Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!

This year was no different than any other.  As Halloween approached I kept tuning into the televangelists and AM radio preachers who were happy to demonize Halloween.  I was also reading one of my favorite books again (World Without End) and All Hallow's Eve was a topic as well.  How this one night above all others was made for the devil to come and spread evil throughout the land.  How this was the darkest day of the year.  How me allowing my kid to go trick-or-treating was teaching her how to worship Satan.

I have to admit that I was a little out off by this.  Those of you that know me well understand that I do not have much tolerance for extremism of any kind.  I love to debate the fringe on occasion, but strict fundamentalism often misses the message between the lines. Even Christ spoke in allegory and metaphor.  Let's face it; most of us need a symbol or story to understand the point being made.  To tell me that one day above all is satan's day seems very short sided to me.  If any of you are paying attention I think you would agree that almost ANY day has the potential to be satan's.  It is our duty to protect ourselves at all times; not just on October 31st.

Ok, so enough diatribe.  My kid was CUTE!  We went to the square in Dahlonega and ran into friends and family.  We watched Gracie marvel at the other kids and their costumes.  We enjoyed watching the little kids get excited about being out and getting something they all wanted - CANDY.  Just to see a kid light up from receiving something so simple is amazing.  I will agree that some of the kids probably needed carrot sticks instead of milk duds, but that's not really the point of trick-or-treating is it.

Anyway, I mainly wanted to share some pics of Anna Grace with you guys and this is the forum I chose.  I hope I did not offend anyone overtly!


Keep Smiling,

Rob

Another Saturday at Wal-Mart

I love diversity in the world.  That is not to say that I love all people, but I do appreciate the vast array of people that populate this planet.  Without the differing ethnic, religious, and regional differences the world would be a very boring place.  Might be safer to a degree, but boring none the less.  I know we all have our biases, but think about this; would we be better off without any specific group?

The simple answer to this question is..... I'll make my point and you can decide for yourselves.

I was going to make this whole point by simply pasting the web address to the "People of Wal-mart" site.  But the more I thought about it the more I wanted to share a particular experience with you. Oh, the web address is http://www.peopleofwalmart.com.

Last Saturday I was bored.  Anna Grace was behaving nicely so I decided to make the journey out into the world.  Sadly, the most exciting place I could think to go (it was 147 degrees outside) was Wal-mart. I knew going in that it was not going to be problem free.  Gracie usually decides to go into meltdown mode at about the mid-point of most shopping trips now.  She thinks she should be able to roam free or help do the shopping.  I truly hope I figure out how to give the "look" that my father used to give me and Kelly.  If I don't...let's just say we will be spending a lot of time at home.

Anyway, as we make our way into the store I notice that the parking lot is PACKED. Looking back it was a lot like a horror film.  The teenage kid hears a noise and goes looking for the source. He totally ignores the creepy music playing and ends up at the end of a chainsaw, knife, cleaver, etc.  In other words; I should have seen the mess coming.  How did I miss the fact that it is "back-to-school" season?

So I hit this wall of people; people with no chins, uni-brows, and mullets and the loud rattle from a sea of mouth breathers.  A 17 year old buying packs of crayons for the third grade. A 16 year old mom walking around with the 30 year old grandma picking out school clothes for her 5 year old.  Uncle Daddy helping his three eyed son/daughter (I could not tell which) pick out notebook paper.  One thing I did happen to notice was the suspicious lack of "college" ruled paper up here. It all would have been very entertaining if I was sure whatever was going on was not contagious. I was just hoping that no one would bump into us.

As we wound our way through the chinless, a little girl took notice of Gracie. She would smile and Anna Grace would giggle. She would hide her face behind her hands and AG would cackle.  I have to admit that it was cute and it was keeping the impending meltdown at bay.  That was until the girl's parents popped up.  Now, the little girl was probably seven or eight years old, dressed in a cute sun dress, and what I would describe as mousy. You know; thin, smallish, long brown hair, and dark eyes. The only way I can think to describe the parents is....well....NOT mousy.

Mom was a solid 300 pounds.  Maybe solid is not the right word here but I think you get my meaning.  Cutoff denim shorts with a skin tight tank top on.  The kind of clothes that are designed to show off the FUPA (Fat Upon Pelvic Area) and the back breasts.  When you look at a woman's torso and can't tell front from back; well you get my meaning. She also had on flip flops that showed what I would describe as "green toe". Dad on the other hand had on his best Ga Bulldawg (UGA fans can't spell it right so why should I?) ensemble.  I love camouflage, don't you.  Well he did. Green camo ball cap (with the bent fish hook), brown camo UGA tank top, and tiger stripe BDU shorts. It was a sight to behold.  It was also obvious that his wife was stronger at the dinner table because you could see through the dude if the light hit him right. Now that the picture is set you should be able to predict what comes next.  That's right; they become fascinated with Gracie.

The lady walks up, and in her best Dawsonville-ese tells me that I sure have a "cute little youngin"! I thank her and tell her she gets it from her mama.  The dude laughs and says that's where his daughter got her looks too.  I almost asked how the beast with him was related to the little girl after that comment, but I was stopped by Fran the FUPA lady reaching out to touch my kid!  This is a no-no! I have watched Emilee backhand people for less aggressive actions toward our child.  Someone remind me to write about the "Great Kroger Beatdown of 2010". But I was too slow and too stunned to move.  Fran reached over and pinched Gracie on the cheek. As I was waiting for the area affected to decay and peel off , AG shot the lady a look of disgust and let out a wail! I was so proud of her.  The FUPA lady scampered off and I was able to complete the rest of the trip in relative peace. At least until the next trip.

On another note...Does anyone know what to do when your kid starts cutting a second row of teeth?  Emilee swears this kid should have her own special episode during Shark Week.

Keep Smiling,

Rob

About time for an update!

Been awhile since I have had the opportunity to write.  Work has been extremely busy and Gracie has no desire to let me get anything done when I sit down at the computer.  At the moment she is taking a nap, and I was able to get most of the yard work done yesterday; so here I am typing diligently.

The past few months have been fun.  Gracie is getting to the point where she may not be able to tell you she understands, but she does.  You can tell her to get a book and she'll bring you one.  You can tell her to get the ball and she will.  You can tell her to stop pulling stuff out of the pantry; well we are still working on that one.

What IS the fascination that kids have will pulling everything out of the pantry or cupboard.  Emilee will have just put away $5,320 worth of groceries, "but I had coupons", and Gracie will proceed to pull all of them out and shake them all to death.  Gotta love Lay's potato chip powder! She then proceeds to scatter the items all over the house.  I found a bag of pretzels under the bed in our bedroom. I found a box of nutri-grain bars under her crib.  I even found one of my flip flops in the pots & pans cupboard; so much for my theory that she never puts anything away! She even helps with the laundry.


She also hits and bites.  She thinks it is fun to walk up to you all sweet and make you think you have a hug coming.  Then, like a ninja, she reaches out and smacks the snot out of you before you knew what happened.  She also enjoys head butting.  She throws a head butt and then rolls with laughter.  Did anyone else raise a girl that seemed this mean in the beginning? I guess I should be happy that she does not appear to be prim and proper.  I do not know what Emilee and I would do if she was some little porcelain doll.

She has also started to enjoy the water.  She has always enjoyed bath time, but now she acts like it is a big wet playground.  She starts swimming in the tub and even uses the back part of the tub as a water slide from time to time. It makes me happy to see her so excited about something. I do not enjoy the mess however.  I swear she has the ability to splash more water out of the tub than was in it to begin with.  She loves to kick and see how much noise and mess she can make! But the pool has proven to be even more fun.  She already tries to swim away, and does not mind her face in the water.

But sadly I can already see the days when she does not need me to have a constant eye on her. She is constantly pushing her independence.  She wants to walk on her own path and at her own speed.  It is amazing watching her figure things out, and I wish I had a portion of the curiosity she has.  There is no fear at all!  She charges head first into everything and seems not to feel pain at times.  The only time she seems to feel pain is when she is tired, and then the tears flow.  But I do not know who is more hurt.....her or me & Em.

Well, I hope to write more often.  I hope you like the pics.


Keep Smiling and Happy 4th!

Rob

Don't Let Smiling Kid Fool Ya'

I was pretty sure that someone was being murdered or worse.  The noises emanating from the general direction of the nursery indicated that someone had broken in and was torturing my daughter.  Or a prankster had slipped in and let some Swedish Death Metal band practice in her room.  Are those noises even human I asked myself. Fortunately, or so I thought, Emilee was up and moving in that general direction, but was back quick and the banshee loose in the house was still in full howl. "She seems ok, we just have to see if she'll cry it out."

I had my answer about 15 minutes later; and the answer was NO.  So I fall out of bed and work my way to the nursery.  As I open the door I am hit with a sound that can only be described as a jet engine that has hit an entire flock of geese.  The decibel level was quite impressive if I think about it.  But seven hours later I can still hear the screams.  At this point in time (0300 hrs to be precise) I am wondering if she has somehow caught her torso in a bear trap or worse.  What is the cause of the screeching/screaming?

So I decide that if I am going to be up I might as well be productive.  By productive I mean watching the season premier of Deadliest Catch; love my DVR. Anyways, as long as she is in my lap there is no noise.  But if she gets the hint that she is going to be moved to the floor or back to the bed the wailing starts again.  And she does not have to wind up like a tornado siren. No sir; it is all or none.  Then you have to start troubleshooting.  What can I do to fix this.  What does google say?  What does parenting.com say? What did Jethro do with his kid 6 years ago? Amazing what you can find.

It is also amazing what pops into your mind on ZERO sleep and complete noise overload:

1. Is she wet/dirty? Simple check showed all clear.
2. Is she bleeding?  No obvious signs of external exsanguination.
3. Is she hungry/thirsty? Won't touch anything offered.
4. Is this a "fit" that I can expect to deal with for the next 30 something years? Maybe.
5. Is she brain damaged/poisoned/sick/autistic/possessed? All research points to no. No fever/vomiting/etc.
6. Is she in pain?  I THINK WE HAVE A WINNER JIM...Tell him what he's won!

I must be suffering from early onset dementia.  Santana Grace pulls this on a infrequent but frequent enough to remember the last time basis.  What makes her fussy that was not covered?  Glad you asked.  The simple answer is teeth.  The fact that we have been through milder episodes of this for the past 5 months should have been a clue, but welcome to sleep deprivation.

Our little angel has three of the little buggers coming in at the same time. All on different gums and all near the back. After pulling my head out of (remembering) the past events and doing a little more research I realized that my kid needed something cold to chew on and a shot of Jack Daniels.  Since I am out of stock on Jack right now I used some teething tablets that one of Em's friends at work recommended many months ago.  Guess What?  They worked like a charm! 

But I can still hear the screams!


Keep Smiling,

Rob

Holy Bleeping Bleep! Its Been A Year Already?

We knew it was coming....  Emilee has been on suicide watch because of it....  There was no stopping it.... Time marches on as they say.... Anna Grace turned One today!

As I drove home last night it really stuck me, my mind was wondering I starting to think about all of the things that have changed in my life in the last year. I thought I knew what was coming; HAHAHAHAHA! I had talked to as many people with kids as I could. I studied. I Googled. I did everything I could to prepare for what was coming.  All efforts to prepare proved futile.

Over the past couple of days I have reviewed my posts from the pregnancy and over the 1st year.  My writing was much funnier back when Emilee was pregnant because I actually thought I knew what I was in for.  I thought I had the "what was I going to do" part under control.  I even thought I would have some control. I was so naive.  I wish I could go back to talk to myself the day I found out Emilee was pregnant and give myself the skinny.  The talk would probably go something like this.....RUN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Brazil is a non-extradition country!

Most of what I remember about the past year has been good.  Not all of it, but most of it.  Those people, and you know who you are, that swear that every moment of child raising is pure bliss are full of poop.  By the same token, my life did not end like some predicted.  It changed in a very sudden and awe inspiring way. The past year has certainly seen me grow closer to God. I have not grown in a religious way, but in a truly spiritual way.  I understand that I cannot protect Anna Grace from everything, but if it is God's will, he can.  I will not try to understand his will, just pray that he gives me enough understanding to keep myself content.  I know that I will waver in my relationship with the Father, we all do, but I know I will always be mindful to put my daughter in his hands; not mine.

I also seem to have completely forgotten about the first three months of no sleep.  I know that they happened;I just can't remember anything about the nights.  We have pictures of the days; daytime when everything seemed easier and happier. The only things I remember about nights are the things I wrote on my blog.  I wish I had done a better job (a job at all) of journaling during this year.  For my friends out there that read this; I hope you keep a journal when you go through this. I am pretty sure I would never remember wanting to leave her on the porch in the middle of a crying jag if it had not been written down.

The bad was minor in retrospect though.  We never suffered through colic, RSV, or other severe illness.  The only really bad event was when I thought I had lopped her finger off, and she has recovered without even a scar.  Crying stops, rashes clear, and tantrums die.  What's left is an absolutely pure and unadulterated look into what life should be; the pursuit of anything new.

The good has been amazing!  It had been a long time since I had experienced unfiltered joy.  We all think that when we fall in love, find the $20 bill in our jacket, or taste the right single malt that we are experiencing joy.  I have had a great time on vacations, dates, my wedding, Vegas with Matt, etc., but when my daughter said "Dada" for the first time my heart swelled.  When I watched her rollover, crawl, and walk for the first time I was unconditionally happy.  I did not have a single thought about anything other than that moment.  How often do we get that in life?  I have been brought to a tear on happiness over the last year more that the first 39 years of my life combined.  Maybe I am just turning into a pansy.

Emilee and I have evolved.  We have a much different look into our lives and our relationship.  I am not going to lie; the transition is a bitch.  We were so used to paying attention to only ourselves and losing all of that attention stings.  I don't care how selfless you are, when you go from being number one in someone's life to number 47 it sucks.  I t especially sucks when you become number 47 in your own self.  Fortunately we get much more out of Anna Grace than we have lost.  One smile and you can recover from a bad day.

But sometimes, when the tantrums start, I still consider selling her to the arab traders!


Keep Smiling,

Rob

A Walk In The Park....

I would like to start off this edition of the Papa Rob Chronicles with a thank you and a WTF was I thinking.

Clay convinced me that at 39 years old I still had some inner child in me and should explore it by joining a men's baseball league.  So my thank you goes to Clay for giving me a motivating factor to get off of my butt and do something active and supposedly fun.  My WTF was I thinking also stems from the same decision.  40 year old knees and ankles do not appreciate the catcher's crouch very much.  I just hope nothing falls off this season!

That was the least exciting news that has hit the Bozicevich household in the last few weeks however.  Emilee has decided it is time to start a new career and has decided on professional money spender.  We just have to find someone interested in investing in her new start-up.  I can tell you from my experience as an investor in this company that she is very dedicated and diligent.  Just let me know if you are interested and I'll send you the prospectus.

Oh, and Anna Grace is now a fully fledged member of the walking society....

She started last week and has been exploring her limits since.  She kind of looks like a surfer at first.  By getting up on one knee and then spreading her arms she gets enough balance to stand.  Now the fun part begins.  She gets so excited about the fact that she is standing on her own that she bounces up and down, and more often than not ends up back down on the floor.  Once she stays up she starts her little "marching" around the kitchen and living room.

I am not sure if she always she remembers she has knees; half of the time she is parading around in a mini goose step. The other half of the time she looks like a cat with tape on its paws.  It is truly fun to watch and she seems to get so much pleasure out of it.  She just has this S... eating grin on her face about 90% of the time now. I have to wonder if deep down she feels a sense of freedom now that she is upright.  How aware of what is going on is she?  I hope enough to know that she makes Mom and Dad very happy and very proud so far.  I mean I need to get those feelings in before she becomes a teenager right?

She also got a hold of some french fries.  I am not sure what Momma was thinking starting this addiction this early, but the picture at the lead of this blog is her face immediately after the fries.  Looks like we might be in for some mickey d's runs in the future.

A quick final note.  I want to say thanks to everyone that popped over for the Super Bowl.  We had a blast and it was good to see everybody.  Get prepared for April!

Keep Smiling,

Rob

My Brain Is Full and I'm About To Empty It

Greetings and salutations from this little slice of heaven we call Dawsonville.  After surviving Snowmaggedon we have been blessed with a truly beautiful weekend.  The mercury topped out at 70 degrees here yesterday, and I am sitting on my back-porch in shirt sleeves this morning as I type.  Birds chirping, squirrels playing, and Ike barking at the neighbor's cat.  How does he know he does not like the cat.  He sniffs, not barks at, other dogs.  Do animals have an instinctive sense of "bigotry"?  Is it that simple?  Are all of God's creatures wired that way?

Anyway, my first thought for this blog was a simple one.  People are dumb.  I choose the word dumb here because I truly feel most people are not stupid.  Most people have some idea of wrong and right, some idea of white and black, and some idea of how to survive.  However, a lot of us (the human race) are just plain dumb. We don't pay attention, we don't learn from our mistakes, and then we can't figure out why we get stuck in the situations we get stuck in.  For example... On the morning news was a story about a drug bust.  The lady that got caught with 79,000 ecstasy pills was actually shocked at what was in her luggage.  Apparently a Greyhound bus was stopped and searched right here in Georgia on suspicion it had a passenger transporting large quantities of illegal drugs.  Anyway, they pull the lady off of the bus, and she states "My boyfriend gave me the bag to deliver for him; I didn't know what was in it."  If only I knew someone so trusting.

People also need to pay more attention when they are talking to people face to face.  I realize we live in Atlanta.  I realize that the left has gone out of the way to make the feminization of men and the masculinization of women an OK thing.  But when I take my daughter to the store and you see us in line pay attention to what SHE is wearing.  Telling me I have "such a cute little boy" when SHE has on a pink top, pink pants, and pink Nike's ($1 at consignment thank you) only shows me that you are an idiot.  It also tells me that you deserve to get hit by the car you did not see before you crossed the street.  And, I have a pretty good idea that you live your life with your head jammed up your...

But there are other things on my mind too; Egypt for one.  It makes me smile to think that men of power, no matter how secure they feel, are subject to the will of the people.  All it takes is for the people to actually care about something.  When people live in fear they will do about anything.  When people live in an information vacuum or propaganda state they will tolerate or begin to believe anything.  But, and this is a big but, when the human spirit is fed, and fear becomes anger, and anger becomes solidarity then the powerful are shown to be at the mercy of the people.  Isn't that the way is supposed to be?  Or is that the naive American coming out in me?

I also want to recommend an author to those of you that read spy fiction.  I had read Spy by Ted Bell, and just finished Tsar.  Good easy and exciting reading.  I give it a thumbs up.

What parents feed their 4 year old alcohol?  Sad events in Alpharetta.


Drug smuggling by catapult...I give it an "A" for effort!

I have not used this platform for pushing God in the past.  I have tried to keep it 85% Gracie and 15% rambling thoughts.  However, I was watching Charles Stanley this morning and the man still has it.  He gave a very educational and inspiring sermon.  For any of you needing a voice on the wilderness I recommend checking out InTouch.org.  Maybe it has something that can help you out.

Finally, a breath of fresh air from professional sports, Gil Meche is/was a pitcher for the KC Royals.  He was guaranteed $12 million this year if he just SHOWED UP to spring training.  Instead he called a press conference and retired.  He stated that he knew his shoulder would not last all season, and it would be wrong to take the money.  Wonders never cease.

OH, I hope the Packers beat the steelers 58-0.

Keep Smiling,

Rob

And this is what dinner looks like now!

Snot!

I am SO glad the power is still on!  Here we are at Ice Base Bozicevich waiting for the spring time thaw so we can get our supply ship in.  Seriously, one day of not being able to get out of the house and I feel like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining" already.  At least I get to sit here with Em and watch "The Bachelor".  I am truly sad that our television programming has sunk to this level; makes me miss "Flavor of Love".  Please just put a bullet in my head right now

The great thing about this whole ice age we are experiencing this week is that Gracie and I are both sick.  How great is that?  Not only can we not get away from each other, we are both whiny and bitchy.  Now, most of you might say that is normal for me, but you do have to admit that it sets up for some fun living for the next couple of days.  Especially for Emilee! She has already asked me what the chances of me shoveling a path so she can get to work Wednesday.  I told her she just needed to drink A LOT and it would make it better.

But I did not start this work of literary excellence to expound on the trials and tribulations of a young man; I started it to tell ya'll about....SNOT.

Snot is such a fun word.  It is from the french, meaning; running from your nose like we run from the Germans.  It is an amazing substance.  Flowing freely from a 10 month old's nose it has the properties of a lubricant and an adhesive.  When you try to wipe it away the Kleenex slides right off of it.  Yet things stick to it like super glue.  It gets EVERYWHERE!  It works like a hydraulic plug in the nostril when solid, but nothing can stop it in its "liquid" form.

It also comes in several colors.  Clear being preferred and the most prominent.  Fortunately, we have not seen much of the other classic colors.  Yellow for a nice starter infection.  Green for a nicely progressing infection.  Brown for an "OH Shit" infection.  And of course the swirl; a combination of the above.

It also comes in different quantities.  We were on about a gallon an hour flow of yellow.  Now we are on a trickle of clear.  I just wish she would not get so worked up about little things.  We have her settled and she breathes fine.  Something small happens and the wailing begins.  The wailing brings more snot.  I wish I spoke 10 month old.  I would tell her "ooh. may dadada ha"! And she would know that calming down would let her breathe.

She also loves it when we try to suck out her nose.  You guys have seen the blue bulb syringes.  All she has to do is see it and the adventure begins.  I hate the fact that I have to trick her.  She thinks we are going to play and then BOOM, she is in the "here comes the nose probe" position again.  She flails, wails, and screams...more snot. And, I have been truly amazed at how much snot you can get out of a 10 month old!  It's like a game trying to guess quantity and color!

Anyway, I hope all of you stay warm and safe.  If you get stuck go ahead and call 911.  I'm not working on the truck anyway!

Stay Safe,

Rob

Taken

At long last today...a moment of peace.

Today started off early and I had much to do.  Emilee was working today so little "miss breakdown" was going for the trip with me.  Fortunately she kept it together and managed to plan her naps for the big journeys in the truck. I do have to apologize to Clay though. I am pretty sure my karma dished him a cardiac arrest.  The EMS gods must have sensed my presence in the station and thought they could catch me.  They caught Clay instead.  And after looking through facebook and talking to a few more of you it seems like today was busy with dead folks.  Sorry about that.

Anyway, after a two hour nap this afternoon, Satana arrived.  It amazes me that at 150 decibels laughing is cute, but at 75 decibels crying and whining makes you want to go on a five state killing spree.  What is it about the different tone that is so annoying. I can't wait for the days when she can look at me and say "Daddy I want....".  I just want to know what will make her happy and then decide yes or no.  The screaming to scream thing is a little irritating.

SO now to my moment of peace.  Emilee and I are sitting in the play room politely ignoring each other as we play around on the internet when Taken comes on.  This is an awesome movie!  Even though I have seen it 20 times it is still captivating and I catch new things every time I watch it.  It got me to thinking, which we all know is dangerous, about which movies are the best in different genres.  Netflix has opened my library up a bit and I want to expand my movie base a bit.  Most of the time however, I end up disappointed by the "professional" critics picks. SO I come to you fine folks to help me.

Here is my endgame.  I give you my top 3 in each of the categories and you give me as many as you want.

Suspense: Taken, Silence of the Lambs, Seven
Action/Adventure: Casino Royale (2006), Raiders, Die Hard
Antihero: Falling Down, The Professional, Reservoir Dogs
Horror: The Exorcist, Jaws, The Shining
Drama: Oceans Eleven (Both Makes), Rounders, Shawshank Redemption
Mob: Donnie Brasco, Goodfellas, True Romance (The Godafther I & II are too obvious)
Military: Saving Private Ryan, Patton, Red Dawn (I know some cheese)
Sci-Fi: Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek (2009), Aliens
Random 5: Tombstone, Black Hawk Down, The Usual Suspects, Snatch, The Departed

Ended up as a random blog, I know.  But maybe we can have some fun with it.


Keep Smiling,

Rob