100 MPH With My Hair On Fire

I stole today's title from Jim Turner. I committed the crime because it is exactly how I've been feeling lately. Ever since Alex has been born life is flying by faster than I can blog about. The only way I am going to catch up is to give a quick recap of recent events.

• Adam had two birthday parties this year. One on his actual birthday March 20th for family and the other on April 10th for friends. The second was at Chuckie Cheese. Surprisingly enough it was actually cheaper than us getting all the decorations and finding a place. The only thing that confused the stew out of me is Adam's fear of Chuckie. Had it been anybody else's party he would have been all over that mouse, but his own and suddenly he's scared to death. Just don't get it.


• Another thing I don't get is taxes. I heard today that something like 20 years ago only 10-15% of people didn't pay taxes. Now that number is up to around 45%!! I don't know about you, but I'm tired of paying my fair share and everyone else's too. Feeling punished because I have a good job and work hard.


• Speaking of jobs I got a new writing gig this week. I was offered one about solar panels, but turned it down after the contract didn't go the way I needed it to. It was during that conversation that I was offered another for a company that sales trade show displays. Will link to it once all the loose ends are tied up.


• The baby is great by the way. Sleeps about 6 hours a night. Doesn't cry too much. The only thing that has us stumped is that we can't seem to find his thing. You know that thing that no matter what is happening manages to calm him down. With Adam it was all about bouncing on my knee and singing. We've tried bouncing, swinging, rocking, singing, patting, petting, riding, and walking....still nothing except of course eating which he must come by naturally because it's all I want to do too.


• Every time the baby starts to cry Adam hollers at us like a tornado has just landed down the street. This is nuts considering the baby is never more than 5 feet away from Mandy or I at all times. "MOMMY THE BABY IS CRYING!!!" "I can see that Adam. He's sitting in my lap."


• Alex tends to wake up at 5 and I've been saying for years that I need to be getting up at that time to go to the gym (which I have a free membership to). Still every morning I wake up get Mandy and Alex settled and I'm off to sleep for another hour and a half. Then I stare out the window all day long promising tomorrow will be different.


• We have spent too much money on Adam. His movies fell over last week and it sounded like the city library collapsed. I think we have gone too far. Considering selling some of his stuff on Ebay so we can buy more stuff so we can sell it someday.


• Watching Adam blowing dandelions and making wishes has got to be the cutest thing in the world other than Alex holding my hand.


• Work....well let's just say there are issues and I'm looking to better myself. I was always told nobody could blame you for trying to make life better as long as you are respectful of where you are now.


• We are currently working to expand Adam's horizons. Gigi took him to see Mickey Mouse and friends in Hunstville a couple weeks back (don't ask him about it unless you wanna see how Woody did his lasso and possibly see Adam take off across the room like a helicopter). I've taken him fishing twice in the past month. Mandy is teaching him to wash clothes and dishes. Tonight he helped me cook dinner. It's too easy to simply sit your kid in front of the TV and let him veg. Gotta pull out the flash cards and teach him some stuff.


• I absolutely love my iPod. May sell my soul for an iPad someday soon. Need to find away to make some iMoney so I can afford some more iTech. iCarumba!

In The Zero Hour...

We are just a few hours away from Baby Alex making his grand appearance and life is as chaotic as it gets. After getting to work an hour early, taking Mandy to the Doc, scrambling to get everything done by 5 o'clock, running to two banks, the post office, the gas station, grabbing dinner, packing 3 bags, calling all the grandparents, giving Adam a bath, making sure all is packed and ready to go.....I'm seriously wondering how I'm going to do all of this and take care of a baby.

We are scheduled to be at the hospital at 5 in the morning which means the alarm will probably need to be set for 3:30....it's 9 now which still gives me 6 hrs of sleep if I was to suddenly get knocked over the head and pass out within the next few minutes. Barring that I think we will be doing good to hit the hay by 11. Adam keeps pretending to be a baby and wanted to be rocked earlier tonight. I really wonder how he is going to handle his new role.

Wish us luck, pray for our health and quick return home, and I will post pics as soon as I can.

In Two Days.....

Only have time for a quick note. Too much fun was had at the weekly Idol party and it's way late. With only two days left after tonight everyone is on edge with anticipation for the big event. In the morning I'm taking Buttons in for a bath, a nail clip, and good brushing. He hates the cat crate so I'm counting on having a fight on my hands. Wednesdays are the longest day of the week because we all go to work/school then head straight to church for dinner before services. Several have asked if we mind them coming early Friday to be with the family. I say the more the merrier. Nerves are starting to kick in. Please pray with us that momma and baby all make it through without a hitch.

In Three Days....

You know I talk a lot about any and everything that goes on in my life, but what I don't talk enough about though is the person that has shared this adventure with me from the very beginning. I would even go as far as saying that without her there would be no adventure. Of course I am talking about my partner in life the beautiful Mandy. Like most guys I often get caught up in making fun of our wives, but honestly I somehow got extremely lucky the day she agreed to marry me.

People always say that working from home would be their dream come true, but what they don't realize is that when you work from home you never get a chance to leave the office behind. For the past 9 months Mandy hasn't missed a day even while dealing with swollen feet, a baby inside her having hiccups at all hours of the night, and a hernia. Through all of this she continues to amaze me by getting up every morning, grabbing a seat behind her desk, and putting in a full days work. Plus every other day she somehow manages to keep an eye on Adam while never missing a beat. If it were me and something was crawling around inside me for 9 months I would have committed myself to never leaving the couch soon after the 3rd week.

Here we are with only 3 days to go and she's still helping me get Adam ready for school in the morning, going grocery shopping with me in the evening, and staying up all night trying to plan a birthday party. Me I get to go to work all day and shrug off any of the days misfortune by simply getting up from my desk and walking away. With very few complaints she does all of this and the finances too. I love you sweetie....

In Six Days....

Less than a week now from Alex being born and I'm thinking about money. We have been very fortunate when it comes to finances. Given there is always room to improve, but we will never lack the important things in life like food, shelter, and iTunes cash. One thing that has changed since our first pregnancy is my insurance has gotten better. We figure Adam cost us between $5,000 and $7,500 dollars mainly because we were there for a week...now not to jinx myself, but so far we have yet to pay a dime for any Baby Alex related medical expenses.

If we were forced I'm sure that we have enough entertainment in this house to keep us occupied 24hrs a day for several millennium, but there always seems to be something more fun to do. In some ways never being satisfied is what makes the world go around. Being satisfied means you are have accomplished your goal, crossed the finish line. While I am satisfied with where we have been and where we are, I'm always looking to tomorrow, next month, next year for something better. A better career, a better home, a better relationship with God. Trying to always appreciate the moment I am in, but at the same time wishing it was more than it was.

I think I got caught too many times living in the present and not looking to the future. Maybe if I had done more of some things and less of others, monthly bills wouldn't be a concern....than again maybe the more you have the more you want the less you appreciate the gift that is life.....with that in mind tomorrow I will be playing outside with Adam for awhile. This is our last weekend as a family of three.

In Seven Days....

Alex is scheduled to be born next Friday the 12th (thank goodness the he is not coming on Friday the 13th) and up until the night before I'm going to be posting everyday just so I can capture everything that is going through this Blockhead mind of mine. At the moment as I sit listening to Mandy and I suffer with what appears to be yet another cold, I find myself thinking back to last weekend. We spent a couple days with some very close friends and got to see their youngest daughter take her first stroll around the house. With every passing day more and more of what life was like those first days surrounding Adam's birth is coming back to me. It's almost heartbreaking to see him curled up on the couch watching the Smurfs. Even though he's just weeks away from turning 4, in my eyes twenty years have gone by in what feels like a fraction of a second.

Sleep is becoming a concern as well as what to do about our current group of friends. I can't remember if I've mentioned it lately, but we have become very close with some of the greatest people we have ever had the privilege to meet. I hope things stay this way for many years to come and that our paths continue to cross the rest of our lives. With Adam I began getting up early so that when he arrived I would be used to getting less sleep. Once he was born, Mandy and I simply went to sleep when he did. Regardless if it was 6:00 at night or 6:00 in the morning. With two kids you can't do thing because...tada!!! There's another kid around that needs feeding, clothing, and harassing (that's the part I'm best at). In terms of the gang we spend about 3-4 nights a week laughing ourselves silly with one or all of them and I can't guarantee we will keep Alex couped up in this house for long because of it.

Well that's all for tonight.....

Catching The Baby Bug All Over Again

It's hard to believe that we are about to take a trip on the baby train all over again. It seems just like yesterday that I posted:

Baby Fred where are you!!!Baby's room painted...check.Floors good and clean...check.Crib, cradle, swing, and rocking chair put together and safe...check check check check.House ready to be shown to the millions and millions of future visitors....check...sorta.Baby Fred......still not ready....oh ok we can wait......we'll just pass the time by watching TV....or ummm I know I can cut grass.......let's rent a mov..ie... thumps twiddling... TV's boring...grass not growing....movie no good...BABY FRED WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!This is torture.....

Two weeks ago if you'd asked if we were ready for Alex to arrive, we would have scoffed and laughed at how insanely unprepared we were. As this week comes to a close though it seems that there isn't that much that needs to be done. The room has been painted (had to hire somebody cause I caught a bad cold), the bed will be put together this weekend, and for the most part all the furniture is in place. Nothing left to do now, but put the final touches down.

With all this activity it's easy to get caught up in the baby buzz and forget that we still have some time left on the clock. It didn't help that this week also found me playing with 9 month-old Henry at our Tuesday night Idol Party (easily the best part of the week). Ever where I look there are signs that a baby lives here now except of course the actual baby part. To make things even more interesting (and possibly the cause of this sudden spurt of activity) the Dr. told us last week that the planned due date of March 12th may be moved up a week. When you start dealing in weeks instead of months and you feel behind the curve on the baby prep as it is, loosing 7 days is just the thing to guarantee mass hysteria.

Although we are not yet there, with every curtain that is hung and every onesie that is put neatly in it's place I hear that same clock ticking as I did with Adam. Nothing seems to be catching my attention. I'm losing my focus at work and chalking up problems to "we will figure it out somehow". I can't help but wish this current lack of enthusiasm for anything other than family would last for years to come. My days are going by faster, my problems seem smaller, my faith in God is ever present. It's almost time Baby Alex.

Born To Be A Gleek

Music runs in our family. Mandy and I have a tremendously large CD collection and my iPOD is one of my most valued possesions. The first 9 months of Adam's life were filled with nights of me rocking him to sleep singing the latest Top 40 hits. He even got a guitar for Christmas and played me the Devil Gets In Trouble this afternoon. Few people know that I have an uncle that is a Grammy winning Christian song writer. If what we've seen the past few months is any indication, Alex may just come out dancing and wanting an MP3 player of his own. Everytime the music starts, it's as if a night club has opened up in Mandy's tummy.

This brings me to Glee the hugely popular Fox show about a group of highschool rejects all connected by their love of music through Glee Club. Each episode features 4-5 remakes which regularly reach #1 on Itunes the day after they are aired. A couple of CD's have been put out (which we own both of), the first 13 eps hit the stands last week (picked that up too), and there are plans for a concert next summer. One thing that makes this show so special to us is that whenever Alex hears a song from the soundtrack he goes crazy! Recently Mandy has even gone as far as listening to all that Groove Shark has to offer for us Glee fanactics or Gleeks as we are called.

Blockhead Family Secrets Revealed!!!!

Since most of my readers are local you have probably heard the news by now that we have settled on a name for our upcoming (only 8-10 weeks to go) baby boy and the winner is Alexander Brock Beck. The middle name is after my brother, but the first name we came up with on our own and simply liked the sound of it. Now I could go on and on about how Xander may be a possible nickname (after the sidekick from Buffy The Vampire Slayer which I own every episode of) or how the name Lex has been tossed around (a nod to the classic Superman villain), but I don't want Mandy to rethink it so I'm not going there yet. Oh and in case you are keeping track I'm officially pulling off the mask with this second post of the decade.

While I will no doubt refer to myself as Charlie Blockhead more times than not in the future, fake names feel so Aught Two Thousand. This decade already seems to be going by so fast as if it was shot out of a cannon, who has time to remember what they called everyone 355 posts ago.

For those keeping score at home the Cast of Characters include:

Charlie Blockhead = Bill Beck

Lucy Blockhead = Mandy Beck

Fred Blockhead = Adam Frederick Beck

&

Introducing our latest Blockhead in the making.....

Alexander Brock Beck

I was fortunate to have several days off during the holidays and with the time came a chance to do something I've been meaning to do since the end of year one, specifically make a hard copy of everything I've posted here. In doing so I realised a couple things 1)The frequency of my posts drastically dropped this year. Before '09' I was averaging 100 post a year for the past 3 years. In '09' that was cut in half. Some of that was because I changed jobs and since I can come home for lunch I don't have an hour to kill in the middle of everyday. At first I thought it was that my freelance work got in the way, but like everything else in this horrible economy that too just about became extinct. If I had to say what happened and I feel I do, I think the answer would be that I was able to spend more time than ever with 3 yr-old Adam and pregnant Mandy. Consequently with that came some writers block due to feeling like every time I sat in front of the keyboard I had to try to cram all the fun into one giant post. 2) I haven't talked nearly enough about how much I am looking forward to being a dad the second time over and all the new challenges having two kids will bring. I love what I have created here and plan to continue to write until they take my keyboard away. The solution I've come up with is lowering the size of my posts while also increasing their frequency. Similar to what I did yesterday and obviously not what I'm doing today.

Now that I have exposed every one's secret identity as well as shed some guilt I've been carrying I want to leave with a funny thing that is happening more and more as we approach the due date (March 19th). Growing up my mom always had trouble talking to us kids when she got flustered because our names both started with the same letter. The result was that to this day I am known as Brock-Bill and my bother is of course Bill-Brock. Well if you believe that history repeats it self you may find it amusing to know that I have recently been caught calling Adam Alem and have even done the reverse by referring to Alex as Adex.

I know....somewhere there is a psychiatrist's couch with my name on it.

Extreme Home Makeover: Charlie Blockhead Edition

It's funny how fast and sudden life changes. Last week I mentioned all the painting I had done around the house and promised to provide pics. While I had every intention to get those on the site I had no idea that the title I had picked out "Extreme Makeover: Charlie Blockhead Edition" would take on more meaning than I could have ever imagined at the time. Just two days later I would be surprised by a call from Lucy saying that she had driven by the office and noticed my car had been wrecked. I remember running out of the office to what would surely be a life changing (or at least budget changing) event only to find myself moments later amazed at what was waiting outside. Looking back I definitely say it was life and budget changing, only the news I received didn't involve any type of hit and run accident. In fact the whole thing had been planned for months and actually occured five weeks before.....

In case you haven't guessed or heard through the grapevine, Lucy is pregnant. In some ways I'm still in shock. 3 days after I got the news I asked her to take another test just in case the three she took days before (two of which were at the Dr's office) were incorrect. Not because I didn't want a child, more so because it's one thing to plan an event and another thing for it to happen exactly the way you had hoped.

So here I am almost a week to the day that I learned I was the father of two and already subtle changes are taking place (and not just inside Lucy). Fred who proclaimed he'd rather have a cheese pizza when he first heard the news, is bragging to all who will listen of his new position as Big Brother; our inability to keep a secret ensured that just about everyone we know has heard the news; and the question on the tip of every one's tongue is "What kind do we want?"

The answer to this of course is the same for every expectant mother and father regardless of how many already make up their brood; a healthy child free of any complications is what we all pray for. Besides that I think for now I'm more focused on prepping myself for the journey that lays ahead. The late night feedings, the constant crying (I've gotten used to Fred just telling us what he wants), another round of diapers, of first foods, first steps, potty training. Plus let's not forget that Fred isn't headed off to college to live in a dorm somewhere. Some of his best first times are yet to come; reading his first words, writing for the first time, first day of kindergarten, first day of show and tell......each of which will also be our first time as well.

Speaking of firsts in case you are curious a new baby is what got me started on this whole blogging thing. I remember sitting there in front of my computer on my lunch break March 7th, 2006 wondering if I had anything to say that would compare to the dozens of other Daddy bloggers out there. Here's the result:

"Baby Fred where are you!!!Baby's room painted...check.Floors good and clean...check.Crib, cradle, swing, and rocking chair put together and safe...check check check check.House ready to be shown to the millions and millions of future visitors....check...sorta.Baby Fred......still not ready....oh ok we can wait......we'll just pass the time by watching TV....or ummm I know I can cut grass.......let's rent a mov..ie... thumps twiddling... TV's boring...grass not growing....movie no good...BABY FRED WHERE ARE YOU!!!!!This is torture....."

Three years and some months later that check list is being written a second time, I should be smarter....I should be wiser....and I guess in some ways I am....but the truth is that the same mix of excitement and trepidation is still there. Thoughts of how things will be, what will we name it, what will it's personality be like, sneak up on me at all hours of the day making it hard to focus on anything for too long. The one thing that is different....the one thing that is guaranteed to make this second go around easier is that under all the fear, excitement, curiosity, nervousness, and worry lies the simple fact that I'm a good dad and we are good parents. We are not the best, we are not the worst, but we know it and everyday we strive to do better than the day before. Regardless of what lies ahead this confidence and our faith is sure to make all the difference when it comes time to welcome our new baby into the world.