“Well, if we can’t figure this out, there really is no reason for me to stay.”

‘Hold on, this is the first time you’ve even talked with me.’

“Like that matters? You should have known I was feeling this for a long time. My eyes told you constantly.”

As I already mentioned, I play World of Warcraft.

This past week I hit level 70.

That means I spent a lot of time searching for yellow exclamation points, casting spells, then searching for yellow question marks.

It took me longer than some of the more hardcore players in my guild, but I did it.

Kaden sat in my lap staring at my Shadow Priest.

Kaden has already made significant changes in our household.

The Girls ™ have already begun trying to gain an ally in their never ending battle against one another. Kaden just coos and is oblivious to their deviance (yet very aware of their continued affection and attention).

The biggest change I have noticed personally is my inability to train my brain around the idea that he is a boy.

More than once I have already made mention of him being ‘the cutest little girl’ or ‘go see if she needs something’.

I’m sure it will just take a bit of time before I can separate the boy/girl lingo correctly, but I am trying.

Pictures sometimes say enough.

Kaden Paul Vannatter, born January 26, 2007 at 2:49 PM EST. 8 lbs 9 oz, 21 inches in length.

My kids are completely different and it’s an amazing experience.

Alise is quiet, contemplative and introverted enough to where she is often overly sensitive to my reactions. More than once a stern glare or raised voice has made her little bottom lip quiver and her big cow eyes fill with tears. She is in a constant battle to win our affection and praise even though she has it regardless. The perfect little angel since she was born and I couldn’t ask for a more blessed situation.

Enter Keylie – the Cain to Alise’s Abel.

She strides herself on being mischievous and has evolved into a grand master of it. She uses her perceived innocence and small stature to get what she wants, when she wants it – no matter how hard I try to resist her charms. Her rebellion is based entirely in solidifying her polarity to her older sister – the yang to her ying.

I don’t even watch television anymore; when I need entertainment I just spark a discussion between the two of them.

I can’t wait to see what Kaden changes about this balancing act.

“Can we get a little one? I want to name it Flower!”

But we aren’t standing at a pet store or heading to the humane society – we’re huddled on the couch popping in Nintendogs on my DS Lite (which coincidentally has more or less become their DS Lite).

I load the game and realize my two kids have been feeding, walking, shopping and training five different dogs amassing almost three thousand Nintendollars (or whatever they call it in-game) and mastering this game that was kidnapped by them at Christmas.

‘How about we go play with Tyler, your real dog?’

“Aww, alright – but he smells bad”.

I’m not exactly sure when it happened, but I just recently noticed it.

Occasionally in the past, someone would address me as “Mr.”, usually in line for fast food. I laughed it off as part of their training.

But recently I have received an alarming amount of “Mr.” comments and frankly it’s freaking me out.

I’m not afraid to cross over, but I don’t feel like it’s my time yet. I still have some shenanigans left in me!

First things first, I am an admitted WoWaholic.

I will not deny my obsession with this game. Simply put, it’s a fun distraction. I enjoy the design, the aesthetics, the never ending content.

Sena would say less positive things about it, I’m sure. At times you can lose track of time, and I guess that’s a problem. But overall, its harmless fun for $15 dollars a month.

This month marked the release of Blizzard’s new WoW expansion, The Burning Crusade. Yes, I preordered it. Yes, I planned on showing up at midnight to pick up my copy (I fell asleep, so that plan failed, but nonetheless).

I may from time to time make comments regarding WoW, so please excuse my occasional slips into geekdom. I promise to tag these entries appropriately to save you intellectual types.

Oh and in case you were wondering, the Horde sucks.

It has been about four years since I wrote anything directed at you, the uninterested, insatiable Internet consumer.

Like everyone, my life has moved at an uncontrollable often unrelenting pace toward a finale I can never seem to get the script for.

That’s not to say the past four years haven’t been amazing; just amazingly hard to control.

My family has grown. Not just in age (Alise is seven now, Keylie is four) but as well as size: our son, Kaden, is due at the end of January.

Sena has gone from dedicated housewife to full-time nurse. I’ve gone from full-time creator to dedicated slacker.

As you can see, I’ve been able to find a handful of old entries from my ‘web days’ that I’ve back-dated accordingly. I have to laugh at the emotional and obscure sentiment in so many of those posts.

Enjoy your stay and excuse the melodrama.

more than a year has passed since i wrote anything worthwhile. so much has happened in that time, but i wont try to recap it all here.

alise is 4 now, bigger and brighter. keylie turned one, and is now upright and has found the new attitude that goes along with such changes.

sena turned 25 yesterday, and ill be 26 next month. i’m really happy here, and hope to stay indefinitely. all that in one year. maybe ill just update this thing annually; but i wont make any promises.