Maybe the third time is the charm. Or maybe we just planned it better this year (or maybe we actually planned it this year). Yesterday was the third time we have attended a Lucia concert. Two years ago we traveled to New York to watch the show. Last year we chose a closer venue, watching a show put on in a church in Hartford.

This year, Susanna joined the choir. I rearranged the schedule with the boys, and we all made the trip down to the city yesterday. We planned this one differently. It wasn’t just a quick trip down to watch the concert, it was a full weekend adventure. And we all had a great time. A little planning goes a long way…

The boys arrived home yesterday morning and we turned around and drove to the Embassy Suites in Secaucus, NJ. We drove into the snow storm heading up the coast, driving as fast as could safely be done to beat the worst of the storm. We arrived at the hotel around noon, and were able to check in early. Susanna didn’t wait for us to check in. She had to be at the church at 1pm, and we weren’t sure how long the bus/subway journey would take. The bus stop was right across the street from the hotel (take the #320 bus from Harmony to Port Authority in NYC).

The boys and I checked in, parked the car, and dragged the bags up to our fifth floor room. Will and Ben had agreed that Ben would get the floor (not the ground as Will put in his blog), and Will got the sofa-bed. The next time they will reverse the sleeping arrangements. Neither wanted to share a bed with the other. There was no fighting about it; they had arranged it between them without me having to solve the problem. At least Ben got the sofa cushions to sleep on. And he slept without a problem until about 5:30 in the morning. But, I am getting ahead of myself…

After checking in, we headed out into the blizzard to find food. We started walking to McDonald’s which was only a couple of blocks away (according to Google). We walked right by an Outback Steakhouse. We walked another half a block and decided it was too cold to walk to McDonald’s. So lunch was at Outback.

Then it was back to the hotel to get a short swim in before we had to head to the city. The boys loved the hotel. An indoor swimming pool and hot tub, happy hour, and free breakfast are a perfect combination. The pool was bathtub warm. The hot tub was hot.

We took the #320 bus through the Lincoln Tunnel and to the city. It was a short enough ride that the boys were happy to look out the window.  Not like the trips when we take the train into the city from New Haven. They can’t even make it past East Haven without begging to turn on the electronics.

From Port Authority we could either take a cab, the subway, or walk the 26 blocks to the church. Ben voted for a cab. Will for the subway. Eventually we decided to walk. Okay, I decided we should walk. It was a long walk in the snow. And cold. I think maybe the subway would have been a good call. But the boys had fun pretending that giant monsters were climbing the buildings. We did stop and get hot chocolate to warm up. The boys’ shoes were wet and cold by the time we got to the church; we were early enough to get good seats. Ben promptly removed his wet shoes and socks when we sat down. I know, it was inside the church, not the best place to take your shoes and socks off.  I made him put his socks back on and put a hat on until he warmed his feet up. He said that his head wasn’t cold….

Having Susanna in the choir made the concert much more interesting for the boys. Surprisingly, Will was able to sit still better than Ben. Sometimes things are backwards. The show was wonderful. The music was beautiful, though I didn’t understand any of the elvish words. Or were they singing in Swedish?

After the concert we decided to take the subway back to the bus terminal. According to Will, it saved us 20 minutes. I think it was closer to 10 minutes. But either way, it was a lot warmer and drier. Ben had still been pushing for a cab. A quick hop on the bus and we were dropped off in front of our hotel.  We stopped by the lobby for happy hour. Only the cheap beer is free. But it is free. One can only wish for free Sam Adams. The boys got water. However, water is free even outside of happy hour, but I didn’t tell them that. So they still think happy hour is pretty cool.

We braved the snow to head to Chili’s for dinner. I had to convince Will that there was no way in h%** I was going to let him have fried mozzarella sticks at the hotel as his dinner. After dinner we visited the pool a while, and I tried to get the boys to bed before it was too late.  I mostly succeeded. Ben crashed shortly after we got back to our room. Will was out by 9. Susanna made it back by 11; she would have been earlier if she got off at the right bus stop – but that is another story – and not my story to tell.

The next morning the boys woke up at 5:30. Or maybe before, but they didn’t get loud enough to wake me until 5:30.  So, I’m pretty tired tonight. We headed downstairs (not at 5:30, more like 7:30) for free breakfast. Will ate two bowls of fruit loops, two donuts, and some sliced melon. He may have eaten more, but after that amount, who was keeping track? We again went to the pool after breakfast. Who cares about the city, as long as we get a hotel with a pool, the boys could care less where we go, and if they can play on their iPods, they don’t care how long it takes to get there. I’m thinking if you give them wi-fi, iPod charging cables, and the promise of a pool at the end, they would volunteer for the first trip to Mars.

We finished the morning up with Christmas shopping (no surprise, the boys bought each other nearly the same gifts – though independently without one knowing what the other bought) and lunch at the Olive Garden. Traffic was light (well, as light as it gets) on I-95, and we were home by 3:45.

Thanks to Susanna for paying for all the food (except for breakfast). We ate like kings.

We are having a nice lazy Sunday morning. It is brisk and overcast outside – a perfect day to do inside things. The boys are enjoying a rare morning just taking it easy playing on their electronics. Susanna is hanging out with them.

I headed out to the workshop.

I cleaned up the drawer runners and top cleats. I then placed the nightstand top down on the router table (it is a good flat assembly surface) and centered the base on the top. I attached the top to the base with 4 screws through the cleats. I pre-drilled the holes in the cleats a little large, to give the top some room to move as the wood changes sizes as the moisture in the air changes seasonally.

Yesterday I said I would probably build the second table before building the drawer. Today I changed my mind. I started milling the lumber for the drawer. I milled a piece for the drawer front, but the wood had a crack in it, so I had to mill a second piece. I carefully fitted the drawer front to the opening, leaving about 1/32″ gap on the top to allow for wood expansion.

I milled stock for the drawer sides. However, the rough lumber I have is very thick (almost 1 1/2″ thick). Instead of planing down the thick lumber to thin drawer sides, I decided to try to resaw the sides from a single piece of lumber. My bandsaw isn’t the best, but the blade is sharp so I decided to give it a try. It turned out perfect. I have to resaw the wood for the drawer bottom as well, but the stock is wider than the 4″ resaw capacity on my bandsaw. I’ll try to resaw the drawer bottom by hand.

We all headed out to Taftville for trick-or-treating tonight. Here we are before heading out:

The boys are with us this week and Susanna’s classroom is short an assistant. That means tired nights, and not much workshop time. But it is worth skipping the workshop to spend time with the family.

Friday was pizza/movie night. I made homemade pizza dough. Twice. The boys and I took a quick trip to the store to pick up cheese and left the dough in Tupperware containers on the counter. In the 30 minutes we were gone, Targa got the dough off the counter. Targa and Tucker ate most of the dough. The boys are now much closer to knowing how to curse like a sailor. I mean, it was only thirty minutes. I came home early and let them run outside for an hour or two before the boys came home. And raw pizza dough. What the f**k is wrong with the dogs?

Today was the boys’ second to last soccer game. They lost (again). But they had fun. Ben twisted his ankle during the game (okay, I think that part wasn’t so much fun), so he decided to hang out at home this afternoon. 

I took will to pick up a costume for Halloween, and then to the submarine base for a haunted house. It was much scarier than I had expected – I’m pretty glad that Ben skipped it this year. It was nice to have Will for the haunted house – he was brave enough to lead the way. However, after we left the building (and thought the scary stuff was over), an actor came out from another door with a chainsaw and Will ran as fast as he could. We both got a good laugh about it, and stopped and picked up pumpkins on the way home.

We finished the day with friends over and time playing outside. It was a beautiful New England fall day. Brisk, but not too cold, windy and sunny.

Susanna and I took a short escape to the Berkshires this weekend. We spent last night in Lenox, MA and enjoyed a tour around western Massachusetts today.  Here are some pictures from the trip.

Maybe they got their fighting out of their systems yesterday. Probably not. But at least the boys are starting the day off by playing. It gives me time to do chores.

While the weekend may be almost over for Susanna, the boys and I have one more day off. The boys even had a half day of school on Friday, so it is an even longer weekend. Although, Will and Ben spent most of Friday afternoon fighting, so it wasn’t really much of a gain in that department. I, at least, got to enjoy an extra afternoon off of work spending quality time with both of them. Mediating the fights. Maybe they are just trying to emulate our elected officials in Washington. Okay, the fights weren’t that bad.

The boys had soccer Saturday morning. They lost. Again. But only 3 to 1. They had friends over in the afternoon, and only spend about half of it fighting with each other (hey, still doing better than Congress). I even took all four of them (Will, Ben plus two friends) on a short bicycle ride around the corner to a local cemetery. I was very thankful that none of them crashed (or was hit by a car). So, overall, it was a successful bike ride (i.e. no one killed, and not all of my hair is gray – yet).

By this morning, I think they had tired of fighting with each other (mostly). After breakfast, Susanna, the boys and I all bicycled up to Norwich. The boys got a snack (second breakfast) from Dunkin Donuts in downtown Norwich, and we returned home by late morning. Again, a successful bike ride (for the same reasons mentioned above).

In the afternoon we headed to the Connecticut Renaissance Faire (again in Norwich – but this time we drove). We enjoyed the shows and the boys did a little shopping in time for Halloween. I was surprised that the boys sat through three of the shows. I was even more surprised that Susanna made it through the “Cirque du Sewer” show – a rat carnival. Of course Susanna and I sat near enough to the back that she didn’t have to get a good look at the rats.

We rounded out the day with a game of “Settlers of Catan,”, which I finally won. Hopefully the boys will sleep in tomorrow morning. But who am I kidding. They are up at 6am on the weekends, but need someone to kick them out of bed in time to catch an 8am school bus during the week. I’m sure it is some sort of karma for my own childhood.

I had to pick Will and Ben at school a few minutes early today so we could make Ben’s annual physical exam. In order to pick up the boys, I had to check in with the main office and sign them out there. As I was waiting for them both to come down, a teacher I hadn’t’ met before was in the office. She introduced herself as Will’s teacher.

While talking, she mentioned that she wanted to meet Ben. She said that she had heard that Ben looked a lot like Will, but wore glasses. I said, “Oh, Will wears glasses as well.” Will promptly walked into the office without glasses on. He had left them at home this morning.  Of course, a few minutes later, Ben arrived wearing his glasses.

That was today’s hint that Will isn’t wearing his glasses at school as often as he should be. Or just chalk it up as another one of those ADHD moments (though this one was Will’s moment).