Christmas to a one-year-old

Ever wonder what a Christmas gathering looks like to a one-year-old? I was going back through a bunch of our old pictures and I found these. I helped Avery take a few pictures with my Nikon. She's developing quite an eye. I'll have to keep training her a bit so she can be my assistant whenever I got on photo shoots! Enjoy.

a roadtrip to Radford with a painful ending...

We loaded up the kids yesterday for a daytrip to Radford, VA about 2.5 hours away to visit Rosie (Sarah's sister), Jonathan, and our nephew Ian. Sarah's parents made the trip up to visit too. The kids did well in the car and we had a nice visit with everyone. Here is a shot of the kids playing together.

We made it home safe and sound around 9:30 and got the kids tucked in bed. Right before Sarah and I turned in, we plopped on the floor to stretch our cramped legs from 5 hours in the car that day. I was about to get in bed when I slammed my right forearm into the unprotected end of our metal bed frame! It hurt pretty bad at first, but it only felt like a scratch. Sarah's eyes bugged out when she saw it, though, so I figured it must be worse than I thought (I couldn't see it very well since it was on the bottom of my arm). We decided that I needed stitches since the cut was pretty deep, but I had no desire to spend my evening or $400 in the ER (it was already 10:45). It wasn't really bleeding and it didn't hurt too bad, so we put iodine on it, slapped on a large band-aid, I popped some Advil, we and headed off to bed.

I went to urgent care this morning and was scolded by the nurse. I discovered that when you get a deep cut, you only have 7-10 hours to stitch it up, or it starts to bond together on its own. So they glued it the best they could and sent me on my way. I must admit I was a little relieved because I about passed out when Kyla had to get stitches because I don't handle that stuff very well. Besides, now I should have a pretty cool scar to show off...so much for my watch-modeling career. I just need to come up with a tougher story of how it happened. Any ideas?

behold the beauty of the DMV!

Sarah and I finally decided that it was about time to shed our California license plates and don the insignia of our new state, North Carolina (especially since we received a letter from California saying our registration there was void because we moved seven months ago). We had dreaded this moment ever since hearing the horror stories about Charlotte DMVs (supposedly much worse than other parts of the country). Our friend Megan said she stood in line for 3 hours with both of her young boys only to find out that her husband needed to be there too since there was an "and" in between their names on the title of the car and not an "or!" So our friends graciously volunteered to watch our kids so we could go it alone...quite a romantic date, I'd say!

We arrived in the small, crowded, hot, dimly lit office a little after 4:00. The line was quite long and there were no seats or take-a-number-and-wait systems. The rules are simple...stand in line and wait...and wait...and wait. A lot of our time was spent reading all of the makeshift signs around the place. No Credit Cards Accepted. Please be patient, several employees are out sick. Please be patient, new employees in training.

Then it was on to debate which of the 50 states had the nicest license plate. We chatted with the people around us including the girl who kept having to leave the line to check on her uncle with Alzheimer's who she was hoping wasn't trying to escape the car in the parking lot! Every now and then, sheer panic struck when I began thinking about the possibility we might not have all the documents required to get our license plate. We might have to do this all over again!

I glanced around at the people around. A clean-cut businessman wearing a nice suit. A tall, skinny man who reminded me of Bob Marley. A woman wearing a Pizza Hut uniform. A yuppie. People with uniforms bearing their names. Important-looking people. The thought finally hit me! This place is AMAZING. It is one of the few places in all of America where everyone is on the same playing field. It doesn't matter if you make six figures a year, or $600 a year. You have to wait in line at the DMV. This is the one last place where "who you know" can't really help you. It's beautiful.

After my revelation, we made it to the counter, submitted our forms, showed our documents, paid $225, and walked out with a small piece of metal and a large sense of accomplishment!

my new niece

Matt and Doverly, my slightly elder brother and sis-n-law, recently had their third baby...my first niece! Elizabeth Abigail Davis. Sure, I love having three nephews, but being a father of two girls, I must say I'm stoked about having a niece. I haven't gotten a chance to meet her yet because she's six hours away, but hopefully we'll get up there soon! Thankfully, Matt has sent us some great pics to enjoy.

hooray for Whole Foods!

Whole Foods grocery chain just announced that it is bagging the use of plastic bags in its stores. At the risk of sounding like a tree-hugger, I would like to applaud that decision! Americans use about 100 million bags each year, and as you know from experience, their life span is usually pretty short. Sure, sometimes we reuse them to line the bathroom trashcan or to throw a poopy diaper in. But most of the time, you get home from the store 10 minutes after your purchase and toss them in the trash. These bags litter the roads, city streets, rivers, and they're filling up the landfills and just hanging around for thousands of years.

Sarah and I bought canvas shopping bags at Trader Joe's a year ago in LA. It took us awhile to get in the habit of actually bringing the bags into the store, but now it is routine. We always used paper in the past, but even paper is not the best because it requires virgin timber to produce. At any rate, I figure that we've saved well over 400 paper bags in the past year alone using our canvas bags. Even if you dismiss my hippiness, you have to agree that if grocery stores didn't have to supply bags for their shoppers, it might eventually save us some money because they could cut their costs.

find your candidate

A friend sent me a link to a site called electoralcompass.com that is designed to help you find the candidate that best matches your views on key issues like gun control, the war in Iraq, abortion, and things like that. I found it very interesting to go through the process of answering the questions. I'm not 100% sure that it is accurate because the one candidate it said I was the closest to has different viewpoints than I do on at least one key issue in my mind. I guess the site weighs all the issues the same, so it may or may not be accurate because it cannot take importance of issues into account when making comparisons.

So you wanna know who it said I should vote for? Well, I'd tell you but if I mention her name, a large portion of my extended family might disown me!!! And besides, like I said, she has several different views on a few key issues so it's not like I'm going to vote for her just because a website says I should. :)

another great Morgan Spurlock movie

I just finished watching a great Morgan Spurlock (creator of "Supersize Me") movie called "Chalk." I had never heard of it before, but I found it while searching through Netflix On Demand for something to watch while Sarah is out with her lady friends. It is a great, documentary-style (like "The Office") comedy about teaching. It follows the fictional lives of several new teachers. I think it definitely captured the behind-the-scenes drama of teaching extremely well. So if you are a teacher, know a teacher, or ever had a teacher, I certainly recommend watching it!

think twice before you steal...

I just read an article about a 33 year-old man who was caught stealing flea dip at a pet store. For his crime, he has to walk in front of the store for two hours per day wearing a sign saying that he stole and he was caught for the next few days. When asked if this will make him think twice before he steals again, he responded by saying, " I think twice before I steal always, I was just in a situation, and I messed up. I mean I ain't gonna steal no more."

I am glad that he always thinks twice before he steals.

FDA declares kid's cold medicine unsafe!

The FDA has now said cold medicine for kids under the age of 2 is unsafe. Here's an excerpt from an article on cnn.com.

"Parents should not give sniffling babies and toddlers over-the-counter cough and cold medicines -- they're too risky for tots so small, the government will declare Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration still hasn't decided if the remedies are appropriate for older children to continue using, officials told The Associated Press.

Expect a decision on that by spring, the deadline necessary to notify manufacturers before they begin production for next fall's cold season.

For now, the FDA is issuing a public health advisory on Thursday to warn parents to avoid these drugs for children under age 2 "because serious and potentially life-threatening side effects can occur."

A confession I hope my dad doesn't read...

Union County Public Schools (for whom I work) will possibly be shut down tomorrow due to inclement weather! I spent my day warning students that they should still do their homework just in case we do have school tomorrow. I am excited about the thought of my first snow day as a teacher (didn't get many snow days in Los Angeles) even though it is probably just going to sleet for a while and turn to rain by midday.

At any rate, I hope my dad doesn't read this, because I have to confess that I am severely under prepared for any kind of inclement weather. I do have an ice-scraper for the windshield of my car that I've already had to use this year, but I realized that I don't have anything else that might come in handy in case of a real big storm. I don't have a shovel or rock salt. That's not too big of a deal since we probably won't ever really get a huge snowfall. But I realized that if the power goes out, our phone goes out because we have voice over IP. Still not a huge deal, but I also found out that I don't have a battery-operated radio to be able to find out if I have to work. While thinking about batteries, I realized I don't even own a flashlight. Sheesh...it's a good thing we're in Charlotte where we don't get much inclement weather! If you did read this Dad, I'm sorry I have failed you as a son.

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Quick update 6:50am on Thursday: It snowed about 1/2 inch and is raining now. The roads are fine but we got a 2hr delay. I'm sure the kids will be nutty! We didn't lose power so I've been given a second chance at preparedness. Now if I could just convince my two kids to go back to bed since it's a late-start day, all would be well...

Confirmation of my dislike for Wal-Mart

I just got finished watching a documentary called "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and while it is certainly not the best documentary I've seen, it was pretty interesting (I thought Supersize Me and Bowling for Columbine were much better). Lots of good interviews by former managers and employees. I knew that there were many reasons to dislike Wal-Mart (Sarah and I haven't shopped there in years)!

One interesting thing brought up in the movie was that Wal-Mart stores in the Catawba River basin (the river where we get a lot of our water in Charlotte) were busted for breaking environmental rules about storing pesticides and fertilizers outside where runoff entered streams and eventually the source of our drinking water. Mmmmm...I knew our water tasted a little off. I need to swing by Wal-Mart and buy some bottled water 'cause I hear they have low prices!

At any rate, here is another interesting site:
www.walmartwatch.com

Another reason our government is broke...

Below is an excerpt from an article on cnn.com about a government program providing $40 coupons to us poor Americans who can't afford to upgrade our TV's to HDTV in time for the switch from analog TV that is taking place next year. My additions to the article are in bold.

"Congress, in ordering the transition to digital broadcasting, set aside $1.5 billion (that's billion with a capital B) for the coupon program, which will fund 33.5 million coupons and other costs.

The giveaway basically works under the honor system. (that sounds dangerous)

The first 22 million coupons will go to all households that request them. That includes a residence that gets cable service for one television but has a spare TV that still uses an antenna, for example. (oh, those poor suffering Americans with only one TV wired to cable or satellite)

The rest of the coupons, however, are meant only for those who do not subscribe to a pay-television service."

Hmmmm....what else could we do with $1.5 billion?

750,000 teachers could get a $2000 raise. We could buy about 2 million computers for classrooms. We could drill 1 million wells in Africa providing sanitary water to drink. You get the idea. So, if you know me well, you know I don't really watch TV. Reading about the money our government is spending to lead people to sit on their couches and watch ads that force them to grow more discontent with their small 35" analog TV's so that they throw the old ones away and buy newer, bigger HDTVs with their credit cards and go deeper in debt makes me not want to watch TV at all (except for Virginia Tech football and The Simpsons, of course)!

A nice walk...

I took a walk with the girls this afternoon. It was a nice, brisk day and we all had to bundle up. It's getting fun now that Avery is able to get out and keep up with us as we walk around the neighborhood!

Finally, a decent picture of Kyla where she's not making a silly face!

Avery enjoys doing whatever Kyla is doing.

Ready to go!

Self Portrait.