Saturday, October 29, 2011

The Kids Are Alright

I have to say being a father of more than one child is pretty damn cool. It is def cool to talk about your kids. When I'm at work I have to say which kid is which now. "Oh my oldest does this" and "My oldest is 22mos now." I do enjoy talking about my kids and I also enjoy showing pictures to anyone who wants to see them. The kids are always doing something new and I feel I should tell everyone!

I enjoy taking pictures of the both of them also, but alas our camera is broken. I think we will wait until Black Friday to get a new camera. We got the camera we have now on Black Friday for a very good deal. I think I will be flying solo this year though. One thing I learned from last year is don't even bother to go to Toys R Us on Thanksgiving. Just. Don't. Do it. Sears will be on my list of stores to stop by for some tools. We also live up the street from a Home Depot. Guess who will be getting some good deals from there?

Sometimes, I feel like I gotta get away. Having kids is stressful. But the good times are more than the bad and I wouldn't give up my kids for anything. I could use a vacation. Somewhere in the Rockies in January or Cancun in February. Screw it, how about both. It would probably be Cancun though as the wife does not ski.  Wait, on second thought I choose Jamaica. Red Stripes and golf would be perfect. I have a feeling I would have to bring the kids on vacation with me. I would miss them too much.

Well it looks like Lucy and I will be hitting the pool soon. She seems to love the water. Maggie doesn't really like the pool and for a while was not a fan of baths so she was taking showers with one of us. She thought is was the coolest thing to walk under the water. There is an indoor pool near the wife's grandparents and I think Lucy and I will have to partake in the pool activities. I love the water and I feel very natural in the water. I spent a lot of time when I was growing up in the water. I have been to many beaches, almost broke my neck on the north shore on O'ahu body boarding, Grand Cayman, South Padre Island, Oregon (Huge pet peeve, It is not OR  a GONE. As a former Oregonian I hate when people miss pronounce it, and Illinois too for that matter.) all over Florida, and all over of O'ahu. Looks like I will have someone to go to the beach with! The wife is not a big fan of the beach, and since Maggie is pretty much a clone of the wife I have a feeling she will not like the water either.    

Friday, October 28, 2011

Five for Friday: Five Foods That Maggie Likes to Eat.

Greetings everyone! Time sure does fly when you have kids. I thought it would move a lot slower due to the lack of sleep. This week is five foods that Maggie likes to eat.

1. Cheese. She loves cheese so much she constantly asks for it and now has learned to open the mini fridge in our kitchen and find the cheese and bring it to mommy or daddy and ask for some (we are planing on gut-rehabbing our kitchen very soon, so we the only full sized fridge we have is in our basement). She always asks for some right at bedtime.

2. Juice box, sure this really isn't a food, but she absolutely loves them and constantly asks for juice. She has gotten a little better and she knows now that she gets one after nap time.

3. Carrots. She loves them so much she will sneak a few every time we open the fridge. This is one food that I don't mind she sneaks all the time. In fact she loves all fruits and vegetables.

4. Cookies. Gee I wonder why, lol.

5. Ice Cream. I love share my ice cream with her and being an only child myself, I don't like sharing. She is also the only one that I share my tomatoes with. They are like crack and I never share. Now that I have a yard there will be plenty of tomatoes grown here. Like I said they are lick crack!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Five for Friday: Five Words That Can Change Your Life.

Here are five words that can change your life.

1. Pregnancy- Most of us have gotten this one. For most it is good news. From what I have been hearing, not so good for Ashton Kutcher.

2. Layoffs- Yep I've been there. This why I spent ten months in Miami. Couldn't wait to get back to Chicago. I met the wife a month after I came back.

3. Marriage- What a change for me. I thought I'd never get married.

4. Divorce- My parents went through this. I never want to.

5. Graduation- It is the start of better things to come. Soon it will be my turn. *Side note- I was just made a member of the Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society. Now that kicks ass! I'm a member of something Greek!

Friday, October 14, 2011

Terrible Twos

It would appear that the terrible twos, as they call it when a toddler is two, has begun. Yes Maggie is not quite two, but she is exhibiting some terrible twos type behavior. The wife was changing Maggie's diaper the other day and Maggie kept trying to kick her and laughing when we were trying to scolding her. She thought it was the greatest game in the world. Maggie hasn't done this with me yet, but she has done other thing to me. Maggie likes to hit people. She has smacked me in the face a few time. She is putting a little more time in the time-out chair these days.

Another one of Maggie's issues is that she needs to learn to listen when she is being told not to do something.  I know it will take time. She will eventually learn. She sure knows the word juice, but not the word no. She sure does know how to say no also.

I am amazed on how much Maggie understands. She understands almost everything the wife and I tell her (except no, haha). We ask her what she wants to drink and she will tell us. She is also great at yes or no questions. One question she always answers with a no is that if she is ready for bed.

Lucy is sleeping on her own a lot more. Although today she seems to want to be fed about every five minutes.  She started at 6am and about every hour she would wake and want more milk. When I am feeding her she will eat, stop for a few minutes, and then want more. It has been and endless cycle today. Even as I write this I am feeding her. At least she is sleeping for hours at a time and mostly all through the night.

Five for Friday: Five Things My Kids Have Done For Me.

Happy Friday Everyone. Fall is here and it is beautiful outside. Here are five thing my kids have done for me.

1. Made me proud to be a father.

2. Taught me to handle bodily waste problems. Poopie diaper in public? No problem!

3. Given me gray hairs.

4. Made me a better person.

5. Kept me off the course for the last year and a half. This might be a good thing. Especially if you are a tree.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

A New Level

Today was much like yesterday, but with more crying. Not by me, mind you, but by Maggie and Lucy. It is tough when both of them want to be held at the same time. Lucy is getting much better at sleeping on her own. This is a huge relief, because we would constantly have to hold her. Not much you can do when you are holding a baby.

I chickened out of story time. I just wasn't ready and I had a feeling Lucy was gonna want to eat during that time and I was correct. Would of been tough to participate in story time while feeding Lucy (story time has a lot of singing and other stuff going on). So we stayed home and played with Play-doh instead.

Lucy is holding her head up really well by herself. I think she is doing it a little faster than Maggie did. Lucy was trying to lift her head hours after she was born. Sometimes it seems like she is ready to get up and start  walking. They say the second is supposed to walk sooner. I think they might be right on this one.

Maggie likes to help out.

Sunday, October 9, 2011

I'm a Survivor

Today was the first day with both girls all to myself. It was time for the wife to return to work. No one was ready for this day to come. I certainly was not prepared.

When it was just Maggie and I, it was not too bad most days. We had our little routine down pretty well. Some days were bad for both of us though. I wasn't exactly sure how I would handle both of the girls at the same time, but today honestly was not that bad. Sure I had both of them crying at one time for a bit, but I handled it. It started out a little rough with Lucy waking up at around 6am because she was hungry (none of us are morning people). The wife was pumping, so I heated up a bottle for Lucy and fed her. I thought she would be up for a while, but she slept until 11:30am. Maggie didn't get me up until 9:30. Thank you Maggie for letting me sleep in!! Not too long after breakfast Maggie was at the back window asking me for her shoes. She had decided she wanted to go find mommy. All day Maggie kept calling "Ba!" That is what she calls mommy. She calls me dada, but she will only say 'Ba" for mommy. She laughs when we try to get her to say mommy, and says "Ba".

It seemed like all day I had one of the girls with me at all times. One would start crying so I would pick them up and a little later I would have to switch again. Today was football Sunday, so the TV was on maybe a little too much. Maggie and Lucy helped me root on the 49ers as they kicked those Bucs back to Tampa. Thanks for stopping by. I thought Lucy would scream throughout the entire game, but she ended up sleeping from about five until the wife came home.

Today wasn't a bad start to me watching the girls all day. I hope tomorrow will be more of the same, but I am being told we have to go to story time at the library. Send help! Just me and the girls. Gulp!
Maggie did this all herself to carry her little friend around in.