The Blog Is Really Back This Time

It's been years since I've written anything here. Tons of things have changed since my last little visit in 2017  I'm changing the format of this blog and I'm going to start calling it my journal instead of a blog. I've written before as letters to my children and when it was all about them it was appropriate but I'm going to be getting into a wider range of issues that I deal with in my life so from now on it's just journaling. 

A few notes to get me started that I will deal with in depth as I write. The children have been placed into foster care. There's lots to get into regarding that. I retired from General Electric after 30 years. Melisa, my third wife and I have been divorced for well over a year and my first wife and one true love, Christy Hess passed away a little over a month ago. That really messed me up and I've already written about it extensively. I'll edit that document and post it here when I feel like I'm able to deal with it again.

This is just an announcement that I'm back to journaling and if things go as they have before I'll post again in four to five years. 

June 2017

It's been rough. Becca, I hope you get through this. You've been cutting and are on more medications than I've ever imagined. You seem to hate my lovely wife. You're such a Pre-teen. Almost a teen-ager.    Just q few weeks and you'll be there. I wish we could go back to the way things used to be. You were such a joy. I really need you to be okay.

Grant, you've given me even more stress than your sister. Once upon a time you announced to me that  you're a transgendered girl named Tina. You ripped up a Bible in my presence. It killed me. I sent you to your mom's place for the summer. I'm old wchool and very conservative so what you've presented me with as a nine year old us beyond my comprehension. We even had an investigation by social workers based on accusations you've made. It amounted to nothing but still I feel guilty not being with your while you're with your mom. You've been baptized this summer and your mom tells me you're on fire for Christ. It's better than I could ever do for you. You need to come back for the new school year and we will make sure your new found respect for your Savior is honored. Perhsps you will influence the rest of us and we can all enjoy a closer walk with Christ. I love you, son. I know I don't call y'all while you're at your mom's add much as I should but guys really don't have that much to say to each other.

Listen; both of you. I feel I've failed you. You both have issues and are meds. I've done probably everything wrong. I was lazy and gave you too much access to television and eventually the internet. I apologize for not being the kind of father I thought I could be. I tried to get both of you involved in the kinds of things that I was into as a child but neither one of you are remotely like me so it didn't work. Maybe that's a good thing.

I was so proud to be a father. I probably shouldn't have been at such a late stage of my life. I'm sorry if my own

Update

It's been years since my last post. Many things have transpired over the course of those years. Some great and some not so much so but that's just the way life is. Becca is now in the fifth grade getting ready to go to the big bad middle school next year and Grant is in the third grade.We still live in the same old house we did the last time I found some time to post here. I have been blessed with full custody of both my young'uns for about a year now. I recently remarried to a beautiful young woman that I went to a high school dance with, Missy Eller. She wouldn't give me a second date after that dance so I decided to go "no contact" in my attempt at wooing her and sure enough, thirty years she caved in to my charms.

Memorial Day Weekend

The kids met a girlfriend of mine today. They've only met a few of the ladies I've seen but to be honest I've not went out with a whole bunch of women. 

 Both young'uns are moving on to the next grade, Becca to the third and Grant to the first. 

Got my new phone, a Galaxy S4 this week. Don't know how I like it yet. 

I'll write more when I feel more up to it. 

Rainy Friday Night

Becca was supposed to have a softball game this evening in Nicholasville. Oh, I have forgotten that you have no idea that Becca plays softball. This is her second year playing spring ball and she played fall ball this past fall. She played for Glory last year in the Pony Tail League and still plays for Glory on this spring she is in minor league. She really loves playing softball and she's really not half bad. If she could improve her agility and learn to swing the bat faster she would be really good. Last year she played mainly third base but this year they have her at first, catching and right field. I practically begged Grant to play T-ball this year but my boy just doesn't like sports and has no problem telling me so. He would rather play with Barbie Dolls than play catch. He's going to give it a try next year whether he wants to or not. I did have him in wrestling this past year and he was absolutely atrocious. He could not pay attention and he was totally disinterested. He wanted to quit and since he didn't even come close to even looking like he knew what he was doing or even what was being done to him I felt it was better for both of our sanity if I just let him drop it. He hated it.

    Anyway, she was supposed to have a double header against a team in Nicholasville but it got rained out and since the kids got off the bus at Mamaw & Papaw's we all decided to meet up I n Nicholasville anyway. We all had supper at Captain D's then the young'uns and I went to Walmart for some Malt-O-Meal brand Golden Graham cereal, some Malt-O-Meal brand Captain Crunch, some Great Value chocolate chip cookies, which I love and some trinkets for their mother for Mother's Day this Sunday. Then we went to Kroger for a big grocery shopping trip. I really don't enjoy shopping with them all that much because they are both at an age where they have this unique ability to slow down the progress of a shopping trip and they want something in every aisle we go down. We got it done though and now it is super late and the kids really should be in bed but instead they are in Grant's bedroom watching Johnny Test over Netflix on his television. I just don't have the energy to force them to go to bed.  Maybe that makes me a bad dad but I'm beat. I'll be sure to make sure they are in bed at a decent hour tomorrow evening.

   Becca begged and begged for a book at Walmart. I would have gotten it for her if Money wasn't so tight just now. I'm having to pay their mother child support and it really cuts into my already thin budget. She wanted a book called "Happy, Happy, Happy" by Phil Robertson from our new favorite show, Duck Dynasty. It's a reality show about a backwoods family who made millions manufacturing and selling duck calls. It's a cute show and Becca & I both enjoy it. I'll get her that book when I have a few extra bucks to spare. 

   Grant went to bed during that last paragraph. I had to set my iPad, which I'm using to post this, aside and read him "The Little Mermaid". My boy does love his princesses.

  That's it for this evening, now morning. 

After Four Years the Blog Resumes!

Hey Chilren's! It's been four long years since I've updated this blog and really not much has changed. Becca is in second grade and loves playing softball, Grant is in kindergarten and much to my chagrin hates sports of all kinds and I'm still single. I'll fill everyone in on the details of the previous four years at a later date.

Dear Becca & Grant,
                     Becca got her H1N1 flu or swine flu shot today. Grnt didn't get one because he was with his mom. I suppose that as long as Becca stays healthy he will be okay because she has a whole lot more exposure to other kids than he does. I told Becca that if she cried we'd get ice cream and if she didn't she'd get slaw. She really wanted to crry but they gave her the mist. After the shot we went to Long John Silver's and she had a brat and fries while I had a jr. fish sandwich and we shared a bowl of vegetable medley. We also shared a root beer float. Then we went to the grocery store and got a few things. Becca really ought to be in bed now but we arre sitting at the kitchen table right now as she works on her homework and I write out a rare post to the blog. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
                           Today is Halloween. Becca was a scarry vampire and Grant was a tiger.

Dear Becca & Grant,
                           Just a quick note to let you know that I have recovered totally from the gallbladder surgery, more or less. I still can't eat as much as I would like but I have gained five or six pounds in the past month. I'll post again soon with more details about what's gone on since my last post. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Recovering From Gallbladder Surgery

Dear Becca & Grant,
                               I am sitting here at Mamaw & Papaw’s recovering from the Gallbladder surgery I had yesterday. It hurts a whole lot more than I had imagined it would or maybe I’m just a bigger wimp than I thought I was. Papaw & I arrived shortly before my scheduled arrival time of 10:30 and got registered right away. They showed us to the waiting room and we waited for a little over an hour. They eventually called me back to the pre-op area, had me strip buck naked and put on a hospital gown, paper booties and a paper hat. They took all my vitals, hooked me up to an IV line and then we waited for two and a half hours. They eventually wheeled me back and knocked me out. They not only removed my gallbladder but also ran a scope on me to check on my ulcer, dilated my esophagus and found two hernias which they removed. The nurses said I was in so much pain because they had done so much to me while I was out.
       When I awoke I was not a very pleasant fellow according to the nurses. It seems that I really didn’t want to be woken up. They tried to give me pain meds as I woke but I wouldn’t stay awake. Eventually they ceased the pain meds so I could wake up. I remember them telling me that if I didn’t stay awake in recovery for an hour they were gonna keep me overnight. I didn’t want to be kept overnight so I toughed it out and begged for pain meds. After awhile they gave me some and I asked if I had been a jerk and I got no responses but I did get lots of looks that did confirm my fears. I apologized profusely and they told me that everyone acts a little persnickety coming off of anesthesia. I really wanted to go home but the nurses convinced Papaw that I could not be left alone and pointed out that Michael Jackson, who very recently passed away was on the same drugs I was on when he died. I was still in pain, much more pain than I had been in when I had my surgery in January. Eventually they let me go.
       I had Papaw stop over at the movie gallery since I was going to be staying with them without what I had recorded onto my dvr. I got “17 Again” with Zac Effron, “Knowing” with Nicholas Cage and “Push” with people I have never heard of. We went through the drive-thru pharmacy at Kroger in Versailles and picked up a bottle of 40 lortabs and then came down here. I went to sleep relatively early but was awoken by news that Becca’s mom called (The kids are with their mom right now) and said that Becca was sick. She wanted to touch base with me concerning school later this morning. I woke up and was in pain so I took a pain pill and sat down here to do this.
       Becca was feeling kind of crappy yesterday morning when I got her on the bus but I think it’s just a little cold bug. She really didn’t eat all that much at all yesterday morning. I fixed her maple & brown sugar oatmeal and two tiny clementine tangerines with milk to drink. She took maybe three bites of oatmeal and ate maybe half of one of the clementines. I felt bad for her but I tried to get her to eat so that she would be nourished for school, which is especially important since she didn’t feel very good. Becca will probably feel crappy in the morning but if she doesn’t have a fever or isn’t on death’s door she will be going to school.
       There’s lots more to talk about, like Grant’s new found excitement over Christmas or as he says, “Kisamis” which tickles me to no end, being the Christmas nut that I am and how he’s starting to put more and more words together plus I should mention his newest word that is driving everyone insane which is “damnit” and he uses it in the correct context. Becca did the same thing for awhile but hers sounds like ”dummit”. They probably picked it up from me which means I need to watch my mouth. It will pass with Grant just as it did with Becca if we don’t give it a lot of attention and freak out in front of him when he says it. Yeah, I wish I could expound on those topics but I don’t feel so hot and really don’t want to be doing this so I will close out for now. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Gallbladder Surgery and Grant’s Birthday Party

Dear Becca & Grant,
                               I had a doctor’s appointment at the bariatric center yesterday for my six month check up. I have been having terrible indigestion, frequent vomiting and I still can not eat anything at all. I was told that the last time I had an x-ray done they had found that I do have gallstones. After asking me what was going on with me the doctor decided that having my gallbladder out was the best option. Since I am off this week we decided to do it this morning. I have an appointment for 10:30 at St. Joseph East. I hope this takes care of most of my issues. They are also going to run a scope on me while I am out to check on my ulcer while they have me down and out. I really haven’t had the easiest time with this surgery but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. According to the doctor’s office I weigh 159, which is pretty much what my scales say. Their scales usually ran about nine pounds heavier than my own; I wonder what happened there. It was also determined that my body fat percentage was 15% which mean that I have 135 pounds of non-fat tissue and twenty-four pounds of fat. Believe it or not, I was told that I need to concentrate on not losing anymore weight. Imagine me, Danny Lanham being told not to lose weight. My journey could have been easier and there have been brief moments when I regretted my decision to have the surgery but all in all I am as pleased as punch about how things worked out. Anyway, Gallbladder surgery later this morning.
       Grant’s birthday was Friday as I’ve already mentioned but I didn’t have his party until Sunday, so his mom could be there. The kid’s mom had the children Sunday but since I was lazy last Sunday and didn’t take them to church I didn’t want them to miss again so I planned on going and getting the kids and their mom Sunday morning and taking them all to church. I had to go get their mom at work Saturday and take back to Versailles so she could take Becca to a girl scout informational meeting/swim party Saturday night and then I was going to take them all back to Lexington. I took everyone to Frisch’s for a kind of crappy dining experience before we headed back to Versailles. It was determined there that the kid’s mom would stay the night at my house so Grant could go on to sleep and we could leave for church from my house.
       Becca & her mom left for the girl scout swim meeting and I gave Grant a bath and tried to put him down. Earlier in the day when I tried to put him down for a nap he started climbing out of his crib and opening his bedroom door and coming out into the hallway, apologizing for it the whole time. He would stick his little head out of his bedroom door look at me and say “I sawy”. I would pick him up and put him back down again and we would do it all over again. I assumed he just wasn’t tired but he started pulling the same trick when I put him down for bed. It took me a half an hour to get him to sleep Saturday night. He tried the same thing Monday night but all it took was two good spankings and he went on to sleep. Anyway, Becca & her mom got back from the meeting. Becca had had a really great time and even made a friend. Her mom said that she was the best swimmer out there and that included girls twice her age. She saw a little girl with a deformed hand and that kind of upset her because she’s really never seen anything like that before. Her mom signed her up for the county Daisies troop an paid for her initial dues at the meeting.
       Becca was feeling kinda wonky to her tummy when she got home. I drove to the store for a ginger ale to see if that didn’t settle her tummy. I got back an Becca watched a little television as she drank her soda while I chatted with her mom who was outside smoking a cancer stick. Eventually Becca went to bed with her mom in my bed. I ended up sleeping in Becca’s bed and let me just say that she really needs a better mattress. I sat up and played here on the computer; I upgraded to Internet Explorer 8 and wanted to see what that was all about.
       The kid’s mom got up with them and when she did I went and crawled back in my bed. Eventually Becca came and woke me up. I got up got a shower, ironed a pair of jeans, got dressed and took everyone to church. This was the penultimate service for the old sanctuary at Quest Community Church. Week after next they move into the huge new sanctuary. Ya know, I can’t really remember them calling it a sanctuary out there. That’s just what I’m used to calling the room where people have church. The kids really love it out there and I can tolerate it so that’s where we go. I do miss the small church feel with the little blue haired ladies leading the song service out of a hymnal with a single piano accompaniment but Quest is a dynamic church and eventually I might settle into it; we’ve been going out there for over a year now though.
       After church we had lots of running to do. We went to the Lawrenceburg Wal-Mart to pick up a birthday cake for Grant that I had forgotten to pick up before also we got hot dogs, brats, buns, hot dog chili, chips, tater salad, baked beans, a veggie tray, and a few other odds and ends. After we were done shopping and loading the car I realized I had forgotten the balloons and the boy is crazy about balloons but since we were already two hours behind schedule he would just have to do without them. We went down to Mamaw & Papaw’s and got the kids ready for the pool and I headed back to my house to get party stuff. When I got back Grant really wasn’t into the pool thing so much. It was kind of cool out and he had more good sense than his sister who was happily swimming away. We ate our hot dogs and fixings, had cake and ice cream and then Becca got back in the pool with Jake & Jon who decided to join her. Grant got back in for a minute or two but he just wasn’t feeling it that day. He eventually got dressed and went to play on the new swing set Mamaw & Papaw set up for them down there. It was about time to head back when I realized I had forgotten his birthday present at the house.
       We decided that Becca would stay at Mamaw & Papaw’s until I got back from taking her mom home so she could play some more and she wouldn’t get upset about not staying with her mom. We took Grant by the house and showed him his birthday present, a brand new tricycle and then I took them back up to Lexington. Grant was gonna spend the night with his mom since I was gonna be back up there for my doctor’s appointment the next day. When we got there the kid’s mom realized she didn’t have her keys. We waited for her to get in touch with the woman she lives with and then waited some more while we waited for the woman’s son to bring the keys. It was super late by this time and Mamaw & Papaw put Becca to bed down there. I went to my house and prepared her book bag and took it down to Mamaw & Papaw’s. When I got there Becca still hadn’t gone to sleep but she was too tired to ride back home with me so I laid down with her at Mamaw & Papaw’s until she went to sleep. She was just missing her Daddy. I gave Mamaw & Papaw the book bag and they asked where her shoes where. She didn’t have any shoes suitable for wearing to school down there. I had to drive back home and get her some shoes and then drive back down to the country to deliver them and then back home. I was really disappointed about how the day turned out as a whole. It seemed that nothing went like I would have liked it to have gone. Some days are just like that I suppose though.
       It’s late and I have a few more things I need to do on here, I have to get Becca off to school, the boy will be up early and I have to go get an organ ripped out of my body later this morning so I had better close this out. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Fine Tuning My New Blogging Software

Dear Becca & Grant,
                               Hello again. I really need to get some sleep but I’ve been trying to fiddle with this new blog publisher, Windows Live Writer. I’ve used w.bloggar for years and years and have been more than satisfied with it but the software hasn’t been updated since 2007 so it’s probably dead. I’m pretty impressed with this Live Writer software so far. I’ll need to tweak a few things to get it where I want it to be but that is the way it is with any software you use.
       It looks like that paragraph came out looking like I wanted it to. I’m using a snippet plugin to for commonly used phrases and the HTML that I use to get things looking like I want them to look. Okay now, let’s try something else. This may be the weirdest post y’all have ever read because I’m using it to fine tune this software and I was getting tired of just hitting keys. I will miss the Ctrl+F keys to do the snippets but this new software has lots of cool features that will probably only translate to the web.
       That also looked pretty good. I think this might work out. I’m tired and as I mentioned earlier we are all going to church tomorrow and the kids, especially Grant will flat wear you down so I had better think about some sleep or something. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!
       Well, it looks like there’s gonna be a big gap between the end of the post and the time stamp on the website but I reckon I can live with that. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
                              The day before yesterday was Grant's second birthday. I really wish I had been able to post here on that day and I did plan on it but it didn't happen. Friday,Grant's birthday, Becca and I went to Wal-Mart to order his cake, which I just remembered I was supposed to pick up yesterday but forgot. We also bought some party stuff. Becca insisted on party hats. They didn't have Spongebob, Grant's party theme, hats so we decided to go with the only other boy theme they had with hats and that was Transformers.I then picked up the boy from his mom's. I was gonna take the young'uns swimming down at Mamaw & Papaw's. Their mom had a little party for him Thursday at Chuck E. Cheese and I planned on doing one for him Sunday when his mom could be there. On the way to Mamaw & Papaw's Becca told me that today was his birthday and he should have a party today. You just can't argue with the simple logic of a child, especially when it makes sense. I decided to go to Kroger and get a small cheap cake and some ice cream and drop by the house and pick up the party hats. As we were walking to the bakery we passed the sushi bar where they were having free samples. Now, Becca loves sushi so she grabbed herself a roll and we headed on to the bakery for the cake and so the kids could get their free cookie. I decided on cupcakes instead of a regular cake as it was much more affordable. Then we headed across the store for some ice cream and some milk of which I was almost out of. So there Becca was walking across Kroger with sushi in one hand and a cookie in the other; enjoying both equally.
      We got down to the country and the boy tried out his new bright yellow floaty suit which worked out really well. The kids had tons of fun in the pool. Then it came time for supper. Mamaw had fixed meatloaf with mashed potatoes, green beans, garden fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. I actually ate quite a bit, well, quite a bit for me. Then I got out the party hats, cupcakes and ice cream and the kids had a ball. I don't think they would have had as much fun if there's been 100 people there and 40 gifts. They loved the hats and the cupcakes were a huge hit. They smeared the icing everywhere.
      Back in the pool they went after they had been sprayed down with the water hose to get all of the icing off of them. Grant eventually got a little tired and crawled up in my lap and let me love on him a little which is not how he normally rolls. After it got dark Jacob got home from football practice and got in the pool with Becca. Becca never has as much fun as when someone else is in there with her. I think her two favorites are me and Jake. I wish I could have spent more time in the pol with her this summer but it's been kind of a cool summer and since I've lost all this weight my tolerance for cooler temperatures has been lost totally. She swam until maybe ten O'clock or so. I packed up my young'uns and headed to the house. Grant was asleep before we got out of the driveway and he didn't wake up when I put him to bed. Becca also went straight to bed but she insisted that I lay down with her. I think I fell asleep before she did. Like I said earlier I had planned to get back up before midnight and post to the blog on Grant's birthday but I didn't wake up until around one o'clock.
      The kids had Trix cereal for breakfast yesterday morning and played around the house until lunch when they had left over pork roast with taters and carrots. I tried to put Grant down for his nap but he kept on climbing out of his crib. He drove me crazy. We then went to get their mom from where she works so she could take Becca to the girl scout informational meeting. We all went to Frisch's for supper and then back to the house. Becca and her mom went to the meeting which was being held at the outdoor pool at Falling Springs which means Becca got to swim. She got signed up for girl scouts but she came home with a hurting tummy.
      I gave the boy a bath and put him to bed while Becca and her mom where at the pool. He did the climbing out of his crib thing again. He climbed out about half a dozen times before I decided to crack the door and watch him so I could catch him before he got out. Every time he threw that leg over I would swing the door open and he would holler real loud and dive into his bed until I was gone again and then he'd pop right back up and we'd start all over again. It took me better than a half an hour to get him to sleep.
      Later this morning we plan on going to church and then having Grant's birthday party. I hope it doesn't rain us out. I'm tired and really don't feel like writing anymore so I'm gonna close this one out. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
                     Greetings & salutations. I just this moment finished paying the lion's share of my bills. I do so loathe doing that.
      Becca is at school right now and Grant is still with his mom. She's gonna take him to Chuck E. Cheese this afternoon for his birthday and I'm gonna take Becca up there as well so she can play with her brother and then I am gonna get the boy back, yay. I'm seldom away from him for so long. It's been very enjoyable to have a few days of peace with him being with his mom and Becca being in school but it's time for me to get my boy back. I miss his own brand of chaos that he brings into my day to day routine.
      Becca decided she wanted to take her lunch to school yesterday. She said she couldn't do it when she was in preschool but now that she is in kindergarten she can. If I recall she did take her lunch a time or two when she was in preschool but who am I to argue with a five year old. I fixed her a bologna sandwich with a slice of American cheese and light Miracle Whip on white, a snack baggie of generic cheese puffs, a snack wedge of sharp cheddar, a few petite dills and a clementine. She ate all of it she said except a few of the cheese puffs. She was really excited to be taking her lunch. She also got it in her mind that a pair of winter gloves gave her super powers and she just had to wear them to school yesterday morning. I let her because there's no reason in the world why I shouldn't have. She looked so silly getting on the bus in her black short sleeve shirt, her black skort and a pair of winter gloves. She's just too funny sometimes.
      We went down to Mamaw & Papaw's for a little swimming last night. She really didn't get much of it done though because it started thundering about a half an hour after she got in the pool. She was not a happy camper. We came back to the house and after Becca had her bath she had a pretty late supper of pork roast with potatoes, carrots, onions and celery, roasted squash and zucchini, mac & cheese and a biscuit. I fixed her a huge plate of food and she ate all of it except the potatoes and zucchini. She said she only liked potatoes with the skin off and she couldn't stand the zucchini even though she liked it last year. She liked the squash though. I prefer squash to zucchini myself. After supper she had a vanilla ice cream comb.
      This morning was the roughest as far as getting her out of bed. She was a little grump pot and when she is a grump pot it kind of wears off on me and I become one too. I was fixing her hair and I asked her to look up and she told me no so she spent five minutes sitting in the corner this morning. She then had her breakfast of maple & brown sugar oatmeal, a piece of buttered toast, a clementine and a cup of milk. She didn't eat hardly any of it. Then she was off to school and I went back to bed.
      Becca should be getting home here shortly so I had better close this out and get ready to go to the Lawrenceburg Wal-Mart to get party supplies for Grant's birthday party Sunday (even though his birthday is tomorrow) and then head on up to Chuck E. Cheese to get my boy. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
                           Becca almost missed the bus yesterday. Monday it came at 7:10 and I mistakenly assumed that the bus comes at 7:10 or there about. Our original plan was to be outside waiting by 7:05 to give us a little cushion. I was helping Becca on with her shoes when I heard a diesel engine roaring down the road. I was praying that the garbage truck was just crazy early but no. I caught a glimpse of the bus and the number as it rumbled right on past the house. It was bus number 12, Becca's town bus. We had missed the bus and it was dear old Daddy's fault. Luckily I had chatted briefly with a woman across the street yesterday who has children get on the bus and she said that when we miss the bus we can go up to the corner and catch it there as she rounds the block. Grant's mom had him yesterday morning so I didn't need to worry about getting him out of bed so we headed straight up to the corner. Turns out that the kids across the street missed the bus as well so all the young'uns caught the bus on the corner of Colony & Southhill. The woman across the road told me that the bus was late yesterday and on time today so we'll have to be out there at five till or so from now on. She really didn't miss the bus to school but she came as close as humanly possible. We'll get our timing down before too long.
      Before Becca almost missed the bus she had Cocoa Puffs, half a mini bagel with whipped cream cheese, a banana and orange juice for breakfast. Well, to be honest she really didn't have all that because the only thing she ate was the cereal and a few sips of the juice. I made her take a bite of the bagel and eat at least a third of the banana. I usually don't make her eat but she needed a little more than just that sugary cereal for breakfast before school. She's already informed me that she wants Trix cereal for breakfast in the morning. I reckon I'll give her that with a clementine and maybe cut up a banana in her cereal so she will eat it. I worry about feeding her good healthy meals. I know the sugary cereal is not exactly good and healthy but I try to give her healthier stuff to go with it. It's just that she doesn't eat the healthy stuff. I suppose that after tomorrow the sugary cereals will be reserved for weekend breakfasts. From here on out it's going to be things like eggs cooked in olive oil with a bit of cheese, fruit and fruit juices, milk, grits, oatmeal, toast with fruit spread and maybe a piece of bacon or sausage every now and then.
      I plan on putting a pork roast with veggies in the crock pot later this morning so she can have a good hearty supper. All she had last night was a bowl of New England clam chowder, a few pickles and a good serving of canned fruit with a diet soda. She really liked the clam chowder. I was suspecting that she would because she does like stuff like that whereas I do not.
      Grant went to where his mom is staying Monday night. I had planned on dropping both children off at their mom's and going grocery shopping to give Becca and her mom a little extra time together. I bought some fried chicken, mashed potatoes, baked apples, biscuits and some mixed veggies to take to their mom's so they could all eat together. It seemed to all be going really great until it was time for Becca and I to leave. She didn't want to leave her mom. She screamed and cried for the longest time. I felt so bad for the little girl. Their mom and I have been separated for a little under a year and a half and divorced for about seven months and it still weighs heavily on poor Becca. I know it's cliché but it's also true that divorce and separation is always hardest on the children. Monday night was a nightmare. I know I did the right thing by hanging around so they could spend time together or did I? If it upsets Becca that bad, is it in fact the best thing to do? She needs to spend time with her mother and of course, her mother needs to spend time with her. I was just trying to be a good father and a respectful and generous ex-husband and ended up upsetting both Becca and her mom.
      Well, I reckon that's all for now. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Dear Becca & Grant,
               It's Sunday afternoon early. I slept 12 to 13 hours last night. I didn't intend on staying in bed when I laid down at around six last night. It was supposed to be a nap and then I was gonna clean up the living room, watch television into the early morning and then finally hit the proverbial hay. It didn't work out that way. I must have been much more exhausted than I had assumed. If I was a Hollywood star I believe I'd be checking myself into a clinic for exhaustion but since I am just a regular guy with a regular job, a regular mortgage and regular kids that need to be regularly fed and clothed I just keep on doing the regular things that people do in those circumstances.
       I had a bad case of acid indigestion this morning, which I have been having a whole lot lately. I realized I'd left my Pepcid Complete at Mamaw & Papaw's. This was about eight this morning. I decided that the pain necessitated an antacid run. I went to Kroger and decided to do a little grocery shopping. I bought a ton of snack stuff for Becca to take to school and lots of healthy breakfast stuff for her to eat before she heads out the door in the morning. I'm laid off for the next two weeks so she will be getting on the bus here and coming back home here. It'll be kinda fun getting my little girl off to school for a few weeks.
       The young'uns are with their mom right now. I picked her up from her job yesterday at three and drove them all to where their mom is staying. I drove around awhile listening to my "History of Rome" podcast before I headed back to the house and even sat in the driveway listening to the final 15 minutes of the episode before I went into the house. That's when I crashed and shortly thereafter I decided to take what I thought was gonna be a quick nap. Ya know, I adore spending time with my kids but sometimes it's just nice to have some quiet time where I can occupy my time in adult activities and not have the kids arguing over whether we're gonna watch Spongebob or Barney.
      I should have probably went up to their mom's and taken them to church this morning but I really didn't want to this morning. We've missed two Sundays in a row now and I feel terrible about that. I'll make sure they get to church next week. I don't need to be missing church either.
      Yesterday afternoon the kids and I hung around the house and chilled. I fed them a lunch of mini hamburger patties (no bread) with A-1 steak sauce, California blend of veggies and Velveeta mac & cheese for lunch. It was kind of a late lunch so right after they ate we got dressed and left to get their mom. I stopped by Dairy Mart on the way to get us all a special treat. I knew it was a mistake even before I did it but I wanted one as well. I had seen on a television show a few days ago all about how they made those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars and it made me want one so the kids and I went and had us one as we drove to Lexington. Grant accidentally got some on his head and when Becca laughed at him he started using it as a comb. Here I was driving on Versailles Road while Grant is slathering himself with a strawberry shortcake ice cream bar. The little hellion looked like he had suffered a near fatal head wound with all of the sticky red ice cream matted in his hair and running down his face. I knew it was a mistake but we had so much fun that I wouldn't trade it for the world.
      As we waited on their mom to get finished with her work we listened to songs. Grant wanted the Campfire Song by Spongebob while Becca wanted Laurie Berkner songs. I had to switch back and forth from Spongebob to Laurie Berkner. Grant was not happy at all when it was not Spongebob. I kept telling him that it was Sissy's turn. Eventually he caught on because every time I played one of his sister's songs he hollered "my turn" all the way through the song.
      Well, there's not much to write about this afternoon so I will close this post out for the day. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Becca's First Day of Kindergarten

Dear Becca & Grant,
               Becca had a ball on her first day of real school, kindergarten. I know she did fabulous in preschool and I don't see any reason why she shouldn't repeat her performance in kindergarten. She seems to really enjoy the interaction with the other children. I just wish that she was more forthcoming about what she does at school. She just doesn't really want to talk about it much at all. She did open up quite a bit today regarding her first day but last year it was like pulling teeth to even get her to tell you what she had for lunch.
      She went to "Dylan's Night for MD" at McDonalds last night with her mom & Sherri, actually both children did. It wasn't as nice as it was last year or so I was told. Mainly the complaint was that the petting zoo and pony rides weren't there. Becca told me today that the ponies had eaten some poison hay and they had gotten sick and that if children rode on the ponies they would get sick too and that's why the ponies weren't there. Kristie wanted to keep Grant with her and I, of course had no problem with that and when Becca got back to my house she decided that she wanted to spend the night with her mom too so I let her. Their mom had them at the school already when I arrived to see Becca off on her first day of school. We went in and deposited Becca in the gym where she waited with her class to go to her room. She saw Ms. Dykes, her preschool teacher and rank up to her and gave her a big hug. Ms. Dykes commented on the fact that it's always sad when her students move on but she always has a new crop coming in. Mrs. Hisle, Becca's new teacher informed me that I had forgotten to include how Becca would be going home on her name tag in the afternoon. I felt rather sheepish as I told her I would be picking her up. At this point her mom and I went on and left. I would have liked to have seen her in her new classroom but all the other parents were leaving so we did too. My plan was to pick up the house some, mow the yard and take a nap before I went back to the school to get Becca as Grant was spending the day with his mom. I ended up watching Monk, Burn Notice and Eureka on television and suffering from my some of the most god awful indigestion I've ever experienced. I did make a quick trip to the gym though. I eventually headed back to the school to get my favorite daughter. I arrived a bit early and had to wait for them to open the doors. I went to the gym to get my girl and realized that I needed a pink pickup slip. I have no memory but I did vaguely recall hearing something about a pickup slip. I went back out to the office and got my slip and went and retrieved my little girl. Becca then informed me that I had forgotten to pack her a snack for the day. I felt very bad about that. I'll not forget again. I need to go get my background check done next week while I am off. There'll won't be any crowds and I just perform better when I'm not sure of what needs to be done if I don't have to contend with crowds.
      Becca and I then went to McDonalds for an ice cream cone to celebrate her first day of school. We went back to the house for about a half an hour while I took care of some business while Becca watched a little Spongebob. We then headed down to Mamaw & Papaw's for some after-school swimming. Becca was having a ball. She stayed in the pool more today than she had any other day this summer. I got her a light supper from my food stash I keep in Papaw's garage. She had cheese, apple sauce and pork & beans. Not exactly the healthiest of meals but she was more interested in swimming than eating. Eventually Jon came up with his friend Jed and Jed's sister, Jessie. Becca always has a great time when there's more than her in the pool. Lynn came up with her friend Kathy, Jed & Jessie's mom and they sat out by the pool and chatted. Eventually they left to get Jacob from football practice and I watched the young'uns while they were gone. Becca and Grant's mom came down with Grant, her sister, Aunt Mary and Desiray (I wonder if I'm spelling that right. It's been so long since I mentioned her). Desiray was very cute and super sweet. Grant got in the pool. As soon as he got his suit on he jumped right into the pool. He's doing that now. He jumped in probably forty to fifty times tonight. It's so awesome to see him take to water as much as his sister did. We put Desiray in a float and she had a ball too. Eventually Aunt Mary got in with the kids. Everyone had a fabulous time. It was getting kinda late, 8:30 and since it was a work/school night everyone got out. I bathed Grant down at Mamaw & Papaw's and the the kid's mom left with Aunt Mary and Desiray. I then bathed Becca and brushed her hair real nice. Becca decided she wanted to stay with Mamaw & Papaw and I allowed it and then she became undecided about who she wanted to stay with. I hate it when something like that upsets her so much. Anyway she stayed down in the country and Grant and I headed back to town. He went down without a problem.
      Grant's talking so much more, even more than a few days ago I think. There's really not a whole lot he can't say. He's even putting simple sentences together such as "This a-one", "Love you", "Have some" and probably more that I can't think of right now. I'm so proud of my little guy. He may be a regular hellion but he's my regular hellion. I put him down tonight and he told me that he loved me and as I was closing the door he told me bye-bye. My heart just melted.
       You may notice that this post is just a bit longer and formatted differently than a few of my previous posts. That's because the past half dozen posts or so was posted using my iPod Touch which I absolutely adore and this one is being posted using my laptop. Yep, I fixed the little bugger. Grant had spilled tea all over it and after a day or so of acting up it worked relatively fine with the exception of about a third of the keys on the keyboard and my wireless connectivity had gone out. I couldn't turn it back on and I had been hoping that the problem was a bad key. I decided to install a new keyboard and try that before I took it into a shop. I really needed a new keyboard anyway because Grant had pulled three commonly used keys off of it. I installed the keyboard and it's now working like a champ, plus it's a treat to be using a keyboard with tight fresh keys. I'm tickled pink. I was using the desktop and while it serves its purpose as a storage computer and a place for special programs it's not great for an everyday computer. My poor old ancient desktop has seen better days.
      Well, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night and I am dead dog tired so I will close out this post. Daddy loves Rebecca & Grant!

Idle Rambling

Just got back from picking up the young'uns from their mom's a couple of hours ago. We listened to Lauri Berkner, the lady who does the kid's songs on the way home. Speaking of home, when I asked Grant if he wanted to go home he said "Chuck E. Cheese".

Grant's asleep in his room and Becca's playing with sidewalk chalk in the driveway. I think I came up with a pretty clever game. I drew the alphabet and the numbers 1-10 in chalk on the driveway and I call out a letter or number she has to identify it and then she hops to it. She's kinda losing interest and her lollygagging and fiddle farting around is testing my patience. Here's where I need to just grin and be pleasant and remind myself that she's five years old.

I've been listening to a podcast called "The History of Rome" since I got this iPod touch. I am only able to listen to it while I alone in the car because I'm suspecting that the young'uns wouldn't be very interested in the history of ancient Rome and the military genious of Skippio Afrikanus, I could be wrong but I don't think so. We usually listen to kid's songs, tell each other jokes or just chat. I'm always tickled by some of the crazy imaginative things that Becca says and at the age is Grant is now anything he happens to say is liable to be new and as such is very exciting.

I weighed yesterday morning and weighed 158.8 pounds. I've been hanging around 160 for the past four or five weeks. I think I've lost enough anyway. Maybe even a little too much. Becca took a picture of me yesterday with my hair all messed up and I thought I looked like one of those chronic alcoholics in the middle of a week long bender.

I have so much stuff I need to do. I need to go back to school, I need to get back in the gym, I need to redo my personal budget and a hundred other things. Where do people find the time to do all the things that need to be done? That concludes the complaining and whining portion of this post.

Well, Becca's watching her nightly cartton before bed and it will soon be time to put her down and I need to start a load of laundry before I hit the proverbial hay so I will close this post out. Remember Daddy loves Becca & Grant!

Kindergarten Orientation and Chuck E. Cheese

Becca had her kindergarten orientation yesterday. We learned that her teacher will be Mrs. Hisle; I wonder if that's the correct spelling. Becca seemed to like her new teacher. She spent some time with her teacher and a number of her future classmates while I listened to a talk from the principal. She was super excited about her class when I got her after the thing was over. Two of her classmates she had last year in her pre-school class and she knew two of them from when she was in daycare a couple of years ago.

Allison accompanied us to the orientation thing. Allison and Becca met me at McDonalds where Allison bought Becca a chicken McNugget happy meal. Becca had barbeque sauce with her nuggets. Usually she has honey with her nuggets. I myself have always preferred the sweet & sour sauce, ever since they first introduced McNuggets 25 years or so ago. I got Becca some of that so she could try it. She liked the sweet & sour but still preferred barbeque. She did like the taste of her fries dipped in the sweet & sour though. I never get Grant any sauces because that's just asking for a mess.

After the kindergarten orientation I went to get Grant and we drove to Lexington where the kid's mom was entertaining her neice, Smurf and her kids at Chuck E. Cheese. Smurfs oldest, Arriana is just a month or so younger than Becca. I've mentioned her here in my blog before but it's been years since they've seen each other. They got along famously. Becca now wants to have a sleep over with Arriana; I don't know how that's gonna happen since Arriana lives in Hazard. Smurf's boy, Eric is three. I believe I've only seen him once when he was just an infant.

Anyway, Becca & Grant had a ball at Chuck E. Cheese. Grant absolutely loves that place. After Chuck E. Cheese we went with the kid's mom and her guests to IHOP for a super late supper. It was fun watching how well Becca and Arriana got along. They were holding hands and acting like bossom buddies. All the kids had happy face pancakes with squeezable yogurt and milk. I had two eggs over medium, two over cooked strips of bacon, hash browns, toast, milk and about a pot of coffee. Of course I didn't eat hardly anything at all and then ended up vomiting once I left the restaurant. IHOP used to be much better. The only reason I liked it in the first place was the fact that they had boysenberry syrup which they no longer have. IHOP really sucks. Give me Cracker Barrel any time. Speaking of Cracker Barrel, the brand new one in Nicholasville should be opening soon. I am so excited about that; I do love Cracker Barrel!

Okay, that's it for now. Daddy loves Becca & Grant!

Daddy's Root Canal

I'm kinda hurting right now. My tooth started hurting around about Friday. I made a dentist appointment Monday for today. I went out there and needed a root canal. This was my first root canal. The local anesthetic hasn't yet worn off all the way as of yet and it already kinda hurts. I hope it doesn't end up hurting as bad as the time I had a wisdom tooth yanked. That was one of the most painful experiences of my life. It shouldn't be that bad; Mamaw has had a bunch of them and she said they get kinda sore but I can handle that.

The young'uns spent a few days with their mom. I picked them up at the McDonalds over on Nicholasville Road, the one in front of Wal-Mart with the Playland. Grant was climbing up in the top just like he was a big boy. He loves McDonalds, not so much for the food which he never eats but for the playlands. All fast food joints are now known as "Donald's" and poor old Ronald McDonald is also known as Donald in Grant's world.

Becca has kindergarten orientation tomorrow. She finds out who her teacher will be and gets to meet her. She also gets a tour of the school she's been going to for the past two years of pre-school. I get to have a meet and greet with the teacher as well.

That's it for today. Daddy loves Grant and Becca!