where I talk with my inside voice
I’m probably going to regret this, but I signed up for another 30 days of punishment. Last year was a lot more difficult than I anticipated, but this year, I have taken the precaution of jotting down ideas in the weeks leading up to today, so I am hopeful that I won’t be struggling for topics towards the end of...
We bought this Cambridge model swingset from Sam’s last season on clearance and finally got around to assembling the beast this past weekend. If you buy one, you can plan on it taking a good 20 hours to assemble if you have only two people. I would recommend that you follow the instructions and take the time to sort and...
I must offer many thanks to all of my family and friends who threw me a surprise party over the weekend for my 40th birthday. I had no clue that the party was for me until I walked in and the crowd yelled “SURPRISE!” Special thanks to my wonderful wife Dixie for organizing the event. I was truly touched to...
When Josie was only a week or so old, I never would have guessed that we would have gotten a picture like this. Noah just wasn’t into the whole big brother role, and his actions toward her were what you could only call agressive. But he has mellowed quite a bit, and now he even seems to like her, and...
Fridays are the hardest. Whew. When I accepted this challenge, I wouldn’t have guessed that one day would be harder than the rest, but Fridays have turned out to be more difficult to find something to write about than the remaining days of the week. So yeah, I’m cheating. It’s actually Saturday and I’m pre-dating this entry. And it’s not...
If you came of age during the 70s and 80s, and had cable TV, you undoubtedly watched Carlin at Carnegie. Probably many times. I know I did. I think I had the entire thing memorized at one time in my life. Everyone has certain pop culture icons that influence their childhood, and for me one of the biggest was George...
We hosted a little shindig today for the whole family so everyone could meet the newborn babies — our daughter Josie and my cousin Laura’s daughter Becca. We had a sprinkler set up, Stomp Rockets, and of course Noah’s Hummer is always a hit. I think everyone had a good time. A few pictures from the festivities are in my...
I spent today catching up. Catching up on work around the house. Catching up on writing. But most importantly, catching up on some serious play time with my little man. He is a bundle of energy, and always ready to play catch or play cars, but today it was Stomp Rockets. Simply put, it was a good day.
We took Noah and Josie to the circus today. Noah got the biggest kick out of it, he was so charged up during the show. He kept clapping and bouncing up and down in his seat. Josie, of course, slept through it. The circus has really gone high-tech. The lighting and sound was really excellent, and the special effects (pyrotechnics...
A month or so ago, there would have been no way that our daughter Josie would have passed out asleep on the floor this way. She was pretty fussy. No, strike that, she was uber fussy. Actually the word fussy is insufficient to the task of describing her. But we figured that was just how she was, and that we...
When I graduated college and started working full time, it was a bit of a shock initially. You never realize how much free time you have until it is gone. I thought I was busy in college. I was double-majoring, carrying a full load of classes, running a radio station, and I was a Resident Assistant in the dorm where...
Josephine Mae was born tonight weighing 7lb, 14oz, 20 inches long, with a full head of hair. I’m glad Dixie didn’t have to endure 17 hours of labor again, like she did for Noah. There are pictures of Josie now available in my album.
For the first time in my almost twelve years at Boeing, we were given the day off due to the snowstorm that pummeled St. Louis yesterday evening. By comparison to the snowfall I remember as a kid, this storm wasn’t that bad. But it’s the most snow I’ve seen at one time in recent memory. Noah helped me shovel a...
Dixie and I had our 20-week ultrasound today and we are thrilled to announce that it’s a girl! We have a lot of work to do on the nursery now, and other preparations to make, but we can’t wait to meet you Josie!
With a single stake in the ground, the massive sewer project that I wrote about last year begins. Our local sewer district has hired XL Contracting to perform the work outlined in this ordinance. The trenching and tree-cutting has already begun in our subdivision, but they haven’t made it to our yard yet. A four-foot tunnel is being dug underneath...
For my birthday this year, Dixie bought me an introductory glassblowing class at Third Degree Glass Factory. It was beastly hot, but it was a lot of fun and I learned a lot. Our instructors, Mike Hayes and Ben Klein are very talented and were willing to help all of us newbies learn the basics and create a souvenir. You...
