Life...Through A Better Man's Eyes

Still here...

2009-06-30T09:59:00.003-04:00

Hey all, how goes it? I just realized I haven't blogged in a couple of weeks...I started a new career and I'm just starting to get my groove back. It feels great to be working again after being laid off for four months. The only unfortunate part about being back to work is that I don't get to spend every minute with my little girl anymore. I miss being with here 24/7...We have to do what we have to do though, right?

Anyway, Baby Girl started saying Mama about two weeks ago and she's using it correctly. When she wakes in the a.m. she calls out mmmaa mmmmaaaa mmmaaa Mama. It's so cool to wake up hearing that over the baby monitor :) Whenever my wife leaves the room, she'll call out Mama...Whenever she wants Mommy to do something, she says it. This little girl knows she has my wife in the palm of her tiny hand and I find it to be very amusing. After all, she already knew she had me. In retrospect, I think I should've held out for Dada.

Well, I hope you're all well out in bloggerland. Later tonight I'll stop by your blogs and do some catching up...Have a great day.

LIFE IS GOOD

Skywatch Friday

2009-06-18T19:21:00.002-04:00

This photo is actually from last week...We're in the middle of some harsh weather right now. It was a good time at the pool though :)

Going Scancrazy...

2009-06-18T14:14:00.009-04:00

I went out and bought a new all-in-one printer today and I've been scanning all my old photos. I thought I'd share these pics with you...They were taking in Rome, Italy back in August of '03. They were taken with a Pentax 35 mm SLR...Before I gave in to the digital peer pressure :) The b/w photos of the corridors were taken inside the Sistine Chapel. Enjoy...

The above pic is of the ticket to get into the Sistine Chapel.

Something I had to do...Unfortunately

2009-06-15T02:14:00.003-04:00

I'll start off by saying thank you to everyone who have visited this blog, and have complimented me on my baby girl's photos...As you all know, she's my world. I unfortunately had to remove all the images of my family, and especially of my daughter...Due to my new career and things just being the way they are in this world.

What I mean by 'things being the way they are' is...Pedophiles surfing the internet. Last week a buddy of mine, who is in law enforcement, informed me of a recent bust that had just happened in our county. An older gentlemen (I'll use that term lightly) had his home raided for dealing drugs and as a result, all of his belongings were seized. Upon further investigation, pornographic material involving children were found on his computer. This guy had photos of infants that he had found surfing the internet. I can't tell you what I'd like to do to this piece of trash.

So having heard this, I've decided to take my family out of 'cyber world'. I wish times were different, but it is...What it is. I'm still going to write about the loves of my life, just with minor changes. No more names...In fact, I've just edited all my posts.

So again, thank you for your wonderful comments and have a great week.

Squeaksdaddy

P.S. Please don't feel slighted if I don't comment on a comment you've left. I rarely do...But I'll always visit your blog and return the favor :)

Skywatch Friday...48

2009-06-11T21:42:00.003-04:00

I'm kinda cheating since I forgot today was Thursday...This is my photo from last weeks Skywatch, but my browser couldn't open Mr. Linky. So I never got a chance to post it. So, here it is :)

Baby girl thought it would be a good idea if she was apart of Skywatch Friday...I couldn't resist:) It's more of a Squeak shot, than of a sky shot...What can you do? She's my world...Have a great weekend everyone!

Anyone else having problems with IE?

2009-06-04T22:34:00.002-04:00

For the past several days, I've had difficulty visiting certain blogs. When I click on the link, I get "Internet Explorer cannot open this page...Abort". Anyone else out there having the same problems? Any advice would be greatly appreciated...Thanks.

Home

2009-06-01T15:37:00.001-04:00

It's amazing how a certain scent can trigger a memory...Like you're still in a particular moment in time. This evening, I swore that I caught a whiff of honeysuckle...Which is something I've not come across in ages. It brought me right back to my childhood on Cottage Place. It was a sweet fragrance that would fill the warm summer air, and mix with the scent of the beach...For me, it's the wonderful fragrant scent of youth and innocence.

Cottage Place is located in the small coastal town of Long Branch, which is in Central New Jersey. It was a great street to grow up on. I can only speak of it in the past tense, it could presently be a high crime area...Hopefully not. We were only two blocks away from the Atlantic Ocean, and a million miles away from anything that could potentially harm us. We would walk less than a mile to school everyday, and knew every family in the neighborhood. I never knew it then, but we lived in a bubble.

Right next to where I lived was an empty old lot. It's where all the kids from the neighborhood would play, and it grew so much honeysuckle that you could smell it from down the block. I never realized just how many memories I have from that lot, until now. Every Saturday morning there would be a knock on my door, and I would run down the stairs to answer it. True to form, there they were...A motley looking bunch. Joey, Paul, Seany, Brian, Grant, Bobby and Albert...Joey was the oldest, and he'd say "Come on J, let's play some ball". We'd all head over to the lot for the day and wouldn't come home until the street lights came on.

Speaking of coming home when the street lights came on, here's a quick one for you. My mother tells me when I was around eight years old, her and my father were out looking for me one summer evening...Evidently, I broke the rules and didn't come home when the lights came on. She said they found me down the street, playing with Albert...And when they asked me why I hadn't come home, she said I pointed up to the light we were playing under and said..."This light's not on". We picked the only burned out light on the block to play under, apparently I was a bit more of a smart ass than I can recall.

Anyway, we would be in that lot all weekend playing ball. When we played baseball, you didn't want Paul to pitch...When we played football, you didn't want Paul to be playing defense against you. He was a bit of a freak of nature. It didn't matter what grade we were in either, he was always a good foot taller than us...Which came in handy for beaning you with a fastball, or knocking the wind out of you with his Steel Curtain style defense. He made us all better players though, that's for sure. Funny how fear can do that to a boy. As intimidated as we were of being pitted up against Paul, this was our true, tiny, innocent slice of Eutopia. And we revelled in it. That is until one fine day, Melissa and Melody sauntered in and infiltrated the delicate infrastructure of our Eutopian dream. C'est la vie...

Once M&M (that's what we called Melissa and Melody) moved into the neighborhood and entered into our little circle, we became over protective brothers in about a week. I remember playing football and M&M insisting on us letting them play...These girls weren't taking no for an answer, so they played. Well a couple of plays into the game, I get the ball thrown to me and Paul and Melody make the tackle...Paul and I both land right on Melody's leg and she is screaming in agony. Talk about a shot to the ego...I got ribbed for being tackled by a pretty little girl with ribbons in her blond hair and then I land on her to compound the abuse. SCHMUCK! Paul and I carried her all the way to her house, her mom definitely wasn't pleased with the two of us. Everything was OK though, she just had a little scare...WE ALL had a little scare.

I have great memories from Cottage Place, and some not so great. If you've read a recent post of mine titled "My Story", then you know a bit about my childhood. If you haven't, I'll fill you in. I'm a product of a bi-racial marriage...My mother is Dutch and German and my father is Black and Irish. My mother's parents weren't exactly jumping for joy over their union...And I recall an on again, off again type of relationship between them. Between US. Their rift spilled over into my relationship with my maternal grandparents. I remember my mom's sister Kim lived next store to us and she had one son at the time. My younger cousin Ryan...Whom by the way, just became a first time father himself...Congratulations Ryan. Well, I remember my grandmother pulling up in front of me as I played on the lawn...And I was so happy to see her. I called out "Hi Nan", but there was no response. I yelled "Nan...Nan" a couple of times jogging behind her and she didn't even look my way, as she climbed the stairs to my aunts house. She was right in front of me...She couldn't have missed me. But, she did. My mother saw what had just transpired from upstairs in the window and came down to pick up the broken pieces of her rejected son. I cried for what seemed like an eternity. That was the last time my parents had let her hurt me like that... Life moved on without my mother's side of the family.

This is also around the time that Joey, Seany and Brian's father ran to the store and never came back home. Just up and left his family...No goodbyes...Nothing. Next up on "leave your families behind", was Grant's dad. There must have been something in the water, that thankfully my dad didn't come into contact with. Our days at the lot weren't as often as they once were, due to the boys having to take up the slack of their long gone fathers. We were growing up...Somewhere along the way, we lost Eutopia.

Joey was the last person I've seen from the lot...This was around Christmas in 2003. My wife, myself and a couple of friends had gathered in Red Bank to celebrate the annual tree lighting when I bumped into him...Literally. I was making my way through the crowd with our friends son on my shoulders, when I accidentally bumped him and his son, whom he was carrying on his shoulders. He looks up with a crooked smile and says "Well I'll be damned, your still trying to tackle me...Huh J?" Smart ass:) We caught up for about an hour in the pub before going our separate ways. It was like we never left the lot...Like we had somehow transcended time. There's an unspoken camaraderie that will never cease.

It's a warm handshake on a blustery cold night, it's a taste of youth with a sense of pride for the present and the future, it's a reassurance of never ending brotherhood, it is an unabated friendship, it is where home will always be, it is...The lot.

Follow up to "Call It Family Preservation"

2009-05-30T20:59:00.008-04:00

Well, we finally had the opportunity to visit with "H" and the baby, and she is just the prettiest little thing (aside from my daughter). H said she's come a long way in the two weeks that she's had her. The lump on her forehead is gone, and the back of her head is almost formed normally and has started growing hair. She's gained two pounds since H has had her and is as healthy as she can be. There are still a couple of hiccups that need to be worked out, but all in all...Everything's great.

As soon as we walked in the door, we were greeted with her little gummy smile. It seemed like she took to us very well. Unfortunately, Squeak was having a bit of a rough day...So she wasn't really too intrigued with this other baby. It probably didn't help that Mommy and Daddy were taking turns holding and playing with her. But in spite of Squeak's stoic demeanor, that little girl was excited to see another baby. She's very happy, H said she started smiling on Wednesday and hasn't stopped since.

It killed me to think that this baby didn't know love from her biological parents. Now I'm happy to report that she's extremely loved, and thriving because of it.

Life is good...

One more thing...Ry is 7 months old today!

Skywatch Friday...No.46

2009-05-29T04:11:00.003-04:00

I took this photo as we were just leaving our home, through my wifes windshield. It was a beautiful day...Not too warm.

Tranquilo

2009-05-27T15:59:00.004-04:00

It's over, let it go...Those words are my latest triumph. It seems just like a fine wine, I've become better with age. Something happened today that showed me I'm finally not that "agro" dude, but a forgiving man.

Today I was driving my wife to work with my daughter in the back, when some "not too bright" individual (mouthbreather would be better suited, but I'm trying to stay mature here) is traveling in front of me. We're on a residential street where the speed limit is only 30 mph, and I'm at least 10 car lengths behind him. This gentleman decides he wants to come to a complete stop in the middle of the roadway, then changes his mind and veers to the right. I was commenting to my wife how impressed I was, that he decided to get out of the flow of traffic...To think about where it is his mouthbreathing ass (sorry) wanted to go. It's the norm down here, to just stop in the middle of the road...I'm serious.

Anyway, he pulls to the right...Stops...Waits for me to approach...Then puts his left turn signal on and starts turning into me. He turns right in front of me just as another vehicle is approaching from the opposite lane, so I now have nowhere to go. I slam on my brakes and lay on the horn and at the last second, he pulls off to the right side of the road again. Needless to say, my wife is horrified and I am friggin pissed. I'm stopped right next to this guy...Just yelling, "Are you really that fucking stupid?!" He looks at me and says "I'm sorry...I'm sorry". After a few more expletives from my wife and I, we drive off.

That's it. That's all I felt. I didn't feel the need to jump out of the car and do something I'd later regret. In the not-so-distant past, that one little inconvenience would have ruined my whole day. I wouldn't have been able to talk myself out of the anger that I felt towards this complete stranger...But I did today. In fact, I wasn't even angry at him. I was more frightened of having an accident with my family in the car, especially my daughter. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do...But how many times in my youth did I make poor decisions. We're all fallible.

You know, I actually felt bad for the words I used. This guy was in his early twenties, and he wasn't talking or texting on his phone. He wasn't one of those idiots w/the subwoofers blaring either. The look on his face showed that he was a bit shaken, and I believe him to be genuinely sorry for his mistake. Besides, what kind of example would I be setting for my little girl if I had "gotten ignant" with this kid? Honest mistake, no harm no foul...Just pay a little more attention next time. Life is good...

Skywatch Friday...No.45

2009-05-21T19:43:00.003-04:00

It's finally rain season here in SW Florida...Makes for great skies.

Role Reversal

2009-05-19T07:45:00.010-04:00

What a day yesterday was. Baby girl was upset, no...Screaming all afternoon. I can understand my wife, now. When she was home with Squeak on maternity leave, I remember coming home from work and not being in the door for one minute before my wife would hand her to me. She would be visibly frazzled. She would tell me how Squeak was crying for hours on end, though there was nothing wrong...And of course, how much she craved a glass (bottle, really) of Cabernet. I understood...Well, no not really...Not at the time. I would tell her "She's just a baby...Baby's cry...Sometimes, there's nothing you can do but let her cry it out". You're a great Mom...I'm sure I've said this, maybe just not loud enough for my good wife to hear.

I should have yelled those words...Often. But, I didn't. I've recently been made aware of my shortcomings during that period...To which I apologized for, but I can't make her understand. She'll never know how frequently I said those words to myself...I guess in the hustle and bustle of everyday life, I forgot to say those words aloud. Shame on me. She is a good Mom, a great Mom...She hears this almost daily, now. I thank her for opening my eyes...

Now, I'm the one at home with baby girl all day...By myself...All day...EVERYDAY! (Thanks economy, for my new vacation). I joke, but really...Thank you. I wasn't happy to hear "We don't have any jobs...We haven't put a bid in for a month now...We have nothing". But, everything happens for a reason...And this was a blessing in disguise. I wasn't happy with my career (Electrician)...Now, I'm able to start anew. Not to mention, I get to spend every second with my little girl...And not wonder who's watching her, is she safe, is she being neglected, etc. Life is a journey...Travel on.

Being that it's just me and this little nugget during the day, we get to experience each others little quirks. For example, When I blow my nose, she cries...When she throws a tantrum, I want to cry. To all who think six and a half month old babies cannot throw a temper tantrum, I assure you...They can. But, I find myself feeling a bit...I guess, inadequate...When she cries and there's nothing I can do to help her. She doesn't want to play with her toys, bounce in her bouncer, have tummy time, be held...Nothing. (By the way, that sentence right there lets me know that I've definitely turned into Mr. Mom...very scary). Anyway, it's a very helpless feeling.

So after such a hellacious day, my wife walks in and I hand baby girl right over. I proceed to the fridge and crack open an ice cold beer. Needless to say, I am quite aware of how my wife felt during maternity leave, now. She obviously understands this...Last night sitting on the couch, she looks at me and tells me "You're a good Daddy." I guess you can tell who the bright one in the relationship is...She knew to say this aloud.

Call it Family Preservation

2009-05-15T21:18:00.006-04:00

Just a warning, parts of this post are very upsetting to me...If I rant, please bear with me.

This post is a big kudos to my wife's friend (I'll call her H). She's 42 year, a wife and a mother of a 12 year old daughter...Now, it looks like she's also the mommy of a 4 month old girl. H has very little family, here in the south. Tuesday evening, she found out that her only niece (19 years old) was being beaten by her boyfriend...The father of her daughter (21 year old punk). Apparently DCF were called, due to the ongoing violence in the home...And took the baby into custody Tuesday afternoon. A couple of hours later, DCF contacts H at work and informs her of the days events.

Apparently, H's niece is a loose cannon. They haven't spoken for two years...H couldn't find her. So she resurfaces with a baby and a piece of shit, sorry excuse for a man. Here's the reasons for DCF taking the baby (a) Manly Man was pummeling the crap out of his daughters mother...Maybe daughter as well (b) When given a drug test on the spot, she failed (c) There were concerns with a lump on the baby's forehead, and the back of her head is almost flat. I guess they were too busy to tend to the baby with all the asskickings and drug use going on! DCF told her she can have custody of her baby again, if she leaves him...Guess who she chose.

Anyway. I'm not exactly sure how situations like this usually work, but my wife tells me H has been on the phone with DCF since Tuesday and somehow they were able to expedite the usual procedure. She had an inspector come check her house and all their finances. Today she had to be fingerprinted...Which may not sound like a big deal, but she had to take four hours of her day to do this. The baby is two county's over, so it was quite a drive...But, it's all worth it in the name of family preservation. She was granted custody this evening.

As you could imagine, H is in bit of a shock. It's like she was told she might be pregnant on Tuesday and congratulations, it's a girl on Friday. Well, my wife and I went through all Squeak's things sorting out what we'd need and what we wouldn't...We bagged up a couple of things for H. We just gave a ton of baby girl's clothes and diapers to the Salvation Army on Monday...One day before this mess happened. We managed to supply H with about one month of formula, a week of baby food and cereal, a week of clothes, infant tub and bath supplies, carseat and Squeak's old bassinet. Thank God H already bought diapers and wipes, cause that stuff is like gold in this house.

The thing that gets me, why hurt or neglect the baby...Only four months old. I look at my daughter and I see my heart. She has this way of looking up at you when she's laughing and letting you know, that she knows just how loved she is. It kills me, wondering if this baby has ever felt that. Love.

Well, baby's safe now...H may have custody until she turns 17. Thank God for family...

Life is good

My Story

2009-05-12T08:17:00.018-04:00

After reading a couple of posts from Shirl and Miles Per Hour, I felt inspired to write about what I know all too well...Racism. By looking at me, you would never know my heritage. Growing up in Jersey, people thought I was either Italian or Portuguese. When I lived in San Diego, people thought I was Mexican. It seems wherever I go, I'm a different nationality. I'm multi-racial. I'm German and Dutch from my Mother, I'm Black and Irish from my Dad, and I'm 100 percent PROUD. This is my story...

I was born in 1974 in the great state of NJ. My Mother a tall, blonde haired, blue eyed beauty had just turned 19 years old...She gave birth in February, yet still graduated with her class in June. My Father a tall, handsome, man's man was a bit more experienced at 28 years old. In today's society, this would be the beginning of an end...Thirty five years earlier, this was a recipe for unequivocal disaster.

My Mother is 1 of 7 children and my Father is 1 of 9. I've always found it funny that I was an only child, but my cousins have always been like my brothers and sisters. Needless to say, I have alot of brothers and sisters. My parents both worked during the day, so in my early years my Grandmother (my Dad's Mom...Nanny) babysat myself and about 8 other cousins. I was the 2nd youngest of the bunch. Nanny would take all of us wherever she went, the mall, the supermarket...Everywhere. Out of the 8 kids, 3 of us looked white...Mike, Kim, and myself. I remember people staring at us wherever we went, I thought it was just because me and Mike were chubby...I had no idea. My Mother told me when I was a toddler, a woman had approached Nanny (of course, w/all us kids in tow) at the grocery store...Telling her she was a saint for taking in all these "different colored foster children". I know my Nanny wasn't one to keep her thoughts to herself, so I'm positive she had some strong, choice words for this woman. I had absolutely no idea that my cousins and myself were looked at differently. They're my family, they're ME. So much so, I remember wanting to wear a "wave cap" to bed...Because I wanted to be just like my cousins. (Side note: For all who aren't familiar, waves were a hair style for course hair). I was crushed when my Parents informed me that I had different hair.

I lived 11 whole, blissful years before the world showed itself to me. It was 1985, I was in 5th grade and doing what all rambunctious 11 year olds do. My Mother was driving that old charcoal grey Plymouth Duster, when I said a word that made her pull over and come to an abrupt stop. The word...nigger (I had heard it earlier from a classmate). I remember the look was enough to let me know...Uh-oh, this might hurt a little. She just looked at me and asked, "Do you have any idea what you just said?" Judging by the severity of the situation, I meekly utter..."No." She proceeds to inform me on the definition of my new word, then how people use it. My world stopped. In many ways, that little boy is still on the side of that road. This new world had hardened that little boy. As I became older, I grew more and more of a chip on my shoulder. By the time I was in 7th grade, I was getting into fights regularly. If I heard someone start to say something racist, I would take my swing before they could even finish. This led to some behavioral problems...I carried the weight of the world on my shoulders. This would continue all through high school.

I remember dating a girl from "the good side of the tracks" when I was 17...A beautiful, olive skinned Italian. One night, I was asked to have dinner with her family. Her Father asked me who my Parents were. When I told him, he said "Herky is your Father?! I used to play ball w/him...He was a great tackle! He's a good guy, tell him I said hello." Dinner went great, we spent a couple of hours together. The next day this girl showed up at my house crying. She told me she was banned from ever seeing me again and coming to my town. This sent me into another tailspin...My world was changing, again. These people liked me before they knew who my family was...I needed answers. Not tomorrow, right now. I stormed off to her house and confronted him. I looked him square in the eye and asked "What's the problem?" I remember he couldn't even look me in the eye when he said "JJ I like you, you're a hell of a kid...But you have black blood in you." "Black blood?" I asked. "I hate to tell you, but our blood is the same. What would you do if you needed blood to save your life, and I was the only one who could help?" After a long pause, he looks down at his shoes and says "I guess I'd die." A couple of years later, his daughter was pregnant by a guy I knew...She had a gorgeous mulatto little baby girl. I still wonder how he handled this new "black blood" in his family.

In certain instances, I felt I had it worse than darker skinned people. They wouldn't be invited into the family, whereas I would, and I'd get the royal treatment...Only to be humiliated later. Do you get my analogy? At least darker people knew how these people felt before they invested themselves. I wouldn't find out until my heart and soul was in it...By then, the damage was irreversible.

OK, I think it's time to wrap this post up...Getting a little too heavy. I'd just like to finish with this: After all my Parents have endured, they're still in love and together...And I'm extremely proud to call them Mom and Dad. They serve as role models to my wife, my daughter and myself. Love conquers all...Thanks Mom and Pop.

LIFE IS GOOD...

Passion...

2009-05-05T22:01:00.007-04:00

I've been thinking lately, that it's time to "step it up a notch". Step it up in every way; career, hobbies, passion...Yeah, passion. It seems that in the recent years before my daughter, I gave up on my passion. I became a drone of sorts, living life one foot in front of the other. I convinced myself it was the grown up thing to do. An adults passion should be work, work, work with not too much time left over for whatever it is that makes you...Well, you. Is that it? Is this all I'm to expect from my life? I don't think so, it feels all wrong. There's got to be more to me than what I do.

Please understand this, my family is my absolute everything...My true north. I guess after having our baby girl, I question everything I do or don't do. I can't tell you how many times I've watched over her sleeping, all the while praying "please God, don't let me fuck this up". This is important, this is her life.

This is something I'll always remember. Easter of '08, we spent the weekend with "new" family members (new,through marriage) when someone asked Bill; "So, what do you do?" Bill looks a bit taken aback as he asks "What do you mean...Like, what do I do for a living?" He wasn't being condescending, he's as genuine as the day is long. I thought to myself, good for him. This guy has two gorgeous little girls and a baby boy on the way...Everything else is irrelevant. He's a Daddy. Watching him interact with his family, you knew this was "what he did"...His livelihood (structural engineer) was merely a means to support his family. His passion.

So, I find myself starting to incorporate my oldest passion (music) with my newest (my family). It had been ages since the last time I picked up my guitar, a direct result of my misconstrued ideology. In my life bf (before family), my guitar was the one constant in my life. It was my therapist, friend, teacher, critic, drug, sanity, lover, foe, everything to me. It was an extension of my soul...I never put it down. Playing was my way of dealing with life. I was never very good at discussing my emotions, so I let my music speak for me.

Fast forward 12 years, and here I am with family. My girls...The loves of my life. Music has taken the backseat on this road...but, it's still apart of me. Like an old friend from the neighborhood, whom you haven't seen in years...You pick up right where you left off. I recently introduced Squeak to the guitar. I was a little worried that she'd be scared by it, but she just sat there watching me...She seemed intrigued. Most importantly to me, she was watching my hands. Following my left hand up and down the neck...She seemed to be absorbing it in. I can't tell you how elated I was over this...She's only 6 months old.

I started off thinking my passion was gone forever, but after writing this entry...I've come to realize it's still in me. I can feel it growing from teaching me how to deal with life...To helping teach Squeak to seek out her passion. To answer my own question...No, life doesn't have to be one foot in front of the other. It should be filled with whatever it is you find passion in. It's no longer a matter of should I indulge, it's a matter of time management. Anything you deem important deserves time...I see this now.

What a weekend...

2009-04-27T17:29:00.005-04:00

It's 4:30 am on Sunday morning and I can hear Squeak stirring about. I hope she'll go back to sleep for at least another hour...Who am I kidding? Best to get my butt up and ask my wife if she would like me to feed her. Oh, Momma's already up and getting her bottle ready...Yes! I'll just catch a few more z's before we head off to church.

Now, this is where my beautiful Sunday turns into a bad, bad dream. " SNAKE!!! THERE'S A SNAKE IN THE BATHROOM!!! " calmly screams my wife. Needless to say, I'm now awake. My wife grabs Squeak and I run to the bathroom grabbing a flashlight and a towel (I know, but it's all the brain power I could muster this early). I slam the bath door shut and stuff the towel underneath the door. In case you're wondering why I didn't even take a look to see the snake, we are in the south. Where there are lots of snakes...Some good, and some very, very bad. I assumed the latter, then called 911.

So, they send an animal control officer over to take a peek...Whom, might I add, is especially chipper this morning (like I'm having a blast). He informs me that he can't find the intruder and that this is the norm..." Just yesterday I picked one out of an old womans bed, they're just trying to keep warm". I guess this makes sense, seeing how it was a frigid 68 degrees that night. Anyway, he says it's probably just a Black Racer (non-venomous) and he either found a way out or is in the wall behind the vanity. He says this in front of my wife, thanks officer.

Well, it's Monday evening and we've yet to catch this thing...Let alone see it. Thankfully, wifey hasn't made me tear out the vanity or wall...However, I have been rescreening the entire house. One more day and I'll be done. Good times...

Deep in her slumber...

2009-04-22T22:22:00.003-04:00

I can't take my eyes off this angel. I watch her sleep and wonder what she's dreaming about. Maybe she's dreaming of me holding her under her favorite tree...With the sweet fragrance of orange blossoms filling the warm wind. Perhaps, she dreams of Momma holding her close in her bosom...Rocking her ever so gently. Whatever it is she dreams of, she sleeps soundly...I only pray she'll sleep just like this for the rest of her beautiful life.

Another day in paradise...

2009-04-22T14:46:00.002-04:00

Today is kind of an upside down day. Squeak woke up @ 12:30am SCREAMING (teething) and didn't go back to sleep until 2:45am. She woke @ 5, and just now went down for a nap (it's 2:45pm). It's upsetting because you know that there is only so much that you can do to quell her discomfort. She has baby tylenol on board and a little bit of anbesol...Hopefully, she can rest for another 2 hrs. For as much pain as she seems to be going through, she's still one happy baby girl.

Welcome

2009-04-21T22:02:00.005-04:00

Hey all...I'm new to blogger. My wife and I have been blessed w/a beautiful baby girl (yes, that's her above) and she is our only. When I say blessed, I truly mean it. Life isn't what it used to be...It's as if I'm looking through someone elses eyes. A better mans eyes. I'm no longer defined by "what I do" or how much money I make. I'm Daddy...Which is to say I'm a teacher, a cook, a chauffeur, a butler, a photographer, a nutritionist, an assembler, a disciplinarian, a supporter, a fan and more. I guess it's "what I do"...