Is this still here?

Man, I remember a time when this blog was the world to me. A means to keep track of my thoughts, reach out to others, and just vent when I needed to. Those were the days.

Now, I tend to open up Facebook, start to type something, and then just close the browser. Too damn many people have tried to use my blog ramblings to screw with me. Someone even tried to use my "religious" ponderings to get me kicked out of my (Christian) martial arts organization. And I was the senior instructor!
Someone recently posted a message that he came across my blog, and was glad to see it. He was happy that he wasn't the only one in my position (stay at home dad).

I don't think I deserve the accolades anymore - the ones who deserve it are the ones who haven't been silenced by dipshits who try to use your own words against you. Keep up the good work ya'll - I'll keep checking in from time to time. Maybe soon I'll find a new pair and be back at it full force.

Thanksgiving 2008

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone!!

Closer to the end of the year

Darth Landon now has 4 teeth. He has stood several times (unaided), but still has not started walking.

My fingers took 15 minutes to dethaw (I created that term), but it was worth it. I just got in from decorating the outside of the house for Christmas. Still have more to do, but I got lights on the roof and the peak of the house. I also managed to put a 4ft tall Grinch inflatable on the porch roof.

Things are as busy here as they have every been. Busy schedule with the 3 boys, martial arts programs, repairs on the family fleet (mostly brake jobs). Now that they end of the year is approaching, things are only going to get worse. Both mine and Darth Logan's birthday are in December, as well as 2 Christmas performances at different schools, work , and all the "trying to get more work"! I'm starting to fill the calendar with Santa work.

Not much else to write. Hang in there, and I'll do the same.

He can STAND for that

I've been in hiding.

But I had to post that yesterday, Darth Landon stood (unaided) for a full 15 seconds. Hasn't taken his first steps yet, but he's on the way.

Tooth number 3 made it's appearance a few days ago.

Looking back

As Darth Landon has begun to become mobile (starting to use his knees to crawl, and refuses to stay in one spot), I happened upon a video tape I had made a few years back. In it, Darth Lance was about the same age as Landon is now - it was unbelievable watching that tape. Logan was soooo young - and his speech was monosyllabic. And Lance could only screach, and was barely able to pull himself up. Amazing how much has changed over the past few years.



The other day, Logan was talking about ghosts and monsters - and said that if I even saw one, it would "Scare you the HECK!"

Then again, the other day we were driving, and some jackass cut us off. Logan called him a "meat ass". I frown on my kids using that kind of language (specially at the age of 5), and promptly corrected him (that is, AFTER I was able to get control of myself from laughing so hard!!)

Clapping, fishing

Just a few quick things:

The baby clapped yesterday - his first time doing so. He turned 9 months old, and thought that dada was worthy of applause!

I took the older 2 boys fishing today (their first time). Didn't catch anything, but we had a great time, and discovered the largest Popsicles known to man (pictures to follow soon).



Today, I took both Darth Logan and Darth Lance to a "free fishing day" at a city park. The heat got up to 112 degrees today, so we stayed in the shade as much as possible.

After we were done, we sswung by another park to enjoy a bit of the Indian festival (Native American) that was going on. Made beaded necklaces, got feathers for our hats - then headed towards home.

Cept that it was so damn hot (no AC in the truck yet), that we got super thirsty. We were passing a YMCA, and decided to stop in to refill our cups with cold water. After we had a few sips, I looked at the boys (we were all in shorts), and decided to go swimming. No towels or change of clothes - but what the hell. After about a half hour of splashing around and cooling off, we finally headed for home.

The wife thought that we fell in the river and got eatten by fish! (we were gone quite some time)

Airbag light on my 98 Blazer

Problem solved. Thank God for Ebay. I didn't actually buy anything, but it's sure nice to be able to SEE what something looks like when it's removed. I got to see what the front airbag sensor looked like. (STILL can't locate it on the truck though)

More importantly, I got to see what the passenger and driver airbags looked when removed from the vehicle. My truck doesn't have a switch to turn the passenger side off. That's pretty much ruled out being able to put the oldest boy in the front seat. I've barely been able (by very limited seat selection) to fit 2 safety seats and the infant carrier in the back seat. SO, I was able to locate the wiring connector, and unplug the front airbag.

Won't that create a problem with getting the car inspected, you ask? WHy yes it will. That damn airbag light in the dashboard is a major pain the ass. I took the truck to get inspected, and that light refused to turn off. As a result , it failed. I read that there is a fuse that you can pull, but that it will make the light stay on , rather than make it go away.

The answer - I took apart that damn dash board, and removed the instrument cluster. Pretty simple, I must admit. I disassembled the cluster, and found 2 led lights that are on a motherboard. So much for just plucking the bulbs out. I was afraid to remove them for fear that it might mess up some other electrical system.

Now I can't say what you should do next if you are having the same problem, but it sure would seem easy enough to cover those lights with some black electrical tape, so when you turn the car on, the lights won't shine through.

This wouldn't 'fix' the airbags, just the light problem. If you WANT airbags, go to a garage and get them fixed. I personally don't want them, and am not at a loss for not having them wired anymore.