Pete_Petoniak's Blog

WINTER STORM GRACE: What a difference 60 miles makes.  Around the Green Bay area we picked up a few tenths of an inch of snow while  60 miles away, parts of Sheboygan County will end up with nearly a foot.  I got an e-mail from Ben at  "The Point" radio in Sheboygan this morning describing the conditions like this:  "In my 15 years in radio...I've never seen this before. You can't see across the street. EVERYTHING is closed."  There was a real big drop off in snowfall amounts with this storm as it pushed through Illinois this morning.  Now we have to deal with the very strong winds.  Gusts of more than 40 mph are being reported at this hour (11 am).  If you're heading out this afternoon be prepared for powerful winds and "feels like" temperatures in the single digits.

THE BOYS:  I can't believe it but Henry is turning 2 this Friday.  He's become extremely independent lately.  In fact he won't let you do anything for him.  One of his favorite expressions is "I do it, I do it"..."Don't help me, Don't help me"    He doesn't really understand his birthday yet but his older brother Jake does.  He's looking forward to having more toys he can take away from Henry.

Hold on to your hat and I'll talk with you tomorrow on Good Day Wisconsin

It's about time I'm updating my blog.  Sorry for the extended period of "bloglessness "(I think that's a word I just made up, no need to google it).   Are you driving to the southern part of the state tonight or tomorrow?  You may want to re-think it if you are because that major winter storm is now making an appearance.

WINTER STORM:  It still looks like the highest snow totals will be around the Milwaukee  and Madison area where they may get a foot by tomorrow afternoon.  The latest indications from the weather computer models brings about 3 inches in the Green Bay area with 3 to 5 inches around Appleton and 5 to 8 inches from Oshkosh through Fond du Lac and Sheboygan.  These are bigger numbers than in previous runs so it looks like we'll have to get the snow throwers out again after this one clears.  If this holds up we'll name the Winter Storm tonight at 5 pm.  The next one is named "Grace" in case you're keeping track. 

A LOT OF SNOW ALREADY: Yes it has been snowy.  So far this year we've already surpassed our seasonal normal for snowfall in Green Bay.  The norm is 53 inches and we've seen more than 57 inches and it's only the beginning of February.  The record for one season is 77.5 inches set in 1995-96.  I think we have a legitimate shot at it.

Have a great day and I'll talk to you tomorrow on Good Day Wisconsin!

A couple of days ago I started to tell you about my weekend alone with they boys, 3 year-old Jake and 22 month-old Henry.  Now here's the rest of the story.  If you've already read the beginning just scroll down to the 7th paragraph.  Do you have family experiences like these?  Post a comment.  I would love to hear from you. 

My wife Sarah left for the weekend to visit her father and I was in charge of the boys...my 3 year-old Jake and 22 month-old Henry.  Here are some "highlights" from the weekend.

Saturday morning Jake came into my bed at about 6 o'clock and I told him to go to sleep for a while so we didn't wake Henry.  He thought this would be a good time to just throw out some conversation-starters as I lay with my eyes shut. Jake: "Is that a train? I hear a train.  We go to that train place and eat chicken." (it's a place in Suamico that has a train track around the top) Pete: "Yes, Jake now go to sleep." (15 secs. later) Jake: "That's the heat.  I hear it in my room, it goes 'whoosh.' Can I have a snack?  I want cereal.  When we get up I want sausage and 'pampcakes'...I don't want to go to McDonald's.  Are you going to shave?  You're face is crunchy."  Pete: "Jake, go to sleep."  (10 secs. goes by) Jake: "I'm hungry...Where's mom? Is Curious George on?..."      We got up.

Most times you're overjoyed when your kids learn something new, except for the time they learn how to lock doors.  I found out Jake can lock doors when he locked himself and his brother in his room.  Luckily I can unlock the doors from the outside but I need either long fingernails or some sort of a tool to put in the slot.  Since I don't have long fingernails, a screwdriver was close at hand all weekend.

Sarah had to call my cell phone because she couldn't get through on the regular phone.  A quick check found the phone off the hook and Jake's stool next to the desk.  I'm thinking there's a connection.

On Saturday I got them all dressed in their snow suits, boots, sweatshirts, hats, mittens ( that never stay on, especially 22 month-olds) and scarves and took them out to see the snow as it was falling.  They were very excited.  The entire process took about 20 minutes to get them both dressed (of course 5 minutes of that is just getting them over to me so I can start the process) and we ventured out out to the garage.  I said, "okay guys,  I'm going to open the garage and we'll go out in the snow."  The garage door opens, their eyes grow wider and then...the wind blows.  Pete: "Come on Jake and Henry, here's your shovels, let's shovel the snow."  No movement from the two...then Jake speaks..."It's windy."  Pete: "Yes Jake, I know it's windy, now come out here and we'll play."  Finally they put one heavily-clothed foot out the door and say, "It's too windy to go outside."  Ten minutes later we were back in the warmth of our house.  I did gather up enough snow to make my world-famous "snow ice-cream" though.  It consists of snow, vanilla, sugar and milk.  We were out of vanilla but almond extract worked fine.  I think the boys would have liked any flavor, as long as there was that sugar in it.  We shared a big bowl.  A real dad-sons moment sitting at the table eating that snow ice cream (with all that sugar) at about 5:30 pm, 2 hours before their bedtime.  Dad's not too smart at times.  After that a series of events followed within a half

Those events were:      * Henry reaching into the bottom drawer where all their plastic cups are kept (our idea..."wouldn't it be great if they could get their own cups"...right!) and throwing 5 or 6 down the stairs to the basement.  I told him to go pick them up but since he's not as advanced as Jake who would at least pick them up after we told him (about 4 or 5 times) Henry just crawled down the steps, picked up the remaining few that didn't make it to the bottom..and threw them the rest of the way down.   *  Jake and Henry playing their version of "Hide and Seek" which is basically, "Hide from Dad".  They ran to the bathroom and closed the door (I'm so sick of closing doors); seconds later I open it to find them hiding in the shower curtain eating out of the toothpaste tube.  Don’t' worry, they didn't get much and it doesn't have fluoride in it but the top was off and the tip was in their mouths.  I know they got a little because Jake's breath smelled minty fresh.     * In the minute that it took to change Henry, Jake became very quiet; all parents know this is not usually a good thing.  I came out to find the pantry door open and the bedroom door closed.  This I had seen before.  He had something.  I opened the door and saw him jump...he had a half-eaten cookie in each hand.  He handed them to me as he ran off to the living room. And finally...* Jake found crayons on the counter and started to color the top of the trash can.     Now mind you all of these things happened within a half hour.  I realized at that point I made 2 mistakes.  One was to give them the sugar-loaded snow ice cream and the other was that I didn't take advantage of recorded Curious George cartoons we had saved to our DVR.  The raucous good time subsided when I announced..."Okay, it's time for a show...how about Curious George." 

Sunday morning as my newspaper stuck to the kitchen table (probably the snow ice cream remnants from the previous night) I looked around to see crumbs on the floor, a counter filled with dirty dishes and food in the sink.  If my wife walked in right at that moment, it wouldn't have been pretty.  Every one of those things are her pet-peeves.  I'm not sure which she would put at the top of the list, the sticky table, dishes on the counter, crumbs on the floor or food in the sink but they all rank right up there with dirty diapers thrown outside the diaper genie on the floor of the garage. (oh yeah, there were a couple there at the time too.) I knew I had to get things back to semi-clean before she got back but I had plenty of time.

We ventured out in the snow Sunday and played for a while.  The wind had died down so they enjoyed it more.  One thing that's great about the snow, it slows them down.  They already have snowpants, a bulky coat and sweatshirts on underneath...add to that a half foot of snow and it gives you a lot more time to catch up to them. 

I caught Jake reaching into the pantry again later in the weekend and I went up to him as he pulled out a box of fruit snacks.  When he saw me he said:: "Dad, will you put the fruit snacks away so I don't get them."  You gotta admit, he thinks on his feet.

Henry's favorite expressions are "hide" (which he says over and over..."hide, hide, hide, hide..." when he and Jake hide under the sofa pillows) and "kiss it, kiss it, kiss it, kiss it"  No matter what he hits, bangs or bonks, Dad or mom can always cure it with a quick kiss.  

My wife returned Sunday night and I'm happy to report that the kids were sleeping like angels in their beds, the table wasn't sticky and the dishes were in the dishwasher.  She’ll only know what really happened when she reads this.  “Mom we missed you!”

FAVRE:  I always like to read the opposing teams hometown articles about the game after the Packers have won.  You know, like reading the Minneapolis sportswriter talking about how the Vikings picked the wrong coach (Childress over McCarthy) and don't have a quality quarterback like Brett Favre.  Well today I received an e-mailed article about Brett Favre written by LA Times columnist Chris Erskine.  I think it really puts America's love affair with Brett in perspective.  Brett's "us"; "us" being the millions of more mature guys who watch with amazement at his accomplishments this year.  He's blue-collar and we love him.  A part of the article goes: "Yep, you're us all right and we couldn't be more thrilled.  You don't like to miss work under any condition.  It's just the way you were raised.  A guy thing.  You don't miss work.  In almost 300 games, including two Super Bowls, you haven't missed a start. It is the sports stat of our time."  The rest is just as good.  To read it  click here.  Great stuff!

WINTER STORM: It still looks like some significant snow this weekend.  The latest indications are that we'll get snow starting around noon on Saturday, accumulating Saturday afternoon until temperatures warm enough in the evening to bring in some freezing rain and sleet, maybe even rain.  This warming is key.  If it does warm enough to change the snow to liquid, it'll cut down the snow totals but right now it looks like there will be plenty of snow before that happens.  How much?  How about 4 to 7 inches but that could change so keep watching and check Patrick's Blog for updates.

THE BOYS: Henry, our 21 month-old, now is becoming like Linus of Peanuts fame.  He always wants his blanket.  Yesterday he wanted it while he was eating..."BLANKET"... "BLANKET" ..."BLANKET"  Then the tears and the screams and the red face because he WANTS IT!  Looking on the bright side though, at least he calls it a "blanket" instead of a "blankie".   Jake, our 3 year-old, was playing the other day and heard Sarah say, "there's a draft coming from that window".  He put down Lightning McQueen, walked into the room and said, "Where's the giraffe?" Come on, now that's cute don't you think? (He thought "there's a draft" was "a giraffe"...now do you get it?)

I hope you're having a great week.  My wife is leaving for the weekend to visit her famiy and I'm alone with the boys.  Wish me luck.  I should have plenty of good material for this blog by Monday...if I survive.

Weather: I hope you didn't slip and slide heading out to Grandma's house this morning. The light snow and cold really made roads slippery. I slid a bit at a stop sign this morning on my way to work. It should be a cold one for you shoppers standing in line tomorrow morning to get the good deals as the doors open for Black Friday. The temperature at 5 am will be near 16° with a wind chill of 5°...after enduring that I hope you get the laughing Ernie Doll you wanted.

Colds: Why is it you can have a cold for 3 weeks? Just when I think I'm over it, it drags me back down. The cough, the runny nose. I guess I'm at a very giving household, we've been giving this cold to each other for a month. Didn't Granny have a cure for the common cold on the Beverly Hillbillies? Remember that episode when "Dr. Granny" came up with a cure and Mr. Drysdale was all excited because he thought he would make some big money off it. Then it turns out Granny gives the cold cure medicine to someone and says something like, "just take that once a day and in 7 to 10 days you'll be cured." More like 14 to 21 days...and a dip in the cee-ment pond.

Thanksgiving: My favorite Thanksgiving joke: "My relatives, boy can they eat. Last Thanksgiving I bowed my head to say grace and when I looked up they were passing the after-dinner mints."

Happy Thanksgiving: This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for my family...my wife Sarah who does so much for us; the boys Jake and Henry who are unbelievable. I'm thankful that I have food to eat and a place with heat when it's 15° wind chill. Think about the people who don't have that and you realize how lucky you are. I hope you are able to spend Thanksgiving with your family and friends.

MOON RINGS: I was stopped by a couple yesterday on my way into the Y and

 asked a question and I had 4 e-mails asking the same question when I came in

this morning.  They were all asking what Jen wrote: “What is the large bright circle

around the moon tonight?? I've never seen a halo so large?”  That sight happened

on Friday night.  The ring around the moon or halo was due to the refraction

(the bending of light as it passes from one medium to another) of moonlight

through ice crystals in high level clouds.   There are 2 types of rings, one big and

one small.  It’s rarer to see the big one which is the 46° halo as opposed to

the 22° one. It sounds like this was the big one.   The different sizes are

determined by the way the light passes through the ice crystals in the clouds. 

 Here are a coule of websites you can go to for more  information

http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/ice/

halo/46.rxml and http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/aprilholladay

/2006-09-11-moon-origins_x.htm

Weather folklore says when you see those rings around the moon, bad weather is approaching.  The reason is because the ice crystals in the halo are from high-level cirrus clouds which usually arrive 1 to 2 days before a warm front which is associated with a storm system.  So the thinking is if the clouds are here today, the storm’s on the way.

THE BOYS:  Here’s something I learned over the weekend: don’t let the kids take a 3-hour nap because no matter how relaxing it is while they’re sleeping…you will pay when they get up.  I was in charge of Jake and Henry while my wife was out doing some scrap booking with her friends.  (Although I wonder how much scrapping they get done and how much of it is just being “out” ) The kids are sleeping, I’m napping and life is fine until they wake up.  Jake thinks it’s morning and is confused because the sun is still up and Henry wants out of his crib.  This is how I know Henry wants out. Henry: “OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT, OUT…”  Pete: “Henry, you want out, here you go.” Henry: “NUK, NUK, NUK, NUK, NUK, NUK, NUK, NUK…” Pete: “Here’s your nuk.” Henry: “BLANKET, BLANKET, BLANKET, BLANKET, BLANKET, BLANKET…” He has a one-track mind.  I have taken to tiring them out by putting on party favorites on the stereo and telling them to dance.  They dance for a while then they run around in circles between our living room and kitchen and pound on the trash can each time they pass it.  Henry usually trips over his blanket from time to time but he’ll scream like there’s no tomorrow if I try to take it away. This goes on for about 15 or 20 minutes and then I ask them if they want to watch a “show”   Henry: “SHOW, SHOW, SHOW, SHOW, SHOW, SHOW, SHOW…” With the help of the DVR and Curious George, I get to relax …until they get hungry. Henry: “SNACK, SNACK, SNACK, SNACK, SNACK, SNACK.”