I couldn’t resist this montage/homage to the reason why we are excited about Tuesday.
A Fine Deal
January 18, 2009 by Leave a Comment
I don’t think that it’s normal that I get excited when I go shopping (unless it’s for some new electronic piece), but I did get excited at the store this morning. We were up in the Park Meadows area looking for a baby gate, and we decided to stop by Old Navy. We stumbled upon the kids section, and a groovy sale that they have going on this weekend: 50% the lowest marked price of the clearance stuff: they were dumping their winter stuff for summer attire. We found him some winter stuff….some for this winter (it is only January, after all) and a jacket for next. The total price of everything as originally marked? $121.00. The total price of everything today? $21.00 (including tax).
Sorry for the consumeristic excitment, but saving over $100.00 is a nice gift in today’s climate. 🙂
Safety First
January 17, 2009 by Leave a Comment
We figured that along with the crawling, which he is getting really proficient at (he will motor all over the place in no time…at the firehouse he crawled all of the way from the living room, under a table, and into the dining area; roughly 25 feet….and he did it 5 or 6 times), we would add some safety features to the living room area – where he spends the vast majority of his time at home. We let him sit there and play (now crawl), and have found him closer to the top of the stairs to the garage than we would have liked. He also made one attempt to pull himself up the coffee table – successfully lifting his whole body off of the ground – so we added the corner protection. And finally, we put some stuff up to hopefully prevent him from becoming a DJ before we are ready.
Oh yea, the ‘simple, easy to install’ gate wasn’t. The advertised 10 minutes turned into 60, including a trip to the hardware store. Argh.
One picture of the gate from Ezra’s point of view.
More On The Schedule
January 14, 2009 by Leave a Comment
Okay, here’s a few more thoughts on the last couple of days….
It pretty much lived up to the expectations that we had. Work was fine. I have worked 96 hours straight in the past, so being at work for 48 hours wasn’t a strange sensation…but being there with the same crew and the same shift was a little strange. Some of the typical routines were a little shaken up for the better: one trip to the grocery store for two days, only doing chores one time, only having to make my bed one time, etc. Both days were fairly busy with a good mix of calls, maintenance, and training.
I started my task book for the Acting Lieutenant position, so that has given me something new to work on at the station. For the last two days, I was still driving the truck, but I handled most of the administrative stuff – organizing the day, keeping us on task, doing the log book, completing the reports, etc. Next tour (Sun, Mon), I will start my training in the Lieutenant’s seat.
When it came to how things were for Ahna and Ezra….again, pretty much like expected. Ahna was busy at work, so extra meetings and extra things to do occupied a lot of her time. Ezra spent both days in daycare; the first day wasn’t so good, but the second day went a lot better. They were able to stop by the station yesterday afternoon for a few minutes, but our time was cut short by a call.
So logistically, it went fine. On the other hand, it was difficult for me to be away from home for that duration, and Ahna and Ezra missed me being at home as well (or at least they are telling me that). There were a few moments on the first day that I was a little resentful of the schedule, but hopefully those will be balanced by the excitement of being home now for the next four days.
It’s only one tour of two days…both of which we were able to sleep the better part of the night. We will have to wait to see how this continues to develop and change, and we will see what happens when the nights get shorter at work, or at home.
Ah, The New Schedule
January 14, 2009 by 1 Comment
So I have spent the last two days at work….including tonight. Officially, it won’t be until tomorrow morning that it will equal 48 hours, but I thought I would let you know how it is going.
On second thought, I’m tired. We’ve been busy, so I thought about asking Ahna for her take. Alas, same answer. Guess you’ll have to wait. 🙂
The Best Of 2008, Musically Speaking
January 6, 2009 by 1 Comment
For a part of the gift that I gave to Mary for the gift exchange, I made a mix tape (okay, CD) of the best music that I came across in 2008. And since we have the blog thing happening, I figured it was a good place to share it with all of you! Most of the music is here because lyrically it hit the mark (the best of the best: #1, #6, #13, #14). There are two African covers of U2 tunes (#2, #11), some electronic stuff (#16), something close to pop (#7, #12, #15), and some good old fashioned rock-n-roll (#18). Enjoy!
2. Angelique Kidjo: Mysterious Ways
3. Eddie Vedder & Jack Johnson: Constellations
5. Mike Doughty: Busting Up A Starbucks
8. Au Revoir Simone: Fallen Snow (Redux)
9. The Avett Brothers: In The Curve
10. Adem: Loro
11. Soweto Gospel Choir: Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Holiday Party: Denver Family Style
January 5, 2009 by 1 Comment
In our household, there are at least two meanings to the word family. I suppose that it’s about time to explain two of them….the first one is the obvious one: genetic family…you know, Mom, Dad, Cousins, etc. The second one is the Denver Family, or the family that we refer to when we are going to Family Dinner (which is held once a week). It’s comprised of the folks that used to live in the Columbine House (where Ahna lived before we got married), and their respective partners in crime life.
The Denver Family all got together yesterday to celebrate the holidays. We met up at Gabe and Charlotte’s new house in the Whittier neighborhood of Denver (just north and a little west of City Park) for a mid-afternoon dinner, gift exchange, and white elephant gift exchange. Each year we draw names to purchase/make something for; and this year we added the White Elephant aspect to the party. For the real gifts, Ahna got some homemade tea mixes from Claire (with homemade pouches to hold it), and I got a couple of gifts from Tori including a photo frame with pics of Ezra (for work) and the newspaper front pages from Obama’s victory…something to put in a safe place to share with Ezra.
The White Elephant exchange was fun…as there was much stealing of gifts, conspiring to end up with stuff, and disappointment that you ended up with something potentially worse that you came with. For example, I wrapped up a CD of Alan Jackson (that someone had given to me as a joke), and ended up taking home a pair of salt and pepper shakers that are in the shape of a cowboy boot and painted to look like the Texas flag. Oh boy. Ahna ended up with a nice sent of plates that we might actually be able to use…..
The attendance at Family Dinner varies from meal to meal due to work, travel, life, etc….but when everyone gets together – like yesterday – it’s a wonderful reminder of how much fun it is to be with everyone at the same time. Can’t wait for the next one…
The 8th Of The Crazy Nights
December 30, 2008 by Leave a Comment
On Sunday afternoon we were able to enjoy an afternoon at my parent’s house to celebrate the final day/night of Hanukkah. Our travels and work schedules meant that this was the first and only opportunity to be together during the holiday, so we were thankful that it worked out the way that it did.
We had a good meal of latke and apple sauce (or ketchup for some of us), enjoyed opening some gifts, and lit the menorah.
Merry Christmas!
December 26, 2008 by Leave a Comment
Special On The Road Edition: West Salem
Special On The Road Edition: West Salem
Ezra’s first Christmas has come and gone. I know it has only been one day, but it’s weird to think that the next time that we will be doing this, he is going to be 1.5 years old.
The weather continues to be wintery….it snowed more last night, probably another couple-3 inches, with more precip on the way today. We enjoyed a perfect day yesterday……we woke in the morning and opened the gifts that Santa left for everyone right away. Some folks then went over to church, and the rest of us lounged around the house for a while. Following services, we opened the gifts that we got for each other. All of us really enjoyed having the kids around, playing with each other, and sharing gifts with everyone (Johnathan and Isaac got a Wii Sport, which quickly turned into the family activity of the afternoon. Everyone got up and played something, including boxing, golf, tennis, and bowling. Okay, I admit….it’s pretty darn fun).
As the evening approached, it became a little clearer that Ezra might be coming down with a little sickness. He got really congested and stuffy, and a lot of crap down his throat. Turns out that the evidence quickly turned to reality and conviction, and the night was a long one for all of us. He is acting is normal self this morning, but the sickness is in full force. Hopefully we are able to help him through it during the plane flight. Otherwise…….well, it’s only 2 hours, right?
The Life of a Little Hippie 