Friday, October 30, 2009

A first for me...

Last weekend Mick, the kids, and I went to a wedding. We are at the stage in our life where we have a lot of friends getting married we average at least 10 a year right now. I know. Well this was a first for us...
Yes that is a baseball field. My first thought was well this girl must be the right girl because somehow John convinced her to get married on a baseball field. My second was...What should I wear?!? The wedding was really cool. Our friend Rachael sang which was probably my favorite part because I have been wanting to hear her sing for some time now. There were many unique things about the wedding. I thought it was great that they made it their own. Congratulations Mr. & Mrs. Hampton.

A picture of Mr. Tristan being his adorable self trying to patiently wait for cupcakes and running on the baseball field. :)

Mickaela taking a bath...I love it when her hair does that! :)

Mickaela and I after a craft show eating a little lunch outside a couple weeks ago. I just like how her pink stroller makes her eyes stand out. :)

This weekend will be Miss Mickaela's first Halloween so hold your breath I might just get some pictures up here of that. :)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Operation Assimilate Max: Round 2

Yesterday I left Max in his kennel all day because it was raining and cold outside and who wants to be out in that. Feeling like a good dog mom I went to work.

When I got home I let Max outside and gave him some food and was getting ready to go to Mick's brother's house to see his sister who is in the process of moving to Dallas.

So...I decided to let Max stay in the house but not in his kennel because it was still raining and I felt bad putting him back in his kennel after being in it all day. Again feeling like such a nice dog mom I left to see the family.

2 hours later this is what I return home to:

Operation Assimilate Max: FAIL!

Friday, October 23, 2009

Mom!

Tristan thrives on routine.  It's really the only thing that brings him, and us, peace.

One of the sweeter byproducts of having so much routine for him, is when things start to happen outside the norm we notice. After so long, it's become his routine that really makes his growth stand out. 

Right now a typical weeknight looks like this:
  1. Walk in the door
  2. Go to your seat Tristan
  3. Eat dinner
  4. Sneak half of dinner to Max while mommy and daddy aren't looking
  5. Play for a bit
  6. Bathtime with the sister
  7. (and this is the new part) "Mom!...  Mooom!...  MOm!", "Emmy's coming Tristan.", "Mom!  Mooom!  MOm! Mom-mie!"
I can't tell you how welcome his chatter is to my ears, and all the while Mickaela babbles away in the background.

My wife is a blessing to our kids, and all of them make our house a happy home... it's musical.

Friday, October 9, 2009

The Twitter Conundrum

There's a pizzeria near our house named Durkin's Pizza.  It's the kind of place that makes you want to support it.  Privately owned and operated, and run by one of the more interesting people you'll find anywhere, you can count on 3 things every time you go there:
  • A great atmosphere intentionally constructed to encourage conversation
  • Outstanding food at a good price
  • A warm welcome
The place is run by Michael Durkin, and the guy must spend 100+ hours a week working because he's been there every time I've been there, day or night.

My buddy Dave and I went to Durkin's last night for a late dinner around 9, and as usual Durkin was the lone employee on duty.  The happening restaurant was mostly empty, and the lull in business allowed for a great conversation between Durkin, Dave and Myself.

With U2 coming to town, the conversation eventually turned to the concert and how Bono is one of the only showmen who is worth $200.  Durkin's position... experiences are what make life valuable, and of all the things you can spend $200 on, an experience you will have for a lifetime ranks near the top.

So, what does this have to do with Twitter?

I completely agree with him.  One of my favorite things in the world is losing myself in a moment.  Allowing everything else to fade away and being consumed by the simple blessing of whatever I find myself doing.  In fact, that's my favorite thing about our newest social media phenomenon.  The small everyday experiences that make life enjoyable for us can now have a shadow of themselves conveyed through a blurb, and a photo.  We can share the breakfast with our kids, or the drinks with our friends, and let people into the joy God allows us to find in those moments.

So why is it a conundrum?

While I enjoy being let into other people's lives, for me, tweeting means I'm stepping out of the moment God has given me and reducing it to a glimpse to be consumed by a nameless group.  The gift of knowing that I'm currently living in a uniquely joyful experience is a slippery awareness for me.  As soon as I start thinking about sharing the moment, or as soon as I remove my thoughts from the experience so I can take a picture or type a tweet... the moment leaves me.  It's like the event loses it's uniqueness.  It's my own ADD version of a catch 22. 

All that to say, I think I've become a twitter voyeur.  I enjoy seeing how good God can be in the lives of my friends, and I enjoy living in the moment when I realize how good God is in my life. 

You may see me tweet interesting tid bits, or joke with my friends, or share an interesting quote, but for the most part... twitter feels like reduction of real life.  You'll have to talk to me in person for the good stuff, or if Em convinces me to write one, you might be able to read the blog post.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

The Worst Question of All Time at 4 AM

Hi everyone,

Last night was, by turns, the most disgusting and hysterical night yet in the Lesko household. (For all you guys trying to swat that one out of the park, you can suck it.) To set the stage a little bit, I need to share with you the plight of Max our dog.

Max is 10 months old, and the boy thrives on the time he spends with the family. Unfortunately, he also spends a lot of time alone. During our time at work he's in the back yard, during the night he's locked in his kennel. So for most of his day he rocks it old school solo. Now we can see him get depressed each time we put him outside or in his kennel, and damnit if he isn't such a good dog that it just breaks our heart, so we decided we were going to try to do something about all of his alone time.

The first step in operation Assimilate Max was to get him a portable doggy bed. The plan was to put the bed in his kennel for a while, then move it bit by bit to where we wanted him to spend the night, but ultimately allowing him the freedom to walk the house. The first step in moving the bed is to keep the door to the kennel closed, but unlocked, to see how Max will do with his new boundaries. Well last night around 1 am I woke up to hear Max roaming around the bedroom, and as I'm sure most of you understand my commitment to operation Assimilate Max waned strongly after being woken up in the middle of the night. I went and put him back in his kennel and locked the door. As I went back to bed, I thought I smelled something awful, so I checked the floor as best I could in the dark, and eventually brushed it off to Max having gas.

Fast Forward

4 AM

Mickaela is crying in her bedroom, and Emily and I are participating in our nightly standoff to see who loves our child more than sleep. Since I had already gotten up once with Max I steeled myself to out wait mom, and eventually, just according to my plan, Emily leaves the bed to see to Mickaela. About halfway down the hall I hear Em cry out, and being half asleep I sat bolt upright and asked if she was ok. Her response, "Mickey come here!" Thinking I'm walking into some kind of catastrophic hallway injury I dash from my bed to Emily in the hallway, and find her framed by the bathroom light. As I survey the scene I begin to notice things in slow motion, first Emily is standing as expected on one leg, holding her other leg as if injured. Next, there is something on the floor which she clearly stepped on. Third, that thing on the floor is a pile of poop. Fourth, Emily is not injured. As the two of us stood there in the middle of the night starting at each other over a pile of poop the following exchange took place.

Emily in a whiney voice: Mickey, what is that?

Me very matter of factly: It's poop.

Emily in an even more whiney voice: Who's poop is it?!?!

At that moment I caught a clear glimpse into the world Emily lives in. Living with a dog, and two Lesko boys, when she comes across a pile of poop on the floor she just isn't sure who it belongs to. "Who's poop is it?" is clearly the worst question that can possibly be asked at 4 AM. There is no scenario where that question starts or ends well.

Only God can possibly redeem such a warped reality. Please pray for her.

To my darling wife, I know I've done many things but to this day I have not, nor do I ever plan to, poop on the floor of our house. If the time ever comes where I do poop on the floor, I promise to tell you where before you step in it. I could have written this into our wedding vows but in my wildest dreams I couldn't imagine the scenario where such a thing would need to be clarified.

I love you, I'm sorry you stepped in dog poop barefoot. Have a good day at work.