Through the Years

My daughters’ birthdays are ten days apart in June. We typically celebrate their birthdays with the family on the same day. Today is that day. We will be heading to Grammy and Papas for an afternoon of swimming and pizza. It is supposed to be in the high 80s in Pittsburgh at party-time, and a pool party is the perfect way to celebrate the day God blessed us with two perfect little girls. 

Before we get to the party, I need to come to terms with the fact that my little girls are getting bigger. Right now all three children are sitting on the couch watching “Jungle Junction” on the iPad. It wasn’t that long ago that Shan told me she was pregnant with our first. At least it doesn’t seem like it was that long ago. I clearly remember that conversation we had eight years ago. I remember the major milestones for all three of her pregnancies, and yet, there are days that I cannot remember what I had for lunch. Crazy. 

I cherish those memories. Those moments are what have helped to define who I am. Over the last eight years, I have cut three umbilical cords (the first one wasn’t pretty – ruined my shirt), gotten up in the middle of the night countless times to sooth a child, changed innumerable diapers, fallen asleep with babies on my chest, stepped on toys and limped around in pain, cleaned booboos, brushed knots out of hair, caught puke in my hands, and performed numerous other acts of parenthood both expected and unexpected. 

Sometimes I wonder if parents have birthday parties to celebrate the birth of their children or to celebrate surviving another year of parenting. Of course, the latter is not why my wife and I are throwing a party, I ah, am, ah, talking about other parents. Yeah that’s it. 

Through the course of writing this post, I have made breakfast for the oldest, helped the middle one get dressed, helped the youngest on the potty and dressed him, and you guessed it, other various parental duties. Doing all of that has helped me to realize that I probably will never fully come to terms with my babies getting older. That’s okay with me. I will continue to look forward to the wonderful experiences awaiting my children and fondly remember everything that has happened to us so far.

Why Bother Buying Toys

My daughter's preschool is having a consignment sale this weekend.  For those of you who do not know, a consignment sale is where a vendor (in this case parents) bring clothes or other items to a store (in this case a gymnasium) and sell them to the general public. A portion of the money goes to the vendor, and a portion goes to the store (in this case the school).

My wife is participating this year, and we have hangers and several totes, some empty, lying around our living room. My son, who is almost two, has decided it is a lot of fun to push the empty totes around our hardwood floors. He has been entertaining himself for hours doing this. When he gets bored with the totes, he goes for the hangers. These, he tries to spread open so that he can fit them on his head. Unfortunately, I to stop that one. He has a big head (a lot of brains) and those poor hangers were screaming for mercy.

With empty totes, why do I need to buy him toys? The answer - so that he can fill said totes with his toys. Silly Daddy, what was I thinking? Have fun while you can little man. Those totes are going back into the attic as soon as Mommy is done with them.

Back in Preschool

Today, I got to go to Preschool with my three year old as a volunteer for her Christmas Party. It was a blast! There are 15 children in the class and two teachers on a normal day, and am not quite sure how they do it on a daily basis. God Bless them for it.

For the party, we had four parent volunteers of which I was one. A couple of weeks before the part my wife had signed me up to do a game. At first, I was like, "Oh, Gee Thanks." I did not realize at the time that on top of volunteering for the party, I had to volunteer for a specific function. It really wasn't a big deal, just a bit surprising.

Plus, I cannot complain because she offered to help figure out what to do. But, I was being stubborn and felt that I could come up with a game on my own. Well, that was not meant to be. I procrastinated and by Monday night, had nothing. Fortunately, I had one more day to "come" up with something. So, I asked my wife for help. She could have easily said NO!, but she is not like that. She agree completely.

We came up with "Pin the Ornament on the Tree" (it was mostly her idea.) It was a pretty simple game and no way for a kid to lose. My wife made the tree out of green poster board.  She drew used various shades of green marker to give the tree depth and silver glitter glue for the garland. The star is made out of yellow construction paper.  The ornanments are "stiff" sparkled red felt cut into circles. Shannon wrote each child's name on the ornament in the silver gliter glue, and then glued a silver snowflake on them. For the ornanment "hook," my wife glued sparkly red pipe cleaners on the top. Finally, she stuck magnets to the back of the oranments so that the children could take the home to display them.

To get the ornanments to stick to the paper tree, we attached blue painters tape to the back. This gave us the proper adhesive to stick to the tree without destroying it when we removed it. When it came time to Pin the ornaments we blindfolded the children, spun them around, and guided them to the tree.  Below is a picture of the tree after they were all done. (They may have had a little help to affixing the ornaments so none overlapped.)

I have to say that Ms. Patty and Ms. Bonnie (the teachers) were good sports as they played too. It was excellent and we really enjoyed ourselves. In an earlier post, I talked about how I volunteered in my older daughter's class. Again, I will say that if you have an opportunity to do it, volunteer in your child or grandchild's class. It is time well spent.

Grateful to Be a Father - The Best Job in the World

I have a confession to make. Being a Technical Writer is not my favorite job. Shocking, I know. Instead, I would rather be spending time with my wife and children. I am grateful for that time. Over the next two weeks I will have the opportunity to spend more time with them. I am on vacation until January 4th.

All three of my children did something today that made me realize, yet again, how lucky I am to have them in my life. To avoid any accusations of favoritism, I will list the events based on the time in which they happened today.

First up, the boy, Coilin. My son has more energy than any other child I know, with the exception of his older sister Jillian, and somehow, he is able to channel that energy into speed. That kid is fast. On top of that, Coilin has the best sense of humor out of any 20 month old that I have ever met. He is a funny kid, and he knows it. I was getting ready to put Coilin in his high chair for lunch. I opened up the baby gate that was keeping him corralled in the living room. Somehow the little buggar got right past me and took off running into the kitchen. He was giggling all the way; Coilin knew that I was going to chase him down. His giggle made me grateful to be a father.

My dear sweet Molly is up next. The fact that I am on vacation excites Molly very much. She loves the idea of me taking her to school and then picking her up at the end of the day. The dismissal at her school works like this - all the kids that are picked up by their parents, wait in a gaggle, with Teachers, on the sidewalk. As the parent drives up, the child gets into the vehicle. Apparently, Molly had forgotten that I told her I would pick her up from school today. As soon as she saw me sittting in the driver's seat of our sweet mini-van, I heard her squeal "DADDY!" with delight as I pulled up to the curb. (Mind you that must have been some squeal because my windows were up tight - it was in the 20s today.) Her squeal made me grateful to be a father.

Finally, we have my Jillian. I have mentioned a couple of times on my blog that Jillian likes me or Shannon to lay with her while she falls asleep. Usually, I do not mind; but tonight, I had some things that I wanted to get done. The urge to do my chores ended quickly when Jillian laid her head on my chest and draped her arm across me and proceeded to fall asleep. Her snuggling made me grateful to be a father. 

Most parents will say that they have the best children in the world, and I am no different. However, I firmly believe that God blessed my wife and me with the three best children for us. I cherish the time that I have with them now, because I know before too long, they will be grown and may have children of their own. The irony is that I never wanted children; but, now that I have them, I do not know what I would do without them. Thank you God for giving me these little blessings. I am grateful to be a father. 

Christmas Lights

This is going to be a short post tonight. I think I am finally succumbing to the cold that has been going around plus I have some other things I need to get done before I head to bed.

The family went to Jillian's Winter Open House tonight. It is always fun to see how your child interacts with other children her age. Not to mention, it is very fun to see all of the projects on which they have been working. Jillian grabbed my hand and lead me around the room showing me everything that she had done. I get a little tear in my eye just thinking about it.

After Open House, we drove around the neighborhood looking at all of the houses decorated for Christmas. You should have heard the girls directing our attention. Jillian was the funniest tonight though. She said, "Look out my side or your are going to miss it." It was cute.

My mom and I used to drive around to look at lights before I was married with children, and I am thrilled to share that tradition with my wife and children. If you have never done this yourself, turn on some Christmas music and go drive around your neighborhood to look at the hard work that people have put into their homes to make them look festive.  You will not be disappointed.

Oh, There will be Days

"Oh, there will be days." That's some very sage advice my wife's late friend shared with Shannon. When the friend said this, she was referring to my wife's job as a Stay-at-Home Mom (yes Virginia, it is a job). However, that phrase transcends all jobs and all parts of life. My friends, Today was one of those days.

I will not sit here and complain about everything that went wrong, because that really serves no purpose other than agitating me more. I have so much to be grateful for that I need to get out of my funk. So, I say goodbye to the computer problems I was having at work. Farewell to the aggravation of children who do not want to listen. So long to the frustration of a little girl who will not go to sleep.

Instead, let me say thank you Lord for three beautiful and healthy children. Dear Mr. Full-time Job, let us see if we cannot get along better tomorrow.  To my Jillian, Daddy loves you so much; but it is time for you to go bed honey. You need your rest. Finally, to you kind reader, I say good night as well. I am going to finish the dishes, grab some ice cream (Spumoni), and read Charles Dickens' "The Christmas Carol."

Teachers Make a Difference

Tonight, my oldest daughter re-enforced a fact that I have known to be true since high school. Teachers make a difference in students' lives. Friday will be the last day for Molly's student teacher. Molly is very sad about this, and I can understand where she is coming from.

Throughout my life, I have had teachers that have had a significant impact on more than just my scholarly education. The best ones have also prepared me for life. Only time will tell how much Molly's student teacher truly affected Molly's life. But, I can say this with a great deal of certainty - Miss Sizer has affected her in the short term, and I can see why.

About two weeks ago, I wrote about a Surprise that I gave to my daughter. That was me volunteering for a couple of hours at her school. During that time, I was able to witness how Miss Sizer interacted with students, the faculty (including the principal), and the parents (me). She is going to be a very good teacher, and she is going to have a tremendous affect on a great many children's lives. Like I said, she made an impression on my princess and that means she is okay in my book.

I wish Miss Sizer the best of luck, and I hope she never forgets how important her job is to the future of America. Apart from parents, teachers spend the most time with our children (in some sad cases the child may see the teacher more than their own parents). Thank you Miss Sizer for what you have to for Molly and what you will do for future generations.

"You Can Snore in my Bed"

"You can snore in my bed." So says my three year old Jillian when I laid her down for her nap today. As I mentioned in "A Call to Snuggle," Jillian has taken to my wife or me laying down with her before she goes to sleep. It isn't for very long - maybe a minute or two.  I do not mind it because I know how quickly time passes, and soon she will be all grown-up.

So, Jillian,  made her snoring statement after I made a pretend snore noise in her ear, and after she had me hold her really, really tight. I have no idea how she was able to breath comfortably. I was getting ready to leave her room, and she could sense this by my movement because she says, "Stay a wittle wonger." What could I say?

I agreed to lay with her for one more minute to which she responded, "Snore Daddy." I complied.  Then she got inquisitive:

Jillian: "Do you like to snore daddy?"
Me: "No I don't."
Jillian: "Why do you snore then?"
Me: "Because that is the way my body works."
Jillian: "Oh, Snore Daddy."

Believe me, I know that I am in trouble. Not only is she really smart, buy I have a really hard time saying no to her. She definitely has me wrapped around her little finger - and I DON'T CARE!

Anyhow, it was time for her to sleep. So, I gave her a kiss on the top of her head and left her room, and I made a B line straight to my wife to tell her the good news:

Me: "Shannon,  Jillian said I can snore in her bed."
Shannon: "Good, you can sleep in her bed every night."
Me: (silence)

I guess I know to where I am getting bootedon the nights when my snoring gets too loud. Personally, I do not see how my snoring can bother my wife. After all, it does not bother my Jillian, AND, I sleep right through it.

Prayers Do Get Answered

Today is supposed to be Fiction Friday, and we will get there tonight I promise. But, I have to tell you that we welcomed a niece into our family this morning. This is an answer to a three year long prayer.  My brother-in-law and his wife lost a baby during birth three years ago. I cannot even imagine the pain and suffering that they went through in losing their child.

Now, they have a daughter, and she is healthy and beautiful. Even though, I have children, and I witnessed all three of their births, I cannot imagine the joy and elation that my brother-in-law and his wife are feeling right now. Their experience is totally different than mine. This child is a gift from God - as all children are; but she is especially precious to all of us who are going to have the pleasure of knowing her.

It is time to celebrate her birth, and what better time of year to have this child than around Thanksgiving. I know that all of my brother-in-law and his wife's friends and family have been praying for them and could not be more thankful for what God has given to this couple, now family, that we love so much.

Alternative Syrup

I will warn you now that this post is not for the faint of heart.

If you have been reading my blog, you know that I have a 19 month old son. He is pretty self sufficient when it comes to feeding himself. We put food on plate, and he can get it into his mouth - well most of it makes there. Sometimes, he even uses a fork and spoon. So, he already has a leg up on me.

Tonight, we had breakfast for dinner. This included pancakes, sausage (links and patties), and eggs. Coilin had pancakes and cut up sausage links. He actually used his fork for the sausage. The pancakes were a different story.

I tore apart his pancake into small pieces for two reasons. One, if you give him a whole pancake he will shove the entire thing in his mouth. Two, the hope is that it will take him longer to eat smaller pieces. That didn't really happen. My boy decided to take handfuls of pancake pieces and shove them in his mouth. He was fine; he did not choke. I sometimes wonder if he cannot unhinge his jaw like a snake. He laid waste to most of his pancake bits like that. Well, all except for the one.

Before we continue, I need to give you some back story. We do not put syrup on his pancakes simply because he does not need the sugar, and he would have it all over him. Coilin would be, as we say in our house, Sticky Wickets. Apparently, he must have felt that one of his pancake pieces was a little dry as he added his own "syrup."

Now, my poor son has had a runny nose all week. (Yes, I am going to go there.)  He decide to stick a piece of pancake in his nose, pull it back out and eat it. It was both gross and funny at the same time. I thought my wife and oldest daughter were going to die. My youngest daughter and I were cracking up. It was like he did it in slow motion - you could see the snot string running from his nose to the pancake. In the next moment, they were both gone. Down the old hatch!

A Surprise

About two weeks ago, Molly's first grade teacher sent home a note asking for volunteers to come in and help with a paper mache project on the November 15th and 16th. I decided to use a vacation and volunteer for the 16th. I did not tell Molly that I was going to help, and I asked the teacher and student teacher not to say anyting to her. The plan to surprise her was set and worked perfectly.

Typically, I telecommute on Tuesdays. So, it was no big deal that I was home when she left for school. I arrived at her school at 10 a.m., and the kids were still in an assembly. The secretary told me to wait in the hall outside of Molly's classroom. I did. I could hear all of the children coming down the hall, and I saw the student teacher round the corner first and then right after her came my little girl. She screamed "Daddy!" and ran to give me a big hug. It was great.

Helping Molly and her classmates with that project was a lot of fun. It was also really messy. Even with an apron, I had paper mache glue all over my sleeves. When we were all done, I got a little surprise of my own. I was told I could go in the classroom and sit with Molly for a little bit while she was working on her Thanksgiving story. That was really special.  It was fun to see Molly in her own element.

If you ever have the opportunity to volunteer at your child or grandchild's school, do it if you can. I know it is hard to fit that kind of time into your schedule. Man is it worth it though. It was fulfilling for me, and Molly was super excited. The children love it. One of the little boys I helped kept telling me about how his dad had come in the day before to help. It makes a lasting impression on our children.

A Proud Moment

My daughters and I went to church this morning. Like most Sundays, Jillian (3) asked if she could on Molly's (6) lap. As I do every Sunday, I say ok. I am fine with it so long as they behave. For the most, part they were good today in church.

We had a couple of instances where Jillian was more laying on Molly than she was sitting.  Other than that, I was happy with their behavior. Besides, Jillian is only three years old. I do not expect her to sit stone still in church. I can't even do that, and I am a little older than her.

Their good behavior did not go unnoticed either. Right after the consecration of the Host and before we went up to take communion, a woman came up behind us and told me something about which I am still beaming. She said that my girls were very pretty little girls and that they were very well behaved. And, she added, that I should be very proud. Then she sat back down.

It is hard to say whether she meant that I should be proud of them, or if I should be proud of the job my wife and I are doing in raising our children. To be honest, it does not matter which she meant, because I am proud on both fronts.

I did not get to see her after mass. So, to whoever said those nice things to me, I say thank you. I hope you have a wonderful week, and maybe I will get to see you in church next week and get to say thank you in person.

My Opinion on Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time (Daylight Savings Time) ended today, and I am very sad. I understand why we turn our clocks back one hour in the fall and turn them ahead one hour in the spring. It is, supposedly, to save energy. Maybe it does and maybe it does not. I cannot say for sure. But, I do know that it messes with my family's schedule big time.

People get very excited about the alleged extra hour of sleep. I admit. I did get an extra hour of nap time today, and that is where it ends for me. So too ends my sleeping in until 7 am on the weekend. Why you ask? My dear, sweet Jillian will be up by 6 am or earlier now. She is three and does not comprehend the idea of getting extra sleep. Jillian runs on her internal clock.

We put her to bed between 8 and 8:30 every night, and she falls asleep somewhere between 8 and 9:00.  She gets up at least once or twice after we lay her down. Once to go to the bathroom again despite the fact that I make sure she goes potty before I tuck her in. Most nights she gets up again claiming "I can't sweep."

In essence, she goes to bed when she is good and ready. It does not matter what we want. The same is true when she wakes up. Jillian is up when her body tells her to wake up.  We try to get her to lay down again, but she is up five minutes later and has usually woken up either Molly or Coilin in the process. When we have her lay in bed with us as an attempt to get some extra sleep, Jillian winds-up playing with my face. (Apparently, my face is more fun that Silly Puddy.)

I know that I am not alone in the world. While at Joann Fabrics today, the cashier told us she suffers the same fate with her dog. The dog gets up when it wants to; the dog does not understand the concept of time. So for the next four months, I will be getting up a little earlier than I would like. Instead of complaining anymore, I will consider myself lucky to be able to spend some extra time with my daughter.

Cooking: A Way to Unwind

Last night I talked about how snuggling with my wife and children "makes things all better." It soothes me, and I am not so macho that I cannot admit that. Tonight, I was reminded of another activity that soothes me - cooking.

I was not in the best of moods before I started to make dinner tonight. After a few minutes of cooking though, my mood mellowed. I am trying to figure out what exactly it is about cooking that calms me down. Several possible reasons come to mind. First, let me tell you what I made.

We had Pumpkin Pancakes, a simple potato hash, eggs, and sausage. Yes, we had breakfast for dinner tonight. It is a favorite of the kiddies. This was not a hard meal to make; but, it required some planning and prep work. The planning was in starting to cook items in sequence that would allow everything to be done at once. The prep work was in mixing the pancake batter and chopping the potatoes and onions.

The chopping is the most cathartic part of the prep work, and not because I am envisioning that the potato is actually some coworker that has ticked me off. For me, it is the methodical repetition that is so relaxing. I cut the potato in half lengthwise. Then, I cut each half into three piece, again lengthwise. Finally, I cut across the potato to create similar sized cubes. This process did not take long; but, by the end, I was starting to feel better because I was able to let my mind go.

Next, it was on to determining in what order to cook each menu item. It was obvious - the potatoes - they take the longest. After I started them, I knew I needed to start the pancake batter. And, on it went until I had finished making dinner. This problem solving portion of cooking allowed me to get my mind working again.

The best part of cooking is the eating. The pancakes, sausage, and eggs were all excellent. The potatoes, on the other hand, were a little blackened. I started off cooking them with the flame too hot, and I was not watching them as closely as I normally would. They got a little crispy while I was mixing the pancake batter but they were still good. Even Molly ate some.

It is interesting to me that my last two posts have been about things that chill me out. In the end, it makes sense. Things have gotten stressful at work. But, it is nothing that I have not been through before. I know how to cope with these stresses. As a result, I guess I am more aware of how snuggling and cooking help me cope when external forces are trying to bring me down.

A Call to Snuggle

Men of the world, I challenge you to snuggle with a loved one at least once a day. I promise you that it will make your day better for I have successfully tested that theory this very night. Come and read with me as I tell you what I mean.

I put my children to bed about 30 minutes before I started to write this post. Actually, I started the process of putting them to bed. (Some nights it drags on and on. Tonight has been one of those nights.) It seems lately the my youngest daughter is very much in Daddy mode. That is more than all right with me. Considering the fact that she did not want much to do with me when she was a baby, I am loving this. One of the results of her recent gravitation towards me is a request that I lay in bed with her before she goes to sleep. I know that many of you parents are thinking that this is a bad idea, and that she will never learn to go to sleep by herself. Not true. The same thing happened with my oldest daughter and she falls asleep on her own now. But, that is a discussion for another day.

Anyhow, Jillian really likes it when I lay down with her. Besides, how can I resist when she asks like this: "You sleep with me? For just a minute Daddy?" It is a win-win situation. All of my children can curl themselves into the tightest ball. Jillian is the best at it though. She burrows into my chest so tightly that it is as if she becomes part of me. I lay there for a minute, kiss her good night, and down the stairs I go. She is satisfied and I am filled with a daughter's love for her Daddy.

It is kind of ironic. My son woke up crying while I was drafting this post. Coilin almost never wakes up after I lay him down.  He must have known what I was writing about and wanted his share of snuggle-time. And, that is all he needed tonight. Coilin was crying, and I went into his room. I checked his diaper. It was dry; so, I just held him for a few minutes. He grabbed onto my hand while I was holding him. That gets me every time. Against my will, I laid him back down, and have not heard a peep since.

I will not get into details about how I snuggle with my wife. But I will say this, the best snuggle time is early in the morning when the house is cold and most of the covers have fallen off of the bed. You know that time before Mr. Sun begins to wake the earth from her slumber, when all that you have to keep you warm is a thin sheet. That is when I pull my wife close and warm up the both of us. That is an excellent way to start a day.

In fact, the perfect snuggle day would start with me snuggling with my wife and end with snuggle time with my children. Today, I ended the day perfectly and I have to say thank you to all three of my little ones tonight. It was a rough day at work and the time we spent together, made it all better. Men of the world I tell you in closing to pull that special someone close to you tonight and relish in their love and affection.

Halloween 2010 Part Two

My sources tell me that you were all good girls and boys this Halloween. If you remember, yesterday I promised that I would share a picture of our Jack O' Lantern with you. Before I do, I have to tell you that I had every intention of doing a goofy-faced pumpkin; but, the girls wanted a spooky one. They both think it was spooky, and from three and six year olds' perspective, I think it is. Without further adieu, here's Jack.

Today ended up being a Halloween-themed day in our house. Aside from carving the pumpkin, my wife made awesome Mummy Pizza's for lunch. She used English Muffins for the base, string cheese for the mummy wrappings, and black olives for the eyes. They were very cool looking and very tasty. The kids loved them too.

For dinner, Shannon made Mummy Dogs. She sliced a hot dog down the center and filled it with cheese. Then, she wrapped the hot dog in a crescent roll leaving an opening for the face. In that opening, she used a toothpick to poke two holes for eyes. To cook them, Shannon baked them in the oven. After they were cooked, she put two little drops of mustard where she had poked holes with the toothpick. They were awesome! You can see pictures of them at my wife's blog - "Molly's Lunchbox."

We finished the day Trick or Treating. The girls and I had a blast. (Coilin went to three houses near-by and then we dropped him back at home with my Mother-in-Law. Thank you Ma for watching him for us.) I have no idea how many houses we hit, but we have a boat load of candy that needs to be eaten. I have permission from my youngest daughter, Jillian, to have five pieces. She told me I was good while we were Trick or Treating, and I deserved them. She is such a sweet heart.

I hope that all of you had as great a day as I did. I am blessed to have such a wonderful family. Have a great night everyone.

Team Work

Team work is one of the most important aspects in my life, and I would argue, everybody's lives. You can only do so much by yourself, and the greatest victories in life come when people work together. This is true in my personal and professional life. Since this blog is mainly about my life outside of work, we are going to talk about my personal team in this post.

My personal team consists of four people with a fifth member getting ready to take an active role within the next several months. I am talking about my wife and children. It is probably pretty obvious how important my wife is to our team. Shannon is a Stay-at-Home Mom. Yes, Virginia, that is a real job. She is with the children all day, every day. Shannon cooks for them, dresses them, changes diapers, wipes noses, and kisses boo-boos. Without her support at home, I could not function the way I do at work. Raising our children is the number one priority for both of us. Part of raising them is making sure that they have a role on our team.

Molly, the oldest at six years old, is an integral part of the team. When Shannon or I are in the middle of something and Jillian has to go to bathroom, Molly can help her sister. At dinner, she is able to set the table. There have even been times when she has made me a sandwich for lunch. (Do NOT tell my wife, but Molly made me the best sandwich I ever had.) Molly will even help me sweep the sidewalk after I cut the grass. Nine times out of ten, she is more than willing to help. Her little eyes light-up when I ask her for her help.

The middle child, Jillian, is only three and is somewhat limited in what she can help with. But, make no mistake, when she wants to help, she is an awesome helper. Jillian is great for throwing away dirty diapers for us while we are wrestling, I mean dressing Coilin. She is also able to help set the table. (NO KNIVES!) When reminded, she even puts her clothes in the dirty clothes basket. After dinner, she can clear her plate and the other children's plates as well.

With five people in this house, we have to have team work. There is no way one of us could do it all by ourself and remain sane and civil. Beyond that, making the children an integral part of the team makes them stronger and will make them more self-sufficient down the line. It helps to build their self-confidence, and that, you know, I am all about. Three of my last four blog posts have talked about it.

Maybe sometime I will talk about my team at work, a team we proudly call “Team Tech Pubs.” But, not yet. We are still gelling into the cohesive unit that I know we will become, and I want to wait to share that experience with you. So, for now, I leave you with brief overview of my personal team. I will definitely revisit this topic down the line; I have a great deal more to talk about how important they are to me, and I believe, I am to them.  

Miracles Do Happen

I am in the mood to talk about my children tonight. Please bare with me. I was giving my son some milk before he went to bed tonight. I looked down at him and thought just how amazing it is that we have him. My wife and I thought that we were done having children after we had Molly and Jillian. In fact, we took steps to prevent another birth.

My wife, Shannon, had her “Tubes Tied” in 2007. Correction, “Tube Tied” she only had one Ovary left when she had the procedure done. A cyst had grown on Shannon's left ovary during her pregnancy with Jillian and totally obliterated that ovary. The doctor took out a 2 cm section of the fallopian tubes connected to the one good ovary to perform the Tubal Ligation (that's the fancy term for getting your “Tubes Tied”). When I say we thought we were done, we really thought we were done. Apparently God had other plans.

Late in the Summer of 2008, my wife was not feeling like herself. She was convinced that she was pregnant. I told her she was crazy; but, like a dutiful husband, I went out that night and bought a home pregnancy test. It turned positive while I was still reading the directions to determine how to tell if the test was positive. Yes, we were very shocked, and concerned. You see if a woman gets pregnant after having a Tubal Ligation, it is possible that it could be a Ectopic pregnancy. That can be life threatening for the mother. The doctor wanted to see my wife the next day. They did a sonogram and confirmed that she was pregnant, and that the embryo was in the Uterus right where it needed to be.

Now, I look at him and I am stunned by what a miracle he is. All children are miracles, there is no doubt of that. For me and my wife though, there is no greater miracle than Coilin. (When I say that, I do not mean to take anything away from my two girls.) Friends all around us were trying to get pregnant and could not. And here we were expecting number three when we had taken dramatic measures to prevent a pregnancy. I am so happy that Medical Science failed us. Shannon and I are blessed with three awesome children, and a couple of our friends that were trying to get pregnant are pregnant now. Miracles do happen everyday, and I think the greatest miracle of them all is having a baby.

Give it a Try

You never how something is going to turn out until you give it a try. This weekend my daughter, Molly, gave me a new perspective on this old idea, as my children so often do. On Saturday, she had her first sleep over at a friend's house. She has stayed with her grandparents numerous times; but, this was something totally different for her.

My daughter does not sleep well in “strange” places. She gets nervous, and I totally understand that. It is hard for me to fall asleep sometimes in a bed that is not my own. When I first heard about the sleep over, I thought it would be a lot of fun. But, I did not think she would do it. (I never told her that. That is a cardinal sin in parenting. If you tell your child they are unable to do something, they will believe you.)

Molly would be staying with a friend whose mom we trust and she trusts completely. Prior to the big night, Molly had several talks about the sleep over with my wife and me. She needed reassurance that everything would be fine. Then, the big night arrived. I dropped her off, and that is when we realized that her two stuffed animals were Missing In Action. I know, without a doubt, that I would be getting a call at bed time to come and get her if she did not have those animals. I told her I would bring them back before bedtime. That was good enough for her as her friend whisked her away to go have fun.

Of course, I returned with the stuffed animals and dropped them off without letting Molly know I was there. I pulled up to the house and jumped out. I had my three year old go up to the door, ring the doorbell, and deliver the payload. It was sweet. Jillian actually volunteered to do it.

The only call we received that night was from the friend's mom asking if it was okay for Molly to put on some make-up if she promised to take it off right away. The wonderful thing was that Molly asked the mom to call because she knew she needed permission. You see, she has very sensitive skin and we really monitor what products she uses. She knows this, and Molly did not want to get a rash.

In the end, Molly made it all night (and did not get a rash from the makeup). She got a little nervous before going to sleep; but the mom told Molly that they would be in the next room if she needed anything. She was reassured and did not need a thing. Molly was brave and tried something new. The success of her trying has built up her self-confidence so much so that she was ready to go back next weekend. It is amazing what can happen to you when you try something new. Just ask my Molly.

What a Day!

My three year old woke me up this morning at 6:30 am in about the only way that is acceptable to be awakened that early on Saturday. She craned her little head up over my mattress and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then she proceed to climb in bed with me and my wife; but, she refused to fall back to sleep. Twenty minutes later we were downstairs. I was pouring her juice and grinding beans for coffee.

Twenty minutes after that we were in the basement. I was doing laundry, and she was playing in the play room. And, I have been going pretty much non-stop since then. I have played the roles of Domestic Goddess, Lawn Care Professional, Taxi Driver, and Grocery Store Runner. It is now 9:01 pm. I am tired. I am hungry. The children are in bed. (Well, two of them are in bed. One is at sleepover; so, I doubt she is in bed already.) I have almost finished my blog post for the evening.

I think you know what is coming next based on last Saturday's post - “The House North of Pittsburgh.” That's right. I am going to have an adult beverage with my wife. It may be a Mojito, a Stoudt's Brewery “Scarlet Lady,” or a Troegs' Brewery “Troegenator: Double Bock.” While I am enjoying said beverage inside, (the weather has gotten cold) I plan on catching up some shows I DVRed. Perhaps it will be “Castle,” “Glee,” or “WipeOut!” I cannot say for sure.

All that I know is that there are two empty spots on my couch. One is for me, and one is for my wife. So, I say to you, my dear friends, Good Night and God Bless.