A Good Skate

The rink has once again has been a pain to manage/maintain this year. Last night, MacDaddy had a friend over for a "good skate". Lil lefty joined the skate. Coco could not find her skates in time, and stood off the ice barking.

First Kiss

I was driving Lil' Lefty to her dad so that he could get her to Softball and she asked me if it was bad to kiss? I replied, it depends on who is doing the kissing? She then proceeded to tell me that she kissed a boy this past summer. It is someone she routinely plays with. She explained that this boy repeatedly told her he wanted to kiss her. One day while playing in his backyard with a whole group of neighborhood kids, Lil' Lefty and the 10 year old boy were in his tree house together. He asked if he could kiss her again? She told me she figured if she would let him kiss her, he would stop asking. She told me they kissed just as his little brother was making his way up into the fort. I then asked her what it was like? She said it was just a kiss like mom or dad give her at bedtime when saying goodnight. Just a peck! She said their was no tongue touching like on TV. That's just gross! I asked her if the little boy has ever asked to kiss her again? NO, she replied (I guess their curiosity was satisfied...thank goodness) and then asked me not to tell daddy of our conversation because it was private girl talk.

Parenting Rules - My Four Big Ones

I realize that as a parent I must be flexible with my rules and change with the times as needed. I read ya' dawg.... (just trying to show my hipness)

I have four general rules that are continually tested. I have already broken on one.

Rule #1 ) No video games. I will buy/supply many "bats and balls", and outdoor activity opportunities to my kids. I have no pride in knowing that my kid is a great Mario Sport player. I have seen the movie The Last Starfighter (1984) and understand that video games are only a training ground for future galactic fighters. I just don't get it. Play outside.

Rule #2 ) No PC in personal room. We will have multiple PCs in the house and kids will have access to a PC in a common room. There are so many things that separate a family as we change that I do not want to provide the opportunity for a kid to disappear into their room for hours on end with their PC.

Rule #3) No TV in a personal room. See Rule #2 for the general concept.

Rule #4) If I am paying the bill for a cell phone I expect it to be answered or a call back within 10 minutes of my call. Texting is great, but to me it is a communication requirement for busy kids.

I have to admit that I have broken on Rule #1 and we have had a Wii for over a year. I somewhat enjoy Guitar Hero/Rock Band but am not sure the Scorpions were thinking "Red Yellow Red Red Red" when they wrote Rock You Like a Hurricane. I suspect if we didn't have 6 months of cold in Canada I might have had a better chance of maintaining my stance on this rule.

I suspect that Rule #2 will be tested as higher education is starting to demand the use of a laptop. I am actively trying to re-write my position on this rule.

I believe I am still good on Rule #3 and Rule # 4.

A-mac in the Low Post

It was fun for me to see A-mac play her first school basketball game. Even though we have a hoop on the driveway, we have not spent a lot of time on basketball. It was nice to see A-mac have fun... she scored a basket and her team won 24-12.

Slow Down

Several, not many, years ago I had a "fun bet" with colleagues/friends that I could still throw a baseball over 80mph. Part of the fun was the method to determine how fast I could throw. We devised setting up a pitching mound along side of a road, and having a car drive by to approximate the speed of the pitch. JUGS brand radar guns at that time were still $1,000+

Last night Zdono Chara won the NHL hardest shot competition with a 105.4mph slap shot. We now have a radar gun so it was MacDaddy's turn to try for triple digits. He fell a little short at 29mph but a great place to start!!! Fortunately for me, all those who care if I can throw over 80mph live in Texas.

You Can't Always Have What You Want

Or Can You? Where did those ringlet curls go?A-mac always wanted straight hair like Lil' Lefty. Yesterday, after softball practice, A-mac went over a teammates house for a couple of hours. They spent 30 minutes (and one burn to the ear) straightening out her hair with a flat iron. Voila! Here she is with straight hair.

Lil Lefty BP at the Playdium (Jan 2009)

Lil Lefty has had some bad experiences at the Playdium. Her hands "sting" when she hits the ball. I have tried it, and my hands sting too... It must be the sub-zero temperatures. I am thankful that I even got her to go.

MacDaddy BP at Playdium (Jan 2009)

The video above is MacDaddy at the Playdium (batting cage) in January 2009.

Idle Hands

If idle hands are the devil's tools, we should be safe until the spring.

Monday - MacDaddy hockey practice, A-mac softball
Tuesday - Lil' Lefty softball
Wednesday - A-mac Speed Factory (softball)
Thursday - A-mac softball
Friday - Lil Lefty pitching, Lil Lefty catching
Saturday - MacDaddy hockey game, A-mac hitting, Lil Lefty Speed Factory (softball)
Sunday - Playdium, A-mac baseball, MacDaddy baseball practice

A-mac has basketball after school...

Ba-rack the Vote ! Special post by A-Mac and Friend, Elise.

Ba-rack the VOTE ! A special post by A-mac and her Friend, Elise.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.
- Barack Obama

Fun Fact : If everything is running behind schedule (sound familiar ?) even if the President Elect hasn't been sworn in yet, he is still the President at exactly 12 noon. This would be the case of President Obama today.

Today is a very historical day, not only for the United States but for the whole world. Today the first African American president was sworn in. Obviously, this was a highly anticipated event - roughly 2 million people camped out in front of the Lincoln Memorial starting at 10:00pm last night. As he took the oath millions of people gathered around their television sets and stood on their tippy toes to get the perfect shot. The photo of Barack Obama with his right hand up, and his left hand on the Lincoln Inaugural Bible, not used since 1861, will be the most recorded shot – ever. You can see our picture above. Brilliant, isn't it.

Today I came home early from school, picked up my best friend, and sat on the couch to watch the history happen, LIVE ! We had pasta and cookies and lemonade. Hooray. Actually, we sat politely *cough* and watched both Joe Biden and Barack Obama be sworn in, Aretha Franklin (the Queen of Soul) sing My Country Tis Of Thee with that big diamond embossed bow on her head, Elizabeth Alexander read a hard-to-understand poem, and Yo Yo Ma and other musical prodigies play “Air and Simple Things”. But we did have cookies and lemonade and pasta. (:

Summer Is Filling Up

A-mac just got her tenative summer softball tournament schedule. She has three trips to the USA (Youngstown, Pittsburgh and Buffalo), a trip to Monreal and 7 tournaments in Canada.

The trip to Montreal is over Fourth of July and we expect to head to Boston after the tournament for some good 'ole USA festivities!!! MacDaddy's schedule has not been finalized ,but so far there are minimal problems with Lil' Lefty's and A-mac schedule conflicts.

Monkeys in Cozumel

I see two of our monkeys. Anyone see the third one? She is out of the picture looking at the Mexican shopping specials.

Great Hotel in Hollywood

During our vacation we stayed 4 nights at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood Beach, Florida. We got a great deal on Priceline's "name your own price" service, better than you would think. The hotel was directly on the beach and had two big pools. There is not a lot of activity around the hotel, mostly condos. We went to the Hollywood Beach Boardwalk about 3 miles away and had some great seafood from a New England originated restaurant.

Start Your Engines!!

Just got the first pass 2009 tournament schedule for Lil Lefty's new team. A-mac should have hers by end of the week and MacDaddy soon too.

If we could only get rid of the snow.

Peace & Tranquility

Anyone with multiple children in the family understand the noise and chaos 3 kids create. Here is Mac peace and tranquility in Cozumel, Mexico. It was a short lived state of mutual harmony between A-mac, Lil' Lefty and MacDaddy.

Full of Hot Air

Ok, I know it is just a balloon. I don't even think the air is hot in the balloon. While sitting on the beach in Florida we saw the Goodrich blimp float by... something peaceful about it... oh yeah, Goodrich doesn't have a blimp, but they make great tires... (circa 70's TV commercial)

Alligator Alley

During our vacation, we drove through the Florida Everglades (approx. 78 miles) on Interstate 75 a.k.a Alligator Alley between Naples and Ft. Lauderdale. Among the sawgrass marshes and trees, were hundreds of egrets. And yes, alligators too! Alligators really do live in the waterway beside the road, so the nickname has literal meaning. MacDaddy saw one alligator and was so excited. He saw and counted dozens of HUGE alligators in the water and sunning themselves along side the canal. He also pointed out that they didn't look green, but rather black in color.

Why We Like a Crusie Vacation

I, Big D, like a little variety on a vacation. I do not read for fun, but can enjoy sitting on a beach for a while. MacMom, on the other hand, enjoys sitting in the sun and reading a book... not a lot of sun in Toronto from October through March.

I like the variety that a cruise offers. I enjoy being in a different port each day and starting the adventure over each day. When we were in Key West we rented a "golf cart" type electric car, and drove around the island. I also enjoy dinner on a cruise. Not the actual dinner, because the food has gotten worse each cruise, but the act of eating dinner. Our family is so busy that we rarely sit at a table and eat dinner together, and if we do, the TV is the main conversation catalyst. On a cruise we are forced to "dress up" and sit at a table for an hour. We enjoy meeting a family that shares our table and have kept in touch with a family that we meet 4 years ago.

MacMom enjoys not having to cook or clean while we are on the cruise. Even when we stay at a hotel MacMom has to clean up clothes and bedding, and worry about feeding the kids. On a cruise she does not worry about cooking or cleaning... if they could figure out how to do laundry we would be set.

A-mac enjoys "everything", and I think she does. Even though A-mac is an avid reader she seems to follow my desire to keep doing new stuff on vacation and a cruise provides this to her. The last cruise was the first time she spent most of her time in the kid's club that Carnival offers for 12-14 year olds. The timing of our cruise was bad for kids so she spent most of her time with the adult lady that ran the program.

Lil Lefty likes the slide and the "adventures" that a cruise offers. MacDaddy and Lil Lefty spent several hours each day on the slides.

When someone asks MacDaddy what his favorite thing was about the cruise, I am sure he will say the "free ice cream". I look at the "free" ice cream and actually being "prepaid" ice cream... but you get the idea.

Three Adventures on Our Florida Trip

During our Florida trip we had three memorable adventures... in chronological order.

1) We only packed enough clothes for 5 days on our 10 day trip. We planned a laundry run in the middle... after the hotel, and before the cruise. About 9:00pm Sunday night we left our "4 Star" hotel (at a 2 star price :-)) to find a laundrymat. After driving around for 1/2 an hour and utilizing all of our GPS resources we found an outdoor/open air laundrymat. If you have ever been to Miami you understand how quickly the neighborhoods change. I would never put the family at risk and was convinced the patrons at the laundrymat were "good people" who didn't have a washer/dryer. It took a while to convince MacMom but I think she would agree it was "ok"... we did have the kids locked in the car for the first 30 minute cycle.


2) The kid's club counselor that Alex had made friends with recommended Mr. Sonchu's Beach in Cozumel. We disembarked (got off the ship) in Cozumel and made our way through the strategically located shops to the taxi stand. Once in the taxi I used my 4 years of high school Spanish to request that the driver take us to "Mr. Sanchu's Beach". We were off. After about 100 yards he told me we should go to the "Carlos and Charley's Beach". He could seel me discount tickets... not sure we were comminicating as it was already 1pm nd we just wanted to go to a beach... not have an "all-you-can eat and drink" experience... we were already on a cruise... the cab was quiet as I explained all we wanted to do was go to Sanchu's beach... eventually he got the picture and I stood my ground... we made it to the beach and to our surprise, it was the exact same beach we went to the last time we were in Cozumel.

3) It is very expensive to fly out of Toronto. Buffalo is about the same distance from our house and usually about 1/2 the price. Buffalo is in a different country so there are risks with the line-ups at the border crossing. Everyone tells us it is risky to fly out of Buffalo during the winter because of the snow. We usually fly out of Cleveland and are lucky to have Nana and Papa watch Coco while we are on vacation. It works out well for us and Coco likes her mini-vacation too. Our flight on Saturday from Tampa to Cleveland was delayed 3 hours because of the snow in Cleveland and surrounding areas. When we arrived in Cleveland we were lucky to get a hot meal from Nana, pick up Coco and hit the road for Oakville. The roads were bad... we saw a "spin-out" off the highway every 30 miles. Our normal 5 hour trip took 8 hours.

Happy New Year!

Greetings from sunny Florida. The Macs are celebrating the New Year in Hollywood/Ft.Lauderdale at the Westin Diplomat enjoying some fun in the sun for a few days before heading to Miami. There we will board the Imagination and cruise the Western Carribean for 4 days.

Yay! NO SNOW!!

Florida Baseball Stadiums - First Week of 2009

During our trip to Florida and cruise, we stopped by the Florida Marlin's stadium. The stadium is called many names including Dolphins Stadium, Pro Players Stadium and the Orange Bowl. When we were driving to our hotel (from Tampa... another Blog post coming) we were part of traffic that was stopped by a motorcade. About a dozen motorcycle police stopped traffic followed by 3 black Suburbans with flashing lights. I was wondering if President Bush or President-Elect Obama were in Florida because I could not figure out who else would warrant this audacious entourage. After the Suburban passed, three busses followed painted in the Florida Gators football colors. The Florida Gators team was staying at the Westin Diplomat... our hotel. Andrew and I rode up the elevator with Tim Tebow, Heisman Trophy winner.

After our cruise, and on our drive back to Tampa from Miami, we stopped off at Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Rays who played in the 2008 MLB World Series. The gift shop wasn't open.