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Friday, December 31
Creature of Habit
by
Tom
on Fri 31 Dec 2004 09:30 AM PST
Like last year (and the year before that and the year before that) we're having a small New Year's Eve party tonight. There are very few child-friendly celebrations and since all of my friends have kids we've tried to make this a traditional [relatively] safe place to ring in the new year. Also like last year my keg was too full to trade in but too low to sustain tonight's party so I had a few neighbors over to kill the keg. Also also like last year I ended up bald. I wasn't going to do it this year because of the cold but my hair was getting out of control so I called on my personal barber (Darin) and we did the deed. No good pictures this year for some reason but I put up one of the blurry photos just for proof of the evening's existence.
Tuesday, December 28
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Tue 28 Dec 2004 06:01 PM PST
Update on Ben's Pneumonia
by
Tom
on Tue 28 Dec 2004 11:40 AM PST
I'm sure you're all sitting at the edge of your chair waiting to hear an update on Ben's condition. I'm happy to report that he is doing much better despite my Christmas day judgement failure. He is strong enough to knock out some wicked-powerful coughs and is no longer using his neck muscles to assist in his breathing. In fact he is healthy enough to be quite cranky though he does try to smile and clap his hands to give us all a sneak peak into what we can expect when he is fully recovered. Thanks to all who have written with notes of encouragement and support.
Monday, December 27
Update to Christmas Notes
by
Tom
on Mon 27 Dec 2004 09:39 AM PST
I've put up a bunch of the Christmas pictures in the December 2004 album. A couple of notable ones below. I've not yet had time to give captions to the pictures.
From left to right: 1. Ben powering through his illness to play with one of his new toys. 2. Go-kart and motorcycle-ish thing for Matt's family. 3. Poor capture of the outta control wagon aftermath. Sunday, December 26
Crazy Christmas Notes To Self
by
Tom
on Sun 26 Dec 2004 10:41 PM PST
Christmas morning Ben had pneumonia and was a little out of it but with the help of some alternating doses of Tylenol and Motrin he managed several bursts of excitement throughout the day (something I would later regret). Abigail did not want to get out of bed, a sharply contrasting attitude from the night before when she couldn't wait for Santa to show up. When she did finally get up she didn't want to open any presents, looking almost too shy to participate. She finally opened up and began to open up, the gifts.
After a few hours of family time (Kerri's parents and all of us) we ventured outside to hang with some neighbors and their kids and some of the new toys. The boys across the street got a go-kart and a motorcycle-ish thing. Most of the parents took turns running up and down the street. I'll get some pictures up later. The key thing to remember for later is that 15 people were hanging out in the drivesways and the middle of our dead-end street. My garage door was up with the Laker game on and a few beers poured from the tap. It was all very fun but fairly quiet. Ben continued his bursts of energy. Later in the day we were getting ready to go to my Mom's place for a larger family dinner and I got outside to put Kerri's phone in the vehicle when an old Ford station wagon came racing down the hill doing what appeared to be 60MPH. He took my corner and headed up the hill but as he rounded the corner the vehicle took a couple of hammer-type bounces and killed the motor. He made it a couple hundred yards up the street when his car stopped and started heading back down the hill in reverse. By the time it got back to its original corner he was moving pretty darn fast. He decided to take it but of course there was a car coming down. The wagon swerved to miss the car (unbelievable!) but there was a parked truck on the side so he swerved again, again at a very high rate of speed. He somehow turned the wheel hard and fast enough to swing his front end which took out Darin's brickhouse mailbox and finally slammed backwards into a motorhome that was parked on the street for the day. This guy had to be under the influence of something or was running from something or both. The car that he almost hit turned out to be following the wagon. He had apparently just taken out a small tree before jamming up my street. I didn't know if the driver was hurt or anyone else who might have been in his path had been hit so I called 911. Pretty soon there was a fire truck and 4 police cars on the scence. I had to leave soon after talking to folks about the events but when I returned I was told that the driver got to call a buddy and go home. He had been driving on a suspended license and had no insurance. I guess Darin and the owner of the motor home are out of luck. If it were me, I'd be rotting in jail right now. But that's a different issue. It terrifies me to think about what would have happened if the guy had come by a little earlier when the neighbors were all in the street -- There would have been at least a couple of bodies littering the area and I imagine the driver would have eventually been one of them. Anyways, scary shit. At Mom's place we (30 of us) read the story of the birth Christ and minutes later had children tearing into gifts. Ben did remarkably well, mostly because he already knows how to rip paper apart but also because he had this crazy amount of energy available for a little boy with pneumonia. I started to wonder if the doctor had diagnosed him correctly as did some of my siblings. But when we got home I realized the rather large error in my judgement. Not only did he crash and burn from an energy standpoint, his breathing degraded terribly. He was so excited with all of the people and fun things to do that he powered through (with the help of his Motrin dose) and used every last bit of umpf! that he had left. His breathing went from somewhat shallow to very shallow, rapid and strained. Kerri noted the new use of his neck muscles in order to assist in breathing. So last night we decided that we would avoid anything that made him feel better unless a fever got over 101 degrees. Kerri worked today so I had the kids and aside from Manning breaking Marino's record there was very little to report. Poor Abigail had to entertain herself for most of the day and Ben spent all but 30 minutes sleeping on my chest. I was very close to taking him to the hospital in the morning due to his labored breathing but by mid afternoon his breathing improved and he was generating useful coughs to help clear his lungs. I learned a very valuable lesson in the process. No matter how wonderful and rare it is for all of our family members to get together in the same place, when the kid is sick, stay home and hope to read about the events on a sibbling's blog. Thursday, December 23
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Thu 23 Dec 2004 06:01 PM PST
Congratulations, It's Pneumonia! (For Ben)
by
Tom
on Thu 23 Dec 2004 01:51 PM PST
I hung out at my neighbor's place last night for a bit and when I returned Ben had already been put down for the night. Following my typical routine I went in to check on him and as I felt his head I noted that he felt very warm. Kerri took his temp and it was [a shocking!] 102 degrees. Shocking because he didn't seem to have a fever when he went to bed.
We gave him some Tylenol to reduce the fever and then, since Kerri and I both had to work today, Kerri went to bed as I took the first shift of "Ben Watch". It took nearly 1.5 hours for the fever to get down to a reasonable level of 100.5. He slept through most of the rest of the night and seemed to have improved quite a bit by morning. Despite the fact that 8 of our last 10 trips to the doctor resulted in, "he's got a virus of some sort that will run its course", we decided to invest our $40 co-pay and some time for what would likely be another apparent trip based on paranoia. But not this time -- He has pneumonia and is now on antibiotics. Looking back the only sign of anything being wrong was a thin but persistent cough that started yesterday morning. Where did this come from? I guess I'm noting this to make myself feel a bit more normal when I think about seeing the doctor and [virtually] knowing that he's going to tell me there's nothing that can be done -- It's just a 'cold'. Sometimes there is something wrong and wasting the money on the times when nothing can/should be done only seems like a waste after you've spent the money. It's like fire insurance; I've seemingly wasted thousand of dollars over the years but I wouldn't feel that way if my house burned down. One last note for Ben to read when he's older (and to give him another reason to hate me later), I was a little impatient with him yesterday when he got cranky, thinking that he's just too needy sometimes, a "mama's boy". And in fact he was very sick, powering through it as much as possible but unable to operate at 100% cheer level due to his near lack of ability to breathe. I'll be more thoughtful in the future but as of yesterday I believe my new label should be "Ass-Dad". UPDATE: He just woke up from his nap with another 102 degree fever. He always seems to get warmer when he's sleeping but that's high enough to screw with my comfort level. Back on to Ben Watch, 2004. Monday, December 20
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Mon 20 Dec 2004 06:00 PM PST
Sunday, December 19
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Sun 19 Dec 2004 06:00 PM PST
Saturday, December 18
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Sat 18 Dec 2004 06:00 PM PST
Tapping Bachelor Tricks
by
Tom
on Sat 18 Dec 2004 03:22 PM PST
Kerri took Ben shopping with her today while me and Abigail hung out for a while. If I should have learned nothing else as a Dad it is, if you negotiate something for your child you better be ready to deliver your end of the bargain. Today the topic was lunch. Normally she gets whatever I place in front of her but today I gave her some choices. One of them was Mac N Cheese, an easy one. But I should have known something was wrong when she immediately locked on to that option. And just what could go wrong? Howz about no milk in the house?
Thankfully when I was a bachelor I frequently ran into this problem so I knew how to deal with it. Normally I cut the amount of butter called for on the box in half but with no milk you need the full half stick. Then add just a bit of bottled water and you're in business. Sure there's a slightly lower level of creaminess but when using Kraft brand Mac N Cheese, the lack of milk simply makes things taste like the store brand box after having followed all of the directions. Just when you think a look back on bachelor days is a source of pure grief you find another reason to stop from purging that part of your life from your memory banks. Thursday, December 16
Auto Buying: Online or In Person?
by
Tom
on Thu 16 Dec 2004 10:09 PM PST
Been doing a lot of things online for a lot of years but car buying is still sorta "blackbox" to me; Do you get a better deal online versus going in and twisting the thumb screws on the dealer? I'm looking to buy a new GMC or Chevy truck fairly soon and am wondering what my most effetive route will be. Any suggestions are appreciated, either via comment or direct email. And no, I don't need a suggestion of, "Get a Ford baby!". Been there, done that, want GM.:)
Tuesday, December 14
Sunday Zoo Fun
by
Tom
on Tue 14 Dec 2004 12:21 AM PST
We went to the Santa Barbara Zoo yesterday to celebrate Caroline's 3rd birthday (a little early). We all had a good time though Yahoo!'s weather sucked ass and told me it would be sunny when it ended up cold and overcast. But if you're near Santa Barbara I highly recommend this little zoo for young children. It is large enough to provide a fun filled day but not so large that you will get lost. And like most folks in SB, the workers are terribly nice and will get you going in the right direction.
Ben pee'd on my shirt so I paid too much for a replacement at the zoo store. My camera's batteies died so I have no pics. And the gorilla exhibit had a large silverback who sat close to us and proceeded to sit on a rock, poop and then eat that poop like it was a crumbling apple. Yuck! Abigail talked about it the rest of the day, like: "Dad, that gorilla ate poo-poo. Why did that gorilla eat poo-poo? He's gonna get sick.". When I took Abby to bed and kissed her goodnight she stopped me for a moment saying, "Dad, I want to tell you something". Yes Abs, what's on your mind? I said. [Abby]"Dad, why did that gorilla eat poo-poo?" I don't know know Abs, maybe he was sick or something was wrong with him. [Abby] "He's going to get sick and have to go to the doctor". You're probably right, we always flush the toilet and wash our hands when we go poo-poo, huh? [Abby] That's right Dad. That gorilla was not being very nice". Now that's a great g'night talk with your daughter. We had good fun with the cousins and my siblings and met some of Joe and Leigh Ann's friends from Ojai that I had not known before. We got to see my Mom and Dad as well as Leigh Ann's and Molly's botfriend Matt showed up too for an additional treat. Altogether it was a great day. If only that gorilla hadn't eaten the, well, you know... poop. Monday, December 13
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Mon 13 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Sunday, December 12
Day with Dad
by
Tom
on Sun 12 Dec 2004 08:41 AM PST
Soon I'll stop writing about these events but for now, having the two kids all day by myself is still quite an adventure. Ben and I waived buh-bye to Mom shortly after 7am and immediately hit the floor for some play time. He was dressed (thanks Kerri!) and fed before Abigail woke up which makes things a bit easier. Once Ben wrapped up his mid-morning nap we were ready to go out and tackle the world.
We started off by meeting Darin and his boys at the mall for a little play time. This is no small feat at Christmas time because the place is wall to wall people and a little walker like Abby could easily get separated. After the mall we stuck with Darin's crew and headed over to McDonald's (the fast food place) for some grub and time in their little "playland". 40 minutes of good tough play and we were ready for the next adventure: Cut down your own Christmas tree. There's a place to chop your own tree just a mile or two from my house that is small but has a nice feel to it. I didn't actually get a tree there because they didn't have the type I was looking for but it was fun just walking through the forest and helping Darin drag his prize back down the hill. When we got home from the tree farm I was unpacking my offspring from the car when I noticed my friend Dave driving up the street. I flagged him down and we got to hang out for a few minutes (ahhh, adult time). I hadn't noticed just how beautiful it was outside but Dave did and was driving around town snapping pictures from various places. The top of my hill happens to have a nice view of Santa Rosa Valley and Moorpark, especially on a clear day. Soon after Dave left my place for more digi-fun another old friend stopped by to use my network connection for a bit since his had been down hard all day. We ended the day back over at Darin's place for pizza and a controlled place for the kids to go crazy. When Kerri returned I told her what I always told her, that I'm utterly amazed at how much she does every day. I was exhausted and I didn't pull off any laundry, dishes or general cleaning. I didn't even have to prepare lunch since we were out and I was pooped. Either I am a complete slacker or Kerri needs to be tested for the same ointments that Barry Bonds is accused of using. I don't know how she does it. I won't even talk about my Mom and the 7 of us kids. If that were me? Shotgun, please. Yesterday was the first time though that I really had fun most of the time with both of the kids, instead of seeing the day as a ticking clock, waiting for Kerri to return. Abby was always fun to take along on a Dad's day but it is just harder with two when one is an infant. Ben is getting close to the stage where it'll be fun for all and we'll tell Mom to stay out late so we can continue play. Friday, December 10
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Fri 10 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Tuesday, December 7
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Tue 07 Dec 2004 05:01 PM PST
Monday, December 6
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Mon 06 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Sunday, December 5
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Sun 05 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Oh Green Bay, I'm Losing My Faith Today
by
Tom
on Sun 05 Dec 2004 02:58 PM PST
35 to nothing before the first half, in favor of the Eagles. Bret is great as an underdog and coming from behind but this is looking more like David against Goliath without a slingshot or rock in sight.
Saturday, December 4
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Sat 04 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Friday, December 3
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Fri 03 Dec 2004 05:00 PM PST
Geek Squad to the Rescue
by
Tom
on Fri 03 Dec 2004 04:14 PM PST
I have never purchased an extended warranty from Best Buy nor have I paid for installation of a PC or peripherals at my home. Why would I? I know how to do these things (or so I think). So when my neighbor informed me that he had hired Geek Squad from Best Buy to get his wireless network dialed in, I nearly laughed at him, thinking that some big talking newbie would show up and demonstrate his ability to fire up a DOS prompt. But to my surprise we saw a normal and informed person who fixed the problems with relative ease. He struggled once or twice (as technology will make you do sometimes) but was confident enough to say, "Hmmm., I don't know about that... let's try this...". This was not a normal wireless network. He was adding on repeaters so a good connection could be had throughout the 1 acre property, cloning MAC addresses, flashing devices, etc. He came complete with needed replacement parts, just in case, and handled everything without telling us that we had done something wrong or we were at fault.
It was quite the little pleasure dealing with Jeff from Geek Squad. I only wish he didn't move so fast because I didn't grok everything he applied for the ultimate fix (but that is my problem, isn't it). In the end I plan on opening my mind for help in the future. I'm still stubborn and will force things on my own but it is nice to know that someone can come out to give me a hand in the areas where I don't excel. Thursday, December 2
Microsoft Offering Blogging Service
by
Tom
on Thu 02 Dec 2004 09:24 AM PST
MSN Spaces is the name and it is free. You'll need a .NET Passport account and you appear to get 10MB of storage for your schtuff. The system is slow as hell, at least right now, but that may be due to some ./'ing -- That is where I found the link to Spaces. I would put it in the same category as AOL Journal rather than Blogger as related to its usability.
Wednesday, December 1
Daily Jots [jots.com]
by
Scribbler
on Wed 01 Dec 2004 05:01 PM PST
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