The Next Day

Well, we made it. The first day of Kindergarten was survived by all. He walked right on into the classroom and the only thing he turned around for was to ask us where to put his backpack. It was a strange feeling seeing him go into a real school and not having him turn around to wave goodbye one more time or anything. It's good overall. You want them to want you, but not to need you. His teacher helped him find where to put his backpack and then he wandered over to the carpet and joined the other kids. He found one of the kids from his pre-school last year and sat next to him. The first thing he said when he came out of the class was, "Why didn't you put a banana in my snack?" So with that, I figured that everything went fine.

He was exhausted when he got out of the class and crashed when he got back to my mom's house. Last night was the Back to School Night for the parents of the K-2 kids. So we met his teacher, and found out about a couple field trips. I asked if there was a supply list that showed what we should buy for him. She said all he needs to bring is a backpack and a snack. Everything else, apparently, is provided. Which is awesome.

We also had our first ever PTA meeting after the BTSN with the teacher. That was a very interesting experience, and my lovely wife in all her glory is already helping them out with some fundraiser stuff. The hope is now that we'll still be going to the school in three weeks. Since we're an inter-district transfer, we're the first to go if someone who lives within the schools boundaries shows up to register. There are two open spots before that would happen, so three kindergarteners would have to register after school started to get him kicked out, so we're hoping that doesn't happen as it's a really nice school with a neat-o playground for the kids. I will have the customary picture of him standing in front of the house ready to go to school tomorrow, as I didn't have a chance yesterday to get the pictures off the camera.

First day of school down, only about 18 years to go.

Waiting

The wait is actually over!!! T's got a school!!!! And he gets to start tomorrow!!!!

After a long and arduous (yeah, check that word out) process, T's gonna be able to start school tomorrow with the rest of the kindergarteners. It's not going to be the school we had wanted as there was one open spot, but if anyone else wanted to go there that lived in the area, we'd be the first ones bumped out of the school. So instead of hoping for the best for three weeks, and then having him move to another school, we're just starting where there's room.

This is a huge relief for us, as I've been trying to this figured out for a long time now. And with school starting tomorrow, it's nice to finally know where he's going and that he's going to be able to start. I hope this isn't the way it will be every year.

What's Goin' On?

Hello dear friends of the internet. I realize that I've been quite lacking in the posts for the past while, and I have a great excuse. And it's that I've been busy. Yup, busy. With what? Well, I'll tell you all in short sentences which possibly will not be grammatically correct as I'm good at making the talky, but at the writy, me not as well at.

First off, we're still waiting to find out if T got into the school we're hoping for. And yes, school does start next Tuesday. And with that the next 18-20 years of his life will revolve around that school schedule. And the rest of his families will also.

We had a great time in Yosemite the past few days. It was clear and warm, but not hot. It's amazing how a two night stay in the park with two little kids can seem both way to short and way to long at the same time. We did get a site that had a great view of Half Dome, so that was very nice.
I'm on my second set of trial contacts. They're still not right. These don't hurt my eyes like the last pair, but everything still is fuzzy. Kinda like my thought process.

The Ca State Fair was great, we were there from 10:30 to 7, it was a very long day. We saw the Doodlebops, the kids loved 'em. I wasn't so thrilled. Worst part was waiting all day until the 7 pm Freestyle Motocross show where the motorcycles were going to be jumping a 75 foot gap 40 feet in the air throwing down the sickest tricks. T was really excited to see this as he'd been watching the X Games and couldn't properly express his joy for this particular piece of the day. We got to the stands at a little after 6:30 pm and picked a prime spot for him to see the jumps. Then when 7 rolled around, they said they wouldn't be jumping because it was to windy. He started crying and couldn't understand why they wouldn't jump. I explained that it was to windy and they might get hurt, and his reply was, "But they're wearing their pads!" So we went to meet one of the jumpers and he looked over at T and said, "Sorry we couldn't jump for you buddy." And T started crying all over again. Which made the dude feel bad, so we got an autograph. I'm not sure who he was and so we thanked him and went home.

I received the DVD I worked on for the Yoga lady, I haven't watched it all yet, but it's not as impressive as I'd hoped so far. But then again, Yoga isn't totally my thing.

I just got off the phone with the school district and apparently I won't know for sure if he's getting into the school of our choice until after school starts. So he won't be starting Kindergarten with the rest of the class. Which is kind of a bummer, but for him, he doesn't really get it anyway so if he misses a week or so, it won't screw up his social life.

Enjoy my next post where I display pics from the past couple weeks for all to enjoy!

Gettin to Know You

Ok, so because I'm a fairly lazy person by nature. And I've got a few minutes left in my day here at work. I'm gonna cheat and throw up this as a post. It's my first truly cheat at something as it's long, and I didn't come up with it. It was emailed to me and so I'm gonna put my answers here. You may actually learn about me, but probably not. Scary, eh?

And we're off...

1. WHAT TIME DID YOU GET UP THIS MORNING? 6 in the am, but it was supposed to be 5:30.

2. DIAMONDS OR PEARLS? I don't really wear either, but I have diamonds on my wedding ring and not pearls, so I guess diamonds.

3. WHAT WAS THE LAST FILM YOU SAW AT THE CINEMA? Cinema? really? I guess this baby's from the wonderful UK. But the last film I saw at the cinema was Step-Brothers. And yes, it was hilarious.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TV SHOW? Hmmm. Office, the American one not the crappy British one. And also 30 Rock and Lost.

5. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY HAVE FOR BREAKFAST? Banana Muffin, courtesy of Jiffy

6. WHAT IS YOUR MIDDLE NAME? David

7. WHAT FOOD DO YOU DISLIKE? Ese's, like Chinese and Japanese.

8. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CD? Just one? That'd be probably Nickel Creek's 'Why Should the Fire Die?'

9. WHAT KIND OF CAR DO YOU DRIVE? A kick-ass 2000 GMC Safari. Yeah, that's right, a minivan, suck it!

10. FAVORITE SANDWICH? Turkey with mustard, lettuce, tomato, pickle, and a bit o' red onion. That's some good eatin'.

11. WHAT CHARACTERISTIC DO YOU DESPISE? Arrogance and materialism. Yes, I read the question, I feel that just one isn't enough.

12. FAVORITE ITEM OF CLOTHING? Baseball hat.

13. IF YOU COULD GO ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD ON HOLIDAY, WHERE WOULD YOU GO? On Holiday? Well, I'm going to Yosemite soon, but that's not the top spot. Were my fantasy fulfilled, I'd probably end up on a luxurious island somewhere.

14. WHAT COLOR IS YOUR BATHROOM? Mint Green, it's awesome.

15. FAVORITE BRAND OF CLOTHING? Well, being the brand whore I am, I guess it would be something like Russel Athletic? Or Hanes. Yeah, Hanes.

16. WHERE WOULD YOU RETIRE TO? This is different than the Holiday question? I guess it'd be somewhere on a really nice golf course. Hopefully my wife would come with me.

17. WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE BIRTHDAY? 21. Got to go to Vegas, got free money to play with, had my picture taken at the tables. Generally treated as some kind of mini-celebrity. I think it may have been to get me to lose all my money, but my luck was good that trip and I came out ahead.

18. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? Baseball.

19. FURTHEST PLACE YOU ARE SENDING THIS? Who knows? As I'm not emailing this, but I have a friend in the great state of WV who may read it, so I'll go with that.

20. WHO YOU LEAST EXPECT TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? It was probably me, and they'd be right, as I'm not actually sending it to anyone.

21. PERSON YOU EXPECT TO SEND IT BACK FIRST? I dunno. Pete's the only one who comments, so him.

22. FAVORITE SAYINGS? Ah, a plural. They would be, "I'll take the twenty year payout." and "Yes, this is a solid gold car." I haven't actually gotten to say them yet, but hey, maybe someday.

23. WHEN IS YOUR BIRTHDAY? August 2nd.

24. ARE YOU A MORNING PERSON OR A NIGHT PERSON? Night, the morning is evil.

25. WHAT IS YOUR SHOE SIZE? 12. oh yeah baby.

26. ANY NEW AND EXCITING NEWS YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE WITH US? Nope.

27. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU WERE LITTLE? Shortstop for the A's. I almost made it.

28. HOW ARE YOU TODAY? Meh, ok.

29. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD : Baked Chicken breast with Bisquick, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and garlic bread. Or failing that, a good corndog.

30. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FLOWER? Any flower I haven't killed is good with me.

31. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? Getting home and having my kids still think I'm the greatest. They may not feel that way in ten years.

32. LAST THING YOU ATE? Medium vanilla cone dipped in chocolate from Dairy Queen. It was snack time.

33. DO YOU WISH ON THE STARS? No. What are they really gonna do?

34. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Pine Green

35. HOW IS THE WEATHER RIGHT NOW? 105 and sunny. But inside the air's on and it is awesome.

36. FAVORITE SOFT DRINK? Sioux City Sarsparilla

37. FAVORITE RESTAURANT? Back 40 Texas BBQ. A close second is Cracker Barrel. But that may be because I've only been a couple times and the closest one to me is a good 12 hour drive away.

38. FAVORITE DAY OF THE YEAR? Birthday

39. SUMMER OR WINTER? Summer

40. HUGS OR KISSES? Hugs

41. MORNING COFFEE or AFTERNOON TEA? No thank you.

42. CHOCOLATE OR VANILLA? Chocolate

43. DO YOU WANT YOUR FRIENDS TO E-MAIL YOU BACK? Well, if you want to comment, feel free!

44. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? When my dog died.

45. WHO IS THE FRIEND YOU HAVE HAD THE LONGEST? Greg

46. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? Watched Olympics, more swimming, gymnastics and beach volleyball. Where's the fun stuff?

47. WHAT ARE YOU AFRAID OF? Being bit by a black widow, or a brown recluse. Though I do enjoy killing them.

48. HOW MANY YEARS AT YOUR CURRENT JOB? 4

49. FAVORITE DAY OF THE WEEK? Saturday

50. DO YOU MAKE FRIENDS EASILY? I think so.

51. HOW MANY PEOPLE WILL YOU SEND THIS TO? Who knows??? At least 5 people.

52. HOW MANY WILL RESPOND? I'm gonna go with possibly one, but probably less.

New School

We may have a school for my man T. I don't want to jinx anything, so I won't say much else about it yet. I went today to get the doctor to fill out his form saying he doesn't have any horrible diseases, and to his dentist for that one. The dentist he goes to is the one his aunt works at. He came out and was trying to get me to go there also. That ain't a-gonna happen. He was like some 1880's snake oil salesman. Or a modern day informercial host. Or like those guys at the state fair.

The one thing that he did offer that I've had done once before was a free teeth whitening. Or tooth whitening, I'm not sure of the wording. The other time I had this done was when one of my players from basketball's step-dad offered me one as a gift for all my years of volunteer work with the kids. It wasn't totally free, it was done at cost. He only charged me for the bleaching gel, which cost five dollars. The casting of my tooths, and the rest of the gear he gave me for free. Now that I'm being offered the same thing for free again, it makes me think about how much money these dentists make off this procedure. I don't know how much it would actually cost if it wasn't being given away as I've never asked. But what do you think? Average dentist pricing of about $80 for a basic cleaning plus extras would put something cosmetic like this at around $150 plus? It's crazy to think about, and my wife didn't get anything like that. Maybe it's just something they use to try to get you to go to their office. But like I said previously, I likes my dentist a lot right now, and I'm not leaving for this dude. No matter how much free stuff I get. I've got 100% coverage now anyway, so I'm not concerned about that at all.

I will hopefully know more about T's school after Friday. I can't wait for him to start. We've been watching the Olympics and watching anything with this kid right now is a constant barrage of questions. Of course, I look like a genius because I know the answers, but it gets tiring having question after question fired at me. Why do they do that? What are they doing? Why are they wearing the same clothes? Whew...I'm pooped just thinking about it again. It was the same thing with the X Games. Anyway, send out a little prayer for him to get into that mystery school. Gracias.

Toxic

Or to be a bit more precise, non-toxic. As in the moisturizer that our little E got a hold of and apparently ate a bit of. As my wife was cooking dinner and my son was playing whilst I was trying to find out when his last physical was for Kindergarten, our little angel was getting into my wife's makeup stuff. She came out of our room covered in lipstick and moisturizer. The lipstick was only on her leg, chest (she had a shirt on, so I'm not sure how she got it there), around her chin, most of her left arm, (I think she's a righty), and somehow, a little bit on her back. The moisturizer was surrounding her mouth, she looked like the Joker with the makeup reversed. I asked if she'd eaten any of he moisturizer, because it looked like most of it was smooshed into the carpet around the base of the sinks in our bathroom. She claimed that she did eat some, so my lovely wife had turned down the stove that was percolating our dinner, checked the label of the offending jar of skin smoother, and it said to call poison control, which she did.

I learned from the poison control guy that anything you can put on your face is non-toxic so we didn't have to worry about it. If she had eaten the whole jar it was possible that she'd get the runs, but that was not a distinct possibility. Don't you just love how much you can learn from me? My wife feels that this happened because she's been prepping our daughter for the world by letting her get ready with her at the sink. E's got her own little bag of toy cosmetics and everything.

So she knows where all the good stuff was hiding. So another little lesson for us. We gots to put those damn drawer locks on more drawers now. I guess I have a new task for tomorrow. Super.

Country Club

Well concerned internetians, our little guy is fine. His head has avoided infection and also a trip to the doctors. However, I'm a little down because my A's can't win at all. After ten straight losses with no end in sight. I don't know if I even want to use the free vouchers I have for field level tickets. But I do go on.

I got to go play at Diablo Country Club yesterday as my friend and former speech coach had managed to aquire a tee time at this exclusive and very private course. What's that, you say, former speech coach. Why yes dear friends. I was at one time a very cunning liguist. And I have a plaque which provs my previous master debater skillz, which never did pay the billz. But I hadn't golfed in quite some time now, and I was expecting an immaculate course upon which to play. This course was nice, but had a lot of dead grass areas, and no driving range. Now I don't know what a membership costs at this place, but the homes along the front nine were massive, and I saw many a personal golf cart with liscense plates. But I would imagine that if I were to pay whatever the crazy fee is to be a member of this course, I'd want a range on it so I could practice more than just my putting.

Another strange moment came when we got to the end of the ninth hole at the snack shack out there. Called the 'Halfway House' it seemed out of place, and we were unable to purchase anything with actual money. We were offered a food voucher at the pro shop, but they were only sold in $60 increments. So, not thinking we'd be getting sixty dollars worth of food, we passed. The inability to use money there, however really cut into our fun level. We hadn't eaten lunch and we'd teed off at one, so we were fairly hungry. They did have some saltines and little containers of peanut butter, so I guess lunch was served, and free. But not that tasty. I did find a granola bar in my bag, that I'd put in that morning. It was peanut butter flavored though. It was a very peanut buttery day. We won't be sure of my score, as I didn't add up the back nine, but it wasn't spectacular. The day was fun though, taking a half day at work to go golfing at a club at which any other time, I wouldn't be anywhere near. One more week of work, then a week of vacation. That's gonna be sweet.

If I Fall

So last night was going fine, all were happy. We played baseball out in the backyard for a while until the sprinklers came on, which signals us to get the kids inside and to bed. I even had my contacts in for a while with no major problems. Then after we got the kids inside and T got his jammies on, he decided to jump on the couch. He knows he's not supposed to do this, and yet he continues to do so. And last night it finally caught up to him as he came down and hit his the back of his head against the windowsill and got a pretty decent gash/cut on the back of his noodle.

He cried for a few minutes as it bled all over his jammies. I got a wet washcloth for his head as his mom held him and kept the pressure on. Then after about ten minutes of feeling sorry for himself, he was fine and wanted to watch some more X Games. So he did, whilst my wife held his Little Miss Helpful cold compress against his head We were having a debate about taking him to the doctors to have it looked at as we're not medical personnel. I thought we should take him in, not only to have it looked at, but to reinforce the message of "Don't jump on the couch, or you'll get hurt." I called the advice nurse, who advised us to bring him in to the Minor Injury clinic, but my wife didn't want to go on the opinion of the advice nurse, so she had me call my mom. My mom also advised us to take him in if we weren't sure. But my wife again didn't want to hear that, so she decided that he'd stay home so as not to be 'traumatized.' I feel that he should have been traumatized, then he wouldn't jump on the couch anymore.

As we were discussing this, we told him to get up so we could change his shirt, and as soon as he got up, he was jumping on the couch again. Thus reminding me that he's not as bright as I would like him to be just yet. Even after that, she didn't want to take him in, so she bandaged his head like this guy playing the flute.

So with his massive head bandage on, he went to bed, slept fine, woke up and the bandage was on the floor. But all in all, he seems well enough. I guess now we just try to keep it from getting infected. Let's hope for the best, shall we?

3-2-1 Contact

My contacts arrived yesterday and I totally aced my 'how to put them in' class thing. The only problem yesterday was the right eye wasn't quite correct. I don't know if she measured my rotation wrong the first time or not (I'm not sure on what that means) but she claimed that the fitting measurement on the right eye was 5 degrees, and yesterday it was 20 degrees. Well, I never really had good vision yesterday with them in. I only could wear them for four hours before they had to come out, and it only seemed to work well when I sat still and stared at something whilst being very still. But all in all, it wasn't the best vision I've ever had. I'm going to put them in today around 11 or so, because I can only have them in my eyeballs for six hours today. Then eight tomorrow and so on. I don't know if I'll wear them tomorrow, as I'll be saying goodbye to 28 and hello to 29. If these things don't work well, I don't want to have bad vision all day for my birthday.

The birthday that seems to have really snuck up on me. The last year of being a 20-something. It's also the last birthday my mom ever had, so I'll be just as old as her. She's been turning 29 for quite some time now. But for me, it's real. The big 2-9. I'm a lot farther along in my life at this point than I think I expected to be 10 years ago. I have a good job, wife, two kids, own my own home. (Well, the bank still owns most of it, but I'm working on that) When I think back to 10 years ago, it doesn't seem that far off. There was a lot of growth for me personally around 19 years old. Dealing with things that seemed to be so important at the time, and now looking back, I realize that not much of it was so important. And that now, if I were to be able to relive those moments with the vast wisdom that I've accrued over the past decade, I would probably have handled many of those things differently. It wouldn't have taken me so long to get my AA from a JC, that's for sure.

It seems that once my son was born, I've watched him age without realizing that I was aging right along with him. And now that he's five, I'm 29 (almost), he'll be 16 when I'm 40, that's probably where my first heart attack will happen. As he'll most likely drive like I do. Not good. But I'm noticing around the other kids his age, that I seem to be one of the younger parents. It's nice in a way to have that, but the drawback is that since I'm still younger, they can have this attitude that I don't know what I'm doing. I did take a child development class at the JC during my tenure there. Got a B in it, I believe.

So though I'm turning a year older, and therefore a year wiser tomorrow. I still have the ability to look back on the years that have preceded this one and smile and enjoy them. I have no major regrets, (I don't think anyone doesn't have minor ones) and hope that the next 29 years will take me ever closer to 60, and hopefully retirement. It's really the next big personal goal for me. Retire. From work, not life.