Post 4 (3/26/14)

Hey gang. How have you guys been? Things have been pretty great around here. Super busy, which might explain why it's been a couple weeks since I last posted, but otherwise great. 

What's new around here, you ask? Well, not much that would seem big to a lot of people, but to parents, the little things really matter. 

Our son, Bodie, just finished cutting his 4th tooth. It's pretty cute because the first one up top was way over to the side, almost his canine. He already had the two front, bottom teeth and this one on the side was so adorable every time he would give us a huge smile, which is quite often because he is so happy. I couldn't help calling him our little snaggle-tooth baby. So funny. 

Our daughter, Cali, is coming up in her 3rd birthday and it's starting to show. I'm not sure who coined the term, "Terrible Twos" but I'm pretty sure they didn't have kids. I think they were just trying to work on making something that sounded clever, or they just had rotten kids. I've confirmed this with most of the more experienced parents I know and respect, and threes are much more terrible than twos. The closer my daughter gets to three, the more I see what they're talking about. She's developed this ability to completely ignore her mother and me. She also has discovered the joy of screaming and hitting when we have to leave somewhere that she's been having fun. Right after she's pushed us past the point of tolerating it, she likes to look at us and her most dramatic, cheesy Disney live-action TV show style voice, say, "I'm so so so sorry, mommy/daddy." 

The hard part is, she's apologizing, and doing it usually without being prompted anymore which is great, so we feel like forgiving is the right response. She then thinks that means all is past and the world is happy. She's pushed my wife to the point where she just doesn't want to talk to Cali for a few minutes, wanting some peace and quiet for a minute. She then apologizes, my wife forgives her, and then she starts trying to chat up a storm with my wife. At what point do we expect her to understand that an apology, followed by forgiveness, doesn't actually change the mood instantly?

Well, I'm pretty sure that this is one of those things that you just have to be consistent, persistent, and patient. She'll eventually grasp the concepts, as she has with everything else. It's only difficult because she's so smart and grasps other things that we would never expect her to grasp. Stick around for further adventures of Ms. Cali and the lessons of life (for Dad). 

So,etching else I'd like to throw out there, mostly for you parents out there with multiple kids. How do you balance the attention you give each kid? I find, from time to time thoughout the day, that when I'm addressing an issue with the baby (as those are so hard to ignore) my daughter is beginning to act out in an effort to get my attention. I'm just curious what other parents do in these situations. 

Post 3 (3/6/14)

Well gang, I'm into my third week of this amazing adventure. I was going to try and give you guys a post a week, or so. Seems like that may be a little overly ambitious of me. The biggest reason for the absence of a post was illness last week.

It all started out with a sore throat. That got steadily worse and even started creating a bad taste in my mouth, like crushed aspirin. My lymph-node on the left side was super swollen. I eventually went to the doc and was tested for Strep, I was so worried about getting the family sick. Test came back negative, thank God. The next day, I had a blaring headache all day, and this was the second day of the week with just myself and the kids. At this point I was seriously contemplating asking my wife to come home early, but I really didn't want her to think I couldn't hang. That night things started feeling a little worse and the wife volunteered to stay home the next day. Such a blessing to have her home because the next day I was nauseous and having hot flashes. Rest assured everyone, by Saturday, most of the symptoms had subsided and I was starting to feel better. I still don't have much of an appetite and the bad taste is still in my mouth, making eating slightly less enjoyable than usual, but I'm feeling much better. 

Needless to say, my second week as a stay-at-home dad was a very long and disappointing one. I'm hoping this week goes better. I'm sure that it will if only because I'm feeling better, and better able to deal with whatever comes up. Unfortunately the wife is starting to have similar symptoms, and she is the one that has to go out and earn the big bucks for us. 

Well, keep your fingers crossed that there is minimal illness left here. I'll try and update you guys again soon. Thanks for letting me vent :)