Parkers 1st Birthday Party

Okay, since his party was fifteen days ago, I reckon I better get around to posting about it. The pictures will fill in most of the story.

My wife made a unique and very cute invitation for the gig. It was an elephant head cut from gray construction paper. Its ears folded over for mailing, but when opened its 'trunk' unfolded, accordian style, to reveal the party info:

Oh, in case you haven't figured it out, the theme was a 'jungle party'. I even ITuned a Jungle CD for the day.

The day of the party the Mrs. made 'swamp juice' made of green Kool-Aid made darker by blue food coloring, Sprite, and pineapple juice.

She also made party favors - 'bamboo sticks' of chocolate wafers with a nice thank you tag.

Here's his cake:

and the room, pre-party, decorated in part with Mylar balloons from a local store:

This is the cake table, with Ya-Ya's stuffed tiger as the center of attention:

Here's the birthday boy with his Godmother

here's the prize table for the animal bingo we played. There were some neat Africanesque items up for grabs.

Okay, in my family there's a tradition on 1st birthdays. You lay several items on the table in front of the kid - usually a shot glass, a rosary, money, and one or two other things. Whatever they grab allegedly tells you where the focus of their life will be. I wanted a pair of boxing gloves and something in line with being a ladies man, but no such luck - and the boy wound up grabbing the rosary anyhow - and the money.

Middle Child helped him blow out his candles:

And then it was his turn to eat cake. YaYa, on her 1st birthday, was disgusted by the idea of getting messy and refused to eat it at all; Middle Child dug right in. Parker walked a line between the two, hesitating before digging in, and then doing so gingerly.

Afterwards we opened a score of great presents (including lots of baseball clothing - funny, no one EVER gets him anything but baseball stuff. Odd how my obsession has just made the idea of a football or soccer themed shirt verbotten to my friends and family).

It was a good time, even if the fancydancy catering I ordered (and paid +$200 for) tanked.

Happy birthday Parker, we love you!

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Parker's 1st Haircut!

I'm going to skip ahead of some other 'scrapbook' posts and put up some pictures of a big event - Parker's first haircut.

On the 24th we decided Park was looking a big too scraggly for our liking. So we put him in his high chair and broke out the home haircut kit.

The pictures don't tell the whole story. Sure he was scared to death while the buzzer was going, but just before these pictures he was grinning like a madman. He quickly recovered from the 'ordeal' too.

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George Mason Wins!

Great game! Conneticut goes down in OT as George Mason overcomes a shocking last second (of regulation) tying shot to move on to the next round of the tournament.

Wouldn't you know it, with 28 seconds left Middle Child has her first accident in weeks, soaking the floor.

Thank goodness 28 seconds of basketball equals minutes of real time, as I returned just in time to see Conn's 3 second shot miss as the clock ran out.

I don't care for the NBA, but give me March Madness any day . .

The World Baseball Classic

Just minutes ago the USA lost a pivotal game against Mexico, eliminating themselves from the WBC. It was a bit of a shock, given that before tonight Mexico was 0-2 in this round of the tournament.

I suppose I should be upset and shed a tear for the National Pastime. On the face of it it is alarming. A group of American professionals - All Stars and Hall of Famers even - fumbled their way into a second round elimination against teams that probably couldn't pass muster in AAA.

Phoeey. Who cares?

Look, I'm just as patriotic as the next guy, but it isn't like we screwed up the Normandy landing. The folks in Iowa and Oregon will be just fine without a WBC trophy or ring or whatever the winner takes home.

To tell the truth, it's not like it's conclusive proof of baseball greatness. By its nature the sport is one where one game proves nothing. Unlike almost any other sport, any team, no matter how awful, has a legitimate chance to beat a champion everytime they set foot of the field.

There's a reason the World Series is a best of seven format, and not set up like the WBC.

Add to that the fact that MLB players are coming off five months of sitting at home with the Mrs. and I'd say rust plays a factor too.

I hope it doesn't sound like I'm disparaging the tournament. I'm one of the WBC's biggest fans.

Hey, I heard all the whining about the 'risk' MLB players were taking. They could get pull a hammy, they could blow out an arm, they could be lost to their employers for the season. I sure didn't want Ben Sheets to pitch, and I'm glad he didn't.

But I also remember Ryne Sandberg getting hit by a pitch in spring training and missing weeks of the season.

Injuries happen, and I don't see the difference between having it occur on a field in Japan or at a camp in Arizona.

And right here in Milwaukee, on broadcast TV, I was treated to watching teams from Taiwan, the Netherlands, China, Korea, Japan, Puerto Rico, Cananda, South Africa, the US, and Cuba play ball. The only teams I'm sure I didn't see were Italy and Australia.

I watched pro players from Japan and Cuba, for Pete's sake! How sweet is that?

Without the WBC, maybe, maybe, I'd have eventually saw one of those countries compete in the Olympics, should they reinstate the sport.

Now, I can say bleep off to the  snobs who prefer the Olympics to remain Euro-centric.

Next time, I might just shell out the money to subscribe to the WBC's web broadcasts. I liked it that much.

And in case you care, having watched Korea go 6-0, they're my pick for the championship.

Good luck to them - you've made the WBC must-see TV.

 

WooHoo! Go Panthers!

For the second year in a row, my alma matter, the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee scored an upset in the first round of the NCAA tournament, this time knocking off Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee's richy-rich Marquette went one and out.

What a shame.

Go Panters!

Man, am I selfish . . but hot, don't forget that!

My birthday's coming up, and if anyone (read: family) cares to purchase moi a gift, you may of course contact the Mrs. and co-ordinate your efforts.

For those chosing to act on their own, I am dangerously close to knocking off the last of my realistic 'Ten Useless Things I Want' list.

I have my laptop, an Ipod (granted, one I can't figure out how to work), a DVD recorder, a digital camera, a great desktop computer, my own washer/dryer/stove/fridge, and a camcorder (albeit one that needs repair).

So what's left?

A house, but that's a year away, and hardly useless. 'Course, neither are a lot of the other items on the list.

The remaining three items are:

1. An XM radio and subscription. I'm accumulating Radio Shack GC's for this, and will pick it up prior to the start of the MLB season.

2.An electric guitar and amp. Nothing fancy, a WalMart $99 package would do. This is the most ridiculous item on the list, as I had an acoustic guitar for the first 6 years of my marriage and played it once. But, I still want one. Can't give up the dream.

3. A telescope. Again, useless, but I do have a lifelong love of astronomy and follow it on the web. Seeing Orion in the sky still makes my heart go pitter-patter. Tom over at Tom's Astronomy Blog has recommended one, and I really think it'll be a good experience for the kids too.

I guess Radio Shack GC's are the only feasible gift here, but I'm also interested in getting a good Johnny Cash CD, maybe his Folsum Prison concert and a solid retrospective. No books currently make my list, as my library card is up and running.

Other than that . . . hmmm. . . Wal-Mart GC's never hurt.

Yeah, Yeah

I'm still annoyed, but more importantly I'm bored. It's either post

or watch Cinderella with Middle Child for the 100th time.

I struck gold with a recent binge at Blockbuster. If you're interested, pick up

The Guru, a hilarious comedy about an Indian immigrant who mistakenly

becomes known as a sex guru. Sounds condescending and stupid,

but it's funny, well written, and really a joy to watch.

 Heather Grahm (sp?) is  the only recognizable face.

 Some great dance numbers too, including a ripoff of Grease.

You know, between The Guru and Bend it Like Beckham, I'm really starting to

dig movies with an Indian flavor, and I have to say their music is funky and

fun. I'll have to attend an Indian wedding one of these days; it's gotta be

better than the standard South Side gala.

I also thought Serenity was worth the rental cost, tho' I couldn't convince my wife to

watch it.

Red Eye, by Wes Craven, I picked up for curiosities sake, assuming it would suck.

On the contrary, I found it a well written and well acted thriller. Well worth your time.

Skip Apartment 12 with Mark Rufalo, tho' I found it mildly amusing.

Last but not least, Walk the Line. Not a great movie, but what incredible chemistry

between Phoenix and Witherspoon. Two things happened because of the movie:

For the first time, I find Witherspoon sexy and very appealing. And two, I've become

infatuated with Johnny Cash's music, often having it play softly on my comp at

work. If nothing else, discovering Folsum Prison Blues was a great treat.

It also led to a great quote of the day:

Mother in Law claims Walk the Line is the best movie ever. I disagreed.

Mother in Law: Well, it's probably just a generational thing. The movie reminded me

of what it was like to be young again - all the problems I  faced. I could

really relate, you know?

Me: So . . . you were a pill popping adulterer who was jailed for drug smuggling?

Sometimes, I wonder why the woman tolerates my smart-ass mouth.

 

Well, I never

I was going to log on and write a post about Parker's 1st birthday party, but I arrived to find that the AOL counter has again reset itself.

From 30,500 visitors I'm back down to 105.

The hel* with that.

I don't feel much like spending much time on this lousy service right about now. I'm sure I'll get over my hissy fit, but c'mon . . .

Barry Bonds, Loser

Oh, you had to know I couldn’t resist the chance to get a jab in at Barry Bonds.

It’s a given really, seeing as I like the man as much as I do the clap. It’s never really been a secret.

Even so, I want to take a moment and explain myself.

Most people despise Bonds because he’s an arrogant, cocky, self-righteous S.O.B. that could care less if some fat white guy in Milwaukee doesn’t like him - or anyone for that matter.

That doesn’t bother me. In fact I kind of like it. I was a big fan of Albert Belle, too, and he was no saint. Hell, Ty Cobb killed people, for Pete’s sake.

[Granted, Bonds refusing to sign tshirts for a children’s cancer clinic because ‘I don’t sign autographs for white people” pushes the envelope a tad]

Nope, I don’t like him because, as sappy as it sounds, he’s a cancer on the best sport around.

It’s one thing for some schmuck to cheat here and there. Immoral as it may be, I don’t think the four extra home runs Alex Diaz hit on ‘roids makes all that much of a difference to the world.

But when you take one of the best players ever, juice him up on steroids for years, and find yourself about to crown a new all-time home run champion - well, then I have a problem.

Records are important. They’re important because they decide who gets to have a children’s book written about them in fifty years. It’s important because they decides arguments on message boards and in drunken bar room discussions.

It means something, damnit.

And here we go, about to hand the title of all-time homerun champion to a chronic juicer.

The book Game of Shadows details years of habitual steroid abuse, all geared towards adding power to his game. Well, mission achieved buddy.

The reporters who wrote the book spent two years compiling interviews, reviewing sealed and public court records, and examining the testimony of those involved in the BALCO controversy.

It’s already been excerpted in Sports Illustrated and has prompted the commissioner to announce he’s investigating the claims.

No matter what happens, Bonds’ legacy is forever tainted.

Whoopee.

Without concrete action from MLB it means nothing. Publicly he will still be regarded as one of the greats, and with time the memory of the steroid allegations will fade. People still recall the sins of Shoeless Joe and Pete Rose because MLB make it part of what you remember.

I’m not even sure that’s possible in this case.

Most of the steroid use took place before MLB enacted a firm policy, and unless he fails a test I think the commissioner’s hands are tied.

Here’s what I’m hoping for: either the commissioner risks it all and oversteps his bounds to punish Bonds.

That, or I wake up one morning to news that a mysterious ‘knee injury’ has forced Bonds into retirement.

If anything happens at all, I think it will go the latter route, with behind-the-scenes threats forcing his hand.

In conclusion, I leave you with an excerpt of my own, this one from one of The Onion’s greatest headlines “Barry Bonds Took Steroids, Reports Everyone who has ever watched Baseball”

"Everyone in our front office has known about Bonds since the 2001 season," said San Francisco-area accounts-receivable secretary Mindy Harris of McCullers and Associates, Ltd.

"People in our ninth-floor office, too, and all seven branch offices. None of us were sure exactly which kind of steroids he was on, but we were pretty sure it was the kind that causes you to gain 30 pounds of muscle in one offseason, get injured more easily, become slow-footed, shave your head to conceal your thinning hair, lash out at the media and fans, engage in violent and abrupt mood swings, grow taut tree-trunk-like neck muscles, expand your hatband by six inches, and hit 73 home runs in a single season."

Amen.

Parker's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe the little guy is turning one today. Seems like

only yesterday I posted news of his arrival here mere hours

after his birth.

Today we took the whole family to the Olive Garden for dinner to

celebrate.

 I know, not very childlike, but his big party will be on

Saturday. This was just for us, and it was very nice.

The waitstaff even sang to him. It was cute - they did so quietly so as not to

'startle' him.

Yeah right - he has two older sisters. He doesn't know what

quiet is.

By the time we got home it was time for bed. Not terribly exciting, I know.

I love the little guy. Happy birthday Parker!

btw - the pics are from his cousins bday party this past Sunday.