Yet another woman linked to Tiger Woods

Just to clarify, they share a birthday … that's all. That said, I think it's safe to say that Carrie has had the better year of the two (although a big part of that does have to do with a new man in her life.)

The past 12 months have signified a year of change for Carrie.

First, there were the physical changes (most notably feet that swelled to the size of small eastern-European sedans).

Next, came the emotional changes as Carrie experienced a love stronger than anything she had ever known.

Lastly, there was the professional change as Carrie went from career woman to stay-at-home mom and never once looked back.

Add them all up and it's been an amazing year for Carrie and as a result it's been an amazing year for all of us who love her.

Happy birthday.

Two reasons to adopt … not shop.

As some of you might know, I recently began volunteering at the Kansas Humane Society. It's something I'd been wanting to do for years, but my overly sensitive heart had kept my involvement strictly to yearly donations. So now that I've taken the next step, is it as hard as I thought? Yes and no. Sure, every time I go, something tugs at my soul and I almost always leave wishing I could take a couple of the temporary residents home. However, it's those same feelings and the encounters I've had that make me want to go back and do it again.

So far, my work has just consisted on walking dogs and the occasional clean up duty, but the thing I'm amazed with the most is the amount of training most of these dogs have. It's heartbreaking to see the relief on these dogs' faces when they finally get a chance to relieve themselves outside and the way many of them will sit on command. They truly are pets, just waiting for a place to call home.

Both Zoe and Luka are adopted (Luka from the Kansas Humane Society, Zoe from Texas by way of Curt and Cheryl) and I can't imagine our lives, or the world for that matter, without them. So please, the next time you're in need of a little companionship please consider adoption. Even if you are looking for a specific breed, check out your local humane society (you'd be surprised how many of their dogs are purebreds) or look into a breed-specific rescue.

Craig

Crib Notes: Month 7

Just as Thanksgiving came and went, so did Park's seventh month.
And just like all the months of his life so far, the seventh month continued to give us so much to be thankful for ...

- Two lower front teeth that popped through the gums and explained the need for a little extra cuddle time
- That little extra cuddle time that we won't always have
- Two little hands that love to touch everything they get close to: cell phone, jewelry, piano keys, computer keyboard, books, Luka, Zoe, turkey ...
- Thinking dad is the coolest despite his crazy songs, funny dance moves and silly bath time rituals
- The strength and the desire (finally!) to flip over from back to stomach -- especially when he should be napping
- A new little cousin to complain about mom and dad to when he gets older
- The amazing calming power of headphones and how they can make a Shocker basketball game more enjoyable with a seven month old
- Sitting up with just a little assistance
- Sleeping 12 hours at night (with one or two brief interruptions to eat) and becoming a better napper
- Family and friends that love Park as much as we do







To see more from Park's seventh month, visit Craig's online gallery (Password: "Frisco")

The Amazing Maisy

Brace yourself for some serious cuteness. Introducing little Maisy Lou Rawson.




Maisy with big sister Kailey.


Maisy and mom.


Maisy and dad.


Maisy with two proud grandparents.

Hot off the press

My children's book, "The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea" got some really nice press in the current edition of Kansas Alumni Magazine.

As a Shocker it pains me to say that I may have to change my opinion about the Jayhawks, the Wildcats on the other hand …

Baby Rawson is here!

We are thrilled to welcome our new little niece to the world! Maisy Lou Rawson was born this morning by C-section in Kansas City. Erin looks fantastic considering what she's been through and Scott seems amazingly calm and very proud. Kailey is one excited big sister, too.

Maisy weighed in at an impressive 9 lbs. 8 oz. and is 20 1/2 inches long -- did we mention she was two weeks early? She has dark brown hair and slept through being passed among 13 eager visitors soon after her birth.

Pictures to come soon.

We have so much to be thankful for. We love you, Maisy!

Aunt Carrie, uncle Craig and cousin Park

Crib Notes: Month 6

Park turns seven months next week so it seems like a good time to finally get the six-month post up! As we blogged earlier, the sixth month was a big one for the little guy. While it was filled with firsts, it also still included lots of squeals (at high octaves and volume), using his hands more and more, and thinking about rolling over and then deciding to just stay where he is.

Here's the first visit to the pumpkin patch. Park was more excited about sitting in grass for the first time than he was the pumpkin.


Solid foods were a big hit. He got bored with the rice cereal and was happy to move on to veggies, though.


For the first time, Team Grandpa got to take care of Park and everyone survived just fine. Too bad no one got a nap, though.


Then there was the Phoenix trip: first time in a new time zone, first time to stay at a hotel, first time to swim and first time to travel in a minivan. Park was a fantastic traveler and we have no excuses not to travel with him in the future.




To see more pictures from the sixth month, visit Craig's online photo gallery. Password is "Peas" with a capital "P."

34 Years Young

What do Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Kimmel and Craig Lindeman all have in common?

A. All three have hosted or appeared on a talk show.
B. All of them are funny, or think they're funny, and get paid for it.
C. All three share the same birthday today.

If you guessed "C," you are correct!

As much as I love celebrating birthdays and enjoy the challenge of trying to surprise Craig one way or another, it's pretty much impossible to top the big 30 bash four years ago. In fact, four years ago tonight, this is what we were doing:



Our hair may be a little longer and we may look a little younger, but that's us in the front row at the U2 concert in Miami. The best birthday present a 30-year-old U2 fanatic could ask for. So how do you top that? You don't. It's pointless to even try. So Park and I settled on getting the old guy a new cell phone that he wouldn't be embarrassed to whip out and text with or tweet from. He'll also feel a little more globally responsible with every call ... or at least when he's ready to recycle it. Check out the new Samsung Reclaim. I'm sure Craig will share more about it in a later post. It's pretty cute and 80% recyclable. I also like the nature ring tones.



With the new phone in his pocket, Craig seemed to have a fairly decent birthday: work, volunteering at the Humane Society, dinner with family, homemade chocolate cake and some one-on-one time with the kid over lunch. And though he didn't have a front row view of U2 this year, he did have the pretty cool gift of being a dad.



Happy 34, Craig. Here's to many more.

Sabado Gigante

Saturday turned out to be a pretty big day for the whole Lindeman family.

First off, I had my big book signing for "The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea" at Watermark Books here in Wichita and the event exceeded all of my expectations (thanks to reserve sales, I sold out of all of the copies I had within 18 minutes and as result had several people place orders).

Thanks to everyone who came out and supported us, Joey and I really appreciated it.



Then, after a few naps, Carrie and I took Park to his very first Wichita State basketball game. We'd been talking about it for at least a year, so it was weird to actually be carrying him into the arena. The little guy did great in spite of tip off coming right at bedtime and a huge assortment of new, extremely loud sounds (the next time we go we may need some headphones or ear plugs).



As Ice Cube would say, it was a good day.

Leaving his mark

If you're going to be in the neighborhood tomorrow (Saturday), Craig is having his first book signing of "The Big Black Dog and the Big Blue Sea" at Watermark Books (corner of Oliver and Douglas) between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. Johanna, the illustrator, will also be there.

Stop by for a book, stay for lunch at the Cafe.

Happy Halloween!

By the looks of it, you might think we're celebrating Christmas early. Actually, Park is going as Toy Boy this year. For those of you who didn't grow up watching Santa's Workshop and counting down the days until Christmas with Toy Boy (Santa's little helper), here's an old episode for a little reference.

Working to become the Switzerland of air travel.

I'll be the first to admit that flying across the country to attend a concert last week was probably a bit ridiculous … don't get me wrong, I would (and probably will) do it again, but it probably wasn't what most people would constitute as a completely "necessary" trip.

Recognizing that, I did some research into what it would take to ensure that our little excursion had as little of an impact on the environment as possible. Ultimately my research led me to purchase carbon credits for Carrie, Park and I as well as Carrie's parents who were flying out to meet us. For those of you who don't know, carbon credits are intangible products that differ in price depending on your activity (in this case, where we were traveling and how we were getting there) and the money generated by their sale goes toward a venture that either reduces carbon dioxide in the environment or produces a clean, alternative form of energy. There are a ton of companies out there offering these services, but for me, it was important to find one that was non-profit, certified and overseen by a third-party regulatory organization.

Based on this, I came up with two great options:

CarbonFund.org

Native Energy

Both met all of my criteria, plus they each worked with companies I respect and were endorsed by organizations such as the Sierra Club.

I ended up going with CarbonFund.org, simply because their Web site was a little easier to navigate, but I recommend checking out Native Energy due to the fact that their work is supporting a wind power project right here in Greensburg.

So how much did this all cost?

A whopping $18.

Seems like a small price to pay.

Give Peas a Chance

No Lie on the Horizon

Tuesday night marked the fifth time Carrie and I have seen U2 in concert together (I saw them one additional time back in high school). And like all of the concerts that had come before, we hit the road—or in this case, the sky—to see them, traveling all of the way to Phoenix. We were pretty excited, but had some mixed emotions going into the show due to the fact that it was a stadium concert rather than the arena shows we generally prefer. However, the U2 360 tour promised enough bells and whistles to make it all worth while.

The area around the arena was in full party mode by the time we got there about 5 p.m. and began looking for a place to eat, so much so, that every restaurant and club had a line 50 to 75 people deep just waiting to get in. Carrie, having been through this process with me five times before, knew getting me to actually STAND STILL before a U2 show (and be happy about it) probably wasn't in the cards, and recommended we just head on over to the arena and pick something up there.

It was as soon as we walked into The University of Phoenix Arena (that's right, an online college has a football arena), that I first started to feel a bit deflated. Like they had to do in the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium and I suspect several others out there, the band was forced to scale down their stage just to get it to fit in the stadium, which meant goodbye to a couple of bells and so long to a few whistles. Granted these were things most people would never have noticed, but I'm probably not most people when it comes to concerts and especially not when the concert involves U2. On the bright side, the seats were good and we had plenty of time to people watch which mostly resulted in Carrie feeling under dressed because she left her sequined corset back at the hotel.

Things continued on an upswing during the Black Eyed Peas set. While Carrie and Park are obviously fans, I was pretty ambivalent going into their performance, however I have to say that they completely kicked ass. Out of all of the opening acts I have seen just with U2 (which includes No Doubt, Garbage and Bjork) they were by far the best and it isn't even close. So, it goes without saying that they did their job, because I was totally back in the zone.

After about 30 or 45 minutes, the lights dimmed and it was show time and I know this is going to be hard for anyone who knows me to believe, but it was a disappointment almost right from the start. Don't get me wrong, it was a good show … and worth the money, but it just wasn't on the same level of other shows I have seen. Basically, it just didn't have the spark. It was virtually lifeless and formulaic. There were even some fumbled songs.

Since the show, Carrie and I have come up with the following reasons why we felt the show fell flat.

1) The arena. Not only did it not provide the intimacy needed for a U2 show, it allowed room for a lot of people who normally wouldn't go to see the band—and sometimes those curiosity seekers can suck the life out of a room.

2) We've been to too many shows. U2 has been accused of being too predictable live and I think by this time in our journey as fans it has begun to affect the experience.

3) Our past experiences. Let's face it, we're spoiled. The last concert we went to was on my 30th birthday and we spent the entire evening in the front row personally interacting with the band. It's hard to top that.

4) We just weren't up for it—literally The two hour time difference had really been playing havoc with our schedules. For me, it meant getting up around 4:30 a.m., working out around 5:30 a.m. and going to bed by 8 p.m. So by the time the concert started after nine, we were already wiped out.

And I left this one for last, simply because I don't want to believe it's true.

5) The band is past its prime. It's bound to happen sometime, maybe this is it. The last album was less than what I had hoped for and now they failed to deliver live. Maybe they just can't break new ground like they have time and time before in the past. I hope I'm wrong.

Of course, there's also the chance that this is all just us. Reviews have been outstanding (even the Phoenix paper gave a positive review following our show) and others of you have told us how great you thought the show was. And I really hope it was. To us, it just didn't have the magic of ZooTV, the religious experience of Elevation, the spectacle of Pop Mart and the power of Vertigo.

But after having said all of that, even a marginal U2 show is still a U2 show and probably better than anything else out there.

People of the YMCA

Evidently, I'm under insured when it comes to life insurance. At least that's the conclusion I came to when Carrie put the Kibosh on my pre-dawn runs a couple of weeks ago. At first, I thought I could quiet her concerns by wearing Zoe's blinking, bone-shaped dog tag, but it didn't take. Then it started getting cold. Really cold, the kind of cold that freezes a line of snot from your nose to the back of your neck and makes a grown man voluntarily wear tights in public.

It was at this point that I reconsidered her obvious pleas of love.

However, with the treadmill in need of a new motherboard, my surrender to Carrie's emotions meant frequent dips for me into the vile melting pot that is the YMCA.

I know, I know, I've already posted about this, but having been inspired by www.peopleofwalmart.com I've decided to expand on my YMCA observations in greater detail. However unlike peopleofwalmart.com, I will not be including actual photos of the people I'm mentioning for the simple fact that most of them were lifting heavy objects and, truth be told, I'm not really that fast. So that said, here are some of the people I have seen over the past couple of weeks.

Jon Gosselin on roids
There's actually a couple of these guys at the Y every morning I'm there, each decked out in glittery Ed Hardy T-shirts and matching jackets, MMA "Tap Out" shorts and patent leather Air Jordan's. Their ages are undeterminable given their receding hairlines and leathery fake-baked skin but I would guess they're each pushing 40. Luckily I'm able to view this wrecking crew from behind a wall of glass that separates the track from the weight room, otherwise I'm sure I'd be overcome by the odor of Axe body spray.

The Hanger-on
Even sadder than the ultimate fighters (or as they're known around the office, "the chamois boys") is the guy that follows them around the gym. Looking like Steve Bartman's older brother, this guy rocks a tucked in turtleneck and I have yet to see him left a weight—however he does seem to get in plenty of deep knee bends as he kisses these guys' heavily tattooed asses (I'm assuming they're heavily tattooed based on their arms and necks alone, no visual confirmation needed).

Mr. Pec Dec
No matter when I go to the Y, there's always a guy like this, and upon further thought, it's probably the same guy. He's the one who spends the entire time on one machine, yet like The Hanger-on, never manages to lift a single weight. He's generally an African-American man in his mid 60s, about 75 pounds overweight and more often than not has a toothpick percariously hanging out of one side of his mouth. From the best I can determine his sole reason for being at the gym is to socialize with the ladies and give himself a reason to say "at least I worked out today" when he opens his third box of Little Debbie Swiss Cakes.

Holy Strollers
As the old poster so eloquently stated, the "C" in YMCA doesn't stand for cussing. That said, you tend to get a lot of religious types at the Y. Today, I was joined on the track by two Mennonite women who, after walking several laps kicked it up a couple of notches to a slow jog, their homemade, ankle-length floral skirts flapping wildly behind them. Unfortunately I never got close enough to hear what they were listening to on their iPods … hey, wait a minute.

The White Ghost
No visit to a YMCA is complete without catching a group of over-the-hill white guys playing pick up basketball like it's game seven of the NBA finals. And while they come in all shapes and sizes, they generally share at least a few of these common attributes 1) a goatee 2) at least one form of knee brace 3) shorts made from sweatpants material 4) uncontrollable anger. The group at the Y I go to even come with their own practice jerseys so that they can differentiate team members without having to expose their hairy moobs.

And last but not least.

Grandma Huxtable
It's not always a woman, but walk into any YMCA in the country and you'll find old people working out in their street clothes. Today's sighting consisted of a kindly octogenarian working out in a Mayan inspired fleece sweater and powder-blue sailor hat. But my all-time favorite is a guy I used to see every weekend who looked exactly like Izzy Mandelbaum from Seinfeld—plain white v-neck undershirt drenched in sweat, terrycloth headband and pleated khaki shorts.

Crib Notes: Month 5

It's hard to believe that Park is five months old. What's crazier is that we haven't screwed him up yet (at least that we can tell). In fact, we're feeling more confident in our parenting skills every day ... until he throws the next curve ball at us like teething or an ear infection. But we'll figure that out one baby step at a time.

Over the last month, Park has continued to entertain us with his squeals and endearing smiles. He's gaining more coordination with his hands and has discovered that his fingers are pretty tasty. But if I had to sum up the last month in one word, it would be "sleep." I shared my gratitude for Dr. Ferber and his get-to-sleep technique in an earlier blog post, and I'm happy to report that not only is the night time sleeping going well, but Park has now mastered going down for naps without a single whimper. He's also a pro at the early morning nap. Now we're just working on getting the afternoon nap a little longer so he's not so cranky pre-bedtime.



This last month included some new forms of entertainment, too. We took Park to the Ulrich Museum of Art on WSU's campus to see the robot exhibit that's currently there. Coincidentally, there was a carnival on campus at the same time -- too bad he wasn't old enough for a funnel cake. We also visited the Deanna Rose Children's Farm during a recent trip to Kansas City. This was amazing and definitely something he'll enjoy as he gets a little older.



For Park's five month birthday, we finally introduced him to the Sedgwick County Zoo. We timed it just right that we got to get close to the giraffes for a feeding and watch one of the hippos plunge into the water.





To see more from month five, check out Craig's photography gallery (password is Luka). In the meantime, come back soon to share our six month adventures. Some highlights: solids, a trip to Phoenix and Halloween!

The Great Diaper Debate

Kermit didn't find it easy being green, but two tree-hugging, hybrid-driving, save-the-earth-trying people, have found it's a lot easier to be green ... even with a child.

A little over a year ago when we found out I was pregnant, we made it our mission to try and keep the kid's carbon footprint as small as possible. Luckily, we live in a time where there are numerous choices and a trend towards greener lifestyles. This includes even the messier side of parenting: diapers.

The big decision we had to make was between disposable or cloth. Craig was really interested in exploring the cloth route. I was really interested in not adding any more laundry to the growing pile. And then, thanks to our sister-in-law Cheryl, we were introduced to Nature Babycare.



We had seen some of the eco-friendly brands of disposable diapers at our local baby stores, but none claimed to be biodegradable. They were just simply chlorine-free. We were hoping to find something that wouldn't sit in a landfill for as long as Park, his kid and his kid's kid, were on the planet. Nature Babycare diapers wouldn't -- at least 60% of them (I hear they're working on a 100% biodegradable version). This company, based out of Sweden, has created this cute little diaper, or nappy, that's good for the tush and good for the environment. And while there didn't seem to be a perfect option, we've been pleasantly surprised at how well these have held up. Even under the worst circumstances. I'll admit, I was skeptical at first. But Park has done his best to test them out in every way possible. While nothing beats having a child that's potty-trained, these diapers are a close #2.

In addition to the diapers, Nature Babycare makes a number of other useful products (wipes, bibs, lotions). While we can't get any of these locally in Wichita, the Babies R Us in Kansas City carries the line (luckily, we visit KC often) and Target carries them online, as well as diapers.com.

And that's the end for this product endorsement. We'll keep you posted on how they hold up to the next challenges ahead: solid foods and crawling.

Fall rocks.

Open windows. Honey crisp apples. No more reruns. The pumpkin patch. Leaves in the gutter for the dogs to run through (and pee on). Three months of holidays, birthdays and various celebrations to look forward to. Dressing the little one in jeans for the first time.

Just a few of the many reasons I love this season. Hope you're enjoying it too.

Big brother, big sister

Here are a couple of new pictures of our other two kids.

If you're interested, there are a couple of more new additions to my photography site as well.

I Heart Dr. Ferber

Like every desperate new parent seeking a full night's sleep -- or even just an evening with a little time to themselves -- I've spent the last several weeks researching sleep methods for infants. Frankly, I didn't think I'd be able to listen to the little guy cry his heart out from the other room. But I also knew it was going to take drastic measures as Park has come accustomed to being put to bed completely asleep -- and this was done by either eating or dancing, and only by me (he doesn't appreciate dad's dancing moves just yet).

After boy's night at home didn't go so well a couple weeks ago, and having a strong desire to get out of the house to see a new movie in a real theater, I knew the days were numbered of playing out our exhausting routine and crossing our fingers that it would work each time. I just needed someone to push me. Luckily, Craig made the call last Tuesday that it was time and we had Dr. Ferber as our guide. Yep, we "Ferberized" Park.

The first night was bad: almost two hours of screaming and Craig and I going in at least every 10 minutes just for Park to get louder and more worked up every time. Nights two and three: 45 minutes of screaming. Nights four, five and six: 20 minutes of screaming/crying/whimpers of defeat. And I'm thrilled to report that tonight, our seventh night of putting the little guy down awake after telling all his little animals goodnight, resulted in less than one minute of crying/whimpering. One minute. And I'm pretty sure the whimpers had more to do with the new sleeping device we surprised him with (see below) than going to bed.

To add to our excitement that bedtime is getting easier around here, when I went in to get Park this morning, the little stinker was laying on his tummy -- his first time to rollover from back to stomach and I missed it. While proud, I was also nervous. We all survived sleeping on our stomachs as infants, but today you can't get away from hearing that "back is best." Panicked about the risk of SIDS, I went out and bought this sleep positioner today. I had always thought these looked pointless (do you really need to buy a contraption to make your kid sleep straight?), but tonight it's giving me peace of mind.

Peace of mind. Peace and quiet. That's how life is around the Lindeman house for now ... until it's time for teething. Until then, Dr. Ferber is my hero. And I owe a big thanks to Craig for gently "pushing" me out of Park's bedroom and letting him learn to self-soothe.

Sweet dreams.

Carrie

For Curt (AKA "The Captain")

One part Don King, one part Huggy Bear.

Crib Notes: Month 4

Park's fourth month was filled with firsts.

At the beginning of the month, Park took his first airplane ride and visited his first state outside of Kansas -- the Lindeman clan went down to Houston to celebrate cousin Hagen's first birthday. Craig and I were terrified of being "those parents" with the screaming child on the small plane, but Park was a great passenger. He was asleep before take-off and by the time the beverage cart was done making its rounds, Park was sitting quietly and taking it all in.


While in Houston, Park tried out a jumparoo for the first time (good thing his cousin didn't mind sharing).


Hagen even helped Park learn how to bounce.


One night after dinner, where Park was inconsolable (a first since his early days as a newborn), we got home to put him down to bed and his mood changed immediately. We're thinking Park has a future in either The Chorus Line or Riverdance.


Raise your hand if it's your first time to face outward in the Baby Bjorn.


And now that there's some head control, the sky's the limit for all kinds of fun.


Today: the Bumbo Seat. Tomorrow (or in several weeks): Solids.


As an end to one busy month, Park had his four month check-up last week and weighed in at 15.2 lbs. (50%) and stretched out to 26 1/2 inches (90%). Craig is already talking to the Shocker basketball coaches about his little recruit in 18 years.

If you haven't seen enough photos from month four, check out Craig's online gallery.