way to go Caden

Caden finally made it to the top of the tubes at the playground at McDonalds. This is the first time he has really ventured out and gotten up into the playground. We were talking with our friends and I just happened to catch a glimpse of him out of the corner of my eye at the very top in a car, and I thought to myself that looks like Caden. And sure enough it was.

Up With The Tree

We got back from Oklahoma and Madison started in immediately on decorating the Christmas Tree. She was so excited. So we unpacked as fast as we could and pulled out the Christmas boxes. It is so nice having a fake tree (we've had one for the past two years).

Madison and Collin helped hang the ornaments and did an admiral job all things considered. After getting over the initial frustration of having kids help hang delicate little objects, it was really nice.

So here's to the start of the Christmas Season.

Three Little Monkeys Flipping off the Bed

Madison and Collin go crazy. And Caden hates to be left out...

Thanksgiving with the Family

We drove up to Oklahoma to spend Thanskgiving with my parents, grandmother, brother and his family, and aunt Jan (uncle Dave is out flying for Southwest). It's been several months since we've seen everyone so its nice to be able to get together. The kids love playing with their cousins and it makes our life easier because we can let them do their own thing. Madison has really taken to a doll my mom has. Collin has been playing with blocks and legos. Caden just follows the noise.

Tomorrow we may brave the stores just so we can get out. We're also hoping to see the cousins again so they can play together. Saturday I'm going to the OU/OSU football game. Should be cold. And loud. And fun.

Christmas Came Early

Well, you can't really blame Caden. This is only his second holiday season and he doesn't quite have the hang of it yet.

Tonight we went through our usual routine. Caden got in the bath. Collin got in the bath. Madison got in the shower. Madison got out of the shower. Collin decided to move from the bath to the shower. Caden got lonely, so he moved from the bath to the shower. Collin got out of the shower. Caden really likes playing in the shower and didn't want to get out. I tried several times, but he just didn't want to get out. So I let him stay in.

I went to get Caden a diaper. Kerry was upstairs getting pajamas. I walked into the bathroom and there it was. Caden had left us a stinky little present on the bathmat. And on the floor. And on the bottom of his foot.

Back in the bath went Caden. Out came the resolve.

Caden's pretty sharp though. He had this look to him like he tried to tell us he needed to go, and was ashamed of going on the floor, but couldn't hold it in any longer. He watches Madison and Collin go potty, and just recently has started trying to lift the lid up like he wants to go himself. We may be pretty close. Stay tuned for more updates.

Look, Me --------------------------------------------->

Another Typical Day

So today was a fairly typical day. So what is a typical day like:

Wake up several times before 6:00. Pray that the kids won't wake up, then fall back to sleep.

Get up around 6:30. Collin comes down. He takes a bath, I take a shower.

Go up and get Madison. She doesn't want to wake up, so I carry her downstairs.

Fix breakfast. Caden is sleeping in, but he wakes up before we leave.

Head out to work. Fight traffic for 45min - 1hour. Flip back and forth between ESPN Radio (Mike & Mike in the Morning) and KISS FM (Kid Craddick in the morning).

Get to work. Start preparing for today's meeting. I don't actually do any work, I just attend meetings and conference calls. Meet with teams on several projects. Try to get with Craig to review the presentation for the 1:00 meeting. Finally meet with Craig at 12:00. Make changes from 12:00 to 12:40.

Run out the door at 12:40. Stop at Jimmy Johns for lunch. Run in. Run Out. Eat on the way to the meeting. Kerry calls while I am trying to eat my sandwich, shift my manual transmission , and talk to Craig and George about our meeting. Needless to say the conversation was very short. Arrive at 1:00, just in time.

Meeting should last about 1-1/2 hours, 2 hours tops. We leave the Church at 4:45 (3 hours, 45 minutes later).

Check e-mail on Blackberry. About 30 new e-mails. 1 Missed call from Kerry. Call Kerry back but she doesn't answer. Fight traffic on tollway to get back to the office.

Check my phone and realize Kerry tried calling again, but I forgot to take my phone off silent. Call Kerry back but she doesn't answer.

Back in the office I have one task - print a drawing package. Should take about 15 minutes. 45 minutes later I've got the drawings printed and posted to the architects FTP site. Time to head for home.

Fight traffic for 35 minutes. The tollway is now open to within a mile of my house, so the commute home is much faster (although more expensive).

Eat dinner. Collin wants 2 pieces of Texas Toast like everyone else, but won't listen when we tell him he doesn't like Texas Toast and never eats it. We reach a tentative compromise after heated negotiations.

Kerry is worried about Caden because he is breathing funny. She can't decide whether or not to take him to Acute Kids. I explain that she won't be happy until she knows for sure if he is getting Pneumonia, so she might as well go. Kerry leaves with Caden. Madison, Collin and I play for 30 minutes. Mostly they want me to hold them upside down, but I insist they color to calm themselves down.

No baths tonight. Kids don't stink too bad. Up to bed we go. Collin is tired and goes down after a short book. Madison wants Mommy to put her to bed. Reasoning is pointless (she already has that female trait down). I leave. She cries (softly, more of a whimper actually). I give in and she comes downstairs to wait for Mommy.

Kerry comes back home. Caden is fine. We put the two to bed and settle down on the couch. Kerry watches The Bachelor. I am not a reality TV fan, and I need to get some work done, so I spend about 1-1/2 hours on my laptop. By the way, my Toshiba tablet runs very cool so my legs aren't even burning hot.

It's now 10:45 and I should get ready for bed. Tomorrow is another day of conference calls and meetings.

pandora.com

Jeff at work got me hooked on this. Pandora.com is a website that streams music, and attempts to fine tune the selection to music you like. It creates stations based on artists you choose, and refines your tastes by allow you to give music a thumbs up or down. The song, artist, and artwork are displayed.

The interface is simple and clean. The site is free, but you do have to put up with adds. Guess they have to pay the bills somehow.

Gotta run. It's late and Madison finally coughed so much she threw-up in her bed. And in her hair. And all over her clothes. Yuk.

google analytics

Cathy is our marketing manager at work. She told me about a great piece of google software called google analytics. It allows me to see how much traffic my site gets. I don't expect much, but it will be interesting. I can view data by geographic region, but won't get specific e-mail addresses of people who visit, which is fine.

Now if I could only think of something interesting to write, I might actually generate some traffic.

Sunday Afternoon Bike Ride

Our friends Mark and Robin decided to go on a bike ride today and invited us. We packed the whole family and all 5 bikes into the Sequoia. One of the two rear seats had to be removed, but we managed to cram everything in. We went to a park just off of 380. Actually close to the animal wildlife park we visited yesterday.

We didn't realize it but the bike route was a gravel dirt road. No problem. Madison took off with her friend Madelyn. Madison doesn't use training wheels at all anymore. Collin had his on for part of the ride.

The weather was great, the path was shaded, and we were doing great until Collin started to get tired. Then his pedal kept coming unscrewed. I finally had to return to the car for some tools. When I caught back up with everyone we took Collin's training wheels off. That made his ride a little easier, and gave him a spurt of energy that didn't last very long. Soon we decided that Collin and I (and Caden, in a seat on the back of my bike) would turn around and head slowly back.

Collin and I walked for a while. Then put his training wheels back on, and rode slowly back. I pushed him with one hand while we rode along for a while and that seemed to help him get some energy back into his legs.

I was very proud of Madison. She rode the whole time and didn't seem too tired. Sometimes she doesn't have as much energy as Collin, but she outrode him today.

After the ride we headed to a local mexican food restaurant with Mark and family. It was the perfect night - we had the patio to ourselves and the temperature was just right. There is a playground across a little bridge that the kids played at (except Caden).

Everyone should sleep good tonight.

Sharkaros Wildlife Ranch

Our Saturday outing took us to Sharkaros Animal Ranch. This is a modest ranch out near Pilot Point - about 30 minutes from our house. The ranch contains a number of exotic animals, including zebra, lemurs, kangaroos, albino kangaroos, wallaroos, wallabies, camels, and a few other oddballs like a Zedonk.

We ate lunch at the park in a pavilion and went on both tours they offered. One was a barrel train ride, the other a safari wagon. The safari ride was great because the wagon had feed buckets at the corners and the camels, as well as other animals, would come up to feed and you could pet them. I remember thinking to myself that I had a vest in grade school that felt like one of them, but I think it was probably fake.

Madison really liked sitting with one of the older gentlemen and petting a lemur. The Lemur was very friendly and had the cutest little padded hands that make them seem like they are wearing gloves. We also got to see a baby albino joey. Too young for us to touch or hold.

Collin like the animals, but also spent a fair amount of time playing with the rocks and dirt. Boys will be boys. Caden liked all the animals, but played most with the dogs that were hanging around the pavilion.

This last picture is of Madison, Collin, and a couple of monkeys, err, I mean knights :)

Halloween

The kids had a great time trick or treating. Caden mostly walked with us and didn't venture up to the doors, but he sure enjoyed the spoils that Madison and Collin shared. As usual, we started out with a group of neighbors. By the time it was over, however, we had met up with our friends Scott and Jennifer near their house, and couldn't have been farther from our house and still be considered in Northridge.

Surprisingly, the kids have not been begging for candy all day. They are actually being reasonable about their candy intake, or at least while I am home.