Where's Nathan???

Another Saturday morning spent with coffee, maple bacon, and a stack of pancakes for the boys (Jax, Nathan, and Cade -Jackson's friend). My favorite breakfast meal. After the clean up, I figured that I would try to finish up power washing the fence so I could have Julie stain it later on this weekend while I am playing golf. I threw on my power washing uniform complete with my bleached Ireland hat and favorite cutoff Irish sweatshirt and managed to get half of the fence work done. Unfortunately, for me two things happened that prevented me from finishing what I had started. First, Julie had a hair appointment so I had to stop to watch the boys. Second, by the time Julie had returned, the Irish football game was coming on and I had to watch it. Luckily, it also started to rain which made me feel not so guilty about sitting on my butt.

Speaking of watching the boys (here we go again), Jules had left for the hair appointment so I decided to grab a quick shower and then settle down for some football and laundry duty. Jackson and his friend were busy watching Spider Man in the sunroom so I grabbed Nathan and headed off to the bathroom. I jumped in the shower and was enjoying the nice conversation I was having with Nathan who was busy trying to figure out how to put my deodorant on his face. At some point, I realized that this was a one way conversation with me being the only one in it. I called out for little Nater with no response. I suddenly had this bad feeling that he was somewhere that he should not be. I finished the shower in 1.2 seconds, half dried off and ran into the living room. Quietly playing in the sunroom were Jackson and Cade but no Nathan. The Terminater was nowhere to be found...in the house. I ran to the door leading to the garage, opened it and found that the actual garage door had been opened and Nathan was playing around in the garage by himself. Thankfully he had only managed to play around with a few garden tools. I actually scolded him about going outside without me or Julie or Jackson. He looked at me and knew he was in trouble. He held out his arms and when I picked him up he just started bawling. He wept and called for mommy (which really made me feel great). I took him back to the bathroom with me and he held on tight. I kind of felt like and idiot for not warning Jackson that I was about to get in the shower and to be on the lookout for Nathan.

Anyway, Nathan continued to do his sob/fake sob until I was completely dried off and dressed. I sat him down and we had a one on one talk about him not going outside without a parent and that it was dangerous. I then asked him in my fatherly stern voice if he understood me. Nathan calmly grabbed my hand and walked me out the bedroom door towards the kitchen. I said where we going bubba? He said "outside" and laughed. He's darn lucky he's cute.

I just saved a bunch of money...

I just saved a bunch of money over the weekend and I am proud of it. You see it's been awhile since I last had my house powerwashed. It's one of those "house" projects that sort of sneaks up on you over time. You usually don't even think about it until one day you ask "didn't our columns used to be white?" The last time that I noticed this, we hired a guy and his son (real nice folks) to go ahead and take care of the dirty work. Four hundred dollars later and they had done a nice job. Certainly, it made sense to do that again, right? Wrong. Upon consultation with Car 1 (that would be Jules) I discovered that it was going to cost approximately $400.00 more than we currently had to hire the same folks again. Damn! I guess it was up to me.

Since I didn't actually have a powerwasher, I had to borrow my neighbors. "Anything I need to know about this thing?" I asked. "Not really, use a bleach solution on the eaves and then hit 'er with the powerwasher. And one more thing. Watch how close you get to the actual surface." That is real good advice because as it turns it out, if you are not careful, you could actually put a hole right through the surface of whatever you are washing. At least that's what I have heard. (Nathan can now wave at me through the stucco wall from his bedroom. OOPS!!)

So I had it all set up, two garden sprayers full of 1)a bleach solution and 2) a Simple Green solution for the doors and windows. Off I went at 0900 on Saturday morning. I actually thought that it was going to be fun. I had messed around with the powerwasher on Friday night and there was something masculine about slamming water into the side of my house at 3000 mph and watching dirt fly off without any brushing. So here is how it went. I sprayed the bleach solution on the eaves around the house usually with me on my ladder and then hammered away with the water. Awesome. Dirty to white. I felt like yelling "dirty house? Clean it up with Orbit!!" I was making Tim Allen proud. Dirt and water flying everywhere. I was soaking wet but didn't care. I don't think I stopped for a full three hours. When I finally took a break, I realized that my favorite navy blue Ireland hat now looked strangely different. Uhhhh, or should I say DUHHHHH, a bleach solution is used to make things white. So much for my favorite hat. It has several large spots on it now and a cool sort of whitish mist look. No big deal.

I continued at a feverish pace only stopping to refill the fluids (gas, bleach, and Simple Green) and finished 90 percent of the house on Saturday. I finally stopped six hours into the job to watch the Irish football game (victory!) I am happy to report that the only real issues I had were a few extremely hard to reach areas, the occasional swallowing of some bleach dripping from the roofline, a few ladder issues, and the occasional tangling with a spider or two. I did happen to blast a huge spider about 60 feet in the air. That was cool!

Saturday night I collapsed with more aching muscles than I could recall I had. So my doctor ordered up an 800 mg Motrin. Ahhhhh, relief. Bright and early Sunday morning, I finished up the dirty work on the remainder of the house. I was really in awe of the difference that it made. I was so impressed, I decided to start on the fence. About an hour into that job, I had a sort of what the hell were you thinking moment. Too late. Keep going. So I did. I managed to finish the entire inside of the fence and was elated before realizing that I needed to do the outside of the fence as well. Crap, that was for another day.

So Sunday evening, Jules does the walk around and congratulates me on a job well done. "Thanks", I said. It was alot of work and admittedly, I wish I could have afforded to have someone else do the job. But at the end of the day, I felt alot more satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment at having done the work myself. Now, when does the real weekend start??

I got it babe.

So Nathan turned two a few days ago and I have finally had a chance to write something about it thanks in part to his brother Jackson who felt the need to wake me up at 4:00 am this morning to tell me that HE couldn't sleep. Thanks buddy. So I am now awake early on a Thursday morning trying to type away before I have to get my sick wife out of bed and make breakfast for Jackson.

Nathan had a great birthday party. Actually his whole day was pretty good. Jules had some friends drop in from North Carolina on their way to Orlando. Nathan was in a great mood and played with the kids and laughed and carried on like a birthday boy should.

So on to the party. Everyone arrived and Nathan was still asleep. After waking, it took him awhile to figure out why everyone was here. In fact he probably never figured out while everyone was there. To him, it must have seemed that all of those people were there to stuff their faces full of ice cream, cake, taco dip and anything else we could. Good enough for him. But instead of eating his cake (except for about two bites) he decided on the other birthday treat...olives. Don't ask me, he's Julie's son!! HaHa.

All went well until dad was entrusted to watch out for Nathan. "I got it babe". Several minutes later, I "watched" Nathan jump up on the couch and then flip over the couch face first onto the floor. I initially thought he broke his neck. I actually wanted to throw up. Thankfully, all he managed was to get a nice black eye and a major headache. My little trooper. The whole incident reminded me of when I was entrusted to watch Jackson after Christmas dinner at the in-laws house. He was probably a little over a year old. I told Jules that "I got it babe". I wanted her to have some down time to relax with her parents and sister. A few minutes later, while "watching" Jackson, I observed him playing with a nice Christmas ornament. I didn't realize that a one year old could squeeze a glass ornament hard enough to break it. I also was surprised that a Christmas ornament, when shattering, sounds very similar to a shotgun blast that everyone else could immediately hear. Thankfully, Jackson wasn't hurt. "What was that dear?" I was asked. "Uhhhh. Nothing dear. Don't worry, I got it babe."

Now I know why I am not ever asked to work the nursery at church.

As a footnote, just as I finished this post, the aforementioned non-sleeper came in to tell me that he is ready for me to fix his breakfast. He also let me know that he never went back to sleep and almost woke me back up to fix his breakfast early. He has been watching television and playing with his Playstation since 4:00 a.m. He should be really ready to go at school today. Time to start locking the doors.

Typical day off - golf, chores, and monumental decisions.

I am trying to figure out a nickname to refer to myself on this blog. I like my father in law's reference to himself as "the Old Man" on his blog and thought that I would like to do the same for me. Hmmmm. I wonder where I could go with this? I am going to give that some thought. If you have any suggestions, feel free to throw them out.

So today I took a much needed day off from work. There has been plenty of stress around there lately. We have been working like crazy due to a shortage of instructors in our branch and no shortage of students. This has at times created a somewhat less than hospitable environment because people are exhausted and need some "down" time. I have also been waiting to hear about a possible new job opportunity that I had put in for over three years ago.

So my boss told me to take a day off of work and go golfing. I did. At least the weather was nice. I actually hit the ball off of the tee like a PGA professional. From that point on, however, my golfing game resembled that of a drugged out porn star. I couldn't get it up and I couldn't get it in, any hole period. Was that what they call TMI??? I had to chuckle a few times also because I kept telling my playing partner about my father in law's shot descriptions like the dreaded sand bunker to sand bunker shot (Saddam Hussein). We both hit a lot of Barbara Streisand's also (something like ugly but still working). We got a lot of laughs at those. It was so much fun we started thinking of a few names for some of our own shots hit throughout the day.

The John Deere - a shot where large portions of dirt and grass move further than the ball.

The "Oh Shit" - one of my favorites - a shot that when hit goes directly toward a glass window on a nearby house. (P.S. Just missed the window but I am sure left a dent in the siding)

The Chinese National Anthem - a shot that sounds so good but looks so ugly. That's my personal favorite. If you remember the scandal during the Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics this past summer. They had a beautiful little girl with a great voice singing a song (not the anthem but it's all I could remember). Then we found out that she actually lip synched the song and that the girl who actually sang the song wasn't allowed to be on television because she was too ugly. That's where that came from. Plenty of those today. (Feel free to rename)

Well, I got home and decided to help out Jules by mowing the grass for her. That way she didn't have to worry about doing that tomorrow while I am playing golf again. I had to give myself a pat on the back for that one!! I felt so good that I mowed my neighbors yard too. Then I took my trimmer and shredded everything I could until I ran out of string. Am I crazy? No, you see, my neighbors have moved out. Victims of foreclosure. Unfortunately, they left a mess of a yard and it's driving me crazy. So it took awhile but it looks better. Not great, but at least mowed.

Okay, so finally the big news. I finally received my call from the job I have been waiting to hear from for the past 3 years. I politely declined their offer to take a $40,000 dollar pay cut and move to Norfolk, VA on my own dime. Ummm, that didn't seem fiscally responsible. I blogged before about getting older and the pain that comes with it. Well today, I realized that perhaps I had started to inherit another trait of getting older....getting wiser.

My doctor said the "M" word

I can't remember when it all began and never really gave it much thought. It seems like it just happened and there was nothing I could do about it. Oh sure, there were signs that it was coming but I paid no attention to it. After all, I am invincible. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you what I am talking about. I am officially getting older.

Yeah, it's true. I know you are probably thinking that I seemed to always look 21. Oil of Olay folks that's the secret. I wish they made that for bones and muscles. I got home from work the other day and felt like a Mack truck ran me over, backed up and apologized for running me over and then ran me over again before driving off. I have been nursing a twinge in my lower back which has shot pain down through my psiatic nerve (literally a pain in the ass- HaHa). I also have an old football injury (left knee) from my sophomore year in H.S. The doctor at the time -1985- said "don't worry, you're young and it will heal". Twenty three years later, I am happy to report that at times, I can't squat and stand without seeing stars or keep my knee stationary for long periods without the feeling of someone pounding a nail into it. (I would like to have a discussion with that "sports" doctor about now) I also now have a shooting pain through my left shoulder which prevents me from laying on my left side for any amount of time. And just recently, I have noticed a pain beginning in my right knee when I go on runs. Nice. Isn't exercise supposed to keep you in shape not break you down? Oh, I almost forgot about waking up in the morning and having to walk gingerly to the bathroom to avoid my ankles from giving out. One night, we forgot to turn on the fan for that white noise effect. In the morning, after getting out of bed, I turned around and Jackson was standing two feet away. I asked why he was up and he said that he heard the Rice Krispies popping. I soon figured what he had heard wasn't Rice Krispies. He had heard my bones popping!!!!

Okay, so maybe it's not always that bad. I remember at times feeling pain here and there but it always seemed to go away and hide in it's hole. For some reason, I am now conscious to the fact that I have some sort of daily ache here and there which for some reason won't go away. So I guess it's true what they say, everyone gets older at some point. I remember as a kid eating a Flinstones vitamin everyday. Then I remember taking vitamin supplements. Then on to the one a day Centrum. Now I have officially graduated to the new Vitamin....M. Have you heard of it? That's Motrin folks. My doctor didn't say Mylanta, he said 800 mg. of Motrin!!

It takes a golfer to raise a village.

The U.S.A. finally won back the Ryder Cup in golf today. This is the first time since 1999 that we have won the cup. For those of you who may not follow golf, the Ryder Cup is played between the Americans and the Europeans every other year. It is a great competition, a team competition, and every golfer wants to be a part of it. It is unique because golf is not a "team" sport. Golf is all about the individual. Whether you win or lose all depends on how YOU play. The Americans seemed to dominate this competition for a long time throughout the 60's, 70's, 80's. Lately, however, the Europeans have been getting the best of the American team.

Since 1999, the last time the Americans won the cup, there have been many excuses about why we have lost. We don't play well as a team, we are too cocky, too many egos, Americans just don't care about the Ryder Cup, just to name a few. Perhaps. You see the Ryder Cup is not about money. No team or individual wins any money for playing in the competition. This contest is about playing as a team to represent your country. The U.S.A. teams have been favored to win every Ryder Cup competition since winning in 1999 and really have had the best players in the world to do it. For whatever reason, probably all of the above listed, until this week they have fallen short.

The Americans and the Europeans each displayed excellent sportsmanship and unbelievable golf for three straight days. After the match was over, U.S. Team Captain Paul Azinger was commenting on the American spirit displayed by the team and the crowds. He was asked whether this was a great win for the country. Azinger was quick to praise not the golfers first but the men and women in our military serving our country and trying to help spread democracy throughout the world. That, he said is a bigger win for our country than golf ever will be. Wow, someone who gets it!

This past week, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents all came together to cheer on and watch a group of individual golfers work together as a team to accomplish a specific goal. They (golfers) finally put aside personal agendas and egos and pulled for the greater good. In the end....victory! Let us all hope that as this election cycle ends and new leaders are elected that they can all finally cast aside their personal agendas and egos and start working as a team to solve some real issues facing our country. Let us all hope that our leaders play golf.

Ready, set, go (a.k.a. Saturday morning)

What a beautiful Saturday in the South! I woke up this morning around 7:15 (way late for me) and went through my daily routine of making coffee and checking out the news on T.V. Jackson was up quickly after me and I wondered for about 10 seconds why he was up so early. Jackson got the new Star Wars game for his PSP yesterday and he needed to start playing it early so he could finish it in a day and a half. So he quietly settled down in his "play chair", hooked up his headphones so I could hear the television and began his quest. Soon after that, Jules arose just in time to order us up two cups of coffee. Perhaps the most underrated part of the day is the first sip of coffee in the morning. For that one moment, all is right in the world. Peace in the Middle East, gas prices at $1.50, money in the bank account, no screaming kids. That's about as far as I got until I heard the first scream from the Terminator! Well at least I had that.

Little Nathan was in pure form from the get go. He needed a snack so we gave him a small bowl of Lucky Charms. He proceeded to dump them all over the couch so we picked them up. He got a hold of them again and dumped them into his toy bus on the floor. Then came the lego box. Dumped all over the floor. Then came the vacuum cleaner hose. Pulled out, thrown around, and then the container which holds the hose was thrown on the floor. All the while, little Nathan smiled that sinister little smile that says "I am too cute for you." It was going to be one of those mornings after all. Well at least I could put on the golf and try to relax to that. Of course nothing is that simple. Our local NBC affiliate was experiencing technical difficulties and was unable to produce any sound at all. Can I get a mulligan????

So I just started getting busy with the Saturday chores. Vacuum all of the floors, then grab the mop and get to mopping the wood floors. That was hard work but wow did they need it. I felt pretty good about it and really didn't miss watching the golf after all.

So the house is clean (mostly) and Nathan is now napping. Jackson has finished his quest, and the sound is restored for the golf match. There must be peace in the Middle East now! Ha! So now I can relax for the rest of the afternoon and surf the net, blog, watch golf, football or whatever. Damn, I'm bored.