Family Matters, Week of 7-30-06

This is incredibly late due to the fact that the company I work for was hit by lightning on Friday afternoon and equipment failures, etc followed. Ugh.

So, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s begin:

Abby (2yr old SuperMunchkin)

Abigail got her haircut for the first time in her life the other day. While she’s had a few “trims” she’s never gotten more than a few centimeters worth removed from her head. Well, that all changed:

(click for a larger view of my baby)

Of course I hate it. I’ve never been a fan of bangs but I think honestly that Ericka just wanted a change for our baby.

This happened with Annie too. We got her bangs cut, and then after keeping those for a few months we let them grow out. Let the annoying hair-in-the-eyes begin!

On another, not-quite-related front, Abby has withdrawn her bid to become a cheerleader. This was made after careful deliberation of watching Abby not care about the practices and play with the grass instead. While it’s right up Annie’s ally, Abs just isn’t ready for that sort of thing.

Thank God we found out before that $40 check had cleared. Ahem.

Annie (4yr Old Underdog)

Annie boog is quite the busy girl. She’s making her friends wherever she goes (particularly at the community pool at the apartments) and she’s learning new stuff every day. This includes, but isn’t limited to, cheers upon cheers. But I’ve spoken of those.

No, Annie is reaching that stage where she is in full control of her covert attempts to “slip one by” me and Ericka. This includes the old favorites such as No Mommy I Didn’t Really Just Smack Abby and No Daddy I Didn’t Make That Mess. I wonder at how many times I tried to pull a ‘fast one’ on my parents, my ‘game’ so old and busted (or new and creaky) that it never really worked.

Of course after being confronted with her lies a few times and her finally confessing I wonder what the right punishment is. Over time this has been on more of a sliding scale—the worse the lie/behavior, the worse the punishment. To have a ‘blanket’ punishment for a single offense (such as lying) seems a bit too easy. Either the punishment is too much or not enough.

Did I mention parenting is tough and weird?

Did I also mention my babies are gone to Mississippi until tomorrow evening and that I miss them terribly? Part of this parenting lament is just to remind me that yes, I am a Dad and yes, my kids will be home soon.

I miss my hugs, you know?

Ericka (her myspace)

Ericka is currently braving the undeniable heat in the Mississippi sun. She and her mother, along with her brother, his wife, and our chidren went to see her grandmother on Friday. She’s been gone now for four days.

Man, does it feel like it.

The house is stale and looks just like I left it. The beds are empty at night, no diapers to check, the days are quiet with no phone calls from home about this achivement, this mishap, this mess.

While I would’ve liked to have gone, and it certainly would’ve been nice to see Ericka’s family, it is still ass-kickingly hot down there. And I’m not all about the hotness, if you know what I mean.

Etc.

So, what’s up? Friday my place of business got a lightning strike and I’m still, as I write this, recovering bit by bit. Things that were protected by surge protectors got fried, certain network jacks stop working, and things are all together kooky in my area of the woods.

However, the end is near. The blown equipment has been replaced and just by seeing this message we’re about 1000x further than we once were. I’m, if nothing else, extremely happy about that.

And so it goes. Until tomorrow, peeps.

You get the feelin' comin' after the glow
The vagabond is moving slow