And the ride keeps going...

Well every time I get close I get drug back in... we have a little one on the way!  Gird up you loins boys!

Be better... be a man!

First off I have to say that I totally stole this from my friend Al who has the "stayathometripletsdad" site... check it out.  Because I had so much to say about his topic of "Self awareness" I thought it would be good to post my same answer/discussion here.  So here it is and thanks Al for bringing it up.

My response to Al's post on self awareness:  I have often had this conversation with Blessed concerning the statement that many men (and women for that matter) make, "that is just the way I am".  I do not believe in, "this is just the way I am".  What a one dimensional, boring, selfish comment to make, especially if you are a husband and father.  I have fought my whole life to ask those internal questions and be the guy/person that constantly "discusses" things and focuses on communication... with everyone!  I too believe there is no greater tool than patience/communication.  How did I get so great, you may ask?!  Well, I am a failure... everyday.  I am impatient, quick to anger, and sharp tongued!  But, I know it, hate it, and work everyday to change it!  I also have gotten sooooo much better!  Why would you not want to be better?  Why would you not want to self evaluate?  Why would you not want to change what a majority of "good" people don't like (about you)?  Why would you not want your wife and kids to look at you and think, "what an awesome man"?  Why would you not want to be a hero?  Science and God will tell you if you do not change/evolve over time you are doomed to fail!  Men, the only sissy or unmanly thing you can do is to not be the best you can be for your family.  If you are asking yourself, "why you should do a certain job in the house/with the family" because that is a woman's job, you are asking the wrong question and you are behind the ball.  Instead ask yourself what can I do to help more, impress them, better my self, what would I want them to do for me?  Dads... be more... be everything!  Sorry Al for the rant but thanks for the forum.  I work in an industry full of "tough" guys and mens men, and this has been a stump that I have chosen to stand on with them.  If you choose to have a family, choose the family.  Don't run away from them every chance you get, run to them!  There is no greater or more important role than this one... no job is more important and I promise it will pay off in more/better ways than you or I could ever expect.  Thanks and God bless.

Happy Fathers day!

Happy fathers day to the greatest earthly father I know.  Thank you dad for your service to me and the country, your a great man.

Everyone else check out this Youtube video.

Dad Life (Father's Day Opening 2010)

Quote of the day!

“If you live to be 100, I hope I live to be 100 minus 1 day, so I never have to live without you.”

Winnie the Pooh

Prayer and Pooh

So lately The Boy and Blessed have been reading the Pooh Bear adventures before  bed.  When I say Pooh Bear I mean the old school, full length, Kings English version.  The Boy eats it up.  21 months and he sits quietly and hangs on every word Blessed pulls from the pages (pages: Blessed's new I-pad... he loves that part too).  They lay there on The Boy's "big boy bed" (he was out of the crib by one year after climbing out and falling to the floor), read, and talk (I do mean talk) about every part of Pooh and the gangs latest adventure.  The Boy answers questions, finishes the sentences and ever predicts what will come next!  Tonight however something new happened.  Blessed began to pray and hold The Boys hand while doing so.  The Boy immediately pulled his hand away, placed them together (in a prayerful way) and prayed with blessed, not looking up until she was finished!  I am a blessed man!  How does life get any better or sweeter than my beautiful wife, little boy, Pooh, and prayer!  I am blessed.... deep sigh

Quote of the day!

All men are not created equal but should be treated as though they were under the law.
Andy Rooney

What can this boy not do?

Ok so Blessed and I were playing with The Boy last night after supper and we were throwing the ball to him and he was throwing it back.  As a father I was very impressed with his throwing ability, because as any father will tell you that it directly indicates hi level of "boyness", ha ha anyway.  Then as Blessed and I were teaching him how to catch, he just decided he would!  Im not talking a little accident catch, or a baby style bungled catch, Im talking a full out 10 ft across the room catch.  I was so impressed, we went nuts.  A little over 1 1/2 years old and catching a ball!  Well when we get excited The Boy gets excited!  We wanted a challenge.  He would make us scoot back further and further each time and throw the ball, he would then catch it mid-air every time.  So impressed, so impressed.  We did it all night, he did not want to stop, so much so that when we did take him to bed (an hour after his bed time) he cried and threw a fit.  I love his commitment and intensity already.  God bless the children, I didn't know life could be this good.

Quote of the day!

"Espionage is not a nice thing, nor are the methods employed exemplary. Neither are demolition bombs nor poison gas.... We face an enemy who believes one of his chief weapons is that none but he will employ terror. But we will turn terror against him....


William Donovan

I guess they have a saturation point...

So... I was at a local eating establishment with The Boy (just a father son eat out) the other day and we had just got our food and sat down.  We went out for pizza.  I thought, he has never had pizza, it is a sure win for him, and I don't have to cook.  Now let me go back a bit and say that we had been in the car for a few short hours on the way back from a three day father/son only trip to our cabin in the woods.  I want to encourage every father to do this a lot with their kids, even starting at 21 months.  We had a blast.  Hours of swimming, hiking, and discovering each other.  It was amazing to see him grow and learn right in front of me that whole weekend.  Absolutely no melt downs!  Anyway... we had been in the car for several hours when I decided to stop for dinner.  Like a good dad I checked the diaper for number 2 before entering the pizza place, no 2, good to go.  I knew that he had for sure done some 1 in it but thought it was OK till we got out.  Well we sat down and just got ready to taste that first cheesy bite when I look down and see The Boy squatting in the chair and "thinking real hard".  Then, the pee began to puddle...  Well I grabbed him up and went out for a changing.  I guess when those things reach a saturation point, they really reach a saturation point.  I compare it to getting gas now.  When you get down to a quarter of tank, don't push it just fill up you will be glad you did and you would have had to eventually anyway.  God bless and remember be courteous and polite to everyone but have a plan to kill them if necessary.

Two hours of screaming! Did it break him or break us?

I am back!  Sorry everyone (if there is anyone left).  Work has been very very busy this past month or so.  We did some good things I think.  Anyway you didn't come to hear about that.  So the last few days The Boy has been waking up at 0200 and crying for me and blessed.  Like dutiful parents we go in each time, sometimes 4 times a night, and try to appease him so we can all go back to sleep.  One time I even brought him back to our bed and he slept like... well ... a baby.  So last night Blessed said "no mas".  Her orders were one time then let him cry, no matter what.  She said he has to learn to go back to bed himself.  I agreed... no one told The Boy.  He cried, screamed, made horrible animal sounds and even banged on the door for two long hours.  I am tired...  At 0500 he eventually went to sleep.  Will it work, will it change things?  Stay tuned.  On another note we have begun potty training.  He came to Blessed a few weeks ago and said "poo poo?" while holding his diaper.  She went in, took of the diaper and went in the potty without  prompting from the outside!  Who knew he was a genius!  Since that time he has (sporadically) done 1 and 2 in the potty several times with huge (ticker tape style) celebrations from Blessed and I.  We will see.  Finally, because of some of the work my team and I have been doing, the people in the ivory town have seen fit to make me an offer if I stay on.  So the SAHD decision becomes that much more difficult.  Wait on the Lord I guess.... what to do what to do.

Quote of the day!

It's what you learn after you know it all that counts.  ~Attributed to Harry S Truman

He understands a lot more than we think!

He is starting to be compliant!  The other day at dinner The Boy was freaking out about eating a certain vegetable we really thought he should eat (The Boy is a carb-a-holic, he would eat nothing but breads if we let him).  So out of sheer desperation (he had not eaten any V words all day, the dinner was going south for everyone, and he had already pounded two rolls) I said, "OK, if you eat a bite of this V then I will give you a bite of the roll, but we are going to trade bite for bite, OK?  Now please take a bite of the V!)  HE DID IT! Back and forth all night until all V's were gone.  Who knew you could communicate like this with them!  Huh.  Since then we have these little talking sessions ever so often and most of the time it works.

Quote of the day!

Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.
Henry Ford

The Boy has a new friend.

The Boy got a pet!  He is so excited.  We were out one night on a random coffee adventure and wound up in Pet Smart.  We were going to let The Boy play with some puppies.  Well they were fresh out and so he explored the store... he found the fish and fell in love.  Who knew that owning a fish got so much more involved than it used to be.  I asked the lady for a gold fish and a simple glass bowl.  Wrong question!  I thought she was going to pull out an adoption application and ask me if I was a smoker!  Turns out you have to have a heater, H-VAC system, medic on staff, and a college fund to have one of those things.  Long story short we finally left there with a Beta and more equipment than I had intended to get.  We got home and followed the intensive three day process of welcoming "Dorothy" (that is what The Boy named her) to her new home.  Now every morning The Boy screams out of his room yelling "Dor" "Dor".  We feed her twice a day and it is an event.  I love how excited he is with the whole process.  He often goes over and scoots his stool over so he can see what "Dor" is doing.  Its the little things!  On another note we recently had a family friend die.  This guys obituary ready like a great adventurer's life.  Ski rescue, sail boat captain in the Atlantic, adventure sport racer... but I marveled at what seemed to be his greatest achievement and what seemed to have brought the best part to his life... his children.  He seemed to say from the grave... "soak it up"!  I intend to Tod.

Quote of the day!

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Albert Einstein

Ummm... at least he is trying to help!

Is this bad... seriously, is this bad?  So The Boy loves to dig in trash and find "treasure".  The other night we were cleaning up dinner and he had found something to keep his attention.  I look down and there he is filling up the dish washer soap dispenser with an empty white rum bottle (mojitos are my favorite).  1. is it bad that I am letting him play with it... 2. is it bad that I think it is funny and go so far to take a photo of it and post it on the internet?  If it helps your decision, I don't feel bad about it at all.  It is so funny to me how he is copying everything we do now.  This last week he has been saying whole sentences.  It is true that Blessed and I have no idea what he is saying but he says them all the same.  He will even answer questions in full "babel"  sentences when we ask him questions.  He cracks me up.  By the way, Robert Baer has a new book out.  I have already finished it, good one.  Something we just finished up has just hit the news, pretty proud of it.  Did you hear about it?  We will see who is following the blog.

Quote of the day!

“They're watching Katrina. They're watching Rita. They're watching what it's doing to the United States.”

Robert Baer

Shenondoah

I fondly remember sitting in the corner of my room playing my dads old eight tracks and listing to this song about 30 times a day.  One of may most favorite songs and memories.  It takes me someplace else.

Sissel - Shenandoah

Well I'm back...

I am back, sorry about the absence!  Work called me away for about four days in a row... I do mean in a row!  I was a tired little puppy.  Rest easy though me and the boys did some good work.  Maybe some day I can tell the stories.  After being gone so long without being around The Boy, and then coming home to hear "DADDYYYYY" down the hall, I know where my heart is!  Oh by the way, the kid can talk!  It seems as though this week he decided to learn about 30 new words, and he says them all.  However, he only says them when he is good and ready.  I also had a daddy fail moment last week right before I left...it had to do with a treadmill and The boy.  I wont go into details but there were no serious injuries!  I did feel pretty bad.  I had no idea he was going to loose his mind right then, nor did I know he could leap like cheetah!

The best of times... the worst of times.

Yesterday the Nanny arrived at 8:30 AM and The Boy and I had been up since 6:30 AM playing and rough housing.   We had eaten, brushed teeth, read books and chased the dog.  When the Nanny arrived I pass The Boy off and I go prepare for the work day.  Just after going into my room to shower and dress I heard The Boy let out a scream and begin to pound on my bedroom door.  This is not unusual as he does not like it when I have to leave him to get ready.  I heard the Nanny try everything she could to console him.  After 5 or 10 minutes I heard him calm down.  When I was ready to depart I exited my room and went to the kitchen to get  a cup of coffee and tell The Boy good bye.  When I walked in to the kitchen the Nanny was holding The Boy and reported to me how upset he was because he could not find me.  The Boy reached out from the Nanny and wanted me to hold him (I wish so bad I could show you guys a picture of him, he has to be the most beautiful little boy you have ever seen).  I scooped him up from the Nanny and he placed his head on my shoulder, tucked his hands, and closed his eyes.  It was only 8:50 AM.  I could have stayed in that moment forever.  I was at my calmest sense of being that I think I have ever felt.  I love this little creature.  I proceeded to walk around the house for the next 10 to 20 minutes singing and rocking him, he never woke up.  I took him into his bedroom, placed him on his bed (big boy bed - whole other set of funny stories there - I don't care who you are, it is funny when they fall out), and covered him up.  That afternoon the Nanny said he slept till 1:00 PM!  Wow!  I guess he just needed his daddy.  I guess I just need him too.  I was very late for work :)

Quote of the day!

So many Christians do so little for The One who gave so much!

Mark Driscoll

The challenge!

So at work I spoken to several of my friends and co-workers concerning whether I should resign or not.  This is the statement heard from most of those; "Man you could never do it, you might last 6 months or so but after a year you will be going crazy.  You will miss your days and the excitement, you don't know what your getting into!"

Well what do you think SAHD's?  Did any of you hear this?  For those of you doing it for a while, what has been you experience?  What are your negative experiences?  Would you do it again if you had it to do over?  Would you modify how you did it?

I think all of these points are valid, however I do know how much I love being with The Boy, and I am very active with him.  I have so much I want to teach him.  We will see...

Quote of the day!

Let us then turn this government back into the channel in which the framers of the Constitution originally placed it.


- Abraham Lincoln

Quote of the day!

Familiarity breeds contempt--and children.

Mark Twain

For real... really people!

Sorry for the delay in updates but last week was very busy!  From time to time I will be gone for days, but don't worry, as soon as I get back I will update the site right away!  Please don't tune out.  ;)

This will be a two part post.  Part 1) :  I was at the mall the other day with The Boy.  We went to the "kids play area"(just a side rant here - have you guys noticed the "15 year olds" running and jumping at warp speed around the enclosed area meant for... say... 1 to 6 year olds?  Its like a war zone.  I don't know if it is appropriate but I had to throw down a little law).  After The Boy began to play, I began my favorite mall activity... people watching!  Just a few seconds into target acquisition I came across a disturbing sight.  A lady, 150 lbs overweight (I have noting against heavy people, this is just an important detail to the subject description) caught my eye.  She had on no bra and had on a T-shirt (two sizes too small) that read: "yes I am a b---h, just not yours".  She was there watching as her own children played.  For real... really people!  How can you have such little respect for yourself?  How can you have such little respect for your own children and the children of others around you?  Rich, poor, religious, or atheist, this is not right for anyone.  We have to tighten up the ship folks.  I guess this is one reason I need to stay home full time with The Boy to be there in times like these, to explain what it means and describe why we DO NOT act like this.  Wrong or right, people judge us based on how we act and what we wear.  It is not their fault, they do not know us, it is all they have to go on.  I don't care what walk of life you are from, you can be clean, nicely dressed, and carry yourself in a disciplined and respectful way.

On another note.  The Boy got his first hair cut the other day.  I have to say I was against it at first (long blonde curly hair).  However after seeing the finished product I have to say there is nothing like an old school little boy hair cut!

Quote of the day!

A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.
Rudyard Kipling

First round goes to the chair...

So much blood... Oh the blood, so bright red and thick...
Well, The Boy decided he needed to climb up on the kitchen chair and stand up.  I picked him up, put him down, moved the chair, scolded The Boy... everything I could think of.  The Boy was determined.  I decided I would leave him on the chair... he fell flat on his face!  The blood began to flow, he was not happy.  So... my question is: will this teach him, or will he climb again?  Are there any other things to try?  I think he might have a little black eye tomorrow :)

Spider monkey!

Does anyone see anything wrong with this picture?  Yes our laptop is on top of the fireplace!  That is where it had to stay all night while I cooked dinner.  It appears as though The Boy has become part spider monkey.  He can and will climb anything.  No piece of furniture is safe.  I had to push all of the chairs in the house away from any raised surfaces to keep him from ending up on the the table, counter, and desk.  I even had to make sure that they are pushed flush with a wall so that once on the chair he will not tip it over... as he has done so many times before.  He has an uncontrollable love for the laptop.  I came into a dark office tonight to find him with the computer in his lap and him accessing some remote inter-working of the computer's hard drive (nothing I haver ever seen).  I have no idea how he got it off the desk.  Also on a side (and funny) note.  While in the grocery store, buying an un-holly amount of food today for this weeks up coming dinners, I had The Boy up front and in the driver's seat of the basket.  I turned my back for one minute to get a potato form the bin and when I looked back I see a whole package of cherry tomatoes flying through the air and crash onto the floor scattering everywhere.  Funny isn't it!  Deep sigh and a chuckle.

Quote of the day!

"I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck."  Author: you know who you are.

Be clear, be honest!

A very short post for those of you reading tonight.  Today I had a great conversation with my favorite person in the whole world... Blessed.  I want to start by saying that I have the best wife in the entire world. She is the best mother, wife, and most importantly friend.  I can say more to her than any one I have ever encountered.  The fact that we had a great, in depth, emotional, and COMPLETELY honest conversation is neither new, random, or rare.  This all leads to the point of the post this evening.  SAHD's... be in love with you wife.  If you are not in love with them, get in love with them.  If it is hard and you think it is hopeless, try harder.  I know for a fact that your job (being a SAHD) will be extremely hard... if not impossible if you don't. I am so in love with her... I am so in love with her.  When we have these types of conversations I know exactly what God was thinking...!  She knows me better than anyone else in this world and that alone will make me successful.  The things I can say to her, share with her, REVEAL to her... makes life so much easier.  So to close, if I can give some SAHD advice (even though I am not one), love your wife uncontrollably and share every aspect of your life with her, begging her to do the same with you... your children will thank you for it... your heart will reward you for it.

Quote of the day!

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company.
Booker T. Washington

Taming the stallion!

This last Saturday was a new event in our household and a altogether new event for me, Blessed, and The Boy!  The Boy is a outstanding kid all the way around, however he has had a devoted fan base (me, Blessed, and his nanny) from day one till present.  He has always had someone there with him constantly bending to his every whim.  As he becomes older (1 1/2 years) he is starting to act out more and become increasingly aggressive with his tantrums.  So this weekend, while having having one of his (few) outbursts, The Boy began to scream and then head butted Blessed.  After seeing this I knew it was time to do something...I had to break the stallion!  Not having any other ideas and never have done this parenting gig before, I took The Boy, sat on the couch in the quiet living room and held him firmly.  Not being able to move freely and do as he wished, The Boy lost his mind!  He screamed, jerked, and cried uncontrollably.  I continued to hold him firmly, keeping his hands to his sides, and speaking calmly into his ear explaining what was going on and why he was in time out.  I explained to him that when he could calm down and act in an appropriate manner I would allow him to get down.  He wasn't going down without a fight.  The Boy went from level 6 to 10 and this continued for at least 20 minutes.  And then, as if turning off the water, he stopped.  He pointed at a toy in the corner and said "ball".  So the questions for all of you are... did I break him, did I do the right thing, will this make any difference in the future?

Quote of the day!

The only requirement for evil to exist is for GOOD men to do nothing!

A sad day brings reflection.

This week two Federal Agents were attacked and one man murdered in an act of terrorism!  The Agents were serving in Mexico when they were targeted (using actual Mexican Federal Police uniforms) by the Los Zetas.   While traveling on a main road the Agents were stopped and attacked at a false check point.  This cold and sobering moment makes me stop and reflect on something "Al" said this week concerning the "unnamed star".  I selfishly don't want my wife or children to ever have to feel that pain.  However, I do want to be in the fight!  I have very certain skill that can be very helpful in this fight.  My heart goes out to these brave men's families.  Every American needs to stand up and take notice of this act.  This was a targeted terrorist act on two Federal Agents in foreign lands!  Is it fair to make my family live every day wondering where I am and what I am doing.  Thinking about every person they encounter, "is this person good or evil?"  Decisions Decisions Decisions.    

Quote of the day!

On Valentine's Day, while speaking with my father-in-law, he made this comment concerning the fact that he gave my mother-in-law a T-bone steak for V-Day: "I will give her the meat and keep the bone!"

Long day, justice served!

Began at 1:00 AM this morning with a tired kiss from my wife and strict warning to be safe and come back safe.  20 straight hours of work, 17 raids, and mountains of "federal paper"... I am exhausted.  This will not be the longest or most detailed blog entry.  However, I did think it important to make an entry.  After a day like this I can totally see being a SAHD the rest of my life.  You know the thing that bothers me the most?  The children!  No matter where in the world I am or the circumstances I am placed, my heart breaks for the little ones now.  I see there little eyes looking up and know they just don't get why these adults are acting like this.  It never really affected me before, not until I had my little one.  Now, its all I can think about.  I just want to hold them and tell them it is OK and that they are safe.  I am sorry babies, for the world, for the pain that these man children do to you!  I am so sorry.  Below is a picture of how I feel I should be every day.  It is one of my favorite of me and my boy.  Dads be good to them, hug them alot, look them in the eyes and tell them "you love them"! 

Quote of the day! This is dedicated to a conversation I had with my son...

...No it is not a ball...it's poop!

First blog post!

Well welcome to my blog.  I just got it up today so forgive any errors or problems, as I am still trying to figure all of this out.  I am excited about this process.  This is an opportunity to express my feelings, troubles, and excitement about possibly becoming a full time stay at home dad.  I say possibly because it is far from being official and I am still praying about and researching my options.  This will be a journey of wills for sure.  At this moment I am 99% sure that I would love to be and thrive as a stay at home dad but I know that I have to be completely sure!  This blog is also a way to talk "openly" but of course "anonymously" about all of the things I love, like, hate, enjoy, and find interesting.  Nothing is off limits.  So, all of you out there (especially stay at home dads SAHD's), please share your thoughts, feelings, and experiences with me.  I want you all to be apart of my experience and decision!  God bless, and lets get it on.

BTW, I am in fact a secret agent with an unnamed federal agency, I can not talk about or show large aspects of my life and thus the difficulty in my decision (pride and success can weigh on a man).  More about that to come.

Quote of the day: Make a point whenever you can.  Some of my regular readers (Spike) will understand this more than others.