My girls are gone!

This morning, at about 6:30 my girls left for Salem, Mass.

Sarah and Natasha (along with Carolynn and Baba Lex) have gone down (by car) to spend some time with the Loretta, Randy, Andre and Khira. This will be Sarah's last and Tasha's only chance to see the house on Salem, before the whole clam moves to Kingston this summer. I know Sarah was looking forward to the trip and I really want them to have a good time. They're going to be gone until the 7th of May. Eight days.

Eight days.

Eight days?

EIGHT DAYS!


I've never been apart from Tasha more than twelve hours. This is going to be very, very challenging.

Before they left this morning, Sarah put Tasha in bed with me. She immediately snuggled up and stared at me with a very calm face. She took her hand and started gently stroking my forehead and cheeks, in a very soothing fashion. "Don't worry Daddy", is what I imagine she was saying.

So my eight month old princess and my queen are off on an adventure. Have fun girls. I'll be thinking about you - constantly.

Video of Talkin' Tasha

Here is some video that Sarah shot this month during one of her trips to the Zoo with Natasha. You can see and hear that she just loves to babble.

For those of you trying to keep track, Natasha did in fact turn EIGHT MONTHS OLD on Tuesday April 25th. Unbelievable how fast the past eight months have just flown by.

Not a day goes by that Sarah and I don't ask "How did we get so lucky?"

Marsden dead at 69

Earlier today, one of my former colleagues at the FAN 590, and a Canadian broadcasting legend Pat Marsden lost his long battle with cancer.

Marsden, best known on the national scale for being the voice of the CFL for so many years was a guy who could tell a terrible story and make it compelling.

I interacted with Pat a lot during my days at The Fan when I was working overnights and Pat was co-hosting the morning show with John Davidson.

He'd look at me and say in his snarly voice, "You still work here? I thought I told Millman [program director] to fire your ass". The first time he said that I panicked a little. 'What did I do to piss off Marsden?'

When he used that same line for the next couple months in lieu of "hello" I realized that this man was all about getting in a good rib.

One story I'll never forget.... in the early 80's, Marsden was out in Edmonton for a CFL game. Pat was never one for political correctness, and got himself thrown in jail for comments he made on the air. This was on a Friday night. He was bailed out by Ron Lancaster. Three days later he was working an Ottawa Roughrider game, and got thrown in jail again! This time he was bailed out by Brian Mulroney.

He was a one of a kind, and a true original in an industry that fosters so many imitators. Thank you Pat.

Marsden was 69. He is survived by his wife T.A., daughter Taylor, Connor, and children Mike, Patti-Lee, and Ruth Mary, from his first marriage.

School's done!

I did it - I wrote my English Lit exam tonight, ending my first year back at school. I was terrified going into the exam, but I think I did pretty damn well.

I got my essays back that I handed in and got A- on all of them.

I told Sarah tonight how grateful I am to her for basically forcing me to go back to school. I knew I wanted to, but didn't have the confidence to think I could succeed. I feel so much better about myself and my future plans in education.

Thank you sweetheart.

Ding Dong Quinn is Gone!

What a great day! I wake up this morning and tune into the radio to hear that Pat Quinn has finally been fired. The highest paid coach in the NHL who has never won a damn thing (other than that gold at the Olympics four years ago) has finally been let go. Unfortunately, the man who canned him, Leaf GM John Ferguson Jr, still has a gig - but one step at a time.

I've heard fans defend Quinn for years - and never understood it. Tell me, what sort of systems do Quinn teams employ? What young player has he ever developed into a star? Do you know that Quinn's practices NEVER consist of special teams work, power play options or anything else that most teams have had success doing?


Quinn is a 63 year old dinosaur. He's one of the good ol' boys of the NHL who refuses to adapt and grow with the game. The game changed this year. Quinn did not.

Did you know Matts Sundin, one of the top players on Earth, has been saddled with the same amount of ice time as many 3rd and 4th line players on other decent teams. WHY? Quinn believes in rolling four lines and playing everyone equally. How the hell would that have worked 13 years ago if Pat Burns had played Gilmour the same amount he was playing Eastwood. I'll tell you one thing, we wouldn't have gone to the final four twice.

This now opens the door for Paul Maurice, who has been coaching the Toronto Marlies this season. Maurice took the Hurricanes to the Cup Finals a few seasons ago and has a great eye for the new NHL. He understands how to develop talent, he's media friendly and a tactitican in the mold of a Scotty Bowman or Ken Hitchcock.

See ya Patty, it's been real and it's been fun, but it ain't been real fun!

Talkin up a storm...

So apparently Natasha's new favourite things to do are to show off her lungs and yelling out insightful bits of baby musings like, "baa baa", "bla bla", "da da" or just "yaaaaaaaah!".

I won't lie, i'm partial to "Da Da". I have a video on the computer that Sarah shot last week. I'll upload it in the next day or so for you all to enjoy.

She's growing up so fast. She tried pulling herself up the other day in her crib by hanging onto the side.

I updated the April 2006 folder on Shutterfly, so go check out the new pictures!

Thanks to everyone who gave Tasha an Easter gift. It REALLY wasn't necessary but it is appreciated.

Well, I should get back to studying...

Tasha's first Jays Game

On Saturday, Natasha got to see her favourite baseball team up close in personal. My dad, Humberto, Serene and Lucas and came with Sarah, Natasha and myself to the Rogers Centre to take in the fun.

We got great seats too. Fourth row, section 114 on the first base side. Awesome seats. How close were we? I heard parts of the conversation between the guys standing at first base!

How close were we? Kids at my school came up to me today saying they saw me on TV holding my baby.

We had an awesome time... The only down sides were when the Jays were scored on after a misplayed ball, and when Zaun knocked a homerun out of the park ... At those points the park got a little too loud all at once and Tasha yelled right back. Not a 'i'm chipping in' yell - but more of a "everyone shutup now" noise.

I think it'll be a while before she heads back down to the dome... but in the meantime, she has her little Jays cap that matches daddy's, and she can park right next to me on the couch and take in as many games as she likes.

It's baseball season...

With my best Jerry Howarth voice, "The Blue Jays are in flight" having opened their season on Tuesday and taking two out of three from the Twins.

Natasha is getting into the spirit of baseball season, as you can see here rockin' her pink Blue Jays merchandise that was a gift from her Uncle Dan-e-o when she was just a couple weeks old!

Upon donning the pink pin stripes, my future athlete grabbed the nearest pink hardball and showed daddy her split-finger and circle-change grips. I was pretty impressed but told her to stick to fastballs until she's a little older to avoid injury.

You'll also be happy to know that there are more pics of Tasha in her baseball gear, and pics of her with Uncle Dan-e-o on the ShutterFly site.

Walking for Wendy

My sister Diane will be participating in a very special event called The Weekend to End Breast Cancer.

As was posted here on this blog, we lost a friend in Wendy Parent in January to cancer. Diane was very close to Wendy, and the entire Parent family and plans to help out with more than just thoughts and words.

She plans to walk 60 kilometres over the course of one weekend with thousands of other women and men. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, treatment, and services through the Princess Margaret Hospital.

She has agreed to raise at least $2,000, and she will need your help. Would you please consider making a donation? Any amount that you can give will help her get closer to her goal. Please keep in mind how far she's walking - and how hard she will have to train.

According to the National Cancer Institute of Canada, approximately 20,500 Canadian women will be diagnosed with breast cancer this year, and about 5,400 will die from the disease.

Click here to visit Diane's personal sponsorship page...

Click here t see the page dedicated to Wendy's Walkers...

Tasha's first words!?

THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL'S PRANK!

This may be the last picture you see of my little angel with a soother in her mouth. After today, she may never want to be baby-muzzled again!

You are all going to think we're nuts, but Sarah and I are pretty sure that our baby genius has spoken her first coherent english-language words!

At about 9:30 this morning we were all giggling and playing when Tasha unmistakebly said "OH YEAAAH". Sarah and I both started laughing and couldn't even believe our ears. After a few more minutes of cooing and giggling, Tasha let out another "Yeaaah". I couldn't wipe the smile off my face.

15 minutes later while sitting on my lap looking at her mom, Tasha said "Heeeeey". This was not a grunt that 'sounded' like "hey" this was CLEARLY and unmistakebly "Heeeey".

7 months old and she's already said more than baby Maggie Simpson has in 17 years!
1
My verbal little girl has officially uttered her first words - purposely or accidentally, I'm counting it.

Awesome.

Photo Update...

At long last, I have finally posted new pics over at Shutterfly. The entire album labelled 'March 2006' is brand new. There are pictures there from Tasha's baptism, and just random shots around the house.

This shot is of Natasha and her Godfather, Adam back on March 3rd.

We've got to get some shots of our little angel modelling her new denim overalls. Wow they are adorable or what!

If you have any pics Aof from the Baptism that you want to share, email them to me! Hint hint Di.

What March Break?

I've been a very, very bad blogger. I've let my site collect dust while i've been off bustin my butt. I had been looking forward to the March Break since the Christmas Break... as another opportunity to spend some uninterrupted quality time with my girls. Instead, I ended up working for George at the Conquest Basketball Camp.

I enjoy working camps, and I have missed coaching - but it is so hard to focus on drills when I notice that it's almost 11:00 AM and Tasha's probably going down for her nap. It's hard spending so much time with other's people's kids while my wife is home with mine. I'm hoping that this summer I will work 5 or 6 weeks of camp and then have a couple weeks to spend with them.

I am glad though that I got to spend some time with the staff. Adam, Matt and Hailey were there all week. Tuck came in on Monday before heading back to finish the school year at Loyola, and he put on a little dunk show for the kids.

Andrew and George were there on Thursday and Friday. Wow has Andrew changed. His tatoo, his conditioning, his attitude. He seems to really be headed in the right direction. There are a couple NCAA schools looking at him now and I hope he signs early.

Sarah and I have discussed the possibility of a U.S. road trip this summer - to visit family in PA. That would be pretty terrific. The last time we made that journey was in July of 2000. Things have certainly changed a lot since then.

This past weekend was pretty relaxing... Saturday night was unbelievable. Sarah made a gourmet pasta dish, along with some fantastic grilled chicken, while I sat around with my in-laws, my dad and Dan-e-o. The parents left fairly early while Dan and I settled in for about 7 hours of sporting tv. Both semi-finals of the World Baseball Classic, WWE Saturday Night's Main Event, March Madness NCAA Basketball, Maple Leaf Hockey.... holy crap. There was just too much TV to watch!

Dan made comments all night about Sarah's unbelievable cooking and how cool it was that she just let us sit there and watch TV till 2AM. I'm not going to lie - I've got a really sweet set up.

Tasha's Baptismal-fun crazy weekend recap

Wow. What a weekend. On Friday Sarah and I were thrilled to welcome Adam (Tasha's godfather) and his parents (Is and Brian) to stay at our place. They had travelled from deep in PA to be with us for our special day.

We had a great time just catching up, and watching them finally introduce themselves face to face to my little angel.

On Saturday morning we went out to breakfast at one of our favorite local spots and then did a ton of running around before having to head down to the church. Yes, we were late. I'll take full blame. When we got there, we had a ton of work to do.

Setting up the church basement / hall for Sunday's reception, making a run to the local beer store to pick up enough suds for a small army, and the actual rehearsal with the priest.

That's when I got to see a whole bunch of people who came up from the U.S. - my godparents, my uncle and aunt, charlie, alex and the girls, Lina J and more. I really wish that we weren't all so distant. We really should see each other more often.

By the way - We'll never again do seating arrangements. That was WAY too complicated. Sorry to those who were inconvenienced by my oversights and by the fact that I printed out a draft copy and now the final revised edition. Doh.

I neglected to properly thank Tia Lourdes publically on Sunday. She invested so much of her own time and money into making Sunday a spectacular event. Sometimes we (meaning me) take for granted those who have ALWAYS done so much and have ALWAYS been there. I meant no offence. I love you Tia - thanks for all your help.

Anyway - I know what everyone wants - pictures and videos from the Baptism... They're coming soon! I promise.

Video - Tasha eating a frog and babbling

Here's another little video clip that Sarah shot earlier this week when I was at work. Enjoy.

New pictures posted

Yes there are a bunch of new pics over on Tasha's photo gallery site. There are pics of her lounging around, chewing on everything in site and even modeling her fancy white dress that she'll be wearing to her baptism on March 5th. When you get to the site, just click on the February 2006 folder to see the newest additions.

The address to the site is http://bigbrew.shutterfly.com - be sure to bookmark it if you haven't already, because it changes regularly!

Video of Tasha eating ACTUAL FOOD for the first time!

Well it finally happened. Early on Saturday morning, Natasha decided to celebrate her 6 month birthday by eating something that didn't come from a breast. She had so-called rice "cereal", which Charlene more appropriately refers to as 'mush'. Tasha actually seemed to enjoy the mush that made it into her mouth. Alot of ended up on her chin, but hey - she's a baby.

A couple hours later she actually had a lot more than she did in this inital meal, but that one didn't get recorded. Sorry folks, I can only do so much!

Say "O"!

As if there wasn't enough crap on the internet about pro wrestling, Dan-e-o and I decided to start our own little blog dedicated to that mind numbing past time that has consumed much of the last 25 years of our lives.

The site's only been up a week or so, but is actually growing quite nicely. It's been a lot of fun venting on the industry - something I haven't had a chance to do since my days with the radio show or when I was writing for both TSN and Slam!

We decided to call it 'Tha O Show' - in hommage to those special moments that make you jump up and yell "Ooooooo!" Our plans for the "show" portion are long term, but we plan on having our own online audio program. Hell it's all the stuff we talk about now anyway - the only difference is we're going to share it with the whole bloggin' galaxy.


If you're not into wrestling in the least - this isn't for you. If you are, even on a casual level - then bookmark it and check it out often.

The site can be found at www.ThaOshow.com

Pictures of Tasha & Falynn

Many of you remember Kristine - maid of honour from our wedding. Well, Kristine happens to have a beautiful baby girl who is now about ten months old, named Falynn. Earlier today Sarah, Kristine and the babies hung out together. This isn't the first time Tasha and Falynn have played together by any means, but I do believe it's the first time we got any decent pics of it!

It's amazing to see all the things that Falynn can do! Crawl at the speed of sound, lift herself to a standing position, steal Tasha's nuk.... it's hilarious. I've posted a few of these shots in the February 2006 album over on Shutterfly.

Valentine's Day Menu - how spoiled am I?

Ok so, I have heard for years from friends that have been married awhile that after 6 months or a year (AT MOST) I would stop seeing those fabulous gourmet meals that Sarah has always made for me. Friends swore up and down - that's what women to do to land the man - once he's there, it's Kraft Dinner and "heat something up your damn self". Well.... I was home on Valentine's Day (my school gives us a day off to work on our report cards) and I was treated to an unbelievable lunch and a spectacular dinner.

For Breakfast:
Banana crunch muffins
Yogurt with fresh blueberries and huge strawberries
Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Frittata
and hazelnut coffee

Like DAMN!

Check out dinner......
Ginger Garlic Dijon Salmon (best salmon EVER)
Butternut squash, watercress & pinenut salad (best salad EVER)
Blackbean & roasted red pepper soup
and Lime Margaritas

Yes, that's right. Her time at home with Natasha has turned Sarah into an even BETTER chef! Ha! Take that you bitter old poops who are stuck with your Chef Boyardee and your Hamburger Helper!

God it's so nice to be so loved ;)

Baby, you've got lungs!

Just listen to my girl sing.... i had just been playing some music. When I turned it off, she kept singing and banging her teething rings. Ah raw talent.