Keeping me busy

New steps from some recycled decking from a neighbor.  Ask me later . . . 

 So what have we been up to . . . Our raspberries went from a few sprigs Alisa and Phoebe bought at the garden shop in our neighborhood to this bush.  Our pickings one day above.  We've been getting about that a day.  What a great weed to grow.

I've been brewing a fair amount and just gave my first all-grain batch a shot tonight.  Everyone goes on and on about how that's what you need to do if your a growing brewer.  Whatever.  It was cool and I'll probably continue to do it.  But I haven't been missing out on anything and we'll see the match up since I brewed the same beer with extract.  (read: making one's own stock vs using a bouillon cube.

Peter's standing, crawling, climbing, and continuing to eat everything.  I do half-hourly mouth sweeps.  Today he was enjoying one of Phoebe's ice-cream sprinkles from last night's dessert.

Phoebe learned how to pump the swings herself.  I acquired a swing set from our neighbor. She's enjoying having that in the yard.  

 Alisa's working a lot.  But she and Phoebe have been doing a parent-child art class on Saturday mornings after they go to the farmers market and get some treats.  I'm glad they got that.  Phoebe clearly misses Alisa all week.

I took my college mountain bike and extended it with an Xtra-Cycle.  I love it.  It's a great beast to own.  Recently our food processor died.  I biked to Uptown to get a new one and it strapped in nicely.  A couple walking out behind me saw my bike helmet and said "you got a motorcycle with a carrier for that?" and chuckled.  I said "No, I have a bike."  When they saw me approach my bike, they looked stunned and said "oh, you're serious!"

Yes, I'm serious . . . or very stupid.  I said to Alisa that owning a bike
that hauls creates a constant challenge for any male.  "What can I haul next?!"

Summertime!

 I see it's been 5 months.  Ugh.  Sorry.  So what have we been up to . . .

Peter is army crawling, wrecking everything, terrorizing Phoebe by crawling into her room and trying to wreck everything, and drooling on me so much I always smell like sour milk at all times.

Phoebe is toggling between loving her little brother dearly and wishing "he'd just nap all day" so she didn't have to share time with us.  As I struggle with her strong personality and antagonistic attitude, I realize more and more every day that my mom put up the same stuff from me.  I guess I deserve it.  :)

Alisa is working a lot.  And working out a lot.  She and our friend Shelly bike to the YWCA at least once a week to lift weights.

Andy is working a lot when Alisa is working a lot.  I'm not complaining.  I love being home with the kids.  But teaching middle school math is way "easier" than being home with these two!  :)  I got a break and taught a 2 day course out in Lancaster, CA.  High desert. It was a fun opportunity to teach math without getting a real job.  I hope to teach a few times a year.  I've been brewing a lot of beer and rebuilding my two old bikes.  I made Alisa's high school 10 speed into a single speed fixed gear and I converted my college mountain bike into a cargo bike.  It's been a lot of fun learning how to do some of the novice-intermediate bike maintenance.

The kids and I avoid driving the van at all costs.  Lot's of biking when I can safely transport Peter and if not, I run with them.  Great way to stay fit and not drive!  Other than that, we're gardening like mad!  It's looking good now that we got some heat around here.  Hopefully no blight this year!

$6 Menards Pool!!!

A typical lunch

At Como Zoo when I was on my course in CA

Lancaster CA

Menards buying pool toys and
a dehumidifier for the basement