the weekend is nearly behind us... the work week is nearly upon us

this rant of nothingness began in the afternoon but was stalled for dinner
after dinner I tried to return to it
but... I had to assist the boys with their... whatever... with their beck and call
then... once the boys were settle playing a game I was able to get down a few words
only to be disrupted by the effort to put them to bed
now I just went downstairs to get Grant a hot dog and some ketchup
Grant is now asleep

I can now get back to this rant of nothingness and I can eat Grants hot dog with ketchup
along with my beer

the weekend is nearly behind us...
the work week is nearly upon us

it is true...
I am not all the people I want to be
there was so much I wanted to do this weekend
so little of this got done

there is so much I want to do in this world
there is so little that gets done


the weekend passed without much measurable productive activity on my end
the weather being a strong contributing factor to my level of productivity
rainy day can grant us a pass
a rainy day is often an acceptable excuse

Saturday morning came with the cancellation of the
boys' soccer games which is fine...
it is nice to have a Saturday arrive with little or nothing to do
rushing out to the morning games each weekend can make Saturday AM as hectic as a standard weekday
it is good to have a break
good for the kids... good for the parents

it was not until dinner on Saturday evening that I left my ZIP CODE
other than walking the dog... I did not leave the house
the walks with the dog were abreviated
this is not all bad
it is nice for the day to be mellow


on Saturday day was spent with the
boys
we played games and we laughed

Lisa went to yoga while I walked the dog
there were all sorts of games to be played through the course of the day
some of the games were electronic
the boys much like their father are drawn to the pleasure of the electronic world
Grant has a list of
iPhone Apps that entertain him
while Dean is enthusiastic about the new DSi Game Sribble Nauts

the Wii... well... the Wii is still in Grandpa's hands

the morning blended into afternoon
somehow... I had the wherewithal to anticipate that Dean needed a costume for a late afternoon birthday party
there had been mention of dressing up as The Grim Reaper!

there was plenty of time for face painting and developing his costume

so while over five hundred cyclists raced their cyclocross bikes at Granogue I got to experience the pleasure of home made versus store bought costumes

Dean and I worked at a team gathering components of the costume and deciding what direction to take things
the core elements of the costume were to be black hair coloring, a skeleton face with face paint, a cape, and a sickle
we rummaged through the costumes for a cape

as we searched for the perfect cape Grant searched as well
while we dug deeper Grant put on a Batman mask cape combo
ah... a cape of the perfect length


I gave Grant the heads up that we would be needing his Batman cape
Grant disputed... while I insisted
Grant got more time with the Batman Cape while Dean and I assembled the other parts of the costume
piece by piece it all came together

painted hair... painted face... home made this and home made that
when we needed the cape we took it from Grant and began modifying
taping up and concealing the Batman mask
while adding a chain made of gray tape and trying to discover a way to attach a hood


Grant objected to giving up his costume
if you ask me... Grant was behaving like a five year old
that child can be so immature at times!

I tried to rationalize with the little monkey

but it had been decided... I am MEAN!
Grant was convinced that I was being mean
I guess fair is only fail when it favors him

Dean left off with Lisa for a party in Silver Spring
Grant searched for a surrogate cape

Grant and I hung out but he eventually grew tired of dad and traded up for his neighbor and friend Dylan
this was fine... I needed a break from parenting
a nap sounded good... a nap never happened

with Dean gone I took this as a perfect opportunity for me to advance in my Scribble Nauts game


mixing BLOGGING... FACEBOOK... FACEBOOK SCRABBLE.... and SCRIBBLE NAUTS I heard the phone
I considered ignoring it
seeing the ringing as a suggestion rather than a command
luckily I went with my default setting
which is to view the ringing phone as a command... MUST ANSWER PHONE


oh shit... I had mistakenly given lisa incorrect directions to the party in Silver Spring
she was headed the right way... but somehow I botched things
so... I looked it up and gave her a verbal correction
oh man... I could feel the tension in the tone of her voice
not only did she have to drive out to this birthday party in the traffic caused by the rainy day
but she also had incorrect directions issued by me

oh man... not a good play on my part

the afternoon started to blend into evening
Grant no longer had his buddy to play with and petitioned for a movie
I put on a cartoon so I could be freed up to do as I wished

he got what he wanted and I got what I wanted

as we waited for Dean to be returned from the party
Lisa and I cleaned up and got suited up for a dinner date that would mark our 10th Anniversary
the boys would be spending the night at my mother's

Dean was later than expected and five year old Grant was livid about it
just as he was stuck on the notion he must have his Batman cape and no other cape

he was adamant about Dean being the cause of our late arrival to grandma's
I tried to rationalize with him
there was no discussing it
even telling him that we had anticipated an overlap did not alter his intent

it was best just to change the subject


we arrived at my mother;s and I made the transition quick

I was hungry and I was also afraid that we would be late for our reservation

we were not late
dinner was wonderful even if I think I make a better lobster paella
it was fancy... it was expensive... you only celebrate your tenth anniversary once

with the boys away we ate a nice dinner then went to bed early


the morning came an I woke without the sound of my boys fighting

I stirred as Lisa reminded me that I had to be at the Armed Forces Retirement Home to work on the course for DCCX

the nine am start time was funny
it is hard enough for me to get to work on time
why should someone expect me to arrive at the AFRH to work on the course set up

I rolled out of bed and did the standard morning routine that involves coffee, walking the dog, and Scrabble on Facebook

it was a pleasure to all that the three days of rain came to a halt before we had to step onto the course with rakes and shovels
it was windy and there was a bite in the air

but it was not raining
we were all thankful for that

an assortment of DCMTB players showed up to lend a hand
it was a gathering of the usual suspects

we walked the course
limbs were trimmed while acorns, pine cones, and leaves were raked from where the course was to be layed
a good amount of my time was spent clearing the brick path that has become a popular section of the DCCX course

after the course was finished I took a look at where we would host the lil belgian race
a quick walk through show that things were fine and we could make all final decision
s and clean up when we tape off the course next Saturday

with the work done our small cast of characters all suited up for some laps on the freshly laid course
the course changes each year
some efforts to make it better
some efforts to just make it different
I was not entirely enthusiastic about the changes

my body was spent from the morning's effort to clear the brick walkway
the course called out for power I just did not have
I questioned the course perhaps it was actually my lack of strength

the laps on the course were not enough to give me a preride edge
the laps on the course were not enough to give me a work out
either way I was done
there was nothing left in the tank


the weekend would pass without any sort of work out
sure I hiked the dog...

with the tool inside the Element and the bike ontop of the Element I drove the short drive from the AFRH to my home in Mount Pleasant
when I got home the house was dark and quiet
I went upstairs and turned on the television
just as I got comfortable in a position perfect for a weekend day nap I heard the stampede into the house
the boys were home

the boys were back from Grandpas... they had the Wii and some games grandpa had bought them
after spending the night at grandma's they went to visit grandpa

I set up the Wii and tried to nap in the other room
unable to sleep I did the math on screen time
up and out of bed I gave the kids a ten minute count down after sharing with them my calculations of their time in front of the tube thus far this weekend
I then went upstairs to play a few rounds of SCRABBLE on FACEBOOK on the computer

downstairs the television went off and I led the boys outside
we got their bikes and went a few blocks down the road to The Rosemount Center where the boys got to ride their bikes in the parking lot
I used the camera to entertain myself and to interact with the boys as they rode

after roughly an hour we headed back home before the sun set
that was our day
the rest brings me to the present time
which is time to get another beer... but first I need to play one more round of SCRABBLE!