road a pony, and spent some time with something called a millipede.

Between his one hour nap and the crack high he was on when I got home from school, whoever diagnosed my son as being sick obviously needs worry about their own problems, because he showed no signs of letting up. In fact my wife was a bit overwhelmed by it all at the end of the day and thankfully saw bedtime come like the end of a marathon.

But all I know is, I've never had a sick day like that.

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Pottie Blues

Jackson's School called us again yesterday. Apparently, he was a 3 time looser on the diarrhea front. What this means in our world is that they believe the child has a viral infection, which they usual do. So the child also cannot come back to school for another 24 hours.

Jackson, therefore, is on vacation today from school. If he can make the association, he might have diarrhea everyday?

Sunday, August 14, 2005

H&R Block Company Picnic

Saturday we went to the H&R Block company picnic. This was held at the National AG Hall of Fame in Bonner Springs, KS. (http://aghalloffame.com/)

This is one of Michelle's key events of the year that she has to coordinate. That means Jackson and I attend as guests on our own. Between the rain we had this weekend and the nap factor we decided to get their early and leave early. This worked out well because Jackson was dead in the truck driving away and we left just before the monsoon arrived.

This is the second year they have held this here and Jackson loves the place. A tractor pulls you in a wagon from the parking lot to the site, their are tons of games for toddlers, you get to eat in a big red barn, there are acres to run around on, an old Caboose sits on track there that you can explore, and best of all - there is a small gas powered train that runs around the property on 14" track that kids can ride in. The train has its own station and there are engineers that drive the train and work with the kids.

So yeah - We rode the train a lot. It takes you around "Copperhead Curve," over a bridge overlooking a large recess, under the walking bridge pictured here, and then through a tunnel!

Jackson had a wonderful time and was terribly well behaved. He even pottied like a big boy and had no accidents! We have heard that Christmas time there is really neat, maybe we will have o come back?

There are a few more pictures posted in the photo album.

Friday, August 12, 2005

Oh Crap

Well I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later. In the life and times of a pottie training toddler, Jackson didn't earn any stickers yesterday.

What a day to have it happen too. Michelle had called me in the mid-morning to let me know that during morning "water play" at school Jackson was running on the sidewalk, tripped over his own two feet, and bounced his head on the pavement. "The knot on his forehead is the size of a golf ball," they told her over the phone. Jackson's teacher, Ms. Rhea, would later tell me also that the sound of it was frightening and made her hair stand on end.

So Michelle ran Jackson over to the doctor and was very lucky. They got in and were able to see Jackson's doctor, Mary Tyson.

Jackson was fine. Apparently it is a good thing when the bump grows out instead of in. Who knew? Though it makes sense, I think such knowledge falls under the category of rare allegories doctors hold in reserve to calm horrified patients and bring them down off the mental ledge they're standing on. Frankly, I was horrified enough with outtie - they can keep the innie.

So some observational instruction and a trip through the McDonald's drive-thru were all that was needed. In fact, when I picked him up at the end of the day I had to look for it. The knot was gone and there wasn't much left of the strawberry created from the contact. Thank you Jesus. We did however benefit some from the experience - We know Jackson is 32 pounds.

But the experience left Jackson, for reasons I am still not clear on, without underwear and back in a diaper. So sure enough not long after we get home Jackson tells us that he has pooped his pants. Good thing we had that diaper on Hugh? Well, just wait. We put underwear on him thinking we were safe.

So not more than 45 minutes later, after polishing off a healthy portion of ravioli, Jackson gives me the face we have all come to know so well that screams I am pooping my pants! So I tell him we need to get down from the chair and head to the bathroom. And I am told, "No Daddy, I poop in my pants!" So he did.

A few minutes later came one of the funniest things I have seen my son do in awhile: He got down from his chair, took about one and a half steps and froze. It was like watching the Tin Man rust out on the Wizard of Oz. And Jackson stayed there in that same spot and same position the entire time we cleared the table. He really didn't complain about it either. He just stood there.

When the dishes were done, I told him we were headed to the bathroom. Jackson took a couple of tentative steps and then was off like a gun shot. We took off his shoes and socks and then I put him in the shower.

It is at this point in the story, that all hell broke loose. Jackson, in his infinite wisdom and toddler veracity, choose to start jumping up and down in the shower for fun. It won't take much of an imagination to understand what happened next. Needless to say there was a small explosion. But to put it in perspective for a 2 year old, think about it as being attacked by a big brown monster. Because it is at this point I am foolishly trying to persuade my son that pulling his pants off is the best plan. To him, the pants are the only thing holding back the monster that is trying to crawl down his leg. So this of course
lead to a state of madness in the shower.

Normally it is my wife that tries to rationalize with our child and I have to step in and act, but this time the rolls were reversed and she reached in and depanted the boy. Go Mom! To which then I manned the the shower head, and our reenactment of a crowd control situation by police soon set in.

In the end after the steam settled, Jackson wanted to stay in the shower and was having a blast playing in the water. Everything got cleaned up without too much difficulty. My wife managed to make it through the day without killing my son - which was also probably the biggest accomplishment of the day. And Jackson survived, what would be for most of us, a pretty crappy day. :)






Thursday, August 11, 2005

Site Changes


Wow. Got so much going on so fast, but this is why I changed services.

We have updated the site in a couple of different ways.

To the right the first thing you will see is an on-line calendar of what we have happening. Probably the biggest issue we have relating to family is coordinating what we have going on with something they want us to do / be a part of. Well, now you can check out we we have going on right here.

Secondly, we have added three additional sub-sites to this one. The first of those has to do with our love of movies, theater, and the like. We will be posting our reviews of what we see & do. I highly encourage commentary here.

The second site is Darin's bravery into the bowels of literary criticism. Look out now and laughing out loud is permitted.

Lastly, there is now a link to our family tree website from Family Tree Maker. Any questions or comments on that can be posted against any article.

Wednesday, August 10, 2005

Boxers

You learn quickly as a parent that there are turning points in early childhood development, and when you make those turns you realize that a door closed behind you that will never open again.

Jackson is walking through the turnstiles right now on another of life's changes. Yesterday was his first day on "boxers." Using the pottie has been becoming more and more a part of his life. Despite a small period of rebellion that lasted about 2 weeks he has been taking to it well. Each time Jackson uses the potty he gets a sticker. 1 sticker for a #1 and 2 stickers for a #2. He has a sticker map on the bathroom door where he places them. For Jackson we chose airplanes and his map is a big sky shot with lots of clouds.

Daddy has kind of insisted on boxers. It took him over 20 minutes and 3 sales people to find the only option for boxers which Target had in a 4T size. Passed over were tons of options showcasing all of Jackson's favorite cartoons including Thomas. But alas I felt it more important to stick with what I want. The benefit here as well is that they aren't white. I mean come on. The reason why you move kids to underwear at this age is that you want them to have an accident and not like it. By taking away the safety net you force them to be more conscientious of what is happening. So in God's name knowing that why would you make them white?

Anyway, we are very proud of Jackson and he says he likes wearing them. Not to mention he likes to do everything himself and these are much easier for him to take off.

Archives

Our old site can be visited at http://www.xanga.com/skin.asp?user=oswaldomantika

This should have all of our old posts if you want to catch up past joys and fun.

Thank you for following us through the transition. Going forward, this will be our primary page.