Getting to Know the Family
Finally – good sound quality – recording back in the States again. Through another thunderstorm and heavy downpour, I let the boys have a morning together at home while I joined Carrie-Bri for Episode 55 in Dad’s office. Now that we had been invited by the head of the United Cardinal Bloggers to join their association, we had to make sure our quality was consistently up to par.
Francis was home during the morning – a rare occurrence – to consult with his older sisters about obtaining the right type of transcript in order to continue A&P classes into the fall. Of course he fell asleep in the middle of waiting to use my laptop – small surprise. He could sleep anytime, anywhere.
While I edited the episode, Oxbear texted me.
“I cut Yali’s hair.”
Uh oh.
“I think it turned out ok.”
Hmmm…
“Send a photo.”
Not bad. He resembled Kim Jong-il a little when he put on his shades later in the afternoon.
Visiting Oxbear’s side of the family that afternoon involved stopping at Schnuck’s for burger fixings. Oxbear likes to dabble in food preparation. Thank goodness he does, because I don’t. I’ll do it, but I don’t like it.
Gloria arrived first from the office, followed by Izzy and girlfriend (pastry chef girlfriend; she also brought a stuffed Donald Duck for Yali), then Theodore (who, while we were in South America, had returned from the dude ranch in Colorado with photos of horses and mountains).
Yali took a particular liking to Izzy. Maybe part of it was that pale orange hair, a site I’m sure he hadn’t witnessed yet. But it didn’t take long before Yali was taking rides around the house latched to his leg like a koala. There were also kisses for Nana.
Puck scorched through a fat burger, watermelon, potato chips, a Fitz’s root beer, and three popsicles before I could even begin to temper the gastronomic inhaling. I guess that’s part of the new art of having two kids, learning how to anticipate potential problems from two sides. Although I’m not one to stem a healthy appetite.
That night Yali went down to bed with his stuffed buffalo and the usual overly dramatic waterworks that screamed, “LOOK AT ME! I’M CRYING! WHO’S GOING TO PAY ATTENTION TO MY WOES?! I AM SO UPSET … right … now … zzzzzz…”