The Kmiec Ramblings

Well what a day!  I got to celebrate my second Father’s Day today.  It was a great day.  I started off my holiday by calling my Dad and wishing him a happy Father’s Day.  I got him tickets to see Ringo Starr; not too bad if you ask me :)  From there it was on to watching Cora play around the house.  After all that playing we ate some brunch, opened some presents, and then spent most of the day outside before eating grilled turkey legs courtesy of Don.

Cora was completely pooped by the end of the day.  I tell you, when you have days like this it makes being a father the best job in the world; even if I don’t get paid for it.

This last photo is my favorite.  How the hell can you not love a 14 month old wearing a Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon shirt on Father’s Day.

Cheryl’s cousin Mike just graduated from college (god I wish I was that young again) and we went over to her aunt and uncle’s house 2 weeks ago for a celebration.  The weather cooperated, which never seems to happen lately, allowing Cora to enjoy the “big” pool.

I’ll admit that it’s hard sometimes to watch Cora fall, which she does her fair share of, while learning to walk.  However, whenever she’s fallen or bumped herself, it’s always been under our direct supervision and usually it happens on the carpet.

Well today we got a call from the New Horizon Academy, where Cora attends day care, informing us that she has a black eye.  How did she get this black eye you ask?  Well, she got it after falling face first into a bookshelf.  This is the result:

Even though I’ve seen her fall before; this is different.  Given the insane $300+ a week I pay them, I find it completely unacceptable.  But, we don’t exactly have many options.

Day care is an interesting business model.  Unlike, say the telephone company, you can’t exactly switch very easily.  The day care business works against all the other traditional “path to purchase” models.  Think about it, your day care has to:

1. Offer a good curriculum
2. Be a great, seemingly safe center
3. Be in a convenient location; some place between home and work
4. Not cost you an arm AND both legs
5. Have great teachers
6. Have a spot open for you

Assuming you can find one that offers 1, 2, and 5; you are still screwed because you have to hope the location works, the price is acceptable, and most importantly they have an opening.

So, if you are displeased with the center and want to switch you have to hope that you can find another location that offers all of the above at exactly the same time as when you want to switch.  This is highly unlikely; trust me.

So tomorrow morning, you know what I’ll be doing?  That’s right, I’ll be dropping Cora off at the very same day care that has allowed her to be bitten on 2 occasions and allowed a black eye to happen.  Oh, and I almost forgot, if they think she’s sick they can just send her home, no questions asked, and you have to come pick her up.

It’s got me thinking that maybe I should open a day care.

Memorial Day was a blast.  We ate some great food and enjoyed the some-what chilly weather.  As you can see Cora really enjoyed herself.  I really liked watching her pick up and throw the baseball.  I tell ya, the girl has 1 heck of an arm for a 13 month old.

I love Memorial Day. It’s the unofficial start of the BBQ season. Memorial Day basically says, “Yes, it’s ok to do nothing, until the day after Labor Day, except eat MEAT that’s been carefully grilled.”

There’s a smell that comes from cooking on a grill that you just can’t replicate in the kitchen. It’s almost primal in nature. Like moths to a flame, the smell draws people in and once they’ve arrived you’ll see smiles all around.

We didn’t host Memorial Day this year. We picked up the brats and let Cheryl’s parents do the cooking. If you ask me, that’s a smart move, since that means they’ll be doing the clean up as well

Cora was too young (just over a month old) to really enjoy Memorial Day last year, but we made up for it this year. Check out the photos covering her 2nd Memorial Day experience.

Cora Shopping At Target (Day Before Memorial Day)

A Wise Selection; Johnsonville Brats

Clearly Those Brats Are Hers

No Seriously, Those Are Her Brats

As a Matter of Fact, Let Me Try to Eat Them Now

Love My iPod; Thanks For Reminding Me

Indeed It IS Time For Brats

We’ll Boil Them in Beer First…

…Then We’ll Grill Them

Almost Done

Now, That’s What I’m Talking About

Cora’s Ready to Eat

We Gave Her a Tiny Taste; Now Using Sign Language She’s Saying “More”

Yes, Chow Down

All in all a great day. In addition to cooking and eating, we made time to visit the park, where Cora enjoyed the swing, throwing the baseball, and the slides. Pictures of those activities can be found here.

Last night we took Cora to her first baseball game.  She got to watch the Minnesota Twin beat the Texas Rangers in extra innings.  Cora saw some great defense, so-so pitching, and a few home runs.  We even almost caught a foul ball.  Literally, the ball was caught two rows directly in front of our seats.  Oh well sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don’t.

Cora made some friends at the game and had her first taste of cotton candy.  It was really funny watching her try to figure out why the cotton candy kept melting in her mouth.  Photos were taken with the Fuji; so please excuse the quality.

To all you moms out there…Happy Mother’s Day. We started this Mother’s Day with a trip to the hospital emergency room. Cora wasn’t feeling very good and sounded like she might have an upper respiratory infection. Sure enough, she did; thanks WebMD for once again making me as smart as the doctors.

After a few rounds with the nebulizer she was all better! Well at least least close to being better. After some brunch we took Cora to the park and she had a blast.

Heading to a Twins game tonight; should be a lot of fun! Haven’t been to a real baseball game in a few years. Got some tickets down by home plate for only $50.00 a pop. Just goes to show you the difference between the NY and MN markets. Have to love the web…was able to purchase and print the tickets on line. No need for will call. Sweet.