Thanks, Moms

Well like most things these day, I'm either 20 minutes or so late arriving, or a day (or two) late with recognition of birthdays, anniversaries, or in this case, Mother's Day.  Now before you give me too much of a hard time, we did carry on with our traditional Mother's Day brunch at the house with both sets of parents (breakfast casserole, creme brulee french toast, bacon, and mimosas if you're keeping score at home).  Both Ruth Ann and I are luckier than we can express through this blog to have the support of all of our parents.  And to have them right here in town.  It's kind of awesome, and I'm not quite sure how new parents that aren't uber close to family survive the early days of having a rugrat.

This year was a little different in that it was Ruth Ann's first "official" dia de las madres (como se dice Espanol for $200, Alex?).  So, aside from letting her pick the menu, how could this be an extra special day for her?  I struggled.  I mean, what do you get the most integral part of Team Timmons for her first MD?  This is the person who juggles her passion for her job as a teacher, an overloaded grad school schedule that has never yielded less than an A, and me.  And while I do my fair share of laundry and cooking and generally try to be Mr. Perfect, I can be a bit of a handful at times.  And if all that wasn't enough, she is, indeed, a fabulous mom.  Second to none in my book.  I can't think of a better match to navigate our journey with than this lady.  So, for Mother's Day, I hope this belated "thanks" helps you feel as appreciated as you are.  And surely that iPad can't hurt?  I'll get you hooked on Draw Something before you know it...

I sure do love these two

Mother's Day 2012 (taken with that iPad)

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Quick Weekend Wrap-Up

Last weekend was a busy and fun one with a couple firsts for Team Timmons.

Saturday was the Kentucky Derby and my parents threw their annual party.  While we were winning in the loser horse pool, Avett was rocking his new hat and making friends at his first Derby party.  Hats off (haha) to the folks for another good shindig.

On Sunday, we took advantage of a picture perfect day to take the little man to his first baseball game.  Fun was had by all.

(he just woke up from a nap in the car.  It was like I got a 20 minute hug while we walked to the game, got grub, and got to our seats.  It was awesome.)

Hanging with Mom, notice the Cubs gear

Ruth Ann has also polished off another grad school course, which is mega-exciting.  I can't imagine finding the energy/time/willpower to work, go to grad school and be a great Mom (I'm really proud of her).  Only a few more classes over the next couple months and she will officially be waaaaaaay smarter.  And while that's awesome news, you're probably mostly here to see pictures of the squirt.  I'm happy to oblige and will catch you up on some other pics that haven't made it to the blog yet.  Enjoy!

Easter

Heeeeeeyyyyyy!

I was doing something hilarious over there, obviously.

7 months!  These pictures are getting a bit trickier to take.

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I need your help.

Early readers to this blog know that it was started back in the day to track my attempt to train for and run the 2008 Big Sur International Marathon (spoiler alert: I did it).  The experience was tough and the training load was heavy, and while I did have a "never say never" approach to doing it again, it has taken me about 4 years to forget how much running it actually was and to wrap my head around trying to train for and complete another marathon.

Big Sur was an amazing backdrop for a race and what other race could compete with that?  How about NYC?  Yeah, I think that'll do.  The only catch?  It's one of the most popular races on the planet and as such, there's a lottery to get in.  My luck has never been super fantastic, and no, I didn't get in the lottery.

But....

The other option to run this marathon is to sign up with a charity team.  They get you a spot in the race in exchange for some hefty fundraising.  Allow me to introduce to you the newest member of Team Think Pink Rocks!  Cancer sucks.  Period.  Breast cancer especially sucks and has touched far too close to my family over the last few years, as my mom was diagnosed and went through treatment and even more recently, my mother-in-law was diagnosed and is currently undergoing treatment.  We've been extremely lucky that early detection for both of the moms has led to pretty much a best case scenario (if there is such a thing with cancer) as far as treatment and prognosis goes.

So what am I blogging about here, aside from gearing up for some serious endurance training to get ready a marathon?  I need your help.  And your friends' help.  And their friends' help too.  I've committed to raising at least $2,500 for Think Pink Rocks and I can't do it by myself.  Would you be ever so kind as to do two things to help me out?  First, make a donation on my behalf right here (every little bit helps!).  Second, please share my challenge and this blog post with your friends and family and encourage them to donate if they can and pass it along as well.  Email it.  Facebook it.  Blog it.  Tweet it.  Heck use a carrier pigeon or a message in a bottle.  Let's go viral with this thang, raise a truckload of money for an excellent cause, and stay tuned to the blog for updates along the way!  Thanks everybody!

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Bonus Video Blog!

In the words of Aziz Ansari imitating Kanye West, "these beats are dope".

Thanks to Avett for making a bunch of fun noises and to the fine folks over a Smule for making another fun app that almost lets me look like I know what I'm doing.  Enjoy!

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Catching Up!

Alright, so it's been a minute since the last post over here.  It's been just a touch busy for Team Timmons, but let me fill all you faithful readers in on the haps.  This post is going to be random, but informative.  Maybe even a little entertaining.

1.  I Rickrolled a lot of you for April Fools' Day.  Joke's on me though, seeing as how most of you didn't even know what a Rickroll was.  Seriously?!?  That's like, the oldest prank on the internet!

2.  Avett turned 6 months old.  And is about to turn 7 months old.  Yes, I'm behind on blog posts and pictures.

3.  Avett started eating solid foods.  After a good bit of patience from his parents, we've gone from this:

To this:

To this:

4.  I had to make a quick business trip for a couple days.  It wasn't all that fun for any of Team Timmons and it was crazy how much the little man changed while I was gone.  I know, I know, everybody always says that and it's kind of annoying, I get it.  But that dude had a breakthrough on eating (did you see that video?) and started sitting up pretty well on his own while I was gone.

5.  Ruth Ann is in full-blown working, grad student, mommy mode and is killing it.  We don't have nearly as much down time as we'd like, but she's focused and we're doing pretty well to keep on top of things, with the exception of the dog hair tumbleweeds that make our floors look like something out of a bad Western.  Based on the way App is offering classes, it made more sense for her to take on a very full spring/early summer and be DONE, so we'll be accepting positive vibes and the like until everything settles out in about July or so and we can start breathing normally again.

6.  Avett has a great sense of humor.  That or he just likes a good old fashioned laugh off with me.  You'll have to wait for the next post to see this in action.

7.  Our good friends Nate and Steph got married and threw a helluva party to celebrate.  Congrats you two, enjoy the Wedding Bells Ale!  And while not nearly as exciting as my beer, try to have fun on your honeymoon...

Get your fresh beer here

Hot Mama, Goofy Dude

Throw your hands up!

Just junk punched or sangin' Journey?

8.  Avett went to see his great grandma Robinson and meet the new family cows.  Fun times!

There are baby cows in there

9.  It's baseball season again.  Not only for the Purple Herd, but also the Winston-Salem Dash.  The fine folks over at Nixon Notes and we have had partial season tickets for the last couple years and I'm excited to hit up the ballpark on Friday for our first game of the season.  I'm not sure if Avett will join us for this game, but I do look forward to introducing him to hot dog breath and Take Me Out to the Ballgame.

10.  2 Skinnee J's are coming to Ziggy's!!!  I've been largely unimpressed by the bands booked at new Ziggy's, but those who know me know that I'm pretty jacked up about this show.  You should probably join the crew we have lined up for this show if you like nerdy rap-rock that is largely about Star Wars (and honestly, who doesn't?).

11.  Avett is 172% obsessed with the first two fingers of his left hand.  Always. in. his. mouth.  Seriously, if you were to look through our camera's memory card, you'd be amazed.  The pictures you see here where he's taken a break from those fingers are only due to some quick and crafty distraction techniques.  Anybody know how much is too much with finger/thumb sucking?

Whew, how about that?  Random enough?  Informative?  Mildly entertaining?

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Exciting News!

Check out our newest video!




























(Happy April Fools!)

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If you're Purple and you know it...

...then you're probably awesome.  Clap your hands.

Yesterday marked the first day of Purple Herd practice for the spring season, and after a hiatus last fall, I'm pretty jacked up to Herd Up once again!

If you enjoy my musings, you'll definitely enjoy the hub of all things Herd over at the official Purple Herd blog.  This blog is the progression of the Herd Report which was born as a weekly email born many moons ago to help dull the pain of some miserably winless seasons.  I've had the honor to guest post from time to time, and take the task of post game reporting very seriously.  Check it out, and if you live nearby come out and see us one Thursday.  We normally have free autograph and photo opportunities before and after every game.

UPDATE:
Herd first practice Report HERE!

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Happy Five Months, Avett!

It is completely banana sandwich how quickly the first five months as a family of 3 (plus 2 dogs) has flown by.  Many hours of sleep have been lost, MANY diapers changed, and more than a couple naps have been interrupted by the canine members of the family.  Those interruptions are normally followed quickly by a newly crafted skill that can only be described as whisperyelling, which is to say that I try to get them to stop without raising my voice too much in hopes that they didn't actually wake up the kid.  This, unsurprisingly, is not always successful.

In addition to the whisperyell, we've learned a number of other things in the last five months since our life got flipped, turned upside down.  And I'd like to take a minute, just sit right there, I'll tell you how I became the prince of a town called Bel-Air.

And now that you're singing that to yourself, how about I just stick to 8 fascinating knowledge nuggets.

1.  Something about the fresh air on a baby's butt that comes along with a diaper change occasionally often triggers the pee reflex.  Sometimes even the quickest diaper change isn't fast enough, and I'm of the persuasion that nothing says love like forming a pee pee tepee shield with your cupped hand to keep your child from going all over himself/you/the wall/the dog.

2.  Breaking Bad might be the best show on television.  During the early days, when we were nearly zombies and mostly home, we started watching Breaking Bad.  This show is awfully intense, and not very fuzzy or happy, but it is excellent nonetheless.  And it's streaming on Netflix.  It filled plenty of our quiet time when we were cooped up in the house, and you should definitely check it out.

3.  Being a parent really cuts down on free time and cranks up the need to be productive and efficient.  Certain members of our family are not large fans of plans, and much bigger fans of procrastination.  Other members of our family may or may not be addicted to certain television programs (ahem, #2), or mildly obsessed with new hobbies (hello #6).  Unfortunately, when you have full time jobs, an infant AND grad school, plans are almost a must.  Now I'm not saying you have to map out every minute of every day, but lists are good, and honestly, who doesn't like checking things off a list?  Also see #5 below.

4.  Family is really something else.  We are lucky enough to have both sets of grandparents in town.  My parents are keeping Avett 4 days a week right now, which is GREAT.  He doesn't have to go to daycare yet and has stayed healthy so far (knock on wood), and Oma and Papa love being able to spend time with the munchkin.  Nana and Grandpa keep us honest too, by trying to work out an evening a week where they watch the little man and send us out for some kidless time.  I don't know what we would have done without everybody's support in the early days, and they continue to knock it out of the park.

5.  Communication is key.  I've learned that Team Timmons works much better as a unit, when we're working together.  In the day to day hubbub of life, it can be easy to get out of sync.  The days where things seem to be off kilter and harder and a whole lot less fun also seem to be the days where we've each gone into our cocoons and are spinning in different circles.  There are so few free minutes as new parents (see #3), but when you talk it out, figure out a plan and do it, things get a bit more manageable.

6.  Beer is good, making beer is even better.  Back in the summer, I got a beer making kit, and that's grown into a full-blown hobby.  And while it's a bit time consuming, and while I always tend to underestimate the time and effort it takes to make a batch o'brewski, it's good to have a fun outlet that I can do in the comfort of my own kitchen and still be close to my peeps.

7.  It's never too early for a good workout.  This goes for me and Avett.  For me, my morning P90X workouts have to start quite early these days.  Anything before 5:00 is unreasonable, and I'm having to learn to adjust to an ridonkulously early alarm.  For Avett, it's physical therapy.  His torticollis is fairly mild, but we're going to see a PT every other week to work on straightening out his neck.  In between appointments, we're working that kid OUT.  And we're starting to see results already.  He'll be doing Ab Ripper X in no time, I'm sure.

8.  9:00 bedtime is the HEAT (see #s 3, 5, and 7).  For the adults, not for Avett.  And while we don't hit that target as often as we'd like, it's such a lovely goal.  And heavens to Betsy, when you're actually in bed early, do the math of how much sleep you're about to enjoy, and nod off to dreamland....It can't be beat.  Goodness gracious, I'm getting a little happy just thinking about it.

And there you have it, just a few pearls of wisdom from my dome to yours, mostly learned via this little guy.

Happy 5 Months, Kiddo

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Really!?!

Anyone that knows me also knows that I'm a big fan of Saturday Night Live, and in the spirit of a great Weekend Update segment...



...I'm taking this blog off the normal rails for a rant.

For all the local yokels that read my blog, have you been out to the Winston-Salem Journal's website lately?  I hesitate to even link to their page, but will do so for your own research purposes.  It's not my least favorite website of all times, but that said, I do have some complaints.  Don't get me wrong, it's convenient to be able to check on local news from the comfort of my computer.  And I understand that websites need to make money, so I fully expect to see some unobtrusive advertisements.  But really, Winston-Salem Journal!?!  Pop-ups?  Who uses pop-up ads anymore anyway?  Every web browser known to man has a pop-up blocker now, so all you're really doing is making me see an annoying note about how whatever garbage you're trying to accost me with is being blocked.  And really!?!  Do you honestly think that something like this looks professional?

 "Imma let you finish your article, but this Nissan ad is this most annoying ad of all time" - Kanye West

Don't get me wrong, who doesn't like a bargain and/or a bacon cheeseburger, but the first thing I see when I try to read a news story that someone has spent the time writing and publishing is 4 advertisements, one of which follows me everywhere I scroll and only goes away when it's good and ready. And really!?!  New Year Deals?  It's nearly February, is this ad even still valid?  I wouldn't know because I refuse to ever click on these things out of sheer principle.  I feel like something threw up on my screen and that my eyes may start bleeding at any moment.

"Take it easy, Bryan", I can almost hear you say as you read along.  "This is a local paper, and something has to pay for the free content they deliver to you online in the comfort of your PJs.  Just deal with the ads, and enjoy your digital news reading experience".  Fine, fair enough.  I've suffered through them for years without complaint, so what gives?  This.  This is what gives.

Really!?!  Reaaaaaally!?!  Now let me get this straight...to read an article, I have to wade through a blocked pop-up ad (that no one will ever see), ads in the header of the page, sidebar of the page, and one of those obnoxious hover-y ads that won't let me close it until it says so.  And then, if I read more than 10 articles a month, you block EVERY STORY ON YOUR WEBSITE.  Really!?!  The last time I saw double dipping like this, I was at Mellow Mushroom enjoying pretzels and pizza with good friends and didn't mind it.  I don't even know you, WSJ, and here you are getting money from advertisements AND asking me to pay for your online paper?  Really!?!

Really Winston-Salem Journal, who do you think you are?  The Charlotte Observer?  The News and Observer?  USA Today?  No!  I can read all of those publications on the daily for FREE.  I love my local paper, but do you really need to charge to read it online?  Really!?!

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Figuring Things Out

So...we have almost 2 weeks of "everybody's back at work now" time under our belts and everyone has survived, relatively unscathed.  Tired, stressed, and adjusting, but not much worse for the wear.  And tired, did I mention tired?  Aside from a few bouts of ugly cries on the first day, Ruth Ann is doing great.  It's hard enough to go from being home with the little man all the time to going back to work.  And for me I was home for 2 weeks after he was born and went back to a job where I can ignore a phone call or email if I need a minute.  RA had about 15 weeks away and is going back to a kindergarten classroom.  She can barely pee, much less take a minute to herself.

Talk about an adjustment and no rest for the weary...The alarm is definitely set now earlier than either of us would like, but we've mostly settled into a routine that works (for now).  RA gets up first and showered, then gets A-man up.  I get up, shower, feed the dogs, and try to get whatever else done and ready that I can.  Then I'm off to the g-parents' house with Avett while RA finishes getting ready and out the door.  Ruth Ann picks him up in the afternoons, then we both play the "what's for dinner tonight game" and divide and conquer making picking up dinner and taking care of the little man.  I hoard freeze some breastmilk, wash bottles and pump parts, shove food down my gullet, and then we start getting Avett ready for a bath and bed.  And take a minute to breathe.  Maybe read a little or watch something on the DVR.  Wash, rinse, repeat.  Everyone says it's uber important to have the little ones on the schedule, but it's just as much for the parents, if not more.  We're not quite a well-oiled machine just yet, but we're not all busted either.

Through all of it, Avett is just an easy-going dude.  Unless he's hungry, extra tired, or sitting in something that no person would want to sit in, he's good to go.  Meals out have been successful so far (knock on wood), there have been no sniffles or sickness to speak of (knock really loud on wood), and he's adjusting well to the new routine.  And changing?  Uh, yeah, you could say that.  I've been trying to shoot some video lately to document some things and here they are.  As you'll see, he digs his playmat.  Please ignore my higher-than-normal pitch in talking to the kid, sometimes it just happens.

Taking it all in and making fun noises

Tummy Time (strengthening that neck)

Rollin, rollin, rollin, Raw-hiiiiiiide (heeyaw!)

And what post would be complete without a few pics.  Is that bear shrinking?

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