Halloween '07'

Fred was well enough to go to school and even hit a couple of places for Halloween. I've seen some cute frogs in my lifetime, but by far he's the cutest.

 

 

New-Monia

Yes I know I spelled it wrong, but it seems to fit considering we've never been through it before. The yard sale this past weekend went fantastic and after letting Fred play outside all day Sat. as we sold our old junk, there was only one thought that kept going through our heads the moment the fever/vomiting kicked in Sun. night "We Broke Him!!!" 

After a night filled with two rounds of clean sheets for our bed and only 4 non-sequential hours of sleep, Fred leaping up at 6:30 a.m. begging to play was a blessing. The Doc gave him a shot, let us know that a temp of 105 though dangerous isn't something to be too frightened of, and sent us on our way.

Fred is fine and will be back to normal in a couple of days. This may not even put a damper on his Trick and Treating. I do need to speak a moment (cause that's all the time I've got) about the shot they gave him. I don't know if it was some type of steroid or mind altering drug or what, but my baby changed. By changed I mean my hyper normal 1 1/2 year-old turned into something out of a comic book. As if bitten by a radioactive spider he instantly gained super speed, a enhanced vocabulary, out of this world strength, and the ability to stay awake for days at a time without touching head to pillow. At one point he ran so fast he literally split in two and started playing catch with himself. I'm thinking about faking his illness just so I can get a shot to keep up with him.

Normally we play a standard zone defense. Lucy takes one end of the room/house, I take the other, and we bounce him back & forth as he comes near us. Always keeping him in "play" and never letting him stray out of sight (or out of bounds as we call it). Since new-monia arrived we are playing man-on-man and still getting dunked on left & right. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!!!

Charlie Blockhead: The Missing Post

 

I remember when I wrote this post. It was a boring night at church (yeah I said it! I wasn't all into what was being said that night!!! I don't have to like every sermon. I'm not the church stenographer. I don't have to memorize every word!!). Anyway's there was a pencil, a visitors card, and an idea that demanded my attention.so without further ado I present the Missing Post:

Daycare Blues
Well it finally happened. Daycare used to be a place where Fred would gladly be dropped off and with a big smile and a kick in his giddy-up he'd practically knock down Mrs. Jackie down jumping into her arms. As of last week though drop off time has become the hardest part of my day. He cries when I leave now. Monday it was just a whimper and I wrote it off to him just being sleepy, but by Wednesday it grew into a full blown cry. It's a parents instinct to grab their child the second the tears start.not to turn and walk away. I suppose I should call and check on him after I get to work, but the comfort of lying to myself and assuming the tears stopped once I left the room is much more preferable than the knowledge that they may not have...

Not sure when I wrote this post, but when I put on my winter coat for the first time this season there it was in the front pocket. Although he doesn't cry much anymore, on those rare mornings when he does.I still tell myself he stops the moment I get in the car.

The Whole Sordid Affair

Last weekend I was faced with the fact that I was 4 posts behind over at my paying gigs and I had zip in the way of anything electronic to do my writing. Friday night I realized I had no choice but to find a way to write somewhere over the weekend and hope I could find time at the 8-5 to type it on Word and send it to my blog boss.

So there I am Friday night and most of Saturday, pen and pad in hand going about it the old fashioned way. It was hard, nasty, and my hands hurt by the time I was done, but I got my goal accomplished. Then something funny happened. As you know I got everything back up and running Saturday night and Sunday when it was time to put on my freelance hat (ooh that's a great idea!! I need a freelance hat!! maybe something with fishing lures all over it!!) I was a little hesitant to use the computer.

Now I know this sounds silly but after the week of torture we just went through, thinking we had lost all of Fred's pictures along with everything I had ever written I felt that I had been wronged by my computer. That my best friend in the world had some unforgivable crime (much like a spurned love) and I wasn't ready to let it back in.

Lucy has expressed the same sort of mixed up feelings. There's this object that we love so much and yet now that we have it back we are a little hesitant to get near it. I've even gone as far as leaving the pen and pad next to the monitor as if I'm attempting to remind the computer that I don't have to have it and I can always find somebody else.this has to be the weirdest dysfunctional relationship ever!!

 

 

Technorati Tags: parenting , love spurned , weird relationships

Back-Up And Still Running

When I last posted you may remember my words were "There's an ebb and flow to my alter ego and I feel a ground swell coming so you may wanna check in everyday for new stuff."

For those of you that decided to keep me at my word, you no doubt found that I had not kept my promise. The reason behind the disappearance isn't because of lack of time (although I am now busier than ever due to reasons you are about to discover) but because my hard-drive crashed. Crashed isn't even the right word...more like disintegrated. Now I've had nightmares, but the thought of waking up to discover that every single picture and video I have ever taken of Fred was gone is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy (I actually do have a worst enemy by the way...the CHANDALIER!!!)

It's our own fault really I mean sometime around month 3 and month 19 we just lost track of time and never thought that all our memories could be vaporized in a heartbeat. Thankfully though after a week of begging and pleading with whomever would lend an ear we were able to retrieve them all and now have what is essentially a brand new computer. New bigger badder hard-drive, new virus detector (the hard-drive crash was due to a mechanical problem not a virus), and all new programs to learn. Please if you haven't done it yet STOP RIGHT THIS INSTANT AND MAKE A BACK-UP DISK!!!

Thankfully we are fully back-up and running and I'm even caught up on my paying gigs for the moment. I'm going to try and get back to my regularly scheduled 3 posts a week, but I may need this week to get some things done in order to be back to 100%.

Till then I leave you with a look at how much Fred has changed from month 1 to month 19.

Charlie Blockhead

Pits and Pieces

I know it seems like everytime you pop over here lately I've moved the furniture around, but I promise this is the last time. And I know I promised more beach photos, but haven't delivered....they are coming. The design I had for Charlie went kaput several weeks ago and I just ended up having to pick the first one I half way liked. Now today I have found this awesome father/son forest adventure rainbow whatever you want to call it look and I'm completely in love with it. This will be the last change I'll be making for awhile barring another tech breakdown. Part of the reasons behind the lack of posts is due to the fact that everytime I thought about Charlie I couldn't focus on anything other than the crappy design.

Things are still ticking away pretty smooth at the sites I'm currently being paid to write for. Recently I've gotten a fair amount of attention over at Log Homes Journal and Repellem is getting more hits by the week.I had a couple of articles come out in the local papers and I've got two or three deals that if they hit may lead me to being able to quit the 8-5. Still I'm begining to worry that they are taking away from Charlie and like most things in life I'm realizing I need some balance. Charlie hasn't been as deep or as thought provoking as it was at one point and some of that is due to only having time to jot down whatever I can discuss in the shortest amount of time. There's an ebb and flow to my alter ego and I feel a ground swell coming so you may wanna check in everyday for new stuff. Fred is growing faster than I can write and I've got some stories that need to be told before they are lost to time. Oh and look for more video. I've got a great one featuring Fred feeding the ducks down at the park.

That's all for now. Give me a shout and let me know what you think about the new design!!

Charlie Blockhead

Gotta Get Back In Time

I woke up Saturday morning wondering what year it was. Lucy had gone into work for a half day leaving Fred and I to go at it alone for a few hours. With one foot still in my elementary school years myself, Fred is slowly catching up to the cartoons I like. Batman, Superman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles; they all have new shows out and instead of out in the yard cutting grass more weekends than not I'm hovering around the tube on Sat. mornings.

After Fred/I played a round of Lego My Ego (there were only a couple waffles left and I finally talked him into a banana) I clicked on the tube to find the Care Bears bouncing around the clouds. So we watch after all I'm into the nostalgia and next comes new ep's of Strawberry Shortcake! I get bored, let Fred watch, open a mag. only to find they are remaking Knight Rider...for a second there I thought it was 1985!! My only question is "Where's the beef?" oh that's right the Noid stole it.

Beach Buddy Videos

As promised here a couple videos we took at the beach and the petting zoo. I'll be posting more pics thoughout the weekend. Enjoy!!

 

 

Vacation Realizations

Very quickly into our trip to Orange Beach I began to ponder things I had never spent much time thinking about before. Since it was an 8-hour drive down there and another 8 hours back, both with a sometimes-screaming Fred in the car; I had plenty of time to think.

WE DON’T PAY THE DAYCARE ENOUGH-This is the first time since Lucy’s maternity leave ended that we had been with Fred 24 hours a day for 9 days. Yes we typically spend all weekend with him, but we always know that come 8:00 Monday morning he’ll be shipped off to school for the day. Now I love him more than life it’s self, but WOW keeping up with an 18 month old for that long without some me time is killer.

FRED IS CHANGING TOO FAST-It literally felt like we came home with a different kid. He was flying kites, petting goats, jumping in the pool. Now of course the GiGi tried to spoil him rotten and that has some to do with this change, but most of it is him just being a sponge. He’s soaking up everything he sees/hears and rocketing it back at us as fast as he can.

I’M IN A RUT- I sorta knew this, but you really never realize how many things you do at the exact same time everyday until you quit doing them. From trips to the bathroom to dinnertime, I apparently time everything I do based on what time I did them the day before.

WE HAVE SATELLITE RADIO- The salesman never told us THE EDGE had this and I’d never had a reason to hit the AUX button until I hit it by mistake on the way down there. Now we only get to enjoy 1 of the 6 months of free service it apparently came with.

TODDLERS ALWAYS DO THE UNEXPECTED- We got up to head down there at 3 A.M thinking Fred would sleep 75% of the way, WRONG!! He stayed awake the whole time!! He was in such a greeaaat mood when we got there. Another example of this is what happened on the balcony. Not the balcony looking out towards the beach, I’m talking about the one looking over the parking lot going towards the elevator. We were all placing bets on what he would throw over (cause we all knew something would def. be going over). The short story he is that he was naked cause of a rash and yadda yadda I turned to see him peeing off the front balcony down onto the glass ceiling of the first floor lobby. No people that wasn’t rain coming from above…it was Pee Pee.

I know, you are wondering where the pictures are. They are coming along with a couple of videos. I'll get the best ones posted a few at a time the rest of the week.

 

Technorati tags: orange beach, vacation, parenting, fatherhood

Vacation Resolutions

I’m not the type to make New Year’s resolutions. I’ve never kept one more than a few days. It may have something to do with the holiday only lasting 2 days from work at most. I find it hard to get behind anything that starts NOW!! without any prep time. At the stroke of midnight tonight I’m giving up biting my nails!!! Ding. HAPPY NEW YEAR!! YEAH!!!!!!! Confetti drops. I kiss the wife. Nail biting stops….that’s just not me.

I need to warm myself up to a resolution. That’s why I make vacation resolutions. They all start with “When I get back from vacation I’m going to…..” I’m not talking a 3-day weekend here. I mean a week spent away from work vacation. The kind where you get to read and watch sunsets like the one we just came back from (more on that as the week goes on). So enough babbling here are my 2007 VACATION RESOLUTIONS:

• I WILL START WAKING UP AT BETWEEN 5-5:30 A.M. I’m tired of rushing around at the last minute and would like to be able to enjoy a cup of coffee or watch the news before the rest of the family wakes up.
• I WILL QUIT BITING MY NAILS This is just something I have to add and may never be able to quit, but I’ll never quit trying to quit trying.
• I WILL STOP WATCHING SO MUCH TV I’d like to limit myself to ½-1 hour a night. Even if it means getting Tivo or watching things later on the net.
• MORE TIME WITH FRED He’s a toddler now and if I’m not careful he’ll be turning 16 soon. Today we are going to feed the ducks with the bread we had left over from last week.
• LAUGH WITH MY WIFE MORE Notice I didn’t say laugh at my wife more.
• LESS TIME SPENT ON THE WEB I goof off a bunch in my journeys around the web when I should be doing research for my other two sites.
• MORE ORGANIZED I’m starting this weekend by cleaning out the magic shed (I call it that because it’s got like 30 years worth of tools and assorted objects all piled to the door. Before entering all you gotta do is say what you want out loud and be prepared to look as long as it takes)
• I WILL LOOSE WEIGHT Goodbye double chin and XXL shirts. Goodbye pregnant belly that only gave birth to acid reflux and mass quantities of gas.

There you go. I’ll let you know just how long I can keep them up. Oh and check back tomorrow for Vacation Realizations in which I’ll explore the question “Do We Pay The Daycare Enough?”

 

Technorati tags: resolutions, vacation, parenting, weight lost