Category Archives: Life

I Thought We Had A Deal, Bottom Lip!! #TBT

My wife and I knew it the time it came out over a year ago, our daughter’s bottom lip was going to be trouble.

I want a Water Woobie! Whaaaa!

In an effort to work with her bottom lip, I wrote a note in hopes that we could come to an agreement. For a while there, it seemed like it understood to stay tucked up so that Avery’s already irresistible cuteness didn’t transform into an all out war to test the health of our hearts.

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See? Doing perfectly fine just like that. As the months rolled one, things were pretty good, and although there was the obvious crying, that lip didn’t do “it’s thing” for the most part. This, I can take…

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…kinda. But that bottom lip is something else, it’s…..EVIL!

Avery_Evil Bottom Lip

Anyway, long story short, it’s been coming out a lot the past few weeks which I guess means my note has gone by the wayside. That lip has become a renegade with its own agenda, separate from the parents raising the kid it inhabits.

Not only that, but Avery is now fully aware of the ultimate cuteness that ensues when she flips that lower mouth flange of hers. First she’ll try being cute by saying “Hi” and smiling since she’s caught on that Going Mom and I react with big smiles and ooooo’s and ahhhh’s. But when we are able to hold in, Avery’s next line of artillery is that damn lip!

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We’re fighting a losing battle with that thing and there’s nothing we can do about it. Well, I guess we could ignore it in hopes that she stops using it to her advantage, but that’s an arduous task not to be taken lightly.

Until we figure it out, I guess we’re stuck with that cold lip until it “cracks” and starts working with us instead of against. At this point, my wife and I had better be prepared for the long haul all the way to when she’s caught sneaking out of the house, like I mentioned in my note.

Do your kids have a signature “pouty” face that tends to get them out of trouble?

Do they know it?

Zombie Therapy at the Gun Range

After cleaning everything up from our NuttZo tasting party, Going Mom and I were going to leave Avery with G-Ma so we could go to a nearby gun range. Unfortunately, my wife wasn’t feeling well and needed to rest instead.

I almost decided not to go after tearing our house apart for the boxes of ammo I know we have, but figured I could use a little shooting therapy. Besides, I could buy ammo at the store on the range anyway. It’s expensive, but if I ever find my other ammo, we’ll be well stocked for the pending zombie apocalypse!

We’ve watched enough of The Walking Dead, to know that it’s better to be safe than sorry, so I’m thinking it’s time to get my concealed carry permit. The best place to get your permit to be ready for the zombies is at https://gunlawsuits.org/gun-laws/maryland/concealed-carry/. And hey, the gun range was even selling zombie targets, so why not get a little practice in? I think the zombie kind of looks like Obama, but not sure. What do you think?

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With me, I brought a .243 rifle, semi-auto .45 Colt ACP, long barrel .45 Smith & Wesson revolver, and a little semi-auto Colt .22. Of course I had to share my “therapy session” on social media because…blogging.

Of the three handguns I brought, the revolver is my favorite. It’s accurate, less chance of a malfunction, and just looks damn good.

.45 Revolver Loaded

I’ve been around guns and hunting my entire life, so don’t think I’m just some crazy guy who has guns for no good reason. Hunting hasn’t happened in years, but I am wanting to make a trip to go deer hunting and provide my family with wild meat for us to eat. Hey, I rhymed!

The range I went to was outdoors and had an area for handguns as well as for rifles. I had to make many trips back and forth to my car, but made use of both areas since I had both guns. First, I went through rounds with each of my handguns.

Gun Line-up at Range

That smaller target with a body profile and two red circles was mine. I only used the .45’s for practice since, lets be honest, there’s no way in hell I’d depend on a .22 to defend my sweet wife and daughter should the need arise. It was only 25 yards, but I feel pretty good about my aim with both the revolver and semi-auto.

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Zombies (and real life threats), beware, I apparently take no prisoners! Feeling good with the handguns, I moved on to the .243. I just got this gun back from my ex-step-dad (long story) thanks to my mom and little brother, so it’s been a while since I used it.

.243 Rifle

This rifle has killed several deer back in my hunting days, so I was hoping the scope was still sighted in correctly. Well, you can hope in one hand and crap in the other and you usually only end up with a lot of crap. Luckily, I refrained from the latter since the scope was not totally up to par.

Zombie Shots

While two of the shots might of maimed a zombie, they do not instill enough confidence in me. Plus, I was aiming at the forehead, so I have some scope adjusting to do.

The gun range is a great places to “blow off” some steam as long as you are well aware on how to handle a gun. I hope to bring my wife back out there sometime just to get her more comfortable around firearms and be able to use them if she ever needs to. Hopefully never though!

With the price of admission and for ammo, going to the range is probably on par with a therapy session anyway, but I’d much rather shoot things than sit on a chair and talk. I came home with my targets to show my mom (G-Ma), Kelley, and Avery. They just said the zombie looked like Obama; go figure.

Do you or have you used guns before?

Have you ever hunted?

How do you feel about owning firearms?

Assassins in Our Back Yard!!!

That’s right, our yard is overrun with assassins. No, not with copies of the Assassin’s Creed video game, but assassin bugs. Or, Reduviidae, if you will.

Going Mom first discovered our little assassins last weekend and quickly posted this picture on Facebook asking for any help to figure out what they were.

Assassin Bugs in Tree

They look like some sort of creepy ass spider (or is that all spiders?), but we were then educated with the fact that these little guys are not spiders, but just very creepy ass bugs. The biggest giveaway is that they have 6 legs as opposed to their eight-legged look-a-likes.

Apparently, there are over 135 recognized species in North America alone, and many more all over the world. So, you just might want to check your yard for the predatory bugs. Especially since their bites are said to be quite painful they use long their long mouth parts to repeatedly stab victims.

Assassin Bug Killing Prey

That said, their victims are usually annoying pests that will eat up any fruits and veggies you have planted. So, barring that you don’t poke at them and get bit, they’re rather beneficial to have around your garden.

Assassin Bug Meme

Pest killers and garden defenders aside, my wife is still utterly freaked out by the petite predators, so I did what any loving husband would do. I posted a picture on Facebook and tagged her with this message…..

I know, I deserve a husband of the year award, right? My post received many responses from creeped out friends, and I Kelley even went so far as to say “I hate you.” I guess I deserved that. I just find it funny, and she agrees, that she can watch the gore on The Walking Dead with no problem, but these little bugs spike a fear in her I don’t see often.

Here’s a closer pic of what I posted, because I know you wanted to see it better.

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Awesome, there’s a nest which means more to come!!!

So anyway, we have assassins in our back yard just hanging out on one of our trees. I’m not sure how long they’ll be there, but if they are going to kill the things that kill our plants, they’re welcome to stay as long as we don’t become victims to their repeated stabbing assassin ways!

Plus, we have other things to worry about inside the house right now. Possibly another type of assassin? An ewok?

Avery in Mommy's Robe

Nope, just Avery draped in Mommy’s robe. But, if she were holding a mini scythe, she’d closely resemble Death.

Well, I’m hosting a NuttZo tasting party for our neighbors today, so better get ready. It’s nothing extravagant with a lot of recipes, just tasting different varieties of NuttZo. Which, I think is the best way to really get a taste of something, right?

I’ll let you know how it goes soon! Have a great weekend!

Do you have any assassin bugs in your yard?

Have you seen them before, or worse, been bit/stabbed?