Happy Birthday Sam!

A HUGE Happy Birthday to our wonderful daughter Sam!

Words can't express, so I won't here, but she means the world to us and we've loved seeing her grow up to be the little lady she is and look forward to the woman she'll become.



We love you! Cake for all!

More questions...

1. You have 10 dollars and need to buy snacks at a gas station, what do you buy?
2-liter of Barqs, bag of cool ranch doritos, and green pack of starbursts

2. If you were reincarnated as another creature, what would you be:
An eagle would be nice

3. Who's your favorite red head?
Christina Hendricks

4. What do you order when you're at IHOP?
French toast with a side of crispy bacon and white toast (maybe with hashbrowns too)

5. Last book you read?
"Greater Than the Sum"

6. What is important in a relationship?
trust

7. Describe the last time you were injured?
Most painful thing was standing up into Sam's ceiling fan.

8. Of all your friends, who would you want to be stuck in a well with?
Van, because he's so small I might be able to launch him up and out to get help.

9. Rock concert or symphony?
Depends who's playing

10. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?
Sam in her car seat having fun

11. Soda?
Barq's root beer

12. Cranium or Monopoly?
Monopoly any day

13. One type of transportation for the rest of your life?
Train

14. Most recent movie you've watched in the theater?
The Dark Knight

15. What's your favorite kind of cake?
don't like cake

16. Name an actor/actress who you think is hot:
Sarah from "Chuck"

17. What did you have for dinner last night?
shake and bake chicken, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and biscuits

18. Look to your left, what do you see?
The Hatch diorama from "Lost".

19. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off?
almost never

20. Favorite toy as a child?
my GI JOE guys

21. Do you buy your own groceries?
Yes

22. Do you think people talk about you behind your back?
Probably

23. When's the last time you had sour gummy worms?
A while, but I do like them.

24. What's your favorite fruit?
Pineapple

25. Do you have a picture of yourself doing a cartwheel?
No

26. How do you feel about long distance relationships?
Glad they're over with

27. Have you ever eaten snow?
Sure

28. What color are your bed sheets?
Don't remember

29. What's your favorite flower?
Don't have one

30. Were you or are you in ballet?
Nope

31. Do you listen to classical music?
At times

32. Do you have a "wacky noodle"?
No clue what that is

33. Do you watch Spongebob?
gah, no

34. Last food you ate?
dinner, hamburgers and chips

35. Do people consider you smart?
If they want to

36. What time is it?
9:00pm sharp

37. Is your away message on?
I don't IM

38. Have you ever tried gluing your fingers together?
No, but when I make models it happens all the time

39. What curse word do you use the most?
damn it

40. Do you own an iPod?
Yes

41. What time is your alarm clock set for?
7am

42. What CD is currently in your CD player?
Disk 2 to the "The Empire Strikes Back" soundtrack

43. What movie do you know every line to?
The Original Trilogy, Star Trek II, The Last Starfighter, The Princess Bride

44. What is your favorite salad dressing?
Ranch

45. Would you ever date someone covered in tattoos?
Never

46. How old will you be on your next birthday?
31

47. Do you enjoy giving hugs?
I guess

48. Last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Changing my first explosive diaper

49. What's the way people most often mispronounce any part of your name?
They don't

50. How much money do you have?
In my money clip? Probably $40. In my wallet? A 1977 dollar coin, a 1977 quarter, and an Alaska quarter for Court.

A meme

1. How old will you be in five years?
35

2. Who did you spend at least two hours with today?
singularly, nobody

3. How tall are you?
5 feet, 11 1/2 inches.

4. What do you look forward to most in the next six weeks?
Sam's Birthday

5. What's the last movie you saw?
The Dark Knight

6. Who was the last person you called?
Court, yesterday

7. Who was the last person to call you?
Court, today

8. What was the last text message you received?
Psych

9. Who was the last person to leave you a voicemail?
My Mom

10. Do you prefer to call or text?
text

11. What were you doing at 12am last night?
Reading

12. Are your parents married/divorced?
Divorced

13. When did you last see your mom?
Last Tuesday

14. What color are your eyes?
Brown

15. What time did you wake up today?
7:18a

16. What are you wearing right now?
Green shirt, khaki dockers

17. What is your favorite Christmas song?
Jingle Bells?

18. Where is your favorite place to be?
Home

19. Where is your least favorite place to be?
A restaurant where I know there's nothing I'll like

20. Where would you go if you could go anywhere?
I'm fine here

21. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Probably the same job, maybe in a different house if we move.

22. Do you tan or burn?
Neither, somehow.

23. What did you fear was going to get you at night as a child?
hmm...nothing really.

24. What was the last thing that really made you laugh?
Probably Psych the other day...or something from Juno.

25. How many TVs do you have in your house?
2

26. How big is your bed?
King-sized

27. Do you have a laptop or desktop computer?
Both

28. Do you sleep with or without clothes on?
With

29. What color are your sheets?
Don't remember which ones are on there.

30. How many pillows do you sleep with?
Two, but I hold the one.

31. What is your favorite season?
Fall

32. What is your second favorite season?
Winter

33. What do you like about Winter?
The Cold

34. What do you like about the summer?
Nothing, really

35. What do you like about Winter?
Uh...duplicate

36. How many states/provinces have you lived in?
Two

37. What cities/towns have you lived in?
Park Ridge, Elk Grove, Schaumburg, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Carol Stream, Orlando, Wood Dale

38. Do you prefer shoes, socks, or bare feet?
Shoes.

39. Are you a social person?
No

40. What was the last thing you ate?
crackers

41. What is your favorite restaurant?
Le Cellier in Epcot...Wild Fire, here, I guess.

42. What is your favorite ice cream?
Chubby Hubby

43. What is your favorite dessert?
Apple pie.

44. What is your favorite kind of soup?
Tomato

45. What kind of jelly do you like on your PB & J sandwich?
None

46. Do you like Chinese food?
yuck, no

47. Do you like coffee?
Nope

48. How many glasses of water, a day, do you drink on average?
3-4

49. What do you drink in the morning?
slim-fast

50. Do you sleep alone?
No

51. Do you sleep on a certain side of the bed?
Yes

52. Do you know how to play poker?
Barely

53. Do you like to cuddle?
sometimes, I guess

54. Have you ever been to Canada?
Yes

55. Do you have an addictive personality?
Yes

56. Do you eat out or at home more often?
lately, out, but mostly home

57. Do you look forward to your birthday?
I don't mind it but most of the time I can't remember how old I am.

58. Do you know anyone with the same birthday as you?
No.

59. Do you want kids?
Have a great one

60. Do you speak any other languages?
No

61. Have you ever gotten stitches?
No, but I probably should have because the original injury still hurts 10+ years later

62. Have you ever ridden in an ambulance?
ridden, no. Been in one, yes

63. Do you prefer an ocean or a pool?
prefer neither

64. Do you prefer a window seat or an aisle seats?
either

65. Do you know how to drive stick?
No

66. What is your favorite thing to spend money on?
electronics

67. Do you wear any jewelry 24/7?
wedding ring

68. What is your favorite TV show?
LOST

69. Can you roll your tongue?
Not sure

70. Who is the funniest person you know?
Sam

71. Do you sleep with stuffed animals?
No.

72. What is the main ring tone on your phone?
Depends who is calling - default is Modest Mouse's "Float On"

73. Do you still have clothes from when you were little?
maybe some stuff

74. What red object is closest to you right now?
Project 3000 bracelet

75. Do you turn off the water while you brush your teeth?
Yes

76. Do you sleep with your closet doors open or closed?
Open

77. Would you rather be attacked by a big bear or a swarm of bees?
bees

78. Do you flirt a lot?
No

79. What do you dip a chicken nugget in?
Ranch

80. What is your favorite food?
Tacos I guess

81. Can you change the oil on a car?
No

82. Have you ever gotten a speeding ticket?
Man

83. Have you ever run out of gas?
Once

84. What is your usual bedtime?
midnight-1am usually

85. What was the last book you read?
Warpath by David Mack

86. Do you read the newspaper?
Online

87. Do you have any magazine subscriptions?
Consumer Reports and Time

89. Do you watch soap operas?
No

90. Do you dance in the car?
Only to amuse Sam

91. What radio station did you last listen to?
The Score

92. Who do you have in a picture frame near you?
Sam, eating my phone, and Sam, with her cat hat on in her walker

93. What was the last note you scribbled on a piece of paper?
Don't remember

94. What is your favorite candle scent?
None

95. What is your favorite board game?
Monopoly

97. When was the last time you attended church?
Regularly? Never

98. Who was your favorite teacher in high school?
Ms. Sindelar (sic) from Gym helped me out once

99. What is the longest you have ever camped out in a tent?
4-5 days

100. Who was the last person to do something extra special for you?
Court

Breaking radio silence...

The quiz made tears come out of my eyes, I was laughing so hard.

27

Created by OnePlusYou - Free Dating Sites

And growing up is hard to do...

When you're a kid, you don't have money for all the toys you want, but you have room for them.

When you're an adult, you have the money for all the toys you want, but you don't have room for them.

And when I say 'toys' in a grown-up sense, I don't mean TVs and DVD players and that crap. I mean actual toys. Actual toys that purposefully remind you of the things you wanted as a kid but couldn't/didn't have. Of course, it being the 20th/25th/30th anniversaries of a lot of my favorite toys this year doesn't help.

Since this is one of my favorite GI JOE sequences...


I of course couldn't pass up this...complete with jetpack and American flag.

Teeth and the Teething Teethers with Teeth

After a few days of 'issues' with getting the little one to sleep in the new crib configuration without getting up every five minutes, things went back to the way they were and she slept all through the night.

Then the molars came.

Her mood changed. Her sleeping patterns changed. What she wanted to eat, and when, changed.

Luckily, this (mostly) happened during a week we were both on vacation so the sleeping didn't really matter that much. If not, I think we'd have both been in rehab by mid-week.

There's nothing like seeing your daughter hold her hand up to her mouth while saying 'ow! ow!'

Things have gone back to normal once again, luckily.

bleary eyed

Let me just tell you that my daughter can STILL escape the crib whenever she wants, so the old "yeah, it's the middle of the night, she's crying, but she'll probably conk out any minute" thing that used to happen a couple times a month has now been completely transformed. Without relating the whole story, let me just tell you that I probably watched 3 Handy Manny's before 4am today. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

uh oh, here comes a milestone....

Tuesday morning (actually, like 3am) the little one was crying a little bit in her crib. We decided to see if she'd tire herself out so we just waited on it. Suddenly, the crying noise started getting closer and closer, and it wasn't coming out of the monitor anymore. The little monkey was walking down the hallway into our room. She'd escaped the crib.

I should just make "I'm not dead" a post tag.

Yes, I'm still alive. Let's have a few quick hits:

• I got a ticket Friday. It was a BS ticket for something I've probably done every weekday since my little monkey starting going to the sitter. So since that's probably 300+ times, I figure I've gotten away easy.


• I've stopped going out to lunch at work because the weather is so nice I just want to drive home.


• We took down the structure that was enclosing our hot tub on Saturday. Let's just say it was LONG overdue and keep it at that. There were ants involved. Hundreds of them.(ok, I didn't let that be that)


• Obama has won the Democratic primary, so we'll see how that goes.


• The Cubs are doing pretty well, so we'll see how that goes too.


• Some enterprising and intelligent people have updated MVP 2004 with the 2008 rosters since there's no real Baseball game for the PC anymore. My Cubs are doing well, and last night Carlo Marmol did something he does a lot in real life...give up a triple to the first batter and blow the next 3 guys away on strikeouts. Of course, the game seems to think Ryan Dempster is the Ryan Dempster we were all afraid we'd get in a starter (read: crappy) instead of the one we've really got (read: VERY strong).


• The monkey's current vocabulary: Mama, Dada, bob (bottle), yeah, no, elmo (for Elmo and Nemo), up, uh oh, whoa, juice (or something that sounds like that), ummm... (when thinking), and she also calls Hooper something nonsensical but consistent...I think it's na-na.


• Considering I put out a ton of garbage from the hot tub house for the garbagemen and the remains of a large bush we destroyed for the recycling/lawn bag guys, I'm sure both groups hate my guts right now.

More, as I think of it...

Household Political Endorsements

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that I'm throwing my endorsement for the Democratic Primary Election (and the 2008 Presidential Election) to Barack Obama.

Hooper (our dog) is not yet old enough to vote. He really likes John Edwards though.

Boots (our cat) is the only Republican in the house. He's actually a hard-line conservative, and we have many arguments about this. Because of his hard-line stance, he's having some issues with McCain as the Republican nominee but he'd sooner choke on a hairball than vote Democrat. I haven't really investigated it (mostly out of fear) but I do believe he had something to do with George W. Bush winning Florida in the 2000 Presidential Election. I suspect he was an integral part of the Republican Political Machine down there.

Oba-mania? Barack the Vote? GOBAMA?

Crosscut Seattle - Here's one reason students Barack the vote: respect

Interesting reading.

Starting back up

A little hitting to all fields, and then the starting of regular postings soon.

• The sprout and I weathered a little over a week of Mr. Mom-age. Worked out well since it was so nice to spend so much time with her. We had fun.


• I want to go on the record as saying it has snowed about 6 times since I told my wife in January that I thought it was time to put away the snowblower until next Winter.


• GOBAMA baby, just GOBAMA


• Got the car washed yesterday...perhaps it will rain today.


• Pitchers and Catchers have reported...and there was much rejoicing.


• More of my TV shows are getting canceled. This can't be good.


• I think I have watched 20 episodes of Mythbusters in the last month.


• I think Iraq is what scares me most about people who say they'll jump to McCain if their Democratic candidate doesn't make it. Hello, the guy wants to keep us in Iraq!

more later...