Liam’s Life

Yes, yes it’s true. It’s been two weeks since the last post. I’ve received several complaints. Strangely, I’ve received zero donations.

With that said here are some key items of note in Liam’s recent life (does he have a non-recent life? It’s been only six months).

-Halloween has come and gone. Liam made for a pretty solid spider. Well done to SulliMom for finding the costume and finding the deal (through Pottery Barn Kids, I believe). Sadly our residence received just three trick-or-treaters. Not so sadly, a plethora of candy was then left for me.

Liam promoting pumpkins

Spider TIme

Mmmm spider legs

-First haircut. I’ll admit it–it was time. Despite my public proclamations supporting the preservation of Liam’s mullet, it had become out of control and unacceptable. Check out the video of the big event. You’ll notice that it didn’t phase Liam–mostly because there was a mirror in front of him. I think he gets that from his father–Grandma Sully, can you confirm that?

-Tooth Time. Erupting through the bottom gum in the front, a tooth has officially become present. Congrats to Liam. The official blog photographer was unable to capture this event in real time. Sorry for the inconvenience.

-Blog stalker. There is a fan of the SulliDad blog residing in Indianapolis who finally gets her day in lights, er, html code. Steph (and Christine) it was fun to see you–and thanks!

Steph with Liam, without pizza sauce at Giordano's

-Retirement Party. A great person recently retired as teacher and coach from Bishop McNamara High School–Ken Klipp. Coach Klipp mentored me during my prep years (yes, it was Class A) and his words echo in my mind to this day. He was a damn good coach only to be surpassed by his success as a human. I wish him only the best.

-Liam and the Exersaucer. Liam loves his play center. But he likes chewing on items even more, including the camera…

-Guest Blogger. From the many calls and e-mails spewing disappointment from my lack of blogging, one of the more expected came from my own wife’s father. The accused offered to guest blog and now it’s time for Mr. Stearns to put his laptop where his mouth is and craft some english. This goes for anyone who may be interested. As you can see, I could use the help. Send your entries to sullidadchicago@gmail.com.

School Pride Goes Global For U.S. World Cup Team Defender

Many who know me realize that I possess a significant amount of school pride for my collegiate alma mater, UIC.

This is also true for my secondary institution, Bishop McNamara. (Okay, and St. Martin of Tours for grammar school)

But I digress.

Working at UIC, points of pride come across my desk all the time. Students earning an internship or job offer after a letter of recommendation, teams winning titles, GPA’s soaring, personal bests being surpassed, etc. I’m on a campus committee for a special faculty/staff award and at our meeting today the depth of nominees discussed made me proud to be a member of the UIC community.

But there’s something especially cool about the announcement from U.S. Soccer today that confirmed that Jay DeMerit is one of the 23 men who will represent our country in the FIFA World Cup. (He’s also feeling the heat from the British tabloids for talking about the American’s upcoming tournament opener with England) Jay played at UIC while I was running for the Flames. His journey to the top of the soccer world is an epic and tantalizing novel. (Take a moment and read about it; very cool story) We remain in touch and although we’re not close, I simply feel proud of and impressed by his accomplishments. Our friend Pete Vina is traveling to Philadelphia to help send-off Sam’s Army and man it would be sweet to join him there, not to mention to be in South Africa for the event.

I look forward to visiting the T-Shirt Deli and picking up a customized USA, #15 onesie for Liam. I want the pride to rub off on the little guy. Plus, I’d like the lesson of perseverance to be learned early. Jay’s story defines that pretty well.

April Madness On Demand – Awesome

SulliDad and K3-SulliGrandpa Game Two of 2005 World Series. We'll forge more awesome memories Saturday.

Classifying a chance to attend a Final Four awesome might be an understatement.

So, the fact that SulliMom and Dad are going to be inside Lucas Oil Stadium come Saturday evening is, let’s say, awesome-squared. We’re officially on the Road to the Final Four.

Thanks to former Butler hurler and fellow Bishop McNamara graduate Eric Yates—and to Vagina Doctor #37 for providing approval—we are on our way.

It wasn’t cheap. But we decided that for the rest of our lives we’d be spending on kids first so this might be the grand finale for us. I can check off Final Four on my bucket list and Molly will get to see something she probably didn’t think she’d ever see.

How could we not go?

In 2005, the White Sox advanced to the World Series and I was fortunate enough to purchase tickets thanks to a gentleman who knew how much it meant to me. To this day, attending Game Two of the World Series with my Dad is a Sulli-Top-Five Moment. This has to compare for Molly.

This will be something we’ll never forget and through photographic evidence we’ll be able to tell our child that they were there, too. I think participating in memorable activities with our soon-to-be growing family is something to which I really look forward.

This little trip also gives us a chance to spend the evening in BEARbonnais with K3-SulliGrandma and SulliAunt Kelly and attend mass at St. Pat’s on Easter Sunday before a trek to St. Charles to hang will SulliMom’s family.

All of these travels come on the heels of Molly’s Baby Shower Saturday in Elgin. I mean, bring your umbrellas—it’s a shower!

This decision also has bearing on Push Gift status. I will say it again—SulliMom has not pressured or requested said gift. But, this trip now becomes the inaugural Push Gift. And speaking of Push Gift, it is amazing how divided people are on knowledge of this tradition. It seems like it is 50/50 whether people have heard of the term Push Gift.

Just for poops and laughter, provide us with what you would like Molly’s pregnant belly to be inscribed with for the national television audience. (Disclaimer: SulliMom, I’m pretty sure, wouldn’t take part in such activity) I would put something on my chest, but I’m deceptively hairy in that region thus rendering any expression worthless. Reply below. Okay, I’ll start:

Bellys For Bulldogs
Breeding Ground
My Kid Looks Older Than Our Coach (Yes, I agree, that storyline is getting old)

Your School Lunch Menus

After reading the reports on Chicago Public Schools students arguing for healthier lunch menus, it brought me back to my grammar and prep lunch experiences while trying to predict what edible items may find their way onto SulliChild’s menu in the future.

At good ‘ol St. Martin of Tours in Kankakee our cafeteria wasn’t really efficient. Most of the time the lights were out, there were no “lunch ladies” and food generally wasn’t served. But, if I recall correctly, we usually had one special day each week. (Help me out here fellow SMT grads)

For example, Arby’s Day or Pizza Day or Taco Day. Despite my picky diet, I sampled that fare pretty often.

In high school at Bishop Mac the highlight of the menu was the Chicken Fritter Dinner. This was a case where the product lived up to the hype. Here I was introduced to the “Lunch Lady” and the women who staffed the Mac cafeteria were outstanding. We were very lucky.

To top it off, there were really solid chocolate chip cookies and the pop machine offered the finest in carbonation, the elusive Squirt. Inhaling Chewy Spree also rings a bell.

Now, after years of parents lobbying for a healthier lunch menu the kids are getting into the act. I guess that’s good, but you have to be a kid. Will SulliChild be saddled with hummus, soy milk and goat cheese?

Time will tell.