Happy Happy Joy Joy

For some reason unbeknownst to me, Ethan woke up at 3:30 this morning. He has been eating a lot the last few days. Tiffany thinks he is going through a growth spurt. Who knows? The good news is that it is Friday. I have the next three days off, then I work three and have four more off. I think it is going to be a good week. I don't think I have talked much about food on this blog. Ethan has been eating cereal for about two months, and we have been feeding him some vegetables for about half of that time. All in all this seems to be going well. I told him that it was perfectly acceptable not to like sweet potatoes. Everyone knows they are nasty. At least the baby food version doesn't include marshmallows. I think his favorite vegetable so far is squash, and peas seem to be his least favorite. He isn't spitting anything out, but we have had some interesting looks with a few things. I don't think he will be a picky eater though. Maybe it's too early to tell. Everything at daycare seems to be going well. I think they like him better than all of the other kids, but I could just be reading into what they tell me. Sunday night we went to see Bowling for Soup here in town. They are one of the most fun bands to see live, and we always have a good time. Our good friends Erin and Josh kept Ethan for us. They said he was good, and I don't think they were even lying about it. I guess that pretty much brings us up to date. Depending on how things go around here, you may not hear from me again until after Christmas. If that's the case, everyone have a good holiday.

Conjuntivitis

Apparently three weeks is forever in blog time. I am thinking of hiring a professional blogger. Otherwise my readers may have to be satisfied with the current frequency of my posts, which admittedly hasn't been very often. Maybe after the holidays are over it will be better. First up are the pictures. I know it is the reason that the majority of you read this. We have a shot of Ethan in his Thanksgiving outfit. As I am typing this, I am having trouble uploading this pictures, so it is possible that I am describing pictures that aren't there. Next we have one of him in his chair eating dinner. Lastly, we have a shot of him learning how to write his own blog.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun this year. We had all of Tiffany's immediate family here. We all ate way too much food, which I think is generally what you are supposed to do this time of year. The following week my parents were here for a couple of days. We took the opportunity to pass the child off and go out alone for a change. We had tickets to see The Ten Tenors at the civic center. I was pretty sure I was going to hate it before we went in, but we left pleasantly surprised. It certainly didn't hurt that they did a medley of 80s rock hits right there at the end. Last week kicked off with a bang. Ethan contracted pink eye, which is probably the first of many childhood diseases. I guess that is one of the luxuries of daycare. At least we are building an immune system. We have been putting drops in his eyes for almost a week, but his eyes were pretty well cleared up after the first day. He only had to miss one day of daycare, which meant I only got to miss half a day of work. We will hope for something a little longer lasting the next time I need some time off. Speaking of time off, I am going to stop here and feed the baby. If you're lucky, I will finish this later.

H1N1

It has been three weeks since my last confession. Contrary to what some people think, I do have other things to do besides this blog. I have an actual job, where I spend the majority of my time. Then there is this kid situation. Who knew that babies couldn't take care of themselves? Because it has been so long, I'm sure I have forgotten everything that has happened. I don't even remember where I left with the last blog. I guess I could go back and read, but I prefer to just wing it. These aren't the most recent pictures, but I thought they were good ones. I don't think I have mentioned daycare before. Daycare is going great. This is his fourth week, and I think he is starting to like them better than he likes us. We just leave him on our way to work, and they take care of him all day. I think it's a pretty good arrangement. I will probably have to sell some of my organs on the black market to pay for this, but nothing is too good for my child. Every day they tell us how great he is, and every day we just agree with them. On to more current news, I have been deathly ill for the last two days. Maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but there were a couple of times that I wished I was dead. Between myself and the internet, I have decided that it was the dreaded swine flu. I do feel better today, but I am still taking it easy. On top of all that, Tiffany thinks she has a sinus infection. In spite of all that, Ethan appears to be totally healthy. It must be all those immunity building germs from daycare. Thanksgiving is almost here, and we are looking forward to Tiffany's family being here. If anyone out there doesn't have a place to go, come eat turkey with us. I'll even let you watch the baby.

Of Mice and Men

Here is a little Halloween tale for you. Like the good parents we are, we had every intention of taking Ethan trick or treating. By the time Tiffany got home from work Ethan had eaten, we loaded up the car and decided we needed to eat as well. We made a quick stop at Betty Rose's for some barbecue before heading to our first stop. With Ethan dressed in his little skeleton outfit, we drove to my Aunt Vicki's house. We got out and went to the door. We went inside to visit for about 15 minutes before we headed for our next stop. We loaded back into the car, turned the key, and nothing. Not a creature was stirring. Uncle Carl went to get the battery charger to try and give us some juice. After a few minutes and the battery still showing no signs of life, we made a new plan. By the way, this was all going on sometime after dark. I borrowed Vicki's car, drove to Wal-Mart, and bought a new battery. Carl and I spent the next half hour or so changing the thing out. New cars are not like old cars. The clever people at General Motors have devised a plan that makes it almost impossible to do things yourself so they can charge some ridiculous fee. There's this crazy protective case around the battery with a giant metal bar holding the whole thing down. There are five bolts of varying sizes uniquely positioned around the battery with enough space around them that Ethan could probably almost get his hands into when he was first born. Did I mention that is was dark outside? We did get it done though. At that point, Ethan was hungry, Tiffany was tired, and I was filthy. The good news is that we have another costume. Tiffany is determined to use it, so we may just show up at your house looking for candy on another day.

Trick or Treat

I will begin this post with the answer to a question I was asked about the watermelon. The bottle of wine on the counter had nothing to do with the watermelon going bad. It is pure coincidence that it is in the picture. The watermelon was just a plain watermelon that we sat on the counter after we brought it home from the store. I'm not even sure that wine and watermelon would be good together, though I hear that you can put vodka in a watermelon.

This week has been fairly exciting I guess. Thursday we took Ethan for his four month check-up. He got a couple of shots, which he wasn't thrilled about. He didn't ever run any fever though, so I guess we got lucky there. They weighed him at 14 pounds, 7 ounces with a length of 26 inches. Why they call that 26 inches and not 2'2" is beyond me. I am learning lately that I only thought I knew how things worked. Here is another example. Sometime around the end of last week Tiffany started referring to Ethan as 4 months old. I pointed out that technically he wasn't that old until October 29, being that he was born on June 29. Of course I was told that in baby lingo a month counts as 4 weeks. Again I told her that by that rationale he would have been 4 months old on October 18. Wrong again. In case you didn't know this, the exception the this "week" (or weak) rule is that it takes 13 weeks to make 3 months. So depending on which version of mathematics you choose to follow, Ethan was 4 months old sometime in the last baker's dozen of days. I am going to tell people he is a third of a year old. That's probably wrong too. I think I'll be able to calculate his age until 2012. After that, we are dealing with the predicted end of the world and a leap year. All bets are off.

In case all of that didn't give you a headache and you need some more, I just found out that elephants are blue. Now I haven't ever seen a blue elephant, but they must exist. Ethan has one on his shirt in the picture above. He also has a stuffed blue elephant, and there is a blue elephant on his Jumparoo. I will try to do some more research and get back to you, but I think maybe the whole world has gone crazy.

John, Paul, George, Ringo, and Ethan

Has anyone ever seen a rabid watermelon before? Ethan and I came home from running errands the other day to find that the watermelon on the counter was covered in a mysterious white foam. Unfortunately I was responsible enough to clean up the mess, so I don't have a really cool picture to show you. It was only after I wiped everything down that it occurred to me to find the camera. It was sort of crazy bubbling like pouring peroxide on a cut. Also, it smelled bad. Tiffany came home and immediately decided that the watemelon was a goner. I think we should have at least donated it to science, but I have no control over the fruit in this household. I carried it to the giant blue coffin outside, and the next morning he was carried away by some men in a garbage truck. I like to think that he is now resting in that great watermelon patch in the sky. We will miss you, Cujo.


And now for something completely different....

Ethan and I had a pretty good weekend. He has officially figured out how to roll all the way over. I thought it was an accident when he did it on Saturday morning, but I have since seen him do it several times, beginning with an encore performance for his mom who was at work. My cousin Traci was in town, so that afternoon we went by to visit with her and the kids. Granny also joined us, and Tiffany met us after work. Nancy and Danny cooked steak and baked potatoes for everyone, which was better than any plans that I had made for dinner. Sunday was another easy day. Ethan and I did get out to do some things. I was listening to The Beatles in the car, and I'm just going to go out on a limb here and say that he was singing. I don't think he knew all the words, but who knows what those crazy long haired Brits are singing about anyway? I knew Ethan was a rock fan, but now you know. Afterwards, the weather was nice so we took a stroll around the neighborhood. Lots of people were out, and I really enjoy being outside this time of year. Today begins our last week of crazy schedules. Ethan will officially start daycare next week. This should be a good step in returning life to normal. Maybe it just means I will have to get up earlier to take him.

Daddy Day Care

It's another weekend, which means it's just me and the kid hanging out while mommy is slaving away at her job. Ethan slept late this morning, which means I was able to get a few things done this morning. I have a couple of errands to run in town today, so hopefully he will be good for at least a couple of hours. The first picture is Ethan's latest toy, courtesy of Granny's friend Frances. He is not quite big enough to jump in it, but he can sit in it and look at everything. He seems to like it so far. Another discovery we made this weekend is that a Baby Einstein dvd is the exact amount of time it takes me to eat a bowl of cereal and take a shower. Those evil geniuses at Disney must know what they are doing.

"In the streets the children screamed, the lovers cried, and the poets dreamed. Not a word was spoken. The church bells all were broken."

To Steve Taylor (who used to have my phone number):
I don't know how many people you owe money to, but it must be a lot because someone calls for you nearly every day. I don't think they believe me when I tell them that I don't even know you. I did some digging and discovered that you haven't paid taxes in Taylor county since 2007. I hope that means that you have moved away from here. I did find a forwarding address in Weatherford which I am tempted to give the next person that calls here. All of this information was found on the internet for free in less than five minutes. Say hello to Gaylene if you guys are still married and try to pay your bills on time. It is invading my personal space.

Really? A Nobel Prize?

It looks like I have a lot of catching up to do. I will do my best to try and remember everything that has happened in the last month. Amazingly, Ethan is still asleep this morning. Things have been crazy busy around here. Tiffany went back to work on September 24. The daycare still doesn't have a spot for Ethan for about another week, so we are doing our best to work opposite shifts. This is doing wonders for our sleep schedules. The cat said she would babysit, but I think she has ulterior motives.

First off, I would like to say Happy Birthday to my Dad today. I wish we were in Oklahoma to celebrate with him, but I'm sure the town of Altus is throwing him a party or something.

The beginning of last week we made a little road trip. Our first stop was San Antonio. My cousin Erin was nice enough to put us up for the night while we took her husband and some friends out to the Metallica show. Tiffany's mom (Oma) went with us and stayed with Ethan while we were gone. The show was one of the best ones we have seen on this tour. Tuesday morning we left San Antonio and headed up I-35 to Dallas. After wandering around a used bookstore for about an hour, we checked into our hotel and got ready for Metallica for the second night in a row. We met Matt and Stephanie at PF Chang for a wonderful dinner. After we ate, we dropped Debbie (Oma) and Ethan back at the hotel and headed to the American Airlines Center. My cousin Morgan and her roommate Angie also met us for this show. We had a great time once again. I know what you're thinking. Maybe their lives haven't changed that much. I will say that we were only able to see Metallica three times this year instead of the four shows that we saw last year. I guess life as we know it is over. We spent the next day at the State Fair eating all kinds of things that we should never eat. The highlights this year were deep fried butter, fried peaches and cream, and fried grilled cheese sandwiches. I think they should probably give you a bottle of Lipitor when you walk through the gate. Seriously, it is the one day of the year that I don't even give a second thought to what I am eating. We all enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, but were exhausted already when we hit the road for home. We took the next day off to regroup. Debbie had to go home, so my parents came to spend the weekend with us. They watched Ethan so that we could work. It's terrible being poor and having to work all the time. I have pretty much worked everyday since then. If I think of anything that happened, I will include it in my next blog. Hopefully it will not be another month. I am also planning on putting some new pictures on Facebook later. Oh, and the baby is awake now.

Here a neigh, there a neigh

Saturday night we went to the Ranch Rodeo in Sweetwater. Ethan loved it! He watched his Uncle Slim (#86) ride his horse Shark and compete in several events. For those of you who may not know, a ranch rodeo has events that are an actual part of everyday ranch life. The ranches compete as teams in events like milking, sorting, branding and doctoring. There is also a CUTE event called mutton bustin' where little kids ride a sheep as far as they can. Aunt Shelley promised she would coach Ethan when he gets bigger, so we might have a rodeo star on our hands! At least Ethan had the proper attire, he wore his horse onesie with a tail, and socks to match.

How many babies can say they have been to a rock concert and a rodeo, all before being 3 months old?

Check My Brain

Last weekend and the beginning part of this week, my mother came to town. She didn't come to see us, but she did come to visit her grandchild. I now realize how important I am in the whole scheme of things. I guess I'm fine with it. We spent the whole day on Saturday at Granny's house. It was good to sit around and do nothing for a change. Sunday was more of the same. I did work for a little while on Monday, which was fine. I got paid overtime for doing very little. That night we all went out for Chinese food, and then we left Ethan with Granny and Mom while we went to see a movie. Apparently he was crying the majority of the time, but I wasn't bothered by it--I was at the movies! I did feel a little bad for them, but they both insisted that he wasn't that much trouble. I feel pretty confident that they would watch him again. It was nice to get out for a couple of hours anyway. I guess that's the extent of my news this week. Ethan has a doctor's appointment next Wednesday. They will be giving him his first round of shots, which I know he is looking forward to. I'll let you know how that goes.

Workin' for the Weekend

It was another exciting weekend around here. Friday night my Aunt Vicki and MeMaw watched Ethan for a few hours so that we could go out with some friends. We went to see Bowling for Soup at a bar here in town. They were fantastic as always. Ethan was asleep when we got home around midnight, and he slept until 7 the next morning. Saturday morning I had to get up anyway to go to a funeral for our great family friend Jim McKeever. Big Jim used to cut my hair when I was a kid, and while I was getting ready I looked in the mirror and couldn't help thinking that he would never let my hair have gotten as out of control as it is now. The services were nice, and it was good to see some of his family that I haven't seen in a long time. Later that afternoon, we went by and visited with Granny for a little while. Ethan seemed pretty content to sit in her lap for quite a while. We also got to check out his baby quilt which is almost finished. After that we had to make a shopping trip to replenish our pantry. We had pretty much been living off bread and water for the last couple of days. Actually, I think it was just water. We finished the bread the other day. That went fine, and Ethan slept the entire time. I had hoped Sunday would be a little more relaxing, and I guess it was. We didn't do much around the house, but I did get a call from my friend Brad. It was good to visit with him for a little bit. We spent a couple of hours at Fort Phantom fishing, or at least scaring the fish away. We still had fun. I guess that about covers it. I know most of you only want to see pictures of the baby anyway. Hopefully this will cover me for a couple of days.

Nothin' but a good time

I know this post is a long time coming. I seem to have my hands full these days. I don't have any cute pictures of the baby to put up this morning. Maybe I can get Tiffany to do that later. Take my word for it though, he is adorable. I have about ten minutes until I have to go get ready for work, so I will cram in as much information as I can. I guess we left off last time around Sarah's wedding. Sometime after that, we went down to the post office to apply for a passport for Ethan. I think the lady at the post office thought we were kind of nuts. Also, I think maybe she just hated her job. She wasn't super pleasant. Anyway, we got the picture made, paid the money, and now we are just waiting for it to come in the mail. I will say that we don't have any international travel plans at this point, but I don't have plans to not go anywhere either. I think that makes sense. What else has been going on? Last weekend we went to Dallas. We stayed with our friends Matt and Lisa. Matt and I went to see Poison and Def Leppard. I know I was about 20 years late on these bands, but we had a pretty good time while the wives stayed home with the babies. Apparently they had a pretty good time too, because there was an empty bottle of wine on the table when we got home. Saturday we met Sarah for lunch and then Morgan met us for a few minutes. Everyone wants to see us now for some reason. Actually Morgan and Sarah wanted to hang out with us before the baby too, so I forgive them. I'm running out of time here. Ethan is doing well. He is sleeping well at night. He is talking a lot, although we don't know what he is saying. I do think he knows what he is saying though. He does smile a lot. I will try to get some pictures this weekend. I guess that's it for me today.

I, Ethan Michael...

I, Ethan Michael Murray, do solemnly swear to:

• eat every 3 hours
• poop several times a day, including once outside the diaper
• dirty up multiple pieces of my clothing
• dirty up mulitple pieces of your clothing
• require at least one load of laundry a day
• sleep inconsistently every 24 hours

I, Ethan Michael Murray, do additionally solemnly swear to:

• smile at you often
• tug at your heartstrings
• snuggle when you hold me close
• make cute baby noises
• take adorable photographs
• love you forever!

Another one bites the dust

A lot has happened in the last week. Thursday night we had a night out with some friends. It was just dinner theater at McMurry University, but when you live in a small town you take advantage of anything you can. We enjoyed it, and my mother enjoyed watching Ethan for a couple of hours. Friday night we attended the rehearsal dinner for Sarah's wedding. It was the first time a lot of our family had met Ethan. I'm pretty sure they all thought he was great. Friday and Saturday night we stayed at the Hilton with the rest of the family. The wedding was Saturday evening. it was hot, but that didn't stop anyone from having a great time. Congratulations to Sarah and Josh! Everything went pretty smooth as far as we could tell. Sunday we had lunch with the other side of the famly. We met MeMaw, Vicki, and Carl at the Olive Garden for lunch. That night we took advantage of mom being in town and had another dinner without the baby. It was a long weekend, but all of us survived it.

30 days

Today Ethan is one month old. I can't believe it has gone by so fast. We have managed to maintain somewhat of a normal life, despite some of the naysayers out there. Apparently Ethan (with the help of his mother) was able to figure out how to post on the blog while I was at work the other day. This week he made his second trip to the grocery store. Eventually maybe the new baby thing will wear off. Shopping takes twice as long as it should because everybody wants to see him. We can't help it if our baby is cuter than everyone else's. Get over it. This weekend we are excited for him to meet the rest of the Hitt family. Sarah's wedding is this weekend, and it is sure to be a blast. Tomorrow night we are going with some friends to a dinner theater presentation of Sweeney Todd. Mom and Dad are going to watch Ethan while we watch people get murdered on stage. It's all in good fun though. We saw Sweeney Todd on Broadway a few years ago, and it was awesome. By the way, this picture is not of anything in particular. I was just looking at some pictures that I hadn't seen yet and thought it was cute. I'm so thankful for digital photography. I can't imagine how much film we would be buying.

"Throw up your rock fist"

Thank you Oma! I had a great time in San Antonio, and so did my parents! I had many firsts this weekend, my first road trip, my first hotel, my first babysitter...my first travel of many many more, say Mom and Dad. I didn't mind being in my car seat, mostly I slept. I get that from my Mom, put me in a car that is moving, and I'm out. When I was hungry, Mom pumped in the front seat (even in rush hour traffic, but Mom didn't mind because she says that is the best food she can give me) and handed the bottle to Oma who fed me. And I got to see my Auntie Lindsey and Uncle Ryan before they go on a cruise, whatever that is. Then my parents went to see the band TOOL while I stayed with Oma in the hotel on the Riverwalk. I can't wait until I am old enough to go with them, TOOL is one of my favorite bands! Mom played their albums a lot in the car when we went back and forth to some place she called work.

The next day before coming home we went to a quilt shop for Mom, and then to Babies R Us, a store just for me. I guess there were no stores for Dad, maybe he'll show me one later. I think I'll try to get some rest before this busy weekend. I'm going to a wedding, and will meet more family. I am excited to meet my Aunt Callie, everyone tells me I am going to love her especially when I get older.

Thanks again Oma, I love you!

field testing

Yesterday we got out to run a few errands. We ate lunch at Abuelo's. Ethan pretty much slept the whole time, which is amazing to me. That place is loud, and the table of cackling women next to us didn't help. He opened his eyes a few times, but I think he was just trying to get to the queso. It was his first trip to a restaurant, and things went extremely well. We went by Granny's house to visit for a few minutes. After getting him fed and changed, we headed back into town for his first trip to HEB. It took longer than your average shopping trip since everyone had to see the baby. Once again though, everything went smoothly. We got a whole basket full of groceries and were in there well over an hour. I'm sure all of these trips won't be as successful, but Ethan seems to be as easy going as his father. I think he's ready to be a world traveler. We'll see how he does in San Antonio next week.

A Letter

Dear Huggies,

I would like to write a letter to let you tell you how wonderful your products are. Notice I said I would like to. Unfortunately, I think your products are terrible. We have tried two different styles of your diapers, and neither one of them are acceptable. Right off the bat I would like to clarify that we are using these diapers to contain messes. If that is not the intended use of your product, I sincerely apologize. I feel that feedback is an important part of the consumer relationship, and my mother taught me to always tell the truth. She also said if I don't have anything nice to say, not to say it. On second thought, that was from some kid's movie. I do realize that babies come in all shapes and sizes, so I guess that it is possible that I have a weird shaped kid. I seriously doubt that's the problem, since anyone can look at him and tell he is perfect. I don't want to end this letter on a negative note, so I will say this. One good thing about your diapers is that I didn't spend any money on them; they were all received as gifts. Also, I really enjoy the Mickey Mouse characters on the front, even if they are smiling at me in an "I told you so" kind of way. I hope you can use the information contained in this letter to make a better product in the future. Until then, I will be giving my money to Pampers.

Sincerely,
Brian Murray

Two Weeks

It has been two weeks since our baby Ethan was born. It's actually been 15 days, but who's counting. We had another appointment with the pediatrician today. He now weighs 8 pounds and 14 ounces. That means that he has gained 10 ounces in 7 days. I guess he's a hearty eater, just like the rest of the family. They did take some blood to run some tests. Ethan was not thrilled with that whole process. We don't have to go back until September.

We had a busy weekend. There was a lot of family here for my cousin Sarah's bridal shower. Ethan was happy to meet some of his cousins. We also made our first trip out to run a few errands. I thought he did pretty well the whole day. I don't know if I'm ready for all of those strange people trying to catch a glimpse of the baby though. You would think they had never seen one. They probably haven't seen one as good looking as Ethan, but still. Now that I think about it, I think I read somewhere that we shouldn't have him out in public for the first four weeks. Forget everything you just read.

He has been sleeping pretty well most nights, which means we have been sleeping well. Ok, so Tiffany is the one losing the most sleep. She doesn't seem to mind though, and I do help with whatever I can around here. I know there are a lot of you out there who think we have no idea what we are doing. Maybe that's true, but we are figuring it out just like everyone else does. I promise there are worse parents out there.

By the way, I showed Tiffany how to post on the blog. Maybe that will increase the amount of activity around here. Maybe it won't.

Family Portrait

This was taken on the fourth of July. Even with all of the fireworks outside, Ethan was sacked out. I guess he couldn't handle all of the excitement. Maybe he drank too much.

It has been almost six days since baby Ethan was born. For anyone who cares, I was in the delivery room the whole time and I didn't pass out or anything. I am not generally freaked out by blood as long as it isn't mine. I haven't had much time for blogging, but I wanted to get a couple of pictures up. Everyone in the house is asleep right now, and maybe they will stay that way long enough for me to get this done. Thanks to my mom and technology, most of you have already seen some pictures. I tried to pick ones that nobody has seen yet. I think I already have nearly a hundred pictures, and at least ninety of them are good. Also, Tiffany's sister took some while we were in the delivery room. I haven't seen them, but I will share them when I get them if they are worth sharing. There are also a couple of pictures on my Facebook page, if you're into that sort of thing. So far Ethan seems to be a pretty happy baby. His mother might disagree with me, but we haven't had too many incidents that involve excessive crying or screaming. I have only been peed on twice. I know there's a trick there somewhere. Last night I put together a swing. This proved to be almost as much trouble as the Pack and Play that I built last week. Let me tell you something about these Graco people. If you have kids, you probably own some of this stuff. They may have great products, but their instruction manuals suck! I am usually pretty good at putting things together, but I admit that these things took longer than they should have. I'm thinking maybe the IKEA people need to help them out a little. We did not bother to go watch the fireworks last night, which turned out to be a smart move. They got cancelled for some reason. Luckily, there were tons of people all around us that had their own. I could see everything from our front yard. Living outside of the city limits is great! I feel like I am rambling. It has been a busy week, but we are already starting to figure some things out. Both Tiffany and the baby are doing well. The first appointment with the pediatrician is on Tuesday. I will keep everyone updated as often as I can.

Grand Finale

Ethan Michael Murray was born at 8:54 pm. He was 8 pounds, 8 ounces and 21 inches long. Baby and mother are both doing well. Mother is glad that it is over. I will have more news and pictures coming in the next couple of days. Goodnight.

Drugs

It's 3 pm. I got some lunch. The food at the hospital cafeteria was edible. I will probably talk someone into bringing me dinner. They started the epidural about an hour ago. Tiffany can't feel her legs too much, but she doesn't seem to mind. At last check, she was dilated to a 4. I guess we are still going to be waiting a little while.

The waiting is the hardest part

It's 12:30. Contractions are starting to be closer together and stronger. Tiffany is still doing fine. So far she has not received any pain meds. I think she should fake it a little for some dope, but that's just me. We are expecting the doctor to stop by in a little while. We have already had quite a few visitors in and out of here. Everyone at the hospital has been great so far. Thanks for everyone's emails, phone calls, and text messages. I will do my best to respond when I can.

This is the day!

We are at the hospital. You would think I would have something better to do, but there isn't much going on right now. They actually have free wi-fi at the hospital. I knew we were paying all this money for something. Did I mention that we were here at 5? I'll spare you the gory details, but the doctor came in a little while ago and broke the water. They have started the Potocin drip. I think we are in for a long day. It is possible that I will be able to post more later. Of course, I may be doing other things.

Remember the Time

Today started like any other day. Then Michael Jackson died. I know he's been accused of a lot of things, but I think the only thing he was really guilty of was being strange. The man was a musical genius, and he could dance like nobody's business. Normally I don't care so much about what happens to celebrities. In fact, I wouldn't mind a few of them dropping off the planet forever. For those of us that remember the Michael of the 80s with glittery white socks and black skin, today is a sad day. I'm sure many people felt the same way in '77 when Elvis died. Unfortunately in all of my musical excursions I never got to see him. At least we will always have his music and video legacy. Thriller is still one of the best selling albums of all time, and I think it holds up pretty well even today. I personally wore out at least two copies myself when I was younger. Today I have a digital copy on my iPod. Times have changed. Music has changed. I like to think that Michael stayed true to himself, even when the world turned on him. I know he is doing the moonwalk in heaven, and I am looking forward to meeting him one day.

party

Someone in this picture is going to claim that they hate it, but I thought it was cute.

Beans and Cornbread

A lot has happened since I last posted. Unfortunately, I have forgotten most of it. You will just have to hear about whatever I can come up with off the top of my head. Last weekend Tiffany had a baby shower. We now have more baby stuff than I know what to do with. Seriously, I only know what about half of it is. I do recognize the stroller, although these things are seriously more complicated than the things our parents pushed us around in. There are a lot of pictures from this event, but I don't have any of them. If anyone wants to email them to me, I will be glad to post them on the blog. Otherwise, those that weren't there will just have to use their imagination. I wasn't there either. A crowded room full of women wasn't my idea of a good time. I do know that there was cake and possibly some other food. There may have been baby games. Maybe somebody will explain this to me one day. Thank you so much to all of those that sent gifts. A proper thank you will be coming your way shortly.


Monday we saw the doctor again. This is what's going on. I have refrained from the details until now, so if you don't care then don't read anymore. I'm not sure that cervix and effacement are appropriate blog words. Hopefully the FCC can't fine me for typing. I don't know if they have any control over the internet or not, but they are a ridiculous organization anyway. Back on topic--as of Monday, we are looking (I wasn't actually looking) at one centimeter dilation and 75% effacement. If you don't know what that means, you are in the same boat as every other man. Luckily you have a computer. Look it up. As of now, the plan is to induce the baby on June 29, unless he comes sooner than that. I guess that's it.


By the way, we are having beans and cornbread for dinner. I don't know if that is actually a meal, but I love it.

The Final Countdown

So June is here. It seems like time has flown since last November. Tiffany had an appointment yesterday. The doctor seems to be sticking firm to the June 30 due date. He also said that he would let her go as long as July 7 before talking about inducing. That said, it could really be anytime. In my world of procrastination, later is better. Babies R Us called about ten minutes ago to inform me that the crib we ordered was in. Now I have to work that trip into my schedule. For those of you who live in a city, that doesn't sound like a chore. For me, it's 150 mile drive each way. I guess we could have bought one here, but Tiffany liked that one and I do what I'm told. Other than being a little tired, she is still feeling pretty good. She is planning to work up until the baby is born. Afterwards she will have twelve weeks to stay home. Last week I was (un)fortunate enough to attend a breast feeding class at the hospital. Tiffany assured me I wouldn't be the only guy there, and she was right again. There were at least three or four other suckers whose wives had dragged them to the class. We are going to another class this Thursday, which I'm sure will be equally exciting. I will be glad to tell you all about it in a future post. Thanks to the internet, nobody has a private life anymore anyway.


One more thing: the new Dave Matthews Band CD came out today and it rocks.

no fate but what we make

I have to apologize for the complete lack of interesting blog material. I feel like that will probably change sometime in June. Until then, you will just have to read about whatever I can come up with on the spot. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday. Everything is fine. He told us that if we have anywhere else to go, do it before June 1. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to go, so I guess we are grounded. The good thing is that I have about a million things to do around the house. The baby has been pretty active. We have already decided that he is a Metallica fan, since he tends to move around a lot when the music is playing. Last night we went to see Terminator Salvation. I didn't think it was as good as the original, but I do think it is a great beginning to a new trilogy. Christian Bale was amazing, but the support cast was stellar. I guess it's been a good couple of years for Bale, who apparently loves to play superheroes. Maybe John Connor is not technically a superhero, but I would put him up against Batman any day. For some reason I have always loved this franchise, and I am pleased with the latest addition. This comes just three days after Fox canceled The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I need to watch less TV anyway.

Seasons of Love/Business Time/The Final Frontier

It has been another eventful couple of weeks. Maybe we are just trying to squeeze in a few more things before the baby gets here. Tiffany has already taken to calling the baby Ethan. It was a name that was mentioned a while back, and it seems to have stuck around. Either we really like it, or we are just too lazy to think up another name. You wouldn't think that naming a child would be so complicated.


Last week before heading to Dallas, we had an appointment with Dr. Tadvick. Everything still looks normal. We have another appointment this coming Monday. After that one, he will see us every week until the baby is born. I guess that means it's getting close. Monday will be 34 weeks, and apparently that is the major milestone to overcome. As I was saying, we spent three days last week in the Big D. We had some shopping and last minute baby errands to run. The first night we were there, we took it easy. We hit a couple of malls before checking out the new X-Men movie Wolverine. It was pretty good. The next night we went to see Flight of the Conchords. They were absolutely hilarious. In case you don't know who they are (most people don't apparently), you can check them out here. Some people don't seem to get it, but for those of us with a highly developed sense of humor it is one of the funniest things ever. Maybe I'm just chemically imbalanced. The next night we met my cousin Sarah and headed to the Music Hall at Fair Park for the touring version of Rent. The two male leads were the same two that opened the musical on Broadway. Not only were they great, but the rest of the cast was fantastic as well. This is the third time I have seen Rent on stage, and I think it was the best production so far. Again, it probably isn't for everyone. Put the movie on your Netflix list. If you like it, you may be ready to step up to the far superior stage version. The weekend was pretty boring around here. We worked most of it and did little else.


Last night in Abilene, we went to the last musical of the season at the civic center. It was called Rain, and it was basically a Beatles tribute show complete with costumes and "long" hair. I'm not generally a fan of these kinds of things, and this was no exception. They were really good musicians, and Paul was dead on. I did not say Paul is dead. They covered all major periods from Ed Sullivan through the psychedelic era and Abbey Road. I actually was pretty amused by all of the old ladies in the crowd that were screaming out loud and dancing the whole time. It isn't what I expect from a town that hates rock music. I have yet to figure out the difference between the music I listen to and the music our parents listened to. The main difference seems to be that our parents' music was all about sex and drugs, which are clearly appropriate topics for teenagers. As far as I know, there were no noise complaints. I guess I won't write a letter to the paper.


The show was over a little before 10. We weren't ready for bed yet, so we stopped by the movies on our way home to catch the new Star Trek film. It is definitely a rival for The Wrath of Khan in the best film category. My friend Jerry says it's better, but I think that might be blasphemy. Of course, he's a bigger sci-fi guy than me. I will say that it was well done, and the things they will have their work cut out for them when they decide to make the next one. This movie was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Damon Lindelof. These guys are two of the masterminds behind the great TV series Lost. That show is concluding its fifth season tonight. Unfortunately, I am working late tonight. Thank goodness for DVR. Hopefully that catches everyone up.


To my faithful blog reader Betty: I will try to get some pictures of the reunion up this week. I don't have the pictures on my laptop, which is where I have been doing my blogging from.

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!

I just realized that I let two weeks go by without posting anything. I'm sure at least some of you missed me. I will try not to forget anything. We have pretty much gotten past the "Letter to the Editor" debacle. I say pretty much, because there is one more thing I have to add. A little over a week ago, we did get a piece of hate mail delivered to the house. I find it hilarious and creepy that someone would take the time to find out where I live (I'm in the phonebook) and write such a crazy letter. I'm not going to post the letter here. Many of you have seen it already. If you haven't, I will be glad to send you a copy. The letter is not particularly well written, and it makes a lot of assumptions about who we are and the kind of lives we lead. Deep down I want to write a response and send it to the paper, but I think I will probably just let it go.

Last weekend was our annual Murray family reunion. We had a wonderful time, and we got to meet a few family members that we hadn't met before. They even threw us a surprise baby shower, which was a lot of fun. We had another sonogram this week. Everything still looks healthy and normal, although the doctor did say that it would probably be a good-sized baby. I think that is freaking Tiffany out a little. Here is some help with the pictures: the first one is a foot (I think), the second is the heartbeat, and the third one is his face. We also had to go by the anesthesiology department and watch a video about spinal epidurals. I don't think we really learned anything, but they won't give you the drugs if you don't watch it. I think that about catches us up. At least that's the short version. We are both working this weekend, but Monday we are heading to Dallas for one final trip before the baby arrives. We have tickets to a couple of shows, but mostly we are just going to bum around and enjoy our freedom for the last time.

One final thing: Danny Gans died yesterday. We had the opportunity to see him a couple of years ago. He was a terrific entertainer, and surely he will be missed.

Celebrity

Yesterday my name was in the paper for the third time this week. Since the concert last Friday was shut down, there has been three articles in the paper, two letters to the editor, and over a hundred comments online. I guess at the very least the whole situation got people talking, which is what I really wanted anyway. The concert tomorrow night has been moved indoors to prevent noise complaints. I don't know if we are going to go or not. At this point, I will probably give up my political career--until the next time the mood strikes me. I will try to keep future rants to this blog. I would like to point out that at least half of the comments on the Reporter News website completely agree with me. The rest of them just missed the point entirely. The next few days promise to be trouble free. This weekend I have a million things to do around the house. I'm hoping to get at least two of them done.

In other news, Tiffany and the baby are doing just fine. He is starting to kick a lot. I have even been able to feel it a couple of times. We have an appointment on Tuesday, so I will possibly know more then. Have a great weekend!

15 minutes

Warhol said everyone will be famous for 15 minutes. I'm thinking I might have come closer to half an hour. I had my name in the paper for the second time in less than a week. It's really bizarre to me that people even read the paper in this town. After loosely quoting me in the previous article, they decided to print my original letter to the editor. Maybe it sounds a little negative, but I still agree with everything I said. It's probably better that I wrote it on Saturday. Now that I have had a few days to think about it, there is a lot more I wish I had said. If anyone wants to read the letter to the editor, you can find it here. As best I can tell, it is completely in tact. They did change the title. I guess I can live with it, even if it is lame. Nothing has really come of any of this anyway. The police seem to have differences of opinion depending on who you ask. Some say noise complaints, others cite bar closing time. The promoter blames the bar. The bar blames the band. Unofficially, we all know it's because Abilene hates rock music. There is another show at the same bar on Sunday night. I haven't decided if we are going to go or not. Either way, I will be curious to see what happens. I am going to try and keep my name out of the paper for the rest of the week.

I Burn.......or Abilene does not rock

I had to get up early Saturday morning for the satellite people to come fix my TV (yes again). I was a little cranky and tired, and while I was waiting for them to get here I decided to write a letter to the editor of the local paper. I am one of those people who believes that everyone is entitled to my opinion. It's one of the reasons I have this blog. Anyway, I didn't think much about it after that. At about 8:30 last night, I got a phone call from a reporter. I spent about 20 minutes on the phone with her. There was a small write up in the paper today, and although I don't think it's particularly well written, it does have my name in it. She did tell me that they are working on a full column on this event to run Monday or Tuesday. Also, she said it would be up to the editorial department to decide whether to run my original letter. If they don't, I will post it here later. Perhaps later tonight I will give an account of what happened. Until then, you can read this.

Cleveland Rocks!

A couple of years ago, my cousin Chuck got married in Cincinnati. Tiffany and I flew into Cleveland (on the other side of the state) a couple of days early so we could check out the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My cousin Brad met us as well. At the time, my thinking was, "When am I ever going to be in Ohio again?" As it turns out, we decided to go back to Ohio. Once again this was Rock Hall related. It's possible that I have an addiction--not to Ohio, but to the music. 2009 was the first year that tickets to the induction ceremony have ever been sold to the public. Another deciding factor was that Metallica, one of our favorite bands, was being inducted this year. It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity that we just couldn't pass up. We flew in on Friday afternoon. We ended up just ordering food from room service and staying in the rest of the night. Saturday morning we got up early and headed to the museum before the masses showed up. In 2007 we spent nearly five hours looking at everything. I figured we could do it much quicker this time. As it turns out, we were there just shy of four hours. I still could have spent more time there, but we did cover some stuff this time that we missed before. The top two floors were filled with Springsteen memorabilia this time, which I thought was awesome. By the time we left, there was a line around the block to get into the museum. We headed back to the hotel to get ready for the ceremony that night. I don't think either of us knew what to expect, but we knew we were in for a treat. The induction itself lasted about four hours. Most of the inductees performed, as well as gave speeches. Metallica played Master of Puppets and Enter Sandman. The four current members were there, as well as former bassist Jason Newsted. Also present were many friends and guests of the band, including Ray Burton (father of original bassist Cliff). It was definitely a unique experience, and I am extremely glad we went. I do have one complaint though. The guys sitting to my left basically talked the whole time, and the two people to our right spent the whole time playing with their Blackberrys. Why do these people even bother to come? It seems like we always end up next to these people. All in all though we were there with a good group of people who came to enjoy themselves. I knew there were other people like us, I just didn't know we had to go all the way to Ohio to find them. At the end, all of the inductees came out, as well as a few special guests and played two more songs: Jailhouse Rock and Train Kept a Rollin'. My guess is that this is my last trip to Cleveland for a while, but I have learned to never say never. I hope it is not my last trip to the Hall of Fame. Recently they opened a branch in New York, and I hope we are able to check that one out as well.

Here is a list of the 2009 Inductees:

The performer inductees: Jeff Beck, Little Anthony & the Imperials, Metallica, Run-D.M.C., Bobby Womack

Early Influence Category Inductee: Wanda Jackson

Sidemen Category Inductees: Bill Black, DJ Fontana, Spooner Oldham

"There's nothing wrong with Ohio, except the snow and the rain.

I really like Drew Carey and I'd love to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame"

--Ohio (Come Back to Texas) by Bowling For Soup

Whiplash

So I said I would post these last week, but I just didn't. I don't even have a good excuse really. I have serious doubts that anyone can tell anything from these pictures anyway. They don't look any different to me than the ones we got last time. The doctor however assures me that the baby is growing and everything is normal. According to Tiffany the baby is kicking quite a bit. I cannot verify this because every time I get my hand anywhere near her, he stops. Already this child is rebelling against me. We are heading to Cleveland this weekend for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. Metallica is being inducted this year. It's also the first time they have ever sold tickets to the public. It just seemed like something we needed to do. The whole thing is being televised on Fuse if you are interested. In other related news, Guitar Hero: Metallica came out this week. Mine came in the mail today, so I look forward to several nonproductive hours in the near future. One more thing about this fantastic band: They are coming back to Texas at the end of September. Like the responsible parents we plan to be, we will be attending these shows. We are still working out the final details, but I already have several babysitting volunteers, as well as a fun group of people to go with us. I know some of you are thinking that we should probably slow down a little, and all I have to say is that we already have.