Christmas time is here.  E has been going back and forth reading the toy adds from the newspaper and mailers.  He has decided he does not need all of the things in them.  Some of them are for girls and babies.  He does not want  those toys.  He is so funny it is beyond me.  This is the first year I can remember him doing this.  Going over the books over and over again reminds me of June and I growing up.  Gman will look at them but he does not study them like E.

It is very strange watching the two of them interact with each other.  They have issues but they are best friends.  June and I fought like cats and dogs.  We only got along when we had a common foe, hi Marilyn and Teresa.  The boys enjoy playing together.  They can spend time just being the same room and have very few issues.  I hope it stays this way for ever.  I know that in 2 years when Gman goes to middle school it is going to be hard on E.  He really does love and look up to his big brother.


We are ending November with a cold Kentucky rain.  It is 26 days away from Christmas and 31 days til then.  Beth has been very busy with her winter meeting.  The boys are getting ready of basketball with lots of practice.  I am just kind of treading water.  Not sure if this fall has been any better than last.  Not sure what I am doing other than going to work and then to bed.  I hope everyone has a good week.

Happy Black Friday everyone.  I hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving.  It was a good time at Bonnie and Mike's yesterday.  We got to see the newest member of the family.   Lukas was the best behaved person there.   Just eating, sleeping and pooping.  What a life.

  

Tiger and Petra did real good.  Now we can only hope that Petra can keep Tiger from being to bad an influence on the boy.  

Beth says she got about half of the Christmas shopping done today.  I am glad she went and not me.  I try to avoid the mall and Wally world most of the time.  This time of the year is even more of a mad house there.  I enjoy people watching but I really do not like that many people in one spot.  Not sure why but it just not my cup of tea.  Speaking of tea, anyone else like the Arizona Arnold Palmer Half and Half?  For tea in a can it ain't half bad (pun anyone?).  

So what is going to be th big gift in your household this year?

Saturday morning Blogging from my BB. I just got off work. Beth and the Boys are with Scouts heading to Louisville to see some bats. I have some free time but must remember to empty the dish washer. I am going to get some hot wings for lunch and watch some football.

E's Lost Tooth

Well as most people have seen E lost one of his front teeth at the B&G club yesterday.  He was so happy the at it had came out while playing football and not from any of us pulling it.  The other one on top is still very loose and Beth says she is going to pull it this weekend if it does not come out on its own.

Gman and E are playing basketball at the B&G club this winter instead of at Upwards.  I am not sure I am going to like this but I know the boys love Coach Larmont.  Gman is on a team with older kids.  He is either the youngest or next to youngest on his team.  E is either the oldest or next to the oldest on his team.  Gman is still the most athletic member of the family.  E is just as rough as can be.

E seems to be very much out of control.  He has his father's temper.  It takes a lot to get him mad but when he gets there get out of his way.  No one scares him when he is mad.  I saw him standing toe to toe to a kid at least a head taller than him.  The issue was who's turn it was to throw the football.  The bigger kid went to push him back and E got the look in his eyes like he was not going to take it. The other kid either knew the look or something because he backed down very fast.  I called E over to me and made him count to 10 to calm down.  The counting worked  so well with Gman but not so much with E. It took him 3 times to actually count slow enough to understand him.   I want to teach him the self control I never had.  I hope find better ways to do this.

Well when the other tooth makes its exit I will let everyone know.

Morning Joe and Questions

I usually catch about 15 mins of Morning Joe after the boys go to school and before I head to work. I usually do enjoy the show because it makes me think about what ever the topic is (usually politics but sometimes not). This weeks show have not been very good but have still got me thinking. So here are some questions I would like to ask Joe or his many guests/cohosts.

First - Isn't a little early to start revisionist history on the last Bush White House or are you doing it just because Bush's book came out?

Second - If the last election was about the Tea Party wanting change in DC from how things were done in the past, why are you saying President Obama needs a "grown up" to deal with the way Congress works?

Third - If Mitch Mcconnell had wanted to be invited for a one on one with the President do you not think he would have asked for one?

Fourth - Why would Mitch Mcconnell, an obstructionist to be sure, ever want to look like he was talking or compromising with this White House?

Fifth - If you want us the stay calm and carry on, Why are you yelling on the show?

I may add to these when I edit this tonight. I know it is unlikely anyone from the show will read these but it still some things I would like to ask.
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Thursday night and sitting at home

I hope everyone has been having a good week.  It has been a fairly long week but it is almost over.

We have been having water pressure issues in the house.  The water has suddenly gotten much higher in pressure.  Beth got a gauge from a friend at work that shows it is about 90 psi which is about 10 to high.  It is not real bad but it makes the shower feel like one of those message shower heads instead of just a regular one.  Nothing else seems to be changed but it has taken a couple weeks to get use to the new pressure.  Hopefully it is not a bigger issue.

I also replaced the parts of the toilet in our bath room this week.  It was not the first time I had done this but the first with this toilet.  I had more issues with it that I ever thought about.  I could not remove the valve part by itself.  I had to disconnect the tank from the bowl to get to the gasket holding the valve to the tank.  When I was taking it off I cracked a portion of the sand for the tank.  The valve was attached to the tank not just with the threads but with some sort of adhesive as well.  I am not sure if it was a rubber cement or a silicon base but I could not get it to unscrew.  I tried so hard the plunger part of the valve broke off.  I now had a toilet in 3 more pieces than it should have been in.  I ended up at Home Depot with the tank and the newly bought parts attempting to get the bottom valve off of the tank. Judy from plumbing and a young man from the paint department helped me to get the seal off. They both went above and beyond to help out.  So something that should have been a hour job took about 2 days to finish.  With much fussing and extra work we no have both bathrooms fully functional again.  

Gman made the Honor Roll for the first 9 weeks  and E got all pluses or better on his report card.   I was so proud of both of them.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

Bear Trap

Its time to have a little geek update.  I have been playing with my netbook and the home network set up.  We now have 4 computers, the Wii, and the Blue Ray player all hooked into the home network.  I think I have reached the end of my knowledge on how it all should work together.  I can think see how I want it to work together but I am not sure how it will turn out because I have no master plan to make it happen.  I think it has become my bear trap.

So here are a couple of things I am thinking and tinkering with.  Productivity is somewhat of a joke right now.  The 4 computers have 3 different OS on them.  The boys desktop is a rebuild from parts I had leftover from odds and ends.  I took the HD and motherboard from my  Alienware and build it.  It is running XP pro and has a lot of life left in it. It will need more storage when the boys start using it for more school work.  So either an external HD or one of the old internal SATAs I have.  The laptop (Beth's) is a very good for her.  It is running Vista but she says it is fine for what she does with it.  It is the only computer now with Office on it (and so the lack of productivity elsewhere).  I could reload the old version Office 97 on the boys computer but they do not really need it yet.   My desktop is now running W7 (I did keep an old hard drive with XP and Ubuntu on it) and I loved it enough to upgrade the W7 starter on the netbook to W7 Home.  Firmware in the Wii and the Sony Blue Ray have them hooked to the router very well. 

My 2 current problems are  1: Sharing the printer and the 2 external HDs I have on the network  2: File and application sharing without buying new programs.   On the first problem, I put the printer and Hds on the network  through a Belken Hub when we got Beth's laptop.  They work fine for her but I have not taken the time to get them to work with the boys computer or the netbook.  I need more knowledge about how W7 workgroups are suppose to work to make it all work better.   The second problem is going to be a larger one.  Everything I read tells me what I want is a home server set up.  I know that Beth will not want another computer taking up space we do not have.  I also do not know how Windows Home Server will work across the 3 OS.  I do not believe that everyone is going to want a home server for their electronics.  So what are people going to do instead? 

My answer leads to another question -  Do I want to does this because I think it will be useful  or because it seems like fun to try to do?  The useful side includes looking into the future of the boys home work.  The wireless key they use now to get to the network (and internet) should be enough  for connectivity but it does drag when any other device is connected.  The wifi in the netbook, blue ray and laptop all have better bandwith so they show less drag.   At some point the boys will need better internet and access to the printer and HDs.   They will also want to play more games like PvsZ etc online and be able to stream music into their own room (can anyone say head phones?).   I know they are still young but it is coming.  I know the answer to the fun part is that I do enjoy it.  

So for those who know- its my bear trap.