squeaky boy

Something strange has happened to our Z-Dub's voice since his tonsil surgery on Saturday. He has suddenly become squeaky and, dare I say, kind of girlie. At first we chalked it up to a post-surgery attempt to get attention and sympathy. It's been almost a week and he still has this squeaky little mouse voice, so now I'm concerned. So much so that I did a little research online.

I was shocked to discover that tonsillectomy can in fact cause both temporary and permanent change to voice pitch. Our doctor never discussed or even mentioned this to us before or after surgery. According to the experts all over the Internets, the causes vary and include:

1. If they were large, removal of the tonsils can change the resonance of  speech (voice would be the same as that's produced by the larynx). 
2. If the adenoids were removed as well as the tonsils (which is what Z-Dub went through), then there could be some velopharyngeal incompetence and hypernasality.
   
3. Muscle tension dysphonia. 
4. Vocal cord damage from intubation injury. 

Whatever the cause, I'm fine with the temporary change as we can deal with our little mouse for a while longer. I read somewhere that it can take up to 12 weeks to go back to normal. However, a permanent change would be a little too hard to swallow, especially if he continues to sound like a eunuch.

it's an honor to just be nominated...

Yeah right! I just found out that this little blog is in the running for the Parent's Picks 2009 best local blog in Las Vegas at Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect. I totally want to win this thing. I hardly ever win anything. 

Of course, I need your help to do it!

Please visit the link and vote. You can vote every day if you want. Voting runs until July 15 and the winners will be announced on August 15.

Featuring the tagline "We're not perfect, we're parents," Nickelodeon's ParentsConnect celebrates the reality of parenthood and make parents' lives easier. Geared towards parents with kids of all ages, from newborns to teens, the site offers unique features like local events and resources; personalized profiles that help parents connect with each other; daily tips for all ages and stages; expert parenting advice; a weekly meal-planner for quick and healthy meals; and guest celebrity editorials. Each age-related section on the site provides users with daily content to help them through both large and small parenting challenges.

Now go VOTE!!!!

a deserving mother

The rules are simple over at Uptake.com -- write a post about why you deserve a “Spa Girl Package” and you can win a trip for four to the Silverado Resort in NapaValley. Despite what some of you may think, based upon what I’ve got going on downstairs I’m definitely not a girl, but HotMomma is. And she’d love a spa getaway with her BFFs. So instead of talking about me, I’m going to deviate from the rules a bit and write about why she deserves to win. Actually, I’m going to give four good (and hopefully compelling) reasons:

1. She's been begging me for a trip to the beautiful Napa Valley and I still haven't come through with my promise to get her there. How many years has it been? Too many to count.

2. The last time I surprised her with a spa treat it turned into a bit of a disaster. Her prized diamond necklace -- a family heirloom that has been passed down three generations -- was lost in the spa and never found. It turned what would have been a relaxing time into one of heartache and tears.

3. Our three year old had surgery last weekend to remove his tonsils, adenoids and get tubes in his ears. He's been in a miserable whiny state ever since. And to make matters worse, he's been treating HotMomma like crap ever since, clingy to his Daddy (yep, me) like a leech and being totally disrespectful to his concerned mother who wants nothing more than to comfort her first born. It's been a bit of a slap in her face and she's feeling down because of it.

4. Mother's Day was a week ago and I still haven't gotten her a gift. Pathetic, I know.

As you can see, HotMomma NEEDS this trip. It will not only provide her an opportunity to rejuvenate, but will also get me out of the dog house. Okay, not completely out of the dog house. Perhaps just one foot. Every little bit helps.

on the mend

Z-Dub had his tonsils and adenoids removed and new tubes put in his ears early Saturday morning and then spent the entire day and overnight in the hospital. He was discharged midday on Sunday.

Since we arrived home he's been recovering at a very past pace, without requiring any pain medication. However, he's very grumpy because he's on a strict liquid and soft food diet. Z-Dub is a little weird because he doesn't want Jello, pudding, popsicles and ice cream. Instead he begs for chicken, hot dogs, pizza, chips, french fries and popcorn. HotMomma did break down and made him some Orzo pasta with parmesan and romano cheese mixed in it. He seemed to like it and it was soft enough for his throat.

Other than the diet thing he's also been very clingy to me, which has been a bit of a slap in HotMomma's face since it was Mother's Day weekend. I have no idea why, but all Z-Dub wants is his Daddy. It's almost annoying though.

Thank you to everyone here and on Facebook for your well wishes. We appreciate it very much.

Just after surgery, all Z-Dub wanted to do was sleep.

A visit from his Grandma.

Later in the evening he got a visit with his bro The Deuce.

Doing great!

Waiting to get that damned IV out of his arm and go home.

kid talk

Z-Dub amazes me every single day with words that come flowing out of his mouth. Sometimes they're funny and other times just out-of-left-field strange. For example, right after waking up this morning:

Z-Dub: "The coyotes are all over Grandma's house! Pandora (sister-in-law's English bulldog) is going to eat the coyotes...and the bats. Bats are flying around Grandma's house. And the chipmunks eat Pandora's food."

Me: "Huhhh!?! Did you have a weird dream?"

A few minutes later while walking down the stairs to have breakfast and get ready to head over to Grandma's house:

Z-Dub: "Daddy, I want to ride the city bus."

Me: "The city bus? How very environmentally conscious of you."

Z-Dub: "Huhhh!?!"

As we're walking out the door:

Z-Dub: "It's raining for us outside."

Me: "No it's not! It's hot!"

Z-Dud: "I want to go in an airplane. I have poo poo in my tummy and I go poo poo in an airplane."



I'm not even at work yet and my brain is exhausted.

---------------------------------------------------

In other news, my latest Uptake.com post about treating your special mother to a poolside retreat in Las Vegas for Mother's Day got picked up by the Los Angeles Times online travel blog. Cool!!!

cough, cough, sniffle

Z-Dub's surgery to get new tubes in his ears as well as his tonsils and adenoids removed is scheduled for Saturday, but we've run into an obstacle. Yesterday he suddenly became sick with a high fever, cough, runny nose, sneezing and an overwhelming urge to whine. As a result, his surgery may be postponed another week. They can't do it while he's ill.

In the meantime, HotMomma is off to the pediatrician with him this afternoon to get checked out. He hasn't sprouted a curly tail and started oinking, so I'm not concerned that it's the swine flu -- oh, excuse me, I mean the H1N1 flu. I don't want to piss off the pork farmers or pig lovers.

It's kind of weird for him to be sick now. The weather is awesome, and even borderline hot (we're almost at the century mark today). And the entire fall and winter season, when colds and flu are common, he avoided any and all illness. Considering his track record, we were ecstatic.

I'm sure hoping it's not the swine...err H1N1 flu. He hasn't even been around any pigs or Mexicans lately. If he sneaked out of the house for a quick midnight rendezvous with a hot Latina in Cancun, I think I'd find out about it.

a mission

VegasDad circa 2003:

A consistent gym regimen (before kids, blog, etc.) and 190 lbs. of pure muscle.

VegasDad present day:

Haven't been to the gym in ages, feeling out-of-shape, pathetic and not even 160 lbs. of softness.

We've got a mission my friends. I'm on a quest to regain the glory of my days of peak physical shape. I don't want to be 190 lbs. again, but a nice muscle-toned body somewhere in between my current weight and my former would be nice. I'm being realistic because, let's face it, I'm no longer in my 20s. And frankly, I don't have the time and energy anymore to commit to what is required to be my previous self. 

Anyways, stay tuned. And if you hear or see me slacking, feel free to tear me apart with your words of disappointment and disgust. 

of needle pricks and hard hits

Have any of the few parents that read this blog ever have to take their child to get blood drawn?

How did it go?

What did you do to calm your child (and yourself)?

We're facing having to take Z-Dub to get blood drawn as part of his pre-operation regimen. He's scheduled for surgery on Saturday morning, so we have to get it done sometime today or during the next couple of days. He's never had blood taken, so I'm fearful about the trauma it's going to cause him. I think we may actually have to strap him down to do it.

I don't know if I'm going to be able to be in the same room with him as its done. I personally have an intense fear of needles due to some extremely excruciating childhood experiences in the hospital with IVs. I remember when I was about 10 years old I spent a week or so in the hospital for one of my many surgeries. I had a room mate, who was a little boy that had a pituitary problem and was going to have surgery to fix it. We decided one evening to race wheelchairs in the hall of the children's ward (this was before surgery for both of us). In doing so, I knocked the IV out of my arm. The result was a punishing replacement. The damned nurses couldn't get the IV back in my arm. They tried 17 times, jabbing long needles into my black and blue arms, with no success. Finally they gave up and stuck it in my foot. That hurt like like hell. Ever since then I almost pass out at the sight of needles.

Needless to say I'm not looking forward to Z-Dub facing the same thing. Not only will he need blood drawn for the pre-operation blood work, but he'll most definitely need an IV for his his surgery to remove his tonsils, adenoids and place new tubes in his ears.

I'm going to be a nervous wreck all week.

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Changing subjects to something much more pleasant...anyone else see the Pacquiao vs. Hatton fight live on Saturday night? We were at a Pacquiao party, eating Filipino food and supporting Manny. He kicked some serious Hatton ass (well, face) for sure.

It was awesome, but I kind of wish the bout lasted a little longer than just two rounds. Oh well. Pacquiao won and that's all we cared about.

blame it on the parents

The other day, while HotMomma was off with her friends having "mommy" time, I took Z-Dub and The Deuce to Target with me to pick up a few things (diapers). While driving up St. Rose Parkway, all of a sudden I realized that Z-Dub was singing along with the song playing on the radio. He seemed to know most, if not all, of the words of the chorus. This was the song:



At least the song teaches life lessons. Right?

Like, if you get her drunk she'll take her panties off.

a post of randomness

Oh dear blog, how I've neglected you. It's been five days since my last post. And, frankly, my last post was nothing more than an embedded You Tube video. Not much to it really. 

Life has been kind of crazy lately. We've been reinforcing the potty training with Z-Dub. He's starting his third week diaper free. He's had a few accidents, but that's expected. He gets distracted by "fun" and forgets that he's not wearing a diaper. He also tends to "hold it" too long before telling us he has to go. As a result, some of his accidents have been while his pants were coming off to use the toilet. 

Speaking of Z-Dub, he's turned into a raging three-year-old lately. He's literally a back-talking, hitting, stubborn brat of a boy. We're working hard to get him under control, but let's face it, he's three and it's how kids his age act. We're trying to find a healthy balance of discipline and positive reinforcement when he's being good. So far, the most effective punishment is withholding toys. And threatening kidnap by pirates seems to be working as well. He scoffs at time out. 

Meanwhile, little The Deuce just keeps eating, pooping and growing. He's been teething lately, so he's a little on the grumpy side. Not too bad though. With the warm weather, he's been enjoying time at the pool. In celebration of a friend's birthday, we had a private cabana and pool at Green Valley Ranch Resort yesterday. The weather was beautiful and The Deuce and Z-Dub and their cousins had a blast splashing in the pool. They also like the endless parade of delicious food. I enjoyed one too many mojitos. It was a great day. 

Want proof, here's some pics.

Oh, and I almost forgot to mention that we got Z-Dub one of these over the weekend:

It's a Disney's Cars television set. It was an award for all of his peeing and pooping in the toilet. It'll also be great to "take away" as punishment for bad behavior. Just thinking ahead.

excuse me mr., it's earth day

Also, check out my Earth Day post at Uptake.com. It captures a special moment in Z-Dub's life.

it's official

With Z-Dub finally dropping loads of number two in the toilet, and not wearing diapers for more than a week, he's now officially potty trained. He's got it all under control.

FINALLY.

And, just in time for Earth Day. I'm sure Mother Nature will appreciate him no longer filling up the landfill with poopy diapers.

he said what?

Last night, as we were leaving a restaurant, Z-Dub blurts out "we drive in Mommy's dirty ass car." HotMomma and I were shocked, but at the same time, tried to hold back giggles as he repeated "Mommy, you have a dirty ass car."

He was instructed not to say that anymore, even though his observation of the state of Mommy's car was more than accurate.

Lessons learned: clean the car and watch your mouth around the little ones. They're like sponges.

dude, let it out!

I apologize in advance for the content of this post. 

This is yet another post about poop. We're continuing our efforts to potty train young Z-Dub. All of his little friends, many of which are younger than him, are now diaper free, so we're on a mission. He has no issue peeing in the potty. He's had a couple of accidents, primarily due to distraction, but for the most part he has peeing under control.

Our problem is his poop anxiety. He's afraid to do it on the toilet and we've yet to have success with dropping a load into the porcelain throne. In fact, yesterday he was so fearful of the notion, he sat on his little toilet for much of the day without success. Instead of just letting it slide on out, he actually held it in all day long. His poor belly was big and he complained that his "tummy and his butt" hurt. We encouraged him, held his hand and even explained how to relax and push it out. Nothing helped him overcome his fear.

Eventually he went to sleep...late. At 4 a.m., while getting ready to head off to work, HotMomma checked on him. He was asleep with the largest, stinkiest load of poop in his pants. I ended up changing him while he was asleep.

Today he's with his cousin who is six months younger and already potty trained. We're hoping she can encourage him to get over his poop fears.

Any advice?

red rocks and stuff

When HotMomma and I lived in the Phoenix area for a couple of years, we used to enjoy our road trips up to Sedona. It was absolutely beautiful up there among the red buttes. We took off-road jeep tours on the rugged terrain, explored weird vortexes and enjoyed the great restaurants. It was amazing.

Thinking of these past trips, I decided to write an Uptake post on vacationing in Sedona. Of course, now I'm feeling all nostalgic. The article has inspired me to look at booking a Sedona vacation. Although, I'm thinking more of a romantical vacation sans kiddos.

Check out my Sedona post here.

random post about weather and a contest

Like my uber-creative title? I know...it sucks. It's Wednesday and I'm already burnt out from my week, so don't make fun of it.

On to the post. Is it me or is the weather getting freaky? Just two days ago it was in the mid-80s here in Las Vegas. Then the winds came again (they've been a pain in the ass this year) and the weather chilled. Today is supposed to only reach 58. Even more shocking was the fact that when I stepped out the door this morning to head to work it was snowing. Seriously...frickin' snowing in Vegas in mid-April. There's something very wrong with that.

Even more surprising is the fact that the weather predictors are forecasting 90-degree temps by the end of the weekend. It's quite a roller coaster ride going from warm to cold to hot all in the span of a few days. Although I'm not a fan of the cold, I'm definitely not looking forward to the hot weather. I'd like a few weeks in the 70s, like in California. We're going to try to hit Disneyland again next weekend. Hopefully the weather will be perfect.

Speaking of California, the folks over at UpTake are having a contest. You can win a Napa Valley spa vacation for you and three friends. Check out the details here. It's actually really easy to enter, so you'd be a fool not to. I would, if I could. HotMomma would love some girl time in Napa Valley.

a touching tribute

Today is Maddie Spohr's day.  I invite you to visit Mike's touching tribute  to his beautiful daughter.

the weird dream

Ever have a really weird, vivid dream; the kind of dream that you remember every little detail of? I had such a dream last night and I'm still trying to analyze it.

HotMomma, Z-Dub, The Deuce and I were being chased by mobsters and the police simultaneously. We were in a strange city, which, based on the signs, turned out to be Jacksonville, Florida, even though it looked nothing like Jacksonville. There were big hills in the city, like in San Francisco.

At different points in the dream were at the beach, hiding among the throngs of sunbathers. Later we were hiding in a mall and a used car dealership lot. It was there that HotMomma surprised me with her car theft skills as she hot wired a beat up, old, orange VW Bus. Later we were involved in a high speed chase with the police and it did very well around the curves considering the kind of vehicle it was. Later we were on a cruise ship as it was exiting a bay. With the police on board, we jumped off into the water and magically ended up on jet skis. From there we were being chased by mobsters in speed boats. Throughout the dream, innocent folks were falling victim, but somehow we always eluded capture. It was very Jason Bourne.

The dream ended with a real yelp from The Deuce, indicating that he was awake and ready to eat. Just before that happened, in the dream we sought sanctuary in the home of a very nice and helpful lesbian woman who was in the middle of shampooing her carpet. Not that carpet, you perv!

a special birthday video

Obviously our friend Drew has mad skillz. He put together this video of Z-Dub's birthday party last weekend at Bounce U. It's amazing. It makes me smile.



Thanks Drew. You're the man!!!

extreme sadness

I'm speechless...

Goodbye beautiful Madeline Spohr.

Mike and Heather, you're in our thoughts and prayers.

Donations in Madeline's name are being accepted for March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to improving the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality.

a special thank you

can he be anymore excited?

I finally found time to download videos off the camcorder. Here's one of Z-Dub and his cousin Sukita as we were on the bus heading to the main gate of Disneyland.

happiness

As I was washing off some strawberries and blueberries for Z-Dub to eat for dessert last night...


Z-Dub: "Daddy, you happy?"

Me: "Huh, what did you say?"

Z-Dud: "Daddy, you happy?"

Me: "Yes, I'm happy."

Z-Dub: "You not mad?"

Me: "No, I'm not mad?"

Z-Dud: "I not mad either. I happy too."

of scalpels and fast food

Z-Dub had an appointment with his ENT yesterday. As many of you may know, he's suffered from chronic ear infections since his first infliction when he was eight weeks old. Although he's been doing better over the past few months, the doctor says it's time for new tubes to be placed in his eardrums and surgical removal of both his tonsils and adenoids. Not only will this help alleviate his ear problems, but will also drastically improve his severe snoring problem. Seriously, the boy wakes the neighbors.

His surgery, which will require an overnight stay in the hospital as well as a seven to 10 day recovery, will be scheduled within the next six weeks. We have an appointment to do that on Monday. In the meantime, the doctor wants us to "fatten him up." This is because he'll likely lose weight from his inability to eat following surgery. The doctor sees him as a skinny kid. I was a skinny kid, so he inherited it from me. Nothing wrong with that. And contrary to what the doctor thinks, the kid eats like a pig. But the doctor has recommended that we take him to eat a lot of fast food in the coming weeks, including Wendy's and McDonald's.

My reaction was..."WTF?"

The doctor wants us to feed him crap we've never exposed him to. I don't get it. I'm not about to introduce the kid to something we've worked so hard to avoid in his three years. Many parents can probably attest to the fact that once they get a taste of fast food, they become like crack addicts yearning for more.

It isn't going to happen. We'll try to fatten him up at home, thank you.

Disney Vacay Montage

We're back from our short Disneyland vacation to celebrate Z-Dub's third birthday. It was a fun and exhausting trip and Z-Dub had a blast. We took hundreds of photos, of course, but I thought I'd share just a few. I'm playing catch-up at work today and will be back to regular posting (and reading) tomorrow. In the meantime, enjoy!!!

Ready for blast off!

Z-Dub's shirt says "Big Brother: Honor and Defend" and The Deuce's says "Little Brother: Search and Destroy."

Mom and son.

A Goofy encounter.

Excited for Autopia.

Sukita (cousin) and Z-Dub.

Still in line.

HotMomma and cousin DP.

HotMomma and her cousins from Sactown and little DP at Space Mountain.

HotMomma and me.

What's Z-Dub looking at? Perhaps the giant, talking Buzz Lightyear.

Goofing off.

The teacups at night. I couldn't catch a photo of Z-Dub riding. It was too fast for the camera at night.

The Deuce and his Auntie.

Enjoying the fireworks.

The fireworks.

Z-Dub shows off one of his Birthday presents.

Also, Z-Dub refers to Donald Duck as "Donald THE Duck." It's funny when he says it.

And, finally, we fly a lot, but the short 36-minute flight home from SNA to LAS was one of the scariest we've ever experienced on account of the wind. HotMomma was reciting Hail Mary's as I sat in my chair with   white knuckles. Luckily we all made it home in one piece.

the birthday boy!

Today our little man turns three! It's amazing how fast he's grown from a little baby into a bright and fun-loving boy. A "big boy," as he says. He's super smart, handsome and kind. We're so very proud.

Happy Birthday Z-Dub!!!

leavin' on a jet plane...

We're off to the airport this morning to catch a short flight (a hop really) to John Wayne Airport in Orange County. With the kids in tow, we're heading to nearby Anaheim for a very special Disneyland weekend. Z-Dud is excited to see his buddies Mickey, Goofy, Donald, Pluto and the rest of the Disney gang.

Fun times will be had by all and photos will be captured. I can't wait to share. Until then, "hot diggity dog" we're out of here.

tweetle dee...

Jamaipanese posted this YouTube video yesterday. It's so funny, I thought I'd share. Check it out:

 
Speaking of Twitter. You can follow me here.

wordless wednesday

broken bone(r)

I went into the bathroom to check on Z-Dub. He had been finishing up his shower and playing with his Little Einsteins figurines a couple of minutes earlier. I walked in, pulled back the curtain and found him carefully examining his errr...naughty bits. "what are you doing?" I inquired.

"My pee pee is broken," he proclaimed. "I need a new one."

With a bewildered tone I asked "Why is your pee pee broken?"

"It's not up anymore," he replied.

All I could think about was the fact that he's only two, almost three, and the "the talk" appears to be just around the corner.