TheBean and TheDude Answers

When I started this with TheBean last year TheDude didn't have much to contribute so the questions were all for her.  Now that TheDude talks way more (and by way more he doesn't stop talking, seriously, between TheDude and TheBean and MrsRunninginPlace I am becoming a mute) I figured he should be involved in this venture.  Special thanks to the other Dad Bloggers that contributed questions.  If I didn't use your question this time I will use it in the next round.

What does Santa do after Christmas?

TheBean "ummmmm...I don't know.  He makes more toys for kids who didn't get everything they asked for like the tea set I wanted and didn't get."

TheDude "Eat meatballs!" Me "He goes home and eats meat balls?" TheDude "Yeah, eats meatballs!"

Who is the better driver, Mom or Dad?

TheBean "Both, no wait you, no wait Mommy." Me - "Why?" TheDude - "NO DADDY IS A BETTER DRIVER!" TheBean - "Mommy drives faster!" It then devolved into a debate as to who drives faster...

What is your favorite holiday?

TheBean "Is it ok if I have more than one favorite holiday? Christmas, Halloween and Valentines Day."

TheDude "Cars" Me "That's not a holiday" TheDude "Yes it is, blue cars, yellow cars and red cars."

Where did all the snow come from?

TheBean "Big snow clouds in the sky."

TheDude "Off the big tree and was shaking (walks over to the window and points) that tree it all came from that tree." (Head nod for emphasis)

What is the scariest color?

TheBean "Red because that is the color of fire."

TheDude "The blue one because monsters come in my room and they are blue."

Do you like growing up?

TheBean "Yes, because you can be big and strong and lift everything and be in charge." (Watch out whoever wants to date/marry her)

TheDude "Yes, because its fun and I'm going to get so tall!"

What is your favorite place to eat?

TheBean "Bad Apple (burger and beer restaurant right by our house, its delicious), actually McDonalds because they have a play place and you get toys."

TheDude "Bad Apple because I like bad apple and I like going to Old McDonalds to get ice cream."

What is your favorite song?

TheBean "The who o o o song (Best Day of my Life by American Authors) and Frozen music."

TheDude "Old McDonald, Farmer and the Dell and Black Keys. Dad can you put on Black Keys?" I put it on he starts bobbing his head and dancing.

What time is it? (5:30pm about to have dinner)

TheBean "12" Me "So it's 12 o'clock, lunch time?" TheBean "Nooooo its 12:30."

TheDude "20 o'clock" Me "You know that is bedtime, right?" TheDude "yeah"  Me "So its time for bed." TheDude "NO! Its 30 o'clock!"

How do you make a cake?

TheBean "So you make a big dough with chocolate stuff, roll it up and you put it in the oven and then put lots of frosting and sprinkles on it."

TheDude "You put sprinkles on it and chocolate frosting on it and then you have a cake!"

What is your favorite TV show?

TheBean "Sophia (the First) and Doc (McStuffins) because I want to be a doctor and a mommy when I grow up and I like princesses."

TheDude "Cars and Planes! They're fast!"

Super Kids ready to answer your questions

I thought you would ask some tough questions

Yeah these questions were so easy I did snow angels while answering them.

Reset

Can we just push this button and start again?

Wow, what to say.  I've been trying for the past couple months to write something to put up here and then I either:

1. delete it

2. second guess if I should do this and leave it in draft status until it is out of date

3. stare at the screen after typing about 3 sentences, freak out, second guess and then delete it.

Moral of the blog post...there is going to be some crap and then pictures of my kids.  If you want to skip the crap just scroll down and look at the pics.  Don't worry I won't judge (silently judging).

What have I been up to since September?  

- Joined a gym (YMCA) that is totally awesome and allows me to run in place at a much faster speed than when I am with my kids.

- Survived Thanksgiving/Christmas/New Years.

- Started playing my guitar again.  Well I don't know if you can really call it again since my first round consisted of me taking lessons for 8 weeks and then promptly not picking up the guitar for 4 years.  I think this time I'm going to stick with it a little longer.

- Survived "Chiberia" (yes that is what they called it here) with the kids.

I don't know, probably a bunch of other stuff too but that is for another time/blog.

A couple new things around here...changing the kids names for fun and because EJ and M are kind of boring so...EJ will now be TheBean and M will be TheDude.  Where the names came from you ask?  Well TheBean was a chunk when she was little and bald so I thought she looked like Butterbean the boxer and TheDude is just a little dude. The other change involves my "Ask EJ" posts...TheDude is being added and can be asked questions as well.

While I am talking about it let's throw it out there...ask some questions for TheBean and TheDude and I will ask them in the comments or on my Facebook page and post their answers on Monday.  

Pictures?  Oh, yeah I have some of those too.

Surviving "Chiberia" while mom is in California (no I'm not bitter at all)

I found TheDude at the top of our stairs tonight in this exact pose.

Yes they made me wear the goggles while we were working on our construction project. I kept them on because they were stylish, no?

Holiday Train!

Santa visit

Saying Goodbye

As you have probably noticed my posting has fallen off pretty dramatically since Summer started. The first half was due to our travel schedule. The second half?  It has been much harder. My mom was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on July 23rd. Every time I have tried to post since then I am able to write only a couple sentences and then my mind wonders or just goes blank. I am now writing this post from my moms bedside as I watch her sleep in the ICU at the Cleveland Clinic. Right now we are looking at days until this part of the story ends...

I wrote that on Sunday, September 8th.  My Mother passed away peacefully on Wednesday, September 11th surrounded by her family.  We were lucky enough to get 51 days to say our good byes, I love yous and everything else we wanted to say.  It still wasn't enough for any of us.  One of the hardest things I have ever done was to write and deliver her eulogy at the funeral.  I have two sisters and my father but this was something that I felt I had to do.  Words aren't enough to describe her and if you were ever around her or my family you would be able to see and feel the things my Mom would do that made her so special.  Following is the gift I gave to my Mother.

Thank you everyone for coming today.  I speak for my whole family in gratitude for all the love and support we have received from you during this difficult time.  It truly is a testament to my mother that all of you are here. 

She is the center of our lives.  My mom is the strongest, most loving person I know.  The love that her and my dad share is unbelievable.  In a couple weeks is my parents’ 42^nd wedding anniversary and they still would look at each other like newlyweds.  It is the love they show and share that we all should strive for in our daily lives and it is something I was able to witness for 36 years of being around them.

We did it as a family.  As you may or may not know we moved around growing up but every time it happened we sat down at the kitchen table and talked, cried, shared our thoughts and feelings about whatever the next step was.  But it was always about us doing it together as a family.  At the center of all of that was my mother who seemed to always know exactly the right thing to say or do to make the difficult transition easier.  Every night we would sit down together and hold hands and pray before dinner.  We would all sit and talk about our days and what our challenges were and celebrate our successes, as a family.  When cancer happened to strike this family we took it on as a family “we got this” became another way of saying to each other that we loved them

My mom could light up a room with her smile.  The twinkle in her eye never went out.  She was so happy for us kids as we found our way and new lives with our partners.  Grandmother, now I told you how she was a great mother but she was an amazing grandmother.  Always ready to spend time with the kids to play, read, watch and yes most especially spoil.  Any time I would challenge her on the last one she would always say “it is the grandmother’s job to spoil their grandchildren” and that would end the discussion as she handed them whatever they wanted. 

My mom had this amazing memory.  I am going to miss that.  The things she would remember would blow you away.  The whole family knew that if we were trying to recall something that happened on one of our family trips or adventures and our story differed from hers than she was right and we were wrong.  As we have gone through these last couple days and have shared our memories of her we have had some contradictions and we don’t have our final answer.  But the one thing we do have is love.

We Got This!  Love you mom

Me and my Mom.  I showed this picture to M & EJ and they both thought it was M.

Supporting my Mom

Me and my Mom shortly after she was diagnosed with cancer.

Life of Dad Podcast Fun

Earlier this week I got the opportunity to talk to Art Eddy and Ryan Hamilton from Life of Dad.  This turned into a podcast.  If you don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook (hint hint) I linked it there.  Now I have linked it here.  Hope you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed doing it.

http://lifeofdad.com/podcast_episode.php?pcid=829

Oh and here are some photos of my kids (the real reason you are here anyway)

Music That Doesn't Suck

Music that doesn't suck is back!!!  To honor its return I am dedicating this song to my mom who gave me my first music memory.  I don't remember exactly when this was but what I do remember my mom putting this record on and listening to "The Gambler".  It's odd what you remember in your life but this is one of my favorite memories and how vivid it comes back to me when I hear this song is really remarkable.  Enjoy!

Oh and here are a few photos from Monday when we met mommy after work and rode the water taxi and ferris wheel.

M was a little bit excited about the ferris wheel

The water taxi was awesome

It's a miracle when EJ looks at the camera

If you read EJ's answers you know she is in heaven in this picture

Watch out Zoolander

EJ's Answers Pt. 3

After a crazy summer I'm back with questions for EJ.  I have been getting regular requests from EJ to ask her more questions so here you go.  The blog should be picking up again with EJ starting preschool in a couple weeks.  As before, all these responses are EJ's recorded by me.

Q - What is the biggest word you know?

EJ - Mumford.  (yes, that is referring to Mumford and Sons)

Q - What is your favorite thing about mommy?

EJ - She loves me

Q - What is your favorite thing about daddy?

EJ - Sometimes you put me on your shoulders.

Q - Are you excited to start preschool?

EJ - Yes (why?) Because I am going to meet new friends.  I am nervous about going to school because I don't know my new teacher, I hope it is a girl. 

Q - What are you going to do at preschool?

EJ - Letters, circle time, play in the playground

Q - What is your favorite popsicle?

EJ - Pink, purple & green swirly (from Aldi)

Q - What is your favorite sport to play?

EJ - Soccer & Basketball (why?) because I know all the rules 

Q - Who is your favorite person in the whole world?

EJ - You daddy, no wait, Ronica (Veronica our 14 year old next door neighbor)  Me - EJ her name is Veronica  EJ - I know but I call her Ronica

Come on these questions are pretty weak.

Questions for EJ

Hi everyone.  It has been too long since I have been on here.  To kick things off with me back in the saddle I bring you questions for EJ.  

EJ asked me this morning for more questions and since I'm her dad I can't say no to that. You know the drill send me questions in comments here or on Facebook. 

I can already tell these questions are going to be easy