Sunday, January 29, 2012

Epcot and Kid Updates

Hey gangsters,

So lately the Cannonball's been really into Spider Man and His Amazing Friends.  Yes, you read that correctly - Spider Man and His Amazing Friends.  I, personally, had never heard of this show before, as I was never all that into Spider Man myself as a kid and really don't have a preference for him today.  Apparently, they made a show starring Spider Man back in 1981, and also contracted his amazing homeboy and homegirl, Ice Man and Fire Star, respectively, for the series.

It's just as terrible as you're thinking it is.

Anyway, Alayna saw it on Netflix as I was scrolling through cartoons for her one morning before work and, for whatever possible reason, decided that that was what she wanted to watch.  And now she wants to watch it every, single morning.

Jesus, kids are weird.

Having said that, I figured I'd touch base with you all and share some pictures and video of a recent outing our family took to Epcot with our esteemed colleagues the Voigts.

Behold:

 
 

. . . and here's some more random kid crap from around the house over the last couple weeks.  Enjoy.

 
The Cannonball handles all appeals to God in this house...
Dress Up . . .  again
Our kids are obsessed with reading. . .
At Eagle Park. . .

Playing (inappropriately) with Alayna's LeapPad

- Brian

Monday, January 16, 2012

Power Wheels, Puzzles, and Preschool Antics

Welcome back, people.

As you may or may not recall, we bought the girls on Disney Princess PowerWheel this year for Christmas.  Lately I've been contemplating buying a larger battery for it - like, a car battery or something - and cutting out the plastic frame under the hood in order to house said battery (the batteries on these PowerWheels only last a day or two on a charge, which is hard for a preschooler to accept, let alone grasp).  

Anyway, the new ride has quickly become one of the kids' favorite toys, and I've been dying to try it out in an area larger than our backyard.  So the other day we drove it down to a local park and let the kids drive it around a soccer field...

Despite the fact that this PowerWheel has two seats, Abby prefers to ride standing in the back like a G.I. Joe.  All I need to do now is mount a machine gun on the back rack and they'll be ready to battle Cobra...

Checking out local plant life...
I always get nervous when the kids going exploring in the woods like this. Down here in Orlando, that's often where one can find used condoms or a dead body.  Or both!
Swingers.
 


Here's some other random crap from around the house over the last two weeks.  Enjoy.

NEVER underestimate the entertainment value of a stick.
 
 
Night vision reading...
VROOOOOOMMM!!!
 
Ukulele Lessons with the Cannonball (trying to get her to learn how to play a 'C' chord) 

Drawing and writing on the back porch...
Practicing letters...
Straightening hair with Alayna's cosmetic accessories....
It either says "Love God" or "Love Bob."  Either way works for me...

Here's some footage from a recent outing to Puzzles - that bounce house place we talked about earlier that donates its proceeds to funding Autistic research (that is, research to help fight Autism... not necessarily Autistic people conducting research...):
 


- Brian

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Five Years in Florida

This week has been cold as shit.

We were just in Michigan for two weeks, and I swear to Christ it was warmer up there.  If it's going to be this cold down here in the sub-tropics, we should by all accounts be getting some snow.

God knows we didn't get any up in Clare.
Anyway, with the Holidays over and done with, the mundane routine of daily life once again resumes.  I always hate this time of year; I'm a big fan of interior illumination, so having to pack up all that festive yule into dusty, old storage bins for eleven, long months is a horribly depressing affair.  

I can't help but assume that this is what Malakili was feeling when the Rancor was killed in Episode VI.

Fortunately for Yours Truly, Kris took the initiative and dismantled the Christmas Tree this year - I can't stand doing that.

With the decorations down, and the New Year upon us, Kris and I had no choice but to return to work... amidst much fanfare and excitement (pfft).  As could be expected, all of our kids were dragging their feet coming back from two full weeks off of school.  Not even the thrilling exploits of Alexander the Great could distract them from their new, neglected X-Boxes and PS3s and flashy new smartphones.

...and everybody know how much kids love Ancient Greece!

This week also marked the Five Year Anniversary of our move down here to Central Florida.  When we moved down here in 2007, we had no intention whatsoever of becoming permanent Florida residents.  Nay, we did so with an initial five- or six-year plan in mind, which is as follows:
  1. Move to Florida
  2. Obtain teaching positions
  3. Obtain Masters in Education
  4. Obtain Professional Certification
  5. Obtain Loan Forgiveness
  6. Obtain job back in Michigan
  7. Move Back
As of right now, I'm on Step 5 - I should receive Loan Forgiveness by the end of this year (at a Title I school, this is granted after five years, so I'll get it by the end of the school year).  Since our national economy is currently in the crapper - and Michigan doing worse than most other states, due to the huge hit manufacturing has taken there - finding work back home in the Midwest will be nigh impossible.  I've been fortunate enough throughout this recession to remain steadily employed, and, now that I'm professional certified, I have a decent degree of job security as well (which is saying a lot in today's job market).

So next year, who knows where we'll be.  We could be here, in Orlando, or we could be back in Michigan, or we could be somewhere else entirely.  Who knows.  What we do know is that we have to move out of our current residency by July, as our landlord is anxious to sell the house.

This means that, come summer time, we'll be forced to either:  a.) find jobs back in Michigan and orchestrate a cross-continental move by the time our lease runs up in July, or else b.) find another house down here in Orlando thats the same size and in an equally safe neighborhood for a similar price (which will be extremely difficult, since we got a great deal on our current house).

Of course, there's always c.) sell our belongings, join the circus, and teach our kids how to juggle, swallow swords, grift, and con normies at games of chance.  Either way.

- Brian