Daddy Time with Mr. Mom

Belated but Updated!

So it's been a bit since my blog was updated... Many great things have happened during my recent hiatus. Wholly dissatisfied with my job as a Child Development Specialist and reaching the end of my rope with that organization closing its doors, I had my dream job fall into my lap! I am currently the Assistant Technology Director for my local school district. Having worked in computers prior to my career as a CDS, I had the necessary skills and qualities to get the job! What happened next can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. My supervisor, the Director, gave his 2 week notice on my first day. So, I'm basically doing both jobs now. I 'm just happy to have a good job and be home evenings with my kids. What's really nice is that Beckett comes to work with me everyday because I work at his school! I plan on posting more soon...

Capitalism in the home

I returned from work the other day to the most interesting story. My kids had been out of school last week with the flu. Beckett had some homework sent home and was asked to complete it. I knew the work had been sent home and I was also aware that Beckett was really looking forward to completing it.
Well, it turns out that it got done. The boy sub-contracted the work out to his sister. Apparently, for the sum of .50 cents a preschooler can be purchsed to complete a kindergartener's homework. I thought this was just genius! I've always said the intelligent person works smart, not hard. The .50 cents was  actually found in the sofa, so technically there was no overhead.  Also, Brynn showed great pride in her work and asked her big brother if he had anymore to do! Talk about a symbiotic relationship...

Picasa... Revolutionizing Pix

This has been out for a while, but it may be new to some of you out there. The people over at Google have made another step towards total global domination by creating Picasa. Like Flickr, this application is free and easy, just the way I like my ladies programs. Not only does it allow you to do basic photo editing, it has a good selection of effects that can really jazz up your ho-hum attempts at photography.  Also, when you install it, it pulls an iTunes move and searches your entire hard drive for any files it can organize; this includes pics and movies, so be careful about what may be lurking on your machine. Once Picasa scans your computer, you can tell it which files and folders to leave out, so you can avoid any embarrassing moments with the wife, kids, or house guests... Not that I speak from experience, because we all know that I'm perfect and never do anything deviant.

Tricking the Princess

I work mostly evenings. I'm gone 3 nights out of the week, working until 11 pm those days. What this has evolved into is an interesting situation for my boy and his Mommy. When I work at night, Beck's bedtime routine is altered. Where he would be in bed and sleeping by 8 pm if Daddy were home, the soft, compassionate Mommy allows him to stay up a little later. She claims, rather accurately, that "this is our time"; That time being an opportunity for her to spend time with her son, unimpeded by the demands and competition for affection that occurs when my daughter is awake. In their defense, for the past few months, the "plan" as I like to call it has gone off without a hitch! She settles into her giant Strawberry Shortcake bed and goes to sleep, completely unaware of her brother sneaking out of bed. Honestly, there are few places Brynn would rather be than asleep in her bed, so it was never such a big deal.

When I'm with my kids during the day on Thursdays and Fridays, Beck always asks if I have to work. When I say yes, he gets VERY excited... I tell myself that it's only because he likes his "Mommy" time, but I know it's because he wants to stay up later, something his sister isn't allowed to do. His exuberant glee when told that I'll be gone in the evening was starting to wear thin... Until the other day. I was at work when I received a text on my cell phone. It simply said "She busted us." Apparently, she had woken up and got out of bed; something she has never done before. My wife recounts the story like so:

"Beck and I were watching Extreme Home Makeover when Brynn poked her head into the family room. She just looked at me, very sleepy and confused. The only thing she said was 'Why is Beckett in here?' in as skeptical a tone as a 3 year old can muster."

I guess she finally caught on. In a way, I feel bad that Mommy and Beck's special time may be coming to an end. But on the other hand, it will be nice to see if his ecstasy over my evening absence comes to an end.

All I have to say is BUSTED!!!!

Flickr a little late

I know I'm probably a bit behind the times, but I just started using Flickr. For those of you like me that always seem to be 1 or 2 or even 7 steps outside the loop, Flickr is a great online photo sharing community. It's free and easy to use. Best of all, it allows you to upload photos and edit them right in your browser. There are different "groups" that act like webrings of a sort and there's no limit to what you can put on there. You have a 100 MB allowance per month, which is pretty damn generous. The neat thing is that your upload limit is measured in bandwidth, or "throughput", not actual storage space. That means that you could theoretically have 10 gigs of pictures associated with your account... As long as you only upload 100 MB per month. I recommend anyone with kids and family get an account. It's free and easy. You can check out the Daddytime.net Flickr page by clicking here.

What did you do this weekend?

Well? What did you get done this weekend? I built a playcenter! Thats right, I overcame the daunting double box of lumber and hardware to create this glorious masterpiece! The wife and I had been discussing whether we wanted to spend the money on a play structure for quite some time. When we went to our local Toys r' Us and saw this thing on sale for $499 ( it lists as $899 at other online stores ) we just couldn't pass it up. So, with minimal help from others, I bent the wood and steel to my will and fashioned this fantastic play center for my little ones... With some assistance from the directions.

The result of this should be ecstatic children, pacified spouses, and an all around springtime glee... But, do the kids want to play on it independently? Not yet. It appears to be little fun for them if they're not being supervised and critiqued. This, in turn, affects the "happy spouse" variable of our equation... If an element is introduced into the system with the intention of allowing individual molecules to interact without manipulation, then the lack of said reaction can cause tertiary elements to become caustic... I'm taking a chemistry class right now, does it show? Anyway, what I mean to say is "If we bought this thing to keep the kids entertained, why the hell do we need to be outside with them the entire time they want to play?" This is where the reaction turns caustic...

Don't misunderstand... It's not that we don't want to spend time with our kids, or that we don't want t0 watch them play. But, honestly, a 20 minute break would be nice every now and then. And, finally, the springtime glee thing. Lets put it this way... It snowed the day after I got the thing set up.

But it's a great playset and it makes my backyard look REALLY cool. And the kids do love it. I just wish they'd take the intiative to go outside and play with it without needing one of us there to supervise... Even if it's just for 20 minutes.

Another long absence...

Sorry about the long absence. Between working full time, taking classes, and wrangling kids around the ole' Daddytime Corral, I'm finding less and less time to blog... Much to my displeasure.

As usual, my kid are fantastic. Beckett has been really stepping it up when it comes to dealing with his sister, disappointment, and life in general. Brynn is still 3. Meaning she's the cutest little manipulative princess around. According to the calendar, Spring is here. The birds have started chirping again and my little monsters are feeling that itch that comes with the nice weather. Pretty soon, it will be summer... Then the real fun starts!

Munchkins Step Up

I don't feel so hot today. I work at a residential group home for autistic boys age 14-22, which exposes me to a whole slew of fun and interesting airborne pathogens. The innevitable outcome of this is that I tend to catch some pretty nasty viruses. Strangely enough, whenever my wife or I do get sick, the little ones seem to step up. Instead of Brynn being her usual demanding self, she backs down and deals. When I told Beck that I was sick this morning, he said "Daddy, you can stay in bed. It's fine to me. I can go and start a movie and you can feel better, OK?" That alone made me feel a little better. Not much, but some. I just love the fact that my kids are able to put their own desires and demands behind them when the chips are down. I think it shows a real strength of character that makes me proud to be their parent... Of course, they could just be taking advantage of a relatively unsupervised situation.

I'd like to think that they are just stepping up...

The Unrequested Assist

Anyone who has a child knows how difficult it can be to get them to do the right thing. When you add another kid into the equation, it only serves to complicate things. I love my kids. They're the best and i wouldn't trade them for the world. However, it becomes exceedingly difficult to reprimand or discipline one without the other getting involved.
If Beckett is doing something wrong and we say "Beck, stop doing that", his sister will undoubtedly repeat what we say. So, when we say "Beck, Stop!", she yells "Beck, Stop!!" as well. When Brynn goes into the bathroom, demanding we accompany her, and we say "Brynn, you're a big girl and you can do it alone", her brother gives her the old  "Brynn, you're not a baby! You can wipe yourself." It's frustrating enough to have to deal with one child's undesirable behavior without it causing another undesirable behavior in the other! I supposed it's totally natural and nothing to worry about. That knowledge, however, doesn't make the behavior any more appealing.

Ya get what ya get...

My little man came home recently with my new favorite "pre-school-ism". I've never heard anyone say it until know, but I'm kicking myself for not thinking of it first. Brynn and Beckett had both earned some fruit snacks (I know, dreadful stuff... scold me later) when the Princess decided shark fruit snacks simply wouldn't do. She wanted My Little Pony fruit snacks and there would be no substitute. At this rather tenuous point, my little man cames out with this: "Ya get what ya get and ya don't get upset." Pearls of wisdom from a 5 year old. Don't you just love that?