Day 24: Oil Change

Lucy and I went to get an oil change at Sears at the Collin Creek Mall.  We take the car there so we can walk around while they're working on the car.  We dropped it off and then went through the mall.  I stopped by JC Penney to look because I thought they were having a sale.  Not really, everything was still expensive.  If I see sale, I want stuff for like 10 bucks.  Anyways, we then went down to the playground in the mall.  There were 4 pregnant women and then a hispanic couple and then me.  One of the ladies goes to the Plano Library story time, but I don't know her name or really know her so I didn't say hi or anything.  It was kind of awkward for me the whole time, we do know who each other are, so I just didn't look in that direction the whole time.  I'm an awkward individual for sure.  We then went up to Chic-Fil-A in the food court.  We were eating and I noticed this lady who was probably 40 or so in a pink cowboy hat, short shorts, and a denim vest.  She kept looking around like she was waiting for someone.  I think she had some special ed in her, not sure another way to put it.  She wasn't all there, especially by her getup.  I was wondering who she was waiting for.  Then I saw a group of guys who all had some mental retardation, for lack of a better phrase.  It was cool to see them all hanging out though, like a group of buddies.  It was an odd group though, and I was wondering if that was the group she was waiting for.  She left and I know she didn't go with them.  Then Lucy was trying to drink her lemonade and she put her fingers through the styrofoam cup.  Lemonade went everywhere, I don't know how she did it.  She actually ate pretty decent while we were there.  After lunch, we went and got her some pajamas and Sofia the First hair clips.  We picked up the car and got a discount since I knew the girl checking me out. 

We came home and Lucy fell a sleep about 15 minutes away from home and so I went to put her in bed and she started crying and wouldn't go back to sleep.  I let her get up and we went to Wal-Mart to get some training panties, and that was cool.  We came home and watched 101 Dalmatians, I was really to pass out.  Serena came home early and it was all good!

Day 23: Missed Appointment

I woke up and got Lucy ready for day care.  I then made a pot of coffee and had a couple of cups while reading my new book, "The Law of Second Chances" by James Sheehan.  It has been, umm, ok.  I'm not doing very good on selecting new books recently.  It has 3 different story lines, some that I'm more into than others.  I have no idea how they're going to tie them all together, but they better!  I went to get Lucy's medication this morning from CVS and the pharmacist said, "are you aware of the price of the Nasonex?"  I told her no, and she told me a number above $100.  I said, "keep it" and then I called my beautiful wife and she was baffled.  I called the doctor and then sent in a new prescription which I'll pick up on my way to tutoring.  It should be a lot less... should be is the key phrase.  I then went to Mardel's to get tutoring supplies for my new student.  I hope it goes well, it sounds like he just needs some help with confidence.  As long as he works with me, he'll be a ok pal!  I was reading my book when the phone rang.  It was a Wylie number, so I picked up hoping it was a tutoring request from the neighborhood.  It was the eye doctor asking me if I was coming to my appointment!  oops!    I told them I'd need to reschedule because I wasn't going to rush out of the house to get my eyes checked out. My belly started hurting, since I ate a Totinos and some leftovers, so I took a bath.  I was sweating!  I did feel better but I hate that feeling you get after a bath where you are still over heated and then your body has to come down. I'm now waiting for 4:20 to roll around so I can go to tutoring.  I wish it was after dinner time because then I'd stop off at Sonic on the way home and get us some ice cream!  Oh well, maybe I still will, probably not though.  Once I get home, I like to stay home.

Day 22: Blue Goose VIP

We had a pretty eventful day today.  First, Lucy handed me Lion King so I put it in.  I started crying as soon as the "Circle of Life" song came on.  That's the first 5 seconds mind you.  All of the animals are strolling in to see the new baby, maybe it makes me emotional because I love my baby so much or because we have another on the way.  I don't know, but I cried a few times during the movie.  Not like tears streaming down my face, but my eyes would get watering and I'd choke up if I tried to tell Lucy to watch it.  I guess it didn't affect her like it affected me.  After that, I took a shower and then we went to the library for story time.  We checked out some movies and books and Lucy had a good time.  She has gotten more interactive each time we have gone.  We'll need to do this every summer because it really is a good time.  We came home and got some Wendy's.  I then tried to get Lucy to take a nap, because we had a ear appointment at 2:30.  She didn't fall a sleep, but did as we went to the ear doctor.  At the ear doctor, we realized that she has mild hearing loss.  We're taking some allergy medicine in hopes that will clear up some congestion that might be causing it.  Poor girl, it's affecting her speech, but we'll get it worked out.  Her tonsils are also really large, the third time we have heard that.  I'm afraid that she is going to need those to come out sooner than later.  I'm just hoping it's before the baby, because Lucy is going to be a baby again when those suckers come out.  At least her and Mommy can eat ice cream together.  The doctor said that might be the reason she doesn't eat very good.  If she'd try more stuff, then I'd buy that explanation.  It's a wait and see type of thing.  Serena came home and we got to go to the McKinney Blue Goose for their VIP dinner, because it doesn't open until Wednesday.  It was delicious stuff.  That was our day, it had it's up and downs but I'll keep you updated on her hearing.

Day 21: Not a Whole Lot Going ON

Well, this is my first post in a while.  I really didn't do much today, with the exception of reading to really blog about.  I'm going to make some fun chicken chili recipe since it is under 90 degrees outside.  I can't wait to watch some of our shows tonight.  I think we have a Bar Rescue on tap for when Lucy goes to sleep.  I'll watch Siberia, since Serena is usually a sleep now by 9 o'clock.  She might surprise me though.  I can't believe that this weather is this great.  We might set a low for Texas.  Maybe global warming is a made up thing.  Or maybe this is a sign that it's a real thing?  I guess either side would argue their case on this one.  Those rising sea levels are one thing though.  I saw this website last week that showed pictures of California cities and what they would look like with different sea levels.  Pretty scary stuff, good thing we're pretty much safe in Texas.  At least where I am.  Good Day.

Update:  Here is the website, I love comments on news stories.  People are so cynical.   Sea Level

Day 20: Library

Lucy and I woke up and started to play.  We played a lot actually, and then we watched an episode of the Neverland Pirates.  After we watched that, we turned on the music channel and continued to play.  I took a shower and then got Lucy girl ready to go to the library.  We got there with about 10 minutes to spare, but Lucy had fallen a sleep on the way.  She was up almost til 9 the night before, playing in her room, but woke up earlier then normal.  We went  into the library to storytime, and the librarian knows Lucy's name.  We did story time, which is getting larger and larger each time.  Afterwards, I ask about getting a library card since I don't live in Plano anymore and they allowed me to!  So, we're members of the Plano system now, which means a greater selection of books and what not.  We got Lucy four books, just can't forget them or our fines will double in both locations, haha! 

Lucy would not stop crying on the way home, and I lost my cool a couple of times.  Anyways, we got home and I guess she was hungry.  I made a couple of mini pizzas and apple sauce.  We're currently watching an episode of Dora and then I'm going to put her down for her nap.  I think she'll fight it but then pass out for a while because she didn't get a ton of sleep last night.  The end.

Day 19: Nothing

I'm sorry, I forgot to blog about my Monday.  I pretty much did nothing all day except tutor 2 different kids.  I'm about halfway through Hell House now and Candy Crush Saga is still kicking my ass!

Day 18: Barkley's Haircut

I started off my day by taking Barkley to the vet and for a haircut.  When I got there, they said he was a large dog and not a medium dog.  He's only 40 pounds, but what do I know.  I left and went to work in the garden in the back, I started on it but it was kind of a bitch, so I left that for tomorrow morning.  I then mowed the front of the lawn since it was getting kind of hot and went inside.  I got a call from the vet saying he had an ear infection, so they added another 40 bucks to the visit.  I hung out and read and played some game called Candy Crush Saga, which definitely took too much of my time today.  I went and picked up Barkley and they told me that is ear medicine was another 40 bucks.  They tried to sell me heart worm medicine that was a 115 bucks, so I said no.  Then they offered one that was 50 bucks, I said no.  Then they tried to sell one that was 30 bucks, I said no again.  I know I can find a better offer. The total bill was like $240.  Yikes.  His haircut looks great though and he was happy to come home.  I vacuumed in the house and was wondering what I was going to eat for dinner when I remembered I was supposed to make dinner.  Oops!  It was going to be a good dinner too.  I'm now waiting to go tutor this little kid, hopefully he's not all drama again.  I swear, he would like reading if he would give it a try, I think he has a hard time though which frustrates him.  I get it, I get it.  This is the last post for the week since I'm on vacay with the wife and kid.

Day 17: To Fight For Sleep

Lucy and I hung out in bed for a little bit this morning, watching Mickey Mouse Fun House, and then we decided to get up.  I got her a pop tart while I made some coffee.  We colored and played for a while and then decided to go outside.  We weeded the garden together which was fun, I hope we can do for a while, because I need her extra set of hands.  She doesn't mind getting her hands dirty which is a good thing.  Some kids don't like that, weirdos!  We then went to Home Depot to shop for some stuff to make our garden get better!  I got a couple of concrete slabs to put underneath the garbage can in the front yard, make it look a little more classier plus it's not as gross.  We got a little tree for the garden too, Serena is going to be like, "What?!?" but we had to do it.  I put it on the Sear's card, I'm sorry but I love you.  We're trying to make the backyard look nice when people come over this weekend.  It's kind of our area to hang out now especially since Barkley will play fetch and there are no ant piles back there.  We came home and installed the blocks and the tree and then we went inside to hang out.  I made lunch (hot dogs and cheese puffs) and we ate together.  I think put Lucy down for a nap since her eyes were red and she looked tired.  She fought it for a while and then I let her watch Dora so I could try to put her down again.  She cried but then passed out.  I finished my book, Ghost Music, and now I'm waiting for her to wake up.  I'd like to try to go to the library if she wakes up any time soon, but I still need to take a shower which I'm waiting for her to wake up so she doesn't start crying and I'm no where to be found.  I need some new books to read, I'm fresh out and the books on the Wylie Library online system kind of blow.  The system is too hard to search for books.  I really enjoy reading a book with pages to tell you the truth, I don't think I'll grow out of that.  Love you Serena!

Day 16: A Turn to Good

I was supposed to tutor today, with my tutorette returning from vacation.  I pulled up to the house and I rang the door bell.  No answer, I checked around to make sure I was at the right house.  I knocked on the door. Still no answer, I was getting confused.  I called the mom and she immediately apologized, and said she had meant to call me on Sunday to cancel.  So, no tutoring this week, which I was going to do twice.  I'm not too upset about it, because now I can relax on Wednesday and mow the lawn.  It's a holiday week right?!  I then went to Hyundai to get a part replaced.  It was a hour long wait, with a freezer box as the waiting room.  After that, I went and got some Taco Bell which I ate while watching a MLS show I dvr'd.  It was ok, but the Taco Bell was delicious.  I then wrote my entry to HGTV Design Star.  I've been reading a new book, Ghost Music, which is kind of creepy.  I have to tutor tonight, which kind of sucks, but then i'll get to come home and cuddle with my adorable wife!  So long!

Day 15: Poop Everywhere

Well, I think you can guess what this post is about.  Lucy and I were having a pleasant morning, we coloring and I was loading some old CD's onto iTunes when I hear Lucy start crying, I look over and her diaper is on the floor.  I look in the diaper and it's filled with poo.  Her nightgown is around her so I know it probably has poo too.  We walk to her room and then I pick her up to clean her up, and I'm thinking, this isn't too bad, I don't see any poop on her bum.  Well, I clean off her bum when she starts whining and holds up her foot.  Apparently, she had stepped in her diaper so there is poo all over her foot.  I'm trying to clean in between the toes when I realize it's all down her thigh too.  I think I have everything cleaned up when I realize its on her hands too.  Oh man, it was something else.  I finally got her all cleaned up and we washed our hands and then I look down on my shirt and I realize there is poop on my shirt.  I took it off and started washing some clothes.  I went to help Lucy color when I realized there was a poopy footprint on the carpet next to her table.  So, there is literally poop everywhere and it isn't even nine yet.  I'll update this later if needed.

Day 14: A Torchy Taco

Lucy and I had a very busy day.  We woke up and hung out for a little bit, and then I decided I wanted to go to the park.  It was supposed to 100 degrees today, so I figured it'd be best to get outside early.  We went to the park and there was just a dad and his elementary-aged daughter.  Lucy wanted to go on the swing, so  I pushed her for a while on that.  Then we left, to go to Aldi, because I wanted to get a bean bag toss game for our backyard BBQ coming up.  When we got there, it was already sold out, so we left and went to the Aldi on K Ave. and Park.  We finally got there and found the bean bag game, which isn't fully what I expected, but it will do.  It will be something fun to have for Lucy and baby and I during the summers.  I can break it out whenever we have people over.  After Aldi, we went home so I could shower because we needed to go and pick up Mommy for lunch.  I forgot to add, which I could just add in above, but I'm too into this sentence, is that I dropped off my mouthwash from the dentist at CVS.  I rinsed my mouth with it earlier and then ate a piece of cheese, it was the weirdest taste I have ever experienced.  Not in a good way, it's like my mouth was numb or dull and then the cheese was just some thing I was eating.  Anyways, we went to get Mommy and we went to Torchy Tacos.  It was delicious.  I had the Redneck, Fried Avacado, and the Republican tacos.  I 've realized I have a eating problem that is starting to catch up to me.  I need to eat smaller portion sizes.  We dropped Mommy off and came home.  Then, later in the afternoon, we busted out the sprinkler ball, which is this big beach ball that connects to the hose and spits water out in different directions.  Lucy and I both love it, Barkley not too much.  He hates water.  We then waited for mommy, and had Papa Johns and I finished my final exam.  I'm going to read so many books now, you wait and see!

Day 13: Chinese Hair Cut

I woke up and finished "Under the Dome".  It ended well, and I recommend everyone should read it.  Well, if you think you can last the marathon of the book.  After I finished, I mowed the lawn and it was remarkably comfortable outside and I didn't break a huge sweat.  It was probably one of easiest mows of my Chestnut Hill life.  I came inside and started working on final exam for my law class.  It is going to take some work, but I guess that's what you pay for.  I also saw some interesting tidbits on the news. First, Aaron Hernandez was arrested, and very soon after, the Patriots released him.  I'll never understand stupid people.  Next, the Supreme Court ruled that California can have gay marriage.  I over heard a guy at the Chinese restaurant *spoiler alert* say the problem with their ruling is they didn't address if the marriage is legal if someone was to move to a different state.  I have no idea, but I guess it will all come out *pun* at some point.  I really am confused my all of these court rulings, it helps a little I just took a class on it, but it's confusing.  I would never want to be a lawyer or judge.  So, I went and got a haircut, and the lady cutting my hair was getting into it with one of her hairdressers.  The lady took 7 minutes cutting this guys hair and when he left, she started bitching at her. It was awkward for me so I just smiled and nodded.  I then gave her some advice for her incoming 3rd grader, just some things she should work on.  I didn't understand what she was really working on with him.  Oh well, at least she is trying, that's all that counts.  I then went next door and got some Pork Lo Mein.  I chose this over Taco Bell, and it was great choice.  I'm content right now.  Really content.

Day 12: It's just a Tuesday

Lucy and I hung out this morning, I turned off the TV and put some music on.  We colored and played with her babies.  I made her clean up her magnets after she threw them everywhere.  We're really trying hard to get her to pick stuff up, especially if she is going to try to move on to the next thing.  We then went to the library for story time, we were a couple minutes late and it was more packed than I have ever seen it.  I didn't want to be that person who was late coming in, but what are you going to do?  I hope it isn't going to be this packed each time we go!  One of the librarians there was at her last story time, I guess she is getting into the banking business.  I doubt they make a lot, so good for her I guess.  I think it would stink if you actually liked what you were doing.  Maybe she didn't have that desire

anymore.  So deep.  We went to Wendy's on the way home and I got the new pretzel burger.  It was actually incredibly delicious.  I think it had more to do with the honey mustard sauce that they put on it. The pretzel part was good too, but it was the pretzel that got me going.  We're currently watching Toy Story 2, Lucy seems really into it.  I think she is getting tired though.  On a final note, I got a response from Brooks Atwood!  If you don't know who Brooks is, then you need to be watching HGTV Design Star.  If you want to get a recap of what has happened so far, click this link.  That is the other blog that I have been working on with my little bro, QT.  It is actually doing alright for a start-up blog.  Quinn is good at getting people to repeat and retweet his tweets.  That's twitter talk for all of you non-twitter people.  ahem, Serena.  I think we need to get get Kidz Bop 24 for Lucy, she looks intrigued.  Oh man.  Here is the tweet.  Have a great day.

@GHB83 I know! We need to take control of this hashtag! Design is way more important! Ha! pic.twitter.com/xFDH19W8jr
— Brooks Atwood (@brooksatwood) June 25, 2013

By the way, this was a response to the hashtag, #teambrooks, when you click on it on twitter, it is also a hashtag for some douche on The Bacherlotte.  I don't support that show.  I don't know how to spell that word.

Day 11: Appointment Day

Welp, I have contacts now, sorta.  I have a trial pair, for about two weeks.  If they're good, then I'll order a supply, it's going to cost us a little over 200 buckaroos.  I still need a new pair of glasses, so I'll figure that out too.  After my eye appointment, I had a dentist appointment.  I was fearing this, I needed a deep cleaning.  The last time I had a deep cleaning, my teeth hurt for weeks and I spent a considerable amount of time in the chair.  I went in there, paid my 116 I owed them and was seated right away.  I asked the lady how long it would take, 1 hour.  Well, I was done in like 45 minutes, it was relatively painless and they said I didn't need as much as originally expected and refunded me 45 dollars.  What kind of service is that?  I recommended them on our neighborhood Facebook page for their good work.  I need to go back in about a month for a follow up appointment and then hopefully I'll be on a 6 month schedule.  I plan on keeping this schedule too!  I came home, ate a Totinos, and then read a lot of "Under the Dome".  I will have it finished by the end of the week.  The show starts tonight, which I plan on watching!  I just returned from making copies for my tutoring gig I recently got.  I hope this kid isn't a pain the ass.  It only cost me 2.50 to make most of my copies for the next two days of tutoring.  I just hope I have enough stuff to keep him occupied for two hours.  I'm sure I will, with my other tutoring assignment, it flies by in a matter of no time.  I also have the book "Freckle Juice" by Judy Blume to kind of break of the monogamy of reading worksheets.  I hope his parents are cool.  Oh well, I guess I will read for a little bit more and than eat an early dinner.  Until next time, aloha.

Day 10: Prego

From my title, you might think i'm pregnant, that is not the case, it is the title of the restaurant we went to with Mommy.  It was mighty delicious.  I had lasagna, Serena had manicotti, and Lucy had the small pizza.  We all ate our meals and the atmosphere was splendid.  Before we went to lunch, Lucy and I just kind of hung out.  We made a couple of videos to the music of Gary Clark Jr.  Lucy fell a sleep on the way home from dropping off Serena and awoke when we got home.  I was hoping for her to sleep a little longer, but I found out that that is not the case.  I put her down in the room and then had her lay back down when she got up.  I left her for a little bit and then I heard some paper crinkling.  I didn't see her in her room until I looked to the right and saw that she had climbed up on her changing table and was playing with her wipes.  Good thing we tied that thing down!  We're currently watching the U-20 game between USA and Spain.  It is currently 4-0 Spain.  They're really in a class of their own.  I think we're either going to the library or run to Half Priced Books to see if I can get a couple of copies of the same book to have for my new tutoring gig.  I haven't decided yet, I just don't want to put Lucy in the car again so soon.  I guess that is it for this week, but I do know next week will be crazy because I will be tutoring 4 hours total with the same kid.  It should be an interesting experience for me.

Day 9: Headache Forming

I had big plans today for me and Lucy.  We were going to go to see the CritterMan at the Sachse Library. We left the house around 9:30, I think we were both starting to get a little stir crazy.  We went to Aldi, to get Lucy some wipes, and since we were there, I got some dried fruit and two packs of batteries too. After we left Aldi, we wandered across the street to go to Petsmart to look at some animals and take up some time.  Lucy had a good time looking at the birds and guinea pigs.  We knocked on the glass of the cats, but they were pretty boring.  I was hoping to see some kittens, I have kitten fever right now.  I don't know why, but I think it's a real thing.  We left to go the Sachse Library, which we took the long way to waste some more time.  On the way to the library, I handed Lucy the bag of dried fruit hoping that she would eat some of it.  It had dried bananas, raisins, cranberries, pineapple, that sort of stuff.  I think she ate a bite and then I saw her face light up when she realized she could dump the whole bag into her cup holder.  I said, "NOOOOO!" and then "G D'it!", you get it.  I grabbed the bag and some more flew up in the front of the car.  There is now some dried fruit in my backseat and in her carseat, I haven't had a chance to clean it up yet.

We get to the library and it's not open yet, so we sit in the car watching people pile up around the door. They finally let people in around 10:40, so Lucy and I go in and sit down on the hard tile floor.  It hurts the sides of my feet sitting on that floor indian style, but I guess you have to deal with it.  Lucy is doing pretty good of not getting restless.  She is sitting on my lap and we're kind of playing and people watching.  The animal show starts around 11:00 and Lucy is kind of into it.  If we hadn't been sitting there for an extra 20 minutes we might of been fine.  She starts standing up, which is fine, since she isn't taller than me when I'm sitting down.  The problems start when she starts laying out in front of me, kicking other kids on accident.  I pulled her up and then she did it again.  I told her to stop and sit.  She then did it again, and I threaten that we'd go.  This time, she stood up and patted the kids head in front of me, an African-American child, which, I'd be curious to do as well, but I know better.  I took her by the hand and we started walking out.  She realized what was happening and sprawled out on the floor.  I caught the eye of one person and she kind of had a horrified look.  I was thinking, "I'm one of those parents now."  I had to teach her a lesson, to listen to me, right?  Anyways, I'm carrying her out to the car and she is sobbing and then I put her in her carseat and she's stiffening up and trying to get as straight as possible so I can't buckle her in.  She is crying and I"m about to lose it, but I got her buckled in and called Serena.  That calmed me down a bit, but she cried for another 5 minutes or so.  I can only hope that she learned a lesson today and will change the result next time.

The final straw, all of this before nap time, is when I make her a PB & J, which she won't touch.  I also gave her a Capri-Sun, since she seems to like them.  She was playing with the Capri-Sun the whole time and drinking it and pulling the straw out and things like that.  I put my plate into the dishwasher and start it and when I turned around, Lucy was squeezing the Capri-Sun so juice is spraying all over her shirt and the table.  I grabbed it and threw it away.  I then started cleaning up the mess and she thought it'd be a good idea to clean it up with her sandwich.  She's hilarious!  We're going to do her bubble machine this afternoon, hopefully that will go alright and won't end up with her spilling her tub of bubbles everywhere, which she likes to do now!  Kids are fun, huh?

Day 8: All on my lonesome

I had a dentist appointment today.  It went better than expected.  I will need to go back next Monday for a deep cleaning, I knew this was going to happen, but it's not going to cost me an arm and a leg.  When I came home, I mowed the lawn, which around 10:30-11:00, was pretty crappy.  I was sweating and had to take some breaks.  I guess most people sweat while mowing the lawn, but sweat was dripping off my hat.  That's pretty bad I guess.  I then planned on taking a shower and going to get my car done but then I saw that "The Fugitive" was on TV.  I love that movie.  I think the 90's were the golden age of movies.  Someone try to tell me that those movies weren't good.  Make an argument, I dare you!  You would have to read this of course.  I"m going to take a shower when "The Fugitve" is over and then I will go to get my car taken care.  We're having southwest chicken fried rice tonight, i hope it's delicious.  Hi Serena ;)

The Fugitive

I watched a couple of soccer games this afternoon.  Brazil vs. Mexico, which Brazil won 2-0.  When I was growing up, I use to know half of the Brazilians on the Brazil National Team.  They were so fun to watch and everyone wanted to be them in our backyard World Cup games.  I only know of a couple of them now, and they're not as fun to watch.  I might change my opinion come World Cup time, but definitely no Ronaldo's on this team.  Well, Neymar might be pretty special, but you get it.  The second game was Japan vs. Italy.  Japan should of won that game.  I was surprised, Japan looked like the world class squad whereas Italy looked like they didn't belong.  I'll add more later, Lucy and I are eating ice cream.

Day 7: Library

Lucy and I started off our day as usual, watching a little Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and reading some books.  We then listened to the iPod, Gary Clark Jr.  I'm not sure if Lucy was as into it as she was into Alabama Shakes.  After a while, I took a shower and we got ready to go to the Plano Library for story time.  We got there a little early and went to the children's section to solve some puzzles.  Lucy has gotten really good at solving those puzzles.  We did a shape one, a farm one, and a transportation one.  When we were done with those, we went to the story room for story time.  Lucy sat on the floor instead of my lap this time.  Progress!  She didn't sing any songs but did sway a little bit to the songs she knew.  She was excited for the book, "The Seals on the Bus" because they had puppets for each of the animals in the story.  At the end of story time, she got up and played on the felt board.  She also fed the puppet dog shapes, a lot of them.  The librarian said she was a lot more interactive this time.  I'm glad they noticed. :)  After we left there, we went back to the children's part of the library.  Lucy was playing with a dinosaur puppet and climbed on some horse figure.  She was having a good time, almost threw a tantrum though when another girl got on the horse.  We left without too much of a hassle and Lucy fell a sleep on the way home.  She probably took an hour nap.  We're eating lunch right now, she is nibbling at her mac -n- cheese and tropical fruit.  She isn't the best eater!  We will probably just hang out the rest of the afternoon before we meet Mommy so I can go to class.  Barney is about to come on and then I think I'll turn the TV off for the rest of the day.

We ended up going to the park since it was only 77 degrees out.  You're not going to get that in Texas very often.  I think it is because it rained this morning and the clouds are still hanging out.  Lucy had a good time at the park, we went down the slide and we went on the swing, forreeeevvveeerrr.  She loves going on there but also doesn't.  You'd have to see her out there to see what I mean.  I got her to leave by asking if she wanted ice cream.  I don't think she would of held it against me but we went to Sonic where I also got something to eat for dinner.  She was a mess trying to eat the ice cream but it was a good end to the day.  She is such a sweetheart to hang out with.

Gary Clark Jr.-Bright Lights

This is going to be the summer I rediscover my musical roots.  I used to be pretty good at finding people to listen to, but I've gotten away from that.  This is my newest discovery, although many have already probably discovered him.  He's from Austin and he has a bluesy feel.  Pretty sweet!

Alabama Shakes - Hold On (Official Video)

I just love this band and song so much.  Lucy digs them too.

Day 6: Verizon

My day was event filled, but probably boring to read!  With that being said, read what I did all day!  I woke up and finished a paper for my Masters course.  I then started on my other blog HGTV Design Star, which I would finish later in the day.  I took a shower and went to tutor the girl I'm working with this summer.  After I tutored, I went to Verizon to get a digital adapter so I could finally fulfill Serena's 7 year dream.  She has always wanted a TV for when she is working out. First I got her one for the elliptical, that we got rid of it a few years back.  We took that TV and put it in our bedroom.  We have had this treadmill sitting in our office since before Lucy was born, and it is hard to get on there just with music.  Well, we have a TV and stations to watch as we run/walk, mainly walk right now.  I'm so out of shape, but that's a different story.  Any who, I went to Taco Bell and ate that and put together the TV and what not.  I had to get it activated, which I did through the online help on Verizon.  I finished my other paper for my Masters class and then I worked out.  It was exhausting, but I went on there for 30 minutes, at a 4.  I'm not sure what that is, but I didn't need to run but I had to walk fast.  The incline kept going up, then it'd go all the way down, then it'd go back up.  I was sweating.  That's a good sign right?  I went to Wal-Mart too, but who cares about that?

On a fun note, Quinn, my brother, tweeted out our blog to David Bromstad, the Design Star host and former winner.  He tweeted back.

@realiTVrecap spot on my friend!
— david bromstad (@bromco) June 17, 2013

How cool is that?  Pretty dang cool if you ask me.  I have the one retweet if you were wondering.

Day 5: Wylie Summer Reading Fair

Lucy and I woke up too early this morning, 6ish.  She played around and I made coffee, needing the extra juice to get started.  After we had coffee and breakfast, I took a shower and then got Lucy ready to go to the Wylie Summer Reading Kick-off Event, held at the library.  It was outside, so we put on lots of sunscreen and put on her adorable hat.  We got there around 9:10 and the place was already packed.  I mainly wanted to go to take Lucy to see the petting zoo, since she loves animals.  When we passed through the entrance, we ran into the clown, and Lucy immediately climbed up me to get away from him.  Thank God that she already has that sense to be scared of the those creepy guys.  We went to go pet the animals and the line was about 30 feet long.  I stood for a couple minutes in it, but it hardly moved and Lucy got bored.  We went inside where we saw Abby, a beautiful collie, who kids read to.  Lucy kind of touched Abby but she was more enamored with Clifford.  She wouldn't go near Clifford but she kept calling his name and waving at him.  When I realized she wouldn't be taking a picture with Clifford, I took her to the book fair and we bought a few books.  "Gilbert Goldfish Wants a Pet", "Z is for Moose", and "How do you hug a porcupine?"  We went outside after that for round 2.

The line was still too long, so I decided we'd go home.  As we were walking to the car, Lucy started balling so we went back in and she actually wanted to watch the clown.  We watched him for a little bit but she got bored, so we went and stood in line.  It wasn't too long and we got in there in about 10 minutes.  The last 5 when we were right next to the gate, and people were leaving, but they weren't letting people in.  It was kind of frustrating because Lucy was ready to book it.  When we went in, Lucy pet a bunny and then she got to pet a little black piglet.  I pet a chicken, which was pretty awesome, since I've never done it.  Then , there was a big group of bunnies sleeping together, and panting, it was so hot, and Lucy pet them for a little bit.  We then saw the horses, which we couldn't really touch, and these ducks kept walking around us quacking.  It was kind of weird really.  Finally, Lucy got to pet the goats.  She was petting one and then bent over in the goat's face and said, "Hello Goat!"  I wouldn't of done it, but the goat didn't care.  The goat and Lucy were BFF's.  I took Lucy out after that and she cried again.  She cried some more when I took her to the car but she was looking hot and tired.  We went to eat lunch with Serena and LUcy passed out in under 5 minutes.

We went to Sweet Tomatoes again, which is so good.  It's healthy, but I eat too much of it every time, so I think it kind of kills the healthy part.  We went to Home Depot after that, got some ant killing supplies and some drill bits to hang Serena's workout TV.  Now I'm at home exhausted, wondering if I should try to have Lucy nap one more time since she napped way too early.  I could use the break.  Signing off for the week!

Day 4: Sachse Library

Lucy and I woke up around the same time, I think.  It was too early, but that happens sometimes.  I made some coffee and we watch some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  I was looking at some maid services for our house when it struck me that I have time to clean.  I steam mopped our kitchen floor and then went to town on our bathroom.  Our sinks were gross, mine with hair, Serena's with God knows what! Anyway, I got the dust off the counters, put a bunch of junk in the cabinets and wiped down everything.  The mirrors were Windex'd and the sinks look awesome now.  I think Serena will be pleasantly surprised when she finds it.  Except for me moving all of her stuff down below.  Oh well, it's for the better good.  We need to do a better job of maintaining, and then it won't be such an ordeal to clean.

After we cleaned, it was time to get ready to go to the Sachse Library for their storyteller time.  I've never been to this library, since we live in Wylie, but it looks nice from the outside.  When we went in, there were a lot of kids, but we were still able to get towards the front.  Lucy got bored after sitting for 5 minutes, so we went to read some books and found that they had some cool toys to play with.  They had this big castle, a puppet area, a coloring station, and then a decent book selection.  Lucy was playing with some of the toys when I realized she pooped. I was smelling her butt and she said, "no Dada."  I guess it's not cool to smell your daughters butt when she has a little kid playing with her.  I took her out to the car to change her diaper before the big show.  When we got back inside, the guy wasn't out yet, so we went to the back of the room since it had filled in quite a bit.  The librarians were reading some books to the kids when they announced that the guy wasn't coming.  I was disappointed, I'm sure a few of the parents were.  I'm trying to be better this summer of having some interactive stuff for Lucy to go to so she doesn't get too bored.  I was looking forward to it.  Oh well, we'll go to the animal guy next week.  Lucy didn't want to listen to the librarians read so we went back to the children's section and she read some books and played in the castle with some other girls.  It was cute to watch.  When we left, we went to McDonald's and ate on the couch watching Peter Pan.  I don't think I've seen the animated one before, only that live version.  She is currently in her room fighting off nap time.  She can fight it for a while, but eventually I will win out.  I always do.

Day 3: Mowing and Brisket

Well, my morning started off fine.  I woke up around 6:30 and went to start on the brisket.  I should of marinated it over night, but with class, I just forgot.  I was marinating it, a 6 pounder.  I usually only do a 4 pounder, but Serena was in charge of buying it.  I'm not going to complain about the size, more to eat!  It's amazing how big that brisket can get though.  I use this cookbook that my mom had, it is her sorority's cookbook but the brisket always turns out great.  You just rub some brown sugar, celery salt, onion salt (I use onion powder), liquid smoke, black pepper and let it marinate overnight.  The next day, you set the oven at 275 and let it cook for 4 hours with aluminum foil.  The last hour, you remove the foil and spread on the BBQ sauce of your choice.  It always melts away when you cut it.  You're welcome blog readers, if anyone ever reads this.  Lucy woke up when I was doing this so I got her some milk and she went and played with her bunny.  After I was finished, I got her dressed and took her to daycare.  I'm updating my IPOD right now and then I'm going to mow my weeds.  That's pretty much what grows out there, and they grow real quick.  I don't want to go out there and pull every single one.  At least they're not dandelions anymore, I did pretty good removing those.  The ant piles are ridiculous, so whenever I get around to calling the pest control company, hopefully they can help rid of that problem.  I have no idea what that is going to cost.  The main problem is that we have some sugar ants in the house.  I have no idea how they got in, but they have spread out throughout the house.  I've done everything I can do, so now its in the experts hands.  House problems.  Oh well, I guess this is it for now.  I'm going to take a nap later, because I can.  I love naps.

Oh, that nap was decent, not the best nap of my life.  By the time I woke up, it was almost time to spread the BBQ sauce on the brisket.  After I spread it, I ran to HOme Depot to find some screws to help mount our little TV.  I still haven't figured it out yet, I am terrible at stuff like that.  I also got some peaches, Newcastle, and Mac and Cheese.  The dinner turned out pretty good and then the wife, Lucy, and I hung out and played with play-doh and what not.  A pretty good day overall, still looking for some more tutoring work!

Day 2: Poop!

I woke up with Lu and we watched some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  She loves Minnie Mouse but didn't seem too excited to see her on TV.  We played some princess time with play-doh and then I decided to go outside with Lucy.  We watered the plants but then Lu sprayed herself with the hose.  She got distracted with my BBQ scrubber.  She was content with that so I watered the rest of my plants, mainly my weeds and the watermelon plants that are going better than expected.  I expected I was going to be able to pull some of those weeds when I heard Lu scrub the sidewalk.  I went over to see what she was doing and Barkley had pooped on the sidewalk.  I looked over to him and he was doing his little dog laugh.  I sprayed the poop the best I could off of the sidewalk and took the scrubber away from Lu.  She started crying so we went inside and washed her hands.  Pretty gross, I need to throw out that scrubber before I forget and use it again!  SIKE, that thing is already gone.  Anyways, the lesson I learned was that if I see Barkley give a little poop in the grass, go and find where the rest of it is.

We went to the library today, in a neighboring city, and Lu acted very shy.  She gets real funny around new people, but I know that I'm still like that.  I guess it's innate.  She had fun putting the felt shapes on the felt board at the end of class.  Lu was definitely more behaved than some of those other kids.  She fell asleep on the way home, 11:30, so i thought she'd have an early nap.  She woke up at 12:00 when we got home.  I'm not sure what time I'm going to put her back down.  I have class at 5, so I"ll have to meet up with Serena around 4:30.  I feel as though I don't stimulate her enough, but we can't engage her all day can we?

Day 1: First Day of Summer

Well, I was actually kind of productive today.  Lu goes to daycare on Monday and Wednesday, so Serena took her in for me.  I slept in until about 7 o'clock.  That is when you know you have kids, when sleeping in is until 7 o'clock.  I guess, or you have kids and a job normally.  I will let you know later this summer what my sleep-in time goes to!  Or is it too?  Who cares, it's summer! No, no, grammar does matter, it doesn't matter what time of year it is.  Anyways, I slept in until 7 and made some coffee. I then sat down and wrote my blog for Quinn's blog, Reali-TV Recap, which was about the new season of HGTV's Design Star.  I got into HGTV again this weekend, and that show caught my attention.  I wrote the blog, ate a cereal bar, and then took a shower.

After my shower, I had my first tutoring gig of the summer.  I've never tutored on my own before, but it was pretty pain free and it was for decent money.  I then went up to school to collect all of our classroom pets, I say all of ours, but really it was my 3 pets and a teammates 1 pet.  I took them to the Outdoor Learning Center where they'll be taken care of until next school year.  They wanted to know if I wanted to keep the same toads, and I said yes!  We found one of them on our playground so he's kind of special to me.  Rick and Carl, what TV show did I get that from?  After I dropped the kids off, I went to Taco Bell for my first fast food of the summer.

I ate my Taco Bell and watched three episodes of Workaholics.  Man, life is easy as a teacher in the summer, but it will get boring so I need to enjoy days like today.  After I finished eating, I sat down and wrote my article review for my Master's class.  I don't have a printer at home, so I needed to finish it today so Serena could print it out at work.  How many people actually own a printer anymore?  We need to, and will have one, but not yet.  I vacuumed our family room after that and then steam cleaned it.  That water was so murky and gross, but our floors look better.  Amazing what a 2-year-old and a dog will do to your floor.  I'm sure Serena and I did nothing to it. :)

I appreciate days like today, but tomorrow will be completely different with Lu.  I think we're going to a library in one of the neighboring cities to get out of the house.  It's too hot to go outside and Serena wants to wait to use the pool for the first time until she is there with us.  No pool this week!  I'm now patiently waiting for my wife and kid to come home where it'll be tons of fun.  Maybe.  Until tomorrow, bye.