Twitter Machine Tuesday

I love my wife.

She just gets me and knows what it takes to make me happy.

I didn't make it a secret that I wanted to go see The Avengers on Friday.  In fact I've written about it many times in this very space.  So on Friday see sent me a text in the middle of the day asking if I wanted to go on a date with her.  That she would line up the babysitter and we could go to dinner and a movie.  Of course I wanted to go, and I was very glad she offered.

She wasn't necessarily excited to see that particular movie, but she went anyways because she knew it would make me happy.  We had a lovely dinner on our own.  It turns out the movie was fantastic.  So she was thankful not only for a night out with her husband, but she didn't regret any part of it.

Anyways Twitter Machine is what you came for, so I won't keep you from it.

-So if you're keeping track at home The Avengers saved the world and our Friday night #winning
-Whenever we go to a chain restaurant I wonder what the original looked like
-I imagine Claim Jumper started with a bunch of prospectors surrounded by a fire eating bison steaks #probablynot
-Who was the first annoying server at TGI Fridays and how did they decide that was the one to emulate?
-The Black Keys and Snow Patrol were playing in our area at separate venues on Saturday and I saw neither #singletear
-How little is Dark Shadows going to make this weekend going against The Avengers in week two? #verylittle
-I'm not saying that Ana is as intelligent as a velociraptor, but she can open doors in our house. #justsayin
-She also gets you to focus on her so Grace can attack you from the side #clevergirl
-Where the Wild Things Are was one of my favorite books growing up. I loved the movie and the soundtrack too #RIP
-I love the Beastie Boys. Paul's Boutique is probably my favorite rap album ever. Cancer can kiss my ass. #MCA #RIP
-And then there's Junior Seau #ruleofthree
-We Are Augustines are going to tour with Counting Crows. So DAMN EXCITED!!!
-Rory Gilmore and Mr. Belding on Mad Men? Was Matt Weiner reading my diary or something?
-And Mad Men paid $250k to license a song by The Beatles. #madmoney
-Thomas Kinkade apparently overdosed on valium. Usually I just look at one of his paintings to fall asleep. #differentstrokes
-I think the best Mother's Day gift I could give to Erin would be a relaxing Sunday, but that probably won't be happening.
-Ana actually opened up the bathroom door this morning and fell into the tub. That's how much she likes baths.
-Although she was staring up at the ceiling and crying, but she still loves baths.
-I'm very excited that Ben Folds Five is putting out a new album.
-Play the Perfect Strangers video game. Like right now.
-The girls like to lift their shirts and show their stomachs like they're Usher in every one of his music videos. #greatabs #sovain
-They also want their toothbrushes every time I brush my teeth. Gotta love good oral hygiene.
-Maybe they're a little too into their own appearance.
-I can't decide what's cuter: Grace saying "Bubble" or "Cracker" #parentproblems #roughlife
-I don't understand why everyone complains about timeline. The main Facebook page didn't change. #firstworldproblems
-So Prometheus, Brave, Dark Knight and Spider-Man are the remaining summer movies that have to be seen

And a TwitmachinePic for all you loyal readers:

They're just so happy in the morning

That's it for now.  I hope everyone has gotten their Mother's Day shopping knocked out.  See you next Tuesday.

Lazy Sunday vs Work Sunday

I love Sundays.

Best day of the week as far as I'm concerned.

Some people lean towards Fridays or Saturdays, but that is just so short-sighted.  Nothing beats a Sunday when the weather is nice.  Saturday comes with too many expectations of having to go out or have a blast to make it worth it.  And Friday comes at the tail-end of a work week when you're beat.  Sunday has no expectations.  It just wants to be enjoyed.

The trick to a good Sunday is mixing in the right amount of laziness and hard work which is exactly what we did yesterday.  Most people just go all lazy on a Sunday, but that's a mistake because you just can't appreciate the lazy without a little work to emphasize how awesome doing nothing really is.

That's exactly what we did yesterday.

I woke up with the girls at 7:30ish in the morning.  I took them downstairs immediately, so Erin could sleep a little later.  But we all ended up back in the bed around 8:30.  There was much snuggling and tickling.

From there we went out to the front yard to work on the lawn, rake leaves and pull weeds.  The girls were distracted by sidewalk chalk.  Although Grace got a little over-zealous...

We like to think that her look was inspired by Braveheart.  They did watch the Smurfs that morning for the first time, so maybe she just wanted to Smurf it up.  They also chalked my car in pink and blue.  And they tried to chalk the dog too.

After the front yard was done, we went to Home Depot to look at bark, patio furniture pads and anything else that would inspire us.  Home Depot on a Sunday afternoon/late morning is the best kind of inspiration.  "What above pavers?"  "We could do this kind of mulch."  "Let's remember this when we put a swing set or slide in."  There are so many possibilities when it comes to a Sunday at Home Depot.  I tried to not-so-subtly move her thoughts away from the patio furniture since I was planning to buy her the pads for Mother's Day.  I had to just flat out tell her it was going to be her gift when we went to Target since there were ones there that we definitely wanted.

After playing with girls, working and going shopping, I was ready for a little lazy to creep into my life.  I went and picked up some Mr. Pickle's sandwiches while the girls ate lunch and vegged out to the Giants game while the girls napped.

But the working Sunday demanded more attention.

We had to put the new pads on the seats which led us to more clean-up, bush and tree trimming and the desire to get the bark project started and finished right then before the weather started heating up.

So it was back to Home Depot to pick up the bark.  After we had poured out four bags, it became very clear that the eight I had purchased was not nearly enough.  So I was sent back to Home Depot to buy ten more bags.  The thing is I didn't even mind going back and forth because I just enjoyed that we were getting a project done, and I could still listen to the game on the radio.

As an aside, I think one of the best things in the world is getting yard work done while listening to a baseball game on the radio.  It makes me remember when I was a kid and doing work in the garage with my dad while we listened to a Giants game.  I can't help but feel a kinship to the generations that came before me.  My grandfather listened to baseball on the radio while doing work around the house and yard.  My dad did the same.  One of the many reasons why I prefer baseball to any other sport.  It is timeless.

We cleared out all the leaves and old bark that was in our back yard and spread out the new stuff which made it feel like an entirely different space.  It just feels more clean especially with the bushes and trees trimmed back.  We no longer had a secret garden.  It was now a usable space.

After the girls ate dinner, Erin and I cracked open a couple of beers and sat on our revitalized patio furniture.  We watched our girls run around on the lawn and revelled in all we had accomplished over the day.  We earned that last bit of laziness.

It was perfect.

Daddy Daughter Days

Not a lot of commentary for my day with the girls this week.

But I will start with a story about the girls going to Mother Goose on the Loose.  I don't take a lot of pictures when we go to story time at the library.  It really isn't the time for it.  It is more about interacting with your kids and enjoying the nursery rhymes and stories together.  So I don't even take my iPhone out of my pocket when I go.

The people that run it are fantastic and really make it a point to encourage the children to move around and have fun.

At one point Ana walked to another part of the room with the jingle bell that we were using for our nursery rhymes.  Apparently she got too close to another ladies kid with it, so the lady was grabbing my Ana's arm and reprimanding her.

Not cool.  She is only 18 months old.  Also you don't put your hands on another person's kid.  Nothing she was doing would harm your 3-year-old.

So I went over, picked Ana up and put her back in my lap.  I didn't want to make it an issue, but I wasn't very happy about it.  Chill out lady.  Part of this time is to not only enjoy stories and being active but also about interacting with other kids.  If your kid can't handle a 18-month-old toddler invading his personal space, then you really need to reconsider why you're coming to an activity full of toddlers.

Anyways on to the cute pictures that you came here for.

I don't understand the fascination with the dog dish.  Ana can't help herself and has to play with the water and grab the food.  Gotta keep your head on a swivel when the dog is visiting.

I love her so much.  There really isn't anything more to say than that.

Grace loves the self portrait.  You'll notice Ana's hand coming into to frame.  She is once again trying to photobomb her sister's picture.

Grace is such a diva.  Not really.  But she does love to where her sunglasses.  At one point she even put them on top of her head like dad does.  So stylish.

The one on the left is not so good with a spoon.  The one on the right is excellent with a spoon.  This leads to one messy kid and one not so messy kid.

I've written before about the girls love of Yo Gabba Gabba.  There is one song in particular that gets a lot of play.  It's the Hold Still song.  Anyone familiar with Yo Gabba Gabba knows that song is all about getting your wiggles out.  Grace wiggles and shakes her head so much that she oftentimes ends up on the ground.  It always brings a smile to my face.

Ana started the day with her dog dish fascination and ended the day on the dog bed with Molly.  Which makes for an adorable moment...if you're okay with your kid being covered in dog hair.

That's all for this week.  Have a great weekend.

Ana vs The Fireplace

We've been very lucky when it comes to our kids.

They didn't get sick (i.e. colds or flus) until after their first birthday.

And we haven't really dealt with injuries to either of them in the 18 months since they were born.

This changed the other night when Ana decided to get in a fight with the fireplace.

Our girls are surprisingly careful.  They crawl up the stairs one step at a time making sure both knees are on each step.  They go down the stairs or any step/ledge backwards.  They actually get on their hands and knees and crawl down each step.  Now that they're walking, they make sure they are holding onto something secure to balance themselves as they climb things.

Basically they're a parent's dream when it comes to safety.  Which obviously can't last forever, so I'm savoring it while I can.

So when my wife texted me this picture I was quite surprised:

Yes that is blood on her cheek.  Yes she is eating a popsicle to calm her down.

I asked what happened.  Apparently she ran into the house when they got home from a walk.  She ran right into our living room because that is where all the toys are, and she tripped into the fireplace.

They may be careful, but they're still toddlers and have the coordination to match.

Before you ask why we don't have the padded corner guards on our fireplace, we actually do.  We put them on there the moment they started standing.  The problem is they also like to pull those guards off and carry them around, so they no longer stick very well.  Ana just pulls them off at will.  She also climbs onto the fireplace, sits down and kicks the guards off.  So she did it to herself if you really think about it.

There was much crying.  I'm glad I wasn't there because I don't do too well with my girls being in pain.  But I'm also sad that I wasn't there to comfort her.

Besides the scrape on her face, you wouldn't have been able to tell that anything happened.  When I got home she was still standing in her crib having a grand old time and talking to her sister from across the room.

This happened two days before their 18-month doctor appointment, so Erin was freaking out about what the doctor and nurses will think about us as parents.  The doctor didn't judge (at least to our faces) and said that her scrapes and bruises were normal for her age.

The good that comes out of it: new nicknames.  Scarface or Tony Mont-Ana are both totally acceptable as far as I'm concerned.

Twitter Machine Tuesday

Last week I took a blog vacation.

It wasn't so much a vacation as I just was busy and didn't really want to sit down and write anything.  I lacked inspiration and desire.  Those are necessary ingredients to do anything, so I did nothing as far as my blog was concerned.

I also did something I don't normally do: I didn't write a Twitter Machine post.

I'm sure you were all sitting by your computers hitting the refresh button on your Google Reader page until you went to bed last Tuesday.  As equal parts disappointment and sleep washed over you that night, I was basking in the glory of doing nothing.  And it felt pretty good actually.

But it couldn't last.  I like my own opinion too damn much to stop writing.  And I especially like parsing it out in bite-sized nuggets for all to consume.  So I'm back to share my random musings with the world.

You're welcome America.

-This is the worst season of Biggest Loser that has ever been produced. There isn't one single likable contestant.
-I'm actually rooting for the fat to win #underdog
-Why didn't Roger Sterling drop acid sooner? He's back to being a cut-up. #madmen
-Roger's reaction and laugh alone to the "spread your legs and fly" comment was priceless.
-Derrick Rose tearing his ACL makes me so sad. He is one of the most exciting players in the league. #NBA #chicagobulls #sucks
-It also reminded me of when Chris Webber crumpled to floor back in 2003 #sacramentokings
-Al Qaeda encoded their plans on porn. The one place no one would look.
-I hate the Dodgers. Using the word HATE hear. But Matt Kemp is playing as well as anyone ever has.
-I want to see the shit out of The Avengers.
-Watched Iron Man and Captain America again this past weekend. RDJ really is the man.
-The girls are now obsessed with bubbles #inevitable
-Ana says "bubbles" all the time.
-They're building a Titanic 2. When will we learn?
-How long before James Cameron makes a terrible movie about it?
-I can't believe the LA riots happened 20 years ago. Makes me feel so old.
-My new obsession: MLB Beat the Streak
-When you say "wiggle, wiggle" Grace dances and shakes her head back and forth until she falls over #adorable
-Why does Whitney Cummings exist? And why does she keep getting work?
-She really is my least favorite Muppet. But she's my most favorite burn victim.
-I didn't know they turned Once into a Broadway musical. I love that movie and that soundtrack.
-The Dark Knight Rises is going to be ridiculously awesome.
-The newest trailer is amazeballs
-Amare is such an idiot. Punching glass seems like a great idea to vent your frustration. #NBA #stupidpeople
-I have a donor sticker on my license. No need to post it to Facebook. #thanksbutnothanks
-Bin Laden was killed a year ago. Doesn't it seem like it just happened?
-RIP Amarillo Slim. #legend
-Ana had a run in with the fireplace. More on that tomorrow.

It feels so good to be back.  Thanks for reading all my fake Tweeps.