However, contrary to what so many people espouse as the worst part of dealing with a newborn Temple 3 proclaims it to be one of his favorites. This new father loves his 4 am feedings because it’s among the precious little time he has to spend with his child

“It’s the only time you have to hold them and see their faces. You’ll be getting up soon anyway. Sleep is overrated. The time is now.”

I think he’s got a great attitude and lucky kids.

Post from: Blisstree

The Joy of 4 am Feedings

Now here’s something you don’t hear every day. Kenny Partanen, a 17-year-old boy in Florida was at home on Saturday morning when a neighbor forcibly entered the house, brandishing a chain saw. The man was screaming obscenities and waving the saw. When Kenny managed to get hold of the saw before the neighbor could get it running, he told the man to leave; after he refused to go, Kenny used his years of training in Hapkido to grapple and contain the intruder until police arrived.

I’m well aware that my unborn son is an action / adventure buff, but I would definitely like to enroll him in martial arts training. I studied karate for several years, am familiar with several other forms and have an older brother who used to try to beat me with my own arm. Ahh, the joy of older siblings.

In addition to having numerous neighbors with saws, I find martial arts to be a great form of exercise and a confidence builder. It also fosters self control in students so there won’t be a bunch of Jean Claude Van Dams running around. There are enough bad movies out there, anyway.

For now I’m just counting baby kicks, but in the future I would like to see him (and subsequent kids) to be counting side kicks.

Post from: Blisstree

Martial arts, kids and neighbors with chain saws

List includes:

• 1- He’s a good disciplinarian
• 2- He allows his kids to make some mistakes
• 3- He’s open-minded
• 4- He teaches his children to appreciate things
• 5- He accepts that his kids aren’t exactly like him
• 6- He spends quality time with his children
• 7- He leads by example
• 8- He’s supportive & loyal
• 9- He challenges his kids
• 10- He teaches his children lessons
• 11- He protects his family at all costs
• 12- He shows unconditional love

Read full article.

Post from: Blisstree

12 Traits of a Good Father

“One night a father overheard his son pray:
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my Daddy is.
Later that night, the Father prayed,
Dear God, Make me the kind of man my son wants me to be.”
Author Unknown

There are days I just wish I could be the father my son and daughters want me to be. Maybe I should reword that and pray to be what my son and daughters “need” me to be. Sometimes a dad is not something kids want at the time but definitely need.

Post from: Blisstree

Fatherhood Quote of the Day

• When you help your kids with their schoolwork
• When you take an interest in their hobbies
• When you show affection to your wife in front of them
• When you advocate that they speak to you and each other respectfully
• When you just enjoy being with your children and them with you
• When your son or daughter comes running to you when they get hurt
• When your calendar is full of things to do with your children
• When you calmly and gently discipline your children without yelling or screaming
• When you tuck your children into bed at night and tell them “I love you” and pray with them
• When you drive your kids to school in the morning
• When you make Saturday morning breakfast for them
• When you give your children responsibilities and chores

Post from: Blisstree

How Do You Know You Are Being a Good Dad?

Christina at Solo Mother has certain songs that get her through life, and especially through tough times. Maybe Christina’s husband can learn a thing or two from her.

She also shares with us over at Inside Motherhood a little bit about her Aunt Nora and when she was alive taught her about life.

Elizabeth clues us in at GenBetween about a 107 year old woman who blogs. She documents wisdom and her experiences and loves to see people visit her from all over the world.

Elizabeth also posts at Career and Kids and turns inwards to look at herself and her life. She feels it is time to make a few hopeful changes and keep a mental note that life is a journey, not a destination.

Kelly at Thrifty Mommy is excited about her baby growing up and shares her hope at the end of the new baby tunnel. Her baby is on her way to potty training. YEAH!!

Kate over at Baby Lune blog reminds us that today is International Women’s Day. We are reminded that this day for women is not just an observance but a celebration. Learn more about this day at Baby Lune.

What else could bring forth hope and sense of renewal? Kerri at Play Library tells us about her fun idea of planting a garden with her kids. She looks forward to the hot sun and summer fun.

Gayla from Dating Dames wonders if there is any room for hope and renewal for Lisa Nowack, the astranaut who drove nearly 900 miles to attack another woman moving in on a former love interest of hers.

An interesting post from Blog Fabulous hit my email inbox. Kim tells us about her father’s invitation to his 3rd wedding. And yes… it is his 3rd marriage. His previous wife’s are now passed away. Is this a time of hope and renewal? Third time’s a charm?

Anna over at Widows Quest makes a list from the words RENEWAL. For instance R is to read more stories of success and hope.

Char at Weary Parent sees all the signs of Spring again. From activity at baseball diamonds to kids preparing for the standardized tests, she knows Spring is just about here.

Last and but not least I even wrote something up over at my Silly Dad site regarding how excited I am for Spring. From losing nearly 15 pounds since last summer, to having a new baby in the house, I am excited about Spring and Summer projects. You can read my short list of Summer goals.

Post from: Blisstree

Spring is in the Air – Hope and Renewal

The weight of being a parent today is excessive, and for fathers immensely confusing. Perhaps my dad did love me, and perhaps he even liked me – I’ll never know. It wasn’t expressed under the conventions of the day, but at least he knew what was expected of him. I almost never have. I hope I didn’t screw it up too badly (my kids say no, but they aren’t yet in a position to know, one way or the other). I don’t have the comfort of knowing I followed the conventions, because between his death and now, things have changed dramatically, and the conflicting social rules are incoherent – feminists say one thing, the many religious and psychological “experts” all say something different (to each other), and of course there’s the generational differences.

Blisstree

The Evolution of Dads

2. Tell your kid(s) a story each night before they go to bed about something you did as a child that was adventurous. And say it with excitement as if you were reliving the moment.

3. Teach your child(ren) a new hobby.

4. Just walk up to your child out of nowhere and smother them with kisses until they beg you to stop.

5. Have your kid(s) cook a big fantastic meal with you. Talk them through the recipe, tell stories, and have fun preparing the best dinner ever. Make it a new family ritual.

6. Just listen to your kid(s). Let them tell you a story.

7. Take your kids on a nature hike. Point out all the wonderful things in nature. Make sure to quiz them on the ride home.

8. After dinner tell the kids to get in the car. Tell them it is a surprise. Drive down to Dairy Queen and get the biggest ice cream sundae on the menu.

9. Ask your kids about school and what parts of it they like. Let them tell you all about their day from the minute they walk into school until the minute they get home. Ask them about their friends and what they are like.

10. Bring home a new pair of ice hockey skates and take them to the ice hockey rink for an hour or two. When you get home have some hot cocoa together under a blanket on the couch.

Post from: Blisstree

10 Ways to Become a Better Parent This Week

Phil has been homeschooling now for a while and he even took his kids to Iraq to distribute ten tons of crayons, markers, and other art supplies to the children over there. (Edited: This was an April Fool’s joke that I fell for in January. I guess he did not go to Iraq!)

Some of the other things he has done:

- Phil is a soccer coach for his son’s soccer team.
- Phil homeschools his son and tells us why.
- Phil took is family on a trip to Mt. St. Helens and Kalaloch Beach.
- Phil was attacked by wolves and stuck on a ferris wheel and has pictures to prove it.
- Phil moved 10,000 pounds of granite into his yard. Nuts!
- Phil taught his son to fish.
- Phil volunteers his time down at the school.
- Phil took the family Snow Tubing for the first time.

This was all in 2006. So I would like to award Family Phil with the Dads on Duty award. Phil you can take your badge home.

Post from: Blisstree

Dads on Duty – An Exceptional Dad Award

But, It wasn’t until I lost my first 15 pounds I realized what actually worked and what didn’t and it took me nearly a year and a half to come to this conclusion. The last 15 pounds I lost in the summer. But just like everybody tells you there is no secret potion, or magic ingredient. But I will tell you what works for me and hopefully if you take my advice it will work for you.

Not only have I lost 30 pounds but I was able to bring my blood pressure down to considerably. The first thing you have to tell yourself is that what you are currently doing is not working. It just simply isn’t cutting it and you have to be willing to change. This change means both diet and exercise. If you are not willing to change your food habits or increase your activity level then you will not lose weight. This mean you will have to cut out beer (not completely) and you will have to get outside for at least an 45-60 minutes 5 or 6 times each week.

If you can accept those things then the next thing you have to tell yourself is that whatever changes you must make are NOT temporary. You have to accept the fact that whatever you change you will plan to do this for the rest of your life until the day you die. The reason crash diets don’t necessarily work is because once they lose that 10 pounds in 3 weeks they feel they have reached their goal and will not continue what is needed to maintain that low weight. It is fine to make goals and reach milestones, but you have to extend those goals beyond a summer, or a year, and make them for the rest of your life. This is a lifestyle change, at least it is for me. The hardest part of losing weight is becoming mentally prepared. Once you are ready mentally the physical challenges are really easy.

But here is my routine day when losing roughly 2 pounds per week:

1) I wake up and immediately drink a tall glass of water. This helps get me hydrated and water actually stimulates your metabolism. Prepare to drink lots and lots of water. It will keep you hydrated so that all of your bodily functions work properly. There are so many things water does to your body it is highly needed. Carry a water bottle if you must. Always be sipping on it. But start your day off with a tall glass of water.

2) Eat a great big bowl of fruit for breakfast. Eat a banana while you make a fruit salad. Grapes, cantalope, banana, watermelon, strawberries. blueberries, oranges, apples, etc. Don’t put anything on it. No sugar or whip cream. Just enjoy the fruit in its natural state. Don’t worry or count much of the calories. I have never known a person to get fat from eating too much fruit. I know there is sugar in fruit but it is the good sugar. Eat it and fill up and don’t eat again until lunch time.

3) At lunch time prepare a sandwich of some sort. Your sandwich should have some meat in it. This is when you start counting your calories. I personally try not to go over 500 calories for lunch. This will include a tall glass of low-fat or fat free milk. I drink 2% myself. So here is a typical lunch I will have:

- 2 slices of bread. I sometimes will eat white bread which has more calories but I will usually wheat or some grain bread. For me it doesn’t really matter what color it is.
- One slice of bologne
- One slice of low-fat cheese
- Couple slices of tomato
- Few pieces of lettuce in there
- Mustard
- Tall glass of 2% milk

The milk has a lot of calories in it but it is definitely needed. They are good calories and will help you build muscle and lose weight. Then I will take the rest of the tomato that I cut those few slices from and put a little salt on it for flavor and eat it. This meal should not exceed 500 calories.

4) After I eat my lunch I have assumed that I have eaten no more than 800 to 1,000 calories from both the large quantities of fruit and my lunch. It is time to start my exercise. I normally do 5 sets of 20 sit-ups. I either spread them out over the day or do them within an hour of each other. I don’t really worry about it. I just do them when it is convenient. I also do curls. You don’t have to do the normal amount you do at the gym. Just use 20 pounds and do 5 sets of 20 but do these only every other day. The stomach muscle can be used daily and will have plenty of rest. The bicep should have a day to rest and repair.

5) In the afternoon I will have a cup of green tea. I don’t put sugar or milk in it. Just caffeine free green tea. This is supposedly good for you and will help boost your immune system. With my tea I will peel me a nice big fat carrot and eat it or have an apple. If I am still really hungry and don’t think I can make it until dinner I will peel me a cucumber and eat the entire thing. Always remember too, that you will burn more calories eating a stick of celery than you consume. So if you like celery you can snack on that in the afternoon. Sorry no cream cheese or peanut butter on it. Nope! Plain…. Then I do not eat until dinner.

6) Dinner time I should be done with my exercises. Here is a meal I will prepare for the family:

- Steak
- Mashed Potato
- Peas or green beans
- Milk

Season steak as normal. Peel and bring potato to a boil and cook until soft. Mash it and put in 1 or 2 tablespoons of butter. Salt and pepper. No sour cream sorry. This meal should not exceed 600 calories. I try not to go over 500 but when counting numbers sometimes I get close to 600 or even 700 calories. Once dinner is done I will not eat again until the next day. If I am starving around 8pm I either peel an orange or I drink a tall glass of water.

7) I usually wait an hour before I go for an hour walk. When I walk I move right along usually around 4 miles per hour. When I first started I was doing 3 1/2 miles per hour but as you get into shape and shed some pounds you can go at a pretty good clip, maybe even up over 4 mph. Pick a route and do the same walk each night. It is a good way to gauge your progress if you can bear the boredom of walking the same route each night. Walking 4mph for an hour I was burning just over 400 calories. Not only is it great for burning calories but it is good for your heart and blood pressure.

Before going to bed I take a bath, jump on the scale, and dive between the sheets.

So for the day I consumed (average estimate):

Morning Fruit: 350 calories
Lunch: 500 calories
Afternoon Veggie Snacks: 250 calories
Dinner: 600 calories
Total: 1700 calories

Also for the day I have burned some calories (average estimate):

Situps, Pushups, and Curls: 200 calories
1 hour walk at 4mph: 400 calories
Total: 600 calories

Now take 1700 calories and subtract 600 calories. This leaves me on a typical day balancing out at 1100 calories. When you are dieting and exercising that number should never fall below 1,000 calories. When you want to maintain the current weight that number should not fall below 1500 – 1600 calories.

When I follow this schedule I lose about 2 pounds each week and feel great from the exercise. So as you can see this doesn’t include the sometimes chocolate cake I have once per week or that extra glass of tall milk I decide to have with dinner. When I maintain this schedule and splurge every so often, I don’t have to feel guilty and I know I haven’t hurt my diet. Having small helpings or an occasional sweet is actually healthy and more fun, because you can enjoy it. But the biggest part of this diet is you can’t just sit down and each nachos, melted cheese, and salsa 3 times a week and eat an entire plate of it. You have to stop drinking beer regularly. Alcohol is fattening. A glass of wine once a week is manageable, but not every single night.

I am sure there are other ways to lose weight but this is what I do to lose 2 pounds each week and feel great.

Post from: Blisstree

Hey Dads Want to Lose Weight?