...Is by FAR the worst song in The Sound of Music. I'm thinking Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote that one last and just "mailed it in."

I'm just saying.

Yesterday we took Delaney to what will be her Pre-K class starting Wednesday. It was a 30 minute or so session where all the parents got to bring their kids in and meet the teacher and school staff. The kids got to explore their new room, check out their cubby holes, etc.

I was so proud of her. She wasn't one of the kids burying their face into Mommy's leg (not that that's a bad thing necessarily, as I wouldn't be surprised if that's what her little sister does in a few years) but instead was walking around holding other kids hands getting them acclimated to the change. It's nice to see that she seems to be the friendly leader type and not the shy not-so-confident follower that her dad was. :)

But as I was telling the guys at work yesterday, I really feel like I'm "officially" a parent now -- not that her birth 4 years ago wasn't enough, but now I'm dropping my kid off and trusting her to behave and not ruin the family name. :)

I'm predicting she's going to be the first kid who gets in trouble for making burp and fart jokes in the middle of class. Yeah... that'll be my fault. A father's got to have his legacy though, I guess.

So this week we finally upgraded from the $8 "basic" cable we've had for over 4 years now to the $30 or so "standard" package which means the kids can now take in "Playhouse Disney" and Nick Jr. But more importantly ESPN. :)

So what do I mean by "woops"? Well I've discovered this great show called "Hogan Knows Best" -- it's like the Osbournes but you like the people. Apparently I'm in the middle of a marathon and it's fantastic.

Yeah I know you are all probably aware of this show, but like I said... It was like a 4 plus year drought. :)

As I was walking out of Rite-Aid just now after picking up my prescription, what did I see on display? Halloween candy. Halloween candy on sale in what is arguably still mid-August.

Again, for emphasis: Halloween candy on sale in what is arguably still mid-August.

Next week I'm thinking Anderson's on Sheridan Drive will have its first batch of Christmas trees filling up the parking lot.

So here I am watching the required video they make everyone watch during a vasectomy consult... And Shania Twain's "Man I Feel Like A Woman" starts playing over the muzak. :/

In response to (e:Jim,40545)

After four years of the gratuitous exposure to back-to-back commercials every 30 minutes each morning on PBS, we finally got the family up to Marineland. The four of us had a blast seeing a bunch of "wild" animals up close and personal. We even paid the $8 CDN for Delaney to feed and pet a Beluga -- which she backed down from doing at the last minute, lol (well the petting part at least, she still threw a fish to it). Man those things have some massive-sized mouths. I'll try to post some pics in the next day or so.

It never struck me as to how beautiful Killer Whales are. The first thing we did upon arriving was walk down the steps at "Friendship Cove" (what a name... please) to see them underwater through the glass. Man, they are some striking creatures. The first thing Delaney did was shout "This is so exciting!" :)

We also went into the Deer Park and were able to walk right into a crowd of deer and pet them and everything. The whole experience just seemed so... un-American. And by that I mean that I can't imagine a business in the U.S. providing such an experience, be it for animal rights (or whatever) or for fear of a lawsuit. Again, pics are forthcoming.

We had a great time, though -- no toddler drama which is always a bonus. All in all a great reason for playing hooky from the Roz.

And by the way, apparently leaving all the doors and windows open overnight was enough to minimize the skunk stench down to something almost unnoticeable. So sorry for all those who were looking forward to the "van doused in tomato sauce" pictures. ;)

I hit a skunk with my Caravan tonight. We've got a family road trip to Marineland scheduled for tomorrow. I am going to venture a guess that the ride up to ONT will not be completely pleasant. :(

Wrote this last night while waiting for an FTP upload to finish...

Today is the four-year anniversary of a friend of mine's death. On August 13, 2003, he went home sick from work, laid down in bed for the rest of the day and then died in his wife's arms 8 or 9 hours later while she sang softly to comfort him, waiting for an ambulance to arrive. I believe it was an undiagnosed heart condition that did him in. He was 32 years old.

It's hard to imagine so much time has passed, it feels like it was just yesterday ... and a million years ago. His wife, to whom he was married 10 years and had two children with, is about to remarry in October. I'm so happy for her, and it's a great situation since her new husband also lost a spouse and has children as well.

But the other night I started tripping out about how when she married her first husband, whom she often described as the love her life, she probably thought it would last forever and that they'd grow old together. Now as it stands, he will turn out "just" (I use the word liberally here) to be a 10-year episode in her life. How weird is it that, if all things go as planned, she'll end up being married to her new husband for 3 or 4 times that amount of time? I'm sure that's not how she envisioned her life would go. Will her memories of husband #1 fade into the distance, aside from the fact that he's her childrens' father? Should/shouldn't they? I'm sure they won't completely, if at all, but man how crazy is that?

Don't get me wrong, if I were to pass on I'd want my wife to find someone that would love her and my kids and take care of them but it's just weird how things work out.

Chris Carrabba is one of the best songwriters/poets of our generation.

Just one man's opinion.