THE ODA MAE BABY BLOG

So Long Folks...

2007-02-19T08:37:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been fun. It's been real. It's even been real fun, but the time has come to move along. Thanks for all of the readership here at The Oda Mae Baby Blog. I hope you will all follow me over to...

The Famfare

Make sure to link to the new site, blogroll me and all that good stuff.

See you there!

Best wishes.

-Oda Daddy

Gettin' Ready for Bed

2007-02-16T21:39:00.000-06:00

Tonight, Oda Mae and I were playing around a little during bath time.

She loves it when I do this...

No, really...

Nite, nite...

-OD

Not 'Till Monday...

2007-02-15T21:33:00.000-06:00

Okay, I've decided not to start the new blog until Monday. That'll give me the weekend to finish things up a bit. I'll have more readers then anyway.

Here is a video that Oda Mae made yesterday. She would like you all to take a look. ENJOY!!!

-OD

Happy Valentines Day!

2007-02-14T22:09:00.000-06:00

A couple of things for today...

First of all, Happy Birthday to Oda Mae's new best friend, "Lucy Mae" who was born this afternoon. Yep, our friends got themselves a Valentines Baby, that's pretty cool. We'll have some very cute pictures up after we have a chance to go visit tomorrow.

Oda Mae had a very good Valentines...

Blog from the past...
Remember the hike last Fall?

Thursday, September 28, 2006

It's funny how God likes to play practical jokes on people. I really believe that God has a sense of humor. I believe that He wants us to grow, learn, and be spiritual and stuff, but at the same time He wants us to enjoy life and really check out the things He can do. Sometimes things happen to us and we don't understand why, but if you look really close there is probably some humor in it somewhere. A reason for everything I always say.

I'm not sure the "new" blog will be ready tomorrow or not. It might be. Just know that until it is, The Oda Mae Baby Blog will continue to run smoothly. If it is not ready tomorrow, it'll be ready in a few days. I've got some "bugs" to work out still (both in my head and on the computer). I'd really like the new blog to be something special so I just want to make sure that everything is the way it should be.

So, until tomorrow, here or there....

-OD

It's Cold Outside

2007-02-13T15:49:00.000-06:00

We can't wait to have days like this again...

Tuesday, May 30, 2006

We are currently having difficulties with the "New" blog site. Hopefully I'll have it up and running on Thursday, but don't be disappointed if it isn't there yet. Don't forget, I'll put up a link here at The Oda Mae Baby Blog as soon as it is ready.

-OD

Oda Momma is Too Cool!!!!!!

2007-02-12T08:25:00.000-06:00

Oda Momma got to get her picture taken with the one, the only, Willie Nelson this weekend over at the Nokia Theater. It was a benifit concert so I didn't get to go 'cause tickets were $500.00 each for the cheap ones. However, I did get to play one song with the one, the only, Nanci Griffith over at Bass Hall. I know, I know...I said the same thing, "Who's Nanci Griffith?". You gotta take what you can get.

Some of my favorite blog post have been when we go out for outings. Like this one when we went to the park.

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

A couple posts from the past....

2007-02-11T17:50:00.000-06:00

This post on Friday, March 24, 2006 inspired this post of

Tuesday, March 28, 2006

Totally Funny!!!!!!

-OD

Becoming a SAHD

2007-02-10T22:28:00.000-06:00

One of my favorite post of all time was the series of posts I did on the day of the "Big Experiment". We were going to try out the whole stay-at-home-dad thing. Oda Momma went out for the day and Oda Mae and I spent the the day together, just the two of us for the first time.

You'll have to scroll down to the very bottom of the page to start reading this series.

Friday, June 3, 2005

-OD

Wakin' Up

2007-02-09T18:57:00.000-06:00

Here's a pic of Oda Mae wakin' up from this afternoons nap. I should have taken pics of Oda Momma and I as well just wakin' up from a nap today too.

Today's look at the past was a pic I took of Oda Mae when she was playing Star Wars!

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

All Good Things....

2007-02-08T14:20:00.000-06:00

Like I said last week, it's been more than two years since I started this blog. I believe that things have run their course. I tend to not be posting very much and even the pics have slowed way down. I still enjoy blogging. I still enjoy taking care of Oda Mae. It just seems that there really needs to be a change. Next Wednesday, February 14th will mark the end of The Oda Mae Baby Blog.

I'll keep the site up for a while while I begin archiving my little journal of the last 2 1/2 years. I can't tell you how much fun I've had with this project. I started way back on Saturday, August 21, 2004, with my first blog post. Since then we've gone through pregnancy. We had a little girl. I became a stay-at-home-dad. And now, Oda Mae is very quickly turning into a little kid. How crazy is that. After Oda Mae was born several people asked me if I was going to keep posting. Well, it was more like..."You ARE going to keep posting, AREN'T YOU????!!!!!" And of course I said yes.

This blog has helped me stay in touch with my family and friends. I've even been able to make some new friends through the "Mommy" and "Daddy" bloggers network I have over there to the right. It's really nice to know I'm not the only one in the world who is staying home with their kid. It's even better to know that we all have the same problems, questions and concerns. These are the reasons that I've decided to start a new blog. The new blog will begin on February 15, 2007 at a currently "undisclosed" location. Like I said, I just need a change. I've been working on new projects that I really didn't think were appropriate for the "Baby Blog"; I have lots of new ideas that I'd like to talk about, and that will give the new blog a personality of its own. On the 14th I'll put up a link to the new site. I hope to see you all there!

In the meantime, this week I'll be linking to my favorite posts of all time from The Oda Mae Baby Blog. I think that would be a very nice way of bring things to a close.

My first look back at TOMBB is the post where Oda Momma and I told our families the good news.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004

-OD

Little Miss Grownin' up...

2007-02-01T14:40:00.000-06:00

More that two years have passed since I started this blog. Since that time I've come to learn a lot about my self, a lot about Allison, and a lot about what I want out of life. Recently, I realized that Oda Mae is not a baby anymore. She is turning into a wonderful little girl. (with the exception of that whole "NO" thing.) This week, I've found that it is easier to teach her something new and positive rather than to try and get her to stop saying "NO". We are working on "Yes (NO), sir", etc. It seems to be taking a little bit of the edge off of "NO". We'll see how things turn out in the coming weeks.

Doing this, I've realized that now is the time to begin teaching her good manners. All of the "magic" words, being polite around other kids; all that kind of stuff. I hope that I'm not starting too late. Hind sight is 20/20 you know. I look back and see where I could have been doing so much more all this time. Please don't let my kid turn out to be a hoodlum!!!!

I suppose all parents feel this way; not knowing if they are doing the right things or doing them enough. I figure that ultimately, she will turn out to be the person she is meant to be. What ever that means. I can just try to teach her not only to look out for herself, but to watch out for others as well.

In the meantime, we'll play with our Little People, try to keep food off of the floor, and learn cool stuff like hopping like a frog. Speaking of Little People, we had a pretty big hit yesterday. Go check them out....

EDIT: Of course, after I make this blog post, this evening Oda Mae goes and sticks mac-n-cheese up her nose. I really wanted not to laugh, but I just couldn't help it. Someday I'll have a picture of that to show to future suitors.

-OD

NO!

2007-01-30T20:08:00.000-06:00

Yep, she learned it. I don't know exactly when or where, but she's got it down. It all happend after Oda Mae went to go spend the night with Aunt Sis last week. (Now I'm wondering exactly what they did that night.) The last couple of days, Oda Mae has been running around the house saying "No...No...No...No...". "Do you want your juice?", "NO!". "Let's go change your diaper.", "NO!". "Will you help Momma pick up your toys?", "NO!". "Are you sleepy?", "NO!"

You get the idea.

Oda Momma told me yesterday that someone told her that if you can make it past 2, then when she turns 3, she would be really fun. Oda Mae isn't even 2 yet. I'm not so sure I'm going to make it that far!

On another, more fun note, Oda Mae had her first beater today....

On an even more happier note, me and Oda Momma are going to eat a piece of what that beater made while watching an episode of Smallville. Woo Hoo!!!

-OD

Since Nov. 13

2007-01-23T22:21:00.000-06:00

Since November 13th I've been running and practising a lot. My chops are in pretty good shape now (first time since Oda Mae was born) and I've lost 25 lbs. The audition was Monday morning. I did not play as well as I could have. That's how auditions are, kind of a crap shoot. Sometimes you play well sometimes you don't. It wasn't awful mind you, but it wasn't good enough. I came home from D.C. a day early and about $300.00 less in the old bank account. (Auditions are expensive!)The good thing is that I know the person who won. I play as well or better than he does. It just goes to show that it's all up to who plays the best on that particular day.

There is another audition coming up in about two months for a group in Ohio. Over the next couple of weeks I'll consider whether or not I want to audition for them or not. It's a pretty big gig, so I'll have to really think about it.

In the mean time, I'll just keep doing this...

...it's not so bad really.

Tomorrow, Oda Momma leaves for a couple of days so it'll just be me and Oda Mae. Maybe we'll do a little photo shoot or something to make us all feel better.

That is all.

-OD

Snow Day!!!!

2007-01-17T09:28:00.000-06:00

Maw

2007-01-16T08:44:00.000-06:00

The "Oda" family lost someone very special to us last week. We know that she is in a better place now.

We love you Maw!

I like the Wizard of Oz...

2007-01-06T19:24:00.000-06:00

I like the Tin Man.

-OD

Picture courtesy of Nonchalant Savant.

Cue End Credits

2007-01-03T22:27:00.000-06:00

Today was the last day of class for The Little Gym this semester. I have to admit that Oda Mae and I were both a little skeptical about going to such a place back in August. We were going to be out some $$$ for a whole semester of "play" time. I was worried that we wouldn't really be getting our money's worth. Since I stay at home during the day, I can do all sorts of stuff with her without somebody telling me what we should do. Our first day, if you'll remember left something to be desired.

Looking back, I'm really glad we enrolled for the Fall semester. She has learned so much. She loves to run in circles now; she hangs on the bars better than anyone else in the class; she can almost walk on the balance beam by herself. All of these little tasks are great, but the real sense of accomplishment is seeing her become more and more social and seeing how much she can learn in such a short amount of time. I have to say also, that I've grown as well. Today at The Little Gym, I had no less than five little kids (besides my own) hanging around me want to play ball, look at bubbles, and sit in my lap. What a great feeling! There were a couple of sessions this semester that I would rather have been sitting in an office somewhere doing paperwork. There were times when I wish Oda Mae and I could have just stayed home, but I'm happy that we didn't. We have both adjusted very well. I'm not that weird man who comes to the gym with his kid and all the other mothers now. I'm "Allison's Daddy", and I'm okay with that.

Every week we also go to story time after Little Gym. The first few weeks Oda Mae was pretty restless, and now she pretty much sits and soaks everything in.

Next week we start the Winter/Spring session and we can't wait!

Oda Mae and I have started "school" at home. It's an organized time for us to work together on stuff like letters, numbers, phonics, pictures, simple words, etc. After some thought, I decided that while we've been working on this type of stuff for quite a while, I would be able to keep up with her if I had a set time and a set "curriculum" to work on every day. The last 2-3 months have been amazing. Allison learns so fast and picks up new things every day. Hopefully, I'll be able to keep up with her now. For a while there she was having several "pouting" and "crying" sessions a day. I look back now and see that she was just bored and needed something to do. That's my fault. The last few weeks have been VERY positive. She just wants to learn.

-OD

2007

2007-01-01T18:04:00.000-06:00

The "Oda" Family would like to wish you all a very Happy New Year!

Christmas Day

2006-12-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

Yep, we made it all the way through Christmas night. We had a wonderful Christmas holiday. Thanks to all the fam for fitting us in! Still one more to go on the 1st.
The theme this year for the big gift give-a-way, "If you build it, they will come." You're gonna want my present!

-OD

Merry Christmas!!!!

2006-12-25T02:16:00.000-06:00

Just got home from my 3 service Christmas Eve gig. I decided to blog tonight since I wouldn't have any time tomorrow (ummm, today). We had two more Christmas celebrations today and had a wonderful time at both. Oda Mae is very much liking the whole opening presents thing. Here are a couple of pics from the days activities.

Warning!!! Sappy Christmas Message...

This evening on my way home in the rain, I saw a very terrible accident. It reminded me that I/We need to take the time to think about what Christmas means. There is one and only one reason we celebrate Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ. We give gifts to each other in remembrance of what God has given to us (if we choose to accept that gift). Most people tend to forget that. All the lights, decorations, celebrations have meaning other than they are just pretty and fun. It is my hope that everyone who reads my blog will at least give some thought this year about what Christmas really means.

Now, I have to go to my "second" gig tonight. I think Santa is going to come to my house very soon!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

-OD

Christmas Eve Eve

2006-12-23T21:35:00.000-06:00

One down, four more to go...

"The Jones'"

2006-12-22T08:32:00.000-06:00

Here is a pic I took of our neighbor putting up Christmas lights. Ha Ha Ha.....He makes me laugh.

-OD

Christmas Lights 2006

2006-12-21T11:11:00.000-06:00

Just in case you're wondering....18,701.

What does Oda Mae want for Christmas?

2006-12-19T14:34:00.000-06:00

Click HERE* and find out.

*Or you could just contribute to her college fund.

(Okay, that's all I'm saying.)

-OD

Choo, Chooooooooo...

2006-12-15T21:29:00.000-06:00

The Oda family went to see The Trains at Northpark tonight. Oda Mae has wanted to see the choo choo trains for ever! We met Uncle Rob, Aunt Kip, and Gee Gee at the mall as well. We all had a great time. The display that they have is really amazing. All kinds of stuff to see and not enough time to see it. We can't wait to go again. As a matter of fact....it's possible that Oda Daddy wants a model train and a little city for himself. :)

To Eat or Not To Eat?

2006-12-13T19:42:00.000-06:00

Oda Mae is typically a pretty good eater. She likes vegetables a lot, she used to like chicken. Occasionally we give her a hot dog or a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch if we don't have leftovers or something better to give her, but that really is fairly rare. Lately, she has been becoming more and more picky. Suddenly, she doesn't like chicken. She has never really liked any kind of noodles and now she seems to hate everything we try and give her.

The other day I made a new Mexican casserole (which was really good by-the-way) that had chicken, pimentos and corn tortillas, etc. She wouldn't touch it. A couple of weeks ago we had a Mexican fiesta with tortillas, rice and beans (We love us some Mexican food around here!) She wouldn't eat that either until she saw me putting rice and beans on a tortilla. I noticed that she was trying to do the same thing as her Daden. So I gave her 1/4th of a tortilla with some rice and beans on it and rolled it up like a burrito and she went to town. Ate the whole thing, she did. I tried the same thing with the new dinner a couple of days ago and she got wise. She started taking the "stuff" out, and just eating the tortilla. There went that idea!

So here is my dilemma, do I let her go hungry trying to teach her to eat what is in front of her or do I just give her stuff that I know she likes? I bailed out this afternoon and gave her a tortilla so she would eat something. My gut feeling is to let her get so hungry that she forces down whatever we give her. What do you suggest?

HERE is an mp3 file of some words that Oda Mae has recently started saying.

TRANSCRIPT:
Tortilla (her first 3 syllable word)
Yellow
Blue
Light
Eddie
People
Puppies
Daden
Momma
Uncle

Have fun.

-OD

Santa 2006

2006-12-07T19:26:00.000-06:00

We went to the local mall tonight to get Oda Mae's picture taken with Santa Claus. She did very well! We got a picture with her smiling and everything...

She asked Santa for Balls, Pooh, and a Doll. Then he gave her a candy cane.

Some of you may be wondering why I'm not blogging very much lately. (It came to my attention that some people have actually noticed.) Well, probably a mixture of several things...
1. I'm just tired.
2. A bit tired of blogging (not that I'm going to stop).
3. It's the holiday season and I'm trying to get the house in shape.
4. It's the holiday season and I'm working about every other night until after Christmas.
5. My spare time has been taken up by running and practicing (more on that later).
6. It takes a lot of time to get a good post together. (Did I mention that I'm a little tired?)
7. Oda Mae isn't doing anything special these days.
8. Okay, #7 isn't true.
9. I can't keep up with all of the cool stuff she is doing.
10. #10 is true!

It's actually very difficult to decide what to blog about really. Oda Mae is talking a lot now days. She has managed to put together a few simple sentences. At little gym, she is becoming more sociable. All this stuff deserves its own blog entry I know. But, did I mention that I'm a little tired this time of year?

I've lost 14 pounds in the last 3 weeks. I've been running twice a day (most days) in order to get down to an acceptable weight according to the United States Marines. I've got an audition for "The Presidents Own" at the end of January, so I've been practicing a lot. This will be my first audition in almost two years. For those of you who are a little slow, Oda Mae is almost two. There is a reason those two time frames are about the same.

That's all I've got for now. I promise to post more often. :) maybe.

To all a good night.

-OD

FREE NUTCRACKER TICKETS

2006-12-05T20:59:00.000-06:00

Got a some comps for the Metropolitan Classical Ballet's The Nutcracker.

EDIT: ALL THE TICKETS HAVE BEEN SPOKEN FOR...THANKS FOR PLAYING!

You can have either Friday night at 8pm or Saturday night at 8pm. I have two tickets for both nights and they are up for grabs. You gotta make sure that you come see me in the pit though.

-OD

I'm Cute!

2006-12-01T09:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, here's a hint...Turn up the volume and refresh the Oda Mae blog.

I'm Cute!!!!!!

End of a long weekend...

2006-11-26T20:08:00.000-06:00

The Oda Family had a very nice Thanksgiving holiday. My family came over, Oda Momma's family came over and we all ate way too much. Here is the picture we sent in our invitations...

Oda Mae had a ball. She got to see all of her favorite people on the same day. How's this for a crowd of crazy people?

Friday morning, Oda Mae went with Aunt Sis to go shopping (an annual tradition). Friday evening we went out to the parade of lights in downtown. Oda Mae loved looking at all the floats, horses and lights. She was very tired at the end of the day.

Saturday, we just hung around the house relaxing. Same thing today. We needed a couple of days to recuperate.

Here are some pics of the house this year. I'll have a video up sometime in the next few days. That will show off my electrical/artistic ability a bit more than the pics, but this should tide you over.

I missed my mark this year. I only have 18,701 lights on the house. I wanted 20,000+. Maybe next year. I already have a vision for what I'm going to add next year. It should be fun. Anyone know where I can get an "Eat at Joe's" sign?

We had a very good welcome to Christmas weekend. Hope all of you had a great Thanksgiving as well!

-OD

Funny...

2006-11-17T22:50:00.000-06:00

what a difference a year can make...

November 17, 2006

November 17, 2005

Oda Mae....Get to work!

2006-11-17T18:12:00.000-06:00

Get all those leaves in a big pile...

Yes, you heard me. Get up there...

We need more lights on that top branch...

Okay, you've got 5 minutes to rest up, then we work on the side of the house...

-OD

Here we go...

2006-11-10T21:39:00.000-06:00

Now THIS is what I need. Should I go for the pre-assembled model or should I do it myself and "kick it up a couple notches"?

Check out the PHOTOS.

Alrighty Folks...

2006-11-09T21:18:00.000-06:00

It's official, Thanksgiving is only TWO weeks away. Invitations go out tomorrow for the big bash here at our house (start checking your mail this weekend). If you read this blog and don't get one, don't think of it as "we don't want you to come". Think of it as more of a game. You have to figure out where we live and get here at the right time. See, we're just making things more fun for you.

Oda Mae and I will finish the two new dedicated circuits for the lights tomorrow. Then comes the fun part. Oda Mae and I get to get up on the roof and start putting up Christmas lights!!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!!! :)!!!!!!! Yea!!!!!!!!!!

-OD

P.S. Anybody know where I can buy a snow blower thingy?

The Social Butterfly

2006-11-08T13:30:00.000-06:00

Today was "friend day" at the Little Gym. The object was to do the play activities and skills with a friend today (if possible). Now, the "Beasts" class includes kids ages 19 months to 3 years. Oda Mae just turned 19 months and is one of the younger kids in class. Most of these kids (even the older ones) aren't really into playing with others yet. They pretty much play with Mommy (or "Daden" in my case) or by themselves. So, getting any of them to play with another child is just about impossible. Today, however, during ball time, Oda Mae found a friend. We'll call her "Olga" for blogs sake. Olga was sitting down playing with ball when Oda Mae found a little ball and went to give it to Olga. When Olga's mom and I saw this we went in for the opportunity. Olga got turned around and I helped Oda Mae toss the ball to her. For about 5 minutes Olga and Oda Mae rolled the ball back and forth to each other. Olga had to get a little help from her mommy, Oda Mae tossed the ball right back to her every time without my help. Good for her!!!! After they played, Oda Mae decided that it was time to put all the balls away into the container even though it wasn't really time yet. That's her favorite thing to do...put things away.

I knew they were somewhere...

2006-11-06T10:54:00.000-06:00

Muahahahahahahah ....

All Hallow's Eve

2006-10-31T23:31:00.000-06:00

Oda Mae went as a pumpkin this year, see...

Ain't she so cute?

For a rookie, she did pretty well going Trick-or-Treating.

After we went to the "old man's" house she got kind of scared. We hit up one more house for some candy and walked our way home.

This year I carved a pumpkin in the shape of "Igor" from Young Frankenstein. That's the movie we watched this evening (a classic). It turned out descent. Luckily, I got some pictures of it before some good-for-nothing, low-down, pimple-faced, teenage, hoodlum took off with it while we were watching our movie. They must have thought it was pretty good.

We're pretty tired now that the Halloween weekend is over. We might try to reschedule Little Gym tomorrow and sleep in.

On a different note. I took some time off from blogging. I'm sure you were all waiting by your computers to see when I would post again. Last week's Race for the cure went well. Unfortunately, Oda Mae got pretty sick the night before and was not able to attend. I met up with Aunt Sis though and we didn't come in last!!!! Yea, for not coming in last. We had a great time besides the fact that we got lost. I don't know where all those other people went, but we managed to find our "race mates" eventually.

-OD

The Race is On

2006-10-20T21:31:00.000-05:00

Yep, that's right you've got less than 12 hours to sponsor Oda Mae and me in the RACE FOR THE CURE.

If you decide not to donate. That's okay. Oda Mae wont cry for long...

BUT, if you decided to donate even $5.00. She would be soooooo happy...

You can watch the race tomorrow morning on FOX. Oda Mae and I are due to start at 7:45am.

Thanks again to those of you who have made a donation!!!!!

-OD

Hee, Hee.....

2006-10-19T02:18:00.000-05:00

She used to not have any hair....

This one made me laugh.
-OD

Happy Hump Day

2006-10-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

Had a little photo
shoot today.

Nite Nite

2006-10-14T20:27:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae and I are feeling much better now. Oda Mae seems to have a constant runny nose though.

Guess that'll stop some day...unless she's like me and it doesn't stop until you're 32.

We had a nice day today. We went to a Little Gym makeup class. We'll have to make up another class for the Thanksgiving week as well. Then we came home ate lunch and took a nap. Tonight we went out to do a little shopping and then to eat.

Fall is here it seems. The leaves are falling, the weather is under 90 degrees and it is raining every once-in-a-while. Time to start working on the Christmas lights for this year. We start inventory this week and I'm going to install two more dedicated outlets. Last years total was 16,754 lights. I'm curious to see how I do this year!!!!

We are also beginning to plan for Thanksgiving. For those of you who don't know, Oda Momma and I have both of our families over to our house for the big celebration. A couple of turkeys, a ham, lots of sides. We love having everyone over. After the big dinner a couple of naps and a football game we go outside to see the lighting of the house. It's Clark Griswold at his best.

Oda Mae and I are almost at 50% of our goal for the RACE. We run next Saturday (one week to go). Please help us raise money for the 2006 KOMEN RACE FOR THE CURE by donating a little something at our web page. It's easy, and it's for a great cause!!!!

That's all for now. Gonna go waste the rest of my Saturday on the couch. Nite, Nite...

-OD

Thank You!!!

2006-10-09T13:19:00.000-05:00

To those of you who have already donated to the "Oda" Race for the Cure! We are off to a good start. I've bumped the donation post up so that it appears near the beginning of the blog.

Oda Mae and I are a bit under the weather today. She's getting over some teething and I pulled a lot of snot out of her today so she should be good to go in another day or so. I'm just starting, so I've got a couple of days of misery to get through. Fortunately, Oda Momma is feeling pretty good these days, so she'll take over when she gets home. :)

Aunt Mitzy and Aunt Linda did GREAT at the costume contest yesterday here are some pics...

Aunt Mitzy won the Cutest Costume Award as a Red Hat Lady

Aunt Linda should have won Most Elaborate Costume as a Princess

Here are some of the other entries...
Go TEXAS!!!!

MMMmmmmmm Hot Dogs!

Boo!

The Race

2006-10-09T13:00:00.000-05:00

Please consider donating to the 2006 Komen Race for the Cure. Oda Mae and I are signed up to go for the gold or the "Pink" rather. Please help Oda Mae raise money for a cure.

You can CLICK HERE to go to our page and make a donation. We have a personal goal of $150.00. Can we do it? Only with YOUR help. Come on Oda lovers!
-OD & OM

Saturday Fun

2006-10-07T20:07:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae and I went to a flea market this morning. Guess what we found...

All for about $9.00!!!

Oda Mae is doing some teething these days. We're working on the back teeth now. I have to say that I've heard horror stories about teething, but Oda Mae seems to be taking everything well. She didn't sleep real well last night, but during the day she is happy as usual. Tomorrow we're going to a costume contest. Not for her, but for her Aunt Linda! We'll have pics up tomorrow.

Speaking of costumes. Oda Mae is going as a pumpkin this year for Halloween. She is very excited!

Last week I played a church service over in Dallas and they have posted the service on their website. CLICK HERE and click "Listen" for the October 1, 2006 sermon and listen to the hymns(@ 3:50, 32:20, & 1:05:30) and the anthem, "Thou Art the King of Glory" (@ 43:45). Not bad, but my pitch was a little off from the organ. The second service was better.

-OD

Odaville

2006-10-03T23:41:00.000-05:00

Where the little people are friendly!

Our Little Collection

2006-09-30T00:22:00.000-05:00

Now you can keep track of the new collection that Oda Mae and I have started.

I have a new BLOG. There's a new link to the right.

Yes, Oda Momma thinks I've gone insane, but I don't care. :)

-OD

SCORE!!!!!

2006-09-29T14:33:00.000-05:00

Bilingual dog and "dat" books and two totally cool Little People.... .30 cents.

Three balls and sidewalk chalk for Christmas....$2.00.

Noah's Ark Little People set....$3.00.

Making Oda Mae DOG TIRED while garage selling this morning....PRICELESS!

Have a good weekend!

-OD

Take a hike!

2006-09-28T20:17:00.000-05:00

No, really, take a hike with me and Oda Mae. This will serve as your exercise for the day.

It's a beautiful day out today...78 degrees for the high. (Not too bad!)

Here's the first road we go down. Wonder what we'll see today?

Here are the dog's that we don't like.

Then we look for goats...

and donkeys.

Yep, that's what I said. Five minutes from downtown and we have goats and donkeys less than 100 yards from our front door.

Here's the church down by the corner. (They closed up shop a couple of weeks ago 'cause their air conditioner got stolen.) Too bad.

Here's the next street we walk down.

Down the hill.

Check out the wildflowers.

Here's part of our trail.

Here's Oda Mae on the trail.

Here's Oda Mae off the trail.

There's a big plane over at the NASJRB.

Sometimes we get to see some really cool planes doing tricks and stuff. We see them practice for the big air shows. How cool are we? VERY!

Here's Oda Mae running...

and...

falling down.

But she's okay.

Here she is running...

after...

me.

Time to go home.

Here's the river bank.

Here's the garden we like to look at. The lady says "Hi" to us whenever she is out there. She has MASSIVE sunflowers during the summer.

Here's the church again.

And the donkeys. Bye bye donkeys.

And the little dog that we do like.

Then we all go in and get juice. Yea! Juice.

Hope you had a good time. Don't you feel better now that you got your workout in today? I knew you did.

-OD

Little People

2006-09-25T16:51:00.000-05:00

Look what I got!

Oda Mae and I went out this morning looking for some new little people. We found a Vacation Eddie, a Tiger, and a Seal with its baby. We also found a helicopter and a ferris wheel!
My first inclination was to not allow Oda Mae to play with the figures ['cause I wanted them]. Is that a sign for things to come. My father-in-law likes to collect toys. I always thought he was kind of funny for doing that, but now I know how he feels.

I would like to have all of the little people figures. For now, I have to let Oda Mae play with them, but someday they'll be mine...ALL MINE!

-OD

Down by the riverside

2006-09-20T20:11:00.000-05:00

On Monday, Oda Mae and I went for our run over by the river. There are lots of trails and we like to look for nature. Usually on our run we'll see cats, dogs, goats, donkeys (all on the way to the river), and turtles, squirrels, and ducks (at the river). On Monday we were half way done with our run and were resting under the bridge where it was shady. As we were looking down at the river, I saw something that seemed to be moving. At first I thought it was just a log, but then I noticed that it was defiantly moving upstream. I could see its head just barely poking up out of the water and every once in a while I saw its back come up. An alligator or crocodile? I knew that it was pretty unusual to see something like that in a local river, but it wasn't unheard of.

As the animal got closer, I could see that it had fur on it's head so I knew it wasn't an alligator or a crocodile. It was swimming close to the bank so then I thought that maybe it was a dog trying to make its way back up. I like dogs mostly so I put Oda Mae on her brakes and went down to investigate. If I could, I wanted to help the dog out of the river. When I got close enough to be able to see clearly into the water...

THIS IS WHAT I SAW. Or, was it THIS?

I'm not too sure which one it was, but it kind of freaked me out a little. It was as big as Fergus (my 30 lb dog)! If it had come out of the water and started chasing me, I would have screamed like a little girl! Either way, it was a R.O.U.S!

The Weekend

2006-09-19T20:38:00.000-05:00

Yes, we had a good weekend. The wedding went fine. The audition could have gone better (the incumbent won). But Sunday afternoon......well let me tell you.

Oda Momma woke up with Oda Mae on Sunday (that was two days in a row). I was very appreciative. Then when I woke up Oda Mae and I took a walk down to "Happy Donuts". That's our favorite little donut shop and it's within walking distance. We got there at about 10:30. Do you know what happens when you make your way up to the donut shop at that time of day on a Sunday morning? There isn't a very good selection left, BUT they tend to give you extra's for free! I went to get 4 donuts and came back with a box full for the price of four. The nice lady behind the counter gave Oda Mae a little bag of donut holes. She proceeded to sit down on the floor and eat them while I made my selection. By the time we got back home, Oda Mae had eaten the whole bag of donut holes (about 9 or 10)! We don't normally let her do stuff like that, but she was having so much fun. Then she was wired!

We left to go to The Little Gym party soon after that, but we stopped at the duck pond first to run amuck for a while.

We were one of the first one's to arrive at the party. 30 minutes into the party Oda Mae was one of about 100 little gymers running around! After a few more minutes, Oda Mae was getting pretty cranky and Gee Gee hadn't gotten there yet to see Oda Mae do her stuff so we took her on a little walk so that she could un-stimulate for a few minutes. Then GG came!!!! Oda Mae showed GG how to hang on bars and jump on the air mattress and how to walk on the balance beam. She had a good time.

There were door prizes too! Oda Mae won one of them for her daddy! We one a gift certificate for $114.00 at Super Suppers! This stay-at-home-dad was very happy to see that one come. It was way better than the body wrap thingy that took of 20 inches in one session. I'd much rather put on 20 inches. I get to go make six yummy dinners (6 servings each) and bring them home and put them in my freezer for those days where I just don't have time to cook. (or those days where I just don't want to cook.)

Oda Mae had juice and cake at the party too. (Yes, after all those donut holes.) We came home and she ate broccoli.

A good time was had by all on Sunday.

Tomorrow I'll tell you about the adventures we had on Monday at the river.

-OD

Oda Friday!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!

2006-09-15T21:14:00.000-05:00

TGIF Everyone!!!

Looking forward towards a fun weekend. Got the "Jazz by the Boulevard" here in town if anyone wants to come out. It's FREE!!! I've got a wedding tomorrow night to get me in the mood. I'm playing all jazz for this lady's wedding tomorrow evening. That'll be good for a couple of laughs. Actually I'm looking for the sax player to bail me out a little. I'm just playing tunes, he gets to make up stuff and make us sound good.

Then I have an audition for a local orchestra after the wedding. That's a bit more in my comfort zone. I pray for the day that some bride wants Stravinsky, Mussorgsky or Honegger played at their wedding. That I can do!

Sunday is the big The Little Gym 30th birthday party. We're taking Oda Mae out for some little gym fun.

Kudos go to Mike aka: At Home Daddy for guessing the last Where in the World is Oda Mae Now. She is at the New York City Marathon. Speaking of marathons...

Oda Mae and I are going to sign up for the 2006 Komen Dallas Race for the Cure® I think that we might try to get some of you to participate. If not....maybe you can sponsor Oda Mae in the race. We'll let you know when we get all signed up. Speaking of RACES.....here's the next Where in the World is Oda Mae Now picture. It's not too hard. I give you permission to Google for the answer.

-OD

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

2006-09-14T21:35:00.000-05:00

On your mark...

Get set...

GO!!!

Busy Morning

2006-09-13T12:47:00.000-05:00

This morning we went to TLG and had a great time. Oda Momma was able to go with us again. We got to play with a big parachute! That was way fun. Oda Mae helped Miss. Jennifer demonstrate the HIGH bar this morning. She'll hang there all day if you let her. We worked on jumping a lot today.

Afterwards, we went to story time and read a book about Charlie Parker. We got to sing and dance and we drew a picture of a saxophone....

Then we stayed for the extended story time today 'cause it is all about celebrating jazz this week. David Davis read to us from some of his books. He read Jazz Cats and Rock n Roll Dogs. Jan Peck was there to help out with the dancing and singing. Oda Mae was starting to get a little wiggly after and hour and a half of story time, but she did very well. We had a good time. Oda Mae got a bookmark too!

This Sunday 12 - 2 is a "Birthday Party" at The Little Gym. Oda Mae would like to invite all of her grandma's, grandpa's, aunts and uncles and other people to come watch her "Hang Out" with her little friends. No stalkers please! Give us a call and we'll tell you how to get there, or you can just come over to the house and we'll all go over there together.

-OD

Snakes on a Plane by Oda Mae

2006-09-12T17:08:00.000-05:00

Aunt Sis was the winner in the last Where in the World is Oda Mae Now contest.

Watch for the newest installment soon!

Sleepy Time

2006-09-11T21:33:00.000-05:00

Here's a little something I've been meaning to blog about for a while.

Ever since Oda Mae kicked her habit, "The Binky Dependency of 2006", she decided to revamp her sleeping schedule. Some of you would say, "That's what you get." You know who you are. :) Before, when she was on the binky, she would take two naps a day about 2 hours each. That's 4 hours of daddy time a day. Now she takes one nap a day for 1.5 or 2 hours. That's quite a bit less daddy time. So what do we do now in the mornings until after lunch? Well, let me tell you....

we get dressed
we run (I run, Oda Mae get's pushed)
we feed the ducks
we look for cats
we play under the trees and look for acorns and sticks (Oda Mae now has a pile of these things outside the door of the house)
we walk up and down hills
we come home and drink juice
we play little people (Oda Mae collects them now!) [Okay, I collect them too.]
we do our ABC's
we chase Fergus with the popper
we read books
we "Sit and Spin" (well, Oda Mae does, I just sit there looking envious)
we blow bubbles
we hide under blankets
we slide outside if it isn't raining (it was raining today, YEA!!!!!)
we play dishes
we look at pictures and name all of the people (at least twice)
we practice hanging on drumsticks for TLG
we do the Duke of York song (that one makes me tired)
we dance
we color
we sing songs
we do flips (Oda Mae does flips, I push her over)
we play ball
we have lunch
we clean up after lunch
we read stories again
then it's nap time.

That pretty much takes up the morning. I try to get Oda Mae to be self sufficient after her nap. That's when I have to start dinner. She usually does pretty good. She likes to push the recycle bin all over the house while I'm making dinner. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not.

Mmmmmm dinner...we had Quesadillas and Chicken & Tamale soup for dinner tonight. It was good. Oooo, I've got a couple of chocolate chip cookies calling my name right now.....

-OD

Mr. Bubble...He's a scary one.

2006-09-10T20:09:00.000-05:00

I came home late last night from my gig out of town. As you know, every time I come home like that, I bring Oda Mae a present. Today she got Mr. Bubble, and the Little People, Night at the Ball. She loved playing with the fence on the Little People dance stand. Tonight she had her first bubble bath. Oda Mae loves for me to blow bubbles for her. She'll come up to me and say "Where bubba?". That's my cue to find the bubbles and start blowing. I really thought she would have a blast taking a bath tonight. Turns out she was a little afraid of the bubbles in her bath. Oda Momma and I finally convinced her to sit down in her bath. She would splash a little bit, but if you got a hand full of bubbles and brought them to her, she wanted out! So we'll keep working on making the bubbles not so scary.

If you saw this guy walking down a dark alley, you'd be scared too!

-OD

Workin' Out Today

2006-09-06T13:22:00.000-05:00

Today was gym day for us. We had great fun. Oda Momma was able to go with us this morning. That made it possible to get a couple of pictures.

Here's the mount...

And the routine...

We got to play with a hula-hoop today. We got to walk and run in a circle. We jumped on the giant air mattress. We walked on the balance beam. We did a hand stand on the parallel bars, and all sorts of stuff.

Oda Mae did better today than last week. She was more interested in staying in the circle today as well. It'll take some time, but she'll figure things out. Her friend Bella, had on the same shirt today. (How embarassing.)

THEN...

We went to story time at the library up the street. We read a book about animals and their sounds. Oda Mae is especially good at that. We did the Hokey Pokey, and we got to see a puppet show about animals too. At the end we had a craft! We made a paper plate mask to play Peek-a-Boo with. Then we went home, and now we're taking a nap [our one nap]. More on that later.

-OD

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

2006-09-01T21:54:00.000-05:00

I'll try to see if I can do this a little more regularly. Maybe once or twice a week for a while? We'll see.

Here's the next installment...

Almost Better

2006-08-31T16:48:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae is feeling better today. Her nose is still a little runny, but she is doing much better than yesterday. We've been practicing some of the skills that we learned at TLG yesterday. She is going to kick butt next week!

-OD

Oda has the sniffles...

2006-08-30T20:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We've been busy. Monday it rained. Yeah for us. Oda Mae and I stayed inside and watched the rain. Tuesday, the weather was GREAT! We went out for our run and didn't pass out because of the heat at 9:00 am. Oda Mae also got some new to her shorts at the thrift town the other day. We'll have some photos of those later.

Today was Oda Mae's first day at The Little Gym! Unfortunately, she didn't sleep well last night because she was developing some kind of something. This morning she started sneezing and coughing a little. We decided to go ahead and go to school since it was supposed to be our first day.

Open note to all the little gymers:
We are sorry if you get sick, but we really wanted to come today. Make sure your mommies make you wash your hands!
-OD

Oda Mae had such a good time despite not feeling 100%. She got to pound on the floor, jump on mats, chase bubbles, sing songs, and play games (All Sorts). Oda Mae did exceptionally well on the uneven bars. She hung on to that bar for a good long while. I even pushed her back and forth a bit. The balance beam was a little trickier, but I think with some practice she'll get better. She had a great time and met some new little friends. At the end she got her hands and feet stamped and a cookie.

We were going to go to a story time for toddlers at the library up the street afterwards, but Oda Mae was pretty tired after not sleeping well last night. She was also beginning to not feel so well. Tonight, her little nose was like a faucet. She seemed to be in pretty good spirits, but you could tell she wanted to go nite, nite. We had a bath, read our favorite stories, and went "dite, dite". Hopefully she'll feel better tomorrow.

I'm sure that you can all guess that I was the only person over the age of 3 with a Y chromosome at TLG. I got a couple of weird looks, but for the most part all the mommies were too involved with their little ones to take much notice. There were a couple of mommies who talked to me. They asked me about Oda Mae: how old was she... you know, so that made me feel better. We'll have to see what's in store for me the next 16 weeks. All I know is that Oda Mae had a good time today. I'm sure she'll like it even more when she is feeling better.

-OD

P.S. I would post a picture, but my network isn't really working. I'll have to pull my hair out trying to figure it out. Maybe tomorrow.

:(

2006-08-25T12:55:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae had a little accident this morning. She fell and chipped her two front teeth. I took her to see a dentist and he said that the best thing to do right now was nothing. Just to watch for any signs of infection. He said that it was possible to repair the teeth for cosmetic reasons, but that he didn't advise it until she was older. So we'll just have to wait and see how we feel about things when she starts school. Her permanent teeth will not be affected.

Oda Mae seems to not be in any pain. She cried for a few minutes after it happened, but she's just fine now. She doesn't put her fingers in her mouth or anything. I'm pretty sure Oda Momma and I feel worse about it right now than Oda Mae does.

Is this the part where I start getting grey hair?

-OD

Mmmmm, Dinner...

2006-08-24T20:26:00.000-05:00

...usually. I try very hard to try out new recipes. I have a computer program that allows me to enter my recipes into what ever category I want. It's really cool. As I find a meal that the family likes, I enter it into my program. This allows me to make a meal plan for the entire month. I only have to go grocery shopping once a month! I do however make little trips to the store for fruits, vegetables, and stuff that we run out of. My goal is to have enough recipes in this program that the family likes, are easy to make, and I can put on the table in an hour or less for an entire year. That way I don't have to come up with something different to cook every night. My own "Oda Family Cookbook" so-to-speak. So in order to come up with enough recipes, I am always looking for something new to try. Sometimes I come upon a really good one. Other times (like tonight) it is a total bomb. I tried to make Jamaican Black Bean Burgers. Now we're not vegans or anything, but I try to come up with meals that are healthy as well. This was awful! I actually ate a whole burger myself, but I probably wont go out of my way to eat another. Oda Mae and Oda Momma were pretty glad I bought hot dog's the other day! Tomorrow we'll have something safe.

Oda Mae starts school next week! Well, we both start school next week. We enrolled in The Little Gym today for the fall semester. We'll go once a week for 45 minutes to play with all kinds of gym equipment and the most important part....SOCIALIZATION!!!! Now Oda Mae is still a bit young to play with other kids, but I think she'll learn a lot by watching the others do their thing with their parents. Maybe I'll learn a thing or two as well. I'm hoping that I don't get there and find out that they just do things that I do at home already, or could just do at home. We'll try it out for a semester and see how things go for us.

We went to the park tonight with Oda Momma.

AUNT SIS was the first winner in the "Where in the World is Oda Mae Now" contest. Oda Mae was indeed in The Little People Farm. Stay tuned for the next game.

-OD

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

2006-08-19T21:59:00.000-05:00

About a year ago we were playing a little game that kept me blog readers occupied for a while. It was called "Where in the World is Oda Mae?" I decided today that we would play this game again. It'll be a bit easier this time around (sometimes). Just like before, there are no prizes except the fact that you get to call yourself the winner. I don't know how often I'll post for this little game, but it should be fun. So, without further ado...

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

Good Luck!!!

Oda Hair

2006-08-19T12:31:00.000-05:00

Why didn't someone tell me that Oda Mae was bald when she was first born? My daddy eyes told me that she had plenty of hair!

Her hair is actually starting to get a little longer. Just not quite long enough. Give it another couple of months and we'll be doing good.

-OD

PT DUTY

2006-08-17T20:16:00.000-05:00

It's slow.

Here is my new technique that Nonchalant Savant recommended to me.

-OD

Ess, Ess, Ess, Ess...

2006-08-15T13:04:00.000-05:00

That's what I heard yesterday as I was sitting at the kitchen table working on a project. Oda Mae was playing behind me and started saying, "Ess, Ess, Ess, Ess..." over and over again. I turned around to see what she was talking about and sure enough, she had the letter "S" in her hand.

The past couple of weeks we've been learning the alphabet via the fisher price website. ABC's if you want to check it out. She has been able to say a few letters, "E", "G", "I", "O", "T", and "Z". She has never said "S" and she also has never pointed out any letter to me around the house.

Kind of makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

This post has been brought to you today by the letter...

I Did It!!!

2006-08-13T07:31:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae slept all night last night. She did it!!!!

This morning we got up and used the pottie as well.

-OD

Movin' Right Along

2006-08-12T20:12:00.000-05:00

Last night Oda Momma took care of Oda Mae's addiction comfort. Oda Mae woke up twice last night and went to sleep on her own the first time and the second time Oda Momma went in and told her to go back to sleep, and she did.

Today Oda Mae took two naps, both without too much trouble. It is 8:09 right now and I just put her to bed. Not a peep!

I think she's getting the hang of it now.

Yea for Oda Mae! She is doing VERY well.

Tonight we had a little bathtime fun...

Today I made Oda Mae a Music Mix for the car. I came out with 2 CD's and an hour and a half of music for the car. It was all free kids music on the internet. Some of the songs I sampled were pretty bad, but the ones I got were really good. If you need some kid music CHECK IT OUT!

We here at the "Oda" household particularly like "A NEW PAIR OF SHOES"

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!

-OD

24 HOURS

2006-08-11T08:02:00.000-05:00

Yep, It's been 24 hours now since we last had a binky.

How are we doing?

So long as we have something to pull on, we're doing okay.

The first nap yesterday was not too bad. After about 30 minutes she fell asleep. The second nap didn't go as well. We didn't sleep at all, but after dinner and a bath Oda Mae went to sleep pretty easily last night. I had to go in about 3am to tell her to lay down and go back to sleep. She did, until about 5:30. Then I went in her room to sleep. She would be quiet off and on, but we made it to about 6:45 before we got up. Now her tummy is full and we're ready for day 2.

PT Duty is hit and miss. She loves to sit on her big girl potty, so that's not an issue. The issue is, can I time her before she goes in her diaper. Sometimes we get it sometimes we don't. I figure eventually she'll figure out what we're doing.

-OD

Hello...

2006-08-10T20:30:00.000-05:00

My name is Oda Mae...

I admit that I have a problem.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life...

They say that the first three days are the worst. We'll see how she does.
-OD

Only the Lonely

2006-08-08T22:14:00.000-05:00

Well, since it's been a bit over a year as a SAHD I can say that most people are pretty good about keeping their thoughts about our "non-traditional" parenting situation to themselves. At least they don't act like I'm a freak. I am rarely looked upon as something completely foreign. Today though I saw the other side of the fence so-to-speak. I've heard all the other SAHD stories and now I have one of my own.

Today Oda Mae and I went out to do some errands. While we were out I saw an antique mall that I wanted to go into and look around. As I was putting Oda Mae in her stroller I noticed 4 little old ladies coming out. I figured this was pretty typical...Tuesday afternoon, antique mall, who else would you see at a place like this? But the thought actually crossed my mind before I went in that I would probably be an unusual sight in a place like this regardless of the day or time, but we went in hoping to find a treasure.

Now, Oda Mae is VERY good in public. She loves to look at things and hardly ever puts up a fuss so long as we keep moving, so I wasn't worried in the least about her breaking some $20,000.00 piece of rare crystal or something. As we were walking up and down the isles of the store I can say that at least 4 times the employees stared at us as if to say, "Oh, my God. What does that guy think he is doing coming in here with a baby. Why didn't he just take her to the park on his day off." Maybe I'm just being paranoid. But, really, some of the looks I got from these people I've never seen before. Nobody actually said anything, but I could sure tell that they wanted to.

LOSERS!!!!!

Okay, I'm done. I did find a pretty cool table that I wanted, but it was pretty expensive and I don't really know anything about antiques. I think I'll keep shopping the garage sales and thrift stores. Ooo, maybe we'll make a field trip to the thrift store tomorrow.

-OD

P.S. I finally got my pictures to load of my cabinet.... (see below)

PT Duty

2006-08-07T22:48:00.000-05:00

Thought I should post today since it's been a while. Oda Mae and I have been very busy. We've been doing some back to school house cleaning, trying to get ready for year two. Oda Mae has LOTS of toys. She told me yesterday that she wanted to donate some of the ones she doesn't play with to the local Salvation Army store. I told her that that was a very nice thing to do. Oda Momma and I are going through our stuff as well.

Yesterday I finally finished the cabinet I bought a while back for the kitchen

BEFORE

AFTER

Now we have room for more food!

Oda Mae and I have started PT Duty. For those of you less apt to the SAHD lingo. That's Potty Training Duty. We've started by going to the potty as soon as she wakes up from her morning nap. So far we've done pretty good. I don't think she really understands why I cheer for her while she's sitting there reading her book. I figure eventually she'll catch on. It's going to be a long road. Wish us luck. At Home Daddy is beginning some PT Duty as well. He's done this before so it should only take him a couple of days to get things right! I'm going to take some advice from him and make a trip to Lowe's for some plastic covering for the house.

Maybe I'll see if I can borrow his new Power Sprayer as well. Did you know that those little PT Potties don't really flush? You have to clean those things out by hand!!!!!! Come to think of it, I think I might just let Oda Momma handle PT Duty!

Blogger won't load my pictures tonight so I'll put some up tomorrow.

-OD

One Year and Counting

2006-08-02T10:27:00.000-05:00

It's been a year now that I've been a stay-at-home-dad. I didn't even realize it until this morning. I suppose things have been good the past year. It went by fast, so I guess we were having fun. I'll try over the next year to do things a little better. I guess I'm not really a rookie any more. It sure does feel like it though.

Oda Mae is learning new stuff every day. Something I didn't mention last week: Oda Mae can say a sentence (sort of). The other day she said, "Hi, Daddy." Now she can say "Hi, Momma.", "Hi, Abby.", etc. We're working on saying "Hot Dog". She can say the words by themselves, but it's harder to say them together. We are also working on learning our A,B,C's and doing puzzles.

-OD

Vacation Wind Up

2006-07-30T20:22:00.000-05:00

Oda Momma was on vacation this last week. When Oda Momma is on vacation, so am I a little bit. We get to share the Oda time.

On Thursday, we went to see some friends of ours in East Texas. Oda Mae got to see her friend Ellie Mae. On Friday we all went to a place called Kid Space or Kids Place or Place for Kids to Play or something like that. It was basically an indoor playplace. They had a section just for the little kids as well as the bigger kids. We started in the little kid section. Oda Mae loved jumping into the plastic balls. What she loved even more is picking up all the plastic balls that had gone astray in the other parts of the play area and putting them back where they belong. I suppose I may have spent a little too much time making her put all of her toys away.

Then we got adventurous. We went over to the bigger kids area to go down the BIG slide. Ellie Mae is a few months older than Oda Mae and showed her the ropes a little.

Then Oda Mae went up.

SHE LOVED IT!!!

She loved it so much that she wanted to climb back up. She got pretty frustrated when she couldn't. Then when Oda Momma and I went in to get her out and let her go up the stairs again, she pretty much didn't like it at all.

So we'll keep practicing on the little slides for a while.

Oda Momma goes back to work tomorrow and I suppose that I should go back to work as well. Lord knows that I've got enough projects to do around the house. It's back to watching Oda Mae all day again as well. Maybe some regular blogging also, we'll see.

-OD

A Tribute

2006-07-26T20:53:00.000-05:00

Mahly
(1990 - 2006)

Today, my family and I had to say goodbye to Mahly. We finally made the decision that was very difficult to make. She had not been well for a long time. As a little tribute to her, I would like to tell her story.

After living by myself in Cincinnati, Ohio for about two months, I started to get a little lonely. I decided to go to the local animal shelter and pick out a little kitten to become my friend. When I got to the shelter I started looking a kittens. None of them "called" out to me like they wanted to be my friend. Then I just walked around a little bit, looking at all of the cats they had. I was walking past the cages and noticed a cat staying way back in her cage so nobody could see her. I said hi. She meowed at me in what turned out to be her typical little meow. She was a bluepoint Siamese. She was very pretty. I opened her cage to pet her and she started to purr. I then went up to the counter and told them that I found a cat that I wanted to take home. They said to go get her. I did and some other customers at the counter asked me if I had ever had a Siamese cat before. Of course I said no. I had never had any cat before. They responded with "They like to talk." I paid for her ($50.00 + Tax) and took her back to my little two room apartment in a box that said, "I'm Going Home!"

I originally wanted a boy cat so that I could call him Gustav, after the composer Gustav Mahler. But I came home with a girl cat; you can't call a girl cat Gustav. That night I called Oda Momma and she suggested I call her Molly, but spell it M-A-H-L-Y. So that I would still name her after my favorite composer. I said that was silly. The next day I called Oda Momma up and told her that I had named my cat Mahly. Mahly lived under the bed for about two weeks. I never saw her except at promptly 4am every morning when she got brave enough to scope things out. I woke up every morning with her staring at me as she sat on my stomach.

We lived in Cincinnati for a few more months before coming back to Texas. The road trip back to TX wasn't fun for Mahly. She had to go real bad, but wouldn't. She held it all the way to Arkansas. Then we had to stop and clean up.

I left Mahly to live with my fiance and her roommate, Princess Dedra, until we got married. Admittedly, Mahly wasn't a very nice cat. She liked to scratch people. Oda Momma and Princess Dedra took Mahly to be de-clawed. Mahly was the nicest, most loving cat in the world after that. Go figure.

When we got married, Mahly went to go live with my sister while we were on our honeymoon. There, Mahly learned the fine art of hiding from dogs and sleeping on someone's head.

Mahly was our lone pet until Abby and Fergus, our dog's came along. She wasn't going to put up with any of their shenanigans. She let them know that right off the bat. The dogs pretty much left her alone.

Then Oda Mae came along last year. Mahly was very intrigued by this new little person living in our house. After being a very non-sociable cat all her life, Mahly started coming out to see people after Oda Mae was born. This was the first time some of our family had ever seen Mahly. I think maybe she was a little jealous of the baby and wanted some attention of her own.

Mahly was a very good friend to lots of people. She was my best friend in Ohio. We got along very well even though we had a love-hate relationship there towards the end.

Mahly, thanks for being my first bachelor pet. Thanks for being there when I needed company in Ohio. Thanks for being a member of our family. We'll miss you.

-OD

P.S. To see Mahly with the Oda Family go to Oda Momma's Blog.

Just for GG...

2006-07-22T20:57:00.000-05:00

Thanks for trying to play my game! I'll do better next time.
-OD

Okay, so nobody wants to play...

2006-07-22T08:03:00.000-05:00

even after I put up a clue. I'll tell you who it is.

My Great-Great-Grandmother, Luticia Ballard was married to a man before she married my Gr-Gr-Grandfather. The first man she was married to was Ollie Partridge Roberts AKA, "Brushy" Bill Roberts AKA, "Billy the Kid".

Here's the story.

and now The rest of the story.

-OD

It's a little genealogy game.

2006-07-20T22:10:00.000-05:00

I recently discovered that I am related (sort of) to this man. History buff bragging rights to the person who can identify who this is...

-OD

Emergency Room Visit #1

2006-07-20T11:25:00.000-05:00

So Oda Mae and I had to make a little trip to the emergency room this morning...

Don't worry, everything is okay...now.

After our morning run, we wanted to play on the slide. So we did. A really big bee started to buzz around us so we moved away until the bee flew away. When we went back to the slide Oda Mae was climbing up and I did what I know not to do, and that I almost never do...I held her hands and picked her up onto the slide. Then I heard "POP"...what was that? Oda Mae started to cry.

Talk about feeling like a "BAD" daddy. I felt terrible. I tried to comfort her, but it must have really hurt. We went in to see Oda Momma and nothing seemed to help. It just hurt. Oda Mae wasn't moving her arm, but at the same time she wasn't screaming in pain either. We decided to go ahead and take her to the ER.

After some paperwork the nurses took a look at her and said that it looked like she may have pulled something out of where it was supposed to be. The Dr. came in and said that she had full extension, but he wanted to see some pictures just in case.

The x-ray ladies came in and took 2 pictures of each elbow so there would be a comparison. Oda Mae likes to have her picture made, so she was the perfect little model for them. Then the Dr. came in to tell us that everything looked okay. No broken bones or anything. Its possible that she dislocated her elbow, but that it had gone back into place. Now it's just sprained a little.

Then we came home and went "nite, nite".

So, the moral of this story....Don't pick Oda Mae up by her hands.

I'm sure I'll remember that from now on.

-OD

Happy Married Day, Oda Momma!

2006-07-18T07:50:00.000-05:00

Eight years ago today I got to marry my best friend. She married me, even though!

Can you say "Hat"? I knew you could.

2006-07-17T09:21:00.000-05:00

This morning as I was getting Oda Mae ready for our run. She said "hat". Just as plain as day. This is a new one for her.

It's starting to get difficult to remember all of the cool tricks she can do. Oda Momma and I were talking about that last night. She knows lots of words, body parts, and dances (more videos to come). Soon she'll know more than we do. She'll tell us that too.

-OD

"Planearium"

2006-07-13T22:02:00.000-05:00

Oda Momma and I wanted to go to the "Planearium" today for our little vacation, but Oda Mae decided that she wanted to go to the Aquarium in stead. We got to see lots of cool fish...

What did Oda Mae think of the Aquarium?

I think she liked it.

-OD

Happy Birthday Oda Momma!

2006-07-09T07:20:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday Oda Mommaaaaaaaaaaaaa
Happy Birthday to you!

We Love you.

Oda Mae and Oda Daddy

Mentos and Diet Coke Extravaganza

2006-07-07T11:27:00.000-05:00

Most of you will remember THIS POST...

As it turns out, my nephew Chris' car needs some work. He was willing to do just about anything for a few bucks to get his car going again. Being the supportive uncle that I am, I offered to help him out a little. THIS VIDEO pretty much explains everything.

Oda Mae had a good time as well.

-OD

Independence Day 2006

2006-07-04T21:51:00.000-05:00

We had a very nice visit today with Gran, Maw and Aunt Macky. Had some 4th of July turkey and dressing and homemade chocolate pie and cake with strawberries and blueberries. Oda Mae had a very good time. We went out on Sunday to see fireworks at CITG so we came home tonight and went to sleep early after a long weekend.

I must say that Oda Mae is the prettiest little Independence Day girl I've ever seen. She is just so cute. See......

I am so glad to live in a country where I (a SAHD) can raise my kid how I want to raise her and teach her the things I want her to learn. You know, in some countries the government decides what your child will study and learn. We are so blessed to live in America!

Also, only in America can you get your 18-year-old nephew to swallow a bunch of Mentos and chug a Diet Coke and then post the video on the internet for the world to see. More on that tomorrow. :)

-OD

Questionable Parenting...

2006-06-30T23:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight, I would like to pose two different sets of parents to my readers to see if there is a difference. Is one justified more so than the other?

Here we go...

Parent A: Parent A is seen at 11:00 pm in Wal-Mart checking out with her two children. One child is about 6 years old, the other about 14 months (give or take). Parent A is constantly telling her children (both of whom are standing in the shopping basket) to set down and stop messing with things. The items in the shopping basket consist of bathing suits for the children and dog food. The children get upset when told something they don't want to hear..."you can't have that" or "set down, we're going to the car in a minute". Neither parent or children seem to be having very much fun.

Parent B: Parent B is seen leaving a large outdoor family event at 10:00 pm with one child in tow (about 15 months old). The child is obviously tired, but is not fussy. Parent B and the child were both seen having a good time during the event with the occasional crankiness coming from the child since it was getting late.

Here are my questions. Should both parents have put their children to bed at a reasonable time, say 8 or 9 pm? Was it okay for parent B to keep the child up for a "family friendly" event. Was parent A just being stupid for taking her kids to Wally-World for seemingly unnecessary shopping? You can probably guess my opinion, but I'm curious to hear yours.

-OD

Oda Vacation!!!! Woo Hoo!!!!

2006-06-30T08:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, Oda Momma and I took Oda Mae to her Gee Gee's house for a two day and one night stay. This will be the first time Oda Mae has ever spent the night with someone. Yesterday, Oda Momma and I went to lunch "sans" baby. We had a very good time. Then we went to our rehearsal for CITG. Then we went to the library for some fun, hanging out time doing some genealogical research. (I know, we're nerds.) BUT then we went to go see SUPERMAN RETURNS at the 9:30 show. We got out after midnight and came home. Got to wake up this morning (on my own) and took the dogs out for a little run.

Now, yesterday, I sent Oda Mae to Gee Gee's house with a package of oatmeal for breakfast this morning. She likes oatmeal really well, especially with some maple syrup mixed in, but what do I find this morning on my e-mail...

Terrible, processed, fakey chocolate, sugar filled, make your kids turn into ADHD, television watching, video-game playing, hoodlums. :) Oh well, what are ya gonna do?

I think Oda Mae is having a very good time with her Gee Gee. They are having all kinds of fun. I have to admit, I miss her a little...JUST A LITTLE!

-OD

15 Month Checkup

2006-06-27T17:53:00.000-05:00

Today, Oda Momma, Oda Mae and I went to the wee one's doctor for her checkup. She is extremely healthy and is in perfect form. She had to get three shots and a blood test today. She cried just a little bit during the second shot. The nurse said that she was very good and that she wished that all babies were that good.

While in the waiting room (for nearly an hour) we noticed a little boy just a couple of months older than Oda Mae. He sat very quietly in a little chair the whole time. Didn't get up to play. Didn't talk to anyone. Just kind of sat there checking things out. He was a very well behaved little boy. Oda Mae, while also very well behaved, was a completely different personality. She would go up to people and say "Hi". She wanted to play with the rocking horse and all of the toys in the waiting room. She never stopped. Come to think about it, if she is awake, she has got to be doing something all the time. She almost never just sits and plays. If we ever have a child that is content to play by themselves, we'll be pleasantly surprised. To the lady at the dr's office today. Your next one will be a surprise to you too. (hee, hee, hee).

See what I mean...

-OD

The Successful Breakfast

2006-06-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

The successful breakfast for Oda Mae is the one where I do not get food in MY hair.

Are my standards too low?

-OD

Free Concert Tomorrow Afternoon

2006-06-24T11:44:00.000-05:00

I will be playing my last concert tomorrow afternoon with The Perennial Brass Ensemble. The concert is at the Josey Ranch Lake Public Library and starts at 2:30 and will last about an hour. We are playing a concert of "Americana" music. Music by Americans of course. It'll be fun; hope to see you there.

-OD

Super-Duper Awesome Laser Firework Adventure Spectacular

2006-06-24T07:43:00.000-05:00

Last night we went to see the Concerts in the Garden again. This time with Aunt Sis and Cousin Chris.

We got to hear music from all of our favorite super hero, space, kick-your-tail-with-a-light-saber movies. Except for E.T. and Mission Impossible, which by-the-way brings me to another subject...

Who's LAME idea was it to cancel E.T. and M.I. during the first half...
FIRST: Those are two of the coolest pieces that the orchestra was supposed to play.
SECOND: The 1st half was way too short.
THIRD: Intermission was way too long.
FOURTH: When the lasers started, it wasn't dark enough.
FIFTH: I REALLY LIKE E.T. AND M.I.!!!!!!!

Okay, I'm done.

When it did get dark enough, the lasers were really cool...

Oda Momma put the best pictures on her site.

Oda Mae also got a Super-Duper Cool Light-Saber-Laser Sphere that shoots lightning and fireworks at your interstellar galactic enemies. It also plays a cute little song. Cousin Chris got one too. They had a war and Oda Mae won.

Next Friday I'm on stage while Oda Mae is out in the crowd with Grandma "GiGi". Then we go out for the big 4th of July Concert.

-OD

Went swimming today...

2006-06-20T22:44:00.000-05:00

We had access to a "friends" pool today with Grandma Gigi. So we went went in for a dip...

We all had a very good time. And Oda Mae got to skip her afternoon nap. Maybe she'll sleep 'til noon tomorrow?

-OD

Happy Father's Day!

2006-06-19T07:57:00.000-05:00

This post was supposed to go up yesterday, but I was having some networking problems. Those problems are now smashed into little bits.

A year ago, Oda Momma and I made the decision that I would be a stay at home dad. I can say that it has been quite the experience. I wouldn't want to trade it for anything. Whoever said that being a stay-at-home person was the most difficult job in the world was wrong. They must have had a terrible other half, out there working and making their life miserable. I've had the best time. I don't always get the housework done, dinner isn't always made, but I give it a go anyway. But the most difficult job? I don't think so. Trying at times, frustrating every once in a while, yes. Maybe it's just me, but the rewards of staying home with Allison are worth it. I'm thankful as a father today because I have a very good little girl and an incredibly supporting wife. Thank you!

After seeing this post on NCS's website Oda Mae wanted to learn how to dance.
As a very special Oda post today, I made a little movie of her dancing. She's really good now.

CLICK HERE

-OD

Mentos and Diet Coke Experiment

2006-06-16T08:38:00.000-05:00

So, apparently this little experiment is all the rage these days. There was even an article in yesterdays local newspaper.

I can't help but wonder what would happen.....no, no.........................

Well, maybe. What would happen if someone swallowed a couple of Mentos (whole), and (chuckles) then (LOL) drank a Diet Coke? If you closed your mouth, would it make Diet Coke squirt out your nose? (Hee, hee)

Now, if I were still in college, that's something I might actually try. But now that I'm a civilized stay-at-home-dad, I feel that maybe I shouldn't teach my daughter these types of things. BUT, I would be willing to pay a certain nephew who is going to college next semester, $20.00 if he'd be willing to do it and let me video tape it. :)

-OD

Hmmmm

2006-06-14T12:10:00.000-05:00

I just found these....

Oda Mae is just starting to wake up. I'll let her have lunch first.

-OD

June 15, 2006

So I was a little disapointed in the whole Pop Rocks experiment. Her eyes didn't bug out at all. I think she liked them pretty well (After the initial shock). What's not to like about carbonated sugar? Also, most of my pics came out blurry. Darn blurry pics!

Has summer started already?

2006-06-13T17:24:00.000-05:00

Finally got all those Christmas lights put away today. I feel productive.

-OD

Elvis Lives!!!

2006-06-12T12:17:00.000-05:00

Oda Mae and I went to see "Elvis" last night with Gran. We had been gearing up for this event for a week. Oda Mae was so excited. When we got there, there were no seats left in front of the stage so we had to back up a bit. We found a very little spot on the ground next to this nice grandparenty couple. We were kind of in the middle of a lot of people so I wasn't too sure how Oda Mae would do. Last week, Oda Mae wanted to run around a lot. If that happened last night I was going to annoy a lot of people around us. But alas...Oda Mae was the perfect little lady ALL NIGHT LONG! We got to the concert about 7:15 and she played with her Gran until the concert started. When the concert started, she started dancing and clapping her hands along with everyone else. She didn't stop until she got into bed at about 11:00. She had such a good time. She played football with the little boy who was sitting behind us, she clapped with the couple next to us, and she was amazed again by the fireworks. Mom told me last night that because she was such a good baby that our next one might be completely the opposite. I don't think so. Anyway, a good time was had by all. Next week...The Beatles

Concerts in the Garden

2006-06-03T10:18:00.000-05:00

Last night was Oda Mae's first trip out to see the Concerts in the Garden. We got there just as the concert was starting (Oda Mae's normal bedtime 8:00). She had a very good time. She never really got fussy, but she did want to run around a lot. She kept me and Oda Momma pretty busy. But, we all had a pretty good time. Oda Mae got to stay up until 10:30 when we got home. She was very tired, but she really wanted to see the fireworks. She liked them (I think). By the time they started them, she had finally run out of steam.

Here she is going on ahead...

Lookin' cool....
Watching the sky with Mommy
Oda Mae's first (live) fireworks show...
This is how she was during all of the fireworks...

Next weekend Oda Mae and I are going out on Sunday to see ELVIS!!!!!!!!!!!

Anybody want to come?

-OD

THE ODA MAE BABY BLOG

So Long Folks...

Gettin' Ready for Bed

Not 'Till Monday...

Happy Valentines Day!

It's Cold Outside

Oda Momma is Too Cool!!!!!!

A couple posts from the past....

Becoming a SAHD

Wakin' Up

All Good Things....

Little Miss Grownin' up...

NO!

Since Nov. 13

Snow Day!!!!

Maw

I like the Wizard of Oz...

Cue End Credits

2007

Blogrolling

Christmas Day

Merry Christmas!!!!

Christmas Eve Eve

"The Jones'"

Christmas Lights 2006

What does Oda Mae want for Christmas?

Choo, Chooooooooo...

To Eat or Not To Eat?

Santa 2006

FREE NUTCRACKER TICKETS

I'm Cute!

End of a long weekend...

Funny...

Oda Mae....Get to work!

Here we go...

Alrighty Folks...

The Social Butterfly

I knew they were somewhere...

All Hallow's Eve

The Race is On

Hee, Hee.....

Happy Hump Day

Nite Nite

Thank You!!!

The Race

Saturday Fun

Odaville

Our Little Collection

SCORE!!!!!

Take a hike!

Little People

Down by the riverside

The Weekend

Oda Friday!!! Woo Hoo!!!!!

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

Busy Morning

Snakes on a Plane by Oda Mae

Sleepy Time

Mr. Bubble...He's a scary one.

Workin' Out Today

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

Almost Better

Oda has the sniffles...

:(

Mmmmm, Dinner...

Where in the World is Oda Mae Now?

Oda Hair

PT DUTY

Ess, Ess, Ess, Ess...

I Did It!!!

Movin' Right Along

24 HOURS

Hello...

Only the Lonely

PT Duty

One Year and Counting

Vacation Wind Up

A Tribute

Just for GG...

Okay, so nobody wants to play...