Everyday Dad - Ryan's Ramblings

Blessed Be Your Name

2012-01-23T20:08:00.000-05:00

Before you get too far into this post, let me warn you, you will likely need some tissues, especially if you follow the links....also, this post is dedicated to my good friends, Chris and Shelley Talbott.

Two Sundays ago, during worship service at our church, I experienced one of the most touching services I've had in quite sometime. I've always been told that you get out of your worship experience what you put into it and on that Sunday, I was there ready to give it my all.

Service started with a young lady "needing to have Jesus RIGHT NOW!!" Shortly after our pastor read a few verses from the Psalms (and yes, when you say "the Psalms" you can add an "s" to the end...), she ran to him letting him know she could not wait any longer and wanted to be sure of her salvation and asked him to pray for her - right then. It was incredible!!!

Then, we had a guest speaker / preacher, Dean King. He is a member of our church and has a powerful testimony. You can hear the podcast by going here, clicking "Listen to Sermons" and then selecting the sermon by Dean King. The sermon will also be on YouTube soon so when it is, I will update this post. The visual aspect of the sermon really hit home so I am hoping that will be up soon.

Anyway, Dean's 15 year old daughter Olivia has been diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis, has had two liver transplants, has diabetes and coagulation deficiency yet her positive spirit and drive is unmatched! She has gone through so much more in her 15 years here on earth than many of us COMBINED will ever go through. What's more amazing is the strength, faith and positive spirit she and her family possess. It is truly amazing. You can learn more about Liv and her story here.

So, not only did the service start with the young lady wanting to express her desire to acknowledge Jesus as her Savior, which was moving enough....but Dean then followed by playing a video clip of the past few years of "the life of Olivia" including news footage from her surgery. I honestly don't believe there was a dry eye in the place.

The latter of the above, though, followed something that truly had me broken....

During the actual worship service, our praise team started singing "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt Redman. To most people who have heard this song, you are probably now singing it in your head....or possibly out loud. It's one of those catchy songs and may or may not mean much more than it just being a "good song" to most of you. To me though, this song nearly brings me to my knees every time I hear it. In fact, I'm openly admitting that I'm breaking down right now as I'm typing.

A little over three years ago (August 28, 2008), one of my best friends, Chris, lost his baby girl, Elliana, after only 27 short days here on earth. She had Trisomy 13 which occurs in only 1:10,000 newborns each year. He and his wife, Shelley, were the ultimate pillars of strength during those days. It broke my heart reading and hearing what they were going through.

During the memorial service, "Blessed Be Your Name" was played. During those few minutes, I really listened to the words and thought, "wow....how in the world could you possibly be singing this now?" I mean, seriously - "You give and take away, you give and take away, my heart will choose to say, Lord, blessed be your name." I would like to say that if I ever had to experience anything like that, my heart would allow me to say and believe the same. I believe I could, but it would be so hard. To see a father stand in front of a congregation and sing praises to the Lord and also be able to deliver a message to those attending (see below), all I can say is "wow"....that day will forever be etched in my mind.

Well, I've gone through enough Kleenex for one night. I wanted to write this post to let you guys (Chris and Shelley) know that I continually pray for you guys and miss you both dearly! I am so very proud, blessed, and honored to call you guys friends and even though we only see each other...oh...every 3-4 years :-) you will always hold a special place in my heart!!!! Love you guys!!!

A few additional links:
Slideshow from Elliana's memorial service
Words from Chris (transcript from the service)

10 Day Status Check

2012-01-10T20:49:00.000-05:00

We're 10 days into 2012 and how many of your New Year's Resolutions have you broken? How many have you kept? I figure it's time to do my own self-check so here we go...

Read one book per month (minimum) - not completed. I am currently reviewing a draft for a friend who is writing a book and continuing to read a book that another friend has already published - check it out <-- click the link!!
Update blog once/month (minimum) - SMASHING this one!!!
Daily bible reading - have only missed one day!
Be down to 175lbs by Mar 31 - down to 192 (was at 195 on 1.1.12 so still going in the right direction)
Start - AND FINISH - P90X - have not started yet - valid excuse as I've been sick...seriously
Begin a daily devotion with my family - have not started this yet either :-(
Have a date night at a minimum of once/month (with my wife of course) - no date night per se but see #12
Write (and mail) one hand written letter to a friend once/month (minimum) - not yet
Cut out soft drinks - completely - have only had 2-3 Mt. Dews while at Panera - other than that, I've been GOOD!!!
Get - AND STAY - organized - definitely moving in the right direction here
Do something nice and unexpected for someone once/month (minimum) - in progress
Go somewhere new / do something new once/month (minimum) - ORANGE BOWL BABY!!!!

Ok, so more than 50% accomplished. That's not too bad.

If you're up for it and want to share a few of yours and how you're holding up, let me know!

Already a Difference

2012-01-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

***Warning - pictures below from my procedure - proceed with caution if you have a weak stomach.***

So I was hoping for some answers and I finally received some.

I went in for my upper endoscopy today at Atlanta Gastroenterology Associates and was very impressed with the facility, nurses and doctor. After getting some really good sleep for about half an hour, it was time to wake up. I jokingly asked the nurse if they could give me some of that (anesthesia) to go. It sure would be nice to get a full night's sleep that deep.

Anyway...when I got up, the doc told me that I had scar tissue in the lower part of my esophagus due to reflux which was causing the difficulty swallowing and he did a procedure to dilate it - talk about an instant relief!!!! I have not felt this good (from a being able to swallow standpoint) in a very, very long time. Apparently the damage had been building up over the years and it just reached a point where it got too big.

Below is a picture taken during my procedure of my esophagus:

And the next picture is a "normal" esophagus - you can see mine was a little tight...:

I don't have a picture of what it looked like after he dilated it - that would have been pretty cool though.

They also took three different biopsies based on the following: 1 - Reflux esophagitis, 2 - Acute gastritis and 3 - Acute duodenitis. Now what those all mean....well, it will just be easier to check the links out, but essentially, it means I have acid reflux.

The biopsy results will be back in 2-3 weeks and I have a follow-up in 4 weeks to see how things are going.

So, the good news is I can swallow SO much better now. The bad news is, I still have to wait a few more weeks to make sure there's nothing else going on. In the meantime, now that I've been off the antihistamines for a week (as of Wednesday), I have an appointment with the allergist this Thursday to do the full panel testing to see if I have to cut out shrimp or not...I REALLY hope not.....and one additional procedure next Monday.

That's the latest....

Hoping for Answers

2012-01-08T22:07:00.000-05:00

It's been two weeks since I had whatever it was that sent me to the hospital and 2 weeks of no answers as to what really caused it, just speculation. I'm ready for some answers.

I had some blood work done to test for allergies a few days after it happened, but because of the medications I was on, it's likely that my levels were skewed....although it did show a slight "abnormal" / Class I allergy to shellfish. I've been told that even with Class I being on the low end of the allergy scale (0-VI), you can still have a severe reaction, especially if your body is unable to fend off the allergens. And seeing as how I was on quite a bit of medication for the pneumonia, my body definitely was not in tip-top condition.

Unfortunately, I will not be able to be fully tested until later this week as I have to wait 5-7 days after being off the antihistamines before I can do the skin-prick test. So...I'll be going through that later this week or the first of the next.

Until then, I went and saw a GI doctor and will be having a procedure done tomorrow - upper endoscopy - to see if I have an ulcer and/or any possible damage to my esophagus. While I surely hope there's nothing wrong, I do hope they can find something that can be treated so I can have some sort of answer.

I'll admit, I'm a little nervous. I had this procedure done about 10 years ago and was assured I was "not going to feel a thing". That was FAR from the truth. I remember everything. I remember them starting the tube. I remember them going down my throat. I remember gagging like I've never gagged before. I remember it was PAINFUL, and I remember I was scared. So...I'm a little nervous the same thing will happen tomorrow. I mentioned that to the doctor and he assured me the anesthetic procedures are much better now (the first time I had this done was in SC so it's not with the same practice) so I'm going to trust him.

What I'd like to ask of any of you reading my blog is to pray for me to have calm nerves and a restful night's sleep tonight. Pray that I don't say or do anything silly or stupid while I'm "knocked out" - haha! Pray for the doctor to have a steady hand and attention to detail. Pray for the nurses to be on their A-game. Pray for Lori for patience while I'm being "checked out". Pray for everyone involved tomorrow. The procedure can take anywhere from 15-60 minutes.

Thanks and love to you all!

Orange Bowl(ed)

2012-01-05T21:16:00.000-05:00

Apparently we're (Lori and I) not meant to travel to bowl games. Perhaps we should just be banned from going to games - PERIOD. Our record in bowl games is an astounding 0-3. The Chick-fil-A bowl back in 2007, a 23-20 OT loss, was close....but that put us at 0-2. Our first bowl game, the Gator Bowl of 2000, also known as the Michael Vick Show, not so much. But the 2012 Orange Bowl....well, for the 2 or 3 of you reading this blog, you're already very aware those other 2 bowl outcomes pale in comparison to what we just witnessed.

It's kind of like my days working with the Panthers. The year I started working for them, 1-15. The year I leave, Super Bowl.

You know, I'm kind of getting depressed thinking about this.

But back to my Tigers. Yes, they got beat. They got beat bad. But seeing as how I was thinking a 6-6 season was going to be a "great" year, I'm more than proud of those guys. They won the conference championship. They won 10 games. They made it to a BCS bowl. That's a lot more than many other teams can say. And yes, they're in the ACC. No, it's not a powerhouse conference. But you know what, they still have to play football. I'll take our team, our school, our class and our standards - academics and athletics - any day of the week and twice on Sunday. My blood will always runneth orange!

Now that I'm off my soapbox, let me recap the trip a bit. After the Tigers clenched their spot in the Orange Bowl, I submitted a request to the ticket office, not really thinking we'd actually get the tickets. After all, we were declined tickets to the ACC Championship game. Granted, that one was just a few hours up the road, and on the weekend, where this one was a few hundred miles away and on a Wednesday...NOT a good time for a game. But a few days later, I received confirmation we secured our tickets. Now my dilemmas were - 1) How are we going to get there and 2) Who's going to watch the kids?

So....Clemson had a travel package where you could fly from Greenville / Spartanburg the day of the game, catch a bus from the airport straight to the stadium - including police escort - tailgate, watch the game, hop back on the bus to the airport and fly home for a pretty decent rate so I figured, "what the heck - let's do this". I booked the trip - then Lori (and I) had our Christmas present. Problem #1 solved. Problem #2...solved shortly after! Called Granny and...Granny came down to Georgia. She was looking for some kids to watch....

Below are some of the pictures - hope you enjoy:

Hard to see as this was taken from the BACK of the bus...but one of Florida's finest helping us navigate through traffic.

Kind of self-explanatory

This thing had to be 100' wide...we didn't get the full picture

Lori spinning the wheel at the Discover Tailgate

It's a winner!!! 1st Quarter On-Field Access

The Proof

Pretty lady and some pretty nice seats she won for us

Ellington (#23) shortly after scoring

What's up, CJ?!

Go Tigers!

Sammy getting ready!

Dabo and Taj

When we had the lead....

Put me in coach!!!

We ran into our former BSU Campus Minister - Also known as the Voice of Tiger Band - Mr. Tim Willis

President Barker and I talking about the good ole days

Tiger Tailgate

Tigers getting ready to come onto the field

Watkins (#2) and Ellington (#23)

Action shot from our real seats

Shortly before half-time...unfortunately

I'll work on doing a full recap of our adventures over the weekend. Hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

Just Put it on Paper...Or the Blog

2012-01-02T00:05:00.012-05:00

Well, the first day of 2012 has come and gone, and apparently I'm having an adverse reaction to Benadryl tonight as it's now well after midnight and I can't seem to sleep. The persistent cough doesn't help either....but I digress.

Hopefully the start of 2012 was a good one for you. For us, it was quite nice actually. Like most days, Preston was up ready to go by 7 am while neither Lori nor I were ready to budge....but as for 99% of all weekend mornings, Lori got up, got the kids situated, and made breakfast while I slept in. I do still have a "small" excuse in that I'm not 100% and I did have an extra Benadryl around 2am (which typically zonks me out)....but nonetheless, Lori was the rock-star. I have a feeling he'll be doing the same soon and I'll end up getting up with him - seems only fair, right?

We had ribs, black-eyed peas and potato cheese casserole for dinner. It was YUMMY let me tell ya! And let me tell you something else, we are starting to get used to this eating at home concept. Not sure why we haven't tried it more often...but I can see it happening pretty regularly now.

Anyway, it dawned on me while I was trying to sleep, I mean watch the Cowboys get embarrassed again, that I hadn't completed the recap of 2011. So I'm going to give it a shot here now....maybe if I just stick with doing a list, I can get it done. It may be kind of tricky as "Office Space" is playing in the background....so what should take about 30 minutes to blog about may take 2-3 hours....haha.

So here we go....I'll try and do it by months, but I'm sure I'll get stuck....(and the pictures are off-centered, I know - I've spent about an hour trying to get it reformatted but to no avail....so my apologies....)

January - We got a new car - swapped the old Altima with a new Altima and Preston turned 4.
February - Lori turned 7 3/4
February - My grandmother (Dad's mom) passed away. At the funeral, Preston met "his tallest friend", his cousin Jimmy. He's only 6'7" so not sure why this was so impressive...
April - My sister got married
May - For the first time in quite some time, we did not have the BellSouth Pioneer Golf Tournament - instead, my dad, brother-in-law and I played golf at Orangeburg Country Club. Also, Lori and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary and took a trip to visit some friends in San Fan (who are now living in Chicago...looks like another trip is in the works!!!).
June - We took our first family vacation - Englewood, Florida - not a great family shot, but still...- where Preston fell in love with his 16-yr old cousin, Jenna. I couldn't find a picture with the two of them, but did find one of Cadence and Jenna. While we were there, Lori received a job offer from NCR. I was on the golf course when her "soon to be" boss called me making sure she checked her messages so she could get her paperwork in.
July - Cadence turned 2
August - Went to a practice round and 3rd round of the 93rd PGA Championship held at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
October - One of my best friends got baptized!!! I had a picture of this but can't find it now...still searching....and I changed jobs within NCR.
November - I turned 33
December - Had our first family Christmas at our house with just the four of us
December - Ended up at the ER on Christmas Day....

I'm not sure what month exactly this one fell, but one of the most significant memories of 2011 is getting another clean report from my grandmother's (Mom's mom) fight against colon cancer. She's one strong lady and God is good!!! Still cancer free!!!!

I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to the year than just that but that's just what came to me while sitting here.

So now that leaves me with 2012. It's time to put it on paper, or on the blog, my Top 12 goals, resolutions, milestones...whatever you want to call them. I figure if I write it down, or type it, I'm going to be a lot more likely to stick with them. So here we go....not in any particular order:

Read one book per month (minimum)
Update blog once/month (minimum)
Daily bible reading
Be down to 175lbs by Mar 31 (Currently at 195)
Start - AND FINISH - P90X
Begin a daily devotion with my family
Have a date night at a minimum of once/month (with my wife of course)
Write (and mail) one hand written letter to a friend once/month (minimum)
Cut out soft drinks - completely
Get - AND STAY - organized
Do something nice and unexpected for someone once/month (minimum)
Go somewhere new / do something new once/month (minimum)

Of course, I have some other personal goals that aren't listed, and for those, I just ask that you pray for me that I can achieve and stick to them.

So there you have it - my first blog of 2012. Thanks for reading!

Bye Bye 2011 - Hello 2012

2011-12-31T01:20:00.003-05:00

So 2011 is coming to a screeching halt. Heck, my last blog was in January 2011....and was talking about resolutions... Seems like every year we start off with such high expectations of resolutions or changes or milestones or...shoot, pick a word and use it...and then, most all of us who attempt to achieve these goals fail within a week. At least on one. This year, I'm setting a mindset of sticking to my Top 10. I'm writing them down and I'm going to hold myself accountable. I challenge any of you who are taking the time out of your day / night and reading this, to challenge me / push me as well. These will be posted on January 1 - as part of one my goals.... :-)

I am running into 2012 with a totally different mindset than any previous year. And I'll be completely open and honest with you why - it was Christmas Day - and I felt a feeling of insecurity and "scared-ness" that I've never felt before in my life. But let me give a little background first....shortly after Thanksgiving I was diagnosed with pneumonia. A few weeks of a lingering cough that turned into severe wheezing and ultimately full blown pneumonia. I had the option of "taking it easy" and resting or being admitted to the hospital. I chose the former. Of course, I overextended myself, although my sweet wife did all she could to ensure I was resting as best as possible.

After a night of playing Santa and getting all the kids' toys together and everything set up nicely - we went to bed. Christmas Day rolled around and started off just like we expected. The kids woke us up, wanted to run downstairs and see what Santa left them, make sure he ate his cookies and all that fun stuff. So we obliged. Video will be posted later.

The kids played for a bit, were really thankful for what they received, we read the story of Jesus' birth in Luke 2 and headed to church. It was a nice service, very informal, the kids even stayed in service with us. We came home, Lori's grandparents came over to see us - well mainly the kids - and then headed home. I ate lunch - jambalaya - and after about half an hour, started to feel really bad.

I was already on a significant amount of medicine so thought maybe I was getting sick with a mixture of the meds and food - maybe I ate too much, don't know. But my throat started getting tight so I went upstairs and grabbed a Prevacid - I have reflux so was thinking maybe that would help. After about 5-10 minutes, it started getting worse, so I asked Lori to get my inhaler - took 2 puffs and still nothing better - in fact, my throat was getting even tighter. I shifted around in my chair, very, very uncomfortably, drinking water, thinking, "throat's just a little itchy, no big deal"....then all of a sudden, I couldn't swallow. No matter what I tried, I couldn't catch a good breath. That's when I told Lori I needed to go see someone - now.

We piled in the car and rushed off to the ER. Honestly, all I remember is standing up in the den, shaking - from fear and just absolute coldness - then getting into the van. The next thing I remember, I was answering some questions in the triage room and shortly after was being connected to some IV and other machines. Turned out I had an allergic reaction to "something" which caused "severe swelling of the soft tissue" in my neck. We're still awaiting the test results to see what it may have been.

While they were running tests and pumping me with meds, all I could think about was "am I having a heart attack", "am I going to be ok", "what is going on with me", "I can't leave my kids and wife"....I was scared. Very, very scared. I cried.

My kids and Lori were super troopers. After 5-6 hours and a LOT of medicine, my throat opened back up and I was able to swallow and catch my breath in a normal pattern. The gang at Gwinnett Medical was incredible! Not really how I envisioned spending Christmas afternoon/evening but considering the circumstances, I don't think I could have been anywhere better.

They think it was a reaction to the shrimp from the jambalaya although I have been tested before and shown negative. I did have shrimp 3 out of 4 days leading up to that and have been told that if I had a slight allergy to that, exposing myself consistently to that could have caused an asthmatic reaction. Unfortunately, because of the medicine I'm on, it will be another week or two before I can go back for full testing to see if that was the case. I also need to go to a GI doctor to have additional testing for my reflux as the doctor mentioned it could have been a bad flare up of acid which triggered the reaction. I was also told by my family physician that had I not been on a steroid already, nor had the inhaler, this would have been extremely bad.

It's been almost a week now and I have haven't even thought of eating bad. I don't even want Mt. Dew. And for those of you who really know me, that's HUGE! Nor have I wanted fried food - another big thing for me.

I want to be around for my wife and kids. For a LONG, LONG time. I want to be healthy. I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of being fat. I'm tired of being on medicine for things I know that I can control. So this year is going to be different. I'm going to eat healthier, I'm going to cut out carbonated drinks, I'm going to cut back on fatty foods, I'm going to exercise. I WILL BE in the best shape I've ever been. I'm going to be the spiritual leader of my house. I'm going to be the dad and husband I vowed I would be. I'm going to make an impact on 2012.

I'm ready for 2012 - are you?! Let's do this!!!!

Welcome 2011 - New Year's Resolutions and Joey Fatone Sighting

2011-01-22T22:31:00.004-05:00

Well, 2011 has made its descent upon us...in fact, we're just about ready to kiss the first month goodbye. Good grief. Where does the time go?

And as with every new year, there's so much anxiety surrounding "resolutions". "I'm going to stop drinking so much Mt. Dew" or "I'm going to lose 15 pounds so I can get back to where I was in college" or whatever. You know the drill. And usually I fall prey to the system. In particularly, I'd say, "I'm going to resolve to not procrastinate." But not this year. No resolutions for me. I never keep them anyway so why bother? This year, I'm just going to concentrate on being the best I can, each and every day. Forget resolutions. I'm going to set goals and expectations for myself. Even write them down. Yeah, that's what I'll do. Tomorrow...

So here it is, Jan. 22, 2011 and already this year we've had birds falling from the sky & thousands of dead fish popping up in Chicago , the Snowpocalypse of 2011, an assassination attempt in Arizona , the New York Jets beating Mr. Manning and Mr. Brady in back-to-back games to advance to the AFC Title Game for the 2nd straight year...and many other things...I'm just too tired to type anymore. :-)

It's been an eventful year so far to say the least.

Ok enough rambling. I'll make some time to do more of that later (there's that procrastination again)...time to get to the meat of this post.

Today, while we were eating at Jim 'N Nick's BBQ, as the lady next to us got up, she said, "You remind me of Joey (Fatone). Anyone ever tell you that?" And to be honest with her, I had to say "Yes, ma'am. They actually have."

Now...it's been about 5 or 6 years since the last time someone had made that comparison...or at least verbalized that comparison to me. So I thought I'd do some playing around and put something together....
Now I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. Go ahead. I can take it.

And as to resolutions go, I mean "goals and expectations", well, I'll get to that later....haha.

A Star is Born

2010-12-15T09:31:00.002-05:00

Last night our kiddos had a sing-along with their daycare at a local church. Seeing as how last year, Preston ran out to sit with Lori and didn't even sing, we didn't have any thoughts at all of asking anyone to join us this year. Afterall, it was only supposed to last about half an hour.

Well, this year Mr. P decided he wanted to showcase his talents a little more, even though one of the teachers asked him to "hold back a little"...so, relax, sit back, and enjoy the show. And yes, we will be submitting this to America's Funniest Home Videos....

Oh Crappy Day

2010-10-11T20:06:00.004-04:00

****Warning - the following content may not be suitable for weak stomachs. Please proceed with caution. :-0 ****

Sure. My typical posts begin with something along the lines of "well, it's been about 3 months since my last post" or "I know I always say I'm going to get better about blogging"....but tonight I'm going to break that routine.

First, for those that may not read our family blog (The Rickards Family) which my beautiful bride does such an awesome job of updating...let me give you the quick run down of the past month at least.....

Monday, September 13 was definitely a night to forget. After putting the kids to bed, Lori and I finally sat down to veg out and watch some tv. At the first commercial break (House), we hear a loud, strange sound from upstairs...sounded like a barking noise...at first we assumed it was Preston doing something, so we ignored it. A minute later, we heard it again, and it didn't sound quite normal...so I went upstairs to see what was going on.

About half way up the stairs, I noticed the sounds were coming from Cadence's room so I literally jumped up the 2nd half of the stairs...Superman-like. She was on her hands and knees in her crib, very pale, and struggling to breathe. I yanked her up thinking she was choking...but the only thing she could have choked on was her pacifier so I knew that wasn't it. The next thought was possibly having an asthma attack/allergic reaction to something. All we knew was that our baby was struggling to breathe and we had no idea what was causing this.

I called 911 while Lori went to change from her pajamas. I was very frustrated at the operator asking me what kind of "sounds" she was making when trying to breathe that I yelled, "CAN'T YOU HEAR HER!" (Since I was holding her right next to the phone.) Sorry lady, but I was a little stressed....

The 911 operator assured us that Cadence was breathing because of the sounds she was making, but said she needed to dispatch a paramedic crew which arrived about five minutes after we called. WOW! Then one of our neighbors arrived about a second later, volunteering to watch Preston.

The paramedics said she was definitely having trouble breathing and her oxygen was low (in the 70s after giving her some oxygen) so they transported her to the hospital. Lori rode with them as I gathered some belongings...and took a minute to break down...(I found out later that had we waited and taken her to the hospital on her own, she may have gone into distress due to lack of oxygen...calling 911 literally saved her life...)

Once at the hospital, Cadence was diagnosed with croup and strider. She was given an oral steroid and that seemed to help a lot. After the steroid, she perked up a little and was frustrated by the fact that she was hooked up and had limited mobility. (See poor picture below taken from my phone.)

This was a very scary experience for us. I'd heard of children having croup, but thought that coughing was the main symptom that led to a diagnosis. The ER doctor as well as Cadence's pediatrician said most kids get the cough and have a mild case, but in some instances, like Cadence's, it can be sever.

Cadence had a runny nose that day and the day prior, but had not coughed at all - not even once, until this episode.

After a couple of hours of observation, we were released with instructions to monitor her and follow up with our pediatrician on Tuesday. Thankfully, we had no additional episodes and didn't need additional medication. Cadence was very cranky for the next few days, rightly so, but now is better and back to her silly self.

Besides going to the Auburn - Clemson game in Auburn, AL, which was a lot of fun by the way, that pretty much summed up September.

On to October....and let me just jump to today...now is where the weak of stomach can just sign off.....

Lori has kickboxing on Monday and Wednesday nights so I have kid duty after work. Tonight was also Preston's last swimming lesson.

I meet the crew at the pool, he does a great job, we all go to Wendy's to eat...Lori heads off to kickboxing and I headed home with the youngens. It was pretty much their bed time so I figured I'd give them a bath then put them to bed....and so the fun begins....

Bath-time went well as usual...got the little princess washed and smelling all clean, got her out, dried her off, into her pj's, ready to roll....except for her "ba-ba" (pacifier) and blanket which are necessities for sleeping. So I tell Preston to pull the drain so no water's in the bathtub (which turned out to be a very good thing...) while I run downstairs to get her "ba-ba" and blanket. I also tell him "do NOT get out of the bathtub" - for fear of him slipping or busting his head...

I get downstairs and find the blanket but can't find "ba-ba"...so I look around a bit. All of a sudden I hear Preston frantically yelling, "I HAVE TO GO POOPIE! I HAVE TO GO POOPIE!" So I tell him to go and he says, "BUT YOU SAID NOT TO GET OUT OF THE BATHTUB!" After a few bouts of going back and forth I hear him go "OH MAN..." That was about the time I got back to the top of the stairs....

Poor little guy had tried holding it but didn't make it....oh boy did he not make it....it was all over the side of the bathtub, the lid to the toilet (it was closed as he tried to get on to the toilet), the toilet seat, the rugs, the floor, and of course....Preston. (See why it was good that the water was drained....???)

He was very distraught and I had to reassure him it was ok and that he tried. So I picked him up and turned the shower on....he LOVED that (bright side)...so I let him stand there and get cleaned up while I cleaned up the bathroom.

Where's Cadence during all this??? Good question. But how could I forget about her while she was constantly trying to get back into the bathtub herself....

I finally got what I thought was everything then Preston decided he needed to pee....so I get him out of the shower and plop him in front of the toilet only to hear him say, "Daddy I just stepped in something..." Yeah, I missed a spot....so pee-pee in the potty then back in the tub....

FINALLY after about 20 minutes of cleaning, everybody was good to go...I washed the rugs out, put them in the tub, soaked them with Oxy-Clean and remember...I never dried Preston off. He was standing ever so quietly in his room, wet and naked....poor kid. So I get him dried off and put his pj's on and Cadence starts pitching a fit.

When I go to pick her up, PU!!! She stinks. You guessed it, she now has on a poopie. So....I go back to her room, tell Preston to pick out some books for us to read and change Cadence. And oh how I wished it ended there....

After removing her diaper, she decides she wants to be funny and reach down to her bottom to see what the warm mess is on her butt....grabs a handful of CRAP and rubs it in her hair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I kid you not....I am about at my wits' end at this point....

So, back to the bathtub....but this time, the bathtub was filled with rugs and Oxy-Clean. So guess who else got to experience a shower for the first time? Yep, you got it! Cadence. I held her up while the shower ran to give her a second bath...keep in mind, I'm still in my work clothes....

Alas, the kids are clean again - the bathroom is soaked by this time as am I - but the kids are clean.

I read Preston his book....put Cadence to bed....and now am sitting down to relax....just in time for Lori to get home from kickboxing....I really don't know why the kids wait until Daddy's home to show off their creative side.....

Merely Rambling

2010-07-25T19:55:00.002-04:00

No better subject line that the one above as I honestly have no idea what this blog will be about. The past few weeks have flown by - Cadence turned one and had a wonderful time with her friends and family. She also had her one year checkup and is still "very petite." Kind of bizarre seeing as how she is literally eating us out of house and home. Our friends came over the other night for dinner and Cadence ate 3 entire hot dogs, along with other munchy stuff, and wanted more...we had to stop her or else we felt we'd be dealing with a little girl with an upset tummy all night...it was too late. She didn't sleep well, nor did we - especially since she took up more than half of the king size bed we sleep in. We don't usually let the kids stay in the bed with us but when we couldn't console Cadence that night, we had to do something so we could at least get an hour of sleep...

I've been able to get a lot of golf in lately...most of it has been free, which is the best type of golf!!! This past Monday I played at TPC Sugarloaf. That was a very exciting time for me as that course is where the AT&T Classic (formerly the BellSouth Classic) was played. Normally golf isn't a tremendous workout, but since I've been playing when it's been close to 100 degrees, the heat has made it feel like an intense 3-hour-straight-cardio-workout....

My workout routine has been hit or miss; however, the diet has been pretty much "stuck to". I'm down a little over 10lbs in nearly a month....it's the first time I've been under 190 in nearly 3 years.

Friday we officially became "old" as we traded in the Pilot for an Odyssey. It's ok though...that's one smooth ride. Lori's getting the full experience this week as she headed out with the kids to "Granny Pammy's" house today. It's a perfect week for them to go on a mini-vacation as I'm in Green Belt (Six Sigma) training all week at work.

Well, that's pretty much the happenings around the Rickards' household for the past few weeks.....

He's Alive!!!!

2010-06-30T21:17:00.003-04:00

So, it’s been quite some time since I’ve posted my last blog. "Quite some time" really doesn’t even do the time between posts justice though…it’s been nearly 11 months. Geesh. Seeing as how the uproar was so loud, I felt it best that I resuscitate my blog as best as possible. Here we go. Hang on. It could be a bumpy ride….

“Ryan, what have you been doing all this time? We’ve missed you so much! Please come back. We need your words of wisdom.” Those were just some of the outcries from my readers over the past 11 months. You don’t believe me? Wow. I’m hurt. But you’re right. It was more like…..yeah....

Wow, 11 months. I can’t believe I’ve been that slack. I mean, it’s not like we had a baby or anything. Or that I changed jobs. Or that we moved. Ok, so two out of three of those are true.

Here’s some news….I started P90X on Sunday. That’s right! I’m BRINGING IT!!! But barely. I can hardly move my arms, legs, neck, feet…yeah, you get the picture. I’m walking around like a 100 yr old man. In fact, if I had to lift my hands to type, it would be another year before I typed the next blog.

That dude’s not kidding when he says this is not for beginners. And I’m a beginner but I need to do something, so I’m going all out. I’ll likely be out on the floor before too long though – the warm ups of the Plyometrics X nearly killed me yesterday….

“Where are the pictures?” you ask. Right. Like I am going to post those. Ok, so I will. But only if…I mean WHEN…I hit my goal. Progress reports will be posted each week – if nothing else to keep me motivated to keep going and to also visualize and keep me accountable.

I haven’t had a Mt. Dew in 3 days….not even a Diet Dew. That’s big. I used to go through those things like a newborn goes through dirty diapers. Ok, so that wasn’t a good visual…how about…I used to go through those things like the government goes through my money? Yeah, I was that bad. Well, maybe not that bad, but Pepsi’s stock has tumbled the past 2 days thanks to my lack of demand.

I did make it to a Braves' game last night with out partners at work. We had pretty good seats, too. There were four of us and for whatever reason...perhaps the fact the Braves were playing the Nationals....we were the only four on our row. So midway through the game, we all spread out and wouldn't you know it, about 15 minutes after doing so, one of the Nats' players hits a foul ball that careens off the lower part of the 2nd deck and bounces right to the girl who had moved down into my original seat. I tried to convince her that since that was my seat, that ball actually belonged to me but she didn't go for it. Pretty smart for an 8-yr old!

I guess that’s it for now. I’ll post more later…honestly I will. I’m kind of curious as to if anyone will even read this…

Just Catching Up

2009-08-09T14:38:00.004-04:00

Well, it's been about a month since my last blog so I figured I'd better get something out here so all the followers would have something to read. Reading stimulates the mind, you know?

The past few days have been a bit stressful - mentally and physically. A few weeks ago my grandma started feeling ill and after not having much of an appetite and a few other symptoms, she decided to go to the doctor. They saw some inflammation in her colon so they gave her some antibiotics to relieve it, hoping that would be it....well, the inflammation went down and her appetite slowly started coming back but the doctor wanted to do a colonoscopy just to make sure there wasn't anything else going on - when they began the procedure they had to stop because they hit a mass in her colon.

They had to remove nearly half of her colon in order to get the mass, which turned out to be the size of a baseball. The doctor said what we had all dreaded - he knew it was cancer.

The full pathology reports haven't come back yet so we don't know what stage or how aggressive or anything like that - the doctor did say he did not feel anything in her liver and is confident he got all that he saw.

So, that's that in a recap. When I talked to my mom Tuesday, the day before "Gram's" surgery, I knew I needed to come home - if nothing more than to just "be there" for my family. So, Wednesday night after I got home from work, Preston and I packed up for what would be our first "Boy's Trip!" Granny Pam came to Georgia to be with Lori and Baby Cadence.

Wednesday was a long day at work - for some reason, EVERYTHING needed to be done so it took me a while to get done...I finally made it home around 7 and we got on the road around 8. The trip home was relatively uneventful - we made it over 3 hours before we ran into any issues - and that was a torrential downpour, lightning, etc....we went 5 mph for about 25-30 minutes - after that, it was smooth sailing.

Preston didn't sleep the entire trip so when we got to my parents' house, around 12 am, he was ready for.....play-time! Yeah, you would think he'd want to go to sleep after riding in a car for over 4 hours and it being over 4 hours past his bed time, but nope...he wanted to play. Thankfully I was able to pull him away from his toys and got him to bed....

So, 6:45am rolls around and Little Man is ready to wake up - not fun for Daddy! Luckily Pop-Pop was up so he took over so I could get some sleep. The day was a normal day except for the fact Preston didn't get a nap. And when he doesn't get a nap, he is not a fun person to be around. So, no nap and a little over 6 hours of sleep (compared to a normal 11 hours....)....yeah, we knew we were in for some fun.

When I do go home, I usually only have one requirement - to have Orangeburg BBQ at Antley's. Now, for those of you not accustomed to Low Country SC BBQ, you are surely missing out. But I won't hold it against you too bad.

So on our way there, Mr. P decides to show out the entire way there - crying, screaming "I WANT MY MOMMY", yelling "NO" for no reason, slapping at the air but hitting himself....oh yes, the little mean one coming out. I was a few minutes short of turning the car around, packing up our bags and driving all the way back to Georgia that night....but, knowing he was just tired, I decided to stick it out.

I could go on a bit longer about what all we did the next few days....Preston played baseball with his cousin, "Baseball" Austin....Preston played baseball with Uncle Brandon....Kayla, Preston and I met Aunt "Tayla" at House of Pizza (HoP)....we had grilled pork chops at the house....Preston played with Sweet Bella (cat)....Preston saw a deer in the field....

On our way home though, we stopped back by the hospital and Preston was able to go upstais and see Gi-Gi. That made her day! She was so excited to see him. Thank goodness a lot of the tubes and things had been removed otherwise we wouldn't have been able to go in there - that would have been a little too hard to explain to him right now....

So, we left the hospital then we stopped in Greenville (after sitting in a parking lot on Interstate near Columbia for a few minutes....) to see my friend who had recently had a heart attack. Preston wanted to show Mr. Blake how he (Preston) could hit a baseball...so we did that for a few minutes in the 100 degree heat...

We finally made it home Saturday, early evening. I was (and still am) drained....hopefully this week will be relatively easy....but with 2 doctor appointments for me, one for Baby Cadence, and a few projects at work, I don't think that's going to be the case.....

Wake Up Call

2009-07-15T21:26:00.003-04:00

Tonight was definitely a night I won't soon forget. I had gone upstairs to put Preston to bed and after our normal routine, I finally was able to rejoin the troops downstairs. When I got there, I noticed I had a missed call on my cell. It was from a friend I hadn't talked to in a few months. We traded voicemails a few times and this seemed to be another case.

So I checked the voicemail (b/c like my friend Chris, I'm not a fan of people calling me back without first listening to the message...who knows, he may have said something like, "I'm about to go to bed" or....who knows....)

Anyway, I went ahead and checked the voicemail and when it started playing, it was my friend's wife. That, in and of itself, was odd. As the congratulations were being said (regarding the birth of our daughter), I could tell in her voice something wasn't right.

It turned out, one of my closest friends, just 30 years old, had a heart attack earlier Monday morning. Wow....talk about a wake up call.

I know I joke around a lot about my weight...my 6 chins...etc., etc. but this one has definitely got me thinking. I need to do something. I'll be sure and get a blog going on my progress!!

Thank goodness my friend is going to be ok, but this could happen again. And the next time he may not be so lucky. It also goes to show it could happen to anyone at any time. And I don't want it to happen to me.

Thinking and praying for you pal!

You Forgot Something Daddy

2009-07-13T20:09:00.003-04:00

As most of you know by now, we welcomed Baby Cadence to the world Friday night, July 10, at 11:02pm. It's been an adjustment as we well expected, but it's been a good one.

We spent Friday and Saturday night at the hospital and came home Sunday, late afternoon. Today was our first full day home and it was relatively uneventful. Thank goodness. We did have to take Cadence to the Gwinnett Imaging Center because she had to get her jaundice levels re-checked....unfortunately they are still high so we have to go back tomorrow - we have an appointment for her anyway, so at least it can be done all at one time.

So, that's a short recap of the past few days. I plan to get some pictures and some other information posted by mid-week.

Tonight though, Granny Pam was holding Cadence and it was time to take Preston to bed so I was able to take him. We went upstairs and did our normal routine....had to convince him to get upstairs first...he wanted me to carry him....convinced him to race me up the stairs first and I would carry him on the top stairs...we finally made it upstairs....his bed was made so we had to unmake it....he wasn't happy that we made his bed "ugly"...then he didn't want the "jam-jams" (pajamas) I put on him...finally got him to get two books....he had a big football in one arm so he only had one arm to get the books....finally got the football and the books on the bed then it was time for night-night prayers.

We knelt down beside the bed, he was on his stool in his usual position and right as we were finishing he says, "You forgot to ask Jesus to make Preston feel better." We had been praying for Jesus to help Preston feel better the past week while he was having his Bronchitis issues, and I honestly didn't think he was really paying attention. I was shocked though, because I hadn't put him to bed in over 3 days but yet, he remembered that.

I love my little guy!

A New Day

2009-07-09T23:01:00.002-04:00

Well, I had a feeling this would happen. Tonight would be the "last night" before baby "Pink" arrives, and I'm unable to go to sleep.

We went in for our last weekly check-up today. The doctors had all told us that they didn't want Lori to go past her due date (which is Monday, July 13) and because of some issues she had delivering Preston they were going to be more proactive and cautious when it came to this pregnancy. Well, nothing had been done in the past few visits so I chimed in and reminded them about what all they had said early on.

The doctor did the normal measurement of Lori's stomach and said she was "progressing as expected" and we "would see what happens between now and next week." I guess she could sense my "not-so-happy-feeling" when she said that so she asked if we wanted to do an ultrasound. We both did.

So, we went and did the ultrasound and like what most of you would have done as well, I had the tech insure me that we were having a girl. She did and we are! :-) She also proceeded to tell us that the measurements point to our baby girl being around 8.5 lbs right now....yeah, glad we checked.

So, from that point on, I have been on Cloud 9. Even more so when the doctor was able to schedule an induction for us for tomorrow (Friday, July 10) morning. I'm sure Lori is, too!

I've been excited throughout this pregnancy but nothing like how I was with Preston. In fact, for most of the time I've been like, "yeah, we're having a baby." It really started bothering me, too, that I wasn't super excited. At times I thought something was wrong with me. Thank goodness I had a completely different feeling today!

I'm not going to lie though....I'm nervous. I'm scared. We're about to bring another life into this world. What's Preston going to think? Will we be able to show the same love and attention to our baby girl that we did to Preston? Will Preston feel left out? Will baby girl be a good sleeper? Will WE be able to sleep? What about Rascal? How's he going to do...? Ugh....so many questions running through my mind...I'm sure that's part of the reason I can't sleep.

Ok, well, I really don't have any more to say because I am actually very sleepy. I'm trying to watch the Braves....bullpen has blown another game for Tommy Hanson...he should be 6-0 now, but oh well!

I'm sure I'll post more tomorrow....all I know is I am SO EXCITED that we're going to be able to meet our little girl tomorrow. Oh, and if you're still reading this, we still don't have a name picked out yet. :-)

From the Mouths of Babes

2009-07-07T17:38:00.000-04:00

Well, it’s been a few days since I last blogged so I guess I should keep the readers happy. I really don’t have much to talk about so…..how about I just post some of Preston’s famous quotes.

These are just some I remembered from recent “conversations”…as I remember or come across more, I’ll update:

• Mommy, I love you so much. Can I have some Cheerios?
• You’re not a boy; you’re Daddy.
• Ah! The fox is going to get me.
• You see that bear, Daddy? Over there. Yeah, he’s going to eat you.
• YAY! We’re at school.
• Blah, blah, black sheep.
• Little Miss Muffet, sat on her tuffet, eating her terds away.
• I’m not a silly boy, I’m Preston Bug.
• Preston: “Daddy, I don’t feel well. I need something to make me feel better,” Me: “How about a hug from Daddy?” Preston: “No. How about some Fruit Loops to make me happy.”
• We need to go to the bank so I can get my money and go get my blue truck.
• M.P. Diddy on the horse! (Said in the tone of “M.P. Diddy in the house!”)
• When you hear big raindrops you get tired, Daddy?
• But Mommy will bounce baby sister in the water and I have to go save her. (When saying we need to go for a boat ride.)
• Please stay with me one minute.
• You have to save me! (As I’m tucking him in he crawls to the top of the bed asking me to “save him” by pulling him by his legs back to one side of the bed.)

Love and Marriage

2009-06-24T14:10:00.012-04:00

I’ve been debating for the past two days on whether or not to post this particular “blog” or just let it go, but I’ve finally decided to go ahead and do it, especially with the most recent news of extramarital affairs taking place by our elected officials.

Part of my struggle was not wanting to come off as too abrasive or judgmental. I’m prefacing this blog with the hopes that for any of you who read this, you understand this is in no way, shape or form any stone throwing, judgment casting, person bashing blog – this is me being real, expressing my own personal stance and feelings.

I can count on one hand the number of times I have watched the whole “Jon and Kate Plus 8” reality show. Some may say that's even too much! But I did watch this past Monday’s show. Part of me honestly had a feeling that all the critics, tabloids and speculators were going to be wrong and that they were either going to announce they were seeking counseling, they were going to halt the show for a while, or that they were expecting another child. I was really, really looking for the silver lining in what has become a very negative circus act for them as of late. Granted, I will admit I am one of the people that say, “they knew what they signed up for” regarding the paparazzi, etc. but still, they are people.

One of the key points that drove me and Lori to becoming members of the church we attend now, was our pastor’s stance on putting marriage above the children. I know that some of you are going to read the above statement and be turned off immediately and I’m ok with that. For those of you who are still hanging with me, thank you.

I firmly and unashamedly believe that for any marriage to work, there has to be a complete buy-in to the “better or worse, in sickness and health, to death do us part” vows. It really and truly saddens me at how lightly these vows are taken nowadays. (Now before you begin thinking, “Oh boy, here we go. He has no idea what he’s talking about. If he only knew what it was like. It’s not that easy,” etc. let me go ahead and say, “You’re right.”)

My parents have been married for 32 years. My grandparents, more than 50. I didn’t grow up in what is now considered a “modern family” with 4 parents. But my wife lived it. I have plenty of friends who have gone through it. And I can honestly say, if both parties were fully committed to the vows they said and the commitments they made, it could have been avoided.

I don’t believe in divorce. I don’t like it all. Do I look at someone who has been divorced any differently than anyone else? Absolutely not. One of my very dear friends has gone through this situation twice. In fact, two people very close to me have gone through it more than once. And they both did all within their power to make things work.

Before I get too far off track, I am writing this blog for a few reasons. One, it’s just been on my heart lately and two, I feel that by putting this down “on paper” it helps reiterate how passionate I am about this topic.

When Lori and I first met, or first started dating I should say, we pretty much aired all our dirty laundry. And at the top of the list was our “no excuse” approach on divorce. We began our relationship knowing that neither of us would go far into a relationship without one, seeing ourselves spending the rest of our lives with that person and two, that the other person had the same stance.

At any event, I don’t want to break down and analyze the Gosselin family. I don’t know what went on behind the scenes nor do I want to. But what I could see, was a family who focused on the children far more than their own relationship. How can you expect your children to grow up and know what it’s like to have a healthy relationship with their significant other when you don’t display one yourself? When you live separate lives but come together “for the sake of the kids”, that’s just not healthy. I just don’t see it. Nor do I believe in the “falling out of love” statement. Hear me out. I feel bad for these guys. And maybe I’m just old-fashioned. I’m just saying what I feel.

I mean, marriage isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination....not even when things are going well. But when you say your vows, you're making a life-long commitment. I just don't buy in to the "everyone makes mistakes and sometimes this happens....." I know “stuff” happens, but again, if BOTH parties are FULLY committed to the vows they made in front of friends, God, Allah, etc. then they mean it and they make it work.

I make no apologies when it comes to marriage - for me, it is a lifelong commitment and I will always put my wife above my children or myself...always. I feel it's not only biblical, but I feel it is just plain the right thing to do. Am I going to screw up? ABSOLUTELY. Is my wife going to screw up? Of course not. Haha! But yeah, she will. But are we both 100% committed to remaining truthful, faithful and loyal to each other. ABSOLUTELY.

Think about it. My kids are going to leave the house one day (Lord willing) and then it’s going to be me and the Mrs. If we do nothing but focus on the kids the entire time, where does that leave us? Living two individual lives and now having to start back over….that is, if we so chose to do so.

I want to live a life that when our kids are out on their own, my wife and I will have an even stronger relationship than we do now and that our kids will be able to take from us what it’s like to have a “Mommy” and “Daddy” who love each other more than anything else.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-21T22:17:00.003-04:00

Normally my blogs consist of crazy things that "you just can't make up" or any other random thing that comes to my mind, but this one's a little different. Today's "Father's Day" and I thought I'd take a little different approach on this one.

Normally, I don't really share too much as it pertains my personal life outside of those things that I feel need to be shared. Not that I think it's a bad thing or anything like that, I just don't do it. But this blog will be a little different.

We had a really awesome sermon this morning at church. Pastor Richard spoke on the importance of leaving an inheritance for your children's children - Prov. 13:22. He went on to explain how this really wasn't referring to a monetary inheritance but one of character. I won't go into too many of the details or get all "preachy" or anything, but I will say it was one of the best sermons I have heard in a long time.

This sermon was very emotional - for many, many people and for many, many reasons. For some, memories of their father is not very positive, for some this was their first Father's Day without their father, for others their fathers are serving overseas...whatever the reason, you could really sense the emotions.

Pastor Richard made a comment that really jumped out at me - based on a study, only 1 in 5 people have a positive relationship with their fathers. WOW. One in five....wow. That's staggering. Thank GOD I am one of the "1's" in that 1 in 5....but I have quite a few friends, some of who are very close to me, that fall in the other 80%...and I just can't imagine what that's like.

My dad and I have always been close. I have many fond memories of playing catch in the front yard, grounders being hit to me, pop ups, letting me drive the trailer to get the boat, so forth and so on. But I also remember how he taught me to always respect others, especially my mom. But one thing that I struggled with for the longest time was telling him that I loved him. I honestly don't know why.

When Lori and I first started dating, some ~9 years ago, she asked me one day, "Why do you always tell your mom and sister you love them before hanging up the phone but never tell your dad?" Talk about cutting to the chase. Unfortunately, I didn't know what to say, much like how the coyote wouldn't know what to do if he ever actually caught the road runner. But I'll tell you one thing, I can probably count on my hands the number of times I have finished a conversation, whether in person, via email or on the phone, and NOT said "I love you" to him since that day.

I don't really recall my dad being a very emotional person. In fact, there are only three times that I actually remember seeing him cry - when a good friend's son was killed, when my Granddad died, and when he was really going through a rough time. Now me, I have probably cried three times this month already.....but one thing is true about my dad, he was always there for me. And always will be.

During the sermon today, sitting there with my arm around my beautiful bride, feeling her try and hold back the tears, I made a vow to myself to never, NEVER, allow myself to be put in a situation to where my children would have to wonder what it would be like "if only my Dad would have been there."

Lord willing, I will always strive to be an example to my children of sincerity, love and respect and put my faith and trust in that they will continue paying that forward, ultimately leaving a legacy for my children's children and likewise from generation to generation.

What's Your Baby's Name?

2009-06-19T14:26:00.012-04:00

Ok. We are continually being asked, "What are you going to name your baby?"

So, let's see how many people really read this blog! Everyone loves to give their advice so let's see what the readers want.

We need your help choosing a name for our baby. We've narrowed it down to a chosen few, and we'd like all our friends and family to vote for their favorite. We're eager to know what you think, so vote now!

Granted, we'll still go with what we like the best, but we are interested in what you think! :-)

You have until midnight, July 1. So cast your vote!!! The poll is on the top, left-hand side!

Mercedes Benz and Dryer Sheets

2009-06-17T20:32:00.004-04:00

On my way home tonight I had to stop by the grocery store to pick up some last minute necessities....milk, bread, cheese, noodles, jalapenos, cheese nips, cookies...you know, the necessities! :-)

So I make my way through the store, only being stopped once by an elderly man applauding my ability to use my Blackberry as a shopping list - "I used to bring in a sheet of paper for my list and you're all electronic. Good for you," said the nice man. And he seemed genuinely sincere with his comments.

I finish my shopping and head over to the checkout...I get to the checkout and of course there's only two lanes open, ala Wal-Mart.

I'm one of those people that when I get in a lane, I stay there, even though other lanes may move faster - I don't know if it's not wanting to fall into the "Office Space" syndrome where I know that as soon as I change, the line I was in will inevitably begin to move....or if I'm just stuck in my ways. It also usually always goes without saying that if have the slightest inkling that I should be in a different lane (whether it's in the car or store), I should listen to my gut. But in this case, like 99.9999999% of all the other cases, I didn't listen to my gut and as a result, I have a blog topic!

So, I get in Lane 3 and see three people standing around the cashier. That should have been hint #1 to move, but no....

There's also a very sharply dressed woman standing there holding her checkbook out, looking very perturbed - hint #2 - and a man behind her, in front of me.

The cashier then says to the lady, apparently repeating herself for the second or third time, "That will be $101.80."

The female shopper (aka "nice lady" from here on out), whose groceries were predominantly Publix brand, preceded to then say, "Which of these are cheaper?" while holding up 2 store brand pack of dryer sheets. I'm only assuming they were different scents.

The cashier says, "I'm not sure, I'll have to ring them up again to see, but they should be close to the same."

That response was followed by, "I'm only paying for the cheaper one."

So, since the transaction had already been completed, the cashier had to price check the items for the "nice lady" who was only going to pay for the cheaper one ("nice lady" being said with tongue-in-cheek).

Turned out to be a $0.40 difference between the two.

The cashier then preceded to tell the shopper that she would have to take her receipt over to customer service and have them return/refund the "more expensive" pack or she would have to re-ring all the other groceries.

When I heard that, I was thinking to myself, "surely she'll just keep the $1.80 pack of dryer sheets. After all, she did take both of them off the shelf and put them in her grocery cart so she had some inclination of wanting them both." But I was wrong....

She wrote her check - how 1999 of her - haha - and was finally out of the line. Thank goodness. My milk was starting to spoil. The man in front of me made it through with no issues and then I got through.

As I was leaving, I noticed the "nice lady" in a pretty heated exchange with the Customer Service rep - I couldn't hear what they were saying but I knew I was glad to not be the Customer Service person.

I headed on out of the store thinking to myself, "man, all that for $0.40", and started feeling a bit sorry for the lady. After all, times are tough and every penny counts.

Well, that feeling quickly faded.

As I was taking my grocery cart back, I looked beside me and there was the "nice lady" -- loading her groceries in her Mercedes Benz.

If that's what it takes to afford a Mercedes, I need to rethink the way I shop....

All Are Our Heroes

2009-06-15T14:07:00.003-04:00

A few months back I stumbled across something on Facebook that made me take a step back and has changed the way I view "life". Something that started out very small, but has become very big. A project from a local businessman here in Gwinnett County. A song. A song entitled All Are Our Heroes.

And who would have thought something as simple as a song could have the potential to change the world? I'll tell you who - David Greer. And I'm honored to call him my friend.

The song was written by a local businessman, Greer, here in Gwinnett County and was inspired by all the "heroes" who have fought, and who are fighting, cancer.

When asked what led to this project and what he hopes can come about from this, Greer stated, “The mission is to bring people around the world together to inspire participation and support for cancer advocacy, prevention and research. I'm a dreamer and if you're going to dream, dream big.”

As someone who has not yet personally experienced the pain or suffering this terrible disease causes, and Lord willing, hope to never go through - I honestly cannot put myself in the shoes of anyone who has gone through this nor can I can say "I know what you're dealing with." That just wouldn't be true. What I can do though, is admire the strength, passion and desire these individuals display every single day. These people are truly our heroes.

And that's what I meant by this changing my life. Often times when things are not going as expected....car troubles, children acting out, a headache, not being able to afford that new flat-screen tv, etc. we all have a tendency to think, "Why me? This is horrible. Oh woe is me...." But when you take just 2 seconds to think about what these individuals go through every single day of their lives, it really makes you think twice about the "troubles" in your own life. Or at least it did for me.

I've put a small snip-it from the All Are Our Heroes website (http://www.allareourheroes.com) below. If you haven't yet gone to the site, take a few minutes and check it out. Play the song. It will definitely speak to you. If you're on Facebook and haven't joined the group, do so. And if you feel led, make a small donation to help continue spreading the awareness. (RPR)

Excerpt below:

Inspired by Battles Unspoken, Triumphs Unknown

“All Are Our Heroes -- that's what I thought. I reflected on the faces of the people I see walking in the Survivor’s Walk at our local Relay For Life.

Young, old, man, woman and child -- their battles unspoken, their triumphs unknown. Some people smile at life's darkest hour,” says Greer, whose thoughts quickly became lyrics.

Greer, along with his wife Kelly, is the founder and publisher of Gwinnett Magazine, and president of Tillman Allen Greer, a marketing and media firm based in Lawrenceville. For many years, they’ve been committed supporters of the American Cancer Society and Gwinnett’s Relay for Life. Gwinnett Magazine has featured cover stories and “profiles in courage” of cancer survivors to help educate, celebrate and support the vital work done in our community.

Rachel Farley, just 14 and from Lawrenceville, is an up-and-coming country music artist, who folks in-the-know believe will one day be a household name. “I still cry when she sings it,” says Greer. “Hearing the words sung with such emotion and identifying with the lyrics just honors and memorializes all the people I thought about when I initially wrote it.”

Within days, the song was introduced to enthusiastic officials from the Gwinnett unit of the American Cancer Society (ACS). Weeks later, state and regional ACS leadership gave a listen – and their wholehearted support.

Relay for Life

2009-06-15T11:17:00.003-04:00

Recently members of Elekta attended the Gwinnett County Relay for Life. Relay For Life is the American Cancer Society’s signature activity. It offers everyone in a community an opportunity to participate in the fight against cancer.

Teams of people camp out at a local high school, park, or fairground and take turns walking or running around a track or path...hence "relay."

A friend has posted their images on their blog, which you may view here Relay For Life Image Gallery.

I Want to Go Home

2009-06-07T21:00:00.003-04:00

In order to spend Friday night out on the lake with one of my buddies, I was forced to agree to take Preston to get his haircut Saturday morning. I say forced....that's not really accurate because I've taken him the last two or three times anyway, but I needed to say it that way to make it seem like I actually sacrificed in order to have some fun.

So, Friday night I went out to the lake, had some brats and some frosty beverages and enjoyed some "down" time just relaxing on the lake. It was so peaceful. A vast contrast to what I was about to experience the next morning.....maybe I shouldn't have made that agreement......

Saturday morning rolled around and like every Saturday, no, more like every day, I did not want to get out of the bed. But seeing as how I had sold my soul to the devil the night before, I knew I had to get up and get the little one to the haircut place.

We packed up and headed out. And this time I made sure I had a diaper (or two) and some wipes seeing as how the little man had pooped in his diaper the last two times I had him there....when I didn't have any "necessities" to help out!

Flashback....the last time we were there, a pungent smell permeated the air....thinking it HAD TO BE someone else's kid, I left well enough alone....only to find out, it was MY kid....so, I tried to be savvy and thought I could take him in to the restroom and clean him up -- thinking maybe it would be a nice, solid present that I could dump and then put the diaper back on...just for the time being -- but was greeted by a runny mess....but that was a while ago and I don't want to go back there...because even just by typing this little blurb, I will no have nightmares for the rest of this week.

So, back to Saturday. On the way there, my little buddy was telling me how he wanted to play with the train table when we got there - the place we go has a play room in the back with a nice train set, a tv, and a toy box so it's really pretty cool.

We get to the haircut place - and I tried to call ahead because you USED to be able to do that - only to find out that wasn't an option anymore. So, we got there around 9:40...it opened at 9:30....and there had to be 10 kids there. Great. "This is going to be fun," I though to myself....and boy was it ever.

After snaking our way through the rugrats...I mean, kids...we found ourselves in the back room with the train table. There were only 3-4 kids back there at the time. Preston goes over to the toy box (because the other kids were at the train table....and seeing as how he takes after me, he's shy around other people...) and starts pulling out toys.

"Look, Daddy. I have a horse!"

I look and he's holding a pink My Little Pony....ugh....

Well, I can deal with that (for now) but what I was about to experience for the next 15 minutes straight, well, let's just say I was ready to pull my hair out.

I was sitting on the small chairs...you know, the ones you see in the daycare lunch rooms - the ones that even 3 yr olds seem too big to be sitting in? Yeah, my big self...Mr Bellyman....was sitting in one of those.

The next thing I know, I look up and a mom comes in with her two kids - a little girl about 18 months old and a little boy, probably 4 or 5 years old. I noticed this mom come in because there were two other dads in there with me who were talking to kids nonstop who suddendly stopped talking. When I looked up, I saw why - I must admit, this was a very attractive lady.

So, I'm thinking to myself, "Nice. A change of scenery from whatever cartoon that's playing and also my son playing with little ponies....."

Boy was I wrong! I would have rather looked at Susan Boyle for a solid hour instead of listening to what I had to listen to.....

The lady sits next to me and her son, 4 or 5 years old....is laying in her lap, crying non-stop...."I want to go home."

After 2 minutes of hearing that, I'm thinking, "No kid...I want to go home!"

Now don't get me wrong....Preston's not a perfect child. He has his outbursts. But I try my best to remove him from the situation when that happens. Not this pretty lady. She felt that the louder he would cry, the louder she needed to be with a response.

"No one else is crying. It's just a haircut. You're acting like a baby. Be quiet. HUSH."

And then my favorite....."Do I need to call your dad?" To which the response was, "No."

Excuse me.....? "Do I need to call your dad?" Are you kidding me? The threat of calling the dad is going to shut this kid up.....? I don't think so.

And I was right - no luck.....

This carried on for another 10 or so minutes. Thinking he may calm down by playing with something, I offered a small firetruck - afterall, the kid at one point during his meltdown said, "I want that firetruck."

Nope. You would have thought I offered the kid a joint the way the mom looked at me.....

Then, I zoned out because one of the kids who was actually getting his hair cut started crying. I looked out there and saw the hair cutting lady hunched over beside the little boy and I thought, "Great. She just cut that kid's ear off. This noisemaker in here is going to see that and that's going to make things so much better.....oh man!"

But she didn't cut his ear - apparently the kid just didn't like the clippers or the noise or something.

The next thing I knew, I was snapped back into reality as one of the haircutting people came in and said, "Preston?"

Without missing I beat, I literally JUMPED out of my seat and said, "YES! That's us....!"

I probably got a few looks as I ran out of the room without my son.....

The Bellyman

2009-06-04T20:44:00.004-04:00

Every morning I wake up and during my stroll to the bathroom (or the washroom for my Canadian friends....which I really don't understand b/c I don't wash in the toilet....but I digress) I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror.

There, and only there, am I greeted by.....(dramatic pause for a drumroll or one of those dah-dah-dahdah's)....."The Bellyman."

Now, The Bellyman is no ordinary man. This my friends, is the evil villain. Oh yes. This is worse than the Joker. Worse than Kryptonite. Worse than....wait for it....NEWMAN!!!!

The Bellyman has no mercy. He stops for no one! In fact, he is starving for attention. (Haha, get it...starving....)

So my friends - I thought I needed to warn you. Please, please, please be careful. Don't let The Bellyman find you!

Image taken from: http://i35.tinypic.com/2bs4g8.jpg

Long Hair and Beards

2009-06-03T16:38:00.002-04:00

Part of being a dad means having to bite your tongue. Or at least trying your hardest, especially when you child does or says something you know is not right but sure is funny.

Sometimes that doesn’t work.

For example, you child has some small toy figures…let’s say for his train. (And I’m going to stick with ‘he’ and ‘his’ b/c this is my blog and I’m not really in to being PC on my own site….)

So, he has a man and a woman figure (note I haven’t said figurine b/c that, to me, is not a cool word….) – the man has short hair and the woman has long hair.

Naturally, you do your part and help him understand that “this one with the short hair is a man” and “this one with the long hair is a woman,” right? Right.

Then the time comes when you’re at a stop light right next to a big, burly man on his Harley…with really long hair. Not the Harley…the man.

Your son says, “Hey, Daddy! Look at that lady. She’s yucky!!”

You look and don’t see one (a woman) so you say, “Where son? I don’t see one.”

And without missing a beat you get the response, “Right there. With the long hair and beard….oooooh, yucky!!!”

You reply, “No son, that’s a man. But you’re right – ‘ooooh, yucky!’”

You then burst out laughing and turn back to the front of your car only to see this lovely man staring at you because the windows were down and ‘he’ heard everything.

Gulp! Don’t those guys eat small children for saying things like that? Or do they just beat-down the dad’s for laughing at the innocent observation?

I guess I have some ‘splaining to do.

I guess I should have held my tongue.

Thank goodness that hasn’t happened to me.

Photo taken from: http://sturgiszone.com/picsphotos/bikerchick/bikerchick2004feb26.html on 6.3.2009

Where Did All the Gumballs Go???

2009-06-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

One of the perks at working at my current job is the fact that we have an old-fashioned gumball machine in our break room.

It wasn’t until about a month ago that I realized these were free. Up until then, I would walk past it and admire it thinking, “Man, I’d love to have some of those….”

One day as I was standing there admiring the beautiful machine, one of my friends walked up and said, “You know those are free, right?”

Oops – all this time I had been missing out!

From that point on, every day I would go by and get a gumball at least every half-hour, sometimes more. It made my day. A nice, round, colorful ball of pure sugar-heaven, melting in my mouth at every chew. Can’t you just taste it now…..?

And then one day tragedy hit the Elekta break room.

THE GUMBALLS WERE GONE!!!

I guess I’ll have to take satisfaction in knowing I ate the last one….. :-)

Fast Food, Fruit Loops and Cell Phones

2009-06-01T16:22:00.000-04:00

Seeing as how I have taken over our family blog, I thought it may not be a bad idea to start my own. Hopefully my beautiful bride will be able to keep up with the other one (http://therickardsfamily.blogspot.com) and keep everyone in the loop of what’s going on with the Rickards family – and I’m sure I’ll have some things regarding our growing family and the joys of parenthood posted here and there as well.

So, on to the first blog…..

Fast Food, Fruit Loops and Cell Phones – wipe the strange look off your face….it will come together soon, trust me.

In the day and age of workaholics, fast food and high speed EVERYthing, it’s very easy to lose sight of family time. Think about it, the average working parent works over 40 hours a week at their occupational job and has anywhere from a 30 minute to one-hour one-way commute.

After a long day at the office with co-workers, customers or bosses yelling at you non-stop and bumper-to-bumper traffic the entire way home, it’s so easy to swing by a fast food joint, pick up some “chikin n bikits”, come home and scarf it down all the while feeding the little ones Fruit Loops. Factor in two working parents and you’re lucky to get anything more than whatever may be in the pantry or leftovers from last week…..

Or at least that’s us.

Granted, while our little one is enjoying his Fruit Loops, we do our best to ensure he’s at the table with us. He’s not too fond of it, but we want him to know that whatever time we have together, it needs to be spent as a family. I firmly believe in the “family that eats together, stays together” philosophy. That may not be a formal philosophy, but it is one I abide by.

A few days ago I was out doing some grocery shopping and when I went to check-out, the lady in front of me was having a very nice conversation with someone on her cell phone. The conversation carried on for a good two-three minutes prior to needing to sign her receipt. When she finally was handed her receipt to sign, and as she continued talking on her phone, she waved her hand at the cashier as if she wanted the cashier to come over the counter and hug her or something….

After a few rather dramatic waves, the lady on the phone covered the mouthpiece of the phone with her hand and said to the cashier, “Can’t you see I’m on the phone? I need my receipt.” (Referring to the actual receipt and not the one she was signing….)

Wow…”Can’t you see I’m on the phone?” And who is helping whom here?

I could see from the cashier’s expression she was not amused by the actions of the lady in front of me so as I approached the cashier, I pulled out my cell phone and said to the non-existent person on the other end, “Can’t you see I’m at the grocery store? I’ll call you later.” The cashier laughed…