On Thursday Isaac and I did our annual trip to Kimball Farm to ride bumper boats.  All went smoothly until as I was unpacking the car, I realized I had forgotten Ned the Shark.  Isaac has a cadre of stuff animals, all of whom must be present for him to go to sleep.  Its kind of a pain in the butt, but he has been such a good sleeper since he was born that we don't mess it with.  Plus, its hard to answer him when he asks things like "If you love me why don't you sleep in my room with me?"  I did a mea culpa right away and he took it like a champ.  I was so proud of him I was determined to make it up to him.  I told him, because he was such a good boy, I'd get him a special treat--the Green Arrow Imaginext figure.

I hadn't made this promise willy nilly.  Oh I checked online inventory at a local Target and they claimed to have a dozen or so Green Arrows.  But the next day when I arrived there was nary a Green Arrow to be found.  Not a single one, except for one in a display case showing off the full range of Imaginext super heroes.  Thinking the stock issue was a glitch or they had some in the back (the last refuge of a desparate parent), I asked the very young Target employee for help.  Here is the verbatim conversation that ensued:

ME:  Hey I can't find any Green Arrow figures.

Guy:  Let me see.

He roots around all of the displays, which I just looked through and found none.

Guy: Well it looks like we don't have any. 

ME: The online stock checker said you have dozens.  Maybe they are in the back.

Guy: Oh no, they aren't.  Whatever we have is out on the floor.

ME:  Well the inventory thing says you have a bunch.  

Guy: All of the Imaginext figures have the same SKU so the inventory checker just knows how many figures we have, not which ones.

 

Undaunted by this stupid fact, I pressed on.

ME: Well, I see there is a Green Arrow in the display case right there.  Maybe you could crack that open and sell me that one.

Guy: I can't do that sir, its part of a display.

ME: I know, but let's work together.

Guy: I really can't.

ME: What if I bribed you and made it worth your while.

Guy: Sorry sir, I really can't.

At this point I was okay, he was just doing his job, but then he went a step too far.

Guy: What does it really matter?  Its just a toy?

ME: Its not just a toy.  Its not about the toy at all.  Its about my three and half year old son's happiness.  I want that Green Arrow.

Guy: I just can't help you.

ME: How old are you?

Guy: 21.

ME:  You have any kids?

Guy: No, but I have a lot of brothers and sisters that are younger than me.

ME: That's not the same.  Listen, ten or fifteen years from now you are going to have kids and you are going to be in a store just like I am and you are going to be looking for the perfect toy for one of your kids.  When you look back on today you will understand my complusion.  You will get why I am pushing.  Do your future self a favor, and help me out.  You future self won't have to look back on today and realize that you did the wrong thing.  Let's work together here, and you open up that display case.

Guy: I really can't.

With that, I was done.  I had no choice but to buy, God forbid, Aquaman.  In about six seconds Isaac opened the package, asked me what his superpowers were (I made up a few  because his real super powers are stupid), lost Aquaman, but kept Roboshark, the toy shark that came with him.  I have since ordered Green Arrow from a toy shop on Amazon that has separate SKUs.  

To the guy from Target--you failed.  Your future self will be disappointed in you.  And yes, I am ashamed of my behavior.  But not that ashamed.  Have you seen how cute Isaac is?

This post has been a long time coming.  In mid-March Bianca had a work trip in Dallas.  We originally thought it was in Austin, around the time of SXSW, which would have been amazing, but Dallas in March isn't a great place for kids.  So we opted to stay home while Mom went.  It was also about the time Nanna and P-Pa were going to come visit.  They had planned for Valentine's Day weekend, but Mother Nature contacted their travel agent and canceled the trip. 

They arrived on Sunday, as Mom was flying out the next day.  It was incredibly nice of them to come.  Work had been stressful for me and the winter had been brutal.  Having them at home, with Isaac, meant that this entirely new thing--Mom not being around--would be all that much easier.  It also meant I didn't have to worry about rearranging my work schedule to do the two hour ride in and out of Worcester to pick up Isaac and drop him off.  It probably wasn't ESSENTIAL to have the help, but it made the entire experience a net positive instead of a net negative. 

Mom left Monday and Isaac, Nanna, and P-Pa stayed home while I went to work.  I would get pictures throughout the day and everyone seemed blissfully happy.  That evening, things were tough.  Isaac and Bianca FaceTimed which sent him into a spiral of tears right around bed time. 

But I had a trick up my sleeve.  Isaac had just started getting into Epic in mid-March and the Leafmen had long bows.  We also had just finished reading Robin Hood, and they too had long bows.  Finally, Isaac and I were (and still are) working our way through Injustice, a video game with Green Arrow, who, if you couldn't guess, has a long bow.  Desperate, I resorted to the parent's best behavior modification tactic--bribery.  I told Isaac that if he were a good boy, he'd get a REAL shooting long bow on Thursday, the day Bianca got home.  With that promise, and a good bath/reading, he went to bed easily.  I was nervous the whole night as this was my first time without Bianca but with Isaac, but Nanna was ready to fill in if I-man woke up in the night.

Dawn on Tuesday was a good thing.  Isaac slept through the night and again, he had a great day playing with his grandparents.  Its worth mentioning here that they have done an amazing job staying connected with Isaac, so much so, that when they are around they just fit right into Isaac's world as if they are always around and not 827 miles away.   Tuesday night we decided to go out to dinner.  Trying to find a local place that was kid friendly, a sit down place, and not Panera, we went to TGI Fridays.  Unfortunately, I got a mild case of food poisoning.  Worse yet, it didn't really hit me until I was at work the next day, Wednesday.  It was a packed day with three courts, so I couldn't really call in sick, so I just plowed on through.

Wednesday night we skipped the FaceTime and Isaac was a dream.  He and I talked about the long bow and he was ready to go down.  There wasn't a single hitch in the routine and again he went to sleep easily.  Before I went to sleep I grabbed the long bow and set it by his door.  Again he slept through the night.

I woke up on Thursday and showered.  By the time I was done Isaac was waking up.  I poked my head in expecting to see a sleepy head.  The moment the door cracked open his head shot up and he said: "Where's my long bow."  Ready, I swung around and gave it to him.  We both breathed a sigh of relief--we had made it, Mom was coming home today. 

in P-Pa's bed watching Tom and Jerry with his best buddy.  Its amazing how out of date Tom and Jerry are and while I worry about the latent racism, I am fairly certain Isaac only notices the cartoon violence, which is absolutely hilarious to a three year old (and a 36 year old and a 63 year old).

As I left for work that morning, I realized just how amazing the people around me are--Isaac for being a big boy and making it through the three days, my parents for re-arranging their lives to help out, and Bianca for how much she gets done everyday and still has time to take care of I-man and I.  Finally, a pro-tip for you parents--bribery is your best friend.       

Aside from a thin blanket of snow that feel on Tuesday, we have had some spring-ish weather.  Its not exactly warm yet, but the skies have been clear and the breeze has been gentle.  With that we took off for hikes two weekends in a row.  The first hike took us to the summit of Crow's Hill Ledge in Leominster State Forest (which is in Winchester, got that?).  Here we are at the summit:

I am not sure how you could have a better day than that.  But that was last Saturday.  This Saturday we returned to an old stomping ground, one frozen in by the long, harsh winter.  Fallulah was overrun by water as we saw waterfalls and streams where there were none before.



Our old rock chucking spot was a white frothy rapids, so we had to opt for another place.  Isaac seemed to like it:



He even found a tree to climb:


It was really great to get back outside. Mom and Dad loved it and I-man did too. Stay tuned for a great video.