An Evening In St. Paul

Last night Jack had a chance to skate at the Xcel Energy Center where the Minnesota Wild hockey team plays. Kids that are members of the Wild's Kid's Club had a chance to do this. His membership was a Christmas gift from Mike, Choe, and Suki. Thanks guys.

Of couse an event away from home always has its nervous moments. Last night's came when Jack got on the ice and we went to go sit down. In order to do this we had to go up the elevator and leave Jack. Jodi's mom sense was tingling as I urged her to go find a seat.

And sure enough... Jack did one lap and proceeded to get off as we watched helplessly from the seats above. Jodi raced up the steps, down the elevator (probably holding her breath), and finally to Jack's side (she stayed there the rest of the time).

Aidan is happy as long as he as food to eat and stairs to climb up and down. Both were plentiful last night. He got a little mad at me when I took a corner of his poptart. When he saw this he tried to pry my mouth open screaming "Open you mouth, open your mouth, open your mouth!"

Afterwards we met Mike, Choe, and Suki at Cossetta's for pizza. Cossetta's is good food for a good price. It's also great therapy for claustrophobes. Seriously, in the event of a fire, we'd be a pile of charred bones and dental fillings. They need to remove a third of the tables.

It was a nice meal. Suki was on her off day from birthday parties (one the day before, one the next day), Mike was going snowboarding the next day, and Choe was kind enough to share her food with my beggar children (they're like seagulls in Duluth). All in all, a very nice evening with the loved ones.

In other news...
We passed the electrical inspection. It consisted of the inspector plugging in a nightlight-like device into serveral receptacles. The best part was that they all lit up!

Last Official Work Day Off (until Mon, Jan. 15)

The last day home alone with the kids. It's been fun- most of the time. Aidan can get a bit cranky if you don't feed him enough and fast enough. Jack demands explanations and attention.

The two boys don't always play well together. Once or twice a day they get along, but it's more of an alliance to destroy and annoy. It usually involves Aidan doing something silly and/or dangerous (biting a toy, jumping off something, eating something inedible) that Jack thinks is funny causing him to laugh which causes Aidan to repeat. Thus, a chain reaction ensues.

It's fun to watch in that amused and detatched innocent bystander sort of way. When Dan The Parent regains consciousness it's time to close the bar and call the cops.

Today's Plans...

I called the local Electrical Inspector to get the official seal of approval from the State Board of Electricty of Minnesota. He hasn't arrived yet despite my frequent looks out the window (damn door bell isn't fixed yet). Once he's done I can call the city and officially be done with the lowerlevel project.

Jack gets to skate with the Wild tonight at the Xcel Energy Center. Should be cool to watch. It's amazing to see Jack grow up. Two months ago he could barely stand on the ice. This weekend he'll skate at the X, practice Saturday, and play a game on Sunday at Thaler Center.

Today's News ...
I hear Mike Tice is interested in coaching the Gophers but can't because he doesn't have a college degree as required by the U of M. I think he would be a good choice. He is a teacher and a motivator. He is someone that recruits and player can literally look up to. I can just see him in a maroon sweater vest with a pencil behind his ear. Tice's arm on the shoulder of a pimply quarterback telling the kid that 100,000 screaming Michigan fans are nothing compared to his wrath. All he needs is some backwater school to give him an honorary degree.