Who are the kids here? 19 April 2007

As you know I am a 24 freak. I love that show. This week was amazing if you have not watched it yet. “Say hello to your brother.” What a quote from Jack. Anyway we have our best friends over each week to watch the show and it is tons of fun. Here is the typical Monday at our house.

5:30pm - our friends arrive and my son Seth meets them at the door
6:00pm – we eat dinner made by my wife or our friends (always amazingly good)
6:30pm – we head out side to play with the kids
8:00pm – hide and seek commences and we end the game in Seth’s bed
9:00pm – 24 comes on with Izzie’s and dessert all around

The funny thing is I don’t know who has more fun on Monday nights. The kids or the adults? Last week our friends arrived at 5:30pm we had left a note that read “grab these and head upstairs” There were Nerf dart guns already loaded sitting on the bottom step. As they came up the stairs Jared (brother in law) came from behind and started lighting them up and my wife and I were at the top of the stairs. They were caught in the crossfire. The dart game then lasted about 30 minutes. That is just one example of the mayhem that happens on Monday night at the Kruse home.

My question is: Who are the kids here?

A: The adults, we return to our youth each Monday night with dart guns, backyard basketball, trampoline games, play doh and all kinds of ball fights.

Maybe you should stop buy sometime and remember what it was like to be a kid again.

JK

Why? 20 February 2007

Seth is my son. WHY? Mommy gave birth to you almost three years ago. WHY? Mommy and daddy wanted to have a son. WHY? Because daddy is a sports fanatic and he wanted a boy first. WHY? Because we prayed that God would give us a son first. WHY? Daddy couldn’t handle a girl first. WHY? Daddy and girls are not the best match ever, frankly they scare me. WHY? Because daddy never had a sister and was too busy playing sports to care about girls until I saw Mommy. WHY? She was beautiful and I wanted to ask her out one day. WHY? Daddy wanted to get to know her and take her out on a date. WHY? So we could get married and have you someday. WHY? Because. WHY? Stop asking why. WHY? I am out of answers. WHY? Go play with your brother? WHY? ……..

That is the typical conversation with my awesome two year old son. He can ask why about a million times in a row with out hesitation. It is truly a gift. By the time we are done talking I have no idea what the conversation was about.

How awesome is that!!!

Can you imagine if my son interviewed some of today’s politicians? He would wear them down and get some straight answers for the first time.

JK

24 is coming 08 December 2006

Back in my younger days the end of January meant one thing, The Super Bowl. I used to look forward to the game for weeks, talking about who was playing and the commercials that would be played. It was all so exciting. Then Jack became a part of my life and January has a taken on a new meaning all together. Jack, of course, is “Jack Bauer.” Star of the greatest TV show ever made “24.”

Jack has been a friend of our family for five glorious years now. My wife and I have been watching 24 from the first episode, and have not missed one yet. We just happened across it one faithful night five years ago and have been with Jack while he fought terrorists, saved the President of the United States, saved the world, found the moles in our government, and love along the way.

Maybe you have not seen 24. What? Are you serious?
Stop reading, go to the video store and rent the first season.

When you have finished season five come back and finish reading. You might be thinking, “I am not watching five seasons in a row!” Trust me you will. You can’t stop once you start. It is mesmerizing.

So here we are fast approaching the end of January and season six of 24. Every Monday night we will have our best friends over and invite Jack into our family once again to save the world. Each year we say it cannot get any better and each year Jack shows us he is still the man.

Only a few weeks now until Jack and me rekindle our friendship for one more adventure to save the world. You can come along for the ride starting January 14th at 7pm.

James Kruse

Mommy’s Day Out 10 November 2006

So there I was knee deep in kids. It was about 9am in the morning on a Saturday and I had the kids all to myself. Sarah (my wife) had taken a day trip to Dallas with some of her friends to shop. I was responsible for watching the kids for one day, breakfast to bedtime. No problem, I could handle that. How hard could that be?

The day began with breakfast at 9:30am and I was trying feed Micah his rice cereal, keep my eye on Seth while he ate his toast and eat my Rice Krispies. God only gave me two eyes; Are you kidding me? After I had gotten them to eat something, I put them down to play so I could clean up. It was not three seconds later and Micah was crying because Seth had tackled him. He is deep into football at this point in his life. No time to clean. I had to break up the football game happening in my family room with one player (Seth) and one ball (Micah).

About 11am rolled around and I had been playing hard-core for about an hour. The Notre Dame football game starts and I thought to myself “Just mute it and you can watch.” Yeah right, I saw about every third play, if that. So I took them outside to hopefully burn some of their energy. Another hour had passed and I was spent. The problem was they were not even remotely tired. Incredible.

Lunch time arrived and so did the usual crying from Micah. I kept telling him “Keep your bib on” and he kept responding by yelling and spraying food all over the place. Keep telling your self “I love them.”

Finally, naptime arrived and both of them fall asleep. I remember thinking “You can just relax now.” Yeah right, the kitchen was a disaster with food and dishes everywhere. I cleaned it up, made myself a turkey sandwich, and watched some football. A solid thirty minutes went by when the monitor screeches with a loud and mad Micah.

It was now 3pm and both woke up raring to go after good naps. There was wrestling, hiding, chasing, crying, yelling, laughing and one dad making a complete fool of him for a laugh. When it was over, every toy in the house was now on the family room floor. Toys I hadn’t seen since Seth was little made a rare appearance. At that point I realized I needed to get outside.

Ah the double stroller, how I made fun of you until we had our second son. We took two long slow laps around the block (20 minutes) and the kids were mesmerized. Not a peep from either one.

Dinner was some more of the usual; food spitting, bib hating, Seth talking, peaceful event.

We spent two more hours of chasing, wrestling, and hiding until they were finally spent. Bath time is interesting at our house. Two boys one tub and never enough toys. I bathed Seth and told him to wait in his room while I bathed Micah. Bathing Micah was like trying to bathe a watermelon with vegetable oil all over it. I could never get a good grip. He only drank a little water from going under. I said goodnight to Seth as he watched his favorite move ”Madagascar.” He was a happy. I gave Micah his bottle and he fell asleep instantly.

It was 9:30pm when it was over.

Twelve hours with two kids under three. I had dishes, clothes, food, and myself to clean up. Never mind my sanity to find again.

Moral of this Story – I LOVE MY WIFE!!!

What she does everyday can never be expressed in words of dollar figures. It is immeasurable. I thank God for the awesome wife he gave me and the amazing mom she is to our two boys.

If you are reading this – stop and call your mom to tell her thanks for being your mom.

James Kruse

Me and my toilet 16 October 2006

It was three weeks ago now and I remember it like it was yesterday. I had just gotten home from oneighty that night and I was tired. The kids were in bed and I thought to myself “you and Sarah (my wife) on the couch for some mind numbing TV.” But alas it was not to be. Sarah then proceeded to inform me that the toilet was clogged in the bathroom. I thought, “Great, grab the plunger and let’s get this over with.” So I headed to the toilet and began plunging. Twenty minutes go by and nothing has happened. Finally up comes a super ball my son had thrown in the toilet. As I kept plunging up comes another super ball and a third for good measure. Three super balls dropped down the toilet by my two year old potty training son. Now you are probably thinking, “HA, HA how funny is that, kids are so crazy.” So was I for a moment and then I realized the toilet was still not draining. At that point I looked at the time (it had been one hour) and decided to call it a night.

Three days later, there I was in the bathroom going at it again with the clogged toilet. After some more plunging and nothing I realized I had to get crazy. I decided to take the toilet off and place it in the tub. No small task for one person. The smell was awful and the toilet water had gotten all over me. Finally after many failed attempts at unclogging I was pretty ticked off. I started shoving things in the toilet like hangers, snakes, and even my bare hands sometimes. Finally two more super balls pop out and one giant yellow tennis ball. TENNIS BALL. It could not fit down there unless pushed down there with a stick. So if your keeping track at home: 5 super balls, 1 tennis ball, toilet off, me covered in poop water and a little poop.

So, I finally get the toilet back on and I am screwing the last piece on and in walks my son “what are you doing daddy?” He had no clue to the suffering he just caused me.

The moral of the story is: There is none, it is just my son being two years old.

FYI – as I write this the same toilet is plugged up again. Seth has no idea what is down there so I will have to go through the whole process again. WHOOPIE!

James

Best of Times and Worst of Times 14 August 2006

The classic Charles Dickens line: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times” basically sums up my life the last two weeks.

Best of Times
Last week my family and I went on vacation to Illinois. We drove eight hours over night so my boys (2 and 7 months) could sleep the whole way. When we got to Illinois we spent a couple days with my in-laws. Sarah and I then left the kids and went to Chicago by our selves for a few days. Then came the day I have been waiting for since I was about 13 years old.

Wrigley Field. The home of the Chicago Cubs (baseball in case you are wondering). Now don’t get me wrong, I hate the Cubs but I love Wrigley Field. Built in the early 1900’s it is the second oldest ballpark in America. Fenway Park in Boston (much love) is the oldest. The game was awesome. It was everything I had hoped it would be from the ivy on the walls to the hot dogs and the fans on Waveland Ave. The Cubs hit four homers and killed the Diamondbacks. Of course the highlight for us was standing and singing “take me out to the ball game” in the seventh inning. Priceless. If you have never been to a baseball game you need to go at least once in your life. There is nothing more American than going to a baseball game on a nice evening, eating a hot dog and enjoying life.

The next night Sarah and I went to see a Broadway musical called “Wicked.” It was amazing. It is the story of the wicked witch of the West from the Wizard of Oz. You know the one who chases Dorothy and melts from the water. Wicked explains were the scarecrow, tin man, lion and wizard all came from. If you have the chance definitely go see it.

Warning Spoilers Ahead. The witch is good, the wizard is bad, and the wizard is also someone’s dad. OH MY.

We spent the rest of the week hanging out with my in-laws and laughing at the insane things my two year old does. Which will be a great blog in itself.

Worst of Times
When I write this today the horrible prediction I made on my last blog has come true. Previously I wrote “My next blog will probably be about how we are now in second place” I should have kept my mouth shut.

The hated Yankees are three games ahead of the Red Sox this morning and pulling away. We have lost the last three games in the last inning to the worst team in baseball. The pathetic Kansas City Royals.

Maybe next year.
JK

Red Sox three and a half games up 05 July 2006

Those are words I have never said in my entire life. For those who have no idea what I am talking about the Red Sox are a Major League Baseball team from Boston, Mass. They have become my addiction. I moved to Boston when I was 10 and I became a member of Red Sox Nation. The only problem was that we never won. Year after year we lost in the most heartbreaking fashion (86, 94, 98, 03) Then came 2004 when we beat the hated Yankees four in a row and won the world series. It is still great to say those words. You will never know what it has been like to watch your team lose for a solid 20 something years and then win in such dramatic fashion. Fast forward to today and we have a three and a half game lead on the Yankees and life could not be much better.

Maybe you don’t believe that my addiction is as bad as I say. Let me give you some proof. Here are some facts that prove it:

1. My wife and I see at least one game a year. Traveling to Dallas or Kansas City
2. My cell phone has the Red Sox logo on it.
3. Every game on that is on TV is recorded on my DVR so I can watch it again
4. At the same time the game is streaming on my computer to get live statistics
5. My wife knows all the players names and what position they play
6. My sons room has a baseball field that takes up the whole wall painted on it
7. Everything in his room is Red Sox except his bed and bedding (pictures, cards, cars, banners, stuffed bear, signed ball, bats, magazines, books)
8. My classroom at Lincoln is full of Red Sox stuff
9. I have over 10 different color Red Sox hats
10. I have the B logo tattooed on my back (just kidding)

This is probably the worst blog you have ever read but I thought the best thing to write about is something you know. The Red Sox are something I know and right now they are something I want to rub in every Yankee fans face right now. My next blog will probably be about how we are now in second place or how we lost the World Series but for now I must gloat. “Red Sox three and a half games up”

One side note:
I am watching the show Treasure Hunters right now on NBC (mon 8pm) and so should you for two words. WILD HANLONS!!! Watch the next show and you will see what I mean. CLASSIC!

JK