Solidarity Sing Along on Facebook
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Saturday, February 29, 1992
A springlike day has us in the mood for household chores. We take apart the crib and rearrange the boys' room. Then, so we'll have some place to store the disassembled piece of furniture, I clean out and reorganize the garage. JoAnna does doors during most of the afternoon.
I should back up, though. The first business of the day is the Kiwanis pancake breakfast, where Andy does a very poor job of behaving himself. He gets a time out as soon as we return home -- plus an announcement that they'll be no television through the afternoon. He finds plenty to do to keep himself occupied. JoAnna and I should consider this approach more often.
Sunday, March 1, 1992
Photo credit: everystockphoto
There will probably be worse days in my life to experience, but not too many I hope. While JoAnna is doing doors and I'm sitting at the computer, the boys play with the crib mattress. I hear a thump and then Eddie starts wailing. It takes me 15 minutes to calm him down. His crying resumes whenever he starts to use his right leg. I get mad at Andy and then demand he tell me what happened. He jumped on his little brother. JoAnna and I decide to keep to our afternoon schedule. We attend a fundraiser at Fashion Fittings and stop at Shopko to buy a lunchbox for Andy. My concern for Eddie leads us back home at this time. Kelly reports that he's been crying for the 15 minutes since he's been up from his nap. I decide a visit to the Dean Clinic is in order. The xrays are negative, but it's obvious that Eddie's right ankle is giving him some pain. When we return home, Andy is howling. While climbing around the kitchen, he manages to turn on one of the stove's heating elements -- and guess where he places his right hand? Even after JoAnna's leaves to attend Russ Feingold's birthday party, Andy continues to scream in pain for an hour. He finally lets me know that he wants someone to be with him, so Eddie (still in his high chair) and I join him in the TV room. At bedtime, Eddie is still only crawling and Andy is still sniveling. I sleep in the guest room.
Friday, February 28, 1992
After experiencing a most productive week, I decide to treat myself to a day off. things get off to a less than stellar start when I discover that JoAnna didn't leave the key to the van. I start steamin'. Andy quickly picks up on my frustration and starts some bellowing of his own. This monkey-see/monkey-do action forces me to put a lid on my emotions.
So Eddie experiences a first today: his first bus ride. I get the boys to Kids Play at 9, then walk to the Joint Finance hearing room in the Capitol to greet my wife. She's sufficiently humbled. I walk to the ramp and drive to Original Pancake House for a leisurely breakfast. I order my favorite, the corned beef hash. I pick up my paycheck and then to Kids Play for Andy's pizza party. He's so happy to see me. There's even an empty chair waiting for me right next to him. Eddie is besieged the entire time he's in Andy's room. This is their last day together. Monday they'll start at different daycares.
After my visit, I walk to the credit union to cash my check and then to the Square to visit Shakespeare's Bookstore. I find nothing to buy, no architecture books, no highway books.
Back home, I continue to type calendar notes. JoAnna calls at 3:30; she won't have to work late. Martha hitches a ride home with us. The Nelsons decide that Irish Waters' parking lot is too fill so we settle for Pizza Hut delivery.
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Wednesday, February 26, 1992
JoAnna gets up early. She had me set the alarm for 5 last night. Joint Finance is meeting at 7, and Daddy is driving the boys to daycare. I get Eddie dressed and encourage Andy to do the same on his own, but the bigger boys balks. I say, fine, I'm gonna fix Eddie some breakfast, you do whatever you want to. One Mundopie has chowed down a banana and is working his way through a pile of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I decide to check in on Andy. I find him buck naked in the bathroom ready to relieve himself.
"Don't look at me, Daddy," he pleads.
"I'm not lookin', I'm just makin' sure yer gettin' ready for daycare."
And he is.
And he does.
Lately Andy has been such a mature 4 year old.
At the library, I continue to make major progress on the weekly task list. I see the light at the end of the tunnel as far as my early responsibilities as chair of the Education Section are concerned. I follow up on Jane Robbins' suggestion and call Margaret Myers at the ALA Program Office in Chicago for a program request. She accepts; I'm elated, even though I have no idea what the actual development of this contact is going to be. Before the end of my workday, I've cleared off my desktop, reorganized my shelf space, realized that I've made such major progress toward the week's goals that I can treat myself to Friday off.
I pick up the boys at daycare.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Monday, February 24, 1992
Saturday, February 23, 2013
February 23, 1992
[The present tense slips away.] I'm trying to think back to what I did three days ago, make that two days ago. I keep thinking, didn't I have an early morning commitment on Tuesday? Or did I just spend most of my time at home typing up journal entries? But anyway, back to Sunday. In the afternon, JoAnna does doors and I input calendar squares. JoAnna fixes pork chops and fried potatoes for supper. I try to get into Private Eyes, Jonathan Kellerman's latest novel, but he's such a horrible writer. I have to force myself to continue. This guy is the king of sentence fragments, a topnotch candidate for a course in remedial composition.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Saturday, February 22, 1992
I wake up at 1 a.m. and sleep fitfully after that. Damn headache. Was it the gin or is it my sinuses? I lounge in bed with my boys for a very pleasant, snuggable half hour, then plow into a morning full of chores, most of them centered on the kitchen. I clean and reorganize some cupboards and mop the floor. JoAnna returns home just as I'm moving the furniture back into the kitchen. Complaining that she's tired and not feeling very well, she ends up in bed for most of the afternoon. During all of the day's excitement, I manage to squeeze in two videos: Goldfinger and Shaft.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
Heron Photo of the Day (3)
The 92-acres Blue Heron Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Saukville, Wisconsin.
This heron, however, is wading in Tiedemans Pond in Middleton, Wisconsin
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Friday, February 21, 1992
The family makes a visit to Little Red Preschool. Andy is real tentative at first, but by the time we leave he seems to be very excited about "my new school". Needing some r&r after a most stressful week, I decide to take the day off, but first the boys and I make a stop at the library. I make some phone calls, and then we check out six videos for our fest, which actually never happens. Andy gets into Nickelodeon, and I get into housework. And some computer memory transcriptions. And 2 Pizza Hut pizzas -- delivery -- for supper. And Nick at Nite until I pass out. JoAnna's in Two Rivers overnite.
Thursday, February 20, 1992
Ross Perot announces his run for the Presidency
Shortly after my arrival at the library, I get a call from JoAnna. "Can you visit a daycare this afternoon at 4?" She's got a lead on a place for Eddie. It's not the most convenient location -- just off the Beltline-Verona Road interchange -- but after this stressful week, we need to quickly investigate any leads that materialize. The daycare -- one of three Steppingstone locations on Madison's West Side -- is a beehive of activity. For the number of kids present, it at first seems to be a very small location, but that's because a visiting puppet show troupe is taking up a sizable chunk of the room. Jill, the center director, puts me at ease immediately. After a brief tour, I write out a check to reserve for Eddie. JoAnna and I wanted to be able to place the boys in the same center, but that's just not possible in today's childcare environment.Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Wednesday, February 19, 1992
JoAnna's a bitch this morning, figuratively whipping a recalcitrant Andy in submission. His dawdling while getting dressed is more than she can handle. I spend the entire workday at Madison Public, reviewing the RFP with other system staff and consultant Hank Epstein, who 20 years ago would have been the perfect lead for "What Makes Sammy Run?" I pick up the boys and fix their supper. I get Andy to bed at 8:30 and then read Sara Paretsky's Guardian Angel.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Tuesday, February 18, 1992
Tuesdays @ 8:00 p.m. We occasionally tuned in.
At least I didn't pass out last night before JoAnna returned home, but I am dead to the world once I fall asleep. Eddie wakes up squalling around midnight, and I don't respond to JoAnna's rousings. She's up with him for nearly two hours. Then around 4, I feel a rumbling in my bowels that demands my attention. For the next 2 hours, I made 5 trips to the bathroom. Each time the diarrhea gushes out of my system. At 7, when I should be getting ready for work, I feel too tired and weak and disoriented to proceed with the day as planned. I call Jane Robbins and cancel our 8:15 meeting and then sleep fitfully until 10:45. I consider blowing off the entire day but decide that being active will be the best antidote for my minor physical ailment.
After a trip to the post office, I arrive at the library at quarter to 1. During the nearly two hours that I'm there, I'm actually quite productive. At 2:30 I leave to pick Eddie up at daycare. JoAnna and I think he might have another ear infection, but after a 45-minute wait to see Dr. Ellis, that turns out not to be the case.
I do go back to the library but not until 6:30. A slow evening is interrupted by a very brief council meeting. Sandy Allen calls on me to report on how the board responded to a complaint from one of Jim Wexler's constituents. Then Don Damon volunteers to raise the money through the service clubs after I give him the price info.
At least I didn't pass out last night before JoAnna returned home, but I am dead to the world once I fall asleep. Eddie wakes up squalling around midnight, and I don't respond to JoAnna's rousings. She's up with him for nearly two hours. Then around 4, I feel a rumbling in my bowels that demands my attention. For the next 2 hours, I made 5 trips to the bathroom. Each time the diarrhea gushes out of my system. At 7, when I should be getting ready for work, I feel too tired and weak and disoriented to proceed with the day as planned. I call Jane Robbins and cancel our 8:15 meeting and then sleep fitfully until 10:45. I consider blowing off the entire day but decide that being active will be the best antidote for my minor physical ailment.
After a trip to the post office, I arrive at the library at quarter to 1. During the nearly two hours that I'm there, I'm actually quite productive. At 2:30 I leave to pick Eddie up at daycare. JoAnna and I think he might have another ear infection, but after a 45-minute wait to see Dr. Ellis, that turns out not to be the case.
I do go back to the library but not until 6:30. A slow evening is interrupted by a very brief council meeting. Sandy Allen calls on me to report on how the board responded to a complaint from one of Jim Wexler's constituents. Then Don Damon volunteers to raise the money through the service clubs after I give him the price info.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Galveston's $1,500,000 Pleasure Pier
Pleasure Pier
Historic Galveston amusement pier to rise again. (Houston Chronicle, 1/28/2012)
Galveston’s Pleasure Pier is 1,130 feet of old-fashioned fun. (Dallas News, 6/8/2012)
Monday, February 17, 1992
The main focus this week is to find daycare alternatives for Andy and Eddie. Kids Play is shutting down at the end of next week. If nothing else, this unfortunate event forces us to consider local options and will give us the opportunity to put the boys with children they'll likely be going to school with.
At the library, I find it hard to work up any enthusiasm. I notice the carpeting in the area of the stairs seems to be in need of a serious vacuuming and lately Don has been cleaning the building. What happenin' here?
I pick up the boys, get their supper ready.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Carol Ansell Littlefield (1942-2013) Warren High School Class of 1960
A hard worker . . . jovial personality . . . friendly.
Assembly Program 2; Choraleers, 2, 3; Future Teachers 3, 4; G. A. A. 4; Spanish Club 4; Y-Teens 2.
Aerial view of new high school under construction. The Class of 1961 is the first to graduate from this location.
Ann Nuhfer Brickley (1932-2013) Warren High School Class of 1950
A little blonde...enjoys fun...shuns the spotlight...fluttery
Dramatic Club 3; Girls' Glee Club, 2' Stenographers' Club 4; Typing Club 2.
Sunday, February 16, 1992
I crave a little variety in my life. In an effort to pry Andy away from the TV, I suggest we go outside and build a snowman. He hesitates at first, but JoAnna helps to encourage the activity. Just as we're ready to spring into action, Andy announces that his boots are at daycare. His high-top sneakers won't offer enough protection from the six inches of wet snow, so we stay inside. JoAnna goes shopping and returns with a brand-new VCR. After I set it up, Andy is in heaven. He watches The Rescuers Down Under twice. I enjoy some uninterrupted time on the computer.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Saturday, February 15, 1992
Yesterday I started out by saying how difficult Andy was. I should have started with my first moment of consciousness, hearing Eddie's voice drift through the monitor. JoAnna and I walk to the boys' bedroom and greet our two precious guys with an avalanche of love. Before getting the morning into gear, the four of us snuggle on the love seat in the living room. Love and kisses. Family hugs and kisses.
OK, so this morning's not as Norman Rockwellish, but again it's Eddie's voice that rouses us. I retrieve the little guy for some 2-on-1 affection. Andy sleeps in. I suppose I shouldn't even think this, but sometimes Eddie seems to special, so destined for previously unattainable heights. Then I look at Andy and see a unique little man. And of course, we're the only parents that have to deal with these mindbends. Maybe during the last millisecond.
JoAnna's fundraiser = new babysitter. Both JoAnna and I are impressed with Kelly (last name Kramer). She is so assured, so self-confident. We have no worries, and I wish I had asked her to stay until 9 or 10. That would have given us an opportunity to go out with Larry and Martha. But now I'm ahead of myself. JoAnna's fundraiser at Steve Koslov and Mary Fulton's house is a big success. JoAnna gets down during the morning. We wake up to a 6" carpet of snow on the ground -- guess who shovels -- and around the noon hour her folks call to say they won't be making the trip to Middleton. That brings her down bigtime.
"No one's going to be there," she bewails.
"Nonsense," I say.
Perhaps the best indicator in this argument is the appearance of the allegedly unsociable couple John and Sue Westbury.
I'm so proud of my wife. We've gone to many fundraiser together and therefore I know the agenda. When it comes time for her to give her speech, I'm standing on the sidelines willing to be no more than an observer, Mary Fulton tells me to stand by my woman. And I do, and I'm bursting with pride to do so. Dorothy Shannon gives a warm, extremely heartfelt introduction. I practically have to blink back the tears.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Josephine Zaffino Greenland (1941-2013) Warren High School Class of 1960.
Warren High School in its last year.
Friday, February 14, 1992
Andy decides to be difficult this morning. He just doesn't want to get dressed. As I'm sitting at the kitchen table and reading the newspaper, sawing my way through a half grapefruit, I hear a yowl of protest from JoAnna. As I make my way to the bedroom, I hear Andy call out mournfully, "Daddy!" I get him dressed but apprise him of the fact that he's lost his television privileges for the evening.
At work, I break the news to Deb and, after she composes herself, explain where she could have done better during the interview She's the first to admit she did a poor job, although I tell her it was below our expectations as she's already been offered two jobs this year.
Library, Pomona College, California (Postcard Series)
Carnegie Libraries of California
Claremont/Pomona College, Los Angeles County
Opened 1908
Academic library 1908-1953
Currently a private academic building
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
February 16, 1992
I crave a little variety in my life. In an effort to pry Andy away from the TV, I suggest we go outside and build a snowman. He hesitates at first, but JoAnna helps to encourage the activity. Just as we're ready to spring into action, Andy announces that his boots are at daycare. His high-top sneakers won't offer enough protection from the six inches of wet snow, so we stay inside. JoAnna goes shopping and returns with a brand-new VCR. After I set it up, Andy is in heaven. He watches The Rescuers Down Under twice. I enjoy some uninterrupted time on the computer.
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
Thursday, February 13, 1992
I'm looking forward to the end of the day. No more interviews and a decision made. I spend most of the morning organizing my notes, handouts, and other materials for April's Reference Interview ETN. I realize what a breeze this program is going to be. Except for a couple of exercise sheets, I have all the material. During my lunch break, I go on what amounts to a wild goose chase for JoAnna.
The afternoon starts out on a positive note. Vincent conducts a very strong, albeit overly dramatic, storytime. He does songs, fingerplays, and a flannelboard story. The two books he reads are almost an aside, incidental to his otherwise supercharged performance. Then comes the interview. Vincent holds us hostage for two hours. I didn't we were ever going to be able to leave the conference room. Here is a candidate who on the verge of blowing away the competition talked his way out of a job. No way could I work with such a motormouth.
I left the library with a severe headache and drove to Kids Play to pick up the boys. Eddie has adjusted so well to his daytime surroundings. No more teary greetings.
While JoAnna is conducting a campaign committee meeting, Andy and I seclude ourselves in the master bedroom. I let a couple of martinis melt away the frustrations of an uneven day. A high point, though, is calling Eve and leaving a very enthusiastic message on her answering machine. She calls back within an hour, obviously pleased with our choice. At bedtime, I tell Andy the story of the three bears for the 326th time and then we act goofy and giggle until JoAnna looks in on us. I keep Andy up until 10.
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