Where would I be without the primitive invention of the wheel?
Claire's bike - Friday morning I replaced the tubes of the Claire's bicycle. This bike was given to us by a coworker whose daughter had outgrown it. The front tire was easily removed and replaced. The back one had a nut so tight that it busted a cheap wrench when trying to remove it. Luckily Russell came by to visit the kids that morning so we went to the local hardware store to get a solid six point 15 mm socket. Even then it took Russell's strength and weight to budge that nut. As Murphy's Law would have, shortly after the bike was ready, Claire took a few laps on it and decided she was uncomfortable with it because it was a bit big for her.
Swimming - Later on Friday evening Michelle and I took the kids to the YMCA because she was supposed to substitute instruct an aerobics class. She was concerned because the last few times she sub'd for that slot only one person showed for the class. With it being NH school vacation week, she was concerned that no one would be there. I told her I would take the girls to the pool and if no one showed, she should just change and join us. Sure enough, no one showed for the class so Michelle joined us at the pool. After about fifteen minutes Michelle's good friend, Kathy, coincidentally showed up at the pool with her kids. Kathy is the friend who helps Michelle give the twins their 'buzz cuts'. So not only did Michelle get to join us at the pool, she got to hang out with one of her best friends as well.
Trains - When Michelle went to pick up the boys from the Y's Kid Stop, she learned that Michael found his lost electric train in one of their toy boxes. All this time we thought Michael had lost it somewhere on our property. What a major relief. These trains have rubber washers that go around their main drive wheels to give them grip on the wood track. But being owned by the ever curious Michael and Daniel, these washers were breaking down. On Saturday Michelle stopped in the local hardware store and picked up a bunch of same sized washers. Life regained an ounce of sanity: two trains, fresh batteries, new wheels == 2 happy do-bees.
Tractor - Saturday afternoon I had to do a little prep work on the tractor for its first run of the season. One of the tires has a slow leak so it was nearly depleted after sitting all winter. On a positive note the tractor started fast and strong. There is something very Tim Allen-esque about giving the lawn its first cut of the season. Knowing our lawn, this is the greenest and most lush it will look until late autumn, thanks in no small part to all the rain we had in March and April. I'd love to tell myself that the beauty of the thick green lawn was our doing, but by late June it'll be struggling to survive.
Sunday - On Sunday morning we took the kids into Nashua for Mass. I had to read that morning. It was also the last Sunday that IJ parish would have its coffee and donuts after Mass. They cancel it during the summer season once CCD classes end. It's sad for all of us because the consolation of donuts is one of the things that perks the kids up when they've had enough of being at church. On the plus side at least now we can find a drive-thru donut vendor on the way home and spread a blanket outside to enjoy some donuts.
Jeep - Once we got home that morning we decided on an electric ride-on vehicle for the middle kids. Since the Hummer H2 clone is only available via online ordering from WalMart with an additional $100 shipping and handling fee, we opted to go with a Jeep clone from Fischer Price. Michelle called ahead to the Manchester Toys R Us and then took the girls with her to pick it up during the boys' naps. Unfortunately for the boys it needed to charge overnight. Then to add insult to injury, it rained all day Monday. This morning (Tuesday) Abby got to take the boys out in it one at a time. The boys loved it. I only wish that Abby could take them both at the same time so that they wouldn't have to take turns. Daniel is not yet big on giving up some time to let Michael have a turn. To his credit Michael is very understanding about letting Daniel have his time.
Toilet training - In other news Michelle made another attempt at having Daniel go diaper-less and try to use the toilet on Monday afternoon and Tuesday morning. At this point we're just having mixed results. She wants to train one twin at a time, hoping that the second will learn and be motivated by the first. It's difficult not to be too pushy about this because it would be nice to be back down to just one diaper to worry about.
Suzy - Congrats again to Suzanne on finishing up the first year of gradual graduate school. We hope things go smoothly in your upcoming move and that your grades turn out well this semester. Have fun with the moms in downtown Chicago on Mother's Day. I'm sure Michelle wishes she could go!
Timothy - Late this week Michelle and I will take Timothy to Dartmouth Hitchcock medical center in Lebanon, NH to meet with the surgeons who will likely work on his ear when he's older (about 6 or 7). They want to meet us both, review what happens, check his current status, etc. We've coordinated with friends and neighbors to keep an eye on the kids during the day while we're gone. It's too long of a trip to take them along and we doubt the boys would do well with all the waiting one typically does at a hospital. We're hoping for nice weather for the drive. The past couple of trips have been marked with dreary rain.