Someone's Always the Last to Know

Trip to the Was house at Myrtle beach

2018-03-16T05:48:00.000-07:00

Kyleigh And The Alphabet Song

2018-03-05T10:28:00.001-08:00

So almost a year ago, Kyleigh was upset about something. No matter what I did, I could not get her to calm down. She was exhausted, and yet, full of energy. The two forces were contesting one another in calamitous fashion.

I began to sing her a few of her favorite songs, but to no avail with the calming down portion. By this time, she was a mini cat lady convert. So a genius epiphany was had.

"Kyleigh, would you like me to sing the Cat Alphabet to you?"

She stopped crying to look up at me. "Cat."

So I meowed all of the letters of the alphabet to it's tune. She didn't just get a little excited. She LOVED it. Every night before bedtime, she would request it. She even started requesting it from Claudia for nap time during the day. Claudia has thanked me so many times for that. Occasionally a little too hard, but I can tell from her Love "taps" that she still likes me.

About five months ago, Kyleigh invented the Puppy Alphabet. Yep, you bark the alphabet to it's tune. Unfortunately, there were many nights both get requested one after the other. Kyleigh loves singing them though, so of course, I enjoy it as well.

A few weeks ago, Kyleigh requested the Bird alphabet to add to her little alphabetical repertoire. The songs seemed to get easier and easier. Meowing to barking was nice. Barking to tweeting, even easier. Not long after, she requested the Car alphabet, so I made one up for her. She really get's into singing these songs with me. I was really having fun with it!

....Until two nights ago. When things started to get out of hand. After singing Cat, Puppy, and Bird alphabet songs (in that order), I asked to name the next song we sing. She looked at me and said, "Snow White Alphabet." Well, whatever you are imagining me singing as, your imagined version is probably performed much better than my rendition; Fluttery, high-pitched ABC's.... After that, Kyleigh requested the Car alphabet, so I gladly sang that one. I had to make up for my poor performance of the Snow White alphabet.

After finishing the Car alphabet, before I could even ask Kyleigh what the next song should be, she requested we sing the Car alphabet again. "No, we already sang that song for the night."

Kyleigh looked at me. I could see the wheels turning the way she was staring through my eyes. Then, she did the unthinkable! She requested the Red Car alphabet.

Funny Side Note:

While I was typing this up, Claudia called me to let me know three new songs were requested for nap time today.

They are:

Hurt Alphabet - Ouch Ouch Ouch...
Strawberry Alphabet - Yum Yum Yum...
and Car Wash Alphabet - Soap Soap, Bubble Bubbles, Water Water...

The perspicacity I was beginning to gain for our child is slowly fading away, and becoming the Malaprop I have always feared that word to be.

Competitive Instinct

2017-12-06T08:56:00.001-08:00

From our McLeonard Fantasy Football League Message Board

It seems your combo trophy was better, so I'll just leave this here as well:

That's right! Elite! Bring it on, Chris!!

(Gotta talk trash now in case Jon's team shows up this week)

My first Meme

2017-05-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Worf acknowledges that Star Trek may be losing it.

Best NCAA Score Yet

2017-04-04T12:31:00.000-07:00

I started off horribly, but I ended up with the highest score I've ever had for an NCAA Bracket!

Second time I've called the Championship game, but first time I called it and the Champion!

Best Offense Vs Best Defense....I think we know who wins here

2016-12-14T09:57:00.001-08:00

So here it is....the game of the year (minus the actual Championship where there's a trophy, ticker-tape parade, etc...) we have the best offense this playoff series has seen so far versus the greatest playoff defense in fantasy history (I assume)!

20thCNL held the #1 Seed overall to just 27.90 points last week. I sure hope Wanna BeLT has a game plan and isn't just relying on one of his players to save him by playing around in the snow again.

I mean, I know football is a game, and games have their glitches, but that RB Snow glitch was a one time deal! Making snow angels, or building snowmen RB's will no longer fake out NFL defenses this week. They've seen the tapes and their coaches have better prepared them for the snowforts and snowball fights! Now the only edge (other than having the highest scoring offense of the season and playoffs) that Wanna BeLT had over 20thCNL has been revealed and is no longer a factor!

I'm a nice guy, and sometimes nice guys have to say that...and do nice things occasionally. So, I will allow more points this week than I did last week. OH Man, remember the last time our teams met! That was great! Good times that was! Just in case you don't remember because you've blocked it out of your memory, take a deep breath....count to 10 very slowly...then scroll down to see the score.

There it is. Our teams are pretty different now, but rest assured the outcome will be the same. Just remember the chain of command....who's in charge. Jayne, tell him.

Jayne: "You know what the chain of command is? It's the chain I go get and beat you with until you understand who's in ruttin charge here."

A Thought On This Season

2016-10-11T08:09:00.000-07:00

The Panthers were on the verge of becoming a divisional dynasty whilst teetering on the brink of becoming the usual sub-par team we've come to grips with after enjoying a successful season, but this year feels different. It still has that feeling, that je ne sais quoi. The pieces are there, the path to the playoffs is not as daunting as it seemed at the season's start. There's a hope in our midst. A hope that feels as a breeze off an ocean, a dive into the perfect temp'd water, a comma lesson from Bryce on a bright sunny day with clear blue skies.

The season has only begun, and there is no game more important to me than the next. Oh wait, this feeling has nothing to do with the Panthers. I’ve just realized this rush of hope and eagerness to win is actually for my next fantasy football game!! Claudia Marie McGowan! You Goin’ Down!

2016-07-29T10:02:00.001-07:00

Crazy Train

This year my team will be named after Ozzy Osbourne's

Crazy Train,

a great song to add to my play list and as usual my logo is the album cover

Instead of talking trash this year, I'm going to talk fact.

Three years ago I played Jaycee in the super-bowl

Two years ago I played Brandon,

Last year I played Brianna,

I don't know who I will be playing in the super-bowl this year, but on thing seems clear, all of you together can't keep me out of the big game. The crazy train is rolling so why don't you guys save your selves the trouble, go ahead and lay down on the tracks and let's get this over with.

The Dad

Random stuff that has been going on

2016-06-29T05:47:00.001-07:00

2016-05-26T09:23:00.002-07:00

How to become a Pirate

Stay tuned

it is going to get better

Camden's life thus far!

2016-05-07T12:00:00.003-07:00

He took his sweet time getting here. Born one day before his due date and 38 hours after the induction started. I can't imagine my life without him and here are some pictures from the beginning until now. Happy 12 weeks and some change ;)

Cruise

2016-04-27T05:37:00.001-07:00

Camping trip 2016

2016-04-27T05:31:00.001-07:00

Kyleigh is 2 months old!!

2016-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

Two months with Kyleigh. Learning how to dad has really been fun, scary, and all those other feelings in between. Claudia has been such a natural at being a mother, I am so proud of her! It's helped me out a great deal! I'm able to learn while feeling like she's able to get my back no matter what. She gives me confidence in myself like I've never had before. So here is a huge thank you to my beautiful wife, Claudia! Thank you!!!

Now, the real reason you clicked on the link. I present to you, our two month old Kyleigh Bear!!

Happy 1st Valentines Day!!

A few sets of grandparents came by to see her with this bib on....I expect she can already pay her own way through college!

Granddad and Kyleigh!

Caleb and Kyleigh

Pink Day....seems like there's more than just one of these per year.

First time Kyleigh get's to go out to eat! Red Lobster!!!

1st time going grocery shopping with us!

Nana and Kyleigh...wait...where's that bib at?! Nana got off easy.

Daddy got to buy Kyleigh's first tea set!

Daddy taking Kyleigh to bed.

Mimi and Kyleigh!

Kyleigh's first photo-bomb! Nanny and Kyleigh! Kyleigh's great Grandma!

Four generations of family!

Thank you Mimi for putting Kyleigh to sleep!

Aunt Bailey with Kyleigh!

Fell asleep holding her teddy bear! (Teddy name still pending)

Kyleigh just got her shots. Daddy had to make sure she was okay.

Those were the worst shots of daddy's life!!! And the most painful.

Kyleigh took those shots like a boss. Her and her teddy can take on the world!

Kyleigh's first Easter!!

Cousin Emma holding Kyleigh!

Dylan and Avery taking care of Kyleigh so mommy and daddy can eat that delicious Easter meal!

Went to Aunt Melanie's for Supper and Kyleigh got another Easter basket!!

Kyleigh in her Easter dress!

Daddy's first pink shirt in his adult life....what has Kyleigh done to him? Look at that smile..it's like he doesn't even care the shirt is pink.

Kyleigh's first Easter surprises!!

Mommy sent daddy a picture while he was at work!

Look at that tiny dancer!

Thank you for viewing month number 2! It's been a blast watching Kyleigh grow! She's smiling a lot now! She's even trying to laugh now, and she's started playing with a few toys. The interactions we've had with her are priceless!

Kyleigh Joyce is here!!!!!

2016-01-29T17:23:00.000-08:00

Today is the day we expected Kyleigh Joyce to come into our lives! Fortunately, we were graced with her presence on January 16th, 2016! We love this little girl so much!! We just wanted to share the first two weeks we've had with her. So here we go:

The Wait

Claudia had a doctor's appointment on Friday the 15th. The previous weekend, Claudia was admitted to the hospital to have some labs done to see if she needed to be induced. So this visit, we were hoping they would send us to the hospital, and they did! Her doctor called ahead and the acting physician at the hospital agreed to see her.

We were sent to triage while we waited for a room to open up. It was a solid four hours, and throughout the wait, the doctor kept telling us she most likely wouldn't induce. The problem with this is they told us she was a go, so we had already begun calling the grandparents, but we weren't going anywhere until we were 100% sure there was nothing wrong.

Preeclampsia was diagnosed, and the induction process commenced.

I will say those sympathy labor pains were horrendous!

Grammie decided she wanted to deliver Kyleigh so we wouldn't have to wait.

Claudia and I had different ways of waiting for Kyleigh to come.

My way:

Claudia's way:

The doctor explained that Kyleigh was turned sideways and the only way to get her out sooner rather than later was for Claudia to have a cessarian surgery. Claudia was ready for it. She is such a strong, beautiful woman!

Back when I worked for Harris Regional Hospital, I delivered medications to the OR, so putting on the gear really brought back some fine memories. We call this the bunny suit, and after the successful surgery was complete, Claudia forced me to take it off.

This is the first time Claudia got to see Kyleigh. I watched the surgery, so my first view was Kyleigh being pulled out of Claudia...That was crazy!!

First Family Photo! Kyleigh finally covered up! I'm going to have to watch out for this one.

First Daddy-Daughter pic!

The staff let Kyleigh ride back to the room with Mommy!

Kyleigh starts testing her lung strength...(her lungs have gotten extremely strong lately)

Kyleigh noticed I was taking pictures, so she stops crying to strike a pose

Mommy and Baby are wiped out!

Kyleigh again noticed Daddy taking pictures, so she looks straight at me! First time she really focused on me.

It was a good moment!

Mommy and Baby skin to skin time!

This little girl already has both of our hearts!

Nana came to visit us!

Kyleigh's first outfit!

Baby gets swaddled

Baby gets blanketed

Daddy gets extra picture just because

You can't tell, but I took this shot because it was snowing outside!! We weren't getting sleep anyway, so why not open the shades and enjoy the first snow!

Sweet!! We haven't ruined Kyleigh yet! She's smiling while asleep, so not all is wrong with her little world!

Grammie holding Kyleigh

I went out and purchased my first pink anything. This is the first pink thing I've warn voluntarily in my adult life, and it felt good! I'm proud to be the father of a daughter!

Monday the 18th came and you know what that means.....It's going home time!!!

Exhausted and happy, we left. On the walk to the car, I carried that thing eight different ways, and it still didn't feel right by the time we reached the car!

Kyleigh's first diaper change in her princess kingdom...her Princessdom...

I noticed she had a natural dab, so I had to participate! I love this girl so much!!

First skin to skin at home!

Time to go to Kyleigh's first doctor's appointment!!

Claudia's first time out with the stroller. Kyleigh is already sporting the Panthers!!

Time to take a nap!

Not to worry, those black and white things have been flipped properly! Thanks Brianna!

This was taken after her first bath! She doesn't stink anymore!!! Well, until her next stinky which will be any minute now.

Kyleigh is ready for her second doctor's appointment!

She is doing great! She weighed in at 7lbs 9ozs! Her goal was to get back to birth weight! The doctor was very happy with her health!

Another nap. Having to go to the doctor is tiresome!

These are the latest pics! Happy Predicted Birthday, Kyleigh!!!

Having these two weeks off with my family has been awesome!! Every second of it was worth it!! Even the sleepless nights I wouldn't give back! A quick shout out to everyone who either came to visit or sent us messages and called us! Thank you to you all for the love!

Thank you Claudia for the bravery, the strength, and the confidence you have in me! I love you, CM! I'm looking forward to taking on this adventure thing called parenting with you!

So the Parentals just booked a vacation,

2015-12-16T08:29:00.003-08:00

The Sudden Silence

2015-12-15T08:14:00.000-08:00

The first round of the playoffs have come to a close. Another week passes us by, and there is still a Cupcake in the Championship Bracket! Yaaayy! Wooooo! Wait! What was that? It's so quiet... I hear nothing from the commissioner. I hear nothing from the misty-eyed medina. It all just seems so.....right. Even the mighty commissioner could not foresee the Giant's redzone offense work together to hold their kicker to extra points all game. And to the other guy, she just beatyouman. I should be feeling pretty good right about now, but I have a strange feeling...this feeling that I'm making the same mistake as The Shrieking Shaq and Ludwig Von Beatyouman; talking too much before a big game. Oh well! I already had this prepared for you guys so I guess it's too late for me. I'll just go ahead and keep talking! :-)

ok, it's been a while

2015-12-10T11:54:00.001-08:00

here is what's been going on

The Consortium Represented!

2015-12-01T10:33:00.000-08:00

Our League Commissioner thinks he can label us and we'll just fall in line! Us Cupcakes (I guess the labeling part worked) are out to prove him wrong!! We are currently the only division with everyone over 1000 Points For on the season! We have the second best collective defense! (That could be a thing) And the leader of the rebel force boasts the best defense in the league! (a leader can still be a leader even without having any followers, right?) And just to show the Commissioner who's boss, I've decided to take a seat at the comfiest chair in the league. Where The Shrieking Shaq and Burning down the House are fighting for the number one spot while simultaneously trying to avoid becoming the fourth seed, Cupcake Consortium celebrates having snagged the number two seed in its inaugural season! I will admit, the teams in Victory Village have proven they are where they belong, they also show that it's never a bad idea to bring along some breakfast to snack on (Green Eggs and Graham). Currently, we have two teams representing the Cupcake Consortium division in Free-Range Crazies and CupCake This Commissioner in the playoff picture! Here we come Victory Village! Are you ready for the greatest showdown of all time?!

Oh yeah, and Mediocre Medina......you play good.

Claudia Vs. The Letter!!

2015-09-04T10:06:00.000-07:00

So, Claudia went in for THE ultrasound. You know, the one the parents find out the gender of the baby. But in our case, there is a gender reveal party to be had. So we were given an envelope with that highly coveted information!! We have self control.......we do.....stop looking at me like that.

We've had the envelope in our possession since August 29th, 2015. It started off as a funny little joke. We began to bribe one another. I'll give you this if you open it.....I'll give you that if you open it....I won't hit you anymore if you open it (paahleeeeasse, she's not going to fool me....I've signed up for a lifetime beatdown by her... I've read the fine print on our marriage license!).

Then it got serious. So we decided....TOGETHER...(don't fall for her side of the story) ...that we should go ahead and hand the envelope over to the baker. Everything went well. We even treated ourselves to a couple pieces of cake. The envelope was finally safe ....or so I thought.

Over the next few days I noticed there was something different about Claudia. What is she up to? Where is she going? What is up with that ridiculously looking hat? So I asked her.

Claudia's scheming had begun. She revealed her plan to me, trying to persuade me to join the dark side!!

She had decided she would like to be hired as a baker... at the exact bakery we picked out to bake our cake. She was going to call to get hired to be trained on a cake of her choosing (because it would just be fascinating to watch how it's done..you know?). The sad thing: it started to sound like a good idea to me.

After talking it over, she finally decided against it. And nothing bad ever happened to Ray McGowan again.....The End.

Although, I will say, she looks pretty great in that hat!

The story is true, but in all honesty, Claudia has been handling this really well! I'm reminded every day that we were really meant to be together. She brings me strength and confidence like I've never felt before. There's one thing I'm proud to put down in writing: I am here, and I will always be here for you and our family....however large it gets! :-)

Today, it is the day before the reveal party, and she hasn't peeked into that envelope!! You did it Claudia!!! I can't wait until we get to celebrate tomorrow and actually have a name for the little person we're loving!

I Love you Claudia!!

The Rice Family is Growing!!!!

2015-06-27T08:21:00.001-07:00

Chris and I are having a baby!!!!!

Unlike Ray and Claudia we didn't take any pictures except for the one of our baby's first pictures. We were lucky and were able to have an early ultrasound to determine how far along we are. This is how Chris announced it on facebook, right after the last phone call to sibilings were made. As if it were meant to be our little miracle was the size of a piece of rice when it had its first picture taken. We could not be more excited about this addition or the addition of Ray and Claudia's little miracle. So glad we are keeping the traditions alive with you two.

Chris Rice

June 25 at 2:24pm ·

"Then God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and multiply."

Nailed it!

— with Rebecca McGowan Rice.

And

The Rice Family is Moving!

2015-06-16T07:02:00.001-07:00

Some of you already know this news, but Chris and I are moving to Delaware. We will be there by mid August and are really excited to be closer to family. Chris is going to finish his school psychology degree and get an internship hopefully in Milford. He has an interview Thursday!

Claudia is Pregnant!!!!

2015-06-12T11:33:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2015

We went to Claudia's first baby checkup appointment!

In this next picture, you see Claudia getting Mommy-Ready!! Rolling up her sleeves to show that baby Daddy who's boss! ........Wait, what?

They placed her in exam room 1. I guess they knew who they were dealing with! The McGowan's!!

I found an interesting place to sit while I was waiting. Looks like a nice safe zone for the men.

So, I tried it out:

It worked like a charm!

The P.A. confirmed Claudia is pregnant, so we went out to breakfast to celebrate! Claudia was already on top of the reading material they gave us!

We were extremely excited!!!

So excited, in fact, that we could no longer hold in the great news!!

So we spread the word:

Ray Smash the baby world!!

An imperfect riddle I was made aware, but most people got it....I think. If not, the hint is in this blog's title. :-)

We are looking forward to meeting our mini me!

A huge thank you to all of you for making this day so great! All of your reactions were priceless!

Here are a few I was able to print:

**Funny Side note: Chris Rice said the same thing to me!

Bailey Moore and Rebecca Rice tried to call me during this crazy time and I didn't quite make it to the phone. So they left me some great voicemail's. (I'll try to post them later)

Later that night, I got a message from Bailey:

And the next morning, Granddad actually used text messaging!!

This conversation happened while working on this blog! I had to post it! Much respect for you as a dad, Jon!

It's been a fun ride so far! Thank you all again!!

We love you all very much! Please keep us in your prayers!!

Love,

Ray, Claudia, and baby!

I love my kids Maddie, Noah, and BeardStrong.

2015-04-22T14:19:00.000-07:00

Just an update on the family biz! April has been the biggest sales month so far, and we are operating in the green (by that I just mean we have made back our initial investment and then some)!

We are sold in one retailer in Burlington, and are in discussions with two other stores currently seeking beard oil.

One of our company goals is giving me a hard time, and I can't see where any other company has done anything like this. So I'm looking for some help. We are operating under the constraints of a FB business page. There are applications you can use alongside it to do fun stuff (like setup an online store, which we have done). I am looking for a way to highlight our affiliates. I want to have a place where I can list them and hyperlink their photos to their own sites. Any ideas?

Claudia gets Saved and Baptized!!

2015-04-21T13:24:00.001-07:00

Claudia accepted Jesus as her Savior and got Baptized! She was Saved as a kid but wanted to make it official as an adult! I'm extremely proud of the woman she has become! I am forever thankful that she willingly became my wife, and continues to stand with me!

Great job, Claudia!! I Love you!

Also, a shout out to Raven for getting Baptized! Claudia and I are very proud of you!