Thursday, November 29, 2012

I Suck At Blogging

Yep, I suck at blogging. I think it's been about two weeks since I last posted something. Without a doubt, time seems to pass by at an exponential rate when raising children. I remember other parents telling me that way back when when I had my two year old (Briana). It's so true. After taking care of the kids, writing a blog post seems like the last thing I want to do especially when there are other chores to do as a result of raising kids.

Anyway, I figured I'd chain myself to the laptop tonight to write something before it gets way too late. As it is, it's been about two weeks. So here is a recap of all the things I had sucked at for the past two weeks:

Wreck-It Ralph: Awesome movie. My friends (Marc and Kelley) organized a movie night to go see Wreck-It Ralph in the theaters in Randolph. My BFF (Kerry) and my friend (Andrea) also attended. I absolutely loved the movie.

UFC 154: That same night, Marc and Kelley invited us back to their place to watch the UFC pay per view. The pay per view featured the return of Georges St-Pierre (also known as GSP). The main event definitely did not disappoint. It was a great match between GSP and Carlos Condit. Of course, my measuring stick for matches correlates to the amount of blood spilled... and there was plenty of it. Blood aside, it really was a great match between the two. (For anyone curious, GSP won.)

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner: On the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my parents invited us to their place for a "pre-Thanksgiving dinner". In addition to Karen's parents, my cousin (Betty) and her son (Marvin) attended. It was good seeing Betty and Marvin. I still can't believe Marvin is a Junior in high school. I remember when he was a newborn baby, Karen and I took him and Betty to the airport. At the time, they were leaving for Hong Kong with hopes of returning in several years. They did return several years later, but it seems like yesterday that I recall going up the escalator with Betty and Marvin. As a side note, the food at my parents was delicious.

Thanksgiving: This year was the first year that Karen and I hosted Thanksgiving. Joining us for Thanksgiving were Karen's parents, Karen's grandmother, my parents, and my friends (Marc, Kelly, and Andrea). It was definitely a neat experience to cook a turkey. I had the pleasure of taking the innards out of the turkey. All in all, I think the day went very well. I think everyone enjoyed the turkey and the side dishes. I also made one of the side dishes (green beans), because Karen thought there should be at least one green dish. The only downside of the day was that I had a headache for most of the day. I hardly ever get headaches... or sick for that matter. I think, however, that stress may have been a contributing factor on Thanksgiving as I had such a headache with massive neck pain. And truth be told, I don't really stress that much... consciously anyway. I suppose subconsciously I do.

Black Friday: The day after Thanksgiving, Karen and I took our nine month old (Bridget) to get pictures done at Sears. Briana had pictures done when she was young. So in all fairness, and to avoid the neglected youngest child syndrome, we took Bridget for her pictures. Aside from that, the only real shopping that I did on Black Friday was to purchase an air compressor. I've been wanting one for quite some time now. I figured it was time to just bite the bullet and get one... with hopes of actually finishing some projects around the house. Of course, now I need the nail guns to go with the compressors. Baby steps.

6th Annual Black Friday Dinner: Black Friday would not be complete without dinner at our friends' (Cass and Ellen). This year, there were many attendees. In addition to Karen and I (and our kids), my friends (Adam, Aimee, Andrea, Marc, Kelley, Garv, Leeann, Scott, and Ofelia) and my BFF (Kerry) came. There were definitely a lot of laughs that night. As usual, it was a great time hanging out with everyone. Plus, it was a good way to get rid of our leftovers from Thanksgiving.

Memorial Mass: On the Saturday after Thanksgiving, we attended an anniversary mass for Karen's grandfather (her father's father). Surprisingly, Briana and Bridget were very good during the mass. If not being Catholic were bad enough, I may have gotten some stares from parishioners for not standing up during the appropriate times, which normally isn't too bad but I happened to be in the very front pew. The way I look at it, I wasn't about to get up and down numerous times with a two year old draped all over me. So I opted to just remain seated. I guess that's my original sin working.

Quincy Parade: On Sunday, I begrudgingly attended Quincy's holiday parade. And nothing says fun like trekking a two year old and a nine month old out to stand in the freezing cold during a parade. To me, it almost seems like cruel torture to have kids stand outside in cold weather for a couple of hours. But it's crazy what people do for "tradition". Surprisingly, Briana loved it. I'm going to have to work on that.

Cookie Swap: Following the Quincy parade, my friends (Jen and Bill) had everyone who attended the parade back to their place for a cookie swap. I must say, some of the cookies were very delicious. Granted, I only tried three cookies there: Karen's, Kerry's, and Jen's aunt's. Needless to say, it was good to see Jen and Bill. All in all, it was interesting seeing everyone there.

And lastly, that brings me to today, where I attended a factory tour: My coworkers and I went to our neighbors in Norwell at Zildjian for a little tour. I must say, the tour was great (free t-shirts aside). The history of the company is quite fascinating. Zildjian (which roughly translates to son [ian ]of a cymbal [zil] maker [dj]) had its roots in alchemy. As well, Zildjian has ties to Quincy because one of the sons, who had worked for a candy factory in Quincy, said that he would take over the family business if the company came to the US. As a result, the first Zildjian factory was in Quincy. I thought it really was a great tour to see how the cymbals are made. Plus, Travis Barker's drums are there. Yay Blink-182!

So that's pretty much the highlights of everything the past two weeks. Hopefully it won't take another two weeks for another post.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

I Suck At The Library

Tonight, I had my monthly Board of Trustee meeting for the local public library. Too bad I suck at the library.

As far as meetings go, this one was actually informative compared to past meetings. At the same time, the meeting was quite frustrating. The frustration stems from the lack of support that the local library receives from town officials. It's almost mind-boggling.

Being elected to the Board of Trustees for the library this year, I had initial visions of making a difference for the community. Perhaps it's my own naivete for having optimism. After today's meeting, however, I feel like the library is in a war it can never win.

The town of Norwell likes to pride itself on having a great school system. I, personally, can not vouch for the school system, but I do know it has that reputation. Naturally, one would normally think that going hand in hand with education is an establishment that fosters learning, like the public library.

Unfortunately, the library is like the black sheep of Norwell. It is beginning to make sense as to why the library is viewed as such because none of the elected officials use the library. Consequently, they do not see the value of the public library which is really a shame in my opinion. If any of them were actual patrons of the town library (or any library for that matter), I'm sure they would see the intrinsic value that the library has on its community. And unfortunately, they happen to control the lifeline of the library: the budget.

To be honest, I would not be surprised if the Selectmen hope that the library loses its accreditation due to its budgetary constraints. After all, it was not too long ago that they considered having residents use the library of nearby towns instead. Needless to say residents balked at that idea. Yet here we still are, facing the same problems.

It's just frustrating.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

I Suck At CVS

Woot! Free stuff is always a cause for celebration.

Today, I was informed about a coupon opportunity at CVS. Now, I suck at CVS. But a coupon is a coupon... and like many drugs, they are addictive.

Speaking of which, the coupon was for a free 24 count of Advil ibuprofen tablets. Granted, I avoid medication like the plague. I don't like to take any type of medicine unless I really have to. Heck, I don't even get an annual flu shot. Go antibodies!

Okay, so perhaps I may have too much pride in my antibodies. They have served me well thus far since I rarely get sick unlike my constantly sniffling friend (Hot Amy). I didn't get perfect attendance in high school based solely on my good looks. Just kidding.

Anyway, the highlight of the day was my trip to CVS for the free Advil. Granted, I'll most likely give the ibuprofen away to my parents. But hey, it's free... and free is good.



I Suck At Birthdays

On Sunday, Karen, my two year old daughter (Briana), my eight month old (Bridget), and I celebrated my father-in-law's birthday. Also joining in on the festivities were my favorite sister-in-law (Janine), my niece (Kaleigh), and my nephew (PJ). My mother-in-law, who we were not certain would be attending, was also there. She had been feeling a little under the weather the night before.

Anyway, I suck at birthdays. In celebration of my father-in-law's birthday, we went to Quan's Kitchen in Hanover. Needless to say, it was a good time at Quan's. The staff at Quan's just absolutely loved Briana and Bridget. Briana managed to even get some special treatment from her peeps by getting additional fortune cookies.

Like I said, Quan's Kitchen was a good time. Following Quan's, everyone headed back to our house for presents and cake. And I must say, the Friendly's ice cream cake was delicious. Yum! I think I'm going to have to request it when my birthday comes around. Mark your calendars. Just kidding.

I Suck At Anniversaries

This past Saturday, Karen and I attended an anniversary party. Now, I suck at anniversaries. It just so happens that my neighbors (Helen and George) tied the know fifty years ago. As a result, their family threw them a surprise party.

Fifty years is a long time. In regards to my friend (Andrea/Rachel), that would have meant that my circle of friends changed at least seven times. Karen and I have about forty one more years to go to reach that number. Fifty years of marriage is quite a milestone, so congratulations Helen and George!

For anyone curious, the party was held at the Norwood Elks... in Norwood. Karen and I had quite the time trying to find the place. It was borderline comical, both getting to and from there. But one interesting note: Karen and I drove by Andrea's place of employment.

While at the party, Karen and I actually hung out with a couple of other neighbors who were also invited. It almost felt like we were crashing a party because we knew so very little people there. Speaking of which, I think I'd like to add that to my bucket list: crash a wedding party. Some day.

Anyway, Helen and George were absolutely surprised by the party. The look of surprise on their face was priceless. Needless to say, it was a nice celebration for a great couple. We're lucky to have them as neighbors.

Saturday, November 10, 2012

I Suck At Target

Last night I had a hot date with my friend (Andrea). The previous night, Andrea had mentioned wanting to go to Target and CVS to pick up a few things. And as luck would have it, I needed a few things as well from the same places. Lo and behold, we ended up going out to run those errands Friday night.

For me, it was definitely a welcomed break. Raising a two year old (Briana) and an eight month old (Bridget), I don't get to out very often. So it was definitely great for my sanity to be able to just get out of the house even if it were for a little bit of time. And it was especially good to be able to spend some time with Andrea.

Nothing too exciting happened on our errand run. We started off at CVS, where it turns out that the item I was looking for was sold out. For anyone curious, I was looking for the ever exciting product known as Scope mouthwash. CVS was out of the product. Interestingly enough, Target did not have the product either. Who knew there was such a high demand for Scope mouthwash?

Speaking of Target, I suck at Target. One of the more interesting things that happened at Target was that we ran into our friend (Samantha). I guess like us, Sam didn't have much going on a Friday night. So coincidentally, we ran into each other and had a quick chat... about yogurt.

For anyone curious, I poke fun at Sam because she "loves" everything. Yogurt and blueberries, however, are apparently excluded. Although now it turns out that Sam is changing her tune on yogurt as she recently discovered a type that she enjoyed. So apparently she is now on the fence with yogurt.

Anyway, we didn't chat too long at Target. As it turned out, I misplaced my recyclable bag somewhere in Target. So Andrea and I had to retrace our steps to hunt the bag down. Luckily for me, Andrea found the bag by the bikes.

The trip at Target was fun. In my quest to be dad of the year, I picked up what I was looking for: training toothpaste... and not just any training toothpaste, Thomas the train training toothpaste. Thomas the train happens to be one of Briana's favorite characters at the moment, which isn't hard because she has a bunch of favorites. As well, I learned that Target has a clearance section for video games thanks to Andrea. I was quite pleased by that.

From there, we decided to grab a bite to eat at Chili's. I haven't been to Chili's in quite some time. Needless to say, it was a filling meal. We decided to have the $35 dinner for two. I had the sirloin. Yum! I think it goes without saying that I'm not as young as I used to be. What normally was easily consumable when I was in my hey day, wasn't so much last night. I felt absolutely stuffed after the meal.

Tummy aside, it was good to hang out with Andrea. We got to chat about many topics, such as her shady Notre Dame Academy past. For me, I think one of the more memorable conversations was about friendship... primarily because I keep joking that our seven year run is almost up. It so happens that five years ago on Friday, a bunch of us (Andrea included) went on a vacation trip to Ireland. So there's about two years left, if you believe in the seven year rule. Just kidding.

Anyway, even though we essentially ran errands, it was a fun night with Andrea. I'm thinking that I need to do it more often.

Friday, November 9, 2012

I Suck At Remembering Things

With both of our daughters (Briana and Bridget) under the weather, Karen invited our friends (Marc, Kelley, and Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry) over for our weekly get together. Unfortunately (or fortunately), we didn't have anything planned for the night in terms of television viewing. So it turned out to be more of a hanging out night than anything else.

One of the topics of conversation that came up was the hypothetical list of actors/actresses that we have crushes on. One of the more surprising entries was fellow new kid, Donnie Wahlberg, for Andrea. The entire topic came about as a ruse of sorts, as Karen wanted to figure out Kelley's list for a possible joke gift.

Another topic of discussion that came about was Thanksgiving. One of the drawbacks of being known for having a selective memory is that people, friends included, automatically think I can't remember things. I guess you can say that people think I suck at remembering things.

Apparently, the subject that I was supposed to have remembered was that Andrea is planning to have people over her place on Thanksgiving night. From everyone's account, this topic has been discussed numerous times before tonight. Funny thing is... I don't believe it was. Naturally, people chalk it up to my memory which can be very frustrating at times.

While I do not dispute that I do not have the best memory, I think the more likely scenario is that I was too busy taking care of my children when the topic came about. So while I may be in the vicinity, I'm not actually a part of things. It's a very frustrating feeling at times.

At first, I thought it was just my memory. But then I started thinking about my friends (Cass and Ellen) and about a discussion I had with Cass about how usually one or the other parent is busy taking care of the children when we are in groups. It was good to know that other parents were experiencing a similar issue.

Needless to say, it was an interesting night. Making it more interesting was that we ended up watching part of a show called Moonshiners and a little of the Goonies movie.


Tuesday, November 6, 2012

I Suck At Power Washing

I'll admit it. On Sunday, I was feeling a little selfish.

It goes without saying that Karen is more of the social butterfly than I am. More often than naught, she will have plans, leaving me to watch the kids. As much as I love my two wonderful daughters, I do occasionally need a break from them and Sunday was that break... of sorts.

On Sunday, Karen had plans for lunch. Rather than watch the kids, I asked if she could take them to her parents for a little while. After all, I wanted to do something that I had been putting off for some time: power wash the house. I guess you can say that I suck at power washing.

One of the things that I have learned while being a parent is that time just disappears. By the time I come home from work, feed the kids, give them baths, get them ready for bed, etc., the day is over. The only free time I generally have is in the morning before the kids wake up or the wee hours of night after they sleep (and hopefully stay asleep).

So most likely, running a motor to power wash a house is probably not going to happen in the morning or in the wee hours of night unless I want to be "that neighbor" that no one likes.

Luckily for me, Karen's parents were available on Sunday to watch our kids. As a result, I was able to power wash the house while Karen maintained her lunch plans. Not only was I able to power wash the house, I was able to clean the grill, rake the leaves, do laundry, and vacuum the house. Sure, these tasks seem so trivial. But when time disappears and the house plummets into disarray, every little thing helps.

Needless to say, despite my selfish behavior on Sunday, I felt good having accomplished so many things around the house. Granted, the state of cleanliness will most likely last only a few minutes (until my children return), but nonetheless it was good.

I Suck At Halloween

Due to Hurricane Sandy, the town of Norwell rescheduled its celebration of Halloween to Saturday. Too bad I suck at Halloween.

Truth be told, it was actually pretty nice to celebrate Halloween on the weekend. After all, the rescheduled date allowed for Karen's cousin (Karlene) and Karlene's husband (Tommy) to venture down from the always likable city known as Lowell to see their godchild, my eight month old daughter (Bridget).

In addition, my friends (Cass and Ellen) came down to celebrate Halloween. Cass and Ellen's daughter was sick on the actual date of Halloween in her city. Consequently, we had invited them down to partake in the trick-or-treating that she had missed.

Needless to say, it was a fun Halloween. This year was the first year that my two year old daughter (Briana) actually went around the neighborhood to trick-or-treat. The previous times, we had just taken her to our next door neighbors. But this year was the year... and she did great.

Dressed as a frog, she actually went door to door around the neighborhood. Granted, she only made it down one block before she got tired and wanted to go home, but it was a start. I know she definitely enjoyed getting candy to fill her little pumpkin.

Following the trick-or-treating fun, all of us headed back to our place where we just hung out for a little while. Briana did something she had never done before: show Cass and Ellen's daughter her room.

All in all, it was a good Halloween.