A Year? Yeah, I'm a douche.

Now that I'm not really writing professionally, I guess I can get back to writing for "fun," and give the world the happy little moments and such that we have.

So, a year has passed. The last update was about the boy's bed and such that we did as a nice little outreach. Kudos, everyone.

We recently did another one of those, getting a boy an iPod Touch and money towards the software to help him out. He is diagnosed with Apraxia and is having speech development issues, and there is some wonderful software to help him communicate. Thanks to those that helped out with that, as well.

So, since June:

Layla turned 2. and 2.5. and 2.75. And doesn't she know it... *rolls eyes*

She's actually developing really well. Her vocabulary is expanding, and not just from the words that Daddy uses while he's driving. She favors her right hand when coloring and stuff, but we're letting her find her dominant hand. I'm encouraging ambidextrous behavior so she can't skip homework when she breaks her arm jumping from the roof to a trampoline or something.

We're closer to potty trained, but not 100% yet. Realistically, we're not even at 75%, but damn close. She understands it, knows the urges, but prefers to hide beside the couch when it's poopin' time. Sigh. Slowly but surely.

Last fall, the week before Thanksgiving, Carrie took a test and we found out that our efforts proved true, and we were pregnant again! Fast forward to now, and we are looking at a possible July 4 birthday for our boy, Lawson David.

The name is taken from my father, Lawson, and hers, David. The David part, for me, also gives a nod to my mom's side of the family and a little one we lost to heart trouble many years ago.

He stands to weigh in around 10 pounds, so we may be inducing on July 3/4. The actual due date was the 8th. Carrie is definitely ready to pop!

Layla is excited about being a big sister. It will be quite the change for her, but I think that she's intelligent enough to realize that she is loved as much as ever, and we'll be reinforcing that.

In my world, 2011 was supposed to be a great year, and so far, it's pretty much been sh*t. Right before the beginning of the year, I went to TX to visit the office and chat up the crew, and basically found out that my time with SHOEBACCA was waning. In short, they didn't need me anymore. Instead of providing the copy that I did, and having a voice and being something different, they just use bulletin points provided by the manufacturer out of their catalogs. Hate to say it, but the spirit of the company died, and now it's just another machine. I got the official word on Feb 16, and haven't found anything worth a damn since.

I'm not bitter, but I didn't realize how huge of a piece of me was in that job. When they wiped my copy from the site, I felt like I lost a child. 3 years of work was gone in a click. Now it's not like it was, meaning that the owners have really made it look like they built this thing from scratch, instead of holding the ropes from 2500 miles away while a core team built everything.

I'm past the bitterness, other than when I read the "About Us" message and wanted to punch a wall. I feel bad for those I rarely talk to anymore that were there from the launch that built it, but that's a whole other story.

So, that happened in Feb., and I've been job hunting since. I did take a sales job for DirecTV, and after 6 weeks of it, I realized I was spending 50% of my money on gas for the job. On top of that, I developed a neuroma in my left foot that made it impossible to work on my feet for 10-11 hours a day.

I have to find something now. It's past finding something that is worthwhile and gives me a career. I realize that might come someday, but as it stands, the coffers are dry and we're getting close to being pinched.

I have had a few good leads, but nothing has panned out thus far. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, honestly, and it's pretty depressing. All I want is to find something local that pays the bills (and that doesn't have to be much), doesn't keep me away from my kids and will be there in three years. After Emergenza and SHOEBACCA, I can't take another crushed dream. I'll effing snap.

Keep your fingers crossed. I got a really good vibe from an interview with United Way, but have been hanging on a line for 2+ weeks. I really hope I didn't miss this window. It could be a life changer, in a good way.

January 30th was Carrie's 29th birthday. About 2am, Truman, my cat of almost 14 years, passed away. I haven't felt loss like that since my grandpa died, and it was (and continues to be) very tough to take. I miss him every day.

Ahhhhh okay. Enough of this; I'm starting to get weepy and such and I don't want my first blog in a year to be crap.

In two weeks I'll have a son, and I hope that that will be the beginning of an entirely new era in our lives. Carrie is so extremely loving and patient through all of these tribulations this year, even though she carries the heaviest load. Even if the walls fall down around me, she and Layla are what keep me going. They're my hope builders.

It's 1am and I need to hit the sack. We have a baby doc appointment at 8am, and I don't need to be a grouchy bastard. I'll do my best to be more progressive with these blogs, especially for you Facebook types that don't see me writing there (which I won't, because it's FB and their interface sucks).

Peace and Love,
D