We recently made the switch to solid foods.  Well, not really solid… mush.  I am really starting to miss the days of a strict boob milk diet.  Not too many poops and the smell was bearable.  Now, with the addition of formula and baby food, the poo flood gates have opened and I have found myself in a non stop diaper changing haze.  I mean it’s nuts man.  It doesn’t stop.  Back to back to back do do’s.  And to make it worse, I still have yet to get the girl potty trained… but it’s just been so damn nice outside, I don’t want to spend the entire week inside.  But, I guess that’s my fault though.  Sorry mama, looks like we might have to wait until you take your next vacation to tackle the potty training thing.

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

Now that summer is really here, I am sure that we’ll be getting down to the local watering hole (pool) a lot more often.  And that means I will have to be on my A game when it comes to watching the kid in the pool.  I cant stress how important I think that is to know how to swim.  It’s one of those things that you just need to know how to do… because if you cant swim, it’s like not knowing how to breathe.

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.

Father’s Day for me has always been about spending some time with my dad, and do the things that he wants to do that day.  We go over to my parents house for breakfast, or a dinner BBQ.  We usually go golfing and have a few drinks together during the day.  And then go home.  And that’s it until next year.  That’s the only day that dads get to truly feel like its their day.  I wondered what the day is like inside the head of a dad… did he want to do something else, hang with his buddies, watch sports games all day, or just sit and do nothing.  Or was he just glad that it would be a day for all of the family to get together and catch up… as a family.

Tomorrow is Father’s Day… and again, I am going golfing with my dad followed up by some BBQ.  But this year… I am a dad too.  Times two.  I have two little ones of my own at home, and as much as I want the day to be all about me hanging out with my kids and family all day… I just want my kids to be able to hang out with their mom, my wife, and their grandpa… and let me do all the work… after golfing and drinks of course.

Everyday for me is fathers day!  Us stay at home dads, are really the luckiest guys in the world. We get to spend all day, everyday with the kids, and do whatever we want to.  We get to see the kids grow up, raise them, play all day, really take care of the house, and the wife.  We get to have the best of life.  However, the job of the stay at home dad (or mom) is grueling, and un-relentless.  Sometimes mentally exhausting (all the time), physically tiring (most of the time), and the bosses (the kids) are demanding, unforgiving, and always EXPECT and DESERVE nothing but 110% from you all the time.  There is no calling in sick, sleeping on the job, coming in late for work, taking a extra long break ( no breaks at all).   We are on the job all day, every day.

But we are LUCKY and BLESSED that we get to have the great privilege of raising a family, being there all the time for them, giving them all of our best, and truly earning the right to be called DAD!

Being a Stay At Home Dad in Seattle, you are sure to come across some rainy days… 70% of them.  So, you need to have some good plans on how you are going to be spending most of your days.  Here 10 things to do on a rainy day in Seattle

1. Turn the house into a fort-  you can always find some stuff to do at home., make a fort out of couch cushions, put blankets all over the place, play hide and go seek.
2. Try potty training- got nothing else to do?  Why not get the whole potty thing training thing over and done with.(Requires lots of rainy days… luckily we have lots of thoese
3. Go to the Seattle Aquarium- this is sure to make for a great day.  Lots of fun stuff for the kids to look at, and even tide pools where they can touch marine life.  There is lots to do down on the Seattle Waterfront.
4. Seattle Chilerens Museum- way too much to list for the kids, so visit the site.  Its at the Seattle Center and there is so much to do, that you cant do it all in a day.
5. Seattle Science Center- way more fun for you… but your kids of all ages are sure to find lots of stuff to make them happy.  It always good to get them interested in science and fun educational stuff… plus it brings us back to your nerdy self.  You know that you have been sitting around watching the Science and History channel… go eat some astronaut ice cream, I love it.
6. Seattle Art Museum- Fun for the entire family, and they have some really good kids programs.  Its always free for kids under 13, and free for everyone on the first Thursday of the month
7. Play In It-  Get the kids in their galoshes and head outside.  Saltwater State Park in Des Moines is a fun place to go exploring in tide pools and there are lots of walking trails
8. Go To the Movies- Take the kids to a movie on a weekday during the day.  Usually there is no one there to be bothered by your noisy little kids… not that we care.
9. Walk the Mall-  waste a few hours walking around the mall, most big malls have a children’s play area, and its always good to get the kids playing with others… plus they will be tired from walking and fall asleep in the car on the way home, and you can just carry them to bed.
10. Visit Grandmas- cant find anything else to do… go visit your mom or some family members.  You know that they always want to see the babies, and you can even score some free lunch or a babysitter for a hour or so, and you can have a little time to yourself.

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.