Day 2: All Day Long, All Day Long Son(s)

like a dad

Yep, this is real. This staying home to take care of the kids is a thing. No turning back now. The wife seems pretty happy to be at work and coming home to cooked meals and tired boys.

So as you read, Day 1 was a  success. Every lived, nothing burned down and I still managed to get dinner ready before 10pm.

So what do we do for an encore? We add another kid into the mix. Yep, Monday’s and Wednesday’s Harrison stays home from school. So today was my first day with both boys, alone, all day long (son).

Recipe: Beer Can Chicken On Big Green Egg

Big Green Egg Updated January 26, 2026 I did up a beer can chicken on the Big Green Egg today and wanted to share the recipe. Nothing like celebrating the first day of parental leave with a juicy chicken, slow cooked to perfection.
 
The recipe and cooking details What you need
  • 1 chicken cleaned out. Can be anywhere from 10-15lbs. Cook a little longer, the bigger the bird, of course.
  • Your choice of rub. Today I used brown sugar, salt, onion salt and pepper.
  • Half a can of beer with a few garlic cloves tossed in. Drink the other half.. Today I am using a pale ale.
  • 4 pieces of bacon are added to the top of the bird once it is sitting on the can.
  • An aluminium tray or plate setter, which is what I will use on the Big Green Eggs. You don’t want anything dripping on the charcoal.
  • Big Green Egg primed to sit at 375 F.
  • Cooking time 1.5-2 hours.

Day 1: Getting Everything In Order

Like a Dad

Today is the first day of my parental leave and so far so good it has been great. As expected, our baby boy is stuck on a routine, so all you have to do is follow it and he is a breeze.

He is currently napping, which gives me some time to update. I have decided that I will do one post today that deals with the day-to-day of the parental leave. That way, those who want to follow without the rest of the stuff, they can.

I will add updates to the same post as the day goes and as I have time to add. So if you read the post early in the day, it could change.

So here goes, Day 1 as of 1:30pm local time.

You Need An All-Star Point Guard To Win – In This Case, Mom

The last week or so a lot has been happening in our house. The two biggest of course are first, my taking over the day time parenting duties for our 6-month old son and second, March Madness.

For me, college basketball’s wild tournament is like Christmas. So much good basketball to watch. This year has been extra special as my beloved Michigan Wolverines are back. They made it to the Final Four with a crushing 20-point win over Florida on Saturday. I did not even have to break a sweat watching that one.

So, I figured I would tie the two hot topics together for this post.

To win the big game, you need an All-Star point guard and in this case, a wife/mom who is the floor general for the household.

Tomorrow my wife heads back to work after six months away taking care of our little guy. I will be assuming all that comes with that role starting tomorrow for the next six months. Crazy eh?

Today Is My Last Day Of Work

Michael CusdenNo, I did not retire in my 30’s, win the lottery or just decide to become a recluse – today is my last day of work because I am starting parental leave next week.

For 27 weeks I will be the parent on duty during the day while my wife heads back to work.

Why on earth am I doing this? Because I want to.

So today is my last eight hours of working for the man so to speak. Now don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy my job as a marketer at SimplyCast. The office is fun and I get to do what I do best – write stuff.

But this stay home dad thing has been something I have wanted to do ever since we had our first boy.

It is not a vacation, a break, a rest, a chance to take it easy or any of the many other terms people use when you say you are going on parental leave. It is honest-to-god, hard ass work and for all the parents who do it – my hat goes off to you.

Working in an office all day, sitting in a chair typing is not hard compared to what is in store. But it will also be 27 weeks of fun, learning, laughs, naps, tears, poop, crying and growth. That is not even referring to the baby.

Coming Up On 6 Months – Where Did The Time Go?

478_445744118837369_1428463741_nNext week are baby boy, will be 6-months old. What? Really? It has been that long already?

Yep. The best part is we are almost out of the not-so-fun parts of the whole experience and into the really fun stuff.

The sleeping through the night is almost there, the sitting is almost there and the interaction is almost there.

Every day we work on the sitting and it is so close. That opens up a lot of new things. Big bath, other stroller options and just more playing and fun with everyone.

For my wife, the breast-feeding is coming to a close. I know she wishes she could do it longer, but it just is hard and does not make sense to prolong it. I hear the pumping is unpleasant. Plus now I can help out with bottles.

The boy has become very handsy which is fun to watch him go for things. Whether it be his toys, low hanging food and my favourite to watch, his brother.

When You Have Boys, You Better Have Bandaids

Man, our three-year old lately has just been a mess. The human bruise would be fitting. He is covered in dark circles ranging from brown to purple. Pretty typical for a toddler figuring it all out.

In the last week he has stepped up his game and added scratches and red marks. For a mild-mannered guy, his anger and non-listening has also gone up lately.

Last week, we had to sign a note at his school because he bit another kid. Turns out later, we discovered a rather large bump on his head, that could have triggered the rage to bite. It was a real golf ball on the head.

Then his first day back after that incident, we got a call from the school saying he scratched up his face going down a slide head first. I guess he hit the gravel at the bottom. In the school’s defense, they did ask him not to do it.

Sorry For Not Daddy Bloggin’

Man where did the last two weeks go? I just realized I have not done a post since Feb. 28th. That is pretty embarrassing for a guy who used to throw down like Bobby Flay when it came to blogging.

The reason for my lack of words? Two boys.

Pretty fitting that the reason I have not had time to work on my parent related blog is because I have been parenting.

There are so many parent blogs out there, I often wonder how they do it? Do they have 26 hours in a day? Do they have kids who come pre-trained? Do they even have kids and are just doing a front? Who knows.

All I know, is that between our two boys, work and trying to keep the home life afloat, there is certainly little time to write about it.

The free time I do have, I tend to be sitting on the couch for 10 minutes before passing out for two hours.

So, is this going to change? Should I even keep trying to have this blog?

Oh, don’t you worry, I will be making it happen going forward.