The Griffin 5

It has been almost 2 weeks since Samantha joined our family. We have really enjoyed the adjustment. She has been the sweetest thing - she rarely cries, only on the occasional diaper change and when she doesn't get fed fast enough. We have really noticed how patient she is in everything so far. She lets us do just about anything to her and she doesn't complain. Hopefully, that will continue throughout her life. Samantha appears to be happy - though the only time she smiles is when she is asleep or falling asleep. Hunter and Ryan absolutely love her. They keep telling us "I just love Samantha." Sometimes they say it as they are playing with their toys or doing something that doesn't even involve their sister - but I think they just have this overwhelming sense of joy and love that comes over them and they have to express it. Tonight as I drove home from work, I stopped to pick up Ryan at his friend's, Ben, house. We talked on the drive home and I asked him what he thought about his little sister. He responded with a full heart and tendor voice, "She is the sweetest thing." We all love her so much and have to fight over who is going to hold her next, but she has easily transitioned into our family. Sometimes Stacey and I have this realization that we have a daughter (whenever I say that it seems so weird after having just boys for so many years) and an extra person to our family - a feeling that is hard to explain, except that you will understand when you have children of your own. But at the same time she has felt like she has always been a part of our family and that is why she is so easy to love. Tonight, I got to hold her and she fell asleep on my chest. I just rocked her for quite some time and took in the alone and quiet time I had with her. There is nothing more precious then having a child curled up in your arms with her head on you chest. What a wonderful addition to our household!

Sami Part II

Hunter and Ryan were so excited to come visit Samantha at the hospital. At precisely 7:30am (I am sure he wanted to call earlier), Hunter called me on my cell phone. I told him that Samantha was born and he got so excited. He wanted to come to the hospital right away. He asked how she was doing and I told him a little bit about her being born during the night. He then gave the phone to Ryan for me to tell him about Samantha being born. Ryan was just getting up and I told him about his new little sister, but he then told me that he was 'too tired' and gave the phone back to Hunter. By 9am, the boys were at the hospital as Grandma McClanahan drove them there. I met them in the lobby of the hospital and took them to see Mommy and Samantha. They were so excited, but when they actually saw her they were speechless. They just stared at her and finally Hunter said "She isn't what I expected." Apparently, he expected someone a little bigger and perhaps could move around. With Samantha being extra tiny, it was such a shock to him. But both Hunter and Ryan took turns holding her and they instantly fell in love with their little sister. Ryan could not stop saying 'I love her!' Grandma McClanahan said that both boys got dressed and ate their breakfast faster than they ever had! There was no constant reminder and no pestering - they could not wait to get to the hospital!! What a cute little family we have! After they left, Stacey and I tried to get some sleep but the nurses, etc. kept coming in every 20 minutes to check on Stacey and the baby. We talked to Hunter later in the day and he said 'Do you NEED me to come to the hospital?" So, Hunter, Ryan, and Grandma came back to the hospital and spent more time with Mommy and the baby. They love their little sister!!

Sami Live

Sami Part I

What a wild night of events. I will try and encompass everything that happened the night Sami was born in this one blog but I may forget some things and will need to add later. Stacey and I went to the hospital around 7:30 pm on Saturday January 26th. We arrived at the hospital around 8:00 pm and filled out some paperwork. Then, a nurse led us to room where Stacey would eventually have Samantha. Stacey was asked to strip and put on a hospital gown. For the life of us, we could not figure out how the gown went on. Amid laughs, I asked the nurse to give us a hand. After getting the gown on, Stacey was examined and given a 'mezo-pill' to aid in softening the cervix and possibly induce labor. Stacey was asked to get some rest and around 1:30 am she would get checked in. Stacey and I talked and read some books and tried to sleep, though sleep did not come easy. Around 1:45 am Stacey was checked again and found that she had dialated to a 3 and she did not need another 'mezo-pill.' The nurse told Stacey that within the next few hours she might need an epidural. So, Stacey and I were again told to get some rest until that time. Shortly after that, I heard Stacey groaning in pain as she was having hard contractions about 1 minute apart. I convinced her to get the epidural though she was reluctant because she didn't want to be on an epidural for 10 hours. The pain was too much and she called for the nurse to bring the epidural. Around 2:50 am, the anathesiologist arrived and administered the epidural, a process that took fully 15-20 minutes. Once everything was working fine, the nurse checked Stacey again and said that her bag of water was swollen and would break within the next couple of hours. The nurse left the room to let us rest yet once again. Within 10 minutes, Stacey blurts out, "My water broke." We call the nurse and she comes in and cleans Stacey up. She said that Stacey would eventually feel pressure like she has to push and when that time comes we were to call her again. Stacey and I once again lay down to rest and within 10 minutes Stacey is tell me that she has a pressure and feels like she has to push. We call the nurse again and she comes in to check Stacey. By now the time is close to 4 am. The nurse tells us that the baby is right there and she calls for the doctor. Within seconds, the room fills up with nurses who set up the room in anticipation of the baby. The doctor and resident arrive and tell Stacey to start pushing at the contractions. In the meantime, I am holding Stacey's legs and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the baby. Stacey begins pushing and in a short time the baby's head begins to approach the opening. The resident checks the head and I see hair on the baby's head. This is something new to me, since both our boys were virtually bald when they came out. Stacey does about 6 or 7 pushes and the head is ready to pop out. The nurse says to the doctor "72 doctor." I immediately look over to the heart rate monitor and see that it has dropped from then normal 142 bpm to 68 bpm. The doctor who has patiently been standing in the background comes forward and strongly encourages Stacey to push and get that baby out. Stacey does some good strong pushes and the head pops out. Immediate concern eminates in the room, as the cord is wrapped twice around Samantha's neck. The nurse lets me know that they need to cut the cord and are worried that I might feel bad because I don't get to do it. I hurriedly exclaim that they need to cut the cord and not to worry about me. They cut the cord and ask Stacey to push once again. The shoulders and body come flying out and Samantha is face down. She looked so lifeless as the doctor held her and there was no movement or color to her body. At this point, I am extremely nervous because of the things I have just witnessed - low heart rate and cord around her neck. I immediately think the worst. The doctor turns her over and cleans out her mouth and nose. Samantha takes a huge breath and begins to breath outside of the womb. Color slowly enters her body. The nurses take her to the warming tray and begins to examine her and clean her up. Once she is all clean, she is taken to the weight try where she weighs in at a whopping 5 lbs 7.6 ounces (she would eventually leave the hospital at 4.5 oz) and 18 1/2 inches long. By this point, we are so excited to have our little girl into the world and know that everything will be alright. Once Stacey is stitched up and cleaned up, Stacey and Samantha are moved to another room or the recovery room where Stacey would spend the next 30+ hours recovering. What a cute little girl we have added to our family! Everyone is so excited for this sweet little girl to come into our family.

Sami's First Few Minutes

Bald and Beautiful

Last night, Stacey and I found a coupon in the paper for 1/2 off a haircut, so we loaded Hunter and Ryan in the van and proceeded to get them a haircut. Both boys were in desperate need of a haircut. Ryan, however, was not too excited about getting a haircut. He loves his hair - he loves people combing his hair and making it perfect and he even loves to come his own hair. Ryan is very particular about his hair and will always check it before we leave the house, especially when going to church or school. So, the first thing Ryan told us after we announced he was getting a haircut was "They can only cut my sides and my back." He showed us exactly where his hair could be cut. Well, we showed up to the barbershop and Stacey proceeded to tell the lady how she wanted the boy's hair to be cut. She asked who wanted to go first and both Ryan and Hunter suggested the other should go first. Ryan finally stepped up to go first to show us how brave he was. He struts over to the barber chair and tells the lady the same thing he told us "Cut my sides and my back." She tells him that she needs to take a little off the top. He reluctantly agrees. The lady begins cutting his hair off the sides and we notice Ryan closely watching how she cuts his hair. We can tell that Ryan is not happy with all the hair that was cut off the sides, but it appears that he is fine with that as long as he still has hair on top. All of the sudden, the lady runs the clippers through the top of his hair and Ryan lets out a blood-curdling scream, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Stacey and I run over to him and Stacey is trying to get the lady to stop, but it is too late. When Ryan screams, the lady freaks out because she thinks she has hurt Ryan, but he is upset about his hair. Tears are streaming down his face and he is crying uncontrollably. He tells the lady that he wants her to put his hair back on, but of course that isn't going to happen. Stacey and I are trying not to laugh at our bald son and his passion for his hair. We are trying to console him and trying to stiffle our laughs. Finally, we get Ryan calmed down and the lady is able to finish his hair cut, but he is completely bald and hates his hair. The first thing he asks when he is finished, "Can I wear a hat to church?" Stacey and I feel so bad that we decide to take him Target to buy a matchbox car for him. Before we go into Target he asks if he can wear his coat (which he had not been wearing all night). He puts his coat on and then he puts the hood over his head. He wears his coat that way the whole time he is in Target. When we get home, he will not take his coat off and show his Grandma his haircut. Poor boy! He is going to have some trouble going to church and school this week. But he looks so cute with his nearly bald head!

Day 2

If you notice the dates on these blogs, it has been a while since I have last written something. Okay, so this is going to be harder than it seemed. But I will continue to write a few thoughts, however sporadic, about Hunter and Ryan hopefully, throughout the whole year. I have the cutest (can I say that) boys in the world. One of my favorite things that I look forward to each workday, is coming home. Most of the time Hunter and/or Ryan are there waiting for me before the garage door is even half-way up. They are standing at the door waiting for me to exit my car. Once I get in the house they smother me with kisses and hugs. I absolutely love it. It truly makes my hard work each day and time away from home worth it! Speaking of kisses, Hunter had a Cub Scout Pack Meeting last night and I arrived a little later. After I got there, he came and sat on my lap. I gave him a big kiss on the check and he said "Dad, that is so embarassing!" I was a little shocked, but I knew there would come a time when he would get too old for kisses in public. When we got home that night, Hunter told me that I could kiss him in private but not in public. Oh, the boys are growing up! Stacey is still fully pregnant. We went to the hospital on Monday night because we thought the baby was coming. But her cervix was still hard and she was 'maybe' dialated to a 1. The nurse sent us home with a sleeping bill, which knocked Stacey out hard. We thought the baby was coming, because Stacey was having contractions every 3 minutes. She went to the doctor on Tuesday and they scheduled her to be induced on Saturday night at 8 pm. So, by Sunday morning we should have a new addition to the family!!

Day 1

So, 2008 has begun and the family is all sick. Stacey probably moreso then anyone because of the protruding anamoly in her stomach. But that is just temporary and by February 3rd (at the latest) the baby will be here. Stacey is convinced it will be here in a few days if not by next week at the latest. Anyway, Ryan is sick and sniffly, Daddy is sick and sniffly, and Hunter is sick and sniffly. But we will make it through it. So, I have this plan that I will write in my 'journal' this coming year, and hopefully this will be my 'journal.' I have never been good at writing in a journal so we shall see how this lasts. The night before last, Hunter, Ryan and I did an AB Ripper X workout from a DVD. Hunter really worked hard at it. Anyway, I started feeling the effects of it last night as I was climbing into bed. About 2:30 in the morning, Hunter came into our room writhing in pain and complaining about his stomach. He wasn't feeling sick but he was sore from the workout. Stacey had to rub his stomach and get a hot pad for him. He finally fell asleep and had no other effects in the morning. Crazy kid. When I got home from work last night, Hunter told me that he got in trouble at school. I asked him what happened. He explained to me that there was a girl at school named Erica that has always been very mean to him. She is always saying mean things to him and yesterday she call him an idiot. Hunter responded "I am glad that my sister is not going to be like you...she will be like me." This made the girl cry which led to both her and Hunter getting into trouble. I couldn't help but laugh at his response, but it really hit its mark. Well, that closes the first entry of this journal. Let's see if we can get more!

Baseball is back

The defending World Series champion Cardinals reported to Spring Training in Jupiter, Fla., today to kick off the 2007 season. The first pitchers-and-catchers workout is set for Thursday. Remaining players report on Monday, with the first full-squad workout set for Tuesday. Of course, many other teams are reporting to Spring Training this week, but why focus on anything else but the Cardinals.

The Cards are looking to repeat as World Series Champions which hasn't been accomplished for time. It's been even longer since anyone won back-to-back National League pennants -- the last to do so was the Braves in 1995-96. Simply reaching the postseason would make seven times in eight years for that feat, and the first time in franchise history to go to the playoffs four straight seasons.

So there's plenty on the line when the Cards report to Roger Dean Stadium on Florida's southeast coast. They're starting early, because the regular season starts early for them. The Cardinals and Mets begin the 2007 season on Sunday, April 1, a day earlier than most teams. Therefore, the Cards will report and begin working out earlier than most.

The Cards begin exhibition spring games on February 26th.

August 31st Trade Deadline

Have you ever been confused about the July and August trade deadlines in Major League Baseball. Here is an article I pulled off MLB.com that discusses the waiver wire August trades.

Here is a look at how a trade can be completed via the waiver wire process after July 31:

In most instances, teams place a large number of their players on waivers and still never follow through with a trade. But through this process, they can at least gauge interest and see if there are sensible and available trade options that would allow them to fill a present need or relieve themselves of a high-salaried player. With the passing of Monday's trade deadline, all teams must now pass players through waivers before trading them. Beginning Tuesday, all teams were permitted to place as many as seven players per day on the waiver wire. Thus by Friday, many teams will have already put members of their 25-man roster on waivers. Multiple teams can claim a player who has been placed on waivers. If two teams were to claim a specific player, the lower-ranking team according to winning percentage (whether it be an American or National League team), is given rights to that player for 48 hours.
For example: If the Astros and Red Sox were to both put a claim on Andruw Jones, the Astros would have that 48-hour period to discuss a trade with the Braves. If nothing materialized, Jones would remain with the Braves.

All players remain on the waiver wire for two full business days. If they are never claimed, they can be traded at any point, to any team for the remainder of the season. But to be eligible for the postseason, a player must be traded by Aug. 31. If a player is claimed by a team and a deal never materializes, a team will not likely place them back on waivers. When they initially place a player on waivers, a team has the right to pull them back at any time. But when a player is placed on waivers a second time, the claim is irrevocable. Thus any claiming team owns the rights and a trade must be completed.

Peter Gammons is a Genius

Legendary sportswriter and ESPN broadcast journalist Peter Gammons transferred his journalistic acumen from the sports page to the musical charts July 4 with the release of his debut album, Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old. In his first foray as a recording artist, Gammons utilizes the talents of music and baseball friends to present an assorted compilation of classic blues and rock ‘n’ roll covers, as well as his own “She Fell From Heaven.”

Special guests on the album include Red Sox players Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Trot Nixon and Gabe Kapler, Sox play-by-play announcer Don Orsillo, acoustic guitar and vocals by Cincinnati Reds pitcher Bronson Arroyo and Red Sox pitcher Lenny DiNardo, as well as vocals by Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield. Additionally, Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein makes a special guest appearance playing electric guitar.

“I was flabbergasted when I was asked to undertake this project,” said Gammons. “Life is good when one can continue with a lifelong philosophy that you can only be young once but you can always be immature, while being able to turn that into the avocation of helping the underprivileged. Warren Zevon would smile if he knew he contributed to Paul and Theo Epstein's Foundation To Be Named Later."

I don’t think that I will rush out and buy this album unless I find out that Gammons is doing an in-depth analysis of the St. Louis Cardinals while playing a Metallica cover. Of course, we are all thinking of Gammons and pushing for his full recovery after his brain aneurysm. The man is a genius and perhaps he is a lyrical genius. If anyone has heard his album please let me know what you think of it.

ALL-STAR GAME MEANS NOTHING

Bud Selig has done a few good things for baseball, but he has done some strange things also. Among those strange things (as most baseball enthusiasts would agree) is deciding that the winner of All-Star game will determine what league has home field advantage. Of course, the AL loves this because they are winning all the All-Star games. But the way the game is currently setup does not provide a real game situation. If the game truly meant something then starting pitchers should go 6 or 7 innings, and position players should play most of the game (except for A-Rod, he can sit after the first inning because he won’t do anything anyway). Players should be substituted in a manner reflecting a real game. But the All-Star game is not a real game -- it is an exhibition that allows fans to see some of baseballs greatest players. I do sympathize with Bud in the fact that many players see it as a time to rest mid-season and get ready for the second-half, so if the game didn’t mean anything then more and more players would decline. If players truly loved the fans and the game, then they would show up to the game no matter what. And what is wrong with the team having the best record in the Majors have home field advantage? Is that because the NBA does it and Bud doesn’t want to be like the NBA. I am getting way off track here, but the main point is that Bud needs to end the All-Star game ‘meaning something.’ Let the players and the fans have fun and enjoy the game or make the managers manage the game in a ‘real’ fashion. That would be a classic Bud decision - - perhaps next year he will institute the rule that the NL gets a two run lead so they have a chance to win the All-Star game.