I'm Baaaaack!

Has it really been over a year? Wow. I apologize for the overly long absence let's face it, you know you missed me.

I had to take a break because I felt I was irresponsibly spending my time reading blogs and letting some of my housework fall to the wayside let's be honest, it's yet to truly pick up, so it obviously wasn't the fault of blogging. Not to mention the headaches that I was getting from staring at the screen most of the morning. I'm back and can't guarantee any frequency or regularity insert Metamucil comment here but I want to step back into blogging because I actually did enjoy it. I just have to be less "all or none".

So how was your year? Mine was pretty good!

Number 1 turned 8 and successfully completed the second grade let's face it, we had our concerns. He also celebrated his first communion and enjoyed his second trip to Disney World.

Squirt turned 3 and has just started preschool YAY 2 hours of peace and quiet for me!!!. This was his first time at Disney and it was AWESOME!

The missus and myself celebrated our 10th anniversary with a trip to San Antonio which was wonderful, hot, but wonderful. I think we need to go away alone more often those kids really cramp my style.

So that was my year in a nutshell. More to come... :)

Summer's End

It's Friday so take a moment and give some love to Dad Blogs on another Fatherhood Friday.


I am so ready for August to be over. It's been a whirl wind month. After vacation one would expect things to slow down but it seems that they are only ramping up.

Being very family oriented is amazing but sometimes it can prove to be exhausting. We spent the past weekend at 2 family reunions and celebrating 3 birthdays. The Superman(tm) that I am, I spent Friday baking and frosting 2 cakes and 1 dozen cupcakes, as well as chopping veggies, meat, and cheese for 2 pasta salads. I was up til after 12(on a Friday I know...shocking).

Fortunately Number 1 wasn't in school because I really needed his assistance watching Squirt(of which he is fantastic! He even took him to the bathroom this afternoon for me while I was with the phone repair man trying to figure out why we weren't getting a signal).

Now school has started...it's just me and Squirt. I'm not gonna lie, it was nice doing the grocery shopping in less than an hour and not being asked to pick up this or that...I have a list, we stick to the list. but I'm also not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss our weekly doughnuts. It was something that I won't do for myself but it seemed to appease him on a boring trip to the grocery store. I'm gonna miss the look he always gave me when he wondered how all of the people at the store knew me. And then his acceptance of said fact and joining in on the relationships.

He was excited to be back at school with his friends and not stuck in the house with boring old dad. I was excited because I knew the house was going to be quiet. I still have Squirt but he's gotten really great at playing and keeping himself entertained(a post in itself). We both had a great day and are looking forward to the school year.

We didn't do much out of the ordinary, but we spent the summer together.

In other news, Squirt's playdate partner, Shyguy, has a new baby sister so congratulations to the neighbors! She's adorable :D

It seems like forever...time to get random!

Wow, I think it's been over 2 weeks since I've written anything. What can I say, life got in the way.

Last time I wrote it was about Squirt getting mutilated. I was gonna write about abandoning them 2 weeks ago...but I was having too much fun :D. It was my annual guys weekend out and my best friend, myself, and a mutual friend were in Chicago getting our geek on.
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From there we bid farewell to our mutual friend and my best friend and myself drove from Chicago to South Carolina(ok...technically he drove, it's not my fault he drives a stick) to meet up with my family for a week of vacation(his wife flew in on Tuesday). We had a great week.
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Number 1 finally got into the ocean past ankle deep! He was out jumping in the waves and we all had a blast.
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Squirt is the toddler without fear. Not only did he take off and swim like crazy in the pool(with floaties, but we were so used to Number 1 being so clingy at that stage it took us by surprise) but he also went way into the ocean. He kept wanting us to let him go so he could swim(he wasn't wearing floaties and we had no intention of putting them on him)! In his words "I like lotion!"
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The missus and myself are now addicted to Food Network...thanks best friend...
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Fall is my absolute favorite season! I can't wait for summer to be over. Apparently neither can the grocery store. I noticed in this weeks ad they had pumpkin drop cookies at the bakery. I walked in and was strong. I walked right past them(they were conveniently sitting on a table immediately as you walked into the door). As I got closer to the bakery section all I could smell was pumpkin spice, they had a wine display and the label was covered in autumn leaves...I made a u-turn and picked up the cookies...they made me do it!!! I swear!!!
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It's Fatherhood Friday so head on over to Dad Blogs and see what's going down.

I don't know what to say

Seriously, I've been trying to think all day about what to write. I've had a great week. I was depressed last week so this week has been awesome. But there was one down point, and it came about 10 hours later than it should have.

Squirt woke up crying about 3 times Monday night. This is rare because he sleeps like a champ.

He fell out of bed around 9:00 that night and I went up ans calmed him and put him back down. He was up at 12:30, 3:00, and 5:00. Which meant I was up as well(otherwise how else would I know what time it was???)

When he woke up and I went to get him on Tuesday morning, I saw the error of my ways.

My son looks like the Phantom of the Opera. I guess if I would have turned the lights on when I put him back in bed after falling, I would have noticed the nasty rug burn on his nose and upper lip(and I noticed later, on his forehead).

As my brother in law pointed out, father of the year I am not

Happy Fatherhood Friday! Check out what's going on over at Dad-Blogs on this fine Friday.

The Terrible Two's Have Entered My House...

and I'm about to beat the snot out of them!

I don't know what the worst part is...ok I'm lying I know exactly what the worst part is. He's totally indecisive. He'll holler to go potty and stays in the living room, so we go to get him and he shouts "NO POTTY POTTY!" we walk away and he cries "POTTY" and we play this game until I pick him up strip him down and sit his @$$ on the potty(hoping that I don't undo all of the work I did potty training him.) This isn't just relegated to potty, it's used with who's putting him to bed, if he wants water or not, or what toy he may want. Grrrrrr...

It's just as bad at nap/bed time. I try to get him to go potty before I lay him down. The reaction is more screaming and him trying to climb down off the potty. I take him in and lay him down. I don't even get his door closed before I hear "pee come come. POTTY POTTY MORE" At that point it's already too late. speak of the devil...brb

And then comes the clothes in the morning. He only wants to wear his Elmo shirts, of which we have 2. I do laundry on Wednesday, so that means, I have a peaceful Thursday and Friday...don't even ask about the rest of the week.

We didn't EVER have these problems with Number 1 and we didn't really get why everyone kept telling us how good he was and how lucky we were. We didn't do anything, it's just how he was.

Now I get it...I don't want it though, ignorance was bliss...

If you liked what you've read here go check out some of my fellow dad and mom bloggers at Dad-Blogs Go even if you didn't like it because thy're all better than me anyway ;)

You like me, you really like me!

Well, at least Busy-Dad-E does :)



While I was away at my parents house I found out that he awarded me with a Keepsake Blog Award. His youngest(at the moment) and Squirt are about the same age so it's funny how many of our adventures in life at the moment are uncannily similar.

To quote him on the rules of the award:
"The rules of this award state that I have to tell a sweet or funny keepsake that tells something about myself, and to share the love with 10 of my fellow bloggers."

I think I can do that(though he made it a little harder by awarding almost half of my blogroll LOL.

My 10 chosen bloggers in no particular order are:

Andrew's Daddies
Guns 1306
Ciara
Doug
Mr. Man
Howefitz
Apok
Momo Fali
Carol
PJ

All of these bloggers either make me laugh, think, or share common interests. Give them a read, I'm sure you'll find something to like.

As for my keepsake. I've got to go with the birth of Number 1. How can you not feel sweet and sometimes funny about the birth of your first child.

The missus was due on December 15th, 2001. That day came and went. We were at the dr's twice a week and just waiting. I never thought I'd spend Christmas Eve morning at the dr's office. It was snowing and the roads were tricky and slick. I tried to induce labor by almost ran into our mailbox while sliding into the drive. That was the worst Christmas ever. The missus was depressed and uncomfortable and the family was crowded into our house because we weren't traveling anywhere.

December 28th came and the dr. decided it was time to induce. We checked in and were in a room by 6:30 pm. They attempted a cervidel insert overnight. That did absolutely nothing. Around 8 o'clock in the morning on the 29th the dr said "Well, we can send you home and try again tonight or we can start pitosin". Go home?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? We aren't leaving without a baby! We were told they would start the pitosin in a few hours so I should go home and grab a shower and something to eat apparently I smelled and looked hungry.

I got back around 11 and the missus had been on the pitosin for about a half hour. Our family was camped out in the waiting room for what was about to be a very long day. Our boys liked the warmth and comfort mommy provided and didn't want to leave willingly.

Her water broke around 2:30 it's funny how you actually remember the times of these things, but there was something wrong. It was green which meant baby had a bowel movement he's over 2 weeks past due, I'm sure there were more than just one. From that moment the missus was wearing more wires than my entertainment center. Talk about feeling helpless. The most I could do was keep her company and re-wet her washrags when her fever spiked. I was never so grateful as when she agreed to have an epidural she has a Wonder Woman complex and thought it wouldn't be necessary. I was begging her to get one because it was hurting me

She was finally ready to push him out around 10:45 and the next hour and a half flew by at least for me. This was nothing like you see on tv or in the movies where the mom pushes the baby out between floors on an elevator. She had to be exhausted but she didn't let it show.

Finally at 12:32am on Dec 30th(technically our THIRD day in the hospital) Number 1 was born. 12:32 is the time the dr looked at the clock, he was easily out for a few minutes and as much as the missus asked for them to mark the time as 12:30(on 12/30) the dr wouldn't budge. You'd think after all that she just went through 2 minutes would be a small concession...

I was beside myself, now realizing why the dr. made certain that I was eating throughout the day. I was weak, that was the only way to explain it. Physically and emotionally exhausted yet the missus was ready to run a marathon, crazy endorphins.

I was a father. We didn't even know the sex of the baby yet because they took him away to clean him up, and out, so quickly. I thought I caught a glimpse but it was so quick I wasn't sure. The dr. looked over and was like "you do know it's a boy right?" My wife was elated she swore she'd never have any girls, funny how that worked out for her. I was excited, but our family had been anxiously camping outside the door for the entire day and into the night, and technically now morning. I had to tell them, but that meant I had to leave my new family. They waited that long what's a few more minutes. I finally walked out the door to a hallway full of curious and excited faces.

This was the moment that changed my life. Sure we had another baby, 5 years later, but that first moment of realization, that's something that you never forget. The details were a blur then but I now look back on them plain as day.

This is my Keepsake moment. I hope I didn't bore you and promise to be a bit less emotional in my next post as I try not to be the sappy emotional type, it goes against my character. The thing's I'll do for an award....

As always, thanks for stopping by.

What a day!

I know, it's Wednesday, I've not lost my mind(though I'm exhausted so it may feel that way). I was gonna hold off and schedule this post for later in the week but i figured I'd save those of you that do read me a read on Friday(I know I appreciate it when I've already read an FF post from time to time) I, however, will be at my parents house on Thursday and Friday, and their dial-up *gasp* is spotty at best. So even though I'm writing this now please stop by Dad-Blogs and check out everyone else's awesome posts on Friday!

I'm exhausted. It's 6:30 in the morning and I've been up for a half hour, I have a load of laundry going and am about to hit the treadmill. I'm freaking nuts... But I'm here to talk about yesterday.

It all started in the spring, actually. Number 1 did extremely well schlepping Easter candy for his school and ended up winning a free ticket to Cedar Point. The missus and I were excited for him because we all love amusement parks, but concerned as well because he shares in our height deficiency(we can ride everything now, but not so much when we were younger). With another inch and a half he'll be really good, 6 more inches after that and he'll be golden.

So we shipped Squirt off to my folks and the trip begun.

We'd already done our homework and found the biggest things he would be able to ride. A HUGE thank you to parks for putting your height requirements online! We parked and headed straight for the Iron Dragon...and then we rode it again...a total of 5 times that day. I can't complain though because we had a blast and it's one of the missus' favorite rides. If we had to ride something 5 times it could have been a lot worse.

Then we went to the "Giant Wheel", their ferris wheel...sigh. I talked the missus out of it last year but i couldn't say no to Number 1. I've already written of my fear of heights. Apparently he's not as much like me as I thought(and I swear, one of these days I'll get to the chicken story). The thrill rating on this ride is a 2...yeah right I wouldn't call it thrilling, more like terrifying. This is before I see the incompetent guy in the blue hoody running it. He just loaded those people but why is he on the phone? Oh great here comes a guy in a red shirt, what are they looking at, oh well must not be anything big because the ride is moving again, wait, he's on the phone again, people get off and more get on, it must be ok, who's this second guy in a red shirt, now he's running the controls and blue hoody is only loading people, what's that sign say? "Cars may be unloaded in a different order that they were loaded to maintain the balance of the wheel', so I have to trust these yahoos to keep this thing balanced, they're just putting people on now, at first they were skipping cars, OMG we're up next, I'm gonna die. It wasn't horrible and I didn't die and the taunting from my wife and son ended as soon as we got on the thing and we all actually enjoyed the views, but ugh...

After that we hit a few more rides, had luch, rode some more, and more, and more, and more!

It was almost 8 oclock when we left(we'd been there since they opened at 10. We went out for dinner where we all scarfed down our food and went through 2 refills on our drinks. We also paid less at Chili's for our dinner than we did at the Subway on the park for our lunches, sigh, it's to be expected but it still hits you.

Number 1 stumbled to the car and passed the heck out. I called to check up on Squirt, and the missus got us safely home. All in all it was an awesome day!

Today we're gonna see the earliest showing of Harry Potter(1:10pm, how weird is it that that's the earliest showing our theater has??) and then I'm off to the boonies to tile a countertop.

Oh well, I'm off to the treadmill...