Life Update

I hate not writing. I’ve written Sean’s Ramblings for over 15 years now, and I get in the pattern of writing a new post every few days. It bothers me that it’s been two weeks since my last post. So today, I’m going to share the primary reason why I’ve had this break. My kids!

Luigi (2) had surgery last Monday to get his tonsils and adenoids removed. Because he is fairly young for this procedure, he stayed overnight at the hospital for observation. He did great and was a little restless in the hospital after the he fully woke up from the anesthesia. It probably didn't help that he wanted to move around but couldn't go too far since he had an attached IV.

He was fine the first few days at home, but woke up a little cranky on Friday thanks to a fever despite taking Tylenol and ibuprofen regularly after he got home from the hospital. I took him to the doctor, and it turned out that he had strep. I have no idea how or where he got it but he did. He's back at preschool this week but still has restrictions on what he can and can’t eat and do.

On Saturday, my wife wasn’t feeling well, so she went to an urgent care and discovered that she had strep too.

Just for fun, Pedro Tulo (5) woke up yesterday with a sore throat, so I took him to the doctor. Strep for him!

Finally, The Moose (8) and I got checked out last night, and we’re fine. NO STREP FOR YOU (well us)!

In non-health news, Pedro Tulo got assessed at school. Here’s part of the report:

After modeling and instruction by the examiner, Pedro Tulo generated the following story about a boy who brings his pet bunny to school

He went to the school. Then they was talking about bunnies. Then (distracted by another student in the hallway) Who’s that? (Just another kid. Go ahead.) Do you know him? (No, go ahead. You said they were talking about bunnies.)

This is a perfect summary of Pedro Tulo in that it is a struggle to keep him focused. He’s kind of like the dog in Up.

Otherwise, The Moose has to go back to the dentist since it seems like he needs a filling.

So this is my life. Just taking kids to and from doctors appointments and washing my hands constantly. My hands are so dry right now. I’ll end with this. On Sunday, as the kids watched the Super Bowl, I was doing laundry and getting things set for Monday. I slipped going up the first step from the basement (not like my fall two years ago), and broke my fall with a bag of pretzels. The unopened bag of pretzels become an open bag of pretzels. This was only part of the result.

I think I’m going to find small pieces of salt in my basement for days or weeks!

The Library Book

You are reading the blog written by a proud owner of an Arlington Public Library book! Actually, proud is not the correct word here. I recently checked out a book titled The Arena: Inside the Tailgating, Ticket-Scalping, Mascot-Racing, Dubiously Funded, and Possibly Haunted Monuments of American Sport by Rafi Kohan.

The book covers everything around stadiums and arenas from public financing to ticket scalping and stadium operations to mascots. While I haven't finished reading the book yet, there doesn't seem to be an overall theme or message, but rather a closer look at things associated with sports and entertainment venues that you probably don't give much thought. This isn't a book review though. This is how I now own this book since my three year old (Pedro Tulo) decided to do this:

In case it's not clear by the picture, pages 33-36 are now no longer attached to the book. Ripping pages of books are generally frowned on, especially when it's a library book. I showed the results of Pedro Tulo's work to the librarian, and he asked if I checked it out in this condition. While I could have said yes and been in the clear, first that would have been a lie and second, I was the first person to check out this book, so any investigation would have found that it was me. I don't think I could interrogation by a library detective!



So I now own this book and have to buy a new hardcover version so that other Arlington, Virginia residents and community members can enjoy it. Any suggestions on where to buy a copy or is Amazon the best source?

Good Night Pittsburgh

I started reading to my son almost as soon as we got home from the hospital. Sure, he had no idea what I was reading, but I felt like it was a good way to bond with him and so that he would learn my voice. He'll turn two in a few months, and I still read to him every day. One of the first books I remember reading to him was Good Night Ocean. The book introduces various ocean animals and ocean-related items throughout the course of a day. I find that I use different voices for certain pages (Hello hammerhead shark is said in the "Hello" voice from a Seinfeld episode) with varying degrees of success in making my child smile. We later received Good Night Washington DC as a gift and now own several other books from the Good Night Our World series. I like the books, but noticed that there was no book about Pittsburgh. I felt like this was an injustice, and I wanted to make this happen. Therefore, I contacted the publishers via this e-mail sent on September 11, 2011.

Dear Our World of Books,

I am a big fan of your series of books as my wife and I read them regularly to our child. As a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, I wanted to know if there were plans to create a Good Night Pittsburgh. If not, what is the process to create one? I'd be happy to assist you if needed and even help you promote the book.

Thanks for your consideration, and I look forward to hearing from you.

In hindsight, it was probably not a good idea to send this e-mail on the ten year anniversary of one of the most tragic events in American history. Therefore, after I didn't receive a reply, I sent this e-mail on September 19, 2011:

Dear Our World of Books,

I recently contacted you about whether there were any plans in creating a Good Night Pittsburgh book. If there is not (or even if there is), I am writing to inquire as to whether I could write such a book.

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to hearing from you.

I again didn't hear from Our World of Books and didn't think much of it...until recently. Good Night Pittsburgh was published on September 26, 2012.

Were the publishers already planning this book or did I give them the idea? I didn't get any credit for the book, and I wonder if I should. Do I need to contact Attorney Edgar Snyder or Jackie Chiles?

TMI Thursday: Not a man?

I have a fear of Home Depot. I’m positive that the security cameras can sense my anxiety as I walk through the door. It is an intimidating place filled with supposedly useful but mostly confusing items. As part of our home renovation, we took a field trip there recently. I tried to act like I knew where things were located and could effortlessly tell the difference between a lug nut and, um, something similar to a lug nut, but I had no clue. Our first stop was to get new kitchen and bathroom faucets. There were many options, but we sailed through (mostly since my wife priced and selected them on a previous visit without me). However, we quickly learned from the sales representative that we also needed to buy some faucet connector wire things (technical term). They went into the cart. The next stop was to pick up a five-pound bag of non-sanded grout. No problem. Well, except that they only had 10-pound bags. That’s fine. Well, except that I was looking for white grout, but there were at least 15 different colors that were all variations of white. I bought the bright white variety. Over an hour later, we were done.



A few days later, I needed to return to Home Depot to pick up more paint. After waiting over 30 minutes to be helped (don’t go to the paint department at 9:00pm on a weeknight), I confidently asked for two galloons of Glidden Cinnamon White paint. They then asked what type of finish I wanted. I panicked. I went in a completely defensive mode by saying, well, they didn’t ask me that the last time I was here. The patient Home Depot guy told me that I should just check the can I had at home. I panicked again since the can was already trashed. He then asked whether it was eggshell, semi-gloss or flat. No clue. Fortunately, I called home and learned it was flat. I told this to the Home Depot guy and pretended that I knew this all along.

As you can probably tell, the entire point of this post is that when it comes to home repairs, I know nothing. I can change a light bulb, but beyond that, I am useless. Does this make me less of a man?



(I was really trying to find a picture of Milos from "The Comeback" episode of Seinfeld to insert here. Instead, I found a picture of George from the same episode. Plus, I'll share this quote which seems appropriate.)

Another game for Milos!! He's not a man, this Jerry.

Please make sure to visit LiLu for more TMI Thursdays. Plus, you can click here to see all of my TMI Thursday archives.