Summer's End

It's Friday so take a moment and give some love to Dad Blogs on another Fatherhood Friday.


I am so ready for August to be over. It's been a whirl wind month. After vacation one would expect things to slow down but it seems that they are only ramping up.

Being very family oriented is amazing but sometimes it can prove to be exhausting. We spent the past weekend at 2 family reunions and celebrating 3 birthdays. The Superman(tm) that I am, I spent Friday baking and frosting 2 cakes and 1 dozen cupcakes, as well as chopping veggies, meat, and cheese for 2 pasta salads. I was up til after 12(on a Friday I know...shocking).

Fortunately Number 1 wasn't in school because I really needed his assistance watching Squirt(of which he is fantastic! He even took him to the bathroom this afternoon for me while I was with the phone repair man trying to figure out why we weren't getting a signal).

Now school has started...it's just me and Squirt. I'm not gonna lie, it was nice doing the grocery shopping in less than an hour and not being asked to pick up this or that...I have a list, we stick to the list. but I'm also not gonna lie, I'm gonna miss our weekly doughnuts. It was something that I won't do for myself but it seemed to appease him on a boring trip to the grocery store. I'm gonna miss the look he always gave me when he wondered how all of the people at the store knew me. And then his acceptance of said fact and joining in on the relationships.

He was excited to be back at school with his friends and not stuck in the house with boring old dad. I was excited because I knew the house was going to be quiet. I still have Squirt but he's gotten really great at playing and keeping himself entertained(a post in itself). We both had a great day and are looking forward to the school year.

We didn't do much out of the ordinary, but we spent the summer together.

In other news, Squirt's playdate partner, Shyguy, has a new baby sister so congratulations to the neighbors! She's adorable :D

It seems like forever...time to get random!

Wow, I think it's been over 2 weeks since I've written anything. What can I say, life got in the way.

Last time I wrote it was about Squirt getting mutilated. I was gonna write about abandoning them 2 weeks ago...but I was having too much fun :D. It was my annual guys weekend out and my best friend, myself, and a mutual friend were in Chicago getting our geek on.
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From there we bid farewell to our mutual friend and my best friend and myself drove from Chicago to South Carolina(ok...technically he drove, it's not my fault he drives a stick) to meet up with my family for a week of vacation(his wife flew in on Tuesday). We had a great week.
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Number 1 finally got into the ocean past ankle deep! He was out jumping in the waves and we all had a blast.
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Squirt is the toddler without fear. Not only did he take off and swim like crazy in the pool(with floaties, but we were so used to Number 1 being so clingy at that stage it took us by surprise) but he also went way into the ocean. He kept wanting us to let him go so he could swim(he wasn't wearing floaties and we had no intention of putting them on him)! In his words "I like lotion!"
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The missus and myself are now addicted to Food Network...thanks best friend...
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Fall is my absolute favorite season! I can't wait for summer to be over. Apparently neither can the grocery store. I noticed in this weeks ad they had pumpkin drop cookies at the bakery. I walked in and was strong. I walked right past them(they were conveniently sitting on a table immediately as you walked into the door). As I got closer to the bakery section all I could smell was pumpkin spice, they had a wine display and the label was covered in autumn leaves...I made a u-turn and picked up the cookies...they made me do it!!! I swear!!!
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It's Fatherhood Friday so head on over to Dad Blogs and see what's going down.

I don't know what to say

Seriously, I've been trying to think all day about what to write. I've had a great week. I was depressed last week so this week has been awesome. But there was one down point, and it came about 10 hours later than it should have.

Squirt woke up crying about 3 times Monday night. This is rare because he sleeps like a champ.

He fell out of bed around 9:00 that night and I went up ans calmed him and put him back down. He was up at 12:30, 3:00, and 5:00. Which meant I was up as well(otherwise how else would I know what time it was???)

When he woke up and I went to get him on Tuesday morning, I saw the error of my ways.

My son looks like the Phantom of the Opera. I guess if I would have turned the lights on when I put him back in bed after falling, I would have noticed the nasty rug burn on his nose and upper lip(and I noticed later, on his forehead).

As my brother in law pointed out, father of the year I am not

Happy Fatherhood Friday! Check out what's going on over at Dad-Blogs on this fine Friday.

The Terrible Two's Have Entered My House...

and I'm about to beat the snot out of them!

I don't know what the worst part is...ok I'm lying I know exactly what the worst part is. He's totally indecisive. He'll holler to go potty and stays in the living room, so we go to get him and he shouts "NO POTTY POTTY!" we walk away and he cries "POTTY" and we play this game until I pick him up strip him down and sit his @$$ on the potty(hoping that I don't undo all of the work I did potty training him.) This isn't just relegated to potty, it's used with who's putting him to bed, if he wants water or not, or what toy he may want. Grrrrrr...

It's just as bad at nap/bed time. I try to get him to go potty before I lay him down. The reaction is more screaming and him trying to climb down off the potty. I take him in and lay him down. I don't even get his door closed before I hear "pee come come. POTTY POTTY MORE" At that point it's already too late. speak of the devil...brb

And then comes the clothes in the morning. He only wants to wear his Elmo shirts, of which we have 2. I do laundry on Wednesday, so that means, I have a peaceful Thursday and Friday...don't even ask about the rest of the week.

We didn't EVER have these problems with Number 1 and we didn't really get why everyone kept telling us how good he was and how lucky we were. We didn't do anything, it's just how he was.

Now I get it...I don't want it though, ignorance was bliss...

If you liked what you've read here go check out some of my fellow dad and mom bloggers at Dad-Blogs Go even if you didn't like it because thy're all better than me anyway ;)

You like me, you really like me!

Well, at least Busy-Dad-E does :)



While I was away at my parents house I found out that he awarded me with a Keepsake Blog Award. His youngest(at the moment) and Squirt are about the same age so it's funny how many of our adventures in life at the moment are uncannily similar.

To quote him on the rules of the award:
"The rules of this award state that I have to tell a sweet or funny keepsake that tells something about myself, and to share the love with 10 of my fellow bloggers."

I think I can do that(though he made it a little harder by awarding almost half of my blogroll LOL.

My 10 chosen bloggers in no particular order are:

Andrew's Daddies
Guns 1306
Ciara
Doug
Mr. Man
Howefitz
Apok
Momo Fali
Carol
PJ

All of these bloggers either make me laugh, think, or share common interests. Give them a read, I'm sure you'll find something to like.

As for my keepsake. I've got to go with the birth of Number 1. How can you not feel sweet and sometimes funny about the birth of your first child.

The missus was due on December 15th, 2001. That day came and went. We were at the dr's twice a week and just waiting. I never thought I'd spend Christmas Eve morning at the dr's office. It was snowing and the roads were tricky and slick. I tried to induce labor by almost ran into our mailbox while sliding into the drive. That was the worst Christmas ever. The missus was depressed and uncomfortable and the family was crowded into our house because we weren't traveling anywhere.

December 28th came and the dr. decided it was time to induce. We checked in and were in a room by 6:30 pm. They attempted a cervidel insert overnight. That did absolutely nothing. Around 8 o'clock in the morning on the 29th the dr said "Well, we can send you home and try again tonight or we can start pitosin". Go home?!? Are you freaking kidding me?!? We aren't leaving without a baby! We were told they would start the pitosin in a few hours so I should go home and grab a shower and something to eat apparently I smelled and looked hungry.

I got back around 11 and the missus had been on the pitosin for about a half hour. Our family was camped out in the waiting room for what was about to be a very long day. Our boys liked the warmth and comfort mommy provided and didn't want to leave willingly.

Her water broke around 2:30 it's funny how you actually remember the times of these things, but there was something wrong. It was green which meant baby had a bowel movement he's over 2 weeks past due, I'm sure there were more than just one. From that moment the missus was wearing more wires than my entertainment center. Talk about feeling helpless. The most I could do was keep her company and re-wet her washrags when her fever spiked. I was never so grateful as when she agreed to have an epidural she has a Wonder Woman complex and thought it wouldn't be necessary. I was begging her to get one because it was hurting me

She was finally ready to push him out around 10:45 and the next hour and a half flew by at least for me. This was nothing like you see on tv or in the movies where the mom pushes the baby out between floors on an elevator. She had to be exhausted but she didn't let it show.

Finally at 12:32am on Dec 30th(technically our THIRD day in the hospital) Number 1 was born. 12:32 is the time the dr looked at the clock, he was easily out for a few minutes and as much as the missus asked for them to mark the time as 12:30(on 12/30) the dr wouldn't budge. You'd think after all that she just went through 2 minutes would be a small concession...

I was beside myself, now realizing why the dr. made certain that I was eating throughout the day. I was weak, that was the only way to explain it. Physically and emotionally exhausted yet the missus was ready to run a marathon, crazy endorphins.

I was a father. We didn't even know the sex of the baby yet because they took him away to clean him up, and out, so quickly. I thought I caught a glimpse but it was so quick I wasn't sure. The dr. looked over and was like "you do know it's a boy right?" My wife was elated she swore she'd never have any girls, funny how that worked out for her. I was excited, but our family had been anxiously camping outside the door for the entire day and into the night, and technically now morning. I had to tell them, but that meant I had to leave my new family. They waited that long what's a few more minutes. I finally walked out the door to a hallway full of curious and excited faces.

This was the moment that changed my life. Sure we had another baby, 5 years later, but that first moment of realization, that's something that you never forget. The details were a blur then but I now look back on them plain as day.

This is my Keepsake moment. I hope I didn't bore you and promise to be a bit less emotional in my next post as I try not to be the sappy emotional type, it goes against my character. The thing's I'll do for an award....

As always, thanks for stopping by.

What a day!

I know, it's Wednesday, I've not lost my mind(though I'm exhausted so it may feel that way). I was gonna hold off and schedule this post for later in the week but i figured I'd save those of you that do read me a read on Friday(I know I appreciate it when I've already read an FF post from time to time) I, however, will be at my parents house on Thursday and Friday, and their dial-up *gasp* is spotty at best. So even though I'm writing this now please stop by Dad-Blogs and check out everyone else's awesome posts on Friday!

I'm exhausted. It's 6:30 in the morning and I've been up for a half hour, I have a load of laundry going and am about to hit the treadmill. I'm freaking nuts... But I'm here to talk about yesterday.

It all started in the spring, actually. Number 1 did extremely well schlepping Easter candy for his school and ended up winning a free ticket to Cedar Point. The missus and I were excited for him because we all love amusement parks, but concerned as well because he shares in our height deficiency(we can ride everything now, but not so much when we were younger). With another inch and a half he'll be really good, 6 more inches after that and he'll be golden.

So we shipped Squirt off to my folks and the trip begun.

We'd already done our homework and found the biggest things he would be able to ride. A HUGE thank you to parks for putting your height requirements online! We parked and headed straight for the Iron Dragon...and then we rode it again...a total of 5 times that day. I can't complain though because we had a blast and it's one of the missus' favorite rides. If we had to ride something 5 times it could have been a lot worse.

Then we went to the "Giant Wheel", their ferris wheel...sigh. I talked the missus out of it last year but i couldn't say no to Number 1. I've already written of my fear of heights. Apparently he's not as much like me as I thought(and I swear, one of these days I'll get to the chicken story). The thrill rating on this ride is a 2...yeah right I wouldn't call it thrilling, more like terrifying. This is before I see the incompetent guy in the blue hoody running it. He just loaded those people but why is he on the phone? Oh great here comes a guy in a red shirt, what are they looking at, oh well must not be anything big because the ride is moving again, wait, he's on the phone again, people get off and more get on, it must be ok, who's this second guy in a red shirt, now he's running the controls and blue hoody is only loading people, what's that sign say? "Cars may be unloaded in a different order that they were loaded to maintain the balance of the wheel', so I have to trust these yahoos to keep this thing balanced, they're just putting people on now, at first they were skipping cars, OMG we're up next, I'm gonna die. It wasn't horrible and I didn't die and the taunting from my wife and son ended as soon as we got on the thing and we all actually enjoyed the views, but ugh...

After that we hit a few more rides, had luch, rode some more, and more, and more, and more!

It was almost 8 oclock when we left(we'd been there since they opened at 10. We went out for dinner where we all scarfed down our food and went through 2 refills on our drinks. We also paid less at Chili's for our dinner than we did at the Subway on the park for our lunches, sigh, it's to be expected but it still hits you.

Number 1 stumbled to the car and passed the heck out. I called to check up on Squirt, and the missus got us safely home. All in all it was an awesome day!

Today we're gonna see the earliest showing of Harry Potter(1:10pm, how weird is it that that's the earliest showing our theater has??) and then I'm off to the boonies to tile a countertop.

Oh well, I'm off to the treadmill...

Adventures in Potty Training Part Deux:The End

As I sit here wondering what I'm going to write about this week, my muse screams through the monitor, "POTTY POTTY MORE. POTTY POTTY MOOOOOORE!!! WAAAHHHH"

Potty training has gone amazingly well. I really can't complain about much. We only put Squirt into diapers during nap time and overnight. He wakes up wet but not soaked through like he used to so even that is getting better. He wears underwear around the house, and Pullups when we are in public(and he has NEVER had an accident in them). He even poops without problem, and for anyone who's ever potty trained you know what a big deal that is for these poor kids. Number 1 was at least 3 1/2 before he was completely trained. Squirt has only just turned 2 in April.

Now we have to work on stamina. He goes pretty long in the morning but in the afternoon we're in the bathroom every 10-15 minutes. You can really tell when he's gotta go poop. We make multiple unproductive trips. It's like going on a road trip with older people. Instead of driving straight to the destination, they make multiple stops mostly to go to the bathroom so kinda counterproductive to the story getting themselves there slowly. He goes to the potty, works for a while, leaves, goes and works for a while, and leaves, goes back and finally takes care of business. I need to get him past that it really cuts into my internet time.

He's also learning how to cry wolf. As soon as we lay him down for either his afternoon nap or at bedtime he starts crying "potty potty more". We know that he just went so what could he need to do. We've finally just left him in bed shouting it. When we took him he'd just sit there and smile because he knew he was putting one over on us. Not anymore...though...

He now wakes up after sleeping a bit and hollers yet again "potty potty more", though this time we can tell he's just woke up, he has that hazy where the hell am I sound in his voice. The saddest part is when he actually gets out of bed and tries to find the door(which he can't open due to safety doorknob covers). How can we ignore that...so we get up and take him, and God bless him, he's usually still dry and usually goes...however, we put him back down and get the cry wolf treatment again...sigh

I don't know about you, but I'm calling this a success. Oh, and Mom and Dad, take note. Don't let him pull one over on you next week :)

If you have the time head in over to dad-blogs and check out what all the other awesome folks have to say on this Fatherhood Friday.

It's awesome hot!

No, I'm not giving a weather report.

My boys...my poor poor boys.

We'll start with the awesome part of today's program.

For the past few weeks Squirt has been saying that everything is awesome. Number 1 would be playing with his toys and Squirt would say "awesome". We'd be eating some grapes and Squirt would say "awesome". It didn't seem to matter what we had it was awesome.

Stupid us. If we'd only listened closer we'd realize that in Toddler(a language all it's own) awesome(pronounced ah-wah-sum) = "I want some"...sigh

Hot...how do I begin this one...

Number 1 has been enjoying later hours and more primetime tv now that school is out.yeah that's good We were watching tv the other night whatever you do don't tell them that you watch "So You Think You Can Dance". One of the contestants actors came on screen. All of a sudden from the corner of the couch we hear "whoa, she's hot"in his defense she was way hot, Nigel agreed. and her being half naked didn't hurt. I felt my face turn red and clenched my jaw as to not laugh and damage his fragile early forming male ego embarrass him. The missus, finishing up some of her day's work, ducked her head behind her computer her face shaking with silent laughter how poetic. To make this all worse, his inner monologue apparently kicked in because next we hear "I probably shouldn't have said that out loud". From the mouth of a 7 year old...

It' Fatherhood Friday over at Dad-Blogs. Head on over and see what all the other cool guys and gals have to say :)

Celebrating Dad

Just a quick note. NYCity Mama is doing a series on Dad bloggers for Father's Day and I'm one of the bloggers she's featuring in today's entry. There's actually quite a few awesome guys featured that I read on a regular basis so head on over to her site and then be kind and check out some of the awesome blogs featured. Have a great weekend and Happy Father's Day!

Oh $#!@ Happy Father's Day...

It's another week and another Fatherhood Friday over at Dad-Blogs. Head on over and check out some of the awesomeness that goes on week in and week out.

Is it already Father's Day weekend?? I know we all seem to act shocked like, "wow it's Father's Day?" but we know. Don't you ladies think that we don't and you can get away without acknowledging it. Every year when Father's Day comes around I can't help but to laugh and give the missus a hard time about my first Father's Day.

Everybody has these great plans in mind as to what it will be like...let me just tell you, it wasn't like anything I could have ever imagined.

My sister and brother-in-law decided to get married that weekend(and the missus has no problem blaming the entire thing on them). The weddings in our family were kind of crazy marathons. The missus and I got married in her church and we had the reception at a lodge back in my home town. 2 1/2 hours apart from each other. The reception was 6 hours after the wedding to allow everyone travel time. My sister and b-i-l did the same thing except they got married in his church and the reception was at the same lodge. Another 2 1/2 hours apart but in a different direction.

Needless to say we were all exhausted. Sunday(Father's Day) we had another 2 hour drive from my parent's house back to our house. We got home and unpacked and all sat down. Before I knew it I was playing video games while EVERYONE else was sleeping. I took pictures, even the dog was unconscious in front of the couch.

A few hours later the missus woke up and mumbled "Oh $#!@ Happy Father's Day..."

So to all of you ladies out there, on Sunday when you wake up, remember "Oh $#!@ Happy Father's Day..."

Adventures in Potty Training

It's another Fatherhood Friday at dad-blogs.com. After you;re done here head on over and see what's up

I'd forgotten about the hell that is potty training. it's been 5 years since I've been down this road, it's amazing how your mind blocks these things out.

Actually, everything is going fairly smoothly. I use the naked baby approach to pottying, we used it on Number 1 as well, but for some reason Squirt seems to be getting it a bit quicker.

Initially I was tired of the diaper changes, but I don't know whether that was worse than the continuous routine that we have fallen into. The only time Squirt is wearing pants and a diaper is when he is eating(lets face it, nobody wants to be naked at the table), when he's napping, and when we go out into public. My attention on him has to be constant(as if it wasn't before). Thankfully we haven't had any(yup, not one) accidents since day one. A few times he peed on the floor and that was all it took. He pees on the potty like a pro. As long as he's not wearing pants that is... It's like all the rules change when the pants are back on. Pooping is another story all together. But that's always harder when it comes for kids to get used to. It's a traumatic experience. He's never made it to potty for poop. He's gotten to the point now where he'll hold it in. I mean ALL day. He'll go around asking for a diaper. We don't put it on unless it's one of the designated times. But when we do...holy man o man... He's getting better though, he farts on the potty like a pro :D

Here's an example of our potty experience:
1) Squirt gets an "Oh" look
2) Squirt runs to potty
3) duh
4) Squirt finds dad and takes him the potty bucket(yeah I know, constant supervision, blah blah blah)
5) Dad empties bucket into toilet and rinses it out
6) Squirt terrifyingly holds the lid of the toilet, afraid to close it(and I mean death grip)
7) flush)
8) Gotta smell the candle on the back of the toilet(we ALL gotta smell it)
9) Wash hands
10) cheer loudly(well, Squirt still does anyway)
11) Rub his penis on the firewood while slowpoke daddy gets his candy
12) Eat celebratory candy
13) Do it all over again in 10 minutes...seriously, why do I still give this kid fluids?

Lather, Rinse, Repeat...

and I get to do it all over again today :)

Weekly Random

It's Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs. It's hard to believe I've been doing this for 15 weeks. Head on over and check out the cool stuff that everybody else has to talk about.

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I've started potty training Squirt this week. Mornings are decent, afternoons suck, and evenings are his best time. It's a start, and I am glad.

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In 5 days school is out for the summer. I'm not so concerned about having both of my boys at home, but I just know that I'll end up with more at least once or twice a week. And on the days I don't Number 1 will be begging to let it happen. I need to start thinking of chores to keep him busy....

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I really wish Fox would stop promoting Glee twice within each commercial break(I'm exaggerating I'm sure but it sure feels like it) We have all summer until it airs... The first episode was awesome(you can see it on their website).

While I'm on the topic of TV, ABC sucks for canceling Pushing Daisies.

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Months ago I mentioned a fear of chickens and many asked what brought it on. I haven't forgotten I just haven't had the motivation(aka, I've just been lazy) to say how mean my mother was, she's gonna love reading that one :D

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Have a great weekend!!!

Oh, This Is So Me...

I make more noise trying to get my dog to be quiet than he's making in the first place. You just can't whisper "Shut Up!" effectively.

Thanks to www.fbofw.com for allowing the use of their strip.

I just don't understand most women...(duck and cover)

Yeah, I'm already in danger and you've only read the title LOL.

As a guy you always hear, never buy your wife (insert any cleaning/cooking/any other household item here) for (insert any holiday/special occasion here). No matter how badly they need it, never buy it as a gift.

Are you freaking kidding me?!?

As most who read this blog know, I'm the homemaker in our household. I'm the maid, cook, chauffeur, handyman, gardener, spider killer, and butt wiper(except on the weekends, I pass off butts on the weekends :D). All that I wanted for our anniversary was a ScumBuster and a new vacuum.

I can't fathom why you women don't want something that will make your life wicked easier instead of flowers that'll just die in a week. Maybe it's just a guy thing where we love new gadgets, but for me, I love an easier life(I also love flowers, as long as I can plant them in the garden and they don't die within a week).

And for the record, I got my wife an i-pod and video game... I passed on the flowers this year, but I'm usually really good about that as well.

Don't hate me, it's an honest question. I'm all for romantic(and trust me, I got plenty of romantic), but I'm also for making my life easier. Why wouldn't you want the same?


It's Fatherhood Friday over at Dad Blogs. Head on over and show them some love :)

Squirt's blurts

It's another Fatherhood Friday. Check out all of the great posts over at Dad Blogs.

I keep saying it but it seems as if daily Squirt is improving his communication skills. He's learning humor as well(though most of it is him innocently mimicking us)

For starters my parent's dog LOVES to bark and whine. They came to visit last weekend and are usually here for an overnighter so they brought Devin along. As soon as they pulled in the drive we could hear Devin barking from the car. It was warm and our windows were open. Obviously Squirt was staring out the window. All of a sudden we heard "Shup Devin! Shup!" We haven't used the term shut up since Number 1 started repeating it while watching Brother Bear so I have no idea where this came from, but that doesn't mean we weren't laughing our butts off.

He's also grown from hollering Momma to yelling MOMMYYYYY. I think it's hilarious. The Missus, not so much :)

Last night after dinner I was sneaking a hit off of the Cool Whip can and obviously everybody heard me. Squirt looked over at me and made the same sound of the Cool Whip coming from the can(kkkkrrrcht or something along those lines). I swear there was a puddle on the floor under where the Missus was standing.

Also, we have to be getting close to potty training time because yesterday afternoon he came to me and said "Dadda, change pee butt" If he's able to tell me after he's done it, he's able to tell me before he's done it!!!

He Wears Short Shorts

As usual it's Fatherhood Friday at Dad Blogs. Click the link to the right and see what all the great folks over there have to say.


So I was watching Rachel Ray on Wednesday and Kate(of Jon and fame) was on. After feeling bad while watching her squirm through questions about recent events(if you don't know you've never seen Yahoo News lol). Then she started talking about her new line of clothes through Healthtex and Wal Mart(SERIOUSLY??).

I actually understood what she was getting at though when she mentioned wanting to let your kids pick their own clothes out. I've done it, it's not pretty.

I rarely let Number 1 pick out his school clothes, but play clothes I'm fine with. He also dresses himself for gymnastics practice. How hard is it to grab a pair of shorts and a t-shirt? Not hard, if I get the clothes in the right drawers...

One night last fall I took him to practice as normal and all was well. We came home and the missus had dinner ready(she cooks on gymnastics night). She gave Number 1 a look and then she looked at me like he had a second head growing from his neck. I stepped back and took another look and didn't really see anything. She looked at me and started to laugh(nothing I'm not used to, I'm quite familiar with it by now). She asked Number 1 to come closer and she pulled out the back of his shorts and started laughing even harder.

I wasn't quite as on the ball as I should have been when I was putting away the laundry that week. Apparently I put a pair of Squirts(at the time 18 month) shorts in Number 1's drawer(6 years old).

Sure they looked short, but that's why they call them shorts...

bits and bobs...

Ok, I know I said I was taking the day off but the meds are finally kicking in and my mind is working semi properly so I figured I'd give it a go. Total randomness this week so bear with me.

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First off, the reason I'm sick is because I'm a moron. I spent last week remodeling our bedroom and painted all day Friday. The paint fumes irritated my sinuses. The genius that I am then goes outside and cuts some lilac to bring into the house...They're my absolute favorite, but bringing allergens in on top of irritated sinuses = moron. I'm pretty sure it's not swine flu...

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I totally wish that Hot Wheels came with built in GPS units. Squirt has found Number 1's collection and LOVES them. Thus, they are all over the house. Squirt's my cleaning buddy so the fact that I'm tripping all over these cars like the burglars in Home Alone is driving me crazy. I'm finding them in every room in the house. I know the case should be full to overflowing and the fact that there are only 8 cars in it tells me that I need to look a bit harder to find the rest.

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It was my turn to host our playdate this week and Shyguy, Squirt's buddy from across the street, is getting more awesome by the week. When they first started playing together he was really quiet and shy. In the few weeks/months that we've been playing his vocabulary took a major leap. He was talking up a storm for the first time that I've known him this week.

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Since I love to brag here's my awesome bedroom handywork. I not only painted but built/upholstered a new bedframe and headboard.














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It's amazing how much crap I can come up with on a clear head. Now get on over to Dad-Blogs and see what all the other talented folks came up with this week.

Bye Bye Truck!

It's Friday again! Check out Dad-Blogs and see what everybody else has to say.

The missus and I have been noticing this week just how much Squirt's language has become so much clearer. He's especially fond of his hellos and good-byes.

Hello bird, bye bye bird. Hello dog dog, bye bye dog dog. Hello total stranger in the store, bye bye total stranger in the store. But among all of these the most annoying has been bye bye truck.

Last Friday we had 19 yards of mulch delivered(and believe it or not we didn't order enough!!).

It was delivered in a huge dump truck and Squirt was amazed by it. He's recently found Number 1's Hot Wheels and is totally obsessed with cars and trucks. I brought him out to sit on the stoop and watch the mulch be dumped but he still doesn't like loud sounds so he watched from the doorway. Squirt's also my cleaning helper so he's not a fan of messes.

As the truck pulled out of the drive he said "bye bye truck" he then looked at the drive, all covered in mulch and looked at me and said "ooh mess mess".

For this entire week at least 4 or 5 times a day out of the blue we'll hear "bye bye truck, oooh mess mess". he wakes up from his naps saying it, he says it everytime a large vehicle drives down the street, he says it when he poops.

I will have no problem saying bye bye to "bye bye truck, oooh mess mess"

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

Just Go To Bed!!

Number 1 has started a new section in school on learning to tell time. I think this is awesome because when he asks when we are going to leave or when something is on tv I tell him and he looks at the clock and is like, ok thanks. No longer does he ask, when is that? or how long is that going to take? He just looks at the clock smiles and says ok. AWESOME!!! However...

Bedtime...He knows he goes to bed at 8 o'clock. He doesn't, however, realize the time involved to get himself ready for bed. Brushing his teeth, going to the bathroom, getting a drink of water, cleaning the toilet, scrubbing the floors...oh, uhm, where was I...

Anyway, we tell him it's time for bed and the first thing he does is look at the clock. "It's not 8, it's only 7:53!" Grrrrrr, when I'm done gritting my teeth and focussing on how to be nice again you will be up the stairs and brushing your teeth.

He really enjoys being able to stay up late on Friday nights and most weeks outlasts me and the missus. We tell him he has to go to bed because we are going to bed(his eyes are usually halfway to the back of his head anyway so it's really not much of a struggle).

On Tuesday night he was telling me while laying in bed that he can't wait until he's a grown up and can stay up late. I look at him tell him "No you don't. Because then you have to deal with whiny little kids that won't go to sleep" I smiled kissed him on the forehead and turned out the lights. As I shut the door behind me I hear"I like whiny little kids"

I'm supposed to be the only smartass in this house @$&^((#^@$!

Happy Fatherhood Friday!

Whatever you do, just don't look.

I spent all day trying to figure out what I was going to write about for this weeks Fatherhood Friday. It took a splinter for me to figure it out.

What is it about injuries that makes them not hurt until you look at them?

I was vacuuming this afternooon and bent down in Squirt's(previously referred to as Number 2) doorway to move the power cord. My hand bumped into the door frame and I felt a slight stab. I looked and there was a small splinter sticking out of the woodwork. I pulled it off and threw it away. About 5 minutes later I looked and saw the end of said splinter sticking out of my finger. All of a sudden it started to hurt. I pulled it out and all was fine, but it made me wonder. Why don't these things bother us until we notice them?

Even worse, when I was working on my final portfolio for Art School 11 years ago(yeah, I'm getting old...) I cut off the tip of my pinky finger. Exacto's are so sharp that I didn't even notice, until I looked down and saw the finger tip on the edge of my ruler...once again..HOLY $#!& sudden pain!!

What does this have to do with fatherhood you may ask? For starters I need to teach my children to not be so clumsy with sharp objects...but it reminded me of when we first moved into this house and Number 1 was only 2 and a half. He LOVED running up and down our sloped driveway and we kept warning him that if he wasn't careful he was gonna fall. Which he eventually did, on a day that I was home alone with him(this was pre stay at home dad days).

I kept myself pretty calm I mean seriously, it was just a bump and some scrapes, but it would totally freak him out to see the small amount of blood that was on his face. I took him in to his bathroom and started to clean him up. I kept telling him to look at me so that I could see what I was doing, but it was mostly to keep him from looking into the ginormous 4x6 mirror that he was sitting in front of. All of my instruction was for not however. He turned and saw the scrapes..."I'M BLEEEEEDIIIINNNGGG" started the sobs and tears. Why is it that our injuries don't hurt until we look at them?

It was a this point that I insisted on having our first aid products in the downstairs bath...much smaller mirror.

Have a great(and pain free) weekend.

More Random Ramblings...

Man, it's Friday already? Where has this past week gone? I can hardly remember doing anything.

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Bubbles, I remember bubbles.

Apparently everyone knows that 2 year olds absolutely LOVE bubbles. If anyone remembers, last week was the little one's birthday. He'd already gotten a bubble blowing dog from his aunt, uncle, and cousins. My in-laws got him the bubble blowing tiger that matches the dog, and then my parents got him a bubble blowing lawn mower.

We've had a recent cool down, snow included that inhibited our outdoor bubble play. But, I'm not a total ass so I let him bring the dog and tiger inside. Let's face it, I need as much soap as possible to keep my kitchen floors clean.

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Most of you know this weekend is Easter. That means a 4 day weekend for Number 1.

We weren't even out of the school parking lot before he was asking to have friends over. One of which is calm, the other...let's just say I've dubbed him a warm weather friend because everytime he's in the house I'm a nervous wreck. He's only allowed to come over when they can play outside. Mean, I guess but when he isn't eating, he's bouncing off the walls. He's a very polite kid, but has just a bit more energy than I can deal with on my own.

To make things more interesting, he only lives at the end of our street, so he just shows up from time to time. No matter how many times I've told him to call before stopping by(so that I can go to the store or something) he really just doesn't.

Growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere, the thought of just walking to a friends house was a disant dream. I had a better chance of flying to the moon. I'm begining to see how having this ability is a bit of an inconvenience...

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Happy Easter and Happy Fatherhood Friday!

Birthday cake

I just finished the 2 year old's cake for his party tomorrow. It seemed to go much easier than when I made it for the 7 year old 5 years ago...

Time to relax for the evening :)

What A Week

Is it Friday already?

What a week!

My baby's not a baby anymore. Yesterday(4/2) was his 2nd birthday. It was an awesome day. We had amazing weather so that just topped the cake. He LOVES going outside and just running around and playing on the swingset.

The missus and I spent the better part of the week trying to think of what could possibly be his favorite meal for dinner. We decided that since EVERYBODY in our house loves ham, it would be an appropriate choice. He had 2 helpings and didn't hide any of it in his high chair. This kid is a master at hiding food he doesn't want to eat. We've seen him shove food into his cup holder, put his cup in it, and as the cup wobbles precariously high to the ridge shout "ALL DOOONE".

I picked up some chocolate(his favorite) cupcakes at the store for dessert(I'm making a cake for his party on Saturday so it's not as if he's being gipped or anything). He tried to blow out his candle and came really close once. I kinda had to help him when he got dangerously close to the flame. The cupcakes were delicious, just ask the dog(hopefully he waits to make the mess that I know is coming until he gets outside, he also ate Play Doh this afternoon...ugh).

We also had our first playdate with the boy from acroos the street. He's 4 months younger than the 2 year old and they got along great. I was really hoping they would because lets, face it, having an adult conversation during the day, even just once a week, would be great. It was, and we now have a weekly playdate. Yay for all four of us!

What a week. Our jetlag and sinus infections have passed(not a major milestone, granted, but something we wanted to get through with none the less). We had our first playdate. And we had a birthday. What a week...

Random Nonsense

Happy Friday y'all! For more great FF posts head on over the dadblogs.





Too much like me:

My oldest(Number 1) is a total mini-me. He always has been. We're finding out more and more each day just how much like me he is.

We've been out at my sister and brother in laws in California for the past week and yesterday was our planned trip to Lake Tahoe. I'm not much of a fan of nature, blasphemy I know. I am also terribly afraid of heights(not to mention chickens but that's another story for another time).

Just ask my family and they'll tell you how I NEVER left the condo on the years we'd vacation in the various mountain locations that we did. I grew up in the middle of nowhere so I really didn't see how being in the middle of nowhere somewhere else was a change of pace...

Anyway, back to the story that I started 3 paragraphs ago. Number 1 and I spent the most of our journey with our heads in our hands trying not to yak up what little breakfast we ate(for me that would have been a whole cup of coffee). Neither one of us wanting to open our eyes because we'd been warned of the views coming over the mountains(beautiful I'm sure, if it doesn't make you feel like the ground is falling from below your feet and you're going to drop to your death).

That's just one new way that number one is following in my footsteps.

No milk at McDonald's...WTF!!! Since when does McDonalds NOT have milk? Apparently nobody in Lake Tahoe has children...or prefers a healthy beverage...

To top it off, the day started with Number 2(had to sneak him in there somewhere) spilling red tempera paint all over my sister and brother in law's carpet. And then when I went to get him out of the closet(2 tattle tales are better than 1) he knocked my coffee(which is why I only had one cup today) and I had to clean up that spill from the carpet as well.

And that ladies and gents, is my random nonsense for this week...

They don't call them classics for nothing

It's that time of week again. Once you're done here do yourself a favor and head over to dadblogs.com(just click the linky, badgey thing on the right over there) to read some other great stories by some really talented and funny people.




Yesterday, after my oldest came home from school and got done browsing through all of his new Scholastic books(remember those, man, that really takes me back), he asked if we could play a board game. It was close to dinner time so I told him that was fine as long as it wasn't a long one(since his first choice was Monopoly, I figured I was screwed) What he came back with was a total surprise to me as I haven't seen it in years(at least since he was younger).




It was AWESOME! His younger brother was able to play as well and the 3 of us had a great time. It was the first time that the youngest was able to play a game without eating half of the pieces. A few times a marble almost made it into his mouth but it only took one look and it went straight back onto the board.

Our next choice...still a bit advanced...

Routines and Recognition

It's Fatherhood Friday all over again.














I'm a totally anal person, I know it and admit it. The only way that I will get anything done is if I know exactly what I'm doing and when I'm doing it. If I have to think about what I'm going to do I won't get anything done.


I have a cleaning schedule that hasn't changed in the past 2 years since I've been a stay at home dad. I make our weekly menu every Wednesday so that I know what I need to buy at the grocery store on Thursday morning. Which really brings me to what I've been thinking about all day.


My youngest and I have been making the same shopping trip every Thursday for the last 2 years. Everyone at Target and Giant Eagle know my son by name. There are actually a few clerks at Giant Eagle that know my name lol. Whenever you're there with a small child, you really don't exist, and I'm ok with that.




Everyone at Target knows why we're there, either toys, video games or movies, which are all conveniently located in the same area, and the occasional cleaning supplies.




But what really cracks me up is that every week at Giant Eagle, the Nabisco rep takes the time to talk to my son and makes sure that she gets her weekly hello. As soon as she sees us she puts on a huge smile and says "their he is" or "hey guys". That's all really, just friendly hellos, but it makes my morning. Seeing everybody pay all this attention to my son. Just taking the time to say hello.




He loves going to the store and sits quietly in the cart. Everyone says what a great boy he is(yes, it's the same son I wrote about last week), but when you get all of that attention it's easy to be good.




People can laugh at my routines all they want, but I'm not going to change. Sure it can seem boring, but good things can come from routines.




And a little bit off topic but I know that Joeprah's been dying to see my barricaded entertainment center ever since I mentioned it 2 weeks ago on his blog. So here's a few pics for all to laugh at how far we have to go to keep our home entertainment safe from grabby toddler hands.

Holy Crap!

Literally.

We've experienced a really nice warm up, temperature wise, this week. I decided to take advantage of it and get the boys outside for awhile. On our way to the swingset I noticed something that a winters worth of snow had been hiding from us...

a literal moat of dog crap around the swingset. Generally the dog stays out of the landscaped areas of our yard but apparently this year he decided to switch things up. If it was in the yard I'd just mow over it(lazy I know).

I wasn't about to build a bridge so off to the kitchen I go for my handy supply of latex gloves(used for polishing the silver, nothing dirty so get your minds out of the gutter) and a shopping bag. About a half hour passed and the boys were safely able to enjoy the swingset and slide to it's fullest.

I can't wait for spring to be here. The warm temps have already fallen, along with a fresh moat of rainwater keeping us from the fun that's waiting outside.

Soon...very soon.

The Second Child...

I'm sure I'll keep coming back to this one for numerous stories. My first born was far from perfect(okay, he was pretty damn close) but this second son of mine...he's just plain crazy!

I always saw the child proofing items at the store but we never bought much of it. There was really no need. Sure, we had the outlet covers, but we never needed them. This was 7 years ago. Now we not only have the outlet covers but we have locks on all of our cabinets, baby gates on every set of stairs, a flexible play yard protecting our DVD shelf, a mesh tension baby gate coverring our entertainment center, and doorknob covers that I can't even work

This child eats hand lotion(and dumps the rest on the carpet), dog hair that he picks up from God knows where(ok, it's all over the floor, we got a short haired dog to avoid this crap), and he drinks baby oil. Of course he's only done all of this once(aside from the dog hair which he prefers over dinner on most days). We've learned quickly what needed to be raised higher and what he's able to reach(which is more and more with each passing day). If only I could make him forget how to climb onto the couch...

Everyone tells me it's the second child that drives you crazy. My favorite tagline now is that I wish someone had mentioned this 2 years and 9 months ago. I'm only kidding...mostly.

What's my point you may ask, half the time I won't even know, BUT this time I do. On a daily basis I am reminded that no matter how much toddler proofing we have done, we've barely scratched the surface and that no 2 children are ever the same.

It's a father's(mother's as well) job to protect his children, but what do you do when the child just laughs in your face and shows you that you need to work harder?

And we haven't even started the terrible 2's...pray for us.

It's Fatherhood Friday on the Dad-Blogs, and this is my first contribution(not to mention my first blog...). Click the link over there on the right and go see what all of the talented folks have to say :)

Hello

I've recently become a member of the Dad-Blogs community and am feeling the need/desire to contribute. I have absolutely no idea what I'll be writing about nor any idea of how frequently I'll be posting but I've decided to give it a shot. So I ask that you bear with me as I try to get the hang of this blogging thing and hopefully we'll all have a little bit of fun along the way.

Go ahead and click on the link to the right and see what the other creative dads(and a few moms) have to say.