I swear, I just adore this kid...

Dear Jesus I hope you had an awesome valentine's day and i hope you had a great day too... ummm the end

Labels: Family Love, Jackie-boy

I know he's family, but damm he's cute. Welcome to the family, little buddy.

Labels: Family Love

I'll be in Atlanta this week kids, doing some shopping, going out to dinners, and maybe catching a pro sporting event or two. No...I'm not on vacation, I'm working. Really.Hard. I swear.

I'm spending this week at our industry's annual convention, talking to all of our vendors and buying lots of stuff for our business. It really is a lot of hard work, but the upside is that our vendors love to take take us out for dinner and drinks at the end of the day. That's the good part, the bad part is that I have to be here in the first place. I usually bitch and moan about having to go on this trip, but there is a small little part inside of me that loves the schmoozing that goes on.

It didn't help that I was totally unprepared for this trip, but it really didn't help that my little guy Josiah had a bit of hard time when it finally hit him that I would be gone for the whole week. Nothing makes it harder to go on a trip that you really don't want to go on than your little guy hanging on to you and *really* not wanting you to go. Granted, it was pretty early in the morning when I was getting ready to go, so I'm sure he was pretty tired. But I could see in his little eyes how much he just wanted me to stay there with him. *Sigh*

My boss and I decided to drive down instead of flying, which really works out for me, because not only do I have a slight weirdness about flying, I also get hyper-emotional when I fly. I start thinking of all the bad things that can happen, and eventually the only thought that is running through my head is that I won't see my family again... Cheery huh?

But on to better things... our week down here started out pretty good. We got tickets to the Hawks-Lakers game. Which was pretty random, because we were talking about maybe trying to go see the game and not five minutes later a scalper walks by with tickets for $25.00 a piece. What a bargain, I said. Watching Kobe Bryant play was maddening, mainly because I can't stand the guy, but I can't help but be impressed about his skills. After the game we headed to McCormick & Schmick's for a pretty awesome dinner.

So eventually we will work pretty hard (even though to the wife it sounds like all I do out here is play), but mainly I want this week to fly by so I can get home back to my family and to the neighborhood that I love.

Labels: Diary, Travel

"The reason that Dads shouldn't whine is because whether you're a dad or not a dad, your life stays basically the same. It's just a matter of increased responsibility. But once a woman has a baby, she's a mom, and the world demands a lot from moms. " - Neil Pollack

Ok... I get it. I'm sad to say it has taken me eight years of marriage to really get it, but I think I finally do. The wife and I have had the same argument for eight years now.. you know, I work so hard and I do this and you don't do this... I deserve a break because I've "worked" fifty hours this week. After so many of the same arguments, I see that I've been really whiny about this part of our relationship. And arrogant.

The wife usually raves about me because I do this amount of housework and take care of the kids this amount of time. I've let that get in my head. I think I do so much, but really, it doesn't come close to what she has done and continues to do on a daily basis. I realize that if I were to go tit for tat... I'll have nothing to stand on. That thought alone is pretty sobering.

Don't get me wrong... I'm not going to beat myself up. I think I'm a pretty good dad and partner. A pretty damm good one actually. But I don't want to be a whiner. When I read the above statement, It dawned on me that I really have no clue into the amount of work that moms do. And here I thought because I work full time and do some dishes every now and then that I should have some special exemption or something.

So we had the same argument a couple of days ago, not really because the wife wanted to, but because I pressed the issue. I'm not one for confrontation, but I felt like I had worked hard this week, I'd been watching the kids, I did the laundry... Man, did she clean my clock, and deservedly so. It finally dawned on me when she gently reminded me that it has been her that has done all of this for the past seven years, and although my recent contributions are very much welcome, she has been carrying the load for quite awhile. That's when it hit me and that stupid smile of recognition came across my face. I get it now. I think I really do.

Labels: Diary, My Life

Some snippets on the launch of WotBN.net

John Sarvay - "When whining makes a difference"
The 804 blog gives us the first round...
River City Rapids also give us the thumbs up...

And special thanks again to John for nudging us in the right direction. Also Ross for all the awesome design and coding!

Remember to keep checking in, we *LOVE* comments, and need tips, events, features, and questions to keep you guys informed about what is going on in our community. Send us your comments and questions to info@wotbn.net

Labels: Richmond, WotBN