Sorry for the caps … BUT OMG … Toy Story 3 is coming to theatres June 18, 2010!!!

The best part about that?  Brianna may actually be old enough to go to the show with her parents and enjoy the movie with us!  We’ll need a sitter for Logan tho …

BUZZ IS COMING BACK BABY!!!

Alright … I watch Jon and Kate Plus 8 … it doesn’t matter how that started … or whether or not I watch it religiously … suffice to say in the Carder household on Monday nights, the tube is tuned to TLC … Now if you’re not aware, Jon and Kate themselves are going through a rough patch … and might be headed for divorce …

This is troubling to my wife (who’s the real reason why I ‘watch’ the show) … but it’s more troubling for me because what seems to be the root of just about all of their problems … is their new fame … the season premiere last night showed just how bad things have gotten for them.  They actually had paparazzi shadowing them at the kid’s fifth birthday party.  Like, camped out on the other side of a river with telephoto lenses!

I mean, who are Jon and Kate really?  At best, they’re maybe MAYBE C Grade celebrities … and yet they have a small gaggle of newsies chasing after them.  How bad is it that I can even GRADE how much of a celebrity they are?  You know, they may not be the perfect couple, but like I’ve said this celebrity has to be the cause of many of their problems.

Now in recent times … I’ve tried my best not to support the media circus … I haven’t read anything about Brittney or Lindsay … I don’t hit TMZ unless it’s to hear Christian Bale losing it at a sound tech … I’ve basically not supported the beast by not paying attention to it.  It’s been tough in recent weeks because I have become interested in Jon and Kate … and I have been curious as to what’s been going on with them.

All this may sound a little hypocritical from a guy who runs a blog … has a Facebook page AND a Twitter account … all of which is of course the biggest “come look at me” in this day and age … however the purpose of my blog has changed from when I first set it up … initially yes, I was trying to get the world to shine a little bit of a spotlight down on me … but now?  I look at these tools as more of a chronicle for myself and more importantly my children … my random thoughts as I say …

I really do hope that Jon and Kate can work things out … figure out a way to be together under the glaring spotlight … after all, fame is fleeting and the media circus will eventually leave town.  Once that’s happened, they’ll still have each other and their family.  Let’s just see if we can help them out a little and not fuel the hype machine.  Put down the tabloid.  They’ve already invited you into their lives.  Meet them on their own terms.  After all, wouldn’t that be what you would ask for?

I forgot to talk about this earlier this week … but Jason Taylor is once again with the Miami Dolphins!  I guess that means I don’t have to feel shame in wearing my JT jersey!

What I really enjoy thou is a snippit from this article in the Miami Herald …

“Everyone knows the Patriots made a strong play for Taylor, but few recognize that the Jets also called. That call from New York offered Taylor a chance to unite with coach Rex Ryan, the architect of Baltimore’s ferocious defense the past few years.

It offered Taylor a chance to be a star as close to Broadway as anyone can get without actually performing in a play. But Taylor rebuffed that flirtation because he passionately dislikes Jets fans to the point that playing for them is slightly less preferable than death.”

Hah hah hah … god I hate the Jets … and clearly I’m not alone!

Of undead …. errr … fire ants?  Interesting article on pest control and what they’re doing in Texas to control the fire ant population …  personally I just want to use those little flies to create my own army of the undead!  I guess we just need to supersize the little guys …

Wow … little did I realize just how busy this time of year would end being for me … we had Boo’s birthday a couple weeks back …  and then this past weekend was a double combo of Shari’s b-day AND Mother’s Day … holy cow is that going to tap my wallet going forward …

Well … I’ve manaed to get some photos up from her get together at the zoo … it was a pretty good time despite the slighty damp weather … it was a bit of a hike to get to our arranged picnic spot … which meant a bunch of trips up and down a hill for daddy … but it was for the Boo, so it was ALLLLL good … click on the pic above for more photos …

Happy First Birthday my little Brianna!  For those of you who want to see a little bit more of the birthday girl, either click on the photo above or click on the link to take you to the gallery … I’ve got a fresh slice of Brie for everyone!

… Shari’s water broke … and I didn’t believe her … sigh …

One year ago today we CASUALLY made our way down to the hospital to investigate what had just come forth from my lovely wife’s pregnant crotch … let me tell you, looking back on that day I’ve never been through a bigger range of emotions in my LIFE … fear, worry, confusion … I guess if I had the ability to send myself some kind of a message in the past … I think it’s pretty clear what that message would be …

“Wait until you see what’s coming tomorrow!”

PS – Logan will NOT be allowed to pull the same kind of shenanigans with his mother’s inner crotch parts … he’s cooking for a full term …

Soooo … I’m currently participating in this 100 day weight loss challenge at work … there’s a bunch of us seeing who can drop the biggest % of weight …  but it’s tough finding time to exercize … after all, I’ve got Brianna waiting at home for me … plus I need to be helping out Shari as we get closer and closer to Logan’s arrival date …

So I’ve taken up exercizing at the office … in my cube … doing pushups, planks, etc … but a bunch of people have told me that it’s kind of weird that I’m doing that … anyone have any thoughts or opinions on that?  I can’t go the the gym before work … I’m looking after the Boo … after work is the same thing … so unless I go in the evenings … but that’s the only time I have to spend with Shari …

So I guess people in the office are just going to have to deal with the unusual sight of me doing pushups in my cube …

OK … so I’ve been quiet for a while … there’s a number of reasons behind that … the only one I’m going to admit to publicly is that I wanted to make sure that the announcment of Little Logan coming down the pipe stayed front and centre for a bit …

Now … with the discovery that Logan was indeed coming … Shari and I figured that we had better start looking SERIOUSLY into getting a minivan.  So the choice started off as … do we go new but lower end or used and higher end?  A part of me wanted to really support the local economy and pick up a domestic vehicle … but honestly?  Not only would we have been getting a lower quality vehicle … but the dealership which I dealt with soured me to the point where buying new was no longer an option.

So we decided to go used and specifically to look for a Honday Odyssey.  Which lead us into a whole bunch of other questions … How old?  How many clicks?  Which trim level?  On top of which … i had yet another bad experience at a dealership … this time a Used Honda dealer … which again just totally put me off on dealing with a dealership …

Lo and behold thou, Shari and I worked a deal out on a 2005 Odyssey … which we’re picking up on Saturday … so we’ve got our minivan.  It’s loaded, almost top of the line … options out the wazoo … however instead of feeling joyous I’m clearly more focused on the experiences I had trying to line up this vehicle … while we saw some common sales techniques show up … it was how those techniques which were delivered which made the difference.  It was just amazing to me that in a time where auto manufacturers are about to go belly up, that they’re not mandating that the sales people back off and ease up on the ‘Hard Sell’ … because it’s clearly costing them customers …

… to the Birthday Boy, Sean Hart … if you see him today, make sure you wish him a big ol’ Happy Birthday!