Dad is hot and doesn't need it anyway.
What!?
Yeah it is 85 degree today and the humidity is horrible. Why? What were you thinking?
He quickly wiggled out of it and Buggy was up by then anyway so he received a proper outfit.
The New Family
Friday, June 21, 2013
Buddy in Dad's T-Shirt
BUDDY had worn the onesie for three days already. He needed a fresh, clean one that didn't smell like fermented formula. But they are stored in the Twin's bedroom and Buggy was in there napping. If Dad even touched the door knob she would instantly awake, and she needed the all too brief nap she was having. So Dad could let Buddy run around in just a diaper (not), or he could wear Dad's T-Shirt.
Dad is hot and doesn't need it anyway.
What!?
Yeah it is 85 degree today and the humidity is horrible. Why? What were you thinking?
He quickly wiggled out of it and Buggy was up by then anyway so he received a proper outfit.
Dad is hot and doesn't need it anyway.
What!?
Yeah it is 85 degree today and the humidity is horrible. Why? What were you thinking?
He quickly wiggled out of it and Buggy was up by then anyway so he received a proper outfit.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Buggy's Bruise
DAD is not happy. Despite his best efforts, Buggy got a bruise. No, this one is different. This isn't one on the arm or a leg - a merit badge from a fall while walking or playing in his opinion - this one is on the lower part of her eye-socket.
Here is how it went down. He put her Thudguard on her in anticipation of letting her toddle around the house outside her padded playspace. He lifted her over the fence and set her down on her feet and waited a moment to see if she had her balance or if she would need further assistance. She seemed to have her balance so he let her go. He went back for Buddy to retrieve from the playspace. In route, he heard the sound of her tumbling forward into the mantle.
Thinking she was fine, she had the helmet on after all, he was surprised when she began to cry. He picked her up and consoled and examined her. There was no apparent injury. But Buggy rarely cries from a fall. Even in the days before the Thudguard, she would hit her head or face on the floor with a sickening thump yet she would not cry.
The Thudguard does not fit very well. It is intended to accommodate little ones and older children, thus it makes a compromise that tends to make it loose on smaller heads. It tends to rotate around her head exposing various parts. This time the right side of her face was unprotected and met a wooden edge.
The bruise did not develop for about a half an hour. At first it was only the round spot on the left (as seen below). Then, over night, the rest of it appeared.
Dad feels horrible. She implicitly trusts him to protect her from all of the dangers and hazards in life, at least those he can foresee and prevent. And Dad loves that trust and would never violate it. Hitherto he has done pretty good job.
Sorry Buggy. It was an accident. Don't be mad, okay?
Here is how it went down. He put her Thudguard on her in anticipation of letting her toddle around the house outside her padded playspace. He lifted her over the fence and set her down on her feet and waited a moment to see if she had her balance or if she would need further assistance. She seemed to have her balance so he let her go. He went back for Buddy to retrieve from the playspace. In route, he heard the sound of her tumbling forward into the mantle.
Thinking she was fine, she had the helmet on after all, he was surprised when she began to cry. He picked her up and consoled and examined her. There was no apparent injury. But Buggy rarely cries from a fall. Even in the days before the Thudguard, she would hit her head or face on the floor with a sickening thump yet she would not cry.
The Thudguard does not fit very well. It is intended to accommodate little ones and older children, thus it makes a compromise that tends to make it loose on smaller heads. It tends to rotate around her head exposing various parts. This time the right side of her face was unprotected and met a wooden edge.
The bruise did not develop for about a half an hour. At first it was only the round spot on the left (as seen below). Then, over night, the rest of it appeared.
Dad feels horrible. She implicitly trusts him to protect her from all of the dangers and hazards in life, at least those he can foresee and prevent. And Dad loves that trust and would never violate it. Hitherto he has done pretty good job.
Sorry Buggy. It was an accident. Don't be mad, okay?
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Mom Improved Her Circuit Time and has Less Recovery Pain
NO surprise here. One's body will do what one trains it to do in the absence of injury or other genuine physical limitation. As she keeps pushing herself her vascular system should increase its capacity to deliver glucose and oxygen carrying blood to her muscles and more efficiently remove CO2 wastes. This will increase her stamina and enable her to work continuously without need to stop to "catch her breath." Her muscles should respond by growing larger thereby enabling them to increase the amount of weight they bear before fatigue.
Tangential benefits also should be better, more refreshing, sleep, increased metabolic rate, tone and firmness, and better mood.
These benefits do not come quickly or easily. If asked right now, her mood and sleep quality is below average.
Dad has postponed posting circuit times for now to better focus on form and endurance, although she improved over the previous week. Times recorded now will not be comparable to times recorded in the future when she has incorporated all of the moves into her routine and is completing them correctly. Too, Dad's new focus is to challenge her to 50 minutes of time under tension to build endurance rather than reducing each circuit's interval.
Congratulate her on her tenacity.
Tangential benefits also should be better, more refreshing, sleep, increased metabolic rate, tone and firmness, and better mood.
These benefits do not come quickly or easily. If asked right now, her mood and sleep quality is below average.
Dad has postponed posting circuit times for now to better focus on form and endurance, although she improved over the previous week. Times recorded now will not be comparable to times recorded in the future when she has incorporated all of the moves into her routine and is completing them correctly. Too, Dad's new focus is to challenge her to 50 minutes of time under tension to build endurance rather than reducing each circuit's interval.
Congratulate her on her tenacity.
Monday, June 17, 2013
Thorson
POOR Buggy was the last to come down with a cold. Buddy got it first, gave it to Mom, who shared it with Dad, who passed it along to Buggy.
She is not normally one to cry without reason, but she HATES her runny, stuffed up nose.
Anyway, when Mom and Dad first met, Mom got sick one day. Dad soon followed. Then it happened again. He noticed this pattern of her first, then him next. So he teased her about infecting him. He called her Thor, as in Thor the Infector. It was all Greek mythology.
He made quite a sport of her.
Now since EJ seems to lead everyone getting sick, and since he is Mom's son, he now has the mantle of Thorson. Get it? Oh if I have to explain it...
Well, after a thirty minute cry, Buggy is now sleeping peacefully. She has been crabby-panties since she woke up from her morning nap. Poor thing.
She is not normally one to cry without reason, but she HATES her runny, stuffed up nose.
Anyway, when Mom and Dad first met, Mom got sick one day. Dad soon followed. Then it happened again. He noticed this pattern of her first, then him next. So he teased her about infecting him. He called her Thor, as in Thor the Infector. It was all Greek mythology.
He made quite a sport of her.
Now since EJ seems to lead everyone getting sick, and since he is Mom's son, he now has the mantle of Thorson. Get it? Oh if I have to explain it...
Well, after a thirty minute cry, Buggy is now sleeping peacefully. She has been crabby-panties since she woke up from her morning nap. Poor thing.
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Happy Father's Day!
AAAAAHH, to be rewarded for enduring the joys of being a dad. Who thought of this day? Dad takes his hat off to him/her!
Mom's gift to him was to occupy the Twins while he MADE FIRE! Dad decided to grill boneless beef short ribs*. He has a super secret recipe (shush, don't tell) that he'll share with you. Actually, the ingredients are nothing special, it is the method of preparation that makes this meal great.
He needed:
Boneless short ribs, table salt, sugar, 1/4 stick of butter, spinach or other green vegetable side, blue cheese crumbles, bacon crumbles, two 12 oz. bottles of double IPA, freshly ground cinnamon, and one Turano roll.
Three days before service he purchased the steak. He applied a lite coating of table salt and sugar to the surfaces of the meat. Next, he wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a container in the refrigerator. He changed out the towel daily.
This accomplishes two goals. First it wicks away excess moisture thereby ensuring a good sear. Surface water has to boil off before the meat will brown and by that time it will be overdone. Second, the salt and sugar move into the meat by osmosis seasoning even the very interior. Glazes and marinades are nice, but they generally don't penetrate deeply enough.
The day of service, he prepared his grill. Now, until recently Dad had been a fan of the hot and fast method of grilling steak. There was no fire too large or too hot. A nuclear blast would not have exceeded his pyro-gastronomic desires. He is no longer a fan. These days he likes a small charcoal fire made with his own homemade oak charcoal.
Yes, you can make your own charcoal. And it doesn't have any petroleum in it so there is no petro smell. It is the byproduct of smoking. The low oxygen environment prevents the wood from burning while releasing volatile organics, thus making charcoal sans the coal.
The reason Dad likes a small fire is control. It cooks more evenly and produces less "carry over," i.e. residual heat that continues cooking the meat after it has been removed from the flame. As you can see from the photo above, the inside is consistent in color across the grain. There is very little gray meat. Moreover, the final temperature is more closer to the observed temperature taken while the meat is still on the grill. Dad likes 135 degree internal temp. at the thickest point. A small fire will not result in 10 to 15 degrees of carryover (and an overdone steak) that a large fire can produce.
There was a time too when Dad pulled the meat from the cold box and let it come up to room temperature. Despite the result, he persisted with this technique for many summers. But he finally had to admit that it produced a gray transition from the brown exterior and the red interior. Gray meat tastes like it looks, gross.
The ribs he buys take four minutes per side before he stabs them with the instant read thermometer. After the first two minutes the grill has marked the steak so he will rotate them 90 degrees to get a nice crosshatch pattern. He flips them at four minutes and rotates them at six minutes.
The spinach was previously cooked and chilled requiring only the addition of cheese and bacon and a minute in the microwave.
After eight minutes he starts taking internal temperatures. Usually the thinner pieces are ready to come off the grill. Thicker pieces need an additional few minutes.
He pulled the steaks and entered the kitchen where he slathered butter over it and let it rest while he toasted his roll. He did pull the butter out of the ice box before he started all of this.
After plating the meat, roll, asparagus, and saying grace, he poured the double IPA into his favorite glass and sprinkled a pinch of fresh ground cinnamon over the foam. Mmm, yum.
The roll was left unattended while he consumed the beef and greens. By that time it had sopped up the butter and moisture on the plate and made a mighty fine rare treat for the carbophobe.
And if this is not enough fat, there is always Oberwies ice cream for desert. Afterall, its Father's Day!
*Hey ribeye fans, at $2 less per pound, beef short ribs are as well marbled and as flavorful as ribeye, but it doesn't hit the wallet as hard.
Mom's gift to him was to occupy the Twins while he MADE FIRE! Dad decided to grill boneless beef short ribs*. He has a super secret recipe (shush, don't tell) that he'll share with you. Actually, the ingredients are nothing special, it is the method of preparation that makes this meal great.
He needed:
Boneless short ribs, table salt, sugar, 1/4 stick of butter, spinach or other green vegetable side, blue cheese crumbles, bacon crumbles, two 12 oz. bottles of double IPA, freshly ground cinnamon, and one Turano roll.
Three days before service he purchased the steak. He applied a lite coating of table salt and sugar to the surfaces of the meat. Next, he wrapped it in a towel and placed it in a container in the refrigerator. He changed out the towel daily.
This accomplishes two goals. First it wicks away excess moisture thereby ensuring a good sear. Surface water has to boil off before the meat will brown and by that time it will be overdone. Second, the salt and sugar move into the meat by osmosis seasoning even the very interior. Glazes and marinades are nice, but they generally don't penetrate deeply enough.
The day of service, he prepared his grill. Now, until recently Dad had been a fan of the hot and fast method of grilling steak. There was no fire too large or too hot. A nuclear blast would not have exceeded his pyro-gastronomic desires. He is no longer a fan. These days he likes a small charcoal fire made with his own homemade oak charcoal.
Yes, you can make your own charcoal. And it doesn't have any petroleum in it so there is no petro smell. It is the byproduct of smoking. The low oxygen environment prevents the wood from burning while releasing volatile organics, thus making charcoal sans the coal.
The reason Dad likes a small fire is control. It cooks more evenly and produces less "carry over," i.e. residual heat that continues cooking the meat after it has been removed from the flame. As you can see from the photo above, the inside is consistent in color across the grain. There is very little gray meat. Moreover, the final temperature is more closer to the observed temperature taken while the meat is still on the grill. Dad likes 135 degree internal temp. at the thickest point. A small fire will not result in 10 to 15 degrees of carryover (and an overdone steak) that a large fire can produce.
There was a time too when Dad pulled the meat from the cold box and let it come up to room temperature. Despite the result, he persisted with this technique for many summers. But he finally had to admit that it produced a gray transition from the brown exterior and the red interior. Gray meat tastes like it looks, gross.
The ribs he buys take four minutes per side before he stabs them with the instant read thermometer. After the first two minutes the grill has marked the steak so he will rotate them 90 degrees to get a nice crosshatch pattern. He flips them at four minutes and rotates them at six minutes.
 |
| Spinach, blue cheese, and bacon bits |
The spinach was previously cooked and chilled requiring only the addition of cheese and bacon and a minute in the microwave.
After eight minutes he starts taking internal temperatures. Usually the thinner pieces are ready to come off the grill. Thicker pieces need an additional few minutes.
He pulled the steaks and entered the kitchen where he slathered butter over it and let it rest while he toasted his roll. He did pull the butter out of the ice box before he started all of this.
After plating the meat, roll, asparagus, and saying grace, he poured the double IPA into his favorite glass and sprinkled a pinch of fresh ground cinnamon over the foam. Mmm, yum.
The roll was left unattended while he consumed the beef and greens. By that time it had sopped up the butter and moisture on the plate and made a mighty fine rare treat for the carbophobe.
And if this is not enough fat, there is always Oberwies ice cream for desert. Afterall, its Father's Day!
*Hey ribeye fans, at $2 less per pound, beef short ribs are as well marbled and as flavorful as ribeye, but it doesn't hit the wallet as hard.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Final Update: Happy Birthday Ethan and Elizabeth
THE New Family Twins were one year old on June 11, 2013! Happy Birthday E2.
Update: The rest of the gifts are pictured below.
It is amazing how they have developed over the last year. When they first came home, they slept almost all of the time, interacted very little, and were largely unaware of the world.
Now they spend far more time awake and are engaged with everything they see, including their Parents, but especially each other.
Their faces just light up when they see each other for the first time every morning. It makes Dad a tad jealous.
Since this is a long post. Click the button below to read more.
Update: The rest of the gifts are pictured below.
It is amazing how they have developed over the last year. When they first came home, they slept almost all of the time, interacted very little, and were largely unaware of the world.
Now they spend far more time awake and are engaged with everything they see, including their Parents, but especially each other.
Their faces just light up when they see each other for the first time every morning. It makes Dad a tad jealous.
Since this is a long post. Click the button below to read more.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Better Get Used to This
THIS has never been a regular in the The New Family refrigerator. Neither Mom nor Dad drink it. But now that the Twins are one, it'll become a staple in the house for many years.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
One Year Check Up
THE twins visited Dr. Pedia today for their one year check up and immunizations. They are healthy and normal.
Their stats were:
Buddy:
Height: 30 1/2" (73rd percentile)
Weight: 19 lbs. 11 oz. (25th)
Buggy:
Height: 30" (77th percentile)*
Weight: 18 lbs. 1/2 oz. (24th)
She watched EJ take several unaided steps from her to Dad. She observed Liesel stand upright supporting herself by a bench. Both behaved themselves and were exceptionally pleasant.
They are both now officially cleared to have milk, honey, eggs, and possibly peanut butter, though this last one is not without controversy. The research is still inconclusive about the cause of peanut allergies and when might be an appropriate time to give then peanut butter.
*Dad disagrees with this measurement. He has had the tape measure on them both numerous times and believes she is 30 and 3/8".
Their stats were:
Buddy:
Height: 30 1/2" (73rd percentile)
Weight: 19 lbs. 11 oz. (25th)
Buggy:
Height: 30" (77th percentile)*
Weight: 18 lbs. 1/2 oz. (24th)
She watched EJ take several unaided steps from her to Dad. She observed Liesel stand upright supporting herself by a bench. Both behaved themselves and were exceptionally pleasant.
They are both now officially cleared to have milk, honey, eggs, and possibly peanut butter, though this last one is not without controversy. The research is still inconclusive about the cause of peanut allergies and when might be an appropriate time to give then peanut butter.
*Dad disagrees with this measurement. He has had the tape measure on them both numerous times and believes she is 30 and 3/8".
Playing with Birthday Gift Toys
ONE could be forgiven for wondering if the mega-blocks were really a toy for Dad.
 |
| The Rocket-ship |
 |
| Godzilla destroyed it. |
 |
| Castle with flying buttresses |
 |
| Goddess-zilla moves in for the kill. |
 |
| "I'm gonna wreck it Daddy!" |
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