Happy Birthday!

Today is my birthday and it is a great way to end every year. I almost forgot that today was my birthday because of the birth of Charlie only a few days ago. For some reason everyone keeps asking if I am 30. I am only 29, seriously, this is my first round at 29.

I don't feel like I am 29, but having a child has made me feel a bit older. Maybe it is because I haven't slept much in the past few days or maybe I feel like I have to be more grown up and take care of my family. Either way, it is alright by me. I love being a dad and I still have a lot of years ahead of me.

I never thought much about my birthday in the past few years and what a special day it was, but the birth of Charlie has completely changed my view. My birthday, your birthday and of course my child's birthday is truly a special day. I now know why my mother still acts like I am a small child. It is a great day when your child is born and it deserves to be celebrated.

As I sit back and reflect on the exciting events of the past week and the events of the past year, I can't help but wonder what excitement 2012 will bring. I hope that you and yours had a merry Christmas and I hope that 2012 brings you love, laughter and happiness.

Mom Gets Christmas Surprise - Video - WLWT Cincinnati

Mom Gets Christmas Surprise - Video - WLWT Cincinnati

Here is the video of the news segment.

The Best Christmas Ever!

On December 25th, 2011 at 12:02 a.m., I became a daddy. We became a family. Jamie and I can not explain in words how great it is to finally receive our prayer request from God. We have waited for 4 long years to see the face of our child. I must say, it is the cutest face that I have ever seen.

The first 24 hours of Charlie's life have been exciting, exhausting, painful and sleepless. Daddy finally crashed after 26 straight hours without sleep. Mommy has been in pain due to intolerance to pain medication. Baby Charlie has had blood drawn twice and had his circumcission. Poor guy. :(

I have been busy taking care of Mommy and Baby. Mommy has not been mobile until this evening and baby has been filling his diaper fairly often. Charlie is the most mild mannered child I have ever met. He is going to be laid back like his daddy.

Parenthood is rough in the first 48 hours. I did not want to sleep because I wanted to stare at my baby and make sure that he was breathing. He has strong lungs, but I am still paranoid. I want to hold my child all of the time, but I have been good about letting him sleep in his bassinet. Every little hiccup, sneeze, sniffle and twitch prompts my immediate attention. I can tell by the sounds in his cry, if he is hungry, has a dirty diaper or if he is uncomfortable.

I have become a master swaddler, I have the feeding down to a science and I have discovered the best ways to console my son. Charlie loves skin to skin with momma. He could stay next to her all day. He looks up at her as to say, "Hi mommy, thank you for being so comfortable. I love you."

In his first 24 hours of life he made his t.v. debut. He was on the local news for being the first Christmas baby of the year in our local area. He is one spoiled child. Being the first child for us and the first grandchild for all of our parents makes him the absolute center of attention. He never has to ask to be held, fed or changed. It is always covered by one of the 485 people that have come to see him.

He is here, we are tired and this blog probably does not make much sense. I will write more about being a daddy later, but for now, I must sleep. Merry Christmas to all and to me goodnight.

Christmas Baby!

Baby Charlie is only a few short hours from making his debut! The past 9 months flew by, but the past 3 days were incredibly slooowww. Now that he is almost here I can barely control my excitement. I will keep you updated as we progress.

Gluten Free Is For Me

On January 1, 2011, Jamie and I decided to try a gluten free diet to enhance our probability of conceiving. After three months of being gluten free we received the great news that we were pregnant. Since we have found out that we were pregnant we have been not-so gluten free.

My new year's resolution for 2012 is to go back on a gluten free diet. I enjoyed great sleep, weight loss and a lot of other positive changes in my well being. I had a ton of energy, I never felt bloated after eating and I felt great in the morning.

I highly recommend the gluten free diet to any one that is looking for an easy diet with positive results. Wether you need to lose weight or you just want to feel better in everyday activity, gluten free is the way to be.

I can not wait to get all of the "craved" junk food out of my house. As soon as my 40 week and 3 day pregnant wife delivers my first son, I am cleaning out the pantry.

I believe that I will share my progress with all of you throughout my next attempt at the gluten free diet. Starting on January 1, 2012, you can follow my progress on here and YouTube at TheHoppyShow channel. I will be sure to share my meals with you along with my workout routine and my body's progress. Feel free to ask any questions that you have about gluten free.

Gluten free is for me!

Maybe Baby?

We just talked to the doctor and she asked us to come to the hospital to be checked for labor. Hopefully we are ready to go! I can't wait much longer. I will keep you updated. Maybe baby today?

Charlie Update

We are on our way to the doctor for a Non-Stress Test to make sure that Baby Charlie is doing ok in the womb. Hopefully I will have some video to post soon!

Labor Induction

Today is Charlie's due date and nothing is happening. Throughout this pregnancy I have watched every documentary and labor and delivery show possible. I may have made my self a bit paranoid by watching all of these shows, but I was well prepared to talk to the doctor about my concerns.

My biggest concern was having a "scheduled delivery". I did not want to have my wife pumped with pitocin to induce labor which would then put stress on my baby and whoosh, we are off to a c-section. Luckily we have a wonderful doctor and she has put me at ease about the process that she intends to follow. If baby Charlie does not arrive by next Tuesday, we do have an induction scheduled.

I still have concerns about cytotec. Cytotec is quite controversial in the United States, but our doctor does not seem to be too concerned. Cytotec is used to thin the cervix, but originally had a contraindication to not use on pregnant women. It is believed to do some bad things to the fetus and the mother. My wife doesn't like to read about the side effects so I won't list them on here.

I am really hoping that Charlie comes on his own TONIGHT so that I don't have to worry about any of this. My wife thinks that I am being very over protective and anxious, but I want a healthy baby and momma. Is there anything wrong with that?

Apple TV is Da Bomb!

After several weeks of just staring at my Apple TV box, I have finally acquired the necessary cables to install it. I thought that I would wait until Christmas to get the chords, but apparently my father-in-law was anxious for me to hook it up so he bought the chord for me. Thanks Glynard.

After fiddling with it last night and updating the system today, I have no idea why I waited so long? I can watch YouTube, look at my pictures that are on my iPhone and even listen to Pandora all on my tv! Sweet!

The Netflix feature is nice even though I am about to cancel Netflix. The only thing that bums me out is the inability to surf the web like you can on google tv. I would love to be able to sit on my couch and AirPlay this blog on Apple TV and use my wireless keyboard to type.

If you ask me, Apple TV is worth the $99. It is especially useful for people like us that watch Youtube on the regular and are always trying to show family members our pictures. Maybe I can charge for viewings of Baby Charlie's pictures?

Apple TV, get it!

The Final Countdown!

The past 39 weeks and 4 days have gone by pretty quick. Now that we are less than 72 hours from our projected due date, time had screeched to a halt. I am more restless than I normally am and it is driving everyone crazy. I have to keep my mind occupied all of the time as it is and now I have to stay occupied to keep my mind off of how slow time seems to be moving.

Every little oomph, ouch and oh has me jumping up out of a semi conscious sleep to check on Jamie. I am out like a light as soon as my head hits the pillow, but I am sleeping like crap. I have never been so excited and tired in my life. What a great Christmas present Baby Charlie will be!

I know that statistics show that the first child is typically born later than your projected due date, but I can't help but think how close we are to the day that we thought would never come. The spring came and went, we swam from end of the pool to the other and summer was over, fall never showed up and now it is winter. WINTER! Holy cow! He's going to be here in a matter of hours!

I have to go make sure everything is ready! Time keeps ticking!

Darn You Braxton Hicks!

I am dragging this morning. My poor wife was up most of the night with Braxton Hicks contractions. Being the sweet husband that I am, I was up with her. She could not get comfortable, walking did not help much and hula hooping was offering little relief. I know that she was having major discomfort, but I thought it was cool to feel her stomach tighten up.

These "contractions" were the most intense yet. I was ready with my stopwatch to time the intervals, I had my driving route planned out and I was ready to start coaching. "Let's run the spread-push-out!" I probably overloaded Google as fast as I was searching differences between BH and real contractions. I must admit, I was getting excited that he was coming.

After timing the "contractions" for about an hour, I concluded that the intervals were to sporadic to be the real deal. Jamie was finally able to get comfortable and relax. I grabbed a few pillows and situated her in the bed in a sitting position which allowed her to get some pressure relief.

This process of contracting, trying to get comfortable and walking around lasted for almost two hours. She kept telling me to go to sleep, but that wasn't happening. I was in go mode. We laid in bed, well I laid in bed, Jamie sat up, and watched a few minutes of television. After about five minutes I heard snoring. I knew that I was okay to take my eye off of her for a while.

The rest of the night was un-eventful. We both were asleep and all was well. I absolutely do not mind staying up with my wife while she is going through all of this pregnancy stuff, but I am exhausted. I can only imagine how she feels. This child needs to slide on out so Daddy can get some sleep.

Familia de Locos!

Have you ever been hanging out with your family and thought, "wow, what is wrong with these people?" I do all of the time. I then think, "wow, do I act like them?" the answer is yes.

Each of my family members, well most of my family members have the ability to act somewhat normal when they are functioning independently. When you bring the individuals together, LOOK OUT! Some kind of crazy worm hole opens up and dimensions collide. Every one begins to talk in a silly voice, tell crazy jokes, say the darnedest things and perform acrobatic like shows that correspond with the story that they begin telling, but are unable to finish because they are interrupted by some one else.

Laughter begins to fill the house and I begin to realize how much fun it is to have a crazy family. My brother-in-law is the resident commentator, the wife spouts out quips, but always manages to get them wrong, Father-in-law can not hear anything and is always yelling "WHAT?" I can go on and on.

How boring would it be to have a "normal" family? We could be Sitting in front of the T.V. all of the time with lazy grins on our faces and occasionally sighing in boredom. Lame!

When I was young I was embarrassed by my crazy family. Especially if I was bringing a girl over to meet them. Now I appreciate that I have a family that is so diverse and full of goons. Luckily I met a wonderful woman that had a family that is just as crazy as mine. Our families together create a vortex of furry. You may need a safety helmet if you ever attend one of these gatherings.

I appreciate the wonderful times that my Familia de Locos creates and I would not trade it for anything. Plus it makes for good video.

Release the Stigma!

Being a car salesman has it's pros and cons. It is a fun job and it pays the bills. You meet a wide variety of characters in this business. My personal favorite is the old man that comes in and says "Just tell me how much I owe you." Not everyone acts like this though. Every other person out there thinks that we are out to get them. It might have been that way 40 years ago, but times have changed.

Honestly, I rather sell a car for the simple fact that I look like an idiot when I go home and tell my wife that I did not sell anything today. "Well, then what was the point of going to work?" Iduuno..?? I would rather give away a car and have a very happy customer that is going to tell everyone in the world how great I was, than sell a car and make a few bucks.

I think that sometimes people think we make a boat load of money in the car business. That could not be farther from the truth. I make just as much money as any other blue collared working class citizen. Some people say "I bet that I just made your mortgage payment?" I wish! You might have paid for my lunch for the week? I have to sell a lot of cars to make a boat load of money. I would have to sell 40-50 cars a month, personally, before I could even envision six figures, based on the national average commission. I average 15 cars a month. Do the math, 15 x nothing = broke. 40-50 cars a month is not impossible, but that is some hard core pavement pounding.

The one thing that I hate about this business is the people that come in and think that they have to have an attitude. There is no reason for you to act like you have stick up your butt when you come to a car dealership. You are there for our product, I am here to give you the information about that product and I am then going to assist you in making this product fit into your budget. I am not here to rip your head off, so don't act like you are going to rip mine off. The worse your attitude is, the worse the deal is that you are about to receive. Remember that. Be nice, be happy, get a good deal.

Are you doing what you love?

Today's blog is very personal to me, but I felt the need to share it with you. I hope that it makes you think about your life.

I sometimes have down time at work and my mind races through all of the thoughts that I did not have time to think about while I was busy. One of those thoughts today was, "Am I really doing what I love"? This question comes to my mind quite often, which raises a red flag in my head. I do love my job. I have always enjoyed sales and, not to brag, but I am pretty good at it. It comes natural.

As a young boy I can remember always wanting to be a professional firefighter. I was always at the firehouse because everyone around me was a firefighter or EMT. I loved the smell of the turnout gear, the sound of the trucks and all of the cool "toys" that were on the truck. I could not wait to be a firefighter.

I graduated highschool and after partying all summer I went to the local fire department and applied for a volunteer position. I was accepted and started living my dream of becoming a firefighter. I continued on to EMT certification school and then on to Paramedic school. Along the road I was also attending many hours of fire service training. This road took me on a three year journey, but it was worth it. In 2005 I was hired as a professional firefighter. I had obtained my goal. I was a 22 year old kid living his dream.

Through the next 3 and a half years of my career I had issues with my sleeping habits which were not condusive for a 24/48 work schedule. In the summer of 2008 I resigned from the fire department. I was devastated that I had let it all go. This wake up call made me go find out what was causing the sleep issue and I got it resolved. Too little, too late for the job that I had just left, but atleast I knew what was happening.

I filled the next year and a half with a job as a Peace Officer for a private security department. This job was pretty neat. It almost replaced the hole in my heart that I left for the fire service. I was still able to use my EMT skills and teach CPR so I was still making a difference. I hope? I still don't believe that it is what I was called to do though. I should be going 100 miles an hour with my hair on fire saving people.

Recently in my down time I have thought more and more about what my purpose is. I keep feeling something calling me back to the fire service. I have been leary because I do not want my sleep patterns to be screwy again and have to go through the same ordeal I went through before. Something tells me that I will be okay though. Over the past few months I have been attending classes to renew my certifications. I am one class away from being eligible to reapply for a fulltime firefighter and or Paramedic position.

It may sound funny to you, but the show "Rescue Me" really sent my wheels into overdrive. Yes this show is a bit dramatic, however the everyday issues that the crew faces in the firehouse is almost spot on. If you have not experienced this type of commraderie, you would not understand the bond that you have with your crew. You trust them with your life, you spend one third of your life with them. You would trust your kids with most of them. I miss it. It is what I am supposed to be doing. That is what I love. Please keep me in your thoughts as I finish my last few classes and begin to reapply for career firefighter positions.

Take a few minutes and reflect on your current life. Are you doing what you love? If not, do something about it.

Christmas Creates Craziness!!!

Jamie and I were killing some time today, so we decided to go to Walgreens. We live in a small town that is rapidly growing, but it is far from a metropolis. As we turned on to a main road we were both surprised by the amount of traffic that had accumulated at the major intersection.

There was not a wreck or any other traffic hinderence other than the large quantity of people that had come out of the woodwork. It seems that Santa has sent all of his elves to jam up traffic and to flood the stores in the area. Apparently Santa can't make toys for as cheap as he can buy them.

On top of the increased traffic flow, these new drivers to the area are completely lost. They are shooting across lanes and driving incredibly slow. It is very irritating to my 38 week pregnant wife. She beats on the car door as if it is the horn and yells as if the drivers can hear her.

Why does Christmas create so much craziness? Is it something in the air? Where are all of these people coming from? We do have a mall in the area which contributes to the madness, but it still blows my mind how people forget how to drive and they develop terrible attitudes.

Tis' the season to be jolly! Fa la la la la....take a Valium.

38 Week Update!

Today we had our 38 week check up for baby Charlie! Unfortunately I could not make it. :( This is only the second appointment that I was unable to go to due to work. It seems that Baby Charlie is pretty comfortable inside of Mommy's nice warm body. He is not making much of an attempt to come out yet. He is slowly dropping into the pelvis and preparing for blast off, but he is taking his sweet time opening the door. Jamie has not dilated at all, but she is 40% effaced. Effaced is the measurement of the cervical thickness.

Mommy is holding up pretty well even though she is pretty miserable. She complains that she is not sleeping very much, but I have several pictures and videos to prove otherwise. I know that it isn't a full nights sleep like she is used to so I do feel for her. We are both overly anxious if you haven't noticed and time is creeeeepppppiiiinnnnngggg along. Baby Charlie is as active as he has been throughout the entire pregnancy and now that he is huge compared to Jamie's petite size, his acrobatics have become very uncomfortable for Mommy. He likes to play kick the Daddy when he hears my voice and feels me poking and prodding his shell.

Our bags are packed, the house is pretty organized, all of the baby equipment has been tested and the car seat is installed. I have my bottle bandoleer ready and my diaper dispenser is all set up. I still need to figure out how to use this bobby thingy for feeding? Well, actually, it will be so that I can hold him and still play video games. I can't wait for man-time. Poor Jamie is going to be over run with two little boys in the house. (That includes me. Not having twins.) It's the final countdown!

Thank you to all of my readers. I have reached over 500 views on this blog! Now check out my youtube channel, please.

Get Him Out!

With only 13 days left until Jamie's due date, tension is building in our house. Jamie is not sleeping well, which in turn is affecting my sleep. She is very irritable and exhausted. We just want him out! We can't wait to see his face and take a deep breath and relax.

I can't help but laugh when my wife tries to roll her body off of the couch. I make an attempt to assist her, but I usually bust out in laughter. The look of concentration on her face cracks me up. She squints her eyes, puckers up her bottom lip and flings her legs and arms up to get forward momentum. Can you see it?

Though she hates me laughing at her she usually gets a bit of a chuckle also. The only problem is that baby Charlie is pushing into mommy's bladder! Pressure on the bladder mixed with laughter could result in undesirable results. Don't worry, no accidents yet.

I know it sounds mean to laugh at my poor, 38 week pregnant wife when she can't move herself off of the couch. I do appreciate that she is carrying my child and has to put up with me through it all. I try to be patient with the huffing and puffing, which luckily hasn't been a lot. The biggest complaint is the sleep issue. Have you ever been so tired that you feel sick?

We both agree that it is time to get him out!

Christmas Baby!

If you have not figured it out by my previous post, I have a child due on December 20th. I am absolutely excited! It is our first child and we have waited quite a while for this upcoming moment that will last a lifetime. The only downside to having a child in December is that there birthday may be down played by Christmas.

My birthday is December 30th. I was due on Christmas eve. I never really felt shorted on either occasion until I started getting older. It wasn't that I was really being shorted, there was just not a lot of separation between my birthday and Christmas celebration. I think that it is important for a young child to know that his/her birthday is a special day for them. I personally never really thought of my birthday as anything special after about the age of 16 or so. I did enjoy my 21st.

I was able to use the "combine it" excuse to receive more expensive gifts and throw out some bigger gift ideas that most people did not have the luxury of doing. That was cool, but the point is that your birthday really is a special day because it is the day that you took your first breath. You were given the gift of life and it should be celebrated. I hope that my child always knows that Christmas is not his birthday and his birthday is not Christmas. It is possible that it could be the same day of the year, but we will make sure to have separate celebrations so that he knows how special he is to us.

Merry Christmas and may God bless you and my Christmas Baby.

Going Mobile

As I mentioned in a recent post, I have launched a website ( www.thehoppyshow.com) to compliment my array of media outlets. From this website you can watch our youtube channel, like us on facebook and follow this blog. I have the opportunity to create a mobile website that will be compatible with smart phones for easier viewing when you do not have access to a computer. Some of you have already visited www.thehoppyshow.com , for those of you that have not, please visit the site and send me some feedback. There is a comment form on the about us page.

I do not have a lot of information on the wesite yet, however I am adding a little more here and there. My goal is to have links to pertinent information websites, pictures of our family and friends and stories about our journey through TTC and stories shared with us by you. I have created this site for you, the viewer, so please let me know what you are interested in seeing, hearing, watching or reading about.

As for the mobile website, I will have to limit the information because of the size of the platform. What should I place on the mobile site? 1. Links to my other media outlets, 2. Links to the information that you are looking for, 3. Contact form for your questions and comments....Vlog videos, inspirational passages....?

After the website is setup the way that I envision it, I am going to begin building an app for the iphone. I am not sure how to start the process of building an app so if you can point me in the right direction, please do.

I have become somewhat consumed with keeping up with this blog, attempting to create more vlogs and building a website, however I enjoy it very much. My first blog was about becoming a professional blogger/ vlogger. I have a long way to go before I can reach the status of full-time blogger. It is hard to get your name out there overnight. I am relying on my current followers to spread the word and share my post. Please keep the feedback and suggestions coming. I am not a needy person, but I do like to know that someone is reading my blog, watching my videos and checking out my website.

Hello, hello, hello......is anyone out there?

Cry it out

I have received a suggestion to discuss the pros and cons of letting an infant cry their self to sleep. I am so against this that I can not think of one advantage of letting an infant cry their self to sleep. A brand new baby has spent 9 months balled up in a nice warm and cozy womb. They are very confused when they are delivered into this world.

Think about this. You are sleeping in your bed, nice and warm and all of a sudden something sweeps you out of bed, blind folds you and dumps you into a very unfamiliar place in the middle of the night. You hear noises that you do not recognize, you can not see more than 18 inches in front of you and you do not smell the familiar scent of, in this case, your mother. I don't know about you, but this might make me a little nervous. Think about the child that can not comprehend what is happening.

The infant/ child begins to cry because they are scared. Crying increases inter cranial pressure which can affect mental development. Crying also affects a child's breathing. When you think about it, it sounds like neglect. I know that is not the intent of most parents out there.

 SIDS seems to be an ever increasing problem. I am all about prevention. I want to wrap my child in bubble wrap and keep them as close to me as possible. I do not want to over caudal them, however I do not want them to lay in a strange place by their self and cry their heart out so that they learn how to go to sleep without mommy or daddy rocking them.

When a child cries, it is for a reason. They are scared, hungry, hurt or they have a dirty diaper. They don't cry because they were not rocked to sleep. They were nice and warm in your arms before you laid them down and now you are gone. This is very terrifying to them. The best thing to do in my opinion is to fill their belly, wrap them up tight and help them get comfortable without rocking them for an hour straight to assist them to sleep.

What are your views?

Writers Block

I am at an absolute loss for a topic to write about today. I have no rational thoughts to jot down. I have a bunch of randomness, which may be sufficient enough. I have a baby due in 17 days, my beloved Bengals play the Hated Steelers tomorrow and it is cold outside. Maybe I should write about summer. Warm thoughts to bring joy to the heart.

Maybe I should write about how I just created a new website. www.thehoppyshow.com. It is a work in progress, so bear with me until I have more information to post. I created it last night in just a few hours. I used a website creator called Wix. Check them out at www.wix.com. I have created websites from scratch and have won a competition in website design and I think that Wix is the best website designer for beginners. It is simple to use and has just about every widget that you need for blogs all the way to ecommerce.

Yesterday I asked for feedback on my blog. I received some feedback from some unexpected sources and from some very expected sources (the wife). I have not received anymore followers, or comments directly on my blog, however I received feedback on facebook and from friends. Apparently I am writing about somewhat interesting topics. The wife, ofcourse, loves my blog, aquiantences have liked my links on face book, and I have been called engaging and addictive. WOW! I did not expect all of that. I guess that I will continue to keep blogging.

Does anyone have any questions?

Mom: "I don't know how to follow your blog."
Me: "Create a free blogger account and click follow." You can show off your cakes on here!

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

I have been writing this blog for ten days. I have only one comment and it is from my wife. I have had 200 page visits. Why do I not have any followers? Does anyone really read this or is it just a way for me to get the thoughts out of my head and onto "paper"? Am I wasting my time? If you are a daily reader please create an account and follow me. Comments are appreciated.

I would like to know how to make my blog more appealing to more people. Should I include pictures or short videos? Am I talking about subjects that people are interested in? What do you think? Do you recommend people to check out and follow my blog?

I have included pictures today, just to see if a visual will elicit some comments or extra views.

 This is me, Michael.

This is my wife Jamie showing off the baby bump. 18 days until Charlie is due!

This is baby Charlie, chillin' in the womb.

Now that you are familiar with the people behind this blog, watch us on youtube and get to know us better.

Just Yesterday!

Baby Charlie is due in less than three weeks, 19 days to be exact, and it seems like we just found out that Jamie was pregnant yesterday. If the pregnancy has gone by this fast, how fast is my child going to grow up, move out and have his own family?

I..want..to..slow..things..down..for..just..a..few..minutes. I woke up to ice on the road this morning and the whole time Jamie has been pregnant we have said, "when the snow starts to fly is when we know that we are close to him coming." Charlie, not Santa. We can't wait to see him and hold him in our arms, yet it is scary to think how fast time goes by. How do you slow it down? "Sorry Charlie, we can't have fun because you will grow up too fast. Just sit there and let Mommy and Daddy stare at you for a while."

This really is an exciting time for us. We are both in nesting mode. Cleaning out all of our closets, our kitchen pantry and boxing up and storing all of our unused items and relocating them to the basement. It seems like we still have so much to do before he comes. I need to finish organizing the garage because we need plenty of room to get him in and out of the car. Jamie is taking care of the baby item organization. We need a new lighting fixture in Charlie's room so that we can see him better. I think that I will install stage lighting. The list goes on...

Are we ever really "ready" when our little bundles of joy arrive? I think that you can prepare all that you want, but there is always something that you feel like you didn't accomplish. We have accomplished a lot since we found out that we were having a baby, eventhough it seems like it was just yesterday.

Christmas Tradition

With the birth of our child and the Christmas season upon us, my wife has constantly been talking about traditions. One of my family's Christmas traditions has always been opening our "stockings" from Grams. These stockings started as far back as I can remember and were a standard size stocking. They have now grown into rather large gift bags filled with items that will help you survive for an entire year.

You never know what you might find in these giant bags of joy. On top you will find a pair of socks or maybe a few pairs of gloves. Everyone can use a pack of cheese crackers and a notepad to right your thoughts on. You will definitely need the pocket flashlight to light your way. There is always a can of shaving cream and a pack of razors for the men and the women find items such as.....I don't know what the women find because I am always burried in my stocking looking for the money!

My mind is always churning and the more my wife talks about traditions the more I think. "What will be our christmas tradition with Baby Hop?" I guess that we will just have to wait and see what happens on the first Christmas. Though he will probably only be a few days old, I am sure that something will happen that will make us say, Hmmmm...That's it! It may be as simple as opening a gift on Christmas eve so that he can have new pajamas for Christmas morning, or making cookies for Santa! I like that idea! It may be going out and looking at Christmas lights while drinking hot chocolate?

It is so exciting to think up all of these great ideas while he is still in the womb yet somehow, everything will be completely different when he is here. Baby Hop is going to rule the roost.

What are your Christmas traditions?

Youth and technology

I witnessed my two year old cousin pickup a cell phone today and say that she was texting. Yes it may seem that I spend a lot of time on the Internet writing this blog, uploading videos and constantly checking Facebook on my iPhone, however I grew up using my imagination outside playing with sticks and rocks.

Are children still being as imaginative and creative as we had to be? Do we have to prepare them to use today's technology at a young age? Have we made our youth lazy and less intelligent by allowing them to have instant access to games, information and answers to their questions?

I am very happy to have these items at my finger tips, however I do know how to use a dictionary, encyclopedia and a card catalog. Should we still be teaching our children how to use these items?

I don't disagree with young people having a cell phone. It is nice to be able to instantly contact your child if need be and to check on them, but do they need the Internet? Am I just from a different era where things were way different or am I over reacting?

Should I just accept that things are different now and it is easier for our children than it was for us or do we need to keep their imaginations alive by taking away the smartphones and computers? What if all of our satellites were destroyed right now? Would you know how to survive without an Internet connection?

Fatherhood!?!

In less than three weeks, I am due to become a father. This is a terrifying yet very exciting time. I have a million questions and thoughts running through my mind. Will I be a good father, will I be able to adequately support my family, will I have all of the answers, will I be a godly leader for my child, etc...

I can't wait to see his face! When he opens his eyes for the first time and appears to be looking up at me with the slightest grin, my heart will melt and I will probably have a river flowing down my face. On the other hand I am dreading the first few diaper changes. I hear that they are not so pleasant.

The most exciting part of this birth is that I will have the opportunity to catch baby Charlie as he emerges from the birth canal. What a great feeling it would be to deliver your own child. (I am a trained professional and we are having him at the hospital.)

All in all, we have been waiting for this for three years and we are extremely excited. God does not give you more than you can handle, so if he thinks that we are ready then he has our back. God bless our child and may God bless you.

Goal #1 Achieved

Thanks to all of my readers, I have become, by definition, a professional blogger! I have made my first dollar! It might not seem like much to you, however it is a huge deal to me. I set out on this journey five days ago to see if it was possible to create income from blogging and vlogging. I have by no means become rich overnight with my $1, however I have answered my question. It is possible to generate income from blogging.

I thank all of you for helping me make my first dollar. If you did not read or subscribe to my blog and vlog, I would still be talking to myself and losing faith in the idea of making a single dollar for simply giving you a glimpse into my life.

Thanks again to all of you! Your feedback is appreciated. Please be sure to subscribe to this blog and my YouTube channel. Like us on Facebook.

Nike Plus

Last night I posted a blog about how much I love Nike Plus. This system is great! It has motivated me to exercise more often because I want to challenge myself every time I run. It tracks your distance, time, your records, plays your music, post your progress to Facebook, and tracks all of these items on your smartphone app and the Nike Plus website.

I love being able to trace out my route prior to running so that I will know what distance I will be running and which direction I need to go to tweak my distance if need be. This also allows you to set a time goal for the distance that you have mapped out. The "motivational speaker" while running will let you know when you have reached a certain checkpoint, the distance that you have gone and your time for that distance along with your average time for the run. The "motivational speaker" will then let you know that you are close to your records and will give you encouragement to beat the record.

One of the features that I have not used yet is the challenge your friends mode. I don't have anyone to challenge. If you are a Nike Plus user, please let me know so that we can challenge each other. I need a little bit of competition to push me faster and farther.

Check out my blog from last night at the bottom right of this page under the youtube tab. Please subscribe to my channel.

Becoming a professional blogger/vlogger

So far in my quest to become a professional blogger/ vlogger, I have experienced how hard it is to continuously record my daily life. I have been posting an average of one blog a day as you are reading now. I have only posted one short vlog video. It took over 45 minutes of video to make one 8 minute vlog.

We have had decent reviews so far even though the content is very spiratic in my first video. I enjoy blogging, filming and editing my videos so it doesn't feel like a chore to do so.

The hardest struggle so far is finding followers for this blog. No one wants to read anymore when they can watch. I don't write about the same things that I am filming. I also write very differently than I speak.

Sign up to follow me in all of my outlets. You never know when I might answer a question that you have been pondering or if I might give you a bit of hope. That is what it is really about for me. Let me know how I'm doing and if there is a particular topic that you would like to watch or read about. This journey is for the fans and subscribers.

Black Friday!

Well it seems that I have been sucked into this crazy late night/ early morning shopping extravaganza. What is it about the words sale, door buster, and save that triggers our minds into believing that we are getting a good deal?

I believe in using these "trigger" words when I am selling a product, however I have never thought about why they make us buy things. Do they trigger chemicals in our brain? Have we been "brain washed" by all of the advertising media to believe that these are deals that will make us feel good about spending money? I don't know?

What do you think? Please let me know your thoughts on this subject so that I can better understand how simple words affect our buying habits.

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is thanksgiving. It is a time to reflect on the things that we are thankful for in our lives. This year I am thankful that Jamie and I are about to be blessed with our first child.

After three years of fertility doctors, fertility medications and new fertility studies, we tried something as simple as giving it all to God.

We dug our ditches (prepared the nursery) and started a gluten free diet. The lord saw that we had prepared ourselves for what we wanted and we were blessed only a few months later.

I encourage all of you that want something in your lives to give it all to God and show him that you are preparing your ditches to collect the rain. Be thankful for the blessings and people in your life and do not take them for granted.

Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble, gobble!

Social Media

Social Media has taken over our world. It has changed how we communicate with one another, how we share news, ideas and even how we spend the time in our day. I never imagined that we could take a picture, sendit to everyone we know, share it with a lot of people that we don't know and send it to all of our devices on a cloud within seconds.

Social Media has also created jobs for a lot of people. You can jump on youtube and see a lot of people that have become professional vloggers and bloggers. I have decided that I am going to make a run at this profession. You can watch me and my family on youtube, read about our thoughts on blogger and follow us on facebook.

Sounds like a great plan right? It seems pretty easy at first, however it takes a lot of time and effort to achieve a status than can support your family.

One: you have to commit time to blogging, making videos and updating your social media outlets.

Two: you have to have followers. People have to read and watch what you put out there.

Three: you have to be interesting enough to hold your audiences attention. What topics do people  want to hear about? Do they want comedy, drama,...who knows?

The list could go on, however these are my major concerns as I jump into this social media market. I have worked in sales for several years and I have done a fairly decent job of promoting and branding myself. I feel that I can carry this into the new personna that I am taking on.

I am calling on you to assist me in getting started with this endeavour by likeing me on facebook, following me on blogger and watching me on youtube. My facebook, blogger and youtube channel are all under the name "The Hoppy Show". Follow along in my new journey and offer feedback on my post and how relevant it is to you.