Cable TV and Netflix...

I was reading some old posts on my cousin Jarrett's blog tonight when I came across one about things he loves. One of the things he loves, and I paraphrase, is that he had rabbit ears and got PBS and one other channel. Well this post is like a hundred years old, but I left a comment on it anyways, even though I knew the likelihood of someone reading it was like Obama's kids actually caring for this stupid dog the stupid media has been making a huge fuss over. Come on people, get over it. Back to me...So I commented about TV and decided to go ahead and blog about it.

When Meagan and I first got married we lucked out. Through some great fortune, I met a man and the first house we rented was a beach house right on Panama City Beach for $500 a month, utilities included. That is another story I will tell on another day when I can't think of anything to write about. These utilities included a lot of Cable TV, including Movie channels. I was in heaven. One day he decided to sell the place and we moved out into less than luxurious accommodations, but we could afford it. To be able to afford it we decided to forgo the expensive cable package and just go with the bunny ears. After several months of this, and a few A's in school because of the lack of distractions, I made an ill fated error. I decided to plug the TV into the cable hookup in the wall to see if the picture came in better. What do ya know, it did, and we got a few more channels too, about 20, as opposed to the previous 4 or 5. I was excited. We lived like that for a few days, then I made another ill fated error and pushed the auto tune button on the remote. The moments that followed were both blissful and devastating, to my grades of course. About a hundred channels showed up on the TV. IT WAS AWESOME. Free Cable right. My initial thought was that they were doing some kind of promotion where they hook ya with a week of tons of channels and then you have no choice but to buy the package. To my great enjoyment, the previous tenant had tapped into the next door neighbors cable, and had never undone it. It was a good day.

Now that we bought our home, and there is no chance of free cable here, we decided to get the basic package, pretty much just for the Internet, for school purposes of course. But we have discovered Netflix and that has become a new love. It ends up costing us about 18 bucks a month, but we get 3 movies at a time. They are usually really good about the turnaround for sending movies to us. It usually takes about 2 days to get a new one. And the best part is they have so many TV shows, old movies and just about anything you can think of. The second best part, I don't feel embarrassed renting some of the cartoons I like to watch. Now if I could just get LEGOs through the mail so I don't have to blame buying those on Carson.

Too much pop in my country...

I am a little disappointed tonight in our current country entertainers. I really love country music, I have grown up with it, it's hard not to in Tennessee. I really learned to love it when I was in Idaho for school right after high school. Now a days I cling to it, along with my religion, I don't have any guns, But all the other junk out there just sounds like garbage to me. Tonight, I just had a hard time watching the CMAs. First off, lets start with the fact that there just isn't enough country in country music. Sure they all dress in boots, cowboy hats and snap button, but the day they all replaced the steel guitar with an electric one, that was the day this all started downhill. Call me old fashioned, but I love a fiddle and banjo. In fact just today, while I was cleaning and doing the dishes (that was my mr mom plug) I was listening to Garth Brooks' "The Cowboy Song," and I think this is what got it all started. Now I know what you are thinking, that there is some Garth out there that sounds really pop too, but I don't care because he is the best. During that song, at about 45 seconds, you hear that big bass sound kick in along with a fiddle and real country instraments. That is music you can hold someone close while your twirling around the dance floor. Then I got a little Johnny Cash in me, and after all that, the radio just ain't country enough. I guess all in all, you could say I was leaning towards bluegrass, because I think that is the sound I want.

Oh, and is it just me or does it drive anyone else completely CRAZY when you are watching people perform and they sing to each other. I can't stand that!!! I am thinking, hey, I am the fan, I buy your music so you better sing to me and quit singing to that other person on stage. Am I the only one???

Just a Test...

I was reading Sherry Hancock's Blog and I noticed her little tool on the right hand side of her page that updates when someone writes a new post, and I wanted to be on top, so I decided to post. Did it work??? SWEET...it did!!

A long long time ago...

I published my last post....

So, a funny thing happened yesterday, and no it wasn't the election. If you can laugh at that you are doing better than I am. I picked up a kid from church that is Carson's age to take them to play together. I am trying to get Carson more play dates. So we are in the car, and before we get on the highway, Stren (the other kid) starts asking if we are there yet. Well it was pretty annoying especially since Carson picked up on this and started asking too. After the first few times, I just said I'll tell you when we get there, but it didn't work. For 20 minutes I had to listen to them. Finally for the love of all that is good in this world, we got there. They had a pretty good time playing together and it was nice to have someone for Carson to play with. It was definately a day of bad habit swapping because after lunch we came home and they were playing outside. We are on a pretty busy road, but I have a fenced in yard, so I just close the gate and let them play. I was sitting on the porch, and happen to look up and see Carson peeing against a tree. This isn't the first time he has done this. It started about a year ago when we were camping and he discovered peeing outside. He has been hooked since, so any chance he gets, he pees. He has quit asking because he knows I am going to tell him to go inside. He is a clever one. One time, we were around back going through a shed and he said he needed to pee. Meagan said "run inside," but he insisted on staying outside. She reluctantly agreed, and he promptly ran around front to go in front of everyone. I love being a boy. Back to yesterday... I asked Stren if he needed to go inside and go potty and he said no!! Then promptly dropped his pants and went on the same tree.

On the way home was the real treat. I could tell they were fading, but both refused to nap. Stren was holding his eye and I asked if he had hurt it, the whole time thinking Carson had poked him or something. He said he was fine, they were just feeling bad. Then he told me he was just going to close them for a while and let them rest. Almost before he finished his sentence, he was out. Carson on the other hand fought it the whole time. I don't think he ever did sleep. That just makes for an early bedtime. SWEET!!!

That's my Boy...

Lately Carson has developed this love of movies that really aren't your normal little kid movies. He really likes the cartoon movies, but recently he has been asking for Batman and Indiana Jones. Strange!! In fact, he is going as Batman for Halloween. Needless to say I am very happy that he likes to watch those movies instead of Dora, Underdog and the Polar Express. The best part is that he only likes the action parts. When it comes to the dialog, he's just not that into it. That means I get to fast forward to all the good stuff. So tonight we are watching the 4th installment of Indiana Jones. Meagan has gone to bed because she has a life in the morning. Carson and I are night owls so we will on occasion stay up a bit later if a good movie is on. Carson has already brushed his teeth, so he is ready to fall asleep at anytime. All the lights are off except one we keep on in the kitchen. He has gotten pretty quiet so I figure he has fallen asleep. All of a sudden, he pops up and runs to his room where he promptly turns on the light. He had done this before, usually when it came to a scary part, but this was just one of those run of the mill boring dialog parts I forgot to fast forward. So I decided to investigate what he is doing, since he is his father's son after all. I creep into the hallway and peer into his room only to get a huge smile back at me. But this is not ordinary smile, this one is full of that nasty red vine rope candy. The little turkey had been stashing candy under his bed, and whenever it got boring, he just slipped off and got a little treat. What's a movie without a snack anyways?

Giving Gifts...

Ok, so today is our 4th anniversary and I am the worst gift giver ever. The best gift I think I have ever given to Meagan was a girt certificate for an hour massage one Christmas. As of now, I stink at giving gifts. Alice one time a while ago gave me some advice about giving gifts. She told me to pay attention because throughout the year, my wife will say, "oh that's cute, or I really like that," or something to that nature. Well my only concern is that I can't remember a whole years worth of comments in passing by. So I came up with a brilliant idea, well more like stole a brilliant idea. I was watching a rerun of Friends the other night, and it was Rachel's birthday. She had made a list of gifts that she had seen and would like. All her friends and family had to do was stick to the list. At first I thought, that is a bit rude writing down what gifts you want and then getting all disappointed when someone got something else other than what is on the list. But after trying to figure out what to Meg for out Anniversary, I decided that is the best idea ever. That way I don't have to try and remember what she said she liked, and if her list is big enough, it will be a suprise no matter what I get her. Sheer Genius. So to all the women out there who have ever been disappointed by a present from their hubbies or boyfriends or anyone, just make a list throughout the year and everything will be okay. Just remember to keep a copy cause you know we will lose a few of them. Then in case of panic, all the guy has to do is run down the list on the way home from work, or in my case anytime throughout the day, and pick something off it.

Bedtime and birth control...

Why is it so stinking hard to get kids to go to bed. I figured Carson would eventually grow out of not wanting to go to sleep, but it has not happened yet. It gets a little frustrating, especially when we are wanting to exercise our "marital rights." When an old Mission Companion got married a few years ago, and Meg was pregnant with Carson, his wife asked what birth control she was taking because believe it or not, Meagan was actually taking birth control when we got pregnant. Now I have an answer for him. Our birth control is a three year old!!

Red Lights and Santa Clause...

I have learned a very good lesson about the brains of our little ones. Over the last few years we have been teaching Carson his colors and numbers and little things like that. Along with his colors we have taught him what red, green and yellow lights mean. This is in response to his insisting that we go faster in the car, or that we go when we are stopped at a red light. He has done very well in learning this because any time we see a traffic light, he tells us what it means. It is a good lesson for him to learn, so good in fact that he likes to tell on us. We were going to Meg's mom's work and she was following us, and Carson was riding with her. She has a convertible and he likes to ride with her when the top is down. We ran through a yellow light and I figured Kay would stop but she followed us right on. When we got to her office, Meagan started giving her a hard time and then Carson informed us that, "Nana went through that Red light." "Nana, Red means STOP!!!"

He has also learned to regurgitate exactly what we say. Sometimes it is funny, but other times it can be a little embarrassing. We are having a really hard time getting Carson to listen to us and not run away in the store, or parking lot. A few months ago he got on this kick of saying, "Santa Clause is coming to see me and he is bringing me presents." So we decided to teach him about how Santa works. We have been informing him that Santa is watching, and if he is being a bad boy then he won't get any presents. Good plan...Right?

Last week we are in the store and out of nowhere, Carson, at the top of his lungs, announces "JORGAN, YOU ARE A BAD BOY AND SANTA ISN'T BRINGING YOU PRESENTS!!!" I don't know what prompted this because we were just walking quietly through Target, so I asked him what is it that I did. He responded, "YOU HIT ME IN THE HEAD AND IT HURT, YOU ARE A BAD BOY!!!" This was one of those times I was glad he was calling me Jorgan, and not daddy. Someone may have called the cops on me. So I promptly announced, "Carson, I am tired of babysitting you, I am taking you straight home to your mom and dad."

Now, on a lighter subject...

Carson and I went to the Park today and had a blast. Not only did he get to hang out with other kids and play, but it totally proved to me that he is a follower. Whatever the other kids did, Carson was right behind them. The funny part was that he would always look over at me and check to make sure it was okay, whatever he was doing. The best part of the day was right when we get there, he saw a woman across the park. She had the same color and length of hair as Meagan, even the same colored shirt she was wearing that day, so I can understand. First he looks at her, then at me, and yells Daddy, there's mommy!!! He then takes off running all the way through the park to get to her, the whole time yelling mommy, mommy!! Her back was to him, so she did not even look around at him. When he got to her, he ran around in front of her, with this huge smile on his face and said "hey mommy." When he realized it was not her, he did not even take a second look before he bolted. I believe he was a little embarrassed. He did not look my way, he just blended in with the crowd and got lost in fun.

Negative reenforcement...

I have been following this years election and it has got me thinking about our country. Now don't get me wrong, I love this country, but the people that we are choosing to run it are complete idiots. I wonder if every child in this country over the next few years went completely stupid, and failed every grade, will the education department get a 700 billion bailout because they FAILED at their jobs. If every building in the country burns to the ground, can the firefighters get 700 bil too? What if the crime rate in the country skyrocketed to 100% because the cops are failing at their jobs, can they have virtually unlimited funds to throw away? I would think not because all of these people are giving in their lives. They care about others more than themselves. That is why they would take on a thankless job to serve thier communities. In this country you have to be a self indulged multi-millionaire in order to get money like that from the Government.

Maybe I don't understand every little aspect that goes along with this plan. But as far as I can see, we have spent the last eight years getting ourselves into a trillion dollar deficiet, (thanks to history's worst congress and president) and congress just doubled that in one week. I know all the analysist say, "it's not throwing money away, it's an investment!!" But still to me, I look and see my taxes, my kids taxes and probably my grandkids taxes going towards investing a bunch of failed businessmen out of the crapper. If I am seeing this the wrong way, please someone that understands it better, explain it to me. Why, of all the times to get along, do the president and congress agree on such a stupid plan. All they have ever done over the last eight years, is vote each other down. It's just plain craziness!!!

Now about our presidential nominees...I wish they would just shut up. All these guys do, and it's because history has taught them this, is belittle each other. The other guy did this...no your wrong, I did this, you did this...I don't think so, because I did that, and you did the other thing that everyone hates!!! It is just back and forth, he voted this and he voted that, and no he didn't and yes he did, and she is a woman, and I am black, and I was a POW and he has bad hair. There I said it all, now just let it go, and tell me what your stands are on all the issues. I don't care what you think he thinks because if I want to know what he thinks, I will find out from him, not you!!! I am tempted to vote for the independent, even though it is a throwaway vote. I'll bet, if one of these years, the nominee wouldn't mudsling, and just state his platform, it would usher in the second coming.

Building Bridges...

The last two days, I undertook an epic project, that I wasn't sure I could finish. Not because it was hard, but my three year old insisted on helping. I am glad for one thing in particular, and that being there were no moms, grammys, nanas or mimis around to witness. I'll start from somewhere around the middle. I had a ramp going up to my tool shed in the back yard. We bought another shed for storage, because I wanted my tool shed back. We had to disassemble the ramp in order to get the new one in between the house and the old one. This was last year. I am a bit of a procrastinator. So this week, with the nice weather and all, I decided it was time to have my ramp back. So Carson and I went to work. The reason I am glad it was just the two of us is because I was dealing a lot will rusty old nails, having to take them out of the wood and Carson just couldn't help but help. So his job was to pick up the rusty nails I didn't need and throw them in the trash can. I know, I am a beacon of wisdom. Give the kid a job, and he stays out of the way. So we rebuilt the ramp with little or no injuries to myself and the kid. When we were done Carson yells out, "Oh my Gosh Jorgan, WE built a Bridge!!!" I know what your thinking, and yes it is true, Carson most of the time now calls me by my name. It is kind of funny, especially since he pronounces the D as a G.

The weekend Review...

On Tuesday, I was laid off from my job cutting grass on the local Air Force base. After much internal wrestling and conversations with Meagan, we (and by we I mean me of course), decided it would be best for now if I just stay home with Carson. Now if a job comes along that would work with me on my school hours, or can pay me enough to be worth putting Carson back in Daycare, then I would go back to work. But for now I will be the stay at home Dad. I know, all you Dad's out there are totally Jealous. Let me just tell you though, it ain't no picnic. I figured it would be a pretty cool vacation, but apparently kids need food, education, entertainment and discipline. You know, stuff like that. Discipline is not my area of expertise, fun is and that is why I'm the favorite. Sorry Meg, can't hide facts. It's actually kind of tough. The worst part of it all, I can't clock out. There's no going home at the end of the day, cause obviously, I'm already there. But all in all, I would have to say, I really enjoy it. Carson and I have a great time, and I am going to use this here blog to tell you all about it.

In the Beginning...

Meagan has been getting onto me wanting me to start a blog, but I can barely get everything done as it is. So after I got laid off this week, for the second time this year, she reeled me in. I decided to name it something along the lines of being Mr. Mom, because that is what I am doing now, staying home with Carson. Meagan, being the all inspired one, came up with the title. I thought it was perfect. I also like the song. So, this is me and my blog. It will probably have a lot to do with Carson. So in the spirit of my sis-in-law, and we won't say which one, I don't care if you don't want to hear about my kid, it's my blog, and you don't have to read it...just kidding please read!!