"Ever Wonder..."

...just how many Transformers ol' Mikey has to date? Well, I sure did. And why not...after all, they are mine I guess. Boy, I had some beauties back in my kid days. And then...I just had to see how they worked. Found a screwdriver, one thing led to another and...days later just a handful of plastic parts and no real sense of accomplishment. Ahh, memories...

But I rebounded, and 20 years later I now have an impressive collection. In fact, let's take a look at it:




Took me about an hour last week to get them all together last weekend. Really wanna open them up. But I must be vigilant to keep them all in pristine condition. Also, if I open them all I'll forget who they are just like I did with what's-his-name and whoosits.

Went to the treehouse exhibit at the Dallas Arboretum last weekend as well. Was a good day partly because it was so nice outside. Here's some oohin' and ahhin' pix:




Had a four day weekend this Thanksgiving. I was telling Cari about in 2003 when I went to work at 5am the Friday after and got off at 1 which we had lunch with some friends afterwards. She was all "You can remember that but you can't remember to dress the kids in warm clothes!?" And she's right. Ya have kids, your memory goes to hell. We went Christmas shopping tonight @ good ol' Target. Cari sure knows how to find a deal. And she looks for stuff for my family as well as hers. She's so great. True, she does a few things I wish she wouldn't but that's a 2 way street sometimes. At least this year we have some money to get people things. Last year Zach came along and every dime I made had to go to us first. Was kind of weird telling people sorry, maybe next year you'll get something.

Is Christmas all about presents? Ask a kid, you'll hear "What else is it about?" Ask me, I'll say "Presents are cool, but they fade. If you can be with people you don't hate (i.e. in-laws) then it might be a good time." I like the lights. The brighter, the better.

"Thanksgiving Time!"

Where has this year gone! While recently looking at my Dallas Stars calendar I noticed on of my favorite holidays is coming up in like 6 days. The reason it is my favorite is threefold. One...the lunch. Always the lunch. All my favorites come together like so many E! True Hollywood Stories. Two, talking football with Uncle Tim. He joined our family about 20 years ago and is just a real easygoing person. Plus, we handle his prescription plan! Three, and this is something we haven't done in a while, going to the high school for a game of touch football. I'd enjoy it a lot more if I wasn't so sore and out of breath after about four plays lol. But it's still fun.

Speaking of football, Sunday there is a huge match-up for our beloved Cowboys. Let's meet our warriors:

In this corner, the only undefeated quarterback in the NFL, Peyton Manning!


In this corner, an undrafted rookie quickly becoming a FOB (Friend Of Bill), Tony Romo!

Why is this game big? Well, for one, the Colts are trying to do something only the 1972 Dolphins have ever done...go undefeated for the year. Almost did it last year. Two, the Cowboys need...NEED...to win this to keep their playoff hopes alive. Three, I have Peyton Manning on my Yahoo! fantasy team and I need him to have a huge game plus I have the Colts to win on my ESPN Pigskin Pick'em sheet. I'm not very loyal to the 'Boys, I know. Not personal...just business.

Tonight I'm going to get ALL...MY...TOYS out and catalogue them just to see what I have and all the while checking eBay to see if they might be worth something. Might even stay up until...eleven! Been planning this all week. I even might get everything together for a group shot...promised a co-worker I would do that a while back.

Zach is starting to take a few steps here and there. Honestly, I thought he would have been walking before Halloween but so far he prefers crawling. Which is okay, really. I remember how excited I was when Emmy started walking by herself. Next thing I knew, I had to walk bent over to hold her hand since she was so short. My back and hip were killing me ha ha. Plus, she wanted to run everywhere, which means I had to run everywhere. So maybe it's a good thing the boy doesn't want to walk. But man, is he solid. Takes a real effort to hoist him up sometimes. But that's okay. If someone ever tries to bully someone, they'll pass Zach up 'cuz he'll be comparable in size, and hopefully in height. Is fighting okay? No! Fortunately no one ever thinks about fighting with me. They see me and think I'll pummel them into the ground. The truth is I have no idea how to fight or even throw a punch. My "A" move is grabbing onto someone and squeezing their rib cage until they (maybe) pass out. But I could never be like George McFly in "Back To The Future" and drop someone with one punch. But I have my tricks. Hopefully I will never have to get into something like that. And NO, I am not above kneeing someone in the family jewels. =)

"Babies! Everywhere!"

I'm serious! First I find out our friends are having a boy, then my aunt (47 years old BTW) is having a girl, then we learn Zach's babysitter is going to have one. Here's a little quick math: Add 22 years from the kid's birthday and that is when he/she will be done with college. Now I was 26 when Emmy was born and 30 when Zach was born. I really didn't want to wait that long to have kids but sometimes things happen that way. So I will be 52 when Zach is done with college. Not a bad age to enjoy my twilight years. Assuming I make it to 90 that is almost 40 years. To put things in perspective, my brother in law Jay will be 62 when his youngest graduates, my aunt will be 69 and my dad will be 70. That's nuts. Literally nuts.

So now we have two showers to plan for. Since my aunt made it a couples shower (groan) now I have to go...why do women do that? Then our friend Branda's shower is on Dec 3rd which fortunately I don't have to go to. But the father Jerramy does...as does her son Camron. Man has he gotten obnoxious. He's gonna get pounded one of these days. Probably by me ha ha. It's so funny how her mom is "making" them go...een though it's a baby shower...and they're guys. We were supposed to all hang out in downtown Ft Worth while it was going on but since he won't stand up to her it's just me, Emmy and Zach. Which is cool. We're going to go to the Water Gardens since it will be Zach's first visit. Never seen it? Here's a pic:


This was about 2 years ago. I can't believe how much she's grown since then. We've always loved coming here. For me personally this place was kind of a trip down memory lane. I don't remember when I first came here but it always seemed a part of me. I hope the kiddos will feel the same way.

Cari mentions having another kid every now and then. I keep telling her "I'm done!" Maybe she's just trying to bug me. Mission successful then! I really don't want a 3rd kid. Then you have that Jan Brady middle kid complex that would fall on Zach. I already know my kids are going to be a bit more sensitive then other kids, and knowing that has made me more sensitive to their needs and feelings. In order to connect with your kids you first have to think like one. Cari says I have that down lol. Second you have to pay attention to them and listen to them to see how they react to adversity. Emmy is tough as nails physically but if someone says something a little bit mean to her she has a hard time getting over it. Maybe that's just girls, I don't know...but I wouldn't change a thing about her. Big things like listening and following directions can be taught but the kid has to integrate that into their behaviour. So far she's awesome at it. I think there's two ways to challenge your kids: on your terms and on their terms. My dad definitely pushed me on his terms. Giving an 8-year old kid a weedwacker and getting mad at him for not using it perfectly is not the way to go. I look back on it and laugh but back then it really affected my self-esteem. I always vowed to do a lot of things differently then him. Hopefully I am. When Emmy was 2 she took a bar of soap and starting washing herself in the bath, so I encouraged that. She's been doing it ever since. She could dress herself at 3, and now at 5 she's learning what "matching" means ha ha. With Zach, I'm showing him how to put his arms through his shirt sleeves. Slowly but surely he will get the hang of it. Little things like that are good for kids. One thing kids need in their life is knowing their parents are proud of them in everything they do. But they need to hear it too. I'm still waiting for my dad to tell me he's proud of something I did. Anything. I get the feeling I'll never hear it.

"Volunteer For A Day"

Where did I volunteer you ask? Red Cross? Peace Corps? Well, close. I went up to Emily's kindergarten class to help them with "stations". Stations are different tables that the kids go to make a project. This week we made crayon boxes! Well, more like crayon pouches...but it's all good. Emmy was so happy that I came up there, and that in turn made me happy. This was the first weekday I've had to myself since she started school. Didn't do much. After I left the school I went to the Mr. Jim's pizza place I was working at one night a week and gave them my notice. Two reasons really: one, it took so long to get there after work that it really wasn't profitable anymore, and two, I just didn't like doing it anymore. I drove pizzas around for six years before getting out in October 2002 when I started working at the mall. Ahh, memories...

I think I worry too much. I worry about if I'll have a job next week even though it's mostly unfounded. Ever get that vibe that they'll just show up at your desk and say "Can we talk?". I think I'm very good at what I do and it's nice to find something I'm good at that didn't involve pizza. You know how weird it is when someone asks what you do for a living and you have to make "delivering pizza" sound somewhat professional? It's impossible! Even though I make way less doing what I'm doing now, "prescription benefits administrator" sounds a little more uppity lol.


Bought this at Toys R Us Wednesday. Now this isn't the real picture of what I have (hence the "Seibertron.com" insignia), but since I still don't have a camera I like, this will have to do for now. But man, this is a great first step in the right direction of what they should have done a long time ago. The new Optimus Prime looks awesome and I would have gotten that if they hadn't been sold out! Ah well...my time will come.

I think I want a new job. In fact I know I do...the question is, I have no idea what I would like to do that I wouldn't hate. Need to browse Monster or CareerBuilder or something...(sigh) I'll be okay I guess. Going to my aunt's house for a birthday party for my cousin and uncle (not blood-related). Kind of weird isn't it? No one ever threw a party for, say, me and an aunt. Ah well. Free burgers. Sunday we're going to a housewarming party for some friends who are having a baby. Here's the amusing part: they have no home! I mentioned them a few posts ago. They may read this so I hope I don't ruin any surprise. I hope they get a house or apartment soon. Ah well. Free food. I'm all about the free food this weekend lol