In Case You Were Wondering...

Here’s the condensed version:

I broke a molar eating Doritos… I’m getting old… Dentist appointment Tuesday morning, but its okay, I love my dentist, Dr. Amiee, she’s wonderful, like Handy Manny she can fix anything… just bring her the pieces.

Helper continues to BOUNCE (LIKE TIGGER) off the walls.

“Don’t worry Daddy; I’m just bouncin’ like Tigger!”

Remember folks, our house is over 100 years old… but it’s lasted this long, right?

He bounces so much he forgot to use the potty last evening and ended up “leaking” on the kitchen floor… such is my life! But the groundhog DID see his shadow, right?

The Mommy organized all his arts and crafts to make it easy for him ME! Thank goodness! She’s so good to me!

The Baby is teething up a storm. He doesn’t sleep well because of it, but he’s not cranky. He’s such a good boy. Some occasional Tylenol and a cold teether, with some baby Orajel® have provided some much needed relief.

It snowed last night. It’s melting now. It’s a mess. I can’t wait for spring!

The Mommy spent some time Saturday playing with our new program from LegoFactory.com. Thanks Mike! I even installed it on the Girl’s computer, and she actually thought it was cool. Mike’s right though, it seems to take much longer when you have “help.”

I’m reading Summer of Light, which I finally got last week, after reading AtHomeDaddy’s review.

I was informed that our friend, Donna, came in 3^rd Place in the New York Latin Dance Championship. Yeah, she dances too! There are many facets to this extraordinary women. Congrats D! Way to go, Sis!

(Here she's pictured with her parter/instructor, world famous dancer Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine, 2 Time World Mambo Champion and has appeared on Dancing With The Stars and America's Ballroom Challenge.)

Spent some time reading Karly’s Drunkin’ Post. If you haven’t done so already you have to check it out. Drinking and Typing… not a good thing for LID!

That is all for now! I'll be back... fair warning!

Updates & More...

Update on the Helper

Thanks so much for all the well wishes during our recent bout with sickness. So far, only one of us has succumbed to the vicious ailment… the Mommy. She’s better today and back to work; she’s such a trooper! It’s a good thing, because the last time I checked I didn’t have any sick days left…

The Helper fully recovered by the weekend in order to spend the entire day, Saturday, tormenting his sister. She enjoys him a lot, but now I know why her MP3 player earphones are in all the time. The good news is nothing was broken this weekend due to their antics.

Update on Bleach Post

It has come to my attention that I did not give proper mixing information in my post. Nor, did I provide an alternative for anti-bleach advocates.

Proper mixing for disinfection purposes is one (1) capful of bleach to 2 gallons of water.

An approved substitute for bleach is white vinegar. The disinfecting properties of white vinegar are the same as bleach, but much less caustic. They both smell bad so the choice is yours.

Update on Theme Days

You may have noticed that the “Theme Days” have vanished. Not to worry they’re coming back. They had to be suspended due to “the sickness” and Angel’s tagging which actually inspired the post on Grandfathers. I have some “libations” ready to go for tomorrow and Tool Box Thursday is coming along nicely. This week Photo Friday will focus on some scenery shots, inspired by Terry over at Road Rage.

Of Local Interest

The Long Island 2 Day Walk for Breast Cancer will be holding a Press Conference on Tuesday, March 20, 2007 at 10 a.m. Location: Islip MacArthur Airport, Ronkonkoma, NY (in the new Southwest Terminal).

Off To See "Honey!"

This is an early edition of Monday Morning Quarterback. I had to write this installment as it was fresh in my head... you, my fellow bloggers will understand. I will regale you with the rest of this weekend's anecdotes tomorrow!


The Helper is gone! No, not forever… I didn’t sell him on eBay, folks! He was scooped up by Nannie on Sunday because we’re supposed to get snow in the middle of the week. What does one have to do with the other you ask? Nannie and the Helper need their weekly “fix.” They need to spend time with each other at least once every seven days or they start to show signs of mental deterioration. As you might recall, she had him last Wednesday into Thursday. But, if we got any sort of frozen precipitation where she would be unable to get the little guy, they’d both go out of their minds… not a pretty sight I can assure you!

Also, my father-in-law (my wife’s step-father, actually) is 98 years old. Yes, 98!
The more time my little guy can get with him the better. A note about my father-in-law; he’s 98 years old only on paper... he still has all his faculties, still very active, still does yard work, chops fire wood, cut his grass (although I helped him with that this fall, due to a short stay in the hospital), bundles the trash, takes walks up and down the block and “takes care of” my mother-in-law. He’s quite a man. One day, I’ll tell you his story. Suffice it to say, there are/have been/will be very, very few like him.

He and the Helper have a special relationship. My son does not see the advancement of his years. It’s his, “Honey.” Why “Honey?” Because when the boy first started to talk all he would ever hear my mother-in-law call her husband was “Honey.” Who are we to tell the little guy any different… it’s his “Honey!”

They play with each other, the Helper subjects him to stories of his latest adventures, then they sit and watch old westerns on TV. The difference of ninety-four years in age is never apparent. Grandfather to Grandson, man to man, they have a bond. My beautiful little Helper is named after me and his Grandfather. We thought it very appropriate to give him my father-in-law’s name as his middle name… now you know why the Helper is not a junior!

Monday Morning Quarterback - 2/5/2007

The Circle of Life

Last night, after all my site tweaking was done, and the children were in bed, and in between the raindrops of the Superbowl, I went “visiting”…

I found out our dear friend Jessica, from Oh, The Joys, posted a piece about her grandfather. He’s very ill, but according to Jessica, he’s comfortable. If you get a chance go “visit” Jess and take a look at the great picture she posted. My thoughts and prayers are with Jessica and her family.

I also read that our friend, Steve, from Inside Fatherhood, welcomed the arrival of his beautiful baby daughter yesterday morning, Meghan Alexis. Congratulations to Steve, his wife, and the rest of his brood… this makes five for him! Interesting note; Steve’s baby was born at home! For more information on at home births visit Steve's site... and ask him!

The Superbowl XLI

While I did watch most of Superbowl XLI on my big TV, as the only adult in the building last night, I was up and down a million times. That is, until the sweet relief of bedtime arrived. I used the halftime break to say good night and tuck in my little men, so I missed Prince’s performance. Oh, well… putting my guys to bed was more important than his Royal Purpleness.

Sorry, Drama Mama… to you and your family. There’s always next year. Congratulations to all you Indianapolis fans, enjoy it, because it won’t happen next year, you’re no New England Patriots… and I think our Big Green Machine will go all the way!

The Baby’s Four Month Check Up

On Saturday, the Mommy took the baby for his four month doctor’s visit. He gained another pound and another inch. Such a healthy, happy kid!

It seems though, at four months old, he’s not satisfied with his liquid diet anymore. The doctor recommended that he actually start some solid food. I know this isn’t usually begun until at least six months, but our little guy was up to 40 ounces of formula a day. He’s not chubby; he’s still in the 75^th percentile for weight, he’s just not satisfied. They grow up so fast!

Of course he got some shots (needed vaccinations) too… his least favorite thing in the world. Well, he actually doesn’t have much to compare it too, so it actually makes it worse. I did not go to the appointment with Mommy and the Baby. I stayed home with the other two. After the appointment, Mommy dropped the Baby home and went up to the store for some “solid” food, a.k.a baby cereal and fruits, and a prescription he needed. Both our sons suffer/suffered from bad cases of eczema on their heads. When he was a baby, The Helper’s went away immediately after using the prescription ointment. We’re hoping for the same with the Baby. It’s amazing how brother’s can be so similar… yet so different.

It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Forget Christmas, Forget Back to School… this is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. Yes, that’s right, tax preparation season. Between January 31^st and April 15^th millions of us receive tax refunds, some of you have to pay… I’m sorry for that.

In Saturday’s mail was the last piece of financial documentation we needed to complete our tax returns. Whooo Hoooo! Savvy fans of Long Island Dad will put together the fact that we had a baby this year… in October… which means a bigger refund. Again, Whooo Hoooo!

Long Island Dad is a big fan of this tax preparation software. I’ve used it for years and it’s never let me down. It took me about an hour to prepare and e-file our returns… 10-14 days until our back account is flush again. Ah, direct deposit; a man’s best friend!

But then reality sets in and the bill folder gets opened… Alas, our wonderful financial windfall will be put to good use, supplying the much needed electricity and heat, as well as, food for the brood.

It’s still the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, though… when else does the government give you back cold hard cash?

Weather Update: Friggin' Cold... 10 Degrees upon awaking this morning! But... Sunny, if that's any consolation! It's NOT!

That’s it for this week’s edition of Monday Morning Quarterback. Thanks for visiting! Oh, and please comment on the new look… or anything else.

Monday Morning Quarterback - 1/29/2007

A Re-cap of This Weekend’s Trials and Tribulations…

The Helper has not mentioned his ear concerns since the initial crisis. Either I am a very effective parent with regard to building my child’s self esteem OR he has the attention span of a four year old...

The Mommy has been working nights since Friday. A difficult schedule for all involved. On Saturday, she left the house at 2:00 p.m. and returned home at 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning… only to have to go back to work at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday. The children tend to take this in stride until the Helper decides he’s had enough, and then demands he go to work with Mommy. Things will improve tomorrow when the Mommy has a day off...

In an effort to give Mommy some time to herself, I took the Girl and the Helper out on Saturday (the Baby stayed home with Mommy…hopefully for a nap.) We went to the cellular phone store so I could get cases for our new phones. Then off to a fast-food lunch. The Helper loves his French fries. On the way home we stopped at the Pet Store for two new fish. The Helper insisted on “Red” ones. Remember folks, “Lighting McQueen” is red. The Girl was fine with this as long as she got to name them…Skittles and Goldilocks… though the Helper has his own name for them…Red.

The only casualty of the weekend was a “Willow Tree” statue called “Tenderness.” It seems that the Helper was running in the living room… that’s odd he never, ever does THAT! Ha! The statue fell from the shelf and the heads broke off. When asked, the Helper threw his sister under the bus faster than he can eat a Reese’s peanut butter cup… and trust me, that’s fast!

“Christopher, what happened?”

“Emily broke Mommy’s statue, she’s gonna be sad, you have to buy her a new one!”

[Look of shock and disbelief on the Girl’s face.]

“I think Daddy can fix the statue, Christopher, we don’t have to buy a new one.”

“Good, ‘cause Mommy’s gonna be sad, because Emily broke it.”

“How did she break it?”

“She was runnin’”

[The Girl only runs on the soccer field… and only when she has to.]

The ability to scapegoat one's sibling is learned so early these days...

That's all for this week's edition of Monday Morning Quarterback… Stay tuned -- as breaking news happens I will interrupt your regular programming for updates.