Workplace Violence

I made a mistake. I returned to work with no pictures of the baby. BIG mistake. But I apparently made an even BIGGER mistake. Several of the ladies there didn't even know we were expecting. Good grief. You'd think I had insulted their womanly heritage since the beginning of time.

I'm still living in the Stone Age and don't have a digital camera. So pictures are on the way...it will just take a little while. Hopefully I can survive until then.

As If This Time of Year Didn't Have Enough Birthdays

I am pleased to announce the birth of Benjamin, my second son and fifth child. He was born at 3:09 in the afternoon, weighed 7 pounds 10 ounces, measured 18 3/4 inches, and complete with black hair and dimples. Both he and mom are doing great. They will be coming home tomorrow; until then, I am pulling full-time Daddy Duty (it's not "baby-sitting"...it's called "parenting").

Isaiah is excited to have another boy in the house and wants to share all of his toys with Benjamin. Rebekah is thrilled that there is another black-haired person, Mary is on worry-overdrive about them staying at the hospital tonight. Emma is also on overdrive, but for a different reason: she has been told it is her job to hold the baby's hand and to make sure Mommy has enough blankets, diapers, etc. for the baby. She has been waiting for this moment for a long time now.

As for me and Leslie, I think we have reached an agreement that this will be our last kid. Not only is it already like a horde of locusts at mealtimes, but it is starting to be a drain on us physically, mentally, and emotionally. I love my kids, but everyone has a point at which there is a limit - as the saying goes: "It is not requisite that a man run faster than he has strength."

Water: Friend or Foe?

I started competitive swimming when I was 8 years old and have been doing it off and on for the last 25 years. Okay, for a lot of that I wasn't really motivated, much to the chagrin of my sisters/coaches/whoever. Last year I received my certification in scuba diving, which is something I always wanted to do. My father was once really into sailboats and some deep, genetic part of me finds a certain amount of thrill in balancing the forces of wind, wood, and wave.

All that being said, one of my biggest fears in life is drowning. I have nightmares about it. I go into near panic when I see one of my kids struggling at swim lessons. Standing on top of the Eiffel Tower and leaning out as far as I can doesn't provoke the same terror for me as being out in the ocean and thinking about how DEEP the water is.

Lower Frog Jump, Tennessee

It's official. It exists.

Ahhh! The Weekend!

Weekends are good. I'm glad someone thought up the idea. There are times when I feel a little selfish about wanting to just spend time alone. When I DO get some alone time, it never seems to be long enough...even if I spent ALL DAY in my room reading, plotting & scheming, or whatever. I think it might be a bit of a hold-out from years past when I was either a college student, had fewer kids, or unemployed.

Just the other day I was looking at pictures of my kids, wishing I could spend more time with them. Then it occurred to me that I COULD spend more time...I just don't when I have the chance because of this "alone time" that I feel I need. It's a selfish thing.

In other news, the Russian Empire continues to expand: