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06 Oct 2013

Ol’ buddy, ol’ Chum, ol’ pal….

I wanted to send a quick update on our dog situation.

The last time I brought him up, Chum or Chummy, was a well-mannered, friendly dog but with a growing urge to growl or even bite when he felt his space or freedom was being threatened.

Well the good news is he has stopped all that. (it looks like) We haven’t heard a story of him growling in 3 weeks. I think he is feeling more and more like a part of the family. And Dylan is a big reason why.

While we considered returning Chum to the greyhound adoption group, mom knew that would be hard on Dylan. She had already become attached to him.

I guess we all have our first favorite pet, one that we could call ours.

And so its been with Dylan and Chummy. When she gets up, she doesn’t get us up any more. She wants to feed and play with Chum. She is the first to let him out of his crate when we return from a trip. She hangs on him and loves on him, sometime too hard I feel. But Chummy hasn’t resisted.

So this past Friday, Dylan had one of those adorable outfits on from one of her special Grandmothers. Mom and I each thought it super cute that we reached for our cameras about the same time before D. was to hop in my car and jet off to school.

Well, Dylan felt too shy for all the fuss that early in the morning and hid.

Knowing she really does enjoy the hoopla of looking cute (like most girls I imagine) I suggested, “why don’t we take a picture of Chum and, Dylan, if you want to, you can stand beside him.”

You know what? It worked.

She really doesn’t mind the attention from looking cute…

She came out and stood beside ‘her dog’

And I say that as that is what mom suggested the other day. She remarked about how much D. loves that dog and how it is really HER dog (not mine).

Come on, strike a pose…

…she doesn’t mind one bit and will actually ‘ham it up’ for the camera sometimes.

Its funny, Dylan will lie down on the living room rug in hopes that Chum will lay down beside her so she can pet and cuddle with him.

Instead, when Dylan lays on her back Chum will go and stand over top of her, front feet on one side and back feet on the other, making a bridge over her.

And that’s what dogs do, right?

If a dog is feeling threatened of surrendering to a big dog they lay on their back and flash their belly. Its a sign, ‘I give up’.

I think Chum sees Dylan laying on the ground and stands over her to protect her. He doesn’t look down at her when he does this, he looks at us. Its really touching to see.

I think she gets great enjoyment out of it. And who wouldn’t?

And that my friends is the happy face that hops in my car and goes off to school for another challenging day of Kindergarten. And then she will run in the door and give her dog a hug when she returns.

Forgive the bravado blog readers but friends and family would like to know she has gotten a ‘green smiley face’ every day of school so far; and indication of their behavior in class. Five green smiley faces in a row allows them to pick from a treasure chest at the end of the week.

She has been placed in the first grade computer class and has passed two reading tests so far that qualify her for the second level of three levels in first grade reading.

Its only the beginning as there is really very few things she can’t read. ~We have to be careful what we leave laying around the house now a she will pick up on it. She read through the church bulletin this morning with our friends that sit beside us.

And I am working with her on math. I imagine she above level there as well.

On a separate note, I am still doing good, feeling great. The side effects of my procedure are about the same. Its all a matter of managing ‘life’ right now. Although all the literature I read said side effects (mostly urinary) really don’t kick in until after 2 weeks of the procedure, which was this past week. If the incontinence was supposed to start at all, it would be now. But I have had none of that

I have to admit, for someone that has had their fair share of beers in the past, having a sudden urge to go is nothing new. I now have had to eliminate my Mountain Dews in the mornings as a way to cope in hope of preventing any soggy bottoms in the afternoons. Ah,actually, later that same morning. Cause I am a man of constant, ah………..sorrows…

Have a great week everyone!

Whatcha wearing for Trick or Treat?

Posted in Archives and tagged Chum, Dylan, gotta pee!, incontinence, mountan dew, soggy bottoms

26 Sep 2013

22 Comments

I humbly accept this award…

There come a time in a person’s life, or at least there should, when everything you have been shown, everything you have been taught, the great instincts you have get validated as ‘the Best’. And that moment came for me tonight.

“I want to thank my family, my wife, friends who have been there for me and of course those two amazing girls…

But first, the commercial for this weekend in a new season of 3D. I was planning on doing an update about my procedure this weekend. Briefly, so far it has been great. I feel great! I feel normal. I feel the same as pre-radiation seeds in my belfry.

Oh yes, there have been some moments. Graphic Ones! And you’ll get all them this weekend.

This procedure has put the thrill back in pee’ing. And when I walk past the refrigerator my belly has followed its urge to stick on the door. And you can get all this and more this weekend as I continue to butter up my doctors and to avoid paying that whole huge bill! ~You would think at 95 seeds I could get a bulk discount?

Back to my moment….

Yes, my validation of greatness came, in of all places, our area grocery store, the Bi Lo. Let me set the stage…

We arrived at the store and the girls immediately spotted a bright blue police car shopping cart in the parking lot. And it was clean!

So one by one I picked each one up and put them in their seats as fast as I could (i.e. radiation and holding the kids).

We were on a mission to obtain essential beverages to make it through to the end of the week; namely milk, orange juice and apple juice.

Well I put the girls in and wheeled the cart around in the parking lot outside. I almost encroached on an on coming car but she saw I had kids in the cart and waved me on.

Being appreciative of the nice driver, and not wanting to take up her time with my neglect, I pushed the police car / shopping cart into gear and ran to the edge of the parking lot, slowing up to make a graceful entrance into the Bi Lo.

The girls love this of course as every time I put them in a shopping cart they say, “Daddy go fast!”

Once inside I reminded the girls of our mission and that we dared not take any breaks to look at ice cream, cereal, party balloons, or stickers.

The cold beverage aisle was at the far end of the store so we walked calmly down to that end, pretending to let the girls actually steer the police car with their steering wheels.

We make it to the top of the refrigerated section and ‘Bam‘ right there was some orange juice. ~shopping is so easy!

We secured some and then looked for the milk section, spotting it at the other end of the aisle.

But first we had to navigate a family that left a full shopping cart on one side and three heavy people looking at bread on the opposite side, completely ignoring there was another cart coming down the aisle.

I leaned down and whispered to the girls, “hold on, this might be tricky” as we steered slowly towards the shoppers.

I reminded the girls to “steer the cart straight and watch out for the other shoppers” as we slowly navigated the gauntlet.

I smiled at everyone as we drove past, gave a ‘homecoming queen’ wave to the little one stuck in their cart and then shifted up the next gear as we cleared the family.

Now the only things in our way to securing some milk and running home was 30 yards of open aisle and a young couple keeping to them self along the cheese section.

So I made some race car sounds and broke into a jog with the cart. I pretended to ‘fishtail’ the cart like a car on a dirt road down the aisle.

I told the girls, “come on keep it straight, keep it straight don’t hit anything” as we swerved closer to the milk.

The girls were laughing hysterically and I made more varooo- varoom sounds when it happened.

What do you think happened?

The young girl that was holding hands with the other long-haired fella in our aisle said to her mate, “There goes the coolest Dad ever!”

Did you get that?

THE COOLEST DAD EVER!

I gave her a side glance out of the corner of my eye and a quick itty-bitty smile in an attempt to say “Thank you” after we found our milk and started for the registers.

Finally, after all that training, and all the reading, and coaching, and reminding….I had my validation (which I knew all along)….Coolest Dad EVER.

I’ll sleep good tonight…

I don’t know how I would have felt if I would have heard “Coolest Grandpa”..again

Riding in the back of a limo at 3 months...you'll never guess where we are going?

Hopping in the back of a limo at 3 months…you’ll never guess where we are going? I didn’t even know these guys!

Posted in Archives and tagged BMOC, cool dad, no the fat free milk, wardrobe malfunction, watch out for the chip display

03 Sep 2013

12 Comments

Domino College

I know I am going to get a lot of hate mail on this, but this is what works.

I played this song in the car Sunday night on the way to dinner.

It appears Dylan may know some of the words and so Mom looked at ME and just rolled her eyes (never a good sign in my family) like its all my fault or something.

The significance of Domino College?

It is a frequent song I play for Dylan when I take her to school. (don’t hate)

Shhhhh. And Dylan knows some of the words to the song too as Mom found out Sunday night.

You know, contrary to the glossy exteriors I present when telling stories of our girls, they aren’t always sugar and spice, they DON’T always want to listen and cooperate.

It’s true!

Hard to believe but it is true.

So when Dylan climbs in my car in the morning for the ride back to school and she is crying or doesn’t want to go…or she is still hungry…or she wants me to go back and get her blanket, or her bunny or her bear and she cries, I somehow navigate the CD player to where this song comes on and we sing, “Back To School”.

And we sing when the backup singers sing,

“going back, back to school”.

And “Working vacation in for a Kindergarten education…back to school”.

And I do the hand gestures from the video and then Dylan sings along and smiles.

And we carry on and have some fun on the way to school. She enjoys singing along as she is now, ‘going back to school’.

And she always walks into school in a good mood and a smile.

“Come on back to school“

Does it bother ~~Mom~~ me that she knows some of the words to this song?

Nah. Most of this song is beyond her experience and her perception.

OH wait!

This is Dylan we are talking about!

The other night at the dinner table Dylan calls her sister and looks out the window and just says, “Spider.”

Skylar looks at the window for a spider and then Mom and I do too. We didn’t see any spider.

After a few minutes I said, “Dylan where is there a spider? None of us see a spider?”

She nods towards the window with a smile and says, “Spider.”

Here, across the street, where they are doing new construction in vacant a lot, in front of the lot sat a white plumbing van.

Anyone wanna guess the name of the plumbing company?

That’s right, Spider. There wasn’t a single picture of one, just the word…Spider. She had us all fooled.

Good one Dylan!

So what of her sister? Do you think she is traveling down this path of kidding and joking and other tom-foolery?

(sigh)

I must be a terrible parent as this 3 year old has become a little rock and roll groupie. Its true

Know what I mean? No?

Take a look…

Now WHERE did she get that from? I didn’t teach her that!

I have my work cut out for me, don’t I?

Posted in Archives and tagged back to school, boarding school, DOMINO COLLEGE, oh yea, rock and roll, snakes, spider, what next?

02 Sep 2013

14 Comments

Another one bites the dust

Is it too late too get a little tropical yet this great Holiday weekend?

Click on the video, turn it up, kick off those shoes and come on…

Its really easy…

easy peasy..

Actually I want to help celebrate a birthday today.

Anyone that knows me knows I am not good with dates and b-days but this one has to be recognized and celebrated.

Yes, a young lady I know turns 50 today.

And she ain’t happy about it!

I can empathize, I remember it wasn’t a great day for me either.

She’s so anxious about the Big Five-Oh she actually started to write about it, Swimming To My 50’s.

Yes, by this age ol’ brown eye is a pretty good writer and doesn’t mind sharing some of her growing pains( we all have these by now and they only get worse), badges of honor, and secret cocktails she uses for mid-age survival (by prescription only)

She claims she was not going to do anything on her birthday, not get out of bed, do internet, not bathing, no deodorant (I asked her to reconsider there). But I had one ~~gift~~ suggestion for her…

She has a weakness for the Salsa (dancing not the condiment) and so I dusted off the ol’ ballroom dancing shoes, worked on my ‘Latin motion’, and asked to save one last salsa dance for me.

So while I am listening to the Pineapple Song and practicing my ‘movement below the waist’ here in anticipation for our dance (my dog is really looking at me funny), I want to encourage you to click on over to her blog and wish her a very HAPPY 50th birthday.

But first….

Let’s have a moment of silence.

Those of you that are past your 50’s already can tell her all the great things to look forward to…make some up if you need to.

Those that are still a few B-days away can just …well this will be you some day.. (smile)

…so Very Happy Birthday my friend!

I’m still older than you…

Here was my solution to fix the Birthday Blues

Posted in Archives

25 Aug 2013

29 Comments

If only….

I was thinking Sunday night, after we put the girls to bed, if only there was a beer, or ~~whine~~ wine, or a tequila that tasted like….

Banana Pudding!

I absolutely love banana pudding, which helped to make Sunday so great. But I’ll get back to that.

This past weekend, Sunday included, was a To-Do list type of weekend. I really need to get some things done around the house because after my procedure in 3 weeks I won’t be much good at anything for awhile.

So Sunday, the bulk of the day revolved around yard work, organizing the garage some more and finding the stink in my car (long story)

Sunday turned out to be a beautiful day, weather wise, with a cool breeze blowing from the north. So I jumped on the ~~Honey~~ To Do list right after lunch.

The comfortable temperatures allowed me to make super fast times and so, not wanting to waste a great weather Sunday, asked Mom if I should fill up our two old kiddie pools for the girls when they get up from their naps.

She gave me a nod and it was on.

Like I said, we have two. We had one but Aunt Sue thought we could use another. So stopping short of giving each of the girls their own pool I became a little creative with these small pools and decided to make a ~~giant~~ water slide with the second one

Hoped its big enough

Dylan was the first one up. She was very open to playing outside in the water and so we jumped and splashed and squirted each other for awhile. The dog did not escape the mayhem either.

We could fire a stream of water at him and he would light up around our yard, like only greyhounds can do. I literally was scared, he was going so fast in our small confined back yard.

At one point he decided to change his circle around our backyard and cut in front of the above swing set, leaping over the extended hose at one end of the swing set and soaring past the blue wading pool beneath the sliding board at the other end.

Yes, in one stretch his momentum and powerful back legs let him leap literally from one end of the swing set to the other without breaking stride. I was in awe.

Skylar was up by now. Mom had dressed her in yet another darling swim suit. Thanks Grandmas!

This one was too cute! It was a little yellow and black striped one piece. She looked like a bumble bee!

Can you see the little wings on her Bee swimsuit?

I asked her if she was a bumble bee.

She said, “No! I’m a super hero!”

I asked, “Who are you then?”

She said “Super Beee. Bzzzzzzzz!”

I’m going to sting you!

Dylan has always been our daredevil. And she had gone down the baby waterside several times already, before Skylar woke from her nap. But I thought the slide was just Skylar’s size. So I asked her ‘How about it? Want to give it a try?’

And she looked it over, gave it some thought and walked right up those steps and had at it!

From that point on it was just a great wet and warm summer afternoon. The girls wet slid and splashed and squirted and laughed and chased. Typical kid stuff on the back end of naps on a wonderful summer afternoon.

Yes, Chum leaped over both pools in one giant stretch, but not while the girls had the hose out

Here is a quick window into the afternoon as Dylan shows you her Gabby Douglas type skills while Skylar shows you the true meaning of ‘Chillin’ by the pool‘ at our house…

We had a great little afternoon after naps. Everyone was out enjoying the favorable temps, getting in on the fun, and sun or just chillin’ in their own way…..ah…..ah…

Will someone bring me a menu? I’d like to place an order…

Even Chum found time to soak up some shade and just ‘be’ in his new home….

But eventually the shadows got a little longer in our backyard and the tummies got a bit emptier.

So Mom wrangled the girls upstairs to get baths for school in the morning while I was left with the task of dinner.

The hour was a bit late to go out so I just went with our outdoor summer theme.

I ran down to the local Piggly Wiggly and bought something for a cookout so we could eat outside.

Now if you know the stories behind our girls, you can’t really say cookouts are part of their heritage but summer cookouts were a big part of my growing up and so I tried a ~~cheap~~ fast all-American version of it…Hot Dogs, Coleslaw, and (my favorite) Banana Pudding.

Skylar screams, “Happy Pool Day!” as we celebrated the simple fun we had that day at dinner.

This afternoon no one cried, or played hours on the phone, or stole the other’s doll. Just good clean fun.

And no one saw Daddy steal seconds of the banana pudding, right out of the container, while the girls were upstairs getting stories read to them before nighttime either.

Gosh I really love this stuff! If only…..

“Hey Dylan? What are you doing here? I thought you were reading upstairs. What? You want some too?”

Have a great end-of-summer week everyone!

Oh yea, here is my new favorite commercial that I told you about last week…