Everyone Remembers Their First

Everyone remembers their first..  That sentence is usually tied to one's first sexual experience. But it doesn't matter what first you're talking about.  Whether that be your first pet, your first kiss or first concert, these are things that humans tend to lock away deep in their memories and can recall at a moment's notice.

Well maybe you have heard there is this little band called the Foo Fighters who this past weekend played this little ballpark called Fenway. I've seen a number of shows there and I'll be honest, the acoustics aren't great. And, as long as we're being honest, it's not that great for watching a ballgame either. It's an amazing park, but the seats suck, they don't even face the field half the time and more often than not the product on the field isn't even worth watching. But I digress..

For a long time it has been a goal of mine, a bucket list item if you will, to sit front row at a concert. And unless you count being belly up to the stage for Letters to Cleo and Bare Naked Ladies at Smith College in the mid 90s front row (which I don't), it was still on the list. Until Saturday.

I was lucky enough to go to this show with my wife and 2 friends and sat front row, right in front of a wall of bass amplifiers. I truly thought my heart was going to explode during the Mighty Mighty Bosstones set. Thankfully, the Foo Fighters are not a bass heavy band and Taylor Hawkins, the drummer was set on the opposite side of the stage. Again, having never officially sat that close for a show before I had no idea what I was in for. I was able to see small interactions between the band as well as between the band and friends that were offstage which was interesting.

I had always wondered what it was like to sit front row, and now I know.. it's LOUD! Thankfully we were wearing ear plugs because we're not that young anymore and actually value our hearing.. But it was such a different perspective, turning around and looking at tens of thousands of people behind me was weird. And although I enjoyed it, I don't need to do it again. I can cross it off the bucket list and move on to something else.

And that something else was enjoying a Foo Fighters concert with my boys. They are still young (8 in September), however they have been listening to the Foo Fighters since they've been alive. We always told ourselves that we would not succumb to the Barney and Disney Radio crap.. If we were driving, they were going to listen to what we listened to. Hence, their music library consists of all sorts of music. (See earlier blog entitled Müzik, Μουσική, Musiikki)  For example, their favorite song right now is Fire by Jimi Hendrix. A friend's son is learning drums and he made a birthday mix of good drum songs and handed it out at the party. My boys listen to it every time they're in the car. Sadly, they have been asking if they can see Jimi in concert. I told them that unfortunately he is dead and has been for a long time. But, I know there are many people right there with them who would like to see him in concert.

Thankfully I am in a position where I was able to take them to this show and share their first concert experience with them. Everyone plays the game. You know, "what was your first concert"? Mine was Steve Miller Band at Great Woods (known by no other name) in the summer of 1992. We were CIT's at summer camp in NH and as a special night out trip we all got tickets to the show. We sat on what was known back then as "The Lawn". Great Woods is an amphitheater in Mansfield, MA that holds about 19K people. 10K in the lower seating area and then another 9K up on the lawn. This was pre cell phone days where you met someone at a place at a time and you went there. There was no "text me when you get there" or "change of plans we're going here instead". You had to wade through thousands of people just to get the side of the lawn to go to the bathroom, get something to eat, etc. There are very large cement poles that tell you what section you're in if you are in the lower bowl area. Well people on the lawn used to use those as markers so you knew about where you were. And then you used that pole and and an approximation of how far up the lawn you were so you could meet back up with your group. An inexact science at best, yet we always seemed to manage to meet back up with our friends. But after numerous iterations of "the lawn" going from grass, to mulch, to sand, etc they have now turned it into actual rows of seats which makes it more difficult for larger groups to sit together, dance, etc. Oh well, another part of my youth gone.. 

But everyone has a first concert and everyone has that conversation with people regardless of who they are. And it doesn't matter what it was. Oftentimes kids were taken to a show by their parents because either a) they thought it would be a nice night out or b) the parents had tickets and couldn't get a babysitter. But this show was something I knew the boys would want to see and I wanted to share it with them. Again, they've grown up listening to this band and know about 10-11 songs. That is probably more than some of the people that were there to be honest. They were able to sing along to some of the them and had no problem dancing around and just being mesmerized at the live performance that was happening right in front of them. 

As I've said before, life is full of experiences and this opportunity was one I was not about to pass up.

Cross another one off my bucket list too. It's something that they will never ever forget, nor will I. 

Luke 6:40

So we're in the car recently and a song comes on the radio. Mitch says "Oh, I know this song." "It's Cecilia and the Satellite". I said that's correct and it's by Andrew McMahon. (I will forever believe that it should be sung by the band Phoenix, but I digress). Anyway, I said the scroll on my radio also says In The Wildnerness.

So naturally, I say that the word wilderness has a bonus letter. Quickly the conversation devolved into a 1st grade (now 2nd grade) grammar conversation about bonus letters, digraphs and the like. I asked what makes a bonus letter and the answer was it has to have a short vowel sound that precedes the double letter f, l, s and sometimes z. So we all took turns thinking of examples of bonus letter words.

The conversation between us went back and forth for a few minutes until Mitch finally says, "you know dad, sometimes I think we're the teachers and you're the student".

I couldn't agree more Mitch.. I couldn't agree more.

Reading Is Fun

I've been telling my kids since I felt they could comprehend it, "If you can read, you can do anything". It's true. Think about it. Back during slavery, they wouldn't allow the slaves to have access to books or learn to read for fear they would become educated. It was a way of keeping control. So I explain to them, "if you can read, you can do anything".

Well they are six now and while we've been working hard with them, reading to them forever as well as working with them on spelling, sounding out words, etc, you can't push it. If you push it, they can become frustrated and shut down. Then they'll see it as more of a chore and not learn to enjoy reading. As a parent or as anyone who is teaching someone something, you really have to walk that fine line of knowing when to push someone and when to back off.

Well, it turns out that Mitch can read. We'd be walking in a store and he would just point to a sign and read it. Or we'd be at the kitchen table and he would point to a magazine and read a few words. Turns out, that while at parent teacher conferences a little ways back, his teacher gave us a list of words each Kindergartner should know by the end of the school year. He knows them all. I'm not saying he's reading novels or anything, but this is a child who hasn't exactly done things on what we would call the "normal" timetable. He never crawled. He didn't walk until he was 19 months old. He was about 6 before being fully potty-trained. Granted the kid has had it a little rough, so we were thinking more often than not he would do whatever it was at his own pace.  Well, I'm glad if something was relatively accelerated, it was this.

And he's excited about it too. A new book from school every week and he's excited to read it at night. We get them both new books all the time and they make it part of their routine before going to sleep to make sure we read at least 1 book. And, now that Mitch is doing well reading and how much praise he's getting, Max is starting to step up his game.

So hopefully, perhaps by the end of the calendar year they'll be reading books to us instead of the other way around. And once that happens, it's a whole new world.

Update: I wrote this awhile ago and never posted it. Since then, Max is definitely better at reading, but just shy about reading out loud. Mitch however will read out loud to himself or to anyone. He'll read anything including magazines, shopping circulars, it doesn't matter. He actually calms down at night but taking out his flashlight and reading a book to himself, out loud before going to bed. I couldn't be more proud.

Take a Breath

You know that feeling.. It's been a long day..  You've been up since early in the morning, the commute sucked, your day was long dealing with, well people in general.. Your commute home sucked. The kids were wild at dinnertime, the bath was awful and it took all your energy just to get them into bed.

You've finally had a chance to eat dinner and maybe catch up on some TV, a chapter in your book or some quality time with the pup.. But now it's time to get ready for bed and while brushing your teeth what do you see?  Yup, the door opening and your child is coming into the bathroom when they should be asleep..

After a day like you've had the first instinct may be to yell or say "what are you doing out of bed" at a not so quiet level.

But take my advice and take a breath. It's not an easy thing to do, but may be worthwhile.

See a few weeks ago while checking in on the Twinado I accidentally slammed the door.. The windows were open and as you may know it doesn't take much for the door to slam quickly if the windows are open. I cringed and waited a minute to see if anyone woke up and I didn't hear anything so I left.

But there he was, standing there at the door so I just said "what's wrong"? All he wanted to do was hug me. So I got down to the floor and he gave me a big hug, then turned around and slammed the door in my face. Just a little payback for slamming the door while he was asleep. Basically saying I still love you daddy, but I'm slamming the door back at your for waking me up.  Little shit..

Casual 5

Can a 5 year old be casual? Don't get me wrong, Douglas is definitely a 5 year old.. Still throws tantrums sometimes (not ok), can't go to bed without a hug and a kiss (always ok) and is lacking in the "trying new foods" department, although he is getting better.

But honestly, he's more like a teenager. He's very casual in his movements. He's got teenager tendencies.. For example, we'll go in to tuck them in and see him just laying there with his hands clasped behind his head while sleeping.  He'll even do that while sitting on the couch. He's also eating us out of house and home yet the kid weighs only 37 pounds.. I swear I have no idea where it goes!

He is very, very funny..  Fresh, but funny.. With that devious type of smile you know something is going on in that evil genius head of his that can't be good. Yet you have to laugh because he is so funny.  He's also very comfortable. And while many teenagers are uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, there are still many that are. And he is very comfortable in who he is, what he wants and when he wants it. He does things on his own terms and doesn't let many things dictate otherwise. I like these traits.

But if this is how he is at 5, oh man what is he going to be like when he really is a teenager?

1st Day of Camp

So today was the first day of camp. Since the 1st week of January, 2008 the Twinado has always gone to the same daycare a minimum of 3 times a week, sometimes even 4. During the summer it turns into a de facto camp, but it's limited to certain activities on a smaller scale due to space. But since our move, the hour and a half drive (each way plus another 45 each way to and from work) 3 times a week to bring them to school for the past 5 weeks has been a major strain on my car and my stress level.

It is now almost 5 1/2 years later and today, they start camp. Much closer to the house. The Twinado definitely inherited my sleeping habits (thankfully) but due to that they aren't the easiest to get up in the morning. Not so today. Right out of bed and dressed and downstairs for breakfast. After breakfast, upstairs to brush their teeth and backpacks on. Normally this would be fantastic, but it was only 720a and the bus wasn't coming until 810a!  However, as I always tell them "early is on time, on time is late and late is unacceptable." So I will never say being ready 50 minutes early is a bad thing (especially when we have Kindergarten coming in the fall). Oy, seriously?

As we rocked out to a little ACDC and Incubus while waiting for the bus, I had to make sure they had sunscreen on before getting on the bus. So I brought them out around 8a to spray them down. Then, a few minutes after finishing, the bus came and they were so excited!!  Ever since they learned what a yellow school bus was, they have wanted to go on one. It was literally a dream come true for them.

Douglas, being the little guy he is needed some help reaching the first step of the bus. But the bus counselors were great and helped him on and got them to their seats. As we're waiting for the bus to leave, a mother who was there sending her son off asked me if they were twins and I said yes.. First time at camp?  Yes.. She also admitted they were watching me spray the boys down and were flabbergasted at how jacked Douglas was (her word, not mine).  Yeah well, HGH will do that to a kid, but I just said thanks.. Also not the first time that word has been used to describe him.

She also said her son was curious about the sunscreen because after rubbing it in on their heads (gotta protect the top of the head if there is no hat), ears and face, my hands were going to be all sticky and gross. He was interested to know what I would do and that was when I busted out the bottle of water and shirt from my car to wash them off..  This is not my first rodeo, kid.. I got this shit down..

Of course the Twinado was not on the bus for more than 5 minutes when the bus counselor had to come off and talk to me. Here's how the conversation went:

Bus Counselor: "So you're the twins' dad right?
Me: "Yes".
Bus Counselor: "I asked them if they knew what group they were in and they said no". (Even though we went over it this morning). "So I asked them if they thought their daddy would know and I just got a shoulder shrug".
Me: "Poodles. They're in Poodles."
Bus Counselor: "OK, thanks!"

As the bus pulled away and I'm dreading my still hour long commute, I'm reminded of where they started from 5 and a half years ago when I dropped them off at daycare for the first time and where they are today. It's amazing and exciting and man I hope the the camp is still standing by the end of the week.

Blank Slate

For lack of a better term, kids are blank slates. They may have some innate talent or intelligence passed down that is hereditary, but otherwise, pretty much blank slates.

We can make these children into anything we want them to be. We can teach them manners, or we can teach them to be rude. We can teach them to read so they can learn, or we can teach them to watch TV so they can zone out. We can teach them to try new foods and expand their taste buds, or we can just feed them processed food which is bad for them, but we know they like just so they eat.

Whitney Houston had it right when she said that the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way. Jesus, did I just quote Whitney Houston from memory?  Ugh, don't worry I'll show myself out of man town.

But seriously, when our kids grow up, they are going to be the next leaders of our country. The next teachers, the next architects, the next programmers, the next pro athletes, the next everything. So don't we want to give them the best head start we can?

I'm not saying it's going to be easy. Nothing worth doing ever is. To quote one of my favorite movies, Road Trip: "That's why they call it a shortcut. If it was easy, it would just be the way". Don't take any shortcuts. it'll be worth it in the end.

Prodigy

Everyone thinks their kid is a prodigy of something.. Whether they can hit a golf ball at 2 (my son is the next Tiger Woods) or they can write their name at 3 (they're going to become the next great author), and so on and so forth.

Truth is, prodigal-type talent is mostly inherited. I have no concrete data to back that up, but just indulge me here. My guess is the reason Jason Bonham is such a kick ass drummer is because his father was such a kick ass drummer. And when you are around that type of environment when you are growing up, the part of you that inherited it comes out if fostered correctly. That doesn't mean that kids who don't have John Bonham as their father won't grow up to be amazing drummers, it just helps a little bit..

But don't worry if your child isn't exhibiting signs of being a prodigy of athletics, mathematics, science or anything for that matter. Sometimes a kid is just a kid. The majority of them are. I took the Twinado bowling by myself this Sat morning and then we spent a few hours outside at the playground, the soccer field and the track. Man, were they pooped! (and so was I). They got great exercise on a gorgeous early spring day and now they are relaxing because they are tired. Sometimes I think we push our kids too hard because it's important to have them try so many different things to figure out what they like and what the don't.

Sometimes we just need to let them be kids and I think they'll figure that out all in good time.

Oh, by the way, this is prodigy drummer I recently saw on the interwebs.. He's 6.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=g1qg9myFCqw

Times, They Are A Changin?

There's definitely something weird going on.. Not sure what it is though. Daniel has always been big into Superman and Douglas into Batman. It's like blasphemy if you even look at it as the other one will freak out saying "no that's mine"! Same way with some stuffed animals. Douglas has this puppy which he affectionately calls, well, puppy. And Daniel this very soft and cuddly blue bear, appropriately named, well, blue bear. Daniel also has this white pound puppy he just calls white. I don't know where they come up with these names.

Now it gets weird. Earlier this past week, Daniel actually gave, not traded mind you, gave his blue bear to Douglas for him to have in his bed while he sleeps. This is the blue bear that goes with him to his grandparent's house every weekend. He cannot sleep without it. Instead he wants to take this alligator.

This alone, while a little weird, would not have been such a big deal.

However, this past Saturday he allowed Douglas to wear his long sleeve Superman shirt. Ok, he's being nice and sharing his shirt. But then, in a stunning turn of events, said that he could keep it in his drawer! I had to ask him 3 times to make sure I was hearing it correctly. This essentially means that he will no longer wear it. Because they wear the same size shirts, their drawers are kind of interchangeable, however they do have "their" shirts that only they wear. The Superman shirt was definitely one of those and is now being discarded like an expired coupon. Douglas then gave his Batman shirt to Daniel which is now his to wear along with puppy to sleep with.

It gets even weirder. I went in to tuck them in before I went to bed and didn't even realize until the next morning that they had switched beds!!

Are they growing up realizing they want different things?  Are they just going through a phase? What are they going to do next say that they don't want to wear Angry Birds, Ninja Turtles or Phineas and Ferb underwear anymore?  Oh, that is going to be a sad day..

Twinny Twin Twin!!

New York City, 6p. Wendy Smith is boiling some water for dinner and accidentally burns her right hand. At the same time, across the country in Los Angeles, Wendy's twin sister Bonnie feels a sudden and sharp pain in her right hand. Coincidence?

Remember those? Whether you believe them or not, there is no doubt that twins is an interesting thing. There is absolutely an innate connection. While mine are fraternal (two separate eggs fertilized), they are still as close as identical. We saw 3D ultrasound pictures of them in the womb where they would be rubbing heads. And very often, after they came home, if we put them in the same crib to nap, they would end up with their heads touching, even though they didn't start that way.  It also happens on the couch. They'll be sitting on the couch watching a movie, separated by maybe 1/3 of the couch. Sooner or later you just see them drift towards each other until they are right next to each and don't even realize it.

Sometimes I equate them to the aliens in one of my favorite 80s' movies, "Just One of the Guys". (I highly recommend it). There are these alien twins who appear at the school and cannot be separated. Check out this clip. Fast forward to about the 1 minute mark to see what I mean:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMwIYmgviP0

I'm not saying it's always like this, but there are points where they need to be together. I swear there's nothing cuter than going into my twins' room and finding they are sleeping in the same bed. Only they don't always start that way. Clearly at some point one goes into the other's bed. Daniel has a full size bed and Douglas a twin. For a while they were sleeping in Daniel's bed and that was fine because there was enough room for both and as long as they slept, we didn't care. But lately, they've been wanting to sleep in Douglas's bed, which remember is only a twin. Now we all know how much room there is in a twin bed. More likely than not, many of you reading this have slept in one. Sometimes even with company. We all know it's not the most comfortable of night's sleep.

But really, who is it hurting? Well, I guess it's hurting Douglas because he woke up with a bloody nose the other morning. You know why? Because Daniel had hit him in the face while he flailed around in his sleep because there's NO ROOM FOR TWO PEOPLE IN A TWIN BED!

But we figure it's easier to let them grow out of the stage where they want to sleep in the same bed then force them to do anything that will produce the sound from this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMwIYmgviP0

Nail Biter

Not what you think.. I'm actually ADVOCATING for my children to be nail biters.. Well, not so much finger nails, but toe nails..  Yes, I know, gross..

But have you ever tried to cut a child's toe nails?  Not the easiest task is it? Now try to cut that child's toe nails when he's on steroids?!  And not figuratively, literally on the juice. Yeah, whole different ball game.. (no pun intended). Ok, pun intended.

The trick seems to be sitting on the off leg, as well as some of the 2nd leg while holding the foot of the nails you want to cut. Also, letting them smack you in the butt seems to be a good way of distracting them while you cut their nails. Plus, they think it's funny and concentrate less on you clipping. Trust me, whatever works.

Either way, I will be super happy when the day comes that they can cut their own nails. And shower. And wipe. And tie their shoes. And brush their teeth. And..

The Doppler Effect

So the Doppler Effect, in lieu of an official definition is the change in volume of a noise you hear that gets louder and louder as it gets closer and closer and then gets more faint as it gets farther away from you.

I equate this to raising kids.. Everything just gets louder and louder as your kids grow up. And then suddenly there will be a point in which it starts to get quieter. You don't realize what the mid-way point is until it's too late. Your kids won't need you as much for things anymore. And pretty soon, the house is quiet. No more fighting. No more yelling. No more anything. You long for those days of building forts on a rainy day, reading them books before bedtime or even just snuggling in on family movie night (which I highly suggest by the way). We're also trying to institute family game night as a regular occurrence. Both have been big hits.

I work from home once a week and a few weeks ago I am suddenly approached by two masked superheroes, although the masks aren't plastic or fabric masks. They are marker masks. Yes, they drew masks on each others faces..  (This is why we only have washable markers in the house). I didn't get mad. I laughed as it was pretty funny. They did a good job too! (not sure what the shin guards are all about though).

My point is that maybe they have careers as artists, or maybe not.. But being a kid is all about trying new things.. and we need to make sure we document all of these. We need to chronicle these things that they do. Because what else are we going to use to embarrass them later on?!

Baby-Proofing

Should you do it? Yes you should. Is it necessary to wrap everything in your house with bubble wrap?  No. Kids need to learn boundaries.

Take the proper precautions like putting covers on the outlets. We put safety locks on the cabinets in the kitchen that they could reach. We made sure to tell them what was and what was not acceptable. What they could open and what they couldn't. However, that only goes so far depending on your kids.

We were at a friend's house one day when my boys were about 18 months or so. Then one of mine comes up to me with the lock that was on my friend's entertainment center cabinet and hands it to me. So much for that child proofing!

But we have a coffee table that has some sharp corners. I think I've gotten hurt on them more than the boys have. But if they did get hurt, they would learn to be careful and not to play around the coffee table.

I'm not advocating doing nothing and just letting them go nuts all over the house and get hurt all the time. Take the necessary precautions when they start becoming mobile, but leave some things off the list and test them. Tell them no and that they are off limits and see how it goes. If they listen and understand, then slowly remove certain things as they get older. Before you know it, it'll be a non-issue for both the kids and the parents.

Bottles for daycare

If you're sending your kids to daycare like we did, they need to have all the bottles made and ready for the entire day. This meant 2 kids, 6 bottles/day while at school = 12 bottles to make. Every day. Just for school.

So don't kill yourself making each bottle individually. Go get yourself a couple of pitchers. You can get them anywhere. You used to make strawberry daiquiris in them before you had twins, remember?

Make sure each child has his own pitcher and write his name on it so there is no confusion. The last thing you want to do is mix up the formulas. We had 1 child with a milk protein allergy so he was on Neutramegin, which was one of the most foul smelling odors I've ever smelled. I still can't even believe he drank it, but he did. The other one was on Enfamil AR, which is pretty common.

Mix the right amount of formula with water so there is enough for all 6 bottles. Do this the night before and put it in the fridge for the morning. Pour the bottles in the morning and you're good to go. Before going to bed that night (obviously after washing all 12 bottles and the pitcher), make the pitchers again and put in the fridge.

While it doesn't seem like much time is saved, believe it or not making the pitchers and not the individual bottles saved enough time for us to maybe eat breakfast in the morning or perhaps snooze once or twice.

And in the world of having children, not just twins, those two things are gold.

Running with Scissors

I have to admit, we're pretty lucky. Having twins enables us to sleep because they always have someone to play with. I also will not complain because if there is one thing we were blessed with it is good sleeping kids. On any given night they'll sleep 10 hours, straight through. And based on everything we've been through, we deserve at least that.

So we've conditioned them from a very young age that Saturdays and Sundays are for sleeping. So when they wake up, they usually either go downstairs to the playroom, go to the kitchen table and play with whatever game is available, or stay in their rooms and play with cars, build forts, etc.. But they know that Saturday and Sunday is for sleeping. Unless there's something going on, we can usually get to 8am, which is usually unheard of when you have kids.

So for Hanukkah the boys got Trouble and Sorry as gifts. How apropos, right?  Anyway, Trouble was already opened and played ad nauseum, although it is a fun game. Sorry was still in the cellophane wrapping. They came into our bedroom Saturday morning and asked if we could come downstairs, open it and play. It was too early so we said play Trouble for a bit and well come down soon, open Sorry and we'll play. I came downstairs shortly thereafter to walk the dog only to find the Sorry board game open, set up on the living room floor with the two of them quietly playing. Reluctantly, I asked how they got the game open. And of course, the answer was "with scissors".

After feeling my heart in my throat, I took a deep breath knowing that they were fine so clearly nothing bad had happened. I asked them to show me what they did. They walked me into the kitchen, opened the kitchen drawer and pulled out the pair of scissors they used. They even said, "and we carried it like you showed us", which is with your hand over the closed blades. Hey, I gotta give them points for at least listening. Since their hands are not strong enough to open the scissors, it looks like it was a team effort. They got the cellophane open, put the scissors back, shut the drawer and played the game.

Now, there is no way I can be mad really. I WANT them to be more self-sufficient. I WANT them to be independent and take care of things I know they can. I WANT them to work together to come up with solutions to problems. I just didn't think it would happen so quickly!

So I explained to them that while I was very impressed at what they did, that they always needed to be careful when utilizing scissors or any sharp object and never to run with them. They understood.

Now, if I could only get them to pour their milk for their cereal...

Energy

As in, where do they get it from?

Seriously, remember how much energy you used to have? I used to work all day on a Saturday and then go out. And when I say all day, I mean all day. 8a in the office to 7p. And this was running youth soccer programs so it was on my feet with hardly a break all day, dealing with kids ranging in age from 6 to 15 AND their parents. And then I would go out all night with friends. Now, I hardly have the energy to sit at a desk all day without taking a nap.

I don't know where kids get the energy. But they bounce back so quickly they must stockpile it or something. If I could find a way to bottle it and sell it I would be a gazillionaire!  My house has recently been taken over by some super virus that affected us all (even the dog). Both boys were better somewhere around Thursday.  I swear, for kids it only takes the # of years of their lives in minutes to be at full energy. They could be sitting on the couch looking like they could fall asleep at any moment and then PRESTO!, off they go either down in the playroom, wrestling or just being crazy.

Parents, on the other hand, I believe it takes the # of years of their lives in days, not minutes to be back to full strength, if ever. I'm 36, so therefore it should take around 5 weeks for me to totally be back at 100% full strength. It's been 6 days already and I feel ok, but I just don't have the energy level I used to have. I guess I have about 4 weeks to go. Ugh, to be young again..

FREE BIRD!!!

My first concert was the summer of 1992.  Great Woods in Mansfield, MA. (it has previously been known as the Tweeter Center and currently is known as the Comcast Center, but anyone who grew up in the area will tell you it will always be Great Woods). I was a CIT (Counselor in Training) at a camp in Brookline, NH called Camp Tevya. All of the CIT's had 1 "night out" a summer and it worked out perfectly that the Steve Miller Band was playing at Great Woods on our night out.  While a night out in the summer may seem pretty standard, not to anyone who works at a camp.  When not many, if any of us have a license much less a car, it's hard to go anywhere or do anything that isn't camp sanctioned. So when we were afforded this luxury of an opportunity, we jumped on it. We sat on the lawn (grr..) and everybody danced and sang and it was so much fun. I "grr" at the lawn sentence because what used to be a really nice amphitheater seating about 10K under cover and another 9K on the lawn above it has now turned into a fortress.  People used to bring chairs, blankets and have a grand old time on the lawn.  Plus, it was cheaper than the seats.  Lawn seats for most shows were about $15-$20. Now, they have built seats that encompass about 90% of the "lawn" leaving the very top grass.  But you are so far away, it doesn't even matter. It certainly has taken something from sitting up there for a show.  But I digress.

As I get older I'm trying to do a few things I've never done before.. Some may call it a bucket list, some may call it "things I've never done before".  Either way, I'm trying to do these things before I don't have a chance. Many of the items on this list include seeing bands I've never seen. Many bands obviously I would love to, but it's just happening. (Although STILL holding out hope for a Led Zeppelin reunion tour with either Jason Bonham or Dave Grohl on drums).  It could happen..  Seriously, it could.. But it's also different nowadays.  back in the 70s, 80s and 90s, if you didn't go to the show, you didn't see the show.  Now, with the advent of cell phones with such great cameras on them, you can just look up on you tube any show you want and see what it looked like.  While it does take some of the value away from being there, however I don't think anything is quite like being physically at the live show. So when the opportunity came to see KISS and Motley Crue at said Great Woods, I jumped at it.  Obviously, these bands are not in their prime.  KISS only has 50% of its original members. But that's ok. I didn't mind.  Both bands put on fantastic theatrical performances, stuff I had never seen before at a live show and sang many songs I knew.

Getting back to the cell phone, is it me or has the cell phone replaced the lighter?  Everyone always has their phone out taking pictures and video of the show. Previously, if a band or artist was playing a ballad, the crowd would take out their lighters and use them to light the arena during the song. However now due to the brightness of the cell phone screens, people just leave their phones out for the entire show and use the phones during said ballads.  It's kind of weird.  There was something about all the lighters up with the flames hanging in the air while a band like Skynyrd played their classic "Free Bird". No shortage of jokes coming here I am sure.

Back to this show. Out of everything going on, I did see something that caught my eye: Kids. Especially for KISS, there were so many kids.. I mean, we're talking 9, 10, 11 years old in KISS t-shirts with KISS makeup on throwing up rock fists and singing along.. Granted they were wearing noise-canceling headphones (very smart), but they were there and I thought it was awesome. Originally I had wanted my boys' first concert to be something low key, maybe a James Taylor or something like that.  An artist I have seen numerous times, music than transcends generations and you can enjoy the show.  You're not going to see theater or pyrotechnics or anything of that nature, but you'll say great musicians performing their art to perfection. And that is still a show.

But I want my kids to go to a rock show.  They don't necessarily need to paint their faces, but I want them to experience something they've never experienced before every time they go to a show.  That's the reason why Gene Simmons formed KISS.  He said he was tired of the same old crap for live shows. They were boring and cookie cutter.  He wanted to perform on stage for people something they had never seen before and something they would never forget. If my kids can have those types of experiences at the live shows, then I've done my job.

One Tooth, Two Teeth

Summer of 1983 is when I lost my first tooth. I had just turned 7 and my family was on vacation in Vermont. (Coincidentally enough Amy and I are going to that same resort for a long weekend in October. Weird, I know)  Anyway, my tooth was so loose before we left I was worried that the tooth fairy wouldn't know where to find us if it fell out.. So I wrote the tooth fairy a letter telling her the address of where my family and I would be staying so in case my tooth did fall out, she could find us. Lo and behold, my tooth fell out while we were in Vermont and the tooth fairy was able to find me and leave me something under my pillow.  And yes, I do still have the letter.

Well, history seemed to almost repeat itself almost 30 years later. My wife and I were on vacation with the twinado visiting relatives in NY and NJ and making a stop in between to go to Philly. One of Douglas's bottom teeth was very loose when we left for vacation and we had a feeling it would fall out while we were away.  So before leaving we made sure to get some Sacagawea coins from the bank. Hey, no one wants to carry those things around and a shiny new coin is the equivalent of giving a baby a box to play with.

Towards the end of the week we were visiting my wife's grandmother in Southern Jersey and took a day to head to Sesame Place, which was only about 40 minutes away. The boys had a great time and were doing so well until Douglas got a little scared while just about to go on one of the water rides.  It's a really good thing we didn't wait in line for 45 minutes to go on this ride, because then it would have been a total waste. (Yes, that was sarcasm).

However, on the way down to the bottom of the stairs, Douglas says "Mommy look" and points to the newly formed hole in his mouth..  So excited, Amy asked him where the tooth went and of course, got the 4 year old shrug of "I don't know".. So she did what any good mother would do and started looking all around on the ground for a tooth the size of a grain of rice in a crowd of 50 people. Numerous bystanders started asking if was she ok or if she had lost a contact lens. As soon as she told them her 4 year old son just lost his first tooth, immediately she had 5 mothers on the ground all looking for his tooth.  Unfortunately, after some time it was evident that the tooth was lost and we were going to have to figure something out.

While he was not too sad about losing the tooth, he was more curious how we were going to let the tooth fairy know where he was.  So the idea was that we would write a letter to the tooth fairy letting her know we were on vacation in NJ and giving the address of where we were staying.  However, there is this little problem of how does she find the tooth?  So, thankfully we still had a map of Sesame Place.  We circled the ride and the area that it fell out and included it in the letter.  Douglas signed his name to it and we placed it in an envelope under his pillow.

Now, you're saying wait a minute.. How does the tooth fairy know that he even lost a tooth?  How does she know to come to the house if the address and where to find the tooth is in the letter?  There are so many holes to this story.. But thankfully we are dealing with a 4 year old who thinks the tooth fairy has orange skin, blue hair and red eyes. So I think we're safe with this one.

We put him to bed with the envelope under his pillow but the kid would just NOT GO TO SLEEP! I'm thinking of calling in Samuel L Jackson at this point because seriously, it was past 1030p, we had had a very long day and I was tired..  If I, er the tooth fairy, was going to put the coin under his pillow, he needed to be asleep!! So finally at some point past 11p when I can barely keep my eyes open he falls asleep. I carefully exchange an envelope with the coin in it for the envelope with the letter and map. All is right with the world.

Fast forward to the next morning when he wakes up, early of course because it's vacation.  He comes into our room and says that there's nothing under his pillow. Now, I know for a fact there was because I did it, but obviously I couldn't tell him that. So I told him it had to be there all the while he is inconsolably balling because he didn't get anything from the tooth fairy (I blame society for this).  Thankfully, the envelope had just fallen behind the bed from under his pillow while he flailed around during the night.  He was extremely happy with his shiny, new gold coin and was very excited to put it in his piggy bank when we got home.  So excited in fact that he wanted to carry it around with him for the rest of the trip to make sure he didn't lose it. While you would think that would have disaster written all over it (his nickname is The Kracken after all), believe it or not he kept that coin with him for 2 more days and did not lose it. So I have to give him credit for that.

Since this episode, he has since lost the tooth next to the other one so he now has a gaping hole on the bottom of his mouth. Now you're saying "hmm, 4 seems to be a little young to be losing teeth".  And you'd be correct. However, in terms of doing things first between his brother and him, let's just say the scales are not tipping in his favor.  So while it may be early, at least he lays claim doing something first.

The Day

For anyone who knows me, I have pretty much been the same weight since I graduated college..  There was this uptick of about 10 pounds my senior year from 150 to 160, but I honestly have no idea why.. Must have just been a fluke; you know, one of those things..

Anyway, I've been hovering around 150 for the better part of almost 15 years now (ugh, has it really been almost 15 years since I graduated college?) and I've been able to eat pretty much anything I wanted.. It's a gift you know?  It's like I can't control it. (Anyone who's seen The Girl Next Door knows that line). My metabolism, thanks to my grandfather, helped me out with that..  Truth be told, I've always been pretty active, but I've slowed down a bit in recent years.. With a full time job and the Twinado, my nights of playing indoor soccer have disappeared and my days of pick up hoop games with friends have waned into non-existence. Don't get me wrong, chasing the boys around, playing at the park with them or even taking the dog for a walk is good exercise, just not to the level I'm used to.

However I had an epiphany recently, or maybe it was a hallucination from the excruciating pain I was feeling while enduring my third kidney stone in the last 8 years.. I have no idea why God picked me to have these, but oh I am so thankful!! I used to think that you're never given anything you can't handle (see previous blogs), but seriously this isn't even funny.  My first one was in 2004 when living in Smallbany, NY. I would write a blog about that, but we weren't even there long enough for anything interesting to happen.. Oh, except for all of our belongings being stolen by the movers, but that's another blog for another day I guess..

It was in the middle of the night and it was pain unlike I had ever experienced before.. I had never really had any type of pain experience like that so I wasn't sure what to expect.  Of course, Amy wasn't feeling well that night so she had taken the red devil (NyQuil) so she could sleep.  So there she is in her NyQuil coma and I am writhing around in pain on the floor thinking something is going to burst through my side like in Alien (yes, I know, that was his chest but your kidney's aren't in your chest now are they?) 

Thankfully my wailing eventually woke her with obviously no clue as to what was happening.  Not knowing the area too well, or really what was going on, 911 was the best course of action.  While the ambulance is on its way I thought I could make it to the door.  It is the middle of the night, in February, in Albany so it's not exactly balmy out. Somehow I have clothes on when the paramedics arrive.  I thought I could crawl the length of the hallway from our bedroom in the back of the apartment to the front door, which in retrospect isn't that long, but seemed like one of those never-ending hallways.  Well, I didn't make it.. I collapsed somewhere between the end of our bedroom and the beginning of the kitchen, which was probably a total of 5 feet.  They had to put me on one of those chairs that keeps you in a tuck position because the pain of having to straighten my body was unbearable. Amy followed along in her car while the ambulance drove to the hospital which was about 5-10 minutes away. I do remember them hooking me up to the IV and giving me morphine for the pain.  I remember them saying " OK 5 cc's of morphine" and administering it.  Then they ask you, if you've never been in an ER or ambulance for a pain-related emergency, "describe the pain from 1-10?"  So I said 20!  OK, I'll let you in on a little secret here.. I don't deal with pain well.. I mean, a cut on my finger, or s stub on the toe, big deal.. but real, actual pain?  Nope..  So they gave me another 5 cc's of morphine. After a minute or two, they asked me again and I think I said 15.  So yes, they gave me 5 more cc's of morphine and then I was floating.  I was done. No more pain.  No more anything really..  The relief was the best thing I had ever felt..  Until it wore off at some point in the hospital so they gave me a prescription for Vicodin. While at CVS filling my prescription for Vicodin, the pharmacist asked me what it was for as it was heavy medication.  I told her it was for a kidney stone and she said, and I quote" I have had 3 children by vaginal birth and I have had 1 kidney stone.  I would gladly have 3 more children by vaginal birth than have another kidney stone." Fan-tas-tic.  Now make with the Vicodin before the one I took wears of..  

Unfortunately, I did not pass it so I had to sit on the couch for a few days and in between popping Vicodin drink those 24 oz sport bottles of Poland Spring and pee every 5 minutes into a strainer to hopefully pass a stone that was about half the size of a grain of rice, if that..  Tons of fun let me tell you..

The second one, of course in the middle of the night again was not as bad as before the ambulance even arrived I was already starting to feel better.. It didn't mean I wasn't in pain and didn't gladly accept the morphine they were giving me, it just didn't hurt as much for as long the second time. However, circumstances had changed because we had 2 very young children and in the middle of the night, it just wasn't going to be possible to have Amy and the boys follow me.  So after I was released, the ER called me a cab and yes, I took a cab home from the hospital. Only, I didn't have any money and had to plead with the guy to take me home explaining my situation.  I was praying that we had some cash at home to give him and thankfully, we had just enough.  Sorry dude, no tip this time.. Maybe next time..

And yes, there was a next time.. For the kidney stone, not the cab thankfully..  But of course, the middle of the night (there has to be something to this) and there it is again.. Agony.. After already having had two of them, I knew exactly what the pain was. So we pack up the boys in the car and drive to the ER. Toridal and Dilaudid this time around, which did the trick.. We were only there for a few hours and still was able to get a few more hours sleep on Saturday morning..  However, we were planning on going with some friends to Davis Farmland which had already been postponed once for the weather.  It was the boys' birthday weekend and I didn't want to miss it.  So I perc'd up and it was pretty fun actually.. 

 
So, the real point of this blog (if you're still reading) is that for the first time in my life, I'm on a diet.Well, it's not really a diet I guess, just trying to cut sodium.  You would not believe the sodium content in some things.. I'm not saying that too much sodium will kill you, but there are lots of things that we eat that can have lasting effects on our health  I'm not here to preach don't worry.  But my point is in addition to the fact I have no want at all to relive the pain of another kidney stone, I do have the want to see my sons grow up. . These last 5 years have totally changed me. But it doesn't have to be just kids. It can be parents, grandparents, siblings, grandchildren, whomever.  It doesn't matter who as long as it's someone. I'm not saying don't enjoy life, I'm just saying make sure you make it last a long time. And while I don't want to go too crazy, I will if I have to.  Because I think it's worth it.

Back In My Day...

Wow.. I'm only 36 and I'm already saying it.. I didn't think that was going to happen for a while.. Kinda like receding hairline and going to bed consistently before 10p, but I digress.

Now that my boys are almost 5 (Jesus), I can say I've been to my fair share of kids' birthday parties.. I've been everywhere from the local Discovery Museum to Jump On In.

Wow, those bounce houses are pretty much the greatest thing to happen to kids birthday parties since, well ever. I don't even really remember the birthday parties I went to to be honest. I believe for the most part we just went to McDonald's and played in the ball pits. Or maybe Papa Gino's where we got to watch the birthday child stand behind the counter and flip the dough while making their own pizza. I do remember, amazingly enough during the Blizzard of '78 (yes I was 4 months shy of 2) standing in the front door with it open just staring out into nothing because the entire door was blocked with snow. You couldn't even open it there was so much snow. Maybe I recall that because it was so memorable, unlike the birthday parties.

I went to a party the other day (not a birthday party, but mostly for kids) where there was a bouncy house. But not just any bouncy house; this one was a water slide bouncy house where you slide down and land in a pool of water! I mean seriously WHERE WAS THIS WHEN I WAS A KID?!?!?! I mean, come on.. 

My boys, once they got going were on that thing for a good 2 hours.. To tell the truth, I really wanted to go on it myself.. They actually came over to me at one point and said "Daddy, this is awesome!" It really was..

I can't even imagine what the birthday parties are going to be like when our grand kids go to them. Are they going to have hover boards like in Back to the Future? Really, what could possibly top a bouncy house water slide at this point?

Well, whatever the kids are doing at birthday parties 30 years from now, I'm hoping that I'm able to take part.. You're never to old to act like a kid.