How come no one explains to you how time flies when you are a father?
The other day my son drops a full sentence on me.
"No daddy, TJ no carry it."
What?
Yeah I know the grammar wasn't exactly perfect (he takes after his father, not mother."
But, I feel like I barely have time to tie my shoes in the morning and I have missed the last 14 months of my son's life.
Where does time go?
He used to be a drooling, babbling, poo machine.
Granted, all three are still viable descriptions of my boy, but now the babbling is with actual human words.
Why is it that when I want to go on a fun trip or am waiting for a James Bond movie to come out, time drags on like watching a Cleveland Browns-Seattle Seahawks football game, but my son is growing up at twice the speed of sound?
I need some time saving tips. How can I remember everything?
Do I want to remember everything?
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Traveling, at the speed of...
Life.
Life is funny.
You can prepare for certain things as much as you like and yet when it's time to actually perform... The situation is nothing like you thought it would be.
My wife and I traveled to CA over the weekend for a buddy's wedding. We brought our son along.
This was the first trip since he was 6 months old. So in actuality, this was also his first trip as noise-maker, walker, and potential disturber of the peace.
Our Goal: World Peace (Or, keeping him from crying... which is just as impossible to achieve)
So that he wouldn't fuss too much, our goal was to make the airplane flight as fun and "distracting as possible."
MVP: My wife.
She packed all the right goodies. Snacks, toys and books. Lots of books.
John Wooden once said, "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
Thanks to my wife, our little boy was an angel on both trips.
He played and read all the way from Colorado to California. Never tried to escape our row. On the way home, he played (ran around) in the terminal so hard that he spent most of the flight asleep on my wife's lap.
It was like we hit the lottery.
I guess distractions and exercise worked this time. This time.
My only advice is to bring lots of things that keep a child interested. Food, Toys, Bottle caps, straws, etc. I think you have to be committed to not sleeping and entertaining the whole time. It can be hard, but it's the only way.
How do you do it?
Life is funny.
You can prepare for certain things as much as you like and yet when it's time to actually perform... The situation is nothing like you thought it would be.
My wife and I traveled to CA over the weekend for a buddy's wedding. We brought our son along.
This was the first trip since he was 6 months old. So in actuality, this was also his first trip as noise-maker, walker, and potential disturber of the peace.
Our Goal: World Peace (Or, keeping him from crying... which is just as impossible to achieve)
So that he wouldn't fuss too much, our goal was to make the airplane flight as fun and "distracting as possible."
MVP: My wife.
She packed all the right goodies. Snacks, toys and books. Lots of books.
John Wooden once said, "Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out."
Thanks to my wife, our little boy was an angel on both trips.
He played and read all the way from Colorado to California. Never tried to escape our row. On the way home, he played (ran around) in the terminal so hard that he spent most of the flight asleep on my wife's lap.
It was like we hit the lottery.
I guess distractions and exercise worked this time. This time.
My only advice is to bring lots of things that keep a child interested. Food, Toys, Bottle caps, straws, etc. I think you have to be committed to not sleeping and entertaining the whole time. It can be hard, but it's the only way.
How do you do it?
Thursday, July 21, 2011
What the ????
So we breached an interesting time in child raising the other day.
The hear and repeat stage.
Our little guy has a penchant for talking. At 18 months, he knew over 80 words.
That's awesome when you day dream about your child being the future President of the United States...
But the talent is not so great when... say... you're stuck in traffic or can't get a jar of spaghetti sauce to open.
Case in point: The other day my wife told me that our little one overheard her say the word "Heck"
As in, my wife backing out of a parking stall and the person behind her not giving her enough room.
Wife: "What the heck lady???"
Son: "Heck!"
Son: "HECK!"
And so on and so on...
Reminds me of the classic scene from Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller teaches the little kid, "A$$%!@e."
I am just glad it wasn't me who slipped up.
HECK
What words do you wish your kids didn't know?
The hear and repeat stage.
Our little guy has a penchant for talking. At 18 months, he knew over 80 words.
That's awesome when you day dream about your child being the future President of the United States...
But the talent is not so great when... say... you're stuck in traffic or can't get a jar of spaghetti sauce to open.
Case in point: The other day my wife told me that our little one overheard her say the word "Heck"
As in, my wife backing out of a parking stall and the person behind her not giving her enough room.
Wife: "What the heck lady???"
Son: "Heck!"
Son: "HECK!"
And so on and so on...
Reminds me of the classic scene from Meet the Parents when Ben Stiller teaches the little kid, "A$$%!@e."
I am just glad it wasn't me who slipped up.
HECK
What words do you wish your kids didn't know?
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Putting the kiddos to bed
Anyone else face off with a tasmanian devil when it's bed time?
Our little guy doesn't like going to bed much.
In fact, it's the time he does his most whining and crying.
I try to spin it by saying, "we should all cry at the end of each day. Going to bed means that one more day of our life is gone." But that's sentimental BS and though I mean it, I know no one else feels that way.
My son just doesn't want to be in bed.
Like most children, he stands against his crib wall, and cries.
So how do you settle the kiddos down?
I have found that staying on a routine is the best solution.
My wife likes to rock the little guy to sleep.
I just put him in his crib... straighten up the room a bit.
Tell him it's time to go to sleep... Then walk over and kiss his forehead, tell him to 'lay down' and walk out the door. After his year birthday, I added another line... (we leave the hallway light on until he falls asleep, so I say) "OK, I'll be right outside the door, see I am leaving the light on."
Most likely, I do this for me only since our son probably doesn't understand. But it's a routine.
After I leave the room, He'll usually starts to cry
Here is the key moment.
I wait the ceremonial 15 minutes, if the crying hasn't stopped, then I go back into his room and calm him down, lay him down and tell him good night again. repeat the it's time to go to sleep now and light thing and then just leave.
No eye contact.
No lights on.
no nothing.
Quite honestly this works for us. But then again, we have the perfect child.
Embarrassing fact: To set the relaxed mood, I sometimes even try to sing to the little one.
I have a terrible voice, but I tell myself, 'it's the intent that matters.'
To maintain a little levity I have even sung "Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins.
What methods do you use?
Our little guy doesn't like going to bed much.
In fact, it's the time he does his most whining and crying.
I try to spin it by saying, "we should all cry at the end of each day. Going to bed means that one more day of our life is gone." But that's sentimental BS and though I mean it, I know no one else feels that way.
My son just doesn't want to be in bed.
Like most children, he stands against his crib wall, and cries.
So how do you settle the kiddos down?
I have found that staying on a routine is the best solution.
My wife likes to rock the little guy to sleep.
I just put him in his crib... straighten up the room a bit.
Tell him it's time to go to sleep... Then walk over and kiss his forehead, tell him to 'lay down' and walk out the door. After his year birthday, I added another line... (we leave the hallway light on until he falls asleep, so I say) "OK, I'll be right outside the door, see I am leaving the light on."
Most likely, I do this for me only since our son probably doesn't understand. But it's a routine.
After I leave the room, He'll usually starts to cry
Here is the key moment.
I wait the ceremonial 15 minutes, if the crying hasn't stopped, then I go back into his room and calm him down, lay him down and tell him good night again. repeat the it's time to go to sleep now and light thing and then just leave.
No eye contact.
No lights on.
no nothing.
Quite honestly this works for us. But then again, we have the perfect child.
Embarrassing fact: To set the relaxed mood, I sometimes even try to sing to the little one.
I have a terrible voice, but I tell myself, 'it's the intent that matters.'
To maintain a little levity I have even sung "Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins.
What methods do you use?
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
A night owl takes the early shift
"Sleep is OVERRATED."
- Tim Miles
Hi all,
Today's post is about a topic that all parents face. Getting up early with the baby.
Here's something I haven't even told my wife. I hate getting up early.
Ask around. I am the guy who can sleep all day long if allowed.
But when our son was born, I couldn't be this guy anymore.
Something in me switched. I wanted to be a morning person.
In our case, Les works nights so I knew that eventually I would need to get up with the baby so that she could sleep in a little.
Here's the problem with that. After 18 months, I am still a zombie in the morning.
Despite months of trying to recondition myself, I still have trouble being a "morning person."
I just can't get to bed early. Last night was a great example of the Martin household dilemma.
Les gets home around 11:15 pm and wakes me from my semi-slumber. We talk and connect for the first real time (and only time) of the day. It's something that we need to do as a married couple.
But in the end, I don't get to bed 'til after 12 midnight.
By 6:30 am, when the baby rustles... I didn't get enough sleep.
Go to bed earlier? Well remember, the kiddo gets to sleep around 8-8:30, which leaves me 2 1/2 or so hours before Les comes home.
I need my Frankie time too...
Some solutions I have found.
-> Suck it up. So you're tired. Deal with it.
-> Nap when you can. Some days when Les gets up, I head right back to bed for a power nap before work. It's like 15 minutes. But it helps.
-> Work out. I have started stretching and doing mini-yoga in the morning. When the blood starts to flow, I feel more awake.
-> Get to bed earlier. I have found that if I at least wind down in bed around 9:45 pm, I feel better in the morning. My sleep is still interrupted, but at least I get some sleep.
What would you do?
- Tim Miles
Hi all,
Today's post is about a topic that all parents face. Getting up early with the baby.
Here's something I haven't even told my wife. I hate getting up early.
Ask around. I am the guy who can sleep all day long if allowed.
But when our son was born, I couldn't be this guy anymore.
Something in me switched. I wanted to be a morning person.
In our case, Les works nights so I knew that eventually I would need to get up with the baby so that she could sleep in a little.
Here's the problem with that. After 18 months, I am still a zombie in the morning.
Despite months of trying to recondition myself, I still have trouble being a "morning person."
I just can't get to bed early. Last night was a great example of the Martin household dilemma.
Les gets home around 11:15 pm and wakes me from my semi-slumber. We talk and connect for the first real time (and only time) of the day. It's something that we need to do as a married couple.
But in the end, I don't get to bed 'til after 12 midnight.
By 6:30 am, when the baby rustles... I didn't get enough sleep.
Go to bed earlier? Well remember, the kiddo gets to sleep around 8-8:30, which leaves me 2 1/2 or so hours before Les comes home.
I need my Frankie time too...
Some solutions I have found.
-> Suck it up. So you're tired. Deal with it.
-> Nap when you can. Some days when Les gets up, I head right back to bed for a power nap before work. It's like 15 minutes. But it helps.
-> Work out. I have started stretching and doing mini-yoga in the morning. When the blood starts to flow, I feel more awake.
-> Get to bed earlier. I have found that if I at least wind down in bed around 9:45 pm, I feel better in the morning. My sleep is still interrupted, but at least I get some sleep.
What would you do?
Monday, July 18, 2011
A Long Weekend
Hope you are all well.
So the wife took Friday off this past weekend. Subsequently, the Martin clan got to spend three days together. We didn't kill each other.
TJ is 18 months old now and that likely helped keep things cool when it came to the wife and myself. We are still very much amazed at everything he does.
From talking (which he does a lot of) to dancing (which he is just starting to do).
Well, after three days of total non-stop family... I felt hungover come Monday morning.
I overdosed on TJ and Lesley.
Sounds weird right? But think about it, when we work all the time and get into our daily routines... The body becomes comfortable with how many hours of contact we get.
It sucks, a fat one, that I only get to see my wife for a couple hours in the morning and for a brief period at night. But that is the way it is right now.
Unfortunately for the past two weeks (extended work furlough) I have been able to see my wife and kid as much as I want.
No I have to go back to the old schedule cold turkey and it stinks.
I can only imagine how I am going to feel by Thursday of this week.
How do you deal with coming off a bender?
Nothing is ever the same
It's funny, but I don't remember much these days...
Only a few key moments are crystal clear.
But when it comes to January 18, 2010, I can still that day like it was yesterday.
January 18, 2010
At around 2:15 am, my wife woke me up with the line, "Either my water just broke or I wet the bed."
Her water broke, and I wet the bed.
After months of planning, buying, thinking up names, painting the baby room, we had finally arrived at the finish line.
Lesley was going into labor. The doctor told us to get to the hospital ASAP, this was it.
We had packed clothes for the trip already. Two carry-on suitcases armed with a change of clothes, snacks, cameras, video cameras, you name it. So after a quick shower and then change of clothes for the wife and me and we were in the car. It seemed to take only five minutes. Because of Lesley's planning things were going ultra-smoothly.
As I backed out of the driveway, I thought to myself:
"Wow! This is it. We are really doing this. I can't believe I am going to be a father soon. I can't believe I have reached this part of my life... I can't.... BREATHE"
Yup, that's right, I was having an asthma attack.
Luckily, Les had packed her inhaler and after a shot I was good to go.
We had TJ at 9 pm that night.
It was a brutal delivery for Les.
But she is a champ.
Always there for me when I need her and always prepared.
Was it worth it? I think so
What was your delivery story?
Only a few key moments are crystal clear.
But when it comes to January 18, 2010, I can still that day like it was yesterday.
January 18, 2010
At around 2:15 am, my wife woke me up with the line, "Either my water just broke or I wet the bed."
Her water broke, and I wet the bed.
After months of planning, buying, thinking up names, painting the baby room, we had finally arrived at the finish line.
Lesley was going into labor. The doctor told us to get to the hospital ASAP, this was it.
We had packed clothes for the trip already. Two carry-on suitcases armed with a change of clothes, snacks, cameras, video cameras, you name it. So after a quick shower and then change of clothes for the wife and me and we were in the car. It seemed to take only five minutes. Because of Lesley's planning things were going ultra-smoothly.
As I backed out of the driveway, I thought to myself:
"Wow! This is it. We are really doing this. I can't believe I am going to be a father soon. I can't believe I have reached this part of my life... I can't.... BREATHE"
Yup, that's right, I was having an asthma attack.
Luckily, Les had packed her inhaler and after a shot I was good to go.
We had TJ at 9 pm that night.
It was a brutal delivery for Les.
But she is a champ.
Always there for me when I need her and always prepared.
Was it worth it? I think so
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