The Library(ish) Room

Hey gang. Let's talk about books for a sec.

I happen to enjoy books a great deal. I like reading them, and I have quite a few of them. When we moved into this new house of ours, we had two bookcases filled with 'em, but another eight or nine moving boxes filled with those that couldn't fit in the shelves. So we bought another one. That left us with five or six boxes of books lying around the house.

Neither Kris nor myself were very fond of the idea of continuously purchasing additional bookcases for the house. For one thing, we don't have the room for any additional furniture - we're up to the hilt in furniture around here - and the logistics of housing all of those random bookcases (that probably wouldn't match) is just something that neither of us want to deal with.

The solution? The Random Room.

What the hell's the Random Room? Its exactly what it sounds like, folks: its that one room in the house filled with random nonsense, unpacked boxes, and crap. Storage bins, a coffee table, a large bulletin board from my old office, the vacuum cleaner and other cleaning polearms, and a mountain of books and photo albums.

All in all, a big mess.

This room had to go.

Kris and I realized that with my mom and stepdad coming down to visit, we'd be able to tackle a lot more remodeling and construction around the house. Cowabunga. John was able to install a series of brackets and shelves down the back wall that was strong and sturdy enough to hold our numerous tomes (thanks again), and - voila - we were able to turn what had previously been a constant source of annoyance into a cozy, mini-shrine of knowledge.

Check it out:


Now all I need is a parlor chair and I'll be all set.

Slainte,

Brian

Kitchen Overhaul

Hey gang.

Kris has been unemployed for nigh on two months with maternity leave, and I have been working part time teaching Summer Grade Recovery at my school (in order to round up some extra cash for unnecessary purchases). With all this not-working going on, you'd think we'd be a lit more motivated to get stuff done around the house.

Not so much.

Maybe its our bipolar 'Terrible Twos' Toddler throwing toys about like Godzilla and screaming for God knows why, maybe its the bottomless pit that is our immobile new addition, who knows... but we cannot get shit done around this place.

Seriously.

It wasn't until we flew my folks in that we were able to get progress rolling with our Summer Agenda. With their assistance, remodeling continues in the Fortress of Houghitude.

Next up: the Eatery (or 'Digestion Nook').

Our kitchen, while spacious enough, used to look nasty. See for yourself.

Pretty gross, right? Granted, a lot of this has to do with the fact that most of our appliances date to the late '80s/early '90s (no, seriously), when Yours Truly was busy flipping up blue jean jacket collars and picking his nose to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Alas, most of our kitchen's eww-ishness stems not from crappy old appliances, but instead from our fugly, fugly kitchen cabinets.


They have disgusted us since we moved in, and, over the course of the last four or five months, we have brough up restaining or painting them at least once a week. So, when my mom and stepdad flew down to hang out with the grandgirls and help remodel various parts of the house (see The Library(ish) Room), we figured we'd make good on something that was long overdue.


I didn't think repainting the entire kitchen was feasible. These cupboards were nasty. Besides, I was preoccupied with grad school and Summer School, and - quite honestly - didn't feel like spending my free time painting a kitchen. Kris, however, was adamant about getting this done.


So, while I taught Summer School, and John was occupied with the Library and various other projects around the house, Mom and Kris went to war with the kitchen.


This is what they accomplished:







Hooray for women in the kitchen.

- Brian

Cannonball's 2nd Birthday (Observed)

Well, folks, we were able to pull off another birthday party for the older kid.

Kris had, from the get-go, wanted a 'simple, informal get-together' for Alayna. A few pizzas, a kiddie pool, etc. Well, she then proceeded to invite a ton of people from her work place, as well as other kids from the Cannonball's classroom and their folks.

So, before you know it, what had originally been a simple get-together suddenly turned into a much larger affair. Granted, not nearly as bad as last year's giganto, logistical nightmare, but still bigger than initially anticipated.

So, now with twenty to thirty people showing up for the kid's second birthday, we had to purchase additional food, beer, pop, cake, ice cream, etc. Kris, having successfully pulled off Alayna's Foofa (Yo Gabba Gabba) cake, decided to make two more cakes based on characters from the show - Muno and Toodee.

Check 'em out:

We were convinced we were going to get rained out for the kid's party, which would've sucked since we had set everything up for an outside hang-out... thirty people in my living room didn't sound so awesome to me. Fortunately, the rain came much later in the evening, long after everyone had left. So, although it was hotter than all Hell outside, it never rained. Cowabunga.

Here's some pics from the kid's party. Enjoy.

- Brian

The backyard set-up, commonly referred to as 'Sweatsville'

Back porch ('Not-so-Sweatsville')


This is what dumb people do when its 105 degrees out... play outside.


Well-wishers.


Pool party... sort of.



Kris and her fellow Primrose teachers, 'poolside'


The Cannonball


Some Whites


Jammin'


Cake time.


The kid didn't blow out crap.


Booya.

Cannonball's 2nd Birthday

That time of year again, folks.


Our firstborn turned two today, which would've been more surreal than it was had we the time to acknowledge the fact the date was already upon us. I've been hammering away at grad school and summer school like crazy lately, and Kris has been juggling the two kids in my absence, so we barely saw the date fly up on us.

With a few days planning in advance, we decided to throw a quiet, small, informal get-together with my parents, step-sis and her family (who were in town for a family tour of the attractions), with a larger party planned for the following Saturday (the 19th).

Kris wanted another go at the whole cake prep thing, and had spent a couple hours the night before creating a 'Foofa' cake (the pink chick from Yo Gabba Gabba). Not sure if Foofa's Alayna's favorite or not, but it was the easiest character to make from a round cake pan.

Check it out:



So we had the Fam over for dinner and cake in the evening - a small, private affair to serve as a prelude to this weekend's larger, less-private birthday party for the Cannonball's 2nd Birthday.

Here are some more pics from the kid's evening.

Enjoy:

- Brian

Singing 'Happy Birthday'

Mom, Kid, and Foofa

Big fan of frosting...

Nana with the girls...

"Cheeeese!!!"

Nephews playing the Wii

Attempting to assemble the Cannonball's Fisher Price Coupe

New pimp ride

Alayna, and offspring, in her new car

Annoying Crap My Kids Do

Hey, how's everybody doing?

We're tired.

Yours truly and the artist-formerly-known-as-Preggosaurus get no sleep these days. Our newest addition is, by all accounts, nocturnal, and prefers to hang out at 2am instead of 2pm. This makes operating at full capacity during the daylight hours next to impossible, and that's when we have to be putting forth our 'A' game in order to handle the Cannonball's shenanigans.

Over the course of the last couple of weeks, since Kris pissed out our second child, Alayna's been one, giant hurricane of defiance and sass. Not directed to me, so much, but very much so to her Mom. I'm not sure if this is because Kris constantly has a life form attached to her breast or not. Who knows.

She openly defies orders, ignores warnings, and 'talks' back so frequently that 'time-outs' are becoming an almost hourly occurrence. Acting out in anger has become a problem, too. For example, Kris' cell phone was busted. We're not about to point fingers at who did it or anything, but it definitely wasn't Kris or myself. And I highly doubt Abby was able to destroy it, as she can't lift anything weighing more than a cotton ball. But we're not pointing fingers, here. Anyway, since niether Kris nor myself have gotten that publication deal for our Parenting 101: A Guide for Idiots Who Shouldn't Make Babies in the First Place book we've been compiling* yet, we're tackling toddler-wrangling on a day-to-day basis and awaiting that blessed day when Alayna and Abby are both out of the house and off to college.

September of 2028, baby. Start the countdown.

Now, if our days with Raffi taught us anything, its that there lies vast potential in the power of Television. Alayna has becomed obsessed with Yo Gabba Gabba, which is cat nip for two year olds. She loves it, and the DVDs we have of it are on constant rotation in the DVD player. Sure, I'd rather watch Yo Gabba Gabba than, say, Barney or the Unmentionable Sesame Street Character That Sabotaged Grover's Career, but its still a strain on one's sanity when one has to watch it on a daily basis.

Alas, for the time being, watching an episode of hip-hoppin' robots at 6am is way better than dealing with a toddler freak out at 6am.

Say what you will. Dad treasures his sanity.

- Brian

* = We're not writing this. That's a joke. We'd be the last people who should be writing a book like this.

HotWheels (fo' Kids)

Hey gang,

Adjusting to life with two dependents has been a relatively painless affair thus far (I stress thus far).

There's less sleep to go around, sure - and less free time on hand - but that's got to be expected. Another foreseen headache that comes with adding on another tax deduction to one's filing is the additional purchases in order to accommodate the new arrival. We had to pick up a toddler bed for the Cannonball so that the new kid would have a bed to sleep in. We had to move into a new house in order to make room for an extra head under our roof. We had to update our wills and purchase additional car seats.

And now, we've obtained a new stroller.

This will be a product review, of sorts, for those of you out there who may soon be in the same situation as the Houghs. Pay attention.

There are certain things Dads may get more excited about then Moms. For me, its strollers. I like to think of them not so much as 'strollers,' but as 'tactical child transportation vehicles.'

With our first kid, I researched the bejesus out of them before finally settling on the Chicco Cortina Travel System (which I would highly recommend to anyone out there preparing to re-procreate the species - its awesome). Had it not been for the need for an additional seat, I wouldn't have felt the need to replace it. Alas, since babies can't necessarily sit on one another's laps for extended periods of time, we had to upgrade to a double-tactical child transportation vehicle, and the hunt was on yet again.


I look for certain things in my tactical child transportation vehicle. Enough cup holders to facilitate kids' milks and dad's beers, undercarriage compartments for diaper and camera bags, bitchin' racing stripes, etc. If Dad's going to be pushing around a tactical child transportation vehicle, then Dad's going to look good pushing around a tactical child transportation vehicle.

After a couple months of trying out several different floor models in various stores, spending countless hours browsing online, and receiving a generous donation from my Mom and Step-Dad (thanks again, guys), we finally settled on the Graco Quattro Tour Duo Stroller.

Why its called 'Quattro' Tour Duo Stroller, I don't know. It only has two seats, not four.

Adjustable seats and shades, plenty of storage space, folds up easily, not too heavy, handles awesomely, lots of cup holders and snack trays, fighter pilot handle bars, and - of course - bitchin' racing stripes. I'm a big fan of this tactical child transportation vehicle. If you're planning on making more than one baby in the near future, pounce on this vehicle. Totally worth it.

Slainte,

Brian