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	<title>Memoirs of a Stay At Home Dad</title>
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	<description>Stay at Home Dad Tips and Memoirs</description>
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		<title>The Financial Benefits of a Stay-at-Home Parent</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/the-financial-benefits-of-a-stay-at-home-parent</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/the-financial-benefits-of-a-stay-at-home-parent#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 May 2013 21:34:55 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stay At Home Dad]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[dad groups]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[father hood]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=426</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Losing a source of income stings, but it may not hurt your finances as much as you think By Daniel Bortz Before Lance Somerfeld&#8217;s son was born in July 2008, he was working as a sixth-grade teacher at a high-need public school in the Bronx, earning a salary of roughly $45,000. He left his career to be a stay-at-home dad, wanting to be involved in his boy&#8217;s early milestones—milestones Somerfeld&#8217;s own father missed while he worked a full-time job throughout Somerfeld&#8217;s childhood. The decision to become a stay-at-home dad also made sense financially. &#8220;For a quality day care or a nanny, it would have cost us about my take-home salary,&#8221; Somerfeld says. &#8220;Why would I pay someone else to take care of my child when I can do it for the same cost?&#8221; His wife&#8217;s job as a corporate actuary also served as a financial cushion. Somerfeld is among a growing number of men who leave the workforce to raise their children while their spouses continue working—a group that more than doubled from 2000 to 2010, to 176,000, according to U.S. census data. While stay-at-home dads are becoming more common, women are still the archetype, with about 5 million American moms staying home to take care of the kids. As it was with the Somerfelds, the decision for a spouse to become a stay-at-home parent largely reflects today&#8217;s steep costs of childcare. According to a census report released earlier this month, in families where children are younger than 15 and the mother is employed, average childcare costs have increased by 70 percent since 1985—jumping from $84 to $143 per week. In fact, in 36 states, the average annual cost of having a kid in daycare exceeds in-state college tuition, according to Child Care Aware of America, an information resource for parents and childcare providers. Small savings add up. Melissa Stanton, author of &#8220;The Stay-at-Home Survival Guide: Field-Tested Strategies for Staying Smart, Sane, and Connected While Caring for Your Kids,&#8221; says many people underestimate the financial contribution of a stay-at-home parent. &#8220;Earning an income and taking care of the kids are of closer value than people think,&#8221; says Stanton. &#8220;Even though the stay-at-home parent isn&#8217;t bringing money home, there is still financial value to what a stay-at-home parent does.&#8221; Converting to a single-income family—despite the loss of earnings—can put a household in a lower tax bracket. For example, married couples who will file their 2013 taxes jointly and have a household income of $17,851 to $72,500 will be in the 15 percent tax bracket, while those with a household income anywhere from $72,501 to $146,400 will fall into the 25 percent tax bracket. Dianna Scofield of Meridian, Idaho, was always a savvy consumer, but becoming a stay-at-home parent for her first son in 2006 gave her more time to practice frugal living habits. She started cooking almost all of the family&#8217;s meals. She also began making foods that take longer to prepare but are less-expensive than purchasing at a grocery store, such as cooking with dried beans instead of canned beans. She even bakes their bread; it doesn&#8217;t take long, she says, but points out one needs to watch dough as it rises. Preparing more at-home meals reduced the family&#8217;s food budget, which is the third-largest expense for the average American household, according to a 2011 estimate by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The tendency among stay-at-home parents to eat out less can also save money. Seth Leibowitz, a stay-at-home parent in Westchester, N.Y., says he socks away an extra $50 that he used to spend on lunch while working. Staying [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Facebook Post From Sister Mary</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/facebook-post-from-sister-mary</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/facebook-post-from-sister-mary#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 03 Mar 2013 05:17:10 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Family]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=419</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Had to share this&#8211;written by my sister Mary! So nice!!! Mary Manzo Cypser I&#8217;m back with my Dr Phil advice to thank your in laws. As I said before I am the odd ball of the bunch. To my sister- in -law Melissa. Thank you for encouraging my brother Ken, giving him that extra nudge to find us. I wish that it had come sooner, realizing all that we missed. You are an awesome wife and mother to Emma, you realize that in this day and age along with working Dads/Ken, mothers must also provide food, clothing and shelter for their children. Though it may seem painful to be separated from Emma, take comfort in the fact that you are also working for her well being. You always seem to keep in mind that these separations are always temporary and when you are away from work you make a conscience effort to truly be away from distractions. By this I mean that you take advantage of nights, weekends and days off as ways to spend quality not just quantity time with Emma, remembering to stay present, be affectionate and really listen to what she has to say. Everything is put aside that is meaningless in life to make it all about her and you never try to compensate your absence by spoiling her or buying her love. Through your hard work you are setting an example for Emma. Take pride in being her role model because you are a good one. She is so fortunate to have such dedicated parents. XOXO]]></description>
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		<title>Daddy, I puked&#8230; A Stay at Home Dad&#8217;s Bad Dream</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/daddy-i-puked-a-stay-at-home-dads-bad-dream</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/daddy-i-puked-a-stay-at-home-dads-bad-dream#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 22 Feb 2013 15:30:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stay At Home Dad]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=417</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The other night, while Melissa was out of town for work, Emma came in our room at 1am and woke me up saying, &#8220;Daddy I puked in my bed.&#8221; Well, I made sure that we changed her pajamas and cleaned her face etc. and got her comfy in my bed. I got the blankets off her bed and got a big bowl in our room just in case she has more-the stomach flu going around is pretty nasty. It wasn&#8217;t long and she said she was going to be sick again. I brought her in the bathroom but she didn&#8217;t want to go by the toilet. She stood by the sink a while then I had her sit on my lap while I rubbed her back. She got sick again and I stood by giving her encouragement to get the bad stuff out while rubbing her back. When she was finished we got situated in my bed and turned the TV on and watched cartoons and kids shows. A cool thing was that an old show she used to watch when she was 2, Johnnie and the Sprites, was on at 2am. She eventually threw up 5 times in total during the next few hours. This stay at home dad was pushed to my queasy limits as she was really emptying out into that bowl! Just thinking about it makes me queasy now as the smell&#8230;..ugh. Anyway, she took the whole thing like a champ. She didn&#8217;t cry which surprised me considering the powerful heaves she was having as well as trying to catch her breath. It was not a good feeling for me to be so helpless while my daughter was sick. What an awful feeling. I was wishing that it was me and not her each time she threw up. She drank some Sprite and we talked a lot about how she was really puking- she likes saying this word instead of throwing up- a lot. I played on the iPad until she finally fell asleep at 5 am. I was wired and fell asleep at 7am after calling her in sick from school. The next day we took it easy. She woke up at 10am and didn&#8217;t eat anything but a piece of toast the whole day. Se drank some sprite and refused the Gatorade I gave her. She was afraid of throwing up more although she didn&#8217;t anymore. Se took it easy which is a rarity. She satay end on the couch and watched TV and played wii with me. Emma was definitely a trooper through this ordeal and in the days afterward had lots of stories to tell about how she puked everything out and that it was good to get all the bad stuff out. Se also told Melissa about how she thought the beefaroni she ate was the cause because she saw it in the bowl when she puked&#8230;lol. As for me, this stay at home dad prefers not to really think about it.]]></description>
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		<item>
		<title>Watching Emma Have Fun!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/watching-emma-have-fun</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/watching-emma-have-fun#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:07:34 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Parties]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=416</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Last night we went to a birthday party for Emma&#8217;s cousin Anthony&#8217;s 1st birthday. It was a fun time at a place called KidsTown. The place is essentially an indoor playground that also has a bunch of themed rooms with toys all over the place and seating areas for grownups. We had the place to ourselves which is nice too. Of course the grownups all congregated in the area designated for food while the kids went off and ran around and played. It was great to be able to socialize without being interrupted all the time and it was nice to relax. Definitely a great place to have a kids party. Emma loves being with her cousin Lindsey and they had fun running all over the place and eating from the seemingly endless candy table. Seeing her interacting with all the other kids of different ages demonstrated just how much of a big girl she is becoming. It is kind of sad that she is growing up so fast. I know that this stay at home dad will be in a world of change when his little girl is all grown up. Which reminds me of the other day when she was acting lovable and snuggling with and hugging me while Melissa was out of town. I asked her, as I always do, if she will always give me kisses and hugs, even when she is 15 years old. She always says that she will. Time will tell. I will be sure to remind her of her promise! There was a younger girl at the party too, probably 3 or 4, that followed Emma around and I could tell that Emma enjoyed it a lot. This got me to thinking about how I regret that Emma doesn&#8217;t have a little sister &#8211; or brother. We definitely tried to make it happen but it wasn&#8217;t meant to be i guess. Every so often I went to the play area and watched Emma playing and I could see that she enjoyed being the leader of this little girl and her brother. It was so cute to watch and I really enjoyed watching my little girl acting the part of a big sister. This got me to reflecting on the challenges, that I have documented on this site as well as the rewards of being a stay at home dad . During times like last night while watching my cutie pie and feeling such a sense of love and pride in her, I am grateful for the opportunity of the last 7(almost) years!]]></description>
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		<title>This Stay At Home Dad Needs to Get Going!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/this-stay-at-home-dad-needs-to-get-going</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/this-stay-at-home-dad-needs-to-get-going#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 Nov 2012 20:12:38 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[School]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=398</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[For the last year or so I have taken my eye off the ball of what is really important. It is a very subtle thing, the ability to take attention off what is truly important even when you think that you are not doing so. There are numerous factors that have made this happen and I blame only myself. Melissa and I have made some questionable decisions over the years but things have been very good for us&#8211;at least everyone around us would think so. I have always said that time flies, even when I was a young 19 year old I often looked back and thought &#8220;Where did the time go?&#8221; This feeling is always reinforced when a pet, friend or loved one dies. It is at that time that we always seem to say that we will make more time to see others or do things we have meant to do. For me, these things are miniscule compared to what I am thinking about now. It has been easy for me to become distracted with the home businesses that I have been working hard at and with my devotion to remain healthy and fit for&#8211;in the long run&#8211; Emma.  Add to this the fact that Melissa is now traveling quite a lot(I can&#8217;t elaborate more than this but remember that a great career and great money come at a price, often a huge price..We need to ask ourselves if this price is worth it.) and the resulting stress and anxiety that has come with it and I have been someone with a mind that does not quit lately. Many thoughts have swirled in my mind and this has resulted in my not being able to do things that require more thinking, focus and brain power. Insomnia, something that used to be completely foreign to me has now been a drain on some nights. Of course exercising and dodgeball have taken the edge off somewhat but the fact remains that I have been failing as a Dad to Emma. Sure, I have devoted most everything for her and spend lots of time with her etc&#8230; but I have failed where I thought I never would, educationally. When I was a kid, up until high school, good grades and learning were quite easy for me. Not to brag but I got excellent grades without even trying. Oh, I remember those years getting the Most Outstanding Boy of the Class award every year&#8230;. Well, even though I have been helping Emma to learn&#8211;at least I thought I was doing a good job&#8211;it has come to our attention that she is having problems with math. This baffles me too because math was such a breeze for me&#8230;. I have been trying to put more emphasis on her now, putting the computer, Ipad and phone away when we are together and have been met with some resistance on Emma&#8217;s part. She gets extremely frustrated when she can&#8217;t do something and we end up in a tug of war trying to get her to learn without me blowing my top. This is extremely frustrating for her and I. When I tell her we will take a break she gets even more upset because she wants to figure the problem out so bad. Anyway, I know that parents go through this stuff every day. I just never thought we would have such issues. Eventually we will get to the solution at which time she gets so happy and proud&#8211;while I am mentally exhausted and drained! How do teachers do it? And, anyone who says that [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Been Slacking on The Blog, Catching Up Now!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/been-slacking-on-the-blog-catching-up-now</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/been-slacking-on-the-blog-catching-up-now#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 13 Sep 2012 19:55:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Home Business]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=382</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[It has been a busy time. With Melissa&#8217;s new work schedule and getting my home businesses going I have slacked a bit on this blog. Well, that is about to change. I am in the process of updating old posts that I hadn&#8217;t finished. They are posted by date so there are some being entered from the last couple years and will be entered by their original post date. As for Melissa&#8217;s job changes, that is addressed in other posts. It has drastically altered things as described in those posts. The home businesses that I have been working on have taken up some time as I have been increasing as my earnings have been growing. It is very exciting to be able to actually make money from home as a Stay At Home Dad! I do, however have some concerns about the seeming lack of support from some family and friends regarding supporting my home businesses. I would never expect anyone to use or purchase anything that I was providing if it meant that it would cause them a big inconvenience or more money than  they are already be spending. I know times are tough for people. However, when I am able to provide goods and/or services that they are already using at the same or less prices then I feel that it is a no brainer for them to want to support my business.  I have a feeling there is more to it than meets the eye. I think that some people have other agendas as far as helping a friend or family member. Who knows. I know that Melissa and I would even pay more for something if it meant helping a friend or family member to grow their business. Here is an analogy that makes sense of what I am saying. Say I owned a gas station and there was another gas station across the street from me with the same price, as it is now some of my friends and family are going to the station across the street to get their gas instead of coming to mine. Now, how would that make you feel? Add to this the fact that we have helped some of these people in the past&#8211;and would gladly do it again in the future. I am truly grateful for those friends, friends of friends, family, etc&#8230;that have become customers of mine. You all know who you are. I would greatly appreciate if you would take the time to check out the products that I can offer you below.  You do not have to even know me personally, all are encouraged! Also, if you are looking to Make Money From Home then contact me either through the websites below or at Ken-Bruce@comcast.net Now, the businesses that I am a part of are awesome! I provide the following: 1) Essential Home Services such as: **Wireless Telephone services with major carriers                                          www.Wireless.KensBiz.com **Energy (Natural Gas &#38; Electric, we saved over 40% on ours!)                 www.Energy.KensBiz.com **Traditional Home Phone Service                                                                          www.PhoneService.KensBiz.com **Digital Home Phone Service (Similar to Vonage)                                           www.DigitalPhone.KensBiz.com **TV (Cable, Satellite, Fiber Optic)                                                                           www.TV.KensBiz.com **High Speed Internet (Cable, DSL, Wimax)                                                         www.Internet.KensBiz.com **Home Security (ADT, Vivint)                                                                                  www.HomeSecurity.KensBiz.com **Home Automation (Vivint)                                                                                      www.HomeAutomation.KensBiz.com I am also looking for people who would like to Save Money and Make Money with their own home business in this industry! Take it from me, this is great!  Check it out HERE  www.KensBiz.com and get back to me to cash in!! &#160; 2) Visalus Body By Vi 90 Day Challenge! Awesome weight loss, nutritional and fitness products! After taking the Neuro product for [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Week in Wisconsin then Mon-Fri without Mommy</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/week-in-wisconsin-then-mon-fri-without-mommy</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/week-in-wisconsin-then-mon-fri-without-mommy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Aug 2012 20:42:39 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stay At Home Dad]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=387</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[More soon&#8230; &#160;]]></description>
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		<title>Almost Drowned on Memorial Day Weekend?! Looong Drives, Finished With Kindergarten!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/almost-drowned-on-memorial-day-weekend-looong-drives-finished-with-kindergarten</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/almost-drowned-on-memorial-day-weekend-looong-drives-finished-with-kindergarten#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 09 Jun 2012 05:06:44 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=377</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have always tried to keep an eagle&#8217;s eye watch on Emma and have recommended that other&#8217;s do the same. Well, we experienced the It Can Happen In An Instant dilemma on Memorial Day Weekend! Lucky for us, it turned out Ok with a lesson well learned for all of us. I was working on the pier section in front of the pontoon boat and Emma was swimming with her older cousin Tay on the other side of the main pier, about 10 feet away. Melissa was outside watching them when I called to her to help keep the boat from ramming into me due to the wavy water that day. Melissa held the boat for me while I tightened 2 bolts. Suddenly Melissa ran over to where the girls were swimming and pulled a very panicky Emma out of the water. It turns out that Tay had taken the pink tube that Emma was holding onto into deeper water and Emma somehow fell off of it and was in the process of drowning when Melissa heard something wrong. Emma threw up lots of water 2 times and proceeded to yell at Tay, blaming her for what happened. It only took seconds for this to happen and luckily Melissa was alert to notice the situation. Tay, who is 9, is a good swimmer but froze as many kids would do. A lesson learned from this is that we have to be on watch constantly. We also will be finding someone to give Emma personal swim lessons! We have 2 cats now that are almost a year old. They are very well behaved cats and very good at home. When they go in the car though&#8230;.We have brought them to Wisconsin since they were little kittens. This year has been full of rough rides with these cats since they cry non stop for the whole ride there now! This was made worse for Emma and I the time because Melissa was not in the car with us for both the ride there and the ride back home(She is on temporary assignment and met us at the lake). Anyway, after the previous trips I called the Vet because I was really anxious about bringing the cats&#8211;Emma insisted we bring them and Melissa wanted me to too. The vet gave me some Xanax for cats to make them at ease. Well, let me tell you&#8211;never give this to your cats! The ride there was total misery. After getting 1/2 hr away from home I was thinking about turning back home to drop them off but since traffic was already heavy I kept going. The cats literally went nutso! Cinnamon cried and was biting the cage trying to get out for the first 2.5 hours of the drive while Boysia was relatively quiet. The last hour of the drive was Boysia&#8217;s turn to get in on the action and he was crying hysterically. It sucked bad! The ride home I gave them the herbal stuff that I bought the last trip and it helped a bit more but the ride home was still very stressful. We called the vet and she said that sometimes cats have this opposite effect..Whoa, it had to be ours! Next time she will give us a sedative that will make them sleep. I will believe it when I see it! Boy does time fly! It seems like yesterday that we were stressing about where to send Emma for Kindergarten and now the year is over! Its crazy! We made the right decision for Emma to go to the public [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Protected: May 2012, Rough One!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/may-2012-rough-one</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/may-2012-rough-one#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 05 Jun 2012 19:41:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Stay At Home Dad]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=379</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.]]></description>
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		<title>6 years old! Skip-Dancing Daddy!</title>
		<link>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/6-years-old-skip-dancing-daddy</link>
		<comments>http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/6-years-old-skip-dancing-daddy#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 21:05:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>ken</dc:creator>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.memoirsofastayathomedad.com/?p=373</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Well, another year has passed and our little girl is now 6 years old! Wow! Where did the time go?!? I can&#8217;t believe that 6 years has went by so fast! Our little girl is growing up too fast! She is getting so smart and learning so much in kindergarten that I can hardly believe it! To celebrate her birthday, Emma was able to have 3 small parties. First, Emma had a Princess Party with her cousins and friends where the girls were dressed up like princesses and had lots of fun! Emma also had a small party at Nonnie and Poppie&#8217;s in Wisconsin. As is par for the course, Emma didn&#8217;t want everyone looking at her when we sang Happy Birthday. I think she is like her Stay at Home Dad in that she likes attention from individuals or very small groups when she wants it but doesn&#8217;t like all the attention from groups larger than a few people or so. I wonder if this will change as time progresses. Emma had a 3rd party for immediate family members at the Bacci Pizza. We enjoyed lots of great food and the company of loving family members! Emma had fun too! Our gift to Emma for her birthday was a trampoline which she loves! She has went on it almost everyday since she got it. It is great exercise too! Emma likes to wear Nonnie&#8217;s glasses while she &#8220;works&#8221; on the computer! LOL A new behavior that has come about is one that is a bit comical. After picking up Emma one day she told me that she saw me walking away in the morning from her classroom after I had picked her up. I thought it would be funny if the next day I gave her something to see as she watched me walking back to the car. So, the next day I told her to watch for me and then proceeded to do some skipping and spinning, flapping of my arms like a bird, and any other obnoxious moves I could think of. When I was finished I noticed the crossing guard lady and a few other parents that were talking to her looking my way and talking about me. I started laughing and when I got to their area explained why I was doing what I was doing. They thought it was great and even said that we should all start dancing next time. Ha! I have done this the last few days and Emma says that she has seen me doing it! I can only wonder if any other adults in the school have seen me through their windows&#8230;. [dmalbum path="/wp-content/uploads/dm-albums/Emmas 6th Birthday/"/]]]></description>
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