It's All Fun and Games

I'm another year older and, as Cousin Craig was kind enough to point out, getting older means you're not dead. With that in mind, I welcome year 33.

On Wednesday night, Siena came down with a cold and couldn't sleep because she was too stuffy. In our 3 AM zombie-like state, neither Luis or I quite figured out that that was what was keeping her up so we missed out on 3-4 hours of sleep. How do you spend a day after a night like that? Go to work and then Chuck-E-Cheese (for nephew Andre's b-day party).

Luis was in charge of the gift. He bought it but this is how he left it for me to wrap - transformers and a Christmas gift bag in the car. Men wonder how they get the reputation they have...
At Chuck-E-Cheese, Joel and Tristyn check out the Pizza-time singers.
Tristyn also gives the little merry-go-round a whirl. My kids were running around all over the place but at least I could keep up with Tristyn.

Here's the birthday boy with his people...

Grandpa Jose tries out the crown...

So does Mason. Its hard to see the scratches above his right eye (he wouldn't let me get a better picture) but that's where his sister decked him with a book moments before we picked them up to come here. The rough day continued. Mason looked like he had gone 3 rounds in the UFC.

Siena got so excited playing, she didn't bother to mention that she needed to pee. We went home after this. You've just gotta know when to call it a day.

This weekend was nice and low-key. The kids had soccer yesterday. Today they played the Cars game on the Wii. Here's their official gaming set-up.

Apologies for not fixing the red eye but I've gotta go jump in the shower so we can go to Yaya and Papa Ron's for dinner.

Get This Snot Out!

I know! I know! This is 2 weeks late! We got home late last Sunday night and I had planned to blog on Monday after work. Then another sinus infection happened (insanely boring details to follow) which left me with no desire to look at a computer. So, this is the 2 week blog. There are lots of pictures so hopefully that will help to make up for the delay.

So not yesterday but the Saturday before, we went to Jr. and Sara's house for a bbq. Mason and Siena LOVE playing with their cousins Andre and Kendra.
Since each of my kids were doing something goofy in each of these pictures, I'm forced to include them both.
Siena showing all how to properly relax.

Gloria, Dulcina (Sara's mom), and Jose livin' it up!

The next day, we had a big birthday party at Mary Lou and Bruce's house for Jocelyn and Berren. As if playing with Kendra and Andre isn't enough, Mason and Siena got to play with their other favorite cousin, Ellia.

Heidi and Dan have the new Beatles Rock Band so of course we had to bring over our instruments and have a big rock fest. First though, Dan has to figure out how to hook the Wii up to Mary Lou and Bruce's tv.

Ringo takes his position...

Meanwhile, the lovely Johnson ladies pose for me...not sure why Joanne is hiding behind Amanda though...

The kids are SOOOO excited for cake time. From left, b-day girl Jocelyn, Mason, Siena, Ellia, and b-day boy Berren. The big kids were on hand to help the 2 year-olds work the candles.

Jocelyn needed a little big kid help.

Family on hand - Joanne, Papa Ron, and Jay B.

Baskin Robbins ice cream cake is a big hit!!!

Aaaaahhhhh!!!!!! It's a Papa Ron MONSTER!!! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!!

Heidi carrying Berren one-handed by the hip. These are the tricks that only mom's can come up with.

Party favors for the visiting kids...cars!!! Yaya with the assist.

Mason posed so I took the picture. Picture came out good so I included said picture.

Jay B. tries to extract doll from packaging. For my childless followers, getting toys out of the packaging is one of the most frustrating, time consuming, and impossible tasks on the planet. Even Jay B's medical training couldn't prepare him for this challenge.

There's nothing like 2 little girls playing with their cars...

Now its time to ROCK (again).

Yesterday Mason and Siena had their first soccer game of the season. For Siena, this was her first soccer game ever! (Note that they get their real jerseys next week.) Siena has been waiting so long to be able to get out and play with big brother Mason.

Mason, Daddy, and Jose take a rest between quarters.Little soccer princess takes a break. Siena did awesome in her first game. She was right in there, ran fast, got a number of good kicks and even a fast break. She's got game.

And the all important high fives at the end of the game.

Now for the sinus update:

As this is my 2nd sinus infection in 6 months, I'm ready to attack this thing with a vengence. Especially since I had to miss a flag football game because of it. This time I'm pulling out all the stops. I bought a Neti pot. This thing consists of adding water and pouring in in one nostril while it drains out the other.

After a facebook friend recommendation and some internet research, I also decided to try raw garlic. Its supposed to help prevent colds and sinus issues.

IDIOT ALERT IDIOT ALERT IDIOT ALERT IDIOT ALERT

I didn't realize that there were numerous cloves on each thing of garlic (I don't much cook) so I bought what I thought was a week's worth of garlic. I now realize I have about 2 months worth of garlic. I guess I'm committed to this experiment now.

The snot is now flowing. I can't say for sure if it was because of the Neti pot, garlic, or just the normal progression of things but its nice to be getting the gunk out.

It should be noted that Mason and Siena have been playing together ALL day today. Without fighting. Playing house. Together. No arguments. Nicely. Together. It's unbelieveable. Nicely. Together. Did I mention together? And nicely?

A Week of Random

In a week that is fairly quiet and low key (a rare for us), it's a little hard to come up with exciting blog fodder come Sunday. However, I've never been at a loss for words so I'm sure that I'll come up with something to babble about.

I am now a football player. That's me #26 pictured below putting on the hurt!!

Okay, its at least true that I'm playing football but its flag football in Mentor's new employee league. We had our first practice Thursday and by virtue of us receiving 3 extra points if one of the females is involved in TD's, I may get to play a little quarterback. Our first game is on Tuesday and should be fun.

Luis was invited to play indoor soccer a couple weeks ago. After 30 seconds on the pitch, he pulled his calf muscle. This is what his calf looks like today, a week and a half later...

Believe it or not it is getting better slowly but it is quite the array of colors in the meantime.

Mason still loves school. He and Siena were drawing and painting up a storm this week. Here's a Mason self-portrait:

And he's learned to write his name.

Here's the picture he was most proud of:

Its a dragster...what did YOU think it was...

We had a nice dinner at Yaya and Papa Ron's where the kids got to play and play. The only downside to school for Mason is not getting to spend his Friday's playing up at Yaya's house.

More Movies Cousin Craig Will Never See Review:

This film was made by the same producers as Little Miss Sunshine. While Little Miss Sunshine was a better movie, this one still receives high marks. Luis thought it was a bit of a chick flick, which is true, but that didn't diminish his enjoyment (Luis likes chick flicks). The premise is great - 2 sisters start up a business cleaning crime scenes and deal with their own personal messes at the same time. Enjoyable throughout and well acted. Overall rating - B.

Where to start with this - movie takes place in tunnels below Moscow where some wayward people live. Not sure if the director thought it was artistic or if it was budget issues but there were a lot of the same shots used throughout. There was also zero character development (is that where the zero in the title came from?). To top it off, I never really knew what the movie was about or what was going on. In all, don't waste your time. D

The joy of movies is that each are wholly different and independent. After the disaster which was Moscow Zero, we watched Adventureland, by the makers of Superbad. This was a fun movie, set back in 1987 (we can relate). The main cast are employees of a theme park in Pittsburg over one summer during college. There's pot, dates, breakups, and humor. Definitly a winner. B+.

Note: I thought I'd start assigning grades to movies as a way to quantify them better than just saying "it was good".

First Day of School!

Its official! Mason is a kindergartner. Thursday was his very first day of school and he was soooooooo excited. Of course, we took the token first day of school picture.

Both Thursday and Friday went great. Mason had such a good time that he didn't even want to come home. At least we could assure him that he would be coming back.

When Luis and I went to pick him up Friday, his teacher asked Luis if Mason's hearing was okay. Luis assured her that yes, it is (he had it tested a week ago and came out a-ok), Mason just has a case of shy selective listening. At the time she was calling his name, it was actually to congratulate him on being good. He still ignored her. That's my boy!

I took Thursday and Friday off from work for the sake of having a little down time after getting the 10Q filed. It was nice relaxing for a few days. Course, last night I relaxed a little too much and had a bit too much wine with the Cruzes. I won't be doing that again anytime soon.

We watched a lot of football this weekend. Jury's still out on how are fantasy teams will fare. We're in the midst of a couple of barn burners that won't be decided until Monday Night.

Mason has also become hooked on going on walks. I always invite Siena but she's happier staying at home coloring and watching Strawberry Shortcake. Both yesterday and today Mason and I went down to Elk Rock which is a little island park about a mile from our house. It has a natural land bridge from the shore to the island and a few nice little trails to walk along. Mason is hooked. He wants to go hiking and walking all the time now.

Movies Cousin Craig Will Never See Weekly Review Section:

The reason Cousin Craig will never see these movies is his preoccupation with watching anime, fantasy, and sci fi. I can review all of those in one swoop - they all get an F.

Sadly, we watched too much football and haven't finished any movies since last weekend. More reviews next week though as we're almost through one.

3 Day Weekends are Great!

Finally, a 3 day weekend. For the most part, we took it easy and stayed close to home (yeah, I know, a first for us). Saturday, Mason and I went to pick out his school supplies. Starting this Thursday, I will officially have a kindergartner. Can't believe the time has gone by so fast.

The big event of this weekend was Lucinda and Deb's visit. We had a great dinner with them at Spaghetti Factory on Friday night, along with Annette and Walt and my parents.

Sunday afternoon/evening was Kinney Family Picnic II. This time it was the smaller, rainy edition. We didn't let the rain dampen our spirits though. At least Mason didn't. This is the ultimate in recycling - a weed hat.

It cooled off so much that we had to bust out the coffee. Uncle Ron enjoys a cup of Papa Ron's finest brew.
Three ladies - Annette, Yaya, and Jean. Note the blanket Yaya is sporting. It was cold and rainy.

Siena's dinner. Fruit and vegetables. And a bun with no meat. Yum.

Mother and daughter - Annette and Lucinda keeping out of the rain.

Mom, Jean, and Deb having dunch - Yaya likes to do meals at 3 or 4 PM so not sure what this meal was.

Papa Ron the horsie!

This was the angriest face I could conjur up. Not for any particular reason. Doesn't look too intimidating, does it. Mostly pinched like Renee Zellweger but without the cuteness.

Mason and his Yaya.

Mom and I had a girls date today. We had lunch at Pioneer Courthouse and went to see a movie (to be reviewed below). It was a nice, relaxing afternoon. Its nice to spend time with grown-ups once in a while.

Movie review:

My One and Only: This is the movie Yaya and I went to this afternoon. Both of us are Zellweger fans so this was an easy choice. It was also more of a chick flick than we knew our husbands would be interested in. The jest of the movie is that Ms. Zellweger is the mother of 2 teenage boys who left her cheating husband (Kevin Bacon) in search of another husband to keep her and the boys kept. Course a lot happens, but its essentially a coming of age movie and nice story. My recommendation would be that for ladies - must see. Men - send your ladies.

Milk: I can see why this was nominated for an Academy Award. Had it not been up against Slumdogs, it should have won. Other than Slumdog, this is the best movie I've seen in a year. There is really no flaw. True story, well told, great pace, great acting. Absolute must see. Unequivocal Cousin Craig.

Meet Bill: Here's the loser of the group. Had they not mucked up the ending so much, it might have ranked at least a tolerable. Luis wasn't crazy about all the pot smoking. I just hated the ending. It felt like a movie that had been done before, and recently. And better. This one ranks an unequivocal don't bother.