Lolo peed in her pants twice today and is telling us that it hurts to pee. We are very concerned about her getting another urinary tract infection (UTI). We have scheduled a voiding cystourethrogram (VCUG) where she is catheterized and x-rays are taken as she urinates in order to determine if she has vesicoureteral reflux which is a condition where the urine ascends the ureters to the kidneys. This can be a very serious condition which can led to surgery to reattach the ureters to the bladder.
We are really hoping that she doesn't have a UTI or especially we hope she doesn't have reflux. It would be very difficult to watch her to have to go through surgery.
1/30/2007
1/29/2007
What Do I Have To Do To Get A Secular Education Around Here?
The twins have pretty much worn me out. They are both sick again with runny noses and congestion. Atticus will not sleep through the night- always up at least once. Nevertheless, i shouldn't complain because the wife has to take care of them 24/7 and I get a vacation when I go to work.
Lolo is going to the Montessori school. I take her to school in the mornings. The wife is very concerned about Lolo going to the Montessori. I like it mainly because it is a secular education and I know the teachers well. I would rather my 3 year old daughter learn about how the world works and develop life skills than learn about Jesus. I think she should be given the opportunity to make up her own mind about what her spiritual life should be. At the age of three she does not yet have the capacity to understand and make her own decisions about something as complex as spirituality.
I attended a christian day school from Kindergarten to sixth grade and I turned out ok. I remember having to memorize bible verses every day in 5th and 6th grades and the teacher would call on each student and make him or her recite the verse from memory. Nevertheless, my education did not brainwash me and I felt like I got a pretty good education but I can't help but wonder how much more I could have learned if I weren't spending time learning about something that I don't consider important at this stage of my life.
I just want my daughter to grow up to be able to think for herself and to be critical of what people tell her and what she sees and reads in the world.
The little town I live in has a fair share of public schools which in my opinion are lacking when it comes to a private secular education. Being that this is the bible belt there are plenty of christian elementary schools. There are NO private secular schools besides the Montessori. For me, this really, really is a negative point to living in this small town.
The wife wants to send Lolo to the same elementary school that I attended. I am hesitant. The wife is uncomfortable with the Montessori method so far. I believe that it is mainly because she was raised with very traditional values. Damn, for that matter, I was too. My parents took me to Sunday school and church very regularly. My views on religion changed drastically when I was in my mid 20s and now I have absolutely no desire to attend church. My wife on the other hand feels the draw.
This is one of the areas of our marriage that needs work. It is going to be resolved by me attending church with her against my will. I will do this if that is what it takes to keep my family as one cohesive unit. Hopefully I can be there to help my children keep an open mind.
In this part of the US of A you can't blow your nose without hitting a church. Practically everything revolves around churches. The only thing that I miss about being active in a church are the social aspects. Damn, most of my first sexual experiences were with the girls in my church youth group!!! Well, of course i miss that but on a more mature level, I miss getting to know other successful business people and members of my local community.
So I guess i will suck it up and go to church and blow an hour sitting there listening to music I really don't like and hearing stories that I really don't believe (dead men raising from the grave, floods that cover the entire earth and one of each species fits on a boat) and giving money to a cause that I consider to be backed by a fairy tale.
So in case you haven't figured it out, I am agnostic. This means to me that I believe that a higher being can be neither proved or disproved. I believe that accepting the bible or any other religious text simply because it is there and other people accept it is painting too simple a picture of the real world. I believe that prayer and church attendance is a waste of my time. I believe that a person can be raised with a secular upbringing and still have a solid foundation of morality, integrity and a profound sense of right and wrong. I belive that f there is a higher being then it certainly doesn't control every aspect of my life- I have an internal locus of control.
I could go on and on but to summarize I am a lonely conservative infidel in a sea of people who accept religion without question and you can't get away from it- especially if you marry into it. Fortunately, although the wife is a believer, she has a healthy skepticism of devout believers.
If I didn't despise cold weather I might move elsewhere where there are more secularist minded individuals. I don't know if my conservative mindedness would allow me refuge there or not. I am a rare conservative agnostic capitalist. I don't think there are very many of us out there. If you are like me I would love to hear from you!!
Lolo is going to the Montessori school. I take her to school in the mornings. The wife is very concerned about Lolo going to the Montessori. I like it mainly because it is a secular education and I know the teachers well. I would rather my 3 year old daughter learn about how the world works and develop life skills than learn about Jesus. I think she should be given the opportunity to make up her own mind about what her spiritual life should be. At the age of three she does not yet have the capacity to understand and make her own decisions about something as complex as spirituality.
I attended a christian day school from Kindergarten to sixth grade and I turned out ok. I remember having to memorize bible verses every day in 5th and 6th grades and the teacher would call on each student and make him or her recite the verse from memory. Nevertheless, my education did not brainwash me and I felt like I got a pretty good education but I can't help but wonder how much more I could have learned if I weren't spending time learning about something that I don't consider important at this stage of my life.
I just want my daughter to grow up to be able to think for herself and to be critical of what people tell her and what she sees and reads in the world.
The little town I live in has a fair share of public schools which in my opinion are lacking when it comes to a private secular education. Being that this is the bible belt there are plenty of christian elementary schools. There are NO private secular schools besides the Montessori. For me, this really, really is a negative point to living in this small town.
The wife wants to send Lolo to the same elementary school that I attended. I am hesitant. The wife is uncomfortable with the Montessori method so far. I believe that it is mainly because she was raised with very traditional values. Damn, for that matter, I was too. My parents took me to Sunday school and church very regularly. My views on religion changed drastically when I was in my mid 20s and now I have absolutely no desire to attend church. My wife on the other hand feels the draw.
This is one of the areas of our marriage that needs work. It is going to be resolved by me attending church with her against my will. I will do this if that is what it takes to keep my family as one cohesive unit. Hopefully I can be there to help my children keep an open mind.
In this part of the US of A you can't blow your nose without hitting a church. Practically everything revolves around churches. The only thing that I miss about being active in a church are the social aspects. Damn, most of my first sexual experiences were with the girls in my church youth group!!! Well, of course i miss that but on a more mature level, I miss getting to know other successful business people and members of my local community.
So I guess i will suck it up and go to church and blow an hour sitting there listening to music I really don't like and hearing stories that I really don't believe (dead men raising from the grave, floods that cover the entire earth and one of each species fits on a boat) and giving money to a cause that I consider to be backed by a fairy tale.
So in case you haven't figured it out, I am agnostic. This means to me that I believe that a higher being can be neither proved or disproved. I believe that accepting the bible or any other religious text simply because it is there and other people accept it is painting too simple a picture of the real world. I believe that prayer and church attendance is a waste of my time. I believe that a person can be raised with a secular upbringing and still have a solid foundation of morality, integrity and a profound sense of right and wrong. I belive that f there is a higher being then it certainly doesn't control every aspect of my life- I have an internal locus of control.
I could go on and on but to summarize I am a lonely conservative infidel in a sea of people who accept religion without question and you can't get away from it- especially if you marry into it. Fortunately, although the wife is a believer, she has a healthy skepticism of devout believers.
If I didn't despise cold weather I might move elsewhere where there are more secularist minded individuals. I don't know if my conservative mindedness would allow me refuge there or not. I am a rare conservative agnostic capitalist. I don't think there are very many of us out there. If you are like me I would love to hear from you!!
1/11/2007
One more thing
We noticed today that Adrinne is getting her first tooth! A little hard thingy is poking its way through her bottom gum.
She rules.
She rules.
What a nightmare of a week.
Lolo finally came home from the hospital today. After four nights and two IV sticks and lots of rattled nerves our sick little girl got to come home today. Fortunately she feels much better.
She had lots of visitors in the hospital. One of Lolo's school mates named Alyssa and her mother came by to see Lolo (I didn't even notice that Alyssa's mommie was a hottie) as well as two of her pre-school teachers, all the grandparents and Mercury knows who else!! She got so many damn presents and dolls and coloring books that I needed to rent a pack-mule to carry all that shit home.
She was sent home with a prescription for Nitrofurantoin which is an antibiotic specifically for urinary tract infections. Of course none of the pharmacies in the area had it in stock. We either had to find it or Lolo had to go back to the hospital to get the necessary drugs by injection.
Finally the wife got the local Eckerd to fly it in by carrier pigeon from Botswana and now Lolo gets the pleasure of taking this nasty tasting liquid by mouth four times a day for ten days. Shit, she could have stayed in the hospital on more night and get the drugs through her IV and not had to take the drug orally but Lolo and mommie were very ready to get the hell out of the hospital.
Tonight was a challenge trying to get Lolo to bed. She didn't want anyone to come withing three feet of her arms because of the two IV sticks. She wouldn't let me change her shirt even though it was soaking wet because she refused to roll up her sleeves when she washed her hands fearing it would hurt her "boo boos".
I feel bad for the poor girl. She has been through a lot for a 3 year old!
Tuesday I took Atticus to the other local hospital for his bilateral myringotomy (tubes in both ears) . He took it very well and it was over so quickly. He showed his true colors by charming all the nurses in the outpatient center. He gets more action at 7 months than I ever did at any age.
Atticus never really sat up before this surgery. When you sat him on his bony little ass he would go immediately to crawling. Immediately after the surgery they rolled him out to me on a gurney. He was on his stomach looking up with his eyes wide open. I picked him up and sat him on the gurney and he sat right up. I don't know whether it was because he had balance now that all the pressure is off his ears or whether he felt too messed up to try to crawl, but he actually sat there for a second.
Tears started flowing shortly thereafter so I picked him up and held him until he stopped crying. He didn't cry for long at all. He was a very good boy about it.
He actually slept all night Tuesday night for the first time EVER!!!! Yay!! He slept from 7:00 pm to about 5:30 am!!! Last night he slept from 7:30 pm to 6:00 am!! Two nights in a row. Hell yes!!
The wife and I are praying to the micrognomes who live in the horry netherworld that he will sleep all night tonight and that this is a trend.
Work sucks. I have a board meeting on Monday. Big board meeting. I will be presenting my final proposal to one of the current owners of the business to buy her out. I am not very optimistic about us coming to terms. She truly has no idea what the true value of the business is and how little it really is worth.
She had lots of visitors in the hospital. One of Lolo's school mates named Alyssa and her mother came by to see Lolo (I didn't even notice that Alyssa's mommie was a hottie) as well as two of her pre-school teachers, all the grandparents and Mercury knows who else!! She got so many damn presents and dolls and coloring books that I needed to rent a pack-mule to carry all that shit home.
She was sent home with a prescription for Nitrofurantoin which is an antibiotic specifically for urinary tract infections. Of course none of the pharmacies in the area had it in stock. We either had to find it or Lolo had to go back to the hospital to get the necessary drugs by injection.
Finally the wife got the local Eckerd to fly it in by carrier pigeon from Botswana and now Lolo gets the pleasure of taking this nasty tasting liquid by mouth four times a day for ten days. Shit, she could have stayed in the hospital on more night and get the drugs through her IV and not had to take the drug orally but Lolo and mommie were very ready to get the hell out of the hospital.
Tonight was a challenge trying to get Lolo to bed. She didn't want anyone to come withing three feet of her arms because of the two IV sticks. She wouldn't let me change her shirt even though it was soaking wet because she refused to roll up her sleeves when she washed her hands fearing it would hurt her "boo boos".
I feel bad for the poor girl. She has been through a lot for a 3 year old!
Tuesday I took Atticus to the other local hospital for his bilateral myringotomy (tubes in both ears) . He took it very well and it was over so quickly. He showed his true colors by charming all the nurses in the outpatient center. He gets more action at 7 months than I ever did at any age.
Atticus never really sat up before this surgery. When you sat him on his bony little ass he would go immediately to crawling. Immediately after the surgery they rolled him out to me on a gurney. He was on his stomach looking up with his eyes wide open. I picked him up and sat him on the gurney and he sat right up. I don't know whether it was because he had balance now that all the pressure is off his ears or whether he felt too messed up to try to crawl, but he actually sat there for a second.
Tears started flowing shortly thereafter so I picked him up and held him until he stopped crying. He didn't cry for long at all. He was a very good boy about it.
He actually slept all night Tuesday night for the first time EVER!!!! Yay!! He slept from 7:00 pm to about 5:30 am!!! Last night he slept from 7:30 pm to 6:00 am!! Two nights in a row. Hell yes!!
The wife and I are praying to the micrognomes who live in the horry netherworld that he will sleep all night tonight and that this is a trend.
Work sucks. I have a board meeting on Monday. Big board meeting. I will be presenting my final proposal to one of the current owners of the business to buy her out. I am not very optimistic about us coming to terms. She truly has no idea what the true value of the business is and how little it really is worth.
1/07/2007
Lolo is one sick girl
Lolo is really sick. Her fever was over 105 F last night. She fought taking her antibiotics that are supposed to fight her urinary tract infection. She absolutely refused to take them in a little cup or out of a syringe. We had to hold her down and force her to take it with a syringe. When we did she just spit it out all over us. She was screaming as I tried to shoot the nasty tasting thick antibiotic liquid into her mouth with the wife holding her down.
She was so upset that she was screaming for her grandmother. We finally got her to take the antibiotic by mixing it in her juice and threatening her to "get the syringe" again if she didn't drink all of the juice.
Her fever came down to about 101 F after some acetaminophen. At about midnight last night I went into her room and took her temperature again and it was back up to 105 F. It is so scary! I prepared some ibuprofen in her juice and took it to her. With Lolo lying flat in bed she leaned forward to drink her ibuprofen-laden juice. After the first sip she vomited a large amount all over herself and, her bed, pillow and blanket. She was shaking and quivering uncontrollably.
I took Lolo out of her bed and laid her on the floor. She felt so bad that she just laid on the floor with her eyes closed. After I got the sheets on the bed and a new pillowcase and put Lolo back into bed she willingly drank the rest of her ibuprofen juice and her fever eventually came back down again.
I went to bed and the wife took over. Lolo's fever shot back up again in the morning and she vomited again. She just was not able to hold down food. We called Lolo's pediatrician who was on call. He asked a few questions and told us to meet him at the emergency room.
We loaded up the car and took Lolo to the emergency room. She was just burning up! Lolo is used to having her temperature taken with an ear thermometer. They did not have one in the emergency room so it was either orally or rectally. She refused to do it orally so we had to hold her down and get her temperature rectally. The result was at least 103.8 F. She was 90 cm tall. They immediately gave her two acetaminophen suppositories to help bring down her temperature.
The doctor arrived and discussed with us what he thought might be going on. Lolo was showing all the signs of a kidney infection. The doctor ordered a slew of blood test, urinalysis and antibiotics requiring an IV. Once again we had to hold Lolo down as the nurse put in the IV. Lolo was screaming "Get it ayout, get it ayout" referring to the IV. The nurse did a good job of collecting the three vials of blood out of the screaming toddler. Fortunately the tears didn't last that long and the nurses brought her a popsicle and along with her lower fever she felt good enough to play "name that color" with me.
The doctor noted that he had never heard anyone say "out" the way Lolo did. He obviously enjoyed her "Belwood" dialect of the English language. Belwood is the little town in North Carolina from where the wife hails and was reared. Lolo spends a lot of time with her grandparents in Belwood where she has picked up this dialect.
We did not expect that we would be staying at the Hospital. The doctor admitted Lolo to the hospital and told us to expect a 2 to 3 night stay. He condition can be very serious and can lead to kidney damage and failure. The wife and I are very concerned.
The doctor also told us to expect that her fever would continue to rise and decline repeatedly for a couple of days even with the powerful antibiotics that she will be taking. After she was admitted to her own room on the pediatric floor her fever spiked again at 105 F. This time she willingly took ibuprofen. Her IV was pinching at the top so the Nurse had to retape it. Anytime we touched or messed with her "boo boo" as she called her IV, she would cry. The nurse retaped it and put a splint on her arm so she wouldn't bend her arm and aggravate the IV.
It is difficult to explain the horrible feeling and emotion I feel when I see my daughter sick to this degree. I'm not normally a very emotional person. I have been accused of being the opposite, but when it comes to my children I can easily get overwhelmed with emotion. If I were a firm believer I would pray but at this point I will simply think positive and hope that further painful tests are not needed.
She was so upset that she was screaming for her grandmother. We finally got her to take the antibiotic by mixing it in her juice and threatening her to "get the syringe" again if she didn't drink all of the juice.
Her fever came down to about 101 F after some acetaminophen. At about midnight last night I went into her room and took her temperature again and it was back up to 105 F. It is so scary! I prepared some ibuprofen in her juice and took it to her. With Lolo lying flat in bed she leaned forward to drink her ibuprofen-laden juice. After the first sip she vomited a large amount all over herself and, her bed, pillow and blanket. She was shaking and quivering uncontrollably.
I took Lolo out of her bed and laid her on the floor. She felt so bad that she just laid on the floor with her eyes closed. After I got the sheets on the bed and a new pillowcase and put Lolo back into bed she willingly drank the rest of her ibuprofen juice and her fever eventually came back down again.
I went to bed and the wife took over. Lolo's fever shot back up again in the morning and she vomited again. She just was not able to hold down food. We called Lolo's pediatrician who was on call. He asked a few questions and told us to meet him at the emergency room.
We loaded up the car and took Lolo to the emergency room. She was just burning up! Lolo is used to having her temperature taken with an ear thermometer. They did not have one in the emergency room so it was either orally or rectally. She refused to do it orally so we had to hold her down and get her temperature rectally. The result was at least 103.8 F. She was 90 cm tall. They immediately gave her two acetaminophen suppositories to help bring down her temperature.
The doctor arrived and discussed with us what he thought might be going on. Lolo was showing all the signs of a kidney infection. The doctor ordered a slew of blood test, urinalysis and antibiotics requiring an IV. Once again we had to hold Lolo down as the nurse put in the IV. Lolo was screaming "Get it ayout, get it ayout" referring to the IV. The nurse did a good job of collecting the three vials of blood out of the screaming toddler. Fortunately the tears didn't last that long and the nurses brought her a popsicle and along with her lower fever she felt good enough to play "name that color" with me.
The doctor noted that he had never heard anyone say "out" the way Lolo did. He obviously enjoyed her "Belwood" dialect of the English language. Belwood is the little town in North Carolina from where the wife hails and was reared. Lolo spends a lot of time with her grandparents in Belwood where she has picked up this dialect.
We did not expect that we would be staying at the Hospital. The doctor admitted Lolo to the hospital and told us to expect a 2 to 3 night stay. He condition can be very serious and can lead to kidney damage and failure. The wife and I are very concerned.
The doctor also told us to expect that her fever would continue to rise and decline repeatedly for a couple of days even with the powerful antibiotics that she will be taking. After she was admitted to her own room on the pediatric floor her fever spiked again at 105 F. This time she willingly took ibuprofen. Her IV was pinching at the top so the Nurse had to retape it. Anytime we touched or messed with her "boo boo" as she called her IV, she would cry. The nurse retaped it and put a splint on her arm so she wouldn't bend her arm and aggravate the IV.
It is difficult to explain the horrible feeling and emotion I feel when I see my daughter sick to this degree. I'm not normally a very emotional person. I have been accused of being the opposite, but when it comes to my children I can easily get overwhelmed with emotion. If I were a firm believer I would pray but at this point I will simply think positive and hope that further painful tests are not needed.
1/04/2007
I need a raise
It seems I just can't make enough money to quench my family's insatiable appetite for cash.
The twins have been to the doctor about five or six times in the past two months and London in just getting over a urinary tract infection. Now Atticus went to the ENT doctor and he will need tubes put in his ears. The deductible on our insurance is $1000 per person so Atticus will blow his away pretty quickly. I am buring up all the equity I had left over from my last house.
But nothing is more important than spending the money on the health of my children. Atticus was not sitting up and playing like his sister. Now we believe it is because he couldn't balance due to the chronic ear infections and all the fluid in his middle ear. We also believe that this is the reason is always so cranky and will not sleep through the night. Without this surgery the doctor believes that Atticus will continue to have chronic ear infections which could affect his speech development. The risks are minimal so we have decided to proceed with the operation on Tuesday January 9th.
Check out this site to see a quick video of the operation to insert tubes in the ears called a Myringotomy. I had this done when I was a young boy but the tubes were much different.
The twins have been to the doctor about five or six times in the past two months and London in just getting over a urinary tract infection. Now Atticus went to the ENT doctor and he will need tubes put in his ears. The deductible on our insurance is $1000 per person so Atticus will blow his away pretty quickly. I am buring up all the equity I had left over from my last house.
But nothing is more important than spending the money on the health of my children. Atticus was not sitting up and playing like his sister. Now we believe it is because he couldn't balance due to the chronic ear infections and all the fluid in his middle ear. We also believe that this is the reason is always so cranky and will not sleep through the night. Without this surgery the doctor believes that Atticus will continue to have chronic ear infections which could affect his speech development. The risks are minimal so we have decided to proceed with the operation on Tuesday January 9th.
Check out this site to see a quick video of the operation to insert tubes in the ears called a Myringotomy. I had this done when I was a young boy but the tubes were much different.
1/02/2007
Just a Few Random Notes
The first night I slept in our new house (new to us) was December 9, 2006 after returning late from a trip to Honduras
Adrienne has been sitting up for about two weeks.
Atticus crawled the entire way up the stairs from the kitchen to the second floor in our house. He also is very fussy and getting over a very nasty ear infection. He won't sit and play like his sister. He has the ability to sit but will not do it. He has to be crawling.
Adrienne loves her sister. She loves to watch Lolo and frequently giggles with delight while watching her. Adrienne will sit by herself and play for extended period of time without getting upset and crying.
Atticus mostly cries when you put him down. When he is feeling well he will crawl very quickly to something dangerous. He loves to crawl from the nursery to the bathroom and pull up on the tub.
I took Lolo to the doctor yesterday. She has a urinary tract infection. She was very well behaved. She asked if the doctor was going to put a sore on her behind referring to the flu shot she had a couple of months ago.
When I leave for work in the mornings she demands to have "hug kiss" and frequently asks "You going to make me some money?" She has been asking me to buy her Hello Kitty Gummies at Honeys (a local grocery store). This morning she asked me to buy her Wolf Gummies.
Adrienne has been sitting up for about two weeks.
Atticus crawled the entire way up the stairs from the kitchen to the second floor in our house. He also is very fussy and getting over a very nasty ear infection. He won't sit and play like his sister. He has the ability to sit but will not do it. He has to be crawling.
Adrienne loves her sister. She loves to watch Lolo and frequently giggles with delight while watching her. Adrienne will sit by herself and play for extended period of time without getting upset and crying.
Atticus mostly cries when you put him down. When he is feeling well he will crawl very quickly to something dangerous. He loves to crawl from the nursery to the bathroom and pull up on the tub.
I took Lolo to the doctor yesterday. She has a urinary tract infection. She was very well behaved. She asked if the doctor was going to put a sore on her behind referring to the flu shot she had a couple of months ago.
When I leave for work in the mornings she demands to have "hug kiss" and frequently asks "You going to make me some money?" She has been asking me to buy her Hello Kitty Gummies at Honeys (a local grocery store). This morning she asked me to buy her Wolf Gummies.
12/23/2006
The Twin Trials Continue
Atticus pulled himself up from a crawling position to a standing position about two days ago. He is crawling all over the place. He can go up the two stairs from the family room to the kitchen. Now it is almost impossible to put a diaper on him. He absolutely will not stay on his back. He starts getting really pissed off when I put on on his back to change his diaper and rolls over on his side and grabs the edge of the changing table and tries to flip himself on his stomach. I repeatedly pick him up from his stomach and put him back on his back. It takes about seven or eight repeats of me putting him back on his back before I can get a diaper back on is twisting ass.
Adrienne used to sleep well. Once upon a time (up to about a month ago) I could just put Adrienne down in the crib without having to rock her to sleep. As long as she had her thumb in her pie-hole she was good to go for a night's sleep. Now it takes the same routine as with Atticus- rocking and rocking and rocking and waiting for her to go to sleep before putting her down in the crib.
Of course Atticus is still on the same routine- bottle, rock for at least 20 minutes, then put him in the crib, pacifier in mouth and he is good for sleep for at most two hours. When he gets up he then sleeps where I am supposed to... next to my wife. This method allows my wife to actually get some sleep.
During the move from the old house to the new one, I had to skip town to try to save one of our largest accounts. The wife pretty much handled the move all by her self with help from my sister who I flew in to help from Indianapolis. Thank Mercury for her! Well both of the twins got viral infections while I was out of town and in the middle of moving all of our shit from one house to another. Needless to say the wife got pretty much no sleep when I was gone.
At least now we are both sleeping.
But the new house is a disaster area. Boxes are strewn everywhere. When we need something we have no clue with what damn box to begin our search. Now that pagan holiday has arrived where everyone goes apeshit and that has piled more on us to do.
Adrienne has had nasal congestion since she was born. I cannot recall more than one day in a row when she had a clear sounding breathing pattern. It always sounds like her sinuses are full of nasty mucous. The family doctor suspected allergies so the wife took Adrienne to an allergy doctor who ran a test that told us Adrienne has a dust mite allergy. This is just freaking great.
A little about dust mites:
They are everywhere.
They eat your dead skin.
They infest your bedding and carpet.
They thrive in warm high-humidity environments (like your mattress)
They absorb water out of the air.
They regularly eat their own excrement if there isn't enough food around (kind of sounds like my offspring)
If you walk over carpet you are stirring up millions of particles of dust mite shit that stay aloft in the air for up to twenty minutes. Perfect for those unfortunate people who are allergic to dust mite shit.
So we had been running a humidifier in the twins carpeted room since they were born. Looks like we are going to have to get rid of all that damn carpet. I guess the wife is going to have to start hooking so we can get the cash we need to keep our kids healthy. I would be happy to make the sacrifice of selling my body but I would enjoy it too much.
Adrienne used to sleep well. Once upon a time (up to about a month ago) I could just put Adrienne down in the crib without having to rock her to sleep. As long as she had her thumb in her pie-hole she was good to go for a night's sleep. Now it takes the same routine as with Atticus- rocking and rocking and rocking and waiting for her to go to sleep before putting her down in the crib.
Of course Atticus is still on the same routine- bottle, rock for at least 20 minutes, then put him in the crib, pacifier in mouth and he is good for sleep for at most two hours. When he gets up he then sleeps where I am supposed to... next to my wife. This method allows my wife to actually get some sleep.
During the move from the old house to the new one, I had to skip town to try to save one of our largest accounts. The wife pretty much handled the move all by her self with help from my sister who I flew in to help from Indianapolis. Thank Mercury for her! Well both of the twins got viral infections while I was out of town and in the middle of moving all of our shit from one house to another. Needless to say the wife got pretty much no sleep when I was gone.
At least now we are both sleeping.
But the new house is a disaster area. Boxes are strewn everywhere. When we need something we have no clue with what damn box to begin our search. Now that pagan holiday has arrived where everyone goes apeshit and that has piled more on us to do.
Adrienne has had nasal congestion since she was born. I cannot recall more than one day in a row when she had a clear sounding breathing pattern. It always sounds like her sinuses are full of nasty mucous. The family doctor suspected allergies so the wife took Adrienne to an allergy doctor who ran a test that told us Adrienne has a dust mite allergy. This is just freaking great.
A little about dust mites:
They are everywhere.
They eat your dead skin.
They infest your bedding and carpet.
They thrive in warm high-humidity environments (like your mattress)
They absorb water out of the air.
They regularly eat their own excrement if there isn't enough food around (kind of sounds like my offspring)
If you walk over carpet you are stirring up millions of particles of dust mite shit that stay aloft in the air for up to twenty minutes. Perfect for those unfortunate people who are allergic to dust mite shit.
So we had been running a humidifier in the twins carpeted room since they were born. Looks like we are going to have to get rid of all that damn carpet. I guess the wife is going to have to start hooking so we can get the cash we need to keep our kids healthy. I would be happy to make the sacrifice of selling my body but I would enjoy it too much.
12/14/2006
Sleep when I'm Dead
[Whine mode on]
It has been a while since I last updated this sorry-assed blog. I think it has something to do with moving all our shit from one house to another, me traveling out of the country once again, taking care of two sick 6 month hold babies and trying to get rid of two of my seven mortgages.
So we have this big assed house for which we traded our future financial security. I have this pissed off customer who required an emergency trip out of the country right in the middle of trying to get moved from our hold house to the new one. I have these two 6 month old babies who both have viral infections and cannot sleep for more than two hours at a time. I have this almost-three-year-old daughter who is pissed off that she can't go sleep in "her" house. And lastly but certainly not leastly I have this overstressed, overworked, delerious from lack of sleep wife who somehow still manages to keep it all together. She also managed to pack all of our shit up in boxes and arranged the movers to get all of our shit moved while I was away on the ass-kissing business trip.
Turns out Atticus has an ear infection on top of his viral infection and Adrienne has a dust mite allergy (our new house has carpet.. er I mean a dust mite orgy motel.. in all the bedrooms). I knew twins were going to be tough but HOLY SHIT I never thought it would be this difficult. What doesn't make you totally insane will make you stronger. But I think I am on the fringe of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
[Whine mode off]
Well at least I have started to lose my certification of professional abstainer. Is there a full moon out?
It has been a while since I last updated this sorry-assed blog. I think it has something to do with moving all our shit from one house to another, me traveling out of the country once again, taking care of two sick 6 month hold babies and trying to get rid of two of my seven mortgages.
So we have this big assed house for which we traded our future financial security. I have this pissed off customer who required an emergency trip out of the country right in the middle of trying to get moved from our hold house to the new one. I have these two 6 month old babies who both have viral infections and cannot sleep for more than two hours at a time. I have this almost-three-year-old daughter who is pissed off that she can't go sleep in "her" house. And lastly but certainly not leastly I have this overstressed, overworked, delerious from lack of sleep wife who somehow still manages to keep it all together. She also managed to pack all of our shit up in boxes and arranged the movers to get all of our shit moved while I was away on the ass-kissing business trip.
Turns out Atticus has an ear infection on top of his viral infection and Adrienne has a dust mite allergy (our new house has carpet.. er I mean a dust mite orgy motel.. in all the bedrooms). I knew twins were going to be tough but HOLY SHIT I never thought it would be this difficult. What doesn't make you totally insane will make you stronger. But I think I am on the fringe of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
[Whine mode off]
Well at least I have started to lose my certification of professional abstainer. Is there a full moon out?
10/29/2006
god, what have I done?
Here is the house in which I curretly reside with the wife and three children under three:
Here is the house that will be our home after November 30:
I either need a raise or a lobotomy.
Here is the house that will be our home after November 30:
I either need a raise or a lobotomy.
10/10/2006
Attack of the Mad Shitter
Some people get stuck in Freud's infamous "Anal" stage.
Way back when I was a college sophomore someone on our hall started stealing the 12 oz drinking glasses from the dining hall, filling them with their fecal matter for the day and depositing it in front of an unsuspecting sleeping student's door. The poor bleary eyed student would awake in the morning to find the glass of cold turd staring at him as he opened the door. We dubbed the idiot who pulled these pranks the "Mad Shitter" It turned out the mad shitter was a senior in my fraternity. Bob Dalton, if you ever read this I hope someone shitteth on you.
It seems that the Mad Shitter has been reincarnated in a different not-so-discrete form. Lolo's big fun-thing-to-do-to-piss-off-the-parents now is playing with poop. What a delightful and fun way to spend quality time with a sweet little girl. We thought we had her potty trained but obviously she has regressed.
Over the past week she has thrilled herself three times. The first time it was finger painting on the white walls in the hall, on the door trim and on the carpet under her crib. We sternly informed her that poop was not for playing and that it belonged in the potty. She repeated back to us that poop belongs in the potty. As if to say "Fooled you dumbasses- I play with shit whenever I want to play with shit and you will run like a sissy and clean it up. I have ultimate power over you mindless and spineless dirtbags"
To prove her point, she made her next canvas the dining room table and floor. At least shit wipes easily from hardwood floors and underneath glass tabletops. Then yesterday Lolo decided that the patterns on the kitchen drapes did not have enough brown. Mmmm, Mmmm. Nothing like trying to get digested macaroni and cheese and goldfish off drapes that cost more than our car.
Maybe we can keep her in this stage for another two years. Then the twins will be old enough to battle Lolo in shit wars! We can have shit slumber parties, pin the shit on the donkey, and play hide-and-go-smear-shit-on-someone.
I gotta head out now and go buy some brown paint.
Way back when I was a college sophomore someone on our hall started stealing the 12 oz drinking glasses from the dining hall, filling them with their fecal matter for the day and depositing it in front of an unsuspecting sleeping student's door. The poor bleary eyed student would awake in the morning to find the glass of cold turd staring at him as he opened the door. We dubbed the idiot who pulled these pranks the "Mad Shitter" It turned out the mad shitter was a senior in my fraternity. Bob Dalton, if you ever read this I hope someone shitteth on you.
It seems that the Mad Shitter has been reincarnated in a different not-so-discrete form. Lolo's big fun-thing-to-do-to-piss-off-the-parents now is playing with poop. What a delightful and fun way to spend quality time with a sweet little girl. We thought we had her potty trained but obviously she has regressed.
Over the past week she has thrilled herself three times. The first time it was finger painting on the white walls in the hall, on the door trim and on the carpet under her crib. We sternly informed her that poop was not for playing and that it belonged in the potty. She repeated back to us that poop belongs in the potty. As if to say "Fooled you dumbasses- I play with shit whenever I want to play with shit and you will run like a sissy and clean it up. I have ultimate power over you mindless and spineless dirtbags"
To prove her point, she made her next canvas the dining room table and floor. At least shit wipes easily from hardwood floors and underneath glass tabletops. Then yesterday Lolo decided that the patterns on the kitchen drapes did not have enough brown. Mmmm, Mmmm. Nothing like trying to get digested macaroni and cheese and goldfish off drapes that cost more than our car.
Maybe we can keep her in this stage for another two years. Then the twins will be old enough to battle Lolo in shit wars! We can have shit slumber parties, pin the shit on the donkey, and play hide-and-go-smear-shit-on-someone.
I gotta head out now and go buy some brown paint.
9/19/2006
Aliens kidnap daughter and replace with small pissed off monster.
So today was another treat. Lolo did not want to go to sleep. She insisted that I leave the light on and the door open when I put her to bed. After about 15 minutes she started calling for mommy. The wife handed me Atticus and went into Lolo's bedroom. She emerged after about 15 minutes with Lolo crying and said "I guess she is just going to have to cry it out.
So we listened to Lolo cry.
And cry.
And scream.
For about 20 minutes.
The wife finally went back into Lolo's bedroom and the little monster soon was fast asleep.
What would life be without challenges.
Thank Mars that Adrienne is laid back. She can be put down and she will be just as happy like I am when I get a little action. Well, maybe not that happy. But she is content to sit and look around. She is able to put herself to sleep. She sucks her thumb and doesn't require constant rocking and holding to go to sleep.
Atticus on the other hand is just the opposite. He doesn't want to be put down. He can't go to sleep without twenty or so minutes of rocking and swaying. He gets pissed off if he is held in the same position for more than two minutes and definitely don't try to sit down with him if you aren't going to sit in a rocker.
How can these two be spawned from the same parents? I am beginning to think that the IVF clinic mixed my sperm up with that of a serial killers.
So we listened to Lolo cry.
And cry.
And scream.
For about 20 minutes.
The wife finally went back into Lolo's bedroom and the little monster soon was fast asleep.
What would life be without challenges.
Thank Mars that Adrienne is laid back. She can be put down and she will be just as happy like I am when I get a little action. Well, maybe not that happy. But she is content to sit and look around. She is able to put herself to sleep. She sucks her thumb and doesn't require constant rocking and holding to go to sleep.
Atticus on the other hand is just the opposite. He doesn't want to be put down. He can't go to sleep without twenty or so minutes of rocking and swaying. He gets pissed off if he is held in the same position for more than two minutes and definitely don't try to sit down with him if you aren't going to sit in a rocker.
How can these two be spawned from the same parents? I am beginning to think that the IVF clinic mixed my sperm up with that of a serial killers.
A Day in the Life
[Whine Mode On]
My day yesterday:
6:01- get whining daughter out of bed and fetch juice. Change daughter's soaked pull-up. Wonder why daughter was previously using potty but now would rather mess in her pants.
6:15- take shower and shave.
6:45- change female twin diaper.
6:50- prepare breakfast for 2.5 year old and watch as most of the breakfast is deposited on the floor and cocktail table.
7:00- drive to work.
7:30 to 5:00- work (vacation).
5:30- arrive home to embattled wife and attempt to dress 2.5 year old who doesn'’t want to put on swim suit.
5:45- take 2.5 year old to pool for swim lessons. Try not to notice young extremely attractive swim teacher in bathing suit.
5:50 to 6:24- make business calls.
6:30- try to convince 2.5 year old that it is time to leave.
6:45- arrive at grocery store to buy baby formula. 2.5 year old screams at top of her lungs in store because father will not buy her a light bulb. Strangers question why a 2.5 year old would want a lightbulb. Father wonders the same.
7:00- arrive home to wife attempting to get twins to sleep simultaneously.
7:15 attempt to give 2.5 year old bath while wife struggles with flailing twin.
7:25- attempt to blow dry hair of wiggling, screaming and crying 2.5 year old who is still pissed off that daddy didn't buy her a light bulb at the grocery store.
7:45- get pajamas on crying 2.5 year old screaming for mommy.
7:50- read book to somewhat subdued 2.5 year old as she puts her hands down her pants and then sniffs fingers.
8:00- put 2.5 year old in bed.
8:02- get 2.5 year old juice- the kind in the little green box because no other juice will satisfy 2.5 year old.
8:04- switch places with wife. Hold kicking male twin while wife lays on floor next to 2.5 year old in order to get her to sleep.
8:30- male twin still awake so feed male twin.
9:00- holding male twin over shoulder (the only position in which infant does not constantly wiggle) feel puke run down back and drip on floor.
9:30- continue to sway while holding male twin praying to someone that he will go to sleep.
9:50- male twin is asleep in arms. Attempt to put into crib.
9:51- male twin wakes up making gurgling noises. Pick up twin and continue to sway attempting to put him to sleep.
10:15- male twin is asleep. Attempt to put in crib.
10:16- male twin wakes up again. Pick up male twin and sway.
10:30- male twin is asleep. Attempt to put in crib. Attempt successful.
10:31- clean dried pre-digested baby formula off back and floor
10:35- heat meal in microwave
10:38- eat food
11:00- go to sleep on sofa since wife and female twin occupy queen bed previously slept in by father and mother
[Whine Mode Off]
9/13/2006
Newsflash - Wife reports that son has discovered penis
Last week the family went on "vacation" to our condo at the beach (the one that is a money vacuum) and much work was had by all adults present. I had just gotten back from Honduras and got to "relax" with the twins and Lolo for an entire week.During last week both of the twins started laughing. It is not a forceful laugh buy very soft and kind of understated but nonetheless a laugh. Another milestone.
Lolo spent the entire week in the pool except of course for when this picure was made. She is just too damn prissy to hang out on the beach for an extended period of time. Sure she got her ya-yas chasing seagulls that she could not catch (thank Zeus running makes her tired) and letting me bury her up to her neck in the sand. But the fun was always punctuated by a request to go to the pool. At first the waves excited her too but the fun of that wore off after the second day and she didn't' want anything to do with the salt water. So the day would always end with the wife tending to pooping, puking and crying twins and me standing in freezing hyperclorinated water catching a 2.5 year old throwing herself into the pool repeatedly for two hours at a time.
Nevertheless, I really enjoyed it and didn't want to come home.
The wife informed me yesterday the Atticus has found his penis. He is way ahead of me. I'm still looking for mine.
9/10/2006
Nancy Muniz
In Memory of Nancy Muniz
Age 45 on 9-11-01
Mother
Dedicated to her son
Well-liked friend to many
Hard-working
Human
Non-extremist religious views
A life that goes a long way in offsetting the cruelty of the rest of the world
If there is a glorious afterlife...
If there is a supreme being...
May you realize the ultimate kindness.
9/05/2006
9/04/2006
Sometimes You Don't Realize How Good You Have It
After spending one challenging week in Honduras and back and now am on "vacation" at the beach with super wife and three little bundles of joy.
We experienced a typical 2 year old meltdown today when I wouldn't let Lolo take all the yogurt she can hold to the beach with her. I am just lucky that she actually wanted to hold the yogurt in the container.
In our Honduras factory the employees are currently paid by cash. Frequently we have over $100,000 in Honduran currency in the facility on payday. People are killed for much, much less money in that country. In fact in one of the neighboring factories had their entire payroll stolen at gunpoint about a year ago. Despite the fact that we have the money delivered by armored car it is still very unsafe to have that amount of cash in the building.
I value the lives of my administrative employees in Honduras so we petitioned a bank to put a teller machine inside the industrial park very close to our building and we are planning on paying using a debit card instead of cash.
The employees revolted upon hearing that we were planning on paying via debit card. They were so upset that they initiated a work stoppage the entire day last Wednesday. After explaining to everyone why the decision was made to pay via debit card and how it would not be an inconvenince to them and most importantly of all that it very well could save the lives of some of our adminstrative staff, most employees still wanted to be paid in cash. It is very frustrating trying to implement change. It seems that no matter where I interact with people in the world, change is very difficult.
Since this happened in Honduras we were able to solve the issue very quickly. We rounded up the ten ringleaders who incited the work stoppage and promptly fired them. This is an entirely just way to handle this problem because we have the legal right to fire employees who willfully stop work without our permission with the intent of disrupting our production.
This might seem harsh to some but one needs to stop and consider that our employees work in some of the highest paying jobs in the Honduras manufacturing industry and have some of the best benefits. The unemployment rate is about 30% in Honduras so most people feel very fortunate when they have a job. It just goes to prove that the union mentality is everywhere despite socioeconomic status and education level.
I need a beer.
8/15/2006
It's a Piss Party!!!
Lolo has been using the potty to wee wee for about two weeks now. When she announces that she has to potty she insists that I sit on the toilet beside her. She gets quiet and looks up at me and says "Do you hear anything?" as she listens intently for the sweet sound of splashing piss stream. She will ask this about four times and then jump up and scream "I pee peed!!!"
Then she proceeds to rip to cushion off the potty and pull out the collection container and slosh her used apple juice all over the bathroom as she tries to pour it in the toilet. Now the walls and floor are coverd in Lolo piss and daddy gets to wipe it up.
I can't wait until she starts putting stink pickles in the potty.
The thing that really scares me is that Lolo knows the fucking golden arches!!!! Every time I drive by the local shit-food outlet she says "That is where I get happy meals." The wife and I sure as hell don't buy that garbage for her. Looks like I am going to have to get medieval on the grandparents.
My mother is getting me back for the torture I put her through. I picked up Lolo from her house yesterday and right before we got in the car she gave Lolo 3 Oreo cookies. By the time we reached home there was cream filling smeared on the back of the seats and a mixture of oreo cookie saliva paste and snot all over the car seat and Lolo's clothes.
Damn I must have been an evil little bastard.
8/11/2006
Do we really work at work?
Twins = twice the fun and little time for yourself (but I still find time to blog in the wee hours of the night). Atticus is still doing the feed for 25 minutes and sleep for 25 minutes thing. It appears as if that is about 12.5 minutes sleep for each of his chins. Adrienne slept for over 6 hours last night but saves up her poop for one big one every other day (Yay!)
Now that I have my baby blogging out of the way....
I was listening to a couple of retarded disc jockeys on a local station here and they were having people call in to talk about how few hours they actually work at work. It seems that there is a widespread virus of people who spend a good part of their day goofing off at work instead of being productive.
As a person responsible for a large number of people this doesn't completely surprise me but does distress me. I believe that for the most part my employees are hard working and don't goof as much as the perceived average discussed on that radio show. However, I do frequently catch several of my employees surfing the net when they should be assholes and elbows deep in a project or their regular work.
I have had to come down on a few employees because of this. I even caught one person surfing porn. I should have fired him on the spot but I really needed him at the time and he proved to be an excellent employee otherwise so I let him off with a warning. The rest of the offenders are well over sixty years old and female so I really don't think I need to worry about them surfing porn but maybe I should watch out for compulsive obituary reading.
The bottom line is that this behavior is actually stealing from the company. I pay a decent living wage and I expect them to give me their full attention when they are supposed to be at work.
So how many "productive" hours do you put in during a full workday?
8/09/2006
Morons Dining out on the sabbath
The opinion pages in our local paper have been kind of interesting lately. There are people in this town who go out to eat in restaurants on sundays and instead of leaving a monetary tip they leave a card that reads "Here is a tip: it is immoral to work on Sundays." A woman wrote to the paper saying that she gets at least one of these cards every time she works sundays. Of course there was not short supply of bible thumpers writing to the editor saying that they too refuse to leave money as tips on sundays.
Things like this get my brains boiling. Although I have never waited tables, I have always understood that waiting tables is a job where one depends on tips. I think most rational people understand this as well. The trouble starts with totally absurd interpretations of the bible.
If it is immoral to work on sunday then how is it moral to actually support those who do? Why go to a restaurant to eat with all those immoral people working there?
I guess if you were driving your car to church on sunday (a potentially imorral act in itself) and were broadsided by an immoral trucker delivering food to the grocery store, you should be left to die in your crumpled car because it is immoral for the EMT to come to your rescue. If somehow you were able to drag your closed minded ass out of your vehicle and an immoral power company employee on his way to restore power that keeps the heart and lung machines running at the hospital stops to give you a lift to the nearest emergency room, there would be no doctors at the hospital to treat you because it is a sin to work on sunday.
I would also have to assume that the preacher at church preaches for free every Sunday. No doubt that he preacher's contract stipulates that his or her compensation is only for Monday through Saturday. Also the assistant pastor, music director and janitor would be working gratis as well.
I have nothing against people who have blind faith from religious spirituality but I do have a lot against people who apply their blind faith as justification for hypocrisy. Living in the bible belt I see way too much of this.
I used to have this emblem on my car. A good many people had no clue as to the meaning. They didn't like my explanations either.
I could go on and on but I have to be fully awake in five hours and chances are that I will have to change a few diapers between now and then.
Things like this get my brains boiling. Although I have never waited tables, I have always understood that waiting tables is a job where one depends on tips. I think most rational people understand this as well. The trouble starts with totally absurd interpretations of the bible.
If it is immoral to work on sunday then how is it moral to actually support those who do? Why go to a restaurant to eat with all those immoral people working there?
I guess if you were driving your car to church on sunday (a potentially imorral act in itself) and were broadsided by an immoral trucker delivering food to the grocery store, you should be left to die in your crumpled car because it is immoral for the EMT to come to your rescue. If somehow you were able to drag your closed minded ass out of your vehicle and an immoral power company employee on his way to restore power that keeps the heart and lung machines running at the hospital stops to give you a lift to the nearest emergency room, there would be no doctors at the hospital to treat you because it is a sin to work on sunday.
I would also have to assume that the preacher at church preaches for free every Sunday. No doubt that he preacher's contract stipulates that his or her compensation is only for Monday through Saturday. Also the assistant pastor, music director and janitor would be working gratis as well.
I have nothing against people who have blind faith from religious spirituality but I do have a lot against people who apply their blind faith as justification for hypocrisy. Living in the bible belt I see way too much of this.
I used to have this emblem on my car. A good many people had no clue as to the meaning. They didn't like my explanations either.
I could go on and on but I have to be fully awake in five hours and chances are that I will have to change a few diapers between now and then.
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