As I type this, Luc is in the doc's office hoping to get his cast removed. I think they might still put a splint or support but hopefully he can get the cast removed. I guess it gets removed no matter what, it just depends on the X rays whether he gets another one. I have been offering up healthy "drink milk" reminders these last few weeks. I know he is tired of having it on. He says it smells funny. We take him at his word.
My thoughts and prayers go out to Fred (Amber's dad) this week as he lost his younger sister a few days ago. It is just a travesty how the situation came about and I really feel for him right now. It was sort of sweet that Mary (Amber's mom) had Karah over earlier in the week to help take his mind off of things. She is just about the sweetest, most caring girl and I am sure it helped cheer him up just a little. I know he has a soft spot for all of his granddaughters just as he did for his daughters before that.
The soccer every night of the week and twice on weekends is getting tough to juggle (pun intended). It looks like it is going to keep us from going to the Fischer Reunion in the coming weeks. There is just too much going on.
Still hoping to get out and do a kayak trip on the Llano river. Scheduling this may require taking a weekday off and fitting it in. I need to coordinate with Jim and others to get this going. Jim works for the state so surely there is a holiday coming up. There is always a state holiday... ;]
I did take the day off earlier this week for our 14th anniversary. We had lunch together and went out to the Barr Mansion where we were married. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the day together. They have added a new pavilion out on the back of the property but the garden and the house itself remain pretty much unchanged. As I walked around, it felt like I was there only a short time ago. It didnt feel like years, it felt like weeks.
Sometimes I sit back and think, where did this life come from? It is funny how you have all this access to your memories. You can fast forward and rewind them but when it all comes into sharp focus, it doesnt seem possible that you are already at midlife. I feel younger than this.
;]
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Meet the teacher night...
We went to Luc's school last night and met the teachers. It was interesting and boring all at the same time. The information age we live in makes things entirely different now for the kids. The grades are accessible at all hours now instead of the way it was when we were growing up. The teachers put everything online and enter the stuff almost daily so we can monitor progress. At least when I was younger, we had at least 6-8 weeks of freedom before we got in trouble about grades. Amber and both agree that with Luc, we wont even worry about it unless we see something on his report card that raises concern. So he now has at least 6-8 weeks of freedom. I guess the more things change, the more they stay the same.
Actually it was funny, Luc has a couple of AP level classes and the reading list he received for one of them lists most of the books he read over the summer. He knocks them back about a book a week. Needless to say, he needs a challenge. Hopefully he will get something that makes him work a little this year.
It was interesting with him going from having two teachers a day to having 7-8. Of course following his daily schedule for an evening and you wonder why it seems that they make you go from one end of the school to the other with every class change. There doesnt seem to be any reason for it until you think, maybe this keeps them so pressed for time that they dont have time to get into trouble. Luc must be because he came home the other day and announced that he doesnt go to the bathroom at school because he hasnt had the time to find where one is. Yipes. I think he located one near a midday class so thankfully that is sorted.
Last night it was funny to squeeze myself into the school desks. Thankfully they are bigger than the elementary school ones where you end up with your chin on your knees when you sit in them. We went from class to class following Luc's schedule and learned a little about his day from each of his teachers. Lots of people attended and we drifted to the back of the classes most of the time to make room. I commented to Luc that we should just stay at the back because that is where his mom spent most of her school years and would no doubt be more comfortable there. ;] Several of his teachers were a little monotone for me with Amber commenting that she would have been put to sleep by them, easily. Coupled with the constant droning of the same messages over the intercom from the principal, there was plenty of eye rolling coming from her by nights end.
Karah got a new haircut. She was forced into it. She was taking a bath the other night and she decided that she needed to comb her hair to get the tangles out of it. She was using a huge fine tooth comb and things did not go according to plan. After trying lots of things to untangle it, Amber resorted to cutting the teeth out of the comb. Still not able to save it, she had to "trim" it out. So Karah got a haircut appointment the next day. She went short with it... and it looks great. She was so excited to go to school today that she was up at 3 AM this morning and couldnt go back to sleep. That means I couldnt go back to sleep.
In case you dont know this about me, I am a light sleeper and I wake up like clockwork at 6 AM no matter what time I go to bed. Well 3 AM is vastly different from 6 AM for me. The light sleeper part is a curse so here is Karah bright eyed and bushy tailed trying to get me to stay up and watch TV with her early this morning. Not the way I wanted to start Friday off.
We had lots of soccer practice this week and the kids seem to be getting into the team spirit and are now excited to go to practices. The first week brought lots of resistance from them. They said "Dad, we only like to play the games". Well all that is gone now and they are into it. One of Karah's teammates broke her wrist this week in an unfortunate dribbling incident. That will make the game tough as they already had a short bench to pull from. I think they only had 3 subs when they all show and now that will be down to two. Last week one didnt show so. Those girls play on a full size field (Adult sized) and now it looks like almost every one of them will be running the entire game.
I got to scrimmage with Luc's team the other night when the coach called for a couple of dads to join the boys on field. We joined the coach and assistant coach to help fill out the two sides. Me and the other dad that joined both played when we were younger so it was fun to get out there and mix it up with kids that had better batteries than we did. Forced us to make "smarter" plays on the ball. Ahem. The assistant coach was getting a little too into it by the end though. The other dad and I (he is French) both had the right idea for this. Help the boys by playing midfield and creating opportunities for them by dishing them lots of passes. The assistant coach was taking shots on goal, waiting in the box for corners and ended up actually tripping a kid up while going for the ball. I tried a couple of comments in passing that we were only there to help out the kids and that they wouldnt have to defend against players as big as we were. I said it toward the boys, mixed in with praise hoping he would get my drift. Not sure he ever did.
It was fun and I still have some moves, if I do say so myself (no one else would ;^)
The Maxman has had some allergy problems this week. Poor guy has my allergy problems and we are going to have to take him to my allergist sometime soon. Karah gets screened next week because we are making sure she doesnt have any food allergies. Max is the one that really needs the screening. He used to sleep with a stuffed animal, he now sleeps with a box of tissue at night.
The temps have been really pleasant this week and the bike rides have been a pure joy. I love cooler weather. Like a good internal combustion motor, I run better with cool dense air.
Funny thing happened the other day on the way to work. I got "caught" by another cyclist when I was cooling down close to work. He caught me on a 1/4 mile stretch between stop signs. He rolled up next to me and looked over huffing and puffing, didnt say a word. I looked back over at him and chuckled "hey". He took off to the left and I went right. It probably made his day to catch someone in full gear on an Italian race bike. I like to help out people where I can. ;]
Talk at ya later.
Actually it was funny, Luc has a couple of AP level classes and the reading list he received for one of them lists most of the books he read over the summer. He knocks them back about a book a week. Needless to say, he needs a challenge. Hopefully he will get something that makes him work a little this year.
It was interesting with him going from having two teachers a day to having 7-8. Of course following his daily schedule for an evening and you wonder why it seems that they make you go from one end of the school to the other with every class change. There doesnt seem to be any reason for it until you think, maybe this keeps them so pressed for time that they dont have time to get into trouble. Luc must be because he came home the other day and announced that he doesnt go to the bathroom at school because he hasnt had the time to find where one is. Yipes. I think he located one near a midday class so thankfully that is sorted.
Last night it was funny to squeeze myself into the school desks. Thankfully they are bigger than the elementary school ones where you end up with your chin on your knees when you sit in them. We went from class to class following Luc's schedule and learned a little about his day from each of his teachers. Lots of people attended and we drifted to the back of the classes most of the time to make room. I commented to Luc that we should just stay at the back because that is where his mom spent most of her school years and would no doubt be more comfortable there. ;] Several of his teachers were a little monotone for me with Amber commenting that she would have been put to sleep by them, easily. Coupled with the constant droning of the same messages over the intercom from the principal, there was plenty of eye rolling coming from her by nights end.
Karah got a new haircut. She was forced into it. She was taking a bath the other night and she decided that she needed to comb her hair to get the tangles out of it. She was using a huge fine tooth comb and things did not go according to plan. After trying lots of things to untangle it, Amber resorted to cutting the teeth out of the comb. Still not able to save it, she had to "trim" it out. So Karah got a haircut appointment the next day. She went short with it... and it looks great. She was so excited to go to school today that she was up at 3 AM this morning and couldnt go back to sleep. That means I couldnt go back to sleep.
In case you dont know this about me, I am a light sleeper and I wake up like clockwork at 6 AM no matter what time I go to bed. Well 3 AM is vastly different from 6 AM for me. The light sleeper part is a curse so here is Karah bright eyed and bushy tailed trying to get me to stay up and watch TV with her early this morning. Not the way I wanted to start Friday off.
We had lots of soccer practice this week and the kids seem to be getting into the team spirit and are now excited to go to practices. The first week brought lots of resistance from them. They said "Dad, we only like to play the games". Well all that is gone now and they are into it. One of Karah's teammates broke her wrist this week in an unfortunate dribbling incident. That will make the game tough as they already had a short bench to pull from. I think they only had 3 subs when they all show and now that will be down to two. Last week one didnt show so. Those girls play on a full size field (Adult sized) and now it looks like almost every one of them will be running the entire game.
I got to scrimmage with Luc's team the other night when the coach called for a couple of dads to join the boys on field. We joined the coach and assistant coach to help fill out the two sides. Me and the other dad that joined both played when we were younger so it was fun to get out there and mix it up with kids that had better batteries than we did. Forced us to make "smarter" plays on the ball. Ahem. The assistant coach was getting a little too into it by the end though. The other dad and I (he is French) both had the right idea for this. Help the boys by playing midfield and creating opportunities for them by dishing them lots of passes. The assistant coach was taking shots on goal, waiting in the box for corners and ended up actually tripping a kid up while going for the ball. I tried a couple of comments in passing that we were only there to help out the kids and that they wouldnt have to defend against players as big as we were. I said it toward the boys, mixed in with praise hoping he would get my drift. Not sure he ever did.
It was fun and I still have some moves, if I do say so myself (no one else would ;^)
The Maxman has had some allergy problems this week. Poor guy has my allergy problems and we are going to have to take him to my allergist sometime soon. Karah gets screened next week because we are making sure she doesnt have any food allergies. Max is the one that really needs the screening. He used to sleep with a stuffed animal, he now sleeps with a box of tissue at night.
The temps have been really pleasant this week and the bike rides have been a pure joy. I love cooler weather. Like a good internal combustion motor, I run better with cool dense air.
Funny thing happened the other day on the way to work. I got "caught" by another cyclist when I was cooling down close to work. He caught me on a 1/4 mile stretch between stop signs. He rolled up next to me and looked over huffing and puffing, didnt say a word. I looked back over at him and chuckled "hey". He took off to the left and I went right. It probably made his day to catch someone in full gear on an Italian race bike. I like to help out people where I can. ;]
Talk at ya later.
Monday, September 10, 2007
GOALLLLL !!!!!
Lots of that was heard in Pflugerville this past weekend. The kids all had a game so we were pretty much out in the sun the whole day. Karah played first in the morning with the boys games in the afternoon. Karah's team struggled to contain the other team and they ended up losing but she played well and did everything asked of her. They have lots of potential so I am sure they will come around. They are the Mamba's and their colors are green/black.
The boys fared better. Max's team played to a 4-3 win with Amber and I having to split up as the games overlapped. She says Max played well and is really coming along with his kicks. His team has a couple of players that have played a while with this same coach and they are good. I am hoping Max likes this and he seems into it so far. They are the Hot Rods and they are in purple/black uniforms. I think the coach was late on the uniforms and had to settle with what was left. Like I said, lots of teams in a big league so I am sure there wasnt many options left.
Luc was sidelined with an injury (cast on arm) but he provided support for his team as they manhandled the opposition to a 5-1 win. Both the coach and I told him that he should watch the game dynamics and see if he could learn anything during the game. The best part was that I told him this and then the coach told him the same thing a little later. I think he believes me more now. His team is called the Thunder and the uniforms are red/black. They had 12 shots on goal against this first team and I told Luc from the looks of it that he will definitely get some opportunities this season. He has a pretty good leg on him which will only get better considering this is his first season. He is also one of the bigger kids on his team. I think all of our kids' eyes lit up when they saw that they could lean on and push off of the opposing players.
We had a mad scramble leaving the soccer complex as we had one hour to get the kids home, fed, and Amber and I cleaned up and dressed well enough for a wedding. A family friend of Amber's got married down at the shore of Town Lake that evening. Amber's dad did the service and it was a really nice diversion to get out and do something adult oriented. I think I actually said "it is nice to do something that doesnt involve chicken nuggets" but you get the idea.
Talk to you later.
The boys fared better. Max's team played to a 4-3 win with Amber and I having to split up as the games overlapped. She says Max played well and is really coming along with his kicks. His team has a couple of players that have played a while with this same coach and they are good. I am hoping Max likes this and he seems into it so far. They are the Hot Rods and they are in purple/black uniforms. I think the coach was late on the uniforms and had to settle with what was left. Like I said, lots of teams in a big league so I am sure there wasnt many options left.
Luc was sidelined with an injury (cast on arm) but he provided support for his team as they manhandled the opposition to a 5-1 win. Both the coach and I told him that he should watch the game dynamics and see if he could learn anything during the game. The best part was that I told him this and then the coach told him the same thing a little later. I think he believes me more now. His team is called the Thunder and the uniforms are red/black. They had 12 shots on goal against this first team and I told Luc from the looks of it that he will definitely get some opportunities this season. He has a pretty good leg on him which will only get better considering this is his first season. He is also one of the bigger kids on his team. I think all of our kids' eyes lit up when they saw that they could lean on and push off of the opposing players.
We had a mad scramble leaving the soccer complex as we had one hour to get the kids home, fed, and Amber and I cleaned up and dressed well enough for a wedding. A family friend of Amber's got married down at the shore of Town Lake that evening. Amber's dad did the service and it was a really nice diversion to get out and do something adult oriented. I think I actually said "it is nice to do something that doesnt involve chicken nuggets" but you get the idea.
Talk to you later.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Hello... Hello again....
Alright so I ripped off a Cars song name but its getting tough coming up with witty titles. I am just a simple guy so you get what you pay for. Hope this finds everyone doing well.
Updates- thought I was going to have to dust off the old cleats last week. I got a call from our PAYSL boys soccer coordinator and evidently we were not the only parents who weren’t thrilled about going to practice in Hutto. I think 8 parent complained and the director wanted to see if I was interested in coaching. I was all for it but told him my concerns. Mainly centered around not negatively impacting the current coach. I don’t need to make any enemies over this so I told him that this needed to be a decision between the coach and someone of authority representing PAYSL/parents.
I guess they sorted it or the coach didn’t want to give up his team because basically nothing happened. I am wondering how many parents are just going to drop out of the league over this… We are going to stay. Like I mentioned previously, I like the coach and I think Max will benefit from him. All the games are in Pville anyway and the games start this weekend. The boys get their uniforms tonight. Karah (ultra organized team) had hers weeks ago.
I volunteered last Saturday and measured, marked and then lined a couple of soccer fields in anticipation of the season start this weekend. That was kind of fun, in as much as work can be fun. The center circle on field 8 has a “dent” in it where I let the string go slack when I was guiding the marking machine. Ah well, close enough for government work or as we were saying on the day… close enough for volunteer work. I was hoping to end up doing one of the fields our kids would play on but I ended up with the smaller ones. It is funny, the real young ones play a 3 on 3 soccer with no goalies. Then there is 4 on 4, 6 on 6, and lastly 8 on 8 with a goalie before they ever get to 11 on 11 (normal). You end up with about 5 different sizes of soccer pitch. Pretty cool.
I have a saddle sore. I am riding through it but it hurts. It is right on the seam of the chamois in my cycling shorts which is also along the seam of my underwear so it’s a constant reminder. Alright so letting you all in on my psyche has its proverbial good days and its bad ones. I guess this is a bad one… sorry I have to tell this stuff to someone and you are all a captive audience. ;]
On a positive, I am riding well. I feel great on the bike and seem to be making progress. The scale doesn’t show it yet but that will come. Converting all this “insulation” will be a long process so I am fine with it so far. I breathe better when I ride regularly so that has been a plus. Being an asmathic is no fun sometimes so relief is welcome however you can find it.
Looks like Granparents day is coming up at Brookhollow this coming Monday. Always a big day with the kids, my Mom is coming into town and Grandma and Grandpa Daughtry will be there as usual. I think Dad (Daughtry) already has a reputation from previous years to contend with. I think he left a big impression that one of the teacher remembers from when Allison was her student. Allison is getting her drivers license this year so you do the math. Lets just say its been several years. In the Daughtry’s case, it is probably funny seeing these two pop into and out of 4 classroooms (it was 5 last year and 6 at one point) in the attempt at spending time with each of them. I think a video feed of the hallways speeded up could qualify as comedy…just a guess though. My mom just loves to see the kids and have lunch with them as she doesn’t get to see them nearly often enough. It should prove a little easier this year with Luc up the street at middle school. She always has a precarious juggling act with 3 kids at 3 different lunch times all while bringing their favorite lunches. This years its just two so… Nice work Mom and I know the kids appreciate the effort.
I have our 14th anniversary coming up. Any ideas? (seriously)
Amber and I had lunch today. I have been seeing her a lot lately and its been great. She will probably get real busy in the coming weeks so I am enjoying it while I can.
Luc still has a two weeks to go in his cast. I think its starting to smell according to our reporters on the ground.
Happy Birthday Ginger! Today is the day we are calling her birthday. We are finding out that Ginger is lazier than we thought previously. Because Amber is home during the day lately she has been telling me that Ginger pretty much lays around all day saving it up for when the kids get home. She has been such a great pet. Everyone loves her and how could you not, I mean really. Look at that face…
Granted, she is now a year old but she is every bit as adorable as she was in this shot the day we picked her up. The kids absolutely love her and we are very happy to have her in the family. Even Max likes hugging on her and he is about as cuddly as a tall cactus.
We will have to get her a treat this evening to celebrate. Maybe another chew toy. She goes through them like Luc goes through socks (read daily).
Oh well, that’s about it. More later I am sure. ;]
Updates- thought I was going to have to dust off the old cleats last week. I got a call from our PAYSL boys soccer coordinator and evidently we were not the only parents who weren’t thrilled about going to practice in Hutto. I think 8 parent complained and the director wanted to see if I was interested in coaching. I was all for it but told him my concerns. Mainly centered around not negatively impacting the current coach. I don’t need to make any enemies over this so I told him that this needed to be a decision between the coach and someone of authority representing PAYSL/parents.
I guess they sorted it or the coach didn’t want to give up his team because basically nothing happened. I am wondering how many parents are just going to drop out of the league over this… We are going to stay. Like I mentioned previously, I like the coach and I think Max will benefit from him. All the games are in Pville anyway and the games start this weekend. The boys get their uniforms tonight. Karah (ultra organized team) had hers weeks ago.
I volunteered last Saturday and measured, marked and then lined a couple of soccer fields in anticipation of the season start this weekend. That was kind of fun, in as much as work can be fun. The center circle on field 8 has a “dent” in it where I let the string go slack when I was guiding the marking machine. Ah well, close enough for government work or as we were saying on the day… close enough for volunteer work. I was hoping to end up doing one of the fields our kids would play on but I ended up with the smaller ones. It is funny, the real young ones play a 3 on 3 soccer with no goalies. Then there is 4 on 4, 6 on 6, and lastly 8 on 8 with a goalie before they ever get to 11 on 11 (normal). You end up with about 5 different sizes of soccer pitch. Pretty cool.
I have a saddle sore. I am riding through it but it hurts. It is right on the seam of the chamois in my cycling shorts which is also along the seam of my underwear so it’s a constant reminder. Alright so letting you all in on my psyche has its proverbial good days and its bad ones. I guess this is a bad one… sorry I have to tell this stuff to someone and you are all a captive audience. ;]
On a positive, I am riding well. I feel great on the bike and seem to be making progress. The scale doesn’t show it yet but that will come. Converting all this “insulation” will be a long process so I am fine with it so far. I breathe better when I ride regularly so that has been a plus. Being an asmathic is no fun sometimes so relief is welcome however you can find it.
Looks like Granparents day is coming up at Brookhollow this coming Monday. Always a big day with the kids, my Mom is coming into town and Grandma and Grandpa Daughtry will be there as usual. I think Dad (Daughtry) already has a reputation from previous years to contend with. I think he left a big impression that one of the teacher remembers from when Allison was her student. Allison is getting her drivers license this year so you do the math. Lets just say its been several years. In the Daughtry’s case, it is probably funny seeing these two pop into and out of 4 classroooms (it was 5 last year and 6 at one point) in the attempt at spending time with each of them. I think a video feed of the hallways speeded up could qualify as comedy…just a guess though. My mom just loves to see the kids and have lunch with them as she doesn’t get to see them nearly often enough. It should prove a little easier this year with Luc up the street at middle school. She always has a precarious juggling act with 3 kids at 3 different lunch times all while bringing their favorite lunches. This years its just two so… Nice work Mom and I know the kids appreciate the effort.
I have our 14th anniversary coming up. Any ideas? (seriously)
Amber and I had lunch today. I have been seeing her a lot lately and its been great. She will probably get real busy in the coming weeks so I am enjoying it while I can.
Luc still has a two weeks to go in his cast. I think its starting to smell according to our reporters on the ground.
Happy Birthday Ginger! Today is the day we are calling her birthday. We are finding out that Ginger is lazier than we thought previously. Because Amber is home during the day lately she has been telling me that Ginger pretty much lays around all day saving it up for when the kids get home. She has been such a great pet. Everyone loves her and how could you not, I mean really. Look at that face…
Granted, she is now a year old but she is every bit as adorable as she was in this shot the day we picked her up. The kids absolutely love her and we are very happy to have her in the family. Even Max likes hugging on her and he is about as cuddly as a tall cactus.
We will have to get her a treat this evening to celebrate. Maybe another chew toy. She goes through them like Luc goes through socks (read daily).
Oh well, that’s about it. More later I am sure. ;]
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