My blog n'at

Once Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week ended I decided it was time take an unannounced break. I got off line and spent some time with the family while traveling around. Took my first quick vacation in 4 years and *gasp* read some books. In fact it was quite refreshing to unplug and not be on my phone 24/7. OK, I confess I used it to instagram pics and check emails at the end of the day but besides that I stayed away from the social media channels. I learned some new things about myself that we’ll talk about over the next few weeks and I better hurry up and get the topics down before I forget.  We’ll have:

1. PCBW wrapup
2. Baltimore
3. rats & crabs
4. THE SHIRT!
5. learning to relax
6. no mo llama drama
7. who wants to buy a 3yr old?
8. Twitter: you’re doing it wrong
9. fighting the Allegheny Co Assessment
10. reading something other than tech books. There’s a 1st for everything

I know there are more but I’m all about lists now. No idea what order those will go so we’ll see what tickles my fancy n’at. I need to overhaul the categories and get a new template in place. The Wonders may finally have to go.

cheers!

When I was 13 years old I was obsessed with all things Roberto Clemente. I had jerseys, t-shirts, an autographed picture, video tapes, posters, and what would be a staple in my room for many years the framed glass image you see pictured here.

After the Great Cranberry Shit Flood of 2007 I kept this picture packed away and the man cave I was promised when we moved to the new townhouse was promptly made into a storage room. Little did I know I wouldn’t see this again for 5 years.

While going through boxes in the basement of my somewhat newer house I came across the collection of photos I wanted to hang in my new office/dude room that was going to be made from the nursery of kiddo #2. Realization sunk in that this again wasn’t going to happen again (Guys, once you have kids that room is never coming back to you as I found out when I converted the nursery to a kids playroom 2 days ago) so I was determined to find a new home for it.

The boys room! Of course! They would love this!

I grabbed a handful of nails and with my gold painted hammer (my dad had a thing for spray painting things gold before he passed. That’s a story for later.) marched upstairs with a small stack of framed sports moments.  The Clemente was the final photo to go up and when I took a step back to admire my handy work I noticed something new.  Midway down on both sides was a… Seagrams 7 logo?

WHAT!

How is it possible that this cherished collectible from my youth was a bar sign? Heh when you think about it. it’s kinda ironic eh?

The following week when we had Teaspoon’s 3rd birthday party at our house I showed my brother the sign since he was the one who got it for me.

He still didn’t notice until I stuck my finger right on the photo. STUNNED!

We looked at each other and laughed. Our parents would throw a fit if I had anything alcohol related hanging in my room but Motley Crue posters with strippers was perfectly fine. *sigh* but there it was, the crowded 7 in all of its glory next to my hero.

Am I keeping it up? Of course! It will be a long time before the boys realize what’s on that photo. Heck, it took me 23 years.

We may not be Irish but we do like to celebrate it! Today I’m cooking dinner for the family with this kickass recipe for  Beer-Braised Corned Beef from my good friend Phil from My Life As A Foodie. He knows food and great craft beer and I like to enjoy both so what could go wrong right? I’ll let you know how it turns out.

What are you doing to celebrate today? Here is my suggestion.

I really have no words to express how proud I am of this little guy and trying to rationalize the time that has passed since his birth is impossible. 3 years ago today I held my first child in my arms, weighing in at just over 3 pounds,  before he would be whisked away by 15 nurses to the N.I.C.U. to be hooked up to machines for the next 4 weeks. Scared, terrified, and wasn’t sure what was going to happen. Doctor kept telling us that he was a fighter. 3 years later they couldn’t have been more right.

With the energy of his mother and the persistence of his father this 33lb brick house is… wait, am I writing an intro to NFL Films?

Teaspoon, you’ve been an amazing little man in our lives and an incredible big brother to the O-man. Thanks for making the last 3 years an incredible ride and I smile with pride as I watch you grow up. You’re already rocking at pre-school and have shown a passion for hockey (thank you God!), are a role model to your younger bro and have better manners than most adults. Raise a bottle of chocolate milk buddy, you can kick the Most Interesting Man in the World’s ass.

This weekend I took Teaspoon out for a couple of firsts. First hockey game and first basketball game for his 3rd birthday coming up at the end of the month.

He has been asking me to take him to a hockey game all season so that was a no brainer. The real question was if he would be able to sit in his seat for 3 periods since the game was at 7 and would be pushing it on his bed time.

From the drop of the puck his attention was locked in and I thought the kid stopped blinking. The action was fast and he did his best to keep up with the only time looking away was to take a bite of chicken fingers. This was met with hockey moms gushing over him and he knew how to play it.

Towards the end of the first period the PA announcer gave a basketball update for the RMU Men’s basketball game. I felt a tug at my jacket and heard “Daddy, we go watch bas-ket-ball. pleeeeaassee.” I caved in.

We arrived to the men’s game at the start of the second half and once again he was mesmerized by the fast pace of a sport. What broke his attention though was Mr. Slice from Hometown Pizza. He’s never been afraid of larger than life figures before but this one was unique. He actually chased the pizza around so he could get a hi5 and then finally calmed down enough so I could get the picture.

Just before the game ended I could see he was winding down so he snuck in one more pizza hug and ran to the door. Only thought in my mind was “Please god dont let him run on the court”!”. He didn’t.

When we got home he ran to his mom and shouted “mommy! mommy! pizza! bas-keet-ball! haw-key!” Moments later he crashed hard.

We had a fantastic  night and its great to find inexpensive yet competitive sporting events in town. He probably won’t remember this night but I most certainly will.

Its become tradition in our house to celebrate Groundhog Day every year. Not really sure why but it’s a holiday I latched on to when i first moved to Pittsburgh and then when I found out we had family in the area.  Every holiday I can expect some type of care package in the form of groundhog themed cookies or trinkets. This year we took it to a disgustingly cute level and all four of us were sporting Groundhog Day shirts straight from Punxy.

That is a picture of my boys watching the celebration on TV. Teaspoon isn’t quite sure what’s going on while my youngest is just happy that he stopped teething for now.

I know when they get older days like this will seem corny and stupid as they rebel but today its for us.

When I wrote the “2012: realistic” post I wasnt sure what was going to happen next. I knew what I wanted to start doing but getting there was a mystery. Someone I follow on twitter said she was “streamlining life” and cleaning up her followers. While it may sound crazy, social media has become a key part of the daily life of people.

Organizing the mess
Over the MLK day 3-day weekend, and thanks to finally having a full night of sleep, the organizing bug crawled up our butts and we got to work. Monday I heard a faint cry for help coming from the basement. I went downstairs to find someone had put them self into a corner from falling boxes.

The day was spent with a solid 7 hours in the basement cleaning out junk that moved with us and damn did it feel refreshing. Granted I still have the stuff that Capt. Obvious left here when we moved in but now we have a floor! The Christmas and holiday decorations are in one section, summer and spring have a shelf and an area was reserved for things we still need to go through (mostly photos and things we were too lazy to sort when moving). I’ll still need at least 1 more solid day of it but we are SO close to being done.

The boxes we did go through furnish pictures that I haven’t seen before or forgot that we had. Plenty of wedding items I forgot about and some childhood memories that I didn’t even realize came with me. There’s still a whole shelf of those boxes I haven’t gone through yet and not sure if I should. No one wants to see me in 6th grade  That picture above was when we first moved in almost 2 years ago. The pile has doubled since with a couple holidays and birthdays under our belts plus there are boxes from 2007 in there.

The garbage men hate us. When they came this week we had a mountain of boxes and junk waiting for them. While the next load wont be as bad, it will be heavy. I have some cement and wood that need to find a home.

To finish off our day we upgraded Teaspoon’s room. He’s had a single bed for over a year but now we put the headboard on and raised it up a little bit. I’ve also started hanging framed sports photos in his room which once were in my room. Feels kinda cool seeing him appreciating the same things you did.

Welcome to my hell and where I have been the last 2-3 weeks. Shortly after turning 1 my youngest spiraled into teething hell. You’d think I would have remembered what it was like with Teaspoon but obviously I blocked it out of my mind.

Those without children have already chimed in about giving the kid hard liquor or Tylenol to which I twitch and look at them funny. If there is even a picture of liquor around a kid you have some freaky freak calling youth services on your ass.

The picture is a few months old but shows perfectly how almost every waking hour has been. At first the teeth would come in slowly and them BOOM 8-10! Its like the kid was on some growth hormone and man was he pissed.

Thankfully he’s starting to chill out and after weeks of us averaging 2-4hrs of sleep a night we’re close to making it a full night.

We’re on the dawn of our next fight. He hates his crib and refuses to sleep in it. Someone get me the duct tape…

One thing that I’m bad at is remembering the year. I kept thinking it was 2010 for some reason and have no idea why 2012 doesn’t seem far fetched. Maybe I have a thing against years with odd numbers? This past year was eventful personally but when it came to blogging it was kinda meh. Either way here’s a quick recap so my kids don’t have to sift through archives.

January 2011
Year started off great with the Winter Classic (even though Pens lost) and spending the first 2 weeks home with my new baby. I also decided that I would attempt to go a full year without drinking a Bud/Miller/Coors product. Not to be some elite prick but to see for myself how tough it would be. With the amount of picnics we attended and moments of weakness for going cheap I’m proud to say I’ve made it a full year and some days.

February 2011
Kept the busy pace with a quick trip to Baltimore to pick up the first of what would be many awards for a website I made. Even thought it was winter I was falling in love with the city. I will be going back soon. I also hit my mid 30′s while only suffering a minor “oh shit, I’m getting old” moment and Teaspoon got his first haircut while hitting the terrible 2.

March 2011
2 things happened, we got sick and I ate a lot of fish.

April 2011
My mom wanted to know why I didn’t invent Facebook, the internet or cure cancer. I had some views on the sale of Iron City which turned out to piss off a bunch of yinzers and Pittsburgh purists. Eh, it happens.

May 2011
Should I Drink That turned 5 years old on the 5th and we had a whirlwind bash in Boardman, Ohio as we took over the Big Tap In after party. We cracked open a 101 oz bottle of Double Arrogant Bastard that we have been sitting on for 4-5 years. It came with a padlock. Nuff said. I figured out how you can take a trip with Megabus to Erie (or Pittsburgh from there) and have a very low cost time. I celebrated national Craft Beer Week and if you haven’t heard me talk about it yet, am on the planning group for Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week coming in 2012. This month also was record breaking numbers as we raised money for March of Dimes which helps preemies such as my boys.

June 2011
After many years of hard work I graduated cum laude from college. It was incredibly stressful when I threw work and the family into the mix but the support was fantastic! I’ll probably have my student loan bills paid off when Teaspoon is starting school.

Last year I posted what it was like from the moment we found out about our next child up until his birth. Now I sit here a year later and wonder where the time has gone.

O is the exact opposite of Teaspoon. He’s very reserved, chilled out, and from what I can tell, is studying everyone. When he does unleash his fury though Teaspoon is usually the one taken out.

It’s been fun to watch the 2 boys interact. At first Teaspoon wanted nothing to do with him and now they play like best friends. O has started to walk, not far, but he can hold is own. Once he is completely mobile Teaspoon’s life will change dramatically as now his little brother will be able to keep up.

I look at O now and still can’t believe he was a preemie. He’s around 20lbs and is mastering the art of diving on you if you’re laying on the ground.

It was around Teaspoon’s first birthday that his personality really started to take shape so I can’t wait to see what this little guy has in store for us.

Shortly after this picture Santa met his demise at the hands of Teaspoon attacking him like a spider monkey.

Hard to believe it but my youngest wasn’t even around this time last year. In fact Lushie would go into labor on the 26th and pop the little guy out 26 hours later.

Christmas tree is already packed full of presents for the monsters and around 6am my mother-in-law will be showing up with gifts from the out of towners. Monday we”re hosting brunch for my family and then comes a week of slacking before 24 hours of geeking out over hockey (4 games in 24 hours. LOVE IT!)

Being a dad has changed my life in ways that I never imagined. My life has become providing the best I can for my boys. I’ve started to appreciate the smaller things and cherish the time I get to spend with them. When I was 25 I used to mock people like me. Now, I snicker and tell that whipper snapper to get off my lawn.

I know the boys wont remember Christmas in too much detail but I will. Of course I’m going to be a camera whore and take as many pics as I can. I really don’t have pictures of Christmas as a kid (one lady in my office said she was sorry I don’t have any family, wtf ever that means) since we lost most when our basement flooded at the last place so I’m happy to make new ones.

I hope everyone is able to spend some time kicking back and visiting family, no matter how batshit crazy they may be. I’m thankful for my friends I have met and those I’ve only chatted with online. All of you have played a part in my life and I’m blessed to know such kickass people.