Journal Entry for Friday, May 27, 2016

This morning would start out a little more differently than I thought it would.  I got to sleep in a little more than I thought I would.  That was what I called a bonus.  Little did I know, Ben would come into my room and wake me up.  I don't mind him doing that because he does a sweet job in entering my room.

I ended up staying home while my family went out on a play date with one of Ben's classmates.  I got to help out around the house by vacuuming in and around the dining room area, our bedrooms, and the living room.  I got to make sure that the house was spic and span after days of not going back out there to vacuuming.

Gandalf was a sweet as can be for me.  Even though I vacuumed in and around the house, Gandalf didn't flinch or get mad at me for doing so.  He was even watching CBS46 News and smiling as best as he can smile.  He looked dazed and relaxed in front of the TV.  I've never known Gandalf to be a TV watcher for any long period of time.

My wife had to go back to the site of the play date to retrieve Doggy.  Doggy is Ben's best friendand he hangs around him a lot.  Ben was preoccupied with "Paw Patrol" and other cartoons while I was making my boys some lunch.  I made Ben (and Blake) chicken nuggets.  I also got for Ben some vegetables and Blake some graham crackers.  Ben was so good, he didn't wait for a sucker.  He wanted to be excused and go back to play.

For the second night in a row, I ate Chick-Fil-A for dinner.  This time I had a coupon for a free sandwich, and I 'ate it up.'  I love their chicken sandwiches.  The buttery buns and the two pickles inside the chicken sandwich make all the difference in the world to me and my mouth.  I think I'm going to have another one tomorrow.

I got so close to my goal of having 50% free space on my DVR at home.  I've watched as much recorded programming as I could.  My boys have helped me too by watching their cartoons on TV.

I'm starting to watch video from Amazon Prime at home and at work.  I saw a couple documentaries and the beginning of a movie from there.  I hope to watch more in the future.  I will.

I'm closing out my night and my week by watching some CNN, ESPN, online newscasts, and videos from youtube.  I'm even fitting in some work editing for CBS46 news at 11PM.  It is go time for me now. I'll be back for more again soon.

Journal Entry for Thursday, May 26, 2016

Today I got my big bag packed for our trip.  I can't wait to see my family and my wife's family.

I got to play with both the boys throughout the day.  Ben and Blake were really good to me.  Ben cooperated with me as Blake was getting his bottle down inside him.  Ben watched some "Paw Patrol" as Blake was touching down for a nap.

Ben and Blake got some new clothes and they will look so good in them before too long.

I got one of two things here at work tonight:  Chick-Fil-A for dinner (YES) and an OKC Thunder win over Golden State in the NBA Western Conference Finals (NO).  Oh well, I can't have everything.  I'll be back for more again tomorrow.

Journal Entry for Wednesday, May 25, 2016

I failed to mention that I had a free food fest here at work on Tuesday.  After I had lunch at home, filled with a piece of chicken and a piece of steak, I snagged a Chick-Fil-A sandwich from the Newsroom.  It was free, good, delicious, and I could not pass it up.  I could have easily taken a second sandwich, but I didn't want to get greedy.  I wanted to leave something for my fellow co-workers in case someone didn't get one before I did.

This morning, I picked up Ben and Blake and got them ready for the day.  I fed them their respective bottles of milk and formula, and I changed their diapers after that.  I get to sing each one of them a 'clean diaper' song.  I hope it makes them laugh and makes them feel good.  I love to see and hear them laugh.  I love to see each one of their 'million dollar smiles.'  Those warm my heart.

I felt bad that I wasn't fully focused on playing with my two boys.  I did it to myself, but I was distracted by what I wanted to see on my iPhone, Kindle Fire, and my TV.  I need to be a better daddy and be fully engaged in what they are both doing.  I did really good that neither one of them was hurt in anything they did.  I even let Ben climb into his crib and Blake's crib using one of his big toys to do so.  I think I let him do it one too many times.  I feel bad that I'm taking away Ben's source(s) of fun and excitement.  At the same time, I want to make sure that he's safe and secure in all that he does.

I had to leave for work again today.  I miss my entire family so much and I try to tell myself that what I'm doing is for the good of my family.  When I got here at work, I learned that there is a play date for my boys this coming Friday.  It is at a house that I once visited in Kennesaw, GA back in March.  I'm looking forward to that.  I edited and deleted video all day long.  I was feeling really tired and I didn't have the energy and the motivation to write for the 11PM news tonight.  I hope to do it again in two weeks after today.  The highlight of the night was when the San Jose Sharks beat the St. Louis Blues to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time.  I've been an on-again, off-again Sharks fan.  I used to wear their gear back in High School.  I have to thank my dad for finding me those things.  I'll be back for more again on Thursday.

Journal Entry for Tuesday, May 24, 2016

This morning, I got to sleep in a little bit.  I have to thank my wife for letting me do that.  She didn't have to, but I'm glad she did.  I woke up for good just before 8:30.  It still feels weird not taking Ben to school on Tuesdays.  It will be that way until August.  Ben will begin his second year of preschool then.

I made it just in time for the boys' breakfast.  I got to see both my boys eat something yummy.  I don't remember cleaning up after them.  I remember eating with both my boys.  I especially remember eating and sitting right next to Ben for lunch.  I usually don't get to that very often because I'm always spoon-feeding Blake and making sure he's well fed.  I feel confident that Ben can feed himself once he is seated in his high chair.

The hardest part of my day was leaving my family at home.  I did it twice this morning.  The first time that I did I donated some food to my church's food pantry, filled up my car with gasoline, and got my wife and I some free sodas.  The next time was when I had to drive to work for the day.  The best part of my day is getting home to my cat and my family.  I don't get to see my boys until the following day.

Before I turned in for good, I saw my NBA C team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, rout the Golden State Warriors in game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, edit some videos, and listen to sports talk radio on the way home.  I also took out the garbage and moved the portable swimming pool away from the gate.  Tomorrow will be a good one.  I'll be back for more then.

Journal Entry for Monday, May 23, 2016

I had a long day, but a good day with my two boys at home.  I got out of bed and let my beautiful wife sleep in.  I picked Ben up first before I picked up Blake.  Ben is a much better walker than Blake.  I love picking up Blake.  That gives me a chance to hold him for the first time in the morning.  I call that time with my son 'Daddy Time.'  After they get up, I make them their respective bottles to start their day.  Ben gets milk and Blake gets formula.  I'm looking forward to the day that they can both get milk.  It'll make their feeding sessions so much easier for me.  Blake will love milk just as much as Ben does one day.

My wife had some time off this morning, so she got to spend some quality time with the guys this morning.  We played some toys together on the floor.  Ben walked and ran around the house quite a bit.  Ben likes to spin me around the living room.  I'm not so sure how safe it is with such limited space where we are.  I also worry that Ben will hit himself on one of the corners on the kitty mansion.  I worry the same thing for Blake, and he's walking and crawling toward there every single day.

Two of the hardest things I have to do are to put Ben and Blake in their cribs while I get ready for work and leave both of them home while I drive off to work.  For the next two months, the one thing that makes my drive to work bearable is that I get to have a free soda at RaceTrac thanks to Sodapalooza.  Even better now that I got my car taken into the Honda service center over the weekend is that I have AIR CONDITIONING again!  I have cool air blowing into me as I'm going to and from work each and every day.  That has to last me a long time (at least for the summer).

Work was OK for me today.  There is nothing special to report on that today.  All I know is that I'm a week away from an awesome road trip and vacation.  I haven't seen my family in nearly two years, and that is two years too long in my book.  Life happens and it gets in the way sometimes.  I have to do better in visiting each and every one of my family members in the short amount of time that I have.  Speaking of time, it's go time for me.  I will be back for more again soon.

Daddy made some funnies about his 2016 San Diego Padres

In honor of my 1,060th post, I give you KDUS-AM 1060 from Phoenix

Dreaming of Escondido, Orlando, Miami, and working with CBS46 along the way

Within the past two days, I was in search of a new job (or was it a cool thing?).

I found myself driving southbound on I-15 near the Citrocado Parkway/Felicita Road exit.  I was in a car with my CBS46 co-worker Mike Dunston.  We were heading somewhere but I don't remember where we were going exactly.  I think it was for a story we were working on for the late news.  I just remember having fun going along for the ride.

Later on, I find myself with a promising trip to Miami and a newly redeveloped Sun Life Stadium to see my Sun Devils play the Hurricanes.  I'm hoping to secure tickets at the box office window.  For some reason, I seem to be in a holding patter on this one.

Later on in the dream, I'm standing on the outside of Sun Life Stadium way away from the box office.  I'm thinking I need to go get a ticket to see my Sun Devils play.  For some reason, I'm just standing there and I'm not doing anything.  I wonder what is going on, and just like that, I wake up.

Journal Entry: Week in review May 16-22, 2016

I didn't have a lot of time to write new entries this past week.  I spent a lot of time trying to make up for the old entries I missed out on.  I was busy with raising my two boys a lot while my wife was working and helping out during the daytime.  I spent a lot of time feeding, playing with, and changing the clothes of my two boys all by myself.  I tried to remember all the fun and all the good times I spent with them as I was there for them.  I tried to block out the times I had to get on them for doing things they weren't supposed to do.  I'm learning how to gain more patience with them over time.

I'm trying to be patient about things here at work.  I'm sure that I'm more than capable of doing great things here.  I know I Have to be mindful about what I'm doing, what I'm editing, and how I'm talking to producers and potential clients.  I have to keep all of those things in mind as I'm spending my time working here in my edit bay.

I've been catching up on some of my TV watching from the old DVR on my DirecTV.  I'm still short of my goal of having 50% free space on there before I go on vacation with my family.  I'm having no problem watching movies and getting rid of them afterward.  This past weekend, my wife and I watched the tribute to legendary TV director James Burrows and "The Toy."  Those were rare back to back nights we watched complete shows together.

Finally, I'm working on rehabilitating myself in terms of my church activity.  At least I hope to today and after I return from my vacation.  I'm going to try to go to church more, serve God and my fellow man more, and give more to very worthy causes within my church.  I will do those things after I have made sure my boys' needs have been met.  That is all for this week.  I'll be back for more again soon.

Dreams come true: Blake Gave Peas a Chance

Journal entry for the weekend of May 14-15, 2016

I'm extremely thankful for my family to let me sleep in today.  I didn't deserve it because I should have been better about getting ready to leave for our weekend trip to Middle Georgia.  Heck, I did not even pack my bags just yet.

I had to hustle in order to get my family and I out the door.  Once I did, we got some gas and some free sodas over at the local RaceTrac.  Once we did that, we took to the road down I-75 on down to the perimeter.  Along the way, I got a few good pictures of SunTrust Park under construction.  I got a view of what it looks like on the flyover ramp of I-75SB going onto EB I-285.  I can't wait to go see a game there next year.  I'll be pulling for my Braves by then.

My family and I got to Sandersville after a few hours of driving on the road.  My wife took on the load of driving as I was sitting and reading.  I caught up on my book "Live from New York" and got half-way through it.  I also got to listen to the BIG 40 countdown from this week in 1985 on SiriusXM channel 8.  I love the 80's and I love 80's music.  I never quite finished the countdown to number one though.  I'll have to look up who finished number one.  My guess on that is Madonna's "Crazy for you."  What do you know, I guessed correctly!!!!!

I had a quiet time with my family during dinner on Saturday Night.  There were no brothers and their families for our gathering of pork chops, rice, and peas with my wife, mother-in-law, and two sons.  We all ate it up.  My son Blake can tear up some meat, let me tell you.  He ate up some steak on Mother's day and he's gonna be a champion meat-eater before too long.

My boys were hard at play at my mother-in-law's and there were times they were hard at play at my father-in-law's this weekend.  I think Blake was happy to be in pictures with me.  I love my boys.  I love being a daddy and playing with them.  I think I have more fun playing with kids toys than they do.  It goes that way sometimes I guess.

I'll be back for more again later this week as I get through another day at work.

Journal Entry for May 13, 2016

Thank God the weekend is almost here.  I love my two baby boys so much, but they are a lot of work.  They both have such great needs and I must pay great attention to them.  I worry that I might miss something if I am away from them for too long.  I don't want either one of my babies to get hurt while I'm making their bottles, lunches, or snacks.  I don't want to be held responsible for them getting hurt in any way just because I was not right there when they got hurt or had an accident.

Once I got into work, I figured that it could be either a good day or a tough day.  It was a good day until about 4:45 PM.  That was when I alerted my 5PM show producer that a few package feeds were not here in house yet.  I didn't have access to them to where electronically I could turn them around for air.  Two of the three missing packages were late and I felt bad and frustrated because of that.  I didn't know what more to do and the show producer got fed up with the situation.  I had to ask an executive producer what the station was going to do about field crews not feeding in their work on time.  I hope to hear a definitive answer one day.

The one thing going for me was I had the weekend to look forward to.  I don't remember what I was watching on TV or listening to on my computer here at work while I was working.  I barely remember was that I was trying to accomplish some goals for my success factors program for the year today.  I feel closer now than I did just a month ago.  I have one more goal to accomplish for the weekend:  pack a suitcase for the trip to see my wife's family.  I'll be back for more again soon.

Journal entry for May 13, 2016

Noly I would write a good long entry for you.  Due to time constraints, I must move ahead with a simple video recording from this day.

Journal entry for May 12, 2016

Today marks yet another tough day for me raising the boys alone during the day and hustling off to work at night.  I don't know how I keep doing it.  It's killing me.

Today I had a pretty somethings day at work until I ran into some trouble.  I didn't get any advance phone call that Reality Checl was ready (for me) to edit.  I had to make a phone call to make sure that it was ready for me to do. Once I got the go ahead to edit, I printed the edit instructions to do the job. I got generic/incorrect instructions to work with.  An hour Ben Swann had a massive stumble that I could not fix in time to make slot.  I reluctantly had to call my executive producer for help.  She was more stressed than I was.  I didn't want to let the show down, but I was not going to guess and put out an incorrect product.  Those are the kind of days that make me doubt my ability to do my job as an edit lead.

I'm exhausted after a full afternoon of editing.  I need a breather after 6:30PM.  Hopefully, the time I'm supposed to spend deleting media will allow me to catch up on some other things and interests in my life.  Funny, but I don't choose to catch up on sleep in the rare pieces of downtime.  Later tonight, I will watch game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals between the San Antonio Spurs and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  I really hope for a Thunder victory.

Journal Entry for May 11, 2016

This morning, I had a fun time with both Ben and Blake.  I had the distinct honor of feeding them breakfast and giving them their snacks and lunch all before I got ready for work today.  I love to spoon feed Blake his yogurt and oatmeal.  It was something I did for Ben when he was a little baby.  I can see myself feeding Ben when he was younger and before Blake was born.

I had to leave these guys behind in order for me to go to work today.  Before I hit the road, isotopes for my free soda over at the local RaceTrac.  I needed this one to get through the day.  Once I get into work, I have to start editing the afternoon shows right away.  After spending an afternoon editing and taking phone calls for feeds, I get exhausted around turbines have to delete media.

The highlight of my shift is writing stories and later editing video for them.  I do that for the 11PM news on CBS46.  I feel a little more alive when I'm in the newsroom.  The energy is not sucked out of me when I'm out there compared to the times I sit in my edit bay at work all day.  I hope to gain more knowledge and skills just being out in th he newsroom.  I have to go now.  Ill be back for more tomorrow.

Journal Entry for May 10, 2016

I got to sleep in a little bit this morning.  I work up a little well after Ben and Blake were already awake and a bottle into their morning.  I wanted to be there to fix their breakfasts.  I think I did, but I don't remember.  I remember that my wife had to work again today.  I had the pleasure of taking Ben and Blake to preschool while listening to Glenn Beck on the radio.  Sorry boys, I hope I didn't scar you right there.  Ben got to ride with Doggy in his car seat while Blake got to ride next to him.  In the end, Ben was the one who got to be dropped off at school.  I took Blake home with me soon afterward.

Blake and I had a ball at home.  I played cars with him and showed him some cartoons and some old TV shows I had recorded a long time ago on the DirecTV DVR.  I try really hard not to be glued to the old TV while I'm on duty as a daddy.  I make funny faces at him while he's down on the ground.  I give him a few raspberries on his little tummy in order to make him laugh.  I love to see him smile and show me his four front teeth (two on the bottom and two on top).  Blake has the same gap-tooth smile as Ben does.

One minute, Blake is conked out on the lunch counter while Ben is eating.  Another minute, Blake is a happy little camper.  I love the happy baby/happy daddy dynamic going on at home.  Ben was still in school at the time, so Ben was not actually with us on this day today.  Blake had his fill of food and sleep in such a short time, so we played and played on the floor for a while.  Blake got a little more of his footing down when he was on the ground trying to walk.  Sometimes I have to move Blake away from the kitty mansion so that he doesn't hit a corner on his head.  I did that to myself once as a four-year-old.  I don't want that fate for that beautiful face of his.

I don't recall all the good I did at work tonight, but I saw the Oklahoma City Thunder defeat the San Antonio Spurs in Game 5 of the NBA's Western Conference Semi-Finals.  I hope the Thunder hold serve on home court and win Game 6 on Thursday Night.  We shall see.  Oh, and I'm catching up on watching the Braves play their opening day game from April 4th.

Have fun tonight.  I'll be back for more tomorrow.

Journal Entry for May 9, 2016

Today is the beginning of my week (both work and home with the boys).  I woke up to the sweet, squeaky sounds of my baby boy Blake.  I can hear him from one bedroom into my room while I'm still engrossed in sleep.  After getting seven hours of shut-eye, I got up and got Blake out of his crib.  I got him ready with a clean diaper and a bottle.  He's getting so good at holding his own bottle and drinking out of it on his own.  The act of me holding up his bottle is merely ceremonial and sentimental.  It's not necessary for me to do that anymore.  I'm going to miss holding Blake while he's being fed a bottle.  Soon, he will graduate to drinking from a sippy cup and he will drink regular milk.

I watched a lot of "Paw Patrol" with the boys after they had their morning beverages.  I caught up on some reading in the Washington Post on my FIRE tablet.  After that, I made the boys some breakfast.  I heated up Ben's sausage and Blake's oatmeal.  They both did extremely well.  I admire Ben's table manners after he gets done eating and gets full.  I have to work with him on waiting to be dismissed.  I have to wipe Ben down pretty good.

Ben likes to turn the lights on and off a lot.  I'm working extremely hard to curb him of that habit.  Blake likes to bump into me when he's crawling.  He's getting better at taking a few steps to walking.   I'm proud of the progress both boys are making in getting around and playing together.  I still have to get on to Ben for rough housing Blake too hard.  When Blake cries extremely loud, I have to discipline Ben for it.

After a day of play, feeding, and diaper changes with the boys, I have to go to work now.  I will miss my entire family all day long and I wish to spend more time with all of them than I do.  I have to do the best I can while I'm here and press forward throughout the day.  Coffee will be waiting for me here at work and I'll be back with a new entry tomorrow.

Journal entry for the weekend of May 7-8, 2016

I got to sleep in a little bit on Saturday Morning.  I got to do this after getting a late jump getting out of work and go to Kroger to get some things for Mother's Day and to get some frozen food items to fulfill my ibotta obligations.  My goal was to accumulate $20 or more on credits.  That would get me something good in return like a gift card.  I would use any gift card I earn for the good of my two sons.  I don't need to really buy anything big for myself.

This morning, my wife and I took Ben and Blake out to Lake Acworrth to go to the Smoke on the Lake Barbecue festival.  Here are some of the pictures that showed how much fun we had on Saturday.

Our family will have even more fun on Sunday as we all celebrate Mother's Day with their beautiful mama Kelly.

Saturday night was very low key at home.  We enjoyed some chicken and rice.  Ben ate some of it as did Blake.  I cleaned up my plate like I always do at home.  My wife is a good cook and sometimes she's too hard on herself.  I give her all the credit in the world for making such great dishes.  The secret ingredient was me.  I kept Ben and Blake away from the hot kitchen as Kelly was making our meal.  I entertained them with my voice of funny sounds, sound effects, and their toys.  I even got Ben and Blake with bear in the faces.

I was having a dehydration headache, so I took some PM aspirin with some water.  I had a beer either before or after that decision.  I think it would come back to haunt me later on in the night.  I fell fast asleep on the couch after watching "The Big Bang Theory" on TV and zonked out right on Kelly.  I even missed the cold open of "Saturday Night Live" where Dana Carvey reprised his role as the 'Church Lady' while she was interviewing 'Ted Cruz' and 'Donald Trump.'  I saw the Donald Trump bit, but I missed the Ted Cruz one.  I love when 'Church Lady' says "Well isn't that special" and "could it be.....SATAN?"

Sunday turned out to be more low key than Saturday.  Sunday was Mother's Day.  My gifts to Kelly were some extra sleep, cards from me, the boys, and Gandalf, and some $ for some treats, and a chance to get outside for a while as our sons were sleeping.   We relaxed at home rather than try to rush to get ready to go to church on this day.  We made a family day out of being at home with each other.  We had some ideas for what we wanted to do and there were some surprises in store for everyone today.

I caught up on some movies and TV shows on my DVR and I watched the Braves and Hawks play live on TV while I was home.  I had a relatively easy time putting Ben down for his PM nap.  The only thing was he didn't cry when he was in his crib, but he didn't go down for sleep right away.  In fact, it took my third attempt to put him down for the afternoon.  Blake was a little more challenging for me.  After I fed him his bottle, I put him down in his pack and play.  Unfortunately, he did not sleep easy.  He cried not once, but twice when he was by himself in our room.  I had to rock him and hold him a third time in order to put him down for the afternoon.  I didn't hear a peep out of either one of them for the next 90 minutes afterward.

Here's a fun-filled sampling of what my family and I did on Mother's day at home:

After the boys went to bed, we achieved a huge victory:  We watched an entire movie ("Vacation")!!!!!!!!!!

I'll be back for a new week tomorrow.