We went to four furniture stores last weekend. One of the places we went was a gigantic warehouse with high-quality luxury furniture at a discount. Expensive wholesale furniture dealer. After looking at about three items, we knew this place was too rich for our blood, but we had a good time looking around anyway. They had a lot of great stuff, but they also had a lot of hideous fabrics. One of the funniest things we saw was this blue alligator print chair. It wasn't just a print, it was actually textured like alligator skin. Maybe it was some kind of custom leather? I don't know. It reminded me of a movie scene set in a 1920's whorehouse or something. By the way, I'm pretty sure these were $1800 a piece.

January 28, 2012

Blue Alligator Print Chair is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

What a great weekend. On Saturday we set up a babysitter trial. We had someone that Jaime works with come over about two hours before the boys' nap time and we went out and did a lot of errands. We are going to need a babysitter on March 3 when we are attending a concert with Jaime's parents (our usual babysitters), so we set this up for Saturday as a trial run. It went very well. We arrived home at 3pm to find two sleeping children and one babysitter reading a novel on the playroom floor. We went to four furniture stores looking for dining room tables, and ended up settling on the first one we liked from the first store (that sort of thing seems to happen more often than not, doesn't it?). We also stopped by the old condo to get a carload of stuff and grabbed lunch at Don Pablo's.

Yesterday we went bowling for the first time in a long time and Stephen absolutely loved it. It's so cute to watch him carry his own ball up to the ramp. He doesn't understand the concept of taking turns and it can get quite exhausting trying to prevent him from constantly carrying his ball up to the lane. He came very close to breaking 100 on the first game. He uses the ramp and the bumpers, but he didn't receive any help from us.

For a few weeks it seemed like we were lagging with the move and setting everything up, but suddenly here we are, six weeks after the big move date. We have a newly fenced in back yard, we have coverings on all the windows (when we moved we had NONE), we've hung up a lot of our art, we've purchased a lot of the furniture we needed, and we're slowly getting organized. I think this method of a gradual move is better in a lot of ways. You're not pressured to organize everything all at once. You can sit back and see if you like what you've done before you proceed. The initial way that you set things up often isn't the best, and this gives us time to rearrange and think about what we're doing along the way. I think the next trip to the old condo will be the last time moving stuff. Every week we bring 6-10 more boxes of stuff over here. Now it's to the point of fairly useless junk that you own but never use.

The dining room table is supposed to get here "sometime in March." Hopefully by then we'll be completely ready for it. As of now, the dining room is where we put boxes of stuff and art in the interim. So, in turn, I promise you a video tour of the new house "sometime in March."

Great Weekend, Progress on the New House is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

We went bowling yesterday and Stephen was very excited. He kept up his intensity through two games. Then we got some lunch at the bowling alley and he loved having his own sprite (who wouldn't).

Stephen Gets a Spare is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

Of course Henry liked the paper better than anything else.
December 25, 2011

Henry’s First Christmas is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

December 25, 2011

Big Steve, Little Steve is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

Notice the pile of presents on the right.
December 25, 2011

Calm Before the Storm is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

December 25, 2011

Henry With His Pop-Pop is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

Click image for large version.
December 25, 2011

Group Shot – Christmas 2011 is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

December 25, 2011

Stocking Time is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad

Dear internet: Ron Paul is not the messiah, nor is he the great satan. I'm so sick of all the hyperbole surrounding this guy. I voted for Harry Browne in the general election of 2000, so I'm no stranger to Libertarian principles, but I really wish these guys would tone down their rhetoric a little bit if they're going to be running for President. I'm not asking Libertarian candidates to sell out or become moderates, but you can't go around preaching "deregulate EVERYTHING" and expect to get elected in this day and age. We already tried having zero regulations, and a percentage of children in this country were working 70-hour weeks in sweatshop-like conditions (yes, I'm making a 150-year-old reference). On the other side of the coin, if you profess to be "afraid" of what Ron Paul's more extreme viewpoints might do to this country, you have to realize that the President does not get whatever they want. Obama's presidency thus far has highlighted this point. If you want to do something that is considered extreme by mainstream America, congress will not pass it. It's that simple.

This guy should be celebrated for bringing a lot of formerly-unspoken issues to the foreground. He should be celebrated for having integrity and making every decision based upon principle, not funding or popularity or political expediency. I really like Ron Paul, but everyone needs to calm down. It's been obvious from the start that he is not electable. He makes Obama look moderate, for starters. His age is also a factor. If given the opportunity, I'm going to vote for him in the Virginia primaries, but not because I think he's going to save our country. It's because I want him to stick around and have his viewpoint heard in the debates. It's because I want to be one of the millions of people sending a message that political expediency does not help me the citizen, but only the politicians. The fact that the media has done their best to ignore Ron Paul--to sweep his candidacy under the rug--says to me that he's doing something right. The people don't want more of the same. In fact we are growing more tired of it every day. I may not agree with all of his viewpoints, but I celebrate the fact that someone truly different is able to make a splash.

(We now return to your regularly-scheduled program).

(I’m Not Even Going To Mention His Name in the Title) is a post from: Evan Valentine, Stay-at-Home Dad