Some farewells.

There was some nasty funk in that daiper the other night.

Farewell to Ford, a Michigander like myself. Of all the presidents I have lived through, he is the one I know least about. He seems like a stop gap between the cruelty of Nixon and the idealism of Carter. I'm not sure it's a great legacy when you are most famous for pardonning the president before you. Maybe it would have torn the country apart. Maybe that would mean we wouldn't have all the constitutional issues hanging over our head that will come out in the next two years. The Deomocratic Congress will subpeana all kinds of stuff that Junior's Whitehouse will call "privilieged". This will all go to the Supreme Court where Junior's appointees (the one's who weren't laughed into withdrawal) will get to decide what three branches of goverment really mean.

A not so fond farewell to Sadam Hussein. He was an evil evil villian. His downfall is the only good outcome of a really bad war. By a wide margin, it was not enough justification.

No Jodi No Cry

My thought for the day is that I will never forget the sound of my baby crying. When she is two, when she is twenty, when she is sixty four, I will always remember those sounds that she makes. It is regularly drilled into my head several times a day right now.

Today we visited the doctor and she got poked several times with needles. Daddy couldn't watch and let Mommy hold her and be the bad guy.

Things to do over the Holiday

1. Clean up Quicken. End of year finances to be done.
2. Hang pictures. We really haven't finished since moving in.
3. Write 5-10 pages. I'm about two pages into a new story. Also need to edit some older ones.
4. Secure day care. Someone will want to look after Jodi, right?
5. Bake. How often do I have time to indulge in this? But I need some tummies to eat because it's not good if it all sits in my belly.
6. Smog check. Argh.
7. Between wife and I read 4 books. I'm in the middle of Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem. It's about a detective with Tourette's. I feel for the main character. I know what it's like not to have focus and to have a mind that doesn't always work in harmony with a mouth.
8. Spend flex spending. Have a little left over. Will try and choose some glasses.
9. Try a Mr. Pickles sandwich. I'll admit it. I'm intrigued by the name. I've also heard good things.
10. Finish cards and shopping. Isn't this on everyone's list?
11. Beat Sabertooth. Just got the x-men game. That guy deserves it.
12. Haircut and dry cleaning.

Somehow I'll need to fit all this between the constant feedings and diaper changing.

New Flavor of Christmas Parties

Officially, I've started my holiday break already. I dropped by the office to finish one or two quick things, but I'm telling everyone I'm invisible today.

We celebrated Christmas with Wifey's family the other day and exchanged presents. Then we drove off to Antioch for a Christmas party that has become a nice little tradition. We saw lots of friends and had a good time. I have now become one of those annoying parents who only listen to conversations with half an ear because I'm also always listening for little Jordan. And I'm holding the baby as a shield to limit my social interactions with people. The flavor of this Christmas party has changed somewhat in the last few years. This year, nearly half the participants were little children. The toddlers were off in their own room while we hung out in the nursery with the other new borns. Four in total. It was a good time, but being new parents it was over for us by about 10.

Two Babies

It looks like the fantasy world is finally collapsing on Junior. The last three dumb Americans are finally coming around to the realization that this war was a mistake. A mistake that we will be paying for a long long time. A mistake that saw roughly 3,000 American soldiers give their lives and countless others.

Daddy seems to have had one last present for Junior, sending him his best friend to try and save his bacon. It's a mess. No matter what happens from here, it's still going to be a mess. It's all about political cover now. Who can we blame?

Bush is going to try and make a show of being tough, but eventually accept several of the proposals so he can start shifting responsibility.

Baby acting up. Gotto go. One last thought. Got cute babyware labled wtih the days of the week. Rather sunshiney to think that works. Really need Monday A, B, C, D and Tuesday A, B, C,D, to make it through. Anyone want to do laundry?

One unanticipated consequence of little Jodi's arrival is that my brain has turned to mush. Less sleep means that I usually hit the wall around 2 in the afternoon and want to hide somewhere and take a nap. And by the time I get home, I feel like I have little mental energy left. I haven't done any writing since she's been born and I barely stay awake for the NBA game in the background as I feed and change her.

I'll have to get back to the writing thing at some point or at the least an occassional blog entry. It's good mental exercise. Right now I'm not keeping in shape in any sense of the word.