tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62252527421914383562024-03-13T10:10:19.960-07:00A Dad's TakeA Dad's Take.......Who Says Mom's Do it All?Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-77115617821379349422011-11-14T04:48:00.000-08:002011-11-14T04:48:27.840-08:00Tokii.com<div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyAdU9o5NbBKpOS_UOViewIW-CeH1qpdnoUZyYxpsnCWjyYQUthh9LOKdNTK3UGY4G2qCzKLWaS3M3jgKeZKYyjpDVgiiM2m2Y6Qc98d5o9IJ2INjQek9MfgeyaTEJI_6uarNk0WCjZg/s1600/tokii.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCyAdU9o5NbBKpOS_UOViewIW-CeH1qpdnoUZyYxpsnCWjyYQUthh9LOKdNTK3UGY4G2qCzKLWaS3M3jgKeZKYyjpDVgiiM2m2Y6Qc98d5o9IJ2INjQek9MfgeyaTEJI_6uarNk0WCjZg/s1600/tokii.jpg" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I don't know how you feel about it, but I think that marriage is a huge task from the beginning! Planning a wedding is stressful, crazy and trying to say the least. I always joked that if I made it through the wedding, the marriage would be a piece of cake! In a time where it's getting harder and harder for couples to find time to communicate and connect, <a href="http://www.tokii.com/">Tokii</a> is swooping in and giving couples a platform where they can play games in order to connect and learn about each other! One of my favorite catergories....<a href="http://tokii.com/games/GamesList.aspx?cname=Wedding&cguid=7b7795a3-85e8-4f9f-80a2-6afe15f87f65">Wedding</a>! Why wedding? Because it seems like in the wedding planning process, the man is always forgotten! Using the wedding page on the Tokii website, man finally gets a say! Score!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I spent awhile exploring the Wedding page and there were definitely some fun games!!! The games include Wedding and Family, Wedding and Stress, Wedding and Budgets, Wedding and Honeymoon and Wedding Planning. I suggest the Wedding Planning game for every couple planning a wedding as it explores what each party wants including how much time should be spent on wedding plan, how flexible we should be in dividing up tasks, etc. etc. Another favorite game of mine was Wedding and Honeymoon. If I could have it my way, there would be no wedding and we would go straight to the honeymoon but since that's out of the question for most couples, this is a great game to play to figure out what each party wants. How long should the honeymoon be? How much should we spend? What's the purpose? I love how these games give you a chance to answer the question and to guess how your partner is going to answer as well! They sure let me know that I have a lot more to learn about my lady!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">There are many more great categories of game play at Tokii.com too. From Pregancy to Newborn, from Love to Sex, there is definitely something for everyone! Check out the website at <a href="http://www.tokii.com/">Tokii.com</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This is a sponsored post brought to you by Tokii*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-55462661128398522011-10-22T07:18:00.000-07:002012-01-16T07:43:00.458-08:00Turkey Costume from Costume Discounters<div align="center">Costumes can be purchased and used any time of year, not just Halloween. There's so many holidays and times throughout the year that kids costumes are appropriate. Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and even every day use! With 4 children, we have purchased our fair share of costumes throughout the year but the <a href="http://www.costumediscounters.com/infant-toddler-costumes/animals/lil-gobbler-infant-toddler-costume-IC6030.html">infant turkey costume</a> we received from Costume Discounters might just be the best yet!!!</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJ-KT-Lm2s0_BM0IUAa_Ajvnr0IMv8SHe6uW38JArB45JDQnMG_5tiTs7C4rmgHkfTv0Wf3Q0PQ1GiEeLkQiHizgI002HOCjFV2RXH1qTcmeaT3yvbTfyolVX-XR_pN7jEGVRMqNeIJo/s1600/1949383360.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRJ-KT-Lm2s0_BM0IUAa_Ajvnr0IMv8SHe6uW38JArB45JDQnMG_5tiTs7C4rmgHkfTv0Wf3Q0PQ1GiEeLkQiHizgI002HOCjFV2RXH1qTcmeaT3yvbTfyolVX-XR_pN7jEGVRMqNeIJo/s320/1949383360.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">I cannot tell you all of the compliments that we received on this great costume! We volunteered at a soup kitchen and took our little turkey with us and he was a huge hit!!! He wore this costume to several different Thanksgiving get togethers and parties and it held up unbelievably well. All we had to do is wash the feet and it is in pristine condition for next year!!! It came with the head piece, body piece, the detachable feathers (perfect for when you are in the car!) and awesome little feet. Our son was definitey the cutest turkey I have ever seen!</div><div align="center"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>Costume was received free of charge for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own</strong></span></div><div align="center"><br />
</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-50283306183963970552011-05-01T14:46:00.000-07:002011-05-01T14:48:01.426-07:00Green Lantern Party!!<div style="text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: center;">As a Dad of 3 boys, I am always looking for new toys that they will LOVE to play! We recently held a Green Lantern party and talk about a ton of fun!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong>What is Green Lantern?</strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">I'm glad you asked! Long story short. Green Lantern is a movie where a test pilot is granted a mystical green ring that bestows him with otherworldly powers, as well as membership into an intergalactic squadron tasked with keeping peace within the universe. Cool, huh?!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;">In honor of this cool new movie, Mattel has created an entire line of awesome Green Lantern action figures and accessories allowing kids (And parents too!) to harness their creative power and energy to battle intergalactic evil just like Hal Jordan in the upcoming movie! Our boys and their friends and have spent HOURS playing with these awesome new toys and I have a feeling these bad boys are going to be around our house for a looooooong time to come!! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;">First of all, we were sent (2) of the Green Lantern Colossal Cannons! </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZkqjzOrNZE-ygBqywrtPrwy-KGC4ufrQ1YHuGOjNIpIANe6vJTH5iQ3stWl-LrOUS4oSiMJWA0nnqnHbSeXKhMZIv2brWoZmQ8mXg7lYpnO_y4_iR4-duNmnM-YyyeNvHHnyl3b9YjU/s1600/cannon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAZkqjzOrNZE-ygBqywrtPrwy-KGC4ufrQ1YHuGOjNIpIANe6vJTH5iQ3stWl-LrOUS4oSiMJWA0nnqnHbSeXKhMZIv2brWoZmQ8mXg7lYpnO_y4_iR4-duNmnM-YyyeNvHHnyl3b9YjU/s320/cannon.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAt0lDxQ-R3MBSvdnsIpXVfv28Uh9evKIOL4wqvKpGcga-G8RuqozxNnidq2GSmXGLOogXBm-_IQ5exgUOpv6d2oiHUCM7P1FHxyiiCJVTTynZnaWVLBTv25WoqsfkJC3wja6bYVVfVw/s1600/lantern2.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlAt0lDxQ-R3MBSvdnsIpXVfv28Uh9evKIOL4wqvKpGcga-G8RuqozxNnidq2GSmXGLOogXBm-_IQ5exgUOpv6d2oiHUCM7P1FHxyiiCJVTTynZnaWVLBTv25WoqsfkJC3wja6bYVVfVw/s200/lantern2.bmp" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGHs7wpZxHch5Q_596451dOutDRMail_ApgbfnR8hacd1aLkYggrwRKaZP6yanw4FzbxxTdMzE-UZhO4kpcXYMQSHUo5u8lkYLyiqRjmYh5gCNn12Vt5R6aNdQ1RwvIzNkS1Vds4LD1o/s1600/lantern.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDGHs7wpZxHch5Q_596451dOutDRMail_ApgbfnR8hacd1aLkYggrwRKaZP6yanw4FzbxxTdMzE-UZhO4kpcXYMQSHUo5u8lkYLyiqRjmYh5gCNn12Vt5R6aNdQ1RwvIzNkS1Vds4LD1o/s200/lantern.bmp" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cHC_uFlkpj1E1gz6UAk-CLyGgqQXGVsB2QoxgF_oXDfqkIx_UUTmMNPYx2vkqynvX6Gux8eq-xeLP4I0erj-RPEjV7yrQWbA31jSRswAjnteCuFFm22v_CdgRRvDkkNqXHg2G4yYinY/s1600/green3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3cHC_uFlkpj1E1gz6UAk-CLyGgqQXGVsB2QoxgF_oXDfqkIx_UUTmMNPYx2vkqynvX6Gux8eq-xeLP4I0erj-RPEjV7yrQWbA31jSRswAjnteCuFFm22v_CdgRRvDkkNqXHg2G4yYinY/s200/green3.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">These cool toys light up and make sounds as they shoot plastic discs out at lightening speed. We had a Colossal Cannon Contest which was totally simple. We just printed off some bullseye templates and made each ring a different point amount and we kept track to see how many points the kids could rack up shooting the bullseyes! This is a fun and easy game!!!! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Second, we receieved a Green Lantern Battle Shifter Figure for each of our guests. These are four-inch figures of popular characters from the film that include accessories that transform from one thing to another. They can be folded up and transformed again and again so your little ones can play over and over again! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We were also sent the Green Lantern DVD, a 2009 animated film adaptation so the kids could hear the Green Lantern story to really get their imaginations going!!! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Now we REALLY can't wait for the movie to come out to really bring these toys to life! If you are looking for some awesome toys for your boys (ok, ok. Our daughter loved them too) DON'T miss out on the Green Lantern toys! They are awesome!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-6706181674522565472010-11-28T15:15:00.000-08:002011-08-07T15:21:34.322-07:00Costume Super Center Elf Costume Review<div style="text-align: center;">I know a lot of people think that costumes are only for Halloween but in reality, costumes can be used ANY time of year! In the Spring we might look for Easter Costumes and towards the end of the year, we are usually in the market for some type of <a href="http://www.costumesupercenter.com/christmas+costumes.html">Christmas Costume</a>! Whatever the occasion may be, you must check out Costume Super Center!!! They have something for everyone no matter what the holiday is!!!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7RErUj74dVXFE5MOLCBgWG_1rKbhlwo-rthDJZz-hYsHvJTSdn-U1xCQhPRatMNEZKHJTpUDBq7SZXqO0XSGZfI-nOoaMy3fIC8lStkD1bmnmSmQSZcb4iwnU2hyZGJOsWqS4vT1o2Y/s1600/elfaiden.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7RErUj74dVXFE5MOLCBgWG_1rKbhlwo-rthDJZz-hYsHvJTSdn-U1xCQhPRatMNEZKHJTpUDBq7SZXqO0XSGZfI-nOoaMy3fIC8lStkD1bmnmSmQSZcb4iwnU2hyZGJOsWqS4vT1o2Y/s320/elfaiden.jpg" t$="true" width="320px" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Costume Super Center has a great selection of <a href="http://www.costumesupercenter.com/christmas+costumes-elves.html">elf costumes</a> and our little guy couldn't have looked sweeter in his!! It was a full costume that featured a one piece body suit and an adorable hat with elf ears and jingle bells! He is going to wear this to all of our Christmas parties this year and as you can see, it's perfect for pictures too!! If you find yourself in the market for a <a href="http://www.costumesupercenter.com/christmas+costumes-childrens+costumes/R11547-christmas-elf-infanttoddler.html">Christmas Elf Costume</a> or any other costume, be sure to check out Costume Super Center! The costumes are not just affordable but they are totally cool too! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-16765419577397311032010-10-22T07:40:00.000-07:002010-10-22T07:40:19.673-07:00Girls Vs. Boys<div align="center">We have been very blessed with 4 happy, healthy children. 3 boys. 1 girl. I have long heard the debate of who is easier to raise, girls or boys. It is always funny to hear people's reasonings behind why they choose the way they do! </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Our boys are rough. They wrestle, they fight, they break stuff. Oddly enough, that stuff doesn't bother me. I go by the "Boys will be boys" motto and just shrug it off. I can handle a few bumps and bruises from kids running into furniture. But girls. Boy are they a different story. </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">I love my daughter. She is definitely a Daddy's girl. But is it just me or are girls really really tough to understand?! At only 7 years old, she has meltdowns like I have never seen before. At least 5 times a day her entire world comes crashing down over some little thing that someone else did or said. I have never seen the drama in my boys that I get out of her. Hands on the hips, swinging her ponytail back and forth. Screaming and stomping her feet. And the worst is when she looks you right in the eye and says "You are the worst parents in the world!" Of course she always comes back and says she is sorry but wow! The mood swings are unreal!!!</div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Am I the only Dad in the world who has a daughter like this?! Who do you say is easier to raise?! Boys or girls? </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhektLvph38KBZ9LEIbPxLfhN3BBUrRyawyt4HyR0FyqZBLpuoYSc5Q6e_TafRDCuLsnk480yY5tkTa8SOAvGdqH7KmDksEcffeUabrKFU9CkgWJLZmSNrJdpZWic9EVp6Z3anp_wtR14g/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nx="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhektLvph38KBZ9LEIbPxLfhN3BBUrRyawyt4HyR0FyqZBLpuoYSc5Q6e_TafRDCuLsnk480yY5tkTa8SOAvGdqH7KmDksEcffeUabrKFU9CkgWJLZmSNrJdpZWic9EVp6Z3anp_wtR14g/s1600/nicksign.png" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />
</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-26513271470948124262010-10-15T20:17:00.000-07:002010-10-15T20:17:15.251-07:00Crazy Crazy Crazy<div align="center">Life has been incredibly crazy lately. I had to take a break from a lot of the extra stuff I like to do in order to get stuff back together. School is kicking my butt. The kids being back in school is kicking my butt. All of the kids extra activities are really kicking my butt. It just seems like things have been non-stop crazy! We thought when the kids went back to school that things would settle down and get back to normal but instead things have just been crazier than ever. My wife is trying really hard to find a job on a shift that I will be home so our kids won't have to go to a daycare and I have to admit...the thought of that kind of scares me. I have been really making an effort to clean and cook more so I will be prepared. This week I made blueberry muffins, cupcakes AND peanut butter cookies! I even made a chicken dish one night for supper. Everything even turned out except the peanut butter cookies...they were a little on the crunchy side. Ha....I was really excited when I checked my email though because not only am I having a new blog design coming VERY soon, but I also had a couple review and giveaway opportunities in my inbox so I will work on getting those up very very soon! Maybe something to help you all out with your Holiday shopping! </div><div align="center"><br />
</div><div align="center">Thanks for hanging around and waiting on me to get it together! I can't wait for you all to see my new blog makeover!</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-37230964564013030932010-08-12T19:41:00.000-07:002010-08-12T20:00:02.491-07:00I'm Back!!! It's a Friday Social Parade/Friday Follow!Did you all miss me?! Things just got crazy busy here for me the past few weeks and I had to take a little break but I am back and ready to get blogging again! So here's to Friday and starting fresh and new!!!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.smartandtrendymoms.com/search/label/socialparade" target="_blank"><img alt="Smart and Trendy Moms" border="0" src="http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy64/smartandtrendymoms/socialparade.png" /></a><br />
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</div></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-6708182829296894562010-07-17T06:52:00.000-07:002010-07-17T06:52:56.926-07:00A Dad's Pick...Week1...The Sodastream Soda Maker!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnRRjoWNUKrjgeePjUuJBWaaO9XEkiCDwwzPqAF7fzfNb1LeAA5wBSG1rP3KGu7ltOWsKZpd3HFJ1nHoWh020STlJKHW2yr80UCVoCj5ZOC9lYFTLslRSDHi2Oc1Y5PqJENtBQvB3K2A/s1600/sodastream.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnRRjoWNUKrjgeePjUuJBWaaO9XEkiCDwwzPqAF7fzfNb1LeAA5wBSG1rP3KGu7ltOWsKZpd3HFJ1nHoWh020STlJKHW2yr80UCVoCj5ZOC9lYFTLslRSDHi2Oc1Y5PqJENtBQvB3K2A/s320/sodastream.gif" /></a></div><br />
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I thought it would be fun to share products that I love with all of you so this week I want to share the <a href="http://www.sodastream.com/">Sodastream</a> Soda Maker with you! If you hang aroud the Blogosphere long enough, you are bound and determined to come across Sodastream somewhere and it's no wonder because it's a really cool product! As if Soda isn't great enough already, but to be able to make your own is just over the top exciting, especially to our kids!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpT8EFdyTfWVDaGA2vm5F9hG-fFP2gHxzPEf-akgUFWCoW7jM56U2mAFE0hFROxhTDsGs_tg5ef-Jia6NOfW2IWdaaCsaju_pmjHlkx4rhUEFER6uKZ5ich3CHHv7A3IoGI9tsBq4tl0/s1600/sodastream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpT8EFdyTfWVDaGA2vm5F9hG-fFP2gHxzPEf-akgUFWCoW7jM56U2mAFE0hFROxhTDsGs_tg5ef-Jia6NOfW2IWdaaCsaju_pmjHlkx4rhUEFER6uKZ5ich3CHHv7A3IoGI9tsBq4tl0/s320/sodastream.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have the Silver Fountain Jet. You can purchase it at the <a href="http://www.sodastreamusa.com/Fountain-Jets-C23.aspx">Website</a> for right around $100 which is really reasonable considering how much soda you can make!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My favorite thing about the Sodastream Soda Maker is how simple it is to use! The CO2 Cartridge installs very easily and then you just fill the bottle with water, twist it into the machine, push the button on the top 3 times, add the flavor and you are done! In less than a couple minutes, you have a liter of soda!!! </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We used our Soda Maker at our kids birthday party and it was a huge hit! All of the kids wanted to take a turn pushing the button to make the soda. The cola and lemon lime are among our favorites but we plan on ordering some new flavors and trying them too like Pete's choice (think Dr. Pepper) and Cream Soda. I would love to try the energy drink that is comparable to Red Bull too, as that is definitely my energy drink of choice!! Sodastream offers a 12 pack sampler that would probably be a good idea to try because then we could try out a dozen different flavors and find the one's we like the best.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If soda isn't your thing, you can make some really good sparkling water too! We love the lemon flavor. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In addition to the great taste and easy use, Sodastream soda maker is really economical because it reduces the waste of those plastic 2 liter bottles from the store (Because Sodastream uses reuseable 1 liter bottles).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Definitely a cool product for any family. This is a seriously cool Dad Pick!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: This is my honest opinion, not a paid post. My family received a Sodastream machine and flavors free of charge from Sodastream*</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-3539041686311713292010-07-15T20:51:00.000-07:002010-07-15T20:51:37.482-07:00Friday Again?<a href="http://friday-follow.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="friday-follow" border="0" src="http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/iamharriet/ff/button1.jpg" /></a><br />
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Can't believe it's Friday again already. Unfortunately, this weekend is just a normal weekend of work for me. No baseball tournaments, no fun outings with the kids. Just work. Blah. I hope you all have a great weekend though!! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v-gt9WdQZV4hP4cT9M_zQBOHLGmR9wRiueAMDgc98m9V7d2mkpYtuZehdEQ4BirMqq1mFIKiIMBifzBdxa1qxB44OmOI9aVlgmbUcBLJRFkjhjCUHfmnpX1JjDgnErJ3sDfZ8ZAe6rc/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-v-gt9WdQZV4hP4cT9M_zQBOHLGmR9wRiueAMDgc98m9V7d2mkpYtuZehdEQ4BirMqq1mFIKiIMBifzBdxa1qxB44OmOI9aVlgmbUcBLJRFkjhjCUHfmnpX1JjDgnErJ3sDfZ8ZAe6rc/s320/nicksign.png" /></a></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-80135225598746291642010-07-15T05:27:00.000-07:002010-07-15T05:27:48.681-07:00Finally, a trophy!I shared with you a couple weeks ago about the pain of watching your child’s heart break from disappointment but this time, I want to share the JOY of watching your child’s heart swell with pride when they win!!<br />
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Over the weekend we had our 2nd baseball tournament of the Summer. We only had to drive around 25 minutes this time but we had a total of 6 games scheduled over a 2 day period. The first day was by far the worst. We had to be in the batting cages by 8 a.m. and then on the field for our first game by 9:30 a.m. It was incredibly HOT!!! We won our first game and then we had a 3 hour wait until our next game. We had 3 games right in a row and our boys were whipped! I don’t know how they did it but they managed to win all 4 games on Saturday to make it back for the Semi-Finals and the Championship game on Sunday!<br />
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Saturday night we didn’t feel like going home so we drove about 20 miles North of where the tournament was and stayed at my in-laws. The kids love staying with Grandma and Grandpa and we had some of the best pizza ever!!!<br />
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Our first game on Sunday was at 1:00 and we won it with no problems so it was on to the Championship game! Watching those boys was amazing! I can’t believe how far they have come since their first practice but they were cranking the ball harder than I have ever seen them. Most of them had several doubles and triples and a couple of them (My son included!) got homeruns!! Papaw pays $20 for homeruns in the Championship Game!!!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZhKkdcMVaz-EpkTZonW0ICeSJ4PAw-turLdPgvVvgcUTfb0wl542bVoK_nkadGWtjsPeL1a7jsTylMMrRBz6WntyEy3t3mu1dYVKzp6c_Krw0Q27LHfyTfPGVAVW18eZ6MkIgCrRk8U/s1600/222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVZhKkdcMVaz-EpkTZonW0ICeSJ4PAw-turLdPgvVvgcUTfb0wl542bVoK_nkadGWtjsPeL1a7jsTylMMrRBz6WntyEy3t3mu1dYVKzp6c_Krw0Q27LHfyTfPGVAVW18eZ6MkIgCrRk8U/s320/222.JPG" /></a></div><br />
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We left there undefeated Champions! We went 6-0. Talk about a good feeling! Andrew smiled from ear to ear the entire day.<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44okpgGZwKQ8Xg_oELjlLYnT2138gSUndUmiB2mKh9sDOzpipflnKwJqF7ZHau86b8MRkb3FIDlu-D4mW5DRfWJ1oBlChY6Ve1twpFZ3QocpGO1UPguszX0heSdgQMWnWkKMYUm9fUwc/s1600/212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj44okpgGZwKQ8Xg_oELjlLYnT2138gSUndUmiB2mKh9sDOzpipflnKwJqF7ZHau86b8MRkb3FIDlu-D4mW5DRfWJ1oBlChY6Ve1twpFZ3QocpGO1UPguszX0heSdgQMWnWkKMYUm9fUwc/s400/212.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> As tired as we were, the kids still had energy from somewhere so we went back to my in-law’s and took the kids out for some fun. We ended our night with bowling , pizza and a Chuck E Cheese arcade. The kids had mega tickets to cash in at the end of the night and the greatest thing was when our 5 year old beat our 7 and 8 year olds in bowling!! We ended up staying another night at my in-law’s too so when Monday rolled around, we were definitely ready to get back home and back to a normal routine!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Now I REALLY can’t wait until our next tournament! I love baseball. It reminds me of when I was a kid. I want Andrew to play because he loves it and because he is good at it and it makes him feel good. I hope I can always be an encouragement to him to continue playing. There was nothing better than seeing him, smiling ear to ear when he looked up at me and said "Look Dad! Finally a trophy!!"<br />
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Hey there! Thanks for visiting my little part of the Blogosphere, A Dad's Take. I'm Nick Lewis, 29 years old from the great state of Ohio. I was born and raised in Southern Ohio but now live in West Central Ohio with my wife and 4 children. I love the Cincinnati Reds and Bengals but watching my 8 year old play is way more exciting these days. <br />
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I graduated high school in 1999 and shortly after met my future wife, Sarah. We got married a year later in 2000 and had our first child in 2002. Now in 2010, we are getting ready to celebrate 10 years of marriage and we have 4 wonderful children who are 8, 7, 5 and 5 months. We live in a crazy, loud house but we have gotten used to it. Now when the kids are gone and it's quiet, it just doesn't feel right.<br />
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I am new to the world of blogging. I started it as kind of a challenge from my wife who didn't believe I could create and maintain a blog on my own. I think I am doing a good job at it so far, even though I have found that it is definitely a lot of work. I like to blog about my family and my opinion when it comes to parenting because I think sometimes Dad's get overlooked. I sure appreciate reading about issues that other Dad's have so I am hoping that Mom's and Dad's alike will enjoy reading my take on issues that face Parents today. That's where my blog title came from. There are millions of Mom blogs out there....A Dad's Take is a fresh, new perspective. <br />
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I hope you all will stick around for awhile and if you like what you read, feel free to follow along or sign up for email updates so you don't miss anything. I hope you will find A Dad's Take to be similar to a good book, one that you will be excited to read and hate to put down!<br />
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</center>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-69519129947831649092010-07-09T06:16:00.000-07:002010-07-09T06:16:42.405-07:00Cloth Diapering for DummiesI have shared with you that we have 4 kids, and 1 of those happens to be a baby boy. I have never had problems in the diapering department....as a matter of fact, I changed our oldest son's very first diaper in the hospital. (I was also the very first one to get peed on too, we learned quickly how to change his diaper without getting soaked!) I have always been an active diaper changer in the house, even for the WORST one's and you know which one's I'm talking about. So I was baffled when my wife said she wanted to try cloth diapers when she got pregnant with baby #4. The image I had in my mind was not a pleasant one. I told her to go ahead and buy some but I would not be participating. I know, unfair. I didn't even give them a chance. But she didn't care. She bought them anyway. Now I still have very little knowledge in the cloth diapering department, however, I have used them now with our baby and talk about confusing!<br />
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I think my wife must have bought one of each brand to try so we have a large variety of all kinds of diapers. There are some that velcro and some that snap. There are some that have pockets in the inside where you stuff a liner and there are some that you just lay a liner inside. There are even some that have the insert built in. For a Dad like me, these options and choices are very overwhelming. Isn't there any easy cloth diaper out there made for Dad's that are simple to use without all the options? Don't even get me started on those diapers with the million snaps on the front of them!<br />
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Do you cloth diaper? And if so, what's the easiest brand you recommend for a Dad like me? I am in need of a Cloth Diapering for Dummies course.Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-27938894987072827932010-07-09T05:59:00.000-07:002010-07-09T05:59:28.736-07:00Ready for the weekend!<a href="http://friday-follow.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="friday-follow" border="0" src="http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/iamharriet/ff/button1.jpg" /></a><br />
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The weekend is once again upon us and this time I have something to be excited about besides work! I get most of the weekend off for another baseball tournament. Woo Hoo! It's been a HOT week here in Ohio but we are looking forward to watching our 8 year old play in the 2nd tournament of the year. He has 4 games scheduled on Saturday so it's going to be a long, hot, but exciting day! Help me root the Bulldogs along!! Hopefully I'll be back on Monday with some good news! GOooooooooooo Bulldogs!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy38P7vO4wYPhvinUIfWmAneolBfkJcBxgndPcCj33AIZ3pY1toXOw3xJGk_0qY-T5gk_7lPfGKc9M7SyMGQGytH0eH4s1PVAJooiXZuvKOJva5z46vXzkV-46w-AFXLAt59AXNzRHy4/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOy38P7vO4wYPhvinUIfWmAneolBfkJcBxgndPcCj33AIZ3pY1toXOw3xJGk_0qY-T5gk_7lPfGKc9M7SyMGQGytH0eH4s1PVAJooiXZuvKOJva5z46vXzkV-46w-AFXLAt59AXNzRHy4/s320/025.JPG" /></a></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-4402084584174795992010-07-08T04:40:00.000-07:002010-07-08T04:40:11.096-07:00God help me!Between work and the kids sports and stuff going on at home, I am finding that Blogging is a lot more work than I thought! I don’t get how some Bloggers can post every day. Kudos to you all! I have found that it is a nice outlet so I hope I can continue fitting it into my schedule. I don’t intend to turn into another Review Blog, although if I get an offer, I just might take them up on it if it’s good. I like CSN. They are a great company so I was excited when they contacted me to do a review and a giveaway. I hope one of you are lucky enough to win the $60 gift certificate from them!!<br />
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And on to the news of the week………<br />
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My wife has made the decision that it’s time for her to get back into the workforce and while I support her 100%, I am also very nervous!! She has been at home since the Fall of 2006 so when she gets a job, things are going to be so different around here. And since my job is basically 2nd and 3rd shift, Thursday-Sunday, that means that I am going to be the one who takes care of the kids and the house while my wife is working. This is the part that scares me. Don’t get me wrong. I have watched the kids plenty of times but never on an ongoing, regular basis. I don’t know how my wife manages to juggle caring for the kids and all the housework and the cooking and the shopping too. I’m worried that I won’t do a very good job and that my kids will want their Mom back. I’m not a very good cook, I don’t do too hot at getting the kids ready and I definitely need some work in the girls hair department before school starts next month. <br />
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So I wonder if my wife is as nervous as I am. There was the time that I duct taped Joshua to the living room door but it was just for fun. She didn’t think it was as funny as me and the kids did. Oh yea, and there was a time she left me and the kids to paint pumpkins and we painted the kids instead. Hmmmm. I bet she is terrified. Hahaha <br />
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So tonight I started trying to help around the house and I think she was impressed. She bought me a new grill today so I cooked Steak and Chicken for Supper! I loaded the dishwasher and cleaned the kitchen up after we were done eating too. I picked up the rest of the house and swept and then I got all 3 of the older kids to bed while she put the baby to sleep. It felt good to help and it’s definitely going to help me to know the routine when she gets a job. I kind of hope it takes her awhile to find one so I can get into the groove again but she already had an interview today and is applying for some other jobs this week so I have a feeling it’s going to be right around the corner. <br />
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Any tips? Lol I need all of the help I can get!!!Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-16021874623693366702010-07-02T13:51:00.000-07:002010-07-02T13:51:09.619-07:00CSN Stores<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyo_NVwxO6RzjMgB5-wc1e6FORoXqsh8fvMQ-CyffYPAGOSm7PLhlCiHTTOgrPmMdpVeUOUX73gudvOK3cux_825lFpeNc0StwdS3f__S2mArnUHwzk5AU1DtTsHxY4WYn4AdlpeVJwM/s1600/csn" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlyo_NVwxO6RzjMgB5-wc1e6FORoXqsh8fvMQ-CyffYPAGOSm7PLhlCiHTTOgrPmMdpVeUOUX73gudvOK3cux_825lFpeNc0StwdS3f__S2mArnUHwzk5AU1DtTsHxY4WYn4AdlpeVJwM/s320/csn" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I never imagined I would look for household items like <a href="http://www.diningroomsdirect.com/Dining-Tables-C7087.html">dining room tables</a> online but I have been looking at CSN Stores because of their great selection and because of past positive experiences we have had with them!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have a nice, large dining room and since it's where our family enjoys our meals together, I feel that we should have a nice table to sit at together. I love this one!! It's the perfect size for our family and I love how nice it looks!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknvSreI8Q8FqRm_FNM2BcZ3oC-4zuxWD-F6AfprXPgr-NmzyjLFmXxGrn0JNHeUF2EV7444Y_32sDC_J5SiuQJB-MLorPbMtcjFHuKKGQP8pIjvJ9YdMdYHjJDfTesdKJEEq0JzWfrlM/s1600/table.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rw="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiknvSreI8Q8FqRm_FNM2BcZ3oC-4zuxWD-F6AfprXPgr-NmzyjLFmXxGrn0JNHeUF2EV7444Y_32sDC_J5SiuQJB-MLorPbMtcjFHuKKGQP8pIjvJ9YdMdYHjJDfTesdKJEEq0JzWfrlM/s320/table.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This one is also among my favorites! It has a 5 star rating and ships for free which is definitely a plus when looking to purchase larger items online!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is the other one that I was looking at. It includes free delivery and setup which is a great perk!!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm going to keep looking at <a href="http://www.csnstores.com/">CSN Stores</a> and hopefully I will find something that suits us perfectly in their great selection of <a href="http://www.diningroomsdirect.com/Dining-Tables-C7087.html">dining room tables!</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Check back here at A Dad's Take for a review in the near future!</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-88697880376139210872010-07-01T20:55:00.000-07:002010-07-01T20:55:17.388-07:00Friday Follows and Happy 4th of July<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: "Courier New", Courier, monospace; font-size: x-large;">Happy <span style="color: blue;">4th</span> of <span style="color: blue;">July</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<a href="http://frugalnovice.com/"><img alt="Friendly Friday Button" height="125" src="http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q310/christi3715/FriendlyFriday_Button.jpg" width="125" /></a>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-39514483184920662952010-06-29T19:04:00.000-07:002010-06-30T16:39:07.404-07:00Wordless Wednesday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsUwshFh2AB-ho6GF4KjT9Pbp6QeP1d3M9wNVqRMNuW5TG7NHg9G8wmV0e9eQ_PZMDiTCsC8vopwM2xqmskPHGOsO2XbBUA0brBT1V-h1ToleDjrBz6OB46SCiny98ci9Zdnd4OJumrY/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXsUwshFh2AB-ho6GF4KjT9Pbp6QeP1d3M9wNVqRMNuW5TG7NHg9G8wmV0e9eQ_PZMDiTCsC8vopwM2xqmskPHGOsO2XbBUA0brBT1V-h1ToleDjrBz6OB46SCiny98ci9Zdnd4OJumrY/s320/022.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dad-blogs.com/profile/db-wordless-wednesday/" target="_blank"><img alt="Dad Blogs Wordless Wednesday" border="0" height="106" src="http://dad-blogs.com/images/stories/wwlogo.png" width="172" /></a> </div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-22611587509205033462010-06-29T07:41:00.000-07:002010-06-29T07:41:23.870-07:00CSN Stores Review and $60 Gift Certificate Giveaway!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscOTLH3_kzLVJvpe5luPiI_hj6G4sPkRmPBqqXsfMTufvO2GiqFYZviNC6YyEWpA24udKqtCevSrv3Nu6_4jLhurPxRCWtqs4AaxYP-UROh26-VBsujoxpNigADURR4UTOOBhTb0xGqQ/s1600/csn" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiscOTLH3_kzLVJvpe5luPiI_hj6G4sPkRmPBqqXsfMTufvO2GiqFYZviNC6YyEWpA24udKqtCevSrv3Nu6_4jLhurPxRCWtqs4AaxYP-UROh26-VBsujoxpNigADURR4UTOOBhTb0xGqQ/s320/csn" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Our family has made CSN Stores one of our main online places to shop, mostly because of the huge variety of products you can purchase from their 200+ Stores. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We recently moved into a new home that was just remodeled but they failed to put any ceiling lights into a couple of the rooms. The first place we looked was CSN <a href="http://www.csnlighting.com/">Lighting!</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">For now, just as a temporary fix, we decided to go with floor lamps. CSN Lighting has so many nice, modern floor lamps that are really affordable! I really liked this one!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_ZFaNE13lcBrpQV_BIm4sAEiV0o43ux-3DMwlNYa7prBuBw0AV-vZd9X6SnolDHLNbZilDIz9DGaVLTg6Y9q87JXsQ1CREQRqzOPSFxTcGZaR0TiK46Ydw0Hg7iZ-9ahWKLbryNR-5Y/s1600/light4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEix_ZFaNE13lcBrpQV_BIm4sAEiV0o43ux-3DMwlNYa7prBuBw0AV-vZd9X6SnolDHLNbZilDIz9DGaVLTg6Y9q87JXsQ1CREQRqzOPSFxTcGZaR0TiK46Ydw0Hg7iZ-9ahWKLbryNR-5Y/s320/light4.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">When we get ready to purchase permanent ceiling lights, I would love to go with something simple but modern like this one for our living room!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb3dwrhEy8miCda3ym_BwEL9AJqnCTk-xaJVpUrpYypxrPiZ-RklBOq0WRVdd4u46Yc7TlrkC2JV6j42hX4MQi89-KKNR-zvryXpK2IoDHhp0dLy7MRvG8px5PegPfwFOed02v8KqWZI/s1600/light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAb3dwrhEy8miCda3ym_BwEL9AJqnCTk-xaJVpUrpYypxrPiZ-RklBOq0WRVdd4u46Yc7TlrkC2JV6j42hX4MQi89-KKNR-zvryXpK2IoDHhp0dLy7MRvG8px5PegPfwFOed02v8KqWZI/s320/light.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Since our dining room is a little more elegant, I really liked this chandelier!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMey9ygsb18upkcuTr1qN6GPdtgJkZq4hGYM7JYIEVR39BaX0VkluXPV3m3ms2wl4ldGsZuM0ug6opVZxBrN_sLb64uxfcCReDsjJTxg1dthOnnpJK0sgxWoYkRjIQ2kga_QITxWVIYMY/s1600/light3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMey9ygsb18upkcuTr1qN6GPdtgJkZq4hGYM7JYIEVR39BaX0VkluXPV3m3ms2wl4ldGsZuM0ug6opVZxBrN_sLb64uxfcCReDsjJTxg1dthOnnpJK0sgxWoYkRjIQ2kga_QITxWVIYMY/s320/light3.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Even though the kids bedrooms have lights, our two oldest boys have a sports themed room so I thought this light would look great in their room!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGNKuxqAXjy2kLFOoYculOy1MxOiY_pZO0jFc7eUKIIYf9Unrq0rZuc0Gc0yQQwWYdIbapGSpjPbWy8_-uuHZ0uBj4HuJYy34jl1SQqTpSrFbF_JhWC-tJDbcCBSA_WTZ77raO7pn63E/s1600/light2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWGNKuxqAXjy2kLFOoYculOy1MxOiY_pZO0jFc7eUKIIYf9Unrq0rZuc0Gc0yQQwWYdIbapGSpjPbWy8_-uuHZ0uBj4HuJYy34jl1SQqTpSrFbF_JhWC-tJDbcCBSA_WTZ77raO7pn63E/s200/light2.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm glad I found <a href="http://www.csnstores.com/">CSN Stores</a>. I love their selections, their outstanding customer service and how quickly everything arrives! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><strong>GIVEAWAY</strong></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">CSN Stores is going to give one lucky winner a $60 Gift Certificate to use in any of their 200+ stores. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Mandatory Entry:</strong></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Visit CSN <a href="http://www.csnlighting.com/">Lighting</a> and come back here and leave a comment on something you liked there! Please make sure you leave an email address so I can contact you if you win!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><strong>Extra Entries:</strong></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Be a public Follower of A Dad's Take (1 entry)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Subscribe to email updates from A Dad's Take (2 entries)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/pages/A-Dads-Take/130226483663298?ref=ts">A Dad's Take</a> on Facebook. (1 entry)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Like <a href="http://www.facebook.com/csnstores?ref=ts&v=app_4949752878">CSN Stores</a> on Facebook (1 entry)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Blog about this giveaway (5 entries)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank you and good luck! All entries must be received by 11:59 p.m. by July 13th. A winner will be chosen by random.org and winner will have 48 hours to respond.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>***Disclosure Statement: This is my honest opinion about CSN Stores and their products, this is not a paid post. I received no compensation for writing this***</strong></span></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com60tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-42291537957404808392010-06-28T20:13:00.000-07:002010-06-28T20:13:54.853-07:00Blood, Sweat and Tears!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Who knew watching 7 and 8 year olds playing baseball could be such an emotional roller coaster? It was one of the most exciting weekends ever since I started my job as "Dad" and I was reminded of just how much things like a baseball game can mean to a child! We had to be at the tournament Saturday morning by 8:45 a.m. and it's just under an hour drive from our house so we had to leave early but got there in plenty of time. Right before we left the house, we saw on the weather that we had a heat index warning. Yuck! Here's Drew, all ready to go! His coach bought them all these cool pawprint eyeblack stickers to wear. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4I3WhyIZAR_Uy4fWPMygUR0zIxse2wwGgHiLA0rtKBW_5VoBoRIAH15IyuNEzOD6Rgk66aPoFs1fub89TZhiKzNmaGMSiuR86o35Mfzy9QkEw8F7zEj9dswprS-G9-Jn6rY4qSy_zJYk/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4I3WhyIZAR_Uy4fWPMygUR0zIxse2wwGgHiLA0rtKBW_5VoBoRIAH15IyuNEzOD6Rgk66aPoFs1fub89TZhiKzNmaGMSiuR86o35Mfzy9QkEw8F7zEj9dswprS-G9-Jn6rY4qSy_zJYk/s320/012.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Wasn't long before the Bulldogs took over the park! It's like a big community party! All the kids play together and the little one's bounce from tent to tent eating and playing. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXpE9oHR36_Cow6WCcQU8OlHfZEfy15w-LJJbD2sy3J_K96TG8IgWyAObMPpAWSsWJtoaePeQ9HHoB25TgsCGGIKRpHYxl69z0tswwxz_m7m_yAXZvMZ9EnCtKDzauIhwQY3KS8d26V8/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtXpE9oHR36_Cow6WCcQU8OlHfZEfy15w-LJJbD2sy3J_K96TG8IgWyAObMPpAWSsWJtoaePeQ9HHoB25TgsCGGIKRpHYxl69z0tswwxz_m7m_yAXZvMZ9EnCtKDzauIhwQY3KS8d26V8/s320/019.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">My big guy hanging out in the dugout waiting for the 1st game to start! Gosh I can't believe how big he looks in his uniform. Seems like yesterday he was hitting off the tee and running to 3rd base first. He was so cute to watch when he was smaller! He never knew where to run when he hit the ball! Sometimes his coach would run with him just so he would actually run the bases. lol </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-kooJMzt9HeLnzDWNOfxiHw7BCNd_IV4n9nVHN4qQQiPM6YrRyaqG6hC5CiF9q9SRVG90cxv9G4h2Ogp45dnJTumi004vV6GHcih7W1LyPImdjVlP2GDnItJKbACVYU9_MXdeBFLuow/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz-kooJMzt9HeLnzDWNOfxiHw7BCNd_IV4n9nVHN4qQQiPM6YrRyaqG6hC5CiF9q9SRVG90cxv9G4h2Ogp45dnJTumi004vV6GHcih7W1LyPImdjVlP2GDnItJKbACVYU9_MXdeBFLuow/s320/027.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Batter's up!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUm0SU5bUj-rmdQ6R2X2_je-ELyPtjT7XGuFgnkGtduTkFA3vhtWm4hhxxaEXCq5jlkSo8zMZF9zr4v3olsyIzNklYqqzxNUmgtwVM8m_3esrRwk-uuc8E0wwycwqA2jKmQkbLgn7_4Gk/s1600/031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUm0SU5bUj-rmdQ6R2X2_je-ELyPtjT7XGuFgnkGtduTkFA3vhtWm4hhxxaEXCq5jlkSo8zMZF9zr4v3olsyIzNklYqqzxNUmgtwVM8m_3esrRwk-uuc8E0wwycwqA2jKmQkbLgn7_4Gk/s320/031.JPG" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">We lost the first game 0-7. Ouch. But we made it up by winning the next 2 games to make it back the next day for Semi-Finals!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">In between games we had a picnic lunch! We packed a couple coolers full of food and so did Grandma and Grandpa so we had enough for a feast!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHVP75aoO0it6sFFNAw34Z3RDQNKLeh_9N6Aw9E4zA1duE3Nc7-mgctkRTzs64VOW908KNdsOHl8_YwA0haFpZhUydry6C87xhCUyIf83SjMX7RSZgpIjp_E-Sp-Ux4DiuOzoBH-wdrA/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyHVP75aoO0it6sFFNAw34Z3RDQNKLeh_9N6Aw9E4zA1duE3Nc7-mgctkRTzs64VOW908KNdsOHl8_YwA0haFpZhUydry6C87xhCUyIf83SjMX7RSZgpIjp_E-Sp-Ux4DiuOzoBH-wdrA/s320/034.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">And of course here I am, right in the middle of it all!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImPIDrEWcXbKpCgbWp-fb3GD_cyQxQqdd-wqPVAPuO1HohIVj_L6XZ-C0CI9C0DkmNtjV7yiyl_ztEKc4Y5Jq0rDcHNPRXcJW0MqCtFGme0pVApP86HecPbRXREWCea0LK1dHVF-0sVU/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhImPIDrEWcXbKpCgbWp-fb3GD_cyQxQqdd-wqPVAPuO1HohIVj_L6XZ-C0CI9C0DkmNtjV7yiyl_ztEKc4Y5Jq0rDcHNPRXcJW0MqCtFGme0pVApP86HecPbRXREWCea0LK1dHVF-0sVU/s320/035.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Day 2! Ready to rock and roll but boy was it ever hot! We did our best to try to keep the boys in the shade when they weren't on the field!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84zClcLLT4wSY4anLSOeWSbPSn4UaaiKm1qSYALupLw6eja3EyRLA738QaIy-Y56zNrtAsyHX5H0S9jNp1np9BS16Bmc9AQKeej1UWlSi4W_Z116bIRzSnXvLZ2OyHPkYEcGZyTG8TYc/s1600/060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84zClcLLT4wSY4anLSOeWSbPSn4UaaiKm1qSYALupLw6eja3EyRLA738QaIy-Y56zNrtAsyHX5H0S9jNp1np9BS16Bmc9AQKeej1UWlSi4W_Z116bIRzSnXvLZ2OyHPkYEcGZyTG8TYc/s320/060.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">I love seeing a group of boys who just love to play ball! Andrew was smiling ear to ear the whole day. </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The last game we played was awesome. Our boys played like they had been playing together for years! We kept the lead the entire game. It came down to the last out, the last inning, the last batter and BAM! It ended as fast as it started. We lost by 1 run. Talk about heartbreak! Our boys fought so hard and put 110% effort into it and lost it all. Despite all of the cheers and words of encouragement from all of the fans, the heartbreak was so evident by the hung heads and the tears. It broke my heart for them! I couldn't wait to get out of there so I could wrap my arm around Drew and tell him how much I loved him and how proud I was of him. He is so soft hearted and just cried and cried on the way home. It made me wonder if we don't put too much pressure on them at such a young age. He loves the game, don't get me wrong. He loves playing baseball more than anything. I just hated to see him so disappointed. Of course, we dried those tears right up with a stop for ice cream! </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
What a weekend! And to think, we get to do it all over again in a couple weeks! </div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Gooooooooooo Bulldogs!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ygdJSla0lXfGer-bkgwMrygaUVxAm9LKP2BYDff1IlLagvE8ysAjwbcXjrvnXwLPZX_xJ1JjMUhHKWQxTXISVGQl1yd_vlQooQ1XsvD0QrPTCukynWcoeIQ-4dbF9xbB65GcyogQA8U/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4ygdJSla0lXfGer-bkgwMrygaUVxAm9LKP2BYDff1IlLagvE8ysAjwbcXjrvnXwLPZX_xJ1JjMUhHKWQxTXISVGQl1yd_vlQooQ1XsvD0QrPTCukynWcoeIQ-4dbF9xbB65GcyogQA8U/s320/024.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6-8ZY-0OOnl4dk_hULBrdAbvz_WHgufCldAQAJ_eyn8LXrbPeS_wa4jrWyo2KwBVot0kqg3odMbkdlzpJ3crhIF6dPJBj_Ad8difo0QfTfJJ7V961pqMp8MaMrlGzXyOz8YrZI672eI/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6-8ZY-0OOnl4dk_hULBrdAbvz_WHgufCldAQAJ_eyn8LXrbPeS_wa4jrWyo2KwBVot0kqg3odMbkdlzpJ3crhIF6dPJBj_Ad8difo0QfTfJJ7V961pqMp8MaMrlGzXyOz8YrZI672eI/s320/nicksign.png" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-47604866561426337022010-06-24T18:04:00.000-07:002010-06-24T18:04:55.672-07:00Let's go to the hop!I love Fridays because of all of the great blog hops! I am having so much fun getting to know all of the great Bloggers out there! And best of all, I get Saturday off of work! My son will be playing in his first baseball tournament of the season! He will be playing 2nd base for the Celina Bulldogs! Go Bulldogs! It's an all day tournament with 3 games. Going to be a tiring day but can't wait to watch him play! <br />
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Have a great weekend everyone!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTyOX3HFolcOknJrCMJ7M8VjDoBPv7yjVOmor0XNF9KeX_bcIDVBsW93rCwpqgE-MdVkXgnw6hlvkNauemmotKEJn_31xAHYfMK7Hqxlf0Bdrck3NzADh8lyf2hyphenhyphenbY1-ZpMlCeAEDF0A/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTyOX3HFolcOknJrCMJ7M8VjDoBPv7yjVOmor0XNF9KeX_bcIDVBsW93rCwpqgE-MdVkXgnw6hlvkNauemmotKEJn_31xAHYfMK7Hqxlf0Bdrck3NzADh8lyf2hyphenhyphenbY1-ZpMlCeAEDF0A/s320/nicksign.png" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://ontheverge6.blogspot.com/"><img alt="badge" border="0" current="followmefriday.jpg" src="http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l453/lydbruno/followmefriday.jpg" target="_blank" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://frugalnovice.com/"><img alt="Friendly Friday Button" height="125" src="http://i139.photobucket.com/albums/q310/christi3715/FriendlyFriday_Button.jpg" width="125" /></a>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-56893415186146614052010-06-24T17:03:00.000-07:002010-06-24T17:09:20.176-07:00My First Award!!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I have really enjoyed making my blog and am very grateful for all of you who have been stopping by and reading my tiny contributions to the blogosphere. I know I am in the minority (havn't found that many Dad Bloggers as of yet) however thanks to the few Dad's and all you Mom's for the great support. It has been fun reading all of your blogs too and I am enjoying getting to know all of you. Having said all of that, I am excited to have received my first Blog Award!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDRNzQV6TWEulqrZujI9zDcDuKdZu99aEmHJ4DJdZqyQHngIlZia7DfjJrc83i1ENKf7O-1dumK1-I8fYlByCOPAyROlAdYiZo0vgY36LP8evFT2mth6NBeX1Z2McoOUZb5a4irwQ53o/s1600/versatilebloggeraward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFDRNzQV6TWEulqrZujI9zDcDuKdZu99aEmHJ4DJdZqyQHngIlZia7DfjJrc83i1ENKf7O-1dumK1-I8fYlByCOPAyROlAdYiZo0vgY36LP8evFT2mth6NBeX1Z2McoOUZb5a4irwQ53o/s320/versatilebloggeraward.jpg" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Thank you to Jessica @ <a href="http://punkrockmomma.com/">Punk Rock Mama</a> for the award! I am honored to accept it!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The rules say I have to share 7 things about myself and then pass this award on to 15 other Bloggers so here goes!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">1.) I was born and raised in Southern Ohio but live a few hours North now where my Wife is from</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">2.) I would love to move somewhere down South like the Carolinas!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">3.) I tan really easy so my kids tell people that their Dad is Mexican (I'm not. lol)</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">4.) I love the Cincinnati Reds!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">5.) My favorite thing to do is watch my son play baseball.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">6.) This year will be my 10 year wedding anniversary</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">7.) I used to travel all over the country doing disaster work after hurricanes and ice storms. I spent several months in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina.</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Drumroll please......I would like to pass this award along to the following Blogs!</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">1.) Krystal @ <a href="http://life-is2-good.blogspot.com/">Life is 2 Good </a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">2.) Brittany @ <a href="http://www.notyouraverageteen.com/">Not Your Average Teen</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">3.) Stephanie @ <a href="http://www.sharingthepagesoflife.com/">Sharing the Pages of Life</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">4.) Alex @ <a href="http://www.mawhats4dinner.com/">Ma What's 4 Dinner</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">5.) Crystal @ <a href="http://www.threejewelsinmycrown.blogspot.com/">Three Jewels In My Crown</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">6.) Jia @ <a href="http://colormeuntypical.blogspot.com/">Color Me Untypical</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">7.) Beki @ <a href="http://mymodernguide.blogspot.com/">My Modern Guide</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">8.) Beth @ <a href="http://atrioofboys.blogspot.com/">A Trio of Boys</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">9.) Shelley @ <a href="http://bigjandlittlej.blogspot.com/">The Trials of Big J and Little J</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">10.) Deanna @ <a href="http://deannalw.blogspot.com/">Deanna Time</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">11.) Tina @ <a href="http://makingofamodernmommy.blogspot.com/">The Making of a Modern Mom</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">12.) Lindsay @ <a href="http://alittlekloep.com/">A Little Kloep</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">13.) Nicolle @ <a href="http://babeelove.com/">Babee Love</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">14.) Mike @ <a href="http://puzzlingposts.blogspot.com/">Puzzling Posts</a></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">15.) Heerow @ <a href="http://heerow.com/goheerow">Go Heerow</a></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-58700630599701517602010-06-23T22:57:00.000-07:002010-06-23T22:57:43.484-07:00A Daddy's PrayerDear God,<br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's me, Nick. I know you don't hear from me near enough. I don't go to church as often as I should and I know I do things that probably aren't very pleasing to you. But God, I have a special request today. You see, when I have gone to church in the past, I have heard the Preacher always talk about the fact that you might be considering coming back some day. I don't know all the details of that, but God, if you could do me just one small favor. You see, I have these 4 awesome children that you gave me but one of them is a daughter. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-L_XfVP_CRQB0O7eKmReT4uLUfnO67JcYRxvtbXbHRZeiUt1LzMn5HzYgavE620xr58PctviqzBGVfvR0V0lufwNmqXDXeR_lhHiHVQ7ufH0TMiIz_gm30lsEM3hBU6munnhYbdSlcw/s1600/My+princess.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB-L_XfVP_CRQB0O7eKmReT4uLUfnO67JcYRxvtbXbHRZeiUt1LzMn5HzYgavE620xr58PctviqzBGVfvR0V0lufwNmqXDXeR_lhHiHVQ7ufH0TMiIz_gm30lsEM3hBU6munnhYbdSlcw/s320/My+princess.jpg" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">She can be so great but I think she could possibly have multiple personalities. One minute she is sweet as can be and the next, she will be biting my head off or throwing the biggest fit I've ever seen. She is only 7 now and is already talking about "cute boys." She spends a lot of time talking on the phone and talking in a language that I don't understand. (TMI? ROTFL? BTW? IDTS? BFFF? OMG?) I spend a lot of time confused when I hear her and her talk. She also likes to put boys names inside of hearts all over every piece of paper in the house and she LOVES to put her Mom's lipstick on and leave kissy prints on the mirrors. She snaps her fingers and puts her hands on her hips like she deserves celebrity treatment. So God, if you could just do me one favor, if it's not asking too much, if you are going to, in fact, return to Earth, would you please make it happen before Emma is a teenager? I just don't think I am going to be able to handle all of that.</div><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Love,</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nqGi738VC4AiENhAhL3iFzGjrWlvmZ6aB9WxfdaSXLjJ2o9QjXsI5JbPTk5ThBBWhVH4cgrY1R0ZGi5c-MOkqcKH-bCUho_jsgu9QCi-_18GlJUVyP8RL_AoA3QdTe__9MUx7YD19Fc/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nqGi738VC4AiENhAhL3iFzGjrWlvmZ6aB9WxfdaSXLjJ2o9QjXsI5JbPTk5ThBBWhVH4cgrY1R0ZGi5c-MOkqcKH-bCUho_jsgu9QCi-_18GlJUVyP8RL_AoA3QdTe__9MUx7YD19Fc/s320/nicksign.png" /></a></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-9809470859540431042010-06-20T22:20:00.000-07:002010-06-20T22:20:24.579-07:00I'm So LuckyI work every weekend and this weekend was no exception. I didn't even leave to come home until midnight last night and I have a 45 min. drive. Then I had to stop for gas so by time I got home, it was almost 1 a.m. When I came in, my wife had me some supper cooked, thank God because I was starving. She told me that Emma had stayed awake as long as she could waiting on me until she finally had crashed about 5 minutes before I got home. I went into the living room where she was sleeping on the couch and this is what she was holding in her arms. It must have taken a lot for her to stay awake that long!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijulNO5I1NXOanGYAmBeRfWvOSvfH6FWK_4y2qQSdX2hEl06s_kM9XXuln6LPSZqpCMsFBkUKFd2LT1hMNsszQOkR-b_B3kgq8ImZjLNZTP-5Hpv-990tmjSfpb-BVqoqaUzvtPv2ipag/s1600/daddy.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijulNO5I1NXOanGYAmBeRfWvOSvfH6FWK_4y2qQSdX2hEl06s_kM9XXuln6LPSZqpCMsFBkUKFd2LT1hMNsszQOkR-b_B3kgq8ImZjLNZTP-5Hpv-990tmjSfpb-BVqoqaUzvtPv2ipag/s320/daddy.bmp" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How cute is that? I am so lucky to have such great and thoughtful kids. I love it when I get home from work and they come running up to me to hug me because they are so happy for me to be home. It feels so good to be loved so much. It's a love that only a parent can explain or understand. They are growing up so fast. Much faster than I would like for them to. But I love watching what wonderful children they are growing into. I saw this poem one day. I have no idea who wrote it but I really liked it.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny handprints grow so fast</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Their awkward groping soon will clasp</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A ball, a book, a sweetheart's hand</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A diploma, briefcase, a wedding band.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny handprints grow so strong</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It doesn't take them very long</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To snap a shirt, to paint, to draw</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To work hard, to drive a car.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny handprints grow to be</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A person that is quite unique.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A wonderful mix of so many things</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">With his own feelings, thoughts and dreams.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny handprints, grow to rely</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">On his parents to bring him up just right</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">His parent's pray that when he's grown</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He'll say their job has been well done.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tiny handprints are ours to love</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The sweetest gift from God above</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A miracle that never is surpassed</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How sad they grow up way too fast.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hope I can always remember my children just as they are today. Sweet and innocent. Loving and caring. I want so many things for my children and I can only hope that I can be a good example...the kind of Dad they can look up to and respect and not be ashamed of. I hope that I can be the kind of Dad that when my kids introduce me to their friends, they proudly say, "This is my Dad." </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hope all of you had a wonderful Father's Day weekend!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I4NBqfdwjtSs1uZWK9lVrlt6iNAUKo7t6t4oqqPss-RKC-I2GgrFB9dCHUTValLTIwGnHSpcwbcLAe5tUY00WLjugurknwkAxS5RAOPXoPUzZzI5m8S0Y3MxQj5CHMSXMRnJWgBvwk4/s1600/nicksign.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ru="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9I4NBqfdwjtSs1uZWK9lVrlt6iNAUKo7t6t4oqqPss-RKC-I2GgrFB9dCHUTValLTIwGnHSpcwbcLAe5tUY00WLjugurknwkAxS5RAOPXoPUzZzI5m8S0Y3MxQj5CHMSXMRnJWgBvwk4/s320/nicksign.png" /></a></div>Nickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11053906500232629999noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6225252742191438356.post-29069559520073150562010-06-17T20:55:00.000-07:002010-06-17T20:55:18.572-07:00Another week gone......Happy Friday!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.smartandtrendymoms.com/search/label/socialparade" target="_blank"><img alt="Smart and Trendy Moms" border="0" src="http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy64/smartandtrendymoms/bloghop.png" /></a></div><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><center><a href="http://thetrendytreehouse.blogspot.com/search/label/Follow%20Me%20Fridays" target="_blank"><img alt="FollowMeFridays" border="0" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/4561636400_1ebd2cdce2_o.jpg" /></a></center><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://friday-follow.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="friday-follow" border="0" src="http://i358.photobucket.com/albums/oo22/iamharriet/ff/button1.jpg" /></a></div><br />
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<a href="http://www.thegirlcreative.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="The Girl Creative" src="http://i456.photobucket.com/albums/qq286/happielife32/NewFriendFridayButton.png" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.homegrownfamilies.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j120/missie1413/bunnybloghop.jpg" /></a><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><center><a href="http://www.mynewlifeasmom.com/search/label/Blog%20Hop%20Friday"><img border="0" src="http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s317/stephaniesblog/button2-3.png" /></a></center><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">Happy Friday and a Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there! Hope your day is great!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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