We're about ready to take off...

Hey all...

I realize it's been a long time since I blogged, but I really do plan to do better for the next while.

We're about ready to move. For those of you who don't already know, S.A. and I have both accepted jobs in Raeford, NC. Our stuff is actually on it's way there as we speak. We take off Tuesday morning and will be in our new house on Wednesday night.

Though we're bummed that we're moving so far from our families (900 miles, give or take.) we both really believe that this is the best thing for us. It enables S.A. to start teaching and, since we're both working for schools, we'll (hopefully) be able to come back to Michigan for summers.

I'm really thinking of the move as a reset button for our lives. And after years of drama, money troubles, job issues, school, etc... I'm ready for it.


We'll be starting a flickr group so no-one will miss out on any pictures of the Samster growing up. And I promise I'll do better with this blog. (I did find it amazing that people checked in over 200 times since my last post. To those of you who kept checking in, hoping against hope that there'd be a new posting, I have but one thing to say - Google Reader.)

Anyway, I just wanted to take a second to say thanks to everyone who's been supportive of us through this whole process.

Special Thanks to-
Both our families for being a huge help through the moving process.

Matt, Kev, and Casey for helping move that damn piano again.

All my peeps at Stepping Stones for pretending to miss me when I left and for taking such great care of my boyo.

And to everybody else that I'm forgetting to mention because I'm too worked up now.

We love you all.

Laterz

Sick Day

As a parent, you find that rules become the most important part of your life. Whether it's things you MUST do, like read his 10 favorite books before bed every night, or thinks you MUST NOT do, like give him nuts or Diet Coke, it often feels like you don't really have to think very often when you're dealing with your child because there's probably a very definite rule established for whatever situation you face - so just do it.

A brief side note- The other day, a parent of a three-year-old told me that when their child misbehaves, Their punishment of choice is that their child doesn't get to have a book read to them before bed. My question to them was, "What does your child do that makes you want to turn them into an illiterate for the rest of his/her life?" Honestly, parents can be pretty stupid.

Anyway, as i said, my life is now based on rules. Except today. Today, my son is sick. Mr. Sam has been running a 102-degree temp for most of the last 24 hours. He's just kind of miserable. He has been unwilling to do much of anything but sit an whimper. To that end, my genius wife (and I say that with absolutely no sarcasm)decided that we were going to have dinner while sitting in the tub because he's been unwilling to eat all day and he was finally in a decent mood. Then, when he got out of the tub, even though we're WELL past his bed-time (between 6:30 and 7 pm) he was allowed to watch his new favorite Baby Einstein video. Understand that Sam's less that 15 months old. He is not, as a general rule, allowed to watch any TV at all. We're really trying to keep him away from the TV until he's at least 2, but there are times when he's really grumpy and I guess watch household animals interspersed with weird pet puppets once a month probably won't scar him to badly. Anyway, it certainly has been the ticket tonight.

Pictures of our evening follow-

Laterz.

I'm back

So, two weeks later I checked back in...

---------------------------------------------------------

When I picked Sam up from daycare yesterday, one of the gals there told me that they couldn't stop laughing at his all day. She wondered if I could explain a rather peculiar behavior that he had been exhibiting.

It seems that every time one of the kids at day care began to cry, Sam would scoot over to them and yell in their face. He smiled the whole time, so he didn't seem to be upset, but he was very consistent about it.

Misc. Baby: "WAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Sam: "AAAHHHHHH!!!!!"

I was quick to blame S.A. who loves to play "the Yelling Game" with him. She defends herself by saying that Grandma (My mom, who was a preschool consultant and speech therapist for years.) says that you're supposed to repeat what babies say back to them, so when Sam vocalizes loudly, she just responds in kind.

Still the mental picture is just great.

---------------------------------------------------------

Last night, as she was feeding Sam, S.A. looked at Sam's hair and asked me "What was that haircut called that all the actors had in the 90's? You know the one George Clooney had that was short with a straight-line around the forehead? The Nero?"

"The Caesar, dear. Wrong emperor..."

Maybe y'all don't find it nearly as funny as I did, but I love the idea of the hairdresser who fiddled while Rome burned.

Life is Good

I can think of nothing nicer than rocking my 7-month-old son (who's recovering from yet another ear infection) to sleep.

Those of you who don't have children, you cannot even fathom what you're missing.

God, I'm lucky to be home to do this stuff. Sunday rocks.

Satisfying Lunch Breaks...

Every day, I try to leave my office for the better part of an hour in order to regain a small piece of my sanity. Today, I met SA and Sam at the pediatrician's office (he has ANOTHER ear infection) so I could take Sam back to daycare while SA went to her Dr's appointment across town.
When we got to daycare, the ladies were just starting to feed all Sam's pals so it was a little bit lively in there and many very short people were vying for whatever attention they could get. I stayed for 20 minutes or so to help out. Okay, who am I kidding? I stayed because playing with babies (Mine, yours, anybody's...) makes me happy.
So Thank You to Ms. Cortney, Ms. Sherrie, and Ms. Jan for letting me stick around. I definitely felt much better when I left than I did when I got there.
Also, when I got back to my office, the receptionist has somehow acquired real, honest-to-God, 4-inch-high-bang-creation mall hair. It was great. I asked her if she'd like me to run out for scrunchies or jelly shoes to complete her ensemble.
I figure I don't need to regain sanity anymore because my co-workers are obviously joining me in my insanity.

LIfe notes

My son (the Little Red Crustacean, if you read S.A's blog,) is a very unique little guy. Even though WebMD says it's highly unlikely, he has managed to contract strep throat. Since you're not suppose to get Strep until you're at least 3, I'm choosing to take this as further evidence that he's very advanced, rather than yet another indication that he's awfully sickness-prone.

-----------------------------------------------------

Sometimes I HATE my job. I just spent 15 minutes figuring out, via the phone, that one of my co-workers printer wouldn't work because it wasn't plugged in correctly. Even though we theoretically checked it 3 times. How do these people remember to breathe.

-----------------------------------------------------

Though most of us are not financial geniuses, if someone were to mention a "credit-debit" to you, would you not think they were a moron? Or at least have no f-ing clue what they were talking about? What about a "Britannical Garden"? I assume that must be where they grow the encyclopedia...

Valid comments from chickens*** commenters

I received a comment on yesterday's entry, "SA kicks ass."

The comment was left by "Anonymous" which completely pisses me off. If you are going to express an opinion, PUT A NAME WITH IT. Grow some cojones. I'm not saying you have to use your proper name (notice that mine does not show up anywhere on this blog) but put some identifier with your ideas so people can respond to them.

That said, here's the comment.

Anonymous said...

Doesn’t that onesie idea make you think about the alternative? It’s a pretty ugly thought. Anyway, why do you feel the need to polarize everyone you consider a “republican” into mindless Bush-drones. That’s almost as ignorant as pretending like it’s cool to have to have the right to pick and choose which babies are wanted enough to deserve a birthday.

I feel VERY strongly about abortion. If you want a more complete explanation of those feelings, read my entry from the Roe v. Wade Anniversary. Or better yet, read SA's, also from Jan 22nd. She got quite a bit of national blog press for hers. But here's my quickie response to the comment.

There are 3 separate issues addressed here. So allow me to respond to them in order.

1. I think about the alternative all the time. My son is a miracle. We did not think we'd be able to have him, so I'm incredibly thankful for every moment I'm with him. Personally, I'm totally against abortion. I just don't feel that my personal feelings should dictate the law.

2. My habit of "polariz[ing] everyone [I] consider a “republican” into mindless Bush-drones" is certainly over-simplifying things. I currently vote mostly (though not completely) along Democratic Party lines even though I disagree with a few issues here and there, because I strongly agree with the major issues. I don't accuse most people who read my blog (especially those who take the time to comment) of being "mindless". On the contrary, people who agree with the current Republic stance on abortion are "myopic and self-centered" and people who agree with their stance on Gay rights and diversity issues are "bigots".

3. Anyone who suggests that anything related to abortion is "cool" is an ass. However, living in a country where we get to make decisions about ourselves for ourselves, IS "cool". Christ... Lately it's about the only good thing I can say about living here. (BTW- That, too, was hyperbole, lest it be otherwise lost on you.) And again, if you really want a detailed explanation of why I'm Pro-Choice, read my Roe v. Wade entry.

Alright, back down off my soapbox. At least for a little while.

Oh yes... Thanks for commenting. Please come again. (Seriously.)

SA kicks ass.

My wife has decided she wants to make a one-sy (one-sie? How the hell are you supposed to spell that? You know, the one-piece oufit that babies wear...) for Sam that says "My mom is Pro-Choice. She chose me."
It's times that this that really make me love her.

Also, voting day is coming up. Remember, Republicans don't care about you. (Unless you're a multi-millionaire. Then they're more than happy to kiss your ass. And seriously, if you're a multi-millionaire, what're you doing reading my blog?)

Halloween with a sick crustacean.

Well, last night was Halloween. Truly it kind of snuck up on me. S.A. bought Sam's costume in July, I think, and since then, it really didn't come up in conversation. Yesterday morning, we realized what day it was and immediately set about figuring out what to do for the evening.

Sam, as you may assume, really couldn't have cared less. The whole "Boatloads of Candy" thing doesn't really interest him since he doesn't have any teeth. Also, he's been feeling like crap, so we weren't willing to have him out-and-about in the cold for the evening. However, S.A. was bound and determined to show off his costume so we finally decided to meet up with my folks and take him to a few select houses and business in order to show him off.

He had a Dr's appointment in the afternoon in order to get his 6-month vaccinations, but when we took him in, Dr. M wouldn't let him have them because he has... Drumroll please... yet another ear infection. One good/bad thing about Sam is that he doesn't show you that he's sick during the day. He laughed and play with the pediatrician all through the appointment even though the his poor right eardrum actually elicited some "blue' language from the doctor.

Anyway, we took him out trick-or-treating to those few houses and a good time was had by all. (Even though we had to take him out of his costume every time we got in the car because, as it turns out, car seats don't work when you have a big red tail.) He was a charmer the entire evening; smiling, laughing, and clapping on command.

He waited until we got home to get grouchy and keep us awake all night.

I'll put some pics up this evening. Check back in later.

May the force (play) be with you.

What do you get when you combine baseball and Star Wars? (Besides the bad pun in this post title...)

Whitecaps baseball on Friday night!

We took Sam to the Whitecaps game on Saturday. (We being S.A. and me, along with Sam's Grammy, Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff, Aunt Rachel, Cousin Dave, Cousin Holly, and Cousin Joe.)

The game itself was uneventful, but it was Star Wars night at the ball park. Hence the following picture-

Notice how serious he looks. I suppose holding an entire
galaxy under the tyrannical thumb of the Emporer is serious work.

Music so great it advances evolutionary theory

My son (who's 4 months old today) has a new favorite song.

The New York Dolls have released a new album and the first single is called "Dance Like A Monkey" and it's actually about the evolution/intelligent design/creationism debate.
Also it has a good beat and the way my wife dances to it when playing with my son is the funniest damn thing you've ever seen. (She would not let me videotape it. Sorry.)

You can check the video out here.

Laterz

Efficiency

In the interest of getting the word out as expeditiously as possible-

Junior will be baptized on August 6th. Be there or be square.

(In all seriousness, Barry Gang, ya gotta be here. The kid's got a whole pile of Aunts and Uncles that he needs to meet! Also, Michigan is beautiful in August. Remember the wedding?)

Welcome to the world, Sonny Boy!

I promise that I'll now be much better about blogging, if only because I now have more to write about.

I could write a long blog here about the unbelievable week I've had (and I probably will later) but, for now, I'm just gonna post a picture. I think it pretty much says everything.