This is EXACTLY how Katie and Matthew interact.

Except replace Lois with Katie.

I turned 36 yesterday.  The day started off rough with a huge mistake I made and some scrambling to fix it.  It kept going with details and a million things to deal with.  I got a bunch done.  Some good product management candidates coming in next week.

Then we went to dinner at BenniHanna’s in Burlingame.  I had gone to Hibachi restaurants every year for my birthday.  It is one of my favorite memories.  The food is so sumptuous, the taste of ginger is so wonderful and the entertainment of the chef cooking right in front of you is awesome.  They tell jokes, they juggle knives, they flip shrimp into their hats.  It is just magical.

The restaurant brought back all of those memories.  I couldn’t decide what to order.  Hibachi shrimp, hibachi steak, hibachi scallops, it was all too much to bear.  Matthew learned a new word, “Arigato“.  He screamed it every time someone gave him something.  Matthew also ate a ton of hibachi shrimp.  He loved it.  He screamed, “More shrimp please!  Arigato!”

The entertainment was good, but the food lacked some seasoning.  It was a little bland.  Funny thing, the chef’s were all mexican.  They spoke spanish.  Maybe Matt should have yelled, “Gracias!”  Ethan and Jared both enjoyed the entertainment and the food.  The green tea ice cream was delicious. All in all, it was a lovely evening.  I hope we can do it again one day.

Oh right, the UX of 36.  It doesn’t feel like mid-30’s anymore.  It doesn’t feel like 30’s at all.  It feels like “almost 40″.  Ugh.  That is really wierd.  Time is accelerating for me.  A year used to be 365 days.  Now a year is only 120 days.  It is going way quicker.  The kids are growing up so fast.  They will be married with their own kids in no time.  Who will I be at 40?  Will I own a home?  Will I be a success?

This is the first birthday that bothers me a little.  It could be worse.  I could be 37.

Katie and I just finished watching Dan In Real Life.  We liked the movie very much.  It was a little formulaic,  but the direction, acting and writing were good enough to overcome the formula.  The story had a big family on a yearly reunion as the backdrop.  It reminded me alot of my own family and Katie.

The paralels were really weird actually.  If Katie had actually met my brother Dan in a bookstore after meeting me and they fell in love and I ended up with some hottie, then it would have been EXACTLY the same.  But alas, Lindy met Dan first, so it was not meant to be.  Otherwise it would have been just freaky!

Anyway, we give the movie 4/5 stars.  It was very enjoyable, especially if you have a big family.  We highly recommend.  I also suggest it strong to my brother Dan, because his name is Dan.  That is freaky.

The boys and I attended the Markers Faire last weekend.  We first went in the morning and then had to leave for little league practice.  Then we biked back without Matthew to spend time before Katie had to go to the Opera.  Both times, we forgot the camera.  Ugh!  How lame are we.  Here are some pictures from other people.

The boys loved it.  There were tons of things for them to get excited about.  Giant Statues on Fire.  People riding giant cupcakes.  Solar powered vehicles.  This statue was just awesome to be near.  Man-eating robots. A giant-sized Mousetrap game.  A bus powered by the riders legs.  And much more…

I wish I brought the camera.  Anyway, we had a great time and wished we could have spent more.

One guy asked if I was a “maker”, and I said “Yes, I design UX for web applications”.  He said, “No, that doesn’t count.  It’s an abstraction.  You have to have something tangible and solid, not just code.”

I thought the guy was being mean, but he did have this cool robot kid on a tricycle.

When I was younger, I made more things like paintings and giant bubbles.  Now, I just made three boys.  (Katie did the hard work).  Despite the guy saying it doesn’t count, I think making great software counts.  It’s creative and people interact with it.  Someone made this wordpress software I am typing into.  I feel more of a connection to it than I do the keyboard that someone made that is “real”.

The Makers Faire was a wonderful celebration of creativity and ingenuity.  I recommend it to anyone who can attend next year.

Matthew asks, “Is today opposite day?”

I answered, “If it was opposite day, I would have to answer NO, which is the opposite of the truth.  If it was not opposite day, I would just say the truth and answer NO.  So my answer to you is, No, it is not opposite day.”

He blinks his eyes twice and walks away.  Oh well.

Ethan is learning a poem for talent show and is so coachable on it. I love it. Apparently, he gets his own email in his classroom. He responded to Katie from his classroom.

dear Mom,
I love you more!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
UMMMM o yeah I’ put on sunscreen.Mom I want to play with big kids to challenge myself but they would not let me play so lifted them up but that does always work.They won’t let me play because I’m smaller.
Talk to me about it
love
Ethan

How cute is that? I have great kids.

The Jets have made some great free agency moves.  My general philosophy is that a team lives and dies on the line.  O-line got improved with Alan Faneca.  I expect D’Brick and Mangold to improve dramatically with Faneca in between them.  They need his veteran presence.  This will lead to Thomas Jones (RB) to having a break-out season running behind these guys.  In fact, he gets another great blocker with Tony Richardson as Full back. Jones must feel like he is the luckiest guy in the world.  I am predicting a 1500+ year season.  I also expect QB Clemens to have a better year with better protection, although I have my doubts he can step up.

They also signed Linebacker Calvin Pace and O-Lineman Damien Woody. More great news.  Pace should do well in the 3-4 defense the Jets are trying to install.  Jonathan Vilma is gone for draft picks but he was disgruntled anyway.

Hopefully, the Jets will have a good Draft.  They still need help at many positions.  I am hopeful.

Other good news is the new Jets stadium. Oh wait, I mean the new Giants stadium.  God, I hope they don’t plaster GIANTS STADIUM over the whole thing.  That would stink.

I predict the 2008-2009  New York Jets season will be breakthrough.

Happy Birthday Daniel!  Are you 30 now?

Anyone interested in getting the flu?  Well, come on down!  You are the next contestant in, “The Virus is Right”!  First it was Jared, then it was Katie, now its Matthew.  All with high fevers and flu-like symptoms.  Cough and fatigue mostly.  I am trying to avoid getting too close to any of them.  It’s hard when you have five in a house.  I am just hoping to avoid it all.

Kids are regular germ factories.  They pick up germs from other kids at school.  Then they bring it home and pass it to us.  You know, I was wondering.  Why is it that pediatricians aren’t sick all the time?  I never see them wearing masks.  What is their secret?

I was discussing with Katie about Ethan and how he is so hard on himself.  He is nearly a perfectionist and works really hard.  I am so proud of him.  However, he has incredibly low self-esteem.  I wonder where he gets this from? (cough!Katie!cough!)  I need to instill in him some of the Lipka confidence.  If we combine my self-confidence and imagination with Katie’s work ethic, Ethan can achieve anything.

The most important thing in life is Believing in Yourself.  You have to wake up with you every morning and look you in the eye in the mirror.  You have to believe that you are a good person and doing good things each day.  If you don’t believe in yourself, then no matter how much you achieve, it will never be good enough.  You will always find a reason to think you suck.  If you believe in yourself, you might be have a rough period in life, but you will know that you will keep trying and have success down the road.

Without believing in yourself you can never be truly happy.

Matthew is going to the potty by himself these days.  He still needs help wiping his butt though.  The other night, we hear his regular yoddle, “Mooooommmm, I’m Dooooonnnnne!”  I went in to help him.  The first thing he does is hand me a whisk. He says, “Thank you daddy, I don’t need this anymore.

That caught my attention.  Why does he have a whisk and what did he need it for in here??  Then I saw his face.  It was covered in a brown substance, all over his mouth and shirt.  I looked in slow motion at the whisk, which also had brown substance all over it.

I started to panic.  No, No, No!  You sick little monkey!  What did you do?!?  Then my olfactory senses kicked in. Is that chocolate?

I smelled his face.  Oh thank god!  Thank God!  I slumped down.  Wow, that was a close one.  Wheeeewwwww.  Matthew had gotten into the required position for butt wiping and yoddled “Dadddddyyyyy, I’m  waaaaiiiitttiiiing!”

Good boy Matthew.