It's Good to be Home

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up.

Shane's See His Parents Again

Shane got to see his parents again for the first time since Christmas! Carrie and I walked in to Grandma and Grandpa's around 10:45ish.

Shane was sitting on the couch. Thomas the Train was playing on the TV, and Shane was watching "Green Garbage Trucks" on the iPad in his lap. With the biggest grin on his face, Shane looked up at me and went "AAAAHHHHH!!!"

Seriously! He went "AAAAHHHH!!!"

I think he was pre-protesting for fear I was going to take away the iPad! (I'm anti-more than half-an-hour with the thing).

Once Shane realized I wasn't going to put the electronics away, he eagerly showed Carrie and I what he was watching. Then he stood up, grabbed Carrie's hand, and started to run off with her. Shane must have realized that I wasn't following, because he ran back, grabbed my hand, and dragged me over to Mommy. He missed us.

Shane and I ended up running around the house for the next 30-60 minutes until I had a sweat going. I would hold Shane under his armpits, he would drop to a frog squat, and then he'd Daddy assisted leap high into the air all over the house. Whenever my lower back would start to feel it, I'd stop the bouncing and slide Shane up and down across the wood floors (They're so much more 'slidey' than carpet).

The boy, Carrie, and Grandpa have all laid down for naps. Grandma keeps telling me what a joy it's been to have Shane running around. It always makes a parent's heart swell up to hear that sort of praise about their child!

Travel Time

Carrie and I are hopping out of bed and going to the airport for an early o'clock flight.

My wife is a packing machine. Last night, she put everything in it's place and it all fit just right.

Anyway, our flight leaves at 8 AM. We'll be back on our way to see Shane again soon enough.

Go Big Red!

My ADHD senses have been tingling while Carrie and I have been in Orlando. 

I keep seeing people from Nebraska. You know they're from Nebraska, because they always have a Big Red N somewhere on their clothes. 

But why are they all in Orlando? 

Next, I spotted a poster of a Nebraska football player outside the movie theater. Very suspicious...

It turns out the Bowl they're playing is in Orlando.

I shouted a "Go Big Red!" to a family we walked by in a strip mall. They laughed and waved back. It looked like they were looking for a place to eat, so I quipped "You won't find a Runza here!" The father laughed and  replied "Or a Valentino's!"

You won't get it unless you've been to Nebraska. I had to call my Grandma afterwards, because it made me think of her in Lincoln.

Go Big Red!

Still Vacationing

We're still on vacation. If you're my wife's friend on Facebook, you can see all sorts of pictures of our adventures.

Thursday, we went to Sea World and had sushi for dinner (inspired by Sea World, perhaps?). Friday, we went to Busch Gardens Tampa and did not have monkey or zebra for dinner. My wife told me it was "not funny!" when I asked if any of the park restaurants had zebra steaks. I admit, I like to say things that cause a reaction from my wife. The trick is not to overdo it (I'm still working on that).

If you're not my wife's friend on Facebook, here are a few of my favorites:

Vacation

Carrie and I made it safely to Florida and we've begun our vacation. I didn't really want to leave Shane, but Carrie made some good points. We haven't been on vacay since an earthquake hit Busch Gardens, and her parents wanted some Shane time.

Plus, Carrie's dad retired this year and had a bunch of airline points that would expire. We got our airfare for free! Thank you, Grandpa!

Day one was spent at IHOP and the Hobbit. There was beggar outside of IHOP who was asking for cash. I offered to take him inside for pancakes, but he declined. He told me he was looking to provide food for his whole family. I countered that I'd buy him a stack of twenty pancakes for take-out if he wanted. Once again, he declined. I told him if he changed his mind he could say 'Hi' when we headed out, but he never took me up on the offer. It was a sobering Christmas note. I saw someone under a bridge and another man sitting out behind a Burger King while we were driving.

The Hobbit was a great movie for a duology. I'm not so sure how it will do as a trilogy. Carrie started humming to the music and could tell what races/references were about to be made based on the scores alone. I enjoyed myself even if I did check my cell phone for the time every now and then.

My biggest (spoiler free) complaints were: A) The goblin king voice, B) Gollum's slaying of the goblin was a bit more grotesque than I liked (but damn, does the actor who plays Gollum do a great job), and C) three movies? Really?

I guess I'll have to wait and see. I enjoyed this one, so maybe Peter Jackson will silence all the skeptics.

Aside from those adventures, life has been much more mundane. Carrie dropped off to sleep around 9 last night. I played some of the new XCOM (Patrick's Christmas present) and goofed off until I crawled in to bed at an amazing 12:00 (the last time I stayed up that late, I was waiting for Dan to come back from NY and fix the A/C). We're totally living the crazy life, aren't we?

We slept in until 8 glorious AM the next morning. Egads! Carrie must really need her rest, because she's already taking a nap! This is more of a rest and recharge trip than an adventure so far. I'll make my wife get out and about more tonight. In the meantime, I think I'll break out my Bible and do some reading. Reading in general is another activity I never seem to have time for anymore, but this is vacation! It's time to do the unexpected and READ!

PS - Shane sounds like he's doing great and eating lots of different things at Grandma and Grandpa's. Everyone has different child talents (like Nana's endless enthusiasm and excitability). It appears Grandma's special talent is to get Shane to eat a wide variety of steamed and grilled vegetables, meats, and cheeses that he rejects from us. Grandpa has access to tons of trains, so he's a Shane favorite as well!

Merry Christmas Eve to All!

Kevin Sorbo posted this on his Facebook page. He's apparently got a blog, too. It sounds like he's gone through some tough times medically and his father passed away, but his faith in Christ is still strong.

I may have to go watch a couple of Hercules episodes now.

The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived

“He was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman.
He grew up in another village, where He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty.
Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.
He never wrote a book.
He never held an office.
He never had a family or a home.
He didn’t go to college.
He never visited a big city.
He never travelled two hundred miles from the place where He was born.
He did none of the things that usually accompany greatness.
He had no credentials but Himself.
He was only thirty-three when the tide of public opinion turned against Him.
His friends ran away.
One of them denied Him.
He was turned over to His enemies and went through the mockery of a trial.
He was nailed to a cross between two thieves.
While He was dying, His executioners gambled for His garments, the only property He had on earth. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.
Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race.
All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed, all the parliaments that ever sat, all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”

Nighty-Night

Every night, Shane and I have our little routine.

I start to turn off the lights downstairs. If the TV is on, the volume is turned down low. Shane then does one of two things. He will A) walk over to me and asks for his 'baba' or B) run around in a burst of energy to  try and convince me he's not tired.

Either way, it's bed time.

I pick Shane up and his head plops onto my shoulder. We say our goodbyes to Mommy and head up the stairs. After a quick stop in Shane's room to turn on his night light, we plop down in a the hallway chair to drink our goodnight bottle.

The goal is to slow down.

I breathe deep. I tussle Shane's hair gently. Normally, we sit quietly for a minute or two.

Then I sing.

Every night, I sing the same tune. It's the same tune I remember my mom singing as a child when she would march up the stairs to enforce bedtime.

Nighty-night, Nighty-night, 
It's your bedtime, Shane.
You're my boy, Mama's joy,
You're our boy and we love you.

Go to bed, Go to bed,
Go to bed son of mine.
Drink your milk, close your eyes,
and dream of the sun-rise.

I love you. Mom loves you.
We love you, Shane.
Rest your head, Drift to sleep
and Nighty-night, night, night.

And nighty-night, night, niiiiight.

I've sung this tune since Shane was a little baby. The words change off and on, but I've basically settled on three verses.

The routine varies more from this point on. Sometimes Shane is already starting to doze and it's a quick put down in his bed. Other times, it takes a while. Sometimes we sit quietly until he finishes. Sometimes I say a psalm or a quick prayer.

Whenever Shane does finish, I put the bottle down and he turns to lay on my chest. I slowly rub his back and hold him for a while. I always want him to feel loved. I don't want to lay him down too quickly. Admittedly, I don't want him to fall fully asleep on me either. The goal is for him to learn to put himself to sleep, so I just get him really comfortable, feeling loved, and then I deposit him in his bed.

I kiss my son goodnight, I tell him I love him and that I'll see him in the morning.

If he's awake, he'll protest when I shut the door. Other times, he falls asleep so quickly I don't hear a peep.

And that's our bed time routine.

'Skins win!

It was a ton of fun watching the game with my family today. Go 'Skins!

Then, the excitement continued when Dallas forced OT against the Saints.

The elation continued when the Saints won. 1) I like Drew Brees.  2) The 'Skins are going to the playoffs RGIII's first year at the rate things are going! They went from 3-6 and Coach Shanahan talking about 'next year' to potentially winning their division.

It's the beginning of a new era of less losing! The fact that family was all around made everything even more exciting.

And that's it. I'm pooped.

Outlook

No matter what happens in this world, I believe God is responsible. 

I'm a Stinker

Do you really want to know?

Shane's Alphabet

Have I mentioned my son knows half of the alphabet?

He's hit or miss with a few of the letters and he can't pronounce the 'M' or 'N' so he skips those entirely. It's not like those letters are important enough to learn.

What can you say with 'M' anyway?

Mama?

Oh....

Oops. We'll get working on that right away, Mommy!

Do you wish to Upgrade? Yes/No

Thank God my wife likes Craigslist. I'd hate to pay brand new for a bed this awesome.

I got an excited email from Carrie while I was at work.

She'd found "the bed." She was excited. When work was over, I was to watch Shane while she picked it up.

That night, Shane could not go to sleep because he was hyper-bonkers, happy-wild. He bounced and kicked all over the bed and then ran the excess energy off all around his room.

The bed is a twin-size, so I think we're set for at least a handful of years.

Great find, Care Bear! Shane approves.

Hey! Give That Back!

My wife developed a new, nap-extending tactic shortly after switching up Shane's room.

Whenever Shane wakes up too early, Carrie will go lay on the floor next to his mattress. Usually, Shane ends up sleeping for almost an extra hour! 

The boy loves to rest near his Mama. Mama loves to rest near her boy, so I guess it's a match made in heaven.

I don't participate as much. I let Shane wake up and play with him. However, if his nap is especially short (30 minutes or so) I've been known to lay down in front of Shane's mattress as well. 

Usually, Shane drops off back to sleep without ever leaving his bed. When he's restless, though, he's been known to wallow. I've had the boy fall asleep on my chest more than once while laying down with him.

One Thursday morning a couple of weeks ago, Shane woke up crying at five. I didn't want to wake Carrie, and normally I wouldn't have risked falling back asleep on a work morning away from a clock, but I knew that Shane would be awake no matter what when he heard the garbage truck roll by (it's very exciting for little boys).

I grabbed a pillow and laid down on the floor in front of Shane. My son stopped crying. He kept fidgeting, so I knew he was in a restless mood. Soon my son scooted to the edge of his bed so that he could lay closer to me. It was very touching, but it didn't end there.

Over the course of the next half an hour, Shane slithered off the bed against me, crawled up to share my pillow, and then pushed me off the pillow so he could have the whole thing to himself! To add insult to injury, Shane eventually decided to get up and get back into his bed.

He took the pillow with him!

Dada ended up laying pillow-less and cold until the sound of garbage trucks caused Shane to bolt from bed.

The things parents do for their children!

Shane's Room Upgrade

A while back I complained about Shane's ability to vault out of his crib. I think most parents will agree: problems with children sleeping are some of the most frustratingly common situations in parenting. I try to avoid foul language as a rule, but Nana wouldn't want to hear some of the things I mutter if a nap time goes to pot.

The situation was swiftly resolved.

Final Memories of Our First Home

Carrie and I began our married life in my apartment, but it lasted for less than a month. Carrie went away for YCC, I packed up, and that was the end of that era.

Our townhouse was our first real home we built together. We were there for 2 and 1/2 years. I wish we had a full video of the place while all of our stuff was in it, but we don't.

Thankfully, we do have this gem. Carrie took a final walk about after all of the papers were signed. A final farewell.

It's languished on our computer for a long while. I wanted to post it before I fully forgot about it.

Farewell, townhouse. You were a good home where my wife and I spent the beginning of our years together and helped us raise our boy from a baby to a toddler.

Because I Said I Would...

On one visit, Nana asked a very important question: "Who taught Shane to say 'Bye, Bye Pee Pee!' anyway? That is so weird!"

My wife blushed.

It's funny how you can say something one time and a kid will latch on to it.

Too bad you don't get to pick what they'll latch on to.

I yelled, "I'm blogging this!" in reply.

Dancing Wife

My wife has been dancing around the kitchen singing today.

It's adorable.

"I SOLD THE MICROWAVE! I SOLD THE MICROWAVE!"

Carrie is the Craig's List Queen for our family. We had a new/old microwave in our garage sitting around that Carrie hocked for cash today.

Go Wifey!

Muay Thai Class 7 (if you want to call it that)

What did I get myself into?

The thought reverberated through my head.

"Mike, you want to spar?" coach asked.

I thought it was going to be an actual class today. Not a match.

"Sure."

Flashing Lights

On my way home, I saw a fire truck rumble it's way through traffic.

At the light to make the left turn off the highway, an ambulance forced it's way through traffic and turned in front of me.

My first thought: "Please God, don't let that be going to my house."

My second thought: "That first thought was self-serving. Whoever's house that's going to isn't going to be happy."

My third thought: "Please God, watch over whoever is hurt and guide the emergency personnel.

I saw both the fire truck and the ambulance again a couple of minutes later.

They were parked in front of my driveway.

Red lights flashed and flickered. The sun had set, but the emergency lights lit the street an eerie red. I thought my driveway was blocked, so I pulled over on the side of the street. I could see Carrie standing with Shane in our neighbor's yard.

I jumped out of the car to find a very excited boy. "Dada see fire truck!!??"

It turns out the ambulance was for my neighbor. We share a driveway.

Carrie, Shane and I stood outside to see what had happened and to offer our neighbor any help she needed. Another neighbor who knew her better went inside briefly. Details are scarce, but it sounds like our neighbor suddenly felt dizzy and fell. It looked like her arm was wrapped up, so she probably hurt herself in the fall.

I feel a little guilty about my first thought, but I am relieved that the ambulance wasn't for Shane  again.

In other news, my family arrived safely in Nebraska. I tasked Jama with trying Runza and Valentino's Pizza while she was there. When in Nebraska, eat junk food as Nebraskans do!

Am I the Only One Who....

Our garage is a tight fit for two cars. Carrie and I have found that we have to back the Prius in for it to fit right.

Every morning, I climb into my car to go to work and watch the garage door rise in front of me  I can't help but imagine it's a hanger door opening as I prepare for launch. I don't feel like I'm flying once I hit traffic, though!

It's funny how a childish thought can give you a grin to face the morning gloom. 

Vocabulary Update

Shane's vocabulary has grown leaps and bounds again. He can recite the alphabet up to around M and can mostly count to 12. There are gaps and he can't pronounce many things, but the boy is trying! Shane can also recognize nearly every engine on the island of Sodor!

One of the speech therapists early suggestions to Carrie was to make a list of all the words Shane says. I think the therapist was envisioning a small list, but my wife took the idea and ran with it.

Shane's Party Day

Carrie and I are both exhausted!

Shane turned the big....well, he turned two on Thursday. I guess it isn't a big number yet, but when you're the parent of a toddler you'll understand how long and short two years can feel! Birthday parties for young kids are largely a celebration of all the hard work everyone has put into raising a child. As Shane grows older and gains the capability to remember days like this the focus will shift.

Shane and I were best buddies for the first half of the day. There was a free model train display at the church around the corner, so Shane and I went on an adventure. We were gone for a couple of hours chasing trains,  gawking at Legos, and playing on playgrounds (both ours and the church's!).

Throughout our adventures, Carrie was hard at work in the kitchen. She was determined to make Shane a two-tiered birthday cake from scratch.

She did it too!

It had an almond flavor with banana butter-cream frosting and slices of banana on the filling between cake layers.

We were both feeling like pro parents by the time Carrie's parents arrived. It did threaten Shane's nap time, though.

Shane started to stir after only half-an-hour. Carrie asked me to go upstairs. Normally, if Shane starts to wake after a shortened nap my wife likes to go upstairs and lay down next to his mattress. The boy will normally go back down then. I tend to let the boy rouse, but I agreed and ended up dozing on the floor while my boy snoozed on the mattress beside me.

It would've been more restful if I hadn't had a full bladder. I didn't want to risk leaving the room and waking the boy. There was no clock and I guess I was in and out of consciousness so I was in a bit of a time warp. By the time Shane finally woke up, Carrie had cooked her parents lunch, eaten, and cleaned up.

The rest of the day was all about Shane.

Grandpa bought a miniature remote controlled Thomas the Train toy. Grandma located a thirty-year old train set from Japan they had bought my brother in law as a child.

Shane's mind was blown.

He was almost distracted enough to not pop up when we asked "Do you want to see Indy?"

Carrie's parents, Carrie, Shane, and I drove over to my parents for cake and more presents. Shane blew out his own candles! I had to hold his hands to prevent him from grabbing the fire, but he HAMMED it up when everyone started to cheer him. My son loves attention.

There are many fun memories. Jama helped Shane set up his bubble toy. Grandma and Grandpa showed off pictures of the hot-air balloon festival they went to. Pop and I took Shane out to the trampoline and Nana showed Shane all of the new toys she'd found for him. I admit, I rested for a lot of the festivities. Shane was having enough fun with everyone else I didn't feel the need to hover. Then, Shane was nice when we packed hi up to leave! It was a good day! Shane ran to his new Thomas toy the moment we got home. Dan had ordered a pizza, so Shane got to chew on some cheese sticks, too!

If Shane could ask himself one question today, it would probably be "Does it get any better than this?"

Happy Birthday Shane! Your train will be waiting for you in the morning, you'll get to play in Sunday school, and then you'll get your Nana time on Monday.

Sorry to Steal Shane's Spotlight but...

Something strange happened to me under an hour ago.

Do you remember how I had some computer trouble a while back? Two random people on Facebook tried to friend me today. My first thought was, "Oh great....is there another bug on my computer?" I took the usual precautions, found nothing, and then started to peruse through my mailbox on Facebook. I wanted to make sure there weren't any strange outgoing mails being sent from my account.

There was no virus, but I stumbled upon an "Other" mailbox that I had no idea existed.

On March 21st of this year I received a message.

The message was from someone I taught at a computer camp when I was a newly graduated senior from high school.

"Hey,

This may sound pretty random, but 12 years ago I went to a computer science camp where I believe you were a counselor, at American University. You probably don't remember me. It was probably not a significant time for you, but it very much was for me. Freshman year of high school was one of the worst years of my life, and this camp was when it all started to change. I became fast friends with your sisters Megan and Kathleen. It was my first introduction to Computer Science and Japanese, and was the first time in years that I was in a genuinely creative, supportive environment. I remember there were many counselors, but you stood out as being competant without being condiscending (like the councelor from TJ), and not full of insane bullshit (like "Y'Carr").

So I'm writing to you now because, well, a) I wanted to thank you for contributing to a great environment that literally changed my life around, and b) I feel nastalgic tonight for some reason.

Shane Posts

Lots of Shane posts need to be made. Topics include:

1. Singing the alphabet
2. Shane's electronics obsession
3. How Carrie redesigned Shane's room
and
4. The baby stole my pillow.

I don't mind doing a half-butt job on a post about me or my shenanigans, but I always want to deliver my A-game when I write about Shaneanigans. Sometimes this prevents me from starting a post when I'm too tired to do what I feel would be a good job on it.

There should be Shane stories posted this weekend!

It's That Squirrelly Time of Year

Holidays are a time of joy and stress. There's shopping, family, expectations and celebrations. For most of us, there's enough joys to make the stresses worth it.

What if that's not the case?

Every year, there are students whose home situations are not what anyone would choose. All of the holiday cheer and antics of the many can remind them that their reality is far less joyful than it should be.

Most of my students are fine, but there are a few that have developed an edge. It could be the honeymoon period is over, or it could be the holiday season is dredging out the worst in them. Only time will tell. It keeps me busy!

Overall, this year has been easier/happier than most. I'd rather deal with a mainly kids who have trouble with school, but have good attitudes than the reverse any day of the week. Encouragement comes naturally to me. Cracking heads and laying down the law is a learned skill.

Muay Thai Class 6

It only took a couple of weeks, but I made it to class again.

The bad news is, I'm at the point where my reactions are the wrong ones.

Every sport has a distinct set of reactions they want to teach you. In wrestling, the first thing the coaches teach you is to "belly down!" In Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, the first lesson is "on your back! NO! DON'T LAY ON YOUR STOMACH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"

Then for Muay Thai, it's "What are you laying around for? Stand up!"

Happy Birthday To Shane!

Shane is officially two years old. He is not aware and does not care, but one day he'll know enough to understand why Mama made a cake and Dada's been singing.

For Shane, it's been a mostly normal day. The highlight was when the garbage and recycling trucks drove by this morning!

There will be a part this weekend. Until then, I bid any of my readers adieu.

The Posts I Don't Like to Read

I don't like it when I complain.

Everyone vents, yes. It's a part of life and can be healthy to do.

Once you've vented, it should be done. If it's not done, it's whining.

"No one likes a whiner," is a famous Nana quote.

Whenever I stumble across an old, more negative post it makes me wince internally. I may have been venting at the time, but once I post the negative it becomes a recurring vent and therefore a whine.

That's just me, though.

Wait.....was this just a complaint post?

****!

Lessons from Marriage: Women's Laundry

Marriage teaches a man many, many things. It demystifies some aspects of women that a single man would never fathom. Most of these lessons need to be learned fairly quickly if one is to survive.

In this episode of Lessons from Marriage: I'm complaining about women's laundry.

Bras are annoying.

I'm not talking about the typical movie/TV "this catch refuses to release" annoying. I'm talking about how a considerate husband can unknowingly throw too many in the dryer at the same time they can come out more tangled than a giant knot of spaghetti at an Italian buffet. Last night, I had one bra manage to tangle on itself. It bent the hook that clasps on to the other side.  Twas not my fault!

Women's laundry can also come with a lot of special rules. You was one thing, but don't dry it. Or perhaps you hand wash one thing, but you can dry it. Hot temperatures work for some; others will shrink into something that won't fit on a doll. The buttons are all on the wrong side, too!

Yes, a man can learn a lot in marriage.

Usually through trial and error.

Lots and lots of errors.

This public service announcement was brought to you by The Union of Married Men. 

Tum, ta tum, tum, TUMMs!

Little Things

Shane and I spent almost half an hour this morning on the kitchen floor. He learned how to open and unroll bags of coffee beans. 

For me, it was mundane. 

For Shane, it was magical. That's why we kept at it for so long.

The ability to open and close bags of coffee isn't a skill I really want my son to have. However, it's a multi-step process and he enjoyed smelling the flavored coffees before we would seal and re-roll the bags. Learning is learning. Carrie and I will have to be careful not to let Shane's newly found knowledge spill ground-up black beans everywhere.

When Shane got tired of the opening and closing, he spun the revolving cabinet for the remainder of the half-hour.

Lots of little things happen every day, but they don't usually make it onto the blog. One, it's too much to write and two, they normally blur as more and more happen. It's a shame, but it's the way it is.

In the meantime, my son likes the smell of coffee. Go figure.

Whew!

After a full Saturday of playing with Shane, cleaning, laundry, and kickboxing I am ready to go back to work to rest!