Nice to meet you

Josh is our little social butterfly. We thought is was going to be this way but today proved it without a doubt.

We went to the doctor's office to have Josh checked out for his reflux (which is doing much better now). They have a little play area that had two little boys about 4 years old in it playing with the toys.

Josh immediately headed over there, with Daniel behind him and said, "Hi guys. I'm Josh. This is my friend Daniel. And that's my mommy and daddy and baby. And this is my friend Daniel and my mommy and daddy and baby. Who are you guys?"

The slightly older looking one was overwhelmed and a little confused, "Umm.. I'm four"

Josh said, "I'm Josh. Can we play with you guys?"

They played well until they boys left and a little girl and her mom came to play. By this time, Daniel was sitting with me reading a book and Josh started helping the little girl with a shape sorter. He was telling her the names of all the shapes and where they go. When it was time for us to go, he said to her, "Okay, thanks for playing with me. I gotta go. Love you. Bye!"

It's nice that he can make friends so easy. I hope this will be something he keeps as he grows up.

Feast Ninety-Five

Appetizer
How old were you when you got your first credit card?

I think I was 18. I wish I was much older

Soup
When was the last time you felt out of place?

When I went to pick up Daniel from school and was surrounded by all these young mothers with other little kids and no Dads in sight.

Salad
Did you have a curfew when you were a teenager? If so, what time did you have to be home?

Nope. I think it changed as need be - I was a pretty good kid and usually home at a reasonable time.

Main Course
Name a person from history with whom you feel you have something in common.

I sat here for the majority of my coffee break thinking of this one and I couldn't think. I feel very normal right now so I probably have a lot in common with billions of people that went before me.

Dessert
When you read a newspaper, which section do you go for first?

Comics

Wabbit Season

Daniel and Josh love to argue and fight. I've tried to explain to Amber that this is just how boys express their feelings. This might be getting out of hand.

I was in Daniel's room talking with him, trying to get him to calm down after a busy morning. Josh walked in and said, "Is too!" Daniel instinctively responded, "Is not!"

Me: "Is not what? What are you arguing about?"

Josh: "Is too!"

Daniel: "Is not!"

Josh: "Is too!"

Daniel: "Is not!"

Josh: "Is too!"

Daniel: "Is not!"

Me: "You guys don't even know what you are talking about."

Josh: "Is too!"

Daniel (in a flash of Bugs Bunny brilliance): "Is too!"

Josh (who isn't as familiar with Elmer Fudd cartoons) "Is not!"

Daniel: "Is too!"

Josh: "Is not!"

This went on for about 4 minutes with Daniel switching the sides a few times. Not that it mattered at all. Neither one knew what they were arguing about but it was fun.

Second Date

Last summer Amber and I took Daniel and Josh to see Madagascar and they loved it. It had been quite a while but thought we'd try it again.

The boys had been seeing previews and commercials for "Over the Hedge" in the past weeks and were very excited about it. After trying to keep it a surprise for about a week, I ended up telling them where we were going after church. It was a totally unsuccessful disciplinary experiment, but at least I tried something.

So anyways, after church we took Andrew to my parents' place for some Grandma & Grandpa cuddles and Daniel and Josh and Amber and I went to Chinook Centre to the theatre. Last time we went, the movie had been out for a few weeks and the theatre wasn't very busy. This being opening weekend for Over the Hedge and The Da Vinci Code it was a pretty packed lobby. We had some passes that I had gotten from work so we saved some money there - but unfortunately Daniel has gone from "Under 3" to "3-12" and therefore now costs $8.95 for a ticket. I can't imagine paying $40+ for our family to see a movie next year.

We got our tickets and Daniel announced that he had to go pee. I took the boys to the bathroom while Amber got snacks. We found some seats in the top row (Daniel was voting for the front but got vetoed by Power of Dad). Amber eventually came up the steps with a helper behind her carrying all the popcorn. It may suck having to pay $25 for 15c worth of popcorn and drinks but at least there was a lot. The boys settled in with their buckets and blue slurpees.

The movie was really quite good. We had a few moments of note.

1) Daniel made it until about an hour in before having to go to the bathroom. When we got there, there were about a dozen 9-year-olds having a pee race. We got into the stall and heard one of them at the urinals say, "Okay, marks! Get set! Go!" This kind of intimidated Daniel.

2) An exterminator on the screen said, "Dammit!" Nearly as loud, Daniel said, "Daddy! That guy said 'dammit!'"

3) At the emotional climax, Josh called out, "What is RJ doing? Mommy where is RJ going? What is RJ doing?"

4) The three boys needed to go pee one more time at the end.

We went and picked up Andrew and headed home. Daniel and Josh fell asleep in the van. Since it was so sunny and hot, I took them down to the cool basement and put them on the futon we have set up. This was about 6:00. At midnight, just as I was heading down to check on them, Josh woke up and caused Daniel to wake up too. They came upstairs and slept until 7:00am. Tired little guys.

Yet another good movie date with my boys. Maybe we'll take them to the cheap theatre again this summer. $2.50 a piece is much more reasonable. :)

A new Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is the last thing you had to have repaired?

My tires on the van - and those crooks at the Wal-Mart garage didn't get it right so they still need to be done.

Soup
If someone gave you $2,000 with the stipulation that you had to spend half of it on yourself and give the rest to charity, where would you spend the $1,000 and which charity would receive your remaining $1,000?

I'd probably spend the money at FutureShop or Memory Express and give the other to church.

Salad
What is one of your favorite songs from the 1980s?

We Didn't Start the Fire

Main Course
You enter a pet store. Which section do you go to first?

Hamsters

Dessert
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being highest, how athletic are you?

Zero

Happy Mothers' Day

To all the mothers in my life:

Happy Mothers' Day


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     jgs ':::..      .'
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There's no job more important than mother and I appreciate all you all do.

I'm going to get to spend the day with my boys' mom, my mom, my wife's mom, my nephews' mom, and my father's mom - along with countless others. I'll post some of the goings on.

12 on 12

A growing trend within the blogosphere is posting twelve pictures of your day on the twelfth of the month. I had a camera-phone for the first part of the day, so the pictures aren't quite as good quality, but it should be fun. Let's go

This is obviously my alarm clock. I actually woke up at about 6:14 this morning, after a few smacks on the snooze bar, but it was at 6:30 that I remembered I wanted to do 12 on 12 this month. This is actually a little earlier than I normally get up, but I was in bed earlier last night so I felt ready to get going.

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First thing I did, and usually do, is go to the computer in the office/nursery. I check my Bloglines software for updates to the dozens of blogs I follow and dump all the new episodes of my subscribed podcasts that have come in over the night into my iPod.

---

All the clicking and typing caused Andrew to start stirring. I went over to his crib and changed him and just dwelt in his happiness, glee, and joy for a few minutes. He read a few of the blogs with me but when he started drooling on my hand and tried to eat the mouse, I took him in for his Breakfast in Bed.

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I then went and did the dishes from last night and made myself some breakfast. Instant oatmeal, a leftover doughgod, and milk.

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Daniel is always the next one up. He usually gets up around 7:00am when I am about ready to head out for work. If I leave early enough, I can get in a bit of a workout in the weight room, but more often than not, I end up hanging out with the boys for an extra half an hour and then just heading straight to work.

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Josh usually gets up either just before or just after I leave. This morning I got to cuddle with him for a bit in his bed before he went and watched cartoons with Daniel.

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These two are of my drive in to work. There was a semi that flipped over on Deerfoot this morning and blocked up traffic in both directions for miles. Good thing I got going a little early today because I just made it on time.

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Tonight Amber had a Tupperware party and the older boys went over to Grandpa Bill's for the night, so I took it upon myself to listen to a few podcasts I had been meaning to get to and clean the cyclonic mess of puzzles, toys, and crayons in the basement.

Before

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After

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This was Amber's gift for hosting the Tupperware party. The world's smallest magnetic measuring cups and a salt/pepper shaker that holds more than 8 grains of each.

I know this is only 11 pictures. I was hoping to post one more by the end of the night, but I crashed on the couch watching poker. 11 will have to do. :)

Fives on 5/5

As the people at my work keep reminding me, today is not only Cinqo de Mayo but it is also International No-Pants Day. Anyway, to celebrate the first, I will do this list of fives. I will not be celebrating the second.

Five jobs you've had in your life:

Wardrobe consultant, telephone operator, forklift driver, music pastor, sports equipment salesman

Five movies you could watch over and over:

Catch Me If You Can, Ocean's Eleven, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek IV, Down With Love

Five places you've lived:

Nakusp, BC ; Calgary, AB ; Regina, SK ; Winnipeg, MB, Kindersley, SK

Five TV shows you love to watch:

Survivor, Mythbusters, Good Eats, The Simpsons, How It's Made

Five places you've been on vacation:

Hawaii, Bahamas, Paris, Rome, Brandon

Five websites you visit daily:

Google, Gmail, Bloglines, and work stuff.

Five of your favorite foods:

Gyro donairs, pizza, my special stuffed mushrooms, bbq cheeseburgers, slurpees

Five places you'd rather be:

Home, that's about it

Five albums you can't live without:

I could live without them but what I'm listening to now is Chris Tomlin - Arriving, and Brian Doerksen - Today

Diner de Vendredi

Appetizer
From which country(s) are some (or all) of your ancestors?

I am 4th or 5th generation Canadian in a lot of my lines. Originally lots from Scotland and Sweden - that explains the boys' blond hair and short fuses.

Soup
How would you describe your sneeze?

Let 'er rip!

Salad
What is the last thing you cleaned?

I did dishes yesterday morning.

Main Course
Who made the strongest first impression on you?

The one first impression that is sticking out in my mind shall remain nameless. I met this person several years ago and the conversation went something like this:

Him: "So you must be Amber's friend Jon. You've got a bit of a buddha there (rubbing my belly). And how about that male-pattern baldness?"

Me: Umm... okay.

We eventually got to be friends and once shared a bed - but there was definitely a sheet between us! No touchy!

Dessert
Name one thing you want to accomplish in your lifetime.

How sad. I can't think of any goals I have that I haven't accomplished. At least none that don't sound petty and materialistic. How about teach my boys all I know.