Finally! The Weekend.

It is Groundhog Day. The above critter is not a groundhog, I realize. Perhaps, I should have posted an appropriate groundhog picture? Hold on a sec ….

…. Ok, I’m back. I have one.

You’re welcome.

The kids each got to enjoy a special day today. Andrew got to spend the day at Nana’s house and Ella got to go shopping with mommy. They both had lots to tell me about their day when they called me tonight. Both Sam and her mom said that each kid is very different when they are alone. They obviously missed each other. Tonight at bedtime, Sam sent me this:

I don’t know what is funnier – the sunglasses, the fact that Ella is reading my Columbo book, or that Andrew is staring at a blank page! LOL

Our pup is growing so much. She is like a Moose! I turned on the TV the other day and was laying on the couch. She was laying on the floor next to me. I was scrolling my phone when all of a sudden she jumped up on the couch and on me. She obviously needed attention.

I am not a tattoo guy. I’ve never really felt the need to get one. I have heard that once you get one, you tend to get more. There are plenty of tattoo horror stories. People get one with a name of a lover and then they break up and stuff like that. I saw something online the other day that just made me shake my head.

I have posted about the excitement I had over the Detroit Lions season this year. I had hoped that they would win the Championship game and go on to the Super Bowl. Some people chose them to win it all. I really can’t imagine being so confident that I would go and get the following tattoo:

One can only hope that they can change that year to 2025!

Coming Soon:

I’m excited for the next round of Turntable Talk, which is going to be about great movie soundtracks. Which movie soundtrack would you pick as your favorite?

I’m also taking part in the 10th Annual Favorite TV Show Episode in March. It is hosted again by Terry of A Shroud of Thoughts. I’m going with one from a show I have written about before, but worth being featured again.

After a Long Week – The Weekend

The weekend is finally here! It has been a crazy week.

Monday, I took the kids to get their pictures taken in their Halloween costumes. Our photographer, Beth, once again got some great shots in our 15 minute mini-session. Ella is going as Rapunzel this year.

Andrew is going out as Spiderman.

The pictures came out so good.

Tuesday, Ella woke up with a fever. It was crazy high. She slept most of the day and eventually, Sam took her to urgent care. Strep Throat and tonsil stones. She was miserable.

My brother came up Tuesday night and Wednesday they were going to stop by our house, but I told them it was better if I came to him. So Sam stayed with Ella and Andrew came with me. They were staying at an Air B&B near us. It was a brief visit because I had to work that day.

On Thursday, Ella was feeling a little better, but not 100%. Sam had to take Andrew to Occupational Therapy, so Ella and I stayed home. I was trying to fold laundry and get stuff done, but she called to me and asked me to snuggle with her on the couch.

You don’t say “no” to snuggles! She is so funny though. At one point, she faced me and put her arms around me. As she hugged me, she said, “I just love you, daddy!” She held me for like 5 minutes. I was thinking about just how amazing this was. She made me feel so special. It was amazing. Then, suddenly, she let go and said, “Ok, that’s enough hugging for one day, dad!” Hilarious!!

We got a Halloween Tonie for their Tonie Box and it plays all kinds of Halloween songs. They have been watching Halloween episodes of Miss Rachel, Paw Patrol, Bubble Guppies, and such. The Ghostbusters theme song is on that Tonie (and in the Miss Rachel show). I did a spit take with my coffee when out of the blue from the couch, she says, “Dad. Who you gonna call?” Immediately followed by her screaming, “Ghostbusters!”

She was actually making up lyrics to it in her room the other day “There’s a tree outside. Outside my house. Who you gonna call? Ghostbusters! It was complete nonsense and I loved every minute of it.

Daisy, our new puppy, is slowly but surely getting better about going to the bathroom outside. I’m not looking forward to standing outside in the rain and snow with her this winter waiting for her to go! On a funny note, I think she thinks she is going trick or treating with the kids this year….

The kids did a Trunk or Treat this evening and got a bunch of candy. They have the list of candies that fall under the “daddy tax” rule.

Tomorrow, we are heading out for a Halloween Train Ride with my friend Margaret and her family. I am SO looking forward to it. It should be a blast.

Have a great weekend!!

Trying to Unblock Writer’s Block

I’ve been struggling to write. I’m sure it is because I have had a lot of things on my mind over the past couple weeks. The things on my mind are not necessarily things I want to write about. It’s hard to be in this place. I’m still struggling to get through it, and pray that everything will be ok. That being said, I decided to sit and write about some happy things from the past few days.

“Raising Gamers?”

I usually only play on the X-box when the kids are asleep. Recently, I was in the middle of a game and Andrew woke up from his nap. I paused the game, went and got him, and spent two minutes finishing the silly car race. He loves the controllers of the game. Another time, Ella was done with her nap and came in to the bedroom where she saw me playing “the car game.”

Now, Andrew will grab a controller and point to the bedroom. He wants to play the game. Ella does, too. So I pulled the batteries out of two controllers and they hold them while I drive around. They, of course, think they are playing! It’s fun to watch them.

Too Many Tonies?

Remember a while back I mentioned the Tonie that the kid’s Aunt Margaret sent? We have ordered a few more to play on it. I guess we didn’t realize how many we had until we lined them up on the mantle.

Many of them have songs, some have stories, and some have both. It has been so nice and has helped keep the TV time down to a minimum. If you have little ones, it is worth every penny!

Too Many Ninis and the Genius of Andrew

From my wife’s Facebook:

Andrew is only suppose to have his pacifiers at bedtime. All of a sudden we were missing a TON of his pacifiers. There was none left in the diaper bag or his crib… yet all day long he would show up with one and we are constantly taking them from him.

Tonight while cleaning I found out that my brilliant child at 1 years old has hidden his pacifiers throughout the house. I have found 6 of his hiding places. I’m not even mad, I am truly impressed!

I swear, he is a genius. He plants them everywhere and knows exactly where to get one when we take one away!

Bunnies!

Our photographer friend, Beth (From Enjoy the View Photography), had Spring “Mini” sessions this week. We booked a session for just the kids. Originally, we were going to have them dress up like in Easter attire. Sam decided that she was going to have Ella in the outfit she was in for her birthday, and match Andrew up with her in some overalls. They looked so cute together!

As a bonus, Beth had real live bunnies for the session. Ella was so excited when she heard about them. We didn’t really know what to expect, but I think we were able to get some good pictures. We’ll know soon. I snapped just one that has a funny story to go with it.

Beth had a bag of carrots to feed the bunnies. The carrot that is in Andrew’s mouth, was just in the bunny’s mouth about two seconds before I snapped this. Well, at least it is a healthy snack!

Fab Four Week

I took part in a feature hosted by Max at the PowerPop Blog about the Beatles. The feature continues for the next few days. His idea was to write about your favorite Beatles song – or anything Beatles related. My write up gives a nod to one of the boys. Which one? Watch for the post in the next day or two.

My Guest Ideas

Last week I mentioned that I was thinking about hosting something similar to what Max is doing and what Dave does with Turntable Talk. I am still trying to think about whether I want to do something music, movie or TV related. Stay tuned…..

Weekend Wrap Up

Saturday Sam and I took the kids out to eat at a local pizza place. They have a patio, which allowed us to eat outside. The weather was perfect. It was sunny, but not too hot and there was a nice breeze. Of course, there was plenty of cottonwood flying about, which was only a problem if it landed on our food.

Eating outside also allowed for Ella, who isn’t really great about sitting still, to wander a bit. There was a family who came out the patio and sat a table or so away from us. I guess the kid hurt himself, and Ella really wanted to help him. She said, “Kiss and make it better?” We told her that the boy’s mommy would do that for him.

She was walking around like she owned the patio. In one photo I snapped, I swear she looks like she is walking a model runway. She looks like a movie star with her sunglasses and all.

Sunday and Monday both allowed for neighborhood walks, but there were also showers and storms.

Tuesday started with “weigh in” for me. I was thrilled to see a 3 pound loss this week, bringing my total to 9 pounds in two weeks. I hope to keep seeing weight loss.

After breakfast and a few errands, I took the kids for our neighborhood walk. It’s become a thing to count squirrels, birds, cats and “puppies.” Ella sings through the entire walk, saying hello to everyone we meet. Tuesday, there was a guy riding his bike who passed us about 4 times. She said hello every time. LOL

When we got home, she wanted to swing on the swings, until she heard loud yelling and noise from the back of the house. It was field day and the kids were out with bounce houses, outdoor games, and kickball.

Both kids absolutely loved watching the kids play. Ella said hi to all the kids sitting on the bench and they were very nice to her. I think Andrew got the biggest kick out of it though. His smile as he stood against the fence was priceless.

Sam said if it was warm enough to put them in their bathing suits and let them play with the water table and little pool. The two of them had a blast. As much as Ella gets to where she doesn’t want Andrew around her, outside she welcomes him as a playmate. They splashed together, she poured water on him, and they got muddy together.

The only time they were really unhappy today was when it was time to come inside and nap.

Looking forward to the rest of the week and Father’s Day weekend.

Finally – The Weekend

Even though I know that I’m going to be busy with a ton of things this weekend, I am glad that it is finally here! What I haven’t decided yet is whether I am going home to sleep and get up later OR going home to stay up and go to bed early. Typical midnight shift worker problem ….

Like you, I have a list – two lists actually. I have the list of things I want to do and things I need to do. Last weekend we rearranged a bunch of stuff in the house. We still need to really finish that project up. I have things that still need to be put away, things that need to be gone through, stuff that needs to be done outside, etc…

Even on our days off, Sam and I are on the go. Sam went shopping yesterday for groceries, shopped the day before at Sam’s Club, and ran kids to doc appointments in between all of that. Admittedly, she does more than me! All the appointments seem to fall on her end of the week. We are always trying to catch up on work around the house. It never seems to get done.

We need a vacation!

Whatever happens this weekend, I will look forward to having some sort of family time. Enjoy the weekend!

Busy Weekend

The “baby watch” was definitely on this weekend. A week ago Thursday Sam’s doc thought she’d go into labor by that Sunday. This past Thursday, her blood pressure was high and she was told to rest. Her doc was on call last weekend, so he said to come to the hospital this weekend if “conditions were right.”

Saturday, I woke up and Sam was having some contractions, so we kept watching and waiting. Nothing. Sunday, same thing. Sunday night, she had to work. I thought for sure that I’d be getting a call from her in the middle of the night. I had her bag, my bag, and everything we’d need to take to the hospital at the door – ready – just in case. Nothing.

So we enter another week and we continue to be on edge!

They say that walking helps bring on labor, so we went to one of the nurseries this weekend and picked up a few mums and fall decorations for the porch. Ella loves the pumpkins and has been crawling up on the hay bales to watch cars go by.

Monday turned out to be a nice day. Ella has so much energy, but I’m just not comfortable taking her to the mall or the store yet. Sam suggested I take her to the zoo. There is a small zoo just north of us that is perfect for kids. There are plenty of animals to see and you can be through it in an hour or so. They have a carousel and train that she can ride on, too.

We got there just after it opened, and while there were some other people there, it felt like we had the whole zoo to ourselves. I brought the stroller, but she walked most of the time we were there. The highlight for her (and me) was the otter exhibit. There was this one otter who must have saw us coming. Once we were in front of the window, he jumped in the water and began swimming around in front of her. She was giggling so loud.

Monday was National Sons Day. I am certainly blessed to have to fine boys (and another on the way). My oldest is gearing up to start college in the winter and my youngest is enjoying the beginnings of his freshman year. I am proud of all that they have accomplished and look forward to the things they will do in the future! I’m truly a lucky man to have such wonderful kids!