Ruben's First Birthday Party

Ruben celebrated his first birthday on two occassions. First in Nebraska with his grandma, aunts and daddy. He did not enjoy wearing his party hat though. That set him off to crying, which led to him to not wanting chocolate cake, which meant I had to take him out his seat and comfort him. Po' Baby. Well, he did eventually calm down and eat some cake.

Kiesha, the nana, aunt, Lometa and I also threw him a party in Kentucky. The logistics in pulling off such an affair are tremendous. I now understand why my parents only threw me one party and did not have any parties for my sisters. They are exhausting. I think the best way to go is to hold a party in some restaurant or other venue and have them cater. Kiesha, Lometa and I were out grilling and preparing food and preparing the place and sending invites and hosting. I hoped he enjoyed it cuz that may be the last one he has, although I know I won't be so lucky.

We have put up pictures on our website so that everyone not in attendance could see what you all missed. Hahahaha. Here is the link.

Kiesha and I wish to thank everyone that attended his party and thank everyone for their generous gifts. He truly will enjoy all his books when he grows up. He enjoys them now too, but I know when he learns to read they will be items that he will always treasure.

Thanks to all those that contributed an item to his time capsule. Especially Molly McDonald who wrote a very touching letter that had Kiesha, the nana, aunt and I misty eyed. Kiesha and I did not know that we had touched her heart so. We all miss Molly. She's a good friend.

Best wishes to all our friends out there and you know who you are. :-)

Q-Family Not Moving to Music City

While Daddy did a great job at his interview in Nashville with Metro Social Services the agency decided to hire one of the other candidates. :-( Well, sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some. The nana and aunt saw a bright side to this -- they get to keep Ruben in Madisonville.

I did not get a chance to see much of Nashville since I was only there for the night. On another ocassion I am sure Kiesha and I will spend much more time there and enjoy the sites. All I know of Tennesse is that Al Gore was the Senator, Memphis is where Dr. King got assassinated, Graceland is somewhere in Tennessee, Bill Frist is from Tennessee, the Titans play there, and Jack Daniel's is brewed in Tennessee. :-)

I think that now I am going to settle into my Mr. Mom role. I'm going to focus on raising Ruben. Making sure he eats well, plays well, and develops into a smart, healthy, and well-rounded lil guy. I'm going to focus on my Not-A-Pundit blog and help get it going to a more prominent status. I will have to now focus on Plan A and B of staying home and maybe pulling in an income. I'll have to develop some business plans for these two options and see which one pans out best. I'll keep everyone posted on progress.

Kiesha's Godson Praying for the Pope

Holy Family third-grader Travis Knight prays Friday during a vigil for Pope John Paul II at the church's sanctuary. John Flavell / The Independent

While the Travis is not Catholic, he attends Holy Family School and like many non-Catholics around the world, he is praying for Pope John Paul II. I didn't recognize him at first until Kiesha's mom pointed out that it was him.