21 down 47 to go!

It has taken me a little while to get to the 20 pound lost mark but I am finally there.  The addition to our family at the end of February derailed me a little bit but I am back on track.  So I have lost 21 pounds and now have 47 left to go.

It's amazing the difference 20 pounds makes.  My clothes are starting to fit better.  I am able to start running again, even if it is only on the treadmill and I am back on my bikes.  As the pounds come off I just get faster and faster on the mountain and road bike.

The picture on the left is after I wiped out at Rowlett Creek last weekend.  Went into a muddy corner way to fast.  Luckily it was a pretty soft landing.

Today I was able to get out to one of my favorite trails, Erwin Park here in McKinney.  I have always used Erwin Park as my measure of fitness.  It is a hill, semi-technical trail and when I am in really good shape I can do laps in sub 50 minute times.  Today's lap was at 65 minutes, so I have quite a ways to go.  BUT, this was better than expected and I didn't have a flat front tire and no rear brake for the last 1.5 miles of the trail.  This caused me to endo as I exited the trail and bash my knee.  Feels good to be back on my bike!

I feel like I am still on track to do the NTX Mountain Bike series late this summer but I still have a way to go!!!

Tired

I know I haven't written anything out here since the new year but I have a very good excuse.  We just had a new baby on February 29.  So it might be a few more weeks before I get some entries back out here but I promise I'll do it.

Resolutions, goals, whatever you want to call them!

I know these are a couple of days late but here are my new years resolutions or goals for the upcoming year.

1.  Lose 60 lbs - I have actually already started to work on this goal.  Before Christmas this goal was more like lose 70 lbs but I have taken a little bit off so far and will continue.  I am hoping to be down in the 210s by the time the MTB races start in late summer.

2.  Be active 7 hours a week - This is actually what I used to do when I was in shape.  I made sure I got 7 hours of exercise in a week.  I am not too picky about the form of this exercise as long as I am being active at least one hour a day.

3.  Run at least one of the fall DORBA races - I really miss my mountain bike rides.  After Kevin got sick just seemed to stop riding.  So this year I am going to get back on my bike and run the races again.  It's been probably 5 years since I rode a race.

4.  Watch less TV - I am able to meet #2 on this list then this won't be that hard.  I have already gone through my DVR and killed several shows that honestly were not that good but I watched them anyway.

5. Ride 100 miles in one day - This is something I always wanted to do.  I would really like to do the Hotter than Hell 100 but I am not sure that is within my grasp this year.  But I would take just getting on my trainer and knocking out 100 miles in one day.

6.  Start running again - I would really like to start running again.  Unfortunately this might be out of my control due to some chronic injuries and problems.  However, once my weight starts to drop down a little I would really like to start getting back out and pounding the pavement.

7.  Get outdoors more - I just spend too much time inside.

8.  Fit into that damn Yahoo jersey! - John bought me that jersey when he was on the Yahoo! campus.  He bought a XXL but it is a European size and the XXL only refers to the length not the girth of the person.  SO I have never fit into it, but this year will be the year!!!

And GO!
Here's to a great new year!!!

10 down 58 to go

After a spectacular first week with a 9 pound loss, I am having a pretty slow week.   I have been hovering at 10 lbs lost so far this week (1 lbs lost this week), but I expected it after the big loss last week.

I know everyone says "don't weigh in every day" but I have too.  I have to keep myself conscience of my weight.  When don't see it every day I forget and then I indulge.  The morning weigh in is my wake up call ever morning.  The scale says to me "Hey dummy, you're still fat!"  Yes, I have a very mean scale.  I have been tracking my weight for over 6 years now.  That is a lot of weigh ins!

The cold weather isn't helping me much either because I have to spend more time exercising indoors.  I love to get out and ride my bikes or hike but right now the trails are muddy and while it is cold out they take forever to dry.  Getting out on the road bike in these cold winds is not really much fun at all.   So my road bike is upstairs in the trainer.  So 4-5 times a week I get up stairs and try to get 18-20 miles in.  The last three days, I have logged 53.5 miles on the bike (in the trainer).  The only thing that keeps me sane is that I am able to play XBox while on the bike.  I used to have aero bars that I could rest on but I broke one of the pads so I know use a large pillow to rest my forearms on.  A very ghetto solution but it was free, I can't justify buying new aero bars right now.
Despite the slowdown in weight loss I am feeling great.  Getting the exercise in and the healthier means make life so much more enjoyable.  Some of my sleeping issues are going away, no more reflux, and I actually get hungry instead of a constant "I ate too much" feeling.

I have determined that I am going to start running the local mountain bike races again.   DORBA (Dallas Off Road Bike Association) has announced the dates and locations of the 2012 North Texas Series and I really want race this year.

• Oak Cliff Nature Preserve, Oak Cliff
  Sunday, Aug 5th
  
• Erwin Park, McKinney
  Sunday Aug 19th
  
• Sansom  Park, Ft. Worth
  Sunday Sep 9th
  
• Johnson Branch, Pilot Point
  Sunday Sep 23rd
  
• Rowlett Creek Preserve, Garland
  Sunday Oct 14th

I have raced all of these trails and it is going to be an awesome series.  Except the Sansom race, that trail is a beating and the last time I raced out there it was so dry and dusty I wiped out at least a dozen times and left at least a quart of blood on the trail.

The last time I raced was in 2008 and that was a tough, tough series and Kevin, David, and I were so worn out after that series that we took the next race year off and never got back to it.  But I miss it and I will be back next fall.  In between now and then there are some other races to run.  Right now I am trying to get ready for a 6-hour race at Erwin park in March that is part of the 2012 DORBA Frozen Endurance Series.  They have a 4-hour solo option that I will probably go with because I am not sure I can get in shape enough to do the 6 hour option.  The last time I ran this race, I didn't manage by fluid or electrolytes properly and completely cramped up at 3.5  hours and had to abandon the race.  Hopefully it will go better this time!!!

7 down 61 to go!

Oh yes, I am talking about my eternal battle with my weight.  It seems like I am constantly dealing with it because I always am.  Only once in the last decade have I been down to a weight that I was happy with.  (Don't get me wrong, I have completely realistic expectations about my weight, I am a big dude and understand that) And when I was at that weight I told myself I would never go back.  Yet, it happens so slowly that you give a little here and a little there at POW POW, you are up 60 lbs.  And that is no exaggeration.

July 2008 at 209 lbs.

Nov 2011 at 268lbs.

So, I am back on a quest to get back down to 200lbs and to stay there.  Maintaining is the hard part for me.  Once I get to my goal, I don't stay there.  I slowly start to put weight back on and boy does my body know how to put weight on.  I think since I at one point I weighed up over 310 lbs my body naturally wants to go back to that weight and it is a constant fight not to.

Right now I am back to eating healthy and slowly getting back into my exercise routines.  I would say I am on a diet but I'm not, I hate the word "diet" and all it stands for.  It should be about getting into a healthy long term life style not a temporary change to get results.  I still eat all the things I love I just don't eat them all the time and I moderate the high-calorie foods to very small quantities.  I can't just cut everything out, that usually results in a short term loss, long term gain. (See that little weight pun I threw in there)

I got back to my healthy living the Friday after Thanksgiving and have already lost 7 pounds.  I would like to drop 10-15 more before Christmas and then at total of 35-40 by the time Rebecca is born.  Those are really lofty goals and it will take constant diligence to meet those them, but I think I can do it.

Funny things you say, #1, #2, and #3

Unless you have experienced a toddlers need to explore their world this post probably only won't make much sense to you.  As Samantha began to crawl and then to walk and then to run, she begun to see, touch, and taste everything she could.  I noticed that Karie and I were starting to say things that if taken completely out of context sounded really funny.  So I started to make a list of some of the better things that have come out of our mouths.  So far I only have three, but I am sure there will be many more to come.

Samantha really liked to chew on shoes when she was older so this lead to Karie saying:
1.   "Dogs eat shoes, not babies"

After the Christmas tree was put up I turned around saw Samantha  walking around the tree putting ornaments into a fed-ex sack I had just emptied:
2.  "We do not trick or tree off of the Christmas tree"

Then the other day Samantha was trying to tell me something with her fingers in her mouth:
3.  "Take your fingers out of your mouth, I can't understand you.  Go ahead and put them back in, I still can't understand you."

All Done

It's amazing how much joy a little one can bring into a household, especially our little Samantha.  Karie and I are constantly laughing at the things that she does as she tries to figure this crazy world out. 

Because we usually spend our Thanksgiving in Indiana, we have gotten into the habit of setting up our Christmas tree the weekend before the holiday.  This way it is already setup when we get home and don't have to worry about it.  When we get back from Indiana we are so tired that setting up the tree became a burden and not a Joy.  This way it's always a Joy.

Well, the tree is setup in the playroom and last night we were playing in there with Samantha.  Other than the candy canes on the tree, Samantha is generally pretty good about leaving the tree alone.  However, last night I turned around and Samantha had a FedEx bad in her hands that I just emptied.  She was walking around the Christmas tree putting ornaments into the bag.  It took me a second to realize what she was doing and then the funniest words came out of my mouth.  "Samantha we don't trick or treat off of the Christmas tree."  It's an honest mistake, how was she to know that you only trick or treat at Halloween.  I still giggle when I think about it. 

Then the next day just after lunch, I was sitting downstairs playing with Samantha before I went back up to work.  Samantha likes to play a "night night" game where she pretends to got to sleep only to pop back up after 30 seconds to surprise me that she wasn't really asleep.  I don't have the heart to tell her that I can see she isn't asleep because she never closes her eyes.  But today she did something different.  She put her hands together right before she went "night night."  I asked Karie if she was praying and Karie held up a Prayer book that she got at the library.  Karie and Samantha had been reading the book so Samantha was starting to pray before she went "night night".  As Samantha sat there Karie says,

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep
may angels watch me through the night
and wake me with the morning light
Amen

And Samantha very proudly replies "All Done".

It took a couple minutes for Karie and I to stop laughing.

What?!?

Karie had another baby appointment today and after an hour wait we finally got to hear Rebecca's heart beat (162 bpm).  It was well worth that wait, I really love that swooshing sound.  However, Samantha wasn't sure what to make of it, at first she was upset because she didn't know what the doctor was doing to mommy.  After a few moments, she started to smile.

 As we were leaving the office, we go into the elevator and a few people join us for the ride down.  For some reason people are really pulled to Samantha.  Maybe it is that way with all little kids, but it seems like a lot of people go out of their way to talk to Samantha.  The people in the elevator say "Hi' and Samantha smiles at them.  They continue to look at Samantha then out of nowhere Samantha says very loudly and very clearly "What!?!" with about as much attitude that a 17 month old can muster.  (All you parents out there will understand that is a lot of attitude)

I laugh, but I also see visions of things to come.  I envision Samantha as a teenager staring at me saying "What!?!"

Well Karie was baffled by this behavior because she can't imagine where Samantha would have learned such a thing.  Unfortunately daddy knew exactly where she learned it.  Whenever Samantha gets into a staring mood and stares at me, I look back and say "What?"

Lesson learned.

Babies = Projects

One thing I realized as babies enter your life, your "to do" list never seems to end.  With a second little one on the way, I think my "to do" list is about a mile long. 

For normal people, they would just start one project and finish it, then start the next.  For some reason my brain does not work that way.  Every project I create seems to spawn more projects that spawn even more projects.  This little voice in my head says "Well, while you are doing [insert task] you should go ahead and do [insert slightly related task]" until I am so far away from the original task that it sometimes doesn't get done.

Currently I am in the process of removing all the furniture from our second living room and making it into a play room, even though the new babies room still has a lot to be finished.  I just got it into my head that it needed to be done and there I go!  No sure why I felt a need to start yet another large project while I had a dozen others going.

Then, as I was moving furniture around in the room and clearing it out, I noticed the mantle is a little messed up do to a plant that over flowed.  I am trying to resist taking a hammer to it.  I have a vision of this awesome NEW and IMPROVED mantle.  However, I wouldn't be able to move forward with the playroom project until the mantle is done.  AHhhhhhhh, stop the insanity.  This is also the reason why some of the time I get so overwhelmed with a project before I even start it. 

My other problem is that I don't like prolonged projects.  When I start a project it's all GO 100% until it's done.  You can ask my wife, she generally stays clear when I start a project marathon because sometimes a cussing storm develops.  Then there is the dreaded F-Bomb tornado that spawns when something goes FUBAR!!!  When I decided to paint the new babies room I tore the room down, painted ceiling, accent wall, the rest of the room, touched up, put the room back together, assembled the crib and the dresser in about 24 hours.  Karie would peek in now and again when she hadn't heard me cuss in a while to make sure I wasn't dead.  Karie tends to hover a lot when I am working on something in the house because she is grew up with a dad and ended most of his home improvement projects with a trip to the hospital.  That is a little dramatic but the guy is missing 1/2 a toe and has a metal ankle.

I am hoping that I can get the play room done quickly so I can get back to the other projects that I am suppose to be working on.  I still have a closet to gut and rebuild, a book shelf to build, another one to paint, and a dozen assorted projects to get done before Rebecca gets here.  I still have 3.5 months but with 2 major holidays in the time ahead it is going to go by quick.  I guess I should stop my typing and get to work.

Indiana

One of the things you don't get in Texas is the wide variety of fall color like they get up here in northern Indiana.  So many more reds, yellows, and oranges on all the trees.  It is just gorgeous. 

Are we there yet?!?

Traveling was so much easier before we had kids.  Karie and I would just pack up and go.  Now it requires lists, shuffling items around and between bags to make sure they are not over the weight limits.  Then checking the lists once, and twice, and thrice to make sure when we get on the plane we don't ask "where is the sippy cup" while Samantha is going "AAAaaahahahahahaAAAHhahahhahahahhha!!!!"

Then there is all the looks from the passengers wondering "is that kid going to cry on the plane" or "is that kid going to kick/punch/puke/poop on me during the flight."  Coming down the isle it almost feels like the scene from Forrest Gump on the bus where all the kids/soldiers are saying "this seat is taken" however, we have assigned seats so take that "MUuuahhahahahahaha!!!"

Then there is all the fees for the extra stuff that we have to bring along.  I do give airlines some credit for allowing strollers and carseats to fly for free but the pack-n-play is hit or miss.  I think we have spent enough on fees for that thing that we could have bought 2 more by now.

Even with all that it's still worth it to get out and to share the world with the little one and soon to be two.  Even though Samantha is too small to ever remember her trips to Ft. Wayne and her trip to the Grand Canyon or Yosemite or the Golden Gate bridge, I think these sights will stick with her as she grows up.  I feel like we are helping her to expand her horizons and eventually expand her sisters horizons and however many after that.

I didn't travel much as a kid, the farthest we ever went from home was as far as we could and still get back before bed time.  So our range of travel was very small.  My first airplane trip was in high school when the band went to Disney World.  As I got older, I began to realize how much was out there to see and do and if I had all the time and money in the world that is what I would do.  But sadly I don't have all the time and money in the world so we pick and chose very carefully. 

So far our trips have been a lot of fun and yes there have been exploding diapers on flights.  There have been diverted flights and tarmac waits.  There have been not so happy people next to us.  And there has been some crying and screaming but it's still all worth it.  It's so very worth it to watch Samantha run around the giant redwoods and eat dirt in a different state, which according to Samantha California dirt tastes better than Texas dirt.  To carry Samantha around Yosemite where she got to touch rocks bigger than our house and see a waterfall taller than the highest high rise in Dallas.  These memories are far out weight the miniscule inconveniences of traveling with the little ones.

One day, I hope, our kiddos will thank us for dragging them around to different parts of this country and eventually the world.

Rangers

All of these close and extra inning games are going to give me an ulcer.  It makes for exciting baseball but my stress level is through the roof.

As a life long Rangers fan it is so nice to make the the playoffs and the World Series two years in a row after years and years of mediocre baseball.  But I realized that it doesn't take long for expectations to change.  Just simply making the playoffs or making it to the World Series just isn't enough any more.  Now that I have been given a taste, I want it all.

After tonights nail biter the series is tied 1-1 and it heads back to Texas.  We get our designated hitter back and they can play baseball the way it was meant to be played.  I am hoping the Rangers bats wakeup so we can start putting this series away!  I don't think I can take a repeat of last year.

Kicks

I felt two little kicks from the little one tonight.  Karie is really starting to feel her moving around and has mentioned it several times but this was the first time I was able to feel her.  We are almost to the half way point in the pregnancy, it feels like it is going quite a bit fast this time.  With Samantha it seemed to take forever to get to this point.  I think a lot of that is because  are busy with Samantha.

Tonight I made cupcakes for Karie's birthday party on Sunday and Samantha got to lick the beater.  She didn't really know what to make of it at first until I got her to taste it.  Then she was all over it.  The only problem was that she wasn't in her chair so she walked into the living room, tripped, and fell onto a couch pillow.  This resulted in her losing her beater and there was much whaling and gnashing of teeth.  For the second beater, I put her into her chair so their wouldn't be a repeat.

After dinner we settled down to watch the Lion King and to my surprise Samantha actually snuggled with Karie and watched.  Later she came and snuggled with me a little before she went to bed.  Of course she didn't make it through the entire movie but it was nice to have a quiet movie night.

State Fair of Texas

Yesterday was my Fair Day and I love the State Fair.  I remember going almost every year as a kid and even as I grew up.  Karie and my first day was at the State Fair so needless to say it means a lot to me to go every year.  This year was even more fun because Samantha is old enough to partake of the food and the fun.  We also went with my sister, my nephew and his wife and their little girl.  The fair is always more fun with more people.

If you have never been to a fair then you don't understand that the food is one of the main attractions.  Pretty much everything is fried.  If you are going to go to a fair then eating healthy really isn't an option. We had corn dogs, funnel cake, cotton candy, corn on the cob, 1/2 lbs hot dogs, cheese fries, fried buffalo chicken flapjack, fried Oreos, turkey leg, root beer, lemonade, fried mac and cheese and others I can't remember.  

The fried buffalo chicken flapjack won the award for best food and it was pretty good.  The loser of the day was the Kool-Aide Pickle.  I saw it advertised while we were eating out lunch and I just had to give it a try.   The Kool-aide pickle is a huge dill pickle soaked in Kool-Aide then sprinkled with sugar and kool-aide mix.  It was just too weird, the dill was too much of a contrast of the sweet kool-aide. Samantha's favorite food was the fried mac and cheese.

We also went through the childrens animal barn which is generally a big hit with Samantha.  This year she was old enough to walk around without being carried so she could go up to the animals herself.  However, she isn't quite old enough to feed the animals.  She seemed to be just as happy just to look and to play with the scoops that were attached to each cage.

After we looked at the animals we wandered around the car show and picked out all the cars and trucks that we would love to have but won't.  Samantha really liked this red Dodge truck but mean ole mommy wouldn't let her take it home. 

Samantha did get a little model VW Beetle to take home.  It rode around in the wagon with her all day.  The only time she put it down was to get something to eat or drink.

There were a lot of cool cars and trucks.  Every year we see more and more electric or hybrid vehicles at the fair.  This year they were really hyping the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf.  I got to take a look at the Leaf, the electric motor just looks odd under the hood.  But I guess one of these days we will all be driving electric cars.

The hit of the day had to be the aquarium.   Samantha loved to splash in the water in the open tanks where you can touch and feel stuff.  Evidently, Samantha didn't seem to care that there were "NO SPLASHING" signs posted all over the place.  Her and Karie had a couple of battles over the splashing that didn't end well.  Within a couple of minutes Samantha was covered in water.  The Manta Ray tank in the back of the aquarium is just too cool.  They rays swim right up and you can touch them.  Samantha seemed more annoyed by them than anything because they were interrupting her splashing.  They would swim by and suck on her arm looking for food and then move on.  I was able to feed a couple of them and it startled my how much they can suck.  It was actually quite creepy.  But they are beautiful animals!

And of course, you can't leave the fair without riding at least one ride.  I scoped out the rides and the "Winky the Whale" ride seemed to be the least threatening.  The minimum height was 30 inches so Samantha was good to go.  I could tell this ride was going to be a problem for me when I got in and realized I didn't really fit.  I had to put my legs sideways to keep my knees from banging around and had to force my arm against the front bar to keep from smashing Samantha.  So when this thing finally started to move Samantha starting laughing.  I then realized it moved faster and more violently than it looked.  Every time Winky the Whale went up and down it slammed my spine and knees against the hard seat and from of the whale.  As I cringe from the next movement, Samantha is laughing and screaming.  She loved it.  This was the first ride she had ever been on and it opened a whole new world for her.  After that she knew what all these spinning, noisy things were and she would point at the rides that were too big for her and clap.  I am sure she would have ridden everything in the midway.  Next year , I am sure I will be on a lot more rides with Samantha. 

As the way went on, I could tell that Samantha was starting to get tired.  Since we took the wagon Samantha didn't have an opportunity to take a nap like her cousin did, who was in a stroller.  We had left the house just after 9:30 am and didn't leave the fair until around 6:15 pm.  As soon as we got into the van to head home, Samantha was out cold.  It was a long, fun, and exhausting day.  Karie and my feet were both sore from all the walking and standing.  But it was an awesome day and year after year we hope there will be many, many more.

Rangers

These playoff baseball games are going to give me a stroke.  As a life long Rangers fan I  unacustomed to being this involved in playoff baseball.  Last year and this year have been an education in reflux causing stress as I watch the Rangers navigate through the post season. 

Tonight's game was hard to watch.  Even though I knew the odds of winning were low when the Tigers tacked on more runs to make it 5-1, I still had hope that maybe there was some more grandslam magic in Cruz's bat.  But it wasn't meant to be.

I knew they would't sweep the Tigers so now we can move on and win the series!

Pumpkins, Twins, Rain, and Bathtime

What do these four things have in common, pumpkins, twins, rain and bath time.  Well, they are all thinks from this weekend.  Yes, I realize that is a cheesy way to start a blog entry but since it was kind of a random title I thought some explanation was necessary.

Saturday morning Karie, Samantha, and I drove up to Celina to visit the Big Orange Pumpkin Farm.  It was a lot of fun.  They had a petting zoo with cows, longhorns, goats and sheep.  The kiddos were not allowed in the pens with the animals but since we go there first thing in the morning the animals were nice and hungry so it wasn't hard to get them to come over.  Actually the sheep were pretty aggressive and one of them was able to get a feed cup away from Karie and eat it all up.  It was funny because the sheep just shoved it's nose into the cup and tilted it's head back and all the feed was gone!  The longhorns and cows were her favorite.  When she would see one she would run towards them yelling "MMMMOOOOOooooooo!!!!"

Samantha really enjoyed running around the pumpkin patch.  We tried to get her to say "Pumpkin" but it came out more like "Poop" so it sounded like she was running around yelling "Poop!" all morning.  Samantha doesn't get to run around in wide open spaces like I did when I was a kid so we try to get her out as much as we can.  The pumpkin patch was a lot of fun, however, Samantha didn't know what to make of the pumpkins at first.  Once she realized she could pick them up and carry them she was off.  The highlight of the visit was when she found a tiny pumpkin that was just her size.  We also enjoyed a hay ride, which was about 5 minutes too long for Samantha.  She didn't get upset but she was starting to get antsy to move around.

Later that evening we went out to my mom and dad's for dinner and Kevin and Wendy brought out the twins.  They are getting so big and it's hard to imagine how small they were when they were first born.  They are both very aware and look at you and acknowledge you.  They are at an age where they become a lot of fun.  Luke and Grace already have distinct personalities and distinct laughs.  Baby laughs are just awesome!!!  Luke is a little smaller than Grace at the moment but I am sure that won't last for long.  I am so glad that I get to spend time when these two!  It really makes you thing about the blessing in our life and our family when you look at these two!

On Sunday not much was going to happen outdoors because it was actually raining.  It rained on and off most of the day on Sunday and boy did we need it.  It wasn't enough to end the drought but it helped.  The weather man said we still have a 9 inch deficit for rain this year and it looks like it will be a dry winter so unless we get some drought busting rain it looks like my water bill won't be going down anytime soon.

Then finally we get to bath time!  I remember when bath time used to be a fun time, not just a something you did every morning or night that is part of your daily routine.  Samantha loves running water, I guess who doesn't.  The feel and look of it is just cool, no matter how old you are. Samantha was having a really good time in the bath until she fell face first into the water.  For an adult this is not a big deal but for a 15 month old falling like that can be terrifying.  In an instant she was face down and not able to breathe.  Karie scooped her up immediately and I wrapper her in a towel because I knew this meant the end of bath time.  Samantha was crying but it wasn't her normal "I"M PISSED!!!!" cry it was a whiny and pitiful "I'm scared..." cry.  I hate that cry. The pissed cry happens all the time, it's not hard to piss off a little toddler, but the scared cry really bothers me.    It makes me feel like I failed as a parent.  Yes, I know it's just part of her learning but I still don't like it and I know that I can not prevent these situations from happening.  Nor should I try unless I want Samantha to grow up sheltered and scared of the world.  So the best I can do is offer a comforting hug and let her know she is alright.

It wasn't long before she was back to herself and she picked up my brush and decided that she needed to brush mine and her hair. 

So what do pumpkins, twins, rain and bath time mean to me.  It means I had a great weekend with my family and reminds me of how truly blessed I am.

Flowers

I have been working feverishly to get the flowers completed so we can start to distribute them to friends and family.  They are all pretty much cut out and now I am sanding and priming the them.  I have 11 of them ready to go.  Since it takes time for the primer to dry I can only do some many of the flowers at a time.  So this evening I decided to sit down and start designing my flower.


I started off with a standard type flower and working my way over to a more exotic design.  In this process, I realized how much I still enjoy grabbing a pencil and paper and doodling.  I used to be a pretty good artist when it came to pencil and charcoal.  However, I am so out of practice now that I can barely draw a stick figure.  Regardless, it is still really enjoyable to just to sit down and lose yourself in a blank peice of paper.  Before I knew it, I had been sitting there for over a hour and it was time to go to bed.

My biggest obstacle to this whole process is that that I really suck at painting.  My sister and twin brother have skills with a paint brush so I am sure their flowers will look great.  I just never liked the flexiblity of the brush.  The pencil makes a mark exactly where I put it.  So I think I might have to bust out my airbrush, something I also haven't used in a long time either.  It should provide me a lot more control, I hope.  It will also give me the look I am going for if I go with the flame design.  No matter how the flower turns out, it should be fun.

Good weekend

It was a pretty good weekend.

Yesterday Karie, Samantha and I went out to Eisenhower State Park for a hike.  The park was pretty much deserted since the water was off limits.  Due to the really hot summer and the lower water levels the algae in the water is at dangerous levels.  So getting in the water is forbidden.  It wasn't a big deal to us since we had not planned on doing any swimming today.

We hiked around  3 miles and then found an empty campsite to have our lunch.  It wasn't hard to find an empty one so we got to pick a real nice one.  Samantha had the most fun chasing the flies that landed on our food and cooler.

Later that evening, we all went to downtown McKinney to grab some dinner.  We went over to Square Burger, one of our favorite places to eat.  And afterwards we walked around the square.  We eventually ended up at a small park just west of the square.  Samantha ran around for about 30 minutes straight.  She even spent some time chasing a little 2 year old boy around, oh, it's too early to start that.

Today we went out for a walk over to a playground near our house.  Samantha loves the play ground and especially the mulch they put down.  She throws it, moves it, carries it, and hands it to me to hold.  We spent some time going down the slides today.  At first she wasn't that interested until I let her go down herself.  That was a lot of fun and we did that over, and over, and over until I had enough.

On our way back to the house we bumped into a lady walking with a small screech owl on her arm.  I asked her if it was an owl and she said "yes" and come over to talk to us.  It turns out she was trying to determine if the owl could be used with kids and adults as a learning bird.  The owl had been injured so it could no longer fly.  The owl had its eyes almost closed and was making a small cry.  The lady said the noise was his cry, and meant he wasn't happy.  The owl was doing pretty well and seemed to get used to our presence.  However, if the owl cannot get used to people it will be put down since all the stress would not be a very good life for the owl.  I really hope he makes it.  The lady works at the Raptor habitat over by Lake Lavon and said it's open to the public the first Saturday of the month.  We might try to head over there next month and see the little owl.

Marching Band

I went to see my nephew march with the Liberty Redhawk marching band last night.  It was a lot of fun to be at a high school game again to see the band perform. 

My sister and I talked a little bit about our band experiences and it got me thinking that it has been almost 20 years since I was out on a football field marching. 

Damn, I am getting old.

17 Weeks and a day

Yesterday was the 17 week mark and everything is going great.  For the most part Karie is feeling pretty good.  However, she has had a couple more bouts of morning sickness which is a little odd.  With Samantha she had issues with getting light headed if she stood up too fast but once she got out of the first trimester the sickness was gone.  It seems to happen when we don't eat real well so I think it's just Karie's body telling her to eat better. 

The number of pillows in the bed seems to be multiplying every week and room is getting limited.  Before long I think the pillows are going to rebel and kick me out of the bed.

Karie and I have been thinking about what we wanted to do on the walls with the flowers.  In Samantha's room we put little lady bugs on the wall below her butterflies and also made a couple ladybug book shelves.  So we thought about putting up little bumblebees below the flowers.  So I printed out some mockups and put them on the wall and they look pretty good.  So once I am done cutting out, sanding, and priming the flowers, I will get started on bumblebees.

So far I have been able to cut out 15 of the flowers.  It doesn't take as long as I though it would to cut out each flower.  Once I get them cut out, I then have to make all the plugs for the middle and that may take a little more time.  But in the end it will be worth it.