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31 May 2010

In Pictures: Memorial Day 2010

You probably never knew this, but nine years and one day ago, I met Michelle for the first time. Drunk off her ass. In celebration, we ate frozen yogurt for three straight days at our new favorite place, Feeney's. And fed lots of ducks. And played in the park. That's not really in celebration of Michelle and I, but just another weekend with Kaitlyn.

I guess those days are long gone. But that's not a bad thing. I really don't miss staying out until 2 a.m. As old people always say, nothing good happens after midnight. Except sex. But even that's not always good after midnight. But it's not like bad sex is really even bad. It's sort of like pizza that way. 'Cause even bad pizza is good pizza.

Now I'm hungry. I guess it will be frozen yogurt for a fourth straight day.

We're sorta glad we found this place. Only a five-minute drive from the house. Who knew?

She now climbs up the ladder-like thingy on the playground. By herself. Without a net.

Kaitlyn is doing pull-ups! She's so strong ...

...Granted I am stronger since she weighs a ton. 

In the kiddie swing having a ball ...

...Until she realized she can swing on the big-girl swings like Mommy. Growing Up Kaitlyn is right.

30 May 2010

In Pictures: Memorial Day Weekend

YaYa and Michelle out shopping. Kaitlyn asleep in her bed. Pop-Pop and Boo curled up on the couch, one of them snoring.

What has led to all this? A Sunday excursion to the Natural Science Center. Here's the In Pictures update for all of you who don't subscribe to my social media feeds. On a side note: Why don't you subscribe to my social media feeds?


Tweeting Kaitlyn to the World

Yesterday was supposed to rain. The guys on the television said that, the local DJs who I listened to on my way home from work Friday said that. Heck, even my iPhone said that. And if the iPhone said it, it must be true, right?

So when I woke up at 9:30 a.m. -- Michelle let me sleep for a change -- and it was bright and sunny, I was scratching my head. So Michelle and I decided to take Kaitlyn on a hike at Guilford-Alamance Park. Ticks be damned!

We actually had a real good time, even if Michelle was misguided enough to think Kaitlyn would walk the three-mile loop by herself; she barely made it to the half-mile mark before we were looking for the shortcut back to the exit.

But we hiked, hugged trees (literally), fed the ducks, played in boats and hung out with some friends we weren't expecting to see.

And you know what? We didn't bring a camera. Left it on the kitchen table. So then what's the point of this post, since you can't see your dear Kaitlyn?

It's to point you in the direction of one of Growing Up Kaitlyn's new features, which is the Twitter feed about halfway down the page on the right column. Why am I pointing this out? Because sometimes it's tough to sit down a write a whole blog post, or sometimes I forget some of the funny things that happen throughout the day, especially if I have to wait to sit down at the computer to write it all down.

But I can always shoot a tweet. So there are some special nuggets in that Twitter feed down there. Like Kaitlyn hiking. And Kaitlyn getting her haircut. And then just some random thoughts and observations throughout the day.

So if you don't see something new on the blog, you just might want to check the feed. Because some of the best stuff comes in 140 characters or less.

23 May 2010

OMG, Breakfast of Champions, anyone?

So you read about the race. Done with that for a while until I have to pull it out when Michelle asks what I've done lately and then tell her "I ran a 5K, what did you do?" since she always chickens out at the last minute.

Post-race, Michelle said, "Let's go to breakfast," which I was kinda shocked hearing because she never wants to go out to breakfast. Since we were downtown, I suggested Smith Street Diner, a little (emphasis on that word) place neither of us had tried but always said, Hey, that looks like a greasy spoon that would make a killer breakfast.

You know what? That greasy spoon makes a killer breakfast. People stand out on the sidewalk waiting for a table in the two room place. Their biscuits are the size of a bowling ball, their pancakes have that nice griddle crisp on the edges while staying soft on the inside. And it's cheap.

I might start waking up early on work days and sneaking down there for a quick bite, making excuses to Michelle like, Oh, we have a very important meeting every Tuesday morning from now on. Starts at 8 a.m. because the EVP who's running the meeting is originally from Australia and it's already tomorrow there and he doesn't want to wait another minute for an update.

I don't know if I would get away with it, but it would certainly be worth it to try. Which I guess I can't do now because Michelle is usually the first person to read this blog and now she's onto my little plot. I'll have to get my boss to call her and tell her the meeting is for real, which then means I'll probably have to buy off my boss with biscuits, which adds to the cost. Damnit.

22 May 2010

Run Daddy, Run

Well, I didn't die and I didn't finish last. I didn't have to walk, didn't have to crawl. And you know what? I did a helluva lot better than I ever expected.

24 minutes, 23 seconds. Now, they say I ran 24:40, but that 13 second difference is the time it took for me to get from my place in line (which was toward the back) to the actual starting line. I am going by the "chip time". Ain't technology wonderful?

64th place overall (out of 394 runners, thank you very much), 10th best in my age group (30-39). Now the bad news: Eleven kids beat me. And some of them beat me bad. And not "kids-to-you-and-me" kids. Like, nine to 14-year-olds. One kid who finished ahead of me was five. But that doesn't really count since he was likely being pushed in a stroller by his father, who finished directly behind him. But he paid his registration fee like everyone else, so it sorta kinda counts. Damnit.

Oh well, it was all for a good cause -- the Greensboro Children's Museum and their pretty cool Edible Schoolyard. Michelle, Kaitlyn and I love going to the GCM, so it wasn't a stretch to do something like this to support a great cause.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pass out now.

Kaitlyn hanging with her friend Lily pre-race

Pre-race Daddy ...

...Post-race Daddy

21 May 2010

Tomorrow is D-Day

I forgive you. It's been so long since I've written anything that of course you didn't remember it. That's okay, I'll remind you.

A couple months back, I got the startling unexpected news that I was on a collision course with Lipitor thanks to years of unchecked fast food binges. So I had two choices: continue gorging on the delicious heavenly sinful foods I loved while taking medication for the rest of my life, or make some changes and get healthier.

One of the steps I decided to take was to enter a 5K called Running of the Green, which benefits the Greensboro Children's Museum.

Well, I'm just about 13 hours from the starting line. And considering my propensity to follow through on tasks, it's a pretty darn big accomplishment that I even registered.

So as long as I don't pull a Jim Fixx, you'll hear all about it tomorrow.

20 May 2010

Whaddaya Think?

Welcome to the new-look Growing Up Kaitlyn. There's still a little work to be done, but I think the next couple of weeks will show you a bunch of features that you'll enjoy.

As you can see, none of the things you've grown to love have changed; just the design. And some things will be tweaked, so if you fall in love with one particular part of this design, please let me know. Otherwise, it might be gone in the blink of an eye.

18 May 2010

Double the Children, Double the Fun

For those of you who read the title of this post and thought of sending congratulatory emails, presents and phone calls, you'll be disappointed. You can still send gifts if you want, but there's no bun in the oven.

You see, a couple weeks back we took Kaitlyn's buddy, Declan, out for a couple hours. Mom and Dad Donaghue were packing up the house to prepare for their big move, so having Declan out and about for a couple hours was a big help.

So Michelle and I called upon old reliable to keep the kids occupied -- The Natural Science Center of Greensboro.

Yes, that is a big blue frog Kaitlyn is sitting on. 

I don't know whether she's holding on for dear life or copping a feel. I do know she's smiling, if that provides a clue.

Declan is either staring at the monkey, or at the zoo keeper throwing food from the wrong side of the net. Stupid zoo keeper.


This is the angle I saw Michelle and Kaitlyn the entire time at the Science Center. That's because Declan moseys. How slow is Declan? I took with picture with the zoom all the way out.


Kaitlyn tried to feed Declan the entire time. I don't know why she treated him like one of her dolls. I do know he didn't seem to mind.


Brushing the goat. Took Declan a bit to warm up, but he eventually helped. Side note: See that little beard on the goat? They don't like it when you yank on it.

17 May 2010

Back to our regularly scheduled program

Sometimes it takes a little longer than expected for the batteries to recharge. After finishing up NaBloPoMo, I promised some days off to myself. Well ...

A couple days turned into a week. A week turned into a couple more weeks. For more than a month I've stood idly by as my daughter's pretty little face has stared at everyone, perpetually asking the question that everyone's been asking of me: Have You Seen Me Lately?

Well, I'm here to tell you we're all back and we're not going away. Granted, we haven't really gone anywhere. And by "we" I really mean "me" since Michelle doesn't write, save for those special occasions.

So don't worry anyone -- Growing Up Kaitlyn is here to stay.