update on ck

Since his open heart surgery in January to repair his Aorta, our nephew CK has been recovering before his next round of surgeries. They're scheduled for next week at Duke. On Tuesday he will undergo a Cath procedure so doctors can determine the severity of his heart failure. Based on the results, they'll attempt either a mitral valve catheter balloon valvuloplasty or a full-blown mitral valve replacement on Friday. We're hoping the valvuloplasty will work, although it's only a temporary fix. Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers next week.

I'd like to also extend a huge thank you to all of you that donated money to help my sister's family during these tough times. Every little bit helps as they continue to struggle with mounting medical bills as well as the financial stress caused by missed work and travel to and from Duke from their home on the North Carolina coast. We were able to raise more than $3,000 in just two months. The money has been presented to her and it's already being put to use to help the family. Of course more will be needed as CK endures more surgeries.

In the meantime, New Bern, the town in which my parents and sister live, has shown tremendous support for the family. Last week the local hospital hosted a blood drive in CK's honor. It was an overwhelming success. More than 100 people came out to donate blood, with more than 90 qualifying to do so. They collected 270 units of blood that will undoubtedly save lives. The human spirit is alive and well in New Bern, as it is in the blogging community.

Next week I'll update on CK's surgeries and their outcomes. Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers as this amazingly strong two-year-old goes through what children shouldn't have to.

undeserving, but appreciative

Offering proof that I'm undeserving of it, DCUrbanDad awarded me this award a week ago today and it's taken me until now to even mention it. What a horrible blogger friend I am. Seriously.

The award is supposed to show that I transmit cultural, literal, ethical and personal values every day. Whether I actually adhere to these standards is for you to decide. Regardless, I do want to extend my gratitude to DCUrbanDad for the honor bestowed upon me.

Now, as a rule, I'm supposed to award 15 other bloggers with the same award. Some of these folks may have already received it from others, but it's probably because they are very deserving.

Here they are:

Fear and Parenting in Las Vegas
Tao of Gini
Jogging in Circles
The Weirdgirl
Zoe's Dad
The Playpen
Spain Dad, A Baby Blog
Oh My God, I'm A Daddy!
Luke, I Am Your Father
Honea Express
Daddy Dan
Building Camelot
A Family Runs Through It
Dad Thing
Written, Inc.

Wow, 15 is a lot!

food thief

Z-Dub is always stealing food off my plate. Even when he has the same exact food on his plate, he's more interested in mine than his. To keep his little fingers out of my food, lately I've employed a new strategy focused on convincing him that his food is way better than mine.

I started telling Z-Dub that the food on my plate is poop. Yep, poop. Even if it looks like his, smells like his, and I'm eating it, I still tell him its poop and its yucky.

"Ewwwwhhhh! Daddy's eating poop," he yells out.

But lately this new strategy has started to fail me, especially since he'll eat basically anything.

I think I'll have to explore an even newer strategy. Perhaps something more simple. 

Maybe not sitting next to him at the table will be the best way to deal with his food thievery.

this kid's going to make us rich

Z-Dub's Halloween costume was unveiled this morning. Now check out the photo for his future movie poster for Spiderman 4: The Arachnid Spawn. He'll definitely get an Oscar. Or at least a Golden Globe.

Special thanks to Billy George.

if this blogs a rockin'...

I was pleased to learn this morning that this humble blog rocks. That is according to the exceptionally talented and very observant blog connoisseur DC Urban Dad. Though his blog is certainly worthy of such a rockin' distinction, I always thought perhaps my blog doo wopped or even bee bopped, but never did I ever think it actually rocked. Apparently I was completely wrong.

Sound the guitar riffs and drum solos. MY BLOG ROCKS BITCHES!!!!

I should also mention that he also loves this blog. Yeah, I know what you're thinking...kinda gay. But I'm a tolerant fellow. Love is love, right? I consider it kind of brotherly. Like in Philly.

I greatly appreciate all of the accolades from DC Urban Dad and anyone who actually stops by each day and reads. It's very encouraging. Therefore, I'm going to share it with a few blogs that I think rock:

Xbox4NappyRash

Honea Express

Daddy Dan

Whisky In My Sippy Cup

Jogging in Circles

Rock on people!

I'll even go so far as to say "I Love Your Blogs" too.

saving cyber-face

I feel like a bad, bad cyber friend. Apparently way back on September 28 Kim from Jogging In Circles randomly awarded me the Peanuts Holiday DVD Collection that includes "It’s a Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown," "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Deluxe Edition" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas Deluxe Edition." Due to my insane work schedule lately, resulting in a severe back log of unread posts in my feed reader, I didn't realize I had won until yesterday. Making it worse, it took an e-mail from Kim to bring it to my attention.

I feel like a total douchebag.

I would like to apologize to Kim for my late "thank you." I do greatly appreciate being the winner of the really cool prize. I remember watching these movies while growing up and now I get to share them with Z-Dub.

Today is Thursday, which is actually my Friday because I'm taking tomorrow and Monday off from work for my birthday weekend. So hopefully I'll have time to catch up on my blog reading.

he walked, he inspired

While many of us concentrate on our daily lives, laboring through work and making sure our families fed, clothed, sheltered and loved, while also regularly updating our blogs, of course, there are others that answer a higher calling and set out on an extraordinary feat with the goal of helping others.

It takes an amazing amount of sheer tenacity for those who take on a cause. In some cases its as simple as volunteering their time with an organization of interest. In other cases its designing a new and grand initiative that will have an immediate and profound impact on the lives of others. Sometimes it requires a person to overcome physical challenges and other adversities, and dedicate countless hours in planning and implementation. These include no easy tasks.

For those who take on these challenges, I've taken the time to develop a new blogger award. It doesn't have a super fancy name. It's simply stated as the "International Blogger of Distinction Award." It's international because the blogging community spans the globe. We are all connected through the internet, bringing people together from many countries and regions. And it's an award of distinction because it's meant to recognize somebody who's worthy of special honor or recognition.

The creation of this award was inspired by an individual who this summer set out on a grueling journey with his mates and conquered his goal to raise money for a noble cause. This individual is Dan Hughes from All That Comes With It.

Dan and his mates trudged along with sore and blistered feet, exhaustion and occasional over-priced Diet Coke to complete the 78-mile Dales Walk in just six days. Their purpose was to raise money for the Joseph Salmon Trust, a small charity whose aim is to offer financial assistance to people living in the Huddersfield, UK area, whose child has died. In promoting this endeavor on his blog and through his local media, Dan appealed to people around the world, including your's truly, who contributed money to the cause and, as a result, helped Dan and his mates raise more than $7,800. It's an astounding accomplishment.

As you can see, Dan is definitely a man of distinction. In chronicling his quest, with humor I might add, he's taught us all a valuable lesson in human strength and kindness. His family must be beaming with pride.

I'm sure Dan and his mates would accept additional donations, if you're feeling inspired. It'd be cool if donations surpass the $8,000 mark. Or even $10,000.

As with any blogger award, I encourage others to pass it along to a noble peer and recognize them for their remarkable acts of selflessness.

sometimes people can be nice

Every night before bed it's reading time. And each night when asked what Z-Dub wants to ready first, his reply is "The Fellings Book by Todd Parr." I'm not kidding. That's how he says it. Title and author.

HotMomma purchased the colorful boardbook from a Borders Books several months ago and it has been a favorite ever since. Authored by a accomplished artist, the book combines color, whimsical illustrations and simple messages that help children learn about emotions. It includes such lines as "sometimes I feel like celebrating my birthday, even though it's not today," "sometimes I feel cranky" and "sometimes I feel like camping with my dog." Z-Dub has the entire book memorized from cover to cover, but still enjoys reading it every night.

It's clear we need more books just like it.

So, as you can imagine, we were a little bummed out when we started on a quest to find more of Todd Parr's charming children's books and had trouble finding many of his boardbooks with titles such as "The Okay Book,"  "Underwear Do's and Don'ts Book" and others. We tried stores and online. Stores had none of the boardbooks and online only had a few used. Eventually I decided to go straight to the man himself, Todd Parr. He quickly responded to my e-mail inquiry and informed me that most of the boardbooks I inquired about were published eight to ten years ago and are out of print, although he had many other great books currently in print, with some new titles on the way. But learning how much Z-Dub is a fan of his one and only Todd Parr book, the gracious author offered to send him some copies of his out-of-print titles.

On Saturday Z-Dub and I walked to the mailbox, opened it up and found a package addressed to Z-Dub. Opening it up like a holiday present, Z-Dub found three autographed Todd Parr books. He was so excited. Thanks to the generosity of Todd Parr, Z-Dub is one happy kid.

If you have a Toddler, check out his books. Your child will undoubtedly enjoy them.

Artsy

Using a photograph and his artistic talents, a friend made this piece of art featuring Z-Dub. He's having a large print made for us. Cool!

feeling blogger love

I'd like to extend a special thank you to Kim at Jogging in Circles for showing some blogger love. She has kindly awarded me, along with six other deserving dads, this cool award:

This is my second award in a week. You all better be careful. I might take this all too serious and develop delusions of grandier.

Of course, as with most blog awards, I'm encouraged to pass this award along to seven other worthy peers. This is always tough as there are so many talented bloggers out there that entertain me each and every day. Many I aspire to be like someday.

Off the top of my head, I'm going to pass this award onto:

Tyler at Building Camelot
Darren at Clare's Dad
Marge at Fear & Parenting in Las Vegas
James at Luke, I am Your Father
Gregory at NooDad
Farrell at Nothing Gained, Nothing Lost
William at Poop and Boogies

Ye all awardeth!

stylin' nemo style

Thank you Grandma Chris for my Nemo beachwear!

fill 'er up friday: 7.11.08

It's Fill 'er Up Friday again. You may remember that last week I was fortunate to not have to fill up on account of being on vacation and taking advantage of far superior public transportation than what's available here in the City of Sin. So we were back this week and driving all over town, burning what's turned into liquid gold these days. Fortunately, the price per gallon this week was:

That's an $.08 drop in price when compared to the $4.29 per gallon price I paid two weeks ago. I actually could have paid $4.17 per gallon at the gas station across the street, but they had ran out. A lot of lucky drivers beat me to the pumps. Regardless, a drop is a drop.

Although, despite the drop in price, overall it's still $.15 per gallon more than what I paid when I started this a month ago. It's the price I have to pay for having to drive.

But you know who won't be doing any driving soon? Dan Hughes from All That Comes With It is who. On July 23 he and his mates will embarq on The Dales Walk to raise money for the Joseph Salmon Trust, an organization aimed at helping families that have lost a child.

Their endeavor is a grueling one, which requires every bit of their physical (and mental) strength and endurance to walk 78 miles in just six days. I admire their enthusiastic willingness to take on such a tremendous challenge for such a great cause. They're still seeking donations, so if you have the means, please feel free to give a little, or a lot. They're doing all the work. Perhaps you can give up a gallon (or litre) or two of gasoline (ride a bike or something) in exchange for helping them reach their fundraising goal.