One Month

Have you ever seen the show "30 Days"? Film director Morgan Spurlock (of "Supersize Me" fame) had a show on FX where he assumed a new identity for 30 days in order to see what it was like to walk in someone elses's shoes. I thought this was a grand idea and tonight I was inspired to take on my first role. After watching "Rocky" earlier this evening, I was inspired to train for a fight with Apollo Creed in 30 days. In my mind, the fight takes place on April 1st, April Fool's Day. I will run, jump rope, and train as if I were scheduled to fight for the heavyweight title one month from now. I just wish I had a side of beef to pummel. I think "April Fool" is pretty appropriate.

My reasons for doing this are not just because I am insane. No, I have been trying to motivate myself to get into shape for quite a while now. The other day, I showed Alex how to jump rope and after only four or five repetitions I nearly died. I want to replace my twelve pack abs with six pack abs. I want to be so sexy that my wife won't need to be coerced into having relations with me. She is a triathlete, and I know that she would find me more appealing if I fine-tuned my form a little. Plus, I'm fairly certain she loves me and wants me to be healthy enough to live for a few more years. So I figure getting into shape is not a bad idea. However, I have never been able to exercise just for the fun of it, so I need to make it interesting. So, Sylvester Stallone came around this evening and said, "You are going to fight Apollo Creed on April 1st. You have one month to train your butt off. Burgess Meredith is standing in your corner, ready to cut you at any time. Let's get started." How could I argue with Rocky Balboa?

Tonight, I weighed in at 154 pounds. That is officially the most I have ever weighed in my life. I realize that adding muscle will not help me shed pounds, so I will not fret too much about my weight. Instead, I will grade myself on how much better I look and feel. If my spouse finds that she can't keep her hands off of me, then I will know that I could have gone the distance with Apollo. That will be good enough fo me.

Stay tuned as I chart my progress every day for the next month. Maybe you will be inspired too. I won't fight you though. This face is just way too pretty.

Powerful Words

For those of you who have kids, do you remember the first time they said, "I love you" without any prompting by you? I sure do. When Alex was two or three years old, he and I were sitting on the front room floor playing with toys and watching TV. Out of the blue, he looked over at me and said, "You know what?" I said "What?" And then he said, "I love you." I was blown away. It was one of the happiest and most humbling moments of my life.

This morning while I was laying in bed watching the news, Truman was playing with some toys. He crawled over to me, climbed on top, gave me a big hug, and said "Wuv ooo." Yep, that's his version of I love you. And yep, it was pretty freakin' cool to hear. Because even though I've only been his daddy for three months, he really does love me. How awesome is that?!

Stay-at-home blues

I'm bored out of my mind. Truman and I need to get out more, but we live 20 miles from anywhere and when you factor in breakfast, naptime, lunchtime, and picking Alex up at school at 3:15, we don't really have much time to justify an hour long round trip to town. That leaves us with the choice of going to the Ashland city park, our tiny branch of the Boone County Library in Ashland, or just staying at home. With the cold weather, the park is usually not a good option and because Truman doesn't read, the library isn't much fun either. So, we find ourselves spending most days at home, isolated from the rest of the world. Other stay at home parents probably feel this way, too. The difference is that they can walk or take a short drive to somewhere fun. Playdates, museums, nature centers, big parks, interesting stores, and other attractions are simply not realistic options for us. Don't get me wrong, I still wouldn't trade being a stay at home dad for a job in the real world. I also really enjoy living in the boondocks. But as we all learned from watching "The Shining," long-term isolation can make a man go a little nuts.

Come on spring. Daddy's got a serious case of cabin fever!

Terrible Two

Truman refuses to drink anything- EVER. Every meal turns into a battle to get him to drink. Every single meal. He has been this way since we got him on November 3rd and it is not getting any better. I am becomming quite frustrated. I am tired of hearing him scream. Now I must weigh dehydration against the psychological harm done by force-feeding him liquids. I swear to God, this boy will be the death of me. He is by far, THE most stubborn child I have ever known. Is it any wonder my wife keeps spotting more and more gray hairs on my head?

Truman In China

Our good friends James and Lisa shot some great video in China and sent us a nicely edited clip for all to enjoy. It captures some of the "firsts" we experienced with our baby boy. The last scene is my favorite. Hope you like it.

Third Time's a Charm

Back in 2001, Bethany and I bought a brand spankin' new 2001 Dodge Dakota Quad Cab 4x4 truck. It was "Inferno Red" and had nearly every option you could think of. I knew the dealer, as I worked at an auto auction at the time, so we got a pretty good deal. We happily drove it for about a year, but when 0% interest came about, we traded it for another brand new Dakota. At the dealership, we changed our minds and took a $3500 rebate instead of the 0% and drove away in a brand new truck with a smaller payment than our one year old truck. The new model was blue and silver and looked gorgeous. But eventually, we decided to get ourselves out of debt and therefore my beloved truck and its outrageous monthly payment had to go. I have driven various vehicles since then, but none appealed to me as much as that truck.

Fast forward to five years later. Yesterday, we drove to St. Charles and bought another 2002 Dodge Dakota SLT Quad Cab 4x4. Only this time, we did it right. We paid for it in full, thanks to being debt-free. And it is black in color, which means that it is a ready-made Tiger Tailgatin' Truck. It also has remote start and a nice, spray-on bedliner in addition to all the options our other Dakotas had. Four full-sized doors that open all the way out are a nice touch for getting kids in and out of the back seat, too.

So, is it the new tailgatin' truck or what?