Eleven years of wedded bliss......

Azsure and I celebrated 11 years on Saturday. I cant really even remember who I was before we got married but I'm pretty sure that that guy would have ended up in a lot more trouble. We went out for dinner on Friday night to celebrate and went to Bistro Bella Vita which is my favorite restaurant downtown. It touts itself as "mediterranean country cuisine" but all I know is that its is good and it is fresh. I had the boeuf bourguignon and was awesome. it had lots of squash and potatoes and green beans and brussel sprouts in a yummy wine sauce. Azsure had a rotisserie chicken in a goat cheese fondue and it was really good too though quite rich. I finished it of with the Tiramisu. all yummy. The thing I like about going to Bella vita is that it is inspiring to me as a home cook. I really like to cook but I dont know how to build flavors. I pretty much need a recipe. i dont know if that is a talent thing or a learned thing but I would really like to know how to do it better. i would like to be able to hit the farm stand and just grab some stuff and bring it home and cook something healthy and tasty for me and the fam.
On a related food note, I have become goldfish cracker intolerant. We rarely have stuff like Goldfish crackers in the house but grandma brought a huge tub of them last time she came and I love the things so I have been eating them along with the kids for snacks. Well, i have come to realize, after a few terribly upset stomachs, that its the goldfish crackers. There is no other explanation. It must be the hydrogenated oils or something because my body is rejecting them.
Speaking of snacks, its snack time....
out

GR Dads on the news

I got a cal the other day from our local Fox affiliate wanting to do a story for the news that very night. Despite the late notice, I rounded up a couple of the dads and we made it out to the park for an interview. It turned out fairly well I thought. Thanks especially to the camera guy who ended up catching up with me elbow deep in Soijer poop out at the car. Or not.

you can see the clip here

Despite being weary.... I blog....

Its been a pretty tiring last couple of weeks and I haven't had anything too exciting to write about. Azsure started her rehearsal for the Grand Rapids Civic Theater production of "The Foreigner" which keeps her gone from whe she goes to work in the morning until about 10:30pm or so Monday through Thursday and also Sunday nights from 5:15 until we'll see. I've quite a bit of time alone with the kids and it is a little challenging to say the least. The house is pretty much a mess and I have been snacking uncontrollably for the last week, which is fun, but my pants are starting to tighten. Luckily, I found this cool new workout to try starting tomorrow called the UFC fat blasting workout. Anybody who knows me is really havin a laugh right now vbecause I am not what you call Ultimate Fighting Championship material. Not yet at least!!! Check back in a month.
I had one especially fun moment with Soijer this week. I have been sing two Wilco Songs to Soijer every night at bedtime since she was a baby. "Mistunderstood" and "At Least thats what you said". Well, the other night at the appropriate moment during misunderstood , Soijer yells out "cause you still love rock and roll!!" I, of course in response gave her the horns. you know fist in the air, pinky and index finger raised in triumphant rock appreciation. It was a great father daughter moment.
In other news......hmmmm...... The new parenting book I am reading says I have an "authoritarian" approach to parenting. Thanks for that. Luckily, I just bought one of those military style jackets so now I can wear it while I tell the kids to eat their veggies and clean up their toys.
all for now.....

The toddler food revolution begins........

Another short note today to mention how much my kids like avocados. So today I made Avocado and tomato whole wheat wraps. They loved it! So much better than an ordinary avocado sandwich. There is some great satisfaction in getting something really healthy into a toddler and them being happy about it. Its also good to stick it to the food companies who insist on trying to poison us all. On a related food note, I constantly see moms at the park, mall or wherever, continually shoving food at their kids. like the whole time. "Here johnny, here are some more goldfish crackers. oh and some fruit snacks too" (that's not fruit lady!!!) Anyway, It peaked my curiosity because none of the dads in my group are even giving out snacks during the play time. I wonder if its a gender thing? Is it a nurturing thing for women? hmmm....curious. I'll still save my tirade regarding the crap that passes as food and kids snacks for another day. That's the second time I've mentioned that but its coming.
My wife's mother is coming in tonight for a visit and Ephram has been freaked out all day. He is really excited. I've been trying to give him a little leniency (wow did I really spell that right the first time? spell check says so) since he is over excited. It should be fun and give me some time to decompress.
Speaking of compressing, My wife got the lead roll in the Grand Rapids Civic Theater Production of "The Foreigner". It is pretty exciting for her and we are all very proud. We are a bit concerned that rehearsal is Sunday through Thursday nights from 7:00pm to 10:00pm and that it will cause me to go a little crazy with the kids but the way I see it, total insanity should set in after a week or two and I can enjoy the bliss from then on out.
Lastly, Human Touch by Springsteen is a killer song. That's all...

Robots built for warfare? Come with me if you want to live.....

Just a quick note today to mention this article I read in the New Yorker about a gunsmith who makes a recoil-less, fully automatic shotgun that is mounted on a small ground robot or U.A.V Helicopter. It was so freaking interesting and scary that I had to post something about it. If you like this sort of techno thing, or if you have seen the Matrix too many times, give it a read. The picture in my mind was of hundreds of thousands of armed to the gills, Wall-E style robots parading down Pennsylvania Avenue (kinda like the Soviets used to parade their ICBM's). Really interesting stuff. The coolest thing he talked about was a larger robot that breaks into a building then drops seven of the smaller robots armed with this crazy auto shotgun to clear the place out. Before you know it, someone from the future will be sent back here to kill the guy that created this thing because, of course, the robots will have taken over and turned humankind into slaves.

Here is the article
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/02/23/090223fa_fact_ratliff

The arrival of middle age....with a little fame on the side..

I use the term "middle age" loosely. My college professor of sociology told my that my generation would have an average life span of 120 years. I don't think that he anticipated the effect that processed and fast food would have on our evolution in that it would drive our society backwards instead of forwards. That's a whole other subject that I'll get into another time. I'm talking about reaching the big 35. Probably not actually middle age but, considering what I did to my body in my early 20's, a lofty goal none the less. My birthday last Thursday was good. My folks came to town from Illinois and we went out for dinner at On The Border where my favorite is the fish tacos (talk about food that is not good for you, the fish tacos are a definite heart killer but it was my freakin birthday). My wife had purchased a new pan for me earlier in the week and it came actually on my birthday which was cool. I know, what your thinking, a pan for your birthday how exciting, but i was fairly jazzed about it because it was an All Clad pan which I have drooled over for quite a while and am now fully prepared to engage in some culinary masterpieces such as fried plantains and Blue Cheese Fritters. (both favorites of mine from the Tapas Bar). I also brought in enough birthday dough and gift cards (35 is apparently a milestone so you get more stuff), to afford the espresso machine I've had my eye on for quite some time. The kids broke my old machine so I am looking forward to making my own coffee drinks again. On a side note, my apologies to Starbucks, I know you guys are in some trouble but I have to look at my own economy too. I'll still be around a little especialy around christmas for a peppermint mocha so dont fret. Overall, my birthday week was really enjoyable. I did have to play in a wedding so that took up my friday and saturday but all was well. I just need to get out and get some espresso and maybe a glass or two for my new machine when it gets here.
Now for the fame part......We had a small article about the dad's group in the local family magazine which led to an interview on WLHT radio here in Grand Rapids. It was a very short interview but I think I did ok and was not a bumbling idiot and got the info across so hopefully that will lead to some more members. I was just happy to find out that it was not some sort of cruel prank which was in the back of my ever conspiracy laden mind.
With all of that said, its time for spring. It's time for playgrounds and not malls. Its time for cargo shorts (the official uniform of the stay at home dad), sandals, t shirts and getting rid of the fight to get a toddler in a winter coat into the five point harness of a carseat. As I have said in the past "Be gone winter.....come again next year. you've worn out your welcome"

Sometimes, my job is just.........

If you read my last blog, you learned of my experience with E falling in a public toilet and my ensuing fear of what he could be infected with. Well, this week, the "march of 1000 fecal armies" visited my other child. Literally. My sweet, angel of a daughter Soijer, who will be 2 in April, has been fighting her afternoon nap for the past few weeks. It drives me crazy. She needs the sleep. I need the break. E needs to play Wii bowling without someone screaming at him and standing in front of the TV. So lately, I have been leaving her to babble and make noise and play in her crib and whatnot for however long it takes for her to either go to sleep or for me to decide that its too late and she can go to bed really early. Yesterday, she was doing her normal thing and I listened for a while to her through the monitor and after about an hour or so I decided that it was time to go in and tell her to go to sleep. When I walked into the bedroom, I was met by a punch in the face of super stink and almost just closed the door and sealed up the room. Then my eyes met my sweet daughter happily giggling. Happily giggling with her pants off. "whatcha' doin baby" I say in my sweet daddy voice masking my irritation of her again refusing to sleep. That's when I notice. Poop..... Squirty poop........ Everywhere...... All over the sheets....all over Elmo...All over Bunny...... All over care bear.....a little on Soijer's head..... a lot on her hands.....Once again the thought of closing the door and sealing the room crosses my mind. I open my mouth and nothing comes out. I am officially speechless. In my mind, I am cursing the 1000 fecal armies with all of my best cuss word combinations but there are none sufficient to convey the utter horror I am experiencing. I have to take a minute. Time to conjure up some of the parental wisdom, patience, love and all the other stuff that the books say come with parenthood. I don't have any. I try to take a deep breath or two, but the smell shocks me back to reality. Finally, God presents the miracle I was waiting for. Soijer looks at me, looks at her hands and, with the sweetest angel voice says "daddy.....................poop". I am disarmed. "yes baby" I say, "poop". I suck it up and get to work, get Soijer clean and into the tub, put all of here sleeping buddies into the washing machine and go about looking around for secret poop smudges on the wall or crib or whatever. Finally, i finish all of the cleanup and finish the day. My wife found the whole situation hysterical. I laughed too when I told her about it but there were a few minutes there where I about lost it. I'm not sure what the lesson is for that one. Maybe there is no lesson, just a story for my amusement and all of Soijer's first dates.