IamMiike

Weekly Happenings

2010-04-09T22:01:00.000-07:00

Man oh man this week was hectic! Kaelah was so busy with school projects and I volunteered to help. My car stopped working. Georgia had surgery. Now we have Toby for the weekend. Whew, One day soon I'm going to sit on my big comfy couch and not move for a while.

Kaelah basically designed an entire book (including and innovative way to bind it) in about 36 hours. This includes all original photography by she and I. Not only did we take a ton of pictures with disposable cameras, but then we went and took pictures of the pictures! haha. sounds crazy but they ended up looking really cool. Here are a couple of them.

She did such an amazing job on her book. It looked fantastic when it was completed.

Wednesday after we got home from Nashville (Kaelah was getting tattooed) my car decided it was done functioning for the time being. We literally got home went into the house and came back out about ten minutes later to run to the store and it wouldn't start any more. Frustration.

In order to keep my arrangements to get Toby this weekend I had to take Kaelah's car down to Hohenwald on Thursday and trade it out with her mom's car which actually has a back seat.

Along with Thursday being filled with a lot of driving for myself, it was also filled with lots of barefoot walking. I left my shoes at home in support of TOMS and A Day Without Shoes.

Did you go without shoes on the 8th?

This morning I took Georgia to the vet so that she could have that pesky little cherry eye problem taken care of. I stood at the sign in desk filling out paper work and one of the tech took Georgia from me (I thought she was just going to hold on to her leash to help me out while I finish the paper work) as soon as I turned around Georgia was gone. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye. :( It made me rather sad. I at least wanted to tell her bye and that despite what she might be thinking at that current moment, Mommy and Daddy really do love her and this really is for her own good.

I did get to reassure her last night that things would be OK.

I left the vets office head hung low already missing my favorite bulldog and headed up to Hermitage to pick up little Toby. With Toby securely buckled up in the car I headed back home to meet up with Kaelah so that we could have a little picnic in the park near our house with a few friends in celebration of her birthday (after the fact). There was cake and cookies a lots of yummy things for Toby and I to get our nom on. Toby had fun with his little balloon that MammaBee gave him and just as much fun running around the park. We all sat and talked for a bit before packing up our things and going about our business.

When the three of us left we headed to the mall to pick up Toby some new shoes. We went to Journey Kids and found him some cool red high top Converse.

Then we made our way over to Target and continued to buy him adorable little outfits. I'll take some pictures soon.

After we left Target it was time to pick up Georgia and come back home so that Kaelah could get ready for work. After Kaelah left us, Toby and I cleaned up the room a little. Well, Toby threw things around the room and I cleaned up after him. That's more accurate. After Toby ran and yelled for a bit I could see his eyes were getting heavy. It was time for pajamas, chocolate milk, a song, and bedtime. After that, it was time for dads alone time, which leads me to my current location. Our back deck equipped with twinkle lights and the most amazing hammock you've ever laid eyes on. Oh, things are good.

I hope that all of you have a beautiful weekend, I know I will :)

Humpday Happiness

2010-04-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

I've decided to make Wednesdays "Humpday Happiness" Days. I will be posting pictures, passages, etc of things that make me happy this week. So here it goes!

This fat english bulldog named Georgia. She brings me happiness all day long every day of the week. Except for when she eats my shoes and sneaks out of the house to play in the creek and get as muddy as she possibly can. haha. I may not always like her but I always love her.

Disposable cameras have created a lot of fun lately. I always love when Kaelah and I go out to take pictures. Bringing film cameras back to life has put a whole new spin on things. I'm still debating on which Lomography camera to order.

Kaelah and I just ordered some awesome organic plugs form Omerica Organic. They sell a lot of cool plugs and tunnels as well as some really interesting bracelets and necklaces. They have some really awesome woods to choose from! I'm so happy that my lobes are finally at an inch. I ordered some of these sweet plugs so me and my ears can celebrate! haha

I finally caught that elusive little job creature. I will start work on the 19th at REI. It's an awesome little outdoors outfitter. I will be working in the bike department getting paid to do what I love which is fix bikes.

This picture! Apparently my son have a love for sugary cereal filled with marshmallows just like his day. Makes my heart happy!

I love to feel mother earth between my toes. There's nothing better than kicking off your shoes and standing in nice plush green grass or in a nice cool creek like in this picture. Puts my mind at ease.

This girl! Love, love, love everything about her. I especially love her when she slips and falls in the creek.

Photo Monday

2010-04-05T15:40:00.000-07:00

During the past few days Kaelah and I have developed an obsession with disposable cameras. We both really like the photos they yield. There's just something about their grainy appearance that makes me happy. I've taken to these analog cameras so much that I've considered purchasing a camera for us to play with. I just can't decide which one, I think i've narrowed it down to the following two.

The Holga 35mm

The Holga 35mm Pinhole

I know they look pretty similar in appearance but they both yield different style photos. The first one has a cool vintage appearance with nice color saturation and the second one has a really cool cloudy, dreamlike quality. I'll let you know what I decide and show you cool pictures we take with it.

Moving on to the point of this post. Here are a few pictures we've taken with our disposable cameras.

I am deeming Mondays as photo blog days. So, check back every monday for more fun pictures.

I should really stop this.

2010-03-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Once again, It's been ages since I've posted something. I guess I've been kind of busy. I'm still looking for that elusive little creature called a job. Blah.

Last weekend Kaelah and I kept Toby from Friday until Sunday evening. This was the first time that he has stayed over night with us. I was busy Friday afternoon getting the last few things out of my house in Nashville before we close on it so MammaBee (This is Kaelah's stepmother-ly nickname we have given her.) went to pick up the Tobster from his mom's house in Hermitage. I felt really bad because I was sure that this was going to create an unbearably awkward situation, but much to my surprise everything went incredibly smooth. The three of us arrived at home at pretty much the same time. I was worried I would pull into the drive way to find a frustrated step-mom and an even more frustrated toddler for fear that MammaBee didn't know how to operate the car seat. haha. Instead, what I found was MammaBee holding a happy little baby on her hip.

Once we all got home we loaded up into one car and ran out to pick up some things for the little one and then stopped at Panera where the three of us ate some dinner before returning home. It's so funny to watch Toby eat. You hand him a little piece of your sandwich and he snatches it from you and stuffs it into his mouth as fast as he can. Very similar to the way I eat haha. Once we got back home it was time for Kaelah to get ready and head out for work. While we were at Target MammaBee got Toby a cute little lamb that he loved...

Toby's Debut

He really likes his lamb.

On Saturday the three of us went to the TOMS style your soles event that our friend Merissa organized. It was a lot of fun! Toby was a big hit with all the girls. haha. He even coaxed our friend Lauren into giving him a chocolate chip cookie, which he devoured in about two seconds. With chocolate all over his face he was ready to walk around some more. After the TOMS event a bunch of us met up for some fro-yo at Sweet Cece's. I had the red velvet (which is awesome) and Kaelah had the raspberry pomegranate sorbet with lots of yummy mix ins. Toby shared with us but I think he preferred Kaelah's sorbet.

Later on that evening after Kaelah headed out for work I gave Toby a bath and fixed him some milk before bed time. and the result was...

Cool hair dude.

On Sunday Kaelah and I took our little Toby to see NanaBee and PapaBee. (This is what we nick named Kaelah's parents. haha) When we got there they gave Toby a bunch of cute little presents that he played with during our stay. After nice conversations, refreshing naps (pic to follow) and yummy Mexican food we headed back home to meet Sarah so she could pick up Toby. While we were at Kaelah's parents house Toby and MammaBee fell asleep together for a little nap.

Kaelah is going to kill me for this.

It's hard to believe that my whole world fits into one queen sized bed. :)

We were both sad to see Toby go. We had a great time and are looking forward to keeping him more soon.

Baby Steps

2010-03-18T22:14:00.000-07:00

Some of you may know this and some of you may not, but I have a 15 month old little boy named Toby that I haven't seen in a couple of months. His mom and I separated a little while ago and have had a hard time figuring out a parenting plan that works for the both of us. Unfortunately our little guy got stuck in the middle and didn't get to hang out with his daddy for a while. His mom has told me that he has learned a few new tricks since the last time I saw him. He is walking now most importantly. I'm sad that I wasn't around to see him do it the first time. That's something I'll never be able to recreate, his first steps.

Toby's mother and I have begun to resolve some of our differences, and as a result, I am going to see Toby tomorrow for the first time in over two months. I'm really excited, I'm not even sure what to expect. It's been so long since I have seen him and kids at that age grow so quickly. He's probably going to be as tall as me. I'll get to see him walk for the first time tomorrow. It breaks my heart that I didn't see it the first time, but tomorrow will be the first time for me to see him walk, and that's something that can be special to me.

Being a parent is a very complicated position. I guess I never really knew what to expect. I don't think anyone knows what to expect. I always thought that when you had a child you just instantly knew what to do. That's not the case at all. I also thought that when you had a child you just became a parent, almost as if you lost your own identity and just assumed this parental role. That's not the case either. As a parent I am still the same person I used to be. I still have to work at being patient, putting others before me and so on.

The one thing that is instantaneous in parenthood is the love that you feel for your child. As soon as I saw Toby for the first time I was overcome with love. He instantly meant the world to me from the first time I held him. I didn't know a thing about the guy and I immediately love him unconditionally. I still don't really know anything about him other than the fact that he likes sweet potatoes and chocolate milk. I guess we will get to know each other as time goes on. I'll learn more and more about him as he begins to talk and grow interests, and one of these days when he gets to be much older he will begin to understand that I am my own person and not just Dad.

One thing is for sure. I really love that little guy and I am going to work at being the best father I can be.

backkkkk

2010-03-11T10:20:00.000-08:00

Man it's been a while since I've posted anything. I have been a little busy with the daily grind. I have been spending a lot of my time searching for a new job. Me and the bike shop I worked at decided to start seeing other people. There's a new bike shop that is being opened just a couple of miles from my house. I talked to the owner about working there so maybe that will work out. It would be nice because I would be able to ride my bike to work.

I've been dealing with a storm of call from people inquiring about things that Kaelah and I have posted for sale on Craigslist. When I say that we posted things I mean that Kaelah posted her things and put my number for people to contact. haha. I said this was OK since selling things on Craigslist can be sketchy some times. You wouldn't believe the ridiculous stuff people do. I had this one guy call me about 10 times asking me questions about a printer that we had for sale. We had it posted for like 20 dollars. This joker wants to ask me all sorts of questions about it. Then call back later to ask more questions, just to call back later to try and haggle me on the price. Dude, it's a 20 dollar printer. Just buy it. How 'bout this, I'll tell you were our local landfill is at and you can retrieve the printer from that location. redic. You also get plenty of phone calls from people who are in desperate need of the item you have listed and are a barreling down the road in your direction to get it. An hour later. Nothing. We also had someone call us to ask how many copies pre minute our printer does. Really? It's a twenty dollar printer on Craigslist. Wait! Lemme grab my handy spec sheet! Some people...

Kaelah woke up feeling a bit under the weather today. Which is sad because it is extremely beautiful outside. She woke up feeling like death, so I ran out to the store and got her some meds. She is now asleep buried under her blanket with Georgia huddled up under her arm just a snorin' away. (Georgia is snoring not Kaelah haha)

Well, I guess I should get up and get at it. I have a job interview here in a bit, and a rather large pot of coffee waiting on me. Before I go I thought I would share a couple of pictures that made me smile in hopes that they may do the same for you.

I love their little faces. Especially the match that has been burnt.

Everything about this is filled with epic win.

If you would like to see other silly things I do on the interwebz you can view them here