A Long Week

This week has been pretty tiring as we have been in crunch for tonight's opening of 42nd Street at GSM. I decided that I needed to take a break from my marathon training because of the late nights, but I'll be back on that horse either Sunday or Monday morning.

The oldest three calvinatorettes started Children's Theatre camp at Terrell Actors Playhouse this week as well. They seem to be enjoying it so far. Their camp performance will be in two weeks.

Meet the Coach

My oldest three girls all started softball this morning with H.E.A.D. (Home Educators Association of Dallas). The middle two are playing T-Ball, and the oldest is playing Coach Pitch. I am one of the two coaches for that group. We don't have enough kids to make up even one team, so for now, we're just teaching some skills. We're hoping that more kids will come out in the next couple of weeks so that they can actually play some competitive games.

My oldest got hit in the head twice this morning. The first time, it was just one of those things that happens. She missed the ball when it was thrown to her, and it hit her right in front of her left ear. The second time, she was afraid of getting hit in the head, so she turned away at the wrong moment. In her effort to avoid getting hit, she wound up getting smacked in the back of her head. She is fine, if a little sore.

It's a Wonderful Life

Not just the title of my favorite movie, the heading of this post is pretty much true for me, as well. I have been blessed by God with a loving, supportive wife and four beautiful and smart daughters. My parents did a great job raising me and my brother and sister. My siblings are genuinely nice people who are always willing to listen and lend whatever support they can.

Unlike George Bailey, I wouldn't want to know how the world might have been different had I never been born, but more importantly, I wouldn't want to know how my life would have been different if any of the important people in my life hadn't come along.

Quick Update

I've been busy lately. I bought a bicycle about a month and a half ago. Then, I joined a local gym a few weeks after that. In all, since I bought the bike, I have lost 11 pounds, and my waist has started to shrink already.

I finished The Philadelphia Story at KCCT in April, and yesterday, I had my first rehearsal with Garland Summer Musicals for Damn Yankees. It should be fun, but tiring.

A little sickness is going around the family. First, it was Hannah, then Erin. Tonight, my stomach started feeling not quite right. I hope I can avoid the unpleasantness the girls have had to go through.

Toddler Logic

Tonight after dinner, I had a Philly Swirl, Reduced Fat Sugar-Free Fudge & Chocolate bar. My daughters asked if they could have one, but we don't let them have things with artificial sweeteners, so I said, "They're only for grown-ups. Calvinatorette IV, our almost 3 year old, said "Can I be a grown-up?"

The Outdoorswoman

My soon to be six year old daughter, Hannah, picked up a tick from somewhere. I grew up in the country and had to remove innumerable ticks from our dogs and cats while I was growing up, so it seemed like no big deal to me. My wife, however, was pretty much freaking out when she called me at work today. I assured her that the presence of a tick on our daughter's head was in no way an indication of her abilities as a mother.

When I got home, Hannah appeared to be fine, but in a short time, she was lying on the love seat looking flushed. She complained of a headache. I took her temperature, which read 101.5°.

Right now, Jody is on the way to the Emergency Room with Hannah, and I am taking care of daughters 1, 3, & 4.

I'm sure Hannah is going to be just fine, but please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Remember Jody, too.

Birthday

Yesterday was my oldest daughter's 8th Birthday. She's growing up.

Safe Passage

I've been out of town for Christmas, and we just got back home last night at about 1:15 am. The trip back from Wyoming was uneventful, but not without stress. If you've been paying attention to the Weather Channel, you should know that there were no good routes from Wyoming to Texas the past few days. We left Casper, WY around 11:00 am MST on Saturday morning. My hope was to make it to Salina, KS that night, but alas, it was not to be. We drove into some wintry weather in Nebraska. But for the snow & ice, we wouldn't have even gone through Nebraska. but Interstate 70 was closed from Denver to over the Kansas state line.

We wound up having to abandon the goal of Salina fairly quickly. My objective kept moving . . . York, NE . . . Kearney, NE . . . and finally, get off the highway intact and get a motel room. We exited at Cozad, NE, and after seeing the "No Vancancy" sign on the door of the Motel 6, I drove down to the Circle S Motel. I could see the chart with the rooms on it as I stood in line and could see that we should be okay. As it turns out, two more folks behind me in line were able to get rooms.

On Sunday, we decided to wait for the sun to come out to give an opportunity for the ice and snow to melt some and give the state a chance to clear the Interstate. We drove off from Cozad at 11:20 am. From Cozad to York, the road was rough, but nothing too terrible, but apparently the night before it had been really bad. In the first 14 miles from the Cozad exit, 14 vehicles had gone off the road the night before. In all before we turned south at York, we saw about 30 cars, SUV's, & 18-wheelers in the ditch or median.

After turning onto US 81, things seemed like they might be fairly good. That is they seemed that way until we hit the Kansas state line. It appeared that very little if anything at all was done by the Kansas Highway Department to clear the highway. I drove on ice & snow almost the entire way to Salina. My neck, shoulders, arms, and hands were all sore from the tension of that trek.

From Salina to home, the roads were finally clear and dry. The total road time over the two days amounted to 22 hours. For such a long and difficult trip, my girls did really well, even when their daddy was growling at them.

Lost three buttons off [my] vest

Yesterday was Report Card day for Calvinatorettes I & II. Eldest is in Second Grade. Younger is in Kindergarten. Calvinatorette I obtained straight A's and was named Student of the Six Weeks for her class. Calvinatorette II got all top marks (they don't assign letter grades in Kindergarten) and was also named Student of the Six Weeks for her class.

I am glad to see that my girls have adjusted well to the government school. Deciding to enroll them was one of the toughest decisions that my wife and I have made.

Bonus points if you can properly identify the reference in the Post Title.

A Great Feeling

Yesterday, I was out with my three oldest daughters at the Terrell Library end of Summer Reading Carnival. As we were walking, my 5 year old said "You're the greatest dad ever." I don't know what prompted it, but I felt wonderful hearing that.

**************

Thanks to Steph for pointing out my typo.

A Simple Prayer

The other night, my two-and-a-half year old daughter (also known as Calvinatorette III) wanted to say grace before dinner. Here, I replicate the exact transcript of what she said. Some might not appreciate it, but I thought it was great.

This is the food.

The end.

Genetics

When I posted that football picture, I realized that my oldest daughter looks a lot like me in facial features.

You may disagree.

Here's a pic of all my girls. The oldest, Erin, is on the right holding Lindsey.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother

Well, it definitely looks like I won't be getting the role I'd really like in Annie, but as I said a few days ago, that's not a huge surprise.

Oh well, the main reason I auditioned in the first place was the chance to do a show with my daughter.

The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow

I trekked down to the local community theatre to audition for Annie tonight. My up tempo song went okay but my ballad was dreck. I really wanted to sing "Suddenly Seymour" from Little Shop of Horrors, but despite the fact that I just did the show, I didn't get a copy of the score to keep. So, I had to go back to a song that I'm less familiar with and that is slightly out of my range. It's too high where written, and a little too low if I drop it an octave.

Anyway, I thought the cold reading went okay, and given the paucity of men that were signed up, I'm pretty sure I'll be something in the show. Probably not what I want, though.

A Great Evening, Nonetheless

Despite my failings as an auditioner, it was great to see Babs tonight. I'm sorry she ran into all that crap up in Denton, but if it means I get to do a show with her again, I'll be happy.

This will also likely be my eldest daughter's first show. She participated in our Children's Theatre program last summer, but this will be her first full production, assuming she gets cast. She'll turn 6 on the date of one of the performances.

A Man and His Toys

I just got back from Wal*Mart where I purchased a cordless optical mouse. It's amazing what you don't realize you need until you get it. The tracking is far superior to the old ball mouse we had been using. The optical mouse that came with my iMac died over a year ago. Actually, it seems that the cable from the mouse to the computer got pulled loose a little. My wife taped it up with clear packing tape, and my daughters use it on their iMac with no problems.

Now, we just have to keep the girls from running off with our cordless one and hiding it where we can't find it.

One Tired Puppy

Sorry I haven't put anything on here in the past couple of days. Between my two jobs and the new baby, I've just been swamped.

COMING SOON: My review of Stephen King's The Dark Tower (Volume VII): The Dark Tower

UPDATE (12-10-06): Sorry that review never materialized.

Things that make you go Awwwwwww

A couple of weeks before Lindsey was born, I was sitting at our home computer (not an uncommon event), and my wife was sitting on the couch, watching television. Our two year old, Sarah, went up to my wife and crawled up in her lap. Jody turned off the TV and held Sarah.

That alone makes a beautiful scene, but what happened next almost made me cry. Sarah hugged her mommy's belly. Jody asked her if she wanted to sing to Baby Lindsey. Sarah answered, "Yeah." (we're working on breaking her of the "yeah" habit). Jody helped her get started, but then dropped out as Sarah sang "You Are My Sunshine" to her pre-born baby sister.

My attention had been captured already, but when that happened, I completely ignored the computer and just sat there watching and listening.

Say Hello to Lindsey

Just some pics for y'all.

It's been a long day

I had a Court Docket today. 105 cases set in the morning. 40 this afternoon. For some inexplicible reason, the afternoon docket took almost as long as the morning one. I got done with Court at 3:45, and I had to head downtown to get some stuff done (my mileage report and my time entry). Normally I wouldn't have had to do that today—the mileage report isn't due until Thursday, and the time doesn't close out until Friday—however, I'm taking the next three days off from work.

Why? you ask.

Tomorrow morning, I have to get up at 4:30ish (there's a 4:30am?) to accompany my wife to the hospital. The Doctor, a great guy named Dr. Lee, will be inducing labor for our fourth daughter, Lindsey in the morning. Well, it'll be our fourth daughter unless the ultrasound was wrong. In that case, Dr. Lee will be inducing labor for our first son, Jarod.

So, tomorrow's gonna be another long day, and the odds are that I won't get a chance to post. I know, I know, all 3 of my readers are heartbroken.

Now, for the seven and a half of you who are wondering why I had 145 cases set on my dockets for today—I am a Prosecutor in the Hot Check Division of the Dallas District Attorney's office. One of our duties is to cover the dockets in the Justice Courts. Primarily, that means prosecuting traffic tickets, but there are other types of cases as well. In the twenty months I've had this job, I've tried approximately 2000 cases (yes, you read that right—I try about 100 cases a month). I have a 97.5% conviction rate, and I haven't lost a Jury Trial in over a year. Of course, now that I've bragged about that, I'll probably go on a terrible losing streak.

Anyway, back to the long day. After I left the office, I had to go to my part-time teaching gig at Eastfield College. That was another three hours. So, now I'm worn out, but not sleepy, and I have to get up in six hours.

Finally tonight, my best friend threatened me to within an inch of my life if I didn't link to his site, so here goes:

The Vanguard

I'll most likely be posting more about Rod in the future.