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I sit and watch in amazement as I watch my boys go throughout their day. What a difference time makes. And by time I mean weeks and days. There is such an amazing difference in just last week in the boys and what they are doing.

I see my sons literally growing up right in front of my eyes and I wonder where the time has gone? As we go through the cycle of potty training, learning manners, etc. I just sit back at what they are learning and more importantly, how they are growing up and using what we are teaching them.

As the days pass, they will become even more independent on us and will be able to do even more on their own. But until that day comes, I want to slow down the growing up process and hold onto my little boys for a little longer.

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Today was a hard day for me and maybe one of the hardest as a father. We took the boys to their second week of gymnastics.  The class was relatively small and they were the only boys there, I guess they were also the youngest too.

Class started and within 5 minutes Baby B was up running around. At first, I thought that he would stop, but quickly it became a game. But worse than that, it was a distraction. It was a distraction to the other kids and to the teacher and it wasn’t fair to them. So after I was able to get him, we walked outside and talked and I explained that if he misbehaved again, that he would not return to the class.

We got back in and for 5-10 minutes he listened and even participated, but that didn’t last. Up and running and I was done. I was able to get him after he made two laps around the class and that was it. I took him into the nursery area and got him checked in. I made it back to the gymnastics class to see Baby A listening and having a lot of fun. He was doing flips and jumping over little mats.

So after the class, I go back to pickup Baby B, only to see that he had been put in time out for not listening. He didn’t listen in the class or in the nursery and I felt like a failure as a parent.

As we left, I called my mom and told her about my day and how I felt like a failure. And she reminded me that sometimes as parents, we have hard days and that those hard days only make us better parents in the long run.

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Everyone has told me that potty training boys is much harder than girls.  We are 2 days into our potty training and thus far, we have only had 1 accident. 1 and that is it. Not bad.

We setup the little potty for the boys in the living room and setup a 20 minute reminder on our phone. Every 20 minutes when the boys heard the chime on our phones, they would go to the potty. Not bad. And every time that they would pee, they would get 2 M&M’s.

We are day three of the potty training, so we’ll see if we can keep up the positive reinforcement and see if we can get them potty trained within the week. But I think that us constantly reminding and asking the boys if they have to goto the potty and also giving them the reward of the M&M’s has really helped us thus far.

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Growing up in a military home, I remember the times that my dad was gone. I remember when the phone would ring during a national disaster and that he would be mobilized. I remember summer camps and counting down the days. I remember the night my father took me out to the workshop to tell me that he got his orders to go to Kuwait for the first Persian Gulf war.

So when I see videos about military men and women surprising their families and and especially their children, I have no words. I have no words, because I remember those moments. I have no words because I remember the moments when my father would return from deployments and running to him. I have no words because not only do these men and women make the ultimate sacrifice to defend our country and our freedoms, but their families make a sacrifice as well.

So today, take a moment, watch this touching video of a boy who has not seen his father in a year. Take a moment, that if you see a service man or woman, to say thank you, but their meal or a beer or just give them a pat on the back.

http://wapc.mlb.com/cutfour/2014/06/24/81470546/video-gif-military-father-surprised-son-disguised-royals-catcher-first-pitch

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Today is one of my favorite days, voting day!

Ever since I was a kid, I have loved elections. In the President George W. Bush election with the hanging chads, I took two days off from work and was glued to the tv results. But as much as I love it, I also feel that it is my civic duty and responsibility to vote for those that best represent my views and values and who will do the best job. Lately, that has been difficult for me, not because my views have changed, but because the candidates have.

I no longer believe that candidates run for the sole reason of doing good and what is right. I often feel that today, candidates are running for the perks, for the salary, etc. I hope that I am wrong, but that is just my gut feeling. But I also feel that it is my duty to teach my sons about the importance of voting. That if they choose not to vote, then they are essentially giving up their right to complain about our politicians.

Voting is a privilege that we as US Citizen are afforded. It is also our right, as citizens of this great land, to elect those that will be partisan and reach across the aisle and compromise.  I personally feel that our country is going through another change. I think that President Obama, who, I fully admit, I do not agree with a lot of his views and stances. But that being said, I still respect him and his office. But, President Obama campaigned on the slogan of Hope and Change. What has come from his now 6 years in office, is really in my opinion less change. And I think that at that point in time in our country, change was needed.

People often forget that at the end of President Bush’s term, the Iraq war was still going on and we were looking at another war within Afghanistan. The housing market was taking a hit and jobs were being lost. Today, 6 years later, we are dealing with a lot of these same issues.

So, how does all of this relate to my boys? Pretty easy. The leaders that I cast my vote for today, will directly play a part in the next 4 years of their lives. I love my sons. I feel that it is my responsibility as their father to vote for those that will be represent me, but more importantly, who will represent my sons. Healthcare. Gun Laws. Taxation. Boarder control. And the list goes on. But these are going to be the upcoming hot ticket issues that our country is going to be faced with and at an alarming rate.

Today after work, I’ll stop by my local poling place and cast my vote. Voting for those that will represent my family the best. And hope that as my boys get older, they too will take an interest in the political world and love it as much as I do.

 

 

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We have all had those moments in out lives, that we stand back and ask ourselves, “did that really happen?” Well, just happened to me and I am still caught off guard.

My my wife was putting the boys to bed while I was cooking spaghetti and to my surprise, my wife sends me a text that our neighbor was banging on the wall. Seriously? An adult was banging on the wall to our townhouse, because our 3 year old jumped a few times on his bed.

For most, it would end there, but not in this case. My wife was able to get our son to stop jumping and I guess for good measures, be neighbor decided to bang on the wall again? Well, my wife flew out of the room, walked next door and let’s just say that there was a discussion.  What happened next, was both painful and gut wrenching. My wife came back in tears. The neighbor was essentially attacking her baby and she was upset. But to see my wife shaking and in tears is hard.

My wife bought our townhouse before we started dating and at the height of the market. Needless to say, we got married, had twin boys, outgrew the two bedroom townhouse pretty quickly. The situation with the house, our condo association and our neighbor have made our home, feel more like a jail. Nothing has gone right, from day 1. But tonight, tonight was the final straw.

I love my sons. More than I can ever put into words I love them. Today more than ever. But I will not allow someone, anyone to bang on the wall at them. It is time to move.

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It is funny how your music tastes changes over the years. I remember growing up and you could have never gotten me to listen to Jazz or anything that resembles it.

But now, I can’t get enough. In fact, when I am cooking and trying to get the boys to start settling down, I put on some classic Jazz. And as we move into our night time music selection, my go to lately has been Jim Brickman. There is just something about his smooth music, that helps settle the boys down. In fact, I can get the boys to sleep with his music within just a few songs. And yes, there have been a many times that I have fallen asleep on the floor listening to his music as well.

Here is the night time music cd that we’ve been listening to lately: Jim Brickman Piano Lullabies.

Just a little night time tip that might help your kids sleep a little easier.

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Father’s Day has an entirely new meaning and I hope that I can do this justice in what I’m trying to say.

Growing up as a kid, I always remember celebrating Father’s Day late, because my father was in the Army and wasn’t always home.  I understood as best as I could as a kid why he wasn’t there, but it always bothered me.

Last year, I had a work trip and had to be leave on Father’s Day before dinner. I got to spend the day with my boys and with my wife’s family, but most importantly, my boys.

This year, my wife had to work all weekend and I was with the boys all weekend. On Saturday, we went to the playground twice, ran errands, etc. But we were together.  I took them to lunch at the restaurant behind the house, we talked and laughed the entire time. We went to Target and they each got a toy for behaving so well for the week. I took them back to the playground for more running and they asked for Ice Cream and who doesn’t love Ice Cream? So we stopped at the grocery store and grabbed a pint of Ice Cream and cones, a steak for me and we were back home.

On Father’s Day, my wife was at home for maybe an hour after I got up and then she was off to work. The boys asked me to cook breakfast, especially bacon. So, I did just that. I do like I always do, I put on a movie and I started cooking sausage, bacon, eggs, and home fries. A little over the top with breakfast? Maybe, but it was good.  And then we went to my father in laws house for a cookout.

Was I disappointed that my Father’s Day was not one of grilling and/or smoking something outside? Missing out on watching the US Open? Sleeping in?

YES! Yes I was and honestly to a point, I still am. And maybe I have some unresolved issues with the importance of Father’s Day and always doing things for my Dad and he wasn’t there for Father’s Day?

But I have realized something, two days later. I got the best Father’s Day present while cooking. Baby A walked over to me, reached up and asked to hug me and as I bent down, he kissed me on the cheek and told me he loved me. A present that will last a lifetime and that will mean more than anything else. And after seeing what Baby A did, Baby B walked over and said “Kiss” and I leaned down and he gave me a kiss.

There is a part of me that feels cheated, but there is an even bigger part of me that is just so damn proud of those boys. I didn’t get any gifts. I didn’t get to sleep in. I didn’t get to watch golf. Instead, I got to be a Dad. I got to do something that my father rarely did, celebrate Father’s Day with my boys.

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For the first time in history a Majority Speaker of the House of Representatives has been defeated. House Speaker, Republican Eric Cantor was beaten by a virtual unknown. HUGE would be an understatement, to a point.

I’ll be the first to admit, I looked at the numbers a few weeks ago and figured that Eric Cantor had the race in the bag. But, something is at bay here, it isn’t a Republican Party vs. Tea Party as the media is making this race out to be. But instead I believe that that there is a great movement at hand and that is very simply this. I believe that the American people are getting fed up with our current direction with our country.

Our unemployment is at record highs and again, take a few minutes to not only see how unemployment is calculated but more importantly the real numbers.  The American people are concerned about the future of our jobs that are being outsourced, high taxes, immigration and big government.

Was Eric Cantor just the first of many changes in the upcoming races? I don’t know, but my guess is yes! I think that there is a growing concern that the government is trying to make more and more citizens dependent on the Federal Government. I don’t know that the Tea Party movement was the driving force behind Eric Cantor’s loss, as much as it was a vote against the current establishment.

As my boys grow up and I hope that they follow politics like I do, Eric Cantor’s defeat tonight might be a very historic moment.

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Missing In Action aka MIA aka On a Break aka Life got in the way.

Always of saying that a lot of things have been going on in life lately and blogging hasn’t been one of those things.  Nothing too crazy, just dealing with a lot of life things. Work, future, finances, family, and the list goes on.

Sometimes I think that it is good to get away, hide from life. I think that it is healthy to back away and reflect.

And there are times when you just need to go MIA.

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