Thursday, July 17, 2014

Recall or Bust

Our infant car seat was recalled so Thea just got an upgrade to a forward facing seat. She just now meets the weight requirement of 20 pounds and is 15 months (you have to be a year). We had intentions of keeping her backwards till she was 2 which is the recommendation, especially with a little peanut, however, the infant seat's buckle gets stuck and in an emergency could be life-threatening. The new buckle will arrive in 6-8 weeks. We'll decide whether or not to return her to the infant seat then. For now...


Lots if kicking of her legs and looking at Matthew!

Monday, July 14, 2014

Did you know "soccer" is an abbreviation for "association football"?

It's true!

I have never been one to sort of get into things.  It is not enough to hear a new song I like three times a week on the radio.  I need to listen to it on repeat 15 times a day until I get sick of it.  Which may never happen.  My wife loves it.

Today's new favorite song is the sport of soccer.  We will see if I get sick of it or not.  Because I am listening to it A LOT.  It started with the World Cup, of which I have watched every game possible since 1998.  The only difference is that in prior years, I never considered watching any kickyball other than the World Cup.  It was like Olympic swimming; I love Michael Phelps for 14 days every four years and forget his name the other 1,447 days.  The rest of the time he is just another overpaid Subway spokesman who I can only assume used to be enormous.  Well, that changed in a big way this year.  Surprisingly, the game that got me hooked wasn't the last-minute 2-1 US victory over Ghana in the WC opener.

SIDE NOTE: You know what's awesome about soccer?  We can all look at each other with a straight face and gush over our Cinderella victory over Ghana, a country with a GDP one-fifth the size of Walmart's revenue and a national population equal to our largest metropolitan area.

Nope, it wasn't that Cinderella tale that got me going.  Rather, it was weirdly when Portugal went all Mortal Kombat on our collective hearts and tied the game 2-2 with seconds to play.  That game, which started 1-0 Portugal, then was 2-1 US after two late goals, and then featured the latest goal in WC history to end in a draw, was crazy exciting.  It is incredible that a sport that usually ends in a 0-0 tie after 90 minutes of running and flopping can be called exciting, but the thrilling moments are so sudden, and so intense, that I NEED MORE.

In the last three weeks, I have started watching MLS games, not all of which included my deeply beloved for the last few days Chicago Fire.  I have also adopted Liverpool FC as my Premier League team of choice, reading countless articles on their upcoming season and off-season roster moves.  I have breathlessly told E how awesome it is that I can watch every Liverpool game on TV or my phone.  To her credit, she is supportive of my new hobby, at least during the times she isn't blankly staring through me as I tell her all the new things I learned about a sport she has never played, watched, or cared about.

So, we'll see how long this lasts.  My hope is that it is here to stay.  I think E is cautiously optimistic this is here to stay.  My buddy at work has zero faith in its longevity, asking "who will you talk to about this hobby?"  Fair question.  But I learned in the past two days I have two other Soccer Fan Friends.  That's what they'll call us.  Going back multiple sentences, I hope it is here to stay.  First of all, it would be nice to have three more teams to care about in the USMNT, Fire, and Liverpool.  Second, it would be great if Matthew could follow Daddy down the soccer highway, so that instead of playing football he wants to play a more peaceful game that involves having balls getting kicked off his face.  Lastly, I want to buy a USMNT jersey that has the number 76 and the name "LANDOFTHEFREE", "HOMEOFTHEBRAVE", or "STARS & STRIPES" on the back.  I haven't decided yet.  Because, 'Merica.