Baby Grumpy

Baby no sleep very well.....make Mommy and Daddy very tired. Make Mommy grumpy make Daddy not want to be home. Baby make daddy think baby hate Daddy. Baby smile for Mommy....Baby look at Daddy and cry.

Right now that is about as much brain power as I can muster.

Breakfast

I did it, and it was very well received. When I got home last night I found a card waiting for me, so I had to run back out to the car really quick to get the one I bought for her.

I crept into the bedroom, only to find half of my children fast asleep in bed with her. So, I went into the boys room, and slept on the bunk bed.

I woke up at 6:30 this morning and fixed her scrambled eggs and cheese, with toast and a glass of Diet Coke to wash it down. That menu may make you wonder what the hell? But, I assure you Mrs. Molly was very pleased, since that is her favorite breakfast.

To show her appreciation, tonight we will be having some alone time. My hope is that she breaks out the body stocking from Frederick's. (I know it's trashy, but for some reason it makes me feel funny down there.) ;)

Anniversary

Tomorrow will be my 15th Wedding Anniversary. Do I have anything special planned? Nope. Do I have a gift? Nope.

You know those e-mails you get all the time fishing for your personal information? Like the one from Pay Pal? But, it's really from someone waiting for an idiot to give up their information.

Well, Mrs. Molly got herself hooked yesterday, and gave up her bank card information. Immediately afterward she realized what had happened, and had her card canceled, and notified Pay Pal right away.

So today she took MY card, and left me with a few bucks cash, to buy gas and feed my face with. I had planned on getting her a present tonight on the way home, but now she will have to settle for a card.

I'm thinking of getting up early, and fixing her breakfast in bed. It really all depends on how early I can get to sleep tonight when I get home. I'm on a new schedule now that the rocket is gone.

Anyways, It's hard to believe it's been fifteen years, we have been through some very rough spots, and have even separated a time or two. But, we have always come back......there has to be something there for that to happen right?

Peanuts

I took the kiddies to a Manatees baseball game Monday night. I had my second youngest's birthday announced over PA. He was living on cloud nine, for the whole night.

Since they don't sell boiled peanuts there, I made my own for the game. Anyone else like boiled p-nuts? The first time I had them was out of a can, that I bought at Winn Dixie. I never had the fresh ones until one time some friends and I took a road trip up to Atlants to watch the Braves play the Reds. Some folks were selling them out in one of the parking lots. Man those were good.

I buy the raw peanuts from either Publix, where they sell them in bulk, or at Walmart where they sell them in a one pound bag.

The bag from Walmart will actually give you directions on how to boil them properly. I usually use just under 1/2 cup of salt for the brine and boil for three hours. I do have to keep adding water, otherwise they just aren't as good.

Back to the game, We sat right near the visitor's dugout. We were behind most of the game, but we ended up winning in the ninth. It was a really great finish to the game. My daughter really got into it, when the Sarasota Reds decided to intentionally walk a couple of our guys. She started calling them Big Fat Red Chickens......it was funny to watch heads pop out of the dugout to listen to a 7 y/o girl give them hell. (Daddy was proud.) She got the 'Chicken' part from the cackle the PA played during the walk.

All of the kids had a chance to run across the field around the 5th inning. The outfield gates open up and a mad rush of children stampede through the outfield to the tune of, Who let the Dogs out?
The three of mine that did the stunt had a fantastic time, even though each of them tripped up at least once. BIG SMILES!

Anyone seen a rocket around here?

Heart

Tonight before I left for work, I was watching a special on VH1 Classic. The show was a concert with the group Heart.

Ann and Nancy Wilson rock!

Am I a bit biased because they hail from the Seattle area? Maybe a little bit. But, mostly because I love their music.

They brought a group of people up with them on stage, and sang their songs and a few of their friends' songs. It was an awesome concert. I would love to see them live.

To see them up there with Duff Mckagen, Alice in Chains (minus Layne of course), Carrie Underwood, a couple of guys from Pantera, Dave Navarro, and Gretchen Wilson was a sight to see.

Jerry Cantrell from Alice in Chains was telling a story about how back home he was influenced by Hendrix, Heart, and Queensrhyche. He went on to explain how he went from a listener, fan, and eventually friend with the two ladies. He claims that Nancy has fingers of steel because they jammed one time all night long, and he just couldn't keep up.

For those of you that didn't know Nancy is married to Cameron Crowe, and wrote the score for the movie Almost Famous.

Heart Rocks!

Where's George?

How many times have you looked at a dollar bill and saw some writing on it?

How many times have you seen the following?
Currency Tracking Project
www.wheresgeorge.com

Sometimes that lettering is written by hand, but more often than not it is stamped with red ink.

I challenge everyone to register a currency note or two with the above website, and write down in the border of the bill with the above listed information.

You would be surprised how far some of this money has traveled.

I've been doing this for a couple of years now, and I've found it really interesting.

Everyone is home

Everyone is home from Grandma's.

I sure missed those kids while they were gone.

I wonder how long it takes before that feeling goes away. :)

Lineage

How would you like to know where you came from? I mean really came from, from a scientific, I can tell you if you're related to Atilla the Hun and I shit-you-not sort of way?

I was thumbing through an old issue of National Geographic tonight, and I came across an article that's all about tracing ancestory through dna.

Did you know that 8% of all men from central and east Asia are directly descended from Genghis Khan? Think about the populations of China and India for a minute. Kind of puts that statement into perspective, huh?

So for $100 you can send away for a kit, and National Geographic will tell you your maternal lineage, or Paternal lineage (Males only).

I may do this, it sounds pretty cool.

Streams of Thought

Sometimes I like to sit and think. Not about anything in particular, just think. I like to let thoughts drift through my head as if they were caught in the current of a creek. Swirling in eddys, rippling over the rocks, gliding to the other side of my mind, and out into the abyss.

Sometimes I wonder what might have been. You know, like if I'd turned left that day, instead of right. If I'd gone to this resteraunt instead of that one. How much would my life be different right now. Would I be the same person I am now? Is Tall Molly Man the person I was destined to be all along?

I can't imagine life without my family, but what if I had never met my wife like I did? Would we have met anyway, and still got together?

I think about my childhood alot too, and what the future may bring.

Sometimes I'm very frightened of both my past, and my children's future.

...................I need to quit thinking so much.

The Border

Let's start right off with what bothers me about this whole immigration problem.
If you're here illegally you do not have the right to tell me that I HAVE to grant you amnesty. If I don't believe in your cause I'm automatically labeled a racist. That's a pretty convenient and damning response that has no idea about who I am or where I come from.

I have nothing against immigration, as long as it's done legally. America was, and is made of immigrants. Most of us can trace our ancestry to Europe, or Asia. Unfortunately the African-American community can also trace their lineage back to the shores of the African continent, but that is about as far as they can pinpoint their roots. I say unfortunate, because they were forced to immigrate to the shores of North America, and kept as slaves. Have been ridiculed for skin color and mocked in minstrel shows, and generally been the objects of hate since the first slave touched his feet on American soil. African Americans have been lynched, been denied their given right to vote, kept segregated from whites, and have been forced to live in ghettos. Even today young black men and women mainly see three ways out.....Drugs, Sports, or entertainment. Education is not a priority to the community at large. All you have to do is compare the school in a suburb to a school in the inner-city. You tell me where the most successful student is going to come from.

That ladies and gentlemen is racism.............Racism is not nor should it ever be considered in the case of people that cross our borders illegally. I don't care about their skin color, or the fact they don't speak English. What I care about is that there is a process for someone to come here, and I'm sorry if that's not fast enough for you, but that is our nation's way of doing things.

Have you seen how hard it is to immigrate to Australia? or New Zealand? I have, because I was seriously thinking of going to one or the other and start a new life several years ago.
Australia's immigration policy is based on their need for your skills, your age, and if you have enough money to make it for either six months or one year, so you don't have to impact their welfare system. Wow, what an incredible concept........

Something needs to be done people, whether you want to come to terms with that or not. Many of these illegals are for all intents and purposes slaves. They are at the whim and mercy of their employer. How willing would you be to complain about working conditions if you had the threat of being turned in, or heck even killed, after all there isn't any record of your existence. Do you really think illegals (farm migrants) make minimum wage?

Have any of you heard of the 12 or 13 y/o girl that was found in a migrant shanty town somewhere here in Florida last year? She was the camp prostitute, chained to the bedpost, servicing fifteen to twenty men a day. Her only possession was a teddy bear. How about the truckload of illegals found on the side of the road, dead or dying because the truck broke down and the drivers ran off, leaving them INSIDE the trailer.

If I'm to be called a racist for opposing illegal immigration, then so be it. Then you just remember that I just want the above listed examples from happening to any more people.

So I say put the Guard on the border with Mexico, ship all illegals (that don't have children born here) home, and we'll just have to see IF we can get along without them for awhile, until they can come back the right way.

I don't think that concern over the fluidity of the border is wrong.

(PS I still need you to act on the post below)

A sick twisted moron

Someone is running around our blogiverse with the screenname of Rapist. Bad choice of a screenname if you ask me. Guess what? It gets worse. Mr. Rapist has a blog too. His blog either lists his actual rapes, or his rape fantasies.Now according to Gypsy Queen if enough of us get together and flag his blog, we'll get him and his blog removed.

If Rapist happens to visit your site, and you have a site counter, you can get his IP address and report him to his provider, and or his local law enforcement.

Here's the address for the moron:
http://irapeforfun.blogspot.com/

Baseball

Took the youngest boy to a Brevard Manatee minor league game last night. I have tried several times to post a link, but blogger will not let me tonight.

Anyways the team has made some changes this year. For instance, ticket prices have all dropped to six bucks. The parking is now totally free, and you can sit anywhere, but where a season ticket holder has a reserved spot.

So, the kid and I go to the park, get some game food, beer, soda, hotdogs, and peanuts, find a place to sit. (right behind the backstop) We stayed all the way to the middle of the ninth, little man's bladder gave out, and we had to find a potty quick. Unfortunately he couldn't get his pants down in time, and made a puddle right at the edge of the toilet.

As we scurried out of the park, little guy had to do the 'I just pissed myself walk' all the way to the car. We made it to the car just as the last out was announced, and we made it out of the parking lot with nooooo problems.

We both had a great time, as did the folks sitting around us. He kept us all entertained, even when the game didn't.

I love being a Dad..................

MLB Players Swing Pink Lumber

Tomorrow for Mother's Day, many of the league's players will be sporting brand spanking new Pink bats. After the games the bats will be auctioned off for charity on the MLB.com website.

Thought you ought to know.................

Haze

It starts about four in the morning, slowly drifting toward the earth as the cooling air condenses. It's smell lingers on your clothes hours after it makes it's departure. It has caused two deaths on I-95 in a bad accident involving three semi-trucks and a little car. Major roadways have been closed, causing delays in morning commutes.

I'm writing about the smoke from the wild fires here in central Florida. Thousands of acres are burning or are currently burning.

Part of the problem has been our lack of any substantial rainfall, part of the problem is all the dried out dead vegetation from the hurricanes of 2004, and part of the problem is dumb people that throw burning cigarettes from the car as they go down the road.

So far the fires are not as bad as the ones from 1998, but It's getting close to it. There is some fear that when we do start getting rain it will be in the form of thunderstorms, which will bring the lightning. Since we live in the lightning capital of the world, that is a very real possibility.

It was really difficult to breathe Monday morning, the thick smoke crept right into my car, and gave me a huge headache. Luckily the smoke lessened the further South I drove.

We need rain........................

Hell Is For Heroes and other 'H' Words

H?

Why couldn't I get F?
We all know how much I like eff words.

Oh well here's the deal. Tish from the Kat House has given me an assignment, which I volunteered for. She assigns you a letter, you have to write ten words beginning with that letter. Then you have to give YOUR meaning of the words.

1) Hot Dogs, ok I know they are lips, assholes, and other meat by-products. But nothing beats a good Nathan's, especially if you put some kraut, and mustard on it. Please don't apply the Ketchup unless it's for your child. (Can't go to a ball game without a hot dog or brat.)

2) Helo- That is what they call helicopters in the Navy/Marine Corps. It sounds so much better than 'chopper'. I worked and even had a chance to fly a number of times in the UH-3H Sea King, and the SH-60F Seahawk.

4) Happy- A state of mind that my Lexapro prescription helps me achieve. Chemical imbalances are so dreary. It's nice to see the sunshine again.

5) Hanky - Who needs 'em? A good 'Farmer Blow clears you right out, and you don't have to worry about making your nose all red, from all that wiping.

6) Hot- Can be described in two ways, Florida in the Summer and My wife nakey waiting for me in bed. ;)

7) Hell- Many people believe that Hell is full of fire and brimstone. Many people believe there is no hell. Some People even believe that THIS, where we are right now is Hell. Me, I kind of think that Hell is more like darkness, and the feeling of eternal solitude. (existence without God.)

8) Hangar- This is where airplanes are parked. A Hanger is what you hang you clothes on.....GET IT? This was explained to me by the Skipper of the USS John F. Kennedy.

9) Hockey- The first professional sport I ever watched on TV. When I was a child the Canadian channels came in better than the ones in Seattle.

10) Hirsute- If it's hairy trim it, most of us don't like to call out a SAR team to find the object of our desire. Don't shave it either, most of us don't want to be seen as a pedophile. Make a landing strip, make an arrow to show the way, anything other than an old growth forest will be just fine. You don't want your significant other walking around choking on a hairball, do you?

(disclaimer: just friendly advice from me to you. I guess the advice can go for either sex.)

Tonka

Grandma came and packed two more of my kids to New England. Originally it was only supposed to be my oldest and second oldest sons. But, it turns out that my eldest daughter wanted to go after all.

Grandma told me that she needs to just start buying extra tickets, because somehow this always ends up happening.

So, for the next two weeks we will be a family of four, my wife, my two youngest children, and I.

#4 (youngest son) was in the tub when grandma escaped with the other two, was a little pissed when he got out and everyone was gone. He got over it though, because grandma left him a twenty to spend. So, he and I went to the K-Mart, and he bought a Tonka Grader.

I used to have Tonka Toys as a child. I loved them. I had the Backhoe, a Drop Bucket Gravel Loader, my Dump Truck, and a Cat (Bulldozer, where I come from all bulldozers used in logging are called cats.). I also had a scale model John Deere Skidder . But, back in my day John Deere made yellow skidders.

With my 'equipment' I used to go underneath one of the Cedar trees in the back yard, and go Logging just like my dad. I made roads using gravel from the neighbors driveway, cleared out a landing for the loader and trucks. I used to haul little fallen branches to the landing and load them onto my truck, where they would be taken to an imaginary mill over by the Spruce tree in the side yard. Hell, I could haul two-three log loads a day. I was a good little Logger.

I hope that my son has just as much fun playing with his Tonka Toys as I did. Then again I had an advantage over him. I used to actually get to run those types of machines in real life. My son's Dad just works on boring old rockets..............................

Blues

She hit the wall today. Mrs. Molly officially has the baby blues, it has been brewing for awhile, but today everything just boiled over.

BB seems to have developed colick (sp?) It's not bad, it's just she doesn't like to be put down for any length of time. She also has a hard time burping and farting. But, when BB does let the gas out she sounds like a Frat boy. It seems at times like I'm the only one that can calm BB down for any length of time. This is what started the blues, now she feels like a rotten mother. She also feels bad because this is it, the last child, no more kids, an end to her milestones in life. Then there is a part of her that yearns to feel the attention she received from me during that last part of the pregnancy.

I spent the majority of today reassuring Mrs. Molly that she is important, she is a great mother, and that she has plenty of milestones left in life.

I don't blame her for feeling like she does, I realize it's chemical, as does she. I don't even mind it really, she's a good woman, and I love her with all my heart.

It will get better baby......................I promise.

Badges of Honor

I took my two youngest boys in for their yearly check-ups today. During the examinations I was given the choice of putting off the older of the two's immunization for another year. But, five minutes later I was told that the younger fella needed a shot today.

Being the fair minded Dad that I am, I said go ahead and get them both. You know.....to be fair.

It wasn't fair by any stretch of the imagination. The younger of the two received one shot. The older guy received a total of three.

My mistake in all this?

I let the older one go first. Guess who had his face right in there watching the needle go in? You betcha.....the little guy had a front row seat to his brother's blood and pain. I was holding the older one down the best I could but an arm got loose and he tried to yank the needle out of the Nurse's hand. Although this plan might have looked good on paper, it just didn't work for him as planned. He ended up causing himself more pain, because he rotated the needle around inside of his thigh muscles.

By the time it was little man's turn, he was cowering behind the chair, telling me no way Jose.


One my brave yound men received a Daffy Duck bandage, and the other received a Snoopy bandage.

As much noise as we made inside the exam room during the immunizations, you never would have known anything was wrong by the time we walked out. Except for the occasional leg rub, and a proud flash of a bandage.

'I'm so proud of you guys, you took that like big boys.'

'You're proud of ME too Dad?' (youngest)

'You Betcha!'

Refreshed

With my mini-vacation complete, I can honestly say I'm pretty relaxed now. We went ahead and purchased our Seasonal Passes for the year. I written about them in the past. The passes do have blackout dates, but those are the times of the year, that I wouldn't even consider going anyways.

We did stay in one of the cabins at Ft. Wilderness. I have to say that I would rather stay there, in Ft. Wilderness than at any other resort in the park. We have stayed in quite a few of the other resorts. All-Star Movies, All-Star Music, All-Star Sports, Carribean Beach Resort, Animal Kingdom Lodge, and the Pop Century Resorts.

Ft. Wilderness is just a great place to stay, it's relaxing, and has a genuine feel to it. Now don't get me wrong, We'll probably stay at one of the Value (read cheaper) Resorts more often than we would stay at Ft. Wilderness, unless I could convince Mrs. Molly to go camping there.

The cabins have a fridge, stove, microwave, and dishwasher. A bedroom, with a TV, full bed, and a bunk bed. The 'living room' has a TV, DVD Player, and a Murphy Bed. The outside has a parking space for one vehicle, a deck, BBQ, and a Picnic Table. Best of all the cabins and campsites are surrounded by longleaf Pine Trees, which makes it a bit cooler out, with the Sun beating down.

Our cabin was really close to the Wilderness Pool, so the kids and I spent lots of time there, after a day of walking around the park. In fact, that's where we were right before we left for home this morning.

The next time you go to Disney........even if you don't stay there, take the boat from Magic Kingdom (the departure dock is located at the bottom of the Monorail Ramp) over to Ft. Wlderness and just look around, I think you'll agree, it's an awesome resort.