Superman Eats Burger King Kids Meals

7/5/2006 3:54:59 PM

I now know the real powers behind Superman! We went to Burger King today as just mortal human beings and I left the parking lot with a super hero in my toddler seat! I pulled in and parked so I could dispatch the cool toy that comes with the meal and dole out the servings safely so they reach their intended target without doing the Blind Right Hand Behind the Back Server Shuffle while traveling with orther vehicles going supersonic on I-25. After giving Dakota the new blue terrycloth wrist band with the "Super S" on it, I was informed that Superman was now in the back seat of my truck and he even looked like Superman now.
The powers of fast food without even a bite taken never cease to amaze me!!
-Mike, milehidad.com

Ranting about Castle Rock's Water

Is it me, or does nobody care about Castle Rock's watering schedule?All the addresses on my street end in the same watering zone, we are all the same shape in the same shape, and it seems that there is more watering going on, on the "off "days than then the "on" days; at least they are sticking to the watering times.And when I do see the conservation cops out and about it is always before 6 PM on our street, on our watering day. I am home out and about the neighborhood everyday and when I hear sprinklers go off in the morning and yesterday was a watering day it makes me wonder.
On the same note, if Castle Rock is in the straits for water, why is there so much new construction happening? From the Target store on Founders Parkway looking west towards the Meadows and there is a ton of open space over there anyway, and some is being reshaped for development, not just light scraping going on but serious reshaping!Filling in of low spots and adding to high spots to make these gigantic "landing pad" looking flat areas. Either we are expecting visitors from outer space or there are going to be homes from at least the $300s to the Millions built.
The new growth is everywhere, not just over by The Meadows, and I don't mean to pick on The Meadows, it's just a highly visible area take a drive around Castle Rock to the different population pods, it's happening everywhere!
I think the town owes us all an explanation at to what is really happening. Are we building more so we can collect more tax so we can by into water rights in the future? Or is it a conflict of interest, more people means more tax money and there is going to be a ton of high value homes rotting in the dust on these high dusty plains when the water runs out, or are they making the money and budget look good while their in office and pass the water problems on to the future administrations.
It seems the only real natural way to control water usage is to stop issuing new building permits and enforce our current policy like it was intended.
Don't forget, geographically we are still uphill from the Rueter-Hess Reservoir Project and water tends to run downhill, once it's complete Castle Rock is going to be huge, will the pump stations be able to pump enough water back uphill to us like they hope in the quantities a Castle Rock of gigantic proportions needs? How long is it going to take the mighty Cherry Creek to fill it once the dams are complete?
It seems that we are banking a whole lot of our future on the Mighty Cherry Creek and a whole lot of public education should be happening, both on the new dam project and the watering rules of Castle Rock.
-Mike, milehidad.com

Go Ahead and Look but Just Don't See Anything

6/30/2006 9:39:46 PM
OK, I know I am a stay at home dad and I must adapt to this lifestyle, but, I was sitting at the pool the yesterday at a table in the shade and this mom walks up with her daughters and asks if we can share our table in the shade, and being a gentleman I said please, have a seat.
My son and I go swimming and come back to reclaim some of our shared space which we do without a problem. The next thing I know this mom whips one out and her daughter latches on.
Talk about an uncomfortable situation! I try not too watch too intently but she is displaying something we men are rather fond of and my son is playing right behind her and I have to keep an eye on them, ahem, I mean him! I am not too sure of proper etiquette here and need to do my job without offending this lady by gazing in the direction of her nipple. I cannot readjust my chair because I got to keep an eye on the little guy, especially around a pool where I need to see everything. And boy did I see a lot! What's a guy to do, is she trying to unnerve me or does she just not care because she has a task at hand?
Good thing lunch eventually rolled around because I didn't pack one so we had to go home to eat after I eventually wrangled in my son, which was no easy task.During this process I had to get my shoes which were right in front of this mom, like right at her feet. What's a guy say; "excuse me, boy am I hungry and it's time for lunch", or "we need a snack", or "my what a lovely view today", maybe, "boy is it hot today"! I just said excuse me while gazing down at my shoes, grabbed them, slipped em on, grabbed the kid, our bag and headed for our bikes. It's sort of a go ahead and look but don't see anything situation!
At least when we are at the park and lactation row is frenzied in the shade I am not right there in their face, I have something else to pay attention to and don't need to look through them to see if my son is drowning, so it's no big deal.
Aw, sure go ahead and laugh at me but what's a guy to do in this situation?? It sure doesn't happen at the workplace like this. Only in the life of a stay at home dad do these kinds of job stress happen...
-Mike, milehidad.com

Gasoline Pumps and Ulysses S. Grant

6/30/2006 1:21:59 PM
With the small fortune it takes to fill up my pick up truck, why don't gas stations increase the maximum purchase amount so they can really suck us dry? It used to be that a fifty was an overkill bill that rendered change upon refill. Not so anymore! It just plain sucks that if you hit debit card purchase when initiating the purchase it cuts you off at 30 bills. If you use your debit card but push credit, it graciously allows an extra 20 dollars to be put in but it's still not a complete fill. I would hate to have fill one of those super large gasoline powered RVs.
Fifty dollars sure doesn't go as far as it used to, especially when purchasing petroleum products! Come on gas stations give us a break and at least let us fill our tanks with your precious commodity and get a complete transaction! How about letting us pay with a Jackson and Grant amount or up to a Benjamin Franklin amount without shutting me down? As Dr. Phil says, "Let's get real" here!
Don't even get me started on the inflated diesel prices. . .but how can it go from being the cheap fill to the premium price in the list of digits after we get terrorized? Is this in itself, an act of financial terrorism? -Mike, milehidad.com

But Folsom Field Isn’t Blue!

5/5/2006 1:44:09 PM
I have been a proud Colorado Buffalo supporter since the 1960's when my folks had season tickets in section 205.
I bleed black and gold.
I'm very happy Gary Barnett is no longer involved with the Buff program.
I'm also very happy that "Tricky Ricky" ( Rick Neuheisel) is no longer tainting the Buff program.
I am somewhat concerned however that new the new Buff Football coach Dan Hawkins has the ability to win the big one on home turf that isn't a shade of blue like the Boise State Bronco Stadium he used to coach on!
I don't want to jinx the Buffs, and we all know that Ralphie despises the color red, lets all hope a green field is more to Coach Hawkins and our liking!
-Mike
www.milehidad.com

Colorado's Gusty High Plain Winds

Monday, 12 June, 2006 3.46.26 PM
Colorado's Gusty High Plain Winds. Is it just me, or does this year seem to have more daytime winds than normal?
According to my records from my new wind station I got at Christmas this year, almost every afternoon we are seeing winds gusting to 20+ mph on the high plains around Castle Rock till sunset when they slow down or go away for a bit. I think Jennifer Zeppelin needs to investigate!
I sure don't remember this trend in previous years or maybe I just wasn't cognizant of it. It's starting to wear on me as well as my trees and those dang wind chimes, well... Too bad Castle Rock has no bodies of water; it would be a windsurfer's paradise!
Any input... Anybody?
-Mike
Life just doesn't get any better than this!
http://www.milehidad.com/

06 Elephant Rock Ride

6.4.2006 4:57:12 PM
06 Elephant Rock Ride
I was so bummed, I spaced my digital camera out after loading the family and bikes up for this adventure. But that feeling soon evaporated as we neared the start line or our bikes.We parked at town hall and had a short cruise to the DC Event Center and upon arriving I heard a name from my past over 20+ years ago.The name was Deb Burney from Silverthorne CO, I was a lift operator with Deb at Copper Mountain in the early 80's, apparently she left her drivers license at the KBCO booth and I jammed to see if I could catch her, but no; these days I am always hauling an extra 35 pounds minimum if my son is in the noodle, sans clothing. Oh, I am not overweight; it's just that I get to haul my kid in his Burley bike trailer; if it's not the Burly then it's the baby backpack or just my toddler himself.
We just did the family 8 miler seeing how we had not done any real biking other than chasing Dakota on his bike.The hill over by Crystal Valley Ranch is just big enough as to where you start cussing it then you see the aid station at the top, and a few more minutes then you are there.
After getting refreshed at the aid station, it's a screamer downhill then over the railroad tracks near the bottom, this day it was a rather brisk descent and we got stopped at the tracks by a train.It was kind of freaky being that close to a train going that fast and those track and rollers were squealing but ten feet away.Dakota really dug the train, but soon it passed so we could finish this downhill segment to the frontage road.Once on the frontage road, it's all over but the fat lady singing as they say.Over on the southbound frontage road the riders from the 50 and 100 mile rides are flying by.As we approach Plum Creek Parkway we have one smaller climb up and over the railroad tracks, with that done it's just a short cruise back to the event center festivities.Now all the give a ways, barbeque and party begins!
-Mike
www.milehidad.com

The Dreaded DC Serengeti Attack Ant

5/17/2006 6:31:20 PM
The CR Swing Crew brings You, The Dreaded DC Serengeti Attack Ant. We live at FoundersPark, Dakota could eat, sleep and play all day and night, everyday. After negotiating the streets and learning to watch for cars while riding our bike with training wheels then successfully parking at the bike rack, we take our helmet off and hang it on our handlebars to begin one of many sessions that occurs everyday at the park.
These days, Dakota is a blur at the park from attacking the equipment with fervor that I am envious of, and does not experience this aggravation at the park like dad does. They are small but ferocious, even more so after a week of non-stop sweltering sun up here on the high Serengeti plains of Castle Rock and not so bad the day after a torrential rain. They are members of DC Serengeti Attack Ant population. They stalk the wood chips looking for an unsuspecting parent to lay feast upon. These ferocious little pests are almost invisible unless you know to look for them, and if you don't know to look for them by 7 PM the backs of your legs from the calves down will be on fire! Only a couple of bites from these vermin will feel like a thousand and drive you insane. I am almost through my second tube of Aveeno Anti-Itch Cream, like I said earlier, Dakota does not seem to be affected by them simply because they can't hang on because of the G forces created by his whirling dervish, so out of common sense they attack us over 40 parents!
The town just replaced all this playground equipment this last spring to the latest and greatest set of swings, slides and monkey bars; now all they need to do is knock back or down this ferocious attack of the DC Serengeti Attack Ant so the parents can be a responsible parent.
The CR Swing Crew reminds you that slides are for going down only and when approaching or leaving the swings, please walk straight out to and from your intended swing and not to make a hard turn to cut in front of your fellow swing enthusiasts and causing a side swiping collision. I have not seen any swing set suffering but I have witnessed about 1000 close calls!

My Terror on Two Feet

Friday, 02 June, 2006 15.10.20 PM
Terror on Two Feet My Life as Domestic Engineer
After reading Stephanie Blake's Blog today, it inspired me to Blog about what I do in my role of stay at home dad and made me covet the days when I got reviewed and pay raises while at work. OK! Not really, I wouldn't trade my life for anything most days. There are a few days mixed in though...
My day starts before six so I can get some cardio and weight lifting in before my Terror on Two Feet wakes up to raise hell for the day. Monday, Wednesday and Friday's are the best, after getting my Terror on Two Feet to preschool for a a day; I get 4-5 treasured hours for me. During this time I get to do fun things such as cleaning WMD of the kitchen floor and try to make it shine, mowing and trimming the lawn, garden work and such. Twice a year, and today happened to be one of those days, I get to go get my teeth cleaned in Parker toddler free, and know what? The topic of conversation is yes, you've got it, my kid!
Back home at 10:30, did my e mail and Bloggings and hand water the dry spots of lawn till 11:30.
At 11:45 I go get my Terror on Two Feet at noon so I can get a barrage of reasons why he needs a new truck to play with or reasons why he needs to go to such and such stores or Chick-filet on the drive up the hill, every school day this happens. Then we can get home and go swing and slide at the playground while doing battle with the Serengeti Attack Ant and watch dreaded hail storms, I also yearn for clouds producing thunder most days to cool us off and have a valid reason for not being at the park, or I smear sun screen to fight of the damaging UV affects the sun leashes upon us while doing the playground. We ride our two wheeler while wearing a helmet and training wheels to and from the park, and every Thursday being trash day, we get to slalom a course of trash containers to negotiate. We are the swing crew for a good couple of hours if no thunder or hail graces us.
It is usually two or three in the afternoon after he peddles and I jog to keep up, it's time for a Popsicle, soda pop or whatever he conjures up at the time, so to keep the spirits happy he gets something, but not a nap. He says naps are for babies and he is a big boy, I yearn for a nap and some days it's a shouting contest to get him to take one, and I usually win! If no nap happens by his or my doing we go outside to play, and by 7 PM if not before, he is a ogre. After I feed my Terror on Two Feet some dinner to his liking or he will not eat, he eats a select menu of 4 or 5 things, then wants to go outside and play with the neighbor kids; only they are all in for the night and I hear a "but I don't want them to go to bed" from my Terror on Two Feet as he stomps off to his bike. I coral the Terror on Two Feet then it's a bath with aroma therapy suited to make him relax, there is one thing wrong with this, the therapy seems to relax me! After we battle to drain the tub, a battle ensues for which pajamas are worn, at which time all drowsiness effects for me are gone. Then it's off to bed at 8PM, 9 for a non-school night or if an unlikely nap occurs.
Lucky for us, sleeps happens right away; most night's dad or mom (if she is in town) has to sleep with my Terror on Two Feet until he's out, for the most part 8:15 to 8:30. It's then that I am able to crack one or two cold ones, a sip a scotch as I wind down and rest up to do it all over again tomorrow.
Lucky for me it's all mom on the weekends, a little overwhelming for mom, and that agrees with me fine.
Really, don't get me wrong, I love my my Terror on Two Feet and the responsibility of taking care of him and wouldn't trade it for the world. When the other dads on the block are outside "talking shop" and it's my turn, eyes roll and the comments begin. Comments like "Must be rough" or "I wish I had it easy like you" or "You got it made", they will never fully appreciate the thrash their wife goes through each and every day and probably couldn't hack it for two days in a row without help.
Moms of the world, My Hat goes Off to All You Do! Dad's of the world, take it easy... -Mike www.milehidad.com

Dad I Just Pee'd

Those are the memorable words coming from my son while wearing nothing but underwear as he sat on the couch to watch Angelina Ballerina on Sprout after a day of pandemonium at the pool. "Why me" is the first thing that came to mind seeing how he wasn't even 15 feet from the bathroom and knows the practice well when he made his disquieting disclosure. I grabbed rags and cleaner ready for the worst; while standing there planning my attack, I noticed his gray Spider Man underwear did a fine job absorbing the slight amount of Urine that was sprayed on "Spidey" and the surrounding area, not even soaking the cloth all the way down while the couch remained dry. I remained calm and cool wondering how a guy that had to go so bad he'd wet his pants produced minuscule results, then it hit me.
I was being paid back for waking him up at 6PM from his nap! He was a little more than irate I had done this and was digging deep into his toddler warfare field guide to counterattack his enemy (me).
-Mike, milehidad.com