2007 Superbowl Party

We had our Community Group over to watch the Superbowl tonight. Lots of food, drinks (non-alcoholic, unfortunately), and desserts (love me some puppy chow!). The commercials were pretty crappy this year. The only one I really remember was the Budweiser "Rocks, Paper, Scissors" commercial, which was pretty funny. You can catch them all here if you missed any.

So the Colts win. Manning has a chip off his shoulder now. Since I don't watch any NFL, I didn't really care who won. However, since Time/Warner publishes Sports Illustrated magazine, we did have reason for da Bears to win. Statistically, if the Bears won, it would have been a better market for the Sports Illustrated Superbowl commemorative issue to sell in. But it'll be interesting to see if Manning's big win might be enough to pick up the slack.

I took pictures, but mostly of the wives and kids. The guys were too spread out over the furniture to get a group shot, and the women congregated making for better pictures. You can check them out here, or see them below.

Bumbo Madness: Paint Your Own Pottery

Getting back to the original purpose of Bumbo Madness, here's a funny little picture of Brooklyn in her Bumbo at the Paint Your Own Pottery place today. She's about to paint her Mona Lisa. Of course, the whole time I'm worried she was going to poke her eye out. She didn't. Thankfully.

We took the kids to Paint Your Own Pottery this morning to get out of the house and create new house decorations. We painted both of their hands and did hand prints on a little ceramic tile. We plan on hanging it in their bathroom. Allison made some doodles on it to spice it up. Surprisingly, Emma did really well with us painting her hand. Usually, she's psycho about getting dirty. She won't touch dirt, snow, grass, or paint with her bare hands. Yeah...she's weird. Thankfully, she didn't hesitate to let us paint her hand. Of course, we also promised her we would immediately wash her hands afterward. Brooklyn was the more difficult one, as she pretty much keeps her hands clasped together all the time. But it worked out pretty well.

I recommend going to Paint Your Own Pottery if you need creative time-killers for the family. They just moved into Nelson's Crossing (at Joyce & College), and the place is really neat. Obviously, they have extremely bright colors everywhere, and it's very kid-friendly. A good outlet for the imaginative young ones.

Gazing Out the Window

Bumbo Madness: The Potty

Just because she can't sit up by herself or eat solid foods doesn't mean Brooklyn can't learn to use the potty! We've decided to start potty training early...Bumbo Style. And we planned ahead, too. There's just something about this family that just freaks a potty out, requiring some plunging afterwards. Just ask Lafe and Justin. They know.

I know I've been posting these Bumbo Madness photos almost daily since I started, but I'll warn you that I'm running out of "safe" indoor locations. I have some decent ideas for outdoor locations, but it's just too blasted cold outside to do them when I get home from work. So, until this weekend when I can go outside when the sun is up, I may not have many more indoor Bumbo Madness shots this week. (Allison won't let me put Brooklyn in the oven. Besides, I don't think she'd fit in there sitting on the Bumbo)

Bumbo Madness: The Entertainment Center

Tonight, Brooklyn finally got her spot as the (top-left) center of attention and entertainment in our household. We took the picture while Emma was still awake, and she continually asked "Why is Brooklyn up there, Daddy?". We told her that Brooklyn could only be up there when Mommy or Daddy put her up there (as if that will be a common place to store the kiddo when we're vacuuming).

Apparently, Travis & Kate have enjoyed this Bumbo Madness series. So much so, that they've made it into a little contest to see who can put their youngest child in the most dangerous (yet contained) situation. In all honestly, Tavis' post jumped up into my Top 20 Funniest Things Ever Read by Me. He joins some lofty company on that list. So, the battle is on! But since Travis is a Doctor (not a doctor-doctor, a book-ish doctor), I know that I cannot out-wit him. I'll be taking comments on ideas for Bumbo Madness locations/situations. If you have a good one (that won't harm my child), leave a comment, and maybe you'll be honored to have a photo taken with your idea in action! That would look great on a resume...

Also, I have created a folder to collect all Bumbo Madness photos here. Just for reiterated documentation.

Bumbo Madness: The Refrigerator

Next up in the series of Bumbo Madness, we find little Brooklyn chilling (no pun intended) on top of the refrigerator!

We brainstormed with the Hale's on different places to shoot Bumbo Madness and have come up with some really great ideas that we'll hopefully implement. If I were better at Photoshop layers, I could have a REALLY good time superimposing the Brooklyn-filled Bumbo in some ludicrous places. Alas, we'll have to stick to reality and continue to put our child in dangerous places for the sake of a good laugh and picture.

Bumbo Madness: The Beginning

When Brooklyn was born, we received a Bumbo. For those that don't know what a Bumbo is, it's a little chair designed for babies who can't sit up fully on their own. They're very handy, as they can sit just about anywhere, and keeps the kids from laying on their backs all the time. It also helps them strengthen their muscles so as to sit better sooner. Anyway, we started putting Brooklyn in our Bumbo this week, and it's really funny. I guess it's just strange to see her sitting up, and sometimes at eye level. She seems to like it, too.

I have decided to start a new series of picture blogs dedicated to the Bumbo. I will call it "Bumbo Madness". Each post will show Brooklyn in the Bumbo in some random spot. Tonight's inaugural Bumbo Madness shows Brooklyn chilling on the dinner table. She sat with us as we ate. The next post may be her sitting on top of the refrigerator...we'll see if Allison will let me endanger Brooklyn's life for a funny picture.

I'm a Rebel

I have finally moved into the world of digital SLR photography! I just bought a Canon Digital Rebel XTi, along with some accessories, and have been playing around with it all weekend!

Of course, I know close to nothing about how to operate a DSLR, but that will come. So if I know you're into photography, you can pretty much expect me to call you and come hang out to learn and experiment (that means Miller, Brett, Murray, and Spencer). I'll be calling each of you soon...

Here are some preliminary pictures I've taken so far. Since I'm indoors and it's pretty crappy outside, the lighting isn't what I'd like it to be, but it's fair enough. More pics to come in the future!

Picture Updates

Brooklyn has recently discovered her hands. For the most part, she now holds a position similar to a boxer protecting his face: fists at eye level and all clinched up. It's pretty funny. As seen here, her second favorite hand activity is flipping the bird. By the way, this is not a posed picture...this is what she does...Of course, I couldn't be prouder! I believe the finger isn't given enough nowadays. As Dane Cook says, the regular finger doesn't have enough meaning / pizazz anymore, so he has created the super finger. I'll be working with Brooklyn to ensure she learns the SU-FI correctly.

In more girly news, I went in to wake Emma up from a nap the other day. This is what I found...Emma curled up at the end of her bed covered with stuffed animals, wearing one of her princess dresses. It was pretty sweet, so I had to take a picture. She looked pretty darn comfortable, too...I miss the days of curling up in a big pile of stuffed animals and taking naps. It's great to be a kid.

Why Me?

First week at the new job. It's going great.

Until now.

First of all, I despise using the bathroom at the office, especially here since it's a 1-seater shared by all employees (male & female). It's right next to the break area and community printer. Enough said about that.

So I go to use the restroom before a meeting...a long visit to the bathroom. I go to flush and...nothing happens. Zilch. No flush. Not like a "it's stopped up and can't flush"...but a "I pulled the handle and the thing is dead".

I asked a guy who we called when stuff broke...he's calling the people now. I had to put an "Out of Order" sticky note on the door.

Why me??

Great New Blog!

I just discovered a new blog recently that I feel will help me and the family's life. It's called "All Sides of Life" and deals with Northwest Arkansas specific entertainment, events, and restaurants. The best thing is the kid-oriented focus. For example, the writer recommends a lot of restaurants based on their kid-friendliness, which is great info to have. It seems Allison and I get stuck in a rut of going between McDonald's (play place) and the mall trying to find places to eat that can also entertain a hyperactive 3 year old.

Even if you don't have kids, the blog covers entertainment events in the area. I have already bookmarked it, and recommend reading it for yourself....it could become a great resource.

Out of the Nest!

I have finally leapt from the nest (haha...nest...nestle)! My last day with Nestlé was Thursday. Though it was extremely sad to say goodbye to co-workers and friends, I'm stoked about my new job at Time-Warner. It's a great move to another great company.

Since I had to leave my mini-van at work (company car), Allison came and got me in my new car. She also got a baby sitter, so we went to Bonefish Grill with some co-workers and friends to celebrate my escape...I mean, my transition. I knocked down several of the Bang, Bang Shrimp, and a couple of glasses of Pinot Gris wine. The best part? John Rinaldi (co-worker) picked up the majority of the tab...specifically, he put it on his corporate American Express...so Nestlé bought dinner. Ended up costing each individual about $14, which is crazy cheap for all the food and beverages we got. Thanks Nestlé (John).

Now for a quiet weekend at home with my girls...wait...there's no such thing as quiet at my house anymore. At least it's a weekend at home with my girls. :)

Brooklyn Laughing

Brooklyn is growing up quickly! Here's a short clip of her giggling and smiling at Allison doing some weird dance. It's amazing what you'll do as a parent just to hear your child laugh...

2007 Sucks. Thanks Razorbacks.

Screw the black-eyed pea-eating for good luck in the new year. Looks like our QBs forgot to eat their Wheaties this morning. Lethargic and pathetic. Way to suck, quarterbacks. At least the rest of our team looked good. Josh said it best: "Bench Mustain & Dick the rest of the game and play McFadden at QB...he's a better QB then anyone else we have in that position."

Now that my rant is over, I hope everyone had a wonderful and safe New Year's! We went to Shogun with Brett & Jayme Walker and Micah & Amy McFadden. The kiddos went, too. We thought Connor (McFadden), Molly (Walker) and Emma would really enjoy the show. Boy were we WRONG! As we were leaving, Emma just kept saying "This a scarrrry place". The fire petrified Emma. I felt bad for our cook. He kept asking the kids if they wanted to see more, and they all shouted NO!

Then we headed over to Brett & Jayme's house for dessert and chill time. The kids played, the guys talked golf and beer, and the girls talked about whatever girls talk about. We all had a great time. Got home around 9:30 and put the kids to bed. Allison was asleep by 11:15, and I rang in the new year playing Gears of War. And I don't want to talk about today. The Hogs' offense was flat out embarrassing.

Christmas: A Summary

I'm not known for my brevity. But in an effort to be brief, I will summarize our Christmas.

Friday
Visited Santa at the mall. Thankfully, Emma didn't scream her brains out in fear this year. She did last year, but it made for the best picture ever!

Saturday
Did Christmas with my parents at my sister's house around the corner. Emma scored a bunch of dress-up stuff (skits/crowns/high heels/etc). Food was great. Left there and headed to Little Rock.

Sunday (Christmas Eve)
Didn't do much during the day. Went to Emmanuel Baptist Church's Christmas service. Emma kept asking if Mary and Joseph would be there at the church. Afterwards, went to Cathy's house (Allison's sister) and had a rocking dinner with the family. Opened a few gifts, just to prime the kids.

Monday (Christmas Day)
Santa came and brought Emma some more dress up stuff (a toy makeup kit...yippee), a cooking apron with her name on it, and some other stuff. Brooklyn scored some righteous teething toys and some of those dangly things that you hang on the car seat to entertain them. Allison and I are apparently alcohol-deprived in the eyes of our family. We scored about 4 wine-related gifts (opener, new stemless glasses, stoppers, etc). My parents got us Amaretto. We're set. Emma did score one of the new TMX Elmo dolls, and it's a riot! Annoying, but the laughing is contagious. We hung out the rest of the day and played.

The most fun gift Emma received was a kids digital camera. It's virtually indestructible and has like 4 buttons on it. You can see some of her masterpieces here. She's not bad. Just gotta teach her to stand still for 2 consecutive seconds so the pictures don't blur. She'll learn.

All in all, it was a really good Christmas. Lots of family, eating, and playing. Of course, Josh thinks we should give our kids a rock, tell them Jesus killed Santa a long time ago, and hang out in a commune growing corn. He's even influencing Martha, which isn't good...she's powerful.

Hope y'all's Christmas was great!

Poll: Wild Animal Pets

In a moment of extremely random thought, I asked myself the following question:

If I could have any wild animal as a pet, which would I choose?

I'm pretty sure I'd pick a squirrel. Why? Because they freaking rock! I mean, they can climb just about anything, they jump really well, and they're extremely cute. Tell me the picture here isn't cute? Makes you want to just hug it! And how about that cool thing they do with their tail? You know, where it shakes/shimmies really fast? That's awesome! And don't get me started with how fun playing fetch would be...the possibilities are endless!

So what about you? What wild animal would you choose as a pet?

Note: any animal is allowable. I'm going under the assumption that the pet would not harm you or loved ones in any way (aka Bear mauling).

Transition

I gave Nestle my two weeks notice yesterday. Starting January 8th, I will be an employee of Time-Warner (specifically Time, Inc.). I'll be working on the Wal-Mart team in Rogers as a Customer Development Analyst (aka Category Analyst). It's pretty crazy, but I'm out-of-my-mind excited! It does suck to leave all my Nestle co-workers after becoming friends with them over the past 5 1/2 years...that'll be the hardest thing. That's not true....the hardest thing was actually telling my boss I quit. Shockingly enough, all of my bitterness washed away and was left with a large heart of gratitude for the great years I've had at Nestle.

But it was time for change. And this is a really great move to a great company. On the fun side of things, I did get to purchase a car for the first time in 6 years! Nestle provided a company car, but Time doesn't. So, I bought myself a 2004 Acura TSX. It's sexy...I'll post sexy pictures of it's hotness later. A tentative name for my car right now is T-Rex. If you have suggestions for names, I'm open to them. Josh can't believe I still name my cars. I feel it is a mandatory thing. After all, I spend a minimum of an hour per day in the car commuting. That's more than a lunch break. Cars should have names.

So...that's the big news today.

Movies & More!

Last weekend, Josh and I went to see Apacalypto. It ended up being a really good movie. Not great, but pretty darn good. All the reviews said is was terribly brutal and gruesome. Honestly, I never had to turn away at any point in the movie. Though parts were pretty brutal, I was expecting much worse. The was one scene where a man's face lost a battle to an angry jaguar, but that was about the worst of it all. And, it was a pretty awesome scene!

However, during the previews before the movie started, I saw a movie trailer that basically killed all desire to see any movie but that one. Frank Miller's "300" is coming out next March and it looks absolutely amazing! Frank Miller also wrote "Sin City", which is a fantastic movie! So, after the trailer was over, I pretty much didn't care to see a movie except for 300. It's going to rock! Go see the trailer, you'll be blown away (more so if you're a guy).

Eragon opens this weekend, and it looks pretty great, too. I've been wanting to read the book before seeing the movie, so I bought the book (Allison's early Christmas present to me) and am halfway done with it. It's pretty good. Very Lord of the Ring-ish.

Favorite Christmas Songs

As the Christmas time is upon us, it's hard to scan the radio and not find a station constantly playing Christmas music. I have 250 Christmas songs on my iPod. I heard a song on 107.9 tonight coming home from work, and I reminded myself that it was one of my favorite Christmas songs. Then I automatically made a top 3 list: my top 3 favorite Christmas songs! So, here are my favorite 3 Christmas songs:

1. Breath of Heaven
2. O Come, O Come Emanuel
3. Carol of the Bells

I know everyone else loves Christmas music, so this is a tag for you to blog about your favorite songs! Get after it, yo!

2006 Gingerbread Party Results

Well, I should have stuck with my original plan of sabotaging the other contestants. Even though Allison and I pulled off a very excellent, artistic, simplistic design this year, we were simply out-matched. Honestly...as soon as the to-be-winners began, no one stood a chance. The first crushing blow came when Melinda Thompson walked into the house with a life-sized woman's breast made of gingerbread...complete with nipples! From there, we all knew we were losing.

We didn't place in the top 3 this year, but we felt pretty good about our effort. The winners (in order) were:

• The Thompson's: they pulled out the a 3-foot long female gingerbread body sporting an icing bikini. It was really amazing. The pictures are below.

• Cory Rogers: nutter butter house. It's a little unfair, since Cory is a home builder in real life. But props to him for using such great building blocks!

• The Whitaker's: John did the planning / creativity portion while Amanda executed a pretty great replica of NYC's Rockefeller Plaza, complete with skyscrapers and a huge tree.
  

All in all, it was another fantastic event hosted by the Elleman's. Props to them for all the hastle they go through to put this together (including some crazy cleanup after the party)!

Random Things...

1) Does anyone know the answer: When I click on an RSS feed and it loads a preview page in the main screen, does that count as a hit on the page? Or does a person have to land directly on your URL to count as a hit / visit?

2) If you use Firefox, there's a great (cheesy, but great) theme out there called Tinseltown. It's a great Christmas / Winter theme that was done really well. Once I got over the cheesiness, I've really begun to like it a lot!

Annual Gingerbread House Competition: Pre-Game

Well, it's that time of year for a crazy amount of Christmas / Holiday parties. Each year, Aaron & Allyn Elleman (say THAT 3 times fast!) host a gingerbread house competition / party. In the past, Allison and I have put our best foot forward, only to get it smashed by some ugly but architecturally astounding house. Last year, we actually placed 3rd, our highest rank in 5 years. Pathetic.

This year? We pretty much lost the urge to compete. My original plan was to sneak around and sabotage others' houses. But that's just mean. So, we decided to do a "artistic" scene by utilizing a 2D house setting (read: we're not architects or building, but we can cut out shapes!). We will prop up the house, some gingerbread people, and some trees on a coconut-coated gingerbread ground. It's simple. It's genius.

Tomorrow, I'll post pictures and the results. Wish us luck!

Oh God, It's True!

Another badass quiz from eSPIN-the-Bottle... What’s Your Mental Age? MY RESULT:Middle Aged Regardless of how old your body is, up in your head, you’re paying mortgages and complaining about back pain. That's great that you're so mature, but remember: it's okay to cut loose and act young every once in a while. Do your wild side a favor and stay up past 10:00 one night this week. Take This Quiz!

Happy Birthday, Emma!

Today was Emma's 3rd birthday! It's crazy that's she is already 3 years old! As I'm writing this, she's screaming her head off in her room: a result of an over-stimulated kid.

The day started off with her birthday party. It was 1000% Princess Party. Everything was pink and had a Disney princess on it. For a guy, it was pretty emasculating. For a 3 year old girl, it was heaven. We had a small gathering of Emma's friends over to the house to have (princess-shaped) waffles and cake (yeah...princesses on it). Todd and I put up a big cardboard castle last night for the kids to play in and color on. The mothers (and me) sat around and talked while the sugar-infused kids ran nutty around the house playing. It was fun!

Each year, we go to the Fayetteville Square with my sister's family to eat at Tim's Pizza and see the Christmas lights (that are now red instead of white). We had a great time, and Brooklyn slept the entire time (aiding in the great time had by all). Here are some pictures to enjoy. I also have 2 new folders set up on my Picasa site for the above-mentioned events.

Parenting Tips: Bribery

Ever wondered how to get your kids to do something they don't want to do? Here I come to the rescue with a solution: Bribery! That's right, folks...flat out, blatant bribery.

"If you'll just stand still for 2 minutes, you can have a cookie when we get home"
"If you obey me and stay quiet while we're in this store, we'll stop and get McDonald's"
"If you stop talking for the rest of the night, I'll give you some money!"

That's right! Money. The root of all evil...and obedience. Emma has a piggy bank that she got when she was born. Until recently, it sat on the shelf as decoration. However, now that we've invoked the above mentioned parenting tip, that bad boy is filling up quickly! The best thing about this, is you can mask the shallowness of money bribes by reminding your child it's a time to practice counting! That's right! The kids can count how many pennies you give them as bribes for obedience! It's a learning experience!

So if you're in a pickle and need your kids to obey, try bribing them. It works like a charm!

The "N" Word

I'm very sick and tired of all the celebrity hoopla and the public apologies. I just read an article on MSNBC about all the apologies from all the celebrities/politicians this year. Of course, it mentioned Michael Richards (Kramer) and Mel Gibson.

I then read an article on ESPN about the double-standard of using the "n" word between races (eg, it's ok to say it if your black, but it's a career-ending word if you're white). It's really a great article, and I agree with the guy's point 100%. If you've got some time, go read it.