He goes to Eleven

After the hammer fall yesterday, work was strangely more tranquil. Even though we were all a bit down, at least we weren't biting our nails. I actually got a lot done... and snuck out for some lunch at a new Deli called "Mort's" in Golden Valley. Matzo Ball Soup was good, as were the complimentary pickles (one garlic, one sour, and a pickled tomato!). The pastrami sandwich was thick cut, tender, and piled several inches high, with a side of homemade chips that were scandalously delicious. A good deli experience really smooths over everything.

When I got home I was exhausted - five days of teaching in a row plus the added stresses got a bit tiring. So I tried to take a nap, but the kids were playing "sound like a bowling alley", so the noise kept me on the edge of consciousness until they just gave up any pretense of NOT being in my room and jumped right on top of me yelling "TIME TO GET UP DADDY!!!!"

We headed out to the Chatterbox pub for an early dinner... Isaac was in rare form: He was dancing like a maniac to all of the great 80's hits, and socializing with all of the other patrons. They have old game consoles there, and he would sidle up to any kid playing and try to "have a turn???"

The gentleman he is, when the waitress came by, he ordered a chocolate milk for himself and "Diet Coke for Mommy". On the way out the door, he bolted back to the table and stole a last sip of her Diet Coke. He looked unreasonably pleased with himself.

We're hitting spring cleaning early, and our manifesto is "no boxes, no hiding" - so we're going into ALL of the crap corners and finding things. Tonight it was the "spider room" off the basement where we had stored old toys and mementoes in plastic bins. The allergens were insane and we're all reeling... but it's been fun to find old treasures, and Bella can't believe some of the cool things we have. I've been checking Ebay and have found that around 10% of my "old" plastic star trek and alien toys from my binge in the 1990s are actually worth something, even in the non-mint condition they're in, so I'll be hitting the Bay.

The kids are asleep... Isaac amused me by calling me in after being in bed for a half hour: He had piled all of his blankets and toys in the middle of the bed, and had laid his pillow across the top, and was stretched out on top of it all. He was a good foot off of the mattress, and was giggling quietly. I rearranged it all and re-tucked him in, and he dozed off immediately. Clever boy.

And Bella picked out a book at Wild Rumpus today, and read it to me for bedtime. She's getting SO good at reading... and she was so pleased to have been able to read me the whole thing. She did it twice actually, then we had a good cuddle.

Time to curl up by the fire, read more Anathem, and enjoy a spot of Lagavulin to finish the week.