The Eichenblog

They’re Still Awake

Sleep. It’s such a complicated thing for a parent. How can I possibly be expected to manage something that I can neither control nor measure?

For quite some time it has been a theory of mine that Isaac has not been getting enough sleep. Possibly the sleep he gets wasn’t high enough quality. Either way, a good night’s sleep seemed to be a critical indicator of future mood performance.

Gabe, on the other hand, always woke up way too early. I always wanted him in bed by 8:00 so I could have some time to myself, but that always meant a 6am bouncy boy on my bed.

So, I did what any reasonable parent would do.

I told them they could stay up as late as they wanted.

There are rules. At 7:45 everyone brushes their teeth and gets pajamas on. At 8:00 everyone goes to their rooms and reads quietly. They go to sleep when they feel tired, but I always wake them at the same time in the morning.

If they are ever too tired to get themselves ready in the morning, then I start making noises about predetermined bed times. I hope they never call that bluff.

So far the plan has worked pretty well. They’ve both stayed up too late. They have both regretted it in the morning. They have both adjusted their schedules accordingly the following night. Then a few days pass and they forget. Then they stay up to late, and so on.

Sometimes I wander into someone’s room and find something like this:

The added benefit is that I get to jump on Gabe’s bed in the mornings yelling “Get up, get up!”

It’s the little perks that make parenting fun.

Hobbyist

Well, there’s brewing beer. I pretty much keep up with that, though my skills improve very slowly. Also, woodworking is a good one. I only build something like one item a year, but I’m pretty sure that qualifies. Writing is a pretty solid one. I continue to produce words, and another work is scheduled to be published (though I’m not making money on this one). Horticulture counts, I think. Only during the warmer months, though.

I believe if I collect just one more hobby I can officially declare myself a hobbyist.

Warhammer 40k has been the latest hole into which I sink my time. I collect little dolls, assemble and paint them, then square them off against other collected armies. They usually lose.

I like to make them pretty, though.

Here is the first batch, a Blood Angels Death Company.

These little guys include green stuff augmented bases, lots of dry brushing, and some teeny tiny lettering on the scrollwork on their shoulders. They weren’t particularly hard to paint, but they took an unbelievably long time. I suspect the Stormraven Gunship, Assault Squad, and second Death Company I’m currently working on will take me most of the way through the remaining four seasons of 24.

Little Isaac

It is not uncommon for little boys to pretend to be someone they are not. They might be dragons or wizards or Arthur Christmas. They might dress up as doctors or cowboys or athletes.

Those are all fine. They exercise the imagination and fill the hours with fun.

One favorite of Gabe’s these days is dressing up as the one kid he respects and admires the most in the world.

These last two days Gabe has spent almost the majority of his time playing Little Isaac. I took the lenses out of Isaac’s old glasses and they just haven’t really come off of Gabe since. He does pretty well with them. He hasn’t bent them yet, and he even seems to look through the non-lenses.

Little Isaac wears glasses and enjoys geography themed puzzles.

Brewing in the Great Outdoors (almost)

We’ve had some great weather lately. Really, it’s been nice. I have almost wanted to spend time outside.

Almost.

But I don’t.

I’ve gotten close, lately, though. I’ve adapted my beer brewing process to move the first phase outside. I love a house smelling of hops and grains. Not everyone does.

So, recently, I’ve been boiling great big pots of wort in my garage. It works well. When it’s really cold it helps my wort cool quickly after boiling. When it’s upper 40′s like it has been, well, I get to actually enjoy the sun a little.