Category — All About Dan

Well, Christine and I started our Sunday much like any other Sunday; a walk along the ocean on our way to the 3rd Street Promenade to sit and have some coffee and a muffin. After which, we decided that we should really go check out the area Catholic church as we have yet to join a parish. So we walked on over to the 9:30 mass at St. Monica’s – we were fairly sure that this was the parish that we wanted to be a part of given that it was the one that has the Catholic school. (Still deciding – and we have a lot of time to consider – on whether jr will be attending a Catholic school but at least we know that their will be a slew of other families affiliated with this church.)

The inside is very simple – soft, warm colors that are very inviting. The first thing that I noticed was that there were a lot of people here and EARLY! Completely different from the parish that we were married at back in Chicago. Before the processional, the cantor asked for all the visitors to the parish to stand and as they did, the remaining parish clapped for them. What? Cheering for them because they went to church on vacation ~ I had to smile. The next thing was that I thought I heard a guitar in the back ground. I slowly leaned over to Christine and said, ‘Something tells me that this isn’t going to be a traditional mass.’ Anyone who knows my feelings on this topic is well aware that I’m a ‘by the book’ type of Catholic mass. (I like to be able to read along to be sure that they aren’t skipping any words or putting their own spin on it.)

And then the celebration began – seriously, the celebration – it was like a freaking party just started. Drums playing, a tambourine going off, lots of swaying from the ‘audience’ and belting out the entrance hymn, an electric bass guitar playing. I was stunned – and as I leaned over to whisper to my wife, I had to grab her hand to get her to pay attention to me as she’s partying it up with everyone else! What just happened here – here’s a picture – can someone please show me where any of the disciples are playing an electric guitar? Does someone see Peter jamming out on the drums? And I don’t see any tambourine either – do you?

And then we get to the homily – the portion on the mass where the priest explains how the gospel applies to you and in your life today. And as he’s delivering it, I recognized that its actually really good. He’s message is spot on – and deep, like one of those messages that makes you really appreciate what you have and how you want to share it with everyone.

The mass moves on and everyone is really having a good time and I can tell that I’m being tested. We look over – yup, there is Arnold (The Governator) and Maria Shriver with their family. So the entire community is here and its ok for traditionalists like the Governator to enjoy and I start to realize that this is that test – Am I concerned with the packaging so much that I miss the message? Can the medium in which information is delivered change and can I accept that to really get what is important? These are those questions that really drive me crazy as it was much easier when Sunday mornings consisted of trying to remember which bar you have to go to to pick up your credit card and close your tab!

I recognize that being a father is the greatest gift that I’ve ever been given. I’ll be tested – for sure. But I’m reminded today that its the message that matters and that listening and open-mindedness are the only ways for me to grow. And its that growth that will allow me the best opportunity to provide a loving environment for my family.

But where is the guilt? You can’t leave a Catholic mass and not feel guilty – isn’t that in the rules somewhere? So with that, I decided I needed my fix and called my mother!

(Just kidding – I actually talked to my mother before I went to mass

We have officially reached the third trimester! It’s kind of hard to believe that we only have 82 days until the due date. Dan and I are getting quite excited in anticipation for our little boy to make his grand appearance!

We started active birth classes this week where I take pre-natal yoga. It was a wonderful experience, but neither of us knew that we would be doing “birth art” We didn’t get to take the art home until the last class, so we’ll have to post pics of that later. Dan was very supportive and knowledgeable about many of the lessons and has even followed our homework assignment to practice massaging my feet a couple times a night

Our furniture arrived this week as well! We finally have a real bed to sleep in and furniture that makes our place feel much more like a home. It’s amazing how well our stuff fit into the place (with the exception of the armoir, which didn’t really fit through a doorway very easily). And Belle is delighted to have multiple places to nap now.

Everyone is healthy and happy and looking forward to a relaxing day on Sunday!

While we originally decided not to find out the sex of the baby, after a small slip or two by our new doctor, we decided to find out what we are having. Dan and I are excited to report that we are indeed having a baby boy!!!!

Dan is daydreaming about Dodger games, throwing the football, and not having wedding expenses. I’m wondering, how in the world will I know what to do? I don’t know the first thing about raising a boy! We’ve got a lot of support from family and friends so I’m sure I’ll figure it out, but right now I feel like I’m flying blind here

Most importantly, Boo is still healthy and kicking all the time!

I’m currently on a flight back from Chicago to LA and as we took off and I looked out the window, I realized that I completely forgot what city I had just left! Its been a long 9 or 10 days since I left Los Angeles sometime last week. I remember boarding an early flight from LAX to Midway (Chicago) to Cleveland – that’s right it was Mother’s Day! (Bonus points for me with my mother!!!) The trip was to accomplish many things but mainly get my investment house in Akron back on track and to get our condo in Chicago ready for a moving company and rental.

While in Akron, my parents were wonderful enough to drop me off each morning at my property and always returned back later that evening to pick me up! Thus far with this house I’ve learned an enormous amount of lessons – most of which have transferability to life and raising a child.

First Lesson – “Plumbing.” Some times, despite how well you think you can sweat pipe because you saw two episodes of DIY and have an amazing hi-tech gadget that makes the torch irrelevant, its still easier to spend $4 more and buy the ’sharkbites’ that make welding a thing of the past! Parenting Translation – if you buy cheep diapers you will be cleaning up two messes.

Second Lesson – “Ladder Placement.” Just because you put a cinderblock under one leg of a ladder and it feels sturdy from the second step, it doesn’t mean by the time you climb up and get to the second story window that it won’t tip over forcing you to jump off. Parenting Translation – Stable ground is always a bias viewpoint and varies greatly depending on where you are standing. Take a chance but be prepared because sometimes you need to fall down before you realize how quickly common sense can leave your decision-making skills when you develop tunnel-vision.

Third Lesson – “You Get What You Paid For.” If you choose to use free labor and you neither of you are ‘professionals,’ don’t be upset when you get burned because you didn’t properly evaluate your role in the task. No real parenting lesson here but just don’t be the dummy who agrees to hang on to the bottom of a copper pipe that is being welded from the top.

Fourth Lesson – “Laugh.” Part of owning your own business means determining who you want to work with (the other part is dictated because of your budget!). When you make that choice, embrace it and make sure you mindfully embrace every moment and remember that you could be clocking back in on a 9 to 5 gig! I’m lucky enough to be working with my father and its been the best mess we’ve every created. I haven’t laughed this much at myself or him while working our tails off – I hope everyone takes a chance like this and just really learns to embrace it. Parenting Translation – He’s a tough act to follow but all I can do is ensure I’m just as supportive for my child!

And that’s where I stand, the house is not quite finished but its a lot closer than it was when I first got there. I’m sure that this will not be the last one that I flip (I’ll be paying someone to paint on the next ones – but I really like demolition day!!!). Once we get finished, I’ll post some pix – its been an amazing transformation and not just for the house. At the end of this trip, I’m exhausted and really miss my wife and Boo (AND CONSISTENT 70 DEGREE WEATHER WHERE IT DOESN’T RAIN EVERY FREAKING DAY!). My big lesson on this trip has been the value of incremental progress – always moving forward and building off the successes and failures from the previous day. With the support of my wife, parents, and close friends/advisors, I finally feel like I’ve hit my stride. Thanks to all (especially my parents!) – I’m forever grateful.

Just a taste of the progress…

Before:

After:

Well, we made it safe and sound to our new home in Santa Monica. Everyone did fantastic on the trip (except for FEDEX!).

Belle, after some initial resistance, sat quietly under the seat for the entire flight. And besides the sheer terror of having to be taken out of her crate as I carried her through the security gates, she did fantastic. She’s pretty well acclimated to her new home as well – she loves the fact that the windows are open and our back screen door allows her to see the other cats in the neighborhood. (Later today, we are going to put her on a leash and let her play in the grass. Its a fresh start for us all!)

We ended up checking 4 bags, carrying on two each, shipping 5 boxes FEDEX with a total weight over 250 lbs, and have my parents driving out my Jeep packed to the top! (30 hours cross country in a soft top jeep should really strengthen their relationship! We still have all of our furniture back in Chicago (along with a few other odds and ends including dishes!) and that will be shipped out at a later date. The most important things made it without a hitch – Christine, Boo, and Belle.

Christine is doing great! Our new place is in a much more residential area and makes it feel like we are really settling down. She’s in love with the area and weather.  Yesterday, we walked over 7 miles; she looks and feels great this morning! Also, instead of unpacking, we went to the beach yesterday and got her some sun (yes she used 50+ sunblock). It was time well spent. I can tell a big change in her demeanor as she looks and behaves in a more relaxed fashion. Outside of the small crying display at dinner last night because they put mayo on her hamburger and it wasn’t listed on the menu as having mayo.  Tears started flowing as she needed to right their wrong – it was funny for me to watch which apparently only made it worse! Outside of that, she’s doing fantastic.

We went to our doctor’s appointment yesterday for our “big” ultrasound. The doctor who performed it, Dr. Blumenfeld, was amazing. He’s apparently a celebrity in his own right as he was on TLC’s ‘A Baby Story.’ He explained to us in his french accent that anything he thinks is wonderful, we should think is wonderful. So he began, “The baby’s heart, I love it. Its wonderful.” And I would repeat “Its wonderful.” Next, “The baby’s kidney’s, I love them. They are wonderful.” And so I would repeat “Wonderful!” He made his way through all the major organs, spine, hands, and feet – he loved them all! The baby was given a clean bill of health – and it was wonderful news. We both loved it! We also got to see the baby’s face as they had a new ultrasound machine that was in 4D – meaning that it should the baby in 3D and the 4D was it was streaming like a movie. Amazing stuff – Boo was pretty shy and was sucking its thumb so we could only see half of its face. (We have print outs of the photos and need to get them scanned to put on the sight – that’s today’s objective). So weighing in at 15oz (big for only 21 weeks) and roughly 10.5 inches long, Boo is doing fantastic. Boo’s more active then ever now – it must be the sunshine!

As for me, I’m adjusting well. The area is great and the weather is perfect. I went out yesterday and bought my wet suit for surfing – got a good deal! I’ve also joined a new club – Costco! We’ve never bought in bulk as we would shop every day only for those things that we needed; now I’ve got enough toilet paper to send to each of our loyal readers a roll. Its crazy – I’ve never seen a place where you can watch a women buying a 70lb bag of rice and place in the cart next to her golf bag!

That’s where we are at right now – everything is great. Once we settle in, we will get some pictures posted and our posts will become more frequent. We would like to say a big thanks to everyone who made this move possible and for being so incredibly supportive. When its right – you just know it. And this feels right! Love to all and check back soon for pix of Boo!