Its great to see the kids again

My wife and I were gone to a business convention, and let me tell you, it was actually great to be back and see the kids again!

I highly recommend to any mom or dad out there to get away once in a while. I will fully admit that my kids were on my last nerve before I left. Now that we were both gone for a little bit, we came back refreshed and with a new found vigor for being parents!

So, just do it, get away if you can, if only for a night and leave the kids with a baby sitter. You will be glad you did.

Time away can make a big difference for you and your wife. It's incredible how much fun we had!

JGD

Democrats and Carbon Credits in Denver

Since the Democratic National Convention is coming to my hometown in the near future, I thought I would let you all know about a neat thing they are doing to help the environment while here.

The Democratic National Convention Committee began working with NativeEnergy Inc. this spring to purchase carbon offsets for the dozens of convention staff who are flying, driving and otherwise polluting Denver as they carry out the big event.

Party organizers are now asking that delegates, members of the media and other political officials who will be attending the late August gathering do the same.

Delegates to the convention with the highest percentage of members offsetting their carbon emissions will be recognized in their seating section on the floor of the Pepsi Center, the site of the first three days of the event. If they offset their travel, they are also expected to receive a ''green item'' to distinguish themselves during convention week.

The effort, called the Green Delegate Challenge, is intended to encourage friendly competition among state delegates and to offer special rewards for the delegation or delegations that show the highest level of commitment to offsetting their carbon footprints as a result of attending the Denver convention.

To date, the average carbon footprints of all delegates from California, Vermont and Nevada have been accounted for through delegate participation in the program.

How cool is that? Not only are the Dems brining big business to the Mile High City, they are helping keep it clean too!!

Thought for the Weekend

OK, time for this weekends, "Thought for the Weekend" This one is from one of my all-time favorite movies.

"What we have here is a failure to communicate".

What movie is this from, and who was the main actor in the movie?? Any guesses?

Thought for the Weekend

"To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one live has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."

Who said this famous quote about success?

Kids keep you humble

Some of you may know that I am a WAHD who is married and has two little girls. Let me tell you, those girls especially know how to keep you humble, grounded and focused on what is most important.

This morning I had big plans for my business. Lots of e-mails to write, lots of articles and blogs to update, etc.

However, my youngest had a different idea altogether. She in particular has had a hard time adjusting to mommy going off to work and me being at home with her. She is always so anxious to see my wife that she gets up extra early (often before 6AM) to see my wife before she goes off to work.

Well today, my daughter reached her limit. She was exhausted from getting up early and had an utter melt down.

Now, of course I had plans to get work done. Unfortunately my first reaction is to tell her to be quiet so daddy could work. However, one look at her and I knew that she needed my attention.....

I did the old count to 10....catch my breath for having to drop all of my work for her.....and then sat with her on the couch and help her calm down......It only took me 30 minutes ;)

Anyway, I realized afterwards that I am glad I am able to be there for her. Quite different than my previous life in corporate america.

Has anyone else had a similar experience?

Thought for the Weekend Answer

The answer to the weekend Thought for the Weekend, "Do or Do Not, There is No Try"........is Yoda from Return of the Jedi.

I really need to make these quotes harder!!!

Thought for the Weekend

Ok, now that my oldest is finally back in School I can get back to regular posting!!!

Time for this weeks installment of "Thought for the Weekend".

Who said this? "Do or Do Not, There is No Try". I like this quote because it really reflects on going all the way with things you want to accomplish, and not giving up easily.

What famous movie character said it? Remember no cheating and looking it up on the Internet! Guesses?

Kids finally in school!

Finally, my oldest is back is School!!! She started 2nd grade this week. Yes, we are on a year round school system. She has been off for 5 of the last 8 weeks. It was my first time having both kids at home the entire time and WOW...that was hard!!

Time for a beer!

Thought for the Weekend

Time for this weekends "Thought for the Weekend". Certain recent events in the world caused me to look up one of my favorite persons of the 20th century.

“No man is entitled to the blessings of freedom unless he be vigilant in its preservation”

Any guesses on who said this?

Even the Government is Going Green

Just learned thru a press release that the Federal Government, specifically the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has reversed its decision regarding its prohibition on accepting applications for renewable solar energy on public lands

What a great move! This means that the Federal Government will essentially allow the use of Federal Lands for renewable energy sources. Think of all those vast empty areas in the SouthWest and Western US which are undeveloped and have huge amounts of sunny days each year. Those lands can now be use to harness solar power! Horray for lower electricity bills.....now I can use that money we are going to save for buying gas... :)

Thought for the Weekend Answer

OK, maybe this was a hard one. The answer to this weekends quote.

" Its a miracle that curiosity survives formal education", was Albert Einstein.

McMommy was the closest this weekend, but still no winner! However she still gets credit for being the closest! Congrats!

Thought for the Weekend

Time for this weeks edition of "Thought for the Weekend" In particular, I consider this quote rather relevant since my kids are just entering formal school age.

" Its a miracle that curiosity survives formal education".

Who said this? Remember no cheating and looking it up on the Internet.

Hint: One of the most famous 20th century people.

Who can guess it first?

Whoever guesses it first will get a link back to their blog!

Wordless Wednesday

Time for an edition of wordless Wednesday. This is me hiking in the Rocky Mountains.

Adventures into "Play Date Land"

More uncharted fatherhood territory for me here. My oldest daughter is off of school for two weeks (we are on a year round school system here) and I am quickly learning about the concept of a "Play Date".

What is a "Play Date" you might ask? Well, up until recently I had no idea what one was. I mean I understood the concept of it, but never really knew how they worked. How does one arrange a "Play Date" for a daughter of theirs?

In case you were wondering, the whole topic of the two phrases "My Daughter" and "Date" always elicited a response like, "She will never date when she is a teenager, I am going to send her off to a monastery when she reaches 13." So....you understand where I am coming from on this?

It just feels plain weird calling up another Mom from my daughters class and asking if Johnny 1st grader can come over for a "Play Date" with my daughter. Again, re-read the previous paragraph and you will understand when "daughter" and "date" are in the same sentence I get pretty strong negative emotions.......

What is even more weird is blurting out the phrase to a Mom "Play Date".

Again, one of those things and conversations that I never EVER would have imagined I would be having before I became a SAHD/WAHD.

Has anyone else had any experiences or problems with the phrase "Play Date"?

Go Green at Home

Did you hear what happened in San Francisco recently? The city enacted a bill which would give HUGE and MASSIVE rebates to people installing renewable energy, specifically solar energy in their homes or businesses. The major of good ole San Fran signed this into legislation today!

If a home installs a photovoltaic (solar) system, they are eligible for between $3000-$5000 in tax rebates, and for a business the rebate goes up to $10,000. Wow! That is over $3 million worth of tax incentives for renewable energy!

While this is an overall effort that is being looked at across California, San Francisco lead the way with this.

In my humble opinion, there are many other cities ans states which have the potential to benefit even more than this.

Anyone know if good ole sunny Colorado is looking into this?

Fathers Day

This is a day that naturally many of us reflect on our fathers and our relationship with them or what they taught us.

My father always tried to teach me the value of work. In fact when I was young he gave me a copy of this poem to try and put into words what he could not.

It is a poem penned by General MacArthur and yes my dad was a West Point grad as well so he had a natural affinity for great alumni from there. However, this poem still does ring true and makes me think about many things.

I'm posting this in dedication of my dad. Happy Fathers Day!

Build Me a Son
General Douglas A. MacArthur

Build me a son, O Lord,
who will be strong enough to know when he is weak,
and brave enough to face him self when he is afraid;
one who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
and humble and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishbone will not be
where his backbone should be;
a son who will know Thee-
and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.

Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort,
but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge.
Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm;
here, let him team compassion for those who fall.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear,
whose goals will be high;
a son who will master himself
before he seeks to master other men;
one who will learn to laugh, yet never forget how to weep;
one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray,
enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious,
yet never take himself too seriously.

Give him humility, so that he may always remember
the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom,
the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

Anyone else have any good lessons they learned from their father?

Thought for the Weekend

Here is this weeks version of the Thought for the Weekend. It's from a rather obscure source, but rings very true for those of us who are parents....

"Everybody knows how to raise children, except the people who have them."

How very true! Everyone has an opinion about raising children, especially your own!

Has anyone else had an experience like this or story to tell around this true ism?

So What Do You Do?

I have addressed this in a previous post, however, after a recent comment by another Stay-At-Home/Work-At-Home Dad, I feel this needs re-addressing.



Often this is one of the first points of conversation with a new acquaintance, particularly with other guys. Even with the many ladies I meet at the playground this question comes up.



So, essentially what I do is run a business my wife started out of my house. I help and train others to realize that they can do this same thing too, its really not that hard to do if you know how and are willing to learn. My true passion lies with helping parents live the life they want to lead and spend more time with their families.



In particular, I concentrate on teaching a system and "non-selling" technique in my business and marketing which focuses on on-line lead generation for any business. Its a technique of becoming the hunted instead of the hunter in your home business, applicable to anyone.



I can teach you that marketing your business or any business can be as easy as passing out DVDs.

Renewable Energy

Major development here! Duke Energy just announced that they will be building a 20 megawatt solar power project in North Carolina. All I can say is WOW!

The overall cost will be close to $100 Million overall. However, the really cool part is that this installation will not just be at one or two solar stations, but at over 850 sites across North Carolina. The sites will include homes, offices, and factories. Anywhere where there is spare roof space.

The project is supposed to take two years to complete and provide enough electricity for over 2600 homes.

Of course, you can Go Green in your own home with great Eco-friendly cleaning products! Go Green!

A Rather Surreal Day

It has finally come to this. Reflecting upon it, this has been one of the most surreal days I have had as a Stay-At-Home Dad. You know it is really one of those days when I say, "I never ever thought I would be doing this." I really had to catch myself and ask, "How did I get here?"

The culminating event, or events, was at a swim lesson for my four year old daughter. We go with a Stat-At-Home Mom neighbor of ours to a local swim place where both of our kids take lessons.

I was chatting with this Mom about what my daughter and I were going to do for the rest of the day, and I replied, "We are going to the grocery store and picking up a few things. You know, we use the 'Grocery Game' and it saves us a ton of money." We then proceeded to talk for a few more minutes about the Grocery Game and how it saved us a ton of money. Several other moms were sitting nearby and they also chimed in their own comment and questions, "Does that game really work?" or "I've heard of that and always wanted to do it". Another question was, "I hear that you need to go to like 10 different stores in order to do the Grocery Game." I then proceeded to tell them all that it was easy and that we only went to two grocery stores and yes it does save a ton of money.

I then had a moment of absolute clarity. Did I really just have a 10 minute conversation about the Grocery Game with 4 moms? How did my life become this?

Several minutes later I sent my 4 year old daughter to the changing room to get out of her wet swimming suit and into dry clothes. Little did I know that she had another plan and proceeded to completely strip down in the changing room.....and then run around the pool area without any clothes. Of course I chased her all around until I caught her and promptly brought her back and got her dressed. It took me about 5 minutes to get her back in the changing room.

Again, another moment of clarity. Did I really just have to chase around my stripped down daughter in a public place? Again, how did my life become this?

To top it off, when I finally got home I discovered that the dog had pooped AND peed on the carpet upstairs. I found myself very quickly cleaning up the mess.

I just never imagined a sequence of events like that would ever happen to me. All in one day, all in one hour. How did I get here? Well, I believe my wife and I decided that this arrangement would be best.

I just laughed it off. How many Dads get to have a day and experience like this?