The Mommy Daddy

Cake, Cake, Cake!

Yesterday was the second Little League practice. It went pretty much the same as the first practice did. This time Gramma and Grampa, (he’s called Bampoo by the kids, we don’t know why), were there to watch. My son Joseph spent the day with them. It was his special time with them. Each one of my kids spends time with all of their Grandparents, Gramma, Bampoo, or Nana and Grampa Bill or Aunt Mikey, having special days to themselves. They do special things with them like go to lunch or play games, ride their bikes, play ball. Pretty much it’s up to the kid to choose.

Yesterday, for his special time, Joseph decided that he wanted to bake a cake with Gramma. So when he came home, just before practice, they brought in a triple decker chocolate cake with sprinkles, decorations and these crazy twisted candles. It was very impressive and Joseph was very proud.

We gave it a position of honor on the kitchen table and said that after practice and dinner we would all sit down and have a piece before getting ready for bed. All during the ride to practice, out of the kids, it was, “Cake this and Cake that…Cake, Cake, Cake”!

After practice we got a quick bite to eat on the way home, I didn’t feel like cooking because I was tired, and it was, “Cake this and Cake that…Cake, Cake, Cake”!

We said goodnight to Gramma and Bampoo, went home, walked through the door, the kids raced to the kitchen and…

“HEY!!!!!”

DA DA DA DUMMMMMM (Beethoven’s Fifth Music).

On the kitchen table sat the cake, a big chunk bitten out of it, all the frosting licked off, sprinkles all over, and a very guilty looking dog standing next to the table! I was shocked! He had never done this before.

As I grabbed his collar and dragged him to the back door he was already passing this other worldly gas. Who knows what would’ve happened if we had arrived a half hour later. He stayed outside until I went to bed many hours later.

As for the kids and the cake, my wife found a small section of it in the back that looked untouched so each kid got a sliver, and I mean a sliver of cake. The rest was trashed.

Today, when they woke up, Joseph wasn’t mad at our dog, Sonny. He said it must’ve been a good cake because Sonny really, really wanted it. The boys also pressured Rose. She was up next for special time.

In the car, on the way to school Joseph and Michael were saying, “Rose you have to bake a cake because Sonny ate the last one.”

“But I want to have a Tea Party!” she said crying.

I told them to leave her alone. She didn’t have to bake a cake. I heard low whispering from the back of the car all the way and periodic outbursts from Rose saying, “Leave me alone!”

I’ll keep you posted.

You Started It!

Last Friday I was a field trip chaperon for my triplets pre-school class. We were scheduled to go to a nature preserve in Riverside. I didn’t even know we had one. If you’ve ever seen Riverside, there’s nothing “natural” about it. Hell, we don’t even have A RIVER!

I got there early, like I was supposed to, so that I could receive instructions from the teacher in charge of the field trip. She is a no nonsense sort of person, takes her job very seriously, as she should. She handed out papers with information, directions and a list of do’s and don’ts for us to follow. As I read she addressed the class.

“And,” she said, “this is very important. Will the parents please refrain from leaving the caravan on the way to the Nature Preserve and going through fast food restaurant drive thru windows, because this causes confusion for people following and we don’t need that sort of thing.”

Now, I had rushed that morning to get all of the kids ready for the field trip and made sure they had everything they needed, the right clothes, lunches, snacks, drinks, and they had breakfast. I suddenly realized I hadn’t.

“Ummmmm”, I thought, “Breakfast sandwich sounds goooooooood.”

I wasn’t even hungry, until she mentioned it. Hadn’t thought about it at all, but, SHE made it so that it was all I could think about!

We loaded the kids up into the vans, buckled them in, and we were on our way. The caravan wound its way through the city, stopping at lights and stop signs. It was very slow going. Then, on the main street in downtown Riverside, we sat at a very long light.

I glanced to my right and there it was, Carl’s Junior, one of my favorite hamburger joints.

“Ummmmmmmmmmmmmmm, sausage breakfast biscuit gooooooooooooooood, ” was all I could think about.

The traffic wasn’t moving. I was right next to the entrance. I already knew my way to the Nature Preserve. So I went for it.

“Dad! Where are you going?” said one of my kids.

“Daddy is just going to make a quick stop.”

All my kids in unison said, “DAD!”

As I turned into the Carl’s Junior I looked into my rear view mirror and, sure as SHIT, two cars turned to follow me!

“WTF!” I thought, “What the Hell!? Are these people Lemmings?”

The lights changed, traffic started to move and the cars that followed clogged the traffic as they realized their mistake and tried to merge back into traffic. I was already at the window ordering so I laughed and got my sandwich.

When I made it to the Nature Preserve she was waiting for me, shaking her head.

“Mr. Dadlez,” was all she said.

“Hey, you started it!” was my reply.

Don’t Dream It’s Over

Here is one of my all time favorite songs performed live on the MTV Music Awards back in 1987. Remember when MTV used to play music? It’s Crowded House playing “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. Just ignore the stupid Downtown Julie Brown crap and wait for the music…It’s worth it.

Crowded House -- Don’t Dream It’s Over 1987 MTV Video Music Awards -- Venue: Universal Amphitheatre City: Los Angeles, CA Date: September 11, 1987

Little League

Today was the beginning of Baseball season in our house. Little League started and my triplets had their first taste of “The National Pastime”. Of the three five year old’s, my son Joseph is the most serious about the game. He’s been waiting for this day for a long time; practicing with his Grandfather and asking all sorts of Baseball questions. He was ecstatic when we finally went to the sporting goods store to buy Baseball cleats and his first real Baseball mitt. He’ll be a dedicated player and probably end up playing shortstop or first base.

Then there is Michael. Let’s just say that the song by Peter, Paul and Mary, “Right Field”, is appropriate for him. He’ll be “Watching the dandelions grow.” That’s OK by me. I spent a lot of time in right field myself praying that the ball never came my way.

Rose is somewhere in between the two. She’s more interested in socializing and making new friends than actually playing. Which, again, is OK by me. That’s what Little League is all about.

Even little Matthew wanted in on the fun and was very upset when he realized that he was too little to play on the team. So, to cushion the blow, we dressed him up as a pirate (the team name is the Pirates) and he went as a kind of team mascot. It was very cute.

Now, if any of you have never been to the first day of Tee Ball practice, this is how it goes. You have a bunch of five year old’s jumping around, excited, like they just mainlined sugar on Halloween. The coach is trying to wrangle them up and teach them the rules of Baseball. He does this with little memory games that explain the bases, hitting the ball, running the bases, scoring and such. Then they try and put the rules into practice by actually playing a little.

Michael steps up to the plate and holds the bat like a rifle, pointing it at the guy at first base like he’s gonna blast him. When someone hits the ball, the guy on first runs to second and the guy on second runs to first as the coach and parents yell directions at the kids. The kid who hit the ball makes it to first and keeps on going in a straight line past it. The kid on third is hopping up and down, whether he’s excited or just has to go pee I don’t know.

And then there is Matthew yelling “Go Pie Waites!” in his tricorne pirate hat.

I’ve never enjoyed Baseball so much.

YouTube Night — The Blind Date

I’m busy working on a project so I’m posting a commercial and hope I’ll soon have a new post. Enjoy.

Traditions

I don’t know how they happen, but when you have little kids, dozens of routines and daily traditions get started. And, if you deviate from those routines and traditions, all hell can break loose. I really don’t know where or when they start, but your child will let you know the second you don’t do it, or you do it wrong, whatever “IT” is. This just totally reinforces the belief in my wife and myself that, above everything else in their lives, children crave order.

We have routines in our house on practically everything that takes place, from getting dressed, eating, and going potty. The most routines happen at the end of the day when my wife and I get the kids ready for bed.

First, they get their jamies on, then they all pick up toys, each kid gets different toy categories every night, then each one gets to pick out a story book, then they get their teeth brushed and it’s off to bed. Upstairs, we say prayers, each one says thanks for something that happened during the day, and we tuck them in.

Each one has their own special way they want you to say goodnight. And the very last thing, if that isn’t enough, my littlest Matthew, goes to sleep snuggled up against my wife or myself while watching pictures float across the bedroom ceiling. They are projected from a battery powered, dome shaped, music box that plays Brahm’s Lullaby for about six minutes after winding it up. We watch stars, birds, elephants, kangaroos, planets, you name it it’s there.

That started when he was a baby and we couldn’t get him to go to sleep in his crib. We found that he would go to sleep if he laid on your chest and watched the ceiling show. Then we just laid him in his crib. That has been the tradition for almost a year and a half now. He’s out of his crib and in a “big boy” bed. My wife and I have decided that we should wean him of this behavior.

I’m going to miss it. It’s one of those beautiful parent child experiences that will never happen again.

I Wanted To Change The World

I found this in a book of quotes about helping others.

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world. ” ~Author Unknown

Oh, Pretty Woman

This was a tribute concert done for Roy Orbison several months before he died. They did it at the Coconut Grove in Los Angeles just before they tore it down. There were so many celebrities and legendary musicians involved and sitting in the audience it would take forever to list. The few that I will mention are T Bone Burnett, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, and Bonnie Raitt. They even had Elvis’ back up band from Vegas.

The members were James Burton (lead guitar), Jerry Scheff (bass), John Wilkinson (rhythm guitar), Larry Muhoberac (keyboards) and Ronnie Tutt (drums). The concert was titled “Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night”. Google that on wikipedia and get the whole story.

This video is one of my favorites from the special. It features a call and response guitar jam between the Boss and James Burton.

Very Expensive Sushi

My wife wanted Sushi. It’s close to Valentine’s Day so I thought, OK, I’ll get her some. I went to her favorite Sushi Bar, which is less than a mile from our house, and ordered her some take out. Once I had the order I got in the minivan to drive home.

The exit to the parking lot for the shopping area of the restaurant sits right next to a busy intersection. It’s a very bad design. As I waited to pull out of the parking lot, the lights of the intersection changed. Some stupid kid, driving a jacked up truck, came barreling around the corner and cut across the lanes of traffic to enter the parking lot I was leaving.

He cut it really close, so close that he was gonna hit me! So, I threw my car in reverse and backed up to give him room. Then I heard a sound that was eerily similar to that of an empty Pepsi can getting crushed in my fist. The truck didn’t hit me but I had backed up into a car that was sitting very close behind me.

The truck that was the catalyst of all this must’ve realized he’d caused it because I watched as it dashed through the lot and made a speedy retreat out of another exit.

I got out to survey the damage. That’s when I saw that behind the car I hit was a police car. The cop pulled up beside me and rolled down his window.

“You gonna be OK to exchange information with that guy?”, he said pointing to the other car.

I replied, “Yeah.”

He rolled up his window and drove off.

California Police won’t do anything unless there are guns, alcohol, drugs, gang members or a bloody body present. We drove our cars to a less crowded area of the lot and exchanged insurance information. When I arrived home and brought my wife her food, I placed it on the table and said…

“This was very expensive Sushi.”

Carl Perkins & Friends Rockabilly

This is one great video, especially if you like Rockabilly, which I do. Try and identify all the musicians sitting in. Enjoy!