Daddy Talk: Road Trip

Having a Thanksgiving celebration on the road can be tough on the participants involved.
Thinking about the details, you have something like a 1 in 140 chance of dying in a car accident on America's roads. Add to that a screaming baby and the whole idea of a road trip seems like a bad idea. But it wasn't.

The boy is still pretty unreasonable when he gets cranky, but mostly you know what's coming down. It's food or he needs to take a friggin' nap and won't. The nap is the killer as you can't spoon up a nap. Seeing family after driving 8 hours on the road really has its own fun and sense of relief when you reach your destination. In this case, mostly relief as the boy went to sleep. Surprisingly enough he didn't wear down quite enough and was up bright and early the next day.

Add the stress of travel to and from the location as well as cooking Thanksgiving dinner and you have the makings of at least one or two blowups. I am proud to say with all that we had only one and a really tasty turkey and a pretty good Thanksgiving celebration.

Week of Gratitude: Black Friday

Today, I am thankful that most of my Christmas shopping is already done! Be careful out there.

Week of Gratitude: Thanksgiving Day

I am grateful for my wonderful Aunt Dianna. I'm also thankful my family and I get to spend this holiday with her. While no one can ever replace my mom -- or replace Milo's grandma -- Aunt D is as generous and kind as her older sister and reminds me so much of Mom. My aunt and I lost touch for a while but have seen a lot of each other since Milo was born. And for that, I am especially thankful.

Aunt D holding baby me

Aunt D holding Baby Milo

I wasn't as grateful as a baby as Milo was. Check out that smile for his Auntie!

I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Week of Gratitude: Wednesday

I am thankful for Albert -- significant other, partner in crime, friend, companion, father of my child, winner of bread, killer of spiders and other creepy crawlies.

I don't say it often enough, but I love him and am really glad we found each other.

And we make a pretty cute damn family, if I do say so myself.

Week of Gratitude: Tuesday

I am thankful for my healthy and (mostly) happy little boy. He makes me laugh every day.

Goofy faces + Mommy's slippers = Laughs

Week of Gratitude: Monday

This week many of us will travel to see family or host a holiday gathering. Many others won't, for whatever reason, do anything out of the ordinary. No matter what our situation, we all have something to be grateful for. (If you're reading this, you at least have access to technology. So there's that.)

Who isn't grateful for cheesy grins?

Today, I am grateful for the everyday things I don't normally think about -- like running water that's safe and clean, central heating that comes on automatically, access to the world at the touch of a button (whether on the TV, the computer or my phone -- how amazing is that?!), the ability to clean my clothes without getting my hands wet and many other things I take for granted. I am grateful for a roof over my head and the guys I share it with.

What are you grateful for at this time of giving thanks?

Daddy Talk: Time's running out

I am definitely in some kind of rut. I keep getting the feeling that time is running out. Knowing that, I still can't seem to break out of this routine. For many reasons I feel like I am not keeping up or getting ahead. I'm just spinning my wheels. So much to do and so little time.

I worry about the future and my career. I keep saving and saving, hoping there will be enough money for retirement and for Milo's college. Yet, even though both are at least 20 years away, I'm afraid I won't have enough saved. I want to change careers but stay where I am for some reason.

I feel like I'll blink and Milo will be 5. I blink again and he's an adult, again and he has his own kids. My fears and issues travel from one end of the spectrum to the other -- from my personal life to my work life. Unfortunately I have no clue how to bump out of it.

Despite -- or because of -- his worries, he's a great, supportive daddy. -- Pam