Raising Eli & Zachary

The Baseball Hall of Fame is a museum of history for the sport of baseball. Within the walls stands all of the amazing players, amazing feats and unbelievable plays from the game. More importantly it is a living testament to the game of baseball and it is for this reason I feel strongly that Pete Rose should be inducted immediately.

Pete Rose as a person is a complete loser. Anyone who meets him, I am lucky enough not to have met him, describes him as a shady individual who always seems to have alternative motives for everything. I have heard him described as a loser, a money grabbing pig, and various other not so flattering terms. But this has NOTHING to do with his achievements on the field.

As a ball player Pete Rose was one of the best in the game:
Awards

Stats

Those numbers are Hall of Fame numbers. As a player he deserves to be recognized for his achievements.

Now comes the gambling. He bet on baseball which I understand is against the rules, but he never bet against his team or did anything that is apparent to make them lose a game. His personal choices in life have been flawed, no doubt about it. But here is where the HOF has the right to enshrine him, and make an example of him. Celebrate him as a player, and tell the story of his gambling and what it has done to Rose. Put the history of the entire career on display in the hall and let it serve two lessons. One as congratulating a player who was amazing, and one as a lesson to all the kids out there that gambling is not acceptable in the game, and how it has brought great shame on Pete Rose in the eyes of fans, baseball and sports in general.

One last thought. Bud Selig watched as players in the game were using performance enhancing drugs. He watched two players battle it out for the home run record knowing full well they were not clean, but because it was good for baseball, he let it slide. This man has no right to be making the decision on Pete Rose. This man should not be in baseball for much worse offenses against the game than Pete Rose ever committed.

Tell the story of Rose, the good, the bad and put it all for everyone to see in the HOF. It is the right thing to do.

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Eli was a brave boy when it came to swimming when he was a year old. At the YMCA we would participate in classes and thought that this was going to build a good foundation of confidence near water. What we didn’t expect was the second year to be the opposite. Getting Eli into the water from 2-3 years old was almost impossible.

This year we knew the only solution was to get him into a swimming school with a great teacher. We thought, and we were correct that Eli responds differently to teachers than us, and will do almost anything a teacher asks him to do without the tantrums and whining. So we enrolled him into Safety Swim and over the last six weeks we have watched him grow as a swimmer.

Just a quick recap: Week 1-3 was all about calming him down and getting him to stop crying. Eli has sensory issues and hates to be wet. So sprinklers, squirt guns and splashing…. they are all on his not fond to be around list. The good part was Eli’s willingness to try and he really did have a good attitude, albeit he was a big clingly.

Week 4 -6 has been a bit different. Eli will float by himself with his swimmies on, will jump in the side with just a bit of hesitation and goes underwater more, although he still throws a cow. At the end of our first six weeks we realize one thing, he needs another series of 6 weeks and it looks like this is something he will be doing for a long time. The instructors, who have been excellent say that all of this is normal behavior and he is doing very well. I hope that in another six weeks I will come back and look at this and laugh. I hope my kid turns out to be a dolphin, wanting to swim all the time. How else are scuba diving parents going to ever survive if our kids are not water babies.

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It is really enjoyable to see Eli growing up, even though it tugs at the strings attached to my heart that it is happening so fast. I just want to bottle up his youth and innocence and keep it around forever and never forget his smile and the way in which he uses his words. If you knew Eli, you would realize how amazing he is. I couldn’t ask for a better son and can only hope he rubs off on Ziggy.

Early this morning Eli wanted to sleep a little longer, do a puzzle, watch a show, eat breakfast at the table and not go to school. On a common morning he gets up, goes potty, brushes his teeth, goes downstairs and eats breakfast while watching Little Einsteins or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, but today he wanted to do a puzzle. Jodi told him that he could either do the puzzle and eat breakfast on the road (tight schedule) or eat breakfast at the table and watch a show, but in no way could he do both. Eli thought about this and decided on the puzzle.

It was a pretty quick decision, but it worked out. But not before he demanded a show and to eat at the table, for which there was just no time. So we cooked him some french toast sticks, let him put them in a ziplock back and got a drink to go and headed towards the car. All the way he was thinking and verbalizing that he didn’t get to watch a show.

Consequences for his actions, Jodi was perfect this morning because she explained to him that he had a choice, and told him the consequences for each decision. He may not have liked the options, or didn’t realize the consequences were as black and white as they were but she empowered him to make the choice. There was no wrong answer, just an option. I hope that these lessons carry forward in Eli’s mind so when it comes to making a real decision, faced by serious consequences he logically does what is right over what is easy or popular. Being a parent is hard work, but very rewarding and Jodi had it down pat this morning. It was really a cool thing to watch.

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If you do not know about this story already then you have been under a rock for the last few days. I am not sure I am in full light of the story but I have to say, either way, both parties involved took step that were way out of line. The story as I know it is simple:

Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr was trying to get into his upscale house but was having problems with the door. Unable to get in, he tried the back door and forced his way in. A neighbor, called the police because they thought this guys house was being broken into. The cops went to the house and demanded the occupant come out so he could be interviewed and asked for his ID.

Now here is where it gets sketchy and nobody seems to know what really happened. But as I have read it the Professor refused to leave his house, but did provide evidence that it was in fact his house. The police then demanded he go outside the house so he could be interviewed, and at this point the Professor reportedly started in that he was being harassed because he was black, and the cop is white. Stories vary that the cops harassed the Professor and forced their position, in which the Professor got pissed and gave it back to them, and vice versa where the Professor was was at fault.

The question really becomes why is this a Presidential issue? Because Gates happens to be black, and a friend of the president? Was racial profiling involved? Could this have been handled better? I see this scenario:

Why is this scenario so outlandish? Why does it always have to be black and white. Clearly both parties handled it bad and I think the Professor and cops should be ashamed of themselves, and Obama should stay the hell out of it and mind his own business. Since he did get involved, instead of backing his friend, he should have backed the COP and reprimanded the friend for over-reacting.

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I know people love conspiracy theories, let’s face it. It is fun to argue about certain events and it really can make a believers (or non believers) blood boil. Here are my favorites

The Moon Landing

I think it is safe to say that we did in fact land on the moon.

The JFK Assassination

I believe 100% that the assassination of JFK was a multi-person event. I do not believe the cover story told to America. I wouldn’t be shocked if our own government was involved.

Obama is a Muslim

It wouldn’t matter to me, even as a Muslim (which he is not), he is still better than the McCain/Palin combo

Obama is not an American

He is as American as apple pie

Roswell UFO Cover-up

Hmmm…something is fishy with this story…I just don’t think it was alien fishy…more like test weapon fishy.

Free Masons Rule the World

I am a Mason, I do not rule the world. Wouldn’t want to.
The Philadelphia Experiment

Can you think of some more? I know one big one is the 9/11 attack which conspiracy theorists say that we attacked ourselves which I find absolutely insane. As someone who witnessed the attacks first hand, I just can’t even think that the US Government be capable of such a thing.

There are also some basic beliefs that I find really whacked out, like the Young Earth Theory which states the earth is relatively young (6,000 to 10,000 years old).

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I am not claiming to be a political savant but I find it extremely agonizing that the every day citizen is lashing out at President Obama, calling him a liar and declaring that he has done nothing since getting into office. Let’s face some critical facts:

I truly think a large population of people actually thought that the instant Obama entered the oval office that miracles were going to occur. The economy would be instantly fixed, the job market would open back up, the war in Iraq would end, health care would be reformed, and the education system overhauled. These same people who thought that was possible, are now up in arms that he is doing a bad job. I suggest this:

Nothing is going to change until the people of this great country make it change. It is time for us to stand up, be active again in our communities, right the moral compass that is so very skewed and be active parents and leaders in our schools. When enough people stand up to make a difference, change will occur, but the lazy continuance of American greed, inaction and lack of effort is just going to continue the moral, economical, and social decline we have been suffering from for decades.

Don’t blame Obama for the mistakes that have built up to our current situation. It is not his fault. Instead, help your community become stronger. Win back your streets, spend time with your kids, educate and instruct the youth by leading by example.

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I am a dog lover so you might be shocked to know that I am in full support of Michael Vick returning to the NFL, but hear me out so you might understand my point of view before dumping nasty comments all over my blog. At first I was against Vick ever getting a chance in the NFL, because I found the entire dog fighting thing to be disgusting and completely unacceptable. In my mind, he suffer just like his dogs.

Then time passed and Vick served his jail time. He went to court, he lost the case, he was punished and served what the judicial system found to be the correct punishment for the crime. He has paid his penalty, he no longer owes a debt to society. He has a clear record now, a negative cloud over his head but in the eyes of the judicial system he is now a free man.

So explain how the National Football League has the right to say that the punishment Vick paid already is not enough? Since when is the National Football league the higher moral compass than our legal system? It is not as if he got off and served a week in prison and paid a fine. He did his time, he paid his fees and hopefully he learned his lesson. The NFL is just a job. It is like telling an ex-con that he can’t get a job working at a job he likes (and does well) because he was once in jail. The NFL should respect the legal system and give Vick a shot at coming back. Maybe tag along a requirement that he does a certain number of public information spots on pet responsibility or something but allow the man to get his life back.

The league is not going to be “cleaned up” because they ban Vick for life. In fact, this is the perfect opportunity to do the right thing. Vick should be a spokesman for second chances, for learning from his mistakes and now he can make a difference on the football field and off.

Just my thoughts. Discuss.

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I am not a geologist, although I did go to school and primarily did take geology classes, but that was years ago and not the real subject of this post. The real subject is the fact that we have a super volcano smack dab in the middle of the United States and nobody seems to be talking, or considering the risk it poses.

Yellowstone National Park is one big volcanic nightmare ready to erupt. I am not saying that an eruption is imminent but it is coming. When it goes, it has the potential to be the biggest natural disaster of our time, making Mount Saint Helens look like a joke.

Have you ever seen pictures on the TV, in movies or maybe you have been there and watched Old Faithful or the countless other geysers erupt in jets of steam. All of this, and all of the hot pools, and sulfer smelling bubbling water are caused by the heating of the area by magma that is as shallow as 5 miles deep under the surface of the area. The entire region is a volcanic hot spot that has erupted throughout history. The last time? 640,000 years ago. The time before that: 1.3 million years ago, the time before that, 2.1 million years ago. Do the math: the volcano goes off historically around every 600,000 – 750,000 years give or take a few hundred thousand years. Is it significant that we are due for another eruption? Maybe in our lifespan?

The facts are simple. The ground is uplifting around 23 centimeters each year. This is caused by rising magma forcing the crust to lift. Earthquakes, 77 of them in the Month of June of this year are swarming (which is not uncommon). Geysers that have been dormant for years are coming to life again, and those that have been active are starting to change their schedule. All of which are signs that geologically, the area is becoming more unstable.

So what happens if when this big super volcano erupts? Ash is going to travel for hundreds of miles, the ecological system of the area is going to be changed for a very long time and it has the potential to destroy a ton of life. Check out this report

I am not worried about an eruption of the Yellowstone caldera, but I just think the subject is really cool. The geologic processes are amazing, and in a state of flux. Look at the picture at the top of this post to see the swarm increase in the number of earthquakes for the last 30-50 years. See the increase…whooa baby. (the picture was take without permission of the author of the report linked above).

Another great Yellowstone Volcano FAQ can be found here

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Oh Lord…the craziness has begun. Yesterday, after working the first half of the day Jodi, Eli and I decided to head to Babies R Us and start looking for all the things we need to get for baby Ziggy. I have been dreading this because I know how much cash we are going to spend and frankly, we just don’t have an unlimited supply of funds during the summer months.

Luckily for us, we have a lot of stuff that we saved from when Eli was born that is in excellent shape. The big things, such as the crib, swing, stroller, rocking chair, changing table and big toys can be used a second time. We even have a large amount of clothes in perfect condition sealed away which we have been unpacking and taking inventory of. Other things however, we need to buy and start new. These things are like baby bottles, a new baby monitor, a portable bouncer and Jodi wants a new stroller that can support not only Ziggy, but Eli when he does not want to walk around.

So out came the registry gun and we started to build a small registry. We both know that family and friends will be looking to get stuff for Ziggy. We know it is probably not acceptable to do a registry for a second child so we don’t expect much. I think we did it more to keep ourselves organized on what we have to purchase, if anyone ends up getting us stuff, it is just a bonus.

It really was a lot of fun, even though it stresses us out greatly. It did however really make us feel like the baby was coming, and soon! Now to start thinking about the baby room and creating the perfect nursery.

More to follow!

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Swimming lessons at Safety Swim has really started making a difference in Eli’s approach to water. At first, he would just cry and throw a temper-tantrum but last night he willingly entered into a pool with mom and swam. This is great therapy for Eli on all levels and it is really starting to change his willingness to try new things.

A great example is the fair we went to the other night. He went on the really big slide where you have to sit on the carpet and go over three or four big humps without any fear. He also rode the carousel two times without me having to stand behind him, but the biggest thrill was his willingness to go on the dragon roller coaster with his cousin Nicole. Although he cried when he got off, he survived the entire ride and even forced a few smiles for Mom and Dad (who looked terrified for him).

Eli is really beginning to come out of the fear phase and we look forward to our Sesame Place trip at the end of the month.

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