IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

I AM MOVING!!!

Yes, my time with blogger is now over. I am moving over to wordpress.com. Many of my friends have blogs over there and I think I will be able to do more to make the site a little more dynamic.

The nice thing is that ALL of my blog posts, comments, etc. transferred over very nicely.

So, Stef's Random Ramblings is now at www.tarapchak.wordpress.com.

See you over there!

Step up, men!

As most of you know, I have a joint venture project, ac180.com, with some friends and guys around the country. One of these strong Christian men is Russell (visit his site here). Russell posted something that I found really invigorating.

His post talked about men stepping up and being the men that God intended them to be. He is dead on correct!! There is a feminization of men happening. Look at every TV show. Either the father is presented as an idiot and not in control of anything, or there is no father present. Men are made out to be pathetic losers and are no longer respected.

There are problems in the world. We all know that. There are issues that we will not be able to resolve in this world, but we can resolve the issues in our homes and communities, at a minimum. I always hear the comment, "Where are the parents at?". I would like to know the answer to that question.

Men, now more than ever, we need to step up. We need to be the Christ like example to our families, employers, community, and in church. It starts with us and it starts in the home.

My Best Friend...

My wife. I am not sure where to even begin. I am not Stef without Sandi. I am not an "I", I am a "we".

She is, hands down, the best mother that I know. She maneuvers through every day with skills that only a mother can possess. Breakfast on the table every morning, shuttling kids to and from school, running errands, running the operations of the house - the list goes on and on and on and on...

I see the friends that she has. A group of Christian women who lean on each other and make each other sharper. I see how the help and challenge each other. I am so thankful for her circle of friends.

Then I see her as my wife. I see her challenge me. I see her try to make me better (even when I don't think I need to be improved in certain areas). I see her lighten my day. I see he strive to make us better. I see her as my best friend. Happy Mother's Day, Babe. I love you.

Gotcha!

Yep, we have them at work. People who browse through the break room refrigerator and snatch a snack out of someone's lunch. Not too wise of a thing to do. Check out this article on how to put the bite on a snack thief.

"Undo"

My wife turned me on to the group, Rush of Fools. The have a self titled debut album coming out tomorrow. I will be purchasing this CD for sure. Their first single, "Undo", is POWERFUL! It is at the top of my playlist right now and probably will be for awhile. Yesterday I announced the opening of a new site that I will be contributing to, ac180.com. This song clearly sums up what ac180.com is all about. Here is the link to the video to this song on the Rush of Fools site. Listen to the words and you will be humbled. I hope that you enjoy this song as much as I have already.

For all the Mothers out there...

I know that it is not mother's day yet, but hey, who says that we cannot start celebrating. In honor of our mothers, here is an early mother's day video...

Grand Opening - ac180.com

I would be remiss not to publish this post. God works in people. God works in groups of people. There is no better place to be or thing to do than to be in the middle of God's works and plans.

To that end, I wold like to introduce a new site that is up and running on the web. "A Complete 180" is now open for your viewing pleasure. I have not been excited and energized about something like this in a very long time! This site is written by Christian men, men who have done a 180. Men who share a common burden for this site and sharing thoughts on anything from movies, sports, Christianity, faith, family, current events, whatever! The posts will be fresh and will show that Christian men do have a pulse and that we struggle with the same things that all men do. You can learn more about what this site is by reading our mission statement. We don't know where this will lead, or what God has in store. We just want to share what is on our hearts and from our perspectives.

Men, this site is for you. Ladies, tell your husband, father, son and others about this site. Please pass this site address along ( www.ac180.com ). We have some phenomenal contributors that have much to say. As my good friend, Aaron, said, "...miss a day, and you might miss alot!"

We hope you enjoy this site and our prayer is that God will work through us and that this site may even cause a few men to do a 180!

Can you put a price on Mom?

Well, it's out. The new price tag on stay-at-home moms. You can read the story here. The said salary of the stay at home mother is now at $138,095. Let's file this under ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! Someone slaps a couple job titles down and looks at some median salaries, and POOF, you have a salary for a stay at home mom.

No, this is wrong. I will say that they did capture most of the things that a mom does, but how do you put a price tag on companion? How do you put a price tag on the mother/child bond?

Moms, you rock!! It's a nice idea to try to put a price tag on what you do, but they will never get it. Your work has no price tag, it truly is PRICELESS!!

I love my wife. I do let her know that. I appreciate what my wife does, day in and day out, without complaining. I do not let her know that as much as I need to. My wife is my rock and I do not want to chip away at that rock. Every opportunity I miss to let her know how much I appreciate her, a little chip of that rock falls away. As I posted on another blog, I want to be the best husband and father I can be. Making sure that my wife feels loved and appreciated is a big part of being a great husband.

So, moms, we do love you and appreciate you! You are priceless to all of us.

Do I have to...

Depending on your point of view, you read this title and thought that a good kid story was to follow. Well, you are wrong, kind of. Depends on the size of the kid. Yes, my kids do say this, but so do I.

I don't consider myself healthy, but I am no slouch either. I used to work out, randomly and sporadically. I coach soccer and baseball. I golf and mow the lawn. All of this is exercise, right!?!? Evidently not. A good friend of mine, who I used to workout with, decides that we need to get back into the exercise routine. So, he calls me and says, "Let's start running, you in?" Well, I say yes. In my mind I am saying, DO I HAVE TO!!!! Yes, I have to. Let's face it, I am not reversing the affects of age, so I need to. So, we get up at dawn and go for a short three mile run. For those of you laughing right now and are thinking that three miles is no big deal and that you can do that in your sleep, you can kindly move to the next blog! For those of us who are not in shape, three miles is an event!

Anyway, thanks, Clay, for lighting the fire again and yes, I have to!!

Yes, I am still alive...

Well, it has been a few weeks since the last post. Hey, it happens. Life gets fun, busy, etc. and you turn around and ask yourself where the last few weeks went.

I am happy to report that all is well. Soccer and baseball are in full swing (no baseball pun intended). The weather has finally decided to get nice and stay nice. This is huge for us as all three of our children would rather be outside ALL OF THE TIME! This is good in the summer, bad in the winter. I thank God everyday for the healthy kids that we have. I also pray that they will be good and that no major wars break out. Knowing that God has a sense of humor, he has answered the first prayer and is teaching Sandi and I something by not answering the second prayer!!

Ah, yes, we did have a major event! Yes, the mower started this spring!
Happy mowing, and remember, when you kids bring you that bouquet of dandelions, cherish it. They love you!

And The Academy Award Goes To...

Knowing that Sandi was going to be gone this evening, I tried to think of some neat things to do to keep the kids occupied. In trying to brainstorm (well, maybe a light shower, not a storm) this idea, I thought of making a stop motion movie. How I thought of this, I have no idea. Justin's ability to have random thoughts must be rubbing off on me.

So we set out to make a movie. I told them to keep it simple, so we go with Legos! Legos are always a fan favorite. After thinking of what we wanted to do with the Legos, we came up with the following! Enjoy and look for us at the Academy Awards one year!

Up and Coming Artist...

Well, we know that Derek is type A and is a budding soccer star. Justin is musically inclined and likes to do crafts (in between his bouts of apathy). Carley, we are still trying to figure out. A few days ago, we got a small glimpse of Carley's artistic side. Here is the evidence.

We just hope she takes to coloring on paper very soon!

A Six Foot Four Bunny?

As many of you know, I am involved in many committees, associations, etc. in our local community and church. One of these is being the president of our community civic association. It is fun being involved in this capacity for our neighborhood, however, it does take me out of my comfort zone once in a while. So, let's recap last Saturday.

I wake up to frigid temperatures and a biting wind. Snow was falling lightly on this blustery day. You are probably thinking why I am describing the weather, well, last Saturday was our community wide Easter egg hunt. Twenty degrees, snow, and an Easter egg hunt! Are you kidding me?!?! Around noon, I go to help set up for the hunt and find out that no one has stepped up to be the Easter bunny. So, as pres, the bunny stops here. Yes, yours truly was the Easter bunny for the Easter egg hunt, and, I had a great time. It was a lot of fun posing for pictures with the kids and seeing the smiles and excitement in their faces. To mark the occasion, here is a picture of the Easter bunny with my kids!

Batteries in the brain?

After a long day at work, I was just mentally tired, my batteries were just worn down. Things have been a little more fast paced than usually and there are more than a few large departmental projects going on at this time. So, I get home and gobble up some dinner, grab the boys and then off to Justin's soccer practice. On the way there, I was having a conversation with the boys. At one point in the conversation, Justin was having trouble formulating his response. He would start a sentence, stumble over it, and then try again. After about three attempts at trying to get his response out of his mouth, he announces that the batteries in his brain were dead! I know what you mean, Justin! That comment made me laugh and it helped to recharge my batteries.

Manny's Birthday Party

I get a call the other day from Justin. He tells me that it is Manny's birthday today. Although I think I know everyone in my immediate family and I think I know my kids' friends. I was at a loss, so I ask him who is Manny. He replies,"You know, Dad, Manny from Ice Age." Manny is pictured here with his birthday headband on.
Well, I have to admit, I was a little surprised to learn that Manny was turning four year old. So, what do you do when your young son decides that it is Manny's birthday? You have a birthday party. Justin planned a great party.

Here are the party goers in their stylish party hats!


Here is Derek playing pin the tire on the car. I think he may have been cheating.


Time for cake!

Finished opening gifts. Every woolly mammoth needs a slinky and a pig!

Happy Birthday Manny the Mammoth!!!

Trip to Arizona

Sandi and I had the opportunity to go to Arizona last weekend to participate in the wedding of some very good friends. I think Phoenix only gets about six inches of rain per year and they got at least half of it the day before we arrived. The weather did end up cooperating and our friends had a beautiful outside wedding.

While we did fly into Phoenix, we drove up to Sedona for the wedding. I had the opportunity to take a hike at Boynton Canyon Trail. It was incredible!! Here are some pics from the hike.

Test your skills...

This little test was sent to me the other day. Not sure if the Air Force really uses this (it is a little archaic looking), but it is fun and addicting.

The object of the game is to move the red block around without getting hit by the blue blocks or touching the black walls. If you can go longer than 18 seconds you are phenomenal. It's been said that the US Air Force uses this for fighter pilots. They are expected to go for at least 2 minutes. Hit the link below and test yourself.

The URL is http://tinyurl.com/56t9u

Good luck and have fun!!

Bad Hair Day...

Well, it is about time for Carley to make her debut on the blog. She is my little princess for sure! However, even a princess has a bad hair day now and then. One day, it turned out like this:


Well, she didn't like it, so we tried to straighten it using one of those new fangled hair straighteners:


Well, that didn't work either!! The good thing is, we have Mommy and Mommy can make her look like a princess!!


Love you, Carley!

Well, it happened…

I knew it would, but I didn't think it would happen so soon (after all Derek is only in second grade and Justin is in preschool)! We got TP'd! Yes, last night some "visitors" come over to our front yard with what seemed like 50 rolls of toilet paper. Although I am not too happy about this, I am proud of them. They did such a great job! They not only decorated the trees, like every TPer does, they went further. They wrapped the mailbox, completely. They wrapped tree trunks, completely. They wrapped the bushes, the basketball post and hoop, and they wrapped the yard light!! If I were to TP someone, this is the way I would do it.

On our way home from church this morning, I prepped the boys for the clean up task ahead of us. They were excited to help clean up and we are all charged up to tackle the toilet paper that awaited our return. Upon on arrival home, we were met by neighbors and the neighborhood kids. They had cleaned up everything!! Well, everything except the tops of the trees. We will let mother nature and her wind and rain take care of those last few pieces. I would like to publicly thank all of the neighbors and kids for their help in cleaning up our front yard artwork!

For what it is worth, here are some pics of the last remaining stragglers.

The Music Man...

Justin is our free spirit in an otherwise type-A family. He is our performer and loves to play instruments and he likes to dance. Here he is, pounding out a new beat on his drums.


Justin's dance moves are his and his alone. There is no imitating what he does! In honor of Justin and his love of dancing, let's take a look at the evolution of dance. Enjoy!

Youth soccer rocks!!

Derek had another indoor soccer game tonight. Great game for the Sharks FC team. They won 8 to 1 and played very well. Derek played another fantastic game. Two goals tonight and a couple assists and stellar defense. A whopping zero players got past him tonight. He also put on another dribbling clinic on this team. He is not quite to the level of Ronaldinho (the greatest soccer player inhabiting the earth at this point) but he is getting there.

Yes, I am a proud father and coach. I have the privilege of being able to coach both Derek and Justin in their youth soccer leagues. It has been a great ride for me as well as them. It is exciting to see them develop and grow in the sport. Derek has some innate soccer skills and I really enjoy watching him play. I also appreciate his respect and love of the game right now. I hope that he continues to respect and love the game throughout his life.

I do have to say that I am anxious to see how Justin's relationship with the game grows. This spring will be his second season and it is an adventure to watch these little guys play! It is four on four, beehive soccer. Every once in a while, there is a break away, but mostly just chaos on the field.

So here's to you, weekend warrior coaches and players!! Keep the sport alive and keep us entertained!!

It’s a good tired…

Well, it is late on a Saturday night and what is a guy to do. I guess blogging is not the most exciting thing to do on a Saturday night, but hey, the kids and some work kept me busy today and I am tired. It is a good tired; a tired that my phenomenal wife, Sandi, bears everyday. Why am I tired you ask…

You see, Sandi was scrapbooking. It's a gal thing. They all lug 100 lbs. of pictures, paper, markers, supplies, and the cell phone to a local shop. They then indulge in laying out these wonderful stories about their families and children, well, mostly the children. They weave together pictures and paper to produce these tapestries that are priceless. She needed today. She needed girl time. She needed to recharge.

I get to involve myself in many things that take me out of the home at times. School committee meetings, coaching the boys' soccer teams, community functions, and the list goes on. Sandi is a stay at home mother and I don't appreciate that enough, nor do I thank her enough for what she "endures" everyday. Kids are not easy. Managing the home is not easy. Transporting the kids is not easy. Her list goes on longer than mine. She gets tired and so do I. Guys, be in tune with your wife. Know that she is working harder than you are. They need to recharge and this benefits everyone.