When the cat is away, the mouse will do lots and lots of errands!!!

After being a dad for 18 months now, I've had a completely new experience: the house to myself! Lisa and Soren went to Seattle to visit friends for the better part of a week. Which means that while they are lazing around eating cupcakes and walking by something called "The Ocean," I'll be here all alone. Can you believe it? Leaving me to preside over the opulent Fairfax Palace?

Hmmm-- a week of Bachelorhood... You might think i'm running amok, sleeping in, drinking lots of beer, taking lots of naps, watching movies, playing video games, going out with friends. That's what a renewed bachelor would do, right? WRONG!!!

Before Lisa left, I made a massive To-Do list, including all the chores i would try to do in their absence! I don't take much solace in sitting around being boring. I'd rather work. I am an Earth Horse, after all, and a Capricorn to boot. Translation: I LOVE to work. Quiet, persistent, constant work. Love it.

Observe:

Here is the first version of my list.
Note that this doesn't exactly cover homework, which is a whole different "To Do" list.

#9) Laundry.
Washing my newly-found jacket, sweatshirt, and shirts! Also finishing up diapers and clothes.
Fold fold fold.

#8) Mirror and timer.
Installing the mirror so as to make our entryway more welcoming (Excellent advice, Martha Stewart).
Note also the new timer hooked up to the red lamp. Automatically turns it on before piano lessons and off before Soren's bedtime.
Oh yes.

#7) Emptied Kitty Litter.
Just kidding. Cleaned out the compost.
We keep our compost in here. You fancy compost bins can go jump in a lake.

#6) Super glue frenzy.
Glued broken colander. Glued broken 1/3 cup measuring cup.
Given my severe aversion to super glue, this is a huge feat.
Seriously, if someone ever captured me to try to pry American secrets out of me, all they'd have to do is super glue my fingers together. I'd start crying like a baby.
I HATE super glue.

#5) Organized tools.
Relocated some orphan tools. Organized our tool shelf some. Hooked up our latent land line phone.

#4) Taped off exposed asbestos.
I am supremely proud of myself for this! Wore a handkerchief over my mouth (probably not as good as a respirator...) and tore short strips of duct tape. It took me much longer than Ithought, but it is good knowing that asbestos is no longer lurking about, ready to be inhaled.

#3) Fixed heater noise.
Fixed a "ghost in the machine" transformer hum in our heater.
Again, totally excited about this. When Lisa and I sit at our table, we would hear an obnoxious humming note as we tried to sit and enjoy our dessert. To a pair of musicians, this is tantamount to Chinese water torture.
Hum solved. BAM!!!

#2) Bottled up homemade Kombucha.
Not an "errand" per se, but I am extremely proud and excited to taste my first batch of home-brewed Kombucha! I know, right... I'm completely becoming a hippie. I now brew cultured tea in my pantry. I have a jar with a weird mushroom thing floating in it. Next will be stewed monkey heads.
Soren, this is my apology in advance: Sorry I am so weird.

*Not shown: Clean up kitchen, and wash 2 sets of dishes.

#1) Turn in long-overdue Japanese homework.
I am not even close to being done on this, but it was a good step in the right direction.

and....

#)x Surprise errand.
Did something for Lisa that I can't post here in case she's checking this!! Hee hee. Let's just say that when she comes back from Seattle, she will have a surprise awaiting her. A GOOD surprise.

Mwa hah hah!!! And the tasks continue...

On the agenda for tomorrow:
1) Japanese homework.
2) Visit Cincinnati Zen Center with Jason.
3) Art History homework.
4) Clean bathrooms.
5) Install new caulk in upstairs bathroom.
6) Plant bulbs in front yard.
7) Mow lawn/rake leaves.
8) Make Mexican wedding cookies for Art History clan.
9) Host Art History clan and study for Quiz.
10) Read about home buying.
11) Grade papers for Visual Fundamentals.
12) Record more music.
13) Read Contemporary Art assignments.
14) Feel lonesome...

What does a LION say?

Let's face it: Halloween was made (stolen, actually) for children. The few adults to enjoy Halloween on the same level are either extremely confident and silly, or they are parents watching each other's kids bonk around and run into each other in their cute little costumes. Hopefully, my recent induction into this second realm won't negate me from my membership of the first. But for now, this was Soren's Halloween.

As you may remember, he had a wildly successful stint last year as Senator John McCain. However, this year found him in a wonderfully wily Lion costume. You see that fringe? You see that body suit? Where do you think it came from, hmm? Target? The Spotted Goose? WRONG!

My friends, I am proud to say that this is the first ever full sewing endeavor by Lisa Dexter Fairfield, budding seamstress and overambitious mom extraordinaire. Not only was the costume extremely cute, but it also fit well, and (miracles abound) Soren even left it through the entire evening!

Also amazing-- you know that routine of getting candy from doors and putting it in a bag you brought along with you? It turns out that this is human instinct. Without any prompting or hints from either of us, Soren marched up to the first house he came to, looked at the inhabitants with huge brown eyes, accepted his bounty, and promptly placed it into his candy tote.

Coincidence? I think not.

Soren's second Halloween may have been a bit more melancholy than his first. I think he was catching on to the changing seasons, the bittersweetness of the leaves falling. He's an interesting kid-- very brave, and very thoughtful too.

He looks so much like a Maruice Sendak character. So huge and wooly and stompy.

And who taught him how to enjoy candy so much? Even bad chocolate! We need to cultivate his sweet tooth so that he weeds out waxy "chocolate" and goes straight for the real thing: Scharffenberger.

Here is the official donning of the costume! Though he doesn't generally like being dressed, he loves being the center of attention. It was a compromise.

I Love You.

Countless groggy mornings after nearly sleepless nights. Little hope of ever having a tidy house again. Insurmountable piles of laundry. Dried cheese and cheerios smashed into the floor and on the bottom of the majority of my socks.

All small prices to pay, indeed, for the joy that we felt yesterday when Soren signed back "I love you" for the first time. Or for the tenderness of his first real little kisses, which covered my face today as I laid down with him for his nap.

What a sweet boy.

Pictures coming soon.

Wow...!

Soren's newest ability is being honed to a fine science. (Which will, we are certain, translate into a career in science). He can now locate any light switch in the house from a distance of fifteen feet or more. Leading the way with outstretched hand, he can flip the switch from On to Off with 25% accuracy at least.

This video was taken about a week ago. At this point, he can rapidly flip each switch, and his wowing is a bit more hushed and reverent.

Pachabel, You GENIUS!

Observe, if you will, a young man already pining for his wedding day.
Talk about social conditioning!! Can't a young boy just be a boy and not have to dream about his wedding day?
So much pressure...

Short Summer in the Park

Well, the summer is coming to a close; or it's over, depending on who you ask.

I'm the type who is champing at the bit to get to Fall, but this year feels different. We've had the coldest summer here on record, and our Winter is threatening to be long and cold. I'm already prepared to get really sad and worn out.

So maybe it's best to bid sayoonara to the summer with some of my favorite pictures from a great playdate with my little baby.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Wedding in Kentucky

Well, we did it.

Apologies for our lapse in communication, but we've been a bit preoccupied. I have been told that our wedding was actually easy compared to most. However, it was still quite an ordeal to execute: handmade invitations, marriage counseling, couple counseling, flowers, dress shopping, coordinating "catering" from the Church body, entertaining family and friends, caring for a one-year old baby, finishing up classes and one degree, planning around 5 job schedules, and the usual wedding details... it looks like a lot on paper, but when all is said and done, it really didn't feel as if that much happened.

As far as I'm concerned, we really couldn't have asked for a better experience. We had just what we wanted: a "shared elopement in a church." We had a massive thunderstorm beforehand, and I'll be darned (as my Grandpa would say) if we didn't even get a prolonged rumble of thunder during our wedding kiss. We want to thank friends and family for flying out, for supporting us from afar, for keeping our family in your prayers, thoughts, ideas, vibes, choose-your-own-adventures, or whatever it is that people do these days. We feel loved, and are grateful for it.

We have literally thousands of pictures to weed through. We've gone through our 800 official wedding ones, and here are some of my favorites (that i sent to the Fairfield family). We will try to post more, or just put them up on a photo sharing site.

Love you all!
The Fairfields