kids

Matthew, and Relationships in Three Easy Steps

1 Comment

Susan brought a prayer request to my attention today. We know a young-ish, unwed mother. When she found out she was pregnant, she and the father moved in together, but didn’t get married. The father decided that the grass was greener somewhere else, and moved out. Now, the mom is having a family gathering and the father, as well as his mother, will be there. Susan asked me to pray for the mom, who’ll be in an uncomfortable situation of playing hostess to the man who didn’t want her, as well as his mother. I tried to use this moment as a parenting opportunity, and point out the difficulties that are avoided when a man and woman love each other, get married, and then have kids. Julia said something to the effect of “I’m not sure I want kids.”

Matthew jumped in and said “I want to have two boys when I get married. But first, I have to find  a good wife.” Susan and I praised him, and said that’s exactly what he should do. He went on to explain his plan in three easy steps:

“First,” he said, “you find a good wife. Next, you always treat her right. And then always make her a good breakfast on Mothers’ Day.”

There are men out there who could really take a lesson from this four year old.

Friday Fill-In #124

17 Comments

1. If we had no winter then we’d have nothing to drive the tourists out of Maine!

2. Some of my customers are a perpetual astonishment.

3. If I had my life to live over I’d spend more time kissing Susan.

4. I’m praying daughter Julia gets well inside of four and twenty hours.

5. If you’ve never been thrilled by a cowboy in bleu cheese pants, well, you just haven’t, um, well, nevermind.

6. To be interested in the changing seasons all you have to do is come to Maine. (Just be sure to leave before winter sets in!)

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to surprising Susan with a gift, tomorrow my plans include gigging in Bangor and Sunday, I want to have a smooth billing day at the office, and then celebrate Susan’s birthday!

Surprise Friday

2 Comments

I had this idea the other day. There’s been this commercial for a place in Portland called Jokers. It’s much like a Chuck E. Cheese, I guess. (I’ve never been to a Chuck E. Cheese.) Both and Matt and Nat mentioned to me they wanted to go. I had taken the day off today to recover from the gig last night. (Incidentally, that gig didn’t happen!) So I figured I’d take the family down. And, I figured I’d make it a surprise! I didn’t even tell Susan.

Then, I had another idea. Jim and Rachelle live in Brunswick, about 1/2 way between here and Portland. I thought “I’ll call Jim and Rowe and ask if they want to come.” I go t Rowe’s cell phone from her Facebook page, and asked if they’d be game. She and the kids were game, but she didn’t know if Jim could make it. We’d have to play that part by ear. Nolan (their son #2 of #3) had a birthday party to attend today, so Rowe asked if we could leave a little early. I told her I would be there promptly at 10am, which would get us to Jokers at 11am.

We got up this morning, had a quick breakfast, swung by the bank, and headed for the surprise. We ended up at the Gilbert’s about 9:45. Rachelle was just pulling into the yard; Nolan decided to go to his friend’s birthday party early, and hang with them instead of us. Rachelle also told us that Jim was at a job (he’s a dependable Maine tiler), but that he’d meet us there. Cool!

We had a great time at Jokers. For less than $40, the five of us got to play in the giant inside jungle gym, play games, win prizes, and split a cheese pizza and sodas. I’d go again.

After about 2.5 hours, it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes in the parking lot, and headed towards home. It was warm outside, and even warmer in the van. Matthew said something about wanting some ice cream. And thus was born Surprise Friday Idea #2!

There’s a Cold Stone Creamery in Brunswick. I’ve been once; the rest of the family had never been. I figured it would be a good place to stop. Nat wanted mint, so he and I split a Mint Mint Chocolate Chocolate Chip. Julia ordered a cheesecake with white chocolate chocolate chips. Susan and Matt had cotton candy. Julia couldn’t finish her’s, so Matt polished it off.

And then we came home. It was a nice day, and I had a really good time.

Weekend Wrap Up

2 Comments

Let’s see how much of this I can remember. After I rode my scooter into the lobby of the office on Friday afternoon, I went home. I don’t remember supper. I do remember that we put the kids to bed early, and Susan and I spent some quality alone time snuggling on the couch, watching the Barrett-Jackson car auction. She made the remark that I like my cars like I like my women: Curvy! I think she exclaimed that after a shot of a Corvette rear-end with which I was enamored!

Saturday morning. Omlettes for everyone. Washed dishes. Ran some errands. A basic “clean the house and get caught-up” kind of day. In the evening, Susan made a fantastic supper which was a high point of the weekend: beef tenderloin with a mushroom/bleu cheese gravy, baked potatoes with sour cream and green onions, and green beans with rosemary. For dessert I whipped up a little creme caramel. We went to bed early, as we needed to be up early.

My alarm went off at 5am. It’s the first time since Susan bought me my new alarm clock back in December that I haven’t woken before the alarm. (Apparently, my internal clock is pretty durn good!) We woke the kids up, and went to Easter sunrise service. It was cold and windy! After that, it was breakfast at the church, which was good. We came home for an hour or two, then back to church for Sunday School and the Easter Cantata. Then to my Mom’s house for an Easter egg hunt. Ma’s house for lunch. Susan wasn’t feeling well, so she stayed at my Mom’s and laid on the couch. We came home, and she went to bed. The children and I hung out, playing with Easter toys and watching some Electric Company and stuff. At 5:30pm, I woke Susan up so I could go to evening church. Then I came home, and had a delicious supper of, well, leftover tidbits in the fridge. I went to bed relatively early.