Shit Reed Says

Today was the 1st day back at school after Winter Break. I picked up Reed from Manito School at lunch time and drove him to his after school program at The Little School.

Reed had previously told me he married Brooke at school...so I thought I'd ask him about his wife.

"Was Brooke there today?," I asked.

"Yeah."

"Did you guys play today?"

"A little."

"Since she is your wife, did you kiss or hug?"

"We kissed."

"On the lips?"

"Yes, on the lips!," Reed is getting annoyed.

"Do you love her?," I asked.

"Dad! She's my wife!"

--Daddy

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Bailey, last

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We Have a Dog

from Grandpa Tom (Part 2)

When I returned to the house from putting the bank in my car the boys had retreated to their playroom in the basement. When I attempted to open the door to go and see what they were doing they said that they were engaged in a secret and tried to hold the door closed. But I got in and went down the stairs to the playroom. Then Reed gives me an ultimatum. "If you don't bring the piggy bank back, we're going to wreck the house". So I said, "Well I'm going to sit down right here with you" Then they started to round up your tools and pile them up on the playroom table. They went from one room to another carrying the hardware while chanting, "Dangerous" with each acquisition of a tool. I went along with them to make sure they wouldn't get hurt. After a few trips they had an assortment of tools piled up on top of the table. Reed made a few small holes in a cardboard box and Hunter followed suit. Then Reed says,"Hunter lets go to the garage" I of course went along with them. They blew a few bubbles from last summers supply into the cat box. Then Reed tried to jimmy the locks on a red metal file cabinet with a screw driver. When he got hold of a large screw driver he could, if he knew what he was doing, gained access to it. I took that off him. He then says to Hunter, "What we need is a crowbar". So we go into the garage again. When he spots the crowbar in the corner of the garage I picked them both up and said, "That's enough, no crowbar" That closed the episode. We then went upstairs and they had some snacks and played on the computer or watched TV. While they were thus engaged I put all the tools back in the tool boxes.


All this activity was just two little boys being little boys but Grandpa went along for the ride. Today Daddy's bank was in the same place as it was yesterday but nobody paid attention to it. Today the boys acted like they do everyday and played very nice together. They had some ice cream in a bowl and Reed had me make him a bologna sandwich. Reed gave me his specs on the sandwich. No crust on the bread, ketchup on the sandwich and cut it in half. Hunter didn't want anything so he just snacked. Hunter was wearing my cap from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame today. I was going to kid him and tell him he might lose his, like me but I didn't. See you next week.



Love,

Dad

from Grandpa Tom (Part 1)

I have learned a lot from the boys. One of the things I've learned is their lives are made up of a series of chapters or episodes of learning. An event will take place and in five minutes they will go on to something else. It's like watching little encyclopedias grow and develop. In the past Reed would take out a half gal. of ice cream and begin eating out of the container. Now he brings it to me and asks me to give him some ice cream. So I get a couple of plates and give him and Hunter a couple of small portions of ice cream. On one occasion Reed asked me if he can have some more and I said "Of course". Hunter sometimes does not finish his. The first time I saw Reed eating out of the container I told him that that was the way to spread around germs. At that time I put the ice cream in a small bowl for him. I said, "See this way if you any cold germs you won't pass them on to your brother when he eats out of the same container" I don't know if that really sunk in but he does bring the ice cream to me and I put it in a bowl for him. I also found out that kids live in their known secret world, meaning they don't always tell you what they have been up to. The reason I don't say much about these happenings is it takes time to write about them. For the most part, the time spent with the kids is usually uneventful, except for an occasional flare up between them.

Sometimes they like to retreat into their secret world. That is a world devoid of adults. Reed usually clues me in by saying, "You can go now, Grandpa". So I usually respect his wishes but I do check on them from time to time, if they leave the room.

Yesterday Reed showed some interest in Daddy's bank. He wanted to get the money out of the bank. I took a walk over to the piggy bank and when I lifted it up, I was amazed at how heavy it was. It is also made of some pretty strong plastic so I knew that they wouldn't be able to crack the bank. Reed went into the kitchen and got some kind of plastic stirrer which he promptly broke trying to make the coin opening bigger. Then Reed says to Hunter, "I got an idea". With that he comes back with a knife and fork trying to get into the bank. Then Hunter does the same. Then Hunter starts banging on the bank with the handle of the knife and I stop him. Then Reed says,"Hunter, I have another idea". He runs off and returns with a couple of screw drivers. After observing this span of a few noisy minutes, I decided to defuse the situation. I was afraid that they might drop the bank and brake a toe. So I put on my coat and decided to remove the issue. I locked the bank in the trunk ok my car until Mom comes home. For every positive action there is a re-action. I will continue this letter later on today about the re-action and it's ultimate conclusion.



Love,

Dad

Grandma's Pie

I worked from home today.

It was snowing in the morning, big beautiful snowflakes gently floating downward like so many feathers.
Within a couple of hours it was turned to freezing rain.

Shoveled and scraped the driveway to blacktop.

Mechelle took Reed to school and Hunter and I chilled. I was attending to work e-mail and phone calls.
I think I got more done at home than I would have at the office.

At 11:30 hunter and I went to pick up Reed at school and we decided to get pizza for lunch. I had introduced Reed to Grandma's pie and he wanted Hunter to try it.

As we got to Piazella in Franklin Lakes, and they were just taking a Grandma's pie outta the oven. Got the boys settled into a booth and brought the pizza over. Ginger ale for Reed, Orange for Hunter. I grabbed a cream soda and the boys didn't like it...well, only hunter tried it.

Reed polished off 2+ slices...Hunter asked for regular pizza.

Eventually Reed crawled under the table and pulled loose some pre-chewed spearmint gum that he had to keep sniffing and wanted to take home for his treasure box. I was able to make a deal to get rid of it.

It was just great sitting there, relaxing with no real agenda for the day, proud and happy to be with my beautiful boys...

--Daddy

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