Having the boys (and soon a new baby) has really made it much more important to me as well. When I spend time with the boys I realize how much I love them, but also how much I still have to give to them in the many years to come. I want to be sure that I’m here to do that. The most important thing I will ever do with my life is to be a father, I really feel that in my soul.

Last but certainly not least, having diabetes raises the importance of diet and exercise. Because of my condition I am more at risk for some serious health complications, but keeping things in check severely reduce that risk almost to the point of being a non-diabetic.

Earlier this year I made an attempt and eating better and did great for a few months until I had what can only be described as a mental melt down (I’m fine now though). At that point I didn’t care about my diet anymore and just said “screw it”. I felt like a smoker that kicked the habit, but then had to have just one more because of a rough day. Since then it’s been very difficult to get back on track.

But, I’ve decided to try again. I only fail if I stop trying, and that I will not do.

I’ve joined a health club (again) but this time I’m making it less optional and more part of my life. I’m going to go 5 days a week (M-F) and really mix up what I do. For example, this week I ran one day, used the stair master another, and tomorrow I have my first ever spin class at 5:30am. I think through variety it will keep things from becoming mundane, which was a problem in the past.

I’ve also signed up for a few classes with a personal trainer. I’ve never had this and it will help me form a more serious plan instead of just making one up as I go, which is what I’ve always done in the past.

As for diet, I’ve given up all unnatural sugars (fruit sugar is OK, Twinkie sugar is not), caffeine, and have limited my choleric intake to 1200 calories a day until I get down to my long desired weight (about 20 lbs. away from where I’m at now – all in my stomach). I’m going to eat mostly fruits and vegetables, but also some lean meats.

Because I’m a geek, I’m also using some geeky tools to help me out.

First off I purchased a heart rate monitor that I can wear when working out. This is important because as I recently learned, keeping your heart rate within a certain range helps burn fat instead of sugar. Also for me, I’ve learned that keeping my heart rate in this “fat burning” zone keeps my blood sugar from rising while I work out.

I use the iPhone and the Nike+ software to keep track of my workouts as I run or walk. This keeps track of my distance, calories burned and time, and creates a nice report of how you’ve been doing. It even allows you to set goals for yourself and then tell you how you’re doing.

Finally, I started using an app on my iPhone that is indispensable when trying to count calories. It’s called “Nutrition” and helps you track your daily calories, work outs and weight loss. The part that really helps is the fact that it has lists of most restaurants and their menus, so if you do go out to eat you can see what the nutritional values are of each food.

Part of me sharing all of this is because first it makes me feel like the commitment is a bit more real and serious, and second because as we all know telling people puts more pressure on you to stay with it. I also hope that if I do well with it, maybe others are inspired to make changes in their own diets.

I’ll update later!

How many times do you ask yourself or those around you if something in the fridge or freezer is still OK to eat? And how many times do you take that chance, and eat something knowing full well you may have just scheduled a meeting with the porcelain bowl?

I found a website recently that really helps you increase your odds of not making a trip to the emergency room. It’s called StillTasty.com. It’s simple and fast to use. Just look up your food, narrow it down to where you’ve had it stored and for how long, and you’ll know instantly if the odds are in your favor or not. You can still be reckless if you want, but at least now it’s your call and not by chance.

Check it out for yourself.

StillTasty.com

Probably the greatest fear I’ve had for as long as I can remember is speaking to a group of people (large or small). Just being that center of attention with all eyes on you has always caused me very deep discomfort. In fact, when I had speech class in high school I would actually skip class on the days that I was supposed to speak. No surprise, I failed the class.

However, I’ve also wanted to start teaching – either one-on-one or maybe at a local college, and being afraid to talk to people does not go well with that goal. So early last year I decided I would at least make an attempt to get past the fear enough to do a single presentation. After that I could decide if I wanted to pursue it or not.

So last November I was scheduled to do a presentation to a group of editors that are part of the Chicago Final Cut Pro User Group , but due to a scheduling mixup I got bumped until January of this year. The presentation was on two things. First, how to find creative inspiration when you have no idea what you want to create, and second to break down of a project I did last year to show how I used the inspiration of a movie open to influence my own project.

Because of the help of my colleague and friend Jeff Carrion, I was able to refine my skills during a rehearsal at the office. Jeff gave me great feedback and what he liked and where he thought I should make changes. And with the help of my good friend Noeleen McGrath, who is herself a media coach, I was able to get feedback both before and after the presentation on how I can improve. She provided me a detailed list after the presentation with very specific things I need to work on. I feel very luck to have somebody like her available to help me out.

The result? For a first time out, I did pretty good. There are plenty of things I want to change for next time, but I did what I set out to do, which is to do my first presentation. The feedback I’ve received from people at the meeting has been good, and I would day there’s a good chance I’ll do more in the future for other groups as well.

If you would like to see the presentation, you can find it on my professional blog SuiteTake.com.

Last Wednesday we made the decision to pack up all of the pacifiers and cut the boys off cold turkey. Our pediatrician recommended that we get rid of them between the 6-12 month mark due to their teeth coming in, and from what we read the longer you wait the harder it can be. So since it was a long holiday weekend and we would both be around we decided to do it. 

The results?

While there have been some really tough moments for sure, a week later we both agree that they are going to sleep faster (they’re not looking around for the pacifier they keep losing) and they’re no longer getting up over night crying for us to put the pacifier back in their mouth. They seem to even nap a little longer. 

So overall, it seems like the right move at the right time. If you want to read more about it, here is a link to an article Brenda found that really sold me on doing it now instead of waiting. 

How To Get Rid Of The Pacifier Cold Turkey

For the second time this year, I was interviewed on an industry podcast that I listen to every week. This has been a big year for just doing the things that usually freak me out and bring me to my knees. I was interviewed earlier this year about something else on the same show, but I think I actually did a better job this time. If you’re interested in hearing my 5 minute interview, check out the link on my industry related blog. 

View Blog Post

Over the years I have received many questions like “What is a good camera to buy?” or “What computer would you recommend?”, or even “Why do you always look so handsome?”. OK, not the last question but you get the idea. People ask me because I’m a nerd, and I’m always reading reviews and tech articles. I’m always glad to help because I know what it’s like to need that kind of help in other areas of my life, and I know it can really be a big help. 

I’ve always said if I got a dollar for each product I sold I would have a nice little piggy bank. Well now it’s possible for me to do that by having an affiliate store with Amazon.com

Here’s how it works. If I send you a link to a product as an answer to a question you asked me, the link will be to Amazon.com (as it usually was in the past) but will be coded with a special number that gives me credit for any the purchase you make. The price for you is exactly the same, but I’ll get a small percentage of what you purchase. 

In addition, there is a new page on this site (Tom’s Recommendations) that has some of the things people most commonly ask me about. In most cases they’re things that I currently own and really like.

I don’t really care if you buy it from Amazon.com or not, but in case you do it will be nice that Amazon.com pays me a small fee for sending you there. 

Andrew is NOT happy.

After thinking about it for several weeks and talking it over with Brenda, I have decided to stop making entries to this blog. I guess the more I think about it, the more I realize the boys are just not all that interesting and who really wants to hear about them anyway. Sure, the grandparents do but we’ve even felt like the grandparents have lost interest. I mean really, they’re just babies – what can they do anyway? So, like I said, this will be my last entry – in this blog.

On a very related note, I have started a new blog on our own server called “Just Another Day”. What’s the difference? There are a few.

First, and most importantly, this blog is run on my own personal server, and it was built for us. That means that 20 years down the road I’ll still have full access to this site and all of the video/photos that I have posted. This blog is hosted by another company, and that’s not to say it won’t be around in 20 years, but I didn’t want to take a chance. It would crush me to put several years of work into this and then just have it go away.

Second, I’m a total nerd. I love getting under the hood of things computer related and this site lets me get under the hood (the hood on this blog is locked). That means I can customize the blog more and add other features that are otherwise just not available.

The last biggest change, and one that I’m really looking forward to, is that Brenda will now be able to do her own blog posts separate from mine. Every post on the blog will have the name of the person who posted it, so she will be able to add her own thoughts and comments as well.

Over the next few weeks, all of the old entries from this blog will be transferred into the new one, so there will still be a complete history. Also, this site is still being tested and tweaked, so every so often a post may appear that seems out of place. Don’t be frightened.

So while this is the end of this blog, it’s really just the beginning. I hope that you enjoy the new site.

The boys are well behaved (except for being peed on now and then) and it’s a pleasure just holding them and having them look back at you. It’s amazing how something so very simple can be so rewarding.

Brenda has been doing better every day handling them both on her own. This week she will handle both of them by herself later in the week, and she feels confident that it will go well.

This week I’m back to full time which for me means 9am until about 9pm most days of the week. There are exceptions, but on average that’s what it will be moving forward. My first task will be to line up a few solid editors that I can use as replacements for Brenda. She has left some huge shoes to fill!

So otherwise, there’s not much to report. Just taking it easy with the boys!

New photos are also posted on Flickr. We took some new family photos today, and there is a separate album of the photos Mike took the day they were born.

The boys are only 2 weeks old as of today, but we already feel like we’ve known them forever (I mean this in a good way). It’s already hard to imagine life without them.

Thanks to Mike Younger we have some awesome photos from the day they were born. Mike was nice enough to create a automatic web gallery slide show that you’ll find by clicking on the link.

There are a lot of photos, so if you want to skip around and look at different ones click in the lower right hand corner of the screen and use the controls that appear.

12:33pm – This is a re-post from yesterday. There were some problems but now it’s working so if you had any problems viewing the video try this link.

This is not my best work considering I edit videos for a living, but for any editors watching I used iMovie. Enough said. I’m also not the best camera person, so just look past the jerky moves.

If you can deal with those two problems, then you’ll enjoy the little moments we shared in the last week or so. They’re awesome boys and we’re thrilled to have them!

You will need quicktime installed on your machine to view this. For most people the default MEDIUM quality should play fine over the web, but if it doesn’t because you have a slow connection try the MOBILE version instead.

Hope you enjoy it!

More Photos 

This is not my best work considering I edit videos for a living, but for any editors watching I used iMovie. Enough said. I’m also not the best camera person, so just look past the jerky moves.

If you can deal with those two problems, then you’ll enjoy the little moments we shared in the last week or so. They’re awesome boys and we’re thrilled to have them!

You will need quicktime installed on your machine to view this. For most people the default MEDIUM quality should play fine over the web, but if it doesn’t because you have a slow connection try the MOBILE version instead.

Hope you enjoy it!

As part of our shower in December, Toni created a video that she played for everybody attending. Since we’ve made our career making videos for other people, it was especially nice to have somebody make a video for us. We were both very touched and I asked Toni if I could have a copy of it. I thought I would also post it here for others to see who were unable to attend the shower in Chicago. Brenda can’t watch the video without getting emotional. Thanks Toni!

I added a few new photos from yesterday and today. The new ones are toward the bottom of the page, where you can see the two of them together.

It’s not as if I didn’t expect it to happen at some point, but I didn’t expect it to happen 3 times in the same day.

Max was kind enough to pee on me 3 times today while changing his diapers. One time he got some really good distance and peed all over the privacy curtain in the room. It almost seems intentional.

Today we had a full day again with both boys. Over all it went well and the boys and Brenda are adjusting well to breast feeding. Brenda is recovering very well from her surgery but obviously has a way to go yet.

I know it will get old, but I don’t even mind changing their diapers. Any second I can spend holding them or interacting with them at all seems like quality time. It’s just hard not to get all caught up in them. I guess if I keep getting peed on I may change my opinion on the subject.

Tomorrow we check out of the hospital at 2pm and then we’re really going to see how hard it is to have two babies at the same time.

There are a few photos below, and I posted many more on Flickr. Click HERE to see them.

Most of the day we were along with the boys today, and it was a good experience. We’re finding we have a lot to learn and we need to learn it fast.

Brenda made good progress in her recovery and managed to walk a lot further today, in addition to being on her feet a lot more, taking a shower and getting up and down from a chair with one of the babies. So while she’s still in pain she’s a lot better then yesterday.

Tonight will be the first night I’ll actually go home to sleep and come back early. There’s not much reason for me to stay and I’ll get better rest at home.

We will be checking out on Friday around 2pm to take the boys home. That is when the real work starts.

I uploaded a few more photos from today, and you can find those here.

We are only in our first day and it’s already an amazing amount of work.

I spent the night last night but rushed home for a shower and change of clothes this morning. When I got back I went with Brenda to finally meet Andrew. She was feeling really bad that Max is getting so much love while Andrew down there by himself except for the short visits from family members throughout the day.

From there the rest of the day was a blur of baby feedings, people coming and going, visits to the NICU to see Andrew with family, helping with the breast pump machine, taking Brenda for a walk down the hallway, cleaning the breast pump parts (several times), talking to doctors, nurses, and other parents in the hallways, and occasionally taking a photo or two. I finally had “breakfast” at 2pm because it was the first chance I got.

I took more video then photos today, but some of the photos I took or posted below, and the rest are on the Flickr site. Click here to see all of them.

My Mom, sister Debbie and niece Madison will head back to Michigan tomorrow. It’s been great having them here since it was such a last minute trip for them. It’s hard to plan a trip when it can happen at any given moment. I really missed my Dad not being here but am grateful to have so many others. The boys send their love out to him (they both told me to make sure I put that on the website).

We were able to sneak Madison into the room today so that was great for everybody. We passed her off as my daughter from a previous relationship and had her wear the “new baby” hat. Nobody questioned it.

Brenda had a big day. She made great progress on both breast feeding as well as using the pump, she walked down the hall and back, took a shower, was taken off of the IV and other monitors and had a real meal. Her blood levels have shown signs of recovery so she will not need a blood transfusion after all.

Max is doing great and able to feed from a bottle now, and will breast feed fine once the milk starts coming in. He spent most of the day with us in the room and visited with people.

Andrew is doing great as well and is scheduled to come up to the room tomorrow around noon or so. They wanted one more night to be sure he was now eating OK, but he last 2 feedings went well and his breathing problems are no more.

For the first time since this all started to happen, I spent a half hour or so holding Andrew and really had a moment with him. He woke up for me and listened to me talk to him, often making eye contact. It was hard not to get totally choked up thinking how lucky we are to have two precious gifts of life. We tried for so long and at times thought it just might not happen for us, so seeing them now it’s still hard to believe they are ours. But we’re so grateful that they are and love them with all that we have.

I promise future entries here will be shorter, but I received a lot of email today asking for a update on everybody so I tried to be more detailed then usual.

Another update late tomorrow, but probably not much before midnight!

As I take more photos of the twins and mom (mom to come soon) I’ll add them to this page. So you can click on the link now to see the small number of photos I’ve posted today, and click later to see more added to the group.

My sister Dawn sent me 13 more photos, so I posted them. It will be the last 13 photos at the end of the group (toward the bottom of the page).

Madison (my sister Debbie’s daughter) enjoyed posing for photos today. Click here to see the rest of them.

Brenda found this blog entry and said that it sounded like something I would say. After reading it I totally agree. Lena is right on the money with every point and addresses some of my own frustrations as well.

If you run your own business or work for yourself you’ll find this interesting.

OK, I’m getting really anxious now.  For the longest time I just wasn’t ready for the boys to arrive because I always had “just one more thing” to do. And while I still feel like there’s more for me to do (the list is truly endless) I’m more ready now then every before!

Today we went to see a Movie (Juno) and had a good time. It was a simple, funny, feel good movie. We’re home now and I’m guessing in for the night, no trips to the hospital.

So, I’ll hope for tomorrow now.

My sister Dawn sent me 10 more photos of baby John.

Just click HERE. But do it fast before he finds out!

Mike is a talented photographer with experience doing everything from weddings to private parties. You can view some of his work by visiting his website.

Mike will not be taking traditional “posed” photos, but instead will be there as more of a documentary photographer, to capture the moment as it happens.

So if you happen to see him, feel free to tell him hello and make him feel welcomed!

As I continue to receive photos I will post them at this site. This will let people see larger photos that are hard to email, and you can download them if you like too.

During the upload it crashed the first time so there are some duplicate photos. I’ll take care of that later but wanted to post what I had now.

Here are a few more photos from the shower, thanks to Denise!

If you would like to see a few more, click on this link.

Tonight we went to look at the Honda Odyssey, the current front runner in our search. We are between the Toyota Mini-Van and the Honda, but after tonight I think we’re almost convinced the Honda is the one we’re going to get. Now we’re just waiting to hear from our accountant if it should be a 2007 or 2008 purchase for tax reasons.

The one we looked at is the Touring model, and includes all of the fun goodies.

You can find our more here.

If you like music you’ll find plenty to like with these free podcasts. They include several types of music, and make it easy to list to what you like or explore new music to find a new interest. You will need iTunes to use this link, which is a free download from Apple if you don’t already have it.

Fun at Chicago Indoor Racing today. If you like go-cart racing, this place rocks! This was our first visit and there’s no doubt we’ll be returning. (Pictured left to right, Dave Bailey, Don Lee, Ed Pickart, Tom Tomchak).

To find out more visit the website.

http://www.chicagoindoorracing.com/

Photos from Labor Day posted to Flickr. Barbara, Tom, Debbie, Dawn, and Madison came to Chicago for the weekend. Click here for the rest of the photos.

I’m trying something new with posting family photos. Using Flickr, anybody can view and purchase prints of any photos they like. Email me with your feedback on how you like this idea. If you DO order any photos, please let me know what the quality is like.

The bridge on the left is the one that fell down yesterday. It’s just under a mile from where I’m working this week, but it’s not part of my commute to/from Chicago. As you might imagine it’s pretty big news up here.

If you have any interest in photography, check out this show.

If you’ve ever wondered how your car would hold up in a crash test, check out this site. They have a short video of over 100 different cars being crashed for safety testing.

I showed people a test video we did a few months ago. Well, this is the project that it was done for. This video is not quite done yet, but it’s pretty close. It will be the opening video for the Lions Clubs International Conference. To view this you WILL need to have QuickTime installed on your computer. If you like it, let Brenda know! brenda@brattleaf.com

Looks like more bad news at post effects.

Smart Car Link

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