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Thursday, December 31, 2009
@chikom True. Saw camel mounted policemen at the Pyramids n was quite impressed by their command n control of the...
@chikom True. Saw camel mounted policemen at the Pyramids n was quite impressed by their command n control of the hassling types. (via @sushobhan) I'd luv 2 see a pic of tht. :)
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Egypttrip Good to see ample numbers of couples hand in hand all across Cairo. Headscarves don't rule out love or ...
#Egypttrip Good to see ample numbers of couples hand in hand all across Cairo. Headscarves don't rule out love or PDA ;) (via @sushobhan)good one. I like these kind of epiphanies u can witness frm travelling. :)
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Watching 'The Eye' w/ Jessica Alba. Freaky. We're not much on horror films & ths is a remake of a Japanese film (...
Watching 'The Eye' w/ Jessica Alba. Freaky. We're not much on horror films & ths is a remake of a Japanese film (the Japanese seem 2 luv horror) which R usually extra freaky. http://is.gd/5HonR
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Forward Walking Only, Waders Required
There are times when you step back and take a look at yourself and your life and see the station you are in and go, "Now, that's something. I really didn't see myself being here five years ago. I thought that I was going to Peru. Hmmm. How'd that happen? Must've been following a different map than I thought". :) I see how my life has drastically changed and how it will never, ever be the same. It will never 'snap back' like a rubber band. It has forever changed, for I have walked through a dimensional doorway to a different life: the life of being a Father. It's really a Wholly Different Life and nothing will be the same ever again. Life has taken on a new pitch, as it were. Good for me, I was bored with the way life was. Well...I don't EVER have to worry my little head about being bored ever again, except maybe thirty years hence, should Spirit see fit that I'm still walking the Earth at that time.
I was speaking with a good friend the other day and I was asking him whether a certain 'stage' that my daughter (who is 35mos. old) is going through would ever end. I asked, "Tell me it gets better, doesn't it"? He kind of laughed. He's got a daughter who's eleven now, I think. So I figure he knows a little, right (and what I'm dealing with is still probably relatively fresh in his memory since his daughter is only eleven or so)? He, half laughing, then sobering up after halfway clearing his throat says in a very composed manner, "It's not so much that it gets better. You just get used to the flow of it. The 'stages' and the different challenges change, but more than anything you change; you get accustomed to the flow of it".
You know, I have to say here that all parents that I have talked to pretty much sing the same tune. Nobody has said, "it gets easier" although that's really what I had hoped to hear, but every body says with big smiles on their faces, "and yeah, isn't it Great"!? I reply, "yes, particularly when she's asleep". haha...hehehe...hahaha..(smile)...(deep sigh). Those parents of you out there know that of which I speak. It's Great,..and Hard, and Hard and Great the sum of which is a Beauty that turns on the tears it is so Indescribable. I have never been so touched in all my life and here on out is, in all likelyhood a broadening and a deepening of that Intial Touch of the Divine. Hopefully, I'll still think of it as Divine thirty years from now. On the surface, I'll probably go back and forth on that a little from time to time.....just to keep my sanity, you understand.
So in the process of the children changing as they pass through their 'stages' of development, we as parents change permanently and deeply through being their Caretakers in this Journey of Human Growth. Raising a child (or certainly children) is a fresh and alive world where excitement and surprise are served up fresh daily!
I now have a great sense of compassion for parents now that I am one. What I used to judge as disheveled or disorganized or hectic, now in light of firsthand experience, was nothing more than adults raising children. Yes, it will be messy. These are little people discovering their world and what it means to be here, so of course they're going to 'color outside the lines'. That's their job! A child's behavior is not as easily 'guided' as you may think. I've come to respect
the Art of Parenting, for that's what it is....an Art. I remember that I used to think, "Why will those people not 'control' their child?" or, "I wish those parents would make their kid stop crying"! On and on it would go in my
head. The plain and simple truth is that it's just Not that simple. Now, I know and I'm so happy that I do.
I was speaking with a good friend the other day and I was asking him whether a certain 'stage' that my daughter (who is 35mos. old) is going through would ever end. I asked, "Tell me it gets better, doesn't it"? He kind of laughed. He's got a daughter who's eleven now, I think. So I figure he knows a little, right (and what I'm dealing with is still probably relatively fresh in his memory since his daughter is only eleven or so)? He, half laughing, then sobering up after halfway clearing his throat says in a very composed manner, "It's not so much that it gets better. You just get used to the flow of it. The 'stages' and the different challenges change, but more than anything you change; you get accustomed to the flow of it".
You know, I have to say here that all parents that I have talked to pretty much sing the same tune. Nobody has said, "it gets easier" although that's really what I had hoped to hear, but every body says with big smiles on their faces, "and yeah, isn't it Great"!? I reply, "yes, particularly when she's asleep". haha...hehehe...hahaha..(smile)...(deep sigh). Those parents of you out there know that of which I speak. It's Great,..and Hard, and Hard and Great the sum of which is a Beauty that turns on the tears it is so Indescribable. I have never been so touched in all my life and here on out is, in all likelyhood a broadening and a deepening of that Intial Touch of the Divine. Hopefully, I'll still think of it as Divine thirty years from now. On the surface, I'll probably go back and forth on that a little from time to time.....just to keep my sanity, you understand.
So in the process of the children changing as they pass through their 'stages' of development, we as parents change permanently and deeply through being their Caretakers in this Journey of Human Growth. Raising a child (or certainly children) is a fresh and alive world where excitement and surprise are served up fresh daily!
I now have a great sense of compassion for parents now that I am one. What I used to judge as disheveled or disorganized or hectic, now in light of firsthand experience, was nothing more than adults raising children. Yes, it will be messy. These are little people discovering their world and what it means to be here, so of course they're going to 'color outside the lines'. That's their job! A child's behavior is not as easily 'guided' as you may think. I've come to respect
the Art of Parenting, for that's what it is....an Art. I remember that I used to think, "Why will those people not 'control' their child?" or, "I wish those parents would make their kid stop crying"! On and on it would go in my
head. The plain and simple truth is that it's just Not that simple. Now, I know and I'm so happy that I do.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Sugar: A Toddler's Amphetamine
Shayla's mom and I have pledged not to give processed sugar to our 35 mo. old baby girl except on 'special dispensation'. We do give it to her on these occasions, but are almost immediately sorry for doing so. Ice cream has been the treat of choice, but we are quickly narrowing it's use in the allowed regimen. It's really remarkable how profound and quick the metamorphosis can be!
It takes all the calm out of her and replaces it with this mania that will not be controlled or lulled into the background. She becomes defiant in the extreme, and actually garners more behavior modification protocols for herself than she ever otherwise does. It's amazing how much of a differect effect this substance has on children.
This discovery is prompting a further evolution in her diet because not only do we care for her, but we also care for ourselves as well. If Shayla is happy, then we are happy also. Fruit sugar does not seem to elicit the same type of behavior in her (that I've noticed), however she cannot consume that to uncensored levels either without ill effect. All sugar must be monitored. The when and how much is very important.
I found myself earlier tonight vowing once again that 'sweets' need to be monitored with religious attention. Yes, we paid for it tonight. She was given ice cream in the early evening and she turned out to be a Non-stop incorrigible chatterbox all the way to bed time. Five or six hours of this cranketty crank crankyness makes one (as a parent) think long and hard about when, where, and how much to dole out when it comes to sweets. It's easy when you've had a rough evening of it with your little Satan-possesed sweetheart to decide that they will never again, so-long-as-they-live-under-your-roof (kind of rant) know the taste of the evil white stuff, but we all know that is like waging a war against oxygen---Ain't gonna happen. :) Censorship, I think is the best policy, and what a good behavior modification leverage tool this could turn out to be!! :) That may sound like irony, but I've got news for you. It is when you look up close, but when you stand back and look at the bigger picture...it isn't. We've got to give the 'devil' his due, so we'll work with it.
I've heard of parents waging a holy war on sugar, but how exactly does that all play out? I mean, let's face it. Your kids are not always going to be with you--school, daycare, friends' houses, by themselves (later on), etc. You could go totally gray just lightly thinking about all the protocols that would need to be put into place and then monitored and kept up with. ....The sugar police...Yuk. We don't want to be those people.
We hope that we can teach our child a sense of moderation as time goes by. We have to outline that now by presenting good, consistent rolemodeling in the routine dietary. Perhaps some of that will become habit for her later. Perhaps by filling the need to teach her about good dietary habits we shall learn about it as well.
It takes all the calm out of her and replaces it with this mania that will not be controlled or lulled into the background. She becomes defiant in the extreme, and actually garners more behavior modification protocols for herself than she ever otherwise does. It's amazing how much of a differect effect this substance has on children.
This discovery is prompting a further evolution in her diet because not only do we care for her, but we also care for ourselves as well. If Shayla is happy, then we are happy also. Fruit sugar does not seem to elicit the same type of behavior in her (that I've noticed), however she cannot consume that to uncensored levels either without ill effect. All sugar must be monitored. The when and how much is very important.
I found myself earlier tonight vowing once again that 'sweets' need to be monitored with religious attention. Yes, we paid for it tonight. She was given ice cream in the early evening and she turned out to be a Non-stop incorrigible chatterbox all the way to bed time. Five or six hours of this cranketty crank crankyness makes one (as a parent) think long and hard about when, where, and how much to dole out when it comes to sweets. It's easy when you've had a rough evening of it with your little Satan-possesed sweetheart to decide that they will never again, so-long-as-they-live-under-your-roof (kind of rant) know the taste of the evil white stuff, but we all know that is like waging a war against oxygen---Ain't gonna happen. :) Censorship, I think is the best policy, and what a good behavior modification leverage tool this could turn out to be!! :) That may sound like irony, but I've got news for you. It is when you look up close, but when you stand back and look at the bigger picture...it isn't. We've got to give the 'devil' his due, so we'll work with it.
I've heard of parents waging a holy war on sugar, but how exactly does that all play out? I mean, let's face it. Your kids are not always going to be with you--school, daycare, friends' houses, by themselves (later on), etc. You could go totally gray just lightly thinking about all the protocols that would need to be put into place and then monitored and kept up with. ....The sugar police...Yuk. We don't want to be those people.
We hope that we can teach our child a sense of moderation as time goes by. We have to outline that now by presenting good, consistent rolemodeling in the routine dietary. Perhaps some of that will become habit for her later. Perhaps by filling the need to teach her about good dietary habits we shall learn about it as well.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Finally back at home after coming back into town, then stopping off at the other side of the family's place for a...
Finally back at home after coming back into town, then stopping off at the other side of the family's place for a good face-stuffing. :) Belly Full. :)
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Christmas with The Simmons/Overcash Family
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Watching Bill Engvall's 'Aged and Confused' tonight! Funny, funny, funny!!! Haven't laughed this hard in a while!...
Watching Bill Engvall's 'Aged and Confused' tonight! Funny, funny, funny!!! Haven't laughed this hard in a while! http://ccinsider.comedycentral.com/2009/11/20/this-sunday-bill-engvall-is-aged-and-confused/
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Stuffed Turkey, Spiced Ham, a Round Belly and a Full Heart!
I am thinking about this today as I lay around with my relatives in this abundance that we call the economic downturn. While it's true that many of us have been scraping our monetary butts on the asphalt, mine included, it's really nice that the holidays and that Holiday Spirit that we know so well still comes shining through! I think of those the world over that went to sleep hungry on Christmas night and thank God for the bountiful existence that I enjoy, even if it is challenging at times---it's Still Bountiful and there's no denying that.
So while we're lying around with fat bellies full of family love in environs that are warm in temperature and warm in Heart I think it behooves the Soul (my soul, anyway) to soak in the beauty of that love, and treasure the closeness of relatives and be not in a hurry to remove ourselves so quickly from those bonds of affection and back to our solitary address of operation. These times are meant for the soaking up of this togetherness and love so as to nourish us in times of famine.
For me, the lesson comes back to loving and cherishing that which you have. Family is everything. Personalities and lifestyles are supposed to be different!! It's what makes the world go around. It's the love and acceptance of one another with the differences intact that Changes the World; The family is the microcosm of that. It seems to me that peace may actually, really begin at home.
So while we're lying around with fat bellies full of family love in environs that are warm in temperature and warm in Heart I think it behooves the Soul (my soul, anyway) to soak in the beauty of that love, and treasure the closeness of relatives and be not in a hurry to remove ourselves so quickly from those bonds of affection and back to our solitary address of operation. These times are meant for the soaking up of this togetherness and love so as to nourish us in times of famine.
For me, the lesson comes back to loving and cherishing that which you have. Family is everything. Personalities and lifestyles are supposed to be different!! It's what makes the world go around. It's the love and acceptance of one another with the differences intact that Changes the World; The family is the microcosm of that. It seems to me that peace may actually, really begin at home.
Kid Spoiling: "Money grows on the backyard Trees of my Great Aunt and Uncle!"
Help! My relatives are spoiling my child silly! Lucky for us parents we are the innocent bystanders on this one. :)
Shayla's Great Aunt and Uncle Paula and Ken took her to Toys-R- Us today and bought her whatever she said that she wanted!! Lucky for us she wasn't fully hip to it, so that shyness that was there this year will likely not be there next year! :) I don't know if the Aunt and Uncle in question realize that they birthed a 'tradition' this day, but that's for them to come to grips with. :) Hehe. They don't have any kids of their own, so.....maybe this is their offering? :)
It was sweet of them and Shayla had a blast!!
Friday, December 25, 2009
Christmas at Nana and Risa's
Thursday, December 24, 2009
My Mom and Risa's at Christmas
I Used to Be The Kind of Guy.....
That you would have to put out social feelers to find. You could count on me being at lodge on Saturday, but otherwise you would have to hunt me down in order to have a conversation. A cell phone was the kind of thing that I thought was unnecessary (I had a land line, but I was never really there to get 'a hold' of): a tethering device that I thought it was pointless to have unless there was a darn good reason. Who would want to be tethered? The very thought gave me the heebee geebees. :) I thought that having a bank account was giving yourself over to 'big brother' and using the conjoined check card with it's series of 16 digits was certainly the mark of somekind of beast. I liked flying under the 'radar'. I thought that it was pretty cool to be next to invisible. Not for any particular reason, but more for the abstination of involvement in the mainstream machine. Times have changed......
I (now a 'We') had a baby girl and everything within and without has shifted for me. Now, I am the one that is prominent and 'in touch' and others are trying to dodge the communicae--to stay hidden. Not really, but kind of. I am the one now 'shouting from the rooftops' about my child and who, if I haven't heard from you in the past few days and you are a prominent close-to-my-daughter grandperson I will check in on your state of affairs.
I used to be hidden in the woodwork and now I tweet and post about anything from the kind of coffee I am drinking to whether or not my daughter has successfully learned to wipe her own bottom (It's a 'No' on that one, by the way) yet. The flourishing colors and prominence of social media combined with being a new father and the excitement that comes with that has made me what I am today. I sincerely hope you enjoy my offerings. I certainly enjoy submitting them to the digital aethers. :)
I (now a 'We') had a baby girl and everything within and without has shifted for me. Now, I am the one that is prominent and 'in touch' and others are trying to dodge the communicae--to stay hidden. Not really, but kind of. I am the one now 'shouting from the rooftops' about my child and who, if I haven't heard from you in the past few days and you are a prominent close-to-my-daughter grandperson I will check in on your state of affairs.
I used to be hidden in the woodwork and now I tweet and post about anything from the kind of coffee I am drinking to whether or not my daughter has successfully learned to wipe her own bottom (It's a 'No' on that one, by the way) yet. The flourishing colors and prominence of social media combined with being a new father and the excitement that comes with that has made me what I am today. I sincerely hope you enjoy my offerings. I certainly enjoy submitting them to the digital aethers. :)
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
I Never Thought I'd Ever Find Myself Begging Someone Else to Take a Dump
It is a reality with our 34 mo. old daughter Shayla. She's a champ at the last minute when nature will not wait another second, but the preamble to that climax is the part that seems to drag out like a bad movie that you just want to finish already! Since we are the cooks, the janitors, and the overall grounds keepers we are very concerned and have a vested interest in where the 'gifts' finally land. I can think of better things to do than following my child around the grounds waiting for the moment of no return so that I can pick her up and jet her off to the bathroom.
We are not above bribery and have been using it regularly with inconsistent results. She's onto us already,...of course. I can see that we are almost there. There are plenty of praises and high- fives that take place when there is success, but please oh please can we move past this stage?! While there is an imenent poo-poo waiting in the wings(?) there is nothing else that you as a parent can focus on until the evacuation has successfully taken place. If you do you risk an unauthorized deposit....that you, of course will have to clean up. :) The joys of potty training. A gift that keeps on giving.
This is only phase one. After this we must tackle public engagements and public bathrooms. Up until this point accidents have been domestically contained, but of course that changes as we start to wear 'panties only' outside of the house. Oh boy! Fortunately parents are biologically equipped with ability to see the child's impending poo-poo look and there other are other factors that are far more obvious such as the child's inability to remove their hand (whichever they happen to favor) from the crack of their butt.
"Hey", I say "Honey, when you start doing that it means that we need to go sit on the potty. You need to poo."
"No, I don't", she says.
"Okay, whatever you say, but you know you will not be able to really relax and feel at peace until we take care of this. What can I say to make you feel ok about this?"
"Huh", she says?
"Nevermind. You just let Daddy know when you have to go, ok?"
"Ok", she says.
That doesn't really mean anything as I still have to keep an eagle eye on her and look out for the signifying tell-tell postures or any type of personal sequestering. Constipation is no fun my dear.
Aahhh, the joys of teaching proper poo-poo skills. :) I never thought I'd be a teacher of this kind of class. As interesting as it is, it's also pretty funny and has a way of bringing back your own memories of your learning, and boy is that interesting!! Ciao for now...
We are not above bribery and have been using it regularly with inconsistent results. She's onto us already,...of course. I can see that we are almost there. There are plenty of praises and high- fives that take place when there is success, but please oh please can we move past this stage?! While there is an imenent poo-poo waiting in the wings(?) there is nothing else that you as a parent can focus on until the evacuation has successfully taken place. If you do you risk an unauthorized deposit....that you, of course will have to clean up. :) The joys of potty training. A gift that keeps on giving.
This is only phase one. After this we must tackle public engagements and public bathrooms. Up until this point accidents have been domestically contained, but of course that changes as we start to wear 'panties only' outside of the house. Oh boy! Fortunately parents are biologically equipped with ability to see the child's impending poo-poo look and there other are other factors that are far more obvious such as the child's inability to remove their hand (whichever they happen to favor) from the crack of their butt.
"Hey", I say "Honey, when you start doing that it means that we need to go sit on the potty. You need to poo."
"No, I don't", she says.
"Okay, whatever you say, but you know you will not be able to really relax and feel at peace until we take care of this. What can I say to make you feel ok about this?"
"Huh", she says?
"Nevermind. You just let Daddy know when you have to go, ok?"
"Ok", she says.
That doesn't really mean anything as I still have to keep an eagle eye on her and look out for the signifying tell-tell postures or any type of personal sequestering. Constipation is no fun my dear.
Aahhh, the joys of teaching proper poo-poo skills. :) I never thought I'd be a teacher of this kind of class. As interesting as it is, it's also pretty funny and has a way of bringing back your own memories of your learning, and boy is that interesting!! Ciao for now...
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Wow! No comments on the 'Everybody Poops' (child potty training aid) song that I posted yesterday? I'm shocked. I...
Wow! No comments on the 'Everybody Poops' (child potty training aid) song that I posted yesterday? I'm shocked. I thought that I would've got a, "how funny" or "what's wrong with you people :) ?" kind of thing, but radio silence I didn't expect. Anyway, the song Is quite funny in case you haven't heard it. Effectiveness for Shayla? Hard to gauge just yet.
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Monday, December 21, 2009
34 mo. Old Child Poop Training
We are trying all the machinations and styles of teaching and coercion to ever so lovingly prompt our daughter to go in the john. Our success has been pretty good, but still spotty (sorry, no pun intended, but rather unavoidable).
When somebody recommended this little video to us we listened and loved it. Shayla was enthused and has been singing it over and over again, and has taken to even singing along with the little sock guy on her hand just like the video. Check it out. Very funny and...very true. :) Everybody Poops!!
When somebody recommended this little video to us we listened and loved it. Shayla was enthused and has been singing it over and over again, and has taken to even singing along with the little sock guy on her hand just like the video. Check it out. Very funny and...very true. :) Everybody Poops!!
What does a sore sternum (attached to pec muscles) say after a little window blind install job today? ....You nee...
What does a sore sternum (attached to pec muscles) say after a little window blind install job today? ....You need to be more physically active, dude. No, walking barefoot all over the house all day long does not count. :)
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Doing another blind install today. Here, on location at the old Robert Meuller Airport. Cool new neighborhood. I ...
Doing another blind install today. Here, on location at the old Robert Meuller Airport. Cool new neighborhood. I guess it's nameless at prsnt
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Too Funny NOT To Pass On
A friend sent me these and they are just too funny not to post to you all! I LMAO when I read these!
-S
Signs To Bring You A Smile
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