We're a football family

I hadn't really seen much of any of this year's BCS football games. I do like to watch college football; it's more 'all-out' than the NFL.

So the other night, I tried to watch the Oregon - Oklahoma State game. It was a really good game, too. Problem was, we (alright, alright, I) had a few, oh let's just call them 'obstacles' to really enjoy the game. Nothing terribly negative, just a few "pay attention to me!" quips from the "things"; even from my sweet wife, who, strangely enough just wasn't into watching the game (Go ahead, ask her, she's a bigger football nut than I).

So, it's the 4th quarter and as I normally put Thing 2 to bed, it is time. "Ah, but! I don't want to at the moment", I secretly protest.

Thinking I can get him to sit with me (hoping he's ready to wind down) and then we'll go upstairs to do the 'night-night' routine (bath, stories, saying our prayers, rocking chair, then, a la Emeril Lagasse style "Bam!", bed) once the game is over.

So I say, "Thing 2 (using his real name) Wanna' watch football?"

"Nuh-uh", he replies.

Jokingly, I reply as the wife is playing on the computer just behind me, "Are you queering out on me boy?"

"Uh-huh" - the better half and I are both ROTFL (you know, 'rolling on the floor laughing' - it's the text talk...)

Just had to share. I know the term is not PC, but I am a Democrat.

Christmas Greetings

Hava Nagila - Hebrew for "Let Us rejoice" It truly is a wonderful time of year. Thing 2 looks so enthused... Years ago my mom gave me this cute little Austrian boy's hat. On me it really looks like a yarmulke or kippah. My mom says it is not.

Jewish men are required to cover their heads and should not walk more than four cubits without a hat. Wearing a kippah is described as 'honoring God'. (Thanks Wikipedia)

To me, Christmas is best when I am with my family. So to my family (& friends) throughout the world:

Danish: Glædelig Jul
French: Joyeux Noël
German: Fröhliche Weihnachten
Greek: Kala Christouyenna

Hawaiian: Mele Kalikimaka

Italian: Buon Natale
Portuguese: Feliz Natal
Russian: Pozdrevlyayu s prazdnikom Rozhdestva is Novim Godom

And to my brother and his family: (Afrikaans): Geseënde Kersfees en 'n voorspoedige nuwe jaar - "Blessed Christmas and a prosperous New Year!"

Love West-side momma,Thing 1, andThing 2
Yours truly,

Wishing you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from our winter wonderland

Ho Ho, What?!?

Our pre-lit spinning Christmas tree blew a strand of lights and the wife tells me it's time to get a new one. Thinking I might be able to fix it, I tell her to not rush out and get a new one, besides, "we're going to pay an arm and a leg for a new one - 'tis the season, right?"

The wife had already made up her mind--New tree, no debate! So we found a decently priced replacement from the chic Martha Stewart line at Kmart (but I have a whole 'nuther post to expound on that...)

Thing 1 was so excited to help set up and decorate the new tree. She and mom really did a nice job decorating. Problem was Thing 2 wanted to help, too.

Over the past 2 weeks, our ornament trauma unit has seen a lot of action... I'm busy applying superglue where possible. (small tears...) we've had to send some off to the ornament graveyard.

One loss was a nice 5 inch Disney ears ball we picked up from Disneyworld back in 2000 (it was kind of like this one) - (sniff, sniff) it's gone.

So as ornaments are repaired we tend to place them higher up on the tree (out of Thing 2's reach), and it now looks so funny - it's so top heavy.

Thought this was a funny cartoon.

Mood Music Part Deux

So, my last music post had me thinking,

"Gosh, Mister. So emotional. Better do something about that..."

So here's a couple of good ska tunes. 1) The Specials, "Pressure Drop". This is from the '90s (the original band is missing Terry Hall, and others)





2)Going back to 1970, Desmond Dekker - If you watched the movie "Fools Gold", you may remember hearing this. It's a happy tune.

Mood Music

I thought about doing some recurring feature here at my blogspot and one that came up quickly: Music. There are so many other good music-related blogs out there, I thought maybe my spin of the subject matter would be to share what connection I have to a song, a lyric, a band. It might be simply:
* This is cool, it has a good rhythm or beat - check it out
* Great lyrics; they touch me in some way
* Or just new discoveries or re-discoveries...

How to, and specifically what... Well, let's start and see where it leads. So, Mood music; I was thinking about how it affects me emotionally.

Driving home tonight I had the mp3 player on shuffle, and Mat Kearney's catchy tune, entitled "Nothing Left To Lose" came on.



Lyrics:
...And I don't know how hard this wind will blow, Or where we'll go
Come on and we'll sing, like we were free
Push the pedal down watch the world around fly by us
Come on and we'll try, one last time
I'm off of the floor one more time to find you
Come on and we'll sing, like we were free
Push the pedal down watch the world around fly by us
Come on and we'll try, one last time
And here we go there's nothing left to choose
And here we go there's nothing left to lose

It got me thinking about my life, I found myself singing along with the chorus (even doing the sing-hing and free-hee's along with it) and ... I cry so easily

Youtube -- See the whole song

Tag, Tag... I'm It

So my fellow inter-webbers (thanks Peg and Laundry Queen) have said, "Mister, you're it!" And, thanks to Sesame Street, "this post is brought to you by the number 7":

Things I can do:


1. Shop (also includes spending too much time and/or $$$ doing it)
2. Cook
3. Never get enough good music (probably have to add shoes to this list)
4. Cry (such an un-manly thing isn't it?) - and it's usually at dumb stuff, too
5. Throw up on demand
6. Spend too much time tinkering, but never getting it just right. (such as this post)
7. Pass (on a single quarter) all the levels of Black Tiger (at least I used-to-could)



Things I cannot do:


1. Bake (at least not very well)
2. Fix electrical things
3. Clean a toilet
4. Put a ponytail in Thing 1's hair
5. Easily control my temper
6. Help myself correcting people or asking for clarification when I hear them refer to something they can't remember the actual name as "Thing" (I call it thingy talk). To which I usually get a smirk and a nice slap in the arm, "you know, that thing!"
7. Be without my Things 1 & 2 and my wife


Things I like to eat:



1. BBQ Flank Steak (my own recipe)
2. Sweet Corn on the cob (grilled or boiled)
3. Rocky Road milk shakes
4. Smacks or Golden Crisp + skim milk + peanuts = Mmm!
5. Garden Gate toffee - oh it is so good!
6. Papa Murphy's Chicago stuffed crust pizza (no onions, add mushrooms)
7. Diet Dew!!! I know it's not food, but this beverage washes down so much of my food...
Things I always say:


1. Damn It! Regrettably it is too often followed by the names of my children, Thing 1 & 2 (darn temper...)
2. Euphemisms for the S-H (EYE) T word... Oh Shi-ite!, Ah Shatner!
3. Quotes from Ferris Bueller's, Caddyshack, others... (not so much currently, but I sure used to)
4. Oh Hell! I give up... I'm too tired



&

Brought to you by Sesame Street, and

Thank you PBS...

Who's next? (MiKell, Ivy, Jennifer, Colleen, Bueller, Bueller...)

Noise, Noise, Noise Or Bad Parenting 101

We have two "Super Wal-Marts" nearby, The newer one (a little further away) is rarely very busy... and as it was getting close to the kiddies' bed-time, we decide to go there.

The odd thing is that the last few times we've shopped at the newer store, Thing 2 has had major Meltdowns. He screams and screams, and seems just about inconsolable. Perhaps he can sense that poison gas the evil empire siphons throughout the store enticing one to buy even more... Whatever the reason, he generally isn't happy in this store.

To console or distract him, we have tried food, drink, a toy... This night, we tried a set of Handy Manny pj's (one of his new favorite shows) - He liked them, tore off the paper packaging (so now we're getting them no matter what...) Didn't work. Then we find a Manny talking toy with tools. It works; pacifying the boy and keeping him busy... Yeah!

"How much is it, honey?", I ask.

"Who cares! It's working", momma replies.

"Ok", I add, thinking it looks a little pricey. "I'll just put it back at the end of our shopping." What can I say, I'm cheap (Thanks, Dad)

As we continue shopping, the toy distraction wanes slowly. Thing 2 gets a little more vocal and Thing 1 decides she will play with her brother to help us get through the store a little faster. She takes him out of the shopping cart and starts running back and forth down the isle with the boy as we make our way through... Then she decides to take him in and out of different isles, generally keeping him busy moving and looking at stuff, regardless of where we are.

I sense the distance between parents and children is growing... But, hey "they're fine, right?."

I know, I know... reproachful comments like "Mister, this is being an irresponsible parent! How dare you neglect / abandon your children at a Wal-Mart..." "Letting them gad about the store unsupervised!" etc. swirl through my head... C'mon, I want to get through the store and back home as soon as possible. My girl was trying to help mom and dad out. And I was proud of her stepping up to help.

So we quicken the pace and as we wrap up (we're going through the produce section at the front of the store on our way to the checkout) we pause and just as the wife turns to me to say "go find the kids", we clearly hear Thing 2 shrieking. Not in pain or anger, but more of a happy "Here I am, Pay attention to me!"

He does this most frequently in the car. He'll see something and shrill out "Daddy!, Daddy!, Daddy!!!!" or "Momma!". This typically reminds me of either:

Get Smart (2008) - You gotta see it!

OR

Family Guy's Stewie

The funny thing was we could clearly hear him. That is NOT typical for the Wal-Mart, for they are generally pretty noisy. And this shrieking was likely coming from clear across the Supercenter!

I laugh and somewhat embarrassingly go fetch the children.

So, what do you think - which is more annoying?

Infamous Dumb & Dumber snippet

OR

My boy's shriek? Not the pictures, silly...
THE SOUND!