A thin line between pride and shame.

A few weeks ago we took the kids to a Big Jeff concert down in New Jersey. They love him and for good reasons. He and his band are great for kids.
While there, we found out that there was a hot dog eating contest right around lunch time.
Anyone who knows me well, knows that I love to eat...a lot. I figured why not get a free lunch and do something for a good cause since the contest was part of a fund raiser.
So there I was trotting down a few blocks, on my way to my first "competitive eating" contest.
After giving my name to the organizers, I sat down at a table along with seven other contestants.
Two minutes later I had wolfed down sixteen dogs (no buns), just enough to tie for second place. First place ate seventeen. Since we tied for second place, we had to go for a thirty second "dog off" where I ate six more dogs to claim the only runner up spot.
As I am pretty competitive, I was disappointed not to win, especially losing by one dog. But still, I am proud: twenty two dogs in two and a half minute. What an accomplishment!!!! I am no Crazy Legs Conti but not a bad performance.
When I told the story, I had all kinds of reactions from "way to go!" to "yuk! you should be ashamed!".
The latter is right, I should be ashamed. Ashamed that I lost and I intend to eat my way to first place next year. Until then I will proudly display my second place trophy, in our kitchen of course.
Watch out Kobayashi.

Dr. Seuss meets Sesame street and a pumpkin

I tend to think that Dr. Seuss is overrated. Eileen does as good a job coming up with some silly rhymes to amuse the kids. However, I do like his books and so do the kids, so he was our theme for this year's Halloween.

Matthew dressed up as "The cat in the Hat" while Eileen and I were "Thing one and Thing two".

Nothing was more appropriate for our little pumpkin than a pumpkin and John was the cutest Elmo you will ever see.
We all had a great time at the party and I had a lot of fun seeing the faces on the people passing us by on the highway.

Birth order of children

I cannot take credit for the following.
It is an email that was forwarded to me. It is very funny and so true.

1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your
OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time,
breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pr e-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them,
and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and
discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper,
a frown--you pick up the baby
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten
to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to
rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until
you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it
off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether
they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if
needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to
complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,
Baby Zoo, Baby Movies and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry
cleaners.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter,
you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave
a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she
sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older
child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the
children.

Swallowing Coins (a favorite):
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to
the hospital and demand x-rays
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch
for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his
allowance!