White Lightning Axiom: Redux

This weekend was quite a wing-dinger. The grandparents were down and this thrilled the twins to no end. So much so that Alexis was asking for them this Mundane Monday Morning. It all started with a bit of rain on Friday afternoon which guaranteed that I would not be mowing the lawn this weekend. I would have liked to got that job done, but we need the rain more than I need to have my grass cut. It can wait till Monday or Tuesday. I'll do the laundry instead. I have about 6 loads of it including bed-sheets.

We had to get up early on Saturday morning since we had planned to take the kids to their first swim lessons. The lessons were at 0830, Jacob go up at 0445. He was just too excited to stay asleep and wanted to play with Grams and Gramps who did not seem to mind the early hour. Of course, he had to blast into our room, bounce around the bed for a bit and then run out after getting our attention. Well, it seem that we are going to make that morning swim lesson with no problem. When we get there, every thing seems to be very clean and really well maintained. Unfortunately, Alexis has some sort of neurosis about indoor pools and was not entirely cooperative. She wanted to just hang on to me for the entire 30 minute lesson. Since there are 6 lessons, I'm sure we will manage to get her accustomed to the pool sooner or later. Jacob, however, ate it up. He was kicking and trying to swim the best he could. It looks like he will do quite well, hence, The Mrs laid claim to him (easier time than arguing/cajoling her daughter).

Hmmm, post-swim pancakes. We are all fairly exhausted from the early morning followed by the morning aquatic endeavor. The food which normally fills me to the brim was barely enough to sate my appetite. We make our way back home as quickly as possible since the kids are fading fast. They only play for a bit after we get home before I escort them to their beds. Mild complaints and protestations last for about 30 seconds before they pass out.

While the kids sleep and The Mrs shops, Hero Dad and I go about the dirty task of cleaning out the kennel room and the wood burning stove. Both are fairly dirty and involve a liberal application of elbow grease. Once we got everything out and started mopping the floor, the rain started to come down and we had to reverse gears. Argh. One thing I did learn is that the fire-bricks in the stove have degraded to a state where if you try to remove them the nearly disintegrate in your hands. Good thing the winter is over and I can start shopping for some new ones. I can only hope that the price of new bricks is not going to exceed the benefit of having the stove in the first place. I'll have to look around locally to see if I can find anything reasonable.

While Hero Dad, The Mrs (Who had just arrived home) and I were trying to haul all the stuff back into the house, the hounds were busy rolling in the mud and grime while cavorting amongst the rain-drops. Well, I'm not going to let them back in after we have just finished cleaning the room. It looks like they are going to get a bath in the rain. I escort them out to the car port and begin the onerous task of bathing the dogs. Hero Dad lends a hand and comments on how thick Thor's hair is for a Mastodon. Perhaps he is really a wooly Mammoth, I'll have to get his DNA checked. It is an exhausting job since keeping them in the tub while scrubbing them can be a full time job. The upside to this is that I let the kids play with the dogs for the first week after they have had a good scrubbing, or until they roll in the mud again.

Sunday morning came about with an early-morning visit from the Hounds. They managed to escape the kennel and were wandering the upper floors of the Mansion. The Mrs noticed Katie slipping away and went down to let them both out for their morning constitutional. We were planning on going to the 1000 family mass today so we had lots of time to burn. The Grandparents had brought some sidewalk chalk along and the kids were enthralled with it. We had a heck of a time tearing them away from the art-work now strewn across the grand drive. They continued to be 'lively' throughout the mass. Jake seemingly had found his voice and was exceptionally verbose throughout the sermon and the other quiet times. Fortunately, this is a family mass and such peccadilloes are expected. Afterwards, we head off to the local Home Depot Temple to look at some dogwood saplings since the two ancient ones in the front of the Manor Proper are starting to wither and become homes to boring insects. While there, I found no rosemary, ferns or any sort of crocus or tulip bulbs. I'm not entirely surprised about the bulbs, but the out-door ferns and rosemary is a bit annoying. Even more annoying is that they have finally gotten the shipment of sod in but I cannot buy any since the FamilyTank is full of other cruft leaving no room for anything but the most meager payload. I'll have to swipe the Tank from the Mrs one of these days soon and make a turf-run. I would like it if I could let the Turf Marauding Hounds out back without having to give them a full wash-down when I let them back in.

The rest of the evening went quite smoothly. Grams made some stew while I made .. .well, stew. Different types of pot roast and formulations, of course. The Manor smelled great. Alexis even had a few bites of the meat ... must be the 'Grandparent Effect'. The Grandparents give the kids a warm farewell when leaving and do it in such a way that the kids don't think anything of it. It's nice to see how attached the kids are. They really love to play and be held by Grams and Gramps. That is the best gift that my parents ever got. I can see my Hero-Dad, that Statue of Iron Strength just melt when either one of the littlest heartbreakers ask to be held or just jump up into his lap and snuggle in. This is the kind of times that would be nice if they went on indefinitely, but alas, it was a very short weekend.

# posted by mdmhvonpa @ 7:56 AM