All in a Dad's work

My oldest daughter has not been sleeping well the past two days because of pain in her throat and right ear. Last night my wife and I discussed who's turn it was to stay home with the sick kid. I lost. So, after a restless night Sandra went to her office this morning and I took care of the kids.

A little after 7 AM my oldest son woke up and dressed himself. Thank goodness for small blessings. So, I woke and dressed the three-year-old as Bailey (the sick one) wandered into my bedroom. When Sandra got to her office she called the Pediatrician to make an appointment. As I was setting out breakfast of cereal I noticed we were out of milk. So, I started making toast with honey and peanut butter when the phone rang. Sandra called to let me know the Pediatrician appointment was at 10:15 AM.

That should allow me time to get the three-year-old to daycare and Spencer to the bus stop. After hanging up the phone I turned on the T.V. to some cartoons. Then I continued to make breakfast. Spencer, hungry as usual, took the first two slices of toast and PB/Honey. I made four more slices, two for the girls and two for me. We sat and ate breakfast. Soon it was time to get out the door.

We searched for shoes, coats, backpacks, snugglies, etc. for a few minutes. Spencer, who rarely feels cold weather, insisted on not wearing a coat. I checked the thermometer. It read 26-degrees Fahrenheit. I told him to wear a coat. He just looked at me, so I asked if he left it in his mom's car. He nodded yes, and swore that he doesn't need one. Ha! I grabbed my running jacket out of the front closet and put it on him. He frowned and gave me an evil look, but kept the coat on and went outside with his backpack.

That left me with the two girls. Bailey put her coat and shoes on readily, probably because she knew she wasn't going to school this morning. Bridget whined about her shoes, snugglies, unfinished breakfast, and her coat. I bundled her up and made sure she was dressed completely. I left her hair undone because I knew I had rubber bands in the car. We shuffled out the garage door to the car. The kids climbed in and got ready to leave.

That was when I noticed Trevor (the neighborhood kid) was waiting on the doorstep of our next-door neighbors house. I rolled down the window, to the protests of Spencer, and asked him if he wanted a ride to the bus stop. He jogged over to the car and climbed in the passenger side. We were on our way. As we rode Spencer grilled Trevor about racing to the bus stop. Spencer was upset that Trevor ran to be the first in line to the bus stop yesterda. Trevor replied that he was first because he tried to get to the bus stop first by running faster. Spencer grumbled.

I stopped the truck at the bus stop, Spencer and Trevor got out and Bailey and Bridget stayed in the car. I waited until the bus arrived, then I drove Bailey and Bridget to the day care. On the way I stopped to fill up the tank with gas from the 100% gas store. When we arrived at the day care Bailey went inside with me and Bridget. I put Bridget's hair up in pony tails with some of the rubber bands I found in her cubby hole. Then Bailey and I left the classroom to our next destination.

I called Sandra to let her know that all the kids got off to school. She suggested I go to the bank near the Pediatrician. Since I was concerned I would not be able to find it easily. I insisted that I should go to the bank near the house first.

Have you ever tried to plot out the logistics of daily errands? You know, plotting out the best path to arrive at each location not only at the best time possible, but within certain time constraints. In my case I crafted two plans; plan A and plan B.

Plan A: I would visit the bank first, then return the item to the store and get credit, then pay for the kids' spring break day-camp, then go to the Pediatrician, then pick up the Rx (if necessary) then take Bailey to school (if she wasn't contagious), and finally go to my office to perform my daily job. It gets tricky, all this planning out plan A and then plan B.

Plan B: stay home the rest of the day with Bailey, and I would call in sick myself. I didn't like Plan B.

The trip to the bank was uneventful. I filled out the deposit slip and put the check and slip in the tube. Then pressed the button. After a few minutes the teller sent back a receipt. Voila. Instant deposit. Next, to the store.

Again, an uneventful trip. Bailey and I parked the car and walked into the store. I was second in line to return the iron. I presented the iron and receipt to the customer service rep. She entered some numbers to credit my VISA. Then, she handed me a receipt. Voila. Instant return. Next, to the school services center.

We hopped into the car and drove to the school services center. I found a parking spot near the front entrance. Bailey and I walked inside. I signed in and picked up a guest badge. Bailey admired the water fountain in the front entrance. Then we walked upstairs to the clerk. I wrote a check to enroll Spencer and Bailey in the spring camp. I handed the check and enrollment form to the clerk, and she accepted it. Next, to the Pediatrician.

We hopped in the car with 30 minutes to get to the Peditrician's office. Time to spare. We drove "Mr. Toad's Wild Ride" style on the expressway, then exited on the small two-lane city street. We drove through the parking garage to the third floor and parked the car. We entered the Doctor office and signed in. I paid our insurance co-pay while Bailey played on the little playground (an elderly woman told her to be careful). After about 15 minutes of waiting we were taken into the room. The nurse swabbed Bailey's throat for strep (results were negative) and then the Dr. came in. She visited with Bailey and checked her out, then diagnosed an ear infection. The Doctor wrote a Rx and we left. Next, to the Pharmacist.

After another "Mr. Toad's Wile Ride" to the pharmacy, which happens to be in the same Target where I returned the iron earlier, we parked the car. We walked inside and handed the Rx to the pharmacist. He asked his usual questions about "would you like generic" and "do you want this to be flavored 'bubble-gum' or 'grape'?". Bailey chose grape since bubble-gum flavor makes her throw up. We then walked around the store looking at toys and candy (I bought a small pack of jelly beans) before returning to the pharmacy. I signed and paid for the Rx and we left to get something to eat.

We arrived at the Wendy's, drove through the drive through, and picked up our food. We then went home to let the dog inside for a while, and we ate our lunch. Bailey played with her "prize" toy from her lunch bag. Then she took her medicine (no throw up) and I cleaned up while she grabbed her backpack. I let the dog outside and we locked up the house, climbed in the car, and drove to her school. I walked her inside and checked her in with the receptionist. After I kissed her head and said "have a great day" I left.

Plan A was coming to an end. I drove to my office and started my work day by checking mail, listening to voice mail, and responding to incoming customer calls/e-mails. The day went by as usual. We have gymnastics tonight, and the kids have baths. I am hoping to play catch with Spencer before the sun sets. But, I see that the sun is now setting.

So much for plans.

Cool Dad Award

I meant to post this yesterday, but the day got away from me. Yesterday morning I was awarded the "Cool Dad" award. I was so proud. Here is how it happened. When I dropped Spencer and Bailey at the bus stop a gaggle of kids were across the street sliding on a puddle of ice. My kids, of course, wanted to run over and play too.

I was the only "parent" at the bus stop this morning. I figured that, as long as they were out of the road it would be alright. So, I walked my kids over to the group of children and they started kicking and sliding on the ice. I stood guard to keep them out of the street.

Eventually one of the other children said "Spencer's Dad is cool. Mrs. [Roberts] would make us stop playing over here". When I heared that I felt both happy and embarrassed. I mean, hey, I was just called cool by another 8 year old kid. That is quite an honor. But, at the same time, I was not acting like a scrooge (a.k.a. adult) either. So, I started to count down from 30 in my head before telling the kids to get back across the street.

By the time I got to 20 one of the kids kicked his foot through the ice and started splashing muddy water on me and some of the other kids. With that I let everyone know it was time to get back to the bus stop. None of them complained as they walked in single file across the street with me playing crossing guard. Some of the kids started politely chatting with me. I felt like a father hen, the hero of the day, superman. It was cool. The bus arrived almost 1 minute earlier than usual, which shortened my cloud ride. The kids got on the bus and I was still feeling the buzz of being a "cool dad".

Of course I bragged about it all day at the office.

No Impact Man and Lent

Sandra and I just finished watching "No Impact Man". It is about 11:00 PM and my youngest daughter is still awake. She watched it with us too. She has no opinion about the movie. She just wants to stay awake until she passes out. On the other hand, Sandra and I would like nothing more than to go to sleep. But, I'm writing in my Blog instead.

I liked "No Impact Man" because I am interested in recycling and caring for this great gift we call Earth. One thing I liked most about the movie was that I did not have to try the experiment for myself. I have a hard enough time getting the plastic to the M.E.T. I can only imagine what it would be like to do what he and his wife and daughter did that year. Kudos to his family.

One of the things I did not like about it was incredible selfishness of the husband, and the lack of a religious perspective. After the movie both Sandra and I started talking about how we would make this sort of movie. One of the ideas we agreed on was that we both would like to put a focus on living naturally to glorify God. I know that sounds religiously whacko... but if you ever watch the movie "No Impact Man" you will probably consider him a sociopath whacko too.

As we talked about giving up "things" we started to talk about the upcoming Lent season. Sure, most people are excited about Mardi Gras, as usual. Don't get me wrong, I can't wait for Mardi Gras and king cake and beads. But, this year we are really excited about Lent. Is that wrong?

So, Sandra and I came up with a list of things we will forgo during this Lent. For those of you out there, like I was for almost 35 years of my life, who do not know what Lent is, here are the brass tacks. Lent is a time period of 40 days before Easter. Christians who celebrate Lent generally fast or give up something important to them for the 40 day period. During Lent, Christians imitate Jesus Christ's 40 days in the wilderness.

My family and I do not intend to fast, so we are planning to give up something such as T.V., or fast food, or candy, etc... To tell you the truth, we are kind of new to observing Lent. Maybe I am breaking some sort of Christian code by even talking about this all. Oh well.

In any case, I enjoyed the movie "No Impact Man", and we are looking forward to Lent. I am not sure what I will give up, but it certainly will not be nearly as uncomfortable as spending 40 days in the wilderness. It's funny. The "No Impact Man" man gave up Earthly comforts for a year in order to improve the Earth. Jesus left behind Heaven for 33 years to save mankind. I guess Jesus was the complete opposite of "No Impact Man". You could say Jesus was "Impact Man" because his sacrifice is ever lasting.

Taking care of business

Sometimes I feel torn between going to work and staying home with the kids. Both my wife and I work "9 to 5" jobs. I must admit that I am blessed to do the work that I do. I have a lot of free time that most other jobs do not provide. But, neither my job or my family life seems completely fulfilled either way. It is as though I am riding the fence between being a software superstar, or a world-class father. I can 100% to give, and try to give 100% to both responsibilities. I wonder if any other father's think their jobs are more of a problem than a solution when it comes to the success of their family.

Finding time for exercise

Finding time to exercise is difficult. Especially when everyone in the family is a "night owl".

Everyone knows that exercise is important for a healthy body and mind. When I was a kid in school, at some time during the day me and my classmates were allowed to run around outside or indoors (depending on the weather) to play. I remember swinging on the swings, playing tag, climbing monkey bars, and just running around outside. When I would come home from school my friends and I would play soccer, baseball, or army men. Most of my day would be spent standing, walking, running, or playing.

Time has passed and I am now an adult. As an adult I spend a lot of time sitting at a PC or sitting in a meeting, or sitting to eat lunch/breakfast/dinner. I sit in the car on the way to work, and I sit in the car on the way home from work. I sit on the couch to watch T.V. or lay in bed to play on the laptop before going to sleep. I sit, sit, sit, sit, and I do not like it one bit.

My father was an army drill instructor. As I was growing up he taught me a lot about physical fitness. He never stressed body building, or emphasized competitive physical activity such as running or sports of any sort. He stressed the importance of NOT sitting around doing nothing.... was that a sentence? I was growing up during the, as he called it, "MTV watching and Twinkie Eating" (soon to be called Generation X) generation.

So, every now and again he and I would jog in the mornings or evenings. I hated it. I tried baseball but was too afraid of getting hurt from the pitch that I never tried joining a team. I was never large enough for football, and thought soccer was not really a sport. I was also asthmatic, so physical exertion usually ended up with me sucking on an inhaler, or struggling to breathe. Exercise was painful. But I knew I needed to exercise to stay healthy.

So, I joined the band. I played a large brass instrument called a "Baritone". The practice improved my lung capacity, which helped mitigate my asthma. I marched in the late summer and fall, and played concerts in the winter and spring. I played the Baritone from sixth to twelfth grade. Then, after graduation, I never played another note. I started smoking instead..

Fast forward 20 years into the future (the present) and here I am. I am no longer smoking (I quit about 12 years ago) and I am much more physically fit than I was in school. I noticed on my 30th birthday that I no longer needed my inhaler. It was as though I suddenly got new lungs. I ran my first 5k when I turned 30, and ran in the Tulsa Run. My wife and I started having children, and the sitting on my butt began.

I have tried many different types of physical exercise. These include running, calisthenics, pilates, and Sony Eye-Toy or Dance Dance Revolution. I exercise in the office with elastic bands sometimes, or I will stretch, do push ups, or jumping jacks for a few minutes. I am not always consistent about my exercise. I just know that it is important for health. I also know that I feel like a million bucks whenever I start an exercise routine.

So, the point of this story is that exercise comes and goes. It comes in all sorts of forms. As long as I am getting up and moving in some way or another I feel good. When I sit for long periods of time, day after day, I feel like a puddle of mud. As of this writing I have been dieting for almost four weeks, and I have followed an exercise program religiously for two weeks.

Finding time to exercise with a family of five, with two full-time jobs, and two dogs in the house, is very difficult. But, I have made it my mission to exercise at least an hour a day. My wife and I try to get the kids to bed early (9:00 PM is early) so we can get on the treadmill or use the weight bench. My wife and I are also members of Weight Watchers. So far I have lost almost 6 lbs. I feel great, and my pants and shirts fit me better. I have my jawline back!

Check out my postings on http://www.fatsecret.com/member/BAJennings. I record my diet and exercise there almost daily.

Guilt

I stayed up too late last night watching a horror movie. Yes, the kids were "in bed" (meaning they were supposed to be asleep, but were instead crying or playing) upstairs so I was able to put in the movie "28 days later". This is a wonderful zombie-style movie and I recommend watching it.

Yesterday I looked forward to how productive I would be when evening came. I planned on working hard in the house, scanning household documents, scheduling bills, shredding unnecessary paperwork, cleaning the downstairs, and doing all sorts of productive things. Instead, I sat and watched a movie while drinking a nightcap. It was so nice to relax in the silence of my own house that I just sat... and relaxed. Today, I feel like I wasted precious time last night.

When you find an hour of silence at home in the evening, do you ever just do nothing?

Family Emergencies during the workday

When the workday starts, family life does not end. Managing family emergencies during the workday can be a real hassle.

We had a late start to the day today. I think the alarm clock needs to be moved to another location in the bedroom. I figure if I have to find the alarm clock I might wake up a bit faster. Fortunately, Bridget slept in bed with us last night. If she hadn't been kicking me in the ribs this morning I would probably still be asleep.

Last month Bridget broke her thumb (the large one between the first thumb knuckle and the wrist) in an accident at Bounce-U. She has been wearing a splint wrapped in ACE bandages for a month now. Yesterday Sandra took her to the Orthopedic Specialist for another X-Ray and examination. The Doctor told us Bridget needs to wear the splint for another two-weeks. Bummer.

So, last night Sandra removed the splint and gave Bridget a bath. After the bath I re-wrapped the splint. I must have done something wrong because Bridget did not sleep very well. She woke up crying about her hand hurting. We remove the splint and tried to wrap her hand again. But, she squirmed and squirmed, which made it really hard to put the splint back on. We eventually got it back on.

Now, we were already running late for school and work. Re-wrapping the splint delayed us even more. After re-wrapping the splint Bridget still wasn't happy. I couldn't see anything wrong with the splint so I went downstairs to finish dressing the kids and make breakfast while Sandra finished getting dressed. When Sandra finished she took the older two kids, Spencer and Bailey, to the bus stop. I fed Bridget, who was in an awful mood. Then I packed her up in the car and drove to her day care.

When I dropped Bridget off she was v-e-r-y clingy. She just wanted to be held, and it broke my heart to leave her at day care. But, I knew she was in great hands because Jenny (her favorite teacher) was there. Without much delay I left the day care and hot-footed it up the hill to my office. Still running late....

About an hour later my wife called to let me know the day care called because Bridget has not stopped crying since I left her there. Sandra said she would go check on her and see if the splint is causing trouble. I hung up. A few minutes later Sandra called to tell me she had a last-minute meeting and couldn't go check on Bridget after all. So, I let my co-workers know I was going down the hill to the day care. As I was getting in my car Sandra called me. She said the meeting was over and she could go check on Bridget. So, I went back inside to let my co-workers know I was not going to the day care after all.

Sandra called me later to say she re-wrapped the splint. It appeared the rough part of the splint was rubbing Bridget's hand. So Sandra put a bandaid and some ointment on the rubbed area. Bridget was in a much better mood afterward.

In situations like this it is nice to have things resolved to everyone's satisfaction. I am glad Sandra was able to check on Bridget. Actually, Sandra was able to hand out Bridget's birthday invitations while she was at the daycare. So, things really worked out well this time.

Weekly Grocery Shopping

Grocery shopping is a pain in the rear end. Usually my wife and I share the responsibility. But, being a little bit of a control freak I like to do the shopping as often as possible.

About a year ago I started using Franklin Covey's Shopping and Menu planner forms. On one side of the form is a weekly chart divided into days and three meals per day. Each weekend I take the chart and rummage through the refrigerator and pantry to see what kinds of meals we can make from what we have on hand. My wife tweaks it to make the meals healthy, or tasty. Then we write down the meals on the chart. If we need a meal component I add that item to the shopping list.

Using the list has helped us cut down on about 200 dollars extra spending each month. Plus, we only go grocery shopping once per week instead of making numerous trips during the week to pick up things we "need".

I went shopping last night.... late. I had originally planned to shop earlier, but "things" came up during the day, such as playing in the snow with the kids, and making lunches and dinners, and general cleanup and household maintenance. Eventually, about 7:30 PM, I hopped in the car and went grocery shopping at the local Target. Let me tell you, Sunday night is the WORST day to go shopping. The store stock is very low on just about everything.

Nonetheless, I managed to buy everything on the list... plus some extras. I bought chocolate candy to bring into the office, and a new baseball glove and baseballs for my son's upcoming baseball practices, as well as some printing paper for the office. Not a bad deal.

Two hours and one-hundred-and-eighty-eight dollars later (including coupons) I drove home to unload the goodies. Sandra helped me unpack and put away the items. Man, was I tired.