Proud Parenting Moments..

Vol 1.

So this past weekend, the weather was beautiful...when I say beautiful, I mean upper 60's, and breezy! I love fall.

So I let our little Boston Terrier out to go potty. Like every other time I let the dog out, our little 2 1/2 year old wants to go outside with me.

So no problem, I let go out with me. The dog does his business, and I tinker around on the deck for a minute or two to let the boy play outside for just a few minutes. When I feel like it is time to go back into the house, I tell Eli, come on buddy, back in the house. Like other 2 or 3 year olds, he doesn't want to...so I start doing what most parents my age do...I start counting...

Eli knows that if I get to three he is not going to be a happy boy.

1...Eli, come on buddy.

2...ELI, BACK IN THE HOUSE....

He goes right through the front door, and no problems.

Then I look at the dog.

"Tank, it's time to go in the house"...Sometimes he likes to play outside, but since he doesn't like to stay in the yard if left alone, I look at the dog again...

"Tank, HOUSE NOW"...

"ONE, why in the heck am I counting to the dog"...I go in the house and get the remote to his training collar, and he comes running in the house...

Vol. 2

So the very next day, Eli and I are out playing in the yard. We are playing with his big dump truck, and then he decides that we need to play ball. So I go get his Sesame Street ball. Just a normal kick ball. We are kicking it back and forth to each other. Then he wants daddy to kick it really hard.

It goes flying across the driveway into the side yard. We both run over to get it and kick it again. Then Eli learns that he can kick it into the shed and it will bounce back, and you can kick it again. So we do that for a while, and then we are kicking it back and forth again.

So Eli is far away from me. He kicks it to me, and then tells me to kick it back.

I have my eye on the ball, I am concentrating on making it a good kick. I connect perfectly with the ball. It was a kick that the kids on the playground of elementary school would have been proud of. The one thing I didn't notice was Eli was running towards me....

The ball flies right into his face....he doesn't even fall, he doesn't even cry...

He looks at me and says..."Ouch, that funny daddy."

All I could do was laugh. Does that make me a bad parent?

When I told my wife, she laughed too...does that make her a bad parent?

What is the appeal?

So I have from time to time in my life thought about getting a tattoo. A microphone on my arm would be really cool. Maybe a set of headphones. I mean it goes with my profession. Then the thought in my head enters...what if I not in radio the rest of my life. I would have to explain to my grandkids why there is a big ugly microphone on my arm.

I mean, sometimes you get a tattoo because it is something you care about. Maybe something in honor of someone who died. Maybe your Mom. Maybe your wife. Your kids. OK. A few of those make since.

But when people start going nuts, it makes me step back and think...OK, I am going to have this the rest of my life. Why would I do this...want some examples....of course you do.


OK. I like my beer as much as the next guy. But really, that is the only 6-pack he is ever gonna get drinking PBR!







OK....so I wonder if he has all his body parts labeled?











This has to be her "Dis-Knees"










Hey...I found WALDO...that is really funny to me!









OK...all I can say is WHY???














So after seeing how horribly wrong tattoos can go...I think I will stay INK Free for the time being.

A Day on the River...

So last year started a tradition, that I hope last for many years. My buddy was getting married, and for his bachelor party, we did a canoe trip. Had a blast, 10 guys, 5 canoes, and lets say, a good amount of beer.

So about a month ago, got a message from one of the guys via face book, and said, hey, lets do it again. So this weekend we loaded up the canoes, paddles, boat cushions, and the cool, and hit the river.

For the most part it was the same group of guys. I had my trusty canoe partner, my brother. So last year we were the only canoe not to take a trip into the water. So of course we had to talk it up. We launched at around noon. Let than an hour in, my brother is moving a little more than I like, so I say, "Hey, quit rocking'!"

He says, "What, like this"....

In the water we go. OK, that was our fault. We dump the canoe, collect our stuff, and back down the river we go. There is a lot of joking around between the guys. Just a fun afternoon. We stop a time or two to swim. With the limited rain we have had this summer, we did a lot of dragging, and looking for the deepest part of the river. At one point, we are cutting under a tree, and my brother and I lean the same way under the branches...there we go again.

Another time we were talking some trash with one of the guys as he was swimming and we were not...guess what...here he comes and dumps us again. We tipped on other time, but that one I am blaming on Keith Stone!

All in all, what should have been a 3 or 4 hour trip took us right at 7. I know it was a long day, but a lot of fun...except for the sun burn on my legs, and the bruises on my legs from tipping. But will I do it again next year? You bet!

Another Birthday has passed...

So last week was my birthday. Yee-Haw....Getting older...but I don't feel that old. Had a great party with family and a few close friends. I decided to break out the grilling uniform. Yep, that's me in my Camo apron and hat. It got some looks for passers by, but my family understood I am not right in the head. So we just did burgers and dogs. None of my true grilling talents were exploited.

And then it came to gifts...

I got a lot of great stuff, from grilling tools to a rechargeable automatic wine bottle opener to clothes. A lot of great stuff. But my favorite gift came from my wife.

Ok, I have to tell a quick story first...

When Sarah and I go to bed, the bedside table is on my side of the bed. So I have to turn the bed side lamp off every night. Well, there are some nights I get all cuddled up in bed, really comfy waiting for Sarah to get in bed. So she finally does, and says, "OK, turn off the light." For a joke some nights I will clap my hands real loud twice, and say...."Crap, it didn't work."

So as you can guess at the bottom of the gift bag, there wrapped in tissue paper...my very own Clapper! Yes, right out of the bad commercials you see at Christmas Time...



So that is not the best part. That night I decide to install it in the bedroom on the bed side lamp. It works like a charm. I am clapping to beat the band....Lights come on, lights go off...Again and again. Finally I get my fill, and drift off to sleep.

Hours later I am awakened to a really bright light in my eyes...the lamp is on. How did this happen...

During the night Sarah started to Cough..."Cough Cough" Lamp comes on..."Cough Cough" it goes out. She is facing the other way, and doesn't see the light show her allergy draining cough is producing. After being woken up twice, I say forget about it...I reach up and flip the lamp off. Problem solved.

So from now on, Sarah is not aloud to cough in twos...

Buyer's remorse before you even buy it....

OK, so as you might remember, I have told you in the past I have a few addictions...McDonald's Sweet Tea, Survivor, and Animaniacs...

But I have recently started a new addiction. Ebay! Yes, Ebay. One day at work, I started looking at the deals and I was hooked. Things from my past, like a Sega CD, Nintendo 64, M.A.S.K. toys, Ataris, Star Wars Action Figures...Man, you can find anything on there.

One day on my lunch break, I start surfing around for some of the video games I grew up playing. Not so much the Nintendo, but the Sega CD. I love that thing, everything from Sewer Shark to Sherlock Holmes....it was GREAT! In college, it was the N64. Their were several up for bid in ebay. The 007 game was awesome. I could not tell you the hours I wasted, when I should have been studying. Too many to count.

I also found my very first video gaming system, the Atari 5200. What a beauty this was. Old school, and I found one on Ebay...so I started bidding. I figured out what the problem is...it's the whole dollar or two at a time thing. Ohhh, I really want this, but someone out bid me...but it's only a dollar more....yeah, you do that 13 or 14 times, and that thing starts getting expensive. And this was the case that caused me a very stressful evening at home.

So at work I had done the whole dollar more thing a few too many times. And I was in for an Atari 5200, one controller, and 2 games....for more than I really wanted to pay. And there is no taking back bids....OK, so with shipping this is not going to go unnoticed by the wife when she checks the bank statement. And did I really want the Atari THAT bad? NO, I guess not.

So that evening, as time is running out on the auction, I am watching my phone...Yes, there is an Ebay App. 5 hours 32 minutes...Still the winning bidder. 4 hours 48 minutes...Still the winning bidder. I finally break down and tell the wife. But I justify it. I say, hey, there are some old toys on there that I own that will sell for like a hundred bucks...so I will more than pay for my Atari, and make some more....OK?

She was actually really cool about it. Shhhheeeewww, dodges a bullet there.

All the sudden my phone goes off. It's an alert from Ebay..."You have been outbid!"

2 hours and 14 minutes to go. YOU CAN HAVE IT!

So...have I learned my lesson? Nope, probably when I get done writing this, I will go back to Ebay and see if I am still winning on the auction for the "Shiner Bock Beer" clock...wish me luck, and happy bidding.

This is just more of my "Life on Ebay"...wait, doesn't have the same ring to it..."Life in Headphones"....yeah, that's better!

Time to Upgrade!

So for the last few weeks, The wife and I have been looking for a different vehicle for her to drive. The Blazer she had was getting up in miles. And it was getting to the point it was starting to nickel and dime us to death with repairs and things like that. So we decided to trade it in. We decided on a Ford Edge. We did some dealin' with our local Ford dealer, who just happens to be a sponsor on my radio show. There were a few things we were looking for. It had to have the Vista roof. No, that is not a bad Windows program that runs the roof. It is a dual sunroof that pretty much makes the entire roof glass. Eli really loves to look at the clouds, or the stars through the roof. The other MUST was the Sync system. That is the computer installed that links your phone and Mp3 player with the car. You push a button and tell it to "Play Garth Brooks" and it does. Plus you can tell it to "Call Mom Mobile" and it plays the calls through the car speakers. Really cool stuff. So once we told the dealer all the stuff we wanted...he went to work to find it. It took a couple of weeks. But then I get a call, and he tells me to come take a look. It was everything we wanted. So this past weekend, we did the deal, and now Sarah has a new car to drive. Here is the beauty sitting in our driveway.



So we are really enjoying the new car. And Eli LOVES to ride in the EDGE!

An End to An Era....

Well, it was a sad day Monday around 99.3 WCJC. For the past 6 plus years, I have been here on my morning show every day I was suppose to. Now, that doesn't include vacation days that were planned. I had to call in sick for the first time.

This was all set into motion on Friday morning when I get a call from my wife saying that Eli was sick at daycare. So my parents were nice enough to go pick up the little sicky boy. I was scared to death that I was going to catch his flu bug. And this weekend would not have been the weekend for any of us to get sick. Saturday our day was full of plans including a dinner with my in-laws for Valentines day. And then Sunday I was scheduled to sing at church.

So after getting Eli home Friday evening, and he is starting to act like he is feeling better. Good! We all wake up Saturday feeling fine. Hmmm, maybe this flu bug is going to miss us. We go to dinner, which was wonderful! As we get home Saturday night, I was getting to bed thinking, man I hope I don't get sick through the night, because I still have to sing in church.

Sunday I wake up early because I have to sing in both services. I feel fit as a fiddle. Sweet. So the singing goes really good. I will have to post the video as soon as I get it.

We head to my folks house Sunday after church, and Sarah starts to feel sick. Ohhh no, maybe we aren't through the flu. So she feels crumby all day. So as I go to bed, I feel great....until I get up with Eli around midnight. I take a drink of water, and BOOM....I feel it hit my stomach, and I know that the flu bug had got me.

I was up through the night until around 5:00am. I called someone from work, and said, "I am not sure what to do. This is a first."

So they get things taken care of, and I miss my first day of work in over 6 years. My sports guy said it best...The Brett Favre starting streak is over...but I am now back to my "Life in Headphones."