27 June 06

        Just as a heads up for those who actually check for updates still. I'm working on a redesign of the site. It's taking a little time and I haven't nailed down a definite "look" for it yet. So far this is the one I'm leaning toward. It's a little more simplified than the current site. It's also bigger. So if there are people out there still viewing the interweb at a screen resolution of 800x600, then you're going to find yourself having to scroll around to see the whole page. Sorry, but I decided 1024x768 was going to be the smallest I would go this time around. As you can see, all of the updates will be in one block as opposed to splitting them up between each individual family member. I think most people will favor this. I'll keep everyone posted when the site is ready for viewing on a regular basis. Bear with me... I have to ration my spare time during Baby Sean's naps... which aren't nearly often enough.I'll leave the old version up once the new version is going for archive purposes as well as nostalgia... so people can see how this site is growing. That's about it for now.

16 October 05

        Not a whole lot going on. Autumn is setting in here. We're decorating for Halloween. Got some pumpkins to paint from the pumpkin farm. Probably squeeze in at least one more lawn mowing before the weather gets real cold. I'll probably be going to Florida for a few days this week to sort through some stuff with Grammy's moving process. Aside from that... things are relatively calm.

26 September 05

        Alrighty... another long period between updates. We're getting pretty bad with this huh? Here's what's new in a nutshell:

• Starting with the big news, for those who don't already know, Pam is pregnant. Yes, we're having baby Hess part Deux. Just one!! We were quite relieved that we weren't having twins since it seems to run in Matt's family.
• We don't know the sex so don't bother asking. Unless you're better at determining the sex of a baby than the sonographer and can make heads or tails of this picture, we'll be in the dark for about another month or so.
• ETA for the baby is around April 7, 2006. We haven't started a date pool yet, but be on the lookout.
• We're holding off on picking a name until after we know the sex. Matt's pretty certain it'll be a girl. We're probably going to go with a different name than what we had originally planned for a girl. So far Meagan is a possibility. Matt and Ryan really like the name Logan for a boy or girl, but Pam's standing her ground on hating that one.
• We're in the beginning stages of trying to figure out how to manage some of the (lack of) space we have for the future family addition. At this point it looks like Ryan will be taking over the guest room/office. We'll be moving the desk downstairs to the living room. Pam is actively looking to buy a racecar bed for him. The baby will then take over Ryan's current room. Guests will have to rough it on the couch bed in the future. Matt is pushing to sell the pine hutch and desk and trash the entertainment center that is being used as a "shelf" in Ryan's room. Another dresser to match the one we already have in Ryan's room is a possibility as well. Nothing is set in stone at this point. Ultimately it almost certainly spells a whole lot more stuff getting put in the storage room and/or attic as well as digging out all the baby stuff.
• Sassy had some minor surgery last week to have a "mast cell" tumor removed from her ear. She's doing fine right now. She has to have her stitched removed later this week or early next week. Now it looks like she went a round with Mike Tyson.
• Pam finished up a 10-day work trip to Germany a little over a week ago. Grammy came for a visit and took Ryan to NJ to visit Betsy & John and Aunt Laura.
• We spent our summer vacation (about the last half of August and first few days of September) in New Hampshire for about half a week. We had a great time. Ryan had an early birthday party with a Barney cake. We mostly just took it easy, hanging out on the beach while Ryan played and Sassy swam. Hershey isn't much of a swimmer. He got real excited when the jet skiis were going by and he woudl run to the end of the pier, try stopping, and slide off the edge into the water. He took a ride with Bumpa, but beyond that didn't take much to the water. We had a wonderful lobster (lob-uh-stah) dinner one night and a great steak dinner another night. We took a day and went to Story Land. That was a good time. Ryan loved the ball pool, the train ride, and he, his cousins, and Daddy and Uncle Dave loved Professor Bigglestep's Loopy Laboratory.
• After a short stay in New Hampshire we flew off to Hawaii. Pam had a 10-day trip there for work and I tagged along. We decided to make it a working five-year anniversary trip. We had a good time but were more than ready to come home when it was done. Flying home first class certainly was a nice way to end that trip. Hawaii was a nice place but where we were (Waikiki, Honolulu on the island of O`ahu). We did the typical tourist stuff to include the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearle Harbor, the Dole Pineapple Plantation, snorkeling at Hanauma Bay, a Luau , and of course shopping and eating out. We both agreed that this island was way too touristy and that if we ever went back to Hawaii it would be a difefrent island. This one was almost like visiting Japan.
• Ryan and Sassy stayed with Mom Mom and Bumpa while we were in Hawaii. Naturally he was spoiled. The daily routine was mostly to the tune of: play on the beach, have dinner, and take a party boat ride to the ice cream stand. Sassy even got a Forsty Paws ice cream treat. It took about a week and a half to get him back into his old routine.
• Hershey stayed with Dave and Paula and had the pleasure of being Evan's house guest.
• I finished up my summer term with all B's. Not too bad. I'm taking my last math class this term, an Art course, and two internet related courses (both of which are 1 week, 3 credit compressed courses). Hopefully if all goes well, spring will be my last semester. We'll see.
• I loaded a whole batch of new pictures. Some from out trips to New Hampshire and Hawaii and some from around the house. Mostly of Ryan as always.

That should about cover most of what's been going on.

02 July 05

        Wow... has it been that long since we updated? Ok, here's what's new in a nutshell:

• I loaded a bunch of previously unseen pictures into the "Weekly Photos" section to make up for the lag between updates. So in addition to the new pictures on the front page, there are about 21 new pictures in the "Weekly Photos" section. Enjoy!!
• We had a small "family reunion" while my mom's cousin Joan was visiting in NJ. She was staying with uncle John and aunt Betsy. I got them to come down to our house to visit and Lynn and Jen to come up from N. Carolina. It was a good time. We BBQ'ed and just enjoyed a nice day together. Ryan was the center of attention as always, especially the next morning when he was playing with the hose after breakfast.
• The morning that everyone left from the "reunion" we tried turning on the A/C... with no results. The unit outside wasn't turning on. So we called in a service order through our homeowner's insurance. An A/C repairman came out and got it running... kind of. The house was cooler but wasn't cooling down to the temperature set on the thermostat. That night we also noticed the carpet by the laundry room door was wet. I looked at the HVAC unit and it was leaking water from the duct where the A/C coil is. Turns out the drip pan rusted through which didn't make things very easy. After about a day of soaking up the carpet as the water continued to flow we turned off the A/C until they could come back out to fix things. That night I pulled up the carpet and ran a fan on the padding as everything was completely soaked through. I found the same thing going on in the closet so that carpet was pulled up as well. Seems I got it all before any mold started to grow. We're still waiting on the A/C repair after a month. Between the parts ordering and "authorization" process it's been absolutely ridiculous. They're supposed to come out on Tuesday and get everything back up and running. In the meantime we bought two window A/C's for Ryan's and our bedroom. We'll just return them when our central air is back to running normally again. It's been hot and humid for the last two weeks, but today is somewhat cool and not nearly as muggy so it's a little relief. We've all had pretty short tempers in all the heat so it'll be nice when we can all sit back and enjoy a ncie cool house without dealing with annoyances like sticking to the couch.
• We've more or less admitted to ourselves that moving to New Hampshire in the next 3-5 years may be an unrealistic goal at this point. Mostly because we're not too sure what kind of jobs will be available up north that we could get into. So we've settled on the fact that unless we hit the lottery we'll simply get there when we get there.
• Grammy (my mom) is planning on moving closer so she can see Ryan more often. She just sold her house in Florida and has been living in Puppy's house until everything is "sorted" out.
• I finished up spring semester with two A's (Dummy Algebra and Information Systems in Organizations) and a C (Problem Solving & Algorithm Design). I'm taking two summer courses (Intermediate Algebra and Elements of Computer Graphics). I'm probably going to take two more at a different school as well.
• I went to Bulletfest last weekend. It's a shooting event, with mostly (full-auto) machine guns held in Ohio every year. This was my first time going to one and to make it "interesting" I designed the t-shirt for this year's event and did a partnership with a guy I met on AR15.com who I also worked with on the Maryland t-shirts. It went very well as we sold over 200 shirts in the two days the event is going on. I did a little shooting while we had a break. I shot a Sten and a suppressed Walther P22. I was most excited about the P22 since I had never shot a gun with silencer on it. After shooting it I decided I definitely have to have one.
• I'll probably be doing a few more shirt designs with my "Bulletfest business partner". So that'll bring in some periodic extra income. Nothing that we can rely on since it's hard to determine how many will sell at any given time. Part of it will be how well I "market" the shirts.
• I ordered a Kifaru Marauder backpack. I've been drooling over this thing for a while now having seen various people's pictures of the same pack online. It was my present to myself from part of the money made at Bulletfest. The rest of the "t-shirt money" went into the family savings.
• I sold one of my rifles: the Remington Model 700 PSS. I shot it for the last time when I went to NJ Blast on 11 June. I took my uncle John and we shot for a few hours. That was the day I realized I got what I wanted out of the bolt action and I could part with it with a clearn conscience. So I posted it on AR15.com and within about a day it was sold. The money I made on that will be going toward buying a Olympic Arms K9GL. This is an AR15-type rifle that shoots 9mm ammunition from a Glock magazine. I have a Glock 17 so the appeal of ths K9GL is that it can share magazines with the pistol. But before I can go through with ordering the K9GL I'm going to be selling my Fulton Armory FAR-15 as well. The money that I get from selling that will be going toward getting the K9GL modified with an integral suppressor. I have to have the rifle sent to a guy who wil do all the work on it. Once the work is complete the rifle will be sent to a dealer who will be able to transfer it to me. But before that can happen I have to do a bunch of paperwork and pay two "taxes" for owning a suppressed weapon and a short-barrelled weapon. Overall I probably won't see this gun for about 7-9 months.

12 Apr 05

        Have I mentioned lately that school sucks. It does.
        For those of you that contributed to Mike McNaughton's fund raising goals you'll be glad to know he completed the Bataan Death March. Click here and here to read about the event.
        I updated the link on the US Flag Ribbon that takes you to the "Support the Troops" site.
        I'll more than likely be going to an event in Ohio during June called Bulletfest VI. I even designed a t-shirt for it that I'll more than likely be getting made and selling while I'm there. This will be my first time at one of these so I'm not totally sure what to expect besides lots of guns and a good time. I'll be meeting some of the guys I talk to regularly on AR15.com
        It looks a design I came up with for the AR15.com Maryland Hometown Forum will also be used for a t-shirt. Click to view the Front and Back 1 & 2.
        I finally got back into the attic and put a "floor" down. It was enough to allow for a little better storage layout, but it's not all that sturdy for supporting a person's weight. I have some stronger boards in certain places that allow us to move around up there. Once I finished up that little project I was able to put everything back in it's place clean up the smaller storage room. We also identified some of the crap we'll be getting rid of in the upcoming community yard sale.
        We bought a new patio table to replace the one that shattered last year. This one has no glass on it so it should hold up a lot better in the event of another wind storm.
        I finally got all the parts I ordered for my guns. It took a while because some of the items were on back order for a while. I ended up cancelling the back-ordered items and bought them from a different place. Now I just have to take my one AR15 to a gunsmith to have some work done on it that I can't do on my own. I'm hoping to have all that done before I get to Bulletfest VI, but we'll have to wait and see.
        Speaking of parts... I won a contest on AR15.com for Photoshopping this picture into this picture. I won a C2 Telestock and a soft-overmolded Ergo grip in Coyote brown, as well as an NRA Survival Kit.

14 Mar 05

        Nothing really pressing to report... school sucks. Yep... that's about it.

28 Feb 05

        Well, we're getting some pretty good snow coming down here in MD. Apparently it's enough to cancel my class for this evening so I'm not complaining. I kept Ryan home with me today because as soon as the first snowflake is seen the entire state of Maryland goes into mass-hysteria and everyone hits the road at once... including the daycare center. So rather than deal with that mess I just let him hang out at home. And that sums up my excitedment for the week. Check Pam's column for news on the new addition to the family.

18 Feb 05

        I got an e-mail from my friend Mike McNaughton. I met Mike at WRAMC when I was visiting some of the amputees coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. In the last couple years his progress has easily surpassed my own, as he's been running marathons on a regular basis. He even ran with President Bush (see picture). In his most recent e-mail he has asked that I spread the word about his next marathon, in which he'll be running to support the Challenged Athletes Foundation. The donations made to CAF will benefit other disabled athletes who cannot afford to buy the adaptive equipment they need to participate in events. Please go here if you would like to make a donation in support of Michael McNaughton. I designed a t-shirt for him to sell for more money for the fundraiser.

13 Feb 05

        I guess we fell behind on updates for a while there. Sorry everyone. The last two weekends we had house guests and updates were bumped down on the priorities list.
        Pam and I went shooting Friday morning after dropping Ryan off at day care. I wanted to run some rounds through my new Glock, although we took all three pistols so Pam could try them all out. She liked the Ruger P89 the most and the Kimber .45 the least. It was fun and we kept it short because we had a lunch date with some of Pam's old co-workers.
        I finished up at Johns Hopkins on Tuesday the 8th. One of the last projects I had at Johns Hopkins was to design and build a website using Macromedia Flash so I re-did my page. If you go there you'll see there are two choices. If you choose to view the Flash version you'll be taken to a more stylish and animated version of my page. Keep in mind it's a work in progress and you might encounter some "bugs". I'm working to fix them so be patient.If you don't already have a Flash player for your web browser either update your browser here or download the player here.
.         So now I'm down to my three night courses at UMUC, which is plenty. I haven't started job/internship hunting just yet. I need to finish up the "digital portfolio" section of my page and then re-tool my resume' a bit to reflect my newly acquired certifications. I'm also considering doing a community web site for our neighborhood that would supplement the newsletter they send in the mail. On it I would like to have a message board/discussion forum which means I need to learn how to make one, so that will take a little time. In between I'll probably start working on the main design and content layout of it. Once I have something to present I'll send out a letter to the editor of the newsletter with the proposal and a link to the "prototype" to see if they want to do it. If it isn't accepted I'll chalk it up as a portfolio item and call it a day.
        Mark and Angie came down for SuperBowl XXXIX... the one where the New England Patriots spanked the Philadelphia Eagles. We had a nice time although their boys got throwing-up sick. Somehow Ryan managed to avoid getting it for a change. In fact, he did what is probably a first this week: a complete week at daycare. Usually he gets sent home for being sick or something.
        The weekend before the superbowl Rose, Jason, and Olivia Dolan visited. They were driving up from Georgia on their way to Aberdeen Proving Grounds where Jason will finish up his officer training on move to his first assignment on the same base as a lieutenant. While they were here we went to dinner at Hooters (sorry, no pictures this time) and hung out.
        I've fallen victim to two new, guilty pleasures, both as result of Pam's evil influence: Starbucks coffee (Tall decaf Caramel Frappuccino to b exact) and the tv show "Sex and the City". We recently signed up on Netflix and have been renting a lot of television series. It's way easier than going to Blockbuster and renting because they mail the DVDs to your house in a pre-postage marked return envelope... and not latel fees. It's pretty cool and we'd highly recommend it to anyone who rents a lot of movies. Video stores suck... this is the way to go now. No lines, no late fees, no not knowing if they are going to have what you want. Blockbuster is trying to match this with their own type of thing but it's a day late and a dollar short for us. Ok, that will end my shameless, royalty-free, sales pitch.

23 Jan 05

        I signed up for classes at UMUC for the spring 2005 term. I'll be taking "dumb-ass" level Algebra and two computer courses for a total of three night classes. Night classes means I'm going to have time during the day to get either a part-time job or an internship with a design agency. Hopefully it'll work out well and I'll get some good "real world" experience in my future trade. I'll be finished at JHU CCI about a week into February, so I'll have about a week of overlapping school schedules.
        I picked up my Glock 17 last week. I was a little turned off by the service at the gun shop I bought it from and I probably won't be going back there again. I had to go with Ryan and there were two "customers" ahead of me (actually just guys BS'ing with the guys working there) so I had to find something to keep Ryan happy while we were waiting. Since the gun shop also sells slot machines Ryan played with those for most of our wait. After about 30+ minutes of waiting they asked if I needed help. I held back on saying, "No, I just like bringing my kid places where he has nothing to do and can't walk around so that he gets really pissed." Instead I signed the forms, paid for the gun and left an unhappy customer. I haven't gotten a chance to shoot it yet, but I put up a picture of it on my page.

14 Jan 05

        I finished up the web design portion of the course I'm in on Wednesday. Today we started working with Macromedia Flash MX. My plans are to incorporate some flash into Ryan's part of the web site. I've already got some ideas running through my head, so hopefully I'll learn what I need to put them into effect. Until then don't expect to see many changes in there. I'll also be trying to put together a digital web portfolio of some of the work I've done in school since I started. It'll probably be broken down into three catagories: Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and In Design. Expect that to be up in a couple weeks as well. I'll also be trying to work some flash animation into that. Until then keep checking for the regular updates and pictures. I shouldn't fall too far behind on that part of the site.

03 Jan 13

        All is Well at the Hess house. Not a whole lot of news to report... but then again, most people don't come here for the news and updates, they come for the pictures.

03 Jan 05

        Well, we made it through Christmas and the new year. Let's start with Christmas.
        Mom Lipkin and Rachel came up from Florida to spend the holiday with us. Mom drove up and arrived a few days before Rachel. Her car was loaded with presents and a few non-present items as well. After we unloaded her car and got her settled in, our tree had more presents than we could have imagined it would have underneath it.
        Mom's present would have to wait to get placed under the tree though: a 12-week old Pug puppy. This was me, Pam, (and in a way Puppy's) gift to mom. Pam gets most of the credit for not only coming up with the idea but for finding a breeder and driving most of the day to West Virginia to pick the puppy up. Mom was visiting in NJ with Ryan while all of this was going on behind the scenes. She returned on Christmas Eve, and we decided we would give her the puppy early rather than scramble around trying to find someone to watch it for the night and then rush out in the morning to pick it up. When she returned and unpacked the car, I snuck around to the front door with the puppy in a basket, rang the doorbell, and hid behind the van. I didn't know it but when she opened the door, saw the puppy, closed it and looked at Pam and Rachel with a shocked look. When she tried to open the door again she had inadvertantly locked it and Rachel had to help her get it open again. Needless to say she was overwhelmed by the cuteness of her present.
        Later that night We had a nice dinner and then settled down and followed our yearly tradtition by watching A Christmas Story and then opening one present early. Matt got a working, scaled down version of the Christmas Story leg lamp. We put it right in the front room window and fired it up for all to gaze in wonder from the Madingley Road.
        The next morning we all woke up, had breakfast and started opening gifts. We had to take several (false-alarm) diaper-change breaks for Ryan. He opened gifts pretty well. We also realized that toy packaging is probably designed by the same guy who designed security systems for top secret military projects. There are three tedious levels one has to defeat in order to actually have the toy in your hand...

1. Getting the toy out of the box
2. Removing the layer of tape covering the twist-ties
3. Removing the twist ties that secure the toy to the interior piece of cardboard

        Not to mention needing tools to remove the screws which keep the battery compartment cover closed and those "deadly" AA batteries from getting into the wrong hands. What ever happened to the old days when you could get a toy out in less than 10 seconds and remove the battery cover with your thumb.
        After about three hours of present opening we were all ready for a break. Later we had a nice turkey dinner with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, and cranberry relish. Ryan even ate some.
        The day after we drove to NJ and hung out with Aunt Becky and Uncle John. We went to the cemetary and buried Puppy's remains with Granny's. That night we hung out drinking beer and BS'ing. Cousin Kim stopped by for dinner and hung for a while as well. The following day, while everyone was lounging and/or shopping I went on an ammo buying run in West Berlin, getting a case of ammo for each caliber gun I have in preparation for when I go shooting this year. Mom and Rachel stayed in NJ for the rest of the week and we headed back that night.
        The rest of the week was returning/exchanging gifts, cleaning, and just goofing off.
        New Years was prety uneventful. We sat up having some drinks and watching TV. We were flipping back and forth between the Times Square coverage and The Funniest Commercials of 2004, which we thought was being broadcast live from Times Square. It wasn't and we missed the ball dropping. The best commercials weren't even that good. New Years day we took down all the Christmas decorations and for the rest of the day we took advantage of the 60+ degree weather by cleaning our salt-caked cars. I even went so far as to vaccuum AND steam the interior. This prompted us to start shopping for a cover to put on the bench seat in the van so that Sydney doesn't dirty it up so bad. Grammy and Rachel headed back to Florida that afternoon around 3:30pm.

Matt's Christmas Booty

• Nostromo SpeedPad n52
• Dewalt 18v Cordless Circular Saw
• Native Eyewear Ripp Sunglasses
• Strait-Line Laser Level/Stud Finder/Sonic Laser Tape Set
• Lord of the Rings: Return of the King DVD

        I got the go ahead to spend a little money so I also bought:

• EOTech 512 scope and GG&G Accucam QD mount
• Glock 17 9mm Pistol
• Sure x200a Weapon Light
• Various parts/accessories for my FAR-15 and Glock

20 Dec 04

        I've been learning a lot in the "web page stuff" classes. Things like HTML and CSS. I'm actually picking it up pretty easy for the most part although it's a lot ot stuff to try to do from memory. I'm trying to incorporate some of the things here and there on this site, although some of it might not be very noticable.
        We got a light dusting of snow last night. Not enough to keep us in or anything.
        Grammy drove up this weekend and arrived Sunday afternoon. Today we all went grocery shopping at the commissary and stocked up the fridge and cabinets for Christmas goodies. Pam and Grammy are going to be baking and what not this week.
        My trip to the shooting range was pretty good. I got to try out a few of the other guys' toys, like an EOTech and Aipmpoint scope and an M1A rifle. I shot up a few hundred rounds on my Bushmaster and a box of 9mm with my pistol. The weather was perfect for it and probably the last nice day I'll have to do it until winter is over.

13 Dec 04

        Finished up the Digital Graphic Design course last week and started the Digital Multimedia (or the "web page stuff") Course this week. So far we're covering principles of web design and have started HTML. I'm picking up on it pretty fast so far. I'm really looking forward to all of the area we'll be covering in this course.
        I went to a gun show in Harrisburg, PA this weekend with my friend Ron. Lots of gunny goodness to look at and touch. The funny thing about gun shows is even at something like this they try to cater to every audience in order to make money. Not only do the sell guns, but they have jewelry, jerky, toy guns (Airsoft and rubberband), books, t-shirts and clothing, war memorabilia and collectibles, etc. It's kind of annoying trying to sift through the crap to see what I actually go there for. They had some pretty good stuff and of course quite a few things I'd like to have bought, but for the most part I can buy everything I see there cheaper on the internet.

05 Dec

        program but set up more for print layout. I'm just getting itchy about getting into the web design classes now.
        Did a dump run yesterday. The futon is now in its final resting place. After going through the house and getting some other junk together for the trip, to include the "dry sink" from the laundry room, I loaded it up and off we went. Now we're all set for the arrival of the new L-sectional to on the 8th.
        I think we've decided not to chance it when Sydney is alone in the house, so we are going to gate her in the upstairs foyer area. The thought of coming home to a shredded couchand the unpleasantness that would happen to her isn't worth the risk. It's either that or back in the crate, which I don't think would sit well with her at all. She's too used to having more space than that now.
        The next major home project is re-insulating the attic. It's going to be a joint effort, because everything up there needs to be taken out before the real work can start. I'm thinking once the insulation is laid down I'll probably throw some wood down for a "floor" so that everything isn't crammed into one area and I don't have to worry about falling through the ceiling while rearranging the junk that's up there.
        At some point, while there are no leaves on the trees, I'm going to have to get up on the roof and start trimming the tree in the front yard as well. I seriously doubt it's been done in a while. While I'm up there I'll end up cleaning the gutters out as well. Oooh... fuuuunnnn!

29 Nov

        I'm off from school for the week so I have some time to work on some things around the house and the web page. I think I've more or less gotten the "Weekly Photos" page working. As a new picture is posted, the previous ones will be archived in this page. I'm also going to work on adding a bunch of new pictures to Ryan's page.
        This weekend we went to Sicklerville, NJ and spent Thanksgiving with my Uncle John and Aunt Betsy. The food was great and after Ryan went to sleep we stayed up and shot the sh*t for a few hours.
        We went to Mark and Angie's on Friday afternoon and the boys got to hang out. I played darts with Mark in the basement for a while. I haven't played darts since Germany, but I didn't do too bad. That evening we went to the VFW [Post 1616 in Williamstown] and had some beers with Uncle John. I played him in a game of pool and three games of Cricket [darts]. Of course, now I'm thinking about buying a dart board, but I'm running into the dilemma of whether to buy a plastic/electronic one like Mark has, or a real (horsehair) one like the one I played at the VFW with Uncle John.
        It was a good night and overall a nice weekend. The only downside was the hellacious traffic, especially going into NJ. We should have known better but for some reason we thought that we would be the only ones on the road while everyone was in the homes eating. Fat chance of that.
        I finally got my Ace Ltd. M4 SOCOM stock for my second M4-gery [AR-15]. I installed it that night... mostly. I ran into some problems removing the old stock until I applied some WD-40 and beat of it off with a rubber mallet. The next problem I ran into was the hole the buffer is supposed to go into was damaged and was preventing it from going in. So the next day I went out and bought a Dremel rotary tool with the birthday money Mom & Dad P gave me (thanks Mom and Dad). I ground down the problem area and it seems to be working fine now. It looks awesome. There are still some other parts I'm going to add on to this rifle, but that'll take time and money.

19 Nov 04

        I've made some form & function changes to the main web page. As I learn more in school I'll continue to tweak this site for practice. The other pages within the site haven't changed very much yet.
        School has been going well. I've missed quite a few days between me and Ryan being sick. But everything I have missed seems to be fairly easy to catch up on.
        I finally got some yard work done. I mowed the leaves in the front and back yard, finally cut down the majority of the old rusty swing set, and I was able to clean and organize the shed.
        For my birthday Pam ordered me the Ace Ltd. M4 SOCOM collapsible stock for one of my AR-15's. I've been wanting this ever since the Assault Weapon Ban sunsetted in September.

               

26 September 05

        This is another abbreviated update until Pam does her write up. The pattern continues.
        Work, sleep, play with Ryan.

02 July 05

        Updates in a nutshell:

• Went on a month long trip for work to Korea, Washington (state), and Japan.
• Going to be taking Hershey to obedience training.

12 Apr 05

        This is another abbreviated update until Pam does her write up. The pattern continues.
        I like my new job. The people there are awesome. The only thing I don't like is the waking up early and the long drive part. I'll be going on a couple of trips during most of the month of May; a trip to Korea, a trip to Japan, and a trip to Washington State. I'm kind of looking forward to them since I've never been to any of those plaes, but I'm not looking forward to being away from Ryan for so long again. Matt's mom is coming out for a week to help out while Matt is doing final exams. We finished watching Sex & the City. It was a great series that I highly recommend.

14 Mar 05

        This is another abbreviated update until Pam does her write up. Beginning to see a pattern here? Well, we're pretty much settled on the decision to adopt Hershey. He and Sydney get along very well. They lay in the doggie (that we bought for him since she's always in our bed) bed together and play around all the time. Hershey's very gentle and is very good with Ryan. He's not perfect though; he's very stubborn when it comes to following commands, he barks at everyone while in the backyard, he scratches at the door to come in, and he's got some serious separation anxiety... but we should be able to work through those issues with him over time. Either way, he's qualified to be a Hess. He seems to be putting on some weight so that's a good sign as well although Sassy has also been putting on a little "sympathy" weight as well... mostly because they have to be fed together at certain times of the day since Hershey isn't a free-feeder like Sassy was. We say was, because now she'll eat everything in her bowl so that Hershey can't eat her food. Greedy bitch.

28 Feb 05

        This is an abbreviated update until Pam does her write up. We "rescued" a boxer this weekend. Right now we're ust fostering him on a trial basis to see if he works out as a permanent member of the Hess family. Pam found him on a NJ Boxer Rescue website, and had been tracking his progres for about a week before putting the call in to see if we could take him. He was staying at a Doggie Daycare Center in Princeton NJ, so we drove 2.5 hours on Saturday afternoon and after meeting him and seeing how he behaved around Sydney and Ryan we decided to bring him home. He's really underweight so our biggest goal right now is to fatten his scrawny ass up. His name is Hershey. He's a brindle male boxer with very little white, mostly on his chest. He's VERY laid back. Sydney seems to be starting to accept him into HER home. She kind of weird about sharing food with him but she enjoys running and playing with him. Beyond that they both do the same thing during the day: lay around the house being lazy dogs.

13 Feb 05

        Ryan had his second swimmie class yesterday. He loved the water even though it was awfully cold. He likes to kick his legs and splash his arms. We only have two classes left but we'll probably sign up for another session. He needs to stay in shape for the lake in NH and the pool in FL!
        I start my new job tomorrow. I'll be at orientation all day filling out forms and stuff. I'm not too excited to go back to work, it's been nice being home. However, I think I'm really going to like it despite the commute. At least I'll be able to take the train into DC then grab the Metro. I happen to know which Metro stops have a Starbuck's so it won't be that bad!
        We bought a new desk for our office/guest room. I spent last Friday night putting it together. I tried to kid myself into thinking I'd make less of a mess with a bigger desk. Fat chance, just more room to spread out all of our paperwork!
        We're still hoping to adopt a rescued boxer. They won't adopt another female to us because of female aggression. Apparently, female/female are the last resort. The best combinaton is male/female. We put in a few applications and we're waiting to hear back. Hopefully we'll have a new family member within the next few months!

23 Jan 05

        We finished shoveling out of 4-5 inches of snow yesterday. Ryan got all dressed up from head to toe, like Randy in A Christmas Story. He had a blast. I pulled him around the yard on the sled. He was very upset when it was time to come in. We're just lounging around today anxiously awaiting the start of the Patriots game. I submitted an application to adopt a boxer from Second Chance Rescue. Her name is Tracy and she is a reverse Brindle color. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they'll accept our application. As many of you know I am a faithful watcher of Animal Cops on animal planet. I just can't bear to see animals abused. I am hoping they will let us give Tracy a better life. I know Sassy would love a friend and Bumpa would love another grand-dog!

03 Jan 05

        I had a "job interview" today. Well, it wasn't so much an interview as a "come check us out and see if you might want to work for us" kind of thing.

        I have been getting some hang-out time with Ryan while I'm on terminal leave. It's pretty nice... we have lot of play time together and I'm just enjoying it while I can.

        I've been really trying to talk Matt into the idea of us getting another boxer to keep Sydney company and for her to play with. Right not it's looking like I might break him but who can tell for sure.

03 Jan 05

        Enjoying my first week off after getting out of the Army. I'm on terminal leave right now and I'm getting various job offers to consider. All of them have their pro's and con's so it's going to be tough to decide on one but I have an idea of which one I might go with. We'll see though.
        Enjoyed a nice Christmas at home this year... our first one in our house (we spent it in NH last year). Matt's mom bought us a lot of dining ware items like crystal glasses, serving dishes and bowls, and a large serving dish for a big turkey. Matt gave me a leather jacket (that I returned because the catalog said it had a liner but it was a lot thinner than I expected), a large mirror for the living room, a sign for the front door with a boxer on it that says "All guest must be approved by boxer.", and a black silk nighty. I also got a couple of books and some money.
        We bought Matt's mom a Puggy. She was so cute. Mom liked the name I came up with for her: Lola. As a result we've been singing Copa Cabana for the last week or so. It took her a while to finally decide on a name though. She had a list that she made up from names she found on the internet that we the potentials. We pretty much narrowed it down while we were at Aunt Betsy and Uncle John's in NJ.
        My knee has been giving me a lot of problems lately. One day when I woke up it made all these popping sounds. The Army doctors told me a while back that it was arthitritus but I'm not buying that BS now.

20 Dec 04

        Finished up most of my clearning today. I have a few more places to hit and then I'm all done. I also got another job offer today. Not sure who I'm going to go with... all depends on a few things, like pay, location, how much travel, etc.
        I went to see the Nutcracker on Saturday night with a few friends. I was a little disappointed, but I still had a good time. After the show we went to the Howl at the Moon Cafe.

13 Dec 04

        Picked up my clearing papers today. Wooohooo. I've got about three job offer that I have to consider.
        My "going away" party is this week. We're having it at DuClaw Brewery at Arundel Mills Mall.
        I had my little "post Iraq deployment" Margarita Mixer this past Saturday night. A few of the guys (and girls) from the work came and we pretty much just hung out, talked, snacked on "mexican food platters" and drank. It was a lot of fun.
        We got our new couch and it's really nice. It fits pretty well in the living room and really splits up the dining and living rooms.

05 Dec

        Ryan and I took a morning trip to the mall to do some light shopping.
        Friday afternoon me and Matt went to see The Incredibles. it was very good. Matt really liked it.
        I've been getting closer to closing the deal on my future job after I get out of the Army. I recently got an offer basically working where I am now, but as a civilian, but the GS grade (civilian rank) they offered me wasn't exactly sweetening the deal considring I have received much higher offers.
        This coming Saturday we'll be hosting a "Margarita Mix" at our house with some friends from work. It should be fun. Hopefully the new couch won't be christened with tequila.

29 Nov 04

        While we were hanging out with Uncle John and Aunt Betsy this weekend we invited them to come down Christmass day and hang out while the Sarasota gang is here. Pam went out yesterday morning/afternoon and did some shopping, to include getting a table cloth that will fit when extended to "company" length. She also decided to buy the Hess family Christmas present: a new L-sectional couch from JC Penney. it has a recliner and a queen sleeper, so now we should be able to accomodate all of our holiday guests, assuming Sydney doesn't destroy it first. it should be delivered on the 8th of December.
        Edit to add: We got a call from Aunt Becky, I mean Betsy, around dinner time to let us know they wouldn't be able to make it because Aunt Becky forgot she had made plans with her kids/grandkids. Or at least that's the story she's sticking to.

20 Nov 04

        Pam managed to pick up the stomach virus that Ryan and Matt had. She has been sick most of the afternoon and night.

19 Nov 04

        Pam is back from a month long trip in Iraq. She's glad to be home with Ryan and Matt... and Sydney. Now that she's back she'll start doing her final clearing on her way out of the Army. She's had a few interviews for jobs and will have more time to dedicated searching for a new job now that she's back home.

               

26 September 05

        Ryan's continues doing very well in all aspects.

• He's talking up a storm. He's still not speaking in complete sentences but he's now repeating phrases and groups of words and communicates a lot better as to what he does and doesn't want.
• Right now his "thing" is Toy Story and Buzz and Woody. We popped in the DVD one day and then Matt dug out his Buzz Lightyear toy from storage and gave it to Ryan. A few days later Matt bought him a Woody toy to go with it.
• We've been spared of Barney for a period...
• Before that it was Tigger. We bought him a Tigger Holloween costume to wear trick-or-treating this year. Naturally we're using him to build a supply of candy for ourselves since he's a little young to be eating a bag of chocolate.
• He's running, jumping, climbing, and just about everything else.
• He is still sleeping in his crib but we expect to change that soon and try letting him sleep in a bed when Pam is able to track down a racecar beed for him. We're not sure how he'll do in it as far as climbing out of it and trying to come back downstairs. At this point he makes no effort to climb out of his crib so we're hoping for the best.

02 Jul 05

        Ryan's been doing very well in all aspects.

• He's talking up a storm. He's not speaking in complete sentences or anything but he's repeating most words we say and he's able to call out things as he sees them like "bird", "bus", "kaka", etc.
• He's been walking for a while and is now more or less "running". Not full-on marathon/olympic running but he get's around with some speed now.
• He's been working on getting up and down stairs by holding onto the railings or balancing himself on walls.
• He's able to climb onto the couch pretty much on his own now.
• Pam bought him a sandbox and he loves it. He's got a couple of trucks in there but he doesn't exactly do "truck" things with them yet. He mostly just likes pouring sand on himself.
• He's been doing very well in day care. Matt's been taking him in earlier and it seems to be good for him because he isn't missing all of the "morning activities". He doesn't cry much if at all when he's dropped off either.
• Pam bought a bike "trailer" and a bike seat for him to ride in. She found it on the "For Sale" bulletin board at her work. We haven't done it too much lately because he refuses to keep his helmet on and we're a little nervous about taking him outside of the neighborhood near traffic. We haven't tried the bike seat yet, mostly because he needs the helmet even more while riding that way.
• We went to a petting zoo a couple weeks ago. He seemed to enjoy it a lot. He got to pet some goats, a bunny, a chicken, and a horse. He was mostly interested in the sliding board they had though.
• He's been "jumping" lately. He's just starting to get both feet off the ground when he does it.
• Not much in the potty-training right now. We have him sit on it sometimes just to get him ised to it but he's not able to pull his pants down yet so there's not much point.

  12 Apr 05

          Additional photos are now posted on the "Weekly Photos" page AND Ryan's first Hollywood movie is also now available on the "Weekly Photos" page. Check it out.
  *Note: The best way to view this film is to have Windows Media Player version 10. Right click on the file link and select "Save Target As". When the file browser box opens select the location you want to download the file to on your computer and then click "Save". When the file download is complete you can go to the directory you saved it to and play it. The movie is 3.3MB so it may take a little time for a dial-up internet connection. E-mail Matt if you have problems.
          Ryan is doing well in daycare... for the most part. Instead of crying when we carry him in he walks in, says "hi" to the woman at the front desk and anyone else in the "lobby", then walks into his "classroom" and checks everything out. We're not so sure about his social skills though; Matt saw him pull a girl's hair one day and we got a call that he bit a kid yesterday. He's very bitey lately, especially when he gets really excited and worked up.
          He's been talking a lot now:

  • "Bus" = One of his favorite words right now. If he sees a bus on the road he says it, and then he'll keep saying it for a while after that.
  • "Bah-dee" = Barney, from the TV show.
  • "Hershey"
  • "Shoe"
  • "No"
  • "Go"
  • "Shhh" which is followed by a finger over his lips
  • "cold"
  • "cool"

          He still does a little dance whenever he hears music, and sometimes when he doesn't. He's practically running. Since the weather has been a little warmer we'll go out back and let him run around in the yard, but he has a tendency to go for the hose and try to drink from the spray nozzle. We got him a cool little sun hat and some cute little sneakers and "loafers" from Target the other day.

  14 Mar 05

          Ryan seems to be doing a lot better in daycare. He doesn't get as upset when he gets dropped off and sometimes doesn't seem to want to leave at the end of the day (depending on what he's doing). He's still picking up whatever germs from the other dirty kids around the center but he's not getting as sick; mostly just runny noses.
          He's been eating a lot better now that he's on a little more of a routine and doesn't get any snacks on the drive home from daycare. Last week he ate green and black olives and the meat from our tacos, chicken scampi, string beans, potatoes (not french-fried), and seems to be back to eating pasta. All a good sign.
          He's also been "talking" more. Some of his latest words are:

  • Hot = Hot... and just about everything else he points to. If it's food a drink he'll follow it up by pretening to be blowing on it.
  • Hat = Usually right after he pulls off his hat
  • UH-OH! = Usually when he throws or drop something
  • Cheat = Treat. He loves giving the dogs treats. As soon as he hears the laundry room door open he's running in saying it.
  • Tickle Tickle = Tickle Tickle... when one of us is moving our fingers before tickling him
  • Dada & mama = he's been saying these for a while. He's working on "cookie"

  28 Feb 05

          Ryan seems to be past the worst of his virus. He's pooping normal... Hallelujah he's poopin' normal!! It's funny how something like solid poops can be such a wonderful thing. He's been eating better... still picky about what he's putting in his mouth... if it's not plastic, magnetic, paper, or some other non-food item then it requires a close inspection to make sure it's worth going in there. Usually only breaded food-items make the cut. He's been really cranky but we're attributing that to the three teeth coming in at once. I think they're all the fang (eye?) teeth. But he's getting back into a normal routine that doesn't include a diaper and clothing change every 30-minutes, so it's nice.

  24 Feb 05

          Ryan's been sick all week. Matt took him to the pediatrician at Bethesda Tuesday, but they were little help and he ended up vomitting the whole ride home. So yesterday, after work, Pam took him to the ER at Walter Reed and he ended up spending the night in the Pediatrics Ward so that they could rehydrate him intravenously. He took about two bags in the ER while Pam was with him and Matt was in class. Matt showed up a little after they admitted him to the ward for the night and Pam returned home so she could get a couple hours of sleep before going to work. He was discharged around 3pm today. He's been holding his food and drink down now and is a little more perky, but he's still a little weak and still has diarrhea, gas, and a rash from all of the "activity" going on inside his diapers.

  20 Feb 05

          Ryan's been sick all day. He started throwing up at breakfast this morning and has been "pokey" (Pam's word for "cuddly because he's not feeling well") most of the day. Hopefully it's just a 24-hour bug. We had to cancel a visit to the Rose & Jason's. We waited to see how he would be feeling after lunch and a nap, but not long before we were about to start packing up the van he ralphed again so we decided it would be best if we rescheduled.
          He pulled a two-week consecutive run at day care without being sent home once. So he's either building up an immunity to the other dirty kids in there or his behavior has improved and the "care providers" aren't trying to find excuses to send him home.

  13 Feb 05

          Ryan has been doing very well. He doesn't have a cold for a change (although his nose is a little runny). He did a complete week at daycare even. A attendance milestone for him. He's been walking all the time now. He doesn't hold his arms up in the air asmuch now, and he even carries things around while he's walking from room to room. He's been talking more lately as well. Some of his more common words are:

  • Gaka = cracker and/or cereal
  • Hot = Hot, usually in reference to mama's coffee cup, hairdryer, or other items in the kitchen
  • Sheh = Shoe more or less
  • Ba = Bath
  • Shash = Sass or Sassy

  He's working on "juice"
          He's also doing pretty good at pointing out objects in his book or on his body. He knows where his feet, belly, ears, mouth, and nose are as well as picking out kitties, dogs, elephants, fish, monkies, and a few other animals in his animal book.

  23 Jan 05

  Ryan had his first snow experience yesterday after the 4-inch "blizzard" did its thing. We brought him out in his snow suit that he received for Christmass and plopped him down on a saucer sled. He seemed to enjoy it and didn't want to come back inside.
          Ryan made out pretty well in day care this week. The first day back we got an inch or two of snow so the center closed early. Thursday he did a full day and the report was that he did pretty well. Friday we kept him out because we drove down to Indian Head to attend a retirement ceremony for Matt's first EOD team leader, SFC Neil Smith. After the ceremony we went to a luncheon and Ryan chowed down on fried shrimp, fish and rolls. He ws a little antsy during the award giving and mama had to walk around with him so he wasn't screaming over the speeches.

  03 Jan 05

          Ryan made out like a bandit for his second Christmas. Lots of new clothes, toys, clothes, and you guessed it... toys. He opened a lot of the present himself. He's been having a good time with everything so far. Here's some of the toys he got:

  • Learn Through Music
  • Wiggles Car
  • Lego Quatro Large Set
  • Pop-Onz Building Table
  • Weebles Farm Tractor Trailer
  • CUSHY CRUISER Dump Truck
  • Elmo & Ernie Bumper Cars

          He might be coming down with yet another cold. We'll see if he shakes this one a little quicker than the last one.
          He's been walking a lot more now. He usually holds onto something while standing and takes off from there, but the other day he finally managed to stand up from a sitting position and start walking. When he walks he holds his hands up in the air. He's also been walking up the stair holding onto the banister instead of crawling.
          The other day Pam realized he understands the word bath when she stripped him down to get him ready and asked him if he wanted to take a bath. He took off crawling, went right up the stairs and into the bathroom and started lifting his leg trying to get into the tub. He's been talking more as well. Truck=Guck. Everything else is kind of jibber-jabber.

  20 Dec 04

          Ryan had his first Dunkin Donut this weekend. It seems to be his new favorite food. We bought a box of mini-donuts for him while we were at the commissary. His eating habits have been very particular lately. He won't eat anything he used to anymore. He's narrowed downhis preferences to cheese, Saltines, Animal Crackers, apples, fish sticks, and a few other things.
          He is pretty much walking now, but not totally on his own. We usually have to be playing with him. He hasn't gotten confident enough to just walk whenever, instead of crawling but at least he's come this far.

  13 Dec 04

          Ryan is more or less over his cold but he still has a little bit of a runny nose and a nasty cough. Pam took him to the doctor's last week and they gave him medication for a sinus infection. He's not crazy about the taste of it so we have been hiding it in cereal and pudding.
          He hasn't started walking yet. We both think it'll bevery soon because he has stood on his own a lot and walks very well while we're hardly holding him, but he's a little wobbly and refuses to take that first step.
          His molars have been coming in for the past couple week and it's been causing him some terrible pain. He hasn't been the "happy baby" everyone considers him. Most of the time he is either throwing mini-tantrums or just crying his eyes out while sticking his fingers in his mouth, which we assume is from the teething pain.
          He tried steak tonight and was chowing down on it. He refused to try it last night though, which seems to be pretty typical for him right now. He's been very difficult during feeding to say the least.

  05 Dec

          Ryan has been taking a few steps when we are sitting on the floor with him between us. He has also be standing next to walls, tables, and such and taking his hands off or holding them up in the air. So he's getting close to walking now. When he is using his little walker/scooter and he gets to the wall, he has been walking backwards with it. We thought that was pretty cool.
          We committed the cardinal sin of toy collecting and unboxed his 2003 Hess truck that Bumpa gave him last Christmas. He's been having a blast with it. It came with two race cars that he loves crawling around with or throwing over his shoulder.
          He's still been kind of fussy at dinner time about eating. He'll throw little tantrums, but eventually he calms down and starts chowing down on just about everything on his plate.
          We think he might have picked up another cold from one of the dirty kids at day care. His nose has been running a lot this morning. Hopefully he'll kick this one quicker or at least not get so bad he's throwing up.

  29 Nov 04

          Ryan had an extra holiday treat this weekend on the way home from NJ. We decided to give into our craving for hot wings and stopped into the Baltimore Inner Harbor and eat at Hooter's. Ryan chowed down on a grilled cheese sandwich, french fries, and some sips of lemonade. After he finished stuffing himself he got a couple of pictures with the Hooter's waitresses. He clearly had a "crush" on one of them as your can see in the weekly picture.
          His latest "cuteness" thing is he sticks his hands and fingers out straight and tenses up while saying "oooooooooh". He'll also imitate Matt and Pam when they do it. It's pretty funny.
          His lateest "not-so-cuteness" is throwing temper tantrums on the floor. He'll lay down and arch his back while making his body completely rigid. We find it's best to just ignore him when he does this so he knows he won't get any attention for being a little sh*t.
          He's still got a little bit of a cough, but for the most part he's over the worst of his cold.

  19 Nov 04

          Ryan learned how to crawl backwards, which he uses to crawl off the couch, down the stairs and down hills. We had him out on the front lawn and he was crawling down the slope of the front lawn.
          He's no quite walking yet... still trying to make that first step. We might be able to get him to do it with his little ball popper toy.
          Grammy came to visit and help Daddy out (he got really sick the night she arrived). She took him shopping and bought him some new fleece pajamas, some new outfits and a pair of shoes.
          He's been eating all table food now. He's pretty fussy during dinner, but he's been trying all kinds of new foods, like eggs, broccoli, saltine crackers, and ice pops.