4th of July
Well I am getting Makenna for the weekend and it will be a ton of fun. Going to set up the tent if the weather holds. Since Kelly was not feeling well last weekend I took both kids and she didnt want them this weekend because she was “celebrating” her birthday. Wonderful choice.
Unbelievable
well a lot has happened since my last post and it sounds like a horrible country song gone bad. My wife decided to move out and file for divorce (good thing) but decided to take 95% of the household items with her (bad). The whole thing that bothered me is not the fact she left me but that she had no regard for the children s well being. It could have been done in a more adult manner. I now have full placement of Ethan and keeping the house. My chiropractor and his son crashed flying home and both tragically died. I am still numb. The last thing his wife told me before we left to go to paintball event was “take care of my boys”. I realize it wasn’t my fault but I still feel bad nevertheless. I have so much to post but will have to wait another day as I have to get Ethan off to sisters as I have an early dentist appointment. When Ethan and Makenna are old enough they will be told the truth on everything that happened. Kelly’s parents are pretty sick, they saw a rift between us and swooped in and stirred everything up and pressured Kelly into making bad decisions. Hell they even told her that if we get back together that they would disown her (swell parents) She called me the other day crying and saying she made the wrong decision. She made her choices and now has to live with the consequences. If her parents ever think they will have a relationship with Ethan they are in for a rude awakening. The step mom one time told Ethan he was a rotten little boy and if he didnt behave they were gonna throw him out and another time started screaming at Makenna in front of me that her daddy was a fucking liar. Again, what nice parents and someday the kids will be told everything. Well off to the dentist and I will post again soon. My family has been a tremendous help getting me through all of this and they are actually all happy we are getting divorced! As am I.
San Diego
I went to the AHIP (association health Insurance Plans)conference in San Diego. I went with a couple co-workers. It was a lot of fun and met some new prospective partner companies. I also met some folks from a partner company out of Rochester NY that I met with a couple months ago in when I went to Rochester. The rep actually won a GPS we were raffling off. Some lucky dude won a convertible BMW that some company was raffling off. I hooked up with a partner company out of Fort Lauderdale FL and their COO took us out for Sushi. We went to a place called RA which was unbelievable. I never had Sushi and I fell in love with it. I had some Ahi Tuna, Octopus and even some lobster Ceviche. The varied flavors and textures was out of this world. I always stated “I don’t care for Sushi” but no more, now I want to go for more. My first night here I slept like crap, I woke up at 3:00 AM and never went back to sleep as I am use to CST. My second night I slept much better but I am so use to sleeping in a bed with my wife that I never quite sleep as good as at home. We stayed at this brand new ULTRA modern Hilton, I will have to post some pictures soon. I got some good conference trinkets for the kids, they always love them. I miss Kelly and the kids so much. I am not flying home but rather to Houston and then onto St. Paul MN as I am playing in a HUGE paint ball scenario war game. Its good ole Wisconsin boys against Minnesota folks. They are estimating between 800-1,000 players total. I am excited to be going but on the same hand I miss my kids and Kelly that in some ways I wished I would have just come home. Some people from my work are going and they are flying into St Paul as well. My Chiropractor and his son are coming to play in the war game too. He flew his private plane into Hudson and started camping on Thursday. We play the war game all day Saturday and Sunday I am actually flying back with him in his plane. It should be a lot of fun. One thing though I really hate flying sometimes it freaks me out so I hope flying in his plane will be better Oh man that would suck if I was petrified the whole freaking way home hahahah The one thing that is a bummer is I don’t land until 11:53 PM in ST Paul and then we have about a 45 minute drive to Hudson. Its only suppose to have a high of 55 degrees I actually prefer that as I wont be sweating in my camouflage gear. Well gonna try and catch up on some reading and take a nap before we hit Houston.
Chicago Trip
I wrote this post last week but forgot to publish it 
I went to Chicago for the day to meet with one of our insurance carrier partners, meeting went very well, took the train which makes the time fly. Heading back home now, hopefully it won’t be raining so I can go in the hot tub. Set up the tent in the backyard over the weekend and the kids had a blast. Kierra slept over and Makenna had a lot of fun playing with her. Ethan wants Kristian to sleep over bad….he had a blast when Kristian came over a while back and hooked up his Xbox 360 to the projector. Train stopped on outskirt of Chicago due to some signal glitch, hope it doesn’t take to long. We are stopping at Best Buy on way home as my boss is picking up a laptop for his wife. I already promised Kelly I would not buy anything. I forgot my laptop power chord and battery is drained. They actually have AC outlets on train…bummer. I am writing this post on my blackberry. We have appointment with Makenna,s DR to discuss results this week
Great HSA Bank Article
From the Milwaukee Journal, GREAT ARTICLE!!!!!!
http://www.jsonline.com/business/45191577.html
Karma
Well I remember all the times dad would get red mulch to and I would bitch and complain that it was a waste of money and time. Well I am in the process of spreading red mulch around all the landscaping. I am about 90% completed. I must say it looks really nice and I would give anything to be able to spread mulch with dad again. I really miss him, he loved spring so much, he would get so excited about all the stuff he was going to plan. I am beat as hell but its good exercise. Bill and Cassy helped a lot today. We grilled out on the deck and went in the hot tub. The kids really love the hot tub too. Cassy is painting Makenna’s nails right now, she really loves having them done. She has another appointment with Darlene this week, this time Kelly is to play with Makenna while she observes and she is going to purposely cause some stress on Makenna to see how she reacts. I had my annual physical and should get the results back from bloodwork. I think I am fine as all I eat for breakfast is granola and yogurt/fruit. I eat a salad for dinner at least three times a week. Ethan lost the computer for three days for saying naughty words. The more it upsets him the better the punishment. We are gonna watch a movie now. I have to go to Chicago this week to meet with a BCBS partner, taking the train is sorta fun.
Conference
well heading to San Diego for a conference June 3-5th it will be a lot of fun and good place to forge some partnerships for the bank. I also have to head to Ft Lauderdale, Seattle and Rochester NY in June/July. Mothers Day was hopefully relaxing for Kelly as I did all the cooking and Cassy, Bill and I did the dishes.
Mothers Day
Gonna have mom and Bill over for Mothers Day and my friend Paul whom I work with. Menu is simple, bacon wrapped Filet Mignon with roasted garlic mashed potatoes with fresh asparagus. I think the hot tub pump needs to be replaced, luckily my friend Tom is a plumber and will help me replace it. I went online and saw some really awesome hot tubs with sound and light therapy. I think next year I might replace the one we have. The one I want has a cool waterfall, towel warmer, and LED lighting that changes color to match the soundscape. It also has surround sound built in, pretty awesome. Kelly and I had an appointment with a therapist for Makenna due to some behavior that is not her ADHD. She has been getting angry with us and talking mean/swearing. Makenna goes this Thursday for a 1on1. The Therapist has her PHd and come highly recommended. Ken finished Cassy’s room, it looks pretty awesome. Both Ethan and Makenna are getting really good at Soccer. We have had a few campfires in our backyard, the kids really enjoy it.
My first post
Makenna and I are on soccer teams at my school Pidgeon River. We went a week ago for the first time. We couldnt go yesterday because it was raining. I have been playing Team Fortress 2 with my crazy dad and I have been doing good earning my scout achievments. It is pretty fun but my dad only lets me on the computer 1 hour a day. I have a new friend that lives a couple houses down, his name is Everet. Its a bummer that its raining we are all waiting to go into the hot tub.
Basement finished
Ken came out for a few weeks and has been doing a lot of home maintenance and fixing things. Nice to have him around. He is finishing off Cassy’s room in the basement. Its really shaping up nice. Garbage disposal is leaking, my friend Tom is a plumber, he is replacing it Friday. Work has been busy, going to San Diego in June for three days to a conference. Ethan and Makenna love the kittens we got, have to get them declawed yet.
Makenna’s 5th Birthday
Makenna turned 5 today and comes running in our bedroom, “Daddy, sing me happy birthday” and then launches into her own version while I am happy she is happy I am also a little sad that she is growing up so fast. We have a birthday party planned for her on Saturday and a bunch of kids are coming from her class. Should be a blast! Work is going GREAT! I just moved into my new office on the 4th floor. I even have a view of the lake now. The new office is bigger and a little more posh. I LOVE IT! Kelly and I got some bikes and we now go bike riding with the kids, when weather permits.
Makenna’s Nose
Makenna fell at the playground at school and had to be taken to the doctor. It was deep enough for stitches but now they have a new method which is basically using a form of super glue. She did cry once even when she fell, she continued to play and a teacher noticed the blood on her face. we went for a bike ride tonight after dinner, it was fun. Makenna also met a neighbor girl her age and played with her for a while.
Cassy’s appendix
Came home somewhat late from traveling to NY on business and Cassy decided she needed her appendix out she was in a lot of pain this morning, poor thing. Apparently it was swollen and bleeding and close to rupturing. She just thought she had the Flu. I even told Kelly she doesn’t need to go to the doctor its just the Flu….glad she didn’t listen to me
Rochester
Sitting in airport on my way to Rochester NY to meet with a partner. Its close to the town I grew up in, Walworth NY. Work is going great, I get to move up to a new office on the 4th floor with lakefront view. I cant wait. Kids and Kelly are doing great! Our new house is coming along. We are all unpacked and now just organizing things. Makenna’s birthday is coming up, she is all excited. We had mom and Bill over last weekend, Bill went in the hot tub and loved it.
Closed
Well we closed on house on Friday. We are sooo dam excited. House is in a great neighborhood. Ethan and Makenna are actually excited although I think they just wanna go swimming in the hot tub. We are gonna go look at some new furniture on Sunday maybe. Replacing living room furniture if we can find some good sales. The seller will be out by noon tomorrow.
Jamie\’s Birthday
Title: Jamie\’s Birthday
Location: Everywhere
Description: It\’s my 41st birthday today! Went paintballing for 6 hours this past Saturday and boy can I tell. I just wanted to sleep the next day
Date: 2009-01-20
Ethan’s comment
We were having dinner last night and Ethan wolfed down his dinner and stated “all done”. Cassy makes the comment “you just wanna go play on the computer” and then Ethan replies “that’s just completely insane Cassy” hahahah that was funny. I did some trade deal with paintball field so I don’t get charged, gonna bring Kristian, his friend and one of my friends sons today. They are having a scenario game, assault the city. At night they will turn off the lights and have black lights on, the paintball s will glow via the black lights, will be Lotta fun as well. We have been continuing to pack, we have a lot of it done for the move. The bank is working with the seller, hope everything goes through fine.
Ethan’s first day at new school
We transfered Ethan to Pigeon River school on the northside due to us moving. Everyone was real friendly and several people greeted Ethan by name and stated “Ethan, we have been waiting for you!” The school is newly built and looks awesome. The new house we will be paying $5,500 a year in taxes and at first I was like “holy crap” but after seeing the school I feel a little better that the tax dollars are being used wisely. When pulling into the driveway of the school I asked Ethan if he was excited to go to a new school and he replied “not so much”. I thought that was cute. He came home all happy as he made new freinds at recess, he now wants to go back to school. Aleysia is doing better after having tonsils out however as of yesterday she was still running a low grade fever. We have started packing already, Ken and Joanie helped a lot. We are getting really excited.
Christmas
Christmas has come and gone, oh but what a ride. A few days before Christmas Santa arrived on a sleigh towed by reindeer and brought the kids a small gift. I will post more pictures and video later. The kids loved it. About 5:45 AM Makenna awoke and started screaming about a dog Santa brought her. It barks and wags tail and knows about 8 commands such as sit, lie down, shake etc. Its robotic and she named it Mandy Ethan got his first Lionel train. This year Santa seemed to buy a couple of really nice presents and then some smaller items. I absolutely do not spoil my kids with material things and then prance around thinking I am a good father, I have a neighbor like that and his son is a monster behavior wise. I really enjoy playing games, reading books, puzzles and hell I even have tea parties and play Barbie dolls with Makenna. We built a really nice snowman until dam rain came and killed him. We made up this nice story on how it will come to life at night and throw snowballs at the kids window to get them to come outside and play. Kelly’s dad and step mom are here from Rhode Island Kelly and everyone missed them a lot. Mom. Bill and Marna came for Christmas dinner. Christmas Eve we had fresh clams and mussel in a garlic white wine sauce and then king crab legs. Christmas dinner we had prime rib …yummm…New years Eve I am making crab stuffed steer tenderloin. It was one of the best Christmas’s we have had, Makenna announced it was her favorite Christmas.
Hello everyone
How has everyone been? Everyone all set for the Holidays? I will post some more updates soon.