Dave's Home

Blog on Hiatus

2010-03-09T22:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry, folks, but I have re-evaluated my priorities and decided to stop regular postings to this blog -- at least for now. There are too many things going on simultaneously, and I was losing sleep trying to keep up with all of them. I also wasn’t exercising regularly like I used to, and like I need to.

Believe it or not, until September of 2009, I used to play tennis an average of twice a week. I am a membor of a tennis club and the USTA and everything! Tennis used to be a big part of my life, and the life of my foster kids, too, as I would drag them to my league matches and practices. Then I injured my back and my elbow and took a break for them to heal. It was supposed to be a short break, but other things quickly filled in the time gap. Without really noticing it, six months went by!

I believe a balanced life leads to a happy life, and one element to a balanced life is regular exercise -- preferably the sort you look forward to rather than dread. My recent re-evaluation revealed how much I missed playing tennis, so I’ve rearranged my schedule to make playing a priority again. It sure feels good!

Unfortunately there are only so many hours in a day. Even without tennis I was having trouble keeping up. To put tennis back in my life I had to give some things up. Regular posting to this blog was one of these sacrifices.

I do plan to post when I can, and hope that the craziness of 2010 will eventually die down enough for me to post more regularly.

Thanks, and take care, everyone!

Week of Storms

2010-02-27T22:31:00.000-08:00

It’s been a week of storms, around Dave’s Home, across the country and around the world. I’m not just talking about the weather, either.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck Chile early this morning. The ground shook for over a minute, and was felt thousands of miles away.

The Chilean quake generated tsunami tidal waves that have already hit some islands in the Pacific, and eight foot waves were expected to slam the Hawaiian Islands today, starting around 1:00pm PST.

I experienced the Loma Prieta earthquake back in 1989. It knocked down freeways and one section of the Bay Bridge, yet it was only a magnitude 6.9 lasting 15 seconds. I can’t imagine how terrifying a temblor nearly two orders of magnitude stronger and lasting four times as long would be – and I hope I never do.

I want you!
(Or your money)

Back at Dave’s Home, a couple of storms hit inside the house. The first was a storm of paperwork dredged up by the annual misery of income tax preparation. As in years past, I relied on Turbo Tax to guide me through this storm. So far this software has stood me in good stead with the IRS, knock on wood.

The second storm came in the form of illness. I couldn’t believe it myself, but little K fell sick yet again. He’s got strep throat, this time. Two more days of missed school for K, missed work for me, and piles of building blocks in the living room to keep him busy. Since November K has gotten sick an average of every 1.5 months. This time I took him to see the doctor right away, which turned out to be a good thing. He’s been on antibiotics ever since, and is feeling much better.

Let’s see, who haven’t I mentioned, yet? How about Cheesy the cat, who was caught red pawed trying to fish a fish out of the fish tank? Sorry, Cheesy, no fish for you!

Other news in brief: We finished Stuart Little and started reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory before bedtime. The court sent notice of a mid-March hearing to dissolve my guardianship of P. And H & K are finally over their pizza overload, choosing Mountain Mike’s (a pizza place) above all other restaurants for a Friday night dinner out. They went nearly two weeks without their favorite food!

Storms and all, we weathered the week well.

It could have been worse! I shot this photo on

my way to work. Talk about a bad commute!

Science Breakthrough

2010-02-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

News flash....straight out of Dave’s Home in California....kids, eight and eleven, create volcano-in-a-cup, or so they claim....“We did it upstairs in my bedroom,” says the older child, “with water, this powdery stuff (baking soda), Play Doh, and balls of chewing gum for color!”....proud foster parent unavailable for comment, last seen rushing upstairs with Resolve carpet cleaner in one hand, and carpet brush in the other....

(Now I know why they were so quiet while I was writing the last blog post.)

Field Maintenance

2010-02-20T17:38:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday we had another two hour double dose of therapy. Unfortunately this conflicted with K’s baseball practice, as his team chose Wednesdays for their weekday practice. When I signed the kids up for Little League I knew there was a good chance that one kid’s schedule or the other would conflict, but I rolled the dice anyway. Little K will have to make do with just one practice a week.

Thursday we were invited to Tracy’s house for a wonderful dinner of chicken parmesan and pasta. It was a welcome mid-week break from our normal evening routine.

Today was baseball practice for H (again at eight o'clock in the AM) and field maintenance for K’s team. H’s team plays on a different set of fields than K’s team, and the fields are a little over a mile from each other, as the crow flies. Next Saturday will be maintenance day for H’s fields.

The field had seen better days.

The fields that K’s team plays on are showing their age. The league was formed about 55 years ago! One of the infields needed a total makeover. Most of the volunteers worked on removing dead grass, leveling the ground, and spreading fresh clay.

Somehow I was recruited to repair the rotting walls of the combination equipment room and scorekeepers booth. I don’t mind that kind of work, though. I just hope they didn’t expect a thing of beauty and a joy forever.

The two-story scorekeepers booth.

Lots of rotten wood under the pealing

paint of that facing wall.

During our lunch break, we picked up the boys’ eight-year-old cousin for a play date. While I helped to finish repairing the walls, the three kids chased each other around the empty fields. All of us were pretty worn out by the time we got home.

The boys, their cousin, and a neighbor

friend playing video games after a long

day of baseball and field maintenance..

Early Spring Luffing

2010-02-16T22:33:00.000-08:00

There’s still more than a month before the vernal equinox, but around Dave’s home it looks like Spring has already sprung. After weeks of nothing but cold, clouds and rain, last weekend was clear and warm. Thankfully it was also a three-day weekend. The kids and I had Monday off from school and work for President’s Day.

H had his first baseball practice early Saturday – at 8am, a bit too early on a weekend for me. I prefer to sleep in. Instead, we had to get up as though it was a school day, and in the rush I forgot my camera. This photo was taken with my cell phone, which I poked through the fence for an unobstructed picture. Sorry about the angle.

Being so nice out, we spent much of the weekend outdoors. H & K found a lot more other kids around to play with, probably because everyone was so sick of being couped up indoors. While the kids played, I pressure washed a few years of dirt and mold off the front steps of the house, and gave the car a thorough wash, inside and out.

We also explored and had a picnic dinner in a nearby park. We had such a good time that we lost track of it (time, that is) and dusk fell before we made it back to the car. H said it was kind of spooky.

A carved stump

in the park

Lots of water thanks
to the recent rains

Something fowl in the water

This little taste of good weather makes me yearn for Spring.

By the way, I’ve decided to continue writing about the kids, but not on a daily basis like I was before – at least not for a while. Events this last month have kind of taken the wind out of my blogging sail, so for now I’m going to luff it and hope to find inspiration again.

Sliver moon hanging
over the spooky park

Super Hockey Wine Bowl

2010-02-11T22:24:00.000-08:00

Like many other folks, last Sunday afternoon the boys and I went to a Super Bowl party. Two parties, actually. I had planned to go skiing since I’m such a big football fan, but the suckiness of the prior two days caused me to cancel out of that trip. As it turned out, if I had to watch football instead of ski, this was the game to see. The underdog New Orleans Saints came from behind in the second half for quite an exciting win.

My friend, Tracy, threw a party at her house and we stopped by there first. Then we headed back to Dave’s Home where a neighbor threw another party. While the adults drank, talked and watched the game on TV, the kids mostly stayed outside. When I checked on them during the second party, the older kids (seven and up) were playing street hockey instead of football. Any chance to play makes them happy. Makes me happy, too!

Meanwhile, inside the house the younger kids were having a lot of fun, also. Typical five-year-old stuff. You know, boys wrestling each other. Boys wrestling a girl. The girl pinning the boys. The girl’s parents cheering her on. Typical stuff.

Back in the adult party world, there were at least two different football betting pools going on. There were probably more, but I’m not into gambling and so didn’t pay close attention. Except that one of the pools was for wine rather than money. Contribute one bottle and you get six squares. Contribute two bottles and you get twelve squares. Twelve squares! Each square an opportunity to win lots more wine than you contributed, depending on the score of the game at the end of each quarter. I went all in with two bottles.

Like I said, I don’t gamble very much and rarely win when I do – which is why I don’t. Guess who won the fourth quarter wine pool?

Baseball Team Meetings

2010-02-10T21:47:00.000-08:00

Yesterday and today we went to Little League baseball team meetings. Last night was for K’s team. He’s on the Farm Division Giants. And tonight was for H’s team, the AAA Division (or Minor A) Yankees. All right, both coasts are covered.

We met the team managers, and the coaches that had already volunteered, and met most of the kids and their parents. Getting parents to volunteer was a big part of these meetings. Each team needs a bevy helpers, including backup coaches, umpires, scorekeepers, a safety parent, and a team reporter, as well as folks to cover snack shack and fund raising duties.

Back when P was in middle school he played Little League baseball, too, and I volunteered to umpire. After three years behind the plate, I decided to volunteer for something else this time around. I signed up for scorekeeper and team reporter. The team reporter writes a short article about each game and submits it via computer to the local newspaper. I can do that, I think.

One of my biggest concerns when signing the boys up for baseball was how I’d get them to all their games and practices. At these meetings I found out their practice schedule, at least for the first month or two, and it seems doable. H’s team practices twice a week; Saturday morning and Tuesday evening at 6pm. K’s team also practices twice a week, except his weeknight is Wednesday, which unfortunately conflicts with almighty therapy. His team manager was cool with K coming one day a week rather than two, though, thinking that the practice schedule would likely change anyway once games start in March.

Both team meetings were held at pizza restaurants. After two straight days of it the boys and I are totally pizza’d out.

Little K says he doesn’t even want to see another pizza – for at least a couple of days. Hey, it’s pizza, a kid’s favorite food!

Moving the Litter Box…Finally

2010-02-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Ever since we adopted the kittens, Mac & Cheesy, their litter box has been in my bedroom. It got there because the kittens were confined to my bedroom at first to help them get accustomed to the smells and sounds of their new home. However, when the kittens were freed to roam and ravage the entire house, I couldn’t think of a suitable place to move their poop box. It needed to be a place they could always access, and yet a place that was as inconspicuous as possible as well, to hide both sight and smell.

My indecision led to the box staying put in my bedroom, and to goodness knows how many hours of lost sleep. You see, Mac & Cheesy like to hang around the potty at night and use it every couple of hours. They’re not quiet about it, either. I mentioned in a past post how they fling so much litter that I had to buy an enclosed box to contain it.

So, one good thing that happened over the weekend is that we finally moved the kitty litter box into a cabinet on the lower most level of the house – far, far away from me and my bed. I also installed a bathroom ventilation fan in the cabinet and connected it to the home automation system. Now, when the cats do their business, a motion sensor automatically turns on the ventilation fan for a few minutes, sucking the smell out of the house. The fan is super quiet, too. I picked it out from Home Depot’s bathroom fan lineup based mostly on its sound rating.

So far the whole setup has been working well, and the kittens have adjusted to their toilet’s new location without a hiccup -- or any other improperly placed excretion. The only improvement I really want to make is to replace the existing cabinet doors with something that has a hole in it so the doors can remain closed except during cleaning. Right now I have to keep one of the cabinet doors open so that the cats can get in.

Three Day Update

2010-02-08T22:56:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the lapse in blog posts, folks. Basically Friday and Saturday sucked so much that I didn’t feel like writing. Even now I don’t know what I want to say, especially since one of the main suckages remains unresolved. All I will say for now is that it involves P, and that he’s not dead.

Another feel-bad issue keeping me from writing kind of sprung from the former. Frankly, up until recently it’s felt right to write about the good things going on with my foster kids, and even alright to write about some of the tougher things that go on. But it gets uncomfortable when things really go south. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about this lately, and it’s led me to wonder whether it’s really OK to write about these kids at all. What if they read this blog one day? Others may not know who they are, but they’ll recognize themselves even with blurred out faces, won’t they?

I need to think about this some more, and to re-read my past blog entries with this concern in mind. In the meantime I’ll write about some benign goings on like the kittens and Super Bowl parties.

Lawyer, Therapy and Hiding Homework

2010-02-04T23:16:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I met with an attorney about dissolving my legal guardianship of P. I’ve been concerned that his behavior of late poses a serious liability risk to me, and I’ve got absolutely no control over him. In the past week two different social worker supervisors have warned me about this, and recommended that I consult an attorney. I hate doing this, but what choice do I have? I told P that I was worried about this before his latest bounce in and out of the house, and I spoke to him again about it this morning. It has no influence on him.

Yesterday was also double therapy day for H & K. To keep the boys from bickering with each other, which they so love to do, they now take turns going first. While one kid is in with the therapist, I help the other with homework in the waiting room.

When it was little K’s turn to do homework, I discovered that he’s been hiding worksheet pages from me! If the teacher gives him two pages, he sometimes brings just one to the table, claiming that it’s his only homework. He got caught because back in class he turns in both pages -- one of them blank.

Little dickens!

So with all of this we didn’t get home yesterday until after 8pm. In a blink it was after 9pm, past bedtime and the boys were still awake. Wednesdays are tough.

Today was easier, though. As I write this the boys are upstairs sawing logs, the cats are wrestling outside my office door, and I'm watching the Groundhog Day movie in a DivX window on my computer. After posting about this movie on Tuesday, both my Dad and my brother Joe sent me online links to it. Thanks, guys!

Six More Weeks of Winter

2010-02-02T22:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today! That’s right, Happy Groundhog’s Day, everyone! This morning the great Punxsutawney Phil, seer of seers, sage of sages, prognosticator of prognosticators, and weather prophet extraordinary, reportedly saw his shadow. That means six more weeks of winter weather, if you believe that sort of rot.

Cake makes six more weeks of

winter go down easier.

Coincidentally, back at Dave’s Home, the local grocery store had a sale on single layer cakes. That’s reason enough to celebrate in my book, so we bought a cake for after our dinner feast of roast beast, leftover chicken, mashed potatoes, corn and broccoli. The potatoes were from scratch! (I felt like cooking this evening.)

Seeing Phil on the news this morning made me think of another movie favorite of mine -- Groundhog Day with Bill Murray. The opening line in this post came from that movie. I don’t have it in my DVD library, yet, but I hope to some day.

P.S. We didn’t read from Stuart Little tonight because the kids took such a long time showering, but tomorrow I’ll try some of the suggestions about empathy sent in by readers. (Referring to yesterday’s post.)

A mere photo fails to capture the true excitement
of a large squirrel predicting the weather.

New Bedtime Story

2010-02-01T21:10:00.000-08:00

We finished reading a simplified version of The Swiss Family Robinson a while ago and started on a new book; Stuart Little by E. B. White. Each night before bed we read one chapter together. Tonight’s chapter was titled “Spring”, and in it Stuart’s good friend, Margalo the bird, finds out that a cat will be coming after her and so decides to fly away. The chapter ends after Margalo leaves, but before Stuart finds out that she's gone. (Margalo didn't tell anyone she was leaving.)

I’ve been told many times that when reading with kids it’s important to test their comprehension, so every night I start off by asking H & K to recount what happened in the last chapter, and then finish up with a question or two about the current chapter. Tonight I wondered if the kids felt sad for Stuart because he was losing his good friend, so my questions prodded in that area. Both kids remembered that Margalo and Stuart were friends, and that Margalo had flown away, but when asked what might happen in the next chapter, neither kid said that Stuart might be sad.

I guess this is one step beyond reading comprehension. It was more of a test to see if the kids empathized with Stuart, and could foresee what would happen next. I wonder when children are supposed be able to do this?

Batting Practice

2010-01-31T21:31:00.000-08:00

After a yummy lunch of toasted cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup, I took the boys to the local batting cages to work on their swings. Twenty balls for $3.00, and they let us borrow a bat and helmets. We went over where to stand, how to grip the bat, the ready position, and the swing. I know just enough to be dangerous!

For H & K the hardest part was remembering to get into the ready position with their elbows up, hands back and bat at about a 45 degree angle. Still, both of them got in some decent cuts, and connected quite a few times.

We’ll keep at it until team practices begin. I hope their practice and game schedules will be manageable!

Some time in the next week or two I'll have to invest in some more baseball clothes and equipment for the kids. They are going to need cleats, socks, pants, and helmets. Maybe bats, too. Play It Again Sports, here I come!

As we went up to bed I spotted
Mac & Cheesy staring out into the dark.

The calm before the nightly kitten storm.

Distraction from the Daze

2010-01-30T20:11:00.000-08:00

This month of ups and downs with P has left me in a real daze. I feel it the most when I’m not busy with work or taking care of the kids. I decided to treat us to a movie this evening, to entertain the kids and distract me from my dazed thoughts. I know that my head will clear given a little time.

The unanimous choice of flick was “The Tooth Fairy”, and a good choice it was. It had lots of slapstick for the kids, and just enough plot to keep me from thinking about P. Plus we had popcorn, soda and gummy bear candy. Real feel good food.

Maybe I'll stay up late tonight and watch the Australian Open men's singles finals -- live. It has the makings of a great match, pitting Roger Federer against Andy Murray.

Good News

2010-01-30T16:21:00.000-08:00

It was little K’s turn on the baseball field this morning. His tryouts were just like his big brother’s, except the speed of the balls was a bit slower. Many of his family members came to watch him, and threw the ball around afterward.

Here are a few photos.

(See? Life does go on and good things can happen, if we let them.)

Fielding ground balls. K caught one

right in the glove on a high hop!

Going for a fly ball, but thought best to let it drop.

Waiting for his turn to bat.

Big brother H watching from
atop the bleachers.

Big swing...and a miss! Maybe next time.

Here's the boy's mom
having a catch.

Bad News

2010-01-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

Less than 24 hours after his return, P is gone again. I was too stunned to write about it last night.

Friday morning I drove him to school and we checked in with the registrar to get his class schedule. We were on time and everything seemed fine. Then, on my way home from work, I received an automated call from the school attendance office saying P had missed every class that day. How could that be?

When I got home P wasn’t there. All his stuff was still there, though. So, like the many other times this happened, I called his cell phone and every other number I knew trying to find out where he was. Around 9pm he finally answered my calls. He said that he couldn’t do it; couldn’t go to that school again and had to be with his family. He said he wasn’t coming back.

My emotions are still unsettled over this, but life has to go on.

Will He Stay?

2010-01-28T21:42:00.000-08:00

Just when I had all but given up on P, he calls me and says that he wants to come home – for real, this time. A couple of hours later P and his stuff were back in his room at Dave’s Home.

On the ride home I suggested to P that we forget about past mess ups and concentrate on the future. Pretend like we first met. So we exchanged greetings and shook hands. P seemed to like this idea. It bothers him when people use his past behavior to judge his future.

Too bad that’s how the real world works. But maybe I can stave off part of the real world just long enough for P to get back on track. If he stays, that is. Only time will tell.

Double Dose of Therapy

2010-01-27T22:12:00.001-08:00

Recently K started going to therapy at the same place and on the same day as H, one right after the other. The up side of this arrangement is that we're only in the therapist's office one evening a week. The down side is that we’re in the therapist’s office for two hours on that evening. That makes for a very long day.

Today was that day, and it was looonnng indeed. That's it for me today. Good night!

Blue About P

2010-01-26T21:43:00.000-08:00

I spoke with several social workers today about P, but they didn’t have any good news or ideas. So I’ve been looking through old photos of him and thinking about his present unsettled situation. It makes me sad.

It’s hard for me to comprehend how the kid in these photos got to where he is now. Here are some of those photos.

Burney Falls

11th birthday.

His first at Dave's Home

Rainie Falls on the Rogue River in Oregon

Top of Nevada Falls in Yosemite

12th or 13th birthday...

I can't remember now.

Santa Cruz

Not Tennis Again!

2010-01-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

We’re into the second week of the Australian Open tennis tournament. For those non-tennis fans, this is the first of four Grand Slam tournaments played every year. The other three are the French Open (also known as Roland Garros), Wimbledon, and the U.S. Open.

Grand Slam tournaments are the Super Bowls of tennis!

As I am a tennis fan, I've been watching the event unfold on TV every chance I get, and the boys are sick of it. I understand their feelings. If I were not into tennis then watching a five set match that took over four hours to complete would, well, totally sucks eggs!

Too bad, so sad, kids. This is one time of year that I control the remote! Go read a book.

Poor bored K wrapped himself up like a burrito.
(I guess anything is better than reading a book.)

Back and Forth

2010-01-24T20:23:00.000-08:00

As you may have noticed, P hasn’t been with us for the last week and a half or so. P was my eighth foster child. He came to me when he was ten, and now he’s seventeen and a half. He has been living with various family members for the better part of last year.

Without going into detail, around Christmas time P said that he wanted to move back into Dave’s Home, and in fact we did move his belongings. But over the course of a few weeks he spent less and less time here, opting instead to be with his family members after school and on weekends. Last week I confronted him about his living arrangements and he basically said that he had changed his mind.

I don’t think P is making a wise decision, and I have tried many times now to convince him of this. I am troubled and very frustrated by this turn of events, but all I feel that I can do is keep the lines of communication open and hope for P’s wellbeing.

P around the time that he first moved into Dave’s Home.

Muddy Tryouts

2010-01-23T15:36:00.000-08:00

Our week long storm cleared just long enough for H’s baseball tryouts to finish up this morning. (Then the clouds closed in and there was a tornado warning -- very rare for this part of the country. I heard that several funnel clouds were spotted!)

As you can see, the fields were pretty soggy, but the kids didn’t seem to mind that much. The tryouts consisted of three tests. First was fielding ground balls from the shortstop position and throwing to first base. Second was fielding fly balls and throwing to second base. Third was batting and base running.

Can you see the ball in flight,
heading towards H with his glove
at the ready?

H did quite well with his ground balls and throwing. Of course I attribute his success (in part) to our practice a couple of days before. One of the parents in the stands even commented that he had a good arm!

Only a few of the kids fielded fly balls well. H wasn’t one of them, but he fit right in with this group. I should note that H had never really played baseball before.

A pop-up ready to fly.

Batting was the toughest. It was scary because of the pitching machine and the speed of the ball, and we didn’t get to practice at all. The coaches were terrific, though, showing H how to stand and swing. With a little more coaching and practice, I think H will do just fine.

Elbows up and bat back!
OK, maybe next time.

Bottom line: He walked off the field smiling, and that’s what’s most important!

Little K watching his brother. He gets his turn on the field next weekend.

Family Movie Night

2010-01-22T22:14:00.000-08:00

Even though this was a short week, so to speak (because Monday was a holiday in honor of Martin Luther King’s birthday), it seemed like a long week to me. It culminated this evening with a showing of the movie, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” at the school. The turnout was pretty good. By the time the movie started there was very little floor space left!

This event was sponsored by the Parent Teach Association (PTA), which has its hands especially full trying to keep the school operating this year in the face of so many funding cutbacks. There was no entrance fee to see the movie, but PTA volunteers were selling popcorn, drinks and school shirts. I think this year’s PTA has been doing a bang up job!

Tomorrow morning H has baseball tryouts, and then in the afternoon the boy’s mother and sisters are coming over for a visit. (K's baseball tryouts are the following weekend.)

Blackout

2010-01-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

About half an hour after waking up this morning the lights started flickering, and within a minute the whole house went dark. Of course I was in the bathroom finishing a shower at the time – probably the second worst place to be during a blackout. (On the potty is the first worst, in my book.)

Did I forget to pay the power bill?

Luckily the boys decided not to heed the first call of alarm clock Dave. I blindly hurried out of the shower, fumbling for a robe and expecting screams of terror from H & K from being left in the dark alone. Instead there were only mews from the kitties. Flashlight in hand, I found the boys still snug in their beds, blissfully unaware of what had just happened.

We were also lucky that dawn was just breaking. Within fifteen minutes there was enough light for us to eat breakfast. While we feasted on cold cereal I called the school to find out if they had power. Sure enough it was out there, too, but they said classes would still be held so I dropped off the kids like normal. (I’ve always liked that our phone lines operate on their own, separate power.)

When I got to the office I found out that power had been restored less than an hour after classes began. Just enough time to make the incident the talk of the day, and to make us reflect on how much we rely on electricity!

Sleepless Night and a Busy, Stormy Day

2010-01-20T20:07:00.000-08:00

Dave pulled an all-nighter (nearly) to finish a presentation for the office today. So far 2010 has been the year for burning the candle at both ends, whether for work or play. I don’t like doing that. I’m going to cut back on some activities and try to plan a little better. Less stress is best!

When I did finally make it into bed last night, the cats, the kids and the storm conspired against me. First Mac & Cheesy wouldn’t settle down, running amok all over the house. Then H had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep. And then the storm threw in a little lightning on top of all the wind and rain. Thank goodness for the BART train, where I finally caught a few winks on the way in to work.

This evening after homework I coached the boys on baseball in preparation for their upcoming Little League try-outs. (Hey, my coaching is better than nothing!) I showed them the “ready position” when fielding, how to move to the ball, and how to use both the glove and their other hand to secure a ground ball.

Tomorrow maybe we’ll practice batting.

Bear Photos

2010-01-19T08:24:00.000-08:00

Here are the photos I promised!

Heidi and the boys.
The hat came with the condo.

Bus ride from Bear Village to
the base of the ski slopes.

Another equipment rental line.
This one went pretty quick, though!

The magic carpet ride.

Dave coaching H, with unknown
downed snowboard kid.

Apre ski snowball fight.

Fireworks on the slopes. Bear does
this every year on the Saturday night of
MLK's birthday weekend.

A local vehicle prepared for the big storm.

Living Lodge at the Bear Valley Lodge.

H & K met new friends. Here they are playing

a matching card game called "concentration".

Little K with the perfect snowball.

Innertubing. Weeeeee!

Dual sledding hills. More weeeeeee!

Here are a few pics showing the uniqueness
of our rented condo. The tree branch chandelier
and a multitude of on/off switches, for example.
We never figured out what half those switches did!

Very nice faucets in the bathrooms.
However, when air got in the water lines
(maybe when the mains were turned off and then back on)
the water shot straight out, hitting you or the wall
behind you, until the air was flushed out.
Startling when unexpected!

The boys posing beneath one of the
great bears of Bear Village.

The big storm arrives!

Sights during the drive home.

Safe and Sound

2010-01-18T18:05:00.001-08:00

It is good to be back home, at last. The trip down wasn’t that bad, but it was (and is) indeed Storm’n Norman out there. More soon, including a boat load of photos, after the present fury of unpacking and preparing for work and school tomorrow is over.

On the Road Back Home

2010-01-18T12:34:00.000-08:00

We’re about to hit the snow-covered road and head back down the mountain. It’s been snowing steadily since yesterday afternoon, so we’ll be taking it nice and slow!

Poor Heidi had a rough night. We think she is suffering through a bout of food poisoning, probably from something she ate for dinner. Cruddy way to end a nice trip!

Sledding Before the Storm

2010-01-17T15:48:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we all went skiing. I signed the kids up for another lesson, but we had over an hour before it started so Heidi and I took H & K up and down the bunny slopes. This first-hand experience with their skiing ability convinced us both that they need more lessons before venturing out with us on the steeper slopes.

Once the kids were safely with their ski instructors, Heidi and I got to ski together on the intermediate slopes. We’re both comfortable on slopes of this difficulty level.

We spent yesterday evening in the Bear Valley Lodge. While Heidi and I relaxed and had a nice dinner, the boys played with the other kids in the great lounge. This is one of the neat things about Bear Valley and the Lodge. All the families with young kids get together in the lounge after dark, playing games in front of the fire.

Today Heidi went skiing again, but the boys and I decided to go sledding and inner tubing. Bear has two nice hills in their cross-country area, across from where we’re staying. One hill is for inner tubes, and one is for sleds. There were a lot of families out there and the kids had a great time. We left when the wind picked up and heavy snow started falling.

A big storm is blowing in and snow is expected through the night and most of tomorrow. I hope we won’t be snowed in!

(I still can’t post pictures because I don’t have a way of getting them off the camera and on to my old laptop computer. But I’m taking a ton, so stay tuned. I’ll add pictures to these posts when we get back home.)

Bear Valley Snow Trip

2010-01-16T19:34:00.000-08:00

We are in the California’s Sierra Mountains, playing in the snow with my friend Heidi. I’ve known Heidi since High School. Every year around this time she flies down from Seattle to ski with her old school buddies. Occasionally we all fly up to Washington State and ski in her neck of the woods, or even farther north at Whistler in Canada.

I didn’t have time to post to the blog yesterday. Our week has been so busy that we didn’t get packed for this trip until just before we left last night. Plus I had to set up food, water and litter for the kitties and fishies – actually just food for the fishies. Then, when we arrived at our condo in Bear, there was no internet connection. There is one at The Lodge, though, which is where I’m posting from now.

It’s time to go to dinner, now. More later. Hopefully photos, too, but they may have to wait until we’re back home. I let a colleague from work borrow my camera USB cable and forgot to get it back before we left. Now I don’t have a way of getting the pictures off my camera!

K’s Seventh Birthday Party

2010-01-14T23:05:00.000-08:00

After being rescheduled twice, little K’s party at Chuck E. Cheese's finally came to pass. The birthday boy was a bit late, thanks to a guy named Dave getting stuck in a meeting at work and then on a delayed BART train, but as soon as the Big Mouse came out, all was forgiven. There were lots of smiles to go around!

I’m tired, so that’s it for the words in this post. Here are a bunch of photos to look through.

The birthday boy getting crowned

One-on-one with the Big Mouse

Opening his loot

Enduring the Happy Birthday song

Lots of pics with Mom

Ending With a Tantrum

2010-01-13T23:24:00.000-08:00

A long day wound down with a long tantrum in the therapist’s waiting room this evening. Immediately afterward the tantrumer fell asleep on the floor. Do you think maybe he was over tired?

Sleep Therapy

Seriously, it’s been an unusually busy week for us. We’ve had multiple things to do every evening and the kids have been getting to bed later than normal. To top that off, little K is still recovering from his illness.

Unfortunately our busy-ness isn’t going to let up until the weekend. Tomorrow evening is K’s 7th birthday party, and Friday afternoon we’re driving up to the snow with my friend Heidi. At least these remaining busy-nesses will be fun. Plus the kids can catch up on their sleep during the drive up to the mountains.

Like everything else, this too shall pass.

_______________

On a more somber note, my heart goes out to all those in Haiti suffering as a result of the recent catastrophic earthquake that occurred there. The San Andreas fault that runs close to Dave’s Home has very similar characteristics to the fault that ruptured in Haiti. This quake, combined with another very recent tremor near Humboldt in Northern California, have encouraged me to re-examine my house and its furnishings for earthquake safety.

Around Those Bases

2010-01-12T22:30:00.000-08:00

It’s done and they’re in! The next step is try-outs and the draft. Yes, even the seven-year-old will be scrutinized by a contingent of volunteer coaches and then endure a possibly life-scarring draft -- if it were not conducted behind closed doors, thankfully. Not to fear, though, for everyone gets on a team in Little League Baseball.

The kids went bonkers during the hour long sign-up process, and my hand is cramping from filling out all the forms. (This is gonna be a short post.) But it’s smooth sailing -- or base running -- from here on out.

Of course I have no idea how I’m going to get two kids, who will be on two different teams, to two different weekday afternoon practices, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. After all, I’ve done it before. I don’t remember how I did it. Maybe it was so difficult that I blocked it out of my mind? My God, Santayana was right! Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

First base, second base, third base, home!

Around those bases we shall roam!

Oh yeah, we also got hair cuts with spiky moose gel. We're gonna be raring party animals on Thursday.

Wrong Water Bowl

2010-01-11T22:45:00.000-08:00

After an unusual Monday trip to the therapist for the kids, we stopped for dinner at the Back Forty Texas BBQ. Dave was way tired from an overwhelming return to work since being unexpectedly out of the office to care for an ill K last Thursday and Friday. I didn't want to cook and the bright neon sign looked inviting to the kids, so I splurged. The food was good and plentiful. I brought home a whole other meal of leftovers, and the kids liked the old west décor inside even more than the sign out front.

It’s great when a tough day ends on a high note!

Oh yeah, that wasn’t quite the end of the day. As we walked in the house we heard something in the bathroom. I switched on the light and saw Mackenzie the water cat balancing on the rim of the toilet and drinking from the bowl! I just bought her and her sister a Drinkwell Platinum filtered water fountain. The Platinum edition, for goodness sakes. Why would she choose to drink out of a toilet rather than her Platinum fountain? Arggghhh.

After making sure all the toilet lids were down, I read a bit to the kids and they went to bed. We've got something going on every evening this week and they need their sleep. Tomorrow night everyone is getting a hair cut so we'll look dashing at K's party, and then the boys are signing up for Little League baseball. Both kids wanted to try this sport over another round of YMCA basketball. Good for them! I just hope I can swing getting them to all the practices.

Go Fly a Kite

2010-01-10T21:17:00.000-08:00

Today I will recount the goings on at Dave's Home backwards, from evening to morning. We just finished dinner, which was sweet and sour chicken made by Dave himself – with help from a Kikkoman sauce mix. I thought it came out pretty good, but the kids ate just meager portions, and that only after I threatened to withhold dessert. Heaven forbid!

I’ve been trying to expand the kid's culinary horizons. You know, to something beyond pizza and Kraft macaroni and cheese. (They really like much more than that. They also like burritos and Coco Puffs!)

In the afternoon we cleaned out the garage a bit and went through our snow gear in preparation for next weekend’s trip to Bear Valley. Then, while I was applying Scotch Guard to some snow pants and jackets, H flew a new box style kite he got for Christmas. He's been waiting for a day with the proper wind. Little K helped, and got to fly it once, too.

Everyone slept through the night and woke up late, which is how I like to start my Sundays. K seems to be completely over whatever he had – probably a virus. I’m just about over my cold, too.

Yes, every day and in every way we’re getting better and better!

A Day Late, But Finally Fever Free

2010-01-09T19:51:00.000-08:00

Little K woke up this morning with an un-medicated normal temperature. Yeah! Unfortunately I had already postponed his birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese’s. He still had a fever last night when I made this decision. I believe that kids should be fever free for about 24 hours before being released on the general populace. Plus I wanted to give everyone reasonable notice of the cancellation.

I’ve been feeling under the weather myself for the past day or so. After breakfast it all caught up with me and I went down hard until late in the afternoon. The kids were left to entertain themselves, which they did well, for the most part. Both mostly worked on Lego sets that they got for Christmas.

Whatever got me down seemed to go away with some cold medicine and a good nap. In the evening I was really hungry, as I skipped lunch, and decided to cook a full dinner. We had Rice-a-Roni (the San Francisco treat), mixed vegetables with Béarnaise sauce (I love this stuff – it’s like 50% butter) and chicken grilled indoors on the electric griddle/grill built-in to my stove top. I hardly ever use this grill feature, but it’s pretty neat.

We also made use of the fireplace because the sun never really came out to warm the house. While I was busy in the kitchen, K & H went nuts over the fire.

K going Zen in

front of the fire

Between a Rock and My Work Place

2010-01-08T22:55:00.000-08:00

Most of the times when I’ve had to stay home from work because of my kids it hasn’t been much of a problem. It didn’t impact any important deadline, for example. Today, however, was an exception. I was scheduled to give a presentation to a group that included my boss and his boss, and this presentation was a precursor to presenting it to my boss’s boss’s boss and the Board of Directors, who are my boss’s boss’s boss’s bosses. You probably get the important points: 1) I’m pretty far down the chain at work, and 2) there were an awful lot of bosses involved.

Anyway, to make a long story short, Dave was stressing a bit this AM figuring out how to strike a balance between work and family whilst pleasing all those bosses. I ended up sending someone who works for me (yes, believe it or not, I, too, am a boss – the company org chart looks like the Transamerica building) to the meeting in my stead to run the PowerPoint computer, and I walked them through the slides via telephone. All things considered I think it went over pretty well, not counting the break I took in the middle to help a screaming K undo the button on his pants to use the bathroom.

Another Sick Day

2010-01-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

Little K’s fever burned through the night, and needed tending more times than my sleepy brain remembers. What I do remember is waking up late to a blaring alarm clock and wondering how I could have slept through that racket.

K’s big brother, H, hasn’t had more than a sniffle in the seven months he’s lived in Dave’s Home, and he had a perfect attendance record at school to prove it. He did, that is, until this morning when he was tardy thanks to yours truly. I wrote him a good excuse note to give to the attendance office, though.

Speaking of school, H came home yesterday with a certificate from the principal recognizing him for helping a younger student learn to read a book. He also got to pick out a prize to take home. Way to go, H!

K Interruptus

2010-01-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

While home with the feverish K today, I spent some time working on a presentation for the office. Between Sponge Bob and Phineas and Ferb, little K came into my study. (By study I mean an extra bedroom turned into a home office and crammed with all the stuff I don’t want cluttering up the rest of the house.) K tapped me on the shoulder and the following conversation ensued.

K: Dave?

Dave: Yes, K.

K: Can I write something on your computer?

Dave: OK. Do you want to write something we can post on our blog?

K: Yes.

Dave: OK, but not on this (grabbed his hand before he could tap on the keyboard). This is important work stuff. Let’s open a new document. Now, tell me what you want to say and I’ll type it.

K: Say hi to my mom, and my sisters, and my brother, and... I don’t know what else to say.

Dave: How about telling them how you feel?

K: Sick.

Dave: What kind of sick?

K: It hurts when I swallow, and I’m hot.

Dave: Have you been hungry?

K: Yeah.

Dave: What did you eat for lunch?

K: A Hot Pocket.

Dave: What flavor of Hot Pocket did you eat?

K: Cheese. Cheese and ham, mixed together.

Dave: Was it good?

K: Yes. Can I go play my DS now?

That’s it! What did you expect? He's barely seven!

K back on the couch

with Mac and his DS.

Little Too Warm

2010-01-07T20:07:00.000-08:00

Little K is sick again! He woke up this morning with a fever. This meant he couldn’t go to school, and I couldn’t go to work.

I sure hope he gets over this illness quicker than the last one. We were planning on celebrating his 7th birthday at a Chuck E. Cheese’s pizza place on Saturday.

A Hitch in Switching Schools

2010-01-07T19:54:00.000-08:00

Being too far behind in credits to graduate with his class, P has been attending a continuation school. However, this particular school relied mostly on independent study. He only met with a teacher once a week. I guess this approach works for some kids, but it didn’t work for P.

So, P and his mom found another continuation school that held classes every weekday. They were in the middle of the enrollment process when P moved back to Dave’s Home. Unfortunately when his new school found out about his change of address, they said he couldn’t enroll because he was now living outside of that school’s district!

This was another frustrating setback for P, and now he’s angry with me for telling the school about his address change. He thinks I should have entered his old address on the forms. I'm uncomfortable doing stuff like that. I told him it just leads to bigger problems.

My Fourth Foster Child

2010-01-06T07:30:00.000-08:00

Some kids come and go in the middle of another kid’s stay at Dave’s Home. Such was the case with my fourth foster child. He was placed with me in December of 1995, about nine months after my third child, and he stayed for about three months. (My third foster child stayed for seven years.)

I remember these two kids bickering with each other all the time. Back then I was living in a much smaller home with only one bedroom for the kids to share. Night after night there were accusations of stealing or one breaking the other's possessions. Some kids are like oil and water – they just don’t mix.

My memories of shorter term kids from long ago, like #4, have faded quite a bit, but I have a vague recollection of him being personable when one-on-one with me. The only other clear memory I have of him is that he had a lot of trouble in school. His teacher and I arranged to exchange progress reports daily. Yes, every day his teacher would write one covering his class time and send it home to me, and I would write one covering his evenings and send it back to school. I still have a big file folder filled with these reports. I guess we were going for a kind of unified discipline in an effort to convince this child that he couldn’t get away with his shenanigans any more.

What kind of shenanigans, you ask? Well, some of it was the normal kind, like always forgetting to bring home a book or paper needed for homework. And some of it was a bit more. Just before he was placed with me he was suspended for five days for taking a pocket knife to school.

Checking out the limousine I rented

for his foster brother's 13th birthday.

Reading Our Way Out of the Circle

2010-01-05T22:09:00.000-08:00

Today I started reading a simplified version of The Swiss Family Robinson to the kids as a bedtime story. This book was given to H for Christmas, and he has been struggling to read it over the past week but it’s beyond his present skill level.

Falling behind in reading skills is really tough on kids. The only books you can read on your own are so simple that they're boring. I mean really boooooorrrrring! You remember See Spot Run? But, being older than the average kid reading about Spot, you recognize how boring it is and can’t engage in the story (because there isn’t one) and so are easily distracted and, ultimately, just learn to hate reading. It’s a horrible vicious circle.

Maybe by reading to H from the same book he's trying to read himself, he will become engaged in the story and break out of this circle.

The Last on Those Lines (Maybe)

2010-01-05T07:30:00.000-08:00

The USGS responded to my inquiry about the strange lines or terracing on some of the hills around Dave’s Home. When the e-mail popped up in my inbox I dropped everything to read it. Apparently my question had been routed to a local office. I read the end first to see who it was from. The closing sounded impressive enough:

Cartographer

Western Region GIO

      NSN-SILS
       US Geological Survey
     Menlo Park, California

Then I read the body. “Believe it or not they are most likely caused by cows. Animals tend to want to walk at the same elevation all the time. Humans tend to like to go up and down.”

It’s Good to be Seven

2010-01-04T22:58:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday to you! ♫ ♪ Happy birthday to you! ♪ ♫ ♪ Happy birthday dear K, happy birthday to yooouuuuu! ♫ ♪ And many more!

Today little K is a little bit bigger (or a little less little), at least in round numbers; he turned seven years old! Many believe that every seven years a person begins a new cycle in life. If this is so, then K is right on the cusp of something new. How exciting!

This weekend we’ll have a blow-out celebration at Chuck E. Cheese’s. Even with his pizza party coming up fast, K wanted pizza tonight, too, and who was I to say no being that it’s his anniversary on the planet. So we had dinner at Mountain Mikes and brought home a little Sponge Bob cake for dessert, complete with candles and a rousing (though off-tune) chorus of “happy birthday” that sent the kittens running for cover.

Speaking of kittens, while we were away at work and school they discovered the joys of toilet paper! Isn’t that special?

Holiday & Creepy Crawly Dismantling

2010-01-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I had to perform major surgery on our creepy crawly pool cleaner. It’s a six-year-old Hayward Navigator that roams the bottom of the pool sucking up debris while the filter pump is running. I’m pretty sure mine is on its last legs – or whatever the heck makes it move. I cleaned every part I could get my mitts on and managed to get it working again, but it’s definitely a step or two slower than it was in its heyday. Plus some of the plastic parts are becoming brittle and breaking. I foresee an expensive trip to the local Leslies Pool Supply store in my future.

Over the weekend we also completed the holiday season ritual by taking down our tree, house lights and other decorations and packing them back away for next year. I always get a little depressed doing this. In so many ways it seems like just yesterday that we were putting all this stuff up! (In other ways it feels like an eternity.)

This time, however, I had a lot of help from the kids and especially P, who took the lead in unraveling the lights from around the tree. In past years I’ve been left to do all the take down myself.

Ask Dave Question #7

2010-01-03T19:07:00.000-08:00

Doug & Juanita ask, “Financially, how does foster care work? Do you get a certain number of dollars for each child in your house? Is it from federal, state or local? How much? Does medical and dental get covered by you or is it paid separately in addition to what you receive for basic child care?”

First off, thanks for sending me the question! The answer is that foster parents get reimbursed a certain amount per child every month. My check comes from the county, and they refer to it as a “benefit”, even though it’s for care provided in the prior month. The exact amount depends upon the age of the child and sometimes the placement circumstances. For me the current average going price is about $500 a month per kid. I don’t know for sure what the source of the money is, but I suspect it’s a mix of state and local funding. I’ve also heard that they try to recoup these costs from the biological parents once they get back on their financial feet. I suspect that these recovery efforts are not very successful.

All foster kids are also provided with medical and dental insurance that covers everything except an occasional medication. Most of the time the insurance is Medi-Cal and Denti-Cal. The only exception is when the biological parents have their own insurance for the kids.

Just for kicks I looked back in my Quicken bookkeeping records about a year and roughed out the expenses for daycare, food, clothes and transportation. The average came to $660 per month per kid. For me, daycare accounts for just over half of this. (Click HERE to see a sample daycare bill.) Of course these categories of expenses don’t include things like vacations, sports and gifts.

What the heck, you can’t take it with you.

Water Cat

2010-01-02T19:55:00.000-08:00

Mackenzie, one of our new kittens, is a water-loving cat! She’s attracted to running water. Whenever we’re using the sink she comes running, putting her paws into the water, drinking, and playing like she’s trying to catch invisible fish. Sometimes she even puts her head under the faucet! Aren’t cats supposed to hate getting wet?

Coincidentally I’ve been meaning to replace the kittens’ water dish with a drinking fountain. My last cat didn’t like to drink stale water. I’ve read that these fountains hold a lot more water than a regular dish and re-circulate it through filters to keep it fresh. Knowing Mac is such a water lover is yet another reason.

So, off we went to the pet store in search of a kitty water fountain. We came home with a DrinkWell fountain by Veterinary Ventures, Inc. Little K and I put it together in just a few minutes, and so far it’s quietly producing a nice stream of water into its built-in dish. Hopefully Mac & Cheesy will drink from it and not just play in it!

Our Neighbor the Cutco Rep

2010-01-02T19:36:00.000-08:00

Today we were visited by Amy, the eldest daughter of one of our neighbor friends. Amy is helping to pay for her college education by selling Cutco cutlery. Last year I bought a set of Cutco steak knives, kitchen shears, and a couple of gift sets as Christmas presents. Amy came by this year to check up on the products she sold and sharpen all the knives. Cutco products come with a “Forever Guarantee” that includes sharpening.

So far all the Cutco stuff I’ve used has been first rate. It’s a bit expensive out of the gate, but their quality construction and lifetime guarantee means I’ll never have to purchase a replacement. Plus these knives are so much sharper than others I’ve used!

If you’re looking for cutlery, I would encourage you to consider Cutco. Click HERE to visit their web site. If you decide to buy, please also consider making your purchase through Amy. She can provide personalized service and ship to anywhere in the United States. The best way to contact Amy is by e-mail at vandea@rpi.edu.

Welcome 2010

2010-01-01T01:26:00.000-08:00

As usual, our friend’s New Year’s Party was a blast. We all had fun, stayed awake to see the arrival of 2010, and made it safely back home to our warm, comfortable beds. Here are a few photos from the party.

Thanks again to our gracious party hosts, Lisa and Joe. I found out during the party that Joe has been publishing his own blog called "Hey Joe" since about 2006. You can read it by clicking HERE.

Here's little K playing
mini-pool under the
blue moon.

Take care, everyone, and have a happy 2010!

New Years Eve Day

2009-12-31T17:57:00.000-08:00

All the humans living in Dave’s Home got up late this morning. Mac & Cheesy kittens were up very early and, as usual, when the sun rose, Cheesy retreated back under the bed in one of the kid’s rooms. The fish always get up at the same time because their "sun" is on a timer.

The kittens got a new litter box because they are both tremendous litter kickers, meaning they throw litter out of the box when doing their business. Not just a little, either, but huge mounds of litter and other stuff flung near and far! This new litter box is bigger and almost completely enclosed. It even has a door flap, but I’m going to remove it to start with so as not to confuse the kittens. This box also has a built-in litter sifter that sits in the box underneath the litter. To clean the box you simply lift the sifter up out of the litter. The small granules fall through holes and slits in the sifter, leaving the poop and other clumpy bits in the sifter, which can then be easily dumped into a trash bag. I sure hope this cleaning system works well!

I also picked up some No Scratch spray because the kittens (mostly Mac) are really tearing into some of my furniture. Let the battles begin!

Tonight Tracy, the kids and I are going to a New Years Eve party at a friend’s house. We’ve celebrated the coming of a new year with this family for the past three years. I’m going to bring some split pea soup, which I'm making from scratch using the last of our Christmas ham and its bone. I love the way the house smells when soup is cooking on the stove!

While I was cooking soup and watching Rear Window on TV, the kids helped out by washing the car. It hadn’t been cleaned since our trip to Yosemite and it really needed it. Thanks guys!

As this will be my last post of 2009, I wish you all a safe and happy New Year. See you in 2010!

Three Helpers in the Office

2009-12-30T21:52:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those busier than normal days. First thing in the morning – I’m talking 8am – a social worker came by to talk with P and find out his plans. Before I found out about P moving back in, I had planned to take H & K with me to the office today rather than leave them in daycare again. I decided to stick with this plan and take P as well. What’s one more kid, right?

When the social worker finished with P, off the four of us went on the BART train to my office. P snapped this photo of us during the train ride. Boy do I look tired!

While I was working, the kids played their hand-held video games, watched a DVD on a laptop computer, and took a walk through a nearby park.

We left the office early in the afternoon. I joked with my office mates that this was because I had so much help that I finished my work in half the time. Actually H & K had an appointment to see their lawyer.

All foster kids have their own legal representation. These lawyers are an extra check to make sure things happen in the children’s best interest. They generally visit with the kids every six months, coinciding with court hearings. Along with the social workers, they must write reports for the judge in preparation for these hearings.

Next came dinner at Marie Calendars. We were all sick of eating Christmas leftovers and I had a hankering for their turkey pot pie. This particular restaurant has been around for at least 30 years. I remember going there on dates when I was in high school!

Our last errand of the day was to pick up P’s belongings and bring them back to Dave’s Home. I was worried that this might be a big job, but it turned out not to be. P has become a light packer while living away from Dave’s Home.

Finally home, the four of us had a nice soak in the hot tub before bed. Little K and I relaxed in the bubbles and steam while P & H dared each other to jump into the near freezing cold water of the main pool. When they reached the triple dog dare, P jumped in and just as quickly jumped out and ran back to the hot tub. Not wanting to be shown up, H did the same, screaming all the way. Crazy kids!

Cheesy in the Night

2009-12-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

So far little Cheesy, one of our new kittens, has only come out at night. I don’t know if she is afraid of the kids and so waits for them to go to sleep, or if she’s simply a night owl. However, when she does come out from under a bed, or wherever else she hides, she plays around just like her sister. I hope she's not hiding all day long while we're at work and school!

Last night both kittens were messing around on the bed with me while I watched a little television. Cheesy thought the show was boring and used the remote to change the channel. Talk about making yourself at home!

Sometimes They Come Back

2009-12-29T19:10:00.000-08:00

It looks like P, my eighth foster kid, may be moving back into Dave’s Home. Just like biological kids that leave home to go to college, or get a job and move into an apartment, sometimes things don’t work out and a kid has to move back in with his parents.

Even though P has been living with his biological family for the last six months or so, the court still considers me his legal guardian. Apparently it takes another court hearing to undo the guardianship of a minor.

K Says Knock, Knock

2009-12-28T15:49:00.000-08:00

Knock, knock.
Who's there?

Yaw.

Yaw who? (Click the ANSWER button below to read K's punch line.)

Squeakquel

2009-12-27T21:17:00.000-08:00

Our first night with the new kittens went well. The more adventurous one, who I’ve decided to rename Mackenzie (from Maxi), is now quite at home in the house, racing about, batting anything that moves, and taking turns napping on anyone sitting or laying around.

Cheesy, on the other hand, is taking her sweet time getting to know everything and everyone. She came out of her shell a bit (or her fur, in her case) around 2am this morning, mewing and playing a little bit, and even nuzzling with me on my bed for a while. I thought that maybe she would be more like her outgoing sister in the morning, but when the kids woke up she went back into hiding. We’ll have to be more patient with her, I guess.

I chose the name Mackenzie, by the way, because now we can call the kittens Mac & Cheesy – as in Kraft Macaroni & Cheese – which happens to be a favorite food of most kids, including H & K. Plus their fur is the same color as the cheese sauce.

In the afternoon Tracy and I took the kids to see the latest Alvin and the Chipmunks movie – The Squeakquel. The kids gave it at least one thumb up, and there were scenes that amused us adults. Afterward the whole crew came over to Dave’s Home for a dinner of leftover ham and rib roast, and Tracy got to meet the kittens for the first time.

From "Alvin and the Chipmunks:

The Squeakquel"

New Residents of Dave’s Home

2009-12-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

There are two new furry residents living in Dave’s Home! They are four-month-old siblings named Maxi and Cheesy. Both are female orange tabbies, which we were told was unusual. Apparently most orange tabby cats are male.

We adopted these kittens from H.A.L.O., which stands for Homeless Animals’ Lifeline Organization. This is a volunteer, non-profit group that cares for homeless animals without using shelters, but rather using foster homes. How apropos for us to adopt from another foster home! If you’re interested in knowing more about H.A.L.O., click HERE to visit their web site.

Cheesy inside the box spring of my bed!

When we first brought them home, we kept Maxi and Cheesy in the master bedroom to settle down and get accustomed to the smells and sounds of their new home. Despite being sisters, Maxi and Cheesy seem to have very different personalities. Maxi is more outgoing, eagerly exploring her surroundings, while Cheesy is very shy. As soon as she was out of the cat carrier, Cheesy retreated under my bed. Unfortunately she found a hole in the batting on the underside of the box spring and climbed up inside it! I let her stay there for a while, hoping she would come out on her own, but after a few hours I decided to get her out and patch the hole. Under the bed is one thing – inside the bed is a no-no!

Maxi exploring the house -- too quick for the camera.

Here's Cheesy -- still underneath the bed.

A Few More Christmas Photos

2009-12-25T23:31:00.000-08:00

We ended the Christmas dinner with a final round of opening gifts. This time the youngest went first.

Both H & K got new baseball style caps.

Tracy's kids got a tabletop soccer game.

Even I got a few gifts!

Some paid more attention to the bubble

wrapping than the gifts themselves!

When our guests left, the boys nodded off while watching the movie “Up”, which was one of our gifts.

Christmas Day!

2009-12-25T19:06:00.000-08:00

Hello and Happy Christmas again, everyone! This morning both kids woke up before I did, and of course badgered me out of bed far before I otherwise would have. Santa left them goodies in their stockings – a miraculous second trip to Dave’s Home for the great bearded one. The goodies included new electric tooth brushes. How did he know that was exactly what the kids needed?!

In the afternoon my Mom and my good friend Tracy and her two kids came over for Christmas dinner. Tracy’s family increased in size by one over the holidays with the addition of a cute little dog named Jazz. We took him for a walk around the neighborhood to do his doggy business before dinner, and then he had a little nap. Such a mellow dog Jazz is!

Tracy brought a wonderful rib roast – basically a small prime rib – which we broiled to a lovely medium rare and served with brandied yams, a baked bean casserole, and salad. A bit later this evening we’ll all exchange gifts for a third round of unwrapping at Dave’s Home. H & K have already told me that they have never had a Christmas like this before, with so many parties and gifts.

Stay tuned tomorrow, for our plans are to visit the local Animal Rescue Foundation (ARF) and hopefully pick out a new kitten or two! Playing with little Jazz made me feel all the more sure that it’s time for a new pet.

Christmas Eve Dinner

2009-12-24T23:04:00.000-08:00

Early this afternoon we headed out to pick up H & K’s mother and big sister. Traffic was extra heavy – probably a mix of last minute shoppers and families traveling to their Christmas Eve dinners. Not long after we returned home, H & K’s remaining two sisters showed up, completing their family.

Before dinner we all watched “A Christmas Story,” which I consider a contemporary holiday classic. The kids and I have already watched it twice, and they are constantly asking me for a Red Rider 200 Shot Range Model Air Rifle, to which I always reply, “You’ll shoot your eye out, kid!”

My eighth foster kid, P, and his mom and her boy friend also joined us for dinner.

The menu for tonight was vegetable beef soup, fried new potatoes, corn, green beans, carrots and the pièce de résistance, a spiral cut honey glazed ham!

Dinner was pushed along by the kids, who were anxious to open their presents. They even elected to put off eating dessert until after opening their presents. Go figure?

Tomorrow I get to do the whole holiday dinner deal over again with my family and my friend, Tracy, and her family! So, good night everyone, and Happy Christmas to you!!!

Visited in the Night

2009-12-24T10:59:00.001-08:00

It is truly impressive how Santa knows when family gatherings for Christmas will happen, and somehow manages to deliver his presents on time. For example, H & K’s family will be celebrating a bit early this year, on Christmas Eve instead of Christmas morning. Santa obviously picked up on this and worked his magic one night early. We woke up this morning to a tree overflowing with presents!

Yosemite (Part 2) -- Photo Panoramas

2009-12-22T20:45:00.000-08:00

I am enamored with panoramic photos stitched together by computer from a series of regular digital photos. I took a whole bunch during our recent Yosemite trip. This post will be dedicated to showing off these panoramic photos.

This technology makes it possible for anyone to take awe inspiring pictures. Of course you also need an awe inspiring place like Yosemite!

The photo to the right was taken just outside the Ahwahnee Hotel. The kids are playing in the snow in the foreground, and you can see the top of Yosemite Falls in the background. (You can click on all these photos to zoom in on and pan around them.)

The photo above was also taken outside the Ahwahnee, just a few moments after the previous one. The kids are playing in the snow with the main dining room on the right.

Here’s a nice photo of Yosemite Falls from top to bottom, with H & K posing for me. The kids got tired of me asking them to pose for pictures. I remember giving my parents a hard time about being in pictures, too.

The photo above really shows off the wonder of Yosemite. It’s impossible to capture everything the human eye sees in a place like this with such incredible beauty all around, but this panorama comes as close as you can, I think. This was taken near the Yosemite Falls bus stop. The falls are to the right and behind me. In the background is Yosemite’s famous Half Dome.

Here's a view looking down the beginner’s slope at the Badger Pass ski area. To the right is the Bruin chair lift. In the background is the base of Badger and the lodge. That’s little K in the snow near the bottom of the photo.

Another one of Yosemite’s rock sculptures is the Three Brothers. The photo above was taken just beneath them, looking up through the trees. I like the contrast between the cliffs, the clouds and the blue sky!

Looking back east from the road leading out of Yosemite Valley.

Bridal Veil Falls with the Merced River in the foreground.

Pictured above is the Merced looking upriver into the valley. Behind me is a signpost a little taller than my car on the left. It shows the water level at the peak of the 100 Year Flood on January 1st, 1997. Basically everything in this photo, except the mountain peaks and the tops of the tall trees, was covered with water up to the level of my car. Hard to believe!

Just off Highway 120 near the summit there is a little road leading to the Yosemite Institute. We found a good sledding hill here on our way home today. Along with two other families, we spent a couple of hours sledding. Us parents took turns holding the sleds and launching the kids down the hill. Good fun was had by all!

Yosemite (Part 1)

2009-12-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

I am writing this from the Great Lounge of the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite. So far this is the only place in the valley I’ve been able to connect to the internet. Our room in Curry Village didn’t come with an internet connection.

We arrived in Yosemite Valley past 6pm on Saturday night. It was already dark as we came over the peak on Highway 120, where I know of a good snow play area, and so the kids weren’t able to sled on the drive in. I promised them we would go sledding on the way out instead.

Walking into the Ahwahnee Hotel (pictured above-right)

Posing in front of one of the Ahwahnee's huge fireplaces (below)

We were really hungry by the time we checked into our room in Curry Village, and so I decided to take the kids to my favorite restaurant, the Ahwahnee Hotel, for dinner. I figured this might be our last chance to eat dinner there since they are holding their Bracebridge Dinner many evenings this time of year. The kids enjoyed themselves and were well behaved. When they finished with dinner, they played in the snow while I finished my meal.

We slept late the next morning. When we finally left our room, the kids found other children to play in the snow with, and then we hiked around Yosemite Falls. In the afternoon we went ice skating in Curry Village until well after dusk.

Yosemite Falls

Ice skating at Curry Village

Today we woke up early and drove up Glacier Point Road to the Badger Pass ski area. This is where our trip kind of went into slow motion. The wait to rent boots and skis for the kids took about one and a half hours! I don’t think it was that there were too many people trying to rent, but rather that their rental operation was inefficiently run. This is strange because Badger is the oldest ski resort in the country, and now bills itself as a family oriented place.

The kids had two 2-hour group lessons as part of a “guaranteed learn to ski” package. While the kids learned, I had a chance to swoosh the slopes myself. After every run or two I would stop by the ski school and check on the boy’s progress.

H learning to stop

using the pizza wedge.

In the afternoon it started to snow, which made our swooshing really smoooooth! Finally, in the last half hour of their last lesson, both boys experienced their first chair lift ride and skied down an easy hill!

First time getting off a chair lift!

Two-Day Whirlwind

2009-12-19T14:27:00.000-08:00

Wow!!! We were so busy yesterday and today that this is the first time I’ve had any time to write a blog post. In fact, we really should have left for Yosemite a couple of hours ago. Oh well, plans were made for breaking!

I left early from work and rushed home yesterday for Tracy’s Chardonnay holiday dinner. The kids and I had the house pretty much ready, and she met us with all the food just as we drove up. She prepared tortilla soup, a wonderful salad with cranberries and slivered almonds, potatoes Romanoff, and barbequed pork tenderloins. (Actually, yours truly did the barbequing!) Mmmm delicious.

Since it was the last day of Chanukah, I was asked to light the traditional menorah and say the blessing over the candles. It goes something like this:

Barukh atah Adonai, Eloheinu, melekh ha'olam

asher kidishanu b'mitz'votav v'tzivanu

l'had'lik neir shel Chanukah. (Amein)

Remember I said that Dave's Home was religion neutral? Well, here’s proof: On one hand a recited the Chanukah blessing, and on the other hand I served pork for dinner!

My plan was to clean up the important stuff after the dinner party, and then leave for Yosemite in the morning, skipping the kid’s last basketball practice of the YMCA session. However, after hearing that professional basketball players were going to show up and help teach the kids, and awards were to be given out, I decided to push back our Yosemite departure and take the kids to their last basketball practice.

Local semi-pro players teaching the kids

Even though we’re now going to arrive in Yosemite in the dark, I think we did the right thing. The kids had more fun at this practice than any of the others, and both really want to sign up for the next session.

Here is K getting his basketball medal.

Here is H getting his basketball medal.

Now, everyone into the car and let’s go to the mountains!

Lost Deliveries!

2009-12-17T21:39:00.000-08:00

I’ve been waiting for the last of my online holiday gift orders to arrive, and found out today that two were supposedly left yesterday on my front door step. Unfortunately they were not there when we got home!

This sort of thing has happened a few times before over the years, and so I have had this note in the window right next to my front door for over a year now. Despite this note, which I think is pretty clear, two different delivery companies left my packages in plain sight on my front door step and, apparently, they were both stolen.

I have reported these lost deliveries to the appropriate companies. I have also written a letter to Amazon, the online retailer that I bought these gifts from, promising to never again buy from them until they provide some assurance to me that they and the shipping companies they use can reliably deliver their products.

I've had enough, and I 'm not going to take this any more!

Growing Up in Front of My Eyes

2009-12-17T21:37:00.000-08:00

Kids grow up so fast. When I picked up H from daycare today, he was so much more mature than when I left him! This evening he also added an electric shaver to his Christmas list.

After dinner the kids and I went into total cleaning mode for tomorrow’s Chardonnay holiday dinner. Even though we started preparing early in the week, somehow the bulk of the work was left for this evening.

Once on a Housetop

2009-12-16T22:36:00.000-08:00

This evening H sung his little heart out in a holiday vocal concert put on by the fourth and fifth grade students of his elementary school. The show was titled, “Once on a Housetop”.

We came early, or so I thought, to get a good seat up front and record H’s time on stage in video and photographs. Unfortunately the rest of the parents had the same idea! The place was packed by the time we got in, so we ended up sitting towards the back.

While I was video recording the concert, K was hopping all around, playing with his friends from school, and snapping photos, including some of me video recording him. Touché!

I would like to post parts of the video on this blog, but I haven’t figured out how to blur H’s face using the video editing software I have. Instead I extracted some of the audio so you can listen in.

Preparing for Tracy’s Chardonnay Holiday Dinner

2009-12-15T19:55:00.000-08:00

Our good friend Tracy regularly gets to together with a group called the “Chardonnay Lunch Bunch”. The group is composed mostly of former colleagues of Tracy’s that are now long time friends. Among other things, the group shares a common liking for Chardonnay wine, which is where the group gets its name.

This year its Tracy’s turn to host the holiday dinner, and she asked if it could be held at Dave’s Home. Of course we said YES! The latest headcount for this event is twelve -- a perfect fit for our fancy long table.

The thing is, this Chardonnay Holiday Dinner is scheduled for this Friday – the day before we are to leave for Yosemite! This means the kids and I have to start preparing way in advance, a little each day. We started cleaning the bathrooms last night, and today the boys are helping me sweep floors, set up the table, and clean the family room. We really only have one more night to prepare because H is singing in a holiday concert at school tomorrow night. I will be sure to post pictures of him all dressed up on stage with his classmates.

While we were cleaning, one of our neighbors delivered this

wonderful plate of homemade cookies. Yummmm!

Countdown to Yosemite

2009-12-14T13:19:00.001-08:00

We leave for Yosemite National Park in five days. It looks like the weather will be perfect for us -- knock on wood. Another storm is due to pass through this week, followed by clear skies. Here is a web camera snapshot taken this morning of the Ahwahnee Meadow with Half Dome in the distance and everything covered in a nice blanket of snow!

Another timely happening is that the Badger Pass ski area plans to open the day before we arrive. This means the kids will probably get to try out skiing for the first time. I’m excited for them!

Over the next few days I’ll take all my snow gear down from storage in the garage and find snow pants, boots and gloves for the kids. Over the years I’ve collected snow clothes for all sizes. I doubt that I’ll have to buy anything new this season.

Lines on the Hills

2009-12-13T18:16:00.000-08:00

It’s been a little over one month since I posted the kid’s question about horizontal lines on the rolling hills surrounding Dave’s Home. In my opinion this question is still unresolved, and interestingly the topic is dominating recent ShoutBox posts. (Click HERE to view the first post on this topic.)

My dad, Tioga-George, seems to believe that these lines are created by livestock. He sent me THIS LINK a few weeks ago. Quite a few other readers believe this, also. I am skeptical, though, because most of the lines are just too perfectly spaced and I don’t ever see the animals following one another in a single file. Most of the time they are spread out grazing all over the place.

The other contending answer relates these lines with erosion. One of my colleagues at work believes this, too. He claims that certain soils have compression qualities that, when on a hillside subject to gravity and moisture, cause a “slumping” effect based on the slope’s angle of repose. If I understand him correctly, he basically thinks that these lines are caused by mini landslides. I am skeptical of this, also, because it seems to me that if this were the case then the spacing between these lines would change depending upon the steepness of the slope. However, from what I can see the spacing between these lines remains fairly constant all over a given hill.

Stray answers suggest these lines are the result of “contour farming” many years ago and since abandoned, or that they were caused by retreating glaciers, or by the ocean way back when this part of the country was under the sea.

Frustrated by the lack of a definitive answer, about a week ago I wrote three e-mails to folks that I hoped could shed a little light on our mysterious lines. Two e-mails went to the cities nearest these hills. The third went to the company that I believe owns the land itself. Unfortunately none have responded. I will let you know if and when they do.

The one thing I haven’t done is actually walk on these slopes. When the weather was accommodating (which it hasn’t been lately) I would look for openings in the barbed wire fences while driving by. None were apparent. One time I stopped along the side of the road for a closer look. The lines were definitely terraces in the land. The one new thing I noticed was that they are not all parallel. Some lines appear to merge with the one above or below it.

My Cousin Vinny

2009-12-12T20:19:00.000-08:00

This morning the boys had basketball practice. This will probably be their last practice of this “season” because we won’t be able to go next weekend. Next weekend is the start of their winter break from school and we’re going to Yosemite!

After basketball practice we picked up H & K’s siblings and drove them out to visit with their mother. They were going to take family holiday photos and their mother was getting all gussied up with makeup when we arrived. Good thing I got haircuts for the kids yesterday.

After dropping off the kids, I spent an hour and a half in traffic trying to get home. It started raining pretty hard and a couple of cars met accidentally on the other side of the highway. Even though the accident wasn’t in my direction of traffic, all the rubberneckers jammed everything up good.

When I finally got home, I watched the movie “My Cousin Vinny” while wrapping gifts. Fred Gwynne, the actor who used to play Herman Munster in the TV sitcom “The Munsters,” plays a judge in a great supporting role to Joe Pesci. I never tire of watching this movie.

Rock’n Around the Christmas Tree

2009-12-11T21:22:00.000-08:00

It took almost a week, but we finally finished decorating our Christmas tree. Both kids helped hang two big boxes of ornaments.

Some of my favorites are the wooden reindeer. We have all of them, I think. Dasher and Dancer, Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid, Donner and Blitzen, and of course Rudolph!

Other favorites include the “Let it snow” snowman with his oversized black hat and the bloated jester.

Tomorrow morning the boys have basketball practice, and then a visit with their mother. We were told that they will be taking holiday family photos during this visit, so everyone got a haircut after work today.

While the kids are away on their parental visit, I will do some much needed wrapping, heh heh.

Sister’s Holiday Concert

2009-12-11T10:05:00.000-08:00

Last night we joined the rest of H & K’s immediate family at their sister’s elementary school for a holiday concert. Their youngest sister, who is in 5th grade, is a first year flute player.

The concert started with the string instruments. Next up was the wind instruments, which included a short solo by H & K’s sister. She played Jingle Bells!

After the concert we went out for ice cream to celebrate her first public performance.

Mr. Christmas

2009-12-10T07:00:00.000-08:00

Every community has someone who goes “all out” decorating their home for the holidays. In the community surrounding Dave’s Home we have Mr. Christmas. He has been decorating his home extravagantly for as long as I can remember, adding a little something new every year.

Last night after therapy we drove by Mr. Christmas’ house to have a look. It was the first time H & K had seen it. They were wowed by all the lights and spinning things, and wondered what his house looked like inside since it had so much stuff outside!

Back at our house we only had time to add ropes of tinsel to the tree before it was once again time for bed. Tonight we probably won’t have any time at all to decorate the tree, as we’ve been invited to a holiday concert that H & K’s youngest sister is performing in. Fear not, oh Christmas Tree, we shall get to you on Friday!

Little K is Knocking

2009-12-09T12:07:00.000-08:00

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Offer.

Offer who? (Click the ANSWER button below to read K's punch line.)

Ask Dave Question #6

2009-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:00

Carol wrote to me, "I am a volunteer CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in Clark County in Washington State. Does your county have CASAs (also known as GAL--Guardian ad Litem)?"

Yes, my county has (or at least had) CASAs for foster children. I remember a couple of them specifically, and that the kids always enjoyed their time together. It's terrific, Carol, that you have chosen to volunteer to help these children! Interestingly, not all the kids placed with me have had a CASA assigned. I don’t know why this is. The foster care system often works in mysterious ways. Also, now that you mention it, I don’t think I have heard from a CASA at all in quite a while. This service may have fallen victim to budget cuts.

More Holiday Decorating

2009-12-08T22:45:00.000-08:00

After a wonderful lasagna dinner this evening, we set out some more holiday nick-knacks and worked on the Christmas tree. On weekdays we get home about 5:30pm and the kids go to sleep about 8:30pm, which leaves just three hours for dinner, homework, parental calls, and everything else we need to do. It’s never enough time! Tonight our plan was to finish decorating the Christmas tree, but we only had time to finish stringing the lights. The tinsel rope and ornaments will have to wait for another day.

Check out our new Frosty! He changes colors!

Parent-Teacher Conferences

2009-12-08T22:43:00.001-08:00

Yesterday turned out to be a very busy day. The morning started with the surprise of snow on the ground. Then, after a morning meeting at work, I rushed back to the East Bay to pick up K & H’s mom and take her to parent-teacher conferences at the kid’s school. When these were over, we picked up the kids, they visited with their mom for a while, and then we all went out for dinner. All too quickly it was time to drive their mom back to her program, which has very strict rules about how long she is allowed to be out.

This doesn’t sound like such a busy a day until you consider that it takes an hour to get from my home to the office, and about 45 minutes to get from my home to the program where K & H’s mom is living. Dave’s Home is about smack in the middle of these two places! I spent 3.5 hours just driving yesterday!

P.S. I wish that I could tell you about the conferences, but this would be too personal. The only thing I'm comfortable saying is that both kids are well-behaved at school and making good academic progress.

The Origins of Child Protective Services

2009-12-08T07:00:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Child Protective Services (CPS) in the United States actually got its start with the SPCA? That’s right, back in 1875 the New York Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals spawned the first quasi-governmental protection for children. They called it the SPCC, or Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Children. This was done because there were no other governmental protections for kids.

It’s interesting that the SPCA itself was formed 51 years earlier, in 1824. People were more concerned about animals than children!

Snow at Dave’s Home

2009-12-07T19:31:00.000-08:00

Early this morning, while I was still in bed, Tracy called. She excitedly told me that it had snowed last night and that I should get the kids up so they could play in it. I went to the window and, sure enough, there was about an inch of snow on the front lawn!

I did wake the kids. They got dressed in record time and spent twenty minutes playing in the snow with the neighbor kids before school. When we got home in the evening the snow had all melted, but a small snowman that they built was still standing!

I’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay area since 1976 and can only recall snow falling and sticking down at this elevation maybe once or twice. This is rare! As proof you should have seen all the people outside their homes in their PJs with their cameras clicking away. I’m sure those of you reading from places that normally get snow are laughing at us fair-weather Californians!

Nutcracker

2009-12-06T21:29:00.000-08:00

This was not a weekend for sleeping in. At 9am we were off to see “Nutcracker” with friend Tracy and her kids. This was a mini production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Ballet presented by the Mark Foehringer Dance Project in San Francisco’s Zeum Theatre. Geared specifically for children, this production was short and sweet – only 50 minutes, no breaks, and a live orchestra.

After the ballet I asked K & H what they thought. I think they were a little stunned, especially by the lack of dialogue. It was also the first time they experienced this kind of music and dance. H said he liked it, "kind of."

Our next stop was Union Square for lunch and to see the puppies and kittens in the window of Macy’s. We ate at the Westin-St. Francis for no other reason than after walking from the theatre we were all too hungry to look for another restaurant, and we happened to be standing in front of this hotel. It turned out to be a good choice. The place had some fun holiday decorations, including a glowing castle, and the restaurant had a kids menu that K & H appreciated.

I remember the first time I visited San Francisco. I was in elementary school and my parents took me on vacation to The City by the Bay. We were living in the Los Angeles area at the time. We stayed at the St. Francis Hotel. My only clear memory of this hotel now is its outside elevators. What a thrill for a kid.

On the way from the restaurant to Macy’s we stopped for pictures in front of the giant Christmas tree in Union Square. In nice frames these photos might make nice gifts...hmmm.

Both Tracy and I are thinking about getting new pets. Tracy is considering a puppy, and I want a kitten -- or maybe two. Earlier this year (before I started this blog) my cat of eighteen years passed away. His name was Tarzan, but we all called him Pussle. My Dad, Tioga-George, posted about this in his blog on Feb-08 of 2009. Anyway, Tracy had nice memories of pressing in to look at the cute pets in Macy’s windows, and thought our kids would enjoy it, too. And maybe, just maybe, we would be enchanted by one and bring it home with us.

As it turned out there were only two pets in the window; one kitten and one puppy, and inside all but one kitten were already adopted. Oh well!

By mid afternoon we were back on BART, headed for home. But our day was not finished yet, for today we were going to pick out our Christmas tree! Tracy and I have gone tree hunting together for the last five or six years. While we scrutinize each and every tree, the kids dart around playing tag and hide-and-seek. Our favorite tree farm serves up wonderful hot chocolate and marshmallows, and this year had a fire pit – a welcome addition!

The kids and I helped Tracy rearrange her furniture and put up her tree, then we said our goodbyes and went home to set up our tree. By this time it was dark and the lights we put up on the house yesterday were just clicking on. Oooh, aahhhh!

Our tree was selected because it had an interesting bluish tint, not becaues of its shape. In fact the shape left something to be desired, but this trait reminded me of a Charlie Brown tree; imperfect but memorable.

We only had time to put up the star and one strand of lights before bed. We’ll finish the tree over the next couple of nights.

Basketball and Holiday Lights

2009-12-05T21:41:00.000-08:00

This morning the boys had YMCA basketball practice. Just before leaving for the gym the kids tried to pump up their basketballs. By the time I came to help them two pump inflation pins had broken. When you’re a parent you must stock up on items like this.

During practice little K was on fire at the hoop. At one point I think he swooshed seven in a row! Unfortunately both teams lost their scrimmages. They haven’t yet understood how to “get open” on offense, and how to guard another player on defense. They sure had fun, though!

After practice we stopped at the school craft fair to look for gifts and maybe a few more holiday decorations. The boys found Christmas gifts for their three sisters, but I can’t tell you what we bought because the girls may read this blog and that would spoil their surprise!

The afternoon was dedicated to decorating the house for the holidays. Little K helped me a lot with this. H used this time away from his brother to play video games by himself.

One of the things I do to make sure the lights work correctly is spray the fuses in each strand with Corrosion Block. My Dad, Tioga-George, left me this can a few years ago.

We now have two snowmen, and a house that glows with icicle lights!

Tomorrow Tracy and I are taking the kids to see “Nutcracker” in San Francisco. This is supposed to be kind of a kid’s version of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet, complete with a live orchestra. I’m excited! It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen the Nutcracker.

Holiday Lights

2009-12-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

This weekend we will be putting holiday lights up on the house. I love the way houses look all lit up. My preference is the clear icicle lights that dangle down.

A couple of years ago I had a handyman install little hooks under the eves of the house every couple of feet or so. I use a long extension pole to lift the strand onto each hook. This has made hanging the lights much easier. Before these hooks I used plastic clips of various types, but they often let go during the installation process, and when one fell the weight of the light strand would pull the rest of the clips off, too!

I have never tried stapling the light strands to the wooden eves, as this means climbing high up on a ladder and I’m not comfortable way up there. I’ve seen some of my neighbors on top of their roofs on their bellies, leaning over the side to staple the lights to the upper eves. Just the thought of that gives me the willies!

Religion and Foster Parenting

2009-12-03T07:00:00.000-08:00

With the Christmas holiday approaching, it seems apropos to talk a bit about religion and foster parenting. Religion is a touchy subject because so many people have such strong feelings about it. I find that no matter what you do someone will be unhappy. The logistics of it can get pretty complex, too, especially when caring for kids from different families. For these reasons Dave’s Home is neutral on religion. I neither discourage nor encourage religious practices, and I generally don’t overtly participate in any, either. If a child wants a bible then I provide one. If a child asks to attend a religious institution like a church or synagogue, and this is OK with the parents, then I make every effort to accommodate him.

This being said, I do participate in major celebrations like Easter and Christmas, but in a non-religious manner. For example, I’ve set up Easter egg hunts and given out baskets of goodies, and every year I put up a Christmas tree and holiday lights on the house, and of course give out presents. I think these celebrations are fun and I don’t want the kids to feel left out. Heck, I don't want to feel left out!

Foster Kid #3

2009-12-02T11:58:00.000-08:00

My third foster child was placed with me in March of 1995. He was 12 years old and in middle school. Things started out pretty typically with everyone expecting reunification with his mother. However, about nine months later we suddenly lost contact with his mom. No one heard from her for several months, and then we received the terrible news that she had died. We later found out that she had been murdered in what turned out to be a drug deal gone bad. Obviously this had a profound impact on this child.

With reunification with his mother no longer possible, we explored the remaining long term options. His father was not in the picture. He had a great grandfather living further north in California, but he was too elderly to provide the needed care. He also had a grandmother in Washington state who was very interested in his well-being and had kept in constant contact. Moving in with her seemed like the best option, but this boy chose instead to stay with me. He claimed that this was because he didn’t want to leave his school and friends. So, I became his legal guardian and he lived with me until he was 19 years old.

Here are friends and family posing in front of a limousine

I rented for his 13th birthday.

Learning to ski.

Helicopter ride

Yosemite

Rogue River whitewater rafting trip

We took karate classes together.

Hiking with friends and... who is that?

Yes, it's Tioga-George back before Ms. Tioga.

His first car

An Elephant Joke

2009-12-01T13:00:00.000-08:00

K the comedian asks, "What game do elephants like to play most?" Click the ANSWER button below to read his punch line.

Another Birthday

2009-11-30T23:35:00.003-08:00

Dinner tonight was lasagna at Tracy’s house in celebration of her oldest son’s birthday. He is now 15 years old! K & H made their own birthday cards for him and were very happy that he promised to keep them forever.

When we got home I got a call from my dad, Tioga-George, who had a rather tough day. While heading towards the Mexican border his RV, named Ms. Tioga, suffered a fuel pump failure. They had to be towed to a nearby town for repair. Ms. Tioga has suffered quite a few break-downs lately, and my dad and I talked about whether these were karma or coincidence. Although I sometimes write about karma, I believe there is a scientific answer to these mechanical failures.

Back to School

2009-11-30T23:35:00.001-08:00

It was hard for the kids to return to school after having a whole week off. It was hard for me to return to work after having just a few days off! But when I picked them up this evening both H & K reported having fun, and being well behaved.

In K’s case proof of his good behavior was that he kept his “green card” all day. In his first grade class each child starts out with a green card by their name on a big board. If they misbehave then the green card is pulled and behind it there is a yellow card. If they do something else wrong then the yellow card is also pulled and behind that is an orange card. The final step is removal of the orange card, leaving the dreaded red card.

Today K kept his green card, and I don’t think that K has ever had his yellow card pulled.

San Francisco Auto Show

2009-11-29T21:05:00.000-08:00

Today the kids and I went to the San Francisco International Auto Show with one of my long-time friends, Frank. We’ve known each other for over 30 years. Frank has always been an automobile enthusiast and this trip to the Auto Show is an annual outing. A couple of years ago Frank opened his own MAACO auto body and painting business in Fremont. He also publishes an interesting blog about cars and his business, which you can read at MAACO Fremont.

Our first stop this morning was brunch at Yerba Buena Gardens on top of the Moscone Center. The kids were fascinated by the fact that we were standing on top of the auto show, and they could see the people entering down below through the skylights.

The show seemed very well attended, as you can see from the crowds. I always enjoy looking at all the new cars at the auto show, but when I take kids – especially kids like H & K – I have to pay a lot of attention to keeping track of them. They dart like flashes from car to car, and want to get inside every unlocked car. Frank suggested at one point that I invest in tracking devices for the kids.

Here's H sitting in the "Bumblebee" car

from the Transformers movie.

Maybe this will be K's car in about 10 years.

After the show we stopped for a snack in a little

bistro near China Town. Frank let the kids play games

on his PDA.

Parental Visit

2009-11-28T19:21:00.001-08:00

The cancellation of basketball practice turned out to be a good thing, for if it had gone as planned we wouldn’t have been home in time to hear the message about the kid’s parental visit. Karma strikes again!

The kid’s visit with their mother went well, and it gave me a chance to shop alone for a couple of hours. Shopping time alone is precious. It sure was windy on the trip out, though. I wonder, could this be the same wind storm that Tioga-George mentioned in his blog?

Dinner was a repeat of Thanksgiving, complete with pumpkin pie. The kids moaned about this at first, but once they dug in there was no denying the food tasted good, even re-warmed leftovers. Now we are watching California’s Governor in a movie called Jingle All the Way while waiting for the hot tub to heat up.

Tomorrow the kids and I will meet some of my friends in San Francisco to see an auto show!

Basketball Cancelled

2009-11-28T10:39:00.000-08:00

The kids were supposed to have YMCA basketball practice this morning, but when we arrived at the gym there was a CYO “turkey shoot” youth tournament going on instead. Somehow we YMCA parents were not notified that practice was cancelled, even though it was clear that the CYO tournament was arranged in advance. Oh well.

We watched the CYO game for a while. When we got home there was a message from H & K’s mom. She said that there was a two-hour visit arranged between her and the kids for this afternoon, and apologized for the short notice. I guess this is the day for bad communication!

I arranged with the foster parents of H & K's three sisters to take them to this visit. It's about a 40 minute drive from Dave's Home to where their mother is living. No need for all three foster parents to make this drive!

Planet 51

2009-11-27T18:33:00.000-08:00

We did go down to feed the goats. We brought carrots, celery and olives. They were excited to see us, but as usual did not eat anything we had. Instead they started munching on their pile of hay. Unfortunately Dave forgot his camera, so we have no photos to post.

We walked back to the house the long way, passing the neighborhood park, and played a few rounds of “Sardine”. This is a version of hide and seek that one of K & H’s sisters taught us. Instead of one person counting and everyone else hiding, Sardine starts out with just one person hiding and everyone else counting. Then everyone splits up and tries to find the one person who’s hiding. If you find them, you have to try to hide in the same place they are hiding. Eventually all but one are squished together hiding in the same place – like sardines – and the last person to find everyone is “it” the next round.

When we got home the kids took Dave’s camera and snapped a few candid photos, and then the foster parent for two of the sisters came to pick them up. They were sad to go, which I reminded them meant that they had a good time, but now they had to go shopping for winter coats. Hope they have an easier time finding coats than we had finding the boy’s sweaters!

To finish off the day we took the remaining sister to the movies, where we saw Planet 51. The concession stand was selling souvenir soda cups for just 25 cents more, so we all got one. They were so huge, though! I promised the kids that this was it for them and soda for the rest of the weekend.

The kids liked the movie. I’d rate it a so-so animated kid movie, but I was tired and snoozed through bits of it. On the way out the kids posed in front of a huge poster of the upcoming Chipmunks movie.

Finally it was time to drop off the last of K & H’s sisters, and then head home. Thankgiving 2009 and the sibling sleepover are history!

Happy Birthday, Dad!

2009-11-27T11:47:00.000-08:00

Today is Tioga-George’s birthday. As most of you know, he is my father. Happy birthday, Dad!

Back at Dave’s Home, the kids awoke from their sleepover and started wrestling, yelling and running into my bedroom waking me up. I didn’t plan on making breakfast after yesterday’s big meal, but somehow the kids and I were hungry so, as Donkey from Shrek said, “I’m cooking waffles!”

I’ve had this Belgian waffle maker for years. With the proper batter mix, it makes pretty good waffles. I mostly use Krusteaz waffle mix. Like my father, I think waffle and pancake mixes that include fresh eggs come out better.

After breakfast the kids played a few rounds of Guitar Hero and Perfection. I think we’ll all go feed the goats a little later, and then maybe go to a theatre and see one of the movies that recently came out.

Sibling Sleepover

2009-11-26T21:32:00.000-08:00

The adult guests said their goodbyes, and Dave was left with five kids; H & K and their three sisters. First on the kid’s to-do list was another game of twister, then came a soak in the hot tub. Crazy like kids are, they all ended up jumping into the 50-degree pool. I hope none of my neighbors were sleeping because I'm sure they are awake now after all the kid’s screaming!

Finally the kids started to settle down in front of the fire for games, a movie and some popcorn. As I write this blog entry they are trying to decide which movie to watch. I'm sure this will turn into a battle that I'll have to mediate. I've never seen two kids agree on one movie, and tonight there are five! I deal with this by drawing lots -- the winner picks the movie.

Over and Done

2009-11-26T19:06:00.000-08:00

Dinner was grand. We gave thanks and then, like the bird, we stuffed ourselves ‘til we could stuff no more. There was turkey, of course, and corned bread stuffing. There were mashed potatoes and gravy, and green bean casserole. There was salad, crescent rolls and cranberry sauce. And special mention must go to my Mother’s brandied yams!

To think I was worried about not having enough!

After dinner we played “telephone”, also known as “gossip”. While seated around the big table one person thought of a phrase and whispered it to their neighbor. Then that neighbor whispered the phrase on to the next person, and on and on until the phrase is passed all the way around the table. The last person then announced what the phrase was, or what it turned into. It’s amazing how messed up a simple sentence can become when passed between nine people!

Next up was dessert. There was homemade apple pie, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, Dave’s pumpkin brownie bread, pumpkin cookies from one of K & H’s sisters, and a rolled cake that reminded everyone of a giant vanilla Hostess Ho-Ho.

There will be no breakfast for me. Now, on to the sibling sleepover...

T Minus One Hour

2009-11-26T15:19:00.000-08:00

All the guests have arrived, the turkey is almost ready, and we are into last minute preparations for the big feast! Here Tracy and a couple of the kids are making crescent rolls.

Here is a nice photo of most of today’s guests.
From left to right there's H, his youngest sister, then Dave,
Dave's Mom, K, Tracy, and Tracy's Mom.
Missing are H & K's two older sisters.

P.S. Some of the kids were in the hot tub right before this photo was taken. This is why they are shirtless even though it's deep into November. Even in California it is a bit nippy outside.