Merry Christmas!

Just When You Think You Are Ahead...

Charlotte's elementary school has been celebrating the "Twelve Days of Cheer."  Char gets really excited to dress up for each day's theme. Yesterday was Hawaiian Day. Char and her mom spent quite a bit of time on picking out clothes and accessories to go along with them on Sunday night. In the end, Char had two outfits to pick from, and she wanted to wait until morning to make the final decision.

Daphne leaves early on Monday mornings, so it was up to me to get Char ready. The first thing I did was to get Char to choose an outfit. Once she was dressed and her breakfast was eaten, we got on our coats and shoes and headed for the car. 

Usually we pull out of the garage at 7:04. I don't know how it's possible, but even if we put on our shoes at 6:55, something happens and by the time I lock her seat belt, it's 7:04. It's like we get sucked into a third dimension time vacuum, and we get spit out at the exact same point. This morning was different, however. The dashboard clock read 7:02 when I put the car in reverse. Two minutes early! I felt like a boss.

Charlotte still goes to Kim for daycare until school starts at 9:00. When I gave Char her goodbye hug at Kim’s, Charlotte tugged on my sleeve and asked me, “Dad? Did you forget my accessories?”

I had. 

Her ring, headband, bracelets, necklace, and flower were still on the bathroom counter. Dangit! I thought I was doing so well! At first I tried to include her in the blame, "Why didn't you say something when I asked if you were ready?" But I quickly owned up to my mistake. I told her I was sorry, but I had to go to school. I couldn't be late on finals week. She looked very disappointed, but honestly, she took it pretty well. 

By the time I entered the school at 7:21, I realized that the first period exam didn’t start until 8:15. More than once my principal has said that he understands that mistakes happen, and you can be late once in awhile if you have to get something that you forgot. I figured this fell under that category, and I ran to my car. I timed the drive from the moment I left the school grounds - it was a 13-minute one-way trip. I sprinted through the house, scooped all the accessories into a stocking hat, and flew down the stairs. I got back to Kim’s by 7:55, and I was in school building by 8:03. I even did one lap of my hall duty before the first testing period started. Whew!

You should have seen how big my girl’s smile was when I showed up with the forgotten gear. She was on the couch watching TV. I placed the hat in Char's lap, and she said with wonder, "Dad... You came back. Thank you!" Her tone made every stressful second worth it. 

Kim's email with pictures of a Hula-dancing Charlotte popped up on my desktop when I opened my computer to take roll.

I don't think I'll be crowned Dad of the Year anytime soon, but it sure made me feel good knowing I fixed my mistake. 

Accessories are a big deal.

Under New Management

It didn't take long for the The Windy Pants Pinball Arcade to change its name.

 Daphne informed me when I got home from work, "Charlotte made you something for your arcade."  Then a beaming little girl ran across the kitchen floor with a piece of paper in her hand, "Here Dad! I made you this!"

This is what was the paper.

I took a moment to decipher Char's handwriting, and then I asked, "Does this say 'Sad Club'?" Char smiled and nodded.

"Explain it to him," Daphne prompted.

"Well, it's called Sad Club because when you're sad you can go into that room, play some pinball, and then you'd get happy!"

Can't argue with that.

Room For One More

I brought home an old Williams "Grand Prix" pinball machine last Sunday. The pinball machine allegedly worked when the previous owners placed it in their warehouse ten years ago, but it's going to be a project to bring it back to life.

I do think it's going to clean up well. The cabinet, playfield, and backglass all look pretty good.

We'll see how long it takes to get a Grand Prix high score on the official Windy Pants scoreboard.

FYI: Windy Pants Patrick is the name of a character in one of Char's easy reader books. Hilarious. I found the Pepsi sign at a local flea market, and I scored a set of letters on eBay. I imagine the name of my "arcade" will change pretty often.

Here's the current lineup at Windy Pants:

It took me eight months to get my Royal Flush playing at 100% (okay, 99.5 %). Hopefully, the Grand Prix is in better shape and won't take as long.

Busy Weekend

Charlotte's dance team performed at the mall on Friday night. I can help getting Char dressed, but Daphne gets the hair duty.

I was always a worry wart when it came to any type of public performance, but Charlotte didn't inherit that from me. First, she put her jacket on backwards.

Then she posed for a few pictures with friends that were equally nervous.

I didn't have very good a spot for filming, but here's the end of their dance.

Char gets to pick where we eat after a performance. She chose Tsing Tsao because she loves their eggdrop soup. Here she's playing with twist ties while we wait for our food.

Our tiny dancer chose frozen yogurt for dessert.

Grandma Betty visited for an early Christmas on Saturday.

Char couldn't wait for Grandma to see how her presents were wrapped, "I bowed them, Grandma!"

How many facial expressions does it take to open a present? Let's find out.

Some gingerbread construction also took place.

We had the Christmas Pagent at our church on Sunday. Charlotte was an angel. Again, she was really nervous.

Check out the chime action!

"Glooooohohohoreeeeeaaaaaah! In eggshell shes day oh!"

Instead of soup, Char was rewarded with some lap time with Grandma.

They also spent time reading books in Char's tent.

Later in the afternoon, Char did a ballet pose in front of the "new" pinball project that I brought home.

More on this later.

An Omaha Zoo Visit

It's not a secret that I don't enjoy going to zoos. It's not because I have some ethical problem with animals imprisoned in elaborate cages, I just think that zoos are boring. I'd bet the animals do too. But since my wife and daughter really like them, we go. Heck, sometimes I'll even suggest that we should go to the zoo. I'm dumb like that.

Here are some pictures from our last zoo trip. We stayed inside for most of the day since it was late November.

The rope bridge in the Lied Jungle is a popular spot. 

No, you cannot swing on that!

Pondering the puffins.

Somewhere I have a picture of Charlotte and me that was taken in this same spot a few years ago, but I can't find it. I suppose it was one of those family pictures that were hijacked last January when my old PC was infected with the CTB-Locker ransomware virus. 

Char enjoyed "swimming underwater" with her penguin friends.

She called this "Oook-Oooking".

Lastly, when you're a kid you should always take the opportunity to walk on the masonry. It's a law.

Thankful

I didn't blog during Thanksgiving week because I caught Char's stomach bug, and I felt slightly nauseous the whole time. On the bright side, I had no appetite, so I didn't gain any weight.

On the brighter side, Char surprised me with theses notes on Saturday afternoon.

Translation: Dear Dad, I am thankful for you.

The bottom note has made my "Top Ten Best Notes Ever" list.