Sounds Worse Than It Is.....

So, I worked from home yesterday because both of my kids were diagnosed with "Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease".

This sounds horrible I know....but after a multitude of research I came to the conclusion that this is a very long term for "a cold".... but still no going to daycare.

As many people know, I lead recruiting efforts for a multinational fertilizer company. This occupation leads to many conversations across the nation.

My first conversation of the day was with a candidate from Texas for a sales role. It went as follows:

Me: Hi there Mark, how's it going?

Mark: Great, how are you?

Me: I am doing great, but working from home today as both of my kids were diagnosed with Hand, Foot, Mouth disease. I am not sure if you have ever heard of that?

Mark: Sure I have......in cattle........

(Side note here: Hand, foot, Mouth Disease can emulate itself in both humans and animals. Humans cannot carry the animal version, and animals cannot carry the human version).

Me: Ha ha, I know...the disease can be in both humans and animals..Thankfully, my kids have the human version

Mark: Yeah, that is good.....when my cattle had it.... I had to shoot them......


After a continued conversation around the offer I was presenting Mark for the sales role, I assured him that I would not be shooting my children :)

My day continued without incident....the kids were really okay...we built a fort with a couple of blankets and chairs (thanks dad for teaching me this skill) and the little ones watched a lot of Scooby as their dad had more conversations for work...

Because they survived a disease that sounds a lot like the Bubonic Plague, but in reality meant a couple of runny noses.....I love my girls.......

Could use more of these.....

Today it was somewhere between gorgeous and heavenly outside. 70 degrees and sunny with a slight breeze coming from the southwest. We had nothing on our plate this weekend except for gymnastics this morning. I could use more of these types of weekends.

The morning arrived, and we quickly came to realize that it was just too nice outside to go to gymnastics. Instead, we played outside. The television was off limits today and surprisingly the girls were okay with that. Dad decided that it was a great day to clean out the garage. So, promptly at 10AM, I removed EVERYTHING from the garage.

The girls thought this was great because that meant that all of their toys were accessible. I thought this was great because that meant I was finally going confirm that my garage floor was actually cement and not a mixture of dirt and grass. I used the leaf blower and created a dust storm to rival those in New Mexico when cleaning out my garage.

Mom thought this was great because with the girls outside with Daddy, she had some time to catch up on things inside the house, with an occasional break to catch up on her magazines while sitting outside in the sun with us.

We decided since the day was going so well that we should start potty training Ashley. We figured at almost three years of age, one should actually start to use the "big potty".

So, we explained to Ashley no short of 793 times that she was not going to wear diapers today. This meant that as soon as she had to go tinkle, she should let mommy or me know (so that we could take her to the bathroom...a fact you will soon see should not be assumed).

Things were going well, she was playing with the rocks outside, in her Capri pants wearing panties. About 30 minutes in, she stood up, looked at me and said "Daddy I need to go tinkle".... and then promptly peed down her leg. Smiling the whole time as I think she was proud that she followed our instructions to a tee....I mean she did tell me before she went potty.

Happy to report that the rest of the day went smoothly. We did resort back to pull ups when we went to 'Trista Day" as we know we are not quite out of the woods yet. Trista day is a celebration that Minnetrista has at city hall with all of the firetrucks and police cars and even a helicopter. Our guess was that the mayor of Minnetrista would not appreciate a two year old using the city's helicopter as a bathroom.....

Because one is trying her best, and the other let us know that if Ashley gets an M&M for using the potty that she should get one too......I love my girls....

Simple Mathematics......

232 Washers + 104 Nuts + 158 bolts + 1021 Screws + 366 Pieces of wood + 128 random parts =

It is done. Yes that is a bay window. The above is one view from my deck. For reminders, the following is a different view from my deck:

The above are real numbers. I added the parts list up.

Happy to have it done. Happier when the little ones start using it.

Because they made the day easy and gave mom lots of hugs on her day.....I love my girls.

They grow so fast......

So....many of my avid followers may remember this photo from a while back:

Well, that little pumpkin who in the above picture looks mad for having to eat lunch, has turned into a very thoughtful individual.

I mean, who else contemplates all of life's questions over a happy meal:

On a more exciting note: THE PLAYSET IS COMPLETE! My next blog will encapsulate photos as well the love hate relationship I now have with wood. Let it be known though, that I am participating in a presentation training for work in which I am to prepare a 5-7 minute presentation on the topic of my choice.



The title of my presentation: "How to Build a F*%$!!! Play System"



Because I know that they will, I mean BETTER, enjoy the swingset more than a Popsicle after dinner.....I love my girls....