Grading Players
The topic of grading players came up this Thursday at DCHS.
The Offensive and Defensive coordinators are trying to come together to have similar grade sheets for the kids this season. The goal is to give the kids something that they can understand if they are involved on both offense and defense. It's also a way to point out why certain kids are paying and why others are not.
The topic reminded me of an olds John Wooden speech in which he touches on the subject of grading students and measuring success.
Go here to watch the speech:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3s_hlvhwmvg
It's worth your time.
Saturday, April 16, 2016
Flag Football Coach - Practice 4
Much better this time out.
I was right. It was the coaches fault.
IE - ME
I shook off the ill feelings I had toward my kids and set out to make this week memorable for my players.
Our practice plan looked like this.
Pre-Practice
Warm-up/ Stretch - Get loose and test their focus.
Flag Pulling Session - Sharks and Minnows
Relay Race - Around cone and hand off to teammate (push-ups for the losing team)
H20
Intro Passing fundamentals
Passing drills - Include as many fathers as possible.
Flag Pulling Session - Duck, Duck, Goose
H2O
Intro Formation
Intro Misdirection
Scrimmage
Some things I tried this week to keep the kids interested:
Silly String - The kids don't seem to grasp why it's important to listen where to stand... So I bought three cans of silly string and (literally) drew their spots on the grass. There were now visual clues as to where to line up and where to run during our play.
I could also spray the kids who weren't paying attention in a fun and engaging way.
Also, I offered the best listeners the opportunity to get the silly string cans after practice and spray me, IF THEY DID THEIR WORK.
Deck of Cards - This was how I taught "misdirection." I did a magic trick and then told the kids how it was done. (The Alliance would be livid) I did this to illustrate how offensive plays work. The offense it literally trying to misdirect the defense to achieve their goal of moving the ball.
It seemed to work. The kids focus and overall enjoyment improved.
It's a step in the right direction for next week.
I was right. It was the coaches fault.
IE - ME
I shook off the ill feelings I had toward my kids and set out to make this week memorable for my players.
Our practice plan looked like this.
Pre-Practice
Warm-up/ Stretch - Get loose and test their focus.
Flag Pulling Session - Sharks and Minnows
Relay Race - Around cone and hand off to teammate (push-ups for the losing team)
H20
Intro Passing fundamentals
Passing drills - Include as many fathers as possible.
Flag Pulling Session - Duck, Duck, Goose
H2O
Intro Formation
Intro Misdirection
Scrimmage
Some things I tried this week to keep the kids interested:
Silly String - The kids don't seem to grasp why it's important to listen where to stand... So I bought three cans of silly string and (literally) drew their spots on the grass. There were now visual clues as to where to line up and where to run during our play.
I could also spray the kids who weren't paying attention in a fun and engaging way.
Also, I offered the best listeners the opportunity to get the silly string cans after practice and spray me, IF THEY DID THEIR WORK.
Deck of Cards - This was how I taught "misdirection." I did a magic trick and then told the kids how it was done. (The Alliance would be livid) I did this to illustrate how offensive plays work. The offense it literally trying to misdirect the defense to achieve their goal of moving the ball.
It seemed to work. The kids focus and overall enjoyment improved.
It's a step in the right direction for next week.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Making the Bed
Got this from an article on procrastination... Thought it was a good launching point for a blog.
One of the age old arguments parents have with their children is over "making their bed."
Here's an example:
"My mom would ask me to make my bed before going to school. I would say, no, because I didn’t see the point of making my bed if I was just going to sleep in it again that night."
Our kids will always have a reason why they should not do something. As parents we must find a reasonable reason.
"She would say, well, we have guests coming over at 6 o’clock, and they might come upstairs and look at your room."
A stretch... but a good start.
"I said, I would make my bed when we know they are here. I want to see a car in the driveway. I want to hear a knock on the door. I know it will take me about one minute to make my bed so at 5:59, if they are here, I will make my bed."
Let me tell you why I don't have this problem. I'll start with a story.
After staring at the popcorn chicken one more time... My famished five-year old son finally turned to me and said, "Dad I am so hungry, but I don't want to break the rules. What do I do?"
We were an hour into play practice (for RATCO's presentation of Charlotte's Web) and TJ was hungry. He wanted to eat the snack I packed him, but the facility's rules clearly stated no food or drink inside the theatre.
Your thinking to yourself... "Self, what's the problem? Eat the snack."
Not in our family. You see my son is what I like to call "Fairy-Tale OCD." He tries to never do anything wrong. Out of fear he will be a bad kid.
I know, right? Awesome.
Well not so fast. There are issues when your kid tries to do no wrong. Issues like finding out how slack and undisciplined you're life has turned out to be.
Knowing I wasn't able to walk outside with him to eat, my son was in a tough spot.
Should he stay and break the rules or go outside alone and eat? Which he was scared to do alone.
Naturally, I responded to my son by saying, "Go ahead and eat it. You won't get in trouble. No one cares today."
TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE Parenting!
My son will do anything you tell him, if he knows it will not get him in trouble. I just instructed him to break the rules. It may have been minor on that day, but was it the right decision?
Once again he is five years old. Did I just give him the "you get to be lazy, when it is convenient" card?"
It takes us back to the story at the beginning of this post. If rain was in the forecast and I told you to, "wash your car." Would you do it? Knowing full well later in the day, the effort would be wasted?
So how do you tell someone to make their bed, when the at the end of the day, that effort will be wasted?
What is the motive behind your reasoning?
Where is that parenting handbook again?
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-procrastination-is-good-for-you-2102008/#lMamS16663YKg21l.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
One of the age old arguments parents have with their children is over "making their bed."
Here's an example:
"My mom would ask me to make my bed before going to school. I would say, no, because I didn’t see the point of making my bed if I was just going to sleep in it again that night."
Our kids will always have a reason why they should not do something. As parents we must find a reasonable reason.
"She would say, well, we have guests coming over at 6 o’clock, and they might come upstairs and look at your room."
A stretch... but a good start.
"I said, I would make my bed when we know they are here. I want to see a car in the driveway. I want to hear a knock on the door. I know it will take me about one minute to make my bed so at 5:59, if they are here, I will make my bed."
Let me tell you why I don't have this problem. I'll start with a story.
After staring at the popcorn chicken one more time... My famished five-year old son finally turned to me and said, "Dad I am so hungry, but I don't want to break the rules. What do I do?"
We were an hour into play practice (for RATCO's presentation of Charlotte's Web) and TJ was hungry. He wanted to eat the snack I packed him, but the facility's rules clearly stated no food or drink inside the theatre.
Your thinking to yourself... "Self, what's the problem? Eat the snack."
Not in our family. You see my son is what I like to call "Fairy-Tale OCD." He tries to never do anything wrong. Out of fear he will be a bad kid.
I know, right? Awesome.
Well not so fast. There are issues when your kid tries to do no wrong. Issues like finding out how slack and undisciplined you're life has turned out to be.
Knowing I wasn't able to walk outside with him to eat, my son was in a tough spot.
Should he stay and break the rules or go outside alone and eat? Which he was scared to do alone.
Naturally, I responded to my son by saying, "Go ahead and eat it. You won't get in trouble. No one cares today."
TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE Parenting!
My son will do anything you tell him, if he knows it will not get him in trouble. I just instructed him to break the rules. It may have been minor on that day, but was it the right decision?
Once again he is five years old. Did I just give him the "you get to be lazy, when it is convenient" card?"
It takes us back to the story at the beginning of this post. If rain was in the forecast and I told you to, "wash your car." Would you do it? Knowing full well later in the day, the effort would be wasted?
So how do you tell someone to make their bed, when the at the end of the day, that effort will be wasted?
What is the motive behind your reasoning?
Where is that parenting handbook again?
Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/why-procrastination-is-good-for-you-2102008/#lMamS16663YKg21l.99
Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv
Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter
Why do I Waste my Time?
I got to my desk with an abundance of
energy. Ready to not only tackle the day, but rip it's heart out.. And then it happened, while checking the news feed, I noticed a
headline for the “13
Most Depressing Movie Endings of All-Time.”
Game. Set. Match.
I proceeded to click the link and
delve into their list. 35 minutes later, I had 4 new browser
windows open, hadn't thought of starting work... and was frankly less
energized and eager to do so. My procrastination/time wasting
had sucked the life and ambition out of me.
Does this ever happen to Mark
Cuban?
Does he know the ending of the
Wicker Man made the “Most Depressing” list?
Sadly, this was a pattern I had
repeated over and over in my life. Wasting 30 minutes here or
there... Actions that cause me to be late for work or meetings.
Actions that limit my time to perfect a project I am working on.
But why? Why do I keep dong
this to myself?
Does Drew Brees procrastinate?
By definition a procrastinator is
someone who puts off doing things – that should be done in a timely
manner. I am not really a good example of this, as I turn in work
before deadline, pay my bills on time and get my Christmas shopping
done before December 24th. Sure I am five minutes late
here and there... But as a minority, isn't that what we do? That was
a joke.
What isn't' funny is the guilt I feel
after I waste 30 minutes on a website that has no value
to my everyday life.
A La the “Most
Depressing” list.
Am I wrong to rake myself over the
coals? Aren't we supposed to love life and live it to the fullest
without regrets? Well, I am not there. I seem to live with regret
for not fulfilling each and every item on my list of goals. Is that
realistic?
Surely, Donald Trump, President
Obama and even Oprah have had their series of time wasting clicks.
How do they overcome them?
Maybe I can google it. Wait... “8th
Grader throws down insane dunk.”
I'll get to it later.
If you want to read more on the
subject. Here are a few articles to get you started:
Why
we procrastinate – Psychology Today
People
who procrastinate aren't lazy – Elite Daily
Famous
Procrastinators – Procrastinus.com
Why
Procrastination is good for you – Smithsonian.com
Tuesday, June 2, 2015
Timing of Life
What we're talking about today:
Talking about Work... Sucks
I rose for my seat, lifted my middle
finger and said, “fuck you, fuck this place... and fuck everything
this place stands for... I quit.”
While it's no secret I quit my job.
For the sake of this blog, I haven't divulged exactly how the episode
went down.
For the sake of transparency... It didn't happen like
above.
No cussing, no rage, nothing like the first sentence of this
post... that, is what we call in the business, was a hook. But I did walk away from a regular,
full-time gig that paid $58K per year. And that is all that matters
for the sake of this article. We'll get to the gritty details of
“quit day” soon enough.
It's different to have a career and to
work full-time. Garbage men work full-time, being a social worker
for an at-risk youth group is a career. The prior probably pays
more... The latter, might be more fulfilling. Unless you are a
dirtbag and like grunge.
Why am I bringing up the obvious? I
guess it's because I finally realized why I struggled so much with
the real world bullshit of having to work full-time. I just didn't
get why I was doing it. Living pay check to pay check is not every
college graduates plan. But sadly, it's most of our reality. I have
shit ton of student loan money left to pay and I have been a
professional for 15 years. Why keep at it?
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Trip to the Library!
This is how our trip to the library
went.
As soon as we crossed the threshold of
the computer lab... Frankie shit his pants.
I can only imagine how the other lab
patron felt. If I had known how our trip to the library was going to
turn out like this, we wouldn't have gone. But I thought... (famous
last words right?) thought I had a plan. Everyone has a plan until
your toddler shits his pants.
Planning
You know, if you google “Planning
activities to keep toddlers busy,” all that comes up is
ideas for highly interactive and dirty activities. Anything from
making your own play dough to something called a paper explosion.
And there's next to nothing in way of tips to help me get work done.
When I planned our day, I took this
into account. I also took into account that a trip to the library to
watch dad work at what is normally dinner time... was way out of our
normal routine. And kids love routines. Especially mine. So I
hatched a plan. I tried to bring things that would create a safe and
still exciting space for the kiddos. Crayons, activity books, DVDs,
two toys each... The perfect plan.
I even took the environment into
account. The night before our excursion, I checked to see if we'd be
alone in the lab. The librarian said we would. So, I had hoped TJ
and Frankie could draw, color or watch a DVD on my lap top, while I
edited on the community Mac station.
Unfortunately, when we entered the
library, I noticed someone else was using the room. “Great,” I
thought. And for a moment I thought about just walking out. But, I
had to get some stuff done. So we pressed on. We should have just
left. You see I never planned for someone else to be in the lab with
us. The activities I could have used to temper my children's energy
were rendered invalid. Because I am often loud and distracting,
every trick in my dad handbook goes out the window.
What you are left with is me working
with one eye on the computer and the other on the kids. I was
passing out shushing and “ looks” like Magic Johnson dished out
basketballs in his prime.
So naturally, after 45 minutes... I
realized I wasn't going to win. Kids are kids. They aren't supposed
to worry about other people working in a library. Maybe next time
they will have a higher level of understanding...
Until then, I'll be going solo.
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Chocolate Graham Crackers
They're chocolate graham crackers...
for Pete's sake!
I will never understand other people.
And by other people, I not only mean the jimmy's and the joe's we
work with... I mean my own children.
Just today, I offered my oldest TJ some
chocolate Teddy Grahams. He politely declined.
What?
If the offer had been for M&M's,
Oreo's or anything with the word “cookie” in it, best believe the
answer would have been yes.
So why does he not want these tasty
Chocolate Teddy Graham crackers?
The child's mind is a fickle thing.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Isht Just Got Real
My Diary
04-11-15
S#$t Just Got Real
My name is Robert Frank Martin. My
friends call me Frankie.
I am 38 years old. Married with 2
kids. Both boys. College Graduate. Member of the work force since
1993.
Yesterday I did something stupid. I
quit my job. (Yes, but that's not important right now. I'll go into
the particulars of that in a later blog.)
If this was a movie about my midlife
crisis. You'd be in the front row.
So... yeah..., as of today I am 38
years old. Married with 2 kids. College graduate. Un-employed.
Why did I do it? As I said earlier we
can go into the particulars some other time. The only thing that is
important, is that I made the decision because I was extremely
un-happy. With every aspect of my life. When I take stock, nothing
in my life made me happy. It's all on the wrong side of the
ledger...
My health, Money, Debt, Fitness, Our
Home, My Marriage, My Kids, and anything I can't think of right now.
Nothing makes me happy.
The last two are what worried me
though. Here's the deal, I love my wife and children more than
anything in this world. That's not hyperbole. They are the reason I
live where I live, (used to) work where I work, and do pretty much
anything else. But lately, I have grown to resent that I give up so
much for them. It's not their fault. This is the bed I made. The
truth is, if I had had this epiphany twenty years ago I might not
have been in this situation. But I was young and dumb then.
Now I am just old and dumb.
I can't get up in the morning without
feeling exhausted. I get up early because either the kids are up and
yelling at my wife or me or, I have to be at work extremely early.
While I try to get ready for work, I
make breakfast for the kids, (just coffee for me) help the kids get
dressed and ready for their day. Normal stuff right? Well, not if
my wife is sleeping at the time, then I just get plain mad. Even
though I know she's just as tired, from working late the night before
until 11pm, I resent the fact I am not lying in bed.
By the time my running around is done,
the kids are in front of a TV, My wife is dragging herself out of
bed, and I am somehow dressed and ready to leave for work.
Quality time spent with children =
approximately 5 minutes.
That's just the first hour of my day.
I know everyone goes through something similar. It just makes me
miserable.
So I decided to write about it. I am
not a good writer. I just have been doing it in some form or another
since my freshman year of college. It's always been therapeutic for
me. So, I am hoping it can help me now.
This blog won't be about “the right
way to raise kids, have a career and babies, or cultivate a marriage.
Like I learned most of the lessons in
my life... It will be about a way “not to do things.”
Use these passages to judge what is
right or wrong for yourself. But no matter what you are going
through. Know you re never alone. There are others who are just as
miserable.
Friday, January 20, 2012
The Move
This will be interesting.
My wife got a new job is San Francisco.
We decided to take it.
So we are moving the small family out there.
Stay Tuned
My wife got a new job is San Francisco.
We decided to take it.
So we are moving the small family out there.
Stay Tuned
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Checking in
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?
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?
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?
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