Quote of the Day - or at least pre-1pm

From a clerk at my place of business, greatly annoyed at my protests of ignorance after being informed that I had to run the show solo while my staff attended a baby shower:

"Dan stop pretending to be incompetent and just fess up to being lazy!"

Lauren's First Week - Friday

Friday was a heck of a day [sadly, one with few if any pics worthy of inclusion however].

To start the day I had to take Lauren in for the scheduled jaundice checkup. Bear in mind I didn't have to - Lis was certainly willing - but a newborn isn't exactly difficult company. They just lay there sleeping while you soak in praise for the 'bravery' you showed in taking them with you.

Actually I took all the kids, which (pat on the back) is a wee bit harder, but not exactly the equivalent of climbing Mt. Everest.

We waited for the doc in relative peace, then waited some more in the examination room itself. At some point Park spilled water on the exam table, making a puddle on the paper sheet.

Naturally the doctor walked in and had a cow, making a relatively big production out of a small matter.

The checkup proceeded and all seems ok, tho' the Doctor was still worried about jaundice. She left to go get a lab order for bloodwork and said to me, as she left the room, 'Don't let the baby fall off the table'.

A. The baby's newborn  - she can't roll.

B. She could roll like a ship in a tsunami and I wouldn't let her fall.

I let her know my opinion of the statement, although it amused me more than I'm letting on here.

Give her credit - she apologized when she returned and even complimented me on bringing the kids, saying her husband would never have managed the feat.

She went all overboard on the potential jaundice, saying I'd have to bring the baby back every day, blah blah.

Look, YaYa was so jaundiced you could have mistaken her for a highlighter. I wasn't worried about a kid who had a taste of the stuff - I think it eventually tested at ~ a 12 or so.

The worst part was of course the bloodtest, holding my newborn as her heel was pricked and blood drawn. I'd done that for YaYa too - it sucks.

So I leave the Dr's office and on the way home call and update Lisa. By the time I got home the Doctor had called LISA and updated her too, saying she didn't trust a man to relay the message.

SWEET!

I found it amusing but it really pi**ed Lisa off.

After lunch and a nap I took the brood out again. To the appliance store (we'd gotten the wrong part) - but this time I remembered quarters for the candy machine - and to another appointment we had.

At this second appointment Parker fell and scraped his knee. No big deal - he's pretty tough that way - but it had ramifications later in the weekend.

Now you may recall I'd gone to the library -our local branch - the day before. But the book I REALLY wanted was only available downtown (Scalzi's last old man novel). So I decided to take the kids down there, to my old stomping grounds.

Only I had my fill of watching 'em all, and no way was my anxiety ridden self going to watch all of them in the huge central library.

Thus, I drafted my niece Caitlin to go with us.

Not much to note there, save the fact that the kids LOVED the lightower in the children's section and played up there forever.

[note: one neat thing I love about my kids. They are such frequent patrons of the library that they request you go to a specific location, identified by the activity in the children's room or the shape of the building: the 'round library' (Zablocki), the 'robot' library (Washington Park), the 'Lightower' (Central), etc. ]

[a librarian heard yelling from the tower and came to scold me (being a man) for not watching my kids. I'd had enough testosterone bashing for one day, thank you.  "Those are boy's yelling. Last I checked, I have one boy and he doesn't talk. Go talk to her" I said, gesturing to a nearby Mom.]

The kids rebelled a bit at the checkout desk, leading one punk clerk to say "That's why I don't have kids". Lucky for the world, a*hole, lucky for the world.

At my girl's request Caitlin stayed the night at our house.

In the evening word came back from the Doc - Lauren would need to be seen again tomorrow.

* * * *
One more thing, and I don't know if it was Friday or Thursday, but my sisters made my family dinner and dropped it off at the house to ease the post-birth burden on us. Mashed potatoes, roast, corn . .yum. It's such a good idea, and so helpful to the family that I think it will become our new 'gift' to new parents.

Some pics of Lauren circa 8/9 or thereabouts

I say 'thereabouts' because the date on the camera is often off; but I'm reasonably sure they were taken Thursday night.

[Tho' the background might fool you, 'tis not man-boobs you see, but a hardy mix and match of my hairy self.]

Lauren's First Week - Thursday

Ok, so she was born on Tuesday and went home on Wednesday. That first night with her in the bassinet in our room went so-so and we were understandably tired in the morning.

Still, there were guests to entertain.

Then I did something I'm prone to do, jumping straight into the fire with a new baby and taking the whole kit and kaboodle - in this case, all four kids - out with me. Consider it a way to convince myself I haven't screwed up and jumped in water over my head.

I hedged my bets a little and grabbed Chris's two kids, just so I could have the 9 year old as an emergency set of eyes.

Six kids. Yikes.

We popped over to YaYa's friends house [the one we babysat all summer; she wasn't with us Thurs/Fri to give us family time] to drop off a bag and show off the baby, then hopped over to an appliance part store to replace a broken refridgerator shelf.

The kids were good at the store but it dragged on and on and they began to lose it. On the way home picked up a pizza, then had the kids eat lunch and retire for a nap as it rained outside.

Visitors continued to arrive to see the lass; Aunt Royette was one of them :)

Sometime during the day I escaped to the library, one of four or five times that week I managed the feat. It was a deliriously happy experience.

Here's some pictures of the kids with the baby. We tried hard to get YaYa to connect with Lauren by pointing out how much they look alike (although she quickly began to display aspects of all her siblings)

There's some cute CUTE pics of the baby from that night but they're so adorable I'm going to post them seperately.

Franklin, our Red Ear Turtle

Here's a pic of Parker feeding our pet turtle Franklin. Excuse the mess, please.

We got Franklin in August of '05 and originally Lisa was TERRIFIED, comically so. Now she not only loves the guy, she's the one to clean his tank 75% of the time (although that might be more due to my laziness than anything else)

He seems to like our new house a lot better then the old one, probably because of all the sunlight his new spot gets during the day.

LuLu's Insect Picnic

On the 25th my mother-in-law took LuLu over to the Insect Picnic, a function of the Milwaukee Rec Department.

I can't speak to what all thes pics feature, other than a beautiful girl is in the shots.

Basically, the kids went to the nature center and looked at bugs in their natural habitat. Sounds right up her alley :)

Top 500 Flannel Flashback Songs pt 2

249. Award Tour – A Tribe Called Quest
248. Love Rollercoaster – Red Hot Chili Peppers
247. Don't Speak – No Doubt
246. I Will Follow – U2
245. Eye – Smashing Pumpkins
244. Forty Six & 2 – Tool
243. Holiday in Cambodia – Dead Kennedys
242. Selling the Drama – Live
241. Peaches – Presidents of the U.S.A.
240. Dissident – Pearl Jam
239. Devil’s Haircut – Beck
238. Friday I'm In Love – The Cure
237. Fight The Power – Public Enemy
236. Beautiful Disaster – 311
235. Stardog Champion – Mother Love Bone
234. Take The Skinheads Bowling – Camper Van Beethoven
233. Rape Me – Nirvana
232. Lips Like Sugar – Echo and the Bunnymen
231. Caress Me Down – Sublime
230. Burden in My Hand – Soundgarden
229. The Impression That I Get – Mighty Might Bosstones
228. Plowed – Sponge
227. Sweet Dreams – Marilyn Manson
226. What's The Frequency Kenneth – R.E.M.
225. I Wanna Be Adored – Stone Roses
224. Down in a Hole – Alice in Chains
223. My Name Is Mud – Primus
222. Down By The Water – PJ Harvey
221. Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart – Stone Temple Pilots
220. Rock 'n Roll Lifestyle – Cake
219. Sheena Is A Punk Rocker – The Ramones
218. Good – Better Than Ezra
217. Pretend We're Dead – L7
216. Welcome to Paradise – Green Day
215. Landslide – Smashing Pumpkins
214. Paul Revere – Beastie Boys
213. I Was Wrong – Social Distortion
212. You – Candlebox
211. Da Funk – Daft Punk
210. Yellow Ledbetter – Pearl Jam
209. Praise You – Fat Boy Slim
208. Unsung – Helmet
207. I Fought The Law – The Clash
206. Down In It – Nine Inch Nails
205. Dumb – Nirvana
204. Zombie – Cranberries
203. Gone Away – Offspring
202. Freedom – Rage Against The Machine
201. Bullet The Blue Sky – U2
200. Institutionalized – Suicidal Tendencies
199. Glycerine – Bush
198. Born Slippy – Underworld
197. I'll Stick Around – Foo Fighters
196. So What ‘Cha Want – Beastie Boys
195. Heaven Beside You – Alice in Chains
194. Gone Daddy Gone – Violent Femmes
193. Breaking The Girl – Red Hot Chili Peppers
192. Mr. Jones – Counting Crows
191. Tennessee – Arrested Development
190. Unglued – Stone Temple Pilots
189. Possum Kingdom – The Toadies
188. Boys Don’t Cry – The Cure
187. Feel The Pain – Dinosaur Jr.
186. Stop – Jane’s Addiction
185. Zero – Smashing Pumpkins
184. Girl You'll Be A Woman Soon – Urge Overkill
183. Mrs. Robinson – Lemonheads
182. Once In A Lifetime – Talking Heads
181. Stupid Girl – Garbage
180. Black – Pearl Jam
179. Sell Out – Reel Big Fish
178. Miss World – Hole
177. Detachable Penis – King Missle
176. Bizarre Love Triangle – New Order
175. Heart Shaped Box - Nirvana
174. Karma Police – Radiohead
173. Stinkfist – Tool
172. Semi-Charmed Life – Third Eye Blind
171. Bring The Noise – Anthrax
170. Live Forever – Oasis
169. Outshined – Soundgarden
168. Panic – The Smiths
167. Lump – Presidents of The U.S.A.
166. I'll Be You – The Replacements
165. I Stay Away – Alice In Chains
164. The One I Love – R.E.M.
163. Ruby Soho – Rancid
162. Shine – Collective Soul
161. Creep – Stone Temple Pilots
160. She Don't Use Jelly – Flaming Lips
159. Tomorrow – Silverchair
158. Blitzkrieg Bop – The Ramones
157. Girl – Beastie Boys
156. Cherub Rock – Smashing Pumpkins
155. It's Tricky – Run DMC
154. All Mixed Up – 311
153. Santa Monica – Everclear
152. Ring of Fire – Social Distortion
151. Even Flow – Pearl Jam
150. Where It's At – Beck
149. Popular – Nada Surf
148. Otherside – Red Hot Chili Peppers
147. My Name Is Jonas – Weezer
146. The Man Who Sold The World – Nirvana
145. Train In Vain – The Clash
144. More Human Than Human – White Zombie
143. Shimmer – Fuel
142. Smoke Two Joints – Sublime
141. Machine Head – Bush
140. My Own Worst Enemy – Lit
139. New Year's Day – U2
138. Far Behind – Candlebox
137. Fade Into You – Mazzy Star
136. Hunger Strike – Temple of the Dog
135. Ants Marching – Dave Matthews Band
134. Wynona's Big Brown Beaver – Primus
133. Love Song – The Cure
132. No Sleep Till Brooklyn – Beastie Boys
131. Big Empty – Stone Temple Pilots
130. Never There – Cake
129. Busy Child – Crystal Method
128. Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) – Green Day
127. Fire Woman – The Cult
126. Tonight Tonight – Smashing Pumpkins
125. The Beautiful People – Marilyn Manson
124. What's My Age Again? – Blink 182
123. Love Will Tear Us Apart – Joy Division
122. Alive – Pearl Jam
121. Smack My Bitch Up – Prodigy
120. Ball and Chain – Social Distortion
119. A Girl Like You – Edwyn Collins
118. Personal Jesus – Depeche Mode
117. The Kids Aren't Alright – Offspring
116. Lithium – Nirvana
115. Spiderwebs – No Doubt
114. Rock The Casbah – The Clash
113. Monkey Wrench – Foo Fighters
112. Jump Around – House of Pain
111. Fell On Black Days – Soundgarden
110. Sweet Jane – Cowboy Junkies
109. Terrible Lie – Nine Inch Nails
108. Mysterious Ways – U2
107. Bittersweet Symphony – The Verve
106. No Excuses – Alice In Chains
105. All Over You – Live
104. Suck My Kiss – Red Hot Chili Peppers
103. Guerilla Radio – Rage Against The Machine
102. Kiss Off – Violent Femmes
101. Brass Monkey – Beastie Boys
100. Vasoline – Stone Temple Pilots
99. Basket Case – Green Day
98. Champagne Supernova – Oasis
97. Flag Pole Sitta – Harvey Danger
96. 1979 – Smashing Pumpkins
95. Anarchy In The U.K. – Sex Pistols
94. Insane In The Brain – Cypress Hill
93. Got The Life – Korn
92. Down – 311
91. Better Man – Pearl Jam
90. Smile – The Gufs
89. I Wanna Be Sedated – The Ramones
88. Bound For The Floor – Local H
87. Wrong Way – Sublime
86. All Apologies – Nirvana
85. Cannonball – Breeders
84. Higher Ground – Red Hot Chili Peppers
83. Pictures of You – The Cure
82. Undone (The Sweater Song) – Weezer
81. Come Down – Bush
80. Dragula – Rob Zombie
79. What It’s Like – Everlast
78. Story Of My Life – Social Distortion
77. My Hero – Foo Fighters
76. Just A Girl – No Doubt
75. Rooster – Alice In Chains
74. Crash Into Me – Dave Matthews Band
73. Come Out And Play – Offspring
72. I Alone – Live
71. Sex Type Thing – Stone Temple Pilots
70. Pride (In The Name Of Love) – U2
69. Head Like A Hole – Nine Inch Nails
68. Dammit – Blink 182
67. Bulls On Parade – Rage Against The Machine
66. When I Come Around – Green Day
65. Disarm – Smashing Pumpkins
64. Add It Up – Violent Femmes
63. Pepper – Butthole Surfers
62. Give It Away – Red Hot Chili Peppers
61. Daughter – Pearl Jam
60. Sex And Candy – Marcy Playground
59. Time Bomb – Rancid
58. She Sells Sanctuary – The Cult
57. Song 2 – Blur
56. In Bloom – Nirvana
55. Doin' Time – Sublime
54. Say It Ain't So – Weezer
53. Epic – Faith No More
52. Blue Monday 88 – New Order
51. No Rain – Blind Melon
50. Bullet With Butterfly Wings – Smashing Pumpkins
49. Fight For Your Right – Beastie Boys
48. The Distance – Cake
47. Scar Tissue – Red Hot Chili Peppers
46. Spoonman – Soundgarden
45. London Calling – The Clash
44. Wonderwall – Oasis
43. Learn To Fly – Foo Fighters
42. Gotta Get Away – Offspring
41. Would? – Alice In Chains
40. Only Happy When It Rains – Garbage
39. Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2
38. Low – Cracker
37. Been Caught Stealing – Jane's Addiction
36. Interstate Love Song – Stone Temple Pilots
35. The Rockafeller Skank – Fat Boy Slim
34. Freak On A Leash – Korn
33. Just Like Heaven – The Cure
32. Loser – Beck
31. Come As You Are – Nirvana
30. Intergalactic – Beastie Boys
29. Hey Man, Nice Shot – Filter
28. What I Got – Sublime
27. Longview – Green Day
26. It's The End Of The World As We Know It – R.E.M.
25. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
24. Buddy Holly – Weezer
23. Soul To Squeeze – Red Hot Chili Peppers
22. Where Is My Mind – Pixies
21. Man In The Box – Alice In Chains
20. How Soon Is Now – The Smiths
19. Everlong – Foo Fighters
18. Lightning Crashes – Live
17. Killing In The Name – Rage Against The Machine
16. Self Esteem – Offspring
15. Plush – Stone Temple Pilots
14. Should I Stay Or Should I Go – The Clash
13. Sabotage – Beastie Boys
12. Sober – Tool
11. Today – Smashing Pumpkins
10. Creep - Radiohead
9. Closer – Nine Inch Nails
8. One – U2
7. Brain Stew – Green Day
6. Jeremy – Pearl Jam
5. Santeria - Sublime
4. Jane Says – Jane's Addiction
3. Under The Bridge – Red Hot Chili Peppers
2. Blister In The Sun – Violent Femmes
1. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

I haven't had time to study the list in detail, but I certainly give a strong nod of approval to their choice for #1. Not sure I'd have included any Beastie Boys at all, but that's just me.

Take a hard look at #177 on the list. This used to play all the time on my Renault's tinny AM radio, courtesy of the WARP, an alternative rock station that died out years ago. The station didn't even have DJ's, just a tape recorded intro once in awhile.

If you want a giggle and a 'What the F*?' take a look at the song's video on YouTube

 

Top 500 Flannel Flashback Songs pt 1

(This post is apparently too big to be a single post, so I'm dividing it up into two)

FM 102.1 is an alternative rock station here in Milwaukee and this past weekend they had played the Top 500 Flannel Flashback songs.

Essentially, this is a list of the top grunge era (but not necessarily grunge) songs.

500. We Care a Lot – Faith No More
499. The Fly – U2
498. H – Tool
497. Starseed – Our Lady Peace
496. Animal – Pearl Jam
495. J.A.R. – Green Day
494. Celebrity Skin – Hole
493. All I Want- Offspring
492. Breathe – Prodigy
491. Where Did You Sleep Last Night? – Nirvana
490. Love Removal Machine – The Cult
489. Egg Man – Beastie Boys
488. 21st Century Digital Boy – Bad Religion
487. Go – Pearl Jam
486. Shame – Stabbing Westward
485. Too Much – Dave Matthews Band
484. Rebel Yell – Billy Idol
483. Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – U2
482. Bad Habit (edit) – The Offspring
481. Pretty Penny – Stone Temple Pilots
480. Rain King – Counting Crows
479. El Scorcho – Weezer
478. Runaway Train – Soul Asylum
477. Why Can't I Be You? – The Cure
476. Pretty Noose – Soundgarden
475. Debaser – Pixies
474. Living Dead Girl – Rob Zombie
473. Clumsy – Our Lady Peace
472. Push It – Garbage
471. Rocket – Smashing Pumpkins
470. And She Was – Talking Heads
469. Sick of Myself – Matthew Sweet
468. Policy of Truth – Depeche Mode
467. Paranoid Android – Radiohead
466. Rearviewmirror – Pearl Jam
465. All I Want – Offspring
464. Heroin Girl – Everclear
463. Lust For Life – Iggy Pop
462. All Around The World – Oasis
461. VerseChorus Verse – Nirvana
460. Pass The Mic – Beastie Boys
459. Special – Garbage
458. My Friends – Red Hot Chili Peppers
457. The Killing Moon – Echo and the Bunnymen
456. Mouth – Bush
455. Laid – James
454. Criminal – Fiona Apple
453. The Day I Tried to Live – Soundgarden
452. April 29, 1992 (edit) – Sublime
451. So Much to Say – Dave Matthews Band
450. Where the Streets Have No Name – U2
449. Bombtrack – Rage Against The Machine
448. Superman's Dead – Our Lady Peace
447. In The Mean Time – Spacehog
446. Nutshell – Alice in Chains
445. Round Here – Counting Crows
444. Geek Stink Breath – Green Day
443. Let's Go To Bed – The Cure
442. Master And Servant – Depeche Mode
441. Connection – Elastica
440. Not For You – Pearl Jam
439. Save Yourself – Stabbing Westward
438. Infected – Bad Religion
437. Natural One – Folk Implosion
436. I Kissed a Girl – Jill Sobule
435. Crackerman – Stone Temple Pilo
434. Candy – Iggy Pop
433. March of the Pigs – Nine Inch Nails
432. Joey – Concrete Blonde
431. Kitty – Presidents of the U.S.A.
430. The New Style – Beastie Boys
429. Psycho Killer – Talking Heads
428. Perfect – Smashing Pumpkins
427. Bull in Heather – Sonic Youth
426. Again – Alice in Chains
425. A Long December – Counting Crows
424. Birdhouse in Your Soul – They Might Be Giants
423. State of Love and Trust – Pearl Jam
422. Wave of Mutilation – Pixies
421. Bigmouth Strikes Again – The Smiths
420. Hits From The Bong – Cypress Hill
419. Prison Sex - Tool
418. Mountain Song – Jane’s Addiction
417. Hell – Squirrel Nut Zippers
416. On a Plain – Nirvana
415. It's a Shame About Ray – Lemonheads
414. Roots Radical – Rancid
413. Until The End of the World – U2
412. Everyday is Halloween - Ministry
411. Last Goodbye – Jeff Buckley
410. Rusty Cage – Soundgarden
409. Get Off This – Cracker
408. Never Say Never – Romeo Void
407. Black Gold – Soul Asylum
406. Fascination Street – The Cure
405. In The Garage – Weezer
404. Linger – Cranberries
403. Don't Follow – Alice in Chains
402. A.D.I.D.A.S. – Korn
401. Queer – Garbage
400. Shake Your Rump – Beastie Boys
399. Guilty – Gravity Kills
398. Stand – R.E.M.
397. Gold Dust Woman – Hole
396. Plush (Acoustic) – Stone Temple Pilots
395. Tripping Billes – Dave Matthews Band
394. Fake Plastic Trees – Radiohead
393. Save it For Later – English Beat
392. Mayonnaise – Smashing Pumpkins
391. With or Without You – U2
390. Stars – Hum
389. Don't Look Back in Anger – Oasis
388. Never Let Me Down Again – Depeche Mode
387. Teenage Lobotomy – The Ramones
386. Banditos – Refreshments
385. Why Go – Pearl Jam
384. Don't Stay Home – 311
383. Lakini's Juice – Live
382. Bad Fish – Sublime
381. Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy
380. Desperately Wanting – Better Than Ezra
379. Breed – Nirvana
378. Song For The Dumped – Ben Folds Five
377. In Between Days – The Cure
376. Salvation – Rancid
375. Connected – Stereo MC's
374. Down Rodeo – Rage Against The Machine
373. Sheep Go To Heaven – Cake
372. Swallowed – Bush
371. Body Movin' – Beastie Boys
370. Regret – New Order
369. 88 Lines About 44 Women – Nails
368.Hitchin' a Ride – Green Day
367. Einstein on the Beach – Counting Crows
366. Blow Up The Outside World – Soundgarden
365. Firestarter – Prodigy
364. This is a Call – Foo Fighters
363. Angry Chair – Alice in Chains
362. Burning Down The House – Talking Heads
361. Hurt – Nine Inch Nails
360. So Alive – Love and Rockets
359. Crazy Mary – Pearl Jam
358. Super Bon Bon – Soul Coughing
357. Salvation – Cranberries
356. Ask – The Smiths
355. Dancing Days – Stone Temple Pilots
354. Pretty Fly (For a White Guy) – Offspring
353. Can’t Hardly Wait – Replacements
352. Seether – Veruca Salt
351. Are You Gonna Go My Way? – Lenny Kravitz
350. Girls and Boys – Blur
349. Ava Adore – Smashing Pumpkins
348. Orange Crush – R.E.M.
347. Aenema – Tool
346. Monkey Gone to Heaven – Pixies
345. Everything to Everyone – Everclear
344. Euro Trash Girl – Cracker
343. Glorified G – Pearl Jam
342. Time to Get Ill – Beastie Boys
341. Beat on the Brat – The Ramones
340. Around The World – Red Hot Chili Peppers
339. Pets – Porno For Pyros
338. Dancing With Myself – Billy Idol
337. Polly – Nirvana
336. I Think I'm Paranoid – Garbage
335. River of Deceit – Mad Season
334. Even Better Than The Real Thing – U2
333. Into Your Arms – Lemonheads
332. Violet – Hole
331. Little Things - Bush
330. It’s No Good – Depeche Mode
329. Nearly Lost You – Screaming Trees
328. High and Dry – Radiohead
327. Say Hello To Heaven – Temple of the Dog
326. Supersonic – Oasis
325. Thunderkiss '65 – White Zombie
324. The Freshmen – The Verve Pipe
323. Close To Me – The Cure
322. The World I Know – Collective Soul
321. The New Pollution – Beck
320. God Save The Queen – Sex Pistols
319. Over Now (MTV Unplugged) – Alice In Chains
318. Somebody to Shove – Soul Asylum
317. Cornflake Girl – Tori Amos
316. Seasons – Chris Cornell
315. Date Rape – Sublime
314. I Will Buy You A New Life – Everclear
313. Big Bang Baby – Stone Temple Pilots
312. People Are Strange – Echo and the Bunnymen
311. Molly – Sponge
310. Punk Rock Girl – Dead Milkmen
309. Cumbersome – Seven Mary Three
308. Under The Milky Way – The Church
307. Thirty Three – Smashing Pumpkins
306. Hey Ladies – Beastie Boys
305. Jerry Was a Racecar Driver – Primus
304. Life During Wartime – Talking Heads
303. Love Spreads – Stone Roses
302. Dreams – Cranberries
301. Corduroy – Pearl Jam
300. I Will Survive – Cake
299. People of the Sun – Rage Against The Machine
298. Crash (Into Me) – The Gufs
297. Lake of Fire – Nirvana
296. Rush – Big Audio Dynamite
295. December – Collective Soul
294. She – Green Day
293. True Faith – New Order
292. Scooby Snacks – Fun Lovin' Criminals
291. Circles – Soul Coughing
290. My Wave – Soundgarden
289. White Wedding – Soundgarden
288. Block Rockin' Beats – Chemical Brothers
287. Girlfriend in a Coma – The Smiths
286. What Do I Have To Do? – Stabbing Westward
285. Cut Your Hair – Pavement
284. Them Bones – Alice in Chains
283. Father of Mine – Everclear
282. Perfect Drug – Nine Inch Nails
281. She's Crafty – Beastie Boys
280. Dead and Bloated – Stone Temple Pilots
279. Head On – Jesus and the Mary Chain
278. Drown – Smashing Pumpkins
277. Radio Free Europe – R.E.M.
276. Why Don't You Get a Job? – Offspring
275. 3 Strange Days – School of Fish
274. Blind – Korn
273. What Would You Say – Dave Matthews Band
272. Aeroplane – Red Hot Chili Peppers
271. How I Could Just Kill a Man – Cypress Hill
270. Rock 'n Roll High School – The Ramones
269. Elderly Woman Behind The Couch – Pearl Jam
268. Fire Water Burn – Bloodhound Gang
267. Big Me – Foo Fighters
266. People Who Died – Jim Carroll Band
265. About a Girl – Nirvana
264. Kool Thing – Sonic Youth
263. Bad Luck – Social Distortion
262. All The Small Things – Blink 182
261. Here Comes Your Man – Pixies
260. Everything Zen – Bush
259. Teen Angst – Cracker
258. Sureshot – Beastie Boys
257. This is Radio Clash – The Clash
256. #1 Crush – Garbage
255. Got Me Wrong – Alice in Chains
254. Bitchin' Camaro – Dead Milkmen
253. Doll Parts – Hole
252. Wicked Garden – Stone Temple Pilots
251. Brick – Ben Folds Five
250. American Music – Violent Femmes

The Products of a Cluttered Mind

Argh, there is so much to do. The following posts are past-due:

mingolf

arab fest

brian and delaura's

1st day of school

trip to the zoo

radio commercial

4th of July

Lauren's 1st week

stonefire

general Lauren and kid's pics posts

caitlin's party

a general 'this is what I want to remember about the kids 20 years from now' post

bus accident

mom's birthday

parkers birthday

dyeing easter eggs

easter

load xmas concerts

Blue Screen

parker in dress

YaYa's lost tooth

plus all the posts about the house renovations

 

 

Sigh. My goal is to polish off as many of these as I possibly can, as I'm itching to do some writing - some real, non-blog writing.

 

* * *

Here's part of a deleted profile of mine on AOL:

 

Hobbies & Interests	Books (see one of my web pages), Baseball (and yeah, I feel it shoud be capitalized), NKOTB, movies, and history.
Occupation
Personal Quote	(1) Make sure you're right, then go ahead.- D. Crockett (2) Be proud of what you have done, then go and do better - Admiral Horatio Nelson? (3) EGBAR (4) Find your own creed, and follow it

 

* * *

 

Another set of quotes:

Make sure you have finished speaking before your audience has finished listening.
- Dorothy Sarnoff

If the past isn't past, what is?

A hero is led by destiny, everyone else is dragged along by it.

Adventure's just another word for trouble

History is not written by the hand of intent. It's the deeds alone that matter.

There is nothing that cannot be forgiven but the failure to confess

You suffer for what you fail to confess, even when you fail to confess it to yourself

These [poetry] are the fragments which you may one day shore against your ruins

* * *

Most of the quotes were taken from THE UNCANNY by Andrew Klavan (sp?). It's an excellent horror/ghost novel . . he really is a wonderful writer with a gift for making words dance at his beck and call . at leas in this book. I'll have to pick up another of his works to see if he was a one-hit wonder in the talent department.

* * * *

Anyone in the Milwaukee area interested in buying an Entertainment or Gold C books, or Mr. Z's pizza, shoot me an email.

* * *

 

Alice In Chains @ the Rave in Milwaukee August 31st

Early this week I stumbled across the fact that Alice In Chains was going to perform at the Rave here in Milwaukee. I quickly emailed my friend Tre who got us two tickets for the show.

AIC, for the uninformed, is a Seattle area band very closely associated with the Grunge movement of the '90's. In fact they predate that scene and are far more 'metal' in flavor and influence than their flannel contemporaries, but their Seattle origins and popularity during the early '90's forever sealed their place in Grunge lore.

I refer to AIC as one of the Holy Trinity of Grunge, along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

[The morning of the show I woke up with a horrible headache, one that lingered all day and made me vomit a few times. Essentially, it was like spending the day hungover without the fun of drinking the night before. So to make sure I was good to go for the concert I took off of work early, grabbed a nap, and geared up for the show.]

I have long since stopped owning any clothing that could remotely be deemed 'cool', if I ever did, and regret to say I have not a single flannel shirt to my name. The best I could manage was a burgandy polo, cargo shorts, sandals, and  . . GASP! for the first time in a few years, a diamond stud in my ear. Shockingly punk, don't ya think?

My girls got a kick out of seeing Daddy with an earring.

It was an 8 o'clock general admission show but a sign in the lobby of the 3,500 seat venue advertised two opening acts and a AIC start time of 9:30. With wisdom born of  age, we left the Rave in search of a diner to pass the time.

The next hour and a half were spent reminiscing about college, which of course coincided with the heyday of Grunge.

Of significance was the fact that Tre's 15th high school reuninon is coming up. We went to private high school together, but after junior year I didn't have the finances to continue and left for public school. No regrets - it stands as one of the 5 pivotal changes that influenced who I am - but it makes me a tad bitter:

Why? Because I'm not invited to a reunion where I would know 90% of the attendees and would have the chance to show I didn't wind up a 33 year old booger eating virgin, and to top it off the high school I did graduate from doesn't actively host reunions.

Swell.

Anyhow, I've noted that I've grown more and more nostalgic for '92-'94, to the point where the era has  assumed Happy Days/Wonder Years stature for me.

 It's ridiculous really. I was fat (er, well I am now too, but it was a different, less confident fat), a virgin without a girlfriend, living at home, working for $4.20 an hour and driving a Renault Alliance that not only couldn't go freeway speeds but wasn't even officially in my name.

What's to celebrate?

But in my head it was the, can ya see the air quotes people, 'perfect era' and I'd like the chance to go back and relive it, if just for a week.

Let's see how long that virginity thing would last with the current moi on the prowl, baby.

Back to reality.

We got back and the hall was full - I mean FULL. Tre jokingly referenced Great White and I thought 'no kidding' - there was no getting out of there in a hurry. Oddly enough we never entered the actual room, standing just outside the open doors to the stage area. From there we were maybe 100, 150 feet from the stage and had a clear sight of every performer but the drummer.

Of course I could have entered the hall 90 minutes earlier and spent the evening pressed among 3500 other people and gotten . .oh, . . . 25 feet closer . . as I said, the wisdom born of age.

So the concert itself: fully acoustic, one of only 4 such concerts in the US, and filmed for an upcoming DVD (yea!). The frontman of the band Layne Staley had passed away of a heroin OD several years ago and this was my introduction to his replacement William Duvall.

I've gotta say - the guy's good, and at times it's like hearing Layne himself sing the songs.

The first twenty minutes of the show I enjoyed but was embarrassed. I knew only one song, as they were relying heavily on their EP material. (I'd always had a philisophical and economic objection to paying CD prices for a disc with only 4 or 5 songs). If the song from the EP didn't get radio play, I was only vaguely familiar with it.

Here I am thinking I know 90% of their material up and down, and I barely recognize the first few songs.

Man, what a bummer.

I'll tell you what tho', even unplugged AIC managed to sound vaguely menacing.

Then it was a straight hour of songs I knew inside/out, starting with 'Angry Chair', then 'No Excuses', 'Down in a Hole', etc.  To my pleasant surprise the concert turned into a bit ofa sing-along, with the crowd not only singing with the song but taking lyrics and emphasizing them on their own.

On 'Rooster', which was part of the encore - 'You know we ain't gonna Die!' .  . on 'No Excuses' : "It's OK, had a bad day" on "Got me Wrong" 'I haven't felt like this in so long' on 'Would?' [which, btw, was the only song that lost some oomph acoustic; ironic, as it's one of their more sedate songs] it was 'If . . I . . Would . . Could . . You?" with each word followed by a devil-horn head bang towards the stage.

Here's a clip of "No Excuses" that emphasizes the audience participation.

It was great, and make no mistake about it: these guys have been playing for 20 years because they are great musicians, first and foremost. Even acoustic the songs were powerful. I'll try to post some cell-phone pics/video from Tre once he emails it over, but here's a You Tube vid of "Don't Follow" to give ya a taste of the show.

There was no body-surfing to report until the encore, and no mosh-pit. Not entirely unexpected, as half the people there were past thirty and arthritic. Lots of nice looking women, lots of pregnant women (at least 4 I counted, Tre said 6 or more) , and no aholes of note.

We followed the concert with an old-times sake midnight drive in the boonies before heading home to our wives.

A GREAT night, and I can finally say that I saw 1/3rd of the trinity. I can't wait for the DVD.

* * * *

Note: one site is touting this (see below) as a set list for the concert. Uh, no. I can tell you that if anything it is incomplete, as Would was certainly performed. Tre - if you read this, scan and look for additional errors, would ya?

ALICE IN CHAINS's setlist for last night's concert was as follows:

01. Don't Follow
02. Heaven Beside You
03. Brother
04. I Can't Remember
05. Nutshell
06. Killer is Me
07. Love Hate Love
08. Sludge Factory
09. Angry Chair
10. No Excuses
11. Down in a Hole
12. Got Me Wrong

Encore:

13. Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (ELTON JOHN cover)
14. Squeeze Box (THE WHO cover)
15. Rooster

 

Boring Chess Post

For the last few weeks I've been really into chess, ever since reading Stalin's Ghost, which features a chessmaster as a minor character.

(Lest I never get a chance to mention it, I've also recently read and enjoyed Lincoln Child's Deep Storm. I really like the name Lincoln, btw, for a boy)

Anyhow, I try to play a game or two a day online at Yahoo. On that site I boast a powerful 9-78 record with 13 abandoned games and a current losing streak of 11.

[I've also been blessed by finding a 10 games in 1 set at Goodwill for a mere $3, though I've only played a human (my Dad) face to face once with it.]

As you can imagine I suck at chess, although in fairness I'd only played a few dozen games in my life before this recent splurge. There just seems to be a mental gap between desire and execution and it is not condusive to victory.

Of those nine 'wins' on Yahoo, all but two were via TKO - the other guy quit for unknown reasons (certainly not because I was near victory). However, this week I notched my first two genuine wins EVER, sucessfully checkmating two oponents online.

Then, last night I had the most enjoyable match of my life. I didn't win - it came out a draw - but I was in control the whole time. I even drove the first player away from the table when the going got rough.

The second opponent took his place and I hounded him to no end, eliciting howls of protest and cries of "Why are you doing this??" on the message board. Basically, I kept him in check until the match was declared a draw.

Here's the complete blow by blow of the match. Experienced hands will no doubt point out a dozen moves where I could have sealed the deal, but OFW - I had a good time, and I'm proud.

I played black; the '+' denotes a move that placed the king in check.

1. e2-e4 e7-e5
2. d1-h5 g7-g6
3. h5xe5+ f8-e7
4. e5xh8 e8-f8
5. b2-b3 e7-f6
6. c1-a3+ d7-d6
7. h8xf6 d8xf6
8. b1-c3 c8-g4
9. c3-d5 f6-e5
10. a1-c1 e5xe4+
11. f1-e2 g4xe2
12. g1xe2 e4xg2
13. h1-f1 g2xh2
14. d5xc7 g8-e7
15. c7xa8 b8-a6
16. a3xd6 h2xd6
17. f1-h1 h7-h5
18. d2-d4 h5-h4
19. e2-c3 d6-b4
20. e1-d2 b4xd4+
21. d2-e1 d4-f4
22. c3-e2 f4-f5
23. c2-c4 h4-h3
24. e2-d4 f5-g4
25. c1-d1 g4-g2
26. e1-e2 g2-e4+
27. e2-d2 e4xd4+
28. d2-c2 d4xf2+
29. c2-c1 f2xa2
30. b3-b4 a2-a3+
31. c1-d2 a3xb4+
32. d2-d3 b4-b3+
33. d3-d4 g6-g5
34. d1-b1 b3-f3
35. h1-f1 f3-g2
36. f1-d1 g2-g4+
37. d4-d3 g4-f5+
38. d3-e2 f5-g4+
39. e2-e1 g4xc4
40. d1-c1 c4-f4
41. e1-e2 h3-h2
42. c1-h1 g5-g4
43. b1-f1 f4-g3
44. f1-f2 g3-e5+
45. e2-f1 g4-g3
46. f2-g2 e5-a1+
47. f1-e2 a1-a2+
48. e2-f3 a2-a3+
49. f3-g4 a3-a4+
50. g4xg3 a4-a3+
51. g3xh2 a3-d6+
52. h2-g1 d6-d1+
53. g1-h2 d1-d6+
54. h2-g1 d6-d1+
55. g1-h2 d1-d6+

BTW -

One of the confusing aspects of having a site like this for years is that posts run together in my memory. Sure everything's documented, but whoopedeedo. After all, did I really post about how I couldn't tolerate another bad year from the Brewers after years of turmoil and a single glorious season of .500 ball? How can I tell, short of sorting through years of posts?

Why does it matter? Becasue the bleepin' Brewers are in the process of breaking my heart right now! 14 games above .500 and 7.5 games up in the standings, only to fall to 1 game under .500 and 2.5 games back in a little more than a month. They're in THIRD place for pete's sake, or at least were for a day. C'mon!

I know, I know - there's still time, and plenty of opportunity.

It isn't just about this year. After this taste of glory how can I ever have faith in future seasons? Do I have to be like my Dad and check my emotions by saying 'If they're still ahead halfway through September I'll be confident'?

Is that any way to enjoy the game?

Ugh.

Lauren - Day Two

All summer Lisa has babysit one of YaYa's classmates as a favor for the girl's mother. She's dropped off   right before her mom goes to work. All I had to do was wake up, unlock the door, and say hello by 6:45 a.m. 

I woke up at 7:15.

I ran downstairs dressed in bright florescent green shorts, an inside out and backwards shirt of Lisa's that I'd tossed on in my flight downstairs, with morning drool still drying in my beard.

What a sight.

They were waiting on the porch. Interesting thing. After knocking to no end they tried the backdoor, which I had stupidly left unlocked but chained. They poked their heads in the door and yelled my name. I didn't hear a word.

The only reason I'd woken up at all was to pee.

Anyway, within a few hours my mother-in-law came to collect all the girls for a trip to the zoo and Parker was farmed off on my Mom. After collecting a few items around the house at Lisa's request, I headed off to the hospital.

One of the first things I noticed was Lauren's name on the board. A nurse had written it, and it was the first time I'd seen it in script. I liked it a lot.

Suprisingly Lisa had been asking to go home since she woke up. The hospital staff was  fine with it provided we wait until Lauren was a full 24 hours old. I guess being forced to wake up and feed a sleeping baby every two hours, and being woken up every hour to have your blood pressure taken (despite having no history of high blood pressure, even while pregnant) was more trying than a household of kids.

So we hunkered down to wait out the 24 hours.

Honestly, it was a pretty boring day. Lauren slept through 90% of it, we had no visitors, and all we did was watch TV and read. The biggest thrill was when I dropped a $10 plate of cafeteria food and had a full out hissy in front of the nurse.

Eh, I shouldn't say that. Getting Lauren's hospital picture taken was pretty exciting too. I know some people balk at the overpriced pics but I've never considered NOT getting them. For the photo she wore the one and only outfit Lis had bought for her pre-birth (remember, we didn't know the gender in utero).

She looked beautiful.

 

About 5 or 6 the pediatrician finally arrived and cleared Lauren to go home, but warned us that she was slightly jaundiced and would need to be seen on Friday. We dressed her in the very same outfit her sisters had returned home in - YaYa and Lauren seemed to drown in it, whereas LuLu stretched it out - and got ready to roll.

With YaYa it took two luggage carts to move us to the recovery room; this time we barely filled one on the way out the door.

After a brief and pleasant drive we wound up at my Mom's to pick up Parker and introduce my Mom to Lauren.

Then we went and picked up our two oldest from my in-laws. It was the first time we filled the van as a family of six.

Within minutes we were home and notched another first; the first time we'd ever taken a new baby home to our very own home.

Funny thing about Lauren's homecoming: it didn't feel like we were introducing someone new. It felt like she belonged.

Because she does.

here's YaYa after removing Lauren's hospital bands

Brief Non-Lauren Interlude

The Brewers SUCK, having dropped out of 1st following a miserable second half. Even with Chicago playing retched ball they still managed to surrender the division lead. Ugh.

Meanwhile the Yanks and Arod are surging in the AL East - congrats to Alex on his 500th Home Run! Sorry Parker and I couldn't be there to see it like we were the 400th.

Barry Bonds broke Aaron's record on the day of Lauren's birth, and if nothing else it means I don't have to watch/listen/read endless crap about the man each day.

I watched Tom Glavine notch his 300th win vs. the Cubs (and keep the Brew Crew in 1st a minute longer). Best wishes to him and congratulations.

* * * *

I just finished John Scalzi's (of AOL fame) The Last Colony. It's a very good book, very near to the excellence of Old Man's War and much better than the 2nd book of the series.

I also read Martin Cruz Smith's Stalin's Ghost, a very solid mystery set in Moscow.

There's a bunch of other books I gobbled up in the last few months, most of which escape my memory but which I'll update over the course of the day.

 7 - the Mickey Mantle Novel, was one of 'em, Heart Shaped Box, an excellent horror novel, was another. The girls were always asking me 'what did the ghost do now?' as I read the latter.

A viewing of the movie Zodiac (two DVD viewings actually) led me to read Zodiac and Zodiac Unmasked  by Robert Graysmith.  'Unmasked' is much more comprehensive and well written than his first book, and it was the book I was reading in the hospital while Lauren was born.

I read Bad Luck and Trouble by Lee Child, the newest John Sandford book (the title escapes me - it was a Prey novel), and . .

Well, like I said, I'll update later.

 

Email Congrats we Received

Here's hoping I spelled 'received' right - 'i before e expect after c' etc.

Anyhow, for posterity's sake I'd like to post some of the brief emails we received in response to a mass email notification of Lauren's birth.

From Lisa's stepsister:

Sorry, I’ve been working Lauren is beautiful! I can’t wait to see her. I hope all are well.

 Love,

J

From Becky at work:

Congrats on the new addition.  Cute pics!  Enjoy the week off with the Fam.

From Lisa's friend Sioux in New Orleans:

Congrats to you all!

 

From . . .well, somebody on the list:

 

congrats again on your beautiful baby girl!  She is just precious!

 

From my cousin Becky:

 

Congrads.

Lisa you look really good in the pictures.   Good healthy baby.  Hope all is well, and we will see you soon.

Becky

 

From YaYa's K3 teacher:

 

Congrats! [YaYa]  looks so proud. I am glad everyone is doing well! Give [YaYa]  a hug from me. 
 
Take care 
 
Marley 

 

From my distant cousin Mary and her husband:

 

Congratulations and best wishes!

 

From my Uncle and his family:

 

Congratulations!!!!   Thanks for sending us the pictures.  We'll stop by to see you soon.

 

Beautiful girl.  I couldn't believe her eyes were so wide open.

 

Love, Ken Carol and Mindi

 

From the webmaster at my business:

 

What a pink little beauty!  And what a lovely name!   Your going to outgrow that new house!

Give Lisa my best, and the kids as well.

Fred

 

 

In addition we were mailed traditional cards by my Godmother and a few other people . . darn gonnit, I can't recall. I'll have to check when I get home and update this post. Sorry to anyone I missed.

 

 

The Story of Lauren's Birth

We got up at 5:30 in the morning to call the hospital, per the instructions we'd been given. Lisa's friend Chris and her kids had spent the night so she could babysit and we were set to go.

But the hospital was jam packed with mother's in labor, and they asked us to wait another hour. It was a miserable day - rain and gloom and muggy heat - and I was beginning to think the induction would be delayed  at least until Wednesday.
At least the delay gave us time to say goodbye to the kids. And what a jam-packed house it was!

We arrived at Columbia-St. Mary's (what a wonderful lakefront drive it is from our house, btw) at about 7:30.  We sat in registration for awhile [where we learned from a gossip rag that Amy Fischer and Joey Buttafuco are DATING again - dear Lord!] then headed up to Labor and Delivery on the 4th floor.
There we waited.
And waited.
And waited.
The nurses explained that they were busy with a full house of patients giving birth, which was fine . . .but I never thought I'd live to see the day when I'd be bitter at the sight of a pregnant woman, moaning in labor pains, skipping us in line and delaying us some more.
It's times like this that dorks like me, with our 'two books per person per packed bag' rule, come in handy.
Sometime around 10 I woke Lisa up from a nap in the waiting room and we were escorted to LDR5, where all the action was to take place.
A medical student asked some questions, a nurse took some vitals, and Lisa was examined.
At 10:10 she was 3cm dilated, 50% effaced with the baby at -1.
A potocin drip - what Lis calls the 'devils serum' - was started and the day officially began.

If you think Lisa's half-sarcastic 'thumbs up' is dorky, check out my 'picture smile'.

Not a whole lot happened in the next few hours. I left to go to the cafeteria for a bite to eat, and we sat and read. Somewhere in this time Lis asked me to call her Mom and ensure that she would be there for the delivery, and she arrived speedy quick.
That's pretty much the whole story prior to noon.
At 12:33 Dr. Helf arrived for an examination. She remained at 3cm and 50%, but Helf broke her bag of water and things began to speed up. The contractions, which had been rolling in at 2 to 3 minute intervals, were now stronger to boot.
Almost exactly at 1pm Lisa began getting an epideral. It did not go as smoothly as it had in the past, with Lis reduced to tears after the needle induced pain along the left side of her body, and the process dragged on for nearly half an hour. Afterwards her legs quickly went completely numb, though she continued to feel some pain, especially on the left side of her groin.
2pm found her still at 3 cm but 70% effaced. The next hour was spent watching Myth Busters and Dr. Phil.
Lisa was growing increasingly grouchy and annoyed with me and her Mom, and even through the epideral the escalating pain was apparent.
At 3:40, convinced something was wrong with the epideral, she paged the nurse.
Meanwhile, having remembered the abrupt conclusions to each of her labors [I nearly missed Parker's birth, having stepped outside for a cigarrette when all was well and returning to the birth itself] I started to think the baby was on the way.
The nurse, who had monitoring the scans from the desk, arrived with a full labor cart.
Lis was 9.5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Time to get the party started.
15 minutes later the Dr. arrived and I helped her get Lisa in the stirrups, accidentally jamming the Dr.'s finger and getting a slap across the arm.
What is it with women hitting me?
After that it was just a matter of one set of pushes (three if I remember right). I saw the baby crown and started to look away, fearful of viewing any problem, but sucked it up and saw the face emerge, cord wrapped loosely around it's neck. The doctor told Lisa to grab the baby under each armpit and pull the baby out herself, and she reached down . . 

Then the baby was out and given to r Lisa to hold and I still couldn't see the gender with the cord in the way . . .
"It's a girl!" the Dr. announced, and any fear of Lisa's that I would be dissapointed went out the window.
"Hi Baby Lauren," I said, feeling like I'd known her all along.

The Doc interrupted my thoughts long enough for me to cut the cord, and then she was in Lisa's arms and everything was right in the world.



The white stuff - I forget its name - was new to me, but the Doc wrote that off as being the first of our kids to be delivered prior to the due date (actually, YaYa was too, but was jaundiced and I did not see her in those first moments after birth).
Here's my mother-in-law with Lauren.

I was rather freaked by how quiet she was, but everyone assured me she was fine and dandy. It was more than 10 minutes after the birth, once the video camera was off, that she unleashed her very first loud and sustained cry.
She was not weighed/measured for a very long time, but as noted came in at 7#,7 oz and 20 inches long (7 lbs, 6.98 oz actually, if memory serves)

Her eyes were open almost from the start and she seemed very alert.  She scored a 9 (out of a possible 10) on the APGAR score [the minus point was for the grayish tint to her hands and feet].
Ann, the nurse, did a great job of getting the footprints for our baby book.

Soon my mother in law left for a bit and most of the medical staff wandered off. We enjoyed a few blessed moments of alone time with our baby.


The blanket was made by my Mom, btw. My mother-in-law also knitted one, which was used later in the day.

We soon migrated up to the 5th (recovery) floor, where Lauren was bathed and given a security tag

True story: she despised the bath and stubbornly gripped the side of her plastic cradle. When flipped over to wash the other side, she gripped that side just as hard. The nurse was cracking up.



The room itself had a heck of a view overlooking the lake and water tower.

After dinner my mother in law and Lisa's step-dad came by to visit.


Then my Dad and sister Katie stopped by with my two nieces and all three of my kids.






My youngin's were decked out in shirts their Mom had made which read "I'm a big sister for the 3rd time", "I'm a big brother for the 1st time", and "I'm a big sister for the 2nd time".



UPDATE: I just learned Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's record by hitting #756 today . . so Lauren's birthdate will resonate in history even before she's President!
Despite YaYa's earlier disapointment in our decision to have another baby and profound exaustion after a long day, she was  happy and eager to see the baby. Ditto (as expected) LuLu .  Parker was fond of the girl but of course only expressed it with a smile.



They helped Lis open some presents from my family


The night before, following a tradition Lisa established, I had gone out and purchased gifts to the siblings from the new arrival. Nothing fancy this time, just coloring books, including a King Kong one for Park, crayons, blank paper, Cinderella trading cards, Princess journals, and activity books to practice schoolwork.
Sure it sounds like a lot, but all told it came up to around 10 bucks and my Mom paid for more than half of it as a gift to me.


While they were upset they didn't get the cafeteria cookies they'd long been promised (it was closed) the kids went home shortly after 8, a mere hour past their bedtime. I followed suit 90 minutes later, leaving my beautiful wife and daughter sleeping in their room.
A very VERY good day! :)