Latest Blog Posts
Soccer is Back
After a looooong break over the winter—I opted not to referee indoor soccer this year—I’ll be back in action today, centering one of the first high school soccer matches of the season. The time off was good for me. Even though physically I’m horribly out of shape now, mentally I feel very refreshed.
I just checked my rules test grade. *sigh* Only 98/100. I missed one because I let my dad talk me into the wrong answer (thanks, dad!). The other dealt with a rule that I don’t agree with, so I halfway answered incorrectly out of spite. On the other hand, I got all of the “mind-reading” questions right this year. Those are questions that are poorly worded and which require you to read the test-writer’s mind if you want to get the right answer. It becomes a matter of “What does the test writer want me to answer?” rather than “What is the strictly correct answer?”. Very annoying.
Will any of you be out at Abbott tonight? I’ll have the center of one of the matches, though I won’t say which one just yet. Come say hi if you’re out there.
I should also mention the big news that I received a Nebraska women’s center coming up in a couple weeks. I am very, very excited. Even though it’s “just” spring ball, it’s still Nebraska. Also, it’s a privilege I will never have during the regular season due to my employment ties. Reffing in the shadow of Memorial Stadium will be a hoot.
Happy Pi Day!
It’s Pi Day! How are you celebrating? I plan to enjoy a slice (or two) of The Missus’ famous coma-inducing peanut butter pie. Mmmmm.
Long Lost Sisters
I happened to catch just a couple minutes of American Idol on TV tonight, just in time to see Sabrina Sloan get the boot.
Is it just me, or does she look a lot like Ferris Bueller’s sister?
The Fear of Men
Looks like Robbie may be entering yet another new phase. He has been a mama’s boy for a while now, but recently he has taken it up a notch. Now he is expressing a general fear or dislike of men. He still likes me, grandpa, and his uncle, but other men: not so much. And really, who can blame him? Men smell funny, their faces are all scratchy, and most men are pretty darn awkward around people Robbie’s size. Meanwhile, women go ga-ga over him. Clearly he just knows what’s good for him. Still, it’s going to take some time for me to get used to Robbie no longer being the “I love everybody” type. *sigh*, my little boy is growing up.
Satisfaction
I love the feeling you get when you plan to stay up late to work on a complex project, and not only do you finish it, but you finish it early. I just wrapped up such a project, adding a crucial (to me) feature to some Javascript. What is especially satisfying is that I really wasn’t sure I had the know-how to get it done at all. I wanted to try, though, because the payoff would be huge. Now that I have worked out the solution, I’m positively giddy. This was a huge hurdle. And now I get to go to bed well before midnight.
I’m going to sleep well tonight. Unless Robert has other plans, of course. 
Oh Good, the Weekend’s Over!
This weekend was the sort of weekend that makes me glad to get back to work. Maybe now I can rest a bit.
Actually, it was a great weekend. The In-Laws came to town on Friday afternoon. On Saturday we had an open house to celebrate Robbie’s adoption finalization. We had a great turnout. In fact, we probably invited just the right number of people; the house was full, but not crowded. Robbie, of course, was the star of the show, and he managed to make it through the entire event without getting fussy. But boy did he take a heck of a nap the second it was over.
Sunday was a quieter day, but it began as all Sundays do with a 7:00am trip to Panera to meet my family. That really ought to be too early, but Robbie’s up by then, and it makes a good father-son outing while The Missus goes to the Y.
The rest of Sunday was full but subdued. We had dinner at my parents’ house to celebrate my sister’s birthday. Meatloaf, mashed potatoes with meatloaf gravy, green bean casserole, and other goodies. Almost all of my favorite comfort foods were there.
As if I hadn’t had enough activity for the weekend, last night at 8:30 I decided to go for a run. High school soccer season is coming up, and I need to get into shape. Plus, I have really put on some weight this winter. As in: I weigh more than I ever have before. I guess I can’t rely on my ol’ metabolism any more to take care of these things for me. I’m not nearly as sore today as I probably should be—especially considering how many times I nearly killed myself on icy patches—but I have a long ways to go before I’m in good reffing shape. I need to knock off about 15 pounds before the state tournament. Think this food-lover can do it?
It’s Official!
Eighteen months ago The Missus and I announced that we had decided to adopt an infant. Nine months ago we announced that our baby was waiting for us in Boston. Eight months ago we made it back to Lincoln after 10 days in Beantown. And today—just now, in fact—we made it all legal.
Awesome.
Home with a “Sick” Kid
I’m pulling daddy duty today. Robert lost his lunch—actually, his bedtime snack—last night, and our daycare provider asks that kids stay away for at least 24 hours after puking. It’s a reasonable rule, though in this case I don’t think it’s necessary; Robert is bubbly and active and feeling fine, with no sign of a fever or any other symptoms. In fact, I swear this is true: just now Robert pulled himself up to standing next to a kitchen chair, made his way to where he could grab the table with his hands, and then proceeded to do a pull-up. I kid you not. There was actual space between his feet and the ground. If I didn’t have to stand so close to make sure he didn’t hurt himself I would have grabbed a camera. Crazy kid.
Speaking of Robert’s new tricks, he can stand for a couple seconds at a time now. He did that for the first time last night.
I had better go play with the kiddo and watch some Matlock. Hopefully I’ll have time to post on some Lincoln-related topics today, but no promises.
Happy Birthday, Daisy!
If you aren’t a dog lover, you may as well skip this post. Daisy the Wonder Schnoodle turns three years old today. Happy birthday, Daisy! A few photos to celebrate the occasion:
Seven Days a Week
I ended up working all weekend, right up until 11:30pm last night. I even missed out on dinner at my parents’ house last night. I don’t particularly enjoy missing out on the family time that locking oneself in one’s office requires, but I do love pushing myself away from the keyboard at the end and saying “I’m finished, and it’s good.”
This weekend’s project involved developing some website member management solutions for a client in Canada. (One of two clients from Canada, actually. Apparently the “Eh Team” from up north has a thing for Nebraskans.) The project was nice in that it was difficult but doable, and I learned from it some lessons that I can apply to future projects. As it turns out I underbid the project (by about 30%), but with just a little work I should be able to repackage some of the elements into a sellable product to more than make up the difference.
I’m not crazy about working seven days a week, but it’s going to take that kind of effort for a while if I want my web development stuff to go anywhere. And I do. I really, really do. I would love to be able to do this stuff full-time…
A Girl Like Me
This video, “A Girl Like Me”, is making the rounds right now. It’s a short (7 minutes) documentary by Kiri Davis, a high school student.
There are a lot of things I still don’t “get” about race and racial identity in the United States. I can’t wrap my head around some of the girls’ comments in the film, for example. But several parts of the film are intriguing, and I can’t help but think about how it all relates to Robert.
Robert is On the Move
Kids really do grow up fast.
Robert has two teeth now, both on the bottom. He hasn’t really figured out what they’re to be used for, but in the absence of upper teeth that’s not a big surprise. It’s going to be weird seeing him with teeth after so many months of toothless grins. And no more letting him gnaw on my fingers. I’m not raising a cannibal.
Robert is also really figuring out how to utilize his mobility. First it was “Ooh, look! The dog’s food and water!” The dog was not amused. Now, fortunately, he gets around to a number of different destinations. He even (sort of) comes when you call him. I plan to enjoy that as much as possible in this short window when he actually thinks that “go to dad when called” is a fun game. I figure that’ll wear off any day now.
Robert is sleeping all night pretty much routinely these days. The ol’ Ferber method—rather, our interpretation of it—seemed to work pretty well. Too bad we didn’t start it earlier.
I don’t think I mentioned yet that we have our finalization court date. February 13th is the big day, exactly 8 months after we first met him (and he pooped all over me) in Boston. Mom and dad are very excited. Robert has, of course, been “ours” since day 1, but it will be nice to make it official. I can’t imagine what it must be like for people who spend this much time (or more) with a child, only to have the adoption fail for some reason. Makes me shudder.
Here are some relatively recent Robbie photos:
No Kidding
I completely understand why the members of No Kidding would want a social group comprised of people who don’t have kids. Before I was a parent, I noticed that parents’ conversations always tend to drift toward the topic of their children. Now that I’m a parent, I’ve noticed that, yep, my conversations do just that. I probably annoy the beans out of many of my non-parent friends with my yammering about “Robbie did this” or “Robbie did that”. It must be difficult at times being intentionally childless in a community that generally doesn’t “get” why somebody would do such a thing. I’m sure intentionally childless couples have to come up with some of the same sorts of lines to respond to annoying “Why don’t you want kids?” questions that The Missus and I have come up with in regard to Robbie’s adoption.
Are any of you in an intentionally childless relationship? Do you find that folks around here don’t “get” your decision?
Those Eyes
I’m on daddy duty with a sick kid today. Doesn’t look like anything serious, but we’ll probably try to get in to the doctor this afternoon.
It’s easy for me to tell when Robert doesn’t feel well. It’s all in his eyes. And right now his eyes say “Oy, I feel like poo.”
At this point I can’t tell if it’s going to be an easy day with a slightly tired Robbie, or a tough day with lots of whining and coughing. So far the latter. Poor kid.
Breakthrough!
Robert had a big breakthrough this weekend—literally. After months of saying “He must be teething; I’m sure we’ll see a tooth soon”, a tooth has finally popped up. It’s actually not as dramatic as that, since you can only feel the very top of the tooth. But hey, parents get excited over the little things.
In other Robert news, he has learned that playing in the dog’s water dish can be a blast. Guess we’re going to have to find a new place to put Daisy’s food…
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