Joey's school conference; we met with Ms Hoffman and Bryani today to discuss Joey's progress.  And there has been real progress, both in behaviour and performance.  Hi reading and writing have come on very well, his drawing and singing are good.  He has a great vocabulary and expresses himself very well - to a much higher level that most kids his age.  He is still behind and struggles but there is progress.
He generally plays and interacts with other kids very well.
His behaviour is better.  But he still has problems with one of the other kids in his class - Ryan M.  And Joey does not know how to back down.  Or to step back when an adult steps in.  Too often - and this happens with Izzy at home - he will start off as the injured party but then gets the attention turned on him because he over-reacts.  He then feels aggrieved and accuses one and all of being mean.

And there is an anger and frustration within him which erupts occasionally - mainly at home, where he has had a couple of bad outbursts recently.  It is hard to know where this comes from.  He has such a good life , is generally very happy and is making progress.  Maybe part of it is that, at his age, there is so much more emphasis - whether in play, or on TV - on reading something.  and he is still not at the point where he can read easily.

A work in progress, as they say.  But he is a great kid, and he is smart, and progress will continue to the point where the frustration and anger will subside.  And then he will become a lawyer where his tendency to always have the last word and be able to argue for hours on end will be put to good use!

Isabela's adoption sage; we learned something new recently.  Baixino (shorty), the toerag that is holding up her application, has taken court cases up to the Supreme Court before.  We learned this through going on to the Supreme Court website for Isabela's case.  by the way, quite remarkable how well the Brazilians seem to able access to info.  Not sure whether this is done so well in the Uk or the US.  Anyway, he had some claim regarding compensation or a pension claim some six years ago.  Our Portuguese is not good enough to understand all the legalese but it seems that it was also a case without merit which he was able to pursue at no cost to himself.  I am all for access to justice for all.  But there has to be a limit.

US visa; good news - I have a date for my US visa i/v, 13 June in London.  Will fly over for a week and see the family, some colleagues and follow up on the hoped-for project with Imperial College.  Should be a good week.

A full weekend ahead; Memorial weekend here so no school tomorrow or Monday.  Tomorrow we are inviteed to dinner at Geroid's - a Tipperary man who I met in the pub and who owns a nice house with 9 acres just outside of town.  Saturday is boxing and then a visit to the McCounaghy's organic farm.  By all accounts they have a very impresssive operation, and it should be very interesting.  Saturday night, I have commitments from the local neighbours - David, Euean, Kevin and William - to join me for pints in the pub.  Sunday we go stay with one of Anne's best friends, Kate, after spending a few hours at her parent's where, hopefully, the pool will be open and available to wash away my hangover.  So, a full weekend.

Izzy and horses; Izzy has been going on for some time about her wish to ride a horse.  Preferably a pretty, white one.  Her wish came true today when Anne took her to the farm of a couple that we met, Jenny and John.  Sugarfoot was a lovely wee white pony and Izzy was delighted to ride around the paddock on her.  By all accounts she was very comfortable and really enjoyed it.  Lovely.

Jennings is best; yes, the schoolboy character created by Anthony Buckeridge in the early 1950's and became a whole series of books based around his mishaps at boarding school.  I read them as a boy and still have my copies.  I am currently reading them to Joey and am, every evening, in fits of laughter, as is Joey.  Truly great comedy.  And it has aged so well despite some of the language - 'Biffo', 'Gosh', Whacko!' and so on.

Shreder is dead; poor little fellow.  Found floating head down in his tank this evening.  He was a goldfish that we bought at the Pennington Annual day last week.  I should have known better.  Particularly given the sensitivities of our two rather dramatic children.  So many tears and sobs this evening.  But they will get over it.

A most interesting man; took the Mazda in for servicing this morning.  I spent 45 minutes running around lost because the GPS insisted that 2021 NJ Rte 33 was a cemetary.  It seems that, on long roads, each town starts its own numbers on the road.

Anyway, chatting to the reasonably attractive receptionist who was vey friendly.  Askeed about accent etc and 'dragged' out of me some mild anecdotes about the life of a glamorous diplomat.  Enough that she announced that I was the most interesting man she had ever met.  Nice way to start the day.     

The Psychologist; Anne and I went to see Dr B yesterday morning.  All fairly positive.  'Such an interesting wee man, I do enjoy chatting to him'.  No major issues and certainly no need for drugs etc.  What is needed is constant suppport, reinforcement, clear boundaries etc.  He seems to think that Anne and I are getting most things right, which is nice to know.

Izzy has been indoctrinated;  succesfully.  I was pushing her on the swing today and afterwards she was doing it herself, pumping away.  'Look, Daddy.  I'm doing it myself because I am strong.  Because I EAT NO JUNK and only eat healthy stuff and do lots of exercise.' Not 100% accurate as she does have the odd cookie, piece of cake etc but glad to see that she has the right idea!

Idle parenting means happy children.

Very sensible!

http://soc.li/qRM2xpW

The Juleff cowboys at the Earth Ball.

Football; Joey has shown no interest whatsoever in football - until now.  Tonight he went to bed with a football (and, of course, I mean soccer!).  For the last few days, all he wants to watch on the computer is Pele's greatest goals and so on.  He wants to wear his Brazilian shirt all the time.  Where did this come from?
I am not sure but the next door neighbour's kid, Chris, and his mate from the next street, Jack, have sent a lot of time with our two recently and we started to kick a ball around a week or so ago.  They are not the best either so it is all, a bit messy.  But Joey has really got into it.  And he is not bad!  Or, at least, he has certainly improved somewhat over the last week.  He is, of course, very fit and full of energy but he also has a decent turn of speed and really gets stuck in with his tackling - like a wee pest hanging around your ankles.  And he has started to understand the concept of passing etc.  Something which he never got in the past.
But he does need to toughen up a bit and to understand that getting the occasional knock is part of the game.

Earth Ball; went to the Earth Ball yesterday, a fund-raising event for the S & R Greenway Trust, the one that I am a volunteer for and which strives to preserve important land and clean streams and rivers.  Very worthy.
It was held at a private house near Princeton.  Attended by 250 people.  Or should I say, it was held in the pool house of a private house.  Yes, a pool house, an eight-bedroom pool house.  This is clearly how the 1% live.  Or, to be more accurate, the 0.1%.

Bill was playing with his band.  Very good, although it is the first time that I have heard a bluegrass version of U2's 'One'.

Met some good contacts, including the McCanaughy's who rune the Double Brook Farm here in Hopewell, a very serious organic operation - see http://blog.doublebrookfarm.com/ if you are at all interested in this subject.

Joey has just come down andIS PESTERING ME so I ned to get hims his evening snack.  The amount of energy that boy uses every day is unbelievable and I do not understand why he is not eating half a cow a day.

Boxing - really shouldn't take it up at 52 yrs old, even training.  I had decided that it didn't make sense for me to just sit on my backside whilst Joey worked out so asked Ahmed if I could basically 'shadow' what they did.  As it happens, they have a dad and son rate and I was able to do it.  He pushed me hard enough that it hurt, but not too hard and I will be back next week.  I'll have a six-pack and bulging biceps yet.

There is a bloody 'beep' that keeps on going off every 30 secs or so in the house and I cannot find it.  Driving e nuts!

After my post re obesity, I thought it would be a good idea to check where I am.  You guessed it - with a BMI of 27, I am technically over-weight.  However, it does say; It may overestimate body fat in athletes and others who have a muscular build.'
Now, you could argue that it has been a long time since I could be described as an athlete but I do work out and have what I regards as a 'big build'  So I am, not too worried.  To get to a BMI of 25 or below, I need to get to 195lbs or less - a drop of 15libs.  I reckon oif I could get down to 200lbs, I'd be fine so that is my aim.

YES!  Rebekah Brooks is to be charged with obstructing justice.  I hope that Murdoch himself is charged, although that is unlikely.  I despise the Murdoch Empire and it has been years since I bought one of their rags, and I refuse to subscribe to Sky.  Let's hope that it collapses and enough or them get sent to jail to act as a warning for others and to punish them for their disregard for people and for their arrogance.

The more we read and research regarding health issues here - and in the UK - the more we are convinced that we are right regarding the food we give our kids and the (almost) ban on video games.  As regards the food, it is not just about how much they eat, but about the crap that goes into so much processed food. A third of US adults are overweight and another third obese, and much of it is due to the rubbish that goes into so much food here.  And we remain convinced that video games and the like are also dangerous to children's health and well-being.  But it is hard even for us (ie two parents at home, enough resources) to win that battle (and it is by no means won - very early days yet) so I can fully understand how difficult it must be for working parents with all that peer pressure.  I really do thin k that we would be better off oin some sort of hippy commune!

Isabela really is a sweet, affectionate wee girl.  I took her to the market yesterday before dropping her off at school.  As we walked across the carpark to the shop, she held my hand and then looked up at me and said; 'Daddy, I love you'.  Made my day!

Lovely day yesterday.  Half day at school for Joey, followed by a school BBQ where the kids spent time running and bouncing around, and we got a chance to meet some other parents.  Then we hit town for the Hopewell Annual Cruise Night, where people bring out classic cars and the restaurants all put out street cafes.  Had some great grub, saw some cool cars, met some new friends and the kids had a good time.  Anne the went out with Lorna to some social event whilst I put a a couple of lovely, tired kids to bed and then had a couple of hours to myself!

Anne aso had a Mother's Day tea at one of Izzy's schools.  All the Mums waited outside then each entered to be greeted by their child with a wee present and led by the hand to their seat.  The children then sang a couple of songs and then fetched the food etc for the mothers, before sitting down and sharing lunch.  All very sweet.  Very American but, in this case at least, very lovely.

Unfortunately, Joey was not very happy when he came out after the party.  He had been on the losing side but, more importantly, had been picked with the 'girls' and not with the cool kids.  Problem is, Joey is not really one or the cool kids.  He is sometimes, but not always,  Partly because he is not really 'cool' in that sense and partly, simply because he is still a new kid.  But it gets to him.  We have tried to explain to him that being happy with his friends and being himself is more important than being one of the cool gang.  He sort of gets it but not quite and, of course, what is happening in the here and now is more relevant than the fact that, usually, the 'cool' kids tend to turn out rather boring compared to many of the less cool kids who have their own skills and don't conform.  But still breaks your heart when he is sobbing his heart out on the back seat of the car, telling himself that he is a loser.

Took Joey to an after-school birthday party at a laser tag place.  Went there with his friend's Mum, Lorna - who is also our realtor.  Went in with the kids only to be told by the organiser Mum that we didn't need to hang around.  Within a split second, Lorna grabbed my arm, turned me around and said 'we're out of here, big boy'.  My kind of gal, especially as she took me to a bar.

Spending some time looking for houses.  Some really nice ones but nothing yet that really grabbed us.  But v cheap compared to UK.  We ant ti stay in Hopewell but nothing in the Borough for sale so looking at Pennington, where Joey and Izzy go to school.

Joey was off school today with a slight ear infection.  Spent most of the day 'writing' a story by means of drawing some detailed picture then getting Anne to scan it and then write some text on the scanned version.  Great imagination (battles, of course) albeit not an entirely coherent story.  But, he drew 24 pages of details drawings and had text for all of them.  So really good focus and he really enjoyed it.

First day of being a non-smoker went well enough.  But it is only the first day.

Heard last night that my sister's first husband, Cathal, dies at the weekend.  He had fallen down stairs, suffered head injuries and was finally taken off life-support at the weekend.  He was a decent bloke, bright, good looking and a good rugby player.  But he became an alcoholic and a real drunk.  Very sad.

Went out last night to NYC to meet up with Mickey Walsh and John O'Loughlin, two lads that I had know at Trinity and who were in town from VChicago.  Hadn't seen them since College - 29 years ago.  Good to catch up old stories, some about me which I had forgotten.  Eg where now was my full-length, brown leather coat that I had bought in a flea market in Amsterdam?  A v pleasant evening.

OK, I hate talking about this cos' I am embarrassed but Wednesday I will finally stop smoking.  I don't smoke much - unless I am drinking a lot - but it is too much.  These are the reaasons I have given myself for why I should quite;

1.       I’ll be fitter.

2.       I’ll probably live longer.

3.       I won’t have that moment when Joey or Izzy first see me smoking.

4.       I won’t be embarrassed again being the only fool smoking.

5.       I will feel stronger and more in control.

6.       I’ll be able to play/interact with the kids more and for longer

7.       Anne will be happy.

8.       I’ll hopefully have more ‘loving’.

9.       The loving will be better.

10.   I’ll save money.

11.   I’ll stop supporting tobacco companies.

12.   I’ll do less damage to the environment.

13.   I won’t have to think about where I will get my next smoke.

14.   I’ll be more productive.

15.   Mum would be happy.

16.   I’ll get cheaper health insurance.

17.   I’ll do more sport.

18.   I’ll look better.

19.   I’ll smell better.

Now, any sane person would question why I have not given up before.  For a long time, I smoked v little and enjoyed it when I did.  I also enjoyed the sense of rebellion, which I described as being the only really naughty thing left to me now that I am a sensible family man.  But that is rather pathetic and will simply no longer do.  So wish me luck, please do let me have any other reasons for quitting that I may have left out and follow the blog as I track my progress from Wednesday morning. 

Had lovely walk with family in the Sourlands Park this morning followed by one of the worst lunches ever at the Hillbilly Hall.  We should have stuck to simple, fried or grilled stuff like burgers but instead went for pasta, claams etc.  All smothered in a dreadful, straight out of the can marinara sauce.  We all agreed that it was disgusting.  And to make things worse, the portions were simply enormous!  So a huge amount of food left on the table.  We will go back  - but stick to burgers etc.

Good night in NYC with Russel and Con last Thursday.  They were my budddies in crime when I lived in NYC in the 90's and it was good to meet up again.  Con still lives in NYC with his family whilst is single in LA.  Much talk about Man Utd and footie - and they had actually inviteed along a Mancunian girl who was a City fan!  Ended uop eating in Lukes on the Upper East Side - one of our old hangouts.  Great chicken wings.  Great craic.  But I should know by now to stay off the whilskey at the end of the evening!

You have to love the community spirit here.  Izzy's school have organised a wee 'field trip' into town;

Cindy has gone around to the shopkeepers on Main Street in Pennington, as well as the public servants (police officesr, fire fighters, garbage collectors) and asked that they line up on North Main Street this Thursday morning so the children can walk by and say hello to them.  Cindy is basing this on Richard Scarry's Busytown.  Our morning threes and fours will walk on Main Street/Busytown at about 9:45 a.m. and return to school by 10:05 and our afternoon threes and fours will take the walk at 12:55 p.m. and return to school at about 1:05 p.m

Hit by a bit of a bombshell today - Joey's music teacher told Anne that Joey had an 'exceptional' voice.  Wow!  We always thought he could hold a tune but he had never shown much interesting in singing.  So we might have a singing boxer on our hands!

Speaking of singing, we attended the Cambridge School annual musical on Saturday.  Grease.  Good fun but, if I am honest, hardly any of the cast could sing so it was a bit painful.  But, fair play to the school and the kids as they all got up there and gave it their best shot.  And clearly enjoyed it.  I predict that, despite his young age, Joey will have an important role in next year's play.

And Izzy continues to be lovely!

Joey continues to enjoy his boxing.