Housewives

Well, I've been a housewife for about 3 weeks now. Househusband, to be exact, but who's splitting hairs when you don't have to work? I guess the main point to make is that I identify a bit with the common housewife now, especially those staying home with kids while their spouse is away. Everybody thinks they know the positives to staying at home, and while there are definitely some, there are some negatives as well.

1. Guilt. You feel guilty not being at work. I know there's a reason I don't have a job right now, but it doesn't help assuage the feeling of guilt. Part of the reason for staying home is so Mandy will have flexibility with her schedule for the next couple months. Opening a new store isn't easy, and she may have some early mornings and late nights, hopefully I can help her out by being there for her and the kids.

2. It's not as free of a schedule as you think. Once my wife leaves around 7:45, I get up and get Lexi ready for school. I then take her out to the bus stop at 8:30. She gets home at 3:45, which is definitely a nice chunk of time, but somehow as soon as noon hits, you start thinking about how quickly the afternoon will pass, and every idea of something you wanted to get done dissolves with the idea that there's not enough time before you have to march back out to the bus stop.

3. Is Noah enjoying his alone time with Dad? He told M. the other day that he was, and he definitely gets time for video games and tv, but is he getting enough growth out of this? He doesn't interact with other kids like he does at daycare, and while I try to get out and visit places, he gets bored easily with running errands.

4. I do like being here when Lexi gets home. We often read as soon as she gets home, or we go to the park, where I can let the kids play. Sometimes the playground is full of other kids, and it's a nice opportunity for my own kids to be around children they don't know. It's fun to watch them be hesitant at first, then open up and start playing with others. Until they start telling the other kids they should come home with us, because we have cookies and games. I tried to tell Lexi that that was kind of creepy, but she didn't get it.

5. I have a ton of things to do, but never seem to get anything done. Today I cleaned the house. We're having M's co-workers over on Wed. for a barbecue, and hey, what else was I doing all day anyway? I had her make me a list of projects, and this should give me something good to work on.

Noah is 4

I can hardly believe it, a 4 year old and a soon to be 6 year old.


Yesterday I was looking at Noah, I didn't say anything, and he gives me this weird look and says, "What?", like I'm acting weird or something. I'm like, "Nothing". A minute later I look at him again, he gives me the same funny look and says, "What?" Nothing, I said, I'm just looking at you. He thinks I'm crazy.

22

Today in the car Noah was playing with a new toy.

"Daddy, this is 22."

"What do you mean?"

He holds up the toy and on the bottom it's marked '22'.

Not bad for a 3 year old that thinks he's yellow years old.

Big Girl

Wow, tomorrow is Lexi's first day of Kindergarten. It really is hard to fathom how quickly 5 years have gone by. Today we dropped off supplies at her classroom, and tomorrow we'll drop her off at the front of the building and pick her up 2 hours later.

It's a big day for all of us /shudder.

RIP Alex Chilton

"Here's a revision that's kind of minor, it's just a little town down in Indochina" - Bangkok

The sad thing is, I thought he was already dead, but he was only 59.

If the name doesn't ring a bell, you'd probably at recognize him as the singer from the Box Tops with the hit song, "The Letter".

If it does ring a bell, you probably already know.

Happy Birthday, Lexi

Five years.

Five short years.

Sometimes it feels like 10, but usually more like 1 or 2. The time just flies past like nobody's business.

I remember that first night, Swedish Hospital, just the 3 of us. They got the bed, I got the chair. It was such a blur, such a lack of sleep that you didn't really know what was happening at any time. Changing diapers, feeding her, and sitting around until they finally released us late the next afternoon.

The first time I had to drop her off at daycare at 3 months old. It just seemed so cruel. Now it's such a relief sometimes, to know that they're going to be playing with other kids and eating a couple of square meals, compared to whatever slop I throw together for them.

Her first tooth, steps, words. Her first scrapes and tumbles. Her first smile and her first bath.

It's amazing how scared you can be with the first child, thinking of all the awful things that you are sure are going to happen any day now...it's just a matter of time. By the time her little brother was born, you're fine giving him a shard of glass and a lighter and just letting him go for it.

The time she was only maybe 6 months old and was throwing everything up for days, we took her to the emergency room and fed her by the dropper full. The doctor says, "Everything's fine, as long as she's not dehydrated". That's what I pretty much say all the time, but the wife never takes my word for it.

The first time she slept through the night all the way. Now THAT was a good night.

I'm not going to win any best-parenting contest anytime soon, but I will love that girl with all my heart for the rest of my life.

Happy birthday, babe.