Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Two-fer Tuesday

Two-fer Tuesday is going old school this week!


At Wes and Corin's wedding in Colorado in 2005.

At Chad and Meredith's wedding in 2007.


Friday, June 25, 2010

The best you've ever looked pooping. Really Huggies?

Maybe I'm a little behind the times, but denim diapers, really? What's next, a wife-beater with the denim diapers? Is anyone really buying these new denim diapers from Huggies? I might just boycott the brand because of the denim diapers. Huggies said the reasoning behind the diapers is as follows from the NY Times:

As for Huggies’ new diapers with a denim pattern, research conducted by the
brand found that 40 percent of mothers wear jeans most days of the week and 57
percent buy jeans for babies within their first six months.
“We know that moms live in jeans,” said Stuart Schneider, senior brand director at Huggies.
“It’s a very fashion-forward trend.”
The brand has sold jean diapers for limited periods in more than 20 countries, beginning with Israel in 2007, and stores in the United States and Canada will carry the products only in June and July, warmer months when pants might be eschewed.
“The jeans diaper could be used as a primary garment, in some cases, as a denim-shorts type of execution,” Mr. Schneider said.
Jen Drexler, co-founder of Just Ask a Woman, a marketing firm that specializes in reaching female consumers, said that jeans were a “uniform” for young mothers and that Huggies had identified a “great social currency moment” — not to mention the convenience. “It is significantly easier to have your kid run around in just a diaper, but you do feel a little bit like you’re neglecting the kid,” Ms. Drexler said. But the denim diapers, she added, could lead to “an explosion of diapers that don’t need clothing.”
The kicker, Ms. Drexler said, is that, when parents do first model the new
diaper on babies in public, it is apt to prompt not stern looks but the
opposite. “There’s always one mom in the play group who is in the know and
an early adopter of cool things,” Ms. Drexler says. “The first who has these in
the play group, wins.”

I don't even know where to begin with the logic that is in this article. Yes, Mom's wear jeans and we even like to dress our kids in jeans, but denim diapers? They are awful! I understand the convenience factor, but I don't think parents are neglecting their children when they have regular diapers on and no pants. Are the denim diapers stronger than regular diapers? Isn't it rather wasteful to throw away denim? Has anyone thought of that? I think Ms. Drexler is wrong when she says, “There’s always one mom in the play group who is in the know and an early adopter of cool things,” Ms. Drexler says. “The first who has these in the play group, wins.”
I'd make fun of the mom that put her kid in these denim diapers and I bet I'm not the only one.

What do you think? Would you put your kid in denim diapers? Am I wrong?

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Seriously, Dollywood

I took Monday off and Dave, Dylan and I went to Dollywood. Dave had gotten his season pass a few weeks ago when he and Dylan went. So I had to get in line to purchase my season pass. After I had been standing in line for a few minutes I realized that they only had two windows open! Seriously, Dollywood, there are ten booths for people to purchase season tickets and you have two of them open? And there was a huge line that wasn't moving. Dave and Dylan were already in the park so I called Dave to see if I could upgrade a daily ticket to a season pass somewhere inside the park and he said I could. I would have been waiting in line for at least an hour, probably longer if I hadn't been able to upgrade my daily ticket inside the park. Bad customer service Dollywood!

I made in in the park to see Dave and Dylan riding the cars around the track and Dylan driving. After that we had a quick lunch and headed over to the county fair section of the park. That is where most of the children's rides are. Dylan was able to ride the Ducks, Pigs and Bees all on his own. We didn't think he would sit there on his own, but I strapped him in and walked away and he had a great time on all the rides. Dylan and Dave also rode the carousal (just watching it made me dizzy). There is also a huge splash pad for kids to run through and play in which Dylan loved. He got shot in the head a few times because he was looking in the hole where the water shoots out!

After a busy few hours we put Dylan in the stroller and he fell asleep while Dave went on a few of the big roller coasters. Luckily only 1 of the 3 big roller coasters had long lines so Dave didn't have to wait long. We also went past the new Adventure Mountain area which looked awesome. You are clipped into a harness and get to climb on beams, rocks, ropes, etc.

It was a really fun day, but we were all worn out from the heat. I'm glad we went earlier in the morning too, Dollywood wasn't super busy.

Two-fer Tuesday

Dylan got to ride a few rides by himself including the Pigs!

He also had fun on the carousal with dad.


Friday, June 18, 2010

A daredevil? Or a 22 month old?

Climbing up on the arm of the couch and throwing himself off, jumping in the pool with no fear, careening down the driveway on his Sesame Street car as fast as possible. Do I have a daredevil on my hands or just a fearless 22 month old?

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Bonaroo Wrap-up

A few years ago Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys came out to Tennessee National to play a round of golf before a show he was playing at the Valarium. Anyone who knows Dave knows that he is a music fan and Adam always has Dave play with any musicians that come out to play the course (Alice Cooper for instance). So Dave played with Ken and they became friends. Ken would call Dave to get a golf course recommendation or to see if Dave might be able to get him on a course. Dave even set Ken up to play Des Moines Golf and Country Club with Marvin and Kyle (Ken said it was the coldest round of golf he's ever played, it was snowing when they got to the 18th hole! That's Iowa for you!).

Ken gave Dave a call a few months ago saying that the Dropkick Murphys were going to be playing at Bonaroo and that he and Dave should meet up to play a few rounds of golf before the show. So on Saturday Dave and Bob went to Chattanooga to pick up Ken and play 18 holes at Black Creek Golf Club. After their round they picked up Al (the lead singer of the Dropkick Murphys) and went to dinner and had a great time swapping stories.

Sunday Dave, Bob and Ken had an early tee time at Canyon Ridge Golf Club in North Georgia where apparently no one played too well. After the round of golf Dave and Bob took Ken to meet up with the rest of the band at a Holiday Inn just outside of the Bonaroo to get ready for the show. All of the tour buses (30 or 40) for the different bands that played on Sunday were lined up in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn. The artists are shuttled in to Bonaroo and their stage in 15 passenger vans, which is what Dave and Bob rode into Bonaroo on with the Dropkick Murphys. No parking and walking for them!

The first band they saw was Against Me, the guys in the Dropkick Murphys are big fans of Against Me so they all went to see their show. Festivals like Bonaroo are really the only time bands can see different band play since they are generally touring with the same opening act for a while.

The Dropkick Murphys had to get ready for their show so Dave and Bob took a walk around Bonaroo (there are 4 stages at the festival) and saw Zach Brown Band, Jamey Johnson and John Fogarty play. Then they went back for the Dropkick Murphys show and were able to sit at the soundboard backstage and watch the show since they were lucky enough to have artist access passes. During the second song of the Dropkick Murphys show a van pulled up and a guy with a bass jumps out with a couple of security guards and an entourage. It turns out the bass player from the Dave Matthews Band is a huge fan of the Dropkick Murphys and wanted to play a song with them, so he got on stage and jammed for one song with Dropkick. The Dropkick Murphys played an awesome show and had the crowd going crazy. They also said, "This song goes out to our good friends Bob and Dave!" before playing the song Forever. Bob said there were crickets when the dedication was made and then when the song started playing everyone was going crazy again. I am sure everyone was wondering who Bob and Dave were!

After the Dropkick Murphys show Dave and Bob went to see Phoenix play, ate dinner in the artist tent and saw Dave Matthews play. The Dropkick Murphys were headed to New Orleans for their next show so Dave and Bob said their goodbyes and got on the road home.

I'm going to say the only way I'd want to experience Bonaroo was the way they did!

Two-fer Tuesday

Dave's backstage/artist pass from Bonaroo.

Bonaroo 2010 -Main Stage
We'll have a wrap-up of of Dave's Bonaroo weekend posted tonight.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

A baby that doesn't want to go to bed

Dylan was not a good sleeper from the moment he entered this world. He would be up every two hours to eat and didn't really even nap during the day until he was 2 months or so. That made for a very tired Mama. I can honestly say I never thought I would sleep through the night again after he was born. But then, mysteriously, he started sleeping longer and longer at night. I remember the first night Dylan slept for 5 hours straight, I didn't know what to do with myself, I felt like a new person after all that sleep.

Fast-forward to 3 months and he started sleeping for 8 hour stretches and sometimes longer. I finally had a baby who slept. Then there was the short time when he was 6 months old and got up at 5am for 2 weeks, but really since then or shortly after he's been a great sleeper at night. Dylan goes to bed between 7:30pm-8pm and sleeps until 7am or so. There is the occasional waking up a night, but overall he sleeps really good. He also naps anywhere from 1-2 hours during the day. However, the past week he has screamed whenever he has been put to bed and continues to cry for 15-20 minutes and will finally go to bed after that. The first night he was up crying he was up for an hour and thirty minutes before he finally went to bed ( and yes we checked on him, got him out of bed, rocked him, etc). Finally we gave up and brought him to bed with us and he finally fell asleep (BTW, that was the first time he had ever slept with us, I don't know how you co-sleepers do it).

So, anyone have any idea what is keeping him up? Separation anxiety? Any ideas on what we can do to make bedtime go a little smoother?

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund

As I mentioned last week, Henry Granju's family is starting what they hope to grow into a permanent, endowed fund with non-profit status to provide funds for families who are struggling to pay the costs of drug and alcohol treatment for their children.
Click here to link to Katie's blog for more details and how to help.

Or you can visit Knoxville musician Carl Snow's website and download the song, In Leiu of Flowers he wrote about Henry for $1 with proceeds going to the fund.

Can't wait

I booked my flight for my trip to Chicago in July! I can't wait! I haven't been to Chicago in what seems like forever. It will be great to see Dana and Paul's new place and hang out with them. I will also be seeing my friends Sarah, Sandra and Beth, friends of mine from high school. That's right people, high school! There are 8 of us that have been friends since high school and still keep in touch. We don't get to see each other all that often since we are now living in Iowa, California, Illinois, Indiana, Florida and Tennessee, so I am super pumped to see great friends I haven't seen in a long time.

And I love Chicago. I think it's the different neighborhoods that I really like. It doesn't seem like such a big city when you spend time in the different neighborhoods. I do like strolling along Michigan Ave and shopping, but the different neighborhoods of the city have great shopping too! Sarah has lived in different neighborhoods the 8 years she's lived there so when I visit it's fun to explore her neighborhood with her and see what great shops and restaurants are close by. Dana and Paul just moved into their house in Irving Park in March and I've only seen photos and can't wait to see the house and their neighborhood.

Me, Sarah & Sandra during my last trip to Chicago in 2006. It HAS been forever!

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Everyone deserves justice

I first met Katie Granju when she designed the blog for the company I work for. She was (and is) friendly, helpful and creative in all her ideas for what would bring our blog to fruition. She wrote the first pieces for the blog and then handed it over to me to continue to update. Her guidance, confidence and support are what has helped me keep the blog going. After the blog project was finished I would see Katie at Knoxville Social Media Association Events and she would introduce me to new people and make time to chat even though she had a million things going on. I know she tried to do that with everyone, that is the type of person she is, friendly, motherly and outgoing. Something I really appreciated.

Which is why I've been trying to think of the right thing to say about the horrible death of my friend Katie's son Henry for awhile now (for background on what happened to Henry visit Katie's blog http://www.mamapundit.com/). As a mom I can't imagine losing my child and how I would go on afterwords. How do you get up in the morning and move forward? I'm sure it helps if you have other children, they would keep you busy and need attention, and I am sure other family members would be helpful too. Parents aren't supposed to outlive their children and now that I have a child I can certainly see why. When I saw that Katie's son Henry had died my heart stopped and my stomach dropped, I can't begin to imagine what she felt or what their family is going through right now. Especially in the wake of everything that happened to Henry prior to his death. What makes this all the more difficult is that the Knoxville Police Department seem to have not made much headway in talking to who brutally attacked Henry . Henry's family has been doing quite a bit of investigative work and has provided the police department with names of witnesses and other details to assist in the investigation. As Katie points out her her blog:
Yes, my teenage son had a serious drug problem. He was involved in high-risk activities with clearly dangerous people. In no way do we minimize or make excuses for that fact. However, that didn’t give others the right to kill an 18 year old boy who was a much loved son and big brother to three younger siblings, who are devastated. Henry could have recovered from his addictions and gone on to lead a full life as a wonderful, contributing citizen. He was only eighteen years old. Now he will never have that chance.

His family realizes he had a serious drug problem, I think everyone that reads this story should realize that, but it doesn't mean that those responsible for his death shouldn't be held accountable. That's like saying the homeless man that gets beat to death by a bunch of teenagers deserves it or he should have expected it because he was homeless. I would think people would feel outrage for what happened to Henry, I know I do.

So what can you do? Henry's family has asked that you comment on news stories, contact the Knox County Sheriffs Office and the Knox County DA's Office and express your concern about how this case is being handled.

If you would like to help the family, they are starting what they hope will become a permanent, endowed fund that will provide scholarships for families who cannot afford to pay for needed drug and alcohol treatment programs for their children. In lieu of flowers, we ask that you remember our boy and his struggles by considering a donation to:

The Henry Louis Granju Memorial Scholarship Fund
c/o Administrator: James Anderson
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
2000 Meridian Blvd.
Suite 290
Franklin, TN 37067

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Two-fer Tuesday

Pepper
Kobe

Peek-a-boo


This has been the cat edition of Two-fer Tuesday, I had to put all three of their photos up so none of them would get offended. You know how cats are...