Gotta Get with It!

Well, it has been a loooooonnnnnnggg time since I have logged anything. It looks like the last post was when Allison was 18 months old.

WOW! Talk about time flying. I will try to bring this up to date and not be too long winded about it, with hopes that I make this more of a regular thing (anything will be more regular than every 2 years!).

 Allison is now 4 years, 3 months old. Alexander (yes, we have a son!!!!!) will be 2 in 10 days. Allison is a little of me (stubborn- the German) and a lot of Jeanne (adorable, caring and loving). Alexander is just a whole lot of Hanneman (German) and a little of Jeanne (cuddly).

To say it is a challenge is an understatement. To say it is worth it is also an understatement.

I'm starting to worry that one day I am going to wake up and they are older. I really do appreciate those days I get to be with them all day long- no matter the trauma.

Ally is in her 2nd year of pre-school, going 3 half days and loving it. She is so cute.
Alex is such a boy, loves his cars. Watches Wreck-It-Ralph all the time (or at least wants to). I can't wait to share super hero stuff with him.

Oh yeah, I am taking both of them to a comic show this weekend. A first for us! I can't wait to see how they react.

OK- got work to do.
Love.

Time still Flying by

Well, so much for keeping up with whats going on. Between my business, daughter, wife, friends and the holidays, I don't think about keeping track of my life much.
Allison is 18 months old. She is developing quite a personality, we haven't quite figured out if she is more like me or her mother. I hope she will be more like Jeanne.
Since the last post, we have changed sitters, because Cassie had to go back to college and couldn't fit it in her schedule. We thought we found someone to replace her, but after a few weeks realized she just wasn't what we wanted. So we (me) had to let her go and search for another sitter.
Thank God for sittercity.com! We found Kailley, and is she great. We thought Cassie was perfect, but Kailley is even more so.
In addition to changing sitters, my business has been going so well that I have hired 4 part time college kids to work with me, and Cassie is one of them! So Allison gets to see Cassie every week when she comes over to work (the home office is getting quite crowded). And we launched a new website: www.worldwillend2012.com, check it out.
Anyways, just thought I would jot a few words. Maybe I will get a chance to write a little more.....

Time- or lack of it.

When you are single, you don't realize how much time you have. When you are married, you don't realize how much time you have. When you have children, you realize how much time you use to have.

My wife works full time and I run my own business. Throw a child into the mix and bam- no more time. If it wasn't for Grandma and Grandpa, well, let's just say - thank God for Grandma and Grandpa.....

Time management is very critical. Allison is now 9 months old and crawling, curious about everything and can climb stairs. It use to be we could lay her on the floor and the worse thing that could happen is the dogs licking her. Put her in a swing and she would be happy. Nope, not anymore. It takes all of 2-3 seconds for her to move, so no taking your eyes off of her.

I use to think I could get work done when she naps. Nope. Her schedule rarely lines up with mine, so I gave up planning work on my Daddy days.

So I say this to you single people (why you single people are reading this is beyond me), enjoy your time. Relish in your time. Pick up and go somewhere without planning, enjoy.

And to the married couples w/o children, enjoy your time. Enjoy your time together. Be spontaneous. Because if you are planning (heck, I never planned this...) on having children, you will be glad you enjoyed your time. After you have children, you will be enjoying their time.

Don't get me wrong, it's a great time. I just wished I appreciated all the time leading up to it.

I would write more, but I don't have more time. We are on the way out the door to go to a birthday party.

Time.

Wow, Now I understand!

So, June 24th is the day. Jeanne and I just get done eating dinner and she is having some pain. I have a ballgame scheduled to umpire in one hour and ask her if I should cancel. She said to go ahead and work the game, if anything happens she will call me. I come downstairs after getting my uniform on, and Jeanne says "Don't go, I think I am in labor". I call to let my boss know I won't be there and we leave for the Doctors office.
On the way to the Doctor, Jeanne starts to have contractions 3 minutes apart. This is the real deal, she is in obvious pain, telling me to drive faster and informing me that she hopes this is it, because if it isn't she doesn't know how much more pain she can take.
The whole experience, from the time we decide to go to the Doctor's office- 6:00pm- to the time Allison was born- 10:39pm- was a blur. It went quick, and for the first baby it was amazing.
Allison Elaine Hanneman, June 24 2010, 6 lbs 13 ozs, 18 1/2 inches.
So, what is it do I understand? I now understand why, when friends had children, I didn't see them for 3, 4 or even 5 years. This child rearing is serious business. It leaves little time for anything else.
We are not alone in this experience, we have friends that have also recently had children. So now, when we all get together it is a house full of babies and their parents fussing over them.
This is a great life.

Time Flying By

Time is getting away from me. I fully expected to post on this blog more often, yet life is getting in the way.
The nursery furniture has been delivered and it is beautiful. Thank you Mom and Dad! Jeanne and I was arranging the furniture that night and had an unexpected reaction- one of our yorkies, Rosie, passed out. Yes, passed out. The vet said it was probably due to the excitement. Boy is she in for a shock. More excitement is on the way.
The baby shower is this weekend. I'll update on the experience.

How I met my wife

I wanted to share the story of how I met my wife, because this experience never happened to me before.

It was about 3 months after a previous relationship had ended (she moved to California). I spent most of my free time at a local bar North Beach, reflecting on all my previous relationships (there were a few), smoking cigars and drinking the time away. For about a month, I didn't speak with anyone other then the bartenders to order my drinks. Eventually, probably because she couldn't stand me just sitting alone drinking and smoking, one of the bartenders started to introduce me to other people at the bar.

I met quite a few people, a few of which became good friends, some that I would see quite frequently. It was another Saturday night at the bar, what I didn't know was it was Sweetest Day, October 21, 2000. Quite a few friends were there, one of them brought along a friend I hadn't met before.

Of course, this is how it happens, when you aren't looking is when you find whatever it is that is missing. After an introduction, and some encouragement, I bought this friend of a friend a drink. We started talking, sitting face to face, and as we spoke the rest of the universe melted away. No kidding. As I looked into her eyes, everything else around us slipped away until it was just the two of us. It was amazing, something I remember as if it were yesterday, and something that had never happened before.

Needless to say, we hit it off. Within two years we bought a house together, and were married the following year.

Starting Off

I'm happily married. Celebrated our 7th anniversary yesterday.

I get along with my Mother and Father in law. Golf, road trips and vacations. I enjoy spending time with them.

I have two yorkies- Roxy and Rosie. Why? How? My wife got Roxy when I was on a golf trip with her father. We got Rosie as a reward for Roxy saving our house from burning to the ground, we thought it was the least we could do. Combined they area 17pounds of affection.

My wife and I are expecting our first child, a girl, in July.

We have great friends.

So why write about any of this? I don't know. I guess I want to put it out there how I feel about life and maybe one day my daughter can understand what makes me tick. Maybe I'll understand what makes me tick?

If you happen to come across this blog, don't expect writing perfection- I know my writing needs help. Just try to enjoy the experience.