Making Friends While Trick or Treating

The Purple Dragon went to about a dozen houses to Trick-or-Treat with his cousins. He is not yet 3 years old, so that was plenty of candy to last the rest of the year.

The boy was ON tonight. He cracked us up at the first house we stopped at, by telling the grey-haired woman "Thanks, Grandma!" after he got his candy. At the next house, an older man gave out the candy and the Talker yelled out "Thanks, Bud!" He heard us laughing, so from then on, he offered up a "Thanks, Bud!" at almost every house.

Olivia the Pig was not impressed by the experience or by her pig snout and ears headband. Too bad, because she was really cute.

And just so we are clear on this, The Talker went to sleep with no drugs in his system, just lots of candy. And he did brush his teeth before bed. Thanks for being concerned.

Halloween Night Fun

The AtHomeFamily is headed to the southside of town to trick-or-treat with My So Called Aunt, Uncle Lemon and their kids (and dogs and cats). These guys live in a neighborhood that gets flooded with trick-or-treaters from all over town; unlike our neighborhood, where we might see ten kids at our door.

The Talker has been ready to go since 9pm last night. On the way to church this morning, he was begging to skip out and head straight to the candy-fest. When we headed home, he was upset because he knew we were going the wrong way. And he REALLY did not want to nap since he might sleep through the fun.

So in a few minutes I will wake him from his non-drug induced sleep, and we will cruise the cousin's neighborhood for the best candy in town. Be watching for pics to be posted soon of the Scary Purple Dragon and Olivia the Pig. The costumes are awesome. The Boss Lady outdid herself this year and it only took until 10pm last night to finish The Princess' costume.

Getting a Response

Check out the comments after my last blog entry, AtHomeDaddy: Our Day, at a Glance. To see the comments, scroll down, past the blog entry, then take a gander at Miki's comment.

Was I a little too hard on my newest fan? Or is AtHomeDaddy's bad mood due to the fact that allergy season has been running (get it, running, like your nose is running...) since March without let-up, thanks to a wet summer?

Whatever. Thanks for the parenting advice. I REALLY, truly appreciate it. No kidding. Ok, that is a lie, I am kidding, I don't appreciate it and I stand by my original "Shut up and go away".

I may delete the comment later, but for now, I'll do the immature thing and just make fun of it.

Besides all of that, was she OK with me drugging the baby? Does she like boys, not girls? Why not gripe about Mr Infant Drugs? Scary, don't you think?

Our Day, at a Glance

Since I can't remember the funny story from this morning, I will take the opportunity to show you what a typical day is like with The AtHomeTrio.

AtHomeDaddy - up at 6:55
The Talker - up at 7:15 to watch the end of Sesame Street and eat Spiderman cereal!
The Princess - up at 7:35

8:00 The Talker watches DragonTales on PBS
8:15 Chow time for The Princess
8:30 Backyard time. She swings, He goes nuts, I scoop poop
10:15 Puzzles and books for him, She rolls on the rug
11:15 Chow time for The Princess and Lunch for The Talker
11:30 Run to the store for Halloween costume ears and tail
12:30 Nap time for The Princess and Lazytown for him
1:00 The boy and I play cars and trucks in the living room
1:05 Naptime for The Talker
1:07 She is up (No rest for Daddy, today [or lunch])
1:15 Chow time for The Princess
1:30 The Talker is still awake, playing in his room
2:00 The Talker is still awake, but in bed
2:15 That boy is determined not to nap today
2:20 He is asleep (Thanks to my buddy, Mr Benadryl)
3:00 She is asleep again (Thanks to Mr Infant Drugs)
3:02 AtHomeDaddy mows the front yard
3:40 Back in the house, before the pediatric drugs wear off.
3:41 She wakes up to the sound of my butt hitting the couch.
3:42 She practices rolling, and balancing things on her head
4:20 The Boss Lady is home
4:25 The Benadryl wears off, The boy awakes
5:30 Mowing the backyard
6:30 Neighborhood playtime at The AtHomeFamily Compound.

The timeline might be a little off, but this is a pretty good snapshot of our day. Scary, isn't it? And the worst part, I never did remember The Talker's witty comment...

Didya know

that The Talker told me something truly hilarious this morning, but by the time I got to the blog, The Princes woke from her nap. After getting her chilled out, I forgot what it was. Dang. And it was really funny, too. Not the usual stupid stuff that you find here. I have been trying to remember all evening, but it has not come back to me.

Oh well, your loss.

Uncle Lemon, Meet Mr. Lemon

Uncle Lemon is a pretty important guy around here. He gave the Talker golf clubs which are used everytime we venture into the backyard. The Talker mentions Uncle Lemon everytime we see baseball on TV. And now Uncle Lemon has soared to a new high-status level in The AtHomeFamily house.

The story begins with an early morning run for Dr Pepper. (A personal thanks to Uncle Lemon for that one!) The kids were very good at the grocery store. As we were walking to the cash registers, I saw a bin of rubber balls for 50 cents each. Since AtHomeDaddy is a sucker for a toy that costs less than a buck, the kids each ended up with a new ball. The Talker picked one for his siter and then one for himself. Awwwwww.

The best part. The balls have faces and names painted on them. The red one is Mr. Strawberry. (He smells funny, but I think he is supposed to be scented like strawberries.) The green one is Mr. Lemon. (Green? I don't know why, it just is. Guess he is not ripe. Yes, he smells funny, too!) The Talker immediately announced "Daddy, It's Mr. Lemon, NOT Uncle Lemon." He told the cashier and the bagger the same thing. And I just left it with no explanation. I'll let them try to figure it out when they get bored...

He was very insistent that no one mix up the two. So here is the lowdown. Uncle Lemon, tall, brown hair and he may play baseball for a living. Mr. Lemon, round, green and could make his living as a baseball. Don't mix 'em up unless you want to face the wrath of The Talker.

The CYA Song!

While feeding The Princess, I let the boy watch a little bit of Between the Lions on PBS Kids.

They were singing a song about consonant and vowel blends, and teaching that once you can read this grouping, you can read lots of words that start with this group.

Today's grouping.... COA as in coach and coaster

But the entire time, I thought they were singing C. Y. A.!

Well, I thought it was funny. Guess you had to be there.

I am a Freecycler

Last week, there was an article about Freecycling in our local paper. They gave the web site to join the local freecycle chat list, hosted on Yahoo groups. The basic idea sounded great to me. Get rid of stuff that you would likely throw away, without asking for cash or get stuff without shelling out cash.

Within 5 days of signing up, I have gotten rid of a queensized mattress, boxspring and frame, that had been stored in the garage for 3 months or more and today I found someone who wants the left over wood from The Talker's play-deck project.

I was just waiting to throw them away during the next big trash pick-up, so I am glad this stuff will get more use. The only problem, no one has posted that they need to get rid of a bass boat, yet...

Pictures are for Looking, NOT for Eating!

IF your two and a half-year old has been given an inkjet-printed picture of one of his friends and he has left the picture laying around in the living room, AND your six-month old daughter rolls to the picture and EATS it, while you are trying to fix your lunch, don't worry. I can save you the call to 1 800 222-1222, also know as Poison Control.

Cause this is what they are going to tell you:

Wipe her mouth out with a wet rag

Wipe any ink off of her hands and face

Try to feed her or give her water (Hopefully, she did not just finish eating a HUGE meal before partaking of her photographic dessert)

Watch her closely for any hives or allergic reactions for 24 hours

Call back if she breaks out or if she runs a fever

AND be glad that it was only an inkjet print, because photo lab prints are worse!

Seriously, though, DON'T TAKE MY WORD for it. If it happens to you, call 1 800 222-1222. I promise, they will not laugh at you.

And please move the pictures off of the floor before you let your daughter roll around!

Hide and Seek Sunday School

The Princess was in the same nursery room at church yesterday as always. At least that is where we dropped her off and put her stuff. Evidently, sometime during the morning, she got shuffled to another room. Nobody knew about this until The Boss Lady and I went to pick her up after church. We found her six rooms down the hall, with kids who were closer in age to a year and a half, than half a year.

Luckily, it did not take long to find her. But sadly, no one seems to know why or when she was moved. Or who moved her. Once we got to the car, THE PLAN was set in place. I was to email the head of the Children's program and get to the bottom of this event. Answers would be had.

I finally sat down to email him at 10pm. It took a while to be polite, even by email. In the end, The Princess was fine and hopefully the volunteers with the littlest kids at church will be more vigilant about their work. I bet they know where The Princess is, at least for the next few weeks.

Amazing Blue Catfish

After the funeral, we headed over to Ma Ma's farm. I wanted to take a little walk around and show The Boss Lady the property. Unfortunately it rained enough to float another Ark last night, so we only walked a little of the property. Then we rode up to the tank to feed the catfish.

This is quiet a thing to see. You should try it sometime. The catfish come to the surface and swim around with their mouths open, sucking in the food pellets that are floating on the surface. Once they get a mouthful, they submerge. The Talker stared at the water for a while and then announced "That's Amazing!"

Once home, he kept reminding me about the catfish. "They were blue. They were BIG fish." I guess my boy really is growing up, though, because not once did he ask about the dogfish, like he did when we were checking out the aquarium at Bass Pro Shops.

Not a Fun Weekend

The funeral for AtHomeDaddy's 82 year old grandmother was held this morning. The entire AtHomeFam went to the service. It was a huge source of pride to have the kids there, and appropriate, too, since my grandmother spent most of her life helping educate the kids in her community.

She worked at the local school for more than 30 years and I wonder how many people she taught to read. Most of all, though, I am truly appreciative of a compliment I received from Ma Ma a few weeks ago. She frequently would let me know when she thought I was "playing too rough" with her great-grandkids. But then one day she let me know that "Whatever you are doing with the kids, keep it up, because it is working. They are great kids." Yes, ma'am they are great kids.

And believe me, after that many years of working in schools, my Ma Ma knew a lot about great kids!

Ranchero Sighting

I saw the 1957 Ranchero again tonight. It is no longer for sale. I guess the guy who collects 1950's and 60's bicycles and Ford Mustangs wanted a nice new ride.

Too bad for me. Unless of course he gets bored with one of his Mustangs. He has a nice white 1969 convertible that would look good parked in my driveway. It would be useful, too. Because if I needed to haul something big, I could just drop the top and haul away!

Late to the Bandwagon, So Sorry

Astro's Fever hit our house hard during the post-season. The Boss Lady and I watched almost al of the playoff games, hoping to actually see a Texas team go to the World Series. But, The AtHomeFamily has a tradition of backing teams that don't make it all the way to the 'Big Show'. I am sure we spoiled it for you, Uncle Lemon. If we had remained uninterested, they would have won in four.

I must admit that I have been surprised by The Boss Lady's reaction. I gave up on Game 7 in the 7th inning. She watched to the bitter end. She cussed at the TV twice and announced "I am going to bed!" as soon as the game ended. What a Fan!

Next year. We will leave The 'Stros alone , next year. We promise...

Garlic For My Kids, and a Muzzle For Yours

While a the park this morning, with a SAHDs playgroup, The Talker was bitten. TWICE! To be fair, it was two different kids and they are both younger than The Talker, but dang...

The first time, The Talker gave up the toy that the other kid wanted, and he cried a little. The second time, he wailed! When I picked him up, he whispered to me, "I wanna go home." So we took our toys and went home.

Hopefully, the other dads will get a handle on the biting thing. I imagine they were puzzled when we left so quickly. I was not really mad, I know that kids do stuff like that. But I thought it was really important that The Talker know that his daddym is sympathetic. He wanted to leave, so we left, no questions asked.

Now, I just hope that no one decides to try out their vampire skills on The Talker when the entire group comes to play at our house, Friday morning. 'Cause if The Talker gets bit, and he decides to duct-tape the offenders mouth shut, I think I'll just have to stand back and watch. And I'll cut the tape for him.

Halloween Costume Hunt

Today, The AtHomeTrio headed out to the mall to hunt for the final piece for The Princess' Olivia the Pig costume. Did you know that it is really hard to find black and white striped tights for 6 month old girls?

You probably knew that. Because I am an idiot, I thought it would be a quick trip.

The Talker and I walked the entire mall, searching every kids store, shoe store or women's store - on the off chance that we might find Holy Grail of this year's Halloween costume, the elusive black and white stripped tights. Isn't it ironic that this time last year, I was searching for fuzzy red socks to finish off an Elmo costume...

The Good News, I found the tights! In the Halloween store, Duh. Yeah, probably should have looked there first, NOW you tell me.

The Bad News, They would fit a 10 year old girl. I guess The Boss Lady can figure out how to make them fit...

The Even Better News, The boy took a four hour nap. He was worn out!

The Worse News, The Princess was NOT worn out... I was betting she would not nap today.

The Greatest News of the Day, She still took a two hour nap!

Of course, I was totally unproductive during the nap-fest. The Talker wanted to sleep in "Daddy's Big Bed", so I could not get to the dirty laundry hamper. I was sure The Princess was going to wake up any minute, so I skipped all of the housework and watched a double header.

You gotta love October baseball... Go 'Stros!

Bass Fishing or Making Deer Mad

After church, I had planned to head straight over to the lake for a little fishing. I need to warm up a little for this coming weekend. We are headed to Pop's house Friday afternoon and I plan on fishing his new dock all weekend long.

The couch was calling my name so I decided that I would be a better fisherman after a little snooze. When I woke from my cat-nap, two hours later, the afternoon was gone. No fishing today.

So I headed out front to start re-working the flowerbeds. Everything I planted this spring was supposed to be 'deer-resistant', but 'deer-attractant' would have been a more truthful label. So out with all of the chomped flowers and bulbs and in with more nandina and rosemary. Since I already have these in the yard, I KNOW the deer leave them alone. The deer don't like the smell or oils in the rosemary, so we have lots of it in the front yard. Now we have even more.

I don't really like the smell of the rosemary plants, either, but it beats having the entire herd hanging out like we are running a soup kitchen for Bambi and all of his friends.

Birthday Party Day

Due to his enormous personality, The Talker was invited to simultaneous birthday parties yesterday. And since we strive to be over-achieving parents, we devised THE WEEKEND PLAN so that he would make both of them. One party was for Sis' 4 year-old daughter, so AtHomeDaddy's' entire family would be there. The other party, held at a gymnastics studio, was for a 3 year old neighbor. After the last party at this gym, The Talker slept for 12 hours. The boy was WORN out, so we really wanted him to go to that party, too.

After the hour and half drive to Sis' house, we were going to stay an hour and head straight to the gym party. 3 hours in the car, what fun for us all! Luckily, The Talker is smarter than his parents. When it was time to leave, he wanted to stay at his cousin's party. So we did. Instead of leaving at 12:30pm, we left for home at 9:15pm. 8 hours and 45 minutes later than set-forth in THE WEEKEND PLAN.

A 10 hour party for a 4 year old? Yep. Way to pick you party, Talker. The gym would have likely kicked us out after two hours... AND, Sis provided an endless supply of Dr Pepper with real Imperial Pure Cane Sugar. Bet they don't have that at the gym... Kudos to you, Sis.

Friday Night Football

The Talker is finally getting his first dose of High School Football tonight. About 2 years too late, by my calculations. We are heading out to watch a game that does not even involve the High School for our neighborhood, but, they stink, and I want The Talker to see good football. So we are making the drive. Should be a blast, the stadium is brand new and bigger than the UNT stadium when I started there.

Football is in direct opposition to the dress-up that The Boss Lady is currently playing with The Princess. Did you know they make velcro bows for babies who have too little hair to support a bow? Well, I did not know either until 2 minutes ago. I guess The Talker and I will go watch football and The Princess and The Boss Lady will sit at the stadium and do their hair and gossip while ignoring the game. Now that is what I really remember Friday football being all about.

Somebody is Listening

While driving the kids to the Pediatrician's office, The Boss Lady and I were talking about how cool it would be to have an old car. OK, actually I was talking about it, she was saying, "Uh-huh, Yeah..." I said a cool old Ranchero would be awesome. It would satisfy my desire for an old car AND a pickup would be nice to have around the house.

On the way to my guitar class tonight I left early, so that I could meander through town, down to the university. Right in our neighborhood, beside the park that the kids and I most commonly frequent, was a Ranchero, FOR SALE! I have never seen this car in our neighborhood, but it was near a guy's house who collects stuff from the early 60's. I bet he knows something about the car. I think it was either a 1957, 58, or 59. I was not able to find a pic online that looked just like it, but I don't think it was the early 60's body style. I drove past quickly, I did not want to be tempted to call The Boss Lady and beg. If it is there tomorrow, I'll take a longer peek.

Then, pulling around the corner, there is a dryer sitting in a driveway, with a sign that said simply "Works, GAS, 2yrs old, $100 OBO". After wrestling the dryer several times last week, this might have been a wiser investment.

But, Rick has his toy cars, we have a rebuilt dryer, I am a rocking guitar ace and life goes on.

Dr Day

The Princess had her 6 month check up this morning. 4 shots, what fun! AtHomeDaddy was smart enough to escape to the lobby with The Talker before the shots occurred. We were watching Finding Nemo while The Boss Lady was enjoying the wailing.

She is 17 1/2 pounds (75th percentile), 26 1/4 inches (75th percentile) and one big freaking head (90th percentile)! Smart? Maybe if she takes after momma, otherwise she might just have a giant melon and take after her daddy.

The Talker got the quick once over, too. He has the remnants of a cold, but got no shots, so the Dr's visit was a success because of the 2 stickers and a red sucker! Afterwards the entire AtHomeFam headed to a park with a cool multi-storied playhouse. We got lots of good and expensive ideas for the playscape that will be coming at Christmas time.

Park Run

This morning, The Talker wanted to "go to the park to see the guys". That is AtHomeTrio speak for "I want to go to the SAHDs playdate at the park." So I did my daddly duty and drove The Princess and The Talker to the park. Only problem, I drove to the park that we are meeting at on Wednesday. Seeing as it will be Tuesday for another 9 hours, it was obvious, we were at the wrong park. No chance we were moving though, once The Talker saw the playscape.

He had a blast and I enjoyed scaring the mommies that were at the park. All but two of the moms took their kids to play around the backside of the park when we arrived. Of course, that just meant that AtHomeDaddy had to quietly encourage The Talker wanted to play on that same side of the park!

I really don't care if anybody speaks to me at the park. I am there to keep the boy and girl safe and entertained. But if you try to keep your kids away from The Talker, you can bet that he will be playing with your brat in a very few minutes.

It is going to be really fun on Wednesday, when the SAHDs group meets at that park. I bet one of these chicks blows a gasket when 10 or 15 dads descend or her turf. It should be a good show.

That is, if we can just remember to go to the right park this time!

Digging Deeper into the Insanity

I added more info to the sidebar tonight. Now, besides peeking at my reading list, you can see where my musical taste (or lack of) is currently running. You can see the Newest CDs in the Player and what I have been Listening to Today.

Comment here to suggest a 'must-have' addition to the AtHomeFamily CD collection.

Dads Daily Costco Run

This morning, The AtHomeTrio was moving in slow gear. We needed to stop at the appliance parts store after 10am, and I did not feel like driving 40 minutes across town to meet the dad's group at the Monday park playdate.

We ended up cruising Costco with another SAHD. He was buying, we were just walking, since we shopped at Costco over the weekend. The Talker and his buddy had fun running around the store and The Princess rode around in the cart like she was in a one girl parade. We bought some cinnamon raisin bagels and The Talker and I chowed down as soon as we got in the car. We stopped at my old recreation center, on the way to the parts shop. I forgot that kids were out of school, so we split quickly when the playscape was crowded.

One of the luxuries of being home with the kids full-time is the ability to hit popular play spots when the crowds are thin. The down side, I don't know if The Talker will ever go to the best parks on a Saturday.

Dryer Repair, Take Three, The Final Act

Dryer, DONE!

New parts installed, old parts trashed (Except the coolest looking one, it will be tortured and then hung on the wall beside the blow-torched washing machine timer, as another DIY trophy), lots of High-Temp grease and squeaks and squeals are all GONE!

We are doing a couple of very quiet celebratory loads of laundry tonight, big fun! And because I know that you are curious, here is a parts list from the Great Dryer Rebuild of '04:

New Belt - $18
New Idler Pulley - $18
New Bearing Kit - $31
New Top Felt and Glides - $30

Yeah, the parts were not cheap, but you can't beat the price on the labor. Besides that, we looked at new gas dryers, $350 and up! Mainly up...

Here We Go Again

Another week is upon the AtHomeFamily, but none of us seem to be jumping up to greet the new week. Today we slept in, skipped church, played at home, did a little yard work and cruised the aisles at Costco.

Not a stress filled day, but not really productive, either. So that means that I get to rush around tonight once the kids are asleep and catch up on house work, so that I don't have to face it on Monday. Most days it is astounding how little I get done while The Boss Lady is gone to work.

So here is to another Sunday night spent cleaning the kitchen and living room. Aren't you REALLY jealous of me, now?

Dryer Repair, Take Two

Scratch all of that stuff about me fixing the dryer in the last post. I did indeed fix the first problem, but after a couple of loads, the dryer has a new AND LOUDER squeal. But, thanks to Appliance Repair Aid.com I am sure that I know what the problem is. No, it was not my repair yesterday, that was definitely necessary. Monday, The AtHomeTrio will be off to the parts store to buy a rear bearing kit, an idler pulley, and a new belt, Then, we will dry away our days in quiet bliss. I just hope The Boss Lady isn't planning on me getting the dryer back together until at least November 1, of 2017.

Really though, what's another $60 to ensure tranquility and family harmony? Sounds like a great deal, to me.

The Dryer is Back from the Brink

On our wedding anniversary, I posted about our dryer sounding like it was dying. This is one of the nice things about 1980's tract homes. Since the dryer sits in the garage, the noise was not too big of a problem. That is until last Thursday. I was watching TV while folding laundry and I kept turning up the volume to drown out the noise from the garage. Also, when I went to get the mail, I could hear the dryer out at the street!

So after the UT/OU game (No, I don't want to talk about it...) I decided to take apart the dryer. My plan was simple. Open it up and replace any parts that looked too worn out. $40 and two hours later, we were back in business. The repair was done in less than an hour, the rest of the time I spent vacuuming lint out of, under , behind and around the dryer. It was amazing, the amount of lint that was sitting inside this machine. The service manual recommends vacuuming out the lint every year or so. It has been five years, four months and 14 days since we bought it, and I know I have not ever sucked out the lint. Have you?

Now, the dryer sounds much happier, and I am thrilled, because it is one more repair that we have handled without a repairman. Self-sufficiency in home repair was one of our biggest goals when I started staying home. While I was working on the dryer, I was trying to remember the last repairman that came into our house.

The siding was installed two years ago, but they worked only outside, so that might not count. 2 1/2 years before that, our washer broke and we had someone repair it, but it was under warranty. Does that count? A plumber was out once, while the house was under a home-warranty, but he did not actually fix anything, so I know that one does not count. The repairs were excluded in the warranty fine-print. He was willing to do the work, for $100, but we decided to call around to get a better price. One of the plumbers I called talked me through the repair and did not charge me for the advice! Seems like the parts cost me less than $10. We had him run a new gas line for our gas log fireplace, a year later. He made up for the freebie on that one! It worked out to about $75 an INCH to replace the old gas line and to install a cut-off valve. We also had a new AC system put in 4 1/2 years ago and a new roof put on 5 years ago. Otherwise, if it has been done to this house, we have done the work ourselves.

Remind me to tell you about the roofer who sung church hymns, cursed like a sailor, disappeared for a month and nailed-down shingles in house-shoes at 5:30am. His wife also helped him tote bundles of shingles onto the roof while she was wearing a denim mini skirt! It is a great story, but alas, when a mentally-ill man roofs your house, just know that you WILL need a new roof before the 20 year shingle warranty expires.

At this rate, The Boss Lady and I might be able to install our own roof in a few years!

Five Grandparents in Five Days

We live 3 1/2 hours away from The Talker's and The Princess' grandparents. Head almost any direction and eventually you will run into a grandparent. The Queen Mother and Dad to the Northwest, The Mother of the Bride to the Northeast and Pops to the Southeast.

This arrangement has certain advantages. For example, it is nice, when annoyed by The Boss Lady's mother-in-law to know that the 200 mile buffer zone keeps her from hearing what I say about her. But, the kids do not have nearly enough access to granny and gramps. This week was nice, because The Talker and The Princess saw all of their grandparents and one great-grandmother.

Of course, only one of the grandparents handed out any cash, so you others better get with it. You can send checks or use my Paypal account. You don't really want me to explain that Dad loves The Talker and The Princess more than their other three grandparent's love them, do you?




By the way, I do know that I linked to the same page five times, but the link actually works this time, so I wanted to stick with it!

Making a Milk Run, Can I Borrow Forty Bucks?

This morning, after stopping by to visit The Boss Lady, the kids and I made our mid-week grocery run. This was the quickie trip for milk, eggs, bread, Dr Pepper, you know, the staples of the kitchen. We were passing the new Super Target, with a grocery store, so I stopped there for our grocery run. When I saw the milk for $3.19 a gallon, we made a quick run through he toy section and headed to our regular grocery store. No way am I paying $3.19 a gallon for milk.

Once at the grocery store we make the rounds and grab the few items on our list. Boy, was I happy to see that their milk was marked $3.25 a gallon. Yep, passing on the expensive milk at Target sure was a good decision. No, I did not make return trip, too close to nap time for that. Yes, it is only 6 cents difference, but last week I bought 2 gallons of milk for $5. So The Talker will drink this $3.25 a gallon milk, and like it.

None of this would have bothered me six months ago. Back then, I did the small grocery runs, but The Boss Lady would do a large grocery trip every weekend. Now, in an attempt to free up more cash for my hobbies, I am starting to watch grocery ads and I am trying to shop for the best deals by going to a couple of stores. The Boss Lady says that I could start clipping coupons while watching NASCAR, too. I guess I will, but she will have to wake up early enough on Sunday to steal the coupons out of the neighbor's paper.

Another exciting AtHome Day

The AtHomeTrio hung out at the house all day, with the exception of a 20 minute park run before lunch. The Talker and I got the back yard mowed. I also got the weed-eating done while both were napping (AT THE SAME TIME!)

That wraps up all of our accomplishments for the entire day. Exciting life, isn't it? Jealous, aren't you?

Trip Re-cap

These are things that The Talker told me he saw today on our trip into the country:

Papa
MaMa
Great MaMa
Horses - One was named J.J.
Black cows
Red cows
Cows with horns
A donkey
Lucky, the cat
Two Bouvier dogs
A Blue Heeler cow dog, Scout
A Boston Terrier dog, Scooter
A Miniature Schnauzer dog
Lots and lots of trucks
"That big hole" - A strip mine
Lots of tractors at "that big hole"
A HUGE crane at "that big hole"
Bananas growing on a tree
A motorcycle

These are things that AtHomeDaddy did not see this trip:

Jumper cables
A lug wrench
A car jack
A tow truck
The tree that I nearly backed into at my Great Aunt's house

This is something I almost saw on this trip:

Bro's Uncle launching a 1985 Oldsmobile off of a flat bed trailer and over a 1988 Suburban at 40 miles an hour. Maybe, if he had been going 45mph...

All in all, a successful trip and a nice quick visit with lots of family.

Off to See The Queen

The kids and I are heading out to the country to visit The Queen Mother and Dad. They are only an hour away, visiting my grandmother. The last time I took the kids out to the farm I had a flat tire and a dead battery on the way home. But, My So Called Aunt was with us, so the car problems were easier to deal with. She kept the kids entertained and I kept the cussing outside of the car. That fun excursion was well documented earlier. Go here to read the original version of the story.

Today, We venture forth unassisted. Because we are daring adventurers, we will once again be taking the Windstar. Though this time it is riding on four new tires and has a brand new battery.

You say that is not risky enough? Have you ever taken a 5 month old baby way from her milk production facility (aka The Boss Lady) for 15 hours? Yeah, I thought not.

So sit down and shut up.

Whoopee on Sesame Street???

I think the song writers on Sesame Street may have once worked on The Simpson's. Today, Cookie Monster sung Makin' Cookies!, to the tune of Ella Fitzgerald's classic, Makin' Whoopee!

Actually it was pretty funny any I would think it hilarious if The Talker added it to his repertoire, especially to share at Sunday School!


By the way, I had links for this post too, but the software keeps goofing up the links when I upload my blog. Too bad for you...

Major Crisis Brewing for The AtHomeFamily

I have been searching for four days for a missing CD. This is not just any CD mind you, I have plenty of those. This is my copy of The Trinity Sessions by The Cowboy Junkies. A serious loss, I assure you.

See, I bought this CD right after High School graduation. It was one of my first discs. Some kids took the money they got for graduation and saved it for fall tuition. Me? I went and bought a CD player and 4 discs. Of those 4 discs, this is the only one that remains in my collection. Honestly, I can't even remember what the other three CDs were, I just remember not having enough money to buy the player and 5 discs.

Yes, my cat during college, Margo was indeed named after the lead singer, Margo Timmins. There, now you know the truth that I have hidden since 1989.

For at least 10 years I listened to this disc almost every night at bedtime. It would not actually put me to sleep. I was almost always awake to hear the last chord of the last track, Walking After Midnight. After the disc ended, I would roll over and sleep like a baby.

Only since The Talker was born, have I stopped listening to this disc at night on a regular basis. But, once in a while...

Well, last Thursday was one of those 'once in whiles'. I stumbled to the CD player at midnight to give The Trinity Sessions a listen. And that is when I discovered another disc in its place. Slot 42 has held The trinity Sessions for as long as I have owned this CD player. Now, so other Cowboy Junkies disc is in slot 42 and The Trinity Sessions has gone AWOL.

We will now have a moment of silence for my missing copy of The Trinity Sessions. Let's all join hands and bow our heads...

THIS is Why I Don't Drink Coffee...

Tonight we ran over to the Organic, High Dollar, Veggie and Free-Range Tofu Foods Store to buy a few bulk grains and rice to make baby food for the Princess. I promised The Talker a smoothie and we headed to the juice bar.

The smoothie-maker man asked me what I wanted.

"A medium Very Berry smoothie."

"What size?"

"Medium."

"We have 16s, Orginals, or Premiums. Which would you like?"

"ME DI UM." But I was really thinking, Who the hell came up with this idea? All I really want is a medium. Dammit, you can't make me order a freaking, 'Original' you power-hungry vegetarian. You're only doing this because you know I was making beef jerky this afternoon, aren't you? Eat some red meat you skinny little socialist.

"You want a 16? An Original? Or a Premium?"

I was digging in my heels for a good verbal fight to the death. I was betting I could make this guy cry AND still have him make The Talker a smoothie.

Right then, The Talker yelled "I want my smoovie!" And not wanting to hear The Talker scream again, I gave in to the skinny little smoothie-maker man.

"One ORIGINAL Very Hairy Scary Triple Stinky Tofu Berry Smoovie, please." Jerk.

And you know what? It was a very good MEDIUM Very Berry Smoothie.

But I think I'll stick to home-made smoothies and Dr Pepper. Because someone would end up in traction if I ever had to order a 'Double Grande Mocha Latte Frappachino' instead of a 'Medium Coffe' at Starbucks.

A Peek Into the Mind of AtHomeDaddy

Wanna get scared? Check out the new right side column of this blog. You will now find AtHomeDaddy's Current Reading list, a list of books most Recently Read and a listing of books that I am Waiting to Read. Currently, the lists contain 3 works by the same author. Get used to it because that is AtHomeDaddy's way. Find something you like and stick with it until boredom sets in or until something more interesting comes along.

By the way, feel free to Post A Comment to suggest a book.

Enjoy.

He Still Ain't No Harold Taft*

Last night the entire AtHomeFam headed to a park to watch an outdoor showing of Shrek 2. The Talker had been excited about getting to see the movie and getting to stay up late, since the movie started at 8pm.

The weather forecast showed a little storm activity for overnight, but the early evening was just supposed to be cloudy. They stated the movie a little early, and everything was going great. The Talker was having a blast and was following the movie pretty well, too.

About an hour into the movie The Talker laid down on the blanket. I asked him if he wanted to leave and he said "yes". But then he sat up and started watching the show. After a few minutes we asked again and he said that he was ready to go. So we headed home.

At the car, while we were loading the kids into their seats, it started sprinkling. By the time we were out of the parking lot it was raining pretty good. While driving home, I was watching for Noah's Ark to float by with The Big White Dog aboard. But, thanks to The Talker's new found weather forecasting ability, we were all nice and dry.

*If you don't know Harold Taft, then you didn't live in Ft. Worth/ Dallas in the 70's. All the cool people watched him, not that dork in the bow tie on the other channel.