Tossing His Tacos

My poor baby is sick. I heard him fussing about on his monitor in the middle of the night, and I went upstairs to check on him. Ack! He'd thrown up all down the front of himself. Unfortunately, hubby was out of town, so I was flying solo with puke duty.

So, at about 1:00 a.m., I gave Nicholas a bath and changed him into new jammies. He fell back asleep on the floor of his room, so I was able to change his sheets and mattress pad and clean everything up. I carefully placed him back in his crib and headed back to bed.

Thankfully, I am a light sleeper. At about 3:00 a.m., I heard him fussing around again. He was making the telltale "I'm about to throw up" sound, so I ran upstairs and grabbed him out of his crib.....not fast enough, though! This time, some ended up on the wall behind the crib.

Once again, he had a bath and got new jammies. Instead of putting on new sheets on his crib mattress, I covered his mattress in huge beach towels -- about five of them! If he threw up, then it would make it easier to clean up. I could just remove that "layer" or towel and not have to completely redo it all.

That was it for the puke fest, however. The next day, I worked from home and kept Nicholas with me. He seemed pretty good, a little fussy. His appetite was decreased [to be expected!], but he kept it all down......

The Devil Wears Pampers

Personally, I think my son is a little angel....he is a VERY good baby [now toddler]. I really can't complain, because he is so sweet, loving and easy going. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a devilish side.....

Russian woman's 12th baby weighs in at 17.1 POUNDS?!?!??!?!?!!

My first [and only] biological child weighed a hefty 9 lbs. 6 oz. at birth. I did not have a C-Section, and I'm not sure if I should be proud or embarrassed that I pushed that huge, ole noggin of his out! But my child is a mere shrimpy compared to THIS one......

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BARNAUL, Russia (Reuters) - A Siberian woman who gave birth to her 12th child -- doing more than her fair share to stem Russia's population decline -- was stunned to find that little Nadia weighed in at a massive 7.75 kg (17.1 lb).

Nadia was delivered by caesarean section in the local maternity hospital in the Altai region on September 17, joining eight sisters and three brothers, a local reporter said.

"We were all simply in shock," said Nadia's mother, Tatyana Barabanova, 43. "What did the father say? He couldn't say a thing -- he just stood there blinking."

"I ate everything, we don't have the money for special foods so I just ate potatoes, noodles and tomatoes," she told the reporter, adding that all her previous babies had weighed more than 5 kg.

The Guinness World Records lists a 10.2 kg baby boy born in Italy in 1955, and a 10.8 kg baby boy who was born in the United States in 1879 but died 11 hours later.

The average weight for most healthy newborn babies is around 3.2 kg (7.06 lb), according to World Health Organisation figures.
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Did you also happen to notice it was her TWELFTH baby.....?

Thanks, Honey....

In a few weeks, we will have two special events to celebrate. Our wedding anniversary is the same day as my wife's birthday.

Let me say that again -- our wedding anniversary is the SAME DAY as my wife's birthday. In other words, as a guy, I only have ONE really important day to remember each year instead of two.

This is a GREAT thing, but it could also be a really bad thing....like, what if I forgot it? I don't think I ever would, but if I did....well, I would be forgetting TWO important things, so I'm guessing the wrath that would follow would be twice as bad.....

But since I never plan to forget this date, I'm back to this being a GREAT thing....and it isn't so bad for the wifey either. Frankly, she ends up getting a better gift, because she usually wants one big thing. We just lump the gift giving all together for her.

Last year, it was this fancy iJoy massage chair. This year....well, she'll just have to wait and find out!

Dad Labs, Inc.

Recently, I was contacted by the COO of Dad Labs, Inc., Brad Powell. He said, "Hey got baby!, come check us out!" So, we did....

About Dad Labs:

America has seen a fundamental societal shift in the role of men in parenting. While many in the media and academia have observed this trend, no brand or company has emerged to meet the needs of these "New" fathers. Enter Dad Labs, Inc., a start-up company dedicated to providing creative media content and information products to serve this new generation of "Super Dads."
Dad Labs will be the fatherhood brand.

Headquartered in Austin, Texas, Dad Labs is an information and entertainment company that fosters the father/child relationship through media, instructional and retail products. The mission of the company is to strengthen families and benefit children by empowering today's fathers. The company provides resources to expecting, new and veteran fathers that will launch them into a more active and creative role in the lives of their children. Dad Labs speaks to the corporate executive and the delivery driver with a voice that is authentic and genuinely male, with wisdom and self-depracating humor of experience. The products and services offered are honest, informative, sometimes off-color, but always dedicated to the spirit of fatherhood. Dad Labs speaks guy and presents information through guy-colored lenses.

Founded in 2004 by Troy Lanier, Clay Nichols and Brad Powell, Dad Labs aims to be the voice of the new fatherhood. The company was founded on the core value that parents must be the primary movers in the lives of their children and fathers must play a leading role in this journey. The team at Dad Labs is committed to assisting the busy father by providing him with accessible and digestible information and parenting ideas. Dad Labs will not only inform the father with its entertainment products, but will also foster creative father/child activities through retail products.

The trio bring more than 30 years of teaching and hands on fatherhood experience, as well as professional film making and writing experience. Troy Lanier and Clay Nichols are accomplished authors and were named to the Austin Chronicle Best of 2005 for their book "Filmmaking for Teens: Pulling off Your Shorts." The company's first DVD, DueDads: The Man's Survival Guide to Pregnancy scheduled for release in the summer of 2006 recently won a 27th annual Bronze Telly Award.

All three founders have been long time teachers at Austin's St. Stephen's School and combined have seven small children.

Some Dad Labs Links:

Dad Labs Blog
Creative Team

When do You Find the Time.....?

More than once, I've been asked, "When do you find the time to write in your blog?" Or create new designs? Or clean the house? Or do all that cool Photoshop stuff? Or get a hair cut or pedicure? Or....breath....???

There isn't an easy, simple answer, but I would have to say: prioritize and multi-task are a big part of it. Oh, and make lists! I'm a big list maker. It really motivates me to cross things off, so it's more likely to get done if it's on a list!

Here might be my list for today [in no particular order]:

1. Finish report to manager and E-mail
2. Write in blog, moderate any comments
3. Make breakfast [Sunday is our big breakfast day]
4. Clean up after breakfast
5. Check E-mail
6. If there's time, do some research on story behind "We Are Marshall" [which we watched last night]
7. Laundry -- clean new sheets we just bought, fold clothes
8. Create some new designs -- it's been awhile
9. Complete FSA paperwork for refund
10. Return items to Target and K-mart [this probably won't get done until this week]

I'm sure there's more, but that gives you an idea. Thus far, I've done 1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 [other than the folding part]...and I'm working on 2 now. And I've done all this online stuff in the last hour, because my baby is snoozing away.....Zzzzzzzzzzzzz................because when he's awake, he is my focus. And when the girls are here, they are usually the focus. No matter what else might be a priority, the kids are THE priority.

And that's key for me -- get stuff done when Nick is napping! Or during my lunch break. Or after Nick goes to bed. Whenever I can find a free moment, I squeeze something in. And since I've prioritized my list, I always know what my top "must do" items are. I do those first and then work down to the medium priority and so on. And accept that some things might not get done as soon as I had hoped [if at all!].

Oh well, the kids are the priority, so other things can just wait....speaking of which, my baby is awake, so it's time to go!

Stop Hogging the Blog!

In the summary of this blog, you might have noticed this sentence: New mom, Designer and Research Freak and her husband share their adventures in parenthood! You see the "and her husband" part....? Well, that's me. I'm the husband. But the wife has been making most of the posts, so I told her it was my turn. After all, it's our blog.

So, summer is coming to an end [even though it doesn't feel like it today], and I was thinking back on all of the fun our family has had in the past few months.....trips to Cedar Point and Seattle, Nick's first birthday, hot days at the pool, weekends of sailing.....it's been a good summer.

This photo is from Cedar Point. My girls, Taylor and Sarah, are in front, and Nicholas and I are in back. My wife took the photo. Taylor was so excited to "drive" the old car!

In the photo above, the girls are having fun on Lake Sammamish. My best friend, Rodney, recently bought a boat. We took it out on a beautiful afternoon, and everyone had a great time playing out on the water. Sarah was too afraid to go on the tube alone, so her loving big sis went along for the ride.

We're looking forward to the good times we know will come with the holidays.....

The Exceedingly Complex Role of the Stepmom

The Exceedingly Complex Role of the Stepmom
by Teresa Paprock


"Do you, the bride, take this man, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health. . . and do you take his kids?"

You may never hear a minister utter these words at a wedding, but in theory, they're becoming more and more appropriate. The "blended family" - a term that is both celebrated and abhorred, depending on whom you ask, is becoming a fact of modern life.

Statistics show that while one out of every two marriages today will end in divorce, three-fourths of divorced people will eventually remarry (suggesting that the institution of marriage is alive and well, even if people sometimes pick the wrong partner). Unfortunately the rate of divorce for second marriages is even higher. And step relationships can be a huge factor.

Ask any family therapist, and they'll agree: the stepmother generally has the most challenging role in these new families. There are plenty of reasons for this, starting with history. One research group found some 900 stories referring to the concept of an "evil stepmother", the most well known of these "Snow White"? and "Cinderella"? Certainly there are stepmothers that do terrible things (as there are biological mothers that do). And the myth is becoming less acceptable as more and more women take on the stepmother role. But it's still true that stepmothers have an uphill battle on almost every front.

The role of a stepmother is exceedingly complex. A stepmom can get whiplash trying to negotiate her way around competing interests and attempting to find a path through veritable mazes of paradox. Stepmoms often have all of the responsibilities of parenting (think cooking, cleaning, laundry) but none of the legal rights. Stepmoms may constantly be trying to find the middle ground between being a child's pal and being a disciplinarian. Those who feel no love for their stepchildren are seen as cold; those who do can be accused of "trying to take the place of the biological mother". In short, being a stepmom means pleasing some of the people only some of the time.

A stepparent's role in a family is unique in that it is born of loss. A child has lost a natural parent due to death or divorce; the natural parent may be in the child's life all the time, or may be gone, but a child's dreams of having "the perfect family" have been shattered, and a stepmom is the living proof of that fact.

A stepmom's relationship with the biological mother can range from friendly to neutral to downright hostile.

"I consider myself very lucky," says Claire, whose household contains her two children and her husband's two children, all under the age of nine. "At first, my stepchildren's biological mother was really angry. But over time she realized that I take good care of the kids, and now we are best friends."

Not everyone is so fortunate.

"When I first got married I had this fantasy that the biological mother and I would be friends and would co-parent this child together," says Kyra. "Now, several therapists later, our two households can communicate only via lawyer, and even now there are blowups. I wish that she could at least appreciate that her son and I have a loving relationship, but I sometimes think she'd rather that I be a terrible person to give her an excuse for hating me."

Lynnette, the custodial stepmom of three elementary school children, had a similar experience when her stepchildren's biological mother lost custody of them.

"I didn't know how to function being the object of such intense and systematic hatred," she says, but adds, "the children were a little unruly, but they are wonderful, sweet, and absolutely dear."

Relationships between stepparents and stepchildren can vary greatly. There truly are some children that "only a mother could love", and there are stepmothers that behave badly and give their stepchildren good reason to dislike them. Sometimes a stepmom tries her best, but is faced with a "team" made up of her husband and stepchildren, against which she's always losing.

Other stepmoms and stepkids just "click".

"I love my stepdaughter as if she is my own," says Rebekkah. "She's sweet, smart, funny, pretty, and talented. We actually enjoy being together, and she's never given me that "You're not my real mom" crap. But I give so much of the credit to her, for being the kind of person she is, frankly, she's an easy kid to love."

A big reason why the rate of divorce among second marriages is extraordinarily high is that the husband and wife often argue over the children. Jane is a clinical social worker and a stepmom as well. She knows from personal experience how important it is to keep the marital relationship strong. "My husband and I have always known that we were together because we loved each other, not because we wanted a pseudo-family," she says.

Jane emphasizes the need for the children's father to promote the stepmom as a parent figure within the household, deserving of respect. "When I would have a little struggle," says Jane, who has two stepchildren, was supported by my husband. "Still, it took time to acclimate."

"Many husbands," she says, "want their wives to be pals with the children" - an unrealistic wish. And many "experts" on stepparenting say that stepmoms should never discipline their stepkids. But discipline is not punishment; it's a form of teaching and can be done in a positive way.

"Discipline comes from the word "disciple", Jane says. "It's about directing them in the way they should go. Children need the adults in their lives to be parents, not friends."


Link to article: http://secondwivescafe.com/article.php?id=40

Teresa Paprock is a freelance writer, co-author of two books, and the editor of a parenting magazine in the Midwest, as well as the stepmom of a 13-year-old boy.

Operation Buckeye: Please Help!

The Christmas I found out I was pregnant with Nicholas was when my dad sent out his first care packages to the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It wasn't called anything then -- it was just my dad collecting items or money to buy items to send in the first round of boxes. He got the idea after reading a newspaper article about our troops.

Most, if not all, the money came from my dad and mom, our family [including me and the hubby] and dad's friends. My hubby and I went to Meijer with him to buy the items for those first boxes and planned to help him pack them all up. [While the hubby helped Dad fill the cart, I snuck off to buy my pregnancy test!]

Since then, this labor of love has a name, more volunteers, more attention and more funds. It's not just my dad, Jim, anymore. It's now called Operation Buckeye. Last year, 1064 boxes were sent to the men and women of our armed forces. To date, over 1400 boxes have been sent.

Trying to bring a touch of home and brighten the day of a soldier, the boxes contain items that are both treats and necessities: Beef Jerky and hard candy are two of the favorites, along with drink mixes (to give water a better taste). Gum, chips, cheese crackers, canned fruit, granola bars, tuna snacks, tooth brushes and paste, books, batteries, deodorant, foot powder, peanuts, puzzle books, and wipes are only a partial list of items sent.


Want to Help Operation Buckeye?
There are several ways to help. The most obvious is through donations:

Operation Buckeye
PO Box 1814
Westerville, OH 43086-1814

Or dropped off at any Huntington Bank branch [if you live in Columbus, OH].
Please make all checks out to "Operation Buckeye"

They also look for volunteers. Volunteers gather at Operation Buckeye HQ every second and fourth Saturday. Boxes are usually packed from 1pm to 4pm.

Operation Buckeye HQ is located at :
4290 N. High Street
Columbus, OH 43214


Contact Operation Buckeye:
Jim Caronis [my wonderful dad!!] - Chairman: Jim@operationbuckeye.org
Dave Eyestone - Treasurer: Dave@operationbuckeye.org


More About Operation Buckeye
OPERATION BUCKEYE was formed with the sole purpose of sending boxes to our troops as a way to thank them for their efforts and to bring a touch of home to them. The physical conditions they endure are difficult and being away from family for long periods of time is also difficult.

OPERATION BUCKEYE boxes contain food and snacks, personal hygiene items, reading materials, and good wishes of love and support.

All monies raised through letter writing campaigns, media exposure, and donations from individuals and companies are used to purchase items , supplies, and postage. OPERATION BUCKEYE provides caring civilians the opportunity to show their appreciation and respect to the men and women of our military stationed in hostile and remote regions of the world.


Related Articles or Stories:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2006/10/19/20061019-C1-00.html
http://ohio15th.blogspot.com/2007_03_01_archive.html
http://www.dispatch.com/live/contentbe/dispatch/2007/03/01/20070301-B1-01.html http://www.dispatch.com/dispatch/content/local_news/stories/2007/05/27/MIKE27.ART_ART_05-27-07_B2_0K6RAR0.html


P.S. My dad has NO idea I posted this in my blog! He's not about self-promotion, but I wanted to try and help out, so I've been putting the word out about Operation Buckeye. And I'm SO proud of my dad for doing all of this and just wanted to brag a little about him......

Fun With Photoshop & Filters

I'm a Photoshop JUNKIE, that's for sure. I love that program. You can take away most of my software, and I wouldn't complain. Try to take away Photoshop [notice I say TRY], and get ready for a big ole bruhaha.

In addition to being a PS addict, I am also into filters. You can use filters to get some COOL and amazing effects. Or combine multiple filters on layers. The possibilities are endless, and the results can be spectacular.

Lately, I've been having a BLAST with Filter Forge. I have been getting exciting results! Some of the images look like they were drawn or painted. So, I thought I would share a little slide show of my latest work [not everything was done with Filter Forge....some is just good, old fashioned Photoshop editing!]....