6 Days in a 7x7 Room Never Looked so Good

So, my bathroom got renovated this past week. Not being the richest family in town however, I needed to stick to a budget and do the work myself. Thankfully my Father-in-Law, Dave came to help, and there's a Lowe's store just up the street.

To give you an idea of what we were working with before getting started, I took a page from all the home-reno shows on cable and took before, during, and after pictures. To give you an idea of what I was working with before, here is a shot of the sink and toilet. Please excuse the smiling child in front of both.

The walls were a pale purple and we had a flowery shower curtain. The toilet was known to rock when you sat on it and was stained beyond belief much to my wife's chagrin whenever we had company. The cabinet doors stuck if you ever tried to open them. The bathroom also serves as our laundry room, and the open shelves over the machines were simple planks of wood, that were forever dirty and disorganized.

Kate and I have been eyeing a remodel for several months and had fixtures picked out and budgeted for. We knew it was a small room, and that would help, plus we decided to wait on changing out the tub until next year.

Here is the vanity we wanted at first, but budget won out and we got this one instead, with matching mirror. I can't say we minded the downgrade, but are really happy with the results. We also quickly picked out a toilet, vinyl floor tiles, and paint.

That was the easy part!

I'm Going to Pump *Clap* You Up!

No, I'm not heading to the gym with Hans and Franz, I'm pumping up my bike tires. And you can too!

Every year as summer comes around, I think about the delicious Christmas ham and that bird we stuffed and gorged ourselves on in November. I think about the cold-weather climate I live in and how animals store up fat for their long winter hibernation. I also think about how I used to be a runner, and about 40 pounds lighter. To be fair, that was when I left high school - college happened (we all know how that goes), I've gotten married and started raising two kids, and about 15 years have gone by. Never-the-less, every summer I long to get back to fighting shape, but every year, something stands in my way.

• Left-over Easter candy sits in the cupboard
• Rotten weather sours my appetite for outdoor exercise
• Unaccommodating work schedules mix with child-care needs
• Gym memberships are expensive (then you add in child-care costs)
• I'm 30-something and my knees are already starting to go
• That third S'more and Porter at the weekend campfire look really good

Whatever it may be though, I struggle to get out and get healthy. Not this year.

This year I have a bike. And this year I am riding it. To this point, I have been riding for the last three weeks, about four days a week, and averaging about 5 miles a day. In fact, I'm feeling pretty good about it. To make things even better, I got a challenge. Publicly called out to put in 360 miles by the end of the year.

Seeing as I had already started riding, I thought: "What better way to stay committed than by bragging about how far I ride online?!" That's what the internet is for anyway, right? That and trolling... It doesn't take much to get out and work out if you're properly motivated. And right now, I'm motivated. The folks over at Dads Round Table got it started, and I'm committed to finishing it.

360 miles sounds like a lot, and if I trail off come winter, it might not happen.

But it only takes three months for something to become a habit.
That's a fact.
Don't ask me how I know.

Fine, I read it on the internet, but regardless... three months gets me into September, and the weather is still nice in September. As the weather does turn into fall and then winter, I'll be into the rhythm of going out every day, and if I can't ride the bike, I'll be up for a jog around the neighborhood.

Until the point I can't ride due to snow and ice, I'll just have to push myself to get ahead of the curve on mileage. You know, average 25 miles a week instead of 13. Ride five days instead of four. Skip that third s'more... but not the porter. I like my porters, leave them out of this.

Are you motivated? If not, why? What would it take for you to get out and get started? Why not join me in the DadsRT360 challenge?

Stuff My Kids Say VII

"Ooh good! This Superman has red underwear! It's just better Dad, when he has red underwear that he wears outside his pants, because its just the way I grew up with him."
          - Nat - 8 years

It seems the Man of Steel movie and DC's New 52 Superman don't impress her much.

USP - Unscheduled Sleep Position II

Yes, that is a PEZ dispenser in his mouth.

From the time you bring your babies home from the hospital, the car can quickly become a favorite when its time to force a nap. When the kids were little, you could always count on a long car ride putting the kids to sleep. For long road trips, some parents even plan their trips at night to guarantee the kids get a nap and Dad has peace and quiet to drive. Somewhere along the line though, they stop sleeping but you don't stop expecting them to sleep. Those days are frustrating. Then you come to grips with the facts, and have to start planning activities for car rides. Once you hit that point, any sleep they get on a long trip is a welcome blessing.

From the day they stop sleeping in the car to the day they stop riding with you in the car, we plan ways to keep them happy and occupied for the length of the trip. In fact, we always have designated car backpacks for long trips which include coloring books (no sticker books, those stickers will rip every time a child tries to get them out), a movie for each of them (and their own travel DVD player), a selection of their favorite toys (no little accessories which would be guaranteed to get lost), my daughter's iPod and my son's LeapPad (with headphones), a few books each (she can read to him or to herself), and a snack (crackers, chex-mix, pretzels) that they are allowed to decide when to eat. Those things seem to cover all the bases, and keep them occupied regardless the length of the drive.

The one other item that will make the back seat for every single trip we take: pillows. Because you never know when they just might decide to take that nap you thought they had outgrown.

What are some of your favorite/best trip activities to keep them occupied when they don't want to sleep?

Stuff My Kids Say VI

"Nat, are you playing Barbie? Cause if you are. I am NOT playing."

          - Godzilla - 4 years

I'm all for gender equality, and as often as not, playing with his sisters toys is no problem for my son. But today apparently, he'd had enough of it and wanted some good old action heroes. See, the two of them got new Man of Steel action figures to play with on our trip to the Toledo Zoo last Friday. He got the Split Cycle ,Superman, and she got the Demolition Claw, General Zod. Nat was thrilled with the toy but wanted Zod to be a good guy, and they made that work for the trip. Today though, he kept asking her to play the bad guy and she wanted no part of it and decided to make some Barbies put on a musical instead.

So good job son, standing up for yourself and knowing what you wanted. Way to go son, keeping your cool and letting her know with emphasis where you draw the line. Thank you for being open to playing her way with her toys often enough, that this kind of fight is a rare occurrence.

A Day at the Zoo - As Told by my Kids

Nat: We got up and got dressed was the first thing we did. Then we left on a two and a half hour drive for the Toledo Zoo. First we went and saw the Polar Bears, and they were awesome. We got to see the twin Polar Bear cubs play. They were having fun together. We saw the momma lie down, then one of the cubs tried to cuddle with her. Sometimes we would make up little words we thought they were saying by their actions and seeing what they were doing. They also had seals we got to see swimming around. They had two kinds, a Harbor Seal, and a Grey Seal. ( I almost forgot about that)

After that, we went on the train ride across the African Savannah. We saw the African Wild Dogs, (they are different than the Dingos) laying in the shade. We saw the Giraffes and the Zebras and many birds that I don't remember the names of. After we did the first part of the zoo, we got our food from our car so we could have lunch. After we finished our lunch at a shady picnic spot, we went across this bridge that went over the highway to the second part of the zoo.

Then we saw the Tigers and we sort of saw the Lion. Cause the only way we could see it was him as a big ball of fur over the ridge he was sleeping behind. So after we did that, I think we saw some more animals. We saw the Elephants and the Hippos. When we got to the Elephants, we got there just in time. We got to see the momma and her baby get cleaned and get washed and get a little drink. What was so cool was they trained the momma to lift up her feet whenever she saw this bamboo stick so the trainers could work with her. Every time she did a good job, they would feed her some carrots and sweet potatoes as a treat!

Then we went to the little fun place where they had a river walk to play in. They had a little table in this playhouse where you could paint your own face! I painted Godzilla's face as an orange tiger, and painted myself as a white tiger. We had to clean them off in the car at the end of the day because they were melting off our faces from the hot sun. Before we left the children's area, we also went through this secret passage for kids where you could get to this honeycomb climbing wall.

Once we were done with that, we went to see the monkeys. We saw these cute little monkeys with spiky hair called Langur Monkeys. One kept trying to climb up to the window on the door. It was trying to get in because there must have been something it wanted. It was so cute cause it kept falling, but kept trying. It was really fun! We also saw the Gorillas. We saw the Sliverback, the leader of the group come around to the front of the glass.where we were. First he stuck his butt in my face, then he started picking things from the ground to eat. We think they were sunflower seeds. We didn't know for sure. 

We didn't have time to see the birds, because it was time for the zoo to close but on our way back across the bridge, we saw the Bald Eagles again and we saw the wild dogs from Australia called Dingos. Before we left, we got a stuffed animal from the gift shop. I got a fluffy white polar bear cub and named it Blizzard. Godzilla got a really long snake and named it Venom, Vinny for short. Then we came back home and went to bed.

My impression of the whole day was it was AWESOME! The best day I've ever had in my entire life. Even better than Field Day at school. It was so cool and awesome! I can't wait to go back again.

Godzilla: This zoo was even better than my field trip that was the other zoo. My favorite thing was that we got to see the Polar Bears and the Lions. Some tigers almost look like lions! I also loved the Tigers and the Elephants and the Giraffes. I loved the train ride and seeing the Blowfish! 

Stuff My Kids Say V

After asking for a snack after having been told no three times already:

Godzilla: Nat, Mom said "GODZILLA!!!" so I think that's a no.


Its a good thing sometimes I think that they can read between the lines so well. I don't know if its learned, or if there is actually something about that tone of voice that says more than a long explanation could ever do, but there it is.

He gets it.

We've gotten through to him on something!

Now... does that mean our job is over?