quirkeejames's Blog

Where did the time go?

Today my son jumped out of bed when he heard me get in the shower at 6:30 AM and came into the bathroom just minutes later already dressed with a big smile on his face. He was excited to start school! We woke up his sister and got her dressed then headed downstairs. He quickly consumed his Cheerios and orange juice, ran upstairs to brush his teeth, then put on a belt to hold his shorts up, grabbed his lunchbox, and darted out the front door to the truck to buckle himself in for the ride to school.

We met Mama down the street from the school since she was coming from the gym around the corner. Walking up to the school you could see he was sizing up the crowd with intensity. This school is much bigger than his preschool and way many more kids!

Right after I took this photo the batteries in my camera died. I brought the pocket Nikon L12 since it also shoots video and I was hoping to get some of him walking away to his class. While we were waiting in the gym with all of the other kindergartners and their parents I was able to turn it on and shoot one more before it decided to die completely.

It's probably a good thing the camera died after that shot. It was pretty much the last smile we saw from him. When the time came for his class to leave the gym and go to their room (without parents) he started to walk away then turned around and darted back to us all sad and not wanting to go. A new big school and all those unfamiliar faces (only one kid from his preschool is there but not in his class) surely frightened him a little. Leaving Mom & Dad for the whole day to continue his journey into boyhood is a big step that is scary and exciting for us all.

On the way home from dropping him off my daughter said she missed him. She'll probably forget about that next week when she starts preschool for the first time. That will be another frightening and exciting day as she begins her journey out into the world of school.

Again, where did the time go?

but an off-duty Travis County Sheriff's Deputy verbally assaulted me in front of my kids today in a parking lot at HEB. This guy was stopped near the front doors at HEB to pick up somebody so I passed him on he left. He didn't care for that much apparently.

He also didn't think much of the way I pulled into a parking spot after dropping my wife off near another front door of the store. I saw a front row spot and pulled down the row to get it so she would see where we were when she came back out. The spot was on a row for cars coming the other way (there were none coming at that time) so I pulled in, backed up, and straightened out the car in the spot.

A few minutes went by, I loaded a CD to play, then I heard a *tap tap* on my window. I rolled it down to see what this man wanted and that's when he laid into me about my driving and parking skills. He told me he was an off-duty Sheriff's Deputy and continued to yell at me. I told him to stop talking to me like that in front of my kids and he needed to leave. That's when he decided to start cussing and told me if he had a squad car nearby he would call it.

That made me mad and I almost unbuckled my seat belt and got out of the car to get in his face. Instead I said, "You definitely do not talk to me like that in front of my kids and now you need to leave!"

I got his name and badge # to file a complaint. He said, "I'm taking your plate # with me, too," to which I replied, "Please do!"

Sure, I could have driven around to get that parking spot from the right direction. But did I deserve to be verbally assaulted by an off-duty deputy in front of my kids for it?

I think not.

Time to rent the limousines and hit the town! Donna Chafin-Medica, who some of you know as dKaye, is bringing up the rear (stop laughing) for the From the Mouths of Babes column at Quirkee.com!

Donna is a southern gal living in New Jersey and has a 17 year-old son who apparently has a pretty good head on his shoulders. She is the only mom for the column that has a teenager and from what I remember from being a teenage boy, she should have plenty of material at her fingertips to make us laugh each month!

Thank you to all four of these wonderful moms who decided to get Quirkee with us! And thank you to all of their loyal readers who have come by to indulge in barrels full of humor each week! We hope to see more of you around as we continue the journey into our world of Quirkeeness.

Stop by dKaye’s debut article and welcome her to the party! Tequila for everybody! If you are not going to ride in the limo with us then please bring a designated driver.

sarcastic: adjective - Contemptuous or ironic in manner or wit.

mom (mother): noun - a stringy, mucilaginous substance consisting of various bacteria, esp. Mycoderma aceti, that forms on the surface of a fermenting liquid and causes fermentation when added to other liquids, as in changing wine or cider to vinegar. Also called mother of vinegar.

Hmmm. Gross! I never knew that was a definition of "mother" until today. It doesn't really describe Lotus Carroll, aka Sarcastic Mom , the next mom writer to grace the pages of Quirkee.com in the new column, From the Mouths of Babes. Lotus is far from being a mucilaginous substance but she is definitely sarcastic and a mom. She currently resides in Nashville but insists she will come back to Austin someday if Quirkee makes millions and we buy her a second home here. 

She's a perfect fit for the magazine and we are honored to have her on the team! Come by her debut article and welcome her to the wackiness that we call Quirkee.com!

Next week: Donna Chafin-Medica (aka dKaye) will be closing out the first round. Get your popcorn ready!

Last week I told you about how we decided to class up the joint at Quirkee.com by adding a new moms column. Boy was I wrong!

Just kidding ladies. Don't throw anything at me!

Piper of Love kicked off the new column with her awesome article and it was a big hit with our readers! This week we are proud to be able to announce the other three moms that will be bringing their quirkiness to the pages of Quirkee.com! The Internet is full of quirky moms and I can tell you it was not easy to narrow it down to just four writers for this column.The main goal was to find moms from all walks of life in locations around the country for a diversity of quirkiness. I think that has been achieved with this hilarious group of moms!

This week's article for From the Mouths of Babes is by Kadi Prescott! If you haven't met Kadi yet then you are missing out. She is jaw-dropping funny and we are excited that she has joined the team. Stop by her debut article and welcome her to Quirkee! 

On the horizon for next Thursday is Lotus Carroll! Many of you know her as Sarcastic Mom and she is as quirky as the day is long. Look for her arrival to the magazine next Thursday!

Donna Chafin-Medica (aka dKaye) will be closing out the first round of the column with her article in two weeks. For those that haven't met Donna yet you are in for a treat!

So grab some coffee or a cocktail (we prefer both), kick back and relax, enjoy a good laugh (laughing makes you live longer), and come welcome these moms to Quirkee.com!

Whoopie Cushions and water balloon fights can only get you so far, so we thought it would nice to shake things up at Quirkee.com by bringing on some new mom writers and quirky photographers!

The new moms column, From the Mouths of Babes, will be featuring some amazing mothers from all walks of life. They will be sharing their own unique experiences about their lives, their lives with children, and the quirkiness that goes along with it. 

The first mom to come in and class up the joint is Piper Carothers! Many of you know her as Piper of Love from Bliss in Bloom, cre8Buzz, and other various locations around the Web. Please stop by to read her debut article and leave her a comment!

Another way we decided to spruce the place up (no, not hanging ferns) was to start the Quirkee Quirky Photos & Videos group on flickr.com. We love flickr. Come join us! We also love hilarious photos and videos and want to give more exposure to the quirky people behind them! Each week we will feature some of the stuff from the group that really stands out among the quirkiness - so head on over to Quirkee Quirky Photos: Volume 1 and see who made it to the site this week!

We hope you all will enjoy the new level of class at Quirkee.com, but don't expect to see the water balloon fights and other shenanigans stop altogether. In fact, with the addition of more quirky people, I assume the craziness will be more frequent. Life just isn't as fun without fake dog poo and a flying rubber chicken.

When it comes to telling it like it is, Joeprah is the man. With a name like that you kind of have to bring your "A Game" to keep your street cred - so Joe Shatz does just that.

His videos are a hit onlline and his writing is high on humor - low on boring! Joe is the definition of a stay-at-home dad who is out to make a difference in his kids' lives. One of them will be famous someday and it could actually be Joe!

Those are all clickable badges so pick one and discover what many other people have experienced since Joeprah hit the Web. Go Get it!

My name is Quirkee James and I approve of this message.

The next dad to come in for an interview is Jeremy Biser. Jeremy and I have something in common besides the fact that we are both stay-at-home dads; we both interview other dads, too! Two weeks ago I was featured in his Spotlight on Dads series for his Discovering Dad site. Last March we both met in the Dads Community on cre8Buzz.com , a new social networking site for bloggers, writers, photographers, entrepreneurs, sports enthusiasts, and many others. Here he is to tell you more about his life as a dad.

The Razor scooter, a child's best friend for many years! They go zipping up and down sidewalks, streets, and parking lots looking for places just steep enough for a sweet jump or a fast and smooth ride. Days are spent cruising around the neighborhood picking up friends along the way who are desperate to try that one last trick that they were unable to land the night before. Dinner is ready and all the moms and dads are calling for the return of their kids before the street lights come on. There will always be tomorrow.

As a child I spent most of my youth jumping bikes off of ramps made of plywood and bricks, riding my skateboard off of curbs, steps, and sometimes just straight into the creek. A Razor scooter was not something we had growing up in the 1970's, at least not in my neighborhood. We had Big Wheels, dirt bikes, and skateboards. 

The following parts of this story contain some blood (and humor), and I'm not sure if FOX wants it posted here but the full story is on my Daddyshack.us site. Feel free to click the link to read the rest of the story! I promise, it's not that bad.

Beware of the Razor - Full Story

It's hard to believe this was 33 years ago. Thank you for always being there for me when I needed a push in life - on and off the swing. I love you, Mom! Happy Mother's Day!