It was another low key weekend for the McCarthy's as Liesel and I are still fighting off the last few germs that are refusing to give up without a fight. We are much better than last weekend, and were able to go out to our friends for dinner on Friday evening. The Talmage's had prepared some delicious salmon for us, which melted in our mouths. The highlight for me was the decadent dessert, consisting of home-made brownies, with Chocolate Chip Ice-cream and as much hot fudge sauce that your heart desired!! We all had a great time together, and Nath loved playing with Sarah and Faith, while Josh followed their pet Labrador around most of the evening. The adults played a board game after dinner, and it was the men versus the ladies. I am happy to announce that the men were claimed victory in both games - a perfect ending to a great evening :)
Saturday was very laid back. Gym was still out of the question (as it would go against the Dr's instruction of ensuring we "get plenty of rest"), so we spent the morning lazing around the house. After lunch, Liesel took Nath to the library for another Brick Builder's Club. I stayed at home and caught up on some movies I had previously recorded, while Josh napped.
Later that afternoon, Liesel and I got dressed up to go out for a second night in a row (which is as rare as a total eclipse of the sun). We arranged a babysitter for the boys, and headed to a restaurant called the Pub. It's is a wonderful place that is based on a English pub, and offers the same food that you would typically only find in England. We met up with Liesel's friend and her husband for a wonderful evening out! The food was absolutely incredible!! The calamari starter was cooked to perfection, and the main course of fish and chips was just as good!!
On Sunday, the boys all headed to Church, while Liesel stayed at home to get some much needed rest. Once we returned, I was fortunate enough to speak to my family on Skype. Liesel headed out to a baby shower after lunch, and the rest of the afternoon was devoted to playing on the Wii with Nathan, while Josh napped. Nathan and I also had a fun chat with Liesel's brother in England. You've got to love SKype and how it makes living abroad so much easier!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Quarantined!
This was a first for the McCarthy family. Liesel, Joshua and myself were each diagnosed with a virus this past week. In fact, all four of us had an appointment with a doctor within 48 hours. It started on Tuesday, when Nath was diagnosed with Strep. Fortunately for him, he was prescribed some antibiotics and he was back to his normal happy self 24 hours later. Liesel, Josh and I went to the doctors on Thursday. We all tested negative for Strep, so the doc's best conclusion for our symptoms, it must be a virus.....
So needless to say, with 75% of the McCarthy family feeling under the weather, we spent most of the weekend in the comfort of our warm house. This was a great idea considering this was the coldest weekend recorded so far this season. When we woke up on Saturday morning, the temperature outside was a frigid 5 degrees (-15C) and we found ice on the inside of our windows!! Nathan and I did venture outside at 2pm (when the air had warmed up to a balmy 17 degrees/-8C). Every few weeks, we sign Nathan up for the Brick Builders Club at our local library, where children 6 - 13 years of age get an hour to play with a huge selection of Lego. He loves this time and uses his imagination to come up with some remarkable models!
That evening, we still had our regular family fun night. My choice was to play the board game, Ticket To Ride. Liesel suggested that we make a fire in the fireplace and play on the carpet in front of the flickering flames!
We decided to skip church on Sunday morning, and again spent the day indoors, although Liesel did brave the weather for a quick grocery shopping trip for a few essential items. Throughout the day, Hurricane Josh struck multiple times. The first wave hit when he discovered that the cushions on the couch are removable, and soon the couch was stripped bare, and had become his new "boat"! The second wave hit shortly afterwards, when a bowl of popcorn that he was snacking on was directly in the path of the storm. Once the storm had passed, the playroom was covered in a layer of what Nathan called "snow". The strength of the hurricane became evident when Josh toppled his wooden activity table and the proceeded to push around the house! The fourth and final wave hit when our backs were turned for no more than 10 seconds. Josh had found the family size box of tissues, and managed to liberate them one by one, all over the play room floor! On the bright side, we survived the weekend and Hurricane Josh's destruction. After a bit of cleanup, everything was back in its place, the boys were put to bed and Liesel and I could finally rest our "virus-ridden" bodies ;-)
So needless to say, with 75% of the McCarthy family feeling under the weather, we spent most of the weekend in the comfort of our warm house. This was a great idea considering this was the coldest weekend recorded so far this season. When we woke up on Saturday morning, the temperature outside was a frigid 5 degrees (-15C) and we found ice on the inside of our windows!! Nathan and I did venture outside at 2pm (when the air had warmed up to a balmy 17 degrees/-8C). Every few weeks, we sign Nathan up for the Brick Builders Club at our local library, where children 6 - 13 years of age get an hour to play with a huge selection of Lego. He loves this time and uses his imagination to come up with some remarkable models!
That evening, we still had our regular family fun night. My choice was to play the board game, Ticket To Ride. Liesel suggested that we make a fire in the fireplace and play on the carpet in front of the flickering flames!
We decided to skip church on Sunday morning, and again spent the day indoors, although Liesel did brave the weather for a quick grocery shopping trip for a few essential items. Throughout the day, Hurricane Josh struck multiple times. The first wave hit when he discovered that the cushions on the couch are removable, and soon the couch was stripped bare, and had become his new "boat"! The second wave hit shortly afterwards, when a bowl of popcorn that he was snacking on was directly in the path of the storm. Once the storm had passed, the playroom was covered in a layer of what Nathan called "snow". The strength of the hurricane became evident when Josh toppled his wooden activity table and the proceeded to push around the house! The fourth and final wave hit when our backs were turned for no more than 10 seconds. Josh had found the family size box of tissues, and managed to liberate them one by one, all over the play room floor! On the bright side, we survived the weekend and Hurricane Josh's destruction. After a bit of cleanup, everything was back in its place, the boys were put to bed and Liesel and I could finally rest our "virus-ridden" bodies ;-)
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Just another Winter weekend :-)
Another Sunday night rolls by and that means another week closer to Spring! We had some heavier snow earlier on in the week, but it tapered off in time for the weekend. This was good for us, as the snow didn't hamper any of our weekend excursions.
Our first excursion took us to our friends house for dinner on Friday night. We all had a great time chatting and playing games, and headed home at 10pm with two sleepy boys in the back of the car.
On Saturday morning, Liesel left the house before 9am to go shopping with a girlfriend. The boys and I left the house right after 9 to head to the gym, for my second class of muscle group torture. That afternoon I spoke to my mom and sister on Skype*, and my sister and I had a good, long "catch-up" chat! That evening was family fun night, and Liesel had secured the recent animated hit, "Despicable Me", from the library for us! Nathan and I really enjoyed the movie, although we stopped it halfway due to some members of the audience having heavy eyelids. (Nathan and I finished watching it on Sunday night, while Liesel was more intrigued with the Australian Open.)
We headed to Providence Church on Sunday morning. That afternoon, Liesel had her "catch-up" Skype* call with her brother in England. The rest of the afternoon was a low key affair, except for an impromptu visit to our local grocery store by yours truly to get some desperately needed groceries. So there you have it - another weekend round up!
* I am not paid by Skype for any promotional material contained in my blog (although I think I should be :P). If anybody knows of a way to earn additional cash from large corporates, please let me know :)
Our first excursion took us to our friends house for dinner on Friday night. We all had a great time chatting and playing games, and headed home at 10pm with two sleepy boys in the back of the car.
On Saturday morning, Liesel left the house before 9am to go shopping with a girlfriend. The boys and I left the house right after 9 to head to the gym, for my second class of muscle group torture. That afternoon I spoke to my mom and sister on Skype*, and my sister and I had a good, long "catch-up" chat! That evening was family fun night, and Liesel had secured the recent animated hit, "Despicable Me", from the library for us! Nathan and I really enjoyed the movie, although we stopped it halfway due to some members of the audience having heavy eyelids. (Nathan and I finished watching it on Sunday night, while Liesel was more intrigued with the Australian Open.)
We headed to Providence Church on Sunday morning. That afternoon, Liesel had her "catch-up" Skype* call with her brother in England. The rest of the afternoon was a low key affair, except for an impromptu visit to our local grocery store by yours truly to get some desperately needed groceries. So there you have it - another weekend round up!
* I am not paid by Skype for any promotional material contained in my blog (although I think I should be :P). If anybody knows of a way to earn additional cash from large corporates, please let me know :)
Sunday, January 09, 2011
Winter workouts
Winter has finally made its presence felt here in North East Ohio! Up until now, our winter has been very mild, and snowfalls have been scarce. Our temperatures were actually in the upper 50's (mid teens C) over the New Year weekend, which turned all of the snow that was left on the ground into it's liquid form - giving us unobstructed views of our green lawns! But less than one week later, Mother Nature came to restore her reputation and snow has fallen steadily from Thursday night until Saturday afternoon - covering the earth with her frigid winter coat! In fact, my snow thrower was even required to clear our driveway for the first time this season on Friday morning.
On Saturday morning, it was all hands on deck at 8am as we tried getting everyone ready to head out to the gym. Our New Year's INTENTIONS (not resolutions - Liesel's wording) was to join a gym and workout as regularly as possible, and Saturday mornings were set aside to go together as family. The reason we were rushing, is that Liesel and I wanted to make the 9:30am class, Power Sculpt, which we did! It was our first fitness class in years, and we were definitely put through our paces. The fifty minute session touched most of our major muscle groups, and got our heart rates up! In fact, a few hours later, our muscles started protesting and by the next day, we knew exactly which muscles received attention during the class.
As we drove home from the gym, the snow was coming down rapidly, which gave us an idea. Once we had finished lunch - we dressed the boys in their snow suits and hit the slopes with our sleds for the first time this season. Nathan had an absolute blast, and Josh enjoyed the thrill of the downhill ride. He did not enjoy the snow blowing into his face, and the trek back up the hill! If he is anything like Nathan, he will soon grow to love the snow and will not be able to get enough the frozen powder!
That was our second workout that day! The rest of the afternoon was a lot more relaxed, as Liesel and Josh had afternoon naps, and I went to the stores to exchange some items. To close off the day, it was Nathan's choice of family fun night, and he chose to play some board games.
Sunday's weather was absolutely beautiful. Despite it being 9 degrees outside (-12C), we had blue skies and the sun reflecting off the freshly fallen snow! Liesel was on duty in the church's nursery so I went in to the main service alone. Afterward, I picked up Nathan and we went shopping for a DS game, with the money that he had been saving up, as well as the allowance he had earned the day before! We found the Mario Bros game he was looking for and needless to say, we did not see much of him the rest of the day :P Sunday afternoon was even more laid back than Saturday - with no-one opting to leave the warm confines of the house.
Later that evening, after a delicious roast chicken dinner, and once the boys were put to bed, Liesel and I put our sore legs up and watched the comedy/action movie "Killers". It was a great way to end off a great weekend! Now only if my muscles would stop aching........
On Saturday morning, it was all hands on deck at 8am as we tried getting everyone ready to head out to the gym. Our New Year's INTENTIONS (not resolutions - Liesel's wording) was to join a gym and workout as regularly as possible, and Saturday mornings were set aside to go together as family. The reason we were rushing, is that Liesel and I wanted to make the 9:30am class, Power Sculpt, which we did! It was our first fitness class in years, and we were definitely put through our paces. The fifty minute session touched most of our major muscle groups, and got our heart rates up! In fact, a few hours later, our muscles started protesting and by the next day, we knew exactly which muscles received attention during the class.
As we drove home from the gym, the snow was coming down rapidly, which gave us an idea. Once we had finished lunch - we dressed the boys in their snow suits and hit the slopes with our sleds for the first time this season. Nathan had an absolute blast, and Josh enjoyed the thrill of the downhill ride. He did not enjoy the snow blowing into his face, and the trek back up the hill! If he is anything like Nathan, he will soon grow to love the snow and will not be able to get enough the frozen powder!
That was our second workout that day! The rest of the afternoon was a lot more relaxed, as Liesel and Josh had afternoon naps, and I went to the stores to exchange some items. To close off the day, it was Nathan's choice of family fun night, and he chose to play some board games.
Sunday's weather was absolutely beautiful. Despite it being 9 degrees outside (-12C), we had blue skies and the sun reflecting off the freshly fallen snow! Liesel was on duty in the church's nursery so I went in to the main service alone. Afterward, I picked up Nathan and we went shopping for a DS game, with the money that he had been saving up, as well as the allowance he had earned the day before! We found the Mario Bros game he was looking for and needless to say, we did not see much of him the rest of the day :P Sunday afternoon was even more laid back than Saturday - with no-one opting to leave the warm confines of the house.
Later that evening, after a delicious roast chicken dinner, and once the boys were put to bed, Liesel and I put our sore legs up and watched the comedy/action movie "Killers". It was a great way to end off a great weekend! Now only if my muscles would stop aching........
Sunday, January 02, 2011
Packing away 2010 and running into 2011
First of all, I want to wish you more laughter, greater joy, and total satisfaction in this New Year, 2011! 2010 now seems like a blur as routine kicks in and we hurtle headfirst into 2011.
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year together as a family. I was fortunate enough to be able to take time off and spend the last week and a half at home with the family. Not only did I have some great quality time with the Liesel and the boys, but I was also able to knock a number of items off the "Honey-Do" list. Some of these items included:
We also toured our new gym together and got Nathan's approval of the Child Care facility before signing up!! Speaking of physical activities, we paid our first visit to the gym as a family on Saturday January 1st to kick off 2011!
On the subject of physical activities, Nathan, Josh, myself and even Liesel, spent many hours in our basement playing Tag, Hide and Go Seek, Soccer, and Basketball! We also spent quality time playing board games with Nathan - usually while Josh slept ;-)
So all-in-all - the holiday season was a memorable and productive one for the McCarthy family! We are lloking forward to a happier and healthier year ahead!
We had a wonderful Christmas and New Year together as a family. I was fortunate enough to be able to take time off and spend the last week and a half at home with the family. Not only did I have some great quality time with the Liesel and the boys, but I was also able to knock a number of items off the "Honey-Do" list. Some of these items included:
- Liesel driving 3 hours (one way) to one of her favorite stores to purchase a new couch for the playroom
- Setting up the above couch in the playroom, and moving existing couch to the basement
- Replacing the broken pop up drain stopper in the children's bath tub
- Signed up for a family membership at the new gym
- Bought AND installed a whole house humidifier to get some much needed moisture back into the home (this took me 2 days to complete, and included me cutting holes into the ductwork :-o)
- Took my car in for its service
On the subject of physical activities, Nathan, Josh, myself and even Liesel, spent many hours in our basement playing Tag, Hide and Go Seek, Soccer, and Basketball! We also spent quality time playing board games with Nathan - usually while Josh slept ;-)
So all-in-all - the holiday season was a memorable and productive one for the McCarthy family! We are lloking forward to a happier and healthier year ahead!
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