Diary of a Madman

I decided this weekend that since my children were the original impetus for blogging, I wanted to start using this blog as more of a journal so that my kids would have a better record of our daily life. This will also give me some ammunition if they ever try and cook up some "Cat's in the Cradle" mythology about me and their childhood.

Unfortunately, posting more often means that at some point I'm probably going to have to skip some of my obscure song lyric titles, which I'm sure will disappoint my brother-in-rock, March To The Sea. These updates will also probably be even more boring than my usual posts.

This weekend, the kids and I hurried out the door on Saturday morning so that big sister could get to swimming lessons. We're usually late, but this time the other kids were already in the water. We hurriedly got the bathing cap in place and she joined the rest of her class. Little sister sat in my lap as usual. After class, we got a snack of chocolate milk and pumpkin loaf at Starbucks and headed to South Portland to do some shopping.

Angela and I had been playing Rock Band on the Playstation 3 the other day and found that if we had two microphones, we could go head-to-head to see who the better singer was (unfortunately for her, though, I already know the answer). The new Karaoke Revolution game had just come out, so I figured I could pick that up AND get a new microphone bundled with it. Unfortunately, nobody had it in stock. However, I picked up a used copy of Boston's first CD, the new REM and new Counting Crows at Bull Moose. I had sworn off Counting Crows after a couple of boring albums, but after hearing how great they sounded on Howard Stern last week and seeing the sub $10 sticker price, I decided to take a chance on it. I still haven't gotten to listen to it, though.

I also got a used Rock Band microphone at GameStop and correctly anticipated the disgusted reaction that would elicit when I got home. Promising to wipe it down with a vinegar-soaked paper towel didn't do much to appease the wife, but on the plus side, I now have my own mic that nobody else will share. Lastly, I rounded out our big shopping morning by getting the girls some princess coloring books with glittery crayons at Target.

We got home and had lunch and I made the girls clean before heading over to Wally and SJ's house for dinner. Our girls played with their 5 year-old daughter while their 1 year-old son watched us playing with their new Wii. The baseball game was neat, in that you swing the controller like a bat and mock-throw the controller to pitch. That was mildly strenuous, especially on my shoulder, but the boxing game - wow. Five rounds of that and I had to go outside to cool down! I understand it was quite funny to watch us shadow-boxing in front of the TV. We played a little karaoke and ate some Bruce's Burritos and headed home to put the kids to bed somewhat on time.

After the kids were in bed, SJ came over and we played Rock Band. SJ sang, Angela played drums and I handled guitar duties. I really need to dedicate a whole post to Rock Band soon to do it justice. Suffice it to say, it was the lone reason that I splurged for a PS3 and I have no regrets. The kids haven't even been allowed to actually play it yet, but they love shouting out requests: "Blitzkrieg Bop, daddy! Do Blitzkrieg Bop!"

Sunday morning, more cleaning of the disaster area that is the "play room". It's really not fair on big sister right now, because the little one makes tremendous messes and is awful about cleaning up. We're all hoping that the little one starts taking a more active role in cleaning soon. She reportedly does a good job of it at Nana's house, so we know she's capable! In the meantime, she often gets a time-out in the crib (which she really, really hates) for as long as it takes me to pick up her stuff. She's hasn't slept in that crib for 2 years, but it's such an effective disciplinary containment tool that I've never put it away even though it would be nice to have it out of the way.

Sunday afternoon, the wife and big sister went to see Coppelia at Maine State Ballet. She has been taking ballet lessons there for a couple of years and has been to several performances this year. I've only gone to one, and that was the one in which she got to be a reindeer at the end of The Nutcracker at Merrill Auditorium last December. Currently, her class is practicing each week for their big recital next month.

I was hoping that little sister would be content to stay at home and cook with me, but she remembered that the last time Mommy and sister went out without her that I took her for ice cream, so she was insistent on that. Thankfully, she was flexible on the location and I didn't have to go into Cold Stone Creamery in Portland this time. Since it was lunchtime, I took her to Cole Farms instead. The menu has actually changed quite a bit since I started eating there, but it's still not the easiest place to find something healthy for a kid to eat. We did our best, though, and headed home.

Our next project was to make a batch of granola in the slow-cooker using the recipe that Dr. Lisa posted on her blog. I was hoping that by getting the little one involved in cooking it, she'd be more likely to eat it. Unfortunately, that myth about kids and cooking was over-ridden by the Law of Contrariness, whereby only ONE of my kids will like any given food. This time it was big sister, who loved the granola and mixed it with her yogurt as her bed-time snack after she got home.

Comments

[March]

why don't you let them play rockband?! I am *this* close to getting my ps3..just need "time" to get it..

What do you think of the new REM..i like it.

[Jason Raven]

I think big sister could probably handle Easy guitar, but then the little one would insist on hitting the drums and then it's just a matter of time before something gets broken.

Some of the song lyrics (In Bloom, Gimme Shelter, etc...) aren't too kid-friendly, either, so if I'm playing it I avoid those songs when the children are around.