The Boss'

2008 has been a busy one for the Boss’, but that goes without saying. Wouldn’t you be surprised if I opened by saying, "Yeah, there’s really not a lot going on over here." So, let’s just get all the cliché’s out of the way, shall we. Yeah, the kids are great, they’re getting big, they’re tons of fun…blah, blah, blah. You know all that.

However, I know some folks like details… some people will even print out this post and show it to others, as strange as that sounds. So, in that spirit, I thought I should offer a brief update on each of the kids, and the family in general. Here goes…

Emma, 10, continues to mature and develop much like you would expect of a first born, type A daughter. She loves being in charge, which sometimes causes conflicts with Lindy because, you know, there can only be ONE mom in the house. She’s 10 now, and she especially likes it when she’s allowed to baby sit for short periods of time. As payment, she’s allowed to stay up a little later at night to read, or just spend time with the two of us. She still goes to the Critter Barn every Wednesday morning to help out with chores and field trips, and she is now the go-to person in our family whenever anyone has a question regarding some sort of farm animal. She loves to read more than just about anything in the whole world, so that remains an integral part of her schooling. We started doing math with Emma just this year. Emma has been our guinea pig when it comes to this philosophy of starting math late. All the research around late math is compelling, but I was still nervous as we delayed math year after year. But, just like the research suggests, she was able to pick up a Saxon 5/6 math book and start right up. I won’t say it’s easy for her, but being able to avoid math drills for the last five years, then being able to pick right up at grade level is a thrill.

Ben, 8, enjoys spending time outdoors. I could end my update on Ben right there, but I’ll add some details just for the sake of equal time. As far as formal schooling, Ben’s schedule is pretty light. Ben will read if he’s asked, but he definitely doesn’t enjoy it like Emma did at his age. Ben will use reading more like a tool. If he’s trying to figure out how to put something together or take something apart, then he’ll read directions. He loves being read to, so we are encouraged by that. I’ve read some really good adventure stories to him this year, and that just fuels his desire to spend time outside. We’re taking the same delayed approach to math with Ben as we did with Emma, but we have a feeling math with come more naturally to Ben. Ben’s daily life revolves around numbers because of his diabetes, so the vocabulary of math is more a part of his life. Speaking of diabetes, we were encouraged by a good appointment that we had in October where his A1C level had come down considerably. That lower number means we had better control of his blood glucose in the previous few months. Recently, his numbers have been a little harder to manage, but part of that is to be expected because, as a child, his body is constantly changing, and we are chasing a moving target as far as his insulin dosages. Ben would list the go-cart as one of his favorite things.

Grace, 4, is making the transition from one of the "little kids", to one of the "big kids", and she’s loving it. She is anxious to do "school" whenever Lindy has a spare minute, and her letters and numbers are coming pretty easily to her. She is also more able to play with Ben now that she is a little older, and the two of them have become pretty good buddies. At the same time, she loves to play dolls with Anna, and the two of them spend lots of time in the playroom playing house and cooking in the play kitchen. They are great friends and terrific playmates for each other. Grace also enjoys playing Starfall on the computer, and is always excited to share what has learned.

(Only two more kids and a fetus to go, hang in there.)

Anna, 2, is at that age of maximum cuteness. I’ve long thought that when a boy or girl is between two and three years old, they are at their peak in terms of heart melting ability. She loves to play, to read books, to follow us around, to be picked up, and just generally loves being alive to see what’s going to happen next. When a kid is two, the "why" questions can seem overwhelming, but they also present great opportunities. Anna just wants to know why grown ups do what they do…why does the world work the way that it works…the least we can do is to show/tell them. That’s what I love about having our kids at home with us. I don’t understand this notion that the only way to prepare a child to be a happy, productive member of society is to remove them from the home for 12 years, for 8-10 hours a day. That doesn’t add up to me…but I’m not hear to preach…on to the next child in the lineup.

Jack, 1, is our little wrecking ball. As I wrote recently, he has us at our wits end many days. He is a sweet little guy, however, and we couldn’t love him any more than we do. His sisters love to play with him and take care of him, and we expect Ben to take more of an interest as he gets older. Right now, Ben tolerates Jack getting into all his stuff, and will watch him when he’s asked, but the 7 years between them make them odd playmates. As Jack gets older, I’m sure they’ll be getting into trouble together.

(b6) Baby number six is on the way in May, and so far the pregnancy has been a good one. We’re keeping our fingers crossed, and we ask for your prayers for an uneventful pregnancy and delivery. With Anna and Jack, Lindy had to spend a fair number of weeks on bed rest, but we’re hoping to avoid that this time around. The logistics of bed rest get more difficult as you add more little ones to the mix.

Lindy continues to excel in her role as super mom and chief home educator, though most of the time she doesn’t feel like she’s doing enough. I think she’s doing an amazing job, despite being chronically tired and fighting the daily battle with a bottomless pile of laundry. She provides the consistent, loving care that our kids thrive on, and creates a place where they can each flourish and develop their talents.

The state of the economy in Michigan, in case you’ve been living under a rock, is not good. I recently traveled to Las Vegas for a conference, and when you tell people that you’re from Michigan, they feel compelled to offer you their condolences. I feel fortunate to have a job after having just survived another round of layoffs. If any of you are in the market for several million dollars worth of office furniture, may I humbly recommend that you buy it from Herman Miller? The shaky economic situation creates enormous stress and is just altogether unpleasant. I try not to let the anxiety spill over into family life, but it is hard to maintain a happy go lucky veneer in such uncertain times. I can’t help but feel like my generation is really being put to the test in these scary times. Will we have the perseverance and intestinal fortitude to survive in these times, like our grand parents did during the great depression? Let’s hope so.

We are very pleased with our move out of town in May of 2007. The kids, especially Ben, love having room to roam outside. We were even lucky enough to have neighbors move in right nearby with five of the neatest kids you’d ever want to meet, all around the same ages as our kids. What are the odds?! We still only have two rabbits taking up residence in our barns, but plans are always evolving in that regard. We’d like to get some more farm animals in there in the coming year. The prospect of having some productive farm animals around is especially appealing to me in these crazy economic times. Who knows when we might have to resort to raising our own food and burning our furniture for heat? I know, I’m quite the optimist. Lindy loves that about me. The list of projects around an old farm house like this is never ending, and time and money will dictate what gets done, and in what order. The commute is really not very long, but it can be dicey in bad weather, which we have had a lot of recently. When you’re snowed in out here, you’re really snowed in…like, stuck-and-not-going-anywhere snowed in.

I have to say that my family and I have been especially blessed this year by our efforts to engage in family worship everyday. We attempt to memorize some scripture, sing some songs, and read a Bible story. We mess up and skip some nights, and I can’t carry a tune to save my life, but for the most part, we’ve been pretty consistent at it. Recently, we memorized Ephesians 6:10-17, the Armor of God section. It’s great to have that section of God’s word hidden in our hearts in difficult times like these. Even the little ones pick up parts of it, which we know will stick with them forever.

Did I miss anything? If you need more deets, just ask…follow me or Lindy on Facebook, or send us an email…

• email.chadboss AT gmail DOT com
• melinda_boss AT yahoo DOT com

Merry Christmas,

The Boss’

So this is Jack. I snapped this picture after he had gotten himself good and stuck beneath his high chair. He, more than any of our other kids, has succeeded in driving us completely nuts. He has no use whatsoever for any of his toys. Why bother with toys when you can haul every pot and pan out of the kitchen cabinets? And he climbs. Everything. If he sees something that he wants, he’ll figure out some combination of things to stack in order to reach it. The other day he pushed a stool over to the sink and was able to reach a steak knife lying in the bottom. What did he do? Well, he stuck the sharp end in his mouth, of course! I managed to get the knife away before any damage was done, but it made for some anxious moments. And he’s always getting into the kids’ school stuff. Sometimes I think he could live entirely on the pencil erasers and crayons that he consumes throughout the day. And to him, his mouth is just another hand. He will walk around the house, from one disaster to the next, and all the while be carrying some toy or kitchen utensil in his mouth. The better to have both hands free to carry out his destructive plans.

Between his antics throughout the day, and his sporadic sleeping at night, he may be our undoing.

Even with all this, he certainly is a blessing. He’s at that super cute and roly-poly age where he toddles from one thing to the next. The world is one big playground to him, and he never gets tired of exploring.

So AU has officially begun, and 9,000 dorks have descended upon Vegas. It’s hard to describe the scale of everything at this conference. Imagine fixing breakfast for that many people. It’s certainly a lesson in crowd management and efficiency. They have it down to a science over here. I attended the keynote, and the room I was in can only be described as cavernous. An airplane hanger springs to mind.

A conference like this always makes me covet the latest geek gear. The iPhones, tablet PC’s, etc. Man, it’s geek porn. My old prepaid cell phone feels so inadequate. Oh, and my wardrobe needs work. Even among nerds, I feel under dressed. There are 74 countries represented here, and the eastern European’s seem like pretty snappy dressers.

My room here at the Venetian is really nice. It’s got 3 flat screen TV’s in it, though I can’t imagine when I’d use them all. There’s even one in the bathroom. Speaking of the bathroom, it’s a fancy glass and marble affair, with a separate glass shower and soaking tub. Also, the bathroom has an abundance of full length mirrors, though I can’t foresee a situation in which I would care to see that much of myself, especially in the bathroom. Perhaps the room was designed with someone much more beautiful in mind.

I was able to use the free wifi in the food court adjacent to the casino to do a little video chat with my wife and kids. It was a little sketchy, but I could see the whole gang going in and out of my home office and it made me feel a little better about being so far away. It was cool to see the little ones especially. They are just so cute, if I do say so myself.

More later.

I know it’s a cheezy photo, but I don’t have a camera with me this week. I wish I did. There’s not shortage of photo opportunities out here.

From Autodesk University

I’m passing time until the exhibit hall opens at 7pm. I’m not really that excited about seeing anything in particular this year, but that’s where I’ll be getting my dinner, so I have that for motivation. It’s amazing how aggressive people get when you wave free food in front of them. You can see whole groups of people planning a strategy for how they’re going to beat the system and somehow get to the front of the line. It’s not a real pleasant place to be if you don’t like crowds. Can you imagine what would happen if we were actually hungry. Most of these people are still overstuffed from their last trip to the trough, and yet they’re motivated simply by the fact that the food is free. Forget whether or not I really need 3 desserts. They’re FREE! Must eat!

With this many people there is lots of shoulder to shoulder shuffling going on. Where it’s just wall to wall people and your only choice is just to follow the crowd. Stop, and you’re trampled. It’s a little disconcerting at times. The WalMart black friday stampede comes to mind. Ah well. Stand in line. Eat. Go to bed. That’s my night.

Follow my comings and goings at Autodesk University this week in Las Vegas, Nevada. I’ll be twittering anything worth noting over at www.twitter.com/chad_boss.