April 2012

Atticus and I have had a busy and eventful past few weeks now that have carried us right into April.

Easter is over and we enjoyed a quiet day here at home, eating candy and playing, then enjoyed a family dinner outside on the deck in the beautiful weather we had. Later on we got the chance to go see our extended family of cousins and 2nd cousins and played, which was a blast, I was just glad to have the day off.

We got invited to an Easter egg hunt the day before Easter by a little neighborhood boy, and had a great time doing that. There were a lot of children his age, and the hunt was well done as a scavenger hunt too. There was a lot to snack on, and we both were glad we got the chance to go

The past few days we have been enjoying the weather by playing out back a lot more than usual, washing my car, and visiting the park. I personally have been able to ride to work which I love and hate. I have been doing some night jogging with my new Zombies, Run app too which is fun, as you get chased by zombies.

During spring break my mother and sister and niece went on vacation to L.A., so it was just my father and I here holding the house down. We decided to take Atticus to the the new local aquarium in hopes to see a lot of exciting new stuff. When we first arrived, it was noticeably busy, as it WAS spring break. We decided to tough it out anyways. Inside there was some really interesting stuff from the sting rays, sharks and octopus, yet it was hard to really get a spot up against the tanks to see the exhibits. I was really expecting a lot more stuff, yet the place is still new and growing. The experience may have been a bit different if it had not been so busy.

We had his brother and sister over for two days during spring break as well as a way to help their dad and Danimum with child care and as a way to get the kids together to play. Atticus was so happy to have them over, to show them all of his things, and mostly joke around and just spend time with them. It was great for me because I was able to do some stuff I wanted to do around the house without having my little shadow constantly on my heels.

I got the chance to go enjoy myself with my friends and see some live music for the first year of the annual Treefort Music Fest which took place here in downtown Boise. It was a lot of fun, and it is nice every once and awhile to leave Atticus at home with my parents while I get out and do some Kyle stuff. I had a blast dancing, visiting with friends and meeting new people, and am excited for next year's Treefort.

I decided to go with a new haircut style for Atticus during his last trip to the barber. I went there with the intentions of having her just shave it all off but after she completed shaving the sides, and while the top was still long, I was looking at him and it hit me that this was an awesome way to keep his hair. He was doing a duck face pouty kiss thing with his lips and looked like a male fashion model. Maybe this was all in my head I decided, but I asked the lady cutting his hair; 'Maybe it's just me or does his hair look really good like it is now?' She agreed, and after she cleaned it up just a bit her and I both really got a kick out of it. Only hard thing now is where before I rarely ever combed his hair, I now have to use a lot of product to keep his hair looking good, as he has that strong swirly calic.

March

We had two days of beautiful weather the past two days, I had to work those two days, then my day off today and it is freezing! Atticus and I stayed busy today with indoor activities though.

Seems a lot has been going on, not sure if I remember everything. This last weekend Atticus and I got the chance to go see Noah and Madeline at their dads house for a bit which was nice. Some times Luke and my schedule don't line up, and it is hard to get the kids together to play, so it is nice when we do. Speaking of which, this Saturday I will be 4 years sober and I invited Luke to bring Noah and Mad over for a playdate with Atticus in his big backyard and maybe have a BBQ because it will be 60+ degrees this Saturday.. Just a coincidence to have them over, but I think it will be a nice way to remember being sober.

A few days ago Atticus and I went and flew his kite on this really windy day at the local park. It was so awesome! My mom bought him a really nice kite a few years back, and it works great. We both loved watching it up there in the sky, though he eventually got bored but my enthusiasm lasted as he played on the playground. I tried getting it as high as I possibly could, and I succeeded in getting it to new heights. I seriously had so much fun, I think it is the ability to be in control of something so far away. It took forever to bring it back in when we left.

I drew him some summer shoes at work, and a guy at work is drawing him some super fresh custom Mario Bros. Vans slip ons. Atticus should have his style on lock this summer. Speaking of that Atticus and I went to the kid clothing store in the mall we use to frequent to buy matching clothes, because I could fit in the older kid clothes. We hadn't been in awhile and when we returned recently the manager stopped talking to the lady she was assisting and said, 'Hay you two, haven't seen you in awhile!' Made me laugh.

For the future we got invited to be a date to a dance/party on St. Pattys day, which should be a lot of fun!

TTYL!

Jan.

The new month of the new years has moved so quickly.

Tonight Atticus and I went over to his brother and sisters house to have a play date with them. It was the first time in a good month and a half, and they were missing each other. It was so nice of Luke and Dani to have us over and cook dinner for us, and I am glad that Aubrey, me, Luke and Dani were all able to get together and visit and let the kiddos play. Atticus had a blast playing Mario on the DS all night with Noah while Madeline showed us all the things she has learned in school. It was the first time that I had sat around and visited with Luke and Dani after knowing them for awhile now and it was great talking with them and finding out they are hilarious and awesome people. I look forward to getting to know them more in the future.

Last week Atticus and I spent some much needed time out doors, but lone and be hold as soon as we got outside away from the Wii, we played pretend Mario Kart and pretend Mario Bros outside, I just can't get away from his new Mario obsession anywhere. We also got invited to go hiking with Caitlin and her boys last week and that was a blast. I thought Atticus would be a Grumpbot the entire time, but he really enjoyed it, and kept up, got the exercise while having fun. We then all ruined our exercise with pizza.

I have been keeping myself busy in my free time with the Dedicated Servers the past few weeks setting up shows for them and helped shoot the photo for the cover of their new EP which should release soon. They seem to have stuff going on every weekend until April now, not ALL thanks to me, but I would like to say I did help a lot.

The past few weeks I have been doing my taxes which I enjoy, because being a full time single father I am always knowing that I will be getting a huge return. I enjoyed keeping all my new deductions that I had this year as I feel I finally got back on my feet this year. School expenses, contributions to Atticus' state ran college savings plan, and stock investments made it a longer process this year but I am done finally. Now to pay off part of my car, part of my student loans, tune up my car and invest some!

Tomorrow's paycheck is my first contribution to my new 401(k) and for some reason I am very excited about this. I am excited because A., my work matches up to 4%, which is free money, and B., because hopefully starting at this age I will have a large nest egg when I retire. I am fascinated by money and love watching it grow.

Mobile Post.

This week Atticus and I played in the snow, beat Mario Bros Wii, and fed some geese. A successful week in my book. I also implemented a rule that we do not play Wii on days that I work, and that we practice flash cards before Wii. Lastly I plan to start a night time potty routine which I should have started sooner. I am bored at work because I finished my book Glyph, so I made this post. I am excited to get home, put him to bed and set up NetFlix. My BOA stock has been doing great and I also applied for more jobs. Bike ride soon?

2012!

It has been a great and interesting start to the new year. The first hours of the new year Atticus and I spent playing with our friends at a kids friendly NYE party. He got to play with his friend Noble and some of Nobles cousins and us adults played video games and board games in the other room. It was a lot of fun eating junk food and getting loud cheering everyone on as they beat the hardest Mario game ever that was originally only released in Japan. Atticus enjoyed playing with his friends but his new love for videos games had him watching us most of the night. Surprisingly he was able to stay up most of the night and even on the drive home after midnight.
The following evening we went to our friend Matt and Lubis to wish Lubi a happy birthday and part-take in some of the delicious food that Matt was cooking for the occasion. Atticus got to pig out and watch Toy Story 3 with Lubis relatives. Matt lent Atticus and I some more video games for our new Wii that he(we) got for Christmas.

We got to see some family when my cousin and her daughter came to town, her daughter is close to Atticus' age so that was nice to let them play.

Things have changed a bit over the past few weeks and he has been staying here 247 whereas he use to go to his mothers every other weekend, as she works through some things, so Atticus and I have been spending a lot of time together in doors trying to stay warm and busy. Basically that means we have been playing Wii all day.(I thought the excitement of it would wear down at this point but as it hasn't I have started to impliment days when we won't be playing it). I have borrowed games from friends, rented games from the Library, and have been buying games and accessories for it off eBay and the Wii store. I downloaded the old Super Mario Bros 3 from the very first Nintendo that I use to play with my family when I was a kid. Together we have played through that and as played through the Mario Bros. Wii that came with it. He really enjoys spending time playing with me, loves picking characters and is so ecstatic if he gets a hit in on a boss and asks for a high five. He has been playing on his own the past few days and has developed a 'stance' when things get intense during the game where he lifts his left leg up. I started taking pictures of this and posted them below. Lately I have been trying to buy wireless GameCube controllers off eBay for the Wii so that we can play GameCube games as well on it, but they were going for $60-70 for a pair. This was a bit more than I wanted to spend, so I was so stoked when last night I got one off Craigslist for $15 and one this morning from Pawn 1 for $10, of man that made my day.

The second day of the new year I left Atticus home with my parents and headed out on a bike ride with Cody and Peanut. From Codys house we rode Robie Creek and headed up the hill. The original plan was to ride to the top of the hill then down the other side, but as we suspected Robie had too much snow so we headed back down the way we came. We then met up with Owen and the four of us headed out to Gowen Road then Pleasant Valley Road then down Cole back to Codys. For Cody, Nut and I it ended up being a 45 mile bike ride. I was beat and that up hill ride, followed by riding in the wind made me sure it was the toughest thing I have physically done.

I have still been steadily looking for a new job and have had a few interviews but unfortunately no luck as of now. I have another prospect coming up, and we will see how that goes. I will not get down and keep on looking. Otherwise work now is fine, I am just searching for something new with benefits, full time steady hours and advancement.

This Thursday I have a meeting to set up my 401(K) which I am excited to do and learn more about, and that being said my Bank of America stocks have been doing great lately!

As for the next few weeks I have bought some books, Wii games and accessories and some clothes online and now we get to wait for them all to arrive in the mail, such fun!

Time to Update.

It has been awhile since I last posted, guess I should post.

I had just been busy working a lot, looking for a new job and playing with Atticus. Things have been busy and a lot is changing in the way of the future, and I assume more changes will be soon to come.

We had a really nice Christmas. He got a bunch of stuff, he enjoys it all from his jammies to his Wii. I am glad I decided to go with the Wii. He loves seeing the characters and choosing them, loves to race Mario Kart, and over all it gives us something to do and bond over, like tonight when we were playing Super Mario Bros. Wii and beating levels together.

I have had a few interviews for new jobs but no luck yet, I have another this Thursday. I hope it goes well. If I do get a full time job I am planning on putting Atticus is a daycare/school during the days which I think he will enjoy a lot and it will be very beneficial for him as well. I really hope I find something more full time and steady than my job now just for the fact to get him in a school type setting. I will slowly keep looking for stuff over the next few months until something works out.

I will post a few pics below from Christmas morning, though none of them really came out that great.

Halloween Weekend.

This last weekend was Atticus' weekend with his mom, so he was with her. I took a day off work, plus we didn't have work Halloween day so I had the past few days off.

Saturday night Peanut was DJing a show in Ontario, Oregon and him, Owen, Jordan and I headed out there to go dance and party all dressed up for Halloween. It was a lot of fun. We went to some other parties and then ended up downtown with some other friends of ours. It was a really fun night, and I enjoyed taking pictures with my new fisheye lens for my iPhone which I have decided is my best purchase lately.

Sunday I washed my car, did some stuff around the house, then Peanut and I went bowling with two girl friends of ours, which was a lot of fun, then that night we all watched Walking Dead at Matts and hung out. Again, another fun night.

Monday I sat all day at Starbucks and did stuff on the computer, ended up buying Atticus and I some new boots for the winter, which I am super stoked about. Went and ate with Matt and Nut, then we headed to their show at the Red Room downtown for Halloween night. Matt was a lion and Peanut at dinosaur. I was most excited about going to snap photos of them performing in costume. The night started out a bit slow, but after the headlining band opened and got the crowd going, and a lot of our friends showed up, the night turned out to be a blast. I enjoyed myself dancing, taking pics, and chatting with friends. It ended up being a late night, because after the show Peanut, Francis and I went shopping for Halloween Peeps, then went back to Francis' house to see all the work he has done to his house. I was amazed, and am excited to see the house when it is finished.

I went and picked up Atticus today, and since he is a bit sick, we laid low around the house. I set up his very first dentist appointment for next week, and mostly just did stuff online. I have lately been interested in buying and trading stocks online, and am feeling confidant in making money doing so. I have been reading a lot of books about it at work, and have been keeping up to date with such stuff online. More on all that later.

We have a bunch of stuff coming up, Friendsgiving, Thanksgiving, and such.

Below are a bunch of pictures from the previous weeks, not an any order because I am tired and ready for bed.