Saturday, August 3, 2013

The Beginning


My Journey as a Stay at Home Dad begins on July 31, 2013. My Wife went into set up her room and I was ALONE. I have been left alone with all three but never for the entire day. We awoke early to begin the preparations just like a regular work day for my wife so she could start getting used to the schedule she would have to maintain for the school year. The day was going great everyone had breakfast and played. My son likes to play on the pool deck (we have a safety fence around the pool so do worry) outside with the dog.  He asked for some chips, in pink bowl. SO me being the good father I oblige and give him his snack in the required bowl. He took them outside and sat on the deck next to the dog. I was watching him through the window as he places the bowl on the ground. Now, anyone with a dog knows what will result. He didn’t miss a beat he and the dog shared the chips and when finished he came in and asked for more… "Can Chloe and I have some more chips?”

I even took on the project of sorting the clothes in my oldest son’s closet and finished. Everything was going awesome…

When done I was watching the twins fight over some toys and I started think….hmmm QUIET 2-Year-Old…OHH SHH! The hunt begins! I start my search and I don’t locate him. So I call out is name… ”I’m Right Here” he responds. When I finally discover where here is my jaw drops. We had a party for my dad’s 60th birthday party at our house a few days before and had plastic cups and people wrote their names on the cup with a marker. Everyone is thinking about this and has done this knows what kind of marker used for this task. SHARPIE. Enough said right oh no it was amazing. He had it EVERYWHERE.  


See what I mean EVERYWHERE, even the chair in the background.

His response to being caught... "I didn't mean to."
Me: umm
Him: I did it in Mommy's Classroom
Me: umm
Him: I didn't mean to.
Me: its okay

I even texted my wife the picture and she showed it around work and got a few laughs.

Product Review:

Sharpie Marker:
I love Sharpie Markers and anything with the Sharpie name, but when you are at the store and buy a Sharpie Marker buy an Expo Marker too (it’s like a Magic Eraser for Sharpie Markers, except on walls) I can tell it’s a quality marker in that it takes 4 to 5 coats of paint to cover a scrubbed down drawing on the wall. It make a difficult to remove body paint not recommended for this use.

               

Magic Eraser:

                WOW… No mess is too tough.

Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Beginnings of a Plan

                              Every adventure requires a plan. Is mine a good plan? I hope so... I am going to treat it like a full-time job, because it is.  I am going to have my own uniform…okay so shorts a t-shirts are much of a uniform but it’s not boxers or pajamas. I am going to follow a schedule...flexible schedule. I am going to do thing differently and try to maintain a sharp and active mind.  I have procured materials from the dollar store and plan on using my K-6 skills to teach a two year old to read.
                I have the idealistic approach and need to maintain the closest I can to the schedule I set and follow it as much as I can to the letter. I have to be patient and understanding to the needs of children come first and the schedules also need to be flexible too. Structure is a good thing but it isn’t always what is best.  Children can’t always follow a schedule.
                I have to maintain focus and keep a goal in mind. I am going to measure each day as a success or failure. I am going to keep the house clean, cook dinner, and do laundry and dishes. I would also like to use down time to watch a movie or play Xbox. I should be able to have some time.
Revisions to the plan have to come as needed so I have to remember to be flexible. I think a good goal would be to not need to call 911 or have a severe injury of sorts.
COMING SOON: Awesome Idiosyncrasies of the Children of a SAHD
Weekly Posts to follow…

Introduction


Hello let me first introduce myself. My name is Marc and I am a thirty-four year old unemployed father of three (a two year old boy, Kyler ,and 8 month old twins, a boy, Kole, and a girl, Kennedy), about to begin the adventure of being a stay at home father. My kids are more important to me well over a job. I am also educated; I have a degree in Elementary Education with endorsements in Reading and ESOL. I was a 5th grade teacher at a local public school and I was non-renewed.

I have been a father for a little over two years… What was my life like before fatherhood? Well My wife and I were living on one income, hers. She is a teacher at a public elementary school and I was in school and subbing. I did everything but I monopolized my free time by playing video games and watching movies.  We had been married for just under two years and we got the wonderful line on the stick. I later wrapped it in a box and gave it to my mother to tell her the news. She was thrilled about the new but not the pee. We didn’t wait long to tell but I told one person first, My Uncle Jim. Why would I tell him first? Well I wanted him to know that we were going to use his wife my Auntie’s name (Robin) as a middle name. We were going to tell everyone the big news the next day. I was getting ready to sub and was halted from my routine by a phone call; it was my mom with news of her own. Her news would both break my heart and make me believe in something more than myself for the first time in my life. My Uncle Jim passed away shortly after I spoke to him. I was devastated, and I called my mom’s side of the family that day to tell them the news of the baby, it was such an uplifting moment at a difficult time of need.

We eventually started looking to buy a house that was larger than what we were renting. We finally chose a four bedroom and 3 baths home. We had an experience in purchasing the Short Sell home. We started in April and finally closed in July. We moved in quickly because School was about to start and I was finishing up with my internship.

With us settled in and awaiting the grand arrival of Kyler Robin. His entrance was perfect. I could not ask for anything more.  Life was perfect. We had a home with a pool, and enough room to grow, there was even a man cave for myself.

I finished school and subbed while Kyler eventually land in a home daycare. I took a long-term position to finish out the year. I was hired that summer to teach fifth grade and we began to enjoy our life with Kyler. As my first year of teaching finished we found out we were having another.  At an appointment the doctor informed us there might be more than one baby in there…and the rest is history.

Let’s get into the events that led to my current condition…THEY ARE UNKNOWN. Why would I not know? As a resident of the state of Florida I am told I don’t have a right to know it is a right to work state, so I am left to only guess and read the mind of the principal who didn’t think enough of me to give me a third year teaching, or second year for her.  

What would my guess be for my current condition? I can only make this assumption and keep that in mind I hope this is not the reason, only because I hope someone that is in control of a school that educates elementary school kids could be this sadistic. My guess is that I missed a large amount of time last school year, I would say close to 20 days, the year before it was far smaller, in fact I had days remaining at the  end of the year. What was the cause for my increase, well that is the sadistic part, my wife was pregnant with twins, a well-known fact, and I had a two year old that was often sick with numerous illnesses that eventually landed him in the hospital 3 times this calendar year, twice for illness, and once for the removal of his tonsils and adenoids, with the insertion of tubes in his ears. We later took him to an immunologist and he was diagnosed with suspected periodic fever syndrome. (Not confirmed and could never be confirmed because there is an 80% cure rate for periodic fever syndrome with tonsillectomy)