#Movember Day 26 – Getting Used To The Scruffy

I have not been the best at keeping the blogging community as updated as I would have liked on my Mo. But that ‘stache is still going strong and I have received several compliments on it. Not bad eh?

So Day 26 is here and I have to let you all know, I am just over half way to my goal of $500. This year it has seemed much harder to raise money. Maybe last year was just a lucky run?

Who knows. Anyways, I am still doing what I can to raise awareness for men’s health and I feel proud to be walking around with the growth.

Here is today’s photo update.

How To Prepare Your Family For Christmas

This is a guest post by James Smith.

Christmas is one of the most popular events in the calendar year. It commemorates the birth of Jesus, and is observed by millions of Christians and non-Christians worldwide. It is a time to celebrate and generally spread good cheer. Although it is a joyful season, it can be quite hectic for the family, and if you do not prepare in advance, the meaning of the season may be lost. Below are some tips on how to prepare your family for Christmas.

Plan for Christmas together

As a family, you can start planning for Christmas as early as January. Decide if you want to go on holiday, visit friends and family locally or just stay at home. If you decide to go on holiday, choose the destination and set the dates. If you decide to stay at home, agree on what the family will do on that day.

Start saving at the beginning of the year

After the family has agreed on what to do on Christmas, come up with an estimated budget. Once you have the budget, encourage the whole family to start saving some cash weekly. The cash can be put in one jar or each member of the family can save in their own jar. When you save together, Christmas becomes something to look forward to.

Well Those Pants Will Need Washing

Today started out like any other morning. I got up at 6:30 am and fed the pets. Then I moved on to the boys, one by one.

First I wake up Harrison because he moves like a teenager and needs a good 10 minutes to get out of bed.

Then I move on to Charlie. I get him dressed, hair brushed and ready for the day.

Back to Harrison and getting him dressed while Charlie plays and tries to get to toys he really should not be touching.

Harrison is dressed and we are on our way down stairs. It takes 10-15 minutes and just like today, it went smooth.

We did not even wake up Katie (I don’t think).

I then did the one thing a parent should never do.

November is Moving Along One Step At A Time

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Wow, it is almost half way through November or Movember as you hairy beasts are calling it.

Where has the time gone? I know where – life.

The days since returning to work have been hectic. As I wrote before, we are working on finding a normal routine and that has been a challenge.

The kids are growing up so fast and in particular, Charlie. He is 13 months old now and just ready to explode in so many ways.

We took him for his first ever haircut on Friday. He looks so grown up now.

He is crawling like a flash and his legs are finding the strength for extended standing.

You know what that leads too, right? Yep, walking.

Our Weekend Got A Great Booster When Needed

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A lot went on over the weekend, but nothing was more exciting than shaking up the back seat of our car. We had a game of musical car seats which included Harrison getting his first booster seat and Charlie upgrading to forward facing.

Needless to say, it was a hit. Both boys loved it. Harrison enjoys being behind the driver and Charlie looked like a mob boss sitting there with his arms on the arm rests. Yes, he was comfortable.

Charlie turned 13 months old today, so it was a fitting moment to do the change. I am pretty excited about not having to wrestle with two car seats when it comes to taking them out and putting them in.

My wife is thrilled that it won’t be a struggle to put both kids in the car on the morning.

Everyone is happy. Perfect.

The New Normal: Life After Going Back To Work

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Back to life, back to reality.

Ever since my gig called parental leave ended a few weeks ago, our home has been in a bit of chaos.

The entire goal of the day now is to survive and get to the end. The mornings are different. The day is different. Thankfully the nights are pretty much the same other than the fact that we are much more tired.

Everything changed when dad went back to work.

Four different people. Four routines changed in a blink of an eye.

This One Goes Out To The Fans

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Well the blog has certainly seen better days. The last few weeks of transitioning back to work has left me tired and uninspired.

This covers all the bases. Cooking, cleaning and of course blogging.

Who knew two boys would be so much work. (Ha, says all the people with at least two kids.)

Before the blog had a hook. I was a dad on parental leave. I was doing something very different and worth reading about.

Now? I am just a dad who goes to work in the morning and comes home in the evening and tries his best to spend time with the family.

That is pretty boring.

What I Miss About Parental Leave

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Well I have been back to work for one week now and it seems like just a distant memory since I was home with the kids on parental leave.

Obviously I miss the quality time with Charlie and I really enjoyed being a temporary stay at home dad. I think I run a good house.

But work came calling and we need two incomes to get back to the comfortable life we enjoy.

Finding time to blog has also been hard to come by. Sure, there is actual time to do it, but when those moments happen, I am pretty content just to sit on the couch and do nothing.

Working and parenting again has taken a toll on me and most likely my family for this first week. We crave routine and it will happen soon enough.

Trips, birthdays, holidays, colds and all the other outside variables are gone, now we can just settle into a new normal (whether we like it or not).

While I have this 10 minutes before catching the bus, I wanted to make a quick list of a few things I really miss about my parental leave.

I also just wanted to check in and make sure you were still there.

Here goes.