Home Alone 2...Fewer Kiddoes

No, one of them didn't die of starvation from my cooking!  Marie and the middle child left to visit a local camp for their sixth grade school trip.  Alora really wanted her mother to go and, despite being exhausted, Marie agreed to go with her.  Right now they are somewhere in the mountains living life without mobile phones.

As for me and the other two, we are doing fine.  Plenty of lasagna and chicken left over from earlier in the week is holding starvation at bay!

Today was  particularly busy around the home for me.  First, I replaced a leaky faucet with a brand new faucet in the kitchen.  I managed this in just two hours and with only one annoying 'paper cut' on the finger. Hopefully the leaking has stopped, although I still need to caulk around the sink in a few places.  Water damage from the leak is fairly bad in the cabinet.  Here is hoping the Damp-Rid will remove the problem

Second, Arionna came home from school and wanted to 'rake leaves'.  So, I finished off my work, completed my phone calls, and we raked up the leaves.  The result of our efforts is found to the above left, and below.  (NOTE: The below video may appear "sideways" for a little while.  I edited it at youtube and am testing to see when/if the change takes effect.  Yes...I look for things like this to try out).

Home Alone (with the kiddoes)

This week the wife flew off to Florida for the Macaroni Kid conference.  She is having a good time.  She also met up with some family and friends while she was out there.

This means I am here alone with the kids.  For the most part this is a good thing.  We have played Dixit Odyssey nearly every night.  I read stories every night to Arionna, and I greet them when the get home from school.  I rather enjoy being a "stay at home dad".

There is only one drawback to all of this staying at home with the kids....my cooking.  I don't cook, so much as 'burn'.  I'm the only person I know capable of burning cereal by pouring milk over it.  It is so bad I butter bread and end up with toast.  The wife was kind enough to leave food for most of the week, but in an effort to extend the 'good food' (as the kids put it), I made hamburgers the other day.

I was happy they didn't turn out charcoal, but they did have a nice 'crispy' outer coating.  Oh well.

Tomorrow the girls and I will clean the hamsters' cage (both girls have a dwarf hamster...females, of course).  Then we will go gaming at a friend of mine's house.  Back in time for dinner, showers, and bed.

Marie returns Tuesday, but she will leave again for a few days with Arionna to a school camp.  After that, it should calm down.

Employable Wife!

Congratulations to my wife, Marie.  She was offered, and accepted, a 30-hour a week teaching position at the Broomfield Academy as a technology teacher.  Given my wife' penchant for technology (she is a social media wizard), and her love of children, this is a perfect fit.  This job even fits into her busy schedule, especially on Fridays where she will have her TV segment on Channel 2 Daybreak.

This woman continues to amaze me.

Pics from a Successful Costume Swap

Mine!

As mentioned in earlier posts, my wife held a costume swap on Friday, October 7th at Sill-Terhar Motors.  It was a great success, with over 65 costumes being dropped off. Some of them cam complete with "props".  One, a 'press' outfit came complete with an old Polaroid camera, you know, the kind that developed the pictures a few minutes after taking the picture.  Another was a chef outfit with spatulas.

My wife, child, and my witch organizing costumes

I never knew Sill-Terhar had such a large community room.  There was ample space, and the costumes were evenly distributed across the tables.  Only one person couldn't find a costume for his boy, just didn't have one in his size.  But, everyone else found something they were looking for, and that is what it is about.  A few of the girls, upon trying on the costume, wouldn't take them off.  So some kids arrived normally and left Princesses!

A few of the costumes available

All of the remaining costumes were dropped off at A Precious Child, I know because I dropped them off myself just yesterday.  Along with the costumes, some people donated diapers and clean underwear for A Precious Child.

To everyone that participated, thank you.  My wife is already planning the next big project.  I'll keep everyone posted as that one forms up, but it should be a great event.  Marie will do another costume swap next year, so let's make next years turn out even better!

Overview of the room - One table has been cleaned out!

Do the Wii (loco) Motion

My wife arranged a Wii Motion Plus party with Nintendo last Sunday.  We had a blast!  Nintendo provided ice cream, ice cream scoops, ice cream bowls, Wii+ controllers and two copies of the Wii Motion game.    What fun!

A few more than ten people showed up, including the kids.  Four of us, names drawn at random, would grab the remotes and play a round, then the next four.  One of the best, and most original, games is Spooky Search (aka. 'the Ghostbusters' game as we call it).  The Wii keeps tracks of a 'ghosts' somewhere in the room, invisible to us, of course.  As you point the remote around the room it begins to beep as you get closer to the ghost.  Upon finding the ghost, you have to push the button down and drag him to the ghost chest on the screen.  Some ghosts are easy, but others are stronger and require teamwork to beat.

This is almost as fun to watch as it is to play.  Everyone yelling "to the left, to the left" while the poor searchers try to lock in on the ghost.  I can only hope Nintendo releases a full version of this game with some more challenges/puzzles aspects. By itself, this was worth it.

We have to do this again someday!

Family Circus

Largest land Mammal alive lying down

Through my wife's work with MacaroniKid, my family and I were invited The Greatest Show On Earth.  Yep, we went to the circus.

It was nice.  We were able to visit the animals on a semi-guided tour, talk to the animal handlers and a few of the performers.  Then we headed to the show itself.  It has been a long time since I went to the circus, and the two youngest had never been before.  Their eyes were wide watching all the various acts and stunts.  The girls loved the horses, of course, but they also enjoyed many of the other shows, especially those with the tigers.

All the girls loved the cats

Overall, Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey still put on a decent show.  In today's world of hi-tech computer graphics, it is nice to see real-life performers.  It adds an element of suspense watching real people act out what is now seen mostly on movie screens.

TV Update

Quick update with great news!

First, Costume Swap: It was a success.  Over 65 costumes and over thirty people.  For a first year all volunteer event, that is a resounding success!


Second, my wife and youngest two appeared on Daybreak, which can be found here: http://www.kwgn.com/news/daybreak/.  Aren't they cute?

Anyhow, my wife did such a great job they asked her to come do a segment every Friday!  Naturally, my wife accepted.

She also took her teaching trial today for a teaching position.  It went very well and, after they check a few things (background check and such), she will have that job as well.  Nice thing is, the two don't interfere as Daybreak is in the morning and teaching is in the afternoon.

I'm very proud of my wife!

Congratulations, Marie!  I always said you were amazing special.  (Should listen to me more often.)

Newsworthy Family

Today my wife and youngest two will be on the morning news show: Daybreak.  My wife organized the first MacaroniKid Broomfield Costume Swap, and she partnered with A Precious Child. So, what does that mean and how is it newsworthy?

First, the deal is for people to bring in last year's costumes for their kids.  Then, they can trade it for a 'new to them' costume.  The cost is free, so it is basically 'trading up' last year's costume.  No guarantees there will be a costume in your kid's size, but any left over costumes will go to A Precious Child.  The swap is happening at Sill-Terhar Motors this afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00.

Second, if people bring in new diapers or a new package of underwear for A Precious Child, they will enter into a raffle.  Prizes include 4 tickets to Yo Gabba Gabba Live and free meals at Chick-Fil-A in Broomfield.  I think there is one or two others, but not sure.

The Broomfield Enterprise heard about it and made it a front page story.  Yes, that is a picture of my girls goofing around in their costumes.  After that my wife received a call from the Colorado Morning News Daybreak, and she was asked to appear "with models".  So, the kids will miss the first few hours of school tomorrow, but they will be on the news station and are pretty excited about it.

Kaylee, the 17 year old, will NOT be going to model.  She had enough issues with the picture in the paper.  I'm sure I will hear all about it when they return.  I will miss it, however, as I will be attending the Caffeinated Careers Club, hosted by the indomitable Tracy Laswell Valdez, in an effort to find new employment.