Redstone rocket re-enactment??

MVI_9015
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

Ollie made a rocket at daycare today.

When I got home from work, I asked him if he could show me how it flew...

Looks like there might be some glitches in the flight control software.

Seriously?

Gotta read the fine print. I guess we were out of luck.

Total loss of bacon control

...and I set the stupid fire alarm off again this morning. Ridiculous.

Alas, poor York, we knew it well...

York! We should have gone there before. What a great town. Before we hit the road O and I established a couple more MAN LAWS:

MAN LAW 1: GLASSES ARE OPTIONAL

MAN LAW 2: TOILET SEATS SHOULD REMAIN IN THEIR MOST EFFICIENT POSITIONS.

After lunch in the park, we made our way to the National Rail Museum. Great museum, though why did the Thomas merchandise have to be some close to the entrance? Anyway, Ollie almost passed out when he saw the main hall. I dragged him away from the caboose that you could climb into (I thought 1 hour was a bit excessive). We then discovered that we could climb through a bunch of the engines.

O was the engineer, picking up the coal from the tender:

And putting it in the fire:

Great day over all, capped off by hanging by the river Ouse and finishing off lunch leftovers while watching the boat races.

I won't tell you what time Ollie fell asleep in order to protect the innocent!

no inner ear?

vernazza playground
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

OK, random thought:

I have successfully divined the source of 'old man strength' [it springs from the repeated practice of picking up your squirming kids and their accouterments at a moment's notice and hauling them across all manner of obstacles like Magnus ver Magnussen carrying the Atlas Stone] but I haven't figured out how kids can continually spin around on playground equipment without making themselves hurl. I fly for a living, and shortly after taking this picture on the merry go round, I had to sit down so that I wouldn't spew espresso all across the only playground in the Cinque Terre. Ollie demanded to keeping spinning around for another 20 minutes.

Man Law

Dunno if Dori is checking her internet on the SW coast of Italy or not. A lot of sun and wine and shopping to do/see, and possible Fabio sightings, so maybe not.

Anyway, O and I started our boys weekend this morning:

O: Good morning daddy! Its wake up time!

Me: [barely awake] Yeah...I guess.

O: Don't close your eyes...Its wake up time! The sun is up! [not necessarily true in the UK, although he was right this time]

Me: OK, I'm waking up.

O: Where's mommy? Does she sleep in this bed?

Me: Yes, usually.

O: Then where is she?

Me: She's in in Italy. [actually, probably in the ultra-painful Ryan Air "Cattle queue," but never mind the simplification]

O: Italy? Does she live there?

Me: Lately, yes, but permanently, no.

I made some bacon for us...a duty that -- no exaggeration -- I have performed 100 times before, each time without incident. This time, on "Daddy runs the house day," in keeping with what appears to be a genetic anomaly passed through my dad's side, I set off the smoke alarm this time. We cleared the smoke and enjoyed reading and eating breakfast.

O's at the nursery this morning. I convince him it would be cool if I picked him up afterwards with the bike trailer, so we'll see how that goes. I'm not sure if he quite understood what I was offering -- there stands a good chance that he thinks he's going to get to ride his tricycle back home. Maybe we should just try that instead?

I did the shopping for the weekend today. Sorry Dori, I didn't use your list. I'm pretty sure I got what we needed though:

2 cans chili

2 packets tunafish

1 packet hotdogs

1 Red Bull

1 Bag of Doritos (not the baked ones)

Man Law: I guess I'm done shopping for the weekend! :)

Thomas and Training

Thomas 1
Originally uploaded by spauldingtj

While Tim enjoyed answering all kinds of questions about his work on a "business trip" to Norway, I had a GREAT time taking the kids to see Thomas the Tank Engine. As you might imagine, Ollie is quite in love with the big blue engine. We couldn't miss the chance to see Thomas when he was visiting so close to our house. It was a very successful trip, mostly because our good friends met us there. Thanks to Julie, Matt, Will, and baby Abigail for meeting us there : ) The boys really had a great day.

In other news, Charlotte is "sort of" on a schedule. She's learning how to sooth herself to sleep. Don't worry, Mom. I'm not letting her cry any more than a baby with an older brother cries : )

O man has taken some big steps forward towards the potty (woo hoo!). He wore some real underpants the past few days. In school, they always told you that peer pressure was a very bad thing. Now that my two year old wants to wear underpants like his friends...I've got a different perspective!! We're not accident free, but we're both learning a lot. Next week is vacation, so we might have to push the pause button. I'm still confident that he won't go away to college in diapers : )

Welcome to the world, Rory Abigail Basel and Summer Stiles!! I can't wait to meet you both : )

Hope all is well and I can't wait to meet the next round of babies : )