Taco Girl, Monster Taco, and Ribby's Playhouse

8/8/2010

2010-08-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

This Blog is officially closed! If you are interested in viewing the next chapter to this Blog, please let me know. An eMail, phone call, or a reply to this post will most likely get you a link to the next chapter.

Thank you all for reading and responding to Taco Girl, Monster Taco and Ribby's Playhouse. It really has meant a lot.

Regards,

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/3/2010 A long, dusty weekend

2010-05-03T23:11:00.000-07:00

We're really glad that this weekend is over. This past weekend we competed in the 1st annual Hogs 'N Heat BBQ cook-off. We did absolutely terrible and finished 14th out of 20 teams. We havent done that poorly in about...well, a long damn time. We did manage to raise almost $400 for the Autism Society of America, which is what is most important to us.

On a brighter note, we will be GLADLY taking two months off from the BBQ circuit (and weekend work) to spend the next 8 weekends with the DJ kids...thank god. The next competition VRM Pit Crew will do will be in Williams, AZ and we are 100% planning on taking the DJ Kids with us. Honestly, we cant wait to have them there with us.

Besides Lisa being sick, there isnt much else to say really. I sure hope she gets well fast, we all need her.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/21/10 Staying so damn busy sucks...

2010-04-21T01:50:00.001-07:00

Staying busy is good and bad...all at the same time. There just never seems to be enough time to accomplish all the tasks that need to be done for our family. I guess it is what it is though.

The kids are doing pretty damn good and they all made the Honor Roll again this quarter.

Maddie got her first 100% on a spelling test...... only her 3rd test this year (1st was a 50%, second was an 80%).

Tori has been kicking a$$ on her spelling tests. If she doesn't get an A+, she does tend to get down on herself. Tori actually tried to send herself to her own room a few weeks ago for only getting 90% on her spelling test.

Richie, well the dude just cant spell that well just yet. I guess we can just leave it at that. He has shown improvement though and that's really all we can ask for.

As far as school and, well, pretty much everything else, all we ask of the DJ Kids is to do the best that they can do. For the most part, they do great...except for cleaning their rooms and the Playroom.

On another note, two weekends ago, VRM Pit Crew competed in the 1st annual Arizona BBQ festival. We did OK, finishing 17th out of 58 teams. We might have placed in the top 10 if some idiot (ME) didn't decide to change a recipe at the last minute. Changing a proven recipe at a competition is almost always the kiss of death...lesson learned. 3rd place Ribs, 18th place pork, 13th place brisket and, ummm... 44th place chicken (the one that killed us) got us that 17th out of 58. On a happier note, we were able to raise quite a bit of $ for our charity, Autism Society of America. Year-to-date, we have been blessed enough to collect over $1600 for our charity.

It's a difficult road competing professionally on the BBQ circuit, but it does help financially as well as professionally. It also allows Lisa and I to do something we truly love and to spend some great time together as a couple. We do have a great time competing and there are actually some unbelievably awesome opportunities opening up for us.

This weekend Lisa and I will head off to Indio, CA to help some friends with their catering business. It should be fun and money is nice (and needed), but at the same time it really sucks to be away from the kids.

After this weekend, we will head to Rock Springs, AZ to compete in our last contest for a few months. Thank god for that, as it is getting too damn hot and we need to just be with the kids for a few months.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/7/10 So busy...

2010-03-06T23:33:00.000-08:00

The time just flys by out here in Buckeye AZ. Never a dull moment and never something that doesnt need to be done.

Victoria is kicking some serious ace in school and received yet another A+ on her last spelling test. She has asked us to call her "A+ Girl". Victoria also got her recent report card sent home and is doing phenomenal. She did get a B in Music, but hey....it's freaking music.

Richie is also rocking some serious mojo at school and continues to impress us with his witty thoughts/ideas. The dude is a 100% typical boy. Sometimes that's good, sometimes that's bad.

Madeline was named "Bug of the Week" (dont ask) and has maintained her status for an additional week due to her teacher being sick. She is really relishing her role as "Bug of the Week".

Basically, all of the DJ Kids are doing very well.

Lisa and I have been very busy working and competing in BBQ competitions. This past week, we were in Lake Havasu, AZ competing against some of the world's finest BBQ teams. We did OK, finishing 24th out of 71 teams. We also finished third in ribs overall and are currently ranked 11th nationally. Yup, we are definitely BBQ nerds. We head to Chandler, AZ in less than two weeks hoping for a decent showing w/ 20k in prize $ on the line.

Oh yeah, we also made a lot of $ for our charity, ASA, at last week's Havasu event.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/21/10 First Post of 2010

2010-01-21T21:04:00.000-08:00

Today Victoria brought home a very cool gift for me. She was recognized as her class' Student of the Week. She was very proud and I was even more proud of her accomplishment. Victoria knocked out another A+ on her spelling test, her 4th A+ in a row. She also received her 2nd quarter grades and got 3 A's and 1 B. She was pretty bummed about the B, but I explained to her that a B was just awesome.

The twins are doing pretty good, with Richie being a typical punk boy and Madeline still being my overly dramatic child. All three kids are now BMX riders (kind of) and got to go to the local BMX track to race their bikes. They all did really good and have the bruises and skinned knees to prove it. They absolutely loved it and cant wait to go again.

This weekend all three kids are going over to a friend's house while Lisa and I are doing yet another BBQ event. It will be a good time for us to get a brief break and some adult time away from kids. At the same time, we will miss them though.

We have been so unbelievably busy and really haven't had a free weekend in a few months. It doesn't look like things will be slowing down much either as our weekends are mostly booked into April. I anticipate the coming of the AZ summer will get us back to a somewhat sense of normalcy.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/13/09 Holiday Party

2009-12-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

We attended a holiday party this weekend with a great group of friends. The kids were so unbelievably pumped to see Santa and Mrs. Claus, and they were not dissapointed. After spending a good 3 hours gazing at the sky for Santa (seriously), the Mr. and Mrs. finally arrived. Thank goodness because the kids were really starting to become concerned about a possible no-show.

All of the DJ kids got to sit on Santa's lap and tell them all about the unbelievably expensive gifts they hoped to get this year. Whatever happened to kids wanting dolls and trucks? Now it's I-Pods and, X-Box's and DS's.

We all had a great time, got to eat some great food, we're able to see some great friends and make new ones as well. It doesnt get much better than that.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/9/09 Tempe Brew and Q results

2009-12-09T01:15:00.000-08:00

What a fun event this was. We had a great time with our BBQ family and surprisingly rocked the house in our toughest competition to date.

VRM Pit Crew finished 7th overall out of 33 teams and managed a 1st place call on our ribs. Most importantly, we beat the three top teams in the entire US in ribs. We were very proud and even more shocked. Yes, we are BBQ nerds, to say the least.

Almost as impressive as our 1st place ribs was our 7th place finish right behind 4 of the top 15 teams in nation. The other two teams that we finished behind are arguably the two best teams in the West that are not in the top 25 nationally. We also managed to make $100+ for our charity, ASA. I'd have to say that we did OK.

Lisa and I are really glad to be home and will take a much needed break from the rigors of competition BBQ for a few months. It's now time to settle in and really enjoy the holidays with our VRM's (Victoria, Richie and Maddie). We have a holiday party to attend this weekend and the kids are excited to see their friends.

On another note, Maddie made Honor Roll for the 1st Quarter of 2009. She was very proud and got a free coupon for McDonald's chicken nuggets. Richie is rocking his math schoolwork and is getting A's. Tori is an unbelievable speller and is consistently getting A+'s on her tests. I am so damn proud of my beautiful children and how hard they work. The DJ Kid's are rocking some serious mojo heading into the Christmas break and Santa will be very proud of them.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/1/09 Tempe Brew and Que

2009-12-01T21:52:00.000-08:00

VRM Pit Crew (our BBQ team) will be competing in the last national KCBS (Kansas City Barbeque Society) event of the year this weekend. This event will decide who is going to win the overall KCBS TOY award. Luckily, we're not a candidate for this award by any far stretch of the imagination.

Instead, we get to compete against the top three BBQ teams in the country. These teams are all travelling to Tempe in an attempt to win the coveted KCBS TOY award. Do we have a realistic chance of beating any one of them.....NO! Will we try as best we can to play David against Goliath...YES!

The reality of the situation is that these teams compete in 30+ competitions yearly, have sponsors and are damn good at what they do. Our greatest hope is to not embarrass ourselves, have fun, beat the local teams and raise some $ for the Autism Society of America. If we can accomplish that, I'd call it a win for VRM Pit Crew.

We're looking forward to this weekend and really hope to have good news to report after the event.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/1/09 Rough Afternoon

2009-12-01T21:37:00.000-08:00

It never ceases to amaze me on what gets my kids "fired up", for lack of a better term.

Today I bought Maddie a 50cent eraser and a 1$ pencil box per her teacher's request. Well, that went over like a Republican at an Obama rally. Instantly Tori welled up in tears, and was absolutely devastated that she didn't get the same goods. I attempted to explain the situation to her, but of course it fell on deaf ears. For some reason, Tori convinced herself that we cared more about Maddie than her. Richie didn't give a shit about any of the nonsense and was totally cool with everything.

Why are girls so unbelievably dramatic? I just don't get it.

The evening gradually got worse for Tori when we put a band aid on Maddie's scraped knee. Again, Tori just felt so unloved and uncared for. I attempted many times to explain things to her and reassure her and it did work in the short term.

In short, Tori needed a lot of extra time and love tonight....and I didn't mind giving it to her at all. Hopefully tomorrow will be better for her.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/26/09 Turkey Day

2009-11-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful meal today over at Lisa's Dad's home. Everything was absolutely great and I think I had seconds for the first time in a while. 9 adults and 4 kids just about finished a 20 lb bird. It was that good.

Unfortunately, I had been feeling like crap all day and did confirm that I had a fever when I got home. I hope it's the H1N1 virus so that I can brag to my friends about how I beat the swine flu. Kidding, of course.

Luckily Lisa has the next three days off for us to prepare for our next BBQ competition next weekend. Again, three of the top four teams are rumored to be flying out for this one with the TOY points chase on the line. Goody for us, 3 teams that we don't realistically have a chance of even finishing close to.

All of the DJ Kid's had a really good day, even Madeline. From the time we left for Turkey Day until the time we got home we had ZERO meltdowns. I was very proud of them.

On a closing note, I heard a pretty funny joke this week...if you're into corny jokes.

Q: How do you treat the Swine Flu?
A: With Oink-ment.

I love that joke...as cheesy as it is.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/19/09 Feast Day for the DJ Kid's school

2009-11-18T23:23:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is the 1st annual Thanksgiving Feast Day for the DJ Kid's new school, The Odyssey Preparatory Academy. For some reason I volunteered to make turkey for each kid's class.

One thing that I have learned is that turkeys do not defrost quickly. Actually, I already knew this, but I kind of forgot. Looks like I'll be up late waiting for that last turkey to cook, and then I get to slice it all and platter it.

As much work as it is, it's worth it. As long as the kids are happy, I'm more than willing to do it.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/18/09 3rd Annual Pulte BBQ Cookoff

2009-11-18T22:41:00.000-08:00

With great anticipation and a lot of nervousness, VRM Pit Crew managed to arrive at the 3rd Annual Pulte BBQ Competition later than we had planned. We set our Pit (cooking area) up within an hour and then went about our usual visitations with competing teams. We saw all of our usual friends, said hi, talked smack and then decided to head over to the "other side". I must explain what I mean by the "other side".

In this competition there were 41 teams, with maybe 15 that could realistically win....VRM Pit Crew not being one of them. This comp was a KCBS event, and apparently there were a handful of teams that were in the KCBS Team of the Year (TOY) hunt. Well, basically since AZ is a warm winter state, we have nicer BBQ Competition weather. This meant that 3 of the top 5 teams in the KCBS TOY hunt decided to head to AZ in attempt to better there chances at winning. So basically, these teams were flying in to AZ to embarrass us small-time teams....and they did a great job doing it.

So... back to the "other side". Lisa and I jumped in a Gator (glorified, non-roofed golf cart) and headed over to the "other side" to drop off a few supplies that we had promised to let an out-of-town KCBS TOY team borrow. The teams on the "other side" were all serious as hell and really focused...and this was at 3pm on Friday, many hours before they would start cooking. In short, there was a serious difference in what was happening over there as opposed to what was happening on our side of this competition. We later changed our term "other side" to "winner's row", and for good reason.

VRM Pit Crew finished 24th out of 41 and got a 10th place Brisket, 13th place Ribs, 32nd chicken and 34th pork. We didn't do good, but we didn't totally embarrass ourselves. One saving grace was that the top Chicken team in the West finished 39th in chicken.

I don't care how you slice it, the cream will always rise to the top in these competitions. We're still working on dialing in what we do, and our hopes are that we can continue to compete at a high level...as long as the ringers don't fly in.

On another note we did raise a few bucks for the Greater Phoenix Autism Society of America. It wasn't nearly what we wanted to donate, but it is what it is.

We are already preparing for our next competition which will be in two weeks. wish us luck, we really need it.

All for now.

the Dj Kid's Pop

10/25/09 Brisket Competition

2009-10-25T23:44:00.000-07:00

Today the family and I attended a brisket competition at Famous Dave's in Peoria. It was a small contest with low payouts...mostly a warm up for the BIG BBQ competition coming up in a few weeks. We decided not to compete, but to just go out and see some friends. I ended up judging and after eating 23 different briskets...well let's just say that I dont need any brisket for a long time.

The kids did really well, especially Tori. Tori has really latched on to the whole BBQ thing. She is always asking if and when we will be BBQing next. She really wants to start her own team with her brother and sister. They already have their own team name....VRM Kid's Crew.

Overall, we had a good time today. The kids each got a small treat for being such good kids. Of course, they all chose candy.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/19/09 Sick!

2009-10-18T23:25:00.000-07:00

It looks like Tori's cold has carried over to both Lisa and I. I have to imagine that the twins will be getting it this week. I sure hope not, as I have work late this week that I really need to do.

I guess we'll just have to wait and see what the future holds.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/12/09 Victoria...sick update 3

2009-10-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

She is finally doing a lot better. Still coughing, but more like herself this afternoon. Lets just say that she was well enough to eat a Frosty and some french fries, but not well enough to help Dad clean much.

Oh yeah, and she aced her practice spelling test. 10 for 10.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/12/09 Victoria...sick update 2

2009-10-12T07:25:00.001-07:00

Looks like the young lady and I will be staying home today. She is still a bit under the weather and needs to watch some cartoons to help her recover.

Oh well, at least we can get some extra practice in on that spelling test.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/12/09 Victoria...sick update

2009-10-12T01:41:00.000-07:00

After high fevers and general discomfort, it seems that Tori is now on the mend. She had a rough time over the past few days and still has a pretty bad cough. I think that she is really close to recovering...hopefully by tomorrow.

I really hope that she makes it to school, as she does have a spelling test that we have been studying for.

Luckily, the twins haven't caught the bug.....yet!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/8/09 Victoria

2009-10-08T01:35:00.000-07:00

Victoria had a Dr's appointment today that went pretty well. It was just a basic check-up appointment, so we didnt think too much of it. During Tori's appointment, the doc suggested that we do a full blood draw to check for a few things.

So...here we go....

I had to explain to Tori that we had to draw some blood at the next doc office. She freaked, settled down, freaked, talked me into buying her a toy and made me guarantee that I would hold her hand during the blood draw. Basically, Tori made sure that I knew that kids rule the world when they are sick and must have shots/blood work. I was Ok with that.

So, we get home and Tori says she wants to lay down and rest. 1st Flag

Tori then says she wants to take a nap. 2nd flag

Tori and I then headed over to the school to pick up the twins. Immediately, Maddie tells me that Tori feels hot. We get home, watch some baseball, and Maddie again tells me that "sissy feels hot". I take Tori's temp and, yup 102.6. Not good. Of course, Tori is a champ and says "I'm fine Daddy, can I have dessert?".

Long story short.... no school for Tori tommorrow. I sure hope Tori gets well by tomorrow night, Lisa and I have lots of work this weekend.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

9/15/09 Richie

2009-09-16T00:30:00.000-07:00

The dude busted his a$$ today helping me around the house. He also managed to knock out an entire worksheet of addition. It wasnt his homework, but he wanted to do it and he did a great job. I was very proud of him.

As a reward he got a Li Hing Mui, a salted plum. Long story, but at least he is keeping the local Hawaiian roots alive in Buckeye, Arizona.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

9/15/09 Back from the 1st AZ BBQ contest of the year

2009-09-15T23:53:00.001-07:00

Well, we actually arrived home a few days ago. After finally recuperating, here's the skinny.

We did good, just good. VRM Pit Crew managed 1st place in the Friday night contest (Anything Butt). For that win we owe thanks to Tutu and Papa for sending over the plates that won this for us. I really think it helped us win, as presentation was a major factor.

We also managed to place 3rd in chicken, 4th in ribs, 10th in Pork and 11th in Brisket in Saturday's Pro event. Overall we finished tied for 6th place on a the point scale and in 8th place overall due to the IBCA tie-breaker formula.

We were most proud of finishing 3rd in the chicken category....actually very proud. The 1st and 2nd place chicken finishers are teams that have absolutely lit up the competition BBQ circuit on the west coast. Both of these teams are also attending the Jack Daniels Invitational in Lynchburg,TN, which happens to be considered the SuperBowl of BBQ. Taking third behind both of them is phenomenal, to say the least. It lets us know that VRM Pit Crew is not a fluke.

We did have a great time and managed to make a decent amount of money for ASA, the charity that we support. We were also able to make enough $ to pay for the entry fee for our next competition in November. In short, this is the first time we have done well enough to make a serious dent in our expenses.

One thing that was really cool was the amount of people that asked us what restaurant we owned, or what vending company we worked for. Many people asked where they could get a business card. Ummm...that is in the works...someday.

I'd say that we are definitely heading in the right direction, and one day we will win a BBQ competition. This is something that I have no doubt about.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

9/9/09 BBQ Competitions - 2009/2010 Season

2009-09-10T00:07:00.000-07:00

Well, our season out here in AZ officially kicks off this weekend. We'll be heading for the cool pines of Northern AZ to try our hand against the other pros on the Barbeque trail.

This competition will be just a bit different for us....different in that we are going up there to WIN! We finally think we have what it takes to turn in good product. Now we just have to see if the judges feel the same way.

We decided to spread ourselves really thin and are actually doing 2 seperate competitions, the Pro one and the Backyard division. I honestly dont know why we decided to do the Backyard division, it's really going to kick our butt.

We are competing in hopes of not only having fun, but in making some $$ for The Autism Society of Greater Phoenix. We will be donating a portion of our winnings to this fine organization. Wish us luck, lord knows we need it.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

9/7/09 MDA Telethon

2009-09-07T04:09:00.000-07:00

It is really late, and I am off to bed really soon. I just wanted to throw something down on "virtual-paper" before it left my mind.

Today Lisa and I went down to the ASU campus, volunteering to answer phones for the MDA charity. I'll be honest, I really didnt want to go....for a variety of selfish reasons. Hindsight being what it is, I am now so unbelievably happy that I went. We both had a great time and met some really cool people.

I am positive that we will be doing this for years to come. What a great time!!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/3/09 The DJ Kids love school

2009-09-03T00:52:00.000-07:00

All of our kids are seeming to love being back in school. Maddie has made a few friends but cant remember their names. Richie has been very wound up after school, but is showing signs of settling in to his new routine. Victoria is her teacher's assistant...aka, teachers pet. Lisa is volunteering with Parking/kids drop off before she heads to work each day.

One notable change is that Maddie is now loving PE/Gym. We really worked on explaining that this school's PE/Gym was much better than her last school. And she bought it...even though it is the truth.

Today when I picked the kids up, Maddie said "Daddy, I almost cried today, but I kept telling myself 'dont cry Maddie, dont cry Maddie' and it worked Dad." She was so proud of herself...and I was even prouder.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/31/09 I'm thinking I might be back!! To Blogging!!

2009-08-31T01:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I have obviously hit that Blogger's Block. If you have a Blog, you know what I mean. I have posted so infrequently this summer and am surprised that I still want to write/type anything at all.

Now that the DJ Kids are back in school (effective today), I think that I might be able to ramp it up a bit and actually post and update the Blog more often. We'll see how that works out!

Lisa and I are really looking forward to this school year. The DJ Kids are now in a charter school and it looks as though this might actually be a GREAT advantage for them. On all accounts, this charter school looks like it will be much better than their previous school. Obviously, time will tell.

Now.....the kids:

Madeline
If I was an oddsmaker, I would anticipate Maddie making a huge academic push this year. I have no doubt that she will kick butt academically, if she's given the tools to succeed. Our only concern is PE/Gym. She hates this part of her curriculum and is not OK with a lot of kids touching her and violating her personal space.

Maddie's teacher (Miss E) did introduce Maddie to the PE/Gym teacher at our "Meet the Teacher Day". Maddie was still really aprehensive, but seemed...well...OK. I have talked to Maddie a lot about PE/Gym and how it would be different from her last school, but I dont really think she's buying it just yet. It should be interesting.

Richie
Well...Richie, he's kind of like me. My father always said that "if there is a god in heaven, he'll give you a child just like you". Not a direct quote, but you get the jist. Well that "god in heaven" was obviously listening to my father.

Basically Richie doesnt care for school, writing, or any of that stuff. Richie would rather break any and every rule and do boy stuff. I'm hoping that 1st grade turns the young lad around.

Victoria
Tori should easily settle right in.....as she is entering SECOND GRADE. She is such a big girl and is excited and mortified at the same time about her new school. Tori is very concerned that she wont fit in and was very anxious today. She cried for a bit when I talked with her about making friends...in her words: "I'm shy". Victoria will be fine, she just over-thinks things.

There will obviously be a lot of talk at the dinner table tommorrow night, and honestly...I cant wait!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/31/09 School starts tomorrow!

2009-08-31T00:53:00.000-07:00

Thank goodness that school starts tomorrow. It has been a long summer for the DJ Kids, and they are so ready to get back to school.

Tori cant wait, Richie could care less and Maddie is petrified about gym/PE.

Lisa and I are both really pleased about their new school. I anticipate that it will go well.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/24/09 Angel the Beetle

2009-08-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

I go downstairs the other day and can instantly tell that my two oldest children are up to something. Apparently they have managed to capture a small beetle that somehow wandered into our house. They are unbelievably thrilled at their great fortune and decide to take it upstairs to Tori's room. Once in Tori's room, the beetle is named Angel and let loose in Tori's doll house.

Over the next few hours Tori and Richie, are totally enthralled with this disgusting bug. I get updates on what Angel is doing about every ten minutes. Fascinating stuff I tell you. Of course, Maddie couldn't care less and would rather read and color.

I'm really not thinking much of this situation except: a) I don't really want Angel in the house and b) At least Richie and Tori are entertaining themselves.

Suddenly, disaster strikes. Angel unexpectedly passes away.

Tori is devastated....I mean crying, trembling, gasping-for-air devastated. It takes me about 10 minutes to calm her down and explain that, well.....bugs die. She eventually accepts this sudden passing once she understands that Angel can now play with Pongo (our old dog) in heaven.

After her sadness subsided, she and Richie are off to find another beetle. And damn if they didn't find another one...which they named Angel.

7/30/09 Almost Lisa's 30th birthday

2009-07-30T23:13:00.001-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY........ to the most beautiful woman in the world!!!!!!

I wont be near a computer tomorrow to post this so I decided to do it before I turn in for the night. I hope you have a great day at work, and damn do I have a surprise for you manana!

I love you Lisa!! Thanks for everything you do.

RD

7/10/09 Happy Birthday Richie and Maddie

2009-07-10T09:23:00.001-07:00

The twins turned 6 years old today. It really is amazing how fast they have grown up. I never understood it when the oldtimers said "they grow up so fast". I always just wrote that statement off to senility. I guess I'm going senile, because now I get it.

Happy Birthday to my two beautiful keikis. I love you both.

Love Dad

7/8/09 Twin Teeth & Maddie

2009-07-08T20:28:00.000-07:00

The twins have begun to lose teeth. Richie has lost two and Maddie just lost her first last week. Richie basically ripped his loose teeth out because he was so pumped about the toothfairy. He also managed to help Maddie rip hers out as well. Kids.

Richie thought it was awesome and wanted to go to bed ASAP both nights so that the toothfairy would show up faster. Maddie seemed OK with the toothfairy idea...at first. Then, someone (Me) almost got totally busted trying to swap out the goods late one evening. I did pull it off but have kind of ruined the toothfairy thing for her.

Here's how it went down.

So, I sneak into Maddie's room and swap the tooth for the dollar and gum. No problem. I'm heading out, get to the door and I hear "Daddy?". I turn around and explain that I was just checking on her and that everything is OK. Out the door I go, thinking I have saved the day. A couple minutes later, Maddie opens her bedroom door and asks for Lisa. Lisa comes back downstairs and tells me to go upstairs to see Maddie.

Maddie explains to me that the toothfairy did come into her room and that she did not like it. I asked her why. She explained that when the toothfairy came into her room and waved her wand, a bunch of fairy dust went up Maddie's nose. Maddie also insisted that the fairy dust going up her nose had made her throat hurt. I asked her if she saw the toothfairy and she said sternly, "No dadddy, I just know that's what happened".

So, as agreed upon by all parties, all of Maddie's future teeth will be put under a designated pillow downstairs.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, Maddie had her tonsils removed today. After she awoke from surgery Maddie was a bit scared. When Lisa and I got back to Maddie's recovery area, Maddie was obviously distraught by the whole ordeal. Lisa did manage to calm Maddie down fairly quickly. Within twenty minutes, Maddie and I were on the way home (via the store).

We hit the store to fill prescriptions. While we waited for prescriptions we managed to add 2 half gallons of mint ice cream, 2 packages of Blue Raspberry Icee Pops and a Thumbelina doll to the cart.

I was very surprised that Maddie was actually in great spirits all afternoon. Her only difficult times were when it was time to take meds. We hung out most of the day and played games or just talked. I really did enjoy our time together today and am looking forward to more 1 on 1 time w/ her tomorrow.

I don't recall Richie's tonsillectomy going nearly as well as Maddies.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

6/26/09 Funny stuff...

2009-06-27T00:28:00.001-07:00

The reason we no longer have dogs.

see more Fail Blog

Recently saw a sign that looked just like this one. Of course, minus the fire.

see more Fail Blog

WTF?????

see more Fail Blog

That would definitely be worth buying.

see more Fail Blog

Funny!

see more Fail Blog

5/19/09 Graduation and pool??

2009-05-19T00:22:00.000-07:00

Maddie and Tori. Bad picture of Richie graduating, he is in blue shirt/white hat. Richie jumping into Tata and Nana's pool. Maddie at graduation.

4/27/09 Stagecoach BBQ Competition and Music Festival

2009-04-27T23:02:00.000-07:00

WOW!! That's all I can really say. Lisa and I had a wonderful time at this event. We were working and didn't have the opportunity to socialize as much as we wanted to. We also didnt have the time to compete in the BBQ contest. Still, it was a great time with wonderful friends.

We only catered for about 1000 people over two days but did receive some serious VIP privileges. Of course we didn't figure out what great VIP access we had until the final day. I suppose that is to be expected when you are unbelievably busy.

We heard great music from Kid Rock, Brad Paisley, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town and Darius Rucker. On the final night we were able to see Kenny Chesney from the front row after all of our catering was complete. It was very cool.

As much fun as we had, we really missed our kids. We were very pleased to get home to them safely and spent a great evening with them. Of course, they got the mandatory gifts that kids get when parents travel. It is good to be home and to see smiling children.

Attached above are a few pictures of the weekend's events.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/23/09 Stagecoach

2009-04-23T17:06:00.000-07:00

Lisa and I are heading out the door to Indio CA in just a few minutes. This weekend is the Stagecoach Festival, which is a huge concert and BBQ competition. We'll be heading out there to compete, me on the Whiskey Ranch team and Lisa on the all-girl Smoked to the Bone team.

We'll also be cooking up some BBQ for a few VIPs like the LA Dodgers, Budweiser, Golden Voice, Kenny Chesneey and Brad Paisley. Should be a lot of fun, a lot of work and a lot of $$$$.

I'm sure I'll have pictures when we get back.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

Easter 2009

2009-04-16T00:20:00.000-07:00

All of the kids had a really good time, but an overload of sugar made for a difficult evening. Nothing too bad, but definitely to be expected.

Victoria, Richie and Maddie all loved their Hawaiian bunnies that they received. They are very attached to them. They also really liked the cards they got from Tata and Nana.

It was a very good day and Lisa made a great Easter dinner for us all.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/9/08 Random thoughts.....

2009-04-09T21:52:00.000-07:00

Now, I know I'm not the smartest person in the world and I'm OK with that, but here is what I think.

If I was the president of the USA, there is no way that I would ever bow to anyone in the world unless it was customary. Period!

Those Somali pirates really F'd up. I am guessing that they didn't know what country's ship they were hijacking.

Kim Jong-il is just a bad person and a serious cause of concern for all free nations.

The war in Afghanistan will get really bad in the coming months/years.

Fiji's people are now, more than ever, totally screwed by what went down today. Iloilo's rag-tag "government" might have another coup coming their way soon.

And..... the Boston Red Sox will win the World Series.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/8/09 Finally....

2009-04-08T13:23:00.001-07:00

All of the DJ Kid's are finally well. I met them after school and they all seemed to be in pretty decent spirits. They all told me how excited they were to spend Friday with me since it is a school holiday. I dont know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

The family and I have a small BBQ competition this weekend and we're all looking forward to it. Lord knows we could use the practice.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

WOW....How does it get this bad??

2009-04-08T00:29:00.000-07:00

I DO NOT want to confuse anyone, because things are very OK here in our lives. Please do not think that this post is in anyway a reflection of my thoughts or plans......Seriously! I personally believe that if it ever gets this bad, you need some serious professional help.

BUT...Consider this.

March 10 - Gunman kills 10 people and commits suicide. This guy unfortunately couldn't keep a job and left behind lists of employers and co-workers he believed had wronged him.

March 22 - A man pulled over in a routine traffic stop fatally shoots two officers and then kills two more in a gunfight. Gunman also killed. This guy was frustrated about not finding work and feared returning to jail.

March 29 - A man shoots and kills his two children and three other relatives, then kills himself at a family housewarming party. No motive, but sources say he was upset about being laid off.

March 30 - An unemployed Los Angeles father kills his family of 5 because he and his wife were fired by the hospital where they worked.

April 3 - A gunman bursts into an immigrant center and kills 13 people before killing himself. Again, he was not happy about losing his job.

April 4 — A gunman wearing a bulletproof vest opens fire on officers responding to a domestic disturbance call, killing three of them. This guy was upset about losing his job and was concerned that the Obama administration was going to ban guns.

OK, lets look at this realistically.

Financially, times are very difficult...so be it. But are these financial times so difficult that you need to kill people, especially people you profess to love? Let's be honest; live off the government if you have to. In fact, people have been doing it for years with welfare, unemployment, food stamps, Gov't housing, WIC (in AZ), etc.

I honestly believe that we have not seen the end of this financial crisis that will cause otherwise decent people to go on a rampage. I hope I'm wrong, but I dont think I am.

All for now.

4/8/09 DJ Kids have been sick..

2009-04-08T00:10:00.000-07:00

All of the kids have been sick and feverish over the past two weeks. They are all doing OK and luckily it came in waves. Victoria was first, Richie was second and Madeline is just finishing up....hopefully.

The DJ Kids actually did pretty well overall. I'm positive that we are at the ending stages of this fever crap.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/13/08 Been taking a hiatus.......

2009-03-13T00:09:00.000-07:00

I really need to get back to this blogging stuff. I've read so many of my friend's blogs, and decided that I really need to step it up.

Short report....

All of the kids are doing amazing. We had great PT (parent/teacher) conferences w/ all of the kid's teachers. It has been confirmed that they are all doing unbelievably great. I was so proud, yet not astonished at all. Hard work equals positive rewards.

Now, onto Victoria's big event.

Victoria turned 7 years old recently, and it was decided that she would now be a full-fledged member of VRM Pit Crew. VRM Pit Crew is our competition BBQ team. Victoria did a great job and helped out w/ anything and everything that she was assigned to. She did great and again, I was so proud.

VRM Pit Crew did pretty good at the Tempe BBQ Festival and actually had 9 calls to the stage. Nothing spectacular, but pretty decent in my mind.

Here's the breakdown:

IBCA
7th place chicken
7th place brisket
14th overall out of 32 teams

Friday Night Other Categories
10th place beans
5th place Anything Butt

Backyard Division
1st place kabob
5th place burger
5th place chicken
3rd place chili
Reserve Grand Champion (2nd place overall) in the Backyard Division

A good showing, but we do need to get better.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

2/25/09 An Angel turns 7

2009-02-25T17:06:00.000-08:00

Today is my beautiful daughter's birthday. Victoria is now 7 years old and has a little extra swagger in her step today. We will celebrate tonight with Victoria's favorite dinner and a cake.

I am so very proud of her and have been in a fabulous mood all day long.

I love you Victoria.

Love Dad

1/24/08 Way too late!!

2009-01-24T01:47:00.000-08:00

I have no business being up this late....none at all!! I haven't posted anything in close to a month and probably need some time to re-wire my thoughts about what I just read.

I've spent the past few hours re-reading my early posts from 2003 to (early)2006. Dang do I have some serious observations......

In no particular order.... here we go.

- Lisa rocks!! Nothing left to say about that. Lisa is the best woman ever, and hasn't been given enough credit. She is a wonderful wife and an even better mother to our kids. Credit is overly due to how much she defines our family.

- I seemed smarter in 2006. I used to write more detailed posts regarding my kids/family/autism/general crap.

- I found myself looking more at the negative issues of my kids rather than the positive strides that they were making.

- I was thinking/stressing/worrying that I was a bit out of touch as a father, based on my kid's specific needs/development plans.

- I should have been better at responding to the people that read this blog....especially that lady in NY.

- I have the utmost respect for all of the readers that never comment on any of my posts publicly. Dont get me wrong, I do appreciate the positive/supportive comments. However, it is really nice to hear the same comments (and differing opinions) in a personal email as well.

Remember...this is only my 2003-(early)2006 observations. I'll get to the re-reading portion of 2006 - current soon. I'm sure I'll have more to say about that.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/25/08 Christmas!!

2008-12-25T22:15:00.000-08:00

What a day it was. We were all up early. Three kids were super excited and pumped up to see what Santa had brought them. I would have preferred to sleep longer, but I managed to remember the magic that Christmas brings to kids. Therefore, Lisa and I woke up and took as much video/pics as we could.

It was a glorious morning and the kids just tore presents apart as fast as they could. They all seemed very happy and very thankful for what they received. As always, it was cool to watch their faces as they opened their gifts.

Victoria, Richie and Maddie said that they all had a wonderful Christmas. They loved all of the toys that Santa brought them, but especially loved the band-aids that they received from Tutu and Grandpa (Papa). They really were very cool bandaids. Tori's had Nigiri (sushi) on hers.

We had a great dinner of BBQ ribs and veggies. Surprisingly, Monster Taco (Richie), out-ate Ribby (Maddie)in the rib category for the first time ever. I was surprised...although looking back, the kids did have a lot of shrimp and snacks throughout the day.

All-in-all, it was great day. It was awesome to talk to Tutu and Papa. The kids had a blast talking to their grandparents and commented on it often throughout the day.

Tomorrow we will be visiting Lisa's side of the family. The DJ Kid's are really excited to see their Nana and Tata tomorrow. We're all looking forward to a great time tomorrow.

All for now. The DJ Kid's Pop

12/12/08 Random

2008-12-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

It's been awhile since I've posted anything, so here goes.

The kid's had their school X-mas singing thingy this week. They all did really good and were so proud of their performances. It really was cool to see them up there, especially w/ Tori screaming her songs at the top of her lungs..."so everyone could hear me Daddy". The pictures turned out horrible, due to bad lighting.

They all did good at the event, but keeping them up late and deviating from the "schedule" was interesting to say the least. I'll leave it at that.

On another note, Lisa and I had another BBQ competition/class last weekend which really went very well. We learned a heckuva lot of new stuff and were really glad that we attended. Basically, we decided that this was going to be our X-Mas gift to each other this year.

I guess I should break down the event..... It was a bunch of teams learning new tricks of the trade from a very high-ranking Cali BBQ team. This was followed by a mock competition that was run in the exact same way that the competitions that we compete in adhere to. There were 20 teams competing/learning, many of which we have competed against in previous competitions.

We took 8th in brisket, 10th in ribs, 3rd in chicken and 1st in pork. Overall, we finished 2nd out of 20 teams. We were really pumped about finishing as high as we did, especially w/ only the two of us cooking. Usually we have a team of 5-8 helping us out. It was a heckuva lot of work, but work that we are proud of. We are now on the AZ BBQ competition "map"...and are a team that is being talked about.

Tomorrow we have an X-mas party to go to, and we have prepped the kids about it. They seem excited and have been told that there will be lots of BBQ/food for them to devour. Unfortunately, we have another X-mas party that we really wanted to attend, but dont think we can due to timelines that wont match up. Major Bummer!! There is always so much going on in December.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/29/08 Christmas is coming........

2008-11-29T22:37:00.000-08:00

We had a great Turkey Day. The kids were really wound up tight and grated on our nerves, but they did pretty good. It was really cool to hear them tell us what they were thankful for. Mostly, they were thankful for their family, and that was very nice to hear. Richie did say that he was thankful for the dog and Victoria did say that she was thankful for her teacher. Maddie, well she just seemed to be thankful in general.

We smoked a turkey and it turned out pretty good for our first attempt. We added a ham and all of the usual traditional sides. I'd have to say that it was a pretty decent day, wonderful eats, but hectic at times.

Christmas lights went up yesterday and today and we had lots of "help" from the kids. It is amazing how much longer it takes to set up Xmas lights w/ "help" from the kids. Still, it was cool to see them involved.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/27/08 Oh yeah!!

2008-11-26T23:07:00.000-08:00

Go Cardinals...... really looking forward to the upset that they will be putting on the Eagles tomorrow night!

That will make for a great Turkey Day!

All for now!

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/27/08 Turkey Day

2008-11-26T22:55:00.000-08:00

Well it's late, and I am trying to get everything ready for our great feast tomorrow. The turkey is brining, and I cant wait to smoke it on the WSM (Weber Smokey Moutain).

Maddie's mashed potatoes are pre-made and ready, Richie's dinner rolls are waiting to be cooked and Victoria's ham is waiting for the final touches. They will all have a hand in the cooking process, and they seem really excited about it.

I cant wait for a wonderful day.....and the great sleep that comes after a turkey dinner.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/15/08 I had a great day w/ my kids!!

2008-11-15T22:55:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty cool day. I actually got to spend a lot of time with my kids. They are so much easier to handle when they have no meltdowns and are so happy. These days are not as frequent as I would like, so I truly relish them.

There really isnt much to tell, except that they were fabulous today. We did get to play a lot and there was a lot of the Daddy Monster going on (where I grab one and tickle them while their siblings try to rescue them). For some reason the Daddy Monster always loses. I got dog-piled on a lot today, which is actually starting to hurt as they get bigger.

We made ribs for dinner, per Ribby's (Maddie's) request. She, of course, ate the most. Dessert was the chocolate chip cookies that we all made together. They all helped make the cookies and took turns stirring and mixing the batter. All three of my helpers were wonderful today.

Hopefully, in the very near future, we will be taking them out to a wilderness area for a camp breakfast and a short hike. I'm really looking forward to that.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/11/08 2008 VRM Pit Crew BBQ Contest

2008-11-10T22:51:00.000-08:00

WOW!!!

We finished our 2008 BBQ competition this past Saturday night. We actually did really well, in our eyes. We managed 7th in Chicken(CHX), 7th in Ribs, 24th in Pork and 27th in Brisket for an overall combined score of 17 out of 32 teams.

We did great in the CHX and Ribs category, placing behind some of the best teams in the state/nation. We really were right up there knocking on the doors of the "Big Dog" BBQ teams. Our Pork and Brisket entries....yeah, well we have lots to learn in those categories.

We still had a great time and realize that nothing ventured is nothing gained. We will take all that we have learned and apply it to our next contest.

We did manage to raise $150 towards Autism research and will be splitting the winnings between WeeCare and the ASU Autism program.

I think that the best part of what we accomplished was hearing our kids say "Oh yeah, Daddy and Mommy won the ribs and chicken contest"...even though we only finished 7th in both. Still, their spoken words ring louder than anything....anything at all!

Tori will be on-board and helping at the very next BBQ competition, as she will be 7-years-old soon. She is very excited and has been asking how soon she can be involved. I am really pumped to have her giving us a needed hand.

Oh yeah, and above is what a 7th place ribs looks like. Guess we need to work on uniformity!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

11/3/08 Belated Halloween

2008-11-03T22:00:00.001-08:00

Halloween was wild around here. The kids all had a great time and were very wound up in the hours leading up to Trick-or-Treat time. I was really glad when bedtime rolled around.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/23/08 Kid's parent/teacher conferences

2008-10-23T18:14:00.000-07:00

All of the kids are doing pretty well.

Richie-
The young man is doing well and is meeting or close to meeting his goals. He has a great time playing with his friends and has many of them. He does become easily frustrated when he is not able to accomplish a task in the set time frame. I guess he told the teacher that he was going to tell his mom that he wasnt coming to school anymore....all because he didnt get to finish what he was working on within the set time period.

Maddie-
My youngest is doing well and is meeting or close to meeting her goals. She doesnt have the same socialization skills that Richie does and kind of keeps to herself. Her teacher did note that early in the year she played with nobody and basically just hung out by the classroom door waiting to go back to class. She has improved as the school year has progressed. The teacher said that Maddie is now playing appropriately with others 3 out of 5 days. It's a start.

Victoria-
I 100% knew we were going to hear an awesome review of my oldest child. I wasnt dissapointed at all. Victoria is a very popular girl with her classmates. She listens very well and causes no trouble whatsoever. She is reading above where she should be and is really excelling at math. Victoria's teacher gave her some 2nd grade level work to do and she had no problems at all with it. According to Victoria's teacher, she is a joy to be around and is a very motivated student.

I was proud of all of my kid's yesterday. It is really wonderful to see all of the hard work and effort paying off.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/21/08 Blog has a new name.......

2008-10-21T01:51:00.000-07:00

I kind of figured that it was time to rename this thing since Victoria really isnt into being called Stinky any longer. She prefers Taco Girl, because she absolutely loves tacos.

Richie loves tacos as well and has self-glossed himself as Monster Taco.

Maddie thinks that BBQ is one of the best things on earth and has been calling herself Ribby for quite some time.

Kids!!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/21/08 Victoria is going to be so pumped.....

2008-10-21T00:34:00.001-07:00

I'm currently simmering her favorite dish....Chicken Feet! I have no idea why she likes them so much but if it makes her happy, well then I'm thrilled. The twins also like them, but not to the extent of Victoria. I still cant get Lisa to try them.....go figure.

Not really anything new to report. All of the kids have their parent/teacher conferences this week, so we will see how they are all doing. I anticipate positive reports, especially from Victoria's teacher.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/15/08 Life plods on....

2008-10-15T00:22:00.000-07:00

So life is sort of status quo here for right now. I am still looking for a job and have become extremely proficient at copying and pasting resumes/cover letters. Lisa and I heard a financial analyst last night on TV say that it is taking most people 8-10 months to find solid employment in the current economy. I told Lisa that I was just going to take the next six months off and then start looking again...joking of course.

The Kid's are doing OK. They are on their Fall Break right now and damn is it obvious. The disruption in their schedule has thrown them all a bit off.

Maddie has had 4 straight days of what we call "light-switching". She's perfectly normal and happy at one moment and then "click", she's on the floor having a meltdown. This seems to be the norm around here over the past 4 days for her and is tough to deal with. Redirecting Maddie works as a temporary fix until the next meltdown. Not fun!

We cant wait to get Maddie to her appointment with one of the premier Autism Docs in Arizona, but are concerned that insurance wont cover it. If that is the case, we will have to bail out on that appointment, which we have been waiting on for many, many months.

Richie has been having some issues as well. This weekend he got in a lot of touble for hitting Maddie. I dont know where he gets his aggression from, but we absolutely will not tolerate hitting in our household. Hell, we dont even spank our kids. Richie spent his Sunday evening in his room, and didnt get dessert or get to watch Oswald, his favorite show.

Victoria has been my typical oldest girl lately. She is absolutely excelling in school, often asking to do her homework repeatedly. She has a great work ethic, which I know she gets from Lisa. Victoria is always a huge helper around the house and in keeping the twins occupied in play. The one thing about Victoria that is difficult is when one of the twins are given a compliment. This usually results in Victoria asking why she wasnt given the compliment as well.

Example:

Me: "Maddie you are eating your green beans so good today."
Victoria: "Daddy, I'm eating mine.....haww come no one likes me when I eat my green beans to?"

Basically, if any other kid gets a compliment, Victoria feels like she has failed. This is very difficult for us to manage but we have learned to adjust to it and make sure to praise Victoria as well. She is the only one having these issues at this time, and believe me......she is told how absolutely loved/appreciated/respected she is more than any kid I know.

Lisa is working her ass off and has gotten another raise...and damn did our family need it. She is an unbelievable asset not only to her employer but to our family as well. She is a great wife and a wonderful mother to our children.

Lisa and I have a really weird situation coming up this Friday evening...we actually have no kids and the opportunity to have a date. A real date!! I honestly cant remember the last time we went out together as a couple and am really looking forward to it. Now, where to go??? Wienerschnitzel or Taco Bell??

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

10/2/08 Just cant sleep!! Rant!

2008-10-02T02:37:00.000-07:00

Reality has really set in here. Gone are the days when we actually had equity in our home. Gone are the days when the home-building industry was a high-fiving, back-slapping place to work (Hell, gone are the days when I had a job in the industry).

I vividly remember in 2006 when my Loan Counselor chuckled as he said "Guess what, the home appraised 60K over value...you got a great deal". Times were great then and we actually did get a great deal on our home within that current market. Times have significantly changed and it really sucks!

In all likelihood, we wont stay in this home for very long. It's not that we cant make payments...it's more like we wont be making payments. When you are so unbelievably upside down on your home, it really makes financial sense to just walk away, especially in the current economic dowturn. Irresponsible, absolutely! Logical, absolutely! I even asked a friend (GM of a bank) for his advice and he said......WALK!

Who knew that this housing/economic crisis would run this deep. I actually just read a news report that our zip code was one of the 5 biggest foreclosure areas in the greater Phoenix area...........and all I can say is thanks for not making your payments and hurting the rest of us you stupid a$$ jerks! Luckily, our home is in my name only and not Lisa's. That means I will take the credit hit and not her.

Oh well, we've been dealt a lot of blows and will get through this one to. So be it!

All for now.

9/4/08 Random thoughts!

2008-09-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

1)Lisa and I watched Sarah Palin's acceptance speech at the RNC last night, and damn were we impressed. I must admit that initially I was dissappointed about McCain's choice in his running mate. Quite honestly, I wasnt going to vote for either candidate this year as I wasnt a fan of either Obama or McCain. Palin has changed my mind and I was "wowed" at how well she delivered her speech. I was even more impressed after I heard news reports today that said that her teleprompter went on the fritz during the speech. McCain, and mostly Palin, now have two more votes coming out of AZ.

2) Looking for jobs really sucks. I still havent found anything, but continue to plug away. Honestly, I'm really enjoying some time with my kids after school. It is something I have never been able to do. As trying as it can be at times, it is very rewarding.

3) Victoria had a somewhat difficult day today. When I picked her up from school I had a brief conversation with her teacher, as I do everyday. Victoria's teacher told me that they had a school assembly today. She noted that Victoria had some minor meltdowns every time all of the kids got really loud during the assembly, but added that Victoria was very happy once the noise settled down.

4) Tomorrow after school K (kids's habilitator) and I will be taking them to the local (free) waterpark. They always have a great time there and are usually quite worn out afterwards. I do plan on taking lots of pictures of them tomorrow, as I really need more of them having fun together. The pictures above are from last week's excursion to the waterpark.

5) This weekend we are going to try to get some things done around the house...things that we can have the kids help with. Last weekend we really didnt do much of anything except hang out as family. While it was fun and all of the kids had their best three-day-weekend ever, we werent very productive.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/27/08 Victoria is reading like a champ

2008-08-28T22:35:00.000-07:00

Now that I have ample time to hang out with my kids, we have been doing a lot of extra reading. Times may be tough, but at least I get a small slice of what Lisa was able to enjoy and endure in the past.

Victoria is blowing the roof off of her reading skills, and I am so damn proud! I picked her up from school yesterday for the first time. Victoria's teacher and I had a brief exchange and I asked Miss S. how Victoria was doing overall. She replied that Victoria was doing fantastic, and was the class "superstar" when it came to reading. She even acknowledged that Victoria had been bumped up a book over her classmates.

Today, after I picked Victoria up from school, we did some simple errands and then went home to get down to business. Victoria read me five simple books and really blazed through them. I was proud of her and told her that I would make her favorite food...... chicken feet (dont ask). She was pumped! Although the perfect chicken feet recipe takes time, Victoria did manage to keep it in check as we waited for the recipe to finish.

Victoria did have a chicken foot, but only one. She said that she wanted to save the rest for her brother and sister. When the twins arrived home, they were more interested in having Sloppy Joes, and not chicken feet (more for me).

As I was making the Sloppy J's, the Twins and I sat down to do homework. Each kid needed to write their name 10 times. It was a minor chore for them, but they did pretty good. It was very tough to keep them focused on their homework as Victoria kept butting in with "Halloween is coming" (Now why the hell do stores start stocking Halloween crap in late August????).

I proceeded to make Sloppy Joes (with elk) and the kids wolfed them down, especially Madeline. They all had a great dinner and got cantaloupe for dessert, which they loved. After dinner, their provider K and I got them bathed and ready to watch Oswald (Richie's favorite show). Then it was off to bed.

Boring post, I know, yet a good one for me. I dont usually get to do these things with my kids that often. I'm very thankful to be able to spend time with them, but a new job would also be nice.

Oh yeah....as an afterthought, Victoria did get in a bit of trouble for writing in crayon on the kitchen table. I didnt catch this until late this afternoon, but Victoria apparently did her 'tagging' this morning. I scolded her and sent her to her room. She understood why she was in trouble and helped me clean it off.

Now here's the kicker...... as they were all eating I noticed that the back (neck high) of Madeline's chair had been written on in crayon (I failed to notice it before). I looked directly at Victoria and asked her "Did you do that, that's pretty good handwriting and looks like yours?". She admitted her guilt, and upon closer examination Madeline's chair read "I love Maddie". Without skipping a beat Victoria said "Daddy turn around and look at yours". I turned around and here's what my chair read: "I love Dad". I had to stifle my laughter. It was cute, but at the same time....well, umm, can ya try a kid for the same "crime" twice. I think not. Picture is shown at the top of this post, although not very readable unless you click on it to get a better view.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/23/08 Long day!!

2008-08-23T23:39:00.001-07:00

I dont really even know what to write tonight. I am fried from an unbelievably long day. The kids were so very, very off today and really tried the patience of both Lisa and I. I am so glad that they are finally asleep.

Richie purposely slammed Maddie's foot in his bedroom door and was in trouble right off the bat. I explained to him that boys dont hurt girls...ever. I made him shadow me for about 3 hours after the incident and refused to let him play with his sisters for that period of time. He absolutely hated this and kept asking to go play with them. He was very remorseful, but still needed to learn yet another lesson.

Victoria was bouncing off the walls today, screaming and arguing with anyone and everyone she could. I threatened her with a loss of privileges and that kind of calmed her attitude down a bit. I made it a point to let her know that if she wasnt good, respectful and mindful that she would be not be going out for her Daddy day tomorrow.

Madeline was quite simply, very "off" today. She had a major meltdown at about 11pm tonight when she woke her sister up (they slept in the same bed tonight). She was sent to her room and proceeded to become absolutely hysterical, crying and throwing a fit. She really wanted to go back to sleep with Victoria, but it just wasnt in the cards. All in all, it was just one of those days that we really need to get past and regroup.

On another note, Lisa got called into her manager's office on Friday afternoon. She was informed that she was no longer an hourly employee, but a salaried employee. She was asked to sign paperwork that stated that she was required to work 50 hours/week at her workplace in addition to having to work at home on the weekends. It was very interesting, considering the fact that over the past few months her company has absolutely required that she work no more than 40 hours/week. Now they demand that she work an additional 2 hours per day, at a reduced pay rate, in addition to working on weekends. I asked her to start looking for another job ASAP, but she is really committed to working for this company. God bless her, she really is a freaking champion.

I still havent found a job and things have really tightened up around our household. I have been applying to about 10 jobs/day, but have had very little responses to my applications. I'm thinking that it might be time to go "pound pavement" soon rather than doing this online application thing.

It's amazing to me how swiftly this economy has worsened. In my entire lifetime, I have never seen, heard or remember things being so economically strained. Luckily, we still have food, shelter and the funds to pay our bills. There are certainly people that have it so much harder, and I'm thankful that we are currently able to make ends meet.

Oh well, Fuck it! We'll try again tomorrow.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/19/08 Nothing really new!!

2008-08-19T23:46:00.000-07:00

We received more info on the robbery that happened last week that put the kid's school on "lockdown". Apparently, two guys dressed as "landscapers" stormed a small bank here in Buckeye and took a lot of cash before fleeing on foot. They were apparently very courteous, but did get away and have yet to be caught. I guess those smaller banks are easier targets, but still.....thats lame.

There's not much news here. I'm still "retired" and am looking to come out of retirement at the earliest possible chance. Hey, Brett Favre can do it, why cant I?

I have attached some pics of the kids (obviously above) eating one of their favorite dishes.....Ribs!

Ribbie (Maddie) had 5 ribs...she is always the best rib eater.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/14/08 Kid's and school

2008-08-14T21:44:00.001-07:00

Well, today was an interesting day. As all of the kids arrived home, they were oh so eager to tell me about what happened at school today. Apparently the school went into lockdown shortly after an armed robbery that took place nearby. Actually, the robbery sounds like it was a lot closer to the kid's old school but I have been unable to find any news info on the incident.

Details are kind of sketchy but the school did send a note home with each kid. So...all three kids were overly excited to give us the paperwork regarding the incident. In Victoria's eyes the incident was "cool". In Richie's eyes, well he was just happy to report that a police officer caught the six bad guys (Richie has his early sights set on being a Police Officer). In Maddie's eyes, since they locked the door, turned off the lights and drew the window shades.....well, she took a nap.

The Kid's had a pretty good day today, as opposed to the past two days when it was melt-down central here. I helped Victoria do her homework, which was reading for 15 minutes. She did really good, but did get frustrated at times. I was proud of her and after each short book that she read she received a Pez candy from her Princess Pez dispenser. I love doing her homework with her and, even under our current circumstances, am very glad that I am available to help her.

Tonight, I took a gamble and decided to make the kids chicken and dumplings for dinner. I was shocked that they absolutely loved it. I told them about how their Great Grandma made the best chicken and dumplings in the world and how I loved them as a little boy. They will definitely be on the menu more often. Richie actually had two helpings and proceeded to inform me that the carrots would help his eyes when he was a Police Officer. Very cute indeed.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

8/14/08 Nothing to report

2008-08-14T14:18:00.000-07:00

No post, just had to post this picture because they're kind of cute with their smoothie mustaches.

8/9/08 The inevitable

2008-08-09T15:57:00.000-07:00

Well, the other shoe finally dropped this week. I was laid off from my job this past Thurday, the day before my birthday. I really appreciated that. Actually, this is not as bad as it could have been. The reality is that I was able to ride out the storm that is the current housing market much longer than many others. My boss was very cool about it and I could really tell that he was not enjoying what Corporate had instructed him to do.

I was told that this was absolutely not a performance isssue, but I dont think many people really care what the reasoning is when it is happening to them. Oh well, we'll move forward and do our best. Luckily, I have a strong support system of friends and family.

On another note, all of the kids started back to school and they really like it. We are very pleased with their teachers so far and look forward to a great year.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

7/30/08 Great weekend planned

2008-07-30T20:48:00.000-07:00

I think I am more excited for this weekend than anyone else in the entire family. This upcoming Friday morning we are loading up the old minivan, attaching our newest boat to the trailer hitch and heading for Willow Springs Lake on the Mogollon Rim.

I have been discussing the big event, nightly, for about the past two weeks with the kids. I have basically tried to inform them of almost every step that we will be taking on this adventure, so as to make sure that they are well aware of what it will entail. I have told them that we will be making a long drive into the mountains, stopping for potty-breaks, having lunch in Payson, arriving at camp, making camp, going to the lake, the rules of kids being in a boat, what we will eat, where we will be looking for treasure (geocaching), where we will sleep.....blah blah blah.

The girls are very concerned about the bear situation and Richie is worried that he will fall off of the mountain. Kids!!! They are all really excited and I am fairly certain that we will be able to keep them very busy. I am sure I will have many pictures to post once we return.

The kid's have had a new habilitator for about a month now and B is starting to get into the swing of things quite nicely. Tonight, another habilitator, K2, was added to the mix to help out once school gets started. All of the kids seem to click with both of them very well. Our previous habilitator, K1, has decided to pursue other avenues and so far is doing very well in her new position.

We are really getting excited to have the kids back in school and they are all actually starting to get almost as excited. Madeline and Richie start Kindergarten in a week and Victoria starts 1st Grade on the same day. We have an open house next Monday to meet teachers and tour the school.

Our trio has come so unbelievably far in nearly every aspect of their development. I am so very pleased at how well they are doing. We do still have the occasional meltdowns, the Maddie moments when she is just "gone", the speech issues w/ Richie, and the unbelievably emotional Victoria. However, they are doing very much OK. With an unbelievable amount of hard work by Lisa, myself (barely), their hab workers and their therapists I see no reason why they will not excel into the wonderful kids that they have already proven to me that they are.

On a side note, we just had the backyard landscaped (finally, after 2 freaking years) and have added about 15 tons of river rock, a grassy area surrounded by curbing and sprinkler and drip systems. Next week we will have three large fruit trees planted, which I have already named. Anna will be our apple tree, Katy will be our apricot tree and Sweetie will be our orange tree. It looks like it will take at least a year for each tree to start producing fruit, but hey, I feel much more environmentally Greener about things now. We will still be adding accent bushes and a lot of concrete, but that will have to wait until we have the funds to work with.

All for now.

7/22/08 Twin's B-Day and Makena

2008-07-22T20:26:00.000-07:00

I havent blogged in nearly two weeks. Sometimes things just get too hectic and/or I get too lazy to update this Blog. So where do I begin?

The Twin's had a smashing birthday party that went over very well. We had lots of guests and it really was a great time. The kids did really well, especially the Twins. Victoria did get a little sad at some points throughout the day, mostly because she wasnt getting too much attention. As the Twins were unwrapping their presents, Victoria sat on my lap and told me that she was a little bit sad. I could see the tears welling up in her eyes as she explained to me that she was sad because "brother and sister are getting presents and I'm not". Still, she really worked hard to maintain her composure and I was very proud of her.

Shortly after the presents were opened, Aunt L (who is pregnant with triplets by the way) informed Victoria that she had a present for her. Aunt L had brought Victoria a 1st grade work book as a gift. Victoria clutched it throughout much of the afternoon and you could tell that she was so thrilled to receive a gift. Victoria was very happy and I could see in her eyes and in her beautiful smile that she was absolutely elated to be included.

Now, Makena.......

So K, the kid's former Habilitator showed up to the party with the gift that trumped all other gifts. This gift was wrapped in a bow and has been shitting and pissing on my floors ever since. As you may have guessed, Makena is a dog...err...a puppy. She really is a cute dog and the kids absolutely freaked when K brought her into the house. Makena is a Beagle and is actually a hell of a lot better mannered than our previous puppy that we had to get rid of.

Time will tell if this puppy thing works out, but the kids really like her a lot.

All for now.

7/10/08 Twin's 5th Birthday

2008-07-10T20:11:00.000-07:00

Well, the twins are now five-years-old. They both awoke and announced that today was their birthday. They were pretty cute and had decent days, but both had some minor behavioral issues at the end of the day. Still, I am pleased that we got them through five years of life so far. Only 13 more years to go, right?

Victoria had a rough start to the day but managed to settle down as Lisa headed to work. Victoria did tell her Mommy that she knew it was the twin's birthday and that she would take good care of them today.

Looking forward to the party this weekend.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

7/8/08 Upcoming Twins B-Day...

2008-07-08T22:19:00.000-07:00

Richie and Maddie will be 5 years old in two days and we have an excellent party planned for them on 7/12. They are both pumped up to be five-years-old and are really looking forward to their big day. Lisa will be making them a very cool cake (and I wish her the best of luck). It wont be an easy one. I'll post the cake pic once it has been completed.

We should have lots of friends, co-workers and family members in attendance. We're all looking forward to seeing the Twins have a lot of fun. I will definitely not be BBQing anything. That would be ridiculous in 110+ weather, and I certainly learned my lesson on the Twin's 3rd B-day.

Victoria seems to be slowly accepting the fact that the Twin's B-Day will not be about her. She is insisting on talking about her 7th birthday that is coming "in a long, long time". Victoria has been very cute throughout this planning process, but it will be interesting to see what the Twin's big day will be like for her.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

7/7/08 Not a good day.......

2008-07-07T19:43:00.000-07:00

Today was one of those "Now why the F did I wake up" days. So, I'm going to do a little bit of bitching. It started off normally. Lisa and the kid's headed off to the kid's summer camp and Lisa went to work. I managed to get stuck in traffic and ended up being late. That wasnt a big deal and my boss was understanding when I called to let him know that I would be a few minutes late.

As soon as I got to the office, I was called in to speak with my boss. My boss happens to be a friend of mine and was giving me the heads up that another layoff was imminent and that I might be on the block. Needless to say, I was not thrilled. So, I am now scrambling to find a new job before I get canned.

As if our situation w/ my job wasnt enough, I couldnt help but think of two other people that have been on my mind all day. The first is a close friend of mine that was a college roommate. Today marks the one year anniversary that he lost his oldest daughter in a tragic accident. I cant even imagine what his family is going through today and was very sad about it all day, and still am. My thoughts and prayers are with them.

The second person on my mind was a coworker that I have worked with for six years. CJ is an awesome lady that has been very kind to me throughout my tenure at my current job. She was recently diagnosed with cancer and was told today that if she didnt get herself back to work by the end of the month she would have no job and thus, no benefits. I was really ticked off to hear what my company was putting her through at one of the most difficult times in her life.

Obviously, my situation pales in comparison to the two others that I have just mentioned. I can only imagine how they must be feeling today.

To top everything off, all of the kid's had a very, very poor evening with multiple meltdowns and attitude problems. It was a really bad day for them to have a difficult evening and my patience is totally fried right now. Luckily, we got them all to bed and it is quiet for now.

I'm off to look for a job.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

7/5/08 The day after a bust of a 4th

2008-07-05T19:54:00.001-07:00

So, it didnt go so well last night at the old fireworks deal. We left the house at around 7:20 to head down to the local fireworks festivities. Literally 5 minutes after we arrived, a monstrous dust storm rolled through. The park officials immediately shut down the water slides and the blow up jumpers, which was a great idea. I was sure there was going to be an accident if they had left those things up. Unfortunately, the kids were in line to go on one of the blow up water slides and were disappointed that they didnt get to enjoy it. I think I heard "But Daddy, we didnt even get to get wet" about 50 times last night.

Shortly afterwards, I made the executive decision that we were out of there. I really didnt see any chance of them launching firey missles into the air when the wind was gusting over 50mph and you couldnt even see anything in the sky due to all of the dust. It turns out that we made the correct decision because by the time we had gotten back to the car, the event had been called. There were so many unhappy, crying kids. It really sucked for all of them.

We got home and were literally all covered in dust. It was absolutely disgusting. We all got cleaned up and then sent the kids off to bed. I did manage to record some of last night's Tempe Town Lake fireworks on the TV for the kids. The invention of the DVR has to rank right up there with the invention of the lightbulb.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

7/3/08 Chicken Feet and Tacos

2008-07-03T22:02:00.000-07:00

Major bummer......I tried to get some chicken feet for a big feast tomorrow, but it didnt pan out. The place where I usually get the chicken feet was fresh out of them. I was dissapointed, but Victoria seemed cool with the lack of chicken feet. I promised Victoria we'd eat them on another day....and yes I'm serious. Victoria and I do love chicken feet, as gross as it may sound.

I managed to get off work early today due to the upcoming Independence Day holiday. I spoke with Victoria via cell phone and it was decided that we would be having elk tacos for dinner tonight. Apparently Victoria was planning on eating five (5) tacos. She accomplished the feat, which I thought was unbelievable. She literally powered down five full tacos....and then wanted dessert. To say the least, I was really surprised. Victoria has also been calling herself Taco Girl for the past few months. Maddie also coined herself Ribbie-Taco Girl tonight. She told me her first name was Ribbie and her second name was Taco. Now how is that not cute?

Victoria lost another tooth today, and the Tooth Fairy did arrive as scheduled. I'm sure that she will be thrilled and will be waking me up early to show me her gift. I'm really hoping that she doesnt wake me up too early.

Richie and Maddie are doing great. Maddie was so cute today and wanted to see pictures of trout on Youtube, as well as fireworks. She loves looking at pictures of fish and asks me if we can catch them on a fishing pole.

Richie had a pretty solid day today. For some reason, I just noticed how tall he has gotten in the past few weeks. Now I know what parents mean when they say: "They grow up so fast". He is a very handsome dude and I have no idea where he gets it from.

Tommorrow night we will all be going to watch fireworks. Apparently, Buckeye has an event that will allow the kids to play in a water park thingy...dont know the full details. It should be a blast, but we will keep them all up much later than normal. I'm sure they'll do fine as we have prepped them for this excursion.

I'm looking forward to a fabulous weekend with my family.....but I bet I will be ready to go back to work on Sunday.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

6/24/08 Great news for the twins.....

2008-06-24T22:23:00.000-07:00

Both of the twins have graduated from some of their PT therapies. They have come unbelievably far in such a short amount of time and are doing so freaking wonderful.

I will post more once I have the PT therapist's final report.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

6/20/08 I just had to post more pics.....

2008-06-20T23:52:00.000-07:00

Too cute!!

6/20/08 We're back!!!

2008-06-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

Finally, I have my beautiful wife and kids back home with me here in Arizona. I actually arrived home last week, while they all enjoyed an extended vacation for an extra week. I cant really blame them, Hawaii is unbelievably gorgeous and our hosts were very, very gracious.

We all had a good time, and the kid's really took to the water very well. Tori swam like a fish the entire time and was holding her breath for what seemed like an eternity. Maddie did OK with swimming, but was very cautious. Richie was the most freaked out about swimming, but really, really took to it after a few day's practice. The young man was the typical, daredevil little boy. He was jumping into the deep end of the pool by the end of the trip, sometimes jumping over both of his sisters in an attempt to be, well, a typical boy. It was pretty awesome.

We're all really glad to be back home, even though we had a great excursion. Hopefully, we can go back again soon.

I have attached a few pictures of the crew.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

6/5/08 We're out!!!

2008-06-05T23:36:00.000-07:00

We're looking forward to taking the kids on a very cool vacation to Hawaii tomorrow. It is shaping up to be a very, very cool adventure. The kids are overly excited, as are Lisa and her sister. I'm not really thrilled to fly, but I'll have to get over it.

I plan on introducing the kids to the island's "ono kine grinds" (good eats). Shave ice, poke and plate lunch will be enjoyed by all.

I'll post pics when I get back.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

6/1/08 Planning for a much needed vacation.

2008-06-01T21:14:00.000-07:00

It seems as though there is a lot of planning that goes into a long vacation. Thank god I have Lisa, and dont have to be responsible for much of it. We will all be flying to Hawaii in five days, for our first-ever family vacation. We're all really excited, but I think the kids are more excited than us parents.

This will be the kid's first big airplane ride (Tori did fly to Hawaii before, but was only 6 months old). They are so pumped up about the airplane ride, and will hopefully go to sleep shortly after take-off. 6 hours in the sky w/ them should be very interesting.

Victoria is already asking about when she can have shave ice, Waiola of course, and has asked how soon she can get her first taste. The twins are excited to see horses, so maybe we'll take them to a Polo match in Waimanalo.

Who knows what this adventure has in store. All I know is that the kids will have a great time and I will eat lots of poke. Looking forward to it.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/22/08 Phoenix weather

2008-05-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I forgot about this and wanted to comment on it. Phoenix weather is experiencing 100% weirdness right now. Two days ago I walked out of my office building and it was 108 degrees at 5pm, a real scorcher and a record high. Today I left my office building at 5pm and it was 64 degrees, windy and actually slightly chilly. Thats a 44 degree swing in 2 days, and very, very uncommon for this time of the year. Still, I'll take the cooler weather any day, as the brutal summer heat is on its way.

Is global warming real?

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/22/08 Victoria is all pau (finshed) w/ Kindergarten tomorrow

2008-05-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

What a year it has been for Miss Victoria. She has come so unbelievably far since she started Kindergarten. Tonight, Lisa and I both told her how proud we were of her completing school this year. Victoria really lit up at the compliment.

Victoria has a fairly solid, fundamental understanding of numbers, letters and the days of the week. She is constantly saying things like, "Daddy, I know how to spell fix, F-I-X, fix" or "Daddy, I know what two plus four is, six". She has come very far in her education. Lisa and I also looked at a picture of Victoria tonight that was taken a year ago, and dang has she really grown up. She is truly an Angel.

Maddie had a great day today. She was very cute and bubbly when I arrived home and ate all of her dinner tonight. Maddie is really looking forward to going on the plane to visit with her Tutu and Grandpa in a few weeks.

Richie had a rough day today. He had issues getting into the car today and tried to make a break for it as Lisa was bringing them home. He also back-talked his mother (100% unacceptable) and hit Maddie today (really 100% unacceptable). Lisa sent him to his room when he got home and he received one of those "wait until your father gets home" speechs from her.

I arrived home late due to work and of course the girls were right there to tattle on Richie, which is also not exactly kosher in this house. I told the girls that we dont tattle on others (think it was the 47th time this week that I informed at least one kid of this) and then headed upstairs to talk to the boy. I dont know what it is about fathers, but I remember the same feeling of "Oh Crap" when I was in trouble w/ my father as opposed to my mother. I sat down w/ him and sternly told him that we absolutely do not hit girls, or anyone else for that matter. The poor lad had the whole crying, air-sucking-in thing going. Basically, he was really upset for being in trouble. I explained to him that he would be losing priveleges if his attitude problems continued.

After my talk with Richie, I had him go downstairs and apologize to both Maddie and Lisa, which he did like a little gentleman. I'm really going to have to work on that boy to get him to understand the rules of becoming a fine, upstanding member of this household. We'll get it done, in due time.

My conversation w/ Richie tonight reminded me of a time when I was a young kid (small kid time, as they say in Hawaii) and did something totally and utterly wrong. I honestly dont know how I even remember this. When my family lived in Mililani Town on the island of Oahu, I remember cracking a little girl, Jill, in the head with a Tonka truck. I dont know why I did it, but I'm guessing that she pissed me off. She started crying and said that she was going to tell my Dad. So, like any youngster, I hid...behind a utility box and some shrubs. Obviously, the Old Man found me and that's when I first got the discussion that boys dont hit girls, or anyone else for that matter. I learned quickly on that day that what I had done was a major No No. I sure hope that my son gets it through his head quickly that boys absolutely do not hit girls...ever. We'll work on it.

Kind of a rambling rant, but so be it. Looking forward to an extended weekend w/ my wife and kids.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/11/08 Mother's Day

2008-05-11T20:30:00.000-07:00

I'll tell you what, Lisa is one unbelievable mom. Even on Mother's Day, she didnt skip a beat and set about doing her normal Sunday activities. Our family would be 100% screwed if it wasnt for her.

Today the kid's and I took Lisa to a fabulous brunch. I think she liked it and I know the kid's loved it. The kid's really went after the shrimp w/ a vengeance and they all ate a heckuva of a lot of food. I was very thrilled to see them eat so well. I think we were at the brunch for nearly two hours, and it was one of the best outings we have ever had. The kids were so well behaved and really had no issues at all. They did great!

After brunch, we headed home to do some work on our newest boat. I was lucky enough to have a good friend come out and take a look at some of the wiring issues on one of the vessels, and lo and behold, we (OK....he) fixed it. We've purchased two boats in the last two weeks (trust me, we arent made of money at all.....I'm just an idiot). We will be selling one shortly now that we upgraded to a larger boat. It should sell fairly quickly, and I think we'll even be able to make a profit on it.

All in all, it was a great day.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/9/08 Pongo

2008-05-09T22:21:00.000-07:00

Pongo is our family dog. She is truly a wonderful animal and has loved, accepted and 100% tolerated the DJ kids. The kids absolutely love her and have made it a point to take care of her and cuddle with her each and every day.

Pongo has gotten on in her years and today we made the final decision to put her down. It was not an easy decision, but one that needed to be made. Pongo is no longer with us and was put to rest this morning.

It has been a sad day, but I know that she is in a much better place. I think the kids understand the reasoning behind our decision, but they are still a bit sad. I honestly never thought that putting an animal down would be this hard.

The one thing that I will always remember about Pongo, besides her growling at my ex-wife, was how she absolutely loved our kids and how unbelievably tolerant she was around youngsters. Pongo really was the best dog that any family could have ever hoped for, and she can never be replaced.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

5/6/08 Victoria has had a fabulous week......

2008-05-06T21:56:00.000-07:00

Victoria stole the show today. She was unbelievably adorable when I got home from work today and told me all about her great day. Victoria truly aims to please and is honestly coming into her own. Lisa told me all about how Victoria had been helping out around the house and how she was being very polite (we really push for "pleases", "thank yous" and "yes sirs/yes maams").

When I got home, Victoria told me all about the great day that she had at school. She also bragged about how well she had done at helping her mother. Lisa confirmed that Victoria did indeed have a fantastic day.

I did make a major observation tonight (in my mind) as Victoria was winding down. She got a bit 'melt-downish" towards bed time, but was able to pull herself out of it. Lisa and I talked about this a bit after bed time, and we both agreed that Victoria is slowly being able to rein herself into control in these instances. Again, I am so very proud of Victoria.

Maddie had a pretty good day. She was very cute when I got home from work and gave me a huge hug. She told me that she loved me, which really freaking rocked. I'll never hate hearing that.

Richie, on the other hand, had a tough evening. Richie back-talked Lisa and even raised his voice to her.....which is 100% unacceptable. I can 100% guarantee that he does not see this behavior in this household, so I dont know where he is getting his aggravation from.

I sent to him to his room as soon as I got home and then went to talk with him about it five minutes later. I am concerned that he is not understanding me when I tell him that he is not allowed to talk back to his mother or raise his voice to her. He is always remorseful when he gets in trouble, but is still learning what is acceptable and unacceptable.

Richie cried as we were talking and said that he didnt know why he got upset with his mommy. Richie also told me that he wanted to be a policeman when he grew up so that he could drive fast. At least that was pretty cool.

The twins graduate from Kindergarten in a week, and I'm looking forward to being there. I'll have to work a little later than normal that day to get the time off, but it will be 100% worth it.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/30/08 Long day!!

2008-04-30T22:09:00.000-07:00

I am really glad that today is over. The end of the month really takes a toll on Lisa and I, as our jobs both have end of the month "crap" to deal with. It was a late night for both of us.

I'm really looking forward to a nice weekend at home with the family and a few friends. It looks like we'll be having a small BBQ on Saturday in celebration of the first Saturday in May....which means only one thing to me every year....Kentucky Derby.

I'm totally into horse racing and absolutely love watching those horses run. I wish we lived closer to a track so that I could actually go enjoy the racing live. Oh well, it's probably a good thing that I dont live close to a track or I'd be out two bucks on every race.

It looks like I'm going to go with Tale of Ekate in the Derby. He's running out of the 2 post, which is a great draw for this colt. I am actually planning on betting on this race as well, my standard $2 to win. As a matter of fact, I think I'll let the kid's each pick a horse and I'll bet for them. That could be interesting.

Whenever we are lucky enough to catch a race on TV, I always gather the kids around the TV and tell them to pick their horse. It's kind of cool, since usually their horses do better than mine. Inevitably, if Victoria's horse loses, she always says "I meant I wanted the "x" horse to win". When they replay the race, she always roots for that horse, which of course, inevitably wins. Then she gloats like she picked it pre-race....kids.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/23/08 Victoria's schooling

2008-04-23T22:17:00.000-07:00

Victoria is doing so unbelievably fabulous at school. We just received her latest progress report and it looks like she is doing better than we had ever imagined. She was very proud to show it to us this evening. It appears that she is in the 95%+ range in every category and will be advancing to 1st grade easily.

I am very, very proud of Victoria.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/18/08 Picnic tomorrow

2008-04-18T22:47:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow our family will be heading to a local park to have our first real picnic. The kids are excited about it and I'm actually looking forward to it as well. We figured that we needed to do as much as possible outside before the temperature soars over 100 degrees here in the valley.

Richie has told me that we need to bring both red and green apples. Victoria informed me that the blanket that we lay on the ground is the most important thing. Maddie was indifferent to the entire plan.

We are totally winging this picnic and will probably just have sammies, chips and, of course, apples. I have a feeling that ice cream or shave ice will round out the event. I think we'll all have a good time.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/9/08 AHB's

2008-04-09T20:55:00.000-07:00

So, we have...errr, had AHB's living in our backyard. AHB's are Africanized Honey Bees...you know killer bees. This swarm was about the size of a very large 14 inch softball and had attached themselves to the roof of our patio. I had hoped that they would move on, but tonight I decided that immediate action was needed before they made our home their permanent residence.

I went to the local hardware store after work and purchased some bee killing poison. This stuff is pretty cool and can shoot up to twenty feet. When I got home tonight I noticed that they had moved to the foundation of our patio, right next to Maddie's bike.

I made a sneak attack on the swarm, and managed to douse them thoroughly with the poison. Initially, I think I killed close to 90% of them, but the rest of them were really pissed. I sprinted into the house, like a sissy, in hopes of avoiding being stung. Luckily, I didnt get stung, but damn were those bees pissed and freaking out.

The kids were a little concerned about Lisa and I venturing out to attack the bees. They were all very cute as they watched the situation unfold. At one point Victoria exclaimed "Die bees, die", as she watched the action take place through the window. That may seem a little weird, but I dont think she meant it in a macabre way, but more in a "I dont like bees" way.

So I guess tomorrow after work will be dead bee cleanup. I'm not really looking forward to it as there are probably close a thousand dead bees. I did feel a little bit bad about killing the bees, since they pollinate stuff and are a very major part of our ecosystem, but at the same time, I have to protect my family.

I attached a pic of the swarm, which just freaks me out.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/2/08 World Autism Awarness Day

2008-04-02T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, today was apparently the first-ever World Autism Awarness Day, to my knowledge (at least that's what the media was reporting). CNN did a lot of stories on Autism today, which I thought was very cool. I wasnt able to see any of the footage, but was able to listen to CNN on my XM radio at work.

I had two people stop by my desk at work today to talk about Autism. The first person was a pretty good friend that tries to let me know when NPR (National Public Radio) is talking about Autism. He seems to get the Autism thing and accepts what the mainstream media reports, which in my opinion is mostly right on the point.

The second was a person that really wasnt in the know about Autism, which is totally cool! I think I managed to explain some common misconceptions about Autism to the second person (Trust me, I'm still learning on a daily basis).

Person 2 really didnt understand Autism thoroughly and thought that it involved a lot of "Rainman" stuff. She also thought that it involved children that freaked out, banged their heads against walls, hurt themselves and others and generally were a possible menace to society and to their family. Although it is true that there are extreme cases of Autism that might encompass the head banging and the self injuries, most currently diagnosed Autistic children dont behave in this manner.

Listening to today's news reports, it finally seems to me as though there might finally be a "turning point" in the general public's minds about how Autism affects kids and their families.

Now, I'm going to go on a rant here!!

As I have said before, based on what I have read, studied and learned, Autism is a very general diagnosis. When caught early, and with the correct therapies, it is very treatable....key word...TREATABLE! I've heard of many kids being able to beat Autism.

A lot of the kid's that have been labeled as Autistic, are very normal looking in structure and behavior. It's really what you dont see behind the scenes that causes many families to struggle with the Autism diagnosis. Kid's with Autism have a harder time forming thoughts into words, have a harder time socially interacting with others and may have "meltdowns" for the most minor issues that they face. This is FACTUAL! Our family sees it on a daily/weekly level, and that's totally OK.

Some Autistic kids may never learn to speak, may never learn to look their parents in the eyes and may never learn to control their bowels. Thats why they call it a SPECTRUM disorder. There is a broad spectrum, and not one diagnosed Autistic kid will be the same as the next.

I think the thing that totally frustrates parents with Autistic children is that their kids and their families get judged constantly by friends, and particularly by family members. I really think that it is so, so sad that people wont look past what they percieve as reality and what they truly dont understand.

Trust me, I dont want my kid's to have an Autism diagnosis. Every three months that we walk into that Developental Pediatrician's office, I truly pray that today is the day that we get the Autism diagnosis removed from at least one of my beautiful children.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

4/1/08 April Fools

2008-04-01T21:39:00.000-07:00

A local radio station caused a pretty big stink by reporting today that there would be toll roads established on all of Phoenix's major freeways on 4/2. It was obviously a hoax, but a lot of people really bought into it, including me, until I realized the date. A lot of people were pissed, which is understandable in our current market situation. But seriously, come on people, take a joke.

On a another note, Victoria said something really cute last night. As the kids were finishing their dinner I voiced about how Maddie was taking a longer time to finish her dinner than her siblings. Victoria said "Steady wins the race Dad". I thought that her quote was awesome and was very proud of her for correlating what she has learned to what she had observed.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/27/08 Finally, a family vacation coming up....

2008-03-27T19:47:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like we will finally be making the trek back to Hawaii to visit my father and his lovely wife. Dates have been locked in and we are really, really looking forward to it. We have only about nine weeks to go and it really should be interesting traveling w/ the three young ones. Thank god it's a non stop flight.

I have attached a few pictures of the kids on our excursion to the zoo last week. Now them's some good looking kids. Lisa isn't too shabby herself.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/24/08 Easter was cool!

2008-03-24T21:49:00.000-07:00

All of the kids had a wonderful Easter and they all got lots of sugary crap, which they absolutely loved. They were all very excited when I told them that I had just seen the Easter Bunny hopping out of the house after dropping off their baskets of goodies.

Titi Beth came over, and we had an Easter egg hunt in the back yard. We color-coded the eggs to each kid so that we didnt have any skirmishes or meltdowns. I definitely think it went pretty well. The kids also got a Wii game to share, which was a really big hit.

We had a wonderful Easter dinner as a family, and the kids behaved fairly well. We didnt have our traditional ham because I screwed up and thought I could buy one the day before Easter....wrong!! Pork tenderloin took place of the ham.

Richie and Victoria did get separated from sitting next to each other, as they were goofing around a bit during dinner.....fairly typical!

All in all, it was a pretty good day!!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/20/08 Survived another layoff.....

2008-03-20T21:32:00.000-07:00

The PHX housing market is absolutely brutal. The layoffs in the housing industry continue weekly. Today my company had their fourth layoff in the last 12 months. I honestly dont know how I keep making the cut.

It seems that every single time we have a layoff, we lose really, really good people with a strong work ethic. To tell you the truth, it really pisses me off. Here we are, as a Fortune 500 company, dropping home prices for buyers under contract (from 20k to 50k), yet we cant afford to keep a hard working employee on board at about 30k/year.

It's all about the stockholders and the bottom line and I understand that, but still it really isnt right in my opinion. My company is projecting a $12,000,000 loss in 2008, so what would be wrong with a $12,200,000 loss? It would keep good people employed and taking care of their families, and when the market does rebound, well you have qualified personnel to handle the work load.

I am not a business major but I'm guessing that as soon as we see the stock price go back up steadily, we'll have more security in our employment. It could be a long time for that to happen. I know I have bad run-on-sentences above, but I'm just not pleased with how it has all "shaked-out" this week.

On another note, we are taking the kids to the Zoo this weekend and will be having Dim Sum afterwards. We are really looking forward to it as are the kids. Maddie and Richie think they're going to ride elephants and Victoria thinks she'll be riding a giraffe. I dont know where that came from, but hope they wont be to disappointed when it doesnt happen.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's pop

3/16/08 Just got a huge raise.....

2008-03-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

....well, not really, but we did finally manage to sell the "vacation home". It really is all over and I truly cant believe we made it through what many are calling the worst housing market since the Great Depression (not that the slumping housing market is over by any stretch of the imagination).

The BYR's closed on Friday 3/14 and moved in on Saturday 3/15. They got a great deal on the house and we managed to actually walk away with a small pittance. As a side note, one of my friends that came over (and who lived right across the street from us at the "vacation house") brought us a framed picture of the U-Haul moving van parked in our old driveway. Now that's just funny, I dont care who you are, that's straight-up funny.

Yesterday we had friends over for a BBQ. We all had a really good time, played some Wii and ate lots of food. The kid's did pretty well and were pretty excited about the event. They jumped on the trampoline, rode bikes, ate and just basically did kid stuff. Maddie did have a lot of meltdowns over the most minor issues, but that is really to be expected of her lately.

On Sunday, Richie had a perfect day, but Victoria had a pretty rough day. Victoria was pretty wound up, which is typical for a Sunday, but then it got worse. Lisa has told Victoria repeatedly to not hang from the canopy of her bed. Well, being a kid, she didnt listen at all. Lisa was in Victoria's room picking up this evening and noticed that the canopy was noticeably bent from Victoria hanging on it. Victoria was confronted about it and got in trouble for not minding her parents. She was sent to her room and got no dessert tonight...and man you would have thought that someone had just stolen her puppy. She was so upset, and just cried and cried. Lisa took the canopy down this evening and informed Victoria that it had to go away because it was broken.

As much as I know that Victoria needed to be reprimanded for not minding her parents, I felt kind of bad that she was taking it so hard. At one point she said "Nobody in the family loves me and wants to hug and kiss me", and that almost broke my heart...almost. Of course that is 100% false and Both Lisa and I explained to Victoria that we would always love her no matter what. She still took it really hard and broke down again when she saw her siblings enjoying their ice cream.

The kid's have spring break this week and will be spending some extra time with K so that Lisa and I can work.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

3/11/08 Weeds

2008-03-11T21:01:00.001-07:00

My Old Man loved pulling weeds. As a kid I remember him out in the yard pulling weeds w/ a screwdriver. He was a weeding freak!! He often tried to get my brother and I to help, but more important activities usually got in the way. Granted, we would pull the customary handful of weeds and then get back to whatever creative mischief we were up to at the time.

I now my find myself actually enjoying weeding the yard, albeit, not as much as the Old Man did. This past weekend I weeded both the front and back yard of our residence, as I had neglected it a bit in the past month...and guess what, I actually enjoyed it. I didnt so much enjoy it because of the act of manual labor and time away from the family, but more because it was a nice day and I had some peace, quiet and time to collect my thoughts. I'm definitely getting old and managed to bitch and moan about my back aching due to the day's weeding.

I was even able to get Richie and Victoria to help out with the weeding. They were so very proud when they got the weed by the root and had to run up to me every time to show me. Maddie, well, she apparently just doesnt do weeds. She is what I would call a dawdler and seemed to just kind of "take in the day".

This weekend we are planning on having a Clambake w/ a few close friends. Lobster, clams, kalbi and other delicacies should round out the menu. We're really looking forward to it as we really dont get together with friends as often as we'd like.

On another note, I think we have "lost" the 'vacation house', you know, the one we hated and have been trying to sell for a year. I signed my portion of the docs this AM and the BYR signed their portion this afternoon. We will be glad to get rid of it and move forward in trying to catch up on our savings. What a nightmare it has been!!

Oh well, we all make decisions that we must stand by even though they dont pan out the way we expect. Another lesson learned!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

Victoria Reiko DeJournett is now a 6-year-old

2008-02-25T20:10:00.000-08:00

Victoria is six!! I cant believe it! Today her class had a small party for her and they all shared cupcakes and sang her Happy Birthday. Victoria was very wound up today when I got home and continued to remind us all that she was the "Birthday Girl". We tried to remind her that her special day did not allow her to run the household, but she really tried as best as she could to fray our last nerves.

I got her a special gift that she had requested for her birthday...an umbrella. She absolutely loved it and had a lot of fun opening and closing it and holding it (literally) above her sibling's heads. It wasnt a normal, typical umbrella, but one of those asian, frilly umbrellas. As soon as I gave it to her tonight, she looked at me and asked "do you think it will rain tomorrow?". I told her that I didnt know and also informed her that it was more of a "play" umbrella. She responded that she wanted a real umbrella for the rain.

On another note, we still have a buyer under contract for the "Vacation Home" and I am confident that we really have a chance to close this deal. Everything is lining up better than the last three deals and hopefully we will have this property sold in two weeks.....hopefully.

The housing market has worsened even more in PHX and I have heard that about 40 smaller builders will definitely be posting negative sales for the first quarter of 2008. That is absolutely horrible news and things really couldnt be much worse for the housing industry at this point. On the flip side my company has managed to sell double-digit houses in both of the past two weeks, which is HUGE compared to the rest of the industry. Right now we are at -2 houses for Q1 of 2008, but we still have 4 days to go. If we can possibly get to even or maybe even to +1, that will be a major, major moral victory. Time will tell.

We are at status quo with Lisa, Richie and Maddie...not much new to report. The twins do have their reassignment meeting this week since they will be changing schools next year. I wont be able to make it, since I really need to stay employed and not take any time off at all.

It looks like we will be heading back to Hawaii for a vacation in June and I just requested the time off. Lisa and the kids will visit for two weeks, and I think I can only manage to take one week off. I'm secretly considering taking two weeks off though because I just cant stand to be away from my wife and kids for more than 24 hours. We'll see how it plays out.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

2/22/08 Victoria is on the verge of turning 6......

2008-02-22T22:39:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we will have a big party for Victoria to celebrate her 6th birthday. Victoria is very excited as is the rest of the family. She has been extremely good leading up to this event.....go figure.

After the big fiesta we will head to a local lake to fish and sell Girl Scout cookies. I'm pretty sure Richie and I will do most of the fishing and that the girls will do the selling of their wares.

Looking forward to it, it should be fun.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

2/20/08 Nothing really new.....brief post

2008-02-20T21:04:00.000-08:00

We are now under contract w/ our fourth potential buyer on the vacation home....ya know, the one we never vacation at. Hopefully this will finally come to a close.

The kids had a pretty good day today. It seems that Maddie got in trouble one time for not being able to take turns appropriately. She has been having some issues as of late and has been "shutting down" when being minorly reprimanded. I'm sure she'll be just fine!

Richie had a decent day of speech therapy but did get a bit upset when his improper speech was corrected. Apparently Richie and his therapist were working on the phonetical soundings of particular words. When he didnt get the proper pronunciation correct, he kind of shut down, hung his head low and told the therapist "You made me sad". This is a very typical behavior for him. I really think that when he cant do what he is asked and is asked to try again, he gets frustrated and feels that he has let someone down. Lisa explained Richie's mannerisms to the therapist and I think we're good to go now.

Tori had a great day and is still on "Sunny" at her Kindergarten. She is doing absolutely wonderful.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

2/18/08 Back......after many moons!

2008-02-18T20:56:00.000-08:00

So...it's been nearly a month since I last blogged. I just really havent had the time, energy or anything thrilling to say, I suppose. It seems as though this happens a few times a year, but I'll get back on track. I know I've said it before, but I mostly Blog for me. Blogging is an effort to keep a somewhat detailed synopsis on where we've been, where we're headed and where we will eventually finish. We meaning the DeJournett Family.

Home life has been going OK over the last month, which is pretty good in my opinion. We have had a lot of vehicle issues which have cost us more than I care to report, but all-in-all, we're survivng and will continue to do so.

Maddie has been a bit sick over the past few days and apparently had a very non-verbal day today. I asked her why she didnt want to talk today and she told me that it was because she was sick. I asked her to try to talk more tomorrow and she replied "I love you". She is so unbelievably cute and is such an absoutely beautiful child.

Richie had a very good day today and is doing pretty well. He is still having a tough time getting his words out in a phonetically appropriate manner, but he is trying his best. Sometimes Tori has to translate for us.

Tori had a great day and spent President's Day with me. We did some household chores and Tori was very, very proud that she picked up all the dog poop today.....and I mean damn was she proud. It was all that she talked about. When she gets older, I'll make it a point to tease her about being so excited to pick up canine droppings. Tori is truly a girl that wants to please all, which is very good, but very concerning to me as well.

Tori had a great Parent/Teacher conference two weeks ago. She has really excelled and her teacher (Mr. B) said she is an absolutely wonderful, little girl. He also mentioned how she really wants to please others and how she thrives on positive reinforcement. I am very proud of my oldest girl.

Tori did requalify for state services past the age of 6, which I was happy about and not so happy about. Someday, she will have the Autism label removed from her. This is one thing that I am 100% positive about. 100%!!! I am also very positive that the same will be true of Richie and Maddie. 100%!!!

Lisa has been working her ass off and has worked about 57 of the past 60 days. She is busting her butt and is truly excelling at what she does. She continues to impress her boss and it looks like she has a very bright future in the company that she works for. I am in no way surprised by this. Lisa is absolutely the most impressive woman that I have ever had the luxury of knowing...hands down! I dont just say this because she is going to read this, I say it because it is 100% true. I dont know of another woman that could do what she does as a wife, as a mother and as a dedicated employee. I am more than proud of her and written words cant explain how truly awesome she is.

My job continues to cause me unbelievable stress. The stress is totally encompassed around whether I'll even have a job in the near future. With the total collapse of the softening Phoenix housing market, I truly dont know what to expect from day to day. I keep telling myself that "Hey, at least I'll get a nice severance package", but obviously employment is a much better alternative. My company has had about three consecutive months of negative sales (which means we sell 3+ a week, but 4+ buyers cancel out of their contract weekly). Things are not good in the homebuilding industry right now.....not good at all.

The other house, which we have now been calling our vacation house (I think that's what we call it to make light of the difficult situation), still hasnt sold. We now have a fourth buyer almost under contract. The last buyer was cancelled because, well, he didnt have a FICO score or any credit history (Thanks for wasting 2 months of my family's time and $ dude). Seriously, this guy probably couldnt even qualify to rent a freaking hovel due to his current credit issues.

Tori has a big birthday party planned next week, and she's very excited. I cant believe my big girl will be 6 years old. I never understood it when the old-timers said "they grow so fast". Now I do.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/20/08 A day with Tori....err...Victoria

2008-01-20T20:07:00.001-08:00

Today was my day to be with Victoria. We headed to a friend's house to watch the Bolts-Patriots game and to just basically hang out. We had a great time and Victoria had a fabulous day. She played with toys, ate a ton of food and was a very sweet, little girl today. I was pretty damn proud of her.

We left in the late afternoon and it was decided that we needed to go to a restaurant, since her brother got to go to one last week. She had fries, a Sprite and a sundae and I had five hotwings and a Coke. She was a perfect angel and dropped the "I love you Daddy" quite often.

We watched the first half of the Packers-Giants game at the restaurant and then headed home to catch the second half. We arrived hom at about 6:30 and were disappointed that the twins were already in bed. Apparently they were exhausted from some big-time trampolining (is that a word??). We watched a bit of the game and then it was off to bed for Victoria.

Overall, it was a pretty busy weekend and we did a lot of travelling on both Saturday and Sunday. On Saturday I took all of the kids to a friend's daughter's birthday party....and they all did great. I think it was the first time that I have taken all three out on my own, as Lisa had to work.

Back to work tomorrow for both Lisa and I. It's a bummer that we dont get MLK day off, but oh well.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/13/08 Almost busted!!

2008-01-13T20:07:00.000-08:00

Today the young lad and I had a day of fun. We left the house at around noon and headed to Surprise to do some fishing. On the way to the lake we decided to grab a bite to eat at Applebees, mostly because it was the only restaurant that I knew would have the Bolts/Colts playoff game on TV. I must say that I absolutely despise Applebees and I have never had a good meal there. Honestly, I dont know how they stay in business....but I digress.

We got a good table with a good view of the game and ordered. The food was terrible as usual, but I have never had such great service at a restaurant in my entire life...seriously. The manager came over and asked Richie if he was watching the game and asked if he wanted to hear it. She then dropped the levels on the crappy restaurant music and turned up the game for us.

Our waitress was fabulous and totally interacted with Richie, even though he wasnt talking too much to her. The manager then came back over and said to Richie "if you eat all your food and if your Daddy says it's OK, T (the waitress) will make you a sundae. She makes the best sundaes in Arizona". Well, Richie totally devoured his corn dog and fries, which is somewhat rare as he is usually a pretty light eater.

As promised, Richie received a sundae for his eating efforts and it was delivered to him looking like a mouse...seriously. It was an artfully crafted masterpiece and he loved it. He wasnt able to finish much of it as he was full from his lunch. He did ask if we could take the leftover sundae home to share with his sisters, which really made me happy. I obviously told him no and explained that it would melt before we got home. He was cool with that.

We then headed to the lake to relax and watch others catch fish. The boy did really well and loved to reel in his freshly cast bait....typical of youngsters. I used to consider myself a pretty decent angler, but the last 3 times that we have gone fishing the fish havent cooperated. I'm guessing that I've lost my touch and am out of practice.

We left shortly after Richie said he had to go potty. We were driving to a known restroom, when I spotted a porta-potty. I decided that since time was of the essence for the Dude's bladder, that the porta-potty would work. He was very adamant about telling me that there wasnt a potty in the "orange square", but when we opened the door you would have thought that it was Christmas again. He was very excited to know that he could pee in such a contraption and talked about it a lot on the drive home.

As we rolled home, we managed to hit a dove and end it's life. Richie thought that killing the dove was pretty cool and couldnt wait to tell his sisters about the bird's early demise. On the drive home we talked about our day and I asked him to not tell his sisters about our fishing expedition...which technically isnt lying. He told me he wouldnt and told me that he just wanted to tell them about the dead dove...typical boy.

So, here's where I almost got busted. We arrived home and Richie was telling the girls all about the dove we hit while driving. A few moments after that he said "we didnt catch any fish though". I was sure that I was busted as Maddie was right there. Tori even exclaimed "Why did Richie get to go fishing 2 times?". Luckily, Maddie didnt hear any of it and I scrambled to re-drirect their minds. Still, as I told Lisa, I just know I'm gonna get totally busted on this one in the coming days...and I deserve it!!

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/12/08 Quite the conundrum tomorrow...

2008-01-12T21:21:00.000-08:00

So.....on one day each weekend, I take one of the kids with me to go do whatever. Sometimes we go to the store, somtimes we get haircuts, sometimes we go to the football game or sometimes we go fishing. This weekend is Richie's turn and the girls are totally understanding that he is up in the rotation.

Herein lies the problem....I have taken Richie and Victoria fishing but have not yet taken Maddie. I had promised Maddie that she would be my next fishing partner, but tomorrow is her twin brother's day to be w/ Daddy. I intend to take him fishing with me at a local lake because I heard the fish were biting!

So basically, I lied to Maddie. I know this may sound weird, but this situation has been eating my psyche up all day...seriously. I may end up taking both of the twins, but then I know Victoria will be upset. Seems like I just cant win on this one.

I am trying to keep this Daddy/Richie fishing trip on the "down low" but at the same time, I know that I cant lie to Maddie about where I take Richie tomorrow. I also know that Richie will spill the proverbial "beans" to his sisters.

I plan on taking my lumps tomorrow from my youngest, and will just have to make it up to her somehow. Hopefully, we wont catch anything, as I can see that coming home with fish will not only upset Maddie, but Tori as well (since we didnt catch anything on the Tori/Daddy fishing excursion). It will be an intersting day tomorrow, to say the least.

Other than that issue....things are OK here and we have had a very solid weekend thus far. The crew was very active and had a lot of fun visiting with Titi Beth and jumping on their new trampoline.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/9/08 Tori...errr ...Victoria

2008-01-09T20:40:00.000-08:00

Victoria, which is what she constantly reminds us is what her teacher calls her, had a great day. Tori...err... Victoria informed us tonight that she had some "very, very important paperwork" in her backpack for us to read tonight. She was very adamant about it. The important paperwork turned out to be her 2nd quarter report card. She is doing fabulous in Kindergarten and has really excelled since her first quarter. I am very, very proud of her.

She stumbled in a few areas, but for the most part, she has steadily progressed/held the same in most areas. The one area that I was most proud of was her "Outstanding" in "respecting all adults and fellow students". Mr. B's comments were "Victoria is doing fine", and that absolutely made me grin w/ happiness.

Tori also did something pretty cute today. After I got home, she looked at Lisa and I and said "OK...on the count of three...you guys kiss...one, two, three". Lisa and I kissed and Tori said "Good Job". Sounds lame, but it was cool.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

1/7/08 Back from a long Blogging layoff

2008-01-07T20:04:00.000-08:00

So, I've taken nearly a month off from the Blog due to holidays, visiting family and our computer not working. I'll probably keep this post pretty brief since it really is time for bed.

Christmas was very cool and the kids all got a decent amount of gifts from Santa. The holiday season wasn't like year's past due to our current financial situation (read: the unsold home). Still we had a great time and the kids had a lot of fun. Titi Beth joined us for Christmas, which was very cool.

One of the cool gifts that Santa brought the kids this year was a Nintendo Wii. The kids absolutely love it and ask to play it all the time. For some reason, Maddie took to the bowling game right away and was kicking our butts every time. I think it took me about 20 games before I was finally able to beat her....seriously...and she's a freaking 4 year old. I finally have the upper hand on her, now that I've been practicing, but damn was it kinda cool to watch her work me over (and the rest of the family) in every game.

Lisa and I have been hanging in there and have been trying to live as frugally as possible. Lisa's car's transmission again took a dump and we're waiting to hear the financial damage on that. As I told Lisa, "this car crap is so 2007". Oh well, I suppose we'll just keep dealing w/ the crap as it rolls in. What else can you really do??

On a lighter note, it does appear that we have a buyer for the other home. It also looks like he really wants to close ASAP. We are hoping that his loan docs will get to the title company this week so that we can finally be rid of this major burden in our lives. We plan on laying really low over the next few months in order to recoup some of our lost capital.

Lisa is still loving her job and is really excelling at it. Hopefully a promotion with more pay will come her way soon. I am just praying that the housing market adjusts, as I am concerned about my job stability. Layoffs are again imminent in the homebuilding sector, as new home building is at it's worst point in many, many years.

The kids are all doing very well and started back to school today. I am very, very proud of them for achieving all that they have. They really are good kids and have adapted extremely well w/ everything that is going on in our/their lives. As a matter of fact, we now have them saying yes/no sir/maam when asked a question. They are going to be OK...and I'm very, very proud of that.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's pop

12/9/07 A productive weekend!

2007-12-09T18:59:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty productive weekend and were able to clean the house a bit. We got a lot done, but there is so much more to do.

Lisa and the kids headed to the second day of the girl scout garage sale on Saturday morning. I had grand plans to sleep in, but found myself up at 6:30am instead. Since I was up, I decided that it was time to get some crap done around the house. I got a lot accomplished, but not as much as I had hoped.

The kids all did pretty good this weekend, with Maddie being an unbelievable sweetheart. I'm guessing that her new meds are working based on her recent behavior.

Richie and Tori were very rambunctious and actually got into a physical altercation while they were roughhousing. It ended up with big sister pushing her brother to the ground and him bumping his head. Richie was in tears and Tori thought that she had covered herself by telling me: "But I said I was sorry Dad". She got to spend some time in her room for that incident.

Today Lisa and the kids decorated the tree and I hung my one ornament, as usual. I love X-Mas, but am not a fan of decorating the tree. I dont know why, but I am just not into it.

We are anticipating a great holiday and have sold a few unwanted items on Ebay in an attempt to finance X-Mas. So far, it's going well and we should be able to get the kids some of the things they've asked Santa for. I am positive that it will be a great X-Mas for all of us and we are really looking forward to having my father and his wife visit.

On another note, the other home is under contract...third time's a charm. Hopefully they will accept our counter, as they really low-balled us on the initial offer. If they dont accept, it's back to square one. Still, I am confident that we will close this deal and have even asked a close friend to help w/ financing the buyer through his employer.

Getting this extra house off our books would be the best X-Mas present for our family and would really start 2008 off in grand fashion. 2007 has really sucked, so we need some momentum rolling into the new year.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop

12/6/07 Another day in Buckeye, AZ!!

2007-12-06T21:32:00.000-08:00

Not really too much to report. Lisa and her Respite House are having a garage sale tomorrow. The garage sale will raise funds for the girl scout troop that they are starting up for special-needs girls. Great idea, but looks like rain tomorrow. I'm sure it will go well, rain or shine.

I arrived home later than usual, and couldnt even get my key out of the lock before I heard Tori calling for me. Her nightly routine entails her telling me how good she was at school today, followed by how her "ticket" didnt get changed (Sunny=good day, cloudy=rocky day, raining=bad day). She's had a "sunny day" for as long as I can recall. I am proud of how well she has adjusted to Kindergarten.

Lisa sent me a text message late in the afternoon to tell me that Maddie was very upset (because Richie was playing w/ her stroller). I immediately called and asked to talk to Maddie. I told her that she needed to be good and share, and that I would bring her and her siblings a lollipop. I also told her that she needed to be especially good to get the lollipop and even told her that she could have first pick. That seemed to settle her down and she was laughing at the end of the conversation.

I arrived home late and let them all select a lollipop. We decided it was too late for them to eat their treats and promised them that they could have them tomorrow. They were cool with that, and they ironically selected the same freaking lollipops out of the 20 I had available for them to choose from. Interestingly enough, they all chose by themselves and without knowing what the other had chosen. Weird!!

Long weekend ahead, as we have many household chores to attend to.

All for now.

The DJ Kid's Pop