Covers on all the outlets – babies like to stick things there all the time, toys, fingers, sometimes they try to eat it

Latches on any drawers and cabinets with dangerous, or stuff in there that you don’t want the kids to get into

R ubber or plastic edges on sharp corners- a light bump on a sharp corner is an instant black eye or lump

Secure Unstable things to walls, so they don’t fall on the baby when they pull or climb on them, like- bookshelves, standing lamps, mirrors etc

Gates on the stairs- because a baby falling down the stairs in not good for anyone

For me, the hardest thing that you have to do to keep the baby safe, is keeping all of the tiny little things off the floor.  Especially when you have a toddler that plays with barbies and all their little stuff…

The boy is nine months old now, and I can tell… he’ll be walking soon.  He is learning some good tricks from his big sis, like how to climb up on things by stacking things up to get higher.  Soon he will learn that the higher you get… the harder you will fall.  We have had a few good falls, no blood… but still good falls.  I can tell that this boy is going to be tough… little tank.

We have his nine month appt  in a few days and am looking forward to seeing just how big he has really gotten.  He is in 12-18 month clothes size 4-5 shoes, eating solid foods (tiny bits) loves meat!  And wears the same size diapers and the girl! (Yes the girl is still in diapers… working on it)  The boy is huge and really mobile and determined to be big.  Totally opposite of Marley who is all girly girl, this guy is all boy… but a super mama’s boy.  Man, he loves his mama. Its super cute to see… but boy oh boy….

Marley, who is just turning two and half acts way to old for her own good.  She literally knows everything that is going on.  Her vocabulary is amazing, and there is nothing that she cant say.  It’s really fun to have a full on conversation with a 2 1/2 yr old little girl, I spend most of the day laughing and amazed at what comes out of her mouth.  I know I’m some deep shit when she gets older, because this girl has a mind of her own.  Dresses every day, high heels, hair done.  The girl even gets pedicures with her mom a few times a month.

Tonight she said to me

“Dad, my toes are bad!  I going to get my toes done with mom”

You are?

“I getting purple sparkle toes and fingers too! I am, I am!”

Just kidding, I got this under control… I hope.

Mar is doing great at swimming…. holing her breath, going under water, paddling and kicking… but still sinking.  I’m hoping she’ll be closer to swimming on her own by the end of the summer (hey, it could happen).

Teach you kids to swim.

Every Tuesday and Friday night at 9:00 at Cal Anderson Park, awaits an army of rubber ball wielding roughens of the likes you have never seen.  People of all types are there, ready to fight to the death… or at least until the ball crushes your face.  These kids are relentless.  This is not the dodgeball that I remember… this was nuts.  There were about fourty of fifty people all cramed onto one half of a tennis court, and about 20 balls flying at supersonic speeds.

I have to say, that I couldnt get the smile off my face the entire time (even after a ball hit it), and after one hour of play… I was done.  Super fun, and it made me feel like a kid again.   If you want some fun in your life, get out there and play.

Then Sunday I played in my first outdoor soccer match since 1997.  I play goalie so conditioning and stamina were not what I was really worried about.  It was the fact that I have about 40 pounds on my former self, and haven’t dove on the ground on purpose in a really long time.  I must say, that I still got it… a little slower, but I can still get in front of a ball when it counts.  The game ended 2-5.

Today I woke up feeling really, really old.  my entire body is bruised and beaten.  I could barely raise my head to get out of bed, and even my fingers hurt.  The strapping young man that used be at the peak of physical performance, has turned into a soft pile of mush.  The years have not been kind to my body, and its time get it back.

I am not the kid that I used to be… and it hurts.  Ouch

Montlake Kiddie Corral

The Montlake Ale House is a pub where you can go and watch your favorite Word Cup match, have a pint of beer… and bring your kid!  This place looks great, and I was going to wait until I personally check it out to do this, but I didn’t want anyone to miss out.  I will do a better review after I check it out.

Montlake Ale House

2307 24th Avenue East
Seattle, WA 98112-2606
(206) 726-5968

View Larger Map

Anyway, I searched for some games I really like.  Dodgeball, and soccer.  I found both.  I found a bunch of dudes that play dodgeball every Tuesday and Friday night up in Seattle.  It’s a little far, but I feel like it will be fun.  I had to miss the Tuesday match, because of the ping pong.  Bur Friday night at Cal Anderson Park, it’s on.  And then I found a outdoor, Soccer Team that needs a goalie, they play on Sundays… I played last in high school in 97.  But I have played off and on, indoor style.  It should be an adventure… God I hope that my keeper skills haven’t deteriorated as much as my body has.  I will let ya know how things go.

Have you ever thought you were really good at something, then found out you were not… heart breaking isn’t it?  Hope I’m not setting myself up for a beating.

From The Seattle Times

Wow…

Last Thursday, I got a call from a reporter at the Seattle Times, telling me that they were going to be doing a story on stay at home dads for the Father’s Day edition of the paper.  She was wondering if it would be cool of she asked me some questions.  I was like “heck ya” ask away.   She did.  A few hours later, the reporter called again and asked if she and a photographer could come out to the house in the morning and hang out for few hours and take some photos.  Again, I said yes… thinking this would be perfect for getting the Seattle Area Stay at Home Dads group some more members, and some more visitors to the blog.

Well, you can read the story by clicking here!

but i must say, that the story seemed to make out to be some kind of stress case… look at the photo they chose.  When they were taking this photo, I was thinking to myself how funny it would be if they chose this time (when I was feeding a baby, with a toddler attached to my head) to use the picture.  Well they did, and wouldn’t ya know it… used the photo that made it look like was in complete disaster mode (I was not), and then put it with a headline that says “He’s Mr. Mom, at its the hardest job he has ever had”

Seriously!!! That’s what your going with.  And it’s not like job is terrible at all.  I love my job as caregiver.  And it’s not like the other jobs I have had are hard at all (car salesman and bartender), so there is really no comparison.

It was fun to be in the paper, and I got a ton of visitors to the blog.  It’s nice to see that some people are enjoying some of the stuff that I have put on the website in the last few years, and I hope that the comments keep coming.  That why I make the blog… to get out there, make some connections online, and hopefully meet some other stay at home dads to BS with about our situations.

The laundry dosent stop… ever.  And if you dont do it, like everyday… the stuff really gets out of hand.

I know that this is nothing new to all you moms and dads out there.  But I just felt the need to point it out.

I put everything into piles like this… its crazy

1. Boys socks
2. Girls socks
3. boys pants
4. boys shirts
5. boys pajamas
6. boys shorts
7. boys onesies
8. boys jackets
9. bibs
10. burp rags
11. girls pants
12. girls shirts
13. girls dress that get hung up
14. girls shirts that get hung up
15. swimsuits
16. moms undies and stuff
17. moms shirts
18. moms pants
19. moms shirts to hang
20. moms pants to hang
21. moms pjs
22. moms socks
23. dish towels
24. bath towels
25. hand towels
26. hoodie towels
27. and my stuff gets tossed into a drawer

And that’s it…

For the first few hours we were able to stay in the bathroom, watch TV, and read books and play with barbies (tons of fun), and she went pee once.  Then we came downstairs so i could get the bottle ready to feed the baby.  I should have went back up stairs, but, instead I decided to feed the kid.  A few minutes into the feeding, my daughter came running out of her play room holding a poopy diaper, saying “I got poop on my couch!”

“Shit!”  I yelled (oops).  I had to stop the feeding… which really pissed off the baby, and immediately stated a  real “shit fit.” Then she handed me the diaper with a perfect ice-cream scoop size poop in it.  Before I was able to grab the poopy diaper, she ran off, and the little sticky tabs on the diaper were stuck to her shirt, so the mess was going with her.  I quickly grabbed the diaper, squishing the poop between my fingers, and carried her to the sink.  Holding her in one arm, I washed off my poopy hand and finished off the job.  What a mess.

The lesson is… there must be no interrupting the potty training day… or the feeding of the baby… How do ya do both?