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Father's Day

I woke up after being able to sorta (half sleep while I heard screaming fighting boys in the background) sleep in a little yesterday to find a wonderful breakfast spread laid out on the table. Max, all by himself, had prepared my Father's Day breakfast and was extremely proud of himself. His face was beaming with excitement. He had a bowl of Lucky Charms, a banana, toast, and a cup of milk with a chocolate straw (a straw with chocolate beads in it, so that as you suck up the milk it becomes chocolate milk, a good idea but not the best tasting chocolate). He and Sam were very excited for me to eat it. Sam sat right next to me taking half of all the food, while Max protested his every bite: "Dats Daddy's!"
It gave me a great start to a wonderful Father's day despite the high sugar content!



At church there were some good talks about father's and how they influenced the speakers so much. It made me think of my conversation with my father on Friday. I asked him what he was going to do on Father's Day. He answered: "Go to Church. Worship Heavenly Father."
It was a simple answer and an obvious one, yet it was profound. How many times do we wish God a happy Father's Day, He being the Father of us all? This thought stayed with me this Father's Day and helped me to honor my Heavenly Father. Thanks DAD!

Just a couple photos...

Just a couple photos of Saturday's fun.
The slip and slide says it is not for adults and its probably true. The few times I went down, I flew off and gouged the grass pretty badly.
We also had our kiddie pool out and put a sprinkler under the trampoline. Then, as if that wasn't enough summer outdoor fun, I took the boys down to the beach with an inflatable raft, tied it to our 80 year old friends' kyack and paddled them around the bay! (Max only capsized once!!!) It was so beautiful yesterday, hot but not too muggy. Max found a big Dora house for $5 at garage sale and he and Sam love it (it came with Diego too, so its not all feminine!)

Old Cape Cod

Wednesday and Thursday we spent falling in love with Old Cape Cod. We spent one night in Provincetown (Known as P-Town) at the edge of America, the tip of the Cape. We were a bit worried as we drove there in the rain. The weather report said mostly sunny and partly cloudy, though I'm not sure what that means. Our road trips, especially with kids, take 2 to 3 times longer than normal. Of course traveling with kids adds a lot of time on, but the DVD player has helped a lot with that. We tend to stop at lots of "cute little" (emily's term) shops and see the towns along the way. Such as the art studio of a lady who makes creations out of drift wood, very cool. Or stopping at the Friendly Fisherman for the best/freshest fish and chips I've ever had (lightly breaded and cooked to perfection). They were "so fresh they aught to be slapped." Or browsing/dwaddling at the Christmas Tree Store, I think this was Fae's highlight.

Luckily as we reached the northern part of the cape and went out to see Highland Lighthouse, it had stoped raining and the sun began to shine. When we got into P-Town it was warm and "mostly-sunny." Cape Cod is so gorgeous. It has some of the most breath taking views. The scenery is very diverse: sand dunes, beaches, moors/marshlands, lighthouses, lesbians, bay, ocean, lakes, gays, cliffs, transgenders, pilgrim monuments, fishing villages, lobster cages, forests. Most of the area is national seashore and its beauty is presevered/protected. The cape extends off the southeast corner of Massachusettes and curls to the north.

Our hotel room had a beach just outside the back door, and a view across the bay of a lighthouse, Wood End Lighthouse. There's a dike made of giant granite bolders that extends for one part of the cape to another as the cape curls back along itself. Em, Max and I walked along it all the way out to the lighthouse. It was so pretty and the combination of the sun and clouds gave so many different views of the lighthouse as the sun set.
I highly recommend the Cape for your next vacation and you can stop at our house on the way. There is no other place like it! Simply amazingly incredibly stunningly beautiful!

If you would like to see more pictures you can check out the web album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/warnerDDS/TheCape?authkey=7KeegmdLXkg.

pesce bianco con pistacchio e salsa di granchio

Last week with the visit of Faezer, Em's mother, we took a trip up to Federal Hill in Providence. Federal Hill is beautiful Italian district know for its great restaurants. Em's idea was to stop and ask at a local grocer and ask for a recommendation (she got this idea for Food Network or the like). So we pulled over and I went into a little store. Mistake. It was more Latin than Italian and specialized more in soft porn then restaurant recommendation. So I decided against asking them for a recommendation. Next we tried to go to Venda Ravioli down the street, because it looked nice and had ravioli in the name. It turned out to be a store and closed. However they had a cafe'/ristorante across the square. Naturally, they would have recommended it so we took their unspoken recommendation and went to Venda Ravioli-Costantino's Ristorante and Caffe'.

I was very nervous as we entered the restaurant proportionally became nicer as we increased elevation up the stairs to the dining area. It was a very nice place and it was slightly scary to have three boys in tow. I must say however, that they were practically perfect during the fabulous dinner.

Now I mention all this for two reasons: First, to introduce you to another part of RI. Second, because the meal I had ranks on my top three great meals I've ever had!!!! This is saying something since we lived in SF for 4 years. My top 2 are the seafood tostada from Mustard's grill in Napa Valley and the a fabulous steak from Chou Chou in SF.

So number three on the all time palatal pleasures list was: Pesce bianco con pistacchio e salsa di granchio. Fresh filet of Chilean sea bass encrusted with pistachio nuts, pan seared and finished with a delicate yellow pepper and fresh crab meat sauce.

Every single bite was amazing and sent thrills through out.

Trip To Wright's Dairy

We made a trip to Wright's Dairy Farm today. You could see the cows milked taste the byproduct in the form of muffins, creme pies, choclate milk (coffee milk too), eclairs cookies and other wicked baked goods. So how come the boys favorite part was "cow peeing"!?

turning japanese i think i'm turning japanese

i really think so.

I recently met with my USAF superiors and finally got some long sought after answers:

I will find out around December where we will be stationed.

There is close to a zero percent chance of being deployed. Yeah!

There are four overseas openings projected for 2008. And new pediatric dentist always go overseas.

There are also four pediatric dentist completing training in 2008. (Me being one of them) (Me also being the one with the lowest rank/seniority, this will be pertinent later)

The four openings are in Lakenheath England, Misawa Japan, Yokota Japan
(Tokyo,) Kadena Japan (Okinawa).

We can request where we want to be stationed, but if more than one wants a given duty station it will go by rank.

Therefore, I conclude that it is most likely going to be JAPAN. I have already purchased a Japan travel guide and am doing daily mental therapy sessions for Emily. (The mental therapy is new and only for the thought of living in Asia). I myself am excited about the prospect. I'll probably be disappointed if we do get England.

My Personal Music Evolution

Yesterday as I was cleaning the bathroom listen to my ipod playlist "Saturday Rock," Amanda by Boston came on. Emily and I did an excellent duo vocal along side of Brad Delp, (who I just learned died earlier this year.) As that ended and I skipped forward to Right Now by Van Halen, I began to reminisce about the types of music I enjoy and how I got to be the well refined musical being I am today.

My taste for music was a little delayed in its development. It wasn't until my freshman year at Armijo High School, go Indians!, that I began caring about and liking music. I remember it being one of my sister Kris' tapes that I began liking. Garth Brooks "No fences" if I'm not mistaken. I listen to that tons.
(Now before Dave picks up on this evolution beginning at Garth Brooks, I'll say it wasn't so much an evolution as a transition or a simple path. I in no way will agree with him nor my wife that Country is inferior.)

I also was being seduced around the same time by rock, especially 80's rock. Dave, my bro, is probably responsible for keeping me out of the third row of the parking lot (that's where all the hicks parked and chewed tabacy and practiced their roping skills). So I also became a die hard Van Halen fan. This was around the time of their at that time new album "For Unlawful..." came out. Soon Dave and I were also immersed with such great bands like Led Zeppelin, Def Leppard, Scorpions, Journey, Cars, etc. It wasn't until I got married that the other side of the 80's music era came into my life in the form of every Erasure and Depeche Mode CD from Emily. (That side of the 80's I will admit to being inferior to true 80's classic rock!)
Anyway, after my mission I was once again influenced by my brother to the great music of Smashing Pumpkins. (I remember him being embarrassed when I asked him, in front of his friends, who Billy Corban was.) Then onto Radio Head. Emily has also brought softer music like Dan Fogelberg to the table, but that has only brought mockery and shame to her life. I mean who sings about spilling a purse in the frozen food section of a grocery store, and why do people insist on passing it off as a Christmas song?

My tastes are still about the same these days. I like my occasional country, classic rock, alternative rock. However, I can sing along with Akon and Fergie. (That raises yet another question. Why do the assistants insist on playing inappropriate music in a pediatric office and also Why do the kids in the pediatric office already know the lyrics?) Some of Em's and my favorites these days include Rob Thomas, Natasha Bedingfield (Max loves Unwritten), and anything else that might be part of the Grey's Anatomy music library.
Well that's a look into my likes and dislike of music. To honest, if you see me with my ipod and headphones on, its a good bet that I'm listening to a book and not music. I actually get sick of music pretty quick, especially the radio. What can I say I'm Dougalicious.

Dedicated to the Greatest Mom(s) on Earth

So who is the greatest mom on earth. I would have to now say that my wife is. Sorry mom all loyalties switched to Em when we got married. My mother is awesome and I am glad she got to spend so much time with us in RI. She was sooo patient with my boys and read books all day to them only stopping often to play Candyland. She is very patient and wise. She has mastered the the behavior management technique of distraction (that's the pediatric dentistry term) (i.e. instead of yelling at the kids like I do she says "Oh is that a tree outside?" then they both look outside and stop fighting in the process. Way to go Sue!!

Anyway, back to Em. I wish I had time to go into all the reasons why I love her and why mothers are so special, but I need to hold my baby. I do want to say one thing: I married Em because I knew she would be a great mother. And she is that and more. I am so happy that my boys have her. She is so full of love, kindness and tenderness to them. I am so lucky to have her. both for me and for the boys. Her heart is so big and they love her soo much.

Thank you Em for living up to my expectations! I wanted to marry a girl as good as my awesome sisters and mom and I found one, dare I say better!!! I love you lots!!!!!

A Few Musings (if I may borrow the term)

I don't usually remember my dreams when I wake up. So the fact that I can still remember the dream I had two nights ago means it must be pretty darn important (or maybe just weird).

First a little background: We have a groundhog living on our premises. Specifically, in the backyard behind the trampoline. (You know...the one I got for Em for our 6 year anniversary.) So the dream goes as follows: I was walking around a yard (I think in my old home in CA) with (I believe) my mom and a sister or maybe two. We walked down a path and I moved back some bushes to reveal a cave. In it I saw a large groundhog and a Mrs. Groundhog.
With lightening celerity, the Mr. Groundhog rushed at me.

Now the only way to describe his movement is to liken it to the bunny on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. However, instead of attacking my jugular he was tearing at my midsection and I was trying to defend myself by pummeling his head. That's all I remember.
So today I was removing the foliage from around the groundhog borough. We're trying to discourage this (seemingly) cute animal from sticking around as he has decapitated our tulips and we fear for our newly planted garden.

Fortunately, there was no attack during this procedure.

On another note:

Sammy has become very whinny since the birth of Baby Gabriel. The other day he was in timeout and I was very frustrated with him. I said to him: "Sammy you need to start behaving!" Sam: "OK." He then proceeded to wave at me with a big smile on his face.

At first I thought he was mocking me, until my mind processed what he must have understood. "Sammy you need to start waving!" It immediately made me smile and give him a big hug...all past transgressions forgiven. He's done the same thing a few times since.

What are the other boys doing?

Max has started a T-Ball class... and is enjoying Karate. Why teach such a hyper and naturally violent child to punch and kick? I'm not sure. Hopefully he can learn to listen and a little self-discipline. If nothing else he can count to three in Japanese!!!
Bammy is taking a gymnastics class. Finally he can do good somersaults! He did really well on the balance beam, but then fell off at the end. Now he is terrified of getting on it again!

He Shall Be Called...

We finally came to an agreement about this child's name. We named him:

Gabriel David

They are both doing very well. This seems to have been the best delivery and recovery of all three!!! Em is very happy, beautiful, and in heaven holding her little flea!!!!!!

P.S. He has such a little head that is soft as can be!! Max said today in regards to his head: "It's so tickly! Dad, do you feel what I do!"

Happy Birth Day!!!!!

Boy, 7 lbs 8 oz, 18 3/4 inches, TOB: 10:58 am EST, Cute As Can Be, More detail including official name will be forthcoming!

Emily and baby are both doing magnificent. The doctor was wonderful and the Epidural was divine.

Its Begun....

Here is the final belly photo!















And the drop off at the Hospital to begin the induction!

My Favorite Author

Jonathan Stroud is an amazing author. Specializing in fantastical writing, he combines humor, mystery, intrigue in a captivating fashion, not to mention giving the reader plenty of vocab words to look up each day. His books leave you fully satisfied, yet you want to keep reading more. I was so excited when I found today that there are more books!

I have only read his three books in the Bartimaeus Trilogy and absolutely loved them. I came across the first one, The Amulet of Samarkand, on CD in one of the SF Libraries. The books are similar in genre to the Harry Potter series, but I have to admit that I like this trilogy twice as much, if not thrice. They currently rank as my favorite books!

Wherefore, I was so excited today when I googled my favorite author and found his website. I had visited one of his other websites before, http://www.bartimaeustrilogy.com/, but hadn't come across his own yet, http://www.jonathanstroud.com/.

I was wicked excited to find out that he has three other books not in the series. I immediately looked them all up on the RI library system and all three are currently underway to our library!

When you start the Trilogy, and I implore you to do so quite soon, I suggest getting the first on audio CD. The narrator is fabulous and the humor and flow of the writing is vivid and fun to listen too. Plus, it helps to have a British accent as well as know how Stroud intended names, places, etc. to be pronounced.

While surfing his site I saw that one of his other books, Buried Fire, had just been released in Germany and an except of the audio book was available online. I really like the German narrator!

I can't wait until my next trip to the Library!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Why can't a woman be more like a man!?

"Let's Go" she calls down stairs. We are planning to go garage sale-ing on a beautiful sunny Saturday. I suggested she take a shower before we head out so she'll feel a little better during the day's activities, but it took 20 minutes longer then I expected. So I called "OK" back up the stairs and a few minutes later carried Sam upstairs to get him cleaned off. When to my surprise I found out that "Let's Go" doesn't mean what I thought it meant. Mentally I run though a few different languages to see if I understood the phrase correctly: gehen wir! vamanos! (confirmed with Dora!) So at least in German and Spanish it seems to imply leaving the house very soon/I'm ready now after a long shower.

Why then is the said woman not even dressed at the time of saying Vamanos? I can't explain it. No, meow meow meow meow was going through my mind when spoken to, I didn't miss anything. It must just get lost in translation from the female to the male. Even the many Der Die Das/masculine feminine neuters of the German language is nothing compared to understanding the complexity of the female language. Unfortunately, once this is posted I will be a Das Mann instead of a Der Mann.

This brought to mind a most noble and truth telling song from My Fair Lady: A Hymn to Him.

Here are a few of the Lyrics:

Women are irrational, that's all there is to that! There heads are full of cotton, hay, and rags! They're nothing but exasperating, irritating,vacillating, calculating, agitating, Maddening and infuriating hags!

[To Pickering]Pickering, why can't a woman be more like a man?

PICKERING:Hmm?

HIGGINS:Yes... Why can't a woman be more like a man? Men are so honest, so thoroughly square; Eternally noble, historic'ly fair; Who, when you win, will always give your back a pat. Well, why can't a woman be like that? Why does ev'ryone do what the others do? Can't a woman learn to use her head? Why do they do ev'rything their mothers do? Why don't they grow up- well, like their father instead? Why can't a woman take after a man? Men are so pleasant, so easy to please; Whenever you are with them, you're always at ease.

Anyways, we did make it to two garage sells and got some excellent deals, including two dolphin squirt guns for a dime!!!!

Patriot's Day in Kent County

Thursday I took the boys on a Library trip to the East Greenwich Free Library. As we got out of the car and headed toward the library our ears were met by the colonial sound of the fife and drum! It was patriot's day and the Kentish Guard was performing their annual reenactment of the March on Lexington. (I love living out here!) We had just missed the beginning of their march so we hung out in front of the library while they circled around a few blocks and ended next door to the Library at the Kentish Guard (1774).

The boys were loving it. Max got to see some real SWORDS and guns. He kept running ahead to keep up with their march. Both were standing and marching along the library's wall trying to keep time with the drumming and Sam kept asking "Dose Piyets" (Are those Pirates?)

Breakfast Cook Off

~6 and 3/4 years ago Em told me she would cook eggs benedict for me. I, @ the time, had never had Egg's B before. (Subsequently, I have had it twice at The Beach Chalet and Chou Chou, both in San Francisco). So this morning she decided she was ready to give it a go.


As she began she wanted me to look up how to poach an egg (neither of us has ever attempted to poach an egg, we thought Mormons weren't supposed to) and pulled out her outdated lame cook book, "How To Cook Everything." I then went to my cooking bible for advice, "The New Best Recipe," from Cook's Illustrated. (Everything I have ever made therefrom has turned out excellent.) Thus began the cook off to see who could make the best poached egg!



I had great faith in my book and its editor Christopher Kimball, my cooking god. Fast forward a few minutes and lots of trash talking and we had a wonderful creation. To be honest with all involved, Em's eggs did end up looking better and I had to eat my words, as well as the eggs! I was slightly disappointed* with my eggs shape (the taste was exquisite though), as it had a little too much feathering.
(Mine is the one on the egg's right, Em's is on the left)


It was a supper yummy breakfast and my wife rocks!



*At which point she told me I shouldn't worship false gods! (She's funny too! sometimes)
*I still hold true that my cook book is better, I just need a bit more practice with my method.

Happy Easter again-A bit of tradition

One of my favorite paintings I saw in Jerusalem was at this church on the mount of olives. It is the Russian Orthodox Church: Church of Mary Magdalene.

I searched for an hour trying to find an image of the painting, but it can't be done. (The nuns were very adamant about not letting me take a picture at the time.) Anyway it is a beautiful picture of Mary standing before Augustus Caesar holding a red egg. The story behind it is as follows:

Before the egg became closely entwined with the Christian Easter, it was honored during many rite-of-Spring festivals. The Romans, Gauls, Chinese, Egyptians and Persians all cherished the egg as a symbol of the universe, of the earth’s rebirth at springtime. With the advent of Christianity the symbolism of the egg changed to represent, not nature's rebirth, but the rebirth of man.
Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ rose. Saint Augustine first described Christ’s Resurrection from the dead as a chick bursting from an egg. This symbolism was enhanced in the Christian East’s celebration of Easter. At the end of the Paschal Liturgy, the faithful exchange paschal greetings and the priest and the faithful present each other with red eggs. Wooden eggs are sometimes suspended from hanging lamps and chandeliers, and often the faithful decorate wooden eggs with icons and hang them from the vigil lights in their homes.

THE FIRST EASTER EGG-According to tradition, Saint Mary Magdalene, who had patrician rank, gained an audience in Rome with the emperor after the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ. She denounced Pilate for his handling of Jesus' trial and then began to talk with Caesar about Jesus' resurrection. She picked up a hen's egg from the dinner table to illustrate her point about resurrection. Caesar was unmoved and replied that there was as much chance of a human being returning to life as there was for the egg to turn red. Immediately, the egg miraculously turned red in her hand! It is because of this tradition that Orthodox Christians exchange red eggs at Easter.

I don't know about the truth of any of this*, however, it was a magnificent painting and a great story of her witness of Christ's Resurrection.

*Michael: Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information. (The Office Michael Scott Season 3, Episode 18: "The Negotiation")

Happy Easter

We did our secular Easter celebration on Saturday: some toys, Easter candy, egg hunt all followed by a gourmet Ebelskiver breakfast. This was in hopes of turning a little more focus onto Christ and the Resurrection on Sunday, but I'm not sure if that worked. It at least extended our celebration an extra day.

Emily rose again to new heights in preparing a wicked awesome dinner for us and the Montoya's (minus Diane and Jaren who were still in the hospital following the latter's birth). An awesome ham, au gratin potatoes, rolls, homemade strawberry jam, (I made great sweet potatoes). All prepared with one oven, served hot and on time!!! It was a great Easter and we even attended a baptism.

Question and Answer

Last night Max asked mom "Why is daddy so angry tonight?"

Well the answer is that I am standing in the bathroom picking up a clump of poo that just fell out of your brother's pants and I don't want you in here to step in it!!! I'm not angry I was just firm about you not coming in the bathroom while I cared for poopy pants. Plus, I have woken up at 5am the last two day to work in the OR and then go back to the clinic until 6 pm. So I'm a little tired and a slight edgy, but I do love you and don't want you to step in the poop. =]

April Fools!!!

At my childhood home we had an enormous oak tree in the back yard. One year, when I was about 6 or 7 or 8ish, it became infested with caterpillars and their associated cocoons. By infested I mean millions on the tree and on the ground. So one day my friend Rachael and I decided to collect a pail full. What does one do with a pail full of caterpillars on april fool's day? Well we decided to place them in the bed of my sister who is visually impaired. We thought this was a great idea, however, luckily for Fris mom went into turn down her bed before she went in to nap. So mom ruined our joke but looking back on that now it may have been for the best. (
Caterpillers do make a mess when left by themselves under the covers).

Other good April 1 ideas:

If your wife can sleep all morning (which I assume most could) let her. Then turn all the clocks forward 4 hours and wake her up in sync with the second general conference session so she thinks she missed the first one. (This provided only a few minutes of disorientation since I didn't get to change one clock in the bedroom when she woke up.)

If your wife is OCD and needs her IKEA plates in rainbow order (which I assume not many do) as well as her clothes. Turn all her shirts inside out and mix up the color order. (I couldn't bring myself to do this one this year since she had just got her closet "in order," and didn't want to waste a week of her hard work. Maybe next year.)