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.

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!

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.

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.

Right now I am putting the finishing touches on a deck/kid cage in the back yard, and finishing us some last fix-its before my time is all gone.  Also I just got a email from the Normandy Park Swim Club, saying that I can join the club on a rental basis for the entire summer.  This really makes me happy, now I will be able to take the kids down to the pool all summer.  And you can bring a cooler, beer, BBQ stuff.  Paradise.

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Christmas, along with 2009 has come and gone.  Wow, that went fast, it seems like the blink of an eye.  Being a stay at home dad during the holidays is pretty stressful.  Lots of Christmas shopping, cleaning of the house, wrapping of the gifts, decorating, baking, running countless errands.   Lots of stuff to keep us busy.

This year was great.  Seeing our little Marley grow up so fast, has been strange.  Just last year, she was barley getting around, and now… well things are much different to say the least.  She is running all over the place, and running our lives, and running us ragged.  She is getting so big, and so smart, and so sassy.  This girl is nuts over princesses, and princes, and singing, and telling us how it is.

Getting her to do what we want is getting harder, as she gets smarter and able to make more decisions… Marley is going to do what Marely is going to do.

She is getting really anxious for baby brother too.  Oh ya… that’s another thing that coming.   Any day now.  The baby right now, not even born yet… is measuring about 9lbs.  Its going to be a big one.  I feel sorry for my wife… ouch.  She’s super strong and determined, and ready for the baby boy.  Still no name.

Everything is in place now.  The bags are all packed, the room is ready, the swing, bassinet, pack and play, newborn car seat is hooked up, phone numbers on speed dial… just waiting for the words….”It’s time”

We decided to go with this whole forest owl motif.  We painted some owl pictures, hung up a deer antler coat rack, and got some super duper heavy furniture.  I would love for this to be my room… its that cool.

“Hey, when were you supposed to have your period?”

She replies…”a few weeks ago” sounding all happy and stuff

“What!? Ahh S#%t, are you fu*&%$g kidding me!”

So off to the grocery store you go to get the test…you get back to the room, hand over the test and… “+” is all that you see.

Well that is  what happend to us a few months ago.   The new little one is supposed to come on January 15 2010.  Oh… and its a boy this time!

Looks like my job as a stay at home dad, just got a promotion.