Ali J

today’s shoot

pics: Slapczynski Shoots

model: @ alij_thomas

studio: The Space MKE

Awful Photography

School pictures came back today, and I am not impressed. The overall quality of the pics are sloppy. Yaya looks 60, LuLu's hair is all out of place, Smiley looks like he's mimicking a Nick Nolte mug shot, and Junie looks - well, she looks ok I guess. Said LuLu: "I don't understand. I'm perfect, how could they screw up a picture of THIS?" RETAKE

Buncha random pics

Forgive me if I've posted these before, but I think this is their original 'publication'.

Here's LuLu and YaYa on the first day of the 2008-2009 school year.



And two pictures of Smiley from a 'men only' haircutting salon I took him and his cousin too prior to the start of the school year.





At a pool this summer






My niece and Lump



Lu and YaYa with warpaint on





Lu on her bike



and finally, the patented Nekked baby

Some pics, and some memories

I was sorting through some pictures I took this fall and came across a few from the rummage sale that preceded the sale of my parents home.

This is one of two clocks I made for Christmas sometime between 5th and 8th grade. One in the shape of our beagle Duke went to my sister C; this one went to K. I drew the designs myself, which is a miracle because I can't draw worth a damn. I cut them out on a band saw, painted and varnished them, and installed the clock mechanisms (which never worked very well).



These next two are pictures of my childhood bike, a Schwinn Stingray II in green and gold. I picked it out because it reminded me of the Green Bay Packers.





This next one is current, a shot of a do-it-yourself DVD vending machine in a local store. They've popped up here and there, and they remind me of a clunky Beta (?) video vending machine from the Sun Foods of my youth.



Here's Smiley at the rummage sale:



and here he is swimming another day:



and the prettiest pic for last. The beautiful Lump:

Some misc. pics, mainly of Smiley

There's not much rhyme or reason to these pics, it's really just a 'clean-out' of my cell phone's memory.

Still, I think this picture of Smiley is awesome. Eh, on second thought I think he's actually upset. I have a dim memory of him sitting down in the greeting card aisle of Wal-Mart, burying his face in his hands, and bawling because we wouldn't let him run free in the store.

Here he is with his cousin. Smiley adores him. They are the only two males in that generation of my family, compared to *six* girls.

Here's a stray pic from the Olive Garden dinner we had a few weeks back, the celebratory dinner that knocked my diet off kilter for a bit.

Here's a photo I include as a reminder. I'll need this to know where to install the 'quick release' on the bike trailer.

Smiley loves his dance class and I've caught him doing 'shuffle whatever' on the sly. Here's a pic of him in his dance clothes, wearing a hat of YaYa's that's very similar to a style I wore the heck out of in '82-'83.

Tags: smiley

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On Football and the Kids

I had third pick in my fantasy football draft, and with the two best running backs gone I'd decided to go with a star quarterback. "Peyton Manning or Tom Brady," I thought to myself. I debated for much of the three minute time limit and then, largely on a whim, chose Peyton and left Brady on the table.

Hee hee. Go Danny. Not that I wanted Brady to break his knee (but not that I'm crying for the Pats either)

Pointless story showcasing the Holy Favre mentality in Wisconsin:

An employee came up to me today and said she'd skipped the Packer game because she hoped they'd 'fall on their as*es' and that Favre would take the Jets deep into the playoffs.

To me, this is like saying you want the U.S. to collapse because Kerry lost in '04. It's about more than just one guy, isn't it?

"The hell with Brett Favre," I said.

She was shocked. "He led us to the Superbowl," she said.

"Yeah, eleven years ago. Whoo-hoo."

"The Packers had no business saying they didn't want him," she continued. "That was lousy of them."

Lousy? To take a man at his word (on retirement) and act accordingly? Like I said yesterday, a large number of people here are rooting against the Pack. It's sacrilege.

* * * *

Anyhow, here's some random pics of the kids.

A Sunset

Ok, so when I'm upset I write. Sue me. :)

The following pic does not do the image justice. It was taken, by necessity, on my cell phone from a grocery store parking lot.

As the sun set a corridor of natural light cut through the blue/purple sky, looking as if it was emerging from the ground and rising to the heavens. It was honestly breathtaking. I don't think much or any of that translates into this picture, but it is what it is.

Oh, to continue the wicked, Dennis the Menace ways of Smiley - the kids are great fans of hard-boiled eggs. 'Seems he took an egg upstairs, I would think under the assumption it was hard boiled, and cracked it- all over my comforter set.

Nice.

More pics

Hey folks, I didn't 'name' Lump, her Mommy did. I'm sure her name will morph with time. After all, Smiley is no longer referred to on this site as "The Maker of Trouble and Mayhem" :)

But for moment, Lump it is.

Here are some more pics, again just camera phone spur of the moment shots. Oh, one thing: at the party yesterday my buddy asked if I ever crawled back to Blackbird to exchange my phone.

Truth be told my 'unfixable' phone was cured of its ailments by whatever those yahoos did to determine it was 'un repairable'. It hasn't acted up since (knock on wood). HaHa!

And one of Smiley for good measure:

Two Great Pics

I saved these last two pics from our trip for two reasons. First, I thought they were so beautiful they deserved top billing of their own.

And second, because my wife sarcastically told her friend, when asked if I liked the trip, that yes, it would be a 'four post minimum'.

So you know what wisea**?  Here's the fourth one for ya. ;)

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Playtime, Pee, and Scraped up noses

Today, knock on wood, was a good day. With two days left until the change of ownership at work I spent much of the morning sitting in on depositions for a civil matter. Later I had my own turn in the hot seat. It all went well and I was proud of my staff, who stuck to the truth and refused to get knocked off track by the opposing counsel.

When I got home I was a little overwhelmed by the sounds and chaos of my four kids, all of whom were outside playing with Lisa.

To prevent taking my own life, it is best have at least 5 minutes of transition between Grown-up World and Land of the Demon Spawn.

Yeah, didn't get that today, and that makes a grumpy Dad. But within a few minutes I was chilling with the kids. It was a gorgeous day I wasted inside, so I appreciated being able to read outside and soak in the sun.

Here's some pics I took of the fun:

[BTW, Smiley peed in the toilet today, or rather on and around it. He stood up, As a Man Should, and let loose under his Mom's direction. We'll have to work on his aim, but first reports are it's better than mine]

This next one isn't of the kids, but of the damage done over the winter to the area once occupied by the tarp and miscellaneous shed materials. Mourn for my lawn. I do.

Ok, back the kids. Remember that beautiful little baby girl I posted pics of yesterday?

While she was outside her Grandma started to put her in her car seat, but Little Miss decided to flop out of it quick-like, smacking her face on the concrete (from a distance of an inch at best). Way to ruin the modeling career kid.

Note the fancy cupcake holders/transporters on the table, the things that look like a wire tree. That's what the Mrs. chooses to spend money on, instead of important things like DVD rentals and baseball pitching machines. Egh. Chicks.

The difference between a Mommy Blog and a Daddy Blog?  A Mommy blog would never have pictures of the kids doing kid things - you know, all the stuff now frowned on by the Nanny culture- like climbing railings and playhouses.

Or hanging from a clothes pole

Where's YaYa in all this, you ask? Taking a bath. Here's a pic of her return:

Oh, and we mustn't forget the star of the show

My I look serious and contemplative don't I? Odd, seeing as it was mere seconds after taking this shot:

[redacted]

Sorry folks. I took a photo of the inside of my mouth (since the up-the-nose to see my nose-hair pic didn't turn out) but upon review it is a little too ick for public viewing.

After all this I violated one of my cardinal rules and let the kids go to my Mom's house and play with their cousins on a school night.

Wouldn't you know it, after climbing over this-and-that and jumping here-and-there-and-everywhere at home, LuLu stumbled when walking down the hill on my Mom's front lawn and scraped up her nose and hand on the cement.

"Now [Baby] and I are twins," she told me. I guess so.