Jail Break Tomorrow

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LONG POST. Please don't feel the need to read this. Many have asked me for the details and this is an easy way to do it. As most of you know that read this blog, this pregnancy threw us a curve ball almost two weeks ago. As my last post mentioned, I have been on moderate bed rest. I went in about three weeks ago and my doctor told me, "Good news, taking it easy has worked" and that I was measuring great now. In fact, they even gave us the go ahead to travel to Sun Valley ID. We were still very nervous to travel but finally decided that with several doctors giving us the green light and being early enough in the pregnancy that we hadn't reached the cut off for traveling, we would go. Our flight left early Thursday but on Wednesday night, bags packed and ready to go, we made a trip into the hospital because I was having a few contractions. When they checked me we were shocked to find out that I was now dilated to 2cm and my cervix length had drastically shortened from our last appointment not even a week earlier. We weren't going anywhere and became scared to death that this little boy was going to come WAY too early.

We were admitted to the hospital and after an IV of fluid and 3 shots of a drug called terbutaline (makes the uterus relax and your heart pound out of your chest) the contractions slowed down. Not for long though. The next night they picked back up to three minutes apart, then one minute, and by the time they rushed me from the high risk perinatal unit to labor and delivery they were 30 seconds apart. This is where I lost it. I didn't think they would be able to stop him from coming and I knew it was WAY too early. I was scared to death. Camden was born at 37 weeks and his lungs were not ready. He was in the NICU and without going into details, I'll just say that seeing your baby through plastic with a million tubes in him was the hardest thing I've ever had to go through and I wasn't prepared to go through it again.

They started me right away on a drug called magnesium. This is a last resort drug they use to stop labor. Everyone warned me what a horrible drug this was and the awful side effects that came along with it for the mom. They were right! It made my body shake and feet numb because I was so cold but then my face was on fire and I couldn't stop sweating. My eye sockets ached and I couldn't focus or see anything. Last of all I had a splitting head ache and felt like the room was spinning. Fun right?!

It was a miserable 30 hours. The magnesium is so strong and potent that it actually infiltrated through my veins three times, making them start a new IV each time. After 24 hours they lowered my dose but my contractions started back up right away. They decided to keep me on the higher dose for another 6 hours. By 6am on Sunday they finally took me off it. As happy as I was to be off it, Justin and I were preparing ourselves that he would most likely be born that day. Then a miracle happened. The contractions spread way out. I slept for the next 10 hours and woke up feeling pretty much back to myself. They took me back up to the high risk area and this is where I've been ever since. In a cute little green and blue room with a window and a chair/bed for Justin by my side. I'm still having contractions but for the most part they are spread out. Tomorrow I will be 34 weeks! My doctor said she will check me and if I haven't dilated any more, they will send me home on bedrest. HOME! There isn't a whole lot they can do for me at this point to stop the labor anyway. The risk of the drugs now outweigh the benefits of delaying labor.

They've told me not to get my hopes up just in case they need to keep me longer but all I can think about is having Camden with me all day instead of just visiting between his naps. Although they would never admit it I know that it's been so hard on my mom and husband. My mom has been amazing taking care of Camden, making us meals, and driving to and from the hospital twice a day. Justin sat next to me holding my hand for two days in a dark room while I was on the magnesium not even leaving to get food. He has spent every night on a horrible bed and tries to divide his time between taking care of me, Camden and getting things ready for our baby. I've just been amazed at how many people have gone out of their way to visit and bring things to keep me busy. That's the only reason I still have a little of my sanity left! It's hard not to feel so humbled and thankful for incredible family and friends.

Every day that he stays in here cooking is a huge blessing. I hope he can hold out even a few more weeks. Although I'll admit I'm still so scared of him being in the NICU I feel more prepared and know that the situation could be much worse for him. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. I know that's what has gotten us to this point. Now I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I can bust out of here tomorrow and keep this little guy from coming a little longer!

Crew's Blessing

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Such a special day. Justin gave Crew a beautiful blessing, and unlike his older brother Crew didn't make a peep through the whole thing. Big C literally screamed his head off from the time Justin started to speak until he sat back down with him. The bishop even said afterward from the pulpit that it looked like we'd have our hands full. And we do! We love our crazy Camden. Any chance Crew will be a calmer kid?! Doubt it but we'll see! It was so fun to have family and close friends there to be a part of this special experience. Thank you so much to those that traveled to be here!!!

Maybe "Snakes on a Plane" Wasn't So Far Fetched

To contact us Click HERE
According to a news report today entitled Scorpion Stings Man on Plane by CBS News and many other news sites, a man was stung by a scorpion that somehow manage to make its way onto the plane. While it's not inconceivable that just about any kind of critter can make it onto a plane, it seems somewhat ironic after the earlier theatrical release of Snakes on a Plane and the recent DVD release of the movie.

What I've Learned in Two Weeks as a Parent

To contact us Click HERE

The following are a few discoveries I've made over the first two weeks as a parent:

• Coolers are king.
• Keeping a cooler on the nightstand to store bottles for 2:00 a.m. feedings will make your life a lot easier so you don't have to go far when hunger hits your newborn.
• Keep diapers everywhere.
• While changing tables might be nice, they are often inconvenient in terms of their location. If you live in a two story house, keeping a diaper station downstairs as well as upstairs will make your life a lot easier. In addition, it's useful to keep diapers near the bassinet if your newborn is sleeping in your room.
• Use a light that can be dimmed.
• The last thing you want to do is turn on the lights in the middle of the night to check on your newborn, to change his or her diaper, and/or to feed him or her.
• PDAs are useful in keeping track of feedings, diaper changes, etc.
• While this may sound trivial, the first thing your infant's pediatrician will ask you is how much he/she is eating and how many diapers you are changing on a daily basis. He/she will also want to know the content of those diapers. Further, you may enter a new parent coma, which will impair your ability to remember anything usually resulting from too little sleep. Thus, if it's not written down, you might not remember it at all.
• Don't believe size tags in infant clothing.
• Even though Brady was an average sized kid in terms of weight and length, all of the "newborn" clothes are still way too big. "Onesies" work well and we swaddle for warmth. Anything else they'll end up swimming in. I've also found that I like Carter's clothing the best and have found that they run large.
• A digital camera is your friend.
• Keep a digital camera in your diaper bag so that it's always accessible. Take pictures everyday and take more than you'll need. You'll be surprised at how quickly they grow and change. And since they're digital images, there's no cost for the ones you choose not to print.
• Make triple prints of all your photos.
• You'll want to keep a set for yourself and the grandparents will likely want a set as well.
  
• A good office chair may be a better bet than a rocker or a glider.
• Everyone raves about using a glider to calm your infant and/or for breast feeding, but my wife found that my ergonomic office chair worked best for her as the chair can be custom adjusted in all ways (e.g., height, tilt, arm height, etc.). You can't do this with a glider or a rocker. In addition, the chair swivels, so you can still use the chair to sooth your infant.
  
• Learn to swaddle.
• Nothing calms Brady more than being swaddled. Waffle style receiving blankets work best as they can be pulled tight, but they leave waffle marks on your newborn's skin. While they do sell swaddling sacks, they may be too large for your newborn.
• Your legs make an excellent cradle.
• If you're sitting in a recliner or on the bed, cross your legs at the ankles and use the space between your legs as a cradle. This way, your newborn will be close to you and you'll be able to see him/her clearly. However, keep in mind that he/she will be too far away for him/her to see you clearly.
  

Three Hours of Sleep I'll Never Get Back

To contact us Click HERE
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking advantage of the midnight showings of this summer's blockbuster movies as my son, Brady, and wife, Sheri, are asleep at that time; thus, my father- and husband-related responsibilities are not being neglected. Of course, there is additional loss of sleep, so the movie has to be quite good.

The movie I was most looking forward to this summer, in part due to the hype of the trailers, was Transformers. I'll admit that I grew up when Transformers appeared as toys, competing with GoBots, and was one of the dominant cartoons on television. I even had a number of the Transformer toys, including Optimus Prime and Starscream. And of course, my friends had various versions of them as well. And since the only movie to date was a cartoon version, I was quite excited that a live-action film was being made.

While the movie was fair and one that is enjoyable to anyone looking for a shoot-em-up flick, I must say that I was disappointed in the film overall. In my opinion, it failed to stay true to the cartoon storyline, the storyline I grew up on. Instead, the storyline was disjointed with all the Autobots and Decepticons going after one item, the Allspark. Rather than showing how the Transformers evolved, Optimus Prime spends five minutes providing a narrative.

Now, I must say that the midnight show drew a lot of fans. The theater was packed, and the audience cheered upon the lights dimming. The audience also cheered when Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, and applauded when the film was over, much like one would see at a Starwars screening.

Fortunately, I also saw Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4.0 in Europe, the week before at midnight. While the audience was much smaller, I must say that this 4th Die Hard movie was everything that I expected it to be and more. While I admit that I was not a fan of Die Hard 3, I really enjoyed the first two Die Hard movies. However, I think this is the best to date as you have a known character, the introduction of several new characters, and all the action and suspense that one would expect from a Die Hard film. Thus, I was completely satisfied when I left this movie, realizing that the 11 bucks and loss of 3 hours of sleep were worth it--not so for Transformers.

Of course, I could always go to Krikorian Theatres' "Mommy Movie Mondays," which I've taken advantage of several times, but I didn't want to wait to see the movie, nor did I want to be interrupted from the action by having to tend to Brady during the movie.

i-Didit

To contact us Click HERE
I finally swallowed the magic Apple pill and bought my first Apple product yesterday. Now mind me, I've always been a big fan of Apple engineering. They make a fine product that usually looks fabulous compared to their rivals. However, I also always felt that Apple charged a premium for their products even though a premium price was not always warranted. As a result, I usually opted for equivalent item at a significant discount. And until Boot Camp, I would never have considered an Apple computer because I like my gaming too much.

Well today, after much consideration, I finally bought the i-Phone, which is my first Apple product. While I can't yet comment on the phone, I can tell you as a long-time Pacific Bell, Cingular, now ATT customer, I am quite disappointed at ATT's money grab. When I went to activate the i-Phone, I discovered that I had to accept the cancellation of my $6 government discount in order to qualify to use the phone. Given that ATT already requires a 2-year contract and $20+ dollars per month, do you really thing they were going to be hurt by the $6 I'm saving on THREE phones. Yes, that's right! ATT is too cheap to allow a $2 per phone discount to stay in place, even though the net cost of the i-phone is $300 plus $480 ($20/month x 24 months).

While I probably would have benefited more from a smart phone to replace my PDA, I couldn't fathom spending $44 a month on a data plan in addition to the voice plan. Thus, even though I think ATT is a greedy corporation, I have to admit that the data plan seems fairly reasonable. Of course, the data plan is very limited as the phone cannot be used for much other than surfing the web and email, whereas smart phones can be tethered to a laptop to serve as a modem. Either way, I'm satisfied as I'll be able to check email and Blackboard while on the go to keep up with my online classes. In addition, it was time for an ipod, so the i-phone met two needs.

Maybe "Snakes on a Plane" Wasn't So Far Fetched

To contact us Click HERE
According to a news report today entitled Scorpion Stings Man on Plane by CBS News and many other news sites, a man was stung by a scorpion that somehow manage to make its way onto the plane. While it's not inconceivable that just about any kind of critter can make it onto a plane, it seems somewhat ironic after the earlier theatrical release of Snakes on a Plane and the recent DVD release of the movie.doclc.blogspot.com

What I've Learned in Two Weeks as a Parent

To contact us Click HERE

The following are a few discoveries I've made over the first two weeks as a parent:

• Coolers are king.
• Keeping a cooler on the nightstand to store bottles for 2:00 a.m. feedings will make your life a lot easier so you don't have to go far when hunger hits your newborn.
• Keep diapers everywhere.
• While changing tables might be nice, they are often inconvenient in terms of their location. If you live in a two story house, keeping a diaper station downstairs as well as upstairs will make your life a lot easier. In addition, it's useful to keep diapers near the bassinet if your newborn is sleeping in your room.
• Use a light that can be dimmed.
• The last thing you want to do is turn on the lights in the middle of the night to check on your newborn, to change his or her diaper, and/or to feed him or her.
• PDAs are useful in keeping track of feedings, diaper changes, etc.
• While this may sound trivial, the first thing your infant's pediatrician will ask you is how much he/she is eating and how many diapers you are changing on a daily basis. He/she will also want to know the content of those diapers. Further, you may enter a new parent coma, which will impair your ability to remember anything usually resulting from too little sleep. Thus, if it's not written down, you might not remember it at all.
• Don't believe size tags in infant clothing.
• Even though Brady was an average sized kid in terms of weight and length, all of the "newborn" clothes are still way too big. "Onesies" work well and we swaddle for warmth. Anything else they'll end up swimming in. I've also found that I like Carter's clothing the best and have found that they run large.
• A digital camera is your friend.
• Keep a digital camera in your diaper bag so that it's always accessible. Take pictures everyday and take more than you'll need. You'll be surprised at how quickly they grow and change. And since they're digital images, there's no cost for the ones you choose not to print.
• Make triple prints of all your photos.
• You'll want to keep a set for yourself and the grandparents will likely want a set as well.
  
• A good office chair may be a better bet than a rocker or a glider.
• Everyone raves about using a glider to calm your infant and/or for breast feeding, but my wife found that my ergonomic office chair worked best for her as the chair can be custom adjusted in all ways (e.g., height, tilt, arm height, etc.). You can't do this with a glider or a rocker. In addition, the chair swivels, so you can still use the chair to sooth your infant.
  
• Learn to swaddle.
• Nothing calms Brady more than being swaddled. Waffle style receiving blankets work best as they can be pulled tight, but they leave waffle marks on your newborn's skin. While they do sell swaddling sacks, they may be too large for your newborn.
• Your legs make an excellent cradle.
• If you're sitting in a recliner or on the bed, cross your legs at the ankles and use the space between your legs as a cradle. This way, your newborn will be close to you and you'll be able to see him/her clearly. However, keep in mind that he/she will be too far away for him/her to see you clearly.
  

doclc.blogspot.com

Three Hours of Sleep I'll Never Get Back

To contact us Click HERE
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking advantage of the midnight showings of this summer's blockbuster movies as my son, Brady, and wife, Sheri, are asleep at that time; thus, my father- and husband-related responsibilities are not being neglected. Of course, there is additional loss of sleep, so the movie has to be quite good.

The movie I was most looking forward to this summer, in part due to the hype of the trailers, was Transformers. I'll admit that I grew up when Transformers appeared as toys, competing with GoBots, and was one of the dominant cartoons on television. I even had a number of the Transformer toys, including Optimus Prime and Starscream. And of course, my friends had various versions of them as well. And since the only movie to date was a cartoon version, I was quite excited that a live-action film was being made.

While the movie was fair and one that is enjoyable to anyone looking for a shoot-em-up flick, I must say that I was disappointed in the film overall. In my opinion, it failed to stay true to the cartoon storyline, the storyline I grew up on. Instead, the storyline was disjointed with all the Autobots and Decepticons going after one item, the Allspark. Rather than showing how the Transformers evolved, Optimus Prime spends five minutes providing a narrative.

Now, I must say that the midnight show drew a lot of fans. The theater was packed, and the audience cheered upon the lights dimming. The audience also cheered when Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, and applauded when the film was over, much like one would see at a Starwars screening.

Fortunately, I also saw Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4.0 in Europe, the week before at midnight. While the audience was much smaller, I must say that this 4th Die Hard movie was everything that I expected it to be and more. While I admit that I was not a fan of Die Hard 3, I really enjoyed the first two Die Hard movies. However, I think this is the best to date as you have a known character, the introduction of several new characters, and all the action and suspense that one would expect from a Die Hard film. Thus, I was completely satisfied when I left this movie, realizing that the 11 bucks and loss of 3 hours of sleep were worth it--not so for Transformers.

Of course, I could always go to Krikorian Theatres' "Mommy Movie Mondays," which I've taken advantage of several times, but I didn't want to wait to see the movie, nor did I want to be interrupted from the action by having to tend to Brady during the movie.

Packer's Team Building

To contact us Click HERE
Not bowling but, clay pigeon shooting for a team building experience. Mike McCarthy called off the mini camp practice yesterday to do a little team bonding. I think that is an awesome idea to get a bunch of grown men together to do. Perhaps Green Bay Packers left guard T.J. Lang said it best when he tweeted: “Well nobody got shot today. #success” This got me to thinking maybe Ticket King should do a little team bonding and do some paint-balling?

Packer Family Night Tickets|Eric Church at Resch Center Tickets

To contact us Click HERE
Ticket King Green Bay officially has Packer Family Night tickets available. If you can't make a pre season or regular season Packer game, this is the event for you. For a family or group this is affordable and generally nice weather.

Ticket King Green Bay also has Eric Church Tickets available for the Resch Center. Church is one of the top selling country artists out there and puts on a awesome show.

Dr. Barmucci's Talk on Distance Education

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I was fortunate enough to attend a talk about distance education by Dr. Robert Barmucci, District Dean, Open Campus, Riverside Community College District. He immediately came across to me as the “Dr. Phil of Distance Education,” by providing a humorous, yet intuitive discussion about distance education. And he admits that distance education today is almost synonymous with online education even though in theory it can take several different forms.

The following information was presented by Dr. Barmucci during his talk:

Distance education is growing at a rate of 20-25% compared to 4-5% for traditional education. Further, for-profit education is growing at a faster rate than public education.

Failed educational technology in the past has led to skepticism among some educators about online education. Even so, distance education dates back to 1840 with the first correspondence course in shorthand. Thus, distance education has been around in some form for more than a century and a half. However, the recent growth in distance education can largely be attributed to the internet, which has allowed for the restructuring of technology and its use.

Research has consistently demonstrated that there are no significant differences between online and traditional classes. Dr. Barmucci presented a meta-analytic review of 70 studies to support this claim. His presentation mirrors much of the research presented at this year’s annual American Psychological Association Conference that I attended in New Orleans. Dr. Barmucci also indicated that satisfaction tends to be high among distance education students and many cite the flexibility that such education offers as one of the reasons for taking an online class. As a result, distance education is much more “consumer friendly” than traditional education.

Distance education is still in a mostly primitive form as online classes have only existed for 10 years, versus 700 or more years for traditional education. Online education also requires greater skills for both the student and the educator. For the educator, he or she must not only be the content creator, but media expert among a list of numerous or skills required for effective online presentation of information. In addition, not everything that works in the classroom works equally well online, resulting in the need to create or at least modify current teaching methods.

Trends in Distance Education

1. The Future Is Mobile

This is largely the consequence of technology which is beginning to integrate numerous devices into a single unit.

Time/Place shifting is becoming common, especially among the iPod and Tivo users who have become accustomed to having the content they want when and where they want it.

2. The Future Is Interactive

The computer game business is larger than the movie business, or for professional sports for that matter.

Part of the success of games is that they allow players to make choices in how they want to proceed. The same might be true fro online classes in the future. As a result, courses can be customized to the individual student.

3. The Future Is Integrated

There will likely be an unbundling of courses with courses designed, developed, and/or taught by teams.

4. Categories Will Blur

The distinction between traditional and distance education courses will become harder to distinguish.

This is especially true as more and more faculty are teaching traditional courses that are “Blackboard-Enhanced.”

Conclusion

There is world-wide potential to distance education as your student base is no longer limited to a specific geographic region. In Africa, for instance, more than 125 million children have no access to education. Further, AIDS is killing teachers faster than they can be trained.

Dr. Barmucci concluded by stating, “The hope for distance education is to rehumanize education, not to dehumanize it.” Essentially, he was referring to the fact that larger classrooms have led to a greater disconnect between the educator and the student. With online courses, however, there is a greater potential for one-on-one interaction between the two.

Maybe "Snakes on a Plane" Wasn't So Far Fetched

To contact us Click HERE
According to a news report today entitled Scorpion Stings Man on Plane by CBS News and many other news sites, a man was stung by a scorpion that somehow manage to make its way onto the plane. While it's not inconceivable that just about any kind of critter can make it onto a plane, it seems somewhat ironic after the earlier theatrical release of Snakes on a Plane and the recent DVD release of the movie.

What I've Learned in Two Weeks as a Parent

To contact us Click HERE

The following are a few discoveries I've made over the first two weeks as a parent:

• Coolers are king.
• Keeping a cooler on the nightstand to store bottles for 2:00 a.m. feedings will make your life a lot easier so you don't have to go far when hunger hits your newborn.
• Keep diapers everywhere.
• While changing tables might be nice, they are often inconvenient in terms of their location. If you live in a two story house, keeping a diaper station downstairs as well as upstairs will make your life a lot easier. In addition, it's useful to keep diapers near the bassinet if your newborn is sleeping in your room.
• Use a light that can be dimmed.
• The last thing you want to do is turn on the lights in the middle of the night to check on your newborn, to change his or her diaper, and/or to feed him or her.
• PDAs are useful in keeping track of feedings, diaper changes, etc.
• While this may sound trivial, the first thing your infant's pediatrician will ask you is how much he/she is eating and how many diapers you are changing on a daily basis. He/she will also want to know the content of those diapers. Further, you may enter a new parent coma, which will impair your ability to remember anything usually resulting from too little sleep. Thus, if it's not written down, you might not remember it at all.
• Don't believe size tags in infant clothing.
• Even though Brady was an average sized kid in terms of weight and length, all of the "newborn" clothes are still way too big. "Onesies" work well and we swaddle for warmth. Anything else they'll end up swimming in. I've also found that I like Carter's clothing the best and have found that they run large.
• A digital camera is your friend.
• Keep a digital camera in your diaper bag so that it's always accessible. Take pictures everyday and take more than you'll need. You'll be surprised at how quickly they grow and change. And since they're digital images, there's no cost for the ones you choose not to print.
• Make triple prints of all your photos.
• You'll want to keep a set for yourself and the grandparents will likely want a set as well.
  
• A good office chair may be a better bet than a rocker or a glider.
• Everyone raves about using a glider to calm your infant and/or for breast feeding, but my wife found that my ergonomic office chair worked best for her as the chair can be custom adjusted in all ways (e.g., height, tilt, arm height, etc.). You can't do this with a glider or a rocker. In addition, the chair swivels, so you can still use the chair to sooth your infant.
  
• Learn to swaddle.
• Nothing calms Brady more than being swaddled. Waffle style receiving blankets work best as they can be pulled tight, but they leave waffle marks on your newborn's skin. While they do sell swaddling sacks, they may be too large for your newborn.
• Your legs make an excellent cradle.
• If you're sitting in a recliner or on the bed, cross your legs at the ankles and use the space between your legs as a cradle. This way, your newborn will be close to you and you'll be able to see him/her clearly. However, keep in mind that he/she will be too far away for him/her to see you clearly.
  

Three Hours of Sleep I'll Never Get Back

To contact us Click HERE
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking advantage of the midnight showings of this summer's blockbuster movies as my son, Brady, and wife, Sheri, are asleep at that time; thus, my father- and husband-related responsibilities are not being neglected. Of course, there is additional loss of sleep, so the movie has to be quite good.

The movie I was most looking forward to this summer, in part due to the hype of the trailers, was Transformers. I'll admit that I grew up when Transformers appeared as toys, competing with GoBots, and was one of the dominant cartoons on television. I even had a number of the Transformer toys, including Optimus Prime and Starscream. And of course, my friends had various versions of them as well. And since the only movie to date was a cartoon version, I was quite excited that a live-action film was being made.

While the movie was fair and one that is enjoyable to anyone looking for a shoot-em-up flick, I must say that I was disappointed in the film overall. In my opinion, it failed to stay true to the cartoon storyline, the storyline I grew up on. Instead, the storyline was disjointed with all the Autobots and Decepticons going after one item, the Allspark. Rather than showing how the Transformers evolved, Optimus Prime spends five minutes providing a narrative.

Now, I must say that the midnight show drew a lot of fans. The theater was packed, and the audience cheered upon the lights dimming. The audience also cheered when Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, and applauded when the film was over, much like one would see at a Starwars screening.

Fortunately, I also saw Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4.0 in Europe, the week before at midnight. While the audience was much smaller, I must say that this 4th Die Hard movie was everything that I expected it to be and more. While I admit that I was not a fan of Die Hard 3, I really enjoyed the first two Die Hard movies. However, I think this is the best to date as you have a known character, the introduction of several new characters, and all the action and suspense that one would expect from a Die Hard film. Thus, I was completely satisfied when I left this movie, realizing that the 11 bucks and loss of 3 hours of sleep were worth it--not so for Transformers.

Of course, I could always go to Krikorian Theatres' "Mommy Movie Mondays," which I've taken advantage of several times, but I didn't want to wait to see the movie, nor did I want to be interrupted from the action by having to tend to Brady during the movie.

Packer's Team Building

To contact us Click HERE
Not bowling but, clay pigeon shooting for a team building experience. Mike McCarthy called off the mini camp practice yesterday to do a little team bonding. I think that is an awesome idea to get a bunch of grown men together to do. Perhaps Green Bay Packers left guard T.J. Lang said it best when he tweeted: “Well nobody got shot today. #success” This got me to thinking maybe Ticket King should do a little team bonding and do some paint-balling?

Three Hours of Sleep I'll Never Get Back

To contact us Click HERE
Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking advantage of the midnight showings of this summer's blockbuster movies as my son, Brady, and wife, Sheri, are asleep at that time; thus, my father- and husband-related responsibilities are not being neglected. Of course, there is additional loss of sleep, so the movie has to be quite good.

The movie I was most looking forward to this summer, in part due to the hype of the trailers, was Transformers. I'll admit that I grew up when Transformers appeared as toys, competing with GoBots, and was one of the dominant cartoons on television. I even had a number of the Transformer toys, including Optimus Prime and Starscream. And of course, my friends had various versions of them as well. And since the only movie to date was a cartoon version, I was quite excited that a live-action film was being made.

While the movie was fair and one that is enjoyable to anyone looking for a shoot-em-up flick, I must say that I was disappointed in the film overall. In my opinion, it failed to stay true to the cartoon storyline, the storyline I grew up on. Instead, the storyline was disjointed with all the Autobots and Decepticons going after one item, the Allspark. Rather than showing how the Transformers evolved, Optimus Prime spends five minutes providing a narrative.

Now, I must say that the midnight show drew a lot of fans. The theater was packed, and the audience cheered upon the lights dimming. The audience also cheered when Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, and applauded when the film was over, much like one would see at a Starwars screening.

Fortunately, I also saw Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4.0 in Europe, the week before at midnight. While the audience was much smaller, I must say that this 4th Die Hard movie was everything that I expected it to be and more. While I admit that I was not a fan of Die Hard 3, I really enjoyed the first two Die Hard movies. However, I think this is the best to date as you have a known character, the introduction of several new characters, and all the action and suspense that one would expect from a Die Hard film. Thus, I was completely satisfied when I left this movie, realizing that the 11 bucks and loss of 3 hours of sleep were worth it--not so for Transformers.

Of course, I could always go to Krikorian Theatres' "Mommy Movie Mondays," which I've taken advantage of several times, but I didn't want to wait to see the movie, nor did I want to be interrupted from the action by having to tend to Brady during the movie.doclc.blogspot.com

Packer's Team Building

To contact us Click HERE
Not bowling but, clay pigeon shooting for a team building experience. Mike McCarthy called off the mini camp practice yesterday to do a little team bonding. I think that is an awesome idea to get a bunch of grown men together to do. Perhaps Green Bay Packers left guard T.J. Lang said it best when he tweeted: “Well nobody got shot today. #success” This got me to thinking maybe Ticket King should do a little team bonding and do some paint-balling?

Girl's Trip

To contact us Click HERE
At least once a year my best friends from college and I all get together for a girl's trip. This year we gathered in San Diego where my friend LJ lives. This year was an extra special trip together because one of the four- Lyndsay Dougal is getting MARRIED!!! Yes, there are three Lindseys in our group. One goes by LJ, one goes by Dougal and they call me Searle (my maiden name). It was also special because LJ is expecting her first baby! It was so fun to get the three Lindseys and our Britt back together. Other close friends joined us that weekend too. I miss my girls like crazy. We had so much fun and got way too little sleep. Here are some pictures to prove it...
Comedy Show. It was hilarious and Katie even got called on stage to do a little improve.
Here is the Bride to Be at her bridal shower. Love making this girl blush. Especially after what they put me through at my shower!LJ and I got to go riding up the coast. It was so beautiful and made me realize how much I miss the beach.
We ate Cafe Rio - my all time favorite four times in five days. Is that really gross?I really wish I would have gotten a picture of the view from the condo we stayed at on the beach. You can barely see the sunset behind us.

Ellen Degeneres Mother's Day Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE
Well considering it's past father's day, I considered not blogging about this but then I remembered things like this don't happen to me and I would feel ungrateful not documenting it. So here it is, the story of how I got to go on the Ellen Mother's Day Giveaway 2011 Show and win a lot of really cool stuff. Back in March I went to San Diego for a fun girl's trip with my best friends from college. One of the things I wanted to do most in CA was to go to a taping of the Ellen show because I LOVE her and joke (except I couldn't be more serious) that one of the things on the top of my bucket list is to dance in her audience. Anyone reading this hopefully has seen the show so you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we tried to get tickets but they were totally sold out.
Fast forward three weeks later when I get a hysterical message, make that 3 messages in a row from my friend Lindsey who lives in San Diego. The message went something like this, "OH MY GOSH! The Ellen show just called and left me a message. I wrote them an email and they called me back. Can you believe it?! Answer your phone. I think I may get tickets for the Mother's Day show and you are coming with me." Mix in there some screaming and you get the idea. They gave her two tickets to the show and asked if she had any pregnant friends. Here's where my luck streak comes in. I was about 5 months pregnant at the time while she was due just a month later. I bought a ticket back out to CA for the three days before mother's day and picked out an outfit that made me look the most pregnant I could be at 5 months. We drove up from San Diego to L.A early the morning of the tapping stopping along the way at Cafe Rio. Pretty soon we arrived at Universal Studios!
When we pulled into the garage where they instructed us to park this is what we saw...This picture doesn't do justice because everyone is sitting down. It was so funny to see this many pregnant women all gathered in one place. We sat down with all the other waddling ladies and dug into our Cafe Rio. An employee came out and announced that they would be handing out numbers so everyone should slowly line up to get one but assured us that this number had nothing to do with where we would sit in the studio so not to rush or worry. We were both starving so with that we sat and ate our Rio until the other ladies cleared out.
We were pretty much the last girls to get our numbers. Number 170 and 171.
Remember how he said that it had nothing to do with seating? Well he lied. When it was time to make our way into the studio they called everyone up in groups of 2o or so in numerical order. We knew we would be in the very last row of the studio but didn't even care because we were still going on the show and we knew we would still get the goods. When we finally got into the studio, sure enough we were filling into the last row when an employee put her hand in front of me and asked how many were in my party. When I replied it was just the two of us she motioned for me to follow her and started walking down the stairs to the front. This is where our second streak of luck comes in. She took us all the way down to the front left side and put us in the front row of a side balcony. We were RIGHT next to Tony!!! (Tony is her DJ in case you aren't an Ellen fan- in which case you probably aren't reading this anyway). See?!!! That's Tony's seat!
The show was amazing! We danced our hearts out. There's only one thing more funny then seeing a whole bunch of pregnant girls all sitting in the same area and that's watching that many pregnant women dance. There was one girl that was due any day and busting out moves I didn't know where possible! Kate Hudson was the guest. She was adorable. And it was really cool to see how Ellen acted when the cameras stopped rolling. She seemed totally calm and just had a big smile on her face. During one commercial break she was over by our side and looking out at the crowd with a big smile. She stopped when she saw me and started laughing. Maybe because I must have looked like a kid on Christmas with a HUGE smile and mouthing 'Hi Ellen, hi Ellen, hi Ellen". She waved back at me and people in our section started cheering.
Ok, I have to admit that when I see giveaway shows like this on TV and people are crying I kind of roll my eyes (I know that's awful) but when they brought out these incredible gifts I couldn't help but choke back tears. I was hoping for maybe one big gift like a stroller or a car seat or maybe a crib even. We got all of those things and a ton more. Here's a list of the things we got...

$300 old navy gift card

Daillia Necklace

Rockabye Baby 13 CD Set

$240 blume gift card

6-month supply of Plum food

150 Birth Announcements from Paperterie

6-month supply of Huggies

Puj microfiber bootie

Expecting 411 Book Series

Little Giraffe Blanket

Britax B-ready Stroller

Britax Car Seat

Baby Carrier

Diaper bag- go gaga

Peg perego High Chair

Video camera

pack and play

Graco espresso crib

Baby Bedding

Washer and Dryer (Hmmm, after jumping up and down when they brought these out my girlfriend and I looked at each other and said 'oh yeah, we're renting!' Anyone want to buy a washer and dryer?!)

After the show ended we got in our cars are went out in an assembly line. It took us about 4 hours to get out of the parking garage but we were so happy we didn't care! They sent us home with the high chair, pack n play, video camera, baby carrier, blanket, diaper bag, CDs and booties. Everything else they gave us vouchers in a packet that we can order any time for the next year. This is our loot.

Crew's Blessing

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Such a special day. Justin gave Crew a beautiful blessing, and unlike his older brother Crew didn't make a peep through the whole thing. Big C literally screamed his head off from the time Justin started to speak until he sat back down with him. The bishop even said afterward from the pulpit that it looked like we'd have our hands full. And we do! We love our crazy Camden. Any chance Crew will be a calmer kid?! Doubt it but we'll see! It was so fun to have family and close friends there to be a part of this special experience. Thank you so much to those that traveled to be here!!!

Three Hours of Sleep I'll Never Get Back

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Over the last couple of weeks, I've been taking advantage of the midnight showings of this summer's blockbuster movies as my son, Brady, and wife, Sheri, are asleep at that time; thus, my father- and husband-related responsibilities are not being neglected. Of course, there is additional loss of sleep, so the movie has to be quite good.

The movie I was most looking forward to this summer, in part due to the hype of the trailers, was Transformers. I'll admit that I grew up when Transformers appeared as toys, competing with GoBots, and was one of the dominant cartoons on television. I even had a number of the Transformer toys, including Optimus Prime and Starscream. And of course, my friends had various versions of them as well. And since the only movie to date was a cartoon version, I was quite excited that a live-action film was being made.

While the movie was fair and one that is enjoyable to anyone looking for a shoot-em-up flick, I must say that I was disappointed in the film overall. In my opinion, it failed to stay true to the cartoon storyline, the storyline I grew up on. Instead, the storyline was disjointed with all the Autobots and Decepticons going after one item, the Allspark. Rather than showing how the Transformers evolved, Optimus Prime spends five minutes providing a narrative.

Now, I must say that the midnight show drew a lot of fans. The theater was packed, and the audience cheered upon the lights dimming. The audience also cheered when Optimus Prime appeared for the first time, and applauded when the film was over, much like one would see at a Starwars screening.

Fortunately, I also saw Live Free or Die Hard, also known as Die Hard 4.0 in Europe, the week before at midnight. While the audience was much smaller, I must say that this 4th Die Hard movie was everything that I expected it to be and more. While I admit that I was not a fan of Die Hard 3, I really enjoyed the first two Die Hard movies. However, I think this is the best to date as you have a known character, the introduction of several new characters, and all the action and suspense that one would expect from a Die Hard film. Thus, I was completely satisfied when I left this movie, realizing that the 11 bucks and loss of 3 hours of sleep were worth it--not so for Transformers.

Of course, I could always go to Krikorian Theatres' "Mommy Movie Mondays," which I've taken advantage of several times, but I didn't want to wait to see the movie, nor did I want to be interrupted from the action by having to tend to Brady during the movie.

Packer's Team Building

To contact us Click HERE
Not bowling but, clay pigeon shooting for a team building experience. Mike McCarthy called off the mini camp practice yesterday to do a little team bonding. I think that is an awesome idea to get a bunch of grown men together to do. Perhaps Green Bay Packers left guard T.J. Lang said it best when he tweeted: “Well nobody got shot today. #success” This got me to thinking maybe Ticket King should do a little team bonding and do some paint-balling?

Girl's Trip

To contact us Click HERE
At least once a year my best friends from college and I all get together for a girl's trip. This year we gathered in San Diego where my friend LJ lives. This year was an extra special trip together because one of the four- Lyndsay Dougal is getting MARRIED!!! Yes, there are three Lindseys in our group. One goes by LJ, one goes by Dougal and they call me Searle (my maiden name). It was also special because LJ is expecting her first baby! It was so fun to get the three Lindseys and our Britt back together. Other close friends joined us that weekend too. I miss my girls like crazy. We had so much fun and got way too little sleep. Here are some pictures to prove it...
Comedy Show. It was hilarious and Katie even got called on stage to do a little improve.
Here is the Bride to Be at her bridal shower. Love making this girl blush. Especially after what they put me through at my shower!LJ and I got to go riding up the coast. It was so beautiful and made me realize how much I miss the beach.
We ate Cafe Rio - my all time favorite four times in five days. Is that really gross?I really wish I would have gotten a picture of the view from the condo we stayed at on the beach. You can barely see the sunset behind us.

Ellen Degeneres Mother's Day Giveaway

To contact us Click HERE
Well considering it's past father's day, I considered not blogging about this but then I remembered things like this don't happen to me and I would feel ungrateful not documenting it. So here it is, the story of how I got to go on the Ellen Mother's Day Giveaway 2011 Show and win a lot of really cool stuff. Back in March I went to San Diego for a fun girl's trip with my best friends from college. One of the things I wanted to do most in CA was to go to a taping of the Ellen show because I LOVE her and joke (except I couldn't be more serious) that one of the things on the top of my bucket list is to dance in her audience. Anyone reading this hopefully has seen the show so you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, we tried to get tickets but they were totally sold out.
Fast forward three weeks later when I get a hysterical message, make that 3 messages in a row from my friend Lindsey who lives in San Diego. The message went something like this, "OH MY GOSH! The Ellen show just called and left me a message. I wrote them an email and they called me back. Can you believe it?! Answer your phone. I think I may get tickets for the Mother's Day show and you are coming with me." Mix in there some screaming and you get the idea. They gave her two tickets to the show and asked if she had any pregnant friends. Here's where my luck streak comes in. I was about 5 months pregnant at the time while she was due just a month later. I bought a ticket back out to CA for the three days before mother's day and picked out an outfit that made me look the most pregnant I could be at 5 months. We drove up from San Diego to L.A early the morning of the tapping stopping along the way at Cafe Rio. Pretty soon we arrived at Universal Studios!
When we pulled into the garage where they instructed us to park this is what we saw...This picture doesn't do justice because everyone is sitting down. It was so funny to see this many pregnant women all gathered in one place. We sat down with all the other waddling ladies and dug into our Cafe Rio. An employee came out and announced that they would be handing out numbers so everyone should slowly line up to get one but assured us that this number had nothing to do with where we would sit in the studio so not to rush or worry. We were both starving so with that we sat and ate our Rio until the other ladies cleared out.
We were pretty much the last girls to get our numbers. Number 170 and 171.
Remember how he said that it had nothing to do with seating? Well he lied. When it was time to make our way into the studio they called everyone up in groups of 2o or so in numerical order. We knew we would be in the very last row of the studio but didn't even care because we were still going on the show and we knew we would still get the goods. When we finally got into the studio, sure enough we were filling into the last row when an employee put her hand in front of me and asked how many were in my party. When I replied it was just the two of us she motioned for me to follow her and started walking down the stairs to the front. This is where our second streak of luck comes in. She took us all the way down to the front left side and put us in the front row of a side balcony. We were RIGHT next to Tony!!! (Tony is her DJ in case you aren't an Ellen fan- in which case you probably aren't reading this anyway). See?!!! That's Tony's seat!
The show was amazing! We danced our hearts out. There's only one thing more funny then seeing a whole bunch of pregnant girls all sitting in the same area and that's watching that many pregnant women dance. There was one girl that was due any day and busting out moves I didn't know where possible! Kate Hudson was the guest. She was adorable. And it was really cool to see how Ellen acted when the cameras stopped rolling. She seemed totally calm and just had a big smile on her face. During one commercial break she was over by our side and looking out at the crowd with a big smile. She stopped when she saw me and started laughing. Maybe because I must have looked like a kid on Christmas with a HUGE smile and mouthing 'Hi Ellen, hi Ellen, hi Ellen". She waved back at me and people in our section started cheering.
Ok, I have to admit that when I see giveaway shows like this on TV and people are crying I kind of roll my eyes (I know that's awful) but when they brought out these incredible gifts I couldn't help but choke back tears. I was hoping for maybe one big gift like a stroller or a car seat or maybe a crib even. We got all of those things and a ton more. Here's a list of the things we got...

$300 old navy gift card

Daillia Necklace

Rockabye Baby 13 CD Set

$240 blume gift card

6-month supply of Plum food

150 Birth Announcements from Paperterie

6-month supply of Huggies

Puj microfiber bootie

Expecting 411 Book Series

Little Giraffe Blanket

Britax B-ready Stroller

Britax Car Seat

Baby Carrier

Diaper bag- go gaga

Peg perego High Chair

Video camera

pack and play

Graco espresso crib

Baby Bedding

Washer and Dryer (Hmmm, after jumping up and down when they brought these out my girlfriend and I looked at each other and said 'oh yeah, we're renting!' Anyone want to buy a washer and dryer?!)

After the show ended we got in our cars are went out in an assembly line. It took us about 4 hours to get out of the parking garage but we were so happy we didn't care! They sent us home with the high chair, pack n play, video camera, baby carrier, blanket, diaper bag, CDs and booties. Everything else they gave us vouchers in a packet that we can order any time for the next year. This is our loot.