Date with Santa

In keeping with a Stony Hill (Bethel) tradition Jax got to meet Santa on the Stony Hill Fire Truck outside my parents house. He was making his last few rounds before heading back to the North Pole for final XMAS prep.

The kid wasn’t even phased. Can’t scare this little guy with a fat belly and white beard… Take that HoHoHo and save it for someone who is crying. Jax? He just wants a photo op.

It was pretty cute though. Jax was in awe! Just staring at him. It’s was a cool moment since it’s where I grew up. This was where I used to see Santa every Christmas as a kid.

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Sleep Over with Mima and Grandpa Pete đź’”

Readers Warning: I’m going to sound like a whiny first time parent.

I Feel horrible, just plain awful… We’re terrible parents… I mean our hearts are literally the same size as the Grinch’s!

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We left our child… Don’t get me wrong…. We didn’t leave the kid in a kennel or anything. He staying with Mima and Grandpa Pete (my parents) but he’s still not with us nonetheless. He legitimately is gone.

The house is quiet, there’s no diapers to be changed, no oatmeal to be made… I’m actually not sure what to do with myself. Mom is already filling the the tub with enough bath salts to turn half the neighborhood into zombies, but I’m pretty sure I just heard her crying a little bit.

So how does this work? How long is a child allowed to sleep over someone else’s house before you actually are bad parents? I had to consult with the social worker at my school to check that it was normal to leave your seven month old for the night. She said it was OK. She also gave me this safe advise: “Kevin’s parents went to France and left him home alone and he turned out fine!” There’s a chance she also thinks there’s something wrong with me considering I went to her and had a serious sit down conversation about this situation. (Then again I’m sure she probably already thinks I’m nuts… So no big deal on hat end!)

I guess I’ll have to do my best to keep busy… Maybe even catch up on some
sle…. 💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤💤

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What the Hell is Figgy Pudding?!!

I guess seven and a half months isn’t old enough to get the whole Christmas thing… but you have to start somewhere right?  So I started thinking about the holiday itself, not the religious meaning or where Christmas actually began, but just the perspective of a baby who is still trying to figure out the world around him.

I can literally see his little brain working… his inner thoughts are asking: “Dad, why the hell did you plant a tree inside the house?”  “Hey guys, did you know that you left some colored nightlights on outside?”  “Mom, you know how your always complaining that the dryer eats all the socks… well I think I found the ones you’re looking for.  They’re hanging up on the fireplace!”

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You spend every waking minute talking to your baby.  Teaching them about life, about nature and about how things work.  Then all of a sudden, Christmas comes… things are turned upside down, people change… How do you explain this to someone who still puts anything in front of them in their mouth?  Where do you begin?  What do you say that can spell out what is going on in their own home?  The thing is… I don’t think you can… I am going to go under the assumption that the first few Christmases are about the moms and the dads and especially about the grandmas and the grandpas (sounds like a 1970s band).

I am confident that Jax is loving all the extra things lying around the house that are (to him) edible… I know over the past few years the dogs sure have enjoyed eating hundreds of decorations and ornaments.  Jackson is going to have to just deal with the fact that a big fat (healthy fat we like to say) is able to break into our house and walk around freely with no consequences.  “No Jax the alarm does not work on Santa.”  “No Jax Santa will not burn his buttcrack on the fire.”  No Jackson, Santa will not be happy if you leave him a dirty diaper.”

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400 words later and I haven’t even introduced Jax to the Abominable Snowman, Hermey, Buddy the Elf, or the Wet Bandits… or the fact that we dress up Buster and Max for XMAS too.  This is going to be a long Christmas break….

A Self-Guided Tour of a Marriage with a Seven Month Old

I’d say this is pretty close to a normal weekday script the last few weeks

MONDAY-

530AM

WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?

ME:  No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave.  I’d like to try to get to the gym if I get out early enough.

330PM

ME:  Completely forgot that we have an administrative meeting tonight.  No gym.

WIFE:  So you’re not going to be home on time…?

745PM

ME:  I’m sorry…

WIFE: I’m exhausted I’m go to bed.

 

TUESDAY-

530AM

WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?

ME:  No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave.  Definitely going to the gym though after work.

330PM

ME:  Completely forgot that we have open house tonight.  No gym, going to leave right when it’s over.

WIFE:  So you’re not going to be home on time…?

815PM

ME:  I’m exhausted…

WIFE:  YOU!??!!

 

WEDNESDAY-

630AM

ME:  Shit… It’s 630?!  I slept through the alarm?!!

WIFE:  We didn’t set a alarm, we never do.

ME:  Ohhh right, ok no gym.  But definitely going tomorrow.

WIFE: Do you have any plans today, or will you be right home after work?

ME:  No plans, I’ll be home after busses leave.

WIFE:  Open your damn calendar and look at it before you answer me.

ME:  Oops, staff meeting today… Must have missed that.

330PM

WIFE:  Don’t forget I have my holiday party after work today.  I’ll be home around 700

ME:  So you’re not going to be home on time…?

WIFE:  Not funny… joking or not… I’ll end you.

700PM

WIFE: How’d Jax do tonight?

ME:  Great, we played with some of the Christmas decorations, Jax tried to eat one of the ornaments.  You brought me left overs right?

WIFE: And on that note, I’m going to bed

 

THURSDAY-

645AM

WIFE: How long have you been up?

Me:  I don’t even remember.  What time did you go to sleep?

WIFE:  I have no idea.   Are you going to the gym today?

ME:  HAHAHHAHAHHA

500PM

ME and WIFE: What’s for dinner?

ME:  Chinese?  Italian?  Pizza?

Wife: I don’t know?  Just decide by the time I’m done feeding Jax

530PM

WIFE:  Did you decide?

ME: No

545PM

WIFE: Did you decide?

Me: Yea, peanut butter and jelly

 

FRIDAY-

630AM

WIFE: Are you still sleeping

ME: Yup, I’m quitting the gym

1200PM

ME: Hey, what’s the plan for dinner?

WIFE: Peanut butter and jelly?

ME: Perfect!

500PM

ME: I feel like we’ve gotten a lot accomplished this week…

WIFE: I know… I say we just put on PJs and watch a movie.

515PM:

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

 

 

 

 

Parents on Tuesday

What do you do when you get home from work at 8:00 and your son is already in bed? Well, besides sneaking into his room to give him a quick kiss and to tell him you love him… Apparently you create photo gifts no one wants!

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And when all else fails you go to bed… FaceTime quote of the night: “Crap you guys are parents… In bed at 8:30?!!!  SMH!” -Vic

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Nice Little Monday Night

“What are you guys up to tonight?”

“Well, um, actually a pretty nice little Monday night, we’re going to go to Home Depot. Yeah, buy some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, or just sit at home and do a puzzle, I don’t know, I don’t know if we’ll have enough time.”

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