parenting

Been Slacking on The Blog, Catching Up Now!

It has been a busy time. With Melissa’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’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’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 …Read more […..]

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Almost Drowned on Memorial Day Weekend?! Looong Drives, Finished With Kindergarten!

I have always tried to keep an eagle’s eye watch on Emma and have recommended that other’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 …Read more […..]

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6 years old! Skip-Dancing Daddy!

Well, another year has passed and our little girl is now 6 years old! Wow! Where did the time go?!? I can’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’s in Wisconsin. As is par for the course, Emma didn’t want …Read more […..]

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Stay At Home Dad Thoughts While Holding Emma’s Hand While Walking to School, Emma Does My Hair

Everyday, when I bring Emma to school, I park the car and actually get out of the car and walk her to the door–many lazy and overweight parents out there!. I have been doing so through the winter too, good thing we have had such a mild one! While we walk, Emma always holds my hand. This also applies to when I pick her up after school.There are several other stay at home dads and stay at home moms that do the same. We have not given in, rebels as we are,  to the school’s request that all kids take the bus. I recently got to thinking, as I often do, about holding my daughter’s little hand. …Read more […..]

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The Only Stay At Home Dad Who Feels This Way?

Before beginning, I want to first say that I love my wife Melissa very much! She is truly the light of my life and I can’t imagine life without her. She is a very loving mother who loves our daughter Emma immensely. There is nothing both she and I would not do for our daughter and each other. For the last 8 years, while I have been pursuing entrepreneurial goals as well as being a stay at home dad, Melissa has shouldered the financial burden of our family(for more info on how we got to this point Click Here) and it has really been tough on her. Trying to balance an expanding career and family is …Read more […..]

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Eye Dr Appt and Dentist Appt.

Emma has always been reluctant to warm up to strangers rapidly, unless they are younger, big girls. So, when we made appointments to see the dentist and the eye doctor for the first real exams that she would have, I was apprehensive. The dentist was relatively easy for me since I was in for a cleaning and was already being attended to when Emma and Melissa went into the room next to me. I heard everything that went on on Emma sure gave the hygenist a run for her money. Boy, was this woman patient! Emma would start to let her work and then stop her at the last minute. this bickering went back …Read more […..]

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Whew! We Dodged a Bullet!

Well, last night we surely got lucky! We had to call the Poison Control Hotline two times and were up very late. Their number is 1-800-222-1222. Emma has had a cold off and on for almost two weeks, us too. She had been coughing badly ever since the weekend-3, yes 3 parties on Saturday?.. Before bed we gave her a Triaminic grape flavored nighttime cough and cold strip. this was about 930. I thinking that i should put the medicine in the cabinet but figured that I would be coming up soon and Emma was trustworthy-I had told her before that she should never take an medicine without us knowing …Read more […..]

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Daddy, We Had a Good Day…

Melissa was out of town for a day recently. Emma and I kept ourselves busy after school. Among other things, we danced–We took turns dancing to music from the Ipad(Emma loves the Ipad and plays many games on it). One of us would dance while the other watched and clapped afterwards. Emma loves to watch her Stay at home Daddy dance!!! After that we played Wii. We played the Disney Princess game as well as the Mario Winter Olympics. We had dinner and then settled down for the evening before bed. The main reason for this post is because while I was reading Emma a book in bed, she looked …Read more […..]

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Life & Friendship–Enjoy it and Don’t Take it for Granted

As Emma develops friendships, several very close ones, I can’t help but think to myself whether they will be lifelong friendships or, as is most commonly the case, childhood friends. I think this because I still have close friendships with people who I met in the early grade school years. As This stay at home dad often does, I am trying to look ahead into Emma’s life and by doing so am reminded of past memories of my own life. Memories of a very dear childhood/teenage friend of mine come to mind. A life with such potential  tragically cut short. This was a very significant …Read more […..]

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The Big Boys! “Can I Tell You Something?” Privacy While in Bathroom..

Emma has become good friends with the boys down the street. There are 2 boys, Evan and Ethan, that are a year older than her as well as a boy, Nathan, that is a year younger then her. They live down the street and love to come to our cul-de-sac where they can ride their bikes, their motorized cars, and scooters with her. It is so funny to watch them playing because Emma leads the way with the puppy dog boys following along. When they are at their house and Emma is in our front yard, they are constantly yelling messages back and forth. The little guy, Nathan, is the most vocal and aggressive about …Read more […..]

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