I literally feel sick

I've tried to make my feelings about Facebook well known. I don't want to do it. Well... I guess I need to say I didn't want to do it. I took the plunge and signed up for this blog on Jan 1, 2008. I started that new year with a new _thing_ so I thought this might be another good opportunity to start a new year with another new thing. Yeah, it's true. I took the plunge and just signed up. And yes, this is what life has come to while sitting here in my Dad's awesome leather La-Z-Boy watching the Chick-Fil-A Bowl on New Year's Eve. Yup, I'm old and I just joined the evil empire. While friends are out partying it up I'm sitting here geeking it out.

I'm about to throw up.

So... why? The real kick in the pants came while K was up visiting last week and everything she does is on there and I'm missing it all. So not only am I missing everything in real life I am missing it all online as well and it seemed silly not to sign up.

Doesn't mean I feel good about it though. We'll see how it goes. While I was writing this Wifey somehow found out that I just signed up and she's already sent me 25 friend requests or some fool thing.

I'm doomed.

Touchdown!!!

Yes, the moon must have aligned with Venus or something because somehow the weather finally allowed K to make it here yesterday afternoon. We had to divert her into National (which sucks to try to drive to btw) but she's finally here and all is well. We spent the first afternoon just sitting around chatting then we all went to dinner at Tuesdays. I know - fancy fancy! Nothing but the best for my kids!

Today's plans call for sledding time and then not sure what in the evening but we'll have fun no matter what.

New flight - fingers crossed

We've got a new flight booked for tomorrow morning but that brings up all sorts of new issues. All the flights today were non-stop - apparently Saturday is a good day to fly to DC from Disney - but there aren't any NS flights from ORL to anywhere in the DC area on a Sunday. Going into BWI tomorrow was going to require a huge layover in Milwaukee and bring K in later than 9:30 at night so that was not an option. I'm glad I had a light bulb go off though - why not check National? So there we go, she's got a short layover in Atlanta but if all goes well she'll be in before 1pm. If all doesn't go well, and she gets on that first flight in Orlando but something is wrong in DC she'll be stuck in Atlanta.

I'm getting an ulcer.

Update - plane is canceled and Air Tran sucks

Yup, all flights have now been canceled. Can't say as I didn't see this coming but it still sucks to see it finally happen. I've been on the phone trying to get through to Air Tran for the last 30 minutes but I keep getting hung up on after ~2:55 into my call. I tried going online to switch my flight but there's a problem with their site and it won't let me choose a city in the departing cities list so then it yells at me and says I need to choose a departing city in order to make a change to the flight. I'm so mad right now. I need to get her on the first plane tomorrow but I CAN'T GET THROUGH TO THESE PEOPLE!!!!!

I hate Air Tran now.

Blizzard? Are you kidding me?

Dear God-

Why do you hate me? I try to be a good person, really I do. I pay my taxes, I hug my kids, I go to work almost every day and I haven't put salt on any slugs in at least 3 years. Or is it sugar? YOU SEE!!! I'm such a good person I don't even know what to do to slugs!

Now that we've established what a good person I am... I have to ask... a BLIZZARD??? SERIOUSLY? When's the last time PG County saw a blizzard? It had to be this weekend didn't it. Now THAT is holding with the tradition of my luck. If it's going to be strange and happen to someone it's definitely going to be me.

Thanks to this crazy storm K's second plane has been canceled and she's now booked on the fourth plane of the day. I decided to skip getting a seat for her on the third plane - the snow definitely won't be over by the time it was supposed to land. 50 fingers are crossed around here hoping that everything works out for tonight. Do you think you can wink or whatever it is you do in order to make things happen for us? We'd really appreciate it!

Thanks!!!

---

Yessireebob, we've got ourselves an honest to goodness wimpy blizzard. People from Syracuse or Oswego (look it up) would be laughing at us right now. At last check we're at 11 inches at the ol' homestead. This is a normal Tuesday for them. The kids loved it though. After breakfast we (Wifey) bundled them up and out we went into the snow. I think Red might remember last year's snow storm but I know this is really a first for Pudge - he didn't want any part of it and he slept through the whole sledding event last year. JAM, of course, was in his element. And I loved how the snow muffled all his crazy yelling! :) He can go as wild as he wants out there and not only is there no one around to hear him, they wouldn't be able to hear anything even if they wanted to. NICE!

I don't mind telling you that we were the only idiots out there shoveling right in the middle of a storm. Most of our sane neighbors were smart enough to be inside, cozy under some blankets while we were out with the kids. Wifey even took the lead with the shovel so I could go knock the car off. I knew it wouldn't matter but it helped to think that I'd only have to shovel out 1/2 of what everyone else was when it finally came to a stop.

Now we're getting ready to walk out the door, the sledding hill is calling. Can't drive there because apparently things are so bad out there that the county executive has said that all county roads are closed and police have been given the power to turn people around if they're out without dire need. Marylanders are funny.

Pictures forthcoming...

Never been so sad to see snow

I love snow. I absolutely love everything about it - from sledding to shoveling, having snow on the ground is better, to me, than lying on a beach any day. Living in the DC area is tough for a guy who likes the snow so much. We usually have to suffer through all the cold without anything to show for it. I'm pretty sure we went two straight years without even enough to go sledding on. Yup, cold and rainy is about all we get to look forward to. With this in mind, to say I was excited to hear about this impending snowstorm we're now enjoying was an understatement - that is until I realized its implications. You see, my oldest daughter, K, was scheduled to fly in tomorrow morning to spend 5 whole days in our little home with us. Yes, apart from our brief trip down to Pawley's Island some 4 years or so ago when we hadn't even yet met Red or Pudge, this would be the first time she's spent with our whole family.

Then... the snow. As the week progressed the reports went opposite of the norm - they kept getting worse and worse. Wifey was telling me this evening that some people on the news were calling this the storm of the century. ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? On the weekend that we're finally going to get to have K come visit? I'm as bad as Alanis when it comes to knowing what constitutes irony - is this it? It certainly feels like Karma is kicking me in the head irony or no. I've been a good boy - I promise!

We knew the snow was coming, and I spent most of this afternoon preparing for it outside the house - getting rid of all the leaves that have blown back up onto the lawn, cutting up a big pile of pallet wood for the stove, fixing up the new wood rack, and finally putting up the x-mas lights, just in time for K's visit. Poor Wifey has been working like a maniac for days trying to get the house into just the right shape too, so much effort has gone into getting ready for this visit and I've been so excited to have her actually see our home. So imagine my reaction when Wifey logged on to the Air Tran site then and found out that K's flight had been canceled. Yeah, sad doesn't begin to cover it. But we got in gear, went online to find out what to do and I quickly called the company while Wifey got the munchkins in a bath. It turns out that they must be shuffling their planes because K's now got a seat on a later plane that should put her into BWI around noon - this gives them a few extra hours to clear up the runways so I'm hoping that all will go according to plan.

So here we are, almost midnight, and the snow is falling, Wifey and I can hear the plows on the street outside, and I'm almost scared of what I'll find when I wake up. Again, I love the snow!!! But I can't help but wish it could have held off for 12 more hours.

Sending some help to the Philippines

It's Kiva time again and I thought it would be nice to spread some of the help to the land of my bigger girls ancestors - the Philippines. I found this woman raising pigs, she only needed a little bit more money and hey - who hasn't wanted to help out a pig farmer?

Introducing... Elisa Labordo - from Sto Niño, South Cotabato, Philippines. She's almost to her goal, maybe someone here can click over and give her a few bucks? Or, if she's already met her goal by the time you get there please consider giving to someone else. The Kiva experience has been fantastic. They take care of everything, send you updates when parts of your loan get paid back, and let you know when it's time to find a new worthy person looking to make their life better. It's a no brainer to be sure.

Continuing with the mapping of my loans, so far I've donated to folks in Mali, Paraguay and the Philippines

helped 3 states (1.33%)
Create your own visited map of The World

My little babies...

Oh man oh man oh man.... these little kids are breaking my heart. But what a contradiction! One minute I'm wishing they would just grow up so we didn't have to deal with all the little breakdowns and tantrums (and that applies to JAM just as much as with the babies) and the next I'm wishing I could just hold their little bodies forever. All of them are growing so quickly - JAM with his monster adult front teeth, Red making new best friends wherever she goes, Pudge being able to climb to the top of the little play slide we've got out back... It is just killing me.

Yesterday, as I was hip-deep in trying to get my annotated bibliography done for class (not sure if I mentioned this, I'm going for another masters - this time a Master of Science in Management: Human Resource Management at UMUC) Red strolls downstairs after she woke up from nap. As she was sitting on the couch next to me, all sleepy eyed still, she sat straight up, her little hands on her knees and she started asking me something all serious like. The look in her eyes was one of such intense clarity, she was all into her thought, so grownup-like. There is a difference in her now, she's moving past that baby-like constant zooming from one thought to the next. She can settle her mind and really think about things now. Just last night Wifey and I were quizzing her on the names of people but asking her by asking about the relationships - like who's (friend) M's little brother? Or who's Pudge's older sister (a huge smile and a yell - RED!!!!!, although she doesn't refer to herself by Red of course :) ). She's so big.

Anyhow, as she was sitting on the couch, looking all grown up for a second, I just had to put everything else down, lay down on the couch next to her, and grab her for an extended snuggle. And you know what? She didn't even try to get away. I told her that I loved her and that pretty soon she was going to be too big for me to snuggle with like that and she just giggled. I love how she desperately wants to be a "big kid" but whenever we talk about it she just giggles like it is too silly to think about. I wanted to hold her forever but the next best thing is to write about it so I can save it that way. I love these little kids just the way they are - but I can't wait for them to grow up and get the hell out of my house. :)

As I was telling my colleague about our weekend, and relating the party we went to up with Orange's family, she instantly thought of a song she wanted to share with me. This is the same woman who turned me on to this video from a little ways back...

Although Darius is singing about his little girl, I couldn't help think about all of my babies, including my precious K who is getting much too old for me to comprehend, and the tears were hard to hold back.

Enjoy -