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Apr
28
“We Interrupt This Broadcast…”
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You’re going to experience what I hope will be only a brief interruption in posts. After 10 years with the same web hosting company, I have decided to switch providers. I’m not sure how long the process will take, but it shouldn’t be more than a week. My biggest concern isn’t the time, however…, it’s with the database that is “The [Only] Man of the House.” I’m going to cross my fingers that I’ll be able to move the database from one host to the other, thereby leaving all the archives for this blog intact. If disaster strikes, I will probably re-launch with version 3.0 and a blank canvas.
Wish me luck!
Apr
27
I did it. I couldn’t help myself. After trying one a month or so ago while visiting my family on Long Island, I just couldn’t get it out of my head. It was just so much fun, and what’s wrong with a little fun every now and then? I hardly ever treat myself to a gift that’s meant for pure enjoyment. It wasn’t a new piece of hardware or software for work (although I kind of consider those toys too); it wasn’t a new camera. It wasn’t anything that can be considered an investment in something that I knew I would make my money back on.
I bought myself a Wii.
I’ve never been a big gamer. I had an Atari 2600 and ColecoVision as a kid, but other than a brief run in with Rebel Assault and Myst later in life, I’ve never really gotten into the video game thing. But while I was visiting my parents, my brother mentioned that he had one. I had been dying to try it after hearing so much about it from a daily podcast I listen to (which is hosted by a Catholic Priest in the Netherlands, of all people). I was hooked after playing Wii sports for about 30 minutes. I couldn’t stop thinking about getting one of my own, and after waiting in line at Toys-R-Us after a new shipment came it on Sunday, I walked out of the store with my own Wii.
For those of you unfamiliar with the Wii, this isn’t the kind of video game system where you sit on the couch and stare at a TV screen. This is much more of an active gaming experience. The controller uses bluetooth technology – so you’re untethered to the box – and it sences your movements to control the action of the game. For example, if you’re playing tennis, you actually have to throw your arm up as if you’re tossing a ball, then swing the raquet forward to hit the serve. If you’re bowling, you actually swing your arm as if you’re rolling a ball. Not only that, but the controller has force-feedback built into it, so when you “hit the ball,” the controller vibrates as if you actually hit a ball.
Wii Sports – which comes with the consol – includes Tennis, Bowling, Baseball, Golf and what may be my new favorite – Boxing. I boxed 3, 3-round maches today and started to actually work up a sweat. It was a ton of fun!
When I first told my wife I wanted to get one, she said, “Don’t you dare! I don’t want a gaming system in the house!” She was afraid the girls were going to turn into couch potatoe zombies or something. When she saw how much I wanted to get one, she conceeded. Well, the first night I had it home, her parents came over for dinner. And guess what…, I barely played with the thing! My wife and mother-in-law bowled a couple of games together and loved it. The last thing she said to me was, “You better not show me how to turn that thing on or I’ll be in trouble.”
I guess she likes it.
Apr
26
“Generous Hospital”
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Quinn hugged me the other day and started kissing my cheek. But this wasn’t any ordinary peck…, she was practically licking me on the side of the face. I pulled her away and asked her what she was doing. “I saw it on Generous Hospital,” she said. I shot the wife a look…, you know…, that look that says, “See! I told you watching General Hospital while the kids are home isn’t a good idea!”
It’s one of her guilty pleasures and a way for her to decompress after she gets home from work. As I’m packing my dinner and getting ready to leave for work, she’ll sit down on the couch and catch the last 10 or 15 minutes of the show. I never thought it was a good idea; after all…, I don’t watch ANY television for myself while the kids are home and awake. But what am I going to do? She needs to sit down and relax while her brain quickly changes gears and goes from teacher mode to mommy again. I suppose the girls need to learn how to kiss somewhere?
Apr
24
What Teeth Go For These Days
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When I was a kid, I got a quarter for each tooth I lost. I vaguely remember getting 4 quarters for a molar…, or maybe it was for my last baby tooth – I don’t remember. But I certainly didn’t get the $10 or $20 I hear the Tooth Fairy doles out these days! The wife and I had a little chat with the Tooth Fairy about Quinn’s first lost tooth – we all felt that $2 was a good price for the 1st one. After that, we go down to $1…, maybe less. We’ll see.
Apr
23
What’s Missing???
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Can you find what’s missing from this photo?!
Apr
21
Science Museum Trip
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The wife had the week off last week, so I took a few days off too. The weather was terrible – it rained everyday – so our plans to take the kids to the Bronx Zoo fell through. Instead we took them to a science museum in Bridgeport. Here are a couple of photos of the girls having a ball at the Discovery Museum and Planetarium.
Having a ball…, get it?! 
Apr
13
MY Easter Basket
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I should probably point out that the Easter Bunny we very good to me too. Check out what was in MY basket…
Apr
11
Too Much Easter Candy!
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Here’s where I get to sound like a grumpy old man, telling his children about the “good ‘ole days.” Here it goes…
When I was young, we only got one Easter basket. The only thing in that basket was candy, which usually consisted of jelly beans, foil covered chocolate mini eggs, peeps and a large, hollow chocolate bunny (although there was that time when I wanted white chocolate and got this huge, solid white chocolate bunny that made me ill after eating the ears and head). Maybe the candy varried a little over the years, but that was basically it. If I paced myself, I could usually make the candy last a week or two.
My daughters “official” Easter basket – the one from the Bunny himself – included candy, an outfit, a pair of pajamas, a coloring book, sunglasses, a book of paper airplanes and a balsa wood airplane…, you know – the kind with the rubber band that makes the propeller spin. The eggs they collected at my sister-in-law’s egg hunt were all filled with money – quarters mostly, but some had dollars in them. My mother-in-law gave them baskets with more toys, including gardening gloves and tools. My sister gave them eash a basket with toys and candy. My wife’s uncle bought them big, chocolate bunnies, and a friend of my sister-in-law who celebrated Easter with us also gave them a small basket of candy. They had enough candy to fill the huge bucket that came with their gardening tools.
At first I was actually a little upset at how much they got. I knew Patty’s family was going to get them something, but I didn’t know HOW much it was going to be. Patty could see it in my face and said that she would talk to her family. Of course I want to give my girls the moon, but I don’t want them to start to expect it. The last thing I want is a couple of spoiled brats. I think it’s important that they appreciate what they have.
As the day went on, however, I started to ask myself if was such a bad thing that the girls got as much as they got. Everyone loves those girls to death; could I really look my mother-in-law in the eye and tell her NOT to buy them things. That’s what she lives for. Besides, we it’s not like we buy stuff for them every day of the year. Actually, we probably shop for them far less than most.
So I say, bring it on! Isn’t that what holidays are for?!
Apr
9
A Chilly Easter
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Despite the fact that the sun was shining and there was a vibrant, blue sky above…, it was cold on Easter Sunday! I’m not sure the temperature even reached 40°. Still, we had a very nice Easter with the family, and the girls had a great time hunting for eggs…, with their winter coats on.
Apr
5
Coloring Easter Eggs
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My mother-in-law, father-in-law and sister-in-law were over to help the girls color Easter Eggs. So many choices these days as to which coloring system to use, but we always go old-school. It’s either the PAAS coloring kit or the Dudley one; you know…, the simple ones where you drop the color tablet in a cup with a little vinegar and water and that’s it. I think this kit included a wax crayon for writing your name on the egg before you dip it in the dye so it stays eggshell white, and some stickers. The colors came out great – very vibrant. The girls had a great time, especially Grace who had to show each of us – one at a time – each egg…, individually. Hysterical. Of course, she didn’t understand why we couldn’t hide the eggs right then and there and didn’t like it when we put them in the refrigerator where she couldn’t see them. My wife humored them last night with an Easter morning rehersal using plastic eggs that she hid around the house. They’re ready!
