colin&julia.com

How about an update…

Well first out of the gate, Parker is doing really well. We are creeping up on him being 8 weeks old this coming Saturday, but the weird thing is, he won’t be 2 months old yet since his birthday is Oct. 27. Weird… sorry of the tangent.

So yeah, he’s doing well. To catch everyone up… a couple Mondays ago, he was released from the hospital after being re-admitted. Parker tolerated his feeds and came home OK that Monday night. In hindsight he was probably suffering from being sick from a virus unrelated from surgery and that’s why he continued to vomit after his surgery and have diarrhea. The attention he received from over that weekend visit probably helped ward off some serious sickness… but unfortunately that wasn’t the case with Julia.

Last Tuesday Julia got very very sick and she had to be admitted to the hospital for dehydration from constant vomiting, a 102 temperature and other unsanitary symptoms. I swear if we didn’t have bad luck, we wouldn’t have any luck at all.

Julia only had to stay in the hospital one day but once home she still was down for the count, leaving me and Parker to fend for ourselves in an attempted to stay bio-hazard and sickness free.

After a few days Julia slowly but surely got back on her feet after getting her ass kicked by what ever she got. Parker hasn’t shown any further ill effects and I have seemed to be able to stay healthy through it all… although I keep waiting for a meteor to land on my head and off me for good.

This last weekend was very uneventful which was sorely needed. This week seems to be a bit better as well, but we take it day by day. Parker is sleeping usually in the evenings from 6 or 8pm until 2 or 4am which is a nice break for Julia and I to catch up on house work and/or sleep. At 4am Parker will usually eat and then go back to sleep for a hours or so. Our day usually begins at about 5 or 6am.

Parker’s still a pretty cranky baby most of the time, but I think you would be cranky too if you spent the first 6 weeks of your life vomiting and in pain. I’m not sure he’s used to trying to be normal yet. We still are trying to learn how much to feed him and sometimes it causes a vicious circle where we don’t feed him enough and then he’s cranky. Then sometimes he eats too much and then pukes, but not like before his surgery mind you. This in-turn makes him cranky and still wanting more food. On average though Parker puts down about 5 ounces at a sitting which is very good.

We want to thank everyone who sent us their positive thoughts and prayers. Every little bit helped, and the notes really helped keep us in a positive track when we were close to throw in the vomit soaked towels.

We are looking forward to getting healthy over the next couple of weeks and then introducing you to Parker come the new year.

The last 9 months have been a very long road, and no amount of time on earth could have prepared us for the obstacles that were set in front of us. We owe a great debt to all those who stood with us during our trials and we can’t wait to share Parker with you!

We are hoping now to set this blog back on the right path with jsut daily updates of our boring lives, and marking mile-stones in Parkers life.

It’s been a pretty relaxed couple of days. After posting yesterday the rest of the day consisted of alternating between the pool and the ocean. Everyone met up for dinner last night at the Palms which reminded me of something out of the Shining, but cool none the less. Oh yeah and I forgot to mention, to celebrate the 4th here on the resort, there was a small marching band that meandered around lead by a jester waving an american flag, and brought up in the rear by a guy in an easter bunny outfit. It was very surreal and fitting.

After dinner we again lounged in the pool and discoveed a crab hanging out. There are a ton of small gekos that we have dubbed the squirrels of Jamaia. Someone at the pool last night mentioned that crabs are the cockroaches of the sea.

We found yesterday that our cell phones work here and we send a few txt messages, but we are keeping them to a minimum just incase they cost an extra arm and a leg.

This morning Julia and I wandered over to the sports complex to both have hour massages which very nice.

Other than that it’s pretty laid back here. Hopefully the picts can sorta speak for themselves.

I can tell Julia is starting to get bit nervous for tomorrow, and is doing that thing she does well, making sure all the details are attended too. Myself, well if I think about it, I do start to get nervious, but over all it’s a good anxiety.

In the meantime Bob is out in the ocean doing a shallow scuba dive. Becky and Eric went on a glass bottom boat tour this morning and are out learning how to sale. Kelly and Brian are lounging pool side.

Ok, off for a nap and more ocean swimming a little later. Enjoy the newphotos to the left.

Hello all, well me have made it to Jamaica (aka the bright end of nowhere) after a long day of traveling. It,s July 4th, and for all those counting we are in the same time zone as back home, but we are an hour behind because Jamaicans don’t use Day-Light-Savings.

We got up bright and early Tuesday morning at 2am at the Dennis household in Bowling Green, and then headed out to Detroit at 3am. We got to the airport at 4am and worked our way through security pretty fast, having about 2 hours before our first leg of our trip taking us to Charlotte. Once in North Carolina we had a 2 hour layover before heading to Jamaica on a 90 minute international flight. The plane rides were pretty good, though the traveling was a bit fatiguing for all involved. Because of our limited time in the morning and running from plane to plane we all didn’t get proper amounts of food so we were all a bit cranky by the time we got to Jamaica. Once here we had to wait in long immigration lines.

We ran into the Kellys in the immigration lines which was nice because then we were all able to take the hour + bus ride to the couples resort.

The weather here is 80+ degrees and very humid. It’s very tolerable along the ocean, but once your in an enclosed space like immigration, or other tight places you really notice the heat and it becomes uncomfortable. Luckily the resort is very open and breezy making it very nice here. The pictures which you can check out to the left via the Flickr photo stream don’t do this place justice. The sky is bright blue without a cloud int he sky. The water is crisp and fresh, and again although its humid, the ocean breeze makes it all the difference.

The bus ride to the resort took abut an hour and was surprisingly depressing. It’s amazing how poverty stricken the country seems. I’m sure a lot of it has to due with how things are destroyed and rebuild along the coasts during hurricanes, but the high school and kindergarten we saw on the way in was surrounded by barbed wire seemed very sad. Almost everything along the coast in the non resort areas seems to be either half destroyed or half build. It’s hard to determine which is which as well… half destroyed or half built.

Once we entered Negril where a lot of resorts are, there was a very visible step up in the refinement of the towns structures and the way of living.

Once at the resort we all crashed in our rooms. We all managed to meet up for dinner which was sorely needed. Julia suffered the most form the long travel day and lack of nourishment. Today she, along with all of us are doing way better after a long nights sleep and a proper breakfast.

It’s odd staying in an all inclusive resort, especially when you are eating, which if you wanted too, you could do all day. It’s weird to walk away from a table at anytime, without having to pay for anything or tip. But we are making due. : )

This morning Julia and I met with the wedding coordinator and have all the plans set for Friday. We will be getting married in the garden gazebo in the mid afternoon. This relaly is the ideal place to get married… atleast in our minds eye.

Well I’m off to the room to put on my swim trunks… and then its laying in the ocean for the rest of the day and having a few beers.

Cheers and we miss you all and wish you could all be here with us!

It had been a long time since I’ve been to a good show, and seeing the Deftones last night at House of Blues really fit the bill. The openers Fall of Troy were pretty decent live… much better in fact than on their cds. It makes me want to go back and give the discs another spin. The first time I listen to their cds I really wasn’t into them, but hopefully now ahving seen them live I can appreciete them more.

The Deftones took the stage pretty early, maybe around 8:45 and problably played for 1 1/2 hours. They had a pretty diverse set with a strong grouping of songs from every album. It surprised me how much old material they played. Over all it was one of the better ‘tones performaces I’ve seen.

After the show I headed how to paint the pantry a bit more before retiring my ringing ears to bed around 12:30.

Who needs teeth when you can have a mouth full of bloody gauze? That’s the question we all must face in our life at least once… err well maybe its only me that has to face that question. LAME!, if that’s the case.

I could make up some strange story about how I haven’t posted in a while because of my painful wisdom tooth problem, but that would be a lie… I’ve just been lazy, and introspective as of late. I guess its time to break the silence and give Julia a hand at this whole blog update shin-dig we got going on here.

Well, like the picture illustrates I finally got my teeth yanked over the holiday weekend. I’m quite proud of my bloody gauze. It was a very easy proceedure, I went to sleep around 10 and woke up around 11 without two of my teeth. I guess I really work up at 10:50 and then passed out again… finally waking up at 11. Julia took great care of me while I lumbered about the rest of the day having incoherent conversations with our neighbors about gas in the lawn mower.

I really didn’t suffer through any hard core pain, just a general soreness and stiffness. I really didn’t dip into my little pill bottle of vicatin, so if you need some just hit me up. I really don’t like the stuff cause it makes me feel barfy. I’m a huge fan of valum though, and it will definately be on my x-mas wishlist this year. I never really thought I was an anxiety ridden individual… until I no longer had anxiety due to being medicated pre surgery. Sign me up I tell you.

By now it’s worn off and I’m back to my regular high strung self… but it was nice to live a normalized existence for even jsut a short while. Even Julia said she liked me better on the stuff, so you know its gotta be good.

The rest of the weekend was pretty normal, working around the house. Oil changes for the car, working on the pantry, a few parties attended for birthdays and what not.

In the randon category: Tomorrow I’m off to see the Deftones with Brian. Fancy Dan is off to Chicago in the coming weeks for a new gig. I’m off to Taco Tuesday tonight, for a beer and fun times digging taco meat out of the new holes in my jaw. Julia can feel little Parker swimming around in her belly more and more each day, which gives me a slight smile when I think about it. Oh yeah, and julia bought me some cool new shirts.

Well we are officially headed to Jamaica to union. YES!

Sun, sand, wedding cake and everything is wonderful.

It’s been a long road for us to get to this place.  Betrayal and heartbreak have been among the scary side stories.

But in this case with me and Colin and our family LOVE and FRIENDSHIP triumph over those enemies of the state.

The happiest moments are yet to come and I have nothing but the fullest glass of optimism for the present and future.

I love you Colin. Thank you for your partnership.

Ya know those pudding cups with the swirl or layers of favor… for example the ones from Jello brand with a layer of vanilla pudding between two layers of chocolate in one single cup serving… well yeah, it may be layered in color, but not really taste I tell ya. It all has a similar chocolate taste… top to bottom.

It’s nice to one of those moments, how ever fleeting, where you just sorta feel at place in the universe… even if its just sitting on the couch in the mid-evening… thinking to ones self: I’m pretty content as to where I am in life.

It’s also nice to wake up to a bright and sunny day with a freshly mowed lawn. If I have my way, after a nice pork chop dinner with an ear of corn this evening, I’ll be strolling up to Malleys for an icecream sunday.

In other news, Julia thinks she can feel Spider-man wiggling around inside her.

Man, my body is falling apart. This morning I work up and my right eye is swollen… I’m hoping it’s just irritated by drywall mud or something, I would rather avoid a bout of pink/red eye. My knees also feel like they are 60 years old… plus lets not forget my previously mentioned wisdom teeth dilemma.

This weekend was pretty productive. Friday I chilled at home though, watching the NBA playoffs. Saturday, Pongallo helped me pick up some drywall from Home Depot in the monring, and then I spend the rest of the day cleaning out the basement and getting it back to a place where I can actually work in it again and start making more artwork. Saturday night I met Ted up at The Beer Engine to have a quick beer and talk about how to drywall the pantry, but instead it turned into a 4 hour sit-down to talk about the art, process and the website I’m trading him for his drywall expertise. Sunday I woke up bright and early to work on the pantry with Ted. We got all the drywall hung and even taped and initially mudded. It’s a good start. Hanging the drywall is pretty easy… the art comes with taping and mudding. To be honest it’s not something I’m looking forward to as we move to work on the attic after the pantry is all finished. I have a lot of respect for the skill Ted has and his patience with my noob approach to throwing mud everywhere.

After a long day of working, my friend Coss called me and told me she scored a Nintendo Wii from out in Brainbridge for me. Once Julia came home from BG, we ran to pick it up and brought it home for a nice evening of Wii sports with pizza and apple pie. Brian stopped by to give bowling,boxing,baseball and golf a go with us. The system is pretty fun and I can’t wait to get more games.

The only other exciting news form the weekend is that I scored a couple of tickets to catch the Deftones this month with Brian Kelly. A few other folks from work are going too, so it should be a good night out come May 30th.

Other than that, it’s a Bad Religion kind of day…”I’m going for a walk”

Well, I just got into work after a wonderful visit to an oral surgeon. It looks like my two upper wisdom teeth are going to have to come out. The unfortunate part… or more correctly the most unfortunate part, cause lets face it folks, the whole situation sorta sucks… is that my medical insurance will only over one of my teeth coming out… leaving the other one to fall to my wallet. Such is life on planet Earth. I’ll be heading under the knife on May 25th. It should be a peachy keen memorial day holiday.

As for this weekend, it looks like Julia is heading to BG for some family time leaving me to my own devices. Tonight may be filled with a visit to Home Depot for dry wall, to be installed in the pantry with Ted on Sunday. Saturday I’ll probably lock myself in the basement and try to give it a good cleaning. Such is the life of a father to be, and the future rewards of a new tie every June for the next 18 years, but hey, Julia picks out some nice ties!

Site news, I’m still playing with the flicker widget to the left. I can’t seem to get it to gobble up group photos from Julia and myself. It only seems to want to jive with my account for now.