However, something happened this weekend that was a first for me.  It was not nearly as happy a time as when Ace rolled over for the first time.  I spent my first ever night in the hospital.

I have had a problem with my heart since I was in junior high school, but no doctor could ever tell me what it was.  I have had multiple EKGs, Echoes, stress tests, you name it…and they all come back normal.  I swear the doctors thought I was making stuff up.

Ya see, sometimes, especially when I exert myself, my heart goes crazy.  It beats really hard and with no real rythym.   Sometimes I feel like I’m going to pass out and I almost always have to sit down until my heart calms down a bit.  Usually I can get it to stop within 10 minutes or so with some techniques I have discovered over the years, but not Saturday night.  After about 3 hours I drove myself to the emergency room.

I did not feel bad.  There was no pain, I did not feel faint or anything.  I just knew that something was not right.   I walked up to the ER receptionist and told her that I would like to be seen for a rapid and irregular heart beat.  She took my name and social security number and I immediately went back for an EKG.

The nurse doing the EKG seemed very urgent and I immediately went into triage to have my vitals checked.  My blood pressure was high and my heart rate was 180 beats per minute.  A normal heart rate is around 70 beats per minute.  Yikes!  The triage nurse, said “Wait right here.  You are next to be seen.”

I did not pass GO, did not collect $200, and went directly to an ER bed where I was immediately stuck with an IV, had X-Rays, and then lied there for a few hours hoping the medicine would make my heart beat normally.  The urgency of everyone in the ER was kind of frightening. 

This has been happening to me for over 15 years now and I had become used to living with it, but I guess it really was something serious…atrial fibrillation.

About 6 hours later I was admitted to the hospital.  After another 4 hours of lying in the hospital bed hooked to heart monitors a nurse rushed in my room as she yelled into her phone, “I need an EKG STAT!!”  I thought that something bad had happened.  I thought my heart had really gone crazy and I was in trouble…

However, she then looked at me and smiled.  “You converted!!”  My heart beat had converted back to a normal sinus rhythm.  This was a good thing because if the medicine did not convert me, they would have had to shock my heart with the paddles….while I was awake and alert. 

I had to stay in the hospital for another day in observation to make sure that my heart did not go back into atrial fibrillation again, and to also make sure I did not have a stroke (a side effect of being in atrial fibrillation for an extended period of time).

Momma brought Ace in to visit me and I will never forget the look on his face when he saw my lying there in that hospital bed.  He was confused and scared at the same time.  After he realized that I was OK, he did grab my finger and we took a few laps around the observation unit.  Ace pulling me, and me pulling an IV.  The little old ladies and the nurses got a kick out of him taking Daddy for a walk. 

So now I am back home, with no restrictions, and a little different out look on life.  I have cut caffeine out of my diet.  Once I have that under control, smoking is next.

I can’t live like there is no tomorrow anymore.  There are a few people in this world that count on me being there…and I’m going to do my part to make sure that happens.

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: emergency room, Family, Health, hospital

That’s the beauty of blogging.  There are no rules.  You never know what to expect when you see a post waiting for you in your feed reader.

I have recently learned that OnTeensToday.comvoted DadThing.com one of the 50 Best Dad Blogs! Something, I did not expect…

If you have not heard of On Teens Today, I highly suggest that you check it out!

On Teens Today is a blog created by Vanessa Van Petten, an author, entrepreneur and life trainer for teens who has dedicated her life to helping parents and teenagers mend their relationships.

On Teens Today is very unique!  It is a parenting blog written from the kids perspective.  I know we, as parents, were all kids at one time, but that was a loooong time ago.  :D  The world has changed.  Things are different.  And our children experience things that we never had to deal with.

On Teens Today tells the story from the kids view.  There are 8 teen writers that discuss everything from divorce, to drugs, to the holidays, to sex.  They tell it like it is.

On Teens Today, in my opinion, is a fresh idea and something that every parent should read.  These kids spill their guts about how they see life.  I know I have always wanted to know what Ace thinks of the world around him…and I’m sure if an 18 month old could write a blog post that On Teens Today would value his opinion. 

So quit reading what this old fogey has to say and check out On Teens Today for a younger point of view. 

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blog awards, dad bogs, Links, on teens today, teens

I’ve heard people say that 30 was the hardest birthday for them, but it really did not affect me that much.  Yeah, I thought about it for a bit.  And then I remember thinking that 30 was O-L-D.  Man was I wrong….

I still feel pretty young, and I guess that is what is important.  Someone once said, “You are only as old as you feel.”  In that case…I’m 25.  Not 21, because I can’t handle the all nighters and the day after the party, but 25 because…I don’t feel 30.  :D  (That made absolutely no sense whatsoever, did it?)

So because Momma is the coolest wife and Mom in the world, she threw her brother and I a Halloween/Birthday party.  Three birds with one stone…

Her brother’s birthday was on the 25th, mine on the 26th, and then of course Halloween.  So we had a costume party with beer, birthday cakes, and ah-hem….adult entertainment.

So what better way to leave your twenties than with a party.  Food, friends, drinks, and nakie dancers.  :D  Kind of a kiss goodbye to the past decade that has hopefully treated you well.  We partied it up last Saturday night.  After the party we went to the club and danced and drank until the lights came on.  We had a blast!

Sunday morning was far from a party.  I spent most of the day in bed recovering with a hang-over from hell.  It was like a slap in the face from my newly discovered thirties…  “Welcome to the club, beoch! (SLAP!!)”

Just thought I would leave you witha  quick pic of me and Momma in our costumes…Dog The Bounty Hunter and his wife Beth. 

(Special thanks goes out to Momma for planning such a wonderful party, Grandma S for helping Momma get everything together, Grandpa H and Grandma O for supplying the food, our neighbor Billie for watching Ace, Ace’s uncles Brandon, Mike, and Charlie for providing drinking and dancer money, all of our friends that drove from afar (especially Angie who came all the way from SC), and our friends Amber and Amy for taking so many good pictures!  God knows I was too intoxicated to operate a camera… :D  )

Dog The Bounty Hunter and Beth

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 13 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: costumes, dad getting old, halloween, happy birthday, party

Ace has become very spoiled opinionated.  If things are not going the way he wishes…he lets you know.  Of course he can not talk yet so he lets you know in other ways…like screaming and crying.

So, we just knew that Trick or Treat would be…well, uh, a real treat…

We made our rounds, collected our candy, and made it home with only one fit thrown.  The fit was because Ace wanted to cross the street like the big kids (is he really old enough to think that way already?) 

All in all we had a good time…and got a good bit of candy. 

Everyone thought Ace was “The cutest vampire they ever did see”. 

Here are some pics of Ace in his costume…

Ace Vamp

Ace Vamp

Ace Vamp

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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So I’m going to let out the secrets…what are some of the things that change…that no one tells you about.

1. You venture into areas of your TV volume meter that have never been explored…(No I do not watch the fashion show shown on the TV…that was all Momma’s doing.) 

TV Volume Before Kids

TV Volume After Kids

2.  You must now share cabinet space with brightly colored sippy cups.  Be glad you did not install those fancy clear cabinet doors…because I guarantee the neon rainbow does not go with most kitchen decors. 

Sippy Cups Share A Cabinet

3.  Other cabinets are completely taken over…  What used to be there?  Hell, I forget (loss of memory is another thing they don’t tell you about)

Hijacked Cabinet - Baby Stuff

Hijacked Cabinet - Baby Food

4.  You find it financially necessary to buy a digital camera.  I have taken over 2000 pictures in the past 19 months.  You know how much it would have cost to develop 2000 pictures? Most of them blurry, off center, or otherwise not visually pleasing…

Digital Camera Needed

5.  Your computer wallpaper can no longer be some cool scenery or your favorite sports team.  It is, of course, a picture (or even slide show) of your kid…

Ace Wallpaper

6.  Hearing a kid crying is no longer like nails on a chalkboard.  It still bothers you, but you are extremely desensitized compared to it’s pre-kid effects…

Ace Crying

7.  Other people’s kids crying doesn’t bother you like it did before you had kids either.  It has other effects on you, like…chuckling quietly because you know exactly what the crying kid’s parent is going through and you are just glad it is not you this time…but you know your turn is coming.

8.  No longer does your back yard look like a golf course green.  Now it looks like the playground at the park…

Golf Course Green Backyard

9.  Your refrigerator will now be a major source of entertainment for your little one.  A little side effect? Coming down in the middle of the night to get a drink and busting your ass on refrigerator magnets that have been left lying on the floor. ;D

Refrigerator Magnets

10.  It is not only recommended, but often necessary to change your disgusting habits.  Those little people are like copy-catting sponges…

Kids Picking Their Noses

But even though you have to deal with the noise, the cabinet rearrangements, the wallpaper hijacking, the buying of a digital camera, the crying, the loss of your beautiful backyard, the refrigerator decorations, and the nose picking…it is all worth it…because of moments like this…

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 19 comments | Add to del.icio.us
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Circle S Farms - Sign

They had live animals, goats and chickens, for the kids to look at.  They had a playground made of straw bails where kids could climb and slide down.  They had tractors and bug pumpkins to look at and sit on, and also a hay ride that took you out to pick your very own pumpkin!!

Circle S Farms - Goats

Circle S Farms - Chickens

And then they had the scare crow maze.  It was a maze made from straw bails that was designed, I’m pretty sure, for torturing parents.  The maze was about 3 ft tall and it had a wood slat fence on the top.  So, it was tall enough where kids could run wild inside there, but parents were stuck crawling, duck walking, waddling, or whatever form of propulsion they could come up with while hunched over…

Ace wouldn’t go in the maze, so I took his cousin Olivia inside.  There she goes at a full sprint around the first corner.  I had lost her in the first 20 seconds.

So I keep wallering through this parent torture device.  I was moving as fast as I could trying to find Olivia because I just knew at some point she would get scared and want out, but wouldn’t be able to find her way.  I speedily rounded one corner and was greeted by something that I had least expected to find…

CRACK!  and lots of it!

There was a Mom crawling in front of me wearing low rise jeans…that were riding, well, WAY TOO LOW!  I swore I stopped fast enough for my hands and knees to make a screeching sound in the loose straw!

I stopped inches away from taking a face plant into the recently discovered revene…but far enough away to not smell the flowers.

I was startled, to say the least, and couldn’t help but watch as the landscape I had almost became intimately familiar with bounced it’s way around the next corner.

I put myself back together, gathered my senses, and continued my way through the parent trap to eventually find Olivia waiting for me outside…ready to move on to the next “attraction”.

And now I know why the say, “Crack Is Whack!”

And to help you remove the image of my face inches away from a three quarter exposed bum…I’ll leave you with a few pics from the crack free portion of our day at Circle S Farms…

Circle S Farms - On The Hay Ride Blinded By The Sun (Ace was the only smart one who wouldn't look directly into the sun to get his picture taken.) :D

Circle S Farms - Pumpkin

Circle S Farms - Ace

Circle S Farms - Dad & Ace

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 14 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: animals, crack, farm, fun, Fun Activities, funny, funny story, Funny Stuff, maze

The beginning of the month marked the start of another baby making journey, and a milestone in our healing process.   After having a miscarriage in August we were cleared for take off.  Hopefully this time we will stay airborne.

September 1st also marked the one year birthday of DadThing.com.  It’s hard to believe that I’ve been writing here for a whole year, but even harder to believe how many friends I have made online. :D  Thank you all!

I had a slip of sanity and shaved my head…which resulted in the worst case of razor bumps on record!  Don’t worry…they healed and I am now bump free. ;D

Ace and his cousin Olivia got to experience their first Fly-In and Demolition Derby!  And I learned that it is important to find a seat before the event starts when you have two small children! Otherwise they will require you to hold them on your shoulders or in your arms for the entirety of the event.  (or until you give up and go home)

Momma had a birthday.  I remember when I turned 28.  She told me how old I was.  Now that she is 28 I told her how old she was, but it didn’t work.  She replied, “I’ll never be old.  You will always be the old one.”  Life is not fair. 

Ace got to have a heapin’ helpin’ of apples….has conquered the bottle addiction…and has claimed Mr Clean as his “Daa eee!”

Of course I can not forget about the Wordless Wednesday pictures of Olivia by the airplane propeller and Ace at food level. 

Top Referrers:

1. TipDad - TipDad provides very useful tips about being a Dad.  Check out his article about Eating Out With Kids to help make it a fun experience for all parties involved.
2. 21st Century Dad - Where Dad can do everything Mom can do, except for breastfeeding.
3. BabyParenting @ About.com - Huge resource about Babies and Toddlers. You have to read Stephanie’s blog for some good baby and toddler information!
4. FrugalDad - Hmmm.  This site looks an awful lot like TipDad.com Could it be the same Dad is full of useful tips, frugal, and sends bookoo traffic to DadThing?  Wouldn’t that be cool!
5. Building Camelot - Tyler shares his stories about being a good Dad and husband!  If you haven’t seen it already, you gotta check out his 101 Awesome Sites For Men, Husbands, and Fathers

Who Makes This Possible:

Again, I must thank everyone who comments on my posts.  I know I haven’t been as good at replying to your comments lately, but I still read and enjoy every single one!   Below is the list of people who commented on DadThing listed in descending order based upon the number of comments left this month.

Again, thank you to everyone who has participated at DadThing!  If you haven’t already, be sure to Subscribe!  You wouldn’t want to miss out on what is coming in the month of October, would you? ;D

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Links, Monthly Review

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:

I was surprised that Ace didn’t really seem to notice though.  He did not look at me funny.  He did not want to touch the cue ball.  He acted like he didn’t even notice.  Maybe he is just like any other guy and doesn’t pay attention to details like when someone cuts or colors their hair.  I’ve been known to not notice Momma’s hair cuts before…maybe Ace just gets it honest??

Not a big deal.  Actually I’m glad he didn’t seem to notice.   I was afraid it would freak him out and he wouldn’t know who I was and run away from the bald guy! 

 However, we recently found out that he did notice.  He was watching TV with his Grandpa S. the other day when a Mr. Clean commercial came on.  Ace pointed at the TV and said “Daa eee” (Daddy in Ace lingo). 

Maybe it was our other similarities (other than the shiny melon) that made Ace think that Mr. Clean was “Daa eee”…bulging muscles, tan skin, white eye-brows, and good looks?  :lol:  It’s a good theory…

A couple days later Momma and Grandma S. took Ace to the mall.  They were strolling along and Ace pointed at an older man with a shaved head and said “Daa eee!”  This guy was nothing like me or Mr Clean.  No bulging muscles, he was as pale as as a ghost, and definitely not a looker. 

Well, we can throw my previous theory out the window….

So now pretty much any man with a shaved head is “Daa eee!” 

Man, I hate competition…

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Funny Stuff, hair cuts, toddler dialog

Well, Ace just recently went to his 18 month checkup (time flies!).  His doctor now wants him off of the bottle completely. Yikes!  That’s like taking…a ham bone from a hyena.  There is going to be a fight!

Here recently we have reduced Ace’s daily bottle usage down to 1 or 2 bottles…usually if/when he was extremely grumpy and always at bed time.

What?  You don’t think Ace gets grumpy?  You don’t think he throws fits? Why not?  Is it because he is always smiling in the pictures here on DadThing? Haha!  He has you fooled!

Ace Throwing A Fit

Don’t believe me yet?  How about this one…

Ace Throwing A Fit

So bedtime comes.  I start to get nervous…dreading the moment when Ace uncovers our plot to send him to bed without his long time bed time companion…the bottle!  I am preparing myself for a full on rebellion from the little guy.  I picture guns, grenades, tanks, infantry, maybe even an airborne assault…

Military Ace

…and instead I get nothing.  Not a peep.  Not a whimper.  Just a quiet sleeping Ace.

Hopefully he’s just not gathering his troops for an ambush tomorrow night. 

© Jared for DadThing.com - A Dad Blog, 2008. | Permalink | 10 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bedtime, bottle, Growing Up