Category Archives: The Juggling Dad

Blogs for Dads about their work life balance. Pick up from School… Soccer, Dance Class, Swim Lessons… Whatever it may be… We need help juggling it all. Here you will find ideas on how to balance it all out, and find ways to keeping yourself from saying “D’oh! I forgot!

For What its Worth – New Years Resolution – Part 3

Posted on by
1

Part 3 of this post will highlight some more fun activities that a fellow Dad has shared with some unique twists that might inspire your own household adventures…

 

Hide and Seek – We finished off the weekend with a good old fashioned game of hide and seek before bedtime.  The only slight variation was the seeker gets to hunt with a replica M16 assault rifle with lights and bullet sounds.  I pride myself in the stealth ninja hiding techniques that make the games heart pounding and intense.  My goal is to have him walk by me within a few feet and not realize I’ve blended myself into the room…then jump out and hear his screech of terror turn to belly laughter.  Today I put myself into a trash bag and balled myself up next to an identical trash bag that was sitting in the kitchen all day (the bag of trash was there all day, not me).  I nearly suffocated in that bag but it was worth it to grab him the second time he walked right by me.  Ninja style!

 

Electric Scooter – We suited up in our winter coats and gloves and hats and charged up his new shiny Razor Scooter.  I walked behind him (straddling the yellow line on the road to control traffic) and let him open up the throttle and rip up and down the 1/4 mile straightaway near our house.   He would get to the end court and come back to me.  I stood patiently in the road, watching my son turn into a little speck in the distance, then come racing back to me.  His chest puffed out with confidence and he started doing little squat downs like some kind of stand-up jetski  racer or something.  All I did was watch and cheer him on…sometimes feeding him a bogus time letting him know how fast his lap was.  He loved it.

Angry Kid and the eSpark Razor Scooter

Angry Kid and the eSpark Razor Scooter (Photo credit: AngryJulieMonday)

About these ads

For What its Worth – New Years Resolution – Part 2

Posted on by
Reply

Part 2 of this post will highlight the activities we shared with some unique twists that might inspire your own household adventures…

Mario desktop

Mario desktop (Photo credit: aoitenshi)

Mario Brothers – We took turns trying to beat levels on his new Nintendo DS game.  We cozied up on the couch and while we waited  for our turn we would watch the other person navigate the level with ooos and ahhhs with every jump, duck and shell throw.  Nothing beat the exaggerated screams we made when we died unexpectedly with a fall into the lava or bite from a turtle. 

K’nects - We built a huge helicopter, a surfer and a jeep.  I followed the instructions and called out the color or the pieces I needed for each step so he could slide them across the floor to me while meticulously maintaining the sorted inventory.  I kept him interested by asking him questions and talking to him along the way. 3 hours later we transformed a box of thousands of tiny pieces into 3 sturdy models.

Electric Scooter – We suited up in our winter coats and gloves and hats and charged up his new shiny Razor Scooter.  I walked behind him (straddling the yellow line on the road to control traffic) and let him open up the throttle and rip up and down the 1/4 mile straightaway near our house.   He would get to the end court and come back to me.  I stood patiently in the road, watching my son turn into a little speck in the distance, then come racing back to me.  His chest puffed out with confidence and he started doing little squat downs like some kind of stand-up jetski  racer or something.  All I did was watch and cheer him on…sometimes feeding him a bogus time letting him know how fast his lap was.  He loved it.

Part 3 of this post will highlight more activities we shared with that may also inspire your own household adventures…

For What its Worth – New Years Resolution – Part 1

Posted on by
Reply

How do you spend time with your child, or children? The following post title and body was emailed to me from a very close friend of mine who is a father of a wonderful energetic boy. I am taking his email post and splitting it up in to several posts. This father has a lot to say with some really great and valid points.

Do not forget to email me with suggestions that you would like to read, or suggestions or comments on previous posts.

So, I present to you, a New Years Resolution – Part 1

It happens from time to time. In between the e-mails and house chores that divert my attention from my son… every once in a while I manage to spend some time with my son giving him my undivided attention. Take a minute and try to think of the last time you dropped everything, and sat on the floor to engage with your kid(s). No TV in the background, no laptop in the foreground, no smart phone in the one hand, no pot on the stove, no homework on the table. When was the last time you sat with a puzzle, a game, a toy, or simply shared a conversation with your child giving them the precious gift of your time?

If you’re like me, you’ll be disappointed with the answer. I don’t do it nearly enough. Don’t get me wrong. I have long considered myself on the upper average of Dad’s who take time for their kids. I consistently do bath time and bedtime rituals more than 50% of the time. I drive him to school every morning and at least half of those mornings the radio is off and I have 8 minutes of conversation with him. I help with homework and take him to soccer practice and basketball practice and always pause my TV to help him when he’s having trouble beating a level on his Nintendo DS. But is that enough?

The last 10 days my son has been off of school for Christmas vacation so he’s been buzzing around the house with big toys, little toys, electronic toys, loud toys, fast toys, expensive toys that he’s been dreaming about for months. I spent my share of the long weekend surfing the Internet and catching up on television while he played at my feet or sat next to me pushing the buttons on his new toys. When my DVR was out of shows and I ran out of Internet to surf, I turned off the TV and shut down the laptop and invited my son to some quality time.

Part 2 of this post will highlight the activities we shared with some unique twists that might inspire your own household adventures.

I Am Not A Maid….but….

Posted on by
1
Chores

Chores (Photo credit: David Reber’s Hammer Photography)

Sometimes you have to be… I have slacked on duties around the house. Trying to help and take care of a house is hard work! My wife has done and does a marvelous job! Now its my turn, she’s the one that is working long hours and I am the one getting home early… So I am trying to pick up the ball and run with it… Boy is it tough!

There is a lot to clean up in a house with 6 and 3 year old. A bit unbearable to do all at once. (If that is even possible) So I decided to chip a way at the chores. I actually have calendar appointments that remind me what to do each day…

So for example on my iphone or Ipad, a calendar reminder pops up every day at 3:30 to remind me to clean something. Today is Thursday, Floors day. So I vacuum and mop the floors. Mondays are bathroom days. When you break it out over a week, or two, the large task actually becomes doable.

Give it a shot. Try busting up the tasks at hand… before I did this, I dreaded chores around the house. So this is my effort of trying to take the load off my wife… I hope it helps!.

 

How do you balance work, life, and a home?

Parent Teacher Conferences

Posted on by
3

So, my daughter is a first grader. She is a very bright little girl. She received her report card and she got straight A’s! I am so proud of her. Her mother and I still wanted to meet with her teacher.

My things have changed… First, I was NEVER a straight A student. When my parents wanted to go meet with my teacher, I was panic mode every day until they met with her/him. When I told my daughter that I was going to meet with her teacher, I asked her, is there anything you want to tell me? (I know she’s a good student, I just liked egging in on a little.) Her response to me was… Nope, and went back to watching Barbie. I on the other hand, wouldn’t have any fingernails left within the first hour of being asked the question… I wasn’t a bad student, I was an A-B with a occasional C student. (Dont ask me about my Senior year of College)

Why does she do so well in school. I will pat my wife on the back and give her a high five. My wife is really bright, and smart, and a Teacher. She has the patience with homework, and knows the proper ways to teach little ones… I on the other hand don’t. I will get frustrated after the 10th time of going over “Little Bill lost 2 balls, he had 5, how many does he have left?”

I truly believe another reason she does so well in school is because we are also active at her school. Either volunteering at book fairs, parking lot attendent (see my blog on Watch D.O.G.S) or attending social gatherings at her school. Being active and knowing the teachers at her school is very important to a child’s success.

How do you participate in your child’s education?

Juggling isn’t for clowns…

Posted on by
Reply
Pick up from School… Soccer, Dance Class, Swim Lessons… Whatever it may be… We need help juggling it all. 
 
Here you will find ideas on how to balance it all out, and find ways to keeping yourself from saying “D’oh! I forgot!”