Today is day one of six weeks that I am taking off from work. One of the awesome benefits that Microsoft has is something called Parental Care Leave (formerly Infant Care Leave). Under this program Father’s get 1 month paid time off (and up to 2 months additional unpaid). Mom’s get 2 months paid and can take the additional 1 month unpaid.
I am going to be taking my 4 weeks paid, 1 week unpaid, and 1 week of vacation. I am looking forward to the time off, spending time with Susan and Aidan, and tackling the long list of projects I never had time to deal with. Maybe we’ll even be able to sneak in the occasional road trip.
-Allen
P.S. One of the things on my list is getting through old photos and blog posts. Keep checking the blog and flickr for new (old) posts.
Today Susan, Uncle Michael, and I took aidan. to see his first moe. show (my 42nd). They played an outdoor afternoon show in Mt. Olive, NJ at Vasa Park. It’s a rare occasion to see the boys play an afternoon show without a festival (especially in NJ), so we had to take advantage. Aidan was sporting his brand new moe. shirt that I picked up at the Stone Pony show on Friday night.
We started off with a few Italian subs from Dante’s in the parking lot and then hit the show. This venue is definitely family friendly. We got settled in our spot about 5 minutes before moe. took the stage to tear things up. This was one of the best shows that I have seen. Aidan was lucky to get such a good show.
Since moe. still has a relatively small following, they make announcements when people attend X number of shows (usually 1, 25, 50, 100, etc), birthdays, etc.
al. announced aidan’s first show! Check out the video below!
Keeping with tradition we went to my parents house to watch the parade in town. They are right along the parade route and have been having breakfast at their house for several years prior to the festivities.
Afterwards we went over to the park for the fair to see a few people and then up to Susan’s mom’s house for the afternoon.
My friend Brian told me before Aidan was born that I would finally understand why Mother’s and Father’s Day is so important. I have to say Bri, you were absolutely right! Of course, I am sure I will find out even more in about a month.
We went to Susan’s mom’s for brunch and my mom’s for dinner. It was a fun, but busy day.
With the weather being incredible, we decided to take a short road trip to the New Jersey Botanical Gardens. Susan and I hadn’t been there in 3 years. We packed up Aidan (and all of his gear) and along with Michael, we headed to Ringwood.
If you haven’t had the chance to visit the botanical gardens, I would highly recommend it. Weekend visits are free before Memorial Day. Weekdays are free year round.
