Hockey Jerseys

One of the most exciting parts about playing hockey for N is just getting the uniforms. In the past, he’s asked when he’s going to get a jersey, and of course I had no idea. I’m new to this sport, as well. I do see, however, almost all of the other players wearing some sort of team jersey, whether it’s Twin Valley, Pleasant Valley, Woodstock or Hanover. The question is, where and how do they get these shirts? I figured if you dished out the big bucks for hockey camp, or for that matter, the team, they’d just give them to you, but no such luck.

We knew N would be getting team jerseys at some point, they’re a team, after all, and sure enough, they are starting to stream in. First we got practice jerseys, which are pretty cool, and then they gave us the team game jerseys, one for home and one for away games. N was totally stoked. We can’t keep them, though, and have to give them back at the end of the season, but for now, he’s into it. He’s so excited, as are all of us.

Eventually they’ll sew his name on the back, and then there’s no stopping him.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to R Young for the pic.

Bowling for Doll Hairs

We hadn’t been to the bowling alley in months, and for whatever reason it came up at supper time, so we decided to go bowling. Not a bad activity when the weather gets cold and miserable. I didn’t bowl much growing up, it wasn’t really cool, and there were certain unsavory elements associated with the bowling alley. Even the local bowling alley that we go to has a certain edge to it.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t fun, however, and the kids love it. We bowled two games and had a blast. The kids did well, though we were all a little rusty. Both of them got strikes, and afterward we hit the arcade. We avoid video games but I let them do skee-ball and stuff like that. They give you tickets based on how many points you score, and you can redeem these tix for toys. Both A and N hit some sort of jackpot and scored big time. I think N got about 500 tickets on one, and A got about 250. They kept coming out, it was amazing, and dare I say, a little exciting.

We got a couple of “Made in China” toys and we were off. It was fun bowling again, and we’ll probably do it again before the season is up.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Sachin Ghodke for the pic.

New Dentist

As I think I mentioned, my former dentist got hit hard by Irene and subsequently relocated to Randolph, so I had to find a new one. I decided to go to R’s dentist, and it was quite an experience. He’s a super nice guy, and seems up to date on the latest technology, but sometimes I get a sense that dentists are too fixated on teeth and lose sight of the big picture. I guess it makes perfect sense, they’re dentists, after all, but it seems like using potentially toxic chemicals and polymers to prevent tooth decay might not be the best thing for our bodies, and our children’s bodies, in the long run. I always think about sealants made with BPA and even fluoride. Sure, they prevent cavities, but even fluoride is a poison.

Anyway, I was due for a full checkup and cleaning. Plus, I have this isssue with my cracked tooth, which is a complete drag. First off, I was impressed with the size of the operation. I thought I was the first patient, but there were at least a dozen people in that waiting room, and what was really impressive was they took them all at once. Talk about efficiency.

Since I was a new patient, they needed all sorts of baseline records, which I had brought with me, only to discover that neither of my dentists had ever taken a full set of baseline X-rays. After that, I met with the hygienist who did a thorough cleaning which was akin to sticking needles in my gums. It really hurt, and I could tell there was a lot of blood. She really did the Marathon Man thing on me, showing me no mercy. I guess that’s what I get for not flossing regularly.

My cracked tooth is going to be a problem. Because it’s in such bad shape, they are talking dental implants, which is a complete bummer. I want to talk about maybe trying to salvage the old tooth, because you can’t beat nature’s architecture. Plus, it’s already in place. They are also going to take a look at my sleep issues, which I’ll get into at a later date.

For now, I’m not too excited about returning to the dentist, which will occur next week.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Marcelo Terraza for the pic.

Goodbye (But Not Farewell) to Golf

We kind of let things slide a little too far and missed out on one last hurrah for golf. Not only that, but we didn’t make it to the final day of Fore-U Ice Cream, where on the last day they give away all the ice cream until it’s gone. Bummer. I actually knew about it on the day in question, we were just busy and getting out to W. Leb would have been a chore.

On the bright note, the local golf course near us is still open, I’ve learned, and we have a small window to get one last round of golf in. The problem with golf is that it’s a time drain, it takes up at least a few hours, but we sure do enjoy it. We just may get one last hurrah on the golf front in. Stay tuned for more.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to cflart for the pic.

Book Club and Impromptu Playdate

CH was mentioning an interest in forming a book club and put things in motion with our library. AM took the reigns and put it all together, and voila, book club city. We met for the first time the other day, and the kids are all friends so it was a nice group.

They created a younger book club for kids N’s age, and he wasn’t so thrilled about it and even indicated that he was not interested, so I had to sort of force the issue. We decided to try it out before balking at the whole idea, though I understand where he’s coming from. He’d rather hang with the big kids, especially the big boys, but they’re reading books that are a bit beyond his level, or for that matter, interest. Besides, the group is small, and if he bails, it will pretty much collapse.

AM ran the big kids club, and CH ran the little kids club, and they both did such a nice job. Everyone had fun, even N enjoyed it. I think he can read better than he lets on, and he’s beginning show a greater interest in books than ever before, so we could be on the cusp of something big. Stay tuned for more.

After the book club, the kids went outside and went crazy for about an hour, running around while parents got to have some time doing important parent things, like checking email or hockey scores. When it was time to get going, everyone wanted to have a playdate, so we all piled into our respective cars and headed on over, of all places, to our house. I volunteered to have everyone over to destroy our house. When I was a kid, my parents were so uptight and rigid that we were never allowed to have kids over, and if we did, it was always a big to-do that made it absolutely ZERO fun. Nothing, and I mean nothing, was ever spontaneous. I vowed to be more relaxed as a parent when it came to having people over, even though I incur the wrath of R, it’s fun for the kids to have their friends over at the spur of the moment. What’s the big deal? We’re all friends, right?

Also, A&R’s friends are pretty mellow, and don’t tear things apart. They are mature and conscientious, though in the past we’ve had kids come over and literally take the house apart while the parents just sit there and watch. Amazing.

In the end, everyone had fun, it was just for an hour, and they didn’t require feeding. Just a quick beverage that A prepared for everyone. We had to go to hockey, so we couldn’t hang for too long, but I’m all for having them over again in the future. Bring it on, as the saying goes.

Until then, thanks for reading, and thanks to Zsuzsanna Kilian for the pic.

Fun Halloween

We had a great Halloween, and it kind of grew into more than we had originally anticipated, in a good way, of course. In the past, we took the kids over to Woodstock and went around the different neighborhoods, and it was a lot of fun. What’s not to love about dressing up in a costume and getting loads of candy? However, at times I was aware that some kids benefit from going with other friends. We would run into people we knew, and it always seemed like it would be fun if our kids were with their buddies instead of just their boring old parents. At some point being around the parental units just becomes intolerable.

This year, we had a different plan, and serendipity played a role. Our friends the E’s were inquiring about Halloween and we decided to join forces and hang out together. They have wonderful kids who are buddies with our kids, and we figured it would be nice for them to hang out together. To add to the fun, HH brought her kids along, and we all headed over to the big W. Everyone was thrilled to have a big group, and it worked out really nicely.

We met up here and then caravan’d over to town. The scene was happening in Woodstock, though personally I thought it was more subdued than previous years, which is perfectly reasonable because there was some question as to whether or not they were even going to have Halloween because of the flood. Woodstock got hit hard by Irene, and the whole area where we were going to was closed off at one point. The town rallied to make it happen and even had a candy drive to supply all the houses. Being outsiders to the area, we bring bags of candy and offer them to assorted houses, but this year, I couldn’t give the stuff away. People were stocked to the rafters with candy, and good stuff, to boot. None of those Smarties or Necco wafers. I ended up handing the candy out to our group, which excited the kids but maybe didn’t thrill the parents. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

The kids were thrilled and weren’t even aware that things were quieter this year, which is fine. We ended at the Woodstock Inn, which again, was quiet. In past years we saw literally dozens of our friends there, but this year I didn’t see a single person I recognized. It could have been because they were in costume, but the whole evening was a little more low key than usual. Again, the kids were not even aware of this, and they really had a good time, so no big deal.

Afterward we headed home and stopped at a couple of houses nearby to say hello and get some last minute candy. We got home around 9:00 and the kids spent about half an hour counting their candy and taking stock of their bounty. I have to say, they got a lot of candy, and as I mentioned, good stuff. Lots of chocolate, which I think is the key.

All in all, we had a great time. Until next year, thanks for reading, and thanks to Arleynd Soca for the pic.

Community Theater

This past weekend on the eve of Halloween we went to see a production of Dracula, and it was a lot of fun. We were on the fence about even going because it might have been a little creepy for the kids, and we weren’t necessarily falling over ourselves about seeing a show about Dracula, but the kids indicated they were interested, and at the zero hour, we went for it.

The show was actually really well done, which shouldn’t have surprised us because they do a fantastic job at HCA. The acting was first rate, it wasn’t creepy or scary, and if anything, it was really funny. The production was well done, good special effects, and the scenes didn’t drag on, which is important with kids. We knew all the actors and saw many of our friends at the show. We felt good in the end supporting the production, and the kids liked it a lot.

Just goes to show you, you just never know how things will turn out, so when in doubt, you have to go for it. Better to regret what you have done than what you haven’t done, right?

Until the next time, thanks for reading, and thanks to Arleynd Soca for the pic.