Sunday, December 31, 2006

Rain, Rain, Go Away

Not really - I am actually glad we are getting some rain. It has been unseasonably warm this winter. The only good thing about the weather being warmer than normal is that the heat doesn't have to run as often making our electric bill a little lighter on the wallet.

Had a really strange dream last night. Glad to be dreaming because it means that I am getting good sleep. I just don't understand why we have such odd dreams about stuff and places that make absolutely no sense. I remember when I was little I used to have this recurring dream that I was climbing a mountain and would fall every time. Right after we moved to our new house, I finally reached the top of the mountain. Crazy thing is that it was the kitchen counter at the old house. VERY odd...

I remember several things from the dream last night, but it doesn't make a whole lot of sense either. We were at some outdoor music thing under a pavilion. Since I didn't have an upright bass, this guy offered to let me use his. He played it kinda weird and it was too tall for me. So I tried to move the stand down a little bit and something crazy happened to the bridge. Needless to say I didn't get to play. Several other things happened, but I remember these two bums trying to steal my money I had placed on top of this farm equipment for a second while I looked for something in my wallet. The next thing I remember I was in some sort of restaurant looking for the boy and entertaining people by acting crazy. I wish I remembered more...

Turkey for free

We were blessed this Christmas with a gift certificate to the Honeybaked Ham Store. Well, after Thanksgiving and realizing how much sodium is in a ham I decided to go with a very nice turkey breast. We had one at our staff "winter gathering" and it was out of this world. I went ahead and added some mashed potatoes and green bean casserole for the sides. This is what we're going to eat for our New Year's Day meal.

It's really odd because my whole family is out of town until January 3rd. I think this is the first time in a long time that we're going to be at home and the family off somewhere else. I'm certain I will be the only one in our home able to stay up to see in the new year. I just hope the boy is well for the new year...

Saturday, December 30, 2006

I passed!

It was a nightmare getting there, but I passed my test. I am now officially a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - MCTS SQL Server 2005. One more test and I will be a Microsoft Certified Information Technology Specialist - MCITP Database Administrator.

The nightmare was the trip up. I thought I'd be smart and take GA 20 over to I-75. Unfortunately, our lovely state is full of nosy people, and because the lights of a State Patrol Car under the Eagles Landing overpass were flashing, every rubber-necker caused traffic to back up for 5 miles. After that mess, it flowed just like yo would expect on a Saturday afternoon. That is until I got off of 675 onto 285. Same issue - a Dekalb county officer was helping a broke down vehicle.

Luckily, I was able to call the testing facility and they were gracious enough to give me some extra time in case I needed it. Thank goodness it didn't take long once I passed the slow down point to get back up to speed and get there.

I really like this facility, except for the fact that the were in such a hurry to get out of there that they turned off the air in the little 8 X 8 room with 5 running computers and 2 decent sized guys testing. I would figure it was probably in the upper 70's in the room by the time I got through with my test. But HALLELUJAH - I am done!!!

Friday, December 29, 2006

Add and Subtract

Went to the ENT today for the boy's sinus issues. The Doc didn't even look in his ear good and said there was fluid buildup. Immediately, he sent us down the street to have a hearing test. The tests showed about a 15% loss due to the fluid buildup. He wants the boy to have tubes put in his ears, adenoids removed and tonsils out. That means 14 days out of school. Thank goodness we have enough family around that will be willing to watch him for us. With another one on the way, we need to save as much time as we can so that we don't lose pay for time off.

He is also going to have to go to an allergist. I think that I am going to refer myself there, too, so that they can do whatever with me and get me straightened out as well. I go through the same stuff as the boy, and probably more...

It has been a long day. I am exhausted, and I haven't really done anything. Not a good sign....

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

He's better

The boy seems to be better, but not well yet. He still won't eat anything and has not been drinking very much. I just hope that this will be over soon. The wife wants to go shopping and to register for the new baby. However, we can't go anywhere until the boy is well. I have church tonight, and I also need to study for my cert test.

Got the TiVo hooked up last night. I also downloaded the software to my laptop that will allow me to copy files to it. The only problem is that the actual unit has not received the updates from the website which means I can't do anything with it remotely yet. Hopefully that will be fixed in the next few hours.

Still need to install the satellite radio in the car. Maybe I can get that done before the end of the week. I am awfully sleepy... maybe I can take a nap...

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

The Day After

Mother-In-Law called yesterday morning to wish us Merry Christmas. She stated that the baby had been up all night throwing up. He and the boy were around each other nearly the entire night. I certainly hope its not related, but the wife woke me up about 30 minutes ago stating that the boy wouldn't take his medicine to help him with his cough. She was trying to get him to take some Tylenol because he was complaining about his forehead hurting. I came and picked him up to love on him and coax him into taking the medicine and I get thrown up on. It's strange how that, when it is your own child, it doesn't bother you like you think it would. He says he still doesn't feel well, but I think it is from all the junk he's been eating. I pray that it is not a bug with the wife expecting.

Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

It has been a really great day. I have really enjoyed being with my family and seeing the boy's reaction to his gifts. I got a satellite receiver for the car which I can't wait to get mounted. The wife got a nano and the necklace the boy picked out. The boy got more than he'll ever play with. The food was great all weekend. There were cornish hens today with dressing, green beans, corn, fried okra and rolls. I ate too much - per usual...

Getting worried about the boy - he is still coughing and it doesn't seem like any medicine is helping. We go to the ENT on Friday - I am hoping that they will have a solution. I would rather that it be solved without surgery, but if it is a simple one like I had when I was a kid, it will be well worth it. You can tell he doesn't feel well, and I am sure that it doesn't help with keeping immunities up. Whatever happens it needs to be done soon...

Saturday, December 23, 2006

We made it!

With little time to spare, we actually made it in time for the party. I got a shower and took the trash off, then went and picked up a sandwich tray. Ran by a drug store to pick up some OTC allergy medicine for the boy to help with his allergies and coughing. I went to the place i had ordered the wings from, and when I got there they discovered that the girl had put us down for the 24th instead of today. Luckily, it didn't take them long to make them for us. However, several folks showed up a little early, and I still had to get home, get this stuff in and get dressed.

We had a great spread. The sandwiches, wings, veggie tray and dip, pasta salad, cheese dip, chicken nuggets, shrimp and lots of sweets. Everyone seemed to have plenty to eat and enjoyed it. We had a couple of fun games that my mom brought that had prizes. I was playing with the new camera my sister got for Christmas. It's a Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi and the thing is phenomenal! Anyway, the kids opened up their gifts. The boy got a karaoke machine, a keyboard, a globe and a whole mess of little things.

We drew numbers to do the white elephant gifts. There was only one steal in the whole game. I wound up with a little electronic Christmas tree with moneys that ring bells that plays 3 traditional songs. Holly got a really nice goody basket with all kinds of movie treats. The wife played some Christmas songs for the kids. The boy was in a mood all night and cried for most of it. Of course he perked up after everyone left. Don't know what's going on with him, but I hope this is a phase and he'll come out of it. Especially with a new baby on the way.

Tomorrow is the trip to the in-laws. Actually, I think this is the first year since the wife and I have been together that we've not spent the night Christmas Eve Eve...

Busted Belt

Last night I was working on what we call the music room which is actually our old living room. Since we enclosed the garage, it should really be called a den, but since we practically "live" in this room, I call it our living room. With that said, I was vacuuming using the extension wand and the small attachment to get in the crevasses. For some crazy reason, the brush on the main unit still spins when you're doing this which makes absolutely no sense to me. Anyway, I thought we had everything up in there, but there was a black sock that must have gotten dropped that blended in with the rug. So I hear a funny noise and smell something burning, and there is the sock stuck on one side just melting away. To make a long story longer, the belt actually broke and when I needed to vacuum the regular way, the brushes didn't work. This means that after my haircut this morning I have the pleasure of dealing with the crowds at Wal-Mart to go find a belt. I'm just praying that they have one because, if they don't, I will be purchasing a new vacuum cleaner. We've still got a lot to do today although I feel pretty good about what we've done so far. No matter what, I absolutely have to be done with everything I have to by 3:30 PM today so that I can go get all of our food stuff!

Friday, December 22, 2006

OObi is back...

We had a free 6 months of HBO along with a discounted enhanced cable through our cable provider that ended this month. So, as a present to the wife and boy, I went ahead and bumped us up to the next level since it was only a few dollars more a month. The nice thing is that it included about 6 or 7 more children's channels giving us a few more options for the boy. That is definitely worth it.

The best inclusion was the Noggin channel which we used to have when we were on satellite. Of course that was back when the boy was a few months old. Since the provider offers an on demand option, all of those channels and shows are available to us now whenever we want. And since the boy doesn't mind watching the exact same show 18 million times, it's a perfect solution when he needs a distraction for a while.

The only thing I don't like about the service is that recording to DVD or VHS is blocked somehow. I'd love to be able to record these shows to make them available in his room or when we travel. I really feel like we ought to have the right to do that since we pay for the service. But others would most likely abuse it. Anyway, been fairly pleased with our service and glad to have better options!

Thursday, December 21, 2006

Last Day Of Work!

Today is my last day of work until the new year. We get almost 2 weeks off. The boy's daycare is still open tomorrow. His mother has an appointment in the morning, and then she is going to go to his school party. I know she is extremely excited because she doesn't get to be the classroom mom she would hope to be since we work an hour's drive away. So this will be a nice opportunity for her to participate.

Have a busy few days ahead. Lots of cleaning to do for the party on Saturday evening. Have to go rent a carpet cleaner in the morning and get that done. Sunday is church, then off to the in-laws for Christmas Eve. We drive home that night and get in the bed before Santa stops by. I'm sure we'll be up bright and early Christmas morning to see what he brought! Finally off to my parent's house to complete the day with a meal and presents.

Let's just say that Christmas night into the 26th will be filled with sawing logs and visions of sugar plums dancing in my head for SEVERAL hours!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Standing in line at the

Standing in line at the post office is not much fun. Especially since my music can not be played over bluetooth. However, this mobile blog helps!

O Christmas Tree

The tree is UP!!! It takes way too long to put one of these things up. And I left off the 2 bottom most sets of branches so that we could put the tree closer to the wall. I hate staying up late like this because I get wired and then can't get to sleep. When I finally do get to sleep, the alarm clock goes off and wakes me up...

OK, a repeat of SNL is on E! right now. Neil Young is the musical guest. First of all, who ever told this moron that he could sing? Second, how stupid would you have to be to purchase a recording by this fool. Not only can he not sing, but to watch him try and sing is like watching an animal die in pain.

One funny thing about this particular episode is the spelling bee. He's asked to spell business and he uses like all the wrong letters and about 300 of them, then he says letter "q" about 30 times in a row. Jack Black was the host, and he is absolutely hilarious. I had set a reminder to record Michael Sweet Christmas, and it was the Crabb Family. Oh well... I can't keep my eyes open now....

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Mirror, Mirror off the truck....

One of my co-workers came to me earlier and asked if I could help her this afternoon. I thought she was talking about something with the computer or with SQL. Come to find out, she went through the gate here at work and didn't let it get open all the way. She completely knocked off her driver side mirror. Luckily it is an electonic mirror, so it was hanging down the side of the truck. So, not many minutes ago, we set out with a pair of scissors and a roll of duct tape to repair the mirror. I wrapped that thing about 30 times - you never know how something like that will hold in 65MPH traffic! She said that she and another co-worker were just belly-laughing about it when they got in. We all do crazy stuff up here, and I think we get a kick out of hearing about each other's follies!

Just 2 more days now and we'll be off for 2 WHOLE WEEKS! I am ready. I am scheduled to take the 70-431 test in Sandy Springs on the 30th a little after 1:00 PM. I have a LOT of studying to do to prepare for this test. It will be really cool to have one of the new Microsoft Certs!

Yellow means Stop?

OK - maybe I just have a bad memory, but didn't we learn that Yellow means slow down and Red means stop when referring to traffic lights? We have the worst problem on the street that I work on with lights being down. The side with the major traffic has blinking yellow and the other blinking red. Yet, the lovely people that drive around here must not have studied from the same book I did because they act like it is a four way stop. In actuality, you're only supposed to treat a traffic light as a four way stop if the light is COMPLETELY out. This is directly from the Department of Education's Website:

A flashing circular red signal means stop and remain stopped until it is safe to proceed. Flashing red signals are used at particularly dangerous locations.
A flashing circular yellow signal is a warning of a particular hazardous location. Drivers may proceed through, but should use extreme caution.


Hello - how hard is that to remember...

Monday, December 18, 2006

The boy is too funny

Ben was in Children's Church this Sunday. After Holly finished playing in the Sanctuary, she went to Children's Church to sing some Christmas Tunes with the kids. She stayed back there for a little while to listen to the lesson. When the teacher asked "Where does Jesus live?" Benjamin promptly and proudly blurted out "The North Pole!"

Sunday afternoon I was in my office working on a computer that a fellow church member brought to me to fix. Ben came in with an old Insurance Card we'd given him to play with. He stated that he had just received the card in the mail, more like a greeting card. He said it was from his Me Me. I asked him what the card said... "I want my card back."

That little joker keeps me in stiches all the time!!

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Ben is the STAR

It was so neat last night to go to Ben's program and see how truly talented and intelligent he is. Other kids his age as well as older ones were so easily distracted and some didn't even sing. Ben was right there doing the motions and sang everything correctly.

When people see him in public or we take him to see the Doctor, they always say how advanced his language skills seem to be for his age. I don't know if it is because he is naturally aware of everything or if it is because we take the time to talk to him and not treat him like a little baby.

I can't wait to see how he is with Whit. I'm certain that he will be extremely loving. Last night, as he was leaving, he was giving all of his classmates hugs and kisses. He loves his teacher, Mrs. Carol, and all the kids at the school seem to know him pretty well. It will be interesting to see how he does next year in a public school setting. I am still worried about his issues with talking back and being aggressive. Perhaps when the baby gets here it will help with that. Knowing my luck, it will probably make it worse...