9 1/2 weeks

dont' think you're going to see a review of the movie starring mickey rourke and kim bassinger...

this is a joey update. we had a doctor's appointment today for joey, his monthly well visit, and it seems he had a small growth spurt over the last 4 weeks. at his last visit, 8/28/08, joey weighed 10 lbs and was 22 1/2" long, and everything seemed to be going very well. today, joey weighs in at 13 lbs, 8 oz, and is 24 1/4" long. he gained 3 1/2 lbs and 2" in 4 weeks. if he continues to grow at this pace, we'll have the next defensive lineman for the ny giants in 3 years. even more surprising was the revelation that joey has a big head. so big, as a matter of fact, that the doctor wanted us to get an ultrasound of his head to make sure there wasn't anything in the skull that shouldn't be there. not sure what he would have been looking for - a basketball, gazing ball, soccer ball, the world's largest rubber band ball, but he wanted to take a look to err on the side of safety (really, all he needed to do was take a close look at my head and he would have understood.) so we had the ultrasound this afternoon, and sure enough, everything is perfect. nothing in his head that shouldn't be there, other than a ton of brains.

i have to go now - joey's calling me in for my lesson on the theory of relativity.

strangest thing...

when we were speaking with the director of Charlie's preschool, she told us that they will be teaching the kids to print the capital letter J without its top (or hat) because that is the way the entire school system is teaching it. huh??? there are so many other issues that should/could be addressed rather than spending time to decide to teach the capital letter J without its top. imagine the discussion - "should we be teaching evolution or creation? should their be prayer in the school? whatever we decide, we have to make sure that the kids don't put a top on their capital J." i don't get it. and i'm guessing it's not the teachers making this decision, it's the administration.

did anyone think of how the letter J might feel about this? maybe he likes to wear a hat to keep his bald head from being exposed to the sun. maybe she likes to wear a hat because she's famous and likes to be incognito when she goes out. shouldn't they teach it both ways and let the kids decide which way they want to print it? or is that too much to ask of our teachers?

maybe there is a valid reason for this, but i haven't been able to find one. maybe it's because the capital letter J looks similar to the capital letter T, but if the teachers aren't able to teach the difference between the 2, we've got bigger problems. i asked the director of the preschool and she doesn't know why and i can't find anything on google or wikipedia. if someone knows, please leave a comment. i just can't believe they've taken away the letter J's identity. without its hat, it's just a hook.

my nemesis has returned...

charlie's first week of school has passed with things going off without a hitch. there weren't any separation issues - as a matter of fact, he wants to know when he can go back. obviously, a very good sign. however, on his first day (the open house) day, they took the parents up to the church portion of the nursery school to give us some information about the year and what we should expect, as well as give the teachers an idea of how the kids are going to react to mornings without mom and dad. during this session, the head of the preschool spoke about each child's cubby and that we should check it often for important information regarding classes, volunteer opportunities, special events, and so on. and then she drops this bomb - "and you'll find that we have a homework assignment for your children in their cubby for their next class." homework?!?! the first day of class? in preschool? all of these thoughts went through my head, accompanied by a large, disappointed sigh. obviously, you can gauge what kind of student i was by my reaction that my preschool child had homework. all we had to do was thumb through a magazine to find a picture of something yellow, something blue, and something red, cut them out, put them in an envelope with our child's name on it, and make sure the teacher gets it first thing in the morning. couldn't be any easier, yet i was bothered by the fact that homework had now worked its way back into my life. after kim talked me off the ledge, i realized that the next 23 years of homework will be different than the first 28 years (keep in mind that it took me 10 years to finish my higher education) because this time around, i'll be the one making sure the homework is finished, not the one doing the homework. i will assist whenever i can with whatever Charlie and Joey bring home (unless it has to do with math, then kim will take over) and will love helping them when they need it. let's just hope they don't give the kids homework over the weekend - yuck!

some exciting news from monday's golf outing. first, our team won the event with a score of 11 under - our first win ever. the team of my brother, my father, my grandfather, and I had never even been close in the past, so this was as surprising to us as it was to everyone else. also, that day was my grandparents 63rd wedding anniversary, and our 8th anniversary, so it was a great gift to my grandfather and i to be playing together and win on our anniversary. But now, the real big news - my brother got his first hole-in-one! i've never seen one in person and it was quite a thrill to watch and be a part of. i wonder if there are any 33 year olds out there that can say they got their first hole-in-one while playing with their brother, father, and grandfather. a truly special moment for him!

Return to the Top

it's been quite a while since Raynor Shine has sat near the top of the blog rolls, but with it's triumphant return, it should stay at or near the top for quite some time.

summer is unofficially over here at the jersey shore, but the weather has still been beautiful. we're "bracing" for Hanna to strike this weekend, closing all the table umbrellas and brining in all the floating pool toys. hopefully, the storm won't last into monday because that is the day that my brother, dad, grandfather, and i play in a golf tournament that benefits nancy's employer, interfaith neighbors. our 4some has never won, but i think we have a pretty good chance of surprising some people this year. my brother is finally playing very well, which should help the team tremendously.

charlie starts preschool next tuesday. he'll be going to school from 8:45 - 11:30 tuesday and thursday mornings. the first day of school is an "open house" day, which just means the parents stay with their children throughout the morning to get a feel for what will be going on the rest of the year. charlie seems to be very excited to start school and meet new friends. he's already asked me if i could build a bed for his bedroom so that he could have friends stay overnight. i think that's a little ambitious (the idea of the sleepover and me building a bed), but i would bet that it won't be long before his friends are coming over to play and have snacks.

joey is doing great. he's eating very well, and loves to sleep. he is now 10 lbs and 22.5". that equates to a 2 lb, 2.5" growth spurt in 4 weeks. he and charlie get along very well, and charlie is very protective of his little brother. it looks like joey will have dark eyes, probably brown. right now, his hair has a lot of red in it, but that will most likely change. he loves to furrow his brow, and when he does, he turns from cute baby to old man in a matter of seconds (for anyone who can remember, when he scowls, he looks like the men in the Keystone Light, Bitter Beer Face commercials).

kim starts back to work the week of 9/15. she'll work 2 days that week (tues and thurs), 2 days the next week (tues and thurs), and then 3 days a week (tues, weds, thurs) until mid march, when she'll go back full time. i know she's going to miss all 3 of her boys, but i'm pretty sure she's anxious to get back into the grind.

here's an ode to summer in pictures: