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.

I have begun to not wash my clothes until they are really dirty.  I mean, either visibly dirty or offensively smelly.  And I’m not doing this as some tree-hugging type of thing… it’s out of sheer laziness.  That, and the fact that I need to figure out how to cut down on laundry some how.  With my wife, tossing pretty much everything that she touches in the hamper.  The kids going through 2,3, or 4, outfits in a day, some covered in poop!,.  A bunch of towels and cleaning towels, burp rags, hooter hiders, swim stuff, and blankets and pissy sheets to cap it all off.

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…

A about a month or two ago, we were pretty into the whole potty training thing.  My wife even, several times, did the whole “Potty Party” thing where we decorated the bathroom and had stickers, prizes, and candy to reward her for using the toilet.  Then we went on vacation, and the diapers came back on.  Well, now that it’s just me and the kids all day, potty training is something that I really don’t even want to attempt to do.  Until today.

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?

Are you looking for something fun to do on a Tuesday Night.  Try the All Star Sports Bar in Des Moines, WA.  They have ping pong, every Tuesday night around 8:00.  The table is always open for play (except in weekend nights when they have bands playing).

At All Star Sports Bar in Des Moines, Ping Pong is no joke… the players here, for the most part are super good.  There is even a regular player that has actualy written a book on ping pong stuff.  The food is really, really good, and the bar is big.  The best part is that this bar, that is by no means huge… has over TWENTY FLAT SCREENS.  This place is great for sports, there is a TV in every place that one will fit.

PING PONG TOURNY at ALL STAR SPORTS BAR

22303 Marine View South

Des Moines, WA 98198

IN DES MOINES WA

TUESDAYS @ 8:00

View Larger Map (its where the Chinese Restaurant used to be… totally remodeled)

Here is a video of a band that played at All Star Sports Bar in Des Moines

Remember the time that going to the grocery store used to be just that… a trip to the store.  Well, now with two babies to look after alone during the day, that little trip to the store is a full blown outing. (For all the moms reading this… I know that you do it like everyday… but guess what… guys are not the same)

First of all, you have to get all ready and get the diapers changed before heading out, and that usually takes a few minutes, and sure enough… as soon as you get them both changed, one of them has a diaper blowout and you need to do a whole outfit change.  Then you need to change the other ones diaper again before finally getting all loaded up into the car.

So you get to the store and the baby is sleeping and the toddler is going out soon.  Since the baby was sleeping, I kept him in the car seat and tossed him in the basket of the cart (the Orbit car seat is weird and wont fit on the top like most car seats do).  This took up the entire cart and there was no room for the toddler seat, so she had to walk.  Unfortunately she was out cold and I had to carry her, and drag the shopping cart, stuffing groceries around the side of the seat.

When I got to the check outline… I realized that I must have left my wallet at home, so I abandoned the cart and took off.

A few hours later after nap time, I tried for round two.  I had only one request from my wife… her special shavers.  The first store that I went to didn’t have them so I just said fuck it, left, and went to another store.  That store didn’t have them either (time for a new brand).

Anyway, I spent all day going to the store… next time I am just ordering in from Safeway.com.  They deliver.

The lesson here is…

wait until the wife comes home, and then go to the store or just don’t go… until i possess the multitasking skills.