Siblings catching up!

Our current busing crisis

It has been an infuriating couple of days here.  The city started using a bus company that, clearly, wasn't prepared for the start of school last Thursday.  The routes they planned were completely unrealistic.  For the first two days last week, Hugo's bus arrived over two hours late at our place.  This week, after a weekend we were told  the bus company was to reconfigure new routes, the bus didn't even show up at our apartment!  Outrageous!

I wrote the following missive based on a story in the New York Daily News for my Facebook update this morning:

I so rarely bitch, but:

Buses 2+ hours late, in some cases not even showing up! And it is happening to the neediest, least-able children in the NYC! And what does Bloomberg have to say about it all?

“My understanding is that they’re actually doing a pretty good job, But there’s always going to be . . . a story like that. There’s 1.1 million kids.”

We're talking about children here, we're not bean-counting! We're not weighing the percentages here! Nor is it just one story! Nor is it reasonable to expect parents (who have to get on with the process of earning a living in our very expensive city) to put their lives on hold until the bus company can "figure it out."

I mean, it would not be OK if a set of parents decided they were going to drop their child off at school 2 hours late on a regular basis. It would not be ok of a set of parents strapped their child to a seat for two to three hours, in a room on a daily basis and ignored the child's needs for food, water, bathroom breaks (let alone most of these particular children CANT EVEN EXPRESS THEIR NEEDS VERBALLY). Those parents would be brought up on charges, but for you, sir, the bus company is doing a "pretty good job."

Sorry, Mr. Mayor, if I don't share your cavalier spirit.

 

Whereas I could only vent on Facebook, Jennifer, on the other hand, turned up the heat and started making calls to reporters and colleagues.  One of the fruits of her labor, shown below, was this TV news interview between me and CBS 2 here in the city (here's the accompanying story)  As well, Jen did a radio interview this evening, you can hear that here: link.

The best news though, is that appears to be working and we may actually have a bus at our place to pick up our son!  Kudo's to Jennifer for moving mountains (on top of everything else that has to get done in the day) and hopefully bringing visibility and hopefully swift resolution to this busing crisis--not just for us, but for all parents struggling to get their kids to school

** Revised note:  A bus came today for Hugo promptly at 7am, he was the only child on the bus.  It is true Hugo did get a bus ride to school, hoping the rest of our Astoria area friends join him. **
The stream has a couple pauses but will play out.

 

First Day of School for Hugo

Hugo recently started his second year of school - he was very excited to say the least!

Piggy-back Fail!  Sometimes Hugo hates holding hands and walking together and sometimes we don't have time to hash it out with him, so up on the shoulders he goes!  And then, sometimes, he doesn't even want the free ride so he falls back in protest, letting us know he's had enough.  We did about eight blocks of "up and down" like this to get to his first day of school.

Hugo and beleaguered Daddy at Lincoln Square. If you look closely, you may see some of Daddy's hair between Hugo's fingers.  :)

A good-bye moment with Mommy outside his school.  Jen and I are as excited as Hugo for him to be back in school.  We miss him, of course, but we know how much he enjoys himself here.

I just look at this schedule and I am tired.

Hugo didn't miss a beat.  He jumped right in and worked the room in his way, bouncing from station to station.

And here, a brief nanosecond to pause and reflect....and so Daddy could get a quick photo that isn't too blurry.

It was also nice to meet Hugo's new teacher, Mecka! Have a great school year everyone!

Field Notes on the Brown Boys (2)

These images were taken immediately after afternoon naps.  Guess which child finds it hard to wake up?  Right.  Hugo! Who is almost "teenager-esque" in his crabby, lethargic journey toward wakefulness.  Dash, on the other hand, usually bolts out of bed as if every day is Christmas morning.

Singing on the way to Costco

Dash got a little shy with the camera. But not Hugo!!

Brothers and Friends

Oh sure, there's the biting and the scratching from time to time, but there's also this. Enjoy.

Because school is about to begin. . .

All the boys got haircuts!  This week Hugo goes back to school after three weeks off.  Dash goes to school one day a week right around the block.  Even Daddy is getting ready for the new school year.

A sign of maturity, Hugo sat by himself and let Mr. Barber cut his hair.  He just kept talking to the mirror!

Our favorite Russian barber just barked orders.... "look down! look  look look look down!!!"

 Mommy makes the boys put on their old PJs for haircuts because fresh cut hair and suckers mean dirty, filthy clothing!  

The thing that makes dinner delightful

Half the battle of getting these boys to eat the wonderfully nutritious food Jen makes for them is to try and lighten the mood.  We have other methods when needed (bribery, begging, bait-and-switch) but we'd much rather use laughter and last night was all giggles and good times. Consequently, they ate well which makes for a happier daddy!

Field Notes on The Brown Boys

If he's not bothered (meaning if he thinks nobody is watching) Hugo will vocally name the animals in the Big Red Barn book

Few babies work a park like our little charmer, Dashiel Quincy.

Hugo on the other hand, is more the explorer--up, down and far afield, there are few city parks that can hope to contain his desire to wander. 

Reading and wrangling

Chasing the moon

Dash points out the moon.... and then tries grabbing it.  The original video was longer, with him grunting and reaching.... the effort was there!
 

Recent History (in images)

At "Froggie" Park - spray fountains turned off on this day.

Tired and watching "Fish Show" (which is Finding Nemo)

For Dash, it's a swing thing.

Fought nap all day long, finally crashing on couch with Kitty.

A sit-in for a milk bottle.

Playing at a park in Fresh Meadows, NY

Same as above

What you don't see here in this photo: Hugo naming the letters he is spinning.

When water's in play, it's tough sell getting Hugo to keep his clothes on.

Morning coffee with Mommy on our wee balcony.

Ready Set Go!

Not many posts as of late, the theme of this summer is either us yelling to the kids "Ready Set Go!"  as they jump into the pool, or we've been yelling it to the TV and the divers at the Summer Olympics.  Michael Phelps night after night may have inspired Hugo.  He's been swimming underwater, eyes open in recent weeks.

In NYC, public pools have a modest amount of security.  Getting into our local pool, Astoria Park Pool, you start off with a bag check at the front gate--you also won't get in without a lock and swim "diapers" if you're with a child.  And from there, getting from the locker room to the pool, you are allowed a towel, flip flops, maybe some lotion, your suit....and that's about it. 

We've been to the pool plenty of times, but have yet to bring in a camera.  That is, until yesterday when we snuck in my small cell phone and got a few pictures/video.

Our boys are actually fish it seems, and we wanted to share that.  Bear with the weak picture quality

Just posting recent pictres from my phone (with captions)

Sad Dash: just past 2 and he's working the tantrums like a pro.  Here he's in recovery mode.

That's right, Hugo's watching Jem & The Holograms (and liking it).

If there's a puddle around, Dashiel's walking into it (Hugo, left, is a bit more selective).

When the boys wake up, first thing, they shoot out to the living room and get to working the train table.

"What tantrum??"

Hugo's new bathtub thing: floating with his ears below the water.  I figure he's putting the mute button on Dash's loud chatter.

Mom and her boys (no really, they didn't want to hold Daddy's hand).

Went out for a bike ride with a friend recently, took the following two panoramas.  This one's along the West side of Manhattan around 170st Street--George Washington Bridge to the right, downtown to the left.  You'd have to click the image to enlarge.

This panorama taken from the RFK bridge that connects Queens to The Bronx and Manhattan.  Hellgate bridge in the center, East River and Astoria Park in the center foreground.

Working the corner by Rikers

Dash and I had every intention of going to the park today.  But we had no stroller so we walked SLOOOOWLY and found a payphone.  After standing there and talking to an empty line, I dialed the newsroom's toll-free number and asked a friend to make small talk with him.

Two Hams in Hats!

Dash and Hugo were fighting over a hat earlier this evening, so Jen decided to pull down a whole box of hats from the wardrobe....That's when the boys started hamming it up for the camera (as well as checking themselves out in the mirror, too).  If you can't see the slide show images, click here.

Learning from your past...

Have you been following the Jerry Sandusky case?
It is a big deal in the Brown household.
Children abused over years, but at least justice was served, albeit very late in the game.
Today the independent report from Penn State came out and found that from the top down people knew he was up to no good and did nothing to stop it.  Father figure Joe Paterno included.

This was all to save face for a football program.

There were lots of justifiable reasons for not going to the police.  I know this story line all too well.
While following this case has been as painful as a car wreck for me...  I now know in my heart when I was a child and heard the excuses of why we weren't going to the police...  that then and now, the reasoning never made sense.

A child shouldn't have to understand an adult's selfish means to an end.

There is no good reason for not seeking justice.  Even if our legal system is flawed, it brings resolution.  It would have been nice for the Jerry I knew to at least face charges (that was his name too).

This very serious entry makes the blog today as a reminder to us as parents and to our friends that there are many Jerry-types in the world and you can't start soon enough in telling your kids how to protect themselves and what to be aware of.

And the biggest job as a parent is helping put Jerry behind bars.

Here's to You, Dash! Happy Birthday!

We went to our favorite indoor water park hotel for Dash's second birthday and we should have known something was up when he wasn't his usual go-getter self on the slides and in the water.  Turns out, our little guy has hand foot mouth disease which has been going around.  Our kids have had everything this last month and mom and dad have been on the receiving end too.  But as your can see we've made the most of the hot weather and have visit beaches, lakes and our local public pool.


Our little boy came into this world with a personality ready to go.  He's jaunty, capricious, inquisitive, sociable, and super chatty.  He is this family's glue, always bringing everyone together whether it be for a group hug or to break up a time out... Dashiel Quincy you are loved!!!