Yet more tiredness...

Dear Nicky,

I need to nap when you guys nap. I'm so tired I can't see straight.

Love,
Dad

Good dinner...

Dear Nicky,

You didn't sleep that well last night, but you're doing okay now. I think you must've been hungry last night, because you barely ate anything at all. This evening was different and you ate a lot of food, which is great, but will probably be the only thing you eat for the next 24 hours, but at least I think you'll sleep well tonight. This morning our time in the yard was cut short by the discovery of a yellowjacket nest underneath the big slide on your playground area. Mom and I hurried you kids inside, then I got the special hornet spray and nuked the nest. So many yellowjackets came falling out it reminded me of one of those Matrix movies, where they set off an EMP and all the machine squids come falling down the hole. Anway, I'm glad you ate well.

Love,
Dad

Tired...

Dear Nicky,

Sorry pal, another evening where I'm just too tired.

Love,
Dad

The latest...

Dear Nicky,

The last couple of posts have been beat and I apologize. On Tuesday Mom and I went to the shore for a few hours all by ourselves, then yesterday we had a playdate in Livingston at the community pool. You guys had a lot of fun and were thoroughly wiped out from the activity and the cold water. Today we were all running around being busy and in the evening we went out for a drive after dinner. That's it.

Love,
Dad

Pool...!

Dear Nicky,

This morning we went to a playdate at a pool in another town. I'll catch you up tomorrow.

Love,
Dad

Wiped out...

Dear Nicky,

Sorry, but I;m just too tired right now. I'll catch you up tomorrow.

Love,
Dad

Frustration...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I filled in the gaps between the stones in the side entry area. I think it looks better already and will look even better after a couple of rains. This afternoon Granny brought her laptop over because she can't connect to the Internet and I couldn't figure out what the problem was. I hate that I couldn't fix it.

Love,
Dad

Big squirt gun...

Dear Nicky,

This morning Mom took you and your sister to Sunday School, then this afternoon she took you to Granny's house, where you went splashing in the pool. I'm told you had steak for dinner and ate a lot of it. While you guys were gone I cleaned off some of the Belgian blocks lining our driveway that I had slopped sealer on earlier this summer. I first coated the spots with some paint stripper, then I blasted them with a power washer, which is just like a squirt gun except a lot more powerful. When you guys came home, we gave you a bath, then we watched some Wiggles and put you to bed.

Love,
Dad

Running daddy...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I went to the gym and ran for almost three miles. This afternoon we went on some errands all together. Then this evening Mom and I went to the movies. I need to go to sleep.

Love,
Dad

Nice haircut...

Dear Nicky,

This morning I took the Subaru for an oil change, which ended up being more than that, of course. Mom gave you a bath and when I returned took you for a haircut. You looked good when you came back. Mom kept talking about how well behaved you were at the barber shop. Then we went to Target and came home for a long nap. You ate nothing for lunch and nothing for dinner. Maybe you'll eat something tomorrow. Who knows?

Love,
Dad

Bouncy...

Dear Nicky,

This afternoon we went over to our neighbor's yard, where she had inflated a big bouncy cage type of thing, and you and Junie and a bunch of other kids from the neighborhood went in and bounced around and threw balls and stuff like that. It was a lot of fun and you guys got nice and tired from that. Now I think you're coming down with another cold. Who knows where you got it? I wonder how many weeks this one will last.

Love,
Dad

My sciatica...

Dear Nicky,

My sciatica is acting up last couple days, probably due to exercising. Sciatica is when the sciatic nerve, which runs from your leg through your butt to your spine, gets irritated somehow. It doesn't hurt a lot, but the affected leg feels weaker and you have this uncomfortable urge to move it. It also feels like there's a bee buzzing away in your buttcheek. Weird and annoying. Nothing exciting today otherwise. Went to Wegman's, had some laughs, went to bed early. The end.

Love,
Dad

You're so good...

Dear Nicky,

You're such a sweet, good natured boy; gentle, funny, and loving. You respond well to affection and return it easily. You're smart, kind, and easygoing. You work hard. You try to please. You don't get jealous. You're quick to forgive. You're patient and tolerant. You're quick to laugh and slow to anger. You listen and learn. You have the best laugh. You're mischievous. You're beautiful inside and out.

Love,
Dad

Nice and ordinary...

Dear Nicky,

Nothing special today. It was nice, we went out, but only on the deck for some coloring. You guys ate pretty well and went to bed easy.

Love,
Dad

A dip...

Dear Nicky,

This morning, Mom took you to church. For lunch you ate a huge PB&J. Then Mom took you guys to the pool of the parents of one of her best friends. I'm told you had a nice time despite the anal retentive old parents that were there. When you came home, we had pizza, then you guys had a bath, and we watched some TV and then you went to bed.

Love,
Dad

Lovely Saturday...

Dear Nicky,

Today was very nice day all in all. The weather was nice and you kids were nice. Mom took you to Whole Foods. Then you napped for a while, then we went to a nice playground in Chatham, then we went out for ice cream. You didn't want any. We came home, made some dinner. At one point you almost touched the burner on the stove, so I gave you a time out. It hurt me more than it did you to see you sitting there in that little chair, sad and confused. After dinner we then went to bed. No major crises, no fights.

Love,
Dad

Boots' birthday...

Dear Nicky,

Today was your Cousin Boots' birthday. Mom took you guys over there around noon and brought you home at seven. You had a lot of fun and ate extremely well. But neither of you guys napped at all during the day, which meant that by the time you came home you were exhausted and Junie was psychotic. While Mom gave you a bath, I spent close to an hour trying to calm down your sister. After a very quiet period all day, it was quite stressful for all of us, you included, to hear her howling and shrieking the way she was.

Love,
Dad

Total insomnia...

Dear Nicky,

This morning your nanny was late, so I was late doing the recycling and the garbage and all that, and so I was late going to the gym. I worked out long there it seemed. Then I went to Target, then back home, then to lunch, then over to talk with a professional about some issues, then back home, then out for a quick coffee, and now I'm not sleepy in the slightest. Well, okay now I am. G'night.

Love,
Dad

Another trip to Weggie's...

Dear Nicky,

This morning we went to Wegman's in order to get some stuff and also get out of the way of the cleaning people. I put you and Junie into one of those car type carts, and it was fine for a while. You were both turning the toy steering wheels and honking the horns, but then you started tormenting Junie and freaking her out and I had to put her in the regular kid seat. Then we came home, you guys had an early lunch and a late nap, played outside, had dinner, watched some Wiggles, then went to bed.

Love,
Dad

Wrong date...

Dear Nicky,

This afternoon I woke you early from your nap to go see Doc Cheng at Children's Specialized. Unfortunately, we were a little early--by about a month. See, I got the dates mixed up. Instead of August 12, your appointment was for September 12. And you were sleeping so soundly, too. Sorry! But anyway we went to get your new glasses from our pal Jeff, who hooked us up. Then we came home. Later we went out in the yard and played for a while with some toys and on the swings, then it was time for a bath, then bed.

Love,
Dad

Just chillin'...

Dear Nicky,

Whoa! Forgot to take my antibiotic! Be right back. Okay, I'm back. Finally, this cough is going away. It's a good thing I hung onto those amoxicillin capsules from that time we all had strep throat. When I get a cold, it tends to go into my chest and is then hard to shake. At last I'm feeling better, as far as my cough goes. Now this evening I'm feeling achey, maybe from the weather, maybe from my meds. We didn't do much today. I had a doc's appointment early this morning, then I came home and hung out with you guys all day. You two were a little wild today. Mom patched you before she left, and you did very well with it. Funnily enough, you seemed to know exactly when your hour was up, and your ripped it from your little face.

Love,
Dad

Some more reality...

Dear Nicky,

Today was tough. Everybody got on everybody else's nerves. There was much tension and snapping, I'm afraid. Sorry.

Love,
Dad

Movie and dinner...

Dear Nicky,

So I've got this cold and it's moved into my chest, but I took some medicine and Mom and went out to dinner and a movie in nearby Bernardsville. Dinner was nice, service was a little unctuous but the food was good. Then we went and saw Mama Mia! The movie was lame and the theater was a dump, but Mom and I had some laughs while you guys were looked after by Laurie the babysitter, who is determined to make sure you guys have fun, by God!

Love,
Dad

Bad cold...

Dear Nicky,

This cold is wiping me out. I can't keep my eyes open.

Love,
Dad

School's out for summer...

Dear Nicky,

Today was your last day of Stones till September. I think you had a lot of fun over the course of the summer. And of course your therapies went very nicely. We're so proud of you, my little boy. You're so brave and you work so hard, and it really seems to be starting to pay off. You're walking better and you totally know your numbers and alphabet and doggone it I really believe you can read a large number of words. I think you have the next three weeks off, so we'll try to keep you busy somehow. You're the best!

Love,
Dad

Some reality intrudes...

Dear Nicky,

Mom and I had a fight tonight. No big deal, it's normal to fight once in a while. But I just feel like writing anything. Don't worry.

Love,
Dad

Awake...!

Dear Nicky,

Tod you came home from school wide awake. You stayed awake till bedtime. Maybe you're outgrowing your midday nap. I myself could use a nap.

Love,
Dad

Mom sends you off...

Dear Nicky,

Mom was so nice this morning to let me sleep a little later than usual. And she got you ready and sent you off in a good mood to school, where you continued to have a good day. Because she'd been away all weekend for work, she went in a little later today. As usual, you came home wiped out and crashed for s couple hours, then we hung out, had a little supper, then read some stories, sang some songs, and went to bed. I think your cold is finally on the mend. Thank goodness; it was a rough one.

Love,
Dad

Mom is back...

Dear Nicky,

This morning we went to Home Depot yet again for another adapter for the water filter under the sink. Everybody who saw you raved about you. After Home Depot we went through a Dunkin Donuts drive-thru, where I got an ice coffee and a couple donuts and got you guys some munchkins. Turns out you loved them. When we got home your face was a mess from inhaling your share of the treats. You and Junie each got three. Soon it was time for a nap, while I worked on the filter. At one point I almost gave up because of fitting issues, but I finally recognized a solution combination that worked. Now the water filter under the sink works great, and no leaks. After lunch, we colored and read on the deck, where you made a mess and pitched half your stuff over the side. Then it started to rain and we went in for a bath. Then Mom came home and hung out with you guys and put you to bed while I went to Borders and then got a sub, which was okay. We've all been sick this weekend. I hope the worst is over.

Love,
Dad

Insomnia...

Dear Nicky,

This morning we went to Home Depot and Stop n Shop. When we came back it was naptime. I tried to take a nap myself but had too much restless leg action going on. Just as I was about to feed you, your grandfather came over with another multipiece toy. After he left we went on the deck with some paper and crayons. You threw some over the side, but you and June enjoyed yourselves for a while. Then we came in and had some chicken for dinner. Gave you guys cold medecine and put you to bed. You seem fine, Junie's still got a cough. We were supposed to get some rain today but we didn't. I'm not sleepy right now, but I should be.

Love,
Dad

I owe yet another post...

Dear Nicky,

I'm wiped out. I'll get back to you tomorrow.

Love,
Dad