Round is a shape

The holidays are getting close, and every year I tell myself that I’m going to restrain from eating too much. I’ve told myself this for the last 10 years. I’ve also consistently gained weight each year. So this year I’m taking more of a pro active stance. I’m planning on doing the P90X thing starting in January, so until that time I’m going to try to drop some weight so I don’t have a heart attack when I start it.
Since I really want to take it serious this time I thought it would be “fun” to take the before photo’s to compare with the end photo’s. “Fun” probably wasn’t the right word to use, “emotionally debilitating” is probably more accurate. I wanted the pictures to be as accurate as possible so I was trying to let my stomach out without sucking in at all. It was harder than I thought. It goes against everything I’ve ever taught my body. Just like a rollie pollie curls up when you poke it, my stomach automatically sucks in when my shirt comes off, I think it’s some kind of survival instinct. Eventually I coaxed my stomach out of hiding, and all I can say is that the results were magnificently horrifying. I looked like I was in my third trimester, and had better get busy picking a name.
When I looked at the picture that’s all the motivation I needed to scare me straight. So I won’t be posting any before pictures, but here is a close second.

(here's a nice profile view that's pretty close)
As a side note after I was done I deleted the picture, smashed the camera with a rock, lit it on fire and threw it into Utah Lake. . . . . that will teach it not to take any more scary pictures.

Caramel apples

I was feeling a little nostalgic the other day, and thought it would be fun to make caramel apples with the kids. Jackie was a little weary of the idea and suggested we just cut up the apples and dip them in the caramel. Seeing this as the easy way out I pressed the issue and finally got my way. I learned many things that night. I had forgotten just how good caramel and apples go together. I also learned some things that don't go well with caramel, such as 2 year old boys, facial hair and digital camera's. After a while of Kade trying to wrestle the apple into submission, and kalli pathetically trying to bite the apple without the use of her two front teeth, I gave into Jackie's good idea and cut up the apple. I still think the caramel apples were a good idea.


notice how the caramel on the lens gives a nice "glamour shot" haze

Kade before he got really messy

Lindsay was the only one who managed to eat it without making a mess.

Imagination

We were driving home the other day and I once again overheard the girls in the backseat having one of their discussions. They decided to play pretend. I’m not sure which one suggested it but they decided to pretend that they were sisters. I’m still not sure if this is genius or idiocy. On the one hand I felt sorry for my daughters that they can’t even think up anything to pretend to be, but on the other hand maybe they are so creative that they decided to pretend to be two completely different people who happen to be sisters. Either way I’m still confused. At any rate today around 5 o’clock I’m going to pretend to get off work and then pretend to drive home

Touching Moments

Lindsay said the sweetest thing to me the other day, and I just had to write it down before I forgot. It was half time of her soccer game and she came over to us to get a drink. Then she sat on my lap and put her head on my chest and said " Dad, you make everything so shady." then she got up and went to finish her soccer game, leaving me there with a lump in my throat. It' s touching that my daughter finds me as useful as an awning.

Teeth

We’ve had all sorts of exciting dentistry going on lately. I’ll have to try and add a video we have of Kalli getting her first tooth pulled. The dentist said her new one may not come in for about a year, but regardless it was time for this tooth to come out. Her two front teeth were different colors (neither of those colors being white) I guess that’s what happens when you feel your way around using your two front teeth. I used to do the trick where you say okay let’s pull it on three and then you really do it on one, but they’ve gotten wise to that little bit of trickery. So now I just engage in a little harmless conversation and yank it out while they are answering one of my questions. Kalli was pretty excited to get a dollar from the tooth fairy. The tooth fairy really is an amazing person. I don’t think it’s her fairy wings or magic tooth wand that make her special, I think it’s the fact that she can slide a dollar in between a sleeping child’s head and a plastic sheet without waking the child that makes her amazing. In related news, me and Jackie went to the dentist for a cleaning/checkup (or as I like to call it the “I can sure taste a lot of blood in my mouth” visit). I don’t know what those hygienist think teeth are made of but I’m pretty sure that teeth will break if enough pressure is applied. She was pulling so hard with that little metal hook of hers that when she was done I could floss with a tube sock. Normally I don’t brag about my trips to the dentist but for the first time in my life I didn’t have a cavity. We were so happy we went out and celebrated with some toffee.

Money = Evil

I hate money. I understand the necessity of it if, and I want my family to have a house and food, but aside from that I’m not really crazy about the whole money concept; It just complicates everything.

I sometimes wish we lived in settler times, when you could go pick out a piece of land, and raise sugar beets with your family, and helped raise barns with your neighbors. I’m not sure what’s all involved with raising sugar beets, but I’m pretty sure it would be a lot more exciting than sitting in a cubicle looking at lines on a screen, and besides that I know Jackie would look smokin’ in a bonnet and pioneer dress.

Maybe it’s not all about the money, it just seems that everybody is so self absorbed (except for my family), and so concerned with how much money they are making (my family excluded), and so untrusting of everybody else (outside of my relatives of course).

I guess I’m just whining because I’m tired of bills, and payments and working just so I can get a paycheck. I’m not complaining about work in general. I love to feel like I’ve worked hard and accomplished something at the end of the day. I’m just impatiently looking forward to the day when I’ll be able to do what I love doing, and getting paid for it will be secondary.

And I’m waiting for that day when Jackie will where that bonnet.

Veteran-arian-egetarians

I love that my kids are old enough to communicate with each other in full sentences. One of my favorite things to do is eavesdrop on my girls in the back seat as we drive somewhere. They always have the most interesting conversations. The other night we were driving home from a Memorial Day party, and I heard the girls in the back seat discussing holidays and birthdays, and how cool it is to have a birthday on a holiday. Lindsay proudly told Kalli that her birthday was on Veterans Day. Kalli asked Lindsay what Veterans Day was. So Lindsay told her it was the day that we remember all the Veterinarians that have died for us. Kalli seemed impressed with Lindsay’s knowledge of the subject. On a slightly unrelated (but somewhat related note) Lindsay was telling us that there were some kids in her class that were really rude because they eat meat in front of a girl whose mom is a veterinarian. Me and Jackie thought that maybe she had mistaken a veterinarian with a vegetarian but she clarified that she thought the kids were being rude because the girls mom takes care of animals and all these kids are eating animals in front of her. The whole thing seemed very funny at the time. And apparently Lindsay has a fixation with veteranarians.

Why does Tigger Stink?

I agree with my wife in the sense that I don’t really like the idea of using a blog as a self brag forum, but I do like both of my sisters approach of using it to keep track of funny, cute, special things my kids do or say. So, although it won’t be very often I did want to keep track of some of these moments for myself.

I think that kids are hilarious. Occasionally they are trying to be funny and succeed, but for the most part I think they are funniest when they are not trying. Today my second child, Kalli, started telling me a joke while I was home for lunch. She said “Dad, why does Tigger smell bad?” Having heard this joke before, I tried to act like this was new material. Then she said” because he eats poo!” Personally I think that her punch line was far better than the original, and showed a lot more creativity. After I stopped laughing and told her the correct version of the joke (to avoid her telling anyone else about Tigger eating poo.) She decided to give me a disclaimer that it’s not good to eat poo, because it’s unhealthy. I have no doubt that with her new found knowledge, she will go far as a dental hygienist. She really is a sweetheart, and I think that joke made the second half of work a little more bearable.

Jackie's Blog

Anybody who knows Jackie knows about her love of Blog's, Facebook, and e-mailing; so I thought I would surprise her with her very own Blog. Now she can join the rest of the world in bragging about their children, sharing 25 things people may or may not want to know about you, and updating her page twice a year. Love you Honey.