In May of 2011 I dismissed my class of 7th graders for the last time and began a new chapter in my life, full-time dad. I taught middle school for 7 years, but with two kids and a third on the way, i wasn’t able to give as much time to teaching as it required, plus I wanted to spend more time with my own kids, instead of someone else’s.
My wife and I have three kids ages seven, four and two. They provide me with an endless amount of stories that I enjoy sharing. Writing and retelling these stories have been my part-time job for the last two years.
These stories have ranged from from birds at my son’s preschool, to my love-hate relationship with fish sticks to ditching a week of kindergarten. My blog has grown slowly, but steadily and I’m grateful to all that read it.
I drive a minivan with pride. There’s nothing sweeter when walking out to your vehicle than pushing a button and having the side doors slide automatically open. I like to think of it more like a space ship with wheels, instead of a van.
Life as a stay at home parent is all about balance. Each day, while my wife is at work, I try to keep our house in order, spend time with our kids all the while finding some time for myself. It’s not easy, but finding the balance is something I’m constantly trying to achieve.
Over time, I’ve learned how to grocery shopping with kids. I’ve learned that to be successful, I need a grocery list ( I need to stick to the list as well), a snack for my kids, and prefer a one of those stretch limo style of carts with steering wheels so my kids can do most of the “driving” around the store. I’ve also learned to never, ever shop with the kids before a dreaded snowstorm. I’d rather eat all the canned food in our pantry than battle all the crazies at the store right before a big storm.
My cooking skills have also advanced over the years. Once a week, I try to plan a dinner that requires almost no prep at the end of the day, something that can be thrown in a crock pot in the morning and left until dinner time. I’ve also learned it’s much easier to do my prep work for most meals during nap time. It’s much safer to chop vegetables when there is not a two-year-old latched onto your leg demanding your attention.
Laundry. Laundry is brutal. In order to keep laundry from becoming a daily nuisance in my life, I started doing laundry in binges. I’ll ignore it for a few days, then do six loads in one morning. Sure that particular morning is terrible, but, when it’s over it’s over…at least for a couple days.
I try to actively participate in my kid’s school programs when possible. I’m constantly on the lookout for activities in the community for my kids whether it be story time at the library, or concerts for kids at the park.
I’m always finding ways to hang out with other dads. Whether it’s meeting at a dads group or having dads over for coffee while our kids play, I try to make sure this happens at least once a week.
Well, that’s pretty much “at home dad life” in a nutshell. Nice to meet you. Thanks for following along on my page.
-Pete
