A Family Sickness and A Family Lost

Hey there.  The Metallman household has come down with something.  There's a lot of coughing, a lot of sneezing, and tissue all over the place.  With those of you with kids, you should know that once one of them gets sick, others follow.  Our youngest daughter started to feel the effects of sickness on Friday and before we knew what hit us, the baby started to sniffle and cough...  It's bad enough when a baby gets sick but it sucks when there simply isn't much in meds that you can give them.  I went looking for some Little Colds medicine for him and didn't find any.  When I asked the pharmacist where it is, he told me that the majority of the medicine for kids under 2 years old have been pulled from the market.  Mainly because parents don't know how to follow directions causing them to overdose their kids.  I was disappointed but we had the infant saline drops and a humidifier at home so we decided to go with that.

Our young one has had trouble sleeping due to his stuffy nose.  He's a little better today, but we're hoping that will be gone sometime within the next few days.  The horrible thing about all this is that now my wife and I starting to feel some of the symptoms...  Sore throat... itchy eyes, slight runny nose...  Oh man... If one of us gets sick...  it's going to be hell at home.

I also wanted to mention dreams in this post.  I'm sure we all can agree that children have some vivid imaginations.  They soak things up like a sponge and they say the funniest things when you least expect them.  Well, I don't really know which bucket to put this episode...

The other night, our daughter dropped in on us in bed exclaiming that she had a nightmare.  Fair enough, she's had a few that involved her pillow missing or her eating a giant marshmallow.  No biggie, right?  Well, the next morning she decides to tell me what her nightmare was about.  It turns our that she had a dream where she had no family.  I assured her that she will always have a family and that we'll always love her.  Her voice cracked, just a little, and then told me about how scary it was.

Now, the young one is 4 years old.  I'm not sure if it's normal to have these kind of dreams.  Shouldnt she be dreaming of butterflies and rainbows?  I was taken aback by this.  But then later in day, she got more specific and said that in her dream, her family was dead.  Death is a strong subject and for a little one to start thinking of death seems a little off to me.  Maybe she picked it up on TV?  Should I blame Disney for all the movies they churn out where parents are either dead or missing?  Or should I chalk it up to an over active imagination that got the best of her on this night?  I really don't know what I should think about it.  I'm leaning towards it being a one time incident... but she's a smart cookie and she seems pretty mature for her age.

Then again... maybe kids just grow up too damn fast now a days...  I'll let you know once I figure it out.  Until then.  Later!

My First Cubicle

No! Not the Birds and the Bees Talk!

One day, Jack's dad decided it was time to have the birds and the bees talk with his young son.

"Son, do you know about the birds and the bees?", he asked Jack on sunny morning while driving him to school.

"I don't want to know!", Jack proclaimed!

His dad, confused at the answer that he received asked him why he didn't want to know.

"Dad, when I was about 6, you gave me the 'there's no such thing as the Tooth Fairy speech'. I cried. Then a year later, you give me the 'there's no Easter Bunny speech'. I cried. Then a year after that, you tell me that 'there's no such thing as Santa'. I cried my eyes dry. Now, if you're going to tell me that grown ups don't really screw, then I really don't have anything to live for!"

I'm Heading Over to Bean Town

Hey there. I got word from my boss that I am heading over to Boston for a credit conference. Just last month, he sent me to Phoenix to attend the meeting there. The hotel in Phoenix was in an awesome location with a beautiful view. I've never been to Boston so I'm curious as to how the scenery is there. The trip is not happening until May so there's plenty of time to check out the city and see if there is anything to do while there. During my trip to Phoenix, I was literally stuck on a cliff. The hotel was built on the side of a mountain and I couldn't walk anywhere and was regulated to roaming the property. For dinner, I literally had to climb the mountain to reach the restaurant where the group scheduled dinner. Considering that it was part of the resort I didn't think it would going to be a long climb. lol

As for Boston, I believe the hotel (Nine Zero Something, I think) will be located in Downtown Boston so I'll have the opportunity to roam around the city and check it out. I've asked for suggestions and the only thing I've gotten back is to check out the pubs. Other than that, what else is there to do in Boston, MA? Until I figure it out... Later.

Date Night: Starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of 20th Century Fox. All opinions are 100% mine.

Hey there friends. I love comedy. I love The Office and I love 30 Rock. Both are great shows lead by some pretty funny people. Steve Carell and Tina Fey are on top of the game right now and what better way to unite the two but in a movie where they play husband and wife!

The Date Night Movie is about a husband and wife who go out on their weekly date. They seem to have fallen into a routine and this is their last resort to keep their spark in their marriage. But this night, is not like any other night. After a few mishaps and misunderstandings, their night of a routine dinner date turns into one of adventure, which includes a night of breaking and entering, a shootout, and a run in with an underworld boss. With Tina and Steve running the show, you know that there will be plenty of laughs throughout the film.  Check out the trailer below for a taste of the hilariousness that is to be.


This Date Night Movie seems like a great date night movie to take your girlfriend or significant for a night full of laughs. It's theatrical release is this Friday (April 9th, 2010).  Make sure to check it out this weekend because with the king and queen of comedy in Steve and Tina, you definitely can't go wrong! Later!

(Quirky) Brotherly Love

Halloween??? Nah, just fooling around.

Hey there.  My brother and I have a pretty strong relationship.  Well, at least I like to think so.  Since we were young, we always hung out together and even more so when our father passed away over 18 years ago.  Our mother raised us on her own, but she worked so much (and partied!) that sometimes it was just us taking care of ourselves.  I'm sure that has a lot to do with how we interact with each other.  It's always a riot, we always laugh, and we have this quirkiness to what we find comical.  The Office, Dumb and Dumber, and other "quirky" shows and movies are hilarious to us.  We constantly quote them and actually use many of the phrases from these shows and movies without even thinking it about it.  Case and point:  My wife and I were driving to work or my mother in laws (can't remember where to) and she asks me, "What's a Sasquatch?", to which I replied, "Only the strongest animal on the planet!", taken directly from what Dwight says to Andy on The Office during their duel.

Now...  my wife is used to my "comedic" phrases and gestures.  This one took the cake.  She looked at me, said her "Oh my god" and turned away and chuckled to herself.  Me, on the other hand, am laughing my ass off.  lol  She then looks at me and says, "And you didn't even think about it.  You're turning into Dwight."  lol

Now... if it was my brother... we'd be going at it to see who would reign supreme.  Just look at the below...  This was an actual text conversation that we had yesterday.  The whole thing started with me asking my brother what he was having for dinner.  Don' ask...  lol  Here's the conversation, word for word...

Bro: I'm thinking "where the f*** you taking me????

Me: Not tonight, maybe some other night.  The kids made honor roll (again) this month.  lol

Bro: LOL mom never took us anywhere for honor roll

Me: Yeah, tell me about it.  We took ourselves to chuck e cheese, oh my bad...  Pistol Petes. lol

Bro: lol yea, ourselves

Me: lol

Bro: Moms had no idea I just stop bringing home the honor rolls left them in the locker lol

Me: Nah, mine "mysteriously" got lost with the homework. lol

Bro: lol  I never did homework but I managed

Me: Yeah, I stopped doing the stuff in jr. high. lol

Bro: Man I hung my certificates in class!!! lol

Me: My certificate was the template.  They had to change MY name to let other kids have some. lmao!

Bro: lmao... I would get them so often that they just started making photocopies so that they save money on the "good" paper

Me: Man, they stopped giving me certificates and just handed a lifetime achievement plaque.  Figured it would save time and money.

Bro: lmao!!! u been to HP???? I have my own statue!  I graduated and they're thinking about naming the gym after me!

Me: Don't even get me started on sh*t named in my honor!

Bro: lmao!  What the school toilet???

Me: More like a whole subject!  Ever heard of Viculus?  Look it up, you probably haven't cause you couldn't handle regular calculus.

Bro: lmao!  Stuuuuuuuppppppiddd!!!!  Ever had AP Mandizziiiee Literature???  Takes English literature to whole other level... or even AP Physical M****???  Ever heard of P90X???  Ten times worst!!!  Can't handle that kind of work out.

Now...  At this point, I know he's stumped.  Answers are not short and he took forever to respond.  He just couldn't top what I said and he knew it.  It continues...

Me: Nah, foo.  I got you on that one. lol  sh*t was weak.  lol

Bro: lol yea one for you finally lol

Me: lmao! this guy. Sore loser.

Bro:I gave u credit lol... we'll meet again

Me: That we will.

Bro: We will slap swords lmao

Yup...  that's a typical conversation between my brother and I.  Only us would have a conversation in regards to honor roll and escalate to whatever you want to call what the above is.  lol  The funny thing about it is that we'll find ANYTHING and turn it into the above.  lol  I'm curious to know if our's is unique or if some of you out there have similar relationships with your siblings.  Until we "meet again".  Later!