Week 38

Florida is voting again today. Hopefully they have gotten rid of the old butterfly ballots. We've all been down that path before. The GOP vote is really the only one that matters today. Tonight should be interesting to see if McCain can emerge as the frontrunner heading into Super Tuesday next week or if Mitt Romney and his immaculate hair will lead the pack. If you believe polls, they seem to suggest that this is a two-man race.

The Democratic side shouldn't matter since there are theoretically no delegates at stake. The Clinton campaign will surely hype Hillary's win, if nothing more than to shift the focus from Obama's South Carolina momentum and from Bill's latest zipper trouble (courtesy of Tom Toles):

On the home front, Amy is starting to hit that "I am incredibly uncomfortable" stage where she doesn't sleep. Gus decided to take it easy on her one day last week by only having five (!) accidents in his pants while she had the boys. Ugh. Gotta love potty training. Owen then got in on the act and boycotted coming home from school yesterday, throwing a fit in the classroom when Amy arrived to pick them up. I chuckle that the boys have a rude awakening coming when Amy is no longer pregnant -- while she cannot pick up the boys and physically impose a mother's will on her two year-old right now, those days will very soon be coming to an end. On the bright side, the boys do seem to be in a pattern of 2-3 steps forward and then a step back with the potty training. So we feel we are on our way and heading in the right direction to having only one child in diapers by the time baby #3 arrives.

Amy has a doctor's appointment on Wednesday where we hope to continue to get good reports. It could be two hours or two weeks from now. We are just playing the waiting game for the time being.

Finally, on an indulgent note, Amy & I have partaken in season two of Bret Michaels' Rock of Love on VH1. It is tacky, cheesy, and completely low-brow. But it is shamefully one of our favorite hours of television each week. Twenty bachelorettes vying (for the second season, mind you) for the affections of a washed-up, has-been rock star where the race to the bottom wins -- entertaining indeed!

Cheers!

Politico Palmetto

The South Carolina Democratic primary is today. I know Aunt Mel & Uncle Dude will be voting for their candidates today and may be happy that all the television cameras & media attention will be leaving the state after today. Amy & I look forward to watching the returns tonight and the gear-up for Florida in a few days and Super Tuesday the following week. The political season is certainly heating up.

On a similar political note, there is a book excerpt n the current Newsweek about the Bush presidency. When I started reading it, I thought, "Ok, just another Bush bashing book -- get in line." But this one -- at least from the excerpt -- really seems to go deeper and examine Bush's struggles in his search for a doctrine and a legacy greater than his father's.

A really interesting critique.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/96372

At a temperamental level, the president has almost no ability to accept blame or learn from mistakes. Disagreement, whether from critics or allies, sounds like his mother's nagging and his father's disappointment. Thus criticism has the opposite of its intended effect on him. Disapproval hardens Bush's conviction that he must be right and reinforces his refusal to surrender. Believing he earned his position in life through willpower, he feels he shouldn't have to ask anyone for permission. This obstinacy has been evident in his personnel practices as well as policy choices. The more the media demanded Bush yield up a head—CIA Director George Tenet, Rumsfeld, Karl Rove, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales—the longer that person was likely to be staying around.

Bush's inflexibility is rooted in the old family drama. It reflects not just a personality forged in opposition to his father, but an idea of leadership developed in conscious contrast to him. Where George H. W. Bush weighed options, W. sizes you up and decides. Where 41 saw shades of gray, 43 finds moral clarity. "The son prides himself on being the guy who cuts through it all, who is decisive, not wishy-washy,"

The Great Day After

Every now & then a day comes along where you just feel awesome. No matter the hurdles that are thrown at you, it's still a great day. Today is that day at the Rutledge house.

So when Owen misses the toilet and pees all over me first thing in the morning, I shrug it off. When the boys' school calls telling us that Owen has fallen and banged his nose up and that he is pretty shaken up, we take it in stride. When I hear on NPR that the Clintons are gearing up their attack machine against my guy Barack Obama, it doesn't faze me.

The reason?

Because Kentucky beat 3rd-ranked Tennessee last night in a gutty, gritty performance on national TV in front of a hyped-up Rupp Arena crowd.

And while it may be silly to let my mood be dictated by a basketball game -- the outcome of which I have no control over if I listen to my beloved wife -- I just can't help but feel tremendous excitement over last night's game. The Cats hustled, battled, scratched and clawed to get that win and are finally showing signs of progress adapting to their new coach Billy Gillispie. The feeling after the win was part jubilation over beating a very talented Tennessee team and part sigh of relief that there is still hope that this team can have a respectable season after horrendous losses to Gardener-Webb and San Diego.

So to celebrate the feel-good vibe, Amy & I picked Gus & Bruiser up from school, went out to lunch, and all attended Amy's 37-week doctor's appointment. The boys were mesmerized when they got to hear the baby's heartbeat, and Amy got a great report. We are now just playing the waiting game -- it could be 3 hours from now or 3 weeks from now when the baby comes.

So in reality the news from the doctor is probably a better reason to have a great day than a basketball game. But it's still sweet when a big win gets the Big Blue blood pumping through my veins a little faster.

Cheers!



This man finally had a smile on his face after his Cats battled back from double digits to upset the 3rd-ranked Vols. And he wears a nicer suit than his orange counterpart....

"Bruiser" Rutledge shows his evil eyes and his roughed-up nose after losing a battle with a plastic dog at Montessori school.

A Skosh of Snow

Well, winter came and went this weekend with a half-inch dusting of snow for us in the Triangle. On Friday night the weather forecasters were calling for up to 4 inches of snow. I don't know who was more excited -- Amy & I or the boys. We had the boys all worked up with stories about playing in the snow the next day. But by the time we woke up on Saturday morning the forecasters had downgraded their estimates as the storm moved east of us. Oh well, we did get to see snow come down for a few hours towards the end of the day which was pretty. We woke the boys up from their naps to go outside and play in it, knowing that this could very well be the only snow we see this season. Regardless of the light amount, we had fun outside in the frozen stuff.

Gus was happy to go outside and play in the snow, namely because he got to prance around in his Diego hat & mittens, his mom's scarf, and his new blue lizard boots.



Owen took the more traditional route in terms of attire, but still had quite the time running around stomping on the snow. "We need more snow, Dad, we need more snow." Indeed we did.



Even the expectant mother braved the elements and got out in the snow for a few minutes. Amy B. has surpassed the 36 week mark, getting a great report from the doctor this week. The baby is head down, and the doctors have told Amy they won't stop labor from here on out. Our hospital bag is packed & list of phone numbers to call is ready to go. Our biggest challenge now is to try to keep enough Honeycomb in the house for Amy's twice-daily craving. (Stock tip -- buy stock in Post cereals from here until Valentine's Day.)

Cheers!

New Year Notes

The New Year is here. Down with the Christmas tree and plastic yard reindeer and up with the campaign banners as the caucus & primary season is underway. So many states have moved up their elections to these first few weeks of 2008 that there is a tidal wave of coverage on the races at this early stage. I have to admit that all the attention on the Presidential race has a political junkie like me excited.

With Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee winning in Iowa last week the remaining candidates are scrambling to craft themselves as the change candidate. Whatever your political affiliation, it is easy to admire both of these guys as experts at crafting and delivering a message of hopefulness that so far transcends left/right, blue/red, liberal/conservative. It is really interesting to watch.

Full disclosure -- I am an Obama guy. After reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, I began drinking the Obama kool-aid. Yes, he is light on experience. Yes, he speaks in platitudes that are devoid of many specifics on how he would change things. (As Amy says, he needs more "red meat" in his speeches.) But his vision for America to bridge differences both among people in the country and with people beyond our borders is genuine to me. I think it reflects an inclusive way of thinking -- that you have to listen to all points of view and not surround yourself with people who support your way of thinking -- that I believe is exactly what this country needs right now. His message resonated with tens of thousands of new voters in Iowa last week. We'll see if he has the staying power to take New Hampshire tonight and more states in the coming weeks. It will be fun to watch it unfold.



On the homefront, Amy is almost to 35 weeks with the pregnancy -- or as she likes to say, "5 weeks, 2 days, 8 hours, and 15 minutes until I can go 10 minutes without having to pee." She is a trooper as she waddles around the house scrounging for Honeycomb and keeping the three men in order. We go to the doctor tomorrow to get her checked out, and then it's an appointment every week from here on out. A couple of our neighbors pulled together a baby shower for Amy on Saturday which was great. Amy got to get a surprise night out on the town with her friends, and the boys got to eat pizza and roughhouse with pal Chad Guthrie.

We are still plunging forward with potty training with decent results. The boys are progressing at telling us when they need to go to the bathroom. Sometimes they tell us as they are going and sometimes right after they have gone. I'm sure you can imagine some of the mishaps so I'll spare you. Let's just say that so far the number of Fabreze bottles it takes to get the "accident" smell out of a certain two year-old's favorite pair of green lizard boots is at two and counting.

Finally, I have been receiving some good-natured ribbing from my friends here in Carolina about a certain basketball team's less-than-stellar start to its new era of basketball. After Kentucky's seventh discouraging loss to archrival Louisville on Saturday, I vowed to quit reading message boards because of the endless sea of negativity coming from the Chicken Littles among UK fans. That resolution lasted only days as curiosity got the best of me today. After reading the posts from the "This is all Tubby's fault" crowd and then posts from the "Gillispie was a huge mistake" crowd, I take solace in the calls for calm from the few sensible posters that still post on the boards. The reality is it is going to take some time for Gillispie to get his mindset instilled in his type of players. It will take time, which is never easy for a rabid fan base to accept.

The other reality is that after the second consecutive Music City Bowl victory and a win over the national champion LSU Tigers, Kentucky is a football school anyway!

Cheers!

Holidays with the Family

The Rutledge crew has had a really fulfilling Christmas & holiday break over the past couple of weeks. With Amy being 33 weeks pregnant we received the "no travel" word from her doctor. So we have been fortunate to have several visitors share the holidays with us in North Carolina. Pappy & GJ arrived the week before Christmas. Aunt Mel, Uncle Dude & Corinne came up from Charleston to spend Christmas week with us. And Nana and Granddaddy arrived at the end of the week to ring in the New Year. The last couple of weeks featured a lot of quality family time together.

Gus & Owen were really into Christmas this year. Seeing Christmas through the kids' eyes was rejuvenating for Amy and me as parents. With this being their third Christmas, the boys were excited about Santa Claus, the decorations, and all the family time together. They did not quite make the connection between Santa and presents. In reality this took some of the pressure off of us, and their innocence with it all was refreshing. On Christmas morning the boys slid down the steps to find a toy garage for their cars and had quite the time rummaging open boxes of clothes and goodies.

As I have had some extended vacation time from work over the holidays and there were several family members here with helping hands, Amy & I decided we were going to venture into potty training territory. The boys had been asking to wear "big boy underwear" since a couple of the kids at their preschool were not wearing diapers. No time like the present, so we bought several pairs of Thomas the Tank Engine & Lightning McQueen underwear and went to work. On the first day, the boys had accidents all morning long causing Amy & GJ to wash about 10 pairs of underwear by noon. Slowly throughout the week they began to get the idea that they needed to tell us when they had to go to the bathroom. We are still working on it, and they still have accidents here & there. But we are determined to get two out of diapers by February when the baby girl arrives.

Amy & I took the boys to see Santa Claus who as it turns out spends a three-week stretch in Apex, NC of all places before venturing to the North Pole for his midnight run. Just like last year the boys were afraid of Santa so he had to sneak away and come back through the trap door in order to get in the family picture. Maybe next year...



What is it about Christmas that brings out all the sweets? GJ and I decided that perhaps it was because candy and sweets are the one food that everyone can agree on when you have a lot of people together. Whatever the reason, our house was filled with fudge, cookies, sweet rolls, Chex mix, and all kinds of other sweet treats. Aunt Mel got to experience first hand how much easier it is to cook something when 2 two-year-olds help you. Banana bread batter was everywhere, but it was oh-so-tasty.




Christmas with the Crumptons meant we got to share time with Baby C, shown here adorning a makeshift Yuletide headband. Corinne is an absolute gem. She is the best eater I have seen for a baby. She has a contagious giggle that makes adults turn to mush and engage in humorous baby-talk. And she intently watched her older cousins, mostly from the vantage point of a plastic push-toy fire truck.


Another Christmas tradition with the Rutledge family is the Twas the Night Before Christmas puzzle. Melanie & C.E. have done the thing so many times that they can practically work it in their sleep. But the rest of us managed to work a piece or two in at nap time and bed time when the three little ones hit the sack. 1,000 pieces in less than 24 hours.



GJ and Pappy were gracious enough to keep the three grandkids one afternoon as Melanie, Roman, Amy and I ventured out to see -- of all things -- a movie! Amy & I were skeptical that movies were still being made after April 15, 2005, but it turns out they do. We thoroughly enjoyed Tom Hanks and Phillip Seymour Hoffman in "Charlie Wilson's War."

Uncle Dude and Aunt Mel played a tremendous practical joke on yours truly on Christmas morning. They had purchased North Carolina scratch-off lottery tickets on the way up from Charleston and put the tickets in everyone's gifts. When we opened our presents on Christmas morning, C.E. had a ticket that was a loser, Amy had a $10 winner, and I casually scratched my ticket. My ticket was one that if three of the same numbers appeared, you won that amount. I scratched off two $20,000 numbers and then raised my eyebrow as the last number appeared -- a third $20,000 number. I looked at the ticket, read the instructions on the front, then glanced at the back to make sure I understood how the game was played. After allowing myself to believe I had a winner, I let the excitement come out as I shouted, "Holy #@$% you all, this is a $20,000 lottery ticket!!" I passed it to Amy & I started screaming in celebration. Amy allowed herself to get worked up too. Just then, Roman and Melanie burst out laughing as they read the back of the ticket -- "All prizes $20,000 or greater must be redeemed by Santa Claus." Oh my. I felt like the Bugs Bunny cartoon when a jackass was superimposed on Elmer Fudd's face after being taken in one of Bugs's tricks. We all got a hearty laugh at the joke. All I have to say is paybacks are hell, my dear Crumptons, paybacks are hell!



Let's just say it is hard to get three little ones to look in the camera at the same time for a posed Christmas picture wearing their good outfits. These three have a lot of fun times together in the years ahead.




Nana and Granddaddy arrived on Friday to help us ring in the New Year. Billy is in between trips to Oklahoma to work with FEMA on the flood damage to a college there. Elaine has taken up traveling in her first few months of retirement, and we are more than happy to provide a draw to help her scratch the travel itch. For Christmas the boys were treated by their grandparents to a CAT back hoe tractor and some Lightning McQueen gear....



...as well as an awesome train table complete with train, tracks, flat-bed trucks, magnetized cranes, and even a helicopter. This is one present that is nearly as popular with the adults as it is with the kids.

So the holidays have indeed been joyous ones for our crew. We thank everyone who made the trek over to see us this Christmas and wish all our blog readers a safe, festive and very happy New Year!

Cheers!

Merry Christmas from the Family

Always a Christmas favorite courtesy of Mr. Robert Earl Keene. Cheers!

Why Amy Doesn't Tip Over

Hmm, I was thinking it was because she can still outrun Gus. Apparently there is a more complicated, scientific answer. Whatever the reason, my hat is off to the child bearers.

Cheers!

"Why Pregnant Women Don't Tip Over"
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/12/science/12cnd-pregnant.html?em&ex=1197781200&en=9ee163509360e953&ei=5087%0A

What they found, said Katherine K. Whitcome, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard and the lead author of the paper, was evidence that evolution had produced a stronger and more flexible lower spine for women. After studying 19 pregnant subjects, Ms. Whitcome found that the lumbar, or lower back, curve in women extends across three vertebrae, as opposed to just two in men. And the connecting points between vertebrae are relatively larger in women, and shaped differently in ways that make the stack more stable and less prone to the bones shifting out of alignment or breaking.

Send 'Em Out Back

Home projects are never as simple as you imagine them to be. They take longer, cost more, and involve more decisions than you plan for. Last weekend we finished up work on our backyard, capping off a project that began eight months ago in the spring. The area behind our house was highlighted as a "natural area" on the flyer when we bought the house. That's real estate-ese for "unusable, densely overgrown Sweet Gum jungle with approximately 1,000 ticks per square foot." So realizing that we were about to have 3 kids under the age of three and that we would desperately want to be able to extend our usable space (translation: be able to boot the kids out back when they inevitably get too wild inside), Amy & I began planning to fix up our backyard.

We tackled the erosion problems, the brush undergrowth and tree stumps, and we added grass, a retaining wall, a small patio and play area. Finally we reached the point last weekend of adding the finishing landscaping touches. With their green thumbs Amy & Elaine picked out scarletta bushes, ferns and gardenias to go around the patio. I got well-acquainted with my wheelbarrow, snow shovel, and 10 cubic yards of mulch. When all was said & done we were really pleased with the result. Eventually we would like to add a play set for the kids and some more landscaping. But for now the simple pleasures of running up and down the steps, digging in the mulch, and jumping in the leaves make the kids happy which is fine by us. We have plenty of time down the road to add to it.

Cheers!


Prior to clearing out the undergrowth, the ticks outnumbered the mammals 10 to 1 in our backyard.


After clearing out the trees we had to tackle the drainage issues that had eroded the topsoil and most of the grass.

Fill dirt and a retaining wall were added to level out the area where we put a small patio and a mulched play area for the kids.


The back of the play area is normally sprinkled with dumptrucks, buckets, and shovels as the boys have a grand time digging in the dirt & rocks.

December in Shorts

I feel like I should go to confessional for the gap between posts. "Forgive me Father, for it has been a week and a half since my last post." So if I ramble on, it's just to catch up for lost time...

Life at the Rutledge house has been really good these past few weeks. It certainly has had its challenges as raising two-year olds does for any parent. Thankfully for us we have been fortunate enough to have Amy's mom Elaine -- wonderful Nana -- here to help us out for the past few weeks. Elaine has been such a huge help -- with the boys, around the house, cooking, doing laundry, walking the dog, providing moral support for run-down parents. She has even mastered the art of getting Gus to nap, always a prerequisite for a good day.

Gus continues to really, really challenge us as he forges his own little identity. He definitely marches to the beat of his own drummer -- and often it is a march he performs while naked, wearing green lizard boots, sunglasses, and a firefighter cap. As parents Amy and I try to envision in the long run when his independence and his love for engaging with people will serve him so well. In the short run we try to keep our sanity as he challenges us on such minute daily details as what shirt he will tolerate for the day and what he will eat at mealtime. So we try to keep positive attitudes as much as we can through those trying moments. Gus's preschool teacher raved about how much he talks with the students and how much he loves to read books and role play. So he's on someone's good list if he is not always on ours. ;-)

Owen continues to come out of his shell. He is such the little observer, possibly in part because his brother dominates the attention around the house. Owen is turning out to be a thinker, surveying the mood of a situation and pondering how he should act. He is quite good at getting his brother's goat when he wants to. Owen picks at Gus sometimes just to get a reaction out of him like taking a favorite toy away and sprinting to another room. But his actions are not always malicious. This morning when Gus insisted on taking the little bell necklace that Owen had been wearing, Owen looked at Gus and simply took Gus's beloved firefighter cap and waited. As if Owen knew what the reaction would be, Gus made the peaceful trade. And along with that quiet, introverted personality Owen has developed an endearing little sweet streak that gives us reprieve in dealing with some of his younger brother's tantrums.

Of course the humorous aspects continue to spring up with the boys as well. Both Owen and Gus are testing the waters of potty-training, getting rewarded with M&M's when they do the deed (3 M&M's when they do the major deed). Gus has been known to sit on the toilet for 30 minutes at a time, refusing to leave until some bodily function is performed. Owen beams from ear to ear, proud as a peacock when he goes to the bathroom. It is a nice reminder of how we all learn the most basic things at this young age. Naturally the boys are interested when other people in the house go to the bathroom as well. We often have to sneak away while they aren't looking so we can have a private moment of peace. Inevitably they find us after calling for us from all over the house.

"You need M&M, dad? You need M&M?" Funny stuff.

Amy continues to hang in there with the pregnancy. She overdid it over the weekend as we were putting the finishing landscaping touches on the backyard. Amy loves to work in the yard so much, but she was really wiped out & hurting on Sunday night after doing too much. Luckily her doctor visit yesterday produced a good report. 31 weeks this Thursday....she's getting there.

The weather has been unseasonably warm here in North Carolina this week. We hit a record high yesterday and today as temperatures are creeping up to 80 degrees. Amy & Nana love the warm weather; yours truly becomes a bit of a Grinch in trying to get into the Christmas spirit when it is so warm. Last night I tried watching "White Christmas" on TV, and it just doesn't cut it to sing Bing Crosby with shorts on and the windows open. Snow, snow, snow, it won't be long before we'll all be there with snow....

Still despite the heat wave we managed to decorate the house for Christmas -- putting up our tree, the lights around the house, and various Christmas decorations here and there. The fun part about it this year was that the boys were really into Christmas. This is the first year where they are really anticipating it. They know Christmas is coming, they really get into the decorating, and they point out the Santa Clauses that are sprinkled about. Nana and I have been walking the boys around the neighborhood to check out all the lights. The boys love the choo-choo trains that are lit up, the polar bears and snowmen in people's yards, and even the random "Christmas alligator" (not quite sure what it was that Owen saw). Again, it's fun to watch these things through younger eyes.

So tomorrow is our final day here in NC with Elaine before she heads back to Paducah for a brief respite before heading off to icy Oklahoma to see Billy, who is working with a local college there on behalf of FEMA. We know she will be glad to see Billy and perhaps to slow down to a more manageable, relaxing pace. Still, Amy & I are truly appreciative of all the help and enjoyment that her visit has brought us.

Cheers!


30 1/2 weeks and counting...



"Just hold me Nana."



"Nana, we need to decorate the bottom fourth of the tree. All the ornaments need to be within my reach."



Elaine -- grandmother, mom, chef, and ladder holder.

Just Grab the Cereal Bowl

Warning: This story contains descriptions of child sickness that some may find disturbing. But I have to write it as it is therapeutic for those of us who have to clean it up. ;-)

The latest in the health saga at our house involves Owen who is back on the sick train. He has had the congestion/deep wet cough thing going for a week, but that is par for the course with little ones. On Monday however he added projectile vomiting and diarrhea to his repertoire. Just lovely.

That night he was all ready for his bath when he hurled all over the bathroom floor. Nana and Amy cleaned him up and put him off to bed. My thought was that all the congestion was coming up and going into his stomach, making his stomach feel extra queasy. During the night though we found out it was worse than that. Owen woke up several times crying that he was sick. Amy would hear him through the baby monitor and shake me out of a deep slumber. "Go! Go! Go!" she would shout.

I would tear off out of the bed kicking the dog in the head and banging into the walls along the way, not quite processing why I was running until I was about halfway up the steps. Owen was typically out of his bed crying and getting sick at his stomach by the time I arrived. Before too long Owen had it coming out of both ends.

Yesterday I came home to news that Owen had proclaimed to his grandmother, "Nana, I pooped in my socks." As odd a statement as that was, he had in fact achieved the feat. Let's just say Elaine did several loads of laundry yesterday. By last night though we adults were prepared. Owen sat at the dinner table with a big blue bucket next to his chair. If something was coming out, we were going to catch it. The problem was he thought it was too much fun to cry wolf that he was getting sick, and he became too easily distracted with the bucket to eat his dinner. As the night wore on his claims of feeling sick were disregarded, and he eventually proclaimed that his stomach felt better.

This morning Owen seemed to be his normal self and claimed he was no longer sick. So we proceeded with the morning routine to go to school. On the way out the door however, Owen began shouting that he was sick again. Since Amy & Elaine had been subjected to cries of wolf the night before I don't think they took Owen that seriously. Unfortunately he promptly proceeded to throw up all over the kitchen -- all over the cabinets, all over the refrigerator, everywhere. Amy's gut reaction was to grab the first thing she saw to catch it which happened to be a glass cereal bowl. That however was equivalent to trying to put a thimble in front of a fire hose. Elaine grabbed Owen taking him to the sink, and today's round of clean-up commenced all over again.

All we can say is thank goodness Nana is here during times of sickness. And too bad they don't make bigger cereal bowls.

Sports Through a Toddler's Eyes

ESPN.com sportswriter, basketball and Boston sports fanantic Bill Simmons has a 2 1/2 year-old daughter that he recently introduced to an NBA basketball game. His account of watching the game with her is hilarious, reminding me of many of the things that come out of the mouths of our 2 1/2-year-olds at our house.

"Learning about sports from a 2 1/2-year-old"

As the old saying goes, children make us appreciate what we stopped appreciating long ago. (I don't know who said it, but it's been said. And if it hasn't been said, then please, let me say it.) Ever wonder why Larry King sired two more after turning 125 years old? Because he's selfish, that's why. He wanted those last chances to appreciate the little things.
___________________________________________________

The other moment occurred when the crowd improbably broke out the wave, quite possibly the single greatest moment of her young life. She loved watching it slowly ripple around the stadium, waiting for it to reach our section and then jumping up with her arms raised to yell at the top of her lungs. To be honest, I've always thought the wave was reprehensible. But not anymore. Anything that makes my kid that happy is fine with me.

Leftovers

Thanksgiving weekend was a great one at our house. On Thursday we were treated to a feast of home cooking from Nana. The house was filled with smells of food all day long. Owen ate pretty well as he took a particular liking to the turkey, ham and sweet potato casserole, or "cake" as he called it. Gus decided he would be picky and didn't really eat much of the Thanksgiving meal. But that's the way it goes sometimes with two year-olds -- they eat what they want when they are hungry.

Aside from all the good eating, we were productive without overdoing ourselves for the rest of the weekend. Gus helped me put together the new dresser in the boys' room. He proudly assumed the job of handing me screws to put on the drawer handles and offered the occasional plastic tool for the task. Amy, Nana and I moved furniture around and set up a crib, transforming our junk room into a nursery for the baby girl's arrival in February.

There was also a plethora of football and basketball on the tube this weekend. Saturday was another bitter disappointing loss in the hearts of Kentucky fans as Tennessee outlasted the Cats in 4 OT's, 52-50. I was so disgusted at halftime that I uncharacteristically abandoned the game to go outside & blow leaves in the yard. Curiosity finally got the best of me as I returned to find Kentucky had closed a big halftime deficit to 3 points. I was then glued to the TV for the duration from that point. Kentucky fans want so badly to end the losing streak to the Vols, which now stands at 23 consecutive years. The Cats just missed so many opportunities to win the game, namely a 1st and goal from the 2 yard line at the end of regulation and having a very makeable field goal blocked in the second overtime.

After a loss like that, I guess the only thing you can do is reflect on the good that the team accomplished this year. Kentucky will go to back-to-back bowl games which means the team will get an extra month of practice in December, a must for a team that has to replace several key players that will graduate. Nope, even the thoughts of a bowl bid don't take the sting away. Plain and simple, that loss hurts. At least I got the leaves out of my yard.

This week the boys get back into their routine of school. Amy goes to the doctor to get checked out to make sure everything is progressing with the pregnancy. We are hoping to close out the final phase of our backyard with some plants & mulch so we can close the books on that project. And the thoughts turn to basketball now as Kentucky faces off against the mighty Tar Heels on Saturday.

Have a good week. Cheers!

Turkey Tidbits

Thanksgiving week is finally here. The holiday is one of my favorites because you get to spend it with family, eat until you are completely stuffed, watch football, nap, and eat some more. The Rutledge crew is excited for it, and we get to spend the holiday with Nana who is visiting us in North Carolina for a few weeks.

Some tidbits from our lives...

The boys are doing well after their bout with pneumonia. Owen still has a head cold, but that just comes with the territory this time of year. The boys' "big boy" beds arrived yesterday so I get to put those together over the next few days. (Over/Under on the number of days it takes me is currently at 11 days) :-) The arrival couldn't come at a better time because Gus now insists that he sleep in the floor rather than in his current bed. Rather than fight it Amy & I have just let it go knowing that he would be excited to sleep in his new bed once it got here.

Amy continues to hang in there with the pregnancy. She will be 28 weeks on Turkey Day. Her doctor keeps a close eye on her with an ultrasound every two weeks to make sure the contractions aren't changing anything for the bad. So far, so good. I am hoping that with Nana's cooking Amy can put on some more pounds like the doctor wants.

We are just about done with our backyard project. It has come quite a long way since we bought our house a year ago when you couldn't walk through the yard because of the thick brush & ticks everywhere. The boys love playing in the rocks, dirt and mulch for the time being. Amy & I were even able to have an adult conversation while we watched them from the house. Hopefully it was a harbinger of what it to come -- for the boys (and eventually a girl) a place in their own yard to play and be a kid; for the parents a little freedom and independence.

Finally on the sports front the big Kentucky/Tennessee game is this Saturday -- big if you're a Kentucky fan anyway and your school has lost 22 straight to the big orange from down below. I was going to drive up to Lexington to meet C.E. to watch the game. But given that CBS has picked the game up as its national telecast and I can save myself 20 hours of driving time, I decided to watch the game from my couch. Nevertheless, the TV will be tuned in to the game in the hopes that this will be the year for Big Blue.

Of course I say that every year.

Gobble, gobble.

Cheers!

Politico Humpday

Thomas Friedman continues his argument for a gasoline tax. Although the price of unleaded is $3.17/gallon for the cheap stuff here today, I would still be for it if the tax was offset by a decrease in payroll tax.

In the end, anything that would help us reduce our dependence on foreign oil makes life easier for my kids years down the road.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/opinion/14friedman.html?hp

We simply cannot go on being as dumb as we wanna be. If you hate the war in Iraq, then you want a gasoline tax so you can argue that we can pull out of there without remaining dependent on an even more unstable region. If you want to see us negotiate with Iran, not bomb it, you want a gasoline tax that will give us some real leverage by helping to reduce the income of the ayatollahs.

If you’re a conservative and you believed that the Iraq war was necessary to drive reform in the Middle East, but the war has failed to do that and we need “Plan B” for the same objective, you want a gasoline tax that will reduce the flow of wealth to petrolist leaders who will never change if all they have to do is drill well holes rather than educate and empower their people.

If you want to see America thrive by becoming the most energy productive economy in the world — a title that now belongs to Japan, which doesn’t have a drop of oil in its soil — you want a gasoline tax, which will only spur U.S. innovation in energy efficiency.

Independence

I am happy to report things are much better in la casa de Rutledge this week. Good health has made a welcome return, and the boys have gone back to preschool. GJ and Pappy helped us through last week as they visited before leaving for Charleston on Sunday. The mood is much, much better with healthy boys.

Gus continues to show a remarkable independent streak. Last night after dinner Amy & I were wiping off the boys' hands & face as is the ritual after which the boys will ask to get down from the dinner table. Owen asked to get down and rumbled over to the couch where he started watching TV. Then Amy asked Gus like we do every night, "Gus, what do you say when you want to get down?"

Cold, hard stare.

Right then, we knew we were in for a battle of wills. Gus refused to ask to get down from the table, insisting that he could just get down on his own without having to ask. Amy & I both took turns calmly telling him that all he had to do was ask nicely and he could get down to go watch TV with Owen. But the little booger was having none of it. He ended up sitting in the chair at the dinner table with a scowl on his face. A half hour passed. Then 45 minutes. For over an hour, Gus sat mad as a hornet because he couldn't get down and stubborn as a mule because he wouldn't say the five words -- "May I get down please?" -- that would end his plight.

Finally, after Amy & I turned the kitchen light off we started going through pictures of the children in the boys' preschool class with Owen. We were asking Owen to name the boys and girls when this apparently became too much for Gus. I could tell he wanted to come over so I threw in a quick, "Gus, what is it you say when you want to get down?"

Instinctively he responded and I answered, "Of course, come on over and look at these pictures." But then he realized he had been the one to give in. He sat in the chair for five more minutes frustrated at himself before coming to look at pictures on the computer.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

Grassroots, Duffman Style

In a close election, the moist vote passed in my hometown. Good for the folks in Glasgow who stood up and pushed this boulder uphill in spite of the fear campaign that was run against them.

Now just be on the lookout for stray lightning bolts...

Cheers!

http://www.glasgowdailytimes.com/local/local_story_311011251.html

BREAKING NEWS: Liquor by the drink passes

YES - 2,422; NO - 2,322

By BRAD DICKERSON and STACY L. NEITZEL
Glasgow Daily Times
GLASGOW — Cheers greet result

Supporters say local option will help attract more business

Supporters of a referendum to allow liquor by the drink in Glasgow restaurants had a reason to celebrate Tuesday night ... twice.

A crowd gathered at George J’s restaurant on the Glasgow Public Square huddled around Commonwealth Broadcasting co-owner Steve Newberry as he entered precinct totals as they arrived into a computer spreadsheet. When the figures appeared to indicate victory, the applause began.

Then, a little more than 10 minutes later, as Henry Royse with WCLU, along with attorney Bobby Richardson, called the vote in favor of the “yes” supporters, cheers resumed.

“We were overwhelmed when we got the petition signed and now tonight, it’s been a happy ending,” said Bob Stone, co-chair of the “More Jobs for Glasgow” movement.

Pat Vann said the referendum to allow liquor sales in dining establishments that seat 100 or more patrons and derive 70 percent of their sales from food will not benefit him personally, but could help in luring industry and offering more social options for younger generations.

“This is for the betterment of the community,” he said. “It puts us in a better competitive posture.”

Work leading up to Tuesday’s vote began in August, when the “More Jobs for Glasgow” committee began acquiring signatures to ensure the referendum was on the ballot.

They amassed approximately 2,018.

In Tuesday’s vote, 2,422 Glasgow residents were in favor of allowing limited alcohol sales, while 2,322 voted “no,” a difference of 100, according to unofficial results from Barren County Court Clerk Pam Browning.

The figures were in sharp contrast to the Dec. 19, 2000, election, where those opposed to the referendum cast 2,601 ballots and 1,155 chose “yes.”

Rhonda Riherd Trautman, director of Glasgow’s Renaissance Main Street program, said allowing restaurants to serve alcohol would “add more and more to what we already have in our downtown,” adding that establishments like George J’s would qualify under the ruling.

“It will compliment things going on at the Plaza,” she said. “We’ll just have more of an active downtown after business hours.”

Joe Downing, a member of the committee, said that he was especially proud of how the members of “More Jobs for Glasgow” conducted their campaign, which included the slogan “More Choices. More Jobs.”

“People actually stood up and weren’t scared for supporting something they felt our community needs,” he said.

Although he is a county resident and could not vote on the referendum, Bob Guilfoil said he was in favor of the local option passing.

Guilfoil added that he has lived in five other communities other than Glasgow, including Chicago and New York City, and feels that there is more alcohol found in individual homes locally.

“There’s more alcohol here than any place I’ve lived,” he said. “To me, this is just a way to legalize what we’ve already got.”

Monday

I don't think I have ever been so happy to walk into work as I was this morning. The boys' battle with pneumonia is taking its toll on the adults in the house. The problem is that the medication Gus is on -- two antibiotics, a steroid, and breathing treatments every 4 hours -- makes him really hyper. It's like giving a two year-old Jolt cola -- not pleasant. So his brain is telling him he has boundless energy, but his body is telling him that he needs rest to get rid of the infection. You can see the internal battle on his face as Gus is just as cranky as he has ever been --hitting, kicking, & screaming. We are hopeful that there is a light at the end of the tunnel over the next couple of days. Today is the last day for the steroid, and as soon as his cough gets better we can take him off the breathing treatments.

Owen has been slightly less cranky since he is on fewer medications running through his little body. But he was in rare form himself a few times as well over the weekend, with his own hysterical fit at one point. With a little luck, these next 36 hours will see the sickness run its course and we can get the boys back in their routine of going to school, playing outside, etc.

On a happier note, C.E. is flying in to visit us later this week. The "moist" election is Tuesday in Glasgow and he is going to see that through. Hopefully the efforts of his and many others there will result in a vote in their favor. Regardless, a visit to NC should be good for him to take his mind off the stress.

Also, we learned over the weekend that Granddaddy has been called to Oklahoma to work with FEMA to help the flood victims there. The boys were intrigued to know that he would be on an airplane flying high in the sky. While he is gone, we look forward to a visit from Nana to stay with us for a while. (Nana, hopefully my venting about the boys sickness doesn't scare you away.) :-)

Cheers!

Trick or Albuterol

The boys celebrated Halloween this week as Fire Chief Gus & Fire Chief Owen. The yellow firefighters quickly got the hang of "trick or treat" and happily opened their bags for candy. Amy & I took them up & down the street while GJ, Sayla and Tucker manned the door.


Owen was exceptionally excited about the brief rush of joy that a small piece of sugary candy provides.

He insisted on more, even robbing the candy bowl at his own house.

Unfortunately he also learned that what comes up -- like a two year old on a sugar high -- must come down.

Gus was not 100% himself on Halloween. He developed an awful cough and a fever on Monday and was diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia on Tuesday. His fever (and contagiousness) was gone by Wednesday afternoon so he did get to go trick-or-treating to a couple of houses. Still he wore down and had to come back for treatment with his dinosaur inhaler. Hopefully next year will be better little fella.

Not wanting to be left out, Owen developed the same awful cough and had to go to the doctor on Friday. He didn't have pneumonia, but he is still on albuterol breathing treatments, antibiotics, and ibuprofen to nix the fever.

Let's just say it has been a long, confining week. Amy and I have been to the doctor on Monday (for her), Tuesday (Gus), Thursday (Gus), Friday (Owen), and Saturday (Gus). I am going to the doctor on Monday, as is Gus again. I think it is safe to say we are lucky to have GJ here visiting to help out around the infirmary.

Montessori

Amy & I became convinced last spring that the boys really needed stimulus from sources outside the house and interaction with other children their age. Up to that point the boys were nearly two years old and had spent all their time with Amy at home. Amy had the boys connected into a network of moms & kids in playgroups, and the boys interacted with some friends in our neighborhood. Still it was apparent to us that it was time for them to make the leap into a somewhat more organized learning & social environment.

We settled on a montessori school in Cary after one visit -- the only visit we made to choose a preschool. In our minds the school appealed to us probably initially more for Gus because it seemed like a place that would allow him to express himself without putting strict boundaries on him. Gus would not have excelled in an environment where he had to follow a set schedule. At the time Owen was more dependent on Gus than vice versa so we thought he would fit right in -- having the other children around to interact with and having his brother there to lean on for security.

The montessori philosphy allows the kids to learn at their own pace without following a specific time schedule. They do things in the same sequence every day -- morning song, group time, snack time, outdoor time, etc. But they don't stick to a certain schedule. So if the kids are really into a particular book at story time or into a food tasting, then the teachers let the kids determine when it's time to move to the next activity rather than the clock.

The boys have been in preschool for about two months now. Amy & I could not be happier with their attitude towards school and the progress they have made. Their vocabularies are taking off. They are really into learning and stories. And although they still don't want to share all their toys, their interaction with other children has really progressed.

Each week the teachers send out an email about the activities for the upcoming week and photos from the prior week. Here are some good recent ones.

Cheers!

Gus busting through in his own way.

A Friday dance in the rain and mud, Gus style.

Owen takes part in a shaving cream bonanza.

Getting dirty is so much fun.