Sunday, October 30, 2011
Fall in full force!
Above, are some photos from one of the Cleveland Metroparks within walking distance from our office. As you can see, the fall colors are putting on a spectacular display. We have also had a lot of beautiful days and a few rainy days. The latter will hopefully no longer be too much of a concern for us, as, weather-permitting, our roof will be replaced on Monday! So far, the weather forecast looks favorable.....
As for the weekend, we were blessed with two sunny days. Even though the morning temperatures are close to freezing, the sunshine brings up the the temperatures to the 50's (10C). On Saturday morning, we dropped Liesel's car off for an oil change, and then Liesel and Nathan spent some quality time together at the library, and a new neighborhood ice cream store, where you select your ice-cream (from 16 flavors), and your toppings. Toppings include: all kinds of sauces, chocolate chips, nuts, brownies, cookies and the list goes on and on. Once your frozen creation is done, you go and pay for it by its weight!
On Sunday, we had a lazy start to the day, before getting ready for Church at 10:45. The afternoon included finishing the mowing that I started on Saturday, watching football and playing Mario Bros Super Slugger Baseball with Nath. Liesel prepared a delicious roast chicken for dinner, which we finished off with her signature dessert, Creme Brulee, while watching "The Amazing Race" who were racing through Africa! It was strange how similar Malawi looked to South Africa!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Rain, rain go away!
Since last week's blog, each week day consisted of flood watches, and the occasional flood warning from National Weather Service due to the consistent precipitation that settled over North East Ohio. Unfortunately, this weather also took advantage of the leak in Nathan's bedroom, and we literally had water rolling down the inside of the bedroom wall and pooling under the carpet. This prompted Liesel to temporarily move Nathan to our guest bedroom, as we wait for the dampness to disappear! We are also desperate for the roofers to come and replace the roof for us, so we can get his wall repaired, and then ultimately, move him back to his room. But as the rain falls, the roofer's existing work orders are put on hold, meaning longer waits for those customers further down on their list :(
So, you can imagine how happy we were to see the bright yellow orb in the sky on Saturday and Sunday! In fact we celebrated the sunshine by relaxing and taking the weekend in our stride. On Saturday morning, we dropped off my car for a complimentary service, and then headed to some toy shops to look at potential gifts for the boys. That afternoon, was really laid back with playing baseball on the Wii, and football in the front yard. Some parts were still heavily water logged and sometimes it seemed like we were playing in a rice paddy! For family fun night, we played Twister, which Nathan loved, and his parents not so much... It reminded us that we are not nearly as flexible as we thought we were. It seemed like each spin of the wheel was accompanied by an extra groan as we struggled to move our limbs to the designated color on the mat...
Sunday was even more relaxed than the day before, as Nathan and Josh seemed to have a runny nose. So we decided to keep them home and skip church for a change. Some activities included more Wii, videos, chats with family, playing with Lego and reading books. Later on we all headed outdoors for a bit, and did the one chore that signals the eminent arrival of winter. It was time to pack away the summer furniture and equipment on the patio and store it in the garage during the harsher winter months. We could still have some fun out of it as the boys found some scooters that they hadn't used in a while, and zigzagged between the cars on the driveway.
All in all it was a wonderfully sunny, and relaxing weekend for the McCarthy's!
So, you can imagine how happy we were to see the bright yellow orb in the sky on Saturday and Sunday! In fact we celebrated the sunshine by relaxing and taking the weekend in our stride. On Saturday morning, we dropped off my car for a complimentary service, and then headed to some toy shops to look at potential gifts for the boys. That afternoon, was really laid back with playing baseball on the Wii, and football in the front yard. Some parts were still heavily water logged and sometimes it seemed like we were playing in a rice paddy! For family fun night, we played Twister, which Nathan loved, and his parents not so much... It reminded us that we are not nearly as flexible as we thought we were. It seemed like each spin of the wheel was accompanied by an extra groan as we struggled to move our limbs to the designated color on the mat...
Sunday was even more relaxed than the day before, as Nathan and Josh seemed to have a runny nose. So we decided to keep them home and skip church for a change. Some activities included more Wii, videos, chats with family, playing with Lego and reading books. Later on we all headed outdoors for a bit, and did the one chore that signals the eminent arrival of winter. It was time to pack away the summer furniture and equipment on the patio and store it in the garage during the harsher winter months. We could still have some fun out of it as the boys found some scooters that they hadn't used in a while, and zigzagged between the cars on the driveway.
All in all it was a wonderfully sunny, and relaxing weekend for the McCarthy's!
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Nathan's Weekend of Birthday Celebrations!
On Monday, our oldest son turns seven years old! Turning seven is a big deal in our household, and we don't just celebrate it on one day. Here, we celebrate the whole weekend! Nathan was fortunate enough to have the day off school on Friday (as did most school children in Ohio), so that was a great start to his birthday weekend!
On Saturday, Liesel and I made and decorated his Space Shuttle Birthday Cake! Liesel made the cake, I cut out the shape, then Liesel covered it in a thick, smooth layer of frosting, and then I added the finishing touches, such as windows, tail, writing "Nathan" and finishing the trim. Have a look at his cake below, and see what great teamwork can accomplish (even if I do say so myself):
That afternoon I took Nathan and a couple of his friends bowling, where they had oodles of fun bowling with ultra-violet lights, glow in the dark balls and laser shows!
After two games, we all headed back to our house to "ignite" the space shuttle, sing happy birthday, and play a new game on the Wii that one of Nathan's gave him! Nathan has since spent many, many hours playing this new game!
On Sunday afternoon, we had our close friends over for another "party" for Nathan. While Nathan and his friends ran around the house, Jim and I watched football and the two ladies chatted! It was a great time together. We enjoyed pizza, brownies and another pumpkin-flavored birthday cake! Once the football was over, and another happy birthday song dedicated to Nath, our friends headed home. Liesel and I decided it was time to bring out his remaining birthday presents. The reason we gave them to him the night before was that I am taking Nathan out for a pancake breakfast before school on Monday, so there won't be time to sit around opening presents once we wake up! And on Monday evening, he will be going out for dinner too! Four full days to celebrate one's birthday is really special, and we know Nath loved every minute! So Happy Birthday Nath! Mom and dad are so very proud of you and we look forward to many, many more birthday's together!
On Saturday, Liesel and I made and decorated his Space Shuttle Birthday Cake! Liesel made the cake, I cut out the shape, then Liesel covered it in a thick, smooth layer of frosting, and then I added the finishing touches, such as windows, tail, writing "Nathan" and finishing the trim. Have a look at his cake below, and see what great teamwork can accomplish (even if I do say so myself):
That afternoon I took Nathan and a couple of his friends bowling, where they had oodles of fun bowling with ultra-violet lights, glow in the dark balls and laser shows!
After two games, we all headed back to our house to "ignite" the space shuttle, sing happy birthday, and play a new game on the Wii that one of Nathan's gave him! Nathan has since spent many, many hours playing this new game!
On Sunday afternoon, we had our close friends over for another "party" for Nathan. While Nathan and his friends ran around the house, Jim and I watched football and the two ladies chatted! It was a great time together. We enjoyed pizza, brownies and another pumpkin-flavored birthday cake! Once the football was over, and another happy birthday song dedicated to Nath, our friends headed home. Liesel and I decided it was time to bring out his remaining birthday presents. The reason we gave them to him the night before was that I am taking Nathan out for a pancake breakfast before school on Monday, so there won't be time to sit around opening presents once we wake up! And on Monday evening, he will be going out for dinner too! Four full days to celebrate one's birthday is really special, and we know Nath loved every minute! So Happy Birthday Nath! Mom and dad are so very proud of you and we look forward to many, many more birthday's together!
Sunday, October 09, 2011
Heavenly week of weather!
In what seems to be the polar opposite of last weekend's wet, and wintry weather, we have been graced with a string warm, sunny days! Temperatures topped out at 80 degrees (27C), and the boys were running around shirtless again. This weekend's goal was to take things easy and take advantage of the beautiful weather., and I think that we easily achieved that goal!
On Saturday morning, Liesel left the house at 6:20am because she was selling a bunch of clothes and toys that the boys had outgrown at the local Kid's Re-Sale event, which opened to the public at 7am. This left me in charge of the boys for the morning, so my first order of business was to whip up a batch of cinnamon and choc chip pancakes for breakfast. Afterwards, we got dressed, cleaned up and headed to the gym. I had an intense workout class, and 36 hours later each muscle group that was worked, is still letting me exactly how hard they worked!!! Chest, biceps, abs and hamstrings have all made themselves known...
After gym, the boys headed to Lowes, a home improvement store, to buy a flag pole for Nathan's wind sock. I had this idea to attach the pole to his jungle gym, so the windsock could easily catch passing breezes. So after we got home, I got out the saw, drill, and spray paint and got working on the new addition to his gym. Here is the end result, and do take note of the weather!
That afternoon I had the "privilege" of mowing my lawn, and although that it had been 5 days since the last rainfall, parts of the yard were still muddy! Even still, that didn't stop Nathan and I from throwing a football around in the evening after supper!
On Sunday, I took the boys shopping again, and then went to a playground to soak up this weather! The afternoon saw me in front of my computer due to some customer issues, but I made sure to take some time outs for some outdoor play. So all in all, a laid back weekend.
On Saturday morning, Liesel left the house at 6:20am because she was selling a bunch of clothes and toys that the boys had outgrown at the local Kid's Re-Sale event, which opened to the public at 7am. This left me in charge of the boys for the morning, so my first order of business was to whip up a batch of cinnamon and choc chip pancakes for breakfast. Afterwards, we got dressed, cleaned up and headed to the gym. I had an intense workout class, and 36 hours later each muscle group that was worked, is still letting me exactly how hard they worked!!! Chest, biceps, abs and hamstrings have all made themselves known...
After gym, the boys headed to Lowes, a home improvement store, to buy a flag pole for Nathan's wind sock. I had this idea to attach the pole to his jungle gym, so the windsock could easily catch passing breezes. So after we got home, I got out the saw, drill, and spray paint and got working on the new addition to his gym. Here is the end result, and do take note of the weather!
On Sunday, I took the boys shopping again, and then went to a playground to soak up this weather! The afternoon saw me in front of my computer due to some customer issues, but I made sure to take some time outs for some outdoor play. So all in all, a laid back weekend.
Sunday, October 02, 2011
A touch of winter.
While last weekend came with temperatures in the mid 70's (25C), this weekend gave us a glimpse of Winter. With the continuous rainfall, temperatures struggled to rise above 50F (10C)!
So with the gloomy weather outside, we thought a cardio and weight workout at the gym would warm us up on Saturday morning. Liesel and I worked up a sweat while the boys entertained themselves in the child care of our local gym.
Since we were mostly house-bound this weekend, I did something unusual and took on the role of baker on Saturday afternoon. My creation: chocolate fudge, made from condensed milk and chocolate chips! It turned out pretty well in my biased opinion. But don't just take my word for it, ask any of the three independent judges: Liesel, Josh or Nathan. That evening as the sun set and the temperatures started dropping, it was the perfect time to get a fire going in the fireplace, the first of this cooler season.
The next morning, the temperature in the house was the coldest it had been since last winter, which prompted us to turn the heat on, another first of the season :( Hopefully this will be a temporary measure as the forecast calls for warmer weather in the coming week.
With this cooler weather, Nathan picked up another bout of Strep Throat. Liesel took him to a pharmacy on Sunday morning, to confirm our diagnosis and to pick up another round of anti-biotics for the poor boy. Josh and I headed to the Grace Baptist Church, where I got to hear a great sermon on parenting. That afternoon I took advantage of the dry hours, and managed to get the front yard mowed, before the heavens opened up again. So once again we were confined to the inside of the house, as we rode out the remaining weekend hours. However, there were a few moments that Liesel spotted when the sun put on a spectacular display as it bade the weekend farewell.
Finally, I wanted to share an update on my father's condition. He underwent surgery on Saturday morning in Cape Town to remove the brain tumor. The surgery was successful, and he was kept sedated for at least 24 hours after the surgery. When they woke him up today, he seemed to be doing well and very much his old self again, laughing and making jokes with the nurses. He feels fine and is not in any pain, and all is well. He will still be in ICU for a few days to be monitored during his recovery. Praise the Lord! Thanks again for all your prayers!
So with the gloomy weather outside, we thought a cardio and weight workout at the gym would warm us up on Saturday morning. Liesel and I worked up a sweat while the boys entertained themselves in the child care of our local gym.
Since we were mostly house-bound this weekend, I did something unusual and took on the role of baker on Saturday afternoon. My creation: chocolate fudge, made from condensed milk and chocolate chips! It turned out pretty well in my biased opinion. But don't just take my word for it, ask any of the three independent judges: Liesel, Josh or Nathan. That evening as the sun set and the temperatures started dropping, it was the perfect time to get a fire going in the fireplace, the first of this cooler season.
The next morning, the temperature in the house was the coldest it had been since last winter, which prompted us to turn the heat on, another first of the season :( Hopefully this will be a temporary measure as the forecast calls for warmer weather in the coming week.
With this cooler weather, Nathan picked up another bout of Strep Throat. Liesel took him to a pharmacy on Sunday morning, to confirm our diagnosis and to pick up another round of anti-biotics for the poor boy. Josh and I headed to the Grace Baptist Church, where I got to hear a great sermon on parenting. That afternoon I took advantage of the dry hours, and managed to get the front yard mowed, before the heavens opened up again. So once again we were confined to the inside of the house, as we rode out the remaining weekend hours. However, there were a few moments that Liesel spotted when the sun put on a spectacular display as it bade the weekend farewell.
Finally, I wanted to share an update on my father's condition. He underwent surgery on Saturday morning in Cape Town to remove the brain tumor. The surgery was successful, and he was kept sedated for at least 24 hours after the surgery. When they woke him up today, he seemed to be doing well and very much his old self again, laughing and making jokes with the nurses. He feels fine and is not in any pain, and all is well. He will still be in ICU for a few days to be monitored during his recovery. Praise the Lord! Thanks again for all your prayers!
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