Busy Busy...

I don't have much time to write tonight. It's almost 9 p.m., and the wife has just finished feeding the sprout, and watching the Buckeye basketball game. This means she is about to hit the sack. While she is sleeping, I am going to be watching a movie and holding the little one's shirtless body against my bare chest till next feeding time. (2 1/2 hrs.) I know, it sounds kinda weird, but- the baby doc informed us that it will help him relax, will lower stress hormone levels, and it can sync his heart rate to mine. Weird sounding or not, I'm all about it.
So, I guess I will talk to you later friends.
P.S., I had to go back to work today, and it totally sucked ass!!! All I could think about was the sprout, and I couldn't really concentrate on my clients. Damn, did I miss the lil' guy.
Ah well, time heals all I guess...
PEACE.

This Week Has Been A Doozy So Far...

It's been a CRAZY week since the sprout has come to join us.
We have gotten, maybe a total of about 24 hours of sleep, put a dent in the national diaper reserve, walked the equivalent of two miles holding and rocking the babe, listened to ocean cd's so often that I'm beginning to think we are back in Costa Rica, and have ducked so many wayward streams of pee- (thank God for my cat-like reflexes) that I"m sure bullet dodging could be considered a hobby.
But ya' know what? I wouldn't change a thing.
I am so grateful for this gift that I have been given, and each day he makes me more and more happy to be a dad.
And besides, I will never run out of subject matter to write about.
Because there are so many things that need to be done in the mere two hour intervals that he sleeps in throughout the day, I only have time to give a quick synopsis of what's going on with the lil' guy.
1.THE KID IS A POOPING MACHINE!!! "In out in out" has got to be the mantra of his digestive system.
2. His perception of time is totally backward. His 12 a.m. is our 12 p.m.
3. He had his first visit with the pediatrician and all is excellent! Early on, there were concerns about his weight (4 lb. 14 oz.)
but he is gaining! He has grown from 17 1/2 in. to 19 in., and his head circumference has gone from 12 1/4 to 12 1/2!
All right little sprout!
4. His eyes are changing color more and more day by day. They started out sort of a dark grey-ish color, but now they seem
to be a light brown, almost hazel shade like my dear old dad's and my lovely wife's.
5. He is HANDSOME!!! A LADY-KILLER IN THE MAKING!
6. He is one of the most serene, and relaxed individuals I have met. The kid NEVER cries Unless he's got a dirty diaper, or he
is hungry. I swear, he's like mini Mahatma Ghandi.
7. I appreciate all the support we have continuously received from our friends and family, and I mean it, we WILL be taking
up ALL offers of assistance, so be careful what you say around us. Mental notes are being taken!

Well, the boy is squirming, and I just felt more rumbling in his diaper, so I have got to go. See ya' tomorrow!
PEACE.

IT'S A BOY!!!

What up everybody!!! Sorry about the delay in posting, but I am back at it, and I am happy to announce the birth of the sprout! On Thursday, January 25th, my lovely wife and I had a BEAUTIFUL baby boy. He was born at 6:56 a.m., weighing just 4lb. 14oz., and just 171/2 inches long.
Man, is he little!
Everything the day BEFORE his birth started off pretty routinely, and I had no clue as to what would soon occur. We got up at our usual 8:00 Wednesday time, had our usual hard time emerging from our warm bed, and got the dogs ready for their usual morning walk. The day started out pretty boring.
While on our walk, the dogs did what they normally do- pulling, sniffing, leg lifting, and butt crouching, and I was under the assumption that there was nothing that was out of the ordinary. That is, until the last three blocks of our walk. The lovely wife began to notice a "wet" feeling, and a progressively achy back. By the time we got home, her back was really hurting, and she told me she felt like she was leaking.
LEAKING?!?!
Thinking her water had broken, I suggested we call the baby doc after I called and consulted with a co-worker who has had quite a bit of practice with birthing babies. Baby doc, after hearing all the details, prompted us to come to her office right then. "Come now" she said, "Don't worry about makeup, and doing your hair, just get in as soon as possible"
Oh oh.
AFTER the wife showered AND washed her hair, we headed to baby doc's office. Upon arrival, they whisked her in, gave her a quick checkup, and then led her into a room with an ugly forest green leather recliner, a couple of magazines, and a machine that suspiciously looked like an old school polygraph machine.
"Do they think we're lying about your water breaking?" I half joked, half seriously. The machine was used to conduct stress tests. After strapping disc-shaped gauges to my wife with elastic sports bandage type material, the machine then recorded the sprout's heart rate, and the strength and frequency of contractions, if any.
There were none.
So, then a swab test was run to determine whether the wife's water had broken.
It had.
MY WIFE'S WATER HAD BROKEN!!!
Baby doc informed us that the "leakage" was in fact, the wife's continual breaking of water.
Continual was the most appropriate word baby doc could have used. The lovely wife was like a faulty faucet (I know I'm gonna get it for that one) from 8:30 a.m., until around 11:30-12:00 that evening, and this made her equally uncomfortable and upset. Lucky for HER there was a Buckeye basketball game on to keep her mind off the waterworks.
After we were admitted to the hospital, we got acclimated to our new digs, unpacking, and just getting as comfy as possible.
Soon after, the nurse came in, answered all our questions, and then hooked the wife up to yet Another "Polygraph machine". (This one looked super futuristic, and it was connected to some cool speakers, and a computer monitor)
After a long period of waiting for a contraction to happen, and getting no result, the wife was given some Petosin to prompt contractions. Lucky for ME, there was a Buckeye basketball game on, because we did a LOT of waiting around for a contraction. Finally, at around 11:00, the wife started feeling some pretty good contractions. (Early on, she felt some, but despite the VERY high readings of the space age contraction monitor, she continued to watch the game relatively unfazed)
Soon after, she requested an epidural. Now I know she had to be in some SERIOUS pain to request, cuz she is hard core when it comes to pain tolerance. I'm not going to go into detail about the epidural procedure, because I didn't see any of it. They made me sit facing her, so I just held her hand. From what I do know, they stick a good sized needle into your spine and inject a drug which numbs you from the waist down to alleviate some of the pain of the contractions.
It worked.
But with a price. It must have really killed the wife to go through it, because while holding her hand,she nearly broke a couple of my fingers when the shot was administered.
After that, she and I slept from around 12:00 to 5:15 a.m.
When she awoke, our nurse did a couple of readings, and boosted morale.
The wife was feeling the contractions quite a bit more than she would have liked, and requested another pain killer.
The nurse then informed her the she could have a much milder one, but doubted it would do any good this late in the game.
At around 6:20, the nurse did a check on the wife after her contraction pains became more pronounced.
"Oh" she said, "I think you are ready to go" she then said, grabbing instruments to be used during the birth. (They looked like torture tools to me)
"WAIT A MINUTE!!!" I screamed inside, "What the #@$* do you mean ready to go?!?!"
"I'M not!"
"Yes", she said after a little further investigation. "I can see the head starting to make it's way down." "Here jay, take a look!"
...
"Umm..."
...
I really did NOT plan on being anywhere near the area where my wife would be ejecting our baby from her body, much less peering into it's escape route, but I handled it like a champ! When I looked, I did in fact see a small bit of the top of our son's head, and it was covered in hair. The nurse then ran out of the room to call the baby doc, and when she returned, I was then instructed to grab one of the wife's legs and push toward her chest while she did the same with the other. While the nurse and I pushed, we cheered my wife on, telling her to push against us, and then praising her for the good job she was doing.
Then baby doc showed up, and the three of us continued to push while baby doc cleared the way for a smooth baby landing.
The craziest/most beautiful/humbling sight I will ever see then occurred. I watched our son's head, shoulders, and his cute lil' bony butt emerge from my OH SO LOVELY WIFE, and then be placed in her arms.
WOW MAN.
So, after roughly 35-40 mins. of pushing the wife bore me an heir to my/our last name.
I am more grateful to her than there are words to express for helping me create such a beautiful being who is a combination of the two of us, and yet a complete individual unlike any before him or any who will follow.
Thank you so very much my love.
And thank you so much for coming into my life Sprout. I promise to you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe from harm, to instill in you a strong understanding of Honor, and Respect, and to expose you to all I can in order to help make your parameters of acceptance and tolerance limitless.
I love you my son, and PEACE to you.

Goings On...

Happy New Week Everybody!!!
I hope you're all happy to start your new work week back up again. Just 5 more days, and the weekend will be back for me.
(4 for the regular working stiffs)
Because I missed "Heroes" last night I'm sure I will be banned from the water cooler until next week. I hope the new season is good- and without any dumb "Save the cheerleader, save the world" catch phrase crap. (although I must admit, a LOT of people heard it, and watched that storyline arc because of that equally silly and annoying tag line.)
Anyway, Today is the start of my new work week, and I'm pretty o.k. with it. I need to be at work, but I would rather stay at home with the lovely wife on baby alert. Baby alert is actually a lot less stressful, unnerving, and downright frightening than I thought it would be nine months ago. A typical evening while on baby alert consists of, lounging on the couch, volleying baby boy names (still can't think of one), zoning in front of the t.v., hanging in the kitchen while dinner is prepared, more t.v. zoning, assembling the many baby accessories friends and family gave us for my wife's multiple baby showers, and fretting about where to put all the assembled loot. We are swiftly running out of space for all the baby stuff, and it cannot be more evident that we need to get rid of a LOT of crap. Maybe if I can throw one thing that we haven't used in a year away each day, then it wont seem like we are the hoarders that we are slowly but surely becoming.
Yesterday the wife and I went to the baby doc and she informed the lovely wife that she was 50% effaced. Just a week ago, she told us that she wasn't at all. I'm guessing that that is pretty good, and that we are 50% closer to having the sprout than not. The doc also guesstimated that the sprout is around about 7 pounds right now, and I must say that although that is average, I am impressed. I never thought I would/could produce a NORMAL sized bambino. I'm a small fry, and when I came into the world I was maybe 4 pounds. Wayyyy underweight. (and on time) So, to think that there's a possibility that my kid won't be a shrimp like his dear old doggie daddy really makes me...
You know what? None of that really matters. I don't care if the kid is a pip squeak or a frankenstein, just let him/her come out healthy and happy and all will be right in the world to me.
The bags are packed, the car seat is in, and I have a couple of movies in mind to take to the hospital with us. (YES the hospital has dvd players!) Yeah buddy-we are ready!!! All that remains is the call. I don't know when I will get it, but when I do, I will be as cool as a cucumber. (Yeah right) I know I will be a wreck, but- I will try to be as calm as possible when interacting with the wife. We don't need TWO crazy people running around in circles screaming, hollering, and panicking when at least ONE of us needs to be calm so that the other can be as well.
Well, I guess that's all I have to say right now, but I will keep you posted dear blog as to the ongoing adventures in baby making...
PEACE.

Awwww Crap!!!

I forgot to watch and give my weekly review of Afro Samurai last night!!!
I don't know when the rerun will be... rerun- but I'm sure I'll find it on Youtube...

PEACE till next week.
(I really mean it this time...)

I've Been Converted...

For dessert tonight, my lovely wife and I had Jeni's Ice Cream.
I must admit, that I AM ABSOLUTELY NOT A FAN OF ICE CREAM ON COLD, BLUSTERY DAYS WHEN THE HAWK IS OUT. I decided to get some for the lovely wife after work. ('Cuz you know how them pregnant women LOVE ice cream) Apprehensively, I asked for a spoonful-which led to at least three more, and every single taste bud was completely pleased. We got Orange Flower, Creme' de Violet, and Pear Riesling and each flavor was excellent. We conducted experiments with mixing flavors and found that Pear and Creme' de Violet tastes like a Pear Creamcicle! My wife didn't seem to care for the Orange Flower, but I thought it was great. I don't know what prompted my sudden desire to eat ice cream, but boy did it pay off!
I've never really cared for ice cream when it's cold because it's cold-
And it makes me cold-
And I don't like to be cold.
At all.
Ever.
Just about everyone I know expresses their delight with the occasional ice cream treat between the months of December and March. Some claim it's the thrill of eating a luxury supposedly reserved only for warm afternoons and nights. Maybe it helps remind people that summer is not SO far away. I personally feel that there would HAVE to be some folks that eat ice cream during the winter months because they can take their time. If the chance of the ice cream melting is lessened exponentially, then- the ice cream can be enjoyed for a LONGER PERIOD OF TIME.
What if some people don't even NEED a reason?
...

If the solution can be as easy as putting on a thermal shirt, sweater, sweatshirt, windbreaker, scarf, wool cap, ear muffs, heavy socks, snow pants, and gloves to enjoy Jeni's ice creams like I did tonight, then so be it.

PEACE till next week.

New Outfit...

Aww yeah baby!
CHECK ME OUT Y'ALL!
How do you like the new threads?
I spent a couple of hours trying on new blog templates, customizing the fit, and color, but I think I just might have a look that properly expresses-"Dapper Young Ruggedly Handsome Go Getter".
Let me know what ya think of the new and improved look of Just Trying to Make Sense.
Well, I'm running out of time before I have to hit the bricks in order to get to the grind, so I'm gonna scram.
Expect another post later today/tonight.
PEACE.

GO BUCKS!!! (Really-I'm NOT a Fan)

Went to see the Buckeye Basketball team CREAM Northwestern with a final score of 73-41.
A massacre occurred on the court. Toward the end of the game, fans were heckling Northwestern players, and judging by their performance, it seemed like they heard every jeer shot their way. I almost felt bad for them.
Almost.
We got some photos, but because no flash photography was permitted, taking close ups produced fuzzy slightly blurry pics.
Also included is a photo of me standing next to a Greg Oden life-size poster...
Damn that kid is a friggin' GIANT!

Oh yeah, I found out how to make links to other blogs and sites in the side bar. Thanks to my co-worker I'll call the Canuck.
PEACE.

One Centimeter, Boobs, Equality, Burgers, and Blue Jackets...

A bunch of crap happened between Friday and today, and I have a couple of itchy fingers, so I'm gonna write all about said crap in order of most to least important.
This morning, we went to see the OBGYN for my lovely wife's now weekly checkup till the sprout uh, sprouts. All was well, the wife is at 38 weeks, has dilated one centimeter, and feels pretty good- save some sore hips. We found out that the lovely wife's numbers (sugar, protein) are perfect, her weight gain is where it should be, (24 lbs.) and that Baby White (as named by a couple of friends) is facing downward. We also learned that the kid will be exceptionally pleasing to the eye, very personable, and successful throughout their life in everything that they do...
O.K., maybe we DON'T know for sure that the kid will be personable or successful, but that's alright. We have the fact that he/she will be an extremely attractive individual (just like her/his parents) to fall back on.

Yesterday we met with our potential pediatrician. He was an alright guy, and had a good sense of humor- which I liked. He was pretty cool, but almost overly so. He had sort of a wanna-be cool high school counselor type of thing going on. He used some "hip" lingo, but it seemed just SLIGHTLY strained. Plus he used the word "BOOB" twice when referring to my lovely wife's breasts. He said something like, "It takes patience and practice to get the baby to attach to your BOOB when feeding".(!)
I don't quite remember exactly how he used "BOOB" the next time, which was a few seconds later, because I was still reeling from the first time he said it. The word BOOB isn't bad or offensive to me, criminy, I nearly use the word on a daily basis. (DON'T ASK) It's just that I expected a DOCTOR to use a more technical term. Anyway, he answered all the questions we fretted and sweated to come up with-I mean, how are we as new parents supposed to know what to ask a doctor we've never had a need for?
All in all, everything went well, and he seemed like a good choice.

Yesterday was also Martin Luther King's Birthday. I didn't attend any of the festivities occurring around town and I felt bad, but I DID take some time out to reflect how well things have become for brown people here in the states, and how much further we as a society still have to go in order for everybody across the board to truly feel equal.

Sunday the lovely wife and I wanted to discontinue our monotonous cycle of waking up, going to work, coming home, watching t.v. till we go to bed, and waking up-so we decided to go out (together) for a change. The wife asked me out on a date to the Thurman Cafe for dinner for the BEST HAMBURGERS EVER! From there we went to the Book Loft and got lost within it's labyrinthine corridors and rooms for about an hour and a half. We wanted to go next door to Cup o' Joe for coffee and conversation, but it was already 11:00, and the joint was closed. That was o.k., because we spent the entire night talking, and getting to know each other again. Sunday was really the highlight of the weekend.

Saturday night, my co-workers and I met at Nationwide Arena for a Columbus Blue Jackets hockey game. it was cool, but no one really devoted too much time to watching the game. We all pretty much just talked and mingled with one another, and with our host-a client who invites us to a game each year with she and some friends to watch in a "box" she reserves. It was a decent spread. There was food (pizza, wings, pasta) soda, and LOTS OF BOOZE!!! After the game, we were feeling pretty good, and we then headed to the Bar of Modern Art to hang out. I must admit, the club scene isn't mine, but it was surprisingly entertaining, and fun. Amid the Uber-Cool scenesters there were regular folks, nerds, sluts, geeks, hip-hoppers, gays, soccer moms and dads, and soon to be golden buckeye card recipients. (My kind of crowd) There was something for everyone. And because the crowd was so diverse, everyone could feel "cool" there. The bartenders were quite generous, (I got a FREE drink-and man was it stiff) and as swift as they were polite.
The art was excellent, they featured a room COMPLETELY covered in graffiti, a room with hand grenade headed resin action figurines, and a room with religious collage/oil interpretations. I'm not doing any of the artwork justice, so browse the site, and look up each of the artist's works.

Man my fingers are tired as hell! I guess when I wait a few days to post, the floodgates burst when I decide to do so again.
Hopefully my long-windedness hasn't contributed to your dozing off dear reader, and I will again make the empty promise to try and write daily, so as to avoid these long-ass posts
Anyway, it's late, and I am out of stuff to talk about, so I am going to bed.
PEACE.

...

C'mon michael...



...Seriously.

Nothing new...

Not much to say tonite...
I watched another episode of Afro Samurai, and again it was O.K.
That is until the love scene. (I hate animated love scenes) They had some R. Kelly type r&b bullshit accompanying the act. What the HELL does R. Kelly, or whoever was trying to sound like him have to do with a samurai action show???
They are losing me, but I'm willing to give it one more episode.
I had a client come in yesterday who gave me a terrific website. it's called PANDORA.COM. It is a really sweet site. Like LIVE365.COM you can type in the name of a musical artist, or genre of music and they will play tunes by that artist, or songs within that genre, but unlike 365, it goes further. Pandora acts as a reference site directing you to SIMILAR artists or songs which fit the genre chosen. 365 scratches that surface, but Pandora goes the extra mile- even providing cover art from the recommend artist's cd's. It's a great site that I will use in tandem with 365. Live 365 will give me the names of rare and obscure artists currently being played, and I will then look to Pandora to give me an album name, and similar sounding bands. Soon I will be so swamped in music, it will not be funny. (really I'm ALREADY swamped, but I don't care. You never know when you will need a Don Ho, Carmen Miranda, or Kashmere Stage Band song to liven up a situation)
PEACE.

There is no joy in Mudville-mighty Casey has struck out...

Even though it's a reference to a different sport, the sentiment can't be any more appropriate.

Two of Two...

The time is drawing nigh. In a matter of just under four weeks, (According to Baby Doc) I will become one of the MOST important individuals in a person's life. Let's consider that for a moment, shall we? This means that ALL of my actions, spoken thoughts, personality traits, insecurities, and beliefs will be under a little microscope to be scrutinized, sponged, and simulated. So, I MUST be on point. Seriously. ONE slip of my Drunken Sailor's tongue, and I could wind up with a kid suspended from preschool. ONE criticism of the lovely wife, though she posesses not a trait that I COULD criticize- (whew) ONE criticism of the lovely wife could be repeated, thus earning me the comfort and warmth of the couch. Most importantly- I must keep in mind that ONE disrespectful, or dishonorable act toward another could set a standard.
Cognitive and Active Responsibility must be a way of life now, and I have to further develop and hone those abilities in order to help me to be aware of the consequences BEFORE the actions. More importantly, I have to instill those skills in my kid, nuturing them until she/he exhibits them on his/her own.
Man. Becoming the BEST DAD IN THE EXISTENCE OF MAN sure is gonna be a lot of Damn work...
PEACE, till next week.

Number One Of Two Today...

Today I will be posting twice to make up for the absence of posts on Weds. and Thurs. (Monday had two posts, but one was meant for Tuesday)
On to the post.
I saw this guy's story today, and thought it might be kinda cool to share it. This man's actions required an IMMENSE amount of bravery, and it reinforces my faith in the human spirit, and our innate desire to help another in dire situations. Thanks for decreasing my cynicism by a HUGE amount Mr. Autrey.
Last night I watched an episode of a new Anime called Afro Samurai and it was pretty good. Not GREAT, but it was interesting enough to check out again. It airs on the Spike T.V. channel at 11p.m. (So late because of the adult language, and ultra-violent scenes and situations. The story involves Sam Jackson who voices Afro Samurai, and his ninja sidekick, Ninja Ninja (who Jackson also voices). They are on a quest for the "Number One Fighter" headband once worn by Afros' father, who was defeated in battle by the then Number Two Fighter- Justice, voiced by Ron Pearlman. The soundtrack features a musical score by the RZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame, and is STRONGLY influenced by Hip-Hop culture. (Almost stereotypically) Other influences include Samurai Champloo, Ninja Scroll, and Lone Wolf and Cub. There's a feudal japanese, old west, futuristic feel which provides an interesting mood, and I also noticed strong Buddist/Christian undertones playing tug of war with one another. (Possibly a comment on Japanese traditions threatened by Western influence?) All in all, it's a pretty good show, and deserves a viewing.
PEACE, till later today.

Sprout's Humble Abode...

Whew! We literally just finished the sprout's room, and it's a good thing. We only have FOUR weeks till she or he arrives! Wow man, to think I will soon be somebody's DAD. The lovely wife has been having contractions, but they're only sporadic at best.
Nonetheless, we have been prepping for the day/night we have to run to the hospital to birth our baby! We have been going over the names we like best, what we need to remember to pack in order for the wife to be most comfy, making a list of snacks she may want, and making a cd chock full of relaxing and soothing tunes. The hardest decision seems to be what outfit to pack for the lil' gal or guy.
Anyway, the room is done-except for some outline work, and painting the tacks the cloud mobiles hang from the same color as the ceiling. Not too much work left.
We wanted to go with an insect sort of theme, because each window in the room is surrounded by flowers during the summer, and we wanted the room to feel as if insects were just passing through. We found a lot of the decor items at IKEA, (cool stuff, and VERY cheap) and our favorites are the leaf shaped canopy for the bed, (it gets pretty bright in that room on sunny days) and the sun shaped ceiling sculpture.
It has honestly been a pain in the rear to accomplish, but after seeing the finished product, I must say, it was well worth the effort. Now I'm just ready for the occupant of the domicile to arrive.
PEACE.

HAPPY 2007!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!
This year is gonna be a good one-
I can already tell!
We had a lot to be thankful for in '06, and '07 will surely be just as fortuitous for us. We are truly grateful for all the LOVE, FRIENDSHIP, SUPPORT, and POSITIVITY we have been so fortunate to have received this year, and we look forward to reciprocating to the people we know and love.
For my resolution, I plan on working on my communication skills.
I plan to be a better listener-stopping EVERYTHING and devoting all of my attention to the person conveying their thoughts to me. I feel I am an o.k. listener, but If there's a distraction, I find myself splitting my attention between the individual speaking to me, and whatever else is going on. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not RUDE when I do it-and it's not OBVIOUS that I am doing it, but I feel it's disrespectful to the person conversing with me. So, in order to be most effective when communicating with others, I resolve to LISTEN, and FOCUS on all that is being said to me, without interruptions, or volleying MY opinions, thoughts, and/or solutions until the person speaking to me has ended their half of the conversation, or until they ask for my input.
WHEW!
THAT IS GOING TO BE A SERIOUS TASK FOR ME FOLKS.
I think that I can accomplish this resolution, and ultimately, it will get me one step closer to mastering the lost art of conversation.
PEACE.
(Sprout info. tomorrow Dad)