Mr. Not So Cool...

Mr. Cool

Ditto

John 9...

"If you can do anything, do it. Have a heart and help us!"

Jesus said, "If? There are no 'ifs' among believers. Anything can happen."

No sooner were the words out of his mouth than the father cried, "Then I believe. Help me with my doubts!"

I love that verse....really, love it! Is there any more honest request or beg? I can relate so well.

Hello weekend....

I cannot back this up with biblical citation, but I am confident that
my week (starting last Sat) came from hell.

Heather is at a Beth Moore conference until tomorrow. I have three
kids, a Wii, a pool and a huge sigh of relief.

I hope you have as great a weekend as I will....

Shawn

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Evidence test over....party on, Wayne...

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The Cool Springs route...

If you are at Cool Springs Mall and see the guy with skin the color of baby powder running by with no shirt....honk and wave. It is me. (I will likely be chasing TB and screaming, "wait for me.")

I am now at 3 miles with a legit run. TB doesn't buy the "I had to stop for the cars" stuff anymore. And, I have faked every injury I can think of...

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2020954

Highlights....

(View of Madison Ave from our hotel room.)

While the trip to NYC did not go as planned, we did still have a great moments.

The Blue Man Group on Friday night was a terrific show. I imagine that their show is similar to how it feels to "drop" acid. (Full disclosure: You have probably figured out that I have never "dropped" acid, but I have dropped a hammer on my toe once.) It is impossible to describe their show unless you see it for yourself. Bizarre, entertaining, hilarious, freaky, mind-bending, etc....seriously, all of these things describe the program. It BLOWS your mind in a good way.

We ended Friday night by walking into Little Italy. We found a restaurant/cafe with an open table for two on the sidewalk. It was how I picture every New Yorker ends their day: 10:30 PM eating pizza and salad, sipping wine (sinners), and watching people go by. It did amaze us both that, as it approached midnight, more and more people were coming by looking they were heading OUT for the night rather than heading home. I guess when you are married with three kids, your schedule changes.

In The Heights was the best stage show I have ever seen. I think it will be one of those shows that stays around a very long time. I have already downloaded a couple of the tunes from iTunes (including raps) and am hooked. Doreen Montalvo, one of the cast, worked overtime to get us amazing seats six rows from the stage. We have thanked her a thousand times but once more will not hurt....thanks!

Although the rest of the weekend went differently than we had planned, we did have a fabulous dinner at Shun Lee Palace and then carriage ride through Central Park. On any other night, I might be mistaken for romantic...

(Heather's meal at dinner. Yes, that is a bird carved from a carrot.)

Jonathon and Ashley Clarke saved us BIG-TIME. What is the return favor/gift for good friends that spontaneously take your children for an entire weekend?

All in all, I am very blessed with a wonderful wife of eleven years. H is definitely the rock in the family. If you ever get stuck in an airport for 7 hours and begin to plot things that won't be mentioned in this blog, she is the person you need with you to say things like, "well, things could always be worse." I was not sure what she meant by that but assumed it was 1) a gentle reminder that she loves me, and 2) a veiled threat that she was about to make things worse for me.

-Shawn

NYC

Mom got very sick yesterday and could not take care of kids (Clarkes saved the day.) Continental wanted $1,300 to put us on flights to get home yesterday or earlier today. (You suck, Continental Airlines.) Flight is currently delayed by 3 hours arriving at 12:45 AM (again with the massive sucking by Continental Airlines.)

I need a plastic fork to end it all.....

Headed to In The Heights.....Times Square, you are packed.

NYC Central Park....great place :)

We are in NYC...very cool

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Port Arthur, TX

This is a few miles from where H and I grew up and parents still live....

Yeah for poison...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/19/us/19PCB.html?ex=1371614400&en=78b8d124d1e542a7&ei=5124&partner=digg&exprod=digg

I am THIS ready to go....

It is Wed night, and this has been a long week. I came down with some
bizarre illness on Tuesday afternoon after lunch. It ended with a high
fever and a long night last night. I feel much better today but am
still sore. Weird...

Good news...heather and I leave for NYC on Friday morning. We will
have three full days of couple time with no kiddos. We have tix for
Blue Man Group on Friday night, probably tix for In The Heights Sat
afternoon and great reservations for Sat night dinner.

All of these plans assume that we will not sleep all three days waking
only to order room service. :)

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Secret Shawn Trivia...

Here are ten tidbits about Shawn that you may not know... (Although reading this list may acquaint you with me, it will probably make you less smarter.)

1) I like numbered lists. Ok, that one was a softball to give us a good starting point..

2) I have an unhealthy love for this salsa. As the Simpsons would say, it is filled with "heady goodness." We probably go through at least 2-3 bottles per week. It is that good. I like its greeny goodness. It is called Salsa Verde which is Spanish. Roughly translated it means "from the earth to your stomach....deliciousness in a pre-packaged bottle of heavenly tasties." I only know this because I recently went to Nicaragua and learned Spanish while working for an orphanage.

For real, if your wife does not buy this salsa then it sucks to be you. And, if you are a wife, I just got caught being sexist and over-generalizing. Sorry...
3) I scored a 101 on my last Civil Procedure test. Sadly, I was as surprised as you are right now.

4) I really love that salsa.

5) I truly like my co-workers. We have a really fun group of people at work. (Except for one person, and you know who you are.) Most people do not make me laugh, but we have, at least, three people at my office that will make me hurt laughing. JB hurt me recently with his Starbucks story. Wow, I choked on funny.

6) I recently lost 20 pounds. Heather says it is because I can think about exercise and lose weight. That may be true, but not if I am eating another bowl of ice cream while I think about exercise. It is probably more closely related to TB making me run. He also calls me horrible, hateful names when I fail...

7) Dave Chappelle is really funny. I only know this fact because someone told me.

8) I have a magical gifting for Webkinz games. I have so dominated that cow driving the truck that I wait at any moment for that annoying mother bird to call me out as a grown-up playing a kid's game. She has no idea that I have an almost perfect score at the shooting game on Wii Play. But, then again, how could she?

Bring it, truck driving cow and mother bird characters.....
9) I just ate the whole jar of that salsa in that picture. That is 100% true.

10) My family is the coolest family. Heather is funny, smart and always has the right remark for my twistedness. Mia already thinks like a grown-up (which is scary.) Ethan has no inhibitions or fears and is the coolest little boy I have ever met. Ella Kate is huge, fun and likes to say "dada". She also makes animal sounds.

I blogged for 20 minutes instead of studying.

-Shawn

Hug those trees...

(Picture: Albert is "praying" you buy his book.)

Now that my wife is a green tree hugger, I have to post this link from the FOUNDER OF THE WEATHER CHANNEL (ie: he invented the weather.) He completely debunks global warming and is not a big Al fan.

Enjoy!

Global Warming is not real / Al Gore is wrong

Boys are awesomer than girls...

I was walking up the stairs tonight with Ethan while carrying his clean sheets. We had been talking about something random (probably either Buzz Lightyear, Zurg, Darth Vader or poop.) We had this discussion as we walked...

Ethan: "Daddy, you can't touch the walls or you will lose points."
Daddy: "Uhm, OK. How many points do I have right now?"
Ethan: "Well, you don't have a lot or you don't have a little. You have, like, 6 points right now. 100 is a lot.
Daddy: "Ok, I need some more points. I won't touch the wall."
(We are now in his room.)
Ethan: "I have, like, 9 points, Daddy."
Daddy: "Cool. I need to get some more points. How many do you have again?"
Ethan: "Uhm, I have, like, 6 points which is more than 9 points right now."
Daddy: "Well, kiddo....9 points is actually more than 6 points. I thought I had 6 points and you had 9 points. I think you won the game."
Ethan: (Long pause) "Hey, Daddy?
Daddy: "Uh-huh"
Ethan: "You can't touch the wall or you will lose points."

Boys are great because 1) there was no game until that moment, and 2) he and I both agree that he won the game.

Time to study....good night!

Which Majors Make the Most? - Freakonomics

I love the book Freakonomics. It is a nerd read, but I promise you will be addicted. I don't agree with every view, but is incredibly entertaining and unique.

The authors' blog is always interesting. How much is your college major worth? Maybe not as much as you think...

I got a Music Ed degree with no desire to teach. Of course, it could have been worse. I could have gotten a Communications degree!. (sorry Ryan )

http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/06/11/which-majors-make-the-most/

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Sweet relief....

There is no relief like finishing a huge test. I just completed
pouring ALL of my limited knowledge onto a blue book for my mid-term
in Remedies. I feel strangely confident of my answers.

Flying down the interstate while listening to Coldplay's fantastic new
tunes is a great way to celebrate.

Unrelated, I had to have an old filling removed and re-filled. I have
the dubious distinction of being one of Dr. Chad Follis' most
novocaine-immune patients...ever. He probably injected me for 30
minutes until I finally just lied and said it was numb. Strangely
enough for me, boredom is almost as painful as tooth drilling.

Because of my massive dosage, I did speak like a mental patient for
most of the afternoon. I realized that English has way too many S's. I
was told tonight that it is the most common consonant, but Mr Drool
had already figured that one out.

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Fun Days

(The "big girls" had their own private table at dinner. Cuteness? Yep...)

It is amazing how quickly I can swing from going crazy with the kiddos to can't get enough. Saturday's are usually a good example of this phenomenon. Because I had them for the majority of yesterday, I think it was amplified.

Ethan and I butt heads over the smallest of things. He can be a stubborn, obstinate male (which he learned 100% from ME!) The funniest part is how I can be ready to pull out my very short hair in one moment and laugh hysterically at him the next moment. In his infinite wisdom, God granted Ethan the ability to know the precise funny comment for many of his worst moments. It has kept him alive thus far...

We cut mine and Ethan's hair today. Heather held him for 10 terror-filled minutes while he screamed and I cut. Neighbors, please do not call the police.

Things I learned today:

- Heather has infinite patience
- I do not have infinite patience
- Mia is not little anymore. Her heart is made of gold.
- Ethan is my boy. His mind is a wonderland.
- EK has a personality and I love it....

Today was a great day of haircuts, pool time, Wii, Panera, desserts, more Wii and, finally, hanging in the Bonus Room for an hour while the kids entertained us. This is truly a blessed life...

PS - Not to interrupt that angel's harps, but I have a Remedies test on Tues night and that part sucks.

Random Friday Schtuff....

Heather: (6 AM'ish) - "I don't feel so good..."
Heather: (9 PM'ish) - "I don't feel much better..."
Between those times, poor Heather has had raging food poisoning. I have never had food poisoning, but it is apparently your bodies' game to see how many times you can puke in one day. The sounds alone are painful. It is horrible. She is sleeping soundly, and I hope she feels better tomorrow!
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Ethan: "Daddy, where did you hide the Wii remote?"
Daddy: "I'm not gonna tell you."
Ethan: "PLEASE!"
Daddy: "Ok, I hid it in my sock drawer."
Ethan: "Haha, now I know where the Wii remote is and can play whenever I want. Haha!"
Ethan: DRAMATIC PAUSE
Ethan: "Uhm, Dada....where is your sock drawer?"
Daddy: Internal smile and mental note for blog
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The new Coldplay record is wicked good. You cannot live a successful yuppie life without it.
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I was able to make it to the office for one hour today. We took one of our buses to tour our new office building in Cool Springs. It is about .5 miles from our current place, but it is going to be a cool move. It is top floor of brand new building with a killer view. Also, we have two verandas so we can smoke cigars like on Boston Legal. (For all of you Baptist readers, of course "smoke cigars" is code for "fellowship."

Duane Ward does nothing small or unimaginative. Chalk one up for the bossman...
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We have kicked in our summer hours for the office -- work until noon on Fridays. Aside from the paycheck and lack of oral knowledge, I am almost a dentist.
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I watch Battlestar Gallactica and you can't stop me...

Do something dumb....check!

As a kid/teenager, I perfected the art of doing dumb things and injuring myself to some degree.

There was the time that I fell while slalom water-ski'ing and the board split my head. Rather than ruin the bachelor party, we wrapped a shirt around my head. I do not remember much of the rest of the day due to massive blood loss, but Heather did have to eventually shave my head for the bandage.

There was the time that I cracked my shin on a ten-speed pedal while trying to jump off curbs.

There was the time that I seriously cut my fingers while popping balloons in the basketball nets of our church gym with a pair of scissors. (Incidentally, Heather cleaned up much of the blood on that one and love was born.)

There was the time that I punched through a window with the encouragement of big brother John. I actually did it once with no damage. It was when he said, "I bet you can't do it again" that the blood flowed.

There was the time that John and I rode our bikes with fishing poles, and I hooked my leg on the down pedal. That one hurt....

There was the time that John and I were jumping between beds in a dorm room. He "assisted" my jump with a push, and my head broke my fall by striking the corner of a chest of drawers. Stitches, here we come...

There was the time that I fell into the open dishwasher at age 2 while chasing JOHN as he baited me with a Hot Wheels car. Yep, more stitches...

It does not take the Holmes/Watson duo to notice two patterns:
1) I bleed fairly often
2) John, my older brother, is the devil

Unfortunately, I cannot blame this one on John as he lives in Europe (and hates America.) I was running the TV cable through the wall in my office this morning. It had been left exposed on the outer wall, and my perfectionist mind could not function another moment. Well, the improvised hammer, scissors for a chisel, pulley system and "grabbing" device all functioned according to plan. However, my step stool (chair) did not.

Life lesson: being parallel to the floor at an altitude of 6 feet is bad news.

Luckily, the wrist is not broken, but it isn't great either!