Go to the Farm with Murray

The original March Break plan was to take the kids to my parents for a couple days and give Shelley the house to herself, but that obviously changed. I did take them for a visit this afternoon where we attempted to ride the old toboggan (but the warm-and-cold winter did not produce much in the way of slidable slopes, even in the snowbelt), explored the shed and its tractors, and were spoiled by Grandma and Papa.

Upon returning home, we learned that Shelley procured a Wiggles guitar-shaped book for Kai which more than made up for his distress at not receiving a Mickey Mouse purse that matched his sister's newly-acquired Minnie Mouse purse.

Hair Raising Adventure

Reiko went to sleep with her ponytail and barrettes still in her hair. You can imagine the wavy, warped hive of hair that greeted her in the morning. We had planned to go to Early Years in the morning and after Kai's post-lunch nap, head to Adventures on Wonderland in London.

To address her hair woes, I coped as best I could with all my knowledge and experience: I wet her hair and put a toque on her head. Then we decided it would be a baseball hat day. Our efforts masked much of the problem, but there were some "bumps" of hair by her ears that warped out in an unsatisfactory fashion. So we abandoned our morning play plans (has it begun already?!)

Another round of toque-wearing turned the tide and we were good to go to Adventures in Wonderland. These days Kai appears to be phasing himself out of the need for an afternoon nap, and I wondered how giddy/overtired/cranky he'd be.

He seemed quite happy driving the bus...


... and playing in the ballpit with his sister.


Her hair doesn't look that bad, does it?


The kids had fun, and so did I.

Church Stinks

I was at a worship service this afternoon in a church where a skunk had recently taken up residency. The animal was gone, but the aroma lingered. Upon leaving the sanctuary, I noted the dryer fabric softener sheets clothes-pinned to the vents. (It didn't make a difference).

It reminds me of a moment a couple days ago when Kai sniffed the air and declared there was a skunk beside the couch. We changed his diaper.

Zombie Jesus

With the one church having purchased a computer projector, I prepared a full-out PowerPoint worship service today (although it was a Mac Keynote presentation, which I prefer to the Microsoft product – apologies to my brother-in-law!).

Although with the "worst storm of the winter" filling in driveways and lanes everywhere, I wondered last night how much effort I should put into something that might be cancelled in the morning. Sure enough, I got a phone call as I was digging out to head to the first service. It was cancelled.

The second service, being later in the day, went ahead as planned (once I figured how to connect the audio with cables that were too short). With the story of Lazarus coming back from the dead, it seemed a fitting segue to Zombie Jesus. The integrity of the sermon was still preserved and I managed to reference zombies! Up next: pirates and ninjas.

These Things Happen in 3s

Another funeral today, this will mark the conclusion of 3 services in 3 weeks. (The graveside service I declined to perform last week notwithstanding. Not to worry, the family's needs were met by someone else; I had asked if the funeral home could find someone else instead. If not, I would oblige).

The pastoral care pager went back to the hospital today and I was half-expecting a 3rd call, but thankfully that wasn't necessary. I did have to tend to a few administrative issues though.

And if I'm complaining about 3s: if I see Jamario Moon attempt another 3-point shot, I may just vomit in disgust. Not really, but I'm not sure how best to convey my disapproval.

Blogging, Old School

My Uncle Charlie was our next door neighbour growing up; he was like a grandfather to me. He died rather suddenly a few years ago. His widow, my Aunt Myrtle, called this morning to say that she was reading through his daily journals and found an entry of interest.

According to his note for October 27, 1974, my parents and I went to their place for lunch. His impression of the visit? "Kenji is walking now."

Culture Shock

Firsthand hearsay from Shelley:

After noting the new handsoap in the bathroom and learning that its fragrance is "Japanese Cherry Blossom", Reiko frowned slightly and confessed, "But I don't know how to talk in Japanese!"

Shelley explained how my parents are Japanese. And that I was also Japanese. Rei accepted these as interesting facts. When it was explained that she was half-Japanese, she protested (and you can guess) "but I don't know how to talk in Japanese!"

Tech Support

For a number of weeks I'd been having problems connecting on-line at the church with the laptop. The wireless signal is strong, but the Internet browsers or email servers were not getting anywhere.

This afternoon I called the router's tech support line; I have to say that I am very impressed. I spoke with a real person within seconds of completing the automated menu gauntlet. He guided me competently and patiently through a reconfiguring of the IP address without being a condescending tech-know-it-all.

I didn't have high hopes, calling when I had a large block of time to waste on the phone, figuring it would take a while. I was pleasantly surprised. Superjob, Dlink!

Called Away

Wednesdays are usually office hours in the morning. I was called away from that duty to help with a monthly Soup and Sandwich lunch.

I was called away from my ladling by a family in a palliative situation. As I got to their place, the hospital called (I'm the on-call chaplain for the next 7 days; I was going to pick up the pager in the afternoon after some soup and sandwiches).

After giving due care and diligence to the pastoral situation at hand, it was onto the next one. From the hospital, it was back home to meet Reiko off the bus and get supper ready. My first risotto turned out rather well.

I'm sure I could muster up a little something for Last Call, but I am on-call after all.

Yo Gabba whatta?

With the coming change in season (and the onset of Rrroll Up the Rrrim means that NCAA March Madness can't be far off), Treehouse TV has trotted out a new schedule featuring some new shows.

Shelley and I can't figure out how "Yo Gabba Gabba" managed to snag the primetime before-supper slot. The characters appear to be rip-off mishmashes of Sponge Bob and Teletubbies characters, singing insipid songs that sound like they were written by a 51-year old with a turntable and mixing board. (I was going to say 15-year old, but teenagers would have had some edge and soul to their songs... these tunes were desperately trying to be cool, in a preschool way).

I'm not sure if the celebrity cameo by a scruffy-bearded Elijah Wood gave Yo Gabba Gabba a credibility lift, or tarnished his Hobbit star.
Regardless, Kai has become enraptured by this show (Reiko, to a lesser extent, but she's an eager viewer nonetheless) asking for the Orange Guy show, referring to "DJ Lance Rock", the furry-hatted human seen beside Mr. Wood.

Yes, this is what my engagement with pop culture and my knowledge of what is hip and happening has been reduced to: critiquing children's programming.

Where February Went

The long awaited blog catch-up is here. Delayed by the emergence of another funeral last week (I should have known better to ask the funeral director how his days have been. And he should have known better to comment about how quiet things were). Some themes from the past fortnight:

Guitar-zan
Kai’s preoccupation with guitars is bordering on obsession. I had found my squash racquet and for every waking minute of the next few days, he was strumming it, cuddling it, and asking about it.


Reiko’s Pony
After months of patience, Rei’s hair is long enough to put into one big ponytail. She’s very proud of this accomplishment and looks forward to wearing her hair like her BFF from daycare.


All Work
Despite the legislated Family Day holiday last Monday, Shelley’s had a string of evening workshops and meetings to round out the week. I had two funerals, 3 church meetings, plus a church chilli supper and family games night. And Sunday morning worship doesn’t plan itself.


Back to Health
The ailments that have plagued us have abated; we’re all off our meds except for Shelley’s persisting cough (another week or so, according to the doctor). Do I need an excuse to post a picture of our happy and healthy kids?


Now, it’s just a matter now of getting back to running, finding a gym and a local basketball game. Or getting re-acquainted with my squash racquet.

Recovering

After what seems to be a case of food poisoning, I'm back to "normal" and getting ready for a funeral tomorrow. More updates on the way.

Skipping School

After the weekend that she's been having, we decided to keep Reiko home from school today. Although I wondered if we erred too much on the side of caution. She was well enough to race her brother up and down the mostly vacant aisles at the grocery store this morning.

Once lunch came and everyone had a nap, our prudence was justified by her 2½-hour sleep. We're on the mend, slowly but sleepily.

Someday We'll All Be Healthy

In what has become an unbecoming weekend tradition, Shelley took Reiko to the urgent care clinic this morning. Rei's had a headache the past couple days and was up last night with a fever. Of course these things happen on Fridays when our current family doctor takes a day off or on Saturdays so we hustle out for the after-hours clinic or to the ER. During the past month: ear infection for Kai, ear infection for Rei, tonsillitis for Kai, assorted colds and maladies for their parents.

The good news is that there is no ear infection or tonsillitis or any other identifiable cause for prescribed medication. The bad news is that Reiko missed her dance class this morning and a birthday party this afternoon. You know it's bad when she accepts the prospect of missing out on a birthday party without any protest or complaint.

Mr. Soggy Pants

Seeking to repeat last night's success, I had Kai on the potty for repeated attempts before outfitting him in Diego underwear. Not five minutes later did I spy a spreading dampness on his pants.

I cleaned him up and tried again. Time passed happily. Right before we got him ready for bed, another special surprise prompted us to give him his first semi-traumatic shower before diaper and pyjamas.

Now we're thinking it might be a while before we try him in undies again.

Mr. Saggy Pants

I'm feeling marginally better today, functional even.

This evening, Shelley had Kai try on his big boy underwear which he wore for about an hour, after bath and before bed. We noted that without diaper padding to fill things out, his pants looked rather saggy.

We made it to diaper and pyjama time without incident. There was much rejoicing.

My Turn Again

Although I've been sniffling with a sore throat for a few days now, today was the day the cold arrived in full force. Shelley's away at work, the kids are in bed and sleeping. I'm heading that way too.

Found Time

It was going to be a full day. Church services in the morning, with an Annual Meeting (or half of one, by the time I got to it) following. I was planning on spending the afternoon at the church getting ready for an evening youth group meeting. Which would have meant that an 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. day, which isn't a hardship but for the fact that it's a 13½-hour day.

Maybe it was the Superbowl, but youth group was rescheduled and I headed for home after the annual meeting. With this newfound time, we drove into London to try and find a snowsuit for Rei, again. And again, no luck.

We used a Christmas gift card for some bedsheets and proceeded to Tony Roma's for a sit-down family meal. The house magician made some balloon animals for the kids and we fine-dined before making our way home. It was like finding a $20 bill in your pocket, except it was an afternoon with family. Which is more valuable? If you know me, you know the answer.

Not an Ear Infection

The morning began with a trip to the Urgent Care Clinic with Kai while Rei went to dance class. The good news? He doesn't have another ear infection. The bad news? Tonsillitis.

The medicine doesn't taste as good to him, as he pawed at his tongue immediately after his first dose.

We took a trip into London to North by Northwest's annual clearance sale to find a winter coat and boots for Reiko. The kids' selection had been pretty thoroughly picked over and there was nothing in her size. We did get some new toques and Kai loves his new aquamarine Crocs shoe-sandals.

After a fast lunch, we hustled back home so that Reiko could then go to a classmate's birthday party and then get registered for summer soccer. Yes, she has a busier social life than her parents do.

Webslinging and Tickle Fingers

Rather spontaneously, Kai started into a Spiderman impression during supper.

We're not sure where he picked that up from, he hasn't seen any shows or movies about the wall-crawling crimefighter. We'll attribute it media imprinting and the other boys at daycare.

Not to be left out, Rei launched into a version of Tickle Fingers.

And not to be left behind, Kai joined her.