Tuesday, August 29, 2006

For LW


Like daddy, like daughter.

Blast off! So long suckers

As of 6pm EST, I and the family will be heading off onto vacation at the beach and leaving everything behind for 10 days......while your getting your kids to school, we'll be building sandcastles. While your changing diapers, we'll be riding rides....you get the picture.

So it means you're all safe from sarcasm till I return sometime in the middle of the month....so you'll have some peace and quiet. But admit it, you'll be bored....

Monday, August 28, 2006

T-minus 24 hours and counting.....

Wonder what's happening? You'll have to tune in tomrrow night and find out.

Saturday, August 26, 2006

You people are in SO much trouble

When Sarah's old enough to go outside by herself. Why? She's a master manipulator. You should see her in action now at 3 1/2.

On the way home from ballet we were going to Burger King. I asked her what she wanted to drink, she said raspberry Ice tea. (now mommy has said to cut that out since it makes her pee a lot). This is the conversation.

Me: "So what do you want to drink?"

Sarah "raspberry Ice tea."

Me: "No sweetheart, mommy said no, so you cant have it."

Sarah: "But daddy, don't you make your own decisions, and cant you decide to get it yourself?"

Me: "Yes sweetheart, I do."


But she still didn't get the ice tea...

Friday, August 25, 2006

For my busybody posters

Close up of pics as you requested:


4 brothers: from left to right: Frank, Joe, Carmen, nick.


My wife and I at our college graduation. If you can see, when people normally graduate, they wear nice clothes. No, not us. Jeans and teeshirts....


Sarah, at her 6 months pictures, taken at a studio. She's VERY cute as you can see. In fact cuter than your kids. All put together.....*grin*

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

My newest employee at work

My new secretary

Break time, a small game of hopscotch, the game made with paper and marker, instead of chalk outside.


apparently, someone is not taking her job seriously enough.


Wonder how many child labor laws I broke.....

Tuesday, August 22, 2006

Names

Names are always important. Especially when naming you children, as they are something to be passed down.

Except somewhere down the line, my parents hit the weird tree. Or maybe just glanced it. I don't know. But follow this for a bit:

There are 4 boys in our family, but watch the logic here

the oldest(me): Carmen Joseph

Next is: Joseph Francis

Next is: Francis Nicholas

Last is: Nicholas William


I'm all for naming people after someone, but dear parents, could you think, possibly, you could, you know, find a few more names that just 5? And stop rerunning them.


But if that was all, it might be ok. But no, there's more.

My name, Carmen, was suppose to be Carmine, a good old Sicilian name(named for my grandmother, Carmella). But, being from Jersey and all, back in the early 70's, apparently, there's some sort of famous gangster named Carmine, and they didn't want me growing up with a stigma.

Right, except we moved out of jersey when I was 3, and NO ONE ever remembers who the gangster was. To this day, My father calls me carmine on occasion, and even talking to other people he does so.....

Thursday, August 17, 2006

Around the house roundup

Some amusing items.

First, I have a demonic child. How do I know, you ask? Lately, Sarah's been answering items with a demonic growl. When She's happy about something, demonic growl. When she doesnt want something, demonic growl.

It be cute, except of course, when its a dark room and you dont know she's there. But being my daughter, I guess its appropriate.....



Second, while it never hurts to be too careful, apparant, I taught the mrs too well. I usually lock the door, as soon as I come home, and have the Mrs do the same when she comes home, so that it becomes habit. PLus, those with small children know, you always have more than one lock, higher up so the rugrats cant get out when your not looking.

But apparantly I've done that TOO well, Because I got locked out of the house for 20-30 minutes last night. I could open the door slightly, but the chain lock was in the way. Now I tried the phone once or twice but no answer. I then started to proceed to figure ways to break into my own home(its not really hard, to be honest, if you REALLY want in, but past 11 pm at night in a neighborhood, last thing *I* need to do is start explaining to police why I'm breaking into my own home.....Eventually The mrs comes down and answers the phone and lets me it.....But I was starting to wonder what I did to get locked out.....

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

And now something Sarah and Mommy can enjoy together

I just got from Amazon, something many of you folks might remember back from your childhood days on Saturday morning. Something mommy liked and looks like Sarah will too, by the curled up on the chair look of her.

Fraggle Rock.

You all remember Fraggle Rock, by Jim Henson don't you? The master of muppets and puppets......Ahhhhh the memories. Fraggles and Doozers and Grogs, although Sarah is a bit scared of the sage, advice giving Garbage pile....

Monday, August 14, 2006

*shakes head*

Right now, sarah's running around the house with my wife's bra on her, and throwing a second one aroudn yelling "its too big, its too big."

Sunday, August 13, 2006

Magic cures all ills

Whenever Sarah has a problem, or something that's beyond the ordinary, and wonders why or how to fix it, Daddy cures it with "magic".

Like the other night. Sarah had a nightmare about a giant bumble bee chasing her. So the next night she was scared to go to bed. Daddy, fixes it by telling her about the magic net he'll put around the door. In reality, its me just pounding outside the door. For her, magic cures everything......

And then we discovered

How to use the slingshot AND the army man, inside the house, so it opens up and parachutes down. Sarah and daddy thought it was great fun, but mommy was less than amused when we told her about it on the way home from work...

Thursday, August 10, 2006

Children are so easy to entertain

Take one parachute army man. Take one slingshot. Play fetch.......

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Kids and extra activities

For a while, Sarah was taking kids gymnastics, nothing heavy, just something that was fun for her. We like to try her in stuff, sports or whatever to giev her ideas of what she wants to do.

Couple months back, Sarah begged us to do ballet and tapdancing, so we put her in recreation program through town and she loved it. So we enrolled her in the teachers program at her own studio. Little nervous, since we know people who have done gymnastics and ballet serious like and the stories they have told, we wanted to make sure it stayed fun, not be work or something that turns horrible with a bad coach or teacher(you know the type, another blogger has a story of one BAD basketball coach).

So here she is, in the waiting room, getting ready.


Now here she is with her class.

The tapdancing part of the class


And now Ballet.


Monday, August 07, 2006

The Fair was in town.

And boy did someone have FUN!

Its a nice rural fair. None of the expensive crappy stuff. Lots of 4H items, many animals, shows, and of course rides and games....

See for yourself:

Friday, August 04, 2006

Things one doesnt want to think about as a parent

On that related note, we were in the book store the other day, and sarah brings up a book and says that she wants this one.

You know, the one entitled "why men fall asleep after sex."

At the counter, we told her to put it back, and my parting remarks were "you shouldnt need that for 10-20 years."

The Mrs(looked at me with the WTF look and asked,"she better not be having it at 13."

My response was "what you plan, and what happens when were not around are two seperate things...."

The lady behind the counter laughed.....but sadly its true....

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

She's a chip of the old block

The wise ass block that is. Sarah isnt a brat, but she has got her daddy's wise ass gene down pat.

Like at the mall when we were going to have dinner with my wife's parents, my wife was fretting about her hair and commented "my hair is a mess, my mom is going to hate it."

Sarah's response, without prompting was "Ah ha."


Or over my mothers. Sarah didnt feel like giving grandma a kiss or a hug, but will give one to grandpa.....and it drives my mother crazy at the moment...so my mom says "well I dont want one anyway." and sticks her toungue out.

Sarah's response is "good, 'cause you cant have one." and makes the perfect brat face and blows rassberries.....We all got a laugh at it, she got my mother good....