Post 15 (11/4/14)

Well, would you look at this. A new post only a week after the last one? You're not seeing things. This is really happening...hahahaha, like you guys sit on the edge of your seat to read about my ramblings ;)

I've challenged myself to write a new post every time a friend of mine posts. You might remember her, I mentioned her last post. If you guys haven't checked out her blog yet, I recommend it again, and the latest post is fantastic, Searching & Servitude.

So, for starters, Halloween was a smashing success this year. It didn't look like it was going to be as such because it had been pouring rain all over Sacramento that day, all day. Aside from that, the boy had been an exceptional pill for about 3 hours before my wife got home. I had finally given in and made him lay down, I just couldn't take it anymore. Luckily my wife is more forgiving than I am because I was about to send her and my daughter over to my cousin's house on their own. She decided to wake him up and gamble on the hope that once we were with the other kids, he would cheer up and have fun. She was absolutely right. The rain let up for several hours, the kids had a blast, and even the parents all seemed to enjoy the night. This was my daughters favorite Halloween so far, by a long shot.

Left to right: Merida, Mario, Zarina the Pirate Fairy, Darth Vader, and Minnie Mouse

The next big going on around here was the Merrell Down & Dirty Mud Run. My wife and I participated in this one just last Sunday. It was so challenging but so much fun. We were joined by two good friends from Reno who came down and joined us. The  run was about 3.5 miles and probably a mile of it was uphill (no, we didn't run much). I have to say, the MVP was my wife. Anyone who knows her very well will tell you that she is very much afraid of heights. This woman conquered every obstacle including about 5 obstacles that were height related. She struggled with them, to be sure, but she didn't let a single one stop her. I am still overflowing with pride for her accomplishment Sunday.

The requisite Before & After

The last big news is something that I'm doing on my own. I was inspired by the Life of Dad social network to participate in Movember. This is a movement to raise funds and awareness for men's health. They specifically focus on prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and men's mental health issues. I think this is a fantastic cause and a really fun way to participate in a fundraiser. I don't do very many fundraisers so I'm hoping my lack of asking friends for money will help me be somewhat successful in this. The object is to give yourself a clean shave on November 1st and grow only a mustache for the entire month. Needless to say, my wife was not pleased about this development at all. Don't worry, I'm not super excited about how it looks either, but it's for a cause I believe in and I'm really proud to participate. That being said, if any of my loyal readers would like to donate to me or my team, please follow the link to my fundraiser page, Shane's Movember page.

The face just about sums up how I feel with a shaved look.

Post 14 (10/27/14)

Hey gang, how's everyone been. Things have actually been really good here. I know last time I mentioned some of the stresses that we've been facing, but I feel like we've now successfully rode the wave of stressful energy into a place of confidence. Confidence that we have made the right choices and confidence that everything is working out exactly the right way for our family.

We have been steadily moving forward with the sale of our home, MUCH faster than any of us expected, including our real estate agent, Aaron Ward. Aaron is a good friend of mine and has proven to be a fantastic partner in the scary process of selling our home. He's made us feel confident in every step of this process. Let me tell you, it's been difficult for so many reasons; this is the first house we've ever owned, the yard can't be beat with the space and the pool,

this is the home we came home to from our honeymoon, and one that keeps popping up in my head more and more, this is the home both of our babies were brought to from the hospital. In reality though, these are all little things that are important in my mind and in my memories, where they will remain no matter where we live. The beauty of this whole process is that we know the people we are selling it to, we are good friends with them, and we know that this place will be just as important to them, if for different reasons.

It's also exciting that we're moving forward on a brand new house that will have more room for our family, closer to work for my wife, and overall will be an improvement for us. As long as this house sells on time, like it looks like it is, we should be moving at the beginning of the new year. That being said, this is potentially a very scary time for my wife and I. I've moved a lot in my life, and helped many others move as well but I've never moved with kids. I'm nervous about the logistics of the whole process but I think I'm even more nervous about getting the kids settled and comfortable in a whole new place.

The model we're looking at

In other news, Halloween is coming quickly (4 days away) and my daughter is pretty excited about it this year. She has been demanding to be Zarina, the Pirate Fairy, since she saw the movie. She briefly said she wanted to be a character from Monster High, but when faced with both costumes in front of her she went quickly back to the Pirate Fairy. So, now I'll be trying my hand at making her a pirate fairy sword seeing as we can't find any anywhere. I'm actually a little excited about it because my dad just gave me a band saw that will come in handy for this project :) With the excitement for the holiday, my daughter has also showed a new interest in facepaint and makeup. She's been watching some pretty cool videos on YouTube about facepainting, here's one she's been watching. She's even attempted a little herself since mommy was kind enough to get her some paints.

The boy, being only one, has no idea what's happening but we still got something cool to put him in for Trick or Treating. We found awesome Darth Vader pajamas with a cape and all. I'll be sporting a Darth Vader Sugar Skull T-shirt while I carry him around in order to strengthen his theme, hahaha. My daughter is very excited though and that always breaths new life into any holiday, when the offspring are discovering them all over again.

I also want to quickly point out another great, and very personal blog, by an old friend of mine that I recommend. You guys should follow her and share in her life adventure. Check out Colleen's blog at, Searching and Servitude.

Post 13 (10/7/14)

Long time no see, my loyal readers. I know that you haven't heard anything from me for quite a while, and I apologize for that. This last few months has been really crazy around here. I could go into so many different little details, but I'll spare you guys all my bitching and moaning.

Just to serve as a quick overview: my daughter still isn't sleeping well and now camps out on the floor next to our bed just so we can get a decent nights sleep, my son has finally weened off of formula (man that stuff stinks) and is drinking whole milk and being introduced to new foods every day, and the biggest stressor we've been coping with is we're planning on selling our house and buying a new one. This is the biggest underlying reason for my lack of motivation when it came to creating a new post for you guys.

On the plus side, I've completed school and am totally done for the foreseeable future. I've completed the AA program at Heald and will focus on being a stay-at-home dad, podcaster, and blogger from here on.

With that in mind, I've been reading other blogs lately, mostly parenting related blogs as well. I'm just not sure I'm really cut out for parental blogging. All the ones that I've been reading, that seem to be successful and popular, are structured around giving advice or guidance for other parents. I don't see how that's something I could even attempt. Who am I to tell all of you how you should be parenting? I'm still figuring all this out as I go. It would be one thing if my kids were in High School and successful and I was advising you guys on small kids, but that's not the case. In fact, most of the blogs I read have kids close to the same age as mine. I admire the confidence these parents have in the choices they've implemented and any success they've seen, both in parenting and blogging. But I've just come to the conclusion that I'm just a dude trying his best to be a good dad. I'll tell you guys when I figure out something that worked with my kids. I'll share my opinions on parenting, and even sometimes marriage, related subjects. But I will not be the one trying to tell you guys how to get it done. In fact, I'll probably ask for help from time to time.

I hope that's not too disappointing, and I hope that my sharing is more entertaining than anything else and it keeps bringing you guys back for more. I know writing this really does help me when I muster up the motivation, and find the time, to type it out for you guys.

Bodie had to hop up and see what Dad was doing.

Bonus Post

Just wanted to share this awesome post by another great dad blogger. You guys should absolutely check out the things they're doing over there. This one in particular nailed it for me and I figured, I can't say it any better, so you guys should just read theirs :)

10 Things No One Ever Told Me About Having a Daughter