The first time Ashtyn rolled over was at her 6 week appointment but after that she started puttin on some pounds and would get herself high centered and couldn't get over anymore. This weekend she decided that it was time to start rollin and now she does it about every time you lay her down. Then she gets mad that she's on her belly and wants back the other way, so you turn her back over and 2 seconds later, roll over again! Typical woman...... never knows what she wants!!
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Monday, August 17, 2009
Mailbag
My mom commented to me that I didn’t put enough in my last post about going up to Sherwood for the weekend and what a great time we had with Grandma and Grandpa. And while we did have fun up there, this blog is more than just a family blog. The tentacles of it reach far around the world, with millions of subscribers and followers logging on every day to check the New From Da Crib. So while I like to keep the listeners up on what little one and the rest of our family is doing, I also need to “keep it real” for the rest – more fact based on fiction than anything, as long as it elicits a laugh.
Just to prove the international flavor of the blog, let me share with you some letters and e-mails that I’ve received with questions about parenthood.
Mr. The Skeet,
Everyone likes to come up to me and pretend that they are talking to me through my 6 month old child in a little babies voice. “Daddy, my feet are cold, put some socks on me!” “Daddy, I got a stinky diaper, change me.” Why what is the proper way to deal with the questions?
Thanks
Steve S.
Lincoln NE
Mr. Steve,
Thanks for your question! I’m glad to see you’re intelligent enough to know that a 6 month old doesn’t talk that well. It’s too bad that nobody has ever invented a sock that stays on a baby for more than 3 minutes. Give a smile, put the socks back on and wait 3 minutes for them to come off again. In the case of the diaper, you know that’s just the warning poop. The real one is coming in 45 seconds, offer them the opportunity to change them sometime before that second round comes.
Skeet,
Sometimes I get backed up on housework and I put my child in a bouncy chair or swing for a half hour or so, so that I can get some vacuuming done or some bottles washed. I’ve read many expert opinions that having your baby watch TV can lead to developmental problems and they won’t read before the get to kindergarten. What’s your thoughts on this?
Thanks
Shawna K,
Louisville KY
Shawna,
Thanks for your question! Would you rather your child crawl around on a filthy floor and eat from milk crusted bottles? Their course in life isn’t going to be determined by whether they can read “See Spot Run” in 1st grade as opposed to when they are 4 years old. I couldn’t read until my 3rd year of 1st grade. The 1/2 hour they stare at the scrolling screen for isn't going to scar them for life. Clean the place up and move on.
Sehr geehrter Herr,
Ich habe einen quesions auf dem Erziehen meines Kindes in einer Gesellschaft, die mehr globalized ist als jemals vorher.
Danke
Hans M.
Hamburg Deutschland
Dear Hans.
I failed German 1 and 2 in college. Thanks for playing.
Sincerely
Skeet
Skeetertini,
When are you going to marry Katie?
“Kathy”
Colorado
Dear “Kathy”,
Nice try Kaylan. When the time is right. Thanks for playing as well.
Skeet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So as you can see, this blog reaches much further than the borders of Bismarck ND. Check back occasionally I will answer more questions from the mailbag. So stay tuned for that.
One other note, my dad sent me an e-mail to inform me that they have new neighbors across the street and they are VERY excited. Looks like there’s 5 of them that came in this shipment, along with 2 dogs. In case you’re counting that brings the dog total in the neighborhood to 19. Word on the street is that they have almost a full set of teeth between them.
The other neighbor fell out of his shooting chair passed out the other day from COPD as he calls it. COPD must stand for “Cans Of Pabst Draft”. Evidently he coughs so much that he cuts off the oxygen to his brain and passes out. Oxygen deprived brain...... this explains a lot!
Here’s a pic of the RV the new neighbors roll in and one of them out on the street the other day. And yes, someone painted that house purple. Must have been a sale on "Ugly Purple" at Menards the day they went shopping.
Just to prove the international flavor of the blog, let me share with you some letters and e-mails that I’ve received with questions about parenthood.
Mr. The Skeet,
Everyone likes to come up to me and pretend that they are talking to me through my 6 month old child in a little babies voice. “Daddy, my feet are cold, put some socks on me!” “Daddy, I got a stinky diaper, change me.” Why what is the proper way to deal with the questions?
Thanks
Steve S.
Lincoln NE
Mr. Steve,
Thanks for your question! I’m glad to see you’re intelligent enough to know that a 6 month old doesn’t talk that well. It’s too bad that nobody has ever invented a sock that stays on a baby for more than 3 minutes. Give a smile, put the socks back on and wait 3 minutes for them to come off again. In the case of the diaper, you know that’s just the warning poop. The real one is coming in 45 seconds, offer them the opportunity to change them sometime before that second round comes.
Skeet,
Sometimes I get backed up on housework and I put my child in a bouncy chair or swing for a half hour or so, so that I can get some vacuuming done or some bottles washed. I’ve read many expert opinions that having your baby watch TV can lead to developmental problems and they won’t read before the get to kindergarten. What’s your thoughts on this?
Thanks
Shawna K,
Louisville KY
Shawna,
Thanks for your question! Would you rather your child crawl around on a filthy floor and eat from milk crusted bottles? Their course in life isn’t going to be determined by whether they can read “See Spot Run” in 1st grade as opposed to when they are 4 years old. I couldn’t read until my 3rd year of 1st grade. The 1/2 hour they stare at the scrolling screen for isn't going to scar them for life. Clean the place up and move on.
Sehr geehrter Herr,
Ich habe einen quesions auf dem Erziehen meines Kindes in einer Gesellschaft, die mehr globalized ist als jemals vorher.
Danke
Hans M.
Hamburg Deutschland
Dear Hans.
I failed German 1 and 2 in college. Thanks for playing.
Sincerely
Skeet
Skeetertini,
When are you going to marry Katie?
“Kathy”
Colorado
Dear “Kathy”,
Nice try Kaylan. When the time is right. Thanks for playing as well.
Skeet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So as you can see, this blog reaches much further than the borders of Bismarck ND. Check back occasionally I will answer more questions from the mailbag. So stay tuned for that.
One other note, my dad sent me an e-mail to inform me that they have new neighbors across the street and they are VERY excited. Looks like there’s 5 of them that came in this shipment, along with 2 dogs. In case you’re counting that brings the dog total in the neighborhood to 19. Word on the street is that they have almost a full set of teeth between them.
The other neighbor fell out of his shooting chair passed out the other day from COPD as he calls it. COPD must stand for “Cans Of Pabst Draft”. Evidently he coughs so much that he cuts off the oxygen to his brain and passes out. Oxygen deprived brain...... this explains a lot!
Here’s a pic of the RV the new neighbors roll in and one of them out on the street the other day. And yes, someone painted that house purple. Must have been a sale on "Ugly Purple" at Menards the day they went shopping.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Unforgiven
Somewhere west of Sherwood North Dakota…..
Katie: “I have a confession……. that was the first one.”
Skeet: “First one what?”
Katie: “That was the first pop bottle I ever killed.”
Skeet: “Yeah, well you sure killed the hell out of that one today.”
For the record, I haven't pushed or prodded Katie to start hunting and shooting. She told me that she wanted to learn how to hunt. I told her it's not something you learn how to do, you're born with the knowledge and ability - they eye's forward in predator mode, canine teeth for tearing meat, etc. It's just that most people suppress it since they can go to the store and buy a steak. I could tell Katie had ice water running through her veins though when she successfully got her first confirmed kill on a charging gopher - she stared him down as he was coming at us and put him on the ground just feet away from us. Ok, so he stood there 40 feet away and let her adjust her aim 3 times before she put him down, but still, not bad for a first time with a rifle.
She actually went 3 for 5 on gophers for the day, but needed to learn the finer points of shooting and I'm not really the best one to teach. It's like, how does Picasso paint so well? How does Shakespeare write so well? They don't know, they just do. And so it is with me. Generally speaking, if something is on the business end of my gun it's gonna go in the freezer. But we took the time to stop along a prairie road and shoot up a bottle. She does really well with open sites, but has some work to do with the scoped rifles. She got really good towards the end, but just to let her know where she needs to be someday I called my shot and took the cap off the bottle at about 70 yards. She'll learn that someday - always call your shots. If you make it, you look good, if you miss you blame it on the wind.
That night we celebrated the hunt with some nice store bought steaks and chicken on the grill. I've come to a conclusion as well - theres two types of families that now live in Sherwood. The ones that have been there for years and keep up their houses and lawns and then the rest that have moved in and have 10 vehicles that don’t work, 1 that might and at least 3 chained up dogs. In fact, in a 1 block radius of mom and dads are 17 dogs - no lying, 17 dogs!!! (The blocks in Sherwood are about a quarter of the size of larger city blocks for reference.) Dogs that bark non stop when you’re outside, dogs that bark early in the morning, dogs that bark late at night. There’s even a few dogs that bark because no other dogs are barking so they figure they better bark. I don’t blame the dogs really – I blame the idiot owners that leave them chained up and instead of giving them a toy to play with, they give them an old chair in their kennel to chew on until it’s completely ripped apart and then throw another chair in.
They’re well trained dogs too. As long as ‘heel’ means run to the other end of the yard, ‘sit’ means to bark and ‘lie down’ means to crap in your neighbors driveway. Then yes, they’re perfectly trained.
Just an observation for these people that may help them become more productive of society. Here's a quick guideline of what NOT to do every day.
1.) Wake up
2.) Drink yourself silly
3.) Spend the entire day shooting pellets guns at a paper target
4.) Pass out
I should live back in Sherwood, a person could write an entire blog on bad neighbors if they wanted to.
It was a good weekend though, Ashtyn enjoyed the garden and the grass and meeting new people like Earl and MaryLynn and Jared and Reede. She liked visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and in about a year is going to love riding on the electric tractor and 4-Wheeler with her cousins.
Katie: “I have a confession……. that was the first one.”
Skeet: “First one what?”
Katie: “That was the first pop bottle I ever killed.”
Skeet: “Yeah, well you sure killed the hell out of that one today.”
For the record, I haven't pushed or prodded Katie to start hunting and shooting. She told me that she wanted to learn how to hunt. I told her it's not something you learn how to do, you're born with the knowledge and ability - they eye's forward in predator mode, canine teeth for tearing meat, etc. It's just that most people suppress it since they can go to the store and buy a steak. I could tell Katie had ice water running through her veins though when she successfully got her first confirmed kill on a charging gopher - she stared him down as he was coming at us and put him on the ground just feet away from us. Ok, so he stood there 40 feet away and let her adjust her aim 3 times before she put him down, but still, not bad for a first time with a rifle.
She actually went 3 for 5 on gophers for the day, but needed to learn the finer points of shooting and I'm not really the best one to teach. It's like, how does Picasso paint so well? How does Shakespeare write so well? They don't know, they just do. And so it is with me. Generally speaking, if something is on the business end of my gun it's gonna go in the freezer. But we took the time to stop along a prairie road and shoot up a bottle. She does really well with open sites, but has some work to do with the scoped rifles. She got really good towards the end, but just to let her know where she needs to be someday I called my shot and took the cap off the bottle at about 70 yards. She'll learn that someday - always call your shots. If you make it, you look good, if you miss you blame it on the wind.
That night we celebrated the hunt with some nice store bought steaks and chicken on the grill. I've come to a conclusion as well - theres two types of families that now live in Sherwood. The ones that have been there for years and keep up their houses and lawns and then the rest that have moved in and have 10 vehicles that don’t work, 1 that might and at least 3 chained up dogs. In fact, in a 1 block radius of mom and dads are 17 dogs - no lying, 17 dogs!!! (The blocks in Sherwood are about a quarter of the size of larger city blocks for reference.) Dogs that bark non stop when you’re outside, dogs that bark early in the morning, dogs that bark late at night. There’s even a few dogs that bark because no other dogs are barking so they figure they better bark. I don’t blame the dogs really – I blame the idiot owners that leave them chained up and instead of giving them a toy to play with, they give them an old chair in their kennel to chew on until it’s completely ripped apart and then throw another chair in.
They’re well trained dogs too. As long as ‘heel’ means run to the other end of the yard, ‘sit’ means to bark and ‘lie down’ means to crap in your neighbors driveway. Then yes, they’re perfectly trained.
Just an observation for these people that may help them become more productive of society. Here's a quick guideline of what NOT to do every day.
1.) Wake up
2.) Drink yourself silly
3.) Spend the entire day shooting pellets guns at a paper target
4.) Pass out
I should live back in Sherwood, a person could write an entire blog on bad neighbors if they wanted to.
It was a good weekend though, Ashtyn enjoyed the garden and the grass and meeting new people like Earl and MaryLynn and Jared and Reede. She liked visiting with Grandma and Grandpa and in about a year is going to love riding on the electric tractor and 4-Wheeler with her cousins.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Your "Bob Ross Memorial": Whiteboard pic of the month
This months edition is a throwback to a few months ago and the jumping trout. Matt has Bass fever lately so we decided to go with Jumping Bass this month. I'm thinking of maybe having a little vote on what next months should be. You'll find the voting on the right side of the blog.
Kaylan suggested that she decide. She suggested an entire scene of Polars Bears and Penguins. The only problem is that Polar Bears and Penguins, although normally cold weather animals, live at opposite ends of the Earth. She then suggested 'Big Bird'. Not "A" big bird, "The" Big Bird. We don't do fictitious creatures around here. Maybe Sasquatches, possibly Nessy, outside chance of a Chupacabra, but thats as far as we go.
Vote early, vote often! New post on the weekend that was soon!
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