Two of my favs!

I was trolling through Twitter and I see this picture on Tommy Lasorda's twitter account!



Luckily I can say that I have independently met both of these guys but man, I am not sure what I would say first or talk to first if they were both in front of me!

Pittsburgh

Well, a couple months ago, with help of talking to family and friends, I decided to take Samantha with me on the GACRT (Great American College Road Trip).  GACRT is something that Dave Sachs and Nate Stone started 14 years ago.  They have been going to a difference college football stadium each year.  Given they are Iowa fans, we usually hit up a Iowa road game and this year was Iowa at Pittsburgh in September.

As I documented earlier, I thought this was a good time to take Samantha with me.  It gave us some 1-1 time as well as Michelle some 1-1 time with Meredith.  University of Pittsburgh plays at Heinz field which is downtown so the trip was in a central location with good weather.

Samantha was super excited to go on the trip.  I was super excited to go to a Pirates game Friday night.  Our itinerary was aggressive but I wanted to keep Samantha busy.  I was afraid she was going to be bored.  When I explained the trip to her, her biggest excitement was that we were staying in a hotel.  When I initially made the trip, this thought didn't even really cross my mind but I do understand why that would be exciting to a kid.

 She was pumped at the airport and she even got her first MAD magazine.  I knew Uncle Bryan would be pumped to hear that news!

All the excitement wore her out as she fell asleep on the plane before we took off and slept the whole flight.  I liked that because we were going to the baseball game at 7 pm.

Pirates stadium is a beuatiful stadium right off of downtown.  We didn't make the whole game but we did find the gift shop where Samantha did a great job picking out gifts for Michelle and Meredith.

We sang the 7th inning stretch from the bridge outside the staidum looking in.  It was a pretty cool experience. 

Samantha wanted me to take a picture of the building that had rainbow lights at the top of it.  We saw it on our walk back to the hotel.

Of course when we got back to the hotel, we ordered some room service dessert and watched a movie, The Maleficent. I feel asleep but she stayed awake for the whole thing.  Ha!

The next morning we headed to Jerome Bettis' restuarant before the Iowa game.  We were there awhile so Samantha watched cartoons and drew a picture.

Then, it was on to Samantha's first college football game!  Of course, she had to play in the jumpy house outside the stadium first!

Here she is inside the stadium.

Around halftime, Samantha told me she wanted to go back to the hotel. Given that in the last 24 hours, we had flown there, been to a baseball game, been to a football game and been doing a lot of walking, I understood.  We left in the 3rd quarter to head to hotel but we were done walking!

This little bridge was outside our hotel on the sidewalk.  Samantha loved it.

So back in the hotel,, we had some serious r&r and ordered more room service!

We met up with everyone later for dinner but then headed to airport super early Sunday morning.  Our flight home was at 6:25.  It really did not phase Samantha.  We were home before Meredith and Michelle were awake!

What I learned is that she loved staying at a hotel.  Michelle and I are already making plans to stay at a hotel this winter downtown Chicago with the kids.  It will be a great escape from the winter months.  I am also glad I made the decision to do the trip with her.  1-1 is always good and I want to thank everyone who helped me make that decision.

Kindergarten

Dear Samantha,

Today is your last day at daycare.  You started going there in August of 2009 when you were a little under 6 months old.   What I am trying to say is that you have been going to that building your whole life.  You have spent more time awake in between those walls than anywhere else.  This transition to a new school, new surroundings, new people is in my humble opinion the second biggest change of your life.  You might know it yet but becoming a sister, a big sister in 2012 was probably your biggest change.  I digress.

Everyone knows we paid good amount money for you to go to that daycare and it was worth it. They help mold you into the person you are today and I could not be prouder.  You are strong willed, intelligent, caring and honest.  You are absolutely intellectually "ready" for kindergarten but I also understand with big changes comes discomfort and with discomfort comes a lot of emotions/feelings both high and low.

I know you are going through a range of emotions because I am too! Your next school is kindergarten through eighth grade and even though I have always enjoyed being in a classroom, have always enjoyed learning, I struggled in those grades socially.  So, I am excited for you but at the same time nervous.  My instinct will always be protect you.  

From baby to toddler, to preschooler, to kindergarten-er, it has been my privilege to be a part of your journey and I am happy you are part of mine,  You push me to be a better father, a better listener, a better coach, a better husband, just a better person.  Trust me on this; "push" is the right word to use! I want to thank you for always challenging me.

Should I post this letter?  I don't know.  Should I keep this between us?  Maybe.  I do want a digital imprint of my feelings and thoughts at this moment to share with you in the future.  I also want to have it for me to remind me of the pride, joy, nervousness and excitement I am feeling.

I love you.  I will always love and I will always be there for you.

Love,

Dad

Keeping things equal

As a parent, I sometimes struggle with keeping things equal.  Samantha is three years older than Meredith and more to the issue, she is able to do  and to appreciate things more than Meredith.  For example, Samantha has turned into my movie buddy.  She is likes going to movies (as do I) and we go from time to time.  I have yet to take Meredith to a movie (but that will change soon).

So, every year some good friends of mine run an annual Great American College Road Trip (GACRT).  They have been doing this, wow, I think for almost 15 years now. They are mainly Iowa fans, so usually Iowa is involved.  They go to a different college football stadium every year.  Well, this year, GACRT is heading to Pittsburgh and the game is on Saturday, September 20.  I also found out that the Pirates are home  that weekend and have a night game on Friday.

Now, I have not been to the new Pirates stadium or to Pitts' football stadium (editor note:  I didn't know they play at Heinz field.  I have been there!) so I think it would be a great time.  Also, it is early enough in the fall that the weather should be ok (i.e. not too cold).  I enjoy the city of Pittsburgh as well so this trip is really a no brainer.

Here is the where I am struggling.  I am thinking about taking Samantha with me.  The flight times are good (and not expensive).  I think she would love the weekend away.  She will definitely enjoy the sporting events.  The biggest thing holding me back is guilt.  It is guilt that I am creating myself.  I am well aware of this but I do not want to hurt Meredith's feeling or make her feel like I don't love her as much as I do Samantha.  I know she is only 2.5 years old and will not remember any of this.  I get that.  I really do.

I have talked to Michelle about this and she said that she would plan a fun/special weekend with Meredith if I decide to go to this and take Samantha.  That makes me feel better but I still can not shake the feeling that by taking Samantha to this, I am being a bad father to Meredith.

Anyway, please leave any and all comments on what you think I should do.  I promise I am not crazy.  This is really how my mind works!  Hahaha.

Happy Tuesday?  Is it really Tuesday?  Yep, it is.  For listening to my little rant, here are a few pictures from Father's Day where we were being silly with my phone.

Sisters

We just got back from a week long vacation in New Buffalo, Michigan where there were four kids running around.  We have done this vacation three years in a row now and it is enjoyable to see how these four are growing up together and playing together.  

(Note: I took this picture because they were all watching the old school Transformers cartoon.  One of my favorites of all time!)

On a more intimate level, as Meredith is approaching 2.5 years old and Samantha is quickly approaching 5.5 years old, Michelle and I are both loving watching these girls become true sisters.  It really does bring me great joy and love to see it.  Michelle had to make an overnight trip to NYC yesterday so I decided to take the girls out to dinner.  Big Bricks is about 50 yards from our garage and has an amazing outside area.  The girls decided to sit on one side of the bench and I got the other.  I took this picture and watched them interact.

Now, please do not get me wrong.  They did not sit long.  Meredith ended up sitting next to me while she ate and they were doing their own thing as well.  However, their bond is getting stronger with each day.

Of course, it is not all roses and butterflies. They know exactly how to hit each other buttons and can drive each other up a wall.  "I need space!" is a common quote in our house.  However, the good is far more than the bad.

I also like to watch how their unique spirits blend together as sisters. Samantha has become a good big sister.  She definitely looks out for her sister, helps her, and includes her in fun.  She is patient with Meredith and willing to give up toys/pens/ipads for her younger sister.  She understands that she is a younger and needs a little more help.  Her compassion and empathy shines for Meredith.

Meredith might rank Samantha #1 in our family when it comes to importance.  She enjoys thinking she is as old as her and can do whatever Samantha can do.  As much as she follows Samantha, she is not afraid to voice her opinion and stand up for herself.  We have learned never to doubt what she can do.

Now that Meredith is able to get out of her bed by herself (the front wall of the crib is gone), one of my favorite moments of the days is when they both walk into our bedroom together after waking up.  It does not happen every day but it happens sometimes.  When it happens, they walk in together holding some lovies and crawl into our bed.  This morning I heard them gathering lovies and laughing before walking into our room.  It was a great way to start the day.

After moving into our new place last year, I was struggling emotionally on many levels.  Over the last year, with the help of therapy, I have been working on being more loving, more compassionate, more empathetic, more loving person to myself, among other things.  It is a slow, sometimes confusing, difficult but very important journey.  

From all of this, I have been able to appreciate moments, be more present, be more in the now.  I am proud of the home that we have created and I could not be more proud of these two girls, our family and their ever flowing relationship as sisters.  I am so happy you have each other.

Andy's Staycation - April 9, 2014: Day 4 - Wedensday

Wednesday was pegged for my time with Samantha.  We planned on going to the Museum of Science and Industry.  I honestly have not been to this museum since I was a kid so I was pretty excited.

I was making a day of it and was hoping Samantha would have enough energy to last.  As a family, we dropped Meredith off at daycare and then Samantha and I dropped Michelle off at work.  From there it was smooth sailing to the museum and we were second in line waiting for the place to open.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Disney archives are one of the special exhibits going on at the museum.  Yeah, we had to do that.

Once we got there, we bought tickets and chose three "extra" events to do.  We chose a submarine tour, the coal mine tour and the Disney archives.  Once you choose, they give you suggested times for each event.

The museum was not crowded the entire day but getting the in the morning when it opened help a lot.  We went straight for the Science storm room.  It was loud in there which Samantha did not like but they have a 20 foot tornado and a huge simulated avalanche in there.  We also played around with some fiber optic tricks, some magnets and some prisms that played with colors.  We then headed over to the coal mine.  Samantha was a little scared going down the elevator but once we down there, she was asking questions and enjoying the tour.

After the coal mine, we were by the lunch area.  We decided to get an early lunch and then head over to the farm area.  Samantha liked riding the giant and I mean a giant tractor.  Also downstairs, there is an "idea factory" that is good for kids 0 to 6 or 7.  There is water play, pulleys and cranks, microscopes.  We spent a good 45 min in there just exploring.  After tha,t we made out way to the submarine but on the way there were two rooms Samantha really liked.  There was a circus room which had some silly mirrors and an "I spy" room where there were different glass windows to look into rooms and find different things.  "I spy" is a game we play a lot at home.

(Editor's note:  We took an actual camera with us that Samantha used for most of the pics.  I will send a link to those pics after I link them to shutterfly.)

When I was younger, the submarine was outside.  Now, they built a building around it.  haha.  Before we went in, they warned us not to drop anything small because we might lose it forever.  This had Samantha worried.  She held on to that camera for dear life.  I am not built for a German submarine from the 1940s.  Let's just leave it at that.  It was ok to me and very cool to think it is an actual captured sub for the war.  Samantha did love taking pictures of it from the outside.

After that, we headed up to the third floor.  We did not spend too much time up there.  We walked around the "you" area and I was hoping to do something in the educational labs with her but had no idea times of things.  She was also getting tired.

We checked out the storm center area from the third floor.  They set off a lighting bolt while we were there that was about 15 feet long.   That was pretty cool.  I liked it at least.  Haha.

We went back down to the second floor and regrouped at an ice cream shop.  I got a root beer float and she got a sundae.  Jackpot!  Sugar her up!  We then went over by the Disney archives but before going in, we checked out the huge model train area.  Samantha enjoyed checking out the city and I showed her wells street where we drove in the morning and dropped of Michelle.

I was nervous about the Disney archives.  Samantha wanted to do some art. I was not sure how that was going to happen at the museum and these archives are cool for me but for a 5 year old,  I was skeptical.  Well, Disney nailed it...as usual.  There were a lot of cool old items like the original sleeping beauty book, original Cinderella book and also there were places do you could watch old cartoons.  There was a lego based model of Cinderella's castle that you see at Magic Kingdom.  Samantha also liked seeing the Mary Poppins bag and clothes from the movie.

However we turned a corner and saw a guy teaching people how to draw Disney characters.  They were finishing up Minnie and I was worried we just missed it.  However he said that another class was starting in 3 minutes.  So Samantha and I sat down and grabbed a clipboard, paper and pencil.

I am not an artist. I do not consider myself to have the artist's touch but am willing to learn and help Samantha.  The teacher basically said if you can draw a circle and a line, you will do great.  He equated drawing to architecture and building a picture from the ground up.  There was two big screens that showed his paper as we went along.  We started with Donald Duck and  I was worried.  Donald is tough!  He went a little fast for Samantha but she did a good job keeping up and I kept reiterating steps to her. Ten minutes later, yes, TEN, here were the results.

I was blown away by both pictures.  I couldn't believe how well we both did.  We enjoyed it so much that we stayed for another one.  The second one we did was Mickey and here are those.

Samantha took them to school the following week to show her class. After that, we headed out but not before stopping at the gift shop (Dad is a sucker if you haven't figured this out yet).  She wanted to get something for both her and Meredith.

We left shortly after 3 pm, 6 hours at the museum.  We stopped at Michelle's office, picked her up and were home a little after 4 to show Michelle all that we did. 

I was with one child, my own and by the time I got home I was EXHAUSTED.  I have a new appreciation for teachers that take kids on field trips.  I know how Samantha reacts, handles situations.  To do something like that with a group of kids sounds exhausting.

Anyway, it was a great day, great time and something I will remember forever (mainly because I am framing my Donald Duck and hanging it above my bed!).

Day 4 was a success and Day 5 -8 would be spent in Cinci visiting the Neyers.  My staycation in Chicago was coming to an end but my week was far from over!

Andy's Staycation - April 8, 2014: Day 3 - Tuesday

Tuesday is already here!  Tuesday was pegged to spend some time with Meredith.  Also though, I was able to get a breakfast date in with Michelle.  It was a win-win.

Before we go too far.  On Monday night, Michelle and I booked a real vacation (without kids = real...just kidding...kinda).  We are heading to Mexico for a few nights with the Phelans.  I actually walked over to their house with the ipad and we booked it.  I booked a vacation while on vacation...GENIUS!

After dropping the kids off, I drove Michelle downtown and we decided to go to Little Goat for breakfast before she had to go to work.  Neither of us had been but it was a great time and we knew we were going to love it since we love The Girl and the Goat restaurant.  Both restaurants are owned by a former top chef winner.   It was nice to sit, talk and enjoy the meal before sending Michelle off to work.

After that, I headed home for some R&R.  Today was my lazy day.  I laid on the couch and caught up on some tv.  I got through the rest of House of Cards.  If you do not know about this show, I highly recommend it.  Kevin Spacey stars in it and is only on netflix.  The show is through 2 seasons.

Meredith gets done with her nap around 3:00. I had plans of taking her to paint pottery at Glazed Expressions.  Basically, you pick out ceramic pieces to paint however your heart desires.  Meredith was excited to be picked up early and ready to go.

She picked out a car and an elephant to paint.  She also picked out a few shades of purple to use for both pieces.  This should come as no surprise to anyone as she is more into purple than her sister!

She lets me help some but was very particular what color purple I could use on each piece.  She was running the show.  We spent about an hour or so there and then headed back to daycare to pick up her sister.

Michelle met us at home for dinner and that was the end of my Tuesday.  I was able to stay away from work, knock out two dates and get some quality r&r in.  As Ice Cube would say, "I have to say today was a good day."