The Pallid Patriot

I saw a bumper sticker recently which had an image that was badly bleached by the sun. The words were still legible and I immediately recognized the popular post-9/11 sticker, which displayed a barely discernible American flag and words that read, "These colors don't run." Okay, but apparently they fade.

Personally I prefer this sticker which I've been assured is made with fade-resistant ink.

Nightmare Before Christmas

Apparently Christmas decorations and fierce animals go hand and hand in a 5 year old's mind.
Here is the entire scene constructed by Jackson while I was putting out our holiday decorations over the weekend. I wonder if this is how Tim Burton got his start.

Grateful for Children

Yesterday we had Thanksgiving over at the home of my mother-in-law and her new husband. Also in attendance were various family members we see on a regular basis, all of whom are conservative Christians who have not always approved of our lifestyle choices. David's pre-pubescent cousin actually wrinkled her nose at us one time when she saw us drinking beer. Apparently beer is the devil's distillate. See, we used to hide our drinking from the in-laws but our alcoholism has spiraled out of control these past few years and we just can't go anywhere without bringing our hooch. Yesterday, however, was a dry Thanksgiving since I managed to give up alcohol for the sake of the baby.

So with both parents sober we were looking like one happy, almost normal family. Until Jackson very loudly begins calling his uncle a "friggin' fucking" over and over again while I quickly, yet very calmly make my way over to him. Leaning over I quietly say,"Jackson, that's not something that's okay to say here." Because if I had left out the "here" portion he would have surely outed David and I as the foul-mouthed heathens that we truly are.

Later David asked me if Jackson actually knew which of the two words was actually the bad one. I really don't think so.

Sleep Sell Outs

Well, we've finally done it. We've crossed over to the dark side and given Sam a little something to help him sleep at night. He had plenty of time to develop healthy sleeping habits on his own before we hit him with the "darkness hormone" aka melatonin. It's only night two so it's too early to tell how it's working. This is something I hoped to never have to do. I like to get away with as little medical intervention in Sam's life as possible. But we were getting desperate. And, hey, melatonin is still a far cry from elephant tranquilizer. Plus, it's a big improvement over the old duct tape standby.

Welcome to my new site!

It has occurred to me that Sam is past that critical period requiring frequent updates (which is probably why I have updated his site infrequently lately). At the same time there is still a lot going on in our family that I feel is blog worthy. For that reason I've created this new site to post my own thoughts and relate experiences that will probably relate to my family more often than not. I won't be sending out notifications any longer so if you are moved to do so you'll have to check back often. I do plan on updating much more frequently - hopefully daily. And I will be adding photos occasionally as well. I hope most of you will enjoy this new and improved blog. I know I will!

Some of you might be wondering what the meaning is of the blurb under the title. Well, it kind of has multiple meanings but for now I'll stick with this one: we're expecting a new addition to our family in June :-) Life just got more exciting. More on that later.....

Now be sure to check out Sam's slideshow below!

Sam's Slideshow

Sam is turning 3! To celebrate my sweet boy's first 3 years I've created a slideshow. Click here or to the picture at the left to view it. Make sure your sound is on to listen to the accompanying music.