Twitter Machine Tuesday

I'm currently running on fumes.

Actually fumes would be a welcome jolt of energy right about now.

I've gone over time and again how much I hate summer, and it has never been more true than this week.  We've had a run of 100+ degree days that seems to have started weeks ago and doesn't show any signs of stopping.  In reality it's been about a week and hopefully will end soon.  But the thing about consecutive days of high temperatures is that it doesn't cool off so much at night.

And last night was the all time stuffy, staying warm, good luck trying to fall asleep in a pool of your own sweat type of nights.  I couldn't fall asleep.  4am came around, and Grace had apparently reached her limit too because she woke up crying.  I feel ya kid.

Now I'm counting down the minutes until I can go to sleep again.  I hope to all that is holy that it cools off tonight.

On to a very unenthusiastic Twitter Machine...

-Man I just want it to be hotter for a longer stretch #thingsiveneversaid
-I just wish I had the kind of money to run the AC at 68 degrees at all times. That would be glorious.
-I don't care about the money or acclaim. I just want to be a celebrity, so I can be the Star in a Reasonably Priced car #topgear
-When did schools start going back in early August? If I was a kid I wouldn't stand for it.
-Our girls' obsession with Nemo has led to Ana speaking whale. #findingnemo
-Grace also likes to say "BUTT! BUTT! BUTT!" whenever she sees the boat #findingnemo
-You know who had it all figured out? That Joe Stalin guy #thingsiveneversaid
-Put on the movie Rubber the other night. Seriously WTF is that shit?
-Paul Ryan may be a great man and politician. The problem is he has two first names, and you can't trust that.
-A friend that I've known for 20 years got married over the weekend. It was a beautiful and fun night.
-And I danced my ass off #ofcourse
-If I don't leave your wedding sweaty, you really should have invested in a better DJ/music #justsayin
-What I really want to watch tonight is Project Runway #thingsiveneversaid
-The girls love marching. They say "March" and then march around the house following me.
-I know that I didn't do a Daddy Daughter Day post last week. I just never remember to take pictures.
-Sometimes I wonder what the internet has actually given us as a society
-Then I see the Baby Got Back video made from movie clips and realize that all is right with the world wide web #bestthingever
-Man I really hope the Dodgers score a few runs here #thingsiveneversaid
-The Hunger Games comes out on DVD this week. May have to purchase that one.
-I didn't even realize that Kate Miller-Heidke had a new album out. And it's been out for months. Now I want it.
-Shark Week is the one time of year where we look forward to watching the same damn shows over and over.
-Robert Pattinson is NO Peter O'Toole, so it should go without saying that he ain't fit to play T.E. Lawrence #lawrenceofarabia
-The only problem with Kindle's Lending Library is I finish books more quickly than they can lend them out #amazon #cheapskate
-I haven't had Thai food in far too long. I need to remedy that.

Hope everyone has a happy, safe and cool week.  See you next Tuesday.

Twitter Machine Tuesday

When I first started working at my new job almost a year ago, I would constantly hear from people that working with your spouse is tough.  I was told that you never get a break from your significant other, and it can wear on your relationship.

I have to admit that I'm not seeing what they meant.  I love working with Erin.  I get to see her all the time.  We can go to lunches together.  I can just swing by her office to say "Hello" whenever I want.  I think it just tells me that everyone that warned me didn't really have a healthy relationship with their spouse because I've been enjoying every minute of it.

It's just been on my mind as I'm coming up on my one-year anniversary that I've thoroughly enjoyed every moment of my new job.

On to some fake tweets.

-Apparently Bret Easton Ellis was being considered to adapt 50 Shades of Gray for the screen. #huh #theguywhowroteamericanpyscho #really
-I guess they wanted to get someone that actually knows how to write to adapt it #makessense
-Curiousity might be the worst name for a NASA mission/rover ever. The Peekaboo was taken #obviously
-I see the picture of Loughner and think "Yeah that guy shouldn't be walking around outside of concrete walls for the rest of his life"
-Gaming addiction is now a thing. Prescription: Get an effing job.
-Remember that two week period when everyone was addicted to draw something then it just went away?
-Ana constantly sticks her fingers in her diapers to feel out her work.
-Real Horror: My kid comes up to me and says "Yucky" with feces on her fingers #eww
-Although I think what she really thought was yucky was the dog hair that also stuck to her fingers
-I always tell myself to write these on Monday nights and then post them the next day.  I never do. #lazy
-I love what some people deem an appropriate time and location to argue.
-Now that track and field has started in the Olympics, I still don't care #notapologetic
-Although I think Usain Bolt is an incredible talent and also a dickhead
-How did we determine that the 100-meter dash was what determined fastest man alive status? Was there a vote?
-Sure they run fast for 100 meters, but dudes who run 200 meters also run pretty damn fast.
-I'm sure there is a snarky wife somewhere who refers to her husband as the fastest man alive #inbed
-What is it about chow mein that makes me want to come back for seconds, thirds and more? I can't help it.
-I think it might have the same chemicals as beer because I come back for seconds, thirds and more with that too.
-Saw the trailer for This Is 40, I just love Paul Rudd so much.
-Although is there anyone that hates Paul Rudd? He's just so damn likable.
-Our children are obsessed with Finding Nemo. They saw a clown fish in the tank at Nordstroms and started saying "Nemo" repeatedly.
-I'm glad it's Pixar. Hopefully we can just keep them locked in on those and distract them from the princesses.
-Grace has acclimated very well to the cast so far. She spends every bedtime kicking the side of her crib with it. #noisemaker
-Erin got tickets to Giants-Dodgers on Sept 9th #bestwifeever #babysitterwanted
-This will be only her second ever Giants-Dodgers game and they'll both actually be playing for something this time.
-Nothing better than a Giants-Dodgers game that means something.
-I should probably post this before midnight on the East Coast. #twittermachinewednesday

Have a great week.  See you next Tuesday.

Grandma's Garden

We went up to my parents' house on Sunday for a little barbecue lunch and to hang out with my family.  It was a great, relaxing day.

We got up there before everyone else arrived, so we spent a little time picking veggies from my mom's garden.  Her garden is totally legit in case you were wondering.  We actually ended up eating the corn that the girls helped pick and grilled it on the barbecue.  It was delicious.  My mom also made a cobbler and cake with the peaches from her tree.  Also pretty darn good.

And of course Erin snapped a bunch of pictures.

Enjoy.


Grace and Grandma



Smelling the flowers



Ana and Pop Pop



Picked a winner



In the tall stuff



Look what I picked



We love corn and 'matoes!



Child of the corn

 

Daddy Daughter Days

Let me tell you what throws a curve ball on a day off with your kids: When one of them is in a cast.

You can't really do anything involving water in fear of getting the cast wet.  Grace can't really get around as well, so you have to carry her everywhere.  You can't put them in certain outfits because they may not fit over the cast.

We didn't let this deter us from having a great day.

We left the house right after breakfast and went over to visit the girls' great grandparents.  Her Grace is on the couch with her great grandma.  I think it's so wonderful that they get to have a relationship with their great grandparents.  I still remember spending time with my great grandparents when I was growing up.

We also had a couple of special treats.  I walked in and saw the big bowl of dough sitting on the counter and knew exactly what that meant.  Great Grandma made cabbage buns a.k.a. bierock.  It is ground beef, onions and cabbage wrapped in a delicious dough then baked in the oven.  Put a little yellow mustard on it and enjoy.  Basically you can't be in our family if you don't love cabbage buns.

And Ana and Grace passed the test and can remain in the family.  They LOVED the cabbage buns and ate them how our family enjoys them with watermelon on the side.  They didn't try them with yellow mustard just yet, but that should happen next time.  They also got to taste a peach pie that their great grandma made. Don't worry.  They're going to be pie people.  Start 'em young, that's what I always say.

And we had a surprise visit from our Auntie Nina while we were there.  She always loved to see them.  Grace was in the midst of screaming in excitement at this point.

We even spent some time serenading everyone there.  This was a song they co-wrote called "Let's Pound on All the Keys" which is a waltz. 

When we first arrived the girls weren't in such a playful and gregarious mood.  It took a little music and stuffed animal time to really warm.  Here is Ana's dance routine.

So much fun that this is what the went down in the back seat within 4 minutes of pulling away from their house.  Some tired little ones.

I went in to sell a car in the afternoon, so I took the girls in with me to exchange cars with Erin.  While there Ana ran right up to the FR-S and kept saying "Car" and "Open" while pulling on the door.  So I opened the door and she climbed right in.  Then she kept saying "Closed" so I would close the door.  She was totally digging it.  The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  She started crying when I took her out.  Maybe my best argument for getting this car.  Just saying.

That's all from this week.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Gold Medal in Parenting

Erin has been all over the Olympics.  She watches every night (unless the Giants are playing then she switches between the two).  And she is enthralled.  Like edge of her seat, sobbing like a baby after every event, won't walk into the other room enthralled.  She knows the results of many of the events and is still watching with bated breath.

I've never been all about the Olympics for a number of reasons, so it is just background noise for me for a couple of weeks.  I came to the realization that it is a perfect storm of women's entertainment.  You have incredibly athletic, shirtless dudes.  You have women's gymnastics.  And you have NBC tugging on your heartstrings by constantly going to the human interest well and showing all the parents' emotional reactions.

Because when you really think about it, you are watching children compete.  Sure many of them are teenagers, but they are still children nonetheless.  This is especially true in women's gymnastics and some of the swimming events.

This has led me to think about how much of their childhood many of this kids have given up.  I'm all for my kids doing things they love and doing whatever I can to cultivate a true talent or knack for something.  I want them to push to be the best, but part of me can't comprehend dedicating their young lives entirely to the pursuit Olympic glory.  And really unless they're Nadia Comaneci or Mary Lou Retton (i.e. truly legendary performers) that glory is really fleeting.

And this is part of the thin line that I think every parent walks with their kids.  Do I want to push my kids so much that they'll miss out on all life has to offer them?  Am I doing them a disservice if I don't push them harder and they don't realize the potential to do something great?  Will pushing them too hard or not pushing them hard enough lead to missed opportunities or unrealized potential?  Will they resent me either way?

I just know that I don't want to be like Aly Raisman's parents.  She's one of the girls on the American Gymnastics team that just won Gold.  If you're watching, you've probably seen her parents' reactions throughout her performances.  I'd link to the video but the IOC has blocked it on Youtube.  Just to give you a blow-by-blow, they writhe, squirm and contort their faces like they're watching the latest Saw movie.  I find it incredibly hard to watch.  I understand you want to see your kid succeed, but this is extreme.  Their reactions, to me, go beyond cheering your kid on.  These are people that are living through their kid.

I want the best for my girls, but that is also a cop out, generic statement.  What is the best for them really?  I can't really determine what it is right now.  I guess more than anything the best is to give them as many opportunities as possible.  The best is to love them for who they are and not what they can do.  The best is to be in their corner no matter what.  The best is to give them a variety of options instead of shoehorning them into a particular activity.

For now I just want them to be kids and to enjoy everything that goes along with it.  For now they'll get the Gold Medal in being adorable.