Oh, she still won’t allow anyone else near her… even Luke at times!  My mom and I are really the only people she seems to let hold her.  And, it’s my mom as the first choice with me a close second… Fortunately, my mom is coming over every Monday now to hang out with Skye so I can get some work done.  I think they are both happy with the situation.

As for talking, she is my kid after all… she seems to pride herself on her vocabulary skills.  I think she’ll be a lot like Aidan and start rambling sentences off before we know it.  That’s the Phillips in her for sure!  Her favorite words include “dog”, “door”, “clock”, “baby”, “Aidan” and “mom”.

Now, if we could only get her to eat so we can keep her on the growth chart… she’s currently in the 10th percentile and not gaining, largely because she doesn’t want to eat anything or drink enough milk.  Again, the doctor assures me she won’t starve herself so I just continue to offer different kinds of food hoping she’ll catch on sooner or later.

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We start out good… great teacher, classroom and overall bright and cheery environment.  But, a few weeks later, we get moved to a new class due to the class size amendment.  OK, I had emailed the principal, Ms. Tonelli, and pleaded that we not be moved… but, there you have it.

Granted, we are very happy with our new teacher, Ms. Cosentino, but it seems we have had an unfortunate string of events occur that have been handled poorly by the administration.  During the winter, the heater at the school had issues and kids were wearing jackets and mittens just to stay warm… it has been an unusually cold winter here! In this situation, the administration sent home a series of notes that explained the issue was being worked on and that it would get warmer soon.  I was close to getting an interview with Channel 8 but got dissed when they were unable to make it on time from the Pasco schools that were having the same problems.

Shortly after the heating issue, the classroom floods… and, I mean floods! Ms. Tonelli is in there with rain boots on surveying the damage when I discover the news that Ms. Cosentino will be “co-teaching” in the classroom next door.  Walking into that class the next afternoon with over thirty students trying to complete a Valentine’s art project was quite a sight!

Some time passes and they move us back into the room saying that everything was OK’d and ready to go… but, it turns out that mold still existed so we were moved out again a few days later.  Now, we’re in a dank and depressing portable on the outskirts of the property.  The first day I dropped Aidan off, water was flowing from the ceiling onto the floor and the doors were opened to flush out the mildew-like smell.  It’s still cold, so the kids were all bundled up talking about “table surfing.”  The last thing Aidan needs to be exposed to with asthma and eczema is mold or mildew!

I end up having a little run-in with the principal in the cafeteria where she calls me out on “cornering her” and “talking with my emotions.”  She kind of talks to you like you’re the five year old, so it’s hard not to get really pissed watching her patronize you.  I was told the issue would be a priority after the morning show, which resulted in the leaky hole getting fixed.  Wow!  Other parents had expressed their concerns as well… so, it’s not just me at this point.

I’ve emailed Ms. Tonelli one more time hoping that an additional plea will get us in a new class where we can stay for the remainder of the year… I’m told there are classrooms available but they are being used for some special kind of FCAT thing.  Since the funding for the school depends on the FCAT, it’s not hard to see where loyalties lie.

At the end of the day, Aidan doesn’t seem to mind so much.  He even told Luke he liked the portable because it was “so small and everything is right there”. .. Nice!

Tomorrow, we’ll be heading over there for the Spring Carnival where we’ll be expected to dish out lots of money… they are very organized in their “fundraising” efforts! I’ll dish it out with a smile, but I admit I’d be a lot happier if I could get Aidan hooked up with an acceptable and stable environment to learn in.

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The Phillips clan, as I refer to them, is essentially my father, his four sisters and their respective children and families.  With Luke and I both only children, it sometimes seems as if our families are very small, but the Phillips’ reunions quickly remind me that there’s a lot of love to go around and that extended family isn’t very far away!

My Aunt Janice is responsible for gathering everyone together this year, and we all met up in the sunny panhandle of Florida… right where I was born.  Now, being the admitted hotel snob that I am, I did insist that we stay somewhere off site from the actual reunion activities.  And, following suit, my parents did the same… I think that’s mostly so they could hang out with the grandkids though.   Hats off to the Sandestin Hilton for offering such a great rate, coupled with exceptional accommodations.  Aidan even had his own little bunk bed cubby and Skye had a cute little crib tucked away in a quiet spot.    We had arrived a couple of days early to make  it feel like more of a vacation… totally worth it! The sound of the waves crashing outside is something I really do miss!  But, I must say that the progress & development that Destin has experienced since I left 20 years ago is kind of a sad sight to see… the “luckiest fishing village” really has lost most of its charm.

While I’m going to put myself out there and admit that the reunion event was a little disorganized, I am going to add that hanging with the aunts and cousins certainly did make up for it.  My “little” cousin Randy has gotten so big over the past decade, and I’m ashamed to say that I hadn’t ever met his wife or daughter.  They were exactly how I imagined them and certainly something to be proud of.  Aidan was particularly excited to meet Randy because of their shared interests in video games and Star Wars… a conversation that I think they both enjoyed!  I wish Randy lived a little closer so we didn’t have to rely on Facebook as our primary source of communication.  His parents, Aunt VJ and Uncle Randy, are also pretty spectacular.

I do see my Aunt Wanda and cousins Ryan and Erin often… Luke and I both think they’re pretty cool and would undoubtedly find ourselves hanging with them even if they weren’t related.  It’s nice to see Aunt Wanda happy with her man George.  And, Ryan and Erin remind me so much of myself that I can’t help but love them. 

One regret is certainly that I didn’t get to see Beth.  My Aunt Pat said the stroke recovery is taking some time and that she was a little too weak to travel… Having lived with them during some of my undergraduate time in Pensacola, I can say they are two of the coolest people around.  It makes me sad to think about Beth having to go through something so difficult, but I can’t think of too many other people who are as strong willed as she is.  So, I know it’s only a matter of time before she starts kicking butt again.   I wish I could have hung out with Aunt Pat a little longer, but the day just went by so quickly…  it just doesn’t seem like we were there long enough!  I could have talked for a few more days, at least… good times, good times.

So, the reunion pretty much ended with dinner at Fudpuckers, which turned out to be a lively treat (props to Aunt Janice for hooking that up).  I was talking so much that I never even got to eat my dinner… although probably for the best since I ordered fried mushrooms and salad.  The three beers did hit the spot though, and by the end of the night Aidan had learned a new word… and, it wasn’t “pucker”.

Personally, I’m very proud of how our little family has turned out.  It seems we’ve all faced challenges and have come through them like true champs.   For that, I know my grandmother would be so proud of us.   None of us are perfect, and that’s what makes us all so frickin’ awesome.  I can’t wait until we do it again!

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My parents, oma, Garry and Greta came to celebrate with us.  Luke grilled out in the freezing cold, and we made some of Skye’s favorites that included fruit and french fries.  Oh, how she loves the french fries!  When we got to the cake, Skye just didn’t want to eat it.  Of course, she smashed it all up and made a big mess (good photo ops), but I’m not sure that any actually went into her mouth.  Such a pity, because it was a pretty darn good cake.  A quick bath, change of clothes and a nap quickly ensued.

Although Christmas had just passed, there was no shortage of birthday presents.  She scored a new wardrobe and several new toys, including a little rocking horse that she’s terrified of.  She won’t even get near the thing, so we had to put it in the closet for now.  It’s actually pretty cute, so maybe she’ll come around at some point.

The first question from everyone I see seems to be… “is she walking yet?”.  Well, the answer is no.  And, to be perfectly honest, I’m not in such a rush for her to do so.  You don’t see many preschoolers crawling around, so I’m certain it will happen at some point.  So, for now, I’m enjoying being able to catch her very easily when she starts doing something she’s not supposed to.  As soon as she’s walking, I doubt there will be much rest as I’m running around chasing her everywhere.  She is walking around holding stuff, so it’s not like progress isn’t being made.

All in all, it was a great day.  Celebrating my daughter’s first year of life was both a happy and a sad occasion.  Knowing that we won’t have any other babies around makes it sad because I know she won’t be cute and cuddly forever.  But, I know from my experience with Aidan that each year brings new and exciting surprises that make it all worthwhile.

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To each of our family and friends, here’s to a happy, healthy and auspicious 2010…

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This year, we spread the love and decided not to have a big celebration at our place.  Instead, we spent Christmas Eve with Luke’s mom over at her boyfriend Garry’s house.  A few other faces we hadn’t seen in a while were there as well and the evening was quite pleasant.  Aidan has a freakish adversity to Garry’s dogs, which presents a certain amount of humor for everyone but him.  But, other than that, we enjoyed a delicious meal and time well spent catching up.  We were even able to Skype with Luke’s family over in Poland, which was quite a treat!

Later that night, we let Aidan open up the presents we got him.  Skye had passed out in the car, so she kind of missed out on that part.  But, Aidan… being the spoiled rotten kid that he is, got everything he had asked for and more.

Santa did make it to our house that night and brought even more goodies.  I’m told he really enjoyed the gingerbread men Aidan had made and decorated for him, as well as the carrots he left for the reindeer.  Aidan now has enough LEGOs to touch the ceiling!  He also got the science kit he wanted and a few other things as well.  I should hope he got everything he wanted after we waited in line for over an hour at the mall to tell Santa’s “helper” what he couldn’t live without!  It turns out I’ve enjoyed LEGO Rock Band more than anyone else, so I guess I scored on that one!

Greta and Garry joined us over at my parent’s house for Christmas dinner.  Amid puffs of smoke from the poor little game hens cooking and Oma laying sickly on the couch, we really had a great time.  Never a lack of gifts at the Phillips’ house, the kids were again showered with presents that would later result in packaging filling more than two large garbage cans outside our house for pick-up.  Such a shameful and gluttonous holiday, I know.   But, the look on kids’ faces when they open stuff up is pretty priceless I have to admit.  Even Skye was pleased with her loot, although Aidan’s stuff does seem to be more appealing to her.

Luke is off for the remainder of the holiday and doesn’t return back to work until after the New Year.  So, we’re making the most of our time and trying to combine relaxation with entertainment.  We’re hoping to have a date night this weekend, and Luke is planning some fun stuff for Aidan as well.  I think they’ve got laser tag and geocaching on the agenda, as well as many hours spent with LEGOs, of course.  Skye’s got Gymboree going on and maybe a trip to the park or two so she can play with her new bubbles.  I swear that girl said “bubble” the other day… but, I can’t get her to say it again!  At some point, we’ll have to get everything together for her birthday on January 9th.  I can’t even believe she’s going to be one! Before you know it, Christmas 2010 will be here!

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For us, 2009 has been a whirlwind of events… from Aidan entering kindergarten to Skye being born and growing into a little person with her own unique personality.  In the next few weeks, I expect she’ll be walking around getting into even more stuff!

As for Luke and I, we’ve spent most of the year somewhat overwhelmed by all of the changes.  Luke now works for Bright House after they bought out Time Warner and I’ve cut back to part-time with Pro QC and continue to teach at HCC and am preparing for a USF course in the spring.  That, coupled with two of the most spoiled children you’ve ever met, certainly does pose certain challenges when it comes to getting enough sleep or making time for date nights.   But, I can’t complain… and, I honestly wouldn’t change one single moment of it if I could.

Unfortunately, we haven’t seen much of our family this year.  We keep promising to visit Poland again, but there’s always some reason to postpone.  At the holidays especially, we miss them and wish they lived just a little closer!  Of course, my folks are just down the road, which has been a truly invaluable source of me keeping my sanity through the infant phase.  I wouldn’t be able to do half of the stuff I do for Aidan’s school if it weren’t for their willingness to babysit… not to mention actually making doctor’s appointments and other stuff. 

So, to conclude, it is with an open heart that we extend the warmest of greetings to all of our friends and family as the year comes to an end.  We look forward to a productive and happy 2010 and wish the same for everyone else as well!  This year, I am determined to stick with one or two of my resolutions… lol!

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And, she’s getting in two more teeth up top and has finally started eating food with a little texture to it.  I’m going to dabble with the food processor at some point to try and whiz up some culinary creations.

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So, Greta and Garry appear to be doing very well… Greta’s recent neck/back laser surgery seemed to really be helping her out.   And, Oma joined us this year with my folks and they are all doing well too.  Kelly and Lance even joined us this year, which was a very nice addition.  Aidan felt really special to have his former teacher over… he’s such a ham!

Oh, Aidan and I actually made the napkin rings and centerpiece leaves this year.  It really turned out pretty cute.  When asked what he was most thankful for so we could write it on the back of the leaves, he responded “birthdays, nature & the sun, family and the house.”   Of course, Skye supervised the process.

Time with spent with family and friends always seems to be an adventure, which makes Thanksgiving up there as a holiday favorite.

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It’s been a couple of years since our pediatrician started warning of his enlarged tonsils, and I admit that the poor kid always seemed to have a runny nose and cough.  Sinus infections get nasty and require weeks of antibiotics, not to mention the x-ray of his head to confirm the diagnosis.

The Pediatric Surgery Center we went to was so much better than the hospital environment we dealt with before.  It’s no surprise that Luke and I were dreading the whole thing because of what happened last time.  Holding Aidan down to get his temperature and doping him up just to get him into the room would make anyone sweat!  But, we were pleasantly surprised by our little man’s bravery.  He went in without any protest and handled everything like a pro.  In fact, the whole procedure only took two hours from start to finish.  We were there at 2pm and home by 4:30pm.

Dr. Orabello confirmed that his tonsils and adenoids were both very large.  So, we expect some dramatic improvements once we get through recovery.  Who knew that adenoids grew back though?… strange!

The days that followed have not been pleasant.  Aidan has been reluctant to drink or eat anything and has become seriously constipated from the codeine.  He was supposed to drink 6-8 8oz glasses of fluid each day and we’ve been lucky to get a few sips out of him.  Once he gets the codeine, he’s so doped up that he pretty much just sits on the couch like a zombie watching television.  If I never see Magic Schoolbus again, it will be too soon!

There was a little ray of hope this evening when he hate some dinner and drank a glass of Gatorade.  And, we resolved the poop problem quickly with a pediatric laxative suppository.  Surprisingly, Aidan didn’t put a fight over the whole suppository installation!

Anyway, I’m ready for Aidan to start bouncing off walls and talking non-stop again.  It’s just been too weird with him laying on the couch all puffy eyed and pitiful!

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Anyway, so what’s going on with the Stepniowski family?  Halloween, one of our top picks for holidays, came and went.  Skye kind of got the shaft because of her quirky need to get to bed by 7pm.  We got a few pics of her in a pumpkin shirt and that was about it!  As for Aidan, he was supposed to be a clone trooper but later changed his mind after we had purchased the costume.  How could I resist him making a special request for me to make him a pirate?  We trimmed up some jeans and a white shirt, ironed on some patches, applied tattoos, an eye patch and some fake cuts and scratches and were ready to go.  It turned out quite cute, if I do say so myself.  Aidan and I scoured the entire neighborhood and scored a whole bag full of candy that will probably still be sitting in our food closet come next year.  But, it sure was fun collecting it.  We stationed Luke outside so no one would wake up Skye.  We both came to the same conclusion that our neighbors aren’t the friendliest of folk, but whatever.  We usually go down to Gulfport to see my friend Karen and her family, so hanging out in our hood was somewhat of a change.

Speaking of Skye, she is growing at warp speed.  Much unlike Aidan, she gets into absolutely everything and can’t sit still for a moment.  I’m glad Aidan is such a cuddler because we’re not getting any cuddle time from her anytime soon.  It’s all go, go go.  At ten months, she’s not walking but she is scooting across the furniture.  It won’t be long before she gets the courage to let go.  And, then all hell officially breaks loose!

As for Aidan, he’s still doing very well in school and seems to have all of the teachers wrapped around his little finger.  One of them stopped me the other day just to say how lucky I was to have such a smart and sweet little kid… ha ha.  Another one calls him the “Mayor of Hunter’s Green” because he personally greets everyone and hugs the teachers.  I won’t bring up the debacle at the HGE Hoe Down here because it would certainly change the tone.  I’ll just say that the night ended with Aidan screaming about how much hates me on his hands and knees through the school.  Fortunately, the teachers didn’t notice and only the moms caught sight.  I can’t tell you how excited I am to see them all again tomorrow at the Pow Wow… woo hoo.

Hmmm… as for Luke and I, same old stuff I guess.  But, there’s no complaining there.  The same old stuff is pretty good if you ask me. 

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It appears that the focus and hyperactivity issues we were having in pre-school are no longer a problem.  Ms. Cosentino says he sits still and is a careful listener.  She also said he is passionate about learning and seems to enjoy all of the subject areas.  And, of course, she said that he is very sociable.  In fact, her comment on my feedback report was that “Aidan’s behavior is great”. Way to go buddy! We are so proud of you.

The quarterly testing they do for reading and comprehension seems to be going well as well.  Of all the problems presented, he missed very few and seems to be picking up on the material quickly.  Despite my issues with the public education system, I have to admit that I’ve seen Aidan increase his skill set very quickly since he’s started kindergarten.

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The first issue took a while to get here, and it was about a month behind.  I could understand that.  I did like that you received a PDF version as well.  But, there hasn’t been any consistency between when you get the PDF and when you get the original.  Sometimes I even get double copies of the same issue.  Whatever.

The real problems with Disney Family Fun only started recently.  First, I decided to go ahead and fork out the extra $10 for the special Halloween issue.  So far, many weeks later after ordering online, I still don’t have it.  And, I’ve communicated with them via direct message on Twitter and also tried emailing them.  Still, no Halloween issue and Halloween is next week.  If I see the “Have you seen…” tweet regarding this issue one more time, I’m going to scream.

Then, I notice a charge of $14.99 on my Amex.  OK… my subscription isn’t due for renewal until next year and I don’t think it’s appropriate for them to go ahead and assume they can charge my credit card.  The first email reply I got on this was that a credit would be issued.  OK… and when is that going to happen?  The charge is still there.  Then, I go to the website and send another email asking about both the Halloween issue and the bogus renewal charge and I get this reply:

Hello,

Thank you for your letter. Please visit the following URL and click “Subscription Help” to contact FamilyFun Magazine: http://familyfun.go.com/magazine/

Regards,
Sharon
Disney Family.com
www.family.com

So, do you think maybe they could have just forwarded it?  I mean, the email that I sent to was in fact the one from the website @ FamilyFun.com Support <support@familyfun.com>.  You would think this would be the right place.  Of course, I couldn’t find an actual phone number to call.

And, yesterday was the icing on the cake… I got a package from the post office including a soaked October issue of the magazine.  Now, that’s not the special Halloween issue I’m waiting for.  That’s just my subscription copy that I’m not sure what the post office expects me to do with.  Would they like me to sit it outside to dry so I can wade through the crinkly pages?

I really wanted to be patient about all of this because the magazine itself is actually pretty good.  But, enough is enough.  I can’t tolerate incompetence when it comes to service and support regardless of how much I like something.  At this point, I’m just trying to get the bogus subscription charge cleared up and am crossing my fingers they don’t renew me next spring.

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1. post-purchase you will receive email with a link to download “DLMWin7HP32US.exe”, save it to C:\
2. execute “C:\DLMWin7HP32US.exe” which will extract:
   1. C:\setup1.box
   2. C:\setup2.box
   3. C:\Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86.exe
3. execute: C:\Win7-HP-Retail-en-us-x86.exe which will create a folder in pwd called “C:\expandedSetup”
4. download and extract: oscdimg to C:\oscdimg.exe”
5. execute: C:\>oscdimg.exe -u2 -bC:\expandedSetup\boot\etfsboot.com -h C:\expandedSetup C:\Win7.ISO

* The above steps assume C:\ for simplicity sake.

Update: Perform a Clean installation of Windows 7 on a clean system using Upgrade Media / License:

1. First, perform a normal clean install of the OS by booting the PC with the Upgrade Setup disc and stepping through Setup. You will need to skip past the screen when prompted to enter your product key during installation.
2. After performing the clean install, ensure that there are no Windows Updates pending that would require a system reboot. (You’ll see an orange shield icon next to Shutdown in the Start Menu if this is the case).
3. Then, open regedit.exe with Start Menu Search and navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Setup/OOBE/Change MediaBootInstall from “1″ to “0″.
4. Open the Start Menu again and type cmd to display a shortcut to the Command Line utility. Right-click this shortcut and choose “Run as administrator.”
5. In the command line window, type: slmgr /rearm
6. Reboot. When Windows 7 reboots, run the Activate Windows utility, type in your product key and activate windows.

Update #2:
I can now confirm that the above steps worked perfectly without a single hitch. I created  the ISO and installed on a totally clean system and successfully activated the “upgrade” license I purchased. I really have to wonder why can’t Microsoft (and other companies) refuse to make things painless out of the box? I really wouldn’t mind paying full price for quality products if they aren’t wrapped up so tightly in suck.

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Funding

My first issue with the education system is the lack of funding and consistent budget issues that are going on.  Each day, it seems they require additional money, supplies or volunteers to supplement their lack of resources.  Honestly, I would have had no idea based on the tax bill I pay each year.  And, I do wonder where the money is going if the teachers aren’t getting it and there’s nothing left for basic classroom supplies.  Why am I left supplying snacks, toys, project supplies, time to make copies for them, etc.?  Where is the money going?  And, why is education always the first thing on the chopping block when it comes time to save?  If we can’t educate our children, what the hell is our future going to look like?  And, how are they going to figure out the financial mess we’re leaving them with?

Our school, Hunter’s Green Elementary, even goes as far as partnering with local businesses such as Dominos and Dairy Queen to have special fundraising nights.  On these days, our kids go home with stickers on their shirts and are told during the morning show that they should “remind” their parents to purchase pizza or ice cream so that a certain percentage of proceeds can go back to the school.  Now, I actually think this is an excellent idea and wouldn’t mind this if it occurred every once and a while, but it seems like there’s some kind of fundraising thing going on ALL the time.  You just can’t escape it.

Early Release

Don’t even get me started on “early release” days.  About every other Wednesday, I’ve got to pick up Aidan at 12:15pm so the teachers have more time for “planning” and such.  Really?  By the time I get him there it’s time to turn around and pick him up.  WTF?  I do get that the teachers have to plan and I also respect that they’ve got a lot of administrative type of stuff to get through and need non-class time to deal with everything.  But, they also have assistants, parent volunteers and planning periods during the day.  I’m thinking this is also another way to cut costs and it’s certainly another way to inconvenience me.  Why not just take a full day off every once and a while instead of teasing us with a few hours here and there?  It’s like they have zero respect for our time.

Parental Involvement

One would think that parents would want to be as involved as possible in their child’s education.  But, I’m finding that to be overwhelming untrue. As “homeroom mom”, I  was tasked with organizing volunteer opportunities and getting people involved in reading with the kids, making copies for the teacher, donating supplies for projects and helping out with special events and such.  I actually thought my biggest issue would be fitting everyone in.  But, it seems that other than two or three moms, no one else will even give me the courtesy of a reply.  I’ve emailed, sent home letters and called.  But, it seems they have zero interest in being involved.  And, that kind of makes me sad. Don’t get me wrong…  I totally understand that people have to work.  And, I do too.  I just happen to have a very flexible schedule.  Actually, it’s all the volunteer crap I do that takes up most of my time!  But, there are still opportunities available to participate for those that work the typical 8-5 schedule.  At least they could reply.

I will admit to not getting off to the best start with some of the moms that are offering to help out.  It’s even gone so far as having an altercation with one of them at the Fall Centers event today.  But, I’ll take snobby bitches any day over people that won’t even reply!  At least they realize the impact of their participation on their children’s overall educational success.  And, I can handle “fake nice” any day of the week.

If I could offer a piece of advice to parents, it would be that it’s not solely the school’s responsibility to teach our children.  We have to work with them and show them that we think learning is important.  We have to set examples for our children and not expect them just to turn out OK based on their experiences at these learning factories we call schools.  If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the teachers in these institutions are over burdened with too many kids and not enough time or money to do the job they way they would like to.  They EXPECT us to supplement at home so that they can do more in class!

And… I think that’s enough ranting for now.  As I write this, I’ve received a voice message for me to call a number and complete a survey for the school.  I’m supposed to call Parent Link to complete this. LMAO

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But, seriously, it’s so hard to believe that my little girl is almost a year old.  And, she seems to be perfect in every way.  She’s crawling around, waving hello, clapping, lifting herself up and getting into as much trouble as she possible can.  The “trouble” part was inevitable considering her genetic make-up.  Neither Skye nor Aidan were going to be able to escape that one!

At nine months, Skye weighs 17.5lbs, which puts her in the 50th percentile.  She’s also 28″, which puts her in the 90th percentile for height.  Of course, they can’t really predict height until they’re two but she is getting pretty up there.

I’ve got some video that I’m hoping to post soon.  And, I admit we have been slacking on the updated photos.  It seems so much easier to snap shots with the iPhone rather than lug around a hefty camera all the time!  Since Skye isn’t big on strollers and still insists on being held, taking photos is especially difficult.

As for life in general with Skye, it’s getting much easier.  We tried taking her off the Zantac but ended up going back on it.  It seems she’s still got some reflux issues.  And, she’s getting up once a night which is mostly my fault.  I could let her soothe herself back to sleep, but I know she’ll want to wake up for real around 4am and that’s just not cool.  I’m already addicted to Benadryl just to get 4-5 hours a sleep a night so I don’t need to be waking up that early!

Wherever we take her, she’s just as well behaved as she could be… I mean, that’s much different from Aidan who used to be a real screamer.  But, Aidan never went for socket plugs and stereo equipment either so it’s a toss-up as to which one is preferred.

All in all, she’s a keeper… And, I can’t wait for her birthday!  She really is our little princess, even though I said I would never say that and dress her in pink all the time.

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In order to get the iPhone, we of course had to get AT&T service and sign a contract in order to get a “reasonable” deal.  Don’t even get me started on the shmuck fee you pay just because you have an iPhone!  I will be the first to admit that I love my phone, so I pushed the petty details of service to the back of my mind in order to savor my shiny little treasure.

But, since I’ve had the phone, text messages keep coming in from an unknown phone number (352-999-8399).  It started innocently enough with a text every now and then saying “hello”, “hi” or “hola”.  I just ignored it and then responded back saying that they had the wrong number.  When that didn’t resolve the problem, I finally played along and had a little conversation with the individual regarding “how much Neil is weird” and “how much we both like the Jabbaockeez masks”.  And, again, I reminded the person that I don’t know who they are or really what they are talking about.

So, all this wouldn’t be a big deal but I only get 200 messages a month in my plan and he/she is starting to really dent that.  Luke called AT&T and was told we would have to PAY for a service that would allow me to block people… why would I have to PAY to block people from using the text messages that I pay for? Incoming and outgoing messages count, and there seems to be nothing I can do to communicate directly with the person to cease and desist.  For that, AT&T, you are on my “you suck” list! You make enough money off of us and everyone else to do little things like allow us to block unwanted calls that we’re paying for – FREE!  Get over your giant corporate attitude and respect your customers a little.  God damn it, if I didn’t have to use AT&T to have my iPhone, I’d say screw you all the way out of my contract.  But, it seems I’m stuck and can only complain online and to others.

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Last night, I reached my limit.  I'm just so sick of Aidan's attitude and all the nasty things that come out of his mouth.  Granted, he's doing better in class because we have a much better teacher (Ms. Caple, you turned out to kind of suck)… but, he's still causing problems at home when things aren't going his way.  I'm talking slamming doors, yelling, saying terrible things about how much he hates us, etc. And, this is from a kid that couldn't possibly be more loved and has everything his little heart desires… I guess that kind of makes him a spoiled brat, but whatever.

I'm not sure what exactly made me snap… maybe it was his throwing his homework across the room and telling me he was going to throw the pen at me.  Or, it could have been all the door slamming and the "I don't cares" that I hear constantly.  But, I had reached a limit and thought it was time to put hand to butt.  His face when I did finally did spank him was something I had never imagined.  He looked totally shocked.  I'm surprised since he had told his previous teacher that we beat him all the time!  I guess he never thought through what it would actually feel like.  The rest of the afternoon didn't get any better.  He spent much of the time standing in the corner in time out.  And, of course he "didn't care".

When Luke got home and it was time for dinner, Aidan threw a huge fit over eating what he considered to be gross.  Granted, it wasn't a great recipe.  It was something I thought I would try that didn't turn out to be a winner.  But, it certainly wasn't inedible.  Instead of taking one or two bites like we asked, he ended up throwing another fit and getting spanked by Luke.  He still didn't care and just waited patiently in time out until it was time for bed.

This morning, I served up the same meal again and asked him to simply take one or two bites and then I would gladly make him something else.  But, he still refused and threw another gigantic fit.  Luke eventually gave in and gave the kid a banana.  His little smirk at me was priceless! 

So, we're left with trying everything… taking away the toys, spanking, time out, etc.  But, the kid genuinely doesn't seem to care.  The battles may have been lost… but, the war is far from over.  While his force may be strong, I guarantee that mine is stronger and that I will prevail. 

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The 2nd week of school presented us with a whole other side of Aidan, one in which we’ve always called “Adrian”.  To spare the memories, I will just say that there was a lot of screaming, door slamming, “blue” and “yellows” on the behavior tree and an incident to trump all other incidents.

Last week, Aidan told his teacher that he was having meltdowns about the behavior tree colors because his parents beat him when he wasn’t on green!  Yes… and, by law the teacher should have reported it but told me she didn’t think anything was going on based on Aidan’s tendency to tell other fibs.  And, I’m there every morning to drop him off, wait for him personally at the gate and so on.. and so on.  Mortified, I actually shed tears over the whole thing, which was totally humiliating.

Needless to say, there was an appropriate punishment that day.  And, Aidan really shaped up at the end of the week.  But, his attitude is still there, no matter how hard he tries.  He’s like an angsty teenager or something, always walking around talking about how much he hates something or just “doesn’t care”.  I’ll admit it’s a little concerning.

As we see more and more of Aidan returning, we’ll also be dealing with switching kindergarten classes/teachers.  After emailing the principal and pleading for Aidan to stay, it turns out he was one of the five from each class that will go towards creating two more classes… thanks to poor planning.

I did meet the teacher this morning, and everything seems like it’s going to be fine.  I’m calling it a “do over” to give us a fresh 2nd chance at making that first impression. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…

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For the actual holiday weekend, Aidan slept over with his granparents on Saturday night and we spent the evening with DJ and Tracy.  For two folks we used to see quite often, it’s not uncommon for us to get together once or twice a year now that life has signifcantly changed for all of us.

I picked up Aidan on Sunday.  My folks (AKA ”the grandparents”) were also celebrating their 35th anniversary… now, that is a long time!

We spent Sunday afternoon at Lettuce Lake Park.  Forgetting the bicycle helmet, we all walked the boardwalk and spent some time at the playground.  It was HOT, but nice!

On Monday, we ditched chores and grocery shopping for a day in Sarasota, which included lunch at Columbia and collecting shells at Lido.  Fun stuff!

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The course I’ll be teaching is Marking & eMarketing for Small Business.

Small businesses present unique marketing challenges, such as budgeting or other resource allocation issues. Tailored with that in mind, this discussion based seminar uses case studies to explore successful strategies for understanding and reaching your market. Promotional opportunities will be evaluated for a variety of industries, with special consideration provided to eMarketing initiatives.

Who Should Attend?:

Anyone interested in learning how to identify and reach their market effectively, optimize their marketing budget and increase overall action item success would benefit from this seminar. Those working for, invested in or that otherwise own a small business would particularly benefit from the ability to develop and execute more strategic marketing initiatives.

What You Can Expect:

• You will walk away knowing how to develop a targeted and strategic marketing plan that takes into consideration the specific issues associated with small businesses.
• You will learn how to maximize the benefits of online marketing tools, such as website optimization, social networking and emailed communications.
• You will know how to employ effective contact management, meaning you are capturing key information and also regularly using the collected data for relevant marketing research and performance metrics.
• You will have thoroughly explored promotional ideas across a variety of industries and will be able to identify and assess opportunities more effectively.

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Luke and I both went to drop him off after getting up at 6am to make sure everything went smoothly.  Having met the teacher and explored the classroom last week, Aidan seemed comfortable with everything.  We actually ran into his pal Devin in the parking lot and walked in together, so I think that made him a little more at ease.  I’m glad one or two of his friends from Bright Horizons will be there with him for the transition.

The teacher, Ms. Caple, seems nice enough.  However, with 21 kids in the class it’s obvious she doesn’t have time to really chat.  And, I guess I was kind of used to being able to talk with his teachers at Bright Horizons.  In fact, I chatted with them so much that I consider them friends that I’ll miss!

Anyway, picking Aidan up did turn into a total mess.  Skye and I were going to meet him at his class but soon discovered the school is locked up until 2:05pm.  We were told by the front office to go back to our car and wait in line.  So, that put us in a twenty-five minute car jam waiting for kids to be dismissed and loaded up.  I couldn’t help but think about all of the needless carbon emissions occurring as all those cars sat there idle.  And, Skye wasn’t very happy either!  In fact, she decided to scream the whole time as a reminder that she should be at home napping and eating.  We obviously need to work out some kind of schedule that works for everyone, but I just can’t figure out what that’s going to be yet!

When asked how his first day was, Aidan was kind of quiet.  His teacher had advised me that he was “emotional”, but couldn’t provide any details.  She was wrapped up in getting all of the other kids matched up with their cars, which I totally understand.  The whole dismissal process was total chaos!

As the day progressed, I did manage to get some details from Aidan but nothing too spectacular.  They went to the cafeteria, played on the playground and listened to songs.  He told me today was “just an orientation” and that ”real school would start tomorrow”.

So as we wind down this evening, I’m already thinking about how early we’ll be getting up tomorrow to do it all again. I think I agree with Aidan when I say that we miss Bright Horizons and that growing up is hard to do!

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We had gone to Stone Mountain Park last year and really enjoyed it.  We stayed at the Evergreen Marriott, which is centrally located there.  We decided to stay there again, partly so we could eat at the Village Corner German Restaurant nearby. I guess there’s a sense of irony there since we had just left Helen… but, this place blows anywhere we ate in Helen away.  We actually ate there twice during our last stay!

As for the hotel, I can’t complain.  We arrived around 3pm and found out everything in the park was going to close at 5pm.  So, we rushed to get over there and picked the Skye Hike adventure to do.  But, it turns out Aidan wasn’t tall enough so we traded in our tickets for the Summit Skyride.  It felt like it was boiling outside, and all of us were just stifled in the heat.  We hiked up to the lift since we hadn’t parked accordingly and was relieved that there wasn’t a long wait.  They do jam pack in you like sardines, and I can’t say the ride itself is that pleasant of an experience.  But, exploring the top of the ”mountain” is pretty cool.  And, Aidan always seems to get excited about it!

It started pouring just as we were leaving, so the timing worked out OK.  Aidan and Luke went swimming after we got back to the hotel, and I hooked Skye up with a private little area of the room so she could catch up on her rest.  That little girl sure can sleep! The rest of us ended up eating BBQ chicken sandwiches in the dark later that night, just so we wouldn’t wake her up.

The next morning, we loaded up the mini van one last time and headed home.  The drive was long and restless, as the final journey on any vacation usually is.  The last three hours were particularly difficult for Skye.  She protested being strapped into her chair for so long and didn’t appreciate my multiple stops to Starbucks.  We were so surprised how happy she was to be home… she greeted all of her toys with such genuine emotion.  It was really cute!  And, Aidan was kind of bummed that the vacation was over, which made us think he really had a great time. :)

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For this leg of the tour, we opted to rent a cabin.  I found Blue Ridge Cabin Rentals online and booked their “Natural High” cabin.  We had pretty good luck with our rental place in the Smokies last year, and Aidan had mentioned he wanted to do it again.  As for the cabin itself, I don’t have any complaints.  It was easy to find, had a great view, was spacious and very clean.  If they could only find a way to take all of the creepy crawly bugs out of my “nature experience”, that would be perfect… the scorpion I found in the sink the first morning really put my heart to the test.

The town of Helen was kind of old and dirty, in my opinion.  There were a lot of junkie stores, over priced “authentic” german food and really nasty public restrooms.  I thought the same thing about Gatlinburg though, and I think a lot of people would disagree about both.  I guess it’s just not my thing, but I did enjoy the day out with the family and had a great lunch at Hofer’s Bakery.  I was kind of surprised they had never heard of a turkey reuben though… go figure.  We went to Troll Tavern first and were really disappointed by both the menu and the service.  I enjoyed my first $10 daiquiri and decided to move along.  They had a nice view of the river going for them, but that’s about it.  Oh, I will add that Betty’s Country Store was pretty cool… they had great looking produce and all of the essentials you’d need.

Also during this pit stop, I had a little eye emergency… it would seem I somehow got string stuck in my eye and had to visit the optomitrist in the neighboring town.  I must shout out a special thanks to Dr. Dalton and his staff @ Dalton Family EyeCare for fitting me in on such short notice and being so great with everything overall.  I won’t say what I was doing to get string stuck in my eye, but it’s something Luke and I won’t be forgetting any time soon!

Also while in Helen, Luke and Aidan went tubing.  Believe it or not, $5 got them both on a tube down the river with a special stick.  I can’t even remember the last time an activity was so cheap!  They had a blast and would recommend Cool Water Tubing to anyone visiting the area.

Unicoi State Park and Anna Ruby Falls were right by our cabin.  We enjoyed a nice little picnic in the park and then hiked up to the Falls, stroller and all.  We even spotted a rattle snake along the way, which isn’t something us folks from Florida get to see every day.  It really is a beautiful area!

After four nights, it was time to pack up once again and head out to Stone Mountain, GA.  Our time in Helen was both relaxing and fun!  It was nice to recharge and share some peaceful moments away from the hustle and bustle that is Tampa.

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I was relieved to have finally spotted a Starbucks, which was conveniently located at the entrance.  It seems my perception of Starbucks being around every corner was inaccurate!  Life outside of 33647 certainly is different!

Biltmore estate is truly amazing… I don’t know a better way to say it!  There are literally thousands of acres of natural beauty surrounding several key points of interest. After the Sheraton experience in Savannah, we were really hoping that the Inn at Biltmore would be everything we expected it to be.  And, I must say the place couldn’t have been more awesome.  Everyone working there is helpful and genuinely pleasant.  And, the hotel itself is immaculate… the whole experience invokes a sense of instant relaxation.  They even brought us a little crib for Skye to sleep in since we failed to bring the complete Pack N’ Play setup.  I should add something here about the general conservative “tone” of the guests there.  The Stepniowski crew did represent Florida well, with Luke wearing his “I Make Good Babies” shirt and Aidan running around like a wild cowboy.  I kind of enjoy stirring things up every now and then. :)

That evening, we ate at the Winery Bistro where most of the food is produced on the grounds.  Granted, the place wasn’t cheap, but the vegetable raveoli I ate was amazing.  And, Luke added that his steak was pretty darn awesome as well.  The service was consistent with that of the hotel and the kids cooperated in letting us enjoy a glass of wine with our fare.  The walk from the Inn to the Winery was even pleasant, looking upon rolling hills and manicured beauty.

The next day, we decided to check out the Biltmore home.  After enjoying lunch on the hotel veranda, we made a quick pit stop to Target to get a new Pack N’ Play for Skye, as well as some other essentials.  We made it to to the Biltmore house with one hour to spare.  But, it was enough time for a self-guided tour.  And, I think that’s about all Aidan would have held up.  I guess I wasn’t surprised that he didn’t find the home as amazing as we did.

That evening, I took my little man out to Chuck E Cheese so Skye could catch up on her sleep.  We picked up some fast food on the way back and crashed.  Luke had hooked up our shows so we didn’t have to be exposed to the evils of cable.  Very nice, indeed… especially when you’ve got two kids and are trapped in the confines of a hotel room until morning.

The next day, Luke and Aidan were scheduled to go kayaking.  But, the trip was cancelled due to inclement weather.  But, we did have time for a quick tour of the winery and a tasting.  Neither Luke nor myself thought the wine was anything too special so we didn’t purchase any on our way out.

Later, we hit Asheville’s Fun Depot.  I think it would be an understatement to say that Aidan enjoyed himself, even though the place did have some kind of religious undertone to it.   Actually, I think both Luke and Aidan had a lot of fun.   They hit the indoor and outdoor go carts and Aidan finally got to try laser tag.  I guess I wasn’t surprised by how much Aidan enjoyed laser tag… the kid looks for any opportunity to shoot stuff!  Tired and “funned out”, we picked up Olive Garden to go and headed back to the Inn to close out our last evening.

Our stay at Biltmore was amazing.  But, the 3rd leg of our trip had approached and it was time pack up the mini van once again and head out to our cabin in Helen, GA.  I would love to visit Biltmore again at Christmas!

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The drive up went fairly quickly, although the "are we there yet?" comments did start about two hours in.  Fortunately, Luke had purchased a Garmin Nuvi to help us out along the way.  I admit it was an invaluable resource throughout the trip! 

I had originally booked reservations at the Hilton but later cancelled them for reasons I can't recall.  I went with Four Points @ Sheraton instead thinking it was going to meet my expectations… I am a noted hotel snob, which isn't something I'm proud of. Unfortunately, I can't say that Four Points made the grade!  Issues noted include:

1. For $190 a night, a valet should be there to help you get your stuff out.   Instead, we were greeted by a stoner valet that wasn't actually a valet at all.  And, with only three roller carts in the whole hotel, it became a scavenger hunt to find one. 
2. At 5pm, our room wasn't even ready.  We were asked to have a seat while someone cleaned one for us.  And, it turned out we got a room with a queen and pullout instead of the two doubles I had reserved… total disappointment! 
3. The hotel itself, which claimed to be "new" looked terrible inside.  The walls of the hallways were destroyed and there was some kind of strange material on the elevator door.  Oh, and there were rotting flowers in soupy water on display that no one changed during our entire stay. It was gross!
4. The room was consistent with everything else.  Luke even referred to the pullout as the "prison bed".   Oddly enough, Luke did end up sleeping with Aidan on the "prison bed" because we failed to pack the entire Pack N' Play and had to accommodate Skye on the queen.  Travelling with the Stepniowskis is always an adventure!
5. The location wasn't central at all, as advertised.  We did a lot more walking than expected and it was kind of hot! (Note that walking wouldn't be a big deal usually, but a five year old and a seven month old in tow does pose pretty specific issues when it comes to things like that)

So, aside from the disappointment that was our hotel, Savannah was really cool. That evening, we headed out to the Riverfront for the Ghost Hunters Tour.  Part of the tour included getting out and exploring the Sorrel-Weed House.  Aidan didn't get as spooked as I thought he would, but he did enjoy himself.  Luke didn't really care for the tour either way, but I thought it was pretty awesome.  It's a great way to get Savannah history with a twist.

After the tour, we walked through the Riverfront and got some gelato.  Aidan and Skye were particularly entertained by the street performers, with Aidan totally blown away by the break dancers.  Poor Skye was up way past her bedtime, but she handled it with grace and didn't complain at all.

The next morning, we packed up the mini van again and headed out for our second stop, the Inn at Biltmore in Asheville, NC.  Savannah was everything I thought it would be (except for the hotel), so I'm glad we had an opportunity to explore a little.  I can totally imagine Luke and me at one of the bars on the Riverfront hanging out with beers in hand listening to some live music… but, at this point in time we were just as happy to enjoy time with the kids.

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• Savannah, GA
  • We’re staying in the historic district and hope to do the nightly Ghost Hunters Tour.
• Asheville, NC
  • We’re staying at Biltmore for a few days and hoping to explore Grandfather Mountain.  I’m also hoping Skye and Aidan will be cool with checking out the winery on-site.
• Helen, GA
  • We’re staying in a cabin that’s hopefully as awesome as the picture.  Hiking, BBQs, and R&R are all expected!
• Stone Mountain, GA
  • We’re staying at the Evergreen Marriott in the park and hope to get some of that excellent German food at the restaurant right outside the entrance.   This time, I hope we catch the laser show!

Updates to follow…

PS: Thanks for keeping an eye on things while we’re away mom & dad!  Don’t tell me if any of my fish meet a horrible fate.  We’ll be back soon… just in time for Aidan to say farewell to his friends at Bright Horizons and gear up for kindergarten at Hunter’s Green the following week.

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And, she's sleeping through the night… well, she would probably sleep through the night if I didn't wake up around 5am every morning frantic that she's going to starve to death!

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OnThursday, Bright Horizons had a Curious Creatures presentation.  And, Aidan seemed really entertained by that.  He was able to pet a baby alligator and a huge snake… so huge, in fact, I was told it was “bigger than the grown-up”.

As Friday approached, all Aidan wanted to do was go back to MOSI so he could see the Cartoon Network special engagement there.  Heidi had hooked me up with a membership code that got us a full year for only $49.  And, that includes my parents as well.  So, I really feel like I got a sweet deal out of the whole event!  Skye and Aidan both seem to enjoy the place, so it’s a no brainer when I’m in need of a quick fix on entertainment.

My mom joined our little crew today and hung out with us at MOSI.  It turns out the Cartoon Network thing isn’t so special after all, which wasn’t discovered until after we had paid the additional $9 just for that exhibit.  But, I guess we can say we’ve been there and done that now!

The rest of the time was spent in Kids in Charge, which never seems to get old.  I’ve been taking Aidan there for years now, and he just seems to really enjoy messing with all the stuff there.  He did bust his head open crawling through one of the little tunnels.  He’s got a big knot and a little scratch, but I think he’ll be fine.  He seems annoyed with me continuously asking about it, so I’m assuming that means it doesn’t hurt anymore.

Right before we left, we all went to the cafeteria for an “ice cream party”.   The Butterfly Garden was already closed, so I guess we’ll check that out again next time.

For Summer Fun Friday dinner, I’ve got Aidan and Luke out picking something up.  I can hear the stereo blaring as they return now… Skye is sleeping and that bottle of Merlot I’ve been saving is just waiting for me to crack it open.  That and a Netflix movie are going to make a Summer Fun Friday evening for me and Luke!

As for the rest of the weekend, the kids and I are going to hit a birthday party at My Gym tomorrow while Luke goes to Chris’ Baby BBQ (A.K.A. man shower… he he).  And, I’m not sure what kind of action Sunday will have in store for us just yet.  We’ll just have to wait and see!

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My parents and I, as well as Skye, picked up Aidan and headed over to Ybor.  We were nice enough to drop off my dad in front, considering the gimpy knee and all.  The parking garage for Centro is actually quite a stride.

Aidan has been going to Gameworks for a few years now.  I’ve seen him go from just banging on buttons and controls to actually paying attention and kicking butt on some of the games I would consider to be harder.  He did really well today on the Star Wars Trilogy Arcade game, and I honestly don’t think that I would have gotten any farther!

After playing for about an hour or so, we took a break and had dinner.  It was actually my first time getting any kind of food there, and it wasn’t so bad.  Aidan actually munched through almost two small hamburgers and some fries.

Around 6pm or so, Skye let everyone know that she was tired, so we decided to call it a day.  As a big finale, Aidan got to play Rambo.  Luke and I had originally said he would only play shooting games when it involved targets or zombies or something… no real people.  But, somehow he has ended up playing pretty much whatever he wants with the exception of any that have bad language.  Who knows… maybe we’ll give on that next!

Anyway, all in all… good friday… good day!

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Instead, Aidan and I went with his class to Great Explorations.  This was the rescheduled trip that fell through last Friday. 

I do have to say that Great Explorations was a lot of fun, although I was surprised to find out that Aidan didn't even recall having been there before.  I'm sure we've been there at least times in the past!  Oh, Aidan did manage to score the only incident report of the day that I know of.  He accidently hit Devin in the mouth with the oar… bleeding lip and everything! 

While I do applaud Bright Horizons for adding this trip to the schedule and keeping things as organized as possible, I do have to say I'm disappointed that the same bus driver was allowed to take us out again today.  This is the same person that I saw mentally break down from an inability to handle a chaotic situation.  And, charging back onto an interstate after already having made the decision to take an exit would not be considered responsible.  It's basically the same person that totally lost it from the whole debacle that was the first field trip to the Photo Museum.  I can say her driving today wasn't any better.  I swear it was a curb she hit heading back that sent the bus into quite a shake.  And, her obsession with following the bus ahead is irrational.  But, I digress… the trip overall was really nice.  I feel very fortunate that I'm able to be a part of things.

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For a party, Aidan couldn't be convinced to do anything other than Pump it Up, the bounce house birthday factory that we celebrated at last year.  There's something about inflated bounce houses that just gets kids really excited.  They get all sweaty and crazy and just seem to have a great time.  And, I can't complain about Pump it Up. 

Anyway, the party was great.  Aidan's cute little circle of friends from Bright Horizons, as well as the Gulfport crew, always make for a fun event.  However… I do have a sincere apology to make to parents.  During setup, I figured out the hard way that the colored spray on the Publix cupcakes was still wet.  In fact, it was very bright food coloring of some sort that wouldn't come off.   I didn't see any, but I fear that several kids could have gone home with a brightly colored face and hands!  Sorry! 

Oh, Luke was on photography duty.  The party was a good opportunity for us to try out the new camera.  And, overall, we did score a lot of great photos. 

As soon as we got home, Aidan couldn't wait to rip through all of the gifts.  Luke and I cringe during this part because it makes us kind of sick to know that he's so spoiled.  I guess I would just like to see him appreciate a smaller quantity and realize how fortunate he is.  Although, I know at his age I was all about the presents too!   I just haven't found the perfect win-win on the gift situation yet.

We spent the afternoon, as well as the next day, putting together LEGO kits, watching his "shows" and playing his DS.  I admit he seems to really be enjoying himself.  

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I’ve agreed to give Aidan one of his LEGO kits early, so he’s really excited about a Summer Fun Friday of LEGO building and DS time.  He’s mostly excited about his big birthday party tomorrow!

The field trip is rescheduled for next Tuesday, and my parents are going to be able to watch Skye.  Never a dull moment…

–UPDATE–

I surprised Aidan with some cupcakes after lunch today since I had to pick him up early due to lack of nap time materials.  The kids all sang happy birthday, and it was really nice.  But, I also got to pickup the newsletter project that they had completed during the first “session” of camp, which was called My Very Own Teacher.  As a memory, I’ll have a final copy of The Viewpoint that has Aidan’s name spelled incorrectly as a reporter.  How nice!

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Everything went very smoothly.  I did explain to Dr. Hoyos about the continued spitting up and he convinced me to finally try the Similac Sensitive formula.  He's actually suggested that several times, but I stayed with Earth's Best milk-based organic as long as possible.  If it's a lactose sensitivity, I should know right away.  Oh, and he made kind of a good point about the corn syrup I was worried about.  It turns out the brain runs off glucose, which we can't actually make ourself and must get from food.  Corn syrup serves this purpose and should not be confused with high fructose corn syrup which actually requires a lot of additional processing that may or may not be so good for you. He also pointed out that we were raised on Similac and don't have any serious issues… or, is that true?

Anway, I bribed Aidan to come along with us by letting him play the DS all the way there and back.  His addiction to video games is insane… but, he is so focused and dedicated that I somehow feel it must be better than watching television.  A half an hour of DS time is worth almost anything to Aidan.  I've got him practicing and writing two sight words each day and spending a little time outside.  I guess it's kind of a win-win.

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I must say that Friday evening was unnaturally quiet here in the Stepniowski house.  Skye went to bed around 6:30pm, and we watched Knowing after enjoying a peaceful dinner.  Knowing is actually a very good flick and worth a queue up in Netflix.

Saturday morning, we woke up bright and early to pick Aidan up and headed over to St. Pete for the Breakfast with Dali event I had signed us up for.  Luke and I used to go to the Dali Museum quite often, so it was something I really wanted to share with Aidan.  The event was pretty cool because it’s tailored for kids around Aidan’s age and occurs before the museum opens.  And, it ends with a nice little breakfast spread hosted by Starbucks.  Ah… Starbucks, I do love you so!

The museum tour was engaging and even Aidan participated more than I thought.  They did a little scavenger hunt and explained some really interesting things about Dali.  Even I didn’t know the reoccurring melting clock came from Dali watching cheese melt after a party!

After the museum event, we headed back to Tampa for a little birthday party my parents had setup for Aidan.  With Luke and Skye asleep and Aidan zoned out, I found myself jamming out to some song on XM Kids… all the while, the State Trooper going the opposite direction clocks me speeding and makes a little u-turn to issue me a citation.  It turns out I’m no longer cute enough to talk myself out of these situations.  The result was a $260 ticket and four points.  It seems I’ll be taking the online driving class… again!

Before the party though, we headed out to Toys R’ Us to spend the $100 my parents gave Aidan and the $25 my Oma contributed.  That ride was fun, let me tell you…Skye screaming, Aidan yelling at Luke for messing with him, my mom trying to calm Skye down and my dad all gimped out in the front laughing his pants off over the whole thing.  It’s the Stepniowski circus, but it’s something I sure am proud of and wouldn’t trade for anything in the world.

Aidan at Toys R’ Us was quite the experience also.  He got so excited, he busted his head on one of the store shelves.  He ran around like a rabid monkey and finally decided on four various LEGO kits.  It’s embarrassing how much that kid is spoiled… it really is.

Upon return at the parent’s house for the party, Aidan threw a little bit of a fit because he didn’t want to do the whole cake thing and instead wanted to get right to building the LEGO kits.  He finally chilled out and we promptly left him there for a second night.  I can say it’s very peaceful and quiet here in the house right now.  Aidan, I love you kiddo, but you sure can be a brat sometimes.

Anyway, we’ll pick up the little booger tomorrow around lunch and spend the afternoon playing video games, grocery shopping and doing whatever else comes to mind. I guess it’s Summer Fun Weekend this time!

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For this “Fun Friday”, we headed to Busch Gardens with Aidan’s friend Tyler and his dad.  I enjoy hanging out with both of them and don’t see them often, so it was a nice addition to the day.  It was too bad Karen couldn’t make it too, but she had to work.

Luke was off work, so he hung out with Skye at the house.  He doesn’t get to spend too much time with her during the week because she goes to bed so early, so he always appreciates a little daddy/daughter bonding.

As for Busch Gardens, what can you say?  It’s always fun, even when it’s smoldering hot outside.  It was supposed to rain and didn’t, so that was a lucky break.  However, we did get soaked on the River Rapids ride anyway!

I was really proud of Aidan.  He went on the River Rapids, Sandstorm and a few others he hadn’t dared to try before.  I had to do the Sandstorm too, and I admit I almost lost my beans.  Rides just aren’t my thing, but I didn’t want Aidan to know that and be scared or anything.  So, I sat there secretly terrified as the thing spun around and around, every which way.   Oh, Jungala was really neat.  That was my first time going through the new attraction.  Although, my thighs kind of hurt chasing Aidan and Tyler through it.

We had dinner at our favorite spot, the BBQ place.  I could finally enjoy a beer now that I’m not breast feeding.  So, that was a total bonus!  I do have to shame on BG for no longer hosting the Hospitality House.  Of course, I can pay for my own beer, but it was kind of the principle of it all.  It totally sucks that the new owners decided that it wasn’t worth it.

All in all, the day was really great.  We stayed out until 9:30pm and just missed the fireworks.  Everyone was pretty pooped and ready to head out.  With passes through the rest of the year, I’m sure we’ll be back.

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I chose Thompson Studios because they are literally right around the corner and I’ve seen their ads all around town.  Their website also made it look like they knew what they were doing.  When I called to schedule, I did ask about pricing and was told that it varies.  Bob actually told me that “I can’t guarantee that we’ll get anything, but I can guarantee that you’ll like what we get.”  And, I was told packages start around $250.  While $250 was significantly more than I’ve ever paid in the past, I still hung onto the idea that it would be worth it.  Oh, I also had to pay a $99 “sitting fee” that I was told would cover me for one hour of studio time.

During the photo shoot, I was surprised that the kids were supposed to sit on a hard surface.   I was really afraid that Skye was going to bust her head open.  I remember when I took Aidan to JCPenney’s at that age… they had fluffy pillows and several “props” that they used to accomodate his small and fragile state.  I was also surprised to see the lack of genuine interest the photographer had.  He didn’t really try to engage them at all and had them in these totally generic poses.  About a half way through my “hour”, he called it quits and claimed the kids were at their limit.  For $99, I think I could have pushed them a little farther.  And, I think if he would have been even remotely interested and excited, they would have picked up on it and gotten more into the whole experience.  But, whatever… I figured I would reserve my opinions and held on to the idea that they might come up with some pretty great stuff after working their magic.

As it turns out, there wasn’t any “magic” at all.  My mom and I went to the meeting where we were supposed to view what they had gotten.  And, I was surprised to see so many unedited photos.  I figured they would have taken the time to go through the shoot and pick out the best ones for a presentation.  Instead, he was asking me to do that and then said they would touch it up after.  The photos he got were average, at best.  I’ve actually seen JCPenney’s do a lot better job, and I know their “photographers” are far from professionals.  To say I was disappointed would be an understatement.   And, I certainly wouldn’t say I “liked what I got”.

After picking out my favorites came the pricing.  It turns out the $250 package included 3 “pages”.  Or, I could get a collage or various other creative interpretations for much more.  For one option, I was given two frame choices, black or cherry, with three photos.  The large was around $500 and the smaller was around $250.  And, you don’t even get the three individual photos… they print them on one sheet.  The frames weren’t even that great.

What I ended up getting was the three page package. I chose 8×10s of some of my favorite shots.  And, I got the CD of the session for $199 that I’m told includes unedited, low res versions.  Great! I figured my option was to either eat the $99 I paid for the studio time or get a few shots and just remember it as a bad experience.

The best part is that I tried following up with them several times to find out when my stuff would be ready.  And, no one would reply.  Then, I finally got a reply almost a month later saying that the “printer” had screwed up my photos and that it “rarely happens”.  So, they couldn’t tell me anything more except that they would have my stuff ready ASAP.  Granted, I’ve already paid for everything so I guess they could care less at this point.

I would seriously not recommend Thompson Studios if you’re in the Tampa area and looking for a professional photographer!  I’m sure there are other people out there that can actually take good photos, but this isn’t one of them.  They’ll rip you off and then follow-up with terrible customer service.  All in all, I have to say they totally suck!  Next time, I’m sticking with JCPenney’s and spending the hundreds of dollars I save on something worthwhile.

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What Would Google Do?. Jeff Jarvis. New York: HarperCollins, 2009. 257pp.

WWGD? BuzzMachine blogger and journalist extraordinaire Jeff Jarvis takes a closer look at Google’s actions in his latest book, literally asking the question What Would Google Do?

I admit that if I had a time machine, I would find a way to go back and get my hands on some Google stock. Even considering the economic downturn, the GOOG is still a shining star. So, I had to pick up this book simply based on the title because I couldn’t resist any insight that might possibly come out of it. Reading it, I found myself both laughing out loud and now wondering how I ever made it without Google in my life before.

The first section of WWGD lays out Jarvis’ Google Rules, which he describes as “forty clear and straightforward rules to manage and live by.” And, while some appear to be very simple it’s in the simplicity that you find the “ah ha” in it all. For example, think about the following “rules” for a moment: make mistakes well, collaborate, be honest, be transparent, listen and life is a beta. Or, consider that “free is a business model” in which I actually started to consider all of the Google services I use for free – directory assistance, email, GPS, news, groups, calendar, etc. Jarvis nailed it when he said “Google has spoiled us rotten.” It is a win-win business model because I am getting everything for free and they are still succeeding where others are not. Jarvis’s rules really dig into the Google recipe for success, taking into account new relationships, architecture, society, economy, attitudes, ethics, speed and imperatives.

The second section of the book is entertaining, as it is actually the part that sealed the deal on this purchase. It is simply called “If Google Ruled the World.” And, oh what a world that would be! Imagine public welfare, money, manufacturing, utilities, real estate and retail all operating with a Googly mentality. Companies that are built on people, sharing information, no more middlemen, cooperation and consumer respect. Well, it’s almost too good to be true. Or, is it?

So, whether you are just an avid Googler or someone in business that thinks it is time for a change and sees that Google must be doing something right, this book is a must read. In fact, the book itself is much like Google – witty, funny, informative and comfortable.

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My mom joined us, as well as Darlene and her kids Daniel and Michael.  Laser tag and “laser frenzy” seemed pretty cool, but Aidan isn’t big enough for those yet.  We did try out the Highway 66 bowling.  And, that was OK.  At $3 a game (per player), I think the real bowling at AMF last week was a lot better.  But, the biggest disappointment at Xtreme Adventure is the arcade.  And, that’s really the whole reason we went.  There aren’t really many games and it seems the majority are dedicated to winning tickets.  And, several of the games actually ate our coins.  They just didn’t work for whatever reason and didn’t have any kind of “Out of Order” sign posted.  We saw staff people everywhere, but not one of them offered to assist us or even acknowledged our existence.

At the end of the day, which was about an hour after we arrived, we turned in our tickets for prizes.  And, even one of the “ticket eater” machines was broken!  Aidan had 103 tickets and ended up getting a broken crayon coin bank, plastic vampire teeth and a Dum Dum lollipop.  He was pleased, but I wouldn’t have said it was worth the money we invested in the games.

I think I’ll suck it up and go to Chuck E Cheese next time.  You get a lot more action for your money.  And, there’s a larger selection of games and food.  When Aidan’s a little older, we might try Xtreme Adventures again for laser tag.

Next week, we’re hitting Busch Gardens for Summer Nights.

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First of all, the summer program in general at Bright Horizons is totally lame.  When I think of summer camp, I think of trips to the movies or to get ice cream… not trips to places like the photo museum or activities like practicing writing in a “newsletter”.  When I approached the director about this, I was told that Bright Horizons offers an “enriching” summer program that appeals to parents that want their children to have an “educational experience”.  I would seriously like to meet those parents!  After speaking to Aidan and offering him many other more fun alternatives, he was adamant about staying with his friends for the summer since it would be their last time together before Kindergarten.   So, I paid the $1990 in fees and the additional $220 “activity fee”… AKA schmuck tax.

The sign-up sheet for the first field trip was posted about a week ago, and the destination was the Florida Photo Museum.  I was told the kids would get to play with digital cameras and explore the world of photography.  I figured it would probably suck, but I was going to keep an open mind.  Of course, I signed up to be a chaperone.

As the day got closer, I was told Aidan might have to ride with me to the museum.  And, that wasn’t cool because all Aidan really wanted to do was ride the bus.  So, I fought for that up to the very end.  At 9am on the day, we were all there and ready to go.  But, 10am rode around and people were still taking count of how many kids would be going.  It seems that a max of 14 people on the bus was a somewhat confusing concept.  We did finally leave a little after 10, with Linda and me riding together and following them.

As we’re on the interstate, one of the buses veers off to take an exit but then suddenly decides to get back on.  Fortunately, we were the car behind them!  And, I guess they didn’t realize that was actually the exit they were supposed to take.  I finally got the teacher on the phone and asked if they were lost.  It turns out they were, so Linda got in front and directed them there.

Once we arrived, it was obvious parking was going to be a huge problem.  The museum turned out to be in an office space, probably about 800 square feet or so, in one of the buildings downtown.  Downtown being what it is during working hours, there weren’t any spots available and only one-way streets to guide us around.  It turns out parking garages were not an option due to clearance.  After getting in trouble with the parking cop, we unloaded the kids and walked them over to the museum and then returned to try and figure out the parking situation.  It ended up with one of the bus drivers parking in a freight loading spot illegally and fully breaking down in tears over the whole deal.  While she was ranting on and on, we were missing the whole “field trip”.

Finally, parking got sorted out for us and we went to join the kids.  And, I’m not kidding when I say that this place could not have been any more boring.  Imagine a limited number of “photos” that included old captions of Native Americans.  Sure, it might be interesting to an older kid or someone interested in photography or history in general, but I couldn’t find anything interesting in them at all.  And, to top things off, the “activity” consisted of piling the kids into a small room where they were told to “color” a printout of one of the photos.  Unfortunately, not all of the kids got a chair at the table and couldn’t color.  And, they didn’t have any pencil sharpeners for the colored pencils, so that didn’t help matters.  Oh, and the glue sticks were all dried up, leaving only one to be passed around for kids to paste their photos onto a piece of construction paper… LAME!

So, to make a long story short, I am not very happy with Bright Horizons right now and do not recommend the Florida Photo Museum to anyone with a pulse.  When Skye is old enough for “school”, I think we’ll be considering other options.

Oh, and I just can’t wait to see what surprises the rest of the summer holds.

Update:

Since writing this, Bright Horizons contacted the Photo Museum and received an apology that was posted on the class door.  Also, I think they have agreed to come out and do some kind of additional activity at the center, which I believe is the one we were originally supposed to have done on-site.  The director at Bright Horizons called me that day for a follow-up and advised that an additional trip had been planned to Great Explorations, which is actually a pretty cool place.  She addressed my concerns about the “lameness” of the trip and has since spoken with the bus driver and done some other damage control.  And, I learned today that another trip is planned to a water park.  So, I do sincerely appreciate that they listened to my ranting about the summer program and addressed my concerns about having more “fun” stuff to do.  So, while Luke and I do often joke about the cost of care at Bright Horizons and nit pick about other stuff, I admit that no other facility I personally toured even came close to meeting my expectations… and, I’ve toured quite a few centers just to make sure we weren’t missing out on anything!  I’ve grown very close to the teachers and staff at Bright Horizons and trust that Aidan is safe and happy while in their hands.  Hopefully, they won’t miss my “feedback” too much in the fall when Aidan starts kindergarten.  But, you never know… I just might be back with Skye to keep them on their toes.

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Skye came with us, of course.  My mom and I just passed her back and forth whenever it was our turn.  She was a real trooper, as always.  She’s totally passed out right now, so we definitely did our job of wearing her out.  Aidan is playing Xbox, but he’ll be in bed soon too.

As for our bowling expertise, we held our own.  My mom won the first game with a score of 115 and I won the second with a score of 118.  My mom hadn’t played in 20 years, and I’ve only played a couple of times… and that was under the influence of quite a few beers.  Although, quite a few beers might have made me play a little better this time.

Aidan turned out to be quite the sore loser.  He was genuinely pissed that he came in third place.  Him throwing the six pound ball granny style was pretty humorous.  I think his average mph was 2… lol

So, Summer Fun Fridays to follow should include Pump-it-Up, Chuck E Cheese, Busch Gardens and a cool park in Lakeland that I want to check out called Common Ground.  I figured having him in “camp” Monday through Friday didn’t turn out to be as fun as I expected, so I wanted to supplement with some other stuff.  Of course, we do have the big vacation coming up in August.  I absolutely can’t wait for that!  And, there are two “camp” field trips that will include the Photo Museum and MOSI.  Breakfast with Dali should be pretty cool on the 11th, followed by Aidan’s birthday party on the 18th at Pump-it-Up.  So, all in all, summer should be fairly exciting this year.  We do try our best to keep that kid entertained.  And, Skye seems to get some enjoyment out of it as well.

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I took her to see Dr. Hoyos, and he has started her on 1ml of Zantac three times per day.  I’ve decided twice a day is better, so I’m going with that for a while to make sure she’s handling it OK.  You just hate to give an infant any kind of medication unless it’s totally necessary.  We don’t expect the Zantac to reduce the amount of spit-up, but it should reduce the amount of acid she is producing and make her a little more comfortable.  I’m giving her a little bit of cereal or fruit after each feeding to try and “weigh down” the breast milk.  I haven’t actually done any weaning to bottles yet, but I’m working on it.  They actually have bottles that feel more like boobs now, so I’m going to try one of those and see if she’ll cooperate any better.  I wanted to give her a little break and make sure things were going OK with the reflux relief plan.

Interestingly, there’s a link between lactose sensitivity and reflux which I’m somewhat concerned with.  She did exhibit signs of eczema when I was eating dairy in the early days.  I’ve since stopped and have seen the eczema disappear.  But, all formulas except for the Earth’s Best Organic milk-based have corn syrup solids and sugar as the primary ingredients.  So, I’m not comfortable feeding her sugar water either.  It’s no wonder kids grow up addicted to sugar… we start them out on it and get them hooked!  If I don’t see the reflux improve in the next few days, I’ll consider switching to a more “sensitive” formula.  I’m not interested in going the soy route yet.

As for Aidan, that poor kid got his cough back.  He’s had it for about a month but didn’t seem that affected by it.  Hoyos prescribed some more Albuterol, which is what relieved it last time.  He also came home from school last Friday after puking up his lunch and then later followed that up with a regurgitation of his crackers.  On Sunday, he puked all over papa at the pool.  Hoyos says it’s probably related to the drainage since there are no other signs of infection, like a fever or runny nose.

It’s been such a fun week… all I can hope for is that the meds work quickly enough for Aidan to stop coughing and Skye to stop being in so much pain.  With her feeling better, maybe she’ll start sleeping better, which will also result in me sleeping better.  Ah… now, that’s a nice thought!

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What Aidan wants to learn in kindergarten…

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The ceremony itself was really cute.  The kids sang some songs and got up in front of the audience and said what they wanted to learn next year.  Aidan, of course, said "everything."  Also, they had some pictures on the wall that the kids had done to indicate what they wanted to be when they grew up.  Aidan wanted to be a dad!

Papa was with us for the big day, but grandma actually had to help out Oma in Ft. Walton for a few days.  We all understood, and I think Aidan has agreed to sing the songs again for her when she returns.  No one should miss Aidan's version of Kiss Your Brain…  He has two nights of sleepover next week to make up for it!

After the ceremony, we came back to the house for hamburgers and french fries.  Aidan was also showered with gifts, as always.  And, we had a little cake for him too. 

I'm so proud of my little boy today for getting through one of the many milestones he'll experience in his life. 

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After the second birthday party, we rushed back home, packed Aidan up and took him over the grandparents' house for a sleepover.  And, Luke and I deemed the evening a movie night and watched a Swedish vampire flick called Let the Right One In.  Very interesting, indeed.  We've decided we can consider ourselves cultured now and simply end it with that.  I guess the Greek take-out kind of adds to that!

Sunday was monumental because we fed Skye food for the first time.  All I can say is that it went so much better than with Aidan.  Of course, Aidan didn't want anything to do with food and quite honestly still doesn't.  Skye, on the other hand, was very pleased with the new fare even though she hasn't quite figured out what it means to swallow yet. 

Also on Sunday, after picking up Aidan, we headed over to Chris and Heidi's for a pig roast.  Once Luke heard they were roasting a pig, there wasn't anything that could keep us away.  Fortunately, Aidan was feeling better, so we gave it a go.  Needless to say, we had a great time and Luke actually ended up with two huge plates of food.  As for Aidan and I, we stuck to fruit and cake… lol

Oh, Aidan spotted the Mathey's X-Box right away and wanted to play Rock Star.  Now, that was entertainment.  And, he did a few dances and made a few new friends as well.  He's such a social little butterfly.   As for Skye, she held her own for as long as she could.  But, the noise and chaos finally got the best of her and we headed for home.  She passed out promptly at 6pm, and we haven't heard anything from her since.  A few minutes ago, Aidan heard me playing Super Mario Brothers on his DS and came out to ask me about it.  Hopefully, he's finally asleep.

As for tomorrow, I'm not sure yet what the day will have in store for us.  I'm sure more cereal for Skye will be involved and more video games for Aidan.  We'll be happy to have Luke around on a weekday.

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Anyway, on Sunday, my parents grilled out and we had a nice little feast while catching up a bit.  Free food is always a good thing… but, good company makes it even better.

I kept Aidan out of school on Monday so we could visit the Florida Aquarium.  It was pouring, and I did manage to get us lost on the way there, but once we arrived it was fun.  Aunt VJ, I am truly sorry about making you drive around Tampa in the rain and then getting your hair all wet. But, I do really like the necklace you got me and both kids loved their shirts.   The best part about the aquarium was that Skye took a bottle for the first time without any fit at all.  She wasn’t even starving and just laid back and sucked it all down.  I haven’t had the courage to try again, but it’s certainly a start.

Oh, my mom told me to mention that she really enjoyed their visit, as did I.

Back in the day, I actually lived with Aunt Pat and Beth for a while during college.  They made pretty awesome roommates.  I haven’t seen the whole P-Cola crew in so long, I do miss and think about them often.

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So, aside from the four shots she got in her legs, the visit was quite pleasant. 

I'm also determined to get her into her own bed at night and start weaning her off the boob.  I said I'd go six months, so I've got a little time there.  The bottle section of Babies R' Us was a little overwhelming today.  I don't remember there being so many choices with Aidan.  What I do remember is his solid protest against anything superficial.   I think Skye will be remarkably similar.

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When I say it took many years for me to realize that moms are pretty special, I should be more specific and say that it took me having my own children to know how important moms are.  Having my own kids, I see that a mom is so much more than I ever imagined.  In any given day, I find myself playing the role of a nutritionist, nurse, chauffer, counselor, cook and more.  For twenty-four hours a day, I’m on call.  I’m always worrying about where they are, what they’re doing and whether or not they’re happy.  And, my oldest isn’t even five yet!  I can’t even imagine what’s to come in the years that follow.  I can’t imagine what’s in store when my kids start dating or driving.  Or, what happens when they get married and have children of their own?  Motherhood is a total rollercoaster of emotion that never ends.  And, as rewarding as it is to say that I’m a mom, it’s even more than that.  Raising a child and directly impacting the people they grow up to be is pretty awesome!  And, the kisses and hugs you get throughout are pretty great too!

So, Happy Mother’s Day to all those moms out there!  I know now that it’s hard to fully appreciate what you haven’t yet experienced.

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Team GottaGo! included my mom, dad, Aunt Wanda, Cousin Ryan and friends Danielle and Karen. I decided to have Luke stay home with Skye, since she doesn’t do too well past 6pm. My mom and I had tie dyed some shirts for the team, which made us stand out quite nicely. No one will argue that I like to make an appropriate entrance! The walk took place in North Shore Park, in downtown St. Pete. The view of the water is really quite stunning there. When we arrived, they took our donations and gave us some tickets for food and t-shirts. Unfortunately, they didn’t plan very well and only had one size left. Aidan enjoyed the free light-up shaking things that stuck in my peripheral for most of the way home. My cousin pointed out something interesting about the food choices, in the sense that they were not exactly “digestive friendly”, if you know what I mean. And, the walk was in fact all about digestive issues. But, I guess free food is what it is, and I did eat my fair share.

The walk itself was really very easy, much to my delight. We were able to kind of stroll along and talk. The whole distance took less than an hour, and I was home by 10pm. It was definitely fun and well worth the experience. So, to conclude, I think it’s important to thank again all those that helped us out with their donations. And, an even larger appreciation goes out to those that dedicated both their time and money as part of Team GottaGo!. It certainly meant a lot that my aunt and cousin would drive all the way over from Tallahassee just to show their support. Ryan… you better get that colonoscopy!

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Why did I do it?  I’m not sure… I’m not actually sure that anyone would care what I’m doing, except for Luke of course.  But, I admit that it’s really cool to be out somewhere and send a text that will update on Majjix, Facebook and Twitter.  It’s just really neat, and that’s pretty much all I can say!

twitter.com/jstepnio

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Several of our friends, including my parents, came out to enjoy the day with us.  We had a scavenger hunt for the kids that I think they really enjoyed.  Then, we did a little pin the dot on where we live game that Annabelle totally nailed.

The idea of having a potluck was a huge success.  We had some delicious dishes, including cucumber salad, pasta salad, peanut noodles and others.  And, we also had plenty of the picnic staples, including fruit, chips, drinks, chicken fingers, cupcakes, cookies, sandwich stuff, etc.  It actually turned out to be a pretty nice spread.  I really appreciate that everyone got so involved and helped out as much as they did.  And, special thanks once again to my parents for helping with the setup and take-down process.

The kids played some soccer, all except for Aidan of course.  That kid and sports just don’t fit together!  Skye took turns sleeping on the grandparents, in between brief periods of  smiles and coos.  She passed out in her bed immediately upon getting home.  The next step is to give her a bath as soon as she wakes up.  She actually had her first green boogers today and quite a bit of snot, so I’m hoping it doesn’t turn into anything more.   Of course, she refused the bottle at the park, so I broke out the boobs in the car.  That’s always fun!

As give-aways, I put together little planting kits that included a terra cotta pot, package of seeds and soil.  I tied them together with a green ribbon and a Save the Earth pin that Luke ordered me off EBay.  And, I gave out a couple of handouts that included a coloring page and a list of things they could do to make the planet happy.  Actually, you can download the scavenger hunt and other documents.

Anyway, I think this was certainly one of the best picnics we’ve had.  Luke and Aidan stayed behind with the Armstrong’s to do some geocaching.  It sounded like a lot of fun, but Skye just couldn’t make it any longer.  It would have been cruel to make her hike around after such a long day.  She was a trooper though!

I was really pleased to see Ms. Salveson (AKA Melissa) and her family after almost a year and a half.  And, Heidi and Chris also came out to join us.  Soon, they’ll have twins that can run around with the other little rug rats.   Of course, it was also nice to see everyone else and have a chance to catch up outside of our everyday lives.  What can I say… I just love any opportunity for a party!

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Friday (4/10) – Aidan couldn’t wait to leave, so we left early and went to Downtown Disney.  The new restaurant T-Rex had opened, so we decided to eat lunch there.  The restaurant itself is essentially Rainforest Cafe with a prehistoric theme, but I admit it was pretty neat.  Aidan seemed to be really excited about it, but Skye kind of freaked out.  I don’t blame her though… it was really loud and animated dinosaurs do make for a frightful experience if you’ve never seen anything like that before.  So, Luke took her outside while me and Aidan finished our lunches.  The food was actually pretty good, although Aidan got away with only eating french fries.  On vacation, Luke and I have decided to pick our battles with Aidan… and, eating isn’t one of them.  After T-Rex, we went over to the LEGO store.  Aidan scored a Spongebob kit and he and Luke got some mini-figure matching shirts.

After Downtown Disney, we headed over to Fort Wilderness.  After checking in and picking up the golf cart we rented, we settled into the cabin.  As a “moderate’ resort, you can see the differences from what they consider “deluxe”, but it was pretty nice.  Aidan was full throttle with excitement.  He was especially stoked about the golf cart… and, I admit it was pretty cool.  That afternoon, we hung out by the pool.   In the evening, Aidan and Luke went to the camp fire and caught some of the movie afterwards.  Skye and I settled back into the cabin.  For sleeping arrangements, I had Aidan on the top bunk and Luke on the bottom.  Skye and I shared the double bed.  Aidan was totally impressed with the top bunk… I can’t say the same for Luke with the bottom.

Saturday (4/11) – We woke up and enjoyed breakfast outside on the picnic table, and then Luke and Aidan went to the marina and rented a little Sea Ray boat.  Later that day, they went on a wagon tour of the camp area, which Aidan referred to as “lame” and “boring” several times.  Luke actually agreed that it was kind of lacking in entertainment value.  We all roasted some marshmallows on the camp fire that night, but I ended up eating them all.  It turns out that I’m the only one who actually likes them… Aidan just liked setting them on fire!

Sunday (4/12) – After waking up, there wasn’t much we could do before check-out time, so we went ahead and packed up.  We had Easter baskets waiting for Skye and Aidan when we got home.  We scored huge points with Aidan for the Nerf Wii gun we got him.  He actually played all afternoon until it was time to head to Garry’s for dinner.  He even ate his lunch in record time.

Garry, Luke’s mother’s boyfriend, invited over to his place for Easter dinner.  So, we packed up the crew and headed over to Odessa.  Aidan was “attacked” by Garry’s two dogs, which actually created entertainment value for the whole afternoon.  The poor kid had to be carried back out to the car when it was time to leave.  In all fairness, the dogs were about as big as Aidan is, so it wasn’t surprising when they were able to knock him over.  He’s never been much of an animal lover anyway, but I certainly don’t see him asking for a dog anytime soon!  Dinner was excellent… Greta made all of my favorites.  And, we had an opportunity to meet Gary’s brother and hang out for a limited amount of time.  It turns out Skye wasn’t into eating from the bottle, and she got tired very quickly as well.  So, we left in somewhat of a rush and got the kids to bed as soon as we returned.  I think they were both very happy to be at home in the comforts of their own rooms.  Well, for Skye that’s still our room.  But, I will eventually move her into her own room… one of these days!

All in all, Spring Break 2009 was pretty awesome.  I had such a great time with the family.  And, the vacation at Fort Wilderness really was enjoyable and well worth the Disney sized amount of cash we had to shell out for it!  The one thing missing this week was having my mom hang out, but I guess Oma can borrow her for another week as she continues to recover from surgery.  My poor dad had to work all day on Easter, but I don’t think he would have enjoyed it much without my mom anyway.

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Saturday (4/4) – Aidan’s friend Ty had a Lego birthday party at their community center.  I was so proud of Aidan.  While many of the other kids required help with their kits, Aidan just went to town assembling his little truck.  It was a great idea for a party!  Aidan really enjoyed himself.   That kid loves Legos!

Sunday (4/5) – Aidan’s friend Nick had a Chuck E Cheese birthday party.  Honestly, I despise Chuck E Cheese.  Luke handled this one, and I was told it was as expected.  Aidan had a great time though.  Later that day, I took him for a play date at Planet Bounce with his friend Kaden.  That was OK, but I think I prefer Pump it Up, which is also where Aidan is determined to have his next birthday party… again!

Monday (4/6) – Aidan and Skye’s papa (my dad) came over and brought us some Chinese food for lunch.  He also took Aidan to see Monsters vs. Aliens, which I’m told is a really good movie.  Aidan then convinced papa to take him to Toys R Us to “check out” a Spongebob Lego kit.  They left with two Star Wars kits.  As they were leaving, Aidan advised papa that “mom was going to kick his butt”.  That’s because he’s a spoiled brat and always gets stuff from the grandparents.  I give them a hard time about it!  As a side note, grandma would have joined us but she’s helping my grandmother (Oma) recover from hip surgery.  It’s kind of strange not having her around!

Oh, if you’re wondering what Skye was doing… it wasn’t sleeping.  Aidan is so loud, he just can’t help himself.  Whenever Skye tries to take a nap, he ends up waking her up by banging on something or otherwise yelling for no reason.  She doesn’t seem to mind though.  She actually gets a huge smile every time she sees her big brother!

Tuesday (4/7) – Aidan got up at 6am, so I can’t say I was happy about getting up early on one of the only days we could have slept in.  Swim class was cancelled at school, so Aidan stayed at home with me.  It was cold and rainy, so our options were limited.  Our friend Heidi came by for lunch.  We’re really excited for her and Chris because they recently announced they are having twins.  After lunch, Aidan and I did some spring projects that included coffee filter butterflies and decorating Easter eggs.  He also played some video games and watched a few Spongebob episodes.  Skye just hung out and enjoyed having her big brother around!

Wednesday (4/8) – In the morning, we played hide and seek with the Easter eggs.  It turns out Aidan can hide things pretty well.  There’s still one egg that we can’t find.   Later that day, we went to Lettuce Lake Park.   They have beautiful trails there, and we were even able to hit the boardwalk and saw two baby alligators and a turtle.  After walking, we had a snack picnic and finished off with the playground.  On the way home, we stopped by papa’s house to see what he was up to.   At 6:30pm, Skye was totally exhausted.  While I put her to bed, Aidan closed out the day with some video games with dad.

Thursday (4/9) – Luke had the day off and took Aidan over to Ybor City for lunch and a trip to Game Works. Aidan really enjoys playing video games there, and Luke let him play the shooting games this time so it was a special treat!   Skye and I packed up for our trip to Disney’s Ft. Wilderness.  We’re planning on leaving tomorrow morning and making a pit stop at Downtown Disney for lunch at the Rainforest Cafe.  And, we wouldn’t be able to leave without a visit to the Lego store!  Grandma sent Aidan $10 to spend.

An additional update on our vacation and Easter will be posted separately.

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Download a copy of his recipe here: (download)

He also wanted to make cupcakes for grandma and his teachers today.  He actually participated through the whole process, and the cupcakes turned out pretty good!

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As for sleep, Skye is doing great.  The last few nights, she's slept from 7pm until about 1am and then sleeps through until about 6am.  And, that's without the terrible early morning tummy aches she was having.  I'm so relieved that my diet adjustments, or something, has given her some relief from all that gas!  Unfortunately, my diet adjustments haven't resulted in any weight loss on my part, but I'm hoping this new Skye will allow me to start exercising a little. My goal for this week is to finally use the Wii Fit.

The sleep situation is kind of funny.  With both kids, I found myself thinking things were so easy that first week.  And then as I moved into the weeks that followed, I entered a kind of delirious state that was obviously caused from my inability to sleep any longer than 2-3 hours at a time.  The other night when she slept until 1am, I woke up and finally saw a light at the end of the tunnel.  I really felt like everything was going to be OK now that sleep was an option again.  Even though she's getting a little big for the bassinet, I'm going to keep her in our room for another few weeks.   It's just so convenient to have her right there next to me.

Also, we're working on a pretty good nap schedule.  She'll go in her bedroom crib around 9am and sleep for about an hour or so.  We're still working on the afternoon naps, but it's actually kind of hard to maintain any kind of regularity with two kids.  When it was just Aidan, Luke and I would plan our days around his naps and made sure he was in bed at 10am and 1pm.  Now, poor Skye has to catch naps whenever she can while we're holding her.

As for regular activities, we've pretty much resumed our normal lives.  This weekend, we had double birthday parties on Saturday and Skye handled it like a real trooper.  She actually shines whenever we're out.  I think she enjoys the stimulation over the quiet of the house.

Oh, we did have her two month doctor's appointment last week.  She's almost 12lbs and in the 90 percentile for both height and weight!  The doctor did have some concern for a rash that's on her face and indicated we may be facing eczema again like we did with Aidan.  He told me I really needed to watch my diet.  Between Crohn's diet considerations and the breastfeeding considerations, there's really not much that I can eat.  I'm left wondering why I'm not dropping the pounds, but junk food is most likely the answer there!

Poor Aidan also went to the doctor for his last two immunizations but couldn't get them because it turns out he has bronchitis.  And, he's dehydrated.  So, we've got him on ten days of antibiotics and lots of fluids.  As a side note, it turns out the poor kid was getting high from the cough medication the doctor prescribed.  His teachers told me he was spinning around during circle time talking about everything being imaginary.  And, he came out and told me and Luke that he didn't feel like himself.  Needless to say, we're just letting him cough and hoping the antibiotics work very quickly!

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Inside Drucker’s Brain. Jeffrey A. Krames. New York: Penguin Group, 2008. 278 pp.

Every now and then, a little treasure of a book comes along and provides some insightful information that you may already know but haven’t given any thought to in a while. Inside Drucker’s Brain, by Jeffrey Krames, is one of those books.

Krames, who also wrote another favorite of mine, The Welch Way, states the objective of his most recent work as giving “readers a fresh perspective into the thought patterns of this extraordinary thinker.” In addition, he seeks to “show how so many of Drucker’s seminal ideas are as relevant today as when they were written.” Having read a few of the other books written about Drucker, I can say this one stands out with content that’s casual and light, yet informative and insightful.

What initially drew my interest to this book was simple. Throughout my college years, I was inundated in Drucker’s management thoughts and theories. Looking back, the ideas that Drucker presented stand out the most in practice. And, as Drucker approaches his 100th birthday in 2009, I find it inspiring to know that the “father of modern management”, who has written 39 books on organizational behavior, innovation, economy and society, is as true to himself and his ideas as he was when his career got started in 1946 with a book based on his observations at GM. From Jack Welch to Jeff Bezos, Peter Drucker has led the way in management despite the many changes that the business world has experienced throughout his time.

Inside Drucker’s Brain isn’t written like a typical business book. In fact, it’s actually based on an interview that Krames had with Drucker back in 2003 where they discussed Drucker’s most seminal ideas and theories. At the end of each chapter, Krames summarizes and draws his own insight into the discussion. So, even if you’re intimately familiar with all things Drucker, this book goes a little deeper into how his conclusions are drawn and ideas developed.

If you read this and want to learn more about Drucker, visit the Drucker Institute site at http://www.druckerinstitute.com. There, you’ll find everything from the Daily Drucker to a number of “Tools for Effectiveness”.

I didn’t have to read Krames’ book to know how timeless Drucker is, but it was a nice change of pace to see something written with a fresh perspective.

“The purpose of an organization is to enable common men to do uncommon things.” – Peter F. Drucker

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We were unable to reserve the shelter that we normally get, but Luke has agreed to get there at the crack of dawn and reserve the other spot by the playground. 

Lettuce Lake Park
6920 E Fletcher Avenue
Tampa FL 33637
Location: Fletcher Avenue at Hillsborough River (just west of Interstate 75) Google Maps Link

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xoxo – Jenn (& family)

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Hunter’s Green is a National Blue Ribbon winner and is said to be within the top 1% of the nation.  While I can’t say anything really bad about Pride Elementary, except for the new cell tower going in, Hunter’s Green has always been where we wanted our kids to go.  It’s equal distance to the house and offers education that we feel trumps even the most expensive private schools we looked at.  So, it’s a win-win.  We save thousands of dollars a year and Aidan still gets the education he deserves.

Now, whether or not I’m ready for my little boy to start school… well, that’s another story.

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Super Crunchers. Ian Ayres. New York: Bantam Books, 2007. 260 pp.

Ian Ayres, a Professor at Yale Law School and established economist, targets the business community with a wake-up call on the usefulness of data mining. And, somewhere in between, there is a review on statistics that makes regressions and randomized trials seem more exciting than the dull lecture hall format you may recall.

Ironically, Amazon.com was the originating source of this book recommendation. Based on my buying and browsing history, along with a little algorithm finesse, it was determined that Crunchers was something I would like.

Sure, I had considered the usefulness of data mining in the past when I got my Amazon or Netflix order in and felt like I had discovered something worthwhile that I might not have even considered without a computer-generated recommendation. But, the important thing that Ayres does is make you realize how inundated life has become with data and that “quantitative prediction is reshaping business and government”. More importantly, Ayres brings home the idea that “super crunching” is a practical tool that anyone can tap into.

A misconception I had about this book before it arrived was that it would be instructional and complete with complicated mathematical demonstrations. But, to my surprise, reading Super Crunchers does not require an advanced math degree. It also will not provide a step-by-step outline of how to incorporate the benefits of data mining in your company. Even better, it will open your mind to new possibilities and thinking about applications you probably had not considered.

When all is said and done you will likely see the world in a much different light, while no doubt acknowledging that everything around you is a randomized test waiting to happen. At the very least you will appreciate the seemingly endless amount of interesting tidbits and case studies that are referenced.

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The Myths of Innovation. Scott Berkun. California: O’Reilly Media, Inc., 2007. 176 pp.

O’Reilly Media, often associated with their “animal books” for software developers, is considered the definitive publisher of all things resourceful in the technology industry. However, in a refreshing change of pace, Berkun’s Myths of Innovation deviates from the typical IT resource format and serves up a light-hearted and witty perspective on the myths and processes of innovation.

Berkun, an author, consultant and software industry veteran, inspires and educates with historical accounts of innovation successes and failures. For example, to demonstrate the randomness of innovation, Berkun discusses how the microwave, Viagra, easy-open soda can, Band-Aids, Nylon and x-rays were all discovered by accident. Or, to demonstrate that all innovation is a collaborative process, Berkun asks readers to consider the nearly forty years of innovations in electronics, networking, and packet-switching software that contributed to Tim Berners-Lee’s ability to create the Internet.

History lessons aside, Myths debunks popular beliefs about innovation that have gained widespread acceptance. Deconstructing and analyzing ideas of the past and present, Berkun explores business, scientific and technological innovations in attempt to identify and learn from “truths.” In his own words, Berkun explains that “innovation is powered by the combination of intensity and willingness to reconsider assumptions, minimizing the chance of following dead ends and maximizing the potential for finding better paths.”

Myths of Innovation might not take long to read, but it is guaranteed to be an eye-opener for anyone that enjoys fresh perspective and intelligent prose.

For more information about Scott Berkun and Myths of Innovation, visit Scott’s website at www.scottberkun.com. In addition to an engaging blog, there are several informal essays available and forums for general discussion.

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Ethical Markets: Growing the Green Economy. Hazel Henderson & Simran Sethi. Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007. 300 pp.

As a world renowned expert on sustainable development, Hazel Henderson provides an in-depth analysis into the “green” economy in her latest publication, Ethical Markets. Based on interviews conducted on her public television series, Henderson seeks to redefine orthodox economic ideologies and make a case for companies behaving in ways that take people and the planet into consideration.

Ethical Markets is organized as an overview of several topics, including fair trade, global corporate citizenship, shareholder activism and others. Within each section, additional sources are cited that allow the reader access to more detailed information. What ties all of the topics discussed together is their bottom line result, which is a way to reduce risk and increase profitability through greener operations.

Henderson makes a strong case for an ability to drive innovation, enhance brand equity and improve stakeholder management. She does this by focusing on three main areas, which include lifestyles of health and sustainability sectors, socially responsible investing, and corporate social responsibility.

In addition to statistics and analysis of the topics mentioned, Henderson includes case studies and interviews that effectively tie in real-life success stories. For example, Alice Tepper-Marlin, president of Social Accountability International, discusses Eileen Fisher’s incorporation of the SA8000 international workplace standard. SA8000 is now a globally recognized standard that focuses on various elements of workplace conditions, including child labor, working hours, health and safety, etc. Eileen Fisher, as well as many other companies, has seen significant improvements in operations as a result of this initiative.

To learn more about Hazel Henderson, her recent articles and biographical information can be found on her website, at www.hazelhenderson.com. Ethical Markets, as well as Henderson’s other publications, can be purchased here as well.

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So, I feed Skye and she seems all happy and well.  We arrive at the mall and I find she's fallen asleep during the ride.  I continue to Macy's and find some clothes for the kids and a few things I wanted to try on.  The second I close the door in the fitting room, her eyes pop open.  A second later, she's screaming at the top of her lungs.  I scramble to get somewhat dressed again and pick her up.  At first, I thought the moisture was sweat.  But, on closer examination, I realize that she's head to toe in poo.  It was all over her,  the car seat and seemingly everywhere.  Still screaming, I try to quickly get the changing area setup and move the clothes out of the way.  What I found was the largest explosion of poo I had ever seen.  It took my entire supply of wipes just to get things under control.  Fortunately, I had a back-up outfit and made the decision to continue through the mall thinking Skye would enjoy the fresh air.  Macy's could wait for another time.

It turns out everything is just kosher with little Skye while we're moving around outside.  But, the minute I would walk into any store, she started expressing her opinion in such a way that others were not appreciative of my presence there.  After a few tries, I heard a pretty loud sound coming from the little peanut.  It turns out that poo explosion number two was happening.  This time, I had no wipes or backup outfit to save me. 

We rushed back through the mall and to the car.  I did my best to control the mess with her lying on the changing pad in my trunk.  I strapped her into the car seat and she cried the whole way home.

Granted, once we arrived back home, I changed and fed her.  All was well again.  But, it turns out that she just might have Luke's genes when it comes to shopping!

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A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future. Daniel Pink. New York: Penguin Group, 2005. 275pp

One of the greatest sources of worthwhile reading is my former economics professor. Periodically, a book will arrive at my house with his latest recommendation. Having not failed in his ability to impress, A Whole New Mind definitely stands out above the rest. Going beyond the everyday business hype and hum drum inspirational model, Daniel Pink sends readers on a journey into a new way of thinking and learning.

Pink divides the book into two primary parts, with the first essentially an introduction and argument on how and why industry is moving away from left to right-brain thinking and into what he calls the Conceptual Age. A sound argument is positioned on three primary motives: abundance, Asia & automation. Basically, we live in a time of plenty where machines can do almost anything and any leftover knowledge work can be sourced in Asia for a dramatic cost savings.

Completing part one, I was convinced that we were in fact moving into a new age. And, I was a little unnerved about the value of my MBA as a commodity in this period. It appeared that I was going to have to adapt or fail miserably.

In part two of Whole New Mind, Pink lays out a pallet of skills to exercise and refine the right side of the brain. These skills, which he categorizes as senses, include design, story, symphony, empathy, play and meaning. A much quicker read, this section of the book incorporates basic descriptions of each “sense” and a portfolio of exercises and recommendations. The portfolios are fairly comprehensive considering the thin nature of the book, but it’s presented in a way that allows you to pick and choose based on your interests and the amount of time you have. As for me, I’ve still got the book parked by my computer and check out a recommended link every now and then when I need a break or have a few extra minutes. As a very left-brained individual to start, I’ve actually enjoyed challenging myself while at the same time increasing my marketability in this future world.

What Thomas Friedman cited as his favorite business book is actually worth the investment in time. Pink’s Whole New Mind is truly an experience that will get you thinking beyond the norm and into something progressive and dynamic that is evolving in front of us each and every day.

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I’m glad that we decided to switch back to our original pediatrician.  I’ve determined he’s worth the forty minute drive simply because of the care and time he takes each time we see him.  After looking Skye over, he determined she was in fact full of air.  And, that would even cause an otherwise healthy adult to want to cry I suppose.  But, the kicker is that the air is likely being caused by my diet.  So, he’s asked me to eliminate dairy, tomatoes, citrus, chocolate and peanuts.  Now, I don’t have any problems with eliminating dairy, citrus and peanuts but I can say that it will be very difficult to quit eating pizza and pasta, not to mention how nearly impossible it is going to be to not eat chocolate.  Also, Dr. Hoyos prescribed some drops (Levsin) that eliminates spasms in the intestines.  He was confident we would see an improvement in 3-5 days if I followed his advice.

I do kind of feel bad that I waited so long to take her to the doctor.  Aidan was also very “colicky”, but it turned out he had reflux.  Once we had him on the right medication, he was a different baby altogether.  But, he also spit up often and Skye doesn’t.  Her symptoms seem very isolated to the abdominal area.

In any case, the past week or so hasn’t been the most stress-free time.  While I understand her need to communicate when she’s not feeling well, a child that’s screaming for that long in your ear will tend to cause some anxiety.  Things tend to be accelerated by a lack of sleep as well.  But, we’re getting through it and I do see some relative improvement already.

Oh, it also turns out she’s eating too much.  I’ve been asked to cut her back to every three hours now, which she hasn’t appreciated thus far.  It’s kind of hard to believe she’s already 10.5 pounds, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re eating all the time.  I think the poor thing was just trying to eat so she would feel better. 

Further investigation into Skye’s symptoms seem to indicate a peak of digestive system distress at six weeks of age.  And, significant improvement is often seen from there up through three-four months.  She’s six weeks old today, so we should be looking at sunny days ahead.

Another positive aspect to this, aside from Skye feeling better of course, is that I should lose my last twenty pounds much quicker with such a restricted diet!

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I’ve officially known Luke for half of his life now.  And, with his birthday here and Valentine’s Day tomorrow, I asked myself what I love about him the most.

Here are my top five:

1. He’s sexy.
2. He’s smart. (& he can fix almost anything, which comes in handy since I’m known for breaking stuff all the time)
3. He’s an amazing dad.
4. He puts up with me and never makes me feel like anything less than the most important person in the world.
5. He always makes me laugh, including when I need it the most.

Other reasons include:

• He eats whatever I cook, even when it’s nasty.
• He hardly ever complains, even though I’m always telling him what to do.
• He never freaks out over anything.
• He’s cool.
• He’s thoughtful.
• He almost always supports my crazy initiatives and never says “I told you so” when they fail.
• He’s always my best friend above all else.

–000– “And we still togetha”

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Favorite Color(s): Red & Blue

Favorite Candy: Skittles

Favorite Song: Transformers

Favorite Show(s): Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls and Ben 10

Favorite Movie: Monster House

Favorite Meal(s): Chicken & French Fries – Hamburger & French Fries

Favorite Snack: Doritos & Oreos

Favorite Healthy Snack: Apples

Favorite thing to do on the weekends: Play Wii w/ dad

Favorite Wii Game(s): Lego Indiana Jones, Lego Star Wars & MarioKart

Favorite thing to do outside: Bike riding & "playing"

Favorite thing about sister Skye: "When she's not crying so I can focus"

Favorite thing about school: Legos & Friends

Favorite Vacation: Smokey Mountains

I also asked Aidan if there was anything he disliked, and the only thing he could think of was spinach.  Note that Aidan has never actually tried spinach.

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Before dawn breaks, I’m up every 1.5 to 2 hours feeding Skye throughout the night.  Fortunately, she’s been sleeping in the bassinet without so much reservation these days, so that does make things a little easier.

At 7am, I get Luke and Aidan up.  It’s a mad rush for Luke to get ready for work and Aidan ready for school.  I swear, that kid is the slowest eater I’ve ever seen!  They have an hour to accomplish this task.  Once they’re out the door, Skye and I are left hanging out.  Usually, it’s nap time on the couch for both of us.

Sometime before lunch, Skye goes into the princess throne and is positioned in front of the shower door.  Depending on her state of wakefulness is what determines whether or not I’m able to shave my legs or wash my hair.  Once that is accomplished, we shoot for a little tummy time.

By now, I am kind of wishing for some adult-type banter but instead find myself rewarded by seeing Skye’s smiles and grimaces.  Other times, there’s just persistent screaming, which I understand and respect is her only form of communication for the time being.

For lunch, whatever can be produced with one hand is the meal of the day.  I’m still feeding on demand about every two hours or so.

After another afternoon nap, we head out for the Starbucks drive through.  I’m on my last gift certificate, so withdrawal is just around the corner.

Once we pick up Aidan from preschool, it’s a whirlwind of activity and masterful coordination.  Skye seems to be hungry every time Aidan wants me to play Legos.  Skye doesn’t ever want to play Legos and is left screaming most of the time.  That leaves Aidan covering his ears and upset that I’m not able to accommodate his request.  Eventually, we settle into watching a show and having a snack.  Later, we’ll work on some kind of project like Play Doh or coloring.  But, Skye still isn’t settled into the fact that she’s not the center of attention.  My goal for next week is to layout some kind of schedule.  I think a little more organization might be the key to making things work more smoothly.

Sometime around 6pm, it’s time to produce some kind of food for us all to eat.  This requires that Skye go back in the princess throne and is left watching.  We’ve recently picked up a pacifier, which is when this little device comes in handy.  Luke and I were originally against the idea of pacifiers and felt it stifled communication and expression. Both of us have since changed our minds.  But, in our defense, we do use this sparingly.

At 8pm, it’s time to get Aidan ready for bed.  That consists of brushing teeth and reading books.  Luke and I take turns with this task while the other holds Skye.  Usually, Skye isn’t happy with this arrangement.

At 9pm, Skye’s usually a little grumpy again and ready for bed.  And, that’s when I call it a night as well.

As a side note, time does seem to go by very quickly these days.  It feels like the days and nights are such a blur.  I haven’t really had any time to talk to Luke about anything significant or even catch up with other friends.  I actually kind of feel like I’m a walking zombie at times.  But, I can’t help but feel satisfied with this situation even if that does sound a little crazy.  While I do admit to missing work and the satisfaction that it gave me, knowing that I’m spending each day with my kids and watching them grow up is really rewarding.  And, I do actually feel such a profound sense of accomplishment knowing that I’m getting through each day and making the whole thing work the best that I can.  I guess I just never realized just how challenging and sacrificing it is to be at home all the time.  Serious props go out to all the moms that accomplish this each day without any recognition!

As of right now, it’s 8:41pm and about time for me and Skye to hit the hay.

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Skye's 1st week home Summer Fun Fridays – Gameworks

To work-around the frustration with the apparently broken firmware in the Samsung SpinPoint 1GB models I wrote a script which runs runs from the root crontab every 15 minutes to intelligently spin-down drives on my Linux media server. The script monitors for the presence of media clients on the network, checks for Samba file locks and disk activity to make decisions on when to sleep the array. I generally want to keep the entire array spun up while a client is active to avoid any delay when navigating the media and to power down the drives shortly after there is no activity.

The script as-is is probably pretty specific for my media server but should be helpful as a starting point if you’re also struggling with getting spin-down working using hdparm. The script so far has been a better overall solution compared to hdparm as it allows much more flexibility than simply monitoring for disk activity. Let me know if you have any suggestions or questions.

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Bootable Install Media from Windows 7 Upgrade

#666666; line-height: 160%; font-family: Tahoma”>Last night was our first night putting Skye down… literally.  She was so dissatisfied with the bassinet that she cried over two hours in protest.  But, we held strong and knew it was the best way to go.  Taking turns holding her throughout the day and night just wasn't practical, as Luke and others tried to convince me of several times.  I'm crossing my fingers hoping tonight goes much more smoothly.  At least Aidan will be sleeping over at my folk's house, so he won't be affected by the noise.  Skye also had her first outing today and did pretty good.  In retrospect, it took us three weeks to leave the house with Aidan.

#666666; line-height: 160%; font-family: Tahoma”>My mom has supplied food for us every day, which has been a huge help.  With Aidan, I remember living off of soy yogurt and turkey sandwiches for weeks.  Granted, that's probably how I lost so much weight.  I've still got 36 pounds left to go this time around!  As a side note, my 2009 resolutions haven't officially started yet!

#666666; line-height: 160%; font-family: Tahoma”>I'd have to say the only difficulty this week has been breastfeeding.  Skye has an insatiable appetite, which doesn't seem to go well with sore and cracked breasts.  Also, the fact that I'm carrying around two cantaloupes that even a porn star would be jealous of is disturbing in itself.  But, I do remember similar difficulty with Aidan and the whole process did seem to be less painful and go more smoothly as the weeks passed.  So, I'm going to stick with it as long as possible.  A 6% reduced chance of getting Crohn's, among other benefits, make it worthwhile to try.

#666666; line-height: 160%; font-family: Tahoma”>Oh, Skye's first doctor's visit was pretty eventful.  Not only was I persuaded to breast feed in front of the doctor and nurse, Skye also sprayed poo across the room as we were changing her and getting ready to leave.  The doctor had given us a heads up that breast fed babies can shoot poo quite a distance, but who knew?

#666666; line-height: 160%; font-family: Tahoma”>As for Aidan, he's been such a trooper so far.  The kid hasn't asked us to send Skye back once, or even made one negative comment.  He's kept himself entertained with Legos and has been really understanding with us having to dedicate some extra TLC to the Skye situation until things get into a smoother groove.  We sometimes give him a hard time, but he is such a good kid.  I'm so proud of him!  And, Luke has been a real trooper as well.  He only had to deal with one minor breakdown on my part and has been totally accommodating.  In fact, he's gotten me Starbucks every morning and has gotten up to take Aidan to school without a single complaint.  I really am going to miss having him around next week when he has to go back to work. 

So, as we enter week two of life as a mid-sized family, I'm optimistic that things will go just as smoothly as they have this week.  And, I just couldn't feel more fortunate knowing that I've ended up with such an awesome crew!

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That morning, we were due at the hospital for the induction at 7am.  Trying to get Aidan up early and out the door on time was a real task, but we finally thought we had done it when we realized the garage door was broken.  It turned out we were unable to get the cars out due to some unknown mechanical issue.  So, we had to call my dad to come bail us out.  Fortunately, he and Luke were able to manually lift it while I pulled the car out.  We were on our way…

I stayed around 5cm dilated for most of the day.  With the epidural ordered around 2pm, I was ready to go when they broke my water.  Of course, Skye had her own schedule in mind!  All things considered, I was still happy we were able to schedule things!

With my lower body totally numb, I was getting increasingly frustrated.  Around 6:30pm, I sent Luke to get some dinner.  The doctor had come in a few minutes earlier and said that I was still 5cm and even indicated some concern that things hadn't changed much.

At 6:35pm, the nurse came in and suggested I try lying on my side.  I told her I felt a little pressure in that position, and the next thing I knew, Dr. Dillon was in the room saying that I was a full 10cm and ready to go.  With Luke missing, I frantically called him to come running back ASAP.   He made it back, and three or four pushes later, out came Skye.  Still totally numb, I barely felt anything at all!

Skye was born 8lbs and 1oz and was 20.5" long.  She was covered in goo and sported a full head of black hair.  She was the most beautiful baby girl we had ever seen. 

We left the hospital 24 hours after she was born, and we've been at home in kind of a zombie state ever since.  It turns out Skye is much like Aidan in that someone always needs to hold her.  In fact, I think I've banked about 2-3 hours of sleep out of the last 48 and find myself not thinking very clearly.  Thankfully, my parents had Aidan for the weekend and my mom is bringing us over some food for the week.  So, I'm hoping we get in a groove sometime in the next few days.  For now, I'm enjoying every second of her wanting to be close.  I had honestly forgotten how absolutely wonderful infants are.  And, Aidan seems to genuinely love being a big brother.  So, I can't imagine the whole experience working out any better…  In fact, I can't think of a single thing that would make life any better right now!

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Skye sleeps in her own bed Skye's 1st week home The New & Improved Skye

Unable to wait any longer, I scheduled the delivery of our baby for Friday, 1/9 @ 7am.   Currently, I'm 3cm dilated and 60% effaced, so it was only a matter of time anyway.

This works out perfectly and serves to create an organized and predictable course of events.

I've decided it's OK for Luke and others to be right about my anal-retentiveness.  I feel like a huge weight has been lifted and now can relax in knowing that everything will go smoothly.  I plan to enjoy the rest of the week as much as possible.  I'm actually still kind of getting used to not working, although I admit I've crossed an incredible number of tasks off my "pending" list as I continue to be restless.

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I picked Aidan up from school after lunch.  He just wanted to go home and play with Legos, so we spent the rest of the afternoon building ships and towers and then coloring superheroes.  We started dinner, ate dinner and are now wrapping up the evening with an episode of Ben 10 and some books before bed.  

Tomorrow, I'm going to work on getting my mind in the right place and appreciating this pretty awesome opportunity that I have to stay at home with my kids and be a real part of their lives.  I need to separate my perceived worth from "paid" employment and realize that the effect I have on my kids' development is both more rewarding and potentially more fun.  

Regarding Skye Riley developments, I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow and have officially given in to scheduling an induction at the end of the week.  I can't wait any longer.  Luke was right… I crave schedules, order and organization.  I just can't sit here and wait for the unknown! 

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Tis the Season – 2008 Christmas 2009

Ba-ba-bamp-ba ba-ba-ba-bamp-ba I wanna be sedated!

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This year, I managed to get all of the shopping done weeks in advance.  So, I was able to miss the majority of the consumer chaos that usually drains my holiday spirit.  Thank you lego.com and amazon.com for letting me do most of my shopping from the peacefulness of my own home.

Luke and I both had off work for Christmas Eve and decided to spend a quiet night at home.  My mom joined us, but my poor dad ended up having to work.  I stopped by Walgreens to see him that afternoon and really couldn't believe all of the last minute shoppers hoarding every cheap toy and tinsel decoration they could find.   That's kind of pathetic if you think about it.

For dinner that night, I decided to do something a little different.  With the oven still slightly broken, we went with an appetizer themed evening.  I picked up some wings from Hooters, made some stuffed mushrooms and cheese puffs and then completed the spread with yummy snacks such as veges with dip, chips with salsa and a cheese platter.  Mmmm, how I love cheese platters!  Overall, I was really pleased with how filling and yet totally unhealthy the fare turned out to be.

We told Aidan he could open his presents from us that evening, so he was all too eager to finish up dinner and get to the good stuff.  We let him open up his Star Wars Lightsaber Duels Wii game earlier that day, and the poor little guy played so much he couldn't pull his pants down to go potty because his hands were so sore.  He seemed pretty satisfied with his loot, which included a couple of Lego kits, a Lego watch and some books. 

After putting the gingerbread man out that Aidan had decorated for Santa and checking on NORAD to see what Santa was up to, it still didn't hit home with Aidan that the big guy was supposed to visit our house that night.  When we put him to bed and mentioned something again, he said "That’s TONIGHT?”

Of course, he woke up at 4am wanting to know if it is was time and then again at 5am.  After telling him he had to wait for light to come through the window, I finally heard his tiny footsteps creeping through the house around 7am.  After a moment of silence, I heard… "Mom, Santa left me extra.  I must have been really good this year".  Yes, Santa couldn't help himself and got Aidan a few more things than he had asked for.  He scored a few Lego kits, a gecko Webkin, Crocs, Zoobs, more books and some pajamas and underwear that he didn't even complain about.

That day, Luke's mom and her new friend Gary came over and my parents joined us around 3pm after my dad had gotten off work.  The "pot luck" dinner theme worked out well again, just as it had for Thanksgiving.  Luke's mom brought pirogues and cabbage rolls, Gary made a cheesecake and my mom brought over an assortment of desserts.  We provided the Honeybaked Ham and veges.  It was a pretty nice spread!

So, as we predicted, the rest of the day was spent with Luke and Aidan assembling Lego kits and playing video games.  It was a relaxing and altogether pretty awesome holiday!

Oh, and I do need to send out special thanks to the folks for respecting our request to keep presents targeted towards Aidan and at a minimum.  Luke and I had agreed a few years back that it doesn't make sense to go out and spend a lot of $$ on things for other people that don't really need anything (that includes ourselves). Instead, we started spending the money on toys to donate.  If Christmas is about anything for us, it's about enjoying time with your family and friends and making kids happy.  That objective was certainly achieved this year!

As we await the expected changes that will follow in 2009, we're also savoring the last few days of the year.  In fact, Luke and Aidan are enjoying themselves at the park right now, and there are more plans for Lego assembly and video game playing later this afternoon.  Life is pretty good…

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Lego Mania – Christmas 2008 Christmas 2009 Season’s Greetings

Someone please kill me!

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Every year as Christmas comes to a close, I make resolutions.  And, every year Luke mocks me for taking part in such a self defeating ritual.  I use the term self defeating because there’s a core batch of resolutions that seem to carry over year to year without any progress.  But, this year I’m going to try something different… This year, I’m going to write them out for the world to see so that I’m truly committed to dedicating a best effort.

So, here’s what I’m wanting to accomplish in 2009:

1.  Now that I won’t be working full-time, I want to truly throw myself into motherhood and develop my little monsters into the best that they can be.

2.  I will finally make an effort to get off my butt and get into shape.  I will do this not only for my own health, but also so that I can keep up with my kids (and Luke). Note that previous resolutions to this effect never took into consideration what a second pregnancy does to one’s body in their 30’s.

3.  I will make healthy choices in my diet and not only set an example for my kids but also improve my own well-being and keep Crohn’s at bay for as long as possible.

4.  I will keep writing.  Note that this one has changed from writing my book to just keep writing.  I think the goal is a little more feasible that way.  The book will get written, eventually.

5.  I will stop biting my nails because it is disgusting and characteristic of a crazy person.  This obsessive behavior must stop, with no exceptions.

6.  I will make make every effort to be conscious of my impact on the environment and make choices that take this into consideration.

And, there they are, written out for the world to see.  Sure, they seem kind of generic in that I think most people want to eat healthier and exercise.  But, that doesn’t belittle their importance.  And, it ’s worth a shot to have an opportunity to set a good example and “walk the walk”… or so they say.

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CCFA Take Steps 2009 – Team GottaGo! Labor Day Weekend 2009 Christmas 2009

Take Steps is a national walk organized by the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation (www.ccfa.org).  It's actually the largest event dedicated to finding cures for digestive diseases.  I've been a member of CCFA since my disease took a turn for the worst in 2006.  As I've gotten older, I can see the importance in supporting organizations like this and want to do everything I can to help myself and others afflicted by these diseases.  It should be an interesting event with Aidan and baby Skye in tow.

I still need to organize some things on their website, but our links are:

Personal Page:  http://online.ccfa.org/goto/jstepnio

Team Page: http://online.ccfa.org/goto/gottago

You can even make donations online using the links above.  We're hoping to raise at least $500, but I'm betting we can do even better than that! 

More on this event later as we get organized…

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CCFA Take Steps 2009 – Team GottaGo!

It’s been a while since Luke put the new site up, and I admit I’ve been slacking on my content responsibilities.  So, in that respect, I figured a holiday greeting would be a good way to start things off.

As the year comes to a close, I do tend to get a little sentimental when reflecting back.  We were fortunate enough to avoid any major health issues and spent a lot of time together as a family.  From the Smoky’s to weekends at Disney, it doesn’t seem there was a dull moment.  I actually think Disney is going to be glad when our season passes expire on 12/15. The Buzz Lightyear ride could use a break!

Also, of course, we found out that we’re having a baby and only have about four weeks to go.  Skye Riley is already spoiled rotten, even before birth.  Her closet, which is referred to as “the closet of shame” has more varieties of clothing and toys than your average store could offer.  And, all after I said I was going to keep things simple this time… yeah right!

After a little nudging, I was finally convinced that having another shower was a good idea.  So, in the unorthodox style in which Luke and I roll, we had a family-friendly picnic at Lettuce Lake Park.  And, to keep things real, we had it catered by the awesomely talented guy up the street at Kennedy BBQ.  Of course, BFF Karen and her niece Jami really came through on the cake.  Their family seriously knows how to do it up right when it comes to party planning. I really do love those guys!  And, special thanks go out to my folks for helping make it all happen and of course to all of the truly wonderful friends and family that came out to celebrate with us.

As Christmas approaches, we’re looking forward to seeing Aidan swim in the sea of Legos that he has so modestly requested this year.  I can tell you that I did tear up a little when he handed his wish list over to Santa and Mrs. Claus at the mall.  The days of “drop and run” to get the Santa pic are long gone.  We’re left with a little man that has no doubts about what he wants and how to get it.  We couldn’t be more proud!

So, I guess all that’s left to say is sincerest wishes for a joyful holiday and a Happy New Year! I’m looking forward to the many adventures to come in 2009 and appreciate all those that support us along the way.

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Mediaportal HTPC Front-end: “My Videos” View of downloaded Apple Trailers.

Generic setup overview for a Debian based Linux system:

1. Run “sudo apt-get install xmlstarlet wget” to install xmlstarlet and wget if not already installed on your system.
2. Modify the script and configure “GET1080p=”, “GETPOSTER=”, “SAVEPATH=”, “DLDBPATH=” and the “EUID” number of the user running the script.
3. Create an empty “.appletrailers.db” plain text file in the defined “DLDBPATH” with the appropriate permissions.
4. Create the “SAVEPATH=” path with appropriate permissions for the script to save the trailers and posters.
5. Execute the script manually and make sure everything is working as expected.
6. Create an appropriate weekly crontab entry for the script.

Changelog:

v0.5 090825 – fix for Apple changes requiring Quicktime user-agent. download: appletrailers.0.5

• Quick wget fix for user-agent spoofing to deal with recent changes by Apple. http://twitter.com/iTunesTrailers/status/3429452495
  

v0.4 090225 – fix for stale 720p XML feed

• I recently noticed that the the 720p XML feed from Apple is not being updated. This updated version will utilize the SD XML feed from Apple to make an educated guess for the the HD trailer URL. This work-around with some quick testing shows it’s working 100% for everything recently posted in the feed.
• The current work-around for the stale 720p feed will only work if you have “GET1080=1″ set. I’m not downloading the 720p trailers and the work-around for 720p trailers and I simply wasn’t motivated to fix something I wasn’t using. If anyone using this script is downloading the 720p versions of the trailers please post feedback and might be motivated to post another update for this. It’s also very possible that the stale 720p feed from Apple is a temporary situation.

v0.3 090123 – fix for h720 a720 filenames encountered recently in the feeds and minor regex fixes.

• regex updated to correctly handle trailer filenames with h720 or a720.
• regex fixes to escape periods correctly.

v0.2 081222 – fix for .m4v extension in XML feeds and other minor improvements.

• removed the logic responsible for renaming .mov file extension to .hdmov: This rename does not seems to be necessary for most media players I have tested against. The rename would cause problems with hardware devices such as the NMT PCH do not support the .hdmov extension and have no user-end method to add supported extensions.
  
• added handing for .m4v trailers: This was something that recently started showing up in the XML feeds. The work-around to handle this replaces the .m4v file extension in the feed with a .mov extension which Apple is still publishing on the servers.
  
• updated logic for tracking completed downloads: The logic was changed to accommodate the new .m4v extension that started showing up in the XML feeds. The logic is also slightly improved to avoid false positives against the already downloaded database. The script now checks for the ID and filename excluding resolution and extensions portions.

v0.1 081013 – initial release

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