National Lampoons Chinny Vacation

Day One - We are off on our vacation.  It's an early start.  Really early.  The airport limo, which was a present from my brother and sister in-law, came to pick us up at 5 AM.  No problem for your truly, as I have been up since 3 AM.  I woke up in a panic that my sons iPod sync had failed.  I amble downstairs to find that I was right.  After 45 mins of trouble shooting, I finally figured out the issue.  One changed cord later and the sync was back on.  The things we do for our kids.  I wonder if he will even appreciate it.
     The boys were really great about getting up.  We were up and out the door with all the luggage when the van showed up.  They even beat Demi out of the house.  No arguments, no crabbiness, nothing......
     The plane ride went well.  Both of them.  We made our connections.  Our luggage arrived.  We even took some plane selfies, which became a "thing" for the Chinny Vacation.  Bonding was off to a great start.
     The condo in Ruidoso was fantastic.  Our friends really hooked us up.  We all had our own bedrooms and bathrooms.  We all had TV's(not that there was much time for watching).  And there was a hot tub on the deck.  We had a great dinner at a local place that service Mexican food.  Then we relaxed in the hot tub.  We all turned in early and slept soundly.  Off to a great beginning.

Turning 15

Happy 15th Birthday Caz!  I hope you have a great day.  Enjoy the new amplifier.  I really hope you start playing the guitar again.  You are at a great age for it.

Notes from Fatherhood

Two interesting Dad moments tonight:

1) Dinner with Coco, one on one.  Big Kahuna Burgers.  They were indeed tasty burgers.  I thoroughly enjoyed when Coco asked me if he could have a soda to help wash down his tasty burger.  It was also fun to see him taking in Tin Cup on the TV they had going in the seating area.  He seemed interested.  In a golf movie.  Go figure.

2) Caz made coffee tonight.  Actually he setup the coffee maker.  Grounds.  Cinnamon. Filter. Water.  Then he set the timer for 6:30 AM.  I could get used to this.  I knew starting him on coffee would pay off.....

Back to School

Coco got back to school today.  We finally turned the corner from his health problem.  He had missed 6 straight days.  It was Father & Son time all weekend, starting Friday.  I took him to the doctor. After getting looked over, we had a course of action.  The new treatment started pretty quickly, I have to say.

     By afternoon, Coco said to me, "Dad, I feel so much better."

     Those words were magic.  Then I felt better.  I don't know how parents with major challenges do it.  The rest of the weekend went smoothly too.  We even go to go out as a family on Saturday night.

Opening Day 2014

Today was the Fenway home opener for the Sox.  It came will all the expected pomp and circumstance of the occasion.  I have to say kudos to NESN.  They didn’t utter a word during the hour long spectacular leading up to the roster introductions.  It was perfect.  Sure, it might have been nice to know who some of the first responders/victims were when tribute was paid to the Marathon Bombing event and recent Boston fire tragedy.  But it was really nice to sit in quiet and see the Sox players interact with all of them.  Papi was the Sox ambassador of good will.  He hugged everyone that came close to him.  The players made goo-goo eyes at the infants/toddlers.  It was well done. 

I was fortunate enough to be home to Coco to watch it.  I hope he appreciated all of it.  He takes in a lot.  He thinks a lot.  I think seeing something well done and respectful like this display will have a positive influence on him. 

Coffee To Go

Well, it was no April Fool’s joke.  Caz has gone to the bus stop every morning this week with a travel mug full of Joe.  Since he just measured in at 5’11” last week, can I really say it will stunt his growth?  It is actually pretty comical for me to hear Demi ask how he likes his coffee.  I think he is still perfecting his sugar & cream to coffee ratio.  He is still a novice after all.

It is really a good thing.  As I noted before, the caffeine will help him combat his ADD and increase his attention span early.  Maybe it will help lead to a better breakfast and morning routine.  To say that Caz is not a morning person is a huge understatement.  Couple that with the fact that Demi is also not a fan of the AM, you increase the likelihood of a school AM disaster.  All heck will rain down on the child responsible for missing the bus.  You think Noah was facing a wrathful vengeance?  He didn’t miss the Ark to school

April Fool's 2014

This one went by the boards unnoticed.  Not one prank to speak of at all.  A bit of a disappointment really.  Ah, what can you do?  Life happens.