Her first art studio
What some of you call the refrigerator, in my house it’s called “The picture place”.
Every school project. Every picture colored. Every homemade project goes on the fridge.
If we are not careful, pictures fall on the floor anytime you want some water or food.
My 3 girls; part 1 (Tales of a teenager)
I remember a few years back. Just sitting around talking with some co-workers. During the conversation, I blurted out “I hate teenagers”. Granted this was before I had one in my house. But I felt the same then as I do today.
Growing up is hard. Raising a future grown-up is the worst. All these people who told us what it was like to be a parent never said anything about the teen years. They tell you about how to teach this or tell them that. But never was it told about teen’s will have you looking in the mirror for gray hair’s when you wake up in the morning and before you go to sleep at night. (more…)
Feeling old, I mean very old
There are times, when I have to sit back and say, “I’m old”.
I know old to most people is anything over 50. And no, I’m not there, not yet any way.
But raising kids will make you feel old. No matter how old you are.
This past weekend, I had one of those old man moments. (more…)
All kids cry the same
Any time I am out with or without the kids, I have to look up and scan the room when I hear a kid cry.
For some reason I think it is one of mine. Even if they are sitting next to me or no where near me at the time.
It’s about being a parent. We are always ready to jump when tears are shed. Just picking our babies up and hugging them up. Kissing boo boo’s. And singing soothing songs.
The real queen
My wife is a queen no doubt. But she is not the real queen of the household. That title belongs to the littlest one running around the house.
Look at it this way. You get carried from one place to another when your legs get tired. Someone bathes you. Someone fixes your food. Someone makes sure you get up, go to sleep and protects you from the elements outside. Sounds like royalty to me.
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Be on guard (watch what you say)
As a parent, we are always trying to be aware of our surroundings.
For the most part, we want to make sure our kids are not within ear shot of the conversation we are having on the phone. They saying, “kids say the darndest things.” And those things come from us, the mommies and daddies of the world.
End of the year joy/blues
The end of each year, brings joy and pain.
The joy of family time. And maybe getting something for Christmas that you could actually use.
The pain comes with knowing that we are getting older and the clock is not moving fast enough to kick these kids off to college. First one leaves in a year and half. Best believe I’m counting down, no matter what the wife says, she is counting too.
#1 cheerleader
I find myself having to be not only having to be daddy. But I have to be a friend, husband, cook, butler, chauffeur and a jack of all trades.
I have many jobs. The other day I realized that I needed to be adding something to the daddy resume is, I need to be a cheerleader.
No matter who you have in your life, no one is a child’s biggest fan over mommy and daddy. Mommy and daddy buy gear. Feed you snacks after practice. Wash all your dirty gear. Plus we are about to jump on the back of anyone who does not share their (my) vision of your (my) baby. No matter how old your baby is.
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Letting her date
At one time in my life. I was going to be the dad who stood on the porch with a shotgun. Trying to scare away “those nasty boys.”
I thought I would be the dad who showed up to the school in a crazy outfit. Or put pressure on the young man one of my girls brung home.
That was me. But seeing my oldest daughter for the first time changed all of that. (more…)
My Queen and her day
The Bible says, “When I man finds a wife, he finds a good thing” I think this passage needs to be updated. Because I found something better than good, I have something great.
My queen turns 26 (again) today. And she deserves the world. If I could hand it to her, I would.
She is a great mother, wife, friend, cook and just a beautiful woman on the inside and outside. Just keeping herself looking great everyday and keeping these girls hair looking good on a regular basis is a job in itself.
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My night night story
It must have started about a few months back.
So when I put my little down to bed, she started to flip the script on me. Instead of my handling the bedtime story duties, she would be the reading and me the listener.
At first, I didn’t realize what was going on. I guess I was thinking it wold be a one night thing, not the new normal.
We didn’t even have a battle of the number books she was going to read (story-tale). There was no delay of what books to read for the night. She was the one in control. What did suprise is the number of books. I would read 2 books to her. And since she has taken over the duties, she still has it capped at 2.
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Back in my day
When passing on wisdom or knowledge. Or even telling our kids things we did when we were young. We tend to use the phrase, “Back in my day.”
Not realizing it. I felt old saying it the other day. I was talking about something that happened in 2005. And it hit me. That 2005 was 10 years. But it felt longer. And then I’m there like, dang 2005 was 10 years ago. Where has the time gone?
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Coin collector (a.k.a. Piggy bank filler)
I use to have a lot of change sitting on the dresser. Use to being the focal point of this post.
When you have a 3 year old who realizes that money buys Slurpee’s and candy, then daddy has a gold mine.
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Armed 9 year old
I’m sitting here reading a story about a girl 9 years old and her parents allowing her to go to a gun range. Not only that, she is also allowed to fire a weapon.
This pre-teen not only fired a weapon, she fired an Uzi. The 9 year old ended up killing her instructor. My question is why? Most adults cannot handle an Uzi. Most adults can’t even handle a handgun. Why are these parents allowing their child to shoot an automatic weapon?
A queen and her crown
Every woman walking this earth has a crown upon her head.
No matter the shape, the size, the color, or what day of the week. A woman’s crown is her proud and joy.
Even as young as 2 (my baby), a woman’s crown is the one thing a man has to step back and let her be her and don’t complain. This crown is cared for and cleaned daily.
Some women even go as far as using substitute crowns.
These crowns require a lot of money spent on products to care for these crowns. And items to show off and bring out the bling of that crown.
Us kings (men, fathers, husbands) can do nothing but sit back and give our queens time to get there crowns in proper order and ready to go. There is a lot we could complain about, but the crown (hair) is a losing battle that no man can win.
You have to love the attention and detail the women give there crowns. I just wish they would wake up a little bit earlier and have more time to get the hair in order so we can leave in a decent time.
Mr. Mom
I’m old enough to remember the movie Mr. Mom and Mrs. Doubtfire. These were sub-par movies with great actors in the title role.
After being stuck in the house with all these women with snow every other day when the weather person keeps telling me spring is around the corner, I feel like Tom Hanks and Robin Williams.
The misses gave me the idea for this post. She looked at me the other day, “look we have our own Mr. Mom. Don’t he look good in here working?”
Did I find it funny, no. Did I think she is right, yes. Granted, I understand times have changed. And men are expected to do more in the home. It’s not the 50’s any more.
But it doesn’t mean, I can’t feel like a man.
I have done it all this past month. Staying home when the schools and work was closed for snow and did it all. Cooked, cleaned, played tea party, washed clothes, cleaned off the car and took out the trash.
The battle continues
I have to admit defeat. The war over who can get some space in the bathroom is a war I will no longer fight.
These females win. Man, I can’t complain any more about getting a inch in the bathroom. It is a losing battle.
I tired. I put up a good fight. But it was a battle that I could never win.
I will have to accept that hair care products will cover my sink.
I have to accept girly smells dominating the air in the bathroom.
I have to accept pushing aside hair gel to so I can brush my teeth.
Today is a sad day for the only man in the house. But it had to be done. I can’t deal with it anymore. I’ll, find another battle to wage war on with these women.
No more snow
I’m starting to hate. Let me correct myself. I do hate snow.
As the only man in the house, all this snow sucks. If it never snows again in my life, I would not miss it.
I remember snow as a kid. I remember snow as a adult. I just don’t like near blizzards. I would love 2 straight days of snow with about 20 inches. Then I would know when to clean the car off. When the kids could go back to school. And if the travel to work is worth it.
But no Mother Nature Winter 2013/14 wants to be difficult. She wants to keep us guessing. She wants to give us snow the day before a 50 degree day.
Well, at least the kids are back in school after 5 days off. And the wife is out work today. And I have the house to myself all day long.
So I guess some good can and will come out of this day. I’m just hoping the snow will not fall again until December of this year.
But seeing how things have been going, I bet there will be more snow before the weekend.
To date or not to date
That is the question.
What do you do with a teenage girl who is starting to go boy crazy? Well you let her date. Granted, she has to do it under your rules.
You can’t hold her back forever. You let her taste the dating waters and she will get over the hype fast.
For the moment, she is not allowed on 1 on 1 dates. They have to be group outings. A great way to avoid saying date.
On these outings, the number of girls must out number the boys. And said child must answer her phone when she is called or she might lose the chance to go on more outings.
As much as I want to be a dad, I also realize that we have to let the kids breathe a little bit. I hate it. But guess what, I will feel better when she turns 16-17. I will feel better when the other girls start having outings.
I guess we will call this first child the “Dating/Outing test dummy”. I know she is going to do dumb stuff. But she is 13 and that is what they do.
Good luck to me and her. Because I’m trying to avoid following my kids around when they go on outings.
New age bullies
When I was coming up, my elders (mom, dad, grandma, granddad and others) reared us on old school values. Those values were passed on from time to time. The times changed, but the basic core values stayed the same.
In today’s times, mom and dad’s lessons are hard to pass on to my kids. It’s not for a lack of being a good or bad parent, this is the internet age and things done changed in a huge way.
It was one thing when a kid said something to you in class. Or they passed a note. But it goes deeper in today’s environment.
Kids can talk, text, Skype, ooVoo, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Kix or whatever else is out there to get a negative message across.
Yes, we as parents have to monitor and be mindful of what our kids are into. As much as I hate dealing with the new age terminology, I’m all in. I’m hip to what the kids are saying and understand the meaning of it. Nothing much gets past me. But I still have slip ups.
These kids today can be mean and nasty. And they have a larger pool to display their negative energy. And the other parents at times, seem like they could care less. It is always, “That’s not my kid. I raise them better than that.” Well here is the proof of your daughter calling mine ugly and for no reason.
Kids will have to deal with bullies though out life. I never thought when it was my time to confront these issues, I had to look at so many avenues to explore how to comfort my child.
Being strong for my child is the best. It has to be that way. If you are strong for them, then they are better suited to how the day to day life of a teenager.
Two more kids to go and then me and the wife can enjoy peace.
Morning routine
Let’s just say that coffee is not enough in the morning.
While I struggle to keep my eyes open and keep wiping as much sleep out of the corners of my eyes, this 2 year old is up moving and grooving, dancing and prancing all morning.
What does that mean to me? It means that I’m stuck with moving and grooving, and dancing and prancing, singing and smiling until we leave the house.
All this will follow me throughout my walk of life in these mornings. I have people staring at me like I am,some crazy man. It’s not my fault I can’t get the theme song to ‘Wonder Pets’ out of my head.
Thanks to the misses for the notice. I had been singing that song for at least 30 mins and never noticed.
The crazy part, I’m at work, I tell a co-worker to do,the ‘hot dog dance’ to brighten up her day. I need to go back to watching Good Morning America in the morning. All these Disney shows are taking over my mornings. And I can’t keep going around singing kids while in the company of adults.
Dance partner
It is no secret in my house, my baby loves to dance. She has been dancing before she could walk. She gets it from her mama.
They is nothing wrong with it. I’m not the big dancing type. And she makes sure that I join her no matter what.
My wife and get up with her and they will get their boogie on. But she wants to make sure daddy gets up and boogie too. I guess you can say its cute. I don’t know. I might have to practice my dance steps when she is sleep. She makes me (in my 30’s) look bad.
She is 2, so I have at least 23-25 years to get some tango lessons in before she is married. Then I can really cut a rug.
The good thing is if I don’t run in the morning, I can say I still had a workout of the day.
New year, new me, new us
2014 is almost here. With the beginning of each new year, people like to decide on things they want to do. Something like a re-do or start anew with life in general.
It’s nothing wrong with starting anew. But actions speak louder than words. What you say is nothing. What you do is everything.
For the new year, I have to promise not only myself but my wife and kids that I will be a better person. Not just for them, but for myself. I feel like we are all a work in process. But getting closer to perfect should be a goal that is hunted for everyday.
Tomorrow I will write out my goals for year. And check each of them off as the days go by. I can’t be lazy anymore. I have 3 girls to look after. I have to make sure they do not make me a grandpa to soon. That is something that is not on my list for 2014.
Christmas Aftermath part 1
Thanks to my wonderful brother-in-law and my sister-in-law, my house is a tad bit noisier and smaller.
Christmas has come and gone. And my youngest was blessed with a car and airplane. They are toys of course. Big ride-on toys that take up space and make lots of noise that dad can’t handle.
Whatever makes my kids happy, I’m all for it. I just wish they could have spent a little bit more money and got mommy and daddy some ear plugs.
Maybe I should buy my own and bill them for it. That sounds about right.
The Deck is Stacked 