Mysterious Ways

The kids are really getting into music, and not just the kind they see on PBS shows and such. They all have favorite songs that they hear on the radio. They mostly like some pretty iconic songs, from "I Love Rock and Roll" to "Oh, Sherry". In particular, Allegra loves "Mysterious Ways" by U2. She can even sing the chorus. It cracks me up when the song comes on and she starts singing it in her little girl voice.

The boys have been doing great at t-ball. They are the slowest on the team, but they are about average when it comes to catching, batting, and throwing. Their team is called "Blue Lightning", for whatever reason. It's an official Little League association. They also do something cool at the end of each game: each kid can go to the concession stand and get a free drink. Which means, 2 free sodas for Dad. Sweet. Their season goes through the end of May, so if you want to visit us and see them play, you better make it soon.

Tiger and Allegra are scheduled to get their tonsils out in early June.

Sydney is learning how to rock back-and-forth on all fours. Soon, she will be crawling. She is getting ticklish, too. She loves it when you blow raspberries on her belly. She also loves to be on her back, naked. She laughs and kicks her legs wildly. Sometimes, we just put her on her changing table and let her entertain herself for a few minutes.

We went to the boys' kindergarten orientation a few days ago. They have something like 6 kindergarten classrooms. But the boys are very excited and can't wait to start.

Work is going well. Even though I'm supposed to be more project-oriented, my boss has been having me handle the annual reviews and personnel matters instead of him. It feels kind of weird in that I'm not their direct supervisor, but I'm responsible for grading them. The plant manager introduced me out of a whole crowd of other associates to the President of the whole worldwide Danaher Tool Group the other day when El Jefe was on a plant tour. And I think I just found a project that could save the company nearly a million dollars a year, if it plays out like I think it will. I see good thing coming for the head of Team Gebhardt.

Colder than a brass toilet seat on the shady side of an iceberg

So we went to the Steele Creek Athletic Association (SCAA) 50th Anniversary celebration today. It had rained a little this morning, and it was still cloudy, so we were a bit apprehensive about getting rained on. However, we should have been more concerned with the temperature. It was in the mid 40s and windy. We didn't stay long, of course.

I forgot to mention that I got a new lawn mower the other day. Craftsman 6.50 ft-lbs, key start, variable speed self-propelled, 3-in-1 deck, 12" rear wheels, grunt, grunt, grunt. I love the key start. I simply charge the battery up overnight and it stays charged for a few months. I turn the key, and the mower starts without a hitch. No more pulling the damn rope starter, although it is still there. And since we have about 0.3 acres that need mowing, the self-propelled feature really saves my bacon. Even then, it still takes me over an hour to mow and edge the rear and front yards.

Allegra was trying to say "instead" today and ended up saying "it's dead". I don't remember what it was in reference to, but it still made me laugh.

Wild Onions?

I'm still getting used to things out here. Most drivers go 10-15 over the posted limit. A bunch of trees in our front yard are blooming and their white petals are all over the yard and our cars, like we got some snow. And wild onions grow all over the place. I've never heard of this before. I first noticed the onions when we were at the boys' tee ball practice and I noticed a bunch of plants all over the fields that were taller than the normal grass. The next time I was out there, I looked closer and they were bunches of onions. Very strange. I just figured that the baseball fields had been an onion farm or something at one time. But then I noticed onions near most of the freeway exits, in the median, and lastly, in my back yard. Now, when I mow my grass, it smells like I chopped up some green onions. Not a bad smell, but not the normal smell of fresh cut grass that I am used to.

The boys are doing well and they love tee ball. Their first game is next Thursday and they are so excited. We just got their uniforms 2 days ago and they can't wait to try them on. They have some sort of 50th anniversary party for the local athletic club (which runs the baseball/softball/etc stuff) today. There is supposed to be a bunch of raffles for gift baskets, baked treats, and even an outdoor movie once the sun goes down. However, we are supposed to get rain tonight.

Allegra has been coming with me to the practices. She gets bored almost immediately, but eventually she finds a friend to play with. Every time we drive out of our little sub, she spots her new preschool and points it out for everybody. I think that she sees how much fun the boys are having at school and wants to join in.

Sydney is getting bigger all the time. She loves to be naked. She just kicks and wiggles and laughs like crazy.

So my new job has vision insurance and I hadn't seen an eye doc in many many moons. Last week was slow at work so I decided to get my eyes checked. I went in on Friday morning and the doc said I have a slight astigmatism, -0.5 or so. He hooked me up to this device that showed me what I could expect if I were to wear glasses. Man, what a difference. So it looks like I will need to wear glasses now. It's more for a "quality of life" benefit than strictly necessary, but if I'm going to buy glasses, I might as well use them, right?

I went back out to the lobby where they had a ton of frames for me to try out. But first they took a picture of me and ran my face through the computer to give me an idea of what shape I liked best. I was able to take the pictures back home and here are the before and after pix:

before



after


Not a bad improvement, if I say so myself.

Home Sweet Home

Where was I?
Well, we put in an offer on a house and it was accepted. The nice thing is that it is lower than what we had planned on by about $12k. We did the home inspection yesterday. Everything seemed pretty well taken care of.

For some reason, the current residents were there. Erika apparently found out that the mom is on the same online forum that Erika visits. They talked a lot while the kids were all playing together. We also managed to meet some of the other neighbors and their kids. Within a 100 yard radius there appears to be a bunch of kids and families. The existing owners also put us onto a bunch of local things for Er and the kids to do. There are a bunch of walking trails, parks, and other fun things. Just down the road is a Super Target, which pretty much made Erika thrilled. And for the aquarium-lover in the family (me), there is the best fish store in Charlotte about 2 miles down the road.

The kids are fitting right in. The boys love their Christian preschool. Rory comes home sometimes with Jesus-y things to say. It cracks us up. They appear to be very strict at this school, too. Initially Rory was acting out, but now he is very well behaved and can't wait to get back the next day.

Our apartment complex is surrounded by some trees and hills and stuff, which the kids love to play on. Tiger has ripped both of the knees in one pair of pants rolling down the hills. I can't wait to see what Charlotte looks like in the spring, summer, and fall. Plus, the tree area is a great place for Gypsy to do her business.

We are also looking into summer camps for the kids. We were both shocked by the price, but I think the kids would love it. The boys will be going to a sports camp where they will try a different sport every week. Allegra will be going to a camp for 3 year olds. She is so excited.

Work is going well. I think I can do a lot here. The company keeps giving out shirts and tools. They don't have to twist my arm too much to get me to take a 70-piece tool set home for free.

Erika has made a "new best friend". Unfortunately, she lives a little bit away from where we are now and even farther away when we move.

We made it, safe and sound

We're here in Charlotte without any major problems. The kids did great on the plane ride. I think they behaved so well because we separated T&R from each other. I sat between Allegra and Tiger and they both slept most of the trip. Erika sat between Rory and Sydney, both of whom kept her busy for most of the trip. All in all, the sticker book for Allegra and the plastic animals for the boys were great hits.

I had my first day at Danaher Tool Group today. They tell me that I will have 1 month of "immersion" where I'll be working all over the plant to get a feel for the plant, process, and culture. Today, they had a bunch of us put on Tyvek suits (think Marshmellow Man) and clean up 10+ years of sludge underneath one of the plating machines. We got maybe 1/4 done in 10 hours. My suit and everybody else's was covered in muck from head to toe. Fun stuff.

Erika took the kids to the museum today and got them all year passes. They loved it. Yesterday we spent over $900 at Costco and Target buying food and supplies that we had to leave behind. And we still need more.

Tomorrow we start our in-person search for a home. Wish us luck.

We're moving to CHARLOTTE!

I can't believe it, and yet in 4 days we will be living in Charlotte, NC.