Taking a Stand As A Father & Husband

So last night was a serious humdinger. I don't want t trivialize what people in history have done, or take away from their greatness but yesterday I got a small glimpse of what risking everything is for when it comes to doing the right thing.
I have my daughter from 5 to 7pm every Wednesday (among other times) and I cherish that time more than anything. I do not get to spend anytime with her at all normally (in comparison to my ex wife) and so the time that I do get is important beyond words.
I consider my time with my daughter important for the whole family, not just for myself, and my wife should be included in that. Here's the problem though...my ex will not acknowledge her existence in Naomi's life at all. I have been asking for over a year now to have my wife added to the pick up list so that she can pick up my daughter. The reason being that if she can pick her up on Wednesdays at 5pm when I get off work, then I can meet her at the house and end up spending more time with my daughter, instead of sometimes spending an hour simply driving to the daycare to pick her up.
Here is the flip side...my ex's boyfriend is on every pick up list and is allowed to spend as much time picking up and dropping off from daycare as possible. It is simply a control issue with my wife that she needs to have to make herself feel better. So, boyfriend: yes, legal step-mother: no.
So I went to return Naomi at the allotted time last night and as I pulled up to my wife's house I noticed her car wasn't there. When I knocked on the door I was told by her boyfriend that she wasn't there and wasn't expected back until later that night at 10pm.
To cut a long story short, I ended up driving home with Naomi and putting her to bed at my house. The rationale that I used was that if my ex wasn't going to recognize my current wife as a part of Naomi's life, then I certainly wasn't going to recognize her boyfriend. All hell broke loose when she was finished with her appointment, and she threatened me with the police, and I was kidnapping my daughter etc, but I stood my ground, and was fully supported by my wife and my good friend Neal who I called as a sounding board.
I was soooo nervous that the cops were going to be called, but I can honestly tell you I have never felt more 'in the right' in my whole life as I felt last night. It was a liberating don't-fuck-with-my-family-anymore-bitch type of moment that felt great. If needed, I would have gone to jail for it, too. I even called my lawyer when I got home to let him know what I had done.
Below is the email that I sent to my ex last night to explain what I had done...it will make sense when you read it. I have taken out the names to 'protect the innocent' even though I should leave her's in:
-------------------
Dear MY EX,

I wanted to write this email to you for several reasons.

1) I want to document the time I am sending it. It is 9:25pm on Wednesday, September 28th, 2005.

2) I trust your boyfriend, HIS NAME, 110% with MY DAUGHTER'S safety and well being. He and I actually spoke for 15 minutes tonight on the phone.

3) I am assuming by the time you actually read this we will have already interacted by phone and/or in person, but I need to document what I am doing and why, and the time I am doing it.

I have repeatedly, for over a year now, requested that my wife, HER NAME be added to the daycare pick up list. To this day she has not been added, and is not allowed to pick her up. You have yet to come up with a valid reason why she is not on the list, but your boyfriend, HIS NAME is. The only reason you give is that you claim I am not there when it is MY PARENTING time. I have never looked at things as mine or yours as individuals. I think it is our time (me and MY WIFE) and your time (you and YOUR BOYFRIEND). We both have separate families and MY DAUGHTER loves them equally.

You cite ONE time for your reasoning behind MY WIFE not being added, and that was when she went to pick MY DAUGHTER up for TWO hours on "my" regularly scheduled Wednesday, while I was in New York on business. To me, this was perfectly acceptable. She is her step mother and should be allowed to bond with her as much as YOUR BOYFRIEND does. MY DAUGHTER also has a brother here now so the bond is multiplied. I am there for parenting time 99.9% of the time when work allows. My schedule and flights can, if needed, attest to that.

Nevertheless you refuse to acknowledge MY WIFE as any part of MY DAUGHTER'S life that can be trusted. I ask you time and time again for a reason and you cite one example (the NYC trip) which is a terrible injustice to not only <>, but to MY WIFE, too. I cannot believe you would treat her as if she was an outsider. She is not trying to replace you, anymore than YOUR BOYFRIEND is trying to replace me, but you insist on not acknowledging her role.

When I returned at 8pm tonight (I had her for an extra hour as she was sick last week and I never had her, remember) you were not present at the house. I noticed your Suburban was not out front where it normally was. I walked to the steps (MY DAUGHTER remained in the car) and I asked YOUR BOYFRIEND where you were, and he said you were out. Upon inquiring what time you were scheduled to be back, he said 10pm. I simply told him that that was fine and I was leaving with MY DAUGHTER and I would be back later.

Upon further thought on the drive home, and after talking with YOUR BOYFRIEND regarding this matter, and the fact that her bedtime is at 9pm, HE stressed that she needed to be in bed by 9pm. I know that, as that is what time she goes to bed when she stays here. With that said, and the fact that you would not see her anyway when you came home (why wake her up) I decided that she should stay the night here. I will have her at daycare at 8am tomorrow morning as I assume she usually is. "In the best interest of the child" is the phrase of the day, and one I believe in. MY DAUGHTER was actually excited about spending the night here tonight, and is in bed already while I am writing this. If you wish to come and get her out of bed, you may as it is technically 'your' time now, but in the best interest of the child I think it would be better that she stays here for the night and goes from there.

So why am I doing this, you ask?

Well the long and the short of it is rather simple: I am going to start playing by YOUR rules.

I need to make a stand. Not a personal crusade...just a chance at equality for my family with MY DAUGHTER. Trust me, driving away from your house was very nerve-racking for me. My heart was pounding, and I felt bad for YOUR BOYFRIEND, too. But I have my reasons:

Your treatment and alienation of my wife is ridiculous in my eyes. I have never alienated YOUR BOYFRIEND, and have, indeed, encouraged the fact that he is a part of MY DAUGHTER'S life with her. I have returned MY DAUGHTER multiple times to him when he was the only one in the house, and would not have a problem doing so as I trust him. Your previous job at A RETAIL STORE had you working many, many evenings and YOUR BOYFRIEND had plenty of parenting time with her. Did I bat an eyelid? No. I simply returned my daughter to him while it was, in YOUR own words, YOUR parenting time.

You have no idea how upsetting this double standard is. If you even want to play the 'legal card' which you so often do, MY WIFE has a LEGAL bond with MY DAUGHTER (being her legal step mother) that YOUR BOYFRIEND does not have. This is irrelevant in my eyes, but further supports, I believe, my case that MY WIFE should be added to the list.

My last point is this: This will not be a regular thing. Unless I am told otherwise by the court, I will abide by your rules. If you are home I will return MY DAUGHTER to you at the scheduled time. Every time. I will however, not acknowledge YOUR BOYFRIEND as a guardian of MY DAUGHTER, until you begin acknowledging MY WIFE.
Simon

What a Weekend !!!

We had a blast this weekend at our really good friends' wedding. Kimber and Ryan (finally!) got married and had a fantastic wedding and reception. Word to the wise: always, always have a no-cash bar at a wedding reception! We had such a great time, and we took the opportunity to use the night as a date-night and drop off the kids at 'Aunty Jo's' house.

Anyway, the whole night was great and we had a hotel too (thank you, Tracy!!) so we were really able to get away from it all.

Steph got absolutely wasted which was much needed for her. She hasn't got that drunk since before we got pregnant, and so she was a VERY cheap date. She started on the vodka and cokes, and a few hours and 8 drinks later, she was in great spirits. She wasn't the only one, though, as it seemed like our little huddle of friends who were there all had a great time ploughing down the drinks.

The good news was that I had a camera with me, and remained fairly sober as I had to drive, so was able to record the event. Enjoy!

Let's at least start with the happy couple...Kimber truely looked gorgeous and Ryan looked like a stud in his gear, too.


...and now the other happy couple.


All the girls together. From left: Autumn, Besty, Steph, and Darla.


This is what heaven looks like. Or Florida. Greg and Doug.


Okay, big group shot: L - R: Erin, Betsy, Jennifer, Travis, Ryan, Kenny, Kimber, Steph (slightly hidden!), me, Neal and Joey!


Another group effort (from left again): Keith, Aaron, Sara, Darla, Kenny, Ryan, Kari.


and the last one of the girls (an old friend and two news ones): Autumn, Amanda, Joanne, and Steph:


Anyway, as you can see, everyone had a blast, and it was great to see people get together. We met three new 'additions' to the group (Amanda, Joanne, and Aaron), which would be great if they stick around and have some fun in the future.

Did Anyone See "Invasion" Last Night on ABC?

Did anyone stop to see the premier episode of "Invasion" yesterday on ABC?

Aside from being a very interesting show, and one that I could see being a huge hit this season (even with the non-sci-fi geeks like myself!), it also featured a very interesting dynamic between a divorced father and his ex.

For those who didn't watch, the basics of the relationship dynamic were, from what I could get, was that the mother was a doctor, and the father was a park ranger. Both in stable jobs and both, by the nature of that episode, thrown into action mutually by the looming hurricane. Both the mother and the father have separate relationships....the mother is dating a cop, and the father is dating a news reporter.

Anyway, they have two kids together, one boy 15-ish and a girl around 5 years old. I didn't quite get the custody aspect, but during the episode the kids were staying with their father and seemed hostile towards the mother for starting a new relationship. It wasn't explained in the first episode how that came about, but the fact was that they were living with their father and the mother had a visitation schedule going on. Of course, neither the father or the new boyfriend seemed to get along to add to the mix.

What I did get out of the episode was the fact that the mother appeared to be very controlling and "overly" protective of their kids, which was driving the 15 year old boy away from her. The girl, of course, being 5 years old, had rose tinted glasses for both parents.

It was fantastic to finally see a major TV show that actually didn't do the standard "deadbeat dad" routine, and even better still to see them portray the father as the stable one (mentally) and in control while the mother was going whacko!

Of course, towards the end of the show the mother is affected by the alien invasion, and starts to change into one. Strangely, this was not a stretch for me....you should meet my ex-wife!! Ha ha.

Anyway, if you didn't tune in last night, I am sure there is an encore presentation (probably this weekend, check local listings), but I would encourage all of you to watch. I think this could be a small, but VERY WELCOME, change towards fathers getting a 'fair shuot' in TV land...

--------------------------------

http://abc.go.com/primetime/invasion/index.html

The official story about the show is below:

From famed writer/producer Shaun Cassidy ("Cold Case," "American Gothic," "Cover Me") comes a suspenseful tale of a blended family trying to recover from a devastating hurricane and its mysterious aftermath.

For centuries man has searched the skies for signs of intelligent life forms. What if those life forms were already here? And what if some of the natural disasters we've been experiencing of late were merely smokescreens to mask something far more ominous?

For dedicated park ranger Russell Varon (Eddie Cibrian, "Third Watch"), a divorced father of two who is expecting a third child with his new wife, local television reporter Larkin Groves (Lisa Sheridan), the hurricane proves to be merely the beginning of a long journey into the unknown. Always skeptical about the paranoid conspiracy theories of his wayward brother-in-law, Dave (Tyler Labine, ABC's "That Was Then"), Russell may have to revise his thinking when a number of bizarre occurrences start taking place in his community. Though Russell's young daughter, Rose (Ariel Gade), claims to have seen hundreds of lights floating towards the water during the storm, Russell initially dismisses her claim — until he begins to suspect that something is very wrong with his ex-wife, Dr. Mariel Underlay (Kari Matchett, "Angel Eyes"). The morning after the storm, Mariel is found naked in the water — with no memory of what transpired the night before.

As the tiny town of Homestead, Florida struggles to rebuild itself, Sheriff Tom Underlay (William Fichtner, 2005's "The Longest Yard," "Black Hawk Down," "Armageddon," "Go," "Contact") -- who is married to Russell's ex-wife -- suspiciously orders the entire area quarantined. Russell starts to investigate the strange goings on and unknowingly begins a fight for the survival of his family, his community, and what might ultimately be the whole human race.

"Invasion" stars William Fichtner as Sheriff Tom Underlay, Eddie Cibrian as Russell Varon, Lisa Sheridan as Larkin Groves, Kari Matchett as Dr. Mariel Underlay, Tyler Labine as Dave Groves, Evan Peters as Jesse Varon, Ariel Gade as Rose Varon, Alexis Dziena as Kira Underlay and Aisha Hinds as Mona Gomez.

Shaun Cassidy created the series and serves as executive producer. Lawrence Trilling (director – "Alias," "Nip/Tuck," "Scrubs") is co-executive producer and multiple Emmy Award-winning director Thomas Schlamme ("The West Wing," "ER," "Sports Night") is executive consultant. "Invasion" is from Shaun Cassidy Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television Production Inc.

My Epiphany

Well, I had an epiphany last night.

Steph and I were talking about how crazy our lives were and how we seem to be arguing a lot more recently. We have been snapping at each other for silly things, and obviously money is a issue, but not something that should be a problem for us when it comes to arguing.

So then I got to thinking what the overall problem might me. And then, out of nowhere, I got it. I am gay. No, wait....different story. I just thought to myself that we are not taking the time to OURSELVES recently. We have been so absorbed in Jack, and money, and one car, and paying bills, and yada yada, that we have forgotten that we are in fact, married to each other, and our primary goal is to be a family.

Sure the rest of the stuff is a bummer to have floating around, but at the end of the day it is just 'stuff'. Nothing really matters except our health and how we deal with each other.

I love you, and you mean more to me than anything in this world. I love you more and more, everyday.

My Restoration Project

I hopefully will be picking up a truck in Sacramento later next month,

I want to redo the body work on it, and minor mechanical adjustments and then make some money by selling it re-done.

Anyway, here are some pics of the truck I hope to get. A diamond in the rough. I like the fact that the interior is yellow, as I see this truck being a canary yellow, which would cut down on errors inside. It could also be a cherry metallic red. I won't know for sure until I get it in my hands.

This first one is a good side shot, and it was this that actually attracted me to this particular make and model. It has long sweeping curves which makes it ideal for a cool looking truck.


This is obviously the front. The lady in the picture is the current owner. Looks like the two indicators are smashed, so I will need to replace them.


The bed is going to either need some major work, or it is going to just have to be sandblasted and then covered with that rhino covering stuff. I am not going to paint it.


I was also impressed that the interior was in as good a shape as it was. Keeping it in alocation such as Sacramento, where it is always hot, minimizes the moisture, and keeps it from rusting too much. Remember, this truck is 47 years old!


Check out the dash board panel! Old School! Looks like the steering wheel has been replaced (or has a cover) and the seat is in good shape underneath the bench cover.


I also like the step up into the cab. Newer trucks have these on the outside now (usually as part of the running board), but I always liked them on the inside. I have no idea what that hole is in the middle of the door. Perhaps for a speaker? This was undoubtably an after market add-on, so hopefully that won't take too much repair to get rid of it. Fiberglass it in.


Finally, the rear end! Very cool, solid tailgate. It has a chain across the top, as the latches are broken, but apparently that is an easy fix!


So there you have it! Check back with this blog a few months from now and I will try to keep the progress of the blog updated as I go along. I may even start a separate blog just for that!

Cat Gone Wild

This made me chuckle, as I am not the greatest cat lover!

Having One Car Sucks !

Having one car sucks. I mean, it is a means to an end, and the end is in sight, but I had no idea how hard it would be with only one car for my wife and I to get around.

I am getting a truck to restore from Sacramento. It is going to be very cool indeed. It is a 1958 Ford Pickup. I can't wait to get it. It runs well but needs to have the brakes worked on before we can drive it. Slave cylinder I am told. Anyway, Steph went down and saw it and, along with her dad, said it was in good enough shape to restore.

However, until that point, we are down to one car. And it sucks.

Football is a Man's Game!!

From a fan's website...made me laugh...

"I'm feeling all angry about these modern day footballers and I know why they have gone all soft. It's because of poncy names. That's what it is.

Remember the old days when footy players kicked a fucking ball made out of ten pounds of clay stitched inside a steel reinforced leather shell with laces made out of piano wire? Well, in them days, players could only survive the rigours of the game because they were called things like Albert, Arthur, Bert, Harry, Bill, Eddie, Bob,Jack and Tommy. Fucking tough names for tough men them was. And what do we have now? Gareth, Jason, Wayne, Dean, Ryan, Jamie, Robbie. Fucking tarts names they are. Great big fucking poofs. No wonder the ball's like a fucking balloon and shin pads are like slices of bread. In the old days you never saw a Len Shackleton or Billy Wright with a poofy little Sondico piece of paper down his little thin socks. Fucking shin pads in them days was made out of library books and socks was like sackcloth.

Same with jerseys. Fucking shirts with holes in 'em now so they can breathe. Yes, and so Jamie's hairless chest can breathe and he doesn't get a chill. Fuck off. Stanley Matthews used to dribble round Europe's finest wearing a fucking tent and shorts cobbled together from the jacket of his demob suit. Aye he bloody did. No wonder players fall over whenever an opponent comes near them. And they never used to show their arses at one another either. Can you imagine what might have happened if Don Revie had flashed his ring at Nat Lofthouse during a City-Bolton Wanderers game? He'd have got one of them size 13 hobnail fuckers up his chuff.

Fucking therapy for stress my arse! Stan Colleymore slaps his missus about and he takes three seasons off with stress counselling. What is that all about? In the old days, it was expected for footballers to belt the old sow about a bit, especially after a bad defeat. And the old women used to expect it and so they should have, they was lucky to be married to footballers.

Ernie McShi** of Port Vale got run over with a horse and cart one Friday night and still he turned out against Bradford the next day And he scored two goals. That's cos he didn't have a poof name. Good old Ernie. It is said he broke his hip, both legs, murdered his wife and buried her under the patio and still made the England team for the home internationals. Did he have any stress counselling? Did he bollocks! And drugs? There was none of that in the old days. Oh no. In them days it
was a quick shot of morphine before the kick off and you was lucky if you got that. By half time it had all but wore off so they pumped you full of Laudanum. None of this cocaine sniffing and shooting up class A narcotics.

Goal celebrations. Don't talk to me about goal celebrations. Crawling on the
floor and thrusting their hips at the crowd. Huh, I'd have liked to have seen Cliff Bastin do that after a run down the left flank and crossing for Alex James to fire home a winner. Handshakes, that was all you got. That and a wank in the showers afterwards. But it was a proper wank....all man stuff. None of these poofy wanks between blokes that you get nowadays with players like Graeme Le Saux and Stephen Gerrard. Allegedly. It was just a harmless bit of spanking the plank among healthy young sportsmen.

Sixty grand a fucking week! Ha! I wouldn't pay 'em tuppence. Two bob is what
Tommy Lawton used to get....a month! And Tom Finney still worked as a plumber four days a week when he was playing for England. Its true you know. Players had to work them days just to make up their money. Not like today. Stan Pearson had to clean sewers and doubled up as the Old Trafford shithouse cleaner. He had to go off during one game because a log jam had built up and blocked the "U" bend. And that Eddie Lapgood, he was a male model, though he never liked to talk about it.

So I say we start calling kids real male names again. If you're having a kid don't even consider a poofy name like what people call their kids these days. Otherwise, what are we gonna get in twenty years time? The England team full of players called Ronan,Keanu, Ashley and fucking Chesney. Fuck that, call your kids Herbert, Len, Fred and Wilf and lets get the poofs out of the game once and for all!"

Some interesting facts...

The World Is Strange

In the 1400's a law was set forth that a man was not allowed to beat his wife with a stick no thicker than his thumb. Hence we have "the rule of thumb".

Many years ago in Scotland, a new game was invented. It was ruled "Gentlemen Only...Ladies Forbidden"...and thus the word GOLF entered into the English language.

The first couple to be shown in bed together on prime time TV were Fred and Wilma Flintstone.

Every day more money is printed for Monopoly than the US Treasury.

Men can read smaller print than women can; women can hear better.

Coca-Cola was originally green.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

The State with the highest percentage of people who walk to work: Alaska

The percentage of Africa that is wilderness: 28% (now get this...). The percentage of North America that is wilderness: 38%

The cost of raising a medium-size dog to the age of eleven: $6,400

The average number of people airborne over the US any given hour: 61,000

Intelligent people have more zinc and copper in their hair.

The first novel ever written on a typewriter: Tom Sawyer.

The San Francisco Cable cars are the only mobile National Monuments.

Each king in a deck of playing cards represents a great king from history:
Spades - King David
Hearts - Charlemagne
Clubs -Alexander, the Great
Diamonds - Julius Caesar

111,111,111 x 111,111,111 = 12,345,678,987,654,321 wow!!

If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in the air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in the air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

Only two people signed the Declaration of Independenceon July 4th, John Hancock and CharlesThomson. Most of the rest signed on August 2, but the last signature wasn't added until 5 years later.

In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase......... "goodnight, sleep tight."

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride's father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month . which we know today as the honeymoon.

In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts... So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them "Mind your pints and quarts, and settle down." It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

Many years ago in England, pub frequenters had a whistle baked into the rim, or handle, of their ceramic cups. When they needed a refill, they used the whistle to get some service. "Wet your whistle" is the phrase inspired by this practice.

Q. Half of all Americans live within 50 miles of what?
A. Their birthplace

Q. Most boat owners name their boats. What is the most popular boat name requested?
A. Obsession

Q. If you were to spell out numbers, how far would you have to go until you would find the letter "A"?
A. One thousand

Q. What do bulletproof vests, fire escapes, windshield wipers, and laser printers all have in common?
A. All invented by women.

Q. What is the only food that doesn't spoil?
A. Honey

Q. Which day are there more collect calls than any other day of the year?
A. Father's Day



~~~~~~~~~AND FINALLY~~~~~~~~~~~~
At least 75% of people who read this will try to lick their elbow

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg.The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid Aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can
sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe. Amzanig huh?

Austin's First Birthday Party

As promised, here are the pictures of the little munchkin's first birthday party!

It was cool to see him dive into his cake, and eat it. The rest are just us messing around!

Young Man with his new hiarcut!


Having Your Cake and Eating It, Too


More Disgracefulness


Dad Getting in on the action


Nimmer also getting in on the action


Madison striking a pose...

Old Picture of Naomi

Check out this picture of Naomi when she was about six months old.

So friggin' cute!!!!


Now look at this picture of Jack...tell me they are not the same looking...

Yes, I'm A Bad American

By: George Carlin (and I couldn't agree more with him!)

I Am Your Worst Nightmare. I am a BAD American. I am
George Carlin.

I believe the money I make belongs to me and my
family, not some mid level governmental functionary be
it Democratic or Republican!

I'm in touch with my feelings and I like it that way,
damn it!

I think being a minority does not make you noble or
victimized, and does not entitle you to anything.

I believe that if you are selling me a Big Mac, try to
do it in English.

I think fireworks should be legal on the 4th of July.

I think that being a student doesn't give you any more
enlightenment than working at Blockbuster. In fact, if
your parents are footing the bill to put your pansy
ass through 4 years plus of college, you haven't begun
to be enlightened.

I believe everyone has a right to pray to his or her
God when and where they want to.

My heroes are John Wayne, Babe Ruth, Roy Rogers, and
whoever canceled Jerry Springer.

I don't hate the rich. I don't pity the poor.

I know wrestling is fake and I don't waste my time
arguing about it.

I think global warming is a big lie. Where are all
those experts now, when I'm freezing my ass off during
these long winters and paying, paying, paying?

I've never owned a slave, or was a slave, I didn't
wander forty years In the desert after getting chased
out of Egypt. I haven't burned any witches or been
persecuted by the Turks and neither have you! So,
shut-the-Hell-up already.

I want to know which church is it exactly where the
Reverend Jesse Jackson practices, where he gets his
money, and why he is always part of the problem and
not the solution. Can I get an AMEN on that one? (I LOVED this one)

I think the cops have every right to shoot your sorry
ass if you're running from them.

I also think they have the right to pull your ass over
if you're breaking the law, regardless of what color
you are.

And, no, I don't mind having my face shown on my
drivers license. I think it's good.....and I'm proud
that "God" is written on my money. I think if you are
too stupid to know how a ballot works, I don't want
you deciding who should be running the most powerful
nation in the world for the next four years.

I dislike those people standing in the intersections
trying to sell me crap or trying to guilt me into
making "donations" to their cause. These people should
be targets.

...and my personal favorite...

I believe that it doesn't take a village to raise a
child, it takes TWO parents.

Way to go George...

Guys vs. Girls

Friendship among women: A woman doesn't come home one night. The next day she tells her husband she slept over at a friend's house. The man calls his wife's 10 best friends. None of them knows about it.

Friendship among men: A man doesn't come home one night. The next day he tells his wife he slept over at a friend's house. The woman calls her husband's 10 best friends. Eight of them say he did sleep over, and two claim he's still there.

More Pics of the Kids

Here are some more of the kids...just chilling around the house...

This one was cute, taken last night.


I took this one, and then had to retake it as the flash ruined it. I think this came out much better as you can see.


Here is Jack just after taking a bath, with mommy of course.


More to come! It is Austin's first birthday today, so I will post some from the party!

Congrats!!!

Neal and Heather had a baby boy !!!

He is soooo cute. His name is Niles Robert Bauer, and he was almost identical to Jack when born! He was a 1/4" longer and 1oz lighter.

We went to see them in the hospital this morning and Heather is doing so well it is unbelievable. She looked so good. Anyway, we hung out for an hour and then left to give them some time to themselves!

Such a cute family! Congrats, guys!

Last Day With Naomi

Not writing much today. It is a sad day.
Today is the last day of the summer holidays from a parenting perspective, so Naomi goes home today, and I will back on the every other weekend crap.
I'll write more tomorrow.