Enjoy, and have a great 2015!
January
We
started off our year by having friends over to celebrate New Year's Eve and
play games. I have to say, Canasta and Baccarat are NOT as cool as they sound. Even after drinking.
On
the 7th, we celebrated Tamara's birthday in style, at Chuck E Cheese with 40 of
her closest friends. Wait, that's just how I envision birthday parties in my
near future.
February
Early
in the month, our bathroom sinks were backing up, so my dad and I did a little
home repair, installing a cleanout panel in the closet behind the bathroom. We
estimated it would take us about 45 minutes, and we were finished right at the
10 hour mark. In hindsight, a handheld power saw would have made cutting the
two by four a lot easier and quicker, but we managed with the screwdriver and
chisel.
I
got a lot of birthday wishes on the 21st, as I hit the Big 4–1. Rather than
tell my students how old I was, I told them I was born in 1973 and let them do
them math. I did have a few who guessed I was 3987 years old.
I
nearly got permission to go to Sochi to compete in the Luge competition, but
two things help me back. One – I was not a valid citizen of Albania and
therefore could not represent them, and two – I don't know what a luge is.
March
It
took roughly 2 hours over the course of four days, but with the help of some
Leapfrog letter blocks and a fanatical father, Drew made his very first bracket
picks for March Madness! Though very few of his picks proved accurate, his
bracket has nonetheless been framed and hung in his bedroom. We will always be
able to fondly remember his bold pick of Baylor versus Villanova in the
championship game!
Tamara
found out that the cast of NBC's Revolution (now canceled) was shooting some
scenes in her hometown of Blanco. She got pictures of Andrew and her with
several stars of the show. Now that certain events have come to light, the one
with a leering Stephen Collins in the background seems even creepier.
April
The
culmination of this year's basketball tournament was in Arlington, so my dad,
my brother, my buddy Ted, and I all went to the Final Four. Unfortunately, Duke
could not join us there, but with the distance our seats were away from the
floor, we could pretend it was anybody we wanted it to be.
At
a local church where Tamara's mommy group meets, we took Andrew for an Easter
egg hunt, and he got to meet the Easter Bunny. I don't think any other kids got
to meet the Easter Bunny that day, though, because once Andrew got him in a hug,
he refused to let go.
I
finally finished my screenplay! I had been stuck for the longest time, unsure
how to end my ethnic pre-Civil War zombie superhero rom-com. But then the answer slapped me in the face –
mirrors!
May
We
celebrated Andrew's second birthday with a bunch of wild animals. There were lots
of other toddlers, but also a backyard petting zoo and pony rides. Sorry to
say, the pony didn't go very fast with me on it.
It
was finally time, so we turned Drew's car seat around to forward-facing. He
appreciated the better view, the increase in leg room, and the more direct path
to hit us in the front seat with flying projectiles.
June
My
first year in the Coppell school district ended, and shockingly, I was asked to
return for the next school year. Even
more surprisingly, I learned that I’d be moving up to 5th grade along with the
kids. Some kids cheered, while some used
vocabulary words that are not to be found on any spelling list.
T
and her mom took their annual Corpus trip, and unfortunately Andrew was not a
big fan of the beach this time around. Instead of lounging on the sand, he
wanted to spend all his time at the swimming pool, reading CNN online.
Our
attempt to run a restaurant failed after less than a month. In hindsight, I
guess "Raisin the Bar" was doomed to fail for two big reasons. One –
the name lead some people to think we only served alcohol, and two – people
really didn't like hamburgers, pizzas, and yogurt made out of raisins.
July
Tamara
and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary with a nice romantic weekend in
San Antonio on the River Walk. We didn't see Jack Flack or a six- fingered
grandma, but I did come home with a longing to rewatch the 80s movie Cloak and Dagger.
The
whole family took a weeklong vacation to Destin, Florida and man, did we have
fun! The weather was gorgeous, the waves were mild, and it was so awesome to
see Drew really take to swimming around in his little floaties. I could have
done without the hairy dude walking around in his lime green Borat mankini,
though.
August
A
new school year began, and most of my kids were kids I had taught last year as
well. However, the district theme was no
longer Super Heroes, so I got a whole lot of very strange looks cast my way
when I showed up at convocation wearing the Batman outfit.
The
new fantasy football season arrived, and I once again drafted a team that looked
good on paper but would outstandingly underperform in real life. I also had my
PayPal account frozen for a brief time and found out their policy prohibits
transfers related to "fantasy football" or "sensual bun
massage."
Late
in the month, I became one of the select few who accepted the ALS Ice Bucket
Challenge. Stylishly clad in sunglasses and a pair of underwear on my head, I
dumped a Home Depot All Purpose bucket’s worth of ice water on my head, in the
name of charity. A few days later, Andrew and I also completed the inaugural
Pearson Tickle Challenge. It didn't catch on quite as well as the ice bucket
challenge.
September
Mother's
Day Out started up again on Tuesdays, and this year, there was a lot less crying
involved. Drew started to learn the names of his school friends, but we have
yet to figure out who the mysterious "Benjamin" is that he always
mentions. As long as he doesn't start
muttering "REDRUM" in his sleep, I'm willing to let him have this imaginary
friend.
At
the very end of the month, I flew out to Hollywood to film the Jeopardy Tournament
of Champions. As it turns out, I shouldn't have wasted all those months
studying, because nothing I studied actually showed up! But I did at least get
a really cool picture with Alex Trebek, and I met a nice family from Australia
who probably went home and told all their friends and family that they had met
someone from Wheel of Fortune.
October
I
flew back home from California just a few days after the Dallas Ebola scare
began. It was fun to see Cheech Marin on
the same flight; it was not so fun to have to wear a full body condom while
walking through the concourse.
Our
neighborhood was pretty quiet on Halloween night, so after answering the door a
couple of times, Drew and I went trick-or-treating. Drew dressed as a spider
while I was very convincing in my "Middle-Aged Daddy" get up. We only
hit five houses, but Drew was able to charm an Elmo's head’s worth of candy out
of the deal.
Dirty
hackers broke into the cloud and stole several sensitive pictures off my phone.
I've asked everyone to please not look at these pictures, but if you do, don't
judge me. Catch up, nacho cheese Doritos, and Mountain Dew seemed like a good
idea at the time.
November
At
the beginning of the month, we went to a truck show at a local church and found
our idea for Drew's next birthday party. Sitting in a police car or honking the
horn on a tractor was fun and all, but apparently there is nothing more fun
than 30 foot long delivery truck with room to run up and down.
The
Tournament of Champions aired, and once again, I got bounced on the first day.
On subsequent viewings, Andrew stopped pointing at the TV and saying, "Dada!"
Instead, he pointed and said, "Ben!"
December
At
the school admin Christmas bash, I was only five away from the correct answer
of 1574 in the "Guess How Many M&Ms are in the Jar" contest. I
won the glass jar, AND all 1574 M&Ms! So take THAT, Ben Ingram!
The
Pearson Christmas Movie Marathon on the 23rd was a fun night with family and
friends and hours and hours of Yuletide-themed feature films. Drew managed the
double feat of not taking a nap that day AND eating several cookies and sweets.
We are just happy he didn't start quoting the "sh!tter’s full!" line from
Christmas Vacation.
After
Midnight Mass, we found out the hard way – homemade eggnog is NOT a good idea.
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