Sunday, October 28, 2007

More Elaina Pictures...and a few Nathan Ones for Good Measure

Nothing to say here. Just admire her cuteness.





Tuesday, October 23, 2007

ELAINA GABRIELLE IS HERE!

Yes, on Monday at 10:56AM, our second child was born. 8 pounds, 14 ounces and 21 inches long. A more detailed diary of the day will be coming soon.


















Sunday, October 21, 2007

Down to the Wire on Both Fronts


Here I am typing this on Sunday morning as my 2 year old sleeps and I'm torn.

Last night, the Indians lost game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) 12 to 2 and honestly, it was over after the first inning. Also, we (my wife and I) are inside 24 hours until her scheduled C-Section. Suffice it to say, I'm a little shaky right about now.

Back to the ALCS. I thought if the Tribe didn't win this thing at home in game 5, the series was over for a variety of reasons. The main one being 40+ year old Curt Schilling lives for pressure situations and the other is that in the pressure-cooker environment of Fenway Park, the Indians' lineup would be less patient. All of this has happened. Carmona, the Indians' starter walked a bunch of guys and surrendered a grand slam in the 1st inning. By the third, it was 8 to 1 and I went to bed. Now in game 7, each team pulls out all of the stops. Starting pitchers become relievers, the popcorn vendor might have to pinch-run if need be. The Indians will lose tonight and I'll be once again, looking at the World Series from the outside realizing that will have been almost 60 years since they won the Series. You can see why I'm a bit shakey--maybe uneasy is a better descriptor. So let the snow fall...for me, summer is over.

Now the main reason why I am skakey. Tomorrow morning at this time, my wife and I will be at the hospital prepping for her C-Section surgery. Its like the day or night before a final exam. The butterflies are relentless, you can't eat and nothing can ramp down your gitters. Except this time, I have a headache. This is nothing compared to my wife whose mid-section is stretched beyond capacity, her carpultunnel problems aren't getting better and she is more nervous than me. Its hard to fathom that in a few days, we will have ANOTHER child to take care of. Like with everything, you just do it and in retrospect years later, you'll ask yourself, "How did we do that?"

Unknown newborn pic I found on the web. No relation.

So you see that my nervousness is coming from multiple directions today. The ballgame pails in comparison to the birth of my second child but its still, as my dad would say, "a psychosocial stressor regardless.".

At least tonight, I will have some resolution on the baseball front. And 11 hours after that, my daughter will be born and all will be good in the world...until those late night feedings.

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Where Have I Been?

...Good question. And I wish I had a better answer than "no where, really."

In fact, I could have written a bunch of stuff over the last several weeks but the spirit really didn't move me. Call it a combination of apathy and general laziness.

Let's catch up on a few items. First, my wife HAS NOT given birth yet. Her schedule C-Section is next Monday. While she is ready to pop--her words, not mine--she feels pretty good all things considered.

The Cleveland Indians are one game away from their 6th trip to the World Series which will start next Wednesday. This gives me a great excuse to show up to work at 3:30AM in a fog, incoherent and slow on the uptake. All of which has happened twice this week accompanied by that achy, sick feeling you get when you are sleep deprived. Basically, my body wanted me to throw up but I didn't have the energy to so I just stumbled around slowly as if I had 7 martinis.

A friend of mine decided to go to Dubai for vacation. Now that you're jaw is resting on the floor comfortably after the long fall from you face, an explanation is in order. He did it for "something to do". Fair enough. His blog that he updates daily chronicling his trip is definitely worth your time.

http://davestriptodubai.blogspot.com/

Also, have you seen the video of Miss Teen South Carolina answering a question during the pageant? Frankly, I could put this into heavy rotation on my mp3 player and it wouldn't get old.

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...and the follow up interview on The Today Show which verified what we all were thinking when we saw the first video.




Now some random pictures that I've been accumulated recently.















My brother-in-law and my nephew Evan

My sister, her husband and their son Evan