Grandpa’s Glory – Part II

June 10th, 2008
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Back in October, I wrote a post about Ace’s Grandpa, my Dad.  Ace and his Grandpa didn’t get a long too good at first.  Grandpa would say “Hi!” and Ace would scream like a banshee!

It was tough on Grandpa, but things have been getting better…

Ace, Momma, and I spent all weekend at Grandpa’s just hanging out and swimming in the pool!  We had a blast and got some nice tan lines as a result. :D

As you probably know, Ace loves to ride on the mower, and when Grandpa started his up Ace wasn’t going to quit until he was taken for a ride.  It wasn’t hard for Ace to convince his Grandpa for a quick ride on the mower, but a quick ride turned into 20-30 minutes of lapping the yard.  :D

Grandpa and Ace Riding On The Mower

And after a long day in the sun, nothing is better than a nap in the recliner…

Grandpa and Ace Napping In The Recliner

It makes me think back to when my Grandpa took me for rides on his mower.  Something I will never forget!  I’m going to have to dig up some pictures of me riding on my Grandpa’s mower and napping in his recliner…and post them here of course.  :D

Sometimes it’s scary how much Ace and I are alike… :D

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Posted in: Family, Fun Activities, Growing Up, Like Father Like Son, Looking Back, Pictures |
Views: 800
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White Trash Is Contagious!

June 5th, 2008
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Remember the post I wrote a while back titled, Momma’s Going To Kill Me!?

I confessed to having a small addiction to free things that have wheels and a motor. Momma commented on the post and was joking about how we may need a permit and a taller fence due to all of the junk piling up behind our shed…and she suggested that I may be white trash (As if it isn’t obvious). Remember that?

Well, look what I captured on the digital camera the other day…

Momma and Ace On The John Deere

Sorry Momma! Looks like I must be rubbing off on ya a little bit. :D

(I can’t lie…if anyone has rubbed of on anyone, it has been her rubbing off on me. I was full fledged white trash before…now I just have some white trash tendencies.)

Ace loves riding the mower around the yard (almost as much as I do), and I do not blame Momma one bit for temporarily white trashin’ it up and cruising around the yard with her little man! :D

As you probably remember, I found this mower for free on Craigslist! I knew it didn’t run, but when I went to pick it up I found out it did not have a mowing deck either. So, I planned on it being a “lawn tractor”…not a “lawn mower”. Many of you even suggested turning it into a racing tractor (which I seriously considered) :lol:

Well, that has all changed thanks to some awesome folks Momma and I had the pleasure to meet last weekend!

After the first post about the old John Deere 56 tractor I got an email. The email was from a guy named Jerry in the Pittsburgh area who reads DadThing. Jerry said that he had a mower deck for this mower that I could have for free! Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-FREE!

Sweet Jesus! There’s that “F” word again! I just can’t help myself! :D

Last weekend Momma and I drove to Pittsburgh, PA (we spared Ace the 6 hours of being in the car since he just got done with a 28 hour car ride) and met a really cool family…Jerry, Lynn, and Tyler.

When we arrived Jerry asked, “Where’s Ace?” Which caught me off guard because we have never met before, but then I realized he reads DadThing. He knew all about our trip to COSI and our trip to Iowa. It was kinda cool for me to meet someone that actually reads the stuff I write!

Jerry didn’t know Momma’s name, so he referred to Momma…well, as Momma! I loved it! :lol:

Jerry and Lynn have a cute baby boy named Tyler who, at only 7 months old, already has his very own awesome Camaro! Guess what! Dad Jerry (who is a very involved father as well) has a cool Camaro too and plans on drag racing (and beating) his son some day! :D

Thanks Jerry, Lynn, and Tyler for the mower deck! Hopefully I’ll post some pictures of it chopping up some grass in the near future.

It was a pleasure meeting and talking with you! And Jerry, make sure to send me a video of that drag race one of these days! I got this funny feeling Tyler is going to whoop your butt! :lol:

In no way shape or form am I implying that Jerry, Lynn, or Tyler are white trash by mentioning their names in this extremely well titled post! Unless being white trash really is contagious…then they may have caught it from me and will be mutating to white trash in the very near future :lol:

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Posted in: Fun Activities, Funny Stuff, Pictures |
Views: 755
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COSI – An Electrifying Experience!

May 24th, 2008
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Hello everyone!  I’m writing this from the hotel room in Iowa!  Why can’t life be one big vacation? :D

Last weekend Momma and I took Ace to the Center Of Science and Industry, commonly known as COSI.

This place is sweet! (especially for a big dork like me).  Ace is kinda little for most of the things there, but he still enjoyed himself.  It was a very electrifying experience!

An Electrifying Experience

Ace is all about figuring out how things work; from spinning the wheels on his toy trucks to opening and closing the dishwasher door.  COSI is full of things that move.  His actions create a reaction.  All of the exhibits are totally interactive and I’m sure he will enjoy it even more as he gets older.

But for now he enjoys being able to see and touch everything…

Ace at COSI - Playing in the Floating Ball Exhibit

The top floor of COSI is specifically for the younger kids.  Ace had a blast up there.  He was able to drive the ambulance!  Pushing buttons by the steering wheel made the lights flash!

Ace at COSI Driving The Ambulance

We always knew that he liked playing in the water in the bath tub, but never knew how much he really enjoyed water.  He probably spent the majority of his time playing in the water with Momma!

Ace at COSI - Playing In The Water With Momma

COSI was a blast for Ace, Momma, and I.  We bought a season pass here as well, so don’t be surprised if you get hear about more fun experiences from COSI!

As I mentioned earlier we are currently in Iowa for vacation.  The hotel we are staying at has an indoor and outdoor water park and Ace was able to go swimming for the first time in his life!  Stay tuned for more pics and awesome Ace adventures! :D

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Posted in: Entertainment, Family, Fun Activities, Like Father Like Son, Pictures |
Views: 693
12 Comments »

Babysitter Phone Tag?

March 31st, 2008
8 Comments »

Not any more! There is a new service on the web called WillUSit that automates this process for you.

willusit

Many parents have a list of babysitters they can trust. When you have plans for Saturday night do you go down this list and call every person on your list to find an available sitter?

WillUSit makes this job less time consuming.

Here’s a quick excerpt from their website:

Calling a long list of sitters and leaving messages, waiting for call backs, finding more sitters to call, etc. For those times when you really need a sitter you can expand your search to include you friends list of sitters. You can search for sitters based on several profile criteria including rate, age, experience, location, etc.

Here’s how it works:

  1. You create an account on WillUSit.com
  2. You add all of your sitters’ names and contact info.
  3. When you need a sitter you do a search and a list of sitters meeting your requirements is shown.
  4. You select which sitters you would like WillUSit to contact and press “GO”
  5. WillUSit will call (or email or text message) every sitter with the time and date they will be needed. WillUSit goes down your list until a sitter is found and then connects the both of you via phone (or email) to make arrangements.

I think this could be a very valuable resource for someone with multiple baby sitters that they trust to watch their children, but not a bunch of spare time to call each and every sitter to be told “No” by the first ten they call.

My description does not do it justice. Please go to http://willusit.com and watch the flash animation on the home page to see exactly how it works.

Sign up and test it out for FREE!

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Posted in: Daycare, Links, Tips |
Views: 610
8 Comments »

George Strait Brings Back Memories

February 18th, 2008
10 Comments »

This weekend was slam packed full of fun. We went down to Charleston, WV to see Sara Johns, Little Big Town, and George Strait in concert!

Not sure how many of you that read this site are country music fans, but have you heard George Strait’s new single? It is called “I Saw God Today”. Have a quick listen to the song…

[youtube]xVudc6aOK4I[/youtube]

I remember this feeling like it was yesterday. I remember when Ace was first born I just stood there in total amazement. I didn’t say a word. The nurses had to tell me it was OK to come over and touch Ace, say hi, and take his picture.

After everything settled down and I went outside for a breath of fresh air, I was like WOW!

The world seemed to be a better place…

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Posted in: Looking Back, Videos |
Views: 495
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The Smoke Monster Got Me!

February 12th, 2008
12 Comments »

Smoke Monster By: [177] (http://flickr.com/photos/banky177/)
Photo By: [177]So, yeah….I’ve quit smoking (kinda).

Monday, I did pretty good.  I only chewed one fingernail down to the bone.  I don’t like bone chips in my teeth, so I smoked two cigarettes that day to keep from gnawing any deeper.

Tuesday, I was in the office…bored outta my mind!  The thought of a cold smoke (a term my friends and I coined in high school) frequented my deliriously nervous state of mind.  I was able to fight off the nic fits by taking it out on a small piece of flavored rubber…other wise known as chewing gum.

Wednesday, I traveled for most of the day down to tornado land Tennessee.  You CANT smoke in the airports or on airplanes these days so I just tried to sleep as much as possible.  That night I stayed in a smelly hotel.  I asked for a non smoking room, but was *this-close* to lighting up to get rid of the stench.  Also, since I slept so much on the plane, I was up all night…and what else is there to do at 3AM besides smoke and surf the net?  I held out due to the sign that stated a $100 fine for smoking. :D

Thursday, things started to get easier.  However I only worked for about 3 hours and then spent the rest of the day and night in a better smelling hotel room surfing the net.  Boredom has to be my worst enemy! Even though the Internet is huge, you can only distract yourself from the smoking urge for so long before smoking a cigarette or passing out from eye strain.  I passed out. :D

Friday, again was mostly a travel day, but the urges and withdrawal side effects were less fierce.  I only growled at one fellow traveler as they bumped into me at the airport.

Saturday, however, was a different story.  We were spending the night at my Mom’s and I forgot my patches at home.  I got pulled over and spent all night drinking in a bar.  I just couldn’t overcome the urges.  I gave in.  The smoke monster got me.

Sunday, I still didn’t have my patches so I smoked one more pack.  Better than going nuts and committing a mass homicide, right?

Since Monday, I have been back into quitting mode again.  It is Tuesday afternoon and I have not had a smoke in the past day and a half.  Do you think I can make it through this weekend without lighting up?

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Posted in: Misc Ramblings |
Views: 527
12 Comments »

Flashing Lights and Spinning Rooms

February 12th, 2008
8 Comments »

I wasn’t around this weekend to do any blog hoppin’, as most of you probably noticed. It was time for a Mom and Dad night out on Saturday. It’s been awhile since we were able to go out and “let it all hang out”!

Saturday, my Mom, volunteered to watch Ace while Momma and I went out with my brother and some friends.

Cop Car By: http://flickr.com/photos/pingnews/
Photo By: pingnews.com

On the way to my Mom’s house I got pulled over (again) for speeding. Ever since I got pulled over in October I have been very careful with my speed. I rarely go more than 5 MPH over the speed limit.

I was driving through a small town called Mechanicsburg. I turned down a side street that leads out of town towards my Mom’s house. I knew that this road was 25 MPH for a long ways. There are no houses there, but there is a park on one side of the road. After you pass the park the speed limit goes up to 55 MPH.

I wasn’t paying attention to my speed and was just driving, talking to Momma, and accelerating up to 55 MPH. When I popped over the small hill just before the 55 MPH speed limit sign and came into view of Mr. Officer, I was already doing 54 MPH (according to Mr. Officer’s radar). :D

The next few minutes were filled with flashing lights, me digging through my center console and the glove box looking for my registration and insurance card, me stuttering trying to explain that I don’t have an insurance card but do have insurance, and then just sitting there wondering how bad of a fine/punishment I was going to receive while Mr. Officer was running my plates and driver’s license.

To make a long story short… Mr. Officer was exceptionally nice to me. If he would have marked my speed as 55 MPH I would have been charged with Reckless Operation (big fine). Since this was my 2nd ticket in 6 months the fine automatically goes up as well. He said that he could have easily given me a $450 ticket. But being the nice guy that he was (and since I was from out of town and just passing through) he gave me a $150 ticket. I got off easy!

Photo By: http://flickr.com/photos/llimllib/
Photo By: llimllibWell, I didn’t let this little mishap spoil our fun times. We finally dropped off Ace at Grandma’s and made our way to the bar. Momma didn’t feel like drinking so she was DD. My brother and I drank quite a bit. We started at Winger’s. When it got boring we moved to the 68 Lounge and closed it down. Then we moved onto The Fountain and closed it down too. I don’t remember a whole lot about the night other than it felt good to let loose… :D

We got home at 4 AM and felt like crap the next day, but it was all worth it.

No Smoking Update: Well, I did good until the weekend. I’ll write a post about it in the next few days.

Ace Update: He’s starting to walk. Usually just a few steps at a time, but today he did 18 steps. I’m going to try to get a video to post here because he is so funny when he walks. :)

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Posted in: Funny Stuff, Misc Ramblings |
Views: 374
8 Comments »

Who’s Booze Clues?

January 19th, 2008
17 Comments »

Booze Clues

One of my favorite dad bloggers, BusyDad, started the Weekend BlogHoppers club. The blog hoppers club is a group of bloggers who are usually home on weekend nights, tipping back a few cold ones after the kids are in bed, and commenting on other Weekend BlogHoppers club member blogs.

So, stumble on over to the Weekend BlogHoppers club page and join in on all of the fun!

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Posted in: Uncategorized |
Views: 922
17 Comments »