Muay Thai - or allergic to Fridays

Well, I stayed home to day from the Muay Thai class. Guess I'll find out in a day or so if it was that ass whooping class that caused my back ahces, or if I' simple allergic to Fridays. I'd say Im at about 80% back to normal with my back. Still gets a bit tender at times, but I can pop it, and release the stress. I even was able to put my shoes on today (in less than 4 minutes each!!) Laugh if you must- it was humbling going from such a "hands on" dad - into a floor crawling 80 year old, who took 20 minutes just to get the baby out of his crib (and other 15 to change the diaper).

I have a chicken telegram tomorrow - cluck cluck!!

A couple that attended the last wedding reception that I DJ'ed liked it so much, that they hired me to thiers on Saturday.

Did our taxes today - if your readign this, and havent done yours - GET R DONE!! H&R Block .com allows people (who make under a certain amount of money) to so their taxes, AND E-file from their web site (FOR FREE).

Now much to report on the kids today - we al have a bad couch (chest congestion) - they are finishing theirs, and gave it to me for fun. SO now, when I cough or sneeze, my ass hurts.

Time to cruize some blogs, and head off to bed.

Nite all

Thoughts on a few things

Im always on the lookout for the "next thing" - that really neat thing that the kids will love, that's educational, that won't drive me up a friggin wall. Dora the Explorer is NOT one of these. That little non-english speaking bimbo drives me right up the wall. Why is she always yelling? Is it some cultural thing? (If there are soo many programs out there that can teach our kids to speak spanish - why cant they make a decent program that will teach non-english speakign kids how to do so??). I hated Barney when he came out (still do to this day) - I saw it as a way for non-participating parents to get rid of their kids for an hour, and feel good about it (cause they are learning something). I still refuse to let Logan watch anything involving that purple menace.

NEW THINGS IVE SEEN: Watching Disney channel today, and I thought to myself "Holy Shit! It's the Bugaboos! Straight out of the 70's Kroft Suyperstar Show". But, it's not - it's 3 weirdos that think they are a cross between the bugaboos and the partarigde family. (a fast trip to Playhouse disney says they are the Doodblebops. ). Now, I can joke the yellow guy forever for looking too much like Nev Campbell, but actually, their music is kinda cool. We may actually start watching them.

THE SHANA SHOW: Tune in to see what Shana will be today. The kid is thinking "dentist? astronaut?"...Im thinking " Puertorican? Mexican ? I dunno!" I even had the wife watch it, and she agrees that there is just something too "urban" about the whole thing - the concept is nice, but the word choices and presentation is like a Updated spin off of Sesame Street for poor ass New York kids. Maybe it was that whole bad experiance with the multicultural teacher in college (Dr. Julie Ancis, or bitch as we refer to her in my household).

WHERE ARE ALL THE WHITE PEOPLE?: Ok - I love the wiggles - but would it kill them to some out with somethign new?? Watching them on the Disney channel was fun, until we started to accumulate the movies. Now, when they say "Hey - remember that song we did at Wiggle Bay?", what Im really hearing is "Hey - we're too goddamned lazy to do somethign new, so here's some ond stuff from a previous movie - we'll be out getting lunch. See you in 10". In a time where the whole world is turning spanish (or something other than white), it's nice to see some positive role models that my kids can associate with that are of a similar ethnic background as themselves. (If your realding this and thinking BULLSHIT, this is the same line of crap that most multicultural leaders are selling, but it only refers to ethnic minorities.). Shana is mexican or 'something", the Wiggles are actually Australian, the Backyardigans might as well be called the Blackyardigans, The Koala Brother are Aussie. Loa and Charlie or brits - is it just not marketable for cartoon, tageting the 2-6 age range to use good old american people, speaking english in it?

AS FOR THE NEW THINGS IVE SEEN: A recent post on another blog mentioned a few new artists that make music for kids. Dan Zanes, They Might Be Giants, and a few others. I listened to them, and wanted very much to find some cool music for the kids and I, but I just don't care for it. I'll still le the boys listen - if their taste differs (and they like it) then we listen to it. It's their developmnent - I am dad enough to stand back and let them like what they will like. But I've yet to find any one artist (or group of songs) that can hold a candle to any 80's various artist compilation I can throw together in minutes. Logan goes NUTS when I play I love rock and roll (Joan Jetts & the blackhearts) - We sing and dance to Superfreak (Rick James), Brickhouse, Karmachameleon (Culture Club), I ran (Flock of Seagulls), and lots of other rockin songs of the 80's. Sure, there have been a number of songs that I love, and thought he'd like, but he snubs them. They get the boot (for now), but for the most part - he likes MY music - when I try to introduce newer stuff, (that is child oriented) he throws a fit. His latest facination is Miami (Will Smith). The song starts "Uh - yeah - Miami" - I sang it "Uh -yeah - Scoody Doo ", and he demands the song when were in the car - everytime now. I've always joke rap music for sounding stupid - I gues it came back to bite me in the ass. I've created my own lines to the song though, and have turned it into the "scooby Doo rap". A dads gotta do what a dad's gotta Doo.

DUMB ASS COMERCIAL: There's this commercial for memory enhancing vitamins (I forget the name) - they are willing to give you a free bottle to try. How can they afford to do this? (Cause they screw you on the shipping and handling charges!!) The guy pitching it is the supposive owner of the company. He says "I started using this product 5 years ago - and I wouldn't work a day without it". Of course he wouldn't work a day without it - he'd have no product to sell!! Im sure in court, they will twist that around to mean "If I didn't sell this product, I'd have no job".

LISTERINE COMMERCIAL RANT: Thy had 2 commercials - one with a male and the other with a female - split screen, at a sink, using the mouth wash while the annoucner urges them on. The guy looks like Dr Carter from ER - they still air this ad. The girl was a fox - really adorable - but they yanked her ad. This sucks.

Ok enough vented - tim,e to go burn another cd for tomrrow - I'll give some of these new guys a try. Also going to add some cools songs, just in case the new ones go over like a lead brick.

Night all
I hope this publishes - im gonna me very pissed if it jams -

Why my text looks retarded

Everytime I type in the BLooger box, and try to publish, something goes wrong, and I getscrewed out of 30 minutes of great thoughts. To prevent being "blog raped", I type the blog in a word processor, then cut/paste it into the box. But in doing so, it looks weird - spaces in the wrong places - lack of spaces in other places. I dunno how to fix it.

Shannon

Logan's speech test

Because , as of 3 weeks ago, Logan had not been linking words (using more than one
word at a time to talk - instead of putting words together), the wife and the pediatrician
decided to arrange a testing for him. Since scheduling that appointment, the kid has been
linking and speaking like a champ! I thought the wife was jumping the gun a bit, due to
his age, but figured that it couldn’t hurt. Sooooo - 8am, we arrive at the testing center.
We had told him that it was a Dr visit, but only to talk. He walks up to the sign in area,
and says HI. They greet him back, and he says TALK. The girl responded by saying
“Are you going to talk to me today?” (She was the Dr.) - Logan says “Just talk - just
talk”. I almost busted out laughing. He was gonna make damn sure that she understood
there would be non of that usual Dr bullshit, like weighing, and needles and such.

THE TESTING: They tested his receptive ability first. This is his ability to understand
what is being said or asked of him. Mind you , he just turned 2 in December. After a
while, they eventually ended the receptive part of the test - cause Logan was testing at the
4 to 5 year old age range. The test is supposed to continue until the child levels off (gets
5 wrong in a row). He just kept pegging the answers, even offering more correct /
relevant info than was requested. SWEET!!!

Then, they tested his ability to use words - his verbal ability. This test ended around the
high 3 year old age range, cause they felt no need to go on (also, by this time, he was
starting to get tired of the process, and getting very fidgity).

As a stay at home dad (after being raised single parented by my mother), I cant tell you
how proud it made me. I guess somewhere between lightsaber fights and singing Blues
Clues songs I must be doing something right as a dad. Before he was born, I had some
doubt - I always knew Id raise a happy kid -I just wasnt sure Id be able to keep up the
educational part of his development. I figured, at some point, a teacher would call me in,
and say somethign like “ He sure is a happy child - dumb as a doorknob, but very happy”.
In all fairness, I do owe a debt of gratitude to Elmo, 3 of the Teletubbies, Bob the Builder,
Darth Vader, and Scooby Doo.

BACK PAIN: Ive had off and on pains. Nothing too terrible - mostly after Ive sat (like
when riding in the car). Today, when it hurt, Ive been able to twist, or stretch, and ease
the pain. Hopefully, it’s on the way out. I was suprised last night, that Sensei Lange
suggested some slow forward rolls - she said that they might expand the lower vertebrae
and ease the tension. Although, i gotta say , sitting here and typing is causing my back to
becoem unhappy- I added a pillow to the seat for cushioning - I wonder if it’s this damn
chair that’s the source of the back ache??

Well, off to stretch out on the floor in front of the boob tube.

Night all

Dojo - back pain - and what a biitch my wife can be

Monday - let’s see what happened today:

The kids wee pretty nice all day - even nap time went off without trouble. The weather
was fair, but turned windy and cool as the day went on. I wanted to take the kids to a
park (and let Logan run wild), but I was afraid that if my back flaired up again, I’d be in
trouble..so we just stayed in. When the wife got home, we went out to Wendy’s for a
quick bite, and I ventured off to the dojo. There has been a bit of discussion on anothe
rblog I read, dealign with taking time off to recover after injury. These last 2 weeks, Ive
been pretty lucky that I was decently well enough to go to Monday’s classes. No one else
has been showing up, and Im fortunate to have 2 very understanding senseis. I perhaps
shoudl have stayed home today, but a part of me really wanted to go. Maybe to stretch a
bit - a bit more than just layign in front of the TV at home. I did some kicks, even impact
stuff with a kick shield. Held up pretty well. Of course, I was taking it easy - Im
stubborn, but not stupid. Only a few times did I get a tinge in the lower back telling me to
slow down. After class, (we wrapped things up early), I was afraid to come home - if I
coem home too early, and Logan is stll awake, putting him to sleep becomes 10 times
harder. So, I went to Walmart - and walked around a bit. Shouldn’t have done that.
Tweaking started in the back - and after I got out of the truck (upon returning home), it
was hard to walk for a bit. It went away after a few minutes, but man - I think I will skip
this weeks Muay Thai class, and see if it has any effect.

On a seperate note : the wife has been doing a wonderful job of cleaning the house.
Clearing out old unused toys, and making room for things we are keeping. She’s been
asking me to take a few things of mine out of the living room. A travel trunk(my magic
show stuff), a DJ speaker, and a few minor things. All of which needed to have space
made for them in the garage. Can’t rearrange the garage, cause the kids area attached to
me at my hip. Only time to clean is when the wife gets home, and by then , my back was
killign me, or I had to head off to the dojo. Last night, after getting both kids down to
bed at a reasonable hour, she told me “no more foollin around” untill I get my things out
of the living room. I translated this into guy language: Next time you want sex, clean the
living room first. I was turned off by this concept, and headed off to watch some tv. So,
tonight, after I get home from the dojo, I ask her if she would mind rubbing my lower
back - cause it started to hurt. She asked if I would mind getting my things out of the
living room like she asked me too. It was funny at first, but what a bitch. I think physical
pain trumps non-removed clutter. I transported all the items to the garage, and was
tempted to kick her new bicylcle out of the garage, to make room for my recently deposed
itmes. But that;s ok - she has to want something from me sometime before I die - and
when she does - BAM - she can kiss my hiney. Time to start looking for that 18 year old
massage therapist.

Kung Fu note: I overheard som ekids talking about Drunken Style tonight Drunken is a
style all to it’s own, but can also be applied to the other animals styles as well. They were
debating whether there was a drunken snake style. This started me thinking - I believe
that while you probably CAN incorporate drunken in the snake style, snake style itself
(when done true to the form), has the same elements of drunken (staggering, swaying,
feigns, and so forth).

On a sad note: The jujitsu instructor is as am impass with the people who own the
school.. She’s tired of their song and dance about advertising to get more people in (to the
jujitsu class). She made the comment tonight that if things don’t get better within the
next few weeks, and’ll have no choice but to move one. This seriously blows. I love the
art - and appreaciate it so much more learning from an older woman. (Meaning if some
old broad can use the techniqies properly, I KNOW they will work if I use them as well).
This wasn’t said out of disrespect - she often uses that phrase herself. She said she’ll see
me to the next rank (green belt), but may leave after that. SO now Im thinking “what the
fuck am I supposed to do?” Im stuck at this place for another year or so -if she leaves
and goes somewhere else, I can afford to pay dual tuitions. Maybe I can get into the class
if she bings me in as an asistant. hmmm - something to think about,

Back pain, and interuptions

Here we are again - with me having missed a lot of days (and a lot of good blogging
material).

I was reading another blog (http://eccentricfather.blogspot.com/), and read about his
misadventure with a curtain rod. In the spirit of “Im glad they didn’t get that on tape”, I
relate the following act of stupidity....

My back has been killing me. Again. I’ve been taking it easy (cept for that Thursday
night Muay Thai class), but the pain came back with a vengance. I’m starting to think
that I may have cracked my tailbone somehow....but on to the stupid shit..

(STUPID SHIT #1) I finally get both the kids to sleep - and start to get a little romance
going on - and just as the truck topped the hill - BAM - felt like 2 hot spikes shot straight
into my lower back. I’d love to look back on that as some new erotic experience - minus
the leather and whips - but truth is - it fuckin hurt! Talk about ruining a moment.
Anyways, afterward, I put some blankets on the floor , add a heating pad to my back, and
drifted off to an embarrased slumber. About 6am, Logan joins me, and started crying that
he wanted the paci (he of course left it in his bed). He saw daddy stand up, then saw
240lbs of daddy come crashign back to the floor. Pain shot thru the same area - lower
back - right where the butt bone is. I managed to crawl to his bed, recover the paci, get
him back to sleep - ---then it was time

(Insert interuption at this point : Logan woke up screaming, which also woke up the baby)

STUPID SHIT#2:

Ok so Im leaving the Spiderman party, and need to get out of the costume. I pull into a
7-11 parking lot, manage to wiggle thru the front seats, and lay down in the back. (THe
rear seats are folded down). I wiggle and writhe for 10 minutes, trying desperately to get
that friggin zipper down - it wont budge, and I still hurt, so I cant just reach up and grab
it. When I finally got the costume off - and got the regular clothes on, I found out that the
Child Safety Locks were activated. This means that the rear doors won’t open from the
inside. Soooo, I had ot wiggle between the front seats again - and finally was sitting once
again in the drivers seat. If they have a tape of all that, someone is gonna get a hell of a
laugh.

Due to the waking of the Sith Lords, and my back pain, I continued this entry till the next
day - It’s now Sunday night, around 10:30pm. Back was sore for the entire day - and
magically, around an hour ago, the pressure released. Still tender, but I can move better,
and the pain has definitely lessened. The wife belives that Im having Sciatica - the
pinching of the sciatic nerve in the lower back. I know I have a lot of nerve - but I wish
this one would stop being messed with!

Sometime this week , the new jujitsu instructor had said that he would test me. Im hoping
my back will be ok for the few hip throws that I have to do. But Im seriously rethinking
the Muay Thai class this Thursday. Maybe, if I dont take the class this week, I can get a
better idea of it’s role in the back pain. I sure hope this back pain is a fluke, and not
related to the kickboxing class - I really like it. Not so much as an arts form, but it really
gives me a good cardio workout. On the other hand, it’s not worth it if it’s gonna mess
me up for the next 2-3 days afterwards.

Well - sittign here is one of the positions that my back seems to not want to tolerate as
well, so Im moving downstairs to the couch. Thanks for hanging in there, and reading
this far.

Shannon

PS. If anyone knows the publisher of the blog "Miracle baby" miraclebaby , please let em know that we're wondering if all is well. They haven't published since Easter.