Time To Dad Up For A Few Days

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So I am a lone wolf for a few days on the parenting front. My wife is out of town for work and that means it is just me and the monsters, I mean boys.

Am I worried? Not in the slightest. I am actually looking forward to it.

The key – rolling with whatever happens.

It’s just two days, but I will be happy when my partner in crime returns.

There are some variables already being thrown my way.

First, our little guy is riding the temperature train. Up and down, up and down. Will he stay at school? Won’t he? It is as dramatic as one of the buzzer beater games from the weekend of March Madness.

Second, our region is supposed to get the mother of all snow dumps tomorrow. Yay!

Guest Post: My Son’s Helping Hand to My Health

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This is a guest post by Jared Harris.

Last year, one of my buddies asked me if I would help him with the renovations on one of his several residential properties. Besides some volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity with some of my fraternity brothers, I had no real previous experience in anything home improvement-related. Still, I agreed to help.

In the process of installing a glass-paneled door, I tripped over a nail and lost the grip on my side of the door. My right hand went directly through the glass, slicing four of my tendons in the process. I panicked and there was blood everywhere. I had no idea what the extent of my injury was before we made it to the emergency room, but I knew that I had lost total control of both my index finger and thumb. During the car ride, I tried to make my brain tell my fingers to move, but nothing would happen.

Guest Post: Teaching Children About Violence in Video Games

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This is a guest post by Ken Myers.

While you may not allow your children to play violent video games, that does not mean they won’t be exposed to them. Here are some tips to help you teach your children about violence in video games and help them to grow in maturity and understanding:

Teach the Children Wisely – Teaching children about digital violence and how it doesn’t relate to the real world isn’t as difficult as some parents may think. Although I believe that certain ages really don’t need to be subjected to some forms of violence, I also believe that parents have a responsibility to discuss the difference between reality and fantasy with children. Even though you may not allow violent video games in the home, it doesn’t mean that his or her friends won’t have those games at their houses.

A Dad’s Life: Being a Stay at Home Parent

Here is my monthly post I submit to HRM Parent. For this one I looked back on how much I enjoyed my brief time as a stay at home dad and talk about how I would love to do it again.

A Dad’s Life: Being a Stay at Home Parent

It has been almost 6 months since my parental leave ended and a common question I get is, would I do it again, meaning be a stay at home dad?

The answer without even thinking about it would be, yes!

Why, you ask? Well, as they say in the Lego Movie, everything is awesome.

Here are 5 reason why I would go back to staying home with the kids if the opportunity presented itself again.

Do You Take Your Kids Grocery Shopping?

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Grocery shopping. Love it or hate it, there is not many options to avoid it. Unless you like eating takeout food your whole life, you are going to have to step into a grocery store at some point.

I have always loved going grocery shopping. The thrill of picking out new foods and all the possibilities just waiting to be put in your cart.

Yes, some days are harder than others. Some days you can’t stand how busy it is in the store. But generally, I enjoy it.

So how did that change once kids came on the scene? Well there were changes of course.

Grocery shopping became more like a strategic mission that you hoped would work.

My Boys Are Growing Like Weeds

As the weeks fly by and you are just trying to get from point A to point B, you can easily stop noticing things. Lately, I have started to really see the growth of my two boys. I am not talking about new stages of life or new talents achieved, I am talking about literal growth.

We did an update to our growth chart that we mark on a wall with marker.

Harrison: 53 months – 44 inches tall.

Charlie: 16 months – 32.2 inches tall.

Like I said, they are already big kids and I can see at least one of them  outgrowing dad (6’5).

Here is a photo that shows it really well.

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Hey Dads, What Are Your Dirty Little Secrets?

Yesterday on HRM Parent, I did a post listing off a few of the dirty little secrets I have kept to myself while being  a parent. You know, those little secrets you keep to yourself, whether they were done by accident or on purpose.

Like the following excerpt from the post:

1. Pretending to be sleeping when your kid comes in the room at 4am. Yes, I have done it. The boy comes in to our room in the middle of the night and I have pretended to be sleeping until my wife takes care of it. This also happened for both boys when they were babies.

Read the full post (please do) called A Dad’s Life: Dirty Little Secrets.