Ok, the picture is misleading. This post has nothing to do with the Roy Rogers movie. I should also say that it has nothing to do with the hit song by Bing Crosby. It’s just a fitting title for the backyard project.
As I mentioned in a previous blog, my father-in-law and I needed to put up a temporary fence to keep the puppy in. I even shared this fantastic drawing of our plan:
We put all the stakes in over the weekend and started stinging the fence today. For the most part, it all worked out nicely and should be perfect for the puppy.
Here is the fence that is the back of the area:
This went surprisingly well. We had to play with it a little to make sure it was nice and tight, but it looks pretty solid.
This is the small section by the concrete up against the porch:
This was the easiest part to do.
After we got this all set, my father-in-law said we’d work on the actual gate this weekend. We’re going to build it and attach it to the boards.
My father-in-law decided to come back later this afternoon, after I had left for work. He build the gate and began to put it up, but there was an issue – circled in yellow above.
Those stakes are in the ground, however, the gate is a bit too heavy and the stakes move. So tomorrow, I guess he his coming back over with a plan. I don’t ever worry with him. He always finds a way to make it work.
All in all, I’m happy with the way this looks and am excited for the pup to arrive!
One of the video games that gamers look forward to every year is the new Madden NFL game. Every year, there is a different player that graces the cover of the game. To many, this is truly a place of honor. It’s sort of a “You know you’ve made it when you’re on the cover of Madden NFL” kind of thing.
Before I go one, let me say that the only reason that I know who Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs is because he is dating Taylor Swift. Taylor is literally everywhere already, and now we have to see her in all the football highlights. Honestly, in one set of Chiefs highlights, there were more shots of Taylor than of the game!
Someone shared this on Facebook and I laughed out loud.
I suppose I could take each one of the following items and make them into a separate blog, but I decided to put them all in one. Short blurbs, of course.
Daily Dad
One of the hardest jobs I have ever been handed is that of being “dad.” I cannot remember who suggested this book, but I had it in my Amazon cart for a few weeks before finally ordering it.
I have only had it a couple days and the introduction in this book would make a fantastic blog in itself. It is very powerful.
Like a daily devotional, it is organized to feature a thought every day. I am glad that I bought this and look forward to making it a part of my day. I want to be the best dad I can be and teach my children life lessons. I want to raise them right. I hope to use what I learn with my older children, too.
Daily Devotional
I have been a lot better as of late in reading my Bible every day, or at least watching a Bible lesson from pastors I know. I stumbled on this daily devotional quite by accident. A fellow believer had a small picture of it on her Facebook page and I was able to nab a copy of it.
This isn’t set up by date, however it does have 366 devotionals so you can read it in a year. Again, I’ve only had it a couple days and I have really enjoyed this. The pieces are not too long, but loaded with solid information.
Other Reading
My wife has been telling me about a book for some time. I kept putting it off because of the other books I had from the library. I have started it and am progressing slowly, as my time to read physical books isn’t what it had been.
My oldest son has Asperger’s Syndrome, and so does the main character of this book. It is described as a crime thriller, a lesson in motherly love, a primer on Asperger’s syndrome, and a heart stopping trip through the legal system. So far, it is very good.
In the car, I am listening to a very unique story. It has quite an interesting premise.
In a nutshell, Evelyn Hardcastle will be murdered at 11:00 p.m. There are eight days, and eight witnesses for you to inhabit (yes, you become each witness). We will only let you escape once you tell us the name of the killer.
The main character wakes up each day as a different person, reliving the same day and it is his job to find out who murders Evelyn Hardcastle. So far, it is really good. The audio book is like 17 hours long!! I am about 4-5 hours in. I’m hoping it doesn’t disappoint.
At home, I read a chapter about one of my favorite characters of all time and a different case.
Great book by a fellow Columbophile!
The Biggest News of the Weekend
I’m not sure who is responsible – my wife or my daughter – but come this weekend, we’ll have a new addition to the family.
I’m not sure if that puppy is spitting her tongue out at me or is looking at a bone. I am sure that she is coming to our house on Friday.
It started with a text from my wife. “I want a puppy.” That was followed by a video call from my daughter telling me why we needed a puppy. Then my son chimed in, too.
We housed a dog for a while, but she bit one of the kids, so she went to live with my sister-in-law. Because of this, I was apprehensive about even entertaining the thought of getting another dog, let alone a puppy.
Sam decided to send me pictures of the available pups. Then they picked a couple (of the 9 pups) that they liked. Then the owner allowed us to go look at them.
It became very obvious which one liked Ella and which one Ella liked. So, she will be ready for us to pick up this weekend. Many names were thrown out by Sam and me, and Ella shot most of them down. We did talk her out of naming the puppy after her pediatrician!! Anyway, it looks like “Daisy” will be very welcomed in out home.
Puppy Project
When we had the previous dog, it didn’t go far and stayed in the yard. However, I know puppies. I don’t want to be chasing it through the neighborhood. So my father-in-law (my project manager) and I worked this weekend setting posts for a temporary fence. Pardon my amateur art skills….
Our backyard is huge. So my father-in-law and I mapped out how we were going to give the pup it’s own area. There is an area up near the back of our house where we can run fencing from the back of the garage to the chain-link fence of our neighbor. Then we can run some fencing from the house to the garage and add a gate. This will give the pup a nice little area to play (and poop) in for the next couple months.
Once the snow melts in the spring, my father-in-law and I are going to buy chain link fence and run 100 feet at a time and finish fencing the entire yard. For now, this will work.
Be ready for plenty of puppy pictures (probably of stuff it chewed up!).
Once again, our friend Dave from A Sound Day has offered up a great topic for his Turntable Talk feature. If you are keeping track, this is the 19th round. The topic for this round came from his post on the Bobby McFerrin song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy!” Dave says, “the topic for us at hand is – A Design For Life...musical philosophies. Put your thinking caps on and highlight a song that explains how to live better, a sort of personal mantra if you will! Or at least tells others how to live and move through these complicated times.“
As I thought on what song to pick, many came to mind. Let It Be by the Beatles would certainly work. Baz Luhrmann’s Everybody’s Free To Wear Sunscreen is another perfect one. I could even go with You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones, but I decided against them all.
As I write this, Dave has sent out the schedule to all the bloggers who are participating, so we know when our piece will post. This blog will post second to last. That means that it is very possible that someone will pick the song that I have chosen. I can hope that my gut instincts will show that the other bloggers will continue to steer away from country music and avoid my pick.
My wife listens to music as she gets read for work every day. She usually puts on her Pandora and it shuffles through her favorite pages. This is where I first heard my song choice – Tim McGraw’s Humble and Kind.
The song was written by songwriter Lori McKenna. She told the Tennessean:
“That song is a selfish little poem/lullaby that a mother of five wrote for her kids one day. At that point, my oldest is 25 and my youngest is 10, when I wrote it five or six years ago. I dropped off the kids at school, and I sat at my dining room table with my coffee and started thinking about all the things that Gene and I wanted to make sure we told the kids.
There’s so much information there. A parent can go on and on and on forever about what they want their kids to know. I know there was a lot of information going in. I did worry about getting preachy and I stopped myself really quickly and remembered I wasn’t writing this for anyone else. I was writing this for myself and for my kids. I sort of thought of it that way. If someone gives me trouble, oh well. I literally kept them in my focus.
I sent it to Tim and he had a melodic change in the chorus that he did that took me a long time to figure out what the subtle change is. It was just enough to make it commercial. He brought it to a place I still can’t believe.
When asked about recording the song, Tim McGraw stated that he “cried during every take.”
It really is a powerful song with a simple message, but it is a message that is much needed in today’s society. It is almost a play on the quote that is often thrown around, “In a world where you can be anything – be kind.”
Tim McGraw actually used clips from Oprah’s series, “Belief” for the video of the song. Give it a listen and as you make your way through this crazy world – remember to be humble and kind:
“Humble And Kind”
You know there’s a light that glows by the front door Don’t forget the key’s under the mat When childhood stars shine Always stay humble and kind
Go to church ’cause your mamma says to Visit grandpa every chance that you can It won’t be wasted time Always stay humble and kind
Hold the door, say “please”, say “thank you” Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie I know you got mountains to climb But always stay humble and kind When the dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride But always stay humble and kind
Don’t expect a free ride from no one Don’t hold a grudge or a chip and here’s why Bitterness keeps you from flyin’ Always stay humble and kind
Know the difference between sleeping with someone And sleeping with someone you love “I love you” ain’t no pick-up line So always stay humble and kind
Hold the door, say “please”, say “thank you” Don’t steal, don’t cheat, and don’t lie I know you got mountains to climb But always stay humble and kind When those dreams you’re dreamin’ come to you When the work you put in is realized Let yourself feel the pride But always stay humble and kind
When it’s hot, eat a root beer popsicle Shut off the AC and roll the windows down Let that summer sun shine Always stay humble and kind
Don’t take for granted the love this life gives you When you get where you’re going don’t forget turn back around And help the next one in line Always stay humble and kind
I have to thank the mail lady at our local post office who literally saved Christmas today! Let me explain.
Sam took advantage of the Amazon deals and finished up the Christmas shopping this week. One of the things she ordered was a big Barbie Townhouse thing for Ella. She kept asking for a Barbie Dreamhouse, which is like $200 and as big as our living room!
We decided to go a little smaller and got her the Barbie three story townhouse… which has an elevator!
Considerably smaller, but still a place for her Barbies to play!
Anyway, because of all the construction on our street, the Amazon driver called to say that he couldn’t get to the house. He left the package at the local post office. Sam called me while I was out running errands with Ella and asked me to stop and get it – hoping it was in a cardboard box.
I walked into the post office and explained who I was and why I was there. As Ella was wandering around the lobby, I mentioned that it was a Christmas present and that I hoped that it was in a box. The lady looked at me and whispered, “Is it a Barbie house?”
I told her it was and she shook her head. She informed me that it was literally in the box you would see at the store. I obviously was not going to be able to get it with Ella there with me. I told her that I could probably come back later and pick it up on my way to work. She told me to wait a second and she looked under the counter.
She found a garbage bag and said she thought maybe she could fit it in the bag. It just fit, but she said it wouldn’t close at the top of the bag.
She wanted to be sure the secret was not revealed to Ella, so she grabbed a few USPS envelopes and covered the end of the box that was showing so that there was no way Ella could see what it was!
When she handed me the bag, I expressed my thanks. She really went above and beyond for me and I could not appreciate it more. In my mind, she truly saved Christmas!
I had the day off yesterday for my son’s birthday. It was such a great day with the family.
He is all about tools and the construction vehicles that have been outside, so that was the “theme” for his birthday.
My dad sent him a tool box earlier this week. It had some cool tools in it and he was loving it! Without seeing one Three Stooges movie, he’s already showing me he’s going to love them.
When I came home Tuesday, I put together his birthday present so he could get it first thing in the morning. It’s a cool Mickey Mouse Tool Bench.
He also got some “power tools” that we got from Sam’s Club. They really look like Bosch tools and they all make noises. The drill actually lets you drive a screw in and reverses to get them out. He figured that out on his own. He is loving this!
Sam’s coworkers told her about a cool place north of us. It’s like a big McDonald’s Play Place. Slides, zip lines, and more. He was in his glory going through the tunnels.
They even had a rock wall for him to climb.
We played long into the afternoon and then made our way home. Sam’s mom picked up Andrew’s birthday cake. We were going to go pick it up and bring it home, but then Sam’s sister said she had a gift for Andrew and she’d meet us at their mom’s. We wound up eating cake and ice cream there before finally calling it a night.
We don’t often get days together as a family, so Andrew’s birthday was extra special. It was a really great day.
In my blog yesterday, I posted on of the photos from his 2nd birthday shoot. Our photographer captured this amazing candid that I cannot wait to hang on the wall. This very well can be one pose that I have them do every year ….
I am thankful that the Lord blessed me with my wonderful children. I am so happy to be their dad.
I can’t even believe that my son Andrew is two years old today! As the title of this blog indicates, it has gone by TWO fast!
Oh the things that this boy has been through! I think he has had more medical tests than I have at this point. Through it all, he has been a champ!
It has been amazing to watch him and his sister create a bond together. Like any siblings, they love each other and drive each other crazy.
He is my helper. Our helper actually. He is always bringing us things. He is always picking up toys (usually after dumping them out). He is constantly on the go! He is FAST. If this was the old west, he’d be called Quick Draw!
He’s our explorer. He watches and learns by watching. He wants to build things. He loves tools. He would rather play with my drill (bitless, of course), tape measures, and wrenches than toys.
He has no fear. He’s our adventurer. He is curious about everything. He’s our monkey!
He has a joyful laugh and beautiful smile. He’s my practical joker!
The joy and happiness that this boy has brought to our lives is immeasurable. I know that in the years ahead, he will continue to provide moments that make us laugh, make us cry and make us proud. I look forward to each and every one of those moments.
This little impromptu writing doesn’t even begin to convey my thoughts and feelings. My wife posted this on Facebook tonight and it says it better than I could:
“As I sit here typing this I am filled with emotions. I am happy that we get to celebrate another year of being blessed with you in our lives. I love seeing you grow, and develop and find the person God created YOU to be, and I am so excited about all the great and wonderful things that you will still do in this life, but I am also a little sad. Sad that my baby is officially no longer a baby, and that time goes by so fast.
You are 2 now and everything has changed, YOU have changed . You are no longer a fragile little baby, fully dependent on me, nope… you are now a strong-willed, stubborn little boy who wants to do everything himself, and you love reminding mommy that you CAN. You are full of surprises and bring something new and exciting to every day. You are sweet, SO funny, silly and friendly with the best smile and you really do always smile.
However, we also learned to not let that sweet, innocent smile fool anyone, because you have a naughty side to you too, clear as day as you take something from your sister or off the counter and hide it behind your back, under your arm, just to take them, and when spotted those little legs of yours run as fast as they can with the naughtiest little giggle and scream following behind.
You are curious, wild, adventurous and daring – nothing is too high, too big or too fast for you. You are one of the best thing that could have happened to our family!
Happy 2nd Birthday Bubby Drew!”
I won’t ramble anymore, so I will wrap this up by simply saying, “Happy 2nd Birthday, Andrew!” I love you, so much! I thank God that He sent you to our family.
Had a childhood flashback thanks to my daughter yesterday.
It is that time of year! The commercials are already starting and two things arrived in the mail.
The Amazon and Walmart Wish books arrived in the mail!
Let me say that these are a FAR cry from the HUGE wish books that I went through growing up. And we certainly had a few to go through –
Montgomery Ward ….
Sears …
And JC Penney (which was our favorite)
We’d spend hours looking through these wish books, thinking that these were commissioned by Santa. After all, we were creating our list of toys that HE was going to bring. Our folks told us constantly that they had to pay him for them!
I remember the above page like I was still 5 years old. We actually had that treehouse!
The above page was one that had a huge black circle around that Millennium Falcon! Santa did bring it to me that year, incidentally!
Anyway, back to my daughter. She is at that age now where she wants a say in what she wants for Christmas. So I grabbed a pen and we opened up the Walmart Wish Book (which was more like a cheap magazine). Her finger pointed to toy after toy. “Circle that one for me!” “I think Bubby (her brother, Andrew) wants that. Circle it for him!”
I circled and circled many items. It was insane! I circled doll houses, electric cars, Paw Patrol, Cocomelon, and Gabby’s Dollhouse stuff. There was something on every page. There were even times she would offer special instructions. For example, when we came to this …
…she made sure to say, “I want this Barbie house. With the Barbie car. And all the Barbies, ok?”
She is a hoot and it was a lot of fun going through the books with her. Now we wait to see if she is on the Naughty or Nice List, right!?
Click bait, according to an online definition is: “something (such as a headline) designed to make readers want to click on a hyperlink especially when the link leads to content of dubious value or interest.” While I don’t think this is the case, I do find it very suspicious.
Have you noticed this in your blog notifications lately? There will be a “like” from someone I don’t know. They almost always have a real person’s name. Now, in the past, if someone liked a post, I would go to their site to see if it might be one I’d want to follow. That is, until recently.
Just today a post from a few days ago got “likes” from people I didn’t know. However, if you look closely at them, you’ll notice something odd:
“Tony,” “Madelyn,” and “mary” all have this “amzn.to” link attached to their “page.” There have been plenty more people with this same type of link. A few weeks ago, I clicked on a person’s picture and saw the “amzn.to” link pop up in the browser and I exited quickly. I never did see where the link went.
Has anyone else noticed this? I find this kind of stuff SO very annoying!
I am a bit overwhelmed today. So overwhelmed that I wasn’t sure I’d want to write. However, I feel I need to.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s blog, I had a doctor visit to discuss the results of all of the ADHD testing. I will tell you that it was about as thorough as you can get. Some of the tests seemed silly, but I guess the tests are very scientific and really do give accurate results.
The doctor visit went over the results with me and we discussed the diagnosis and plan of action. She also sent me a copy of the full report, which I couldn’t read until long after the phone call because I couldn’t read it on my phone. I printed it at work and read it in its entirety.
Now that I think about it, overwhelmed may be an understatement. The break down of the various things that the tests showed were accurate and made me realize that there were things I knew I did, but never ever connected it with ADHD, dopamine or other neurotransmitters and how they played into my daily life.
So I officially have a diagnosis. Two of them actually. First, yes, I have ADHD – the combined type. Second, I have Dysthymic Disorder, which is basically long term depression. That was a shock, because I really felt like I was over that. I have good days and bad days, but never felt as though it was a problem anymore. Apparently, it is.
So now, we have a plan of action. I have another appointment at the end of the month to put it all in place and move forward. Based on our discussion today, this plan should really help me in many ways. That makes me look ahead with the hope that things get better and life is a bit more controlled and … normal.
Various Ramblings of a Nostalgic Italian 