SwingDaddy

The Next Chapter

2015-07-28T22:22:00.000-07:00

Well, the blog was active for almost 9 years, and it's about time to wrap it up. I fell out of the habit of updating after the holidays, and it seems like a good idea for the kids to start telling their own stories.

A quick recap of the first half of the year: the kids finished up school strong, with Bud doing a good job on his California mission project and in the school musical. Buster was extremely successful in his class, and both kids got great reports from school.

We celebrated the kids birthdays in the spring, with a soccer party for Bud at a local indoor soccer gym, and at home with a Minecraft theme for Buster. I can't believe Bud has been around for a decade now.

Bud did a very good job on his Black Belt test for Tae Kwon Do, and has been helping out in TKD classes since then. The test for the Black Belt was a whole different beast, lasting two days, and we discovered that Bud can run a 48 minute 10k. Buster recently earned his Dark Red belt in TKD summer camps, and is started to look really good in his movements.

The kids continue on piano, and had a great recital towards the end of spring. They've been taking a bit of a piano vacation during the summer, but are gearing up for a special 'duet' concert, and they've been working on a couple of pieces that they play together.

Buster continues to be very interested in Minecraft, and has taken to watching Minecraft videos / machinima on YouTube. I've helped him download some mods and supervised him playing on some public servers, but he and Bud primarily enjoy creating worlds. Bud has helped out a bit, but Bud's interests are more towards soccer and Clash of Clans, which he plays when he can. We set up our own clan, and a few of Bud's school friends have joined as well.

The kids have stayed busy with week-long summer camps this year, including the aforementioned TKD camps, soccer camp, swim lessons, and a fencing and archery camp. This week, for a change of pace, they're both enjoying chess camp. Overall, they seem to be enjoying their summer.

We took a family vacation to Disney World to meet up with Grandma W and Granddad B, along with Ruggermom and her posse. It was a great week, and we enjoyed seeing the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, a water park, and hanging out at the hotel. The kids were great to travel with, and overall we had a wonderful time.

Looking forward, Bud will be going into 5th grade, his last year at the elementary school. Buster will be going into 2nd, and both kids look ready for the next levels. They become more independent each day, and I'm pretty happy to have the opportunity to help them along the way.

Thanks all for reading along, and my deepest thanks and love to M-lady for being my partner in this whole parenthood undertaking.
So long for now,
SwingDaddy

Survival Mode

2015-02-09T23:50:00.000-08:00

Buster crawled into be with us this morning about 5 minutes before it was time to get up. I rolled out of bed when my alarm went off, and he went back to his bed to pretend he was still sleeping. He was pretty good about getting up when we called him on it, though. Both kids were ready to go with plenty of time to spare, and M-lady took the kids to school.

They seem to have had a good day. M-lady got home a couple minutes before I did, and we said goodbye to Nanny J. Bud was playing out in the yard with the neighbors, and Buster was anxious to tell me about his day. We chatted for a bit, and took a look at his homework (which he'd done during the day) before I started getting dinner ready. M-lady wasn't feeling too well, so she rested a bit.

I called Bud in at about 6:30, and we all had some dinner together. After Bud finished up dinner, I looked at his homework while M-lady did piano with Buster. When Buster finished up, Bud took his turn, and Buster got to play a little bit of Minecraft. Buster opted to start a new game in survival mode (rather than 'creative' mode), and did a good job of surviving on his first day, which is really the hardest part. He was very proud of himself.

We had a snack after Bud finished up piano, and the kids took showers and got ready for bed. I sat with Bud while he played Clash of Clans for a little while before bedtime, and we turned out the light around 9:00.

Holed Up For The Weekend

2015-02-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

We had a nice weekend, but it was raining for the majority of it, so we mostly stayed in. The kids were up fairly early on Saturday, and spent time playing Minecraft together until M-lady and I got up and joined them for breakfast. We started getting chores done around the house, Bud working on some long-running homework assignments, and both kids doing their piano practice.

M-lady headed out to run some errands, and we had a late lunch when she got back. Buster had a birthday party to go to in the afternoon, and M-lady took him while I hung out with Bud. It was a drop off party, so M-lady was back quickly, and Bud headed outside to play with the neighbors for a little while in a brief respite from the rain.

I picked up Buster, and Ama and Agu and Cousin C came over for dinner. The kids had a good time playing Minecraft for a while until Aunt O and Uncle C came to pick him up, at about bedtime.

Today, the kids were up fairly early again, but M-lady and I managed to pull ourselves out of bed before too long. The kids did get some time to play Clash of Clans together for a bit, though. We had waffles for breakfast, which the kids enjoyed, and then M-lady got started on making Valentines with the kids for their classmates.

I did a few odd jobs around the house, and then headed out to run a quick errand. The errand was totally successful, and I came back to find the kids working on piano. I helped with getting some lunch ready, and afterward spent some time building Lego with the kids.

A little while later Aunt O and Cousin C arrived, and the kids had a good time playing together. Aunt O and M-lady headed out to do some quick shopping, and I turned on the video of the hour record attempt which had occurred earlier in the morning. The kids found it mildly interesting, and watched a little with me before running off to play a bit more.

Aunt O and Cousin C took their leave a bit after 5:00, and I headed out with Bud to pick up some dinner. We brought it back and ate in front of the TV, doing a movie night. We started with checking out the opening scenes from Grim Fandango, which M-lady and I had played together a number of years ago. The kids seemed to be slowly getting into it, and we'll try and play more of it together going forward.

After Grim Fandago, we watched another episode of Planet Earth, and then the kids played a little bit more of Clash of Clans before it was time to get ready for bed.

Catching Up Again

2015-02-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

Time to get back to blogging! Since the holidays my main computer has been in a less-accessible place: it's created an interesting change in habits. Unfortunately, one of the side effects is that I've totally fallen off the wagon in terms of blogging. Trying to get back to it!

Buster lost one of his front teeth last week, and has a really cute gap-toothed smile now. I was struck by how much he's grown... he's really getting big. He's been really getting into Minecraft since the holidays, but just this week he's started turning his focus to Clash of Clans, following his brother.

Bud has been busy, working on his California Mission report, as well as working on the paper for his upcoming TKD Black Belt test. The TKD paper is sizable, and I took a trip with Bud a little while back to get books from the downtown San Jose library. We found a few good titles, and we've been working to get the paper together.

Bud was turned on to Clash of Clans by his friends at school, who have created a clan. I sat with Bud last night before bed as he played and chatted with friends online for the first time... I expect he'll be doing more of that in the future. We have had a chat about the dangers of online social interactions, but it will be something we reiterate as well.

Aside from papers and games, Bud has been playing with the neighbors across the street almost every day. They really have a good time together. Buster joins occasionally, but has been more interested in spending his free time inside, preferably playing a video game. We've been monitoring his screen time, and send him outside to play from time to time, but he generally would rather be inside.

We've had some work done around the house, and the kids have helped a little bit. I've picked more of the Clementines from the tree in our front yard, and the kids (including the neighbors) have had fun catching the small oranges as I drop them from the ladder with their baseball gloves. Just need to keep them from dropping peels all over the yard...

The kids have both been watching 'Making of' specials about the first episode of The Hobbit with M-lady. I suspect we'll all sit down to watch the first part of the movie before too long.

Time Getting Away

2015-01-19T23:43:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I hadn't intended to not post for a week...

The kids had a pretty straightforward week at school, and did their now-scheduled Tuesday/Thursday/Friday TKD classes. The Friday class wasn't as physically demanding this time, so the kids weren't sore the next couple of days. Friday was logistically interesting, though: M-lady got home in time to take the kids to their piano lesson, and I met them at home when they got back with dinner set up in my car. We loaded up and ate on the way to TKD class. M-lady and I transferred the kids to Nanny J at the TKD class, and headed up to see a Danse Libre show. Nanny J took the kids home, where they were met by Ama and Agu, who spent the evening with them and got them to bed. M-lady and I got home a bit later, after the kids were asleep.

On Saturday, we ran around doing errands (library and grocery store) before packing up and heading out at about 3:00 to drive up to San Francisco for a party with long time dance friends. The kids were content to watch Looney Tunes in the car on the way up, and then enjoyed the company of Friends Av and An during the course of the evening. The big dog L was there, who is super mellow, so Buster enjoyed hanging out with him a bit. The kids also had a good time with the iPhones and the Action Movie FX app, shooting quick segments of the guests and superimposing missle strikes and avalanches on them.

Bud had an accident with his copy of The Fellowship of the Ring, unfortunately, spilling a large quantity of grape juice directly on it. It ruined the book, and Bud was distraught until we came up with a plan to replace the book. We enjoyed the party well into the evening, and headed home some time close to 10:00pm. The kids stayed awake on the drive home, again watching Looney Tunes, and got into bed around 11:00, after Bud and M-lady ordered a new copy of his book for him.

We had another mellow morning on Sunday, and I got out for a bike ride in the late morning. Cousin C and Aunt O came over to play in the afternoon, and were there when I got home. I cleaned up and took a shower, and then spent the rest of the afternoon fixing the dripping shower while Bud mostly played outside and Buster and Cousin C played Minecraft.

After Aunt O and Cousin C headed home, we did a movie night dinner in front of the TV, watched a couple of Fred and Ginger dance numbers before turning on another episode of Planet Earth. The kids got to bed at a normal hour, and overall didn't seem to be affected by the late night previous.

Today, I got up a little earlier and we all had waffles for breakfast. Bud helped make the waffles, which was nice. After breakfast, the kids did their piano practice with M-lady, and the kids had a little bit of Xbox time before we headed out for lunch at Five Guys. The kid ate well, and we headed over to Aunt O and Cousin C's for the afternoon. The kids had a good time running around, and we came home at about 4:00. Buster and I had a nice video chat with Granddad B and Grandma Nese, and Buster showed them around the Minecraft world he's been building for the past few weeks.

I made dinner, and Buster got a little more Minecraft time in while Bud and I started the very first bits of research in his TKD black belt research paper. It's going to be a pretty big project, so we'll need to break it down into smaller chunks. The kids did a good bedtime routine, and Bud and I spent a little time checking out Clash of Clans for the first time, which a bunch of Bud's friends play, apparently.

Comet Viewing

2015-01-13T23:53:00.000-08:00

Getting back into the swing of things!

We had a very pleasant break, mostly hanging out around home, and got to reconnect with friends and family. The kids played a lot with Cousin C and the neighbors across the street, and we overall had a lovely holiday.

The kids have adjusted to school routine again, and we're back to managing homework in the evenings. Buster seems to be growing and eating lots, and Bud wants to comb the front of his hair by himself now in the morning so he can impart some style. I can't believe he's going to be 10 soon!

This past Friday, the kids had their black belt prep TKD class in the evening, which was an hour of jumping drills and jumping kicks. Bud had trouble walking for the next couple of days. That said, he's a remarkable jumper for his size, and apparently has the admiration of a number of instructors and other black belts in the studio for his spring. Buster's doing a great job as well, but isn't pushing himself as hard on the jumps yet.

Minecraft is a big thing now, and the primary topic of conversation with Buster at all times. He has two guidebooks which he rereads constantly, and both kids enjoy playing in creative mode when they get the chance.

Today was fairly routine: I took the kids to school in the morning and met them in the evening at their TKD class, and we made it home by about 6:30. After shower and dinner, Bud got through his piano efficiently. I set up the telescope with him out front while Buster did his piano with M-lady, and we got it pointed at Comet Lovejoy after some calibration, which we were able to see very distinctly. M-lady and Buster joined us outside for a bit, and they both got to look through the scope as well.

After wrapping up and coming in, there was time for snack and getting ready for bed. Bud and I watching some Top Gear before turning the light out around 9:00.

Catching Up

2014-12-22T23:51:00.000-08:00

Sorry for not posting for a while. But we're on break now, so I have a little time to catch up.

The kids wrapped up school before the holiday last week, with holiday parties and crafts. The kids are now off for two weeks, until the new year, and M-lady and I opted to take the time off as well. I headed in to work for a couple of hours today, but otherwise will be on PTO for the holidays.

Today, the kids were up and jumping in our bed for a little while before heading off to play. They've been a bit obsessed with MineCraft (although they haven't actually played yet), and spent some time this morning building MineCraft constructions out of Lego. They let us sleep for a little bit, but rolled us out of bed by 9:30 or so.

We got them some breakfast, and I headed off for my few hours of work around lunchtime. While I was out, M-lady took the kids over to play with Cousin C for the afternoon, and we reconvened at home at about 4:00. After playing for a little while, we headed out to Five Guys to get burgers for dinner, which everyone enjoyed.

We played a board game together when we got home, and then started on a murder mystery jigsaw puzzle. Buster lost interest in the puzzle pretty quickly, but Bud put in some good time on it. That brought us to snack time, and after Bud had gotten ready for bed he and I played Dominion together until bedtime.

Tooth Lost

2014-12-14T23:48:00.000-08:00

We've had a pretty good weekend. On Friday, the kids had piano, and I met them when they arrived home with M-lady. They piled straight into my car, which was already provisioned with dinner, and they ate on the way to TKD. They had a great TKD class, working on exciting, high level kicks like full turning kicks, halo kicks, and jumping triple kicks. They got a pretty good workout.

On Saturday, Bud had a friend come over in the morning, and Buster played with them as well. Friend N had to leave at about lunchtime, and after lunch we all spent some time baking. We headed out for dinner, where Buster lost his first tooth! Unfortunately, the tooth disappeared, but Buster didn't seem too put out by that. He wrote a note to the tooth fairy, and had M-lady print up a couple pictures of the missing tooth as proof.

Today I headed out early for a bike race, and M-lady hung out with the kids in the morning. Buster was apparently pretty excited to find the tooth fairy had left him a dollar and a note. Aunt O and Cousin C came over before lunch and they all went to the school playground for a while, where the kids had the opportunity to burn off some energy. I got home in the early afternoon and hung out with the kids for a bit, and they spent a little time playing outside as well.

At about 4:00 we headed over to Ama and Agu's, where we met Aunt O, Uncle C, and Cousin C as well to celebrate Uncle C's birthday. The kids had fun playing outside, and we had a nice dinner and cake. The kids were still pretty hyper by the time we got home, but it was time to start getting ready for bed pretty quickly. Buster fell asleep within about 10 minutes of the lights going out.

The Wettening

2014-12-11T21:33:00.000-08:00

The storm arrived this morning, but never had the wind speeds predicted: We were supposed to have winds from 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 50, but the wind seemed to stick in the 10 to 20 mph range. The water, however, has come down seriously. We've had about three inches today where we live so far, and the rain is supposed to keep up through the night. Nearby areas have gotten 9 inches in the past 48 hours. This had led to a fair bit of flooding. We're fine here so far, and I've been keeping an eye on the nearby storm drains.

The kids went to school as usual, and M-lady and I opted to work from home. Nanny J arrived and brought the kids home and got them situated, and we let her head home early to avoid driving in the dark and through potential floods. The kids skipped TKD today, but had a good time playing. They got their homework done fairly efficiently, and we had dinner at about 6:00. The kids did a good job with piano, and then played Starbound on my computer until it was time to get ready for bed.

One of Buster's teeth is just about ready to come out, and he's pretty excited. Hopefully tomorrow will bring some dryness (it's still supposed to rain, however) and some clearer roads.

Loose Teeth

2014-12-10T23:33:00.000-08:00

The kids have been having a pretty good week. Buster discovered towards the beginning of the week that he had a loose tooth: one of the lower center teeth. He shortly noticed that the other center tooth was also loose. We took a look, and discovered, that like his older brother, his permanent teeth had already broken through the gums a little behind his baby teeth. When that happened to Bud, we asked the dentist if it was OK, and she assured us that it was very common. It's looking like the baby teeth will come out soon, and the adult teeth will be in pretty quickly.

We have a big storm hitting the area in the morning, and lots of wind and flood advisories. The wind is predicted to peak (in this area) at about 40 mph, with gusts getting a bit higher. Hopefully that doesn't uproot too many trees. The rain is supposed to be in the 3" range, which pretty much counts as a deluge. I suspect there will be flooding, but I'm not too worried about our area. I'll post again tomorrow to let you know we're all afloat.

Burning Up in the Atmosphere

2014-12-08T23:55:00.000-08:00

The kids were pretty good about getting going this morning, and M-lady took them to school. They apparently had a good day.

When I got home, Bud and Friend E were sitting in folding chairs, chatting, as it was getting dark outside. Bud was excited about his new school hoodie which arrived today. Buster showed me the certificate he got for participating in his class reading challenge, although he wasn't wearing a shirt. Nanny J was trying to get him to put his shirt on, but was unable to succeed before taking her leave.

I got started on cooking dinner and checking the kids homework, and M-lady arrived shortly. During dinner, when the subject of a baby shower came up, Buster asked if it was like a meteor shower. After dinner, we worked on homework and piano, and had time to spend on setting up the automatic tree waterer and clean up some of the fallen needles before getting ready for bed.

It's Beginning to Feel...

2014-12-06T23:38:00.001-08:00

It rained most of the week, letting up on the weekend but remaining fairly cloudy. It was actually fairly foggy this morning. The kids didn't get to play outside as much this week due to the weather, and by the time the weekend came Buster was pretty anxious to practice riding his bike again.

We changed up our TKD schedule a bit this week, skipping the Wednesday class in favor of a Friday evening class. The new class is a black belt preparation class, and Buster is finally of a high enough rank to attend. It was a bit tricky getting them there after piano, and I met M-lady and the kids as they got out of piano, with dinner, and the kids ate in the car on the way to the studio.

The class was fantastic, with only about half a dozen students attending. There were four instructors working out as well, so the instructor to student ratio was pretty good. Both kids had lots of one-on-one time with instructors. M-lady and I had some time to catch up as well as the kids were in class. We got home around 8:00ish, and did a snack and bedtime routine.

On Saturday morning, Buster asked when we could open the Christmas decoration, and it occurred to me that we needed to get a tree. So after getting the weekend plan generally sorted out and getting dressed, we started on errands. I took the kids to get haircuts, and then M-lady took the kids to the library (after a shower). After getting those items out of the way, we headed out to pick up a tree. After hauling it home, the kids were very helpful in setting it up. Bud helped me wrangle the tree into the base, and Buster had a good time vacuuming up needles after we got the tree up.

Ama and Agu came in the afternoon, and the kids had a good time hanging ornaments. I went out to pick up some dinner, and Ama and Agu stayed for movie night, where we watched the recently aired Peter Pan Live musical. We had a good time, and said goodnight to Ama and Agu at about 8:00.

Today, I headed out early for a bike race, and M-lady took the kids over to Ama and Agu's for the morning. They had breakfast and later lunch there, and had a good time playing with Cousin C, who also came over. I got home and headed out again to do the shopping, and saw the rest of the family when they arrived home around 1:30.

I played with the kids outside for a little while, and Buster took another shot at riding his bike. The kids had a snack at about 3:00, and got cleaned up for a piano recital at 4:00. The kids performed very well, and we headed out to dinner afterward. Buster got a milkshake for a treat after dinner, and we headed home, still early, to watch TV until bedtime.

High Energy Evening

2014-12-01T22:40:00.001-08:00

The kids were a little slow getting up this morning, but we eventually got them out of bed and ready for school. M-lady dropped them off, and they had a good day.

I was late getting home this evening (meetings and errands), and M-lady took the kids from Nanny J. They were apparently pretty hyper in the evening, running around and yelling loudly. M-lady managed to mostly contain them for dinner, where they ate well but conversed at the top of their lungs. They had apparently created a shopping game of some sort in Buster's room, and I did get a chance to see the shop when I got home.

The kids were a little calmed down when I got home, finishing homework and starting on piano. I had dinner while Buster wrapped up his homework, and then hung out with Bud for a bit before snack time. The kids wound down pretty well, and I watched a little bit of TopGear with Bud before bed.

Finishing Up The Break

2014-11-30T23:47:00.001-08:00

It was raining Saturday morning, so we stayed inside. The kids were good about playing together, and M-lady got up to get them some breakfast. I joined before too long, and eventually headed out to run a couple errands shortly after lunch time. The kids opted to go with me, and were good during the runaround, including a trip to the grocery store.

We picked up the house a little when we got home, and it had dried up enough outside that I spent some more time with Buster practicing riding a bike at his request. He's definitely got the hang of starting and riding, but still tends to bail out rather than stop the bike. I'm sure he'll get better at it, though. I pulled down my mountain bike and rode up and down the street with him a couple of times.

At about 5:00, we had some guests arrive for dinner. Friend D and Y are hard core Magic players, and are looking at moving in a couple weeks to a newly purchased house. Consequently, they offered Bud and Buster their extra Magic cards, which they brought over and number around 15,000 cards. The kids were absolutely delighted.

After dinner, both kids had an opportunity to play some Magic with our guests, and had a really good time. I managed to stay busy so didn't get a match in, but enjoyed myself as well. We said goodnight to our guests at about 8:00, and started the bedtime routine.

Today, the kids were up early, looking at the new cards. The rain was pouring down, so the kids and I spent the morning and early afternoon getting started on sorting cards. Laying infrastructure and putting some basic tabs together, as well as sorting about 1000 cards, took us until about 3:00pm.

We spent the remainder of the afternoon playing on the computer and doing piano practice. Dinner was fairly simple, and I spent a little time watching TV with the kids while M-lady ran an errand. All in all it was a pleasant day to wrap up a fun and satisfying holiday weekend.

A Nice Thanksgiving Holiday

2014-11-28T23:49:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the lack of posting. Every night I seem to be busy with other things. In any case, the kids have enjoyed being home from school this week, and we've all been enjoying Thanksgiving at the end of the week.

On Tuesday, Nanny J arrived in the morning to watch the kids while M-lady and I headed to work. The kids had a good day, and were excited when Nanny J baked a cake. I picked the kids up from TKD in the evening, and we had a quick dash home where Ama and Agu were waiting to take care of the kids in the evening. M-lady and I headed out to a concert (Fleetwood Mac!) while the kids spent a fun evening watching Dancing With The Stars with Ama and Agu.

On Wednesday, M-lady worked from home in the morning, taking a meeting and then calling it a day. I headed into the office until after lunch, arriving home a bit after 2:00 to start the vacation. We rested a little bit in the early afternoon, and Ama and Agu and Aunt O and family arrived a bit after 4:00. We had our Thanksgiving dinner starting a bit after 5:00, with a non-traditional menu of ribs, potatoes, corn, and some other bits. The kids had fun playing together, and all in all it was a very enjoyable evening.

On Thursday morning, Ama and Agu arrived at about 8:00, and we packed up and headed off to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It wasn't very crowded, which was nice, and we got to see the open sea feeding as well as a number of other exhibits that we sort of glossed over last time due to the crowds. We had a nice time, and headed towards home again after about 2:00. Buster was adamant on getting a small stuffed octopus, so he spent some of his allowance on that. The kids got icees on the way out, and we had a pleasant drive home.

We spent some time shooting family pictures for our holiday card when we got home, and got some decent shots. I took a nap in the later afternoon, and then we did a 'movie night' style dinner, watching TopGear episodes before getting ready for bed.

Today I got up really early (middle of the night, really) to hit Home Depot for some Black Friday deals, and was home again and back in bed by 5:30, before anyone else was up. M-lady got up with the kids at about 8:30 to make some breakfast, and I joined them for a little while before heading back to bed. M-lady joined me, and we napped until lunchtime.

I got lunch for the kids, and we played some video games before I started doing Christmas decoration prep: I pulled down the boxes of decorations, and got the lights strung up on the house in the afternoon while the kids played outside with friends. I was anxious to get it done today before predicted rain over the rest of the weekend.

We headed out to Five Guys for dinner, and Buster ate his entire hamburger for the first time. After a great meal, we headed home, and the kids took turns playing Starbound, a Minecraft-like sandbox game, until it was time for snack and bed.

Return of M-lady

2014-11-24T23:43:00.000-08:00

Ama and Agu arrived Sunday morning at about 8:00, and I headed out around 8:30 for a bike race. The kids had a good time, and Ama and Agu made lunch for them, which they finished up shortly before I returned. When I got back, Ama and Bud were playing mini-table tennis on the playroom coffee table, with Buster judging.

After they wrapped up the game, Ama and Agu took their leave. The kids and I watched a little TV as I let my legs recover after the race, and then we walked over to their school so they could play on the playground for a while. I played a little bit of tetherball with the kids, and they ran around for a bit. We got home a bit after 4:00, and the kids spent a little time playing outside before coming in.

M-lady arrived home around 5:30, and we were all happy to see her. After she got cleaned up we had some dinner together, and she presented us each with books collected from her travels: a Skylanders book for Buster, an Asterix book for Bud, and a TopGear book for me. We were all pretty happy. M-lady fell asleep a few minutes later, victim of jetlag, and I got the kids ready for bed.

Today, M-lady took the kids over to Ama and Agu's in the morning, and I headed off to work. The kids had a fun morning, and went for a hike with Ama and Agu. Nanny J picked them up in the early afternoon, and M-lady and I got home around 5:00. We had an early dinner, and all watched TopGear together before getting ready for bed. M-lady managed to stay awake a little later, and tucked Buster in while I hung out with Bud.

Trophy Pride

2014-11-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

I took the kids to school on Friday and dropped them off again. They were pretty excited for their last day of school before their week-long Thanksgiving break, so they were good about getting up and getting out the door.

The evening was a bit challenging logistically. Nanny J took the kids to piano, where they were met by Ama and Agu. When Buster was done with his piano lesson, Nanny J brought him north, and I met them halfway to TKD. Buster and I managed to grab a quick bite for dinner, and then make it into Buster's TKD belt test. Meanwhile, Bud went home with Ama and Agu after his piano lesson, and had dinner and spent the evening with them.

Buster did a great job in his test, performing his techniques well and answering his question quickly and accurately. He was also very patient as the test went on for well over 90 minutes. As they were giving out awards at the end, Buster and I were both really excited that he was given the 'Best Student' award.

Bud received the award a long time ago, and got a patch for his uniform. Buster, however, was awarded a trophy, which he brought back to me proudly. We grabbed milkshakes to celebrate on the way home, arriving at about 8:30.

We thanked and said goodnight to Ama and Agu, and then I got the kids going on the bedtime routine. It was a little late when they got to bed, but it's the start of a week-long vacation, so I wasn't too concerned.

The kids checked in with me at about 8:00 this morning, and I got them some breakfast before heading back to bed. I let them play video games for a while in the morning, eventually getting up and joining them at about 10:00. We played together, had a snack, and got a little bit of work done around the house before lunch.

Buster continued to be excited about his trophy, and carried it around most of the day. Fortunately, he held onto it pretty tight, and didn't drop it or smack anything with it. He talked about it quite a bit, though. It's the first trophy either sibling has received, so this is a new thing.

After lunch, we ran out to get groceries, and the kids had fun playing outside for a little while (Buster took his trophy out for a bit to show the neighbors). At about 5:00 the kids and I headed out to have dinner, and came home to do the 'movie night' we'd missed previously. We watched a couple of shows, had some popcorn, and started wrapping things up at about 8:00. The kids were good about getting ready for bed, and turned the lights out just a little bit later than usual. We're all looking forward to having M-lady return tomorrow!

Dropping Off

2014-11-20T23:46:00.000-08:00

Buster joined me in bed again shortly after 7:00, and we got up around 7:30. The kids were good about getting going, as usual, and we got to school in plenty of time. I asked the kids if they wanted to do a drop off today instead of having me park and walk them to class: they were excited about it, and I think it was Buster's first. The drop off went smoothly, and the kids headed off to class.

Buster had a 'button party' at school today. Apparently the class gets a button put in a collection jar each time they're particularly good. The class had accumulated 100 buttons, and thus the party. They had popcorn, watched a movie, and generally had a good time. Bud's class is apparently about halfway to a party this year so far.

I picked the kids up from TKD, where they were working out hard and doing a good job. Tomorrow Buster has his belt promotion test, and I think he's ready. We had a nice chat on the way home from TKD, and then did a quick evening routine. The kids had dinner, I looked at homework and Thursday envelops, and the kids did some quick piano run throughs. That did end up taking us to almost 8:20, so I was only able to read with Buster for a few minutes before we turned the lights out. Bud and I watched a little more Top Gear together, and both kids went to sleep pretty quickly.

Just The Guys

2014-11-19T23:30:00.000-08:00

Monday was fairly straightforward. I took the kids to school while M-lady worked from home in the morning, and Nanny J picked the kids up from school. The kids were playing outside in the fading light with the neighbors from across the street when I got home, and as they'd finished their homework, they had time to play a bit more before dinnertime.

I ran out around the time the kids were coming in to have dinner with some friends, and I got back in time to say goodnight to the kids. M-lady put them both to bed, and got some snuggle time with each.

M-lady took the kids to school the next morning, and was home in the afternoon for about an hour when the kids got home from school. She headed out at about 4:00, catching a flight to London to see some shows. The kids did their standard afternoon routine, and I picked them up from TKD. We got home around 7:00, and did a fairly efficient evening before I put the kids to bed.

Today, Buster crawled into bed with me at about 7:00, as he often does, but snuggled with me more since M-lady is gone. We got up at 7:30 and did the standard morning routine, and I took the kids to school. I picked them up again at TKD in the afternoon, and we arrived home at about 6:45. The kids had done a good job on their homework, and while Buster was a little slow in the shower, the rest of the evening went smoothly. Bud had a little extra homework (writing a paragraph) which he did on the computer, and we printed it out before snack time.

I put both the kids to bed again, and they were good about going to sleep.

Weekend Summay

2014-11-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

We had a fun weekend together. On Friday, the kids did the usual school and piano lesson, and I got home a few minutes before they arrived with dinner, and got set up for movie night.

M-lady accompanied her sister to the Oprah Winfrey stadium tour date in San Jose, so I had the kids for movie night to myself. Interestingly enough, we continued to watch the Life series, with the version narrated by Oprah. We had a pleasant evening together, and I got the kids to bed before M-lady returned later in the evening.

On Saturday, M-lady left fairly early to head back to the Oprah event. The kids let me sleep a little bit, and I got up to get them some breakfast before too long. After getting dressed and playing for a little while, we headed over to the library to pick up some new books, and then got groceries on the way home.

We had some lunch, and M-lady was home in the mid afternoon. Shortly after she arrived, we had a snack and then loaded up in the car to drive up to San Francisco to see the latest Cirque Du Soleil show, Kurios. We had a great time at the show, which really was very good. We had dinner at the show, and headed home afterward arriving near bedtime.

Today, I headed out early for a bike race. M-lady did breakfast and piano practice with the kids while I was out, and I had lunch with the kids when I got back. I was pretty tired, and rested a bit in the early afternoon. Buster had a birthday party in the later afternoon, and I went to the park with Bud to kick a soccer ball around a bit while M-lady and Buster were out.

When we got back from the park, Bud spent some time playing outside with our neighbors, and came in around the time M-lady and Buster arrived home. We had a nice dinner together, and the kids helped me pick up a little bit. We had guests come over around 7:00, and I entertained while M-lady got the kids ready for bed. I was sorry to miss bedtime, but look forward to hanging out with the kids more this week.

Short School Week

2014-11-13T23:26:00.000-08:00

The kids have been back at school yesterday and today, and Nanny J returned from vacation as well, so things are somewhat back to 'normal'. The kids have a very short week at school, however, which means their homework load has been pretty light this week. That makes the evenings a bit more manageable.

M-lady has taken the kids to school the past two days, and I've picked them up from TKD. They've generally done their homework in the afternoon, with a little bit of follow up in the evening after dinner. M-lady's been doing piano with them after dinner, and the bedtime routine has gone smoothly, if a few minutes later than usual.

Bud's shoulder seems to be recovered, and he's been playing soccer again at school (happily). He's back to working out at TKD as well, and seems to be well on the road to recovery.

More Vacation

2014-11-11T23:40:00.000-08:00

The kids had Monday and Tuesday off school, so we were able to sleep in about 30 minutes each morning. On Monday, M-lady took the kids over to Ama and Agu's, where they apparently had a really nice day. Ama and Agu took them to a park for a hike, had a special lunch at McDonalds, and spent the afternoon with treats and TV. The kids were pretty happy about their day and gave me the rundown when I got home around 5:30, relieving Ama and Agu.

M-lady arrived home before too long, while the kids were playing outside. We had a nice dinner together, and the kids did a quick piano practice before bed.

Today, we were all up by about 8:00, and I got the kids ready and had them pick up a bit before the cleaners arrived at about 9:00. I stayed home with the kids today, and while I worked, the kids entertained themselves by playing games (board and video), running around outside, building Lego, and reading. I helped Bud work on his Erector set a little bit, which has been off to the side for a while. We had a nice lunch, and I was able to play with the kids here and there for a few minutes at a time.

M-lady got home around 4:00, and took the kids to TKD at about 4:30. They had a good time, and arrived home again at about 7:00. We had dinner, practiced piano, and got cleaned up and ready for bed. I read stories with Buster before we turned out the light at about 8:45. He seemed pretty happy with his four day weekend, and was looking forward to heading back to school in the morning for a short week.

Sparse Posting

2014-11-09T23:06:00.000-08:00

Apologies for the sparse posting this week. Things have been fairly busy.

The kids had a good day at school on Friday, and Ama and Agu picked them up from school and took them to their piano lesson, where M-lady met them. I got home and had dinner started by the time they arrived. We watched more of the Life series, which was pretty fun.

On Saturday, M-lady headed out to ballet in the morning, so I got up and fed the kids. We hung out, did a quick piano practice, and then spent some time playing computer games together. M-lady arrived home in time for lunch, so we sorted that out before I ran out for a quick errand to Home Depot. When I got back, we all got dressed and headed out to Bud and Buster's piano recital.

The kids did a pretty good job, and Bud played the intro and bow music, as well as playing last in the concert. After the show, we came home and relaxed for a short time before Bud and I headed out to see Big Hero 6. While we were out, M-lady and Buster had a good time playing Skylanders together. Bud and I really enjoyed the movie, and we picked up sushi for dinner on the way home.

Today, I got up before anyone else was up and headed out to a bike race. M-lady and the kids had a good breakfast together, and the kids played on the Xbox together for a bit during the morning. I got home around 11:00, and we all had some lunch after I'd showered.

I took a short nap in the early afternoon, and the kids had fun playing together. After I got up, we headed outside, where the kids spent the afternoon playing in the yard with the neighbors while I worked in the garage. Buster had fun with my old RC10 remote control car, although the fun ended when one of the wheels broke. We eventually came inside at about 6:00 when it was pretty dark out.

We had a good dinner together, and since the kids had already done piano and didn't have homework, we watched some How It's Made shows together before bedtime.

Getting Along

2014-11-04T23:32:00.000-08:00

The kids have had a good couple of days. We're still without Nanny J, so each day is covered a little differently, but the morning routine is the same. The kids have been both getting up early, probably due to the time change, so it's been easy to get them going in the morning and get them to school.

Yesterday Ama and Agu picked the kids up from school, and watched them for the afternoon until M-lady and I arrived home a bit before 6:00. The kids were running around screaming in the living room, having a great (and loud) time with Agu. They've become very good about doing their homework in the afternoon, so the evening routine was straightforward.

Today, M-lady picked them up from school, and then took them to their later TKD class. While they were out, I got home, dropped off our ballots at the local polling location, and then got started on cooking dinner. It was ready about the time they got back, but between showers and dinner there wasn't a lot of time left for piano before snack time. Both kids are working on recital pieces, and doing pretty well.

I watched some more Top Gear with Bud before bed, which was a lot of fun.

Halloween and Weekend

2014-11-02T22:39:00.002-08:00

The kids dressed up in their costumes on Friday before heading to school. It was scheduled to rain all day, so the kids had their costume parade in the covered hallways, apparently. M-lady was on hand to take some photos before gathering Buster's costume and heading for work.

The kids had a good day at school, and Ama and Agu picked them up. M-lady got home early to take them to piano, and from there ferried the kids over to Aunt O, Uncle C, and Cousin C's house. I met them there (with dinner), which was gobbled quickly as we set out with a fairly large party for Trick or Treating in the neighborhood.

We made it farther than last year, and the kids were more courageous about approaching doors. They got a pretty good haul, filling their candy buckets, and we got back to Aunt O's by about 7:30. The kids played for a bit before we packed up and headed for home, where the kids were allowed to eat a couple pieces of candy at snack time before getting ready for bed. We arrived home too for any Trick or Treaters at our door, unfortunately.

On Saturday, M-lady got up and got the kids some breakfast before heading off to ballet. I was up a short time later, hung out with the kids, and played some Magic with them. Eventually we got motivated and get ready to go to the grocery store, but M-lady arrived home just before we headed out. The kids opted to stay home, so I hit the grocery store on my own before lunch.

Bud had some homework to do over the weekend, so spent a little time on that, and we cleaned up a bit in the afternoon before starting to cook dinner at about 4:30. At 5:30 or so, Bud's Friend N and his family arrived for a dinner party. The kids had a great time together, M-lady and I enjoyed the company, and we all had a good dinner.

On Sunday, the kids were up early due to the time change. M-lady got up a little before 8:00, and I got up a few minutes later. I headed out pretty quickly to a bike race, and M-lady got some breakfast for the kids. They were off at the mall for a quick errand when I got back, and arrived while I was in the shower.

We had lunch together, and then puttered around again before Aunt O, Uncle C, Cousin C, Ama and Agu all arrived at about 2:00 to celebrate Aunt O's birthday. The kids had fun playing together, although Buster removed himself after a bit to play on his own. The kids were excited to share the ice cream birthday cake, too.

After our guests took their leave at about 4:00, I headed out to pick up some dinner so we could do a proper Movie Night, which we hadn't had the opportunity to get to this weekend. We watched more of the Life series, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Due to the time change, I stopped a bit earlier than I had intended, but it gave us time to shower and clean up before snack time. Bud helped me get the trash and recycling out to the curb, and I had a good time chatting and playing Magic with Bud before bedtime.