Birthday Boys

Owen & Gus turned 4 yesterday and we celebrated by taking an afternoon off to go over to their first baseball game, or as Owen called it "a really long basketball game."

The day started with a small celebration at the boys' preschool. Amy & I had sorted through 4 years of digital pictures on the computer to find 10 for each of them. I took my laptop to school, and Gus and Owen each presented pictures from their first 4 years -- from photos of them being connected to a dozen wires in an incubator after birth (which fascinated the other kids) to pictures of trips to the zoo, beach & aquarium. The boys took a lap around the sun candle for each of their four years while the students recited their little birthday poem. It was quite a little event that they do for each birthday.




Owen talks about pictures of him with his dog Tucker, brother and sister, and those chomping alligators at the zoo.


Next it was on to the DBAP, home of the Durham Bulls and Bull Durham. ("Anything hit that far should have a stewardess on it....")


The boys were so excited to see Wool E. Bull that they got stagefright the moment they actually got to meet him. Gus managed a high five but then ran for the sanctity of Mom & Dad while Owen would have no part. They both enjoyed Wool E's caper around the ballpark on a go-cart between innings.


The highlight of the day and the ball game by far was the junk food. Cotton candy, Cracker Jack, popcorn, hot dogs, you name it -- the boys ate it.


"I'm eating this stuff like there's no tomorrow. You only turn four once!"


Finally two tired brothers returned home to hang out with Mom, Dad, GJ, and Tess. Happy birthday dudes. Many happy returns.

Cheers!

Easter

Easter provided our crew a good chance for some rest & relaxation with family & friends. After a rainy Good Friday the weather cleared up for Easter egg hunts, time out in the yard, dinner with friends and feasting on a small mountain of chocolate.

On Saturday Owen found the "golden egg" at the Easter egg hunt at our church, for which he was rewarded with a giant chocolate treat. Then that night our good friends the Learys brought their kids over for some great conversation, food, and play time.

Today our crew ventured to church for the Easter cantata and an uplifting, simple message from our pastor Joanne about the true meaning of Easter. The afternoon featured a long nap from Tess as the couch beckoned me to sink into it and watch the final round of the Masters with the windows open. Unfortunately I couldn't pull Kentuckian Kenny Perry through, but it was a memorable, relaxing day nonetheless.

Happy Easter everyone.


Owen, Rachel and Gus hunt for Easter eggs in the backyard.


Andrew and Tess try to elbow their way in to get some sandbox time in with the older siblings.


Owen & Gus vie for Rachel's laughs as they push her from front and back. Rachel's quote: "I never knew swinging could be so much fun!"


Tess sported her lovely new Easter dress that her Nana made for her. Several folks at our church service doted on her, and Tess ate it up. All the attention must have worn the little girl out because she took a 3-hour nap when we got home -- her longest nap ever.

Finally, I tried to catch this clip of the boys as they created a new game of basketball this afternoon. The audio didn't come through, but you will get the idea. Gus dragged the basketball goal all the way down from the garage to the playset -- refusing anyone's help of course in true Gus fashion. Then he & Owen proceeded to invent their own game of hoops as they dropped the ball from the top of the playset to score. Whoever dropped the ball had to get off the playset and retrieve the ball. These two played this game for a long time. Having a twin brother as a playmate sure comes in handy sometimes.

Baby Katy

The baby tour continues as our dear friends Chad and Claudia Guthrie celebrate the arrival of Baby Katy tonight. The newest Guthrie weighed in at 7.3 lbs and a head full of hair. Chad was texting me all day with updates so Amy & I felt like we were right there with them at the hospital in Florida. Hopefully Chad's updates weren't keeping him from helping Claudia with her breathing.

We are so very happy for our former next-door neighbors. And we're happy that Chad actually stayed in the delivery room without fainting.

Welcome Katy!

Spring Break

After helping the Crumpton crew with the arrival of Baby Sam, GJ made the trek back up to NC to hang out with our crew until the boys' birthday. This past week was Spring Break for the boys' preschool so the extra pair of helping hands came in very handy.

Spring is here in central North Carolina as temperatures have climbed up into the 70's. It has been the perfect weather for trips to the park, Easter egg hunts, and firing up the grill. At night the adults are all pretty tired, but we did manage to break out a game of Sequence for old time's sake last night.

Owen and Gus have spent their week playing hard and watching some movies. Wall-E is the current movie de jour, with Jungle Book, Lady & the Tramp, and 101 Dalmatians following those. (Television will never raise my childr.....nevermind.)

Tessa Lou is still not walking. It's funny because she took about 4 steps a few weeks back for Amy & me. She repeated the steps several times that day, and Amy & I were certain she was about to be walking all over the place. But since then she hasn't taken a step. Why walk when you can crawl at the speed of sound or be carried by Mom, Dad, GJ, or Miss Dorothy?

So we wait patiently for her to begin her upward mobility. If it were the boys who waited this long to walk we probably would have been worried. In fact I know we would have. But given that we have been through this with the boys, Amy & I just figure Tess will walk when she's good & ready. I think she will be like Owen was when he started walking and take 20-30 steps at a time as soon as she puts her mind to it.

What Tess lacks in upright movement she makes up for in being a ham and chatting. She has really picked up sign language (all done, more, milk, "I've been in this high chair for an hour and you better get me out in the next 5 seconds or this plate's flying"). She takes after Gus in the ham department as she loves to show off by putting something on her head or around her neck and then waiting for your reaction.

So while life for us can be tiring trying to keep up with it all, it is very, very rewarding.

Have a great Easter everyone.

Cheers.


Nothing like a spring picnic in the.....garage? Whatever works.



Little Easy Rider herself decides to bypass walking for the fun stuff.

Baby Charlotte

Continuing with the April baby theme, my cousin Brooke and her husband Geoff welcomed their second today with the arrival of Charlotte Elizabeth this morning. Charlotte joins sister Gabi, who word has it was displeased with her new sister's name because "Charlotte is a spider's name."

And so it begins....

Congratulations to the Barrett crew!

(Charlotte will forever share a birthday with my mom -- Happy birthday GJ!)

Baby Rachel

Something was in the water last July as Amy & I know many people who are expecting little ones in April. The second arrival we celebrate this month is Rachel Mills, who arrived yesterday at 6 lbs. 12 oz. and is the first child for Jeff & Janet, our good friends back in Louisville. I'm sure it won't be long until Jeff has her decked out in Big Blue.

Congratulations to the Mills crew! Cheers!


Jeff & baby Rachel.

Baby Sam

Congratulations to Aunt Mel and Uncle Dude! A new baby boy, Samuel Carver arrived late last week to join the Crumpton crew. GJ was in Charleston when Sam arrived and Pappy hightailed it down to SC when he heard the news. According to Mel, Corinne likes to slop wet kisses on her new baby brother! Classic!

Welcome young Sam and congratulations Crumptons!

The Era of the Squid Begins

Fortunately for my company -- and any workplace in the country where there is a UK fan working -- Kentucky hired a head men's basketball coach today in John Calipari. Productivity can resume.

Calipari will bring instant credibility on the elite national level as far as recruiting and coaching are concerned. He consistently recruited the top high school talent to play for him at Memphis. So as far as competing with the UNC, Duke, UConn, and Kansas programs of the college basketball world is concerned, there probably was not a better person to do that than Calipari.

The new coach will bring a self-confidence and media saavy ambassador presence to the role that was certainly not Billy Gillispie's sweet spot. So for those fans that were concerned about getting a coach that would embrace the public aspect of the job, that concern should be put to rest.

Calipari is not without his critics. One man's self-confidence is another man's arrogance. Rival coaches do not like him, including Bruce Pearl and Rick Pitino. Rival fans are quick to bring up his associations with power brokers in the amateur basketball world. Many writers have already noted that his 1996 Final Four team was stripped of its wins because its star player, Marcus Camby, received cash from an agent under Calipari's watch (even though Calipari denied knowledge).

So like everything in life, there is good and bad with the hire. For me, an avid Kentucky fan living in the hotbed of ACC basketball, I just look forward to the Cats being back at that elite national level. And I can just ignore those UNC message board posts referencing Emery freight boxes stuffed with cash, death penalty probation, and shady recruiting connections.

Go Big Blue!

Open letter from my bosses

Date: Monday, March 30, 2009
To: Lee Todd, President, University of Kentucky
From: IBM management, Software Middleware division

Dear Dr. Todd,

We are writing you to ask you and your Athletics Director, Mitch Barnhart, to please move quickly in naming a head coach for the UK basketball team. Normally we do not mettle in affairs of athletics or higher education. As an IT company our business is technology, not basketball.

However, we have noticed a dramatic drop in productivity in one of our employees in sector 7G, cube H164 over the past few days, and we believe that drop corresponds directly with your vacant head coaching position.

After more detailed investigation it appears this employee -- a tall, lanky fellow with bags under his eyes the size of teabags and who shall remain nameless -- has been foregoing his professional responsibilities and instead sits at his laptop hitting the F5 refresh key on message boards, espn.com, and kentucky.com until his fingertips are thick with heavy callouses. As a result, no one else in our software lab in North Carolina has any internet bandwidth because this employee is using it all to see if you have named a coaching replacement.

So please understand our predicament and take our request under advisement. The employee's wife has also contacted us, asking that we send security in to pry him away from computer. And to remind him to pick up some diapers on the way home.

Thank you for your time and best of luck in your search.

Sincerely,
IBM software management team

AIG

Interesting editorial today in the NYT from an exec at AIG who announces his resignation and gives his side of the story to the people that were promised the bonuses which are triggering outrage across the country.

He actually raises some fair points in his defense -- not everyone at AIG is to blame for the mistakes of the few, politicians grandstand and scapegoat people without understanding all the facts, and this guy is actually donating his bonus to charity (assuming Congress doesn't tax it at 90% like the Dems have proposed).

It goes to show that there are two sides to every story. That said, he lost me once I read down at the end of the article about how much the guy made in that bonus. Unbelievable.

"Dear AIG, I Quit!"

On March 16 I received a payment from A.I.G. amounting to $742,006.40, after taxes. In light of the uncertainty over the ultimate taxation and legal status of this payment, the actual amount I donate may be less — in fact, it may end up being far less if the recent House bill raising the tax on the retention payments to 90 percent stands. Once all the money is donated, you will immediately receive a list of all recipients.

The comments online in response have been brutal. My personal favorite:

In what other universe does a company that loses $60B in one quarter pay huge bonuses negotiated when it was clear the company was going down. Thanks to the U.S. taxpayers, which will be paying for this debacle for many years, AIG is still a company instead of a bankrupt shell and you still have your stocks and they may someday be worth something

Cutting Losses

Selection Sunday was yesterday, and for the first time in 18 years Kentucky was left out of the brackets. There has been a lot written, blogged, and "talk radioed" about the state of the Kentucky basketball program with Billy Gillispie at the helm. Much of the ranting and raving comes from the same people that expect Kentucky to win every game and make the Final Four every year. I do not count myself in that company of Kentucky basketball fanatic. But I do count myself -- reluctantly -- in the company of those that believe Dr. Lee Todd and Mitch Barnhart should cut the cord with Gillispie after a short two-year stint as basketball coach.

Let me start by saying that I was a fan of the Gillispie hire. Although I was a Tubby Smith supporter to his last day on the job, I thought if anyone fit the mold of what it takes to succeed in the fishbowl that is the University of Kentucky basketball program, it was Billy Gillispie. Here was a guy that admittedly put basketball first and foremost in his life so much so that it cost him his marriage. What better person was there to eat, sleep, and breathe basketball at one of the most storied schools in the country to appease a never-satisfied fan base.

Through his first season and a half, I still thought he was the best coach for the job despite some embarrassing losses -- Gardener-Webb, a 40-pt drubbing at Vanderbilt, VMI. But my mind began to change in January as Kentucky went on a 3-game losing streak. It was not the losses that bothered me so much -- after all, Kentucky never did develop a solid scoring option outside of Jodie Meeks or Patrick Patterson. Rather, it was the way the coach handled himself in representing the university that bothered me.

At Ole Miss, Gillispie was interviewed by an ESPN sideline reporter where he gave a condescending answer to a straightforward question. The next game, a home loss to loss to South Carolina in January where UK blew a 10-point second half lead, Gillispie chased the officials off the court at the end of the game rather than shaking South Carolina coach (and Lexington native) Darrin Horn's hand. Finally, the following week on another ESPN-televised game against Florida, Gillispie once again gave a belittling, snippy answer to a seemilngly harmless question from Jeannine Edwards, ESPN's sideline reporter.

As the losses began piling up and Kentucky's chances became slimmer and slimmer of making the tournament, articles were written that were more and more critical of Kentucky's coach. Some of those articles come with the territory when a team is losing. But when a coach's team is not winning the quirks and behaviors are less likely to be brushed aside or glossed over.

One article in particular on espn.com stuck with me as I came to grips with the fact that I may join some of the fanatics that were calling for Gillispie's head. The piece was "An inside look at a blue blood on the bubble" by Dana O'Neil where she was given "all access" to follow the team and coach through practices and games the last week of the season. The article touched on Gillispie's sarastic leadership & motivational style:

Gillispie hasn't revealed himself to be a yeller. He is more a sniper, a guy with a biting tongue who can make his point without ever inserting a curse word.

Far edgier in this practice, he reacts to a lazy lob pass with a "That's the difference between being 11-4 and 8-7 right now,'' and sarcastically asks a player if he's ready to hustle now.

If you have ever worked for a manager or played for a coach that used this type of leadership with people, you know how limited this approach is. I am a believer that you don't bring the best out in people over the long term by consistently belittling them or using negative motivational tactics. Granted, this is basketball and you don't hand out Disney stickers when a player does something good to motivate him. There is yelling and hard-nosed tactics involved with motivating 18 year-olds. But sarcasm and negativity as the cornerstone of your approach burns people out over the long haul.

Case in point, a team that features two of the best players in the country in Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson (and two incredibly quality individuals at that) loses nine of its last thirteen games down the stretch and misses the NCAA.

So I am joining the fanatics in calling for a coaching change after two seasons. After two seasons of a childish, arrogant, and ultimately non-producing coach, Billy Gillispie is not the right guy to lead the University of Kentucky basketball team.

The only caveat I will put on this is if Gillispie atones for his mistakes and changes his ways, especially with how he represents the university. But there is something about that stubborn, arrogant Texas swagger that leads me to believe Kentucky fans have to take him or leave him as he is.

If that's the case I say cut your losses right now and make a change before the situation gets even worse.

Random Kid Conversation #384

There is something amusing about having a conversation with a three year-old. Just the reckless abandon with which they blurt out whatever comes to their mind, regardless of company or context.

My most recent favorite from last night after Owen cleaned his plate.

Dad: Owen, you did a really good job with dinner. You ate all your soup. That makes Mom very happy when you eat something that she worked hard to make.

Mom: Yes, Owen, very good job.

Dad: What was your favorite part of the soup, the potatoes or the meat?

Owen: Mmmmm, all of it.

Mom: That makes me very happy, Owen. Thank you.

Owen: When my penis burns, I come and tell you.

Mom (bewildered): Uh.....Owen, is your penis burning now?

Owen: No, but when I go to the bathroom and my penis does burn I come tell you or Dad.

Lions, Lambs, Hooks and Reality TV

"In like a lion, out like a lamb" goes the saying about March. We are living proof of that here, even just this week. It has rained nonstop for 2 days -- of course this happens on the weekend so we parents are forced to entertain kids indoors. Tonight it is supposed to turn over to snow, with 2" to 4" of accumulation predicted. The low Tuesday morning is 14 degrees.

But wait, whatever snow we get will be out of here in a hurry. By Saturday the temperature is predicted to warm up to a balmy 74 degrees. So we have a 60 degree swing in 4 days. Craziness.

This weekend I made my first trip to Blockbuster in over 5 years. Amy & I just never rent movies anymore. If we do make the time for a silver screen special, we normally just dial one up on pay-per-view. But even that is a rarity. So given the prospect of having two energetic 3 year-olds in the house for two days in the rain (and potential snow), I decided to get the boys some movies and get us adults some movies to guarantee ourselves a couple of date nights.

I had to call my pal Chris from the video store to tell me what movies had been released since Casablanca, which was out about the last one Amy & I rented a flick. We settled on "W" -- which is supposed to be a humorous and even sympathetic portrayal of our favorite Presidential punching bag -- "The Prestige," and "Changling." No clue if these will be any good, but it's worth a couple of bowls of popcorn to find out.

The boys have worn out "101 Dalmatians" and "Peter Pan" the past two days. Owen was a little unnerved by Cruella deVille and Captain Hook. You forget as an adult that these villains in some of these old Disney classics were drawn & animated pretty scarily for a kid. But both boys were very happy when the dogs triumphed over Horace and Jasper the dognappers and when Pan & kids fed Hook to the crocodile. The Disney classics will always have a place in my heart.

Other than the movie binge, Amy and I are presently stuck on "Millionaire Matchmaker," which comes on Bravo on Thursday nights. It's about a woman in Hollywood who fixes millionaires up with their true loves. The show is somewhat mindless like a good reality show should be. But it's 60 minutes of escape and actually does provide a cool glimpse into human nature, regardless of income. And the best part is Matchmaker doesn't make you feel like you need to take a shower afterward like "Rock of Love," which admittedly we still keep up with.

So it's been an ode to TV weekend here as we await the sleet and ice. Stay warm wherever you are.

Cheers!

Tess Phone Home

Someone please call this little girl. ;-)

Meet Jack

With apologies for the poor video quality (I grabbed the camera as soon as Gus started talking, paying no attention to light), here is Gus telling everyone all about his imaginary friend/cousin/brother Jack.

Jack is nine (today at least), built his own brick house in the spooky woods, likes broccoli (go figure), has a house full of cats and dogs, and is his cousin but not Owen's cousin.

I can't wait to meet this kid.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day from our crew to yours. Here's hoping that you like your kisses better than Tess liked hers.

Daddy's Little Girl

Everything around our house is "Hi Da-da." It took a little enticing for the camera, but Tess shows the easiest way to wrap a smitten father around every one of her fingers. (Forgive the snot rockets btw.)

Little Ladybug Turns One

So last weekend our little Tess celebrated her first birthday. One year old. I can't believe it. A year ago I rushed Amy to the hospital at 5:00 in the morning, and Tess decided she wasn't waiting any longer. She was hanging out with us by 8:00.

Tess's first year was hopefully a harbinger of what her personality will be. She is one mellow, happy little girl. She can be quite the charmer as what she lacks in willingness to walk around, she makes up for in being a ham.

Amy & I look forward to the days when she can join the mix with her two older brothers, but for now we are just happy that for the most part she doesn't venture too far off.

For the birthday celebration we were joined by Nana and Aunt Kay who flew to Raleigh to spend the week with us. What a good time we had. Although we didn't get to get out and show off the area too much, we made up for it by spending quality time together and decorating the house for the birthday party.

Nana and Kay were tremendous help to Amy & me with the kids, giving us a much-appreciated break from the grind. Amy & I even got out of the house for dinner together after all the partying was over on Saturday. The boys really responded well to their grandmother and great aunt, raring to wake them up every morning and winding down at night as they read bedtime stories together. A great time!

Happy Birthday little ladybug!


Aunt Kay and Nana have a feel for decorating.
Owen has a feel for chips before the eastern North Carolina barbecue feast.
Amy spent 3 days on a ladybug cake. I have to admit -- even after all the grief I gave her for not buying a cake at the store, this one turned out incredibly cute. A job well done!

When it was time to party, we had a little girl who delayed things as she crashed for a siesta before the fiesta.


Our other incredible helpers Ms. Ann and Ms. Jeanne from Covenant came by to help us celebrate the big day.

After all the cake decorating, mantle decorating, balloons, morning nap, and build-up, Tess wouldn't eat her cupcake. She didn't like the sticky icing on her fingers and eventually cried until we took it away. Amy was a bit deflated, but the next day Tess properly dove in to the make-up cupcake head first.


"All this for me? Ok."


Cheers!

Gimme the Gas

Hat tip to Chris LeDuc for this gem. I always loved getting the gas at the dentist's office.

"Is this real life?" Too funny.

Excuses

First and foremost, I have been a major slacker in terms of posting recently. My sincere apologies.

Just so you know my time on the blog has been limited lately as I have been in preliminary discussions with joining the Barack Obama administration as Health and Human Services Secretary. Unfortunately, like Tom Daschle, who withdrew his nomination for failing to pay taxes for having a limousine driver, I had to back out of negotiations as tax attorneys were questioning my monthly expenditures on Green Flash IPA and Enfamil baby formula. Apparently this was raising red flags.

Ok, ok, so maybe I only wish I was under consideration for a Cabinet appointment. But I have been in discussions with UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart about replacing coach Billy Gillispie mid-season. The second-year coach has clearly lost control over this UK team which has now lost a dreadful three games in a row to subpar SEC teams. Once again, my dirty laundry appears to have come back to haunt me as a picture in a London tabloid with my friend Michael Phelps is making Barnhart gun shy about making a historic coaching hire.

Not buying it? Well, after making it through the phantom hernia (as my pal Chris called it), I have had to ease back into running so I have been taking up walking more. While on a walk through the neighborhood the other day I was approached by a Tyrannasaurus Rex and a Triceratops who wanted to know which house was Owen's and Gus's. When I refused to tell the hungry meat eaters, they tossed me about with their friend the Brachiosaurus and wouldn't let me return home. Hence, no posts.

(For the record, Owen & Gus loved the version of that last story I told them at the dinner table. They now insist on trying to outdo me with tall tales of dinosaurs scratching at their windows & dinosaurs approaching the car at stoplights while I'm driving.)

The truth is life has been rather hectic the first month of the year, especially on the work front. IBM -- as countless other companies dealing with the economic recession -- has laid off thousands of people over the past couple of weeks. Fortunately for Amy and me, we both still have jobs at Big Blue. But many people we know and work with were impacted. So I think there has been a renewed vigor with which we approach our jobs -- both a desire to make sense of all the changes and a determination to show that we have our place in the new environment, whatever it may look like.

We do have some fun things to report.

"Jack" is now 4 years old, but he knows how to drive. Mom and Dad can't see Jack, and Owen is allowed to see him.....sometimes.

Everything out of Tess's mouth is "Da-da." When I come into the room, it's "Hi, Da-da!" When Amy picks Tess up off the floor, it's "Hi, Da-da!" As Amy says, Tess is going to need more fingers since she has me wrapped around each of hers. Indeed.

Our little girl is turning 1 this weekend. Nana and Aunt Kay flew in last night to help us celebrate which we are very excited about. Amy has a ladybug cake on the docket which the boys are excited about. And we are planning a small get together with some of Tess's many caretakers which should be a lot of fun.

So there is some goodness going on with us outside the stresses. I will do a better job of updating.

If I can just steer clear of those dinosaurs....

Cheers!