My blog n'at

I’ve never been a big Christmas person. In fact the holiday would annoy the shit out of me every year because of how fake everyone was about being good and giving meanwhile the uber obsessed ones would drive me insane with their bat shit craziness like most of Steelernation. It wasn’t until I started having a family that this would change and while I’m still a bit “meh” I’m coming around.

This year was different. This year I was stunned!

Before I started break from work I received some monumental news from a co-worker that I can’t say until its “officially official” but will hint that.. no I won’t. You’ll have to wait. Then I won $20 on a $3 scratchoff card Lushie got me as a stocking stuffer and $35 from a football pool that my mom apparently entered me in at the church I belonged to in Erie. I was feeling pretty good by this point and as a small family we had a great Christmas day.

We celebrated Christmas at my bro’s a little late because my mom was sick. What I opened as my present left me stunned. I will be attending the Winter Classic on Saturday with my nephew/godson Ben. What a lot of people don’t know is that as a Pens ticket holder I was offered tickets in the summer and had to say no because it was too close to Lushie’s due date. I was devastated as a hockey fan but knew this is one of those things I had to do. My freaking kid could be born, I’m not missing it! I was bitter for awhile and refused to even read coverage.

I started to get angry. I told a few people on Facebook/Twitter about it and was actually called “stupid” and “dumbass” for passing up on such an event. The bitterness grew but by taking a step back I realized it wasn’t Pens fans saying it, it was the Steelers fans who jumped on the band wagon. People can be brutal on the interwebz

Back to the ticket. So I sat on the couch stunned. My brother said that the family will make sure that if Lushie goes into labor that a plan was in place to make sure I don’t miss the birth.  I was speechless. Not because I had a ticket but because my family pulled together to make sure this happened and I had no idea. Some may think that a game like this is trivial but unless you’re married to me you have no idea how many things I have had to turn down.

And then…

Lushie went into labor at my brother’s. She didnt say anything just in case it was a false alarm but around 6pm she said we needed to find a sitter. By 4pm the following day my 2nd son was born.

This Christmas I’ll be in hockey nirvana. Friday I’m going to the Alumni Game with my good bud John, Saturday I’ll be at the Winter Classic and I have a new healthy son.

No one, not even Lushie, knew I kept a log of her pregnancy and now I’m moving it from private to public. It was my way of documenting the next chapter of my life, and, creation of one. I never did this for Jackson and I wish I had.

June 12th (evening)
We just found out Lushie is preggers. Actually she’s had symptoms for a week now but we didnt think anything of it. While out getting chinese tonight she picked up a couple tests and both came back positive.

fuck

Not about the pregnancy but now I wonder if the house I just closed on 24 hours ago is going to be big enough.

fuck

June 15th
While sitting in a lunch meeting planning out our next branding campaign it became official at 12:43pm when Lushie sent a txt from the doctor’s office that read “We are having a baby. About 8 weeks along and yes a heartbeat!” 18 minutes later one more message arrived but this one contained a pic. Internet, here is the first picture of the next Spoon offspring.

Right now we’re looking at a due date mid January. Because of everything that happened with Teaspoon we have to be ready for go time the end of November. In other words family will be pissed off when they find out we’re not traveling at all for the holidays. Eh, they’ll get over it.

We’re not telling anyone until we get over the 10 week hump. That always seems to be the milestone for us. Lushie’s mom knows but come on, thats her mom. Of course we tell her. I sure as shit don’t know whats going on. I’m a dude. I just know to do what she asks, rub her feet/back and wait till she’s sleeping to talk about her

June 17th
Broke down and told my mom today but I made sure I had fun with it which is typical of me. After dropping my car off at the garage it went like this. BTW, my mom is 75 which makes this even better.

D: Hey mom can I ask a favor?
M: Sure. What do you need?
D: Well can we stay in your basement for a few months?
M: WHAT! JESUS CHRIST! Douglas don’t tell me you lost the house! Did they decide not to sell! (keep in mind we had already closed on the house earlier in the month)
D: Naw, its not like that. We just have a lot going on. We have a lot of packing, work is stressful, Lushie is pregnant and Teaspoon is a crazyman.
M: Now Douglas… wait… WHAT! OMG!!!

I’m probably going to hell for pulling things like this

June 20th – Father’s Day
My brother and his oldest boy(17) came over today to help me pickup a dining room set for the new house. This was only the 2nd day we were in the house so they were in need of a full tour. As we went to the future nursery room I told my bro “So we need to get crackin on this room, Teaspoon’s little brother or sister will be taking up residence in January.” My bro had a confused look on his face meanwhile my nephew said “DAD! She’s pregnant!” Hooray catholic education for him being quick to figure it out. My nephew is actually pretty bright but he’s also a smart ass so I was expecting more of a “Way to knock her up Uncle Doug!”

June 21st
Made the announcement on Facebook and Twitter this morning. Cat is out of the bag now! Its official that there is something in the water of Yinz Team since we have MANY preggers wives at one time.

June 26th
Today Lushie turned 34 and while she and Teri went to the theater myself and her mom worked on the new house. We almost passed out from exhaustion so guess how the day treated Lushie. You guessed it, she’s sleeping a long time tonight.

July 11th
The move is done and we are finished with Cranberry. It took 3 moving truck loads and many car trips but its time to stick a fork in the place. Lushie relaxed and we broke the news to the movers who didn’t already know. Chick-fil-a platter for all was devoured as was the beer.

August 16th
Lushie and teaspoon were gone for 4 days so I could paint the basement. It’s 90% done and the last 10% will get done on another weekend. There wasn’t enough room to keep moving everything around so this should be motivation to throw stuff out. Battleship Grey has consumed the house.

August 23rd
I started giving Lushie shots that will happen once a week until whenever to help make sure the baby cooks to full term this time. I was a nervous wreck at first because the needle is big and I have to stick it in Lushie. I would have been a horrible drug addict. We found out that on Sept 2nd at 8am we’ll find out the sex of the baby. Just about everyone, including us, think its a girl and probably because we need to balance out Teaspoon. If its a boy and he’s a fighter like Teaspoon we’ll start scheduling trips to the principal’s office now.

August 24th
Guess who got to spend the night in the ER! Now we look back and chuckle but at the time we were scared to death. Lushie broke out into tears at dinner last night and told me she’s having severe pains in her side. She called her doc earlier and was told it could be from the medicine I shot her with. It was to the point of unbearable so after calling a sitter we rushed to the Mercy ER.  We check in and right away they call labor and delivery to come get her. (I’m going to leave out what the ER was like because you can guess what the experience of being that close to the Hill District would do).

We get upstairs and they place her in the room directly across from where we were when she went into labor with Teaspoon and said “oh you’ll be home in the morning.” We heard it again but this time it was a different result. The doc came in and did an exam. Everything was absolutely perfect plus I got to hear the heartbeat for the first time really clear. Ends up she was having or just passed a kidney stone. An hour later we left and rolled in around 10:30pm.

The story doesn’t end there. Teaspoon is teething hardcore and we ran out of medicine for his gums. I got 2 hours of sleep and have been on a Starbucks high all day. This for a guy who drinks coffee once a year. Yup, I’m a jittery ball of mess.

August 25th
The family debacle right now is this weekend. My brother’s neighborhood is having their annual race in Regent Square followed by a block party which we were invited to. Mom is bent because we’re not going over. She’s oblivious to the fact that Teaspoon in a large group of people is a BAD idea unless he’s on a leash. He’s 18mo and a wildman, not 7mo and learning to crawl.

She doesn’t see him that often because she lives in Erie, this summer has been crazy busy with the house and she cant drive down here so the only visit time is if my brother goes to get her and even then we have to haul everything over there. I don’t mind doing it but making comments like ‘Well I have to visualize your place because I havent seen it” and then having others say ‘Well you know your mom wishes she could see him more.” Know what, make a fucking effort and respect the situation I’m in.  Old people drive me fucking nuts some days.

August 31st
2 days until we find out the sex and now all signs point to boy. *oye* Teaspoon had his 18mo checkup yesterday and came in at 25lb/18in. Plus side if its a boy is that Teaspoon is ready for a bed and to pass the crib along. That would also mean by the time the baby is 2, he’ll be 4 and they can start bunk beds giving me an office/man room for the first time since 2007

September 2nd
Ladies and gentlemen… its a boy!

His name is Owen. Don’t call him “The Big O” because he’s not Oprah and the other’s name is close to a curse word in our house. Don’t call him “O-ie/O-ey” because he’s not a girl. We call Teaspoon “J” once in awhile so yes, now we’ll have O and J. Teaspoon has already started to cuddle up to the belly and say “hiiiiii”. Having 2 boys less than 2 years apart is starting to sink in more and if this one is like his big brother we’ll need to invest in helmets and bubble-wrap the walls.

October 5th
Last week was pretty eventful for us. Lushie had an exam and found out she’s been bumped back up to the “normal” range and in fact is high normal. Err wait that sounds odd. She’s at the very good side of normal which means instead of weekly appointments she’s going to bi-weekly and we’re back on schedule with the original due date.

We found carpet for the nursery and potentially for Teaspoon’s room in which I documented our day here. I cant wait until the room is done because that with everything else I have to get ready is another item that needs crossed off. Then again Teaspoon’s room was finished while he was in the NICU. I cant wait that long again.

November 1st
Felt the baby kick for the first time and it was amazing. Actually it felt like an alien was going to pop out. I never got to do that with Teaspoon because he was a spud and wouldn’t move every time I tried. Does that really surprise you though?

November 4th
The Braxton Hicks contractions are starting. Not a fun time. Teaspoon is starting to understand what’s going on from the view of  ”there’s something in the belly”. Lushie went in for a test today and was told that all is well but that she has to get another sonogram. There was a cyst in the kid’s head that they’re watching and need to see if it’s gone from the last time. Of course nothing is ever easy Lushie and Teaspoon are going away for the weekend so I can paint the nursery with my brother and hopefully get our basement done.

November 8th
What a morning! Lushie went in for her follow-up sonogram since we got the news in September. One thing we didn’t tell people was that the baby had 2 cysts on his brain. I say “had” because i’m ecstatic to say that as of this morning they have dissolved and we’re good to go! Lushie is at 29 weeks starting tomorrow and O is currently 3.6 pounds which puts him +.4 from when Teaspoon was at his smallest in the NICU. Doctor said that if she goes full term we could be seeing close to a 10lb baby. Oh boy…

November 23rd
Well dude you’re really bouncing around now. Last night Lushie started having contractions. The baby is at 31 weeks. Teaspoon was born at 32 weeks. Guess the fear that entered our minds. Thankfully they went away and she went in this morning for a check up. The doc says they were just Braxton Hicks contractions and after getting yelled at because the horse’s ass wont slow down he said she has to chill and let me do all of the lifting and walking up and down stairs. Basically on bed rest but not really. Yes, I help out now as it is but now our schedule changes dramatically since she runs errands during the day. Yeah, not anymore.

Teaspoon is being a dick and won’t sleep in his own bed plus Lushie says she thinks he knows something is about to happen. At 21mo who knows what else the kid has picked up on. *sigh* We should be part of the family on Parenthood.

Btw, guess who’s doing Thanksgiving dinner now? Yeah, *THIS* guy!

November 26th
Meal was incredible and your dad hit it out of the park! You seemed to like it also and had your first turkey coma. Don’t worry, you’ll have plenty more to come. Everyone asked about your nursery. That gets carpeting tomorrow.

November 27th
The disgusting pink carpeting is gone and replaced with a sweet dark blue. Currently your room is PSU colors so I need to fix that. This is a non-PSU house

December 19th
Dude, you’re beating up your mom and apparently your big brother is pissing you off.  He’s crying a lot and throwing tantrums because thats just what a 22mo old does. Your grandma Jane and Aunt Mindy were down to celebrate Christmas since we can’t travel.

Your mom has had a few checkups and everything looks great! Since your brother was early we already have some comfy clothes for you just in case. She’s starting to swell up and said you’re now facing down. Your mom is starting to get a bloody nose and since she’s on blood thinners we have to watch out. I’m really worried about the whole birth process if she loses as much as last time. We’ve had to deal with a lot of opinionated mothers online and none of them could possibly fathom the treatments she’s had to go through since the day we found out you were in the belly.

Just give us a few more weeks buddy!

December 27
Your mom is in some serious labor. Dude, wtf is going on?

December 28
Welcome to the world 6lb 2oz baby Owen! 26 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing you decided to make your arrival early. You beat the tar out of your mom but you’re here and you’re healthy. I can’t believe how much hair you have.  I’m proud of you buddy and blessed you made it. No one but your mom and I will ever know how much work it took to get you to this point. 35 weeks is still a preemie but you weighed in perfect to be coming home in a few days. 36 hours of no sleep for both of us,we’re going to enjoy a quiet night.

December 29
Here he is!

Tomorrow he comes home and a new chapter of my life starts. He met his big brother today and they both looked like they were ready to rumble. He has no nickname like Teaspoon, give it time.

Pics and more details coming soon.

Last Saturday Lushie and I took some time for ourselves and spent the afternoon down at Vatican Splendors showing until Jan 9th at the Senator John Heinz History Center. I have been pumped to see this exhibit from the moment it was announced. I’m no where near over the top uber catholic boy but after 12 years of catholic schooling I have a pretty good idea of what’s going on. I’m also a big sucker for anything historical so this was an absolute must.

From vaticansplendors.com
Michelangelo items and works by Bernini, Giotto, and others. Objects dating back to the first century. From the venerated relics (bone fragments) of Saint Peter and Saint Paul to personal items of Pope John Paul II, this exhibit comprises one of the largest Vatican collections ever to tour North America. Many items have never before been on public view. From culture to history to art, explore how the Papacy has impacted-and been impacted by-the world throughout the centuries.

First impressions
Old people. A LOT of them. I guess that’s to be expected when you’re going to look at something ancient and religious based. There were some 30-somethings there but I think they were all parents also looking for an afternoon off.

What I liked
It wasn’t as much a “spiritual OMG” as I thought it would be but from a historical view I was really into the garments, religious symbols,  and statues. The casting of Pope John Paul II hands were beautiful and given the chance to actually put my hands on one of the displays seemed surreal. It amazed me the engineering it must have taken to build these empires for the popes and just the scaffolding alone for Michaelangelo’s work plus his caliper was mind boggling. The highlight was seeing the the Cast of the Pietà which was the most famous of the items on display. (side note: Lushie saw there was a stinkbug on the Pieta. I hope they dont take it back to Rome).

What I didn’t like
They offered audio tours for $5. You get a headset/player and get to listen to an audio tour. While I’m sure that was great to listen to it made everyone into drones. Countless number of people were cutting in front of us, reading the signs out loud because they couldn’t hear themselves over the headphones, Lushie got a couple elbows from inconsiderate folk trying to get ahead, freaky smelly old people who would act like they were religious experts and try to tell everyone around them about each artifact when all they know is what they watched on History Channel. There was some art student who kept saying everything was fake because she studies art and she knows what’s real *ugh*. WAY too many paintings for me. I’m not a paintings guy so it bored me. Final thing, while I know you’re trying to make some cash at this gig did you really need to sell short glasses and bottle openers? Rosaries, prayer books, Christmas ornaments… and shot glasses. No I didn’t get one.

Overall
It was worth the price of admission ($23/person) being this close to religious history I will probably never see again. Besides a few rotten apples we really did have a good time. Everyone should at least check it out but be considerate of those around you.

It’s been four years but seems like yesterday. I think you’d be proud how things have turned out so far

Miss ya dad!

Lindsay at iheartpgh sent this over to me and I think you need to check it out!

When: Sunday, December 5, 2010 6-10pm
6pm – Tailgate Party Starts
8:20 – Kick Off Steelers Vs. Ravens

Where: Double Wide Grill, Carson St and 24th, Southside

Hosts: Chevrolet Pennsylvania, IheartPGH, Only In PGH

We are happy to combine this Steeler Watching event with a good cause – we will be collecting gift cards for the CHS Holiday Gift Card drive – all will be used to provide holiday gifts for Pittsburgh families.

Sunday, December 5 Chevrolet Pennsylvania Steeler Watch Party at Double Wide Grill
There will be Chevy vehicles on site for test drive

Half Time Raffle for great Steelers Gift Baskets and Double Wide Gift Cards
Earn an addition raffle ticket for every $5 in gift cards donates to CHS

Allow me to translate this for you. You go to Double Wide (which is one of my favorite places to eat on the Southside and have a good craft beer menu). First you test drive cars. fast ones. Chevy’s. yeah baby! Then while you’re insides are still shaking from all that power you calm them down with some grub. Ahhh yes the burgers are working now!  Just when you’re all relaxed the Steelers game starts and you can eat and drink more!

Everyone bring some gift cards to donate to CHS!

See, the perfect Sunday!  For more details go to iheartpgh.com or check out the Facebook event.

My wife and I just recently got into watching Man vs Food hosted by Adam Richman on the Travel channel. I heard of the show a couple years ago when he was in town shooting a Pittsburgh episode and did his food challenge at Quaker Steak by eating Atomic Wings (I can’t believe that was the best he could find here. Its way over hyped). The premise of the show is Adam goes to a city, eats at 3 places and then does a food challenge which is usually eating an obscene amount of food or something that would make your ass pucker. Its almost like a wonder twin version of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives but the appeal comes from the host. Adam is the kinda guy you could watch a game with and have a dog & a beer.  Basically he’s a food version of Should I Drink That.

Last night we watched the Chicago episode which he had some deep dish, yada yada yada and… a Lucky’s overstuffed sandwhich?

Wait a second. Bread, tomato, cole slaw, fries, cheese and meat…That looks REALLY familiar.

Hey, it’s Pittsburgh’s own Primanti sandwich!

Yes I know that these are probably imitated all over the country, it happens, but the fact that not only was it featured on Man vs Food: Chicago but ALSO on Man vs Food: Pittsburgh! You mean to tell me that someone, especially Adam, didn’t say “I think I’ve had this before.” when he was at either place (whichever aired second).  Almost beats the joints in Erie that sell “Pre-manny style sandwiches”. Oh wait it gets better, the menu and vibe of Lucky’s is damn near the same as Primanti’s! If you watch the episode and look at the menu on the wall it’s creepy similar.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any more bizarro world on me, enter THIS guy

Dude is wearing a Pirates cap! Not only did they rip off the food but there’s a guy pimping the Buccos. if you check the interwebz you’ll see this episode came out a while ago and people have been bitching ever since. Whatever the reason if you get the chance try out both places and make your own judgement. If I ever get to Chicago on a beer tour I’ll make sure to stop here.

Onto the challenge. Adam has to eat 3 sandwiches in 1 hour. The feat originated when some drunk dude (probably the guy in the hat above) came in loaded on cheap beer and downed 3 in one sitting. Adam did this in 25 minutes. Yeah, 25. This is no challenge and in fact next time I go to Primanti’s I’m going to see what its like there. I’ll ask sickpuppy to bring the camera along.

One last thing - Primanti’s (founded 1930′s) > Lucky’s (founded 2004)

When we started Should I Drink That back in 2006 we had a very simple mission. Provide an educational, yet simple and entertaining way to appreciate craft beer and give exposure to the scene in Western PA. Over the last 4 years we’ve managed to pull that off (so we tell ourselves) because of one reason, you the fans. We were ready to pack it in after 12 shows but you wanted more so spoon chugged a DFH 120 Minute and things would never be the same. We do this show because we have a passion for craft beer and we love Western PA. In that time we’ve been featured in numerous publications, radio and television shows plus have drank many, MANY delicious beverages that an every day consumer would not have had access to. We’ve been very fortunate and blessed because of the show. Then 3 days ago the call came in.

Thousands of shows were nominated in multiple categories and now it comes down to this, the final 10 and Should I Drink That is one of them! We need your help to make this dream a reality for us and bring the hardware to the Steel City for the first time!

Starting today and running until December 15th we need you to vote for Should I Drink That EVERY DAY!

1. Go to http://podcastawards.com/
2. Scroll down to Food & Drink category (5th one down on the left)
3. Select “Should I Drink That”
4. Scroll to the bottom, enter your name and hit SUBMIT

See its THAT easy!

Now you may be saying “Guys, what’s in it for me?” Easy. As long as you do your part to vote every day and have your friends do the same, when we win we’re gonna have a party SIDT style! The great folks at Bocktown have agreed to host a party for us and rock out with our… well you get the picture. We’ll have prizes, drink specials and whatever other delicious things we can dream up as a way to say thanks.

We represent you, the craft beer community and Pittsburghers worldwide. We’re up against some very heavy wine and food shows and need you to help us take on the big dogs. Voting will not only make us warm and tingly inside but show millions of awards viewers that craft beer is a rockstar and Pittsburgh is where you’ll find it.

Please forward this message to everyone you can! If you’re a member of our facebook page (http://facebook.com/shouldidrinkthat) look for a message you can share from there. if you’re not a fan, join us!

thank you for your support!