Happy Birthday to Liesel!

Wow! What a weekend of extremes!! It all started on Friday night when we took Liesel to buy some rose bushes, Nathan's and Josh's birthday gift to her! It was very cute seeing Nathan and Josh share the shopping cart at Lowe's. They received a few compliments from some of the staff there too!

On Saturday morning, Liesel's birthday, I got up at 6am to give Josh his bottle, allowing the birthday girl a few extra minutes in the comfort of our bed! Once everyone was awake and accounted for, Liesel went to a Sunday School training class and Nathan and I headed to a special Lego event at our local Walmart. Here we got to make Nathan his very own Lego crab, which he got to take home! It was a great male-bonding event for Nathan and myself!

When we got home, the next thing on my to-do list, was to remove a shrub from a bed in the front yard, and transplant it in the back. I followed that with cutting down a tree, and then mowing the lawn. I decided to start my own compost pile, by using the leaves from the tree that I cut down and the grass clippings! Hopefully I will have something worthwhile by next spring. The lunch break was very welcome at this point, but our dear Josh (aka Hurricane Josh) decided to knock the pitcher of lemonade over and cover our kitchen floor with the sweet juice. So lunch break turned into a clean up operation. OF course, even with the lemonade mopped up, the floor dried into a lovely sticky surface. So out with the steam mop to eliminate the stickiness.....
But wait... there's more! Remember those five rose buses that we bought the day before, well, apparently they don't plant themselves, so I went outside to dig five holes for them. By this time, it was getting late, so the boys needed to start their bedtime routine. So Liesel got Josh into bed, I readied Nathan for bed, and by now, I was completely spent!

To round off Liesel's birthday, we finally got to put our feet up, and enjoy a DVD together, while both boys pranced around their respective dreamlands!

On Sunday, we had a very laid back morning, a complete contrast to Saturday. We headed off to church at 10:30 - enjoyed a good service, and came home to pack for the "secret holiday destination." After Josh's afternoon nap, the car was packed and ready to head out to Great Wolf Lodge, about 45 minutes away! This is a resort with an indoor waterpark, including 9 slides a lazy river ride, and a four-story interactive treehouse water fort offering 12 levels of super-soaking fun! What makes this resort even better, is that the waterpark's temperature is kept at 84F/28C, so there is no need to worry about the Fall-like temperatures outside!


It didn't take long for the family to get into our bathing suits and head down to the waterpark! We had a great time together, going on the lazy river ride, and playing in the children's pook for a bit. Liesel went on a couple of the adult slides while I kept the two boys with me. Then Liesel took Josh and Nathan and I could go to some of the children's slides, which he loved! We did those slides over and over again, until it was 6pm, and we headed up to our room to bath and get dressed for dinner! It was a great couple of hours so far, and we look forward to relaxing here for a couple of days, as we celebrate Liesel's birthday, by relaxing, and just having good clean family fun!!!!

Curtains coming down on Summer!

One thing we love about Cleveland, is it's very distinctive seasons. Each season has it's beauty, and it's strict timetable. So, as September edges nearer and nearer, the trees in the neighborhood reluctantly change their color, and the cooler air makes its presence felt in North East Ohio. This weekend's weather gently reminded us that September is just over a week away. The temperatures were about 20F/12C lower than last weekend, but still very comfortable in the mid 70's (lower 20's C).

On Friday evening, when I walked into the house after work, it was announced that Nathan had decided that he wanted to go to his favorite restaurant, Max & Erma's, for dinner, for his family fun night. So five minutes later, everyone was bundled into the car and headed for the restaurant. The reason Nathan loves this restaurant so much, is not because of the food, but because his favorite female (other than his mom) works there. This is where his babysitter works, and he just loves her. Luckily for us, the food is good too, so we had an enjoyable evening!

On Saturday morning, Liesel and Nathan went shopping together, leaving Josh and me at home. Josh and I enjoyed the time together, as did Nath and his mom! When they returned we had lunch, and I then headed over to my ex-manager's house to borrow his pressure washer. It was good to do some catching up with my former boss, but I knew I had a lot of hard work in store for me. When I got home, I hooked up the pressure washer and started removing the old paint from the side porch railing! This was a project that I started last year, but due to lack of interest, it was put on hold.... With summer soon making an exit, the project was resurrected, and I spent the rest of the afternoon playing.. I mean, working with the washer and getting as much of the old paint off the rails as possible. I came inside for dinner, and then the started putting the ball in motion to get the two boys bathed and into bed. After Nathan was put to bed, Liesel and I did some much needed admin, and sorted out our medical insurance bills! Liesel then retired and I headed for my favorite couch to vegetate. After 45 minutes I heard some voices upstairs, so I went to investigate. There, lying on my side of the bed, was Nathan, in deep conversation with Liesel! It was very cute to see, but since 10pm was fast approaching, I escorted Nathan back to his bed and soon there was quiet in the house!

On Sunday, Liesel had to teach a Sunday School house, so she left for Church just after 9am. It was up to me to manage the boys, and get them ready for Church - which all worked out perfectly, and we drove into the church parking in time for the second service. Afterwards, we came home and Liesel and Josh went for their afternoon naps, and I succumbed to the peer pressure and dozed off on the couch in the playroom, while Nathan quietly watched some videos. At 3pm, we headed to my one colleague's house for a cookout with the guys that work out of our office (3 of us). Nathan had a great time playing Wii with the Steve's two sons. Steve, Tom and myself entertained ourselves outside with the game of cornhole (no - it is not slang for a body part!) This is actually a really fun game (also known as bean-bag toss - see the link) where the object is to throw a beanbag into a hole cut out of a wooden board, placed about 20 yards apart. Steve and I were in a team against Tom and his 15 year old son! Tom was not amused when we beat him in the first game, and knew that it would be mentioned in this blog (since Tom reads this blog!) So after a delicious dinner of hamburgers grilled by Steve, we were challenged to a rematch - so that Tom could salvage whatever was left of his reputation :P Feeling sorry for him, I let Tom beat us so that we could say that the competition was all square after the second game ;) (Ok - so I didn't let him beat me... he beat us fair and square!)
      
Tom and his girlfriend playing cornhole/Tom and Steve battling it out!


Josh and Steve having a conversation

But it was a fun afternoon, and everyone seemed to enjoy it and was a great way to close out the weekend!

Next weekend, I will be blogging from a secret location, as I am taking Liesel and the boys away for a mini-vacation to celebrate her birthday! They do not have a clue where I am taking them, as I want it to be a surprise for all of them! Stay tuned to see where we go next week...................

Summer Daze

Ah - summer is making her presence felt in North East Ohio. This weekend was accompanied by stunning weather, with temps hovering in the 90s (or mid thirties for the Celsius people). Friday night, my good friend came over to our place to see the new games for the Wii. Nathan loved giving him a guided tour of Wii Sports Resort. Once Nathan was put to bed, the men could finally get down to some hardcore gaming action! With games like Archery, Table Tennis, Wake Boarding, Dogfights, Basketball, Sword fighting, Frisbee etc, we were kept glued to the TV for a number of hours, pausing only to eat some Cheesecake!

After a late night, I had to get up early on Saturday morning to take my car to get its first service at 8am! No sleeping in for me this weekend! When we came home, Liesel asked me to entertain the boys inside the air-conditioned house, while she went outside to finish staining Nathan's swing-set. This was a project that I had initially started a number of months ago, but somehow it got shelved, until Liesel took it upon herself to finish it. But of course, once Nathan saw her "painting" he wanted a piece of the action too, and soon he was decorated in wood stain! That was when we decided to take him off that job and get him to help me clean out the swimming pool. Later that afternoon, we needed to cool down and headed to our freshly filled pool where we had a good time splashing around!

For Family Fun Night, Liesel chose to go to our favorite Mexican restaurant, Moe's, for dinner. Any family fun night involving food is always enjoyed by the McCarthy boys!!

It was another early rising on Sunday as I had to be at the church at 7:45 for practice before the service. Nathan told Liesel when they got to church, that he would prefer coming into the service with her than going to his regular Sunday School class. This morning's sermon, unbeknown to us, was about raising children in Christian households, and how important it was for the family to worship together on Sunday mornings. So it was special to have the three of us in the sanctuary together!

Straight after church, we went to a friend's house for the annual Worship and A/V Team barbecue! Rick, whose house we went to, had a beautiful, big swimming pool in the backyard with a slide running into it! This turned out to be a huge hit with Nathan as we climbed the stairs to the top of the slide and slid down at a decent speed into the 86F/30C water. This happened over, and over, and over again! In fact, I now have a bruise the size of a tennis ball on my tail bone where the slide's lip subtly gave it a beating each time I flew over it! Rick also has scuba equipment, which we (the adults) could take turns and explore the bottom of his pool. That too, was fun, and at least this activity left me with no bruises!! After a good afternoon of fun and relaxation, we headed home, to give the boys their dinner. Once Josh and Nathan were bathed, and Josh put down for the night, Liesel and I headed out to the hot evening to give the swing set, its second coat, before calling it a day at 8pm!!

Great weekend! (Sorry I left my camera at home, but I hope to get some pictures from another friend who was taking photos today - Watch this space!!!)

A Birthday to Remember

This weekend saw another candle added to the my birthday cake! Luckily, for my benefit, Liesel could only find one candle in the house which would have to suffice. :) On Saturday morning (my birthday), I got up and was treated to freshly baked chocolate croissants and a freshly brewed cup of java!

Then it was time to open the presents from friends and family around the US and from South Africa and Botswana! I especially enjoyed the chocolates and "stuff" from my mother. And my friend Ian and Renae's gift card to Mitchell's Ice Cream!! So there's goes my hopes of starting my diet this month!

It was raining most of Saturday, and when it was at it's lightest, we took a drive to Crocker Park and walked around. I visited my favorite store there, the Apple store, and pointed out what I would like for my next birthday :) It was the Apple Mac with 24" wide screen and the MIDI keyboard attached with the Bose sound system..... It's nice to know that at 35 years of age, one can still have dreams!

We came home - had some lunch and then I headed to the Church for a rehearsal with my band for our performance at the Songwriter's Showcase later that evening. The rehearsal went well and felt ready for my debut performance (See video of the performance below this blog!) I was back at the church at 5pm for final sound checks and we kicked off Providence Church's Third Songwriter's Showcase at 6:30pm. Liesel and my boys were there to support me, along with about a hundred others. When it was my band's turn, we took the stage and got ready to perform! Before I kicked off the song, the MC told everyone that it was my birthday, and I got an impromptu Happy Birthday sung to me :) Afterwards it was back to business, and I really enjoyed singing my song. Of course, there would have been no way I would have done anything like this if it weren't for the great band I had! Everyone was awesome! The rest of the evening's performances were also really good and enjoyable, but the highlight was when last band, the Covert Operation performed three songs! Very talented guys, including their 16 year old drummer, Joe, who is in our church, and was also the drummer in my band!!



On Sunday morning, Nathan woke me up by jumping on my bed at 7:30am. I had promised him the day before that we could play the new Wii game in the morning and he was holding me to my promise! So I stumbled down the stairs and we started playing the Wii SPorts Resort! He absolutely loved it, especially sending my character falling off the platform into the ocean with the Sword Play game! After a few hours of playing, we got cleaned up and headed to church. It was the hottest day this summer so far with the heat index of 105F/41C. We spent most of the day inside the walls of our air-conditioned house except for a quick dip in the inflatable pool in the backyard.

Another highlight of my birthday weekend was seeing my eight month old Josh, giving every ounce of energy into getting up and crawling. It was so rewarding to watch the little guy put all the effort into moving forward and seeing the look of satisfaction after moving a few inches forward! At this rate he will be fully mobile by the time of my next blog! Of course that means it's time to start baby-proofing the house!!!

All in all, I had a very enjoyable birthday weekend and thank you to everyone who wished me, sent me e-mails, and wrote on my Facebook wall. You made my day extra special!

Debut performance of Lost (music & lyrics by Grant McCarthy)

Lost

I'm lost and I'm broken
Fell into the ocean
Been carried away by the waves

So why did I dive in
To this ocean of sin
Leaving the safety of my Rock

Chorus

In desperation
I cry out again
Needing my Sav'or To come rescue me
And He is faithful
reaches out his hand
And gives me the hope that I never had

I'm stuck on this island
That noone else can find
Jack, Locke or Sawyer can't save me!

Why do I trust in man?
And their feeble plans
When Jesus is the only way

With thanks to:
Lindsey Shire - Vocals
Tammy Bosley - Piano
Ron Bosley - Electric Guitar
Mike McCormack - Bass Guitar
Joe Gavorski - Drums

All good things....

As the saying goes: All good things must come to an end, and unfortunately Gabi heads back to Botswana tomorrow. :( Liesel, Gabi and Nathan are definitely not looking forward to the drive to the airport and back. It was such a great blessing having her with us for the past 18 days! AT least this past weekend was filled with "all good things"!

This weekend was a weekend with many special memories made! It was our guest of honor's turn to decide what to do for our weekly Family Fun night. Gabi wanted to have a picnic at Lake Erie. So after I got home from work, the food was already prepared and we jumped into the cars and headed to the beach! After a tasty dinner, Nathan, Gabi and myself went down to the water, while Liesel took Josh home and got him ready for bed. Nathan and I ventured into the lake's warm waters while Gabi watched and took some photos. Nathan loved "catching" the waves. Eventually we headed back home around 7:30pm for a bath to cleanse ourselves :P



On Saturday, I offered to keep the boys occupied giving Liesel and Gabi the freedom to shop at leisure. When they returned, Gabi surprised us with a beautiful gift for the house, an elegant work desk that we could use in the playroom that is adjacent to our kitchen. Ever since we moved into the house, Liesel's and my laptop have occupied the valuable real estate on the kitchen counter, often leaving little room for her tasty creations! With the new desk, we have migrated Liesel's laptop and a number of other computer-related items from the counter to the desk, freeing up a chunk of space on the counter! What a difference.

It was then time for a first for the McCarthy family, a cruise on Lake Erie. We headed downtown and climbed aboard the GoodTime III ship that took us up the Cuyahoga River, and then out onto Lake Erie for a thoroughly enjoyable experience! We got some magnificent views of Cleveland, and the weather was perfect for it! In fact, it was so hot, that Liesel and myself left our premium seats on the upper deck and took Josh to sit inside where it was a bit cooler! Two hours later, our feet were on terra firma once again.

This Sunday - probably the highlight of my weekend - Gabi gave us strict instructions to not leave our bedroom in the morning. She and Nathan had made us a delicious breakfast and served it to us in bed at 8:30am! It was wonderful, I had a chocolate yogurt and a chocolate croissant - with a glass of orange juice, and Liesel had a yogurt and croissants with jam and cheese, and a mug of fresh coffee! That was very special! We soon polished off breakfast and got ready for Church. I really enjoyed our service today, especially the original song that Elisa Whiteman played during the offering. This coming weekend is our church's Songwriters Showcase, where people perform some original pieces that they composed. This year I will be entering my first ever song, and am really looking forward to how it will sound! Stay tuned for next week's blog to find out :) { I guess I need to start practicing!!!! }