Daddy Weekend!

(By Jim)

So this weekend Natalie went out of town to the PWOC Women of Faith conference with some of her friends from the post chapel.  They left Friday morning at 6am (I think, I was still asleep) and should return sometime late on Saturday night.  Which of course means that I get the distinct pleasure of watching the kids for two full days.  Not that I haven’t taken care of the kids myself before, but usually Natalie is a short cry for help away. 

So, Daddy Weekend started off with the kids sleeping in, normally a great and rare thing, except that it was a Friday which meant that Cole had school, so we couldn’t sleep in.  Natalie actually called around 6:40 to make sure I was up (which I wasn’t) and getting everything squared away to take Cole to school.  After waking up all three sleepy-headed kids and getting clothes and breakfast, we headed to pick up Cole’s friend Jack and drop them off at school.  Then the girls and I headed to the Commissary to get groceries, since Natalie’s Dad and his fiancé, Amy, are coming to visit on Sunday.  Alli was  big helper at the Commissary, helping me pick out the produce and trying to sneak every princess cereal, fruit snacks, or crackers into the basket.  Well, as we were walking by the bakery section, she spotted the cookies and asked if we could get one for her snack.  As we approached the cookies she noticed the gingerbread men frosted with Red Sox uniforms, and asked to get a Red Sox cookie. 

I of course agreed, especially after the Sox beat the Yankees in the eight inning the night before.   So, along with our full grocery list we got two Red Sox cookies and some Spaghetti-Os for for lunch.  When Cole got home from school he was excited for his Spaghetti-O lunch and Red Sox cookie desert. 

We then had our friends Danny and Emily over, since their dad was also assuming the role of stay-at-home dad for the day (his wife Lydia went to the conference with Natalie).  We played for a few hours till dinner time.  Then, we had quesadillas for dinner.  Then after dinner we made a trip to the local PetCo.  Cole’s preschool class brought stuffed animals to class that morning and made a pretend zoo.  Cole and Alli kept asking me after he got home to go to the zoo.  Of course I was not going to take 3 kids to the zoo by myself, so we decided to go to the pet store and pretend it was the zoo.  The kids both fell in love with the cockatiel and have been constantly asking me to get one for our house since we left.  We came home and all three kids pretty much passed out immediately. 

Then came Saturday morning, when we had no plans and no reason to wake up, and all three kids are up by 6:20am!  Awesome, pure awesomeness!  We had donuts for breakfast and got ready for some visitors.  At 8:00 Danny and Emily came over for the day (their dad had class from 8:30-4, and their mom was at the conference).  Yep, 5 kids (5, 2.99, 2, 1, and 1 years old) versus 1 dad.  Again, not such an unbelievable occurrence, so many moms and dads out there do it every day, just not me.  Of course, we had a good day (so far at least, it is only 2pm).  We played with lots of toys, which means toys everywhere.  We made bracelets with beads and pipe cleaners I found in the basement. 

We had Goldfish crackers for snack (what did parents do before Goldfish crackers?) and Mickey Mouse chicken nuggets, green beans and carrots for lunch. 

Now, the two 1 year olds are taking a nap and the three bigger kids are watching Aladdin while I type this and get a breather. 

So you might be wondering, why did you just waste 3 minutes reading a detailed account of our weekend, and why did I spend 15 minutes typing it all out.  To try and give you some perspective on what I am about to say…

Stay at home moms (and dads) are AMAZING!   Seriously, I truly want to tell every stay at home parent, past and present, that you ROCK!  It is amazing to me that you can do this day in and day out.  I love my kids, and I have really enjoyed our time together, I just can’t wait for Natalie to get home!  To all the stay at home parents out there, thank you for being awesome.  To my mom, thank you for being patient with me, I know my kids are way better than I was, and I am grateful that you put up with me.  To my amazing and beautiful wife, you are the bomb.  Thank you for making doing what you do for our kids and our family.  I LOVE YOU!