the tonedef blog

Saturday started with a morning trip to Band Mom’s Mom’s eye doctor. Band Mom and I got up early and picked her mom up at 8:30 ON A SATURDAY. Her mom had a 9:00 appointment with the doctor. We got there a few minutes before 9 and the doctor wasn’t even there yet. Another lady was also there waiting. Both Band Mom’s Mom and this other lady were there just for a quick looksie and the doctor was the only one coming in, no staff or what not. The doctor showed a minute or so just after 9.

Then there was this old guy who showed up. The doctor asked him what he was doing there. Apparently he had fallen and hit his eye and needed it looked at. The doctor asked if he had an appointment. NO. Then why are you here. The man explained that he tried to call his primary doctor, but being Saturday there was no answer. So he just came here. I thought the doctor was going to explode. He asked again why he came here. The man then explained about calling his doctor and getting no answer and by the way he’s a senior citizen so he needed his eye looked at. Band Mom and I and the other lady were busy trying to stifle our giggles as this conversation went in circles for a couple of minutes.

Any way the doc finally took Band Mom’s Mom into an exam room and checked her out. Things looked good. The reason we were here was Thursday her mom got glaucoma/cataract surgery and had a lens implant. The lens dislodged overnight and she had emergency surgery on Friday to recover/replace the lens. Apparently things are going better with this one because we were in and out and Band Mom has to call on Monday to see what the next step is.

The rest of the day was spent running around and napping then getting things ready for our show tonight.

The running around part was I still need to go Christmas shopping. So while Band Mom did her thing around the house and checked up on her mom (and aunt), I took Things 1 & 2 out to go Christmas shopping. We thought we’d try the mall. HA! There were about a million people there and not much that any of us really liked as a gift for Band Mom. I had a couple of things on my list that I wanted to get for Band Mom, but as usual it was nothing specific, just some broad concepts that I was widdling closer to a set gift. We did pick up one thing that is going to be the gift from Thing 2 and is actually on Band Mom’s official wish list. I wanted to make a few other stops, but Things 1 & 2 were getting cranky so we ended up just going home. I still have Christmas Eve to shop so what’s the rush?

The show was The 2nd Annual Rock Against Cancer thrown by Lady And The Tramps. Ryan invited us to come and help out this worthy cause so how could we say know. (Also we are playing whores…) We all met up at Rock’s around 8:30 to get what little we needed to load and do a band shot. Then it was off to the Crazy Horse. When we got there Lady And The Tramps were just finishing up their opening set. Then they got our pal Kenn up. After Kenn was Paul and Jim’s other project Hollow Owl. They were pretty cool. They opened with Lit’s version of Father Christmas. Then there was another solo acoustic dude.

Finally it was our turn. This was the public debut of our new vocalist Michelle. After a little fumbling through the first song while the sound was being set, we rocked the joint. We had the crowd singing along on a bunch of tracks and just had a blast. After we finished our set, we asked Kenn to come up with us and sing In The End with me. All in all a good time.

After us, there was drawings and a couple of songs from L & t Ts. Then another act got up. I was starting to feel the effects of the long day so Band Mom and I decided to call it a night. We dropped Rock off on our way.

I hope they raised some money for the cause. We had a ball and are already looking forward to the 3rd Annual!

Thursday night. I get home from work and round up Thing 1 and head out to take her to Brownies. We had to stop at the store and pick up a gift bag since tonight was their grab bag for Christmas. We got the present Wednesday night, but didn’t think to get wrapping paper or gift bags. So we made a quick stop at Shop ‘n Save to get the gift bags and some Tylenol Extra Strength for Band Mom’s Mom. We ran in to my folks while we were there, got what we needed and headed out. Then I dropped her of at Brownies. I then went home and watched a little DVR until it was time to pick her up.

When I picked her up, we then made a trip to Band Mom’s Mom’s to drop of the Tylenol. She needs some pain killer since today was her eye surgery. Everything went well and Band Mom’s Aunt is staying with her mom for the next few days to make sure she is okay. We dropped that off then went to Arby’s to pick up some dinner for Band Mom and I. The little ones were going to eat stuff from home. Then it was home and dinner and the Steelers game.

The Steelers actually looked pretty good. A nice change from the last few weeks. They ran well, they passed well (actually better than well since Big Ben had a perfect passer rating), defense was strong, special teams was better than they have been. Then I got a call from Keyser. In the middle of the game!. Come on Keyz I don’t call you in the middle of NASCAR! Just teasing…

I chatted with Keyz for a while. I passed him over to Band Mom eventually so that I could go tuck Things 1 & 2 in to bed and read our nightly story. Band Mom convinced him to come jam with us in January for a practice and see what he thinks. He’s not committing to anything this is just a jam, but it is a step…

Anyhoo, I got to watch the majority of the second half undisturbed and watch the Steelers come up with a win for the first time in a few weeks. Unfortunately Willie left the game with a season ending injury, but Najeh stepped up and rushed for 100+ yards. Hopefully he can play at that level next week and into the play offs.

After the game it was off to bed. One more day of work untill a nice long break. I’m taking vacation days from Christmas to New Years so counting weekends I’m going 11 days without making the commute to WV. WOO HOO!

Sunday everyone slept in nice and late. Late enough that I couldn’t have gotten a McDonald’s breakfast even if I wanted to. Everyone got up and got dressed and had some breakfast. Last night while at practice the tree was decorated. Band Mom and Pooh were going to head out and do some Christmas shopping today. I had plans to watch the Steelers game. Band Mom and Pooh left just before the game started and I settled in with Things 1 & 2 to watch the game. I should have gone shopping. The Steelers ended up losing to the Jaguars 29-22. Oh well….

Band Mom and Pooh returned and then Band Mom made some Moo Shu for dinner. After dinner, Pooh’s dad came and picked her up. Then everyone else kind of lazed around until bath time for Things 1 & 2. Thing 1 appears to be lice free and needed to get ready to go back to school on Monday. After I bathed the girls Band Mom gave Thing 1′s hair another treatment with special gel to kill any remaining eggs. I then headed out to pick up this lice repellent spray that I had seen so she wouldn’t just get re-infected at school. I started at Walgreen’s. They had it but only in a kit and not by itself. So I headed to CVS. No luck. Then Wal Mart. Nope. Finally Giant Eagle. Nada. So it was back to Walgreens to get the kit and some juice boxes for the girls. (I forgot to get paper towels, the only other thing on my list).

After I got home I had time to take the trash to the curb and then it was off to bed.

Saturday was busy for all. I got up and didn’t get McDonald’s for breakfast. We just all got ready and ate something quick at home. My folks were coming around 11 to pick up Things 1 & 2 and take them shopping for shoes to go with their Christmas dresses. Band Mom was going to take Pooh shopping to get Pooh some shirts and shoes for work as well as other shopping that was needed. I got the duty of taking Band Mom’s Mom shopping.

After the meeting we all headed up to Bradford’s to hang out for a little bit. There was a karaoke guy there so we did a little karaoke and drank till close. Then everyone headed home.

Friday, I came home from work and Band Mom was napping. So for a little bit I just watched some DVR. When Band Mom woke she gave me a prescription for Pooh that I had to get filled. So I headed to the drug store that has Poohs insurance info on file. After I got that, I stopped at Taco Bell and picked up some dinner for the family. I got home and all but Pooh ate since she was already at work for the evening.

The majority of the evening was spent just sitting around watching DVR and waiting for Pooh to call for pick up from work. She finally called around 11 so I headed out to pick her up. The kids all went to bed soon after and Band Mom went to the neighbors for a little bit. I watched more DVR and also put the Christmas Tree together since we hadn’t done that yet.

Band Mom came back around 3 and the 2 of us finally headed to bed.

So, yesterday, I spoke of Thing 1′s silly 2 hour delay. Well that was written before the fun of the day began.

While Band Mom was getting Thing 1 ready for school (2 hours later than normal), she found something in her hair. It looked like probable head lice. So she popped the little bugger into a zip lock bag and took Thing 1 to the school nurse. The nurse confirmed Band Mom’s suspicion and said Thing 1 wouldn’t be allowed in school. This started Thing 1 crying about not being able to get a perfect attendance this year (again). She doesn’t understand the whole lice thing, but is crushed by the fact that she is going to miss school. I guess that’s a good thing though. Luckily, she also said Band Mom caught it way in the early stages so we could nip this thing in the bud before it became a full blown infestation. So Band Mom freaked. We need to change the bedding, wash Thing 1′s hair with special shampoo, wash clothes, remove and sanitize stuffed animals, and on and on.

Band Mom was freaking since so much had to be done and it needed to be done quickly so that the infestation could be prevented. So I took a half day off work to help out where I could. The first thing I did was run to a drug store close to work and pick up a kit that Band Mom had bought for our house already. I then dropped it off to Pooh’s Dad’s house as a preventative in case Pooh had gotten any over the last weekend. Then I headed home.

While Band Mom was cleaning the beds, she noticed that both Thing 1 and Thing 2′s mattress was shot. Not from the lice just from normal use. So since it was all stripped down anyway, I was sent to get new mattresses. I headed out to Big Lots! and picked up 2 bunk boards and 2 new twin mattresses. Then I headed over to Wal Mart and got new pillows for both girls, Band Mom and myself. It was easier to buy new pillows instead of wash the existing ones, plus we were all about due for new pillows anyway just from normal use. Then I headed back home.

Band Mom had made pretty good progress on the girls’ room and some of our room. I helped schlep toys to the basement for washing/storage and set up the new beds. At some point in the afternoon/evening Band Mom had called the folks who were on the float with Things 1 & 2 on Friday night. So now there are a few mothers freaking the fuck out. And with good reason. Michelle found some on her middle child that is around Thing 1′s age and Jen found some on her boy who is also in Thing 1′s homeroom class (He also was upset about his perfect attendance). So it looks like maybe it was passed by someone during the parade. The neighbor’s granddaughter might have it. Looks like Trav’s little one is clean though.

After the rooms were clean and Band Mom was making progress on laundry I ran to McDonald’s to pick up some dinner while Band Mom washed Thing 1 with the special shampoo. When I got back Band Mom was using the special gel and comb to get all of the eggs out of Thing 1′s hair. Thing 2 and I ate our dinner while they were doing that. After Thing 1 was finished, she ate while Thing 2 got the same treatment. Thing 2 doesn’t seem to have gotten any yet which is good and this should act as a preventative on her.

When they were all done, they finally got to go to bed. They were both in tears because all of their stuffed animals are in the basement and both need stuffed animals to sleep. Band Mom took two of her collectible Snoopy stuffed animals off the top of the bookshelf downstairs, since they should be clean and allowed each girl to have one to sleep with. That’s a big step. Band Mom doesn’t part with her Snoopy stuff easily.

Around midnight I finally went to bed. The one new pillow I got was awesome, but I also got both Band Mom and I a memory foam contour pillow. That thing was like putting my head on a brick. Band Mom agreed with me this morning about the pillows. We’re going to see if Things 1 and/or 2 like them because the normal pillows that I got are a little too puffy for both of them and the contours are not as tall.

This morning both Band Mom and I washed with the special shampoo as a precaution. We didn’t find anything on either of us, but better safe than sorry I guess. The only bad thing is that I can’t get the smell out of my nose. I think I smell like dog shampoo and its bugging the shit out of me.

Oh well, I guess this is just one of those things that you get to enjoy when you have school age children.

Last week I woke up one day to 10° F and like 4 inches of snow on the ground. The snow plows and salt trucks didn’t seem to be out yet, but Thing 1 still had school as scheduled. Band Mom ended up driving her to school since the bus had not shown up almost 20 minutes after its scheduled pickup.

Today I wake up and the temperature is above freezing. And its raining. Just about every school in the region is delayed.

So…
Below freezing temps + nearly undrivable roads = school as scheduled
A little chilly + RAIN = 2 HOUR DELAY

Okay, so there was a freezing rain warning in effect and possibly earlier in the morning (like when the high schools are scheduled for pick up) it was icy or something, but It sure left no sign by the time I got up so somehow I doubt it.

Sunday we got together to practice for the first time with Michelle. She’s going to be adding her voice to our show. I think it works out really well. With the songs that we have right now, she adds some tremendous harmonies. And in the long run, she will be able to sing leads on songs that neither Rock nor I would be able to touch. Hopefully she felt good about it, because its something that could really work out well. We’ll be debuting this line up on Dec. 22 at the Crazy Horse doing a benefit show with our pals Lady & The Tramps. (When I get some more info on the show I will post it here as well.)

After practice Michelle, and Trav and Rock headed out to Jay’s to watch the game, while I headed home. Band Mom was at home feeling under the weather so I wanted to make sure all was okay on the home front.

I spent the late after noon watching the Steelers game. The first half looked promising as we stayed within 4 of the Patriots. It was looking like we could make a respectable showing. Then the second half happened. The Pats just blew the Steelers out of the water. What a downer.

After the game I headed to Wal Mart to get my supplies for the week, some pet food and some other stuff we needed while Band Mom and the kids ate dinner. I got home and ate a little, then did some client work. I of course ended the evening with some DVR watching.

Saturday Band Mom, Pooh and I got up and got ready early. We were meeting my folks and Things 1 & 2 at 10 for Breakfast with Santa. The breakfast was held by the Kiwanis and thrown where I used to teach, Penn Commercial. We got there and met up with them and ate our fair share of pancakes and sausage.

After breakfast we took the kids and headed home. We kicked around most of the day. The girls played, I watched some DVR and did a little work and cleaning. Band Mom worked and cleaned a bit. Pooh did some laundry to get ready for her first day of work. That’s right I said first day of work. Saturday she started working at the hotel. Tonight I think her job is just to bus tables, but she’s hoping to be a serve at the events held there.

Band Mom took her to work and then ended up hanging out and talking to friends and having a quick dinner. So I got some dinner ready for Things 1 & 2 and myself at home. I also continued to watch some DVR. Band Mom got home and hung out until Pooh was done with work. Then she picked Pooh up and took her to her dad’s.

When Band Mom got home I was working on the laptop and she started a movie that we hadn’t seen before, The Guardian. It sucked us both in and we ended up watching the whole movie. It wasn’t bad, if a little predictable. All in all not a bad movie. We finally went to bed after 3 when the movie ended.

Friday night after work I had to run to BFE to pick up Pooh. Then we headed into Washington for the Christmas parade. The city chamber had a float in the parade, so we were meeting up with Band Mom and the kids and others from the chamber. They had to get the float ready and were already in line to start the parade. We finally got there a little before the parade was to start. Pooh rode the float with Things 1 & 2 and a bunch of other kids. Trav and I walked beside the float to kinda keep an eye on all the kids. A little over halfway through the parade Trav’s little one was done riding the float. So he helped her off and headed to the George Washington which is where we were all meeting up after the parade for dinner.

At the end of the parade route we had to figure out how to get everyone back to either their cars or the hotel. They packed all the kids into the cab of the truck that towed our float and took a short trip to the parking lot of the American Legion where they started taking the float apart. I walked back into town to get Band Mom’s van and go pick up folks. I ended up driving Jen and her boys to their car and taking Pooh, Things 1 & 2 with me to the hotel.

When we got to the hotel we met up with Trav and his daughter and my folks and tried to find a place to sit. That wasn’t going to be easy. The hotel was packed. They were doing a special “family” buffet on the Bistro side for the parade which is where we were going to eat. That is not a large restaurant and our group alone was a party of 25. We all finally did get seated (although not together) and started eating. The spread was pretty good and was definitely family friendly.

After dinner some folks left some stayed and chatted. Eventually my folks took Things 1 & 2 and headed home. Then our neighbor took Pooh home for us. Band Mom swore to me we weren’t going to stay long because she was tired and we had to get up on Saturday. About a quarter to 2 we finally left.