Where Did Metallman Go???

Hey there. I'm so so sorry that I haven't had a post in about 2 weeks. I'll be honest, I've gotten to the point where I opened up a new post, but no words were written. Canceled the post and figured that I would do it later. It just never happened. I still owe my readers cash and credits to the top blogs of the month and top commentators of the month. I just haven't gotten around to it. I also have some pizza coupons that I will be giving away soon so make sure that you stay tuned for that.

Work has been hectic, my cousin was in and out of the hospital due to a mental condition, which I have checked in on, I have now become a Lost addict (I know I'm about 6 years late to the party) and our son's birthday was this week. So there have been topics available for posting, it's just that for whatever reason, my fingers refused to write them down. Well, I guess that funk is over. We got the Motivational Sunday coming back tomorrow, as well as the Super Bowl! Valentines Day is on it's way and today, we're off to John's Incredible Pizza for our son's B Day celebration. Nothing big, but a place where I know he'll have fun. I'll make sure to keep you guys more filled in than I have in the last few weeks.

My son just got up. I'm helping around the house so it's my time to feed the baby. I'll catch you guys later!

Uncollected Thoughts

Hey there.  I've been MIA as of late.  I try to keep this blog updated to the tune of about a post a day.  And even though we've had events go down recently, I just haven't had the time to collect my thoughts and put them down.  So instead of organizing them, I'm just going to write them down and leave a quick comment.

First off, what a game between the Vikings and Saints.  It was definitely one of the most entertaining playoff game that I have ever seen.  Even though I did catch it at a later date.  Why is that? Well, because we went and took pics of my little one.  He's been growing so fast that he's wearing outfits only once before they no longer fit.  My wife was able to obtain an outfit that her youngest brother wore and we went with that outfit and a sailor suit for our boy to wear.  Here's one of the many pics.  Does my baby look spiffy or what?  lol

On a darker note, my cousin went missing for a few days late last week.  Now, I don't know the complete details of what went down, but from what my aunt told me not too long ago, my cousin (19) lost his job and that it might have pushed him over the edge.  He was not heard of for 2 days and then when he called my aunt for her to pick him up, he was extremely emotional.  To the point where he cried all day.  Once the crying stopped, the "weirdness" happened.  All he could talk about was how he owned everything and everyone.  How he even owned god and the devil and that he has all the riches in the world.  Kinda delusional, no?  But it gets weirder.  According to my aunt, he was hell bent on getting to church.  He just had to go to church for some reason that he would not state.  My cousin would laugh hysterically and state that he's been talking to my father (who passed away almost 20 years ago) and his nina (who passed away approx. 5 years ago).  On top of that, he's been talking to god as well.

It seems to be all of a sudden but as I was talking to my aunt she remembered a time a few weeks ago when my cousin walked into his parents' room and just gave them a huge hug.  It was odd to them that he would do that without asking for something.  My aunt was sure that he was going to ask to borrow the car or ask for some money, but nothing was asked of.  Thinking back on it, my aunt believes that maybe that was the start of it all.  Then, his younger brothers and sister claim to have heard him talk to himself and laugh hysterically by himself.  We now believe that maybe him losing his job may have pushed him into having some sort of nervous breakdown.  He's currently in the mental ward of the hospital for observation.  We plan on visiting him tomorrow.  Hopefully, I'll have more news on what's going on then.

So yeah, I've have my posts that need to get done, but my mind has just been occupied with other things.  Maybe this is what I need to get my head on straight.  A means to write down what's going on and clear my head.  I mean, that is what a blog is for, right?  Until then... Later.

Baby Soup for the Soul

Hey there.  I'm sure you've heard about all those self help books out there.  One of the more popular ones are the "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series.  I think that they're great in the sense that they may answer questions that many of us are thinking or feeling.  Honestly, I've never read any of those books and I think it's cause when I'm feeling down, I turn to my family.  They are my "soup for my soul".  Recently, work has been a drag on both my wife and I.  We're a few weeks into the year, but it's felt like an eternity.  Almost as if the week off threw our work schedule out of whack.  I'm still adjusting and I'm sure that my wife is too since she's been out of the office for close to 4 months.  After a day of damn near pulling our hair out at work, we get to come home to this.

Yup, that's our chicken soup for the soul, or better yet, baby soup for the soul. lol  It's funny how a young one can wash away many of the aches and pains that a working parent endures at work.I know that it does wonders for my wife.  Through all the financial reporting, balancing of the month, dilution report, meetings, and hold order reports, it's great to be able to have it all wash away by a smile.  Later!

My Son is Feeling Better

A few nights ago, our baby got sick. He had this terrible dry cough that had us worried and up most of the night. We ended up taking him to see a doc but he assured us that we're doing everything right and that it's nothing serious. A few days of sickness and it'll pass. 2 weeks of a coarse voice though... I hate hearing my son like that. And it hurts even more that there really isn't much we can do to help soothe him. We've got the humidifier on, which we do clean regularly because it can get moldy. He's old enough for "baby rub" (I guess the baby version of Vapor-Rub) and that seems to have a helped a great deal. He doesn't have a fever, thank god, but he does have his hot moments. I think it's because we have him well wrapped up most of the time to avoid exposing him to more of the cold elements.

We're still not sure exactly how he got sick. I know that a general rule of having multiple kids is that when one is sick, they're all sick. They haven't been sick, but our youngest daughter has now developed a slight dry cough... I don't know if the baby gave it to her or she the baby. We anticipate a house full of sick kids soon... I just hope that one of us parental units do not. Later!

My Baby is Sick

Hey there.  The baby got sick last night.  He had a dry cough and he started sneezing.  Then the phlegm started to make it's presence known.  It sucks because I know my baby is uncomfortable, but there really isn't anything that you can give them to alleviate anything.  My wife decided that she was going to stay up all night to keep an eye on him.  She did.  I went to bed around 2:30 am or so, but she went to bed at 7 am.  He wasn't too fussy, but we know that he's not too comfortable.  Luckily, we stumbled across a "baby emergency kit" while back and we bought it, just in case.  The kit has little noses, little tummies, some baby rub, among other stuffs.  Turns out that we are able to use the baby rub on babies over 3 months old.  Our boy just turned 3 months on the 6th.  We put some of the stuff on him and it seems to be working.  He's a lot more active, he's arguing with the animals on his swing and he doesn't seem to be fussy at all.  Hopefully, he'll get over the sickness.  I know it's still there and we're scheduled for a baby check up tomorrow.  Hopefully, all will be ok.  Later!

Has Christmas Lost it's Meaning?

Hey there.  You know, earlier today, I got to thinking about what my young one wants for Christmas.  She said she wanted this Strawberry Shortcake Cafe set type thing.  I've never heard of it, but I figured, with the power of Google, I'd be able to figure it out and BAM!  There it is, in all it's glory.  The problem?  It's sold out at Target, Walmart, and Toys R Us... So I decided that I'll look for it later and see if I get lucky and find it somewhere.  That lead me to think of that movie, Jingle All the Way with Sinbad and California's very own, "Ahnold".  Has Christmas really gone so far down hill that most parents will go out and about, go through hell in a mall, trying to find a great gift for their young ones?  I know that the movie exaggerated the hell out of this idea since the two characters practically killed each other for the much wanted Turbo Man, but that general idea seems to be well and good.

Every year, I hear someone or another say that they don't have money to go and get gifts, which is absolutely fine, but the problem I have is that much emphasis is placed on gift giving.  Really?  Isn't Christmas supposed to be about spending time with your loved ones?  A time to reflect on the past year (or is that New Year's?).  Where gifts don't make the holiday but simply serve as a side dish to the main course of love, togetherness, and happiness?  Yesterday, I went and got gifts for the little one's in my family.  My wife and I told ourselves that we'd cut our list short to only include young ones under 7.  With the exception of being a parental unit, sibling, or grand parent, don't expect a gift from us.  lol  But the point being, we took the time to go out and get gifts knowing that we're not going to get some back.  And we didn't worry about it.  There was no, oh man, we spent too much, no worrying about forgetting this person or that person, or any of that.  It felt good to go out and get gifts with out all added pressure and that's how it should be.  Us going through a "recession" and all, we're at a point where we are able to give.  Whether we receive or not, doesn't matter.  At least not to us, the parents (the kids may be a different story).

I'm beginning to feel as if Christmas is becoming more of a "need to get a gift for someone" instead of it being a holiday filled with cheer.  Christmas shouldn't feel like a chore, yet for some reason or another, it does this year.  We haven't had a chance to put the tree up, we're not done getting gifts, let alone wrap them, and quite frankly, I'm tired of all the "gloom and doom" that seem to emanate from every TV or radio.  I say, screw all that.  Sit down with your family, bake some cookies, share some stories, and enjoy yourselves.  That, right there, sounds like a pretty bad ass Christmas to me.  Gifts are a bonus.  I don't remember seeing a Terms and Conditions sheet on celebrating Christmas.  I don't remember baby Jesus breaking into song and dance saying that the Wise Men must give gifts or they'll be hell to pay.  Just like every other holiday out there, I say we celebrate the way we see fit and be happy.  Get rid of the pressures that come with holiday shopping.  Go ahead and grab gifts.  I'm not saying you shouldn't, but what I am saying is take it easy when you do.  It's not worth the stress and killing your holiday because you were stressed out 23 days out of 25 because you were getting gifts, sending cakes, decorating the house, etc.etc.  You're only adding to the bah humbug that seems to plague this year's Christmas season if you're all moody and cranky.

Now...  I'mma go see Elf.  That elf sure knows how to do Christmas right.  I mean C' mon people.  He's parading around in an elf suit singing his little heart out without a care in the world.  I think I need to do that.  Yeah, I need to walk in a store and be like, "I'm in a store.  I'm in a store and I'm singing!"  Yeah, that'll spread some holiday cheer alright.  lmao  Later!

The Kids and My Father's Presence

Hey there. My pops passed away when I was 9 years old. I grew up without really having a father figure in my life and it was pretty tough. My mother was rarely home so my brother and I practically raised ourselves. I guess that's why my brother and I have a pretty close relationship. Anyways, I always told myself that I would try to be the best dad I could. I am now the dad of 4 and I do my best to provide the best I can. But sometimes... I feel like I'm getting a little help from my pops.

There have been some pretty strange occurrences involving my brother and my kids. First off, when my dad first passed away, my brother would say that he would see him in his dreams. Mind you, my brother was 4 years old when my dad passed, so it's not like he would be making stuff up like that. I'm sure that he was too young to really know what was going on. Then, when our oldest son was born, more weird occurrences started happening. My son would be in his swing, and the swing would inexplicably move on it's own, the TV would turn on and off on it's own, and we would hear some pretty weird noises coming out of a radio that wasn't even plugged in. When our oldest daughter was born, more of the same went on. The same with the swing and I started to hear voices. It never really freaked me out, but it did raise my curiosity.

With our youngest daughter, we didn't have much in that kind of activity, but we did have one huge one. My wife set our daughter down on the couch and she went off to the kitchen. My brother in law was in his room, my wife in the kitchen, and our daughter in the living. Then, my wife hears the sound of someone giving someone a huge kiss. You know, that puckering sound. So she goes over to the living room, thinking that it was my brother in law kissing our daughter. Nope, he was in his room, semi-asleep. My wife freaked. She's never really dealt with anything of that sort so to hear "someone" kiss our baby frightened her. The other night, as we were having dinner, my daughter says to me that she remembers seeing "little daddy" when she was born. I asked her who that was and she said that it was my dad, that she likes calling him "little daddy." It threw me in for a loop but I continued along with her to see what else she would say. She says she remembers seeing him when she was born and that now she misses him. My wife and weren't sure what to make of it. We were not talking about my father so it was extremely odd that she would just throw that idea out there. Now, things are happening with our youngest son.

We find that our son loves to stare at my pop's picture. I have a picture (drawing) of my father in the living room. When we sit on the couch holding our son, we see him stare at the picture and then laugh and coo. Another instance involved footsteps. I was at the store and my wife was sitting with my baby son on the couch. Again, he looked at my father's picture and laughed and cooed and smiled. Then, my wife heard footsteps in the hallway. She freaked. She called me to ask me to hurry home. I check it out and the kids were asleep and I as I stand in the living room, talking to her, we both hear the footsteps again. Pretty intense stuff. And that leads me to the bouncer. Our son loves his bouncer and we believe to have found out why. When we place our son it, we snuggles with his blanket and then drifts asleep. Nothing weird, right? WRONG! That is until you see that the bouncer is rocking itself, even though it's off! It's happened on more than one occasion and I point it out to my wife each time I see it happening. So what are we make out of this?

I say, it's my pops helping me out. It's always happening around our kids, and it's usually when we're trying to rock them or soothe them. I joke around with my wife and tell her that it's my pops doing all the crazy things around the house. The corona bottle, Odin, and since the kids' birth, them. Just the other night, I placed our son in his bouncer and as I was walking away, my wife noticed that the swing was pushed by no one. Yup, it was swinging on it's own. We both just looked at it and said, "Dad, he's in the bouncer." I smiled at wife and she still looked a little freaked out by it. Well, at least we know that my pops is still around, helping out. And if one of the kids start to complain that their head hurts, I'll know it's him... giving them a noogie. lol Later!

My Wife's Mission and a Pair of Easy Tone Shoes

Hey there.  As many of you know, we've recently welcomed a little one to our family.  We're thrilled and happy that he's blessed our lives.  Now, my wife is dealing with the aftermath of pregnancy.  My wife gained approx. 50 lbs during her pregnancy.  She takes good care of herself and she watches what she eats, but I strongly believe that during pregnancy, her body holds on to extra weight despite her efforts to keep it minimal.  Last week, we went to visit Dr. Bohn and she finally gave my wife the thumbs up to exercise.  My wife wasted no time and she's been walking/running close to 5 miles every other day.  Last night, I bought her a pair of the new Reebok Easy Tone shoes.  She's mentioned them to me before and considering that she's a semi health nut, she would love a pair.  I was planning on getting them for our anniversary (Nov. 30th for those of you who forgot!) but I gave them to her early so that she can use them during her workouts.

Now, these shoes are little odd to me, since they claim to work our your buns, thighs, and calves simply by walking in them.  Make no mistake about it, you need balance to walk in these shoes.  I tried them on, for the sake of curiosity, and I felt as if I was tilting to one side while walking.  My wife has had them on all day and she feels that it is definitely doing something to her lower half of her body.  She's hoping that they'll help to reshape her body to what it was before we had our little one in the oven. 

I need to start getting in shape too.  I've put on a few pounds with our pregnancy and I think I'm getting a little flabby around the waist.  The best way to support my wife would be to join her in her activities.  Well, at least I'd like to think so.  If any of you guys have heard or have any experiences with these shoes, let me know what you think.  It's still our first day using them and my wife feels something but you know how things are...  is it because she wants to feel something or is she feeling something because they're actually working.  I'd like to think that they're working.  When we met up for lunch, she said that her butt hurt like hell.  lol  Let me know friends.  Later!

A Boy and His Domo

Hey there. Lately, a creature by the name of Domo has been popping up in unlikely places. First, it was at Hot Topic. Then, it was at Target. Now, he's invading 7-11 stores across America. This little guy is taking over the states! For those of you not familiar, Domo is described as a creature that hatched from an egg and hates apples. lol Sounds like my kinda guy. The kids love him. My youngest daughter bugged me for a Domo doll for almost a week straight when we would go to the 7-11 each morning for coffee. I ended up getting her a clip on Domo that she proudly shows off to her friends.

Last night, I was at Target and my wife reminded me that I promised our baby a Domo. So I grabbed 2. lol One to clip on his diaper bag and the other for him to carry around with him. Almost as soon as I brought Domo home, my wife started laughing. She laughed at the fact that I said Domo would protect our little one while we slept. I propped him up on the rail of his bassinet and my wife nearly split her seams, she was laughing so hard. She said that it was funny to her how there is a little angel sleeping and then... there's Domo. lmao Check out the pic that I took.

Domo stands gallantly, warding off evil doers and bad dreams

This morning, I made sure that I put Domo in my baby's car seat so that he can play with him at grandma's house. I received a few picture messages from my wife displaying Domo and my son. lol Check put the one my wife sent.

"Oh no! Domo is gonna eat our baby!", the wife says. lmao

Oh man. It seemed like my wife was having more fun with Domo than our son. Then, she sends this.

"Domo is trying to eat him!", she says.

I say they were playing with each other. My wife claims it was proof of Domo trying to eat the baby. lol Oh man, it looks like my wife is having more fun with Domo right now. lol All is well, though. Before I went back to work, I glanced back and saw that Domo was right there, protecting our little one once again.
LMAO! Later!

Are Cartoons Getting too Sexy for Kids?

Hey there. I need to throw in my two cents on this topic. I believe that a child should be a child and spend their youth being a kid. Chores, play, games, school, cartoons, you know, the normal kid stuff. But recently, I've seen a trend come to pass that I am not pleased with and it seems that it is aimed at the young ladies of this world. I am talking about "sexy" and inappropriate images in cartoons and cartoon products. Here are some of those items that have cause for concern.

ANYTHING BRATZ

I am not a fan of Bratz. I think they take this movement waaaaaay overboard. Our first encounter with these dolls happened back when our oldest daughter received a "Baby Bratz" as a gift. Nothing wrong with a little having a baby, right? WRONG! The baby was wearing a thong. A THONG! I don't see how this can be interpreted as cute or anything of the like. A baby should be in diapers, or some kind of baby outfit. Not in a mini skirt, a tank top, and a thong. Since then, we have pretty much removed most Bratz items from the house. I don't like what they stand for either. Our daughter was young when she received that doll and recently she asked that we rent a Bratz movie to watch. It was animated and considering that she was older, we felt that we would check it out before letting her see it. My goodness, they were all airheads, they cared nothing but their appearance and boys, and spent their free time singing and shopping. Kids are pretty impressionable at this age and I don't like these figures. Needless to say, that was that for Bratz.

Dora the Explorer



















The direction that Dora is heading is more of a disappointment more than anything else. The idea for Dora was a great one. A child goes off in adventures with her monkey Boots all the while, teaching kids a few Spanish words. My youngest daughter loves it. I liked that she picked up some Spanish. Even though we are of Spanish heritage, we just don't speak it at home so it was nice that she would learn a thing or two from Dora and her grandparents. Recently, Dora has gotten a makeover. A more older Dora, whose hair magically changed color, wearing leggings, and lipstick. Is Dora trying to become the latest Bratz? If this is supposed to be a tween Dora, I don't like the fact that she has on lipstick. I doubt Dora will be going on adventures in heels and lipstick... unless she's going on mall expeditions from now on.

Rainbow Brite

This is the latest to get the makeover. Though I was not a huge fan of Rainbow Brite as a kid, I know the cartoon from my youth. Rainbow Brite and the Star Kids (I think) were kids who went on missions to restore color to the world, or something to that effect. Check out the before pic of Rainbow Brite and her crew.

Now here is the "updated" Rainbow Brite.
You see why I have a problem with this? What's wrong with kids that look like kids? Why the longer legs? Why the drastic change in appearance? The only thing that looks somewhat the same are the little things with fur. But other than that, I don't like this modernization of old school cartoons. I don't want my girls to get the image that they need to look like that to be considered good. I even like the fact that the original green one has a band aid on. It shows that they're kids and are prone to bump, trip, and fall over things. I doubt that any of the new Rainbow Brite cast will sport a band aid, let alone look like they want to get dirty.

I just don't like the makeovers. I don't like that they shows are trying to convey that young girls need to look a certain way. I feel as if they get enough pressure as it is being a kid, going to school and worrying about homework. The last thing that should be on a child's mind is their appearance and TV is certainly not helping. Later.

Auto Insurance Quotes Made Easier with PremiumAutoInsurance.Net

Hey there friends. As many of you know, our baby boy was born last week. We are thrilled that our family is growing. Too bad that our car does not grow with our family. We currently own a 4 door sedan. It's perfect for a family of 5. We are now a family of 6 and we need more space in our vehicle. Well, good news came about earlier today. We may very well be the proud owners of a 2006 Kia Sedona. Our car will be ready for pick up by mid next week. Now, I'm on a mission to find the lowest auto insurance that I can. Good thing that
PremiumAutoInsurance.net is around to make that search a whole lot easier.

Just by entering your zip code, a list of auto insurance providers in your area come up. Big names like All State, Geico, and E-surance too. I tried out a few to get an idea of how much I'll be paying in car insurance. I''ll check those out to see who fares best. Especially since they are Free Auto Insurance Quotes. You can never go wrong with free.

Geico:
All State:
E-Surance:
Interesting. E-Surance seems to give me the best quote. Especially since All State claims to be the best and Geico will save me "15% in 15 minutes". Thank you PremiumAutoInsurance.net. If you're in the market for auto insurance, or want to see if you can save a few bucks on your current policy, check out PremiumAutoInsurance.net and receive your free quotes. It doesn't hurt to check it out since they are free quotes. If they're not saving you money, you do not have to purchase. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. I'll be discussing these with my wife to see which is best for our family. Later!

A Stomach Bug Must be Going Around

Hey there. There's a stomach bug roaming around the Metallman household. A week or so ago, out little one threw up in the middle of the night. She got the stuff all over her bed and we ended up washing her sheets and covers to clean up the mess. As soon as she got better, my wife started to feel ill. She too ended up throwing up in the middle of the night and got over it in no more than a day. Now, our older daughter threw up in the middle of the night. The difference this time around is that she has a fever. She told me that she threw up in the middle of the night, but she said so nonchalantly that I didn't think to check her temperature to assure that she was well enough for school. She was up and about like any other day. No signs of sickness at all. I sent her to school and before we know it, I get a call from her grandma that the school sent her home. high fever and all. I didn't send her to school this morning. She is here at home, with me, my wife and the baby.

Our concern at the moment is that this is bug seems to be contagious. I don't get sick very often so I don't think I'll get it and our boy isn't showing any signs of picking it up. Considering that the baby is a week or so old, we're trying to keep the germs away from him so that he doesn't pick up this bug. Especially since he doesn't have anywhere near the immune system that everyone else has. I talked to our daughter about sicknesses being contagious and why it's important to sneeze into her elbow and why she needs to use sanitizer and try not to get to close to the baby when she's sick. She understood and is currently sitting in her room playing some Nintendo DS game. Something about being a vet. I'm sure that if she feels better, she'll want to play Guitar Hero or Rock Band.

She just walked into the living room and sat next to me. I'm sure she's feeling a little lonely since her siblings are not here to keep her company. I'll catch you guys later. Later.

Rock-A-Bye Baby Music is Just What I Needed

Hey there. Have you heard of the Rock-A-Bye lullaby music? Oh man, it's great. I am a fan of classical music and when I first heard the Rock-A-Bye music, I just needed to have it. It's lullaby renditions of some of the top rock artists' music. They have albums for No Doubt, Green Day, Led Zepplin, Tool, The Ramones, Metallica and many, many more. We bought a few of the songs for the baby not too long ago and we finally put them to use last night. Paint It Black (The Rolling Stones), Hotel California (The Eagles), Schism (Tool), were just a few of the songs that we purchased. The little one loved them. He listened to them for a bit, taking in the melodies, before he started to drift off. We don't have the Metallica rendition yet. I wanted to have the actual album opposed to buying the songs online. I'm ordering it right now! Check out the selection of Rock-A-Bye Baby music here. There is something for every one. Whether it be classic tunes or more modern rock acts. Rock-A-Bye baby will have your taste. Later!

Baby Metallman is Here

Hey there friends. First off, I want to thank all of you that wished us well and provided congratulations when our little one was born earlier this week. The congrats came from far and wide and my family and I want to express our appreciation to you all.

It all started at approx. 4 AM Tuesday morning. My wife got up feeling some pain and noticed that they were contractions. She decided that she wanted to time them for an hour or so to see how long apart the contractions are hitting. Once my wife realized that they were hitting at about 8 or 7 mins apart, we decided to go to hospital. My wife wanted to take a bath, since they help soothe the pain. When all was said and done, we left the house a little after 6 AM and off to my mother in law's we go. We didn't want the kids to miss school so we left them at my mother in law's while my brother in law and her came with us to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital a little after 7:15 AM. My wife was already in great pain and holding tightly during each contraction, which seemed to be more frequent than earlier in the morning. She gets checked in and the nurses check her progress. She's 10 CMs dilated. Whoa! Before we know it, my wife is in the delivery room and her doc is not there. Doctor Bohn, Hill, and Park were all called to advise that my wife was ready to deliver. They each were about 45 mins away. Our son wasn't going to wait for the doctor. He was ready to come out and he was ready to come out NOW! A doctor then comes in and checks my wife. The baby is ready to come out. He breaks the sac containing the amniotic fluid and 2 contractions later, my son was born. Time? 8:16 AM. We were not at the hospital for more than an hour before our son was born. The nurses, and Doctor Bohn later, all said that it was an extremely fast delivery.

My mother soon arrived, as did a few of my aunts. They all commented on how speedy the delivery was. All the while, I was able to post a few pics on Twitter and do a really quick mobile post to announce the news. After I received what seemed to be a million texts and Emails, my phone died on me and guess what... We didn't pack a charger. Yup, for a good 24 hours or so, we had no text or Email access. I didn't realize how much I rely on it until it was taken away from me. I couldn't contact my mother or mother in law to give updates, I couldn't text my wife when I stepped outside to grab a cup of coffee and I couldn't let people know what room we were in or when visiting hours were over.

Dr. Bohn came in the following morning to check up on my wife. Once she made it perfectly clear that there should be no sex for 6 weeks, lol, she gave my wife the OK to go home. We then asked for a pic with our little one. Check it out.

Dr. Bohn rocking a cool T-Shirt while holding our little one.

We are now at home, adjusting to life to our little one. We prepared as best we can but there is no substitute for actual baby in the home. Our first night was pretty much a constant watch of the little one. We heard a noise in his bassinet and we both got up to check it out. After a few times of getting up, my wife and I alternated getting up to change or feed him. We were both up anyways and I'm sure that she's feeling just as tired as I am since we both didn't have in sleep last night.

We are about to venture into night 2. Our little one is currently sleeping on the bed, I'll be putting him into his bassinet soon. It's almost time for bed and since our son was up for part of the evening, we're hoping that we'll get a little more sleep this night around. And my wife and I wouldn't want it any other way. Later.

Metallman getting ready to cut the cord.

My wife (Brokendoll) and my lil one.

My phone is dead, but that's not stopping my babe texting away.

Me and my little one.

...And Pre-Labor Begins

Hey there. I just received word from my wife that she's experiencing contractions. Today could be the day, and if it's not, our son will definitely be here by the end of the week. She started to feel them when we got up this morning but paid no mind to them since she knows she needs to experience contractions within 10 minute intervals. She's started to time them and sees that she's experiencing them closer to 30 minutes apart. Still no need to rush to the hospital, but we're definitely entering the labor stage of our pregnancy.

We were hoping for an Oct. 7th birthday. That's my dad's birthday and it would have been if my son would have been able to share his birthday with my father. Our older son honors my father by bearing his name so it would have been perfect if our little one would be able to honor him by sharing a birthday. Considering that contractions are 30 mins apart, it may still happen. Nevertheless, if he comes out completely healthy, we'll be just as thrilled.

Hopefully, it's not these Braxton Hicks contractions (or fake ones, as my wife likes to call them) that's fooling us into thinking that it may be today. From what my wife says, they could be fake ones that are just getting her ready for the real contractions. Either way, I think our little will be here soon! I'll keep you guys updated. Later!

We Are Now Considered Full Term

Hey there. We have entered our 37th week of pregnancy. That means that if baby decided to pop out today, all should be good. We had a little scare a few weeks ago when the doctor put my wife on bed rest, but that only lasted for a week. What my wife got off of that is 1 week of bed rest and getting out of work more than 2 weeks earlier than she would have liked.

She's not liking this staying at home business. Actually, she's not staying at home. She's staying at her mom's house. I don't want her to be by herself in case the baby decides he wants to be born, I'll be able to get to her quickly. She wanted to stay home, by herself, which is over 15 miles away and I need to get on the freeway to get there. On top of that, it's driving AWAY from the hospital where her doctor is going to deliver her. I'm just not very keen on the idea of her being farther away from me than she needs to be. I don't want to be stuck in a traffic jam and not be able to get to her quickly if she were to go into labor and she's at home. I just don't like that idea.

So she's at her mom's place and she's expressed to me that she's extremely bored there. I told her to take some books, magazines, or even Guitar Hero to keep herself entertained. Our due date is 3 weeks away, but baby can be here any day now. Just a little bit longer, babe. Just a little bit longer. Later.

And That Makes 4

Hey there. Just got back from a baby shower that my mother threw for us. That brings the total to 4 baby showers! We still have the stuff in the car. We'll go get to it tomorrow. Right now, we're just going to sit back and chill in bed. I don't feel like doing any online work tonight. I'll just catch up on all of today's NFL action. Later.

Operation: Baby Furniture

hey there. Operation baby furniture is now complete. This weekend, my mother got us a crib. We were glad that we got it since we've been wanting to put it up so that we can gauge how the room is going to look now that the baby will be staying in the same room as our son. When I opened the box, the crib was broken. I could not believe it. I sent a text to my mother that night to let her know that it was busted. She came to pick it up a few days later and I finally got it in the room. The changer, crib, dresser and all kinds of stuff are now in place. All we need now is the baby. =oD We can't wait! Later.

Breakfast, Car and the Hospital

Hey there. What a day. I decided last night that I would treat the family to breakfast this morning. Yesterday, while I was at work, my wife was enjoying breakfast at IHOP. I wanted IHOP! lol I think it was more me not wanting to be at work. lol Anyways, we got up this morning having most of our planned out.

We left this morning for breakfast at around 9 to 9:30. We went to Norms for breakfast. We had ourselves a lot of food. We all had pancakes and steak and what not. We didn't finish it but while we sat there we decided that we needed to go to the hospital to register. It helps to register early so that when it's baby time, the hospital will have all your info and you're streamlined into a room. I told my wife that I wanted to get everything done today so that I could watch football tomorrow uninterrupted. We agreed and the next stop was the bank.

We need a bigger vehicle. Our Mazda Protege does not accommodate more than 5 people and once the baby is here, we'll be a family of 6. There is a friend of the family that fixes cars for a living. The guy is straight up with us and tell you exactly how it is. You pretty much tell him the model of car you want, he'll go out and bid on one for you, he'll fix it up, and then you pick it up. My wife's family has bought 3 cars from him, including the one we drive now so we have the utmost confidence that he will be able to get us a reliable vehicle.

So after getting the money we were off to drop off our deposit. Then we realize... Our registration papers are at my mother in laws house so we have to go and pick them up. So off we go to go and get them. Naturally, it was out of our way. lol Once we pick them up, we get some directions from my brother in law and off we go to drop off our deposit. The ride over there sucked. Living in LA, I'm used to being able to reach my destination via freeway. Well, we couldn't reach him via freeway so we driving through the streets for most of the way. Stop and go traffic is frustrating. So we finally get there and I tell the guy what we're interested. We'll looking for a Mazda MPV. Mazda's are reliable. I have not had one person say that they are not happy with their Mazda. So once we give him the scoop, I get my receipt and off we go to the hospital.

Just my luck, my boy decided to tell me about some cool thing he read in his Game Informer magazine and I ended up taking the wrong exit and drove a few miles in the wrong direction. After getting off the freeway and going back towards downtown Los Angeles, we finally make it to the hospital. We grab our forms and into the hospital we go. We tell the security that we're here to register and guess what he says. Guess....

"Sorry. Admissions is closed today."

UGH!!!! All that driving and we can't even register?! My wife showed the security that the admission form that she filled out clearly state that admissions is closed at 8:30 PM. The guy says that admissions is closed at 12:30 PM on Saturdays and it being close to 3:00 PM, then points to the admission desk and shows that there's no one there. My wife and I were upset. We walked out in disgust and head towards to the car.

We jump back on the freeway and head towards Babies R Us. I promised my wife that we would purchase the crib bedding. Once at the store, we browse around and end up with more than the bedding. We got a sheet and a mobile as well at this really cool emergency kit with medicine. Afterwards, we finally headed for home. We must have gotten there at around 4:30 ish. That is approx. 7 hours away from home and a good chunk of that was spent driving. Needless to say, we are tired.

My mother sent me a text saying that she MAY stop by tomorrow with a crib so that we can have it set up. Baby may coming soon and that's the last piece of furniture that we need. Hopefully, she'll show up tomorrow and get that set up. Until then, later.

Laid Back Labor Day

Hey there. Labor Day really hit home today. We didn't do much of anything. lol Which is pretty good. My wife, being on bed rest, can't do much to begin with so a day where we could just relax at home was very well needed. My wife is sill bored out of her mind, but we managed to have a few laughs today and I lifted her spirits with a surprise bouquet of roses. I need to get to her some magazines and a book or two. I just asked her about which book she would like to read and she mentioned some Tori Spelling book about her pregnancy. I'm going to look for that book so that I can get it for her.

We also talked about some baby names that we have considered. It's not set in stone yet but the front runner is Alexander James. My wife says that we would be able to call him AJ. She would like that the baby have a "cute" nickname for when they are young but then shed that nickname when they are older.

It's Labor Day and my wife is not in labor yet. lol Baby could be here any day, but I'm pretty sure that he's not going to come for another few weeks. Once baby starts to show signs that he's coming, I'll let you guys know. Later.