Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Ho Ho Ho y'all,

I took a wee break from the blog through the holidays, mostly because we were so busy and having a great time with Opa and our friends.

It sure has been nice to have John stay with us for Christmas and not just for all the great handy work he does around the house! The kids just loved playing with him and we really enjoyed catching up and making new memories. My fondest would be of John playing goalie on the ice while Aidan took shots.

Although we had a great time with John we really missed Mary too and it must have been tough on the two of them being separated for the first time in 35 years during the holidays. We love you both and wish you have a great time this New Years Eve!

Another great surprise was the engagement of Matthew and Tina! Were super excited for both of them, although for some reason Riley said her name is Tina not "Aunt" Tina...I'm sure he'll get over it.

Jess and I are enjoying the time at home with family and friends and just hanging out. Although we miss all the family it sure is nice not to have to fly anywhere with the boys.

Our typical day has been filled with playing Star Wars Legos, Star Wars Wii, Nerf battles, board games, Elefun, skating, sliding and swimming and in the evening we've managed to have a few drinks of wine ;)

Riley's first Christmas Concert

We just came back from Riley's preschool Christmas concert and it was so much fun. They had done the nativity scene and Riley was the Inn Keeper and his buddy Owen was Joseph. I was chatting with Owen's Mom and she was telling me that Owen wanted to be the Inn keeper, which was funny cause Riley was telling me that he wanted to be Joseph. The two boys rocked there parts and happen to have the only speaking roles.

Owen (Joseph) "Can we stay at the Inn?"

Riley (Inn keeper) " Nope, but you can stay in my stable"

Que music....

This really is a great preschool and they've put in tons of work with this concert as well as in raising food and money for the less fortunate over the holiday season.

Wow it's already mid December!

Hey all,

Sorry for the dry spell I had another PC crash. It took me awhile to track down the problem then wrestle with Vista for control of my machine. I finally had to format all 3 hard discs...anyway there are a lot of people reading this who just don't care but for my techie geek friends let's chat about this over lunch!

We've been doing very well and keeping very busy.

Aidan is growing like a weed
He's got crazy long arms and wears out his jeans like there made out of paper! He's now wearing size 7/8. Still sporting the hockey player look on his grill with two front teeth still missing, yes he likes to sing the song.
Aidan is doing well with his reading and continues to love to draw, man he can make some great pictures and is now writing little books and comic strips. Maybe I'll scan a few and add them.

Riley "I'm tricky" Dagg
Continues to make me laugh and keep me smiling. He loves to play little tricks and is trying to be funny like his big bro...we could be in trouble.
Riley can now write his name with no prompting and knows all of his alphabets except for w,n,u and sometimes m. He loves to play alphabet bingo (gets that addiction from his Memere) which really helps with the learning. Were working on numbers and need to be more creative in this area.
Riley has been a lot better with his behaviour and temper and is playing so much better. He loves playing with his buddy Grant and has a new buddy at Preschool called Owen.

As for me.....
Between wrestling with the kids, doing homework, Christmas shopping, coaching/playing/watching hockey and getting the house ready for Opa I've been kept busy. Oh yeah I forgot to mention the rink. The - 30 weather has been good for something and we should be skating sometime this week!

Starting to feel like Christmas

We've been slowly getting our lights up and are almost done with the exception of a couple more trees. I would like to put lights around the rink so we can skate in the evening, it won't be as romantic as the Ottawa canal but it will do. The boys wanted to put lights on the fort in the backyard so we opted out on putting them up on the front of our house.

It sure is nice to do your shopping during a week day instead of the crazy weekend or week nights of long lines and grumpy humbugs, not to mention you can actually find someone to help you when you need it.

Jess and I decided to pull way back this year on the gifts, even before the economic downturn. I guess part of my decision to make this change was that I didn't like what I was becoming and I know I needed a change. I don't know if it was because I came from such humble beginnings that I thought I needed everything and had to provide everything to my kids but what was I really teaching them. I've got to thank Jess for always asking the "Do we really need that?".

I am who I am partly because of how I grew up and what I was taught, we were on the receiving end of the fireman's Christmas food basket and I remember how happy we were to get the help and gifts. My mother may not have had much but she taught us well and when ever she has the chance she's the first to give back. We plan on teaching our boys the same.

Dagg rink progress

Hello sports fans!

I was very excited for the recent cold weather as it gave me a glimmer of hope for ice before December. Well thanks to the +4 degree weather out there we still have a pool. I still have some back boards to make and a bench or two but the general rink is complete and waiting to freeze.

Riley quote of the week

At lunch time yesterday Riley looked at me and said "Papa, you are the silliest man I have ever met!" He just cracks me up.....

Looks like nap time is over!

I was hoping I would make it into the new year with afternoon naps but what was I thinking. Riley hasn't had a real nap in a few weeks so I believe it's time to come to terms and face it. I'm not going to say that nap time was part of the job description but it sure was a perk. Well more time for us to play Star Wars I guess.

Report cards are in

Aidan brought home his report card\book last week and at first glance I was shocked to see so many "E's". As I prepared mentally for the following conversation and put on my stern disappointed look, I decided to check the letter legend....Let's just say it's a good thing I remembered the old "think before you speak" (thanks Mom) as E=excellent.
Whatever happened to the good old A,B,C,D,E system? I actually think this makes much more sense and you really do get more substance in this type of report book then the one pager I received growing up.

Aidan is doing well and really enjoys going to school, he needs to work on being a bit more organized (quelle surprise) and more respectful when others are speaking but overall we are very proud of him.

We started a little tradition of going out for diner where ever Aidan would like after a good report card, his choice this time was Sushi. Of course I thought this was a good idea but Riley tried to convince him that Boston pizza would be a better choice. No luck RiGuy.

Aidan's first goal

Crosby-Esq?

The little Timbit got his first goal on Saturday and man was he proud. This is how he describes it.

"I was skating with the puck when 1, no 2, no 4 players tried to take it from me. I was tripped but as I fell I hit the puck straight into the net!"

I got to tell you that I love being out on the ice with the little kids, it's just so much fun. Aidan may forget his first goal in time but I don't think I will.

Mo progress

Hey all,

Riley wanted to take some pics today so I thought I would post one of us which also shows the "Mo" progress. So far it's unanimous, Jess and the kids hate it, as do I! Bring on Dec 1!

"Riley isms"

Thought you might get a kick out of these,

gotfor = forgot
opameal = oatmeal
warm necker = neck warmer

I'll add more as they come up. Aidan's best when he was little was firefuk = firetruck, boy did that get us some looks now and then!

It's Movember - Prostate Cancer fundraiser

Hey all,

Myself and some friends are growing moustache's to raise money for prostate cancer. I'm going to be sporting the biker look for the month of November and if you would like to sponsor me or my team please see the details below. I'll even post some pics for your enjoyment!

Head to this site ( http://ca.movember.com/ ) and click on the donations tab. You can search for me or donate to the team.

Team name: The Big Mo
Capt: Simon G

Some Prostate Cancer details.

Did you know:
Every year around 24,700 Canadian men are diagnosed with prostate cancer and about 4,300 die of the disease, making it the number one cancer threat to Canadian men.1 in 7 men will develop prostate cancer in their lifetime. All men over the age of 40 are potentially at risk and should talk to their doctor about the disease and early detection. Prostate cancer is 95% curable if detected and treated early.

Donations are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law.
The money raised by Movember is donated directly to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada who will use the funds to create awareness and fund research across the country into prevention, detection and treatment, with a goal to ending the threat of prostate cancer.

Trip was great - Congrats Pat

Hey all,

I've just returned from Ottawa and had a wonderful time. It was great to spend some time with my nephew and niece as well as connect with some old friends from the prior. I did find myself calling home every day and missed the little monkeys.

It was nice to do my God Father duties and I can't believe how much he has grown. Paris and I had a blast as well and I'm going to miss all her hugs and snuggles.

My sis and bro in law are great and we always have a fun time. Wish we could do it more often but life has brought us all in different directions.

I'm looking forward to spending some time out there this summer with the family.

In the Valley!

Made it to Ottawa, flight was delayed. Hope the boys are having a good time with Mom.

Felling a bit mushy today....

Thought I should stay true to this being a log of how things are going and yes gentlemen even talk about feelings...scary eh!

I gotta tell you I hear this at least 15 times a day and I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.
Riley "ah Papa"
Me "Yes Riley"
Riley "ah, I love you"
Me "Love ya too buddy"

One more mushy thing and that's it, I wouldn't want you guys thinking I'm going all soft!

Some of the best things just happen, they don't have to be a great planned event. Nothing puts a smile on my face and make me feel better than an unexpected little hand reaching up to hold mine as we walk. That's it, simple but powerful.

Riley on politics

We were watching the election last night and the boys wanted to watch hockey (they make me so proud) however Jess and I were working our way through the CNN coverage. Jess attempted to explain to our future Prime Ministers, why this was important and relevant to Canada. Things were going well until she mentioned the word "Super Power", at that point Riley stated that the US could not be a "Super Power" as they did not have any "Light Sabres!".
Great point I thought....

Dagg rink is in full swing

I managed to finish putting up the boards today. It's amazing how I can get more done in 30mins without the kids as I can 2hrs with them! They were just in a scrap'n mood yesterday and I was hoping to have the boards up and ground leveled before dark but that didn't happen. Current status is boards are up, ground is as level as it's going to get and I laid the plastic down with some creative patch work as I didn't have enough on one roll (quelle suprise). I still need to tack the plastic on and build the back boards where the nets will go.

Hope the plastic stays put as it just started to snow!

Riley skating update

Riley is on his second round of skating lessons. He just passed the first one and the teacher suggested that it might be good for him to do a second go. He's a bit upset that his buddy is not in this one and seems a little bored out there but he's still smiling.

First Hockey road trip

The Olds Tigers invited Aidan's team out for a hockey game on Sunday and although we are not a travelling division we thought the kids would enjoy this and learn from having an official game. Up to now our games have been half ice, short little games on Saturdays, so this was a big change being on the full ice for 60mins.

The kids played hard and really improved by the end of the game and thanks to the mercy rule of only putting up 5 goals on the board (which the tigers got in the first 5mins of the 1st ) they had a great time and never quit! We managed to shift the lines up in the last few minutes and got on the board with a couple of goals and you would have thought the kids won the cup!

Aidan is doing very well in his first year and I would say is almost catching up to the second year group. After the first few shifts he jumped on the bench and in true Aidan fashion screamed " I love hockey, hockey is awesome! " nuf said.

Halloween fun

We had a great time last night...oh yeah the kids too!
The boys and I put the finishing touches up on the grave yard just in time and were ready to get dressed and out when Mom got home. Riley was hilarious in his suit when he shouted "Scooby dooby doooooo!". All Aidan could talk about was being a vampire but as this was not suitable for school he was Superman during the day and a very convincing vampire at night. Riley felt it was necessary to tell every home owner that he was Scooby do and his brother was a vampire, this was great and got quite a few laughs.

Jessica and I switched roles this year and I went out which was fun.

Fun was had by all, the little ghosts and parents enjoyed our decorations, the boys got a crap load of candy and no one got hurt. I'd call that a success!

Hockey equivalent to chasing bugs in soccer

Let me paint a scene for you that I'm sure you have all seen.
It's a nice spring evening and your watching some kids play soccer, then all of a sudden one or two (usually named Aidan) little tykes start staring into the sky and chasing bugs as the soccer ball rolls past them. Last Saturday I nearly cried icicles as I watched the equivalent distraction on the ice but instead of bugs it's the mirror like reflection you can get off the boards and glass. Oddly enough it wasn't Aidan this time but the other coaches son, who was amazed that he could see himself and wave as the puck went sliding by his stick...

Gotta love kids sports!

Sunday-a-thon

Holy busy crazy day.

It all started off with a marathon church session of 1hr 45 mins and it's a good thing there was share the word for the kids or I'm sure one of the boys would've jumped over the top balcony!

We then had a quick lunch and packed the boys and their bikes up for a birthday party. This was loads of fun as the mother of the bday boy is also the VP at the local High School so we had run of the whole school. Kids were firing down all the halls on their bikes and ride on toys and we managed to not lose any! This is Riley's little buddy and the two are stuck at the hip.

A few weeks ago Riley and I were saying our normal goodbye's after dropping off Aidan for school and having a play session with his buddy when he shouted "bye, love you Riley!". Riley replied with a big "Love ya too" at which point I shared a somewhat awkward but funny moment with his Dad. We both looked at each other and kinda said "Ah...bye...love ya..." and started to howl....Since then you can't really take the two apart...But I digress.

After the bday party we started to pack the truck up for the next adventure and tried to have the kids go down for some quiet time...ya right! They actually were pretty good and tried to rest up a bit. Jessica works with a lady who had invited us to celebrate the Indian tradition of Diwali. This was a great opportunity for us to share and teach the boys about other cultures and traditions. It was beautiful and the food was amazing! We would've stayed much later but the boys were getting tired and I had a hockey game to play at 9:15 in Indus.

Considering we were in the NW of Calgary and leaving close to 8:00pm we had to hustle back to Okotoks so I could get to my game in time. I arrived with 5 mins to get dressed face a couple of practice shots and play the game. This wasn't one of my greatest starts to say the least as we started the 3rd period 4-1 but we pulled through and won 8-4. After a couple of pints and watching some sport highlights I finally hit the sack around 1:00am and the crazy day was over! Bring on next weekend....

Oops - far from perfect

OK so I guess I shouldn't just write about the good stuff as it might seem a bit boring or superficial so after a wee mishap on Friday I decided to talk about some of the things I can improve on.

Yes, I'm terrible and missed picking Aidan up on Friday! But let me explain. Every day I pick up Aidan at the school for 3:30 except for Fridays at 2:30 so you know I was bound to screw that up at least once. I normally have an alarm go off on my watch but I recently switched it to wake me up for his early morning hockey games. So there I was trying to fix a Vista OneCare problem on the PC as Riley was napping and the doorbell rings...It's my buddy who with a smile on his face says "kid delivery". Crap.... Aidan thought this was funny and had no problem coming home with his friends and their dad so a trip to the Psych doctor may not be necessary. I now have an outlook reminder, cell alarm and watch alarm so hopefully this doesn't happen again...or too often.

Best ice effort to date for Aidan

Wow,
We had to get up and be on the ice for 7am this morning and I anticipated a slow and unimpressed little boy out there but man was I wrong. Aidan had his best effort to date on the ice. He didn't even want to sit down during his bench time. It was great to see and I think the mornings are much better for him compared to the after school times. His skating really is improving as well as his drive for the puck. Great job son!

My Halloween addiction

OK, I think it's time I confess that I am addicted to Halloween.
I don't know if it appeals to my creative side or whether or not I just like to decorate and dress up....OK strike that last statement. The boys just love it and can't wait to decorate the house and now the yard. Yep, last year we started building some tombstones and this year we have started to build a few more including a cemetery sign and spooky fence. I realize I had to stop when I started to create a project plan to keep up to what needs to get done, and no Mike I didn't use Microsoft Project!

Zoo day with friends

Another SAHD friend of mine joined us today with his two kids for a trip to the zoo. It was neat to watch the kids play with each other and have so much fun. All four kids play very well with each other accept for the occasional breakdown or "she pushed me" incident. Aidan was definitely the little ring leader of the pack until he spotted a feather or special rock and we would lose him. Riguy is turning into a zoo expert as we have been there a few times in the past couple of months and has a good sense of directions and memory.

I'm still torn on the whole zoo thing. Half of me hates to see animals in captivity and the other half realizes that they do play a role in rescuing some animals, providing a hand and keeping animals from extinction and also as a learning tool for our kids.

We will probably head over for the Zoo lights next.

Go fish with Riley

No offense to my poker buddies but playing Go fish with Riley or "Gold fish" as he calls it is a riot! Just watching him hold all his big cards close to his chest and asking for the same type of fish every round kills me. You gotta see him working a strategy, dropping his cards and thinking out load, especially when he picks up a card he needs. I'm laughing as I type just thinking about it. So I challenge all of you to take him on if you can hold your laughter in and keep a straight face!

Rink construction begins

Earlier this fall Jess and I decided that we should move our garden boxes to the east side of our yard to maximize the sun as there was just too much shade in the current location. Well this also meant that we would gain a sweet spot for an ice rink!

I thought since both boys are on the ice this year that this would be fun and we could make it our own little project. So far we have completed the deconstruction of the old garden boxes and have started to rebuild two new ones. Yesterday the boys and I had some fun moving all of the top soil around attempting to make a level surface for the rink. Just in time as we got a dump of snow last night! I'll keep you posted and maybe add some pictures once I figure that out.

Aidan goes pro..sort of

The Timbits bruins team were invited to play during the intermission of the Okotoks Oilers Junior A game on Saturday. The kids did great out there and I don't think I've seem them work so hard for that puck.

A proud moment
Aidan was a bit nervous about having to skate with people in the stands and all the excitement was getting to him and he asked me if I ever get nervous. I told him I do all the time but what I do is just focus on the puck and ignore everything else. He kinda shrugged and off we went. He went out and did great out there. After the game we were chatting with a few people and someone asked him if he had been nervous out there and he said "Nah, I just focused on the puck".

Aidan's first trip to the office....

I was on the phone with Aidan's teacher (our neighbor) and she asked me if he had told me about his trip to the principals office...Well, we don't get much from AJ as to how his day went and he definitely didn't mention a trip to the office. She proceeded to tell me that in a class exercise the students were asked to write down the words from the chalkboard that they could read. Most kids wrote one word per line however she said "Aidan wrote with his very nice small hand writing two words per line and covered almost all of them". He was then sent to the office to show Mr. Lorenz the school principal. I was glad to hear he was sent to the office for a good reason, although we will see what the future brings ;)

Sorry for falling behind..we're busy...really!

Hey all,
It seems as though I have fallen victim to the "doesn't update" blog syndrome.... Recently we were at a kinda play date picnic thing by the river when a mother asked how things were going. I said things were going well and that we are now into week 5, her response was "your counting the weeks" ? This rattled around in my brain for awhile and I still haven't come to terms with it completely. I don't believe I'm counting the weeks down but I may applying my typical anal way of tracking or organizing. To that point I'm going to change the blog and no longer cover week by week but just write as things happen.

Week 4

Looks like another busy one but we are getting into a bit of a routine.

Riley had skating today and although we worked on wearing the skates at home he's still a bit shaky out there. He's got his buddy from the playground with him now so I hope they help each other. Needless to say there were too stay at home Dads on the ice with there boys helping out for little while. I also learned a good trick today and that is to keep change in the equipment bags for incentive and motivation. There are about 10 different candy machines at the arena! Hope that helps next week.

Both the boys are in swimming lessons and doing well, I still can't believe that Riley has finally taken to the water. Although he passed Preschool 1 there was no room in Preschool 2 so he is doing it over again, I think he likes knowing what to do and showing the other little tadpoles.

I'm trying to keep up on being creative for craft time as Riley loves it. The first couple of weeks we made a ton of bugs out of egg cartons and now we have resurrected a robot project we started months ago. I'll post some pics soon.

Timbits Hockey has started and Aidan is super excited. Man it sure is fun to be out there and see all these little ones dressed like mini NHL'ers. Aidan is loving it so far and told me this morning that he wants to be a hockey player and animal explorer\inventor when he grows up. Will see how that turns out eh! He's doing well and having fun and I'm going to enjoy being an assistant coach and out there on the ice with them.

I didn't want to turn this blog into one of those "complaining" type blogs but I guess from time to time I'm going to have to speak my mind.
I can't figure out why someone would buy their kid a $100 composite hockey stick at this level. Do they think it's going to greatly improve their game? I mean save your money and donate some to the needy kid equipment fund....OK I'm done.

Road trip to the zoo and China town
Riley and I decided to head to the zoo for the second time in 4 weeks. It really is nice to have a pass and not feel like you need to stay all day, I recommend it to all parents. We then took the train, which he thought was a hoot into downtown Calgary. Although apparently according to Riley the first two stops don't qualify as "Downtown" but the third does? It was neat to walk around at his pace as I'm used to running from place to place and dodging lights, it really is nice to slow it down. I suspected Riley would not be into the Vietnamese soup and packed a lunch for him but I was very impressed on how well he behaved, I think he really enjoyed being out and seeing so many new things and meeting different people. We had lunch with some of my old team then made a quick visit to the office although he thought the elevator was cool he had enough visiting and we headed out pretty quick. I was nice to see some of the team again but I totally felt like diving in and helping out.....

Week 3

Now were cooking with grease! Things were definitely busier this week.

Aidan is in full swing at school and I had to step in for Grandparents day as ours are in another province. It went well as Jessica made little write ups of his grandparents and Aidan spoke to the class about his fishing adventures with Oma and Opa and showed the class his mini canoes and wood carvings made by his Pepere.

We also went to the Optometrist and had both the boys get their eyes checked. Aidan now has a pair of glasses and looks very handsome. He thinks there cool because they're called tarantulas. The best part was when the Doc asked if Aidan could see the letters and he responded " I can see the A and the E but can't see the P and the F ". We had a great chuckle, he must have memorised the previous letters! Riley also tried to give Aidan an kiss while he was getting his glasses adjusted and Aidan pulled away and said "Awkward". Riley then looked at the lady and said Aidan doesn't like mushy kisses anymore and gave him one anyway! When we returned to pickup the glasses there was a note in his file that said " Aidan doesn't like mushy kisses from his brother " apparently the team was having a good laugh. Nice to see my boys can put a smile on other peoples faces too.

Riley started skating and although he had fun I think it's going to take a lot of motivation to get him up and going. He likes the superman part where you get to lie on your belly!

Preschool also started this week for Riley. I got to tell you that It felt weird dropping him off again. We had been spending everyday for the past two weeks together and I didn't realize how much I was enjoying hanging out with him, the emotion took me by surprise. The three hours of quiet time was sure nice though and I was able to get some of Jessica's to do list done!

Soccer was also back on for Aidan and I for two more weeks. I coached his U6 team this year and although it was busy, watching the kids have fun was a blast.

I'm meeting a few more parents as I drop Aidan off to school and hang around the playground. Riley has met a little buddy who's sister is in Aidan's class. There are some really great families in the area. Were still learning to slow things down but I'm getting better, if Riley wants to stay and play at the park for an hour or two and we've got nothing really going on then we do...

Purple eggs and pine cones explained

Some people already know the story but others have been asking so I thought I should post it.

One day I was working from home and under a wee bit of stress. Riley was sick that day so I kept him home from daycare so he could rest up and get better. I was in my office face buried in the monitor and Riley came into the room with the biggest smile on his snotty little face and shouted "Papa Papa look what I found, it's a purple egg and a pine cone!" Well you would've thought that he just found a pot of gold or solved the worlds greatest mystery with his excitement and I just sat back and smiled. As the stress melted away I realized that happiness can be found in the simplest of things. Chalk that up under the "kids can teach you a few things" column.

Week 2

I’m having a great time and really realize that I needed to do this for the boys but also for myself. I am enjoying the time to unwinde.
I met another Dad at home today and man did he look relaxed! He’s been doing this for three years now and loves it. I will probably touch base with him a bit more often and get some tips and tricks.
Likes:
- Not having to get up and rush out the door at 7am
- Early morning snuggles with the boys
- More time to play and teach the kids
- The opportunity to be more active in Aidan’s schooling
- Watching Riley conquer his water fear and pass Preschool 1
- Getting to be more physically active (biking, chasing, weights)
- Whipping up some edible meals….Could use improvement
Dislikes:
- Man this is a lot of work. Just the cooking and cleaning keeps you busy let alone the planning and playing
- My cooking can use some work…need to work out a better system
- Still adjusting to the “Dad at home title” it’s growing on me though

Week 1

Well the first week was a bit weird. It kind of felt like it was a long weekend, almost like it was a vacation at home and not permanent. Trust me it was no vacation and I remember thinking that this was busier than staying at work!

Riley was still a bit unsure that this was permanent too and kept asking "is it stay home day Papa?"

I was still thinking about work and wondering how the team was doing but held off contacting anyone.

I have to admit I was a bit anal (those that know me will not be shocked) and broke every day into 1hour time slots, oh yes I'm a professional planner! Here's an example of a day for your amusement....

7-8 Breakfast
8-830 Aidan to school
830-930 Excer Activity
930-10 Snack time
10-11 Game time
11-12 Swimming Lessons
12-1230 Lunch
1230-1245 Story
1-230 Nap time...(if I'm lucky)
230-330 Preschool work - Shapes, colors, letters, numbers
330-400 Pick up Aidan
.........You get the picture

Needles to say the important pieces got done and I'm quickly learning that kids have their own schedule and I need to chill and adjust :)

Coming out - No Jill not that kind!

Now I do not want to trivialize homosexuality and what it must mean to “come out” but it felt like I was doing something against the social norm and I don't quite know what to expect when telling people.

I found I would typically get three different responses
1) That’s amazing, good for you for taking time and focusing on the kids while there young.
2) Ah, what….wow…ya…I guess that’s good
3) Well, if you can afford it….so are you doing this full time or still going to be doing something?

I can't really predict how people will react as some I assumed would be totally the number one response and turned out to be a number 2.

I have had a few great conversations with some guys with older kids who wish they could have spent more time or quality time with their kids when they were younger. I believe they are sincere and it helps in my decision.

The Decision

Jess and I were both busy in careers and finding ourselves in the pickup and drop the kids mode more often than not. Although the financial benefit of two incomes was great I felt that there was something missing and that we should be doing more for our boys. I got to tell you that it felt like I didn't know my own kids after awhile and it killed me to rush them out the door and drop them off at daycare. We decided that we needed a change, one for the kids and two for our own sanity.

We talked about getting a Nanny, finding a day home, moving grandparents and part time schedules for a number of months and then we decided that if one of us could stay home that would be best for the family.

So why me? Well for a number of reasons.
1) although I loved my team and the BU, I had been working for my company for just short 7 yrs and felt that now was a good time for a change.
2) Jess makes more money . Yippy!
3) I love my boys and love a challenge
4) Over the past few years I have neglected to focus on myself and training and thought I would take the opportunity to assess what I want to be when I grow up!
5) I love my boys!