Lets' roll!

Chandler and Graham really do enjoy each other. Even though sometimes Graham wants what Chandler has and Chandler wants to be left alone, they do spend a lot of time laughing and jumping on each other. They both like to dance and run around the house, and sometimes they ride Chandler's old tricycle around the dining room! I am not sure why Graham is sticking out his tongue. Maybe he wants Chandler to inspect him for thrush.

In a box

Graham loves to get inside of things. Cabinets, laundry baskets, hat boxes, even oversized packaging. To prove this point, here is Graham putting himself in a rubbermaid bin. It normally holds Veggie Tales toys, but Graham decided to make it his new home.

Bulf

Well, we were going to have the Carrolls over for some games and food last night, but it didn't happen. About four o' clock, Graham starting acting lathargic. I gave him a bath and he started shivering like crazy. I snuggled him tight and dressed him in his warmest jammies. Karla took his temparture with the rectal (ouch) thermometer and it said 102.7. That was that. I called the Carrolls to cancel and then Graham barfed. Karla camped out downstairs with him in case they both got sick. I took Chandler to bed with me in case he would start. Karla and Graham were up most of the night and I finally went to bed for the last time around 4am. Graham is doing ok this morning, he has a tylenol suppository in him (ouch). We'll see how it goes today. If possible, I need to do some laundry, and am ready to rush to the hospital. After all, it is that time of year.

Watch out!

Graham got his new babysitter today, and boy, I'll bet she is worn out. Because Graham doesn't really like it when people leave. And when mommy, Chandler or I go anywhere without him, he wakes the dead with his screams. That being said, we Thought it might be prudent to have the babysitter over a couple of times beforehand to get him used to her. That seemed to work. He had a few tiny fits, but most of the time he kept it together.

This morning, however, was a different story all together. Chandler and I did our usual sneak out the side door on our way to school before Graham see us thing. And that worked. It doesn't always. Then the babysitter arrived, and the world ended. They even try to trick Graham with the old, let's go see the cat in the basement routine, while Karla made a bee-line (etymology?) for the door. He lost it! He couldn't be calmed down and went into a full-fledged panic attack running around and searching for "Momma".

Ring. Ring. "This is Mark". That was the next obvious course of action. So I headed home determined to find a way to keep him from tossing his cookies. When I opened the door he was tugging on the gate to the upstairs and gasping "Mah mah". He ran to me and climbed up into my arms and spent 15 minutes struggling for breath and making strange noises. I 'm not sure how to describe them, kind of a burp and a breath at the same time.

Anyway, he calmed down a little and I proceeded to get out toys from every room. I even went downstairs and got Chandler's old Vespa riding toy and refurbished it with new batteries. He was a slightly hesitant rider but then proceeded to drive it around a little. Not really drive around, since he didn't even attempt to steer. We got out his coloring book and put in the TMBG DVD. Then I kept going from room to room without him hoping he wouldn't follow. Graham looked for me right away for the first few attempts, but then the babysitter took him downstairs and played the LeapPad. Then he came up looking for me and wasn't all that interested because I had untangled the giant mess of Plug-N-Play games that was in Chandler's room and had brought them down for him to play with. I wandered into the kitchen and then snuck out the side door. I called the house about 20 minutes later and they were doing fine. Crisis averted. And by crisis, I mean gallons of puke.

Bee-line
The phrase derives from the behavior of bees. When a forager bee finds a source of nectar it returns to the hive and communicates its location to the other bees, using a display called the waggle dance. The other bees are then able to fly directly to the source of the nectar, i.e. 'make a beeline' for it.

uh-oh

Today Graham said uh-oh. Chandler started by saying it and then Graham said it back to all of us. Cute kid.

Today I walked on the treadmill for a little over 2 miles. I am trying to do 10 miles a week for a couple of weeks and the increase to 20 miles a week by Spring. I know, good luck. I also have this great collection of DVD's that I want to watch while I walk, but I can't find them. Poor me.

Oh yeah, I got in touch with this guy I used to go to grade school with. It is kind of neat to converse with someone who you haven't spoken to in over 25 years. Gotta love the internet.

Karla made crusted salmon, salad and couscous for dinner tonight. It was really good, but it had a spicy horseradish kick. Afterwards, I had an apple with peanut butter to cool my palette. Yum.

I really need to start thinking about two projects I want to work on. My children's book and stuffed toys. I am not sure when I will have time or the energy to start something new, but I want to be able to find the drive somehow.

I finally finished the initial round of scrapbook paper, rub-ons, etc... It was a lot of hard work. The files were enormous and they took over 5 hours just to resave them. I worked from 8am-3am Monday and Tuesday and from 8am-12am on Wednesday. I skipped lunch a couple of days to make it work. I just found out (which I had a feeling) they want different files. Oh well, I will go in tomorrow and covert them all. It should only take 2-3 hours at the most. I hope.

Brick Boy

Most people assume our oldest acquired his name from the TV show "Friends." But in reality, Karla and I both agreed our first born, regardless of gender, would have her maiden name, Chandler.

And because he is doomed to never have his a name on a novelty license plate or a T-shirt, I am always on the lookout for other things that bear his name. It is a relentless pursuit and has been both enlightening and humorous at times.

First and foremost, at least for printing aficionados, is the letterpress manufacturer, Chandler and Price. If you know of a century old letterpress that is running today, there is a good chance it is a C&P. Author Raymond Chandler, who created the fictional detective Philip Marlowe, also shares his name with our boy.

There are two popular definitions of a chandler. The first meaning is simply one who makes or sells candles, and the second is a person who sells supplies and provisions.

I am also aware of Kentucky politician Happy Chandler and Dr. Chandler who used to make all sorts of weird medicines and tonics. (You can find his signs, medicine boxes and bottles on eBay.) Don't forget your geography, there is also a Chandler, Arizona. However, the most interesting to me is The Chandler Motor Car Company, who produced automobiles in the good old USA during the 1910s and 1920s. That little car company was purchased by another who then had a ill-fated partnership with another car company, the Graham-Paige Motor Co. Coincidence? Actually, yes.

Last, but not least, there is also a Chandler, Oklahoma. And to prove its importance, behold a mighty brick from the Oklahoma Territory! Supposedly, this brick was made BEFORE Oklahoma accepted statehood in 1907. That makes it special. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and do some more useless crap.

Ye old Book covers

Here are some rejected cover options for the Mileage Pro book I did back in 2005. The last one is a screen capture from Amazon of the final book cover. It still uses my illustrations but the red and name placement at the bottom is someone else. I also did all of the spot illustrations inside the book.

An additional note about this. The client informed me after a few rounds that women aren't frequent flyer travelers. Which is why you see men only options for the latter designs. Opinions?

Graham

Here is a photo of Graham in the clubhouse. I took this photo in November before he got a much needed haircut. Enjoy!
What you looking at kid?

A Night in the Museum

This movie is great! Chandler and I met up with the Stearn crew today for a fine old time at the movies. It was funny in all the right places and the quick pace was just right to entertain kids and adults alike. It was a bit like Jumanji, except not as scary. The CG was very convincing and the creatures were right on target! It was really a lot of fun! I recommend taking your 5+ kids to see it today! Get out there and boost that economy! Yeah!

Karla is a beer

From the German brewer Karlsberg: Marketing beer as a functional, healthy, peace-promoting tool for women. Packaged to appeal, "Karla" is a blend of beer, fruit juice, and balancing herbs. So now when you think of booze, think healthy and think of my wife. There use to be another Karla beer from Portugal or something. That shows up every once in a while on eBay.

Tonight or last night it seems

Wendy, Brian and Savannah came by for a visit tonight. We haven't really seen them since they moved to North Carolina. For dinner we ate Bandana's, which is always good and played Catch Phrase. Catch Phrase is a lot of fun, it is just like the 20,000 pyramid but with no payday. Klondike. We got it, but what else is it besides an ice cream bar? To find out more, look below. Of course, Brian had a problem getting "juice". I said, "apple and oranges", "a drink that is squeezed", "you drink it", and "fruit, blank". I know, that is a REAL toughy. We had a lot of fun making fun of each other and the kids played real good together. It was also so nice outside Graham and I went out for a little bit and he swung on the swings and climbed around in his cozy coupe. Global warming is true!

We get to see Kelsi and family tomorrow. Woo-hoo! And I finally met with the scrapbookers and everything is a go. I just have to refine a couple of things and we are off and running. Remind myself, I have to resize some sheets, make a list of names for the new paper lines, and something else. Hopefully, I can find the sheet at work where I wrote this info. Oh yeah, I also need to enter my time. I hope to do that tomorrow. Oh fun!

Graham can say and define so many animals. If you say owl, he hoots. If you say cow, he moos. If you say dog, he kind of barks or ruffs. He roars at lion and lifts his arm at elephant. He says cat if you say cat, but he won't meow. He can baa, kind of bleat, and makes some attempt at a chirp. He will tell you what a duck is but he hasn't started quacking. I am sure it won't be long. Graham can also identify some people and things from TV shows and books. He says mama, dada and Chandler. What else? Many things. I am basically keeping track so I can remember later. I was thinking of starting him in on colors, numbers and letters. We need to get out the Sesame Street tapes and ye old flash cards.

Here is some info that might of helped us with Klondike. It is an ice cream bar (What would you do for a Klondike Bar?) and a solitaire game, both of which I knew. It is also the name of a famous Gold Rush which I am sad to say I don't remember from my history lessons. According to Wikipedia, "The Klondike Gold Rush was a frenzy of gold rush immigration to, and gold prospecting along, the Klondike River near Dawson City in the Yukon Territory, Canada, after gold was discovered in the late 19th century." I also found out that Klondike is a river, a mail and freight delivery business, known as Klondike Airways, and a mush trail in Canada. It is also a national park in Skagway Alaska which still has several of the buildings from the KGR. Any questions? Class dismissed.

Worst score ever

Bob, Phil and I went to see Eragon the other night. I wouldn't say I had high hopes for it, but I thought it might be somewhat entertaining. Hmmm. I was wrong. I wouldn't say it was horrible, but the story borrows much of its premise and characters from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. And the story was written by a 15 year-old kid, (who must have been watching Star Wars at the time) so what do you expect?

Well, actually, that was the least of its problem. The back story is hardly mentioned and the characters aren't ever developed at all. The dialogue is every bit as good as soomething from George Lucas, which is to say, it sucks. Some characters talk forever and others hardly talk at all. When I wanted to find out more, I couldn't, and when I couldn't care less, I found out way too much. As far as technical craft, there was really cool animation and the dragon scenes were flawless, but the actors had absolutely nothing to do but grimace through contrived crap and wait to hear cut.

The musical score was one of the worst I have ever heard. It was loud and powerful at story moments and forlorn at almost comical spots. The movie was around an hour and a half, but it felt much much longer. And not in a good way.

Needless to say, I am not going to the sequel. Unless of course, it is 50 cent popcorn Tuesday and I have a full frontal labotomy.

Fake website

I created a website for a client of ours, sort of. We were supposed to show them how it would function and what it would look like so I mocked up three linking pages. I think it looks pretty good. Take a gander. No charge.

Star Wars Christmas

Well, its over. And man, did my kids get a lot for Christmas. Spoiling is one of my true talents. Chandler recieved a good deal of the Star Wars universe, Battle Packs, the Imperial Shuttle and the toy I always wanted, the At-At. He received the Evolutions clone trooper set, Kit Fisto Starfighter and some other figures, too! He also got a few Avatar toys including the Aang launching Appa. No luck on the stuffed Appa, but I am holding out hope for birthdays. Graham got a wagon, some books and a lot off cars and trucks. He spent a lot of his time in that wagon on Christmas.

Christmas morning Chandler woke up nice and early and got right to business, checking to see if reindeer had eaten the carrots and if Santa had enjoyed his snack of milk and cookies. Uurp. Check. Then we tore open presents and started playing with the toys. Check. Karlas parents came for a visit and after they played with the kids, ate some lunch and played Garbage they went to visit Aunt Judy in Decatur.

The kids were in pretty good spirits for most of the day. Graham was getting over a nasty ear infection, so he was still a little crabby, but he did ok. Chandler had a growth on his neck, (turned out to be a swollen gland from an infection) and it hurts him a little, but antibiotics are on the case. We went to bed early and slept in late. Especially Chandler who slept until after 7:30am! He must of let himself relax after all the Santa anticipation. I'm still a little tired, but I have some time to catch up before next Christmas. Snore.

Toofers

Well, they're out! It wasn't an easy process, but Chandler was a big guy and took it like a small 9-year old. He finally lost his first two teeth. Since his new teeth were bursting out right behind his baby teeth, we decided it was time to consult a dentist. (I must warn you the rest of this tale will be presented second hand, since Karla took our first-born herself.) They went yesterday afternoon, and the dentist wanted Chandler to wiggle those teeth out himself. No luck, apparently wiggling teeth are not one of Chandler's strong suits. So they gave him an option, he could try to wiggle them for the next few weeks or the dentist could pull them out right then and there. Amazingly, he opted for the latter. He must of really wanted those teeth! So they numbed him up and yanked them out. He did great and hasn't complained a bit. He has two small dents where his teeth used to be, but his other teeth are right behind them, so it is hard to tell. I took a few pictures and I will try to put it up soon. I'll add to this post if I do. Oh yeah, he wanted to show his friends, but greed and child-like wonder got the better of him last night and he put them under his pillow instead. Karla had told him since he had two teeth pulled at the dentist, he might get a little extra something from the tooth fairy. And guess what? He got three bucks! Lucky duck.

Peace, love and baby toofs

that looks horrible...

That's what Chandler said about my dad's (Papa) big scar after his surgery last week. Papa is doing ok, but could be better. Chandler and Graham both had fevers on Thursday night and then on Friday morning they were gone. So, me being the optimist (witty comment goes here), I decided to go ahead with the Saturday O&D Christmas party. We cleaned the house, not from top to bottom, mind you, but it got a good old fashioned scrubbing. Karla made food and I kept the kids at bay with music, snacks and lightsaber duels. Actually it wasn't too hard. Chandler was mostly playing in his room and Graham spent all of his time dancing, snacking, looking at books or watching TV.

We took Chandler over to my mom(Meme) and papa's house, because Chandler wanted some quality time with them before they went back to Florida. I had forgot I had about a million presents over there I still have to wrap, so I covered all of them with big comforters and closed the office door. It wasn't necessary, however, since Meme kept Chandler occupied and away from that room. While Chandler was gone, Graham did pretty good and wasn't into much mischief. We decided that Graham might be better at the p's until the party was almost over, so we switched kids. I took Graham to my moms and Chandler came home. Chandler was most excited about Brianna coming over to play. Karla and I finished getting everything ready and finally moved the freezer to the basement! Hooray!

Shortly after, everyone arrived. To keep from boring you anymore than is absolutely necessary, the food was awesome and everyone had a good time. Chandler took everyone's coats and then disappeared with Brianna to play. After a few people left, we returned with Graham and he entertained the remaining guests by properly identifying a cat, dog, tree, duck, his brother, a cow, a bird, an elephant, and saying "moo" for a pig. He also sang the chorus of "Fake Believe" by They Might be Giants, whom Graham refers to simply as "D". Then the bash (ha-ha) broke up and we got the kids to bed at a somewhat reasonable hour. We all slept in a little bit, which means we woke up around 7:00am. Chandler slept the latest on record, 8ish (I think) which broke his previous record of 7:30am. Karla, the kids and I hung around the house and then I, with Chandler in tow, went to find a present for Papa. We did lunch first, which is the custom with Chandler, then off to the store to find the gift. What I wanted to get was the JBL Onstage II. We used to have the JBL Onstage I, and really liked it, but it broke. I forget the details, but since we purchased it from Target (comment of shock and dismay here), we returned and got the much more extravagant, and much more expensive, Apple Hi-Fi. That thing rocks and or rolls! Anyway, I digress (more shock and awe). We went to many stores and no one had exactly what I was looking for, and if you know me, anything else will just not do. We went to all of the super stores, electronic stores and even a few stores in the mall, before I dropped off Chandler at home and went back out to the most evil of all retailers, WALMART (Ahhhhhhh nooooooooo!!!!). In case no one know this about me, I hate Walmart. And until very recently I haven't been in 7 or 8 years. (Thanks to my Star Wars buying obsession, I have travelled its foul smelling corridors a few times in search of hard to find figures). I still hate it, but you have to do what you have to do. Well, I sold my soul for nothing, because they didn't have it either. But, somehow, even in the darkest of places, you can have hope. And by hope I mean this wicked Phillips speaker set with ipod dock that sounded great and was the ipod signature color, white. And by the way, buying a black ipod is boring. It looks like every other piece of media out there. Get a white, silver or any color, just not black, only because black is cliche when it come to electronics. Oh, I have a black ipod. Boring... Yawn. (feel free to place other words of exhaustion here) Speaking of exhaustion I am sure you are exhausted reading this, but I just started this blog and it needs a lot more density. So just put a scarf in it.

So to bring this dissertation to a close, the kids are sick again (shock), Papa APPEARED to like his present, and Meme, Chandler and I, washed, and partially dried seven large comforters at the laundrymat. Then we came home, snacked around and went to bed. I have to lay in our bed with Graham or he gives Karla a hard time, so I did that for a while, came downstairs, realized I had a sore throat, drank some vitamin C, ate a little late dinner and typed this novel. You ask, he gave up sleep for this? I know, probably not worth it.

Oh yeah, one more thing, Chandler has two sets of teeth at the bottom of his mouth. It is a little disturbing. I will take a picture for posterity. He will probably have to have his front baby teeth pulled, yuck!!! His permanent teeth are almost fully in and right behind the baby ones, He says it doesn't hurt and they don't really wiggle at all. Oh well, I 'll just say ...that looks horrible... and leave it there!

Peace my childrens

Twice Upon a Time

I am including this movie in here for one reason, it rocks! I wish I could find the uncut version, but according to everything I have read, it doesn't exist. Boo hoo! Anyway, it's a very clever movie that utilizes an animation technique known as lumage, which uses a light table and cut outs. I saw this (uncut) on HBO and Showtime long ago and always wanted to find a copy for my very own. I actually have this movie on laserdisc... yes, I still have a laserdisc player. In my day, we didn't have compression, we saw movies the way God intended, on a oversized record-like disc that could hold a whopping 55 minutes per side! Now, be a good boy and hand me my cane!
By the way, if you have the uncut version of this, please be kind and share. If not, be gone! And at least I don't have it on Beta.

New logo, new name, same great place

The Marc Center (now officially known as MARC) wanted a new logo for their holiday mailing. I addressed the issue of MARC as the new name and created a new logo. What you see above is the simplified, non-gender specific logo. You might remember I created the identity of the Marc Center in 2002. The services MARC and SPICE provide are invaluable, and I feel compelled to help their efforts in branding and improving their efforts to receive help from the community. If you want to learn more about MARC and see the website I designed (someone else programmed,) go to www.marcofillinois.org. Send them an email and get the holiday mailing I designed which features a wonderful story about SPICE and one the many children they help. Give a little. Peace, love and laserdiscs.

Best Christmas Specials

I love Christmas specials. It was a real treat to see kids programming at night. My, how things change.

A = All Ages
7 = If wanting kids to be kids wait until 7 or later

Best Christmas specials (no particular order)
Charlie Brown Christmas (A)
Year without a Santa Claus (A)
Santa Claus is Coming to Town (A)
Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (A)
Frosty the Snowman (A)
Olive the Other Reindeer (A) J. Otto Seibold ills. are awesome!
T'was the Night before Christmas (A)
Emmet Otter's Jugband Christmas (A) I love this one!
The Grinch that Stole Christmas (A) can be scary for little ones
The Happy Elf (Chandler loves this one) (A)
Rudolph's Shiny New Year (A) not Christmas, but same season
Polar Express (A) Chandler has so much fun at this movie. He clapped and shouted and loved every minute of it. Afterwards, a group of college-age girls pulled us aside and said they have never had more fun in a movie and it was all thanks to Chandlers genuine excitement and love of this movie! Hooray!
A Christmas Story (7) Nostalgia they won't get, might want to wait!
Elf (7) a newcomer, but really funny – most kids would be fine, but some adult situations
Nightmare Before Christmas (7) (can be scary for little ones)
Scrooged (Wait until they are older, maybe even 10+)

Exchango

This little spot drawing is from a book I illustrated a while back. The book contains sepia versions of this illustration, but I really like it in full color glory. It harkens from a Seuss-like place deep with the recesses of my mind. Horton would have been proud.