Somewhere in between is about right

Over the years I have kept this blog and the other one. Over here I usually focus on the good times, the silly, the mundane, whatever I thought it was OK for grandma to read. Over there, it has been a little more free flowing, whinier and bitchier even.

Real life has happened somewhere in between the two blogs. Life is never as organized and chaos free as you might think if you only read this blog. Also, it is not as gloomy or frustrating as one might think after cruising through the dark side.

That is a long ways to go to say that I still have a lot to learn about all of this dad-as-caretaker stuff. I think I just hit on one of those lessons this morning. And the boy isn't even my kid.

The Little Dude finished a full bottle about 30 minutes ago. But he was unsettled and grumpy. He wouldn't nap and he was acting like he was hungry. I started to let him cry it out, but I have failed at that effort before.

Now, back when ours were little, The Schedule ruled the house. Keeping the kids on a nap and eating schedule simplified life. And that was important since I was trying to figure all of this stuff out as I went along. So once a bottle was finished, the next one would not come out until The Schedule said so.

Today is different. The Little Dude was hungry. So I fed him again.

It was a simple solution and now, he is sleeping with a happy, full belly. The windows are open and the birds are singing. It is a great day!

Even though this was an obvious choice, I bet if it had occurred the same way with one of our kids, The Schedule would have won out. Which would have led to an unhappy baby and worn out daddy until I finally gave up and called The Boss Lady to beg her to come home early.

Back then I used The Schedule to keep us from going crazy but I never was very good about realizing when The Schedule was the very thing causing chaos.