tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23383762031448902082024-03-05T00:27:31.485-08:00Daddy's NookNook<br>
1. a corner or narrow recess, as in a room<br>
2. a secluded or sheltered place; retreat<br>
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This little corner of the internet is my retreat. A place where I can share with you the adventures of being a Stay-at-Home DadAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-68834926597197938472017-07-13T05:31:00.001-07:002017-07-13T05:31:27.692-07:00It has been quite awhile<h3>
Three years later...</h3>
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I honestly don't know where to begin, Its been almost 3 years since I have posted anything on this. For that I am truly sorry. Sometimes though we have to get back to the basics. I needed to take a break from it all.... I guess anyway, I'm honestly not sure what contributed to me putting my blog on the back burner. The kids are growing so fast and I have been working on myself.<br />
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Sitting here thinking about it, I am certain part of me stopping the blog was shame... <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-first-week-its-time-to-quit.html" target="_blank">Where we left off</a>. I was trying to quit smoking, but wasn't able to do it. It's a war I am still fighting. over the past three years I have tried to quit on and off a few times without success. I tried the vaping thing, cold turkey, chewing gum, and a few other ways to keep my mind off of smoking a cigarette. All to no avail, at the beginning July this year I decided it was time to quit for good. No bullshit and no excuses. In this <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-stay-at-home-dad-giving-up-after-14.html" target="_blank">post from three years ago</a> I outlined a plan to quit. Smoking once every hour for a week then going two hours between smokes the next week and so on until I was free. Unfortunately it didn't work out too well so I revised my plan. Instead of doing it a week at a time. I am not trying it a month at a time.<br />
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July has been going pretty good for me so far. I wont lie to you I have slipped up a couple times. But for the most part I have been sticking to my guns. The first few days after putting my plan into action were a little hard I'll admit. However twelve days into the battle and its getting easier to go an hour between smokes. I know the start of next month is going to be a bit harder, making myself wait two hours between each cigarette But hopefully it will play out the same way it has this month and will become easier with each day.<br />
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Enough about death sticks</h3>
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The geek in me had to, I'm sure you understand. As I sit here and contemplate this post I realize there really wasn't anything for me to be ashamed of. Everyone has problems in life, and just because we fail occasionally doesn't mean we need to be ashamed of our failures. Instead take our failures and learn from them. Mold and shape those failures into success, each and everyone of us has that ability. There is nothing shameful in failing, the shame comes from not trying. And on that thought I must take my leave of you lovely people for the time being.<br />
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Thank you so much for reading, please feel free to share this post. And I hope you all have an incredibly awesome day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-53495320298941774812014-07-14T10:35:00.001-07:002014-07-14T13:28:44.504-07:00The first week... Its time to quit!Here is where it all begins. <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/06/a-stay-at-home-dad-giving-up-after-14.html" target="_blank">Giving up after 14 years</a>.<br />
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Monday</h2>
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It's the first day of quitting smoking for me, so far it hasn't gone too bad. The worst part of it is waiting... The cravings aren't too bad though, I am able to manage it pretty well actually. I have been trying to keep busy when I feel like I want a cigarette and that in itself has helped tremendously. The worst is when I am sitting at the computer with a nice hot cup of coffee like right now. I want one, I guess because it has become so natural to me to smoke at these times. It had become a habit that when I was drinking coffee I would also be having a cigarette. But my willpower is stronger than my habit and I will stop smoking. There is no question in my mind about it, it has to happen not just for myself but for the rest of my family.</div>
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The Numbers</h3>
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I figured while the kids were taking their naps I would go over some of the numbers of my habit. These figures are based on smoking a pack a day, sometimes I smoked more sometimes less but I figured averaging it out would make it a bit easier to figure out the math.</div>
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14 years of smoking a pack a day turned out to be 102,200 cigarettes. WHAT!!! Oh my god that is a lot!</div>
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If you figure about five minutes per cigarette and smoking 102,200 in the past 14 years... I have wasted 511,000 minutes of my life smoking, roughly 8,516 hours I will never get back... Which turns out to be almost 355 days, that is close to a year of my life thrown away from smoking. </div>
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14 years is 5,110 days and figure the average cost per pack is say $4.50... Wow that is $22,995.00 I am honestly astounded... That's enough for a car or a house somewhere, and all of it just went up in smoke...</div>
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Those are some of the numbers, I am sure I could come up with some more. But right now I need to get back to my duties as a stay at home dad and get some chores done. </div>
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Tuesday</h2>
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The second day is almost over and I am going strong, keeping to my routine only smoking once every hour. Unlike yesterday I have noticed little cravings once in awhile between hours. Though they arent that bad, I have a feeling they are going to start getting worse though but I am going to fight my way through them no matter how bad they get. I am on the path to quitting and I am going to keep following it until I have smoked my last cigarette.<br />
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Wednesday</h2>
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What a day it has been, the kids think it is a day to run rampant and try and test how far they can push the parents buttons. As far as quitting smoking goes I am still rocking it out only smoking one cigarette a hour. The cravings aren't going away between cigarettes actually I think they may be getting a little worse but it's kind of hard to tell right now. I have been thinking about this coming Monday, I will start smoking only one cigarette every two hours. I am not sure how it's going to work out, I haven't made it that far when I tried quitting like this in the past. Though I am going to succeed because it is time to quit and be smoke free. Positive thinking is my best friend at the moment!<br />
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Thursday and Friday</h3>
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Things got off track.... Seriously off track, I had been doing so well with sticking to my quit plan. Unfortunately I had run out of cigarettes during the middle of the day while Anna was at work Thursday, It was seriously hard the kids had seemed to be doing every little thing they could to test my limits. Though honestly I am not sure it may have been the fact that I was craving a cigarette so bad when Anna had got home. In the end I had failed, I smoked 2 within 45 minutes of her being home. Friday wasn't any better, I was back to smoking on a regular basis and not the once a hour I was trying to keep to. </div>
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The end? No not really.</h3>
I had failed yet again, it has taken me awhile to bring you up to date with this blog. I think part of it is because I was ashamed of myself. It's a really sucky feeling to know you have failed at something you want to do so bad. I want to quit and know that I need to but it is so hard. Life has been so stressful and smoking only adds to it. I am fighting a mental war with this, and I have lost this battle. But in the end I will end the war, I have to re-organize and strike out again. attacking the problem head on, I am going to try again and succeed no matter how many times I have to try. My allies are there for me to help me through this, and together I know we can win! So today I will begin again and as I said before no matter how much I have to I will keep trying to quit until I am victorious!<br />
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To those of you out there who are also trying to quit and having a hard time, you are not alone and there are others who know just how hard it is. If anyone has fought this war and won please feel free to comment below about how you succeeded, things that may have worked for you and may work for someone else. If you know anyone who is trying to quit please feel free to share this with them so that they can know they aren't alone! Thanks for reading I hope you all have a wonderful day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-49807217911204597042014-06-01T16:18:00.000-07:002014-07-14T10:38:07.326-07:00A stay at home dad giving up after 14 years<h3>
My Affair</h3>
I've been having an affair for almost twice as long as I have been a father. For 14 years of my adult life I have been cheating not only on myself but on everyone I have loved. It all started when I was 18, I was working for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. I was young and impressionable. I wanted to fit in with the rest of the guys around me. I didn't really think it was cool or anything, it just sorta felt more like I belonged. Most of the guys I knew were doing it and I honestly didn't see anything wrong with it. I do know there were many times when I had trouble finding the time, there were countless wasted moments....<br />
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But they were always there when I needed them, No matter what the trouble was I could count on them. When I needed someone to listen they didn't say a word, just listened to my problems and we came up with quite a few solutions together. Over the years it has become more than an affair.... It has become more of an obsession. It has become an absolute need, the 5 minutes that I was able to steal away from my wife and kids. But it isn't just 5 minutes, The time adds up 5 minutes here and there doesn't seem like much but it really is. five minutes at a time 20 times a day is almost 2 hours I have been cheating us all out of everyday.<br />
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And do I feel guilty stealing this time away from us.I absolutely do, but I really didn't realize I was doing it. I don't think anyone really does. It controls us telling us we have to have that time the 5 minutes whether it is raining or shinning, it doesn't matter if it is 101 degrees or 11 degrees. I have sacrificed my time in all manner of extremes. And all just for a cigarette.<br />
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It's been a long time coming</h3>
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The thing about it is that I have been trying to quit on and off for a few years now, most of the time without any success whatsoever. It maybe easy for some people to just up and quit, and there maybe things out there who have helped others quit successfully, but none of that has worked for me. I've tried the e-cigs, the patches, the gum, and pretty much everything else you can think of short of getting a prescription for something. All the ways I have tried hadn't worked, be it because there was someone smoking around me or simply because I had easy access to them. One of the ways I had tried and had the most success was a design of my own, The basic idea was one cigarette per hour for a week, Then changing it to one cigarette per two hours the next week. And basically continuing on from there slowly kicking the habit.</div>
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I had started out making myself wait to smoke, I would only allow myself to smoke one cigarette a hour. and while by myself without anyone else smoking around me it worked great. however when I was around other people it was quite hard to make myself commit to the only one per hour rule. Especially when I would be sitting there waiting on the guys I was working with to get done smoking before we got back to working. I had fought through 3 weeks of this and did pretty well, however in the end I was still smoking.<br />
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Losing the control</h3>
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I would be willing to bet that every single person who has smoked or smokes now knows just how bad it can be for them, I knew and there were quite a few times it had crossed into my thought's while I was smoking. And even when I was sitting there thinking about it I would still be taking another drag off my smoke. The thought didn't phase me, I knew it was bad for me and what kind of stuff it could do to my body. The thought of getting something like cancer didn't even really concern me when it came right down to it I wanted the nicotine from that cigarette. No it was really more the feeling that I had to have the cigarette. My willpower had been beaten to a pulp over 14 years and I was no longer in control of my smoking habit. It had control of me. </div>
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Normally I am a strong willed person and when I put my mind to something I get it done. But I had become a slave to the cigarette. Which is most certainly not something that is easy for me to admit. However it is the truth. My smoking had stopped becoming I want a cigarette and turned into I need a cigarette, when it wasn't there I craved the next one, even to the point of not being able to wait. I would get antsy and fidgety craving the next drag off of a cigarette.<br />
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The thought just occurred to me...</h3>
When did I lose control of smoking.... Was I ever really in control of it? When I was younger and had just started smoking it wasn't really a problem to go a few hours without a cigarette, I know I didn't feel the need to smoke like I do now when I go a long time without one. Then again it could possibly be a situation where the longer you smoke the more you want it... Regardless it's something that needs to stop.<br />
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But where to start?</h3>
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I know cold turkey isn't going to work, I have tried it more than once without success. The first day wasn't so bad, I had some cravings I wanted to smoke but I didn't have to have it. The second day I really wanted a smoke with my coffee like REALLY wanted it. I made it through that part of the day without too much difficulty, but by the end of the day I was craving a cigarette so bad I could taste it. My hands were shaking, I was grinding my teeth, and getting snappy with everyone in the house. It wasn't their fault and I knew that but it just seemed that every little thing would set me off. I felt like a real... Well there are quite a few very inappropriate words I could use to describe how I felt about myself afterwards. Which we won't be mentioning here but I am sure you can figure some of them out. The third day well, The third day was torture it's really incredible how something so small as a cigarette can have such a major impact on you and your outlook on life. </div>
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The cravings were so intense and it wasn't just short little bursts of cravings like the first two days, no these lasted all day from the time I got up to the time I went to sleep and laid there for a couple hours wishing I had a cigarette, feeling that I needed that smoke had to have it. The need to smoke kept me up for a couple extra hours that night. I couldn't get my mind to stop telling me I had to have it. </div>
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Of the countless ways out there to quit smoking I think the best way is to use my quitting method. The first week, start out with only letting myself smoke one cigarette a hour, and only allowing myself to smoke outside. Then the second week only one cigarette every two hours, the third week every three hours. until I get down to one cigarette a day, then the week after NONE! </div>
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I think I can do it this way. No wait I KNOW I can do it this way I have to have the mindset to quit as well I need to program it into my mind to unravel the need to have a smoke. Just coming up with a plan to quit isn't going to work. There is a need for the will power as well. The want, need, desire, and ability to quit, it's here and I will do it. Not just for myself, though that is a very valid reason. I have to do this for my kids and my wife. </div>
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Stay tuned...</h3>
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There will be more to come, I will be keeping up with this blog and updating everyone as the weeks pass. I honestly hope that this may help someone else with quitting smoking, I know just how hard it is to do. Even if it only helped one person that would be amazing. So please feel free to share with your friends and comments are always welcome below. Thanks for reading, Have a great day.</div>
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This is my entry for the first week.... I know it has been awhile since I had originally posted this, and the explanation is in this thread. <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/07/the-first-week-its-time-to-quit.html" target="_blank">The first week</a>.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-46277921838376775152014-04-13T13:18:00.001-07:002014-04-13T13:18:45.837-07:00Fish Tails As the stay at home parent its also my job to take care of the four legged animals and the fishy ones. We currently have a full blooded Chihuahua, a mixed Chihuahua \ Miniature Pinscher, a full blooded Miniature Pinscher, and a Shiba Inu Mixed with something else. Those are the four legged hooligans we have running around. In the fish tank we have two fantail goldfish and a black moor goldfish, as well as 14 ghost shrimp and three snails.<br />
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Recently one of our goldfish started showing signs of distress black coming in on his fins and a couple little patches on his side. Since he had just got over a case of Ich and Swim Bladder Disease. I know poor guy has had it rough lately. I had just assumed it was coloring showing he had gotten over a sickness like they do sometimes. last week I was watching Doctor Who (Which is what rebel decided to name her fish.) Though I do really enjoy the show as well. </div>
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I noticed his tail fin was showing signs of coming apart, for a week there was no change. I had been keeping a close eye on him and it wasn't getting worse it was staying the same. just two little bits missing out of his tail fin. I decided to put him in a hospital tank and start a treatment with him, this way I'm not medicating the fish who are still healthy and showing no sign of illness. </div>
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There was a problem with this idea though... I didn't have another filter I could use for the hospital tank. After doing some research and some thinking I came up with a idea for a impromptu bacteria filter. I gathered material I had laying around the house. </div>
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-An empty fish food container.</div>
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-Some extra fish tank rock.</div>
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-A bath Loofah</div>
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And naturally any chance I get to use a power tool I will take it so I also broke out my 18 volt drill, and a 1\8" drill bit.</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoz3zTAta6mfUGoaKI7mkyPzuR-b3K6jaqt1R30GtkKKHRZlnvDMBREYk3XVhdTHbQJwXLplwHomeXeNuXUC0qWJuADKwcnVQU7j_ytTMHoTUtdmD3uOFQunchOFEfQHl9N0oWnB_wyTy/s1600/DSCN0641.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVoz3zTAta6mfUGoaKI7mkyPzuR-b3K6jaqt1R30GtkKKHRZlnvDMBREYk3XVhdTHbQJwXLplwHomeXeNuXUC0qWJuADKwcnVQU7j_ytTMHoTUtdmD3uOFQunchOFEfQHl9N0oWnB_wyTy/s1600/DSCN0641.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom of the food container</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9Wpp_mLzXkzPXPA92_A4Vu8QEmMPvFVbe0jwlyncJS_UL8WYBZKBaqLZBFktvEb5ANByvAIle7wGgYTdgX0jswQok3iINrPPzIS0KIiJN6YErR8-DNrm41sCCCoVFBnTIoy7KF61SIxR/s1600/DSCN0643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-9Wpp_mLzXkzPXPA92_A4Vu8QEmMPvFVbe0jwlyncJS_UL8WYBZKBaqLZBFktvEb5ANByvAIle7wGgYTdgX0jswQok3iINrPPzIS0KIiJN6YErR8-DNrm41sCCCoVFBnTIoy7KF61SIxR/s1600/DSCN0643.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bottom again to allow<br />for airflow</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjY-KT3fqVzKuEQ4-RbQnKpUcs_KQdZw7hcaGcmoD2cUz8iNrX7e0r2n9MD119S3miqFsSL_gQQ6JzSy8PnxXuhcoEt6YiaOJzk4WckiQbbOhciPERqJ-lzbLNaW8fwGGo3KJgoYrFz52/s1600/DSCN0642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpjY-KT3fqVzKuEQ4-RbQnKpUcs_KQdZw7hcaGcmoD2cUz8iNrX7e0r2n9MD119S3miqFsSL_gQQ6JzSy8PnxXuhcoEt6YiaOJzk4WckiQbbOhciPERqJ-lzbLNaW8fwGGo3KJgoYrFz52/s1600/DSCN0642.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side with holes drilled</td></tr>
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I started by drilling a hole in the middle of the bottom, since the drill bit I was using was too small for the air hose to go through I had to made it a little bigger with a knife. Then I made the holes in the side this way the water can come into the filter at the bottom. I added the holes at the top for letting water and air escape. the filter. As a after thought I pulled the filter back out and added some holes in the screw on cap to increase water flow into the filter.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgyjgIZYNJwl02i4Lxl6ndEV3Uwkc4BoqVAz7xI0nWvsaGoHjykunHMK-gD2n4gWoRVmwDq8P52jFOOuUUD7vrnVOudW0redui_9g3JF_SlAZXJ_wiJrlu3mACkmEVK_Lgm11JWwfxtN3/s1600/DSCN0644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYgyjgIZYNJwl02i4Lxl6ndEV3Uwkc4BoqVAz7xI0nWvsaGoHjykunHMK-gD2n4gWoRVmwDq8P52jFOOuUUD7vrnVOudW0redui_9g3JF_SlAZXJ_wiJrlu3mACkmEVK_Lgm11JWwfxtN3/s1600/DSCN0644.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Added rock into the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknKCGR95zWnpXmddEGErd1Bs38tZaaWVp3q0uc474-Ro-_ivhwbfZWLO_FnhyphenhyphenqB2G_1cBxX63lHAqC40cn0t61nhhEKoXgUlJpV2T6Gbkt0jFH4RcFcwCejalebnb7WEnp9jIyrRd1HH2/s1600/DSCN0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhknKCGR95zWnpXmddEGErd1Bs38tZaaWVp3q0uc474-Ro-_ivhwbfZWLO_FnhyphenhyphenqB2G_1cBxX63lHAqC40cn0t61nhhEKoXgUlJpV2T6Gbkt0jFH4RcFcwCejalebnb7WEnp9jIyrRd1HH2/s1600/DSCN0645.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And the loofah sits in the bottom</td></tr>
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After all the drilling and cleaning off the spurs of plastic (sandpaper works great) and don't forget to rinse it. I added the rocks into the top for weight and put the loofah in the bottom around the air stone. Which is where the bacteria will be living in theory...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0F6Td5zGCDWipj5xLbqoMQkl9IG03zGIeBCx2qscJ02E_u9Dxyt1LTQ_Xetp3mnSGLsRVMBlm8r8Rpko5FG05fSsbsqPDrHr9BX4Wdivk5Fs_V6VfHGUkXlyjkAah73bAWd-E5ThoNdDu/s1600/DSCN0646explained.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0F6Td5zGCDWipj5xLbqoMQkl9IG03zGIeBCx2qscJ02E_u9Dxyt1LTQ_Xetp3mnSGLsRVMBlm8r8Rpko5FG05fSsbsqPDrHr9BX4Wdivk5Fs_V6VfHGUkXlyjkAah73bAWd-E5ThoNdDu/s1600/DSCN0646explained.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The whole concept</td></tr>
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After watching the filter while writing this blog I discovered putting a little rock in the bottom as well helps to stabilize the filter, the filter had kept flipping on it's side but now it seems to be standing upright like I intended it to. I hope you enjoyed this small blog about my homemade filter and you found it useful in some way. Please feel free to share with your friends. If you have any thought's or comments please let us know. As always thanks for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-36553091863032028192014-04-07T06:36:00.001-07:002014-04-07T06:36:59.223-07:00The P***ification of the interwebs. Here's the deal, more people than I can count are using social media to connect with others. Whether it is to connect with family, friends, even long lost relatives... Be it in a group of like minded people, a group of people who are in the same situation as you or I, and countless other groups on the myriad of social networking sites that are out there.<br />
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There is a problem with this though, and that is that even joining groups with like minded people there are still going to be people who don't think they way you do. There could be things posted that you don't agree with or condone. Which is completely fine, we are all human... I think, if not would you please contact me. I would love to be the one to initiate first contact with an alien species.</div>
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Being human is to error, no one is perfect and what one person may see as appropriate another may not. People tend to forget things like this though and think that everyone should cater to their thoughts and needs instead of trying to better the whole. One such incident happened not too long ago, a post was made and one person did not agree with it. He had voiced his opinion on it, not only did the poster apologize to him but many of the others in the same group had also apologized.</div>
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But instead of leaving it as it was and blocking the thread this person completely left the group and went on to write a blog demoralizing the group as a whole, as well as the network affiliated with the group. Which in my opinion was completely wrong to do seeing as how it was not the entire group or the affiliated party who was responsible for the post.</div>
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This type of behavior in my opinion is what contributes as George Carlin puts it, to the complete pussification of america... Not just america though but also the world, I completely agree with free speech and the right to voice ones opinion, which would have been fine. But to sit there and whine about a post and and then turn around after being apologized to and write a blog bashing the entire group and its affiliates...</div>
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There was absolutely no need in it, yet this person did it anyway. There could have been many reasons for it.</div>
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1. He could have genuinely been insulted and did not want to see that kind of content. There is a block button for that and no one has super glued your eye's to the computer. </div>
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2. To make themselves look better in the eyes of another... </div>
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3. To get more clicks on their blog... Which would be the worst reason in my opinion </div>
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I am sure there could be other reasons for their actions, whatever the reason the action they took could have been a much better one, and not include bashing of innocent people or the inclusion of them simply because they are in the same group or affiliated with them in any way. </div>
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As I said earlier I completely agree with being able to speak your mind on whatever it is you want. But there is also a line there, and when it is crossed you are not speaking your mind. You are bashing people and destroying the work of others who have busted their butts trying to make a good name for themselves and others. Simply because of not agreeing with something someone said or posted.</div>
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In the end it boils down to this there are countless people using the same social media sites as you and I there will almost always be a time when we see something we don't agree with. But do not blame everyone for the actions of one person. Not only is that wrong but is also hurtful to those who had no interest in the post simply by affiliation.</div>
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As always thank you for reading, I hope you share this with your friends. Even more importantly I hope you have a wonderful day!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-3170952797217855062014-03-17T13:57:00.000-07:002014-03-19T09:54:14.479-07:00One fish two fish red fish SHARK!!!<br />
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Originally we had planned on going to the Zoo on Sunday... However it was a little colder than it was supposed to be, so we decided to go with our contingency plan <a href="http://www.dwazoo.com/" target="_blank">The Dallas World Aquarium</a>.<br />
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We got all suited up, packed all of our luggage, and headed to IHOP for breakfast, they were packed so we went back to Denny's. Had some breakfast and headed to the aquarium. </div>
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I loved the entrance, except for the fact it felt like we were walking on a snake with as mush twisting and turning as we did, and it went on for what seemed like a mile. I kinda felt like Dory in Finding Nemo. "Just keep swimming." I was excited to get there but I had to keep repeating to myself just keep walking. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WilIl5eBebh0fAV_eY4lGnrppOSz0YE8A8wdsQzdzs-cG_cGZm-USQm0sNcLXdc9BR_bmXRZXklQTBrjwqu7hc3_piY4tZVWaFaV9QVHRf0y4zaybLTZHzY1-nVW7tlywDWTNwuwO04V/s1600/Rebel+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6WilIl5eBebh0fAV_eY4lGnrppOSz0YE8A8wdsQzdzs-cG_cGZm-USQm0sNcLXdc9BR_bmXRZXklQTBrjwqu7hc3_piY4tZVWaFaV9QVHRf0y4zaybLTZHzY1-nVW7tlywDWTNwuwO04V/s1600/Rebel+copy.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a>They had big cages setup for animals, we seen some birds in a couple of them. It would have been nice to be able to actually look at the habitats they had setup but the walkway was really skinny and people were about pushing each other to go up the ramp. It felt like walking into a forest, then out of nowhere the ticket counter appeared. Almost 80 dollars to get into the place<br />
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It was pretty cool walking in and around the corner is this waterfall, The atmosphere was great, a wide open area with birds flying around and monkeys hanging out in the tree's.<br />
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I counted at least 6 monkey's jumping around in the tree, these guys here and another smaller monkey I wasn't able to get any pictures of.<br />
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This area was pretty cool, but like the entrance the only path through it was a tight squeeze. It was also over crowded with people it was hard trying to get up to the railing. I really didn't feel comfortable letting Ryder walk around even holding one of our hands. There were just so many people it was crazy.<br />
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these guys were hanging out by the bottom of the waterfall, and granted they are not fish... they do spend a lot of time in the water.<br />
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It would be interesting to see how well the ducks and monkeys got along over a extended period of time. I would be willing to bet the monkeys give the ducks hell.<br />
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Though the ducks would probably have the protection of the birds.<br />
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For instance fluffy here looks like he could probably take a chunk out of someone. </div>
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Are you kidding me look at the size of these beasts, we found them as we made our way around a lower level near the bottom of the waterfall. I was thinking it must be nice to be a gator. Nothing is going to mess with you except humans. you can chill out where you want, and if something see's you coming it Shits itself and gets out of the way real quick... Even a lot of humans.</div>
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"Happy" was downstairs near the gators, just look at the grin on him. You know he's been eating the good greens. It put a smile on all our faces to find such a happy turtle.<br />
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We had been in the aquarium for over a hour and still hadn't seen any fish... They did however have some sloths up near the food stand cafeteria area.<br />
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I caught this guy out of the corner of my eye so I snapped a picture, </div>
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I'm not sure what he was supposed to be doing. I do know however he is most certainly not a fish.</div>
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interestingly enough they had flamingos as well. Anna wouldn't let me take any home for yard decoration, </div>
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so I didn't even bother to ask. But if you ask me they would look a lot better than the plastic kind. It just came to me, what is the deal with the plastic flamingos anyway what kind of person would it take to put something like that in their yard? I would be willing to bet there are some people out there with whole flocks of flamingos in their yard.</div>
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check it out the second pair of hooters I was able to take a picture of on our trip. Aren't they beauties.</div>
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We came around a bend to see these uh animals standing in the middle of the walkway right before the entrance to see the fish. Ryder wouldn't take his eyes off them for fear of having his soul eaten. Rebel was much braver to turn her back upon them. But you can tell she isn't happy about it.<br />
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Yay Fish! Unfortunately the tank areas were even more crowded than the rest.We tried for a photo with mommy and the kids, but Ryder had seen a fish, and Rebel was also hypnotized by the tank. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Seahorses how cool is that, you can also participate in classes at the Aquarium </span></div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">to learn underwater equestrian skills and techniques.</span></div>
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Me and Anna had a spirited debate about this fish. She said it wasn't an Angel Fish. I say it is, It's obvious of the left angel where it's mouth is. If it had been swimming the other direction it would have been a right angel fish.</div>
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So far the whole aquarium aspect of this building isn't looking too hot. they had a few fish and a few different tanks. But the tanks were all small and didn't have a lot in them.</div>
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The big tanks they had were filled with a good bit of river fish. We did catch a glimpse of a manatee but it was only after someone had already shouted manatee and everyone started rushing to the glass. They had two tunnels where you could walk underneath the fish. The first one wasn't all that great. There were a couple big fish in it but nothing spectacular. However the second and obvious crown of the whole aquarium trip was the sharks!<br />
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This tunnel made the whole trip in my opinion. It was awesome seeing the sharks and stingrays gliding around the tank. There were some sawtooth sharks as well. Though it was crowded if you stayed in one area it wasn't too bad and the fish were swimming all around us. There was also a outdoor penguin exhibit. we didn't check that out though due to the cold and the crowds.<br />
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After the shark tank we came out and seen this leopard looking cat.It wasn't a leopard and I can't remember what it was, but it wasn't a catfish either.<br />
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We had a great time at the aquarium even though we were fighting through crowds to see the little bit we got to see. The aquarium may be worth the 80 dollar admission if it weren't as crowded but I still wouldn't call it an aquarium there were more birds and other animals than fish. And not a place you want to go when it is crowded. the walkways were way too small, it just felt like there were too many people in there. </div>
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We walked out with smiles on our faces and at the end of the day that's all that matters I can see us going back, but I will most certainly trying to find a coupon or something to get in with, and it will most certainly not be on a weekend. </div>
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This wraps up the three part trilogy of Family Trip 2014. If you would like to read more check out: </div>
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<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/were-goin-to-big-d-and-i-mean-dallas.html" target="_blank">Were goin' to the big D and I mean Dallas</a>.</div>
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Which is about our trip to dallas and back</div>
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<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/science-is-poetry-of-reality.html" target="_blank">Science is the poetry of reality</a></div>
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About our trip to the Perot museum.</div>
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Thanks for reading, I really hope you enjoyed it. Please feel free to share it with your friends or comment below. Have a wonderful day.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-66249453701875845642014-03-17T13:53:00.001-07:002014-03-19T10:24:34.284-07:00Science is the poetry of reality.The title of this blog is a quote from Richard Dawkins. Our trip to the science and nature museum, was one where my reality had turned to poetry. One of those that really tug on something deep inside, and though only words. It can release in you emotions from laughter to crying, bringing them to the surface. Where you can feel the author's pain or joy. Over the weekend my reality had turned to poetry, Flowing beautifully from one incredible moment to the next. I felt as a kid again running around with our children, laughing, playing, and gazing in wonder at some of the things we seen.<br />
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We had agreed to get up at 7:00 am on Saturday to get a good jump on the day, however when the alarm went off it got shut off. We ended up sleeping till about 8:30, when everyone had gotten ready.<span id="goog_1474578945"></span><span id="goog_1474578946"></span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone ready to go!<br />
Captain America shirts, check!</td></tr>
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We tried for a nice family picture three different times. This is the best one even if Rebel had her tongue sticking out. You can see the excitement all of us are ready to go, we had breakfast at Denny's then headed to the Perot Science and Nature Museum. Parking sucked because there was nothing close. The museum had signs up saying it was sold out until noon. We had to walk about two blocks so it wasn't too bad.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching and waiting they were both so anxious. </td></tr>
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After we got our tickets it was just a matter of waiting in line for 10 minutes because they weren't letting in the 12:00 crowd yet. They had some pretty cool stuff set up in the waiting area. A fossil dig to keep the kids entertained. They also had a couple of small exhibits in the waiting area. They also had a place that give's you a tablet to take with you through the museum. We didn't try it out because we didn't see it till we were on the way out. On our next trip we'll be getting one for sure. </div>
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For every action there is a reaction... The action we slept till 8:30 and got a late start, the reaction was us getting to the museum 10 minutes before they opened the gates. If we had left out on time we would have waited over a hour to get in. I love it when a plan fall's into place, and yes I did plan it right after the alarm went off at seven I planned to sleep some more. </div>
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The highest Ryder had ever been, We took a escalator train to the fourth floor. I say escalator train because it was three different escalators which you had to take straight to the top. and there was none coming down either. The layout was designed to start your tour at the top of the building then work your way down. Going through all the exhibits as you go.<br />
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First up was our trip through space. In the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/expanding-universe-hall.html" target="_blank">Expanding Universe Hall</a>. Our trip through the final frontier!</h4>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mommy teaching about Gravity.</td></tr>
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We learned about gravity and how a ball spinning would affect gravitational pull. and the staff was awesome there was alw<br />
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ays someone close by who was glad to help you or talk with you about the exhibit.The kids got to do an experiment with two steel balls where turning the wheel would bring one of the steel balls to the top and it would slide down a ramp onto the other one which you put a piece of paper over. After the ball dropped and hit the other one you could pull out the paper and smell a burnt smell from the transfer of energy. Pretty frigging neat if you ask me.<br />
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Rebel and Ryder seeing how kinetic energy works.</div>
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They also had many other thing's to see and do, including a little planetarium. It looks like a command post on a space station with all of the other exhibits floating around outside. My only problem was they didn't have a whole lot of stuff to do or see in this area, and it was so crowded from everyone being let into the museum with even more coming up the escalators constantly. </div>
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<span style="text-align: center;">After the space exhibit we made our way to the </span><a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/t-boone-pickens-life-then-and-now-hall-.html" style="text-align: center;" target="_blank">T. Boone Pickens, life then and now hall</a><span style="text-align: center;">. </span></h4>
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I think this was Ryder's favorite exhibit, Rebel was also staring around at all the old fossils and bones. It was awesome to watch the new discoveries in their eye's, and the shear size of the dinosaurs boggled Rebel's mind. She couldn't believe how big they were. Ryder even tried climbing into the exhibit, no fear in that boy. </div>
An amazing assortment of prehistoric skeletons, from Wooly Mammoth to a huge T-Rex, an Alamosaurus. The Alamosaurus is the really big guy standing next to the T-Rex. We also had the chance to see some pretty cool sea life skeletons as well, but this side of the hall was pretty crowded so I wasn't able to get any good pictures.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7kxm_AYQCntIsa-l_Is627ka4MxH_dfXQwq-o2JhFzJjZ35gRAnhSWtRsUYAzWuVT3CYOoj9IcMmUNDQlSEpfIB2Xxp1dWaHdWwnT5iQ9swyXXfs7e0lr4_lHJgC36lYRpSYmLIzJeo1/s1600/dinofoot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7kxm_AYQCntIsa-l_Is627ka4MxH_dfXQwq-o2JhFzJjZ35gRAnhSWtRsUYAzWuVT3CYOoj9IcMmUNDQlSEpfIB2Xxp1dWaHdWwnT5iQ9swyXXfs7e0lr4_lHJgC36lYRpSYmLIzJeo1/s1600/dinofoot.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velociraptor foot print</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The Fossils were incredible, from Nautilus shells to Velociraptor foot prints. Just look at that and tell me you wouldn't crap your pants if you came across a fresh foot print like that, it's almost bigger than my son. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wOVj9WEVpAnO9wRidxlTsPq1nLsiOkEo9qyUGCdielLf5Xzz0SAeuilkWSARAP8HHsFBg4qxb3yyTzT8sawGpgZQS1RwIPMFslg9jebtr0SYuE5_aTGF1oUl12BA7qn5Ex8GA7iNGAim/s1600/reindeergophercougar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_wOVj9WEVpAnO9wRidxlTsPq1nLsiOkEo9qyUGCdielLf5Xzz0SAeuilkWSARAP8HHsFBg4qxb3yyTzT8sawGpgZQS1RwIPMFslg9jebtr0SYuE5_aTGF1oUl12BA7qn5Ex8GA7iNGAim/s1600/reindeergophercougar.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Reindeer, Gophers, and Cougar.</td></tr>
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Walking around this hall was great, alot of stuff to see and do. We got up close and personal with quite a few exhibit's. Included with all of the bones and fossils are taxidermy of living animals. the mountain lion who is waiting for one of the children to run away from their parents so he could have a snack. Tell your kids that and they will stick close to you! I wish I would have thought of that when we were there. </div>
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A Reindeer, we now know what they do when they are not pulling santa's sleigh. Apparently he doesn't pay to well and they have to come stand in a museum for a supplemental income. </div>
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The teenage partying gophers were there as well. If you notice just like teenagers the gophers have a lookout, usually the youngest of the group gets bullied into such a job. While the other two lay around and have a good time.</div>
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The layout in this hall was bigger than the expanding universe hall, a lot more open and freedom to move. It was still crowded though, It would have been more enjoyable if it hadn't had so many people in there. I would have been able to get more and better pictures as well.</div>
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Next stop <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/rose-hall-of-birds.html" target="_blank">Rose Hall of Birds</a>:</div>
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Where you can fly like an Eagle! No not really but almost, They have a exhibit that has multiple stations where you can create your very own bird. Choose the body type, what kind of wings your bird will have. Even the feathers, what your bird will sound like, and what they like to eat. Then you can stand in front of a big monitor and you can fly with the bird you created. We didn't do this but there was plenty of other things to see in the hall. We didn't spend much time here though. It was a small hall and quite crowded. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJXQmQIJOY17Kmq18Oa2u1fpgQ8mEVtKwHQoqh_Ues1Q8UeAJqyvG66BSUI38CaXvDSuqnHb4dILbpF6Dcs2LZEZ33gTPSb0jiZBfanBm4SMEQP4cXwWvPAMk80saOcOD3SJHKAZVWuy-/s1600/birdhall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqJXQmQIJOY17Kmq18Oa2u1fpgQ8mEVtKwHQoqh_Ues1Q8UeAJqyvG66BSUI38CaXvDSuqnHb4dILbpF6Dcs2LZEZ33gTPSb0jiZBfanBm4SMEQP4cXwWvPAMk80saOcOD3SJHKAZVWuy-/s1600/birdhall.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder: "BIRDSSS! See it? see BIRDS!"<br />
Rebel tried the bird maker but got bored waiting in lines.</td></tr>
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We fought through the crowds to get to the elevator, it was time for mommy and daddy to take a break from walking. Yeah like that's going to happen, but we headed down to the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/childrens-museum.html" target="_blank">Moody Family Children's Museum</a>. To let them get rid of some of that energy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3o53n0oBiEQ4YWChRJpPXyHxvh5P8XqUJI2OxDCfBLLeRKBaa5rk3Sw312G4ei8M8MbDKZgbKjzAn2lEvV_KjxexXerua8N2V4XBEJuE2h8CIwf1iXwKZPjeIU40qZreGRAW_lzayQK3/s1600/childrensmuseum.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3o53n0oBiEQ4YWChRJpPXyHxvh5P8XqUJI2OxDCfBLLeRKBaa5rk3Sw312G4ei8M8MbDKZgbKjzAn2lEvV_KjxexXerua8N2V4XBEJuE2h8CIwf1iXwKZPjeIU40qZreGRAW_lzayQK3/s1600/childrensmuseum.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are for you daddy.<br />
Crossing into the Fun.<br />
Climbing to new height's.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me & Rebel</td></tr>
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The children's museum was mainly for smaller children, but bigger kids were allowed as long as they watched out for the younger ones. There were places to sit inside the the climbing area, as well as outside of it. A truly wonderful place even though we never got the chance to actually sit down. We still had a blast.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Daddy & Mommy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglToV4coeHTYuuNj5MyHjPzZfHd95P34cHbN5KDlsEgravOj3vHXnYC62NmtTU4I5-MZK0FEnu9lhyphenhyphenxxPcN_1h_rzreI1fKRJgULzmu6yyT6jyQDflC-At4oOUIt2s-5jqK2RG4KbRQSam/s1600/menryder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglToV4coeHTYuuNj5MyHjPzZfHd95P34cHbN5KDlsEgravOj3vHXnYC62NmtTU4I5-MZK0FEnu9lhyphenhyphenxxPcN_1h_rzreI1fKRJgULzmu6yyT6jyQDflC-At4oOUIt2s-5jqK2RG4KbRQSam/s1600/menryder.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me & Ryder</td></tr>
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It also had a little grocery store for the kids to play in and some sort of water activity. I wasn't able to get a good look at it though. All of the kids in the children's museum were running around like a bunch of wild apes. It was kind of scary, I noticed the kids outnumbered the adults. They could easily overtake us tying us all up and leaving us in the play area. Taking over the museum and then the world...<br />
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The impending doom of us being over thrown by some temper tantrum tyrants averted, it's time for a movie.. Not just any movie though, a movie in 3-D. Titans of the ice age !!! We even got the goofy glasses. Neither Rebel or Ryder had ever seen a movie in 3-D before.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVsH8jM7G6ZpnqeW_v5-H2_L8NxnWbGO5MZ-Mo0Ds0IEtXbEoVDGlV2r5iwvqCEWtMr8lZ05qLY_m2Ig_kryp43hQck6QIGIPMMJGpNOxLXxCXNfEWOlnd0-tP2QwqSShIL0BoQDQUtgO/s1600/3-d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjVsH8jM7G6ZpnqeW_v5-H2_L8NxnWbGO5MZ-Mo0Ds0IEtXbEoVDGlV2r5iwvqCEWtMr8lZ05qLY_m2Ig_kryp43hQck6QIGIPMMJGpNOxLXxCXNfEWOlnd0-tP2QwqSShIL0BoQDQUtgO/s1600/3-d.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us decked out in our cool 3-D glasses...<br />
well almost all of us. Ryder didn't want anything to do with them.</td></tr>
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Rebel was absolutely blown away trying to grab the snowflake that seemed to float right in front of her face. I even seen her jump back when the Owl swooped toward our faces. Ryder however wasn't so interested in the movie and we spent most of the movie playing, up and down try to get around. I love that game... He was interested though when they showed the Woolly Mammoths. He missed out on a whole other dimension though poor guy. The movie was about the discovery of a baby woolly mammoth found in Russia almost perfectly preserved. How they migrated across the land bridge that formed during the ice age. What areas they lived in and how they survived. It also showed the eventual down fall of the woolly's.</div>
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The movie was cool and the 3-D effects have come a long way since the last time I put on a pair of blue and red 3-D glasses. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. To make it even better, we finally get to sit, YAY! After the movie we went to have lunch in the museum cafeteria. I had expected the food to be over priced, but it was a little on the ridiculous side. Trip planning tip, if you plan on eating and don't want to spend $30 on two pieces of pizza, a burger, sweet potato fries, dessert bar, a drink for the kids, and a warm coke. Then pack a lunch, which is what we should have done. On our next trip I am going to be packing lunches for us. I figured we spent well over $200 just on food, Which don't get me wrong I loved not having to cook or wash the dishes, but I think it would have been worth the hassle of packing our food. </div>
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After lunch we played outside for a little bit Rebel and Ryder jammed out with the musical instruments in front of the museum. Quite surprising was the fact that the outside exhibits weren't crowded, there were a few people out there with their kids. It was a little on the chilly side which probably had something to do with that. In front of the museum there was a music exhibit, there was a area for the kids to play in water... I'm still trying to figure out why they would want kids to play in water then go into a museum, that doesn't make much sense if you ask me. And they also had a area filled with frogs. Not just any frogs, these things are frogzilla's. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder and Rebel playing the rock chimes<br />
Rebel rocking out on the xylophone.</td></tr>
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Rebel was into the Xylophones, they both thought the rock chimes was the coolest. They both stood there putting rocks in the top and listening to them fall down over the chimes.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with frogzilla!</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: center;">When I let Rebel go she was all over the place. running and jumping, climbing all over the frogs. </span><span style="text-align: center;">Ryder was running around but he didn't like climbing on frogzilla. but he did like climbing the frog heads that were sticking out of the ground.</span><br />
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I love being able to sit back and watch how they act when playing. You can see the shear joy on their faces when they are running and jumping. I often wish I could get that excitement back. I have a wonderful life with a great wife and two amazing kids. We always have fun, but there is something about being a kid, so carefree, having the ability to see beauty and wonder in everything. Which we lose as adults. It would be nice to have that freedom again. We have those moments when we "feel like a kid again" and I get the excitement associated with it, I had quite a few of those moments on this trip. However I don't think it felt the same as it would have if I was a kid, is it something we could get back or is it lost to us adults forever...<br />
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Children's energy levels now down to a manageable level, and a little reflection on life contemplated. We head back inside to finish the rest of our museum experience. Next stop <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/discovering-life-hall.html" target="_blank">Discovering Life Hall</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Run away from your parents kid we dare you."</td></tr>
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The first thing we see when we walk in are the big cats on top of the display. Another missed opportunity to explain to the children that they are on guard to make sure kids don't run too far away from their parents. Also while exploring this hall I also learned a lesson. Don't tell your daughter to crawl inside a log to take a picture. Then turn to your wife and say "where's Rebel?" and just assume she seen you nod your head to the log... I am really sorry about almost giving you a heart attack my love. When the miniature heart attack was over and Rebel was "found", we got to look around. There was all different kinds of wildlife. Foxes, bears, peacocks, possums, and a lot more.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What did the Fox say?<br />
"bow-ties are cool.!" </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look Guys HOOTERS!!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> There wasn't a whole lot of hands on stuff here, almost all of it was enclosed in display glass. but it was still pretty cool looking at all the taxidermy and reading about all of the animals.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppIJ-9dPuyRpdrscFXhdqp2LNtpvUOS8mgjgujakCaF_-6fxjlRcsvdZmK963bL81VxWXVKPg65C45MJMsEpGLp9ZM-pnRcP9AQwxdy-VNCHtMLtPEXYj82FDYQho4OP38mwxrsnHQWqR/s1600/bigtruck+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhppIJ-9dPuyRpdrscFXhdqp2LNtpvUOS8mgjgujakCaF_-6fxjlRcsvdZmK963bL81VxWXVKPg65C45MJMsEpGLp9ZM-pnRcP9AQwxdy-VNCHtMLtPEXYj82FDYQho4OP38mwxrsnHQWqR/s1600/bigtruck+copy.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">pretty close to the same face he made<br />
when the bear was going to eat his head.</td></tr>
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A great hall to visit it was open and even with a lot of people in there we were able to move around without bumping into too many people. I am really starting to notice a trend going here, it's seeming to me that almost every hall is packed.</div>
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When we had learned all that we could, we made our way around to the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/being-human-hall.html" target="_blank">Being Human Hall</a>. This one was pretty cool, from being able to see things on the microscopic level to slices of the human body!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mipX6_EfT-AkZt1DAdn72GsR5Fqexf7sO3l4zcVEcas5jmM8_dELkvDr0vFnEO0GTBJxPSYes-TiMbR3OK1AvVWg-ywcDtv0aJo9qCvOo-o6mnZtQvaLnv32fXyhWU_9Ils0BCGgW8fD/s1600/beinghuman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1mipX6_EfT-AkZt1DAdn72GsR5Fqexf7sO3l4zcVEcas5jmM8_dELkvDr0vFnEO0GTBJxPSYes-TiMbR3OK1AvVWg-ywcDtv0aJo9qCvOo-o6mnZtQvaLnv32fXyhWU_9Ils0BCGgW8fD/s1600/beinghuman.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebel looking at bacteria under the microscope<br />
and a slice of the human body</td></tr>
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There was a lot to do here, a biology lab where you could put on a lab coat and take part in actual experiments. Testing household germ fighters, and examining cheek cells from inside you mouth are just a couple of things you can do in the bio-lab. But it's hard to stay and look at human slices and germs when the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/texas-instruments-engineering-and-innovation-hall.html" target="_blank">Texas Instruments and Innovation Hall</a> is right next door!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzm4LY9UArhbscq08ujzwucnbKx9UZmKGT9fXvTmYaSwVFEXy90tXeC-LEfXTGJmoJhGB-xe9au3YPnWYbsmc5ea79y90gvHEtzEDUE0bTu4jATa4QViANhULSg8GA2BaV2N0sCTRkxvU/s1600/helicopter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCzm4LY9UArhbscq08ujzwucnbKx9UZmKGT9fXvTmYaSwVFEXy90tXeC-LEfXTGJmoJhGB-xe9au3YPnWYbsmc5ea79y90gvHEtzEDUE0bTu4jATa4QViANhULSg8GA2BaV2N0sCTRkxvU/s1600/helicopter.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh the trouble I would get into.</td></tr>
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I mean really you have the chance to build your own robot's and learn about structures. A lot of interactive exhibits. We also got to see this remote control fire fighting helicopter! I would love to get my hands on that bad boy right there. No one would be safe, I'd be dumping water on everyone I seen<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJd43_81yDI7TxXYfSzMQR5mJtOKsJzfIONiSKDypuTDYYuySzLUNSEGsquYYoNW3umra87RYm9bIgxrzZNSGJameedo5Fwt2AYirmgb9PNI5vLK2KTxlOhProPDMtrbyJohHlCLVa2Jl/s1600/robotbug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiJd43_81yDI7TxXYfSzMQR5mJtOKsJzfIONiSKDypuTDYYuySzLUNSEGsquYYoNW3umra87RYm9bIgxrzZNSGJameedo5Fwt2AYirmgb9PNI5vLK2KTxlOhProPDMtrbyJohHlCLVa2Jl/s1600/robotbug.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giant robot bugs of DOOM!</td></tr>
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These giant robot bugs of doom combined with my water soaking helicopter and I would be unstoppable! Wait ok back up a minute Ray and lets bring it back to earth... Atleast earth's orbit.<br />
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We got to build a tower and see if shaking the round disk it was connected to would make it fall. Shaking the disk didn't make them fall, but you can bet our two year old could tear it down!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZzlHeKthuT6g0gHyiY1PezMitRrVFxAjHUbAJnlGu6-1IJjrOHaeyYqPVEW4buHJPbQgFiRh1doQOI7Vq4XxVgLN9016uwMtKKoFP7_TcPcS5JX_pgQJkIy9sTD3un6LqsEaBnhjejJ4/s1600/building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZzlHeKthuT6g0gHyiY1PezMitRrVFxAjHUbAJnlGu6-1IJjrOHaeyYqPVEW4buHJPbQgFiRh1doQOI7Vq4XxVgLN9016uwMtKKoFP7_TcPcS5JX_pgQJkIy9sTD3un6LqsEaBnhjejJ4/s1600/building.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Building our tower</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitkwqzyQ5fuVpk51vZlskvITtiBOGyfSJykVp2TiY45JdsWjmC5FA1vcYW_Hydzpbun1EfdjZbG6cR0QvcqjnQH-h9RlRFs2C3t-Fxfz1ZWQNx5tlqTePfjMGRVWHYtLhSf_HdAqw1u7o/s1600/2yroldearthquake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhitkwqzyQ5fuVpk51vZlskvITtiBOGyfSJykVp2TiY45JdsWjmC5FA1vcYW_Hydzpbun1EfdjZbG6cR0QvcqjnQH-h9RlRFs2C3t-Fxfz1ZWQNx5tlqTePfjMGRVWHYtLhSf_HdAqw1u7o/s1600/2yroldearthquake.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The disk ain't got nothing on the destructive power of a toddler</td></tr>
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A great layout in this hall, we were able to get around really easy, and lots of great stuff for the kids to touch and do. Even stuff for the bigger kids to do too. The robot building and racing was pretty cool to watch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQqXIucyLyKKcyPb5ZakJi4EW4vrYLSA2Rinza36YUwM3GknzFEhjL2B-LxTTQEHdEt2fLWM239_Uy_uA9O5C4eHw4lr-fp0VfgroHtz_chO0o8AVNoxweb4qc710teNNFHCOE8YYap1f/s1600/bathroombreak.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwQqXIucyLyKKcyPb5ZakJi4EW4vrYLSA2Rinza36YUwM3GknzFEhjL2B-LxTTQEHdEt2fLWM239_Uy_uA9O5C4eHw4lr-fp0VfgroHtz_chO0o8AVNoxweb4qc710teNNFHCOE8YYap1f/s1600/bathroombreak.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bathroom break</td></tr>
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Just goes to show you to keep your eyes open. I didn't notice this till our bathroom break near the end of our stay. All of the benches and etched into the glass on the building are little tidbit's of information. There are also over 700 steps in the museum. I would be willing to bet we hit each and every one of them.</div>
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Our last stop and one of my favorites, was the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/explore-the-museum/exhibit-halls/gems-and-minerals-hall.html" target="_blank">Lyda Hill Gems and Minerals hall</a>. We didn't get many pictures in this hall and there wasn't too much hands on stuff, it was all behind display glass. But we did get to see the biggest geode I have ever seen my entire life! </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbjMDDjcD6c-W4G9Qb-u1t5G9xfgCTvlvw1DSa5r4mI5AJ0UzZcvSUXRoV00YY0BT4sy-vXB6ELTjcATha8D4kGLH_Z7HJj8RYtCosMxSlQy0mFA20anDc92l2scLhh7N82m0-sbrvMY8/s1600/bigrock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrbjMDDjcD6c-W4G9Qb-u1t5G9xfgCTvlvw1DSa5r4mI5AJ0UzZcvSUXRoV00YY0BT4sy-vXB6ELTjcATha8D4kGLH_Z7HJj8RYtCosMxSlQy0mFA20anDc92l2scLhh7N82m0-sbrvMY8/s1600/bigrock.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Geode is over 5 feet tall!<br />
And a cool Nautilus fossil.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMu4eSxA0vk0w_g6Ageyy4K1NOd8e5MPui5QA4gKvxLaQZGuLg9mXLBqsW2YIoN1dF4CpypT7HNksikXMbwf_bLWD1PFR-OKsONydeoNURwpgyX3yC7UGuCRRccVV2U6vxFyHwLXidVRA/s1600/rocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBMu4eSxA0vk0w_g6Ageyy4K1NOd8e5MPui5QA4gKvxLaQZGuLg9mXLBqsW2YIoN1dF4CpypT7HNksikXMbwf_bLWD1PFR-OKsONydeoNURwpgyX3yC7UGuCRRccVV2U6vxFyHwLXidVRA/s1600/rocks.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some more cool rocks.</td></tr>
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All the walking and fun we had was finally starting to take it's toll and we decided to call it a day and head to the gift shop to get the kids their souvenirs. Of all the stuff in there our son picked out a fire truck for his souvenir...</div>
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Are you serious? we could have went to the dollar store and got you 10 fire trucks for the price of the one at the museum. </div>
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But at least Rebel had the right idea, she opted for a gyroscope! Our trip souvenir was a salt lamp that was on sale for $15.00 but hey its cool with me. We needed a nightlight anyway.</div>
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We had an absolutely wonderful time at the museum and learned a ton. My only real complaint is that it was crowded in every hall in the museum. Though the crowds were moving, it was hard to do any of the hands on stuff because there were such long lines at them. All in all it was most certainly worth it, next time we go it will be on a weekday so it won't be so crowded hopefully </div>
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I also wanted to show you the end result of our trip to the museum. In my opinion one of the best views of the day.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVBk2HS4VDnTXemJKPi4Pz3VlgvvkIh8OIS6Xj4IYGqHOVFNSz2OhAdBZpwOnaapMMk2YWWMKTG_EmnN73Ijx3e4LBnId5aVof9F9qWFhB120REmzv2k19RZD2NTjgxX5LvC41JVxZxjZ/s1600/sleepingangels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEVBk2HS4VDnTXemJKPi4Pz3VlgvvkIh8OIS6Xj4IYGqHOVFNSz2OhAdBZpwOnaapMMk2YWWMKTG_EmnN73Ijx3e4LBnId5aVof9F9qWFhB120REmzv2k19RZD2NTjgxX5LvC41JVxZxjZ/s1600/sleepingangels.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super tired after a super day </td></tr>
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I hope you have enjoyed reading about our trip to the Perot museum. I would love to hear any comments you may have. If you enjoyed my blog please share it with your friends.<br />
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You can also check out the other two parts of Family trip 2014.<br />
<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/were-goin-to-big-d-and-i-mean-dallas.html" target="_blank">Were goin' to the big D and I mean Dallas</a><br />
A blog about our trip down to Dallas and back again.<br />
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<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-shark.html" target="_blank">One fish two fish red fish SHARK!</a><br />
Our adventures at the Dallas Aquarium.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-80645820748225252842014-03-17T13:53:00.000-07:002014-03-17T15:17:26.705-07:00We're goin' to the big D and I mean Dallas<h3>
Wow!! What a great Trip...</h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGLI329dYro/Ux3E0PPIvaI/AAAAAAAAAL0/Wtq12st_rSw/s1600/dallas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IGLI329dYro/Ux3E0PPIvaI/AAAAAAAAAL0/Wtq12st_rSw/s1600/dallas.jpg" height="136" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dallas, Texas</td></tr>
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About 8:00 pm Anna called wanting to know if we had everything ready for <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-first-big-trip.html" target="_blank">our trip to Dallas</a>. With me being so excited about the upcoming trip that was kind of a silly question, I had everything packed and ready to go. I mean after all I had checked the bags 6 times within a span of 3 hours. Making sure I have clothes, kindles charging and ready to go in the bag, Kids toys, snacks, and the camera charged and packed. And had already worked it into the plan to check the bags one more time before Anna got home. This may seem like a lot of checking for some people. But you try packing with a 2 year old running around pulling random stuff out and putting even more random things in there. For instance I dug a plastic penguin out of the suitcase twice. </div>
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Anna was supposed to be getting off work around 9:00 pm, I knew I still had about a hour and half before we would be actually leaving. Knowing this I still had plenty of time to get the bags checked one last time and get them by the door and ready to go. Then she drop's the bomb on me, "I'm getting the last of the snacks now and about to head home." It hit me like a gigantic wave of awesomeness. After planning and waiting for 3 weeks it is finally here, time to go! After we got everything loaded and headed to fill up the truck I'm going through the mental check list trying to remember if we had everything. We fill the truck up and hit the interstate headed south. </div>
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It was a pretty uneventful trip down to Dallas, we sang to songs on the radio. Ryder played the "big truck" game the entire way, where he gets super exited and yell's BIG TRUCK at every semi he sees. Rebel sat in the back and played on her kindle for a little bit, then wanted to join in on the conversation asking if we were there yet, or are we in Texas yet? Even though we had already told her yes we are in Texas, she asked again, we tell her yes again and then she pipe's up with "Texas sure is a big country!" After we finally make it into the outskirt's of Dallas. Now the entire way down there I'm thinking it's going to be smooth sailing through Dallas, no need to worry about traffic since it will be so late when we get in. Then an ominous sign reared it's ugly head....</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YMJEXX9CC3E/Ux4IqT5WClI/AAAAAAAAAME/6tPD9GZt3Ro/s1600/sign.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YMJEXX9CC3E/Ux4IqT5WClI/AAAAAAAAAME/6tPD9GZt3Ro/s1600/sign.jpg" height="320" width="282" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not actual sign...<br />
Though that would have <br />
been hilarious.</td></tr>
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The road cones standing sentinel, warning all to stay back from this sign. So that it's message could be delivered to the weary eyed travelers. </div>
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"Various lane closures ahead"</div>
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I'm thinking ok this sucks but we still shouldn't hit too much traffic. Oh boy was I in for a surprise! We got to I-635 and could see brake lights for miles. Traffic was backed up, we could see the traffic cones weaving from one side of the road to the other. Like a red, white, and gold snake slithering toward downtown. As we came down off the bridge we lost sight of it, and came to a crawl, brake lights shinning brightly in our eyes.<br />
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We occupied the majority of this slow crawl pointing out large buildings, cranes, and the trans on the DART Rail. Ryder had to throw in his finds as well, randomly yelling "BIG TRUCK!!" After dodging road cones, going from one side of the interstate to the other three times because of "various lane closure's", and playing Frogger with the rest of the traffic on I-635 we pulled into <a href="http://www.grandhoteldallas.com/" target="_blank">The Grand Hotel Dallas</a>.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're Here<br />
Grand Hotel Dallas</td></tr>
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We got parked, luggage unloaded, and into the lobby. I was happy to see that it was nice and clean, and I noticed a little work out room off to the side. It had a weight bench, treadmill, and some other equipment. But we weren't there to get buff and honestly at that time all I wanted to do was get checked in get the kids fed and asleep, because at this point I am one tired daddy.</div>
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All in all our two night stay at The Grand was great, They have a small pool with a sauna set off to the side of the pool a little, the halls and rooms were all clean and well kept. The staff of the hotel was great. Even calling shortly after we got settled to make sure everything was ok with the room we got. I'm sure if it wasn't they would have made sure it was. Security was also on the ball, constantly making rounds in the parking lot and patrolling the hallways The only real problem I had with the hotel was that room service was not on site. It was a offsite catering service, so pretty much calling any pizza hut or other place in town to deliver would be about the same, and probably a little cheaper to boot.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> Checking in was awesome the room we had reserved on <a href="http://booking.com/">Booking.com</a>, was not available anymore because the hotel was really busy. So they put us in a suite! And though the hallways looked like something out of Steven Kings The Shining, we were so glad to be there. The hallways were a little on the dark side for my taste. But the room was great. Our room was on the second floor, had windows that opened, a micro-fridge, and microwave. And for some reason the trashcans and ice bucket had the stamp from the MGM Grand yes the one in Las Vegas, they even had the address on them. I forgot to get a picture sorry.</span><br />
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There was also a In-n-Out Burger right next to the hotel, which is what we ate for dinner our first night. That's some good stuff right there, Anna had never had it before, after her first bite her eyes lit up and I could tell she was lovin' it. The Galleria was also pretty close. As well as some other restaurants, a gas station, and a little strip mall that had some stores in it all within walking distance.<br />
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Saturday morning we decided on breakfast at Denny's and heading to the museum Getting from the hotel to the Museum wasn't too bad straight down hwy-75 (Denny's is on the way to the museum) and a couple other turns we hadn't planned on. Yeah I got us a little turned around... But I <u><b>was not</b></u> lost I knew exactly where we were in a relative manner... And we did find it, right where I knew it was.<br />
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The parking down there was great! Not really up near the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Museum</a> it was a cluster-f... Well you get the idea, But across the street and under the bridge there was a lot which was practically empty. Even though it cost $7.00 to park it wasn't too far of a walk.<br />
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Saturday night we went to the mall in Lewisville, Texas. Walked around in there for a little bit while we waited to have dinner with Grandpa Tim and Grandma Tina.<br />
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<b>Insert rant here:</b> <i>Down on the bottom level tucked into a corner is a toy store. The clerk in said store Doesn't seem to know what the words "No it make's too much noise." mean's, he kept trying to show me these cheap knock-off's of big name toys. One after another, each noisier than the last one. I mean seriously though if I tell you no don't shove another frigging toy in my kids hand that is noisier!</i><br />
<i> Thank you for your time patience and understanding rant is now over.</i><br />
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Dinner was at El Fenix in Lewisville. The food wasn't all that great in my opinion, I had the Chili Relano, it wasn't too bad but it is most certainly far from the best I have ever had. I was wanting to get one of their beer-rita's a margarita with a beer upturned in it, I was really tempted but I had to drive so no drinking. We got back to the hotel that night and about a hour of being in the room and the kids were out. It had been a long day for everyone all the way around. But what a great one!<br />
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We have found no evidence supporting the claim,<br />
of Ihop stuffing people in sardine cans while they wait<br />
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Sunday morning brought us the plan of eating at Ihop, so I get on my tablet and plan out the route. Ihop right up the road, about two miles north of the hotel. We get there and they are packed, I'm talking sardines in a can packed! We made a quick decision then we were going back to Denny's. Had a great breakfast there again. Even scored a free order of pancake's because he didn't write down Belgium Waffle instead of pancakes. which I was glad to dispose of for them.<br />
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The <a href="http://www.dwazoo.com/" target="_blank">Aquarium</a> was also not too far from where we had parked when we went to the Museum really just turn around and you can see either of them. It was easier to find on the second go around. After we left the aquarium on Sunday we went and checked out the <a href="http://www.galleriadallas.com/" target="_blank">Galleria Mall</a>, Me and Anna had been before, but the kids hadn't. It seemed to me that it was bigger and had a whole lot more stores... Anna had the same opinion, It still had the indoor ice skating rink and I had read they had a great play area for the kids... Which was not the case, it was a little area tucked into a small area of the mall. but it wasn't just that it was packed with kids, and the parents all sitting off to the side. Three quarter's of them paying more attention to their Ipads and Phones. More worried about what is going on in the little seven inch screen in front of their face than about anything else.<br />
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Perfect example is when we were walking on the third floor I was pushing the stroller, and out of no-where a little boy run's up and start's playing with the stroller and trying to get in. Maybe three years old at the most. Looking around we found his dad leaned up on the rail staring at his smartphone, and his mom was talking on the phone next to him... It never cease's to amaze me how parents can be totally oblivious to their children like that. we stood there talking to the little boy just to see how long it took for them to realize he was missing. Eventually mom noticed him with us it was well over three minutes, and you may say that's not a long time. But a lot can happen in 3 minutes. Being a parent has taught me that.<br />
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We had fun dragging the kids around the mall, got some great comments on our Batman shirts we we're all wearing. We even made a impression on the people in the mall's Starbucks. I was also finally able to get Anna try a Caramel Machiato. Years of her busting my balls about drinking them. We are walking down the mall when Anna look's at me and says. " We have been together 13 years and you have let me go without this?!!"<br />
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The trip to The Aquarium Sunday and the walking around the mall made for some really quiet kids on the way home. There's a tip for you if you are thinking about taking a trip, wear the kids out and the ride is a lot smoother. We pulled off in Denton and stopped at the Chili's for dinner, Decent place though our server forgot to write down the kids orders. But I do have to admit the manager was on his game, he came over immediately after our waiter left. He apologized and comped the kids meals, he even filled our Soda's up a couple times for us.<br />
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We pulled up to the house about 7:30 pm just in time for the kids to get a bath and get ready for bed. It was a amazing trip and we had a blast! Feel free to keep reading about our adventure's while at the museum and the aquarium.<br />
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Our trip to the Perot Museum:<br />
<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/science-is-poetry-of-reality.html" target="_blank">Science is the poetry of reality</a><br />
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Our Trip to the Aquarium:<br />
<a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/one-fish-two-fish-red-fish-shark.html" target="_blank">One fish two fish red fish SHARK!</a><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-52914796169234796122014-03-07T06:21:00.002-08:002014-03-07T06:21:36.378-08:00The Little Things in Life... We are at roughly T-13 hours and 40 minutes till we leave for family trip 2014, <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-first-big-trip.html" target="_blank">headed for Dallas and my first big trip</a>. Almost everything is packed and ready to go, just a few more things to throw in and we will be ready to go. Everyone is excited even though the kids don't know where we are going yet. Rebel has been trying to figure it out and even guessed close this morning, which if it's raining she would be right. Her guess was the Aquarium. Which would be awesome as well, but we decided on the Zoo and Science Museum<br />
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I know I said I would most likely not be posting anything else until we got back but this was just too good not to share. The past couple days Rebel has not been behaving all too well. Normal kids stuff nothing all too bad, just not wanting to listen, pay attention, and getting really loud inside the house. Since there was no school today they were allowed to stay up late last night in hopes that I would be able to sleep in a little this morning, well it worked for an extra 20 minutes before Rebel came knocking on the door. At which point I told her to go watch some T.V. and I would be up in a little bit. I laid in there for about 10 more minutes before I heard Ryder awake.<br />
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As soon as I came out of the room Rebel was right there waiting on me, "daddy, I made something for you."<br />
With our children it can go one of two ways, either a huge mess to clean up or not. Thankfully it wasn't a huge mess for me to clean up. Instead I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me on the desk.<br />
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Rebel said she made it to say sorry for the way she has been behaving lately. When I seen it I was the happiest daddy in the world. Her behavior completely forgiven... But don't tell her that! This little note absolutely made my day, The little things in life do make life worth living. I read someone once that you should be happy for everything a child give's you, even if it is just a small grey pebble. Children don't have much to give and that pebble may be the only thing they do have to give, and you were the one they chose to give it to. </div>
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That being said take a step back and enjoy the little things in life even if it's only for a minute or two. They may make you smile even more than you already are. </div>
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I really hope you enjoyed reading this, and hopefully it made you smile a little it sure did me. Share it with your friends and put a smile on their face. This will be my last post until after we get back from Dallas so until then I hope all of your days are filled with smiles and love!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-67680562792917188732014-03-05T06:55:00.001-08:002014-03-05T06:55:37.866-08:00You can't believe everything you see... The title say's it all, recently there has been a seriously cool technology floating around Facebook. The hover-board from back to the future. Endorsed by Tony Hawk and and Christopher Lloyd. Now don't get me wrong when I was a kid and seen Marty McFly flying around on his I wanted one. Still to this day I want one, and when I seen the video floating around Facebook about it I almost had a mangasm...<br />
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I mean really that would be so freaking awesome, and the video does look quite legit. But I also know the kind of technology we have today, and what Hollywood is capable of doing. so I bit my tongue and waited... Watching all of the people posting about the Hoverboard and how it was real and they couldn't wait to get their hand's on one. I sat back and waited something just told me it was too good to be true. And though it did give me a little glimmer of hope, my kid's would be able to experience something I seen and loved in a movie when I was their age.<br />
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It ultimately was a hoax as I figured it would be, It was just too good to be true. Many sites have posted on the hoax, <a href="http://www.snopes.com/movies/films/hoverboard.asp" target="_blank">Snopes.com</a>, <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2014/03/04/why-are-all-these-celebrities-participating-in-an-epic-fake-hoverboard-troll/" target="_blank">Techcrunch.com</a>, and <a href="http://www.avclub.com/article/christopher-lloyd-joins-back-future-hoverboard-hoa-201816" target="_blank">Avclub.com</a> Essentially bursting many peoples happy little bubbles at the thought of a fully functional Hoverboard. With over 198,000 shares, 2,000 likes, and 8,000 comments this was just one of the Facebook pages it was posted on.<br />
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Things like this just go to show you, you cannot believe everything you see posted on the internet. As our children grow they are exposed to more and more technology. When Back to the future was released there was no such thing as Facebook. Or sharing viral videos the way our children can today. The internet has brought the world closer together as a whole. but has also made it easier to fool the unsuspecting masses.<br />
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Though this is something which is a innocent hoax and wouldn't hurt anyone, except for their feelings think about it like this. March 26th, 1997, 39 member's of the Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide, If something like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Applewhite" target="_blank">Marshall Applewhite's</a> thoughts and beliefs were to go viral on Facebook.<br />
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Our children would be in some serious danger, the thought of something like that happening really horrifies me. This is something that needs to be brought to light with our children, to use common sense when on the Internet not just Facebook but all of it. Our children are our future and if they were to start believing everything they see online... Well I don't think it would turn out too well.<br />
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Take the time to talk to them even if they are not very active on the internet, because you can't always believe everything you see in real life either. Think of all the magicians out there who everyday wow and amaze not only children but grown adults as well. This is one of the things that our children will not learn in schools or from any teacher. It is something we as responsible adults need to instill in them, common sense and the ability to think before they act.<br />
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I hope you enjoyed my latest blog, if you have or think one of your friends should read it please feel free to share it with them. I always look forward to hearing from you in the comments. Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a wonderful day!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-24559781645448535142014-03-04T11:10:00.002-08:002014-03-04T11:10:18.107-08:00How I met your mother and became the family we areThe year was 1998, I was working for the <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/02/run-away-and-join-circus.html">Ringling Bros. And Barnum and Bailey circus</a>. Sitting in a room no bigger than a shoe box, really it measured about 4' x 7' I had just got my own room and didn't have to bunk with anyone anymore. I was in a yahoo chat room at the time, one of the many idiot's who trolled the yahoo chat room's came in. He was being a total jerk to all of the women in the room, I eventually got fed up with it and couldn't ignore it any longer.<br />
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I keyed up on voice chat and said something to him, I honestly cannot remember what it was. But about 5 minutes later I get a private message from: sweetpoeticdream telling me that I owed her a new keyboard. Confused I naturally asked her why, her response was because what you said on voice chat was so funny I spit Dr. Pepper all over my keyboard and now it's ruined. </div>
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We became friend's instantly at the time she was in a relationship with someone else, but at that point in time we were just really good friend's. Over the years we talked atleast once a week, and if one of us ever needed each other we were there. We shared laugh's and tear's together, but it always seemed like our relationship wasn't meant to be anything more than a friendship. </div>
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As much as we loved talking to each other, and were there for each other through breakup's with other's. It seemed that one of us was always in a relationship with someone else. In 2003 we were less than 25 mile's apart, so close yet so far away. She was in a relationship at the time, and as tempting as it was we never got together. Then off to Oklahoma she went, thing's turned south with the man she was with at the time. We had naturally been talking, those short private message's turned into hour's of messaging. That turned into many night's of staying up till one of us had to go to work talking on the phone. We had made plan's to meet up in Florida but, thing's didn't work out as well as expected. I got a bonus from my work and decided you know what screw it, I'm going to go see her in Oklahoma.</div>
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The entire flight my heart was in my throat, from the moment I stepped on the plane in Jacksonville I knew it was meant to be. There was no doubt in my mind what i was doing was right, granted we still hadn't met in person yet. And a lot of people thought we were crazy. September 2nd 2003 my flight landed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. My heart still pounding, and every step I took toward the door to get off the plane seemed like it was taking a eternity. The closer I got to the security area the quicker my heart beat. I was beyond excited, there is no word for what I was feeling other than love. I turned the corner in the terminal and seen her, our eye's met at the same time. There was nothing else I seen, I couldn't get to her fast enough.</div>
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If you don't believe me you can find the guy whom I just about plowed over trying to get to my wonderful wife. I honestly did not see this poor chap who was walking right in front of me, but I think he understood when he seen us wrap our arm's around each other. We spent a week in Oklahoma, then flew back to Florida together. We had faced many obstacle's together, shared laughter and tear's alike. December 12th 2006 6:44 Am, our live's changed forever Rebel McCoy was brought into this world.<br />
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The doctor and nurse who brought you into this world would not quit arguing between themselves. I don't remember what it was they were arguing about, but I do know it had absolutely nothing to do with bringing you into this world. Or anything to do with us as a family. It was one of those power struggle's The nurse and I wish i could remember her name, had to keep apologizing for the doctor's lack of respect for the people in his care. She was a GREAT nurse though. and I can't thank her enough for helping us with everything, because I will tell you I was freaking out. The birth of a child is a amazing event especially when it is your own, however it is also a very scary experience.</div>
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We stayed in Florida for about 6 more month's, then moved to Oklahoma to help take care of Mawmaw. As a family we have had many smiles and many tears, but things were going very well for us. We had everything we needed and quite a few things we didn't, but above all we had the love of each other. Which is what got us through the hard times. Love is a very powerful thing and can do some very magical thing's.<br />
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May 11th 2010... Was one of the greatest day's we had as a family, I had just got home from work and mommy called to let us know she was going to the hospital. I left you with Mawmaw and headed out the door to meet her at the hospital. By the time I got there she had already lost so much blood. We were at the Bristow hospital long enough to get her stabilized, then it was off to Tulsa I rushed home changed my shirt and and grabbed the hospital bag, then headed to Tulsa myself. When I got there I had asked what was going on and how she was doing, where she was, and when could I see her.... The hospital had no idea who I was talking about, we found out later I had beaten the ambulance to the hospital.<br />
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They had me in the waiting room outside of the hospital's nursery,pacing back and forth for what seemed like day's wondering and worrying. Finally I got to see her, After about a hour the Doctor came in and let me know what was going on. I'm not going to get into all of the technical details. Raymond D McCoy Jr. was born prematurely, and he was in NICU. For two day's he fought as hard as he could, and we had hope that everything would be alright. Thing's were looking ok for him but there were still complication's.<br />
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Then on May 13th we got the visit we were dreading... Jr. wasn't responding to the medications well anymore, and they could not give him more because he was so small. At that point, we had to make a decision, did we keep him here, in pain and suffering because we were so selfish? Or did we follow the advice of two doctors and let him go? He could not breathe on his own for long, his blood pressure would not stay high enough if he was not on the medication that wasn't working as well as it was intended. So we made the hardest decision we had ever made as a couple. Take him off of the medications. No more machines. It was by far the hardest new's we could have gotten as parent's. That night, around 10 p.m., the NICU nurse assigned to our son called us.<br />
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He was fading and if we wanted to be there, we could. We rushed to the NICU, and Anna held our son and sang to him as he slipped from this life to the arms of the Father waiting for him. She rocked him and sang until he took his last breath, and then we cried together. Though he was only with us for two day's. His little hand's had wrapped themselves firmly around our heart's.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMymBq4Tq5GVh54MtaW84XsWtGZ69QNGwvKaEkXrpsA0ptbx16Mp0-9ouNL_60R757sNhdv-ThSzkly8k4gFqJM30rkxk-lB87WzwcxT8UGNaNsr4qW5fHB_Y_-QShqlTX7_QWeQa0KiEa/s1600/167139_1552248693184_6850744_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMymBq4Tq5GVh54MtaW84XsWtGZ69QNGwvKaEkXrpsA0ptbx16Mp0-9ouNL_60R757sNhdv-ThSzkly8k4gFqJM30rkxk-lB87WzwcxT8UGNaNsr4qW5fHB_Y_-QShqlTX7_QWeQa0KiEa/s1600/167139_1552248693184_6850744_n.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raymond D McCoy Jr.<br />
May 11th 2010 - May 13th 2010</td></tr>
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Thing's always seem darkest before dawn, we had many sleepless night's afterward. And many night's of crying ourselves to sleep holding each other. This is one of the many place's the magic of love helped us through hard time's. But thing's did get better, time and love made sure of that. The healing was a long hard road, and in the end Jr is not always at the front of our mind's but he will forever be there. And will always hold a special place in our heart's. He is waiting on us we know that and that help's it doesn't erase the pain of losing a child. Nothing will and I wouldn't wish something like that on my worst enemy, it's something that no parent should have to endure and far too many do. </div>
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We talked to the doctor about whether we would be able to try for another child and their advice was no. It would most likely take both mother and child if we did. After about 6 month's of talking long and hard on the subject we decided to get the tubes tied... But when we went in for our consultation we found out, we had another child on the way. Now we were faced with a even harder decision. What to do, what to do?</div>
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The doctor had told us there was a very real chance of losing both of them if she went to term. It seemed like the hard choice's kept stacking up and again we talked and cried for hours on end trying to figure out what we should do. Eventually we had made the decision that we would see it through to the end. No matter what happened God would be guiding us. There was no doubt about that, this is the way it was meant to be. </div>
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Thirteen years after I made her spit Dr. Pepper on her keyboard. We finally said our vows in front of god and the world on April 16th 2011. In front of pastor Archie Rivers at The Calvary Baptist Church in Bristow, Ok. </div>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNVVj-0rNlmsWGhDpJi4m1tfuWa4kQBZkaniTxI6lWz6Rs4xythkKnzWcOPugybY6W93O-0X0QTl4w_ZxUb8Le_6i_w1efQ8VrvLirYbf0o8GlmvpFRqd8UX-KeUm11gRDNE6d-8muVt5/s1600/wedding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlNVVj-0rNlmsWGhDpJi4m1tfuWa4kQBZkaniTxI6lWz6Rs4xythkKnzWcOPugybY6W93O-0X0QTl4w_ZxUb8Le_6i_w1efQ8VrvLirYbf0o8GlmvpFRqd8UX-KeUm11gRDNE6d-8muVt5/s1600/wedding.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Anna & Raymond McCoy<br />
April 16th 2011<br />
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Five months of worrying and waiting later and me getting onto my wife for trying to do too much, after all she is quite stubborn and still being the stay at home parent taking care of Rebel. August 11th 2011, I had just got home from work when I was told "my water has broke." At least this time I was the one taking her to the hospital. We didn't even bother with the small hospital in Bristow instead I made the 45 minute trip to Tulsa in less than 20, I was able to be there with her while they did the C-section. And Ryder D. McCoy was born at 10:44 pm. Without any complications!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWEXjinRSZ_yNroEgxwmcRGkhtC2rE2cfLjB8UsuRsztknuC3YgynVLZCFpWZeO9G-EpxgX6infregGro8S5-Rd4pWQ2r9E_CkN2NIRb1zJrHHFITLZMChDsA7Up4ZUzt7DY7lj_qb0aa/s1600/Ryder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWEXjinRSZ_yNroEgxwmcRGkhtC2rE2cfLjB8UsuRsztknuC3YgynVLZCFpWZeO9G-EpxgX6infregGro8S5-Rd4pWQ2r9E_CkN2NIRb1zJrHHFITLZMChDsA7Up4ZUzt7DY7lj_qb0aa/s1600/Ryder.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ryder D. McCoy<br />
August 11th 2011</td></tr>
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<br /> And that is the story of how we met, and became the Brady bunch... No wait that's wrong, however it really is the story of how we met and became the family we are today. Through all the hardship's and tragedies we have endured together there is one thing that has held us strong. It's that little bit of magic I mentioned earlier. Love is a amazing thing, you can move mountains, touch the sky, or any number of other things you wouldn't think possible. Live, Laugh, and Love, it's the way life was meant to be. </div>
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I hope you have all enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it. even though it has taken me well over 3 weeks to finish it. If our story has touched you in some way please share it with your friends. And as always I look forward to hearing from you in the comments. Have a wonderful day!<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-26234641150429542182014-03-03T19:50:00.000-08:002014-03-03T19:50:36.866-08:00My take on the Oscars<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L73NTVpcvdw/UxUyc1wA4RI/AAAAAAAAAKI/B2E5JPjVbRc/s1600/oscar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-L73NTVpcvdw/UxUyc1wA4RI/AAAAAAAAAKI/B2E5JPjVbRc/s1600/oscar.jpg" height="200" width="160" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2014 Oscar Trophy</td></tr>
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Last night they rolled out the red carpet had the light's blazing and the stars were shining. Ellen DeGeneres shut down Twitter for a little bit with her celebrity selfie. She is also apparently considering a second career with Brad Pitt delivering pizza.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uNMo81RpdqU/UxU0R-eSpbI/AAAAAAAAAKU/-4w8lYLksKE/s1600/1393823390000-AP-APTOPIX-86th-Academy-Awards---Show.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uNMo81RpdqU/UxU0R-eSpbI/AAAAAAAAAKU/-4w8lYLksKE/s1600/1393823390000-AP-APTOPIX-86th-Academy-Awards---Show.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellen and Brad delivering pizza</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2A49mN7q6_Q/UxU0R7K5I4I/AAAAAAAAAKY/K4Cc1vdX-HA/s1600/BhxWutnCEAAtEQ6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2A49mN7q6_Q/UxU0R7K5I4I/AAAAAAAAAKY/K4Cc1vdX-HA/s1600/BhxWutnCEAAtEQ6.jpg" height="179" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ellen's Twitter destroying selfie</td></tr>
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Facebook was also blowing up with talk of the Oscar's Who was winning what, what was going on with the Oscar's.<br />
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But honestly whats the big F'ing deal, people all over the country pay out million's of dollar's to go see these movie's and show's the actor's play in. Then a seven hour event is hosted to see who the best of the best is. </div>
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Yet we are on the brink of another cold war with Russia invading the Ukraine but where is this on Facebook or Twitter? As a parent I honestly am more concerned with our president pulling the trigger on another country, sending more men and women into the front lines. To defend our freedom and the freedom of others. </div>
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Though I really don't agree with sending our forces back over sea's at this time considering all that we have already put them through in the past year's. Which apparently is not going to happen according to President Obama, who has suspended talk's in the <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-01/obama-tells-putin-g-8-planning-halted-during-call-about-ukraine.html" target="_blank">G-8 summit.</a><br />
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In 1994 President Bill Clinton signed an agreement along with John Major, Boris Yeltsin, and Leonid Kuchma; The then ruler's of the USA, UK, Russia, and Ukraine. Promising to uphold the territorial integrity of the Ukraine. <a href="http://unterm.un.org/DGAACS/unterm.nsf/8fa942046ff7601c85256983007ca4d8/fa03e45d114224af85257b64007687e0?OpenDocument" target="_blank">The Budapest Memorandum</a> the first article reads "The United States of America, the Russian Federation, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, reaffirm their commitment to Ukraine ... to respect the Independence and Sovereignty and the existing borders of Ukraine."<br />
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However that is not the only new's which may have been missed due to the Oscar's, <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/pakistan-bombs-militants-hours-after-taliban-ceasefire-n42266" target="_blank">The Pakistani military bombed a Taliban hideout</a>. The strike came hour's after the Pakistani Taliban agreed to a one month cease fire to pursue negotiations with the government.<br />
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<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-03-03/olympic-gold-ice-dancers-from-u-s-will-skip-world-championships.html" target="_blank">Two of the U.S. gold medalist winner's</a> in the Sochi Olympics said they will not be competing in the world championship's.<br />
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And not to mention all of the local new's of missing person's and also the heartbreaking stories all across the country which were missed. The unemployment rate's, our national debt, or any number of thing's which effect our daily life.<br />
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Now I'm not saying it's bad to watch the Oscar's or that it's wrong, but I am just wondering why we, and I use that term very loosely, seem to be more interested in what's going on with the red carpet versus what's actually happening in the real world.<br />
Our children are not going to be worried about who won the Oscar's in 2014. But the thing's that can really affect them are left on the back burner when there are far more important things that could be discussed.<br />
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I understand about talking about current event's with star's and celebrity's. But to make it an all day thing, and be more concerned about who is winning what, the newest *gag* Justin Beiber song that has come out, or *even bigger gag* Miley's Sledgehammer video. Has become more main stream than the real new's out there which we need to be paying attention to. Thing's that will actually effect our live's and the live's of our children.<br />
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Those are just my thought's though, and I am but one small fish in one big sea. You may have a different opinion than I do and that is what makes America great. We are allowed to voice our thought's and opinion's. If you would like please like and share this thread with your friend's. I also would like to hear what you have to say in the comment's below. As always thank you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-51123936204802830992014-03-02T11:29:00.003-08:002014-03-23T10:37:26.770-07:00My First Big Trip<br />
Coming up this weekend we are going to be taking a family trip down to Dallas Texas, we plan on going to the <a href="http://www.dallaszoo.com/" target="_blank">Dallas Zoo</a> and also to the <a href="http://www.perotmuseum.org/" target="_blank">Perot Museum of Nature and Science</a>. The kid's don't know yet, Rebel just read over my shoulder that we are taking a trip to Dallas. Luckily I hadn't wrote anything other than the first sentence when she was reading.<br />
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I am so excited about this trip, we always have a great time when we go out as a family. But I am also nervous about the whole thing, the reason being this is the first family trip I am planning as the stay at home parent. It is so not as easy as I thought it was going to be. I have been searching all day trying to find the best cheapest hotel room's for our night in Dallas. Which in itself is no easy task especially after reading review's on some of them, I am very glad I didn't jump on that $45.00 room. </div>
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Granted the majority of people who write review's are doing it because they are not satisfied with something during their stay. Front desk associate's being rude, the area around the hotel not being all that great, and nothing to eat near it. I can deal with those things, but when I seen in the review's "cockroaches and bedbugs" or drug dealer's hanging around outside of our room. Those put up a HUGE red flag, thing's like that are completely unacceptable and had made the search for a place to stay that much harder.</div>
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After searching for awhile I asked my buddy's on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/StayHomeDads/" target="_blank">My facebook group</a> I got some good idea's there, Yelp, Priceline, and Booking.com after searching all of those we finally found a decent looking place with some good review's for $100 for two night's which isn't too awfully bad. And I have to thank Anna for taking over the search when I started to get frustrated all of the negative review's I was reading was getting tiring very quick.</div>
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Ok break time Ryder just ran by me and he is stinking to high heaven, pull up change time.... It wasn't that bad, I guess just one of those atomic fart's he has. That is also one thing that has contributed to the hindrance of being able to get anything done as far as planning goes. Kid's can play a pivotal role in whether or not you can get anything done, both of our's have proven this time and time again.<br />
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One thing I have taken from my wife is to make a list of everything you will need on a trip. I have a full page of item's I will have to pack before we head out on Friday night. Being the obsessive compulsive I am when it comes to traveling I will most likely have it all packed Wednesday and be checking it every morning and night before I go to sleep.... Then I will still probably forget something which is why I'll check before we leave as well.<br />
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On top of it I have been keeping my eye on the weather one minute it's going to be raining the next it's not. I really wish it would make up it's mind, but as any good planner (and me too) know's . Make a contingency plan, just in case it is raining we have also looked into going to the <a href="http://www.dwazoo.com/" target="_blank">Dallas World Aquarium</a>. Neither of them have been to a Aquarium before so that would be a adventure as well. </div>
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As has become our tradition we will also be wearing the same type of shirt. Our last few trip's has been Batman.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tulsa Oklahoma Zoo<br />
11-10-2013</td></tr>
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We have a method behind our madness, the shirt's are easy to remember so if we happen to get separated someone will hopefully put 2+2 together, it has worked wonderfully in the past with the people at the Science Museum in Oklahoma city, and the Tulsa Zoo. At the science museum we had the entire kitchen staff on the food court humming the batman theme song, and the lady at the front desk remembered us as soon as we walked back into the building. At the Tulsa Zoo we had a chance for a interview with the local news crew, unfortunately we couldn't participate because we did not actually live in Tulsa. The reporter said our shirt's caught his attention immediately and we had a nice 10 minute conversation with him. We had also heard many parent's and group's commenting on us being the bat family.<br />
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Since we are going to be staying for 2 night's in Dallas we will be going to get us another super hero shirt. Not sure exactly what yet, but you will have the chance to find out when I post <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/03/were-goin-to-big-d-and-i-mean-dallas.html" target="_blank">the blog of our trip</a>! Which is another thing I cannot wait to do, I really love sharing our adventure's and day to day activity's with you guys. And I appreciate all of you who share my stories and adventure's with your friends. I would also love to hear any comment's you may have. Thank you for reading, I hope you have a wonderful day.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-16768949170465044702014-02-28T09:25:00.000-08:002014-03-01T18:03:25.974-08:00Older sibling's helping to raise our children<h2>
We all know parent's play a major role...</h2>
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In the development of our children, parent's play a big roll, however I have also noticed with our children. Ryder will copy Rebel all the time when she is home, he pick's up on her habit's and does the same thing's she does. After dinner Rebel used to have to empty her plate in the trash and rinse it off at the sink. Ryder would try and do the same, he would empty his plate in the trash then try to get to the sink to rinse it off. </div>
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Since he isn't quite big enough to see above the counter this created a good amount of dishes being dropped in the sink, and him trying to climb the cabinet's to get to the sink and rinse his plate like his big sister. I had asked Rebel to stop emptying her plate and rinsing it, instead just set it on the counter and I would take care of it. About 3 or 4 night's of this happening and Ryder had quit emptying his and just started putting it on the counter.</div>
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When Rebel is hyped up about something Ryder is right there with her, jumping and spinning like top's.</div>
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If Rebel is reading a book a lot of the time Ryder will be right there next to her trying to read along with her. These moment's I try to get her to read the book to her brother, which work's out great for both of them. As well when we are working on Rebel's flash card's Ryder will be sitting there trying to count the number's just like Rebel. </div>
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More often than not when Rebel is home Ryder will be following her around constantly, he loves his sister to no end. And I know it aggravates her at time's but I can tell she love's him just as much. They have a bond that I really hope never get's broken, it's great watching them play together. And for instance last night Ryder didn't want to stay in bed he wanted to get up and play, as I was walking away from tucking him back in he was crying and obviously mad at me because I wouldn't let him play. The I heard Rebel telling him It's ok to be mad at daddy bubba, but it's time to go to sleep I have school tomorrow. </div>
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Ryder had quieted down and wasn't trying to get up and climb the baby gate anymore, so I left them alone for about 30 minute's. Sometime in that 30 minute's Ryder had crawle Nd into bed with Rebel and went to sleep, Rebel had her arm wrapped around him and they looked so cute. I could tell both of them were very happy, and instead of trying to move him and wake him up I let them sleep like that, at about 1:00 am Ryder woke up yelling, that's when I moved him to his own bed. And he slept the rest of the night away.</div>
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But we can't get down to their level.</h3>
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I think it may have something to do with them being closer together in age, and the younger sibling not looking at the older one as a authority figure. As parent's we scold our children for doing wrong, and praise them for doing right. But the difference I think is it's not on their level, we are older and have lost the true child in us. It's really not possible to get down to that level again, Try as we might we can get close but we as parent's have to know the boundaries. </div>
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For instance taking a bubble bath we know that if we dump the whole bottle of bubble bath in the tub and start splashing around it's going to make a huge mess and we will have to clean it up eventually. However as a child the thought process would be OHHHHHH let's dump the whole bottle in here because that will make more bubble's and then splash around in it cause that would be super fun. there is no worry about having to clean the mess up. </div>
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There in lie's the difference I think in how our role's in development differ, children have similar thought processes and are therefore on the same page so to speak. As adult's we are quite a few chapter's ahead of our children. And as nice as it would be to turn back the clock and be children again it's just not possible. Not even with a time machine, we would still have the same thought processes as we do as adult's.</div>
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We can't really get on the same level as they are close yes but never really the same. With that being said encourage your children to be positive role model's for each other, especially the older one's remind them that their younger sibling's look up to them and will do as they do especially at a younger age. But don't forget that even though you may not see it all of our children still look up to us as adult's.<br />
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Thank you for reading. I would love to hear from you please leave a comment and let me know what you think, if you liked my blog please share it with your friend's. </div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-70390020458234404652014-02-27T07:10:00.000-08:002014-02-27T07:10:24.126-08:00WHAT !!! Oh My God It's 5:45am This morning I am having one of those good sleep's, the kind you get only once in awhile. Everything was well with the world, I was dreaming of something awesome. I can't remember what it was but I do know that the knock on our bedroom door at 5:45 jerked me out of my peaceful bliss. I sat bolt upright and muttered under my breath damn door.<br />
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Normally I get up anywhere between 6:00 and 6:15 to get Rebel ready and off to school. It's 5:45 and she is up knocking on the door, I honestly don't know what time she had gotten up. But I know that when I came out of the bedroom she was dressed, had already braided her hair and was ready to go. I love the girl's enthusiasm, it's a great thing she is always excited about going to school. But child you robbed me of 30 minute's of peaceful slumber!<br />
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As luck would have it Ryder was also on the verge of waking up, though I was able to get him back to sleep. I think Rebel had accidentally woke him up when she was getting ready, no harm it happens sometime's even I have woke him up before trying to get her ready. We come out to the living room and I get her some cereal turn on some Tom and Jerry for her and proceed to get my coffee.<br />
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After breakfast Me and Rebel are sitting here watching cartoons, she tell's me her shoe's are still in the bedroom. Not in the bathroom where I told her to put them last night with the rest of her school clothes. Not a problem though, I sneak down the hall like a ninja hoping I don't step on something that will make a noise and wake up Ryder, so far so good I make it to the room climb over the baby gate as quietly as possible. Putting my foot down on the other side of the gate, the trap had been set... I step right on a Hot Wheel's car. Biting my lip so I don't scream out in agony. Well played son, well played.<br />
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I get her shoe's then sneak back down the hall and stop right at the end, listening for any telltale sound's coming from their room to make sure I didn't wake him up. Everything is all good, Ryder is still asleep, Rebel has her shoe's, and I have a fresh cup of coffee. Then about 10 minute's later I glance toward the hall and see Ryder walking to the living room, that boy is a better ninja than I ever could be. He didn't make a sound climbing over the baby gate or coming down the hall. I'm attributing his ability to avoid the Hot Wheel's trap due to the fact that he had set it. <br />
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While watching him come down the hall I realize what woke him up, I left the hall light on... DUH! So should have checked that off on my ninja list.... There is no point in trying to get him back to sleep now, he is wide awake and ready to go. Normally he sleep's till about 8:30 or 9:00 and I am able to get some writing done or whatever else I want to do in those couple of hour's after Rebel head's off to school. The only reason I am able to get this out is because Mickey Mouse is on T.V. Ryder will drop EVERYTHING to watch Mickey!<br />
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Which it is about to end and I still have to get the breakfast dishes done before he decide's to play mini Godzilla and start trying to climb up Rebel's doll house with her Barbie's. Have a wonderful day everyone and thank you for reading!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-62244499377962287002014-02-26T20:30:00.002-08:002014-03-02T06:40:40.843-08:00The Working Mom Hello all you lovely people. I am Mrs. Ray, also known to my friends as Anna. My husband has invited me to do a guest spot in his blog, and I have accepted. So let's get started.<br />
As all of you know, Raymond and I have a reversal of the "normal" roles, where I work and he is the stay at home parent. It wasn't always this way. For seven years, I was the main parent at home. I worked nights, and Raymond days, so I was the one usually up with our daughter, starting homework, etc. Then after our son was born, I was the stay at home parent, plus a caregiver to my grandmother. I cooked, I cleaned, I helped with homework, did laundry, attended school functions, parent teacher meetings and chaperoned field trips. I got up with the kiddos at night, but this was mainly because I was the food on demand.<br />
A little over a year ago, our world flipped upside down. Raymond, who has always had problems with his hips and back, got hurt at work. Hurt to the point that it wasn't better in a few days. It wasn't better after a week. After a trip to the emergency room and some X-rays, we realized that Raymond staying at his job was more of a risk than either of us were willing to take. It was only a matter of time until he had a spasm or his back froze up on him at the wrong moment, and he fell from one of the ladders or, heaven forbid, from a rafter over fifty feet in the air. So we decided that Raymond would leave his job and I would go back to work.<br />
I must admit, that first day, I almost skipped out the door. After three years of being with naught but children under the age of ten all day, and my most interesting conversations revolving around Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell, I was ready to rejoin the world of adults. I found a job as a waitress at a local diner, and though I loved my job, I was not prepared for how much I missed my children. I was also not prepared for how nervous I was about Raymond staying at home.<br />
I knew what a handful our kids could be. I knew how hard it was to get dinner cooked and on the table, unburnt, while a six year old threw a soccer ball around the house and the two year old decided that he needed to cry at the top of his lungs because you would not let him climb on top of the washing machine. <br />
I think I called him fifty times a day those first few days. He would reassure me that everything was fine, and let me talk to the kiddos to assure me that all was fine. (Though at times I think he may have bribed them.) The first day, when I came home, he looked at me and said, "I am so sorry." He then explained how he had thought what I did was a cakewalk. And how wrong he was. I also apologized. I had no idea how hard it was to be away from our children for ten plus hours a day.<br />
The days passed, and slowly we adjusted to our new roles. I valued the time I had with our small family more than ever, and Raymond appreciated those few stolen minutes to himself. And he understood why I locked the bathroom door. <br />
Now, over a year later, we are firmly established in our roles. He has dinner on the table every night between five thirty and six. He helps our daughter with her homework. He schedules the parent teacher meetings and makes sure that our daughter has what she needs for school. He helps her pick out her school clothes the night before, and he does his best at doing her hair. Our two year old son can count to ten and can say his ABC's up to G. Our daughter is in the first grade and can read on a fourth grade level. He helped her take her math grade up from a very low C to a B and it is still climbing. <br />
He does wonderfully. He does much better than I ever did. I and our kids have clean clothes, he has only burned dinner twice in a year, which is far better than I ever did. The house is as clean as it can be with two children under the age of ten in it, and our kiddos are happy and thriving.<br />
Yet, when people ask what my husband does and I tell them he is a stay at home dad, most give me a weird look, and some even make catty or straight out unneeded remarks. One older lady once told me that in her day "a man who wouldn't work didn't deserve a wife." I politely informed her that my husband was willing to work, but we preferred that he be around to see our children graduate high school. Another woman, about my age, asked me how I could trust my children with a man all day long. When I asked her what she was implying she turned bright red and started stammering over her words. I told her that if I thought my husband the type to hurt my children or do anything to them that would negatively affect them, I would not have married him.<br />
I have seen all kinds of comments online, that not only confuse me, but infuriate me to no end. I have seen moms who say that a dad can't be a stay at home parent, because a man can not be a nurturing as a woman. Why not? Though my husband is more strict than I am, when my daughter skins her knee or my son hits his head, he is the gentlest person in the world. He is also the first to stand and applaud them when they do something great. Even the small somethings that no one else would find amazing.<br />
I have seen women say that any dad that stays at home must be a pedophile. WHAT?!?!?! Where is your reasoning in this? And if that is your first assumption about any parent, you need your head checked, because that is a YOU problem, not a stay at home dad problem.I hear women cry that a man is supposed to work, and these women are the same ones that gripe about equality. It's a two way street. You can not beat down men just to bring yourself up, because it will not work.<br />
I joke with my husband all the time and tell him he makes a better house wife than I ever did. And it is true. He balances things more than I ever could, and his one step at a time approach works better than my multitasking approach. He gets more done in a day than I would in a week.<br />
I am so proud of my husband, and support him. I support all stay at home dads out there who are trying to change this stereotype that only women can be good care givers. I will fight along side them to anyone ignorant enough to make remarks that put them down, and I will tell anyone who tries to put them down how wrong they are.<br />
I have a wonderful partner, who is great as a stay at home parent, he just happens to be a man. <br />
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We ask that if you enjoyed reading this blog, or it has helped you in some way please share it with your friends. Also we would love to hear any comment's you have, Thank you for reading!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12090300180653681351noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-78615974184816066432014-02-23T13:34:00.000-08:002014-02-23T13:34:15.723-08:00The time's they are a flying. I know it seem's like it has been forever since I've posted a blog, but in truth it has only been a couple of day's. Thing's have been a little on the hectic side the last few day's trying to get Anna's parent's house ready for them to move in. This has included a ton of digging, running water line to it, and trying to get the septic hooked up. It has also included me getting home with pipe cleaner and glue all over my finger's and hand's to the point it looked like I had strangled a smurf.... and last night I swear I brought enough dirt home with me to fill the grand canyon, well that's a little bit of a exaggeration but it was a lot. Enough I'm sure to fill a Tonka truck.<br />
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It has also brought with it the joy's of pain, I think I may have bruised a rib while rolling over under the house, and my whole body is in a massive state of pain. Some of you know I have arthritis in my neck and deterioration of one of my vertebrae, and also the sciatica in my hip. For those who didn't now you do. So it hasn't been the best couple of day's. I'm just glad that Grandma has been able to help out with the kid's and cook dinner during the evenings while Anna was working. *Thumbs up for some awesome ribs and fried chicken !* Since you have all been brought up to date for the last couple day's now onto the actual blog in mind.<br />
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Time Flies:</h2>
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The last few day's for some reason there has been a trend going on of people mentioning how fast kid's grow up. And missing it when it's gone, my Dad, my Wife, and a few other's have said something about it. This morning I was reading facebook and noticed a post from one of the guy's in the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/StayHomeDads/">S.A.H.D. group</a> I'm in. About his son discovering his chest hair, A couple guy's said something about it as well and one from my buddy Cuda which said. "you will miss it when they stop." </div>
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It got me to thinking about all the thing's Rebel used to do with me, the little thing's that are aggravating at the time, like pulling on my beard hair, or thinking I am some sort of super human jungle gym. The constantly wanting to be held even when my hand's were full, no joke I could have 20 bag's of grocery's in my hand's (cause I would rather make 1 trip with 20 bag's than 2 trips with 10 bag's) and she would be trying to shimmy up my leg like a logger going up to top a tree. And the time's someone would try talking to her she would run around behind me and hide, at the time it was aggravating, but now 4 year's later I have realized. I was her shield, her protection, and her safety. </div>
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Looking back on it those day's being long gone. I really do miss them, it's one of those thing's you don't miss until it's gone. It seem's so far away now too, so much has happened since then.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First day of school</td></tr>
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First time she jumped off the diving board by herself, first time riding without training wheels, first time I sent her for a tool and she got it right away... And many many more firsts, too many to name, and there are yet to be a bunch more. I do however feel sorry for her first boyfriend. So if you happen to be reading this consider this my apology.<div>
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Now what I am trying to get at here is that with all of the firsts of any child's life it's impossible to be there for them all, but the little things our children do each day that we may find annoying. Are things we need to start embracing, because like any child's firsts they don't last forever. Our kid's grow and become their own people. Complete with their own personality's. </div>
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And it all happens way too fast, It really does fly by and there is no way to get it back, but to relive the moment's you can remember. And so I say enjoy it while it last's because it will end and you will miss it. Thank you all for reading I hope you have a wonderful day !<br /><div style="text-align: center;">
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-59665528264798799672014-02-19T21:03:00.000-08:002014-02-19T21:03:02.771-08:00This is going to hurt me, more than it will hurt you.<h2>
It'll hurt me more than it will you...</h2>
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I was sitting here earlier during one of those silent moment's, the one's where your not sure if you want to go check on them because you may break the spell they are under. But your also wondering if they are ok because they are being so quiet. Or they could be doing something they know they aren't supposed to be doing...</div>
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It was a beautiful moment today Rebel and Ryder weren't arguing, they were actually getting along without a problem. Both of them watching a movie together, it about brought a tear to my eye not because they were actually getting along. Because I was able to get almost 30 minute's of uninterrupted thought, peace, and quiet. And that my friend's is a beautiful thing. </div>
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But it got me thinking about thing's my dad had said to me as a child, and the one that kept slipping to the front was of course, "This is going to hurt me more than it will you." Now at the time I knew without a doubt he was WRONG! I would think to myself afterward's there is no way on god's green earth his butt hurt's as bad as mine does now. At the time I failed to realize just what he meant, there really wasn't a way for me to understand the emotional construct of a father.</div>
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I amazingly also had time to reflect back on the first time I spanked Rebel, now granted it was no more than a swat on the butt barely enough to have killed a fly. But the emotional turmoil that came with it is incredible. And i realized something, It did hurt when I spanked her. It literally tore at my heart, here is my little girl, my princess, my angel. And I have just caused her to cry, I had caused my precious bundle of joy pain. I felt so so bad, honestly there is no description for the pain I felt. I found out on that day what my dad said was absolutely true.</div>
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I have experienced some serious amount's of pain, from almost cutting off the tip of my finger to cutting my leg down to the bone. Physical pain is nothing compared to the pain of the heart, it cannot compare in anyway shape or form. So with that being said, I just want to say. Dad I am sorry I didn't believe you when you told me. And I love you!</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-1169215727818423052014-02-17T16:45:00.001-08:002014-03-23T10:35:40.583-07:00From the mouth's of children<h2 style="text-align: center;">
Randomness from Rebel.</h2>
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This hopefully will turn into a constant thing, knowing our daughter and some of the crazy thing's I have heard her say I'm sure that it will.</div>
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2-17-2014</h3>
Standing in the kitchen tonight and washing some of the dishes while Anna was cooking dinner. This conversation took place.<br />
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(Prelude: After Rebel got home from school we gave the kid's strawberries as a snack. Rebel and Ryder ate a whole tub except for like three so about eight for Rebel and four for Ryder. Then 15 minute's before dinner was done.)</div>
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Rebel: When is dinner going to be done? I'm hungry.</div>
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Grandma: I don't see how you could be hungry after all the strawberries you ate.</div>
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Anna: Rebel, tell her you have a hollow leg.</div>
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Rebel: Gramma I have a hollow head!</div>
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Anna: NO! A hollow leg</div>
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Grandma: I believe that.</div>
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Rebel: I do have a hollow head!</div>
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Me: *laughing so hard I'm about to cry*<br />
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3-13-2014</h3>
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Ryder had just woke up from his nap, as I'm getting his snack.</div>
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Rebel: Daddy when Ryder is done with his snack could we please go back outside?</div>
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Me: Honey I don't know I have to get dinner cooking and the only place you can play is the back yard.</div>
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(The back yard is very small but it's all we have that's fenced in right now)</div>
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Rebel: I promise it's still nice out, could we please... I don't care if it's outback. I'll get Ryder's shoes on and I don't care if I have to change his butt. </div>
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Well I guess I will let them obviously she wants to go outside.<br />
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3-23-14</h3>
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Rebel: Hey daddy we're acting like dogs. Not just any dogs... Talking dogs!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-53366952054761126632014-02-17T04:59:00.000-08:002014-02-17T06:20:28.902-08:00Time for a break<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> We have been cooped up in the house forever it seem's like, the weather has just been horrible. I had been watching the weather and waiting on a nice day when Rebel wasn't in school to take them out. Today was that day, I promised them we would go outside and play for awhile yesterday. Little did the kid's know I was planning to take them to the park here in town. It was overcast, and there wasn't a bit of sun shining through. We even had a little drizzle occasionally.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">But we didn't let that ruin our fun!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebel, Me, And Ryder</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> It was a BLAST! The kid's had a great time and so did I, The original plan to go to the park next to the highway was ditched. One of the reason's was because it was right next to the highway and the second is because it sucked. The only thing there was a swing-set and a small slide. Nothing to really play on for Ryder. We decided to drive around and find a different park, Rebel was so glad we did. Turn's out one of her friend's from school was there.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebel and Skylar</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Rebel got out of the truck and when she seen her friend, her face lit up like Las Vegas in the middle of the night, she was so happy to see one of her classmates. I was happy too, Rebel acted like she didn't really have any friend's in school. I got to meet Skylar's aunt, to begin with I was a little apprehensive about talking to her, because of all the horror stories I've read about from other S.A.H.D's. But she turned out to be a really nice lady. From what she told me Skylar said that her and Rebel are best friend's.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They ran</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1_yv4yvceOwKMvVUv_58wQ0p5ZH511gMJ08Reqa_x2oruiuDm5Zq-pXg94ntrqUZsm3IlcvDysWnDramrj6C3Hglk3GLnX55IzTcmtBuvoLt83ubgG8xxmzRt5zjVTN9d1XCRR3KgsPC/s1600/CAM00728.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv1_yv4yvceOwKMvVUv_58wQ0p5ZH511gMJ08Reqa_x2oruiuDm5Zq-pXg94ntrqUZsm3IlcvDysWnDramrj6C3Hglk3GLnX55IzTcmtBuvoLt83ubgG8xxmzRt5zjVTN9d1XCRR3KgsPC/s1600/CAM00728.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They played</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DssKJHEh6boTX2z2jQpvvNrQHZkM-3uNCht6Sd7MDtMfqtnog53YN32upg45w6TfAPEu9yTJyC8WnlTP8jZus5TCNPk4o_2Atoi41_VZo_FjQ7ebPvYmpk3Jmbjrjgp0r0pirmNOdc1r/s1600/CAM00789.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_DssKJHEh6boTX2z2jQpvvNrQHZkM-3uNCht6Sd7MDtMfqtnog53YN32upg45w6TfAPEu9yTJyC8WnlTP8jZus5TCNPk4o_2Atoi41_VZo_FjQ7ebPvYmpk3Jmbjrjgp0r0pirmNOdc1r/s1600/CAM00789.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And played some more</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> Ryder had a great time too, he was climbing all over everything. And running all over the place. His favorite had to of been the horse, Rebel really enjoyed it too.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczjTIgXwoboCiE7Sq7FP2am4ftiw4t6V2mEnUJRgZk2Yl_Qw4k-YHIvjnZIrwCHfEfD75bQKTXxq2CQiwgrPBJL62yQsk8rxa_okZon7E236NNUlB5zgpntW_WHcld5olrqXgus5HFbur/s1600/CAM00689.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhczjTIgXwoboCiE7Sq7FP2am4ftiw4t6V2mEnUJRgZk2Yl_Qw4k-YHIvjnZIrwCHfEfD75bQKTXxq2CQiwgrPBJL62yQsk8rxa_okZon7E236NNUlB5zgpntW_WHcld5olrqXgus5HFbur/s1600/CAM00689.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sdeSDEpifJG0Dpo-GUw1xGnYd2-RemSscCC6Gool4OqI0dPjGR49S3BS0KjzrVdaoCB27ymAVJRHdZp4dpQKMUKp01RK3U_yCtwpaqTHRhd4qgB32j6gex77g4mV_wDyuYgB6q9rov7E/s1600/CAM00730.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sdeSDEpifJG0Dpo-GUw1xGnYd2-RemSscCC6Gool4OqI0dPjGR49S3BS0KjzrVdaoCB27ymAVJRHdZp4dpQKMUKp01RK3U_yCtwpaqTHRhd4qgB32j6gex77g4mV_wDyuYgB6q9rov7E/s1600/CAM00730.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">or as he called it HORSEYYY!!!! Rebel even had a great time on the horse.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> They were both all over the place, but after being cooped up in the house I'm really not surprised.</span> </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BLGecxEo9j16-T5ilAgYsPAd2ynAOn2m7LRa0idGfINssJrZJUlbc-pKArTvdumtkJ9eQNV2sN9-IKanrIX9BumJtgptGn-zTJrGyXyHUiR_cKB6Ms2QGgIvtdMcAPJMCd_pwR_S-s6M/s1600/CAM00678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2BLGecxEo9j16-T5ilAgYsPAd2ynAOn2m7LRa0idGfINssJrZJUlbc-pKArTvdumtkJ9eQNV2sN9-IKanrIX9BumJtgptGn-zTJrGyXyHUiR_cKB6Ms2QGgIvtdMcAPJMCd_pwR_S-s6M/s1600/CAM00678.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to get them to pose in the tunnel,<br />
but Ryder wasn't interested in that nonsense.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: large;"> He had way too much to do</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVs0ealfiAJCuZsQJVznbewRXTantPpd67njiHD2Ge2hS_uV4RO7891Yrjw-1xfQCMdidmxhQidaupFqIVQ9qzFKvGxUBh63SwszTQU4JOcasgwleDzbrhP5qwSuGCgOwCffCa5p2BdyqH/s1600/CAM00700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVs0ealfiAJCuZsQJVznbewRXTantPpd67njiHD2Ge2hS_uV4RO7891Yrjw-1xfQCMdidmxhQidaupFqIVQ9qzFKvGxUBh63SwszTQU4JOcasgwleDzbrhP5qwSuGCgOwCffCa5p2BdyqH/s1600/CAM00700.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Swinging</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6Bn4P0wHOHdTVQu1i7WF1FY_SQ-O8HVH_bleB2zlty3ZgxANT41QJyBfqhyphenhyphentsyUKc3quX9BYq6goWSTt-CY_zaShJvZHGwyjyzonBG9UFl4-C-71Xv6hnAo5bOHNdbJhsByw02fNXtv9/s1600/CAM00686.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc6Bn4P0wHOHdTVQu1i7WF1FY_SQ-O8HVH_bleB2zlty3ZgxANT41QJyBfqhyphenhyphentsyUKc3quX9BYq6goWSTt-CY_zaShJvZHGwyjyzonBG9UFl4-C-71Xv6hnAo5bOHNdbJhsByw02fNXtv9/s1600/CAM00686.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And Sliding</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5DKID2SthvGfPoyvky9HmnRE0RhR66mr6uxZr6pIoh587J40sd3rVIwx6WRhL8UB1XwMEKk4VuKjaZ1Z9Sxa2pOK72aBLmjTjs6KI0wbf7GEs9Vk5VIDNcp-wINPrTUb5GwEnoVXHsAp/s1600/CAM00712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf5DKID2SthvGfPoyvky9HmnRE0RhR66mr6uxZr6pIoh587J40sd3rVIwx6WRhL8UB1XwMEKk4VuKjaZ1Z9Sxa2pOK72aBLmjTjs6KI0wbf7GEs9Vk5VIDNcp-wINPrTUb5GwEnoVXHsAp/s1600/CAM00712.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Teeter-Totter </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"> After all the running around, climbing, swinging, jumping, and playing we went to have some lunch at Sonic. They had a playground too. *Insert evil grin here* I was really looking to get them tired out, it seemed to work too. Ryder was in my lap falling asleep just a little bit ago, but he has caught his second wind and is now running around terrorizing his sister. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Some of the great moments at sonic</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO4mSOswRVX_7vxI34l7ffEI758ZXfKTIdDj3Ivw4S07oCS2OW5mpFcdxsHv6BdlY0BSNY8Jqi0Qw0mKJsxRUpydYwr3QA9snEHTe_1FbECv44fS0zjXaWBcHs5eJPNgeV3VT5nfV61z_/s1600/CAM00825.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIO4mSOswRVX_7vxI34l7ffEI758ZXfKTIdDj3Ivw4S07oCS2OW5mpFcdxsHv6BdlY0BSNY8Jqi0Qw0mKJsxRUpydYwr3QA9snEHTe_1FbECv44fS0zjXaWBcHs5eJPNgeV3VT5nfV61z_/s1600/CAM00825.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rebel coming up the "hot-dog" ladder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgOzVSZtHHptftyHAsJ1v6X4BukwDwcekvKgF3UKYhIpWDK8haFj8JUQhnzkIIuA56fx6sNbEUx4NiVTq2RodbeNJBuSe53qVphlfGx4KO-GEgoHiUUmzqKjo52HhbtiCVTaXuLmRN9v0/s1600/CAM00806.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizgOzVSZtHHptftyHAsJ1v6X4BukwDwcekvKgF3UKYhIpWDK8haFj8JUQhnzkIIuA56fx6sNbEUx4NiVTq2RodbeNJBuSe53qVphlfGx4KO-GEgoHiUUmzqKjo52HhbtiCVTaXuLmRN9v0/s1600/CAM00806.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big steps</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Da_9u57iK4mUTCtFu4kRifBbg9UI3tHTg8BDKSytx-WqiAwg6aTn57f26q_5EJc4vzK-KqAqIiwbVbU3RroeB1bNqAAk3V7lAME43tIgwKSkcQqOe4xs-GcwzJ8_1SUVE5JW9DDPp6va/s1600/CAM00810.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4Da_9u57iK4mUTCtFu4kRifBbg9UI3tHTg8BDKSytx-WqiAwg6aTn57f26q_5EJc4vzK-KqAqIiwbVbU3RroeB1bNqAAk3V7lAME43tIgwKSkcQqOe4xs-GcwzJ8_1SUVE5JW9DDPp6va/s1600/CAM00810.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing the wall</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7EbN5ctapeZaU4seT0pIAVk3QhajWI-LQavsKlFKfQkb99lL_OrGioHVYdI_RA5-U7uhFll26IH5r4dqM7REUpVmZMLA3AhaHaaKQw0em0EL1HX1YrJ77JHmz3kxcY21Q5vbUM8FP7r_/s1600/CAM00821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA7EbN5ctapeZaU4seT0pIAVk3QhajWI-LQavsKlFKfQkb99lL_OrGioHVYdI_RA5-U7uhFll26IH5r4dqM7REUpVmZMLA3AhaHaaKQw0em0EL1HX1YrJ77JHmz3kxcY21Q5vbUM8FP7r_/s1600/CAM00821.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One small step for girl's.<br />
One giant leap for girl kind.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I've heard and seen people complain about being the stay at home parent. Having to be a childcare provider, chef, dietitian, baker, dishwasher, laundress, seamstress, event coordinator, chauffeur, nurse/doctor, psychologist, diplomat, peacemaker, disciplinarian, accountant, painter, decorator, and gardener. And the list goes on. In 2010 a blog was posted on <a href="http://stayathomemoms.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=stayathomemoms&cdn=parenting&tm=10&f=10&su=p284.13.342.ip_&tt=12&bt=2&bts=45&zu=http%3A//www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail%3Fentry_id%3D63196" target="_blank">About.com</a>, This blog say's a Stay at Home Mom is supposed to make $117,856.00.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Today my payment for everything I've done isn't cash, or direct deposit. It was the smiles on our children's face's Spending time with them. And enjoying a wonderful day.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOZ2lZe2lfL1plCc3SGA73EpsWXhew1UV7t5R06o_-RjNvQLBKv4cSlV1hYDTODkkUKL1pPaKdX023WRFup3HxK0cZOwIWzBV1OjPmo8A5k4wdUp5Xlln7hP7GatSqNlvE0sG9NV0KH01/s1600/CAM00739.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCOZ2lZe2lfL1plCc3SGA73EpsWXhew1UV7t5R06o_-RjNvQLBKv4cSlV1hYDTODkkUKL1pPaKdX023WRFup3HxK0cZOwIWzBV1OjPmo8A5k4wdUp5Xlln7hP7GatSqNlvE0sG9NV0KH01/s1600/CAM00739.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Rebel</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTHjs0R-6rKFnPhVZB4raLCg3_vka91k4UYRPZLMCP8E2g2Dn8D2U0S697xWXf_EAZ2ifgluYWqjcK0vHw_YA3WhqYP62Fw0H4EdYoio2X-QhcaDf2k0NPGNIfjfk8KdZ3Um8W9nitZYA/s1600/CAM00740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTHjs0R-6rKFnPhVZB4raLCg3_vka91k4UYRPZLMCP8E2g2Dn8D2U0S697xWXf_EAZ2ifgluYWqjcK0vHw_YA3WhqYP62Fw0H4EdYoio2X-QhcaDf2k0NPGNIfjfk8KdZ3Um8W9nitZYA/s1600/CAM00740.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and Ryder</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTHjs0R-6rKFnPhVZB4raLCg3_vka91k4UYRPZLMCP8E2g2Dn8D2U0S697xWXf_EAZ2ifgluYWqjcK0vHw_YA3WhqYP62Fw0H4EdYoio2X-QhcaDf2k0NPGNIfjfk8KdZ3Um8W9nitZYA/s1600/CAM00740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikTHjs0R-6rKFnPhVZB4raLCg3_vka91k4UYRPZLMCP8E2g2Dn8D2U0S697xWXf_EAZ2ifgluYWqjcK0vHw_YA3WhqYP62Fw0H4EdYoio2X-QhcaDf2k0NPGNIfjfk8KdZ3Um8W9nitZYA/s1600/CAM00740.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">These moment's right here, are worth more than any amount of money.</span></div>
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And to finish off an amazing day out with the kid's, we went by Mommy's work and seen her before </div>
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we went home. The only thing that could have made today better is if Mommy could have been with us.<a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2338376203144890208" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNmOS6bfCyaSJxo85AD-WZ7uqQIUldlQwYqVuP7IpPcBroNHImF748ui8OnEA5gpuRNv-8uJy9PPoIqEKICjcwLWGvA4BWK0G3bVvFW-dgRhyphenhyphen27MmWfeXlL0Ogk4y6nE3VQyO0e7xTxh3/s1600/anna1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNmOS6bfCyaSJxo85AD-WZ7uqQIUldlQwYqVuP7IpPcBroNHImF748ui8OnEA5gpuRNv-8uJy9PPoIqEKICjcwLWGvA4BWK0G3bVvFW-dgRhyphenhyphen27MmWfeXlL0Ogk4y6nE3VQyO0e7xTxh3/s1600/anna1.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Awesome Anna</td></tr>
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We had a awesome day together, everyone came home smiling from ear to ear. And I could tell the kid's and I got rid of the bah humbug's we had from being cooped up inside for so long. Ryder wasn't home for more than a hour before he climbed up in my lap and started falling asleep. Then after he got his second wind. Him and his sister were playing together like they used to, having fun and not fighting with each other. </div>
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If the kid's are arguing, and plotting together to drive you crazy...</div>
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Take a break!</h3>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-44340873342212047882014-02-14T21:02:00.001-08:002014-02-14T21:02:50.213-08:00Nuclear Pull upThis morning our son decided he was going to get up with his sister at 6:15, no problem I would have stayed up working on my blog or hanging out with the guy's drinking coffee until he woke up anyway. We got Rebel dressed, all of her thing's ready for her valentine's day party and got her on the bus. <div>
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I took him to the bathroom the same thing we have been doing for the past week, trying to get him potty trained. What a adventure that is in itself, he sit's on the potty for a little while then tell's me he is done. I check it to see if he went, he pooped like a champ I was so proud.</div>
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About a hour later I'm sitting here at the computer trying to finish up my latest blog. <a href="http://daddysnook.blogspot.com/2014/02/support-for-stay-at-home-dads.html" target="_blank">Support for Stay at Home Dad's</a>, Ryder was sitting next to me in the recliner watching his morning cartoon's. and I smelled something... It smelled so bad I wanted to duct tape one of the tree air freshener's you use in your car to my nose. This stench literally permeated throughout the entire room, it was untraceable. I got up thinking maybe one of the dogs went to the bathroom in the house, I searched and searched couldn't find anything. Thinking to myself I hope that it's not coming from my son's butt I do a spot check on the outside of his pull up Dinosaur still there check, no brown around the edges check so it's not him.</div>
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I'm like ok well it's time to take Ryder to the bathroom anyway so I'll open the back door and let some fresh air in on our way. Got the door open and I was so relieved to have some fresh air in my lung's. We make it back to the bathroom without anymore stench, I pull out the back of his pull up and don't see anything. So instead of tearing it apart on the side's I just pull it down. Then..... OH MY GOD !! It almost knocked me on my butt this runny gooey mush which is now streaked down his leg's smell's so bad I'm gagging, and wishing I had duct taped that little green tree to my nose. </div>
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This pull up could have leveled a city with the stench it was putting off. I'm quite surprised I didn't wake up the wife from the noise I was making trying to get away from it. I honestly think it burnt some of my nose hair's. I learned a valuable lesson today, Ryder DOES NOT get anymore baked bean's. Well let's make that two lesson's. The second being I need to keep a little green tree in my back pocket at all time's.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-22992181884144019432014-02-14T05:25:00.000-08:002014-03-02T20:19:40.577-08:00Support for Stay at home dad's After my wife and I decided it wouldn't do me much good to keep working due to my back and the pain it was putting me through, we switched role's. I took on the responsibility of being the stay at home parent and she went back to work. My first thought's as I'm sure has been the same for many people who have switched roles was this is going to be a cake walk. Well that's not the truth in <u>ANY</u> way shape or form. Being the stay at home parent is by far the hardest job I have undertaken, and I have had some seriously hard job's. Working on the circus, warehouse's, and about all of the trade's in the construction industry.<br />
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None of them prepared me for taking care of two children and keeping house. And it's not just the physical labor or trying to keep up with someone 3 decades younger than I am, but also the mental stresses that come with the job. And to top it all off the back problem's I have do not help in the least. I have learned a lot in the past seven month's almost all of it through trial and error. A lot of it because I didn't want to seem like a fool asking my wife about things. Which I also learned it doesn't hurt to ask, she had stayed at home with the kids for seven year's. She knew all the little tip's and trick's, and our kid's personality's better than I, because of the time she has spent with them. Lesson learned here: "The only stupid question is one left unasked."<br />
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Beginning my adventure as a stay at home dad I felt as though I had no one to talk to. Having the wife at home when she is off of work is great, I love talking to her and spending time with her. But I was missing the companionship of the guy's being able to have a conversation that didn't involve Lightning Mcqueen, princesses, or barbie doll's. was really getting to me. Granted I love watching movie's with the kids and playing with them. But I was missing the adult element. Lesson learned here: Anyone who is staying home with the kid or kid's need's some type of adult interaction.<br />
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One night I was waiting on my wife to get home, kid's were asleep and i was bored out of my mind. So i decided to see what I could find online searching for stay at home dad groups etc. I found a facebook group and immediately joined. After a couple day's of not seeing anything being posted on the group. I started searching again, and i was lucky enough to find a affiliate facebook group of the National at home dad network.<br />
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Facebook Groups:</h3>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/StayHomeDads/" target="_blank">Facebook group for stay at home dad's</a><br />
These guy's have been a life saver for my sanity. Thanks to all of you in our group!<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/568440566531353/" target="_blank">Stay at home dad's UNCENSORED! </a><br />
As the name implies it is uncensored. you have been warned! but thanks to these guys as well<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/NortheastOhioSAHD/" target="_blank">Northeast Ohio Stay at Home Dad's</a><br />
A brand new group for Stay at Home Dad's in northeast Ohio.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1471241329761918/" target="_blank">DAM</a><br />
Dad And Mom Blogger's. A group created by my good friend David. Also the guy who run's Dad All Day<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Facebook page's you may want to Check out and like:</span></h3>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/AwesomeSaHD" target="_blank">Mr.Awesome SAHD</a><br />
Cuda's Facebook page. A pretty cool stay at home dad's Facebook page<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/bigcheesedad" target="_blank">Big Cheese Dad</a><br />
Carl's Facebook page. He also has a blog listed below<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/DadnCharge" target="_blank">Dad N Charge</a><br />
Chris's Facebook page. He has a blog listed below also.<br />
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<a href="https://m.facebook.com/justadad247" target="_blank">Just A Dad 247</a><br />
Pat & Kepley's Facebook page. These guy's have a website listed below as well.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/geekdaddio" target="_blank">Geek Daddio of 4</a><br />
Mike's Facebook page. Also the author of the blog site listed below.<br />
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/SAHD.Daddys.Nook" target="_blank">Daddy's Nook</a><br />
Yeah it's my Facebook site, but I have to take every shameless plug I can right!<br />
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Unfortunately there are not a whole lot of stay at home dad website's googling it will bring up a few result's but honestly from what I had seen most of the result's are not all that active.<br />Site's:</h3>
<a href="http://athomedad.org/" target="_blank">National At Home Dad Network</a><br />
A great website for at home dad's with plenty of blogs and reading to check out.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dad2summit.com/" target="_blank">Dad 2.0 summit </a><br />
A great site for blogging dad's lot's of helpful information and a great community.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dadallday.net/" target="_blank">Dad all day</a><br />
My good friend David's website, Whom I have to thank for getting me into blogging.<br />
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<a href="http://justadad247.com/" target="_blank">Just A Dad 247</a><br />
Pat & Kepley's website a couple of awesome S.A.H.D.'s, They have some awesome content on their site.<br />
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<a href="http://www.enlightenedneanderthals.org/" target="_blank">Enlightened Neanderthals</a><br />
This is one I found googling one day but still haven't really checked it out too much. It does have a lot of post's on the site though.<br />
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Also I have found blogs some of which have made me laugh and some that have made me cry. It's a great thing to be able to find other's who we can relate to. So here are some of the blog's that have also helped me keep my sanity.</h3>
<a href="http://nerdyathomedad.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Nerdy at home dad's</a><br />
Jame's Blog site. who is also a Doctor Who fan so you know he's cool!<br />
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<a href="http://www.dadontherun.com/" target="_blank">Dad on the run</a><br />
Eric's Blog site. I have read his post's great writing !<br />
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<a href="http://bigbonedbiker.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Big boned biker</a><br />
Micah's blog site. Though he say's it's not dad related I seen where he has talked about his kid's and working out in the same blog's so it is dad related. HA! Micah I got ya.<br />
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<a href="http://www.geekdaddio.com/" target="_blank">Geek Daddio of Four</a><br />
Mike's Blog site. Some great reading here too and that <a href="http://raisingfourkids.blogspot.com/2013/01/pesto-veggie-pizza-lunch-style.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+GeekDaddioOfFour+%28Geek+Daddio+of+Four%29&utm_content=FeedBurner" target="_blank">Pesto Veggie Pizza</a> look's KILLER !<br />
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<a href="http://bigcheesedad.com/" target="_blank">Big Cheese Dad</a><br />
Carl's Blog site. Some good reading on here too. He also listen's to Chicago so he can't be all that bad right .<br />
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<a href="http://www.sahdcooks.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Cooking with SAHD</a><br />
Phil's cooking blog. BRILLIANT! I seen a bunch of awesome recipe's on here and the <a href="http://www.sahdcooks.blogspot.com/2013/12/sweet-potato-hash.html" target="_blank">sweet potato hash</a> looked killer.<br />
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<a href="http://www.dadncharge.com/" target="_blank">Dad N Charge</a><br />
Chris's Blog site. Good reading here as well, and he called someone <a href="http://www.dadncharge.com/2014/01/cookies-are-for-closers.html" target="_blank">Crusty Yogapants</a>! That's just awesome.<br />
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<a href="http://designerdaddy.com/" target="_blank">Designer Daddy</a><br />
Brent's blog site. Some more good reading on this one. He also has a store on there selling <a href="http://www.printfection.com/designerdaddy">T-shirt's</a> all of the profit go to JJ's college fund. needless to say cool!<br />
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<a href="http://ihopeiwinatoaster.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">I Hope I Win A Toaster</a><br />
Bill's Blog site. Yes it's a actual blog with some great content and idea's on it. I especially loved the idea of <a href="http://ihopeiwinatoaster.blogspot.com/2014/02/blogless-joel-three-gift-ideas-from.html">the time capsule email</a>. BRILLIANT!<br />
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Not so much at home dad related but they are still authored by at home dad's so lets show them some love!</h3>
<a href="http://elope-asheville.com/" target="_blank">Elope Asheville</a><br />
Another Stay at home dad working his butt off online to provide for his family. He also has a blog on this site it's worth checking out.<br />
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If you have found any of this information useful please share it with other's who may be able to benefit from it. Also please if you have any comment's I am more than glad to hear them, Or if you have a blog site you would like posted leave me a message. And thanks for reading!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-81549999239464162102014-02-13T06:44:00.001-08:002014-02-13T06:44:12.659-08:00Everyone can benefit from a nice smile ! I have been trying to be a little more on the active side with blogging and sharing my experience's. This morning after I got Rebel on the bus. I was reading through some of the things other Stay at home dad's have posted and shared. These guys have become invaluable to me. Really thank you to all the guy's at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/StayHomeDads/254391691397519/?notif_t=group_comment_reply" target="_blank">My stay at home dad's group</a>. And it got me thinking about writing this blog. As soon as my mind got set on writing it Ryder woke up (our 3 year old boy). But that's ok! Mickey Mouse is on he has his cup of coffee like daddy and is happy. So we are going to smile and keep on writing.<br />
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Now back to my story, last night me and the kids stayed up a little late about 45 minutes past their bedtimes. SHHHH don't tell mommy, but I wanted to reward Rebel for doing so well on her flashcard's and spelling word's. So we stayed up and watched brave on the computer. Well this morning I let Rebel sleep in a little longer than normal. Usually it's a fight to get her ready for school, I'll get her up and 15 minutes later have to either go get her up again or walk in the bathroom and find her sitting on the heater vent still in her pajama's, which lead's to me getting upset cause we only have a hour to get all ready before school anyway.<br />
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This morning I decided I'm not going to get upset at her I mean after all it is my fault she stayed up late. I went and woke her up, and let her know it was time to get ready. A few minute's later after I got my first cup of coffee. I went to make sure she was up, reminding myself the whole way to stay in a positive mood and not get upset. Naturally she was still laying in bed "stretching" as she like's to call it. I call it bundling up and hoping daddy doesn't notice the big lump under the cover's. I kept my cool and told her that since I let her sleep in we really didn't have time to be messing around this morning and please get up and get ready for school. Within less than 5 minute's she was out in the living room ready to go!<br />
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We still had some time and I don't like her going to school hungry so I let her pick out breakfast which was a chocolate snack pack. Score one for daddy cause i get to lick the foil lid. I know I am a evil bastard. I get her settled in and get me another cup of coffee. After she get's done i notice the tell tale snack pack beard and mustache. I am groaning mentally but remind myself I'm not going to get upset. I clean her up and we still have about 10 minutes before she has to go out to the bus. This time normally consist's of me telling her she need's to brush her hair and teeth, and get her coat and backpack about seven times. She goes back to the bathroom and brushes her hair and teeth, meanwhile I'm going through her stuff to make sure it's all there. I look back in there and she is putting her hair up in pigtails. Another mental groan... But I am keeping my cool and we have time so I figure if it makes her happy then it's cool with me.<br />
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She come's out finally and did a pretty good job on her hair thankfully, because we didn't have time to fix it. Out to the bus we headed joking and playing while we waited. As I watch the bus pull up I'm thinking of how blessed I am to be the father of this wonderful child and to get to spend the time with the kids that I do. And looking back on how much i missed out on while i was working. We say our goodbye's before the bus get's there, I tell her to have a wonderful day at school, be awesome, and that I love her.<br />
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Normally I'm not a morning person but this morning has been absolutely great. I just had to make sure I was happy instead of getting upset over little things that would normally get under my skin. the trying to sleep in, pudding face, and trying to put her hair up when we didn't really have time. It's amazing what reminding yourself to be happy can accomplish and that was only a hour out of the day. I'm going to keep it going because I can do it. And everyone can benefit from a nice smile<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-91237102300240308892014-02-11T13:16:00.000-08:002014-02-11T13:16:02.416-08:00A little kindness can go a long way<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As a whole I think humanity has lost what it had, everyone used to have to rely on each other. It wasn't a matter of want, more of a matter of necessity. If your neighbor needed help of any kind you would be there for them, no matter how big or small the need was. There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child, and that used to be true and still is for the most part. Even though you may think you are the one who is bringing your child up in this cruel world, you would be absolutely wrong.<br />
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You are not factoring in the teachers who spend hours of their free time making lesson plans, or wondering if they are making a impact on your child among the countless others that they teach. Nor are you thinking about the police man who may only talk to your child once or twice during a field trip, or the fireman during the same circumstances.Or how about a soldier who is out there sweating in the trenches. How about the little old lady who offers your child a smile and kind word at the supermarket. And for that matter this big burly biker.<a class="shareLink _1y0 _1xw" href="http://www.viralnova.com/biker-gets-judged/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.viralnova.com/biker-gets-judged/" target="_blank">"Not such a dirty biker"</a></div>
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In my opinion the mother of this child should be ashamed of herself. People like her put a label on this man. She did not know him at all but she thought it her place to put the image of a "dirty biker" into her daughter's head. As he stated he would be the first person to run into their burning house to save her child's goldfish. Everyone your child come's into contact with has a impact on our children's upbringing. Some good and some bad granted but nonetheless a impact. </div>
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Now here's a Question for you, Have you taken the time to thank any of them? And that's not what we really need, it's nice to hear a thank you or even a kind word from someone. But what we as a whole really need and are lacking is passing it on. I'm sure that most of you have heard about "paying it forward". Which is a amazing concept (not to mention movie). But my question is why do we have to wait for someone else to do something nice before we do something nice for another? </div>
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I don't know if any of you have seen this... But it made me cry, laugh at me if you wish but this absolutely touched my heart. </div>
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<object width="320" height="266" class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/6m_nRe3i7pc/0.jpg"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/6m_nRe3i7pc&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/6m_nRe3i7pc&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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The men and women in this video are true angel's going out of their way to help complete stranger's and animal's. This is what humanity has lost. Instead of stopping to help a little old lady cross the street most people would just pass them by, thinking it's not our problem they will get across the street and i can't waste the two minute's it would take to stop and help them. Is it so important that humanity can't take the two minute's out of our precious time to show kindness to a complete stranger? Humanity as a whole has quit helping each other to take care of themselves and their family's. We have become so closed minded we don't see when other's are in need of assistance, preferring only to worry about ourselves. </div>
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I am a husband and father, I constantly think of how I can look out for my family. To protect them and provide for them are my primary concerns, nothing is going to change that not now or ever. But I also remember the kindnesses me and my family had been shown when we were in time's of need. For instance it was shortly after we had our daughter, we had just moved into a place of our own and were struggling to make ends meet. We had bill's due and a child's stomach to feed, so doing the only thing we could we put off some of the bills we had at the time and went to buy grocery's while at the store we were standing in line talking about our bill's. The cashier had finished ringing us up and told us the total, as i was reaching for our money. The man and woman behind us pushed his card through the machine and said I've got this. It had absolutely blown our minds at this man's generosity. He asked for nothing from us, but to help those who are in need when we can. And since that day if we could help in some way shape or form we have done our best to do it. This man had started something great.</div>
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So in closing don't wait for someone to show you a kindness to pay it forward to someone else. Be the beginning of something great.</div>
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And I would also like to thank any and everyone who has ever had anything to do with my life from my teachers to the people whom I've passed on the street and got nothing more than a smile. Some day's those smiles helped more than you could know. </div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2338376203144890208.post-76891293872236418772014-02-06T12:19:00.003-08:002014-02-06T17:14:39.379-08:00Run away and join the circus! <div>
This is a brief rundown of part of my life. There are stories within this story and blogs will be written about them at a later date. But I thought it would be a good idea to give you a quick glimpse into a part of my life which has led me to where I am today.</div>
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(The RBBB Circus Animal Cars during winter break in Tampa Florida)</div>
Many people have wanted to run away and join the circus, but very few have actually had that chance. I was about 13 years old at the time, My dad had been raising me by himself since I was about 2 years old and at the time he was driving trucks overland for a company out of Indiana, He would take these box trucks like the UPS and Fed-Ex trucks and deliver them to wherever they needed to go. One of the summer's I was out of school and he took me with him on the road. We had put literally thousands of miles behind us, From New York to Los Angeles, Chicago to Houston and about everywhere in between.<br />
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One day we were in Houston Tx. We had got thru with a delivery of trucks and Dad called dispatch to see if they had anything headed back home. Of course not but.... They did have a truck to transport from New Orleans to Shrevesport and would eventual lead us back to Houston, So we left our little Isuzu there at a pay to park place in Houston and hopped a bus to New Orleans. These were the facts as I knew them, Later when we arrived at the Superdome I would find out who we were transporting the truck for. It turned out to be one of the stock trucks for Sells Floto, The merchandise division of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.<br />
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I literally almost had a mental meltdown upon walking into the Superdome and seeing all the rigging in the trusses, all the props for the show being packed into their crates. I can still remember the way my heart was pounding as we walked backstage for the first time. What a experience all the performers were getting out of costume and all the vendors still packing up their merchandise. We checked in with the Sells Floto manager and was told it would be a little bit before we could take the truck so basically just hang out till then. We walked around for a bit and looked at a bunch of different things. Then we found the cotton candy stand.... I ended up walking out of the arena with a black industrial sized trashbag full of cotton candy !! Oh it was a great trip for dad, on our way to Shrevesport at last.<br />
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We got there ahead of the show and got a hotel room dropped off the truck and it was a week worth of waiting, Once sunday rolled around we went to get the truck and take it to the next stop, After we got there my dad had a meeting with the manager of Sells Floto and was able to get a job running snow cones up and down the seats. Which is by far not a easy job in the least if you goto the Circus and have any dealings with these guys give them a break they deserve it! Then he moved up to running a Table which is basically a small merchandise stand mainly for selling the snow cones and cotton candy. and a few of the novelty items. By this time we were out of the hotel rooms and living on the train oh what a experience this was. I was still traveling with my dad overland I hadn't got the chance to ride the rails yet. the rooms were about 5' x 7' if you got lucky and didn't have a single. After we got onto the train and dad was working for Sells Floto I got my first job on the Circus, working in the pie car. Pie Car Bob was my first boss on the show Andy (sorry I cant remember any last names really) was the Pie Car manager and allowed me to work with Bob on the mainline (dinner time) for the crew of the show. since I wasn't old enough to actually work for them and all I really did was clean the train car and wash dishes I got paid in tips. And during the day when I wasn't working in the Pie Car I would be at the Arena putting the batteries in the light swords and spinning globes you could get at the novelty stands. I was making some great money doing these jobs that noone wanted to do. and a couple weeks I made more than my dad selling things.<br />
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My time in the Pie Car was the best part in my opinion though. Pie Car Bob taught me so much about cooking and baking, serving and customer service. His thoughts about which were don't F*** with the cook or his help. I worked in the Pie Car and "made lights" (putting the batteries in them) for about 2 years (being 15) I guess the guys figured I could take on more responsibility which in turn meant more money in my pocket so I wasn't complaining. I was allowed to help Jay with the Sells Floto stock trucks that came in. unloading them and also helping in the container cars where the merchandise was kept. And though I was still being paid under the table is was great work. Also I was allowed to help muck out the animal cars on the train. Yeah it was a nasty job and after shoveling nearly 2 tons of horse, camel, and elephant poop you really learn the value of a dollar. Which had to be done every week...<br />
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I was also lucky enough to become friends with the animal handlers and was able to help them on the animal walks (from the arena's to the train and vise versa) These odd jobs continued until i was 17 at which time I was filling in for one of the program operators in Philidelphia Pa. after that I worked my way up to Program 2 I was in charge of stocking the tables with Programs, Video's, And Coloring books of the show also selling the programs at the front gate yes I was one of the guys that stood in front of the building hollering and trying to get you to buy a program. It has been 4 years of traveling on the circus. By this time I had visited every state except Alaska and Hawaii. I had seen parts of the country that anyone who wasn't traveling by would never see. And experienced things that alot of grown adults still haven't experienced. but those are all story's for different blogs.<br />
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I hope you have enjoyed reading this one and I look forward to hearing all thought's and comments. I will be posting another blog as soon as I can with some of my experiences traveling in the Greatest Childhood On Earth.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12316255422467878740noreply@blogger.com0