The Modernish Father

…as in “double ear infections.” That’s what The Girl has and it pretty much wrecked our three-day weekend. Well, at least when she gets sick, she doesn’t do it half-assed.

We had a trip to the zoo planned on Sunday and a relatively carefree day around the house on Monday (since The Girl’s daycare was still open). All that went out the window and was replaced by a fussy, cranky and generally miserable little girl. It was super fantastic awesome.

I feel bad for her because I know she’s in a lot of pain, even with the baby Tylenol and amoxicillin in her system. I also feel bad for my back after sleep on the couch all night long. And also for The Wife’s sanity, which seem to have been lost sometime last night after a day of dealing with a cranky toddler.

Last night, she cried for about four solid hours before finally passing out. Here’s to hoping that today goes better.

On a happier note, The Boy got to play Wii, go to basketball practice, and hang out at friend’s house, so his three-day weekend was pretty good. Makes me wish I was six again.

Another thing that made the weekend drag on forever was an unfortunate dinner choice that came back to haunt us again and again. Either Thursday or Friday night, we decided to make some Mexican food for dinner and also a couple of dips to go with it – queso and jalapeno ranch dressing. And apparently we made way too much of both for two people to consume. We’ve been eating leftover queso and jalapeno ranch dressing at every meal since. I think it’s multiplying in the fridge.

Tryin’ and Buyin’

Sunday night I went over to a friends house for a little Rock Band fun and surprised myself by nailing the lyrics to the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Give It Away. That doesn’t really have any connection to what I bought with my most recent iTunes gift card, but I just wanted to boast.

Anyhoo, here’s what I picked up this time:

• Weezer – Buddy Holly, Dreamin’, Island in the Sun, Say It Ain’t So, and Undone
• Steely Dan – Do It Again, Peg, Reelin’ in the Years, and Rikki Don’t Lose My Number
• Air Supply – All Out of Love, Even the Nights are Better, Lost in Love, Making Love Out of Nothing at All, and Without You
• Steve Miller Band – Fly Like and Eagle, Jungle Love, Rock’n Me, and Take the Money and Run
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers – Don’t Do Me Like That, Free Fallin’, Mary Jane’s Last Dance, Refugee, and Runnin’ Down a Dream

All in all, a group of songs that strike a resounding blow against the notion that gerunds should end with the letter “g”. Didn’t mean to do that, just kind of worked out that way.

Fries at the bottom of the bag

• I felt bad for the city sanitation workers who still had to pick up our trash yesterday while all their federal buddies got out of delivering my bills and print spam. Well, I did feel bad for them until my guy knocked over every single trash can on our street. Then I didn’t really care for or about the trash dude anymore.
• Actually, I doubt that municipal sanitation workers and postal carriers are buddies. If anything, I prefer to think that they are sworn blood-enemies locked in a never-ending battle for control of our country’s curbs. They rig their garbage trucks and postal vans for battle and duke it out late at night.
• I wish our city would get on the ball and offer cardboard recycling. Between Christmas and all the students moving back into town this weekend, there’s been enough cardboard on our curbs to choke a herd of horses. Or least cover the ground and block their access to grass, which would probably also be pretty bad.
• Today’s inauguration may mark the beginning of a new era in American history, but before you get too bright and bubbly about our future, remember that Americans shelled out $31.8 million this past weekend to watch Paul Blart: Mall Cop. We’ve still got a long way to go, people.