So just when I said posts would be sporadic because of my lack of sleep, colic, etc., bam!! Another post.
Ashtyn got a little worse this morning and wouldn't stop her crying so Katie and her mom took her to the walk-in clinic. The Dr. there checked her out and said everything looked fine, but sent them to the Pediatrician at Medcenter to double check.
The Dr. there asked if they had checked her ears at the clinic and Katie said they had and they looked fine. Evidently a 'fine' ear looks similar to an ear with a serious ear infection. 2 antibiotic shots and some numbing drops later and little one was out like a light sleeping! Yay for sleep!!!
It was weird because she went from a little girl that enjoyed everything, including getting the baby booger picker in her nose to completely intolerant of everything overnight. Show of hands from any of you that had a baby that laughed while getting the baby booger picker stuck in their nose??
Thanks to everyone for the colic suggestions. I hope we don't need to use them in the future, but if we do, at least I'll know where to start.
Oh yeah, first funny story from Ashtyn. So we're in for her 2 week checkup on Tuesday and the Dr. is checking her out. She has Ashtyn on the table and she talking to us, but I know how the little spider monkey likes to move around, so I warned her that she might try to roll. Before the Dr. could say two more words, she'd flipped to her side and one more push had her on her back. I don't change her on anything but the floor for that very reason now.
Friday, May 29, 2009
Colic
This might be a loooooooong next 3 or 4 months kids. Looks like little one has the colic...... From the articles I read, it usually occurs in the early evening and the people that I talked to kind of confirmed that as well. Little one prefers the 10:00 to 2 a.m. shift.
There is also 3.98 million hits when you google 'colic'. I'm through article 47 and they all contradict each other on cure types. Google doesn't always find the answers.
If posts become more sporadic or more poorly written than usual, it's because I've fallen asleep and my head is laying on the keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd (oops, sorry about that).
Faithfully submitted this day,
May 29th, 2009 - 12:38 a.m.
Douglas C. Neidermeyer
Sgt. At Arms
There is also 3.98 million hits when you google 'colic'. I'm through article 47 and they all contradict each other on cure types. Google doesn't always find the answers.
If posts become more sporadic or more poorly written than usual, it's because I've fallen asleep and my head is laying on the keyboarddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddd (oops, sorry about that).
Faithfully submitted this day,
May 29th, 2009 - 12:38 a.m.
Douglas C. Neidermeyer
Sgt. At Arms
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Welcome to the Jungle
As a former foliage containment specialist for the better part of 15 years, there are few things that get my goat like an unmowed lawn. I honed my skills over many hours spent on the Sherwood Park, cemetary, baseball diamond and golf course and if noone can find a good thing to say about me, they can always say: "man, that Skeet.... he cut one hell of a lawn."
Take a look at this picture and tell me what it is. A jungle in Laos? A cattail slew? Maybe the reeds of the Everglades?
Take a closer look! Its the view off our patio!!
Katie had warned me about Spanky McGee's lawn care habits around the apt. complex, but I chose not to believe that someone could allow a lawn to get this out of control. At the current pace the lawn won't be mowed this summer. If he shows up in the next few day's it'll be on pace for 3 cuttings.
The worst part is that he brought in a lawn care company a week or so ago to fertilize the grass, which is kinda like wiping a baby's butt before they poop. It just don't make any sense! Why would one encourage the growth of grass they don't intend to ever cut??
Most of you with lawns have probably mowed, what? 3 or 4 times already this year? I may have to bestir myself to put on my civic minded cap and contact the City of Mandan on the problem. As things stand, if lil Ashtyn were able to crawl out the door we'd have to organize a search party once she hit the grassy area.
p.s. - if anyone wants to bale whats there you can probably get a half dozen idiot cubes or maybe a decent round bale out of it right now.
Take a look at this picture and tell me what it is. A jungle in Laos? A cattail slew? Maybe the reeds of the Everglades?
Take a closer look! Its the view off our patio!!
Katie had warned me about Spanky McGee's lawn care habits around the apt. complex, but I chose not to believe that someone could allow a lawn to get this out of control. At the current pace the lawn won't be mowed this summer. If he shows up in the next few day's it'll be on pace for 3 cuttings.
The worst part is that he brought in a lawn care company a week or so ago to fertilize the grass, which is kinda like wiping a baby's butt before they poop. It just don't make any sense! Why would one encourage the growth of grass they don't intend to ever cut??
Most of you with lawns have probably mowed, what? 3 or 4 times already this year? I may have to bestir myself to put on my civic minded cap and contact the City of Mandan on the problem. As things stand, if lil Ashtyn were able to crawl out the door we'd have to organize a search party once she hit the grassy area.
p.s. - if anyone wants to bale whats there you can probably get a half dozen idiot cubes or maybe a decent round bale out of it right now.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Girlz just wanna haz fun
So Katies Grandma L stopped by the other day to see her newest Great-Granddaughter. She was pretty pumped about it and so was Ashtyn, or at least she woke up long enough to give everyone the stink eye. It's when she's just coming awake and she gives a little turn of the corner of her mouth, then barely opens one eye - the ol' stink eye.
Her Grandma also dropped off a kids CD of songs that she had gotten somewhere. It has all of your favorites sung by kids. Well, 5 of your favorites sung by kids I guess - "Beautiful Girls", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", etc. There is one song on there without a doubt is going to be her favorite and will be replayed over and over on road trips and this is a concern to daddy.
I'm going to lose half my audience here, but the other two people will follow me. The song is called "Hey There Delilah" and it was made 'famous' in the loosest sense of the word about a year or so ago by a band called the Plain White T's. I'm not sure if it's the timbre of their voices, possibly the note that it's keyed in, whatever..... it basically makes your head start nodding and then increasingly start banging off a brick wall. For those of you that have XM radio, you'll know it was played ad nauseum on every single music station they had for MONTHS. In fact, my dial didn't move off of XM 175 the Major League Baseball channel for fear that the song would be on somewhere.
It's a hideous song, but lil Ashtyn, if you wanna hear it, daddy will play it for you on the way to daycare or wherever. I may remind you later in life that daddy did this for you though.
In other news, the belt notch I tightened last week I had to loosen when Katies mom was here the last few days. Fresh homemade lasagna for lunches, Kneophla soup, meatballs, turkey and dumplings and such for supper. Very good, double the workouts to compensate.
Grandma and Papa Miller also made it down over the weekend, as did my brother Steve, his wife Brittany and their daughter Shaquille O'Neal. Yeah, she's not really Shaq, but she's only a year old and she DWARFS Ashtyn. It's not that she's any bigger than any other one year old, it's just that you get used to this tiny little 7.7lb baby and the size differential shocks you a little.
Also, some great news - Ashtyn has a new play partner. Ella Hazel Horner has entered the building!!! Jason and Kristy Horner gave birth at 12:01 a.m. this morning to the little girl. We stopped up to see her this evening and got some pics of the baby daddy's with their daughters. It was a little weird walking back into the Birthcenter at the hospital again. Katie may or may not have had flashbacks and a panic attack.
All is well with the Horners - congrats to them! Now I have someone to make comments in poor taste with when we take stroller rides through the zoo.
So. That should pretty much catch everyone up. We're the typical neurotic new parents now. Jump at every sound, when she's the least bit hot we wonder if she has a case of Malaria, when the temp fluctuates outside of a 71.8 to 72.6 degree range we rush to dress or undress her. We're learning though.
Her Grandma also dropped off a kids CD of songs that she had gotten somewhere. It has all of your favorites sung by kids. Well, 5 of your favorites sung by kids I guess - "Beautiful Girls", "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", etc. There is one song on there without a doubt is going to be her favorite and will be replayed over and over on road trips and this is a concern to daddy.
I'm going to lose half my audience here, but the other two people will follow me. The song is called "Hey There Delilah" and it was made 'famous' in the loosest sense of the word about a year or so ago by a band called the Plain White T's. I'm not sure if it's the timbre of their voices, possibly the note that it's keyed in, whatever..... it basically makes your head start nodding and then increasingly start banging off a brick wall. For those of you that have XM radio, you'll know it was played ad nauseum on every single music station they had for MONTHS. In fact, my dial didn't move off of XM 175 the Major League Baseball channel for fear that the song would be on somewhere.
It's a hideous song, but lil Ashtyn, if you wanna hear it, daddy will play it for you on the way to daycare or wherever. I may remind you later in life that daddy did this for you though.
In other news, the belt notch I tightened last week I had to loosen when Katies mom was here the last few days. Fresh homemade lasagna for lunches, Kneophla soup, meatballs, turkey and dumplings and such for supper. Very good, double the workouts to compensate.
Grandma and Papa Miller also made it down over the weekend, as did my brother Steve, his wife Brittany and their daughter Shaquille O'Neal. Yeah, she's not really Shaq, but she's only a year old and she DWARFS Ashtyn. It's not that she's any bigger than any other one year old, it's just that you get used to this tiny little 7.7lb baby and the size differential shocks you a little.
Also, some great news - Ashtyn has a new play partner. Ella Hazel Horner has entered the building!!! Jason and Kristy Horner gave birth at 12:01 a.m. this morning to the little girl. We stopped up to see her this evening and got some pics of the baby daddy's with their daughters. It was a little weird walking back into the Birthcenter at the hospital again. Katie may or may not have had flashbacks and a panic attack.
All is well with the Horners - congrats to them! Now I have someone to make comments in poor taste with when we take stroller rides through the zoo.
So. That should pretty much catch everyone up. We're the typical neurotic new parents now. Jump at every sound, when she's the least bit hot we wonder if she has a case of Malaria, when the temp fluctuates outside of a 71.8 to 72.6 degree range we rush to dress or undress her. We're learning though.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Chick Magnet
It’s fairly rare that I direct a blog post at specific groups or individuals, but there must be exceptions made at times. In order to protect the identity of the concerned parties, we’ll refer to the person of which I’m speaking to as “J-Rod” to keep his anonymity.
J-Rod, Ashtyn is a chick magnet, plain and simple. I think you could benefit in a certain milieu’s or social settings from having her around. In fact that goes for any readers that are guys and single.
It’s like she has the power of ‘the force’ or something. For example, last night we had to take her into the walk-in clinic to have them check her out for Jaundice. The three nurses and the doctor (all women) were all over her for the better part of 5 minutes – “she’s so cute”, “she’s just perfect.” I will take liberty to say that it takes good genes to produce cute babies so you know, it was kinda bound to happen.
Point being, when we left I wasn’t sure if they had checked her for anything or if it was just playtime for the clinic staff.
So fellas, if you feel like you could use a boost in the lady dept., just shoot me an e-mail or text and we’ll get you setup for a stroller ride along the running paths in Bismarck. She can break the ice for you, screwing it up from there is up to you. No woman is going to pass up a chance to stop and tickle this little girls cheeks. Think about it.
J-Rod, Ashtyn is a chick magnet, plain and simple. I think you could benefit in a certain milieu’s or social settings from having her around. In fact that goes for any readers that are guys and single.
It’s like she has the power of ‘the force’ or something. For example, last night we had to take her into the walk-in clinic to have them check her out for Jaundice. The three nurses and the doctor (all women) were all over her for the better part of 5 minutes – “she’s so cute”, “she’s just perfect.” I will take liberty to say that it takes good genes to produce cute babies so you know, it was kinda bound to happen.
Point being, when we left I wasn’t sure if they had checked her for anything or if it was just playtime for the clinic staff.
So fellas, if you feel like you could use a boost in the lady dept., just shoot me an e-mail or text and we’ll get you setup for a stroller ride along the running paths in Bismarck. She can break the ice for you, screwing it up from there is up to you. No woman is going to pass up a chance to stop and tickle this little girls cheeks. Think about it.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
She's the rapper, I'm the DJ
Well, at around noon on Friday we left the hospital. Thats a bit of a scary proposition since we no longer have the red call button by the bed to summon a nurse when we have troubles feeding or whatever.
It's been a tag team effort to say the least since we've setup shop at home now. She's the rapper, I'm the DJ, she's the pitcher, I'm the catcher - I'm the Martin to her Lewis. She feeds, I burp, she treats the belly button, I lotion up the head scratch, she dresses, I get the poopy diapers.......
If it sounds like a crappy deal (pun intended), it's not that bad. She likes to throw a warning volley into the diaper to alert you to the pending danger and then once the baby wipe hits the bum: game on!! It's at that point you feel like an army field medic.
"I need a wipe, stat!! Somebody get rid of this blanket! It's getting all over the blanket! More wipes, more wipes!! We can't stop it! Theres just too much!"
In the end we're able to contain most of the damage, but it's a good thing most of our furniture is brown. Just a warning for those of you that come to visit.
I wanna video these episodes because I know for sure Ashtyn is grinning the whole time shes doing it. Yep, she's daddy's little girl!
It's been a tag team effort to say the least since we've setup shop at home now. She's the rapper, I'm the DJ, she's the pitcher, I'm the catcher - I'm the Martin to her Lewis. She feeds, I burp, she treats the belly button, I lotion up the head scratch, she dresses, I get the poopy diapers.......
If it sounds like a crappy deal (pun intended), it's not that bad. She likes to throw a warning volley into the diaper to alert you to the pending danger and then once the baby wipe hits the bum: game on!! It's at that point you feel like an army field medic.
"I need a wipe, stat!! Somebody get rid of this blanket! It's getting all over the blanket! More wipes, more wipes!! We can't stop it! Theres just too much!"
In the end we're able to contain most of the damage, but it's a good thing most of our furniture is brown. Just a warning for those of you that come to visit.
I wanna video these episodes because I know for sure Ashtyn is grinning the whole time shes doing it. Yep, she's daddy's little girl!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Perfection: Defined
perfection
Main Entry: per·fec·tion
Pronunciation: \pər-ˈfek-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English perfeccioun, from Anglo-French perfection, from Latin perfection-, perfectio, from perficere
Date: 13th century
1: the quality or state of being perfect: as a: freedom from fault or defect : flawlessness b: maturity c: the quality or state of being saintly
2 a: an exemplification of supreme excellence b: an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence
3: the act or process of perfecting
Huh............ look at the picture I found next too the definition in the dictionary!
More to come in the next few days, but I wanted to get this out there for everyone. Sorry, I thought I would be able to update more once the baby came. No offense, but when I saw that little face everything else became secondary.
Baby and Mom are doing excellent! I changed a poopy diaper, I'm a good burper and even though she isn't quite sure who I am yet, I'm becoming one of her two favorites to be held by. Right behind baby Momma.
Thanks everyone for the well wishes! The journey now starts!
Main Entry: per·fec·tion
Pronunciation: \pər-ˈfek-shən\
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English perfeccioun, from Anglo-French perfection, from Latin perfection-, perfectio, from perficere
Date: 13th century
1: the quality or state of being perfect: as a: freedom from fault or defect : flawlessness b: maturity c: the quality or state of being saintly
2 a: an exemplification of supreme excellence b: an unsurpassable degree of accuracy or excellence
3: the act or process of perfecting
Huh............ look at the picture I found next too the definition in the dictionary!
More to come in the next few days, but I wanted to get this out there for everyone. Sorry, I thought I would be able to update more once the baby came. No offense, but when I saw that little face everything else became secondary.
Baby and Mom are doing excellent! I changed a poopy diaper, I'm a good burper and even though she isn't quite sure who I am yet, I'm becoming one of her two favorites to be held by. Right behind baby Momma.
Thanks everyone for the well wishes! The journey now starts!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
pluggin away
no baby yet.....
I guess if the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy. And I am providing EXCELLENT moral and sippy cup support. You need jello? got it. Back rub? got it.
Father of the year before i'm even a father.
I guess if the women don't find you handsome they should at least find you handy. And I am providing EXCELLENT moral and sippy cup support. You need jello? got it. Back rub? got it.
Father of the year before i'm even a father.
game on!
There's not a lot I can do, but I can time contractions. I'm working on 3 1/2 hours of sleep in the last two days - same as katie, but hers has been a bit rougher. We're checked in at hotel Medcenter...... awaiting the arival of the heir to the thrown.
3:57 a.m. and all is well.
3:57 a.m. and all is well.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
False Alarm
"Move along folks, nothing to see here. Move along."
3:00 a.m. last night brought some excitement, but the Dr. appt at 11:00 confirmed that we weren't quite there yet. It feels like a tomorrow or a Thursday thing, but if there's no movement by Sunday we're going to start the runners with a little hit and run action and maybe induce things Monday. It's kind of tough for first time parents to figure out when to go in, when not to, what this means, is it good or bad? Katie listed off several symptoms and I consulted the handout they gave us way back when. Check, check and check. They were all good things, but things that could mean little one is coming in a couple hours or a couple weeks. It's nice that they could narrow it down like that.
After a couple hours of repositioning, an episode of COPS and the last half of 'Bad News Bears' we kind of went to sleep. I'm guessing the 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night are a prelude of things to come..........??
**OLD WIVES TALE ALERT**!!! Weather fronts and full moons can also bring on labor. The wind is howling, temp is dropping and the rain is falling!! I'm hoping this one pans out
Softball started last night as well and I found that I play much better when I don't worry about the game and just sit there and listen for my phone to ring. Starion Financial started with a fizzle, losing a pair and looking like a team that hadn't touched a ball or bat in 8 months.
On a good note, I proved that I'm still the best leadoff hitter in the Bismarck Monday night Flickertail league over the age of 35 that plays 2nd base. Pretty elite company there. I also decided to change my swing this year and start swinging for the fences more, which I'm finding limited success with. A 6 for 8 night or whatever it was isn't bad, but I didn't lose any balls on the other side of the fence either.
Greg, I'm going to steal a Club Trillion thing here to tally the softball season for me:
Double Plays Started: 2
Home Runs: 0
Warning Track Fly Balls: 2
More softball and baby news as it becomes available......
3:00 a.m. last night brought some excitement, but the Dr. appt at 11:00 confirmed that we weren't quite there yet. It feels like a tomorrow or a Thursday thing, but if there's no movement by Sunday we're going to start the runners with a little hit and run action and maybe induce things Monday. It's kind of tough for first time parents to figure out when to go in, when not to, what this means, is it good or bad? Katie listed off several symptoms and I consulted the handout they gave us way back when. Check, check and check. They were all good things, but things that could mean little one is coming in a couple hours or a couple weeks. It's nice that they could narrow it down like that.
After a couple hours of repositioning, an episode of COPS and the last half of 'Bad News Bears' we kind of went to sleep. I'm guessing the 3 1/2 hours of sleep last night are a prelude of things to come..........??
**OLD WIVES TALE ALERT**!!! Weather fronts and full moons can also bring on labor. The wind is howling, temp is dropping and the rain is falling!! I'm hoping this one pans out
Softball started last night as well and I found that I play much better when I don't worry about the game and just sit there and listen for my phone to ring. Starion Financial started with a fizzle, losing a pair and looking like a team that hadn't touched a ball or bat in 8 months.
On a good note, I proved that I'm still the best leadoff hitter in the Bismarck Monday night Flickertail league over the age of 35 that plays 2nd base. Pretty elite company there. I also decided to change my swing this year and start swinging for the fences more, which I'm finding limited success with. A 6 for 8 night or whatever it was isn't bad, but I didn't lose any balls on the other side of the fence either.
Greg, I'm going to steal a Club Trillion thing here to tally the softball season for me:
Double Plays Started: 2
Home Runs: 0
Warning Track Fly Balls: 2
More softball and baby news as it becomes available......
Monday, May 11, 2009
Old wives tales
Just when I thought I wouldn’t have anything to write about, the general population comes through for me!
A few things have become apparent to me in recent weeks.
1.) People get confused and even appalled when you tell them you didn’t find out the sex of the baby.
2.) Babies are supposed to be on Lombardi Time “10 minutes early is late.” So when the baby isn’t born 7 days early people start thinking there’s something wrong.
3.) There are more old wives tales relating to babies and birth than for any other human activity or ailment. “Carry high, Carry low, Chinese calendars, etc….” the list goes on forever. The only thing I know from listening to all of them is that we will probably have a boy or girl, sometime in the month of May. Interestingly enough, that’s what the doctor told us 8 months ago.
I also got a bit of a scare Sunday morning. I was scheduled to read in church and I debated in the weeks leading up to the 10th whether I should find a sub. Thursday I called my sister in laws, niece to have her on “ready 5” just in case. Katie didn’t sleep the best Saturday night so I told her I was going and to text me if something started.
Normally I put my phone on silent, vibrate or leave it in the truck during church, but I made sure I had it and that it was close by yesterday. I was about halfway through reading to the congregation on Barnabas sending Saul on his way to Tarsus when my back pocket started vibrating. That I didn’t start pounding the pulpit Southern Baptist style is a miracle, but I made it through without being to noticeable. When I got back to the pew I looked and it was my sister that had texted me. She was wondering if there was any movement since she had picked Sunday the 10th in the family baby pool.
Oh yeah, picked up a couple things for little one at the Duke online store. We already decided that her breathing technique for labor won’t be ‘hee, hee, hoo’. It’s going to be “Lets, go, Duke”.
A few things have become apparent to me in recent weeks.
1.) People get confused and even appalled when you tell them you didn’t find out the sex of the baby.
2.) Babies are supposed to be on Lombardi Time “10 minutes early is late.” So when the baby isn’t born 7 days early people start thinking there’s something wrong.
3.) There are more old wives tales relating to babies and birth than for any other human activity or ailment. “Carry high, Carry low, Chinese calendars, etc….” the list goes on forever. The only thing I know from listening to all of them is that we will probably have a boy or girl, sometime in the month of May. Interestingly enough, that’s what the doctor told us 8 months ago.
I also got a bit of a scare Sunday morning. I was scheduled to read in church and I debated in the weeks leading up to the 10th whether I should find a sub. Thursday I called my sister in laws, niece to have her on “ready 5” just in case. Katie didn’t sleep the best Saturday night so I told her I was going and to text me if something started.
Normally I put my phone on silent, vibrate or leave it in the truck during church, but I made sure I had it and that it was close by yesterday. I was about halfway through reading to the congregation on Barnabas sending Saul on his way to Tarsus when my back pocket started vibrating. That I didn’t start pounding the pulpit Southern Baptist style is a miracle, but I made it through without being to noticeable. When I got back to the pew I looked and it was my sister that had texted me. She was wondering if there was any movement since she had picked Sunday the 10th in the family baby pool.
Oh yeah, picked up a couple things for little one at the Duke online store. We already decided that her breathing technique for labor won’t be ‘hee, hee, hoo’. It’s going to be “Lets, go, Duke”.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Holding Pattern
"Good evening ladies and gentlemen, we're making our final decent into the Bismarck/Mandan area. Theres a gusty northwest wind and some rain in the area. The tower is recommending that we hold at 10000 feet and circle the area for a bit until this system passes. The Captain has turned back on the fasten seat belt..... we'll have you on the ground in the next hour or so."
Yep, this is how this last week feels. You know that sometime before you're a week older that you'll be a parent, it's just not clear as to when that will exactly be. So we're in a holding pattern.
You can only rearrange the diaper setup and vacuum the floor so many times before it become overkill. This is beginning to be more painful than watching the last 30 seconds of an NBA game. I can't even think of anything funny to write anymore.
Hospital bag is packed.
Route to hospital is mapped out.
Ipod is sync'd. (I put on Outlaw Josey Wales and Jerimiah Johnson just in case theres a lot of down time.)
Room is ready.
Not much more to tell you right now.
If I hear anything I'll make sure that you're the first to know.
Yep, this is how this last week feels. You know that sometime before you're a week older that you'll be a parent, it's just not clear as to when that will exactly be. So we're in a holding pattern.
You can only rearrange the diaper setup and vacuum the floor so many times before it become overkill. This is beginning to be more painful than watching the last 30 seconds of an NBA game. I can't even think of anything funny to write anymore.
Hospital bag is packed.
Route to hospital is mapped out.
Ipod is sync'd. (I put on Outlaw Josey Wales and Jerimiah Johnson just in case theres a lot of down time.)
Room is ready.
Not much more to tell you right now.
If I hear anything I'll make sure that you're the first to know.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
And down the stretch they come
An appropriate title considering the time of they year with the Triple Crown stuff going on, but it also emphasizes these last few days. We're in the home stretch now and the finish line is in sight. Or the starting line, depending on how you look at it, I'd say more starting line.
We had another Dr. appt today and she did her thing, said everything looks good, told us to make another appt. and sent us on our merry way. Hopefully we can break that appt. and already be checked in and out of the hospital with baby in tow before that happens.
At this point, I'm just writing to be writing. 8+ months of pregnancy and talking about Risk games and goofy neighbors can only get me so far and that candle is about burned out.
It got me to thinking though, which is always a scary proposition. But it had me thinking of what this blog is going to be and I was thinking that I should kind of prepare everyone for the forthcoming storm. For sure it's going to have lots of pics of the baby, keep you up to date on the latest happenings, which is fine for family purposes but would bore the general readership in short order. What I also want to do is provide plenty of amusing anecdotes about Katie and I being parents and the journey that goes along with it. Let be real, we're not reinventing the wheel by being parents, but hopefully we can make it amusing and maybe prevent future parents from making the same stupid mistakes I do.
So with that, TALLY HO!...........
(.......anytime you're ready Little One, you're Mom and I are getting antsy)
We had another Dr. appt today and she did her thing, said everything looks good, told us to make another appt. and sent us on our merry way. Hopefully we can break that appt. and already be checked in and out of the hospital with baby in tow before that happens.
At this point, I'm just writing to be writing. 8+ months of pregnancy and talking about Risk games and goofy neighbors can only get me so far and that candle is about burned out.
It got me to thinking though, which is always a scary proposition. But it had me thinking of what this blog is going to be and I was thinking that I should kind of prepare everyone for the forthcoming storm. For sure it's going to have lots of pics of the baby, keep you up to date on the latest happenings, which is fine for family purposes but would bore the general readership in short order. What I also want to do is provide plenty of amusing anecdotes about Katie and I being parents and the journey that goes along with it. Let be real, we're not reinventing the wheel by being parents, but hopefully we can make it amusing and maybe prevent future parents from making the same stupid mistakes I do.
So with that, TALLY HO!...........
(.......anytime you're ready Little One, you're Mom and I are getting antsy)
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Wooly Buggers
The stars finally aligned on Sunday. It’s the first day we’ve had that’s been over 60 degrees, the ice has been off the lakes for a couple weeks and the bugs have been in the air. That can only mean one thing – fly fishing time!!!!
When most people think of fly fishing, they think of doctors and lawyers from LA and Chicago flocking to Montana rivers for month long vacations of guided fishing trips. And while that may be true, there is also the redneck version that I employ. A float tube and some flipper fins on Fish Creek Dam southwest of Mandan. It’s not very exotic, but I can’t really be driving 600 miles on a whim right now to scratch an itch.
I’m still a novice at fly fishing, I can cast and put the fly where I want, but I really don’t know what fly to use and when. Laying my dry fly on top of cloudy water wasn’t the trick Sunday. Luckily there was another guy out there casting flies as well and after watching him reel in 3 nice Rainbow Trout I paddled over to find out what he was using.
“Streamers”. Yep, no idea what a streamer is. So I hid my ignorance as best as I could by throwing out some fishing terms and paddled back to my spot. Thank God for Google. Streamers are wet flies that submerge and mimic a baitfish instead of a dry fly that sits on top of the water.
So a trip to Scheels will be in order sometime this week to find some Wooly Buggers – size 10 in Black and Olive. Maybe some size 8’s or 6’s.
Ok, so back to the main purpose of the blog – Little One! A co-worker came up today and asked me if we’ve had any Braxton Hicks. Again, I had to plead ignorance. Is that a type of bacon? Maybe a 3rd baseman for the Montreal Expos in the early 80’s? Possibly a relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers I needed to pick up for my fantasy baseball team???
Nope, it’s false labor. False contractions. 8 hours of Lamaze class is a long time and maybe I didn’t pay attention through the ENTIRE class. It’s tough when Jason is bugging me through the whole class trying to make me laugh. I paid attention for the important parts though.
Now, for the million dollar question. When is the baby coming? Well, if the baby is anything like Dad it’ll procrastinate and be 3 days late. If it’s like Mom, it’s probably wondering why it hasn’t already been born and getting nervous that it needs to be somewhere. The truth is, I don’t know. Stay tuned though as the Blog will be the official news station of the birth, along with phone calls and text messages.
When most people think of fly fishing, they think of doctors and lawyers from LA and Chicago flocking to Montana rivers for month long vacations of guided fishing trips. And while that may be true, there is also the redneck version that I employ. A float tube and some flipper fins on Fish Creek Dam southwest of Mandan. It’s not very exotic, but I can’t really be driving 600 miles on a whim right now to scratch an itch.
I’m still a novice at fly fishing, I can cast and put the fly where I want, but I really don’t know what fly to use and when. Laying my dry fly on top of cloudy water wasn’t the trick Sunday. Luckily there was another guy out there casting flies as well and after watching him reel in 3 nice Rainbow Trout I paddled over to find out what he was using.
“Streamers”. Yep, no idea what a streamer is. So I hid my ignorance as best as I could by throwing out some fishing terms and paddled back to my spot. Thank God for Google. Streamers are wet flies that submerge and mimic a baitfish instead of a dry fly that sits on top of the water.
So a trip to Scheels will be in order sometime this week to find some Wooly Buggers – size 10 in Black and Olive. Maybe some size 8’s or 6’s.
Ok, so back to the main purpose of the blog – Little One! A co-worker came up today and asked me if we’ve had any Braxton Hicks. Again, I had to plead ignorance. Is that a type of bacon? Maybe a 3rd baseman for the Montreal Expos in the early 80’s? Possibly a relief pitcher for the Texas Rangers I needed to pick up for my fantasy baseball team???
Nope, it’s false labor. False contractions. 8 hours of Lamaze class is a long time and maybe I didn’t pay attention through the ENTIRE class. It’s tough when Jason is bugging me through the whole class trying to make me laugh. I paid attention for the important parts though.
Now, for the million dollar question. When is the baby coming? Well, if the baby is anything like Dad it’ll procrastinate and be 3 days late. If it’s like Mom, it’s probably wondering why it hasn’t already been born and getting nervous that it needs to be somewhere. The truth is, I don’t know. Stay tuned though as the Blog will be the official news station of the birth, along with phone calls and text messages.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Your "Bob Ross Memorial: Whiteboard Pic of the Month"
Well kids, it's that time of the month again!! Time for your Bob Ross Memorial Whiteboard picture of the month. I know I have a following now in Herreid SD, huge in Herreid, so to catch those up that don't know how this works, let me explain.
One of the offices down from my cube is inhabited by 2 guys that put in minimal effort at work so they have no work use for the whiteboard that hangs in their office. Kidding. Matt and Dan know more about the database than I ever care to. One day I sketched a whitetail deer on the board, a few weeks later a pheasant and then it turned into a monthly thing. Made world famous now by "the blog".
Every month though, we get together and decide what the wildlife picture of the month will be. Click here to see the first installment, click here to see the trout and click here to see last months. As you can kinda tell, they've gotten slightly better every month. Yes, I agree this month is a bit of a step back, but at the current pace I was on, I would be trying to recreate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel on a whiteboard with 4 colored markers around August 2010.
We'd kinda decided on a prairie dog scene for this month, but after I started on it I could tell it was going to be a boring picture to look at. Not that this one is a whole lot better, but it gives us a little chance for a contest.......
FIRST ONE TO POST THE CORRECT NAME OF THIS DUCK GETS TO NAME THE BABY!!!! Ok, no you don't, but you can show off your knowledge of ducks.
Go ahead and post your thoughts on the comments link below. Few clues: Yes, this is a duck, yes, it does fly through North and South Dakota on occasion and no I don't have one of them mounted and hanging on the wall.
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