Day 16

Day 16.

Spent the morning at the Drop-in Center.  Got my hands dyed blue while playing with the kids with water and food colouring.  Had a bit of a hard time getting the kids to leave, but got out without any tears or tantrums.

I felt I wasn't spending enough time with the youngest child so I left the older two with the grandparents for a couple of hours and spent the afternoon shopping and playing with the baby.

No time to cook dinner tonight; ran 6k in 34min.

Day 15

I found that my first week at the Drop-in center has been a bit of a blur so I haven't had a chance to go into detail on what goes on with the kids while they're there.

Day 15
Drop in Center - the kids loved playing with in the water center so they spent a good amount of time there. Later, they went and did some paintings. They moved on to making plasticine. Storytime was about the "Lonely Butterfly". They did a Simple Science project (explding milk) and then we headed to the grandparents for lunch.

The Drop in Center tends to be a hit with the kids. The problem is always leaving, but even that is getting better.

Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14

I think I'm getting into a routiune.

Day 11
Take the kids to the drop-in center
Have lunch with the kids
Put kids for a nap
Cook/eat dinner
Put kids to bed

Day 12
Take the kids to the drop-in center
Have lunch with kids
Put kids for a nap
Cook/eat dinner
Gig for Crazy for you

Day 13
Kids visit grand-parents
We go shopping
I gig for Crazy for you (2 shows)

Day 14
I go for a 29k run
Gig for Crazy for you
Kids visit grand-parents

Day 8, Day 9, Day 10

I am tired.

This whole week I've been completely drained. Maybe it's because the initial adrenaline has worn off and the honeymoon's over. Maybe it's the fact that my kids are very active. Maybe it's from running 29km on Sunday. Whatever it is, I'm pretty beaten.

Day 8
Just after lunch, I took the kids to a drop in center that is in my oldest son's future school. They got to play with paint, water, toys, and put together arts and crafts. Not so crowded at this time; only two other kids were in at this time.

Day 9
Decided that it's nice to go back to the drop in center, but this time in the morning. They mostly played with water along with a whole bunch of toys. This time around, my oldest put together a little mobile with a bird and a nest. A couple of kids only came in later that morning.

Ran 6km after dinner.

Day 10
Lots of rain, so walking up to the drop in center was not easy. I took our friend's daughter along as well. This time we headed into the school gym and played soccer and basketball with the kids. We also had a chance to visit the Jr Kindergarten class; the class my son will be attending in September.

Ran 9 Hill repeats (total of 11km) after dinner.

Day 7

Day 7

Hardest run I think I've ever done.  29 km in the wind and the rain along the lake.  I was soaked, cold and exhausted.

When I got home, I changed into my swim trunks and jumped into a nice ice-cold bath to help with the swelling in my legs.  I even had the kids get a bucket of ice to throw into the tub to keep the water from warming up.  Although a major shock to the brain when you first get in, after a while, you don't feel anything.  The only thing that worries me is when my kids start getting huge chunks of ice and start throwing it at me instead of into the water.

It's become the routine after all my long runs.  When I get home, my boys ask when I'll be taking a bath.  Then they throw ice at me and laugh while they watch my teeth chatter for a couple of minutes.

The two older boys really want to be a part of my Marathon training and this is just one of those things where they can help.  Lately, besides the golf talk, all they want to do is go running with daddy.

Day 5 & Day 6

Day 5

A little tired from having a late rehearsal on Thursday night.  Was lucky that my parents wanted the two older children for a sleep-over; I only had to handle one of them on my own which is pretty easy.  Later that morning the boys were dropped off and we spent the morning together.  Lunchtime, we headed out with my mom to go shopping at the mall.  Had to hurry back to put the kids down for a nap.

Headed out in the evening for the opening night of Crazy For You.

Day 6

My wife and I took the two older kids with us to our gym; they have a child minding service that they love going to there.  It's a chance for them to also interact with other children while the two of us go for a work out.

Headed out for the matinee and evening shows of Crazy For You.

My hands hurt from playing alot.  Luckily no blisters.

Day 4

Decided to stay home with the kids. Too bad they were testing their boundaries; this definitely tested my patience. I blame the lack of coffee.

There's a slight indentation forming in the wall because of the kids opening the basement door a little too hard. It's easy to patch up, but I wanted to pick up a door stopper to help stop the indentation from getting any bigger. Also, during the week, while I was cleaning the washroom, the bath tub stopper went missing. I think in my cleaning haste, I had thrown the stopper in the garbage.

All this added up to a little excursion to Home Depot.

This was a little difficult with all three boys on my own but they were all very accommodating. I had the baby strapped to me in a baby carrier. The middle child was sitting in a shopping cart while the oldest child rode while holding onto the side of the cart. We picked up what we needed and all three went down for an afternoon nap.

Dinner
I think I really enjoyed what I whipped up. It was a Chicken with Roasted Garlic Risotto. The recipe said to season chicken to taste. I decided to go with a mix of basil, garlic and oregano. It seemed to go really well with the risotto.

Headed out after dinner, headed out for the Crazy For You dress rehearsal.

Day 2 & Day 3

Before I continue on Days 2 & 3, I should recap how my conversation went with my kids on my first day of Pat Leave.

Me: So boys. It's 8:30 in the morning and daddy's not going to work. What would you guys like to do.

Boys: I want to hit golf balls!

Me: Guys, its' pretty cold outside I don't think the range will we be open.

Boys: Can we hit golf balls! Pease!

Me: Alright. We'll see if the driving range is open. I don't think I'll be able to hit golf balls with the baby, but I'll watch you guys hit.

Boys: Yay!

We drove to five different golf ranges. None were open so I convinced them of going to Golf Town. Even at Golf Town, they wanted to hit golf balls in the simulator.

What can I say... my boys like golf.


Day 2
The magic of Cheerios and Milk for breakfast with a bit of fruit.

Took them to get their haircut. (Not the baby's. He'll have his after his first birthday). If you've ever had to take only one child for a haircut, you'll know that it can be a bit of a challenge. With two kids, you're in over your head. With three kids... well, you've got armageddon on your shoulders. Lucky for me, I brought back-up. My mom had taken the week off and volunteered to help out. Defenitely the cavalry. While the oldest was squirming through his haircut, I was sitting in another chair with the middle child as he got his haircut. My mom had the youngest in her arms wall making sure that the oldest didn't fall off the chair. Anyway, it could have been a lot worst and the kids look sharp.

Dinner
I put together a Turkey Cheesburger Pasta. Needed a little bit more flavour because it was turkey.

Headed out for 6k tempo run with RR.


Day 3
My mom wanted to visit the kids again. I slipped away for a half hour to go get a haircut for myself.

The whole day, we stayed home. I had the oldest do some "homework" and so he worked on printing his name.

Dinner
I cooked a Lemon Chicken Tarragon with my oldest son's help. Came out pretty good. Only 25 minutes.

Went out for my Hill Training (8 Hills) after dinner.


In case you're wondering, I have my kids helping with cleaning up. Especially when it comes to doing dishes. Although it can get a little wet at times, I think it's important to try to teach my kids the importance of helping out around the house. So far they enjoy it; so I'll enjoy it while it lasts.

Day 1

Day 1
Spent the morning with the kids getting them to eat Cheerios; Jacob his cereal.

Even with the chilly weather, I got suckered in by the kids to go to a driving range to go hit some golf balls. We went to four ranges only to find them all closed. We settled with visiting Golf Town instead.

Lunch was cheese flatbread with deli ham slices.

Put the younger two for a nap and tried to do a little tidying up... (lost cause)

For dinner, I cooked a Pan-Seared Chicken served with rice and salad.


After that, headed out to my rehearsal for Crazy For You.