Red Hairlandia

There are a lot of ginger beards in Charlottesville.

The associate pastor at the church we like? Ginger beard.

Half of the other staff members on the video they showed? Ginger beards.

Random guy I saw in a store today with Shane? Ginger beard.

The guy across the street who borrowed our snow shovel? Ginger beard. His name was Mike, too.

Rough Riding

Shane was not happy on our ride down, Friday. The TV broke. He started a full blown tantrum.

Now, I can sympathize. It's a long car ride. He traveled well the first half of the journey. I tried to play the Alphabet game, I spy, offer the radio, and do whatever I could to cheer him up. However, when he started to kick and hit everything around him I didn't let it slide.

I ate a piece of chocolate.

Shane stared at me in shock. Then he bawled.

He bawled and he bawled.

I let him cry for a minute before I tried to talk to him (very calmly). "Shane, would you like to listen to some music?"

He bawled some more. Shane was inconsolable for close to five minutes. I kept my voice very calm throughout (I was calm before, too!). I did not want to yell, and I did not want to chew Shane out for being upset (unfair!).

However, when he started to kick and hit again (including the TV) I reached back and grabbed another piece of chocolate.

Shane shrieked. "NO!!!!"

"Shane, if you start to kick and hit it makes me sad. If I get sad, I eat a piece of chocolate to feel better."

The hitting and kicking stopped immediately.

"Please, Daddy! NO!"

"I'm just going to put this chocolate right up here in case I get sad again."

All crying had ceased.

"I know it's a long car ride, Shane, and I'm sorry. We're going as fast as we can. Do you want me to turn the music back on?"

"Nothing."

"Okay. I'll do what you want."

"Nothing."

Well, at least the crying stopped. I tried a few bribes, but they didn't work out. Shane was ready to be free!

He cheered up immensely on the last little sprint. We counted down roads until Mommy's house. We ended up on the road behind Carrie on her way back from work. Shane was thrilled to see her (even in a car). He was a happy camper when she pulled him out of his car seat!

The end of a matter is better than it's beginning!

Social Week

Shane and I were social this week. It’s fun, it protects the house, and keeps relationships alive.  I have the spare energy and time to do it now that wrestling is over.

Tuesday, we visited Nana and Pop. It was Taco Tuesday!

Shane enjoyed roughhousing with Pop.

We both spent the night. Shane was ready from the get go; Nana talked me into it. “Do you have anything to go home to?”

The next morning, I went to work and Shane went to Jama's to throw trash down the garbage chute (he loves that thing!).

Wednesday, we visited Kim and Ryan.

Ryan’s in a somewhat similar job situation to me: He’s not sure of where he’s going to end up next year. He will still be in the same county and he has a job, but what he really wants is to be involved full time with a high school band. Right now, he spends four days a week teaching music at a pair of elementary schools, one day teaching at a high school, and then he volunteers all over the place to make himself known.

Thursday was our Daniel Day.

Daniel came over and “helped” with our driveway.

I shoveled, Shane complained he wanted my shovel, and the boys knocked icicles off our neighbors’ bushes and frolicked in the back of Lisa’s truck. They had fun for an hour! They started to squabble after that. I think they were both tired and hungry, so I called it quits. Shane pounded down 10 chicken nuggets for lunch (with ketchup, of course – he gets that from Carrie).

After nap, I dropped Shane off at day-care to be social for a couple of hours. That gave me a chance to write up a few entries (ayub!) and set up another Daniel visit. We went over to play some more at 5:30 PM.

The boys played really well together. Shane was a little bit of a Fussy McFussyboy at first. Daniel cried and pouted when it was time to go. They take turns.

Jessica mentioned how much they'd miss us. We're playing more now than we did for a stretch. I think both families want to make sure the boys get play time in while we can.

State Championship Wrestling

We took 2^nd in the state! 

I thought the wrestling tournament was cancelled when the cancelled school. However, they moved to a single elimination format. It really helped us, because we only had three kids qualify. Two became champions and one took second. Woo-hoo!

On another note, the split from three divisions to six divisions in the state thinned the talent pool more than I expected. I was surprised by the number of tech falls and falls in the finals. It does allow for more students to qualify for states and have a shot at a title, so I think it’s a good thing overall. 

Still, it might be fun to watch a tournament that took all the state winners (1A-6A) and have them match off.  

I don't know when off-season practice will begin. I will probably go regularly once Shane transitions to Carrie. Single-dad Mike won't have time.

Oh, Those Math Teachers

There was a math department meeting yesterday. We always have some sort of ice-breaker/social thing for "team-building."

Yesterday: "Tell your Best, Worst, or First."

First teacher in my group: Cries at classical music concerts. They're very moving.

Second teacher in my group: Has gone to every chorus concert for a decade. Also, very moved.

Me: I saw a guy crowd-surf in a wheel chair. The band signaled the crowd to pass him up on stage and gave him a beer. I didn't cry.

Maybe I was in the wrong group.

Lent 2015

For Lent, Carrie and I are giving up restaurants.

A) It will save money
B) Every time I'm hungry and see a sign I'll think of God.

That's the theory at least.

I know that posting about what I give up for Lent can come across as looking religious for the sake of men and not God. Matthew 6:1 says "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven."

However, I pray that God uses this to keep me accountable, and serve as encouragement for someone out there.

Shane's New Room

All his idea.

He got mad if I opened either door. Then he shut himself back in!

I vastly preferred the play with the doors over the shoving his arm down display toilets.

House Update

Not a lot of progress to report on the house. Not many people are out in the snow and cold. If they are out, they're not visiting us.

Another house the same model as ours just went up a few blocks away. I don't know if the competition will help us and bring more people to the neighborhood to browse, or if it will snatch away a buyer.

We sold our first townhouse in a week. I checked the blog (that's what it's good for!). It's a slower process this time.

Sledding

Shane woke up from his nap "full of Mike" (as Carrie calls it). Carrie told me to take him somewhere to get it out of his system!

Luckily, it was in the 40s. That felt balmy after becoming adjusted to single digits. Shane and I went to explore the school behind our townhouse.

There were multiple playgrounds. Everything a little boy needed to burn some Mike out.

Shane said the snow tasted great, too.

The elementary school looked really nice. I contemplated Shane going there while we practiced our swinging.

Another group of neighborhood kids showed up after a while. The hills were perfect for sledding. There were already a ton of wakes from the previous day's runs.

We don't have a sled down south, but we found something serviceable.

Someone else left it behind. You can see why.

It served our purpose well!

The sled didn't hold up to all the fun Shane had with it!

It shrank after successive runs!

I brought Shane home soaked, but much calmer. He took a shower to heat back up. Mission accomplished!

Celebrity Appearance

Shane turned our vertical blinds into water slides. It was my job to catch Michael Keaton at the bottom.

And yes, I do mean Michael Keaton.

I offered to let Mommy take a turn. She didn't want to get under the table with Michael Keaton.

I told her I love how faithful she is to me. Carrie responded, "He's the wrong one."

"Wait, what?! And who's the right one?!"

Carrie smiled and broke into a song. "Aaadam Weeeest! Aaadam Weeeest!"

I love my family!

Name Upgrade

On February 11th, Shane promoted me to "Dad Dad."

Somehow it stuck.

UPDATE:

Shane will also say, "It's not funny, Michael!"  Who on Earth would he hear that from? And how many times do you think he heard it before he learned to repeat it?

Family Time

Megan's in town! She brought Baby B with her. It was a great opportunity to spend some time with family.

Even Jama got to participate (electronically). 

It was a Food Ministry night, so we all went to the church. Nana and Pop made sandwhiches and led the homeless ministry. Megan and I watched the kids.

Megan was more successful than I was. Shane had eyes only for Nana. He was very jealous that she was focused on other things. He asked her to go play with him "in a room with no other people!"

I didn't have any real success until Megan or Nana (I can't remember who!) started a "Don't Touch Hot Lava!" game.

Shane was exhausted by the end of the night. He cried and he cried and he cried some more when it was time to go.

However, my school system is full of a bunch of sissies. They cancelled school because it was cold. The forecast claimed historic lows (-17 wind chill), but the reality was it was warmer than the day they had school (and did NOT delay opening).

Their mistake gave us an opportunity. I did errands while Shane was in daycare, and then we went to visit Nana and Pop's again!

Shane was so excited he didn't even nap.

Nana and Pop left to deliver food to the homeless, but John dropped by next.

Baby B is a highly social and active kid. He crawls, wants to walk with support, and shoves everything he finds in his mouth.....all while looking people in the eyes and smiling. He'll let you know what he wants, though. I enjoyed hearing about how he was around Cole and Evy in Carolina (and Megan did a great impression of Cole and his 'egg' videos!)

Meanwhile, John and Shane built a swing set out of tinker toys. Building stuff rocks.

Baby B went up for a nap shortly after the pics. Shane stayed away. He had a short power-nap in the car on the way over and insisted he didn't need to sleep. I went ahead and let him park in front of an electronic pacifier. Megan supervised (Thanks, sis!). That allowed John and I to play a round of x-wing.

The Rebels proved superior.

I think closing was the wrong call, but it did let us have a fun day out of it. The number of times that family can gather at Nana and Pop's VA house are numbered. They go on the market March 13th. They've de-cluttered and rearranged like we have. 

Lots and Lots of Snow

It's snowing. A lot. All of the snow and cold isn't helping out house sell that I'm aware of. 

I felt horrible when we had to go around a stuck car. Rule #4 of snow driving: Don't come to a dead stop on an uphill. If we had stopped, we would have been stuck right behind them. That would have really logjammed things. What they needed to do was go down the hill, find somewhere to turn around, and then somewhere flat to get their momentum going. 

Still, the Good Samaritan parable comes to mind....

All the more reason to get a truck.

The Great Light-bulb Hunt Part 2

An addendum to Part 1:

Bah.

Moving Affects Posting

Updates may be sporadic in the future. Carrie and I cancelled our Verizon service at the house to help save money. Her first paycheck hit last week, but it was for part-time. Her next one will have some holes from sick and house-prep days. Meanwhile, the mortgage, rent, scary electric bill, security deposits, contractors, childcare, and house prep work were paid in full. We started to eat out more to preserve a clean kitchen up north and then to explore Cville down south, too. Moving is expensive! We're going to be in pinching pennies mode for a little while.

The Great Light Bulb Hunt

The lights went out in the entryway. I put in new bulbs, but that created a new problem. The new bulbs were white, and the bulbs six feet to the side were golden hued. I replaced those, too, and the future was bright. 

Except for the dimmer.

The fancy new bulbs did not like it. The dimmer made funny noises and the bulbs flickered unless it was set just so. I did not have any unused bulbs that matched the original ones. I could leave a working bulb in each fixture, but that could darken the first impression of anyone to step across the threshold.

And so began the light bulb hunt.

From room to room in search of more of these.

I discovered a few more burnt out bulbs on my quest.

There was one working bulb (and one empty socket) in the basement storage.

I found three working bulbs in our bathroom. One expired as I swapped in the new ones.

Mission Accomplished. No new light switch or bulbs were purchased. 

UPDATE:

Bah.

Snow Play!

Shane was thrilled to see Daniel yesterday. The boys "helped" me with the driveway.

Shane was upset that Daniel "helped" mess up the snow on his shovel.

Later, they said "Hi" to the mailman.

Friends make work fun!

Status Update

The house felt empty when we arrived. Little signs from the open house stood in different rooms. “Check out the dual closets!” and “Don’t you love the renovated bathroom?” More proof our time is near the end. The house wants new owners.

Have I mentioned I don’t like moving? It’s a lot of work and I find it slightly depressing. I will enjoy exploring and establishing our home in a new area, but the old roots have to be torn up first. I am glad I have done it before; It is a growing experience and I know what the process feels like. I don’t like being caught on this end of it. That feeling should ameliorate when the house sells. I have to reset the house every morning. No messes allowed.  We are in a hurry-up-and-wait-to-see-what-happens pattern. The snow and cold won’t help generate any foot traffic. Tonight we’ll hit record lows and negative wind chills.

Next week, I will spend time on job applications. Hiring season goes up a notch in March for teachers. My screening interview for my preferred county went well at the end of January. It also gave me an idea of the timeline of when their staffing meetings are. I do not want to get too far ahead of them. I don’t want to be in the position where I have to make a choice on a fallback offer long before I know about the county I want to live in.

Carrie’s military upbringing showed through all the house prep. She knew what to do! She probably worked herself into her cold, too. Her energy kept me moving. We got to spend a lot of time with her in Charlottesville due to President’s Day and all the snow. Shane and I will go back Friday night. Then there will be a parade of full work weeks until Spring Break hits at the end of March. I’ve only had to use leave once this year when Shane was sick, so maybe I’ll use a personal day somewhere in there.

Things are moving forward. Carrie loves her new job and her first paycheck cashed. We’ll need those to combat the drain of maintaining two houses until this one sells!

Library

Lazy post. We took Shane to the library on Tuesday to get out of the house. It looked nice.

S'not Funny

Carrie shared her cold. Shane and I both caught it over the weekend. We have coughed and empathized with her since! I had to sit up to breathe enough to sleep on Tuesday. Shane’s recovered enough (by my estimate) to return to daycare when I return to work tomorrow.

Wake-Up call

I asked Carrie to wake Shane up from his nap.

Towelling Off

Shane dries off by dropping into a ball with a towel wrapped around him. He'll stay like that for a while, too!

Mommy's New Job

Shane and I dropped Mommy off at her job on Monday. Carrie's boss blew up a balloon and let it shoot around.

Shane wanted to stay at Mommy's work!

We had to head out, though. A hyper child hollering and jumping on all the beds doesn't make for the best work environment! He had a blast. It looks like Carrie works with a very nice group of people.

CVille Adventures

Shane at the oriental grocery. Notice the sign?

To Go Or Not To Go...In the Snow. That is the question

There's a large snow storm heading out way. Six to 10 inches predicted. The forecast is the same for our house and the rental. School will probably be cancelled Tuesday. If the snowfall matches the forecast, Wednesday could be a done deal, too. Carrie is off Tuesday and would love to have us stay with her. The danger is what if we get stuck?

At the moment, I plan to stay.

Cville

Shane and I are in Cville for the weekend. The goal is to see Mommy and stay out of the house. That will keep it clean and let prospective buyers come and go at ease. I'm hoping for a quick sell, but who knows what God's plan is? All signs have pointed to "get your butt and your family's down south" so far.

Would you be my candy-giver?

Shane's school through a Valentine's party. I had no idea. That's not to say they didn't post notices, but I sure didn't notice. I gave him some candy to take to school that morning on a what felt like a whim. Then I almost picked him up early to watch wrestling with me. At the last second, I decided it would be better to watch my team wrestle first and then collect Shane. When I got to his school, the part was underway!

My favorite part: Shane cried as he held his candy bag from home to let other kids pick out what they wanted. Sharing is hard! Shane kept muttering to himself/them "Don't pick the big one. Don't pick the big one..."

It just goes to show that sometimes there's a plan much better going on than the one you first thought of. Everything worked out better logistically and Shane and I got on the road early to see Carrie in Charlottesville. Plus, Shane got to eat a chocolate cupcake.

Happy Early Valentine's Day, all.