Spring Time!

Spring Time!!!!

   When one is living in Colorado you never know what the weather is going to do.  A prime example of that has been the last couple of days for me.  On Tuesday I walked into work and we knew that a storm was coming so my coworker and I packed a bag and headed to the eastern plains of Colorado.  Now I am writing this post from my hotel room due to being stuck because of a blizzard.  

   With this being said though for the past couple of weeks we have had some pretty amazing summer which is one of the best parts of being in Colorado.  The kids have been really enjoying the warm weather as well.  Teagan has several times walked up to me to ask is it warm enough outside to play or ride or bikes?  Both of the kiddos have really started to enjoy being outside more as they get older. Teagan keeps asking to go to the park and swing on the swings!!

   The big thing this spring has been riding their bikes.  Teagan has been wanting to ride her big girl bike since she got it for Christmas.  I have really enjoyed watching them improve at riding their bikes, it even motivated me to get my bike out of the shed so that hopefully we can go for a bike ride together.  So far I have just spent a lot of time walking with them while they are riding, I can't complain though it is nice to get outside and I get a little exercise while walking.  It helps me get my steps in for my FitBit.  

   Jude has had a few struggles with riding his bike, the hardest part is that he cannot get out of his head ( I know Censie is laughing right now because he completely gets that from me).  Jude is so afraid that he is going to fall and get hurt.  He took a good fall this past summer right before his birthday and ever sense then he has been afraid.  It is hard for me because I get his anxiety but sadly his anxiety usually makes me anxious as well.  

  

   This week I found myself this week looking at websites trying to find the best way to teach him to ride a bike.  As I was talking to Censie about this she helped me come to a very good realization:  He is doing just fine!!!!  I was getting anxious that I have not been teaching him right or that he isn't getting it.  I should be celebrating all the successes that he has had so far this year.  He is doing so well despite his fears.  This was a good realization for me to make sure to spend more time celebrating the successes with my children.

  

   I hope that everyone is able to get out and enjoy the nice weather and have some good quality family time.  I hope that we can all celebrate the small successes with our kids and with each other.  I cannot wait for summer!!

Success in the face of anxiety!

Anxiety!

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (http://www.adaa.org/) there are about 40 million adults in the United States living with anxiety.  I am one of those 40 Million and I am pretty sure that my son will be one of those as well.  Anxiety can be very mild but it can also be to the point where it consumes your entire being.  

I want to preface this post with the fact that my son has never formally been diagnosed with anxiety but he is only 5 years old.  That being said we know that I have been diagnosed with sever anxiety, this became fully apparent as I was dealing with my Ulcerative Colitis diagnosis and my ileostomy surgery.  Often times I see so much of myself in Jude and his behaviors.  The downfall to all of this is that you can see Jude getting anxious in many situations and that just sends my anxiety into a downward spiral as well and I am still learning to handle this.  

I was so proud of him this weekend and all of the things that he was able to accomplish despite his anxiety.  Jude has been in Tae Kwon Do for quite some time now and has been doing pretty well.  Just recently they moved him up to a more advanced class.  In this class he is the youngest one in his class, and this has been a struggle for him.  Also if you have ever met my son he likes to talk all the time, I know there are many parents who say this, but seriously the child never stops talking.  

This weekend he had to complete his first testing in his higher level class.  This made me anxious because its a TEST.  That word in and of itself causes anxiety.  The class went through all the pieces that he was going to be tested on and it was a lot of information.  They told us that he had to complete the first 14 moves of a form by himself.  This was something I was very concerned that he was not going to be able to complete.  He had to know the form as well as piece them together and complete them in sequence .  This also was going to be done in front of many other students and parents.  

We practiced many times and worked very hard.  Despite all the preparation you could see the anxiety building and it all came out on Friday.  I had been out on a business trip and when I returned I asked him if he wanted to practice because we had to make sure we were ready and out came the tears.  He was so nervous and anxious the only way he could express it was having multiple huge tantrums.  I honestly had my doubts and was worried that he wasn't going to move up.  

With all of that being said though we woke up Saturday morning and went to his testing.  We were one of the first ones there and did a couple of run-throughs and then came the moment that he was out there on the floor and he was in control of how everything went.  I was a wreck, I was nervous, and I was horribly anxious.  Jude however stepped up to the plate went out there and KILLED IT!  He went out with his class and stepped up to the challenge and completed every move.  I was so proud  of him.  I cannot express how excited I was to see him succeed.  He worked hard and was able to control his brain as we describe it and succeeded.  I hope that this is the first of many successes for him, however I know that all of his successes are going to come with many challenges but we will work through it and I know we will learn from each other.  There are many more celebratory Slurpees to come!

Here he is with his new belt and our Slurpee!  I am so proud of you Jude!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!

I hope that everyone had a great Holiday season and a great Christmas.  I have to be the first one to say that our family was extreme blessed this holiday season.  The main reason for that is being able to be together with each other.  To me this is the best gift that I could ever receive.

I am a sucker when it comes to traditions, and it has been interesting developing new traditions with my own family.  I will admit though I miss having my parents here to celebrate those traditions but thanks to technology we get to have time with them.  Our family is very lucky though that we do have my wife's parents just down the street from us and they have been a huge part of our lives and the kids lives.  

We started this Christmas off by going to church with our family.  The kids got all dressed up and were good kids during the service.  I am a sucker for Silent Night by candlelight in the church.  There is something special about this son and singing it on Christmas Eve. We sadly had to break away from our normal tradition of going to Texas Roadhouse for dinner, it was a two hour wait, but we went to dinner and had some good conversation.  We also had a great time tracking Santa, thank you NORAD, and finding where he was going next.  

After a great evening with family the kiddos left out cookies, carrots, and milk out for Santa.  They put on their Christmas Eve pajamas that the elves brought and headed to bed.  After a little while the little elves got around to helping Santa.  I spent three nights earlier in the week building all the gifts so that I didn't have to do it on Christmas Eve, thank goodness I had the time to do that otherwise I am pretty sure I wouldn't have slept, as it happens I got very little sleep as it is.  Jude was so excited he woke up almost ever two hours to ask if we could open presents.  The kids were very excited to see the gifts that were out for them. 

The kids made quick work of all their presents, they are expert unwrappers.  I don't know where they get this talent but they have perfected it.  We opened presents at home then went to grandma and grandpa's opened more presents then had Christmas lunch.  The kiddos did well despite being completely exhausted and over stimulated.  I was a proud dad!  We were able to talk to our family in Amsterdam and Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma in Arizona.  Again thank goodness for technology and Skype!!

Jude challenged me to his Rock em' Sock em' Robots, and I have a ringer in the family.  He was an expert but we had a great time and have played a couple more times since last night already.  We even had a white Christmas!  People think that this happens every Christmas in Colorado but is is not!  

I hope that you had a great Christmas and got everything that you wanted and needed.  I look forward to sharing more and more with everyone in the upcoming year.  Here is to a happy and healthy 2016!!!

Tae Kwon Do

I cannot remember how many times I asked my mom while I was growing up to let me do Karate.  Lets be honest a lot of this (as it probably is with Jude) came from TMNT or Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and the movies Karate Kid, Sidekicks, and 3 Ninjas.  So in traditional kid fashion I asked all the time and then my mom would always respond in traditional parent fashion "No" and when pushed she would say "Because I said so". 

I do not know all of my mom's thoughts but I believe she told me several times that I couldn't take Karate because she didn't want me to fight or punch others.  Until I was a parent I never understood this thought.  I mean all I wanted to do was to do the awesome kicks, flips and break a board.  What kid doesn't watch a video of someone breaking a board with their hand or head and think they can do that.  I am pretty sure that there were multiple attempts at trying it as well.  None of those attempts were successful but luckily no serious injuries were sustained besides a big lump on the head.  

So lets fast forward to present time when Jude came up to us and asked to do Karate.  I am pretty sure that I had the very same thought as my mom.  No you cannot do that I am continually yelling to stop punching things and you want me to send you to a class that teaches you how to punch things.  I was very nervous to put him in any type of martial arts.  I must admit the reason that I was so nervous was due to my lack of knowledge.  I will be the first one to say that I am glad I did my research and took the time to educate myself.  

I took the kids to the Thornton Fest and Jude won a month of free lessons of Tae Kwon Do.  Again my ignorance showed off because I thought that all forms of martial arts were basically the same, I was so wrong.  We figured that this would be a good time for Jude to try Tae Kwon Do to see if he even liked it, little did I know how well he would do and how much he would enjoy it.  We went for our welcome night and he was very nervous to get out there but he did and he was hooked.  We have been going for about 6 months now and I am so amazed at the progress that he has made and how great it has been for him. 

Jude is built the same way I was at his age.  Tall and completely uncoordinated.  We will just be walking and the the next thing I know Jude is down on the ground.  Tae Kwon Do has helped him with his coordination so much.  He has been learning how to control his body.  He has to learn how to watch the instructor and copy the form.  The forms often time require them to do multiple moves with their hands and feet at the same time.  Yes it involves punches and kicks but it focuses completely on control as well.  The instructors will many times that you have to be able to control your body in order to control your mind.

I have to say I am so impressed with how well they are doing with him and would recommend martial arts to everyone.  I never thought I would enjoy it as much as I have but seeing the look on his face when he accomplishes a new form or gets a new belt.  I cannot wait to see how far he goes with this and will encourage him the entire way.  I am no expert but I am learning and showing him the enthusiasm that he needs, isn't that what every child needs?

My top 5 underrated singer/songwriters

As many of you know I have a huge love of music and love sharing music with others and with my family.  I have tried to expose my children to many different types of music.  They listen to records with me, dance to Sammy Davis Jr., sing along to the Beatles, and (thanks to Censie) make me sing along with Kelly Clarkson!  

Music has been something that has gotten me through a lot of tough times and brought me close to others.  While I was in the hospital recovering from my Ileostomy surgery I listened to music quite a bit, it helped me immensely during that time.  

This brings me to our current conversation.  Who are my top five singer/songwriters?  Why did this come up?  I was talking to a co-worker the other day I brought up Jim Croce and the co-worker had no idea who I was talking about!  I was shocked so I wanted to compose this list and share my musical thoughts. 

Top Five Singer/Songwriters

#5 Robbie Robertson and Levon Helm:  

Levon Helm was born in Arkansas and was the drummer and multi instrument member of "The Band".  The Band is often times known for their southern Roots Rock band, but all other members of The Band were from Canada, Levon Helm was the only American born member.  Robbie Robertson is often times credited for writing all the songs but Levon Helm has claimed that they were mostly written collaboratively, this was an ongoing feud.  The Band had many notable songs and The Last Waltz was an amazing collaboration last concert between many musicians.  I am actually going to see a Last Waltz Revisited concert in Denver here in a couple of weeks.  Some of the best songs from The Band are:  Up On Cripple Creek, The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Atlantic City, Rag Mama Rag, and Ophelia.  

#4 Randy Newman

Randy Newman is probably best known for writing songs for Pixar Movies, most notable Toy Story.  The kids and I will sing "You've got a Friend in me" all the time when listening to Toy Story.  Many though do not know that he had a great musical career prior to these movies.  Randy Newman has been a professional songwriter since he was a teen.  He is an amazing singer and piano player and is great to listen to.  Some of his greatest songs are:  Mama Told Me (Not to Come), You can leave your hat on, Short People, and I Love L.A.

#3 Jim Croce

I grew up listening to Jim Croce songs before I knew who he was.  I have shared my love for his music and story telling with my family.  More than likely you have probably heard his songs before and probably sang some of them without knowing they were written and sung by him.  Jim Croce's career was unfortunately cut short when the plane he was on clipped a pecan tree causing it to crash.  Jim Croce had a great way of telling a story during his songs so that as the listener you could see in your head everything he was talking about.  Some of his best songs are :  Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, You Don't Mess Around with Jim, Time in a Bottle, Operator, New York's Not My Home, Roller Derby Queen,. Rapid Roy (The Stock Car Boy), I Got a Name, and I'll Have to Say I Love You In a Song.

#2 Harry Chapin

There are many songs that were written or sung by Harry Chapin that many individuals know of the song, but like Jim Croce, they do not know that they were written by Harry Chapin.  Harry Chapin is probably best known for his song "Cats in the Cradle" a song about a father being too busy with work to spend time with his son. One of my favorite songs.  Chapin, like Croce, as well died in an accident but a motor vehicle accident.  Harry Chapin was also a great humanitarian trying to fight world hunger.  He started the Harry Chapin Food Bank (Long Island Food Bank) in 1980 a year before his death.  Harry Chapin was also a great story teller and could paint a picture with words and music that amaze me.  Some of my favorite songs are :Cats In The Cradle, Flowers are Red, Taxi, Mr. Tanner, I Wanna Learn a Love Song, 30,000 Pounds of Bananas, Circle and Dancing Boy.

#1 Warren Zevon

A great singer song writer that also suffered from a very bad case of OCD but was an amazing singer, song writer and story teller.  One of his compulsions was buying and hoarding grey Calvin Klein shirts.  He actually built a great friendship with Billy Bob Thornton around having OCD.  Warren Zevon played piano for Everly Brothers and actually played with REM.  Warren Zevon is probably best known for "Werewolves of London".  This has been played at almost every piano bar that I have been to, and is a crowd favorite.  Warren Zevon had many other great songs some of my favorites are: Lawyers, Guns and Money, Excitable Boy, Mr. Bad Example, I'll Sleep When I'm Dead, Desperados Under the Eaves, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, and Things To Do In Denver When You're Dead.  

These are just a few of the musicians that I love and wanted to share with you.  I would enjoy hearing about some of the musicians that you enjoy so I can expand my musical knowledge and enjoyment as well.  I hope you will listen to these artists if you have never heard of them and maybe you will enjoy them as well.  

Third time's the charm!

So I know that I have tried this before but I am going to try and get my blog up and running again. I have been very busy with my new job and the family,  but I have a strong desire to have this blog be read by others and share my experiences as a husband, father and as a person. 

Everyone in this world has a story and has something to share and this is my attempt to share a part of who I am. My amazing wife Censie has had an amazing blog for quite some time now so I have a great coach on how to do this but just have to put forth the effort. 

This blog started while I was dealing with an Inflmatory Bowel Disease known as Ulcerative Colitis. This still continues to be a huge part of my life but since my ostomy surgery I have tried to make it a smaller part of my life than it has been. 

Here is a little about me for those of you who do not know me. I love being a father and daddy. It is amazing, I never thought I could feel this way and that I would love this role in my life so much. They challenge me on a daily basis but I love them and would do anything for them.

I have been married to Censie for twelve years, I know I can't believe that she has put up with me for that long either. I am the luckiest man because she chose to be with me and I am so thankful for that. 

I am a huge sports freak. I love watching sports and pretty much anything to do with sports. I am a huge Red Sox fan and a Broncos fan, although I don't get to watch many sports any more because I am usually watching kids shows like "Miles from Tomorrowland " with the kiddos.  

As you can tell I am also a huge music lover, especially classic rock!  I am working on building my vinyl music collection and working to teach my kids about great music, but despite my best efforts they also love listening to pop music. 

I look forward to sharing more experiences and stories with everyone!