Happy Birthday my little man! Robert has turned five. This will be a transitional year as he will be starting kindergarten this fall. This is kind of scary. But on the flip side, I will have lots of bonding time with Jacob. I want this summer to be a great one. Here’s to new beginnings.
Today was the National Day of Prayer. Twelve years ago I was involved in a car accident when a driver decided to make a right turn from the middle lane causing me to flip over and slide through the intersection.
Me observing the damage.
This was the first time in my life that I actually called out to God in fear for my life. I remember a mob of people surrounding the car. I was hanging upside down with the seat belt holding me in, of course my first instinct was to release the seat belt. Not thinking I came crashing down on my head. I start hearing somebody yelling that my legs looked broken. I kept looking down wondering if they were, but then wondering to myself, “wouldn’t I be feeling pain.”
Someone offered to make a call for me, so I had them call my wife. I was only a block from home. As soon as she gets there, she is in sheer panic. In the softest voice I kept telling her that “I’m OK.” Then out of nowhere a stranger knelt down next to the car, put his hand on me and started praying. When he was done he got up, told my wife that I would be OK.
I am now hearing the sirens of the first responders, and just like that they reached in and pulled me out. My wife remembers freaking out when she saw me vanish from the other side. The fireman made sure I was OK and removed some glass particles from my face.
Then it all sunk in what had just happened to me. I broke down and cried. I cried because of what I had just walked away from, and the fact that a perfect stranger had the compassion to go out of his way and pray for me. Never saw him again or got his name. Whoever you are, Thank You!
I did go to the emergency just to be safe, everything was OK. It took me a year before I got behind the wheel again. I got to know public transportation pretty well.
I just have one request, keep National Day of Prayer.
Well it has been a while since I have posted, just could not find that groove.
Robert Jr. has given me the inspiration to start posting again. He has been saying these one liners that just make me scratch my head. So I have decided to start a journal of them and post one a week. I will call them Robert-isms. So here is the first.
“If you stick your foot in ice cream, it will itch, because it is cold, slimy, and itchy.” – Robert Jr.
This was his response when offered a taste of ice cream.
It amazes me how people will allow weather to dictate whether or not you are going to do something. OK, I understand if there is ice on the road or 10ft. snow drifts. I am talking something like a shower or sprinkle. Yesterday we started swim lessons with the boys at an outdoor facility. We had been getting a good dose of rain for the majority of the day. When it came time to go to the pool, the rain had slowed to an occasional sprinkle. I mean your going to get wet in the pool any way, as long as there is no thunder or lightning.
So only half the class showed up for Jr’s class, and Jacob was the only one in his class. The one on one attention was nice though. I think they charged double the amount for private lessons. I guess people can do what they want, it’s there money. I just don’t get missing out on something because of some rain that wasn’t even falling. How many possible memories are lost because of this kind of behavior?
Let me know what you think.
Well a stay at home dad made the front page of The Dallas Morning News. The name of the article was “Daddy’s New Job.” In a nut shell, this dad had to shut down his business, bring the kids home from day care, while the wife continued her job as a civil engineer. The article also talks about how he went into a funk, using the television for a babysitter, sitting on the couch all day, and his transition to accepting his new role. So this makes me want to ask the question, why are you a stay at home dad?
For me it was both choice and circumstance. When we found out Adriana was pregnant, we made the decision that one of us would stay at home with the baby. As time went on I knew that I wanted to be the one to stay home. As we got close to the due date, it became obvious that I would be staying home. She made more money and had way better benefits. If it had been the other way around, I probably would not be writing this post.
I have been at home now for four years. There have been plenty of times when I fall into a funk. Television is on all day. Nothing is getting done around the house. Then it takes a huge argument to get me out of it. During those funks, I also get to feeling guilty. First off I hate the fact that I have let my wife and kids down. Then I feel like Adriana should be the one at home (like I stole something from her). I feel like I should be the one working hard to put food on the table. The best way to get out of a funk, start moving, take the kids for a walk, to the park. Just get moving.
Men and women are wired differently. I have no question that Adriana could come in here and do a way better job then me. I am not a mom. I am not trying to be a mom. I am a dad, a stay at home dad.
Back to the news article, the father plans on going back to work. It also mentioned that census reports 140k sahds in America. Other professionals report the number should be closer to 2mil. That is a huge gap. I think it is closer to 2mil. The numbers of sahds will more then likely go down after the job market opens back up.
Here are some links the article recommended:
Here is one I would like to add:
So please share your story, leave a comment on why you are a stay at home dad.
Here are some chick flicks that a dude can sleep thru:
Please feel free to add to the list by leaving a comment.
Greg Snow has come up with a great fundraising idea for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He has created the Twitter account @FundraiseStJude. The goal is to get the account to 1,000,000 users and then auction off the account with the proceeds going to St. Jude. So if you are already on Twitter, follow @FundraiseStJude. If you are not on Twitter, go sign up for free, then follow @FundraiseStJude. Spread the word, help out a great cause.
Here are some pictures I took on the 4th of July with my new Canon Powershot SX110IS
This post is aimed at soon to be parents, especially dad. Why? Mom needs to be concerned with just taking it easy and picking out stuff for baby. Dad get ready to do some assembling, painting, and de-cluttering. Now what I am about to write I either did or wish I had done.
I would say a good time to start is six months out. First and foremost, use a unisex color in the nursery. I do not care how certain they are about the sono. God has a great sense of humor. We were supposed to have a girl and ended up with a boy. No, the room was not painted pink. We had painted it yellow, but it was decked out in girly stuff. We had a ton of girl clothing. So have your baby showers be unisex.
De-clutter the room that is to become the nursery. Paint it. Get the furniture assembled and in place. When picking out furniture, get something practical. Get something that will actually work for you, not against you. Do not buy furniture just because it looks nice. Looking back I wish we had gone with stuff from IKEA. There stuff is really practical. My father-in-law offered to pay for the furniture, so we went gaga over the expensive stuff. It was not very useful and took up a lot of space.
Now focus on the little things. Register for practical stuff. Don’t get lost in the land of cute. Cute does not equal useful. Check out the diaper bags inside and out. Try it on. Avent bottles worked best for us. If mom is breastfeeding, buy Medela pumps only. Other breast pumps do not even come close to the quality in Medela. Yes, they are expensive. Check with your employer to see about benefits for discounts on Medela pumps. DO NOT BUY A USED PUMP! It is like sharing nail clippers or a toothbrush. Stick with Medela products for milk storage. We used other brands and it cost us a lot of milk. You run the risk of other bags breaking during the freezing process. Medela bags have very good seams that resist breakage during freezing.
Do not skimp on the car seat or carrier. You will probably use the carrier for at least the first six months or so. The car seat will last them for a few years. Our four year old is still using his. Get to know this equipment before the due date. I was pretty embarrassed when I got to the front door to pick up mom and baby and could not figure out how to slack up the seat belt in the carrier. Read instructions and get familiar with all your products.
Bottom line, keep it simple and practical. Brands that we would recommend: Medela, Avent, Munchkin, Gerber, Joovy, and Graco. Yes, go crazy with decorations and stuff. When it comes to the stuff you will use for feeding and caring for the baby, it needs to be good quality useful stuff.
Parents please leave some advice for soon to be parents.
Good Bye Winter
Since summer is just around the corner, I thought I would do a recap of our record breaking winter.
The first snow of the spring season:
Have a nice summer!