Gross

While I'm shotgunning posts here, I gotta get this one down. One of my main reasons for doing this blog is to help me remember all the wild and crazy things the boys do so I can embarrass them later on. I got a honey of a story for you.

I was downstairs today working on the computer. Jake went upstairs to drop the kids off at the pool. After about ten minutes I hear both the boys laughing and giggling. I said," Jake are you done dude?" More laughing. Then, "Ewwww, do it again." Uncontrolled laughter. "Ewwww." I bolted upstairs. Jake is bent over and Brady is wiping his butt for him. I swallowed hard and tried to be firm. What do you say to that?

"Ewww. Don't ever do that again."

You guys are gross and I love you for it.

Halloween 2006

Scared? If you're a bad guy, you should be.

Halloween was fun. It was the day after got back from Louisiana, but we caught a sugar high and drove on. Uncle Jarrod, Aunt Julie, Makayla, and Ma and Poppy came over to join in the lunacy. The dudes put on those costumes and become Superman. Needless to say you don't give Superman just any candy..you give him ALL the candy. They had full buckets in no time. Ahh..try and put a three and four year old to bed after a half pound of sugar. Superman, where were you?

Louisiana

Allright, allright. It's taken me longer than it should have to write about it. However, it took me longer than it should have to make the trip happen so, you know...can't mess with continuity.

Allright. Frontier Airlines. I wish bankruptcy on them. Maybe that's too much. At least a hearty case of "the runs" though. That'd do it. I won't get into it because that's just too long and painfull of a story.

National Car Rental. You guys saved the day. An '07 Escalade with a flip down screen and DVD in the back for the dudes...all for $60 a day. Nice. Nice. See, when a major corporation screws something up, it IS possible to fix it.

Anywho, we had a great time once we actually arrived in Shreveport. The boys finally got to meet Granny and Grandpa. Grandpa is my man. Coolest guy I know. It made my heart full to see him with the boys. Granny is Grandpa's equal, except in the kitchen..she's better. The boys got to have some of her beans and ham for lunch. Mmmmm. I've never left their house with an empty stomach and now, neither have the boys.

After hugs and kisses they took off and played like I did when I was a kid. It was really strange to watch Jake play on the same stuff I used to. Since he is my clone it was like watching myself. Man, I'm good looking. Brady was real big into picking up pecans. Yes, he is allergic to nuts. Yes, we let him pick up the pecans...but with the shell on it. Turns out that hard shell didn't help..he broke out with a rash anyway. Lesson learned. DOH!

The boys got to see Aunt Doreen again and meet their Uncle Bruce. It's funny, most of the time when they meet someone new they can be a little aprehensive. Not on this trip. The boys went right up and hugged everybody. Brady even gave Uncle Bruce some extra hugs.

My Grandpa has a talking parrot. Chico. That's one crazy bird. Little boys love talking animals. Talking animals apparently love little boys. They just couldn't get enough of eachother.

Cindy and the boys also got to meet "Miss Karen" for the first time. After years of talking and video chatting she finally got to hug them. She's a real cool lady and the boys took right to her. Jake fell in love with her pumpkin pie. Brady couldn't get enough of her toy room. Having Uncle G there didn't hurt either. Full heart and a full belly once again.

I showed them Cross Lake. We ate Southern Maid doughnuts. Pondered the Red River and why it's not really red. Stayed up late, slept late. Ordered room service. All that jazz.

It was just too short of a time to do everything we wanted and see everyone we wanted. Oh but we'll be back. Yes we will.

Pitter patter

We have laminate wood flooring upstairs. We don't have rugs yet. YET. Anytime anyone walks around upstairs, you hear it. Heck, you almost feel it. Especially when the Jake and Brady show is in progress.

Thump-thump-thump...pat-pat-pat...slap-slap-slap...HAHAHAHA..thump-thump-thump...pat-pat-pat...slap-slap-slap...HAHAHAHA.

The novelty is wearing off. Quickly.

Happy Birthday Brady!

I can't believe you're 3 already little dude. Crazy. It seems like yesterday we just went and picked you up from the NICU to take your jaundice little booty home. You had to be the star from day one. Now look at you, the little poser on the stairs up there....what a goof.

Your party was awesome. You got to show off your new digs to everybody. You wanted a Curious George birthday so...you got it. Me and Mommy stayed up till 2:30 making your cake. Grandma Mimi made you a pinata. Plus you had the monkey bounce house in the backyard...pretty sweet deal. You played like a madman the whole time and made everybody laugh. You're one of a kind dude.

Happy birthday son.

Done

We are finally officially moved in. Well, moved in to the garage at least. Now we can spend the next month going through junk we never even knew we had. Oh joy. We used to have a really big garage out there, dadgummit.

The boys have been really good with the whole moving experience. I am way past crazy at this point, but they are just rolling with it. They finally got all their backyard toys today and even got to take quick dip in the ol' inflat-o-pool. Too bad the weather decided to turn cooler so the water was freezing, but they had fun anyway.

Ahhh, cooler weather. We can actually use our Zoo membership again. Brady is itching to go. Every night he wants a story about the zoo. He wants to see his animal buddies again. The snakes, Gila monster, pirranah, eels, python, and roaches. Yep, roaches. Oh and the "monkeys with the red booty's". Otherwise known as baboons. Can't forget about the goats that make "little black poopies". Jake is excited to go to but he's holding out for ZooLights. That's when the put up all kinds of Christmas lights around the zoo and have a bunch of cool displays set up. Even a lifesize talking Giraffe. Pretty dang cool.

It will be good to get back into our normal routine again. Buying a house is cool, moving is not. Now we get to relax again, and just enjoy the dudes. Well, relax up until Brady's party next weekend, but after that yeah...relax. Oh wait, Uncle G's coming to town and then we leave for Louisiana. OK, so relax after that. Uhh, we get back the day before Halloween.

I'll sleep when I'm dead.

All is well

The boys are sleeping soundly in their new rooms. Cindy is asleep on the couch. I am about to rouse her to join me in bed upstairs. I forgot how much moving into a house takes out of you. Especially when it has stairs. Ahh, I curse you stairs...but you're still cool.

We are about halfway done, and I am ready to quit. Visions of selling what's left at the old house for pennies on the dollar are running through my head. I mean, I like that stuff, but...I really don't need it that bad do I? We have our beds, the couches, the TV, the tables, ohh..wait, we need clothes I guess. And somewhere to put them. Hmmm. Dang.

Oh, and a word to wise. Do you have dog's? Cats? Furry shedding creatures of some sort? We don't, but the previous owner did. We thought it wise to buy a Dyson-animal vacuum. Best money I ever spent. Turns out she left us the gift of over 20 canisters of dog fur and dander in the carpets. Now, she only lived here 2 years, and the carpet is only 2 years old. And, she had one medium-sized dog. The house was otherwise clean to the naked eye. Doing the math yet? Beg, borrow, or buy a Dyson. We had the carpets steam cleaned for the sake of our little allergic dudes, but Mr. Dyson has himself a wonderful product to be enjoyed by all.

Home Sweet Home...Finally

That's My Family walking in to Our House for the very first time. Today was a very good day.

It hasn't fully sunk in yet that we finally have our own house. That may take a while. The boys can bang stuff up and make it their own. They have what every little boy wants in a house; stairs. I think they must have run up and down a hundred times in two hours tonight. That's fine though. Those stairs belong to them now. Heck, the whole house is their domain anyway...who am I kidding?

I can't say how pleased as a man, as a husband, it makes me to be able to provide this for my family. I've never been in a position to do it before and it has always made me feel a little less than adequate. My wife has a home she can call her own. She can paint, decorate, go silly with fixtures, window treatments, whatever...it's hers. She has waited long enough and put up with more than her share. She deserves it.

My heart is full and my mind is at ease. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Cuddlin Up!

When the boys aren't plotting on eachother they're just the best of friends. Mornings are a good time to catch them in a state of brotherly love. I snapped the shot a few days ago when they first got up. The dudes wanted to cuddle up and watch a little Playhouse Disney before breakfast. That's quality stuff right there. It almost makes me forget about thirty minutes later when Jake was chasing Brady around the house, growling at him. Ahhh...selective memory.

Happy Birthday Jake!

I can't believe you're 4 dude. No way. Well, from the size of you, I would guess 6 or 7 but...anyway.

This year you wanted a Superman birthday and that's just what you got. Your Mom and I stayed up late the night before making your cake. Well, I actually just cut it out and told her where to put the frosting so she is mostly responsible. When you boys are older I am going to miss making these cakes for you. It's more fun for the both of us than you guys can imagine.

Your party was a blast. Your cousins came over and played in the big-bouncy-house thing. We ate a ton of pizza and wings. You got a ton of cool presents and even two Napoleon Dynamite birtday cards. Cracked you right up. You blew out the candle on your cake. Well, Brady blew it out the first time, so we had to re-light it so you could do it. He's a sneaky fella. Then you ate a HUGE piece of cake, cut right from the center...as you requested.

This was such a cool birthday my man. I hope you remember what a great time you had. I always will.

Welcome home G

He's back. He's in one piece...for the most part. I assume by now he's eaten a good meal, taken a long shower, enjoyed a fine American beverage, and slept in a clean soft American bed. He certainly earned it. Welcome home bro.

9-11-01

Five years ago I was in bed asleep. Your mom was getting ready for work. She turned on the television, not a normal part of her morning ritual. What she saw was anything but normal. Chaos was unfolding on live TV. A horrible, terrible, historic moment in our Nation's history, and I was sleeping. She came in and told me to wake up, that I had to see this. That's all she said. I sat up, turned on the TV in our bedroom and watched. She left to go to work and we didn't even say goodbye.

When the TV came on I just saw flames in a tall building. I wish I could've closed my eyes. Maybe a minute after I started watching, I called my friend Mark and told him to turn on his TV. We both watched as a plane flew into another building. We maybe said 5 or more words in the next hour. We couldn't stop watching and we couldn't hang up the phone. Our Country, our beautiful Country, was being attacked and there was nothing we could do, but watch.

In a few minutes, we would learn about two other planes and two other attacks. Still, no words could express our emotions. We didn't need to speak. Everyone knew what was happening, but we didn't want to admit it. Like maybe we were all just watching a movie that would end eventually. It just never ended.

On that day, heroes were made and lost by the thousands. Firefighters, policeman, soldiers, ordinary citizens. All heroes. I felt shame that I couldn't help. I drove down to the blood bank and was turned away...too many donors. When your mom got home, we just watched. I don't remember talking. I remember crying. I remember being angry. I wanted it all to just go away. I wanted vengeance.

Tonight, I am sitting footsteps away, from thousands of soldiers who stood up and volunteered to bring vengeance to the doorsteps of those who perpetrated these acts. Men and women, who have gone into the face of certain danger time and time again. Your Uncle G is one of those soldiers. He is on his way back home from Iraq. He has spent over two years of his life there.

In those two years I have celebrated your birthdays. Taken you to movies. Told you bedtime stories. Kissed you goodnight and told you I loved you. Everyday. It is my privilege. A privilege paid for by better men than me, who have given their tomorrow for my today. There are Fathers who will never get to see their children. Never know the joys of parenthood I know. I am eternally grateful.

Monsoon Sunset

No camera tricks, just good ol Ma Nature doing her thing. The boys just bust out laughing when they saw this. Not that it was so funny...but I think it just shocked them to see the sky so colorful. We see pretty sunsets like this all the time here. However, I need to take more time to see it reflected in Jake and Brady's eyes. Beautiful.

Steve Irwin

I first saw this guy probably back in 1996 or so. I was watching TV with my buddy and we flipped on to see this nutty Australian dude, playing with snakes and crocodiles. I was hooked. We would sit and watch him all night. The guy just loved animals.

Sadly, he passed away today and the world will miss him. He was a family man, and I feel terrible for his wife and kids. What a loss. Thankfully though, my boys will have his show to watch and be entertained and educated by for years to come. Say a prayer for him and his family.

Batman

Brady will wear his Batman mask for hours at a time if you let him. He loves it. He turns into a different little dude when he puts it on. A short, fast, masked avenger...that's our B.

"44"

I was given this book a while back by my buddy, GW's, Mom. She said it reminded her of me and my boys. I didn't know at that time what a huge compliment that was. After reading it, her words really touched me and I am forever grateful that she presented this book to me. I liked it so much, I wanted my Daddy to read it, and he did. He liked it as much as I did, maybe more. Quite possibly more, because as fate would have it, we are now in the process of getting this book turned into a movie.

Uhh..What?!?

Yeah, I said a movie. It's something I never thought I would be doing in my wildest dreams. I like movies. Watched my fair share. I've even had a desire to write a screenplay for a long time. But NEVER did I think I'd be sitting here talking about actually making a movie. Life has taken another turn for the surreal. But a really, really good turn...don't get me wrong.

Right now, I can't say too much about it because we're just getting started so...really there's not much to say. I'm talking to a few screenwriters, and a few other people who actually know how to get a movie made. Which helps. If that's what you're in to. Making movies and all. Which apparently I am.

If you want to read the book, by all means pick yourself up a copy at amazon. Or you can go here for more background and ordering information. Or...I might let you borrow it. The point is, read it. It'll do your heart good.

Funny

This video cracks the dudes up to no end. Yeah, it cracks me up too. Grown-ups are funny.

Give it up dude

On a typical day, the dudes will fight over a toy 2 or 3 times. Which often brings tears, anger, and frustrated screaming from them. We do a lot of time/toy management. That has shown to be the most effective way of dealing with these volatile situations. There is almost never a clearly defined "had it first" person. So, whomever has it at the present time, keeps it for 2 minutes and then has to give it up, nicely.

Now, "most effective" only works when we pay attention to them. Sadly once in a while we just don't give the precious little snowflakes 100% of our eyes and ears. Amazingly, there are more pressing matters to attend to than supervising a session of wholesale lunacy. When that happens, we often get what we had tonight;

The boys were playing picnic on the kitchen floor. Had the whole thing set up. Dishes out, food going, condiments...condimenting. Dessert. The works. After about 15 minutes, the food must've run out because they got fully bent at each other. Jake apparently had the pepper, Brady wanted it. Jake wasn't giving it up, so Brady snatched it. Jake swiped it back. Brady screamed, said, "SMACK", then hit Jake in the head and took off running for his room. Jake ran after him screaming that Brady was a bad boy and was trying to hit him back when we intervened. Oh, brother.

So.....yeah, they had to be separated for a while. Ten minutes of alone time in their rooms bought us the rest of the night with no fighting. What a wonder ten feet and two closed doors can do for a relationship.

Awesome

Way to go O.

Mr. Mockery and The Aquaholic

Jake's newest trick is mockery. Well, it's not that new I guess...but it's becoming a problem very quickly. I don't think he intentionally does it most of the time, but he does it nonetheless. Sometimes (read; always) he gets a laugh from Brady so he keeps going. Which is only slightly annoying unless we are in public.

Most of the time he'll just repeat what we say to him right back to us. Bad but not embarrassing. If we are out and he hears someone, especially a teenager say something weird or slightly funny, he immediately turns to Brady, busts up laughing and repeats what they said, or says,"The Guy!"

He's a character that one.

Oh and Brady is officially addicted to water. He cannot be trusted to contain himself around even the smallest amount of the stuff. Puddle on the ground? Both feet. Both hands. Parents not looking for one second? Sneak to the bathroom and pour water on his head. And on the counter, sink, toilet, floor, brother.

Maybe he will be an Olympic swimmer one day. Or, maybe he'll be a Crystal water dude. Who knows? He may even discover a cure for prune hands. One can only hope.

He's a soggy character, that one.