Paint the Garage

I decided to take a few days off work to help take care of the kids while Sarah and the baby were in recovery. While home I ran out of things to do with the kids so I thought I would tackle a project that has been looming in the back of my mind for a while...paint the garage! As I wrangled this task I became more aware of my surroundings and learned quite a few things. I hope this tidbit of information will prove useful to any others trying to decide if they should try to accomplish this great feat.

1. I turned on the radio to 97.1 ZHT. Self help audio-books are the route I usually take but I feel like my knowledge of the newest craze has slipped. What I learned is ZHT has a grand total of 10 songs in their studio. I kept listening to the same 6 songs over and over again. I had heard all the songs maybe once before but now I know every word, artist, next concert, latest gossip, and others interpretations of the lyrics of these 6 songs.

2. Radio advertising must be the only effective marketing for car dealerships. With a credit score of 550 or better I'm approved and treated the same as everyone else.

3. Though garbage bags make a fun outfit for a kid to wear while painting...it rarely will limit or restrict the amount of paint that gets all over their body. Chances are someone is going to step in the paint tray then flip their foot around till the paint is either gone or dry.

4. If you need to teach your almost 2 year old daughter how to unlock a door from the inside simply leave some paint, paint brushes, and used paint rollers on the other side of the door...lock it...then go take a shower. Lyla taught herself how to unlock a deadbolt and open the door, along with a couple other special painting skills.

5. Next time I will ask every single neighbor I have if they have a paint sprayer. Don't wait till you go to get a soda at Maverick after completing the project and see your "across the street" neighbor there and learn that he has a very nice paint sprayer. If you slip them a baksheesh I'm sure they would be more than happy to help.

6. Spending time with my kids doing this project made it completely worth while.

Let me know what you have learned while painting your garage.

I had to up the cuteness factor of this post with the latest pic of Emmett!

More Emmett Pics

Here are more pics of Emmett and Sarah. Both are doing very well!

Meet Emmett

Born 9:41pm
6 pounds 7 ounces
19 inches long
2 inches of black hair
Dang Cute!!!

...more pictures to come!

Phineas & Ferb

I have a secret shame that is just welling up inside of me...I...MUST...SHARE.

Phineas & Ferb is awesome!

*off in the distance a cricket stridulates*

Come on, I can't be the only adult that loves to watch this show. It is extremely creative in my opinion. If you haven't seen it; the boys are on summer vacation from school, they come up with new adventures/inventions everyday, their sister tries to get them in trouble all the time, and they rock out on a regular basis.

I didn't ever think anything could fill the hole in my hear from the afternoon lineup I use to watch (Tale Spin, Tiny Toons, Rescue Rangers, Duck Tales, and Rescue Rangers) but this show tops them all.

Please let me know if I'm the only one with this secret shame.

Sucker Punch

I had many friends tell me not to watch this movie because it was such a waste of time. What did I do...I watched it. Why? I couldn't tell you.

I didn't like it. I felt like I was watching a video game. The best part of the whole movie was when the girl (I already forgot her name) started fighting these guys in the picture below.

Poor acting, poor screen play, poor story line. This movie was almost as bad as "Biker Boys". I kept wondering when the movie was going to start or when a haruspex would show up.

Do yourself a favor and take some time jamming needles under your fingernails...at least you would feel something besides boredom.

Please share your opinion of Sucker Punch. I'm curious to see if anyone loathes this as much as I do.

Park Hoppin'

What a beautiful day...for allergies! At this moment I have a HUGE sinus headache.

As I perpend on my days as a kid, I remember going to parks with huge metal slides. I would stand at the top with my short John Stockton length shorts and tube socks to my knees. This hugely fashionable style provided little protection against the pain I was prepared to feel for a moment of glory. Starting down the slide I would feel the air blowing against my face and the molten lava temperature on my thighs. The slides by the tennis courts east of the Centerville cemetery were the best, longest, and fastest.

This evening for family home evening the kids and I (we left Sarah home to let her relax) went to "the big park" by our house. Just like club hoppin' we moved on to a smaller park for the rest of the evening. I do remember going from one club to the next as a 20-something teenager but I don't ever remember park hoppin' as a kid...do you?

9/11

Where I was during 9/11:

I had an early morning business calculus class that I was late for. At that time of the morning I'm not very perspicacious. As I passed the TVs of the lobby I glanced up and saw the first tower flaming and thought,"I wish I had time to watch this trailer cause I'll bet this is going to be an awesome action film." After the class was let out the lobby was quiet but packed with students. Every one's eyes were glued to the screen. The first tower had fallen and the second was about to go. Classes were cancelled, at least I thought they were. Most students gathered at the Student Union building to watch the horror unfold. I kept thinking to myself that last time I was there the tour guide asked me how many people lived in my little city of Farmington. I responded with just over 18,000 not really knowing the correct answer. She responded saying there are about 50,000 people that work in those two buildings. One of those buildings has more people in it than my city. Wow! And they just came down...I hope a lot were able to escape unharmed.

The aftermath was gruesome. No one really knew what to think. I was scared at the time...mostly of the unknown.

Sunshine Radian XTSL

What is the deal with car seat laws? Why would we force an 8 year old kid to be strapped into a seat like a little monkey named Bubbles? I remember the good old days when we would pile me and 10 of my friends in the Grocery Getter (station wagon). I feel that this outrageous attempt for car seat manufacturers and car makers to earn a quick buck is turning a lot of us to a life filled with contumacious outbursts. I'm partly kidding, I realize it is extremely important to keep my kids safe and if this will do it...I will abide. 

Typical car seat is about 2 feet wide. A lot of my friends have turned to purchasing 8 passenger SUV's and minivan's for their 2 kids. I have decided that since most cars were made to fit 5 passengers that I would accomplish this. Behold, the Sunshine Radian (only 17 inches wide). With this $230 (on sale) beauty we can and will fit 3 car seats across the back seat of my car.

Thank you Sarah for helping me avoid spending $17k+ on a problem that was solved with a very nice, very expensive throne for Princess Lyla!