1. Toy Scalpers...You know them. They're the ass-monkeys that wait outside Target and Toys'r'us at 3 in the morning, buy 3 Nintendo Wii's for $250 ea and then turn around and put them all up on eBay for $500 ea. Each year its a different toy, but its the same situation....You people are assholes and you just make it harder for parents to get their kids something nice for the holidays. KNOCK IT OFF!

2. People who pay grossly inflated prices for toys from the above mentioned asshole toy scalpers. Not only are you perpetuating the problem and feeding into the machine, you're also a flaming moron. Why in God's name would you pay 200% over the retail price for something when all you have to do is wait a month and just buy it for regular price? Are you really that afraid of your child's reaction to not receiving the toy on Christmas day? Suck it up and face up to the fact that it is insane to do this over a TOY! I wanted to get my daughter a TMX Elmo last year. I looked around to see if I could pick one up, but alas they were sold out wherever we went. I really wasn't interested in getting up at 3 AM to fight the crowd at Toys'r'us to MAYBE get one. I waited until after Christmas and bought one on sale for $30. I'm glad I waited because as much as she liked it at first...she hasn't played with it in a few months.

3. The PC idiots that have taken all the Christmas out of Christmas. Can't wish anyone "Merry Christmas" any more...have to say "Happy Holidays". Can't sing even semi-religious Christmas carols in school recitals anymore...might be offensive. How is beautiful music offensive? Just because someone is singing "Holy Night" doesn't mean they're trying to convert you. We can barely have Santa anymore, though I think that they're working on getting rid of him as well. I ask you this...why can't we appreciate other religions? Why do we all find any religion but our own so offensive? Why do we all feel so threatened that we have to keep everything so white-washed and non-offensive? I swear, people hear the word "religion" and they freak out! Come on! Live a little, people! There's a big world out there and there are a lot of different people in it.

4. The fundamentalist idiots that want to shove Jesus down my throat every year. Do you really believe that Jesus, if he were alive today, would want us celebrating his birth by standing on a street corner yelling at passers by about how great he is? NO!!! He would want you to celebrate him by following his path. Feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, tend to the sick...you know...be a good person and give a little of yourself. Spend time with your family and reflect on the gifts you have been given and how you can share them with the rest of the world. DUH! Oh, and by the way, Christmas and many of it's associated traditions have their roots in pagan rituals. These were adopted by the early church as a way to attract more followers.

5. People that treat retail workers (and us regular people) like shit. There isn't much to say here. It's true that there are people that treat retail workers like shit year round, but during the holidays they really seem to turn it up a notch and then other people get in on it as well. I worked in a grocery store for 10 years. During those 10 years I didn't enjoy any of the holidays...not ONE! I was known as the "Christmas Ogre" and it was a moniker that I truly deserved. All of it because people somehow feel that it's ok to step on the people ringing up their groceries or stocking the shelves with the current toy dujour. Get over yourselves and live in the real world with the rest of us. I swear I'm going to kick the next person who doesn't say "thank you" when Erin (my 8+mos. pregnant wife) holds a door open for them.

I think Sophia has started her own cult at school. A few weeks ago we were told that one of her little friends, Julia, had named her new baby doll Sophia. We laughed it away, not realizing what was occurring under our very noses.

This morning we were informed by the father of one of her other friends, Jaden, that she had declared last night that her middle name was no longer Shea...it would henceforth be Sophia. This is the same child that has to run up and give Sophia hugs and kisses every time we get there in the morning.

Now I'm not one to be an alarmist...but I can't deny the trend that is occurring here. I'm a little concerned that next week we're going to go to pick her up just to be told that one of the other children decided to offer up their teddy bear as a blood sacrifice in honor of my kid.



I'm sorry, but being the parent of a cult leader isn't something that I'm prepared for.

That one wasn't in the manual.

Erin and I went for another ultrasound to check up on our little Molly bean.



For more of the latest pictures click here.

More to follow...

- Jeremy

Yesterday was a very long day for our little Sophia. The end result being that Erin and I are two very very proud parents.

Being that she just turned 2 years old she needed to have a blood screening done for lead exposure. Now, I'll be the first to admit that I have never liked getting blood work done, so the idea of taking my precious little Sophia to get stuck with a needle was not a pleasant one. Erin and I got to the lab with Sophia and waited about 20 minutes until they called us back. Erin held her in her lap and I braced her arm. The lab tech was wonderful. She was as gentle as possible, but more importantly, she was quick. To make a long story short we've got the bravest little girl. She whimpered a bit when the needle went in, but NO TEARS. Not one. Erin and I were so proud of her.

After Sophia got up from her nap we had another big surprise for her. We went to get her big girl bed. Sophia was so excited when she walked into her room and saw her new bed. Thanks to my brother-in-law, Johnny and my father-in-law for helping me get it set up. Here's the amazing thing...when it came around to bed time we tucked her into her new bed and she just curled up and went to sleep. We didn't hear a peep out of her until this morning.

She growing up. It's amazing to look at her now. She is getting so tall (almost 3 feet) and she's lost all of her baby fat. Her hair is getting longer all the time and she is so good with her manners (she says please and thank you with out prompting most of the time).

There's a snow storm coming today...it's started already. We're going to stay home in our PJ's today. It's nice to have family time. Pretty soon things are going to get crazy again once Molly gets here. You know what? I can't wait for that either.

- Jeremy

My good friend Andy Mac is a musician down in Brooklyn, NY. Check him out here: http://www.myspace.com/andymac.

He did an interview recently for IN IT magazine and they used one of the photos that I shot for Andy's last album...
http://www.initmag.com/?p=6



...I even got a byline that links to my SmugMug site! That's just f'ing awesome beyond words.

Check out more photos of Andy at the links below...

http://519photo.smugmug.com/gallery/646415#49126512
--
http://519photo.smugmug.com/gallery/1935766#98097921

I would encourage anyone to check out Andy's music. He is a truly generous and talented artist and I can safely say that it is an honor to be among his friends.

Thanks, Andy!

Hope everyone is ready for Christmas

- Jeremy