The curse of 1980...

I've heard this story 100 times before and each time I thought to myself, "Ya, ya, ya." Well I now know the stories my father told were true. And more importantly I think he put a curse on me 30 years ago that has finally come through.

The story goes that when I would visit my father the sleeping arrangements would often have me sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag or if the young kid (me) got scared I was allowed to sleep on the other side of the bed from pops. I was referred to as "the breather" or "the toucher" because apparently I would inevitably end up curled up next to my father and either breathing on his face or touching his leg with my foot. I've even heard the story that I would end up perpendicular to him in the bed with both of my feet resting somewhere by his head. I believe that is when the curse was first said.

Fast forward 30 years. This weekend the family and I had a nice weekend retreat at a cabin. The first night we tried to put the two kids together in the same room but found out 3 hours later that they would rather talk and giggle then go to sleep. So night #2 and night #3 we separated them with Nicole sleeping in one room with one kid and me in the other.

Night #3 I won the chance to share a queen size bed with 3 year old Isaac. Nicole gave me assurances that he is a good sleeper and she falls asleep with him all of the time on the couch or during nap time. Either she is talking about a different kid or she is one of the best used car salesmen I have ever seen.

Isaac was horrible. He continued to reach out his hand and touch my shoulder. When I moved my shoulder to shrug him off his next move was to actually reach up and touch my ear. Then my face. This occurred every twenty seconds for about 5 minutes before I asked, "What are you doing?" His reply, "I don't want to lose you daddy."

I told him I wasn't going anywhere and he could stop touching me. So he did...with his hands. About twenty seconds later I felt a little kick on my butt. Then twenty seconds later another one. I couldn't help but laugh.

Throughout the night he continually tried to worm his way between my body and the mattress. Then I would move and he would do it again. He offered me the use of his Bat(man) pillow and his puppy (stuff animal). At one point I turned to face him with my hands out front like an offensive linemen. That seemed to work for awhile but I let my guard down.

A few minutes later I seriously took an elbow to the forehead as the little kid rolled over. About 3 am I took a foot to the side of the head (cheek) and found him PERPENDICULAR TO ME!

We finally made it through the night and managed to sleep in until 8am. All I could think of were the stories I heard over and over from my dad. It is 30 years too late but Dad I'm sorry. And Isaac...I can't wait to see what happens to you in 30 years!

His Birthday Wish

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned before that Todd isn't big on celebrating holidays.

Any holidays.

He's the scrooge at Christmas and every other holiday is just another day. So far, I've tried really hard not to fall in line with his way of thinking. I think holidays are special days. Days to create memories and traditions. Days for our kids to always remember and cherish.

This weekend we went up to the cabin in Pine for the long weekend. We would enjoy a few days of just some special family time. I don't think the four of us have ever had a vacation with just us. There's always been some family with us. This year, my resolution was to have some quality "Bailey" time. We enjoy our vacations with our families, but I know that we need to have our own memories and time together.

Since we knew we'd be at the cabin for Todd's birthday, I brought up the necessary ingredients to make Todd a cake so we could have a small celebration. The kids were so excited to help bake the cake. And no birthday cake is complete without candles. And because Todd is a few years older than me, I made sure to crack the necessary jokes about the cabin going up in flames due to the large number of candles this cake would be needing.


We made our cake and Dylan wondered what we should give dad for his birthday. Since Todd doesn't enjoy birthdays, I knew the cake would be more than enough, and suggested maybe she and Isaac should give dad hugs and kisses as his gift. She promptly responded with, "maybe 35 hugs and kisses?" I thought it was the perfect, and logical amount.

We woke up this morning and Dylan and Isaac sang to Todd, started in with his hugs and kisses and asked him what he wanted. For the first time, he actually had an answer. He wanted snow.

Seriously? Snow? At 8am this morning, Todd informed us he wanted snow for his birthday. Exactly how am I supposed to make THAT happen. Yes, we were in Pine, but I certainly cannot control the weather. On Saturday we were playing on the playground in jeans and long sleeve shirts. I wore flip flops on Sunday. I thought there was no way we were going to give Todd his birthday wish.

By 10am I looked outside and it was gray. Really gray. I thought maybe we stood a chance. I checked the weather online and there was a chance for snow. Actually, rain and snow. Maybe we'd be able to pull this off afterall.

An hour later, there was some snow falling. Not a lot. But enough that Todd and I knew it was snow. Unfortunately, as soon as it hit the ground it was just like a drop of water. You'd never know if it was a rain drop or a snowflake.

I took a quick shower, the kids and Todd bundled up to take the trash out, and when they came back, we decided to go for a walk.

It was perfect. As we walked and the kids played, the snowflakes started to get bigger. And stick to the ground. The kids tried to catch snowflakes on their tongues and ran around in the snow, we walked and laughed and had snowflakes on our eyelashes and in our hair. We took lots of pictures and just enjoyed the magic that only fresh snow can bring.




Todd got his birthday wish, and as we were walking back into the cabin, Dylan yelled, "This is the coolest thing ever!"


Todd and I looked at each other and I knew that we couldn't agree more.

Happy Birthday, Todd!

When you grow up...

Each night after family prayers the kids run into their rooms and I get about 30 seconds with them individually to say goodnight, love you, etc. For some reason I asked Dylan what she wanted to be when she grew up. By this time Nicole had quietly joined me. Dylan was a bit puzzled and said, "I don't know." Nicole and I offered different choices including doctor, scientist, pilot, teacher, policeman and even fireman. Dylan finally said, "I want to be a mommy when I grow up just like mommy." The conversation continued for a few minutes making Nicole and I even more proud of her. Nicole stayed in her room while I slipped into Isaac's room.

After having a very enlightening conversation with Dylan about what she wanted to be when she grew up for some reason I had thoughts Isaac might surprise me. "What do you want to be when you grow up Isaac?" Isaac thought about it for a second and proudly answered, "A pirate!" After laughs from dad Isaac continued, "Or Buzz Lightyear! Or Woody!" He got more excited after each answer as if honestly believing it was a possibility and thinking how much fun it would be to be Buzz Lightyear. Maybe we can get free passes to Disneyland I thought as he apparently is going to be a cartoon animator for Disney. :)

She can cook!

My wife has never considered herself a cook so you can imagine how happy she was when she cooked a prime rib dinner for the first time and it came out wonderfully. Actually you don't have to imagine how happy she was...I took pictures. Thanks for a good X-mas dinner babe.

Happy Holidays!

This morning the kids thought these beards looked better on them, than their Mr. Potato Head Santas.

What Really Happened on December 25th...

Then again, maybe not.

Defending Her Honor

I have plenty of posts to catch up on, but didn't want to forget this quick little story.

Today the kids and I made a quick trip to Costco for a few things, and after our shopping was done, we had a bite for lunch. As we ate we played I Spy, as normal and did some people watching as well. I watched a lady walk by to get a refill of her soda, then make the return trip back to her table. I had noticed the lady earlier as we found our seats and she was with her husband and three small kids.

Just after she passed our table on her way back to her family, Dylan (who was sitting facing their table) gave a dirty look and yelled, "Hey!"

The word had barely left the air when a man walked by on his way to the soda machine and glanced back at us. I asked Dylan what the problem was and she told me that the man had pushed the lady and "it wasn't very nice."

I looked back at the man again and realized he was the lady's husband. I quickly told Dylan this, and said that he wasn't being mean, he was just teasing her. I don't think she fully believed me because she kept watching the lady and the three kids.

As the man made his return trip from the soda machine, he kept stealing glances at us, and at Dylan in particular. I told Dylan to watch and see and she would know the man was the lady's husband and no being mean. She did just that, and as I turned around to see the family get ready to leave, I noticed that the man was also relaying this story to his wife about the small girl who was defending her honor. The lady glanced over, smiled, gave a small laugh to her husband and a quick wave to Dylan.

The wave and smile seemed to convince Dylan that all was okay and she watched the family leave the store.

I'm so happy to know that Dylan is willing to make it be heard loud and clear when she feels like someone isn't being treated well.

If only she'd remember this same rule when dealing with her brother!