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Since so many of you liked the post yesterday of Grant Hicing-up, here is another that came from the mouth of Grant.
Grant was in his bedroom and I walked in to see what he was doing. On getting off of his bed, he hit his head...
Grant: Ow, I bamed my head.
Dad: Well be careful, those bams can hurt.
Grant: I know.
Grant then walked through his doorway where he then hit his head on the door jam
Grant: Ow, bamed again. My head keeps bamming, the bams just wont leave me alone.
Grant: Mom, I have the hiccups and need some sugar... they keep coming up.
Mom: Ok, well let me here you hiccup first then you can have some.
Grant: ...
Mom: ...
Grant: ...
Mom: I don't hear any hiccups Grant.
Grant : Mom, they wont stay down, I keep Hicking-Up.
Mom and Dad: LAUGHTER
As of today, Ashton no longer uses Training Wheels on her bike!
I'm one proud papa!
I snapped some pictures from my new cell phone, here they are.
Tonight after I got done doing some work, Corri and Ashton took off for a Brownie meeting and Grant and I just hung around. We were sitting in my office when he asked to put on my headphones. So I put them on and let him jam out to some rock and he went nuts.
I grabbed the camera and snapped some PICTURES that are priceless!
First off the PICTURES.
This past weekend was packed FULL of activity. I picked up Austin Friday afternoon and Kamie got in that evening. Saturday, we all packed up and went to Austin's second baseball game of the year. It was a lot of fun and the kids enjoyed it. Since Ashton's birthday was on a Thursday this year, we decided to put the party off until the weekend.
Ashton let us know, that she wanted to have her party at my moms house with all her friends there. So Sunday, we loaded up 3 cars here at our house and all treked up there. It was a grand adventure for the kids to say the least. There are monkeys up there (no, really), 4 wheelers, fishing, horses, and the list goes on. We had 7 kids running from one end of the ranch to the other.
All in all, Ashton had a great time with all her friends, as did they.
Ok, well maybe not the last chance for her, but this is the last week if you wanted to help support her fund raising efforts. It's all over on Wednesday!
HERE IS THE LINK again to order anything.
For those that only read this via the email updates, that link is:
http://www.innisbrook.com/acb/basket/index_child_reg.cfm?internet_id=I91953B&DID=7
If you have ordered something, please shoot me an email so that we can make sure to keep our eyes open for it when it gets in.
Ashton thanks everyone who has ordered so far, she is really looking forward to this one!
School has started for Ashton and that means Fundrasing has begun. I know all of you that are not close to Houston are just broken hearted that you can't participate, BUT WAIT! This year, Post has setup this really cool online version!
That's right, you can do some shopping, pick out some great food, chocolate, gifts, wrapping papper, etc and Ashton gets credit for your online shopping! WooHoo! I know this just makes everyones day!
Ok, I'll stop typing now so that you can get to the good stuff!
Click HERE to get to the shopping good stuff. Once you checkout, there is a School Selection and Student Credit selection, this link will fill all that in for you so just enjoy all the great stuff you can find!
The direct link is: http://www.innisbrook.com/acb/basket/index_child_reg.cfm?internet_id=I91953B&DID=7 for those of you that only read these journal entries via email. Thanks in advance! And anyone that actually orders something will get a phone call and a thank you letter directly from Ashton herself! What more could you want???
Ashton tested last year in the spring for the First Grade Gifted and Talented program at school, which is called Horizons Class. At first we thought she made it in. We got a letter a month later that led us to believe she didn't. Today we got the letter that in fact she did make it in along with the permission slip to join the class or "cluster" as they call them now (what the hell is wrong with the names we all grew up with).
Anyway, we always knew she was gifted and talented, it's nice that the Cy Fair ISD school system got their act together and recognized it as well.
I'm a proud papa :)
This morning I was the first one up in the house. I've been pretty sick the past two weeks and have not been out of bed all that much, so getting up so early was nice for a change.
Around 7:05 I went to go start the coffee and Ashton was already up sitting in the living room. I asked her why she didn't knock on the door and let us know she was up to which she replied "Dad, mom doesn't like to be woken up early".
True, one point for the kid.
I sat and talked with her for a bit, which is always great. She asked me if mom was up yet and I told her no, I was letting her sleep a little bit longer to which she replied "Good, then you can get her coffee going".
True again, another point for the kid.
I watched the kids this morning and they both pretty much left Corri alone until after she had her cup of coffee in hand.... THEN they started asking for things.
Kids can be pretty observant.
The result is in...
"First Grade Is Cool" - Ashton Meri Huff after returning home from her first day of first grade.
Today was "The Move" here at the Huff House. I packed up my office and moved it to the dining room and Ashton moved into my old office. The kids now have their own rooms. We thought it time and with the end of summer here the timing seemed right. So Ashton will start first grade next Wednesday with her own room.
The upside for me is that I have a much bigger and cooler area to work in, the down side is that it's much louder in here. Hopefully that will change a bit once Ashton starts back to school... sigh, we'll see.
I understand there comes a point in every parent’s life when their children talk about something that is over their head.
Conversation overheard this morning at the Huff House:
Players:
Dad – Played by Brian Huff
Daughter – Played by Ashton Huff
Son – Played by Grant Huff for comic relief.
Scene:
Interior of the Huff House, we see the living room with a table and chairs from the breakfast area scattered around. It’s obvious someone has mopped the floors. Several Care Bear stuffed characters sit on the different chairs that all have been lined up into 3 rows.
Dad
You guys playing airplane?
Ashton
No, we’re playing space ship, and you are standing in our engine room.
Dad quickly moves away fearing a serious burn.
Dad moves into the kitchen to make coffee.
Dad:
Where are you guys heading to?
Grant
SPACE!
Ashton
Well, we were hoping to make it to Jupitor, but as we got near Mars we saw a black hole that was caused by a Super Nova. We got scared and I pressed the hyperdrive button. That was a real mistake dad because we launched passed Mars and when we got near Jupitor we were pulled into a Worm Hole.
Dad looks on in silence
Ashton
But that’s ok, because the Worm Hole ejected us near Pluto, which is where I live so I knew the neighborhood really well.
Dad
Wow, you know what a Worm Hole is?
Grant
Worms are Coooolllll, that’s awesome!
Ashton
Yes, when a sun implodes it goes Super Nova and gravity gets warped. If you’re not careful you can end up all the way across the galaxy in one. But that’s ok, I know this galaxy pretty well. You can ride with me if you like.
Dad
Thanks, can you drop me off in my office? I have a few emails to send out.
Ashton
Sure dad, but I need fuel first.
Dad
Of course, I understand
Grant
I po-po’ed.
"Ok, now that it's flat, push it through your lips with your tou... right, now pull your tongue back, no silly don't use your fingers” The sound of Ashton’s laughter follows and we giggle at each other.
Corri and Grant are a little under the weather right now. I think it was too much sun yesterday as we had a bunch of friends come over with their kids and enjoyed a wonderful day in the pool and behind the grill.
So today, Ashton and I spent some time together, sitting on the back patio as bad weather rolled in.
"Ok, let's try again; flatten it on the roof of your mouth... yes, like that."
"Dad, how am I supposed to push it through my mouth then pull my tongue back out? It doesn't work..."
Since loosing my job two days ago I have been in the best of moods. It has dawned on me that my day job was holding me back from a lot of things. As I told Corri, "It's holding me back from getting rich". I'm now in such a good mood and very positive about the many things I'm working on.
"There, you almost have it, now blow really hard..."
"Pffffff" "pop"
Giggles Abound.
I put out the word to companies I have worked with over the past 10 years that I’m able to take on contracts again and they started to come in really fast. There are a few big jobs I can do, a few small ones, and some still in the works. The best thing though is that I am 100% free to pursue Yog. Yog is a company that I am in the middle of getting off the ground. It’s my biggest venture yet and I’m terribly excited about it.
“Oh, almost there! Wait, NO silly don’t put your tongue through it now… “
We break down into hysterics.
I already have things setup for Tuesday and Wednesday of this coming week, and some work with the Data Center folks up in Atlanta is looking really big and promising.
“That’s it! Now, stop blowing, no no, don’t bite down… Oh Ashton hahaha, that is too funny!”
Laughter comes from Ashton “I did it daddy, I finally did it!”
“Yes you did sweetie, great job!”
In fact, I’m feeling so good about things these days that I was able to enjoy the simple things in life that I have been missing… like teaching my daughter how to blow bubble-gum bubbles on the back patio.
Ashton’s school is doing a “theme week” this week. Each day they have something different that they are all wearing; College Shirts and Pajama Day are two examples.
Today, for their 50th day of school this year, the theme is “50’s Sock Hop”. To be honest, I really didn’t think too much about it. I figured Corri would pull something together real quick for Ashton and life would move on.
Ashton was talking about today’s theme last night, and from my point of view, it sounded like she was excited. I suppose Corri picked up on this as well, because after the kids went to sleep, off she went to Wal-Mart for fabric and patterns for a poodle skirt.
I stayed up watching the game last night as Corri worked and worked making a skirt for Ashton. I went to bed and she was still working. Sometime around 4:15 am I was awoken to Corri crawling into bed, she finally got to sleep around 5 am. This morning, she was up before 7 am getting Ashton dressed in this outfit she worked all night to create: a poodle skirt, black turtle neck shirt, white tights, a white lace ribbon in her pony tailed hair, and black shoes (yes, pictures will be coming soon).
Now, to those of you with kids, you will understand all the work that is involved in doing all this, but I would like to point this out…
Ashton is 6 years old. The probability of her understanding that mom stayed up all night making her an outfit for school and what that means is pretty low. In fact, if Corri had not even dressed Ashton and just sent her to school as normal it most likely would hardly have registered in Ashton’s mind. The fact that Corri worked so hard, all night, for just one simple dress-up day in Ashton’s Kindergarten class in my opinion ranks right on up there with some of the greatest things moms do without recognition.
So here’s to Corri for working so hard, for a 6 year old girl who will not appreciate or likely remember this for years to come.
Friday October 21, 2005 was Ashton's very first school field day. Being the enthusiastic father that I am, I had signed up as a volunteer for the entire day. This was a bit of a mistake as I learned during a conversation with another volunteer...
Lady: "Hi there"
Me: "Hi back"
Lady: "Are you here for the morning shift, or afternoon?"
Me: "I'm actually here for both shifts."
Lady: (with a knowing look) "Ah, this is your first year then."
Me: Silence
The day started early at 7 am. Up, showered, dressed, coffee. All four of us loaded into the car and drove to the school. Ashton was excited because, as she puts it, she was a "car rider" that morning. Ashton and I unloaded and walked to the school. I was to report to the gym building at 8:30 or 9:00. She walked me around to where the gym was and gave me the low-down on all the school.
Around 8, we proceeded to the cafeteria where Ashton has breakfast every morning. I wasn't too hungry, so we went through the line and she got her breakfast. I was really impressed with how she handled herself. She got her yogurt, juice, and gold fish (didn't realize until then that those were good for breakfast, but she informed me well.). The school has a system in which we send in a check and Ashton has a lunch "account" basically. At the checkout, she greeted the lady a pleasant hello, and pushed her 5 digit PIN into the terminal. We walked out, she said hello to many people along the way, and we picked a quiet spot to sit. At that point, I decided that I was indeed hungry, so she (reluctantly) took me back through the breakfast line. It was apparent that I was "new" to this because she informed me that I wasn't "doing it right". I didn't put my ham and cheese in a paper tray, I didn't slide it down the tray aisle properly, and I didn't get the right juice. After being properly schooled by my six year old, something wonderful happened. We got to the cashier, and Ashton looked thoughtfully at me and said "I'll buy your breakfast dad, we can use my account." I'm not sure if it's one of those moments that people usually make a big fuss about, but to me, having my child officially offer to buy a meal for me was a huge thing. Now, if only it was money that she had made herself! I suppose that is another milestone to track much later.
After having a wonderful breakfast with Ashton (and many other little kids) I made my way to the gym. I was early due to the fact that I remembered the arrival time incorrectly. Seems it was 9:00 - 9:30 instead. I helped get things ready, had a doughnut and chatted pleasantly with everyone. Around 9:30 most everyone had shown up and we got our assigned station. Mine was the "Vortex Rocket Toss". Sounded interesting to me. Once I got to the football field where the events were to take place, I decided that this might not be all that great after all. The "game" that I was in charge of consisted of taking a nerf lawn dart in the shape of a football with a tail on it, and throwing it 10 yards into a hola-hoop. I had very ugly thoughts of 8 year olds chucking the thing right at my head.
For the next 15 minutes I looked around, walked around, and then just sat down on the ground. The entire field consisted of small packs of weary eyed adults enjoying the last vestiges of silence they knew were theirs for the rest of the day. I made a phone call to Corri to bring up some sunglasses, a hat, and a belt (I've lost weight and my pants wouldn't stay on). Around 10 am, we heard the sound. Quietly at first, but quickly building to an intensity to rattle windows, doors, and the usually logical mind of one 31 year old adult male. Cries of "Ahhh" "Woooo" "Yeahhhhhh" "EEEhhhhh" could be heard rounding the corner of the gym along with the thunder of hundreds of size 4 shoes running at full tilt. I glanced around the field and felt reassured that I was not the only adult standing wide eyed wondering what the hell they had gotten themselves into. Luckily, the game keepers (otherwise known as teachers) did not unleash their horde directly on us. They had them all line up outside the field by class and teams. I was feeling a little better as the kids calmed down and settled into place. Unfortunately, the P.E. Teachers have a really sick sense of humor and decided that we, the parental volunteers, needed a good dose of what they go through all the time. Seeing as how it was only one day for us, they decided to give it to us in the concentrate version. P.E. Teacher #1 picked up a megaphone and began to have the different teams shout and taunt each other, while P.E. Teacher #2 ran along in front of them shouting and raising her arms to incite their inner youth to the fore. I had a very bad recollection of Mel Gibson riding on a horse doing the same thing in Braveheart... to those that have seen the movie, know that the Battle of Sterling was no more violent and obscene then what befell us all at the Field Day. Kids came flying in screaming, running, pushing, jumping, falling, and generally looking like an entire zoo that has had the walls removed at once. I quickly picked up my Vortex Rocket and began getting kids in line. To me, the objects of my game seemed clear: take aim and toss the object into the hoop. To a 9 year old kid, that same object was the perfect thing to launch at their fellow classmates. The first two hours consisted of me running the entire end zone of the football field retrieving my one lone orange Vortex Rocket. Luckily, the lady next to me was a veteran. She too was running the same game that I was, however, she was calmly standing around talking to other parents. What was her secret? Turns out, that she had turned the rules around on the kids. The object of her game was to have one student stand inside the hoop, while another tried to get it to land in the hoop as the kid inside tried to block it. Pure Genius! I quickly adopted this new game plan and soon found myself able to catch my breath. From that point on, the morning progressed easily... However... that was just the third through fifth grade students. K through Second was due up after lunch.
Lunch time was enjoyable, simply because it was void of the screaming masses, and it was catered by James Coney Island. I ate my two chili cheese dogs not once thinking about how it would react in my stomach that afternoon in the direct sunlight. Believe me when I tell you that you are a much happier person since I decided to keep that part of the story off these pages.
Corri and Grant showed up for the afternoon activities as this was going to be Ashton's time to play. We went from the parking lot around back to where we could once again hear the kids massing. Corri and Grant went to Ashton's class and made connection with her as I went back to my Vortex Rocket pad. Turns out I was in real trouble that afternoon. We were running the afternoon on one half the volunteers that we had for the morning, and now instead of just running the one Vortex pad, I was to run two! This turned out to be much more a challenge than it would have been in the morning. An 8 year old third grader will actually attempt to hit the hoop and listen when you tell them to back up or get in line. However, a 6 year old Kindergarten student does not care if he or she actually hits the hoop. In fact, a 6 year old just loves the hell out of grabbing the Vortex Rocket and tossing it any direction they can. Thus the afternoon found me running not only up and down the end zone, but also behind, next to, and out to the 20 yard line trying to catch BOTH my little orange Vortex Rocket AND the little purple one from the station which was previously run by the morning veteran. After an hour of doing this, Corri, Grant, Ashton, and two of Ashton's classmates all found me sweating, sun burnt, barely able to move, and damn near crying. Corri didn't have much sympathy for me for; as she put it "You're the one that volunteered for this". True, I did, and I now know that next year I will not even come anywhere close to a full day of field day.
Today, Saturday, I am sitting here in my chair typing this up for you to read, and I find myself attempting to make it as long as possible because I know when I'm done, I will have to find a way to unfold my terribly sore legs, turn the chair, and attempt to make it out of the office. Wish me luck.
Ashton turned 6 today... SIX!!!! OMG!
We went all out and did the whole Chuck E Cheese party, she had a blast! I can't believe my little princess is six now, sure seems like she is 20 :)
Anyway, bring on the PICTURES
The first day, and week as well, of school went over very well here at the Huff house. The school bus picked Ashton up at 8:40 am August 10th, 2005 and off she went. It's a new chapter here at our house and I'm really excited about it. Corri and Grant are having a hard time with it. I'll be at work and Corri counts down the last hour until Ashton gets home. Grant walks around asking for her all day. I'm sure they will adjust shortly (no pun intended Corri). Anyway, Ashton is the social butterfly that we knew she would be. Her first day she had 4 kids over, the second day 5 for a pool party, and the third she had 2 over to spend the night. Corri put a stop to it Saturday morning as she was pretty worn out. But that is the reason we got a "cool" house was so the kids would have fun. It sure feels good to work hard for 6 years and see your first off to school. At this point, we have done the majority of our work in "forming" her... now we just have to keep her in line and make sure it sticks for 15 years heh.
There are a bunch of pictures to update everyone with:
Ashton rides the bus
Grant gets cool with sunglasses
Corri shows off her blooming flowers
Ashton's butterfly breaks the cocoon
The Animals of the Huff House
Some exciting times around the Huff House these days.
Ashton starts school tomorrow. Talk about exciting! I took today off work in order to do the whole "Meet the Teacher" thing. She will attending Post Elementary which is located right next door to Jersey Village High School. It's an older school and looks really neat inside, looks right out of the movies. Long hallways, the big clock hanging down from the middle of the ceiling, individual classrooms with windows in the doors. Hell, I almost want to attend. Anyway, her teacher is really nice, and her room looks like a ton of fun. She will be riding the bus, and that has Corri a little freaked out, but I think it will be a great thing for Ashton as it will give her the full experience. I rode the bus on the first day of school and it's something I vividly remember. Of course, that is because I missed my stop on the way home and ended up having to go back to the bus barn for my mother to come pick me up, but hopefully we wont have that issue this go round.
My boss is in surgery tomorrow, so I can't take the day off to be home when she gets home, but I think I can cut the drive in really close and be there when she gets on the bus. Should be wonderful. I plan on doing the geeky, excited father thing and getting it on video... I'll post it up once I get it edited.
Can't elaborate right now because I have to run, but I picked up Austin last night and Kamie this morning and spent the whole day with them here at the house. We actually got to break in the pool today... here are the PICTURES
Bring on the Pictures!
Finally got pictures of the new house
Windfern House
Grant had a good second birthday yesterday... he officially turned two! Happy Birthday Grant! Ashton was just as excited as he was I think... but she always gets excited around birthdays.
Corri sent over a ton of new pictures from New Mexico. Some more of them up on the mountains and several more from the Snow Storm that blew in this week. They pretty much got shut in for a while. Sure looks like the kids are enjoying the snow! Last weekend when they went up to the mountain, they went all the way to the top, then noticed they forgot the sleds! So, there are several pictures of them all just sliding downt he hill on their butts! Corri says Grant REALLY enjoyed that a good deal. Wish I could have been there for it all.
Anyway, here is the list:
Some great pictures of the kids playing in the New Mexico snow this past Saturday.....
A milestone has been reached at the Huff House this past week Ashton lost her first tooth! Yesterday, Corri held her steady and she pulled it all by herself! Our little girl is growing up fast. I took some pictures of the massive gaping hole and will post them later on.
Ahhh Thanksgiving.... I ate too much as usual. There were actually 4 days to my Turkey Eating frenzy, what with work having a dinner, then leftovers, then the farm, then leftovers again. It once again illustrates why people don't eat a good deal of turkey during the rest of the year.
We had a great and relaxing time up at the farm. Wendy took some great pictures, which you can find here: ASHTON PICTURES ----- GRANT PICTURES
We came home on Friday and had a great weekend at the club working and relaxing. The past two weeks have been filled with busy work at the house. Getting ready for Christmas, Ready to Move, Helping others Move... you all know the Holiday Routine.
My car broke just prior to Thanksgiving, so it went in the shop last week. I can never get away from the dealership without spending an arm and a leg, but they do a great job and usually do a bunch more (without charging) then what I needed. In the end, I ended up getting about twice as much work done then what I paid for, so the value is just fine.
Work is going well, I'm starting to get into the routine of it all I suppose. I'm not all that great with schedules and having to be at a certain place for no reason other than that is what is expected of you, but it's starting to come in line. I still have a great deal of projects ongoing outside of work and they keep me super busy.
This weekend will be a blast. A friend of Nick and I is coming in from NY tomorrow evening and will be staying over the weekend. That will be a blast to see him again. Corri has her birthday on Friday which is always fun.... and no, I have not decided what to do/get yet. Finally, I'm DJ'ing a Saturday night at the club, which should be a blast. I DJ each Wednesday night, but the crowd is MUCH smaller than a Sat so it's not near as much fun. Looking forward to this one.
Last Sunday I watched "Dawn of the Dead" with Nick. I was not really all that interested in seeing it, but enough people suggested it to me that I had to check it out. It ended up being a great movie that was filmed in a smart way. They let the viewers become a part of the story and use our imagination instead of dumbing it down like many of the big budget flicks do these days. All in all, if you are even somewhat interested in scary movies I would suggest it.
We will be spending Christmas in Houston this year, at our own house, without a full load of family in from out of town. I have almost gotten used to Corri's family all coming in at once and making the Holidays a really busy time. It will be strange having it quiet this year. New Years will be awesome as we have a huge deal planned at the club. Please don't call for several days after the first... I wont answer due to recovery needs I'm sure.
And now a nice little bit of Christmas Trivia to finish off your day...
Subject: Christmas Stress
When four of Santa's elves got sick, and the trainee elves did not produce the toys as fast as the regular ones, Santa was beginning to feel the pressure of being behind schedule.
Then Mrs. Claus told Santa that her Mom was coming to visit. This stressed Santa even more.
When he went to harness the reindeer, he found that three of them were about to give birth and two had jumped the fence and were out, heaven knows where. More stress.
Then when he began to load the sleigh one of the boards cracked, and the toy bag fell to the ground and scattered the toys. So, frustrated, Santa went into the house for a cup of apple cider and a shot of rum. When he went to the cupboard, he discovered that the elves had hidden the liquor, and there was nothing to drink. In his frustration, he accidentally dropped the cider pot, and it broke into hundreds of little pieces all over the kitchen floor. He went to get the broom and found that mice had eaten the straw end of the broom.
Just then the doorbell rang, and irritable Santa trudged to the door. He opened the door, and there was a little angel with a great big Christmas tree. The angel said, very cheerfully, "Merry Christmas, Santa. Isn't it a lovely day? I have a beautiful tree for you. Where would you like me to stick it?"
And so began the tradition of the little angel on top of the Christmas tree.
It's been a good long while since I have updated here (yes, yes I know I'm pointing out the obvious). Mainly due to a very heavy schedule and lots of things going on.
First off, here are some new PICTURES
These are from Memorial Day. Our friends Scott and Kaylee had a party at their house and the kids enjoyed some time in the pool.
With that out of the way, here are the things going on here at the Huff House.
My parents took a trip to Scotland for two weeks. From everything they say it was a great time. Talking with dad and Wendy about it brought back tons of memories from my time in Scotland as well. I spent a good long while there working and really got to see a great deal of the country. It's not near as much fun by yourself to be honest, but Corri did get to come over for 10 days during the middle of my stay there. It's one of those countries where you long to go back. Not for the country itself (although it is wonderful) but more for the people. The Scot's are some of the most fun people I have ever met.
Work is very busy right now. I have several projects going on at the moment trying to get them all wrapped up so I can bill for them. I quoted out another large project a few weeks ago which if it comes through will take about a year and be a great project. Keep your fingers crossed.
The Boutique is going well. Corri had a slow week last week, but the one before was over the top. She almost ran out of inventory and had to make several orders last week to restock. I suppose that is a good thing, but it sure did put stress on Corri.
Grant is growing and growing. He has a few more words down now, and has that wonderful little "Uh Oh" phrase down pat whenever he drops something. All parents that read this can relate to the smiles that that brings to your face. He is also at the stage where he mimics our facial expressions often. We have a great time with that. Another surprising development is that when he has to go to the bathroom he often runs into the bathroom, pulls a step stool over and climbs on top of the toilet. He has seen Ashton do it, so I think he is just doing what she does, but hopefully it will help with early potty-training. At 15 months it's a bit early, but if he gets used to it now it sure will help.
Ashton is a handful right now. I'm not sure who came up with the "terrible two's" phrase, but obviously that person never made it to the age of 3, 4, or farther with their child. Right now, she is pushing all limits to see where the boundaries are. It's a tough time on us poor parents really. Several arguments, some grounding, and some spankings keep her in line, but it sure is challenging. Other than those times she is still the joy that she has always been.
Last night I went over to Nick's and we just hung out. Lots of things going on in his life right now, the main being that he and Robyn have started dating. I'm happy and worried at the same time. Over the past several years both have had some bad luck with significant others, and I'm happy that they both have someone in their lives that are not loosers. However, the flip side is that both of them have been in our "circle" of friends for 10 years or more. I always get a little apprehensive when two friends start dating. I have been in situations where two friends began dating then had a falling out and it caused lots of problems when trying to invite people over for birthday parties and such. You couldn't always have those people in the same room. Robyn and Nick are two of our closest friends and although everyone is happy right now, I would hate to see a falling out cause stress.... but here is to them making it. While over at his house we watched "The Run Down" with The Rock in it. I was really surprised on many levels. "The Run Down" was one of those action flicks that didn't get tons of press or high reviews so I was not expecting too much honestly. The story was enjoyable, the directing was great, editing rocked, cinematography awesome, AND The Rock, well, Rocked! I was blown away by his ability to deliver subtlety through facial expressions. He did not deliver in a stone or wooden manner that one comes to expect from many famous non-actors trying to make it in Hollywood. So I plan to search out a few other things he was in and take a look at those. The cameo at the beginning was priceless!
I have a letter to my sister ready to go out and need to get that in the mail this week. I can't wait for her to finish up with what is going on in her life so I can spend time again with "the old Kamie". I miss her very much.
I'm re-reading Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series. It's one of those fantasy epics, and most likely one of the most known in that genre today. It is always surprising to me how much I forget about books after I am done with them. This is the third time I have read the series and only the first book seemed familiar. I'm very pleased with that actually because it means I spend less money on buying new books.
Corri and I will most likely start looking for a new house this month. Next month will be the earliest we move, but I like to be prepared.
Kevin Opalacz and crew are expecting a new edition! Cathy is 4 months (or so) pregnant and they feel it is a girl. With that in mind, they too are going to be moving. They are sticking close by with a new house they are building on the other side of the highway. I am very excited for them, so wish them well if you speak to them again. It will suck with us moving up to the North side of town and them moving to a new house as we have really gotten used to seeing them on a regular basis here. Kevin often stops by on his way in or out. We will miss that a good deal.
Justin is doing really well up in Dallas with his new job/internship. He has signed on for 6 months now with them and is officially moving up there (he has just been staying with a friend these past few weeks). I have not had time yet to really sit back and chat with him about everything simply because I am running around too much, but his journal speaks pretty highly of his experience. I miss hanging out with him as well.
Sure seems that as we get older we loose more and more friends. I used to be surronded by them, now they are few and far between as is the time I get to spend with them... *sigh*
We HAVE GOT to get the kids packed up and head to the farm soon. I really need a break up there and miss the grandparents. I know Ashton sure does, she often asks when we can go back and ride the goats.
Anyway, that's the update from around here. Take care and don't step in the wet stuff.
Wendy added some PICTURES to our photo gallery of the kids when they visited San Antonio a week ago. It's the last 8 pictures listed.
Looks like we might move from our house within the next few months. Taxes and Property values have risen so high that it's just not smart to stay here. Our mortgage shot up $600 a month! Can you believe that? We just can't see paying that much in taxes to live here. So we are going to look for a place up on the north side of town. Since I work from home I really don't have to live in any certain place, and moving up north will help Corri out by being close to the boutique.
Seems there is always something going on that disrupts all of our plans... sigh.
Finally got around to getting new batteries for the digital camera. Here are some new ones from around the house.
New Videos!
It's been a good long while now but I am finally making a bit of time to translate some of our home videos onto the web here. You can find them HERE or navigate there on the left under the Huff House Video. The new one is under the Grant section and is him at 6 months laughing.
It's nothing grand, but you get to hear him laugh one of his first times.
Added some new pictures of the kids today.
Here are two of Ashton:
Ashton gets ready to drive
Shakkan watches over the napping Ashton
And here are Grants 1 Year Birthday pictures
Grant David Huff - 1 Year Old Birthday Party
Can you believe that tomorrow Grant will be 1? Ugh how time flies...
Lots going on down here in South Texas at the Huff House. Corri and I are working really hard with a group of friends that has opened a night club on the north side of Houston and that is going really well. My programming projects are still piled up but they are starting to get sorted out. Things are tight, but still fun.
Ashton is controlling everything in the house these days. It's tough to break her attitude while not breaking her independence.
Grant is HUGE. Big ol kid I must say. He is no longer nursing which means that Corri gets to sleep through the night more as I can take over some of the late night feedings. However, I do report that as a mixed blessing to me.
Got so many things "on the edge" right now that I just need 1 to break in order for things to be really nice. It's tough trying to get several businesses up and running while still finding time to do that work that lets you eat.
Also the screen-play is still coming along really well. I entered into the Project Greenlight to submit a script for next years contest. Project Greenlight is a deal that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon do to promote new screenwriters into the industry.
Justin took off to Dallas yesterday for a few interviews... he might be moving up there if he takes one of them. Although I wish him luck, I would hate to see him go.
Not too much time to report on other issues. I hope to have some pictures and new video up soon, although finding the time to edit video is a bit tough right now.
For the past many months we have had a small field mouse that comes into our backyard under the fence to look for food. Today, Ashton decided to name him "mover" because he moved so fast. She has spent most of the day outside watching him come in and out of the yard and coming in to tell me about it. I go out there and lift her up onto my shoulders so she can get a better look... what a great time.
It's nothing fancy, but it's a stage in my daughters life where her eye's are being opened to something new and I love being there for it.
Wendy (my step-mother for those not in the know) took some pictures while down over superbowl weekend and sent them over to me to post up. She also had a few from when Kamie (my sister) and Austin (her son) visited them in San Antonio.
Finally got around to updating the Christmas 2003 photos into their proper places. Ashton and Grant both have their own albums, along with one of "misc" pictures under the "All Others" area.
Also uploaded some pictures of Grant taken around the house this month. View them HERE
In regarding her bad dream...
2:30 am
(Ashton) "I had a bad dream mommy about big spiders"
(Mom) "Well, if the TV is giving you bad dreams then you can't watch it anymore"
(Ashton - condescendingly) "The T.V. doesn't give you bad dreams mommy, your brain does."
It has been a good while since I updated here due to server changes. But those are all done now and the site is up and running just fine on the new (much faster) servers.
So here is finally an update...
The past 10 days has been very up and down for us. Business is going very well I am glad to say and that has lifted all of our spirits around here. Corri and I have had a good deal of dental work done that we have been putting off. Nothing like getting that all done and feeling good about your teeth! Unfortunately, Corri got a sinus infection after having her wisdom teeth pulled and that of course transferred to the kids for a few days. Everyone is back in good health again, although Ashton still has a bit of a runny nose.
Unfortunately, that is not all the sickness that I have to report. My Uncle Danny, my dad's next oldest brother, has been seriously ill. A little over two weeks ago, his wife Vicky checked him into the hospital with what they both thought was a serious case of the flu. It was not. Danny had contracted Bacterial Meningitis. The doctors informed them that if indeed Danny had gone to sleep that night, he would not have awoke the next morning. The following day, he had lost consciousness and his kidneys failed. It was a long week. The family outside of Houston made several trips in to see him while he was unconscious. On toward the end of the past week, he finally woke up. He was in great pain still, and spoke very little. On Saturday I made it up to Herman Hospital where he is being treated. He was awake, and recognized me as soon as I walked in. He was joking and telling us stories (often times over and over again) and generally in very good spirits. He is able to eat regular meals and feed himself. The doctors are calling it a miraculous recovery. They all thought he would not pull through I suppose. But the Huff spirit (Danny's obviously the most) pulled through. Although his kidney's have not yet restarted and he remains on Dialysis still, there is great hope of recovery for him. It is not known for sure how or where he contracted the bacteria, but it is generally believed to be from a restaurant employee who did not wash his hands... food for thought huh?
On the kid front...
Ashton is doing wonderful with her different learning toys. She has made it all the way through her Leapster that Nick got her for Christmas and we are going to go get her some additional software for it. She is getting more and more adult like as the days go on. She did get grounded all day yesterday for hitting her cousin Austin in the face Saturday night while Corri and I were out celebrating our 8 year "since we met" anniversary. Ashton was not too pleased with her punishment, but I suspect she will not be hitting anyone again.
Grant is fully mobile now. He crawls along the floor until he can pull-up on something, then walks around it to get where he wants to go. He is such a happy baby and gifts anyone in the room with his smiles as often as he can. I think he looks like me :)
I will be posting up some new pictures during the week and hope to get back to the video work I have put off for the past year of both kids, although my current work load is really high, so don't hold your breath on that.
To leave on, here are some funny "Ashton Quips".
In regarding her parents nicknaming her "Motor Mouth"...
"Why do you call me Speed Lips?"
In regarding talking with her Great Grandmother who passed away before she was born...
(Dad) "Well Ashton, you have to go up to God to speak with her"
(Ashton) "OK, I'll go do that now"
(Dad) "If you go up to God, then your mom and I will never see you again though"
(Ashton) "Well.." Dramatic Pause "I'll just have to drag you all with me then!"
After coming home from a Monster Truck show with her aunt Kamie and cousin Austin...
(Kamie) "Thank you very much for coming with us Ashton"
(Ashton) "No thanks needed aunt Kamie, I wanted to go"
When told by her mother "No we are not going to get you any toys today, I don't have enough money on me"
"I have money Mommy, don't worry about the little details"
Today, Ashton informed me: "When I grow up, I want to be an adult".
At first I laughed, then I thought about it and realized that many of us who do grow up are in fact NOT adults. It's great how a kid can put things in perspective so easily.
The Internet is great. I get to Video Conference with Corri and the Kids most of the day. It's really great to be able to click a few buttons and see the wife and kids playing up in TN. Corri and Grant decided to spin around on the chair and I took some PICTURES.
Thanksgiving was really nice for us here at The Huff House. Corri's mom, dad, and grandmother all came down on Wednesday and we had an enjoyable few days with them. This morning, they all packed up and took off. In the process, they packed up Corri, Ashton, Grant, and the cat as well. So, until Christmas Eve, I am "Home Alone" if you will.
The main reason was that I have tons of work to do. Three programs going on, TOBR, and of course my normal Net-Admin type clients. It is always much more difficult to get that amount of work done when the family is home, so Corri thought it would be good to take off during the next three weeks and give me time to get everything done. I of course look forward to having the stillness of the house needed to accomplish all these projects, but I will no doubt miss them before I fall asleep tonight.
Ashton should have a really good time up there in TN, as Corri's parents run a summer camp, and of course live there as well. Which of course means she should spend a good amount of time outdoors enjoying herself, and there is the possibility of her seeing snow for the first time (Real snow, not Texas Snow).
In order to make it through the next three weeks, I properly prepared myself this evening by going to the Liqueur store and getting Buttershots, Irish Creme, and Crown Royal. Which means that I will be warm with my good Coffee and happy with my Crown and Coke. Unfortunately, it also means that I have blown my "extra spending money" all on the first night... sounds like I'm 19 all over again. But if you think about it, I no longer need to leave in order to relax and get away, and of course that was the plan.
Justin most likely will stop by tonight and we will talk about "Joining Hands" and play some music which is always enjoyable to do. Nick had a horrible time on the ski slopes this week, visit his site and he might just post about it (You can find his site on the right in the "Links" section).
When Corri and the kids return on Dec. 24th, they will also be bringing a large part of her family. I think the count right now is something like a total of 15 people that will be here at our house for Christmas... that's a full house. What I didn't think about until today is the fact that they will not be back in time to put up the tree or decorations, which means I will have a lonely night of decorating the tree while seasonal music plays in the background. This is a bit sad for me as the past two years has been so much fun with Ashton in decorating the tree and I was looking forward to Grant's first glimpse of it.
Oh well, he most likely would rather eat the pretty lights than look at them.
Added some new Photos to the Gallery, you can find them at the bottom under the "Recent Additions" area.
The past week has been pretty busy for us all.
Corri, Ashton, and Grant all got very sick two weeks ago and I did pretty well in not getting it until last week. It was that Flu crap that went around, and the three of them didn't move for several days. Fever, aches, coughs, etc were the norm for many days. They are all pretty much better now and I am just at the stage which I am very tired.
Corri has been getting the house ready for her Mom, Dad, and Grandmother to visit on Wednesday. Her and the kids are going to head back up to TN with them for three weeks and return on Christmas Eve with the rest of the family in tow. I think we will have close to 15 people here for Christmas. I hope to get an extra amount of work done while they are all gone, however, I am sure I will miss them.
Nick is making plans for Christmas as well. He is trying to get in visits to our family, his dad her in Houston, and his mom up in Dallas. Trying to maximize flights and minimize costs is always a pain when you have lots of people to visit is always difficult, but throw in his dog Shakkan and it makes it even more so. We have offered to keep Shakkan for him so hopefully that will help.
The Opalacz family is doing good down the street. Kevin is pretty busy right now which is a good thing going into the holidays. Andrew and Alex are doing fine as well. Cathy baked a Pumpkin Roll with cream cheese filling last week and sent some down to us along with Kevo's home made chicken soup. The soup is being eaten regularly, however Cathy's pumpkin roll was gone by the next day... very delicious.
I got a program started and completed yesterday and delivered today for first review, tomorrow morning I have a meeting on what could be my biggest program to date. This is a "Phase II" module to a program I did last year, which was the biggest one I did in 2002. Should be a nice bonus moving into the holidays. I also have another program that was approved last week, so that makes three ongoing right now.
TOBR has its first set of contract updates in hand from a building management group. They have pulled a few things out that we would have enjoyed to leave in there, but nothing that is deal shattering. In the meantime, I am still working with Government officials from South Africa which is exciting. We are on-time within our schedule and if things continue to go well, TOBR will be a good solid company by March or April... lets all hope.
I have more pictures to upload this week, and I have some more videos that I am working on as well, so keep your eyes open over the coming days for those.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
I finally got around to editing up some video footage of Ashton when she was 16 months to 2 years old and posting them up on the Huff House Videopage. These are all a must see, however, if you only have time for one, make sure it's the "Animal Noises"... it's great.
You can view the video HERE.
Ashton's room was messy, she sat in the middle of the floor slowly picking up toys that surrounded her. At this rate it would take hours to clean up.
Mom walks in and Ashton looks up. "Ashton your not picking up room like I told you." mom says in a stern voice.
Ashton gets to her feet and bends down grabbing a plastic doll "Yes I am, I picked this up" she responds.
"Ashton, I have dinner ready and you have a long way to go to get your room straight, get this mess cleaned up now"
Mom waits for some sort of acknowledgment
"Mom, I am cleaning.." she dumps a toy slowly into the toy box "see, don't just stand there and argue."
Ashton crosses her arms over her chest to indicate she is serious about this.
Mom quickly turns her head away trying hard not to laugh.
Ashton and I recorded some songs a few nights back. Finally got them edited, converted, and posted. You can listen to them here.
Corri had to go get Grant some new clothes over the weekend. He grew out of his 6 to 9 month clothes. She purchased a few 12 month old outfits thinking they would be a bit big, but they fit perfectly.... he is only 3 months old. The kid is huge!
Got finished up with a large problem that I have been having with a client. Got it all fixed and back up and running... that sure feels good.
Had a good weekend, worked on my PC and got it all taken care of, then took care of paper work. Tom Tanner is heading over this evening to work out some pricing structures of a new service we have teamed up on. It is ready to be closed with a few clients, so we have to get it worked up.
Microsoft interview was good last week. They told me that I would not be a good fit for the position I was interviewing for, but that I would be a good fit for Microsoft and they are going to try to find another position in which I would fit. I will be talking to them again at the end of the month so will know more then.
Ashton did something today that really surprised us..
Today, Ashton went swimming outside in her pool in the back yard. Whenever she does this, we always let the dog come inside. We keep the dogs food and water in the laundry room, and that just happens to be the place where our trash can is. As you can guess, when the dog is inside, we leave the laundry room door open. Now when Ashton is done playing outside, we normally put the dog back out and close the laundry room door. Today however, Corri was really busy with Grant, and I was working on a program. So when Ashton came back in, we failed to take those last steps.
About 20 minutes after Ashton came in, she came to my office door and announced "Daddy, I took out the trash for you". I, lost within the lines of code on my screen, just turned and said "That's great dear, did mommy help you?" and back to work I went. Corri then approached the same door where our little waste management volunteer was standing and began to laugh. Completely out of the programming "zone" I turned around. Corri then said "She actually did take out the trash dear".
We later found out that Ashton, by herself, and without being asked did the following things:
1) While throwing away her Capri-Sun juice pouch, she noticed the trash was full.
2) She closed the draw-strings on the trash bag, and lifted the entire bag out of the can.
3) Took the full bag through the laundry room, opened the garage door and put the trash out.
4) Returned to the pantry and got a new trash bag off the shelf.
5) Put the trash bag (perfectly I might add) into the trash can.
6) Threw her previously mentioned Capri-Sun pouch into a now empty trash can with a new liner.
Needless to say, Corri and I were stunned. Ashton took me around to all the points of interest on her trash-adventure-route and directed my attention as to what she had done.
She is not 4 years old yet, and already taking out the trash on her own... lets just hope that due to the fact she started chores so young, she will not also stop doing them young.
We had out 2 week check-up today for Grant. The whole family went... he has gained 2.1 lbs in just 2 weeks! The doc said 1 lb is uncommon and 2 is nearly unheard of. Typically, children who nurse loose some weight during the first two weeks according to Corri and the Doc. So we are all happy that Corri has Fortified Breasts.
All else is going ok.
Day 3 has ended, and it was a good day. Grant really is a good baby (no bias here). He is quite almost all the time... only fusses when hungry or when cold wet wipes hit his rear at diaper change. Mary (Corri's mom) got us a "Diaper Wipe Warmer" and that solved the second problem.
Corri is moving around just fine and feeling much better. Ashton is enjoying having a brother, but wanting to play with him much more than he can at the moment. Grant has a good sleep schedule so far, is eating really well, and is very aware of his surroundings.
All in all we are a very happy family.
I have taken a part time teaching job mainly just to have something to do outside of the house which I will start within the next few weeks.
I am heading to San Marcus on Friday for the day to watch Justin walk at graduation. It's funny, when we were kids, Justin and I did not get along. I picked on him all the time, and he thought I was an ass hole. Around the age of 16 I heard him play guitar one night, standing outside Brent's house late at night, under a street light of all places... I was amazed at how much raw talent he had. We are now very close friends and working together on a few projects together... it's really odd how the world turns on you while you are not looking.
