What a difference a year makes

Dec. 22, 2008



Dec. 22, 2009

Yet another thing nobody warned us about

We expected less sleep, less me time, less us time, less time in general. We expected more shopping trips for cute little outfits, diapers, formula and groceries. I expected more garbage, thanks to a mountain of diapers.

But I damn sure didn't expect to be swamped under a pile of dirty dishes. Tiny, saucer-sized dishes and brightly-colored spoons.

Here are the dishes Jen and I used yesterday ...



Here are the dishes (except for a couple of cups) that Paige used yesterday ...



Now notice, the top drawer is packed. That's because every food utensil designed for a baby has a "top rack only" designation on it. It makes for a difficult time loading the washer.

Now I don't know what happens if you put a baby's spoon in the bottom rack with the adult spoons. Maybe it melts. Maybe the plastic turns into a poison. I don't know. I don't want to know. But I do want to know why every company makes this stuff "top rack only." Find me a "It doesn't matter what rack" baby plate, bowl and spoon and I'll buy every one I see.

Man, this is a sad little blog these days

Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. I've promised several times to update this damned thing more often. But then it falls through the cracks.

So what have I been doing besides updating my blog?

Riding my bike again - Originally, the plan was to commute to the radio show. Like updating the blog, that hasn't happened yet. But I have been going on regular rides. According to MapMyRide.com, I've put in more than 100 miles in the past month. This past Sunday, I did 16.4 miles at Ben Geren. I'm riding my old Diamondback mountain bike, which I bought probably 15 years ago. It's heavy and doesn't have a front suspension. I'd like to get a road bike, but those things are ex-freakin-pensive. Thanks to the bike and watching what I eat, I've lost 18.5 pounds in the past two months or so. I'd like to drop another 20. I just have to figure out what to do when the days get shorter and I can't go for a ride at 7 p.m. after work.

Tweeting - Yeah, I know. Some of you Luddites still aren't even on Facebook (Hi Craig!). But I'm enjoying Twitter much more than I thought I would. I use it basically as an RSS feed. Right now, I'm getting bombarded with Steelers info thanks to following five different Pittsburgh area reporters. Plus, I figure it's a good thing to be promoting my brand online given the current nature of journalism.

Bransoning - We met Jen's family up there for a mini-reunion. I was dreading it. Visions of the Baldknobbers and Shoji Tabuchi danced in my head. But Branson has grown so much in the years since I last went. Branson Landing is incredible. It's a pedestrian mall alongside Lake Tanneycomo. High-end shopping, restaurants and bars on the street level, with condos above that. Combined with Table Rock Lake for boating, Tanneycomo for cold-water trout fishing and the outlet mall, I could see the Party Squad having a grand old time in Branson.

Being Mr. Mom - It was only three days, but good gosh I liked it. I've always enjoyed my mornings with Paige. But I was a little nervous about having her all day. But that was a silly worry. I just wish the Martins lived here, so Craig could have brought Trevor to the mall one day to meet us. There were plenty of moms pushing strollers that day I went, but I was the only dad pushing one. As I walked around the mall, I got tickled at the idea of Craig and I pushing our kids through the mall arguing about some sports topic while we got odd looks from the moms who were there.

Not getting a haircut -



(No, I don't leave the house like that. Yes, I use hair product to make it look somewhat better.)

"Me" time

Nash recently blogged about the importance of Me Time in his life. I have to say, while reading it I was a little jealous.

You see, Nash wrote about taking time to do his hobbies. And how he's lucky Karen understands he needs Man Time.

The last Man Time I had came after my old friend David's funeral. I had the day off (obviously), Jen was at work and Paige was at Mom's. I had a window of about three hours to myself. So I took the doors off the Jeep and went fishing. I caught one sad little fish.

Since then, the only Me Time happens late on Friday and Saturday nights. Since Jen is still nursing, she wakes up early with Paige each morning around 7:30 a.m. So that means 11-ish is about as late as she can stay up. The problem is, of course, there's nothing to between 11 and 1 a.m. So I've been reading a ton and squeezing in some PlayStation soccer games.

Don't get me wrong. I don't mind sacrificing my time for Paige and Jen. Getting married, you have to learn to be unselfish. But having a baby requires you to completely tamp down your own desires for Me Time.

Jen doesn't have it any better. She's lacking Me Time too. We need to carve out some soon. If for no other reason than I've not had a haircut in more than three months now. So I'm about halfway to having my "turning 30" afro* again.
_________________________

* - Thanks to hair product, however, it looks much better than it did back in 1998. Gillette Sculpting Paste gets the Scotty C. Flamingo Seal of Approval. Yes, I'll surrender my Man Card now.

At that age

The signs I'm an adult are everywhere.

The gray hairs. Having a mortgage. Being at the same job for more than 10 years. A baby. I accept and celebrate all of them. I like being an adult. I'm comfortable in my skin.

But, sometimes, things happen that make me think "Wow, I'm at that age now."

For example, last night I was surfing REI.com. The outdoors company has everything and anything I could ever possibly need or want. Armed with a 20 percent off coupon, I was going to make a purchase.

I was getting myself something I really wanted. Something I'd circled in a catalog. A new rain jacket, since my is 15 years old. Some new trail runners, since my North Face ones are threadbare. Or some hiking boots, since my Asolos are almost slick soled now. Maybe a tee shirt. Or a new pocket knife.

After 30 minutes on the site, I realized - I didn't really want anything. And I damn sure didn't need anything. That's when it hit me. I'm at that age where I've got enough — perhaps even too much — stuff.

In the end, I wound up getting two plain white Coolmax shirts that I wear as undershirts. I only bought them because my old ones are grungy from years of use.

And a sippy cup for Paige.

L-I-V-I-N'

Obviously Matthew McConaughey thinks baby carriers are all right, all right, all right ...



Jen keeps saying I should wear ours ... mine ... at the IC Carnival next weekend. I keep telling her that's a no go, because if I'm wearing one it's a guarantee that I'll stumble (not fall) while holding a beer. That would lead people to think I was drunk while carrying the baby.

I'd rather push her in the stroller while sipping a beer. Safer for the image that way, I think.

Paige talking

Paige at bedtime

We bought a new video camera tonight. Here's the first video I shot with it.



Thumbs up to The Flip. It's about the size of my iPhone. Imagine the hilarity if we'd all had these on various Party Squad vacations.

Paige

Today at Nana's house ...

Dr. Evil doesn't approve

No, no, we don't gnaw on our (toy) kitty.