Dave: “What are the percentage chance I get to sleep in until 10?”
Jenn: “0”
Dave: “9?”
Jenn: “0”
Dave: “8?”
Jenn: “0”
Dave: “7?”
Jenn: “30 percent”
Dave: “6?”
Jenn: “50 percent”
Dave: “5?”
Jenn: “80 percent”
Dave: “11 tonight?”
Jenn: “Oh that’s pretty good, 95 at least”
Dave: “oh that sounds good”
Veteran’s Day
Veteran’s Day has always been a holiday of mixed emotions for me. I’ve always been confused why Americans celebrate the hard sacrifices of our veterans by taking the day off but I hope everyone did take a moment to reflect on the meaning of the day.
As many know, I lost my best friend in Iraq. The loss of my friend Tim does weigh heavily on me at times but not when you might expect. I thought about Tim today, sure, but today’s reverence was to all our men and women who’re continuing Tim’s mission to keep us safe. Today, my emotional defenses were on high guard. It’s usually when I least expect it; a wrestling match with Ryan or a trip past Toll Gate, where I get caught with my guard down. All of that is good though. There’s a reason why our Ryan Timothy shares Tim’s name. Someday I’ll share with our little guy the story of a brotherly bond with a true hero.
Poop
Did you know that, according to George Carlin, there are 700,000 words in the English language? Ryan knows six. Momma, Daddy, Hi (his favorite), uh-oh, ouch and now poop. Changing his diaper this morning, Ryan was kind enough to share his new word along with one of the nastier supportive visuals. I’m so surprised how proud i was that he shared his expanding vocabulary. These are definitely exciting times but Here’s to hoping his next word is “fillet” or “cash”.
How To Make A Bad Day Good
I had a particularly tough day at work today. Things just didn’t seem to get on track and there were a dozen or so different people who wanted a piece of me today. I did the best I could to exhibit patience and understanding even when others were not so kind.
This blog has grown over the last year into something fun and entertaining (at least to myself) and the fact that I just crossed over my 1500th visit is pretty cool. At least a few of you are enjoying it also since there are close to 100 people who’re coming back at least twice a week and there are at least ten new visitors each week (mostly through emailed posts). So, with all of this increased traffic there are at least a few of you who can relate to the kind of day I’ve had.
So, after a long day, I sit down to collect my thoughts and think about the day and realize there’s always one pick-me-up I can turn to for a smile. It happens to be the smile of one Ryan Timothy Austin. Honestly, everyone go ahead and bookmark this page so that when you’re stressed you can look at this and get some relief. I might also try jumping in a pile of leaves… looks like fun.
I’m not ready….
I’m not ready. I thought I was but I’m not. It’s so awful that I can’t even fathom another season and yet it’s here. Winter! As I slipped and slid my monster wheels around town tonight I felt this sudden urge to move south to say, um, Brazil? Ryan got a kick out of the snow which gave me a brief repose from my misery. I suppose it would be like a subway rat taking a small rest on the third rail, certainly painful and unforgettable….except to the rat of course.
Fall is…
Fall is far and away my favorite season. For years Fall was the time where I’d literally run free across acres and miles as a competitive runner. Now, fifty pounds later, Fall is the warm taste of apple pie. I have yet to find a rival to my mom’s pie, however Dunkin’ Donuts has called my name from it’s satanic drive-thru more than once this fall.
So, as Fall begins to wind down, I have once again been reminded of the fare I must surrender to ride this wonderful journey through beautiful colors and crisp non-allergenic air. That reminder came this week by the thousands all over my yard.
I hate dead leaves. Picking these up has never been fun and I’m constantly amazed by all of the contraptions designed to make this job easier when, in fact, the job can’t be made easy.
This year’s first raking session brought something different. I had help! Yes, Jenn helped but we had a third indentured servant to help us, and though he wasn’t too efficient, he was fun! What our little landscaper lacked in abilities he more than made up for with laughter. Pile after pile of leaves scattered under the weight of his massive 20 pounds and the leaf bags didn’t stand a chance against his persistence. It was cute and made the time go faster, no doubt. These are the times I’m so happy our little dude is with us, though I’d like to see him use a rake next year and start earning his keep.
Location:Sylvia Ln,Schenectady,United States
Things That Go Bump In The Morning
I have a surprise for you. Ryan didn’t sleep again last night. He was up for about 10 minutes each hour from 1am to 5am. So, when at 5am he continued his screaming we decided we’d just let him cry for awhile to see if he’d soothe himself back to sleep. Instead, after about five minutes we heard a loud “thump” followed by some irritated crying. You can guess what happened. In .000000001 seconds, Jenn had flown out of bed (without touching the ground) and rushed into his room. There, we found our little man lying on the floor and crying. After taking a moment to make sure he hadn’t broken anything and checking his eyes for signs of a concussion, we picked him up and gave him a big hug. He immediately started playing with the fan that’s in his room. This leads me to three thoughts. First, I’m still amazed at how well kids bounce. Secondly, I’m amazed at how fast kids recover from injury and lastly, it’s time to figure out how to lower this crib to its last notch. I’m pretty sure this is not the last time that our little monkey figures out a way to get out. I guess there goes another two years off my life.I’m Tired
The other night I was browsing around the iPhone app store when I happened upon an interesting application. It was an alarm clock that promised to measure your sleep patterns throughout the night and then offered to wake you up to a half hour before you needed to wake up based on how strongly you were sleeping. I’ll admit, I was sceptical and not sure I wanted to be woken up any earlier than I needed to be. So now, three days into this experiment, I can say that, while it’s pleasant to wake up to the calming sounds of the alarm clock, I’m still as tired as ever. I’m not really sure I needed an alarm clock app to tell me that I’m tired. Technology has its place in my life (a very big one) but I think this is proof that it’s not always necessary. By the way, can you guess from the picture how many times Ryan was awake last night?
Gotta Have Faith
Just a quick thought on this one. When was the last time you tried something completely daring and new AND trusted someone would save you if you failed? It’s been a long time for me. I think I’m going to go to bed now. Perhaps I’ll try crawling up the stairs…
Excuse Me, The Hulk Can’t Hear You
Today was Ryan’s 2nd Halloween but really the first he was cognitively aware of what was going on. Halloween holds a special place in my heart. One particularly fond memory was 4th or 5th grade when my dad and I spent hours in our basement perfecting the perfect costume. We took great pains to mold cardboard and plastic together to make none other than Mr. Peanut. I remember being so excited to show this off to my friends. It was really clever and most certainly unique. My dreams of flaunting my cool costume came to a screeching halt, however, when I met my friend Tim to hit the neighborhood. Tim, in all his cleverness, had been able to finagle a costume that made him look like a shower. A freakin’ shower! Unbelievable! To this day I remember the shock come over my whole being as I saw this amazing costume complete with the curtain and shower head. After a few minutes though I got over it and we hit the town. There was not a better Mr. Peanut and Shower in all of Bethlehem.
So Anyway, I digress. Halloween was always a great time as a youngster and I see no reason why this tradition won’t be fun again with our little candy collector busy at work. Last night we had a few friends stop by for some good food, pumpkin ale and to watch our children run around like crazy, although too young to know what was going on, it seemed as if they could almost sense the excitement in the air. It was as if they knew they should be excited but didn’t now why. Perhaps I’m reading too much into this though. I think, at their age, these guys find excitement in about everything they see and do. Pretty cool. I’m jealous!
Ry and Coop Dot Com 