Guess What

It is raining. It rained all night and should rain most of the day. No worries here though, because we have a birthday party to attend. (By the way, I dig the idea of a party at 9:30 on a weekday morning).

The best thing to do on a rainy day... Get lots of kids from the neighborhood, put them together inside and turn them loose on a cake and candy binge. Good times.

A side benefit of these things for a SAHD, All of the real mommies will want to hold The Princess. My elbow will get a well-deserved rest!

Until then, we are playing Firefighter with the vacuum tubes. Wait... now the game is Baseball. Man these vacuum tubes sure are versatile.

Biting the Hand that Feeds Me

The Boss Lady did some contract work for The University. AtHomeDaddy ended up getting drug into the entire process and I became the delivery boy.

Once the job was complete, AtHomeDaddy laid down the law. $100 for delivery charges. Once The Boss Lady realized how important I was to the whole deal, she begrudgingly accepted my kind offer. Of course it did not hurt that The University was paying $100 more than she thought...

So I went to The Fishing store last night. New line, new baits to replace the new ones I lost last week, and a new type of worms to try out. AtHomeDaddy also decided that he and The Talker will be fishing Thursday, if there is no rain.

Rainy Day, Part 156

AtHomeDaddy did not get the Gucci Baby Carrier for Father's Day. Now, my birthday is coming up (HINT, HINT!) and all I really want is 4 days in a row without rain.

The Boss Lady told me "No Promises. I'll do what I can.". Which sounded a lot like a recording of the time I begged The Queen Mother to send me to Ireland with the High School band. No, I did not make it to Ireland, though Sis did.

And I have serious doubts that it will not rain for 4 straight days ever again. To paraphrase The Queen Mother's family motto - I have seen a lot of disappointment in my life.

Really, I just want to get the yard mowed. I don't want to do anything fun. Heck, at this point I'll even settle for 4 hours during daylight without rain...

Elmo is a Klutz

After The Boss Lady left this morning, The Talker decided to take up ballroom dancing. His partner, a large Elmo doll. The Talker would spin once, yell "I'm dancin' with Elmo!" and then WHAMMO, Elmo would fly across the room and slam into the nearest wall. The Talker would pick up Elmo and resume the dance.

Now, AtHomeDaddy might not be a good dancer, but he has never thrown his partner across the dance floor, either. Note to The Boss Lady, we might need to send the boy to dance lessons before his High School Prom.

Re-cap of Monday

The Boss Lady was gone all day to a conference, but luckily for AtHomeDaddy, she came back in this evening. She will have to head out early in the morning, but this way The Talker and The Princess each got to spend time with mommy.

We took a walk this evening and The Talker got to play with the neighbor kids. Home early for dinner and bathtime. For AtHomeDaddy, it was Monster Garage and a quick rinse of The Boss Lady's car. We don't need no stinkin' waterspots...

It was nice that the garage is clean when it started hailing today. Easy to get the Windstar out of the weather. Hey, that van may be a lemon, but at least the paint looks good. Besides that, only 13 more payments and it is ours!

Making Life Hell, in 2 easy steps

Take a 2 1/2 month old who easily takes a bottle or nurses with The Boss lady and give her unimpeded access to mommy for 3 weeks. Then, send momma out of town and switch back to a bottle for the morning feeding.

It will be hard to distinguish who is crying louder, The Princess or AtHomeDaddy

"Life takes a nosedive..."

Back on the Program

We interrupt this summer break to bring you an out of town conference. The Boss Lady is gone for three days so this is AtHomeDaddy's opportunity to get The Talker and The Princess back in shape.

This will be our one week this summer to act like insane monkeys. We are planning absolutely nothing, yet we will get a lot of useless stuff done during The Boss Lady's trip.

AtHomeDaddy might get a little house cleaning and laundry done while the kids nap, or I might catch up on my Nazi and prison shows on The History Channel. Hopefully there will be back to back episodes of The Big House.

Sunday Recap

I got nothin'. Silence usually doesn't last long around here.

Enjoy!

No Baseball Guys

The family went to the local minor-league baseball game tonight, though it was raining when we left the house. Pouring at the stadium, but they were showing the NCAA World Series game on the Jumbotron, so The Talker was happy. When we gave up and headed home, he told us he had fun but there were "no baseball guys tonight".

The Talker was also happy because he spotted a Mini Cooper in the parking lot. Light Tan with black top. Nice!

AtHomeDaddy spent several hours getting the garage converted back into a space to park a car. Trying to give the Escort paint a chance to fully cure before we park it back outside.

The Escort Wagon Lives! (Part 2)

The Escort is back. It looks like a million bucks. Ok, taking into account that it is

1.) An Escort
2.) A four door
3.) A station wagon

it looks like 50 bucks. But that is a lot better than it looked Monday afternoon.

The Boss Lady finally admitted the reason for the paintjob. At her old school her car was just one in the lot. At the new school, her car sits in a parking spot with her name on it. Too embarassing for The Boss Lady.

Spend a few moments around this family and you will see that painting the car fits neatly into Family Rule 1.a - When momma is happy, everybody is happy.

Toobin'

The Talker went tubing this morning with his cousins. We met up with The Boss Lady's family at the lake and were set to enjoy a day of picnicking and hanging out. But the cousins had different plans. They had a bass boat to ski and kneeboard behind and a tube for the little ones behind the pontoon boat.

After The Talker watched his cousins tubing for an hour he said he wanted to try. AtHomeDaddy put him into the tube with one of his cousins and with Mr Punch driving the boat. A nice slow ride around the lake thrilled The Talker and bored the cousin. The Talker was not the youngest aquanaut of the day. His 1 1/2 year old cousin went in the tube with her mom.

Unfortunately, I did not dream that The Talker would ride the tube, so I did not take the camera. Worse though, we were at the lake and the fishing gear never came out of the van.

Don't tell The Boss Lady

But the guy in the fishing section at our local sporting goods store told me "Man you sure are in here a lot." Only because I am trying to figure this bass fishing thing out on the cheap. I am currently purchasing tackle that includes diagrams/instructions of how to set it up and use it.

Otherwise they have this rack of stuff that is likely made in the Dominican Republic for $.12 an hour by 9 year old girls. At least it is cheaper that way! This stuff is also less painful to lose. I fished this morning (and afternoon) in a flooded quarry at our church recreation area. Not a bite, but I am starting to figure out the new equipment, Thanks Pops!

The Talker and The Princess did some stuff and The Boss Lady did some stuff today too. Now you are up to date.

Cast of Characters

Primary Cast

AtHomeDaddy - Writer of this blog and father of The Talker and The Princess

The Talker - 8 year-old son

The Princess - 6 year-old daughter

The Big White Dog - A different big white dog

The Dictator - A 15 pound mutt

The Other OK - A different big orange cat

Marge - My 1968 Chevy truck

The Girls - Our flock of backyard chickens


The Boss Lady - The Talker and The Princess's mother


NOT actually people, but important to the kids
Phillip - The Talker's baby doll son
Snow White - The Princess' baby doll daughterPablo - The Talker's imaginary friend who seems to have been replaced by
Grandma and Grandpa - The Talker's imaginary grandparents who have lots of nice toys
Sharkboy and Lavagirl - Characters from a movie. They play pretend with them, too
Dora, Diego, Alicia and Baby Jaguar - If you don't know, you are lucky
Mariposa and Boy Mariposa - Our newest pretend characters


Secondary Cast

SAHDs - Stay at home dads, primarily the members of the local SAHDs group

Queen Mother - AtHomeDaddy's Mother
Dad - AtHomeDaddy's Dad
Bro - AtHomeDaddy's Brother
Sis - AtHomeDaddy's Sister

My So Called Aunt - Allegedly AtHomeDaddy's Aunt
Uncle Lemon - Husband of My So Called Aunt
The Babysitter - My So Called Aunt's oldest daughter (see Beautiful and Gorgeous)
Beautiful and Gorgeous - My So Called Aunt's children. I can't keep 'em straight...

Rick - (aka RM) Long time friend - resided 3 states to the right
KRB - The longtime buddy - currently in hiding from the FBI
JB - The college roommate - NOW back in Texas
Racecar Man - The neighborhood crew chief and mechanic
Norm - The home improvement king of the neighborhood
Law Talking Guy - The neighborhood attorney
Other Dad - Another SAHD in the neighborhood.


The Arch Villains
None currently assigned


More to be added as the lies grow...

Usual Summer Day

The Boss Lady always keeps AtHomeDaddy jumping during June and July getting work done on the house.

So far this spring and summer, new kitchen faucet, new kitchen lights, new dining room lights, new bedroom lighting, new pictures framed and hung in the dining room, kitchen, the bedroom and The Talker's room. Also, the kid's batroom got new pictures and some hardware replaced. Plans are in the works for AtHomeDaddy to get new blinds hung in the living room, kitchen, bedroom and master bath. And more pictures for the whole house.

We have lived here 5 years and we are finally hanging pictures. If not for the the clutter around here, one might think we were going for a minimalist look. No more.

In the dining room and in The Talker's room we framed antique postcards and photos taken in the 1930's of landscapes in the Southwest. We still have another set of cards to mount for the dining room, but we will have to find the right frames. The pictures, a bonus from the family reunion last weekend.

Library Day!

We are off to drop the Escort at the painter's and then we are heading out to the Library, thanks to the rain. The Boss Lady wants The Princess to have her Library card ASAP. AtHomeDaddy is surprised that it has taken this long.

A child 2 months, 2 weeks and 3 days old WITHOUT her own library card? Call the police, The Boss Lady should be reported!

Finished the dining room lights this morning by removing the dimmer that we had to use with the runway lighting system that used to hang in there. The new halogens needed a real switch or a different (expensive)dimmer. A quick swap with the master bathroom lights and now no humming in the dining room and mood lighting to bathe by.

Rainwater collection in high gear today. The garden and back yard really needed watering today, so the rain is welcome.

Also - migrane headaches suck! - Thanks Queen Mother for passing them on down...

The Escort Wagon Lives!

Tomorrow The Boss Lady's car is off to the paintshop. A reward to herself for the new job. AtHomeDaddy spent a good part of the day cleaning out the car and giving it a good washing.

Probably wasted effort, but since we are not putting a top notch paintjob on the car, I figure I should give the painters a little help.

AtHomeDaddy spent 2 hours mowing the backyard this morning. Once done, we were off to The Depot for new lights for the dining room. The brass and glass monster is no more. We put in 250 watts of halogen lights and they only put out 2/3 the light of the 8 bulb monster. Plus, AtHomeDaddy can now walk through the dining room with out getting a concussion!

Anybody want a brass and glass billiard table light? It is not only bright and huge, it is ugly too! Why this thing was ever installed in this house, I'll never guess. It was almost as big as the dining room, which is certainly too small for a billiard table. Why was it still here? Cause it was heavy and AtHomeDaddy is lazy.

By the way, you gotta swing by the house and check out the new light in The Boss Lady's/AtHomeDaddy's bedroom. It is indescribably cool!

The entire family played in the backyard this evening for several hours. Grilling, Bocce and splash time in the Little tykes pool - what a combination!

Taking a compass

AtHomeDaddy is heading into the jungle to mow. It has 5 days since I last mowed the backyard. Right now you could lose The Talker out there. I have been keeping a rope tied around The Big White Dog in case the mosquitoes try to carry him off.

Maybe if I mow with Round-Up, they will buzz off!

A garden update: After leaving the garden unattended for four days, I was able to bring in the mother lode of cucumbers and tomatoes. I am waiting on my second planting of beans to take off. The first plants are about played out.

The eggplant still look good and the gourd vines now touch the back fence, (about 25 feet up and over a makeshift arbor and across to the fence). There will be plenty of birdhouses around here next spring! Borers ate the pumpkin vines and the one pumpkin in the garden plot. I still have pumpkins up on the wall with the watermelons, but we will see if they get infested too.

Best of all, AtHomeDaddy has nice melons on the wall. The Talker can't wait for the watermelons to be ready in mid July.

Happy Workshop Day!

AtHomeDaddy got his wish for Father's day. 2 hours in the workshop playing toymaker. I finished one wooden truck for a 1 year old's birthday. I have most of a second car made, too, but it is not assembled.

I spent most of the two hours cleaning and straightening the garage before I could start. It is amazing the amount of crap that can pile up on a workbench between projects.

Today my goal was to use a new method to mount the wheels, but I decided to wait for another project since the neighbor is so young. The other goal, to not cut off any appendages, was met! It has been a while since I was out there so bloodshed was a distinct possibility. A piece of wood did get behind my goggles and it hit me right in the eyeball. I really have to get a full face shield (or I could learn to work with one eye).

I also got to watch the Nascar from start to finish uninterrupted - (Dale Jarrett - Third) and most of the US National team soccer game in Grenada (US 3- Grenada 2) . I did miss the end of the game so we could go visit the neighbors and The Talker could splash in the pool.

Tonight, mowing the backyard and/or working on the second car and watching The College World Series. Hook 'em!

What a Father's Day for AtHomeDaddy! Thanks Boss Lady.

Shin Diggity (a.k.a. The Family Reunion)

Saturday, June 19, 2004 - A day that should live in the infirmary...

The Boss Lady, AtHomeDaddy, The Talker and The Princess drove into the country today to meet with 35 other members of The Queen Mother's family at the annual family reunion.

Eventhough no mental health experts were on hand, a good time was had by all. Luckily AtHomeDaddy does not come from a family of vegetarians! Much cow was eaten and a lot of bull was spoken.

While there, Sis did complain about a blog post from a few weeks ago. AtHomeDaddy reffered her to the disclaimer at the bottom of this page. If you have not seen it, you should check it out.

Now we just have to hope for more excitement next year.

Fish Story Part IV

I posted two pics of the Great Fishing Trip of 04 on The Princess' photopage. Go there if you actually want to muck up your computer with a picture of AtHomeDaddy and a foul smelling fish.

Or was that foul smell coming from The Princess?

Home Again!

Back at the ranch:

The largest fish AtHomeDaddy caught this week, a Gafftopsail Catfish, about 24 inches, about 7-8 lbs. AtHomeDaddy had no intentions of cleaning only one decent fish, so back he went. Caught him with the sail, along with 15 or 20 Hardheads, but none were worth the effort to clean and prepare to haul home.

Also caught two Black Drum and one small Spotted Seatrout off of the largest pier in town. All in all, a successful fishing trip! Nothing to clean and we ate fish several times at local restaurants!

AtHomeDaddy lost one hook wrench and his driver's license that fell into the water. There was a fish on the line, so AtHomeDaddy watched it float away. The test of a real fisherman!

The Talker and The Princess had a good time with The Boss Lady and The Boss Lady's Daddy. I guess. Don't know for sure, because AtHomeDaddy stayed at the fishing pier the entire time.

Now that we are home, AtHomeDaddy will play with the kids again. But there is that little lake a couple of miles away... If you go to Costa Rica soon, look around for my driver's license

Sail Fishing

Turns out Sail fishing is a blast! 15 fish, 45 minutes. Small up to 5+ pounds. What a morning! More fishng in the afternoon. More fishing at night. Might drive over for a little sail fishing in the morning. It is only a 50 mile round trip. More than worth it, AtHomeDaddy says!

Nothing too exciting to report. Did I mention that I went Sail fishing?

Road Trip - Day one update

Nothing exciting while on the road. 3 hours, 15 minutes, door to door, one stop. Almost perfect for a car trip with The Talker and The Princess and The Big White Dog.

Went walking along the bay this afternoon. The Talker got to see "whales" - a pod of 6 or 7 dolphins. Pretty cool! After dinner we went for a quick splash in the water. Lots of thunderstorms all around this morning and afternoon. Hopefully it will clear off for Wednesday.

In the morning we are heading to the other side of the bay to go kayaking and sailfishing. Not fishing for sailfish or blue marlins, the water is not that deep on the bay, but fishing via a line tethered to a floating platform that drifts around with a sail attached. The sail will carry several hundred feet from the dock. A neighbor described it as "A real meat market!"

This, AtHomeDaddy has got to see!

Spontaneous Road Trip!

Well, as spontaneous as a road trip can be with The Talker and The Princess.

AtHomeDaddy, The Boss Lady, The Big White Dog and the kids are heading to the beach for a few days to hang out with The Boss Lady's Daddy. Back on Friday to fill you in on all of the excitement.

Gonna eat ourselves stupid and hang out on the porch in rocking chairs. We might even make it across the street to the water this trip! Camera is ready in case we see dolphins. We saw several about 50 yards out last time, but had no camera! The Talker has been asking to "go look at the whales again?"

Enjoy the quiet!

Man, I would look sick... (Sick = COOL!)

Here is what I want for Father's Day!

Gucci Baby Carrier

The Red Baby Bjorn Carrier that we have just can't compare to a $730 Gucci. I always feel like a dork wearing the Baby Bjorn, but I would be the coolest dad on the Northwest side in this. I would not need The Princess with me, I would just wear it with pride!

Wanna buy it for me?

Park Run

The Talker, The Princess and AtHomeDaddy headed out the front door at 9:45 to go to the neighborhood park. By 10:05 we were finally walking down the driveway. Do you realize how much stuff a guy has to schlep around with two kids?

It is a good thing we live in a nice neighborhood or someone might think a hobo is cruising the streets with two kids in a jogging stroller instead of a shopping cart!

The list for this morning:

Diapers, several in each size.
Bottle
Juice cup
Extra juice cup for The Talker
A change of clothes for each kid
Two pacifiers
An extra change of clothes for The Princess
Diaper Wipes - Dear Lord, don't let me forget the wipes
Toys for the park
Toys to keep The Talker busy in the stroller
Several types of snack
Dr Pepper for AtHomeDaddy
Sunscreen
Sun hats
Sun shades

All crammed into the bottom basket of our jogging stroller. You should see how much stuff we take when we go more than 10 blocks!

And by the way, we could have used more clothes for The Princess, several spit-up rags and Band-aids!

Bocce Rules Question

Tonight we had a question about a rule on the court. AtHomeDaddy did not know the answer, but here it is:

From iBocce.com.

Once the pallino has been validly put into play, it remains in play even if it hits the backboard. However, if the pallino is knocked out of the court or it is knocked in the front of the center line, the frame will end, no points are awarded, and the game will resume from the opposite end of the court with the same team tossing the pallino.

Boring? Maybe so, but now at least we know...

Re-cap

Bocce was not a blood bath, we only had three for most of the night. Norm, The Law Talking Guy and AtHomeDaddy created a new "form" of Bocce once the Pennsylvania Ringer, a neighbor's father visiting for the weekend, went home. All of the Dads had fun. Too bad we had to introduce The Lawyer Stick. No we did not hit The Law Talking Guy, we had to measure at the end of each frame.

New House Rules were discussed. Two were officially adopted, by decree of AtHomeDaddy.

House Rules of Bocce
1. NO Lawyer Ball! You got 'em? Throw 'em!
2. If you can't set the marker ball in two tries, You LOSE!

The Boss Lady kept the Mommies and kids entertained with movies and snacks. Yum, Smoothies and Beer!

Who dares challenge AtHomeDaddy

The Bocce court is ready. Never has there been a better grass court. AtHomeDaddy ignored almost all other responsibilities this afternoon to set-up the court for tonight's massacre.

Hope the Law-Talking Guy and Norm are impressed with all the work, because I am kickin butt tonight!

Motorcycle Mania

The Talker is fully enthralled with motorcycles, once again. There was a Harley Davidson rally in town a couple of weeks ago with 30-50,000 bikes around town. We seldom walk anywhere without The Talker holding his arms out, hanging on to imaginary handlebars and roaring like a classic Softail.

Much fun in the halls at church today, watching The Talker run over old ladies on his motorcycle. They should not be strolling on a 2 year old's motorcycle track!

Watching NASCAR today and getting the Bocce court ready for heated competition this evening. Neighbors stopping in to watch Finding Nemo . The dads will have to skip the movie so I can whoop 'em on the Bocce court.

Can you say home field advantage?

Not to be outdone

The Talker has updated his photo page, too. Email AtHomeDaddy for the web address if you don't already have it.

The Princess' photo page

Has been updated. Several new pictures added. Email AtHomedaddy if you want the web address.

Dinner with the fam

This afternoon we went across town to meet Sis and her kids and Uncle Lemon and My So Called Aunt with their kids for dinner. We fought downtown traffic just to wait an hour or more for them to show up!

We were really hungry, but was waited patiently so that we could all dine together.

Afterwards, the women escaped to a movie and before I knew it, Uncle Lemon and I were left alone to keep three kids and two puppies occupied and happy. I only broke up one fight and I only cried for a little while. No curse words were uttered all night. A new record for The Talker and for AtHomeDaddy!

We want to see the sun

The Talker is completely stir crazy. Raining again this morning. AtHomeDaddy was running the electric blower when a shower came out of nowhere. Needed to work on the plants on the front porch, so no real lost time due to the rain.

The Talker went with The Boss Lady to get a haircut this morning. NO CRYING, screaming or kicking the stylist this time. Hopefully we will not have to leave a 33% tip from now on. I always feel a little guilty that the stylist needs to wear shin guards to work on The Talker.

Mower update.

Turns out that It was not the mower I repaired a couple of times this year. I had to repair the tiller several times a while back. I was halfway through tearing apart the mower engine when I realized that I did not know what in the heck I was looking at.

Never to be intimidated by a non-working appliance, I kept going. Made what I thought the right repairs and buttoned it all back up. Gave the rope a tug and mowed my yard! Now who is the man of the house?

The Honeymoon ended

About 5 minutes after the last post, the Tylenol wore off from when The Princess got her shots this morning. Nothing wrong with her lungs. The Princess screamed for more than an hour.

Afterwards, The Talker had a little playtime with the neighbors. So at the end of the afternoon, The Princess still got me out of doing housework.

Thanks for the screaming, Princess

Mexican lunch with The Boss Lady

The entire family went out to eat after The Princess was done with her Dr's appointment. The Talker packs in the food anytime we eat at this restaurant. Hopefully he will take a nice long nap with a full belly.

The Princess and I worked in the garden after The Boss Lady went back to work. This afternoon's haul - 2 pounds of cucumbers and a small bowl of beans. No tomatoes yet.

The watermelons are starting to blossom. Looks like we will be eating a lot of watermelon again this year! I was worried because of the new wooden fence that WonderLady, the neighbor, put up. Dang thing is so tall it nearly blocks out the sun!

Our pumpkins are starting to take over the back half of the garden. Hopefully it will be a bumper crop. Last year we only harvested one pumpkin. Still, we were the only house for miles with a Jack-O-Lantern that we grew ourselves.

Can you guess that both of the kids are napping again? If this keeps up, I really will have to do some housework to keep the Boss Lady happy.

Easy Morning

The Boss Lady took The Princess in for her two-month check-up and rabies shots, so The Talker and AtHomeDaddy have been cruising the neighborhood, looking for trouble.

I will let you know in a couple of days if The Talker or AtHomeDaddy are allergic to Poison Ivy. At least we got some good pictures of the waterfall on the creek by our house.

Cast of Characters coming soon

When I get a chance, I'll post a listing of people that you may read about here or at ADHDaddy. I have been working on some good names for you clowns.

Here is a hint... The Mother of the Bride and The Queen Mother will both be making appearances.

ADHDaddy Blog

Check out ADHDaddy. There is no real reason for AtHomeDaddy to be running another blog site, but the title made The Boss Lady laugh, so there it is. It probably should have been the title from the start.

Don't you love family?

Sis (and her two kids) wants to drop by and spend a day or two hanging out. So she tells me the reason for a visit, she is looking for cheap entertainment because her dogs have fleas.

Wow, we are more fun than watching dogs scratch themselves...

'Nuff Said!

Rainy Wednesday

The Talker and The Princess have Wednesday playtime with the neighborhood kids. Because it is too wet to play outside, we all headed to Chucky Cheese.

If you do not know what Chucky Cheese is, you are blessed. The Talker has been asking to go for a week, so this was the perfect chance. It is nice to go with friends, so I did not have to drag both children to the restroom at the same time! (It may be a small thing, but that has been the highlight of my day!)

The Talker is scared of the costumed staff people and the anima-tronic characters, but otherwise, he had a blast. He even went chasing one of the neighbors through the tunnel playscape. That is only the second time he has gone willingly inside of one of the tubes.

Both are asleep at the same time! 3 days in a row. A guy could get spoiled, except that there is a pile of laundry waiting for some attention.

Toddlers' Property Laws

1. If I like it, it's mine.
2. If it's in my hand, it's mine.
3. If I can take it from you, it's mine.
4. If I had it a little while ago, it's mine.
5. If it's mine, it must never appear to be yours in any way.
6. If I'm doing or building something, all the pieces are mine.
7. If it looks like mine, it is mine.
8. If I saw it first, it's mine.
9. If you are playing with something and you put it down,it automatically becomes mine.
10 If it's broken, it's yours.

Once in a while I may post something that I get elsewhere. (Thanks KB.) I don't know who wrote it, but they must have a 2 year old. If you wrote it, let me know. I'll let you babysit.

Off Duty

The Boss Lady took the kids out tonight, so I am off to buy lawnmower parts. Of course, since I am heading out alone, there is a chance that I will just give up on my second-hand lawn mower(Thanks, Sis!) and replace it.

Actually, I'll just go buy the parts I need and hope to steal a little time tomorrow to get the old mower repaired.

Again

Naptime!

Second day in a row that AtHomeDaddy gets to experience coordinated napping. Naptime Rules!, but dual Naptime is an indescribable joy.

Maybe it is the rain. We played in the house most of the morning, though The Talker and I went outside to set-up our rain water collection system. (OK, the system is really just strategically placed 5 gallon buckets, but we will be able to collect 20 gallons for the veggie garden!)

While we were out we played in the rain with the Ninja Turtle umbrella and watched a Praying Mantis on the front porch. We picked green beans and checked on our pumpkins and watermelons. The garden looks good, but The Boss Lady is ready for some tomatoes (ready in another week) and AtHomeDaddy is gonna turn green from eating so many cucumbers.

I added a link to Rick's Obsession blog brought to you by Rick, yes THAT Rick. I also added a link to SilentVoyager. Read up on the adventures of a real man sailing around the world, solo! I am all for quiet time, but that seems a little extreme for a decent nap.

Another lesson learned

When you are a SAHD with a blog, type fast if the 2 year old is awake!

While making my prior entry, The Talker decided that the hallway linen closet should be emptied and the contents scattered all through the house.

I have intended to get that closet organized and now The Talker has given me a head start. How's that for a positive spin?

Up and at 'em

This morning is starting off quietly. My kind of morning. Except it is raining. The Talker is up and running around the house petting things. "I petting the wall, I petting daddy, I petting Big White Dog, I petting the table". Whatever makes him happy and keeps him out of the Royal Nursery this early in the morning.

The Princess is sleeping in her vibrating bassinet. Thanks Cousin C! Think coin operated motel bed for babies! It is noisy as heck, but it gets her to sleep so we love it. Even Big White Dog has quit running away from the bassinet.

We are off and running on a rainy morning. By the end of the day I predict the house will be a disaster and the clean laundry will be piled up waiting to be folded. AtHomeDaddy may not have to go to work everyday, and that is good for all of us, but I still don't fold clothes. A man has to take a stand once in a while!

By the way, I do fold the clothes
sometimes
but I gripe about it

A LOT

Thanks for that!

The Boss Lady wants to thank RM for introducing AtHomeDaddy to blogging. She also extends a personal invitation to RM to come help with unfinished laundry anytime AtHomeDaddy gets a little too obsessive with his blog.

The Rest of the Story

After lunch, naps and another bottle or two, we headed out for walk and a little playtime with the neighborhood kids. Today's mission, cleaning the house and doing laundry --- a complete and dismal failure. No cleaning because I usually do that while trying to keep The Princess moving during The Talker's naptime. You should stop by and watch me vacuum while wearing The Princess in a sling. Quite a show! Maybe I will get to a little laundry tomorrow.

So now The Princess is napping in the Royal Swing, The Boss Lady is picking up toys and The Talker is watching "Homer". Nothing wrong with a 2 year old that watches the Simpson's, is there? Life is good!

Today's schedule, It's rigorous..

This am, The Talker, who is our 2 year old boy, and The Princess, our 2 month old girl, were both up early. I won't discuss how early, because it turns out that Mommy (The Boss Lady) and AtHomeDaddy have differing opinions on the word "early".

After breakfast and a bottle, and several early diaper changes, The Talker and I played in the backyard for a while and I weeded the veggie garden while he helped water the tomatoes and herbs. We ran downtown for The Boss Lady and stopped at my old recreation center to see the kids and staff.

After playing in the park we headed to the house for lunches and Tom and Jerry. Naptime followed quickly. At this moment the stars must be in an odd alignment, because The Talker and The Princess are both napping at the same time.

So there... A look into a SAHD's morning. Future post will likely not be so detailed, because The Princess has yet to agree with her Mommy that "Naptime Rules!" Or was it AtHomeDaddy that likes Naptime? Some days it is hard to remember who is who around here.

Welcome to AtHomeDaddy!

Several friends have suggested that I get a blog started because they can't figure out what a stay-at-home-dad (SAHD) does all day long. I suspect that they are really just tired of my long and rambling emails.

So, if you find yourself wondering "Does AtHomeDaddy do anything exciting with all of his free time?" then follow along... Maybe we will both be able to answer that question soon.