It's only Monday Mr. Mom

Cousin Joe...

2011-09-02T22:45:00.005-05:00

I have an amazing cousin Joe.

He is known by many names depending on who you talk to. Apparently I had a hard time saying Joseph when we were young and pronounced it Jo-Fuss. It didn't take long for that to be shortened to Fuss, as in, quit your fussin'. In Idaho I always introduced him as, "my cousin Joe." This also was shortened to "Cousin Joe." That's what all our friends called him, now Meagan does and that's how he's listed in my phone.

He was then and is still well known for his car skills. He is a mechanic by hobby, trade and the will of God. I spent many summers with him working on motorcycles, four-wheelers, cars and trucks. I have learned quite a bit from him. The best thing I learned from him was his phone number. I call him with questions about cars, and even though he is 600 miles away, he is able to help out and even diagnose my car problems over the phone. Amazing.

This is my car Missy. Short for Miserable Mitsubishi.

If you take away the hub caps, the front grill and most of the hood paint, she's a dead ringer.

A few years ago, I was having some stomach issues that required an endoscopy. That's where they stick a camera down your throat to see what's wrong. It requires general anesthesia. (I spelled that right on the first try without looking it up or spell check)

They told me not to drive for 24 hours until the drugs wore off.

Because of our all day stay at the out-patient center, Meagan ran out with Carson to get some pizza for dinner while I stayed home and passed out. While there, the battery died on Meagan and she was a little panicked. She had hot pizza, young Carson, a sick Husband and now a dead car. She called me and asked what she should do. She had called her Grandpa, but he wasn't home. So I told her I was feeling okay, and I would come get her. This would be the beginning of the end for this car.

When I got to her car, I was tired and wanted to hurry and get home. I was lazy and will take full responsibility for what happens next. When I hooked up the cars to jump them off, I hooked up to Missy backwards. It blew the battery and fried all the electrical. This would lead to a series of very frustrating events.

Several phone calls to Cousin Joe and several hundred dollars later, she was up and running again. Not quite the same as before, but she gets me from point A to wherever she decides to die. I was so tired of putting money into the car, that when no one could figure out why the speedometer wasn't working, I bought a GPS and called it a day. Now I know exactly how fast I'm going.

I have now taken this car apart so many times, I know her intimately.

This leads me to my most recent encounter. One day last week, I was on my way to work when I started hearing a very loud and fast clicking under the dashboard. It was mind-numbing. No amount of radio volume could drown out the clicking. On my day off I set out to once again disassemble Missy's Dashboard and figure out the problem. No such luck. I had not yet decided to call Cousin Joe because I was deteremined to figure this out.

When it came time to run errands, I realized that Meagan's noiseless van was just sitting at her carpool buddy's house, free for the taking. I had endured this for 2 days and I needed some peace and quiet. So the swap was on.

I informed her of the trade and told her I would come trade back after school so she wouldn't have to endure the noise. She told me no to worry about it, it was only a few minutes home. I felt bad and grateful for her all at the same time.

She called me as she was on her way home and asked about the clicking. When I described it to her she told me she couldn't hear it. I thought she was putting me on until she held the phone up and there was nothing but blissful silence. I didn't understand. I asked what she had done and she told me that she just turned the a/c a little warmer and the clicking went away. I love you Meagan.

Don'y worry cousin Joe, you are not being replaced. I'll still call you when my cars break down and I can only afford the family advice. In fact, you should expect a call from me on my next day off because when I turn the dial colder, the clicking comes back...

Don't Be a Squirrel...

2011-07-17T20:03:00.003-05:00

One of my favorite commercials is a car insurance commercial where a car swerves to avoid sending a harmless squirrel to that big oak tree in the sky. Only after this poor animal loving driver crashes his car do we find out that it was all a big conspiracy of two little woodland creatures. They then give each other high fives and congratulations for completing their evil little mission. It still makes me laugh even though it's a despicable furry act.

They are cute little creatures aren't they?

On our recent trip to Tennessee we were driving through a very rural Alabama. We decided on this trip to take the Tour De Small town America which meant very little Interstate driving. It was a very nice change.

Somewhere between Nowhere and Cowtown USA, one of our furry little friends happened into our path. Meagan was driving and as soon as she saw the squirrel approach the road she says out loud, "little squirrel, don't cross the road!" Our little buddy darts out to the middle line, hesitates as if he heard Meagan, retreats back about a foot and then decides to continue on...

I immediately turned around to Carson and said, "Did you see that squirrel!? He didn't listen to Momma and now look at him!"

Needless to say, this has become our new family saying when faced with disobedience. I encourage all of you to use it as needed.

Don't be the Squirrel!!!

This one is because I love the Banjo.

The Daddy Daughter Tennessee Trip...

2011-03-13T22:52:00.004-05:00

For my Spring Break, Callie and I went to Tennessee to the original Gold Mine. I know what you are thinking, "after that last post Jordan, why on earth would you leave one of the most traveled to Spring Break Destinations, Panama City Beach, and head North to the Appalachian hills of Tennessee!?" Well, I'll tell you... Because I wanted to travel 500 miles with a potty training 2 year old by myself in an almost broken down car in the rain and snow for kicks and giggles. Oh, and to see Grammy and Papa Gold.

We also got to see Marta and Jo-el...

Callie loves to try on shoes of ALL sizes, especially ones that are a bit big for her.

We helped Papa build Grammy's new computer desk...

She kept us on target and made sure all parts were used. I tend to have leftovers...

We spent a nice day walking around Bays MT Park high above Kingsport

LeGrand tried to persuade the kids to go into "the cave" but Callie would have not part of that. Caroline did though.

We walked across the dam to see and enjoyed the beauty of the lake.

We hiked a little train just down from the dam that I had never been on before. Callie is not as adventurous as Caroline. You can see because she does not want to be on this rock and Caroline was having a great time.

Grammy and Papa with the girls on our hike.

Papa got a travel size ping pong net from Italy so we just had to try it out with a tournament. Of course the girls wanted their turn.

We were all looking up funny youtube videos and Papa thought it was funny that all three of us were on the computer at the same time.

Mom put the girls to work cleaning and scrubbing. I don't think she has ever had her house looking that good after grandkids have been there.

There's no denying Tennessee blood in those girls. I did dress her that day, she just altered it a bit.

Their favorite past time.

We had a wonderful time in Tennessee. It was probably the last time for a long time that Callie and Caroline will be able to spend some time together. Her family moved out to Utah shortly after this was taken. They had a good time and especially enjoyed being able to have Grammy and Papa all to themselves.

Oh what do you do in the wintertime...

2011-03-02T11:32:00.006-06:00

When all the worlds snowed in?

Do you run on the beach

Or play in the sand

Or scream as the fish swim by...

If that's what you do, so do I...

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when all the worlds snowed in...

do you jump over waves

or dig sandy holes

Or run as the waves crash by

Is that what you do? So do I...

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when all the worlds snowed in...

Do you cry cause your wet

Or climb giant hills

Or smile cause you sit so high

Is that you do? So do I...

Oh, what do you do in the wintertime, when all the worlds snowed in...

do you sit on sharp rocks

or ride your fun bikes

Or wave as you ride on by

Is that what you do, so do I...

It is nice living in Florida. We camped over President's day weekend and had the most beautiful weather. We even had a little beach time. Before you start feeling too envious of us, the water was pretty dang cold, but that didn't stop the kids having a great time.

You have my permission to throw it back in my face this summer when you guys are nice and comfortable and we are sitting at 110 with 100% humidity, I won't get mad, I'll just reread this post.

I'm the Dreamer, your the realist, that's why we work...

2011-02-24T10:09:00.009-06:00

In our family, Meagan is the one that is grounded. She is the reason we are able to survive. When we got married, her dream car was a Jetta

This is Mine

A big Beautiful truck to go with my Big beautiful Farm

There is 1000 acres for sale around here...

I only need 40 of my closest friends to each give me $100,000

After we had a couple of kids, her practical car turned to this

Because she knew what we needed, not what we wanted.

We purchased a house,

(I can't find a picture of my house

and the camera is in our practical van at Meagan's job)

A cute 1400 sq ft house in town

The key was it was affordable

When the bank told me how much we were approved for,

we were very excited (upwards of $150,000)

then I asked what kind of payment we were looking at

and the excitement turned to, "there's no way we can afford that"

I guess they plan on you spending ALL your money on your house

and not power

or water

or food

or anything else...

In fact when I told her we were looking for a payment along the range of affordable,

The bank actually laughed at me

But we bought an affordable house and

have managed to keep it through a bad economy

and layoffs

and one income

what a concept.

Meg's dream house is this

4 bed

2 bath

1920 square feet

It's a nice little home, not much bigger than ours,

Out of our price range, but hopefully soon we could afford it

It's beautiful inside and has a nice manageable yard.

Practical.

This is mine

2.2 million dollars

8600 square feet

6 bedroom

8.5 bath

swimming pool

Meagan looks and says, that's that much more to clean

(I can't keep my 14o0 clean.

Good thing I won't be a stay at home dad

by the time I buy this place)

and waterfront

for my boat

But in reality, I would be happy with this truck

To pull this boat

Or even this one

Because even then I'm still a dreamer

Meagan has grounded me

That's why I'm in school

instead of pursuing a movie career

or building giant Lego statues in Orlando

I realize I'll never have the million dollar house

or the yacht but maybe the king ranch truck

I can still dream can't I

Oh, and when I do retire, I will be in Legoland as a master builder

That's one dream I'll never give up!!

Mine...Mine...Mine...Yours!!!

2011-02-16T06:54:00.002-06:00

This morning Callie found a small heart shaped box of chocolates that Meagan got from one of her school kids. It's pretty small, holding 4 or 5 pieces of candy but Callie walked all over the house letting everyone know that it was hers. She found it in the kitchen where I was making lunches and I hear, "Mine Daddy Mine." She then moves into the living room where Carson is getting dressed and I hear, "Mine Car Car Mine." It was at this point that he informs her that it is actually Mom's. She of course ignores him (that's the redhead in her she gets from her Nana) and moves onto Meagan in the bathroom getting ready for work and I hear, "Mine Mama Mine." Again she is told that is actually Mama's and she needs to eat a good breakfast anyway so go give it to dad. She walks into the kitchen, not to give up the chocolate but to get her daily ration of yogurt and a cheese stick. It is here that she again informs me, "Mine Daddy Mine," to which my only reply is holding up her actual heart shaped box of chocolate which is significantly larger, holding 10 or 15 pieces of chocolate. Callie promptly turns tail and bolts from the kitchen right to the bathroom where I hear,"yours Mama yours!"

Asleep...

2011-02-10T14:12:00.004-06:00

Sometimes I do my best thinking when I'm asleep. I dream a lot, but of course I never remember them the next day, at least after I have woken up a bit. Do you ever have those dreams when you want to go back to sleep because something really good or cool was happening? I have, but that hasn't been must of a possibility since I've had kids.

Callie likes to wake up at 5:30 every morning no matte

r what time we put her down, which means she takes a nap around 11 every day too. Those are my favorite moments during the day. I can try to make her take a nap but until she is ready, it ain't gonna happen. She has a very subtle way of letting me know when it's time to nap...She tells me to sit down in the rocking chair, then she turns off the lights and climbs aboard. I love rocking with my little girl, usually it's the best part of the day. By the picture can you tell the other subtle way? Yes, she usually strips down at least one article of clothing if not all of them. My kids love hanging out in their underwear but I don't know where they get that from...(as I look down and notice I'm in mine)

Soon I will graduate college and hopefully get a job so that we can get back to normal with Meagan staying home and me working. As I think about that coming day when I won't stay with Callie anymore it makes me to want to spend the more time in the chair and not put her in bed so I can study or do dishes or laundry or play on the computer. It's times like these that I really do think I will miss staying home. I won't however miss all the chores, but I will definitely do the ones I am assigned without any argument.

Most definitely Siblings...

2011-01-19T21:57:00.002-06:00

I was looking through my old blog posts and I noticed a funny thing. Look at the very first picture for "Why are the little disappointments in our kids life so funny!?" and the last picture in "How the time does fly" and tell me my kids aren't the same. It cannot be done. They are so much alike it is very funny to me.

Why are the little disappointments in our kids life sometimes so funny!?

2011-01-17T08:27:00.006-06:00

Yesterday at Church Carson and I were sitting on the very end of the row.

He looked up to me when the sacrament was starting to be passed and

told me with a very excited mischievous smile that he was going to be the first

one to get the bread and he would pass it to everyone else on our row.

I could tell his excitement was mounting as Alan the deacon drew closer to us.

We sit on the third row in the middle

so he watched the bread tray all the way from the blessing table

to the family right in front of us.

He even started giggling a little

when the tray was passed back to the deacon.

Then something peculiar happened,

the tray hesitated at Carson.

Alan was looking down at the other end

trying see if the other Deacon

was starting our row or the next one.

All Carson could see was that bread

about a foot away from his outstretched hand.

Then with a quick motion the tray moved to the row behind us.

Carson jaw literally DROPPED.

He couldn't believe his eyes.

He had been SKIPPED of all things.

As he turned to look at me

he noticed that the tray was at the other end of the row

making it's way toward us.

He looked up at me with mouth and eyes

as wide as would be allowed and said,

(thankfully in a whisper)

I'm last!?

He couldn't understand.

What was the meaning of this?

He had been first, not last...why was he getting it last.

By the time the tray reached us

he had returned to his normal self

and happily received his part of the sacrament.

Then with that same little smile as before

he took the tray from me

and handed it back to Alan.

All balance was restored.

(all pictures in this post were not taken on location in the chapel at church. They were posed in my living room this morning while we enjoyed some muffins)

Babies or Cartoons...

2010-12-22T18:14:00.003-06:00

Callie has learned how to turn on the TV in our room. She hasn't learned which ones the numbers are, but she knows how to surf and find something she wants to watch. Her favorite show is the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on Disney, which is channel 22. This comes in handy when it's been a short night and I want a few more "minutes" of sleep after we send Meagan and Carson off to school. On this particular morning, I had gotten out of bed, but Callie wanted to watch Mickey Mouse. She climbed onto the bed and had flipped threw some channels when I heard what was obviously NOT cartoons. It was a voice over talking about this woman who had changed her mind about the epidural. Curious I went to see what she had stopped on to find her laying on my pillar watching "A Baby Story" on TLC, channel 21. When I walked into the room, she looked up at me and said (pointing to the TV) BABY!!! She may have a new show now and it may just keep me from having to explain to her about where babies come from. Win Win...

The worse part of being a parent...

2010-12-13T07:48:00.003-06:00

Sometimes, it's sweet to have kids get in bed with you

Other times, I'd rather just sleep

On that real rare occasion that it's a messy event

Well you can guess my feelings on that...

We've been battling the Doctor the last few weeks.

I say battling because I do not enjoy taking the kids.

It's a guaranteed hour wait, and that's if you already had an appointment.

Callie has had bronchitis, and Carson double ear infections.

Then there was some kind of stomach bug going around.

Carson got it first, and let us know about it around 4:30 am on Friday.

It wasn't that bad because he almost made it to the bathroom,

Well he was on his way.

Of course that woke up Callie and so it was Cartoon time for the Gold Children.

Meagan had to work, so I let her sleep and I cleaned up the mess and got up with the kids.

Saturday no one was sick, but they decided that 4:30 was a fun time to be up.

More cartoons, less sleeping.

Sunday was the big day.

We were home late on Saturday so the kids were put straight to bed.

Carson woke up just enough to ask me to leave the door open.

I can't decide if I'm glad or not of that.

Callie woke around 1 am and crawled into bed with us.

She tossed and turned and couldn't get back to sleep.

It was one of those not so sweet times.

Luckily I had not fallen back to sleep.

I had noticed that she was kind of warm and was just about to get up and get some Tylenol

About to just don't cut it.

My alarm clock doesn't beep or ring

It goes BLAAAAH............splash.

Definitely not so sweet times.

Meagan's alarm clock says, MEAGAN! HELP! but it was too late.

Everything in that poor girls stomach now covered my blanket.

Not to mention my pillow, sheets and lots of me and her.

I still can't decide if leaving the door open was good or not.

So it was a midnight bath, sheet change and laundry.

Obviously someone wasn't going to church.

I drew the short straw so at 6:30, I got out of bed

and went to my early meetings.

Nana picked up Carson, thank goodness.

15 minutes into Sacrament, I had that feeling.

No, it wasn't the spirit, but it was coming from down in my gut.

An hour later I joined Meagan and Callie back in our newly sheeted bed.

All three of us lay in bed the rest of the afternoon.

Callie started feeling better and watched some Cartoons.

Did I mention Meagan wasn't feeling well either.

Carson never came home, he stayed with Nana.

By that night, it had passed through all of us.

We were better but not 100%.

I even managed to eat a little.

All Callie wanted were Cheetos.

The worse part of being a parent...

Watching your little sick kids and not being about to do anything about it.

The best part of yourself being sick...

I lost 5 lbs

2010-12-13T07:16:00.008-06:00

My last post was all about the kids and what we did this summer. Now it's a a solute to the grandparents and great-grandparents in our lives... and of course a few of Meagan...

Here is Callie and Grammy at the park. We were waiting on some Pizza

Papa and Carson doing what they love best

Grammy and either Caroline or Callie at the 4th of July Parade

Nana and Callie watching Carson play soccer

On an animal adventure

Grandma and Grammy

Mimi and Papa at Carson's birthday

Callie doing what she loves to do...eat, probably cheese puffs

Our kids love to swing

Higher mommy higher

Carson doing his second favorite thing with Papa

Trying to stay warm

The only way to cut Callie's nails are to tell her we can paint them

She loves it, that is not a grimace but a big smile of pleasure

See daddy, pretty

The boys, minus Logan but that tree could represent him

Grammy at the rock with the kids

On the rock

Riding the monorail to Disney...

Can you tell how excited Carson is about going!?

Looking at locked up Pirates before riding

Pirates of the Carrabean

Nana and Carson this last Easter

Callie and Nana and Carson's head

The three of them

Coloring eggs

Meg loves doing this but for some reason we have to make ourselves do it

Our finished product

Not yet, you have to peel them first

Beach Bon Fire

Mama and Callie

Trick or Treat...

How the time does fly...

2010-12-08T19:02:00.031-06:00

I was looking through all my pictures and I realized it has been a busy summer. Here are some of our shenanigans...

There was swinging...

And Popsicles...

And big smiles...

(one of my favorite parts)

Napping disasters...

(Don't leave your diaper cream within arms reach of a "napping" 18 mo old)

A trip to Bays Mt...

Watching the wolves getting fed was really cool...

Carson talked to them...

More Naps...

Just kidding, when do parents get to nap...

Picking raspberries with Papa...

More like eating them with Mama...

Carson danced a jig...

And really got down...

Callie did some shopping...

(that's the "They don't have the item to go with my coupon"

look she learned from her mama)

More Napping...

A trip to the "old house"...

which is always a great memory
Which of course means a climb up the rock...

We got to hang out with our Tennessee cousins...

And Tennessee twins...

Playing in the creek...

More swinging...

And Daddy kisses...

A fourth of July parade, with snacks...

Look Alice, a wrecker!!!

We met our Virginia Cousins in Disney

and saw some Pirates

It was dark, Carson isn't high...

More cousins at the parade of lights...

We made some new friends...

and some funny faces...

A birthday Party...

And Carson got to knee board...

Callie got to dress up...

We rode Horses...

Even Callie had fun...

Carson learned to shoot...

He even hit some skeet...

More swinging...

More napping...

Everybody napped...

EVERYBODY napped...

More swinging...

More swimming...

Lots of swimming...

And of course Cheese Puffs...

It was HOT, so we had to stay cool...

(this one's for you Meg)

Staying cool...

See everyone can fit in the pool...

We coached soccer...

And played...

And watched...

And ran and scored and had tons of fun...

(3 goals that day!)

We had a first day of school...

Callie was sad she couldn't go...

Which meant the end of summer...

But that won't stop us from having fun...

(Big Smile)

Sex talking at the doc...

2010-12-07T20:42:00.002-06:00

Carson has been complaining about his head hurting the last few day. Then he started saying his cheek hurt. His theory was that his headache had fallen down to his cheek. Then Monday, he was crying about his ears hurting. That was the sign that required a call to the Dr.

I had to the pleasure to escort both our kids to the Dr's office. It's not as bad as I make it sound. Aside from the guaranteed 1 hour wait, it's refreshing to see that my kids aren't as bad as I think they are. Since it is a pediatric care, they have a few toys to play with. After finally going back to the second waiting room I had the pleasure to now entertain my kids with no toys for another 30 minutes until the doc comes in. During this ever joyful experience, my children never fail to explore the land we call an examination table. And it never fails that Carson finds the wonderful stirrups. This is how our conversation went...

Carson: What are these Dad?

Me: They are what the Dr uses to check our...um...legs.

Carson:(climbing onto the table and placing his feet in them) Dad, check my legs.

Me: No, not like that, they are for Women.

Carson: Why

Me: (distracted by reading a book to Callie) Because of their private parts

Carson: You mean where they pee!?

(by the way, the walls are paper thin, and Carson has a hard time controlling his inside voice)

Me: Yes, it's so the Dr can check and make sure they are okay so they can have babies and other stuff.

Carson: What do you mean so they can have babies, where do they come from?

Me: (Crap) Carson, it's important that you understand this, but I don't think I want to tell you while we are sitting in the Dr's office when anyone can walk in on us and I am reading the little mermaid to Callie...

Carson: But Dad...

Me: No more...now put the stirrups away, they aren't toys...

Black Friday, How I Love/Loath thee...

2010-12-01T23:08:00.002-06:00

My friend Jeff and I have been hanging out a lot lately. He won't admit to it, but we went to the Harry Potter Midnight showing. I'm a fan, he just loves movies and didn't have to work the next day.

We made our plans to hit up the sales on Friday. The plan was to go to Lowes and get some tools. I made the discovery that I could order my tools online the day before, not have to wait in line and just pick them up whenever I wanted to. Some of the stuff I wanted was not available so I ended up having to stand in line anyways. Our plans changed last minute when Jeff decided he wanted to go to Target, which opened at 4am.

3am...I pick up Jeff from his house
315...we pull up to Target and the line is wrapped around the store.
Jeff decides what he wanted wasn't all that important so we hit up Waffle House
330...We walk into a pretty crowded Waffle House. (should have been the first sign)
Put in our order as we notice the waitress and the cook are arguing off and on (second sign)
345...More arguing, escalating to yelling and swearing
We get our drinks(third and final sign)
More yelling, the cook finally walks out
346...Cook comes back because I guess he figured he didn't want to leave all the work to the other cook
More yelling and swearing
400...we get our food and eat in record time
Pay the bill and the entire strip club from down the street walks in (too bad I just tipped all my one dollar bills away)
415...we drive by Lowes and there is no on there so we decide to go to Target and see what we can get
450...We get everything we wanted, well Jeff did, all I wanted was tools, head to Lowes
500...get into Lowes, get all my tools, spend too much money
530...loaded up and heading home.
545...Drive by Best Buy, laugh at the idiots in line and go home to bed.
630...Home in Bed and Meagan wakes up to ask if I've left yet...silly women, I get my shopping eating and talking all done in record time, not all day long...

Good night..."daddy" well, never mind...

Giving into friend pressure...

2010-11-09T09:39:00.002-06:00

I haven't written on this in a long long time, but giving into some pressure, I've decided to go ahead and update with a funny story from Carson.

A couple of weeks ago we had the primary program at church. His talk was about Joseph Smith and the first vision. I started teaching him the first vision but Meagan told me we had to make it a story that he could tell back to us. That is what we did and Carson mastered his story telling within a few attempts. We made him practice for a few weeks and his story did not change at all. But the funny part are the little things he added in...

"When Joseph Smith was exactly 14 years old, he didn't know which church to join. So he read the scriptures and they told him to pray and ask God. He went to the woods and prayed and two other people showed up. It was Heavenly Father and Jesus. They told him not to join any church because they didn't have enough truth. He helped restore the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Later he was called to be a Prophet."

He nailed it over the pulpit. He had all that memorized and delivered it like a champ!!! I even heard a few gasps and wows behind us. (we sit up front) It was a happy day for the Gold family because I can say without any prejudice whatsoever that his was the best! That kid cracks us up.

How many showers does it take to get a 3 year old clean...

2009-07-14T00:35:00.003-05:00

I know it has been quite a while since I posted, but Meagan has been home for the summer, so I am not really Mr. Mom. We have been tag teaming it, and let me tell ya, it is much better than going it alone. Tonight, I have decided to share a very funny story with you that happened last night. Carson had just received his bath and was playing in his pajamas. Someone, who will remain nameless walked by and let a little toot out right above his head. He yells, Oooh! YUCK! I just took a bath, now I need another one.!!! So funny.

It's soooo Quiet....

2009-02-27T14:26:00.004-06:00

A picture is worth a thousand words which means here are five thousand, so I don't need to say any more...

Well maybe just a little more. The top two are of this very moment, well, maybe not this very moment, but when I was writing this post. The next one of Carson is yesterday. Meagan came home to them asleep. The last two of Callie are ones that Carson took. He is becoming quite the photographer. I think we will get him one of those indestructible kid cameras for his birthday so that he will quit breaking ours.

Speaking of Target...

2009-02-26T07:45:00.002-06:00

Last night we had to run to Target so that Meagan could get a gift card for a teacher at work who is having a baby. We decided to be quick so she went her way to look at stuff and Carson, Callie and I went ours. Carson likes those buggies that have the attachment where you can put two kids in. It is really handy when shopping for groceries because he goes there, Callie in the regular part of the buggy and the food in the big part. A place for everything and everything in it's place. When I am not doing grocery shopping, I don't like those because they are twice as long and not fun to drive. But Carson was being a good boy, so we obliged. They problem with them is that Carson cannot sit still. He has to be swinging from the bar or hanging out the side, just being MY son. I am always telling him to get back in before he hits someone or falls out. It was not very busy, but I am trying to break his bad habit. We started down the card isle, and sure enough he is hanging out the side of the buggy. There were some people coming so I told him to get back inside the cart, which he did, but immediately stuck his head back out to which I did not have time to react and he hit is head hard on a pillar in the middle of the isle. H..I..L..A..R..I..O..U..S..!!! They all started cracking up and he started to cry saying I wanna go home, dad, let's go home. So funny. Well it didn't stop him for long. As soon as I got him calmed down, he started right back doing his thing. Crazy kid!!!

Truly a scary moment...

2009-02-25T11:21:00.003-06:00

There have been two time in my parenthood life that I have panicked. And on one of those occasions, I cried my eyes out. I know Meagan must have been scared to death because I think I am pretty good at hiding most of my emotions but on this one fateful day, all my emotion hiding would come unraveled. It was when Carson was about 4 or 5 months old. He had just started rolling around and I would make a conscious effort to wrap blankets or pillows around him if I was going to run and get something real quick. We were playing on my bed, which was pretty high up and I ran to grab something when I hear a BAM, instantly followed by wailing, lots and lots of wailing. Panic stricken I ran back into my room and Carson is obviously not on my bed. I look on the floor, and there he is laying face down, probably not freaking out as much as I was. When I picked him up, that is when I started to panic. He had landed on a tape dispenser, and it had cut him from his hair line down his nose and onto his face. I freaked because he was bleeding. It wasn't too bad, but something about seeing my baby bleed like that was traumatizing. I called Meagan, she was at work and was keeping myself in control until she got on the line. Then I broke down and she couldn't even understand what I was saying, so she naturally rushed home. Luckily it only took a few minutes. By the time she got home, he was asleep and I was on my way to being okay.

Now the second time I panicked was just the other night at Target. Carson informs me he needs to go potty and he wants me to take him. I usually cannot get him to go because when we get into the bathroom he informs me that he just wants to wait until we get home. Then runs out. This time he had to go bad enough that he actually went. We were in the stall and he finished up and then we washed our hands and were heading out when I decided I needed to go too. I told him to wait for a minute while I went, and he said Okay. So I proceeded to go and the next thing I hear is the door closing. I zipped up quickly and ran out. By the time I got out of the bathroom, he was gone. I ran back into the bathroom just to make sure he wasn't still in there, thinking to myself, he isn't that quick, but apparently he is. I ran back outside and started to panic a little. The bathrooms are right beside the doors outside and I thought to myself he would have thought that was a blast to activate the automatic doors. I ran to the closest isle and looked down it but could not see him anywhere. I ran back to the doors to look outside while I called Meagan. I remember thinking to myself please let him have run off to look for her. She answered and I asked if he was with her. She said no and I told her what happened. She started heading to the front. I peeked outside, didn't see him and said I was heading toward the toy department. The whole time terrible things going through my head. The store wasn't busy, but it really freaked me out that I didn't know which way he had ran. Eventually I found him running toward me coming from the toys. He ran up to me and said, "I'm looking for Momma." The whole time I was on the phone with Meg, so she knew that I had found him. It was a huge relief to see that little stinker running toward me. We explained to him it was not okay to run away from mom and dad even if he was looking for us, that he needs to stay with us all the time. It was not a fun time.

MMM...MMM...MMM...Tax Returns

2009-02-20T22:38:00.006-06:00

Meagan and I have just recently come into some money. No, it's not a part of a bailout, we work for a living and pay our bills, so we don't get any free tax money...or do we. Now I will be the first to admit that I didn't pay a ton of taxes last year, but I was able to collect a nice return this year. Heavenly Father sure knew what he was doing when he sent Callie in December. We have been trying to figure out what to do with this sum of money. We kinda want to buy a bigger car, we don't quite have that much, at least a down payment. We also want to do some fixin' up around the house. We definitely cannot do both. So while we were contemplating what to do with our super mega jackpot, we went shopping. Meagan has been on a kick lately of food storage. We actually order something every month as part of a group at church. That way we get free shipping, which is good because our last order was 4 huge boxes, about 50 lbs each. That's a lotta free shipping cost and a lot of food, not all ours though. She has been on this kick, which is good because last year when I was laid off it was a bit of a shock, and we both panicked, but were not discouraged. Our goal was to be able to get to where we can survive if something like that happens again. I can safely say, we can survive. Today while we were at Sam's, we decided to take a little of that money and go crazy, on food storage. Last year, Meagan bought a food rotater, and our goal was to fill it up, and keep replacing food, and always keep it full. So, here in a Little corner of our kitchen is our collection of food storage and our sweet (we are so proud of it) food rotater. Now I feel like a little grocery store myself.

Pretty Sweet HUH?!

The bottom half
It's got a place for Number 10 cans so that is the option we got. I sorta kinda sometimes wish we got the one where the whole thing is smaller cans. But this has been pretty nice. I don't know how many # 10's we got, about 30 or so on those two shelves. It's pretty handy. Very sweet, pretty handy.

And of course my ever faithful helper...

Sweet Dreams...

2009-02-12T11:34:00.002-06:00

Carson is cracking me up lately. On night this week he decides he wants to watch a movie as he is going to sleep. It is a cartoon called Word World. Well this works because he is at the point of being so tired, all he needs to do is lay still for 5 seconds and he is out.

The next night, I am putting him to bed and it happens again. This time he was ready for me with a movie already in the DVD player. So I agree to it, by the way this is after we have read a book and had prayers. I go turn on the TV and the movie and it starts. I walk out of the room, but then I hear some screaming. I walk into his room to see a bloody body on the screen. I laugh, because he has put in Indiana Jones, Raiders of the lost Ark. Carson loves this movie, but I didn't think of it as a good bedtime show. But once again, it worked and he was asleep within minutes.

The next night, once again, he wants a movie. I ask him before hand what movie, thinking I am outsmarting him, and he says I want a punch and a kick and to swing, oh and a whip. It didn't take long to figure that one out. Then he says, I want the one with his dad. (The Last Crusade) I persuaded him to stick to some cartoons.

All things MAN...

2009-02-01T23:35:00.003-06:00

Carson wanted to play guns with me tonight. It reminded me of when he was barely talking, only making grunts and throaty noises. (Man in it's most raw form) One day he pointed his finger at Meagan and shot her making the gun noise, not so much a bang, more throaty, like I said. Meagan looks at me and asked if I taught him that, because apparently I am the teacher of all things MAN, which I don't deny. I told her I had not taught him that, but informed her that the finger gun with sound effects isn't something learned, it is instinct. Just as Peeing on the toilet seat, automatically jumping in water puddles even if they are not directly in your path and eating dirt. All... things... MAN.

So tonight, we learned a new phrase. Drop your gun...Sucker!!! I feel it is funny to laugh at and not inappropriate for a three year old to say. Although he did give me a run for my money trying to get him to sleep. He has lately decided to curl up on the couch instead of going to his bed. He won the battle tonight, but the war is far from over. I wouldn't let him play Nintendo before bed. I'll call that a draw.

A funny way to wake up...

2009-01-29T11:27:00.002-06:00

This whole stay at home stuff is tougher than I figured it would be. My biggest problem is I like to go back to sleep after the 7 am feeding of the baby. I should just stay up because I can get some much more done. It is bad a few levels. First off, Carson always wakes up before me. That is bad itself on a few levels because I don't know what he is getting for breakfast, he watches TV or plays games. It is not good, but I enjoy my sleep. Every morning though, he comes and jumps in bed with me trying to wake me up. Normally it is a full out body slam, his onto mine, yelling, or a good old fashioned face lick, and I do mean my entire face!!! Well this morning it was the normal attempts before he gave up to go potty. So I am thinking to myself this is good, I get a few more minutes. Then I hear him playing with money. To fully understand his love of money, read Meagan's post, the worth of a quarter. Then I hear him run into our room with this money jingling. I think, oh man, he is going to lose all this change and knowing him, it's quarters. Then he gets right up in my face with no pajamas on just underwear and starts dancing. And this change is going crazy!!! Then he informs me, "Dad, I got quarters in my underwear!!!" And starts shaking his booty even more. It was a pretty funny way to wake up.

If your feeling angry...

2009-01-24T12:47:00.003-06:00

I have had a lesson in life today. Things are a little tight around the Gold house at the moment, financially speaking of course. I had decided a while ago to do all my own car maintenance to save a little money. Well, that is not working out so well because it ends up costing us more than saving. Meagan has informed me that I am not longer allowed to work on her car, so her aunt's boyfriend, who is a certified mechanic does all the work for a really reduced price, and that is what actually saves us money. So we are trying to get the car running like it should, setting a little money aside every paycheck until her car is perfect, then we can work on mine. Well, for those of you who read Meagan's blog, you know I got pulled over on new years eve and got a $175 speeding ticket. It was not a good day but we'll recover.

Last night, we are driving home from being out, and Meagan sees this van, and just for kicks, she wonders (out loud for my benefit) how much it is. So I flip around and we do a little after hours car shopping for fun. There were other people on the lot, so I had turned my headlights off so I don't blind them. I still had my running lights and tail lights on, so it wasn't like I was driving around with none on at all. We finish looking, and get back on the road heading home. About a mile later, this cop is coming at us, and he flips around right behind me. I knew exactly what was going on, so I flipped on my headlights, but he pulled me over anyways. I figured he was just going to inform me, but no he gave me another ticket. I was so mad. I thought Meagan was going to cry. I still don't know how much it will cost, but he told me it would be less than a speeding ticket, a little reassuring. I was really upset the rest of the night. I had a hard time sleeping, and stayed up way late watching a movie until I finally went to sleep around 3 am. It was double trouble because I had to get up around 7 to get ready for a service project I had organized for my next door neighbor.

There is an older lady that lives next door all alone. She is a teacher like Meagan, but is fixing to retire at the end of this year. I kind of have a first hand knowledge of how much teachers make, granted she has been doing it a lot longer, and hopefully makes more. She has a huge spot in her yard where the ground has settled and it has sunk about 18 inches. We decided as an Elders Quorum to get some dirt and fill it in. The labor was really easy to get, but the dirt was a different story. After two weeks of searching, we found someone willing to donate however much we needed. It took about an hour and a half and two loads of probably 5 cubic yards each, but we got most of the low parts of her yard filled in. It was a lot of dirt, but totally worth it. I don't know how much money it would have cost her to have it done, but I know we saved her some. After all that took place, I totally feel better about things. The ticket isn't such a big deal anymore, especially since someone told us they know someone that may be able to get it dropped. I'm not holding my breath, but there is always the possibility. We'll see. So my life lesson is when your feeling bad about life or yourself or anything in general, go do something nice for someone else and it makes it all feel much better.

Ah, this crazy thing we call Weather...

2009-01-17T23:44:00.002-06:00

And I hope I spelled that right because I stink at spelling, and the late hour only hinders my ability to attempt a word with so many different ways of spelling it. That is why spell check is not very helpful. It says I spelled it right, but it may not be the right one to use. Sometimes, I don't like the English language. For instance, why oh why is the word abbreviation such a long word?? It just doesn't make since. No wonder Spanish is taking over. Bye the way...

Do you know what you call someone who speaks two languages? Yup, Bilingual...

Do you know what you call someone who speaks three languages? A little harder, but I believe Trilingual. Maybe, maybe not, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

Do you know what you call someone who speaks one language? This one is a bit harder, but I know as soon as I tell you, your going to say, oh yeah, that's right. Give up, well that person is an American!!!

By the way, if you haven't figured it out, the late hour also gets me sidetracked....

So about the climate, that is such a better word to use, and I can spell it. I was talking to my buddy Brad, and he lives in the frozen north, Buffalo, NY. I asked him about the climate, and he told me it warmed up today to around 16 degrees. It was nice to get out of the negatives he mentions to me. I told him, well, I was outside working today, and at first I had a jacket on, but as the sun came out and I got more heated up, I took my jacket off, and was in my t-shirt. I think it warmed up to about 55 today. It was nice to get out of the 40's. We don't like taking Callie in that cold cold climate. If you are feeling bad for me for having this tropical paradise, just think about me this summer, cutting grass on base when it is 110, with 100% humidity. Then you can laugh at me, but in the meantime, I laugh in all your general directions...north!!!

Watch your language daddy...

2009-01-13T22:55:00.005-06:00

I don't use bad language, that is what I used to think until I had a three year old parrot. One day we were outside playing on the swing. We live down the street from a fire station and Carson loves seeing the trucks go by. As soon as he hears a siren he is heading for the door to see the firetruck. This day there just happen to be two firetrucks and about three cop cars go by. Needless to say it was a nice little procession of sirens and lights and Carson ate it up. As soon as they had all gone by, he runs up to me and says, "Holy Crap Dad, did you see all the policemen and firetrucks!?" I was shocked. I have been getting pretty good at understanding what he says but sometimes I have a little trouble getting what he says but on this occasion no problem at all. Since then we have been really listening to what he says because come to find out, that is not the only one he uses. Another day he picked up a stick and said, "Dad, this stick is freaking huge!!!" When he says these things, I know I shouldn't laugh, but it is just so hard. And because I laugh, he says it more. We have tried to teach him to say, Holy Mollie or Holy Hannah or something other than holy crap. I have really started watching myself and the things I say so that he won't repeat them. Could you imagine him being at church or something and saying, Holy Crap Dad, that was Freaking awesome!! Let's hope not.

The reason I wrote about this tonight even though I have posted a few already is because our little parrot was put to bed ad 9:15. At 9:30 he decided to get up and get a drink, pee, brush his teeth, anything he could think of to stay our of bed. When he was brushing his teeth I asked what he was doing out of bed and he said, "I need to brush my teeth so they don't get rotten and fall out." At 10:30 Meagan was going to sit down on the couch to feed Callie when she found the crumbs of a muffin Carson had eaten, not at the table like he was suppose to but while sitting on the couch. She says, "OOOH Carson, I am going to spank his little butt!!!" Then we hear, "what momma, why are you gonna spank my little butt?"

I love this kid!!! Finally he is asleep. That is his little Puppy.

With a little help from my wife...

2009-01-13T22:19:00.003-06:00

I have moved up in the technologicalness of blogging with Meg's help. She found this SWEET page for me because I enjoy video games and she knows it, but not so much to where all I do is play. I have also added pictures and some fun gadgets. Please do enjoy.

Haircuts all around...

2009-01-13T22:05:00.004-06:00

Today was a day of haircuts. I have given up on trying to convince Carson that he needs his done and left it to Meagan. She is so much better at getting him to do things he does not want to, come to think of it, me too. She somehow convinced him that today was the day for a haircut and so it was. We all gathered in the bathroom and I was successful in the attempted buzz as you can see. Not too bad if you ask me but it did remind me of a time when I was not so good...
One day last year, I can't quite remember when, I attempted a haircut all by myself. That was a mistake. You see the way we are successful at this endeavor is that Meagan's job is to run distractions. She keeps his attention long enough for me to get a few good swipes in with the clippers, then we let him vacuum up the hair, and then go for a few more swipes. This process continues until it is good and buzzed. Well this one and only time I tried it alone and it did not come out so well. He was starting to throw a fit and shook his head and knocked the guard off the clippers all while they were still going, rather close to his head, and I took a huge chunk of hair out of the back of his head down to the skin. It was bad!!! So I did the only thing I could think of, and buzzed his whole head down as low as it would go. That is why from now on, I wait for Meg.

Meagan also got a haircut today. I like it a lot. She likes it because she can style it now and not just throw it back into a pony tail all the time. She looks hot!!!

The best breakfast ever...

2009-01-10T23:01:00.003-06:00

Not too long ago, Carson woke up before the sun had come up. This was before the baby was born so Meagan was at work and it was just Carson and me. He comes into my bed and says, "Dad, I am going to get some breakfast." I told him that was okay because we leave cereal and pop tarts low enough so he can reach them. He eats the cereal out of the box, and pop tarts cold, unless I am with him then he wants it in the toaster. So I after a few minutes I got out of bed to see that he has helped himself to the best breakfast ever...vanilla ice cream. And the best part is that he is eating it with a straw, so there are a ton of little holes all in the ice cream. This little turkey didn't even get the ice cream from our box freezer on the floor, no he goes and gets the step ladder and climbs up to the freezer on top of the fridge. What a little monkey!!!

I know I am too fat when...

2009-01-09T19:38:00.006-06:00

Meagan and I have started the year off right. We are now walking everyday at a park close by our house. Carson is really loving going because he gets to run run run and we get him wore out for bedtime. It works out really well. Let me give you a little insight as to what has led up to this point in my life.

I know I am too fat when...

...I go to put on my seat belt and I honk the horn as I pull the belt across my chest. (twice so far)

...my button up dress shirt unbuttons itself.

...I split my pants down my butt when bending over.

...I can balance a plate of food on my belly when eating...no table needed.

...Feeding Callie at night the other night, I sat in our recliner and it just broke...Solid wood, broke.

...I need to replace the shocks on my car because they make a funny noise when I get in the car.

...my three year old can outrun me at the walking park.

That has been to motivation behind wanting to lose poundage. So far this year I have lost around 10 lbs. I am very happy with that. My goal is 50, but I would not complain if I hit 100. Meagan thinks I would be deathly skinny. We shall see.

Sorry LeGrand, this was the best picture I could find of my gut with my shirt on. On another note My Brother LeGrand and I have thrown up the thought of trying out for the biggest loser and shoot for the grand prize. Our strategy was to gain as much weight as we could before the show and then we would be able to lose more and win. I think it sounds like a good idea!!!

Cable TV and Netflix...

2008-11-13T23:36:00.003-06:00

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...

2008-11-12T21:24:00.003-06:00

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...

2008-11-11T17:56:00.003-06:00

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...

2008-11-05T23:44:00.002-06:00

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...

2008-10-16T23:44:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-10-14T14:35:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-10-13T21:58:00.003-05:00

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...

2008-10-13T17:07:00.002-05:00

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...

2008-10-07T22:28:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-03T23:08:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-03T22:56:00.000-05:00

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...

2008-10-03T22:40:00.000-05:00

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!!