Damaged Sportcross

I took the car into the body shop today the the Lexus Dealership had recommended. I wanted an estimate before I called the insurance company because if it was only going to be around $500 I didn't want to have to submit a claim. To my untrained eye it looked like something that could just be buffed out, and when I mentioned that to the body shop they laughed at me. They came back with an estimate of just over $3,600. They have to replace both doors. Mario, who wrote up the estimate was saying that he had never seen a Lexus stationwagon, and had to call the dealership about a few questions he had about what was painted and what might be a decal, and the dealership said they were hard cars to come by. After the estimate I called the insurance company and put in a claim. Team 1 will be repairing the car this week. And luck would have it, when I got the auto insurance I also got the rental car coverage (cause it was only another $15 a year). So I am dropping the car off tomorrow in the A.M. and picking up the rental car across the street.

Corn Mash

I have received requests from many family members for my recipe for Corn Poon (as it is called down here in the South). I made it for Thanksgiving Dinner and it was quite the hit.

1 stick butter or margerine
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
1/2 cup sour cream
1 box (8 oz) corn bread mix

Melt butter in large bowl. Add both cans of corn, sour cream, and corn bread mix. Mix well. Pour into large oven safe dish with lid. Bake at 375 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

I also add about 2 tablespoons of tangy BBQ sauce for that extra kick.

Trip home

Libby and I started out from Canton today around 6:15 a.m. for the long drive to Memphis. As usual Libby was a doll and slept 95% of the way there. It took us almost 13 hours. While going through Indianapolis, IN I felt the car starting to pull and knew that I had a flat tire. I am assuming that I wrecked the tire when I side swiped the tree on Friday. It is only a slow leak so I am hoping it can be repaired. I was trying to drive on it slowly until the next exit came up, the sign said 1 mile. But then I saw a cop sitting on the side of the road with his lights on. So I pulled over in front of him and went back to him and let him know I had a flat tire and had a baby in the car. Apparently Indiana's finest didn't want to get cold so he sat in the car while I froze my butt off changing the tire. As always I had to empty everying out of the hatchback to get to the full size spare. At the time I had 4 cases of Leinenkugel beer in my trunk, 2 cases of Berry Weiss and 2 cases of Apple Spice, neither of which are available here in TN. So I am sure the cop was wondering why I was hauling the beer around. If the cop had been nice enough to get out and help me I might even have given him a six of his choice. Needless to say Libby and I were very excited to see Beth when we got home.

Jon talk Thai real good

On Monday Libby and I headed over to Canton to visit Beth's sister Laura and her daughter Elise. The four of us went to visit a J.R., a guy who I use to work with, at his new business venture. He opened up a coffee shop called Port City Java. He plans on opening up more throughout the metro Detroit area. The food and drinks were excellent. I had a peach smoothie and a Thai Chicken salad. Afterwards we went to Trader Joes because I had never been. I picked up some chocolate pancake mix, wasabi cashews and thai chili lime cashews.

This is why my nephew Gabe will never be able to date.

My Special Brother

This photo was taken by a random 15 year girl who was sitting on a bench in the mall. Dan, Kris, Susan and I all went out shopping at 6 a.m. on "Black Friday". We ended up at the Lansing Mall at around 8 a.m. While at the mall we walked by the Santa Claus display and I thought it would be fun for my brother Dan to take a picture of me in the elf cut-out. I gave him my Treo PDA and set it all up for him to take pictures. After 8 tries I was so frustrated, I asked this random girl to come over and take the picture for me. She did it no problem on the first time.

Thumbs Down

Thumbs down to the Sportcross. On Friday I was going to go out with some friends who I use to work with. Beth's parents were nice enough to babysit. We were leaving my parents neighborhood on the way over there and while going around a hilly turn we hit some ice and slide into a tree and lamp post. The tree sustained minor damage as did the light post. Luckily neither Libby nor I were injured and the airbags didn't deploy so the car was drivable for the rest of the week and the trip home to Memphis. But I did make sure that we never traveled in the snow or ice. The car is fine for living down south, but since it is a rear wheel drive car, it sucks for up north. My Dad was kind enough to let us use his car. Brought back memories of having to ask Dad to use his car when I was 16.

Thankgiving, Part 1

We got back late last night from our two day Thanksgiving extravaganza. We started the shin-dig off on Thursday at my parent's in Dewitt, a little different than usual. Instead of my Mom doing ridiculous amounts of cooking, the girls did all of the food and the guys helped serve the it. Dan and Dave had had the honor of carving the two turkeys.

We had a huge amount of food this year, plus we had some special guests. Not only was this Libby and Ben's first Thanksgiving, but Will brought his girlfriend Monaca as well.

This may not sound like a big deal to you, but to run a significant other through the Kurt gauntlet is more than more relationships can bear. To put anyone that you care about through this test is pushing things to the edge of the envelope. Will is family, considered a brother, and therefore needs to go through the same right of passage as everyone else did when they brought their significant others over. Monaca held her own against the best that we could throw at her as Will sat there with his thumb in his mouth, rocking back and forth in a comatose state, seeing his relationship flash before his eyes. My Mom had briefed us all before hand to be on our best behavior, some claim she even announced"This may be Will's last chance at Love, and you better not ruin it".

Rather than continue watching the Lions get destroyed against Atlanta, Kevin and I took the kids outside to play. It was 15 degrees, with a wind chill that made it feel like zero. Ouch. My parents have a decent hill in the backyard that leads into a swamp, so we figured we'd give it a try for sledding. We wore a decent path down until we could get some decent speed going. The only problem was at the bottom, when you hit the weeds, the sleds would stop and the kids would go flying. They seemed alright with that.

Another momentus occasion happened yesterday: I returned a pair of socks to my Dad. This may not sound like a big deal to you, but for the past 30+ years, we've been borrowing socks and t-shirts from my Dad during various occassions, and NEVER has one been returned until now.

Apparently I am has taking my role of being a stay-at-home Man Mom to the next level. I'm not sure the beads match.


We came back in and warmed out, while Emily got a chance to cuddle with her Grandma. We headed over to Cathie's parents around 6, which is only a few miles away, to begin Part 2 of our Thanksgiving.

You can view the pictures from both days here.

Home for Thanksgiving

Libby and I left Memphis at about 5:30 a.m. CST for the long trek up north. It had been in the mid-50 to 60's and sunny in Tennessee so I am definely not use to snow and freezing temperatures. The trip took about 12 hours to make which is very good for traveling with an infant (it usually took me about 11 1/2 hours driving solo). Libby was so good, she spent the entire trip sleeping of staring at the back of the seat. She made the trip with only three diaper changes and 4 bottles, I perfected the art of bottle feeding while driving (don't worry it is much safer then it sounds). One of the handy things about our car, the Sportcross, is that the front passenger seat folds down into a sort of table. So I used that to change Libby on instead of having to take her into rest area bathrooms. A huge boon was my new video iPod. I LISTENED (not watched) 10 episodes of Family Guy and the first disc of An Evening with Kevin Smith.

Happy Baby

After feeding Libby this morning, Beth put her into the bouncy seat. Libby was having so much fun, she was laughing and smiling for her mom. See more of these smiley pictures here.

My Baby and Me

After raking up 16 large bags of leaves today, Libby and I relaxed on the couch. The weather was perfect, 65 and sunny. I guess there are a few good things about living in the mid-south.

Smiling Baby

Libby is growing up so fast. She is starting to outgrow so many outfits and she is already going from size 1 diapers to size 1-2. Her cheeks are getting bigger and she is smiling more and more. Especially when her Mom comes home from a long day of work. Click on the picture to see more of her smiling.

Happy Birthday

Today is Stretch's 6th birthday. The only family member who has called him so far is his Aunt Susan. She had forgotten to call yesterday on Beth's birthday. Stretch's cousins Gabe, Allie, and Bender all sang Happy Birthday to him. Gabe even added a "woof woof" to the song.

Dave Joins the Fun

Will sent me this picture of 2 big weiners.

Here you go Boom

My sister Susan, was complaining that I wasn't posting enough pictures of Libby on my Blog. Here is Libby sleeping/crying on our new footstool/coffee table.

Libby hair is continuing to grow long in the back. She is starting to get a bald spot, but Beth has figured out a way to comb the hair over so it is not very noticeable.

So close to walking

Isabelle is one day younger then Libby, but is almost ready to start walking. I have been practicing this with Libby everyday for the past week with no results. I think Libby is getting to chunky and her legs aren't able to support her.

Sad baby

The only reason Isabelle is crying is because the bottle is empty.

Libby and Isabelle

On Saturday, Isabelle and her parents came over for dinner. Libby was kind enough to share her play-mat. Libby is trying to teach Isabelle how to take a bottle, while Isabelle is trying to teach Libby how to stand.

Great Investment

I have found a great stock for those of you looking to invest some of your hard earned money in. It is Dynamic Materials Corp. It looks like a winner. I am sure my sister Susan will want to invest.

Code Black & Blue

***Guest Blogger Dr. Crash Kurt***


As many of you know, I am working at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Presently, I am taking care of some of the sickest patients on the bone marrow transplant service. Part of my role is to respond to "codes" when someone has gone into cardiac arrest. Because every minute counts, I generally run to these events. Well, yesterday almost changed all of that, as my life practically flashed before my eyes. I was in a full-out sprint, coming around a corner by the nurse's station, when another nurse running to the same code, collided with me. The result wasn't pretty. There I was laid out on the floor behind the nurses station with my head spinning from the impact of the collision. Unfortunately, the incident was witnessed by no less than ten other people, including the attending physician on service. I imagine it was sort-of like watching a train wreck, where you're horrified it's happening, and yet you can't take your eyes away. Needless to say, I never made it to that code, and thank goodness it ended up being a false alarm. (By the way, Joshua, the nurse who apparently is in top physical condition, was unharmed from my tackle.)

Today, at our morning meeting about the patients, Ken, one of the nurse practitioners, explained he had gotten a call from risk management regarding my fall. He stated that they sent over a piece of protective equipment for my use while on the transplant service. Pictured above is my personalized helmet for use on the transplant service. I guess I will never live this down. But just so you know, it's Dr. Crash Kurt to you.

New toy

***This Post has been approved by Dave***

About 18 months ago I bought an Archos multi media player at Best Buy, for some reason I decided to buy the 4 year extended warranty for an extra $40. After using it for about a year, the battery life on it really starting sucking. So I brought it back to Best Buy to get a new battery as part of the warranty. Since they had stopped carrying it, they gave me a Zen Creative multi media player. I barely used the thing for the next six months, but I was going to bring it on my trip to MN, so I took it out and noticed that the external speaker on it kept going in and out. So I once again brought it back to Best Buy to get it fixed under the warranty. They shipped it out, but then called me a week later saying they don't have parts for it, and since they stopped carrying them, they gave me a brand new 60 GB Video iPOD plus $165 store credit. Yay to the extended warranty. And I still have 2 1/2 years on the original extended warranty.

A Picture Share!

Thank you to Errin and Rudi for allowing Libby and I to stay at there house this past few days. Since they didn't have a crib for Libby, she had to sleep on their woodle named Obie. She was very comfortable.

A Picture Share!

This restaurant at the MOA serves nothing but PB&Js. They have over 800 types of jelly, but only 2 kinds of peanut butter.

A Picture Share!

Libby liked sleeping in this bin full of cheap Swedish monkeys.

A Picture Share!

Rudi liked taking a short siesta on the sofa at IKEA.

A Picture Share!

Libby and I hung out with Errin & Rudi today. We went to Mall of America and IKEA. Here is Libby in a bin of pillows.

A Picture Share!

Libby relaxing next to Grandma.

A Picture Share!

We made it to "Minnie" without a hassle. Libby slept the entire way. Errin and Rudi are picking us up at the airport.

Brother in Law of the Year

My brother-in-law Paul, married to Beth's sister Laura, gets the BROTHER-IN-LAW of the YEAR AWARD. He flew out to Rochester today and went to visit my Mom who is in the hospital recovering from a Whipple Procedure.

Libby and I fly out tomorrow afternoon to visit. It will be Libby's first plane ride. I didn't get to take my first flight until I was 15, which beats my Dad who was 21 when he took his first flight from Chicago to New York.

A Place of Honor

My parents commissioned this 8x10 portrait of themselves this summer. They had it framed and gave it to us when we were up in Michigan this September. I can only assume that each of their children was also given a framed picture. We put ours in Libby's room on her armoire, so she can look at Gam-Gam and Poppa while she is being changed or playing.

I think it would be fun for each of my siblings; Dan, Dave and Susan, to post a picture of where they placed their photo.

Libby's friend

Beth completed her Pediatric Boards today and felt like she passed, she will know for sure in January. Afterwards all the people she works with who also took the boards got together at Damon's house (a fellow fellow) for some food and fun. Isabelle is Damon's daughter who was born a day after Libby. Libby and Isabelle will be BFF.