Thanksgiving

Okay, I have a chance to write about Thanksgiving because I am not working today and I am not watching TV and I am not playing video games and I am not farming or playing Mafia Wars (no commas intentional). It is another year, I can't believe I am 27, or however old I am, and I can't believe it is Thanksgiving again. As most of us young'uns have, I have spent most of my Thanksgivings with my parents and at home. Over the last couple of years Thanksgiving is the holiday we visit my mom in El Paso and the holiday I get to spend with my family.

It is weird, I am waking up and I am not smelling the smell of turkey, or I am not waking up early and stumbling to my mom's living room on her cold tile floor. It is definitely something I miss, it isn't just the turkey, but it is seeing my mom, grandma, sister, tias, and cousins. 

My family is a wild group, I sometimes can be loud and sometimes be the center of attention, but most of them make me look as quiet as a baby kitten (I know that is a little redundant). It is funny how my mom sometimes crowds like 20 people into her tiny kitchen. Thankfully since we all have been around each other for so long the chaos goes smoothly. 

Now the food is the other thing I miss. I am a very simple guy, I do not miss the gravy (I think she usually buys the gravy), I do not miss the stuffing (something my mom and her sisters go crazy over), and I do not miss the other crap. What I do miss is the turkey with chile con queso. I know for those of you who have not tried this is may sound gross or crazy. I like chile con queso on many things, but I think on turkey it is the best.   I am not sure exactly, but I think this will be my second year not having Thanksgiving at home. Thankfully Laura knows my need for chile con queso and she is making some for me today. The advantage I have is having better mashed potatoes, they are not exactly my mom's specialty. 

Erin will get to have another holiday here, but I really hope to make it a very regular thing to go there once a year or have my mom and sister come here to see her. Her family here (my in laws and my mother in law's parents) loves her very much, but Erin has so much other family that loves her. I want to make sure she knows them and they have the pleasure of being able to see her. 

What I am thankful for? I am thankful for Erin and Laura. I am thankful I have a job that I do not hate. I am thankful Erin and Laura are healthy. I am thankful for Modern Warfare 2. I am thankful for Gizmo. I am thankful for everything, I think if you are not thankful for something you have to change it and make it work for you, or change your perception of it. 

I hope everybody has their best Thanksgiving yet!

What I learned from Erin today.

Erin bites, she was fighting me and bit my leg. When I told her my foot was broken she pulled some random toes to heal me. I think it worked. 

Erin's Take on Love

This morning I told Erin I loved her. She told me she loves me...sometimes...when I am not scaring her. I guess I know what she is talking about. I love Chupcabras when they are not scaring me.

Erin

So let's dive right on into this blog, Erin is my daughter. I know she is my daughter because the dragon part of her comes out sometimes, she obviously gets that from me. Seriously though she is my 2 year old (almost 3). If you ask her how old she is she will say she is 6, well not anymore unless she is trying to be a funny little goof.
Anyways, why write a blog about my daughter? Why not right? She is the first thing (not that she is a thing, but you know what I mean) I think about when I wake up and the last before bed. She is so much to me.
Anyways, (wow I say that a lot and use a lot of parentheses) for some time I have been thinking "What is the best way to say I love you so she will know forever?" I try to encourage her with things she does because I know in the future confidence will be important. Laura and I try to make sure she treats other people right and hopefully we can teach her not to judge people. 
If I had to grade Laura and I, I would give us a B+ or an A. I think Erin is good for the most part and I think she is shaping to be a good little human. Now something that is becoming a struggle is her being spoiled. She is like Stitch, she just can say something and it will happen, maybe she gets her convincing skills from me. 
So back to the topic. I want her one day to be able to look at my blog and look at my thoughts and say "My dad really loves me". It is true I do. My goal is to start with this and everyday add one way she has amazed me and maybe something I have learned from her. 
For those of you who do not have kids they are really great. Make sure you are ready to give them your all. It is weird how much you can love your child before they are even born. It is even weirder how you can love them immediately after they are born while they still look like an alien (all I have to say to Erin is I am glad she does NOT look like a Conehead anymore). 
So I hope if you read my blog, I hope you can feel a little of what I feel. All you need is love right? 




P.S. Daddy loves you!