FINALLY!!!!!!!

11pm, Tuesday, November 4, 2009. CNN reports that Barack Obama wins.

Virginia is blue.

Florida is blue.

Pennsylvania is blue.

New Mexico is blue.

Ohio is blue.

So many more are blue....

Life is sooooooo good.

Check out Wifey's post... priceless.

This is what it is all about

Nothing mind-blowing here, this is just a post so I can remember it in years to come. I'm sitting on my couch, 8:40pm on election Tuesday, next to Wifey and JAM, Wifey's hetero-life-partner L is here with us too, watching the election coverage. I love the fact that we can share this monumental event with JAM, telling him what's going on, explaining the Electoral College (well shoot, I'm trying to explain it to Wifey too ;) ), really showing him how this whole thing works.

He won't be able to stay up for even more than the <1% in-type projections but at this point Obama is up 100+ to 30-something. That would make me have nice dreams. He did get to vote with Wifey this morning (after getting up at 6:30 and standing on line for more than 2 1/2 hours!!!! unmedicated!!!!! I would rather get intimate with a very sharp stick) so he was even able to participate in his own way. Apparently he and Wifey were having a conversation debating whether he would remember any of this in 20 years. Hopefully, if blogger doesn't go out of business or anything, this might serve as a nice reminder.

GO OBAMA!!!!!!!

Happy Halloween!

We had a great time tonight trick-or-treating in Old Greenbelt with our good friends the DaB's. Unfortunately the Y-S's weren't able to join us, poor Clint picked a wonderful time to run a fever. Thanks little man, way to put a damper on the evening! lol

So, without further ado, some pics from the evening. And, to be honest, they all stink in terms of quality of the photography. I'm hoping Geoff and his far superior camera got some better pics. As I was telling him tonight I've got some serious camera-envy brewing. So, if anyone is bothering to take notes... Christmas is coming... #1 on my list.

My little Red was much more attuned to the whole system this year. Wifey and I were thinking back to last year, remembering a younger Red refusing to say anything to the nice people who were actively pushing candy on her, at times trying to pop their ear drums with screams. Not this year. She was great with her "trick or treat"s and "thank you"s. Very cute.

Look at my little Yoda!!! Pudge was about as cute as could be. Seriously, look at this kid!

The three Star Wars amigos.

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The two bigger goofballs in action.

I've been wronged

Yes my friends, I've been deeply hurt. Right down to the soul this hurt goes. (Wow, I just channeled both John McCain and Yoda in the space of the first two sentances of this post!)

Wifey just posted that she got her "new favorite shirt ever" as a birthday gift from her good friend. I feel like she hit me with a brick! I mean, her new Obama shirt IS pretty cool. But common!!!!! Can anything ever compete with this?

'nuff said.

I had to post this

http://us.service.lego.com/en-US/BuildingInstructions/default.aspx

All the building instructions you could ever want in one place.

That is so awesome!!!!!!

So glad to be wrong

Yup. I was wrong. I'm the Mayor of Wrongville. Wongly McWronglingson. The Big Wrongowski. I'm pretty sure I could go on like this for hours. But then you'd probably stab yourself in the eye or something like that. I don't have insurance for that so lets move on...

Yesterday I wrote about a potential impending disaster. Last night was JAM's school's annual Chuck E. Cheese night. I was scared. Potentially. I was slightly hopeful but terrified out of my knickers all at the same time.

JAM rocked it like a champ last night!!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't hold that in any longer. He was awesome in a chaotic and spastic environment. It was so much fun watching him run around with another little guy he knows from school. They went through tokens like they were candy and I was so happy to feed them more to keep them playing. My kid is amazing. I think we'll keep him for a little bit more.

Disney World it aint...

Today was going just fine. I was getting things done at work, I was feeling generally at peace with the universe and then I called Wifey to ask how JAM's school's Walk-to-School Day went. (Fine by the way, thanks for asking.) During that conversation my beautiful bride asked me if we were still on for tonight. Being the responsible and uber-organized person I am I immediately tried to recall what the heck we had on the agenda for the evening. Nope, I couldn't come up with it so I had to ask. So, how is my day going now?

The birds have stopped singing, let me put it that way. Now I'm feeling a certain amount of dread about tonight. Tonight will be a festival of roller-coaster emotions for my young boy, which means an even more heightened state of anxiety and alertness for Wifey and I as we try to help him navigate through what it means to be growing up and working within a structure of peers - not just running around with his hands up in the air screaming like a banshee from pure unadulterated, uninhibited excitement. Trust me, we've seen it. It isn't pretty. I wish I could do it at times but it isn't pretty and it doesn't work very often in polite society.

So what brings all this on? Tonight we go to Chuck E. Cheese for a PTA fundraiser. Perhaps you've heard of this wonderland of pizza, video games and kids-hopped-up-on-root-beer-whose-parent's-don't-pay-a-lick-of-attention-and-you-feel-like-the-only-one-with-expectations-that-actually-transfer-to-outside-of-the-home. Yuppers, looking forward to it. Maybe I'm just bitter that I can't fit in the climbing tubes or the ball pit? A therapist would have a field day with that one.

So, JAM is in the third grade so this is the third time we've dealt with this night. When he was in first grade we just said no, we weren't going to do it. If you know my wonderful little man, you know that right about 6ish is when his medication starts wearing off. Things have a way of going downhill in an instant once we reach the witching hour. If everything goes according to plan, meaning we stick to our normal routine, he is usually a great kid and knows exactly what is expected of him and we have no problems. Anymore. This was not always the case. But, being married to someone who (as Joanne from Rent would be very happy with) makes lists in her sleep, we have routines down pat. Everyone in our house knows exactly what to do and when to do it once dinner is done. A smooth, well-oiled machine is the ol' homestead come bath time. But once we stray from that routine it can go to hell in a hand basket in a blink of an eye. Kind of like last night when beautiful little Red exhibited her high pitched squeal for literally 45 minutes as we had to leave Wifey at the PTA meeting and dear old Dad got to take the three kids home for bath time. That was NOT GOOD. Breaking the routine = VERY BAD THINGS.

Digressing as usual. Back on topic....

So, we skipped the game night his first year as it was not a good time to stray from our schedule. We've learned that the hard way, and it has caused serious backlash even from family in the past, but we play the hand we're dealt as best we're able. We miss out on some things, but in the end it isn't worth the drop-down drag-outs that result.

On to year 2 - 2nd grade. I missed last year. Can't remember why but I can't say that I'm terribly disappointed. But, wonder of wonders, Wifey tells the story that all was well. That might just be her advancing age (Her memory hasn't been all that reliable in the first place, but now that she's getting up there in years it is just going faster and faster. Don't tell her I said that though okay? It'll be our little secret.) but she swears that last year went well. I'll have to trust her on this one. It does give me hope for tonight though. To prove that I'll refer you back to my opening statement in how tonight is offering me a certain amount of dread. Last year, or the year before, I would have said I was scared to death or maybe there was no way a herd of wild horses could drag me to that event but this year I'm feeling a bit warmer to the idea. I'll just have the police and EMT's on standby just in case.

We'll see how it goes. I'm going with a smile and a hopeful attitude. But if it all goes to hell I'm blaming Wifey.