January 31, 2011: My Boys

The little guy loves his dog--who is astonishingly tolerant of him--and the other is quite a book worm.  Here the book worm is doing his best to power through a book his mom told him he has to read before he can move on to the 4th Harry Potter book.

January 30, 2011: Pittsburgh Day 2--Old Friends and Milk

Day 2 of the Pittsburgh visit--our kids and our friends' kids. This bunch of milkbreaths represent the biggest and most meaningful way our life has grown since we moved to the DC area in 2002. Some of our first friends in DC were S and K. We didn't have any kids yet, and neither did they. Both couples were relative newlyweds. Since then, between the two families, we've brought five kids into the world, finished educations, launched careers, bought houses, K and S moved to Pittsburgh--it's amazing how much life changes so quickly, and it's good to have loyal friends with whom we can experience all of those life changes along the way.

January 29, 2011: Pittsburgh Day 1--Fish and Snakes

We went to Pittsburgh to visit some too-rarely seen friends. The girls (the moms) went to lunch and did a little shopping while the dads hung out with the kids, took them to a really cool pet store, and then shoved them out the back door to play in the snow.  There was no denying that the fish tanks and fish at the store were awesome, I can't say they really tempted me--too much commitment.  The snakes did catch my eye, however.  Seems like they'd be a good low maintenance pet, but I'm sure people who have had them might disagree.

January 27, 2011: Sunset over Arlington

January 24, 2011: Frigid in NYC

I was in NYC for work. I didn't have time to really do anything, but my hotel was near Times Square, so I wandered over there. It was 19 degrees, which was much more pleasant than earlier that morning when the wind chill was -8. No, I wasn't dressed for it. And what's with all the black coats? It was almost spooky. I felt like a tourist, but I was nevertheless almost proud to stand out in my red ski jacket.

January 23, 2011: Union Station

Catching a train to New York. This old place was the big deal in town before air travel.

January 22, 2011: Home with the Dog and Bubba

The dog waits patiently by the high-chair, hoping for dropped or discarded scraps, even cucumbers. He does well for himself. Mom, #1, and #2 went to visit friends in Pennsylvania for the weekend.  I was looking forward to some one-on-one time with the baby, but I feel like all I did all weekend was put him down for naps and work on stuff that followed me home from the office.

January 18, 2011: Freezing Rain

And guess who slipped on the ice on his way out the door at 5:30 this morning? Yup--me. I forced the door open over the ice, looked at it, thought about how slippery it must be, took a careful step onto the stoop, put my hand on the rail, and then--whoosh! Down I went. I slid down all the steps and ended up on the sidewalk. Fun.

January 17, 2011: Strange Comfort Food

I'm attempting to get back into the getting tough routine, so what better bedtime snack than some chicken from the sea?

January 15, 2011: Another Day, Another Trip to the Doctor

My little man fell asleep while we waited for his 3rd antibiotic drip to finish.  That gave me the chance to finish his albuterol treatment that the nurse stopped, because he was so hysterical over it.  Things look good.  Hopefully he's on the up and up from here.

January 13, 2011: Bubba Has Pneumonia

I spent about three-and-a-half hours with the little guy at an after-hours doctor visit tonight. He's been sick off and on for weeks, but over the past few days he developed a cough and an audible wheeze, so we decided we better get him checked out. X-rays confirmed he has pneumonia, so he got an albuterol treatment and antibiotics via an IV. He'll get another dose tomorrow. As you can see from his expression, the poor little guy wasn't a fan of the help he received.

January 12, 2011: Ice Skating With Popsicles

I drove some kids from church to go ice skating. We had 30 something kids in all, and I'd say half the boys showed up in little more than a hoodie, with no hat or gloves. Wind chills were in the teens. Smart. Actually, that word better describes the girls, who from what saw all dressed for the weather. As for me, I was layered up yet still spent a good bit of time about half way through the evening sipping on a hot chocolate in Starbucks.

January 11, 2011: Snow and Ice

For the second time this year, a major snow storm skipped past the DC area via the Atlantic ocean only to slam New York City and Boston. I can't say I'm complaining. I love snow, but without the opportunity to ski in it around here, I prefer enough flakes to enjoy the sight and do a few donuts in the car but not so much that I have to break my back shoveling it or avoid balancing on two wheels for an extended time.

January 10, 2011: Flags Hung Low

Jonah Goldberg summarized my thoughts on the recent shooting in Arizona well today (January 11th) in the L.A. Times.

January 8, 2011: "This Is No Rodeo; This is PBR"

That's a direct quote from the announcer at the PBR Touring Pro bull riding event the tykes and I attended Saturday night at George Mason University's Patriot Center.  Only people who know me well know that I actually sold western wear for a short time at my one of my friend's family's stores during college.  The best week or two of sales I saw was right before the PBR finals in Las Vegas as everyone in the area planning to make the trip stopped in for some new high-dollar western duds (did you know good felt cowboy hats can cost a $1,000, and a pair of Lucchesse boots won't cost much less?)!!  Well, those shoppers' excitement spurred my interest, and I've been watching bull riding on TV ever since, although not close enough to rate as a true fan. The Fairfax event was my first time seeing it live, and yes, I think you'll see me cowboyed up one day to watch the finals in Vegas, although I'm told tickets don't come cheaply or easily.

I mean, come on, what's not to like about this as a spectator sport?

January 7, 2011: A Camera Shy Boy with a Blue Tongue

My failed attempt to get the boy to pose for a picture after eating a candy that painted his tongue, lips, and but for his mother's timely intervention, everything within the kid's reach, blue.

January 5, 2011: He's a Daddy's Boy

This is a pretty typical view of what happens when I get home from work in the evenings if I'm lucky enough to be there before the littlest milkbreath goes to bed.  He crawls to me, makes it very clear that he wants me to pick him up, and then he's pretty well attached to me until he goes to bed.  I'm not complaining--it usually amounts to about 30 minutes at most, so I wish I could spend more time with him (and his siblings) on weekdays.

January 4, 2011: A Cold Potomac Sunrise

January 3, 2011: Let the Resolutions Begin

The gym was a lot more crowded tonight than usual, flooded with resolute folks, including the guy in the center of the photo whose resolution hasn't changed since 1994--to focus on bench pressing to the exclusion of all other exercises.  I suspect he's been wearing the same tank top since then too.

January 1, 2011: Happy New Year

Took the kids with the grandparents to National Harbor today, and almost let J talk me into booking a room for the night at the Gaylord.  Add it to the to-do list instead.