Bike video

Isaac enjoying his new bike On Christmas Day.

Christmas in Florida (HOL 91)

House of Laughter 91

Nine hour drive down and ten hours back. We have a dog with bad breath, a three year old, and a DVD player with three hours worth of battery life in the back seat. It still beats going to work.

We made the mostly annual trip to Florida for Christmas last week. Santa came to our house on Christmas Eve. He left Isaac a roomful of toys, a big bike, and about $20 worth of junk from Wal-Mart in Nancy and my stockings (As is our Christmas custom instead of “real” gifts for each other. It all started that year I bought her some silver combs and she bought me a chain for my pocket watch…)

We drove through Christmas Day and made it to Gainesville in nine hours (pretty good time.) Isaac opened more presents from Gammy and G-Daddy, and then settled down to sleep. My friend “Little Matt” walked over from his Dad’s place and we shared some beers. He took a ceramics class earlier this year and I harassed him no end about it. For Christmas, he gave me a really cool handmade mug and homemade orange marmalade. That is one of the best gifts I got this year.

The next day, we had lunch at Leonardo’s pizza at Millhopper (One of our favorite places in town. Chicago style pizza with heart attack inducing garlic rolls). We were joined by “Little Matt” and his wife Christina, and one of our friends from high school, Sarah, that we hadn’t seen in over ten years, and her husband Preston. While we were enjoying pizza, beer and old frienships, Mom and Dad took Isaac to Camp Blanding to look at old jets, jeeps, tanks, and troop transports.

Friday night Nancy and I were introduced to out newest Wii addiction called “Boom Blocks”. It is a insanely fun mix of Jenga, the old atari game “Warlords”, and that game at the carnival where you throw baseballs to knock over milk bottles.

Saturday we took our niece Cassidy to meet our old friends the Leibachs at Silver Springs in Ocala. My mom has old photos of Danny and I as little boys petting deer and riding the glass bottom boats there. It was cool to watch Riley, Cassidy, and Isaac play together and marvel at the alligators, bears, and snakes on display. Silver Springs has seen better days, but the kids had a great time.

We took the kids on the “Lighthouse” ride. It’s supposed to be a gentle ride up in an observation car for a birds eye view of the springs. Unfortunately, when we reached the top, something went wrong, and the ride down was a might bouncier on the return trip than expected. It was one of the few times I’ve genuinely been terrified on a ride. It was obvious that the ride was malfunctioning, and I was relieved when we were low enough that I knew that a sudden drop would only maim instead of kill us.

Sunday we met my sister and her family at Sea World in Orlando. For those of you who never lived in Florida, here is a tip…..Never go to Orlando theme parks in July or in the week between Christmas and New Years. Sea World ( A definite “B” class theme park in an “A” class neighborhood of parks) was swimming with people. Not only that, but the recent trend of “premium” theme park experiences was in full effect pissing me off little by little throughout the day. About 2/3 of the dolphin pool’s edge was only for people who paid the price to feed them. Riding up on the observation deck cost an extra couple of bucks. Instead of a Fastpass system like at Disney, they had and even simpler solution. For $30 you can just skip to the front of the line.

As cynical as it all is, I can’t help but smile watching Eli, Lily, and Isaac walking around and holding hands. I also couldn’t help but laugh like a little kid when at the finale of the dolphin show, there were fountains, dolphins, spandex clad high divers and about a dozen macaws flying, leaping, spraying, and dancing all around. (To be clear, the macaws were thankfully not spraying.)

Over by the seal feeding area, Isaac took a fall and skinned both knees. That was really hard on me to see him crying so hard. Thankfully one of the Sea World workers called first aid, and the man who gave Isaac a couple of band aids was very kind and patient.

Nancy and I skipped out on the Elmo show to go an ride The Kraken together. (We used to ride coasters together all the time….what happened?) The Kraken is my buddy Gabe’s favorite coaster, and I see why. Incredibly smooth and fast.

We went to the kid’s area, and Eli and Lily wanted to climb in the nets. Isaac decided he wanted to as well. I knew this wouldn’t end well, so I went along. Somewhat surprisingly, my dad went too. I was pretty impressed. To get onto the cargo nets, we had to climb a flight of stairs. The nets extended upwards another two stories. I was a little nervous when we started climbing. Isaac started crying. I told him that it was okay to be scared, but we were going to do it together. Ryan had Eli, Dad had Lily and I had Isaac. It would have been hard enough climbing by myself, but balancing and holding Isaac’s hand while climbing proved to be a greater challenge. We all made it safely to the top and climbed back down via the stairs.

While the kids rode the tea cups, Ryan, Dad, and I decided to sample some of Anheiser Busch’s products. If you are ever tempted to sample bourbon flavored Budweiser, I can save you the trouble….don’t bother.

After watching the Shamu show, we decided to take in one last ride for the day, Journey to Atlantis. I’ve wanted to ride it since it was built ten years ago. It is a cool hybrid of dark ride, splash down boat ride, and indoor dark roller coaster. It is now known as the saddest ride in the world by my family, because my niece and nephew lost it in the first few minutes of the ride when one of the mermaids who live in Atlantis turned into Medusa. There was much crying for the rest of the ride.

Upon disembarking, a soaking wet and sobbing Eli and Lily summed up the ride for Ali, “There were mermaids and witches who were making bad choices.” Mercifully, Isaac wasn’t tall enough to ride.

We spent most of Monday chilling out with our other nieces and feeding ducks. Monday night mom and dad watched Isaac so Nancy and I could go and see “The Wrestler”. (We will take advantage of free babysitting any time we can!)

The trip back took ten hours, but the stop for Krystal hamburgers was well worth the extra time (Have you ever been to a fast food restaurant where the speaker doesn’t work at the drive through, and they don’t have chocolate shakes, or straws, and their pumpkin shake has small mysterious crumbs floating around that could be either pie crust or fried chicken breading?)

All in all we had a great trip, and wish everyone a happy and safe new year. Thanks to everyone who made Christmas such a special time for my family this year. Thanks to the Baumans for coming over Christmas Eve and being family for us. Thanks to Rydell for your hospitality. Thanks to Roland for a special present that will be a constant reminder to Isaac about bravery and love. Thanks to my folks for hosting us in Florida, and for the sweet day at Sea World. Thanks for my in-laws for laughing and playing Wii with us.

Strength and Honor

Big Matt

Scattered Christmas Thoughts (HOL 80)

House of Laughter 90

Isaac was extremely concerned this morning when he came downstairs. “Daddy, we don’t have a fireplace!”, he notified me as I ate my Food Lion knock off Cheerios. Isaac had evidently been pondering how Santa was going to get into our house. I assured him that we did have a fireplace, we just didn’t use it that often, and showed him where the gas logs are.

He examined it carefully then gave me a skeptical look. I assured him that even though it looked small, Santa managed to bring presents in through it last year, so not to worry. I don’t know how Santa will get a bike down there though.

Later while I was in the shower, he brought his toy gun into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. He told me that Mr. Oogey Boogey was driving his car to our house and had a possum with him. Isaac was going to pull his string and then step on all of the bugs inside him. Such is the moment by moment surrealism of life with a three year old. (Mr. Oogey Boogey is the bad guy from Nightmare Before Christmas…he looks like a burlap sack filled with insects, and tries to eat Santa Claus…..yeah that’s some fine parenting there Matt)

We went out to see a display of Christmas lights (3007 Kilkenny, Greensboro) with some friends tonight, and on the way home, we listened to our 2008 Christmas C.D. featuring the all time classic, “Santa Claus is a Black Man”. Isaac asked me to crank up the music, then after a few minutes said, “She is singing that Santa Claus is a Black man, but he’s not.” As I was driving through thick fog at the time, I didn’t have time to come up with an acceptable explanation on the fly. Nancy responded, “When did you see him?” This seemed to appease him. He then used his toy gun to shoot at some bears that were at McDonalds. I guess you only get three, maybe four Christmas with Santa.

I’ve been teaching Isaac how to play checkers, and he seems to really enjoy it. He especially likes chanting “King Me! King Me!” When he makes it across the board.

Isaac watched “The Wizard of OZ” for the first time Sunday. It was the first time I had seen it in several years, but seeing it with Isaac was special. I had the old videotape from when Ali and I were kids and taped it off a C.B.S. broadcast with the occasional cheesy 80’s commercial thrown in. I didn’t tell Isaac much about it before we began ( I wanted the switch to color to be a surprise.)

He wasn’t scared, but he did sit on my lap the whole time, and my hands had to be wrapped around his waist. Watching with him reminded me of what a big deal it was to see Wizard of OZ on TV when I was a kid. It only came on once or twice a year, and if we were lucky, Ali and I got to stay up late to watch it even if it was a school night. I remember being more afraid of the Wizard than of the Witch, (a point that Isaac agrees with strongly).

I also remembered the movie incorrectly. I thought that the bulk of the movie was Dorothy traveling from Munchkin land to OZ, when that’s really only about four scenes long. It was really cool to see it again from a child’s perspective.

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. Fair winds and calm seas to those of you traveling. Peace to those who see Christmas as a reminder of what is missing in their lives. Dona Nobis Pacem

Strength and Honor

Big Matt

P.S. Happy Birthday Alex Wayne!

What's This? (HOL 89)

House of Laughter 89

In case you don’t read the Greensboro News and Record or have a Facebook account, Isaac was on the front page of the paper Saturday. Our church collects and distributes food discreetly on Friday afternoons at local schools to kids who night otherwise go hungry that weekend. The article explains it in greater detail. Isaac adores Wendy Smithey who coordinates the program and looks forward to helping fill the backpacks with canned goods on Wednesday nights.

Thanksgiving was pretty laid back. We stayed home had a few friends over for dinner and decorated the house for Christmas. Isaac did not get his usual afternoon nap, and it showed. While helping Nancy decorate, he had a full on kicking, screaming, crying temper tantrum because we did not have brown lights to hang in the tree out front. (He got his nap and a couple of spanks that afternoon.)

The next day he told me that he didn’t love me. It broke my heart and upset me, but I knew I had to be keep my head. What do you do when your child says “I don’t love you?” Spanking him or punishing him doesn’t seem to fit. I wanted him to be able to talk about how he feels, and at the same time I want him to realize the gravity of saying that and to keep him from making it his “Go to” phrase when he is mad and wants attention. I tried to think, “What would Mr. Rogers do?”

I told him it hurt my feelings, and he shouldn’t say that. I didn’t punish him for saying it. I just didn’t play with him until he apologized and told me that he loved me. He only said it one other time out of anger. I’m sure he will grow out of this by the time he is 13 or 14.

Unfortunately last year, one of my co-workers gave us a small animatronic Santa that reads the whole “Twas the Night Before Christmas” poem. The batteries have mercifully ran out of juice. It may have something to do with Isaac’s inability to go up or down the stairs without turning it on. If Isaac hears the poem end, he immediately gets up from what he is doing (eating dinner, playing with cars, sitting on the toilet) and runs to re-start Santa. The good thing is we can tell when he wakes up, since the first order of business every morning is to hear “Twas the night Before Christmas”. He reminds several times a day that we need to buy Santa some new batteries. They don’t make C batteries anymore do they?

I made a Christmas C.D. again this year. Isaac’s favorite track is “The La La song”, also known as “Deck the Halls in 7/8 Time” by Triad Pride Men’s Chorus.

Speaking of music, the new morning ritual is to listen to the song “House of Bamboo” by Southern Culture on the Skids twice and then “Carve that Possum” a.k.a. “The Lily Song” (So called for his cousin’s widely known and deep seated suspicion of the Southern marsupial) on the way to school. Isaac is very particular….”House of Bamboo” must be played twice…..never three times. He then requests “The Lily Song” which is the next track on the disk, and that takes us through the rest of the ride to daycare.

As Nancy was picking the boy up at daycare last week, he asked if he could watch, “What’s This?” when the got home. Nancy asked several times what he was talking about, and he said he wanted to watch the movie, “What’s This?”

Evidently it was a long frustrating car ride home for both of them. Thankfully I knew that he was talking about “Nightmare Before Christmas.” (It’s the song sung when Jack Skellington, the king of Halloweentown visits Christmastown.)He and I watched it Sunday afternoon. We also watched the Brendan Frazier version of “Journey to the Center of the Earth” Thursday. He did okay with the dinosaurs, and the falling scenes, but we had to fast forward through the giant Venus flytraps.

I picked a great book at the library (Nancy calls it propoganda.) It’s called “You Can Do Anything Daddy”. In it, a little boy gets kidnapped by “Robot Gorilla Pirates from Mars”, and his Daddy rescues him. Isaac has picked it for the last few nights, and brought it to church with him last week. He will put his finger near the pictures of snakes in the book and pull it back quickly yelping, like the snake had bit him. We’ve also been feeding the Curious George habit. We checked out one of the old ones (Curious George Rides a Bike) and I forgot how they just go on and on! I’ve taken to telling the wrong Curious George adventure for the book we are reading, and Isaac will correct me, laugh and then tell me to do it again. For example, while looking at pictures in “Bike”, I will tell him the story from “Curious George Makes Pancakes” or “Curious George visits the Chocolate Factory.”

Hope everyone has a great week.

Strength and Honor,

Big Matt