Happy 6th Birthday Nathaniel!!!

Happy 6th Brithday Nathaniel!!

Why should I pay for cable?

(click here for more pictures of Joelle)

Once you have kids you realize you are living your own television reality show. Earlier this year Joelle would have gotten top credit. We would see her saunter in stage right while the camera jitters slightly above the distant couch following her to the refrigerator. We all chuckle anticipating the moment. She clunks the door open against the cabinets and begins searching for her breakfast. “Go-gurt ” is the first happy prize and it goes directly to her seat at the table.

Back to the fridge.

A tortilla gets the nod. The whole bag of 10 dangling from chubby fingers makes it to the table.

Back to the fridge.

Hmmm… She pauses at the fridge again. A half can of cat food in a clear plastic bag wags it’s way to the kitchen table. (At our house anything in a plastic sandwich bag is defined as a “car snack”.)

Satisfied with the provisions, Joelle then dutifully climbs in to her plastic red and blue booster seat, sits and begins her breakfast. Most of the tortilla disappears with the “Go-gurt” oozing down her chin in between bites. Joelle pauses to consider the feast carefully. The camera pans in close over the half eaten items laid out on the table lingering on the untouched can of cat food. We cringe awaiting the worst. Suddenly we hear a sound off camera. It’s that sound that sets off that red phone in every parent’s brain: liquid hitting the floor. The camera rushes over to catch Joelle carefully trying to pour a previously full gallon of milk in to a small cup on top of several open moving boxes. The camera follows the graceful waterfall down the boxes to a growing white pond pooling on the floor around Joelle's feet. Suddenly the camera jumps up to catch Joelle tilting the gallon of milk to her lips to take country style swig and of course she becomes the waterfall.

At this point more than 5 years ago (pre-children) I would sit smug on my couch and with grim certainty begin composing my parenting lecture. Now that I have children I simply sigh with the relief only a parent has when seeing another parent fighting the good fight. The grandparents smirk, inwardly vindicated, I told them: “Just you wait until you have a child of you own."

In reality only about 5 minutes have passed. The camera flips over to Janice in the next room grimacing as she disposes of a rather large diaper. An experienced parent can see her “mother radar” is blaring but so is our 8 month old Evelyn. She grabs Evelyn and follows the maternal warnings kitchen. She rounds the corner and finds Joelle chugging the milk. We now find out how to clearly pronounce “Joelle Elise Stewart” and some moderate discipline ensues. Then camera angles behind the kitchen table capturing the untouched cat food and contained laughter as Janice see it on the table. She turns to Joelle and explains (again) the predefined procedure for 2 year olds and meals (ask mommy or daddy). The episode fades to a preview of the next show: a quietly sleepy daddy with a giggling mini-Spiderman above him on the couch ready to pounce.

Why should I pay for cable?

to circus or not to circus...

(for more videos of the kids click here)

When Nathaniel was very young we went to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Baily 3 ring Circus. It was in a huge stadium packed with thousands of people. It was like going to the Superbowl of circuses. Proud parents sauntered by with wide eyed toy encrusted children. The smell of popcorn and mounds of sticky pink or blue cotton candy screamed fun and happiness. We glided to our seats rapt in anticipation. Until the chaos started. It was like trying to keep track of 3 elementary school playgrounds full of kids all screaming "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy, watch me!" In ring one horses prancing with bedazzled women dancing on their backs. In ring two a motor cycle zips around the inside a massive metal tea dispenser. In ring three an endless stream of fireman clowns squeeze out of a VW Bug painted like a fire truck in a bumbling effort to save another clown from her "burning" home. Once started the chaos refreshed itself every 10 minutes culminating in a final farewell. We were exhausted. I left disillusioned and pretty much finished with the circus. I vowed to never again go to a circus performance after spending more than $50 on "the greatest show on earth".

So when Janice called me about going to the circus in the next town my head started to spin. Before I could answer Janice did what only mommies can do... she lovingly handed me the argument with little red and yellow guilt sprinkles. "The kids are very excited. They saw some pictures on the computer and really want to go." Still dragging my feet she added my favorite topping - it was only $5 per person. So on I found myself following google maps to Cario, NY (pronounce that Karo) to see the Kelly Miller Circus.

It was a smallish affair with maybe 400 people at best and about 15 performers. In place of a huge stadium was a rather old red, yellow and black circus tent. We cut through the dust and humidity to find our seats on fold out aluminum bleachers just as the performance was starting. Instantly I was hooked. The performers were only 30 feet away in a single ring and you could tell they loved what they were doing. Every slip or stunt was met with a gasp, every stumbling clown with laughter and every finale with roaring applause. It was not the Superbowl of circuses it was something different. It was you and me putting on a costume at the family reunion, dad comically announcing the next act with grandpa and grandpa "cutting the rug" just like last year. That was a real circus so I recanted my vow of against the circus and can proudly say I would gladly go again (even without the guilt sprinkles on top).

Vacation destination: HOME

(click here for gallery)

Going home is a vacation for me and here is proof. The quiet fields and cool breezes of Greenville are a stark contrast to the noisy streets and blustering subway landings of NYC. I love coming home. The gallery of Evelyn is adoreable although I do have a favorite (and it is not Evelyn).

The boys had a great time and I have some of the greatest BigWheel footage of all time! Well, maybe not all time but it has to be in the top 10.