As some of you should know by now, we decided to just use a picture of our little ones for our Christmas card this year.  It was fast, easy and we thought they turned out well.  But getting one photo that was decent enough to use, well, that was not fast or easy.  Alex would only smile for a split second, Jessica wasn't feeling well, and tried her hardest to muster a smile, but it just didn't work.  And Aubrey, well, she is just Aubrey.  You never quite know what you...

I just have to say, San Chonino is a stud.  For his spring break, he booked a flight and came out to visit us. He spent about a week with us, and it was great.  He is one of the funniest guys around, is great with the little kids, and is just a lot of fun all around.  He got down on the ground and played with our little ones.  He joked with them, read them stories, did puzzles, and just basically let them abuse him.  There aren't too many college kids who would choos...

We married almost 8 1/2 years ago.  Since that time we have lived in apartments, in close proximity to others.  Since that time we have owned a piano, and my wife has taught lessons.  Never before has this caused problems. Until now. Apparently, our neighbors find anything more than playing once or twice every couple of weeks to be excessive.  My wife teaches for about 2 hours an afternoon on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.  Our daughter has to practice for a lit...

Well, not too long ago I wrote a piece about how I play, at times, Mr. Mom .  Feeding my the family, bathing the kids and putting them to bed, washing, ironing, and even an occasional bathroom are all within the realm of reason.  Well, this weekend the rubber meets the road. My wife's grandfather passed away peacefully this week.  We really wanted her to be able to be there for her family, but didn't think it would be possible.  However, we realized that I wouldn't ha...

I quite vividly recall the movie "Mr. Mom".  I don't know what it was about it, but I really liked that movie when I was a kid.  I am sure there were things about it I just didn't get, but I thought the scenes of this poor dad trying to figure out how to actually raise his children were hilarious. Interestingly, in many ways I have become a Mr. Mom. It isn't because of anything my father did.  Don't take that the wrong way, please.  My dad is amazing, and he was (and co...

I don't normally hit my children. I don't think it is a good discipline tool, and rarely really seems to be effective. But sometimes you have to make exceptions. Like last night. I had little other choice than to really wallop on our oldest. She needed it, no doubt about it. I smacked her, and I smacked her good. You see, she was choking. Now, I know, I could have put her on her back and administered abdominal thrusts, but she was small enough and the adrenaline was pumping, so ...

Parents are insane. No, really. They are. Just ask any one of them. To decide to disrupt your perfectly stable, adult, sophisticated home with little creatures who can't care for themselves, usually ignore what you say to them, can't communicate worth a darn (at least at the beginning, though I would argue the communication problems persist for many years), and just generally require all your energy, is not the act of sensible minds. Nope, we are insane. But being insane is help...

Thursday morning, 8:00 am. The pager goes off. "Hey, we are rounding in the unit at 8:00 this morning" "Really. Was anyone planning on telling me I needed to be there an hour early?" "Oh, um, yeah, the other student was supposed to let you know. I guess he forgot." "Wow, well ain't that just a bummer. The deal is, since no one bothered to tell me, I am taking my daughter to school this morning. Sorry, won't be there until about 9:00. " And that was that. After all, it was...

We stand at a crossroads. Behind us is the path down which we have walked for the past nine months. There are many bumps in that road, more than our fair share I feel at times. But who can really say just how many bumps is fair? I suppose no one can. Before us we see two roads. Both extend toward that interminable horizon. Both have plenty of bumps along the way. Both involve loss, though loss of very different kinds. We might wish the choice will be made for us. I doubt it will b...

I called my mom a while back. I call her more often than that, but I called with a specific purpose. I had her get my dad on the other phone. I had something important to tell them. "Mom, dad, I am so, so sorry." They were confused. Being something of an adult now, living as far away from them as we do, I don't have too many chances to screw things up with them or offend in any way. So I could understand and appreciate their confusion. I decided I had better clarify. "I am so s...

I have been fortunate in my life. Love has hurt me very little. As anyone else, I have had a few minor dings and contusions. Crushes of youth that were not reciprocated and the like. The few hurts that were more severe did, as I matured, become less significant. The first time I dared to truly love someone I was one of the fortunate to have that love returned, amplified, and we have now built a life upon that love. Our sweet children are too young to step on our hearts. I have been i...

I feel old. Very old. That I am tired is a given, and to be expected, so I won't try to act surprised. But I just feel old, burdened by responsibility larger than my mere 28 years. I understand my wife and I chose to have children early in our lives (most likely far earlier than many think we should have). I don't regret that, not for a minute. We love our children and our lives are far more rich because they are part of it. But our oldest is just in Kindergarten. There are only s...

Saying that Real Life has been insane lately would be a bit of an understatement. Studying, lab responsibilities, family visiting, wife singing some concerts, and four children to care for. . . Interestingly, it is the oldest and the youngest that have required the most attention. The youngest simply because Big Al is only 7 weeks old. The oldest because she is old enough to make poor choices, and consequences follow. Sadly that has left the two middle ones, our very own Jess and Aub...

It has happened.  I have officially become a "Soccer Dad". Yeah, yeah.  I know they always talk about "Soccer Moms", but my Y chromosome prohibits that from being an accurate label.  We don't have the mini-van or the SUV (though my wife really wants the mini-van), and we aren't all that preppy, but our daughter began soccer last night.  It was an interesting experience.  Half way through she didn't seem too excited.  Water break led to me putting my arms arou...

It is interesting how quickly the 2+ weeks have gone by since Big Al joined our lives. In fact, most of the time we find ourselves asking where the days have gone. But what is most odd is that it all just seems like one really long day. Really long. I'm not going to complain, because Big Al is really sleeping pretty good. He is now sort of on a schedule of eating right before we go to bed at around 11:00 pm, then he wakes up once more during the night (anywhere between 3:00 and 5:00)...