In fact, Michelle and I lived off all the “likes” and comments we received for the eleven videos we made. They always inspired us to do a little more and do it a little better. Over the months of April and May, there has been no end to the new tales and adventures we wanted to share. Which was part of the problem. So much has been going on at the home front that Michelle and I lost time to reflect and share it all in blog and video format.

We are hoping to change that soon. At least on the blog front. The videos I shoot for Headaches & Euphoria may remain on hold for a while longer for three reasons: time, time, and time.

That’s all the same reason, you say? Let me explain.

For a typical five-minute video, I draft an outline or brief script of the points to cover. That can take up to two hours with rewrites. I record about an hour’s worth of footage over one or two days, one on the weekend and another sometime later in the week. Setting up, breaking down, and rehearsing for a shoot probably totals another hour. I would say only twenty minutes of the footage is meat and potatoes. The rest is retakes over parts we bumbled, were interrupted during, or turned out unclear. Combing through that hour’s worth of video for the golden nuggets from which to piece together a cohesive whole usually takes around twelve to fourteen hours. Split up over a week’s worth of free time, making a five-minute video requires about three hours a day over six days.

That’s a downright terrible turnaround time. And it leaves me only one day of respite before having to do it all over again.

The time spent making videos was not a problem from January through March. That cold, seemingly endless winter left us with nothing else to do in our free time. Making videos also brought a rush of creativity flowing through my veins—an exhilarating feeling I had not felt in a long time. It was my new passion. An artistic passion that became possible only by following the thirteen rules of the Cult of Done Manifesto.

If you are unfamiliar with the manifesto, the core ethos is to get things done without being held back by quality. Those thirteen rules helped me stay focused when the uptight perfectionist that lords over most of my creative endeavors tried to keep me from posting anything below Academy Award winning quality. I’ve let that heavy leash constrict me for far too long.

As the days grew longer—with spring playfully teasing us alongside winter in April and May—there was suddenly so much more to get done. School projects like habitat dioramas and dragon-themed math games needed creating. Activities like cub scout events, soccer games, and library outings needed attending. TV shows like Game of Thrones, Hannibal, and Bates Motel needed watching. Books had to be read. Yankee tickets had to be redeemed. Birthdays and mothers had to be celebrated. Lawns to mow, offices to design, sisters to move, burnt homes to rebuild, skulls to excavate, stories to write, and insect infestations to contain. I could mention a few more, but I’ve whet your appetite enough with a cornucopia of possible story crumbs.

As I alluded to earlier, these stories will be shared in due time, mostly in written form by Michelle at blogfairy.jaycortes.com or in my blog here. I plan to rekindle the Headaches & Euphoria videos, but I need to find a way to trim the fat off of my editing time first. Maybe I’ll do one every other week. Maybe once a month. Maybe they just need to be shorter. Or better planned out. I’ll experiment to see what works.

For now, I want to briefly touch on one area I didn’t mention in the list of “things that needed doing” over the last two months. Earlier this year, Michelle and I had grown concerned about Nickolas’ lack of speech development. At two-and-a-half, he spoke less words than Jacob did at one. We kept pushing off the concern as just different children having different development times, but finally broke down and got him screened just to be sure.

One of the best decisions we ever made.

Turns out Nickolas had a slew of developmental issues and was easily accepted into New York State’s Early Intervention Program. The program provides many services, such as speech therapy, to children under three. Four days a week, a different person came to our house to help Nickolas with speaking, eating, touching, and behavior during one-hour sessions. On Saturdays, he also went to a play group with other Early Intervention children to help him improve his interaction with others. He has been at it nonstop for two months, and I’m excited to say, the improvement has been enormous.

It took some time, but through the program, Michelle and I uncovered two possible causes for most of Nickolas’ development issues: poor sight and poor hearing. He has a lazy left eye, astigmatism in both eyes, is farsighted, and has excessive water buildup in both ears—which causes him to have many ear infections and hear as if he is underwater. Wearing glasses and spending half his waking hours with an eye patch on should correct his vision problems. Surgery to place tubes in both ears should correct his vision problems. I say “should” because both solutions are being put into place this week. Cross your fingers.

Michelle will be covering that in more detail on her blog, but I wanted to mention it here too. She has worked so hard with Nickolas since the Early Intervention Program started in April. She has always worked hard for the boys, but Michelle has been in overdrive for a while now. I’m so happy and lucky to have her in my life, watching out for me and the boys.

Michelle is a key contributor and motivator for me in Headaches & Euphoria as well. That’s another reason the videos are on hold for a bit. She needs what free time she gets to recharge too, and I couldn’t do them without her.

The post Where Have All the Videos Gone? appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

On this week’s episode of Headaches & Euphoria, Jay and Michelle explain how the “Shake Your Booty Booty Boo” song sprung into existence. All due to a difficult to burp baby who suffered from an undiscovered milk allergy.

Enjoy hearing our family antics? Michelle shares those at:
http://blogfairy.jaycortes.com

The post Shake Your Booty Booty Boo appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

Jay and Michelle reveal three of Jacob’s most terrifying fears. Creepy voices, old ladies, and the grossly obese literally keep this boy awake at night!

Discover the shows and movies referenced for yourself at:
http://www.disney.com/tangled
http://www.disney.com/cars2
http://www.tlc.com/my-600-lb-life
http://www.tlc.com/cakeboss

The post Brave Boy’s Fear appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

In this episode of Headaches & Euphoria, Jay and Michelle team up again to cover the hows and whys of Jacob’s trip to the emergency room when he split his head open.

Want to read more about our family from the Blog Fairy?
http://blogfairy.jaycortes.com

As an added bonus, below are some photos and an interview that expand on the “Head Bonk” video above. Don’t miss Jacob’s own words of what happened. Enjoy!

The post Head Bonk appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

Jay and Michelle continue the tale of Nickolas’ birth, touching on the chaotic moments in the delivery room and their long wait to finally hold their baby.

Michelle now blogs our family stories at:
http://blogfairy.jaycortes.com

The post Speedy Delivery, Part 2 appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

In a story too big for one video, Jay and Michelle start the tale of Nickolas’ lightning delivery with their bewildering trek to the Valley Hospital maternity ward. They will finish the tale with the details of his actual birth in the next video.

Michelle now blogs our family stories at:
http://blogfairy.jaycortes.com

The post Speedy Delivery, Part 1 appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

Jay Cortés relives the moment of a finger pinching accident in a car window that proved to be more traumatic in fatherly guilt than it was in physical harm.

The post Bitten by the Window appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

In part two of this special week at Headaches & Euphoria, two-year-old Nickolas Cortés offers some concise answers to the many questions posed to him.

The post Joys and Tears at Two appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

In part one of this special week at Headaches & Euphoria, Jacob Cortés answers dozens of questions to give us a unique snapshot of how his six-year-old mind perceives the world.

The post Life and Thoughts at Six appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.

Jay Cortés recounts how a terrible finger bite from his son, Jacob, inspired his “punch you in the face” style of child-rearing and discipline.

The post Punch Box appeared first on JAYCORTÉS.com.