Parker and Uncle George

100_1100 (web), originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker and his glow worm

100_1130 (web), originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker loves his new glow worm he got for Christmas from Aunt Mindy. Check out our Kodak Gallery Album of more Christmas pictures.

Parker and Dad

100_1134 (web), originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker, growing up!

100_1063 (web), originally uploaded by jcroach.

Doesn't he look older than 3 months?

Parker photo update

Parker photo update, originally uploaded by jcroach.

You better watch out

You better watch out, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker's first visit with Ole' Saint Nick. This year he wished for a clean diaper and world peace.

The Red Canoe

Check out the newest Blogger Blog from my brother George. You can read about his exploits at The Red Canoe. I'm not sure where the name comes from, but my guess is that the canoe was on top of a car in a mall parking lot.

Bring on the egg nog & the Chargers!

Bring on the egg nog & the Chargers!, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker is ready for a perfect season and his first Christmas!

Onward Frozen Warriors

Onward Frozen Warriors, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Frosty leads the march of the snowman army.

Midway Stand-Up Arcade

Target has a new stand up, nearly full sized arcade machine replica currently on sale. It has arcade accurate versions of Defender, Defender II, Robotron, Joust, Bubbles, Sinistar, Rampage, Rootbeer Tapper, Wizard of Wor, and Timber. The reviews have been bad however. The screen is tiny, only 13 inches, and the controls are week. It was pretty neat to see an arcade machine for sale at our local Target, however. Much better than the hand held models that have been around a few years. It inspired me to start thinking about my arcade cabinet again..............

Parker: Month 3

A new photo album for you to enjoy. Check out Parker: Month 3 at kodakgallery.com

Parker Photo Update #3

Parker Photo Update #3, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker Photo Update #2

Parker Photo Update #2, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Parker photo update 1

Parker photo update 1, originally uploaded by jcroach.

I haven't posted in a while. I thought I'd post some recent pictures of Parker.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to all. Parker, Cathy and I will be spending Thanksgivign day in Bloomington before heading north. Over the river and through the woods.........

Parker saw snow for the first time today. It didn't really phase him however.

50% across the board

Parker had his 2 month check up on Wednesday.  He was 11 lbs, 14 ozs and 23 inches long.  He was in the 50% percentile for height, weight and head size. Average, but not ordinary!

Parker's open house

As promised, here are some more pictures from the Roach/Parker open house for Parker.





To see all of the pictures, check out our Kodak Photo Gallery.

Cathy and Parker

Cathy and Parker, originally uploaded by jcroach.

George and Parker

George and Parker, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Uncle George got to meet Parker this weekend. I think they both had a great time. George will be in Mexico for Thanksgiving, so we won't see him then, but Christmas is around the corner.

Day one over and we're no worse for wear!

Today was my first day at home as a full time dad. Parker and I got by great but we were both glad to see Cathy at the end of the day.

Thanks to everyone that came by for the shower this weekend. It had been a long time since I'd seen some of my aunts and uncles and cousins. And Parker finally got to meet his uncle George! Pictures to be posted shortly.

New Poll!

It's been a while, but the Roach Family Blog has a new poll. Located on the sidebar to the right. ------------------------>

The new question? Who does Parker look more like, his Mom or Dad?



Vote early, vote often!

RED: You are where you eat

As reported earlier, Bono and the Edge from U2 recently designed lunchboxes for the Lunchbox Auction. Proceeds benefit the Food Bank for New York City and the Lunch Box Fund. The Food Bank for New York City provides 240,000 free meals eah day. The Lunch Box Fund provides free school lunches to children in South Africa.

The lunchbox designed by Bono just sold for $10,100! That's a lot of Tang and Little Debbie snack cakes and more than the $1,814 that The Edge's pulled in. I personally liked Edge's design better, but what do I know about art, or lunch boxes!

Updates from the home front

Recent tests have been successful. I will now be able to update The Roach Family Blog from my achingly slow dial-up modem connection while I'm home with Parker. I'll be home on extended FLMA leave from Veteran's Day through the first of the year.

Flickr has a great feature that allows e-mail uploads of photos. After they are e-mailed in, the photos can be automatically sent to a blog. Expect to still get the same cute pictures of Parker here through the holidays.

Test 3: The Roaches and Macys on Halloween

Test 3: The Roaches and Macys on Halloween, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Ok, third time's a charm.

Test 2: Parker in swing

Test 2: Parker in swing, originally uploaded by jcroach.

Ok, that didn't work the first time, let's try it again.

Test: Photo upload from e-mail

Test: Photo upload from e-mail, originally uploaded by jcroach.

I'm testing to see if the Flickr e-mail up-loader and blog updater is
working properly. One e-mail sent to my Flickr account should add an
image and post to my blog. Hopefully it works!

New Features!

Regular readers will notice many new features to the Roach Family Blog.  The primary new feature is the ability to receive Roach Family Blog updates directly t your desktop!  The blog is now streaming in RSS and Atom formats and I’ve added links to the right to help you find these streams. Why should you care?  Well, this means you can add the Roach Family Blog to your “My MSN” homepage or your “My Yahoo!” homepage. Links to both of these features are also to the right.  Whenever I add a new post, the stream will also be updated right on your web page.  E-mail me if you want details.

 

Also, if you’re not up to speed on RSS feeds, you can get e-mail when I update.  Add your e-mail address to the dialog box to the right and FEEDBlitz.com will send you an e-mail each day I update with a full copy of the blog entry. 

New DVDs, just in time for Christmas

Two new concert DVDs are coming out just in time for Christmas. For the U2 fan, there's Vertigo 2005: Live From Chicago, which is scheduled for release on November 15th. This DVD features 23 songs, include concert rarities Cry/Electric Co. and An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart recorded May 9-10, 2004 at the United Center.

For the Ben Folds fane, there's Ben Folds and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra Live from Perth, which is scheduled for release on December 6th. This DVD was recorded March 12th and 13th, 2005 and includes 11 songs. No surprises here, just your typical rocker meets symphony release which has been done by everyone.

The War Child Music Store

Check out The War Child Music Store. They have a bunch of albums and singles from current artists and a part of the sale goes to help War Child. The price is a $1.79 per track. War Child is "an international relief and development agency, dedicated to providing immediate, effective and sustainable aid to children affected by war in order to build peace, resolve conflict and empower future generations." You can also check out the War Child USA page.

Prints from Flickr!

Well, now my photo hosting options just got more confusing. Flickr has finally added printing options. This was the one thing keeping me from using flickr exclusively. That and the 20 MB monthly bandwith limit. With Flickr's purchase by Yahoo!, printing was sure to come. You can now get $0.15 prints, pick up prints at Target, print books, stamps, poster, etc! With more to come. I just might have to bite the bullet and pay the $24.95 a year and covert exclusively to Flickr.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Ok, so I'm a dork, but I love the Harry Potter books. I saw the trailer last night fo the next movie, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. It opens November 18th. I'm thinking that Parker and I'll have to rent it when it comes out on DVD!

Wilco at the Murat

Check out the review of Wilco's October 13th show at the Murat Theater over at IndianapolisMusic.net. While the review does contain some inaccuracies (The song is called "Airline to Heaven" not "Airline Plane" and "Walken" was not debuted in Indy. It debuted in Milan, Italy on Sept. 6th and made it's American debut on Sept. 21st in Columbia, MO.), the review includes some great photos by my friend Jennifer Hughes.

U.S. Military Death Toll Reaches 2,000

From the Associated Press - U.S. military death toll reached 2,000 with the death of an Army Staff Sgt. George T. Alexander Jr., 34, of Killeen, Texas.

Congratulations to Jeremy and Gretchen!

Cathy and I had the privilege of attending the wedding of Jeremy Stark and Gretchen Giddings this past Saturday. The newlyweds should now be in beautiful Hawaii on their honeymoon. Best of luck to both of them as they start their new life together. Check out all of the pictures we took this weekend on Kodak Gallery.

Congratulations to the Popovitzes!

Brian and Wendy Popovitz were proud to announce today the birth of their son, Timothy Michael Popovitz.

He was born on October 11th at 11:20 am He weighed 7 lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.

Wendy, Tim and Brian are doing well, and new big brother Matthew is "adjusting".

Welcome to the world, Tim!

Bono and Pope John Paul II

Bono and Pope John Paul II, originally uploaded by atu2.

The Late Pope John Paul II wearing Bono's trademark "Fly" shades.

Big Box Mart

JibJab.com, who brought us such classic flash cartoons as "This Land", "Good to be in D.C." and "Second Term," now bring us a jab on corporate giant Wal-Mart. In "Big Box Mart" "an unsuspecting consumer learns an economic lesson the hard way when his high-skilled factory job is shipped overseas to accommodate the 'everyday low prices' he's come to expect from his favorite retailer. Now only one question remains: Paper or plastic?" All to the tune "Oh, Susanna." Great stuff.

Latest sign of the pending apocalypse

Bono and George Bush had lunch at the White House today. They reportedly talked about issues Bono raised at the recent G-8 summit, presumably African AIDs, debt releif and the influence country and western music has had on rock 'n roll. Bush is not expected to attend U2's concert at the MCI Center tonight. Too bad, he'll miss a great show!

The Happiest Baby on the Block

This past week Cathy and I received two great presents. The first was a copy of Dr. Harvey Karp's book The Happiest Baby on the Block. In the book, Dr. Karp describes ways to "Calm Crying and Help Your Newborn Baby Sleep Longer." His basic theory is that the first 3 months of a baby's life can be looked at like the 4th trimester of pregnancy. The baby's body is not totally formed, he hasn't quite learned how to use all of his parts and is longing for the comfort and security of the womb. He suggests 5 "S"s to help calm newborns.

1. Swaddle: wrapping the baby tightly in blankets so he can't move his arms and legs much
2. Swing: rocking motions
3. Side/Stomach: his favorite way to lay
4. Shhhhh: white noise
5. Suck: use of pacifiers the sucking need

Read more about Dr. Karp's books at thehappiestbaby.com

The second gift was the SwaddleMe blanket from Kiddopotamus. I had seen this product in the stores but hadn't thought anything about it. SwaddleMe is great! It helped me calm Parker like never before. The SwaddleMe and the new swing that we recently bought are quickly helping Parker become the happiest baby on the block!

Paul Macy on the web.

Check out Paul Macy's first web site and his hospital pictures at growingfamily.com

Bono and Edge designed lunchboxes for charity

Bono and The Edge from U2 have designed lunchboxes for the Lunchbox Auction. Proceeds benefit the Food Bank for New York City and the Lunch Box Fund. The Food Bank for New York City provides 240,000 free meals eah day. The Lunch Box Fund provides free school lunches to children in South Africa.

The lunchbox designed by The Edge is currently on eBay. At more than $1000, I think I'll pass however.

Parker's First Visitors

Here's some more pictures for you all. These are some of Parker's first visitors. See all of the picture at our Kodak Gallery Album

"Strong, Smart & Bold" girls and women: A threat to Conservative Agenda

Another group has come under fire from the "Religious Right." this time it's the American Girl company because of their affiliation with Girls Inc.

If you're not familiar with these groups, Girls Inc. is a national non-profit that started 141 years ago as Girls Clubs of America. Since the 1990 merger that created the Boys and Girls Clubs, they have existed as Girls Inc. They manage centers where "generations of girls have learned their strengths, explored their worlds, prepared for productive, interesting lives, and offered each other the support necessary in dealing with the challenges of growing up." Their motto is "Inspiring all girls to be Strong Smart and Bold." They serve about 800,000 girls a year, many of them black or Hispanic and most from low-income families. Now, I'll admit I have a bias toward the organization because Cathy worked at their national resource center in Indianapolis for a year, but even with that, I don't think this is an evil organization worthy of the ire of America.

American Girl makes large, expensive, historically accurate and multi-ethnic dolls and associated accessories like books and is a subsidiary of Mattel. Mattel has had a long history of association with Girls Inc., going back to the Working Woman Barbie which included a CD of activities partially written and designed by Girls Inc. They formed a relationship with Girls Inc. after the public backlash from their "Teen Talk Barbie" which uttered such inane phrases as "Math is hard!", "I love shopping!" and "Will we ever have enough clothes?"

Mattel's current venture with Girls Inc. is the American Girl I CAN promise and bracelet. The I CAN promise for girls is:

I can be myself, follow my dreams, and always do my best. I can reach for the stars, lend a hand to others, and be a good friend. I can make a difference! I promise to try.

Sounds like a great promise. A great way to teach girls to be Strong Smart and Bold. According to Mattel, the I CAN initiative "supports specific Girls Inc. programs - building girls' skills in science and math, developing leadership skills, and encouraging athletic skills and team spirit."

The current controversy comes from two ultra right wing groups; The American Family Association and the Pro-Life Action League. These groups take offense at some of the things that Girls Inc. is teaching girls and wants all right thinking Christianss" to boycott American Girls until they end their relationship with this evil group. According to the Pro-Life Action League, the things they find offensive are:

• Girls Incorporated supports a woman's freedom of choice, a constitutional right established by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 in Roe vs. Wade.
• To make responsible decisions about sexuality, pregnancy and parenthood, girls need and have a right to sensitive, truthful sexuality education; convenient access to safe, effective methods of contraception and protection from disease; and referral to comprehensive information, counseling, clinical and other services that support their responsible decisions.
• Girls have a right to positive, supportive environments and linkages to community resources for dealing with issues of sexual orientation.

The Pro-Life Action League Executive Director, Ann Scheidler, stated on their web site, "While Girls Inc. has some good programs, they also support abortion, oppose abstinence-only education for girls, and condonelesbiansm." The web statement by The American Family Associationn states that Girls Inc. "support[s] abortion and a girl's right to abort an unwanted baby," supports theSupremee court decision on Roe vs. Wade, "supports contraceptives for girls" and "offer resources encouraging lesbian and bi-sexual lifestyles."

So, to these groups, Girls Inc. is probably a bunch of bra burning abortionists trying to turn their daughters gay. They want to think that the Roe Vs. Wade decision never took place and that anyone who fights for the reproductive rights of women are "pro-abortion" and "pro teen sex." They think that abstinence only educationn will keep their kids from experimentingg with sex. Instead, their kids doexperimentt with sex and they have no knowledge about how to prevent sexually transmitted diseasess or keep from getting pregnant. And they want to pretend that there are no gay people in the world.