Anxiously Awaiting

Well, in less then 24 hours, my wife and I will be in the hospital having our fourth child.  To say that I am not nervous and anxious and scared all at the same time would be a blatant lie.  You would think that by the fourth child we would be old pro's at this, but truth be told, every pregnancy has been different and this one is falling right in line.  It's just a natural part of life to wonder what could, would, and should happen.

Trei started out the same as every child we've had, SURPRISE!  Then everything was different.  Little man decided from the beginning to keep his head up.  Normally that would be a good thing, but not with a baby.  The child being breach was new and scarey.  We hadn't had to deal with that yet.  Then SuperMom was diagnosed with gestational diabetes.  Again, a scarey new experience.  Thank God for the internet to provide us with all the information of what could happen because of this.  Sometimes I wonder how we made it as children since our parents didn't have all this "good" info.  Oh yeah, less stress.  Time passed though and so did the worrying.  Little man fell right into position with weeks to spare and the diabetes was more of a hiccup then anything else.  The inconvience of daily sugar tests took care of that concern.  Now, as we have entered our 39th week, the concerns come back.  SuperMom has had a lot of contractions over the last several weeks.  Nothing regular, but painful for her and very uncomfortable.  With all this action, you would think we would be closer to her body being primed for labor, but progress is slow.  We have planned to be induced on Wednesday so that we don't have to worry about Trei being too big to be delivered naturally. (Another concern brought on by the diabetes.) We also have a host of other "good" reasons, but it is still nerve racking worrying and just plain not knowing.  So, we are all anxiously waiting the birth of our little boy.

Anything worth having is worth waiting for and we all know it will be alright in the end.  I will update as soon as little man makes his appearance, but for now, the show must go on. 

Life Goes On

At what point do we as parents realize our children are just that, children, and that the accidents, bumps, bruises, and hurt feelings are all just part of growing up.  I mean we all have our horror stories of some tragic event that happened during our childhood and we're still here.  Better maybe, stronger for sure, but we are here, alive and well.  I've had stitches, broken bones, and scars galore, each with their own unique lesson.  How else did I learn not to run with scissors?  (joke)  Seriously though, it's first hand, real world experience for children to learn that parents do know what their talking about.

Yesterday while visiting the baby doctor we ran into some friends with an 18 month old.    We haven't seen them in a while and their baby sure has grown.  Well, during our painfully long wait, their daughter had an accident.  Her Mom had asked her to stop running in the waiting room and to put her other shoe on, but as kids will do, she did what she wanted.  Next thing you know, whack, she tried to install a doggie door in the entrance with her head.  Now, as a seasoned parent my first reaction was to do absolutely nothing.  It happens.  After three kids you have a better understanding of what a mind blowing fall is and just another bruise on the head.  Now, immediately her Mom sprang to the rescue scooping her off the floor, trying to console her and her now bashed in head.  All the parents-to-be and new parents stared at her with disgust letting her poor, innocent child hit her head.  How dare her?  Then came the moment I knew would come, and almost all seasoned parent's knew it would too, the look.  The look is the point in time where the child reviews their surroundings, who saw, and decided on the best course of action.  Typically, due to the attention they have gotten, and of course their embarrassment for not listening, they begin their screams of pain and sadness.  This is always uncomfortable for the offending parent and the rest of the world that is witnessing.  Never a good situation. 

By now I am sure you think I am a heartless, terrible Dad.  I assure you I am not.  After our over protective phase with Random Girl and we had Monkey, I learned the look.  My wife and I also learned how to use it to our advantage.  When our children run and fall, they do "such a good job."  That was such a "good fall."  This almost makes it a game for our children, they forget what happened, they are not embarrassed because they did a good job, and life goes on.   There is no blood curdling screams, no guilt, and the world is at peace.  It's like it never happened.

The point is, as new parents we learn, we grow, and we adapt to our new role in life.  There is not a single new parent out there that can honestly say they are the experts, no matter how many books they've read or what classes they've taken.  What seems as a horrific fail as a parent with kid 1 will just be another day in the park with kid 2 and won't even be noticed by kid 3.  It's all apart of growing up for you and your kids.  Take it one day at a time, remember their are no rules, and do the best you can with love and affection for your children and you'll be fine.  It's all apart of the game and life goes on.

Our New Ride

Well, we sucked it up yesterday and traded in our totally awesome truck for a minivan.  I hate to see the fun thing go away, but I know it was necessary with number four on the way.  I never thought we would be a minivan family, but I know now that is was inevitable.  I guess I am growing up after all.

With that in mind, let me tell you about our new ride.  It's a 2007 Nissan Quest.  Yes, not new as in brand new, but new to us and in a lot better shape then our previous 2005 Toyota Tacoma. 60,000 miles vs. 150,000 is kind of a no brainer.  It's fully loaded, which is also new to us.  It has all the functions that a family vehicle should have, including a DVD player.  All I can say is that's totally awesome.  It's roomy, seats are comfortable, and it's ride is smooth.  Even a cool feature the kids like is that they each have their own private sun roof.  How cool is that?  Every time we go out I feel like Captain Kirk is going to come over the intercom and give me some orders.  It's very futuristic looking.  I have to say that we have looked at many minivans and this is the coolest one yet.  If you've got to have a minivan, this is the one to have, definitely.

Now that I am done bragging about our new car, let me say it didn't come without a price.   We were about nine months from paying off the truck.  Oh how I hate having a car payment.  It is a lower payment and a shorter term, but the interest rate is ridiculous.   Sometimes I really do question my judgement, but I also look at it as no one knows what my family needs more then me and the wife.  If someone wants to judge me based on my decision, that's fine.  It's not your money, your time, or your family so get over it. 

That being said, it's nice to have a new car, not so nice to have a new payment, but GREAT to have a Nissan Quest.   Next time your in the market, check'em out.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

(Pictures to Come)

What Did You Call Your Sister?

So, yesterday, Random Girl and Monkey were outside playing when all of the sudden the door flys open and Monkey walks in with this huge pout on her face.  As she slams the door behind her, Super Dadd's super hearing hears "blah, blah, blah...Whiney Butt!"  being screamed at her by Random Girl.  Whiney Butt?  Where on Earth could she have heard that?  So as good, responsible parents, we call in Random Girl and tell her that it's not nice to call her sister names.  Point taken.  Day continues.

 

This brings me to my next point.  Whiney Butt?  Yeah, that was me.  I am the offender who spread that name to my children.  You see, unlike my wife, who's Halo of Patience shines brightly, I have little patience with my children and all the antics that they bring.  We strongly discourage name calling.  Words like stupid and idiot are banned from our home.  My kids don't use them and will be the first to tell you "that's a bad word." I do unfortunately have a tendency to let a "whiney butt" slip on occasion though.  Oops!

 

I could blame this lack of patience on my job easily enough.  When you have to lead others and work with the mass public in general, it's easy to lose a lot of patience.  I just don't really have the capacity to deal with people ALL DAY LONG!  Unfortunately that includes my kids too.  To blame my job would be a lie though. I've never had patience, neither did my Dad really.  That was Mom's thing.  I think it runs in the family.  I just hope as a I grow older and my kids grow up.  I learn a little more.  Hey, I never did take that class, "How to be a Perfect Parent."  I always knew I should have scheduled that one in somewhere.

 

 

That brings me to my next point.  What is the deal with kids today?  Not all kids are in this category, but most little one these days have over-the-top personalities and an attitude to go with it.  When I grew up it was "Mommy, can I please have some ice cream?"  Now it seems to be "Mom, give me the friggin ice cream. NOW!"  Excuse me, what happened?  The worst part is, that this little attitude rubs off on everyone else's kids.  I'm sorry, don't raise that.  They will not be productive human beings.  Just sayin. 

So, we could just say that I have no patience, for my kids, your kids, or any one else for that matter.  It's kind of funny that I work in a retail with that kind of attitude, right.  I do love my children deeply though, and my job, and of course, my ever patient wife.  Hopefully they know it and the "whiney butt" slips will just go by unnoticed.