Favorite Office Moment

Late night last night -- city council meeting went until 1 a.m.
So I am here by myself, considering a nap, and found this online. It's my favorite moment in The Office.

They are doing a safety day and the manager -- the dark haired guy on the roof -- is trying to show that office workers face dangers too, like depression. To make his point, it is going to jump off the roof....



Which reminds me, I have a Mind, Body and Spirit story due next week and I haven't started yet. Guess I know what I am doing tomorrow. :)

"This is about doing, not thinking."

That gets me every time.

pat

Johnson family Christmas delayed

Spend a bunch of money on clothes, toys and food and the most exciting present for Violet?
A 99-cent stuffed blue mermaid -- made in China. Figures. So I will let you guess what I got her for the Johnson Christmas next week.... the green mermaid. :)

There is a headache and flu stuff going around,according to my mother. My dad seems to have caught the creeping crud, so Johnson Christmas (or Zoo Christmas) has been canceled until New Years Day.

Tomorrow, Monday, I am going to have a late night due to a council meeting and story to write the same evening. I am going to love it -- as I always do writing on deadline. I like the daily deadlines but not the stress of the daily grind. A true love/hate relationship there.

Violet and Cindy went to church today, while I stayed home with Lilly. What always happens is that I get Lilly at church and then I take her to the nursery. She is too small to run around by herself, because of the monster 2 year olds running the place. So I try to take her into the little infant room, where, of course, there are 23 breast feeding mothers. I always end up wandering the halls with a sleeping Lilly on my shoulder. Good exercise, but if I'm not going to hear a sermon, I may as well stay home and watch Daystar on TV.

The Marshes came over today after church and that was fun. It's always good seeing Dwight. The guy is getting three master degrees, a couple at the expense of the Federal government -- not a bad gig if you can get it. Today I learned that 1 isn't a prime number. Not sure how I will ever use that information, but now I know.

The last three days I have had a pretty bad headache at the base of my skull. Not sure if it's related to my snow-day spills, or if my pea brain got stuck somewhere back there. :) It gets pretty intense and feels like a migraine, although I never usually get those. I'm pretty sure it isn't sinuses and I am thinking it may be stress related. Not sure what I am stressed about -- good job, great kids, wonderful wife, and bright future. Hmmm.

With any luck I will get busy at work again and it will just fade away. Who knows.

Pat

Merry Christmas!

Well, we had a great Christmas morning. It started with brunch -- I made this potato casserole thing (we call them Fun Potatoes from their original Funeral Potatoes name), I cooked sausage, bacon and made (EDIT -- thanks Melissa!!!) eggs to order. Cindy made fruit salad, cheesecake and this egg bake thing with vegetables in it.

After eating we opened presents -- mostly for the girls -- and had a fun time. Violet is having a hard time learning how to share, but otherwise it was a good morning. Violet got a bunch of dresses and clothes (I will post photos as I get them) and Lilly got very loud toys that I am sure I am going to be turning off or taking batteries out of the minute my in-laws leave. :)

I took some movies and I will post those as I go through them. Probably over the weekend.

Next up, Johnson family Christmas, sometime this weekend.

pat

I need this for my New Year diet

Trapped in a house covered in snow.

Cindy baking.

Bad combination.

I wouldn't be surprised if I weighed as much as my car at this point.

A friend sent this over to me, and this is my new diet plan.

We three kings have traveled so far

Today I went to work. No, not in Wilsonville, in Canby -- they closed the Boone Bridge (the only way to get to my work without a 30+ mile detour) this morning. On Monday they lay out the pages and write last-minute news. So that's what I did, because I figured I wasn't going to make it to Wilsonville this week.

Right now, we have about a foot of snow in the yard, roads and on top of the cars. My day started out by digging out the car. It had about 5 inches of snow, then 1/2 inch of ice and then another 5 inches of snow. The sidewalk I shoveled off yesterday was completely covered with snow again.

So off I went to work, and I get there barely, because the car doesn't have enough clearance and I am like a snow plow. I park and the guy at Canby Pub and Grill yells that I can't park in front of his business (even though it's 2 hour parking). We get into it pretty good, but then I decided that he might complain to my boss' boss, so I moved the car to the back. I will not eat there again, the guy was rude, if he had been cool, no problem, but be a dork, and that's it. I also am telling everyone I know not to eat there, not like the food is that good anyway.

Of course I fell down running errands around downtown Canby. I'm a spazz, I would expect at least one faceplant.

After a few hours of work, and depositing checks and picking up meat from a local butcher, I went out to get back in the car and it was burried again. I was smart and brought a shovel with me. I started digging, tried to move it, got stuck, then dug again. Once I got away from the curb it was fine. I got about halfway home, and I had to stop again because I was stuck. I broke out the shovel again, and sure enough, fell on my face. At least I didn't fall on the shovel.

I get home and make the run up the driveway (very short) and get stuck halfway. Now the trunk is sticking in the sidewalk, but I can't go forward or backward. So we are stranded at home until this snow melts. Well, at least some of it.

Now for my venting. A year and a half ago, Cindy and I were looking at vehicles because we were having Lilly. I wanted an SUV, like a Toyota Highlander or FJ or a Dodge Durango. Four wheel drive for the winter and good safety ratings. When the gas crunch hit this summer, I was glad we got the van -- it gets about 21 mpg and the 4X4s I wanted were around 19. But this week I am regretting getting the van. The van doesn't even have traction control, which sucks. So during this type of weather it's pretty much parked. I suppose we could put chains on it, it's front-wheel drive.

The car we have has traction control, ABS and is pretty good in the snow (when it's not a foot deep on the road).

Anyway, I wish we would have gotten the SUV, but this is a 50-year storm from what they are saying on TV, so who knows.

Well, I should run, Lilly is in a mood.

Dang, after two wipeouts on the ice, I am going to be sore tomorrow. I think it's Tylenol time. What happened to the days of diving into the snow and not even feeling it?

Pat

Snow pictures (with kids inside)

OK, so here are some just random shots around the house. That is the snowman Violet and I built yesterday. I guess Snow Harder! was right. Dude looks cold.

I drove the car yesterday and it had no snow on it. I cleaned it off before I took it out to get supplies.

You know those videos of us playing in the yard yesterday. The top photo is our backyard which doesn't show a hint of the fun we had.

It's snowing pretty hard outside right now. We have about 7 inches of snow, then 1/2 inch of ice on top of that, and now it's snowing again. They are calling for 2-4 inches of snow tonight.

I have work tomorrow. That will be fun.

Pat

Snowman III: Snow harder

Today the A-team went out to build a proper snowman.

Snowman 1 earlier this week, leaned until he almost melted.
Snowman 2 fell backward before I even got home from work on Friday.
Snowman 3, today was build by recycling parts of Snowman 1 and 2, and fortified with additional snow and tonight, freezing rain. He is going to be encased in ice.

We shot this video with our big videocamera because we lost our little one. It's somewhere, but we don't know where.

Anyway, enjoy and we are hoping the power doesn't go out tonight. If it does, we are burning the Christmas tree in the woodstove.

(Don't worry, I bought wood a week ago with fire logs -- don't tell Larry).

Pat

Here is my little snow angel:

Lilly turns 1!!

Today, during the snow storm of the decade, Lilly turned 1.

I'm not sure if that's supposed to be an omen, or what -- she is a active little cuss -- but I like snow, so I really like Lilly.

She gets the joke. The kid always is quick to giggle and laugh, just like me. Even for no reason, sometimes she will just point and giggle. Out of the blue. Kind of like me.

The world needs more happy people, so you are welcome. :)

Today we had chocolate cake, as you can see by the aftermath in the photo, and more pictures are in the slide show.

Violet and I also fixed the snowman, again. The snow today was way too dry to really do much. The plan was to start over, but after trying to make a snowball and having no luck, I determined we should just reduce, reuse and recycle (sorry, too much Bob the Builder lately).

I will put those photos up tomorrow, with a video. Heck, I might do it later tonight, but I want Lilly to have her moment in the sun... it is her birthday today. :)

Pat

I can't stop watching this...

This has been all over the web, and TV, but if you haven't see it here is the story. It's a downtown Portland street where a guy with a video camera left it running for 3 hours and then sped it up. He sent it in the CNN and it's a hit!

Oh and I am trying to figure out Twitter. Anyone know anything about it. I have some people followed (Brett) but beyond that I'm not sure how to use the damn thing.

I feel like an old guy given a cell phone.

'Get off my lawn!'

It's snowing here! We got about an inch since 5 p.m. (it's now 9).

Pat

We are stuck at home!

Hello everyone!

This is Violet and Lilly sitting in front of the Christmas tree Wednesday. We had fun taking those pictures until Lilly got fussy. She didn't want to be held down anymore by her sister. So we have some other shots of Violet, holding a crying little sister.

We have snow, sleet, rain, freezing rain, wind, sunshine and frogs falling from the sky. I am waiting to see if I have to go to work tomorrow, I have a couple of meetings and if they are canceled I will be spending the time at home watching the kids.

Hope all is well with you, and if you are in a freezing climate -- be careful out there.

Pat, Violet and Lilly

PS today is Cindy and mine 13th wedding anniversary -- I only fought once today instead of the normal ultimate fighting cage match... kidding. :)

Meet Mr. Snowman

So a couple of years ago Aunt Sue sent us a snowman kit. Then we didn't get snow. Then we had Lilly and didn't have a chance to play in the snow. This year is different.

Today Cindy and Violet went out and built a snowman. He is leaning pretty bad, but hey, it's her first snowman.

Here is a picture and I put some others up on Flickr.

Hark the herald Violet sings!

Yesterday Violet had her Christmas program at school, where you get a church full of 4-year-olds and their relatives to watch them sing a couple of songs. It was fun, and my mom and dad came out to watch Violet sing. Lilly was pretty fussy on the drive out, so it was nice to get home and get her to bed.

Here is a photo, this week I am pretty fried, I will recover this weekend, so you aren't going to get a lot of commentary here today. :)


Oh if you look at the slideshow I put some o the concert photos on Flickr, along with some random Lilly photos I took on Monday or Tuesday (I can't remember).

Good morning

I promised pictures. Here is one from this morning.

Couple of thougths

Yes I know there haven't been updates lately. I have been busy with work and we were putting together the calendar for this year.

Everyone said with the second child we wouldn't take as many photos as we did with Violet. I call B.S. In fact, I think we took more! So there!

Anyway, we plowed through 12 months of photos and the calendars, and Christmas letters, will be going out shortly. That's you Christmas gift, so I hope I didn't ruin it for you.

Pretty soon and Cindy is on vacation for a couple of weeks, so that will be nice. I am finding a nice pace at work, so things are getting a bit easier. There is a big land use issue going on in Wilsonville that I am following that should wind down mid-December and then I will really be able to plan my work week.

Anyway, lately I have been not playing any video games. Not a one. This is from a self-proclaimed gamer -- and I have been going through withdrawls. No Madden football. No Half-Life 2. No Team Fortress 2. Nothing.

One day I just woke up and realized that I was spending a lot of money for a computer to play video games, when it would be cheaper to buy a gaming system. Only problem, I could convince Cindy (the boss) that a computer was useful and therefor I needed to have one. Gaming system, that's something that can be put off, and put off, and put off.

So when the hard drive died in my desktop computer, gaming stopped for me. I have been reading and whatnot. I can't complain because I have a laptop to do work and surf and e-mail, but it just doesn't have the umph to do games. I guess in the end it is better that I give up my games, but dang, I miss em.

But then came the Guitar Hero ads. That game looks so stinking fun...




Oh and here is the new Ghostbusters game coming out in June.



All I have to say about this gaming hiatus is this: When our house is attacked by aliens, terrorists, or ghosts I am not going to be responsible because I am out of practice using BFGs, MP5s, and proton packs.

That's all.

:)

Calendars should be in the mail this week. Photos of kids will be posted this week too.

Pat

Sleep? What's that?

Heh.

Lilly was up again very early -- 3:30 I think. Cindy has been a stud and has been taking care of her the last few nights.

I think Sunday I am going to pull and all-nighter so Cindy can get some rest.

Problem with leaving Lilly in her crib to cry is that it wakes up the whole house... that girl has some lungs!

She is fine, just doesn't want to sleep by herself. Hopefully we can break this habit at some point.

Trying to make an over-tired 4 year old understand what is up is fun too.

Not complaining, both kids are very precious, just wish there was more sleep for Cindy.

Well, back to bed I think. If you want to test your marriage, go to bed at midnight and wake up at three. :) So far, Cindy and I get an A.

pat

That's right, hat trick!

The attack:



I'm a dork:




This is what I was going after:

Violet sings!

Yes you get two posts in one day.

Why? Because I am jacked up on Mountain Dew after the Coke at work was in the very back because people had purchased pies and other Thanksgiving crap and put it in the community fridge. So you get PAT!!!!!!! Going insane!!!!

Let's face it, after a week with no sleep, I could use a good caffeine JOLT!

Here are the movies.

The first movie is Violet singing the theme song from her favorite show, Super Why! (or as she calls it, Super Wide! -- which is my nickname around the house now, thanks Cindy)



The next song is what I call the "no sense" song. She just makes noise. Oh and watch Lilly while this is going on. Pretty funny.

Yes, I am a slacker

I know I have been remiss in my responsibility to update this blog. I have been doing some freelance stuff and things around here have been pretty busy.
Happy Thanksgiving!

Here are some movies I took before bedtime last night. Yes, those are my pajama bottoms, my pajama shirt says: "Who's your Daddy?"

My dad would do something like this...

So this is the next Pixar movie. Looks pretty funny -- and reminds me of my dad. I also love the description: "In this 'coming of old age' story, a seventy-something hero, alongside his clueless wilderness ranger sidekick, travels the globe, fighting beasts and villains, and eating dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon."

Puke, part duex

Not wanting to be outdone by her little sister, Violet got into the spewing business last night with an IPO of incredible value.

While Lilly was the surprise attack, earning a score of 9.4 out of 10, Violet defeated her with the "late night ralph meets bunny" move, throwing up a score of a perfect 10.

The night was like many others, I went to bed after Cindy, being engrossed in a book. Lilly started crying and Cindy asked that I take care of her -- she wanted sleep.

So from midnight to 2:30 a.m. I tried to coax the bald bawling bambino to sleep to no avail. That's when Violet got into the act.

First was the rash, Violet's legs itched. I put Lilly on the floor and got lotion. Oh, but I put the wrong lotion on, according to very vocal Violet. I had cold lotion, she wanted warm lotion. I got Violet asleep, and then once again worked on Lilly.

Lilly passed out after an infomercial on ShamWow! and I was able to put her in her crib, right as Violet started crying again.

Cindy beat me into her room, and as I came around the corner.... wow.

Let me say that Bunny got a steam cleaning in the washer, and the bedding was cleaned up. We then gave Violet a spit bath and it was bed time for me.

Hello 4:30 a.m.

Thank goodness there was no work today. That would have been killer.

Both girls don't have fevers, and they only puked once each, so we are kind of scratching our heads. Not sure what's up. Lilly has been fine and Violet had a lot of Halloween candy yesterday so I am thinking that's the culprit.

Well, time to go in and tuck Violet in.

Maybe we can get some sleep tonight. If not, at least the laundry will get done.

Pat

I have never seen so much puke come out of something so small.

Cindy last night was reading the kids a bedtime story in Lilly's room.

I am on the phone with my dad about something stupid.

"Critical issue!"

My wife will always be a software engineer -- one part cutie, one part IBM Thinkpad.

I hang-up, walk into Lilly's room and see the 9-month-old spewing puke everywhere. I had never seen anything like it.

She is fine, no fever, I think she just got too full or upset or just doesn’t like blueberries.

I spent my evening steamcleaning her room, the rocker and the ottoman.

Fun stuff, parenthood.

Now if you will excuse me, I have been fighting my gag reflex for the past 24 hours. :)

Pat

What a wonderful sound you've discovered...

My favorite part of kids is seeing the stuff they discover on their own. With Violet it was airplanes and saying they were "Dados."

Lilly, on the other hand, keeps finding textures and sounds. She will stop and feel the carpet, the tile, the rug, and the bathroom floor. She loves this sound. You always know where she is when you hear the squeak. She sat in there for probably 15 minutes just doing that.

Anyway, this weekend is Cindy's birthday, we got a chocolate cake that is so rich I can't believe it. Tomorrow we are going on a date -- probably go for a hike or something... not sure yet.

Well, I am off to eat dinner...

I'm Pat, and I'm a procrastinator

Right now I have a story to write -- I've written two today -- and if I get it done, my life will be sooo much easier tomorrow. But it's the darn Internet with it's funny, gripping and educational pages. How did we survive without it?

Well tonight I have a treat for you. Tired of political ads? I personally love the Hot Dog eating Jeff Merkley one, but here are some ads from a bygone era. I love em. We need more like these.

This is a catchy tune!


Ooo this one is good too. Eisenhower he made America pregnant!


Aaaaand my personal favorite...


OK now, excuse me, I have a regional transportation system story to finish.

Pat

Yay me! DONE!

Finished up all my freelance assignments today. Whew! I was able to get some writing in for my real job today, which was nice. So I am getting a jump on the week. Tomorrow I am stuck in a meeting during Violet's preschool... check this out.

So there is a group that meets that talks about how to solve the south Metro traffic problem -- you know the area from Wilsonville, Sherwood, Tualatin, Tigard and everywhere not covered by 217 or I205. I have been going off and on and the meetings are normally in Portland. Tomorrow? The meeting is being held at the same time as Violet's preschool and it's in the same town even! I think the school and the meeting site is less than 2 miles from each other.

Score me.

Well, I think the rest of the night I am going to nail down this story I want in the bank for the Spokesman next week, and then go to bed early. Hard night last night as the kids didn't want to sleep again. Thank goodness I had caffeine in the house. :)

OK, enough rambling.

When Pat and Cindy fight...

I was surfing around the Internet today and found this clip. It's an example of what a fight between Cindy and I is like.

She is the Hulk.




All I have to say is... BY ODIN'S BEARD!

Violet: Political pundit

If you live in Oregon, this weekend you should have gotten your ballot in the mail. If you don't live in Oregon, then you still have plenty of time to decide who you are going to vote for when it comes to the office of the President of the United States.

Last night, I was talking with Violet and she told me that the economic downturn has hurt McCain, but she feels the experience argument has some merit. She is also glad that Obama has been able to energize young voters, herself included, and thinks that if he can get them to turn out in numbers he is going to be hard to beat. After reading both candidates economic plans.... oh heck... why don't I just let her tell you what she thinks:

Lack of updates

I took on way too many freelance assignments, and work has been kinda hectic. So I am focusing in on work and not the blog right now. It will be back, probably around the end of the month.

Sorry!

Oh and here is are two pretty funny clips from a recent roast with Sen. Obama and Sen. McCain.

OK that just looks hard

I was informed this evening that Cindy doesn't like her picture on the Internet. So, I am going to be editing her out and showing off my awesome Photoshop skills. Here we have a picture of Casper the Friendly Ghost reading to my daughters.

Today I woke up and Cindy and the squirts were all dressed and getting ready to go to the Marsh's house. Cindy didn't want to wait around for me, so they left and I had the house to myself today.

I had grand plans. I was going to change out so ballasts in the kitchen for the lights that are buzzing and driving us crazy. I spent the better part of an hour trying to figure out how to get to the ballasts -- including going into the attic -- and finally figured it out. (Don't ask because I am embarrassed).

I looked at the many wires, and whatnot and decided that this was out of my skill set. Plus, playing with electricity with no one around was probably a bad idea anyway. If I had turned the breaker off -- the fridge is on that circuit I think -- and I didn't want to have all our food go bad.

By the time I realized all this, Cindy and the girls came home. So we put Violet to bed and Lilly crashed on Cindy. We spent the afternoon watching Knight Rider (the crappy old school one, not the crappy new one).

Well, girls are going to bed now, so I better go starting cleaning up the house.

Dang it's been cold overnight!

Pat

I didn't do anything!

So not only did I write two stories today at work, I also worked out, and took pictures of the kids. Yes, I am overachieving today.

Tonight I am going to help Cindy clean up the kitchen, maybe eat some dinner (although I am trying to swear off dinner in my quest to not be 400 pounds by Christmas) and then watch some TV.

Here's a photo for you guys. Sorry, but the lack of sleep and illness thing was killing us.

EDIT 8:36 A.M.: Here is the cutest thing I have seen. It's kinda long, but worth it just to watch Violet do her thing. She is now singing songs.

You have a choice

OK, well everyone has been sick this week -- myself included -- I need to start dressing Violet like the "Boy in the Bubble" when she goes to school.

Anyway, no photos this week because I suck. Also, we are starting work on the calendar, so I'm not sure how many photos and videos we will be uploading in the next few weeks. Who knows.

Here are a couple of funny videos I found...

My inner geek told me to post them...

LHC Rap


NASA ISS Rap (a response to the LHC Rap)

Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!

I promised you guys a video and some photos and then never delivered. Bad Pat! Bat!

Canby Football and a cold

So tonight I volunteered to shoot some football. I have never done that before -- although I watch a lot of football on TV.

I have decided that high school football rocks. It's faster paced game-wise than professional -- they are faster on the field, but it feels like a year for the game to finish.

Anyway, here is one of the rejects, and with any luck Saturday one of my photos will be in the Herald.

This morning I woke up with sore sinuses and throat. I am trying to ignore it, since all the girls are feeling better now. I think tonight I am going to slam some NyQuil and then sleep as much as possible this weekend.

Violet is going to start dance school next week, so we have to get her tights and stuff. It's a great motivator because I keep telling her that if she throws fits, she can't go. Because everyone knows ballerinas don't throw fits...

She will get so tired and frustrated she is bouncing, but refuses to talk back or cry, just clenches her fists and bounces chanting "I am not throwing a fit." It's so funny, but I always try to talk her down. At least she is trying and that's the whole point.

Lilly is crawling out of her clothes now, and she will stand up leaning against stuff. I don't think it will be long before she is walking.

Well, I am off to watch the debate now (I am such a nerd I TiVoed it). heh.

I will upload a video tomorrow -- and maybe even some photos.

Pat

Added functionality and another video

Sorry about the lack of updates this week. I have had a rolling schedule, with several meetings and whatnot.

Sometimes work really gets in the way of screwing around, y'know?

We decided that Violet is going to be in school two days a week -- we just have to tell the teacher now. She had been going to the 3s preschool on Tuesday and Thursday and the 4s preschool on Monday and Wednesdays. With her birthday so close to the cutoff they let us put her in both, but the illness and her being tired all the time has led us to back it off a bit.

Scheduling wise I think the Tuesdays Thursdays is best -- but then she is in 3s not 4s... so it's just a decision we have to make. Technically she should be in 3s as her birthday is after the deadline, but she is 4.

Cindy still has a cold and is trying to get back on her feet, and Karen Marsh also got it. I have been lucky this time, I have been drinking Odwalla C-Monsters and downing this anti-cold tea Cindy gave me. I think it has caffeine because I can't seem to sleep at night.

Oh, and I almost forgot, ESPN has new NFL widgets of your favorite team. So I slapped a Oakland Raider widget on the left side there. That way you will know what I will be TiVoing on Sunday. :)

Well, off to work...

Pat

That's right, I take care of my children!

My pal Aaron Marvin posted this video on his blog and I love it. Heh.

The words are perfect -- and tells my story almost perfectly.



Cindy and her mom both have the head cold. I have avoided it through the power of Coca-Cola (at least that's what I am telling myself).

Violet is feeling better, and Lilly still has a runny nose, but she isn't acting sick. Today is back to school for Violet and swimming tonight. I have a Wilsonville meeting I have to attend, one of many meetings I have this week. Ug.

Anyway, I will post another video and/or pictures later today. I have to get ready to run to school now. Then I am trapped in Sherwood for 2 1/2 hours.

Pat

A favor

Well, I got a call on Friday that my old boss at the Silverton Appeal needed help. He was out of freelancers and there was a mural dedication in downtown Silverton. So I opted to help out -- if only because I could go to the event, write it up and be done with it in a day.

The mural is of Don Pettit, a Silverton native who is now an astronaut with NASA. When the Columbia blew up several years ago he was trapped on the space station for several months. He made it home on a Russian space capsule -- so you know the guy has guts.

The dedication was a cool event, and I, being a mild geek, love anything to do with space and NASA. So I sent an e-mail to NASA to see if I could get a reaction from him, but he was evacuated because of hurricane Ike.

Anyway, I made a little extra money, got to visit Silverton again and write about something that interests me. Not a bad Saturday.

I love going back to communities I have covered in the past, mostly for the ego boost. I heard from several people including cops, politicians and normal folks that they missed my writing and felt I did a good job. That felt good.

Well, I should get moving today we have laundry and Cindy is now feeling the effects of "The Cold" so I want to try to get her some rest today.

Living with two biohazards

So, it turns out that Violet and Lilly have ear infections. Yesterday and today we went to the doctor -- we are getting a two-for-one deal through Cindy's HMO -- and it was confirmed.

Our daughters are germ magnets.

Lilly is on antibiotics, while Violet is getting much better. Violet missed two days of school and I think next week we are going to limit her to three days a week instead of four, if they will let us.

Lilly isn't acting too sick, she is just a snot factory and combined with the drool from teething it's like having a tiny Saint Bernard wandering around sliming ankles.



We were told today by the doctor Lilly is in the 24 percentile in weight, 75 percentile in height and (as Cindy put it) a big head. Cindy couldn't remember the number -- can you tell this is the second kid?

I am in utter shock, a child of mine that isn't chunky? When they did that metabolism test on me a the gym, other people were coming up with numbers like 200 and 400... me? I was a -12. No joke. You say "chocolate cake" and I gain a pound. In fact, I just gained four pounds typing that.

Anyway, here is a video of me feeding Lilly while Violet sings for us. Kind of like a fancy restaurant, only the band doesn't know how to play music and all the food is ground up and either fruit or vegetables. I think I will call this restaurant, Chateau de Pat.

Well, I am off to watch Burn Notice -- I love that show.

WARNING TO GANNETT EMPLOYEES: I have noticed lately that there are a couple of hits a day from Statesman Journal employees. To the left in my favorite blog list is the Gannett Blog. This is not something you want to click to when you are at work. I read a post on there a few weeks back that it was rumored that IT is tracking people who visit that site on a regular basis, it isn't exaclty a "fansite" for Gannett, if you get my drift. So, click at your own peril. It's OK for me because I'm a hired gun now -- when I feel like it. While I have you on the line, sorry for the recent lay-offs, I hope the cutting is over with and you guys can go back to worrying about how you are going to do three people's jobs without overtime. I wish you all well.

I love election season

I love election season if for nothing else the comedy.

Here is a skit that I saw Saturday Night Live -- and while biased -- I still think it's still funny.



Anyway, enjoy, I will try to update the blog later tonight, Violet is going to the doctor because of The Cold.

Think she is teething??

Lilly is teething -- and has a little cold, still.

When Violet was an infant, I was changing her diaper one day and she exploded all over the changing table, wall, diapers, me and everything else in the room. Since then, as long as she was in diapers, I called her "pumpkin pants." Paints a vivid picture, eh?

Since this weekend I have been doing the heavy lifting on the Lilly cold front. Her nose won't stop running. I have sucked it out, wiped and tried to show her how to blow her nose with no luck. Today I was laying on the floor playing with her, she crawled over, and wiped her nose right on my shirt, then crawled over to Mommy and wiped her nose on Cindy's foot.

From here forth, her name is "snot." It's a term of endearment, really. And it fits on sooo many levels.

During preschool today I went over to the office to check e-mail and get some stuff. Lilly slept most of the time, when she woke up I took her to the front office to show her off. I would put the car seat on the floor (she was still in it) and she would scream, pick it up, she would stop. It was pretty funny. And another example of "snot."

She also grabbed my hand today and put it in her mouth, I felt one tooth poking through her gums on the bottom. She has one, and my guess more are on their way, especially with her gnawing on a Belle chair.

Anyway, it's Strawberry Shortcake time, gotta run.

Pat

P.S. Here is a story for you...why are Violet's stories always about food?

Kids, compromise and complications

Well, I am learning that with kids comes compromise.

Today I blew off an assignment for my real job (I wrote in at 3:30 a.m. to let them know I wasn't going to be able to attend) because we had two sick kids last night and I got no, as in none, sleep.

So I grabbed a couple of hours before Cindy had to go to work this morning (I slept from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m.) and now I am watching the kids today. Tonight I have a council meeting and I am hoping that the little one naps, so I can catch a few hours, or even just rest.

I let them know, but I still feel bad. I keep telling myself it's a part of the parenting thing, so I shouldn't stress too much about it. But those of you who know me, know that I will spend the next week freaking out about missing an assignment.

I called my editor and she has four kids and understood, but I still feel like a moron.

Anyway, I am off to find something to eat and rock the kid. The big one is at preschool now, so at least I am cool that way.

Pat

Laundry, football and butterflies

This is a video of Violet and Lilly playing together. You will notice Violet has a stuffy nose (she sounds kind of nasally).

Lilly has Violet's cold now. Cindy is also complaining of having a stuffy nose. I am going to drink a gallon of water and see if we have any orange juice in the freezer.

Today Cindy is working (or trying to), we are doing laundry, and I am watching football. The Raiders won today (yeah me!) which will probably be their only win of the year. I messed around with my fantasy team a little -- this is my first year and I really stink at it.

Violet was pretty bratty yesterday -- I am attributing it to her cold. Today she seems fine (behavioral wise) but still has congestion. The little one is breathing like a Predator when she sleeps (click the link to hear the Predator -- which sounds like Lilly).

Well, the New York Bretts are playing the hated New England Patriots (Pat Riots when they win) so I better go.

Pat

Throwback

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. I got sideways at work, and my schedule has been kind of nuts. So much so I haven't had time to do new photos or movies. I was going through our family laptop, and found this movie of Violet from Aug. 5, 2005. I love her hair!

Next week I will try to do more video and photos of the kids.

Today we cleaned out the freezer, defrosted it, and I got to chisel ice out of it. Pretty fun, but I was leaning all the way down in the freezer too long (we have a chest deep freeze) so I tweaked my back a bit. Nothing a few Advil won't help.

Well, off to the store.

Pat

Where did the week go?

OK, so here I am on Wednesday night wondering what happened to my week. Tomorrow is Thursday and I am behind at work (a politician stood up an interview), I have a one story I haven't even started and my deadline is fast approaching.

Lilly is moving. Really. It's crazy. It's like Michael Jordan -- you can't stop her, you can only contain her.

Today we have a story. Violet made this one up right before lunch.




Hope you all are having a good week.

pat

I'm a ramblin' man

Today we had a little race. Down the hallway, the big one versus the little one.

The big one won, but it was close. Almost as close as this:


So, today was the first day that I have waited in Sherwood for Violet's school to be over. It was pretty fun. Lilly and I went to a park and just hung out playing with grass (until the lawn mower started getting too close). Then we watched some guys play football and she played with a piece of bark while I gave her some baby food. The food then attracted hornets -- so we left the park. :)

Tomorrow I am going to check out the library -- might even take my laptop -- and see if there is a kid section that will keep her occupied. Otherwise, I am going to make a cardboard sign that says, "New Baby, need cash for food!" and stand at the intersection of Tualatin-Sherwood Road and Highway 99W. I hear those people make like six figures a year!

Anyway, Raider game is on.

Pat

88 miles per hour

Lilly is crawling so fast now she has fire behind her like the Delorean in Back to the Future.



See the similarities? I know!

Violet has taken to making very cute statements. This weekend was no exception.

1. After feeding her baby doll, Violet held the fake bottle in the air, looked at it and stated, "She ate two miles."
2. The neighbor's dog has been getting into our backyard because our back fence is pretty ratty. I went out to chase it out before work Friday and stepped right in dog poop. I threw up my hands and yelled, "You have GOT to be kidding me!" Violet, all weekend, has taken to informing, well, everyone that "Daddy stepped in dog poop!" I can't wait for school tomorrow.
3. Violet also decided that she was a mermaid tonight while taking a bath, and started "swimming." After this post I am looking for a water pump for the excess water we have in the bathroom floor.
   

I also had a pretty good weekend. I started off the weekend thinking that I would try to replace the garbage disposal. How hard could it be?

When it first died back in December I suggested that we call a plumber, something Cindy was very much against. She fixed the leak in December by going to Ace Hardware and having an old guy give her advice.

So this weekend was my turn. The disposal finally died about two months ago, and we had about five or six Home Depot cards floating around the house from Christmas and whatnot. So I asked Larry and my dad about it, and then went to work.

Of course the people at Home Depot had no clue (I talked to two guys whose combined age was about 7). But the thing came with directions, so I figured if nothing else, the experience would be a good blog post.

Here is what I did:

1. Removing the disposal was pretty easy, I left the existing hardware connected to the sink and just disconnected the disposal, plumbing and unplugged it (yes, I did that first).

2. Took the old disposal to Home Depot with me to make sure it was roughly the same size as the new one (I learned later it really didn't matter, but hey, I'm a rookie).

3. Wired the new one. Yes, you read that right. I wired. Like with black tape and stuff. Of course I called my dad twice for advice (he helped wire 747s back in the day), but I had to connect a wall plug to it. Not too bad. I even have splinters of wiring stuck in my hands to prove it. I am tough, don't worry about me.

4. Tried to lift the new disposal (I am thinking about 30 pounds but not sure) while lining up three tabs to the old connector. This is where things got, well, profane. Good thing Violet was napping, because I sounded like a sailor. Finally Cindy (and Lilly) came down and she lined up and connected while I held the disposal in place. I don't know how people would do that by themselves -- blocks maybe to hold up the disposal?

5. Plumb. Yes, the old plumbing fixtures wouldn't work. My pipe was too short (story of my life). So I went to Ace Hardware where they helped me out. Great guys, and from now on I am going there first. Anyway, I had to trim one of the pipes they gave me -- it was plastic and I needed a saw. Of course all I could find was a Christmas tree saw. I was going back to Ace when I saw that my old buddy "Moocher" had just pulled in at home so I borrowed a saw, and cut it right at his house. Came home, tightened everything up and Boom! Done.

I am so good that it doesn't leak (it always has) and when the dishwasher drains it used to back up into the sink a little -- it doesn't do that either! That's right, call me Bob Villa.

Maybe not, it did take me all day.

Next weekend I think I will add an office to the back of the house. :)

That project was pretty much my entire Saturday, and today I watched football, did laundry and made the girls a nice breakfast. Tomorrow I am looking forward to not working and getting to watch the Raider game. I don't know what I am going to do while Violet is at school, I am sure I will find something to do to kill two and a half hours with Lilly. Maybe have her crawl in grass or something. I don't know.

Anyway, off to bed.

Pat

Been busy

As most of you know, the end of the week is way more busy for us than the start of the week -- with me working Thursdays and Fridays (and sometimes Wednesdays).

Violet survived her first week of school and her birthday. Having her go four days a week has me driving from Canby to Sherwood two to three times a week, which is a little crazy. But it's the first week, so I am going to give it time before I start saying we should only have her in two days a week like normal kids.

Lilly has really started crawling and it's going to get crazy around here when she is fully mobile. At this point if you walk around a corner, she will follow you, slowly, but she still puts her mind to it and she is off.

This weekend we are hoping to do some fun stuff, recharge the batteries and maybe even do some work around the house. We have a dog from the house behind us who keeps going through the fence into our back yard and chasing the birds. He is a bird dog afterall. :) So I will probably go out and see if I can't smash my thumb with a hammer.

Oh and today I went to the doctor. Last night I was putting the kid's fingernail clippers away when I saw the child-safe Q-tips. I decided it was time to clean my ears. So I crammed one of them in my ear and didn't think much of it. This morning I woke up and my ear was bleeding.

After consulting Cindy -- who swore up and down she didn't put one of those ear creatures in my ear from Star Trek II -- and my boss, I decided to go to the doctor. WARNING: Do not play the movie unless...

A. You understand Spanish (German?)?
B. You don't mind weird things going in people's ears.



So I swung by my doctor's office this afternoon. His advice? Don't put things in your ear.

I am going to live and my brains aren't leaking out -- not that I have so many brains they are under pressure and would leak out anyway. I just scratched my ear canal.

OK, well, off to watch John McCain's speech. I need that TV they talk in front of...

I promise to put up more videos and pictures this weekend of the kids. No time.
Pat

Snowman, Snowman, ya got yer ears on? Aww crap!

I just found out that Snowman just got sent to the big car chase in the sky.

UPDATE: For those of you too lazy to click the link above -- yes I have had people ask me who "Snowman" is -- Jerry Reed was "Snowman." Reed was a country music star and also an "actor." I put "actor" in quotes because he pretty much played Jerry Reed.

I imagine him driving that 18-wheeler (from Smokey and the Bandit) along a cloud, running from Jackie Gleason.

Kind of a bummer to end the day. He wrote and performed the song in the You Tube video up above there.

"Smokey and the Bandit" has long been a favorite movie of my brother and I. We will often call each other up and throw quotes back and forth.

A few years ago I forced Cindy to sit through "Smokey and the Bandit" -- she wasn't impressed. Maybe she needs to see "Smokey and the Bandit, Part II?"

My Dad even gets in on the action... he loves saying this to Brett and I when we do something stupid.

We heard it a lot growing up.

We will miss you Snowman...

Pat

Creepy Crawly First Day of School

Today was pretty fun. Violet started school again -- we are sending her four days a week to see how that works out -- and Lilly started really crawling.

Lilly is very different from Violet in that she is way more vocal about what she does and doesn't want. Today I had to put her down on the floor several times to get Violet ready for school. I put her on the carpet with some toys and then got Violet dressed and packed and whatnot. She was right down the hall where I could see her. I turn, look over, and Lilly has crawled half-way down the hall, complaining the entire way.

So tonight, when Cindy got home, I conducted a little experiment. We put Lilly in her spot, in the sitting area, and then went to the living room and waited. Violet would run over and check on her and play, but sure enough, little Lilly crawled almost all the way to the living room. Here is the video proof -- with me breathing hard after running to get the camera.

Pretty soon Lilly is going to be running around... god help us.

Pat

A sad day

Today Star Trek: The Experience in Las Vegas was decommissioned. Cindy and I often talked of visiting it before we had kids. Guess that isn't going to happen.

After a horrible first date between the two of us -- it's a long story -- Cindy stole the stereo and TPed my car, back in the day before we were dating. Yes, another long story.
So once I figured out she was responsible for the theft, she offered to make me dinner to apologize. I came over and she made a great meal, and then wanted me to see some Star Trek posters in her room, which led to our first kiss.

Which proves, for geeks, there is nothing sexier than a 5-foot wide cutout of the Enterprise-D on an apartment wall.

Anyway, without Star Trek, she wouldn't have invited me to her room, and no smooch, which would have led to no dating, no wedding, no Violet, no Lilly and no broken ribs (OK I am kidding).

So, for our family anyway, today was a sad day. At least there was a Star Trek marathon on Sci-Fi today.

We are getting ready for Violet's first day of school tomorrow, so gotta run.

More photos tomorrow.

Pat

Birthday party!!!

Above we have the original party animal and to the right we have Violet playing in a new bed cover that someone got her.

Thanks to all who came and ate cake and ice cream and gave Violet gifts. Today she spent the day playing with a sticker book, and we put up the bed net -- at least now she won't get Malaria. :)

She loves her gifts. Note to self: The age of four seems to be when kids really start to understand what a birthday is.

If you click the slideshow in the upper lefthand corner there, you can see a number of the photos that I took at the party (that turned out). I upgraded my Flickr account, so I am going to be posting more and more photos there.

In other news, I cleaned the master bedroom today, and put a little office in there. Now when I work from home and someone watches the kids, I won't have to stay in bed. I also cleaned off my desk in the main part of the house, and Cindy can work from there now. She can also use the little desk in the bedroom if she wants.

Quite a bit of work going through stuff today, but it looks a lot less cluttered and I'm pretty happy with the setup.

Tomorrow the girls, Jen and my Mom are going to the zoo again. They are leaving at 7:30 a.m. to get there early. I'm not sure I want to go, although I might just to take pictures, I am still debating...

We will see how much sleep I get tonight.

pat

Let the celebration begin!

It's like the Olympic opening ceremonies, the Democratic National Convention and the Republican National Convention all rolled into one with a princess theme!

That's right, THE event of the year is here -- the weekend of Violet's birthday. Friday night, Jen just didn't want to wait for the party today, so here is Violet's new Bella Dress. This afternoon relatives and friends will invade our home -- much like Democrats invaded Denver this past week -- and the Violet celebration will hit a frenzied pace.

Oh, and my pride has told me I have to inform you that the last couple of pictures have been done with a cheap point-and-shoot, so if the quality is off, that's the reason. The flash on that thing is wicked (a word I picked up in Boston) harsh.

OK, so to make sure we don't forget about Lilly, here is a little video I took last night. Don't worry, Cindy was right there holding her. Well I am getting the stink eye for not helping clean, better run before I get a frying pan (dirty) to the head.

Going to the zoo

Today Violet, my mom, and I went to the Oregon Zoo. We decided to take the MAX train up there and had a really good time. We opted to leave Lilly at home -- because let's be honest, the kid won't remember a thing about the trip and the stroller would be a big old hassle.

Our primary reason for going up was to see if they were going to let the new baby elephant out for the public to see it. Turns out, they didn't (but are on starting tomorrow, of course). But we still have a great time. There were a lot of people there, being the Friday of a holiday weekend and all, but we had a great time.

Violet did great and didn't have any tantrums (she normally doesn't) and we left after about 2 hours of wandering around. Above we have a photo and a video. I will add some more video below. They might take a bit to load, as we are going to have three videos at around 7 megs each. I am trying to talk Cindy into a new little camera that has better video and photo quality, but I'm not in a rush until Lilly gets older.

Be good so you can go potty!

Lilly was a nightmare last night ... cry cry cry... seriously, what does she have to worry about? We aren't crack addicts... we feed her, change her, she has so many toys we were considering hiring Richard Pryor to be a toy before he passed away.

UPDATE: I figured out how to have links open in new windows, so feel free to click the links now and you won't navigate away from this page -- from posts from now on. Yes, it's midnight and I had a very long day, but still found time to increase my HTML skills yo! :)

Anyway, I have a lovely wife who let me sleep three hours this morning, so I am feeling great (seriously). After you don't get sleep with having two kids, any uninteruppted sleep over two hours feels like heaven.

Normally when I leave the house, Violet yells to the entire neighborhood: "Have a good day Daddy, I love you." Today she mixed it up a bit and included: "Have a good day Daddy, I love you. Be good so you can go potty!"

Thank goodness I left late and everyone had gone to work.

It does give me some great punishment ideas though... "You were bad -- you can't go potty now." Muhahahaha.

Tomorrow is a zoo trip for Violet, Zoo Grandma (my mom) and me! Woo hoo. I might even take some pictures, if you are lucky.

:)

Parenting tip for the day: Mountain Dew (or Red Bull) is your friend.

Crawling lesson

ACHOOO!

Hi, allergy season is here and I am sneezing and "drizzling" like CRAZY.

OK, so yesterday I was at home with the girls with nothing to do but get high on decongestants. I broke out the video camera and we had some fun. I have more Violet stories and Violet and Lilly playing and the next few days I will roll them out.

Here is Violet trying to teach Lilly how to crawl -- kinda.

Sorry about the heavy breathing, but I can't breath through my node, err, nose right now.

Tonight we took Violet to her back to school night and next week she is going to school four days a week. I'm sad. No more days with Violet and Lilly just hanging out and having adventures -- like walking 25 miles.

Violet was born just after the age deadline. Even though she will be 4 for the entire year, she will be in the 3-year-olds preschool. Lame. So the teacher said we could sign her up for both -- there are all boys and no girls so I think that has something to do with it -- and that's how a two-day a week preschool turned into four days!

I think we are going to play hooky a few times this year to visit the zoo or beach. :) Heck, the four-year-old preschool meets three times a week, so I don't think it will hurt if we miss a day every now and then. My plan is to see how it goes, and if Violet is getting too tired, then we will probably go back to two-days a week.

It's a really nice pre-school with a lot of structure and even time learning letters and stuff. Heck, I thought pre-school was glorified daycare, but this place really does the lessons.

Well, my head is about ready to 'splode, so I am going to go take a hot shower and lay in bed with the heating pad. You kind of ignore the pressure once you get used to it.

Gotta run, tomorrow is going to be crazy work day for me... and that's all I am saying about work. :)

Silly rabbit! Computers are for kids!

Lilly loves pounding on the computer -- a lot like Mom and Dad that way.
So I have had that little head cold going around, and today is day four. Cindy informed me hers was gone after three days which means she is better than I am, I guess.

I will say this, for some reason each year I keep getting sick more and more. I remember when I was in my 20s I only got sick around Thanksgiving. That was it. Now it has spread to about three times a year -- and at random. I don't know if it's due to the appendix thing I had a few years back, or just age. Something to ponder. Maybe I should start drinking Cindy's green stuff.

Today I am off work -- no freelance or Spokesman stuff -- and going to hang out with the girls and just medicate myself to high heaven. I am going for the Benedryl first, then will move on to a Theraflu cocktail. I might get so loopy, I may even play dress shop. :)

My big thing today is emptying the dishwasher and finishing up laundry. Then I am going to try to make a call or two to make work easier tomorrow and Thursday.

We have the cake ordered for this weekend, and Violet picked a "Strawberry Shortcake" cake. You know, the cartoon... not a strawberry shortcake... well maybe it is a strawberry shortcake. I have no clue... it would seem weird to have a chocolate strawberry shortcake cake, so who knows.

Anyway, cake confusion aside, I already have Violet's present for her "fake" birthday. I may run and get her something for her "real" birthday.

Oh, and another thing, of course the morning I figure they are going to get up early, so I take a shower, get dressed, have breakfast, they still are sleeping at 8:04 a.m. I am telling you, they KNOW how to screw with your plans. To think I could have gotten another 90 minutes of sleep -- they will be up soon.

UPDATE: So I was visiting my friend Aaron Marvin's blog and he had this... made me giggle. Guess I truly am a dad when something like this makes me smile. In the past I would have thought it was stupid. I just spent 20 minutes trying to figure out how they got the kids to do this...




Pat

WHAT?!

"Oh no! Violet has a chainsaw!"

So I was going through pictures today and I came across this one. It's perfect.

I have been posting a lot of pictures of Violet lately and wanted to make sure Lilly got some love. Plus with V's birthday this weekend -- I wanted to make sure Lilly isn't left out on here.

Lilly wants to skip crawling and go straight to walking. It's very interesting to watch her try to walk when you play with her. She will grab your hands, pull herself up and then start dancing -- moving her feet and hips.

The kids are being good today and Jen is over -- which always makes things easy -- I am trying to get some work done so this week won't be too bad. Due to the holiday all of my deadlines are moved up... ick.

Anyway, back to the salt mines. :)

Pat

Birthday party planning and sneezing

I know I have posted a video like this before, but today Violet was begging me to video her "jumping really high!" with Lilly. So here you go, a Saturday afternoon, pre-nap workout. :)

Maybe they both will nap at the same time today. HA!

Next weekend we are celebrating Violet's birthday. Amazing that she is already turning 4-years-old. She is now obsessed with learning her letters and what sounds they make. I think she is going to be quite the reader, which warms my heart.

We sent out electronic invitations, and if you didn't get one and want to go to the party, just contact me via e-mail. If you don't have my personal e-mail, shoot me a message at busstopboy@gmail.com and I will give you not only an invitation, but my proper e-mail address (I am trying to avoid spam in my account as it's almost full of work messages).

This past week Cindy and my mom got a head cold and I thought I was going to luck out. Think again. This morning I woke up with a sore throat and a stuffy head. I am trying to take it easy today and drink lost of liquids and might break out the NyQuil and sleep this afternoon. I can't be sick next week because my production schedule at work is pushed back because of the Monday holiday.

Today was great at lunchtime. Lilly was fussing because Cindy wasn't feeding her fast enough and out of nowhere Violet says, "Lilly, would you like some cheese with that wine?" I nearly spit out my soup. Lilly is nearly crawling, but is more interested in standing up and walking with help. The best part about Lilly is how willing she is to just smile. She is more fussy than Violet was, but the smile makes up for it. Especially when she just looks up at you and smiles and gives a quick giggle.

She, obviously, gets the joke. :)

Well, I think I am going to crash for a bit and see if I can't nip this stupid cold in the bud. We wanted to go to a friends house today -- she has a new baby -- but figured we didn't want to spread this mild cold to first-time parents.

ZZZZZZZZZ

Well, it's like this.
Lilly is a robot.
She must be, because the child never sleeps.
I have decided that she is smarter than both Cindy and myself, and has manipulated us into a state of walking a coma.
I have not had more than four hours of broken sleep in the last five days.
Cindy has it worse.
We are tired.
Now Cindy is getting a summer head cold -- and she can't take anything for it as she is still nursing.
Last night I stayed up with Lilly so Cindy could get at least four hours of sleep.
Now I am paying.
I wonder how many Cokes I can drink in a day.
Maybe I should graduate up to Red Bulls.
Violet has just informed me she is Lilly's best friend, and that she likes me and has been watching me.
OK, enough whining, the child has to sleep sometime, right?
Oh, and in the future, remind me to take a shower BEFORE Cindy leaves for work at 6 a.m. I stink.

Pat

Forgive me

OK, every now and then my inner geek gets the best of me.

You guys remember the Batman versus Iron Man movie, or the Asteroids! game I posted on here.

Well today I have something new.

Michael Phelps is no longer swimming, and frankly, I just can stand gymnastics (NOT A SPORT!)... so I turned off the Olympic coverage that I wasn't going to watch in the first place and checked my e-mail.

Of course that turned into surfing aimlessly around the Internet, and I came across this gem.

That's right kids... someone made all the buildings in the Beijing Olympic Games in LEGO! Above is "The Birds Nest" in those cool plastic blocks.

Normally I wouldn't trust a UK paper to tell me the sky is blue, let alone give me any actual news -- but there are pictures. Glorious pictures.

Where did my parents put my LEGOS?

Violet and Lilly coverage will continue tomorrow, if I don't find my LEGOS.

My daughter: Storyteller

Today is stinking hot! I played handy man today (something I really suck at) and hung some of those bamboo shades over the back windows of our house. When it's really hot outside we can put them down and it (hopefully) will no longer be like living under a magnifying glass in the sun.

I got those up at about 1 p.m. and I am convinced it was about 85 degrees. Today they are forecasting 101 or so.

The above video is Violet telling me a story about how she lost one of her dolls.

The best parts of the video (according to me) is watching Lilly in the background -- and seeing how two kids can destroy a house. For the record, Cindy hates clutter. :)

Well, I have some other things to do around the house... wish me luck!

Pat

You are scooching up the deal

Today Violet was trying to explain something and suddenly, out of no where, said "You are scooching up the deal."

I don't know about you, but it's about the cutest thing I have heard. Well, at least until tomorrow when she comes up with some other Violetism.

Anyway, I learned today that my boss is spying on me via my blog. Yes, I know it's public, and yes I know Google sends it out every time I put a keyword in it to people with Google Alerts, but still! So I just wanted to take this opportunity to say what a wonderful editor I have. Of the people I have had edit my copy, my Wilsonville spokesman editor is by far the best I have ever had. I hope to work with her for eons.

You may see a little less talk about my work, and more talk about the girls, which I am sure that is going to disappoint many of you. :)

So, the blog is going to shift again to all girls all the time. :)

I guess you could say that I don't want this blog to "scooch up the deal."

I will try to update more this weekend with photos.

Pat