Weekend at the Ren Fair(e?)

This weekend we went to a Renaissance fair. The Sherwood Forest Faire is located about 50 minutes east of us, and I do like a good Ren fair, so we decided to check it out. Turns out it's WAY bigger and cooler than I thought it would be. Huge area, hundreds of vendors...we didn't even get to see all the stuff there was to see.

They had a petting zoo! I liked that part a lot. Two petting zoos in two weeks! I must be doing something right with my life. This one had a camel, which was nice and soft, and a little small. There were some pot-bellied pigs, too. Tiny and adorable. I liked checking out the vendors, too. Enough costuming to choke a moose, but I didn't pick any of it up. I don't actually have much of a use for it, and I'd feel a bit of a faker walking around with a cool knife or sword without having the rest of the garb to go with it. Same with tankards. Cool, but I don't drink enough. Anyway, there was a lot of artistry going on all over the place.

Tyler liked all sorts of stuff. He spent a good long time playing in the dirt, which was pretty great. We also got to see a falconry demonstration, archery, fire eating (with real fire!) and a glass blower. Not to mention all the people in costumes. Tyler liked the costumes, lamenting that he didn't have one of his own. One of the vendors was selling a child-sized set of leather armor. I considered it.

Roughly 5 weeks until baby Casey arrives. She's had a couple episodes of seriously intense kicking that seems to go on for a really long time. I wonder what she's doing in there?

-N

Learning to Do stuff

You know that old chestnut from children on TV, where they will just keep asking 'why' over and over in an attempt to drive adults crazy.  Ever wonder when that starts happening?  Well now you know: it's two weeks before their third birthday.

In Tyler's defense, he's not doing it to drive us crazy.  I'm pretty sure he's doing it because he wants to learn more about things.  He hasn't quite grasped the subtle distinctions about when it's appropriate to ask the question ("Here is your Toy."  "Why?" "Did you like school today?" "Why?") but he has figured out that when he asks 'why' he generally gets more information, which he seems to like, and we certainly aren't planning to tell him to stop asking.

Jessie is...nesting...a little.  This weekend it was important...nay, CRITICAL, that all the light bulbs in the house were properly set.  This involved a shopping trip to pick up some conventional bulbs and some CFLs, a lot of using of step ladders, and then a trip to Lowes to drop off the CFLs for recycling and to get a couple of replacement glass covers for the bulbs.  She did this.  The pregnant one.  And then she decided that there were too many leaves on the front yard and that they needed to be raked.  She says pregnancy makes her tired, but every once in a while, you wouldn't be able to tell, I'm sure.

This weekend we went to a Carnival.  It was actually part of the Austin Rodeo, which sounds really cool, but the actual rodeo part starts at 7:00, and Tyler wasn't going to make it that late.  We actually went out right after his nap and hung out mostly at the rides.  Tyler was just tall enough to ride a bunch of the little kid rides that had shown up in the giant parkng lot.  His favorites were the plane one that went up and down and his very first Roller Coaster (I convinced him to briefly put his hands up in the air) as well as the Ferris Wheel, which had a fantastic view of the whole area.  We walked around a lot, had some funnel cake, and had a pretty great time.

We also go to see some pig races, which was staged with surprising professionalism and was a lot of fun to watch.  Tyler was pretty into it.  There were some vendors, too, but if I'm going to get myself a proper cowboy hat, and at some point I think it's safe to say I will, I'm going to need to take a good long time to make sure the construction is up to snuff and the size is proper for my gigantic head.  I'm also likely to need some time for some real soul searching before I buy myself a cowboy hat, because...you know...*cowboy hat*.  But I do look good in one, and it keeps the sun off.  Anyway, Tyler was getting a little antsy, so we didn't have the time to really get a *feel* for the hats on offer.  Or the boots.  Those are lower on my list...give it time.

The petting zoo was my favorite.  I love a good petting zoo.  They had a lot of nice goats, a llama, some deer, and even a couple of shaggy cows (calfs?).   All very well behaved.  They also had newborn goats and even some young kangaroos, but those were cordoned off from the general populace.

I also got a kick out of the livestock area.  They had the best-in-show winners all out for us to see, and they were some pretty-looking specimens, I do agree.  They also had some chickens, which I'm pretty sure Tyler had never seen alive before, as well as a whole bunch of baby chicks, which are, of course, fully adorable.  Seeing all the prime livestock made me want to be a farmer a little bit.  Not because I'm looking for harder work, just because it seems like it would be pretty cool to be good at raising such great-looking critters.  And then, of course, killing and eating them.  I bet they are all delicious.

And because I said I owed it before, here are some pictures of the Diorama I just finished painting:

Check him out!  He's a golem!  

I made up a story about him, of course.  He was created in a temple that long ago has fallen to ruin.

The golem, however, still stands.  And when an adventuring party comes across him, they have to ask...is he still working?  Can we go around him?  How old are those broken weapons, anyway?  

You can even pull him out of the diorama, too.  

Looking sharp, dude.  

He is made out of the same stone as the temple.  They were built at the same time, after all.  

-N

I will be flossing every day for the rest of my life.

I went to the dentist on Friday. That was good. I needed to find a new dentist, and this was a little community office, not too busy for me to get in pretty quickly. The dentist was friendly, and they used digital Xrays. As someone who hasn't been to a dentist a couple years, I was primed to be impressed. I met the dentist first, then got the cleaning. At the end of the visit, she came back in to confirm that the horrifying tea stains were cleaned off my teeth (yay!) and to mention that I have "a few cavaties," and she told me to make an appointment to get them filled.

Wha???

So, I have never really had cavities. I have a memory of being asked to get one filled once, but that didn't involve a needle of any type. While most people have done this dance a number of time by my age, I was taken aback. Me? Cavities? The dentist probably assumed I knew the drill (pun intended), and I couldn't muster any questions until after I left. With an appointment to get my cavities filled this morning.

Since I have never been through this process, forgive me for giving excruciating detail to what is routine dental care. Part of me was a little concerned that I might not be at a good dentist, since she seemed to have lots of appointment available to see me. But it wasn't until I was in the chair that it occurred to me I was letting someone permanently remodel my teeth. There was a brief moment when I asked for additional Novocain (because I could feel cold with my tooth, not pain, but um, let's not let that progress), and she asked if I was ok. I know that I was trembling from the needles and seeing (a little) blood on the dental tools, and I realized that I had no proper basis for comparison on whether I was at a good dentist or not.  If half way through my visit I had detected that I had chosen poorly, I already have a bunch of holes in my mouth, so we pretty much have to go through with this. (For the record, I don't think she did anything to make her a bad dentist, but it's hard to think of her fondly under the circumstances.)

I ended up getting 6 total shots of novacain to fill 3 cavaties in three separate corners of my mouth. As I was getting the 3rd shot in the same spot, it occured to my that it would be a long time before my mouth was behaving properly. I was correct in this prediction. Three hours later, I managed to slurp up some squash soup (no chewing) without getting much on my face before a meeting with my boss. Everyone was very empathetic of my lopsided smile, which was nice.

The dentist and her assistant were very reassuring when I told them I was unfamiliar and nervous about the process. The dentist did make a point to say that if I flossed more regularly, that would really prevent these cavities. I haven't had the best of habits until now, but it seems like flossing is WAY less terrible than getting cavities filled.

Mostly stuff about kids

I like that Casey has a name.  It makes her feel like a real person.  It also drives home that there really is a little person in there.  Not to start an abortion flame war, but you start to get a sense of where these people are coming from when you realize that at some point in your mind the transition was made from 'biological process' to 'a baby that hasn't shown up yet.'  Giving her a name really helps, and she already has a little personality, especially as we have another baby to compare her with.  She kicks a lot more than Tyler did, making Jessie certain that she's going to be a sporty little tomboy who wants to play hockey all day.  I've also felt what I'm sure is her head a few times.  She isn't head down yet, and occasionally she'll get into a position where you can tell that you're inches, just INCHES away from her tiny little baby skull.  You just want to kiss it so bad!  But you have to wait, she's still baking. 

Yesterday we went to a king cake party, a pretty low-key affair with some friends from work.  A lot of little kids there, too, so Tyler had plenty of friends to play with.  They had a play kitchen area, and Tyler was obsessed with it.  He spent a really long time standing there, making me cookies out of whatever material was conveniently nearby, and asking if anyone wanted french toast.  (I had made french toast for breakfast.  Tyler approves.)  Since Tyler was so interested in cooking, Jess convinced me that we should go off and get him a kitchen playset of his own.  I was hesitant, but Jess convinced me the same way about the train set, and he plays with that *all* the time, so we gave it a shot.  We ended up getting a pretty serious one, and it came in an Ikea-style flat pack, so I spent much of yesterday afternoon putting it together.  It's done today, and Tyler (with 'Mater's help) has been making Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches all morning. The process involves the microwave for some reason. 

This means, also, that anyone wondering what sort of things to get Tyler for his upcoming birthday could *totally* get him some play kitchen supplies.  Play pots and pans, play food, stuff like that.  There is a *ton* of that sort of stuff out there, and at the moment we've mostly stocked his kitchen with stuff from ours, which I'm probably going to need back at some point...

He also likes books, toy cars and especially toy construction equipment. 

Tyler still likes building things.  One of his favorite activities is to get his hammer, give me the wrench and go about 'fixing' the cat condo.  He insists that he is Bob the Builder and I am Pumpkin-Head for this process.  (Go watch the show if you haven't, it's on netflix.)  This requires me to talk in a silly voice.  It's important for immersion. 

I've broken 200 pounds a couple of times, but it's been tough to stay under.  Dieting is nearly impossible when you have a pregnant wife.  Still, though, it's impressive to realize I've lost a *Tyler* worth of weight at this point.  My walking desk has been getting a lot of work.  I can burn a surprising amount of calories while playing video games. 

Another cute Tyler story for you. Last weekend we got Tyler a haircut.  He was very well behaved.  When we got home we gave him a bath, and he complained that if we scrubbed to hard, we would wash off his haircut. 

Few more weeks till the most important event of the year.  ReaperCon!  Oh, and the baby shows up around then too, but whatever, PAINTING!  I'm almost done with one of my entries, a Golem guarding a door with broken weapons scattered all around him.  I owe some pictures of him once he's done, he's looking pretty great.  I even have time to start another entry, too.  Jess is the best wife in the world to let me go to this, though she is flying in some help for the weekend.  Also, I'm only a few hours away by car, so if the unexpected does happen, I can be back home really quickly.  I'm very excited for the convention, though.  I signed up for all my classes, and have been frequenting the forum to reconnect with old friends. 

Tyler is starting to learn to read.  He's been sounding things out, asking about words, and making letters (mostly T for Tyler) out of sticks.  It's very exciting, mostly because with any luck he'll be able to read books to Casey in the back seat just like we do for him now.  They start to learn how to write (more like 'assemble') letters in the next grade, where he'll be moving very soon, so he's pretty much right on time, I think.  Good for him. 

-N