GJ, Stretch & Grow, and Booger Mountain

Nine days between blog posts is entirely unacceptable....

GJ is in town this week. We picked her up at the airport on Sunday, and it's been non-stop action all week. The boys have enjoyed having their grandmother around and are very happy with the extra attention. Of course Gus loves the expanded audience as he gets tired of trying to entertain his parents over and over.

While we have had an extra pair of hands around, Amy finished painting the office this week. One more room to go! (And believe me, neither of us are in a hurry to pick up the paintbrush for that last room -- we've about had our fill.) Finishing the office was key though because that's where the Christmas tree is going. We are starting to get into the Christmas spirit, and having this done gives us the nudge to start decorating the house. Amy & Mom also cleared out the remainder of the garage this week so we can now park the car there for the first time since we moved in. Another milestone that probably seems small but is huge for the Rutledge family!

Amy & GJ took the boys to Stretch & Grow class this week. There the boys get to run around, play with basketballs, hula hoops, slide on slides, act like animals, and sing songs. No wonder being a kid is great -- we adults just give up these things at a certain point. I'm taking a hula hoop to work for my own Stretch & Grow class -- are you with me? Ok, maybe not.

Finally, the crew went searching for the family Christmas tree last night. The weather turned bitter cold as last night was the coldest night of the year so far. The boys didn't care about the cold though as they strapped on their hats, their jackets and ran circles through the trees. (Owen was more interested in the trucks that passed by on the highway, but he had the spirit.) Claudia joined the hunt and brought their truck to haul away a tree from the Booger Mountain Christmas tree farm. Because you haven't had a Christmas until you've had a Booger Mountain Christmas.

Have a good weekend everyone -- cheers!


From the Apex Christmas parade last weekend....we didn't get to stay for the whole thing as there was a stoppage halfway through, but two boys got to see trucks, a firetruck, and a band so they were happy. Here's Mom and the boys waiting for the start.




Owen was a happy little camper when we told him trucks would be coming through. Anticipation, anticipation!




Stretch and Grow is the way to go for little ones. Our two hoard the slide.




GJ explains to Rudolph here that he's about to go on a Christmas tree hunt.




"March! Trees this way, c'mon GJ!"

Should I Get a Dog or Have a Child?

Hat tip to my buddy Mike Mankowski for this one. (Note these are not our pictures -- thankfully!)

Although we once had our dog mutilate a couch like this one, luckily we haven't had boys repaint our house.

Yet.

Cheers!


Dog...




....or Child

Turkey Week Hangover

Random thoughts after a holiday week....

The Thanksgiving break was a good reprieve from work for me, and Amy & I got to spend quality time with the boys, all four of us. Of course we didn't take enough time to relax, spending the boys' naptime and bedtime painting, putting up blinds, fixing up the house etc. Alas the move-in continues and probably will for a while, but we are really starting to put our imprint on the house making it our home. Rome wasn't built in a day, right?

One of my favorite things about the holidays is how they break up the normal routine. And while routine is good and saves us as parents, it can also be a trap in that we don't break away from the same things often enough. Last week gave us a chance to do some of things out of the ordinary, regardless of how small they were -- all four of us going to the park on a random morning, playing with the boys and the dog outside in the middle of the day, etc. Taking a break from the day-in, day-out routine is a good thing sometimes.

On the sports front my beloved Wildcats came up short against their nemesis Tennessee on Saturday. It was one of those games where I thought Kentucky outplayed the Vols and had the game in hand with the ball inside the 10-yard line in the waning minutes. Yet an ill-timed penalty and the lack of ability to finish off a team once again doomed Kentucky. Winning is the only thing that changes that mentality -- the ability to know you are going to come out on top in these close games. Coach Rich Brooks made a lot of strides with this team this year, and hopefully he will build on that next year so they can win these games, especially against the Big Orange. Still I'm hopeful for a bowl bid to either Nashville or Memphis so I can see the Cats play for the first time in a couple years.

Folks in our neighborhood started decorating for Christmas this weekend. We have everything from nice, quaint lights & wreaths to Santa, reindeer, & snowmen elbowing each other for position on lawns -- the Clark Griswold-style lawns. Although our preference is more on the subtle decorating side sometimes walking through the neighborhood to see the "busier" houses is fun. The boys love reindeer after all -- Gus & Owen neigh in unison like horse swhen they see them. Amy & I may dive into some Christmas decorations this weekend -- we'll see.

Finally we are excited about visitors coming through the Tar Heel state in the coming weeks. GJ is coming this weekend to spend some time here with us and the boys -- hopefully this visit will be easier than the last time she & Pappy were here when we were moving. (We won't put you to work quite that hard this time Mom, I promise.) ;-) The boys will be anxious to show off their "dactors" and "tucks" -- they are both on a major tractor and truck kick right now as little boys are known to do. After that visit the Poseys and both sets of grandparents will be coming to town around Christmas. We'll have all the boxes out of the way by then.

Aunt Mel only has six more weeks to go before she & Roman get an addition to their household. Could be a holiday surprise....

It's getting to be Vince Guaraldi time -- cheers!

Gobble Gobble

Amy & I are preparing for our first Thanksgiving in our new abode with the boys this week. We got a small turkey yesterday and some fixins. We are going to teach the boys the joys of eating until you can't move and making an imprint in the couch while you sit and watch football. Ah, Thanksgiving -- I love it!

This year will will be a different Thanksgiving as we won't be spending it with any of our extended families. Billy and Elaine are going to Knoxville to watch the Tennessee/Kentucky game (watch out Billy -- this could be the year!) ;-) C.E. and Jane are trekking down to Charleston to spend the weekend with Aunt Mel and Uncle Dude. But Amy & I are really looking forward to a few days where we can relax and continue to get settled into our house (we still have painting to do and boxes to sort through). We'll make sure we eat enough for everyone else. Have a great Thanksgiving -- cheers!


Owen & Gus check out Dad's workshop where the wind chimes are at the perfect height.


"Scatter brother! Quick, before they make us help them rake all these leaves!"


"I would help rake leaves, honestly I would. But there are just so many things to ponder when you think of all the leaves that have fallen. I think I'd rather just sit and think of them."


"Here you go Dad, two handfuls of help from me."

Animal Babysitters

Our post-dinner ritual in entertaining Owen and Gus got some relief last night. In the past Tucker hasn't had too much to do with boys. He gets grumpy at being tugged, pulled, poked, and prodded. So when the boys come near him, he normally gets up and moves to the other side of the room or leaves altogether. Last night however Owen coaxed Tucker into a game of tug rope which left two boys and a dog wildly entertained and tired. It also two parents very glad to have found entertainment help. Long live good dogs!





Playing with the dog went on for a good half hour and would have continued had we not had a cat sighting. Now if we could just get Dutch and Harper to play with the boys like the dog does, Amy & I would leave the babysitting to the animals! ;-)

Exorcising the Ghost of Marty Moore

At the risk of counting chickens before they hatch, putting the cart before the horse, and jinxing the current good fortune of Kentucky football all within the same blog post, I had to post this now given the good feeling that surrounds the Big Blue football program. And seeing how rare it is that UK gives its football fans the opportunity to feel good, I may not have this opportunity for another 5-10 years. So here goes.

When November rolls around fans of the University of Kentucky typically have their eyes exclusively peeled to the upcoming basketball season, and football lingers like an unwanted gnat. The Vanderbilt game is nearly always a gray, dreary matchup of the cellar dwellers in the SEC. By the time the Saturday after Thanksgiving gets here, Commonwealth Stadium is infiltrated by waves of orange and the incessant -- some would say obnoxious ;-) -- rumblings of "Rocky Top" can be heard in full blare. Occasionally the UK football fan is still clinging to the hope of a winning record heading into the final game of the season, but a win over Tennessee in the finale hasn't happened for 21 straight years.

This season is a bit different. For the first time since 1999 Kentucky has qualified to go to a bowl game. The team should be 7-4 by the time the annual grudge match with the Vols rolls around next week. The Cats have a young team dominated by underclassmen and are led by an underrated quarterback who has made the transformation from indecisive and turnover-prone to confident and explosive. UK has won its last three games including an upset over periennal power Georgia and a fourth-quarter comeback against a better-than-average Vandy.

So with this rare feeling of good fortune comes an extension to the football season that has me looking ahead to bowl possibilities. The most likely candidates for Kentucky would be the Music City Bowl in Nashville or the Liberty Bowl in Memphis. But an outside possibility exists for an invitation to the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Several things would need to happen, not the least of which is a Kentucky victory in Knoxville next week. Despite the fact that I predict such a victory nearly every year ("No this really is the year") and despite the fact that my spy (my friend Eric who is a grad student at UT) is nearly guaranteeing that the streak will end this year, a win at Tennessee will be difficult as it always is.

Still for a moment let's assume the Cats continue their improbable run and finish 8-4. (I'm up to eleven chickens now I know.) This would put Kentucky in second place in the SEC East, and the Peach Bowl would definitely be within the realm of possibility. As the Peach Bowl pits SEC vs. ACC, a potential matchup could be against Clemson which would reunite the two schools from their clash in 1993 when I was a freshman at UK.

Such a scenario is the ideal cap to a solid season -- a chance to end many a bad streak: the losing skid to the Big Orange, the ghost of Marty Moore, the 22-year drought without a bowl victory. Don't get me wrong. There are still plenty of ghosts to be exorcised: the last second Chris Doering TD catch against Florida, the horrendous Hail Mary loss to LSU, and so many more. But with such a history of awful defeats, UK fans can't expect them all to be erased in one year.

Here's hoping the good fortunes continue and some ghosts are on their way out. Cheers!

C - A - T - S

Bowl eligibile for the first time in seven years. Assuming they win next week, they'll be 7-4 heading into Knoxville for the showdown with Tenneesee. Not bad for ole Rich Brooks & co.

Midterm wrap-up

Hear, hear...

E.J. Dionne - "Meeting in the Middle"

American voters, in their wisdom, ended an era on Tuesday. They rejected a poorly conceived war policy in Iraq that has weakened the United States. They rejected a harshly ideological approach to politics that cast opponents as enemies of the country's survival. They rejected a president so determined to win an election that he was willing to slander his opponents by saying: "The Democrat approach in Iraq comes down to this: The terrorists win and America loses." The voters decided there was no decency in that.

No longer will the national tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001, be used to undermine the opposition party. It was only after he was forced to do so by an electoral defeat that President Bush called for genuine bipartisanship yesterday. Imagine what the world would look like if he had done that a year or two ago.

...

This election creates an exceptional opportunity to move from blind ideology to problem-solving and from stupid divisiveness to a politics of remedy and reconciliation. The Democrats had better make it work.

V - O - T - E

If we don't vote, we don't have the right to complain about anything.

Fall Fun in Charleston

Anxious for a much needed break from unpacking boxes and wanting to see Aunt Mel and Uncle Dude (and baby X on the way), Amy & I loaded up the boys, high chairs, suitcases & toys for a weekend down in Charleston. It was a brisk weekend with temperatures staying 50s and 60s during the day and down into the 30s at night -- great autumn weather. We had a tremendous time -- playing with the dogs, going to Harvest Fest to see local bluegrass bands and tractors galore, and vegging out while talking kids over CSI reruns.

Melanie and Roman aren't finding out if they're having a boy or a girl in early January, but my money's on a baby girl to join the family. It won't be long...


Gus sweet-talks Mom & Aunt Mel into taking him on a hayride.

Owen was in heaven with all the "dactors" that awaited his exploration.


Owen even finds one that is the right size. "How much for this one please, sir?"


Several local bands gathered onstage for some bluegrass music Charleston-style.


Back at la casa, T-Cuz, Chloe and Tera are forced to watch feeding time from the deck. Chloe and Tera will very likely make the transformation from dog to vulture at feeding time just like their cousin Tucker.


A beaming Gus reunites with his canine soulmate, Ms. Chloe.


The crew poses for a snapshot after a fun day at Harvest Fest.

Politico Friday

It's been a while since the last Politico Friday. Since midterm elections are this coming Tuesday, and since I think this Friedman NYT editorial speaks volumes of truth, PF returns.

Thomas L. Friedman - Insulting Our Troops, and Our Intelligence

Everyone says that Karl Rove is a genius. Yeah, right. So are cigarette companies. They get you to buy cigarettes even though we know they cause cancer. That is the kind of genius Karl Rove is. He is not a man who has designed a strategy to reunite our country around an agenda of renewal for the 21st century — to bring out the best in us. His “genius” is taking some irrelevant aside by John Kerry and twisting it to bring out the worst in us, so you will ignore the mess that the Bush team has visited on this country.

And Karl Rove has succeeded at that in the past because he was sure that he could sell just enough Bush cigarettes, even though people knew they caused cancer. Please, please, for our country’s health, prove him wrong this time.

Let Karl know that you’re not stupid. Let him know that you know that the most patriotic thing to do in this election is to vote against an administration that has — through sheer incompetence — brought us to a point in Iraq that was not inevitable but is now unwinnable.

Let Karl know that you think this is a critical election, because you know as a citizen that if the Bush team can behave with the level of deadly incompetence it has exhibited in Iraq — and then get away with it by holding on to the House and the Senate — it means our country has become a banana republic. It means our democracy is in tatters because it is so gerrymandered, so polluted by money, and so divided by professional political hacks that we can no longer hold the ruling party to account.

It means we’re as stupid as Karl thinks we are.

I, for one, don’t think we’re that stupid. Next Tuesday we’ll see.

Release the Hounds

We had a tremendous Halloween. The neighborhood was decorated, kids filled the streets running from house collecting candy and the adults took some time to chat in the streets. The boys proudly displayed their canine costumes and loved being outside watching all the other characters trick-or-treating. It was a great night had by all!


The dog pound



Still working on the 'sit' and 'stay' part. Obedience school? Note, Gus is upside down on the left.



Run, I have the keys!!


The boys ended the night relaxing on the neighbor's swing.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween from our little pumpkin monsters to yours!



BTW, we closed on the old house today. Not without jumping over some more hurdles yesterday with deck encroachments, utility easements, yadda yadda, but 'tis a done deal. The house ordeal is finally over -- wooohooo!

Cheers!

Pumpkins Galore

Halloween has turned into a popular festive season for Owen & Gus -- and we aren't even to the candy part yet. The boys have been running to their closet on a daily basis, tugging at their dog costume, and happily issuing a barrage of "woof woof"s. Couple that with the joy of pointing out all the pumpkins on people's front porches, and it's safe to say the boys are pumped for Halloween.

This past weekend we ventured out to a pumpkin farm outside Apex where the boys thoroughly enjoyed their first pumpkin-picking experience. They were treated to a sea of pumpkins, a hayride-pulling tractor, and two donkeys. Later the boys got to finally put on their dog costumes and celebrate Trunk or Treat at our church.

Yes, I believe Halloween is going to be a favorite holiday for some time. Just wait til they figure out you get to eat chocolate on top of all the other fun. Cheers!


"I want that one, Mom!"

Gus doubles as a pumpkin.

"Wooohooo! C'mon brother, make the getaway while they're not looking!"

The honor system -- leave your money in the mailbox.

Mini pumpkins are just our size.

Big Red prepares for a Saturday of hayrides while Amy & Gus scope out the asses.



Dad explains that although eating the pen is fun, drawing a jack-o-latern face on the pumpkin with the pen is better.


Gus happily displays the decapitated pumpkin scalp.


Owen shows his lonely puppy dog eyes at Trunk or Treat before warming up to the crowd and running wild.


Gus immediately heads for Tigger and Pooh with keys in hand looking for an audience.

Name Wizard

Courtesty of Bill Simmons' Sports Guy column...

This is an entertaining site to test out how popular different names are. Like Def Leppard, I was popular in the 80's but on my way down. Young Gus is trying to make a comeback from his peak in the 1800's.

This would be good for anyone who naming a little one on the way. Enjoy!

http://babynamewizard.com/namevoyager/lnv0105.html

Enemies of Childhood

Frank Deford had a great commentary today on Morning Edition about some schools around the country that are banning tag at recess. Enough already.

"Would you rather have your child running around or sitting on his fat rear end playing video games?"

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6380094

Eight Guys and a Truck

The marathon moving weekend began on Friday with the loading and unloading of a 26-foot U-Haul behemoth and concluded when Chad & I unloaded the last of the dining room furniture on a dreary, rainy Sunday afternoon. Along the way friends and family helped us moved appliances, boxes, beds, the whole nine yards including three refrigerators four different times. Engineers we were not, but bound and determined we certainly were as we disassembled two fridges after putting our heads together on how to get them in and out of houses. I also gained a new respect for people who drive massive trucks for a living. I ran over a post with the U-Haul causing a traffic jam at the dump. I have never been so stressed driving a vehicle in my life.

The move has been a long, draining process that has spanned four weeks. Yet we are very fortunate and appreciative of all the help we have received from both sets of parents and a host of our friends who have invested their time & energy into helping us make the move much easier. We are truly grateful. Now our life is essentially a plethora of boxes to sort through in the coming weeks. But at least those boxes are under one roof and we won't have to shuffle back and forth from house to house.

Here were some shots of the move and the aftermath. Cheers!


The boys immediately relished their new playroom as they now have room to push their trucks and tractors, spread out their books, and pounce on their stuffed monkey. Free at last.

Pappy entertains the boys with Cinnamon Life cereal -- a Rutledge boy favorite -- and silly stories.

The moving crew pauses in front of an empty U-Haul for some hops & barley celebratory refreshment. (Pappy, GJ, Chad, Claudia, and Amy not pictured despite all their efforts.)

Sadly enough, our house TV didn't survive the move. We didn't drop it in the process, but there are now fuzzy lines across it and the picture is blurry. Amy thinks it was just a ploy to upgrade to a new HDTV for the living room. I'm shocked and appalled at the implication. ;-) As the sage Chad Guthrie pointed out, "Think of the children, Amy. Do you want them to grow up with impaired vision because of a shoddy TV?" Such wisdom.

The Move

GJ and Pappy arrived in NC on Saturday and wasted no time getting to work. Their first night here we toured the new house and prepared for the move. When the boys finally crashed we all went to work painting, pulling up carpet and packing things in boxes. It is a lot of work, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Big move day is in three days on Friday. We're getting there....


Pappy knows no fear as he hoists himself atop an extension ladder for the hard-to-reach places that his son chickens away from.

Evidence of the flying squirrels on the blue carpet began to fade away as the crew pulled up carpet, padding and staples in preparation for the new carpet, which will remain free of flying rodents.

After eight gallons, a dozen rolls of tape, and a half dozen colors, Amy surprisingly still hasn't had her fill of painting as she shows her enthusiasm here. I quickly turned around after snapping this one for fear of where that paint roller might get shoved.


GJ takes a break from organizing, packing, watching boys & carpet duty for a quick bite to eat.


Gus works over his grandmother, pausing for a moment during play time to cuddle with his GJ. Couple cuddle time with the fact that he now points to his grandmother on command and occasionally offers up a "Gee-Juh," he has officially wrapped her around his finger. As it should be young man, as it should be.


Cheers!

Dwight Schrute

If there is a funnier character on TV right now than The Office's Dwight Schrute, I'd like to know. Some of you may have received phone messages from Dwight recently courtesy of this gem of a site.

If you'd like to see the whole catalog of available Dwight phone calls, visit http://www.theofficedvd.com/dwight/.

Guilty Pleasures of a Suburban Father

Having worn out the last few CD's I purchased months ago -- Pearl Jam, Gomez, & Josh Rouse -- I have been craving some new music of late. However, having devoting all of my waking hours to work, twin boys, buying/selling/painting houses lately I have not had the time to listen to any new music, much less buy any music.

So earlier this week my interest was piqued as Amy & I decided we were going to catch up on back episodes of our favorite two TV shows -- The Office and CSI. In the CSI season premiere there was a scene at the end of the episode where John Mayer was playing at a bar when CSI Catherine Willows gets drugged and abducted. Now I have never given John Mayer much more than a minute of consideration other than the occasional chastising comment to myself for allowing one of his songs to get stuck in my head. You know how that happens -- when you hear something on the radio and the next thing you know you're singing that song for the next eleven hours. Well after finally taking some time to mindless rest & watch some CSI the other night, I found myself completely digging John Mayer -- he of the teenybopper, screaming high school girl fame -- and the new song he was singing.

The next thing I know I'm asking friends of mine if it's ok for a 32-year old male to like John Mayer songs. After receiving many chastising comments and a few lukewarm reassurances, I bought the new John Mayer CD yesterday. (Actually, I must confess I bribed Amy to buy it when she ran an errand with the boys yesterday.)

So as if it were not official before, I am now officially a suburban dad -- a minivan-driving, listening to music played by twentysomethings, wishing his yard looked better, stroller-lugging suburban dad. Oh well -- if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. ;-)

Cheers!


If you see me with a copy of this guy's CD or taking his kids to a Clay Aiken concert, you officially have permission to run me over. ;-)

Artists at Work

Amy and I have been two busy creatures since closing on our house. After the first 10 days we have over half the house painted, with some much appreciated help from Nana and Granddaddy who were in North Carolina last week. Realistically their trip wasn't a full pleasure visit for them to see us and the boys, but hopefully they got some R&R time in as well. The flooring guys are at the house starting today sanding & refinishing the floors where the floors had cupped over time. The carpet guys are scheduled to begin next Monday replacing the blue beastly carpet that was once home to flying squirrels. I wish I were kidding. ;-)

So if all goes well we should begin moving some things in next week. It will be a tremendously welcome change as the coming & going phase is taking its toll. Fortunately GJ and Pappy are coming to NC this weekend, and we welcome reinforcements with open arms.

A sincere thank you to Billy and Elaine for all their help last week. We really appreciate it!

Cheers!


The whole house from end to end was painted white. It was our blank canvas to make into what we wanted. Here Amy starts the prep work for the painting bonanza that was to come.

Nana and Granddaddy gear up for a week's worth of Michelangelo impersonations.




If we never see another roll of 3M blue painting tape, it will be too soon. ;-)



Being 6'5" is often an asset in painting, especially stretching to reach tall walls is required. However, being tall can have its disadvantages at times like when crouching into small crevices is what is needed to get hard-to-reach spaces.


Nana was rewarded for all her hard work with a chorus of "Na-na"s from the boys. We hope it made all the work worthwhile.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Great philosophy and we tried to adhere to it by taking some time out to celebrate Granddaddy's 39th birthday. Birthday cake and ice cream has now supplanted corn on the cob as the boys' favorite food, as evidenced with Owen's "Mmmmmmm" every time he took a bite.

Safe and Sound

As many of you have heard, there was a chemical fire in Apex overnight. The area evacuated was between our old house (where we're still living) and the new house. Both are within a mile or two of the area vacated. It doesn't sound like we have any reason to be concerned but we'll stay clear of lingering clouds of smoke.

Thanks for all the calls and emails checking on us. Thanks also to my sister for the email which brought the situation to our attention. :)

What a Day

Well, it's midnight on Friday and we have just completed one jam-packed flurry of a day. Running on three hours of sleep we tackled the house closing on our new home in Apex today. The close wasn't without its moments as these things are often complicated by something -- ours was a seeimingly simple $75 termite treatment reimbursement. But at the end of it all, we have our house and have already started painting. The sellers painted every wall in the house -- and I mean every single wall -- white. The house is a blank canvas. We should have some good before & after photos once this is all over.

Nana and Granddaddy were absolute troopers today, rounding up Owen and Gus to go to the park and looking after them while Amy & I concentrated completely on all things house. Owen has definitely latched on to his Granddaddy, crying whenever Billy leaves the room. And Gus has learned he has a captive audience in his Nana, showing off for her every chance he gets. We will take a painting break and get some pictures up soon.

Finally, today was Granddaddy's birthday and we celebrated with birthday cake and ice cream. Owen belted out continous "Mmmmmm"s every time he took a bite while Gus mastered the art of mashing and eating cake with a spoon. Happy birthday Granddaddy!