Cereal

     I love Saturday mornings for several reasons.  First, I get to sleep into six or seven a.m., it depends on how my son sleeps.  Second, we seldom have to get up and go right away like we do on weekdays or Sunday mornings.  Last but not least, I get to enjoy a big bowl of cereal.
     I love Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Honey Smacks, Trix, Cocoa Puffs and all the cereal that a four year old would enjoy.  I eat oatmeal everyday of the week and it gets to be bland by Wednesday.  I enjoy sitting at the table with my little ones and not rushing through every bite.  My daughter is six and my son is twenty-months and both of them like our Saturdays together.  My son will not eat the cereal part of Lucky Charms, but he loves the marshmallows.  My little girl eats just like me, all the good ones I stated earlier and several bowls at a time.
     I hope everyone can sit back on this beautiful morning and enjoy a good bowl of cereal.  Savor each bite of pure sugar just like we do at my house.

Library

     My wife is a librarian and, no, the job doesn't consist of reading books all day.  Most days she is drowning in paperwork and dealing with personnel issues, but she does enjoy reading in her free time.
     I, on the other had don't sit down and read in my free time.  First off, I don't have very much free time so when I do get some, I watch television or play a video game.  I read for school, sports information, and Bible study, but I just don't sit down on the weekends and read a book.  I listen to books on "tape" (actually it's CD or MP3) and I love to hear the stories when I'm driving or on a run.
     What I'm really getting at with this post is everyone needs to visit the library.  I will be the first one to admit that if I wasn't married to a librarian, I would never go to the library.  There is much more to the modern library than many people think.  Students have access to not only books but journals and databases that aren't available through Google.  I get books on CD, DVDs and magazines (Bossier lets you check them out).  My kids love to use something on the library's website called Tumblebooks where the can have a book read to them or play an educational game; it's a great way to foster their learning.  The library also has all kinds of free programming - for babies, children, teens and adults.
     The library is very different than the one I went to as a child and I don't know if everyone is aware of the free resources they have available.  Please think about going to the library next time you want a book, magazine or movie because if you are anything like me the first place I would go is Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble.
   

"Bounty Gate"

       I've posted in the past about my love for sports and my allegiance to the Buffalo Bills.  I'm a fanatic and I know it, but I'm also a realist.  I can be very critical of my favorite football team at times and I didn't agree with the team's decision to hire Gregg Williams as head coach in 2001.
      Gregg Williams received an indefinite suspension from the National Football League (NFL) on Wednesday March 21, 2012.  He was the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints previous to this year.  He was involved in the team's use of a bounty system as a way to motivate defensive players to hurt the opposing team's players.
      I encourage you to read this article to get all the information on the  bounty scandal, but I want you to know that I personally agree with the punishment everyone received and I'm not just saying that because I'm a Bills fan.  It wasn't the act that caused the harsh punishment; it was the cover up.  For example, as a parent I expect my kids to tell me the truth and I know that if they lie to me after I catch them doing something wrong the punishment would be worse than if they just told me the truth.
     

Different Ideas

     It's that time of the year.  The spring cleaning bug has hit our house, or should I say, it has hit my wife.  Heather wants to get the windows washed, lawn cleaned up, flower beds weeded and mulched and I have other plans for the weekend.
     I want to relax.  I'm more than happy to lay on the couch and watch some sports, do some homework and play some PlayStation 3.  I had a very busy week with two exams and a paper due so I want to recharge my batteries for the second half of the semester.  I also have been fighting a sinus infection that knocked me out Friday.
     I wonder who will win the battle of our weekend.  I love my wife and I found out a long time ago that if she isn't happy there is absolutely no way that I will be happy.  It looks like I'm going to spend the better part of the day mowing the lawn and helping around the house.  I hope everyone has as much fun as I do today (yes, I'm being sarcastic).

Buffalo Bills

    I'm a HUGE Buffalo Bills fan!  I've been one for as long as I can remember, but one of my earliest memories is Jim Kelly's first game as a Bill.  It hurt so much to watch them lose four Super Bowls in a row, but I'm proud that we made four in a row.   I can't even tell you how many games I have been to, but I did have season tickets for five years before I moved to Louisiana.  Thanks to DirecTV's NFL Sunday ticket, I have not missed one game though.

     I wanted to write about football because of the impending free agency.  It brings fans the hope that their team will improve so that during the next season they will be able to compete for a playoff spot.  I want my beloved Bills to go after three players and I, like many Bills fans, think if only we can improve our defense we may have a chance for one of those playoff spots.  Since the start of the salary cap in the NFL, fans of every team think they have a chance to win the Super Bowl.  The harsh reality is only one team wins and it is seldom the team that signs the highest paid free agent or spends the most money in free agency.  Last off-season the Philadelphia  Eagles put together the "dream team" and they struggled badly at the start of last season; it was so bad even the Bills beat them.

     The long and short of it is that I want my team to improve, but I really want them to build the team to win for the long haul.  I want them to draft good college players and keep them with the the team when their contract expires.  The Bills are starting to do that now and I hope it works because they haven't been in the playoffs since 1999.  Is this the year we end our drought?

Pet peeve of mine

I have to vent about something that is one of my pet peeves.  I had a conversation with someone today and I realized quickly that he wasn't listening to what I was saying.  This person usually waits for his turn to talk or he talks over me.  When we spoke today I was answering a question he had and at that point he told me to "wait 'til I'm done talking"!  I stopped and completely shut him out.  I listened and understood what he was saying, but he doesn't talk TO people, he talks AT them.

I know that I'm guilty of this myself sometimes, but I try and make a point to listen to people when they talk.  My understanding of communication is that if two individuals are trying to talk, it becomes a give and take.  A message is sent and feedback returned.  If he wanted to talk AT me he could have given a memo or a flier because that was how effective the dialogue was.

Sacrifice

Sacrifice.  What exactly is that?  I have a job.  My wife has a job.  My kids are healthy.  I'm able to write this on a nice laptop with high-speed wireless connection inside a nice home in a quiet sub-division.  Do I really know what sacrifice is?

As a family, we sponsor a little girl in Ethiopia.  We started sponsoring her in 2008 and she has become a big part of our family even though we haven't even met her.  We "sacrifice" our fifty dollars a month to help her and her family.  The average family in Ethiopia lives on a little more than seventeen dollars a month.  

I'm sure that everyone knows someone that has lost a job, house, or family member recently.  I think that I'm sacrificing so much by working fifty hours a week and taking three classes, but I 'm willing to bet that someone who is fighting cancer in a hospital bed right now would gladly trade places with me.  So do I really know what sacrifice is?

Anniversary Trip

     My wife Heather and I are thinking about taking a second honeymoon for our tenth anniversary.  This trip will be in 2013, but we are the type of people that plan way ahead.  We are going Monday evening to speak with travel agent about our plans.  For our honeymoon we went to Rome and Venice, Italy.  It was such an amazing trip that we still talk about today.

     What I want to ask everyone is where should we go this time?  We talked about a return to Italy.  We also have talked about the Caribbean and doing one of the all-inclusive resorts.  I'm not the type to just sit on a beach and take in the sun, but as long as we are together, that is all that matters.

     My plan is to try and sway my wife to make a trip to London, England.  I would love to take in a football game (soccer to us Americans) and sit in a pub eating fish and chips and drinking some great English beer.  We talked about many different places, but I'm pushing for Europe.  Please tell me where you think we should go!

I really enjoy spending time with my family.  We are often in the kitchen cooking or eating.  Last weekend we spent the day preparing for the Super Bowl.

My wife and I planned a whole menu right out of the Bon Appetit magazine.  We needed some items for our menu, so my wife, her mom and our kids made a trip to the store.  By the time she returned, there was a Guinness reduction sauce boiled over onto the stove, flour all over the kitchen counter, and a sink full of dishes.

I love to cook, and I think I'm pretty good at it, but I know that I'm better at making a mess in the kitchen!  My lovely wife, Heather, puts up with it because I make excellent roasted chicken, amazing homemade pasta, and a mean brownie with Guinness beer as its star ingredient.  Heather has told me that if the food wasn't so good, she would have kicked me out of the kitchen a long time ago!

My life changed forever when I became a parent.  I never knew sacrifice, how to be selfless, or how much patience I had (or lack thereof) until I became a father.  I never thought that I, as someone who gets queasy at the sight of blood, would remain so calm when my daughter or son screamed and cried when getting a shot at the doctor's office.

My daughter is 6 years old and loves piano, ballet, Barbie dolls, and "helping" cook and clean.  My son is 17 months old.  He loves cars, balls, and planes and runs around the house nonstop.  He tortures his older sister and his parents with his relentless ways, but I know that our house is empty without my kids.

My wife and I had a "break" from the kids this weekend to run some errands.  The car ride was quiet.  The shopping trip was stress free without the constant "What is this?", or  "I'm thirsty!", or my personal favorite, "Can I have that?  I've ALWAYS wanted that!!".  When we arrived home it was empty, peaceful and quiet.  But guess what, I hated it!!!!  I missed the pitter patter of their little feet!  I missed the demands for food, milk, juice, and "come play with me Daddy!!".  I have learned that even though I sometimes want time away from my kids, I actually miss the craziness when we are all together.  I wouldn't have it any other way.